But seriously, I've seen roadies rust through the drops because of the way shifters clamp and tape concentrates a ton of alkaline salts if it is not changed often. I was the Buyer for a chain of 3 shops for 6 years. I've seen thousands of bikes and issues from service stuff. I've never seen a grip break off. Looks like a steel bar, which would be low end and quite old as aluminum has been standard for a long time. Probably left outside. Still fun to see, just to say I have.

There's a detachable penis joke somewhere in there.

[–] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 5 points 4 months ago

Indeed a steel bar left outside

[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

DON'T PUT YOUR DICK IN IT!!!

At least not before getting a tetanus shot.

Jokes aside, my favorite part about bikes is that they're super easy and (relatively) cheap to fix.

You should be good picking up a simple little tool kit, some penetrating WD40, a new handle bar, and some new grips and you should be good to go.

I wish you the best of luck friend and to have a blast with more rides in the near future.

[–] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 13 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Thanks man. Unfortunately the handlebar wasn't the only thing that rusted off or otherwise broke. RIP the bike I used when I was a younger and more hopeful person.

[–] grue@lemmy.world 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

You have to abuse a bike pretty damn badly for it to truly be unsalvageable. Either you're too lazy to fix a fixable bike or you were so lazy you neglected the poor thing to death, so either way, that's on you.

[–] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

In my defence, I live close to the shore and pretty much anything rusts pretty quick. I could've taken better care of my bike though, you're right.

[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

That salt breeze is no joke, it takes a constant active effort to prevent it's destruction.

The next bike you get be sure to take good care of it. Seal it with marine grade polyurethane where you can and keep the parts you can't well oiled and clean of debris.

It should last a long long time if you do that.

[–] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 3 points 4 months ago (1 children)

I'll keep that in mind. Thanks for the wisdom.

[–] Gormadt@lemmy.blahaj.zone 3 points 4 months ago

No worries and happy cycling friend

[–] monsterpiece42@reddthat.com 11 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Everything reminds me of her.

[–] nifty@lemmy.world 7 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Or everything reminds me of him.

We can have egalitarian degrading sex jokes 😊

[–] festnt@sh.itjust.works 2 points 3 months ago

or even everything reminds me of them

[–] cuchilloc@lemmy.world 9 points 4 months ago

Congrats , free buttplug

[–] regul@lemm.ee 4 points 4 months ago (1 children)

Good news is that bars can be cheap and easily replaced.

[–] rambling_lunatic@sh.itjust.works 4 points 4 months ago (2 children)

Bro, the metal the handle is attached to rusted off. I got a sharp pointy pipe instead of a handle now.

[–] regul@lemm.ee 5 points 4 months ago

Yeah. Your bars (handlebars) are attached to your head set and head tube by your stem. The stem should have some bolts on it you can undo. Once they're gone you can remove the bar. Then it's just a matter of getting a new one that's the right diameter and sticking it back in.

Bikes are great. Anybody can fix a bike and there are tons of replacement parts all over. If this repair is too daunting you could always take it to your local bike shop to ask for advice, or, if you live in a cool town, there might be a "bike kitchen" around, which is usually a volunteer-run org that helps folks fix their own bikes and often has used parts bins for cheap replacements as well.

Best of luck!

[–] grue@lemmy.world 4 points 4 months ago

And that's why he said the bar is cheap and easy to replace, not just the grip.