c/fix-your-own-bike

Question about truing a wheel on a rainy day in Portland

I tried truing my rear wheel after riding through some wet streets last week and the spokes kept pinging weirdly, has anyone else had trouble with moisture messing up spoke tension?

Can we talk about the 10,000 mile chain life claim?

I just hit 4,500 miles on my original chain and it's still measuring fine with my Park Tool CC-4 gauge. Everyone says to replace at 3,000, but I clean and lube it every 150 miles without fail. Has anyone else gotten way more life with strict cleaning?

PSA: I bought a cheap chain tool that broke on the first link

Spent $15 on a no-name tool from an online store, figured it would be fine for my old mountain bike. The handle snapped clean off trying to push a pin out, so I had to buy a proper Park Tool one anyway. Anyone know a good budget brand that actually holds up?

Showerthought: The time I cut a plank too short on a big job in Denver

I was trying to fix a creak in my old Trek's headset for months, tightening and re-greasing it over and over. A mechanic at the Boulder Bicycle Works finally showed me how the bearing race was actually pitted and needed replacing, which fixed it instantly. Anyone else had a noise that just wouldn't go away until you found the one weird part?

Rant: I finally learned how to adjust my own derailleur and it's not the dark art shops make it seem

For three years, I paid my local bike shop $40 every few months to fix my shifting. It was always a little off, skipping gears or being loud. Last month, after the third visit in a year, I watched a ten minute video online and bought a $15 hex key set. I spent an hour in my garage turning the barrel adjuster and the limit screws, following the steps. The before and after is crazy. My bike now shifts perfectly, every single time, and it's been solid for six weeks. The cause was just me being scared to touch it and thinking I needed special tools. It's literally two screws and a cable. Has anyone else broken free from the shop cycle for basic adjustments like this? What was the first thing you fixed yourself?

Had to pick between a $40 chain tool and a $15 multi-tool with a built-in one for my gravel bike. Went cheap and snapped the pin.

Tried using a heat gun to free a stuck seat post and it went about as well as you'd think

My old steel frame from the 80s had a seat post that was basically welded in with rust. I saw a video saying a heat gun could break the bond, so I gave it a shot last weekend. The post came free, but I also bubbled the paint on the top tube because I got impatient and held it in one spot too long. Lesson learned: go slow and keep the heat moving. Anyone have a good fix for a small paint blister, or is a full strip and repaint the only real answer now?

Appreciation post: I used to think chain lube was just chain lube

Bought a $30 'all-conditions' brand that gummed up in two weeks, so I wasted the money and had to clean it all off. What's your go-to for dry summer riding?

Everyone says you need a special tool to adjust a cup and cone hub, but I fixed mine with a 17mm socket and a pair of pliers.

Finally got my old bike's brakes to stop squealing after three tries

Last week, I was about to give up on my old mountain bike because the front brake screamed every time I touched it. I tried just cleaning the rim with soap and water, but that only helped for a day. The second try, I lightly sanded the brake pads with some sandpaper I had, which was a bit better. On the third try, I took the wheel off and really scrubbed the braking surface with isopropyl alcohol, like a guy at the bike co-op told me to do. The squeal is totally gone now and it feels solid. Has anyone else found a trick that finally worked after a few failed attempts?

Finally got my old Shimano derailleur to shift smoothly after a year of fighting it

The problem was the cable tension was always just a hair off, no matter how many times I turned the barrel adjuster. I read a tip to set the limit screws first with the cable completely disconnected, which I'd never done. After doing that and then re-running the cable, it clicked into place in about 20 minutes. Has anyone else found that starting with a totally slack cable is the key?

My chain snapped on the way home last Thursday

I was about two miles from my house when it just gave out. It was a basic 8-speed chain I had put on maybe six months ago. I had to walk the bike back, which took almost an hour. I checked the old chain and a link was completely bent, probably from a bad shift under pressure. I had a spare chain and the tool, so I put the new one on myself in about twenty minutes. Has anyone else had a chain fail that fast, or did I just get a bad one?

Why does nobody talk about the bike racks at the new city hall?

I locked my bike there yesterday and every single rack is the old wheel-bender style that can wreck a rim. For a brand new building, it's a huge miss on basic bike care. What's the worst public rack you've seen lately?

Question about greasing a bottom bracket

For years I just slapped grease on the threads, but a video from Park Tool showed you need to coat the inside of the shell too. Anyone else miss that step for a long time?

