Resurrecting a 50yo Bike — Dead Threads and other Vexations

by | Nov 3, 2026 | Fitness, Musings, Pastimes, Technology | 135 comments

When I built up the bike in 1980, the frame came with the original headset, the original bottom bracket, and the original crankset.   I added everything else new.  In the late 80s, one of the bottom bracket, the spindle, or the crankset started to fail (I don’t remember exactly what failed).  So, I took it to a shop and let professionals fix it.

When I took it in, I heard the tech say “Oh, this is from the bad olds days”.   I must have looked startled, because he followed up with “That doesn’t mean the bike is bad.  It’s just that the Europeans used different threading in different countries.”  He then proceeded to look through the parts bin and came up with a replacement bottom bracket and spindle (which I had forgotten about – that’s relevant in a future article).  He installed these parts and then added a new Suntour crankset.

In the late 80s, there were still lots of classic French and Italian bikes from the “bad old days” on the road and top-tier suppliers were still making replacement parts for them.  Forty-ish years later in 2026, this is no longer true.  Thus, restoring a French bike from the early 70s is quite challenging.

The following discussion (down to the summary) is all AI generated.  But understand, this is the result of many nights doing research to find out what kind of parts fit on the bike and where to find them.  I also started writing the next article talking about the challenges of getting new wheels on the bike.  I realized that I was going to have the same discussion on at least two follow-on articles.   So, I decided to first write about the bad old days first.

After spending several hours trying to just find the details on all the challenges and summarizing them into a coherent story, I just gave up for the evening.  The next morning, I came back with three carefully worded prompts that resulted in three concise and clear summaries of the factors that are conspiring to turn my bicycle frame into a boat anchor.

It’s pointless to consider rewriting the output of the AI, so that’s what you’re going to get.  Fee free to skip down the summary (that’s the important part) or, as usual, go straight to the comments.

Now, on to the AI slop.

The First Prompt: Compare and contrast the standards used by Italian, French, and English bike makers for tubes, threading, hub, and hub spacing for the years from 1965 to 1975.

During the 1965–1975 period, bicycle manufacturing standards diverged significantly across English, Italian, and French makers, reflecting their respective approaches to metrication and traditional engineering.

English (BSA/ISO) Standards
English bikes retained fractional-inch dimensions for core components like ball bearings, frame tube diameters, and chain pitch, even as the UK began official metrication in 1965. The bottom bracket (BB) shell was typically 68mm wide with 1.370″ x 24 TPI threads (left-hand thread on the drive side). Hub spacing was standardizing toward 126mm for 6-7-speed freewheels, though 120mm remained common for 5-speeds. English freewheels used 1.375″ x 24 TPI threading, compatible with ISO standards.

Italian Standards
Italian bikes used a hybrid system with metric diameters but imperial thread pitches (55-degree angle). The BB shell was wider at 70mm with 36mm x 24 TPI threads, featuring right-hand threads on both sides, which caused the fixed cup to loosen during riding. Hub spacing was generally 126mm for road bikes. Italian freewheels were 35mm x 24 TPI, slightly larger than English threads, preventing direct compatibility. Headsets used 1″ steerers with 30.2mm cups, but with 55-degree threads.

French Standards
French bikes were nearly fully metric, with 35mm x 1mm bottom bracket threading and 68mm shell width, also using right-hand threads on both sides. Hub spacing followed the 126mm standard for multi-speed bikes. Freewheels used 34.7mm x 1mm threading, distinct from other standards. Headsets featured a 25.0mm steerer diameter (vs. 25.4mm elsewhere) and 30.2mm cups with 1mm pitch. Pedals often used 14mm x 1.25mm threads, a rare standard.

