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> - $3300 + $1000 for upgrades/maintenance to cover 4k km works out to $1/km which is fairly expensive. Longer use will obviously amortize the cost further and

by nawgz 5y ago

> - $3300 + $1000 for upgrades/maintenance to cover 4k km works out to $1/km which is fairly expensive. Longer use will obviously amortize the cost further and the resale value of that bike is at least $2k, but still, I could buy a motorcycle/scooter and gear for similar money. I just want to say, as someone who just got into mountain biking, this is a shockingly expensive sport and these machines are requiring surprising amounts of maintenance. The cheapest full-suspension bike I found was $1250 lightly used, and I promptly had to go spend $130 to have just the rubber of the front tire replaced (tubeless wheel - $70 part $60 labor). I admit I got boomed by the seller and should've asked for money back when when he told me the tire was needing repairs, but the bike shop I went to did not have low prices beside tune-ups or installs

grokx 5y ago
The good news is that most of the maintenance can be DIYed with a few inexpensive tools. Replacing tires, inner tubes, or brake pads is not really complex. Cleaning and greasing the chain is also easy, but must be done regularly to preserve the transmission. In the same way, tire pressure should be adjusted regularly to preserve tires and avoid punctures. Transmission replacement could be a bit more complicated and requires additional tools, but it's still feasible. What I would leave to a pro is the suspension maintenance and break fluid replacement.
- nawgz 5y ago
  > Replacing tires, inner tubes Note I did say tubeless - I bought the bike to ride trails and I understand these to be more durable. If it took the guy at the shop an hour to put a tire on, have him describe it as not fun, requiring specialized tools, and say it'll last a year if I maintain it a bit, I can assure you I'm not going to DIY that. The transmission is simple, just a rear derailleur with 12 speeds, I am glad for this, it seems very well built and I don't expect issue, but I would be hopeless to fix it were it to severely break. The brakes are extremely critical on steep and rocky trails so I will also leave this to the professionals. Overall, I don't think becoming a bike mechanic is a trivial venture, and given the relatively high stakes nature of trail riding I prefer to have it done at an expert level.
  - sliken 5y ago
    In my experience unlimited attention of the novice is generally better than the rushed attention of the bike mechanics in most cases. I've had Acura, Subaru, and Tesla cars. Even simple things like lug nut torque and tire pressures are way off. Similar with bikes. Brakes are pretty straight forward, a bleeding kit is $20 ish, and if done right lasts quite a bit longer and feels better than the store bleeds. More importantly less air = more consistent braking. Sure store bleeds help, and how an improvement. But they don't seem to spend the time to get all the bubbles out. I just spend a few extra minutes applying negative pressure to the brake fluid and watch till the bubbles stop coming out of solution and end up with a bleed better than I've had at the last 5 bike shops I've used. Sure it's a bit messy, but doing it when it's nice out on a driveway or sidewalk isn't a big deal. A set of allen wrenches, a bleed kit (hose + syringe), and the right fluids (some bikes use mineral spirits, others use brake fluid). From what I can tell even the first attempt based on watching an expert (like an SRAM brake engineer on youtube) will go better than most bike shops will do for ya. Bike mechanics are crazy fast at doing decent work, but not hard to beat if you have the time. Do buy a torque wrench or two though.
  - sliken 5y ago
    > Note I did say tubeless - I bought the bike to ride trails and I understand these to be more durable. If it took the guy at the shop an hour to put a tire on, have him describe it as not fun, requiring specialized tools, and say it'll last a year if I maintain it a bit, I can assure you I'm not going to DIY that. Well it's most that you can run lower pressures without snakebites, but generally the durability is similar if you use the pressures appropriate for each. Tubeless tires can be a pain occasionally, especially if using a bike pump. It's a pain, and a compressor can be a huge help. I do it myself, not to save the occasional bike mechanic fee, but so that I could fix things whenever I need without scheduling a trip to the bike shop (if they are open).

by nawgz 5y ago

grokx 5y ago

The good news is that most of the maintenance can be DIYed with a few inexpensive tools. Replacing tires, inner tubes, or brake pads is not really complex. Cleaning and greasing the chain is also easy, but must be done regularly to preserve the transmission. In the same way, tire pressure should be adjusted regularly to preserve tires and avoid punctures. Transmission replacement could be a bit more complicated and requires additional tools, but it's still feasible. What I would leave to a pro is the suspension maintenance and break fluid replacement.

nawgz 5y ago
> Replacing tires, inner tubes Note I did say tubeless - I bought the bike to ride trails and I understand these to be more durable. If it took the guy at the shop an hour to put a tire on, have him describe it as not fun, requiring specialized tools, and say it'll last a year if I maintain it a bit, I can assure you I'm not going to DIY that. The transmission is simple, just a rear derailleur with 12 speeds, I am glad for this, it seems very well built and I don't expect issue, but I would be hopeless to fix it were it to severely break. The brakes are extremely critical on steep and rocky trails so I will also leave this to the professionals. Overall, I don't think becoming a bike mechanic is a trivial venture, and given the relatively high stakes nature of trail riding I prefer to have it done at an expert level.
- sliken 5y ago
  In my experience unlimited attention of the novice is generally better than the rushed attention of the bike mechanics in most cases. I've had Acura, Subaru, and Tesla cars. Even simple things like lug nut torque and tire pressures are way off. Similar with bikes. Brakes are pretty straight forward, a bleeding kit is $20 ish, and if done right lasts quite a bit longer and feels better than the store bleeds. More importantly less air = more consistent braking. Sure store bleeds help, and how an improvement. But they don't seem to spend the time to get all the bubbles out. I just spend a few extra minutes applying negative pressure to the brake fluid and watch till the bubbles stop coming out of solution and end up with a bleed better than I've had at the last 5 bike shops I've used. Sure it's a bit messy, but doing it when it's nice out on a driveway or sidewalk isn't a big deal. A set of allen wrenches, a bleed kit (hose + syringe), and the right fluids (some bikes use mineral spirits, others use brake fluid). From what I can tell even the first attempt based on watching an expert (like an SRAM brake engineer on youtube) will go better than most bike shops will do for ya. Bike mechanics are crazy fast at doing decent work, but not hard to beat if you have the time. Do buy a torque wrench or two though.
- sliken 5y ago
  > Note I did say tubeless - I bought the bike to ride trails and I understand these to be more durable. If it took the guy at the shop an hour to put a tire on, have him describe it as not fun, requiring specialized tools, and say it'll last a year if I maintain it a bit, I can assure you I'm not going to DIY that. Well it's most that you can run lower pressures without snakebites, but generally the durability is similar if you use the pressures appropriate for each. Tubeless tires can be a pain occasionally, especially if using a bike pump. It's a pain, and a compressor can be a huge help. I do it myself, not to save the occasional bike mechanic fee, but so that I could fix things whenever I need without scheduling a trip to the bike shop (if they are open).