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[Closed] What's your least favourite bike maintenance task?

 Spin
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Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaarg!

F-ing mudguards!

To add insult to injury I've got a set of juicy 5's needing bled.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:04 pm
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needing [b]to be[/b] bled


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:06 pm
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Pumping bloody tyres up- especially when youre the shop mechanic and youre on your 45th poxy tyre!!


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:07 pm
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Mudguards? People use them?


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:07 pm
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Washing the thing.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:07 pm
 Spin
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needing to be bled

I too am a pedant at heart but through will power I have triumphed over it. Would you like some tips?


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:09 pm
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Fork service. Generally clamped in the stand and the oil, no matter how hard I try to persuade it otherwise, goes absolutely everywhere...


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:09 pm
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"needing bleeding" - it's more poetic.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:09 pm
 Spin
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Wet arses? People like them?

FTFY


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:10 pm
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Bleeding brakes (especially after the debacle my friend and I endured the other day) and indexing rear mechs. No matter how many how-to guides I attempt to follow to the letter, I never seem to be able to get it spot on.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:11 pm
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Washing the mrs bike - and fault finding 3 weeks after the fault appeared but not wanting to bother me - till its become thats ****ed buy anew one !


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:12 pm
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Changing tyres (messy with tubeless), bleeding brakes, finding a creak.

Most rewarding - cleaning and (now I have learned) building wheels!
😀


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:21 pm
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canti brakes! bloody awful.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:26 pm
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bleeding brakes


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:26 pm
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anything to do with brakes apart from changing pads


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:28 pm
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Buying the bits!

I love working on my bike almost as much as I like riding.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:31 pm
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well, to all of you loving to bleed brakes, a question :

How come after bleeding my hope mono minis the other night, they still feel like there isn't enough fluid in them ? i.e the lever has to be pressed almost as far as the handlebar.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:32 pm
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Bleeding juicy's.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:34 pm
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@ Mrs mugsy:

Look up the rolling diaphragm video on the hope site. Touch messy but did the trick for me.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:37 pm
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Washing the bike.

Wrenching I don't mind, unless it goes wrong. And then I hate it and want to smash the bike into little bits. This normally happens the morning of a ride.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:38 pm
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Putting heli-tape on my frame. More so, pealing heli-tape off the backing. It had me wanting to punch people in the face earlier today.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:44 pm
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Fettling gears, always a pain in the rectum, and I end up leaving them in a "that'll do" state and swearing half way round the ride as the gears are jumping around like a kangaroo on acid.

Bleeding juicies/formula brakes is a doddle, and I really don't get why so many people seem to have problems doing it.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:49 pm
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Most of them tbh. I used to put it down to living in a flat and having no space. I now live in a house and have loads of space and some stuff still does my swede in.
A brake bleed is a hassle but at least it's usually cut and dried. I'd say getting a drivetrain sorted where 1 or more parts are getting a bit worn (the usual situation). Rarely sort these out properly - get it more or less acceptable and leave it at that.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:56 pm
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+1 fettling gears 🙁


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:58 pm
 Crag
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Changing a middle chainring is always a right PITA.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 10:59 pm
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I love the maintenance jobs on my bike - all of them. Easy and simple and well made.

On older bikes Ive had I hated cup and cone hubs - shite things that never could be adjusted. Also early cable brakes and pads that never line up and wear unevenly.

We are quite lucky now with manintenence jobs being much eaiser and youtube to help.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:00 pm
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Any thing to do with sorting out rubbing discs/pads 🙄


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:00 pm
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Front mech setup, gaaaaah. Everything else, I actually like.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:02 pm
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Hmmm...definitely stripping suspension. That really sucks on an "oh my God, I'm going to slip and score/round something expensive" sort of a level. Then it's the habitual chain cleaning duties and sorting out the bikes for the rest of the tribe. Between us all we have seven bikes...


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:02 pm
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Front mech, had to get a low clamp for the new Titus frame and it took me about an hour to get it about right


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:05 pm
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re indexing the gears fettled 2 hours yesterday and still bloody jumping. now doing a service on the car or building and setting up a computer no problem but i can never get the gears right Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhh.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:15 pm
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Replacing an inner tube when the owner hasn't bothered to clean the dog muck off the tyre. I'm so glad I don't do repairs much any more 🙂

Apart from that, all fettling is good.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:22 pm
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Paying the bloke when I collect it.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:27 pm
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Hate setting up rear gears but love bleeding brakes..Just bled some juicy 5,s...No problem 😆


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:31 pm
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Rob, we need to talk. Love setting up gears, hate bleeding brakes.

