Zen and the Art of Messing with Bikes :)
12-11-19, 06:53 AM
#1
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Zen and the Art of Messing with Bikes :)
I used to restore cars, especially the welding aspect, until I got too old to ignore the dangers involved. That, and the fact that the ground gets further away as one ages. Not now, for me, the crawling around under a car with an angle grinder a few inches from my nose!
I got to thinking about how my skills and experience were going to waste, so I've bought some old complete bikes, some rear 28" Sturmey wheels with Dutch chrome rims, some front wheels of the same type, and some stuff I didn't have... a tensionometer and a bike stand among them. I can rebuild a Sturmey hub in the kitchen over the winter. I can prepare a frame over the winter, again in the kitchen with a sheet of cardboard on the floor that's covered with a damp piece of material to catch and trap the falling dust. I can do the work whilst watching a film, since most of it involves scratching and wire-brushing components into a clean state.
I know nothing about modern bikes, though I appreciate the advances in technology, design and materials. Humans are a pretty smart bunch, and I admire anyone busy pushing the boundaries.
Anyone else here messing about in similar fashion?
Cheers!
I got to thinking about how my skills and experience were going to waste, so I've bought some old complete bikes, some rear 28" Sturmey wheels with Dutch chrome rims, some front wheels of the same type, and some stuff I didn't have... a tensionometer and a bike stand among them. I can rebuild a Sturmey hub in the kitchen over the winter. I can prepare a frame over the winter, again in the kitchen with a sheet of cardboard on the floor that's covered with a damp piece of material to catch and trap the falling dust. I can do the work whilst watching a film, since most of it involves scratching and wire-brushing components into a clean state.
I know nothing about modern bikes, though I appreciate the advances in technology, design and materials. Humans are a pretty smart bunch, and I admire anyone busy pushing the boundaries.
Anyone else here messing about in similar fashion?
Cheers!
12-11-19, 07:18 AM
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Welcome to BF! Since you are already in the kitchen, you can melt some wax for your chain and destroy your rust with EZ Off oven cleaner. Think twice before using the dishwasher for greasy parts
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12-11-19, 07:26 AM
#3
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.I will be looking into the waxing of chains. I've seen it mentioned a coupla times in web-search listings.
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12-11-19, 10:06 AM
#4
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Having a damp material to catch dust on the kitchen floor just sounds wrong to me.
Of course your lifestyle may make it feasable.(sp) But it depends on the toxic nature of the dust.
There is no way you are going to trap all the dust. That dust will settle on counters,appliances and food stuffs.
You won't see it all so won't remove it all.
That having been said I am not much into Zen but messing with bikes is a great idea.
I hope you figure out all the ins and outs.😉
Of course your lifestyle may make it feasable.(sp) But it depends on the toxic nature of the dust.
There is no way you are going to trap all the dust. That dust will settle on counters,appliances and food stuffs.
You won't see it all so won't remove it all.
That having been said I am not much into Zen but messing with bikes is a great idea.
I hope you figure out all the ins and outs.😉
12-11-19, 11:33 AM
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Having a damp material to catch dust on the kitchen floor just sounds wrong to me.
Of course your lifestyle may make it feasable.(sp) But it depends on the toxic nature of the dust.
There is no way you are going to trap all the dust. That dust will settle on counters,appliances and food stuffs.
You won't see it all so won't remove it all.
That having been said I am not much into Zen but messing with bikes is a great idea.
I hope you figure out all the ins and outs.😉
Of course your lifestyle may make it feasable.(sp) But it depends on the toxic nature of the dust.
There is no way you are going to trap all the dust. That dust will settle on counters,appliances and food stuffs.
You won't see it all so won't remove it all.
That having been said I am not much into Zen but messing with bikes is a great idea.
I hope you figure out all the ins and outs.😉
Regarding dust in the kitchen, I'll be using wet-and-dry most of the time. Appreciate your concern, I'll be careful.
12-11-19, 11:56 AM
#6
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I was into old cars before bikes. One thing I like is that a bike can be considered "done" as long as I don't get upgraditis. With the car, there was always something to do. Maybe I have too short of attention span to "complete" a classic car.
12-11-19, 12:15 PM
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You need to get out of here and go here.
Where the"mature" people hang out
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/
Where the"mature" people hang out
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/
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12-11-19, 12:25 PM
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You need to get out of here and go here.
Where the"mature" people hang out
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/
Where the"mature" people hang out
https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/
12-11-19, 12:29 PM
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Aumm mani adme humm. I spent a peaceful and soothing Saturday cleaning my bike including polishing the spokes. Sunday I removed the chain for a thorough scrubbing. Now the bike is so clean I'm reluctant to use it.
12-11-19, 12:47 PM
#11
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Great book! Read it about 30 years ago in college for fun. We've all had those times where the value of getting one pesky bolt out approximates the value of the whole bike/car/motorcycle. Welcome.
12-11-19, 02:16 PM
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12-11-19, 02:30 PM
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What is that?
I can't remember too much in detail about the book, but it has had a lifelong effect on me. Something about...looking at things from a perspective other than the obvious...about really applying the mind in pursuit of a goal, no matter how trivial that goal might seem to someone else. One on level, it's about winning by overcoming the problem. But there's more to it; the whole process of really getting into and enjoying the power of one's mind is fascinating. I remember the impatience of my youth. It has been replaced with...hard to say exactly...perhaps a better sense of...things being somehow part of us while at the same time being disposable.
(A quick aside...someone once told me a story about a guy who had a wonderful classic car but didn't have a garage. He had to park it at the side of his house. He'd wake up several times a night to check that all was okay with the car. On the night of a terrible storm, the guy was awakened by a dreadful crashing noise. He jumped to the window and looked out, to see that the chimney stack had been blown off the roof and down on to his precious car. He died instantly from a heart attack.The reason? The guy didn't HAVE the car, he WAS the car!)
I have to admit here and now that I'm a pervert, in that I really enjoy myself when stuff goes wrong. A new challenge! How dull it would all be if stuff never went wrong. Dealing with upscrewedicity for many decades has been delightful. Some you win, some you lose, but the failures teach you more than the successes, probably.
Cheers!
12-11-19, 02:50 PM
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12-11-19, 02:57 PM
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.Fair point, though. I should read it again. I remember enjoying it immensely, so thanks for the push.
Cheers!
12-11-19, 02:58 PM
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12-11-19, 03:10 PM
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> rumrunn6
I bought a leather jacket from a charity shop...probably fashionable in the seventies but something I'd prefer not to be seen wearing when away from the sparks. The leather is thick and heavy and the styling is gruesome, but it's my best friend when I go Rambo!
I bought a leather jacket from a charity shop...probably fashionable in the seventies but something I'd prefer not to be seen wearing when away from the sparks. The leather is thick and heavy and the styling is gruesome, but it's my best friend when I go Rambo
!
12-11-19, 03:30 PM
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Back when it almost made me go out and buy a Honda 360 vertical twin - guess I missed the point on the Zen part of it, huh?
But Pirsig's idea of quality and how it appeared to him as a dividing edge is still rather chilling, to me!
12-11-19, 03:33 PM
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I remember that! Almost like a type of dharma yoga! The meditation is found in the nonverbal mind dealing directly with the elements and actions of the task
12-11-19, 03:36 PM
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12-11-19, 03:40 PM
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12-11-19, 03:41 PM
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Staring at something and thinking "What next?"
Again and again and again and again...until...
...one makes a move...and then?
Staring at it again...
This is how we learn.
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