December 18, 2012 at 6:00 am (equipment, repair)
You don’t have to be a bike mechanic to need a repair stand. The stand makes regular maintenance, cleaning the chain, changing a tire, washing your bike, easier. If you are handy, you can likely make a serviceable repair stand. For the rest of us a couple of hundred bucks is not too much to spend.–Corrie
Repair stands are a common search term on Bike Hacks and we have seen our fair share of sweet DIY submissions. Ideas include bike stands that are:
October 29, 2012 at 6:00 am (equipment, Humor, repair)
Well, I air-up everyday, but otherwise I get it. Chaning a flat is a chore.–Corrie
I hate slow leaks because they are never really enough reason to change the tube.
Day One after full tire inflation is good. Day Two is good. Day Three is pretty good. And then you use the other bike for Days Four and Five and when you come back to leak-bike, hey, it’s not so good.
September 9, 2012 at 6:00 am (repair)
Uh, my eyes are glazed over but I just can’t shake the feeling that this might be useful to know.–corrie
I have never been much of a mechanic and technical knowledge of bicycles is certainly not my forte. Thus I started a site called “Bike Hacks” and not one called “Sophisticated, Reasoned, and Technically Sound Bike Modifications.” One thing I have never paid much attention to are the drive trains on my bicycles. I do what I believe is the most important thing, lube the chains frequently, but truth be told, I have been riding with the same chain on one of my bikes for 16 years. I am sure the bike mechanics out there just winced when reading that last sentence.
via The Gear Seer – Understanding your Bike Drivetrain – BikeHacks.
August 12, 2012 at 6:00 am (equipment, repair, safety)
We’ve got the Wild Wallace Weekend coming up and the Joseph Retro ride as well as the Southfork Sashay and then there’s the Tour de Lentil metric century. You’ll want to make sure you don’t make any of these easy mistakes before starting out.–Corrie
Disclaimer: Please don’t get the idea I’m picking on anyone on the ride or putting anyone down. If you can do the SCMC metric century, century or double century — or any century for that matter, you have my full respect. Also, I’ve ridden gobs of centuries and made every mistake myself. My only goal here is to help you avoid some common ones so you can enjoy your century, as August, September and October are big century months in many places. Here are five things to avoid out there.
via Issue No. 539: Mountain Riding Tips, Century Mistakes to Avoid | Road Bike Rider.
August 10, 2012 at 6:00 am (repair)
Here’s another source for basic maintenace tips with video. After Bicycle Tutor went to paid subscriptions, this will fill a gap for all of us cheapskates. Actually, I quite happy to have B&L do my work. They usually end up having to fix my mistakes anyway.–Corrie
DIY repairs can fun but scary at the same time. Your bike is meant to be an object in motion and if a repair is not done right, there are possible negative consequences. One way to make sure you do things correctly is to watch someone do it prior to going at it on your own.
August 2, 2012 at 6:00 am (equipment, repair)
Here’s a a job even I can do. Don’t scoff. It is trickier than it looks. If you wrap it too loose you’ll soon have exposed bar. –Corrie
August 1, 2012 at 6:00 am (repair)
I’m guilty of just riding. That is unless I’m hearing a noise. I do have my bike tuned up each spring. Hope B&L is taking about the headset and doing all these checks.–Corrie
Tip: If you ride your road bicycle regularly, you should remove the fork at least yearly to inspect it and the headset for wear and tear (the headset is the steering mechanism). If everything looks good inside, it’s a relatively easy job to clean the headset cups and bearings, add fresh grease and reassemble it all. Have a pro mechanic do it for you if you prefer. It’s not an expensive repair in most cases.
via Issue No. 537: Impressions from the 2012 Tour, Part 1 | Road Bike Rider.
July 2, 2012 at 6:00 am (equipment, repair)
Don’t just replace the bad tire, front or back. Always put the new tire ont he front while rotating the in-use front tire to the back. This keeps the best rubber up front where you need it for control. But don’t take my word for it. Read this article–Corrie
Okay, let’s say your bike needs a new tire. Maybe it has a puncture or a gash in the sidewall. Maybe it has become so worn that the threads underneath are showing through and it clearly needs to be replaced.
June 13, 2012 at 6:00 am (advocacy, equipment, repair)
The League of American Bicyclists recommends an ABCQuickCheck berfore every ride. This checklist is a bit more thorough. I recommend the ABQuickCheck. It takes only a few seconds and will reveal that your bike might need more attention. If you ride infrequently, it is even more important to have a checklist before you ride. You can learn more about being ready to ride on our education page. –Corrie
We roadies may not get airborne on our bikes like our knobby-tired friends do, but we do fly down hills and reach dangerous speeds with ease. And, in my experience as a shop and race/event mechanic, I know that many roadies forget to check their bicycles and just hop on and hit the road.
via Issue No. 531: Pre-Flight, Check, Part 1 | Road Bike Rider.
June 3, 2012 at 6:00 am (advocacy, repair)
Take a cab? What to do when you break down and can’t fix it yourself. Call a family member–they are all at work? A friend? At work. Maybe loading my phone with cab compnay number isn’t a bad idea. Might not be useful out on Reuben Gifford road, but really, lots of my riding is within 10 miles of home and a cab.–Corrie
But the option of taking a taxi rarely is in the mental toolkit of many people who live in smaller cities, or suburbs. For a newcomer to bike commuting, one source of anxiety is the prospect of being inadequate for a roadside repair — you know, with a real toolkit (or a multi-tool, as the case may be).
In The Spin 