random bits?
 

how do you guys always have the right bolts/nuts/connectors and cones? I never have the right stuff and it drives me crazy!

Don't look at me, dude. I'm still trying to source the top hat washers the forks on my old Redline use.

Maybe they've trained lawn gnomes to sneak into bike shops at night, and raid the parts bins.

Strip/work on many bikes. Never throw stuff away.

same here. my father, and the first boss I had in the bike industry kind of taught me to be a bit of a horder. if something is not repairable, you take off all the screws, nuts, and knobs, like the lawyers did to my 2nd hubby LOL, and save them. while this is not practical for everything it is a good habit to practice. and can be very helpful late on a saturday afternoon.

Yup, never throw stuff away :D

A.

FYI

http://loosescrews.com/

I've only got one set of wheels with what might be thought of as cones - Fulcrum Zeros (Campy) with caged ball hubs. Those would be very specific repair items, but common with just about any high level Campy hub made since '99. Still special order.

The rest of my wheels have catridge bearings that are also quite specific and require ordering to replace, but all use easily found standard bearings.

I keep a couple of boxes of M5 and M6 socket head stainless steel bolts in a couple of lengths. Those can be cut down to shorter lengths and have many uses. A box of M4-M6 stainless steel flat washers can be handy to have. I haven't a single ordinary nut on any of my bikes, but I have some M5 and M6 nuts on hand just in case.

There aren't many other bolts that should be needed, but most FD or RD adjusting bolts are M4. I've bought suitable replacements at Ace Hardware.

Is this what you're looking for?

http://img42.imageshack.us/img42/3838/ax38sp1.jpg

$3 at:
http://rinienterprises.com/categoryD...=70&cat_subs=0

Just remember the whatsit-hoarder's motto: it's bound to come in handy one day.

Oh hell! That's exactly what I've been looking for. :love: Thanks, a million !:thumb:

Holy carp! The spirit of Sheldon lives on!

Remember: old bike mechanics never die. They just disappear under the "spare parts".

Oh Im needing those washers for my Haro F4.

I went looking for M6 bolts a while ago and just couldn't find any. The big box stores have every other size, but the drawer with the metric sizes were always empty at both Lowes and HD in every store I tried. I eventually found one on a spare part that fit the specific need. Of course I could have tried the LBS, but I was going to the big box stores for a house project.

A well-equipped Ace Hardware, less than a mile away.

Auto parts stores are good sources of metric hardware, and sometimes sealed cartridge bearings (used in alternators).

My local non-big-box True Value hardware store has a large selection of metric nuts, bolts, and washers in standard and stainless steel. I sometimes go in to run my fingers through the shiny bits: http://www.parkrosehardware.com/