No User Serviceable Parts Inside
May 28th, 2008 by Guitar TedWith much of what we have considered “standard” in the world of bicycles changing recently, I was wondering, “How long before only a specialist can work on a bicycle?”
Much like the auto industry, it seems as though technology is driving the “do-it-your-selfer” out of the picture. Years ago, “shade tree” mechanics were all over the place, wrenching and tuning up cars to run their finest. Now days, as we are all only too painfully aware, the cost for a car specialist to “hook up” your car to a diagnostic machine to discover the reason for your check engine light is more than a complete tune up used to cost back in the day. And you haven’t even yet begun to “fix” your problem.
While I’m not suggesting that bicycles will ever reach such a deplorable state, what I am saying is that the tools and knowledge required to “wrench” on your own bike is constantly in flux and to stay on top of it requires much attention and lots of “cash-ola” for the new tooling to work on these technological marvels of two wheeled goodness.
I just purchased four bottom bracket related tools myself. Oddly enough, two of these were for slight modifications to existing technology that my old tools were not compatible with. The other two were for new technologies recently released that I expect to see coming in for service sooner than later. And that’s not even touching recently announced or released technologies for bottom brackets like BB-30 or Shimano’s newer inboard/outboard bearings. Add in wheels, headsets, and chains and it’s a wonder that any home mechanic can keep up with any of it.
And what of your ease of use? Even that is being affected now with new protocol for things that used to be a “no-brainer”. Take for example the recent move to integrate seat tubes into mounts for your saddle, eliminating that lowly seat post. A recent customer of the shop I work at had an incident where a simple raising of his saddle caused a frame failure. The company handling the warranty issue intimated that it was perhaps due to the customers failure to own, have the knowledge to use, and maintain a torque wrench to properly tighten the two four millimeter bolts that secure his saddle to the seat mast. Now, it may be said that perhaps the customer “bought the wrong bike”, but it can be equally argued that technology that requires more knowledge and expensive maintenance tools to simply raise ones saddle is- if not utterly rediculous- a turn in the wrong direction for the bicycle industry.
Sure, we can own the “F-1″ rig, the equivalent to the unattainable race machines in other wheeled sports, but this is getting beyond that sort of thing, and it has been creeping up on us for years. Will it soon be that one wanting a high performance bicycle won’t be able to work or adjust on it without taking it to an “authorized service technician”? Is this even a bad thing, or is it the price we have to pay to play?
I feel that one of the most endearing traits of bicycling has been its simplicity, its ease of use, and the ability of the end user to keep the machine humming along. I hope that never ends, but these newest rounds of “technological advancements” don’t seem so much like “steps forward” to my mind.
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sure nothing is “standard” anymore but would you like to go back to the good old days of a 30lb rigid mtb? i think not.
higher servicing costs and more integration / less weight are the only ways to achieve a light weight full suspension 6 inch travel ride anywhere mountainbike.
a small price to pay i think
If you’re just riding for fun or commuting, there’s no need for any of this complicated crap. I’d rather ride a heavy, old Schwinn 3-speed over a new, high-tech bicycle any day. The only benefits these new ideas have are for the racing group, so I hope they never become the standard.
Guess I take the opposite view as Jay. I commute on a bike older than I am (>30 yr) specifically for the ease of being able to work on it myself. I also have a 1964 Land Cruiser that I am working on repairing. I like the older stuff because I can work on it myself. I see a place for the highly-developed, “internal complexity for functional simplicity” style, but I will also always keep some old-school, low-tech bikes around where I can fix anything that fails.
I like technology, as well as faster, lighter and overall better bikes. But I take it all in stride. At the level most riders are at physically, the performance gain from most of the advancements will not be seen. Sure everyone is gonna say they feel a huge improvement when using an exotic carbon superbike vs a workhorse steel or aluminium bike. But I doubt the real world difference is there. There are great amature racers out there racing on 10 - 15 year old equipment and winning or placing well enough that you know it’s not about the equipment.
Personally I like to be able to adjust the saddle hight without worry of voiding the warranty of the frame. But then I also don’t want to go back to re-packing and adjusting my bottom bracket after every rainy ride.
I kind of fall in line with Gunnar’s take. The reason the pros make use of the newest, lightest, stiffest is because the variations in ability from rider to rider are so slight. For the rest of us, the stuff that only the shop can work on (cough..Cannondale) is little more than emotional edification. Kind of like Dumbo’s feather. Kid could fly all along, you know?
Just let me know when I need to start hording parts. I love keeping my bikes, the beater and the racer, running by myself, but I don’t want a $200 bottom bracket tool.
We all gotta find our niche.
I still haven’t bought into this whole
“indexing” thing.
It doesn’t really matter if parts are user-serviceable or not. An inner tube is user-serviceable, but I still spent half the day today putting tubes and Tuffy liners into people’s tires.
If someone wants to fix something, they’ll figure out a way. Most people are lazy and want someone else to do it anyway. If mechanics can make money off people’s laziness, good for them.
If you don’t want to buy into the system, ride a Surly, buy an old car, use downtube shifters. Old parts will always be around.
There will always be rich people who want the fanciest, best stuff. If there wasn’t a demand from dentists and lawyers for stupid stuff like 12 pound carbon bikes, then it wouldn’t be an issue.
Every day I work on thousand dollar bikes for whiny rich dudes. They bug me, but their business means my shop stays afloat, and I get to spend each day working on bikes.
Then I go home and ride my full rigid, singlespeed mountain bike.
I actually am seeing the opposite, I am seeing more and more people, getting into bikes and fixing bikes, Because they are so much more simple than a car. and many are learning like I did- “specialize” in your own bike(s) and expand your knowledge from there. also many are going for the simpler fixie, 1x, rigids etc.
also, going for the compact cranks, cyclocross bikes and 29er, so they can do a wide range of riding on 1 bike.
Everyone with money in their hand has a choice.
Before you buy that latest pink gizmo, ask what tools are needed to service it. Then ask how much they cost, and then make your decision.
I suspect some different decisions would result.
There’s really nothing new in this…bike component manufacturers have long been notorious for requiring proprietary tools to fix headsets, freewheels, etc. The French were the worst back in the day with their oddball thread sizings on cranks, requiring a unique crankarm puller. There were also a couple of headset locknuts that had to have a special spanner to loosen/tighten.
Shimano has been pretty bad at it, too — anyone remember the 600-series “starfish” headsets? Try finding a tool to fix one of those beauties these days!
Ghost Rider: Umm………………..actually, I have that Shimano 600 headset wrench!
I’ve got a bunch of oddballs in my toolbox, too, but not one of those! I should have known that YOU had one, though…
Alright, here’s a potential stumper — how ’bout a Helicomatic lockring tool? Maybe that’s common, but I’m the only one I’ve met personally who has one!
Ghost Rider: Got me there!
But…………the shop I work at has all the Heliocomatic cogs and tools.
The cogs and any other Helicomatic spare parts are worth a small fortune…of course, no one’s really rockin’ those hubs anymore, even “retro fans”. I still run one, but only because I’m too poor to have another wheel built.