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.
| Component | English (BSA/ISO) | Italian | French |
| BB Shell Width | 68 mm | 70 mm | 68 mm |
| BB Threading | 1.370″ x 24 TPI | 36 mm x 24 TPI | 35 mm x 1 mm |
| BB Thread Direction | LH (drive side), RH (non-drive) | RH (both sides) | RH (both sides) |
| Freewheel Threading | 1.375″ x 24 TPI | 35 mm x 24 TPI | 34.7 mm x 1 mm |
| Hub Spacing (Road) | 126 mm (6-7 speed) | 126 mm | 126 mm |
| Headset Steerer | 25.4 mm (1″) | 25.4 mm (1″) | 25.0 mm (1″) |
| Frame Tube Diam. | Fractional inch | Metric/Imperial mix | Metric (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
| Component | English / ISO | Italian | French |
| BB Shell Width | 68 mm (73 mm oversize) | 70 mm | 68 mm |
| BB Threading | 1.370″ x 24 TPI (BSC) / 1.375″ x 24 TPI (ISO) | 36 mm x 24 TPI | 35 mm x 1 mm |
| BB Thread Direction | RH non-drive / LH drive | RH both sides | RH both sides |
| Status in period | Dominant; ISO 1.375″ formalized ~1981 | Persisted 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
| Type | Inch | Metric | Pitch |
| ISO | 1.375″ x 24 TPI | 34.92 x 1.058 mm | 24 TPI |
| English (BSC) | 1.370″ x 24 TPI | 34.80 x 1.058 mm | 24 TPI |
| Italian | 1.378″ x 24 TPI | 35.0 x 1.058 mm | 24 TPI |
| French | 1.366″ x 25.4 TPI | 34.7 x 1.0 mm | 25.4 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)
| Speeds | Spacing | Period |
| 5-speed | 120 mm | Still common early in period |
| 6–7 speed | 126 mm | Became the standard through the 1980s |
| 8-speed (cassette/freehub) | 130 mm | Introduced 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
| Mechanism | Effect |
| Japanese market dominance (90% US share by 1978) | English/BSC threading becomes default |
| ISO codification based on BSC | French and Italian standards become non-standard |
| Suntour Ultra-7 (1979) | 126 mm hub spacing becomes universal |
| Shimano matched groupsets | Frame 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.
You must have a light boat. Because bike frames don’t provide much anchorage.
My old Huffy Aero-bee with monkey bars, banana seat and a huge iron frame and solid tires begs to differ.
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.
All the Dem incumbents are winning easily? It’s mostly East Coast so far, thus mostly Democrats. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
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!
Also — thanks for the post. I did read. They are much appreciated as I know our authors do these voluntarily.
and you are welcome
I don’t think this is the best time to go to France.
Has there been a good time to go to France?
There were times when it’d be okay to be a tourist there.
UCS just wants to divide it into three parts.
Angevin, Bugundy, and France.
Oh, and returning Alsace-Lorraine to the Holy Roman Emperor.
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.
you welcome
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 🤔
He should just buy a Direct Metal Laser Sintering printer and make his own parts. Problem solved.
(Thanks for the write up, kinnath)
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.
Jay Leno uses 3D printed parts to keep his massive fleet on the road.
DMLS would be overkill for bicycle parts.
It depends on what the parts are. Is he printing frame components?
He’s talking about all the replaceable bits attached to the frame, so no.
I dealt with Shimano parts my entire bicycling career. It made things much easier.
Good luck.
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.
Paxton is getting spanked. Sorry Urthona.
I am more concerned about the very tight governor’s race.
Texas was all about gaining all that population gains…
Get Them Immigrated?
Odd how Talarico is 2 to 1 over Paxton, yet the governor’s race is super close.
Is there a difference in total votes counted?
Yes. The reporting seems wierd.
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.
But he had Trump’s endorsement!
This is what happens with CA people move who aren’t refugees, but missionaries.
“But they’re conservative!”
TX needs bike lanes too!
I won’t be surprised if Paxton loses, but will be genuinely surprised if Abbott loses.
Me too
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.
I’m enjoying China doing to Japan what Japan did to the U.S. My Japanese friends are less happy, however.
Japan should nuke China and get cultural media instead.
https://x.com/avrilbradley23/status/2105397013902946502
I don’t get it.
