Wednesday, September 30, 2009

More Stuff

In an effort to single-handedly stimulate the economy of the nation, my Paypal exploits have taken on Herculean proportions. I am only three hundred and thirty one transactions away from a new star.
eBay is evil.
The brakes on the Beach Bike were howling like a castle full of drunken banshees so I decided to change out the calipers. Unfortunately, the Shimano XT brakes I got did not fit so I turned them around on Craigslist and got these:

So far so good. Some squeal, but for the most part quiet. I think I just need to wear them in a bit.
I also switched chain lubes from Prolink to Boeshield T9. Though the T9 is a bit tacky, it does not appear to attract as much grit and sand. It is also cleaner; meaning it doesn't turn the chain into a greasy mess. So far I like it.
I decided to go all OCD on the chain so I bought this:

Hopefully using Park Tool's Cyclone Chain Cleaner every hundred miles or so with the Boeshield should make my drivetrain last a bit longer.
Park also came out with a new spoke tool. Instead of having to get all the different sizes, they now make this:

No, I only bought one; I photoshopped a front and back shot into a side by side. Oh, and for some reason, I took the picture in black and white.
I was trying to capture the true essence of the object. Evil Hoku should get a laugh out of that.
I also changed the handle bars on the Beach Bike. I went with twenty-seven degree sweeps so it moved my hand position further back. To offset the change, I got a new stem:

At one hundred and twenty millimeters, it's long; I mean long. It had to be that long in order to set the grips back to their original position.
I'll put up pics of the Beach Bike after I'm done adjusting some(more) stuff on it.
And just to prove to myself that not all my purchases are frivolous, I had to order me this:

I hope this is not the start of a new trend(see below). Actually, I'm not a real Dr. Seuss fan; I am more of a Babar groupie:

I am helping a student get through first year French, so perhaps I can write it off.
I'll just include all this stuff in The Flat Tire Stimulus Package.
You can thank me later.

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