Those tiny annoying parts

[Dirtyhip]

Took my chain off. Cleaned every thing up nicely and lost half of my master link in the process. SHIT! 

Stole the part of a new chain but still

...SHIT!

[donkpow]

... and a replacement link costs a small fortune.

[Page Turner]

...pedal bearings. I hate pedal bearings. 

[donkpow]

2 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...pedal bearings. I hate pedal bearings. 

The smallest bearings on a bike.

[Ralphie ★]

Everything is ball bearings these days!

[Dirtyhip]

8 hours ago, donkpow said:

... and a replacement link costs a small fortune.

It will be fine  The stolen one will work for the life of this chain.. I'm not going to fret anymore about it.  It's gone.

A new link is $7.  Not really a fortune.  

https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-Powerlock-Connector-Chain-Chains/dp/B06VVMZN1W/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_468_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J1S0TGGJ3YQWVWR8Y8QE

 

[maddmaxx ★]

20 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

It will be fine  The stolen one will work for the life of this chain.. I'm not going to fret anymore about it.  It's gone.

A new link is $7.  Not really a fortune.  

https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-Powerlock-Connector-Chain-Chains/dp/B06VVMZN1W/ref=pd_lpo_vtph_468_lp_t_3?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=J1S0TGGJ3YQWVWR8Y8QE

 

You get paid on Friday again.

[Page Turner]

22 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

A new link is $7.  Not really a fortune.

...sweet Jesus !  I'm buying 8 speed chains with the link included for about ten bucks each.

[Dirtyhip]

50 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...sweet Jesus !  I'm buying 8 speed chains with the link included for about ten bucks each.

This is an $80 chain.  It lasts a long while too.  My husband and I have been impressed by the wear life of these XX1 eagle chains.

The link was there, until I lost half of it.  You don't have to buy it separate, unless you do something dumb. 

I don't need it.  A half link that is used twice is not a big deal.  Besides, I get paid on Friday if I did want to buy a spare.  .  

I deserve nice shit, don't hate.

 

[Page Turner]

30 minutes ago, Dirtyhip said:

I deserve nice shit, don't hate.

...nobody deserves it more than you do, hon. 

[Dirtyhip]

4 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...nobody deserves it more than you do, hon. 

Hellz yeah.  My husband didn't flinch when I told him I wanted a SWERKS> He always says "You can have anything you want."  

Wise man. He knows I manage the checkbook very well and we are very responsible with money.  A pro bike here and there won't change things much in our reality. 

[Page Turner]

...happy wife, happy life.  

[maddmaxx ★]

9 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...sweet Jesus !  I'm buying 8 speed chains with the link included for about ten bucks each.

Another good reason for me to stay with an 8 speed drivetrain.

[Dirtyhip]

58 minutes ago, maddmaxx said:

Another good reason for me to stay with an 8 speed drivetrain.

One of my commuters is an old 9 speed.  It's bombproof.  It's cheap to maintain too.  I put that bike through hell.  It just runs and runs. It's a Giant seek1. Cheap little bike and a workhorse. No shocks, and minimal fancy stuff.  It does have nice Shimano disc brakes. Rim brakes + icy mornings, stopping isn't going to happen so easily. I have experienced this.  

[maddmaxx ★]

3 hours ago, Dirtyhip said:

One of my commuters is an old 9 speed.  It's bombproof.  It's cheap to maintain too.  I put that bike through hell.  It just runs and runs. It's a Giant seek1. Cheap little bike and a workhorse. No shocks, and minimal fancy stuff.  It does have nice Shimano disc brakes. Rim brakes + icy mornings, stopping isn't going to happen so easily. I have experienced this.  

Oh, I've got nice discs and Shimano wheels as well.  I stay with the 8 because the wide chain is virtually bulletproof and gear train adjustments last whole seasons without tuneups.  A compact double and wide range cassette give me enough gears and the shifting is also bulletproof.

[Razors Edge ★]

On 5/26/2019 at 9:47 PM, Page Turner said:

...sweet Jesus !  I'm buying 8 speed chains with the link included for about ten bucks each.

How often are you replacing a chain YOU wore out? Same with other parts? Is it at such a rate you need to pinch pennies?

[Page Turner]

2 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

How often are you replacing a chain YOU wore out? Same with other parts? Is it at such a rate you need to pinch pennies?

...I put a new chain on every rebuild I do.  That's a lot of chains. And I'm not pinching pennies, those KMC X8.9 chains are one of the best working, longest lasting 6-7-8 speed chains I can find.  I buy them five at time on Amazon, and I still have more money to spend on ice cream than @Dirtyhip.   

A fucking bicycle chain is not all that complicated to manufacture, and they make some very nice ones in Taiwan.  There's a lot of snobbery and advertising hype in the world of bicycle chains.  What a shocker, huh ?

[Dirtyhip]

38 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

...I put a new chain on every rebuild I do.  That's a lot of chains. And I'm not pinching pennies, those KMC X8.9 chains are one of the best working, longest lasting 6-7-8 speed chains I can find.  I buy them five at time on Amazon, and I still have more money to spend on ice cream than @Dirtyhip.   

A fucking bicycle chain is not all that complicated to manufacture, and they make some very nice ones in Taiwan.  There's a lot of snobbery and advertising hype in the world of bicycle chains.  What a shocker, huh ?

