Building up a supply of "Spares"

fergy1987
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Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby fergy1987 » Wed May 30, 2018 9:58 am

So I am trying to build up a bunch of spares just to have on hand at home for when they are required, and was after some advice as to what you would recommend.

Ideally I would love just a big box of replacement screws and bolts to replace rusty bolts in bottle cages etc, but not sure where one could find this without buying each individual bolt. Also having Aluminium bikes I was under the impression that Stainless Steel bolts are a no go because of its reaction to aluminium? is this actually the case? - and does anyone know where one can pick up a bunch of the "usual" bicycle bolts in bulk?

What other spare bits and pieces (besides the obvious, like inner tubes) do you make sure you have on hand for that one time you need it and aren't running around trying to find it in store like a crazy person.

twowheels
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby twowheels » Wed May 30, 2018 7:10 pm

Gear cables, brake cables, gear cable outer (danger! do not use for brakes), brake cable outer, cable ends, cable ferrules. Brake pads.

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Thoglette
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby Thoglette » Wed May 30, 2018 7:35 pm

Set of wheels. Right hand brifter (or down tube shifter adapter). Chain joiner.
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10speedsemiracer
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby 10speedsemiracer » Wed May 30, 2018 7:54 pm

twowheels wrote:Gear cables, brake cables, gear cable outer (danger! do not use for brakes), brake cable outer, cable ends, cable ferrules. Brake pads.
+1 for all of the above plus good tubes (if you buy in multiples, are usually cheaper) and rim tape depending on your tyre setup.

And good cable cutters.
Campagnolo for show, SunTour for go

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Duck!
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby Duck! » Wed May 30, 2018 8:13 pm

Thoglette wrote:Set of wheels. Right hand brifter (or down tube shifter adapter). Chain joiner.
Geez, why not just have a spare bike? :mrgreen:
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Duck!
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby Duck! » Wed May 30, 2018 8:25 pm

fergy1987 wrote:
Ideally I would love just a big box of replacement screws and bolts to replace rusty bolts in bottle cages etc, but not sure where one could find this without buying each individual bolt. Also having Aluminium bikes I was under the impression that Stainless Steel bolts are a no go because of its reaction to aluminium? is this actually the case? - and does anyone know where one can pick up a bunch of the "usual" bicycle bolts in bulk?
Just dab a smear of grease over the bolt heads if you're worried about rust. Otherwise, take some samples to your local specialist bolt supplier to match up. Stainless steel is no friend of aluminium (or more precisely, aluminium is not a great friend to many other metals), especially if you live in a coastal environment where salt will accelerate unwanted reactions. There is an isolating compound called Duralac, available at marine suppliers, which looks like radioactive snot, but is very good at reducing reactions. The second concern with stainless bolts is that they work harden, become brittle and can break when subjected to prolonged cyclic stress. Aero bar assemblies (if fitted) and saddle clamps are two areas in particular that you should not use stainless bolts because of the considerable increased risk of breakage.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Ross
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby Ross » Wed May 30, 2018 8:28 pm

Tyres, tubes, chains, brake pads, derailleur hanger, rear lights

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bychosis
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby bychosis » Wed May 30, 2018 9:12 pm

I don’t know about buying a bunch of bolts ‘just in case’, but I have collected all sorts of bolts from stripped and rebuilt bikes (and other stuff) over the years. It’s handy having a bunch of randomly sized nuts and bolts when fixing stuff. I tend to keep bike specific stuff together in with my bike gear so there is less to sort through to find that one bolt.

We still have council cleanup around here and I’ve collected quite a few bikes to either raid for parts or fix and flip. Bars, seatpost, brakes, saddles etc as spares too. Got 8 new ones in the last round, need some minor work and parts but should be good for at least $200
bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

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Thoglette
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby Thoglette » Wed May 30, 2018 9:49 pm

Duck! wrote:
Thoglette wrote:Set of wheels. Right hand brifter (or down tube shifter adapter). Chain joiner.
Geez, why not just have a spare bike? :mrgreen:
I've got one. :oops: Ok, two :oops: :oops:

Less flippantly, over the last decade I've had threefour right hand brifter* failures, had a 10sp chain fail (and seen two others) and destroyed at least three wheels. Yet have still had to go to work the next day.

I should have prefixed my comment with a +1 as shifter cables are about as reliable as tubes. Or reliably wear out like tyres. Brake cables are fine until you feck with them - then they "fuzz up" at which point you need new ones.

Oh, and you need a leettle stash of cable end caps.

*OK, so none of them were new but they do eventually fail, both Shimano and Campy. Campy ones can be fixed but only if you have the spares (and with "old" style ones, only if you can get the b*#$%ds apart)
Stop handing them the stick! - Dave Moulton
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queequeg
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby queequeg » Thu May 31, 2018 12:17 am

I keep in hand pretty much anything consumable to keep me on the road (as I commute daily)

So,

- tubes (a given),
- CO2 (to get going quickly on the road),
- tyres (I have had tyres get ripped to shreds on a commute, so I always have a spare set waiting in the wings...for each bike!)
- chains
- cassettes
- brake pads
- spokes (I started doing that when popping spokes was becoming common)
- shifters (after my SRAM Apex paddle snapped off, I got a spare set for $60 off ebay for emergencies)
- cables (outers inners, brakes & gears)
- spare wheels (an extension of spare spokes, so I can be on the road immediately if I don't get time to replace a spoke)
- spare hub bearings (I keep one spare set of bearings, then order more after I replace them)
- rim tape
- bar tape
- derailleur hangers for all my bikes
- disc rotors

Then I have all the misc bits like lube, grease, locktite, anti-seize stuff etc etc

Moving on from that, I have multiple bikes, but my commuter is the only one set up to carry lots of gear, but I can stuff all my things in a backpack and suffer for a few days if things are bad. That's what happened when my shifter broke and it took 3 weeks to source another one under warranty.

A lot of parts I tend to accumulate over time due to projects that never went ahead, or leftovers from other builds. I have spare saddles, spare seatposts, spare bars, spare cranksets, and bits of and pieces of front and rear derailleurs. Once of these days I'll do a big cleanout!
'11 Lynskey Cooper CX, '00 Hillbrick Steel Racing (Total Rebuild '10), '16 Cervelo R5, '18 Mason BokekTi

twowheels
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Re: Building up a supply of "Spares"

Postby twowheels » Thu May 31, 2018 8:38 am

queequeg wrote:Once of these days I'll do a big cleanout!
When you do, when any of you do, Bitsa Bikes (Perth) would appreciate a contribution to the parts library.
https://www.facebook.com/BitsaBikesWA/
In particular linear pull brake arms and flat bar friction shifters at present.

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