[Closed] the worst bike maintenance jobs

o,bleeding avid brakes and removing old pedals....

Scraping doggie poop from tyres, downtube and fork bridge after most rides this summer.

Never had it so bad - maybe lack of rain to wash dissolve them is to blame ............

Filthy.

Simon, when the cleats are worn, chuck the shoes and get some new ones. Problem solved. 😉

Fixing knackerd postie's bikes every morning, bores the hell out of me

agree with the doggie poop, scrapping it off the wheels with baby wipes and an old toothbrush before taking it to the bike shop on Monday was not a good start to the week.

Replacing and setting up the front mech. Im pretty good at it, but its STILL a PITA.

Pre sale setup of BSO's during Christmas week.

bso?

Bike Shaped Object

Bicycle shaped object. The cheap things sold in box shifting sports stores and supermarkets that from a distance look like a bike.

Setting up the new cleats, for some reason always takes me weeks to get it right. That and anything to do with chainring bolts hate them with a passion, whats wrong with glue?

Daft bloody things 🙂 what use are they anyway.

Dog poo, winter sludge in the cassette, front mechs are boring, avids pita but few years with shimano sorted that one. Getting cleats right in new shoes.

Cleaning. Especially weeks worth of road grime, that horrible black filth that gets everywhere.
Working on clean bikes is fine, there's not much that I think "oh no I have to fix..." but actually getting round to properly cleaning the commuter bike... Ugh.

Servicing forks is pretty bad...so much potentially for messing up (scratching surfaces, dirt in internals, losing little clips/screws/etc) combined with the fact that no matter how careful, oil will get spilt.

...I maybe just be saying this though as I've spent this afternoon servicing my Revs including 'forgetting' that I'd removed the MOCO unit before turning the forks upside down dumping 100ml+ of fork oil on the dining room floor. 😳

New cleats; just draw round the old ones...

arghh, this should be #1-Anything with Torx bolts

Cleaning dissected slug out of a cassette between teeth. *gags*

Bleeding brakes. Hateful job.

I suggest single malt and online shopping for new bike shoes

.removing old cleats....any jobs on the bike worse than that ?

Smug response - sorry. Have you ever heard of Copaslip / Copper grease? When you get em out - grease em before you reinstall. A bit late now I know.

My worse job is the winter daily / weekly cleaning of oily grit from the chain / drivetrain. Does my head in.

You are sooooo wrong!

I love working/fettling/building bikes it's all good. it's so much fun I even do other peoples for beer and cakes. ( the tricksier the problem, the happier I am)

chainring bolts def. always end up with big gashes in my fingers.

I dont think bike fettling is a chore but standing in a pool of semi frozen gloop for 24 hours at the Puffer takes the edge off things...

And crispy dog egg debris removal, very gag worthy... especially in the workings of front mechs

I hate doing cup and cone bearings. I hate them so much I refuse to buy hubs that use them. Much rather press in new cartridges than faff about with locknuts and cones and 👿

Mainly because I suck at doing them mind.

I suggest single malt and online shopping for new bike shoes

what a nice idea ! tonight I've opted for Red wine, Pringles, Beverly Hills cope while convincing myself I really need those £250 Rebas from onone.

Will take the Dremel to the cleats tomorrow.

Alu seatpost stuck in steel frame.

Frayed cable ends... any job is made worse when a strand of cable goes up between one's finger and nail.

also, pulling crappy Presta compressor adapter off valve and scraping knuckles on discs every time.

...I hate doing cup and cone bearings...

possibly my favourite bike job!

i hate headsets though...

Front mechs, Formula brake bleeding, dog poo and removing pedals.

Swapping chainrings.... never fail to bark my knuckles removing the old ones. Oh and trying to get the more gnarly type tyres off the rims.

Taking apart and packing up the bike ready to be flown home - doing this now 🙁

If you use ****brothers meatbeater pedals with their 'made of cheese' cleats, the cleat bolts will never get stuck in your shoes as you'll be changing the cleats for new ones every 2 months or so.

