The MOST FRUSTRATING part of maintenance

[Swan]

What's the one bit of maintenance that just frustrates you to no end? For me, it's changing tubes! I find everything else rather therapeutic, but that tube changing just makes me want to say some not-nice things! lol

[Jolt]

Adjusting brakes...so hard to get everything in the right spot and then not mess it up in the process of tightening things! One of those jobs that makes one wish that she had three hands.

[OakLeaf]

One of those jobs that makes one wish that she had three hands.

Or a third hand tool ... when googling I see that Park Tool no longer makes those! Why in the world? They still do make the cable puller aka fourth hand tool ... Of course everything is SO much easier with a modern brake caliper with quick-release and barrel adjuster, but still.



Most frustrating for me is probably servicing freehubs. That's one of those things I don't even bother with - it's infrequent enough that I can leave it to the pros.

[lph]

Most frustrating for me is that I postpone things so that when I start fixing something I find out lots of stuff doesn't work, is worn out or needs replacing.. So that a quiet happy few hours tinkering with my bike turns into a two week planning and fixing epic with my bike in a million pieces.

[HillSlugger]

Derrailleur adjustments!

[Owlie]

Adjusting disc brakes. I love the stopping power, hate the extra maintenance, even with mechanical disc brakes.

[Bethany1]

The hardest part is knowing how everything works in theory but somehow doesn't translate well when I do it.

Brakes, derailleurs and taking on/off tires off of the rims. My hands ache after a few minutes. I love disc brakes, but getting them adjusted between the pads while trying to hold the bike is really hard.

[forestbiker]

I think cleaning white bar tape is going to my most frustrating part of bike maintenance.

[Jolt]

I think I just found something worse than adjusting brakes...installing fenders!! Or I should say, installing fenders using p-clamps b/c the bike does not have a second set of eyelets (rear eyelets in use for a rack, front not in use but I wanted to leave them open for potential rackage in the future). Finally got it done, but not sure how well the whole setup is actually going to work. The front one wasn't too bad to install, but the rear was, well, a pain in the rear because it was so tight working around the drivetrain and the rack, and things didn't want to fit.

[Dogmama]

My problem is mounting brand new tires. I run Conti's, and they are really stiff when new. I bought a tool that helps mount the tire.

To the OP - when taking a tire off, you might try using three tire tools and hooking them into the spokes at 3" intervals (or thereabouts, depending on the size and stiffness of your tires)

[lph]

This thread bump was timely... I just had my roughly annual Total Bike Breakdown. My everyday bike is almost 20 years old, at least the frame is. Everything else is cobbled together from parts pinched off other bikes or bought used for very little. I patch things together but, about once a year things start to feel their age. Today it was the rear wheel. I parked my bike, attached the trailer to go grocery shopping, and suddenly the rear wheel seized up. I unhooked the brakes just to get to the store and back, but once I'm back, sure enough the rim has split.

At least I can say I use things until they're well and truly ready to die!