john423

I've been commuting for about a year now, ride about 10 miles a day total, with some recreational/grocery trip riding on the weekends.

In November, I got a 2009 Schwinn Sierra GS for about $330 off the local Schwinn dealer.

I just seem to have hit a wall with it - it seems to hate being in 18th gear, gear shifts seem too clunky, and I keep having problems with the back tire not being trued and rubbing against the back brakes. Just noticed tonight it's doing it this time because a spoke's popped out of place. I don't think I can fix that, so it's off to the Schwinn store for repair, again.

I also cannot seem to get the hang of downshifting where I need to be to get started properly again after a full stop, something I sometimes have to do without much warning as part of my commutes. I've been working on my "technique," but I still find myself in too high of a gear to get going after a stop sometimes. I'm scared I've already worn out my chain/gearing system.

That's why I've been really interested in getting a bike with internal gearing.

So now my Schwinn needs still more repair, and I feel like I'm throwing money away trying to keep it running correctly, money that I could be spending on a better bike with internal gearing like, say, the Torker Graduate.

But I'm not rich by any means. I'd rather not spend $500 on a new bike. I will if I think it's a better idea than keeping the bike I've got.

So am I throwing away money on my poor abused Schwinn and would be better off getting something like the Graduate, or is my lust for a new bike nothing but "gear lust" and best forgotten about?

Thanks for the help. I've got a lot to learn about all things bike, especially maintenance (like spokes, chains and gearing systems).

itsthewoo

If you haven't done any maintenance since you've gotten it, it's likely that you have the following problems:

Your chain may be worn due to not having been cleaned and lubed.

Your derailleur is probably no longer indexed properly, leading to poor shifting and "hating" a certain gear.

Your wheels have gone out of true.

As for downshifting, you should downshift while you slow down. If you absolutely cannot get started again on the gear you're in, lift the back wheel up and downshift while pedaling.

I'd definitely recommend that you learn basic maintenance things for your bike. If you absolutely do not wish to do so, then an internally geared hub bike may be a good alternative for you.

cradduck

Nevermind what I was going to say...itsthewoo said it better.

...but welcome to Bike Forums!

john423

I've cleaned and lubed the chain recently, but I don't really have anyone around to say whether I did a good job or not - I was gonna put some more lube on this weekend, 'cause I'm a bit scared I skimped on it.

I'll have them look into the indexing thing, thanks.

Why does the back wheel keep going out of true? This time, at least I know it's the popped-off spoke. Is it just a bad wheel, and if so, how much would a new wheel cost? That's just more money down the hole, maybe.

I do downshift when slowing down, provided I think of it - it hasn't became a 100 percent automatic process for me yet, maybe 70 percent. It's really in the front of my mind when I ride, though. Sometimes I have to stop on a dime without a chance to slow down/gear down. Great tip on getting restarted, I hadn't thought of that.

I do want to learn basic maintenance. Like I said about cleaning/lubing my chain, I can follow directions from the Internet, but I'd love to have a teacher "check my work." How do you know you're doing whatever correctly? I talked to the bike repair guy at the store I bought my bike from about teaching me how to do basic maintenance stuff - offered to pay him tuition and everything if he'd set up something "formal," but he's pretty busy actually working on folks' bikes. I'll have to bug him about it again soon, or find someone else to help out, shouldn't be hard.

itsthewoo

Look up local bike co-ops and clubs in your area. As for the chain, you're more likely to use too much lube than too little. Also, lubing up a worn chain isn't going to help much; you need to get a new one (if it's worn).

thompsonpost

Chain AND cassette.

CCrew

7 speed. Probably freewheel.

thompsonpost

Yeah, that.

Sundance89

+1 on Bike Coops. I am a big advocate for them and the great community service they provide to cyclist. Check around the campus of your nearest college town - there's almost always one there. Then, just take your bike there and one of the volunteers will walk you through whatever repair you need free of charge. They are a non profit set up and really just want to empower cyclist to learn basic bike mechanics and get their bikes back on the road.

