I got into bikes after moving to a cyclists' town. I know the pride of riding something you've fixed up like the author mentioned in the article. Bikes are truly a marvel. My town and bikes have provided me with a higher standard of living and health than I would have had in some other town.
Bikes are for everybody. You can ride a beat up bike for years with just basic knowledge, like changing an inner tube and oiling a chain. General and advanced bike maintenance was a mystery until YouTube came along. Now I get to pass this knowledge directly to my kids.
>Bikes are for everybody. You can ride a beat up bike for years with just basic knowledge, l
That is true. But what changed most sceptics, that i met, mind were bikes that actually worked. I understand the fear when people see the price tag and think they could buy a second hand car for that, but once they sit on a good bike they just enjoy it. And if they then learn how to do basic maintenance themselves so that it just stays good and doesn't creak all the time, they fall in love with them. I love bikes.
There's a certain zen that comes with maintenance or building of everything, from bikes to radios to cars. I'm not sure if it comes from experience or age, but when it happens it changes how you think of things. Finding that zen leads to faster and better quality work. Maybe it's just an exercise in patience that feels zen like.
My back's not got much in it these days, so I've mostly been supervising my wife who stubbornly wants to learn it all. It's funny watching her go through the same hot head, cuss, throw your tools experience I did years ago. I tried to explain my zen theory, but she sure wasn't having it, so I'm leaning towards experience.
Zen and the art of bicycle maintenance... a la Pirsig? Maybe, as she works, you could read her passages from the book about bringing quality to life through wrenching bikes, of all kinds?
Maintaining a personal collection of 7 Peugeot bikes from the 70ies (they are used daily) is my way of getting a relaxed Saturday afternoon out of the software engineering / childcare grind every few weeks. Maintaining your primary mode of transportation completely yourself is very satisfying.
Most of our bikes were incredibly cheap (sometimes < 20 EUR) because you couldn't ride them anymore, and restoring them was quite relaxing. For example, I restored one with a mint-condition frame, using mostly original parts. Originally, it cost 70 EUR. It now looks exactly like this (minus the pannier and with the original gearshift): https://old.reddit.com/r/bikecommuting/comments/uxt0tb/new_b... My wife uses it daily. In my opinion, these bikes have a beauty and elegance which modern bikes simply do not have.
I have made some valuable contacts over the years. For example, I know an eccentric local guy who literally has a 3 meter mountain of old bikes behind his workshop and has every original spare part of pre-2000 bikes imaginable in his cellar. I also know someone on the internet who manufactures pulleys (the little plastic gears) for old Simplex derailleurs at home (they are hard to replace, as modern pulleys don't fit).
My basic rule of thumb of buying an old bike: if the frame is OK, you can restore it for under 200 EUR. Most of the time, it's trivial things like a broken chain, broken brakes, missing spokes, etc.
Once the bike is restored, maintenance is usually painless. The typical wearing parts (chain, bowden cables, tires, brakes) can be replaced with modern standard parts which you can get everywhere.
When I experience / see people diss cyclists, I'm sad for them. It implies they cannot empathise with others (me). My physical and mental health are better thanks to cycling.
I'm a part-time cyclist (I stopped using cars 5 years ago) but after seeing a few bad ones on youtube videos I can understand the rage sometimes. They just cut anywhere without any regards for traffic.
That said a lot of people are crazy on roads, motorbikes, cars too (probably more often and more dangerously).
I love cycling but absolutely hate maintenance. I’d always prefer to be riding my bike than working on it. Two recent enhancements that significantly improved my life are electronic shifting, and wax lube.
I haven’t had to mess around with gear indexing once since I bought a bike with electronic shifting (SRAM Rival) a couple years ago, and it always shifts perfectly. I do have to keep the batteries charged, but one charge a week is more than enough with daily riding - so never had any issues there.
With wax lube (I use Squirt) I spend a lot less time cleaning my chain. What used to be a pretty annoying weekly process of degreasing and lubing my chain now takes a minute or two: use a dry brush to scrape off any excess wax buildup and then apply more wax. Much quicker and much cleaner than the old dry lube I used to use. And the chain is cleaner and quieter too.
