How to remove old rusted crank arms

Every once and a while you'll come across this mess. A rusted crank arm that needs to be removed on a bike that's been sitting out in the elements for years. The odds of an easy job are 50/50 but with a little preparation, that goes up 95/5.

Hope of an easy job is for amateurs. Taking these simple steps will save yourself time, frustration, stress, bloody knuckles and some money out of the swear jar. Another benefit will be a longer life for your tools, read on.

The first step is removing that crappy little plastic cover that hides/protect/prevent access to the 14mm lock nut on the axle. Use a big coin in the slot and unscrew it. This will give you better torque control and the larger surface will distribute the energy more evenly (I'm sure there's a special tool for that but you probably, like me, already have this freely available in your pocket.).

Did it work? It came off no problem? If the answer is yes, buy a lottery ticket. These damn things usually explode in pieces because they get brittle over time. You didn't win the jackpot then? No worries, just jam a very small flat head screwdriver between the plastic and the locknut. Then slowly pry the remains of the cover off.

Second, using a 14mm socket wrench, remove the axle locknut.

Third, prepare! Before going any further you need to do a few things. Get yourself an old toothbrush, again free, and clean the thread inside the crank arm nut housing. Next use a lubricant (NOT WD40) and lube those threads. You would be surprised on how one grain of sand can ruin your day here. As far as lube goes, anything but the aforementioned fish oil stuff will do. I use Duralube engine treatment, 1 quart goes a long way on everything and it's like liquid bearings.

We're still not done. Apply oil on all the threads of your puller and on the end of the shaft that will push off on the axle. While using your puller, the friction creates a lot of heat and that's what can damage your investment in the long run. Be cool, lube your tool.

Click on image for full size

Click on image for full size

Now you can go ahead and use the puller and the crank arm should fall right out as it did in this case. Hope you found this useful.

Don't forget to check out the how-to articles post

and download my free bike maintenance book if you haven't already.

Until next time, ride safe and free.

Gerry :)

Bicycle repair and Murphy’s Law

While starting the tear down on my build off bike project I immediately noticed the rusted out seat post and figured that it was probably welded to the frame with rust and that it would most likely never budge from where it sat.

Hallelujah’s were heard and Angels were singing in the sky when it came right out of the seat tube with no effort after the retaining bolt was loosened. As awesome as it may sound, this was not a good sign. Sure enough Murphy was just laughing hard when trying to continue the disassembly of the bike, everything else on the damn thing is locked tight with rust. Hours of fun will be spent with Jigaloo, prayers, swearing, blood and bruised knuckles taking everything apart.

Over the years I have encountered Murphy many times while fixing and riding bikes and I will share some of my findings with you:

• You always lose the exact size socket wrench that you need for a 5 minute job and spend 1 hour looking for a replacement. ( I have three 15mm sockets to counter that for removing wheels).
• If you always carry tools, a pump and a spare tube, you will have a break down or flat miles away, on a rainy day when you decide to leave all that behind because nothing ever really happens.
• A pedal will fall off in the middle of nowhere.
• The minute you take off your work gloves to work on something that isn’t dirty, you will touch something that is filthy and end up spending half an hour cleaning your hands.
• Out of the hundreds of bolts that you have, not one fits the axle of that perfect wheel you just found.
• You will have to remove those grips again because you forgot to install the shifter.
• You have a spare tube and ready to fix your flat and realize that you bought a %&&?%$ Presta valve tube. Of course, you do not have the adapter.
• You’re ready to start a tune up, the music is perfect, all your tools are accounted for, all the parts are lined up, they are all the correct ones, you have a decent amount of free time ahead, you are in a fantastic Zen state of mind and your wife calls you because she ran out of gas.
• You always have free time for riding when it rains.
• That perfect vintage frame as an odd size bottom bracket that doesn’t exist anymore.
• Front brakes always work better than the rear ones. (Actually that’s the Law of physics but I still feel it should be included.)
• Something will go out of wack on your bike after a big repair or tune up on a big ride.
• No tools will be available for that particular fix.
• You will find a better looking helmet two days after buying the one you taught looked cool after weeks of research.
• When disassembling a bike and everything comes off without any effort, the seat post will be seized.

I could go on even more but I’ll keep some for a future post. As far as seized seat post goes, there is no miracle solution. Loosening chemicals, intense heat from a torch, brute physical force and a few prayers might help. Sometimes there is no hope. The worst cases are when you have 2 different metals touching each other like an Aluminium seat post in a steel frame or vice versa. They will oxidize and effectively weld each other.

Don't forget to check out the how-to articles post
and download my free bike maintenance book if you haven't already.

