Do you hoard bike parts like a pack rat?
#1
All Bikes All The Time
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 2,343
Bikes: Giant TCR 0, Lemond Zurich, Giant NRS 1, Jamis Explorer Beater/Commuter, Peugeot converted single speed
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Do you hoard bike parts like a pack rat?
This morning I realized that I am a serious parts collector/hoarder. HardyWeinberg was so kind to give me his tires but I just can't seem to part with most of the goodies that could possibly be pressed into service to keep my bikes runnings someday. The 3rd bay in my garage literally looks like a bike shop with wheels, tires, and all kinds of other parts laying about.
I want to give a spare set of shifters to my dad, but I can't bear the thought of them sitting in his garage unused (not like I am using them right now, but what if**********??) They may be unused in my garage as well, but at least they are appreciated and loved
I am breaking spokes on my commuting wheels about once per week and will be getting a new set soon but I don't relish the thought of giving those old wheels up either. I mean, what if**********????
I have a huge box full of all kinds of parts under my workbench that I will probably never use, but what if********** I have wheels that barely spin and that have breaking surfaces that are days away from wearing through, but can I throw them out**********NO WAY, what if**********?
I love buying $10 parts bikes at garage sales and stripping them of all their delicious parts, only to throw those parts in the box for possibly (although unlikely) future use.
For me, I don't mind lending or even giving someone a part if I am sure it will get used, but I am reluctant to get rid of parts permanently and I almost never throw parts out (even worn chains, cassettes, tires etc).
I guess that is one reason my local boy scout troop is always bringing their bikes to my garage for service and an occaisional free part. A part with so little market value can mean so much to a 14 year old with a broken bike.
Any other hoarders out there?
I want to give a spare set of shifters to my dad, but I can't bear the thought of them sitting in his garage unused (not like I am using them right now, but what if**********??) They may be unused in my garage as well, but at least they are appreciated and loved
I am breaking spokes on my commuting wheels about once per week and will be getting a new set soon but I don't relish the thought of giving those old wheels up either. I mean, what if**********????
I have a huge box full of all kinds of parts under my workbench that I will probably never use, but what if********** I have wheels that barely spin and that have breaking surfaces that are days away from wearing through, but can I throw them out**********NO WAY, what if**********?
I love buying $10 parts bikes at garage sales and stripping them of all their delicious parts, only to throw those parts in the box for possibly (although unlikely) future use.
For me, I don't mind lending or even giving someone a part if I am sure it will get used, but I am reluctant to get rid of parts permanently and I almost never throw parts out (even worn chains, cassettes, tires etc).
I guess that is one reason my local boy scout troop is always bringing their bikes to my garage for service and an occaisional free part. A part with so little market value can mean so much to a 14 year old with a broken bike.
Any other hoarders out there?
Last edited by Sawtooth; 11-29-07 at 03:00 PM.
#2
Crankenstein
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Spokane
Posts: 4,037
Bikes: Novara Randonee (TankerBelle)
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
Yeah, well... when I posted that the rear dérailleur on my bike snapped in half everyone was annoyed the next day when I was still posting rides... "I thought your dérailleur was broken?"
Well, duh... I had a spare off an older bike and put it on... took me less than an hour.
So.. yeah. +1 packrat here.
Oh... and for your old wheels... get a set of spokes and rebuild them.
I've rebuilt 3 rear wheels now... never had another problem with them.
Well, duh... I had a spare off an older bike and put it on... took me less than an hour.
So.. yeah. +1 packrat here.
Oh... and for your old wheels... get a set of spokes and rebuild them.
I've rebuilt 3 rear wheels now... never had another problem with them.
#3
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,693
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Yeah, I do my best. Though I may have to start selling some parts to finance other stuff. I keep worn out brake pads and tires. WTF is wrong with me?
#5
All Bikes All The Time
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 2,343
Bikes: Giant TCR 0, Lemond Zurich, Giant NRS 1, Jamis Explorer Beater/Commuter, Peugeot converted single speed
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Yeah, well... when I posted that the rear dérailleur on my bike snapped in half everyone was annoyed the next day when I was still posting rides... "I thought your dérailleur was broken?"
