The "I'm an idiot" Thread

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Originally Posted by rideit

Well, this wasn’t funny to me…

The other day I was franken-fabbing something that would work better for my dropper lever now that one thumb is almost fully functional.
I have a parts bin with a bunch of levers, clamps, hardware, etc. I was mixing and matching with different clamps, bolts, etc. I found an EVII adaptor, which seemed to work, but whatever I did, it wouldn’t get tight enough. Try beer can shims, etc, which seemed to work, so I gave the little m4 bolt a nice, snug turn to get it tight…something still wasn’t right, and definitely felt off.
Turns out the bolt was about two millimeters too long, and all I succeeded in doing is make a nice divot on the brand new One Up carbon bar.


Ahhhh…fuck. I’m not even tempted to ride it, just due to the location and how it could easily propagate into a crack, shatter, stress riser, whatevs.
It’s awfully purty, still.

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This sounds like something I'd do

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Originally Posted by McShortyShorts

I've been trying to teach my dog that when I'm taking my hardtail, she's coming along, and if it's the full sus, she stays at the house. All season I've kept to that, but last week I snapped the derailleur on the hardtail and decided to take the FS out with the dog. Took a loose corner too hot and wiped out, and landed on a baby head with my chest and cracked three ribs. That's what I get for breaking my agreement with my dog!

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That sucks. Heal up soon.

Last night I flushed brake fluid on my spur. Forgot to put pads back in before trying to chase bubbles at the lever and had a piston pop completely out of the caliper.

Always though this kills the caliper but I was able to get it back in and it doesn't seem to be leaking. Yet. Am I fucked? Have a road trip coming up so will probably swap a front brake over from my other bike.

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done that - pushed it back in and went about my day, seems fine (though it's on my wife's bike so who knows)

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Originally Posted by evdog

Last night I flushed brake fluid on my spur. Forgot to put pads back in before trying to chase bubbles at the lever and had a piston pop completely out of the caliper.

Always though this kills the caliper but I was able to get it back in and it doesn't seem to be leaking. Yet. Am I fucked? Have a road trip coming up so will probably swap a front brake over from my other bike.

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Totally fine (probably). That's how you rebuild calipers. You can buy rebuild kits with new pistons that require you to pop the old ones out more or less just like you did. Only hiccup is whether the seal (or piston) is damaged, but if you do some hard squeezes on the lever and don't get any leaking, you're probably fine. I'd still get it hot on a long descent and then check for leaks before taking it on a big trip though. If you have a leak, you can get a rebuild kit and get the caliper working again.

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Originally Posted by toast2266

Totally fine (probably). That's how you rebuild calipers. You can buy rebuild kits with new pistons that require you to pop the old ones out more or less just like you did. Only hiccup is whether the seal (or piston) is damaged, but if you do some hard squeezes on the lever and don't get any leaking, you're probably fine. I'd still get it hot on a long descent and then check for leaks before taking it on a big trip though. If you have a leak, you can get a rebuild kit and get the caliper working again.

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It's a Shimano, leaky pistons are a feature!

You're fine. I've popped pistons on both Shimano and Hayes calipers (yes, I'm an idiot), pushed them back in, bled the brake, no issues. If you're careful pushing the piston back in and don't explode the quad seal thing the brake won't care.

Good to know, thanks all. Just for peace of mind I might swap over the front brake from other bike and then deal with testing this one once I get home.

I was in a rental car about a month ago with my essentially brand new Norco E-bike. To fit it into the car I had to take the front wheel off. I put the axle back into the fork, but only with a couple threads in. I had a long drive over a couple of days.

As I was driving down the highway I could here the sound of something rolling around in the car. I figured it was something out of my back pack. I quickly forgot about it.

I stopped off at my house and dropped off all my luggage and my bike. I just dropped it all in a pile in my garage and jumped back in the rental car. When I returned the rental car I had a tight timeline to get to the shuttle bus to get back home. I had completely forgotten about the sound of something rolling around under the back seat.

I went to put the bike back together the next day I didn't have the front axle anymore. It suddenly dawned on me that the sound in the rental car was the front axle.

I called the rental company but the car had already been rented out again so I had to buy a new front axle for my brand new bike.

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Originally Posted by Clownshoe

I was in a rental car about a month ago with my essentially brand new Norco E-bike. To fit it into the car I had to take the front wheel off. I put the axle back into the fork, but only with a couple threads in. I had a long drive over a couple of days.

As I was driving down the highway I could here the sound of something rolling around in the car. I figured it was something out of my back pack. I quickly forgot about it.

I stopped off at my house and dropped off all my luggage and my bike. I just dropped it all in a pile in my garage and jumped back in the rental car. When I returned the rental car I had a tight timeline to get to the shuttle bus to get back home. I had completely forgotten about the sound of something rolling around under the back seat.

I went to put the bike back together the next day I didn't have the front axle anymore. It suddenly dawned on me that the sound in the rental car was the front axle.

