[Arpit]

210 today. No more single digit for Lorric!       

Congrats on the milestone.

[Lorric]

210 today. No more single digit for Lorric!       

Congrats on the milestone.

Nice of you. Thanks!

[The E]

**** being poor.

So Friday night, my bike broke down. Rear gear shifter broke beyond repair, rear wheel in need of replacement, pedals falling apart, all of that ****.
So today, I went to the repair shop and asked them for a quote on the repair, which came out to slightly over 300€. Dude there tells me that it wouldn't really be worth it, that I would be better advised getting a completely new bike. One better suited to my use case (I ride somewhere between 80 and 90 kilometers each week). Which incidentally would cost well north of a thousand euros.

So here's the thing about being poor. There's an analogy I read ages ago, which basically goes like this: A poor man and a rich man both buy a pair of shoes. But whereas the rich man spends 100€ on a pair that lasts him a couple years, the poor man buys a pair for 30€ that last a couple months. By the time the rich man has to replace his pair, the poor man has spent a lot more on his shoes in the end.
Same thing here. I can't afford a new bike (Or rather, the new bikes that I could afford will be just as bad as the one I am repairing now, meaning I would have to replace it after a couple months too). I can't even get a ****ing credit to finance a better bike, cos guess what? Poor people have debts. Debts make your credit rating go down. No credit rating, no financing, meaning more expenses down the line.

**** this ****. **** all of you who believe that free market capitalism cures all ills. **** every single one of you who believes that being poor is something you can get out of by sheer force of personality and derring-do. **** this system that is almost perfectly designed to keep people who are down right where they are.

[LHN91]

**** being poor.

So Friday night, my bike broke down. Rear gear shifter broke beyond repair, rear wheel in need of replacement, pedals falling apart, all of that ****.
So today, I went to the repair shop and asked them for a quote on the repair, which came out to slightly over 300€. Dude there tells me that it wouldn't really be worth it, that I would be better advised getting a completely new bike. One better suited to my use case (I ride somewhere between 80 and 90 kilometers each week). Which incidentally would cost well north of a thousand euros.

So here's the thing about being poor. There's an analogy I read ages ago, which basically goes like this: A poor man and a rich man both buy a pair of shoes. But whereas the rich man spends 100€ on a pair that lasts him a couple years, the poor man buys a pair for 30€ that last a couple months. By the time the rich man has to replace his pair, the poor man has spent a lot more on his shoes in the end.
Same thing here. I can't afford a new bike (Or rather, the new bikes that I could afford will be just as bad as the one I am repairing now, meaning I would have to replace it after a couple months too). I can't even get a ****ing credit to finance a better bike, cos guess what? Poor people have debts. Debts make your credit rating go down. No credit rating, no financing, meaning more expenses down the line.

**** this ****. **** all of you who believe that free market capitalism cures all ills. **** every single one of you who believes that being poor is something you can get out of by sheer force of personality and derring-do. **** this system that is almost perfectly designed to keep people who are down right where they are.

I know that feel. Living in Canada and being where I am transit really isn't an option. So people need cars. But I can only afford bottom of the barrel vehicles, so I end up with lots of repairs. Which end up costing more than a much better vehicle over time, but I couldn't finance anything. Yay for 50 thousand in student debt.

I would ask for help from my parents, but their car is in much worse shape, as is their finances. And so more often than not I end up helping them. Which leaves me with even less to spend improving my own position.

[Lorric]

**** being poor.

So Friday night, my bike broke down. Rear gear shifter broke beyond repair, rear wheel in need of replacement, pedals falling apart, all of that ****.
So today, I went to the repair shop and asked them for a quote on the repair, which came out to slightly over 300€. Dude there tells me that it wouldn't really be worth it, that I would be better advised getting a completely new bike. One better suited to my use case (I ride somewhere between 80 and 90 kilometers each week). Which incidentally would cost well north of a thousand euros.

So here's the thing about being poor. There's an analogy I read ages ago, which basically goes like this: A poor man and a rich man both buy a pair of shoes. But whereas the rich man spends 100€ on a pair that lasts him a couple years, the poor man buys a pair for 30€ that last a couple months. By the time the rich man has to replace his pair, the poor man has spent a lot more on his shoes in the end.
Same thing here. I can't afford a new bike (Or rather, the new bikes that I could afford will be just as bad as the one I am repairing now, meaning I would have to replace it after a couple months too). I can't even get a ****ing credit to finance a better bike, cos guess what? Poor people have debts. Debts make your credit rating go down. No credit rating, no financing, meaning more expenses down the line.

**** this ****. **** all of you who believe that free market capitalism cures all ills. **** every single one of you who believes that being poor is something you can get out of by sheer force of personality and derring-do. **** this system that is almost perfectly designed to keep people who are down right where they are.

I know we've had our differences, but I feel for you right now. I wish you luck.

