I’m with the OP.
I’m 43 with two youngish kids and a stressful job. I’m time starved. If I have to waste an hour in the garage it’s an hour I could be riding, which some weeks may be my only chance to get a ride in.
Small jobs I can put up with but otherwise it goes to the lbs as I don’t have the time or patience to bother with it.
I enjoy working on my bikes and get a little frustrated when all are in 100% condition so there is nothing to do to any of them. I find it meditative and relaxing.
I do preventative maintenance after riding if I notice anything needing doing on a ride so every bike is sorted and ready to go at all times
I love the feel of a silent well set up bike.
I had a lovely hour in my tidy shed with the freshly installed lights and electric last night fixing a couple of surprise punctures and installing new brake calipers on my DayOne. A nice beer to sweeten the deal. I'd say no, I generally like working on my bikes.
Need a new puncture repair kit though.
I quite enjoy working on mine if the job goes smoothly, it gets incredibly frustrating if something doesn't work how it's supposed to or some bolt gets rounded (happens way too often) or something gets stuck and impossible to extract (I'm looking at you freehub bearings).
The only job I really despise is trying to fix poorly shifting gears. For some reason for me it NEVER works or lasts for more than a week. I can replace cables, service my clutch, make sure hanger is straight, index them properly, check chain/cassette wear and everything in-between but it STILL won't shift nicely or reliably.
The thing that’s gets my goat, is when manufacturers supposedly improve something and that improvement requires a whole lot of news tools.
otherwise I find it quite cathartic..
expect bleeding brakes, takes several attempts for me to get right.
The thing that’s gets my goat, is when manufacturers supposedly improve something and that improvement requires a whole lot of news tools.
otherwise I find it quite cathartic..expect bleeding brakes, takes several attempts for me to get right.
It's not just the tools, but the amount of reading you sometimes have to do to work out what part you need (currently trying to work out what chainring offset I need for a certain set of cranks, for a good boost chainline).
I hate working on my bikes but only from the perspective that I don't have much free time so any time spent fixing is time that I could have been biking for a change. Failing to keep a bike running is one of the reasons climbing has taken over as my main sport
It's funny, one of the main reasons I got fed up with climbing is that you spend way more of your time faffing than actually doing the activity. Biking has a much better faff to activity ratio.
OP here...the saga continues...
I noticed the rear tyre was soft yesterday, long story short was the wheel had to be taken to my LBS to install a new tyre (it took two mechanics to unseat the original bead as they'd had to wrap extra tape on the rim to get the original tyre to seat - yes, they installed my last tyres).
Moral of my story is Giant SLR1 rims are a monumental pain in the arse to deal with and it's best to leave it to the professionals every time.
(I wish I had a large, well lit, clean workshop/man cave with all tools, and supplies like bearing, fluids, spare parts all to hand with a beer fridge in the corner. I'd be more inclined to spend time learning how to work on bikes [I've got the time now] but the reality, I'm generally in a bad mood before I really get to work because I haven't got a proper space for everything, or I can't find what I need to at that time. Luckily, I have a REALLY good LBS a 5 minute stroll from my house...)
Yep but only cos I lack the patience. Can do the basics fine but if it starts going wrong I the swear jar gets filled and I'm in a pissy mood all night 😆 The full suss is creaking/clicking like a **** at the moment so that needs attention. Still rides fine though.
I love working on bikes, but there are 3 specific things which I hate:
1. Bleeding brakes
2. Indexing gears
3. Truing wheels
Happy to pay someone else to do those, although I am capable of 1 and 2 if it makes the difference between riding or not riding.
I hate taken on a small task when I have limited time, when that small task goes wrong. But if I've set aside a decent amount of time to do something that goes more or less to plan, I can really enjoy it.
I particularly dread changing tyres on tubeless set ups.
That can be a 5 min job, it the new tyres go up first time with a compressor.
But if the rim tape fails on tyre removal and needs retaping, that's an extra 30 mins for me.
If the old tape leaves a load of residue, that can be another 30-60 mins to clean up (Muc off once did that terribly for me).
