Parts purchasing strategies?

[Patrick Lamb]

I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?

It's taken me a while, but I think I have about one of everything in
reserve. For things that wear out faster (tires, tubes, and chains),
I've usually got 2-5 spares. Picked up a spare set of STI shifters
last spring (that one pinched the wallet!), but I don't have boxes of
MA-2s stacked in the garage.

So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?

Pat

Email address works as is.

[Werehatrack]

On Mon, 02 Oct 2006 20:31:18 -0500, Patrick Lamb
> wrote:

>I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
>you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
>spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?

Expendables that I use a lot: stock up when they're cheap at the lbs
or online.
Everything else: if I think I'll need a spare, buy one cheap on eBay
or at an online-merchant sale or when the lbs has a sale.

>... but I don't have boxes of
>MA-2s stacked in the garage.

Presumably, if you were that much of a hoarder, you'd pick something
better anyway.

>So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
>appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?

Opportunities can present themselves at the most unexpected moments.
However, grabbing a spare *before* a given design goes orphan can be a
good idea. It can also mean that in a year or so, you're sitting
there looking at this ex-Wonderful-Thing and pondering just exactly
why it was that you were so proud of it when the *new* Wonderful Thing
is ever so much better.

That said, remember: Anything really good is likely to be
discontinued and replaced by a Sturgeon's-law-compliant item before
you have a chance to discover that you really should have bought a
spare.
--
Typoes are a feature, not a bug.
Some gardening required to reply via email.
Words processed in a facility that contains nuts.

[Pat Lamb]

Werehatrack wrote:
> On Mon, 02 Oct 2006 20:31:18 -0500, Patrick Lamb
> > wrote:
>
>> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
>> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>
> Opportunities can present themselves at the most unexpected moments.
> However, grabbing a spare *before* a given design goes orphan can be a
> good idea. It can also mean that in a year or so, you're sitting
> there looking at this ex-Wonderful-Thing and pondering just exactly
> why it was that you were so proud of it when the *new* Wonderful Thing
> is ever so much better.

Uh, yeah, I do know about that. Anybody need a pair of Shimano 8-speed
bar end shifters? :/

Pat

[Ken C. M.]

Patrick Lamb wrote:
> I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
> you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
> spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?
>
> It's taken me a while, but I think I have about one of everything in
> reserve. For things that wear out faster (tires, tubes, and chains),
> I've usually got 2-5 spares. Picked up a spare set of STI shifters
> last spring (that one pinched the wallet!), but I don't have boxes of
> MA-2s stacked in the garage.
>
> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>
> Pat
>
> Email address works as is.

Well I guess I really haven't been cycling again long enough to need a
bunch of spare parts. But I do keep at least 2 spare tube (one more to
go before I need to re-up on them) I also have a spare (old set, but not
bad) set of tires.

I have been ordering on-line from Nashbar and Performance.

Ken

--
Messengers and mountain bikers share a common chromosome. ~James Bethea

[Dane Buson]

Pat Lamb > wrote:
> Werehatrack wrote:
>> On Mon, 02 Oct 2006 20:31:18 -0500, Patrick Lamb
>> > wrote:
>>
> >> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
>>> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>>
>> Opportunities can present themselves at the most unexpected moments.
>> However, grabbing a spare *before* a given design goes orphan can be a
>> good idea. It can also mean that in a year or so, you're sitting
>> there looking at this ex-Wonderful-Thing and pondering just exactly
>> why it was that you were so proud of it when the *new* Wonderful Thing
>> is ever so much better.
>
> Uh, yeah, I do know about that. Anybody need a pair of Shimano 8-speed
> bar end shifters? :/

Sorry, I already have a spare. I also have some seven speed barcons,
but those are getting sent off as soon as I can get around to digging up
an address for the recipient.

--
Dane Buson -
"When two people are under the influence of the most violent, most
insane, most delusive, and most transient of passions, they are required
to swear that they will remain in that excited, abnormal and exhausting
condition until death do them part." -George Bernard Shaw

[Dane Buson]

Patrick Lamb > wrote:
> I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
> you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
> spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?

My LBSs are pretty good, but they aren't open 24x7. I hate having my
commuter out of commission, so I have spares for just about everything.

