Confessions: Untrued and unlubed

I’ve made many mistakes, and having more money than I did a couple years ago has only accelerated the mistake making.

I’ll start with 2 recent flubs:

  • bought 11sp cassette to put on 9sp freehub
  • Bought cheap hub to save money, bought the wrong freehub so had to buy second hubset
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i forgot to lubricate my syringe and blew a seal on some brakes when it went from 0 to 100 real quick.

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I’m afraid to buy used MTB parts or things on sale because I don’t know what boost is.

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at this point my knowledge of bike component standards probably puts me squarely in the retrogrouch category

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I was looking at new jobs and looking at bike companies and then I realized the industry experience I have was basically just fixing flats and changing cables on shit box shit bikes at my buddy’s shop but my expertise came from logging in here

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This is me. Other than dyno stuff, my bikes don’t have anything newer than 1980’s bike technology on them. I’m too lazy to learn new things unless I need to. :man_shrugging:

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I took apart my rockshox mtb fork to service it and I think I got the wrong year manual and was also missing a tool or two, when I put it back together it wouldn’t compress at all, so I left it outside in a box along with the frame and forgot about it for a few months so now it’s probably more fucked than it started

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I replace chains a whole lot more often than I actually clean them.

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Might want to rename this thread “tarck after darck: confessions”

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My most technologically advanced bicycle is a rigid 10 speed mountain bike that I ride to the grocery store

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giphy

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Last time I serviced a fork it involved blasting the lowers with a pressure washer

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wait, you’re supposed to clean them?

I thought freehubs were universal until 2 weeks ago

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I’m only 75% sure I installed all the parts of my headset in the right order

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  • I think cleaning a chain more than running it through rag while backpedaling is a scam.
  • If I have not paid for a fit on a bike I am cursed to forever fiddle with saddle angle and setback.
  • I keep a color coded spreadsheet of all the bike parts in my parts bins + clothing in my closet. My bike specific clothing is nearly double my normie clothing.
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I have been ignoring the degrading shifting on my coffee grinder for about a year and just replacing wear parts rather than bothering to retape the bars and replace the cables and housing.

I do have daily access to an ultrasonic so my chains are always clean and properly lubed at least.

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i have to look up how to adjust a rear derailleur every time i do it so i just try to barrel adjust my way out of everything

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Is an ultrasonic worth using? My father keeps one and I swear his chains always sound dirty as hell.

And is it worth having an ultrasonic cleaner that fits anything bigger than a chain (and maybe cassette?)? I’ve been puzzling over whether to get a little jewelry one or scientific surplus sonicator.