Tonger
01-09-2012, 12:40 PM
Although I don’t post much, I have learned so much from this forum from both professionals (e.g. Oldpotatoe) and professional enthusiasts (e.g. Dave Thompson). I sincerely appreciate Serotta for providing this forum and understand that there is a great deal of anticipation regarding the “new forum” and its debut.
As someone who is mechanically inclined and has many tools but isn’t that experienced working on bikes, I wonder if it might be worthwhile to have a “DIY” or “How to” section in the forum that would consist of user-contributed DIY instructions much like they have on the various car enthusiast forums where you can find DIY’s on anything from spark plug changes to idle control valve cleaning. For example, imaging having an illustrated guide for Campy UT bottom bracket and crank installation complete with a listing of the necessary tools and torque settings. I’ve used various Youtube videos to do some things like change out UT bearings, but think it would be terrific if access to the info could be found in a central location.
In the past, I have paid to participate in these types of DIY websites and would be happy to pay for a similar cycling membership as well. Maybe these fees could be used to offset the cost of hosting or organizing these resources/materials? Alternatively, if this type of site already exists, I’d appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I know there are books and websites like the one hosted by Park Tools that have a lot of great DIY info but it’s rather “generic”. So much of the knowledge what we need to know is going to be brand specific, which is why the Campy group is so collectively indebted to Peter for example.
Maybe the Serotta forum isn’t the best venue for this, but there’s clearly a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm here and I think a virtual Serotta Garage would be a great asset. For example, I no longer have a Serotta dealer in town and my Campy Pro Shop mechanic has moved an hour away. This section could also include tech info from Serotta like ST bearing changes and DKS maintenance. Even just a list of recommended torque settings and fastener prep (antiseize, grease, carbon paste) would be very helpful to a noob like me.
I have gone out of my way to order stuff from people like Peter that help me to show my appreciation. These are special people with special skills that are slowly disappearing from my area. I honestly don’t know how the ‘Serotta Garage’ might translate into the sale of more new Serottas except to note that the target market is likely going to be people like me who may not otherwise have much access to the brand. Either way, I just thought I’d throw it out there to see what y’all thought.
Thanks,
FT
As someone who is mechanically inclined and has many tools but isn’t that experienced working on bikes, I wonder if it might be worthwhile to have a “DIY” or “How to” section in the forum that would consist of user-contributed DIY instructions much like they have on the various car enthusiast forums where you can find DIY’s on anything from spark plug changes to idle control valve cleaning. For example, imaging having an illustrated guide for Campy UT bottom bracket and crank installation complete with a listing of the necessary tools and torque settings. I’ve used various Youtube videos to do some things like change out UT bearings, but think it would be terrific if access to the info could be found in a central location.
In the past, I have paid to participate in these types of DIY websites and would be happy to pay for a similar cycling membership as well. Maybe these fees could be used to offset the cost of hosting or organizing these resources/materials? Alternatively, if this type of site already exists, I’d appreciate it if you could point me in the right direction. I know there are books and websites like the one hosted by Park Tools that have a lot of great DIY info but it’s rather “generic”. So much of the knowledge what we need to know is going to be brand specific, which is why the Campy group is so collectively indebted to Peter for example.
Maybe the Serotta forum isn’t the best venue for this, but there’s clearly a lot of knowledge and enthusiasm here and I think a virtual Serotta Garage would be a great asset. For example, I no longer have a Serotta dealer in town and my Campy Pro Shop mechanic has moved an hour away. This section could also include tech info from Serotta like ST bearing changes and DKS maintenance. Even just a list of recommended torque settings and fastener prep (antiseize, grease, carbon paste) would be very helpful to a noob like me.
I have gone out of my way to order stuff from people like Peter that help me to show my appreciation. These are special people with special skills that are slowly disappearing from my area. I honestly don’t know how the ‘Serotta Garage’ might translate into the sale of more new Serottas except to note that the target market is likely going to be people like me who may not otherwise have much access to the brand. Either way, I just thought I’d throw it out there to see what y’all thought.
Thanks,
FT