Warning: I spent all last Tuesday trying to fix a persistent squeak in my old Raleigh's bottom bracket, only to discover the noise was coming from a dry chain link I'd oiled just the day before.

After three hours of disassembly and cleaning, my neighbor pointed out the single stiff link, which I fixed in two minutes with a chain tool and some Tri-Flow, making me feel pretty silly but also teaching me to always check the simple stuff first, right?

I finally got my old 10-speed from college running smooth after a full cable swap last week in my garage.

Three years ago I would have just taken it to the shop, but last month I watched a video on barrel adjusters, and now the shifting is crisp enough that my neighbor asked me to look at his bike too, so what's the best way to explain indexing to a total beginner?

I keep seeing people crank down their quick release skewers like they're tightening a bolt.

Showerthought: I used to think my chain was fine until it snapped on the Burke-Gilman Trail last month.

A shop guy told me to check for stretch every 300 miles with a $10 gauge, and mine was totally worn out. Anyone have a favorite brand for that tool, or is a ruler just as good?

My uncle swore by a weird trick for a sticky shifter and it actually worked

Honestly, I was ready to buy a new cable for my front shifter because it kept sticking in the big ring. My uncle, who's been fixing bikes since the 80s, told me to just drip some light oil, like Tri-Flow, right into the shifter lever itself where the little parts move. I thought he was nuts because everyone says to lube the cable, not the lever. I gave it a shot anyway, just a couple drops while working the lever back and forth. Ngl, after about five minutes of fiddling, it started clicking smooth as butter. I didn't have to replace a thing. Has anyone else tried this on an older Shimano STI lever? I'm curious if it's a common fix or if I just got lucky.

Showerthought: My friend said 'just take it to the shop' about a flat tire

I was at the park yesterday and got a pinch flat on my rear wheel. My friend who was with me just shrugged and said 'that's what shops are for, man, just take it in.' I mean, it's a tube change, maybe 10 minutes and 8 bucks for a new tube. It got me thinking about how quick we are to pay someone else for simple fixes. Has anyone else had someone act like basic bike maintenance is some kind of rocket science?

My chain went from noisy to quiet after a simple change

For months my bike had this annoying clicking sound when I pedaled hard. I tried cleaning the chain with my Park Tool brush, but it didn't help. Last week I finally used a proper chain checker tool and saw it was stretched past 0.75%. I put on a new chain and the noise was gone after the first ride. Has anyone else fixed a weird noise just by checking chain wear?

The myth of the quick spoke replacement

Everyone says swapping a broken spoke is a 20 minute job. I had a rear wheel spoke snap on my commuter last Tuesday. Figured I'd fix it before dinner. Three hours later, I was still trying to get the wheel true. The problem wasn't the new spoke. It was that the wheel had been out of true for so long that the other spokes were under weird tension. I had to loosen almost every other spoke on that side just to get the new one in without pulling the rim way out of line. My cheap spoke wrench kept slipping, rounding off a nipple. Had to walk to the bike shop the next morning for a better tool. The whole thing took me two evenings and a lot of muttered words. Has anyone else found that a 'simple' spoke job turns into a full wheel rebuild?

Found out my old bike chain had over 4,000 miles on it before it snapped

I was cleaning out my garage last week and found the broken chain from my old commuter bike. Out of curiosity, I looked back at my ride logs on the app I use. Turns out I put over 4,000 miles on that single chain before it finally gave out on a hill last fall. I always just replaced parts when they broke, never kept track of mileage. The manual that came with the bike said chains usually last 1,500 to 2,000 miles. I guess I got lucky, or my riding style is really gentle. Makes me wonder if I should start checking my chain wear more often instead of just waiting for a problem. How many miles do you guys usually get from a chain?

My old steel frame had a crack, and I had to choose between a full repair or a new bike.

The crack was near the bottom bracket on my 1985 Schwinn, and my local frame builder in Tacoma quoted me $300 to fix it. I decided to go for the repair instead of buying something new, and I spent a whole weekend stripping the paint myself to save some cash. Seeing the fresh brass brazing on that old steel felt like giving it a second life. Has anyone else gone through a major frame fix and been happy they did?

My neighbor insisted I needed a torque wrench for my stem bolts. He was right.

Always just cranked them down by feel. He saw me working on my bars last month and said, 'You'll strip the threads or crack the clamp.' Borrowed his wrench set to 5 Newton meters. The difference was huge. No more creaking, and the steering feels solid. Anyone have a decent budget torque wrench they like?