I want to ride, not mend. I'm definitely not one of those people who build their own mountain bike from exquisite individual parts with shining eyes. I also don't consider it a must for me to spend hours in the cellar with an Allen key, oil syringe and tire lever. I look after my mountain bike so that it works and I can get back on the trail quickly. Screwing is a duty for me, not an optional extra.

And now for some transparency: I abandoned the plan to bleed the front brake and take photos or even a time-lapse clip for this blog post. The risk of the brake working worse afterwards than before was too great for me. Because that is always the result of my work as a hobby mech.

Never the less, I always take on repair jobs. Because firstly, it would be too inconvenient for me to go to a professional every time, secondly, it's too expensive and thirdly, I want to be able to do it myself. For me, a certain amount of autonomy is simply part of it. Unfortunately, I'm not particularly talented as a mech.

The best example is setting the transmission. It starts with the fact that I can't remember which way to turn the adjusting wheel on the gearshift to increase the tension on the gear cable. Because I have no other choice, I fiddle around until it fits in the ratio range that I need the most. Because I can't get the chain to engage without any noise at both the lowest and highest gear ratios. The main thing is that it works.

Lessons for life

I suspect that I'm not alone in thinking that brakes are one of the components that require the most care. At least I switched to Shimano a few years ago, which has massively reduced the amount of maintenance and the associated nervous strain. However, the Shimano XT BL 8000 was not the promised all-round carefree brake. Once, when I definitely didn't know what to do and went to a mechanic, he discovered with a wave of his hand that it was leaking in the piston area and was therefore scrap.

The tubeless installation also didn't work as elegantly and cleanly for me straight away as in the nice instruction videos. Of course, it still doesn't today, but I've managed to do it reasonably smoothly in the meantime, even though I have to use a vice to straighten the dented rim from time to time ... manufacturers and the faint-hearted, please skip to the next section. With new tires, I leave out the sealant the first time I inflate them to reduce the mess. Once it has popped the first time, the tire hooks more easily the next time.

I've also used the trick of filling the sealant through the valve with a syringe after unscrewing the core. But somehow the valve still stuck. If there is one rule that can be derived from my mech work, it is this: There's nothing you can't do wrong.

Now to the good things, because they do exist. What a great feeling it is when I can say after a descent: Yes, the brakes actually work better than before! Definitely better than the ones I haven't tried yet. And the effect of frustrating hours in the basement should not be underestimated: they are recurring lessons in humility, composure and perseverance. One of the things I've learned while working on my bikes is that there's almost always a solution if you look long enough.