cydewaze

So now that my bars have come in, I find myself with nothing left to do to my bike. It's pretty much exactly the way I want it. The right saddle, the right wheels, the right bars and stem, etc. There's nothing left to do except ride it.

The wife's Serotta arrived at the LBS Monday, so that should be ready anytime. Not much left to do there either. I'm already feeling antsy because all my bikes are pretty much good-to-go and I have nothing left to fiddle with.

i.e. I'm fighting the urge to build up yet another bike.

badkarma

I think you and 55/Rad should get together and start the bike builders anonymous club.

Bob Ross

Well, are you a cyclist or a cycle builder?

I understand the urge to tinker all too well: I work as an audio engineer, and I swear I probably spend more time upgrading gear, performing maintenance, building/installing/evaluating new equipment, or just plain futzing around with stuff, than I do recording music! And that can be very satisfying in its own right; both are valid & necessary tasks, I'm certainly not being judgemental about the cyclist versus cycle builder thing. But when I got involved in serious cycling I realized that it could become *very* easy for me to slip into a similar mindset, where it became more about the gear than it did about what one does with the gear, and I knew that for me that would've been disasterous: I don't need another obsession where I tinker, I already get that from my work! I got involved in cycling to ride the bike, period. I want to keep it that way.

So if you like riding, and your bike is "pretty much exactly the way (you) want it" consider yourself one of the lucky few, and go ride! Enjoy!

And if you like building bikes, admit to yourself that you do, that there's nothing wrong with that, and that it is a valid and worthy pursuit...and then go build up another bike! Enjoy!

roadfix

....you can always take up wheel building just to pass some time....

derath

You can upgrade mine I'm not even that far away.

-D

superdex

I know you're not quite happy with the tires. What about the bar wrap? I think you should go multi-colored. You don't have ti water bottle cage bolts yet, do you? It's in the details now...

cydewaze

Sometimes I ask myself that very same question!

The thing is, while I do love to ride, I also love to tinker, and I tinker with everything. If I'm not tinkering with my road bike, I'm tinkering with my mountain bike. If I'm not tinkering with my mountain bike, I'm tinkering with my wife's bike. Or my spare bike. If I'm not tinkering with any bike, then I'm tinkering with my computer. More memory, faster CPU, whatever.

I stopped tinkering with my car because it got too bloody expensive. But I LOVE to tinker. And sometimes if I don't feel like riding (rare) I'll ride just to test out my latest tinkering. Tinker tinker tinker! I can't keep my hands off of things.

But now I have all my bikes the way I want them, and it's a bit of a strange feeling.

Cypress

New seatpost. New brakes. Ti bolt package. New cables/housing. New QR....


The list goes on.

turbominnow

I think that is what I am going to do. I can't decide on a new frame. If only salsa still made the La Razza in blue...

Mariner Fan

Maybe you should find an old bike frame to build up. It's fun and a challenge.

Kenal0

Sell and start over rinse repeat.
Kenal0

pigmode

Build a fixie.

14max

Say it with me: "My bike is set."

roadfix

...but that would be over in a couple of hours....

powers2b

Get another bike.
I am at 15 now and I am actually considering reducing the fleet because of the cost/time of maint. is keeping me from riding.
The law of diminishing returns.

jyossarian

It's time to learn frame building. Get a welding torch, frame jigs and some tubing and have fun!

pigmode

But the frame shopping and accessorizing....guess you could call it virtual tinkering.

cydewaze

But I'm too weak to ride one, so I'd just be left staring at it.

The problem is that I won't just upgrade for the sake of upgrading. I don't want ti bolts, or carbon cages, or any of that stuff. I just want(ed) stuff that looks decent and works well (and fits properly) and right now I like everything that's on my bike. It's not the lightest bike, but when I make the bike lighter, I just get weaker to compensate, so I've decided to stop with the weight reduction while I can still walk.

What's itching at me now is the thought of building up an old steel bike. I dunno, maybe I should save my money.

superdex

Bull*****. A) You're plenty strong enough. B) It's a fun project, and 3) You'll like it and ride it more than you think. Really. There's something soulful about it

pigmode

Both good ideas. When I built up my 'Nag I built it the way I wanted it, and so far have not changed a thing except switching saddles. Recently finished a sweet custom steel fixie, so that makes 2 bikes total. Part of me wouldn't mind having another build, but the other yearns for simplicity. The last option I have is a fat tired canti-braked roadie.

bbattle

If you use Rad's frame painter that bike will never get finished and you can prolong the anxiety/anticipation forever.

Ryleeryno

Oh man, you perfectly described me. I'm always modifying or dissasembling and reassembling things. There has to be a Tinkerers Anonymous.

hi565

Ohh that sounds cool

bbattle

That's a common disease among audiophiles; listen to the equipment and not the music coming out. I'd catch myself doing that years ago, particularly after listening to some top dollar rig at the store. My amp. just couldn't reproduce the bass notes with the same authority. Or was it the cables? Some people get so bad they can't listen to anything except maybe a handful of super-recorded stuff, everything else they just can't stand. (like original Led Zep albums vs. the remastered ones).

Cydewaze, if you must tinker, build bikes for your relatives, neighborhood kids, coworkers, or even people that would pay you. I am buying bikes for all my granddaughters as they get old enough to ride, my stepdaughter, my wife, and of course, me. I bought a bike 6 weeks ago and still have a month of hiding it before my oldest granddaughter gets it. It's driving me crazy! I want to give it to her right now. And the 5 yr. old I want to buy her this cool lowrider bike but my wife won't let me. I just can't have any fun no more.

I understand what you're going through but try to channel your energies in positive ways lest you succumb to the Dark Side and start riding a recumbent.

cydewaze

Ack, I'd sooner build a cyclocross bike.


HMMMMMMMMM... a cyclocross bike might be kinda cool....