👿

All of it. When I'm as rich as Darcy I'll have a man do all of mine

Taking apart and packing up the bike ready to be flown home - doing this now

Didn't find a job then? Wounder, sorry to hear that

don't think any bike maintenance job is bad, compared to cars they are an absolute delight to work on.

The new shimano 15mm bolt through front hubs.Not hard but a pain in the hoop compared to uncaged bearings when all you want to do is give it a quick clean out and regrease.. its just more time consuming.

Didn't find a job then? Wounder, sorry to hear that

'fraid not, but to be honest with the bike park now closed Whistler is kind of boring especially when it's raining all the time now it's autumn. The non-bike park trails are ok but not really my kind of riding (not on a DH bike anyway) apart from a couple of north shore type trails which are really fun. Would've been nice to go back to Vancouver for a while but I've ran out of money haha

Speaking as a cycle mechanic, the worst job is working on a bike that is so badly engineered that all the skills in the world won't get it to a satisfactory condition. As mentioned above then - working on bike shaped objects.

As an after thought, working on bikes that'll never be used, or bikes owned by a-holes is pretty demoralizing also. Conversely working on bike belonging to customers who buy me doughnuts etc, is one of lifes pleasures.

Personally and maybe irrationally - I hate bolting the back wheels into singlespeeds/fixies/bmx's and the axle shifts in the dropouts as you torque the bolts. That rips my knitting. All bikes should have tugs, or what I call Ritchey style dropouts and eccentric BB's. It's the law round here (in my microcosm).

Trying to centre and get effective, my Dia Compe 890's on my vintage BMX's.

definitely having to clean dog poo from your bike. 🙁

I hate bolting the back wheels into singlespeeds/fixies/bmx's and the axle shifts in the dropouts as you torque the bolts.

Yeah I hated that when I bmxed, got around it by either using tensioners or stuffing a towel down either side of the wheel (between tyre and chainstay) so it couldn't move.

This thread has made my day, honestly....it's like therapy.

But soft, what light through yonder window breaks, tis my formula bleeding method! Anyone suffering this need not, it's all about constructing a jig (2 b 1 wood is what u need)...walk in the park. I changed the front hose (cos I cut the original too short) and it's bang on...I have to back off the bite point! I've found that you don't need to spend days removing all the bubbles, I do this about 3 to 4 times. It's all about the final reservoir fill.

I'm using little finger for braking atm...happy days.

Down side, I thing the stopping power is fudging my forks 😯

+1 Cones, I like doing it but can't help feeling that things have moved on!
+1 for the front mech.
Not suffered the dogy doo prob on mine, but the lads bikes during the learning at the park phase 👿

for cleat removal - put some penetrating oil on the bolts the night before and let it soak in.

Worst job - setting up indexing. Its why my most used bike is singlespeed.

Don't mind most jobs especially if bike is in a workstand, don't like scrabbling around on the floor trying to fix something, although it is amazing that if you drop a vital nut/bolt/bearing on the floor how far they will roll away to find some inaccessible hiding place. Worst jobs now are the quick fixes before a ride, always seem to end up with either a frayed cable, leaking break, binding brake, crap indexing, badly seated tyre or similar.

As a kid I used to hate replacing cotter pins, what a PITA.

wheel dishing and truing, its horrible

doing up the singlespeed nuts??? really??

pull it into rough tension with the wheel slightly off centre, do up one side then slacken the other - push the rim away from the chainstay so it's level, then do up the other side

Surely its the wasted time looking for the tool you just put down next to you somewhere which then vanishes

Shimano torx bolts are #1 PITA, how do they make them so soft!

#2 is cassette lockrings, it's so easy to cross thread those.

Lovetubs - can you expand on your Formula bleeding method? It's a potentially easy job but I always need several attempts to get it right.

I'm not a fan of servicing forks for the reason mentioned before - to many opportunities for damage.
Changing pivot bearings is a PITA too.

enfht - Member

Surely its the wasted time looking for the tool you just put down next to you somewhere which then vanishes

I don't understand why people find bleeding avid/formula brakes a PITA.

