I hate working on bikes
02-20-23, 01:14 AM
#26
Senior Member
I'm curious about this, too. I'm a long-time Riv guy and find them very easy to build, conversely more modernish bikes are a struggle for me, "What the heck is a threadless headset? Why is there threading on the dropouts and where are the quick-release skewers??" Maybe he's coming from modern to Riv.
02-20-23, 04:03 AM
#27
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I sympathize with those who also feel their enthusiasm for tinkering has dampened over the years. I used to look forward to building bikes but now I dislike changing flats.
As someone with multiple bikes, I'm lucky that I usually have something that I can ride if one is in need of repairs. The slippery slope is letting multiple bikes fall to a state of needing repair and forgetting about what needs to be done after some time has passed.
Sometimes I find it therapeutic to swap tires or patch a batch of tubes. One of the worst is when I want to take the groupset from one bike to put onto a new frame. Such a simple job but it always takes longer than it should. Maybe wireless electronic shifting is the ticket but my wallet cannot support outfitting all my bikes with electronic groupsets.
Oh, and despite wearing gloves and apron I always manage to get a smidge of grease or grime on my clothes or myself.
As someone with multiple bikes, I'm lucky that I usually have something that I can ride if one is in need of repairs. The slippery slope is letting multiple bikes fall to a state of needing repair and forgetting about what needs to be done after some time has passed.
Sometimes I find it therapeutic to swap tires or patch a batch of tubes. One of the worst is when I want to take the groupset from one bike to put onto a new frame. Such a simple job but it always takes longer than it should. Maybe wireless electronic shifting is the ticket but my wallet cannot support outfitting all my bikes with electronic groupsets.
Oh, and despite wearing gloves and apron I always manage to get a smidge of grease or grime on my clothes or myself.
02-20-23, 10:27 AM
#28
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I just finished building a really beautiful Rivendell Sam Hillborne set up as a city bike with albatross bars etc. I am really glad to have it finished but I realized something very clearly: I really really dislike working on bicycles and if I never have to do it again it'll be too soon. I have gone back and forth to two different bike stores 6 or 7 times, got sent the wrong parts in the mail, raged and ranted while trying to set up super fiddly crap. Ugh. I figured that others probably can feel my pain and thought I'd just put in a word for paying your friendly local bike shop and enjoying your weekend instead of busting your knuckles and fiddling with annoying junk! ok rant over.
02-20-23, 10:35 AM
#29
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I gotta be honest, everything went pretty smoothly on this build all things considered. I wound up having to do a lot of running around and got some wrong parts etc. I'm really stoked on this bike I just realized that i don't enjoy this process like i used to.
02-20-23, 10:57 AM
#30
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As for working on bikes, the more you do it, the less bother it becomes. But, honestly, people fiddle with bikes far too much. They don’t need near the work and adjustment that most people put into them. They should be able to go for thousands of miles with minimal maintenance.
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02-20-23, 03:42 PM
#31
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Pay no attention to him. His ignore list is about a quarter million people long by now.
As for working on bikes, the more you do it, the less bother it becomes. But, honestly, people fiddle with bikes far too much. They don’t need near the work and adjustment that most people put into them. They should be able to go for thousands of miles with minimal maintenance.
As for working on bikes, the more you do it, the less bother it becomes. But, honestly, people fiddle with bikes far too much. They don’t need near the work and adjustment that most people put into them. They should be able to go for thousands of miles with minimal maintenance.
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02-20-23, 04:35 PM
#32
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I just finished building a really beautiful Rivendell Sam Hillborne set up as a city bike with albatross bars etc. I am really glad to have it finished but I realized something very clearly: I really really dislike working on bicycles and if I never have to do it again it'll be too soon. I have gone back and forth to two different bike stores 6 or 7 times, got sent the wrong parts in the mail, raged and ranted while trying to set up super fiddly crap. Ugh. I figured that others probably can feel my pain and thought I'd just put in a word for paying your friendly local bike shop and enjoying your weekend instead of busting your knuckles and fiddling with annoying junk! ok rant over.
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02-20-23, 05:36 PM
#33
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I enjoy working/building up bikes, but I'd rather ride.