Until next time, ride safe and free.

Gerry :)

Spring bicycle maintenance, getting back in the game.

Well finally Spring decided to show its face around here and I managed to find some time to get my bike out of storage. Proper planning in the Fall of storing parts in designated places made getting them back on the bike a breeze. Nothing is more frustrating than losing an hour swearing like a sailor because you can't locate your seat. That's valuable riding time lost and your loved ones thinking less of you.

The one thing I caught myself doing however was having a hard time screwing the first pedal back in. I very well know that the left side pedal is a reverse thread, so I should be the first to catch on to any kind of problem. So there I am on the right side and the darn thing won't screw in. While scratching my head trying to figure out if the entire Universe had a pole shift for this not to work, I turned the pedal over and realized that it was the left side pedal!

This goes to show that, like the drivetrain on your bike, your skills can sometimes get a little rusty. Remember this if you start to wrench on your ride after you've been on hiatus. Deal with one problem at a time, double check everything you've touched and don't postpone anything for later, even for a minute.

Another important aspect is to do a short test ride after doing any kind of repair on your bike. Go as far as you are willing to walk and bring some tools. Going for a big ride right after a big repair is asking for trouble. I hope this little advice has helped you out.

Don't forget to check out the how-to articles post
and download my free bike maintenance book if you haven't already.

Until next time, ride safe and free.

Gerry :)

How to install a bicycle cargo rack

A bike is a great way to get around and becomes even more practical when you are able to carry some cargo. May it be a bag of groceries or an entire saddle bag kit for touring, you can't get around that if you want to carry your stuff safely. Installing a a bicycle rack is quite simple and anybody can do it. Here we go:

First things first, buy a proper rack. Do not grab one of those cheapy steel racks that you unfold the legs and bolt on your bike by squeezing the the living daylights out of your seat stays. Those press rivets that hold the legs will eventually give out and you'll have to fork the bucks for a decent rack anyways. Unless you already have one and it's free, stay away from those pieces of junk.

For a few dollars more, invest in a lightweight aluminum cargo rack like the one pictured here. I have yet to go through one or see one busted. Just make sure that when you buy it, all the hardware, nuts and bolt are included. It should be.

The first thing you should do is to bolt the legs on the eyelets at the bottom of the frame near the rear wheel nut. This is usually threaded so you can go right ahead with the bolt. If not, use a nut provided with the rack, just make sure that you have enough clearance for that nut between the chain and the frame. Don't go too tight yet, we need to adjust the level of the rack.

Next, pull out the bracket that will hold the rack to the seat stays on top. Bend the bracket if you need to and attach it with the nuts, bolts and small brackets. On this bike I had some threaded eyelets already there for that purpose, so all I needed was the bolts. Check to see if the rack is level, make sure that the installation hasn't affected the operation of the brake caliper and tightened everything down.

click on image for full size

Now you can strap all kinds of things to your bike and ride on safely with your cargo. Just make sure you go around all the bolts every so often to make sure they remain tight.

Don't forget to check out the how-to articles post
and download my free bike maintenance book if you haven't already.

Until next time, ride safe and free.

Gerry :)

A basic bicycle tune-up

click on the image for larger view

I have a friend who has this twenty something Rocky Mountain and he brings it to me every year to do the annual check up. I taught some of you might find it interesting to see what the process is when going over a typical tune up for a very well loved mountain bike.

First off this bike and its owner have a very good relationship and it's been a long one. To buy a similar bike today would cost a fortune but the owner throughout the years has made the smart choice of investing in regular maintenance and it has paid off. This vintage bike still runs great and has many great years of service in front of it.

Now to the task at hand, the first thing I do is go over the basic stuff like checking if the brakes work fine, check if the pads are not worn out, at the same time I turn the wheels to see if they are true using the brake pads to eyeball this and check the general condition of the tires. Next I shift in all the gears front and back to see it needs any adjustment. In this case I'm happy to see that all is still in order since last year.

