deacon mark

I see an number of threads on bikes and keeping them polished, careful cleaning, attention to small nicks, scratches, peeling of paint, and treating them as if they last forever. Now I do maintain my bike mechanically myself, build my own wheels, and keep the thing shifting and running smooth, but in the end I want to run the bike into the ground. I want to put miles on it and keep riding it till I decided I want a better bike. I don't care too much about the paint, scratches, minor details other than at some point I can say I have road this bike over xx amount of miles and time to get another. I wore out drive-trains, chains, tires and maybe wheels. Then I buy another set about riding it until it is wore out. Upgrades come only because something wore out or was not working as it should. They are not gems or precious metal they simply are tools to train and ride and wear out. I get the feeling at times not everyone is in this camp.

An bike with some wear on the paint and dull finish or even all scratched up from hard rides, that silently rides and smooth and shifts like a dream, now that is a bike I really like because it shows the journey.

rpenmanparker 

You and I see this exactly the same way. There is, however, an alternative mindset that believes in the permanence of belongings and takes offense at their aging in any way. You won't change your mind, and you surely won't change theirs. I know. I have tried. Different strokes for different folks.

chasm54

Couldn't agree more. Bikes are for riding, not polishing. Personally I keep the drivetrain clean and don't worry about the rest. Scratches, scuffs, all that bollocks, doesn't matter a damn. Obsessing about paint jobs is for poseurs.

BoSoxYacht

I mostly agree, but scratches from being careless or stupid bother me.

RollCNY

Like all things on BF, it depends.

Some bikes strike there owners as art. My Cinelli strikes me that way. I want it to be pristine. Others may not find it visually appealing, but I do.

Some bikes are strictly functional. My SS and I were taken out by a car a few weeks back. Things are scuffed up, torn seat, scored up stem. I glued back what was needed, and kept riding it. I don't care in the least to replace the parts, as they are still functional.

rpenmanparker 

Reminders of our own mistakes are very annoying. I've always tried to just go with the, "it gives the bike character" justification. Whatever works.

Up North

I'm sure these comments are some what related to the value of the investment. I don't know anyone with a $5,000.00 + bike that does not look after it, which includes cleaning it regularly.

rpenmanparker 

No, I beg to differ. Some folks take a utilitarian/expendable view of bikes, cars, whatever. In the case of houses, a periodic redo is accepted practice. But with bikes and cars, there is always the decision whether to repair (paint?) or replace.

But we 're not talking about maintenance. We are talking about worrying about dings and scratches that don't wash off.

BoSoxYacht

I scuffed the TT on my 8 year old Pedal Force(from the first BF group buy), and even though there were many scratches from years of use, that TT scratch really bothered me.

rpenmanparker 

Like when I grind my aluminum auto rims against a curb. Damn that hurts. Even though the car is leased and probably will get recalled after about 18 months with no penalty for the damage, that is really annoying. I try not to look at it.

Lanceoldstrong

I agree with the OP.
I have a buddy that keeps his cassette so polished and clean it could be used as a mirror.
He also sparingly and infrequently lubes his chain so it stays mirror polished.
Result? His drive train sounds like one of those pencil sharpeners, with a hand crank on it, from back in our school days.

The Church of Cycling has a hymn they sing: (to the tune of Silent Night)

Silent Bike, Holy Bike
All is cleaned, not too bright
Round all versions
Of rider and bike
On our clinchers for miles and miles
Roll on silently please
Roll on silently please

chasm54

At current rates of exchange, I own two bikes that would each be worth in excess of $4000, though not quite $5000. I don't neglect them - I make sure they are mechanically efficient, and that means keeping the drivetrains reasonably clean. That's it, though, I couldn't give a toss about scratches and nicks and stuff. I bought them because they're great bikes, not to preserve in aspic as an investment.

BoSoxYacht

I would lube the chain when he wasn't looking.

mcours2006

I admit I clean my bikes from time to time, especially when they are relatively new, much like I used to wash and clean the inside of my car--when it was relatively new. I still do it, but less frequently. But it's still nice to drive around in a car that's clean, both inside and out. The same goes for a bike.

You can also thinking of the resale value of your vehicle (bike or car) when you might sell it somewhere down the road. If it's been cared for and looks 'newer', as less corrosion, etc., you might get a better resale for it.

Some people see it as pride of ownership too.

on the path

I've got a frame that I like and that fits me very well. I hope to ride it for a long time. Everything that's attached to it is expendable and/or replaceable.

Lazyass

How do you scratch up a road bike just from riding hard? And why would you let the paint finish go dull when you could polish it up in a couple of minutes?

OldTryGuy

Retired so I have time.

Have had the bike for almost 18 months with about 8,000 miles. Rode 62 miles today and already gave it a preliminary wipe before I hung it up. Will get to cleaning the frame, rims, spokes, chain, derailleurs, cassette, crank early some morning before next ride.

Sorry to disappoint the masses but I enjoy a clean machine.

Birthday

Try this on for size: Imagine that someone puts every iota of mechanical care and every ounce of sweat into their bikes that OP does. Now imagine that this person,without justifying their preference to you, also enjoys having a clean, shiny bike. Am I blowing your mind? Now imagine someone whose bike looks terrible because they take awful care of it. Is your worldview rocked? Can these people possibly all exist?

Finally, imagine that this thread is tired nonsense, and that categorizing things in this way is pedantic and pointless, and that we're all here because we just like bikes in some way or another.

Edit: I also chuckle to imagine what MTBers would think of a bunch of roadies taking pride in their fine patinas of road dust and gradual component wear.

chasm54

You scratch it up by leaning it against things, occasionally crashing it, having small stones flung up by the wheels. And you let the paint finish go dull because you don't care if it goes dull. Really. If the bike continues to work properly, I have no interest whatever in the cosmetics. I have never understood the "pride of ownership" stuff. I could understand being proud of something I had made, but why should I be proud of something that all I had to do was buy? Anyone with the money could have bought it, it's nothing to be proud of.

Birthday

Why wash your clothes? Why wash your car? Why clean your house? Why shave? Why bathe?

Why get bent out of shape when someone else does this things? I can't imagine there's a difference in effort between whinging on the internet about running a rag over a bike every once in a while, and actually running a rag over a bike.

chasm54

Who's bent out of shape? We're just making conversation, here.

As it happens I wash my car, like my bike, only when contact with it is likely to make me or my clothes dirty.

Houses, clothes, one's person, they are in a different category. Bikes tend not to get verminous.

bt

x2

bt

i wouldn't want to see your teeth, yuck!

jdon

Meh. Some people put a muddy spade back in the garden shed, some rinse them off first and others dry and oil them. To each his own.

surgeonstone

This^^. My bikes are pristine and well ridden, the two are not mutually exclusive.