Thrifty Thrashing Tip #8: Do Your Own Bike Maintenance
It naturally follows that if you can do your own bike maintenance and repairs, you will save a significant sum of money! Instead of taking your bike in for every little thing, if you can do it all yourself (or even a good portion of it), and you will have much more money in your pocket to spend on things like reasonable upgrades.
One objection to this is that bike tools cost a ton of money, and that some of the really expensive tools are used for only one specific repair. However, usually if you've invested your hard-earned cash in an expensive tool, you will have it to use for years to come and it will more than pay for itself in the money that you saved from not going to the bike shop.
Of course, there is a converse to this tip that I'll elaborate on soon: "Don't do your own bike maintenance if you don't know what you're doing!"
4 comments:
This is a good tip, for more reasons than just saving money! Learn how to do your own work at home in the garage, you'll know how to fix stuff out on the trail and potentially save yourself a looooong walk. And, since it wont cost you anything to make small repairs/adjustments here and there, you're more likely to do it more often, keeping the bike in good condition, which lessens your chance of a mechanical on the trail in the first place. And yeah, the tools aren't cheap, but usually buying tools for a job will cost less than getting the job done for you at a shop. And like you said, the tools will last you a lifetime, saving you lots of money in the long run.
Good points, Dustin! Thanks for adding those!!
I'm going to make my first attempt at a brake bleed soon. With my trusty Zinn Mountain Bike maintenance book in hand I'm hoping things go well. Wish me luck.
Excellent! How did things go?
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