ComponentEnglish (BSA/ISO)ItalianFrench
BB Shell Width68 mm70 mm68 mm
BB Threading1.370″ x 24 TPI36 mm x 24 TPI35 mm x 1 mm
BB Thread DirectionLH (drive side), RH (non-drive)RH (both sides)RH (both sides)
Freewheel Threading1.375″ x 24 TPI35 mm x 24 TPI34.7 mm x 1 mm
Hub Spacing (Road)126 mm (6-7 speed)126 mm126 mm
Headset Steerer25.4 mm (1″)25.4 mm (1″)25.0 mm (1″)
Frame Tube Diam.Fractional inchMetric/Imperial mixMetric (mm)

The key incompatibilities arose from thread directions (English reverse-thread vs. Italian/French right-hand) and thread dimensions (metric vs. imperial pitches). By the mid-1970s, French and Italian manufacturers increasingly adopted English/ISO standards for global compatibility, particularly for bottom brackets and freewheels.

The Second Prompt: Repeat the analysis for the years 1975 to 1985.

The 1975–1985 decade was a period of consolidation — the three-way split was collapsing as ISO/English became the dominant world standard.

Bottom Bracket

ComponentEnglish / ISOItalianFrench
BB Shell Width68 mm (73 mm oversize)70 mm68 mm
BB Threading1.370″ x 24 TPI (BSC) / 1.375″ x 24 TPI (ISO)36 mm x 24 TPI35 mm x 1 mm
BB Thread DirectionRH non-drive / LH driveRH both sidesRH both sides
Status in periodDominant; ISO 1.375″ formalized ~1981Persisted on Italian frames (Colnago, Pinarello, Bianchi)Phased out — Peugeot transitioned French → Swiss → English over 1978–1984; by ~1983–85 all French bikes conformed to ISO

Key changes vs. 1965–75:

ISO 1.375″ x 24 TPI was codified (ISO 4209/6698), sitting halfway between BSC (1.370″) and Italian (35 mm) freewheel threads. For practical purposes, English, ISO, and Italian freewheel threads are interchangeable (all 24 TPI, ~1.375″ diameter).

French 35 mm x 1 mm was the standard being abandoned. Some French makers (notably Motobecane) adopted a “Swiss” variant — same 35 mm x 1 mm but with a left-hand drive-side thread — as a transitional fix before switching fully to BSC/ISO.

Italian 36 mm x 24 TPI persisted on Italian-built frames well into the 1980s and even 1990s (Campagnolo still produced Italian-thread BBs for Chorus and Xenon in the 1990s). It was the last holdout.

Freewheel / Hub Threading

TypeInchMetricPitch
ISO1.375″ x 24 TPI34.92 x 1.058 mm24 TPI
English (BSC)1.370″ x 24 TPI34.80 x 1.058 mm24 TPI
Italian1.378″ x 24 TPI35.0 x 1.058 mm24 TPI
French1.366″ x 25.4 TPI34.7 x 1.0 mm25.4 TPI

English, ISO, and Italian are all 24 TPI and effectively interchangeable (ISO is the midpoint).

French (1 mm pitch / 25.4 TPI) is completely incompatible with all three. A French-threaded freewheel will not fit an ISO or Italian hub, and vice versa.

By the mid-1980s, French-threaded freewheels were essentially obsolete in production.

Hub Spacing (Rear)

SpeedsSpacingPeriod
5-speed120 mmStill common early in period
6–7 speed126 mmBecame the standard through the 1980s
8-speed (cassette/freehub)130 mmIntroduced late 1970s / early 1980s

The 120 → 126 mm transition for 6/7-speed was largely complete by the early 1980s.

130 mm emerged with the advent of 8-speed freehub cassettes (Shimano HG, Campagnolo). Early 130 mm hubs had beveled locknuts to “spring” into 126 mm frames.

Front hub settled at 100 mm by the mid-1970s.

Summary: What Changed vs. 1965–75

The most significant shift was the death of the French standard. By 1985, a new French road bike would almost certainly have an ISO/English-threaded bottom bracket and freewheel. The Italian standard survived as a niche on Italian-built frames but was no longer a “national” standard in the same way. The English/ISO standard had won, and by the end of the decade it was effectively the only standard in new production outside of a handful of Italian frames.

