on bike maintenance
Bikes are cool. Easy to get around, cheap, convenient, lots of parking opportunities, fun to ride. They're also pretty easy to maintain yourself - one of the biggest benefits of bikes and something I've always wanted to like but in reality, dreaded. Even the simple acts of oiling & tensioning the chain felt like a draaaaaaaaaaaaag.
Until today. Whilst doing brake maintenance, I somehow found a strange kind of peace and calmness in the mundane act. Screwing screws, tightening cables, making sure the brakes worked optimally. The bike didn't feel like enigma of strange parts anymore. Instead it felt like pretty simple machine, one that I understood, and could easily handle. Pretty cool.
I'm not sure what exactly changed. Maybe it was just the fact that I had spend enough time with bikes to level up my skills. Or I accepted that I do like riding, and this is just part of it, so better enjoy. Or that I really appreciate my current bike (Fuji Feather) thus want to take care of it.
I don't know, but here are practical tips which have helped me treasure the subtle art of bicycle maintenance:
- Have a bag ready with all the bike maintenance stuff. Oil, gloves, rag to wipe dirt, few wrenches and some hex keys. Maybe some other tools depending on your bike setup. Generally bikes need very few tools so it won't be a big bag. This eliminates the "what tools do I need" part of the process, just grab the bag and go.
- Use work gloves for the dirty stuff.
- If possible, get a bike repair stand! Lifting the bike to working height is a lifesaver.
- When in doubt what some part or detail does exactly, just take a pic and ask AI. I found this to be much faster workflow than trying to watch some bike repair videos and search for the part covering that exact situation.
- Music and/or a drink always makes things more fun.
✌🏼 Like my content? Subscribe via RSS feed.