Do brake blocks count as retail therapy ?
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Debate!
Retail Therapy - Your most recent purchases
(89 posts)-
Posted 12 years ago #
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On-One Pompetamine with Alfine 8 hub and BB7s
Flat pedals from Superstar Components (red!)
SKS mudguards and brake service from Leith Cycle Co
Blackburn rack, new helmet, commuting front light, bottle cage, computer and saddle from Bike co-op sale
Bike is now set up and ready to ride. :)Posted 12 years ago # -
New chain (£9.95). Three inner tubes. Errm that's it.
I'm not sure if I should be proud or ashamed about this lack of expenditure.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Handlebars, brake levers, thumb shifter, rear mudguard, pedals and grips for black fruity's conversion from unrideably small racer to Dutch style pootler. About a tenner out of Bike Station.
On discovering that the pedals I had bought were the wrong size, I then bought shiny new SPD pedals for wee blue floofy the daily workhorse, sent its pedals(flat/SPD mixes that never really worked for a fixed gear) onto the trailer-dragging MTBeam and sent its flat pedals onto black fruity.
If anyone wants a pair of somewhat regal looking big ol' heavy pedals in 1/2" size, they're free to a good home.
Nelly, tell me more of your new brakes... I've been plotting and scheming about putting a disc fork onto wee blue floofy for some time, but a simple V upgrade might save my wallet some strife.
Anthington's Cow - at the risk of rubbing salt into a self-inflicted wound, those downtube shifters are going to annoy the hell out of you, unless your disposition is radically different to mine, or your posture on the bike is so upright that you can comfortably shift gear with your feet. Which I can on black fruity now, and it is awesome.
Posted 12 years ago # -
@uberuce will check if I need 1/2" or 9/16", but might be able to help you out with those pedals for the skipbike.
Posted 12 years ago # -
No bike-related purchases, the last ones must have been the winter tyres and improbably big ding-dong bell last year. I am not doing my duty as a consumer citizen.
Uberuce: can we get a demo of your awesome foot-shifting?
Posted 12 years ago # -
+1 for a footshifting demo!
The month of March saw some radical (for me, anyway) bike-related purchases in the MeepMeep household. Splurged on a pair of Lake CX236 and some Wellgo pedals - my first pair of 'dedicated' cycling shoes that weren't old trainers and clipless pedals. Bought a pair of neoprene overshoes to (hopefully keep the new shoes clean(ish) and dry too.
Also started cycling with the Hervelo ladies this month so, thinking I ought to start looking the part too, I bought bib tights, two new jerseys (one long sleeved, the other short sleeved), a jacket and new gloves. The clothing was all Deko branded and, whilst on the cheap side, they seem robust enough for the once-a-week use they're getting.
My rear brake cable has been frayed for over a year now and the pads are looking rather worn so the next splurge will likely be paying to sort that out.
Nothing nearly as exciting as some of the purchases posted before me though! Fighting temptation to have a Google for Garmin goodies now...
Posted 12 years ago # -
@kaputnik, are you still needing wheels for the skip rescue project? Still got that rear wheel with a freewheel on the back if you want it...
Posted 12 years ago # -
"Also started cycling with the Hervelo ladies"
Hope you'll keep 'us' updated on that.
Have you done 'sport' before?
New thread??
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm not sure if this counts, but we bought a house?
Posted 12 years ago # -
I thought you bought a bike shed with accommodation attached?
Posted 12 years ago # -
Have slowly been buying up individual pieces of a (heavily discounted) Ultegra groupset to replace the barely used 6 month old Tiagra stuff on Bike no.1 (not used because of manky weather).
Bike no.2 gets all the Tiagra hand me downs to replace the bits worn out by 6 months worth of riding in the manky weather.
Result is two shiny new(ish) bikes for less than the price of one. Plus the bikes now have fully interchangable components, but more importantly I now have the knowledge to fully strip and service a bike :)
Posted 12 years ago # -
earthowned, I like your style. That's exactly what I've finally managed to achieve with my "summer" and "winter" bikes: interchangeable components (wheels especially) and double upgrades.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Great minds and all that :)
One thing I've noticed is the huge amount of niche cycle tools I've needed to buy that only do one job. It's infuriating!
Posted 12 years ago # -
@Uberuce - the downtube shifters are a suck-it-and-see 'upgrade'. I'm thinking of commuter practicality and reading up on cable runs and efficiency and lack-of-breaking and so on, for which downtube frictions get a pretty good write-up. No indexing to get slightly out of kilter, and just one cable housing to create drag (on the little loop into the rear derailleur). Makes the front look neater with just the two cables from the brakes sticking out in front of the bars too.
And if they get annoying down by my knees then I can easily replace with bar mounted shifters.
