Sanity and bike maintenance - possible?

wishitwasallflat

I started road cycling about 2.5 years ago - now hooked and love it. I have built up a stock of some of the most common tools - bought as and when I needed them - and have developed some skills. For about six weeks or so I have been wrestling with a rear derailleur issue and have: adjusted everything several times, checked chain, fitted new inners (and in that process wrapped bars [successfully!] for the first time).

Didn't fix the problem though so I gave in and took it to an lbs this week. They said hanger and derailleur were bent and needed a new outer. Fair enough that fits with what I thought myself - the problem is I can't sleep properly or concentrate for worrying about the bike while they have it - will they fix it, will they scratch it, will they drop it etc etc You name it, I am fretting about it. The guy in the lbs said 'Ah so you're having a love affair with your bike! I thought this was generous of him as I believe it's clearly insanity on my part. I am interested though to find out if am I alone in feeling this way about letting someone else work on my bike and, if I am not alone, what fellow sufferers do -

For example; I know they will have to unroll the bar tape to fit a new outer, and that it needs a new outer - but - one of the first things I will do when I get it back is re-wrap the tape (even if it looks fine) to see how it looks underneath! :shock:

So some questions if I may:

Anyone else share this flavour of madness?

If yes what do you do?

Find a trustworthy mechanic who pays the same attention to detail that you would?

PS - This seems a near impossibility to me - does anyone know of such a person near the Darlington area?

Buy all the tools you need - including those expensive items you may only need occasionally e.g. derailleur hanger alignment checking tool - and do it all yourself.

Medication?

Get so many bikes you become less attached to each individual one?

All or none of the above ?

Help?

ptr_

How do they know it needs a new outer under the tape? If the rear hanger was bent then you can't diagnose any other issues until that is fixed, assuming there was no obvious damage to the outer.

Are you sure they didn't mean a new outer at the derailleur end?

Either way, they know a lot more about bikes than you or I so don't worry - it's in safe hands.

keef66

And if they wreck it, sue their arses off.

Hoopdriver

Exactly.

While you're about it yourself a good book on bicycle maintenance - Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance and Park Tool's Blue Book both come highly recommended (I have both in my cycling library, and favour Leonard Zinn's book for its sheer readability) and at least familiarise yourself with your bike and how it works - because no, the wrench at your local LBS doesn't necessarily have a clue. He might, and he might not, there's just no telling beforehand and mechanics seem to come in all sorts of degrees of ability, and honesty.

Nobody will have a greater interest in the smooth running of your bike than you will yourself...

Rouge Penguin

Find that place on t'interwebs called youtube, not youpube or youporn or redtube, thats a different type of spannering

Its a handy place for visual tips on bike maintenance, the others are handy places for visual tips in bikes.

Mr Will

Patina. a little word but an important one.

A bike should not remain immaculate for ever - it will pick up scratches, chips and imperfections throughout it's life whatever you do. The trick is to embrace this. Keep it immaculately adjusted and maintained but use it hard and don't worry about the tiny things. Do this and gradually it will stop being "a bike" and become "your bike".

Hoopdriver

Mr Will wrote:

Patina. a little word but an important one.

A bike should not remain immaculate for ever - it will pick up scratches, chips and imperfections throughout it's life whatever you do. The trick is to embrace this. Keep it immaculately adjusted and maintained but use it hard and don't worry about the tiny things. Do this and gradually it will stop being "a bike" and become "your bike".

You must be a true sesquipedalian to consider a three-syllable word 'little'.

wishitwasallflat

Good advice and comment from all and much appreciated but I fear the definitive issue is -

Hoopdriver wrote:

Nobody will have a greater interest in the smooth running of your bike than you will yourself...

Anyone reccomend a bike mechanic near Darlington?

PS - I picked the bike up today and it looks fine - not riden it out yet but gears are smooth as silk whne checking quickly with it on the turbo.

keef66

Come on then, who did it? Name and fame, so to speak!

ptr_

wishitwasallflat wrote:

PS - I picked the bike up today and it looks fine - not riden it out yet but gears are smooth as silk whne checking quickly with it on the turbo.

Glad to hear it

I recently redid my gear cables as the chain kept slipping in certain gears no matter how perfectly adjusted both mechs were. Going from unreliable shifting to clean crisp shifts completely changes every ride, it's really worth keeping on top of cable maintenance.

wishitwasallflat

keef66 wrote:

Come on then, who did it? Name and fame, so to speak!

Dave Heron cycles in Coxhoe -

http://www.heron-cycles.co.uk/

Just got back from doing 40 miles and I have to say the gears have never worked that well before (and I mean right back to when it was brand spanking new ). Dave also seemed to manage to cope quite well with my insane neurotic behaviour so perhaps I have found my mechanic. Still want to do everything I can myself but - I have very limited skill set (keen to learn though) and even more limited budget for tools so I expect there will be the (hopefully) odd thing I need done in an lbs.