A salutary lesson and yes, I'm an idiot.

[fossyant]

I bet over 50% of cyclists don't replace their own chains!

Over 50% don't ride their bikes (and that's from on here 👅👅👅👅👅)

 

[davidphilips]

Lol , Every one has made mistakes like that, you where lucky that you did not get a friend or even your son to look at it or you could have been really embarrassed?
My silly mistake last week was when i started to fit a new rear tyre to one of my bikes Half way through went in for a cup of tea came out finished the job, just about to put the bike away and noticed i had refitted the old tyre?

 

[fossyant]

I have done the brake cable trapped in the clamp, but knew as the bikes had the cables running on top of the top tube so it was obvious, not tucked away like road bikes.

 

[Smokin Joe]

I bet over 50% of cyclists don't replace their own chains!

Last time I bought a gear cable from my LBS one spring he told me it was the first he'd sold that year, but he'd fitted loads for people.

On the stupid mistakes theme, try fitting a 650b rim tape to a 700c rim. I didn't notice the size printed on it till after it had snapped and slapped me across the face.

 

[rogerzilla]

I like a rear brake cable to run bare along the top of the top tube. It means I can pull it to slow down when I'm sitting upright. Yes, I am that lazy.

 

[cyberknight]

had to take the bike to the lbs as i couldnt get the brake cable through the brifter as i couldnt see the hole , a short while later i found out i needed glasses.

 

[davidphilips]

had to take the bike to the lbs as i couldnt get the brake cable through the brifter as i couldnt see the hole , a short while later i found out i needed glasses.

Lol could have been worse if you had went into the shop and told them the problem and had the reply sorry can not help you, this is a veterinary clinic.

 

[Vantage]

2 nights ago I was out with my youngest when she informed me that my back light wasn't working. Its run off the dynamo so first things first, check the wires weren't loose. They were. I'd soldered the ends to stop them fraying but the solder made crimping them in the terminals difficult.
Recrimped them, lifted the back of the bike up and spun the wheel. No light. What now? Took the wires out and Recrimped them again. Spun the back tyre again. No light. Repeated this process a few times before giving up and riding home with Erin behind. At this point she informed me my light was now working. Weird.
Got home and was about to start stripping the lighting setup to fault find when it hit me. The dynamo hub is the front one. Not the back.

 

[wafter]

Amongst other things I've repeatedly routed the chain incorrectly on my (once) new and pristine GRX RD; causing a pair of tramlines to be worn into the retaining tab on the cage

 

[Smokin Joe]

had to take the bike to the lbs as i couldnt get the brake cable through the brifter as i couldnt see the hole , a short while later i found out i needed glasses.

I got rid of my last CRT TV because I thought the picture was getting a bit fuzzy. The new flatscreen wasn't much better, a visit to the opticians told me why

 

[boydj]

I once carefully reminded myself about the thread on left hand pedals being the clockwise to remove, but I just couldn't shift it. It was one with a hex socket and I managed to turn an allen key into a barber's pole. Then I realised I was looking at it from the wrong side.

I remember this by 'tighten forwards, loosen rearwards', which works for both pedals.

 

[ColinJ]

Bonus stupidity post...

I am thinking of buying something on ebay which has a scratched plastic screen. No bids so far, probably because of those obvious scratches. I might put in a low bid in the final minute of the auction. But first, what to do about the scratches, should I win...?

I consulted YouTube and it seems that I might be able to polish out minor scratches using just a soft cloth and toothpaste. I thought I'd give it a try on my cheapo reading glasses which have plastic lenses, one of which has a small scratch in the corner.

I have just spent 10 minutes looking for the bloody things. Some idiot had moved them from where I left them, on the sofa. I should tell you that nobody else has been in the house this week...

After an increasingly grumpy search for the missing glasses, I finally realised that I am wearing them!

PS Another video suggests that baking powder is better than toothpaste. And don't do it to coated lenses/screens!

 

[Vantage]

I consulted YouTube and it seems that I might be able to polish out minor scratches using just a soft cloth and toothpaste. I thought I'd give it a try on my cheapo reading glasses which have plastic lenses, one of which has a small scratch in the corner.

DON'T DO IT!

Been there, done that. It leaves a finely matted finish on the lenses making them bloody useless. It's too harsh.

 

[C R]

DON'T DO IT!

Been there, done that. It leaves a finely matted finish on the lenses making them bloody useless. It's too harsh.

And even if you managed to get the correct finish, you would most likely alter the curvature of the lens, at least locally, which would lead to change in the lens power and image distortion.

 

[DaveReading]

DON'T DO IT!

Been there, done that. It leaves a finely matted finish on the lenses making them bloody useless. It's too harsh.

But it got the scratch out.

You couldn't have done that without using something abrasive (e.g. toothpaste). Then, when the scratch has gone, you need something non-abrasive like metal polish (Brasso, for example), to restore the finish.