Then if the tyre doesn't pop into place first time, that can add 15 mins of frantic repressurising of my compressor and trying again, plus a mess of sealent if I was optimistic enough to put it in the tyre before seating it (rather than through the valve).
If it's a hard rim to tape, and I find the tyre at 5 psi next morning, then I have the same to look forward to again and feel like quitting cycling.
It's funny, one of the main reasons I got fed up with climbing is that you spend way more of your time faffing than actually doing the activity. Biking has a much better faff to activity ratio.
This is why I used to love indoor bouldering, and soloing big easy mountaining routes
From a child,a curiosity for all things mechanical was hard wired into my tiny brain.
Show me any form of machine and I will immediately start to try and figure out how it works/comes apart.
Bicycle maintenance feeds this fixation 😀
I also have no fear of a front derailleur 😉
I love working on bikes, but there are 3 specific things which I hate:
1. Bleeding brakes
2. Indexing gears
3. Truing wheels
Happy to pay someone else to do those, although I am capable of 1 and 2 if it makes the difference between riding or not riding.
Never tried 1, but sure I'd screw it up and make them worse
2, I'm generally fine at
3, I tend to have a knack of being pretty good at
Front derailleurs never had an issue with and always managed to get V Brakes working well
Just cannot be bothered with tubeless - but have it on my new bike, with cushcore. Dreading anything happening trailside
I just did the stupidest possible home mechanic job....
took apart my 15year old slx shifter to see why it wouldn't return- turns out that it was full of crud, liberal gt85 spraying, cleaning with cotton bud and then add some lube, then repeat the above till working
and seemed to be fixed, but now one of the little ratchet arms wont return.... so i have to dismantle another shifter to see what orientation a tiny spring should be and then twist it round the ratchet arm and hook it back on
thats 2 hrs of Sunday i wint he getting back, BUT my shifter is now working again!
so while i hated the job im feeling quite chuffed, now if it would just stop raining i could go for a ride!
one of the main reasons I got fed up with climbing is that you spend way more of your time faffing than actually doing the activity.
Ate you including time getting to the climbing in your assessment?
If so I totally concur. If not then I don't find it faffy at all if you have the right partner.
After a day skiing in la plagne last month I dragged the kid off for an hour's climbing and managed 6 routes, which was ok. Then off to beer and pizzas.
It does get nightmarish if your partner faffs though. Luckily my main climbing partner is super quick so not too much faffing.
As Mark Rainsley used to say...." Faffers don't get invited back"
(I wish I had a large, well lit, clean workshop/man cave with all tools, and supplies like bearing, fluids, spare parts all to hand
Same here. Reality is that bike maintenance happens in my kitchen which is why I do the bare minimum.
When I was a poor student, I used to clean my MTB in the communal kitchen (5 of us in a flat) and initially my flatmates were not happy with this arrangement.
Then they realised that I swept up after myself and actually it was the only time the kitchen floor got cleaned..So along with the local flora and fauna that I'd brushed off my bike, I'd be sweeping up their spilled food and general dirt!
one of the main reasons I got fed up with climbing is that you spend way more of your time faffing than actually doing the activity.
Ate you including time getting to the climbing in your assessment?
Yes. Sometimes the walk-ins/outs seem to take more time than the actual climbing!
People also seem to spend an inordinate amount of time squinting at guidebooks and going "is this the right rock?"
Not a fan of doing bike maintenance myself. Mostly as I have a poltergeist in the garage that hides my 4 & 5mm hex keys and also instantly vapourises anything that accidentally falls on the floor. I'm also not very mechanically minded, once I've done something a couple of times I'm fine doing it but trying to figure out something new either by eye or from crappy printed instructions I struggle with (YouTube videos can be good though, although many make the mistake of assuming I have a certain level of competence to begin with).
I also have some dumb moments, the most recent being after digging my old MTB out of the back of the garage (where it had sat for over 5 years) I couldn't get the dropper seat post to work so took apart the remote (figuring the cable wasn't pulling enough) but that didn't help, eventually took the post out and couldn't understand why pulling the cable at the remote wasn't moving the cable at the post. Eventually I realised the remote I was trying to use was for the Dryad rear shock and the dropper remote was on the other side of the bars. I lost part of the dropper remote in the process to, yay (I now have a non dropper post fitted until I can summon up the willpower to take another look at it). Usually my warning that I'm being stupid is picking up a rubber mallet to hit something that's 'stuck', I've learnt to put it down and think more about what I'm doing...