The Final Prompt: How did the rise of Japanese bike makers influence the changes during the years 1975 to 1985

Japanese manufacturers — primarily Shimano and Suntour (Maeda Industries) — were the single biggest force behind the standardization collapse during 1975–1985. Their influence operated on several levels:

Market Power Drove Standardization

The US bike boom of the early 1970s overwhelmed European component capacity. Shimano and Suntour filled the void, and their combined derailleur market share went from ~25% in 1973 to ~90% by 1978. By 1983, more than half of derailleur-equipped bikes sold in the US used Suntour, with Shimano supplying nearly all the rest. This market dominance meant that whatever threading and spacing standards Japanese components used became the de facto global standard.

They Adopted (and Propagated) English/BSC Standards

The Japanese manufacturers built their components to English (BSC) threading — 1.370″ × 24 TPI, 68 mm shell, left-hand drive side. When the ISO formally codified bicycle standards in the early 1980s, it used BSC as its basis. As one observer put it:

“The International Standards Organization made things a little more consistent by designating the English standards as the international standard. This has already occurred in practice when the Japanese bicycle manufacturing industry, which used the English standards, took over the world, eliminating much of the European competition.”

This is the direct causal chain: Japanese market dominance → English threading becomes the default → ISO formalizes it → French and Italian standards become orphaned.

Suntour Drove the Spacing Transition

Suntour’s freewheel line directly pushed hub spacing from 120 mm to 126 mm:

  • Ultra-6 (early 1970s): 6 speeds in 120 mm
  • Ultra-7 (1979): 7 speeds requiring 126 mm

Frame builders worldwide had to widen rear dropouts to accommodate the components their customers were buying, cementing 126 mm as the new norm.

Shimano’s “Matched Group” Strategy Locked In ISO

Shimano’s genius was selling complete integrated groupsets (Dura-Ace, then 600 EX) rather than individual components. This meant:

  • Frame builders had to build to Shimano’s specs (ISO/English threading, ISO square taper)
  • The JIS square taper (Japanese Industrial Standard) diverged slightly from the ISO square taper (Campagnolo/European), creating a new incompatibility axis — but both used the same English-threaded BB shell
  • By the mid-1980s, Shimano could insist that bike makers buy complete gear trains and build frames to its specifications

The “Japanese Invasion of Europe”

The European market was the last holdout for Italian and French threading. Starting in 1972, the distributor Milremo began selling Suntour components in Europe, adding Shimano Dura-Ace in 1975. This brought English-threaded Japanese components directly into the European market, where they competed on quality and price with Campagnolo’s Italian-threaded parts. The result:

  • Campagnolo began producing ISO-threaded (English) versions alongside Italian-threaded ones
  • French manufacturers (Peugeot, Motobecane) accelerated their abandonment of 35 mm × 1 mm threading
  • By 1985, a new European road bike with French threading was essentially unheard of in production

Summary: The Causal Chain

MechanismEffect
Japanese market dominance (90% US share by 1978)English/BSC threading becomes default
ISO codification based on BSCFrench and Italian standards become non-standard
Suntour Ultra-7 (1979)126 mm hub spacing becomes universal
Shimano matched groupsetsFrame builders must build to Shimano/ISO specs
Japanese components entering Europe (1972–75)Italian and French threading phased out in production
Shimano SIS (1985)Further locks in the need for standardized, matched components

In short, the Japanese didn’t create a new standard — they adopted the English standard, made it the only standard that mattered through sheer market volume, and then the ISO simply ratified what was already happening in practice. The French and Italian standards didn’t lose to a better engineering solution; they lost to market share.

In Summary:

During the late 70s and throughout the 80s, those wonderful folks who brought us Pearl Harbor mounted an organized campaign to abolish all of the French standards and turn my frame into a piece of decorative metal artwork. 

Most of the obsolete parts can be replaced with equivalent modern ISO/English standard parts. That’s why almost all of the parts were replaced in 1980. However, the frame itself cannot be changed.  This means 120 mm hub spacing for the rear wheel, French-threading for the bottom bracket, and French-threading for the headset; where the bottom bracket and headset are high-wear parts.  The risk is that the frame will become unusable if key replacement parts cannot be found.