After that I check if the cables for brake and shifters are frayed or rusted. If they don't require to be replaced, I lube the exposed portions using ATF or regular bike oil. I then go over the entire bike to tighten everything that can be, keeping an eye out for less obvious stuff like missing bolts, cracked metal, loose parts or anything out of the ordinary. This is also a good time to see if any of the main bearings are loose. Rock both wheels from side to side and if you feel any movement or clunking, the bearings are loose and require your attention. In the case of the main pedal axle, or bottom bracket, grab one of the cranks and try to shake it from side to side as well. If it moves, grab the other crank arm and try again. If both of them jiggle in unison, you have loose bearings. If only one jiggles, your crank arm is about to fall off. Adjust and tightened as needed.

click on the image for larger view

In the case of the Rocky Mountain the following problems were found: A flat rear tire, a loose cassette, a missing seat post bolt and a few loose bolts on the goose neck. I also had a chance to look over the general condition of the bike and I will recommend to my friend to start shopping for new tires, a chain and cassette for next year. Even though sometimes parts are still good, some may be border line. Taking the time the tune up ones ride gives you a chance to see the possible problems down the road and prepare for them.

click on the image for larger view

Once all of this is done, all that is left is to do is bring up the tires to the proper air pressure and lube the chain and gears (Don't forget to clean everything before you do this) and go for a test ride.

Don't foget that you can always check all of my previous how-to articles here: HOW-TO ARTICLES
And you can download my free Ebook for beginner bike mechanics here: Free Bike Maintenance book

Until next time ride safe and free.

Gerry :)

DERAILLEUR QUESTION FROM READER MAIL

I receive quite a few questions by email on a regular basis. I figured that some of you might have the same problems or questions, so I decided to share. I'll be posting these once and a while. Don't hesitate to write me.


"Gerry: I have a '74 Le Tour 10-speed. Does the procedure you describe to adjust the derailleurs on your website apply to my bike? I'd love to be able to learn how to do this...! Thanks! ...Ben"

Hello Ben,

The only thing that could differ from my tutorial is for some older Suntour derailleurs that have the spring tension reversed. This would mean that if you remove tension in the cable, the derailleur would rest on the gear closest to the wheel rather than on the smaller gear closest to the frame. Everything else is the same.

Gerry :)

Here's a link to the original article: http://www.howtofixbikes.ca/2006/12/how-to-adjust-front-derailleur.html

THE LAZY AND EASY WAY TO BUILD A BICYCLE WHEEL.

First off, this technique is only good if you need to replace a rim. Also, it will only work of you are replacing the rim on your wheel with the same diameter rim. You won't be able to put a 26 inch rim on an old spoke and hub set up for a 700 bicycle wheel.

Now that we got that out of the way, on with the show.

For the benefit of this post, I will switch rims from alloy to steel for a cruiser project. What you need is your bicycle wheel, a replacement rim of the same diameter, spoke key wrench and some masking tape. Make sure that you are replacing your rim with a straight one. A bent rim will only provide you with more reasons to curse. You can easily check this by laying the rim on a flat surface and any bends will magically be revealed.

Next, take the new rim and tape it to the old one. Now you must match the two rims together. This means that the valve holes must be aligned with each other and the sides of the spokes as well, ie a left spoke hole matches a left spoke and a right spoke hole matches a right spoke, etc...



Now start removing the spokes from the old rim and transfer them to the new rim one at a time. Don't screw the spoke nipples tight on the new rim, we just need them to hold in place.


Once all the spokes have been transferred to the new rim, remove the tape and the old rim. Voila! You have just built a new bicycle wheel the lazy and easy way.


Take your newly rebuilt bicycle wheel and screw all the brass nipples until you can't see the thread on the spokes. If you know how to true a bike wheel, now is the time to put it in the stand and true it. Tension will be put in the wheel after this initial truing and you'll top it off with a final true after that. For those of you who can't, you can go to my article with a video on the subject listed at the bottom or you can bring in your wheel to your local bike shop for final truing. Hopefully you will save some bucks since they didn't have to build it for you.

How-to true a bicycle wheel video link

Until next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

THE KLUNKER BIKE BUILD

Yes, yet another bike build is on the way. The good folks at ratrodbikes.com yelled "BIKE BUILD OFF" again and this time the theme is a Klunker bike. Klunker bikes were the genesis of the mountain bike back in the late 70's in Marin County California when a bunch of guys and gals decided to race old cruiser bikes downhill on a trail famously known as the Repack. It was called this because at the bottom of the hill, after every run, the coaster brake hubs had to be repacked with grease since they would smoke them out on the way down. The need for better brakes, multiple gears and the shrinking supply, not to talk about the limitations, of classic iron motivated the development of what we know today as the mountain bike.

I got my hands on this Klunker wannnabe from a friend for a mere $10 CDN. I had stashed it away for next season, but the build off requires me to get going now, so I figured I would take a chance and share with you guys at the same time. I plan on fixing this thing more than going for a full out rebuild and selling it on Craigslist as soon as possible.

