Dirtbag Tips

[enduramil]

Ok, I admit I'm bored at work. It's friday and no one is in the gym.

Corey's little contest had me thinking of things I've done in the past to cut costs in mountain biking. So I'd thought it would be fun to have a thread to post up all the dirtbag things you did, too eat, for riding clothes, bike parts, and so on.

To clarify, this means tips too share with others. Maybe some of the younsters here could learn something.

[nouseforaname]

Worked in a bike store. What do i win? Can i sue you? Or the store?

[DUDEONABIKE]

get to know the people at the lbs, they'll give you tones of deals. i knew 2 really good guy at cove, the both left for educations so that ended the really good deals at cove

[freerider888]

Duct tape is overrated. Metal wire is where it is at. I broke my X.9 Shifter didn't have any money, so I wired it on. It has been like that for a full year now. Holds fine. And both my QR20 clamps flip flap things are held on by wire. Works wonders.

[GeoffG]

My friend had his rear brake line break on his bike and we were going for a ride. In the short time he had to get something together, he took off his front brake and proceeded to put it on the rear with the lever under the seat:lol:. He did a little 5 footer, lost control and went flying into the bushes:lol:. It was so ghetto8).

[Lady Gravity]

i gave up beer for 2.5 months and spent as little as possible on food so i could buy bike parts :lol:

[Pedal Power]

Duct tape is overrated. Metal wire is where it is at. I broke my X.9 Shifter didn't have any money, so I wired it on. It has been like that for a full year now. Holds fine. And both my QR20 clamps flip flap things are held on by wire. Works wonders.

You Dirtbag

[Bat Man]

Ahahaha this sounds like Bush Mechanics for bikes! Has anybody from Australia watched that show? it was on a while ago on ABC

[Zedbra]

I was out riding with Rat one time in Squamish when he got a flat. When we flipped the bike over and went to pull the wheel off, the wole deraileur came off with it - the fram was snapped at the hanger. We fixed the flat, put about 4 zap staps around the derailleur/hangar and limped it down an 'easier' trail to the car.

[Straw]

Back in Ontario in about 1995, I was broke and just getting into biking. I was on Student's Council (I was in grade 9 in 1995), so had to work at the school dances. I'd do shoe check or coat check or make sure people didn't run around the halls.

There was a body-building show the next day in the gym, so all the Student Council people who worked the dance got entered into a draw to win tickets to the show.

I won the tickets, but didn't have much interest in body building, so I scalped the tickets in the parking lot the next day and bought some tools and chain lube!

[fitchy]

Duct tape is overrated. Metal wire is where it is at. I broke my X.9 Shifter didn't have any money, so I wired it on. It has been like that for a full year now. Holds fine. And both my QR20 clamps flip flap things are held on by wire. Works wonders.

this is not true. i once fixed a flat with duct tape it lasted a winter on the shore

[Neo]

duct tape kicks so much ass, don't diss it.

[thad]

If you can't duct it, fuct it.

[enduramil]

Ok here's mine, cost cutting and such.

Snicker's- cheaper than power bar
Slurppee-Cheaper than Iced Cap or a Frapp
Powdered Iced Tea or Lemonade form Bulk Store- cheaper than Eload or whatever

Baggie shorts- Army pants from Surplus or whatever cut to shorts

[M@M]

kd for food
for everyting else: if something moves and it isnt supposed to, use duct tape. if somethign is supposed to move and it doesnt, use WD40.

[freerider888]

I never said duct tape was bad, I just said it was overrated.

And Simon, emphasize on this nose casing roadgaps thing. And how do we test?

[Carbuncle]

$20 Wal-mart/Target skate shoes have extra gummy soles, worked just fine for me (until I got the High Impacts I just picked up).

$20 Wal-mart/Target baggies are way cheaper than fancy bike shorts, and don't have a diaper to cut out.

When your pre- '05 Hussefelt pedal inserts come out seized to the pedal axle, coat the inside of the crank with red loc-tite and the pedal insert threads with the waxy blue loc-tite stick, thread back in, tighten and leave for 24 hours. Pedal comes right out and the insert is permanently inserted (at least so far).