Well, duh... I had a spare off an older bike and put it on... took me less than an hour.
So.. yeah. +1 packrat here.
Oh... and for your old wheels... get a set of spokes and rebuild them.
I've rebuilt 3 rear wheels now... never had another problem with them.
Well, duh... I had a spare off an older bike and put it on... took me less than an hour.
So.. yeah. +1 packrat here.
Oh... and for your old wheels... get a set of spokes and rebuild them.
I've rebuilt 3 rear wheels now... never had another problem with them.
#6
GATC
I was going to say 'yes except for when I can foist them off on random interwebs people' but I see you spotted that. I didn't get nearly enough domestic credit for cleaning out the garage like that either, may I say.
#7
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2007
Location: Boise,ID
Posts: 516
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Your wheels can be fixed by rebuilding. I have built wheels for the cruisers but never for a bike with rim or disc brakes. As always a good place to start is Sheldon's wheelbuilding page. https://sheldonbrown.com/wheelbuild.html
Last edited by cman; 11-29-07 at 03:13 PM.
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Ohio
Posts: 1,556
Bikes: Schwinn Empire XL
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
only the ones my wife don't find. She like a clean house. So I hide them in boxes and put them way up in top of the closet.
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Sep 2007
Location: Used to be there, now I'm here.
Posts: 1,885
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Let's see, I have one bike in the kitchen, a trailer in the bedroom, the gf's trike in the entry way, I keep finding bits and bobs in places I don't remember leaving them... I still have no idea how that RD wound up in the fridge.
#11
All Bikes All The Time
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 2,343
Bikes: Giant TCR 0, Lemond Zurich, Giant NRS 1, Jamis Explorer Beater/Commuter, Peugeot converted single speed
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
#12
Call me The Breeze
Saving parts is fine. Saving junk is stupid. Don't save worn out stuff, save stuff that's actually useful. If you've already got 10 XT derailleurs... saving that generic derailleur with 5% of it's life left is a waste of time.
#13
Mmmmm potatoes
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: Idaho
Posts: 1,921
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
That's the nice thing about buying used bikes. They usually come with spare parts . I've got enough parts for another road bike & mountain bike.
#14
All Bikes All The Time
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Boise, ID
Posts: 2,343
Bikes: Giant TCR 0, Lemond Zurich, Giant NRS 1, Jamis Explorer Beater/Commuter, Peugeot converted single speed
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Maybe.......unless you think a boy scout who couldn't possibly appreciate or need an XT der might need it. Point taken though; this thread started with the admission that it may be over the top.
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Nov 2004
Location: Davis CA
Posts: 3,959
Bikes: Surly Cross-Check, '85 Giant road bike (unrecogizable fixed-gear conversion
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 4 Times
in
3 Posts
4 complete bikes
1 frame
2 mtb wheelsets (I don't even own an mtb)
4 sets of bars
4 rear derailleurs
5 front derailleurs
3 cranksets
Big stack chainrings
And that's only the big parts. Boxes and boxes of smaller stuff.
1 frame
2 mtb wheelsets (I don't even own an mtb)
4 sets of bars
4 rear derailleurs
5 front derailleurs
3 cranksets
Big stack chainrings
And that's only the big parts. Boxes and boxes of smaller stuff.
#16
Call me The Breeze
Eventually, if you just keep everything you're going to be paying for space to store practically worthless stuff that will still be there when you die. I recently went through my boxes and got rid of the stuff I hadn't touched for a few years. Extra parts are nice. Extra junk is not!
#17
Soma Lover
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Logan, UT
Posts: 765
Bikes: one bike for every day of the week
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Once there are more than 3-4 parts in a box it constitutes a sufficient breeding population and next thing I know the box is full. They're like tribbles.