What we have to work with here is not incredible. We are talking about a late 90's, chain store, klunker look alike. The diagnosis so far is grim. My main concern is the seized seat post. This problem could bring this project to an end if I can't pull it out. Thankfully it is a steel seat post inside a steel frame. Aluminum seat post in steel frames are a lot harder to get out when jammed. It will also require, at first glance, new brake calipers, cable and cable housings all around, shifters and pedals. That's for now until I put it on the workstand and do a more in debt autopsy of the beast.

So keep posted while I scrape my knuckles and curse myself to eternal damnation to finish this bike before Winter shows up it's true ugly face with a monster dump of snow. I'm sure it's going to be a blast.

Until next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

1956 Raleigh Sport project bicycle build

Well I haven't been the best of blogger lately. A crappy summer and all of a sudden the weather is nice. I've been selfish and spent my time riding and enjoying the nice weather. Yesterday I got my hands on 2 bikes that I plan to turn into one. So in trying to gain the forgiveness of my faithful readers, I will share this build with you. :)

So the story goes like this, a friend of mine had a pile of bikes he wanted to get rid of and called me to come and pick them up. I had no clue what he had, neither did he, but I rushed to his place and I was quite happy with what I found. The first was the CCM cruiser. Despite it's very bland looks my eyeballs zeroed in on the rear hub immediately, a Nexus 4! Four inner gears with a coaster brake, even the shifter was there, I couldn't believe my luck. That's until I turned my head and saw the Raleigh. Wow, the Brooks leather saddle caught my eyes right away and just by the general looks of it, I knew I was dealing with some very sweet vintage British iron. The rest of the pile was brought to the community bike shop.


When I first got my hands on these, I had a very vague idea of what I wanted to do with them. I had hunted for a Nexus for the past 3 years to put on one of my custom bikes, but now all those wheels are built up and painted. I wanted to try out the Nexus a bit before rebuilding an entire wheel for one of the customs with it. So I finally decided to use the Raleigh as a test bed for the Nexus and build it up. I took the CCM cruiser for a spin to make sure that the hub and shifter worked properly before disassembly. To my great relief, it worked fine.

Whenever you set up yourself up to start a project like this, there are many things to take into consideration. It's not just a case of slapping some parts from one bike to another. You most also decide to what extent you are willing to go. For this build, I decided I liked the original finish too much to repaint it, besides I have neither the means or the time to recreate the original art and decals put on there by the workers of Notthingham 52 years ago. I will simply lay a few coats of clear over the existing finish. I will also keep the signature Raleigh dimple fork, one of my favorite features of these bikes.

The Raleigh is equiped with 26 X 1 3/8 wheels, at first glance this size would seem to be the same as any 26 inch wheel, wrong! 26 X 1 3/8 is a little taller than balloon cruiser or mountain bike 26 inch wheels. The frame is also not wide enough to accept 26 X 2.125 whitewalls. I have no intention to lace the hub to the original rims, this would be time consuming and there is also the fact that there is one or two kinds of tires that fit on 26 X 1 3/8, that is if you can find them. I have gone and bought two 26 X 1.5 slicks that will fit inside the frame and fork.

The other thing to consider at this point, are the axles of the new wheels going to fit in the frame and fork? Axles today are pretty big compared to back then. I will use a quick release hub in the front, the smaller diameter axle will fit so I don't have to grind the fork stays openings. I will also have to verify that the back drop outs are wide enough to accept the Nexus hub.

There are a bunch of things to consider when doing this type of custom bicycle build, but in the end it's all worth it. I will post a progress report within the week...promise. The spend-o-meter now sits at $13 CDN.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

HOW TO REPAIR OR OVERHAUL A COASTER BRAKE HUB

There isn't much I can't fix or service on a bike, but I will freely admit that rebuilding a single speed coaster brake hub is not something I am very good at. Seriously, every time I try to rebuild a coaster brake hub, it commits suicide shortly thereafter.

Since many of you have been asking for information on this matter and I wouldn't be a reliable source to provide it, I have found a couple of great sites that can help you out. The first one is a step by step total rebuild from Steve Litt. Extremely well detailed and with lots of photographs. You can find the article here: http://www.troubleshooters.com/bicycles/1speed/1speed_overhaul.htm

The second valuable resource can be found at ratrodbikes.com's how-to section in the discussion forum. Member new_dharma and others have posted some diagrams of many hubs and this could also help you out. The information can be found here: http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=1162

There is one thing that I can contribute in your quest to overhaul a single speed or any other coaster brake hub:

• Prepare a clean working surface, no piles of little knick knacks that can be confused with tiny hub parts.
• Use a rag to cover your working surface that will prevent parts to bounce off into the 5th dimension of your workshop, never to be seen again until just before you move after selling the house.
• If you have a camera, be smart and take pictures as you dismantle(This one applies to anything you ever decide to take apart for the first time, trust me.).

