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Really gives me the shivers sometimes. Seems a lot of people don't have a clue how their treatment of mechanical stuff is causing harm, probably because they don't have the slightest idea of how it works. I get that progress means you don't need to be a mechanic to e.g. own a car, but part of me is annoyed that technology is so good that people can get away with mechanical abuse for so long and then replace or repair the dead thing at relatively small cost. There's little consequence in the grand scheme of things (more than a few hundred £) of doing it.
Countless times I've got into someone's car as a passenger, and within the first two minutes I'm asking them what's that noise. Something banging underneath (not just rattling), a spinning whine from the engine bay, or the fan running flat out for no good reason.
Then around the house. Someone had the washing machine on spin, it was rattling itself to an early death and making a terrible noise. Turns out only three of the feet are in contact with the ground, and it's not level either. Vacuum cleaner being used with a blocked filter or full, making a struggling noise.
A little while back someone on here was running a community eBike hire, the users were regularly destroying drivetrains by incompetent use of the gears and motor. There were no consequences for the people that did this, which I'm sure is in the spirit of the programme, and they were looking to upgrade the bikes to make it less likely.
Council vehicle drivers. There's a traffic light on my way to work, almost every day I see the same van there waiting, slipping the clutch for what must be over a minute. They also have a few semi-compact tractors, on the road always being driven at full hand throttle instead of using the pedal, still full throttle when stopped moving and then moving off again.
I'm not going round ranting at people or boiling my pee about these, but I see things sometimes and think what the heck is this person thinking.
Your thoughts and examples?
E-bikers (not as whole, there’s 2 e-bikes in my household: I like e-bikes.). Grinding along in 10 to 12th speed from standstill, purely relying on the motor’s torque to keep going and then wondering why chains, cassettes and rings last 250miles. Pretty sure this is why sram have come up with automatic shifting.
I have stopped lending out tools to most people due to the amount of snapped drill bits, worn down screwdrivers, etc etc. A tool is something to be looked after in my book and then it'll work well for a long time. Having the right tool for the job is a great thing.
*resists gloating over my lovely new toolset*
Wait. Oops. 🤗
Drivers who have no idea about fuel efficiency is a similar bugbear. Constantly edging forwards at traffic lights... Looking at you, taxi drivers (who of all people you'd think would know better). I was in a taxi once and he changed gear so late it was excruciating, like close to 30mph before shifting above 2nd. I think he only got into 4th once briefly in the whole journey, which included dual carriageways... I was ready to scream by the time we got out.
I've nearly divorced MrsRNP for not holding the button in when pulling the handbrake on!
I’m starting to learn that my judgment isn’t to be trusted as a mechanic. Last week the tyre blew off my commuter bike because I’d looked at the knackered rim tape when re fitting the tyre and thought “na, can’t be arsed to fix that now, I’ll do it when I’ve got a bit more time.”
How often have handbrake ratchets ever worn out?
My gripe is with the people who think it should be positioned like a cruise missile when engaged. Two clicks should be more than enough!
The ones that take speed bumps like they're reliving the chase scene in Bullit are another lot.
And don't get me started on arseholes with windy guns.
Well people aren't mechanical machines exactly, I think their brains, despite what their behaviour indicates, are said to be one of the most complex things in the universe! Anyhow, that's not a mass produced mechanical machine built to fulfil one particular purpose to a specific standard. People are all different, we're messy... I mean they're messy. Something. Yes. Machines. You. Ah ha. Do you have quantum sympathy? Do you have binary sympathy? Do you have neurological sympathy? Astronomical sympathy? Limbic sympathy? phenomenological sympathy? Linguistic sympathy? Agricultural sympathy?
E-bikers (not as whole, there’s 2 e-bikes in my household: I like e-bikes.). Grinding along in 10 to 12th speed from standstill, purely relying on the motor’s torque to keep going and then wondering why chains, cassettes and rings last 250miles. Pretty sure this is why sram have come up with automatic shifting.
