Bikeforums.net is a forum about nothing but bikes. Our community can help you find information about hard-to-find and localized information like bicycle tours, specialties like where in your area to have your recumbent bike serviced, or what are the best bicycle tires and seats for the activities you use your bike for.RainmanP
07-18-01, 07:46 AM
Lately, I have been posting about maintenance procedures I have been performing on my bikes. I thought I should explain that my purpose in detailing my progress is to show that ANYONE can do this stuff if I can. I have been amazed at how easy everything really is.
When you read the instructions on how to do something, it can sound intimidating. When it gets right down to it, though, the major maintenance operations you can perform on a bike - hubs, bottom bracket, headset - all work pretty much the same. Each consists of an axle (the steerer tube on the fork), two sets of bearings, and two sets of cups and cones that the bearings ride in, an adjustable cup or cone, and a lock nut to hold the adjustable in place. You take them apart by loosening the lock nut. Clean everything. Grease it up. Put it back together. Tighten the adjustable cup/cone lightly by hand, back off a little so the axle turns freely but there is no play or slack. Tighten the locknut and adjustable against each other to hold the adjustment.
The only difference between the jobs is that each pretty much requres a special wrench or tool - thin cone wrenches for the hubs, thin headset wrench for the headset, crank puller and bottom bracket lock ring spanner for the bb. The tools are not that expensive $5-$10 for most. You also need basic things that you probably already have like metric combination wrenches and hex wrenches. Other than these basic tools you probably already have, the special tools you need probably cost less than $50 total, Probably less than the cost of one overhaul. Park, for instance offers a home version and heavier shop version of many of its wrenches. As an occasional mechanic the home versions are quite adequate and quite a bit less expensive.
So get a good book and go for it. I have several, but if I could only have one, I think the Bicycling Magazine book on bike repair and maintenance is the one that works for me most of the time. I suggest starting with the hubs. The tools are cheap and the parts are easy to fool with.
To Buddy Hayden and the other pro wrenches, I am not trying to take away your business, but those of us with multiple bikes to maintain need to be able to do some of this stuff ourselves. There aren't enough of us to make a dent in the overall repair business. You know, bike shops should have signs with recommended maintenance periods like I have seen in auto dealerships. Most people don't realize the stuff they should be having done to their bikes. Could be a good marketing tool. The sign could say "Every year you should..." and list the procedures with standard prices. I have not seen such a thing in any of the shops I go to.
So get out and ride, then wrench!
Regards,
Rainman
When you read the instructions on how to do something, it can sound intimidating. When it gets right down to it, though, the major maintenance operations you can perform on a bike - hubs, bottom bracket, headset - all work pretty much the same. Each consists of an axle (the steerer tube on the fork), two sets of bearings, and two sets of cups and cones that the bearings ride in, an adjustable cup or cone, and a lock nut to hold the adjustable in place. You take them apart by loosening the lock nut. Clean everything. Grease it up. Put it back together. Tighten the adjustable cup/cone lightly by hand, back off a little so the axle turns freely but there is no play or slack. Tighten the locknut and adjustable against each other to hold the adjustment.
The only difference between the jobs is that each pretty much requres a special wrench or tool - thin cone wrenches for the hubs, thin headset wrench for the headset, crank puller and bottom bracket lock ring spanner for the bb. The tools are not that expensive $5-$10 for most. You also need basic things that you probably already have like metric combination wrenches and hex wrenches. Other than these basic tools you probably already have, the special tools you need probably cost less than $50 total, Probably less than the cost of one overhaul. Park, for instance offers a home version and heavier shop version of many of its wrenches. As an occasional mechanic the home versions are quite adequate and quite a bit less expensive.
So get a good book and go for it. I have several, but if I could only have one, I think the Bicycling Magazine book on bike repair and maintenance is the one that works for me most of the time. I suggest starting with the hubs. The tools are cheap and the parts are easy to fool with.
To Buddy Hayden and the other pro wrenches, I am not trying to take away your business, but those of us with multiple bikes to maintain need to be able to do some of this stuff ourselves. There aren't enough of us to make a dent in the overall repair business. You know, bike shops should have signs with recommended maintenance periods like I have seen in auto dealerships. Most people don't realize the stuff they should be having done to their bikes. Could be a good marketing tool. The sign could say "Every year you should..." and list the procedures with standard prices. I have not seen such a thing in any of the shops I go to.
So get out and ride, then wrench!
Regards,
Rainman