These 3 little simple steps will save you a lot of headaches and should keep your money out of the cursing jar! Don't rush things and you'll be fine.

Until I find a hub to rebuild and find the time to try Steve Litt's steps, this is the best I can do for you. Good luck to you all.

Til next time ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

REGULAR BICYCLE MAINTENANCE, WHEN IT'S NOT AN OPTION ANYMORE

Bicycle maintenance is always important, but at some point it becomes necessary to organize yourself a regular, if not yearly, routine. Case in point, I recently had an interesting discussion with one of my readers, I will call him Robert (That's his bike in the picture by the way), who met this nice French woman, moved to France, ditched his car and started using his bike to get around everywhere. Now Robert, not his real name, is faced with the fact that his bike needs some well deserved maintenance and attention.

If you decide that your bicycle will become a more regular means of transportation in your life, there are some things you have to be willing to do. Now that your bike is not in the same category as lawn furniture priority wise, it is time to look after it with more regularity. When a bike is just used for recreation once and awhile, people take them to the shop or replace them when they break down. What you have to realize is that a well taken care of bicycle can last you a lifetime.

Chain lubrication should be attended to at least once every season and twice that if it sleeps outdoors (step AWAY from the WD40, use real bike chain lubricant). Schedule rear brake cable replacement at least once a year. If the cable is still good, rotate it to the front brake and get rid of that cable. Check your brake pads if they need to be replaced, rotate them fornt to back once a year. Rotate your tires front to back once a year to make them last longer. If you do any kind of serious mileage, replace your chain once a year. Take a look at your derailleur cables and schedule replacing if they are rusted or frayed, rotate them as well if you can. Put a dab of lubricant on every piece of exposed metal at least once a year and spot paint any paint chips on the frame. These task can be done by anyone with very basic tools. The only special tool needed in what I mentioned in this paragraph is a chain tool, you should definitely have one of those and carry it with you when you ride. Trust me it will pay for itself the first time you bust your chain in the middle of fraking nowhere! Clean your bike once a week, dirt is it's enemy. I use lemon Pledge furniture polish, it's a degreaser, it leaves a protective coat of wax so dirt doesn't stick on my frame, it makes the finish look very shiny and it smells nice too(make sure you don't spray any on your drivetrain, it will absolutely remove any lube you have on there).

Now you can always go for the big jobs like re-greasing all the bearings on your bike once a year. This will require some specialized tools and the knowledge dispensed elsewhere in this blog. If your are not confident enough to do the work yourself, don't despair, just farm out the work to your local bike shop. Since you are educated about the needs of your ride, you can be more specific about the work you want done to it and it will save you time and money.

Lastly, make simple verifications on a regular basis. A loose nut and bolt here and there is quickly fixed and will prevent bigger problems down the road. Also check your tire pressure once a week, you are the propulsion system and even 1 psi too low will affect how hard you have to crank those pedals.

When you own a car, you are a slave to it working long hours to pay the monthly bills that it generates, but with a bike it is the reverse. It is so low maintenance and low cost that it serves you. However, keeping it in good running order will make it happy and you as well in return.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

HOW TO REPLACE A DERAILLEUR BICYCLE CHAIN

Some time ago i published a video on how to use a chain tool to remove and replace a bicycle chain. This video is more in depth where it shows you more details on the job. Chain length can be an issue, too long or too short and other such little details are included in this epic production... Ok, not really epic, but I am trying to get better at this. Making movies is not that easy. So enjoy and I hope this will help you out. You can check out the first video that showed a close up on using the chain tool here.

Til then next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry

THE TRUTH ABOUT WD40 AND BICYCLE CHAIN LUBRICATION

How many times do I hear people telling me that they use WD40 to lube their bike chain and it's just fine. Well, it's not. Watch this video from my friend Alex who's a bike mechanic from Vancouver and you will finally learn the real story about WD40. It's good for all kinds of stuff, but it doesn't belong on your bike chain. Without further ado, here's Alex:



Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

COMPLETED CCM BIKE RESTORATION

Just wanted to share with everyone my last project that is now complete. The 1950 CCM was a blast to build thanks to the inspiration of the build off at ratrodbikes that managed to get everything in motion. This bike is a sweet ride and i can't wait for Spring when I'll be able to ride it into the ground. Bikes are made to be ridden in my opinion. In hoping that this might inspire some of you to get a new project going.

'Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.



Gerry :)

p.s. The recumbent build is not dead, I just don't have the time right now, keep posted.

