Jimbo47

It's his money, his bike, so I think he can do with it as he wishes.
After reading all the replies, he probably wishes he had not even posted.

GlennR

I agree... no one will love it as much as you do.

I've been working on vintage VWs, as a hobby, for 40+ years. A god friend owns a shop and he must have over 40 vintage VW owners. The mechanics are great but they don't work on my VW... they can work on my daily drivers. Yes, i'm anal about details and since i'm not "on the clock", I take my time where they have to get them in, done and out.

In fact when it comes to building engines, he has me do it since he knows it's money well spend and he doesn't have to take his "A" mechanic off a job. He knows I treat each new engine as it was mine and the customers like it.

The LBS where I purchased my bike has a senior mechanic and a kid. The senior builds the carbon bike and the kid the cheaper ones. If a bike came in just for a cleaning, i'm not sure who'd you get. And basic cleaning and tune ups are flat rate so if they have 15 bikes to get done in a day, they're not spending 2 hours on each bike.

Also I really enjoy the process of cleaning. It give me a chance to make sure everything is in good working order. 6 years ago I was helping my son clean his TT bike after a race and noticed a fine line on the headtube. At first I thought it was a scratch in the pain but wound up being a crack in the carbon. We brought it to the LBS where the Cervelo rep confirmed it was a cracked and ordered a warranty replacement. Not sure a kid would of found it.

If you don't know now to correctly clean a bike, find a local club and ask for help. Many shops offer basic repair classes for free, like how to change a tube or how to clean the chain.

Even a inexpensive bike is an investment and keeping it clean will make it lost longer and cost less for repairs.

spinnaker

If I had an $8K bike I probably wouldn't touch it. I will trust the professionals. I would be afraid to ride it let alone work on it.


Do you also perform your own surgery and /or refuse anesthetic to make sure the surgeon does not make mistakes? If you can't trust a reliable trained mechanic then you have problems. I don't know of your expertise but most people aren't going to know what the proper procedure is for repairing and/or maintaining their bicycles. If you can't trust a professional from a reliable shop then you have problems.

So go ahead consider this a personal insult (which it is not just like the post above) and block me too.

wphamilton

I have switched surgeons when one was making a mistake, I do want to know what the anesthetic is, and I refuse pain medications after the surgery. That doesn't have much to do with bikes though IMO.

I see no reason to block you.

spinnaker

It has a lot to do with it. It is about trusting professionals to do competent job.

While maintaining my bike, it is highly unlikely that I will do something to it that can't be fixed. If it does happen then I am only out $1k minus any salvageable parts. Have a total screw up on an $8K bike and I am out $8K. If the shop messes it up then the are the ones that are out $8K. If it is a low risk maintenance item like cleaning or cable change I would risk doing it myself. Anything else I'll take it to the shop. If I have $8K for a bike then I should have the money fore shop maintenance. Then again I don't have $8K for a bike so I will likely never need to make that decsion.

indyfabz

Many $8K bikes cost that much not due to the components and other parts that require maintenance/replacement, but rather the frame. I know people who have bikes that are less expensive than mine and that have things like better/lighter wheel sets and Di2 (I have DA 9000). What they don't have are custom, hand built, ceramic glazed titanium frames.

Kapusta

Witterings

If it's an $8k bike pr a $100 bike you don't want 1c's worth of damage to it and through all walks of industry / life I've had good decorators, bad decorators ... now repeat that through car mechanics, gardeners, people that both I've worked with as colleagues and people that have worked for me and also one surgeon having to clear up the complete F*&-k up another surgeon made of one of my knees .... there's good and bad in EVERY industry and the problem is you often don't find out who that bad one's are until it's too late.

I've also seen bike shops charging ridiculous money for repairs and with young kids working there some of them don't give a monkey's about your pride and joy so I totally get where the OP was coming from.

Sad world or maybe I'm just old ... but not THAT old

GlennR

The skill needed to maintain a carbon bike is nothing compared to a medical professional.

You're being dramatic and ridiculous.

It's a freaking bicycle, not a human body.

Fastfingaz

Oh Doctor Morbius you're a mean one,,,,,

spinnaker

No you are just reading out of context.

glenncz

I wouldn't be envious of an 8K bike, I'm certainly not, and i could easily afford it if I thought it would make much of a difference. I have a $1200 bike and it does the same thing as a 8K bike, it's just a little heavier. Great, i get a better workout for the time spent! Push on the peddles, change the gearing, work the brakes, and get a bit of a sore arse on a long ride. It's the same for all of us. It's more of a matter of how often do you get out and take the time to put the miles in! I put my 40 in today so i can say so.

But to answer the OP question. I'm not too handy and I do my biking in peer isolation, so I'm no expert, but it's something you should know how to do, no matter many shares of AMZN you own! Get some VM&P Naphtha, (recommended to me by bike mechanic), some Finish Line Gear Floss and some smooth rags(or old tee shirts) from the auto store. I don't think you really need to do a fancy chain cleaning (at least not too often). You can run the chain through the rag with Naphtha and that'll clean it 85%. The gear floss is real good at cleaning hard to get to spots. Also, the Naphtha is great for cleaning your hands afterward (or if you come home after fixing a flat, etc). Take computer off and turn it upside down, you don't need a stand, although that would be handy.

It feels good to ride a fairly clean bike and I guess it helps to some extent in parts from wearing out. Same sort of thing as having a 50K car and having french fries between the seats and filthy floor mats. Not a good way to live, the effort is worth it. But there is no reason to be overly meticulous about it IMHO. I wouldn't take too much apart though or fool with adjusting the gears or brakes, but anyone can clean a bike and feel good about it later. Cleaning my bike is not a pain, it's a celebration of what I do as a biker and taking basic care of my equipment.

Nachoman

True. Unless it's a titanium frame.

Kapusta

Kapusta