I live in California but I ride year round, so I don't avoid rain. I also take a perverse pleasure in destroying bike parts and bike frames, to the point where I actually track mileage on various components: https://blog.piaw.net/2009/04/lifetime-of-bike-parts.html
I check my chain every month or so, and I wear the tires down to the casing. I buy high quality parts and don't usually need to do more than replacing a BB every 25000 miles. I used to run Shimano hubs and got tired of paying to repack the bearings. It turned out that while I could clean and grease the hubs, I hated messing with the preload and the special spanners. After about 5 years the maintenance from paying someone to overhaul the bearings costs more than the hubs themselves, so now I've switched to sealed bearing hubs. I don't tear down my bikes to do maintenance, just replace whatever parts wear out as they go bad. I've discovered that things like headsets don't go bad. Living in California I don't need anti-rust, despite riding in the rain --- they don't put salt on the roads and the rain cleans the bike for me. I do build my own wheels whenever I can. Though now that I've found Ted Nugent's website I can't build my own wheels cheaper than buying from him, so I might just buy from Nugent from now on. I don't even clean my bikes --- which is why sometimes I'll break a frame and not notice until the bike starts shifting on its own and I inspect it for cracks --- another reason I shouldn't ride carbon bikes. Things that have me going to bike shops: (1) bent derailleur hanger --- they can fix it far faster than I can, and I can't be bothered to buy the tool. (2) kids bikes indexing --- don't like messing with those and I can't ever get them right anyway (3) suspension overhauls -- don't have the tools (4) hydraulic disc brakes --- those go on MTBs which don't get high mileage and I don't want to mess with those. On Tuesday, August 8, 2023 at 1:56:02 PM UTC-7 Mackenzy Albright wrote: > Howdy all, > > I am curious in what sort of maintenance you and your Riv's (and other > bikes) undergo. > > 1. location (climate variable) > 2. how often do you tinker with your bike (customizing, small adjustments, > wash, grease) (can you over grease?) > 3. how often do you full tear down (do you re-treat anti-rust?) > 4. when do you cave and let a shop work on your bike? > > My current routine is a little lacking or in need of adjustment in a > somewhat new to me climate. I am a frequent tinkerer of bikes - and I have > a weird hang-ups with letting shops work on my bikes. I've only had a few > trusted mechanics that I've really felt comfortable working on my bikes. > I've had some things installed by mechanics and find they rarely grease > anything which leads to rusting at contact points which bothers me. I have > no idea the correct amount of grease, but previously never had much for > issue myself. > > I've moved to the coast (Vancouver bc) and been finding that my bikes > really rust or corrode much more quickly here than living in Minnesota, or > Alberta. (winter slurry aside). I try to rinse off my bike a few times a > week during rainy season to prevent road goo from accumulating - but that > is easier said than done. I probably give a quick scrub with a brush and > hose once a month (maybe every 3-6 months with soap). I probably tinker > once a month with installing parts or making minor adjustments so these > often coincide. > > I usually try to do a full tear down yearly where I scrub and re-grease > everything. I love fluid film so try to give a quick respray on the most > vulnerable areas (I like it more than frame saver) and replace any bits n > bobs that needs replacing. I wipe down and degrease any external grease or > fluid film. > > After this summer's first (yearly) tear down - I noticed a lot more > corrosion or rust than on previous bikes. I am assuming that it is perhaps > partly related to coastal climate. Not to mention that finish on the > Clementine is abysmal (lots of chipping and cracking). But really don't > want to repaint if I don't have to. The frame was also initially un-treated > and I've since treated as well as loaded up most contact points with more > fluid film and/or grease. Hoping it'll be less of an issue now that I've > undergone my normal corrosion prevention routine. > > Curious what your habits are - (bonus if you live on the coast!) > > > > > > > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "RBW Owners Bunch" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to rbw-owners-bunch+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/c468b3e8-effe-46fc-af00-18e1a0288e00n%40googlegroups.com.
