You can have too much of a good thing

lfcquin

Never thought it would happen, but ITS TRUE!

Cyclocross races are great, but man are they time consuming!?! My ratio of bike fettling to riding has gone through the roof. One hour race is roughly equivilent to 3 to 4 hours preparation and cleaning following the race. It doesn't help that I use the same bike for the club runs with full mudguards on, so I need it cleaned up for a Sunday morning following a Saturday CX race.

Add to that I use my MTB as my reserve cross bike, I needed it this weekend following a double pinch flat on the CX bike. The bl00dy thing gave up under the stress of the mud. Rear brake packed, unbelievable chain suck and front mech jammed.

I have now spent all Saturday evening, Sunday afternoon, Monday afternoon and most of tonight fettling, repairing and cleaning. I have had enough.

MTB has new chainrings, new cassette, new chain, new brake pads & front mech gear cable. Unfortunately the rear brake lost some fluid and has no resistance and the front mech isn't chaning properly. So a good few hours work left for an amateur mechanic like myself.

Cross bike is ok now, two new tubes on the CX wheels, cleaned, oiled and lights fitted for training ride tomorrow night.

Sorry, just had to have a moan - I love fettling but enough is enough. TWO cross races this weekend - not looking forward to the prep work....

ride_whenever

I'm currently running my pompino as a fixed gear cx bike. Might drop the gearing a touch though!

It's very very silly but pretty maintenance free!

lfcquin

could be an opportunity to buy a new bike....

APIII

What am I doing wrong then? I'm new to this cx lark, but 3 races and 0 hours fettling. I also use it as my winter bike.

mattbass789

i prefer fettling when i have nothing to fettle for. When i actually have to mend something. Its a lot less entertaining. :P

Pross

Get yourself a helper to wash your bikes down in the pits and change bikes every lap

Cressers

It's no different to winter mountainbiking, you spend more time cleaning and maintaining the bike than you do riding it. At some point the Voice of Reason hits you and you have the sudden, revelatory, liberating thought; "Why the **** am I doing this?"

boneyjoe

Is there perhaps a business opportunity here? I'm sure many people would pay for a quick hose down after off-road races. You might still have some cleaning and lubing to do when you get home, but will have broken the back of it for sure. Perhaps some of the juniors could get involved to earn some cash.

lfcquin

APIII wrote:

What am I doing wrong then? I'm new to this cx lark, but 3 races and 0 hours fettling. I also use it as my winter bike.

:shock: I'm gobsmacked! Don't you find that your cassette & gears are clogged with mud and grass? Your chain is bone dry, and your brake blocks are crusted? Here is a breakdown of my usual activity.

pre race:
1. Remove Mudguards
2. Remove Bottle Cages
3. Swap cassette onto CX wheels
4. Fit CX wheels

Post Race
1. Power spray bike
2. Give bike closer clean with hot soapy water (sepcial attention to brakes and gears)
3. Remove wheels and clean out gears and wipe chain clean with a dry cloth
4. Remove cassette and clean out mud and fit to road wheels
5. Fit road wheels to bike
6. Fit mudguards and cages
7. Lubricate all moving parts

Mattbass789 - Couldn't agree more! It is so frustrating when you HAVE to do it.

I reckon this week is particularly bad because I used two bikes and buggered my MTB. its my own fault because I tend to neglect the MTB and focus all my loving attention ont he road bikes. lesson learned....

Pregant wife is helping me in the pits - she is pretty good at it too! I just get funny looks when i let her carry the spare bike and cleaning brushes :oops:

I reckon I would happily pay a few quid for someone to hose the bike down at the end of the race!

APIII

lfcquin wrote:

:shock: I'm gobsmacked! Don't you find that your cassette & gears are clogged with mud and grass? Your chain is bone dry, and your brake blocks are crusted? Here is a breakdown of my usual activity.

Not really It's pretty dirty, filthy in fact, but not caked in mud, which may be the key difference. I will grab an oily rag this evening though and wipe the chain down, just to show some willing. It's never been washed though, not much point at this time of year.

freehub

I'd hate to have to clean a muddy bike, it takes me over an hour to restore my roadbike back to new which I do after every wet ride.

ride_whenever

Takes me about 30 mins to do my mtb after riding. But the big twice a year clean and service takes the best part of a weekend.

freehub

When you clean your bike regular don't you take most of the dirt off, everywhere, totally clean jockey wheels, chainset and cassette and re lube evertything aswell as totally clean the chain?

Why would you need a twice a year service that takes a weekend? I don't know what I'd need to do apart from maybe put some new cables on if they where worn or replace something else like a BB if it needed doing. Things that just get done when they go wrong.