I was riding the Rattlesnake trail when my rear derailleur swung into the spokes, snapped the hanger clean off, and I had to bushwhack the bike back to my truck with a stick tied to the dropout so the chain wouldn't wrap around the cassette, has anyone found a reliable way to ghetto rig a multi speed to single speed on the trail without ditching the chain?
Tried to pull an old Shimano cartridge bottom bracket out of a 90s Trek frame last weekend. The drive side cup just would not budge no matter what I did (soaked it in PB Blaster overnight too). I ended up having to rig up a homemade puller with a threaded rod and some washers because my Park Tool BBT-2 kept slipping. Honestly felt like a total idiot when a buddy told me later I forgot to remove the plastic dust cover first. Has anyone else wasted a whole afternoon on something that dumb?
I thought I was being smart last week on my 2018 Trek Domane. I slathered a ton of Park Tool poly grease on the bottom bracket threads before installing the new one. Figured more is better right? Well now every time I pedal standing up it sounds like a dying mouse under my bike. Turns out I got grease on the bearing seals somehow and its attracting every grain of dirt on the road. Anyone else accidentally over-lubed something and made the problem worse?
I used to have this black grime all over my workbench, tools, and even the floor near my bike stand. It was from all the solvent based lubes dripping off chains during tune ups. About 8 months back I swapped to a wax based lube and the difference is night and day. My bench stays clean, my rags last longer, and I don't have to scrub my fingers raw after every job. Has anyone else noticed a big drop in mess after making that switch?
Old timer at the co-op in Portland told me to always grease pedal threads even if they say self-tightening. I blew him off for like a year. Then last week I swapped pedals on my commuter and one seized up so bad I had to use a breaker bar and nearly stripped the crank arm. He was right. Now I grease everything. Anybody else learn a simple tip the hard way like that?
A mechanic at a shop in Boise told me my pad gap was too tight and I argued with him for 10 minutes before he showed me the rotor was rubbing on the caliper bracket, so now I'm wondering if I've been setting up my bikes wrong for years.
I was 12 miles into a ride near Brevard when my shift went totally dead, and after bending the hanger back with a multitool and a rock, I got it shifting clean enough to finish the loop, but has anyone actually tried one of those portable hanger alignment tools for trail repairs?
Guy rolls in with a carbon steerer on a Trek and asks me if I torqued every bolt last service. I said yeah without checking and he pulls out his own torque wrench on the spot. Found I was 3 Nm over. Has anyone else had a customer straight up fact-check your work like that?
I was trying to get a rusty 11-32 off a customers bike and the handle just cracked right in half. Has anyone else had one break on them or did I just get a bad batch?
Read a post on a Park Tool forum last Tuesday where a guy tested 5 different brand new gauges against a caliper and only 1 was actually accurate, has anyone else bothered to check theirs against a real measurement tool?
I bought this generic BBT-22 knockoff off Amazon for $45 last month. First time I used it on a Shimano Hollowtech II crank, the pins just snapped right off inside the lockring. Took me two hours to fish the metal bits out with a magnet and a pick. Total waste of money and time. Has anyone else had luck with those cheaper tools or am I better off just paying for the Park Tool one?
I bought a no-name spoke tension meter off Amazon last month to save money on a wheel build, but it gave me false readings on every spoke. After the wheel went completely out of true on my first ride, I checked it against a shop's Park Tool TM-1 and the thing was off by almost 20% on half the spokes. Has anyone else gotten burned by cheap tension tools that just aren't accurate enough for building reliable wheels?
Picked up a set of no-name disc brake pads off eBay for $8 last month. Figured brakes are brakes, right? First ride in wet weather they were squealing like a pig and had zero bite. Grabbed a set of Shimano pads for $25 at my local shop and now my stopping power is back to normal. Anyone else learn this lesson the hard way or am I the only dummy who tried to save a few bucks?
I stopped by my local bike co-op last Saturday and saw them take an old 2003 Specialized Stumpjumper frame that was totally covered in rust and grime. They spent about 4 hours with a wire brush, some penetrating oil, and a fresh set of bearings. The before looked like it had been sitting in a creek for a decade, but after a good cleaning and a new headset cup press, the frame looked almost new. The biggest change was how smooth the steering got once they replaced the old ball bearings with sealed cartridge ones. I hadn't realized how much a crusty headset could mess up the feel of a bike. Has anyone else tried overhauling a vintage frame like that and noticed a big improvement in how it rides?
Been building bikes for years, always used loctite. Guy at the co-op said straight grease. Tried it on my last build, pedals came off smooth yesterday for a crank swap. No more fighting seized threads.
I was trying to remove a seized bottom bracket from a 90s Trek frame last Tuesday and nothing was working with my normal tools. After 30 minutes of swearing I grabbed my wife's hair dryer and hit the shell area with hot air for about 5 minutes straight. Did I just get lucky or has anyone else tried heat from a hair dryer for stubborn threads?
Had a carbon frame come in last week and the owner said the seatpost kept slipping. I always just tightened those by feel, figured it was fine. Broke out the Park Tool TW-5 and set it to 5 Nm like the frame sticker said. Post hasn't budged since. Anyone else skip the torque wrench on simple stuff and regret it later?
I was rebuilding a used road bike frame last weekend and pulled the Shimano 105 crank off. The bottom bracket felt smooth but had some weird discoloration. I looked up the model number on the bearing seal and found a date code chart on some forum from 2016. Turns out that BB was manufactured in 2014, 8 years before I bought it NOS from a discount bin. Has anyone else gotten burned by old stock parts that looked new?
I was at a shop in Portland last week helping a buddy rebuild his 11-speed drivetrain and I grabbed the wrong tool out of his box. Broke a brand new KMC chain because I pushed the pin out the wrong way. Turns out Shimano tools push from the opposite side compared to Park Tool. Who decided that was a good idea? Have you guys ever messed up a chain from using the wrong direction?
I used to pack bearings by hand every 6 months, grease everywhere, felt like I knew my hubs inside out. Then about 2 years ago I switched to sealed cartridge bearings on my commuter bike, now I just pop them out and drop in new ones when they get rough. But I keep my old touring bike with loose bearings because I trust them more on long trips. Which method do you think holds up better in the long run, especially if you ride in wet conditions a lot?
This old guy at the co-op in Denver kept saying WD-40 strips the grease off chains, but I thought he was being dramatic. Ended up replacing my chain after 500 miles because it stretched way faster than usual. Anybody else ignore advice from the shop greybeards and regret it?
I counted as I laced the 100th spoke into a rusted old cruiser wheel and realized I've done more spoke work this year than the last five combined, anyone else notice how certain repairs just pile up out of nowhere?
I spent 20 years just using a spoke wrench and my thumbs, but last month I finally broke down and bought a $40 truing stand from a shop closing in Detroit. Has anyone else switched to a stand after decades of doing it the old way?
I stopped into City Cycles over on 3rd Street yesterday to grab some lube. The mechanic there showed me how he checks chain wear with a ruler instead of that fancy gauge tool. He said most people replace chains way too early because the tool reads wrong. Has anyone else compared the ruler method to a chain checker?