The natural progression is usually to give back a little of your time. It's not required, but it's in the spirit of the thing. Actually, you can take courses and when you become experienced enough, you can volunteer a couple hours helping teach others how to fix their bikes.

Goodness comes 'round and goodness goes 'round.

john423

So I take it to the shop and the guy there tries to sell me on a new wheel, which will take a new cassette, which will take a new etc., etc., until it would've cost $211 to upgrade. Meanwhile, I broke my plastic rear fender trying to get the tires off to get the bike to the shop (d'oh!), so that's a new fender.

The whole debacle with the fender also convinced me that I need a car rack for my bike - I have no luck mechanically with anything, I'm just inviting trouble disassembling this and that to tote the bike to the shop (like breaking a fender).

I think I'll stick with what I have, try to keep learning about riding/maintenance, and take the hits on hauling the bike to the shop occasionally for stuff that's over my head. I still wanna learn the basics of truing my rear tire, but the more I dug around about my spoke problem, I found the spoke was broken and needed to be replaced, and that's out of my learning curve at this point.

There are no co-ops in my town, but there are bike clubs. The big one in town's a road biking club, and I'm scared they're gonna sneer at my commuter bike/sneer at the fact that I didn't pay $4,000 for a bike. But I'm sure they're friendly people, and would be glad to help.

ItsJustMe

I agree, just tune it up.

I'm riding with a very similar hybrid, a Giant Cypress DX that I've been riding for about 6 years now. I have > 22,000 miles on it and it still runs fine. The front wheel has been replaced since I switched to discs, the rear got rebuilt by me in the first year because I was breaking spokes frequently, then I bought a new rear assembled wheel when I broke the rear axle. The crank has been replaced once, and the cables once, and the rear derailler and of course the tires and brakes several times. The original wheel had 2 new freewheels on it over the years, and the current one needs a new cassette next time I change the chain. And I've been through about 10 chains.

Moral of the story, you can't buy ANY bike and just ride it forever and expect it to keep working. Even a $4000 bike needs maintenance. Even an internally geared hub needs maintenance.

If you're looking for maintenance-free transportation, you're going to have to walk. But then you'll be replacing sneakers, etc...

csimons

Or, rather spending $50-100 for a tune up, you could shell out a mere $15-25 for a good bicycle maintenance book, such as [1] or [2] or [3]. If you're less patient, a local REI carries [1] and [2]. This way you'll actually learn how to properly maintain and work on the bike yourself, which makes the whole thing much more enjoyable as you can tweak things any time, and after every ride if needed. Plus this saves tons of money; you'll be able to do 95% of repairs yourself and will only need to shell out money again if there is a very serious/difficult repair needing professional service and/or expensive tools.

[1] Zinn and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 3rd Ed.
https://www.amazon.com/Zinn-Art-Road-...1380953&sr=8-1

[2] Park Tools Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, 2nd Ed.
https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-BBB-...ref=pd_sim_b_2

[3] The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance and Repair
https://www.amazon.com/Bicycling-Comp...d_bxgy_b_img_b

john423

Remember, I'm the guy who broke a fender trying to take a wheel off. I'm klutzy and not mechanically inclined at all. I DO want to get better at working on the bike, and I was pleasantly surprised to find I seem to have managed to clean and lube the chain correctly, at least according to the owner of the bike shop. I am going to figure out how to handle minor truing adjustments, darn it, I'm going to need to.

I still feel like I'd do better with a teacher than trying to learn something by reading a book - I wouldn't even mind reading the book if I had a teacher to "check my work." It's a work in progress, as is everything in life. Something I think will prove to be quite helpful is the sheer amount of bike repair videos on YouTube. I will look into a bicycle repair book more, but I'm petrified it'll be written in a foreign language for someone like me who isn't mechanically inclined at all.

csimons

The Zinn book is geared toward the absolute beginner. I've read much of it and of the Park Tools book. The Park Tools book has more pictures, though, which can be helpful. I haven't read the 'Bicycling Guide' book, but I have heard good things. I think I'd recommend Zinn's book as the most accessible and user/reader-friendly book of the three.