I guess the manuals are a bit complicated, but if you think about what you're trying to do, it's not hard. There's no need to completely remove the brakes from the bike either.

[list][*]Take the wheel off and the pads out, and stick something in the calliper to stop the pistons moving.[/*]

[*]Put 10ml of fluid in one syringe, and 5ml in the other. Clamp them closed then pull on the plunger to remove some air from the solution.[/*]

[*]Take the lever off the bars, and attach the 10ml syringe to this end and the 5ml one to the caliper end.[/*]

[*]Open the clamp on the 10ml syringe, and hold the lever up so the bleed port is vertical, and pull the lever a few times, whilst gently pulling on the syringe plunger.[/*]

[*]Keeping the 10ml syringe vertical, open the clamp on the 5ml syringe. Push 5ml of fluid from the 10ml syringe, into the 5ml syringe.[/*]

[*]Close the clamp on the syringe now holding 5ml (At the lever end) [/*]

[*]Holding the calliper syringe vertically upwards, pull on the plunger a couple of times (I normally give the calliper a hard flick at this point). Wait till any large air bubbles are now at the top of the syringe, then push the plunger down until you meet resistance. Close the clamp, and remove this syringe, and put the screw back in.[/*]

[*]Take the lever and syringe and hold them vertically. Remove the syringe, and look into the bleed port to look for fluid. It should be pretty much up to the rim. Top it up with a drop or two from the syringe, then screw the cap back on.[/*]
[/list]
Job done

It took me 15 minutes to bleed front and back K24s this morning.

I am clueless when it comes to any type of maintenance at all and living in a flat without a garden/shed/garage has done nothing to help.

Any type of maintenance at all other than fixing a puncture leaves me on the verge of crying or violently trying to smash things into pieces like a petulant child. I just want to ride the ****ing thing.

When the day comes when they finally invent a self-cleaning and fixing bike my life will finally be complete.

Take the lever off the bars, and attach the 10ml syringe to this end and the 5ml one to the caliper end.

I always just rotate the lever on the bars so the lever is perpendicular to the floor

It always takes me a few bleeds to get my Juicy 5s feeling adequate again. I wonder whether I pull the syringes too hard and pull air through the seals, I'm often quite heavy handed with bike maintenance..

I use the term '****ling' for the jobs i hate or make a mess of.

Fitting full, traditional wrap around mudguards is the most hateful job in the world. That and child seats.
Oh, and brake pads on grimy commuter bikes. You know that the wheels will be buckled; you'll find a broken spoke and the cones will be loose. All the time you spend looking at the bike as you're fitting the pads, you'll find all sorts of shit wrong with it that the tight fisted ****er that bought it in wouldn't want to pay for, even if they could be made to understand why it's wrong.
I've been working in a shop in London all summer, and I now hate all other peoples bikes.
Glad I got that off my chest. Thanks STW!

Trying to get Juicy brakes to bleed properly and have both pistons work / retract....

Taking 9 year old pedals off my wife's bike. After much swearing and knuckle bashing I went to the LBS (Cooksons) armed with a packet of biscuits and the man with the big spanner had them off in seconds.

I love fixing my bike, there's nothing like disappearing into the garage, bit of music, cold beer or hot tea, and NO KIDS. Given these preconditions there's no such thing as a "worst bike maintenance job" 🙂

bleeding brakes.

Anything that just doesn't seem to progress.

(I've had a day taken up by the first two combined and given up)

anything cable related on the road bike that you don't anticipate will require bar tape removal, but that then does.

Or anything that requires more stripping down than originally thought.

Anything that involves an essential washer or other tiny part falling on the floor and thus lost, or an essential bolt's threads stripping, or an unreplaceable bolt rounding, that means the job then can't be completed.

Changing the chain. Only a two minute's job but always seems more fiddly than it should be.

That said as per the previous poster says disappearing into the garage with the radio and a drink to fettle is otherwise very enjoyable.

found the epitome today..Attaching SKG Chronoplastic mud guards to road bike... there is 5 dimensions to adjusting them..

