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What frustrates you the most when it comes to maintaining your bike?

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What frustrates you the most when it comes to maintaining your bike?

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Old 08-28-22, 07:10 AM
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When something which should take only a short time cascades into more and more because I messed something up.

For instance, last night I figured I'd recable the bike because it's time, I had a hour to spare, and I wanted to lengthen the cable housing for the rear shifter a bit because it was a hair short, impeding how far you can turn the bars just a bit more than I'd like. Anyway, I can't push the cable in the cable liner, figure it's because it's old, I've got spare liners so why not put a fresh one, shouldn't take more than five, ten minutes extra. Optimism. Right. So, getting the cable through I use a strong magnet to locate the cable... but it falls into the frame (clumsy, I know) and gets stuck who knows where. Merde.

It ended with me punching out the bottom bracket (figured since I've had a BBinfinite unit sitting on a shelf for a year plus, might as well change the Praxis unit which was holding out surprisingly well, but apparently the BB hole on my bike, while generally well made without any faults I can spot, is just a hair on the tight side, which makes the job a chore*; fortunately I won't have to deal with this again because with the BBinfinite you just punch out and press in new bearings when the old ones die).

Basically, when things turn out to be more complicated / take longer than I expected. On the other hand, changed tires a few days ago, was over in 10 minutes, yay for modern tubeless standards!


*Don't buy the cheapest bearing press. Mine isn't long enough so I had to improvise with a hammer.
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Old 08-28-22, 07:28 AM
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Keeping things clean.
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Old 08-28-22, 08:21 AM
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Originally Posted by Ironfish653
Frames that are so tight on brake clearance that you can't remove or install a wheel without letting the air out of the tires.

Also, pad adjustments on old post-mount canti brakes. Usually found on bikes with the above clearance issues, smh.
It's not the frame necessarily. Just get wider-rimmed wheels so that wheel and inflated tire are about the same width.
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Old 08-28-22, 10:23 AM
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Originally Posted by Sy Reene
It's not the frame necessarily. Just get wider-rimmed wheels so that wheel and inflated tire are about the same width.
Please, point me to some 2.1” rims and tell me how that’s going to fix it?


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Old 08-28-22, 10:29 AM
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Trying to get the tension set just right on my front derailleur.
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Old 08-28-22, 10:45 AM
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Originally Posted by sean.hwy
hate/love relationship with tubeless tires.

love:
when you get a tiny hole and you see it self seal.

hate:
maintaining 10+ tubeless tires/wheels. it's pain constantly checking sealant level
when the sealant does not work, having to remove the tire on the side of the road and clean all that sealant out before installing a tube
swapping tubeless tires for another tire at home. it's such a pain to try and remove all the sealant off the rim and tire, insert new tubeless tire and save the semi cleaned used tubeless tire
What's wrong with installing a dart & having a little 2oz bottle of sealant in your fix-it kit?

Why even remove the sealant before installing a tube? You'd only need to install a tube if you had no sealant. If you had spare darts & extra sealant you wouldn't even need a tube.
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Old 08-28-22, 01:31 PM
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What frustrates you the most when it comes to maintaining your bike?

When my valet cleans my bike but misses a spot under the bottom bracket.
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Old 08-28-22, 01:53 PM
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Bike #1
When my centre pull brakes won't stay centred.

Bike#2
When my rear deraillieurs won't reach the limits of the limit screws and the chain keeps falling off anyways.
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Old 08-28-22, 10:20 PM
  #34  
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Watching dozens of videos on how to maintain/tune up my suspension forks and still screwing it up
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Old 08-28-22, 11:19 PM
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Wrapping my road bike handlebars always causes me anxiety. I’m a perfectionist and cannot stand it when the overlap pattern is not consistent, or when there is a loose or crooked spot anywhere. I understand the concepts involved, and I am capable of getting it right when I take my time. Still, I hate doing this task.
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Old 08-29-22, 01:19 AM
  #36  
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Originally Posted by GhostRider62
I do not understand you, as usual.

Every 8 weeks, the tire is toast. I put a new one on. I do not like the difficulty putting a GP5000 TR S on. It is difficult. I have weak hands due to neuro issues and the tire/rim mfgs can't get their **** together.
If we assume a fairly conservative life span of 5000km for the GP5000, it would mean that in order to reach said number one would need to ride 96km every single day.

It's not impossible but that's a lot of hours on the bike.

However the GP5000 should last longer than the above estimate. The GP series is pretty hard wearing.
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Old 08-29-22, 01:49 AM
  #37  
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My ability to displace things while working on bikes, and making a disorganized mess in my work areas. I really try to stay organized, but it just gets away from me, I don't even realize I am doing it, until I cannot find something, or, I stop, then see the total mess I have created. I get better at it for a while, then fall right back into the same behavior. It seems to be getting worse as I approach being a septuagenarian.
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Old 08-29-22, 04:58 AM
  #38  
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Originally Posted by roadcrankr
Rebuilding a loose ball hub and coming up short while re-packing.
Then, eventually making the trip to the bike shop to purchase a single ball-bearing.
Humiliation at its best.
You can solve that for the price of your time running to the LBS.
​​​​​​https://www.amazon.com/Piece-Assorte.../dp/B018B7D05K
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Old 08-29-22, 08:25 AM
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The darned tires need inflating periodically.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by wolfchild
It's was an honest question... I am surprised that good quality tires would wear out needing replacement after only 8 weeks.
I'm wondering the same thing. How do you wear out a tire in 8 weeks?
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Old 08-29-22, 08:38 AM
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Originally Posted by sean.hwy
hate/love relationship with tubeless tires.
hate:
maintaining 10+ tubeless tires/wheels. it's pain constantly checking sealant level
when the sealant does not work, having to remove the tire on the side of the road and clean all that sealant out before installing a tube
swapping tubeless tires for another tire at home. it's such a pain to try and remove all the sealant off the rim and tire, insert new tubeless tire and save the semi cleaned used tubeless tire
Why are you constantly checking sealant level? The stuff lasts for months before it dries up.

