Achy-breaky bike
 

Ladies and gentlemen,

For your entertainment below, here is a list of things I have broken/replaced on my bike in the last two weeks:

1 seat post

1 rear cassette (it was stuffed anyway)

1 set of front chainrings (see above)

1 spoke (which I whinged about previously)

2 chains (the first one I replaced when replacing the cassette and chainrings, the second one I broke this morning accelerating away from a set of lights)

:cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry: :cry:

Chris

And you can still maintain with a straight face that you ENJOY CYCLING?! :confused:

Gosh, your bike sounds like mine about a month ago. I was in and out of the shop so many times that the mechanics were practially laughing at me. Anytime they'd see me, it was like "what did you break now?" In two weeks I had to replace the following-

1. The chain. It broke smack in the middle of an intersection about 2 miles from home.

2. Of course, it took the deraileur with it.

3. While at the shop, the mechanic decided he should just replace the grip shifter while he was at it. It had cracked somehow. Luckily he had a spare one of the right kind floating around and he gave it to me for free.

4. Then, a week later, I noticed that the side wall of the front tire was frayed. It was original to the four year old bike, so it was about time anyway.

5. At the same time, i noticed that one of the spokes on the back was broken. I took it in to the shop to have a new spoke woven in. When they started doing this, all the other spokes started snapping, so I had to buy a whole new back wheel. And a new cassette too. The old one was kind of worn I guess.

6. And, last but not least, they noticed as they were mounting my tire onto the new wheel that there was a cut in it. I guess it must have started small, but it was getting bigger. So, new back tire. At least I have all new tires now.

7. And then a few days later, I had brake problems. New back shoes, new front cable and adjustments all around.

But, nothing else has broken for a couple of weeks, so far, so good. I figure with a lot of this stuff, it was about time. It was original on the bike and I didn't really start taking care of the bike until this year.

I should go now though. I have to leave to get to my bike repair class on time...

Chris man,

All this is nothing compared to a new set of car tires (four, all around.)

A new transmission for my car could buy me a great new bike.

Get the picture?

:D

I think I'm just destined to be broke for ever. It's hard for university students in Australia to ever save money anyway, but I was getting on top of everything (or so I thought), then this happened :cry:

However, I will be back!

Incidentally, the latest chain replacement was done at zero cost by my LBS. And they said they'd never seen one break like that before, not even in the years of racing that the owner of it has done. Scary :eek:

Chris

Chris L and HillaryRose, I can relate. On my one and only bike that I currently have (The old one was stolen...Grrrr :irritated ) I after 2 months busted the shifter. Fortunately my LBS upgraded and replaced them for free, and I like the new ones much better (Shimano Dual SIS). And of course the ill fated flat tire. But you have indeed had a bad roll lately. :(

Perhaps we should have some cheese with our whine! ;)

But it sure is good to be back on the road again!!! :D

My two biggest fears on my bike are:

1. A puncture during a fast decent

2. A broken chain during a steep uphill grind while out of the saddle. No need to go to Sweden for the Change, mine could be provided rather cheaply by my Cannondale.

Thanks you guys for adding to my fears.........

Chris L, I guess it's not just hills and wind that build character!

But then, who wants to be a character?:D

Honestly, this is proof that they don't make 'em like they used to. I work on lots of older bikes that have seen tens of thousands of miles and most of them have original components.

If your bike is going through this much maintanance, I would be complaining about the quality - unless you are using your bike to jump off your garage roof or something.

And what's with losing some spokes and needing to replace the whole wheel and cassette? Maybe the rim had a flat spot, but the hub was no good either? Is your bike mechanic legit?

I think it's a case of that my mechanic could, if he wanted to spend the time, build me a new wheel using the old rim and hub. But I'm sure, as with many things, it makes them more money and is easier for them to just sell me a new wheel. Kind of like why shops don't patch tubes- they don't make money on it. They make money selling new tubes. I've started taking a bike repair class on Thurs. and Sat. Today we'll be building wheels and then trueing them. So after today I'll have no excuse to take a wheel in to the shop to be fixed. Before I had the excuse of ignorance.

I'd say that I'm not entirely satisfied with the quality of my trek, but I do ride it a lot. Plus, it was involved in two crack ups last year (a minor altercation with a car and then a woman ran into my parked bike with her bike) I think one of those was when the grip shifter cracked and I just never noticed. The chain is probably my fault because I never checked the wear on it ever, if I'd replaced it when it was time, it wouldn't have pretzled my deraileur. The brake shoes and adjustments, that's just honest wear and tear, same with the front tire. The back tire was bad luck- a piece of glass making a hole that got bigger.

Hillary, I would experiment with a couple other bike mechanics.

Maybe your present wrench is on the up-and-up, but hmmm... Wouldn't hurt to see what else is around.

Get the book "Anybody's Bike Book". Get the new version from 1998(?) See my thread on book recommendations in the bike mechanics forum here on bikeforums.com for details.

With that book and a fist full of tools, you can fix almost anything on your bike or at least you will know if you are being fleeced.

Well spankys, it's happened again. I've broken something else, this time it was my own stupid fault.

This morning I got the train to Brisbane with the intention of riding Mt Mee, then going on to the Sunshine Coast before getting another train home. Trouble is that I didn't take enough care when I put my bike on the first train (hey, I've done this HEAPS of times before) and it fell over.

