Old 11-20-17, 08:49 PM
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chrisx
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Do you know how to fix your own bicycle? How important is it to be able to fix yours?

Some people can take their bicycle apart and put it back together. Some people can not fix a flat. Even if you tour on the pacific coast route, you could get stranded for a while if you do not know how to fix a broken chain or replace a broken cable. What if you tour on the Baja Divide, how important is it to be able to repair your own bicycle?

As a touring cyclist, how important is it to know how to fix your own bike? In town, a cyclist can take a bus home if need be. Not true on a bicycle tour. I once walked 2 days without seeing anothr person. Not because of a mechanical failure, but because of a crash.

Many years ago, I rode a bicycle from Miami to Seattle, without much mechanical knowledge. By the time I got there I had poor shifting, poor braking, most every part was worn out. The chain was stretched and loose, the brake levers would stick, delayed shifting, everything tired.

Then I took a couple of bicycle repair classes. The sign on the wall said $60 plus parts, for the class. 5 monday nights, 10 or so people in the class. Up the road at Recycled cycles, the sign says, tune up $60 plus parts. What sounds better, pay the mechanic $60 or pay the teacher $60?

Well; I was able to repair that bicycle and ride it down to La Paz, BCS. I left it there with a cracked fork.

I took some more repair classes, volunteered at my local bike coop once a week for a few years, I took the wheel building class 2 times, I own the Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repairs.

I am not a profesional bicycle mechanic. Not even a good mechanic. I can keep my bicycle going. Once you know how to change a cable, you replace your cables in a timely fashion. When you know how to put grease on an cable, and keep the shifting smooth, you do it.

In the last 10 years, I have spent $15 2 seperate times on mechanic fees, as I do not own a head set tool. In Seattle and Portland, they have the tool at the coop. In San Diego, the coop is very basic.

Last edited by chrisx; 11-20-17 at 09:09 PM.
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