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I like my bikes to run well, but I'm not bothered if it is 100% clean, all the time. I go through stages with wrenching, some times I get into it, and sometimes I do the bare minimum.
Working in a bike shop has definitely made me more anal about looking after my bikes, but I am a disgrace compared to some of the other guys! Difference is I actually ride mine 😉
I go through love-hate phases with fettling. Sometimes my bike will be pristine, everything clean / oiled and gears adjusted well. Other times I simply can't be bothered with the hassle of it all and it just gets thrown into the garage.
Recently I've decided that certain things require more work than others. Right now I'm of the opinion that a well-maintained drivetrain is worth the time spent on it, and frame pivots / shock bushings get replaced ASAP when they're not right. On the other hand, wheel bearings and Hollowtech BBs will be replaced when I get around to it, a bit of slop doesn't really do any harm or slow me down.
Absolutely 100%. I don't accept anything less than perfect.
[img]taz sends it to me impregnated into some sort of lacy fabric[/img]
I've got to do something with my used mankinis
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Mine is far from tip top but it works pretty well generally. My bike takes a beating so I don't see the point of trying to make it look pristine. I don't really understand how some people can keep a mountain bike so perfect, I guess they must keep it away from rocks. 😉
Suspension linkage bearings need replacing though, when I finally get round to it.
Everything in tip top conditon - the bike is filthy and cheapbits / scratched battered in places but every moving part moves as smoothly and with as little play as a brand new unit. Has to run silent as well. Obsessive about it. Every bearing checked every ride.
As long as it rolls.. Use reliable kit and know how to fix stuff so don't tend to have any issues.
It mostly works ok but often looks a bit haggard as i tend to use parts til they break. I can't stand play in hubs, spongy brakes or gears that skip though.
Mine doesn't really ever get too bad.. but I would dearly like to be more fastidious about maintenance..
TJ...why? You imply it's irrational.
I just ride mine, sqeaks and imperfections give a bike character.
I enjoy the maintenance side almost as much as the riding but I don’t think I am obsessive.
Would rather try to fix a problem on the side of the trail than spent an hour or so riding with an irritating noise or small mechanical problem bugging me, so if it can be fixed before the ride, then its one less thing to think about.
Proper planning and preparation prevents piss poor performance...or something like that.
I never ever want to fix a problem trailside - I want to be riding hence obsessive levels of maintenance
It depends on the part. A worn fork station I would ride into the ground.
A worn chain that would kill chain rings and cassettes prematurely I would replace.
I'm happy to do maintenance, in fact I enjoy it.
+1 for what TJ said above.
my bikes are tip top working order. i cant stand anything not being that way. i can feel when my bike is wrong 🙂
I clean mine after every ride & always check the chain & brake pads post ride,hopefully this is the time I pick up any problems.
This years major maintainance task was fitting new shifter cables,they'd been on the bike since 2007,never had any shifting problems & I always make sure the gears are indexing properly, until I changed the cables I never realised how semi-seized the originals were.. I do tend to ride things into the ground though.
cynic-al - Member
Mc - maintenance couldn't have prevented those mechanicals?
Does eating fewer cakes count as conscientious maintenance?
Fair enough about not wanting trail side repairs...but, for instance, some play in a hub bearing will never require one.
But on the basis that it feels horrible while riding and you're going to have to tackle it at some point it's just whther you do it now or next month, but in the meantime it could fail completely and damage hub and/or the frame, or just get to the point where when you tap the bearing and it leaved the outer race behind, why wait, it's far easier to replace them at the first sign of grittyness than to ride round fo ages with a niggling feeling they could fail at any moment followed by a wasted evening trying to remove their remains with a heat gun?Fair enough about not wanting trail side repairs...but, for instance, some play in a hub bearing will never require one.
I would say i'm a tip-topper. Like others i can't stand sloppy bearings or badly running drivetrains. I check the chain on each bike every time i ride it and replace it if it is reaching 0.75% stretch - i've just had to replace the cassette on my most used bike which has been on for two yrs.
