If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Callistus Valer]

I follow the motto "If it ain't broke, don't fix it",
religiously. It seems to apply in most aspects of life,
especially computers, but I am doubting it's validity for
bikes. When I bought my bikes new, nothing seemed to happen
to them, but after 3-4 years (13,000 miles per bike), parts
seem to be breaking quite frequently. The latest was a
seatpost bolt shearing, and my saddle falling off during a
ride. I escaped injury, as it seemed to happen in slow
motion. Had an ultegra shifter wear out, also on the same
week. When is it common to start replacing the components,
and how long till the frame folds in on itself?

P.S. I had a 70's Chevy Monza, where almost every part in
the car disintegrated at 100,000 miles. The only thing
that didn't happen was the dash falling in my lap.

 

[Doug Goncz]

"If it ain't broke, remove it, disasemble it, clean it, and
lubricate it. Inspect for wear and replace worn parts.
Reassemble and reinstall."

Do this as often as your personal safety will permit. A
bicycle needs about as much maintenance as a home built
experimental aircraft. It's a very high performance machine.

>From: "Callistus Valerius" [email protected]

>I follow the motto "If it ain't broke, don't fix it",
>religiously.

Have you considered conversion to the One True Faith?

>I escaped injury.

Good. You approached injury by failure to observe
maintenance scheduling.

>When is it common to start replacing the components, and
>how long till the frame folds in on itself?

Well, we had a chain stay crack on a frame once and kept
riding! It was completely sheared! Brazed it back
together twice.

> I had a 70's Chevy Monza, where almost every part in the
> car disintegrated at 100,000 miles. The only thing that
> didn't happen was the dash falling in my lap.
>

Yeah, I had the AMC Pacer. I should have used it to grow
African violets!

My physics project at NVCC: Google Groups, then
"dgoncz" and some of: ultracapacitor bicycle
fluorescent flywheel inverter

4-1-9 Fraud
http://www.secretservice.gov/electronic_evidence.shtml

 

[Tim McNamara]

[email protected] ( Doug Goncz ) writes:

> "If it ain't broke, remove it, disasemble it, clean it,
> and lubricate it. Inspect for wear and replace worn parts.
> Reassemble and reinstall."
>
> Do this as often as your personal safety will permit. A
> bicycle needs about as much maintenance as a home built
> experimental aircraft. It's a very high performance
> machine.

Good grief. I overhaul each bike once a year, which in
some cases amounts to replacing the chain and checking the
brake pads for wear. Then I ride them and don't worry
about it, except for checking for chain wear and fixing
flat tires. I can easily go a few years without having to
do a major overhaul.

If your bike is set up properly, it's low maintenance. If
it's not low maintenance, then you've got the wrong bike for
the type of riding you do.

 

[Mseries]

"Callistus Valerius" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> I follow the motto "If it ain't broke, don't fix it",
> religiously. It
seems
> to apply in most aspects of life, especially computers,
> but I am doubting it's validity for bikes. When I bought
> my bikes new, nothing seemed to happen to them, but after
> 3-4 years (13,000 miles per bike), parts seem to be
> breaking quite frequently. The latest was a seatpost bolt
> shearing,
and
> my saddle falling off during a ride. I escaped injury, as
> it seemed to happen in slow motion. Had an ultegra shifter
> wear out, also on the same week. When is it common to
> start replacing the components, and how long till the
> frame folds in on itself?
>
> P.S. I had a 70's Chevy Monza, where almost every part in
> the car disintegrated at 100,000 miles. The only
> thing that didn't happen was the dash falling in my
> lap.
>
>

Problems with bikes often manifest themselves with creaks
and other noises. The bike tries to tell you when its tired,
check out new noises straight away. Cleaning a bike by hand
with a rag causes you to closely inspect it and spot
problems before they become disasters.

 

[Lioninoil At Ne]

Elmo responded to Tim:

>>If your bike is set up properly, it's low maintenance. If
>>it's not low maintenance, then you've got the wrong bike
>>for the type of riding you do.
>
> Those of us who ride the same bike every day in the city
> beg to differ.

Amen to that, Brother Elmo! My ten-mile daily round-trip
commute through three of our fine city's Zones of Eternal
DeConstruction takes its toll even on my properly set-up
Urban Assault Bicycle.