Try something along the lines of
“Now we’re cooking with
gasnapalm”And
https://x.com/fishflyer20/status/2105676334269604069
“Li Mei Barbecue
Delicious, love eating it 😋😋😋
Civilians of the victorious nation get the second portion at half price”
Is it wrong that I laughed at that Lemay meme?
Reminds me of this legendary shirt.
https://www.instagram.com/reel/DaUTBLIxEfe/?utm_source=popular_topic_grid
It’s amusing. I did an oil change on a newer Mazda CX-9 and it was a Japanese built vehicle (VIN started with a “J”) but the Denso starter was made in the USA.
Happy Godzilla Day to all those who celebrate!
Godzilla Blue Oyster Cult
I didn’t know it was a holiday?
I’m surprised this didn’t drop today. https://www.lego.com/en-us/product/godzilla-21375
I had no idea it’s a holiday but I’m willing to observe it.
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.
Great story
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.
Baller
What’s the overall outlook so far?
Either a slow moving train wreck or a fast moving train wreck.
So, Spain?
So, Spain
2015-16? I don’t think we’d get that lucky.
Barcelona (film)
I’ve seen it called more of a red wedding than a blue wave.
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.
It’s just that the Europeans used different threading in different countries
It’s like that for old guns too.
Of course
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??
Nothing even made here which is super lame.
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)_/¯
It’s the economy, stupid
Remember, there were Obama voters that voted Trump in ’16. I don’t have any idea how you make that transition.
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.
I have a feeling that millions of voters just aren’t paying attention
You can stop right there.
Have you noticed there are way fewer bike shops? There were three around here and they are all gone.
We have seen an increase…ebb and flow.
Weird.
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.
Depends on the location. There was a mini-boom in 2020, but that popped quickly. Locally, we lost the shop chain I preferred (they got acquired by the chain I have some minor issues with their customer service skills) as well as a long standing one, but we still have indie shops all through the area.
This time of year, the (now acquired chain) would have already started their winter tune-up/storage program. Brilliant idea (to me) to get steady work for the employees through winter. They would store your bikes over the winter and tune them up during that time (at a discount to their regular tune up prices).
So what is best election stream? YouTube no worky for me.
I am watching results roll in on NBC. It’s not a video or anything. Just results.
NBC couldn’t get one hot chick?
They learned nothing from Fox.
This stream
https://i.makeagif.com/media/12-18-2016/CDGUqQ.gif
PronHub honestly. Same result
OnlyFans – this is gonna cost us.
“Nicki Minaj makes surprise appearance at polling station in New Hampshire”
They’re first black person?
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.
I usually hit the polls around noon. Today I was there at about 515 and it was packed.
We went around 11 and breezed through. No wait at all.
I was the only one there when I voted around noon.
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.
My district is D+15 so I would guess that most people already voted.
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.
Oh Rhy, you sweet summer child.
Your Dem voter neighbors were just resting between multiple trips to the polls.
Local news on Turning Point Action’s attempts to bring celebrities into NH. Nicki Minaj isn’t mentioned in the text, but she brought in as part of TPA’s get out the vote work today.
Talarico 58%. Paxton 40%
WTF, Texas?
You’ve forgotten that the Texas Republican-led legislature impeached the SOB?
Half of Texas republicans are actually democrats.
So just like Idaho RJ.
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.
Maybe we get a twist that the Rs make up ground over night? hahahahaha
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.
The tranny vote must be larger than anyone expected.
Cali implants or Hispanic vote swung back hard.
I cannot see Booker in KY overcoming nearly 10pts but what do I know.
NBC or others running trending maps to a presidential election year versus an off-year election is a propaganda campaign.
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.
Is it a good enough forgery to not matter?
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.
That’s nice. I wonder if it was speced by a team as a larger order.
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.
I would put my money on forgery. Is there anything that specifically made it Gitane? Serial numbers, name stamped into it, so on?
You mean besides it looks exactly like it should look for a mid-70s Gitane.
It has the correct front fork end (Simplex), the correct rear dropout (the infamous honeycomb), correct the correct lugs.
Oh, and the hub spacing is 120 mm. So this frame was manufactured no later than the mid-70s.
I need to weigh it. That will give some indication of tubing and construction.
To me it leads more to the question of “does it matter if it’s a forgery?” if it’s as good as what you expected, and can get good replacements for it.
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.
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.
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.
Looking at exit polls…its…white women for sure.
Oh you said 17th…
🙂
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.
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.
We have some seriously stupid voters. It’s difficult for me to imagine that we really want to go back to Woke America™️.
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.)
Woke II – this time it’s personal.
