Is there perhaps a zen component of bicycle maintenance that makes it in itself a satisfying experience?
This is certainly true for me -- I really enjoy bicycle maintenance...to the point where I do a quick wipe-down of the bike after each ride to keep it looking nice, to check chain lubrication, and to check for any damage or incipient failures. I find this procedure actually saves me from having to do extended maintenance because I catch and address problems when they are small. I do the same in camp each night after dinner and before I retire to my tent. Not a bad idea given the alkali dist I ride through on my desert tours.
I long ago configured my bikes to be compatible with my high-mileage riding so I really have very little actual maintenance. This has essentially freed me from most maintenance except for chain lubrication and occasional cleaning and replacement.
Of the 15 in my stable, five of the derailleur bikes (tandem, enduro all-road, gravel bike, Folder and recumbent plus my Rohloff-hubbed Nomad expedition bike) have indexed shifting with a friction option. Most of the rest all have friction shifting, long-lived thick chainrings, wide chains, and 5-6sp freewheels that seem to last forever. When the freewheel cogs eventually wear and the teeth become hooked I reprofile them, heat-treat and quench, and go onward. Five of the indexed bikes have cassettes; four are 7-sp, another is 9-sp and it wears more quickly than all the rest. All my super-high mileage randonneur bikes use non-compact half-step gearing with my favorite gear combinations running in a straight chainline to reduce wear close to Rohloff/Fixie levels (there's a fixed-gear in the stable as well). Kool-Stop Salmon brake pads, sealed bearing hubs (Phil Wood, SON, Sakae, Bontrager) and bottom brackets (Phil, Tange, Shimano), and Stronglight/Galli/Tange/Saavedra (French, Italian, Japanese and Argentine!) rollerbearing headsets (with a generous supply of spare floating bearing races and rollers) nearly eliminate those wear points despite high-mileage riding over a period of years. There's also a 1970 Folder with an S_A 3-sp IGH and a 1938 gentleman's roadster with a coaster brake. Nearly every bike I own uses full mudguards with very long mudflaps and I find this greatly helps the drivetrains remain clean and largely maintenance-free.
When I have freshened my bikes, it is usually not because of wear but due to true advancements. One example, I recently refreshed my tandem by swapping 1.5in road slicks for 2.0 in Duremes and SunMetal CR18 Chinook rims for Andra 40s, self-energizing cantis for v-brakes. All made the bike more pleasant and comfortable to ride and were worthwhile for me and my stoker. For many years I used high-quality pannier racks made of aluminum rod...and they always fractured. When Thorn, Tubus, and Surly offered tubular steel racks I made the swap and have had no breakages since. Similarly, though I have done most of my riding over last 41 years in racing shoes and cleats/toe straps, switching to SPD shoes and pedals in 2012 was a real advancement and eliminated the need to carry a spare pair of shoes for walking and camp use. As mentioned previously, lighting technology advances so quickly, my lights are essentially obsoleted every couple years.
So yes, I enjoy maintenance for its own sake, but it is now "maintenance lite" -- a quick wipedown here, a bit of oil there -- thanks to a careful assemblage of long-lived components. I just cannot stand a noisy or malfunctioning bike nor do I want to be let down in the middle of nowhere, so that's what drives more major/preventive maintenance for me.
Best,
Dan.
