[Closed] Bike maintenance - fun pastime or necessary evil?

When it goes well = fun. When it goes wrong it pisses me right off!

Night before last, bled my Formula rear brake. All went well and was fun. Last night bled my mates 10 year old Mono Mini's, went well again so I've had a couple of positives.

Got two drivetrain swaps to do swap soon and I know that will be a PITA...

Its not enjoyable but it can be very satisfying, especially when you've got the bike set up just perfect and you don't really need to carry that multi-tool on the ride.

Yeah, as long as the end result is good, it can be satisfying. Kind of understand why my mate just drops his in to the bike shop though!

Stepping stone to a career in the Royal Navy, innit?

I quite enjoy it - when it goes well.

I have some brakes to put on my lad's HT and upgrade the drive train - not looking forward to shortening/bleeding the brakes.

I don't like working on BSO's though as they always present more problems.

No, its hellish - even the jobs that should be easy manage to conspire to go wrong.

Last night I decided to give the bike some pre-NC500 (travelling Sunday) love.
Cleaned, de-greased, lubed, changed front pads - all good so far.
Went to change rear pads - retaining screws stuck - 30 mins wrestling with pliers for what should be a 10s process.
Thought I was done, picked bike up and went to turn it around and thought "headset seems a bit rumbly" (no idea how I hadn't noticed previously - maybe a wet ride last week finished them off). So off come bars, stem and front brake - fork out - i'll just stick new grease on the bearings.
Err, no you wont! Discovered that bike uses a pair of cartridge bearings.

Last minute panic trip to LBS this morning to get bike sorted in time to travel to Inverness at the weekend 👿

Most bad maintenance experiences are down to a lack of maintenance.

That's the kind of thing I'm talking about fifeandy! No such thing as a 5 minute job 😆

[i]I don't like working on BSO's though as they always present more problems.[/i]

I once tried to sort the brakes on a BSO - whilst on a ride! in the Alps! (don't ask) - the owner was going "I thought you could fix bikes.." Grr!

Fork rebuilding, Wheel truing/building etc I love.

Gears , tubeless, brake bleeds etc can do one

Really enjoy a good spannering session. I rebuild all my bikes twice a year as I enjoy making them 100% again. Once after the winter to remove the slop from bearings etc and once in the late autumn to prep it ready for surviving the incoming slop 😆

It's like my wind down after a good ride. Plus if you find something is broken or worn out you can go and get some new shiny replacements. Oh and you can justify having quality tools too, everyone likes a quality tool.

Its not enjoyable but it can be very satisfying

This.

I like it.

I'm quite happy tinkering in the garage; its not a bad place to be with a good work stand, sone music on, heater on in the winter and a beer to keep me company! Not even the internal routing is much of a faff.

[i]Stepping stone to a career in the Royal Navy, innit?[/i]

I can fix a skateboard. No worries there 8)

Gets me time away from the ever hungry baby. I don't mind it at all.

I palm it all off to the lbs, saves the worry of 'will it work'/'have I screwed it up'' the next time I ride

Not having a garage makes it more of a pita in winter, I don't mind some fettling, especially our road bikes but have no desire to start servicing and rebuilding brakes so the lbs gets that stuff in the very rare event shimano goes wrong

It's kind of relentless, and i got caught out last night as I'm still on my 'summertime maintenance routine' of not have to clean/lube/regreases after ever ****ing ride...horrible wet, grindy ride and a rusty chain this morning.

I'm not looking forward to winter at all 🙁

Evil.

Depends entirely on how well it goes - and the job itself to a lesser extent.

Recent tubeless conversion that I had built up in my head to be a virtual impossibility went very well and very easy. Had me flexing my proverbial guns in the mirror and walking with a bit of a swagger. A few weeks later I still like to hear the slosh of sealant in tyre.

Change of brake involving a shimano clamp that only opens up correctly if you hit the recessed button thing at the precise 0.5 degree angle or involves removing seized lock-on grips has reduced me to a curled up ball, veins popping out of forehead and incomprehensible Anglo-Saxon oaths being hissed out through dangerously clenched teeth.