Thats me 😆
And yet my drivetrain is in fairly good condition. Same cassette, same chain, same ring, and I use it daily(not a huge daily distance) and have done for the last 2 1/2 years.
Turbo all the way baby 😉
You mean like borrowing the bosses brand new car and driving it without using the clutch 😂
I recently spoke to someone who'd just passed their driving test in their mid-20s, didn't know what clutch was.
How often have handbrake ratchets ever worn out?
The point is, that the mechanical device in question can be operated without it making a noise/movements/friction, and you are operating it in a way that does. Fair enough if it's something like a ratchet strap where you need the ratchet to get it tight.
Two clicks should be more than enough!
Should be able to judge how much is enough by feeling the tension increase.
My neighbour cuts the corner of the house very close. There's a large boot wipe with a good 10kg stone base, she's managed to move it with her near side rear wheel a few times. The alloy wheel show several run ins with hard objects.
I've had to stand and watch a lad using a ratchet spanner incorrectly.
No , you didn't need to remove it every 90 degrees of rotation and reposition it , it's on a ratchet that lets it freely rotate one way but not the other
How often have handbrake ratchets ever worn out?
It's also uncooth and abrasive behaviour
Yeah, I don't get the riding the clutch bit either. I often see cars in front of me edging forwards a bit, then rolling back, rinse and repeat a dozen times. Why on earth folk choose to do that rather than applying the handbrake baffles me. Surely applying the handbrake is far easier? 🤷♂️
people who have bicycles that squeak and rattle. Not just BSOs but folk on good mountainbikes / r5oad bikes - drives me demented
You should see some of the stuff that turns up in my LBS. It's quite staggering that bikes can actually get that bad and still work (to an extent).
The mechanic has a list for what people call the various parts of their bike. Winners so far include "the wheel with teeth" and "the uppy downy forks".
Mrs WF doesn't drive much, and being German tends to drive too far to the left for my liking. This may well ahve contributed to her flatting both passenger side tyres on one trip to town. Having already fitted the spare she realised the 2nd was going down while about 3 miles from home. Never mind she thinks, not far, should be OK? Tells me about it when she gets home. I take a look. The rear tyre has gone completely, just 2 bands of rubber still in the beads either side. She hadn't realised the tyre had gone!
I’ve nearly divorced MrsRNP for not holding the button in when pulling the handbrake on!
Ah, some of them are designed that way. Vauxhall Astra, Vectra and Corsa at the very least.
Also early 2000s larger Fords (Mondeo definitely) and it was also designed to be in the cruise missile position. Cable actuated hydraulic handbrake also found on a number of Citroen or Renault models iirc. People didn't read the manual and cars rolled.
Not a lot of sympathy for people on show here is there
There's nothing to be sympathetic about. Maybe we could empathise with their cluelessness and whatever reason that prevented them from making effort to learn?
Our daughter has a number of carers who all have their own quirks but as a collective can cause devastation to anything mechanical in very short order and are the reason it's pointless having nice things.
Driving is a given, each of them has marked at least one panel on the car. (it has parking sensors on every corner, a reversing camera too)
Domestic appliances, tumble dryers have a filter? Yes just like ne the one you have at home, vacuum cleaner needs to be emptied? Yes just like etc...
"Oooh look the blind has jammed, I know I'll pull on it harder, that will fix it, oh no it maybe didn't, now it's on the floor."
I also wonder if they break or chip so much glassware and crockery at home.
But their latest wheeze is breaking the toilet, both the seat fixings and now the flush button!
Every door has been slammed open so dents are left in walls by the handles.
If I had found myself married to one these people it would have only been for a short while and I would have priced up a new patio fairly quickly.
I’m in the camp of being not mechanically minded and absolutely hopeless at DIY and jobs around the house.
I have my rationale behind it. I’m a director of an investment bank, pretty busy working long hours. I don’t want to spend my down time doing something that either has little interest to me or I can get someone else to deal with.
I know that’s incredibly non STW, but honestly I’m so bad at DIY it’s best for me to leave to other people.