In fact I am a wizard with v-brakes / cantis. Just hydraulics I cannot get on with.


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:35 pm
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Commuter bikes with hydro disk brakes.. Guaranteed messed up, corroded, stuck pistons etc etc..

But the worst job absolutely of all is trying to explain this to the clueless customer..

"Yes sir, on top of your ****ed chain, cassette, chainrings and front mech, we're going to need to rebuild your hayes/avid brakes at great cost to you.."

"But when you sold me the bike you told me it was a good one."

"Yes sir, but you decided to ignore the scrapey-wapey noises for the last 8 months, not change the front gear since you bought it, and never, it seems, oil the chain.."

"Well, can you half fix it for less?"

"**** off, sir."


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:44 pm
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But the worst job absolutely of all is trying to explain this to the clueless customer..

Ah yes- the customer is always right 🙄
How i'd love to slap some of them with a wet kipper 😆


 
Posted : 29/01/2012 11:50 pm
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Commuter bikes with hydro disk brakes.. Guaranteed messed up, corroded, stuck pistons etc etc..

But the worst job absolutely of all is trying to explain this to the clueless customer..

"Yes sir, on top of your * chain, cassette, chainrings and front mech, we're going to need to rebuild your hayes/avid brakes at great cost to you.."

"But when you sold me the bike you told me it was a good one."

"Yes sir, but you decided to ignore the scrapey-wapey noises for the last 8 months, not change the front gear since you bought it, and never, it seems, oil the chain.."

"Well, can you half fix it for less?"

"* off, sir."

Sheer poetry..


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:20 am
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F-ing mudguards!

I think "F-ing" a mudguard might not actually count as a maintenance task, more the sort of thing that gets a chap an unwanted reputation...


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:26 am
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front mech


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:30 am
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Landscaping my garden before posting a photo of said bike on here.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:38 am
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Coyote...we need to swap some brain waves... 🙂


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:41 am
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Finding a creak.

Bashing a push fit BB out.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:41 am
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Roadie bar tape, not difficult in itself but my OCD gets in the way by insisting the wraps should be equal in size and angle.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:42 am
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timmys...Forgot about that one.
Destroyed the one on my spicy getting it out.Even with the correct parktool.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:43 am
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Poxy rear derailleur set up. Always one gear wrong 👿


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:44 am
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Adjusting front derailleurs, bleeding brakes and taking off my dual ply high roller, it's snapped at least 2 tyre levers.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 2:14 am
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Avid hydraulic brakes (anything whatsoever to do with any of them - one of the worst bike products avalable IMO)

Anything to do with Tubs - horrible and pointless
old skool post mount cantilever brakes

as a bike shop mech, not a lot phases me. Avid can FRO though


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 2:56 am
 DrP
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Putting the little brass thing into the end of hydraulic hoses once you've shortened them...
Ann I missing something, out is this the toughest job on the planet!

DrP


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 9:38 am
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Removing / fitting DH tyres - they've all been hateful in my experience. Especially on a cold wet day after a flat......

I always have issues bleeding Hayes brakes - looks so easy in the instructions, but never feels quite right.

I like stripping forks, but hate the mess. Everything else is OK.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 9:50 am
 IHN
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I hated bleeding brakes, then I bought BB7s and never looked back.

For me it's adjusting a headset when fitting/refitting forks. Too lose, turn the nut a smudge, too tight, loosen off a bit less than a smudge, too loose, tighten a smidgen, too loose, etc etc...


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 10:28 am
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Cup and cone bearings. I can't do them because I hate them. I hate them because I can't do them. I actively seek to rid every bike I have of them, despite endless "They're easy" comments.

Setting up cheap and nasty V-brakes was an old treat when I worked in a shop. (Thankfully, I only assembled bikes, otherwise I would have had to work with cup and cone bearings!)

And "needs bled" is perfectly grammatical ([url= http://www.psy.fsu.edu/~kaschaklab/ThisConstructionNeedsLearned.pdf ]Kaschak and Glenberg, 2004[/url]). It's just conforms to a different grammar, common in central Scotland and the American Mid-West. 😀


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 11:56 am
 Spin
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And "needs bled" is perfectly grammatical (Kaschak and Glenberg, 2004). It's just conforms to a different grammar, common in central Scotland and the American Mid-West.

