Damn straight to all of this. I tend to keep a bike longer than the standards it was built to (looking at you 15x100), which in the past made owning and updating as necessary an easy and economical process. But hooooboy did C19 mess up stocks and pricing of older components. I've had to go off brand on some small parts and headed things off at the pass early on in the pandemic and purchased shop file boxes of brake and derailleur cables and housing. Excessive? For sure. Regretted? Not a bit, not with most local shops running 2+ weeks out without taking into consideration getting parts. Being able to handle all aspects of maintenance is a hold over from my shop and industry days, and admittedly gave an excuse to the spousal unit to indulge in a mess of tools that no, I don't need em now, but yes I will need em in the future.
April 27, 2021, 6:08 a.m. - JT
Damn straight to all of this. I tend to keep a bike longer than the standards it was built to (looking at you 15x100), which in the past made owning and updating as necessary an easy and economical process. But hooooboy did C19 mess up stocks and pricing of older components. I've had to go off brand on some small parts and headed things off at the pass early on in the pandemic and purchased shop file boxes of brake and derailleur cables and housing. Excessive? For sure. Regretted? Not a bit, not with most local shops running 2+ weeks out without taking into consideration getting parts. Being able to handle all aspects of maintenance is a hold over from my shop and industry days, and admittedly gave an excuse to the spousal unit to indulge in a mess of tools that no, I don't need em now, but yes I will need em in the future.