How hard can it be?

JamesN

Up till now, my RockHopper has gone to my LBS for even the most simplest of maintenance jobs- today it went in for a rotor replacement, which really cant be that hard.
OK- the LBS do me a good deal, and they actually fitted it for free, but I'd really like to start doing it all myself.

How hard is it to do general maintenance on a bike, and replace parts like rotors/cassettes/derailleurs, but also to strip and maintain parts like the BB, etc?

Any advice greatfully recieved as to how I go about all this, and any recommendations as to where I start

Thanks
James

JumperSimon14

You need proper MTB tools really to change BB and Cassette's. Look at Park Tool Box sets. And you just need to watch the video's on here and it will show you.

supersonic

You can get a fairly good, and comprehensive set from Wiggle or Merlin for about 40 quid (or less).

Leonard Zinn's book is very good.

Wappygixer

I use the lifeline kit from wiggle which has everything in it nearly and cost only £80 for a full tool kit.
If you do your own repairs or service its always worth taking a photo at various steps just in case you forget how it went
Basic stuff like you have mentioned is a doddle to be honest

stumpyjon

Main tips are to use the right type of tool, i.e. a proper pedal spanner and not a normal 15mm spanner :oops: etc. and buy the best quality tools you can afford. In particular get a good quality set of allens keys. Most of my problems over the years have resulted form poor quality or wrong tool (as obviously there's no way I could be at fault ).

Seriously though good tools can make a big difference. I tend to buy the tool each time I need to do a new job, spreads the cost that way, got a full tool box of bike specific tools now. I persoanlly prefer the Park tools kit, but other brands are good as well.

Most tasks are actaully fairly simple. The other main bit of advice I'd give is pay serious attention to the way things come apart, I've lost count of the number of times I've happily stripped something and cleaned it and then realised I've no idea which order the bits go back together :oops: (even worth taking a photo before you start). Also check out the manufacturers websites, most have good downloadable instructions and some like Shimano also have exploded diagrams which really help in putting things back together.

Chaka Ping

As has been mentioned, those Wiggle Lifeline kits are pretty good.

They've changed since I bought mine and don't seem to have proper allen keys now (which were very good quality) - but still seem quite comprehensive.

Most of the stuff in them is pretty good, only the chain breaker has failed so far.

I'm pretty mechanicaly inept, but have managed to put a couple of bikes together - just getting the bike shop to install BB/crank and headset.

clarkson

supersonic wrote:

You can get a fairly good, and comprehensive set from Wiggle or Merlin for about 40 quid (or less).

Leonard Zinn's book is very good.

id have to agree with both those points. my tool set which allows me to do pretty much everything was 4o quid from wiggle, and recently bought zinns book and it is brilliant. pretty much everything you need to know in there.

RupertCommunicator

Things that are vital for the home mechanic:

Good quality allen keys - you can buy a set for a couple of quid
Rags / old t-shirts / tea towels - For putting parts on and cleaning
A couple of adjustable spanners
A Small screwdriver
A torx wrench for disc rotors (most rotors come with them)
A tub of grease
A bottle of lube
A bleed kit
Cassette lockring tool
BB tool (including a spanner big enough to turn it)
Crank extractor
Tyre levers
Puncture repair kit stuff
Chain tool (buy a couple of power links too)
Pedal spanner

Anything else (like fitting starnuts or headsets or cutting steerers) I leave to the LBS, because I can't be arsed to buy the expensive tools like a headset press or a cutting jig.

To be honest, I can do anything short of welding a frame back together, and I'm a heavy-handed amateur. You can easily find out how to do stuff via Google and Park Tools website. Also, if you have a mate who likes to do home repairs, go and watch him do some stuff, and you'll see how easy it is.

ExeterSimon

i'd have to agree with both those points. my tool set which allows me to do pretty much everything was 40 quid from wiggle, and recently bought zinns book and it is brilliant. pretty much everything you need to know in there.

Ditto..got Zinn's book, the 40 quid lifeline toolset from Wiggle and have so far managed to successfully change gear cables, BB, serviced the hubs etc.

Bit of investment but then saved loads in servicing etc. I'm not mechanically minded but follow the book, use a bit of common sense and Robert's your father's brother

jockspalding

Best ways to watch a mate who knows his stuff and a good bit of trial and error lol it really not as hard as people think theres loads o stuff online showing u step by step i,ve only been doin it a couple years and both my bikes i'm running now are home built best thing i've ever learned to do. alot of shops now run courses so might b worth askin around a few of ur locals

scars

most are fairly straight forward, a little knowledge will certainly make your efforts a little easier.

Park tool website is a good start.

To start get yourself a good set of metric Hex keys, spanner set, GT85, Lithium grease, chain lube, a socket set. Depending on what needs doing i buy my more specialist tool as i need them

cjw

Nothing is really that difficult on a bike as they're pretty simple bits of kit. I've done everything myself so far... serviced forks, replaced fromt mech, bottom bracket, cables, replaced headset etc...

Good tools are the key and also download the technical manuals for everything on your bike (brakes, crankset, mechs, shifters, forks), that way before you start tinkering you can read up and plan what you are going to be doing.

stubs

Get yourself the best quality allen key set you can afford I have a set of Bondhus allen and Torx keys every size I will ever need cost me £40 but they have a lifetime warranty and after 2 years they look good as new

irony

Bikes are very simple and easy to access (unlike a car).

I always take my time about things. For example I recently replaced my rear cassette and serviced the rear hub at the same time. On Monday after work I visited the Shimano site for the parts diagram;

http://techdocs.shimano.com/techdocs/index.jsp

And visited the Park Tools site for the How Tos;

http://www.parktool.com/repair/

On Tuesday I took everything apart and cleaned up most of it.

On Wednesday I finished cleaning it and then put the stuff back together with fresh grease and put on the new cassette.

On Thursday I realised that I had not tightened the bearings correctly - everything was still clean so I removed the wheel, I did not have to remove the cassette again but just adjust the hub locknut. I tested everything.

At the weekend I rode the bike.

I'm not saying it takes days to do this stuff, its just that I hadn't done the cassette and rear hub for so long that I couldn't remember what to do. Now of course I could do it in an hour or so, the thing that takes the longest is actually cleaning up the old gunk.

Taking time about it allows my mind to figure out stuff in between, without actually thinking about it.

jeffers696

get a bike book and a tool kit, and then you can enjoy those lazy hugover sunday afternoons being a grease monkey