Midnight bike mechanic

Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Old Mr Jeffers, who worked behind the counter of the sports shop now
run by his son, once said to a tourist who demanded pre-stretched
fishing line, "Sir, if you don't have time to stretch your own line,
you don't have time to fish." I reckon everyone should make time to do
some work on his bike; it is a peaceful experience that settles the
mind.

Andre Jute
Swami

Op 10-5-2010 4:31, Andre Jute schreef:
Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Old Mr Jeffers, who worked behind the counter of the sports shop now
run by his son, once said to a tourist who demanded pre-stretched
fishing line, "Sir, if you don't have time to stretch your own line,
you don't have time to fish." I reckon everyone should make time to do
some work on his bike; it is a peaceful experience that settles the
mind.


Yeah, I'm looking forward to the end of the season when I can do the
'end of the season' maintenance on my 3 roadbikes....and then at the end
of the winterseason the maintenance on my two ATB's and singlespeed etc.
etc. ;-)


Lou

On 10 May, 03:31, Andre Jute wrote:
Today I gave my bike its annual wash,

That's a waste. Wait until the dry season. July 13-14 where you are,
once every seven years. Any way, when all the crud has crusted hard,
pump your tyres up as hard as you dare and bounce the bike up and down
on the road until all the loose bits have fallen off (it stops
rattling). All the crud comes off with the bits of the bike you
probably dont need anyway. If you think it important, get it tack
welded in place.

and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Weird. Most people like their bikes to hold together, not come
apart. Rust is an excellent threadlock, a bit too powerful for some,
but it certainly works. Alternatively I hear linseed oil works well.


Old Mr Jeffers, who worked behind the counter of the sports shop now
run by his son, once said to a tourist who demanded pre-stretched
fishing line, "Sir, if you don't have time to stretch your own line,
you don't have time to fish." I reckon everyone should make time to do
some work on his bike; it is a peaceful experience that settles the
mind.

Undoing bolts to apply anti-seize is some what obsessive.

"Andre Jute" wrote in message
...
Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that 225
euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you make/hour,
including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or whatever)? Or
what do you charge for speaking engagements?

Old Mr Jeffers, who worked behind the counter of the sports shop now
run by his son, once said to a tourist who demanded pre-stretched
fishing line, "Sir, if you don't have time to stretch your own line,
you don't have time to fish." I reckon everyone should make time to do
some work on his bike; it is a peaceful experience that settles the
mind.

On that I can completely agree. The more you're able to do for yourself on
your bike, in terms of maintenance, the more confident you'll feel out on
the road. I strongly encourage people to learn to do mechanical work on
their bikes for themselves, wherever practical.

Andre Jute
Swami

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

On 10/05/10 3:13 PM, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that
225 euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you
make/hour, including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or
whatever)? Or what do you charge for speaking engagements?

He tried to have the bike repaired at your shop but you don't take Euros.

"SMS" wrote in message
...
On 10/05/10 3:13 PM, Mike Jacoubowsky wrote:

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that
225 euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you
make/hour, including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or
whatever)? Or what do you charge for speaking engagements?

He tried to have the bike repaired at your shop but you don't take Euros.

Right now I'd probably be willing to take some (will get to use them in
July). We're working on being able to take in more bikes in general, but
it's getting tight already with storage. It's a real problem; for bikes
we've sold, customer pick them up promptly. "Outside" bikes tend to be left
for very long periods of time. We're going to start taking deposits for the
repairs up-front on outside bikes, thinking this might help with the
problem.

--Mike Jacoubowsky
Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReaction.com
Redwood City & Los Altos, CA USA

On May 10, 3:13*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote in message

...

Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that 225
euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you make/hour,
including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or whatever)? Or
what do you charge for speaking engagements?

How does one spend nine hours cleaning a bike? Using Q-tips?
Enquiring minds want to know. I could clean my bike and repack every
last beaing in less than two hours. It helps that all the bearings
are sealed except the hubs, but still . . . throw in wheel truing,
chain change, new cassette, even tape the bars. Nothing takes that
long on a bike any more. Back in the day, you could spend nine hours
because there were endless things to buff and adjust and fuss over.
Having a bong and some bicycle friends over also prolonged things.--
Jay Beattie.

On May 10, 11:13*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote in message

...

Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that 225
euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you make/hour,
including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or whatever)?

It's been 35 years since my time has been available by the hour.
You're right, of course; it was a thoughtless comment; I withdraw it.
-- AJ

On May 11, 1:53*am, Jay Beattie wrote:
On May 10, 3:13*pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:





"Andre Jute" wrote in message

....

Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.

For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.

Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that 225
euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you make/hour,
including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or whatever)? Or
what do you charge for speaking engagements?

How does one spend nine hours cleaning a bike? *Using Q-tips?
Enquiring minds want to know. *I could clean my bike and repack every
last beaing in less than two hours. *It helps that all the bearings
are sealed except the hubs, but still . . . *throw in wheel truing,
chain change, new cassette, even tape the bars. *Nothing takes that
long on a bike any more. *Back in the day, you could spend nine hours
because there were endless things to buff and adjust and fuss over.
Having a bong and some bicycle friends over also prolonged things.--
Jay Beattie.

95 minutes spent looking for a quick-link that fell into a flower-pot,
an hour wasted discovering that SKS made the split rivet too short to
go through the mud flaps we fitted front and rear, and so on. -- Andre
Jute

Jay Beattie wrote:
On May 10, 3:13 pm, "Mike Jacoubowsky"
wrote:
"Andre Jute" wrote in message

...

Today I gave my bike its annual wash, and between 3pm and midnight,
with a break for dinner, also managed a few other little jobs, with
the rest to be completed tomorrow.
For those 9 hours, if I sent my bike to be detailed at a bike shop, I
woulda been ripped at least EURO 225, plus the hours required to
change the gearbox oil and the front tube (put a standard Schwalbe T19
in because I didn't have a 19A superlight, which has now arrived), and
to take all the bolts out, put anti-seize on the threads, and torque
them up right again.
Call me confused; let's say you spent 8 hours on the bike and feel that 225
euros would have been a rip-off for such work? How much do you make/hour,
including whatever benefits you receive (health insurance or whatever)? Or
what do you charge for speaking engagements?

How does one spend nine hours cleaning a bike? Using Q-tips?

http://sheldonbrown.com/chainclean.html

-Mark J

Enquiring minds want to know. I could clean my bike and repack every
last beaing in less than two hours. It helps that all the bearings
are sealed except the hubs, but still . . . throw in wheel truing,
chain change, new cassette, even tape the bars. Nothing takes that
long on a bike any more. Back in the day, you could spend nine hours
because there were endless things to buff and adjust and fuss over.
Having a bong and some bicycle friends over also prolonged things.--
Jay Beattie.