I’ve experienced the opposite situation lots of times.
Just because I ride a bike does not mean I am a mechanic or fix stuff myself. Far from it, I leave that to a professional. Most people seem to think all men tinker on their bikes.
I wouldn’t say tinker, but if you have a bike, I kinda expect you know how to change the oil, lube+tension the chain, change the plugs, battery, tire maybe, just stuff you have to do frequently anyway that you can do in the tine it takes to get to the shop.
The alternative is spending a ton of time and money.
Also they’re much easier to work on than cars, especially if there’s no cowling.
But why? I am not a capable handyman, but still want to ride a bike. Still cheaper than car and low maintenance only riding on city streets. As a more efficient (gas and space) commuting vehicle.
It is intimidating if you think of car maintenance, but I cannot impress how easy these things are.
If its not a fully fared bike, step 1 of pulling the plugs:
Pull the plugs. They’re right there. For the oil, you open the cap at the bottom of the clutch housing (get an oil pan first). If the oil isn’t pretty black, you’re changing it too soon. There’s a hole at the top you put the new oil in. You can stick a screwdriver in to see the color of the oil to tell if you need a change.
I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t walk if you’re afraid to cross the street, I would be confused that someone thinks they’re unable to.
For one, a car is identical to me. It’s literally the same combustion engine and stuff around. Of course some different details but really doesn’t make much difference. And I know how the engine works and other various stuff.
However, that does not make me a good mechanic. That’s why I pay one. Aka if I am riding on a death machine with 2 wheels with high rpm it’d better be maintained by someone qualified.
Do you call a plumber every time your sink or toilet backs up?
Maintenance is one thing, major repairs are another.
I wouldn’t call a plumber first thing to unclog a toilet, and I wouldn’t go to a mechanic just for them to dump oil out and measure the right amount of oil back in.
Now if the engine is making weird noises, or it’s not shifting right or braking correctly, then yeah, go to a mechanic. Mechanics are way more familiar with internal workings and can diagnose strange issues.
We’re in Europe, our sanitary installations work differently here and mostly doesn’t clog up and if it does - yes, after a few attempts you will call a plumber.
Anyhow I feel massively gatekept if I am not maintaining my vehicle myself. Wow.
I’ve never removed any cowling or plastic fenders and ended up with the same number of unbroken plastic pieces afterwards.
And as far as time is concerned, I can’t really think of anything on a car that’s worth doing. I changed my snow tires, so that’s a thing. Other than that, can I? Sure. Is that how I want to spend my time, just fucking pissed off? No.
I’m guilty of this to varying degrees. All motorcyclists and any bicyclists that are doing it as a hobby. I get it for cars where, in my entire continent, they are pretty much a requirement. You have to have a car (let’s not do a car-free digression right now).
But motorcycling? Or trail biking? Those are electives. I have bias because I’m mechanical and the people I get along with tend to also be mechanical. Both hobbies are ones where mechanical issues are frequent enough that you’d rather not be stranded for something basic - or, at least, that’s my thought process. With a bicycle, there’s not a whole lot to it (to me) so why not have the pocket multi tool that could disassemble the whole bike and why not know how to use it? With motorcycles, they have some flukes and tows are so tricky/pricey that I’d like to exhaust all my diagnostic options first. I guess I do have the same view on car drivers as well, but in limited ways. Namely, how to change a flat. I charitably change about 3 a year randomly on the road.
That’s my thought process. It matches my initial facial expression. I try to not put it out verbally though and just help if I can.
As I said in the other answer, it’s a commuting vehicle for me. Possibly this especially here on lemmy is a slightly different thing since the US - in Europe’s eyes has lots of space for more and more cars but here it has a lot of advantages to not use a car.
I’ve experienced the opposite situation lots of times.
Just because I ride a bike does not mean I am a mechanic or fix stuff myself. Far from it, I leave that to a professional. Most people seem to think all men tinker on their bikes.
I wouldn’t say tinker, but if you have a bike, I kinda expect you know how to change the oil, lube+tension the chain, change the plugs, battery, tire maybe, just stuff you have to do frequently anyway that you can do in the tine it takes to get to the shop.
The alternative is spending a ton of time and money.
Also they’re much easier to work on than cars, especially if there’s no cowling.
But why? I am not a capable handyman, but still want to ride a bike. Still cheaper than car and low maintenance only riding on city streets. As a more efficient (gas and space) commuting vehicle.
Wouldn’t that be gatekeeping? 😁
It is intimidating if you think of car maintenance, but I cannot impress how easy these things are.
If its not a fully fared bike, step 1 of pulling the plugs:
Pull the plugs. They’re right there. For the oil, you open the cap at the bottom of the clutch housing (get an oil pan first). If the oil isn’t pretty black, you’re changing it too soon. There’s a hole at the top you put the new oil in. You can stick a screwdriver in to see the color of the oil to tell if you need a change.
I wouldn’t say you shouldn’t walk if you’re afraid to cross the street, I would be confused that someone thinks they’re unable to.
Hm, interesting.
We have quite a different perspective there!
For one, a car is identical to me. It’s literally the same combustion engine and stuff around. Of course some different details but really doesn’t make much difference. And I know how the engine works and other various stuff.
However, that does not make me a good mechanic. That’s why I pay one. Aka if I am riding on a death machine with 2 wheels with high rpm it’d better be maintained by someone qualified.
Do you call a plumber every time your sink or toilet backs up?
Maintenance is one thing, major repairs are another.
I wouldn’t call a plumber first thing to unclog a toilet, and I wouldn’t go to a mechanic just for them to dump oil out and measure the right amount of oil back in.
Now if the engine is making weird noises, or it’s not shifting right or braking correctly, then yeah, go to a mechanic. Mechanics are way more familiar with internal workings and can diagnose strange issues.
We’re in Europe, our sanitary installations work differently here and mostly doesn’t clog up and if it does - yes, after a few attempts you will call a plumber.
Anyhow I feel massively gatekept if I am not maintaining my vehicle myself. Wow.
Thw amount of assumptions made is staggering.
I’ve never removed any cowling or plastic fenders and ended up with the same number of unbroken plastic pieces afterwards.
And as far as time is concerned, I can’t really think of anything on a car that’s worth doing. I changed my snow tires, so that’s a thing. Other than that, can I? Sure. Is that how I want to spend my time, just fucking pissed off? No.
I’m guilty of this to varying degrees. All motorcyclists and any bicyclists that are doing it as a hobby. I get it for cars where, in my entire continent, they are pretty much a requirement. You have to have a car (let’s not do a car-free digression right now).
But motorcycling? Or trail biking? Those are electives. I have bias because I’m mechanical and the people I get along with tend to also be mechanical. Both hobbies are ones where mechanical issues are frequent enough that you’d rather not be stranded for something basic - or, at least, that’s my thought process. With a bicycle, there’s not a whole lot to it (to me) so why not have the pocket multi tool that could disassemble the whole bike and why not know how to use it? With motorcycles, they have some flukes and tows are so tricky/pricey that I’d like to exhaust all my diagnostic options first. I guess I do have the same view on car drivers as well, but in limited ways. Namely, how to change a flat. I charitably change about 3 a year randomly on the road.
That’s my thought process. It matches my initial facial expression. I try to not put it out verbally though and just help if I can.
As I said in the other answer, it’s a commuting vehicle for me. Possibly this especially here on lemmy is a slightly different thing since the US - in Europe’s eyes has lots of space for more and more cars but here it has a lot of advantages to not use a car.