And these parts have been out of mass productions for 40+ years.   Either there are no modern replacement parts or the parts are being built by a handful of boutique suppliers who care about classic bikes for one reason or another.  Thus, if no boutique supplier is available, one is relegated to searching ebay (or other platforms) for New-Old-Stock (NOS) parts (very pricey) or for just settling for used parts.

Perhaps I should have stuck to making booze.

About The Author

kinnath

kinnath

I am not a bum. I'm a jerk. I once had wealth, power, and the love of a beautiful woman. Now I only have two things: the glibs, and... uh... my booze.

135 Comments

  1. UnCivilServant

    conspiring to turn my bicycle frame into a boat anchor.

    You must have a light boat. Because bike frames don’t provide much anchorage.

    • cyto

      My old Huffy Aero-bee with monkey bars, banana seat and a huge iron frame and solid tires begs to differ.

  2. Ownbestenemy

    Make my brain understand. 0% reporting, sites report a race in favor for a candidate. 27% in, a Republican stronghold of KY with a 15 pt lead…its “too close to call”. Its not like more votes are going to…wait…never mind.

    • rhywun

      All the Dem incumbents are winning easily? It’s mostly East Coast so far, thus mostly Democrats. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

  3. RAHeinlein

    Is the shorter version you need a trip to Europe to look for parts?

    Thanks for these posts – I am very much looking forward to seeing the finished product!

    • Ownbestenemy

      Also — thanks for the post. I did read. They are much appreciated as I know our authors do these voluntarily.

      • kinnath

        and you are welcome

      • R.J.

        Has there been a good time to go to France?

      • UnCivilServant

        There were times when it’d be okay to be a tourist there.

      • Common Tater

        UCS just wants to divide it into three parts.

      • UnCivilServant

        Angevin, Bugundy, and France.

        Oh, and returning Alsace-Lorraine to the Holy Roman Emperor.

    • kinnath

      Going to Europe won’t do anything. ebay provides listings from Europe. I can have stuff shipped here.

      It’s a simple problem, very old products that rely on obsolete parts eventually become unmaintainable if you can find or make those parts.

      I’ve already started buying spares for the French standard parts when they are available.

  4. UnCivilServant

    If you need custom parts, you could take up machining. I’m sure with some combination of mill and lathe would give you the capabilities needed for most parts.

    …. for more than the cost of existing custom parts 🤔

    • slumbrew

      He should just buy a Direct Metal Laser Sintering printer and make his own parts. Problem solved.

      (Thanks for the write up, kinnath)

      • UnCivilServant

        I wouldn’t trust it for parts that carry load or are subjected to routine shocks.

        An abundance of cuation, really, I’ve not have the chance to test the failure mode and rate of parts made that way.

      • slumbrew

        Jay Leno uses 3D printed parts to keep his massive fleet on the road.

        DMLS would be overkill for bicycle parts.

      • UnCivilServant

        It depends on what the parts are. Is he printing frame components?

  5. R.J.

    I dealt with Shimano parts my entire bicycling career. It made things much easier.
    Good luck.

    • kinnath

      thanks

      My oldest bike, the subject of this series, is being updated with mostly modern replacements parts from Velo Orange or NOS Suntour from ebay.

      The youngest bike (I have to say that because there’s now another bike frame sitting in my dining room) is all Shimano except the quill stem and handlebar.

      The middle child (newest acquisition) is a naked frame with an unbranded headset. I have already purchased a Suntour groupset that covers half of the components I need.

      Yes, I have a problem, but at least I didn’t succumb to the fever dream of buying an expensive vintage Italian bike.

  6. R.J.

    Paxton is getting spanked. Sorry Urthona.

    I am more concerned about the very tight governor’s race.

    • Ownbestenemy

      Texas was all about gaining all that population gains…

    • R.J.

      Odd how Talarico is 2 to 1 over Paxton, yet the governor’s race is super close.

      • UnCivilServant

        Is there a difference in total votes counted?

      • R.J.

        Yes. The reporting seems wierd.

