I wasn't going to but at the last minute, a friend was doing it so why not?
It's something I wanted to do it but it just sounded pretty menial / not exciting and had joined the list with other tasks like visiting the dentist and optometrist. I mean, I could just take my bike to the bike shop to get anything done, right?
(Courtesy - cyclinghumor.com)
So, I'll go through what we learnt because I wrote it all down -
[EDIT: I started writing and it turned into the biggest post ever, but I'd rather keep it all together for my reference, so sorry for it being so long!]
Essential gear to have
(Courtesy - www.chicagobikeblog.com)
- Spare tube
- Pump -
- Mini pump for on the road (intended for emergency use only), and
- Floor pump for general use (tyres lose approx 10% of air each week).
- I asked about CO2 canisters for use on the road and the trainer said that CO2 is good for racing (super quick to inflate tubes), but the particles are smaller so the air escapes quicker. If using CO2, once you get home, you should let the air out and replace with normal air.
- Tyre levers
- Multi tool - simple one from bike store is ok - you just need:
- Different sized Allen keys
- Phillips head
- Flathead
- Shifter - if you don't have quick release levers for getting your wheels off.
- Patch kit
- Abrasive material (like sandpaper)
- Vulcanising rubber solution (not really glue)
- Patches
Safety Check - ABC
(Courtesy - library wollondilly)
A - AIR - bounce the bike. It should not sound unusual (ie. it should sound like what it usually sounds like). If something is wrong, do not ride the bike. Wheel damage could be expensive.
B - BRAKES - squeeze the brakes and make sure they feel normal and they brake properly.
C - CHAIN - kick the pedal backwards and check it spins freely. If not, pick up bike and pedal forward, is it ok now? If not, get it fixed.
CHAIN
"Chain stretch" = this is referring to the holes where the pins go getting worn out and larger. Therefore the chain gets longer.
(Courtesy - www.torpedo7.com.au)
The cassette (the rings with the teeth) is the more expensive part so it is best to look after your chain.
At a guide - the trainer said you'd probably go through 3-4 chains per cassette.
When your bike comes back from the mechanics, it is good to test the bike and ride some hills to check the chain / cassette is working well together. If not, take it back to adjust.
The teeth should look like Uluru (flatish),
(Courtesy - wikipedia.org/)
rather than Mount Fuji (pointy).
(Courtesy - www.telegraph.co.uk)
Cleaning the chain
Step 1: Wipe the chain
- Make sure bike is in the highest gear / smallest cog.
- This is so that the chain is the furthest away from the bike / easily accessible.
- You can lean the bike on the wall - as long as you can still backpedal the bike freely.
- Hold a rag on the bottom chain.
- Make sure you keep the chain in a straight line so you don't pull it off. But it's pretty easy to put back on, just put some of the chain back on a few of the teeth and pedal forwards.
- Turn the pedals backwards. The purpose is to get any grit off the chain.
Step 2: Cleaning the jockey wheels
The jockey wheels are the small pretty coloured cogs (bike bling!).
- Stick your finger in the rag
- Put your finger on one side of the jockey wheel's teeth
- Turn the pedal backwards - gunk will come off onto the rag.
- Repeat on other side of jockey wheel
- Repeat for other jockey wheel
Step 3: Lubricating the chain
- Squeeze bike lube (specific to bicycles) onto the bottom chain while you're turning the pedal backwards.
- Doing this on the bottom chain means that you won't be dripping the lube everywhere.
- Do this until you've put lube over the whole chain.
- Wipe the chain - as per Step 1.
- This is because the idea is for the lube to sit in the links, not on the outside.
Notes:
- WD40 is not suitable - is too thin for bikes. And Motorcycle lube is too thick.
- Since the lube is not waterproof, sometimes it is good to lubricate the chain after a rainy period.
Ok, from here on in it gets a bit technical and I couldn't find pictures so feel free to skip the rest..
(Courtesy - www.nycfoodtrucks.org)
WHEELS / CHANGING THE TUBE
Undoing the brakes
I have a quick release, so I didn't need to do this, but I wrote it down in case one day I do.
- Left hand as a two fingered pistol.
- Use the 2 pointy fingers to pull the cable sticking up away from the bike (the cable bit sticking out is called the "noodle")
- Use your thumb to push the cable the other way - makes it easier to manipulate the cable.
- Right hand
- Push the brake arm (clampy bit) using your thumb.
- Use your other fingers to free the cable.
Undoing the wheel
I didn't write down the instructions for the front wheel, because I already know how to do it, but for the back wheel:
- Turn bike upside down - remove any breakables on the handlebars.
- To turn your wheel upside down, instead of grabbing the posts, grab the axles (frame bits joining to the wheel) lower down the bike, and your bike will just swing upside down.
- Loosen the wheel
- Open the derailleur
- Lift the wheel out
- To get wheel back in
- You may need to flick the jockey wheel to be able to move the derailleur (it locks if there's no wheel inside).
- Put wheel in middle of chain.
Cleaning the wheel
Use clean cloth. You don't want lube and grit on your braking surface!