Smokey_jo - I used to case manage a number of big social care packages. A common complaint from parents was how the staff treated the person’s home - from wasting electricity to damage as you describe. I genuinely think it was how they managed their own homes though, they didn’t learn despite repeated complaints.
people who have bicycles that squeak and rattle.
Yeah I only get around to putolining the chain on my hybrid/commuter once, maybe twice a year. On the ride home, the clunky grinding noises and tactile feedback through the pedals were enough for an oiling as soon as I got the bike back in the shed. I should have done that last Wednesday at the latest but you know, life and shit.
I’m a director of an investment bank
Exactly this! My problem too, definitely 100% No word of a lie. 😉
Seems to be a trait amongst care staff from my experience - the amount of stuff that gets broken was just astonishing
Seems to be a trait amongst care staff from my experience – the amount of stuff that gets broken was just astonishing
Mums carer comes in. Would you like a cup of tea she asks mum. And proceeds to fill the kettle to its upmost capacity.
Just for that single cup. And wont be told just to put in one cup and a bit. Unbelievable 🙄
I'm currently driving round with the engine warning lamp showing on my van. Pretty sure it's only a temp sensor because the gauge isn't working but the thermostat isn't affected because the cab heating is working as normal and there's no other limp-mode or weird behaviour/noise. But I'm doing it having done basic checks and considered the implications rather than just driving round with the radio turned up.
It's booked in Thursday, I'm aware it may not be doing the EGR any good or regenning the particulate filter if it's not registering the right temps, so it's definitely getting fixed. Sympathetic enough for you?
You should see some of the stuff that turns up in my LBS. It’s quite staggering that bikes can actually get that bad and still work (to an extent).
The mechanic has a list for what people call the various parts of their bike. Winners so far include “the wheel with teeth” and “the uppy downy forks”.
That's my sister and her ebike (she doesn't drive). Teeth grinding. I sent her a list from the Chiggle fire sale: buy this, this, this and this. That'll be my Christmas, in her garage with my bike toolbox fixing everything that's wrong with her bloody ebike.
I recently spoke to someone who’d just passed their driving test in their mid-20s, didn’t know what clutch was.<br /><br />
From that I can only assume that she learned driving an automatic. I can’t imagine any instructor teaching a pupil in a manual without knowing how to use a clutch.
Or else she’s in America.
From recent personal experience working on brand new motoring school cars, the overwhelming majority are manual transmission, any automatics we actually have to put decals on the rear with ‘Automatic’ printed on them, and that wasn’t that often. That’s national driving schools, not local individuals.
I don't mind (or care)if people have no mechanical skills,it's the ones that pretend they do,then completely arse it up that annoy me 😉 😜
Aye - if folk have no mechanical ability thats fine. But ignoring obviously broken things or just not caring?
The worst I saw was a community nurse with a lease car. two tyres were obviously way low on pressure - I told her and she said its leased and goes back in a couple of months so what. She also had both the full beams out and one dipped beam. The car was unroadworthy despite only being a year or two old and she could have had it sorted for free but just didn't bother
If you've ever owned a van with a sliding side door you'll know not to let about 98% of any bugger go anywhere near shutting it.
A riding mate of mine consistently sends mine shut like he's pitching in the friggin World Series! 😳
It makes me want to cry (as well as putting his head in the door while I do the same 😂 )
I can only think that most people think van doors need sliding shut with the force of a 70mph car crash because most doors have constantly been shut with the force of a 70mph car crash, are now broken and so consequently need shutting with the force of a 70mph car crash.
Aaaaaggggghhhhh! 😭
Not mechanical sympathy but still boils my wee . Beginning of the month I filled the car with petrol , wife has been off 3 or 4 times in it since , last Friday first time I've needed to use it for ages it needs petrol again 😔 one time it happened ( regular occurrence) I asked her if she'd like to do a quiz , I drew a picture of a petrol pump and said can you guess what this is ? 🙄
Similarly she's used our printer to print off shed loads of Cross Stitch charts , the weekend I needed to print off something it's out of ink 🙄When I mentioned it her reply was " Well you didn't write ink cartridge on the shopping list " 🤔
I’ve nearly divorced MrsRNP for not holding the button in when pulling the handbrake on!
