Where do you fall?

[William]

How do you view your bike/bikes?

A.) Is it just a tool to you? A piece of exercise equipment not much different then a stair-master or treadmill? Rarely clean or detail it. Sweat, Gu, and power bar crumbs dot the top & down tube.

B.) Is it something you respect for the exercise benefits and the sense of freedom it imparts? You do up-keep regularly clean it every so often?

C.) Or is she/he something you pamper and fawn over? Clean and detail after every ride, place some where so you can walk by and look at it or touch it at every chance? Talk to her occasionally or all the time? "We'll be going out on a nice long ride today, it's nice out so we'll stay nice and clean". Or maybe during a race; " get ready girl, wait, wait,.....OK GO GO GO!!!!".

Or do you fall some where in between?

Honestly? I'm somewhere between B & C. I clean and lube after almost every ride, I like to keep my bikes where I can see them and admire their aesthetic form, and I've been known to occasionally talk to them (but am I really talking more to myself?).

Be honest now, Where do you fall?


William

[Too Tall]

Solid B+ 'r.
I ride my bikes. They are not museum pieces. Cleanup consists of a hose, bucket of hot water with Dawn soap..a brush and a rag....dat's it. Chains go in the parts washer as needed and I admit to a wipe down with pledge if I am going out for a training ride with my team :rolleyes: Mechanically I like a tight operation.

[stevep]

im w/ tt.
pretty clean , mechanically ace.
wash once a week or so when the cytomax gets all over the place.
clean chain w/ a rag and light fiinish line wet once in awhile. same lube bottle for 3 years.

[Fixed]

bro i 'm like you guys .
cheers

[Ray]

Between A and B

I keep it running well and the drivetrain clean and lubed. But I don't clean the frame until I can't see through the gatoraid, dead worms, and drool. Except for special occasions.

I like the look of a well lived-in bike. If its TOO clean and there are no abrasions on the saddle, pedals, bar-tape, etc, I don't trust it. But I love a good ride and the sense of freedom, independence, etc. And being able to maintain it myself really adds to that sense of being able to get myself out of most any situation I can get myself into. And when the frame rides right, it's nirvana.

-Ray

[Kevan]

when I have returned from a ride so beaten up and worn, that is is all that I can do to just hang her up.

Yesterday, was such an example.

[Headwinds]

Between A and B

I keep it running well and the drivetrain clean and lubed. But I don't clean the frame until I can't see through the sweat [I don't drink gatoraid], dead worms, and drool. Except for special occasions.

I like the look of a well lived-in bike. If its TOO clean and there are no abrasions on the saddle, pedals, bar-tape, etc, I don't trust it. But I love a good ride and the sense of freedom, independence, etc. And being able to maintain it myself really adds to that sense of being able to get myself out of most any situation I can get myself into. And when the frame rides right, it's nirvana.

-Ray

What bro Ray said...

[Dr. Doofus]

A-Team

clean chain once a week

wipe the thing down about once a month

[Spinner]

part of my joy in riding is having equipment that functions to the highest standards possible. therefore, i keep my bikes dirt-free and lookin new. besides, it's fun to tinker on a beautiful frame. yeeough, i just love those s-curved chainstay legs on my ciii. okay, i'll call it for what it is, bike lust.

[dbrk]

I don't fall into any of these categories. Honest.

First, I could not think of a bicycle as a "tool" unless I were racing or riding away from the onslaught of tyranny and tanks.

Second, exercise is entirely secondary to me, a happy consequence of riding but never, ever an aim. I just live, I don't exercise anymore, and I feel like I get plenty.

Last, I could be accused of the drool factor because I know I take care of the bikes, dandy them up as I please, and have certain aesthetic values that mean I am not a function before beauty (what a terrible idea that is...) sort. Deeply opinionated, for sure, but not much interested in drooling for its own sake and besides no one wants to identify with this category nor be so "accused" in this particular Forum ethos.

So, I am strictly a ride for fun rider and my bikes should each provide a distinctive experience that expands the "fun" category infinitely.

dbrk

[slowgoing]

I like them for how they ride. I could care less how they look, so I never clean them except for the drivetrain, but only because it affects how they ride. Probably a carryover from mountain biking where a clean bike is a sign that you're not doing it right.

