Boy chores

One of the small pleasures of bicycling is the cleaning and maintenance of the bikes. When you've got a dozen or so bikes it's a chore that you delay at your own risk. What with harvest and all this time of year is one in which I need to tend to all my bikes and I started this weekend. The Felt was easy - a quick clean and lube with no repairs or replacements needed. Well, maybe the chain is close, but not in desperate need of changing. Modern high end carbon race bikes no matter what you think of how they look or ride are easy to keep in tune. Next was the Steve Rex which besides a clean and lube needed a new rear tire due to a huge gash that the tube was poking out of. I destroyed two tubes putting the new tire on, and ended up feeling very frustrated and amateurish. The 'Traut road bike was a little sad. It was encrusted with grime, and the now close to 15 year old chrome is starting to break down. Little rust blossoms of brown were forming on the tips of the forks. This bike is so beautiful, but is starting to show it's age. And, that is sad. Both tires needed replacing as well. This work took most of a Saturday morning with a little motorcycle cleaning thrown in for good measure. I've got at least another three mornings of work before all the bikes are cleaned lubed and inspected. I'm looking forward to it.