Overheard a customer at the shop yesterday saying they'd been riding with a loose crank arm for months because 'it didn't feel that bad'.

That kind of thinking is how people get seriously hurt, so what's your go-to line to explain why a seemingly minor creak or wobble needs immediate attention?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_patel1mo ago

You know that wobble is the only warning you get before it fails completely, right?

oliver8551mo ago

That idea about the wobble being the only warning is a bit too simple for me, taylor_patel. I've had things wobble for years before anything close to failing. Sometimes a wobble just means a loose screw that needs a quick tighten, not that the whole thing is about to break. It really depends on what we're talking about.

troy7681mo ago

But what if the wobble itself causes the failure? Like a fan blade that's off balance just enough to slowly shake a motor mount loose over months until it finally cracks. The wobble wasn't the symptom, it was the disease.