      • Ownbestenemy

        The weird thing is how each news agency chooses to report the results. Decision Desk calls FL for Rs. NBC..too close to call. Which until counted and certified…is true.

    • Sensei

      But he had Trump’s endorsement!

      This is what happens with CA people move who aren’t refugees, but missionaries.

      • Gustave Lytton

        “But they’re conservative!”

      • Sensei

        TX needs bike lanes too!

    • DrOtto

      I won’t be surprised if Paxton loses, but will be genuinely surprised if Abbott loses.

  7. Ownbestenemy

    It amazes me…hey, our city is shitty…lets stick with it. Yet, hey, our country is shitty—lets do something else. It is so odd. I get, vote local, but you’d think those things would correlate.

  8. Sensei

    I’m enjoying China doing to Japan what Japan did to the U.S. My Japanese friends are less happy, however.

  9. Tres Cool

    When my Dad was in his early 40’s rode my brother’s Schwinn Varsity on a whim. He’d never been on a 10-speed, and likely hadnt been on a bicycle on a few decades. Noticing the gearing arrangement a light went on in his head- he would start biking to work.

    Initially he took that tank of a bike- riding 34 miles round trip each day to his gov’t job. Then he upgraded to a C. Itoh. Some Japanese flavor of “racing bike”. After a few years of that (April 1- October 1 due to daylight) I remember him bitching that he couldnt get “sunshine hubs” and his were worn out (each winter he took apart and greased hubs, headset, bottom bracket). So he decided to build his own wheels. I cant remember the exact number but it was something like he bought hubs with 28 holes for rims with 32. He gave up and went to an actual bike shop and let them fix it.
    He tricked it out with Weinman tubular rims (27 x 1 1/8″ if I recall), Sugino chain rings, and Shimano everything else. I think the brakes were still center-pull Dia-Compe.

    Weird that I remember all this now- and him telling me about Italian thread v. French thread v. English thread on bike components.
    And every Saturday winter morning, regardless of how much beer he’d had the night before, he was riding for an hour on rollers in the basement.

      • Tres Cool

        He worked for Ohio EPA. Most people assumed “you’re riding your bike to improve the environment, right?”

        No. His answer was “the money I save on gas for 6 or 7 months pays for my cigarettes for most of the year. I hate you people.”

        Beating the odds of family history (no male on his side had lived beyond 65 due to a heart issue), Dad didnt have his bypass until his early 70s. I told him in the hospital after surgery, “all those years on that bike bought you a lot of time”.
        He said “I cant wait to get out of here and have a goddamn cigarette!”

        He’s 87 and still smokes at least a pack each day.

      • Common Tater

        Baller

    • kinnath

      Either a slow moving train wreck or a fast moving train wreck.

  10. Evan from Evansville

    Completely outside my experience, but I can see how this would be a fun project to dive into. Kinda jealous, really.
    “In short, the Japanese didn’t create a new standard — they adopted the English standard, made it the only standard that mattered…”

    In the Guadalcanal talk earlier, I quickly thought of the Meiji Restoration and how quickly, brutally and successfully, the Japanese saw the need to upgrade themselves… pretty much immediately after the British Navy showed up. ‘Uh. We need those. Much slavery. Make now.’

    I like fancy bikes where, when ya pedal backwards, the gears don’t do nothin’, and they just go around and around! And ya knows, anyone who fake paddle ’round me? That’s a pedaling. Anyone pedal ’round me, normal like? That’s a paddlin’, too. Peddle your pedaling paddles, ya piddling, pedestrian pedants.

  11. DEG

    It’s just that the Europeans used different threading in different countries

    It’s like that for old guns too.

  12. Gustave Lytton

    Americans are going to get what they voted for, good and hard.

    Also, a special fuck you to the potatoe state for their gun choice. How was it not a spud gun? Are you people that dumb??

    • Threedoor

      Nothing even made here which is super lame.

    • rhywun

      Yup. I simply do not understand the thought process behind “Donald didn’t deliver every promise so let’s try the communist because FU Donald.” ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      • DEG

        It’s the economy, stupid

      • juris imprudent

        Remember, there were Obama voters that voted Trump in ’16. I don’t have any idea how you make that transition.