When handbrakes fail, its almost never the ratchet mechanism, and its' nearly always the return spring, because of folks pushing the button and compressing the spring when they don't need to. The ratchet mechanism has an almost infinite life. You may not like the sound, but its supposed to do that, while you think its mechanically sympathetic to stop it making that noise, you're actually being unsympathetic to a spring that's not designed to be compressed that often.
You owe your wife an apology.
The thing that drives me insane are the folks for whom every nut and bolt is a test of their masculinity and strength. They've never heard of 'nipped up', or bothered with torque settings; if its not done up with enough force to stop a locomotive moving, they see it as personal failure.
This is another of those threads and I've been guilty of it myself, which rails against the world because 'not everyone is like me'. To have mechanical sympathy you have to have at least a basic interest in engineering and a curiosity about how mechanical things work. I do, and possibly a majority of people on a cycling forum do, but lots of people (most?) don't.
But then lots of those people are musical, good at languages, football or a dozens of other things I'm rubbish at. It takes all sorts and accepting that makes for a more chilled life.
I'm a complete hypocrite of course, as any of my many rants on the 'stuff that makes you disproportionately cross' thread will show!
Countless times I’ve got into someone’s car as a passenger, and within the first two minutes I’m asking them what’s that noise. Something banging underneath (not just rattling)
My car was being collected at the end of its lease yesterday, and whilst the collection driver was expressing amazement that I didn’t have any kerb marks on the alloy wheels (humblebrag), a car drove past my house with the exhaust hanging off. Hanging on by one bracket and dragging on the road making a hell of a racket. Neither of us could quite believe the driver hadn’t noticed.
But think of the things that the host would get mended
You owe your wife an apology
+1 handbrakes are meant to be ratchetted and it's in the owner's manual too, "Always apply the parking
brake. Activate the manual parking brake without pressing the release button. Apply as firmly as possible on a downhill slope or uphill slope. Depress brake pedal at the same time to reduce operating force."
But think of the things that the host would get mended
👏 👏
😆
In contrast, when I used to race karts the best natural driver was my mate's girlfriend Jane. Stunningly quick but with no mechanical sympathy. She used to ring every last ounce out of the engine and brakes, had no fear and had great control (she never crashed the same way twice).
a car drove past my house with the exhaust hanging off. Hanging on by one bracket and dragging on the road making a hell of a racket. Neither of us could quite believe the driver hadn’t noticed.
Didn't notice, didn't care.... 🤷🏻♂️
A worryingly high percentage of cars on the road would fail even a basic MOT because the absolute limit of most people's knowledge/experience with cars is to fill them with fuel occasionally. Maybe the windscreen washer bottle too.
But then people ride bikes like that too - have a look at the average commuter bike being locked up at a station with its rusty chain, 4 working gears, half inflated/bald tyres...
Visiting a relative in sheltered accommodation I found:
Wrong sized toilet seat poorly fitted
Kitchen tap with hot and cold reversed and mixer 90 degrees off centre
Just. No.
It’s also uncooth and abrasive behaviour
It's spelled 'uncouth', FWIW. And it's not, it's a ratchet, it's what it's made for.
Every door has been slammed open so dents are left in walls by the handles.
Door stops are your friend here. Doesn't excuse the damage but will mitigate it.
People manoeuvring their car and going lock to lock while completely stationary. I can’t watch/listen to it and have to walk away. Even worse on gravelly surfaces.. horrific!
But at least the gravel is giving it something to slide on.
But think of the things that the host would get mended
Done that 😂
There used to be a chap in our local riding group, a big, strong laddie, joiner to trade.
Not much subtlety in bike care; would rarely ask how much to tighten things up when doing maintenance.
The standing joke was always: 'up until it breaks, then back half a turn..'
Cable actuated hydraulic handbrake also found on a number of Citroen or Renault models iirc. People didn’t read the manual and cars rolled.