The semi-premium Wellgo flats kick ass (the ones that cost about $35 US).

Online retailers cut out last year's full finger gloves for around $10 in the fall/winter. Sometimes with a combo deal you can get two or three pair for less than $30 with shipping.

[Neo]

mec for cheep parts and shorts.

[Gimp Pimp]

When your pre- '05 Hussefelt pedal inserts come out seized to the pedal axle, coat the inside of the crank with red loc-tite and the pedal insert threads with the waxy blue loc-tite stick, thread back in, tighten and leave for 24 hours. Pedal comes right out and the insert is permanently inserted (at least so far).

Yes! Loc-tite rocks! But i think it weakens over time, no?

[Millstone]

skip lunch and dinner and go straight to the beers.

[redsdisease]

Don't eat.

[The Ultimate Hack]

Go to trail days for shirts swag karma and good food.

[offman]

Sneak into the local watering hole with 2-3 beer you saved from the night before. Hook up with some random chick, better to be one with a few extra pounds. When you go back to her place eat, drink enough of her booze so she looks purty, then take her down. Get up in the middle of the night, raid whatever food (a bigger girl should hopefully have more food in her place) and booze you can carry with you (garbage bags work great) and get the hell outta dodge. Repeat the next night if you can. I once went 3 months without having to pay for food and booze. And I only slept in my van a few times. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you lower your standards.

[Dr.Phil]

Buy blank, black shoes from walmart and write Lavan on them in white out.
X-games knee pads from wal mart, they've held up great for just about a year and a half and they look pretty knar.
When my shorts rip I use tape to put them back together.
My seat post is technically only 2 inches long because it broke and I havent gone to get a new one yet (been like that for 7 months...)

[ERregular]

I rode the same rigid bike for 18 years. The tires are (OK, were, I just replaced them) 10 years old. (Panaracer Smoke/Dart combo from 1996.) Original Biopace got replaced last year (most of the teeth were missing or ground down from using the big ring as a bashguad).

All the fun of riding at almost no cost.

Plus it let me save up $ for a new Sinister Splinter. YAY!

[noah]

Sneak into the local watering hole with 2-3 beer you saved from the night before. Hook up with some random chick, better to be one with a few extra pounds. When you go back to her place eat, drink enough of her booze so she looks purty, then take her down. Get up in the middle of the night, raid whatever food (a bigger girl should hopefully have more food in her place) and booze you can carry with you (garbage bags work great) and get the hell outta dodge. Repeat the next night if you can. I once went 3 months without having to pay for food and booze. And I only slept in my van a few times. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you lower your standards.
haha gross!

[Coastal]

Sneak into the local watering hole with 2-3 beer you saved from the night before. Hook up with some random chick, better to be one with a few extra pounds. When you go back to her place eat, drink enough of her booze so she looks purty, then take her down. Get up in the middle of the night, raid whatever food (a bigger girl should hopefully have more food in her place) and booze you can carry with you (garbage bags work great) and get the hell outta dodge. Repeat the next night if you can. I once went 3 months without having to pay for food and booze. And I only slept in my van a few times. It's amazing what you can accomplish when you lower your standards.

LOL :lol:

My best Dirt bag tip. Get your self a sugar moma.

[CraigH]

When your pre- '05 Hussefelt pedal inserts come out seized to the pedal axle, coat the inside of the crank with red loc-tite and the pedal insert threads with the waxy blue loc-tite stick, thread back in, tighten and leave for 24 hours. Pedal comes right out and the insert is permanently inserted (at least so far).


I was able to send a non-drive side crank in for crash replacement, about $25 Cdn I think.

[CraigH]

For DH jersey over upper body armour, buy a Hockey practice jersey, well vented, ~$15.

For winter riding gear, check our Mark's Work Wear World. The guys building houses in the winter know what works.

[jpi]

The best thing I ever did to cut costs is start brewing my own beer. Granted; to get into it you need about $100 bucks (primary fermenter / carboy, hoses, etc) but after that, you are rolling!
From 1 kit of beer syrup at the store: (about $12.00) and 1/2 a pack of dextrose, I get roughly 6 cases of beer. Score! Nothing beats a cold one after a ride. Or a cold dozen.

