Interesting, my first set of Gators lasted 6300 miles with only 2 or 3 flats--2 were pinch and 1 was a roofing nail(nothing would protect against that). I got a second pair after the roofing nail incident since the tires had 6300 miles on them anyway. Ridden 2200 miles on the new set and not one single flat(OH GOD! Now I've jinxed myself!).


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As for a poor purchase, it was a serfas floor pump--didn't last 6 months, but the bad purchase turned into a good result--LBS gave me a deep discount on a Specialized Floor pump(much nicer pump) and 2 free inner tubes.

Go ahead, I voluntarily enlisted in the Corps so I am in to the abuse side of things.:bike:

Actually I was just raised to take responsibility for what I do, if I screw up, I own up to my error, take my medicine and abuse, then move on. It is a habit now and I do this whatever I am doing. We called it command responsibility in the Marines. thanks much for the kudo, Biker395.

Bill

Specialized "no flat" road tube. Total bust, got a flat the first time out.

That's also something I learned long ago. Back in one of my former professional lives, I'd make some kind of mistake, and someone'd come into my office, ranting about it, ready for some kind of defensive argument. I'd look at it and say:

"Jeez. You're right. I effed up. How can we fix it?"

And watch the wind go right outta their sails. And after that, we'd fix it.

I dunno what's so hard to admit about making mistakes. We all do. The only people who don't make mistakes are the ones that don't DO anything. And being human makes us more lovable, not less.

Anyway, I have my confession too. Check this thread out:

http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ght?highlight=

I went ahead and bought that mount from batteryspace.com. Why? Because I had a nearly identical mount … but made for a handlebar instead of a helmet. It held the flashlight just fine, and I reasoned that since it wouldn’t be subject to a lot of shock on a helmet, it would work pretty well. I thought so much of that logic, I bought two of them.

So I get the thing(s), and I was right … they were nearly identical to the handlebar mount I was familiar with. But they were just enough different that they didn’t hold the flashlight very well. So I rubber-banded the clamp down to hold it in place.

That worked OK until this morning, when the whole shebang came apart in several pieces. :notamused: I can now attest to the fact that that product is truly a POS. Live and learn. :o

some crap XLR spd pedals.... should have spent 30.00 for the shimanos....

Which one did you get?
I got the Topeak RideCase. :thumb: :thumb:


Now my worst bike purchase -- 2010 Specialized Tarmac Elite with Sram Apex.
Never really got comfortable on the bike, no matter what was changed or adjusted and never was happy with the Sram brifters. I'm happy with Shimano Ultegra.
Sold the bike after less than a year and got my 2011 Felt Z4. :love:

Way dumbest: wanted some nice sunglasses for riding and happened to have eye doctor checkup --so I ended up ordering some cool Oakley's with my distance correction and super dark lenses ($500). Turned out to have no UV protection, way too dark for riding, and I was never quite comfortable with how they fit on my nose. I coulda bought a lot of beer for $500.

Why don't you elaborate? I'm interested to hear.

Years ago I bought one of those plastic chain cleaner devices that you fill with solvent and run your chain through. Never seemed to work properly. The chain would constantly bind while trying to cycle it through, solvent would spray or leak all over and it was just a PITA. I had the LBS demo it for me (after I owned it) and it worked just as badly for them. My biggest savings these days comes from stuff I don't buy 'cause I don't need it.

Cheapest plastic chain cleaner replacement...........a 2 liter soda bottle. Put chain and environmentally friendly cleaner in, cap and shake. Drain and repeat untill clean. Cut upper part of bottle off to recover chain. It can't be done on the bike...........but then this shouldn't need to be done all that often.

Yeah the one I bought is used with chain on the bike. Of course it doesn't work properly so isn't much use.

Sorry for the delay in responding. I've been volunteering at the SXSW conference in Austin and have been too busy/tired to read the forums until now.

This is the bike. Rear wheel flips for fixie and single speed. Still not sure if this belongs in the best or worst buy thread. Price was right, but I didn't expect that nothing I had in my parts box would fit to fix it up.

Sheez ... for $59, I'd hit that!

A few years ago I bought a pair of Specialized Armadillo tires 700 x 23. I could be convinced to let them go for a reasonable price. PM me any time. :lol:

Aside from that one mistake, I am amazingly skilled at justifying to myself pretty much every single bike part and item of clothing I am hoarding for possible future use. Even things that to the uneducated eye "did not work", have had significant invisible educational benefits. ;)

Just worked out my "Worst" buy of last year. I use top grade cycling glasses but decided I needed a cheap pair of glasses for driving or muddy conditions. Got a cheap set for $30 and they had interchangeable Lens' for differing light conditions. Wore them once and put them in the Campavan for when I needed them. Couple of weeks later and a rider turned up and he had just broken his glasses. "No problem" I said-"I have a spare set in the van" All the way through the ride he said how good the glasses were for a cheap set. We finished the ride and I haven't seen the glasses since.

So $30 for a cheap set of glasses that only lasted one ride.:innocent:

Invisible benefit of "good will"? :)

Idea for new TV reality show: "Velo Hoarders"?

Bike rental from West Maui Cycles ... experience was a disaster, bike marginal