A5. Ummm… I've got tyres hanging up in the garage that I think might be from the late 80s. I wonder if they're still okay.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite

#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #bikenite A5 I don't know how long they should stay, but I know many of them stay much longer

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite I have some parts from the late 80s that I should clean out, but am also pretty good about finding new homes for some things. I almost always donate bikes or newish good condition parts I don't need as I hate to see useful stuff just sitting there when it could be really helpful for someone. The stuff I have sitting around a long time is likely less useful because of being obsolete or worn out. Some has some nostalgia, but I should just clear out.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5. FWIW, I don’t have an answer. But as a way of illustrating how important it is to *have* an answer, this photo shows a small fraction of the NOS vacuum tubes (valves) that my brother and I inherited. There are some in the collection that date back to the Second World War.

#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite

A5. What is this "get rid of it"?

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@ascentale @Anibyl@social.coop @bikenite A5. I don’t generally wrench my own stuff because of my gimpy hands. However, I’d say the answer depends. How much space does someone have? How likely are they to need to move again? Does someone you want to help need that part more than you do? (1/3)

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #BikeNite A5: Until it gets used? 😇

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite a) until I'm dead or b) until someone in the fediverse, or my neighbour, needs it

@ascentale @bikenite (I asked the question) English is not my first language but I assume “get rid of” doesn't only mean “throw away” (like some imply) but also “sell” and “donate”.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #BikeNite A5. I don't understand the question. Get rid of something that is functional? What for?

At some point I will try to find someone it can be functional for more immediately, but I will not throw out things that aren't trash. I recognize this can be a liability...

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite
#bikenite A5:
A serious answer:
The biggest collection of spare parts in my bin are lights and blinkies. Mostly because I have found incrementally more robust and reliable lights over the years, but don't want to toss the previous iteration just in case. In the case of rear red blinkies, my Garmin Varia is the current ultimate.
I should take the time to sort, check, and then donate the ones that are still useful.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5 #BikeNite I used some centrelock rotor lockrings I'd had sat in a box for 18 years just the other month on a new wheelset. So I'd say 19 years minimum.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite until it doesn't work (or I don't have space)

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5. I'm with you Phil. Keeping stuff seems wise, cause you never know when it'll be useful.** Until you look back on a couple of decades of accumulated parts and realise action might be needed.

Selling, donating or recycling is definitely on the To Do list for 2026.

** Actually we all know "when it'll be useful" - about a week after you've got rid of it.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite

Until one moves to a city centre flat with very limited space. And even then, eBay, Freecycle etc.

Nowdays, I don't tend to hoard parts like I used to, admittedly I had enough to build a bike from last year, but no speculative (I might find a use for it one day) parts.

I am lucky enough to have my wheelsets stored at my office otherwise I would have to move to a bigger flat

@Anibyl @bikenite A5. I've let stuff sit for too long. But long enough to realize that it's time to give it away.

A friend has parts that he's finally starting to shed. He was browsing online ads and saw someone trying to sell a bunch of random parts, all together as a kit and was interested for a moment, but then thought better of it. We talked about how it must be so much easier to sell the entire bin rather than a part one transaction at a time.

#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5: never throw away. Donate to local bike place if unusable, such as blown tubes -- they even take those.

#BikeNite A5: Even if it isn't useful now, it may be useful sometime in the future. I don't understand this "get rid of it" of which you speak.

I have parts bins for bicycles, electronics, computers, candle making, woodworking, ever growing, ever growing...

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5. At an old job I was introduced to the idea that there are 2 correct heuristics for how long to keep something (documents, parts, etc) both equally valid:

When in doubt, throw it out.

vs

When in doubt, keep it.

It's an annoying decision that stresses people out, and it is pure gambling with no way to predict the odds. Costs of storage vs costs of replacement 🤷🏻

It is a relief to decide once and trust the process. I'm team "keep it"

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite
A5. Until you're completely certain that thumb shifters and centre-pull mtb brakes aren't going to make a comeback
#bikenite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite
A5. I like to think of my parts bin as more of a parts museum
#bikenite #biketooter

@ascentale @Anibyl #BikeNite A5 Only long enough to see you don’t need it and can pass it along to someone who can use it — as Santa Cruz Bike Church did on May 7, 2014 https://bikemonterey.org/about/financial-donations/acknowledgements-dress-up-challenge-prize-donors, so we could sort those parts (pictured) for use in Monterey County Probation Department Youth Center bike tech class https://bikemonterey.org/probation-dept-youth-center-bike-education.html @bikenite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #bikenite Q5 bike parts -- real bike parts? Until they're unusable or used, especially if you're me and you hardly have any of them.
ON the other hand, I have all these plastic mounts for ... what??? which light?
and... all these strings of LED lights w/ battery and I SWEAR when I retire I will set up a soldering station and figure out how to make them work again.
NOTE. It took me a year to figure out how to get a needle and thread an dbutton to start fixing stuff. I am NOT a craft perosn. It will require intervention for it to happen...

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite
#BikeNite A5:
I don't know how long it should be there, but in my case the spare part goes into the garbage or recycling exactly the week before I end up really needing it.

@ascentale
A5: my ambition is to keep them as little as possible. If they are dead they go to the recycling and if not they go on eBay/WhatsApp for the Cycling club.

In practice, it sometimes take a bit of time. I recently sold the SRAM crankset that I had replaced with a GRX 16 months ago.
Child seat going on the bay now (and I have not used it for 18 month)
@Anibyl @bikenite

#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite Until your executor of your estate deals with your hoarding?

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@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite

A5. Get rid of? I don't understand this concept. 🤔

#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5: until it becomes useful or unusable.

#BikeNite #BikeTooter #Cycling

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #BikeNite A5. Until you no longer have a bicycle that fits it. Until you find someone that needs it.

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite A5. You never throw away parts.

Last year I helped my dad replace the bookshelves in the den that he built before I was born. He still had some of the hardware from the original build, and we were able to use it in the new build - almost forty years later.

#bikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite
A5.
I think it's worth keeping the part as long as you have a bike it fits. Once the last bike is gone, give it maybe a month or year or two to be sure you won't get another it'll fit, but then let it go.
#BikeNite

@ascentale @Anibyl @bikenite #BikeNite A5. Great question. I can't answer on the bicycle front, but I am (desperately) trying to limit my accumulation of stuff that I won't use within a year (on multiple fronts). I generally look at things and if it's been a year or two of not being used, and NO plans to be used, I try to give it away or use it. That said, every once in awhile I have need for something and ABSOLUTELY kick myself for having gotten rid of it, LOL.