Beginner bike mechanic 101: raw materials + simple necessities (Page 2)

I'm new to Tri, but not new to bikes.
The tools and maintenance above seems a good spread so nothing to add there.

One item I would mention is to wash BY HAND, AVOID power washer or other presurised device.
Just warm soapy water and a sponge if it's real dirty, otherwise just wipe down with a damp microfibre cloth.

It may seem obvious once stated but using a power washer can force water past seals in areas like the head set and pedal bearings and that water will not dry out quickly because of the seals it just pushed past.

I come from MTB and obviously dirt bikes get dirty, so the temptation is greater to power wash a filthy Mountain bike than a slightly dust road bike, but a road bike is not as burly in most joints and seals are smaller and lighter than MTB so the chance of entrained water is higher on a road bike.

Could be cable adjustment more than the chain/cassette. 

Edited by McFuzz 2009-10-05 1:28 PM

I didn't learn how to work on my bike, I learned how to work on cars years ago and mostly what I learned was what Harry Callahan said: "A man's got to know his limitations."

I have little desire to become a bike mechanic, and I have little desire to go broke paying $$$ to the LBS for simple work. Thus I'm looking for the sweet spot of doing my own simple work and paying the LBS for the rest. I expect most people are looking for that sweet spot too.

After 9 years as a cyclist, here are the simple things I do myself:

I swap tires and fix flats. That means tire levers, and a quality pump. I use CO2 on the road and a floor pump at home. Buy a quality pump. Life is too short to put up with a crappy pump.

I clean the thing. That means Simple Green degreaser, Box o' Rags, that sort of thing, and some brushes. I suppose I could get a chain breaker but I don't own one. I've heard the "shake it in a 2 liter soda bottle with solvent" works well. So does my $12 chain degreaser thing. The kit included a little brush for cleaning the cassette. Works well.

I've dismantled the bike for transport. That means a 4/5/6 allen wrench, which is on any folding seat-bag type mult-tool. I have a set of 3/8" allen sockets from Sears that I use with a small torque wrench. I bought mine because I was afraid of the seat post bolts on my P3C. Knowing things are tightened properly brings great peace of mind. I learned when cars were my hobby that you don't just crank on things, you tighten to the specified torque. I bought a pedal wrench before I found out most pedals work with allen wrenches too, so I don't use it much.

In short, allen wrenches, allen sockets, a torque wrench, a multitool, and some cleaners and brushes, and you're in business 90% of the time.

The other 10% of the time I have I have the LBS do it. In 9 years I've maybe spent $300 on LBS labor, mostly things like cassette, chain, chainring replacements. I watched the guy do the last cassette replacement and other than the special tool, it was trivial. Maybe I'll get the special tool and that chain breaker next time I need it done and do it myself. Maybe.

Oh, and I do own a stand. Got it for Father's Day years ago. For convenience, it's hard to beat. Using the trainer or a bike rack works well too.

Edited by brucemorgan 2009-12-21 12:45 AM

Not only is it the cheap way, but a good ruler is the most accurate way. IMHO chain wear indicators are a waste of money. I have had more brand new, out of the box chains then I care to remember come up as worn using an indicator. Measure the chain with a good metal ruler like park's http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=16&item=SBC-1

From the all knowing Sheldon Brown -

This gives a direct measurement of the wear to the chain, and an indirect measurement of the wear to the sprockets:

* If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.

* If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.

* If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

* If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/chains.html

You sound like mrs gearboy, about almost everything I own.  But that doesn't make it LESS accurate than a ruler - just more gear intensive.  I haven't had any chains get a false positive for wear with my chain wear tools - and I've used two different brands since I lost the first one (mrs gearboy: "don't you already have one of those things? How many of them do you need?!?").

I'm going to disagree. It's nothing about the amount of gear. I do believe that chain wear tools are less accurate. I have had false positives enough that I do not beleive them to be accurate tools. I also feel that the time saved with a chain wear indicator vs measuring with a ruler is not worth the cost of the indicator, but this is not my main issue with them. Like I stated, I do beleive they are less accurate.

You are welcome to do what you wish, but I'd rather spend my money on other more useful gear.

In my opinion, having a tool kit and bike stand are priceless. Because of the bike stand, I do more bike/chain cleaning. It makes it way easier. Learning to adjust your derailleurs is a great skill as well. I've had many friends with brand new bikes that still need adjustment. I've now purchased two bikes from bikes-direct. I've saved at least $120 by assembling them myself. That paid for the tools and stand.