Other than that, I basically hose off the bike and wipe it with a towel after every ride, and align/clean the disc brakes occasionally. My ratio of ride time to maintenance time has never been higher.
I pulled a rusted 2011 Fuji mountain bike out of the mud at burning man and spent the fall replacing every part on it except the frame, fork, and seat. I set up craigslist alerts for bike parts in my area, explored the local bike salvage shops, and found deals like a $35 dropper post that only needed a $6 bushing to be good as new. I installed hydraulic brakes with huge rotors, got the tires I wanted, and had an absolute blast wrenching on it while listening to Flip Bike videos on YouTube. I really found out how much I love wrenching on bikes that fall. After years of only road biking since my mountain bike was stolen and then I converted my new mountain bike to an electric city street runner, I finally had an analog mountain bike again and I built it all up myself. It was wonderful and the first mountain ride (my first in years) was transcendent.
But I’ve noticed that if what I want to be doing is be out riding my bike, I sure do hate it when something needs to be fixed!
There's also the old low-maintenance way that is common for people who commute daily on city bikes - internal gear (or single speed) hub, and just ignore your chain apart from adding oil when it starts squeaking, and get it serviced once a year or so or when a problem appears. A newer variation is belt drive instead of chain.
I'm at the other end of the spectrum and am always fettling my bikes and looking to upgrade parts etc. However, I've switched over to just using Squirt lube on my chain (on my road bike at least) as I previously tried the full wax treatment. That involved cleaning a new chain to remove the factory applied grease (using a cheap ultrasonic cleaning machine) and then using a cheap pan to warm up paraffin wax to which I added some micronised graphite (bought off eBay) for extra lubrication, although it turns the wax and your drive-train black. Soak the chain, then pull it out and let it cool off until the wax has hardened. I found that a treated chain would last for about 100 miles or so before needing a top-up (of squirt lube) or another dip in the wax bath, so I was alternating between two chains.
However, when I was topping-up the treatment with Squirt, I thought why not just use the Squirt and not bother with the whole waxing business. The problem I have is not being good at looking after my bike straight after a ride and here in the UK, that means the chain tends to get rusty so I end up getting through more chains than I should.
I bought a bicycle with a Pinion gear box and a Gates carbon belt drive. No lube, no derailleur, no chain falling off, no maintenance, hose off after a muddy ride. The belt will last 3x longer than a chain presumably.
I think bike maintenance is one of those things that is similar to how you read about programmers who pick up woodworking here on HN. I know it's a zen thing for me, similar to other "craftmanship" (I'm not sure if this is the right english word for things like machanics, carpenters, plubmers and so on) like home improvement DIY, gardening or even cleaning the damn house.
It's just very zen. Both because it tends to relatively less tasking on your executive functions, is physical and provides tangible results that you can see and "feel" relatively quickly. It may also be because programming is frankly a craftmanship for the most parts. There are a few projects where I'm doing Computer Science, but for the most part I'm a digital plumber.
There's no need to degrease your chain. In fact kmc recommend that you don't. Just give it a wipe once a week and apply a little oil. Maybe scrape some of the crap off the sprockets every few months.
Just wait until you hot wax your chain. Take the chain off your bike, drop it into a crock pot full of wax, take a nap, wake up, put chain back on bike.
I personally love working on bikes. I'd replace my behind the keyboard all day tech job in a split second, if I could afford to do so.
Clean after every ride? That's way overkill. I only clean my bike when I need to re-wax my chain.
During the pandemic I decided I wanted to build a bike too, the idea came to me after watching Berm Peak and Park Tools on YouTube, similar to what happened to this person. So being stuck working from home, I bought parts and tools to build a brand new full suspension mountain bike. Like this person it took longer than I wanted because I was missing some specialized tools (bearing and bearing press for the rear suspension) and parts I didn't know I needed. But it all worked out in the end.