I had a Citroen with that handbrake, the problem was that it operated (separate) callipers on the rear discs, and when they cooled, the car rolled... Citroen's 'solution' was to remove all the teeth from the ratchet except the last one.
Consequentially my wife didn't have the strength to take the handbrake off as it was already at the limit of its travel.
But back to the subject, IME folk with zero mechanical sympathy are usually fundamentally lazy and often have no real understanding of costs (fix vs replace).
I agree that I can cope with someone who doesn't understand, we all have different skills.
I really struggle with some family members who are basically unaware or, worse, actively resistant to seek help or sort basics. I've a close family member whom I'm taking headlight bulbs to over Christmas - as one headlight has been out since July when I last visited and MOT is due in February. She's a community nurse....
Sometimes if feel there is hope. On my way bike from picking up Jnr from a day of Tri training - an hours drive, I was educating Jnr to what I thought was a recent introduction of transmission whine in my car. He was quite attentive to the sound and I was thinking this was a great father/son moment. <br /><br />
Until I looked around and he’d fallen asleep with his forehead on the window.
A riding mate of mine consistently sends mine shut like he’s pitching in the friggin World Series! 😳
A locksmith I used to work with, many moons ago slammed the barn doors of an Escort van so hard, the rear window smashed. That was amusing.
One of my current colleagues slammed a Transit custom barn door so hard it bent the door.
I really struggle with some family members who are basically unaware or, worse, actively resistant...
Our son. I've shown him engine fluids, tyres, etc a few times and he learnt the basics for his driving test. He'll do his competently if I go outside to do mine but won't move if it's a solo effort.
The other one that winds me up is broken works vehicles that are obviously broken and are left for the next user to fix. There's a workshop 100m away with technicians and stuff, park it there instead and walk 100m
And breathe!
People manoeuvring their car and going lock to lock while completely stationary. I can’t watch/listen to it and have to walk away.
My current car can park itself - and does exactly the above when reverse parking - it goes from lock to lock whilst stationary, and quite quickly. I guess BMW don’t have to pay for tyres.
My current car can park itself – and does exactly the above when reverse parking – it goes from lock to lock whilst stationary, and quite quickly. I guess BMW don’t have to pay for tyres.
Really? My old Golf (2010) with autopark definitely needed movement to start turning the wheels. Bit of a shocker from BMW there - the strain of low pro tyres on all those steering and suspension bits must be extraordinary.
I’m in the camp of being not mechanically minded and absolutely hopeless at DIY and jobs around the house.
The challenge for me is not that I don't want to be able to do a lot of things as I can't always afford to get stuff professionally fixed (bikes, DIY et al), its the sheer terror of, if I do have a go and it goes wrong, how the hell do you fix that problem, or how much will it cost to fix! Seriously not good for folks with anxiety issues to begin with.
just to check - are there "people" on here who haven't converted their handbrake to fly-off ?
eww
This is another of those threads and I’ve been guilty of it myself, which rails against the world because ‘not everyone is like me’. To have mechanical sympathy you have to have at least a basic interest in engineering and a curiosity about how mechanical things work. I do, and possibly a majority of people on a cycling forum do, but lots of people (most?) don’t.
Amen 🙃
I had a Citroen with that handbrake, the problem was that it operated (separate) callipers on the rear discs, and when they cooled, the car rolled…
Happened to me, parked on a hill, not in gear (my cock-up) though handbraked to the moon, as the brakes cooled, it rolled, ended up on its roof about 100 yards down the hill in someone's drive-way, I heard it crash along with all the neighbours, and we all rushed to the car, one chap on looking in through the driver's window exclaimed "where's the driver?" when I said "standing behind you" there was much confusion.
That's how an economy exists, everyone contributes in their own way. Some people diagnose and fix mechanical issues with cars, some people fix mechanical issues with humans. What sort of world would it be if we all acted like robots that stopped everything and adjusted their 'insert example here'.
