Thursday, January 27, 2022

Organization Is The Theme

Finding places for all the things.
 It's cold and windy out. That means it is time to do the things I don't want to even think about when the riding season starts up again. Things like- you know.....Cleaning. Organizing. Clearing out stuff I'll never use. That sort of tedious stuff that takes time and is not what you want to face when the weather gets decent enough for riding. 

So, I have been taking time now to get down there and clean, organize, and weed out the chaff. It's kind of funny when you look at stuff you thought was important to keep 20 years ago that barely anyone would need or want now. What is currently 'good to keep' is something that shifts over time. 

This is kind of an ironic situation since what I am doing at home mirrors what my task is at my new job right now. They have a myriad of 'stuff', but not a lot of it is relevant to today's bicycles. Once again, I have to put on my "modern day glasses" when I look at old, decrepit "Schwinn Approved" derailleurs which probably are not going to ever get used now. Those bikes that those derailleurs came on are 50- 60 years old now. Antique! But not antique enough that they have any value. Not like a Campy Record derailleur does. 

And then there are things like 1990's Altus cantilever brakes. You know the ones- They had that plastic spring retainer that always cracks. Saving any of those and actually using them? That's giving someone else a big problem instead of helping them. Nope! Those are going to salvage. And those OEM Shimano brake pads? Those were junk the day they were made. Hard as rocks those. 

Anyway, it is time to separate the goats from the sheep. I'm going to be busy for a while....

1 comment:

teamdarb said...

Ummm, vintage Altus and Acera canti brake collector over here. The plastic retainers were not needed. Dia Compe did the same setup sans them. If you are tossing out some vintage mtb components... I am searching for old Altus and Acera X alloy brake levers and derailleurs, plus Paralax hubs. I am building up an old Schwinn Voyageur to save the tire wear of the fat bike for less extreme adventures.