Commutting bike = excessive repairs

Hi

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs and
don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

Paul

On Wed, 15 Jun 2005 15:33:27 +0100, Paul Healy
wrote:

Hi

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs
and
don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

No. Regular maintenance prevents a lot of repairs. (E.g a loose
crank bolt left unattended can mean a new chainset).

But, there's a lot you're not telling us:

-- Why did you buy a "mountain" bike for commuting?

-- What sort of repairs are you talking about?

-- Are you paying someone else to do the repairs?

-- What sort of mountain bike is it? From your post it sounds like
you might have bought a Halfords £99 special, and are now learning
why no-one on this newsgroup would recommend such a thing.


--
jc

Paul Healy wrote:

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs and
don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

That's not much information. If I'd spent £75 on a bike and spent £150
more on it in 6 years that would be one thing, spending £1000 on it and
subsequently another 2 grand would be quite another...

Regular basic maintenance, which basically means keeping the tyres
pumped up , brake pads in trim and the transmission clean, will save an
awful lot of wear and tear.

Beyond that, MTBs are designed to go up steep hills on rough stuff. If
you have a basic commute then something with hub gears will take a lot
less maintenance and if it has mudguards and flaps that will keep an
awful lot of cack off the chain. Few MTBs have such things. Chain
guards are good for reducing maintenance too.

Pete.
--
Peter Clinch Medical Physics IT Officer
Tel 44 1382 660111 ext. 33637 Univ. of Dundee, Ninewells Hospital
Fax 44 1382 640177 Dundee DD1 9SY Scotland UK
net http://www.dundee.ac.uk/~pjclinch/

Paul Healy wrote:
: Hi

: I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
: cost of the bike on repairs.
: I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs and
: don't abuse the bike.

Depending on how much it cost in the first place, that may well be reasonable.


--
Arthur Clune PGP/GPG Key: http://www.clune.org/pubkey.txt
The struggle of people against power is the struggle
of memory against forgetting - Milan Kundera

Paul Healy wrote:
Hi

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs and
don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

Sounds reasonable to me. I bought mine in 1997 and have since spent far
more than that. New wheels, new tyres, new chains, cassettes, gear
changers, rack, brakes, cables, bottom bracket. Two new chainsets. New
computer, lights, pedals. Now I need to change the frame, forks, bars
and headset. The bar ends are still fine.

...d

In article , Peter Clinch wrote:
Paul Healy wrote:

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice the
cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill climbs and
don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

That's not much information. If I'd spent £75 on a bike and spent £150
more on it in 6 years that would be one thing, spending £1000 on it and
subsequently another 2 grand would be quite another...

I spent over twice the price of my folder on two inner tubes for it....

in message , Paul Healy
') wrote:

I've had my mountain bike since May 1999 and have spent almost twice
the cost of the bike on repairs.
I only do a 15 mile round trip 5 days a week with hardly any hill
climbs and don't abuse the bike.
Does anyone else get these problems?

How often do you lubricate your chain? If you use a mountain bike with
fairly light alloy chainset and cassette, then running with an
underlubricated chain is going to wear them out very quickly indeed.

Essentially, if you want a low maintenance bike for commuting, then an
epicyclic geared system is a lot better than a deraileur geared system
since the transmission can realistically be protected from the weather
and maintenance becomes less of a problem. But on any bike if you don't
take care of your chain then it's going to eat transmission parts.

If you're doing 75 miles a week you really need to lubricate at least
once a week in dry weather, more often in wet - and with a good
lubricant (e.g. Finish Line Cross Country). Lubricating after every
ride is better. And you really need to completely clean and relubricate
your chain at least once a month.

You should check your chain for wear with a chain gauge every time you
clean it, and replace it as soon as it reaches the wear limit marked on
the gauge. If you ride on an overworn chain, you will very rapidly
knacker the rest of your transmission. So replace early, replace often.
3,000 miles (or for you, twice a year) is not an unrealistic
replacement schedule for well cared for chains, depending on how dirty
the riding conditions are. And winter commuting is about as filthy as
it gets.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
;; First they came for the asylum seekers,
;; and I did not speak out because I was not an asylum seeker.
;; Then they came for the gypsies,
;; and I did not speak out because I was not a gypsy...
;; Pastor Martin Niemöller, translated by Michael Howard.

in message , Peter Clinch
') wrote:

That's not much information. If I'd spent £75 on a bike and spent
£150 more on it in 6 years that would be one thing, spending £1000 on
it and subsequently another 2 grand would be quite another...

I spent £1700 on my favourite bike two years ago, and it's had at least
another thousand lavished on it since then... Mind you, it /is/ a
mountain bike.

It depends what you use it for and how much fun you get out of it.

--
(Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/
.::;===r==\
/ /___||___\____
//==\- ||- | /__\( MS Windows IS an operating environment.
//____\__||___|_// \|: C++ IS an object oriented programming language.
\__/ ~~~~~~~~~ \__/ Citroen 2cv6 IS a four door family saloon.

Theres bikes and bikes. For comparison; just servicing my Dawes Galaxy
after 6000km from new - same as your annual mileage approx.
Back tyre smooth but prob OK for another 2000. Front tyre looks ok for
another 6000. Chain very stretched, although everything working nicely
I've replaced it - perhaps unnecessary and also means new cassette and
new middle chainring. New bottom bracket - horrible graunching sound
just started. That's all I've had to do since new except for several
sets of brakeblocks.
I've done lots of roughish riding and cycle camping and am 14 stone so
I think its been ok. I use lots of oil and I never bother cleaning it.
It looks an oily mess but I don't care. I never clean the chain as I
think that merely creates fresh niches for new dust - which will have
sharper edges and greater grinding potential than the old dust n dirt.

wrote:
I never clean the chain as I
think that merely creates fresh niches for new dust - which will have
sharper edges and greater grinding potential than the old dust n dirt.

At last! A scientific sounding excuse for my minimal chain cleaning
routine!
Iain