Additionally, most bicycle maintenance really isn't very difficult. A bicycle as a whole seems complex at first, but really there are just a handful of systems that themselves are individually pretty simple. I'd encourage you to jump right in! I think it will be much easier than you anticipate.

Leebo

My local REI has basic bike fix it classes. Try an adult education/community class. Are there any bike or commuting groups in your area?

truman

Also, instead of buying everything new, develop relationships with cyclists in the area and buy good quality used stuff with lots of mile left in it for a small fraction of new.

And don't sweat working on it yourself. You'll strip bolts from time to time, you'll ham-fist something and snap it off, you'll forget to snug the brake cable and and have to stop by dragging your feet. We ALL did that. But lord's sake, John, "I'm klutzy - I have no luck with anything mechanical..." I say to you: Reach down, nut up and grab a damn wrench already. Not trying is a much worse failure than breaking something or snapping a cheapo plastic fender that was never expected to be removed (most bikes in America go 5-10 miles and rot in a garage for the rest of their time).

Oh, and check the library for bike books before you go shelling out money for the same title.

csimons

Leebo's suggestion, a local REI class, is another fantastic option. They've got free beginner bike maintenance classes, available to the public. They're intended for absolute beginners, and there's nothing to lose!

They have a location in Brentwood, TN (not sure how close that is, but may be worth a short drive if you've got nothing better to do). It looks like they've got a free bike maintenance class going on this evening at 7:00 PM, although it seems to be full. They've probably got another one coming up within the next month, though. I'd keep checking.

Brentwood REI Events:
https://www.rei.com/stores/64

ItsJustMe

+1 - I bought one of these when they were on sale at AEBike and it's a great book. It should be about the only book you need. Pretty much everything you might need to do to a bike is clearly explained and there are plenty of detailed, clear photographs.

pomor

Fantastic thread, guys. Good advice all around. I have been really busy to write here much but I do follow only the Commuting forum via an RSS feed, so all new threads here come up in my Google Reader daily. I benefit a lot just by skimming what sound like the most intelligent and thought-out discussions, and this happened to be one of them. Hence, I felt obliged to respond.

john423

Brentwood's about a five-hour drive for me, so ... I'm gonna post something here soon on the message board of the local road club to ask for help - there's a guy at work who is a road racing veteran, but he's been really sick lately, unfortunately, and in no condition to be bugged. I'd bet someone there would be happy to help give me some lessons.

I took the plunge and ordered the Zinn book from Amazon. It seems like every piece of feedback, good and bad, talked about how the book was geared for the beginner, and I figured "that's me!" I checked out the bike maintenance thread, too, and my expectations seem to be in line with what other people are doing for maintenance in that thread. I basically just wanna keep everything cleaned/lubed and keep the wheels reasonably trued, then move on from there. I may "graduate" to the Park Tools book at some point, but I wanted a good starting point.

Speaking of truing, another question or two, if you don't mind:

I've recently put some weight back on - when I first got the bike, I was hovering around the 220 range, now I'm at the 245 range - my weight shouldn't be giving me the problems I'm having with my back tire, should it? There's heavier people than me riding bikes. I need to drop some of the weight because I can feel a difference in my riding, but that shouldn't be causing me too many bike issues, should it?

And do any of you just have one bike for both your commuting and whatever "recreational riding" you want to do? I like getting out sometimes on the weekend and riding an hour or two on the bike - I'm not doing 100-mile tours or anything like that, but it is more mileage. I'll go somewhere fairly far away just to see if I can bike there. I'm wondering if I should get a good used road bike for those kind of rides, but I really like being able to bike with my back straight on my Schwinn - that "hunched over" feeling that comes with other bikes is no fun at all.