Poor maintenance

[ANTONISH]

But why should only people like that cycle?

I don't think anyone is suggesting that. It isn't unusual to find cyclists on a club run who struggle to deal with a puncture.
It's just that I can't imagine going out cycling without the means or ability to perform a simple task like mending a puncture (or at least being able to change a tube).

[Manc33]

Jogging is about 4 times harder (in terms of energy expended) than cycling (flat ground).

So a 5 mile jog is like a 20 mile bike ride, it is to me anyway.

5 mile jog... I wouldn't do that if you paid me, but 30 mile bike rides are no problem.

Perhaps jogging is even harder than 4x harder than cycling then, I have no idea really, just guessing from my own knackeredness after doing both.

The only time I ran 5 miles in one go was drunk at 2:30AM after missing my taxi and wanting to get home quicker. Running in formal shoes lol. Its the sort of thing I would need to be drunk to do and I was. Ankles were sore for 5 days lol. That lactic acid.

[Vorpal]

But why should only people like that cycle?

I don't think anyone is suggesting that. It isn't unusual to find cyclists on a club run who struggle to deal with a puncture.
It's just that I can't imagine going out cycling without the means or ability to perform a simple task like mending a puncture (or at least being able to change a tube).

What's simple to you is difficult or intimidating to others. Different people have different talents and capabilities. Some people don't have the physical strength to do it. Some people just don't understand how stuff goes together. Others may know in concept, but have never actually changed an inner tube for themselves. I learned to fix my own bike when I was a child because my mother barely knew which end of a hammer to point at stuff.

[DaveP]

Ever since having a crank literally snap in two directly outside a bike shop, I've been firmly of the opinion that somewhere in orbit is a satellite controlled by LBS union headquarters beneath a volcano in the Pacific. It is programmed to zap unsuspecting riders just as they pass a subscribing repairer.

I know exactly where you are coming from.
And a good conspiracy theory can get you through the week with a smile on your face

[Grandad]

I remember fixing punctures in my back garden 25 years ago and I am "only" 40 now

I got my first proper bike age 8 during WW2. Dad was in the army and if I got a puncture I had to wait till he came home on leave to mend it. After several such occurrences I decided I could do it myself, but somehow it didn't work. When Dad came home he found multiple holes due to me using a spoon handle to replace the tyre. Mum wasn't too happy as the handle was bent

[DaveP]

I'm not sure that I understand why it's odd for a woman to have written it. I have never felt particularly at risk by the side of the road. While I understand why some people feel that way, I should think that it applies to anyone who feels vulnerable, and not just or necessarily women. In any case being able to fix a puncture at the side of the road won't be the best solution for all of those who feel vulnerable.

It comes down to personal history I suppose - I used to know a fair number of women whose main concern about any sort of transport failure would have been the question of increased vulnerability.
I do appreciate that not every one can repair a bike by, the roadside or elsewhere. I also understand that getting the toolkit out then and there isn't always an appropriate solution. But its good to have the option, where possible. Someone waiting by, or pushing a broken bike is always going to look vulnerable to some extent and there are people about who will readily pick up on it. Someone getting on with repair work may well be as vulnerable but the signals sent out are more like "here is a person who copes..."
In general I think that "you too can learn to ride a bike and cope with the common problems" is a better message than just "you too can learn to ride a bike". I don't think that offering to show folk how to cope with common problems disadvantages anyone - as long as you don't imply that it might.

[Flinders]

I'm always bemused by this inability to fix a puncture. How would he get on if he punctured while on a ride?
I learned to fix punctures as a child soon after the second world war. Virtually everybody cycled - few had cars. It was an everyday skill.
Perhaps it should be taught in school

There is another aspect of this.
I now have high pressure tyres. My hands, though stronger than many, are really not strong enough to get the tyres back on the rims if I have to change a tube. In fact, I've stopped bothering carrying a spare tube etc as there isn't any point. I used to mend my own punctures when I had lower tyre pressures, but now I can't.
It's not all ignorance. It's a bit like cars- lots of maintenance we used to do you can no longer do on modern engines.

I know this is tempting fate, but in over 30 years of cycling I've never had a p*** that I couldn't cycle home on, even when commuting in London every day, except one which happened at the end of the street I live on. The only time I couldn't get home after an 'issue' was when my 20+ year old derailleur exploded into my back wheel, trashing the wheel and bending the frame. No amount of skill could have mended that one in situ. And according to the LBS, no amount of maintenance could have avoided it- a pivot invisible to inspection had just worn through.

