A good bottom bracket bearing press is $$$ (unless you do the diy washer and threaded rod version). A headset tool is similar. I don’t do those jobs often enough to need to buy the tool, so I have the LBS take care of those parts when needed.
Threaded rod, a few nuts and fender washers was $3. I have used it a few time for shimano pressfit BBs.
Works great!
I posted above, but just my 2 cents as a non-hardcore self-taught person who only wrenches my own bike if needed -
After learning to this bike stuff, I do NOT think it’s required or even highly recommended for someone who’s not interested in wrenching their bike to spend the time and money to learn to do it.
It’s not complicated, and not crazy expensive, but with a fairly current-gen bike in non-abused condition, an LBS would do the job better and more thoroughly than you can for reasonable cost.
I find that as a non-expert, I waste more time researching, adjusting, and checking my part installations than if I had just driven to the LBS myself. I’ve also definitely spent MORE money on my 2 bikes by learning to do it myself than from going to the LBS - and this is even factoring in my pretty pricey LBS fees for labor and parts.
Furthermore, if the LBS does a good job, the maintenance required on a bike is pretty low. Keep the drivetrain lubricated, tighten loose bolts once in awhile, and fiddle with the barrel adjusters if the cabling gets loose. It’s fine to go to the LBS for the recabling and part swaps if you’re not so inclined.
The situations where I’d say it’s definitely worthwhile to learn to DIY it are:
You have multiple bikes - LBS costs add up quick, and your tool savings multiply by using on multiple bikes. I only have 2 bikes so I don’t get much benefit here.
You really insist on having a perfectly-tuned bike all the time. As low effort as bike maintenance is, it’ll get annoying quick to go to the LBS as often as you need to have a ‘perfectly’ tuned bike; if you can do it yourself, it’s totally doable though.
I strongly feel that a lot of the well-meaning expert bike wrenches out there or individuals who take pride in the time / money they spent learing to wrench their bike oversell the value and need to DIY it. Now that I’ve done it, and as someone who doesn’t get a ton of joy of wrenching my bike (I’d take training >>> wrenching any day!), I’d say that it’s fine to use the LBS for omst things.
that’s good advice and in a way that’s partly what I’m figuring out. how much do I want to do myself. I have 4 bikes (tt, road, gravel, mountain). right now I pretty much ride my TT bike all the time. when I had my bb replace chain needed replacing so they replaced that at that time. my shifter cable for front derailleur is frayed and I’m needing that replaced. and since I have my 1st IM this year, I’m going to have my TT bike tuned up a good 2-4 weeks before my IM so I’ll have them fix it at that time for me.
at this point, I’m at least competent enough to do the minor stuff new tires, change cassettes, change brake pads, turn barrel adjuster, and I keep the chain cleaned and lubed. for whatever reason, my TT bike has relatively frequent issues with chain rub at front derailleur so I would like to get better at adjusting that rather than taking it to the shop for that.
I can’t speak to the value of an LBS. I have no idea what they charge for basic services. I’ve always done my own mechanical work…not just for my bikes, but for everything from plumbing, to AC repair, to building my own racecar…oh yeah, and maintaining my bikes (everything from shifter adjustment to lacing new wheels). I will say that the very few times I had them do something for me (usually due to a lack of time), their workmanship left something to be desired. So, I would put them a little more in the “so-called expert” category than the “actual expert” category. I always felt that if I screwed the job up somehow, at least I knew who to blame…and I got what I paid for. I’m also able to get pretty prompt service at Hampton Bike Shop.
There’s no way I own $300 in bike tools—or maybe I just bought them so long ago I don’t know their prices in 2017 dollars??? Granted, I probably have $15,000 in “other” tools. So, maybe I would need more if I didn’t have multiple complete sets of hand and power tools in both metric and SAE sizes, every screw driver tip known to man x4, and god-knows how many different sets of pliers. I don’t own a RD hanger alignment tool. I’m sure its useful, and maybe its more necessary for an 11sp, than my lowly 8sp. But, the ONE time my RD was misaligned I was able to fix it with a crescent wrench, my eyeball, and some trial and error to get it “just so”.
I just built up a bike for the first time this summer, plan on a second next summer.
I didn’t really have any issues until it came to the fine-tuning of everything. I ended up going to my LBS after my attempt so they could do a one-over before I took it for a ride.
It’s not hard to do your own basic maintenance, all you really need is a torque wrench, hex-wrench set, and patience. Be prepared to make a few mistakes, take pictures if parts need to be installed in a certain order, etc.
And when you’re done, ask your LBS to do a one-over. It may cost some $$, but if you’re friendly with them I imagine it won’t. They may also teach you some tricks if they have time.
I had to replace my handlebar and aerobar. I’m cheap, I had a hard time justifying paying $$$ to LBS to take out what I considered “a few bolts” then put them back. I realized it was maybe a bit more complex, but I am a decent mechanic so I learned a lot there, and it just snowballed from there. Now I do pretty much everything. Youtube, GCN and even ST threads are your friend.
I do all of my own wrenching and haven’t had a shop do any work in a very long time. I got my start by tinkering with my own bikes when I first started BMX racing in the 70s. I hung around a neighborhood bike shop in my teenage years and learned a lot there. As others have suggested, you can learn a lot from YouTube videos and other online sources. Most aspects of a bike seem somewhat daunting until you think about how simple a bike really is.