[Dr. Doofus]

too subtle Professor. You lack the clarity of revolutionary dialectics.

example:

‘One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions - what are you going to land on - one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics.’

you're in the first row of doof's class in provo.

[William]

too subtle Professor. You lack the clarity of revolutionary dialectics.

example:

‘One through nine, no maybes, no supposes, no fractions. You can't travel in space, you can't go out into space, you know, without, like, you know, uh, with fractions - what are you going to land on - one-quarter, three-eighths? What are you going to do when you go from here to Venus or something? That's dialectic physics.’

you're in the first row of doof's class in provo.

Doof, you're kinda scaring me here.....

I'm beginning to think the Shree Rajneesh...you know, harems, followers, group hanky panky, give me all your money, own fourteen Rolls Royces, take over and re-name a small Oregon town, and if the locals won't go our way we'll give the townies Kool Aid...kinda thing. But in a PC cultish nice type of way.....man. ;)


What can I say? I like my rides shiny....with a clean humming drive train and beautifully functioning parts. But, I'm still not be afraid to thrash her in a race or take her out in the rain. I'll be good to her, really. :D



William

[zank]

I'm a B with C tendencies.

[Ginger]

I'm a rider not a waxer.


Some people seem to think my bike belongs in an art gallery, but it doesn't. It belongs on the road and in the dirt...and while it's out there, it's bound to get dirty. I clean it more often than I used to clean my other bikes. I keep the drivetrain free of grit. That's about it.

I like to spend my time riding, not cleaning.

[MartyE]

solid B but it really depends on the bike.
some of the older bikes are more C and
some of the daily rider types are more A.

avg B
Median C

with a 90% probablity factor of my changing my mind in 10 minutes or
less.

as Mr. Buffet said "Indicision may or may not be part of my problem".

marty

[davids]

"B" when the weather's good.

"C" when the weather's bad.

[bcm119]

A, with occasional bouts of B when I have the time and inspiration for cleaning. My top tube has sweat and GU2O on it more often than not, but I try to keep the drivetrain clean enough. I agree with being a B but in reality it doesn't work out that way.

[Bradford]

Mostly B, sometimes A.

Regardless, I think big Willie is whack.

[William]

Mostly B, sometimes A.

Regardless, I think big Willie is whack.

True, but am I Googlewhackable???

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/~vbraun/computing/screenshots/whack.png


William ;)

[terrytnt]

Well I'm between B & C. I clean and lube after most rides and place the bike 'inside' the house so I can admire (during my passerbys). I must admit, however, I rarely talk to her on the road. This is pretty sad considering I'm still riding my Vitus/ Mavic Pro Group/ Tubies.

However, in several weeks I will get my new Ottrott... just think what's going to happen then! Share my bedroom perhaps... oh my God, what's happening to me... am I losing it... that's what my wife will say!!!

[MartyE]

oh yeah, I forgot, I usually fall to the right side, that foot stays clipped.

[Kevan]

Badly: I fall in major shopping center parking areas.

Stupidly: In my own driveway.

Yes, stupid is winning out.

[Ahneida Ride]

Drool !!!!!

OK .... Least .... I'm honest !

[spiderlake]

Mostly B tendencies on both road and MTB. My mountain bike gets thrashed and is ridden the most so kinda difficult to keep clean. About once a month I'll do a bucket wash on both bikes, clean the chain and apply lubricant. That's about the extent of my maintenance. LBS handles the technical stuff with great aplomb.

[Ti Designs]

I try to stick to a 100:1 rule, 100 hours of riding for every 1 hour of working on the bike...

[shinomaster]

William your bike is a toy.

[wdlewis]

I collect fine art shotguns and fine art watches. Both are used and not kept on a shelf. They are extremely well cared for as they should be. The guns are cleaned after every use whether for hunting or shooting clay targets. The watches are kept wound and polished.

My old bike and my new Ottrott will be viewed and treated as a rideable work of art. It will be ridden as hard as my body will allow, but it will be clean and ready for the next ride before it is carefully put away.