1x is nice.  It shifts beautifully, and is a very long lasting chain.  Stop berating me for having nice bikes and accessories.   I like it.  Why does it matter?

If you want to ride old bikes, with down tube shifters, do it.  I don't care that you like riding older heavy bikes.  You shouldn't care that I like riding pro level light ones.  

Besides, I think you are forgetting a key element here.  I had a bro deal for a long while.  All my bikes are 3+ years old now.  So, no longer the newest, latest and greatest.  Maybe I will get another job, maybe not.

Ice cream is fattening.  

Today I rode my 2x11 XTR drivetrain.  We modified that Crux to have a huge dinner plate cassette by using a wolf tooth connector.  I was riding with a friend who has far less range.  On the hills she was dying, as I was telling a story about my Grandfather.  I do have a bit more fitness than her, but I was really just chilling in an easy gear.  I love it.

[Page Turner]

1 hour ago, Dirtyhip said:

1x is nice.  It shifts beautifully, and is a very long lasting chain.  Stop berating me for having nice bikes and accessories.   I like it.  Why does it matter? ...Ice cream is fattening. 

...I have not yet begun berating. This was just good natured ribbing.  If you want to be berated, tell me I'm fat again. 

 

1 hour ago, Dirtyhip said:

I don't care that you like riding older heavy bikes.  You shouldn't care that I like riding pro level light ones.

...I  don't have any interest in what you ride.  I just think it's fascinating that your take on old bikes always comes down to "They're heavy, and they have inefficient shifting."  As for "pro level", that's a constantly shifting terrain. And gearing is a subject in and unto itself.

Essentially, gearing on a bike allows for variation in order to maintain optimum cadence on a road bike.  On a mountain bike, it has some other stuff going on.  I just am in awe of someone who thinks nothing of spending 80 bucks on a chain.  That there is special.  

[Razors Edge ★]

10 hours ago, Page Turner said:

...I put a new chain on every rebuild I do.  That's a lot of chains. And I'm not pinching pennies, those KMC X8.9 chains are one of the best working, longest lasting 6-7-8 speed chains I can find.

...

 There's a lot of snobbery and advertising hype in the world of bicycle chains. 

Yep, I'm starting to see that

I guess I spend $10 a year on a bike chain.  Probably $15/year if you factor in my expensive chain lube (Rock and Roll).  Is that reasonable or unreasonable? I'd hate to think the penny per mile is a bad investment. I might have to rethink my tire choices now too

[Page Turner]

1 hour ago, Razors Edge said:

Yep, I'm starting to see that

I guess I spend $10 a year on a bike chain.  Probably $15/year if you factor in my expensive chain lube (Rock and Roll).  Is that reasonable or unreasonable? I'd hate to think the penny per mile is a bad investment. I might have to rethink my tire choices now too

...you could forego that stupid chain lube if you just bought cheaper chains and threw them away when the original factory lube got used up.    I saw that picture of the Conti tyre where you were down past the wear indicators, mister.  So don't come here preaching to me about what a cheapskate I am. I would have tossed that tyre you were riding on miles before.

[Razors Edge ★]

3 minutes ago, Page Turner said:

I saw that picture of the Conti tyre where you were down past the wear indicators, mister

I've gotten down to the cloth threads on some Contis before.  That's part and parcel of being a lazy mechanic like me.  I looked down and thought I just had something stuck to the tread, but looked closer at home and realized I had very little rubber in some places. 

So, it's not being "cheap", it's being lazy and/or oblivious!

[Page Turner]

25 minutes ago, Razors Edge said:

So, it's not being "cheap", it's being lazy and/or oblivious!

[Page Turner]

http://bikesnobnyc.blogspot.com/2019/05/riding-into-holiday-weekend.html

Still, it did not occur to me that I could be upsold on a pair of tire valves.  (Bear in mind I've never bought tubeless tire valves before so I have no idea what they cost; the Engin was my first tubeless bike and it came fully assembled, and I never bothered to switch any of my other bikes over until the Jones.)  When the person at the shop handed me a package of WTB something-or-others and explained that these were the valves he recommended because they were aluminum and therefore saved weight I tried not to laugh audibly, and I should have known at that moment I was in for it.  Nevertheless, I was shocked to turn the package over and see the price: twenty-eight American fun tickets!  Egads!

Alas, the words "Do you have anything cheaper?" stuck in my throat, and instead I paid for the valves and went on my way.  Only later did I turn to the Internet to see what these things usually go for.  As it turns out, $28 is indeed on the high side (brass ones seem to cost less than half that, but those extra three grams will really slow you down), and for less than that I could have gotten Silca stems with a speed shield:

 

...  

[Dirtyhip]

1 hour ago, Page Turner said:

...you could forego that stupid chain lube if you just bought cheaper chains and threw them away when the original factory lube got used up.    I saw that picture of the Conti tyre where you were down past the wear indicators, mister.  So don't come here preaching to me about what a cheapskate I am. I would have tossed that tyre you were riding on miles before.

My husband wears tires until they are really dunzo.  Way past the wear marks.  He utilizes them during certain times of the year on his bike that is for fitness and not aggressive schralp.  He treats me better.  My tires get moved to him, when they start to lack performance.  He treats me like I am a pro and he is my pit crew. ?  I do simple maintenance to prep and clean my bike, he keeps it running optimally.