Yeah, whatever it is they’ll be doubling down in whatever the worst parts are.
What site are you following, OBE?
NBC finally called it
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
They could have called the results in my state yesterday for all it matters.
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.
Is Texas flipping altogether? That will be interesting.
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.
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
Upthread.
So yes, at this point in the process I’d expect the results to show an odd skew.
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.
That is an easy margin to overcome overnight if you have the right letter behind your name.
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.
cyto:
Vivek is right HERE!
Happy Erection Day.
I need to play the theme song to Shaft!
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!
Oh, I will write articles until it’s all put together sometime this winter.
😕
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.
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.
I’m so white those words in that order do not make sense to me.
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.
So far not one person on NBC I want to see naked. Do better.
Win or lose, Titty Tuesday After Dark is always here for you.
https://archive.is/5ZSAN
NSFW.
1-4…I will change my vote for.
Now I feel like a winner.
Someone just glockfooted themselves:
https://x.com/meghanmccain/status/2117796335885713879
That’s amazing.
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.
Good think Trump just signed easily overturned and reversed EOs instead of tackling permanent legislation.
That would have been too much work.
You are correct Gustave. While Trump was needed to keep HRC and KH out of the White House, he is by no means a conservative. At best he is a warmed-over Clintonite.
The one exception to the EO overturning is any EO signed by the Lightbringer. To question Obama is worse than denying the Constitution, it is turning your back on the Universe.
Meh, we aren’t going to swing hard into communism but will lean hard into more socialism. The DSA doesn’t have enough caucus votes in the House or Senate. Think of them as the Tea Party at this point.
But they have all the power at the party level. They are picking these candidates.
Lets see what they do about speaker.
More than half the federal budget is unconstitutional socialism as it is.
NBC predicts 244 Dem seats in House. Remember not too long ago when the Democrat party was “dead?”. The Dems will be issuing a honorary membership to OMB in appreciation.
Its almost like it’s nothing new and cyclical…weird.
The current crop of Dem candidates have been very effectively trained to hide their true intentions – see Talarico for an example. That plus a mostly brain-dead electorate is all they need. The fallout will be interesting when they all revert to form.
See VA for example of both hiding true intent, and how little the people do afterwards.
For those of you not into politics…
We had a race for the city commission here that got really, really nasty.
Lots of money spent. I saw a ton of ads from the guy who used to be in talking about how the lady who beat him is “beholden to out of state donors”. We have a lot of rich folk with second homes here. I would assume that is who he means.
TV ads. For city commissioner.
Lots of them.
It is an *unpaid* position.
I personally have seen at least $30k worth of yard signs for each. Plus the TV, probably north of a quarter million spent on this race.
Maybe more. Who knows?
A friend at church said “why would you spend this much money on an *unpaid* position
There was a long pause as we all looked at each other.
He said, “well, I suppose we can all guess why”
And we all nodded.
The old commissioner has ties to a lot of developers, and is a big developer himself. He apparently has shell companies that own a bunch of land and they have a plan to build a new city hall on it (crappy land sitting idle)… and swap it for the prime real estate that old city hall sits on.
And the current lady who beat him out is blocking it.
Corrupt AF if true.
People trying to carve out kingdoms…say it isn’t so!
So apparently there is a faction that runs the city to favor the old guard of developers and keep everyone else out. And a new faction that moved to stop them but probably ended up with another big group behind them.
This is how local politics works. Some guy needs his farm re-zoned for residential or commercial so he can build and get rich… and a developer wants that blocked so his big project doesn’t have competition and he gets rich.
So they back someone to represent them.
This commission position ended up getting like 5 000 votes, I think. Nobody follows that stuff. So it really does come down to who has the desire and money to get their man in there.
I our case, the new girl won 60/40. Thank goodness. Old dude was a douche – and had his sights on taking more land from our church.
I am glad Grahm is going to lose, but it is an interesting thing — would Lindsey have lost?
I dont know anything about her other than who her dad is.
But running her was an odd choice.
And I cannot imagine SC flipping that much. This is wild.
And no, he would not have lost.
Having a long-time incumbent as your rep is a huge advantage.
It was a big reason Jesse Helms kept winning in NC. He sat on the agriculture committee and made sure NC Ag interests were well protected.
Seniority is really important in DC
As some exit poll voters in other states have stated “Its like we were given permission to…” People really lock in their votes based on name and/or party affiliation. Those don’t match up or someone bucks the system, they truly vote.