Swings and roundabouts.

I enjoy it, some parts more than others. I enjoy working on forks and building wheels and I don't mind fitting tyres either. Nor do I mind changing wheel and frame bearings, so it's all ok really.
It has the same nice feel as working on a trials bike - something that's small and relatively easily accessible. I used to love prepping a trials bike before a big (to me) event. I got used to scrutineers saying "very nice lad, but it'll only get dirty again" You can't properly prep anything unless it's clean, can you?

My days of lying under cars have long gone though and I never enjoyed it....

From my experiences as both looking after my own bikes as well as a spell as a bike mechanic between jobs.

I too hate BSOs with a vengeance - a friend asked me as a favour to look at her neighbour's bike - a Raleigh BSO that has been shed-ware for 20+ years - tyres had perished and everything corroded. Cheap, heavy materials that flex unnecessarily as well as hernia-inducing getting it onto the stand!

I can't remember the last serious 'mechanical' I've had whilst riding but those of my mates who don't DIY often have problems - sometimes catastrophic - that mean ride abandonment. The same with those that 'can't be bothered' with tubeless meaning we all get to hang around in the cold and wet with them faffing with their umpteenth puncture and need to borrow a tube.

perchypanther - Member
Stepping stone to a career in the Royal Navy, innit?

Doesn't say a great deal for our navy, since he appears to be doing up a QR with a spanner.

I enjoy it when it's going well. Usually that means when I've got new bits to fit and not trying to save 90p by re-using gear cables or outers.

Building a bike from a box of parts with some music on and a nice beer on a
warm sunny afternoon is one of spring's nicest evenings and the last step before summer!!

Doesn't say a great deal for our navy, since he appears to be doing up a QR with a spanner.

Love bike faffing and building, but there are jobs that I really don't like doing, such as sorting cables for mechs. My LBS fits new cables for £20 so I just let them do that, everything else I pretty much enjoy.

Love it, always have. It's a bit of an escape for me, plus I know that if I've done it then it's done well enough.

love it, I do it at work whilst getting paid.

bloody love it, cant think of bike building/fetling job i dont like. but then I also look after my bikes and everything is lubed/copper slipped etc, so there is minimal faffage. Only slightly sweary event recently was the joy of getting a thomson seat post out of a surly frame (even with enough lube to make being fingered by an elephant possible, that combo of frame and post always seems to seize like a bugger). Was still enjoyable in a problem solving kind of way though

I think you should be able to buy a bulk lot of 5mm Allen keys, would make my fettling much less stressful.

I quite enjoy it, and with 2 boys who ride a lot, there is a fair amount to do regularly. Since they got onto decent bikes it is a lot easier, as all headsets are now cartridges and groupsets deore/105 or above. I don't do suspension or wheel bearings/trueing though...

Ah yes, tubeless tyres! Wouldn't be without them, but my god if Schwalbe weren't having a bloody right laugh when they called their's "tubeless easy"!
Gave my mate a set of Mavic wheels - told him to buy Hutchinson tyres - we fit em, pumps em up with his cheapo track pump - pang! pang! they're on. No worries.
I have a go at my Schwable... 2 days later it's still sat in the garage leaking sealant, flat as a pancake. Psych myself up and dripping with sweat eventually emerge from the garage with a wheel ready to go. Such fun!

but my god if Schwalbe weren't having a bloody right laugh when they called their's "tubeless easy"!

you must be doing something wrong, i can get schwalble to go with a track pump with minimal faffage on a variety of rims. Some people just aren't cut out for practical stuff 😀

Two solutions to tubeless problems.

Lots of electrical tape in the rim or a compressor.

I've never had a tubeless setup that couldn't be solved with one of those (apart for the fat bike, which swapped tape for packing foam).

I don't know as I enjoy the work per se. But I really like knowing that my bike is ready to ride. So overall, yes.

Same with the car. I do all the work on it myself. Have just rebuilt the suspension at both ends and set up the geometry (now that's fun). Crawling around on the floor getting mud and wotnot in my eyes is the work and having it drive properly is the reward.

I think you should be able to buy a bulk lot of 5mm Allen keys, would make my fettling much less stressful.

My favourite tool was my 5mm Allen key, decent quality one with a t-shaped plastic handle etc. Ordered a new Canyon road bike, Allen key at the ready for the (minimal) construction needed... and they're all 4mm bolts 😡

Still, it's an excuse to get another tool, and that's always a good thing.

Annoying but satisfying +1

I'd be quite happy if my bikes all maintained themselves.

Annoying and frustrating, yet mildly amusing.

Still, it's an excuse to get another tool, and that's always a good thing.

Yes!

My tools are probably worth as much my car and bikes put together.

That's got to be a sign of something, something odd..

Depends.

It's a necessary evil, but there are some jobs that are more of a PITA than others.

Building wheels is very satisfying, despite needing three hands. Bleeding brakes is messy, stripping forks is nerve-wracking and applying frame tape is a massive ball-ache.

If it all goes well it is great fun. If it doesn't...

Totally agree on BSO's. Massive, massive pain and I get tired of the incessant "Can you fix my sons/daughters/wifes/dogs bike?" When is filthy, been abused and neglected by adults who should know better...

Yes I've been there as well: "Can you fix my GF's bike? She bought it for £99 just to mess around on... you know.... couldn't see the point in spending lots..." Shite like that is actually impossible to fix or adjust.

And yes, a well-maintained bike shouldn't break down. This means a regular coat of looking-over and being prepared to replace things like tyres that are looking a little ropey but might go on a little longer.

[i]Some people just aren't cut out for practical stuff[/i]

This much is true! My dad was practical so I'm always convincing myself I can be. 😆

[i]you must be doing something wrong, i can get schwalble to go with a track pump with minimal faffage on a variety of rims[/i]

Road/CX tyres?

My shed has a stereo, a beer fridge and a heater. I find that music, beer and comfort help make any bike maintenance job enjoyable 😀

I love going into the garage for a 'tinker', very therapeutic. Shock and forks are a favourite as nice clean jobs, do an aircan or lower service when I'm bored.
Most enjoyable was building a car engine in my conservatory (when I was single). Lovely clean parts in a clean environment, very satisfying. It's still running too.

Do it for a job but still like fettling my own bike too

I rather enjoy a fettle, but will draw the line at forks and wheels as I'm out my comfort zone. Plus I've only got one bike, a hardtail, so it's a relatively easy experience in most cases.

When it goes well = fun. When it goes wrong it pisses me right off!

^^^^ This absolutely!

At present it all seems to be going wrong and stressing me right out; when it does work out as planned I really enjoy it.

I had a nightmare session yesterday just changing brake pads; the front change went just as expected (5 minute job) but on the rear the pads were too close to allow the rotor back in(after much cursing and considerable time I finally decided that somehow I'd managed to end up with too much fluid in the system and managed to force a bleed block in do a quick top down bleed and everything worked).

I don't mind it... But it always takes longer than expected (aka I never learn) and I usually start at about 11:00pm the night before a trip so end up doing it in the wee hours with tools and crap all over the floor (I use the hall). I have an irrational distrust of sealed bearing hubs so spend quite a lot of time regreasing and adjusting cup and cone bearings. I also have an irrational fear of rohloff cable replacement - even though it usually goes very well.

I love it, almost as good as riding bikes. Just need some loud music and a decent place to work. The added bonus is free beer from fixing other people's bikes..

I have just replaced the bearings in a set of shimano m520 pedals. Never done it before and it was so easy, a very enjoyable experience. Cost of bearings and tool was £7 so saved a fortune on a new set and now know how to do my other sets.

So tonight it's really getting my goat. Trying to get an XD cassette off the freehub and failed so far... Fitted with antiseize, torqued correctly and still the stubborn bastard won't shift....

Now soaking in the Muc Off equivalent of GT85.

Mostly I love it. I've been known to snatch colleague's old wrecks from them, take them home and tune them up. "Ah mate, this is a proper pre-Halfords Tufftrak, what a classic!" And the demise of the front mech's made my personal spannering much more fun 😆

I mean, I won't lie, I'm good at it and that's where most of the satisfaction is- a job well done, tidily and first time. But bike spannering's also fairly clean, never very heavy, generally not very rusty, or for that matter done lying on your back under your back getting crap in your eyes. I like any sort of mechanicking but bikes are really nice to work on.

Now soaking in the Muc Off equivalent of GT85.

Plusgas FWIW. Do the job properly.

I've come to the conclusion that I prefer to work on my bikes than to ride them. Especially in the winter. The few things I'd like to learn is wheel building and to do fork servicing. I need to buy a brake bleeding kit and have a go. But my Hope brakes have only required one bleed each in 8-9 years of use.

Like most, it's mixture of "Hmm" and "aaagh!". A lot is down to familiarity and having the right (or suitable) tools. Once you get the sequence worked out then it's all plain sailing, until then it's all a bit "how the hell ..." The hardest thing I find doing is indexing gears. Not serviced a set of forks yet.

Before the HT550, before the JennRide actually, I completely stripped down the bike to frame and forks and re-built it replacing what parts were needed.

Plusgas FWIW. Do the job properly.

Thought I had some. Seem to have mislaid it in the house move. Hence the MO96 or whatever it is. Luckily it worked, that and a tap all around the 42 sprocket in the direction of the hub flange. Loosened straightaway. Win! 😀

PPC mag did a penetrating oil test and GT85 performed almost identically to plusgas, I was surprised but nobody knows more about getting shitty bolts out of 40 year old shitty cars than them

Thoroughly enjoy it. It's very rare it's anything less than a great pleasure

Northwind.

I'm surprised at that. I've used all sorts at work and Plusgas works where others have failed. On the bike and car I make sure everything is lubed with appropriate goop so the use of fluids to get parts apart has become a very occasional pastime.

Its not enjoyable but it can be very satisfying, especially when you've got the bike set up just perfect and you don't really need to carry that multi-tool on the ride.

Cue annoyingly simple to fix "if only i had my multi-tool" problem, in the middle of nowhere (in a thunderstorm)

Late on a cold, wet winter night, when all you want us a shower and a cuppa...but a bike caked gritty,muddy paste that consumes all moving parts. It fast loses it appeal,

More enjoyable than the riding, half the time 😉

Seriously though, seeing the kids running around on bikes that you built for them is a great satisfaction and knowing that there won't be another one quite like theirs out on the trail, brings them a real sense of pride to their steed.

The more you do it, the better you get and the less things phase you. So when I split a rim two days before holiday, replacing it was no more than a minor inconvenience and a couple of hours in the garage. Same with fork and shock rebuilds - get your hands dirty and you'll soon realise than you can do a better job yourself than any bike shop! (Mostly because they won't spend a whole evening getting that wheel absolutely perfectly tensioned!)

I mean, I won't lie, I'm good at it

[img] [/img]

🙂

Not one person able to explain the direct mount front mech fixing then?! Stupid bloody Sram.

That was the old me, JCA, I had to kill him

I mostly enjoy it.

I don't enjoy:

Changing 11 pivot bearings in the Jeffsy. 11. I mean, 11. WTF. Great bike when they are all done though.

Searching for a ticking/clicking/creaking noise.... Genuinely being over the moon when you find it after ripping the bike to bits practically.... Only to ride down the road to hear it again.

That is soul destroying!

Other than that, yes,I actually do enjoy bike maintenance. 🙂

Oh,I forgot! Bleeding Guides... Never look forward to doing that.

[img] [/img]

That picture always cheers me up when I see it! 😀

Truly sums up the human condition! 😆

Time is limited and as much as I hate spending money being a Yorkshireman, some jobs aren't worth the hassle when I can be riding, I have friends who fettle more than they ride .
And even when their bike is immaculate they still want to change tyres and peddles for the weather based on a thumb in the breeze and look at the skies

3 hours faff and 1 hour ride plus an hour round trip drive to ride with Mates
or
out for 2 hours local a hose down and oil, shower and I'm done in 2hr45 hence I ride alone alot

I love working on bikes. Used to do it for a living and so got taught well by an old hand. Having a nice workshop to do your fettling in makes it so much more pleasant that trying to work in the kitchen/outside when the weather is so nice you should be riding. I've just converted a shipping container to use as a workshop which is actually very nice to work in.

It depends, if it's planned maintenance on the MTB then happy days doing it in the garden when the sun's out and a beer in hand. However if I'm having to fix a hub endcap that keeps coming lose on the commuter after cycling have home on it in the rain and having to stop every 15 minutes to tighten it up, then finding out that a gorilla without a torque wrench put the cassette lock ring on I'm less inclined to enjoy it. Especially if I've got home late and have to be out again on said bike at 6:30 the next morning.

But generally I enjoy a bit of fettling.

Oh,I forgot! Bleeding Guides... Never look forward to doing that.

Really? I have the older ones and have found them pretty easy to bleed.

I just managed to shorten a brake hose without needing to re-bleed. Truly the gods are with me today. 🙂

Yes, I know it's a piece of piss but I always seem to cock it up one way or another.

Never have I known time go so quickly as when I can't get something fixed / set up on a bike.

Satisfying when learning something new but ****ing infuriating when it just ain't happening.

used to enjoy it more when i had more time.

shame as i have a much nicer workspace now.

I cleaned the chain on my (fixed wheel) commuter last weekend; i'm not convinced that it had been done since the chain was replaced in 2013.

bike rides so much eaier that i need to put a bigger gear on 😳

So since my last post I have: -
- Finished the drivetrain install I had in progress
- Bled another set of brakes
- Installed a dropper post for a mate
- Bled yet another set of brakes for another mate
- Replaced gear cables & related adjustment and suspension set up for mate #3
- Completed another drivetrain install
- Serviced a pair of pedals

Busy week or so on the tools. I've enjoyed it because it all went smoothly - but I'm glad it's done!

I just managed to shorten a brake hose without needing to re-bleed. Truly the gods are with me today.

Balance has now been restored with some horrible rim tape/tubeless failures over the past few days. Riding with a tube in feels awful!

Balance has now been restored with some horrible rim tape/tubeless failures over the past few days. Riding with a tube in feels awful!

#prayingforatroubledbrother 😉

Being a vehicle tech by trade I enjoy it 🙂

Normally enjoy it as long as it's something I can do, last "quick fix" though was a total disaster...

Gears jumping on my Remedy, new cable inners and outers fixed it. Had also bought a new chain, may as well throw that on too. Measured against the old one and put it on, the wrong side of the tab on the bottom of the derailleur (oops), never mind whip off at the quick link - eh naw, quick on maybe but this thing wouldn't move 🙁 Broke the chain, re-routed and put it back on. Test ride the chain breaks. Take a couple of links out and add in the same length from the spare part. Test ride up and down the street goes well, turn into my drive the chain snaps again somehow trashing an XTR rear mech (it has had years of service on the old spare 26er but still). Bike is still sitting in the corner of the garage with no chain or mech.

i spend 48hrs a week with spanners in hand repairing hgv s , so I tend not to do any maintenance bike or car unless its got to the point where something serious is about to go wrong, the only reason I don't put either into the shop is I hate to think of wasting money on something a couple of hrs in the garage could sort out ,plus at the end there is still that little bit of pride in putting things right(especially if its one of those niggly jobs )

I can't remember the last serious 'mechanical' I've had whilst riding but those of my mates who don't DIY often have problems - sometimes catastrophic - that mean ride abandonment.

I enjoy all bike fettling/shed time, and same as dovebiker^^,I like my bikes to be ready to go, with the peace of mind that I am not going to get ambushed my a major mechanical during a ride. I don't race now,but when I did I was meticulous about having bikes 'race ready' well in advance. Same goes for cleaning, more chance of spotting things that could become potential problems later.