The bike mechanic activity I hate the most.

[rowdyflat]

I have complained before and I put myself in the LTIH thread.
I hate setting up tubeless tyres.
Tubeless is fantastic almost zero flats but it is so hit and miss , I can spend hours and get no where, there is so much to go wrong.
I know you have said it before = its easy.
There are some tyre and rim combos that are good and others that are shit ,its hard to tell until you try.
I think I hate Stans rims they are always so farkin tight.
These problems include . Leaking at the valve .
Getting the tyre evenly beaded so it doesnt have a wobble despite the pressure rating I blew an almost new gravel tyre off the rim and now it and my hearing is farked .
The bead stretches and pulls the tyre out of shape.
I have had some success with Stans tubeless kits ie rubber liner with valve and of course I find Mavic Crossmax awesome no tape or sealant necessary but expensive.
If I need to replace a tyre my tape always seems to loosen due to the sealant.
I can do most things but maybe I will contract this job out to the LBS.

 

[The Duckmeister]

For me the biggest variable for ease or not of setting up tubeless is the tyre, and by extension the manufacturer of said tyre. The way they're moulded, the casing structure and rubber compound all conspire to determine how nicely or badly they sit in the rim with no initial pressure.... Tubed tyres & rims can be just as bad at times.

 

[Haakon]

Has to be dropper post cables…

 

[slimjim1]

Has to be dropper post cables…

Cable clamping at the lever are OK, cable clamping at the dropper are deadset the worst.

 

[Haakon]

Cable clamping at the lever are OK, cable clamping at the dropper are deadset the worst.

Yeah, it was the little screw on ferrule pricks at the dropper end that give me the shits… The one thing I don’t like about the OneUp.

Edit - wrong one. It’s the X Fusion… Which is a nicer post to use despite being way cheaper. Oh well, can’t have it all.

 

[kten]

Internal brake routing. Ok if you keep bikes for more than 30mins otherwise it’s a pita.

 

[Stredda]

Internal brake routing. Ok if you keep bikes for more than 30mins otherwise it’s a pita.

Shifter outer too! Fortunately only has that done once.

 

[Jpez]

I’m happy changing tubeless tyres. Even with Cushcore. What I hate for some reason is pulling the saddle off to top up air in a dropper or something. As soon as I go to reinstall and align the plates on the rails I become all thumbs. I swear it takes me half n hour to reattach a bloody saddle, plates dropping on the ground.
I spent the last month manually pulling my saddle up with my hand on my hardtail/bike path bike because I couldn’t bear to pull the saddle off.
pathetic isn’t it.

 

[bear the bear]

Shifter outer too! Fortunately only has that done once.

There is a tool that both SRAM and Park sell that joins the new outer with the old to enable it to be pulled through the frame.

 

[bear the bear]

There is a tool that both SRAM and Park sell that joins the new outer with the old to enable it to be pulled through the frame.

SRAM version

Reverb Barb Connector - TL-RVBT-BC-A1 - RockShox - Service

Reverb Barb Connector, TL-RVBT-BC-A1, RockShox

www.sram.com

 

[beeb]

I’m happy changing tubeless tyres. Even with Cushcore. What I hate for some reason is pulling the saddle off to top up air in a dropper or something. As soon as I go to reinstall and align the plates on the rails I become all thumbs. I swear it takes me half n hour to reattach a bloody saddle, plates dropping on the ground.
I spent the last month manually pulling my saddle up with my hand on my hardtail/bike path bike because I couldn’t bear to pull the saddle off.
pathetic isn’t it.

I hate removing saddles for various post maintenance tasks, but mainly because I hate trying to get the saddle back in the *exact* same position!

 

[Chriso_29er]

Old school, not lockon grips. Pain in the backside both on and off!

 

[Mattyp]

I hate removing saddles for various post maintenance tasks, but mainly because I hate trying to get the saddle back in the *exact* same position!

Get a digital level app for your phone...setup bike on flat ground, pick a spot on your saddle to sit phone, doesn't have to be flat as long as you know where you sat it. check angle, remove, refit to same angle. Obviously take note of rail position.

 

[Mattyp]

Old school, not lockon grips. Pain in the backside both on and off!

Air Compressor is your friend. Pin prick in end of grip, inflate as you push on... block other end of grip with thumb. Or the old hairspray trick.

 

[The Duckmeister]

Has to be dropper post cables…

Particularly on e-bikes! I do not miss that one bit from when I was in The Biz.

 

[The Duckmeister]

Internal brake routing. Ok if you keep bikes for more than 30mins otherwise it’s a pita.

If replacing a hose or cable that's already in the frame, it's easy as, just poke a spare gear cable up the hose or outer, and feed it into the frame as you pull the outer out from the other end, leaving the tail of the guide cable ("mouse") hanging out enough to stop it falling back through the frame.

Poke the end of the mouse into the new hose/cable outer and use it to guide through the frame.

 

[beeb]

Get a digital level app for your phone...setup bike on flat ground, pick a spot on your saddle to sit phone, doesn't have to be flat as long as you know where you sat it. check angle, remove, refit to same angle. Obviously take note of rail position.

You really don't 'get' OCD do you? Just because it would be back where it was, doesn't mean I'd feel like it's back where it was.

 

[hellmansam]

Air Compressor is your friend. Pin prick in end of grip, inflate as you push

Fk yeah that’s how we did it when I worked in a bike shop. With any grips from little kiddie’s 12” bikes to full size bikes. With some grips you can get old ones off by aiming the air gun nozzle at the inboard edge of the grip or jamming it in there a bit. No scratches on the bars from cutting them off.

My pet hate is internal cables/hoses. Fk them off

 

[Rusty_68]

Dropper post cables
Internal cable routing
ANY cable routing on an Ebike, especially rear brake hoses
Lightweight tubeless tyres
Cushcores
Lifting F#$king Ebikes into work stands
Spoke replacement on tubeless tyres
Anything to do with Amsterdam bikes, but especially brake blocks.
Cable routing on stupid winged roadie bars.
Tri bike 'aero' brakes
Anything to do with the mechanical shifting on a Focus Mares....worst cable routing in the world...
...other than older Cervelos, which are ridiculously badly designed for their mechanical cable routing.
Commuter trikes
Cargo bikes
Recumbants.
Replacing the shims, o-rings and bearings on Rocky Mountain duallies. Whoever thought ceramic shims was a good idea on a dual suspension bike needs a dropper post up his/her/their rectums.

 

[Dales Cannon]

Loose balls.