t_e_r_r_y

great article, thanks for sharing!

The Golden Boy 

Oh I'm smoking ass pissed the eff off right now... trying to thread a brake cable through a cable yoke- and it started unstranding the cable- I didn't solder the end enough, or high enough up...


Untitled by Dave The Golden Boy, on Flickr

robertorolfo

I've always enjoyed working on my bikes as much as I do riding them (and sometimes I even get annoyed when everything is working right and properly maintained, because there is nothing to do).

And I'm also on the side of those that enjoy wrapping bars: instant gratification when you are finished, and few things in the world are as nice as fresh bar tape.

ryansu

Hands down the #1 thing that stalls out over-hauls for me and then when I do it I think why did I put that off?

Phil_gretz

hate:
- stripping the paint from a frame prior to refinishing
- having to re-adjust a loose ball bottom bracket bearing after the first long test ride and the bearings settle in just a bit
- identifying the source of a click or tick while riding
- living with poor bearings and internals of Sunrace freewheels
- squeaky saddle rails
- getting STI triples/fronts to work correctly

like:
- polishing a frame and touching up prior to re-assembly
- polishing and re-assembling aluminum brake calipers
- discovering that all of my measuring, planning, and adjusting has resulted in a perfect fit on the first ride

speedevil 

Really Dislike:

1. removing powdercoat so the frame can be painted

Dislike:

1. removing a stuck stem/seatpost
2. trying to replicate saddle position - I never seem to get it right the first time
3. realizing that the BB spindle length still isn't right, with the second BB
4. losing one of the thin nuts for Campy NR brake pad holders
5. cutting the rear brake housing too short, for the second time

Like:

1. cleaning a dirty frame
2. polishing the paint on a used frame and seeing the real story unfold
3. servicing headset/BB/hub bearings and hearing the almost silent whoosh of a properly lubed and adjusted bearing
4. finding the right color for cable housings
5. wrapping bar tape
6. getting the shifter housing length just right so the loops touch in front of the headtube
7. building wheels

Really Like:

1. the first ride of a newly built bike - spokes flashing in the sun as the wheels turn
2. a 15mph tailwind on the last leg of a long ride
3. riding a freshly serviced 35 year old bike on a metric century and having zero issues
4. riding with good friends

seedsbelize 

On the issue of hate and procrastination, I am more than one year into a re-paint of my coupled bike. I did some sanding on the rear triangle six months ago. It falls in with the cleaning/polishing hate. Detail work is just not my cup of tea.

cromagnum

I hate using a tool and placing it down somewhere then spending 5 minutes looking around for it , happens about 8 times and hour 40 minutes wasted.
I like most things working on a bike, but the most satisfying is taking it out for a spin and whatever you were working on works.

martl

least liked:

- cleaning rd pulleys (yuck!)
close second being gluing new tubulars with tubasti

scarlson 

I have used that thing. It did work, but once I've gotten to that point I usually also need someone to sit on the frame so it doesn't react to the torque of the bar I'm reefing on! I've also made that Sheldon tool and then galled the threads of the bolt so badly that I couldn't use it a second time!! BB threads were fine however weirdly. That was a Canadian-made Pug. Good, solid frame!!

It's never a problem on my bike, only on friends' rigs. Which says more about the friends I have and how they care for their bikes than anything else. For these people I usually put the new bottom bracket in with generous amounts of anti-seize paste.

DSL6

I pretty much enjoy everything about working on bikes. One thing I hate is when something is made on so tight, I think I might break it trying to get it off. PB Blaster helps alot.

snowball123

Apprehensive with anything threaded, enough said

Reynolds 

Just the opposite to the OP...
Love: building/truing wheels. Riding on my own wheels gives me a sense of accomplishment, more than any other bike related work.
Not hate but not really like: bar taping. I'm not good at it, that might be the cause...
I don't really hate any bike work.

-holiday76

i like working on bikes, but not when I'm trying to ride them.

wle

cup/cone wheel bearings, disassembly(all the grease and dirt), cone adjustment (fussiness)

yukiinu

I don't like doing repairs. I like doing modifications.

tonymarch

I love most wrenching tasks. Even if it's frustrating, always get great satisfaction when the job is done.

I absolutely despise mounting tubeless tires. Swapped my road tubeless wheels back to tubes since it was driving me crazy. I heard mountain bike tires are easier, but I haven't converted me new mountain bike to tubeless yet.

madpogue 

I FINALLY get around to catching up on this thread, and you had to post this: Well, I'll read the article tomorrow.

Like - almost everything. Bringing any old inop bike back to life. That first test ride, even when you know there's plenty more work to do. Oddly, I especially like discovering some of the "creative" maintenance gaffes left by previous owners. Bikes that we "bottom-feed", from the thrift store or free CL, etc. Some were obviously given up for dead, just because so many things were wrong, and/or were badly ham-fisted. It's fun finding out that reversing all those gaffes is all the bike really needed.

Dislike - taping drop bars. Yeah, seems to be a favorite "like" in this thread. And my last tape job, I think I did pretty well (Calvin Jones method). But I don't like having to commit to a tape color. And I'm terrible at keeping some colors clean; they get dirty just by looking at them. Also, I'm always second-guessing whether I've put the levers in the right position. It's one of those ops that's not amenable to tweaking afterward, and post-op tweaking is in my nature.

movelo

Cromagnum, get yourself one of them there "OEM portable tear down trays" at Amazon or equivalent. (Sorry I'm too noob to be allowed URL post).

It will roll around the bike stand with you, and be the "somewhere" to put your tools down. You will lay out all your tools and supplies for the job at hand, then be like a surgeon ready to operate.

Least liked task: the hours spent searching for the runaway bearing ball or whatever tiny part gravity has just plucked right out of my fingers and launched across the floor to never-gonna-find-it-land.

Movelo

sdn40

Don't come undone.
Don't get your undies in a twist
Don't be afrayed to try again
Time to solder on

dweenk

Maybe I'll read that tomorrow, at least I am pretty sure I will.

tricky 

Love: building bikes

Least liked: cleaning and lubing chains and adjusting threaded headsets. I don't particularly love adjusting hubs, but I see it as a challenge to be overcome that usually ends up well.

iab

The links to your bikes, in your signature. That site has been dead since 2011. And it really never worked well for the 2 years prior.

Just sayin'.

kwhiner

Don't do that much wrenching other than minor adjustments, but adjusting Brakes has to be my least favorite. Went so far as to switch from V-brakes to Cantilevers because of all the hassles I had with the V-brakes.

scarlson 

I feel the same way. Smooth posts with serrated tapered washers as found on Shimano SLR (MC-70 or MT-60/62) cantilever brakes separate the adjustment of toe and angle (yaw and roll axes for you aviators out there) into discrete separate steps of adjustment. This is in contrast to the V-brake setup with ball/socket washers where you have to get the pad oriented exactly and hold it there while tightening the bolt, which is no mean feat.