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02-20-23, 06:21 PM
#34
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I just finished building a really beautiful Rivendell Sam Hillborne set up as a city bike with albatross bars etc. I am really glad to have it finished but I realized something very clearly: I really really dislike working on bicycles and if I never have to do it again it'll be too soon. I have gone back and forth to two different bike stores 6 or 7 times, got sent the wrong parts in the mail, raged and ranted while trying to set up super fiddly crap. Ugh. I figured that others probably can feel my pain and thought I'd just put in a word for paying your friendly local bike shop and enjoying your weekend instead of busting your knuckles and fiddling with annoying junk! ok rant over.
I don't mind working on bikes but I hear ya! some stuff is best left to the pros. watching a pro at work is great
how does it ride?
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02-20-23, 07:53 PM
#35
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02-20-23, 09:46 PM
#36
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Well that did turn out just beautiful. But something is upside down. LOL.
Put a little Sigma speedo on there and let'r fly.
Cheers.
Put a little Sigma speedo on there and let'r fly.
Cheers.
02-20-23, 10:56 PM
#37
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02-20-23, 11:03 PM
#38
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Nice! The flipped Albas give it a cool Path Racer look.
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02-21-23, 04:40 AM
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looks great. I see fenders & know from personal experience, that even just installing fenders, can warrant some ranting
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02-21-23, 07:59 AM
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The key to enjoy tinkering is to have multiple bikes, so that there is always at least one to ride and one to tinker with.
The corollary to the above requires a hoard of spare parts, so that one can minimize rendering multiple bikes temporarily inoperable by swapping parts between operable bikes.
The corollary to the above requires a hoard of spare parts, so that one can minimize rendering multiple bikes temporarily inoperable by swapping parts between operable bikes.
Especially fenders. Grr.
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02-21-23, 08:17 AM
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With way too many bikes I have resolved this with a pad of Post It Notes the Super Sticky ones and pen at the bike racks. I have used them for years and they last, one bikes is waiting for Campy pawls for at least 5 years now which have turned out to be unobtainium.
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02-22-23, 10:53 AM
#42
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I get where OP is coming from. Love the design and engineering on bikes today. It does take a commitment to get the tools and expertise to do a comprehensive job. I find that simple maintenance is satisfying but every 2500 miles or so off to the mechanic pro who dials it back to near perfection. So sweet to have the feel of a tuned machine deep into a ride.
02-22-23, 10:59 AM
#43
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Remember a Bike is a machine that has very few parts and are very simple to work on.
Try working on an IBM Selectric Composer. It had 5000 part in a box no bigger than a large typewriter.
Try working on an IBM Selectric Composer. It had 5000 part in a box no bigger than a large typewriter.
Last edited by rydabent; 03-06-23 at 03:25 PM.
02-22-23, 04:59 PM
#46
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Some like to tinker, and some just want to make it work like it's supposed to.
There's nothing wrong with taking it in to a shop. Just remember, if you do, the guy or gal who works on it will be of the second type.
There's nothing wrong with taking it in to a shop. Just remember, if you do, the guy or gal who works on it will be of the second type.
Last edited by oldbobcat; 02-22-23 at 05:02 PM.
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02-22-23, 04:59 PM
#47
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I like the look of the bars flipped like that too on that bike. Even though the OP didn't seem to like working on it, it looks good and now that he isn't wrenching he can ride it.
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02-22-23, 05:11 PM
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Well, they could be of the first type, but they know it’s their job to be the second type when working on someone else’s bike.
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It's like riding a bicycle
It's like riding a bicycle
02-22-23, 05:45 PM
#49
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I am willing to pay a fair price for good enough and to pay more for optimal, because some degree of tinkering is often required to get from good enough to optimal.
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02-22-23, 07:46 PM
#50
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That bike looks nice. I have a take on the vibe you're talking about which is: when you decide you're going to do something yourself and then it goes annoyingly sideways at some point, I tell myself that if it had just worked the first time then I wouldn't have learned the additional stuff that I did about whatever system it is. And then if the bike does finally turn out well, you get to have the post-knowledge that you really got in to the weeds with the thing and got familiar with it and got it dialed in, after that you can take some time to enjoy your work until the next thing comes up
