DIY Cycle Maintenance

carl_p

I picked up a price list for servicing from Cycle Republic last week. £95 for a complete strip down and rebuild. £35 for a basic service. It got me wondering how many people do their own bike repairs and servicing. Is it very hard? I'd love to strip my bike right back and give it the works, but don't feel I'm up to that just yet.

I ordered a cycle workstand yesterday as I'm sure it will be very useful for cleaning and basic stuff but there will be a temptation to do other bits and pieces.

Don't want to end up spending more time doing maintenance than riding, but would be interested just how much you guys do.

Thanks in advance.

Smokin Joe

I have never taken any bike to a shop for servicing or to have parts fitted..

If you can use a spanner and allen keys it is fairly simple and there will be plenty of advice available here or on sites such as Park Tools.

Slow Downcp

I do all my own servicing and repairs - also don't buy off the peg bikes, prefer to buy F&F, and components separately and build up myself. It's not difficult as long as you have the correct tools.

I have managed until now without a workstand, but did buy one of these last week:

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/p/Cycle/7/Elite ... 360036730/

Made cleaning the bike after todays ride so much easier on the back.

angeleye

i took my bike to a shop twice for a gear set up and new brakes , then decided it cant be that hard, best desicion i ever made , get yourself a decent maintenence book and the relevant tools and its easy, in the last month ive done new chain, new cassette, new jockey wheels and inner and outer cables, bar tape and a new set of wheels, the bike feels like new and the sense of achievement doing it all yourself is tops, not to mention the money saved,

neeb

Road bikes are really quite simple, there's almost nothing you can't do yourself. Also, if you are familiar with the mechanics of the bike from doing your own maintenance you are more likely to notice if something is wrong in the course of everyday use, so it's safer too. The Park Tools website has a great online guide and there are some quite good reasonably up-to-date books available. You will also want to download the maintenance leaflets for the individual components if you don't have them already (e.g. from the Campagnolo or Shimano website). You will make a few mistakes along the way (cutting gear and brake cable housings too short, stripping threads on bolts etc...) but it's worth it for the learning experience! One obvious tip if you are just starting out - it's always a good idea to get the right tools rather than try and bodge it with what you have to hand. Be patient if you discover that you need another tool or whatever (i.e. go out and get it), don't screw it up because you are impatient to get the job done. A torque wrench is a good investment if you have high quality parts, it's great not to have to worry about stripping the threads on stuff or crushing your carbon steerer..

carl_p

angeleye wrote:

i took my bike to a shop twice for a gear set up and new brakes , then decided it cant be that hard, best desicion i ever made , get yourself a decent maintenence book and the relevant tools and its easy, in the last month ive done new chain, new cassette, new jockey wheels and inner and outer cables, bar tape and a new set of wheels, the bike feels like new and the sense of achievement doing it all yourself is tops, not to mention the money saved,

Great advice thanks.

Can you recommend a good book and the tools required?

Steve Kish

Just ask here - plenty of help.

Last time I took mine to a shop was 1993 when T J Quick did some TIG welding on my Alpinestars frame.

tenbar

there are also some really good videos of specific jobs on Youtube which are very useful if you get stuck

Allez Mark

I've just got back into road biking after an absense of about 12 years. The bikes have changed quite a bit in that time. So Im interested in learning about bike maintenance. Anyway, I noticed Edinburgh Cycles do courses on this subject. I think they do a basic course and a more in depth one. Just wondered if anyone has been on any courses like this and were they worth it.

angeleye

Great advice thanks.

Can you recommend a good book and the tools required?[/quote]

i used the haynes complete bicycle maintenance book to get me started because it covers sram, campag and shimano, although im sure there are better books out there it gave me the confidence to have a go myself, as for tools a decent set of hex keys,wire cutters, spoke key/spanner, torque wrench, and a chain whip for changing cassettes, and whatever bb or cassette tool you require for your make if components, im certainly no expert but id have a go at any job that needs doing now.[/quote]

dennisn

All the parts that I have bought have come with detailed instructions on proper
installation. So if you have the correct tools you can do it all yourself. A repair
/ work stand is not required but is a definite plus. I haven't taken a bike to the shop in years
and the money and time I have saved, I give to my wife(well the money anyway)

Dennis Noward.

FatLarry

I'm fairly new to this game too and I posted on here asking for recommendations for a good maintenance / repair book.

Zinn and The Art Of Road Bike Maintenance seemed popular; I bought a copy; I've not been disappointed!!!

I am now thinking of getting a workstand, but have to admit that's mostly because I've got backache from bending over to clean the bike after Sundays' outing...

fat boab

Angeleyes

I recommend Road Bike Maintenance by Guy Andrews. It is spiral bound with pages that tolerate oily hands - it sits very nicely in the shed while I use it to guide my repairs and maintenance jobs. The explanations are clear and concise, and the photographs detailed and plentiful. On the odd occasions when I have been stuck, Park Tools website, and Sheldon Brown have also been helpful. I recently made up a single speed from and old bike using Edinburgh Bike Co-op site.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Road-Bike-Maint ... 988&sr=1-1

Thoroughly recommended - I am not very mechanically minded, but there is little I can't do now with this book.

Chaz.Harding

It's not difficult as long as you have the correct tools

I do all of my own maintainance, as it really is so simple. Just study whatever you need to fix / adjust, and it makes it easier. Do a Google search, try finding exploded views of whatever, or better yet, walkthrough guides. Soon, you wont need it.

I only sent my suspension fork away for service for the first time today, as its pretty ill, and needs alot of specialist tools and spares to make it right again.

Otherwise, if you get some good tools (Park for bike specific, Halford Professional for other bits) and some good grease (Shimano Dura-Ace works for me) and a small grease gun, you can CONQUER THE WORLD!!**

**Maybe not, but if you have a few bikes, you can save a substantial amount of money. Screw you Credit-Crunch! 8)

Chaz

richardalawrence

This post gave me the boost to try and fix my rear hub myself! So a big thanks for posting.

Problem - My 2010 Giant Defy Alex Rims with Formula hubs were making a racket.

Solutions:

Option 1, take it to the magnificent AW Cycles and get them to take a look (possible outcomes, new Hub, new bearings, new wheel even?) Estimated cost (my estimate), strip down wheel, replace bearings, rebuild - £25-30??

Option2, Read up, try and fix myself. And thats what I did. Took the internals out, figured out what type of hub bearings I had, read up some more, exposed the bearings, removed them (being careful to lay out the parts in the order they ame out), cleaned up everything, regreased, put back together. Should have replaced the bearings but didn't have any. Total time taken, 1hr.

Result, the wheel never ran better! No grinding at all.

EASY!

wishitwasallflat

Sheldon Brown site + Park Tools site + post any questions on Workshop thread = virtual self sufficiency!

ricklilley

+1 for the Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance. I bought this as i already the Mountain bike book, they are both very comprehensive and have certainly been useful.

woodywmb

Or take the second level City & Guilds Certificate exam on bike maintenance. The fee is £1,400.

xpc316e

I do all my own cycle maintenance, and have taught a friend who used to be a cycle klutz. He is now a cycle maintenance God who tackles anything.

My tip is to always buy good quality tools and if a job requires a special tool, buy it. It will eat nothing while it waits to be used again, and will always make a job a pleasure instead of a pain.

Search on youtube for Bicycle Tutor - there are some really good videos in the series.