Crap Advice

[petitpal]

I do agree with the general gist of the original post, however, as others have said: this is the Internet (yes, it's a proper noun) and that's sort of the point of the Internet: it's a free press. Everyone is free to write a huge pile of crap and they regularly do. I write software for a living and on the odd occasion when I get stuck and Google something I see bigger and smellier heaps of pseudo-advice-good-practice crap than I've ever seen on here.

I take your point, and agree with it - if you aren't sure then you should always say - but in genenral this site isn't too bad and I think that a lot of the decent folk do.

I think what you're describing seems to be a broader Internet problem and, tbh, if you drop in to a forum and say, 'my rims cracked how can I save it', blindly follow the first piece of advice that says, 'drill a big hole in it, that'll fix it' then you're a teeny bit daft to say the least. Everything on the Internet needs to be filtered by your own, built in, 'sanity filter'. And in the case of this site, people need to remember that yes, these are old bikes but chucking them down the side of a mountain today has exactly the same implications now as it did back then.

And I'm an engineer so I should know.

 

[legrandefromage]

For those in th UK, dont expect anywhere near the right advice from bikeshops either - I was rather disgusted with what went on at my local (reason #36c as to why myself and others are no longer there). They are businesses and need to make money, its easier to alienate than it is to do a bit of simple research to locate an obscure part.

If you find a bike shop which has a mechanic as passionate about the old crap as well as the new crap, make him a friend!

Even if he smells..

 

[mikee]

is this another attempt at increasing the price /availabilty of retro quality
items ? "oooh you cant use that throw it away and buy another one "

the world is full of idiots , some mess around with old bicycles

 

[gtRTSdh]

to fix a cracked rim surely you just cut the cracked section out and put the tyre back on to hold it all together, not so great with rim brakes but works fine with discs. BTW I've a Masters in BS Mech Eng

 

[JeRkY]

Another engeer here, although I tend to limit myself to the world of medical device design & manufacture I have done an occasional post where I've felt it necessary to offer my opinion. Particular case point was where a chap was trying to bodge together his own bonded fork using a mixture of no e aligning components rescued from a mix of sources, a small vat of epoxy and a couple of steel pins. The result would have been dental work for the poor chap. I have to admit a lot of the questions that get asked are so mundane, obvious and frequently asked that I tend to not weigh in.

I'm always up for a debate if any one disagrees with advice I may offer from my perspective.

 

[BoyBurning]

What; no single / double / triple face-palms, shocked cats or shocked women yet?

I used to be Prime Minister you know..


BB

 

[Whatleymeister]

i like to drill crank arms

Good man. If we don't try we will never know. At own personal risk of course...

of course! i would never encourage others to do the same as me

I drill everything on my bike: frame, saddle, stays. Even the tyres and tubes...

Essentially it is a swiss cheese!

 

[Whatleymeister]

What; no single / double / triple face-palms, shocked cats or shocked women yet?

I used to be Prime Minister you know..


BB

Just for you BB

 

[MikeD]

Seems to me that the same open forum mechanism that permits bad advice to be posted also allows said bad advice to be jumped upon by clueful people, and that in general appropriate answers tend to emerge. Although I accept that this isn't any sort of guarantee

 

[highlandsflyer]

For those in th UK, dont expect anywhere near the right advice from bikeshops either - I was rather disgusted with what went on at my local (reason #36c as to why myself and others are no longer there). They are businesses and need to make money, its easier to alienate than it is to do a bit of simple research to locate an obscure part.

If you find a bike shop which has a mechanic as passionate about the old crap as well as the new crap, make him a friend!

Even if he smells..

Agree LGF.

I took one of my mates into the LBS (Local BS Shop) to have a look at bikes to see what might suit him. The owner suggested one of the carbon bikes. I asked my pal if he falls off a lot, and tend to throw the bikes into the back of his flatbed where it get hammered by other junk while he is out doing his work, tree surgery, and he said absolutley. So having said all that for the benefit of the LBS owner, I then stated, "You would be better off avoiding carbon, as the tubing is not resilient to being abused in that way."

The owner then gave me the stabbing eyes look, "Carbon has come on a long way in recent years."

This is an LBS that had handed my pal back his old bike after a 'service' with the stem around ten degrees off.

I reckon most of the threads on here produce decent advice overall.

I should know, I am an engineer.