(I have to say in my defence that I like all machinery to be silent and smooth, so I clean and lubricate the bike regularly and get a gold star for my routine maintenance when I take it in for its yearly service. I can't understand people who don't notice nasty noises from their car or bike. One friend asked me to check her bike as it wasn't going well- she'd had it six months or so and said it was getting more and more difficult to ride. It was a hub gear, and I'd never had one of those, but I said I'd look at it, and before getting my hands mucky asked how long it had been since she oiled it. The answer 'oiled?' told me all I needed to know. A bit of 3 in 1 on the chain (this was donkeys' years ago) and it went like a bird again.)

[baghwallah]

I agree, to an extent, with ASTONISH and Flinders, and indeed most posters.

I am a hybrid sort of chap, but for complicated reasons am currently riding a road bike with high pressure tyres and deep rims. Getting the tyre off almost makes me want to weep sometimes, but luckily my cycling is now mainly for pleasure (rather than commuting) so when it takes half an hour, then so be it. I'm just amazed that I haven't broken any spokes yet. On the other hand, I'm sure Flinders approves of people knowing how to repair punctures (as he clearly does).

There are some elephants in the room in this thread.

There are some badly maintained bikes on the road, no doubt. Now, I am a 'leisure' cyclist who gets a bit frightened above 24mph — 'what if my carbon forks collapse?'... ''What if my quick release comes undone?' Yet, like the OP, I frequently come across other cyclists (in my case, far more serious cyclists) whose machines are creaking. I don't understand it. Last week I got a puncture in rural Northumberland and, for the first time in my life, exhausted my CO2, so I needed a pump, which I didn't have. I walked four miles to the nearest bike shop (Dixons in Whitley Bay — an excellent place) and asked 15 cyclists if they had a pump. Not one did. I didn't either, but that was a forgetful mistake. The people I asked were not just people on bikes, but people clad in lycra, some of them in overshoes and arm-warners. That I do not understand. How can one have the foresight to put on arm-warmers but fail to carry a means of pumping up one's tyres? (and yes, I know I can't talk.)

But we should be careful. The next stage, for a politician of such a mind, will be MOTs for bikes and compulsory insurance, like cars. An awful lot of cyclists are middle class people riding machines that cost over £1000. We must never lose sight of the fact that one of the reasons that the bicycle is one of the world's greatest inventions is that it is a low cost form of transport for the poor. With a bicycle,. someone can commute to a job five miles away for free which might cost almost £100 per month on the bus. The effects of bad cycle maintenance will fall upon the rider, rather than other road users.

On the other hand, ASTONISH has a point. Mending a puncture is a basic skill. So is riding a bike. When I ride, I still recall my Cycling Proficiency training from the early 1980s. (The only thing I don't do now is the flapping right arm to signal slowing to a stop.)

It would be nice to suggest that cyclists with a bit of time on their hands could offer their services to schools to teach kids how to ride bikes and look after them, but with child protection and risk assessment procedures, that is probably an impossible dream. The best bet would be for cycling clubs to lay on family days (so kids come with a parent) where such things can be taught.

Some LBS's do free 'MOTs' of children's bikes too, which is a sensible policy. If little Johnny (or little Jenny) brings his (or her) bike in for a service, Mum or Dad probably will too, and it establishes a habit.

[Flinders]

I agree, to an extent, with ASTONISH and Flinders, and indeed most posters.

I am a hybrid sort of chap, but for complicated reasons am currently riding a road bike with high pressure tyres and deep rims. Getting the tyre off almost makes me want to weep sometimes, but luckily my cycling is now mainly for pleasure (rather than commuting) so when it takes half an hour, then so be it. I'm just amazed that I haven't broken any spokes yet. On the other hand, I'm sure Flinders approves of people knowing how to repair punctures (as he clearly does).

I'm female, actually We seem to be of the same mind, possibly because my reasons for riding a high-pressure-tyre type bike are also complicated (in my case, I'm too small for most bike frames, and this one was the only one small enough I could find). Even the big mechanic at my LBS had a struggle with my tyre last time, and his opinion was that with my smaller hands I'd have be unlikely to be able to deal with it myself (and he's no sexist, far from it, just a practical chap). I have fairly strong and dexterous claws for a female due to my job and hobbies, and frequently have to help out colleagues (and even strapping male students in ye olde days) with stubborn bits of kit like lids and bolts, but these modern tyres are beyond me.