When the project was finished took apart my old off-the-shelf mountain bike, now all that remains of it is a frame with the paint stripped off. I plan to convert it to internal cable routing, paint it (I've been watching Etoe on YouTube) and then turn it into an e-bike.
As a side effect of buying all the tools you need to build and repair bikes, I've also repaired my almost two decades sold exercise bike, which had trashed ball bearings. It also made me realize that most people would have thrown it away and bought a brand new one.
I've been building a new bike every year since 2018 or 2019. This year I took apart the alloy bike assembled in 2019 and moved the parts to a new steel Surly frame. During the pandemic I've built a steel hardtail.
I suspect what the author takes joy from is more the satisfaction of learning a new skill.
Like many things, bike maintenance eventually becomes a chore. Most of my (many) bikes over the last 30 years have been built from the ground up, including the wheels. And I don’t (or won’t) trust any shop mechanic to touch them. But now, the thought of doing any sort of maintenance fills me with dread - I want to ride my bikes, not spend hours fiddling with brake hydraulics and suspension seals!
> I want to ride my bikes, not spend hours fiddling with brake hydraulics and suspension seals!
Not a problem! Why not...
> I don’t (or won’t) trust any shop mechanic to touch them
Oh. That explains it.
Have you considered reverting to simpler bicycles that require less frequent and simpler maintenance. Rigid frame, cable-actuated brakes, possibly a gearbox?
I was just thinking it would be neat to use an LLM to study how comments on a post change in tone as the sun rises over different countries and cultures. Also what articles make it to the front page etc.
At the moment the US is asleep, and I’m getting more of a European vibe from the comments.
I think you're right about the U.S. not getting involved yet. They suffer a lot from motonormativity and consider cyclists to be the bane of civilisation.
I have a 1993 or 1994 Marin Indian Fire Trail mountain bike that I've been repairing over the past few weeks. I've replaced all the brake and shift cables, new tubes and tires, and performed the usual maintenance on the ball bearings, like cleaning and greasing them. The biggest issue was getting my Shimano XT derailleur, which is integrated with the brake levers, back in working order. Thankfully, I found YouTube videos that alleviated my fear of completely disassembling, cleaning, re-greasing, and reassembling the gear unit. It's a marvel of engineering that reminds me of a simple watch mechanism (a very simple one). Until I found the YouTube video, I thought I definitely had to buy a new derailleur. However, that would have led to many other new parts being needed, like new cogs, new brake levers, etc. Then perhaps other issues because the bike still has old cantilever brakes and so on. After reassembling the derailleur, the bike runs as well as it did on the first day: the gears click and clack so wonderfully that it's a pure joy to shift. Plus, there's the wonderful feeling of having restored a 40-year-old mountain bike to working order with the original parts.
I also have an older road racing bike that is completely equipped with a Shimano 105 groupset. With it, maintenance and getting it running is child's play. The simplicity of a frame shifter makes everything much easier.
Sadly, many parts of modern mountain bikes seem to be less durable and not repairable. For most of the stuff I can't or don't want/have time to do, I take into the shop. And generally, they throw up their hands and say it needs to be replaced. Did that with two dropper posts this week. (One needed a rebuild that would cost more than replacement. The other had a (luckily under warranty) faulty cartridge).
I will also say that e-bikes are much more fun than I would have thought. And not very serviceable.
You have to factor in labor costs. The marvel of modern logistics is that it's often cheaper to ship a new part over from across the Pacific than it is to do a proper repair where the faulty part is taken apart and hand repaired.
Take a look at the local rate of machinists and mechanical engineers and then decide whether you truly want to have your bike part "repaired".
One should choose their bike components carefully. I have been able to service every single component on my mountain bike, excluding suspension since that requires knowledge and time I don’t have time to acquire (yet!). As a general rule choosing mechanical components instead of electronic ones has been rewarding on the longevity and repairability fronts. That said some components are consumable, like the dropper post cartridge you mentioned, but to arrive at the point it requires replacement you either used it a lot (I’m jealous!) or it was simply faulty :-/
Might also be a good idea looking for other bike shops in your area. Mine is always trying to recycle and repair components.
