Mechanicaly minded

Cluelessbiker

Sadly I am not, and i find this the most off putting thing about cycling, whilst a 'push-iron' seems fairly low tech, they are not. After having a rapid succession of failures on an old nail of a mountain bike, which was inteneded to get me used to to the idea of off roading, plus keep fit duities. i am now thouroughly put off the idea of bikes at all and (for the moment) am in the frame of mind that if you are not able to competently weild any sort of tool (keep it clean please) then frankly you should not be let loose anywhere near a bike. This has seriously dented my confidence to the lowest of lows and what is more frustrating only yesterday I was in the process of eyeing up, being seduced, and genearally feeling all warm inside about a B'twin Rockrider8.1. Even though a £500 bike is a bit overkill for towpaths and pit tops, and I now probably wouldn't venture more than two miles walking distance from my home, just in case..... I do generally think cycles are now way too complex, and after this mornings debacle with a fork and steering head coming loose (and that was just after I had washed it) think that all cycles are untrustworthy deathtraps.

This maybe just a furious rant as I am sure there are those around me that will change my mind but I feel I am not alone in the horror of inconveniently having to take a cycle to a LBS everytime something goes wrong.

Should people who are not mechanicaly minded be let loose near a push bike?

nicklouse

No more complex than they have been for years.

A little reading of the links in my sig may give you a bit of an insight and may make things look a bit clearer.

Or look at a bike with a hub gear set or a single speed.

flateric

You really don't need to mechanically minded, but bikes being what they are need maintaining and care to keep going. To help there are various guides to help, as a basic level, learn how to repair punctures. Failing this, you can buy something to squirt in to the flat tyre to expand it and get you home.

Invest in a good bike to start with. I bought a Dawes Acoma in 1998. Its still going strong and requires minimal ongoing maintainance. I also invested in a tool kit to do my own servicing. The most complex job i have tackled was fitting hydraulic brakes. This was achieved by following the step by step instructions in the kit.

There is little complexity in bikes, although they may look it. Sudden faluire is rare too. components get noisy or loose miles before they actually fail and these issues can often be spotted by simply checking the bike over carefully regularly. Again there are plenty of guides to help.

I would say, assuming you get a decent bike to start with (if it says "professional" anywhere on the frame it will fall to bits before the end of your road) and learn how to check it over. Any faults that occur, get your LBS to help you fix it or show you how.

pdw

With the possible exception of full-suspension mountain bikes, I don't think bikes are particularly more complex than they ever have been, but some things have changed over time, and if you're doing your own maintenance, you do need to know what's what. Fortunately, there's loads of information out there and links in the bottom of Nick's sig are a good starting point.

I'm don't know what happened with your fork, but the bolt on the top of the headset certainly doesn't do what it used to do it used to do on old style headsets...

desweller

All machines require maintenance. The key to such things is patience though; you're not coming across as a hugely patient person!

You could do what a lot of my mates do, which is bake a cake and use it to bribe a suitably capable individual (me, in their cases) to do the work...

Cluelessbiker

Ha ha yes I am now looking up baking recipes. To be honest I was having a strop and as much information as there is out there, to do things right means a very patient one on one session with someone who is competant, sadly patient people are a rare find, and yes I am not the most patient person in the world. Anyway I did manage to get the bars all set up right only to be told by the person who sold it me that he had forgot to fit something or other, but now I do not trust the bike. Either way careful considered studdying of youtube vids, books and forums on here will I think either make me a technical guru or just blow up my mind, sadly knowing me as I do I think the latter.

desweller

Park Tools mate.

Blue Meanie

As much as everyone says bikes are simple, there are mechanics and good mechanics. It does take a bit of nous to do jobs quickly and effectively.
You don't need to know how to torque by degrees or rebuild a Sturmey Archer, but a bit of mechanical sympathy always helps, as does a proper workstand/area, vice and tools.
Even the best mechanics get frustrated by apparently simple tasks when they rush or compromise or bodge.
My advice would be, persevere and if it all goes wrong ask for help.

bails87

There are mechanic's courses you can do, aimed at the home 'maintainer' rather than a professional workshop type mechanic.