+1 for removing old cleats

spent the whole of monday night doing it

it was our anniversary too!

Trying to get Juicy brakes to bleed properly and have both pistons work / retract.

Dog poo and front mechs, in that order.

I'm [i]terrible[/i] at front mechs. Not really anything else mechanical that I've ever come across that fazes me, but it just drives me up the wall.

I love working on my bike. Loads of night spent tinkering in the garage to make her perfect.

BUT...

Timing a Fox TALAS is a Major PITA.

Those of you that have tried will understand how intricate the process is.

Shimming hope brakes tis a real PITA

But the worst ever job has to be setting up the old pre aheadset headsets where you used 2 spanners to lock em together

people that complain of chain cleaning, the scottoiler is your friend.

wiping off dog poo is not maintenance in the absense of a hose are you not able to devise something that can spray water to remove the poo? c'mon.

cup and cone hub servicing is one of my favourite bike things to do, cheap as chips and as easy as tying shoelaces.

avid brakes are a needlessly over complicated pain in the hole to be honest though.

[i]Timing a Fox TALAS is a Major PITA.

Those of you that have tried will understand how intricate the process is. [/i]

if you follow the fox instruction it is, trial and error method is best. Put the talas rod in position (best guess) and rebuild the lever without the retaining ball bearing and test, adjust the rod until it works properly. Once it's working as designed re-install the lever with the retaining ball bearing.

Tip for cleats, just drill out the bolts and use the new plates that come with the cleats !!!

Fitting full, traditional wrap around mudguards is the most hateful job in the world.
Oh, and brake pads on grimy commuter bikes. You know that the wheels will be buckled; you'll find a broken spoke and the cones will be loose. All the time you spend looking at the bike as you're fitting the pads, you'll find all sorts of shit wrong with it that the tight fisted **** that bought it in wouldn't want to pay for, even if they could be made to understand why it's wrong.

+1 And setting up brakes with sticky pistons over half worn pads that the owner not going to spend money on for new calpier kit and new pads for.

Fitting proper mud guards.
Bleeding brakes is just a massive faff.
Wrapping bar tape.

1. Rebuilding forks.
2. Bleeding brakes
3. Adjusting said brakes not to rub on rotor.

1 and 2 are annoying because I have fat fingers and therefore tend to end up with everything covered in oil.

3 is annoying because you get it sorted, job done. Then next time you go out for a ride 'shing shing shing shing shing'

Adjusting cup and cone bearings used do my nut in,cleat bolts when rounded, don't know why they make em out of cheese!the first time i serviced my reba's i nearly took a sledge hammer to them to get the lowers off :evil:Hav'nt got to worry about that now though as some thieving **** as nicked the bike 🙄

[bitter experience] for any work around the crank (pedal removal, chain ring bolts) put the chain on the big ring, then when your tool slips and you punch the chain ring with all your force and body weight the teeth dont sink into your knuckles [/bitter experience].

I enjoy tinkering and fettling, but I'd vote for Cup and cone hubs. Always seem to need 3 hands, and re-fiddling as perfect becomes too tight once the wheels been clamped up.

There are some people on here that should just take their bike to the LBS. Half of the jobs on here should be straight forward and not a chore at all! 🙄

Cutting out seized in alu seatposts.

All that effort making the first cut with millimetre accuracy so you don't slice through your wafer-thin steel frame, all the time knowing that one cut won't do it and you'll be stabbing away for nights with your broken hacksaw blade.

Also removing rounded off HT2 chainset pinch bolts without causing damage to your chainset with a big FO drill every time you apply some pressure in *just* the srong direction and the cranks spin round.

Preventative maintenance is something I have never got the hang of.

Anything to do with chains on a commuter bike. Nasty black gunk that soaks into your skin and takes days to wear out, even with loads of scrubbing. I wear latex gloves for dealing with chains; costs a little bit now and then, but saves on having to scrub yer hands until they are raw.