Bike Forums - Why do bikes need so much tweaking?

Quote:

Originally Posted by scorpio516 (Post 7325601)

Lots of you are missing some basic point in the differences ;)

Lets say your chain, BB, crank, RD, FD, and cassette were all self lubricated AND enclosed within a aluminum casing.
Now lets say your wheels (hubs & axles) were sealed from the elements and lubricated.
Then lets say instead of mounting to a dropout/hanger, your RD is a very robust thing that never moves - only the internal parts move. And the internal parts move in a very different way than a RD.

Now how much less maintenance would you need to do...
That's why a car can go 3-10,000 miles between any maintenance - its systems are protected from the outside world and always lubricated properly. The design on the transmission is very different than a bike's transmission.

I tend to agree. My commuter was made with sealed Phil Wood hubs and BB, and the maintenance over the last 20 years has consisted of changing chains, adding lubrication and replacing the RD when it failed, and replacing the freewheel as it wore. And lots and lots of tires. I'm still using the same Campy FD but the Campy Chainrings do need replacement now. Believe it or not I have not changed the cables or the heavy duty KoolStop brake pads in all that time. (the pads are well worn and due for change). I did replace the rear wheel about 4 years ago as the rim slowly failed from cracks around the spokes.

The BB failed back about 7 years ago when the spindle split in half from corrosion... not bad considering that I rode though several flooded roads back in the 80s.

I am about to tear the whole thing down and have all the bearings replaced and powdercoat the frame. (if the internal rust isn't too bad)

Well over 20 years with minor repairs for a daily rider ain't bad. I've toured with that bike, and rode it nearly daily on and off since about '84.

I didn't bother with daily "tweaking," I just rode the thing into the ground... and missed all the changing technology that came along since... what is this index shifting so many speak of? :D Brifters?? ;)

To add to that, I have a skinny tire bike that I use for fun rides... it does need a tweak every couple of hundred miles... usually minor stuff like derailuer adjustment or cable tightening... and of course weekly oil and cleaning. About once a year I do break that bike down and repack all the bearings... a vast difference from what I do to the commuter.