> It's taken me a while, but I think I have about one of everything in
> reserve. For things that wear out faster (tires, tubes, and chains),
> I've usually got 2-5 spares. Picked up a spare set of STI shifters
> last spring (that one pinched the wallet!), but I don't have boxes of
> MA-2s stacked in the garage.

I just picked up 4 SRAM PC-951 chains for $15, so I'm guilty there. I
have spare wheels, multiple spare rims, lots and lots of cables and
'bits', only a couple spare tires though.

> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?

Nah, but there are some things that I think are so great, that I'm
positive they'll be discontinued in no time. [1] I've made sure to pick up
quite a few of those.

[1] As Werehatrack mentioned.

--
Dane Buson -
"They make a desert and call it peace."
-- Tacitus (55?-120?)

[chuck]

On 2006-10-03, Patrick Lamb > wrote:
> I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
> you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
> spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?
>
> It's taken me a while, but I think I have about one of everything in
> reserve. For things that wear out faster (tires, tubes, and chains),
> I've usually got 2-5 spares. Picked up a spare set of STI shifters
> last spring (that one pinched the wallet!), but I don't have boxes of
> MA-2s stacked in the garage.
>
> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>
> Pat
>
> Email address works as is.

Myself, I stock up on tires and chains. I usually get 4 tires on sale.
When Nashbar runs another 9sp recumbent chain sale, I'll get 2 of those
so I'll have 4 spare chains. I'm down to one now. The LBS only has
Shimano for $35, so I always try to have a spare for 1/4 the cost. I
like the LBS, but when the cost is more than double, I avoid buying
there.

[[email protected]]

I just buy spare parts when they are on sale. I mostly purchase chains,
bar tape, cables, tubes, and tires.

Also I have extra wheelsets and bottom brackets. . .

[Chris Y.F.N.W.]

Group: rec.bicycles.misc Date: Mon, Oct 2, 2006, 8:31pm (EDT-1) From:
(Patrick*Lamb)

>I'm curious how posters to this group
>approach buying spare parts. Do you buy
>them by the case when they're on sale,
>maintain some level of spares, or trust
>your LBS to have what you need?

In my thirty plus years of cycling I have found that my wants and needs
as a recreational rider/tourist are largely downplayed or outright
ignored by the manufacturers, and when occasionally met may even
encounter hostility by the racer oriented bicycle publications (which
most are).

Some will at times expend vast resources to brainwash their readers that
just because it doesn't fit their need, the product/design is an
"abomination" that should be stricken from the shelves so nobody can use
them. "Cyclist" and "Bicycle Guide" were amongst the worst. (may they
both rot in hell.)

This concludes my ranting.

So long ago I acquired the habit of keeping an eye on what becomes
popular and what does not, and as soon as a product or design I like
looks to be in peril, I will stock up. Usually this is as simple as
asking shop owners what they may have in their back shelves while I'm in
there. I will also check out the tables at bike club swap meets and see
paruse r.b.marketplace.

Sometimes if the product is a clearance item (and at a really good
price) i will buy a quality that could qualify as "bulk", For example, a
couple of years after Hutchinson ceased production of their ProfilU
tires, Nashbar dug a bunch out of storage and put them on clearance for
about a third of their original price. I bought twenty.

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

[Chris Y.F.N.W.]

Group: rec.bicycles.misc Date: Tue, Oct 3, 2006, 9:00am (EDT-1) From:
(Pat*Lamb)

>Uh, yeah, I do know about that. Anybody
>need a pair of Shimano 8-speed bar end
>shifters? :/

>Pat

If the spacing of the clicks are the same as a 7-Speed, I could. :-3)

- -
Compliments of:
"Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"

If you want to E-mail me use:
ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net

My website:
http://geocities.com/czcorner

[Frank Drackman]

"Patrick Lamb" > wrote in message
...
> I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
> you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
> spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?
>
> It's taken me a while, but I think I have about one of everything in
> reserve. For things that wear out faster (tires, tubes, and chains),
> I've usually got 2-5 spares. Picked up a spare set of STI shifters
> last spring (that one pinched the wallet!), but I don't have boxes of
> MA-2s stacked in the garage.
>
> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>

We are a big cycling family, commuting, recreational riding, and racing so
having lots of spare parts around is important. I have two big boxes of
spare parts that I haul to the races and a couple of cabinets with
additional parts in a workshop at home. I am always on the lookout for good
deals on parts and frames. Right now I know that I will need one track
frame and one mountain frame for next year but I am waiting a bit to see how
much my kids grow over the winter.

