bankrupt roadbiker

Not that's definitely not common. Maybe your bike has a hex or curse on it, consider trading it in on a new or gently used bike (spening a few sterling in advance on a solid new bike rather than maintaining the one you've described may pay off over the course of a year or two).

Another suggestion - get a good book on bicycle maintenance and repair, and complete your set of tools. I've taught myself a lot about the subject, not really for the financial reasons, but to avoid drives to the LBS and time away from my bikes.

Good luck!

I purchased second hand but my bike is a pleasure to ride in many ways. I'm resigned to getting it back in business but it will certainly cost me. All I can think is that maybe I've been climbing 20% gradients on a bike that doesn't have a triple or a low enough cassette. Plus, it's second hand.
I might buy myself that Scott triple that I've been admiring for ages tomorrow and also have repairs done on my usual road-bike. It'll cost quite a bit in the long run but maybe you simply need 2 bikes to train consistantly. I may even see if I can find courses in bike mechanics as the annoying thing is having to wait for services to be carried out.
Recently I read there was a guy in the tour de France who constantly got puncture and all sorts of stuff. He got 3 flats during a stage and was envious of Indurain who never got a flat.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by RC2
Not that's definitely not common. Maybe your bike has a hex or curse on it, consider trading it in on a new or gently used bike (spening a few sterling in advance on a solid new bike rather than maintaining the one you've described may pay off over the course of a year or two).

Another suggestion - get a good book on bicycle maintenance and repair, and complete your set of tools. I've taught myself a lot about the subject, not really for the financial reasons, but to avoid drives to the LBS and time away from my bikes.

Good luck!

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Carrera
Does anybody have any ideas how road-biking can be made more affordable? My problem is I've been plagued by mechanical problems throughout the season and am finding the expense of repairs is eating away my budget. It's even become a family joke that those friends of mine who own cars don't spend anything like as much as I do running a roadbike.
Another major problem is my training is being held back since my bike seems to need so many repairs. Over here you have to leave it in the shop for 4 days or so till the mechanic can get through the queue e.t.c.
Last week I needed new gear shifters which cost me about 130.00 sterling. This week the crank began to play up and it seems the repair work will probably even out around 50.00 sterling. The first mechanic I located was unable to remove the crank at all and gave up on the job so I have to find another mechanic. I had a peddle fall off a few days ago so I had to buy a new set of peddles.
What bugs me is I don't do that many miles on my bike, clean it up regularly and apply lubrication e.t.c. It's well looked after but is so expensive to maintain.
I'm wondering whether the only thing I can do is buy a new bike so I'll still be able to ride when all these repairs are being done. If not it looks like I'll be off the road all week again, which is a pain as I have a couple of days off work.
Is it common to have so many mechanical problems with roadbikes?

try finding a new bike shop you can trust, ask around or whatever, the one youre going to sounds lame, or just do the work yourself

how does a pedal falling off mean buying new pedals?

Sounds like poor maintenance... I agree with fushman... why do you have to change a set of pedals if one falls off? Not that I have ever heard of that happening if you perform even elementary maintenance!

Sounds like you need to find someone who shows you how to take care of your bike. And also find a shop that does not always replace everything for you. Sounds a bit fishy...

It depends what you mean by the term "poor maintenance." If mechanical maintenance is concerned, I think my problem is I'm in dire need of some tuition. However, I'm pretty careful with respect to cleaning and I can fix punctures O.K. and clean chains.
What happened with the pedal was the bearings popped while I was climbing a hill. Then, the following week a gear shifter ratchet apparently snapped so I ended up ordering new ones. Last week I noticed something wasn't quite right with the crank and detected a very slight movement so I'm going to replace the bearings.
If you took a look at my bike you'd see a gleaming machine. I polished the crank and derailiers (including the derailier cogs only yesterday). However, my brother is far more practical than I am and can do virtually all mechanical work himself, replacing bearings or fitting shifters e.t.c. It's something I hope to be able to do myself in the future.
I purchased my bike second hand so I suppose it may have done quite a few miles before it passed to me. The bike shops in my area are reasonably good and cater to serious cyclists.
I'll probably wind up buying a brand new road bike for best and spend more time fixing up my present bike. I read that after a year they should be virtually stripped down, bearings greased and replaced and even chains renewed.
However, I'm curious at to whether most people on the forum do their own repairs or are there others like me who presently rely on the more expensive option of mechanics?

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Powerful Pete
Sounds like poor maintenance... I agree with fushman... why do you have to change a set of pedals if one falls off? Not that I have ever heard of that happening if you perform even elementary maintenance!

Sounds like you need to find someone who shows you how to take care of your bike. And also find a shop that does not always replace everything for you. Sounds a bit fishy...

Sorry Carrera, I did not intend to point the finger at you. It does sound strange though, that you have had more mechanicals in a few months than most in a few years.

Sounds like you got a slightly more used than you bargained for bike! Anyway, best of luck! You might want to reconsider on the new bike... sounds like pretty soon you will have replaced most of the things that need replacing!

Happy riding.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Carrera
However, I'm curious at to whether most people on the forum do their own repairs or are there others like me who presently rely on the more expensive option of mechanics? [/B]

When I bought my first race bike, I did so by choosing a separate frame and components. With each of the parts came instructions and these were the basis for my learning. Shimano manuals are very clear.

Building and maintaining a bike is straightforward provided you have the correct tools. I've expanded my toolbox over the years to include specialist things such as a headset press but good quality allen keys, a spanner set and cable cutters will get you a long way.

To be honest I always have these problems with bikes (even mountain bikes). Over the past few weeks, the following problems have occurred:
(1) My pedal dropped off in the countryside while climbing a hill.
(2) My shifter ratchet snapped and I paid £120.00 sterling to have the whole thing restored.
(3) I almost snapped my chain last week when it flew off the cog and pulled the derailier forward with real force. Luckily I braked in time to avoid damage to myself and the bike but my gears seem to play up these days. Anyone have problems with rattling derailiers where the chain brushes the derailier in certain gears?
(4) I fell down a grass verge while trying to negotiate a passage through a crowd of football fans on the way to my workplace.
(5) The bearings in my crank bracket deteriorated (a job my brother will do for me in a few days).
It's like Mr Bean on wheels.
However, looking on the positive side, I guess I'm not the only one who has these problems. I read about a guy in the tour de France who got 3 punctures during a stage and I also recall how furious David Millar was when his chain flew off during a time trial. The only thing that irritates me is I lose training time because bike shops over here generally put your bike in a queue for repairs which means no bike for about 4 - 5 days. So, I'm seriously thinking about buying another bike and having my present bike serviced so I end up with one bike for special occasions and my usual one for the more demanding training.
I guess it would be easier if I could do my own mechanical work but I doubt I could install a new bracket in my crank without someone to watch over and supervise.

Quoted post said:

Originally posted by Powerful Pete
Sorry Carrera, I did not intend to point the finger at you. It does sound strange though, that you have had more mechanicals in a few months than most in a few years.

Sounds like you got a slightly more used than you bargained for bike! Anyway, best of luck! You might want to reconsider on the new bike... sounds like pretty soon you will have replaced most of the things that need replacing!

Happy riding.