[Grandad]

Some 700 tyres go on very easily, the problem comes when the tyre and rim are at opposite ends of the tolerated specifications. I have been known to take a wheel into the LBS and try several tyres on it to find the easiest fitting one.

[ANTONISH]

I'm always bemused by this inability to fix a puncture. How would he get on if he punctured while on a ride?
I learned to fix punctures as a child soon after the second world war. Virtually everybody cycled - few had cars. It was an everyday skill.
Perhaps it should be taught in school

There is another aspect of this.
I now have high pressure tyres. My hands, though stronger than many, are really not strong enough to get the tyres back on the rims if I have to change a tube. In fact, I've stopped bothering carrying a spare tube etc as there isn't any point. I used to mend my own punctures when I had lower tyre pressures, but now I can't.
It's not all ignorance. It's a bit like cars- lots of maintenance we used to do you can no longer do on modern engines.

I know this is tempting fate, but in over 30 years of cycling I've never had a p*** that I couldn't cycle home on, even when commuting in London every day, except one which happened at the end of the street I live on. The only time I couldn't get home after an 'issue' was when my 20+ year old derailleur exploded into my back wheel, trashing the wheel and bending the frame. No amount of skill could have mended that one in situ. And according to the LBS, no amount of maintenance could have avoided it- a pivot invisible to inspection had just worn through.

This has been covered in an earlier thread.
I've got quite strong hands and can usually put a tyre back on without levers.
However I have been beaten on occasion. The first time being a cold wet day when I gave up and used the tyre levers.
Subsequently I've used tyre levers on a number of occasions. With the inner tube slightly inflated and taking care it isn't at all difficult to replace the tyre without damaging anything.
IMO the conception that tyres MUST be put on using only ones hands is erroneous.
My tyre levers are very thin Michelin yellow plastic. I don't know what they are made of but they seem almost indestructible - I've had them at least 15years (free with a magazine
There is also a gadget for exactly the task of replacing the tyre - not sure of the name.
If you have always been able to get home with a slow puncture you have been very lucky.
BTW I've found myself doing a roadside chain repair for a number of individuals over the years - even a temporary re-riveting of a 10sp chain when the individual wasn't carrying the
required "strong link?" - that is another relatively simple task I would encourage cyclists to learn.

[david7591]

A 10 mile walk is no more physically onerous than a 10 mile bike ride.

Not all walks and bike rides are born equal.

[Vorpal]

[With the inner tube slightly inflated and taking care it isn't at all difficult to replace the tyre without damaging anything.

It isn't at all difficult for *you*. There are people who cycle who have difficulty with tasks like that. Some have an infirmity or medical condition. Some have difficulty with even fairly basic mechanical tasks. Others simply don't have any interest in doing things like that for themselves.

Frankly, even with tyre levers, someone who isn't accustomed to that type of task, would struggle to get some tyres on and off.

[reohn2]

TBH cycling is like people,many and varied,one extreme is worlds away from the other.
Cycle commuting in a city or urban area isn't at all like riding the Karakum highway.Smart suited individuals on roadsters aren't going to want to start taking wheels out and mending punctures by the roadside and so will guard against that by fitting M+ type tyres on a practically maintenance free fully enclosed chain IGH,hub braked,bike that may be heavy but bombproof.
Others who are riding out in the countryside for the shear fun of it,on a regular basis would do well to learn some basic get you home skills,especially if their rescue person is a good few miles away or has other things to do.
There can be no doubt that sometime somewhere when you least expect or want it you'll suffer either a mechanical breakdown or more likely a puncture.
Minimising that eventuality by regular maintenance is good practice IMO,learning how to at least repair a puncture is a bare minimum,unless you always have someone on hand to come and pick you and your bike up or ride with someone daft enough to do the job for you everytime it happens.
I can understand that some folk don't want to do regular maintenance but they must suffer the consequences of that,or expect others to pull them out of the mire.
Either can be extremely an disappointing situation to find one's self in.

Claiming not to be able to do the basics,unless it's because of physical disability,is an excuse frankly.

[jatindersangha]

I too had a lot of difficulty putting tyres back on sometimes - so now I keep one of these in each of my seatbags -

http://www.cyclebasket.com/m23b0s281p92 ... yre_Levers

It puts the tyre back on reasonably easily - but can be difficult to disengage from the tyre afterwards!

--Jatinder