Early Retirement Extreme Forums

Wrapped it up with some simple cotton tape and plugged the bar ends with wine corks from the recycle bin.

The bike looks good! I use wine corks too.

For anyone else who wants to do cotton tape on a bike and wants it to be even cheaper, look at hockey tape. I haven't done a side by side comparison but it appears to be the same. I've used it and it works. That said, it's really thin so you can feel everything and the bars are too skinny for my hands without the extra thickness from the cork bar wrap.

Ego wrote: ps. I was trail running the other day and got going a little too fast down hill. Face planted at the exact spot you ate it. Wonky hip for a few days and a little road rash but back to normal now.

Nice work and good scores on the bike. As for the face plant, I'm happy I've avoided that for several years. My face never actually hit the ground but my hands and legs were sure bloody. Worst was the most badly twisted ankle of my life, where I needed crutches for days. I take shorter, faster steps now.

Thanks guys!

Gilberto, hockey tape!!!! Good tip. I paid $5 a roll for the Newbaum's cotton tape.

Enigma, it was a muddy day so I wore my mud running shoes which happen to be size 12.5. I normally wear 11 or 11.5.... beggars can't be choosers. A little like running in bozo the clown shoes. They are in the goodwill bag now. I'll be conscious of shorter faster steps for a while.

I found a dollar on the ground yesterday.

I found a bike taillight (in pieces) in the street earlier this week. I put it back together and it works except that the lens has a crack. I'm going to glue the crack to keep water out and put it on my bike trailer. I would like to return it but I put an ad on craigslist and no one replied. I could just set it on the curb where I found it but it would either be picked up by someone who it doesn't belong to or buried under snow.

@ego, that's a nifty solution for the front bag, I have been wondering how people pair them with drops/cabling all in the way! The troll is looking sweet. How are you enjoying it? I have been riding my Surly Disc Trucker for a few weeks now and am loving the 'fattie' tyres and steel frame which smooth out the lumps... not to mention the awesome pannier capacity, but I must admit I am starting to miss the top speed and effortless climbing of the road bike (which is out of action thanks to a seized front derailleur. ) Though the Surly frames sure make great utility/touring bikes.

Thanks! I like riding the troll and am looking forward to finding good racks so I can load it up with 150 lbs of groceries. I hear you regarding the difference between a road bike and these load haulers. I get on my road bike and feel like I am flying. Reminds me of ankle weights.

I recently sold some of the parts I pulled off the troll when I changed to drop bars. This morning one of my friends from the swap meet pulled me aside. Grinning from ear to ear he said, "¡Tengo algo para ti!"



When I looked closer at those price tags I nearly fell over.



He told me the price he wanted, which was too low, so I paid him the amount I got for the parts on ebay. He was thrilled. I was thrilled.

Now I've got to sell my old pair of panniers because they are beat up. To be honest... they clash with the color scheme of the bike

Man you've got a hell of a thing going with those venders. People are excited to sell you ($180+) Ortleib panniers for $5 !!

vexed87 wrote:but I must admit I am starting to miss the top speed and effortless climbing of the road bike (which is out of action thanks to a seized front derailleur. ) Though the Surly frames sure make great utility/touring bikes.

You know, if you want to, you can ride a bike without the front derailleur working. You can just leave it in whichever ring it's stuck in, or take the derailluer off the bike entirely (you'll have to take the chain apart and put it back together, but I'm assuming you can do that). If you take it off, you can just leave it in whichever ring you want, and if you find yourself at the top of a big hill and want to go down fast, just stop to switch the chain to the big ring. Or if you've brave enough, you could use your hand to shift the front manually (just be careful!)

C40 wrote:Or if you've brave enough, you could use your hand to shift the front manually (just be careful!)

Only if you think you have too many fingers

@C40, luckily it was stuck in the little ring (there's a 9.5% incline on my commute home!). I'm spinning out on the flats, which is why I'm left with no choice but to fix it. Can't be doing without my top gear. The FD is currently in bits on my garage floor, trying to overhaul it. That's why the bike is out of action

@ego, holy shit nice find!

That's amazing, they look like brand new. My Ortleibs sure don't. I wonder how much longer they'll be waterproof.

You know, if you want to, you can ride a bike without the front derailleur working. You can just leave it in whichever ring it's stuck in, or take the derailluer off the bike entirely (you'll have to take the chain apart and put it back together, but I'm assuming you can do that). If you take it off, you can just leave it in whichever ring you want,

If you remove the front derailleur the bike will probably start to drop the chain due to the ramps and pins built into the chainring. It might do it constantly or very rarely or never. It can be dangerous if the chain drops while you are trying to cross a busy road or similar. You can replace the chainring with one designed for the application but it's probably better to fix the derailleur.

My Ortleibs sure don't. I wonder how much longer they'll be waterproof.

I have a set that are about 10 years old and are used every day. They are still waterproof. If they start to leak they can be sealed.

A couple split up and moved out after five months of tenancy. Back when they moved in they had purchased a new stainless steel microwave and when they moved out neither wanted it so they left it. I listed it on craigslist and put it on a shelf in the basement. Yesterday one of my favorite tenants sent a text saying she saw it listed on craigslist and asked if she could buy it. The microwave was stored about three feet below the floorboards of her apartment. Weird coincidence. $30

enigmaT120 wrote:That's amazing, they look like brand new. My Ortleibs sure don't. I wonder how much longer they'll be waterproof.

You can get stuff like this to breath new life into them

Thanks vexed87 but if my panniers start to leak it will most likely be because they have a hole worn in them someplace. Ortleib sells patching material, if I remember right. Mine will probably outlast my commuting years.

A few weeks ago I found this BMW motorcycle jacket at the swap meet for $8 and listed it on craigslist for $95. Today this newly retired guy (8 days!) showed up on his new BMW bike to buy it. He is on his way to Cabo then turning around and heading to Alaska.

Ego wrote:A few weeks ago I found this BMW motorcycle

I was really impressed up to that point

Cute, but I am now retired (over a year!) from riding on the back of motorcycles (sigh.)

7w.... Hah. You wouldn't reconsider your retirement if it included a trip to Cabo?

Ego wrote:Got another 90s Specialized Stumpjumper this morning for $20....

Sold the Stumper to a guy with three kids in college who each need campus bikes. When I heard his story I told him I would take $100. Freeing up room in the dungeon.

A few weeks ago we got a ticket because the registration on our car had expired. Neither of us had realized the sticker was out of date and we hadn't received the renewal notice to our mailbox. Mrs. Ego went to the DMV, paid the fees and penalties, and was told that the registration renewal had been marked "return to sender". She discovered that the DMV had failed to add our box number when addressing the envelope. They told her it is our responsibility to renew the vehicle, regardless. When she got home from the DMV she was steaming mad and said, "I'm going to be like you gringos and write a letter to the director of the DMV."

I laughed at her.

Today she got a phone call from the DMV. The woman apologized for the mistake and promised to send a full refund for the penalties.