Andrew R Stewart 

So using Park cone wrenches for, maybe, 30 years has all been wrong?

I've used most all the old guard "pro" brands. Bicycle Research, Eldi, Campy, Park, Kingsbridge, Var (and some that weren't marked) and many of the current ones. I can't agree with your statement. Sure, all wrenches get dinged by the force of working a thin flat. But a simple grinding down of the flaring and all is well. Until a few years ago all I used were double ended (mostly Park) wrenches. But with my old age I find the longer handled single ended Parks to be easier to work with but I won't say that they are stronger or harder then their double ended ones that I still have on my home bench. Andy

Bandrada

They should make them as durable as their pedal wrenches.

Andrew R Stewart 

Funny that you should say that. Just a couple of weeks ago we rounded out a PW-4 on a stuck pedal. I don't remember the last time I did that to a cone wrench. Now I have stripped out many lock nuts over the decades... Andy.

Bandrada

You, sir, are a brute.

Bandrada

I used the Park Tool headset press to remove a seized bearing from my threaded bottom bracket cup. Now, I just need to find the right replacement. There was nothing stamped on the bearing, but surely replacing the seized bearing is cheaper than replacing the cup set.

fietsbob

Cartridge 'sealed' Bearing? go by dimensions .. OD, ID, Thickness that will get you a number on the suppliers lists.

Bandrada

I figured as much.

Yeah, not exactly 'sealed' bearings, eh? They are totally serviceable. I just need to remember to do it!

Jiggle

I hate how the KMC quicklink requires a tool to open and close. I take a jewelry file and carefully reduce the metal that pinches the pin until I can just pop it in and out by hand.

Amesja

If you do any regular chain maintenance on the chain they don't need a tool to open. And I've never needed a tool to close them. I don't even own one as my Park MLP-1 is the older style that doesn't even work to also close them. If the "missing link" master is clean and not full of grit and grime it doesn't need a tool to assemble. If you are assembling a chain without cleaning it first you are doing something wrong. The only time I ever have a problem getting the link to separate is on customer's bikes. Bike that saw no or minimal cleaning and oiling and are really stuck. The problem is the grit doesn't allow the link to pop apart easily and needs the tool to put more force on the snap.

Using a file to open up the keyhole on these links sounds like a REALLY bad idea. They pop in and out by hand when new, with only a slight bit of snap to keep them together and it's only the grit that makes them get tough to open. Making them even looser by filing out the snap keyhole might cause them to be much more likely to open up if the chain lost tension for a second like hitting a really big bump, big enough to cause major chain-slap and then a return snap before the derailleur spring could take it up. Having a chain fall off like this while riding could be a very dangerous condition. I would never do this to my own chains as I take care of them and never have a problem or need to use my tool to open them. I remove and clean (Duncan Swish method) the chain every 100-200 miles max. It never gets a chance to get so gritty that it binds up.

I'd never file on the link on a customer's bike either. Should the chain ever come off and they crash I would be opening myself up to a huge liability for modifying the master link. I own the chain tool because it is needed on customer's bikes from time to time. I have it right there in my tool box. With the tool no KMC chain is ever hard to snap apart. Just buy the tool. Use it. Modifying the master link is ill-advised if you ask me. You are just opening yourself up to liability and potential disaster.

Jiggle

I bought three brand new 11spd missing links and I could not close them with muscle strength. I am not a weakling either. They still snap into place after the mod so I should be good.

Amesja

I haven't used the 11-speed version yet. Could be they are much tougher to snap together than the earlier ones. I can't imagine that they would take so much force to snap together that you couldn't do it by stepping on the cranks with the back brake locked.

Still I wouldn't modify them. Seems like playing with fire to me.

Jiggle

What I did was step on the chain and pull upward. Had to have put at least 150lbs of tension on it. Yes, everything was lined up properly.

Amesja

Seems that the first time I need to install an 11-speed KMC chain I'll be buying the install tool...

I already have to MLP-1 so maybe the KMC-brand install tool would be the cheaper way to go rather than buying a upgraded park tool in the MLP-1.2

BayJory

An old trick is to put a nickel inside the end of grips when you install them. Good ole Thomas Jefferson helps keep the ends of the handlebar tube from cutting through the end of the grips when you set the bike against things or lay the bike down.

cbuddy2005

Aveeno diaper rash cream for chamois cream for long hot steamy rides. I have a tube for the big rides only. It's thick and relentless, doesn't dissolve or shower off without a fight.

RubeRad

My new favorite light lube dispenser is a Vape Juice Needle Tip bottle, like this:

I found an empty one in the street (labeled "Creme de Menthe"), rinsed it and squirted water through the needle, let it dry for a few days, then put some Tri-Flow in it. The long flexible applicator straw that comes with the Tri-Flow still has its particular uses (reaching that one RD pivot point way in the back), but for hitting accessible RD pivots with a few drops, or dropping lube into cable housing, the short, rigid needle is a perfect applicator! Easier to aim, and quicker to get lube through than the straw.

I use Chain-L for chain lube, I don't know how something that thick would do through that needle, but if I find another bottle I'll give it a try and report back...

Haikal

thank you,,

smasha

keep a cotton-ball packed with spare tubes. cotton wadding from a pill bottle works fine.

when you get a flat from debris penetrating the tire, wipe the cotton-ball forward and back along the inside edge of the tire. it will snag/catch on tiny bits of glass or other debris that's easy to miss on visual or tactile inspection.

this will help locate the debris stuck in the tire.

cny-bikeman

That's for sissies. Your fingertips are perfectly good for finding that nasty stuff, and a band-aid take up less room than a cotton ball.

El Aurens

Isn't it the 9 o'clock position on the left side? I think it is easier to remember that the left-hand pedal has a left-hand thread.

El Aurens

Less elegant, but common, are little 1/2oz eyedrop bottles used by people with dry eye syndrome. Very petite, and they seal perfectly.

dksix

Something I've found to be indispensable is homemade penetrating fluid made from a 50/50 mix of Acetone and ATF. Rusted, corroded or seized bolts/nuts and pressed together components often can loosened and disassembled without damage after a little bit of the mix and a few minutes to allow for it to soak in. I've used it so many times when working with steel fasteners in aluminum components where those unlike materials tend to gall. Here's a copy of the test results I just found post on another forum but the test is far older than the post, I've been using for at least 15 years.

"For All of you Mechanic's and Self doer’s out there.
Penetrating Oil - interesting
This was in one of the Military Vehicle Club newsletters

Here is an interesting finding on Penetrating Oils
Recently “Machinist Workshop Magazine” did a test on penetrating oils. Using nuts and
bolts that they ‘scientifically rusted’ to a uniform degree by soaking in salt water, they then
tested the break-out torque required to loosen the nuts. They treated the nuts with a variety
of penetrants and measured the torque required to loosen them.
This is what they came up with:
Nothing: 516 lbs
WD-40: 238 lbs;
PB Blaster: 214 lbs;
Liquid Wrench: 127 lbs,
Kano Kroil: 106 lbs
(ATF)/Acetone mix (50/50): 50 lbs.

This last “shop brew” of 50% automatic transmission fluid and 50% acetone appears to beat
out the commercially prepared products costing far more."

FBinNY 

I see you felt this was important to post on 20 different threads so far. IMO that's a bit pushy for someone who came here just for that, and therefore I'll take a pass on your survey.

bike_galpal

something that might be a little better and more traditional is "A & D" diaper rash cream. it has menthol stuff as well as lanolin in it, which i feel like really strengthens your skin (plus, you get to absorb the strength of the sheep)

Randy!

This is kinda cool. For my road bikes and wife's MTB, I just use my commuter pant-saver velcro leg band (around the rim and downtube). For my 29er MTB, an Arno strap does the trick (got several in a bin for camping and lashing larger loads to utility bike).