Just Because.
I don't need a reason to buy bike parts. I don't need a project or place to hang them. Judging by the parts pile in my garage, I don't even require the physical space to store them.
All I need is a vague idea that I might someday possibly want to build something in the distant future. That's all that's required to make the magic happen. From there, I'm off to craigslist or eBay or some random MyFace for-sale page, and my children's higher-educational future becomes even dimmer.
Sometimes I open a box and marvel at the contents, because I don't quite remember buying them. It's always "good stuff", so it's always a pleasant discovery. That's how I keep my relationship with myself fresh- spontaneity.
The last box was a prime example of no real need but a whole lot of want.
When it came in the mail, I got all giggly. I carefully slit the tape to avoid damaging the contents, then peeled back the lid with anticipation. The first thing that caught my eye was a set of 3T carbon handlebars. This was a bit of a surprise. I knew they were coming, but I didn't realize they were from the same seller as the rest of the contents. I had won two separate auctions on eBay, then paid for them- to include shipping. The seller double-dipped shipping on me, and I never realized it. Attention to details has never been a strong suit for me.
The bars have an intended purpose. They're going on the backup road race bike, because you wouldn't want your backup road racing bike to have aluminum bars when your actual road race bike has carbon bars. Don't get me started on the crit bike or the...
The rest of the box was full of individually Styrofoam-wrapped pieces which added up to a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset. I don't currently have a frame that I can bolt a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset onto, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I have a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
Boom. I win.
I have this ill-formed concept kicking around in my head that I'm going to build a gravel bike. Not a 'cross bike, because that would almost certainly lead me to run into trees, break ribs, and bulge discs in my back. Nope, this is gonna be a gravel grinder bike. Big tires. Thru axles. Threaded bottom brackets. SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
My first thought is to get another ti frame, because my current one has been a pleasant surprise. Then again, Speedway makes a nice carbon gravel bike that checks most, if not all of my boxes. There's a really nice Niner steel frame that looks interesting.... To be honest, I have no idea what I want or what I'm going to get (those two things rarely align).
...but I have a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
Chances are I'm going to build this monstrousity up, ride it a few times, decide it isn't really my thing, and then sell it for a huge loss. I'll use the proceeds to partially fund another disaster.
Just because.
All I need is a vague idea that I might someday possibly want to build something in the distant future. That's all that's required to make the magic happen. From there, I'm off to craigslist or eBay or some random MyFace for-sale page, and my children's higher-educational future becomes even dimmer.
Sometimes I open a box and marvel at the contents, because I don't quite remember buying them. It's always "good stuff", so it's always a pleasant discovery. That's how I keep my relationship with myself fresh- spontaneity.
The last box was a prime example of no real need but a whole lot of want.
When it came in the mail, I got all giggly. I carefully slit the tape to avoid damaging the contents, then peeled back the lid with anticipation. The first thing that caught my eye was a set of 3T carbon handlebars. This was a bit of a surprise. I knew they were coming, but I didn't realize they were from the same seller as the rest of the contents. I had won two separate auctions on eBay, then paid for them- to include shipping. The seller double-dipped shipping on me, and I never realized it. Attention to details has never been a strong suit for me.
The bars have an intended purpose. They're going on the backup road race bike, because you wouldn't want your backup road racing bike to have aluminum bars when your actual road race bike has carbon bars. Don't get me started on the crit bike or the...
The rest of the box was full of individually Styrofoam-wrapped pieces which added up to a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset. I don't currently have a frame that I can bolt a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset onto, but that doesn't matter. What matters is that I have a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
Boom. I win.
I have this ill-formed concept kicking around in my head that I'm going to build a gravel bike. Not a 'cross bike, because that would almost certainly lead me to run into trees, break ribs, and bulge discs in my back. Nope, this is gonna be a gravel grinder bike. Big tires. Thru axles. Threaded bottom brackets. SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
My first thought is to get another ti frame, because my current one has been a pleasant surprise. Then again, Speedway makes a nice carbon gravel bike that checks most, if not all of my boxes. There's a really nice Niner steel frame that looks interesting.... To be honest, I have no idea what I want or what I'm going to get (those two things rarely align).
...but I have a SRAM S700 10-speed hydraulic disc brake groupset.
Chances are I'm going to build this monstrousity up, ride it a few times, decide it isn't really my thing, and then sell it for a huge loss. I'll use the proceeds to partially fund another disaster.
Just because.
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