Something From Nothing Log

Fixing and making things, what tools to get and what skills to learn, ...
enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

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

Gilberto de Piento
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Gilberto de Piento »

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.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

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

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vexed87
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Location: Yorkshire, UK

Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by vexed87 »

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 :)

enigmaT120
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by enigmaT120 »

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.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

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.

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ducknalddon
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by ducknalddon »

Ego wrote:A few weeks ago I found this BMW motorcycle
I was really impressed up to that point :)

7Wannabe5
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by 7Wannabe5 »

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

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

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....

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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.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

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.

Laura Ingalls
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Laura Ingalls »

Ego wrote: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.
As my DH has told both our kids from pretty much birth, "You don't get nothing if you don't ask."

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing

Post by Ego »

Ego wrote:
Thu Feb 25, 2016 2:31 pm
The whole impetus for this thread was the fact that yesterday at the swap meet I bought this 1988 Diamondback Assent MTB for $20 from a couple who trash picked it.

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It is very similar to yours. The bottom bracket seems sound. Both derailleurs were seized but I painted them with brake fluid last night and they are moving freely now. The chain is okay. The tires/tubes are fine. It needs a seat post clamp, which I may have in my tool box or I may have to order from ebay (91 cents from China).
Ego wrote:
Tue Mar 08, 2016 11:00 pm

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After some elbow grease and a year of waiting for the right person, I sold it today for $225 to a college student.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

A few months ago I bought a small LeMond Alpe d'Huez road bicycle from one of the trash pickers at the swap meet. It had been hit by a car and the rims were bent with broken spokes, but the Campagnolo components seemed fine. For years I've been wanting a vintage Italian road bike. A few weeks ago I found an old frame at the swap meet. I had never heard of the brand but saw the Campagnolo brake levers and knew it had to be good so I bought it for $15.

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Got it home and did some research to find that Mauro Sannino hand-built top end road bikes in Turino in the 70s/80s and was famous as the supplier of bikes for the Russian team during the (US boycotted) 1980 Olympics. The evil Russian in the movie American Flyers rode Sannino.

The frame had some rust spots so I decided to give it the Kintsugi treatment. Rather than sanding and repainting it to look perfect, I sanded down to bare metal and coated it with the clearcoat spray I had in the basement. It highlights the imperfections.

I bent the rims back into shape using the Bikeman-for-u IBM method which worked surprisingly well. I had some spokes in my toolbox and was able to get the wheels close enough to true.

I salvaged as many parts as possible and pieced together a complete Italian road bike. The only thing I had to buy was the handlebar tape, $9 on ebay. I still have the Campy brake levers, front derailleur hanger, and seatpost clamp which will definitely earn enough on ebay to cover the cost of both bikes, handlebar tape and (eventual) new tires.

1981 Sannino Road Bike

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C40
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by C40 »

That looks good.

Back before I found ERE, I build up a Colnago Master X light (lugged steel frame, chrome fork) with a bunch of shiny silver components. Ah man that bike looked sweet. It was basically the exact same design as this bike you now have, including the red paint with white sections). And it rode wonderfully. Now, that's the 2nd most I regret selling a bike :-D

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I paid over $2,000 for just the frame. I think the bike cost me close to $4,000. And now you have something fairly similar for, uhhh, just a bit less money :-)



It's hard to tell in your picture - are those Campy STI shifters? Which model? The best performing groupset I ever had was some 9-speed Record. Man, that stuff shifts so nicely. EDIT - no, it was 10-speed, from 2004. way nice than the 9-speed record I had. Worlds better than the 2016 Shimano 105 I have on my adventure bike.
Last edited by C40 on Tue Sep 05, 2017 5:13 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Amazing. Your Colnago is exactly my MINO (money is no object) bike. I lust after the lugs and pantgraphing. Absolutely beautiful.

ETA, Yeah, Campy Mirage 8 speed. Not period correct. My first experience with STI shifters. It will take some time before I stop reaching for the downtube.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Two weeks ago I was digging through piles of used shoes at the swap meet when I spotted ultra-expensive cycling shoes. I grabbed the two shoes and found that they were identical, but both were left foots. As I was looking for the rights, another guy noticed I was digging with intent and began looking for them himself. He found one right and a third left. We were laughing as we raced to find the last two rights. Then one of my friends pointed to the pile I was standing on. There under my feet where to the two rights. I paid $7 a pair.

When I got home I googled the brand and found that they sell for $499 a pair. Who pays that much for cycling shoes???

Last week I listed one pair on ebay for considerably less than retail price but immediately put my store in vacation mode because we were leaving for a week of camping in Zion National Park to celebrate our 24th anniversary. All week I was getting emails from a guy who wanted to buy the shoes and couldn't figure out why ebay wouldn't permit him to do so. I got home yesterday, turned off vacation mode and he bought the shoes.

Just now, while I was packaging them for shipping, Mrs. Ego was calculating our expenditures for the trip. I told her the profit we earned for the shoes. She said it came within a few dollars of covering the cost of admission to the park and six nights of camping. When they finally sell, the second pair will certainly cover the cost of gas and food for the week. The $14 vacation.

wheatstate
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by wheatstate »

That Sannino looks great. Well done.
What is neat about Campagnolo, as a company, is that all the parts are rebuildable. Many of the other bike companies make disposable parts that can't be serviced, or you can't buy smaller parts.

If the Sannino is for personal riding, and the shifting is less than ideal. I would consider rebuilding the shifters, or at least the right that gets the most use. I did this on a 90's Bianchi TSX reparto course with Campy 8spd chorus that I bought. The bike had been well ridden, and the shifters felt mushy. Replacing the springs and cam made the shifting precise and direct.

Good rebuild pics: http://www.standardbikerepair.com/over ... gearshift/
Good rebuild video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OocYpHXJ3Y
Possible part listing: https://branfordbike.com/new-products/
Cost could be $50-100 for parts (springs and cam).

I look forward to hearing where you ride the Sannino. Thanks for sharing.

FBeyer
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by FBeyer »

Ego wrote:
Sun Sep 17, 2017 8:10 pm
... a week of camping in Zion National Park to celebrate our 24th anniversary... The $14 vacation.
Zion. Paid for in shoes. I have no words to describe my envy right now. I REALLY want to go back to Zion and hike Angel's Landing.

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

@wheatstate, thanks for the tips on the shifters. So far they are doing okay.

@FBeyer, Angel's Landing was a blast, though Mrs. Ego had a peculiar tendency to wind up on the wrong side of the chains. I had to get her to step across before snapping this photo. I am amazed that they allow just about anyone to go up and hang from chains over 2000 foot precipices.

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For those not freaked out by heights, this video gives a good perspective of the hike....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LpmuakyEWpo

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Ego
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Re: Something From Nothing Log

Post by Ego »

Trash day. A foreign exchange student is moving back home and is slowly tossing EVERYTHING. Stainless Japanese electric kettle. Another Hamilton Beach Brewstation Coffee maker (I've stopped picking these). A $40 bottle of mezcal and a bottle of wine. A bag full of astronomically expensive cosmetics including a 1/3 full bottle of perfume that sells for $240 :shock: . I had no idea. Every day new goodies.

My friend Cory the can and bottle picker was here today when I rolled out the bins so I gave him most of it. I kept the kettle and Mrs. Ego the perfume. We have a Mexican themed party on Saturday so the mezcal (with worm) will be the obligatory gift bottle. I'll add the wine to my collection of trash picked obligatory gift bottle.

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