Real Maintenance

[aeroperf]

It’s that time.

I got my Sam in 2015, and as of yesterday I have put 5000 miles on it.  I’ve also made my yearly 1275 mile goal, so it is time to take it down for real maintenance.
I’m starting this thread for advice/discussion about what “real maintenance” means.

Every year I thoroughly wash and wax the bike frame.  I clean and degrease the chain, chainrings, and cassette, and rotate the tires.
I put Phil Tenacious oil on the derailleur mechs, RocRide All-Purpose on the chain (twice a year for this), and replace any batteries like the 2032 in my computer.  I check the brake pads (I’ve had to replace a set once), make sure the headset doesn’t have any play, check all bolts, adjust the cables, and… that’s it.

The bottom bracket and front and rear hubs are sealed units and not making any noises.  The chain checker says the chain is less than half stretched.  Bar end shifting (friction front, index rear) seems to work just fine.  I don’t really stress my Sam.

My thoughts are: tear it down, have the LBS check the wheels for true, replace the tires and tubes, and lube the cables with Finish Line Dry.  Then put it all back together after inspecting and lubricating the parts as normal, and ride on.

What am I missing?  Does anyone have a different maintenance for that kind of mileage?  I’ve got a tool set used to build up four frames, so I’m not worried about tearing everything apart if it is warranted.  But I’m curious.  What do you do?

[Collin A]

I personally tend to keep a good eye on the bikes and just change/clean things on an ongoing basis, often around 1/month. I've done this often enough that a full rebuild or overhaul of any component on my bike takes less than 1 hr., assuming I have spares on hand, which I try to.

Frame saver application while your frame is all disassembled would be a worth while effort - I try to do this on annual basis for my bikes, but that's only when I ride in the rain a bunch, otherwise its about every other year.

It might be worth checking for play on both the wheels and bottom brackets, even though they are seaead units. Make sure the wheels are in your frame and try to move them side to side while grabbing the tire/rim, if it moves a lot, time to replace the bearings. Same with the BB, grab the arms of the cranks and try to rock them side to side, excessive movement = no good anymore. This is not relevant if you have C&C bearings, it would just mean some minor adjustments  are needed.

Whenever I do a drivetrain overhaul I also make sure to check the derailleur pulley bushings/bearings.

Looks like you have a fun project ahead of you!

Cheers,

Collin in Sac

[Patrick Moore]

You are far more devoted and methodical than I. I keep my drivetrain clean and lubricated, the brakes and gears adjusted and clean and lubricated, and the tires pumped and full of sealant, all flatted tubes fixed; I keep an eye on cables and tire casings and replace if indications are propitious; and I'll wash the rest of each bike about 4X per year (little mud, a lot of sand and dust; the dirt road bikes perhaps 6 or 8X per year), but other than that, if it ain't broke, I don't try to fix it, and IME, bikes are very, very durable as long as you are not futzing with indexing mismatched parts or using a rear derailleur that is about 100 generations older than your cassette and frame (long saga about that with the Matthews RBFD, a 10-speed cassette, and 7400, 7401, and 7402 Dura Ace rear derailleurs). 

Besides these basics, overhauls are like lawyers and cops, you see one when you have trouble and otherwise keep them at a distance.

Patrick "last saw the dentist in 1993" Moore, not kidding, no cavities either (he said, sipping thin oatmeal through a straw).

--
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-bun...@googlegroups.com.
To view this discussion on the web visit https://groups.google.com/d/msgid/rbw-owners-bunch/93889e8b-3892-4141-b293-65aba2958087n%40googlegroups.com.

--

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

Patrick Moore

Alburquerque, Nuevo Mexico, Etats Unis d'Amerique, Orbis Terrarum

[Benz Ouyang, Sunnyvale, CA]

1275 miles is too long for routine maintenance. I usually ride 200-350 miles between maintenance work, to keep the bike looking nice and inspect common things for damage/wear. This is especially important for fendered bikes, as it’s difficult to inspect the tires on those,

My maintenance routine:

1. Remove front wheel and put bike on Euro-style stand.
2. Remove rear wheel and put on idler pulley like this.
3. Cover leather saddles with plastic bag if necessary.
4. Degrease chain with a strong degreaser like this and a chain cleaner like this.
5. Repeat as necessary (if you wash regularly, you won’t get caked on grease).
6. Use degreaser and old toothbrush to scrub chainrings, cassette, and brake pads.
7. Rinse thoroughly.
8. Make up pail of car wash shampoo and use that to clean entire bike, top to bottom, including wheels. Use brushes and sponges as appropriate. To save time, you can use those wash-n-wax car shampoos.
9. Rinse thoroughly.
10. Dry bike with microfiber towels, and dry chain with shop towels.
11. During drying, inspect components (including tires) for wear, or damage. Actuate brakes, and shifting to feel for correct response. Grab and twist derailleurs, brakes, cockpit, saddle, and crank to see if there’s any unexpected play. Rotate wheel axles and freehub with fingers to check for smoothness and play (a little is expected for cup-and-cone hubs that I prefer).
12. Lubricate chain (yes, I drip oil on individual links), other moving parts and pivots as necessary. Modern cables do not need to be lubricated.
13. Put rear wheel back on. Rotate crank and inspect/adjust shifting. Also inspect/adjust rear brakes.
14. Remove bike from stand and put front wheel back on. Spin in air to inspect/adjust front brakes.
15. Go for quick test ride down the block to ensure everything is good.