HOW TO ALIGN OR TRUE A BICYCLE WHEEL

Well it's been a long time coming, but here it is. I have attached a video to this article. It's not great, but it will have to do for now until I figure out a better studio set-up.

Truing a wheel is not that complicated. The rim is attached to the hub with the use of spokes. The spokes are divided equally on each side of the rim and are held there by brass nipples that can be screwed or unscrewed. A brass nipple is basically an upside down screw, so you have to go counter clockwise to tighten it and clockwise to untighten. Tightening a brass nipple will make a spoke "pull" the rim to the outside and the reverse will "push" it inside.

This means that if the rim is too much to the left from the center and this happens in front of a spoke located on the right side of the rim, you would have to go counter clockwise so that the spoke will "pull" the rim back to the right. If the same situation would occur in front of a spoke located on the left side of the rim, you would go clockwise to unscrew the nipple and that would "push" the rim to the right.

The main thing to remember is to go at it one spoke at a time. If you try to straighten the wheel by adjusting 6 spokes in one shot, you will have problems. Also, if you have to make more than one turn on a brass nipple, make half as many turns on the 2 nipples on each side of it to avoid creating a flat spot in the rim. When you are close to finishing the job and the adjustments are minute, you don't have to do this.

If you want to try this, get a truing stand, find some busted wheels and practice, practice, practice. Remember though, not every taco wheel can be saved. Sometimes it's better to start with a fresh rim.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry

1 YEAR OF BLOGGING ABOUT BIKES

One year ago today I started a journey with no idea where it would take me. I just followed my guts and went ahead sharing my passion for bikes. Thousands of words, hundreds of pictures, 3 digital cameras, hundreds of contacts, over 230 000 hits and countless emails later, I am even more passionate about this endeavor.

A little over a year ago I had no clue what a blog was. A fortunate discussion with my cousin brought me into this fantastic cyber adventure. I started on the 13th of July thinking that it was a sign. My Grandfather's lucky number was 13 and he made it through 4 years overseas during World War 2 in one piece. Thanks Grandpa, it's going well. People told me I was crazy to give this information away freely but I figured that it could help out some people and I would be doing a good thing. Turns out I was right. A man in China being able to commute to work because he can maintain his bike, a single Mom in England who, to the eyes of her son, became a Hero because she was able to fix his rear wheel, a guy who decided to bike again because he figured out how to fix his ride or a kid that decided not to give up and followed his desire to repaint his bike are just a few examples of the positive feedback I have received.


These small events might seem like nothing, but they can have positive repercussions over a lifetime. Because of these small bites of information spread out there, somebody might be able to work and feed his family, have the admiration of a child for life, maybe avoid a heart attack or have the confidence to pursue whatever he/she wants. I am very aware of these possibilities. My day to day job has shown me that small events can have huge consequences in someones life. I feel privileged to be able to do this and I am very proud when ever I get an email telling me that this blog helped you out.

To those who are here for the first time, welcome. Read, learn, get your hands dirty and don't ever quit. To those of you who have enjoyed this blog for a while, a thousand thank yous. Keep posted for more stuff, I'm not about to run out of things to write about and if you have a passion in life, share it with the world. You might make it a little better.

Until next time, ride safe and Godspeed!

Gerry

FIXING AND MAINTAINING YOUR BIKE FOR AN OPTIMUM RIDE!

I haven't posted in a while and I guess you can figure out why. Especially if you live in the snowbelt, it's summer and riding is a major part of my agenda. I can't write and ride at the same time now can I?

This year I decided to ride a single speed coaster brake cruiser. The decision was first based on looks (They do look cool!) and also on the fact that I was tired of hauling all the tools necessary to fix a busted derailleur or brake calipers everytime I go for a decent ride. A coaster brake cruiser requires very few tools and it lightens the tool bag big time. A cruiser also builds a good pair of legs!

A one speed cruiser bike is very demanding on hills and it's pretty heavy. So everything you can do to help yourself to move forward with less effort helps. These tips apply to any kind of bike. They are things that most people overlook or don't know about that robs them of a very enjoyable bicycle ride. Let's face it, the easier and more comfortable a bike is, the more you ride. So here it goes:

1. TIRE PRESSURE: Buy a floor pump with a gauge and check your tire pressure on a regular basis. Rubber tubes are porous to a point and you do lose air over time. A low pressure tire will slow you down a lot. Pump it up to the prescribed pressure and you will see a huge difference.
2. WHEEL AND PEDAL AXLE BEARINGS: The bearings in your bike are what makes everything turn smoothly. Make sure they are greased properly by doing a simple check, turn the front and back wheels to see if they turn freely. Get the chain off the front chainring and see if you can turn the pedals without feeling any resistance.
   