No, he would not. Love him or hate him he had ideas and spoke out. His sister didn’t seem to have any ideas.
I briefly went back to MS’s post and all is right in the world.
Looking at these big races… it seems like the Republicans have take a page from the Dem playbook and put up a bunch of really bad candidates in key races. Like Texas, for example.
Long game politics…or just bullshit and its people who want power.
Yes, absolutely.
It just hit me that soyboy Beto lost to Cruz. Talarico, who is a far bigger soyboy, is going to beat Paxton. That’s what happens when you run an execrable candidate.
Husted – OH, Rogers, MI and Collins – ME would stop the tide for the senate.
Im looking at supposed exit polls (bs I know) and it doesn’t match the outcomes.
OH- Brown currently at 48.3. Husted at 46.8
Exit polls lean on the Republican side but the tell is economic. All brackets of income lean democratic. Which…is odd and shortsighted and not the least surprising.
Looks like going hard left was a good move for Kathy. She’s more “popular” than she was last time. Open your wallets, New Yorkers.
This election makes me believe Trump is the second coming of Obama. Everything was for his personal glory, the party be damned. The losses at the federal and state level were enormous.
NBC now calling for 248 Dem House seats. Just about everyone laughed at my 240 prediction and the pessimistic outlook I was getting from my GOP acquaintance. Maybe Trump should announce a health crisis that forces him to step down in favor of Vance?
Still not enough to overcome a veto. If Trump actually goes that route, the House numbers mean nothing. Senate on the other hand, will be interesting to see.
If the House Dems keep up the current “Fuck you Trump, and any policy you have!” or even dumber yet impeach him again then I could see Trump having many lavish veto ceremonies. If the Dems smarten up and stroke Donnie’s ego,he’ll sign almost all of what gets to his desk.
I can’t argue with that comparison between the two.
I don’t get how you crazy North Americans vote. In any sane universe the MI Senate race wouldn’t be close.
It seems like the usual midterm rejection of the president’s party except this time the opposition is embracing communism and nobody seems to give a shit because they’re suffering from an extreme case of TDS. Live and learn, I guess.
I called Trump Obama for Republicans and MAGA “Hope And Change” for Republicans for a long time.
You’ve been right for a long time.
Yeah, I dont buy that at all.
Not that he isnt the most self-promoting guy of the generation. He is.
But he is different. He has tried to make real changes to benefit the country (as he sees it).
Tarrifs and incentives to bring key industry back to the US. He isnt a steel or aluminum manufacturer. But he sure is taking a personal hit to bring those back here.
Same goes for semiconductors.
And a bunch of other targeted industries.
And I think he has a strategy in mind with Iran that goes way beyond “me win war” or “Israel calls the shots”. Venezuela and Iran seem to be part of the same strategy – to reshape the oil industry with the US as hegemony.
He hasn’t debated any of this. He just does it.
Because he learned that congress (and his party members in congress) arent going to do anything. Well, nothing other than allocate money to make sure their trough gets stopped.
Im not saying any of this is wise. Or not wise.
Just, I dont think it is “look at me! Ain’t I great?!”
I think it is the other way around. He uses that stuff to create an image of success so he can push people around and get what he wants done.
Good, bad or indifferent…. he really swung for the fences on some of this stuff.
Destroying the NGO racket without any help from congress. Wow, that really made a lot of people angry. A half trillion in beak-wetting will do that.
The republicans will run the day they didnt get behind him and pass legislation – particularly election reforms.
They should have gotten Thomas to retire. Should have killed USAID in law. Should have done a lot of things to lock in some real change.
Instead, they let the dems play their games.
Now nobody will ever be held accountable. And everything Trump tried to accomplish will be undone.
What a bunch of idiots.
But…
The war machine will crank back up. Trump may have broken the foreign entanglements promise, but he hasn’t done war the correct way. Way too conservative with the expensive munitions. Can’t get a billion in kick-backs if they dont buy a trillion dollars worth of munitions.
I agree Trump genuinely believes in tariffs. So far, I see them hurting a lot more than they are helping. Things are more expensive. He won’t own up to it. He won’t change course. He won’t say it was a mistake. Reminds me of Obama.
So… I already told you Florida had their vote counted within 2 hours. All of it.
Really an hour, because of the panhandle.
Now, lets go to Michigan.
9:30 local time and they only have 23% reporting. Lets see if they can get to 97% in the next half hour.
Keep an eye on your election supervisors. Florida got rid of the corruption under Rick Scott. And the results have been fairly clear ever since.
