Upgrades

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

See if you can spot the upgrades, courtesy of cut-rate
prices at last weekend's gigundous sale at Tempe Bicycles:

I noticed the pedals and the seat bag, which hopefully contains flat repair
tools. :-)

Cheto

i see the seat pack and new pedals

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

See if you can spot the upgrades, courtesy of cut-rate
prices at last weekend's gigundous sale at Tempe Bicycles:

http://blair.houghton.net/holdsworth.jpg
http://blair.houghton.net/holdsworth-upgraded.jpg

(Hint: the shiny rear wheel isn't one; nor is the water
bottle; and the slight turn in the fork exposes the yellow
computer that's always been there; there are two visible
upgrades and three non-visible; of the three hidden ones,
two will be easy to guess and one is a new tube in the
rear tire.)

And, at the risk of exposing my exhuberance at what
many will consider a pokey pace, here's my bike log for
the first three months of my recovery from 12 years of
ridelessness:

http://blair.houghton.net/bikelog.xls

(Don't worry; I vetted it for macro virii.)

--Blair
"Don't want no bugs in my grille."

Cheto said:

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

See if you can spot the upgrades, courtesy of cut-rate
prices at last weekend's gigundous sale at Tempe Bicycles:

I noticed the pedals and the seat bag, which hopefully contains flat repair
tools. :-)

Cheto

Cheto gets all the prizes to go with his nifty casts.

Yes, the bag contains: a set of no-glue patches which
fit inside the interlocking plastic tire-irons, and a
CO2 inflator with a 16-gram cartridge that should just
explode the tire once I get it back on the rim. I saw
some super-light tubes in the Performance catalog and I
might get one to throw in there too, in case the flatted
tube is unrepairable. And if I can find some lightweight
collapsible shoes, they might fit too, in case the tire
is shredded. So now I can cross the street and still get
home if something happens and the mean people who post
here won't share their patch kit.

Oh, and one I forgot until just now: the bag also contains
a small LED light that happens to clip onto a strap on the
back of the bag. Now I can cross the street after dark.

The pedals are Shimano Ultegra PD-6600's; not too highly
rated over at roadbikereview.com, but I kind of like
them so far, and they were like 60% off. They are very
secure (read: damn hard to clip out of but I got bikie
legs so that's not a real problem, thanks) and have a
big platform. I can't really tell much difference in
pressure distribution between these and my old pedals.
I was able to set the cleats forward enough on my shoes
that I wouldn't need an adapter (I prefer to ride with the
spindle just forward of the center of the ball of my foot,
where apparently most people like it more aft). The only
caveat so far is that they don't just have a float, they
can be downright loose in light pedalling situations.
It's like having a film of ice under your foot. There are
two small rubber pads embedded in the pedal to reduce this,
but in some situations I don't put enough force on them
to create friction.

And they're shiny and have a very low profile, so the chicks
will dig them.

--Blair
"My mom doesn't let me cross the
street after dark."
-who said it, what episode?

Blair P. Houghton said:

Cheto said:

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

See if you can spot the upgrades, courtesy of cut-rate
prices at last weekend's gigundous sale at Tempe Bicycles:

I noticed the pedals and the seat bag, which hopefully contains flat repair
tools. :-)

Cheto

Cheto gets all the prizes to go with his nifty casts.

Wait. Am I confusing Cheto and Chalo?

Yes, I am.

--Blair
"I bet that doesn't happen in person either."

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wait. Am I confusing Cheto and Chalo?

Yes, I am.

No, you're, not. HUGE difference....about 200 pounds worth. 8-)

Cheto

Blair P. Houghton said:

a set of no-glue patches which fit inside the

There's patches with glue now? I've always just used the kind with
vulcanizing fluid--the patch is as strong as the tire and you don't have
to replace the tube when you get home

Quoted message said:

interlocking plastic tire-irons,
and a CO2 inflator with a 16-gram
cartridge

Mini pumps are better for getting an upper body workout. :P

Quoted message said:

And they're shiny and have a very low profile, so the chicks will dig
them.

Most "chicks" like shiny things with a larger profile. Something in the 2
carat range is a good start.

😄

Cheto said:

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Wait. Am I confusing Cheto and Chalo?

Yes, I am.

No, you're, not. HUGE difference....about 200 pounds worth. 8-)

Cheto

Unfortunately, Usenet doesn't make a "ding" sound when you
put in your specs. And it doesn't send your specs at any rate.

One of you is gargantuan, and broke his wrists. The other is
not. I'm no longer sure which.

At any rate, I've further upgraded the bike (hopefully
the last change until Cateye finally ships the TR100
computer in December...or early 2008...) but it's not
worth photographing.

Just a new seatpost with 0 setback to give me a more
upright leg profile. I may change it again because
it's black and messes up the blue/silver color scheme,
but it blends with the black seat, so not for some time,
I don't think.

--Blair
"At least I remembered to put
the seat on..."

maxo said:

Blair P. Houghton said:

a set of no-glue patches which fit inside the

There's patches with glue now?

I didn't know there were patches without.

Quoted message said:

I've always just used the kind with
vulcanizing fluid--the patch is as strong as the tire and you don't have
to replace the tube when you get home

Glue them right and you still shouldn't. Didn't keep me
from stocking up on new tubes for half-price at the sale,
though.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

interlocking plastic tire-irons,
and a CO2 inflator with a 16-gram
cartridge

Mini pumps are better for getting an upper body workout. :P

I saw one the other day that actually had a flip-out
foot pad, and acted to pump air on both the up-stroke and
the down-stroke.

