Yet Another Cycling Forum

General Category => Freewheeling => Topic started by: Bolt on 16 June, 2020, 11:11:42 pm

Title: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Bolt on 16 June, 2020, 11:11:42 pm
For me in rough order of magnitude of faffage i.e time spent in getting them to work properly:

1: Disc Brakes
2: Front derailleurs
3: Tubeless tyres


Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Deano on 16 June, 2020, 11:17:07 pm
Finding the right tool, regardless of the job.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Kim on 17 June, 2020, 12:26:24 am
In terms of faff-factor:

1. Front derailleurs.
2. Mudguards.
3. Rim brakes.

In terms of time actually spent dealing with:

1. Chains and chain tubes.
2. Cables.
3. Batteries.

(The 4mm allen key was in your back pocket and now it's on the floor behind you.)
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: zigzag on 18 June, 2020, 10:11:18 am
least enjoyable and most time consuming:

1. washing/drying/cleaning/lubing - by far
2. cables
3. mudguards / cup&cone hubs / disc brakes
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: grams on 18 June, 2020, 10:59:08 am
1. Mudguards
2. Racks
3. Mudguards and racks trying to occupy the same 3D space.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: yoav on 18 June, 2020, 11:41:29 am
I've never found front derailleurs a faff, unless it's an indexed triple shifter in which case it's the work of the devil.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: hatler on 18 June, 2020, 11:55:34 am
If I interpret this as a list of things that take longer than they should, this would be my top three : -

1  Cable disk brakes
2  Wheel bearing adjustment
3  Wheel truing ('cos I don't really know what I'm doing)

 If, instead, it's the things I spend the longest total time on across the fleet of 14 bikes : -

1  Punctures
2  er ...   nothing else stands out really
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: giropaul on 18 June, 2020, 03:11:44 pm
For me in rough order of magnitude of faffage i.e time spent in getting them to work properly:

1: Disc Brakes
2: Front derailleurs
3: Tubeless tyres

Interesting that two of the three are things that have been sold to the consumers as “ improvements, less hassle, the way forward”.

In terms of front derailleurs the Campag setting tool is a well- kept secret, but saves a load of hassle.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Kim on 18 June, 2020, 07:31:29 pm
To be fair, both disc brakes and tubeless tyres are a significant improvement ...on a mountain bike.

Personally, I find disc brakes easier to set up than rim brakes, because with a decent one you've only got to jibble one parameter at a time.  This seems to be a minority opinion, which I suspect comes from most people here having a lot more rim brake fettling experience than I do.  But even if they are more faff, they're worth it as soon as you care about consistent performance in the wet, or rim wear.  It's a reasonable trade-off, at least some of the time.

Similarly, I don't think anyone sold tubeless tyres as less hassle.  It's a way to avoid snakebites and reduce rolling resistance.  I suppose it saves all the hassle of smaller punctures up for when you eventually get a big one.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Lightning Phil on 18 June, 2020, 08:04:00 pm
1.lubing chain
2. Fitting back wheel
3.nothing else

Number 2 is because I have a turbo wheel I swap in / out twice a week. So just have to readjust wheel to avoid mudguard rub after I’ve swapped back to my outdoor wheel.  Gears was reduced to no faffage by having both front and rear bar end shifters in friction mode. The hydraulic disc brakes just work, no rubbing, no squealing etc.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Andy W on 18 June, 2020, 10:00:40 pm
1. Checking I've everything for intended ride. Ie, tubes, pump, puncture outfit, whether to take a windproof/waterproof top.
2. Drivetrain cleaning, can't stand black gungy chain and cassette.
3. Not sure if this counts, but fitted bar end shifters as indexed ergo was never great with triple chainset. Now I FAFF, changing up and down the chainset. ( perhaps a 1 ×11 has its merits)
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Feanor on 18 June, 2020, 10:41:10 pm
1) level 1 maintenance: Basic drivetrain maintenance: chain / cassette removal/cleaning/replacing as required. Chainset in-situ cleaning. Brake pads as required.
2) level 2: as above, but add chainset and BB removal, inspection, cleaning or replacement.
3) level 3: as above, but with added headset inspection/replacement as required.