How do you guys feel about the 37 piece kits offered by Park tools and Sette? (I think thats how you spell it?)

Better to get individual tools or go with the kit?

As a beginner, it was important for me to learn basic bike maintenance from the get go.
A couple of months ago I bought the Park Chain Cleaner, and the results where amazing - the chain on my 5 years old Marida 901 really shone.. I'd recommend getting that cleaner to anyone.
Only problem is, the Park citrus chain brite degreaser, which does an amazing job, is pretty expansive, but does an amazing job. 
If you have any suggestions for a cheaper alternative, I'd love to hear.

Yossi
 

Zipp citrus degreaser, from Home Depot.  Sold by the gallon.  I go through a gallon roughly each year, and I work on my bikes, mrs gearboy's bikes, the kids' bikes when they are around, friends' bikes, etc.

I buy Simple Green in the big jug at home depot. Used full strength it is an excellent degreaser. I can mix up a batch of diluted Simple green in a spray bottle for clean and then keep the concentrated stuff for chain clean.

I can imagine that led to an abundance of cursing.  I would be swearing up a storm, I can see it now!

Thanks for the informative response btw.  As a relatively new cyclist, I'll be adding this thread to my favorites.

What's everyone's favorite bike maintenance book?  Does the Zinn Road Bike book cover everything I ought to know about tribikes as well?  Such as dealing with bar end shifters and brakes vs. road bike shifters and brakes?

I have both Zinn's and Todd Down's books. Zinn's has a fun feel to it. Downes has more pictures and addresses a wider range of bikes. I don't have the Park Tool "Blue Book", but that is also supposed to be top notch. Any of books will will be helpful.

Spent over a (curse filled and scream filled and throwing things across the room) hour trying to switch out saddles!!! Replacement ended up at 45 degree angle and I gave up! No finesse for sure and not much common sense either! Off to my lbs in the morning before I cry. Anybody else utterly crap at fixing their bike?

Edited by sappho96 2013-04-23 6:42 PM

Love this thread! Have read carefully through. I have basic tools but definitely want to get more involved with maint. and fixing my own bike. Thanks for the sound advice to date!

I cleaned my bike at the end of last season and threw away the chain since it was worn down. Last weekend I installed a new chain (and brand), tuned the shifting on the bike stand, and took it for a ride. The drivetrain sounded normal until I applied power to accelerate a little. The chain began to slip of the cogs of the cassette. I stopped to adjust the cable tension. I took off again, and under strong power the chain slipped. So I took it easy the rest of the ride.

When I got home I did some diagnostic using the wind trainer. The cassette on the wind trainer is nearly new, so I tried my bike with the new chain on the nearly new cassette. It worked, so I swapped the cassettes. I tried the old cassette with the bike that was on the trainer because its chain was nearly new, but a different brand. Everything worked fine.

I went for a ride with the new chain and new cassette. The chain didn't slip, but no matter how much I adjusted the cable tension, there were over and under shifts occurring.

When I got home I took the other new chain and old cassette off the wind trainer, and put them on my road bike. My first ride with them was just how I wanted.

What had happened was the old cassette had a certain wear pattern from a certain brand of chain for nearly 8000 miles. When I used a different brand of chain, it didn't match the wearing in the cassette, much like would happen if you wore a friend's pair of shoes. They would fit, but they have conformed to your friend's feet. Be careful switching brands of chains and cassettes, especially when the cassette has been used a lot or they are made by different manufacturers.

Great info for a new racer.

Ryker77

Good info, thanks for the heads up!

The past couple of weeks I developed a creak while riding.

The first thing I did was to inspect the shoe cleat. It was worn to the point of breaking any moment. I'm glad replaced the cleat before an accident / injury occurred. The creaking stopped, and then came back a week later, so I inspected the pedal. Ah-Ha!!! there was a little play in the pedal spindle compared to the other one. I replaced the pedal. The reeking stopped, and then came back a week later. Maybe the bottom bracket bearings were worn. I changed the suspected one. The creaking stopped, and then came back a week later. About that time my bike was due for its 1000 mile drivetrain cleaning. The creaking went away, and then came back a week later. I noticed my crank spindle dust cap kept backing out. When I tightened the dust cap, the creaking went away. But why did the dust cap keep backing out? I used plenty of torque on the cap, I cleaned the threads of oil and grease, so the only thing left was the crank arm. I re-installed the crank arm and used a torque wrench just to be sure. So far, so good. No creaking, and the dust cap has not backed out; however, it has been 6 days since I "fixed" it.