As for tools, as others have said, you can pick up what you need as you attempt more aspects of working on your bike. Start with allen wrenches and go from there. Many bolts now have Torx heads so you may need those also, or you can buy allen and torx bits and use a ratchet or some other bit driver. If your bike doesn’t have any torx head bolts, you can skip those. I also recommend a torque wrench, a good pair of cable cutters, and a good quality chain tool. With those tools you can do the majority of the routine work on a bike, pretty much anything except remove/install the BB, and remove/install a cassette.
I don’t recommend a torque wrench.
Grew up riding bikes. Carried patches, glue, and a multitool, and did all the repairs in the field. As did other boys I grew up with. If we didn’t know how we would have been stranded far from home and walking back.
Y’know what I called trash day when I was a kid?* “New Parts Day”*
I remember making my first single-speed by taking the derailleur off a junker, and cutting the chain
That’s kinda how I got my first job, in the bike shop, which led to so many other things
Yeah. I have a basic toolkit from nashbar. It’s a little cheap but it’s fine for the stuff I’ve used it for. Removing cassette. Changing pedals. And I do have a torque wrench. No cable cutters yet. But I will when I get to learning to change out cables.
why?
I’m surprised with how many experienced cyclists/triathletes take their bikes in for regular services, I’m all for supporting LBS, but $75+ to adjust brakes/gears and stick a bit of oil on the chain? It’s not exactly rocket surgery. I just use youtube, but have taken bike in a couple of times when me and youtube couldn’t figure out the problem.
I’m surprised with how many experienced cyclists/triathletes take their bikes in for regular services, I’m all for supporting LBS, but $75+ to adjust brakes/gears and stick a bit of oil on the chain? It’s not exactly rocket surgery. I just use youtube, but have taken bike in a couple of times when me and youtube couldn’t figure out the problem.
Yup. That’s how i learned and with YouTube and the peeps on here I was able to build my own super bike for racing… If I can do it, anyone can. YouTube is your friend!
In my opinion, torque wrenches create a false sense of security.
Many of my customers have stripped or broken bolts with a torque wrench.
For my first few years in triathlon, I lived in a town that had an ex-pro mechanic that would work out of his garage. He was awesome and very cheap. I took my bike to him for anything and everything.
Then I moved and made the mistake of taking my bike a well known local shop. After getting the bill (which would have been a huge chunk of the cost of a new bike), I start searching youtube and found RJ The Bike Guy. Really, one of the best life lessons I have ever paid stupid tax on.
I’ve built my cyclocross bike, completely tore down and rebuilt my road bike with full new groupset, replaced multiple bottom brackets, rebuilt suspension forks, etc.
The only think I would use a LBS for is wheel trueing at this point.
In my opinion, torque wrenches create a false sense of security.
Many of my customers have stripped or broken bolts with a torque wrench.
Meh. Torque wrench for certain carbon parts are nearly absolutely necessary, like for carbon handlebars+carbon stem. Maybe if you’ve installed 100 of them, you could do it ‘by feel’, but I guarantee that most folks would either undertorque the handlebars (leading to dangerous slippage when you’re putting pressure on the bars) or overtightening and damaging them.
Less necessary for alloy parts.
I have seen many carbon bars and stems crushed by my customers who were using torque wrenches.
I have installed a few thousand carbon bars without a torque wrench and haven’t broken any.
I started because I didn’t have much choice - was a teenager with little cash, particularly for service but also for parst. As an example, in the spring of my senior year of high school I had two bikes - a beater I used as a bike messenger in the afternoons and a racing bike, but only one set of cranks. So I had to switch them every Friday night and again every Sunday night.
I still pretty much do everything, except for a few rare frame-related tasks for which I don’t have proper tools. And I also buy built wheels to save time, whereas up to about ten years ago I’d build some wheels. This is just to save time.
any other suggestions on learning to maintain my own bike?Just do it. The Park Tool website is a key resource.
I have seen many carbon bars and stems crushed by my customers who were using torque wrenches.
I have installed a few thousand carbon bars without a torque wrench and haven’t broken any.
I’ll bet that your customers were incorrectly using their torque wrenches. There’s simply no way that if you’re using a torque wrench correctly, that you’ll crush a carbon bar when installing something at 5-7Nm. I almost made this error myself when I started with the torque wrench and didn’t know to recognize the ‘click’, but once I did, it’s nowhere near enough pressure to crush a carbon bar.
And again, if YOU install hundreds/thousands of bars, YOU can def do it with no torque wrench. Wanna bet the newb who’s on their first carbon bar installation is going to do it right? I’ll bet not - it’ll be either dangerously loose or overly tight.
I started because I didn’t have much choice - was a teenager with little cash, particularly for service but also for parst. As an example, in the spring of my senior year of high school I had two bikes - a beater I used as a bike messenger in the afternoons and a racing bike, but only one set of cranks. So I had to switch them every Friday night and again every Sunday night.
I still pretty much do everything, except for a few rare frame-related tasks for which I don’t have proper tools. And I also buy built wheels to save time, whereas up to about ten years ago I’d build some wheels. This is just to save time.
any other suggestions on learning to maintain my own bike?Just do it. The Park Tool website is a key resource.
It’s funny - I’ve heard stories from others saying how similarly they were ‘forced to learn’ to save cash, but as an adult who recently learned it, I find it hard to believe one can ‘save’ cash without first plunking down the $300-$500 for necessary tools and parts to get going.
I’d see this happening if your dad’s got a good general toolset and work area which you just need to supplement with a few bike tools, but otherwise, deciding to go from zero wrenching to more than minimal actually has a fairly high startup cost, imo. A good bike stand alone will run $150+.