Had a day last week where every single repair went sideways

I mean, it started simple enough. Guy brings in an old Specialized hardtail, says the rear hub feels gritty. I pull the axle and the cones are chewed up so bad I couldn't even get the locknut off clean. Took me almost 45 minutes just to extract that thing with a punch and some patience. Then the next bike, a Trek hybrid, had a bottom bracket that was seized so tight I snapped my Park Tool wrench trying to break it loose. I had to use a cheater bar and a torch to get it out, which is always sketchy on aluminum frame. By the time I got to the third bike, a simple tube replacement, the customer had put a Schrader valve tube in a Presta rim and was wondering why it leaked. Has anyone else had a stretch where it felt like the universe just wanted you to work harder for no reason?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_hayden1d ago

Every single repair went sideways" - I get that feeling but honestly I think half the job is just expecting things to fight you. The seized bottom bracket on the Trek? That's normal for a hybrid that's been sitting in the rain for three years. The chewed up cones on the Specialized? That's what happens when someone rides through winter salt and never repacks the bearings. I don't see it as the universe targeting me. I see it as me not charging enough for the reality of the work.

skylerrobinson1d agoMost Upvoted

PB Blaster on that BB bolt for an hour before touching it saved my sanity.