Cable replacement when I think it needs it.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Hot Flatus on 18 June, 2020, 10:47:58 pm
For me in rough order of magnitude of faffage i.e time spent in getting them to work properly:

1: Disc Brakes
2: Front derailleurs
3: Tubeless tyres

Interesting that two of the three are things that have been sold to the consumers as “ improvements, less hassle, the way forward”.

In terms of front derailleurs the Campag setting tool is a well- kept secret, but saves a load of hassle.

Do it right, do it once 😉
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Bolt on 18 June, 2020, 10:54:02 pm
Do it right, do it once 😉

True, but when you are presented with many bikes to fettle, you end up doing it right and once many times over, hence my OP :thumbsup:
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: grams on 18 June, 2020, 11:01:38 pm
Personally, I find disc brakes easier to set up than rim brakes

Cable and hydraulic are two different bags of worms. Hydraulics are maintenance free until they aren't, cable I never got on with.

Likewise for callipers and cantis. I find road callipers can be set up with complete indifference and work fine. Cantis never seem right.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Kim on 19 June, 2020, 01:41:37 am
Personally, I find disc brakes easier to set up than rim brakes

Cable and hydraulic are two different bags of worms. Hydraulics are maintenance free until they aren't, cable I never got on with.

Likewise for callipers and cantis. I find road callipers can be set up with complete indifference and work fine. Cantis never seem right.

I should clarify that I meant cable.  I own a bike with low-end hydraulic discs, but they're still at the maintenance-free stage.

Road calipers are merely fiddly.  V-brakes can work really nicely if set up well, but you may go insane trying to get there.  I last dealt with cantis in about 1995, when I didn't know what I was doing.

BB7s and their ilk are fine if you're systematic about the setup, and ensure the rotor isn't bent.  The main trick with cable discs is not to aim for silence in the workshop.  If it's not slowing the wheel down, minor rubbing noises usually disappear with a bit of riding.

Anyway, they're pretty low down in my annoyance and time consumption list, as they tend to stay working once set up, and taking up pad wear is trivial.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: rogerzilla on 19 June, 2020, 09:14:55 am
Discs are awful to own and fettle, which is why I gave up on them.

For me, it's

- smooth-post cantilever pad adjustment*
- chain cleaning
- cleaning derailleur-equipped bikes

*which can be reduced to a one-off job if you buy shoes with replaceable inserts but they are very rare and expensive for this type of fitting
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Cudzoziemiec on 19 June, 2020, 09:20:10 am
I've found discs okay to work on. Mine are cable operated.

Rim brakes are okay if they're dps but Vs are a pain, too many interdependent components.

Mudguards. Once you've got them set up, they don't need to be looked at, but it takes about three goes to set them up right.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: LittleWheelsandBig on 19 June, 2020, 09:23:44 am
Bike washing
Chain cleaning
Occasionally front mech fettling

I’ve not found cantilevers or V-brakes to be difficult to be set up. Setting up a lot of cheap cantilevers in the 1980s when working in bike shops has meant everything since then has been a doddle.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: L CC on 19 June, 2020, 10:48:16 am
1) baking the bribe-goods
2) driving to the shop


All this bike care gets your hands dirty. Or worse, breaks your fingernails. Feck that.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: T42 on 19 June, 2020, 11:17:24 am
FIrst two like LWAB:

- washing
- chain cleaning

#3 is fixing/replacing stuff when I haven't done enough of the other two.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Adam on 20 June, 2020, 10:07:36 pm
Bleeding SRAM hydraulic brakes.  Ridiculous load of faff.
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: vorsprung on 20 June, 2020, 10:23:34 pm
I guess really it is fiddling around with parts that are broken or worn or new but shite and trying to get them to work
Title: Re: Your Top 3 Bike Fettling Time Consumers?
Post by: Kim on 21 June, 2020, 12:33:00 am
I guess really it is fiddling around with parts that are broken or worn or new but shite and trying to get them to work

That, and schmoo management:  Either there's schmoo where there shouldn't be and you have to take things apart and clean or replace them, or there's insufficient schmoo where there should be, and you have to take things apart and apply fresh schmoo.