I have my process set up, and I’m practiced (originating from being the shop monkey years ago), so these steps combined don’t take more than an unhurried hour, including setup and takedown. If I have two bikes in rotation and clean them together, it’s even less time per bike. Given my average speed of between 13-15 mph, it’s about an hour of maintenance for every 20 hours of riding.

This routine ensures my bikes are almost always clean and nice looking, and quiet. People often comment on my “new” retro bikes, when they’re usually more than 10 years old. Chain life also appears to benefit, as I barely use up chains, even when they tick over 6,000 miles.

On Saturday, November 14, 2020 at 3:12:21 PM UTC-8 aeroperf wrote:

[Jason Fuller]

Better than rotating the tires is getting a front/rear "pipeline" going: once the rear is worn, put the front onto the rear and get a fresh front tire.  I learned this somewhat recently, and the reason being that it minimizes the chance of a front tire blow-out, which is a lot more dangerous than a rear. 

As for maintenance, I am of two minds:  on the one hand, I'm a believer in preventative maintenance, but on the other, sometimes things wear themselves into a happy place, and just disassembling and re-assembling during cleaning can upset the balance. 

With this in mind, I tend to leave things alone if they are running smooth and quiet until they're not. BB's and headsets are probably happy for 5+ years, but I'm trying to get the hang of checking my chain stretch every six months or so and replacing it as soon as its worn so that my cassette and chainrings can last 5+ years too. Similarly, ensuring I never run the brake pads down to the metal bits is key to the longevity of the wheels so I try to be real good about keeping tabs on those. 

I lube my chain as soon as it sounds dry (or starts to squeak) rather than at any particular interval, and I put a few drops of lube in the cable housing ends every so often (maybe 1-2 times per year). 

That didn't really answer the question... I suppose my answer is that I consider "real maintenance" to be when something has lost function and needs attention :D    

[Ben Mihovk]

I took my front wheel off to see how gross the underside of my fender was. I almost gagged.

I need to invest in a repair stand so I can do maintenance without flipping my bike upside down and letting the grips and saddle take a beating. 

[Mark Roland]

bjm.. wrote: I need to invest in a repair stand so I can do maintenance without flipping my bike upside down and letting the grips and saddle take a beating.

Meanwhile just throw down a moving blanket.

If one of my bikes needs maintenance, I buy another one on craigslist and fix it up with stuff from my spare parts box.

[Brady Smith]

I’ll clean my bikes every week in the winter, every other week for the rest of the year unless I’ve been riding in the rain and picked up a lot of sludge. I always check wheels for true and tires for wear and debris at the same time. Otherwise I maintain things as needed. I keep an eye on pad and chain wear and try to replace ahead of schedule to minimize wear on rims , chainrings and cassettes. I replace bar tape at the end of the summer and renew cables and housing, if necessary, at the same time. (I once dropped a bike off at the shop for new cables and a new headset and let’s just say they were not impressed with the amount of sweat that had accumulated on the bars and steerer tube). One thing I learned to do after losing a pair of Silver bar end shifters to accumulated gunk is to hit the shifters with a spray of WD-40 every now and again, more often in summer. Keeps the cable end from corroding into the shifter and sweat from stopping the little spring inside from expanding. I also figured out how to get the casing off and clean the insides, but that’s only ever a measure of last resort. 

[Kainalu V. -Brooklyn NY]

I'm blessed/cursed with two identical Bubbes that get all the miles. Back when I pedaled one bike along with glee, blissfully unaware to the day to day degradation, I'd ride it until it was in major need of everything (and I can do 98% of my own maintenance), happily. Now that I've got the one to compare to the other and they're out of balance, it bothers me, so I have to work very hard to keep them at the same rate of decay. 

It's a real struggle. 

The emergence of some steel forced me to change eight brake pads just last week!! 

Some day I might have the luxury of time to dwell on what's needed, but for now it's all I can do to get them worn down...

Enjoy!

Just finished the breakfast dishes and need to get these kids in the sun before it starts to rain (everyone off screens!! (especially me:))

-Kai

[lconley]

I ride a bike till it gets dirty, then I buy another frame and a bunch of components and switch everything around! Sometimes I don't even wait till the bike gets dirty. This is sadly not too far from the truth.  I am now down to 11 Rivendells (does not include my wife's Betty Foy or the Roadini that I am giving my sister for Christmas).

I generally keep the tires inflated and clean the chain, cogs, and chainwheels when they get too dirty and that is about it. Everything else gets cleaned and lubed when I switch parts around.

Laing

Delray Beach FL

[aeroperf]

Collin- Thanks.  I worked for Piper Aircraft for years, and knew about frame oil, and didn’t even think about it for my bike.  Also thx for the note on derailleur pulleys.
Jason- I get what you’re saying with the pipeline, but my tires are way more likely to have slices and chunks taken out of them than to actually be worn out.  Rotating them yearly is my way of getting a good look at the entire tire.
Benz- Thanks.  I do about half of your suggestions every time I wash the bike.  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ak4AzlUz5Q  I don’t use Purple Power because the manufacturer says it can damage clear coat and permanently discolor stainless steel and aluminum, but I do use that chain cleaner with Simple Green. 

I also tend to leave things alone if they are working right - the rear derailleur hasn’t been adjusted since I got the bike from Riv.

I flew a Cessna 140 for 30 years, and know that if you do certain things on a regular basis (annual inspection) and others on a timed basis (100 hour inspection), they can last forever.  I did not know how that applied to bicycles, hence the thread.  I rode a Diamondback Approach for 20 years and did NO maintenance - ended up with busted chainwheel teeth, broken brakes, mis-adjusted shifters…you get the picture.  So I thought I’d ask the group, because the Sam has to last forever.