Wino Ryder

.....LOL......When I was a kid my grandma used to saddle me with that very task, only it was on one of those hand-crank ice cream makers. I didnt mind because the kid who did the crankin was the first one to get it.


yumm

MikeLD

Everyone's different, and in my case I really like new crap. I rarely use stuff till it breaks ... and as soon as I get something new I'm looking for the next new thing. I don't think I do it to be cool ... at 50, bald, and fat ... well, no one would ever mistake me for being cool.

• I've bought 5 bikes over past 3 years (and sold 3)
  
• I rarely keep cars more than 3 years ... and I love the gadgets in them ... GPS, blue tooth, MP3 sync, and any electric do-dad I can get
  
• I love electronics and computers ... I buy a couple every year (just sold my MacBook Pro and bought a MacBook Air)
  
• I use a Kindle eBook reader from Amazon ... very useful
  
• An iPhone ? Yes
  
• TiVo ? Yes
  
• GPS Bike Computer ... Garmin 205
  
• TV's ? My motto is you can't have too many, and they can't be too big
  
• BlueRay DVD ? Yes

I may be 50, fat, and uncool ... but I love gadgets, electronics, and new bike stuff (whether I need it or not).

To the OP ... everyone is different, but for me ... new stuff and change are fun. I'm a huge fan of the good old days ... but don't try to replace my big screen with a 12 inch black and white and don't swap my bike for a 26 inch sears from 1968.

oldbobcat

I felt that way until I walked into a bike shop up the street and hefted a new Wilier Le Roi frame that would fit me perfectly.

It's just that as stock frames go, most are too long and too low or too short and too upright. Right out of the carton this one would fit just like my 28-year-old Masi.

Velo Dog

I agree on a lot of that stuff. I ride an Atlantis and Rambouillet, both with platform pedals and toe clips. I've tried clipless, but I didn't go any faster and I wasn't any more comfortable, plus I like to stop and walk occasionally without looking like a duck. I've been riding for 40 years, and I've got the bikes set up exactly the way I want them.
I don't have any problem with people asking me questions or making suggestions; that happens all the time. Generally I just say Thanks and ride on.
For some reason, though, the clipless converts will give me no peace. They'll admire my bike, sneer at my mountain bike shorts and T-shirt (more comfortable for me than Lycra)--then notice my pedals and try to sell me on clipless.
"I tried them, but I like these."
"No, man, you'll go a lot faster."
"I didn't go faster when I used them. Besides, I'm in no hurry."
"You'd climb better."
"I used them for a year or so. I still went uphill slow and downhill fast."
"You should try them. They make a BIG difference..."
Also, I get arguments about my Brooks saddle, which is supposedly too heavy. Anything that lets me stay on the bike for four hours without discomfort is worth an extra few ounces.

trackhub

Thanks Velo Dog. I've also heard all that stuff about the clipless pedals. Tiring isn't it? I doubt that Eddy Merckx would have gone any faster or climbed any better with clipless pedals. (No kids, they didn't make them back then. Sorry.)

I heard some more "grief" about my lack of a computer today. "Don't you calculate your..." fill in the rest with gobbledegook. No, I don't.

TromboneAl

I resisted getting a cycle computer until I found that I was driving my recent bike rides to find out how many miles they were.

rideon7

Owned a cell phone once, about five years ago, then discovered that it owned me. Got rid of it and haven't had one since. Getting harder and harder to find pay phones but that's okay. Far as phones go, makes things just about the same as they were when I was a kid.

bkaapcke

Cell phones don't do anything for me. Basically, I just don't want to talk to anybody. bk

hy_tek

While a cyclocomputer is definitely not necessary it sure helps when you only have so many miles in your +50 tired old legs. You do need to know when it's time to turn around and go home so the "energy tank" doesn't go empty on the way back....

solveg

I hate answering machines. All they mean to me is that people can call you and leave you requests, and never think about it again. You could be gone all day, and they had called and said they needed something at the end of the day, and never bothered to worry about it.

Or one time my mother called me from Japan. She asked if I could pick them up at the airport on the 21st. She didn't know what time, and didn't know the flight number.

jens5

New fangled stuff I don't care about;

Clipless pedals
Anything Carbon fiber
Have a cell phone for emergencies but still hate them
I-pods
GPS's
Heart rate monitors
tires that cost over $100 a pair
Micro pumps
Helmet camera
Anything with enormous logo's unless really cheap,ie. Hammer bibs
And this list goes on..............................

Allegheny Jet

I want to embrace electronic technology but don't use it too much. I've taken the time to record all my vinyl albums, cassettes and Cd's on the computer, but don't listen to my music any more or less. We also use a digital camera and put all the images on the computer, I can make prints but can't edit the photos. I have a cell phone with a camera and text message but can't open a text message and only used the camera to take a picture of our dog before the vet had to put her down last year. I have learned to use the projector TV, sound system, DVR and DVD player and even programed the "universal remote". I love to do car repairs but every new generation of cars eliminates more of my "home based skills".

For the bike, it's totally different. I like to ride fast, long and continue to improve as much as possible for someone my age. I have found that any time I thought that "I do it best this way" the correct answer was "no you don't". When I started riding again in 1995 I cleaned up my 1973 Raliegh Super Course with Brooks saddle, cages, fork mounted odometer (total miles only), and "sew up tires" assuming everything was good and that I didn't need clinchers, more than 10 speeds, clipless pedals or bike shorts or helmets. Over time I got new clincher wheels and tires, upgradded to 12 speeds with a new crank set, SPD's and shoes, MTB shorts to address the "Brooks' effect" and a cycle computer. The result was that I was riding faster and enjoying it more. In 1999 I got a new 18 speed Cannondale road bike that weighed less than 22 lbs, HRM, first bike jerseys and was satisfied with the improvement. In 2007 I started to do more group rides, switched to Keo pedals, purchased a CF bike, flipped the stem, and made the transition to GPS, bike shorts and cycling specific training. Today I'm riding faster, longer, and am very happy with the results.

big chainring 

I generally experiment with "new fangled" stuff and then find out that it leads to more expensive new fangled stuff. So I tend to be cautious and hang onto my money and wait for whatever is new and expensive to get old and outdated and cheap, and then I buy it.

On the bike, 18 yr. old Schwinn, I have clipless pedals and brifters.