Zen and... working on other people's sadly neglected bikes.

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Globalti

Legendary Member
A pal asked me if I would mind sorting out the gears on his mountain bike, which I don't as he's done me a couple of favours. He dropped it off and I was pretty shocked at the condition of the bike and the obvious neglect. I've sorted the loose headset, straightened the controls, bent the brake lever straight, pressurised the forks, pumped the tyres and given it a thorough clean and now I feel ready to test ride it and see what's wrong with the gears. Given the state of neglect I expect to find a sticky cable at the rear derailleur, which is sorted in five minutes.

It's depressing though when prople don't have the time, the ability or the inclination to keep on top of maintenance. Owning a mountain bike is a bit like owning a Land Rover which gets used properly, off road - you've got to keep on top of lubrication, cleaning and giving it a weekly coat of "looking over" to check for early signs of problems, which could turn costly. Road bikes need less of this but mine is still fettled, inspected and adjusted to within an inch of its life so that I can ride a long way from home reasonably confident that it won't let me down.

All cyclists could do with reading Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenence, which is a philosophy book about quality in the context or running and maintaining an old motorcycle. Maybe I'll reproduce a few passages on here when I have time to type them out.
 

jazzkat

Fixed wheel fanatic.
I feel your pain.
I gave a friend a mountain bike that I had stripped and rebuilt so it was in top shape, if not a little worn out in places. It was a very good frame but most of it was worn out, I gave it to him to see if he would like cycling. A few months later we went for a ride together. In the time he'd owned it the chain had rusted and the cables were starting to seize. It had never seen a drop of oil or been cleaned in all the time he'd had it!
He's still got it but it's of the road something's gone wrong with it, but I haven't got the stomach to find out what, he'd probably want me to fix it.
Zen is a great book, it's been a while since I read it. I must dig out my old copy.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
May I also recommend 'Shop Class as Soulcraft:an inquiry into the value of work' as a perfect side dish to Zen and the Art.

If I had to chose between fettling and riding I'd have to go with fettling. I've just put my oldest friends 90's mtb back on the off-road for him. As the labour, mine, was free the cost of restoration, with judicious purchases in sales, etc., was less than the price of the BSO he was riding that feel apart after 200 miles.
 
D

Deleted member 1258

Guest
I must hold my hand up here, I've got a big decorating job on at the moment and my bikes aren't getting looked after as they normally are, at the moment they are just getting the minimum of checking and cleaning when I can spare the time. There's a fella I work with his bike is in that bad a state that I wouldn't ride it, He's not interested and wouldn't know how to even if he was interested.
 

youngoldbloke

The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
May I also recommend 'Shop Class as Soulcraft:an inquiry into the value of work' as a perfect side dish to Zen and the Art.
Look forward to reading this - BTW the UK edition is called The Case for Working with Your Hands: Or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
Worth looking after the bikes. Been out with Skolly today, and despite the abuse all 5 MTBs got, including 3 kids pushing the limits of their kit, all the bikes worked perfectly. No skipping gears, no missed changes. No upset riders.
 

GrumpyGregry

Here for rides.
Look forward to reading this - BTW the UK edition is called The Case for Working with Your Hands: Or Why Office Work is Bad for Us and Fixing Things Feels Good
useful to know, and yet the American English original title is comprehensible and so much more elegant.
 
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