I had a similar experience during the pandemic. I got hold of an old frame for a road bike that I somehow liked. Even the paint was pretty bad so I went all the way of stripping the old paint, cold-setting the rear dropouts (thanks to Sheldon Brown's website) so that it will take the modern wheels, painting the frame, and assembling everything with new parts.
It took me two years because I had to learn a lot how different components fit together and all sorts of specific spacings.
Now, I have a very unique and beautiful bike (people on the street tell me). But above all, I know every detail of that bicycle and how to fix it.
The reason why IT people love this stuff (also woodworking, gardening, etc.) so much is that there's routine. Most of the bikes are very similar. If you've rebuilt one, you have the competency to build another one.
In software, every project is a new challenge. It's more like building a new technical object all the time. I think software development could benefit from rewriting stuff every now and then. Many of my former projects would benefit a lot if I had a couple of week to take apart all the functions and assemble them in a better way that consideres everything I've learned so far.
Back in time as a student, I had to stay in the student city over summer due to an internship. Everyone else left, so the evenings were quite free. I ended up buying a cheap old bikes and refurbish it completely. Like, take every single piece apart, clean, sand and possibly paint.
It gave me an admiration for the cleverness but also the simplicity of the design. Truing the wheels felt like an art, and I got so interested in the concept that I ended up writing my thesis around lacing patterns for the spokes on the wheels. It actually got posted to HN at the time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10410813
I do all maintenance on my bikes now. Always a good excuse to buy some new gadget, right? This other week I applied new bar tape and bled my brakes. I originally wanted some repair shop to do it, but that would mean bike there, get to work somehow, then get back there and then be able to bike home. Seemed more hassle than just fixing it myself, given I'm dependent on my bike.
The modern bicycle is the pinnacle of personal transport technology. It's yet to be surpassed. Unfortunately unbridled consumption of fossil fuels has made cars economical enough that you can't cycle anywhere any more. I heard people are getting into gravel biking now because the road is too unpleasant.
I maintain a small but shrinking amount of hope that we might be able to get rid of cars. Sometimes I think it's getting better, but then I remember how much had already been ceded to them in just my lifetime. Maybe when I'm old it will be possible to cycle around safely and young people will know true freedom.
Repairing bicycles is part of that freedom really. You don't a lot of space or super expensive tools. There's no toxic liquids to deal with. I rebuilt a bike from the frame up around 2006 without any help from YouTube. I realised later I did a lot of it wrong as I was essentially guessing, but I still rode it for many hundreds of miles.
In London things have got quite a lot better of cycling over the last decade or so - more cycle routes and more car restrictions. So it can trend the other way. Also ebikes help.
Thankful I learned to fix a flat tire at 5 and steadily built experience in bike repair since, from where my first moped and car repairs felt like basic extensions…
The blog comes very close to quoting ‘zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ -I wonder if the author read that…
> The blog comes very close to quoting ‘zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ -I wonder if the author read that…
I did! But I did so long before I started with bike repair, so at that time I couldn't really connect with it. Thank you for reminding me that I should give it a second read!
Thanks, this was a good read. To me, this puts a finger on a fear of mine that probably many programmers have. How do you show someone else the thing that you've built, how do you show them the work that you do and the value that it creates? To an observer, say, your own child, you're just sitting in front of a screen. There's layers upon layers of cruft that you need to first learn to understand what your parent is doing there. A physical thing is easy - you can just show them that thing that you made.
I still use my aluminum mountain bike from 1997. At 27 years now, it still drives like a new bike. I invest about 300 Eur every two years for repairs. Use it 10-20 km daily. No need for a car!
Wrenching on a motorcycle is similarly rewarding/zen. A little more complex than a bicycle and sometimes requiring some more specialist tools but otherwise pretty much the same thing.
Especially older, carbureted motorcycles with minimal electronics. You can often work everything out and get them going like new again with just some elbow grease and replacing perishables like fluids, seals, gaskets, etc.
Not to mention it's fun riding a bike that previously didn't even kick over before it came into your hands.
How timely: my bicycle's rear tire is a goner. My brother changes it by himself but I only have the skill to take the wheel off and bring it to the shop!
> and the greater the chance they’ll conclude they’re working in a bullshit job.
OK but you guys all know how many software have been involved in the creation and shipping of that bicycle and all its material? It's software all the way. The 3D modelling, the logistics, all the payment processing making buying/shipping the materials, etc.
I won't comment on taxes (on revenues for all the companies involved and on their employees too and on the sale etc.) and all the software that implicates and all the bureaucracy that it allows to thrive because, to me, that is the real bullshit that should be decimated (not reduced to zero but decimated).
But anyway many things we enjoy and take for granted exists thanks to and because of software.
Put it this way: even if they're similar in that they both have two wheels, I'm not trading an early 20th century for my Specialized (californian company btw even though I'm in the EU) full carbon S-Works (S-Works is the top end from Specialized) bicycle.
Thank you very much, software devs, for having made the creation of that wonderful bicycle possible.
Good read, thanks. I found myself in this article having started to repair an old bicycle and bringing it back to life. I always thought that manual labor is more satisfactory than mental labor because you can immediately see the outcome and the value produced. Being a computer engineer I feel the need to disconnect myself from what I call "the abstract world" and get in touch with something real. Something I can touch.
[+] [-] leke|1 year ago|reply
Bikes are for everybody. You can ride a beat up bike for years with just basic knowledge, like changing an inner tube and oiling a chain. General and advanced bike maintenance was a mystery until YouTube came along. Now I get to pass this knowledge directly to my kids.
[+] [-] dailykoder|1 year ago|reply
That is true. But what changed most sceptics, that i met, mind were bikes that actually worked. I understand the fear when people see the price tag and think they could buy a second hand car for that, but once they sit on a good bike they just enjoy it. And if they then learn how to do basic maintenance themselves so that it just stays good and doesn't creak all the time, they fall in love with them. I love bikes.
[+] [-] silisili|1 year ago|reply
My back's not got much in it these days, so I've mostly been supervising my wife who stubbornly wants to learn it all. It's funny watching her go through the same hot head, cuss, throw your tools experience I did years ago. I tried to explain my zen theory, but she sure wasn't having it, so I'm leaning towards experience.
[+] [-] randcraw|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] lqet|1 year ago|reply
Most of our bikes were incredibly cheap (sometimes < 20 EUR) because you couldn't ride them anymore, and restoring them was quite relaxing. For example, I restored one with a mint-condition frame, using mostly original parts. Originally, it cost 70 EUR. It now looks exactly like this (minus the pannier and with the original gearshift): https://old.reddit.com/r/bikecommuting/comments/uxt0tb/new_b... My wife uses it daily. In my opinion, these bikes have a beauty and elegance which modern bikes simply do not have.
I have made some valuable contacts over the years. For example, I know an eccentric local guy who literally has a 3 meter mountain of old bikes behind his workshop and has every original spare part of pre-2000 bikes imaginable in his cellar. I also know someone on the internet who manufactures pulleys (the little plastic gears) for old Simplex derailleurs at home (they are hard to replace, as modern pulleys don't fit).
My basic rule of thumb of buying an old bike: if the frame is OK, you can restore it for under 200 EUR. Most of the time, it's trivial things like a broken chain, broken brakes, missing spokes, etc.
Once the bike is restored, maintenance is usually painless. The typical wearing parts (chain, bowden cables, tires, brakes) can be replaced with modern standard parts which you can get everywhere.
[+] [-] BrianHenryIE|1 year ago|reply
When I experience / see people diss cyclists, I'm sad for them. It implies they cannot empathise with others (me). My physical and mental health are better thanks to cycling.
[+] [-] rozenmd|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] agumonkey|1 year ago|reply
That said a lot of people are crazy on roads, motorbikes, cars too (probably more often and more dangerously).
[+] [-] eternauta3k|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] jstanley|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] freetime2|1 year ago|reply
I haven’t had to mess around with gear indexing once since I bought a bike with electronic shifting (SRAM Rival) a couple years ago, and it always shifts perfectly. I do have to keep the batteries charged, but one charge a week is more than enough with daily riding - so never had any issues there.
With wax lube (I use Squirt) I spend a lot less time cleaning my chain. What used to be a pretty annoying weekly process of degreasing and lubing my chain now takes a minute or two: use a dry brush to scrape off any excess wax buildup and then apply more wax. Much quicker and much cleaner than the old dry lube I used to use. And the chain is cleaner and quieter too.
Other than that, I basically hose off the bike and wipe it with a towel after every ride, and align/clean the disc brakes occasionally. My ratio of ride time to maintenance time has never been higher.
[+] [-] TaylorAlexander|1 year ago|reply
But I’ve noticed that if what I want to be doing is be out riding my bike, I sure do hate it when something needs to be fixed!
[+] [-] fulafel|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago|reply
However, when I was topping-up the treatment with Squirt, I thought why not just use the Squirt and not bother with the whole waxing business. The problem I have is not being good at looking after my bike straight after a ride and here in the UK, that means the chain tends to get rusty so I end up getting through more chains than I should.
[+] [-] nwatson|1 year ago|reply
EDIT: autocorrect
[+] [-] Quothling|1 year ago|reply
It's just very zen. Both because it tends to relatively less tasking on your executive functions, is physical and provides tangible results that you can see and "feel" relatively quickly. It may also be because programming is frankly a craftmanship for the most parts. There are a few projects where I'm doing Computer Science, but for the most part I'm a digital plumber.
[+] [-] discreteevent|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] zikduruqe|1 year ago|reply
I personally love working on bikes. I'd replace my behind the keyboard all day tech job in a split second, if I could afford to do so.
Clean after every ride? That's way overkill. I only clean my bike when I need to re-wax my chain.
[+] [-] pelorat|1 year ago|reply
When the project was finished took apart my old off-the-shelf mountain bike, now all that remains of it is a frame with the paint stripped off. I plan to convert it to internal cable routing, paint it (I've been watching Etoe on YouTube) and then turn it into an e-bike.
As a side effect of buying all the tools you need to build and repair bikes, I've also repaired my almost two decades sold exercise bike, which had trashed ball bearings. It also made me realize that most people would have thrown it away and bought a brand new one.
[+] [-] petre|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] victorstanciu|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] AlunAlun|1 year ago|reply
Like many things, bike maintenance eventually becomes a chore. Most of my (many) bikes over the last 30 years have been built from the ground up, including the wheels. And I don’t (or won’t) trust any shop mechanic to touch them. But now, the thought of doing any sort of maintenance fills me with dread - I want to ride my bikes, not spend hours fiddling with brake hydraulics and suspension seals!
[+] [-] david-gpu|1 year ago|reply
Not a problem! Why not...
> I don’t (or won’t) trust any shop mechanic to touch them
Oh. That explains it.
Have you considered reverting to simpler bicycles that require less frequent and simpler maintenance. Rigid frame, cable-actuated brakes, possibly a gearbox?
[+] [-] drdo|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Luc|1 year ago|reply
At the moment the US is asleep, and I’m getting more of a European vibe from the comments.
[+] [-] ndsipa_pomu|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Ringz|1 year ago|reply
I also have an older road racing bike that is completely equipped with a Shimano 105 groupset. With it, maintenance and getting it running is child's play. The simplicity of a frame shifter makes everything much easier.
Bikes are the best invention since sliced bread.
[+] [-] __mharrison__|1 year ago|reply
I will also say that e-bikes are much more fun than I would have thought. And not very serviceable.
[+] [-] Onavo|1 year ago|reply
Take a look at the local rate of machinists and mechanical engineers and then decide whether you truly want to have your bike part "repaired".
[+] [-] gsora|1 year ago|reply
Might also be a good idea looking for other bike shops in your area. Mine is always trying to recycle and repair components.
