Zen and the Art of bicycle maintenance

[Too Tall]

Ever find yourself asking friends to bring their bike over for you to work on? My "busy" mind gets all sorts of downtime when I take someone's hard working stead and give it a refresher, update or tuneup. Sometimes friends trade me for dinner and a movie or something they do well. NOBDODY will do yard work however (smirk).

Why is it so relaxing and rewarding to do what others consider mundane or alien?

Here's what I'm working on for a friend who has inherited a previously very nice and now neglected tandem:

Approx. 10 yr. old Santana Soverign left out in a damp garage for yrs.
1. New - tires, tubes, rim strips, cables, wires, bar tape, chains
2. Rebuild both BBs
3. Extract frozen and botched BB clamp hex set screw. *Hurrah for Hanson extractors...which R-O-C-K
4. True Wheels
5. Rebuild Headset and prep inside of frame
6. Degrease and tune derailleurs.
7. rebuild look pedals
8. setup cantilevers with correct geometry and cool stop pads
9. align rear derailleur dropout

Possible upgrades: move from 7 spd. bar ends to 8 spd bar ends, change big ring and middle ring from 44/56 to 38/52, add threaded to threadless adapter so the bike will fit different captains using quick change front faceplate stems.

Cost so far: $115. My satisfaction so far: priceless

[bostondrunk]

Too Tall,
I enjoy the same sort of thing (as well as drinking...).
Recently was given a few hundred bucks from a buddy to build a 'decent' bike with. Found a used Columbus MAX tubed frame on ebay, some NOS Campy Daytona drivetrain parts, bar end shifters (he wanted those), new no name (ie. nashbar, etc.) seat post, bars and stem, rebuilt some wheels I had, through a new turbo saddle on that I had sitting in a closet....voila, a damn nice racing bike!

[Dekonick]

Nashbar has some nice deals on no name items ATM.

I am learning the basics of wrenching - and find it enjoyable.

[bostondrunk]

Nashbar also has 20% off online coupon codes once every couple of months..(and there is usually a 10% coupon active almost all the time)

[TimB]

TT -

Just FYI, I do yardwork. KT and I typically fight over who GETS to mow the lawn.

Wanna build me a wheel?

[Too Tall]

Timmy - DONE! All I need is a bag of parts, what 'cha got in mind?

Negotiate with Queen for mowing. See? Another win win...and I owe it all to bicycles :D

[TimB]

I'm thinking a White Ind ENO hub laced to a Mavic Open Pro. Slap that thing on the old Ritchey Road Logic for a fast fixie. (First I have to get it back from Greinders, who has had it since he got hit last summer.) I letchya know when I get the parts.

[Sandy]

I walk dogs. I play with dogs. I love dogs. Most dogs like me.


Bow Wow Sandy

PS- Didn't I win $500 dollars for guessing that the "pedal noise" in your bike was from the bb? Oops, I mean $5,000. I take cash, checks, credit cards, Cliff bars, tuna subs,.......

[Too Tall]

That was $50 FIFTY Snandyboy and the click is still there...I won't be able to pull the cranks until racing season is done. Spending too much time on stuff that really matters....but it is making me a little crazy.

Walk dogs? in exchange for maintenance on your rig? THAT's a no-brainer. Pick up Jean Luc and Beau from mom's house ANYTIME. They love walkies. Serious dood DEAL! Mom is getting a little ancient for dog walking duties.

I'll do all the wrenching, you pay freight on parts.

[TimD]

A friend grew a little bit old and a little bit more out of shape to keep playing hoops so he decided he would buy a bike and start riding to work.

He's oddly-shaped and various fit computations determined 53x57 would be a suitable geometry. A protracted and painful search considered various MTB, hybrid, and custom road solutions, all of which were likely to blow his budget. He ultimately exercised the buy-it-now on a well-worn Lemond Wayzata on eBay.

The bike arrived in need of major TLC so it sat in his garage for a couple of weeks, at which time he embarked on a 10-day business trip without having ridden it much more than around the block.

With the permission of his local Supreme Commander I kidnapped the bike, disassembled pretty much the entire thing, cleaned and relubed everything including the cassette and chain (in the process remembering why I prefer Ice Wax to Boeshield), checked the BB (fine), replaced the V-brake pads and the cables, checked the hubs (fine), trued the wheels, correctly adjusted the headset, and noted what items needed replacement (most significantly, the rear wheel, which has stress cracks around several spoke holes). After about 6 hours of work the bike did not look new, but it didn't look much like what I had started with, either. My garage is a quiet place in the evening and I was as satisfied with the process as I was with the outcome.

My buddy returned and we went through some additional diddling together, settled his parts bill, and he left with the bike, a happy man :)

He's been riding it quite a bit now, slowing improving his fitness, learning the realities of commuting by bike, and finding the hills along the route less challenging by the week.

So, who needs something done? :)

TimD

[Too Tall]

Magnus B. and TimD are on my short list of "Good Guys" today. Nice story. You reminded me of a bike I saw lying in the weeds a few yrs. back. It was a very servicable 3 spd and had seen some abuse. A crazy thought went through my head. What if I limited myself to $50 in parts and did all my own work made the bike safe and useful again would it find a home? Yep. Finding someone who needed a good beater 3 spd. took all of a couple weeks. Now I have a hard time passing up "junk" bikes by the side of the road without at least assessing them for such a "rescue" or perhaps snatching a Brit. bolt or two for future work. Life is good.

[M_A_Martin]

Last night a buddy and another buddy stopped by to look at my very first mountain bike (which is really too big for me). Its one of those bikes I have hanging in the bike room that is too big for me, but there's little point to going to the bother of selling it. (Actually...I just couldn't bring myself to just sell it, even if that bike does occasionally bring more than I bought it for on ebay...its a good bike and holds a lot of memories...)

It fit buddy 2 practically perfectly.

The three of us changed out some parts (the Julie Furtado saddle had to go...exchanged for a less conspicuous black bontrager sitting on the shelf), changed a flat, pumped up the tires and sent him out on his test ride.
He was SO excited. The '93 Specialized Rockhopper is a good bike for him. The frame will take the abuse he'll dish out and he's a throttle twister, so he loves the grip shift. I dug up the original rigid fork and stem to replace the Girven on the front. After watching him ride, I found a new helmet hanging around the bike room that fit him (but not me) and sent that along with him.

I haven't watched anyone *that* excited and happy about a bike before...ever.

:banana:


2 bikes down, two to go!

[Too Tall]

Magnus B. and TimD AND M_A_Martin...the list keeps growing. Y'all are shameless *joymongers :D

No *that's not a real word.