The fallacy of "servicing" a bicycle.

[CopperBrompton]

I would also guess that, generally speaking, the sort of person who really knows nothing about fixing a minor thing on a bike is not likely to be using their bikes for very long journeys and is probably not going to be stranded miles from civilisation.

You might be wrong about that. :-) My longest journey to date was 1,000 miles, but I do aim to have a more mechanically literate friend along for these rides ...

 

[Smokin Joe]

I would also guess that, generally speaking, the sort of person who really knows nothing about fixing a minor thing on a bike is not likely to be using their bikes for very long journeys and is probably not going to be stranded miles from civilisation.

Ever ridden a sportive and come across someone with 3 or 4k worth of bike complaining it needs a service because the gears won't change properly? Or having to get help to change a tube?

 

[Cyclopathic]

Ever ridden a sportive and come across someone with 3 or 4k worth of bike complaining it needs a service because the gears won't change properly? Or having to get help to change a tube?

I refer you to the word "generally" in my post.

 

[cd365]

Ever ridden a sportive and come across someone with 3 or 4k worth of bike complaining it needs a service because the gears won't change properly? Or having to get help to change a tube?

The phrase "all the gear no f'in idea" springs to mind!

 

[John the Monkey]

Ever ridden a sportive and come across someone with 3 or 4k worth of bike complaining it needs a service because the gears won't change properly? Or having to get help to change a tube?

OTOH, I've not touched the gearing on my Giant since I set it up - whilst I'm capable of sorting that out, I've never needed to. I can see a situation where a similar setup could be "serviced" and be left alone until a yearly/bi-yearly cable change at the LBS as part of the "service".

If you fit a tough tyre like a Durano, say, you might not need to worry about unplanned deflations either...

(That said, I used to ride a sportive a year - I've slacked off a bit since then).

 

[G3CWI]

Ever ridden a sportive and come across someone with 3 or 4k worth of bike complaining it needs a service because the gears won't change properly? Or having to get help to change a tube?

....you mean like the Pro Cyclists?

 

[steveindenmark]

If any of my bikes go into my LBS they are gleaming. I just could not hand them over in any other condition.

 

[jonny jeez]

"There are some things I do myself and some that I prefer the shop to do. Therefore I tend to put the bikes in the shop once a year for a full service, and keep it fettled myself in the meantime."

But what do they do at the "full service" that you can't?

For me...although not in a service, these are jobs I will not tackle

Tune my wheel, I don't have a spoke tension meter or a good ear for a tune so will not attempt a wholesale spoke tightening / wheel straightening on my own for fear of adjusting ALL my spokes to a too high a tension....I will adjust individual spokes but not a whole wheel...I get through a rear rim a year.

Bottom bracket lube, no tools for the job and I hate the idea of buggering up the tread on the frame.

Servicing shifters, like actually opening those suckers up.

everything else I am happy to do.

However, I don't share your view, it feels a little elitist, like telling people they should't ride if they cant service their bikes. I drive a car and a motorcycle...I even use a loo occasionally and I don't know how to take any of them apart.

I prescribe to a view that its better to support my LBS, even if they make no money they retain loyal customers who, like me, spend far too much cash in their shops, often under their recommendation.

 

[Yorksman]

Even supermen can't do it:

 

[glenn forger]

Wheel-trueing is an apprenticed trade, the novices endure ten years of training and privation, heads and scrotums shaved, stuffed into potato sacks and beaten with burlap ropes. They would be insulted if I were to meddle with my wheels.

 

[Stonechat]

Well I will and have trued minor wobbles, but really wonky wheels beyond my ability

 

[Salty seadog]

I know a couple of excellent mechanics at my LBSs who certainly know more than me but I would not expect them to be able to perform routine maintenance or adjustments, which is the rider's job.

Absolutely spot on.....

 

[Lee_M]

Different thing entirely, those are things that require a degree of technical knowledge. If someone finds stripdowns of the bike, such as a bottom bracket or headset too daunting I fully understand and would never criticise them for it (My mother showed me how to take a bottom bracket apart and replace the bearings). But I cannot comprehend how every cyclist isn't fully aware of how to adjust the slack on a brake cable (An important safety issue) or a gear cable, two jobs that take seconds and require no manual skills at all. Or how they'd risk leaving themselves stranded because they don't know how to change an inner tube or how to tighten a bolt.

And as I've said before, most of these people also drive. Brake fluid, oil and water levels? Tyre pressures? The thought of zooming round the M25 with people whose bonnet hasn't been opened since the last MoT...

i opened my bonnet last week to fill up the washer fluid. First time I've opened it in 3 years. I only did it because I was about to drive 250 miles otherwise i wouldnt have bothered

 

[Ajax Bay]

Holy thread resurrection

 

[CanucksTraveller]

Holy thread resurrection

Indeed. Great thread nonetheless, and worth digging up! Some marvellous content that's worth revisiting, I've enjoyed it.

My view is that bike maintenance isn't a black or white subject of can or cannot do, it's an entire sliding scale of abilities. If you can do the job in question and are confident, great. You're saving money and you're feeling chuffed with yourself, and deservedly so. I love that feeling.
If you can't do it or are less confident, give it to the bike shop, that's what shop mechanics exist for. There is minor stuff that scares me which other members would scoff at (for example gear adjustment, I've screwed up a whole derailleur setup before and I'll do it again if you threaten me), and there's stuff that I find easy that others would have trouble with. Youtube has probably helped us all in recent years, but the LBS mechanic has also been a fillip of most of us.