[Nuke]

if you were really poor you would fix it yourself
find your inner redneck, a roll of duct tape and some wd-40.
problem solved.

that said if your bike is still under warranty you should be able to call the number on the sticker and order replacement parts. you would of course have to install them yourself.

on the subject of impaling the rich. before i decided to live off the government (while simultaneously trying to overthrow it), and actually had a job (building/repairing bikes), they only felt the need to pay me $10-$20 per repair. so i started itemizing the repair lists and charging a repair per item. my boss didnt like that, said that i could only charge one repair per bike no matter how shredded it was. i also discovered that some of the bikes i was repairing were being put back on the shelf and sold as new. after that i just stopped doing repairs, and i quit a few months later.

not to mention some of the lower end bikes come out of the box irreparably damaged. things bent, rims not true, shifting systems not installed correctly, screw holes that come stripped (****ing alloy ****). most of it was stuff i could fix, but i had cases where i had 6 bikes that i couldnt get paid for because i had to wait 6 weeks for parts. by the time the parts game the store had lost one, destroyed two others, and sold the last one.

schwinns were nice, they always slapped together, they were never broke, and they actually calibrate their break and derailer systems before they ship them, so less i had to do. verticals were on the other end of the spectrum, they are just utter crap.

[The E]

if you were really poor you would fix it yourself

If I was really poor and had a nonzero amount of mechanic ability, yes, I would do that.

find your inner redneck, a roll of duct tape and some wd-40.
problem solved.

that said if your bike is still under warranty you should be able to call the number on the sticker and order replacement parts. you would of course have to install them yourself.

All the duct tape in the world will not help repair a rear gear shift that is twisted and bent and has succumbed to material fatigue at its mounting points. It will also not help repair a rear wheel that has broken spokes. Nor will it fix pedals that have broken due to material fatigue. Or make brake pads work again.

Trust me, if I had the ability to mount all of these things myself and trust that the result would hold up, I would do so. This duct tape repair scheme would inevitably fail within a very short amount of time, either through material failure or by not passing an encounter with traffic cops. Things may be different out in the alaskan wilderness, but around here, we have a lot of bored cops who can and will stop you and give you a ticket.

[deathfun]

Buy toy gun
Steal someone's car

Totally legit idea

[Nuke]

the duct tape thing is kind of a joke. but the parts hotline will send you pretty much anything that isnt frame. they will send you an entire rear rim assembally or an entire crankset. as for mechanical ability if you can turn a screw you have it. anyone can turn screws.

[haloboy100]

Last I looked at the twelve bikes my family owns, there aren't many screws on a bike.

[Nakura]

Three days off from work! I have plans two of the days, I can already tell that this is going to be a wonderful mini-vacation.

[Klaustrophobia]

Last I looked at the twelve bikes my family owns, there aren't many screws on a bike.

well the parts certainly aren't nailed together.

[MP-Ryan]

E, this is a conventional bicycle we're talking about, right?

Even a cheap pedal bike should be able to take 15 km/day of riding for a year or two with minimal maintenance before breaking beyond repair.  I know pricing is totally different, but I just got my ancient mountain bike repair for $185, which involved replacing most of the moving parts, and its the first I've done it in about 10 years.

Anyway, sucks dude.  Maybe some YouTube bicycle repairs should be in our immediate future?

[haloboy100]

Last I looked at the twelve bikes my family owns, there aren't many screws on a bike.

well the parts certainly aren't nailed together.

No, they're not. They're welded together.

[The E]

E, this is a conventional bicycle we're talking about, right?

Even a cheap pedal bike should be able to take 15 km/day of riding for a year or two with minimal maintenance before breaking beyond repair.  I know pricing is totally different, but I just got my ancient mountain bike repair for $185, which involved replacing most of the moving parts, and its the first I've done it in about 10 years.

Anyway, sucks dude.  Maybe some YouTube bicycle repairs should be in our immediate future?

What will be in my near future is a bunch of saving up money.

Thanks, all of you, for your support, btw. I should make something clear here: Compared to other poor people, I am actually pretty well off. I have an income that is enough to live on, and I don't have to work myself to the bone to earn it, and given that I am living in a country with a working social support system, this whole thing is more on the order of a serious inconvenience rather than a crippling blow. I'm thankfully not in a position where I have to choose between repairing the bike and starving or something like that.

I do maintain however that not being able to get financing options for better hardware is all kinds of bull**** though.

[Colonol Dekker]

Check local pawn shops for spare part bikes.

[Grizzly]

if you were really poor you would fix it yourself

If I was really poor and had a nonzero amount of mechanic ability, yes, I would do that.

Look on the bright side, this is the perfect moment to go and remedy that . The internet can be a great help in these cases, as are friends who are more familiar with mechanical abilities. Those who have mechanical abilities are usually very happy to share them.

Good luck with your troubles, E.

[deathfun]

Well
As it turns out, that thing I did with that gal this past saturday, is going to apparently be a more frequent thing
Notbad.png

[Colonol Dekker]

Highfive!!!!!
Brofist.
Cheztbump.


Must progress to beyond dryhump.

[deathfun]

It was a pretty wet dryjump ifunowutimean