squirtdad

elapsed time, for sure, but total time maybe not extremely, doing right important...or use tape

squirtdad

or you have latex tubes

squirtdad

biggest waste of time is reading about how to do maintenance on technology I don't use. but knowledge is good and who know what technology I will use in the future or which friend may need some help

cyccommute 

Washing my hands after having to deal with just about any chain that isn’t mine. Second worse is washing a bike after some clown used homebrew chain lube on every thing.




Even the shifters!



I’d elevate it to first but I have to wash my hands far more often. It usually takes a week for me to get the gunk out of the cracks in my skin after a day at the co-op. Just in time for another shift.

Cleaning tip on a bike this bad: use Armorall Extreme Foaming Wheel Cleaner on it. Nothing else cut through the oily mess.

Jughed

Peace of mind.

I've had my bikes come back from two local big named bike shops with all sorts of things loose. One shop somehow forgot to tighten the stem, headset and handlebars - that could have been bad. Another didn't tighten my seatpost. That was uncomfortable. And I'm not the best mechanic, so I'm always checking my own work.

cyccommute 

Honestly, almost all of it. On my own personal bikes, I do almost zero maintenance. All the bearings on all my bikes (10 of my own and 4 of my wife’s) are cartridge type and need no work whatsoever. I use solvent wax chain lubricant after stripping the factory lube and don’t have to clean my chain. I use thread locking compound for rack bolts and make sure other bolts are tight when installed so I don’t have to go checking them all the time. About the only time I take a bike apart is when I swap frames, which I seem to do with frightening regularity. And I allow my bikes to get absolutely filthy before I even consider washing them.

jlaw

WOW! That is Naaaasty!

He should have waxed that chain!

tomato coupe

=> gloves

Barry2 

Washing / waxing / tuning my bike buddy's bike for his birthday.
Washing / waxing / tuning my other bike buddy's bike for his first post surgery ride.
But hey, it makes them smile to see it all clean and ready to go.

Picture is prior to his first ride after surgery, I just had to goof with it.
The fresh bar tape is under the pink ribbon.. Made us all smile.

Goofing with my buddy after servicing his bike.



I guess it wasn't a waste after all!

Barry

Eric F 

Nonsense. Spending 3 hours cleaning my bikes is a much better way to spend my time and money than doing the things my wife thinks I should be doing.

cyccommute 

Or just not opened a can of oil and poured it over the bike.

cyccommute 

Which often get in the way or get ripped or get filled with sweat or just plain get dirty or they aren’t available at an impoverished non-profit.

Eric F 

Typical bike tire systems (tubular, tubeless, butyl tubes, latex tubes, sealant, etc.) do not hold air pressure indefinitely. I have 3 bikes that I ride regularly, and sometimes add a 4th to the mix, plus the bike that lives on my trainer. It's pretty common that whatever bike I'm riding that day hasn't been ridden in a week or more. Tire pressures pretty much always need to get topped off before every ride.

terrymorse 

That "deeply packed factory grease" is not some super awesome lube. It is:

• intended to prevent rust formation before installation
• wears away in the first several miles of use

Deep cleaning a chain will wash out the crud that acts as a grinding paste to cause wear. If you want to spend the time doing that, knock yourself out. Personally, I'd rather pay a little extra replacing chains more often.

Or you use latex tubes, where 10 psi loss overnight is common.

genejockey 

I've gotten to the point where I only need things done that require specialized tools, like headset and cartridge bottom bracket installations.

tomato coupe

You stated that washing your hands was the biggest waste of time. Buy yourself a box of 100 gloves for $5 and eliminate the problem. If a glove rips, gets too dirty, or fills with sweat, replace it with another 5 cent glove.

Lombard

Precisely why I don't use latex tubes.

Polaris OBark

Uhmm ... you saw what happened to the OP of that thread, right?

Lombard

Good effing grief! If I were a bike shop owner and someone brought this in, I would refuse to work on it. This is akin to eating a sleeve of Oreos before a visit to the dentist.

FWIW, I use homebrew and none of my bikes are ever this filthy. This guy obviously doesn't believe in wiping down his chain after lubing it.

No, he should have just wiped down his chain after lubing.

Eric F 

I recently had tasks that required a bearing press (PF bottom bracket and freehub bearing replacement), so I bought the tool. I also needed to align a bent derailleur hanger, so I bought that tool, too. I checked the hangers on all my bikes, and every one needed at least a little tweak. I love how smooth and quick shifting is when everything is aligned correctly. I enjoy having an excuse to buy new tools.

rsbob 

I use latex free gloves - so no washing involved.

Lombard

Yikes! Although I don't think it's the creation of that thread that got him perma-banned.

genejockey 

Yeah, with 6 steel bikes, some of them as old as 40 years, being able to tweak a hanger is a nice thing. It's something I do after stripping the bike down, cleaning, polishing, and waxing the frame, before building it back up.

genejockey 

Hey, if a little lube is good, then a whole lot of lube must be REALLY good!

You find this in vintage watches a lot - some folks think that what this old watch really needs is to be drowned in WD40. I've taken apart watches with pools of oil under all the bridges and even on the back of the dial. Yuck!

Ironfish653

Gaahhh! Looks like (chainsaw) Bar & Chain oil. >which is super sticky, so it doesn't get flung off going around at 13,000 rpm, but picks up all the dirt/sawdust whatever.
Some people just see "Chain" on the label, and "a chain is a chain" i guess?