I just bought my first "ZINN" book. I am bound and determined to do all maintenance / repairs on my new to me road bike. Wish me luck!!! So far I have swapped out saddles and adjusted the brakes. I haven't even ever changed my own flat yet !
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I just bought my first "ZINN" book. I am bound and determined to do all maintenance / repairs on my new to me road bike. Wish me luck!!! So far I have swapped out saddles and adjusted the brakes. I haven't even ever changed my own flat yet !
awesome!! way to go!!!
you're at about the same point i am :) except, now i need to do the same for my car... those mechanics bills get pretty pricey!
oh well, who needs a car when you have a bike?? ;)
have fun tinkering with your new bike!!! :D
Thursday I am putting in my new tubes...I can't risk it any longer! fultzie we should ride some time. I'm only about 45-50 minutes from you at school (that is if you don't mind riding with an old lady!)
You go, Barb! I can do basic maintenance, but I've never progressed beyond that. I figure that's why I have a bike mechanic.:p Gotta keep him in business. Besides, all the tools you need to really do it all yourself get pretty pricey. Hopefully, you can get what you need bit by bit.
I'm only buying tools as I need them. I'm a poor Michigan Teacher. I guess I am lucky to have a job at all :) It will still cost less than the shop (assuming I don't really mess up!)
Go Ba-ARB, Go Ba-ARB, Go Ba-ARB!!!:D
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Hey Barb,
The best way to learn is to try. I've done almost everything to my bike except the headset which I let the LBS do because you need special tools. You can always take it to the LBS and have them go over the bike after you've tinkered if you don't feel sure. My guys don't mind and it beats waiting for your bike for a week especially during their busy season. I have Zinn and the art of Road bike Maintenance, The Haynes Bicycle Book and Road bike Maintenance by Rob Van der Plas. Between all three and the pictures you can pretty much do anything. Also, Parktool.com has a great section on line.
Good luck.
Barb-
definitely we should ride! i just started spring 1/2 semester and working more hours, so i'm a bit swamped, but maybe come July (when the weather is consistantly warm too!)...
my geography knowledge is horrible... i need to do the whole "palm" thing!! :) are you north, south, east, or west of A2?
my mom is coming to visit in a few weeks... we could all get together and ride! :)
I'm about an hour N.E. of you. I also have a place in Mackinaw, so if you or mom get up north to your place anytime soon, let me know, we could meet up! I just found a great rails to trails from Mack to Cheyboygen then it hooks up and goes around Mullet lake and heads south. I think the Michigander ride uses part of it. I am dying to get bakc up there to try. 3 more weeks :rolleyes:
Hi,
I hate to admit it but since I broke up w. my ex-boyfriend who was a bike gearhead and would have actually enjoyed cleaning and repairing your own road bike (I of course think of it as a necessary evil --but who knows that may change) I must now enter the unknown--getting to know how to repair my own bike that is.
Okay, so my question is: Do you need a bike repair workstand in order to repair your bike effectively? If so, can someone give me any feedback on what brand or type of bike workstand works best for the price?
Thanks!
Absolute cheapest repair stand, that works great for most (but not all) things, is to use the beams in your unfinished basement to hang the bike from the ceiling. You can use rope or webbing with hooks or heavy rubber shock cords. Here's an example.Quote:
Originally Posted by hanhster
Deb, that is a GREAT picture! :D
Thanks Deb! Does that thing swing around a lot when you work on the bike like that?
Not if you put your body through the bike frame. :D Actually, depends on what you're doing and how you suspend the bike. If you use stretchy shock cord the bike will gyrate wildly when you pedal it, so avoid stretchy stuff. But the thick rubber shock cords are good, as is webbing. When I worked in a shop in 1973, our only work places were with chains hanging from the ceiling. You do have to be careful not to scratch paint or damage a saddle with the straps or hooks. An expensive stand is more solid support and more versatile, but the hanging method is perfectly adequate for anything other than fork or headset removal.Quote:
Originally Posted by hanhster
Another minimalist option is something like the Topeak Flash stand which holds the rear wheel off the ground for gear tune-ups. But you can't true the front wheel.
What a great thing to be learning such independence! Way to go!
I have to admit, I'm very happy that DH likes to do the tinkering on all the bikes, and leave nearly all of the maintenance including cleaning & lubricating, to him. He's much more particular than I am, and just knows exactly what to do. :p I'm lucky that way.
That said, a good ten years ago I went out on my first ladies mountain bike ride with about 6 other girls, most of us very new to riding. Before we even reached the trail, I had helped one of the other riders fix chain suck on her bike. Funny thing about those old Rocky Mountain bikes - they had a cute little anti-chain suck device that actually made chain suck harder to get rid of. Having experienced it myself, I knew which wrench to use and got her away in just a few minutes. Later, on the same ride, way in the trees, I came across a rider who'd had a mechanical failure. After a few moments we realized that her rear deraileur had exploded all over the trail. I somehow managed to figure out how to put it together, run the chain through, and she was able to finish the ride. Of course, I was able to refer to my own bike to make sure I did it reasonably right.
One of the ladies actually told me I could have a future as a bike mechanic. You know, when DH is making plumber money and I don't have to bring in the big bucks anymore, maybe I'll do that! haha. Naw, I think I'll stick to photography.
I do always ride with tools no matter how short the ride is. And, over time, have learned to have a few odd things in the tool pack, the oddest one I carry is zip ties. You just never know when you'll need them.
oh, and we have the Park Tool stand. DH likes it a lot, but would rather have the one with the folding legs so it could be more easily tranpsorted to races, etc. We've seen a couple of versions of the inexpensive "suspended" bike stands and found them limited - hard to take suspension and hard to spin the wheels is what DH noticed. Heck, we were visiting friends - I was having a martini with Dawna in the other room! :)
Way to go ladies! Hugs and proud independent butterflies,
~T~
Deb,Quote:
Originally Posted by DebW
How'd this project end up?
Do you mean the 3-speed? I managed to remove the adjustable and fixed BB cups by heating with a torch. I treated the bare frame with rust remover internally and externally. It's ready to go back together as soon as I get some time. Then I'll rebuild the 3-speed hub and replace both rusty rims. I need to pay a visit to Harris Cyclery for parts. I've decided to rebuild with the frame as-is (bent fork, one bent seat stay) and see if it rides OK.Quote:
Originally Posted by MDHillSlug