I have 14 tubeless tires. Haven't checked the sealant level yet this year. Actually I never check the level. Just spin the tire to make sure I hear some inside swooshing around.

Why do you need to clean the sealant out before installing a tube?

Removing the sealant off the tire and rim is optional, not mandatory.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:41 AM
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Originally Posted by roadcrankr
Rebuilding a loose ball hub and coming up short while re-packing.
Then, eventually making the trip to the bike shop to purchase a single ball-bearing.
Humiliation at its best.
The rear hub on my older bike got noisy and I found one of the cones was pitted. After searching I eventually found my LBS had an assortment of cones stashed away and I found a match in there. May as well get a set of balls, too, so I got them from his bin marked 1/4".

Put it back together and it was wider than the dropouts by a little and didn't look right. Took it all apart again and matched up the cone, looked good, even took a micrometer to a few of the balls, .250". After futzing with it some more I dropped it at the LBS and he had it for a while and eventually told me to just ride it like it is and don't worry about it. Nope. I found an axle kit on flea bay so I got that and put it in, same result.

I let it sit and just rode my other bike. A friend of mine found a Bontrager wheel on the freeway and he gave it to me so I could ride that bike again. One day I took it apart and took a micrometer to all of the balls and found 5 of them were .015" oversize, or .265". WTAF? I took them back to the store and he just gave me some new ones. I don't know if he even believed me that they were an odd size. Anyway, it's fixed.

tl/dr I'm a dumbass and tried to make the wrong parts work.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:42 AM
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Another frustration: finding a compatible replacement part for a bicycle that is more than 3 years old.

This week, it's finding chainring bolts of the right length to accommodate a compatible chainring, because the crankset manufacturer (*cough* FSA) no longer makes matching chainrings.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:48 AM
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Originally Posted by prj71
I'm wondering the same thing. How do you wear out a tire in 8 weeks?
When I've done semi-loaded touring I wear out a rear tire in 1000 miles. I first noticed this when the cords were showing and the shape of the tire was distorted from cords breaking. This was with a total weight of about 275-280 pounds.

When I've used softer compound tires for club rides I get around 1000 miles or sometimes less on the rear. Rubino Pros, maybe 2000 miles? Maybe less.
I now have GP5000 tires on there, So far, so good.
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Old 08-29-22, 08:51 AM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
Another frustration: finding a compatible replacement part for a bicycle that is more than 3 years old.

This week, it's finding chainring bolts of the right length to accommodate a compatible chainring, because the crankset manufacturer (*cough* FSA) no longer makes matching chainrings.
I couldn't find a 39 ring for an older Ultegra triple. It has ramps and all manner of weird shapes. Finally found a used 105 ring and it looks very different but it works fine.
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Old 08-29-22, 09:01 AM
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Originally Posted by big john
When I've done semi-loaded touring I wear out a rear tire in 1000 miles. I first noticed this when the cords were showing and the shape of the tire was distorted from cords breaking. This was with a total weight of about 275-280 pounds.

When I've used softer compound tires for club rides I get around 1000 miles or sometimes less on the rear. Rubino Pros, maybe 2000 miles? Maybe less.
I now have GP5000 tires on there, So far, so good.
2093 miles on my GP5000 tires right now. Not showing any signs of needing to be replaced.
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Old 08-29-22, 09:08 AM
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Originally Posted by big john
I couldn't find a 39 ring for an older Ultegra triple. It has ramps and all manner of weird shapes. Finally found a used 105 ring and it looks very different but it works fine.
I was more fortunate. SRAM still makes a compatible chainring. Still looking for the chainring bolts that will mount it on my FSA cranks.


SRAM Force/Rival/Apex 50T 10-Speed 110mm Black Chainring
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Old 08-29-22, 09:38 AM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
I was more fortunate. SRAM still makes a compatible chainring. Still looking for the chainring bolts that will mount it on my FSA cranks.

SRAM Force/Rival/Apex 50T 10-Speed 110mm Black Chainring
Are the old bolts junk? Try anything from Shimano? If you find something too long you might be able to grind them down a bit.

A bolt fell out of my Campagnolo crankset and I went into a shop and the guy gave me one he had in his toolbox. Lucky.
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Old 08-29-22, 09:42 AM
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Originally Posted by terrymorse
I was more fortunate. SRAM still makes a compatible chainring. Still looking for the chainring bolts that will mount it on my FSA cranks.


SRAM Force/Rival/Apex 50T 10-Speed 110mm Black Chainring
What's special about your chainring bolts?

https://www.performancebike.com/fsa-...RoCQWgQAvD_BwE

https://www.performancebike.com/fsa-...BoCdS8QAvD_BwE

https://www.jensonusa.com/FSA-Torx-A...RoC_fEQAvD_BwE
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Old 08-29-22, 09:48 AM
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FSA Torx T-30 Alloy Chainring Nut/Bolt Set Black, Set of 10 - Modern Bike
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