Fixing/Upgrading the Bike

Fixing/Upgrading the Bike

Author
Discussion

bigdom

2,072 posts

144 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
As a commuter tyre, the allegedly better ones to use are:

Schwalbe Durano Plus
Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons
Michelin Endurance Pro 4

kiethton

Original Poster:

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
bigdom said:
As a commuter tyre, the allegedly better ones to use are:

Schwalbe Durano Plus
Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons
Michelin Endurance Pro 4
Perfect, thanks I'll take a gander smile

donfisher

793 posts

165 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
Were you getting any/loads of punctures on the old ones?

kiethton

Original Poster:

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
donfisher said:
Were you getting any/loads of punctures on the old ones?
Didn't have a single puncture, that and the fact it'll be retired from commuting next month (owing to a new job and 6:30 start time after 1 hours cycling) makes me think I may get some more of the same - Zaffiro slicks

shouldbworking

4,769 posts

211 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
I fully get that there are some people who just don't want to do their own bike maintenance and would rather fork out for it, but does anyone else feel that this thread is a bit on the wilful neglect side?

kiethton

Original Poster:

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
shouldbworking said:
I fully get that there are some people who just don't want to do their own bike maintenance and would rather fork out for it, but does anyone else feel that this thread is a bit on the wilful neglect side?
Not quite, more laziness/more important things to worry about (time and financially) whilst using it in the meantime to save cash.

Now that I've got more time (and cash) I'm trying to sort things out, but never having had a decent bike before I just wanted some advice from people that know what they're doing.

donfisher

793 posts

165 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
shouldbworking said:
I fully get that there are some people who just don't want to do their own bike maintenance and would rather fork out for it, but does anyone else feel that this thread is a bit on the wilful neglect side?
It’s more that it highlights that if someone can manage 8k miles on the original inexpensive wheels, tyres and drivetrain with what sounds like zero maintenance then I’m spending way too much time fiddling with my bikes.

It also suggests to me that there’s probably a lot of components getting retired early or unnecessarily.

Mr Will

13,719 posts

205 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
donfisher said:
shouldbworking said:
I fully get that there are some people who just don't want to do their own bike maintenance and would rather fork out for it, but does anyone else feel that this thread is a bit on the wilful neglect side?
It’s more that it highlights that if someone can manage 8k miles on the original inexpensive wheels, tyres and drivetrain with what sounds like zero maintenance then I’m spending way too much time fiddling with my bikes.

It also suggests to me that there’s probably a lot of components getting retired early or unnecessarily.
I'm slightly surprised by the tyres lasting as long as they have but the rest sounds pretty fair. There are a lot of people on here who are either extremely hard on their bikes or who replace parts a long time before it is needed.

I sometimes think that too much cleaning doesn't help - a bit of grease and grime doesn't hurt a bike (grit is a different matter) but excessive degreaser can quickly kill bearings and similar surfaces.

lynus2004

119 posts

206 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
donfisher said:
It’s more that it highlights that if someone can manage 8k miles on the original inexpensive wheels, tyres and drivetrain with what sounds like zero maintenance then I’m spending way too much time fiddling with my bikes.

It also suggests to me that there’s probably a lot of components getting retired early or unnecessarily.
I think that is very likely, I have a friend who passes me his old tyres when he feels that it's time to change, I then get plenty of miles and a couple of races out of them, same with cassettes.

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
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OP, if I was you I would have got a MTB, slick tyres and single speed, 0 maintence bar brake pads and a bit of oil. Youve done well on the tyres, tbh kind of pointless running a road bike with poor maintenance imo, as they have a lower threshold for abuse than a MTB/tuff hybrid, thats IMO on the roads I ride are tough on bikes, city roads I found a bit easier on bikes.

I keep my commuter in good condition and well maintained, as I cant afford to be late for work, as it is rural there is no option B if I get stranded 5 miles from the office I would have to walk it.

Just changed the tyres on the best bike, I probably could have squeezed another 500 out of the rear and 2000 out of the front , but @ £20 each its stupid to risk ruining one or several punctures in the middle of nowhere, especially on a club run. I was hoping new tyres would give a smoother ride, but they haven't made much difference.

Its not just parts failing through poor maintenance, its the annoying noises/creaks and performance degradation you get from it as well when plodding the 20 miles a day . I hate applying brakes and hearing scraping, or slack gear changes it does my nut in.

On the other hand I got a hybrid off ebay for £70, its in good working order but with loads of bodged parts , going to run it with no/minimal maintenance and I love riding it, as it soaks up poor surfaces, I can chain it anywhere and I dont have to worry about any abuse from our poor roads and tracks.


kiethton

Original Poster:

13,883 posts

179 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all
^^^^^

Very good point, it does really, really creak rather badly frown I would have maintained it better but as said above I was lazy/couldn't afford parts (house deposit saving - exchanged this afternoon).

It currently is used for commuting 30 miles a day 4 days a week, 5 in mid-summer, in all but the worst of winter or heavy rain but will soon be shifted to weekend rides and events when I start a new job in 3 weeks time (would carry on cycling but due to the earlier start would have to leave the house at 5am...).

With the London to Brighton coming up as well as the move towards more weekend rides I was trying to get everything sorted so not to be embarassed, that and my girlfriend is looking to start (Anybody got a cheap road bike for a 5'6" rider for sale?) so we can go for rides together.

It's going back into the service place tomorrow as they adjusted everything awfully (pops off top gear now) and they didn't fix the creaking/clunking as I asked so it'll hopefully now be good for its new purpose and so won't collect the road grime smile

TwistingMyMelon

6,385 posts

204 months

Thursday 24th April 2014
quotequote all


Nice one on house exchangingsmile