bikes = endless upkeep

July 7th, 2004

What is it with bikes that causes endless aggravation? I bought mine new a year ago and no matter if I use it a lot or very little, there's always something wrong with it. For one thing, the gears have never functioned properly in its entire existence. The breaks are great when new but then they get loose after a while and you have to mess with the string to tighten them. But when you go there, you notice that it's quite a challenge to fix it so that the brake pads will stay symmetric, more often than not, one of them is inching closer to the wheel than the other and you get the wonderful automatically breaking effect. Aside from that, you know that sooner or later you will puncture your tire. Do I ever hate fixing that, it's a pain in the ass to take it out, you have to dismount the wheel and break open the tire with a screwdriver. Then you patch the puncture, wait for it to dry (or you can replace it, either way it's still time and effort), then put it back in, again a pain in the ass to seal the tire with the screwdriver. Then put the wheel back on.

And unless you're some kind of bike enthusiast, the maintenance is just a pain in the ass.

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1 Responses to "bikes = endless upkeep"

  1. River says:

    I friggin hate bikes. If I walk they almost run me over on the footpath. If I drive I almost run over them on the corners.