Originally Posted by
AngryScientist
anyone who rides a bike more than .25 miles from home on 23c tires without knowing how to, and carrying the proper equipment to change a flat is an idiot.
that has to be the bare minimum.
with the exception of bearing presses and facing equipment, i have found its always cheaper to buy the tools and do things myself than pay the lbs to do them.
bikes are so mechanically simple comparatively speaking, and the amount of information available for free (park tools site, sheldon brown, google) is amazing. most people should be able to do most maintenance themselves.
I can't explain, maybe it is fear of the unknown. I have no problem working on critical parts in my car like brakes, suspension, cooling systems, etc. Yet I am dreading what is involved with changing the crank.
Perhaps it is because that although a bike is a simple mechanical device, it requires a lot of fine tuning to get it right, specially for inexperience mechanics.