Just curious really.

I cant leave things alone. I am constantly changing tyres, swapping from suspension forks to rigid, different bars, SS to gears and back.

Just wondered, are you a serial fettler? Do you have so many bikes there's no need, perhaps you have one or two bikes that are just right

Used to swap tyres twice a year. Can't be arsed any longer. Have learned that whatever it looks like the bike always seems to manage to convey me from Point A to Point B via Points C, H, Q, F, Z, H, E, J, H, D, H, H, H, and C .

Tend to wait until things break / malfunction / wear out before reaching for the spanners. If I see a good deal on something (e.g when I got a set of hydro brakes for the Straggler) I will make changes, otherwise I just ride stuff.

I used to be Dave but rarely change much these days. Perhaps I now have the perfect set-up or maybe I just can't be arsed

Very rare I’ll change anything in a bike. Perhaps a chain, chainring etc or tyre when they wear out but that’s it.

Got a new bike with 720mm bars last year, so swapped in some new bars in my old bikes as they (680mm) felt too narrow.

All the time. My Fargo especially has many guises - different tyre size, rigid steel, rigid carbon and suss forks, aero bars/no aero bars and multiple carry options.
In addition, I only ever bought two whole MTB’s. A Dawes Nomad in something like 87 or 88 and a Spesh Stumpy in 1990. All my other bikes have been an evolution of upgraded parts and frames.
I love to tinker with my bikes and get a lot of pleasure doing so. I much rather an hour in the shed spannering than doing a Zwift ride.

I change the wheelset on my OO Fatty on a whim, depending on what Im doing and how deep the mud will be. And I will change stems and handlebars loads as it's a reasonably cheap way to get the perfect exact right position etc. My Brother Cycles Big Bro had half a dozen bars and four stems before I found the sweet spot. As for rebuilds, which I take to mean pulling everything off (Reg ... NO!!!) and putting it back on again. I do this every year-ish as I quite enjoy it and think it makes some sort of sense.

Only when stuff wears out or on the rare occasions I get a new bike or frame which then needs different stuff to get the fit I like.

Strip and rebuild before a big trip and routine maintenance ( brakes, chain, Rohloff oil change). I do add and subtract cages and racks regularly depending on the length of trip I'm tackling.
I tried some On One Geoff bars earlier in the year and did'nt like them much ( or the nearly half kilo weight penalty)

lune ranger wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:16 pm All the time. My Fargo especially has many guises - different tyre size, rigid steel, rigid carbon and suss forks, aero bars/no aero bars and multiple carry options.
In addition, I only ever bought two whole MTB’s. A Dawes Nomad in something like 87 or 88 and a Spesh Stumpy in 1990. All my other bikes have been an evolution of upgraded parts and frames.
I love to tinker with my bikes and get a lot of pleasure doing so. I much rather an hour in the shed spannering than doing a Zwift ride.

I was starting think it was just me for a minute there.

I get a fair bit of pleasure from spannering too, I like keeping it all running nice, but like that the same bike will be different from month to month.
Oddly, the more road biased the bike, the less it gets changed. Maintained yes, but changed less.

Only when things break , playing with spanner’s all day (which I do enjoy) means I get very little enjoyment out of tinkering with the bike , in my eyes it’s there to get me away from spannering and not encourage it.I should really do a bit of preventative maintenance once a year though

i am known as a serial bike/gear swapper.

but being of a kind of unique build/size, most stuff dont work for me, so i am canstantly trying to find stuff what works.


but i have to admit, i no longer enjoy doing so. kind of tired with doing it.
not for the money side of it, that dont bother me. money is useless apart from when it is being spent, and if someone enjoys and uses my cast off, then that is ace.

it is the constant of keeping stuff running what is doing my head in.

but plans have been laid......................

FLV wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:45 pm
Oddly, the more road biased the bike, the less it gets changed. Maintained yes, but changed less.

Snap.
My only road bike (of the roadie variety) was bought whole (custom spec) and has remained largely the same since 2011/212

ton wrote: ↑Sun Dec 20, 2020 2:57 pm i am known as a serial bike/gear swapper.

but plans have been laid......................

I don't think you're any worse than me ton. I've bought / sold 4 or 5 in the last 12 months. Only one of my current bikes I've had longer than a year. And I'm fed up with that one.

Plans laid eh.... Do tell ( or done, but do later )

I generally do lots of maintenance in one go, mainly when something breaks. Or I’ll be doing something minor and realise that loads more needs done.

Example was changing my fatbike 10 to 11 speed (drivetrain came off another bike). Chainring needed sourced, then I realised the BB bearings were shot so pulled them out. New top hats needed (had to wait for them from China). Brakes needed bled. All works fine now.

The other thing I do is trickle down. When I bought my full susser, it became bike number one. My Stooge was auctioned, then the drivetrain from my Jones went on the fat bike, and my Jones became my singlespeed (taking the drivetrain from the Stooge). I actually love switching stuff around, as it’s great to fit stuff together so it’s perfect for your own needs.

I have a few bikes, and I hate any of them not running right (squeaks, rattles, poor shifting etc) so they all get fettled (I have a white board in the garage on which I write the niggles when I get back from a ride, so then when I get round to some maintenance I don't forget anything. Last year I seemed to spend a lot of time fettling - this year not so much.

The higher mileage bikes get a full strip, clean and rebuild every year, and then I take the opportunity to do some upgrades.

I find it difficult to to get rid of bikes though, so each one gets turned into something else when I replace it - my old 26er race hardtail (a 2002 Stumpjumper) got turned into a singlespeed that gets occasional use. I think that's 3rd or 4th down the line now.

I do like fettling though - I have even started restoring vintage road bike(s), and am on the lookout for a vintage path racer type bike for proper old school fun.

When something needs renewing I renew it apart from that I leave it alone, the days of fannying around with stuff I don't need to fanny with are well gone

My Fargo has evolved over three years and now it’s unlikely to be changed, I do however do a lot of preventative maintenance and regularly strip it down and lube everything. In May completely stripped it and had the frame powder coated due to large areas of bear metal.
To be honest I miss having any tinkering plans, no exciting deliveries from the postie, perhaps I need another bike?