Have you ever biked to the parts store?

[sciphi]

Have you ever biked to the parts store? If so, what was it, and how'd you get it back on the bike?

I've made a bit of a habit of doing it. Most recently was today when the fuel filler tube's rubber lines went on the Buick. Without neighbors or wifey home, I had to break out my bike and run to the parts store for new hoses. My bike has panniers and a rack, so the new hoses went right in. Other things have fit right into those bags. It's only been small stuff, never hard parts.

 

[eljefino]

Yes. My best was a 30 mile round trip when I was doing plugs on my wife's corsica. I broke two plug wires. The first I kind of crimped back together sort of crudely but the second I was screwed. She was at work; I had the day off, pre-kids, pre-extra-car-fleet. Wanted to show off I tuned the car up and not have her chase parts on her way home.

So I aired up the tires on an old mountain bike (lots of rolling resistance) and rode alongside a 55 mph two lane road in mid august heat. I did bring a small amount of water. I was greasy and grimy all on my arms. Stopped in Wendys and used their bathroom to wash up and bought a Jr Bacon Cheeseburger for the ride home.

It worked though, I got my new plug wires and had them in the cheezy plastic bag hanging from the handlebars like a bum.

I have also transported a five foot brake line on my motorcycle by taping it to the sissy bar.

 

[dparm]

LOL, good story.

 

[wrcsixeight]

My skateboard has taken me to the Napa 1 mile away too many times to remember.

 

[stephen9666]

Yes, quite a few times. My last place had a Napa and Carquest only a few blocks away.

My new place has a NAPA super close. There are also Advance and Carquest within an easily rideable distance.

Generally I only go when I need something small. Filters, bulbs, pulleys etc. My Trek 7.1fx has Wald folding rear baskets, so it can carry quite a bit.

 

[Michael_P]

Anytime I can. I use a bike trailer for the heavy stuff. I have three stores within 3 miles of home.

 

[David S.]

Once I bicycled to a Home Depot 1 mile away to buy bolts and nuts to secure a window regulator to my driver's side car door. I had the exterior mirror, exterior door panel, and interior door panel off - and realized some of the nuts and bolts I had purchased from Home Depot were coarse-thread and others were fine-thread. A fine-threaded nut won't go on a coarse-threaded bolt, and a coarse-threaded nut won't go on a fine-threaded bolt. Rather than drive to Home Depot and back with the door mostly disassembled, I pumped up the bicycle tires and pedaled there and back. I carried the nuts and bolts in my pants pocket.

 

[TooManyWheels]

I haven't bicycled, but I have walked. When I was in apartments, I had a rental shed where I did car work. On one occasion I was diagnosing a noise in the valve cover. When I took things apart, I discovered that the cause was a pushrod which was disintegrating on the end. Putting things back together to drive to the parts store made no sense, so I walked. Fortunately, It was only about a mile each way.

And then, there was back in college, when I lived a stone's throw (literally) from the store (maybe that one doesn't count).

 

[Jimmy9190]

The most recent one I can remember was a few years ago I rode my bike to Advance to pick up a coolant temp sensor for my truck. While I was replacing my thermostat I found that the plastic shaft on the original sensor was cracked but the sensor was still working. I had no wife or girlfriend at the time and no other car to drive so I just hopped on my bike and pedaled on down to Advance. It was less than a mile away on flat terrain.

I had to ride my bike to that same store a few other times too, and my only worry about it was if they didn't like it when I rolled my bike into the store with me while I was in there. They never bothered me about it though. No way am I leaving my bike outside to get stolen.

I can also remember walking about 2 miles round trip to Autozone to get a warranty exchange on a spark plug wire for my old Jeep Comanche Pickup. That was some years ago.

 

[Spazdog]

I rode about a mile and a half to get a battery many years ago.

I had just started riding a bike again. Had a Huffy Jackal MTB. It weighed probably 3/4 as much as the battery

It [created negative pressure] so bad.

I'll just improvise a travois and drag the fool thing if I ever have to do that again.

 

[Rick in PA]

No, but I'd surely do it if the situation warranted it.

I had an acquaintance at work that went to the auto parts store to pick-up a car battery on her motor scooter. She put it on the floor board of the scooter, braced it with her feet, and off she went. She was an interesting character (in a good way).

 

[tangojetta]

Several times I have done it. I used a bike trailer to bring back a battery once. It's a 15 mile bikes or 1200 calories round trip.

 

[Chris142]

Try holding on to a big GM starter while riding a quad.

 

[morris]

back in the dark ages. i was at work, and a guy (a dope head) took the power steering hose off my 1965 300L. parts house was 2 blocks away. so i walked, bought hose and a crescent wrench. thats when i put locks on the hood.

 

[javacontour]

Not since I've owned a beater and a nice car and that's been my MO for the past 20 years.

I did live about a block away from a parts store, so unless what I was getting was very large, I'd walk over. It was a Parts America and they moved into a newer store before I sold the house. Fortunately, someone else put an O'Reilly about the same distance, but without crossing Main Street, so balance was restored in the universe.

Now the closest parts store is 3-4 miles away.

 

[rslifkin]

I've never had to bike. I've always been able to either borrow a family member's car, or get a ride from a friend (when up in Rochester). Then, of course, there are the few times when I'm working on my mom's Jeep or my sister's Camry and my Jeep becomes the parts runner.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: David S.
Once I bicycled to a Home Depot 1 mile away to buy bolts and nuts to secure a window regulator to my driver's side car door.

I've done something similar on several occasions. Started working on the car, half way through realized I don't have the right tool to finish the job... hopped on the bicycle and rode to the nearest hardware/part store.

If it's something small, I just stuff it in a pocket. Larger items (not like an axle or anything) I would put in a back pack.

That was years ago though. Nowadays if this happens, I either borrow the wife's car or if she's not around, I take the motorcycle, but I don't like running around in the store in my riding gear and holding a helmet in one hand.

 

[exranger06]

Just about every time I work on a vehicle, I have to make a trip to the parts store to pick up something else right in the middle of the job. Luckily, there are plenty of spare vehicles at my house, so I can always drive there.

 

[calvin1]

It's been a while but I did it once for a brake drum, then had to go back for the bearing race, then to the machine shop to have them pressed. What a fiasco, all over town with that thing hammering me as it rode in my backpack!

 

[rpn453]

Many times. I can't remember ever biking because of a lack of any other option, but it has probably happened. I bike a lot so it wouldn't be memorable unless I needed to install my rack to carry something really large or heavy.