To get really anal.....?

[neil0502]

Yesterday was a rest day. I put the bike up on the stand, and...

1) cleaned everything
2) lubed everything
3) adjusted the ders and the brakes
4) trued the wheels
5) alcohol cleaned and scrubbed the rims
6) flat-filed the brake pads
7) began removing, re-greasing, and re-torquing fasteners
8) cleaned the bottles
9) cleaned and re-greased the seatpost and tube

What else do you do when
1) it's raining out
2) you've discovered and bought Jittery Joe's Coffee at the LBS
3) you want to--no, you _have to_ tweak and tune

Assumptions
1) Unacceptable answers (they miss the point):
a) "Just go out and ride the thing...."
b) "If it works, don't fix it...."
2) I can experiment on the mountain bike, f- up a few things, then do it right on the road bike ;-)
3) It should add value, whether it's functional, aesthetic, or just soul-enriching

Notes
1) I'm willing to get medieval here: rebuild the bb, the hubs....
2) Buying a new tool is not only _not_ out-of-bounds; it's a plus (e.g., I don't have a spoke tension meter)

This may be similar to the thread about what separates a true craftsman from a hack bike builder, but...

What things do people do when they want to take just a little _extra_ care of their bikes?

Thanks,
Neil

 

[boudreaux]

Originally posted by neil0502
Yesterday was a rest day. I put the bike up on the stand, and...

1) cleaned everything
2) lubed everything
3) adjusted the ders and the brakes
4) trued the wheels
5) alcohol cleaned and scrubbed the rims
6) flat-filed the brake pads
7) began removing, re-greasing, and re-torquing fasteners
8) cleaned the bottles
9) cleaned and re-greased the seatpost and tube

What else do you do when
1) it's raining out
2) you've discovered and bought Jittery Joe's Coffee at the LBS
3) you want to--no, you _have to_ tweak and tune

Assumptions
1) Unacceptable answers (they miss the point):
a) "Just go out and ride the thing...."
b) "If it works, don't fix it...."
2) I can experiment on the mountain bike, f- up a few things, then do it right on the road bike ;-)
3) It should add value, whether it's functional, aesthetic, or just soul-enriching

Notes
1) I'm willing to get medieval here: rebuild the bb, the hubs....
2) Buying a new tool is not only _not_ out-of-bounds; it's a plus (e.g., I don't have a spoke tension meter)

This may be similar to the thread about what separates a true craftsman from a hack bike builder, but...

What things do people do when they want to take just a little _extra_ care of their bikes?

Thanks,
Neil

If it isn't broke,fix it till it is.

 

[JohnO]

I alcohol wiped and scrubbed both sets of rims, plus the yellow tires mounted on both sets of rims. Only problem with yellow tires is they get dirty real quick. Sure do look good when they get cleaned up, though.

Then, I waxed the frame - not so much to make it look pretty as to keep dirt from sticking to it. Although it does look pretty...

Went to adjust the der's and brakes, but they didn't need it. Gotta hand it to this new Campy gear, once you work out the initial cable stretch, it just doesn't need adjustment.

I did clean the gook off of the inner chainring and cassette. Yuck - chain poo!

Got on the bike, and adjusted the seat a bit.

Tossed the chain into my ultrasonic cleaner. Didn't see much dirt on the bottom afterwards, but I felt better. You should see the crud that comes out of a MTB chain after an hour in the cleaner...

and come to think of it, I just don't like that little bit of roughness in my Zonda's hubs. Might be time to tear them apart, pack the bearings with polishing compound, and spin the axle with a drill for a few minutes to polish up the bearing races.

Come on, weather. Warm up a bit, before I really do break something on the bike.

 

[fushman]

i cleaned all the road salt off mine so id sleep better tonight but thats about it

 

[Brizza]

If I lube my chain and cables the bike knows it must be race day, if I clean my road bike my other bikes get jealous.

If it ain't broke don't fix it, and u can do lots of repairs on the road.

Brian

 

[nhorscro]

8) cleaned the bottles

You only clean your bottles on rest days?

 

[dobber]

Originally posted by nhorscro
You only clean your bottles on rest days?

You clean your bottles? I though that green stuff was energy boosting.

 

[jbkalla]

Originally posted by JohnO
...Tossed the chain into my ultrasonic cleaner. Didn't see much dirt on the bottom afterwards, but I felt better. You should see the crud that comes out of a MTB chain after an hour in the cleaner...

JohnO, what kind of ultrasonic cleaner do you have? Where did you get it? I would like to get my chain cleaned-up good and proper!

 

[Hitchy]

G'day,

you blokes are really, really sad.....still I guess its the middle of winter over there.....me......its 28c today, the sun is shinnin', the birds are singin', I can hear the bike callin' me...I'm outta here!........& the best part....it's gunna be like this tomorrow as well....... & it's saturday....... & the missus & the kids are away.....(no-one to stop me ridin')......it's good to be alive,


cheers,

Hitchy

 

[EoinC]

Originally posted by dobber
You clean your bottles? I though that green stuff was energy boosting.

You people have bottles? Man, I've been thinking about getting one of them. I thought it might help with the dehydration problem I seem to suffer after about an hour out on the road.
I'd ask my wife if I could have one for my next birthday, but she'd probably take it out of my beer money - that ain't gonna happen.