Would you like to be a rounded enough individual to be able to exist as a one man band, doing everything yourself? I'm not and I really appreciate that mechanic that can do a job for me, freeing up time so I can do 'insert example here.'
A little while back someone on here was running a community eBike hire, the users were regularly destroying drivetrains by incompetent use of the gears and motor. There were no consequences for the people that did this, which I’m sure is in the spirit of the programme, and they were looking to upgrade the bikes to make it less likely.
I’m confused what your complaint is here… …it sounds like the original bikes failed to take into account the usability requirements of the target demographic. A lot of the complaints of, frankly middle aged grumpy old men, on this thread are actually design failures rather than lack of mechanical sympathy.
I’ve a close family member whom I’m taking headlight bulbs to over Christmas – as one headlight has been out since July when I last visited and MOT is due in February. She’s a community nurse….
They'll just replace it during the MOT and charge her for the bulb.
I'm on a couple of VW Transporter pages on FB and they're constantly full of questions like "this warning light came on shortly after starting a 400 mile drive - I ignored it and completed my journey, is it something to worry about?" and "all this rust - is there something I can just cover it up with so I can't see it anymore?".
My wife slams doors and it drives me nuts, the force she uses to shut a car door is enough that I sometimes go and check it hasn't opened the opposite door.
Maybe we could empathise with their cluelessness and whatever reason that prevented them from making effort to learn?
Maybe they don't care about the same things you care about so they have no interest to learn rather than not bothering to learn. I most likely care about stuff you don't care about, so what.
Some people wash their cars every week, I was mine probably twice a year simply because it is not a priority for me and my time
The thing that drives me insane are the folks for whom every nut and bolt is a test of their masculinity and strength
Once picked up a kids bike from a guy. It had a cut down seat post and we couldn't work out the size. He quickly whipped out a set of vernier calipers and measured it up. I professed how impressive it was to have these kicking about and he told me he was an engineer by trade.
Every single bolt on that bloody bike was done up so tight it hurt!
There is a huge difference between not having mechanical sympathy and /or skills and driving cars with flat tyres and no headlights
They’ll just replace it during the MOT and charge her for the bulb.
*whoosh*
It's supposed to be safe and road legal ALL THE TIME not just for the bloody test 🙂
Really gives me the shivers sometimes. Seems a lot of people don’t have a clue how their treatment of mechanical stuff is causing harm, probably because they don’t have the slightest idea of how it works.
just stop watching Just Rolled In on utube 😉
and driving cars with flat tyres
from what I read on here most people seem to enjoy riding their bikes with flat tyres.
I don't lend tools out. Had people borrow them indefinitely and it was a right job getting it back, then lent a wet tile cutter to my neice with strict instructions to change the water evey couple of cuts (tile debris in water can damage the blade and reduces the neatness of the cut). Came back with a totally knackered blade - no offer to replace it. I'd managed to tile a whole bathroom without damaging the blade.
Quite recently I was at the gym and a bolt had worked loose on a seat. I spoke to an instructor and he came over with an allen key and tried to fit and tighten it. However, he had the long shaft in the hex bolt and was trying to lever it by holding the shorter end. His mind was completely blown when I pointed it that he could swap it around and have move leverage. I mean, as an adult, how could you possibly not work that one out?
But my real pet hate is people who turn the steering wheel on a car when the vehicle is stationary.
Seatbelts - how does the wife manage to take off her seatbelt in such a way that when it smashes into the window it sounds like someone is trying to carjack us with a hammer?
I'm cursed with mechanical sympathy. Wish I could switch it off but just can't help noticing/fretting about things. Can be quite distressing at times.
IME folk with no mechanical sympathy are a bunch of gibers, censurers, backbiters, pickpockets, highwaymen, housebreakers, attorneys, bawds, buffoons, gamesters, politicians, wits, splenetics, tedious talkers, controvertists, ravishers, murderers, robbers, virtuosos, scoundrels raised from the dust upon the merit of their vices, nobility thrown into it on account of their virtues; lords, fiddlers, judges and dancing-masters all.
Hang the lot of them!