      • rhywun

        I have a feeling that millions of voters just aren’t paying attention to how extreme the Dems have become. They will find out, I guess.

      • DEG

        I have a feeling that millions of voters just aren’t paying attention

        You can stop right there.

  13. Common Tater

    Have you noticed there are way fewer bike shops? There were three around here and they are all gone.

    • Ownbestenemy

      We have seen an increase…ebb and flow.

      • Common Tater

        Weird.

    • Threedoor

      We had four at one time. I don’t know how two of them stayed in business at all as they were just bike shops. The combined mountain sports shop still exists. Everyone else is gone.

  14. Common Tater

    So what is best election stream? YouTube no worky for me.

  15. Common Tater

    “Nicki Minaj makes surprise appearance at polling station in New Hampshire”

    They’re first black person?

    • DEG

      I worked the polls today in my town in NH holding signs for the property tax cap and some state representative candidates.

      I saw three or four black people. Overwhelming majority of voters were white.

      I have never seen turnout this high. The town had to print out more ballots.

      • Threedoor

        I usually hit the polls around noon. Today I was there at about 515 and it was packed.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        We went around 11 and breezed through. No wait at all.

      • rhywun

        I was the only one there when I voted around noon.

      • trshmnstr

        I was voter 145 at my precinct at 9 this morning. Had to wait in line all of 45 seconds.

        This is “voting is your civic duty” land, so turnout doesn’t vary too much. Wife didn’t bother voting. Between the baby and the lack of desire to support neo-MAGA, it wasn’t worth the 12 minute round trip for her.

      • rhywun

        My district is D+15 so I would guess that most people already voted.

      • Threedoor

        My wife didn’t vote either. 11 miles each way and having to pack up the kids was enough.

        I voted for a democrat for county commissioner. I know the ‘republicans’ we have are going to screw us hard and raise taxes and grow government. I want them out as their policies are exactly the same as the Dems.

      • dbleagle

        Oh Rhy, you sweet summer child.

        Your Dem voter neighbors were just resting between multiple trips to the polls.

  16. Common Tater

    Talarico 58%. Paxton 40%

    WTF, Texas?

      • R.J.

        Half of Texas republicans are actually democrats.

      • Threedoor

        So just like Idaho RJ.

    • R.J.

      Even worse, the governor, AG, everyone appears to be losing. Some observers pointed out that tons of votes in the countryside have not been counted, only electronic votes from big cities. But those are huge margins to make up.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Maybe we get a twist that the Rs make up ground over night? hahahahaha

      • UnCivilServant

        This is why you don’t make conclusions based on early returns.

        Keep an eye out for suspicious ballot drops, but don’t get worked up over an incomplete data set. Espeiccally with that kind of urban/rural divide in reporting.

    • rhywun

      The tranny vote must be larger than anyone expected.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Cali implants or Hispanic vote swung back hard.

  17. Ownbestenemy

    I cannot see Booker in KY overcoming nearly 10pts but what do I know.

  18. Ownbestenemy

    NBC or others running trending maps to a presidential election year versus an off-year election is a propaganda campaign.

  19. kinnath

    Newest acquisition arrived today. It is supposed to be a rare version of the Gitane Tour de France. Two different AI systems told me the decals indicate that this bike was manufactured for one year (1976) to support the French Cycling team (presumably for the Olympics). This particular model was on sold in France and was not exported.

    And yet, this bike is 100% English dimensions and threading. Now, Gitane had a reputation of putting out oddball bikes with components not matching the catalog (supply chain management problems). And they did actually produce some English threaded bikes at this time.

    So this frame is either a unicorn or a forgery.

    I did get the frame from a very reputable dealer that has the largest inventor of NOS parts that I have seen on the web.

    So, who knows.

      • kinnath

        Well, I won’t know until I put it together and can compare the ride and feel to my two other Gitanes.

        If it’s real, then it is made with the same steel as the other two. The should be very easy to recognize.

