do you maintain lesser 'things'?

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

young Ed

Veteran
so do you work on your familiy's, friends etc BSO's? the only bikes in my family that aren't BSO's are my 2 and my brothers and my mums (although mums is a good 30 years old now and never gets ridden)
mum and dad want me two magically bring back two old f'ed BSO's from the dead, i simply don't bother with them since i spent hours messing about with them to no avail

i only work on my nice £800 bike now and i would consider my brothers triban 3 if he asked me nicely

does this make me rude, a bike snob or is this just common sense?
Cheers Ed
 

Exile

Senior Member
Location
Manchester
I'd say if you're simply turning your nose up because you see them as cheap, that's a bit snobbish. If you've looked at them, maybe had a tinker, and they're beyond economical repair, that's common sense not to bother. It's just wasting time and effort at that point.

Personally, I'll look at anything friends/family ask me to, but if after seeing the bike it's beyond my help, or suffering from the dreaded "miscellaneous creak" I'll send the away with instructions to get a bike shop to fix it or keep riding it and try to figure out what that noise is. If it's something like indexing gears, replacing brake blocks or adjusting the handlebars, I'm more than happy to help, provided they bring beer/order takeaway. Given the majority of my friends who own bikes are fairly competent at keeping them running, I tend to just get my O/H with rubbing brakes/skipping gears, or one friend who's riding a cheap hard-tail MTB and pops round every week or two for me to teach him how to fix whatever he's managed to break this time .
 
OP
OP
young Ed

young Ed

Veteran
as i said i have peed about with them for hours in the past and written them off, so personally i see them as a waste of my time. and my younger brothers BSO, well that's mot even worth looking at!
Cheers Ed
 

Drago

Legendary Member
I maintain all my possessions immaculately, from my cheapest bicycle through my air rifle right up to my monster truck. I'm just a bit anal and get restless unless everything mechanical is just so.
 

John the Monkey

Frivolous Cyclist
Location
Crewe
I've worked on my neighbours' pub bikes &c on occasion. Not all of them are great, but most can be salvaged, occasionally with a small expenditure on parts.
 
OP
OP
young Ed

young Ed

Veteran
Before you start tinkering with other proples bikes Young Ed, I really think you should learn how to clean your one properly :okay:
it is clean, honest! did the chain a couple days ago (not ridden it since) and it was cleaned straight after i last used it
the odd scratch and scrape was on it when i got it
Cheers Ed
 
OP
OP
young Ed

young Ed

Veteran
Good to hear. Keep it up. No turning up for a ride with a dirty bike ok. ;)
i wouldn't dare, after all i wouldn't want to be brutally murdered by the god of clean bikes! haha
Cheers Ed
 

summerdays

Cycling in the sun
Location
Bristol
Very minor stuff and looking at them to diagnose things but I normally then send them in the direction of the LBS unless I feel it's within my capabilities.
 

Gravity Aided

Legendary Member
Location
Land of Lincoln
I work on BSO's for a bike charity, and it sure makes you appreciate what you have. I've done most bike fettling operations, but they are really hard to work on due to a lack of durability in components, and a lack of initial quality and design.
 

hedder2212

Senior Member
Location
Walsall
Never really had a bike that isn't a BSO (saving for a nice one)
keep all of the familys bikes in working order and they are all Halfords specials/argos specials
at the end of the day a bike is a bike, aslong as the pedals turn or turned at some point ill work on it.
 

Levo-Lon

Guru
I have to have everything working right,im same as Drago . and I enjoy cleaning bikes cars etc de stresses me..
my motorbikes were always in mint order as I'd hate to crash due to crap maintenance..or breakdown for that matter..

just fixed my father in laws cutlery draw for him,its about 50yr old lol,he dont do new stuff
 
so do you work on your familiy's, friends etc BSO's? the only bikes in my family that aren't BSO's are my 2 and my brothers and my mums (although mums is a good 30 years old now and never gets ridden)
mum and dad want me two magically bring back two old f'ed BSO's from the dead, i simply don't bother with them since i spent hours messing about with them to no avail

i only work on my nice £800 bike now and i would consider my brothers triban 3 if he asked me nicely

does this make me rude, a bike snob or is this just common sense?
Cheers Ed
They are a labour of love. There is no logic. That said, personally I like bringing a basket case back from the dead. If I looked at it logically, I wouldn't bother.
 
Top Bottom