70sSanO

My stuff is older and I’m way too far gone into mix-n-match setups to go to any shop on a lot of what I do. I doubt many shops will have a clue and those that do, might find it really refreshing, but fiddling isn’t cost effective. Plus the tune up/straight parts replacement is easy wrenching.

The one thing I have not done is suspension maintenance. Even though older non-air forks are no-brainer, I have not attempted it. Maybe one day I’ll go someplace and pay someone to teach me the ins and outs, but even finding a real old fork expert is getting harder to find.

John

hokiefyd 

I didn't read the original post as using "the man" in any offensive or derogatory way. I read it in a way of, "Did this guy do professional work for you? Then pay the man!" His time is worth something.

In fact, nothing in the post mentioned "the man" at all. It was pretty clear to me that the nature of the thread is working on one's own bikes or paying for that service to be done. I've said, "pay the man!" before as a reference to professional work being worth good money, and not as a slight to anyone or anything.

Of course, with things like this, the magic is in how the listener or reader interprets it.

thehammerdog

Holmes
u da man!
got the bike back today, very excited for better weather.

Outrider1

I appreciate the CCR reference!

cpach

I'm a pro mechanic but I never really minded paying for bike work before I started this career when I didn't have the experience or tooling to do something. These days I get annoyed when it's really mostly just tooling keeping me from doing something (like Fox rear shocks). Wouldn't be too bothered to pay for skills I'm unlikely to acquire or get tooling for (carbon repair, for example).

For a (bike) mechanic, I kinda just am not that into cars--partly I've never until now have I had the space to possibly work on a car. I don't particularly mind paying for this work, even if it's undoubtedly skills I can learn and possibly some of it may be economically advantageous to learn and get tooling for.

Reynolds 

Another 2 for you:

"Left a good job in the city
Working for the Man every night and day..."

"Ain't no food upon the table, and no pork up in the pan
But you better not complain, boy, you get in trouble with the Man"

GlennR

I restore vintage VWs as a hobby so bicycle repair is pretty basic.

Inisfallen

I do it all myself.

I'm a former semi-pro motorcycle mechanic (worked in a local independent HD shop). I have plenty of training. And plenty of tools, although not every specialized tool needed for bicycle work.

So working on mechanical stuff comes naturally to me. And, like a poster above, my wife expects me fix everything, including her car.

I know my limits and am happy to pay a pro when I'm outside my comfort zone. I don't mess with plumbing or electrical stuff. But so far so good with bicycles.

billnuke1 

GlennR

You put the parts in a frialator?

pdlamb

How else would you lube your chain?

GlennR

Just don't lube your brakes.

Shimagnolo

An all-stainless ultrasonic cleaner is on my wish list.
I'm currently using one of those cheap ones with a stainless tub, but cheap plastic housing, and a (rapidly deteriorating) plastic basket.

Reynolds 

Ah, the times when cars had distributors, and you could actually see what was going on there and fix it if needed!

GlennR

I think my 3l unit was around $70. Yes, cheap Chinese from ebay... but i've had mine for a few years.

GlennR

Yup... distributors are easy to diagnose... you don't need a computer.

hazetguy 

i pay 'the man' when necessary, when something is out of my area of knowledge/expertise, or simply not worth my time to do myself.
today's example:
11:45am i arrive at the bike shop which is 10 minutes from my house. i drop off a wheel with a slight wobble that needs to be checked and trued.
guy at shop "i can take care of that, it'll be about $15, we're running a couple days behind right now."
me "no problem, i am not in a rush, it's for a bike i am not riding right now. just call me when it's ready, no rush."
guy at shop "sounds good"

3:58pm phone rings, goes to voicemail. message: "hi, this is the bike shop, it's about 4 o'clock friday the 5th, calling to let you know that i got that wheel all trued up ready to go for you, feel free to swing by and pick it up whenever."

i couldn't true a wheel to save my life, or i'd mess it up so badly that i'd need to take it to the bike shop to get it fixed properly anyway, so it's worth it to me to 'pay the man' to just get it done right the first time.

cbrstar

I enjoy the personal satisfaction of fixing something myself and doing it right. The only time I will pay someone is when I don't have the tool and it's too expensive or difficult to get. Most Bicycle shops can't do the serious repairs anymore anyways. For example I wanted a crown race seat milled and faced a month ago. Only one bike shop in my area had any idea what the heck I was talking about.

