Theres always something to fix

[cyberknight]

I am getting mightily fed up of always having something that needs repairing on my bikes, the rear brake is not opening far enough of the rims so that the brake pads rub .

Just finished nights and cycled home in a downpour so i am tired, soaked through , covered in muck form trying to fix the brake and cursing the whole idea of cycling .

GGGRRRR

 

[Jezston]

I regret getting my Kona Dew Plus somewhat - too many gadgets for too little cash means not great quality components. After a year things have started going wrong. Disc brakes regularly need re-adjustment, all the screws are steel in it's aluminium frame making them an absolute bastard to get out, creaks and groans inexplicably appear and disappear and the gears regularly need re-indexing - it then runs fine for a week before one gear decides it needs to be selected passed then back again to engage. And woe be tied if I get a puncture and need to take a wheel off - especially after getting the disc brakes just right!

Which is why my next bike (hopefully ready by the end of this month!) is going to be dead simple. Hub gears, coaster brake, steel frame. Bosh.

 

[400bhp]

I spent an hour or so cleaning your ex-bike last night Cyber. Those mudguards are shat (must buy a full length set). To be fair I have ridden over 150 miles on it since the start of Dec and only hosepiped it befor.

 

[pshore]

I used to curse at my old bikes. They all had cheap component sets on them and would require constant tweaking and it would take an age to get them right.

So, when I upgraded I made sure I got bikes with better components and it has paid off.

• My touring bike has LX kit - thousands of miles done in the last year with only a tweak of the gear cable to counter stretch and same for the brakes as the pads wore down.
• The wife's bike has Alivio/Tektro kit and it works flawlessly.
• My MTB has a mix of LX and XT kit and take a lot of punishment and works a treat so long as you clean all the muck off and relube.

Better kit is definitely worth it. More rides, more smiles.

 

[SteelUn]

Which is why my next bike (hopefully ready by the end of this month!) is going to be dead simple. Hub gears, coaster brake, steel frame. Bosh.

That, is oxymoron.

 

[ianrauk]

Regular self maintenance of your bike will spot and see to any problems that may come up.
If you are using your bike for a daily commute, then a good going over weekly, cleaning, lubing & adjusting should see you and your bike ok.
I know it's a pain to do but you should get in the habit. It will save you a lot of grief.

 

[fossyant]

What the man above says.

I noticed a paint chip today

I'm gonna touch that up tonight once the bike has had a wash. What a mare !

 

[MacB]

there are other options if you don't have the soul of a tart like Fossy or Ian

hub gear, SS, fixed - take your pic
disc brakes - I'd stick with these but use the Avid BB7s

spend enough, time and money, to make sure that it's all set up right and has the ability to take what you intend to throw at it. Unless I'm tinkering, which I'm prone to do, I barely tough my hub gear bikes one month to the next.

 

[Tim Hall]

If you are using your bike for a daily commute, then a good going over weekly, cleaning, lubing & adjusting should see you and your bike ok.

Weekly cleaning? That's a bit infrequent for you, no?

 

[Jezston]

That, is oxymoron.

Explain yourself, Sir.

 

[Moodyman]

Commuting, especially winter commuting, is hard on bikes.

I find that a little, and often, maintenance is the best. Keeps it ticking over nicely.

 

[fossyant]

there are other options if you don't have the soul of a tart like Fossy or Ian

Are you reading my mind - I'm thinking of getting some nice red sidewalled tyres for my commuter

 

[cyberknight]

Regular self maintenance of your bike will spot and see to any problems that may come up.
If you are using your bike for a daily commute, then a good going over weekly, cleaning, lubing & adjusting should see you and your bike ok.
I know it's a pain to do but you should get in the habit. It will save you a lot of grief.

I do my best but when your doing up to 20 hours overtime a week , the wife working and have a hyper 3 year old fitting it in can be a bit hard

 

[ianrauk]

I do my best but when your doing up to 20 hours overtime a week , the wife working and have a hyper 3 year old fitting it in can be a bit hard

For sure and that's fully understandable CK. But it really is advisable to find 20 minutes to give your bike a shake down once a week. Especially during winter/crap weather time. I'm not talking the full ianrauk/fossyant treatment here. But a quick check that everything is working properly. After all it is your main transport to and from work so you need it to be reliable and not having to find yourself in the situation where you did. Perhaps you can do this during one lunch hour (if you get one) at work.

 

[potsy]

I'm by no means in the OCD/Fossy/Ianr club when it comes to cleaning and maintaining my bikes, but I usually manage to find half an hour once a week to check things over and wipe the worst of the muck off.
Having oiled the chain last week I was shocked to see it rusty on yesterdays homeward commute, just shows what a couple of wet rides does very quickly.
I like to keep the brakes and gear shifting in good order, followed by things like making sure guards are not rubbing and giving the tyres a weekly check over to pick out the glass.