[enduramil]

Don't run any kind of disk brakes.

[Lady Gravity]

Don't run any kind of disk brakes.

:lol: still having trouble?

Score! Nothing beats a cold one after a ride. Or a cold dozen.

that "dozen" pretty much sums up why i quit brewing my own beer (didn't do at home though, used a u-brew).

[Nat Bailey]

if something moves and it isnt supposed to, use duct tape. if somethign is supposed to move and it doesnt, use WD40.

Gold.

[enduramil]

:lol: still having trouble?





I'm of a Scottish ancestry. It's a genetic imperetive to be finacially tight.

[barry]

I'm of a Scottish ancestry. It's a genetic imperetive to be finacially tight.

So THATS why im so cheap~!

many things in life are expendable, you just dont know it yet.
soap, for example.

read the article "down and out on a hardtail" in the new dirt mag.

[Neo]

Don't run any kind of disk brakes.

:lol: oh that sounds like some bitterness there...

[Lady Gravity]

many things in life are expendable, you just dont know it yet.
soap, for example.

barry, barry, soap is NEVER expendable, specially for a biker. unless of course you want to remain single :P

[~mike*bodnaruk~]

got some of those surf style board-shorts from a sale, i got 6 shorts for 19.99 and there awsome for biking. I also manufactured by own bashguard in my auto/metalworx class. didn't cost me anything. think i may make a stem next year...

[enduramil]

So THATS why im so cheap~!



:lol:

[enduramil]

read the article "down and out on a hardtail" in the new dirt mag.

I'll read it after work. And because I'm so tight, I'll read it in Chapters and put it back.

[enduramil]

barry, barry, soap is NEVER expendable, specially for a biker. unless of course you want to remain single :P

But Judy, you keep proving how great it is to be single. More money for biking.

[Lady Gravity]

But Judy, you keep proving how great it is to be single. More money for biking.

:lol: hey someone's gotta be the bitch

[enduramil]

Shop extensively on E Bay

For winter buy military surplus gore tex pants and make into shorts. If you know where to look can be cheap.

[DARTHYOGA]

Bike Shorts : Value Village - 5 bucks
Other clothing : Trail Day Swag, Thrift Stores - 50 bucks
Only heating the place on month of the year - Saved 100 bucks
Ate Only veggies and rice for 1-1/2 years - saved 700 bucks (lost 50 lbs too!)
Watched only VHS vidoes from 1990 or older - saved 300 bucks
Begging for armour and helmets for christmas - Saved 500 bucks
Savings - the exact price I payed for my Dream bike, my Brodie Devo!

[enduramil]

Ate Only veggies and rice for 1-1/2 years - saved 700 bucks (lost 50 lbs too!)


Pics? :)

[enduramil]

Bike Shorts : Value Village - 5 bucks
Other clothing : Trail Day Swag, Thrift Stores - 50 bucks
Only heating the place on month of the year - Saved 100 bucks
Ate Only veggies and rice for 1-1/2 years - saved 700 bucks (lost 50 lbs too!)
Watched only VHS vidoes from 1990 or older - saved 300 bucks
Begging for armour and helmets for christmas - Saved 500 bucks
Savings - the exact price I payed for my Dream bike, my Brodie Devo!

Bad part of TO,

Thrift stores stuff isn't as good as BC's

[enduramil]

Large container to dump loose change into, ammo can works. Once full usually cna be as much as $500.

[enduramil]

So THATS why im so cheap~!

many things in life are expendable, you just dont know it yet.
soap, for example.

read the article "down and out on a hardtail" in the new dirt mag.

Looked at Chapters for it. Nothing there at all. I have a feeling the issue is long gone here.

Checked the site and forum as well, nothing.

[enduramil]

Instead of buying both laundry and dish soap. Buy big ass container of dish soap, can do both for the price of one.

If your really cheap, start scamming the stuff out of public washroom facilities.

[Chunk]

On a road trip? Too cheap and lazy to cook breakfast yourself?

Sneak into a hotel that has a continental breakfast in the morning.

