Afraid Of Bicycles ?

[R600]

i've been fixing my own bikes for 30 odd years and quite enjoy it. i can remember my first try at truing a wheel when i was 9 or 10 years old, it didn't work out to good but now i can fix a buckle without any problem. it takes time to learn and most of the learning was on old not to valuable bikes

 

[Pat "5mph"]

If you only have one bike and you need it to go to work you need to be careful about unknown tinkering, least you find yourself without transport!
Sure, it is not rocket science, but ime the know how comes with trial and error.

 

[derrick]

Some people just don't like to get there hands dirty, some people are just lazy, some have the money to pay someone else to do it, who gives a ****, i will help anybody who needs it, even i ask for help sometimes, and i can fix most things,

 

[Sara_H]

I admit to bing completely clueless about bike tinkering. Despite being a regular cyclist for around 15 years I only learned how to change an inner tube last year.
OH is a bit of a tinkerer, trouble is my brakes need adjusting and he hasn't got time to do it - I've just text my local bike mechanic to ask him to do it!

I've enrolled on a bike maintenance course later in the year - there'll be no stopping me then!

 

[Sandra6]

Good for you Sara, I need to do the same really. I know the guys at work will pass on their knowledge if I ask, and will be quite happily paid in beer.

 

[Sara_H]

Good for you Sara, I need to do the same really. I know the guys at work will pass on their knowledge if I ask, and will be quite happily paid in beer.

Well cycle maintenance is a good skill to have - I'm a pragmatist though, and can't learn from books or youtube videos - so a hands on course seemed the way forward for me.

We're planning some cycle camping tours - OH will sometimes be coing, sometims he wont - would be a bit of a disaster if me and the little un were on tour and needed to do some repairs.

 

[Banjo]

I think it stems from when schools stopped teaching woodwork and metalwork. I know they do design and technology but they dont get anything like the basic skills in using handtools that occured in years gone by.

 

[Mr Haematocrit]

.... it DOESN'T need a computer diagnostic, and YES IT CAN be fixed at home.

not in every case, Ui2 has specific issues which require it to be placed on a diagnostic rig to determine the cause of the issue, same can be said for EPS. It is generally not feasible for many people to spend in excess of £300 on diagnostic equipment which will get very minimal use.

 

[al78]

There are many other issues which make things more complicated than you think they are.

Firstly, the fear of breaking something. That can have one of three consequences, a) forking out more money for replacement parts; b) getting stranded in a remote area and facing a long walk home; c) having an accident and spending half a day in hospital and several days in pain.

Secondly, time factors. People may be sufficiently time poor that they would rather take the bike to a LBS where a repair will be done properly, rather than spending hours themselves trying to fix something and risk making things worse.

Thirdly, compatibility issues. It is a minefield trying to work out what is compatible with what, due to the fact that there is no universal standard. How many people who have just bought a new bike are going to know what type of bottom bracket or crankset they have (which they need to know if they have to replace said parts). Similarly, to replace cassettes and chainrings you need to know what sizes are compatible with your mechs and shifters, what BCD means, the significance of the number of spider arms on the crank, whether it is 8,9 or 10 speed. I would be surprised if these issues were there 60 years ago to anywhere near the extent that they are today.

Fourth, the need for tools. A lot of repairs need particular tools to do them properly, or at all. Some tools can be expensive, so people may rather just pay for the repair every so often rather than spending £££ on something they will rarely use, or won't know how to use properly.

Here is an example of what can happen when tinkering goes wrong.

 

[Night Train]

Aptitudes and talents are largely belief related, in that our life story or life script tells us that we can't do something or are not good at it.

I know, or believe that I'm not creative or artistic. So I've failed before I start. The reason for this being it was reinforced as a child that I could fix anything, but, was no good at art etc.

I don't blame anyone for not being good at something, but I think the reasons for this are learned behavior.

Still, doesn't help with the creative block I have lol

Sometimes, I think. Sometimes not.