I have two Marins, so have lifetime bearing warranties on the frames and i suspect (with no evidence) that running the bike with sloppy bearings will damage the frame.
Same with shock bushings, have to be replaced as soon as there is play.
Mind you, the original headset on my big bike was recently replaced and i was surprised how degraded it actually was - rusted and bone dry!
Some parts just 'go' and you feel it/need to replace it right away. Others just slowly degrade and it takes a good while to notice - headset bearings and gear cables are this for me.
I have arthritic thumbs so when it gets painful to shift i fit new cables 😆
TINAS if you live with that level of sensitivity, anxiety and irrationality in your life, fair enough.
i like my bikes tip top mechanically, no wobbly bearings, or squeaks/rattles.
but i use a chain/cassette/chainring until completely shagged, then replace the whole lot.
dont worry too much about how clean my bike is thou, as long as its not dripping mud/chain oil/dogshit onto the carpet its fine.
it's far easier to replace them at the first sign of grittyness than to ride round fo ages with a niggling feeling they could fail at any moment followed by a wasted evening trying to remove their remains with a heat gun?
I don't have the niggling feeling at all. They're really not likely to instantly fail. I would still get them sorted out when I get round to it but no need to fret over it IMO.
I also suspect that for some people it's obsessive 'maintenance' that actually creates problems with their bikes (which means even more 'maintenance').
It's obvious to me when a bike part (say a bearing) is not running smoothly. At that point it gets sorted. I like my stuff to work. Its that simple. part of the enjoyment is a good bike. A very expensive bike that's badly maintained, to me, is crap bike.
You buy oversized headtubes/fors, 20mm bolt throughs, maxle rear ends, super slick 10speed xtr, run it with gore cables..... then you're happy to have a sloppy pivot / wheel bearing. Where's the sense in that?
TINAS if you live with that level of sensitivity, anxiety and irrationality in your life, fair enough.
I would still get them sorted out when I get round to it but no need to fret over it IMO
A stich in time saves 9 etc. It takes less time to change out the bearings (or service them in shimano hubs) when they first develop any play/grittyness compared to when they get so bad you're forced to do them, the difference being that the day you're forced to do them always seems to be the only a really dry sunny day in ages!
Do you apply the same logic to your cars? Wait for the oil warning light to come on before getting a service, or leaving tyres and brakes untill the MOT man fails them?
You're comparing 2 extremes, the practical solution imo, lies somewhere in between.
Do you apply the same logic to your cars? Wait for the oil warning light to come on before getting a service, or leaving tyres and brakes untill the MOT man fails them?
You've never bought a car off a mechanic have you.......
I genuinely enjoy the servicing side of it. I don't do things obsessively but I'll spend a couple of hours cleaning it afterwards. Regular maintenance includes seatpost servicing, fork servicing etc but this isn't done religously. I hate riding my bike when I haven't cleaned and checked it over, just like to know that its 'just right'
[url= http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5152/7157128186_817dfea9a1.jp g" target="_blank">
[url= http://www.flickr.com/photos/neil853/7157128186/ ]Clean LTc[/url] by [url= http://www.flickr.com/people/neil853/ ]99c5faa01725362d73494aff686e3664[/url], on Flickr
** WORLDCLASSACCIDENT to the forum please!! **
My best bikes are kept in frighteningly good nick I'm mechanically very sympathetic and love fettling but detest bling. My DH bike is maintained to spaceship standards.
The hack bike is reliable, safe & functional - no more.
i recently got asked how far i rode in to work in the morning as my bike is always so clean - from the other guy in the office that rides on a bike thats so caked you cant tell what it is ...
turns out i do about 3 times the distance but i hose my bike off once a week and check the tires for cuts and debris and chain tension/brakes....
he just buys a new bike once his drive train is shot !
You've never bought a car off a mechanic have you.......
I bought a Midget off a guy who'd rebuilt it on a new shell, I've spent the last 3 years wondering why I just assumed he'd have replaced all the other buggered bits as well!