Cracked 200,000 outdoor miles since 2005 today.

Thought it was coming up next week.

Random: Opinions wanted - there has been a bike locked up on a street sign post in my very suburban Queens neighborhood. It literally has not moved an inch for over a year - front tire has been flat but otherwise in near perfect condition like one of those bikes that sat in a garage for decades and someone decided to dust it off. To demonstrate how undisturbed it has been in my relatively sleepy part of the city, it's a flimsy lock that only passes through the frame and rear wheel and the front wheel with quick release has not been stolen yet. Also full disclosure it's a hunter green steel Schwinn with 700c and cantis - basically everything I love haha.

How long until it should be considered "abandoned" and is there an official city service to go through where someone - let's say me - can report it and buy it instead of it going to a landfill?

Very doubtful there will be an official way for you to purchase it... I guess it's time to confront your inner raccoon.

So good news, bad news. Good news, that bike has been abandoned for quite some time using NYC's definition (7 consecutive days). Bad news, the website doesn't say what happens after it's been with the NYPD Property Clerk for the allotted 30 days. Presumably it would then go to an auction or something similar. If you decide to report it, I'm sure you could get more answers for that


https://www.nyc.gov/html/dot/html/bicyclists/bicycleparking.shtml

So if you report it they will inspect it but they have a criteria for what is considered unusable and sanitation is very conservative in this as they don't want to be accused of theft. Sanitation does this not NYPD. 

Bike Chained to Public Property

The Department of Sanitation (DSNY) is legally allowed to remove and recycle an unusable bicycle chained to public property.

You can request the removal of a bike chained to public property if it appears destroyed and completely unrideable.

DSNY will not remove:

• Bikes that are still usable
• "Ghost bikes" that have been placed on public property as a memorial for someone who died
• Bikes that are not chained to anything
• Bikes that are chained to a private bike rack or any other private property
• Bikes chained to a tree

Definition of Unusable Bicycle

For a bike to be considered unusable, it must have two or more of the following characteristics:

• The bike appears to be crushed or unusable.
• The bike is missing essential parts, such as handlebars, one or more pedals, rear wheel, or bike chain.
• The handlebars, pedals, spokes, frames, or rims are damaged or bent. 
• 50% or more of the bike is rusted, including parts like the frame, handlebars, and pedals, along with the bike chain attaching it to public property.

If they cut the lock the bike will go to recycling. If you want the bike, you may have to go under cover of night. 

Jules has the best piece of advice. 
Mega obvious: You might not want to involve anyone else or any type of city agency.

Honestly I hope the owner comes back for it one day, it looks like a great commuter bike. In fact on closer inspection walking home from the train today the flimsy security chain doesn't even pass through the frame.

I had a email bike chained out side my house for 2 years , it was an eyesore buy a certain point , I guy knocked on my door ,wanted to know if I was the owner , I told him no , please take , I went out with a grinder and left it unlocked , weeks passed before it disappeared 

liberate the Swhwinn

I bet if you pulled that chain with moderate force you could free that bike and give it a loving home

Matt Budofsky said:

I bet if you pulled that chain with moderate force you could free that bike and give it a loving home

Maybe I should just fix the flat and see if the original owner comes back and rides off with it, hahaha.

I looked up the model - it was the lowest tier mid 90s "general" usage bike - hi-ten steel frame and fork so it probably weighs 30+lbs - but originally came with 38mm tires and has full rack/fender mounts - swap in drop bars and a "modern" drive train and it would be a cool, low stress gravel bike.

https://oldbikeshop.blogspot.com/2017/06/1995-schwinn-catalog.html

Has anyone tried using the flight booking service Hope Goo?

https://www.hopegoo.com/en-us

I'm seeing super low prices, but it seems kinda dodgy

https://www.reddit.com/r/Flights/comments/1npwbb0/any_experience_with_esky_hopegoo_or_fliggy/

Seems like they're under the ly.com umbrella which... doesn't have the greatest reviews.

https://www.trustpilot.com/review/ly.com

A few reddit threads with user feedback. 

I personally wouldn't take my chances... very few things as frustrating and opaque as something going wrong with your flight tix.

Agree, they might be legit, but not worth the risk and the high likelihood of hidden fees or unmet expectations.

Every middle man in a flight makes it 100 times harder to just pick up the phone and rebook or change a ticket, it’s hardly ever worth it 

LennartZandbergen said:

Every middle man in a flight makes it 100 times harder to just pick up the phone and rebook or change a ticket, it’s hardly ever worth it 

This. If there is even a remote chance you will need to cancel or change your ticket, it's always better to buy from the airline directly; even more betterer if you can use points.

https://www.momondo.com/ is a pretty good search site. Pretty sure ChatGPT, Perplexity etc will be doing this soon if they are not already.

Momondo and Kayak are almost identical, owned by the same company. I generally agree those are pretty good, specially for comparing prices between airlines w/ different settings (like how many bags or connections, etc) and creating "hacker fares" (where the to flight is one airline and the return a different one) 

Ok, I've got a plumbing question.

The faucet in the tub started leaking.  It's the classic one-arm Delta faucet (looks like a mid 2000s Shimano dura ace drive-side crankarm--the one that was made to attach to SRMs).  The faucet has been in service for 21 years, so it was bound to go at some point soon. 

I've replaced these before.  It's usually pretty easy.  Get the arm off, pull off the decorative cover, unscrew the bonnet nut (this has a smooth exterior; it's designed for hand-tightening, pull out the old cartridge, install the new cartridge, hand tighten the bonnet nut, slide on the cover, re-install the arm.

This one wasn't easy.  The set screw holding the arm in place was corroded in there, so I snapped off the arm (probably should have tried to drill it out first).  Then, the bonnet nut wasn't moving, so I had to get the big channel-lock pliers out to loosen it.  Having to do that seems to have twisted the pipe coming out of the wall, so now the install divots aren't parallel to the ground.  When I tried to pull out hte cartridge, it was stuck (21 years, and they might not have greased it going in), so I had to use a mallet and punch to break it into little bits to get it out.  (I cleaned out the pipe, getting off as much residue as I could, before greasing the cartridge by the gaskets, threads and other contact points)

@mugwump might be worth trying a die on the threaded end. You'll need to know the pitch and size of your threads which you can get from the bonnet nut. 

RyanCollins said:

@mugwump might be worth trying a die on the threaded end. You'll need to know the pitch and size of your threads which you can get from the bonnet nut. 

RyanCollins said:

@mugwump might be worth trying a die on the threaded end. You'll need to know the pitch and size of your threads which you can get from the bonnet nut. 

Thanks.

I'll look into that.  

@mugwump yeah your hardware store should have a thread checker that you can measure the bonnet nut with, it's probably standard. https://www.amazon.com/JoblikeBrez-Thread-Checker-Wall-Mountable-Identifier/dp/B0CSKSV2PP

you can then get a die that matches. 

HAs anyone taken their bike on a MegaBus, or any of the city-to-city bus services?

I'm planning on going to the PHilly bike expo Saturday and want to do a ride as part of my trip there--not enough to see at the expo to make it a whole day and I used to live south of the city, so want to hit old roads.

I have a soft bike bag for things like this.  I can take off both wheels, each with their own pocket, and put the three pieces in the bag.  And the bag is small enough to roll up into its own little storage bag.

Advice?

I have done something similar ( soft bag) on the Jitney a few years ago without issue