I'm thinking of buying a hundred gross and marketing them
as exercise equipment for midgets...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

And they're shiny and have a very low profile, so the chicks will dig
them.

Most "chicks" like shiny things with a larger profile. Something in the 2
carat range is a good start.

I heard the "2 months salary" thing and just about gagged.

Any chick who wants me to drop 2 months of MY pay on a ring is
no chick I want.

--Blair
"She'd need to put it across two fingers."

"Blair P. Houghton" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

One of you is gargantuan, and broke his wrists. The other is
not. I'm no longer sure which.

My wrists are fine and last time I was called gargantuan she wasn't wearing
her contacts and there was alcohol involved.

Cheto

Blair P. Houghton said:

Quoted message said:

I've always just used the kind with
vulcanizing fluid--the patch is as strong as the tire and you don't have
to replace the tube when you get home

Glue them right and you still shouldn't.

I've witnessed two different bike shops around here do this: as they're
selling somebody their first "real" bike, and they're doing the schpiel
about maintenance and coming in for cable tightening, they talk of the
horrors of using a patched tube and said that "for your own safety" the
new bike owners should return to the shop and have their tube replaced for
$15. What a load of horse [censored]. I'll replace the tube only if it's a
really skinny tire and I can "feel" the patch. Never had one fail.

I don't shop at those places anymore, at one I got chastised on the same
visit for asking if they stocked those "mity mite" bells that are nice and
inconspicuous on a road bike stem "what do you want a bell for?!", the
owner sneered.

Sorry for going OT, I really miss having a real LBS nearby. :/

-snip-

maxo said:

I've witnessed two different bike shops around here do this: as they're
selling somebody their first "real" bike, and they're doing the schpiel
about maintenance and coming in for cable tightening, they talk of the
horrors of using a patched tube and said that "for your own safety" the
new bike owners should return to the shop and have their tube replaced for
$15. What a load of horse [censored]. I'll replace the tube only if it's a
really skinny tire and I can "feel" the patch. Never had one fail.

I don't shop at those places anymore, at one I got chastised on the same
visit for asking if they stocked those "mity mite" bells that are nice and
inconspicuous on a road bike stem "what do you want a bell for?!", the
owner sneered.

Sorry for going OT, I really miss having a real LBS nearby. :/

$15?????????????????
Includes scalp massage or maybe dinner?
Fifteen Bucks???

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

"A Muzi" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

maxo wrote:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

they talk of the
horrors of using a patched tube and said that "for your own safety" the
new bike owners should return to the shop and have their tube replaced

for

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

$15.

Quoted message said:

$15?????????????????
Includes scalp massage or maybe dinner?
Fifteen Bucks???

I want to hang out at your LBS if they throw in scalp massages with the
replacement of a tube.

Yeah, $15 sounds about right -- $5 for the tube, $10 for labor. You might
think $10 is a lot for labor, but they usually drop everything else they're
doing to replace the tube, so there's a level of hassle factor for them.

--
Warm Regards,

Claire Petersky
please substitute yahoo for mousepotato to reply
Home of the meditative cyclist:
http://home.earthlink.net/~cpetersky/Welcome.htm
Personal page: http://www.geocities.com/cpetersky/
See the books I've set free at: http://bookcrossing.com/referral/Cpetersky

A Muzi said:

$15?????????????????
Includes scalp massage or maybe dinner? Fifteen Bucks???

A fair price to be sure, but any reputable shop wouldn't try to insinuate
that a consumer can't safely change their own flat.

Quoted message said:

A Muzi said:

$15?????????????????
Includes scalp massage or maybe dinner? Fifteen Bucks???

maxo said:

A fair price to be sure, but any reputable shop wouldn't try to insinuate
that a consumer can't safely change their own flat.

The going rate in my neighbrhood is $4+$4.
$15 just seemed a lot

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org
Open every day since 1 April, 1971

: >>$15?????????????????
: >>Includes scalp massage or maybe dinner? Fifteen Bucks???
:
: maxo wrote:
: > A fair price to be sure, but any reputable shop wouldn't try to
insinuate
: > that a consumer can't safely change their own flat.
:
: The going rate in my neighbrhood is $4+$4.
: $15 just seemed a lot
: Andrew Muzi

In this area, the charge is $10. I have been in several bicycle shops and
have seen and heard people inquiring about the service--so far, all of them
have been men--and they don't bat an eye when they are told it's $10 (while
you wait, natch). I have a hard time keeping my jaw from dropping to the
floor, but I also know several people who would never 'reuse' a tube,
either.

Pat in TX

Pat said:

I also know several people who would never 'reuse' a
tube, either.

Ah, they don't understand that the more Rema patches on that Taiwanese
tube, the more panache and verve it gains.

😄

maxo said:

I don't shop at those places anymore, at one I got chastised on the same
visit for asking if they stocked those "mity mite" bells that are nice and
inconspicuous on a road bike stem "what do you want a bell for?!", the
owner sneered.

You tell him "any advantage in a peloton."

--Blair
"While they're all looking back to see
which [censored] is ringing a fricken' bell,
you're slipping out and breaking away."

Blair P. Houghton said:

maxo said:

I don't shop at those places anymore, at one I got chastised on the same
visit for asking if they stocked those "mity mite" bells that are nice and
inconspicuous on a road bike stem "what do you want a bell for?!", the
owner sneered.

You tell him "any advantage in a peloton."

--Blair
"While they're all looking back to see
which [censored] is ringing a fricken' bell,
you're slipping out and breaking away."

Haha. Good one. For the big advantage on the final sprint, I presume you
have a stealth Air-Zounds?

-B

Blair P. Houghton said:

You tell him "any advantage in a peloton."

rofl!