#18
Membership Not Required
Join Date: Jan 2005
Location: On the road-USA
Posts: 16,855
Bikes: Giant Excursion, Raleigh Sports, Raleigh R.S.W. Compact, Motobecane? and about 20 more! OMG
Mentioned: 5 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 70 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 15 Times
in
14 Posts
I have lots of stuff, most of the bikes I ride are old, out of production models and many of the parts are NLA so any part in any condition is held on to. I also buy/find old bikes and strip them down for parts. I keep a stock of bits and pieces to give out to the local "utility" riders around town. The storage doesn't really cost me anything and if something is broken completely beyond repair it will get stripped and dumped into the recycle bin.
Aaron
Aaron
__________________
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
Webshots is bailing out, if you find any of my posts with corrupt picture files and want to see them corrected please let me know. :(
ISO: A late 1980's Giant Iguana MTB frameset (or complete bike) 23" Red with yellow graphics.
"Cycling should be a way of life, not a hobby.
RIDE, YOU FOOL, RIDE!"_Nicodemus
"Steel: nearly a thousand years of metallurgical development
Aluminum: barely a hundred
Which one would you rather have under your butt at 30mph?"_krazygluon
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2006
Posts: 3,693
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
Oh, and Allan, those Rhollofs just lace to the spokes all by themselves, do they?
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2006
Location: northern Florida, USA
Posts: 778
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 0 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I was heavily into cycling in the mid-1980s, then got out for nearly 20 years. I kept all of my old stuff, which is now nearly "vintage" and worth more than I paid. Having spares is really nice, too.
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Columbus, OH
Posts: 11,375
Bikes: '08 Surly Cross-Check, 2011 Redline Conquest Pro, 2012 Spesh FSR Comp EVO, 2015 Trek Domane 6.2 disc
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 7 Times
in
6 Posts
I've used to have a very bad hoarding problem. Bike parts, magazines, computers and electronics, tools, clothes, etc.
If there was a space to put it in, there was a Rubbermaid bin with a label just waiting to be filled. I had a little bit of everything, and everything had its place. I did this for 8 years. I even moved it all from one apartment to another, twice. None of my friends questioned the usefulness of it all. They just helped me move it because I was going to give them beer and BBQ.
Then I lost my job and moved across the country. Packing everything you own into a 6 x 12 x 5 foot trailer makes you question the reason why you keep things. I threw away most of my hoarded materials. I've since trimmed things down even more, and I'm slowly chipping away at the last of my excessive stuff.
I used to hoarde because I was very poor. Two jobs and still couldn't keep up on the bills kind of poor. Having mild Asperger's and obsessive compulsive tendencies don't help with it, either. I kept everything because I knew I had backups, just in case. I couldn't afford to replace anything if I needed to buy it new, but I was really good at fixing all sorts of broken stuff.
I don't need to hoarde any more, and it's a tough thing to get over if you've done it out of necessity in the past. The mental block is there when you go to drop off a box of stuff at the book donation or the Goodwill... What if the one I've got now breaks? Maybe I'll just keep one. And then it all starts again.
I'm allowed to keep my one box of essential parts, and I go through it and make sure that I don't need to swap out anything that's in there for something new that I've found. No more, though.
If there was a space to put it in, there was a Rubbermaid bin with a label just waiting to be filled. I had a little bit of everything, and everything had its place. I did this for 8 years. I even moved it all from one apartment to another, twice. None of my friends questioned the usefulness of it all. They just helped me move it because I was going to give them beer and BBQ.
Then I lost my job and moved across the country. Packing everything you own into a 6 x 12 x 5 foot trailer makes you question the reason why you keep things. I threw away most of my hoarded materials. I've since trimmed things down even more, and I'm slowly chipping away at the last of my excessive stuff.
I used to hoarde because I was very poor. Two jobs and still couldn't keep up on the bills kind of poor. Having mild Asperger's and obsessive compulsive tendencies don't help with it, either. I kept everything because I knew I had backups, just in case. I couldn't afford to replace anything if I needed to buy it new, but I was really good at fixing all sorts of broken stuff.
