Thanks for that - now I get it. Leaving the lockrings and valve caps off is common for racers and the mechanics who service their bikes, so it's just part of the "racer boy" aesthetic.

Sunglasses arms over/under helmet straps was once contentious but there was a poll so it's been resolved.

I can be a weight weenie sometimes, but sometimes fashion wins out.

I weighed my valve stem covers on a digital scale, and they weigh 0.00 grams, so I figure I'm good to go.

Nothing is ever resolved here , there is always some individual who will find fault with something and the contention goes on and on and on.........

People will never think I'm a pro if I have caps on my valve stems!

In seriousness, for me, they're just unnecessary fiddly bits that do nothing. If you prefer the look of caps, go for it. I don't.

That's right. You'd be labeled a "poser" and people would laugh at you behind your back. Especially if you have colored ones to match the bike.

Even worse, my road bike paint color fits with the color scheme of the team/club kit I often wear.

It just happened to work out that way. I bought the bike before I bought the kit. The kit is for a local team/club that is run by one of my best friends, and includes a lot of other friends. I would have bought the kit regardless of the color of my bike.

My bike storage area is usually in semidarkness. I like using red valve caps or Continental's orange valve caps so I can see where the valve is when I pump my tires. One of the wheelsets came with one red spoke in each wheel, next to the valve. Very nice touch.

Well, er….hmmmm….I guess…..OK, you got me.

If that works for you, great. With my propensity for dropping small objects, fiddling with a valve stem cap in semidarkness is a sure way for it to disappear in a hot damn hurry - LOL. I line up valve stems with tire labels.

I bet there are “glow in the dark’ valve caps out there somewhere. A definite must for the safety conscious.

Since I am still reckless, and bomb down hills at 40+ I don’t qualify.

Yes, it works for me. I, too, have always lined up tire labels with valves, but brightly colored valve caps are far more visible.

I have a bunch of valve caps in colors on a shelf within easy reach, handy if I were to drop one. Which I don't---I just hold the valve cap between my lips, like a cobbler keeping nails handy.

There are even LED valve caps that use tiny watch batteries.

A true weight weenie would not use a scale that only read to .01 g.

The older I get the more time I spend on the floor recovering parts or tools I have dropped. My slowly fading eyesight is not helping me, either.

Doesn’t it just figure. If there is a need, or even not a need, someone is there to make your dreams come true - for a price. That sounds slightly wrong.

Where are my Chain Lube topics?

I don't lose many of them either. I just unscrew it and put it on the floor right in front of the tire. It won't move on its own. Pump up the tire, reach down and pick it up, screw it back on. Easy. If I'm roadside I just put it in my pocket and if I lose that one there's another one on the new tube, and also a spare in my bag.

You're so behind the times. We decided on the best chain lube a week and a half ago.

Rim vs. disk.

Everybody knows what chains really crave.

I imagine that that's what scoffers said when Ford started offering rear-view mirrors.

I understand that a rear view mirror is the best view of L.A.