Thanks for that! I wasn't convinced I was wrong. I started to check then lost the will to live and gave up.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:09 pm
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Front mechs. Hate working on them, hate it.
Mud guards are a nightmare as well.
DH tyres are always horrible to fit.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:10 pm
 scud
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Finding the no doubt small but vital part that went "ping" onto the garage floor and seems to have become invisible........


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:24 pm
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Truing wheels & cup & cone hub bearings. Just thinking about doing these things makes my blood pressure rise...


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:39 pm
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I can't/don't fettle inside so it's mainly in the garage or on the drive so ...
if the weather is nice and the sun is shining and I have a cup of decent coffee and some decent music on and all afternoon to fettle then it's all good.

If it's wet/cold etc and I've little time then it's all bad.

This year the plan is to clear out the garage and turn it into a bike fettling heaven and nice place to be.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:42 pm
 Taff
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cleaning dog poo off the tyre


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:42 pm
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Changing pivot bearings using random assortments of sockets, threaded bar, nuts and a hammer..........until I bought the proper tool.

Now it's a joy. 😀


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:49 pm
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Giving you bike a thorough clean only to find the next day that upon drying completely there's still a thin layer of mud left.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:55 pm
 IA
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Something I'll never have to do again: rebuild on a hayes 9 master cylinder. Fiddliest circlip EVER.

More generally, cleaning the drivetrain on a commuter bike. So I got a singlespeed and just replace the chain every year or two.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 12:59 pm
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All of 'em.

I [b][i][u]HATE[/u] [/i][/b]fettling.

But my particular non-favourite fettling fenomenon is the stuck, rounded or sheared bolt that turns a two-minute task into a two hour orgy of swear-words and head-banging frustration, followed by an admission of defeat and another shame-faced trip to the bike shop.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 1:15 pm
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rebuild on a hayes 9 master cylinder. Fiddliest circlip EVER

amen to that!


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 4:59 pm
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peeling a squashed bat of my head tube


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 5:05 pm
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Cup and cone bearings
front mech fettling

works of the devil!


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 5:07 pm
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Stupid tho it sounds getting the handlebars straight - It drives me crackers


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 5:13 pm
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Cleaning off dog shit! staple everyone of their arses shut so I would!!!


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 5:31 pm
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Indexing gears. I've wasted too much of my life fiddling with the rear mech only to make it worse than when I started, although to be fair having some Gore Ride-Ons makes it a less frequent and less horrific task.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:02 pm
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I'm glad TJ said it ! me too 😳


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:09 pm
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Yep apart from cleaning bits of dog egg off I can't think of anything I hate about bike fettling, some jobs are less satisfying but the end result usually brings a smile to my face.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:14 pm
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peeling a squashed bat of my head tube

How the heck? Rather you than me!

+1 for cleaning dogshit. Judging by how hard it is to persuade the stuff to let go of my tyres and frame (and once, pedals too), they ought to use it to glue the wings onto airliners.

It's also responsible for turning me from a dog person to a cat person.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:18 pm
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Anything that involves fork removal without a proper workstand!


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:20 pm
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Wow I am feeling luckly then as I like all bike mainenance, maybe thats why I have setup a shop, it's only been going 6 months so I have plenty of time to start hating it. I think it's more the way I work that keeps the stress out. I do not rush jobs just working through them methodically while listening to Radio4. I think Radio 4 helps alot.

I have been luckly so in that only one bike in the last 6 months has had dog shit on it.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:31 pm
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I actually enjoy most fettling, so long as its nice out.

Front mechs never fail to amaze me though. They are clearly total shite and a total PITA to set up (even when you know how!) but we perservere with them anyway. And it doesn't matter whether they are cheap or not XT front mechs are just slightly lighter shite than Deore or Alivio


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:39 pm
 LoCo
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Gearbox rebuilds on motorised and non motorised bikes and any electrial stuff 👿


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 6:42 pm
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allen key pedal removal,f..k them.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 8:12 pm
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oh and marathon plusses on 20" rims.
and loose ball headsets,really loose ball,not the modern stuff.30yo ones.always find a bb on the floor.
chainguides can be annoying,fit,measure,remove,fit measure,remove,fit..file,measure.remove,fit..
honjo fenders.
brompton cable length,if you're swapping hbars.
favourite?building wheels.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 8:18 pm
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kona main pivot bearings the devils work


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 8:26 pm
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Taking pedals off - usually with taking skin off at the same time, when they finally give in!


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 8:27 pm
 bish
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Fitting mudguards, avid brakes, and trying to get the trim just right on road bike front mechs.


 
Posted : 30/01/2012 8:33 pm
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