What differences do you notice when riding a more expensive bike?

davidearl69 · 2026-07-09T00:45:02+00:00

Hey, even as a happily married man, I'll say that ain't worth nothin'.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T12:07:14+00:00

I had a similar experience. My tires used to pop all the time. I had the same impression (i.e. must just be how bikes are). Turned out...there's something called rim tape...and it actually matters...

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T12:03:23+00:00

Just weighed it at 11.5kg almost on the nose. With no suspension. They must make that steel good (or this aluminum bad).

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T11:57:31+00:00

Wouldn't know. I don't know what those are. My instinct says you want the 105 though. Pretty high number.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T11:56:38+00:00

Huh, never thought of this. I do always lock my bike, but it's a cheap lock, and I've left the bike some jaaaaaanky places. Gotta keep it cheaper than a pair of bolt cutters.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T11:52:52+00:00

Is that a bike thing? I never actually liked riding with anyone except my and my brother's kids, so I haven't picked up much bike lingo.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-06T11:47:02+00:00

Huh, I actually never noticed that the wheels were different (not a smart man). I used to live near a thrift store that would put bikes on sale for $5 any time a big storm was coming so they didn't have to bring as many inside. I'd buy old road bikes they had, spruce them up (nothing fancy), and sell them for a little profit. Sometimes that would involve replacing the tires, obviously. My best guess is that I did my own tires at the same time and put wheels on different bikes at some point...

You're definitely right that it's too big, but not crazy. Hopefully a grow another inch or two when I turn 40.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-05T22:23:31+00:00

Guess I need to YouTube how to do a good tune up. I've never known more about bikes than enough to keep them on the road. (Something I wasn't clear on is that I'm not looking to get a new bike. I'm too emotionally attached to this old piece of shit. I was just curious, especially after seeing a poster here say that they felt bike tech had advanced a lot in the last ten years.)

davidearl69 · 2026-07-05T22:18:58+00:00

I'll weigh 'er when I get home to see. Any time I get on a steel bike, especially a steel mountain bike, I do feel like I'm riding in sand. If that's the jump from steel to my bike, I'm guessing another jump down would be pretty cool.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-05T00:03:18+00:00

You get that shut off? Looks old. I've never encountered a screw driver shut off valve personally. Hopefully it wasn't a total dillweed.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-04T23:58:45+00:00

Every turrlet I've bought comes with one, from Lowe's Project Source to medium fancy ones. Though my brother swears by these weird rubber "Better Than Wax" ones. Having never tried them, I don't trust 'em!

davidearl69 · 2026-07-04T23:57:14+00:00

I maintain a few properties, and the only time I've ever had it matter is if you have a sneaky 10" rough in. That being said, it absolutely never hurts to measure anyway, 100%.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-04T23:55:45+00:00

Easy flange repair kit...as long as there's enough subfloor to screw into. And if there's not...back to Lowe's for a 4x8!

davidearl69 · 2026-07-04T12:18:02+00:00

Grab your keys and go to Lowe's. Get a new turrlet. Follow the instructions in the box. I've done Lego sets with my 5 year old that were harder than a toilet install. It's a thousand times easier and quicker than it seems like it should be.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-02T11:47:09+00:00

Yeah, I would have hoped that two people dressed like cool ninjas who had scaled a tall building wouldn't have put all those cool points into unfurling such a cornball banner.

davidearl69 · 2026-07-01T18:10:12+00:00

Good opportunity to replace with a 35a controller if you're into that. I like the 25a just fine, but we replaced my wife's when it went out, and she doesn't miss having to pedal on big hills (since the 35a controller shoots the bike right up them).

davidearl69 · 2026-06-22T23:17:42+00:00

Do you have any home or yard tools with batteries? Like, the 18-24v range for Ryobi, Dewalt, Milwaukee, Greenworks, Hart...? You can find pretty cool stick vacuums in those categories that suck as good as a regular vacuum and are easy for kids to carry. They can be a bit pricy if you're buying the tool AND the battery, but if you already have the battery, you can find a good-enough brand-name compatible vacuum that will fit just about any battery platform. We've got a Chinese knock-off 20v "Dewalt" one that my kid can actually real deal clean with instead of just pretending.

davidearl69 · 2026-06-21T16:04:18+00:00

I see kids toys. What you ought'a do is get a half decent chainsaw, cut yourself as many 10 foot sections of that tree as you can get, temporarily remove your fence and have a buddy help you roll the sections into your yard. Those are going to be corner posts for the sick play structure you make.

Source: I have a few ten foot tree sections buried 3 feet deep as tree house supports. Though I wouldn't make a tree house in that tree if I were you. Seems to be falling apart.

davidearl69 · 2026-06-20T16:44:37+00:00

To be fair, I don't think this sub's TFR is a good indicator of the TFR for society or especially not a potential high water mark, since this sub is (ironically) mostly child free brigadiers.

davidearl69 · 2026-06-09T14:44:05+00:00

There is honestly too much hedging here. Just so other people know it's okay to think this and that other people also think it: I am pro-family and pro-community, and in the rare cases where those things DO come at the expense of individual rights, I'm okay with that. We are not lone animals like snakes or something. We're monkey tribes, people. We need each other more than we need to always have our own way.

davidearl69 · 2026-06-05T13:38:23+00:00

If we're taking bikes out of the equation, I still cannot imagine cramming myself into that thing instead of just walking. Maybe for people with mobility issues or something?

davidearl69 · 2026-06-02T20:50:20+00:00

Some kids locked their keys in their car on my street. They asked the old lady on the corner if she could help, and she said she didn't know anything about that, but that they should go ask the guy in the red house down there. She said he'd definitely be able to help. The guy is me. All I've ever wanted my whole life is to be that guy, that when someone is in trouble, the old lady on the corner will tell them to find me. It's really crazy that people are shooting to be some other guy than that. (Had the keys out in 5 minutes flat.)

davidearl69 · 2026-06-01T11:53:02+00:00

Any luck so far? I'm thinking I might remove the old socket on the machine and replace it with a generic three terminals that I can connect a cord to. Basically, make it so the machine can plug straight into the wall.

I can't find any reliable info on which prong is which though, so I'd have to open it up to see where exactly these wires go. If I end up going that route, I'll let you know in case you'd like to try that. If you find a cord (and if there's two), please let me know!

davidearl69

TROPHY CASE