3. LUBE THAT CHAIN: It sounds crazy, but a badly lubed chain will rob you of some power. I noticed this when I ran a recumbent with a chain 2 and a half times longer than a regular bike. The thing ran a lot better when the chain was properly lubricated.
4. IS ANYTHING RUBBING?: If you are riding with a brake pad rubbing on the rim all the time, this will take away a lot of your pedaling power for nothing. Again, spin the wheels to see if they turn freely. Check also if the wheels are sitting properly in the frame and that the tires or not rubbing on it.
5. SEAT POSITION: If your seat is too low, you will have a hard time pedaling and you might even hurt your knees. I have seen people riding their bikes with their knees sticking out sideways countless times and somehow they don't seem to enjoy themselves.
6. GEARS, USE 'EM IF YOU HAVE 'EM: Give yourself a chance and leave from a dead stop on a lower gear. I often see people leaving a traffic light on the biggest chainring in the front, pedaling hard, looking in pain and hurting their knees. Use the middle or small chainring and learn to shift that bike or get a one speed cruiser!
   
7. PUT YOUR BIKE ON A DIET: Do you have any kind of junk on your bike that you don't use or that is there for no purpose? If so, remove it. A heavy bike will show it's bad side when climbing hills or going against a hard head wind. You are the only thing powering that beast, so every ounce counts.

Bike maintenance not only preserves your bicycle, but it also makes for a more enjoyable ride and like I said before the more fun it is, the more you do it.

'Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

DIAGNOSIS: SEIZED BACK BRAKE ON LADY'S BIKE

This ever happen to you? You squeeze the rear brake lever on your nice woman's frame bike to find out that absolutely nothing moves! You check everything, the cable routing, the lever, the pads. Everything is OK, where and how it should be. Yet you are perplexed at the fact that nothing wants to move so that the rear wheel can come to a stop. The culprit hides it's ugly face deep inside the cable housing, corrupting that seemingly perfect and healthy looking rear brake cable. Yes, rust has decided to dwell inside and has fused the cable and housing together. No amount of oil will solve this problem permanently. When rust decides to elect domicile inside a cable housing, it becomes as difficult to get rid off as a colony of cockroaches. You will have to trash the cable and that part of the housing to regain full enjoyment and use of your rear brakes.


The cause of this problem is very simple. The step through frame usually has a lower cable routing that goes underneath the brake caliper. This exposes an opening to the elements and water can seep in. May it be a casual ride in the rain or the bike being stored outdoors, the water will sit there and create rust that will weld the cable and housing in one single piece of rust. To prevent this, insert a few drops of oil down the housing at the same place the water gets in or cap it off with a dab of grease or do both. Do this once a season or more if the bike is exposed to rain on a regular basis.

Some of you have asked me why does a woman's bike have a lower top tube. It would seem more logical that this would be more practical for men! We have to go back in history to find out why. Back in the late 19th century when the safety bicycle (that's the name for the current rear chain driven wheel bike design) was invented, women rode their bikes with big skirts and dresses. This was not an option for the ladies of the time, it was the everyday dress code. It was very unladylike to throw a leg over the back wheel to mount and a dress over a top bar would have been just as bad. So bike designers of the time solved this problem by making the step through frame. To this day, for some odd reason, most bikes for women are still made that way. But a real woman's frame is one built to accommodate their shorter torso and longer legs compared to the men's frame. Ask your local bike shop about a real woman's bike. If they are any good, they should know what you're talking about.

Til next time ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry

BUYING A BICYCLE ONLINE

A while back, Sue from justbicycles.com contacted me to add some of my articles to their website. I went over to check things out and found a no frills website and blog about selling bicycles online. Being a cruiser bike maniac myself, I was happy to see that they had a nice selection of cruisers, even a tandem, among the other regular bikes. The prices were also very decent. So you might have noticed the banner for them at the bottom of this blog for a while. I figured that it would be more to the point than some Linux banner.

Anyways, I was going through their online bicycle catalog and I found this bike, The Chief. It was on sale at $140, shipping to Canada was $65, with duties and exchange rate, the total is a bit over $CDN300. Not bad considering that we don't have too many cruisers around these parts and the price for something like this would be a lot more.

click on the images for a full view

The bike was shipped with Fedex and I received it within 7 days. The bike was very well packed and the only loose thing the box was the seat, but it was very well protected for the trip. I have pulled hundreds of bikes fresh out of the box while working for stores and bicycle shops and this one was very much up to standard.

