My neighbours must think I live in my garage, always out there fettling. But most of the time I’m pissed off. Reminds me of what my old Dad used to say about car maintenance – no such thing as a 5 minute job!
Take last night – a gear cable change and a front mech removal. Simple!
Oh no.. carbon frame with internal routing – no matter how many times I pushed the cable through it didn’t come out of the exit hole. Then I grab I spare bit of cable, swish, straight though! So try again with the one attached to the shifter, after about 10 more goes (obviously interrupted by needing a piss at some point) eventually it pokes its shitty little end out. Grr. then a SRAM front mech! Bolt on… one allen key, one torx? Why?? and why is the torx one behind the mech plate??

Is it enjoyable??

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

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.

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

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 **** 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.

And the cranks are at 135degrees.

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…