i bought the iron maiden 5 years ago and was proud as punch when i brought her home. my previous 2 bikes were purchased second hand so this was a big step up for me. all was well for the first few years then it started to slip out of 8th gear, the smallest sprocket on the cassette. i spent a lot of time riding up and down the lane trying to adjust the derailer and just couldn't get it right. then one day i decided to clean the gears and derailer and presto, it worked good as new and all was well with my world. every few months things would act up and i'd have to clean everything. over time the cleaning became more and more frequent until i was cleaning it every week. i then spent a few afternoons trying to adjust the gears but i just couldn't get it right. it was either poor eyesight or the onset of senility that robbed me of the ability to tune up a bike. i was a beaten man.
i decided to ride to the bike shop and pay for a professional tune up. (i'd rather pay for sex than to have a bike tuned up) the bike shop guy took one look at it and told me the smallest gear was totally worn out. i took a close look and son of a bitch, he was right! i had spent countless hours trying to tune up a bike that was basically unfixable. he quoted me a price of $150 for new gears and a new chain then explained to me that i could use the larger front sprocket along with a slightly larger rear sprocket to get the same gear ratio. since he was nice enough to give me the free advice i let him talk to me like i was a child. i spend every waking hour comparing financial ratios so i didn't need a rudimentary lesson in math but i just kept nodding and thanking him.
now i have to decide whether to fix the old girl or buy an new bike. i change my mind several times each day.
at first i was disappointed that the gear was worn out then it hit me. wearing out the drive train on a bike is a badge of honor. i'm a real feckin bike rider! i wore out a new bike!!
so i got that going for me too, which is nice.
i love you sons of bitches.
25 comments:
Has anyone invented an 'automatic' bike which doesn't need gears? Must be a chose having to shift through 8 gears.
rapid fire shifters make it a piece of cake. i've tried to install rapid fire shifters on the wife but she's happy being stuck in neutral.
Well poor old iron maiden! You wore her out. Tough decision. Have you looked at any shiny new ones yet? Or does that feel a bit like cheating on her?
I love Tom Waits. Sigh.
Oh, that's too bad. But it is pretty cool that you managed to wear out a new bike by riding so much.
I have a bunch of bikes and gears, just let me know what you need.
Thim's said:::
I usually prefer to hand them a sandwich and have a conversation.
The asshole handed me a cheap styrofoam ice chest, it had a cube of butter in it, I still have half of it.
Has anyone invented an 'automatic' bike which doesn't need gears?
My daughter had one with five gears in it, she said it worked pretty good. I'm sure it was easier to use than the 35 speed three wheeler I built, but I could go up the steepest hill in town with it.
Has anyone invented an 'automatic' bike which doesn't need gears?
Actually, that would require a system like snowmobiles use, variable sizing pulleys, that would be pretty hard to pull off on a bike.
It could be done but it's not likely feasible.
Badge of honor indeed! That means you have been doing a hell of a lot of riding! It never would have occurred to me that a gear on a bike would have worn out so. Pretty remarkable now that you think of it.
I don't think I've ever worn anything out... beyond my welcome, anyway.
i've tried to install rapid fire shifters on the wife but she's happy being stuck in neutral.
Let me try to understand this, so far you have worn out a sprocket and your shifter?
The asshole handed me a cheap styrofoam ice chest, it had a cube of butter in it, I still have half of it.
That was good butter. I ate the smoked salmon on the drive to go see you.
A few years ago, I became interested in electric bicycles... I thought these guys were very interesting.
I admire your stamina for wearing out a bicycle... an electric bike would just extend your range (and level the hills some).
Life is short then you die. Working in a hospital for the elderly has taught me to treat myself better. Get the new bike honey you earned it. <3 U.
oh man..poor Iron Maiden..get a new one..you deserve it..get one you can sing "I ride my bicycle' on it (by Queen)...
Sweet!
silly - i've looked at a few and it seems that as cycling becomes more popular the prices have gone through the roof.
secret - i've also picked up tons of empty beer cans that paid for the bike a few times over.
bill - thanks but i'm going to stick with what i have and not use the worn out gears.
robert - you're always welcome here!
thims - when i turn 90 years old i'll start to think about an electric bike.
mcraven - i already have an almost new kona mountain bike that's waiting in the wings. the older bike is used for shopping when i have to chain it to the rack and hope it doesn't get stolen. a new expensive bike has a short life span chained to a rack.
galt - sweet r us.
yellowdog - the more i think about it the more i'm leaning toward keeping the old girl. i need a little continuity in my life.
Hey, the gears I offered you are far from worn out, the idiots destroyed the bikes before they were able to put any wear on the gears.
Anyone seen Harry around lately? I haven't even gotten an email from him for a while.
bill - i meant not using the worn out gears on my cassette. just use the ones that haven't been used much in the past.
I love when I come here and the first thing that greets me is a cold nose. :) Love the photo! :)
Ah, Harry is still kicking.
"Is it about a bicycle?"
mcraven - it's half nose and half battering ram and there's a very powerful computer about 6 inches behind it that processes all the data collected by the bionic nose.
bill - are harry and hugh playing with a rehshon?
shaw - the iron maiden is a mountain bike. my other bike is the black adder.
What in the hell is a rehshon?
Harry isn't doing much of anything other than kicking oxygen molecules around.
Sometimes nodding and thanking is the best policy.
I remember a news show where people in NYC would chain their expensive bikes to a street sign. The clever thieves would wait a minute, then lift up the sign (that looked like it was cemented down), slide the chain off the bottom and steal the bike.
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