        But, it looks to be a very well made bike.

        By the way, the “consequence” of this being all English dimensions and threading is that it will be trivial to buy replacement parts for this for the rest of my natural life.

      • Threedoor

        That’s nice. I wonder if it was speced by a team as a larger order.

      • kinnath

        Well, AI is giving me a different answer a week later. Oh well.

        This bike could have been imported in to the US. But is should not be English dimensions or threading. That much is clear.

  20. Threedoor

    I wondered if Shimano was a big part of the standardization.

    And 14×1.25. Yeah I’ve run across that in the past on pedals. When I was a more or less frequent rider I would bend pedals and on one occasion a crank. That thread screwed me up at least once.

  21. Ownbestenemy

    I’m not seeing a bloodbath, but a trouncing. Locked government and I am okay with that. Some really stupid votes but that’s the thing with agency.

    • Threedoor

      Repeal the 17th amendment.

      Yeah I say it about every day but I think it’s the only thing that could right the US of it’s not too late.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Looking at exit polls…its…white women for sure.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Oh you said 17th…

        🙂

      • UnCivilServant

        Where do you get that idea? The state legislatures are going to pick even worse candidates and not be dislodged because they’re all safe seats.

      • Threedoor

        You’re going to continue to get crappy senators but they will be beholden to the states which have a better mix of lesgeslatibe control than the population at large.

        The state senates also need to elect senators by county not population.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      We have some seriously stupid voters. It’s difficult for me to imagine that we really want to go back to Woke America™️.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Still wondering how they haven’t called KY. Barr has been up…never mind, they just called it (or at least one agency has called it.)

      • rhywun

        Woke II – this time it’s personal.

      • Muzzled Woodchipper

        Yeah, whatever it is they’ll be doubling down in whatever the worst parts are.

      • Ownbestenemy

        NBC finally called it

  22. cyto

    Election day, Florida.

    I was working in the kitchen cleaning the air fryer and some pans. Lots of grease. Wearing ratty clothes.

    The wife says “I’m going to vote before the work crowd gets there. Are you coming?

    So I rip off the T shirt and jeans I was wearing and put on a decent shirt and pair of nice shorts. Slip on shoes, grab my keys and walk out.

    Get to the poll.

    No line.

    2 black ladies at the door.

    “Hi! Drivers license??”

    Oops.

    Did not take wallet from old pants.

    Had to go back to the car ans wait for the wife.

    I am not sure if all 3 of us saw the humor in the moment. But I like to think we did.

    Election security matters.

    And it is super easy.

    Nobody even bats an eye at producing a license in Florida.

    And we had 97% reporting by 8:50. This, even though the polls in the panhandle dont close until 8:00. (7 central)

    If your state does not have results by 2 hours after the polls close, your results are in doubt

    • rhywun

      They could have called the results in my state yesterday for all it matters.

      • The Bearded Hobbit

        Same hear. NM is so blue that a lot of races only had the D running. I expect that it will be the same as every election; the results are a mirror image of my ballot.

  23. Ownbestenemy

    Is Texas flipping altogether? That will be interesting.

    • Muzzled Woodchipper

      It’s how the left operates. I remember was CA was largely Republican and a great place to live. They’re now pouring out of CA to TX, and elections will show that, unfortunately.

    • cyto

      I cannot imagine a guy like Talirico winning Texas. He is the embodiment of everything Texas stands against. Except Austin.

      That R dude must be the worst candidate ever

      • UnCivilServant

        Some observers pointed out that tons of votes in the countryside have not been counted, only electronic votes from big cities.

        Upthread.

        So yes, at this point in the process I’d expect the results to show an odd skew.

      • Ownbestenemy

        Talarico is currently smashing Paxton. Throw out national politics…was Texas that bad to need not just a new direction but a complete flip? Has their demographics changed that much? It has been a fever dream to flip it, but damn.

      • Ownbestenemy

        About the Remaining Vote
        Ken Paxton would need to win 61.2% of the remaining vote to catch or overtake James Talarico, who leads.