Tis all experimental. And the 'tache bars won't be forgotten entirely. They'll move to the fixed build, cos the width and hand position are great for leverage which would be needed more on the fixed than the geared commuter.
But next big expense is likely to be on the Sunbeam - giving up on the old-part-that'll-fit search, and instead going to see if the chap in Porty can make me something that'll work. Well... I bought a tweed 'baker boy' cap on Harris, and really need the bike to match it.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Bar end shifters? Stuck on friction, I've done nothing to mine in three years apart from one replacement of the cables, and they're considerably more 'at the hands'.
I'm with the bearded one on downtube shifters. Far too much like hard work.
Posted 12 years ago # -
CCE Jersey!
Posted 12 years ago # -
When the STIs die on the Audax bike, I'll replace with bar-ends I reckon. Beginning to get a little bit of a catch on the right-hand shifter sometimes where the lever moves but doesn't engage and shift the gear, but it's occassional enough not to be of concern. 8 years out of some Soras isn't too bad I reckon.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Another option is stem shifters: just down tube shifters mounted on the stem really, with a bit of cable housing to lead down to the down tube braze on points. A pair of six speed shifters set to friction would do the job.
That's all assuming you have a quill stem, of course. Otherwise thumbies for straight bars, bar ends for drops.
Posted 12 years ago # -
Friction shifters can work really well - that's what I ran on my first recumbent, and it was perfect with a 9 speed cassette - the cogs are so close together that it shifts really smoothly (and doesn't tend to sit 'between' gears, or rub).
Not sure I'd appreciate the ergonomics of downtube ones, mind...
Posted 12 years ago # -
There are always the aftermarket thumb shifter adapters. Some, like the 'Paul's' one are pretty expensive, but I've had my eye on:
http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/vo-thumb-shifter-mounts-22-2-23-8.html
PS - if anyone has a pair going spare, I'm in the market!
Posted 12 years ago # -
I'm beginnging to waver to bar mounted thumbies...
Posted 12 years ago # -
If I manage to get on the council's cycle to work scheme which is run by Halfords who gets to decided which shop actually supplies the bike?
It would be a Brompton so the Glasgow dealers are Evans or Dales and in Edinburgh it would be Evans or Bike Trax. Bike Trax would be my preferred option.
Posted 12 years ago # -
My bike to work scheme meant I was supposed to use Halfords but I likewise wanted a Brompton - IIRC I did some of the sorting out and BikeTrax did the rest - I suggest you go and talk to them as they'll be used to it.
Posted 12 years ago # -
I bought 2 gear cables the other week.
I'm going to up the excitement stakes tomorrow though and buy some lithium grease.
Posted 12 years ago # -
+1 for friction, yush Dave.
For front shifting, I reluctantly concede that I prefer the ~1999 model Deore XT friction shifting on the MTBeam to the Mileomnomnometer's 2013 model Tiagra STI.
You turn the thumbshift on the former until it changes, and it will. Being friction, it can't not change unless the chain falls off. The STI fairly regularly decides it doesn't want to change, thankyouverymuch. When it doesn't need to be up/downshifted again to get it to engage, it is much slicker, but for front rings I prefer the reliability of the friction.
The rear shifting is indexed on both, and while the XT remains reliable if lumpen, the awesomesauce of STI and the lightness of the newfangled Tiagra beats it hands down.
I've been looking with some interest at clearance front-only levers, mechs and chainsets in the 105/Ultegra range for this reason.
On black fruity, the low/middle end Alivio 8-speed shifts cleanly and without complaint, even though it's now being asked to jump many gears at a time through imprecise footwork.
Even so, I've been so spoiled by the convenience of thumbshifters, STI shifters and fixie-don't-need-to-shift-hers that I almost ride it like a singlespeed; I change gear roughly once per road.
Posted 12 years ago # -
"NOS" late-80s-ish bright green tri bars from Ebay for the similar-vintage Peugeot I am setting up as a TT bike.
Green-striped Maxxis Detonator tyres, plus tubes, for same bike. Bit of a vanity purchase but as I was given the bike for nothing I could kind of justify it.
Only recently got around to fitting the Brown Brooks B17 Narrow and matching bar tape to my Pug road bike, though I actually bought them last year. Surprised and relieved at the lack of pain during the breaking in period. Last time I had a new Brooks was over 20 years ago when I was still in my teens so I was a little concerned as to how my much older backside would cope.
On a different scale, by a couple of extra zeros on the price, we've got the builders in just now renovating an out-building which one could argue will be Lancashire's most expensive bike shed when finished...
Posted 12 years ago # -
@uberuce - Sora front shifter is cluknkier than Tiagra, but reliable and unfailing.
Posted 12 years ago # -
That's the mini-kit.
I know people who always take track pumps.
Posted 12 years ago #
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