To be fair and find out if it was easy to assemble, I enlisted my daughter to take on the job. Now Sarah is not unfamiliar with bike maintenance, I have taught her well. But she never had the chance to assemble a brand new bike together. Don't think for a minute that I gave her the job just because she's a girl. Sarah can tune a bike, flip a boy bigger than her over her head and she sword fights with the toughest of them in Live Role Playing.

The first thing to do is to get that bike out of the wrapper and get your tools ready. You'll need a set of Allen keys, a 15mm socket wrench for the wheel, a 15mm open ended wrench and/or an adjustable open ended wrench. Cut the tie wraps holding every thing together and remove the wrapping paper over the frame by hand. The only thing to watch for while unpacking the bike is the front wheel. It is slipped into the left crank arm and you must slide it out carefully. Install the front wheel and pull out the kickstand so you can work easily for the rest of the assembly.


Align the front wheel properly and make sure that the washers are between the nut and fork. Tighten the nuts with a 15mm socket wrench. Now pump both tires to the indicated tire pressure, in this case 40 psi. Moving to the handlebars, remove the protective plastic cap on the stem and adjust the bars temporarily by unscrewing the 2 top Allen bolts. The bar is shipped that way to save on space. Insert the stem inside the fork tube until you can't see the safety line on the stem. Align it with the front wheel and screw it in hard. Now you can adjust the angle of the handlebars to your preferred position permanently.


Now insert the seat tube inside the frame and lock it in by screwing in the Allen bolt. Install the seat, adjust it to be level with the ground and tighten the nut with an open ended wrench. To adjust the height of the seat, you will have to install the pedals first with a 15mm open ended wrench. Make sure you don't mix them up! On the pedals, you will find a stamped "R" or "L". Left and Right, with right being on the side of the chain drive. The reason this is important, is that the left side pedal is reversed thread. This means you have to go counterclockwise to screw it in. After installing the pedals, you can now adjust the height of the seat by making sure that with your heel on one pedal, your leg is straight while sitting down on the seat. Check out this article for a complete explanation.


That's it, your done. Make sure that everything is tight and aligned. You also have an owners manual that comes with the bike. It is not specific to your particular bike, but it includes all kinds of valuable information on bicycle maintenance. Don't throw it away, keep it for your future needs. This bike being a one speed coaster brake, it was pretty easy to put together, but if I had gotten a multi speed bike it would have involved adjusting brakes and gear shifting. All that information is contained in that booklet. Kind of a hard copy of howtofixbikes ;)

For a review of this bike, check out this post.


Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry

SPRINGTIME BICYCLE CHECKLIST

Well with spring around the corner, many of you are aching to get that favorite ride of yours out of the shed or basement and on to the pavement. Before you do so, there are a few things you should check out on your bike before you head out into cycling bliss. Here's a checklist to guide you in that task:

• CHECK TIRE PRESSURE AND INFLATE ACCORDINGLY Those rubber tubes are actually porous and you do lose some air during that storage period. Don't be alarmed about that, it's normal.
• CHECK FOR TIRE WEAR Look if you have any bald spots or balloons in the sidewalls. If you don't need to replace the tires and you have a matched set, rotate them from front to back. They will wear evenly and last a lot longer.
  
• CHECK BRAKE LEVER AND CALIPER ACTION Nothing sucks more than ruining your first ride with your brakes deciding not to show up for work at the first corner. Don't end up has a hood ornament on a Mack truck and make sure these work properly.
• CHECK BRAKE PAD WEAR Pads do wear out after a while. If they look decent, do a rotation and they will last longer. In general the rear pads wear out faster than the front ones. It may be the other way around according to the way you ride.
• CHECK ALL CABLES Derailleurs, brakes, check everything. If you see rust or a cable starting to fray, don't wait and replace immediatly. Especially the brake cables, remember that hood ornament thing?
• CHECK YOUR CHAIN AND LUBE IT Back pedal and watch for any links that are jammed. Oil the chain with anything but regular engine oil or WD40(I use transmission fluid myself). If your chain has many thousands of miles and looks slack, replace it.
• CHECK FOR ANYTHING LOOSE I mean everything. If it's screwed or bolted, it will come loose at some point. Check them all!
• CLEAN YOUR BIKE Yes that's right, clean it. Dirt and filth actually helps a bike to deteriorate. Take some lemon furniture polish and clean it nice. Your bike will thank you for it and you'll be looking good. It smells nice too!

Last thing to remember when you go out there for the first time, is that the roads might not be up to snuff. Be careful since it takes a while before all the roads are cleaned of dirt, debris and pebbles. Don't forget the potholes and those brainless SUV drivers that are not used to seeing you on the road.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry