Q5. I have a weird mental block on bike maintenance. I went to an eng. school, am a Mechanical major, but don't want to fix my bike. I was curious about the bike group in college, but heard it was bro-y, a bit condescending, so couldn't get myself to check it out. So...I just haven't, and I think my reluctance is still tied to that "rumor". How did you start doing your own maintenance? (If you usually don't, how much are you okay with doing yourself?)
A5: I've always done all my own bike maintenance. When I got back into it after a break a couple of years ago that was the thing I dreaded, I didn't want to do it. But really, it's not that big of a deal.
Like most things, it seems like more of a pain in the ass to take to it someone to work on than to just do it myself.
@ascentale@inliuofjoan A5. I just started by myself, aged about 12. Now I do just about everything. I still dislike bike shops bc of the bros. Now there are plenty of YouTube tutorial vids and that means you can stop the bro if he's getting too annoying 😁. PS look for the wonderful Jenni Gwiazdowski. There are such things as women's bike kitchens in some parts of the world.
@ascentale@inliuofjoan A5. I got into fixed gear bikes living in NYC in the early 2000s, started building up bikes from parts, took a repair class at Bike Habitat, and learned a ton from Sheldon Brown’s web site https://www.sheldonbrown.com/. I don’t really have time for it as a hobby any more, but I still do minor maintenance (oiling chains, changing flats, adjusting brakes) on my family’s bikes.
@ascentale@inliuofjoan#BikeNite A5. I used to do some bicycle maintenance, but then didn't for a billion years, and then I was hesitant about breaking something, but I got over it when I realized that there are 1. Great YouTube videos (from Park Tool that folks recommended) and 2. Lots of people here who are willing to get me out of a jam, if needed. (engineer here, but I only started doing bike stuff again recently).
Add comment