Then go into the pool and take a bath. :)

[enduramil]

Don't forget the Lee lau method. Go to an all you can eat with your pack. Pick a discreet corner. Keep going up for food. Eat some while the rest goes in pack. Pay and leave with 3 days worth of food.

Thanks alot for the bad idea Lee.

[TheGiggler]

get old crappy parts from bike stores, you'd be surprised at what kind of parts people leave at shops when they upgrade to new components. find thrown out tubes with holes, patch them. run you tires until the treads are showing. change deraileur cables only when seized. change brake pads only when the metal on metal noise becomes annoying.

i think mountain bikers are some of the cheapest people around ... ;)

[enduramil]

get old crappy parts from bike stores, you'd be surprised at what kind of parts people leave at shops when they upgrade to new components. find thrown out tubes with holes, patch them. run you tires until the treads are showing. change deraileur cables only when seized. change brake pads only when the metal on metal noise becomes annoying.

i think mountain bikers are some of the cheapest people around ... ;)

Then you don't know too many Scots.

[McTB]

Bring Lunch to Whistler in a cooler. $12 Hamburgers make me ill for anumber of reasons.
DH tubes are expensive and patches work folks! I rode a patched tube for a year and a half. I think the guy that bought my bike still is.

[SIDESHOW]

pretty piss poor bunch o stories from one of the dirtiest group of dirtbags I've ever met......

......

[XXX_er]

when camping in national parks if u stay late drinking in town/eating pizza, you can easily loadin and loadout the tent late/early at some campgrounds enough so you can get away without paying

scam a site with yer buddy who got there early , brought his girlfriend and has already paid,again come back late/drunk

making boil in bag meals on the side of the road , use the cooking water to hydrate the cous-cous and pour the bag contents overtop for good rib stickin eats

you CAN sleep in a VW golf , just don't try to stretch out ... suggest the fetal position amongst gear bags


many people are incapable of patching a tire ,replace the tube take the dead one home and throw it in yer shop . Patch them all once a year using the spare kit you been carrying around which is probably looking a little thrashed (get a new one for your pack) while drinking a 6pak.You can test em with a little air and yer good to go

Ripped seats that are otherwise still structuraly sound can be fixed with liquid vinal repair... they don't replace the booths at Dennys when they rip they get em fixed

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0006M4XD2/002-4812337-5113656?v=glance&n=228013

you can double the life of your riding gloves with aqua seal or shoe goo or any liquid ureathane product.They always wear in the same areas so just dab a THIN layer on the wear spots BEFORE the gloves are trashed

[Wayne P]

you CAN sleep in a VW golf , just don't try to stretch out ... suggest the fetal position amongst gear bags

Yup, wife and I at Roger's pass, too tired to drive, the bikes get locked onto the roofrack and we pile up the bags in the two front seats. I hate Golfs to this day.

[Carbuncle]

Then you don't know too many Scots.

Or messengers...

[enduramil]

pretty piss poor bunch o stories from one of the dirtiest group of dirtbags I've ever met......

......

Well post your's up if you think you can do better.

[Rat]

Yup, wife and I at Roger's pass, too tired to drive, the bikes get locked onto the roofrack and we pile up the bags in the two front seats. I hate Golfs to this day.J


I spent the night in a Fiat X19, try to top that kids for uncomfortable car sleeping

[synchro]

J


I spent the night in a Fiat X19, try to top that kids for uncomfortable car sleeping

i spent the night in a go-cart once

[enduramil]

J


I spent the night in a Fiat X19, try to top that kids for uncomfortable car sleeping

You must have been deperate if you had to sleep in an wrecker's yard.

[Silk]

i spent the night in a go-cart once

I know a guy who would take a ham sandwich and do things with it that would make
any vegan get the dry heaves for a buck.

now thats desperate for a buck....

[enduramil]

I know a guy who would take a ham sandwich and do things with it that would make
any vegan get the dry heaves for a buck.

now thats desperate for a buck....

:lol: :lol: :lol:

[enduramil]

I know a guy who would take a ham sandwich and do things with it that would make
any vegan get the dry heaves for a buck.

now thats desperate for a buck....

The Ham Sandwich will be appearing on Dr Phil.