Maintainence

[dontcallme]

Hi All,

I've been trying to get into cycling for a while now. Last year I decided to get into cycling. I need the exercise and I enjoy taking days out and going at my own pace.

I cycled to Brighton from my home in South London (55 miles) a couple of times and went to Leicester (105 miles) once.

Problem is, I did with my flat mate who now lives in Oz. He did all the maintainence stuff and I just let him. Even a simple punctured tyre frustrates the hell out of me. I'm usually really calm and passive but when it comes to trying to fix things I completely lose my head and feel useless.

It amazes me that there are so few maintaince courses around. When I needed a service all the shops in the area had a 3 days waiting list but when it comes to teaching people how to do things there are few good ones around.

I did the free Tuesday evening one at Evans and really didn't learn anything. We just watched the guy do demonstrations. Without doing I won't remember. I've found one at the end of the month which is a whole day. I'm thinking though that this won't be enough.

I'm going to do a course then do nothing until something goes wrong with my bike again. By now then I probably won't remember everything.

How did they experienced cyclists here become confident fixing their bikes.

 

[ianrauk]

Hi All,

How did they experienced cyclists here become confident fixing their bikes.

I learnt by just getting my hands dirty doing it myself. Trial and error. It really is rudimentary stuff and doesn't take long to learn. Get the right tools and this book. You Tube is also a hive of information as to how to service your bike and sort out mechanicals.

 

[musa]

YouTube is your eyes to the unknown, and then there's the bidding keyboards of CC'ers at your disposal

 

[Gez73]

The Haynes manual for bikes is pretty useful too. You'll need tools too and probably a bike stand just to make it that bit easier if you don't have one. Plenty of time and as much patience as you can manage. Goodluck. Gez

 

[smokeysmoo]

YouTube is your eyes to the unknown, and then there's the bidding keyboards of CC'ers at your disposal

+1 YouTube really is your friend in matters of maintenance, (once you've filtered the wheat from the chaff that is)

 

[stephen.rooke]

just get stuck in. youtubes a big help, ive managed to tune my gears, fix a buckled wheel and replace my back break just by watching youtube vids

 

[smokeysmoo]

just get stuck in. youtubes a big help, ive managed to tune my gears, fix a buckled wheel and replace my back brake just by watching youtube vids

Spot on

 

[dontcallme]

Cheers for the info. My first point is going to have to be a maintainence course. Today I've actually failed to fix a puncture, which I've fixed before, and got so annoyed I've left it for today.

After I have done the basics with someone to help me hopefully I'll be more confident jumping in and having a go.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Another good tip is take photos so you have a reference for re-assembly.

Also use a sheet of paper to lay things on on the order you remove them, then re-fit in the reverse order.

You can also use zip ties to hold things like cassettes together for cleaning if you've removed them from the bike.

It'll all come in time. The ideal thing might be to try and get a bike from freecycle or even your local tip that you can practice on

 

[GetAGrip]

YouTube is your eyes to the unknown, and then there's the bidding keyboards of CC'ers at your disposal

+1

 

[Dave 123]

+1

+2

 

[Pauluk]

Youtube is a great place. The beauty about bike maintenance is that you can practice even when there is nothing wrong. EG, remove an inner tube and put it back, see what's the best way to get your tyres back on. Separate a chain to take it off and clean, put it back on. Install new brake cables. Adjust the headset and stem, remove pedals and grease etc etc

Depends if you like playing with maintenance/bike stuff. You may have better things to do

 

[Pat "5mph"]

If a bike numpty like me can learn the basics, you can too! You Tube it, practice it, read the how to threads here for reference and for learning the bike tec lingo.

 

[MrJamie]

What went wrong with the puncture fixing? Was air leaking from the patch, or maybe a shard stuck in the tyre punctured the tube again when you fit it? Punctures used to drive me crazy, but i got so many of them eventually id seen and done everything i could do wrong and learnt to swiftly replace them. Its definitely worth persisting as frustrating as it can be.

Oh and as said, its much easier to practice at home in the relative warmth, than on the side of a road in the dark in the rain

just get stuck in. youtubes a big help, ive managed to tune my gears, fix a buckled wheel and replace my back break just by watching youtube vids

Same and its made me a lot more confident taking my bike farther from home, knowing i can fix most common problems.

 

[dontcallme]

What went wrong with the puncture fixing? Was air leaking from the patch, or maybe a shard stuck in the tyre punctured the tube again when you fit it? Punctures used to drive me crazy, but i got so many of them eventually id seen and done everything i could do wrong and learnt to swiftly replace them. Its definitely worth persisting as frustrating as it can be.

Oh and as said, its much easier to practice at home in the relative warmth, than on the side of a road in the dark in the rain
Same and its made me a lot more confident taking my bike farther from home, knowing i can fix most common problems.

Stupidly enough I did everything right and it seems to be fixed then when I put the tyre back on it went down again and I got frustrated. Turned out that I didn't check the inside of the tyre to check for thorns. After always checking in the past but never finding one I guess I stopped bothering to do that part.