Too much time on maintenance?

[Rhythm Thief]

Personally, I couldn't be bothered with half an hour after each ride.

I build up a layer of oily grime over the winter, keep adding a bit more oil (Finish Line Green) and this protects the gears, chain and cassette .

Same with the layer of gritty grime on the frame.

Then give the whole thing a wash every few weeks.

I agree with this. I don't commute regularly any more, but when I did I had a cheap (ish) hack bike which I used every day, rain or shine. It lived in the garden and was maintained as required. Every six months or so I'd strip the drivetrain, soak it in paraffin and put it all back together. I never washed the frame, ever: as long as it works, I don't care what it looks like. I would never have spent 30-40 minutes maintaining the thing every day.

 

[ASC1951]

I'm amazed.

I don't see why.

My bike is kept indoors because I don't have a shed. I don't commute, but I do average 3500 miles a year, in all conditions. I only clean the bike when I unpack it on holiday. The only maintenance it gets is a very little oil on the inside of the chain and jockey wheels and an occasional squirt of WD40 on the Ergo ratchet. It gets a new chain every year and cassette every other year, but I don't have to spend any time fiddling or adjusting in between. It has been completely reliable for more than a dozen years.

 

[beanzontoast]

I've never heard of anyone drying their tyres before!

The reason being, when tyres are wet (and especially in reduced lighting) every glint of wetness looks like a shard of glass in the tyre making it impossible to inspect them. Once you wipe them, the dry tread is much easier to check over.

 

[snorri]

I don't see why.

I cover a similar annual mileage.
OK, perhaps I should have a programmed replacement schedule rather than replace when faults develop. Problem I find is some parts last longer than others, and a thrifty nature prevents me from replacing parts which are still functioning satisfactorily.
It just seems wrong to me that although my car and cycle annual mileage is similar, the bicycle, a relatively low tech machine, requires a disproportionate amount of maintenance.,

 

[dodgy]

It just seems wrong to me that although my car and cycle annual mileage is similar, the bicycle, a relatively low tech machine, requires a disproportionate amount of maintenance.,

Very true, and it is annoying.

 

[GrahamG]

I don't see why.

My bike is kept indoors because I don't have a shed. I don't commute, but I do average 3500 miles a year, in all conditions. I only clean the bike when I unpack it on holiday. The only maintenance it gets is a very little oil on the inside of the chain and jockey wheels and an occasional squirt of WD40 on the Ergo ratchet. It gets a new chain every year and cassette every other year, but I don't have to spend any time fiddling or adjusting in between. It has been completely reliable for more than a dozen years.

That explains a lot - presumably it's 8 speed or thereabouts so isn't fickle enough to get through a chain and block in just a couple of thousand miles or less?!
If I didn't do the majority of miles (or at least dirty/wet miles!) on fixed, there's no way I'd be using 9/10 speed kit on the best bike.

 

[swee'pea99]

I cover a similar annual mileage.
OK, perhaps I should have a programmed replacement schedule rather than replace when faults develop. Problem I find is some parts last longer than others, and a thrifty nature prevents me from replacing parts which are still functioning satisfactorily.
It just seems wrong to me that although my car and cycle annual mileage is similar, the bicycle, a relatively low tech machine, requires a disproportionate amount of maintenance.,

But does it? That's the question. I've always run my bikes on a tiny fraction of the maintenance others around here seem to think is 'required' and I've never had any problems at all. (And like you, I would never dream of replacing anything that was still functioning fine.)

 

[Bay Runner]

I clean and lube the chain and cassette every 50-60 miles (4 days) and take her to the LBS for a brake and gear service every 3-4 months.

There are a lot of steep climbs on my commute, combined with salt and sand on the cycle path around the bay

Years ago when I didn’t get it serviced there was a lot of expensive corrective maintenance.

 

[Davidc]

I don't get many problems and I certainly have never put in the effort suggested in the OP.

I lubricate the chain once a week, and the bit that comes off has to do the jockey wheels etc., and the two derailleur mechs about once a month. Anything else gets done if it seems to need it.

The chain gets cleaned when it looks really thick with crud or if its off for any other reason. The bikes get cleaned when they look dirty or are likely to be in company.

I'm another one who's too tight to replace anything before it wears out.

I keep a spare chain in stock, and it goes on if there's signs of slipping, too much noise, or any other sign of trouble, and while the bike's on the stand for cleaning or anything else it gets a thorough inspection.

I find thet the derailleur gears stay in adjustment for several thousand miles once they're bedded in, but the most gears I've had have been 8 (and 3 chainrings), I suspect that any more would mean more fiddling.

The tourer gets done as and when needed, depending how much its in use.

 

[Alf]

That's my experience too. I commuted 10 miles each way for about 10 years and hardly missed a day because of the weather. That bike did about 4000 miles a year in all weathers and all I ever did was wipe the chain after a day with salty roads and put some more lube on - about 3 minutes - and in winter a more thorough wash once a week.

I went through chains about once a year and cassettes about every two years. I wore out two derailleurs (one 105 and one tiagra) in the 10 years. The last bottom bracket (UN72) lasted about 30,000 miles. I suppose I must have had to tweak the derailleur adjuster occasionally but it wouldn't be more than a quick twist of the adjuster that you could easily do at a red traffic light, and very infrequently. Shimano 9-speed (down-tube shifters) I always found super reliable and long lasting, given my very quick but regular approach to maintenance.

Alf

 

[snorri]

I clean and lube the chain and cassette every 50-60 miles (4 days) and take her to the LBS for a brake and gear service every 3-4 months.
Years ago when I didn’t get it serviced there was a lot of expensive corrective maintenance.

An interesting post
I respect your conscientious approach to cycle maintenance, but I just can't be bothered doing the amount of regular maintenance you do, so I was getting the "lot of corrective etc". It was for this reason I advocated the Rohloff to the OP who seemed to have similar views to myself on the time and effort required to maintain his drive train.

 

[SimonC]

+1

Campag 9 speed on bike I mentioned in earlier post, never requires any maintenance, or tweaking or degreasing or wiping with baby wipes and it gets used every day in all weathers. If it aint broke, dont fix it.

 

[StirlingCrispin]

I commute every day on a bike, and ride a MTB off-road three times a week.
My maintenance regime after a ride consists of spraying the bike and chain with FS365 - a rust inhibitor. (time 1 min). Then I park it and go play with my kids.

Once a week I check the tyres. Very rarely I get problems with brakes, gears etc - these become apparent during a ride and can be lived with until the next fettle session (I run full-length cable outers to reduce problems). A loose spoke is visible from wheel wobble - its enough to just spin the wheels to see this.