I wish I had a large, well lit, clean workshop/man cave with all tools, and supplies like bearing, fluids, spare parts all to hand
TBH, i found this was the biggest issue, having to find space, tools, illumination, parts, fluids, rags, clean the floor once you've dropped a greasy bearing and it's left a line across the kitchen/living room floor. Or doing it in the garage/shed and having to move round the lawnmower, chainsaw and a load of partially uncoiled hosepipes... And trying to move your fingers when it's 3 degrees and damp in there.
Workshops rule.
I have a large well lit workshop and plenty of specialist tools. What I don't have is any mechanical competence or patience. This nis not a good combination when expensive mountain bikes needs fixing. I'm just about safe to do basic stuff - tubeless, swapping drivetrains, cutting bars down as long as I check 3 times. etc. Anything above that where something needs 'fixing', I hand it off to my mate who both enjoys and is very good at all things practical and mechanical.
His view is it'll take less time for him to fix it once, then have it fixed twice after I've had a go. Pretty much anything with a bearing or a bushing is considered a skill to far for me 🙂
I build up all my bikes from frames, so I must be OK at doing the basics. It takes me a long time to do some simpler stuff like bleeding brakes though, as I don't do it often enough to get good/quick at it. I'd far rather be riding too, and with family life being pretty hectic, time for riding is hard won, so fixing bikes gets neglected or avoided at times. Plus I've filled up my shed with too many bits, so it's not easy to work on a bike at the moment.
I've contemplated going to the LBS when I just want something done and have no time, but it's not that convenient really, would take longer and cost a lot. Also, i'd have to talk to someone in a bike shop who is inevitably gauging my relative bike ignorance - so i'd rather save an unnecessary social interaction!
I did actually take my bike to a well known bike shop last year or the year before as I wanted some brake mounts faced and didn't have the tool.
Went in to collect the bike, was told their facing tool wouldn't work on my frame but told they'd set the brakes up better than before, I begrudgingly paid for the "superior setup" and took the bike away. The brake rubbed worse than before.
So, back to my previous philosophy of don't trust anyone else with my bikes and money on tools is never wasted.
That's the story of how I reminded myself of a lesson I'd already learned and why I bought the brake mount facing tool.
internal routing? Fine. Hydraulic brakes? Fine. Both? Off to the shop for someone else's problem. See also press fit BBs.
SRAM wireless FTW!
Hate is a strong word, but I will admit that I dislike it a lot of the time.
Unless everything goes right with a job and then I walk away feeling awesomely competent.
Totally depends on the bike for me. My G1 is easily the best bike I've ever had to work on - its a joy. My gravel bike though with through headset cable routing is a right pain...and its wireless! Disconnecting the brakes to swap out headset bearings is ridiculous.
I hate working on my bikes but only from the perspective that I don't have much free time so any time spent fixing is time that I could have been biking
+1, although agree with others that 'hate' is the wrong word.
It's taken me over two decades to learn, but the key to happy spannering is just to spend slightly more money on it. Have ALL the bits in advance, have some stock of spares, have the right tools in advance.
Things like BB, headset, brake pads, bleed kits, cables, ferrules, brake olives/barbs, I tend to buy ahead of time either in sales or from ali-express. Because even a £5 BB or headset will save a weekends riding and a £40 one in a shop miles away is useless.
And have a bit of a routine. Either by doing monthly / quarterly / 6-month / annual services where you dismantle, clean, check and replace everything. Or at least do it ahead of when you suspect a problem is going to occur. It's a lot less faff to just replace chainring, cassette, chain, jockey wheels and cables when you think a new chain is a bit marginal, than it is to spend several subsequent rides dealing with skipping gears and chasing shifting problems and multiple trips back into the shed to fix it. “The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten.” ― Benjamin Franklin.