[[email protected]]

Chris Y.F.N.W. wrote:
> Group: rec.bicycles.misc Date: Tue, Oct 3, 2006, 9:00am (EDT-1) From:
> (Pat Lamb)
>
> >Uh, yeah, I do know about that. Anybody
> >need a pair of Shimano 8-speed bar end
> >shifters? :/
>
> >Pat
>
> If the spacing of the clicks are the same as a 7-Speed, I could. :-3)
>
>

Chris, standard (non-Dura Ace) Shimano 8SP barends shift on a 7SP
cluster just fine.One of my daily riders is set up that way.

[[email protected]]

Patrick Lamb wrote:
> I'm curious how posters to this group approach buying spare parts. Do
> you buy them by the case when they're on sale, maintain some level of
> spares, or trust your LBS to have what you need?
> ......
> So what do y'all do? And do you stock up more when, as now, there
> appears to be a major change-over in drivetrains going on?
>

I don't mind using old components. I recently purchased, off of
Craigslist, a set of NIB 8-speed STI shifters for $30. I've personally
had an STI brifter fail out of box and had a friend with the same
experience. So I won't buy STIs unless I can personally go there with
a cable and check them out.

Regarding chains, like others, I buy the recumbent chains cheap from
Nashbar. Another strategy is that Performance Bike offers to beat any
competitors price. So I will scan the web looking for the best price,
print it out, and take that to Performance.

I have a lot of bikes, almost all franken-bikes. I look for older,
quality frames and fix them up with indexed shifting and other modern
components. I have a HUGE junkbox of parts acquired this way (such as
about a dozen 110 bcd chainrings).

Tom

[bill]

Chris Y.F.N.W. wrote:
> Group: rec.bicycles.misc Date: Mon, Oct 2, 2006, 8:31pm (EDT-1) From:
> (Patrick Lamb)
>
>> I'm curious how posters to this group
>> approach buying spare parts. Do you buy
>> them by the case when they're on sale,
>> maintain some level of spares, or trust
>> your LBS to have what you need?
>
> In my thirty plus years of cycling I have found that my wants and needs
> as a recreational rider/tourist are largely downplayed or outright
> ignored by the manufacturers, and when occasionally met may even
> encounter hostility by the racer oriented bicycle publications (which
> most are).
>
> Some will at times expend vast resources to brainwash their readers that
> just because it doesn't fit their need, the product/design is an
> "abomination" that should be stricken from the shelves so nobody can use
> them. "Cyclist" and "Bicycle Guide" were amongst the worst. (may they
> both rot in hell.)
>
> This concludes my ranting.

I do have to agree with your rant though since I keep getting email
promotions from Pricepoint.com for the latest, greatest, and way over
priced bicycle goodies. There is no way in hell I will pay $300 for a
crank set or $3,000 for a Trek just to impress other cyclists.
>
> So long ago I acquired the habit of keeping an eye on what becomes
> popular and what does not, and as soon as a product or design I like
> looks to be in peril, I will stock up. Usually this is as simple as
> asking shop owners what they may have in their back shelves while I'm in
> there. I will also check out the tables at bike club swap meets and see
> paruse r.b.marketplace.

The local 'flea market' on Sundays is a good source and I have found
some good deals at yard/garage sales. I use Ebay to find the more
esoteric items that only with blind luck would be found at a sale.
>
> Sometimes if the product is a clearance item (and at a really good
> price) i will buy a quality that could qualify as "bulk", For example, a
> couple of years after Hutchinson ceased production of their ProfilU
> tires, Nashbar dug a bunch out of storage and put them on clearance for
> about a third of their original price. I bought twenty.

Same here. My garage now has more bicycle parts than car parts by far. I
have spare everythings for bicycles to the point where I could build a
few bikes from scratch. As to LBS's, I have two, and one of those can
drop off the map, while the other gets my support. The ex-Schwinn dealer
is a total rip off and the independent guy is far better, both in price,
inventory and personality.
End rant.
Bill Baka
>
> - -
> Compliments of:
> "Your Friendly Neighborhood Wheelman"
>
> If you want to E-mail me use:
> ChrisZCorner "at" webtv "dot" net
>
> My website:
> http://geocities.com/czcorner
>