        That is an easy margin to overcome overnight if you have the right letter behind your name.

      • Threedoor

        Apathy, immigration from other states, and the Texas R party did everything they could do to go after Paxton years ago. They have a crap ton of RINOS in their party at that push lefty crap at every level.

  24. Aloysious: Evil Dark Lord of Wonderful Smooches

    Happy Erection Day.

    I need to play the theme song to Shaft!

  25. dbleagle

    Interesting article. I look forward to see how the project comes out.

    My first 10-speed in the 1970s was a yellow Schwinn Varsity. In high school I upgraded to a used Centurian Super LeMans. It was a 10-speed hybrid touring/racing bike. I raced (poorly), toured, and commuted on it for a long time. While I was on a long exercise in Luxembourg my wife (who also rode and had a better bike) got a local to repaint it and upgrade the components. She put on Shimano and the bike rode much better.

    After returning from Iraq in 2004 I met her in Naples, Italy for a recovery leave. While there I purchased a Perna from Signor Perna himself. Boy that bike was and is an upgrade. I recently visited my brother who has two “super bikes” and the current technology blows me away. He looked at my bike and pronounced it, “Pretty good for an antique.”

    Keep writing this!

    • kinnath

      Oh, I will write articles until it’s all put together sometime this winter.

  26. UnCivilServant

    😕

    So, I did the “I have a 3D printer” thing – I saw that I needed a simple plastic thing, drew up a dsign and started printing it off.

    It’s a basic box with dovetails to lock them together. The first print of four different color boxes on one plate took 13 hours. Printing one box in a single color takes 2.5 hours. And that 2.5 hours included chamber heating since I printed them in ASA intead of the PLA from the first set. So that’s about five hours of tool changes when I have four different color boxes on one plate.

    Clearly this tells me that I should only use the multimaterial capacity when there’s more than one on a single object. Print single material objects serially.

  27. Common Tater

    Hold on I got to flip over my King Crimson album, don’t want to gum the diamond, but so far, I’ve very dissapointed in you white people.

    • Threedoor

      I’m so white those words in that order do not make sense to me.

  28. Evan from Evansville

    I didn’t vote. Partly cuz I kinda don’t really live here, but obviously I do. I certainly don’t feel it. I’m a net tax recipient, as well. But I do pay for our schools, so I do have skin in some games. I also know I’m ignorant about much, though not all, local politics. I would’ve voted for Spartz over Ford to make my vote count against Dems. Ford is typical Ultra Blue. I would’ve gone Lauri Shillngs for Sec State to throw Libertarians a local bone, to help get x% votes for ballot access.

    After my dentist appointment, I had a too-long chat on the phone with FSSA and MEDWorks, which is an interesting process. Cuz I’m classified as “Medically Frail,” 😠 I can make more than $22k/yr and stay on Medicaid. RC Dean might have insight to this oddity: They suggest I get on my employer’s insurance, cuz my premium for MEDWorks is $134 in my $ bracket, and they said what I’d pay my employer… Indiana’d use that money to cover the premium I would have been paying the Medicare folk.

    Does not compute, but would be very convenient for me, if true. Huh. *shrug* I have people I should call to sort that out.

  29. Common Tater

    So far not one person on NBC I want to see naked. Do better.

  30. cyto

    The wife is glued to NBC. She is a life long had core democrat who flirted with libertarian and republican ideas for a decade and a half because of me. But TDS turned her hard back.

    Said she is voting Democrat because Byron Donald’s (republican Governor candidate) ran an ad promising to “fix Florida”, where the republicans have been in charge for a couple of decades.

    It didnt take much.

    But NBC is positively giddy. Issuing lots of “leans democrat” results.

    Look for immediate investigations and impeachment resolutions.

    Nice job, america.

    And good job to whatever deep state knows convinced trump to go to war with Iran. That sunk us. Now we get to try communism on for size. Hopefully we wake up before they completely slam the door.

    • Gustave Lytton

      Good think Trump just signed easily overturned and reversed EOs instead of tackling permanent legislation.

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