... on his own while I was at work, and hasn't come back yet. Maybe he was angry about all this talk of replacing him. Maybe now that he's been in the dirt, he's angry about being back on errand running and road duty.
Maybe he got stolen. NAH! Who'd do a thing like that?
Anyway, I need a new bike, but can't really afford one, so I'm probably going to get some cheap wheels for my mountain bike and stick some slicks on. Either 26" wheels, or 700c rims on disc hubs. With cassette and rotors I'd end up at $300 if I did it as cheaply as possible. Is it worth it? If I got 700c wheels I could use them when I get a cross bike (ie. never), but I'd have to have Dale build them up, so they'd be more expensive.
Should I just get a new bike? There is probably a decent bike in my size on clearance still hanging around somewhere. But on top of the cost of the bike is ALL THE LITTLE THING THAT YOU THINK ARE CHEAP - pedals, saddle, tires, saddle bag, tube, multitool, pump, blinky lights, bottle cages, and I've probably forgotten something. Oh yeah, my lightset was on there. That's $300 whether I go new bike or not.
So, minimum costs (approx):
New bike:
Bike: $1200, saddle: $50, tires: $80, pedals: $60, bag: $20, tube and patch kit: $10, multitool: $30, pump: $30, blinkies: $40, cages: $20
That's $1540 (before tax), and I'd probably want a shorter stem and narrower, short reach bars too. I'm looking at $2k with light set.
New wheelset:
XT disc hubs: $120, CXP22 rims: $80, spokes and labour: ?, tires: $80, tube: $10, cassette (x2 since the one on the bike is toast): $80
$370 + spokes and labour + lights = $700
All of this will probably cost more from the bike shop too.
Rent's due by the end of the month, and the only food in my kitchen is packet noodles, 3 crust slices of bread (not quite sure how I got three), milk, broccoli, a packet of Hobnobs, and a strangely shaped potato that I can't eat until I've taken a photo of.
Not really!
Well, that is all I've got in my kitchen (though I forgot about the freezer - there's some frozen vegetables in there, and something that looks like either chicken strips or breaded fish), but only because I end up walking around Superstore and getting to the till with a basket containing a bunch of bananas, raspberry herbal tea and my helmet, and not 'cause I haven't got any money. I've got the money for a new bike, but that would drop my balance below the "magic number", that I like to keep it above.
But I'm too young to have a balance above $1k.
CAAD9 or Allez?
PS - I forgot fenders. The bike shop charged me $60 last time.
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1 comment:
That really sucks that Jake is missing.
If you are going to get a new bike, try and get last years model(2008) as the new ones coming out will be approx. 15% more expensive. The bike companies have raised their prices due to increase in raw material costs.
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