Comment by atourgates | Hacker News Reader

Comment by atourgates | Hacker News Reader

No.

Honestly, I don't mean to be negative, but this article is grossly misrepresenting the actual situation.

The actual problems the author of the article encountered/mentioned were that:

1) He was unfamiliar with how to use/maintain an electronic drivetrain, because he didn't have experience with one.

2) He sometimes doesn't have the right tool for the job.

The truth is that bicycles are _amazingly_ user reparable. Even the latest and greatest that use electronic shifting. And in comparison to other complex consumer goods, very accessible in terms of manufacturer support, and the information available to end users.

I've actually had an easier time understanding, calibrating and maintaining my electronic drivetrain (SRAM GX AXS, not the same one the op was having issues with) than I ever did with a traditional drivetrain. But probably because I'm more comfortable with electronics than mechanical things.

The one exception to the "totally user maintainable" rule are some components of electric bicycles, which (at least as far as batteries and some motorized components go) can be restricted by manufacturers as to what the end user can do.

Don't get me wrong. There are still plenty of things that I trust my bike mechanic to do that I won't do myself, but only because I don't have the time or focus to learn how to do them properly. Not because modern bicycles are somehow inaccessible.

Alternate title: "Fred wants to swap Di2 onto his non Di2 bike"

Totally agreed though. I'm a cyclist and DIY is pretty simple, even on Di2. It's just that the author of this thread got in way over their head and wanted to do something that isn't straightforward... I wouldn't even call it maintenance. This is like the euqivalent of wondering why you can't swap your FWD Civic to AWD without a mechanic's help.

This Di2 Dura Ace drivetrain sells for what, $4,000? And he's putting it on his entry-level gravel bike. He's confused about fully internal routing maintenace costing more? It's way harder to do internal routing but gives aero gains and looks nice. It's very much a "top tier bike" kinda thing. Like being surprised that your Ferrari costs more to do an oil change.

It scares me that OP is a former bike shop mechanic and doesn't get this.

It's not that bikes are getting too hard to work on, it's that the $12,000 bike he's trying to part out to add to his entry-level 'prosumer' gravel bike just doesn't make any sense.

If you want a top tier bike that's easy to work on, Specialized Aethos is great.

I converted a Di2 frame to cable shifting. It took some time to source the proprietary cable stops and BB cable guide. The guide proved to be useless as it didn't prevent contact with the frame so I had to resort to 3D printing something more functional. The average person won't be able to deal with all the subtle incompatibilities modern bikes have.

What about hydraulic brakes, though? These require specialized tools to maintain, which are so expensive that no amateur will afford them (for the rare occasions).

I think it's the only component that I wouldn't know how to adjust/fix on my new bicycle, where previously I feel I could have handled everything (but it was a simply fixed gear bicycle).

Reading some other comments, I get the feeling that adjusting hydraulic brakes may not actually be tricky, so it's probably just the novelty for me.

I don't think it's that hard. I have Magura HS22 hydraulic brakes and installed them myself with regular tools. I haven't had to refill the fluid yet but the instructions seems pretty straightforward:

https://www.magura.com/media/1729/hs_2016_en_web_03.pdf

I'd concede that the bleed kit and mineral oil aren't things you can have around, though.

I had to bleed the rear brake of my bike because when I was changing the pads discovered one was much worn that the other, and in the process a piston went out and the liquid leaked.

Once I could got the necessary stuff it was a fairly easy process.

I think you're overstating it as you're not sure what it takes to maintain them, but they're definitely self-serviceable and affordably as well, it should all be in the service manual you got with your bike.

I would personally say that a fluid bleeder and seal picks/hooks are pretty universal tools, handy to have around. Hydraulics have been around for decades too, it's a very ubiquitous technology.

Even for crimping lines you can get pretty affordable tools, but I will concede that crimping new hydraulic lines is probably not that common of a task around the house.

On the expensive part Decathlon sell DOT or Mineral oil kits for 35e.

Recently changed oil on mine had a bit of help and it was tricky/finicky but nothing impossible.

As mentionned in another comment, there is so much information available online.

> What about hydraulic brakes, though? These require specialized tools to maintain, which are so expensive that no amateur will afford them (for the rare occasions).

What expensive specialized tools would you need for hydraulic brakes? Maybe I haven't kept up with very latest models, but I've had hydraulic brakes on my bikes for nearly 20 years now and I do all my own maintenance. I haven't needed and don't have any expensive specialized tools for it.

Those specialized tools cost between $20 and $100, depending on the brand and whether you want pro-level "do this several times a day" quality, or end-user "do this once or twice a year" quality.

Hardly "so expensive no amateur will afford them".

>These require specialized tools to maintain, which are so expensive that no amateur will afford them (for the rare occasions).

An amateur can't afford a $50 bleed kit?

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