I don't need to hoarde any more, and it's a tough thing to get over if you've done it out of necessity in the past. The mental block is there when you go to drop off a box of stuff at the book donation or the Goodwill... What if the one I've got now breaks? Maybe I'll just keep one. And then it all starts again.
I'm allowed to keep my one box of essential parts, and I go through it and make sure that I don't need to swap out anything that's in there for something new that I've found. No more, though.
__________________
"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.
"I feel like my world was classier before I found cyclocross."
- Mandi M.
#22
Sister Annie
Join Date: Jul 2007
Location: Hauraki Plains District, New Zealand
Posts: 1,519
Bikes: Retro Hercules adult tricycle, 1953 Hercules ladies roadster, 1950s Wearwell fixed gear 'Club' pathracer, 1980s Malvern Star 'Super Star', 1980s Healing GTX-105 Arabesque, 1980's Morrison Concorde & etc & etc.......
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 4 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 2 Times
in
2 Posts
Do you hoard bike parts like a pack rat?
__________________
OMNIPOTENS aeterne Deus, qui nos secundum imaginem Tuam plasmasti, et omnia bona, vera, pulchra, praesertim in divina persona Unigeniti Filii Tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quaerere iussisti, praesta quaesumus ut, per intercessionem Sancti Isidori, Episcopi et Doctoris, in peregrinationibus per interrete factis et manus oculosque ad quae Tibi sunt placita intendamus et omnes quos convenimus cum caritate ac patientia accipiamus. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
OMNIPOTENS aeterne Deus, qui nos secundum imaginem Tuam plasmasti, et omnia bona, vera, pulchra, praesertim in divina persona Unigeniti Filii Tui Domini nostri Iesu Christi, quaerere iussisti, praesta quaesumus ut, per intercessionem Sancti Isidori, Episcopi et Doctoris, in peregrinationibus per interrete factis et manus oculosque ad quae Tibi sunt placita intendamus et omnes quos convenimus cum caritate ac patientia accipiamus. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
#23
genec
Join Date: Sep 2004
Location: West Coast
Posts: 27,079
Bikes: custom built, sannino, beachbike, giant trance x2
Mentioned: 86 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 13658 Post(s)
Liked 4,532 Times
in
3,158 Posts
Horder here. Heck got two sets of old Campy Record FD and RD out in the tool box.
#24
Muscle bike design spec
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Sterling VA
Posts: 3,688
Bikes: 70 Atala Record Proffesional, 00 Lemond, 08 Kestrel Evoke, 96 Colnago Master Olympic, 01 Colnago Ovalmaster, 76 Raleigh Gran Sport, 03 Fuji World, 86 Paramount, 90 Miyata CF, 09 Ritchey Breakaway CX, Bianchi Trofeo, 12 OutRiderUSA HyperLite
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 3 Times
in
3 Posts
I have a stockpile of extra dérailleurs, shifters, pedals, kickstands, and miscellaneous parts taken off or exchanged from bikes I've flipped or stripped. I usually have a stock of new or slightly used tires and an extra wheel or two. I tend to use parts to prepare a bike for flipping or I'll sell them off for a few extra bucks to some buyers.
__________________
Korval is Ships
See my Hyperlite 411 it's the photo model on OutRiderUSA web page
See my Hyperlite 411 it's the photo model on OutRiderUSA web page
#25
put our Heads Together
Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: southeast pennsylvania
Posts: 3,155
Bikes: a mountain bike with a cargo box on the back and aero bars on the front. an old well-worn dahon folding bike
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 0 Times
in
0 Posts
I have a bunch of parts that are usable (and I end up using parts out of the bin quite often) but I also have a bunch of stuff that I have been meaning to sort out of the parts bin for recycling because I knew it was junk when I put it in there.
But it takes time to bring it down to the bike co-op where they'll take it to a metal recycler, and I'm lazy.
But it takes time to bring it down to the bike co-op where they'll take it to a metal recycler, and I'm lazy.