I grew up being told I would be good at science and technical stuff. I was, mostly, but I also excelled at art and drama though not at all at music.

Following on from excelling at physics and maths I was told I would be great at the 'new fangled computing stuff' that was coming in at the time. I'm rubbish at it.

Basically, if I can't 'see' it working, I can't understand how and why it works. Hence I can strip and repair a gearbox or hub gear but struggle with anything electronic and couldn't programme the BBC basic computer at school.
I have no idea why my laptop sometimes doesn't run properly but I can pick up a lump of metal and 'feel' its properties.

 

[Boris Bajic]

Great question by the OP. I ask this myself.

I learned the rudiments of bicycles from my mother (former land girl and very practical). Other stuff I picked up as I went along.

I picked up the rudiments of motorcycles and cars from my father, my big brother and friends.

It was easier then. Both car and motorcycle could be patched up with parts from breakers. I could go 'into the yard' at my local breaker and clamber to the car on top of a pile to bag an unused spare wheel. I could spend twenty minutes upside down pulling a starter or an alternator/dynamo out of a wreck. Things really are more expensive these days, not just because of inflation.

In terms of bicycles, I see that there is no peer reference for my children. Their pals may ride, but do not get shown by dad or mum how to change a BB or tension a gear cable or set the brakes up. Mine do, but I find I am starting from a position of almost complete mechanical ignorance. This is my fault, but there is no way I was going to make them change tubes and headsets at three years of age....

It's not all doom and gloom, but the need for specialist tools doesn't help - and let's be honest... there are a few.

The price of parts is also a turn-off. In truth, most people will be just as fast over 10 or 25 miles whether they are on Veloce or Super Record.... But somehow the latter is more sexy. For the retailer, it probably is.

I no longer work on car engines (absence of diagnostic equipment) but still do brakes, exhausts and so on.

As the OP says, bicycles are extraordinarily simple. Carbon brings some concerns about correct torques, but I still do it by feel.

I'm sure there is a benefit to some folk in mystifying the whole 'bike tech' thing - and I am still a bit vague about trueing wheels.... but most stuf is just fit and forget these days. Even a 20-year-old bicycle seems quaint today, with its BB made of separate components....

Hurrah for this thread and if you're interested in the working, start mucking around today.

 

[spacecat]

I think that if we feel confident that we can learn to do it then we perhaps should have a go, if we don't then get someone else to do it. But stop the scaremongering that there are somehow dark arts associated with it. There aren't.

I've seen a lbs mechanic get a set of mole grips on a wheel with cartridge bearings in it to try and eliminate the play! It was never gona work.

If I do it myself and my bike disintegrates at 40mph then its my fault, and I would rather trust myself over a lbs mechanic.

That said though, that's just me and other views are just as valid. Well apart from the scary modern bicycle magic one lol

 

[HovR]

I just take the attitude that the bike's already broken, so I (hopefully) can't break it any more! I've gone from not being able to change an inner tube, to being able to completely dismantle and rebuild my bike.

I learnt the skills as I needed them. For example I learned how to service hub bearings when I noticed some play in them, and only found out how to remove my forks when the headset wanted re-greasing! I think this is the best way to learn how to do these jobs on your bike - Learn by doing.

People who are just learning - YouTube is your friend! There are so many helpful tips and tricks out there, as well as complete video tutorials showing you exactly what to do. You've just got to sort out the good videos from the crap ones.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

I can fix most things on my bike but suspension forks are a bit of a mystery to me, and I have always had a phobia of taking hubs to bits. As you say though, rocket science it ain't.

Bike mechanics are blessed by the gd of bicycles and even tho I have a pretty darn good dea, I never get it as sweet as the LBS guy who comes to where I work to mini-service our bikes when there's an event on.

 

[TonyEnjoyD]

As you say though, rocket science it ain't.

Remember tho.... Rocket science is just common-sense to a rocket scientist!