Most of the black stuff is brake dust.
Tyres (the outer bit you can see)
The dimensions will be marked on your tyres somewhere - eg. on mine: 700 x 25C.
700 is the diameter of my tyre. (And is measured in some old French unit!).
25 (millimetres) is the width of my tyre.
Mountain bikes are measured in inches - most likely 26 inches diameter.
Tubes (the thin sausage thing that sits inside your tyre that you actually blow up)
You must buy tubes to match your tyre:
- Dimensions.
- Valve type (thin one "Presta" or fat one "Schrader").
Pressure
The recommended pressure will also be marked on your tyre. Eg. on my road bike it is 120psi.
It is recommended you inflate your tube to this pressure, or you can risk pinch flats (aka snake bites when you run over obstacles.
(Amended from forums.roadbikereview.com)
Petrol station pumps are not recommended because they are inaccurate and they struggle with these high pressures.
However, on a road bike, if doing a long ride (eg. Sydney to Wollongong), lower pressure may make the ride more comfortable.
Check the tube for damage
Either pump it up and rotate, listen for the hissing sound, or if you're somewhere loud, rotate near your eye to feel the escaping air.
You should also check the rim tape for damage. This is the strip on the wheel. On my road bike, it was a plastic casing. It's job is to protect the tube from the "nipples".
Hehe.
[Nipples are your spokes connecting through the rim. Who names these parts?]
Using a patch kit - It is best to do this after you get home because it takes a little while.
- Sandpaper the tube. The tubes come out of the factory with plastic film and you want to get down to the rubber.
- Apply the vulcanising rubber solution around the area - in a shape bigger than the patch you are about to apply.
- Wait for the solution to dry - 15 to 20 minutes. (Touch dry)
- Apply the patch.
- Apply pressure all over the patch for a few minutes to bond everything together.
- Wait overnight (if you can) before using the tube.
Putting the tube back on
Note that apparently everyone has a different way of doing this and everyone thinks their way is the best..
So this is the way we were taught.
- Put the tube back on the wheel
- Make sure you put the tube back on the correct side (that is, the same side you took the tube off). For some reason this was really NOT intuitive for me because I could see the valve hole from the incorrect side and so this felt wrong. So I've drawn myself a picture above.
- Put wheel on your lap with the valve side furthest away from you and the side you put the tube back in, on top.
- Starting with your hands in front of you, using your thumbs, push the tyre back in underneath the rim.
- Keep going outwards - hands now moving away from you, heading towards the valve.
- If your tyre is still not in, do it again, but place more emphasis on pushing the tyre as deep as possible into the rim (towards the centre of the wheel).
- If your tyre is still not in, place the wheel upright on the ground (valve on the ground) and do it again pushing downwards towards the valve.
BRAKES
There are many different ways to adjust your brakes
- Lever angle
- There is a screw underneath the brake levers
- Your arms should be straight when gripping the brake levers when sitting on the bike.
- Barrel adjuster
- This is the twisty thing that is around your brake cable - it may be near your brake levers (mountain bike) or lower down closer to your brakes (road bike)
- How far you need to pull the brake levers
- This will loosen over time and is good to adjust to counteract brake pads wearing out over time.
- Also if you use one brake more than the other, you can use this adjuster to make both brake levers feel the same.
- Calipers
- There is a screw at the bottom of the calipers.
- You want the tension on both caliper to be the same / balanced.
- Brake pads
- Take one off at a time! There are a gazillion tiny washers and if you drop them, you'll never know which order they go back on in!
- Brake pads need to be in the centre of the rim.
- TIP: hold brake lever tight when adjusting, so you're tightening to the right position.
- Brake cables
- Mostly made of steel which can mean rust.
- They should slide easily through the casing.
- Dribble some oil on them twice a year and they'll feel much nicer to use.
GEARS
For me, the derailleur was the ugly, scary thing hanging off the back of the bike.
The derailleur is basically an arm that pushes left and right.
The derailleur is controlled by a cable.
The gear changer (on the handlebars) is a ratchet that is pulling / releasing this cable.
SIMPLE!
(Courtesy - thebiketube.com)
Therefore, for cable tension, you can adjust the barrel (twisty thing) at the end of the cable. (see above - "cable adjustment barrel").
TIP: Turn the dial the way you want the chain to go.
I have a random fear of derailleurs snapping off because this happened to my husband on the MS Gong ride.
Note how the derailleur is hanging off.. the chain...
We'd like to say he was ATTACKING THE HILL SO HARD HE SNAPPED HIS DERAILLEUR, but it was actually that the bike fell over in the morning while everyone was taking photos and bent the derailleur hanger.
The derailleur hanger is very sensitive and can be bent by knocking it against another object.
It is best to always place your bike gear side up and to never place another object (eg. another bike) on top of the gear area.
Once you notice it is bent, you can take it to a bike store and they have a special unbending machine.
You can tell it is bent if:
- It is not straight - der
- The gears are not working properly.
Hooray! After all of that, I think I'm ready to be a.......... BICYCLE REPAIR woMAN!
