Lombard

The sequel to "What are the biggest wastes of money in biking?"

I have some ideas, but I'll let others go first.

wolfchild

Using fancy bike cleaning products and spending 3 hours to get the bike spotless clean and shiny.

SpedFast

Money, not time...

smd4

Thread title: wastes of time.

PDKL45

Bathing a chain in petrol or some other solvent as a degreaser. It washes out the deeply packed factory grease and ensures a noisy chain that requires frequent oiling.

Edit: I was thinking of the KMC website when I made the statement. But it's your bike, so knock yourself out.

https://www.kmcchain.eu/Maintenance

Oakman

Looking for the small parts you know you have someplace.

smd4

I’d rather have oil than grease on my chain.

MarcusT

Changing out chains, cables, pads, tires before their time

And, yes, I've done all of them

frogman

Waxing your chain.

jon c. 

(deleted ,... frogman beat me to it)

veganbikes

Reading articles that don't support cross chaining at all but then reading comments on a online bike forum that suggest it does. That and installing Challenge Tires (their open tubulars are a paaaaainnnnn)

Jughed

Analogy:

If I had a supercar - Mclaren or Porsche for example - that car would be spotless, meticulously maintained, painstakingly cared for. Parked in a garage, waxed and polished to perfection.

If I had a lessor car, like a Mustang GT500... it would be very well taken care of.

Many people here ride the bike equivalent of a Mclaren or a GT500, or something in between.

I ride a GT500. Every two/three weeks it gets a good washdown. Every other washdown or so I spend 5 min with a torque wrench checking for loose items. Takes about an hour. If I rode a Mclaren, (Time Scylon in my case) - that investment would be very well cared for.

I dunno, its really no big "waste of time" for me. I will light up a nice cigar(one of my last vices), get all the bikes lined up, and spend some time with my son tinkering with our toys.

Hiro11

1. Waxing your chain (I know this from experience). Modern drip lubes are great, forget waxing.
2. Fixing stuff that isn't making noise. You don't need to pull the fork to "check" your headset bearings or BB if nothing is moving around or making noise.
3. Fastidiously cleaning your drivetrain. You don't want it caked in black sludge but you don't need to be able to eat off it either.
4. Constantly refilling tubeless sealant. It actually takes several months for a couple of ounces to dry out.

Lombard

I was going to mention hot waxing chains and fastidious chain cleaning rituals, but you guys beat me to it. Good job!

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Gresp15C

Before I reply, I'll mention that the point of a hobby is to do things that might seem like a waste of time in the eyes of others.

But the thing that catches my notice is the time spent putting a bike in a car and driving it across town to get something repaired that could easily be done at home with a little bit of advice or encouragement. And then driving again to get the bike back.

Maelochs

My favorite part of this process is the six-day wait for the shop to do a six-minute repair. That’s why I got a book and some tools. I can always take it to a shop if I really mess it up.

elcruxio

So if chain waxing saves me a ton of time compared to drip lubing, am I doing it wrong or misunderstanding the whole time wastage?

I mean for some people bike maintenance is their " me time" and as such usa that to escape their family and responsibilities every once in a while. I'm more in the camp of wanting to spend time with my family rather than in the shed wiping chains. But everyone has their priorities.

I was recently reminded of one reason why I chain wax. We got a new ebike and I rode it for 40km before I got to buying a stack of chains and waxing them. In that 40km the whole drivetrain had managed to get caked in this black oily sludge which wouldn't want to move even with white gas. The chain was stock out of the factory. I spent so much time trying to remove it from the chainring and jockey wheels (the drivetrain is pretty well protected so a huge hassle). The cassette was a lost cause so I just left it.

That's what I would be facing at a weekly basis with drip lubes. No thank you.

Lombard

There is this. But I know that no matter how much I know about bike repair, I will never know everything - especially as fast as bike technology changes. Sooner or later, there will be something I need a bike shop for, so I treat them well.

Hermes

Gluing tubular tires - necessary but extremely time consuming when done correctly.

Cdubs

I can't think of anything other than chain waxing which has already been said multiple times. Sometimes I do extra maintenance because I just love tinkering and bikes but I never consider it a waste of my time.

KerryIrons

Funny, because I overhaul the bike once per year, and in a typical 9,000 mile season, I never have anything come loose.

macstuff 

Having someone else do the work on your bike wether it be maintenance, repair or upgrade.
Bicycles, although becoming increasingly complex, are still close to the bottom wrung of motive mechanics. With a little time, patience and helpful instruction, nearly anyone can repair and maintain their own cycle.
Then a person can experiment for themselves all of the trick-of-the-week maintenance and upgrade avenues.
but...
Yes, waxing and even routinely cleaning a chain is a waste of effort in my experience.

KerryIrons

Pumping your tires before every ride. If you actually need to do this, then you have a slow leak that should be dealt with.

pdlamb

I'm with the "spend so much time cleaning the bike" camp. Every time I do that, the next time I ride the bike something gets on it. There's a strip of mud washed across the road, or some water on the road that binds blowing dust to the bike, or whatever. Why bother cleaning it? It's not like one of Jay Leno's cars that sits in the garage with lots of lights to look at, my bike's reason for existence is for me to ride it.

Now that being said, "waste of time" can also be applied to bowling, or golf, etc. Rather than "a good walk spoiled," trying to make a bike sparkle is more like "a good afternoon filled with senseless chore." As I don't spend a lot of time trying to persuade a golfer he's wasting his time, I'm not going to obsess over the person obsessing about a spot on their bike.

Daniel4

If you learn bike maintenance and repair, none of that is a waste of time. What I spend most of my time is tightening loose bolts and screws especially those around the rear rack.