chephy

I am an awful bike mechanic: have lousy spatial thinking and am extremely clumsy. Yet despite this (and maybe partly because of it) I get a tremendous kick of working on my bikes and mastering any sort of mechanical skill. Gives me a hell of a sense of an accomplishment.

It seems just so recently I learned how to fix a flat... Then to get the chain on and off... Next came simple cable and brake adjustments, after that derailleur adjustments... Then I got a used bike with no cables or housing and actually routed all those things myself... And now this: my first overhauled hub. Actually, I am still in process of overhauling it (haven't reinstalled the innards yet - in fact, haven't gotten the new bearings yet), but the scariest part (actually taking it all apart) is over! Yee-ha!

I wonder if anybody else has similar feelings about bike mechanical work.

silversmith

Yes. I used to worry how much it would cost to fix.Then I started doing the little things. Now, i do it all.

It sounds like you're well on your way to mechanical independence!

chephy

I've had a couple of bad experiences with bike shop repair work a while back. That helped me decide to try to do things myself. Not to mention the fact that I can't justify paying more money for a tune-up of my beater than I paid for the bike itself.

I haven't been to a bike shop for repairs for over a year. Partly that's because I, fortunately, haven't had any serious bike troubles. We'll see how it goes.

geo8rge

Congradulations, now buy Phil Wood hubs so you won't have to overhaul them.

chephy

But overhauls are fun!

Gurgus

I just did my first hub overhaul a couple nights ago. Something I learned from the experience: If your garage has a gravel floor, do the hub overhaul somewheres else. Gravel eats bearings for breakfast.

geo8rge

Overhaul #1 is fun, overhaul #279 is not fun. That's why people pay other people to do it (or pay extra for sealed bearings hubs).

chephy

Agreed. Around overhaul #279 I might get tired of it. But I probably won't live that long given how rarely I do maintenance work on my bikes.