When I got off in Brisbane I realised I had buckled the front wheel. I am clearly not smart enough to deserve to be a cyclist. I think I'll take up Farnarkling!

Chris

The second is definitely a good thing to fear. I remember the only time it happend to me. I sort of flew in slow-motion, realizing while in the air: ”This is going to hurt.” And it did.

To comment on HillaryRose's rear wheel experience. I can honestly understand the mechanic's suggestion to "just buy a new one", not because of more money for the shop, but less money spent for the customer. I work part-time as a mechanic and this situation occurs all too often! It's really an economical advantage to buy complete vs. building up! The same situation occurs when building new bike vs buying complete! Here's why:

Let's assume you are replacing a 26" wheel:

1 new rim decent brand (Mavic) - $50-65.
New spokes and nipples (Wheelsmith 15-14 dbl butted - brass nipples) - $22.00 +/-
New rim strip (Velox - Cloth) $4.00
Labor to lace and true wheel @ $20-25 (I've seen some shops charge as much as $40 per wheel!)

Total for new rim, new spokes laced to an old (probably worn out hub) $96.-116.0 plus tax of course!

Cost of brand new wheel (Mavic rim w/Deore or better hub) $69-89.00 plus tax!

What would you rather do? In defense of your mechanic, he was trying to save you money and have you get the most for your money. In actuality, the shop would make MORE money by relacing a new rim to your old hub! So give the guy a break! He's probably watching out for you, especially as often as you had to go see him! If he's anything like I (and my manager) are, they really feel bad for you and want to help you out as much as possible.

Good luck ChrisL and HillaryRose and others!

p.s. The people who work in (or own) shops do it b/c they love bikes and bike people, not for the $$$$$. If they were in this life for the money they wouldn't be in THIS industry. At least not as a "Mom&Pop" type operation! Even the large chains i.e. Supergo, Performance...etc. are operating on very low margins with a huge inventory demand and high overhead! It's amazing to me sometimes why more shops aren't out of business. ESPECIALLY THESE DAYS!

I agree i've seen wheels with good hubs (deore) for $50. It only makes sense to rebuild if your doing it yourself and reusing rim and hub.

Uh, ya.

"Say, Mr. Clark, we noticed while repairing your transmission that
you have a cracked cylinder head. We happened to have a spare one of the exact same specifications on hand, so we replaced it--no charge."

:beer:

When I bought my bike the guy at the shop where I bought it from told me that there are more expensive sports out there, but I have come to realize that he was full of ****. (I know I know there probly are more expensive sports out there it just doesn't seem like it when you are a broke high school kid).

The worst thing that has happened to me is that one time I'm not quite sure how, but a link in the chain caught the edge of the front derailler as I was accelerating through an intersection. Needless to say it riped it clear off. The first thing the guy at the bike store said when he saw it was "ohh f***", but because the bike was only three days old they replaced it for free.

-Matt-

Oh, man, there CERTAINLY ARE more expensive sports than bicycling. Try skiing or ice-hockey or golf or boating or almost anything else. You will kiss your bicycle and feel guilty for not spending more on it.

One redeeming aspect of bicycling is that it can actually do something functional that can offset the cost of the sport. The bicycle can provide economical transportation. What other sport can do that? Sailing? Sure, at about $10.00 per mile (amortized over a year's boating costs) or ice skating? Sure, if you are Hans Christian Anderson ice skating in Holland from city to city.

Learn how to maintain and repair your own bike. Take care of your machine, and it will be the one sport that carries it's own weight in terms of cost.

Cycling is an expensive sport ONLY if you want it to be. True to my Scottish heritage, I buy high-quality used bikes and components, do almost all of my own work, and do an adequate amount of preventive maintenance.

I will choose an old SunTour thumb shifter over a flimsy GripShift unit any day, as I will take old Campy downtube friction shifters (40 years and counting, folks!) over a modern integrated index system. Old Campy NR derailleurs, and even old SunTour Cyclones, seem to outlast alot of the new stuff, as well.

For safety, I never skimp on chains. I buy SRAM PC-58s and replace them when they hit Sheldon's 0.5% elongation spec. Likewise, if a tyre casing looks suspicious, it gets replaced. If it looks marginally questionable, it goes on the back wheel.

I have to purchase the list above after my tour, + new derailleur cogs and invest in some new wheels!
I can feel your pain Chris :cry:

Like everyone else that has posted I've broken pretty much the same stuff.

However, I've got stuff brokened with no effort on my part....out in the Sierras after a long day and a pretty good meal, but before calling it quits for the night did the bear bag thing by treeing up everything smellable. In the morning found that the bears had eaten the gel seat and the helmet....not a way to start the day's ride.......

I used to race automobiles. Compared to that, bikes are cheap!!!!!!!!!!

I should point out that since I had all those problems, my bike has been behaving itself. I haven't even had a flat tyre now in around 5,000 km. Why do I get the feeling I shouldn't have said that. :eek:

My brother, Tim Clark, was backpacking, doing the same bear-avoidance thing with his gear.

Somehow, the bear bit into a can of Solarcaine (you know, that aerosol sunburn medicine that contains a numbing agent.) It wasn't the first thing he bit into, but it was the last.

:(

I must have ESP or something. I broke a cable today :cry: