Commuting - What fixes have you done on the bike to get home?

Many people out their who are commuting must have had their bike break down. It always seems to ½ way between home and work. Are their any interesting fixes people have done to get the bike home? This is my short list over the many years I have been commuting by bike that I could think of. I have ignored the common flat.

1) Rear wheel axel broke. I tightened the skewer as tight as I could then rode slowly home the last 3 miles.
2) Chain broke. Usually carry an extra master-link from sram and it’s a good fix till I have time to diagnose the real problem.
3) Petal broke. Ride with one foot in the toe-clip and the other foot at an angle where the petal was. Did this for 7 miles.
4) Crank broke. Has to call home to be picked up.
5) Frame broke where the rear wheel hangs. Had to walk the bike home the last 3 miles.
6) Noticed the BB started wobbling. Rode for the next 7 miles very slow to keep the pressure off the BB to just make it home.
7) Bike rack lost screw that attaches to frame. Found piece of wire and looped it through the holes. Good enough to get home.
8) Front brake cable broke, looped cable around handle bars. Good enough to get home.
9) Detailer cable froze in the casing while at work in winter. Could not think of a way to free it in the cold so rode home in 8th all the way.
10) Light keeps falling forward, not a small enough Phillips to tighten. Ride home last 3 miles holding the light forward.
11) One of the seat rails broke. Ride home 7 miles standing on the petals.
12) Got a ¼ inch bolt right through my Panaracer 2.1” tire. Put duct tape over the hole from the inside to keep the tube in till a proper fix was possible.

Also, what can be less then optimal, on your bike when leaving home before you instead drive or take the bus?

My only real problem so far was its own thread recently. My left crank fell off after the bolt made a desparate bid for freedom and escaped from the BB. My commute is only just under 5 miles (7.5 Km) and there is a LBS on the way home so I only ended up jogging along side the bike for nearly a mile to get there before the shop closed. Of course, it had to be raining to make it more interesting. Anyway, attempted fixes on the spot included banging the crank back on with anything available, riding with only one pedal (impossible without clips), and simply pushing in while pedaling the left foot. I gave up and resorted to the duathlon approach.

Maybe I've just been lucky but it sounds like I could have a lot to look forward to on my future commutes! :p

Crank broke, pedal fell off(no clips, btw).

Lowered the seat and used my feet to push off of the ground to keep me rolling the rest of the way.


or a fun one form the front tire: ball bears fell out, axel was bent to hell, tire itself was crooked. After a short time, the tire refused to move at all. I carried the bike back the 2 miles on my shoulder.

Two months later, I was hit by a car on the same bike. Tires where at near 45* angles. No way it was going to move after that. Bike on the shoulder again, about 2 miles oddly enough.

Chain broke, took shoe lace out of my shoes that were in my bag (just got done running) and did my best to just tie the ends together as tight as possible

Elvish

Two months later, I was hit by a car on the same bike. Tires where at near 45* angles. No way it was going to move after that. Bike on the shoulder again, about 2 miles oddly enough.

sheesh. did the driver at least offer a ride home? granted, I wouldn't have taken one, but I hope it was offered at least.

I was riding a bike I'd bought about 2 days before down my local hill, and there was a sort of PRACK! sound and all the balls came out of the rear hub! So, I kept on coasting as that took me right to the shop an very sheepishly told 'em what happened and they fixed me right up.

Someone sliced both tires of my bike with a knife parked in front of my workplace. I walked bike to a Target and bought two tubes, they didn't sell my tire, then bought fiberglass tape and patched tire as best I could, and rode home. Then at home that night I put Goop glue and more strapping tape over the sliced holes, and the next day one tire was bulging when I pumped it up for commute to work, after work I rode to LBS and bought 1 new tire, the other one held ok, and I used it for 2 months before the tube starting bulging out and I replaced that tire. When work found out, they said I could bring the bike inside, nice!

Let's see... not quite as dramtic as the OP...

- Pedal snapped off, can't remember what I did (was on college campus so no biggie)

- Seatpost stolen (again on campus) rode home out of the saddle a mile or two

- Bottom bracket froze due to a shattered bearing while off-road. Fortunately it was at the end of a ride so only descending was left. My pal and I traded bikes (b/c he was a way better MTBer than I) until we got to his car.

- Had a slow leak, didn't notice until I was about to leave work on a flat tire -- but I had left the wrench I need to take the back wheel off of the folder, so I pumped as much as I could and rode a soft tire to a LBS.

- Cleats have come loose way too often (always the same foot, must be doing something wrong!)

- RD hanger bent due a freak missed shift... couldn't do anything but stick out the thumb! (frame was bent back, hooray for steel!)

- Today in fact I noticed that my crank has loosened (again!) so I'll have to tighten it with my multi-tool if it has the right size hex wrench.

Had a crankbolt come off in the middle of a busy intersection. Felt like my cleat had slipped out of the pedal, looked down to see my pedal still firmly attached to my shoe, but the crank arm dangling from it and scraping on the ground. That one stumped me, and I had to call for a ride.
Otherwise, just flats and one broken spoke, and a few loose look-style cleats.

Didnt require a fix, but I had a run in with a fishing line once. I was riding near the tidal basin in DC early one morning on my way to work, and one of the fishermen there didnt look back before swinging his line behind him to cast. I ducked and it glanced off my helmet and got caught in the rear spokes and rear cassette (with a nice smelly piece of bait for good measure). he cut the line, and I was able to unwind it after removing the rear wheel and get on my way.

on my fixed gear going down a bumpy road had the chain jump off the chain ring. The chain wrapped around the cranks and I came to a quick skidding halt. had to break the chain and straighten it out as best as I could and made my way home very slowly.

other than that no problems... seat came loose one time... guess I'm just lucky or haven't been riding enough.

I was sitting at a stoplight yesterday and heard a POP. Thought my tire blew, but it was a spoke. I ride an old Raleigh Technium, with rims (and spokes) that are old as well, so it's just a matter of time before they all blow. haha...

So I pulled my bike to the side of the intersection and tweaked the spoke out through the hub. Great fun. Now I watch my front wheel wobble on my whole ride.

I'm curious how many of you guys think that some of these mishaps could have been prevented with a little more diligent maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anyone here maintains their bike poorly. I'm just new to this and hope to limit the breakdowns. I usually check my bike over on the weekend. I wipe it down, clean/lube the drivetrain, kick the tires, etc., and may or may not check how tight each bolt/fastener is.

Do you think you could have spotted a failing seat post, saddle rail, crank arm, frame tube, etc. before it broke? I highly doubt I could unless I changed my maintenance and inspection detail.

You know the best way to unfreeze a derailleur is to pee on it number1bike!

Generally it is just flats and spokes for me or an occasional brake adjustment or a dented rim form a pothole . It also helps that at the half way point of my commute I ride by a bike shop. But generally I keep up on the maintenance to advoid these problems. I run 2 commuters and have a spare set of wheels. So this is a bit easier for me to manage.

I pedalled home the last mile or two one-legged when my pedal fell off. Tried using my right foot on the crankarm but kept stubbing my toes!

I fixed it by changing the crank - After I got home, took a shower and pulled out a different bike to commute on for the next few weeks......

Chain broke, took shoe lace out of my shoes that were in my bag (just got done running) and did my best to just tie the ends together as tight as possible

Elvish

Damn, you're a helluva lot smarter than me. I just popped a link yesterday (In Grapevine). I never thought of doing that. My bike shoes have laces and velcro, so I could have easily done it. I normally keep a chain tool, master link, and extra links in a little ziplock inside my blowout bag. I had it out the day before because I was working on my chain (which is no doubt why it failed the next day) and I didn't put it back. I went down today and bought a bigger chain tool for home so I can leave the one in the bag alone.

BTW, I live in Keller, close to Town Center. I commute to DFW airport.

I'm curious how many of you guys think that some of these mishaps could have been prevented with a little more diligent maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anyone here maintains their bike poorly. I'm just new to this and hope to limit the breakdowns. I usually check my bike over on the weekend. I wipe it down, clean/lube the drivetrain, kick the tires, etc., and may or may not check how tight each bolt/fastener is.

Do you think you could have spotted a failing seat post, saddle rail, crank arm, frame tube, etc. before it broke? I highly doubt I could unless I changed my maintenance and inspection detail.

Most people ride older beat up bikes when commuting because they have to lock them up outside. You definitely don't want to have the best looking bike on the rack. Many also ride in all types of conditions and the bike is exposed to all types of weather and road salt. Maintaining a bike under those conditions can be very challenging. That's why you see a lot of people commuting on fixed gear bikes.

Personally, I'm a fair weather rider. My bike stays indoors all the time when I'm not on it. I keep up the preventative maintenance pretty well, but I don't have nearly as many challenges as others.

I'm curious how many of you guys think that some of these mishaps could have been prevented with a little more diligent maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anyone here maintains their bike poorly. I'm just new to this and hope to limit the breakdowns. I usually check my bike over on the weekend. I wipe it down, clean/lube the drivetrain, kick the tires, etc., and may or may not check how tight each bolt/fastener is.

Do you think you could have spotted a failing seat post, saddle rail, crank arm, frame tube, etc. before it broke? I highly doubt I could unless I changed my maintenance and inspection detail.
I will confess that I'm not always right up to date on the preventative maintenence. But my bike must have a fondness for me--it only seems to break down when I loan it to a friend. And 9 times out of 10, when I have a flat, it happens right at home.

I will confess that I'm not always right up to date on the preventative maintenence. But my bike must have a fondness for me--it only seems to break down when I loan it to a friend. And 9 times out of 10, when I have a flat, it happens right at home.

I'd rather loan out my wife than my bike.

I'm curious how many of you guys think that some of these mishaps could have been prevented with a little more diligent maintenance. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying anyone here maintains their bike poorly. I'm just new to this and hope to limit the breakdowns. I usually check my bike over on the weekend. I wipe it down, clean/lube the drivetrain, kick the tires, etc., and may or may not check how tight each bolt/fastener is.

Do you think you could have spotted a failing seat post, saddle rail, crank arm, frame tube, etc. before it broke? I highly doubt I could unless I changed my maintenance and inspection detail.

Keep in mind that the problem list is about 10 years of commuting, 12 months a year in Chicago weather, with 3 bikes in succession. I do think that some could have been prevented with meticulous maintenance, others I do not think so.

The chain breaking was probably my fault since I reassembled the chain after cleaning it with the same ‘pin’. It took a week before the ‘plate’ bent enough to snap the other side ‘plate’.

The frames breaking I still do not see as a maintenance solution.

Lose bolts are a given so I have gotten more attune to listening to little things on the bike hoping to catch something loose before it falls off. In the winter when I have the head gear on it’s a bit tricky.

A snapped axel I believe was poor materials on the road bike at the time. Ever since I switched to a mountain bike(s) the axels have been fine. It could have been bad luck though.

The crank and petal snapping I think are manufacturing or design defects. Short of magafluxing each metal part every few months how can you detect metal fatigue? Possibly I should have known something was up a few blocks before the crank snapped because something did not feel quite right, but I figured it was something with the petal.

To solve the brake cables breaking or freezing up, I switched to Teflon coated cables. It’s an experiment to see if they help?

Obviously none of these problem have deterred me one bit.

Many people out their who are commuting must have had their bike break down. It always seems to ½ way between home and work. Are their any interesting fixes people have done to get the bike home? This is my short list over the many years I have been commuting by bike that I could think of. I have ignored the common flat.


I KNEW I shouldn't have even read the thread. Saw this one on Friday and thought to myself "Self, I should just skip this thread.. to read it is to invite trouble!"

...but evil BraveSpear popped up on my shoulder and said "C'mon, what can it hurt?"

The trip home after reading the thread:
1) Left crank bolt worked itself out while pedaling and the crank arm popped off. Didn't have an Allen wrench to fit the hex bolt, so I walked the bike to an LBS that was only about a mile away (in the wrong direction from home). Nice guys, let me use their 8mm Allen wrench and gave me a dab of LocTite (sp?) to make sure it doesn't work its way loose again.
2) Got back out on the road again after a 30+ min delay and suddenly the rain opened up in a deluge. Felt like I needed a sail on my bike because there was so much water (and I still have no fenders :mad: )
3) Get close to home and I hear a rubbing coming from the rear tire. Stop to check and I have another broken spoke (got one while on vacation that I replaced without too much of a problem).
4) Walked the bike the rest of the way home and (since I have a RhynoLite rim on my old Schwinn), pull that off and put on the Fisher. Of course the spacing isn't quite right and now I'm struggling through trying to adjust my rear derailleur (which I've never done on my own before).

These types of threads are *EVIL*

Maybe I should've just started a new thread... :o

So far I've been pretty lucky and its been just a host of flats. I did lose one bolt out of my rear rack. I had to finish riding to work with it rattling like I was dragging tin cans, but I used a couple of zip ties to hold it in place on the way home. The zip ties made it about 3/4 of the way home before they wore out. I will have to remember some of these ingenious solutions in case bad things happen.