I called the rental company but the car had already been rented out again so I had to buy a new front axle for my brand new bike.

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Gotta love stories like this where, halfway through the post, you're wincing because you KNOW exactly what's coming.

Whenever I realize something like that I stop whatever I'm doing and fix it right then. Most of the time it's packing for a trip or a ride and I'll think of something I need to throw in the truck. Either do it immediately, or it's forgotten later 100% for sure.

Drove off with helmet + hip pack + gloves on the bike rack yesterday. Was chatting with a buddy, it got cold, he left, I hopped in the car and left forgetting I had not put anything in the car. Realized after a few 100 yards, stopped, the pack was still there along with 1 glove, the helmet had just fallen off. Walked back up the road a bit to get the glove. Was all pumped I hadn't lost anything then got pulled over for speeding down the canyon. Cop was nice enough to give me a warning. I was extremely careful the rest of the drive because I was clearly in extreme junkshow mode...

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

Gotta love stories like this where, halfway through the post, you're wincing because you KNOW exactly what's coming.

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To be fair, given the discussion up thread, I really thought the answer was going to be a brake piston rolling around (despite the clue about the axle only being partially threaded).

They took the wheel off, didn't have a pad shim, positioned the bike in such a way that the brake lever was getting a squeeze on every bump, and somehow the piston worked itself free.

I'm not sure how that could happen with pads still in place...maybe the retainer fell out too.

I think the kids would maybe call this a "TIL," but I felt like an idiot.

Shimano 12 speed cassettes have different thickness spacers. On Saturday I roasted the drive ring on the hope pro 4 on my ebike. On Sunday I swapped on the Shimano / WTB rear wheel that the bike came with, and oved the cassette over on Sunday. Monday PM I went out for a quick 1h while a chicken spun on the rotisserie.

Pedaling up out of the neighborhood, 3rd - 4th - 5th smallest cogs were experiencing all kinds of shenanigans. Back home, bike in the stand - adjsuted b screw, lengthy cable adjustment, CHAIN shortening (it was 2 links too long maybe...) - finally at wits end just decided to pull the cassette off since the spacing looked funny, and that's when I learned that there are two different sized spacers. At that point my chicken was done so I just went inside and had dinner.

Sunday, after the ride, car parked on the street, pulling wife's bike off the rack. I straddled her bike to coast down to the garage. Mrs Roxtar is 110# soaking wet, I'm 180 so suspension is compressed. I'm wearing Sanuks.

As I turn right, into the driveway with right pedal extended (because, as the thread title says, I'm an idiot), the front of my Sanuk catches the concrete and grabs, pulling my foot under the spiked, platform pedal, which promptly rides up and tries to eat my heel and ankle.

Attachment 499653

Man I have been lucky so far in terms of injuries, but the amount of times I have caught the pedals of my wifes bike doing the exact same thing in flip flops with the suspension almost bottomed out is countless. You are not alone.

That's a nice purple shade you got there, and some tasty abrasions, bet it's gonna bother your for a while...
My worst bike fall involved the pedal catching me halfway down the calf. Clips so there wasn't damage from the pedal, it all came from the fact that it forced me to the ground and I literally ran over my own ankle before planting myself head first into the side of the trail.

Well that left a mark. You know about Tegaderm, right?

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

Sunday, after the ride, car parked on the street, pulling wife's bike off the rack. I straddled her bike to coast down to the garage. Mrs Roxtar is 110# soaking wet, I'm 180 so suspension is compressed. I'm wearing Sanuks.

As I turn right, into the driveway with right pedal extended (because, as the thread title says, I'm an idiot), the front of my Sanuk catches the concrete and grabs, pulling my foot under the spiked, platform pedal, which promptly rides up and tries to eat my heel and ankle.

Attachment 499653

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What’s the pale white discoloration and the bruise below that ? the same incident ? Fuckin ouch

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Originally Posted by Dantheman

Well that left a mark. You know about Tegaderm, right?

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https://media.giphy.com/media/97C8AT...giphy.gif&ct=g

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Originally Posted by mcski

What’s the pale white discoloration and the bruise below that ? the same incident ? Fuckin ouch

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All from the same. The white was from having just pulled off the bandage after a day in it.

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

All from the same. The white was from having just pulled off the bandage after a day in it.

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Damn. Heel (heal?) up.

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Originally Posted by Roxtar

All from the same. The white was from having just pulled off the bandage after a day in it.

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Bandages are old tech, this is what you want. Apply directly to a clean wound, change daily-ish or if the fluid gets really cloudy. Shave first. That will be completely healed in 3-5 days.

https://www.amazon.com/3M-Tegaderm-T...s%2C178&sr=8-3

Remember, 2 and 3x had sharp teeth. Like slice to almost Achilles.

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Originally Posted by Meconium

Remember, 2 and 3x had sharp teeth. Like slice to almost Achilles.

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That was my first thought. Pain was so bad I was afraid it hit the Achilles.