Wrench Tips

August, 2006

by David Meek, CBC President 2006

Riders beware, I have not been schooled on bicycle mechanics but I did stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

1. Cleaning your bike often is the best preventive maintenance you can perform. The time you spend wiping your bike down helps even the mechanically impaired understand the functions of its components. While beautifying your ride, you will spot developing problems before they bring you to a stop on the side of the road or tail.

2. Clean your bike by wiping it down with mild soap and water using sponges or cloths. Road bikes never get dirty enough to warrant the use of forced water. Mountain bikes sometimes need forced water to get the job done. Be sure to re-lube cables, pivots and the drive train after hosing a bike off.

3. Clean your bike from the top down to avoid wiping dirt back on clean parts.

4. Clean your chain with degreaser then apply chain lube. If you have a quick link you can remove the chain, drop it in a two liter cola bottle with a strong degreasing soap and shake until clean.

5. Clean cables by slipping housings out in as many places as possible. Lube the cables with grease and slide housings back and forth to work grease into housing. Wipe off excess grease and slip housings back in place. This simple process can restore many shifting problems.

6. Replace cables each season. Cables are highly stressed at the location of the lead head. Slip housings out to loosen cables and check for cables fraying inside the shifters/brake levers half way into the season. Replace if even one strand is broken.

7. Check bolts and for looseness. Apply sufficient pressure with a wrench to insure the bolt has not loosened. Do not tighten bolts a little each time you check for looseness. This practice will eventually result in thread failure or collapsed carbon components.

8. Check brake pads for wear, most pads have self cleaning grooves. When these groves wear away it is a good indicator to replace the pads.

9. Lightly sand pads and clean and degrease rims or rotors to renew braking power.

10. If your brakes squeal, the pads should be set to toe in a little at the front. When the front edge touches the rim the back of the pad should have a gap equal to about the thickness of a credit card. Adjust this angle as needed to compensate for pad wear.

11. Insure calipers are centered on the wheel. While the bike is at rest apply the brakes. If the wheel deflects to the side, loosen the mounting bolt, center the caliper and retighten mounting bolt.

12. If your rear derailleur starts to rattle the cable most likely has stretched or the housing has compressed. Cables will not get tighter unless something has changed, bent or kinked. Adjust the adjuster out in ¼ turn increments. Remember where you started from in case you need to return to the original setting. It takes only ¼ to ½ turn of the adjuster to compensate for minor cable stretch.

13. Store your bike with the chain in the smallest sprockets at both ends. This eliminates most cable stretch/housing compression and derailleur spring fatigue. Remember your bike spends most of its life at rest. Don’t stress the drive train needlessly

14. Check your chain for wear every few thousand miles. Chain checking tools are cheap or you can take your bike to a shop. The check takes only a minute and should not cost anything. Replace worn chains and rear cassettes together. Your front chain rings will last through many chains and cassettes if you stay on top of chain wear.

15. When repairing a flat tire, run your fingers around the inside of the tire to insure no objects have become imbedded in the tire. Be careful not to cut yourself on glass, tacks, thorns, etc. Failure to remove imbedded objects will puncture the replacement tube when you air it up.

16. Patch punctured tubes at home not on the side of the road. Tubes are repairable and patches cost only a few pennies. With a little practice you will be able to apply a patch that will make the tube as good as new. However patches may not hold air every time so always air up a patched tube a day before a ride to check for leaks overnight.

17. Do not use an untested patched tube as a spare on a ride.

18. The quick release skewer levers on your wheels can be used as tire levers in an emergency.

19. If you get a flat and have no way to repair it, remove the tube and pack the inside of the tire with leaves, grass, paper etc. This will prevent a long walk home.

20. Bicycle repair and maintenance is not rocket science. Take your time; most people can perform basic repairs and maintenance themselves. When attempting something for the first time schedule it well ahead of your next ride so that your friendly bike shop can make it right if you do something wrong.

[ Home ] [ Up ] [ Big Daddy 2006 ] [ Serious Talk ] [ Free Bicycles ] [ Beacon in the Night ] [ Riding the Storm Out ] [ Wrench Tips ] [ Lame Ride Report ] [ Ride Your Bike ] [ 3S 3M Training ] [ Paceline 101 ] [ Hey, I'm David ]