I am proud of myself (maintenance)
 

I can sometimes be a girly girl. But I have decided that I need to know how to do a few basic bike things.

I first changed my own tubes and tires. Then I got greasy with changing my chain. Tested them all out on a 50 miler today with success!
I decided to change my stem (awesome decision) and put the original saddle back on my bike (finally realized I need a harder saddle and the stock saddle works great).
I have been noticing my front brake is rubbing on one side so today I did a complete brake adjustment.

After I did all of this my husband told me that he could have helped me if I'd have asked. I told him I wasn't asking :)

I feel so proud. And youtube is awesome for information.

But now I notice my handlebar tape needs to be changed as it is coming loose. I do think I'll let the LBS do this one :thumb:

Do the tape! Taping is an art, you only get it right witb practice. Start now practicing now :)

congratulations! :thumb:

good choice on the LBS and bartape, BTW. amateurs, even experienced ones, rarely do it as well as it can be done.

Nice job! Tell your husband you want your own tool set in your favorite color for christmas :p

Awesome! Do the tape yourself! It is so cheap you can do it again in a few months if you don't like what you settle with after doing it the first time. You can practice by wrapping your old tape a couple of times so you get the hang of it, it'll be easy to tell how to space it with the dirt mark, then try it with your new tape. Like someone else mentioned, it is an art and won't be perfect your first time, but you can unwrap and redo it until you are happy. You get more than one chance. Plus, being a woman, you'll probably be better at it than most men. I know my wife is and she doesn't even ride!

Great job! That is great to hear. I grew up in a family garage and people would call and my mom would answer and ask to talk to the person (man) in charge. She would say you got them, they of course reply they want to talk to man in charge and she would hang up.

Do the bar tape yourself. It is tricky and it took me two beers and six tries to get my first side right. The second side went easy on the first try the next morning. I do not think that the shop that did it in the spring did a better job that I did. I started with a tape that I could unwrap without consequences. It just had a bit of gel adhesive. Two weeks and a few hundred km later it still looks good. Getting the stretch and curve right is the hardest part.

Best of luck and keep up the great work.

Do the tape! You will really feel awesome! Take your time and make lots of corrections as you go. Finish one side, take a long break, stare at it for another hour, and start the other side.

Told your husband you weren't asking, eh? This makes me laugh. Good for you. I sometimes tease my 24 year old daughter, "that's kinda girly...." but she has let her "little" brothers teach her now to change oil and do brake maint on her car.

Wrapping handlebar tap is just about the most satisfying bike maintenance job you can do. Buy some cheap tape from Performance or Nashbar (under $10) and practice to your heart's content. When you get it right, you can invest in pricey tape if you prefer it. And the "tube" also has great tutorials on tape wrapping. You just have to decide whether you will use the figure eight method over the levers or the simple one-pass method. Being an old timer I prefer the figure eight and choose a thinner tape to facilitate that. Up to you.

Nice going! Something I have done is make friends with the mechanics at the LBS. Whenever I take my bike in, they show me what they did to fix it. One of them even set aside time to show me how to repair a chain and a few other things just in case I needed to do them. That way I can take care of problems that pop up on the road. It is really satisfying to be the only woman on a group ride and the only one who can fix the men's bikes so they don't get stranded.
I admit, though, that I don't replace my own tape. I take it into the LBS, and because the mechanics like me, they don't charge me for labor.

Good for you, OP, everyone should know the basics of maintaining their bicycle. Our daughter has my old R500 C'Dale, she recently learned how to change out tires and tubes, patch punctured tubes and a few other things. I sent her a Park Tool, Big Blue Book, and a Zen and the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, so she has the procedures in front of her. There is a good Co-op near her place in Atlanta, and they have helped her through some things, also. As said, get your self some basic tools and dive in to the wrenching. Bar tape isn't tough at all, been doing that since the early 70's, You Tube has some good channels with this job shown in detail. Best of luck on your riding and your wrenching.

Bill

Good job. I just started wrapping my bars... and it's not as nice as the shop. It's actually pretty ugly where it is taped up.

Congrats on becoming more self sufficient. Changing tubes on a lonely road is not the time to learn the art. I observed such an event a few months back on the highway, poor guy was just staring at the tube and CO2 like it was a snake. Also, good luck on the bartape, I love the new bartape look, and it looks so much better when I am the one who does it.

Good for you Suzi. You will amaze all your friends, and husband, when you finally tune up yours and his bikes............................. and they shift and stop, as smooth as silk.

In 27 years of cycling I have never taken a bike to a shop to have work done. If I ever were to do so, bar tape would be the last reason.

good job!

Well ain't you somethin'.

Tape takes practice. I've done it at least a dozen times, but it's still hard to get it exactly as I like it. Recently, I had my bars wrapped by a pro, and he definitely did a better job than I can. I suggest starting with cheap tape and be prepared to throw it out and start over if you screw up. Use stretchy tape, as it is more forgiving than tape that doesn't stretch (e.g., Lizardskin).

... and start another "what is the best bar tape" thread, but with a twist: "what is the best bar tape that will impress my husband?"

BTW: I would go with Fizik, in a dark, probably black color so it doesn't show dirt as much. We have used both Fizik and Lizard Skins, but the LS is a bit finicky and cost's way more than it's worth. There, I did it.

:innocent:

addendum: blast it! jgrosser beat me to the punch by 6 minutes.

awesome Falcon
taping is not too difficult and hard to really mess up, you can do it
send a photo when done

This thread is not as much fun without pictures

you are the man...

Go Pro video would be even better.

Yes I am. Don't be jealous, stud.

Only one side of my bar tape was coming undone. So I did unwrap it a bit and redo that area as the bar tape itself is still pretty new (I just bought the bike in early September but have put 1000 miles on it). After just doing that little part when it is time to do the whole thing I am sure I will first try on my own.

Thanks for the encouragement everyone! I figure as much as I am riding I should know how to do the basics as I will be doing them fairly often :)

What problems are peeps having with bar tape? Is it the tension on the tape, spacing, good cover under the lever, OC or what?