[+] [-] petre|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] mo_42|1 year ago|reply
It took me two years because I had to learn a lot how different components fit together and all sorts of specific spacings.
Now, I have a very unique and beautiful bike (people on the street tell me). But above all, I know every detail of that bicycle and how to fix it.
The reason why IT people love this stuff (also woodworking, gardening, etc.) so much is that there's routine. Most of the bikes are very similar. If you've rebuilt one, you have the competency to build another one.
In software, every project is a new challenge. It's more like building a new technical object all the time. I think software development could benefit from rewriting stuff every now and then. Many of my former projects would benefit a lot if I had a couple of week to take apart all the functions and assemble them in a better way that consideres everything I've learned so far.
[+] [-] victorstanciu|1 year ago|reply
Well you can't just entice us like that without posting a photo! Here's one I painted that I am really proud of how it came out: https://tegowerk.eu/posts/nakamura-shadow-city-bike/
[+] [-] leke|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] matsemann|1 year ago|reply
It gave me an admiration for the cleverness but also the simplicity of the design. Truing the wheels felt like an art, and I got so interested in the concept that I ended up writing my thesis around lacing patterns for the spokes on the wheels. It actually got posted to HN at the time https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10410813
I do all maintenance on my bikes now. Always a good excuse to buy some new gadget, right? This other week I applied new bar tape and bled my brakes. I originally wanted some repair shop to do it, but that would mean bike there, get to work somehow, then get back there and then be able to bike home. Seemed more hassle than just fixing it myself, given I'm dependent on my bike.
[+] [-] globular-toast|1 year ago|reply
I maintain a small but shrinking amount of hope that we might be able to get rid of cars. Sometimes I think it's getting better, but then I remember how much had already been ceded to them in just my lifetime. Maybe when I'm old it will be possible to cycle around safely and young people will know true freedom.
Repairing bicycles is part of that freedom really. You don't a lot of space or super expensive tools. There's no toxic liquids to deal with. I rebuilt a bike from the frame up around 2006 without any help from YouTube. I realised later I did a lot of it wrong as I was essentially guessing, but I still rode it for many hundreds of miles.
[+] [-] tim333|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] ThomasBb|1 year ago|reply
The blog comes very close to quoting ‘zen and the art of motorcycle maintenance’ -I wonder if the author read that…
[+] [-] victorstanciu|1 year ago|reply
I did! But I did so long before I started with bike repair, so at that time I couldn't really connect with it. Thank you for reminding me that I should give it a second read!
[+] [-] zeristor|1 year ago|reply
https://youtu.be/Tq_xTeWiv6I
I remember first seeing this and thinking in some way it is more than funny, a more equal world.
[+] [-] parasti|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] Helmut10001|1 year ago|reply
[+] [-] jpgvm|1 year ago|reply
Especially older, carbureted motorcycles with minimal electronics. You can often work everything out and get them going like new again with just some elbow grease and replacing perishables like fluids, seals, gaskets, etc.
Not to mention it's fun riding a bike that previously didn't even kick over before it came into your hands.
[+] [-] TacticalCoder|1 year ago|reply
> and the greater the chance they’ll conclude they’re working in a bullshit job.
OK but you guys all know how many software have been involved in the creation and shipping of that bicycle and all its material? It's software all the way. The 3D modelling, the logistics, all the payment processing making buying/shipping the materials, etc.
I won't comment on taxes (on revenues for all the companies involved and on their employees too and on the sale etc.) and all the software that implicates and all the bureaucracy that it allows to thrive because, to me, that is the real bullshit that should be decimated (not reduced to zero but decimated).
But anyway many things we enjoy and take for granted exists thanks to and because of software.
Put it this way: even if they're similar in that they both have two wheels, I'm not trading an early 20th century for my Specialized (californian company btw even though I'm in the EU) full carbon S-Works (S-Works is the top end from Specialized) bicycle.
Thank you very much, software devs, for having made the creation of that wonderful bicycle possible.
[+] [-] me2too|1 year ago|reply