cyccommute 

The perceived need for annual maintenance is a hold over from when bicycles actually might have needed maintenance that often (or even more often). The greases of the 70s up until the mid90s almost required that level of attention. The greases were essentially oils in soap which didn’t hold the oils all that well. It’s been ages since I’ve seen “peanut butter” or “jelly” grease in a hub, bottom bracket, or headset because modern formulations of grease are better at not separating and allowing the oil to flow away.

Additionally, bearing components…headsets, bottom brackets, and hubs…have much better seals thanks to the needs of the mountain bike crowd. Even the loose bearing hubs from Shimano post 1995 (ish), have excellent seals which keeps contamination out of the bearings. Sealed bearing bottom brackets don’t need yearly attention nor are many of them even able to be attended to. A Shimano BB-UN55, for example, can’t be rebuilt but it will last for decades without any kind of attention. Even inexpensive headsets and hubs now feature sealed bearing cartridges that require no maintenance. Use them until they seize, buy a replacement bearing that is relatively cheap, and replace the bearing. It may be 10s of thousands of miles before that is needed, however. A 6902-2rs (2 rubber seals) has a dynamic load rating of 900 lbs at 16,000 rpm. A rider is putting less than 200lb load at less than 300 rpm or about 22% of the dynamic load at about 1% of the speed rating.

Personally, I’ve only ever replaced bearings on 3 or 4 hubs since I started using sealed bearing hubs in 1983. I’m a bit amazed that I’ve had to replace that many based on the load and speed of the hub. I have never worn out a cartridge bearing bottom bracket of any kind personally. I’ve only run across a few in all the bikes I’ve put hands on at the co-op (upwards of 15,000). I’ve replaced a lot of unsealed bottom brackets, headsets, and hub cones but mostly on pre1995 components.

pdlamb

LOL, I know exactly what you're talking about! Or the time I tried to repack a wheel's bearings. Now I usually do this in the garage and hang on to everything, but this winter night it was cold, so I put some old rags on newspapers on the carpet in the living room. Despite those fairly elaborate precautions, I lost 5 balls out of one side, then 6 out of the second. Flashlight laying on the floor, waving strong magnets all across the room, and they'd all disappeared permanently. (Lucky I'd saved a couple old hubs I could rob to get everything back together.)

pdlamb

I kind of wonder why nobody has responded with an answer like, "A good mechanic working on his/her own bike and his/her family's bikes would never need to replace chainrings because they'd never let the chain and cassette wear that far without replacing them."

Although a couple have come close...

RCMoeur 

While my primary bike has a freewheel with over 9,000 miles and chainrings with 9,500 miles (adding 40+ today), I will not be so overconfident as to state others will always have the same success. Especially after last week, when I discovered that unexpected chain wear on my Bike Friday ate 3 cogs on the cassette before I caught it, and was thereby humbled.

RCMoeur 

Look at this one from SRAM - it must be completely broken - it's missing all sorts of teeth!!

RCMoeur 

My secret weapon:

cpach

This is my perspective as a working mechanic. Many shops have mechanic bios with qualifications--those that showcase their staff's expertise are likely to do good work (though some great shops/mechanics may not). It wouldn't be rude to ask if they don't and you're interested. Also many shops operate as a team--the person creating your tag may not be the same person who service writes your bike (if it's not done on the spot) who may also not be the same person who works on your bike, etc, so this kind of testing may not give you useful information. Also shops that list a wide range of services (including suspension service, wheelbuilding, true full overhauls, etc) are likelier to have a depth of knowledge in their staff. A good hint will be how your bike is service written--this is especially true if this is done in front of you. Do they look methodical and efficient checking over the bike, and do they communicate a range of possible service plans effectively? That's a pretty good sign.

BCDrums

But a good STM may have replaced chainrings that weren't worn to use a larger or smaller ring to change ratios. I m'self have only worn out a single ring, but I have changed several to try new combos. TA rings are my preference on my vintage 110/74 BCD crank.

embankmentlb

No need to ask a question. If someone clamps the frame onto a work stand by the top tube. You have your answer.
Todays all carbon bikes my be different?

mrrabbit 

That's one good question right there:

If they respond with any method that involves pressing against the sides of the rim OR pressing down upon the hub without clarifying details - I already know they don't understand what stress relieving is.

Here's another:

What is the dimension from the freewheel hub stop to the outside of the locknut for setting a 126mm rear hub up for a 6 / 7 speed freewheel?

OR

What is the dimension from the spline stop to the outside of the locknut for setting a 130mm rear hub up for a 7 speed road cassette?

OR

What is the dimension from the spline stop to the outside of the locknut for setting a 135mm rear hub up for a 7-speed MTB cassette?

I'm simply testing whether or not they can be bothered to look up readily available date online or in a Sutherlands manual.

I don't like mechanics who go with jerry-rigging or "winging it" when the information they need to get it done right is literally right in front of their noses.

=8-|

BTinNYC 

Sepp Kuss was fixing his own RD while riding in the Giro this week!

urbanknight

That sounds much more difficult!

Russ Roth

Clarification? I've built hundreds of wheels and relieved the windup in the spokes by pressing down on the sides of the wheels, I've also occasionally done it by squeezing on opposite pairs of spokes but find that's too hard on the hands and less effective. So what's the negative to pressing on the sides of the wheels?

Bike Gremlin

Hmm.

When a bike is on the stand, I often check the limit screws to avoid having the chain fall off (and scratch anything on the bike) when I start playing with adjustments. It's one of the first things I do (right after eyeballing how it's all aligned and how the chain is routed).

I do manage to get the shifting to work nicely. But a screwdriver often is the first tool I reach for.

