Bike neglect

[ttcycle]

I used to be very dilligent with bike maintenance and cleaning then life stuff went topsy turvy and I suppose I got lazy. I've been talking about replacing the headset bearings on the commuter (Giant SCR named Jed) for maybe a couple of years and just never got round to it (Jed being the workhorse that gets neglected way too much- though tbh a couple of my bikes have had things to sort on them..)

I took the bearings out and noticed that the bearing cup at the top had cracked..bloody hell. So walked the bike down to the LBS who didn't have the correct bearings (integrated headset and some odd weird sizing apparently- had to take it to a Giant supplier which was another distance away (didn't have time to do this as today was one of those high stress, faff, back and forth type of days), thankfully, partner took it down for me when I gave him the ticket to collect it from the first LBS during a very short lunch break.

Sadly the bike is LBS no 2- need to call them tomorrow to check when he can be picked up.

There's a bike shaped hole in the house- he's usually hung up (most bikes hung from the ceiling) and is the one that can be seen from the living room door...

I promise not to neglect my bikes again and will do more work on them at home to keep them in good nick and certainly will not be neglecting Jed who has been my faithful commuter.

What are you like with keeping the bikes up to scratch?

Neglectful owner or one careful lady/gentleman owner?

 

[TheDoctor]

Verily, sister, I say unto thee...
Thou knowest thy sin. We are pleased by your repentance, and we absolve and forgive thee.
Go in peace and sin no more.
Now.
I tend towards the 'keep it running' school of thought. I'll clean chains when they need it, but the state of cleanliness of my bikes would move Ianrauk to tears and physical retribution.
Which isn't to say that I don't have a bike with a badly buckled rear wheel, that's been unusable for five years or so. In my defence, I do have five other bikes to ride, so it's not that urgent...
*flagellates self and seeks forgiveness*

 

[Paul.G.]

I'm lucky enough to have three very nice bikes. A colnago Master, a Colnago CT1 and a US hand made gunnar cross hairs. As lovely as they all are, i never spend hours cleaning any of them, I just ride-em. Don't get me wrong I do maintain chains/brakes etc but lets be honest, were all very busy these days so far better to use any spare time riding than cleaning. Just my personal opinion.

 

[derrick]

I have let the commuter go a bit, gave it a bit of a service september time, and just ride it must get round to giving it a clean, my other two bike and my wifes two bikes are spotless, so have only let one go, when the spring comes it will get a thorough going over,

 

[swee'pea99]

If it's broke, fix it. The End. (Oh, sorry...plus a bit of chain lube every now and then.)

 

[cyberknight]

Regreased the commuters wheel bearings last weekend , it is sitting in the garage looking very sorry for itself atm after a week of country lanes and sleet .

 

[Red Light]

Maintaining it wouldn't have stopped the headset cup cracking. Tell the guilt trip to stand down.

 

[martint235]

You've seen my bike, what do you think? And it's probably got worse since the arrival of Lelly

 

[Night Train]

Hmmm, must check BB and headset on Tiddles...

 

[Arch]

Last week, my winter hack started to make a terrible graunching noise under rear braking, combined with a squirmy feeling that suggested locking up (I never ride fast, so it wasn't dramatic skidding).

I told my friend about it, and he looked online a bit and said "When did you last grease the roller brake mechanism?"

<blank look>

Apparently, a Shimano roller brake needs grease injecting every 6 months or so.

I've had the bike for 5 years, and the bits were second hand then....

I took it down to Spandex in his workshop, and he had a tube of the right grease and did it for me, and hey presto, I have brakes again...

It'll soon be time to swap back to my summer bike. The one I was defintely going to service properly this winter.

Ah...

 

[kishan]

i am careful owner and i garage my bike. i have had to do basic maintence on customer bikes and some of them come in such a filthy condition with dry chains it annoys me as they abuse their pride and joys especially expensive ones like specialized hardtails so i clean it up before doing any work on it so i take more pride in my work as the bike is clean, if i left it filthy i would end up doing bodge jobs as the bikes filthyness would effect my work quality haha strange i know.

 

[alecstilleyedye]

cash is tight at the mo, so the winter geared bike that needs a new chain and cassette will have to wait for them. it's a pain because now trailer towing duties have to be taken up by the summer bike…

 

[Keith Oates]

My No.1 bike is cleaned after each and every ride, that one is in Manila and so I'm only there when on leave therefore time is not a problem. The commuting bikes get cleaned, or at least wiped over, every day when I arrive in the offce or back in the apartment, but they are not given a thorough clean each time!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Arch]

cash is tight at the mo, so the winter geared bike that needs a new chain and cassette will have to wait for them. it's a pain because now trailer towing duties have to be taken up by the summer bike…

See, that's your problem. A winter bike with a cassette.

My winter bike has hub-everything (well, not dynamo, not got round to upgrading yet), and hasn't had much in the way of maintenance or a new chain in the 5 years I've had it - until last week's brake greasing... Admittedly, it does less miles than the summer bike, because I tend to only commute on it.

Good bikes are like faithful donkeys. They just keep on going. Even our Maximus trikes just keep on hauling, day in day out, with minimal maintenance when we can find a spare hour. It's nice to treat them everyso often of course, like turning a dray horse out into a field for it's holidays...

 

[gb155]

Single Speeds make you lazy in that respect !