My visit to Conte’s

[lordofthemark]

I had noticed my rear brake seemed a bit weak. Would have taken the time to examine the pad myself, but then noticed a slow leak. When I still had my Dew I had a tune up from Bikenetic every year. I have not taken my Cannondale (Road Warrior) in for anything since it was gifted to me in December. I knew I had a dentist appt this AM, not compatible with my bike commuting, so I figured this was a good time to check out the new bike shop the area where I work, and I took it in yesterday for a free assessment.

They suggest a “level 2 tune up” which includes removing the drive train for cleaning in the parts washer, as well as various adjustments. They specifically said I need new brake pads (not surprised), new brake and rear cabling, and a new chain. Total for the tune up is $210 (including $25 contingency fee) plus $58 for the parts.

I have not heard of this parts washing thing and am skeptical of it. I know my bike looks dirty overall, as I have not cleaned it since the rainy day Purple Line ride. I am thinking I clean it myself, as best I can, and take it to Spokes for new chain (want to protect that cassette) and brake pads. I am kind of skeptical of the new cabling, though I suppose I can check the braking after it has new pads.

Oh, and they said nothing about the leak, and I forgot to ask. I suppose I can check that myself too. I want to get as much done as possible before bike to work week, so that basically means this weekend (and I understand Spokes may be super busy now).

Topic

[anomad]

@Judd 159864 wrote:

I’m in this camp too. I got 6k out of the last chain/cassette before it developed a skip. Just a quick google of the Road Warrior seems to indicate that it has Tiagra level components, so it looks like a cassette will set you back $25 and a chain is about $20. From a money perspective it seems a wash to me, but you spend less time going to the bike shop.

Of course there’s outliers like Komorebi who I believe has like 13-14k on her current cassette, because she has some kind of wizard bike.

+1

I should invent a motorcycle style chain oiler for my regular commuter.

[Vicegrip]

Just think of what people would say if a car dealer asked for 3/4 the list price of a car for an oil change and 10,000 mile service.

[huskerdont]

Hey, I’ll change the air in your tires for only $150.

[Harry Meatmotor]

In my personal experience, when folks are itching to ride on a beautiful weekend day in the springtime and they bring a bike into the shop, they’re usually met with a smile and a smaller-than-originally-thought tab (if any at all). Service at 3/4 the price of MSRP to service a bike (and a week-plus sitting in the labor board) that’s just been sitting in a garage over the winter is disgusting. Obviously, there are some service managers and shop owners that would disagree with me.

[lordofthemark]

Okay I think the brake pads are okay for now, playing with them a bit. [ATTACH=CONFIG]14741[/ATTACH]

[hozn]

@anomad 159876 wrote:

+1

I should invent a motorcycle style chain oiler for my regular commuter.

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/could-this-automatic-chain-lube-dispenser-make-your-bike-faster-188314

[anomad]

Plenty of life left in those pads.

Park Tool has a whole playlist about chains on FaceTube. Literally everything you need to know, just have to practice.

https://youtu.be/vSLnA14hKkI?list=PLGCTGpvdT04RFvpef1qIJSQygRL8sv0eh

[anomad]

@hozn 159887 wrote:

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/product-news/could-this-automatic-chain-lube-dispenser-make-your-bike-faster-188314

The older I get the more I am sure I have never had a single original thought…

Anyhoo, I once saw a video about a winning trials bike set up, which are pretty serious little machines and obviously very concerned about light weight. They ran standard chain without o-rings for moar power and a nifty little “homemade” chain oiler tucked up by the rear shock. A bit of tubing and a 15ml bottle should lube a bicycle chain for many miles. Just need a flow control so it doesn’t drip on the floor.

[lordofthemark]

Okay, brakes checked, tube patched, bike partially cleaned. That’s enough maintenance for now. More cleaning, lubing the chain, checking the chain length, and maybe checking the cables, for a later day (this weekend?)

(I am pretty sure the last time I patched a tube it was schrader instead of a presta, and front wheel instead of rear, both of which made things easier) (Also I seem to have lost the little nut that the presta has – do I need that? I left the schrader adapter on)

[trailrunner]

There’s plenty of life left in those brake pads. The bike I’m riding to work tomorrow morning has far less material.

Since you asked about a parts washer – I have an ultrasonic cleaner and clean some of my parts in it, some of the time. Before I got my ultrasonic cleaner, I made a poor man’s sonic cleaner by placing my parts in an old powdered gatorade tub, filling it with cleaner or solvent, and put it on the washing machine during a wash cycle. Anyway, I use the parts washer when I’m doing a complete overhaul of something like a hub or rear DR. The chain on my commuter bike used to get filthy because my old commuting route seemed to have a lot of sand, so every now and then I’d run it through the cleaner. The ultrasonic cleaner does do a good job of getting it real clean. I might’ve put a cassette in the washer a couple of times, but a cassette is probably easier to clean while on the wheel by flossing it with an old rag.

[anomad]

@lordofthemark 159891 wrote:

Okay, brakes checked, tube patched, bike partially cleaned. That’s enough maintenance for now. More cleaning, lubing the chain, checking the chain length, and maybe checking the cables, for a later day (this weekend?)

(I am pretty sure the last time I patched a tube it was schroder instead of a presta, and front wheel instead of rear, both of which made things easier) (Also I seem to have lost the little nut that the presta has – do I need that? I left the schroder adapter on)

You don’t need the presta nut.

[komorebi]

@Judd 159864 wrote:

Of course there’s outliers like Komorebi who I believe has like 13-14k on her current cassette, because she has some kind of wizard bike.

I don’t know about the wizard bike, but the 13-14k part is true. I’m on my fourth or fifth chain, but still using the original cassette and chainrings. A couple of contributing factors:

— At least half of that distance is my commute, which is so flat that I usually don’t bother to shift gears.
— I’m a teensy-weensy bit compulsive about cleaning my chain. The chain generally gets cleaned and relubed after 200 miles or every rainy ride, whichever comes first.

[Birru]

@komorebi 159894 wrote:

I don’t know about the wizard bike, but the 13-14k part is true. I’m on my fourth or fifth chain, but still using the original cassette and chainrings. A couple of contributing factors:

— At least half of that distance is my commute, which is so flat that I usually don’t bother to shift gears.
— I’m a teensy-weensy bit compulsive about cleaning my chain. The chain generally gets cleaned and relubed after 200 miles or every rainy ride, whichever comes first.

I used to use a chain cleaner every couple hundred miles or so, but eased up on that compulsion and save it for when I can still “hear” my dirty chain after a more pedestrian cleaning. Now my cleaning routine is to check my chain, cassette and jockey wheel for obvious crud and give those a good brush and wipe. I picked up a pack of gear floss and it’s great for getting caked-on grime off of a cassette (https://smile.amazon.com/Finish-Line-Microfiber-Cleaning-microfiber/dp/B004JKK75A).

I agree about wiping the chain down and relubing after a wet day. It’s amazing how quickly surface rust can form on a chain that’s been through a day of rain.

[Judd]

@komorebi 159894 wrote:

— At least half of that distance is my commute, which is so flat that I usually don’t bother to shift gears.

Sounds like you’re ready for a fixie.

[Judd]

The real way to maintain a drivetrain is to give it a little bit of lube when it starts squeaking loud enough that other people start complaining about it.

[Author]

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