mstateglfr 

strong reference.

elcraft

I am most offended by signs of mechanical ignorance. The proper orientation of quick release levers ( both the proper side of bike and “aero” or visual aesthetic vis-a-vis the chainstay/ fork blade). When Brakes or Brake Cable hangers have a quick release and are set in the wrong position; when Valve stems are horribly angled to the rim; and absolutely most of all; CROSS CHAINING on a triple crankset! Usually the chain is sitting on the smallest chainring for the entire ride. Basically, any era or grade of bicycle should be operated in the safest or era preferred method. Know how your bike was meant to be used or DON’T ride it!

woodcraft

Not so much that it bugs me, but I do a double-take when I see

someone carrying their bike across a gravel parking area (don't get the tires dirty?), or walking the bike generally, I don't tend to walk the bike more than 2 or 3 pedal strokes worth.

Also bmx kids with their knees bent double- ouch!

I'm sensitive to folks posting what I think of as "chicken little syndrome"- irrational fear of cataclysmic component failure. It's like a virus that gets passed around.

Not a fan of excessively clean bikes.

Het Volk

The point of this post was to air "bike stuff" things that annoy us. I will likely be with the damned B17, aimed at the sun, and handlebars above my saddle when I get older. Does not mean I will like the way my bike looks better than now.

SurferRosa

Oh, man. That's me after riding a road bike to the park when the grass is wet with dew and goose **** everywhere. Sometimes, you can weave both tires through the ****, and sometimes you just gotta carry it and hope you can keep both shoes relatively clean. Sometimes, you try to sorta hop along, do the weave, miss a bunch, and are forced to finger flick the **** off the tops of the tires ... if all the clumps of **** can pass cleanly through the brake caliper.

Then again, my bikes might be considered "excessively clean."

philpeugeot 

Biketiger Oh the horror! Well, at least you had the decency to keep those bits on so that someone can rectify your mistakes when you pass on the Ritchey.

In all seriousness, though, this is just my opinion. To each their own, and its good to see that old metal is still being used and abused, just the way it was meant to be.

Edit: sorry to seypat for tagging you.

Nemosengineer 

What bugs me are bikes that are ridden without a proper tool kit, pump, patch kit, spare tube, or money on board. I know it's not the bikes fault yet I feel sorry for the bike... The rider not so much.

merziac

Be prepared, if you bring it, you will likely not need it, if you don't bring it, well........

Just to illustrate, I carry a dual mini pump that can also use CO2 and a fully functional oldschool Silca at all times.

I see your Silca hanging out in the corner there.

Trakhak

The tall guy astride his bike clearly has his saddle much higher than his bars. That was the era of head tube length = stem extension = exposed seat post length being the ideal, with the stem nearly as low as possible.

RobbieTunes

I want to see the car....

RobbieTunes

I rode for 2-3 years with a young gal, as I promised her dad she would be safe riding a bike. Her appearance was such that it was a given she’d likely be confronted, or at least harassed, if riding solo. DII soccer All-American. I maintained her bikes, but never looked in the bag that I installed, in which I have no doubt I’d included a CO2, lever, tube, patches. One day, it needed a fix, and I looked in the bag: $1.25 and a small bag of jelly beans.

jamesdak 

Maybe?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/276956...posted-public/

or...

seypat

That wasn't my bike. I was pointing out the fork might be bent. Also, the seatpost and stem could have been above the safe install limit line.

hsuBM

A couple of years ago my dad asked how the car we’d recently finished working on was running. I texted back that I’d traded it with someone in Pennsylvania for a Peugeot 404 wagon. My stepmom immediately called me while absolutely furious and yelling at me about how rust prone and unreliable they are.

I do really want a 404 wagon.

jamesdak 

I lived in Germany during the mid 80's. The Peugeot 205 GTI was the hot Peugeot then. I still lust after one.

thook

pugs!!! i've got an '89 505. i need to sell it for parts, though. the chassis has seen better days. rust

curbtender

Had to laugh on that tool bag with jelly beans. Bought a road bike at a garage sale with a nice Brooks saddle and tool bag. Get it home and in it is a container of weed, papers, lighter and a crescent wrench I believe they were using as a roach holder...that's all I need.

nlerner

What bugs me are bikes in the road. They should all be on the sidewalk where they belong.*




*A passing motorist actually shouted this at me once.

BFisher

I've had that same thing shouted at me.

jackbombay

Motorists don't want cyclists to obey traffic rules though, and I know you don't obey all traffic rules, if a bike is a vehicle we should "take the lane" at all times, but cars don't want that, but they want me to stop at stop signs.

Hmmm, seems motorists only want me to "behave like a vehicle" only when it's an inconvenience to me and, they want me to "not behave like a vehicle" when it is advantageous to them. If I'm expected to stop at every stop sign, which I do not have to do in Oregon Or Idaho, then I should always "take the lane" as well, shouldn't I? You and I both know that is not what motorists want...

dmarkun

This is totally me on the first ride after a restoration. Love my bikes clean and dry. I used to work with an ex bike messenger who abused his Colnago. Once I fretted to him about getting caught in a downpour on my newly restored RB-1 and having to ride miles in the rain. His reply: relax, it's not going to melt.

RobbieTunes

Yes, motorists want bikes to obey the rules convenient for motorists.
Cross-pollination only works a little.

seypat

I'll tell you what's really bugging me at the moment. I built a set of wheels on Thursday. The rims had the spoke holes drilled so that I had to start the first spoke one hole away from the usual starting hole. I've built 2 other wheelsets using the same brand/model rim. I don't remember having to start the spokes in different holes on those rims. Now I'm wondering if the spokes are in the wrong side holes on the previous wheelsets. I'm trying to control it, but the suspense is killing me. I'll eventually have to take off the tires/tubes, yank up the rim tape and take a look. Ugghh!

SurferRosa

Taking this further, it's absurd when roadies go well out of their way to express their opinion of my own disregard of traffic law.

seypat

Here's something that bugs me and will surely bring a firestorm of flames. It's in the same vein as the rider who will not gear his/her bike down coming into a red light so he/she can take off fast from the green. The rider who keeps trying to get clipped in if he/she incurs some initial problems taking off from the stoplight. Get your a$$ to the other side of the intersection as quickly as possible and then get yourself clipped in for good. You are hanging the people at the back of your group out to dry in the intersection when the light turns back. For this reason I wish all riders rode with flat sided pedals on one of the sides. Rant over.