[S-OT] Best bike part to play with at work



M

Michael Press

Guest
For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
of at work.

Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube. In
addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and amaze
people with its light weight.

What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
play with?

Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)
 
Michael Press wrote:
> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?

Ferule.

Bill "I don't know why" S.
 
On my desk right now at work I have a pair of Velox bar plugs and sometimes I try to spin them like a top. Extra Campy front derailleur that provides some enjoyment and finger exercise as well. Silca mini-pump and also a spare set of Speedplay frog cleats (not so fun).

The most fun, however, is that I have an entire bike in my office which provides ample parts to play with.
 
Originally posted by Michael Press
For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
of at work.

Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube. In
addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and amaze
people with its light weight.

What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
play with?

Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)

Segment of chain that you cut off when installing a new one,
nice front hub... like an old Phil Wood, butted spokes, alloy nipples, brass nipples (coat threaded areas with Molydenum DiSulfide, Teflon, etc.) , super quiet and super noisy rear hubs.
If you are into "hula hooping" a rim works.
 
Michael Press wrote:
> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?
>
> Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)

have you tried distcc? less time to play :)

Francesco
 
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?

CO2 inflator, also handy for cooling drinks or freezing
stuff before passing it to a colleage.

"Michael Press" <[email protected]> wrote in
message news:[email protected]...
> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?
>
> Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)
 
"daveornee" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Michael Press wrote:
> > For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> > desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to
> > compile or otherwise daydreaming about being on my
> > bike instead of at work. Currently I have a 3" section
> > of carbon fiber steer tube. In addition to fiddling
> > with, it's fun to examine and amaze people with its
> > light weight. What other parts would be fun to have on
> > my desk to play with? Michael (currently waiting for
> > code to compile...)
>
>
>
> Segment of chain that you cut off when installing a new
> one, nice front hub... like an old Phil Wood, butted
> spokes, alloy nipples, brass nipples (coat threaded areas
> with Molydenum DiSulfide, Teflon, etc.) , super quiet and
> super noisy rear hubs. If you are into "hula hooping" a
> rim works.
>
Not part of a bike directly, but since we have Alhambra
bottled water delivered at work. I use a tall water-bottle
to quench my thirst. -tom
 
sfcommuter <[email protected]> wrote:
>On my desk right now at work I have a pair of Velox bar
>plugs and sometimes I try to spin them like a top. Extra
>Campy front derailleur that provides some enjoyment and
>finger exercise as well. Silca mini- pump and also a spare
>set of Speedplay frog cleats (not so fun).
>
>The most fun, however, is that I have an entire bike in my
>office which provides ample parts to play with.

Yeah, me too. People are often surprised when they walk into
my office and find me just staring at the bike...

Michael
 
Michael Press wrote:

> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?
>
> Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)

I have a collection of mostly broken parts for show and tell
- engineers love that kind of stuff. Broken Campy crank
(across the pedal threads), broken pedal (spindle snapped
off inside the body), short sections of failed rims (one
with a nipple pulled through, one with a crack in the
braking surface, on one you can see the rim joint plug), an
unstitched sew-up tire...

Not fun to play with but interesting to look at.

--
My bike blog: http://diabloscott.blogspot.com/
 
Diablo Scott wrote:
> I have a collection of mostly broken parts for show and
> tell - engineers love that kind of stuff. Broken Campy
> crank (across the pedal threads), broken pedal (spindle
> snapped off inside the body), short sections of failed
> rims (one with a nipple pulled through, one with a crack
> in the braking surface, on one you can see the rim joint
> plug), an unstitched sew-up tire...
>
> Not fun to play with but interesting to look at.

Me too. Google up the old thread called "Mavic rims dont
*all* suck." The rim under discussion in that thread is in
my office, and it's been a neat conversation piece. Many
non-biker's don't have any idea that bike parts can fail
like that.

--
Dave dvt at psu dot edu
 
Michael Press wrote:

> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>=20
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>=20
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?
>=20
> Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)

Take two complete chain links and join them together
into a=20 parallelogram, the shortest possible flexible
bike chain.

Very good for fidgeting with.

Sheldon "CaptQueeg" Brown London, U.K. +--------------------------------------------------------
---------+
| I'll be traveling in France and England throughout the
| month | of June. I hope to remain online, but don't
| know what sort | of 'Net access I'll be able to get...
| | I lost 190 MB of mail due to mailbox overload in mid
| June, | so if you wrote me and din=92t get a reply, try
| again. |
+-----------------------------------------------------------
------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone 617-244-
9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-find
parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com
http://sheldonbrown.com
 
Sheldon Brown wrote:
>
> Michael Press wrote:
>
> > For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> > desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to
> > compile or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike
> > instead of at work.
> >
> > Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer
> > tube. In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine
> > and amaze people with its light weight.
> >
> > What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> > play with?
> >
> > Michael (currently waiting for code to compile...)
>
> Take two complete chain links and join them together
> into a parallelogram, the shortest possible flexible
> bike chain.
>
> Very good for fidgeting with.
>

Why not a full size well lubricated chain? You can show your
dirty hands at home and say 'Look, I really worked today'

Lou
 
In article <[email protected]>,
Sheldon Brown <[email protected]> wrote:

snip
>
> Sheldon "CaptQueeg" Brown London, U.K. +--------------------------------------------------------
> ---------+
> | I'll be traveling in France and England throughout the
> | month | of June. I hope to remain online, but don't
> | know what sort | of 'Net access I'll be able to get...
> | | I lost 190 MB of mail due to mailbox overload in mid
> | June, | so if you wrote me and din¹t get a reply, try
> | again. |
> +---------------------------------------------------------
> --------+ Harris Cyclery, West Newton, Massachusetts Phone
> 617-244-9772 FAX 617-244-1041 http://harriscyclery.com Hard-to-
> find parts shipped Worldwide http://captainbike.com
> http://sheldonbrown.com
>
My Captain, my Captain!

You must be at Wimbledon. Strawberries and cream...

Its the strawberries.....

hope you are not drowning!

HAND

--
³Freedom Is a Light for Which Many Have Died in Darkness³

- Tomb of the unknown - American Revolution
 
"Michael Press" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> For a long time I kept a bottom bracket spindle on my
> desk to fidget with while I'm waiting for code to compile
> or otherwise daydreaming about being on my bike instead
> of at work.
>
> Currently I have a 3" section of carbon fiber steer tube.
> In addition to fiddling with, it's fun to examine and
> amaze people with its light weight.
>
> What other parts would be fun to have on my desk to
> play with?

I remember taking my front wheel and frame pump into classes
with me. Front wheels are fun to play with, and frame pumps
can make some great noises. I love spinning freehubs, but my
ultimate fiddle toy is a (cleaned) VW CV-joint, it's fun to
(dis)assemble and roll the large balls around, nothing off a
bike is as cool.
 

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