Gresp15C

I admit that I enjoy doing a lot of things that I should let the pro's do: Bike repair, computer programming, etc.

In fact, I do a lot of my own repairs. I've fixed most of the appliances in the house. I've worked on my own musical instruments, and done a whole lot other household stuff.

I don't try to do everything. For instance I don't work on cars. To me, a car is an appliance, they're just not interesting, and I don't have space for something that would actually be worthy of a hobby. Plus, all the tools.

Around the house, I bring someone in if it's big and heavy, or where the cost of a mistake would be more than hiring someone. A few weeks ago I was completely stumped by my home furnace, tried all of the obvious easy things, then called the pro. They were able to get replacement parts under warranty, so their labor was less than my parts cost would have been. There are some hidden risks that can tip the scales towards hiring someone. For instance we got new counter-tops a few years ago, and I learned that if I ordered them myself and got the measurements wrong, the risk was on me, whereas the pro's came in and knew exactly how to do the measurements right. That as worth a few bucks.

As for bikes, tinkering with them has always been part of the hobby for me. But I only ride bikes that are easy for a DIY'er to work on, using a modest collection of tools. And I'm not a hard rider, so my bikes rarely need repair anyway.

cpach

Congrats, you found your area's actual bike shop.

I would not work somewhere without conmon cutting tools.

dkatz1

I have my LBS do most things. I have someone else cut my grass and plow my driveway when it snows.
If my guitars need work, an expert does it.
When I mix and edit recordings, I hire an engineer.
Etc.
I haven't read the thread yet, but I am certain that some will say you're not a "real" cyclist if you don't do it all yourslf. But I don't really care what they think. I've never been very mechanical, AND I fill my time things that I am good at.

cbrstar

I worked in a Guitar shop and one of the best Guitar players I had ever seen (He even had a University degree in it.). Couldn't even change his strings, heck not even a single broken one. He used to do a lot of touring and I asked him what the heck he does when he's in the middle of nowhere and a string breaks? Well I guess he's borrowed a lot of guitars over the years from other bands . But I've found that many guitar players couldn't work on their guitars.

With Bicycles I think there is a generational difference. Back before cell phones if your bike broke down hundreds of miles in the middle of nowhere you were stuck walking. That only happened to you once maybe twice before you kept basic tools and learned how to fix things enough to get to the next town lol. Now if there is a break down you can instantly call and have someone pick you up. The necessity and need isn't there for many.

Shimagnolo

Conversely, I was on a ride one day, and took a break at a convenience store near Boulder.
I got into a conversation with a local dude who had a business repairing guitars.
But he couldn't play one.

70sSanO

The best thing about doing your own work is you get a lifetime warranty on labor and can always get a hold of the mechanic that screwed up.

John

dabac

+1
I’m not entirely comfortable with the phrase ”my standards”. There will always be people out there not realizing that it’s their expectations that are out of calibration.
And I don’t want to be one of ”them”.
But yeah, I’ve been disappointed often enough those few times I have used a lbs.
Last time: the 1st time in decades I’d bought a brand new, complete bike. After awhile it popped a spoke. No big deal. It can happen. I brought the bike in. Still under warranty. When I came to retrieve the bike I was told that ”warranty doesn’t cover wheels”. Website doesn’t say ANYTHING about restrictions to warranty. It’s a commuter bike, not a DH rig. Shop manager had left for the day. Remaining staff refused to hand out the bike unless I payed. And I needed the bike to get home. So I payed. Money that would have paid for a full set of double-butted spokes if I’d done it myself.
The spoke has held up, so this time it was clerical rather than mechanical. But I have had a fair share of those too.