Wall of Shame

Deferred Maintenance: The practice of allowing machinery or infrastructure to deteriorate by postponing prudent but non-essential repairs to save cost, labor and/or material. The failure to perform needed repair, maintenance, and renewal by normal maintenance management creates deferred maintenance. Generally, a policy of continuing deferred maintenance will result in higher costs or failure than if normal maintenance had occurred.

It is one thing to put off something for another day. When ”another day” adds up to weeks and months there is big trouble. Especially if you are a cyclist. Most of my readers should be aware by now that I repair and maintain bikes as a sideline. Those who use my services will also know of the Wall of Shame. It isn’t really a wall, it would be if I had an empty wall but I don’t so it is just a section in the back of my shop book. It has pictures of bikes that were way beyond the normal dirty. If bikes did not get dirty, I would not get paid to clean them. But sometimes things just get out of hand.

The pictures with this article are of a bike that set a record for grime. It is an old Specialized, one of their first efforts in fact. There is nothing wrong with the bike, it is basically a decent sort. The fault lies with the owner, who shall remain anonymous. The pictures show before and after, there is no need for me to label them. The big question is how did this happen?

It isn’t his “Good” bike. It rides around the country on the backside of a motorhome. It more or less worked although not very well. Picture a Big Ben alarm clock it will wake you up in the morning but it might also lose ten minutes overnight and the incessant tick tock will prevent all but the most drunken slumbers. He could have wiped it off once in a blue moon but like most work horses it was expected to toil until the knackers come.

We can’t blame the bike for being dirty. Bikes have little choice in the matter. All of us have ridden in the rain at one time or another and neglected to rinse and wipe right after the ride. Most mechanics cringe when a Triathlete brings in a bike. The handlebar tape, dare say the entire bike, is encrusted with dried on body fluids and salt. Tri’s get off the bike and go for a run and by the time they finish running, calorie replacement is more of an urgency than bike care.

It took me four hours of labor to get this old friend back to looking pretty. It will never be showroom ready but it looks pretty fine to me. Everything works, nothing squeaks and the only grease is in the bearings.

Remember friends, you’ll only miss us when we’re gone, so be nice to us now. A little care and attention and we will be around for a long time yet to come.