Neglected aluminium frame.

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ColinJ

Puzzle game procrastinator!
Sometimes, sentimentality undermines objective cost/benefit analysis.
I don't understand why people get so attached to mere possessions!

I keep my stuff as long as I can but I am not bothered when it eventually has to go, as long as I can afford to replace it.

My best bike is well over 20 years old, and I have done some great rides on it, but so what... Replacing the whole bike would matter no more to me than replacing a gashed tyre or a worn chain, providing that I had a couple of thousand pounds spare to buy its replacement. It's nothing more than a complicated and expensive cycling tool!

Spending £500 having that old bike done up makes no sense to me.
 
OP
OP
Rhythm Thief

Rhythm Thief

Legendary Member
Location
Ross on Wye
I don't understand why people get so attached to mere possessions!

I keep my stuff as long as I can but I am not bothered when it eventually has to go, as long as I can afford to replace it.

My best bike is well over 20 years old, and I have done some great rides on it, but so what... Replacing the whole bike would matter no more to me than replacing a gashed tyre or a worn chain, providing that I had a couple of thousand pounds spare to buy its replacement. It's nothing more than a complicated and expensive cycling tool!

Spending £500 having that old bike done up makes no sense to me.

I'm inclined to agree, up to a point. On the other hand (and having taken on board some of the comments in this thread regarding aluminium frames), there's lots of life left in it, given a good service and some new bits. If the owner gets another LeJog out of it, who are we to say it's money wasted?
 

silva

Über Member
Location
Belgium
About sentiment, it's easy to guess, if the bike has been fished out of a canal, and it had sit there 20 years, again riding it will make him feel 20 years younger.
Manches sollte, manches nicht
Wir sehen, doch sind wir blind
Wir werfen Schatten ohne Licht
Nach uns wird es vorher geben
Aus der Jugend wird schon Not
Wir sterben weiter bis wir leben
Sterben lebend in den Tod
Dem Ende treiben wir entgegen
Keine Rast, nur vorwärts streben
Am Ufer winkt Unendlichkeit
Gefangen so im Fluss der
Zeit
Bitte bleib stehen, bleib stehen
Zeit
Das soll immer so weitergehen
...
:smile:
 
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Rhythm Thief

Rhythm Thief

Legendary Member
Location
Ross on Wye
You are helping him waste his money. Which is fine. And you'll enjoy doing it up, with a simple procurement process for all the needed bits. But £500!

I know. But if he wants to spend it, I'm not about to stop him. It'll actually be less, as I found some secondhand mudguards in the bits pile and went for some significantly cheaper brake blocks than the Kool Stops I was originally going to fit. My labour charge - which covers not only building the bike but also stripping, cleaning and rebuilding the rear derailleur and the chainset, rebuilding the headset and hubs with new bearings and grease and tapping and greasing all threads - is £150, which is a lot cheaper than most bike shops, assuming he could find one that would take it on in the first place! With the cost of new parts, it'll come to around £450. And if he's happy to pay that, why would I stop him?
 

PaulSB

Squire
I don't understand why people get so attached to mere possessions!

I keep my stuff as long as I can but I am not bothered when it eventually has to go, as long as I can afford to replace it.

My best bike is well over 20 years old, and I have done some great rides on it, but so what... Replacing the whole bike would matter no more to me than replacing a gashed tyre or a worn chain, providing that I had a couple of thousand pounds spare to buy its replacement. It's nothing more than a complicated and expensive cycling tool!

Spending £500 having that old bike done up makes no sense to me.

I understand your point of view but it's not one I share. I feel a deep sense of attachment to my bikes and it pains me when I have to part with one. I often refer to my bike as "she." We've conquered a lot together.

I have spent more than £500 on occasions to upgrade/repair a bike but on that wreck? No way. Thing is I can't imagine allowing a bike to get into such a disgraceful state. The owner obviously doesn't care for such things whether he has my sentimental approach or your more practical one - both are, IMV, equally valid.
 
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