Relja

GhostRider62

Do you..... "use them until they seize, buy a replacement bearing that is relatively cheap?"

Anyone who uses bearings until they seize isn't getting within 100 feet of my bike.

soyabean

Anyone who isn't me, isn't getting within 100 feet of my bike.

smd4

I’d definitely not hire anyone who used these terms.

pdlamb

I don't think I've ever had a bearing sieze, but I've had a couple pedal bearings "assplode." Does that make me a bad mechanic?

cyccommute 

If overshifting, or more rarely under shifting, is the problem that someone is asking about, picking up a screwdriver is the correct tool but when someone says “my bike isn’t shifting properly”, they usually aren’t talking about overshifting. They mean that the gears are making noise or the chain isn’t moving on the cassette. Those are not problems that have anything to do with the limit screws. The limit screws are only involved in setting the limits of derailer movement. That’s is all they do. They have nothing to do with the way the cable moves the derailer which moves the chain which shifts gears. I just don’t understand why this is such a hard concept to grasp. Nor why the idea of addressing the actual problem…i.e. less than crisp shifts that pop or don’t change or make noise when the shift is made…is so wrong.

Perhaps that is a better question to ask any “shade tree mechanic”…do you know how to fix the correct problem?

cyccommute 

Way to quote out of context. Cartridge bearings…aka “sealed” bearings…generally aren’t serviced nor do they need servicing. If they get rough and start to seize, they really aren’t meant to be opened and regreased. They are meant to be replaced. In fact, if they are serviced by prying up the seal, they are more likely to be damaged than if they are simply left along. If they do start to seize, nothing it damaged in the hub, headset, or bottom bracket due to seizure. The bearing is the only damaged part and is simply replaced. For modern automobiles, the duty cycle of cartridge bearings is on the order of 80,000 to 100,000 miles under much more severe loads, speeds, and impacts. The duty cycle of cartridge bearings is, essentially, infinity because they don’t but a fraction of the severe use that they undergo in automobiles.

Nor will you. I’ve been using sealed cartridge bearings since I got my first sealed bearing hub on a 1983 Miyata Ridge Runner new. I’ve had many sealed bearings since…including every bottom bracket I’ve used since the early 90s when Shimano brought out their sealed bottom brackets. I’ve replaced bearings in 3 hubs…including one in the wheels from that Miyata….out of maybe a couple dozen sets of wheels that have sealed bearings. One of those was a hub that I picked up for $5 at a swap met because the person didn’t understand that the bearings could be replaced. One of my wheel sets has 25,000 miles on it without any kind of maintenance.

Of the bottom brackets, I’ve had only one fail out of dozens I’ve used. It was a Chris King bottom bracket and all I had to do to get it up and running was to relube it per instructions provided on the Chris King website. Even in a decade or more of working in a co-op, I’ve only ever run across a few sealed bottom brackets that were even rough. I’ve never run across a bottom bracket that was seized.

In that same time, I can’t tell you the number of loose bearing bottom brackets that I’ve seen that were ruined. If I’m refurbishing a bike, I remove the loose cup bottom bracket because it’s just not worth working on nor do I want to leave a headache for the future owner.

Bike Gremlin

I understand what you mean - and I still prefer to reduce the probability of the chain dropping to either side before I start playing with adjustments and testing shifting.

Relja Screwdriver-First Novović

cyccommute 

Okay, let’s put it another way. You can easily check to see that the limits are working without ever picking up a screwdriver. Shift to the low gear and push on the shifter. If the shifter moves inboard, yes, put a screw driver on it. If it doesn’t, leave that screwdriver on the wall. On the high gear, shift to the high gear and see if the jockey wheel is aligned with the cog. If it isn’t, again, pick up the screwdriver. High gear overshifts aren’t all that common nor is it much of an issue on modern cassette style hubs. There’s not enough room between the dropout and the frame for the chain to slip into the gap. That’s not the case with old freewheel hubs but for cassettes, it’s not much of a problem.

But, again, limit screws don’t go out of adjustment unless someone has messed with the limit screws in a ill-informed attempt to “adjust” the shifting because they don’t understand how bicycle shifting works. Even if the hanger is bent, adjusting the limit screws doesn’t fix the problem.

grumpus

That's not necessarily a good test of mechanical ability - some mechanics are happy to use "well used" kit because they have a good idea how much more abuse it will take, and how to fix it, and anyway they're busy with paying work, or out riding ...

SoSmellyAir

When the RD pulleys start squeaking, I disassemble and clean them, including prying off the seals to add a few drops of grease into the bearings; am I doing something wrong?

I think we can all agree to make an exception for the Bike Gremlin.

Trakhak

Reminds me of a story worth repeating from my bike shop days. A mother and her 13-year-old son came in the shop with a bike she'd bought for him 2 months earlier. She said that they'd brought the bike back for gear adjustments three times in those 2 months because the gears kept spontaneously going out of adjustment and that if the bike needed its gears adjusted one more time, she'd return it and get her money back.

I asked, "Has anyone [looking at the son] been attempting to adjust the gears at home?"

She answered hotly, "They asked that last time! I asked my son, and he said no. MY SON DOESN'T LIE TO ME!!"

I looked at the son again. He looked back at me sheepishly.

I took the bike to the repair department and adjusted the gears. Then I dabbed some green touch-up paint on the adjustment screw threads and on the top of the screw heads. Brought the bike back up and pointed out the painted adjustment screws: "This way, if someone tries to turn the adjustment screws, you'll see cracks in the paint."

Off they went. As far as I know, the bike required no more gear adjustments after that.

Looking back, I'm glad I didn't give in to the impulse to say, "A 13-year-old boy who doesn't lie to his mom? Call the Guinness Book of Records!"