The links mentioned, and youtube should suffice though.

Cluelessbiker

Thank you, the park tools link is just what I was after. I do have a problem with self esteem believe it or not My late father was a technical whizz with anything he touched, repairing my cars and motorcycles regularly. I on the other hand do not pick things up easily....so to combat that, I have set myself a goal to be acheived anytime this year that I wil build my own bike from the frame up. Nope it won't be a trail blazing new concept, it wil be an old nail to get me accustomed to weilding tools and doing something with them, just so I can feel good



We'll see .........

The Rookie

Other than suspension forks, none of my bikes now requires as much maintenance as my Raleigh Hustler commuter I used at Uni in the 1980's, that needed the cup and cone BB tweaking at least once a month, the (only) derailleur wasn't indexed mind so that was one thing that didn't need 'fixing'!

I was off biking for 20 years, my next bike I built up myself from a nearly bare frame, I have now built up 6 bikes from bare frames, the only tools is my normal socket set and a cycling tool kit from Lidl plus a couple of extra's.

Simon

desweller

Cluelessbiker wrote:

Thank you, the park tools link is just what I was after. I do have a problem with self esteem believe it or not My late father was a technical whizz with anything he touched, repairing my cars and motorcycles regularly. I on the other hand do not pick things up easily....so to combat that, I have set myself a goal to be acheived anytime this year that I wil build my own bike from the frame up. Nope it won't be a trail blazing new concept, it wil be an old nail to get me accustomed to weilding tools and doing something with them, just so I can feel good



We'll see .........

It's like learning anything, stuff that seems tricky now will be second nature once you've done it a few times. Stick at it and it will be worth it.

centimani

The biggest clue for your mistrust of bikes so far is already acknowledged by yourself....'old nail of a MTB'

Cheap bikes are just that, cheap quality and that makes them harder, sometimes impossible to tinker with. I'm a maintenance engineer and sometimes i struggle with BSOs. Better quality bikes, when looked after are less trouble and to a degree, easier to fix.
If you want to become 'mechanically minded'....the first thing you need to do is...'think'.
Half of doing mechanical work is using your head, right from the moment you open the component box. Ive seen so many people blunder in without any thought, then they get lost because they havnt paid attention to exactly what theyre doing...and why.
Slowly, thoughtfully, preferably planned or with some previous homework.

JEASTWOO

Well I think the good news is that you're getting frustrated because you want to be able to competently look after your own bike. Most of us want to be able to look after our bikes, but we started a few years back, what you need to do is to make that start, preferably with a not overly complicated bike.

I'd agree bikes are a little more complex than they used to be, but the upside of the passage of time is that tools are much less expensive than they used to be, and the internet technical advice and forums such BikeRadar makes the process so much easier and fun too.

Now in terms of which bike might be best, I'd opt for some thing that has no suspension and a set of u-brakes, leave disks and suspension for later. Such bikes might be like the Carrera Subway (non disk version). I'd agree with 'centimani ' stay away from budget bikes they are a false economy. Plus there is a joy of ownership of some thing reasonably well made.

Be brave make that start, come back to the forum (and people more knowledgeable than me!) for advice.

James E

Cluelessbiker

Well after weeks and weeks of pondering what to buy, plus I have only read this thread after making a purchase. I now am the proud owner of a Diamnondback Response, early days yet, but for some reason i am having problems withthe seat fixing clamp working its way loose, now this could happen on any bike that I know so as to regards to the bike in general, I cannot really complain, as they say you makes your choice and pays your money, hope I've made the right one.

The Rookie

Is the clamp working it's way loose, or the post moving in the frame?

My commuter has done about 1700miles, I've stripped and regreased the wheelhubs once (preventative, nothing suggested they needed it), I've lubed the chain (lots), and I've regreased the (unsealed) headset once, it all works just as well as the first day I rode it, get the right bits and they stay right.

Simon