We live in a digital age. You should be able to tally almost instantly. The slow step should be the validation and sign off from all the observers.
How did Michigan count so fast? We will be counting votes for three weeks.
/California voter
Agreed. Even Kentucky — I did paper ballot, but it is scanned in. That is immediate. Yet, took hours to call the race. I give exception for verification, but nah, those numbers should be available at poll close. Things like “in line” affect those outputs so they must be delayed until every voter had voted that are doing so within prescribed law.
Yup. Which is “about an hoir” if finishing up and filling out paperwork” is all we are doing.
This video made a lot of interesting points about the fertility crisis:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQqelrmxpfw
Basically, having children in rich countries is equivalent to the prisoner’s dilemma. The safest move is not to play (defect).
In the Universe 25 mouse experiment, there were no predators, natural disasters, disease, or famine, yet the population rose and crashed anyway.
In an odd way, when the world is too comfortable and safe, there is no reason reproduce, as that would decrease the comfort and safety.
I remember my brother telling me about why he got a vasectomy after 2 kids. He said one threw up in his brand-new truck and stank it up while he was driving the tyke to daycare. When he asked about how I spent my weekends, I said I usually wake up around noon and have scotch and a donut for breakfast. There was a dramatic pause.
Nonetheless, I am determined to sire at least 2 offspring, because it seems to make people happier in the long run.
My maternal grandpa died in his own home at the age of 96 with one of his grandchildren (my cousin) at his side. He seemed OK with that. Almost happy even.
AP: Midterms may bring in wave of historic firsts for some states and the country
Featuring one of the most diverse slates of both Democratic and Republican candidates in recent years, this midterm election is shaping up to be a wave of historic leadership firsts across the country.
Voters on Tuesday night elected the first Black female governor and the first openly gay male U.S. senator. They could still propel into office the first Native American female governor and Native women senators, and the first Muslim U.S. senator, among other milestones. Most are Democrats, but the GOP could also break ground. —
“These firsts show how our country is changing,” Alexis Anderson-Reed, president and CEO of State Voices, a network of advocates for civic engagement and equity in democracy, said via e-mail.
====
Other than a certain someone, I don’t see why being “First” at anything is such a big deal, anymore. I want the first lefties to be represented where they forever have been denied. So there. Elect me! But pay me. Not that other bullshit.
Again, just… tedious. That may perhaps bother me mostest.
The AP is another wing of the DNC. Don’t pay them any attention.
⬆️ This
If the donkeys take the sec of state, Iowa will be so very fucked.
We move on…Obama years were bad, we are still here sorta. This will pass.
Or not.
They certainly have a large contingent high up who are calling for moves to make this permanent and unchallenged.
I’m heading to bed. It looks like my prediction of Republicans losing seats but holding the NH state legislature are wrong based on the reporting available on WMUR. It looks like a bloodbath so far.
On the other hand, it looks like Ayotte might still win the governor’s race.
Talerico is so odd for the win. Unless the influx of new population just drove it over the top. Then again, does Texas have a “none of the above” option?
And many of my countryman apparently hate Isreal and believe they control our government.
See my comment above. Paxton is a candidate so bad that Talarico can beat him.
NBC is basically cumming on camera at this point.
rhywun
rhywun on November 3, 2026 at 8:37 pm
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.
………….
This is exactly what I think is happening. There is just a massive disconnect between what is happening and what people think is happening.
I dont know if you have seen it, but there is a clip of Ben Aflack on Bill Maher from a few years back that has been circulating again.
They are discussing Islam, and he thinks anything beyond “Islam is a religion of peace and ISIS does not represent the billions of people who follow islam” is horrifyingly racist.
He could not even hear “Muslim countries are very intolerant of homosexuality. ” he said that is a racist lie. He refused to listen to stats about how many people believe that stoning is the appropriate punishment for leaving Islam.
None of it. Just refused to even hear the words.
That unquestioning mentality has so deeply penetrated the people that they can see Mamdani declaring himself a communist on video and still claim that he isnt different from Bill Clinton or a threat to personal property.
The whole country is like that.
Maybe they are just tired. Woke and 2020 and covid and BLM just wore them down and after Trump got vindicated, they checked out. Just watch CNN and buy into whatever narrative they are selling. Way easier.
Democrat Xavier Becerra wins the California governor race, NBC News projects
Polls literally closed 2 minutes ago. Lol. I get prediction models, but damn.