diy bushing remover for rockshox removed bushing.resized

Useful DIY bike tools for bike repair / maintenance in few hours or less

While reorganising, cleaning and maintaining my tools and supplies, I decided to put some broken stuff into good use. You don’t need to buy all the stuff you need, especially the ones you use less often. I built few wheelsets so far, and been too lazy to buy a spoke nipple driver. “Proper” spoke nipple drivers have rotating, offset shaft – I don’t need that. I just need something to firmly hold nipples, so they don’t drop into the rims. When I found a small, flat tip screwdriver with a broken nose, I got my angle grinder and shaved the nose to make it flat (as I can). Then, carefully grinding the edges, I made it fit to a nipple firmly. Mission accomplished! No dropping nipples anymore! It took less then 10 minutes, most time spent on getting the angle… Continue Reading Useful DIY bike tools for bike repair / maintenance in few hours or less

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torque wrench

Do you need a torque wrench ? Why correct torque matters ?

Torque wrenches are rare and expensive, and most mechanics don’t know how to use them. Worse, they need to be calibrated, again, never seen anyone calibrating their torque wrench. So why it should be used anyway? There are two reasons to use a torque wrench, but with carbon bikes or carbon fiber bike parts, it is actually 3! Metals are elastic, though it may seem absurd. Yes. That’s why some people CAN complain about rigidity (otherwise it would be totally absurd, like aquaplaning resistance in road bike tires!). When you tighten a bolt too much, it elongates. This can cause two things, provided that screw holes are made from Adamantium, an imaginary metal that has infinite strongness, hardness, durability, you name it. Or Valyrian steel. Same. When elongated (or stretched) beyond certain limit, a bolt will snap, causing you too… Continue Reading Do you need a torque wrench ? Why correct torque matters ?

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DLC12 Black Orange BD12BO126

All about bike chains

Everything that transmits your pedal force to your rear wheel is made of metal. Chain takes the beating most: over 200 rollers in your chain fight against elongation, friction, crossing between cogs and chainrings, and worse of all, dust and sand. Of course, nut just that: Cross chaining. Hits. Water. In the past, when we were happily riding our 3×6 groupsets, things were simpler. Cross chaining was taboo, chains were big and bulky, there was no internet to make comparisons or baseless assumptions, and everything was slow. Unless you ride a high-end road bike, you didn’t pedal fast. In fact, you couldn’t; bikes were heavy, tires were not good enough to stick anything other than tarmac. Now we have up to 11 cogs at the rear, with the same thickness as 6-speed freehubs. (Well; standard 7-speed freehubs are just half… Continue Reading All about bike chains

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diy hub spanner

What should be in your toolbox to repair / maintain your bike?

I like breaking/fixing things since my childhood, so it’s no surprise I’m fixing, maintaining, or even building my bikes. This proved to be a good habit because if I can’t, I’d suffer a lot. I read a lot of romantic stuff about bikes these days, especially becoming more common with Covid-19 and e-bike frenzy, but let’s face it: bikes can be dangerous. Lots of people die when riding a bike. You may say, lots of people die, also when taking a shower, but it’s not the same thing: an unmaintained shower head cannot kill you. A loose pedal getting off the crankset when you’re pedaling downhill at 90 km/h is disastrous, and more common than you think. I learned to never trust a mechanic, even the manufacturer. There are lots of skillful, capable, well-mannered people in the business, but some… Continue Reading What should be in your toolbox to repair / maintain your bike?

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