On 5/5/2011 8:12 PM, Snortley wrote:
[...]
Last month, I was on a lunch break in the middle of a ride. Outside
the diner where I was sitting, there was a long line of patrons at a
table in front of a housewares store. I wondered what was in such
demand that so many were turning out. Then I saw the banner
advertising the deal: bring in you chef's knife for a free sharpening!
These people couldn't even sharpen a kitchen knife! Not a few, but
they were showing up in droves! What the store was offering seemed
like a sign of the times. Would this have been a draw 50 years ago?

Think of the hundreds of people milling around with now sharpened
kitchen knives!

Probably not. What will be next? A shoe store offering to tie
shoelaces for free? We're becoming helpless. Last year, on a club
ride, someone's chain broke. No problem, maybe; I had an extra 9-speed
master link with me. I asked the rider how many rear cogs she had. She
didn't know. Probably couldn't sharpen a knife, either. (She had nine
cogs; the chain was fixed.)

With 5 through 8-speed chain, one could remove the broken link and
reconnect the chain with a chain tool. With 9 through 11-speed chain,
one needs a special stupid pin (Shimano) or a quick-link (all).

--
Tºm Shermªn - 42.435731,-83.985007
I am a vehicular cyclist.