How much should bike maintenance cost per year?

[aicabsolut]

I suck at patching tubes. I can't get it to hold long enough. I just replace. But then, most of the problems I've had were major rips around the valve stem or a broken stem. Neither of those can be fixed with a patch kit. I've had good luck with a couple kinds of tires, Bontrager tubes, maintaining proper inflation, and watching out for big cuts in the tires.

If you deal with a lot of wet, I think Rockn'Roll makes a blue lube for more extreme conditions. You may want to try that. Or a very waxy lube, like White Lightning instead of the teflon stuff. You can find WL everywhere. It's not as cleaning as the RnR, though. When changing the types of lube, you'll want to start with a clean chain, so make your decision with your new chain I guess.

If you're just dealing with a lot of sand, a low pressure hose with a brush followed by good drying now and then (repeat as needed till a lot of the gunk is out) is probably all you need. Then wipe again, relube well. Keeps you from overstripping too often, which is probably not a problem in itself, but it may tend to make you err on the side of under-lubricating afterwards. You want to apply enough that you have to wipe off excess (and all the stuff it helps shed out of the chain).

[lauraelmore1033]

I suck at patching tubes. I can't get it to hold long enough. I just replace. But then, most of the problems I've had were major rips around the valve stem or a broken stem. Neither of those can be fixed with a patch kit. I've had good luck with a couple kinds of tires, Bontrager tubes, maintaining proper inflation, and watching out for big cuts in the tires.

If you deal with a lot of wet, I think Rockn'Roll makes a blue lube for more extreme conditions. You may want to try that. Or a very waxy lube, like White Lightning instead of the teflon stuff. You can find WL everywhere. It's not as cleaning as the RnR, though. When changing the types of lube, you'll want to start with a clean chain, so make your decision with your new chain I guess.

If you're just dealing with a lot of sand, a low pressure hose with a brush followed by good drying now and then (repeat as needed till a lot of the gunk is out) is probably all you need. Then wipe again, relube well. Keeps you from overstripping too often, which is probably not a problem in itself, but it may tend to make you err on the side of under-lubricating afterwards. You want to apply enough that you have to wipe off excess (and all the stuff it helps shed out of the chain).

Thanks, I think I might have to look into that (or maybe the Bioshield Knot mentioned)

[KnottedYet]

Boeshield, made originally for lubing bits of Boeing planes. Now produced for bikes by PMS Products, Inc. (no kidding!) in Holland MI. 800-962-1732. Can also be used to treat the inside of steel frames.

[MomOnBike]

Back in the days when we dodged dinosaur droppings on the roads, my Dad showed me how to patch tubes. No kid of his was going to be stranded with a flat tire.

As an old violin teacher used to say "It yields to practice." Yes, I do have a fair amount of practice, and I have no trouble riding (thousands of miles) on patched tubes, then patch 'em some more. I figure I'm just adding one more layer of rubber between the air and the pointy things that like to eat tires.

I'll stop when I'm putting patches on patches, however. Even I have my limits.