Miele Man

Deleted contents as this became a duplicate thread as it lives over on Classic & Vintage

Digger Goreman

The little plastic pull tabs on my rack bag broke. So I took one of those push-to-release seperable key chains and attached each half to one of the two zipper tabs. Not only do they pull easier, you can "lock" them together to foil opportunistic thieves.

cmcanulty

Can you post a pic of it?

delbiker1 

I installed a new pair of SKS Bluemel fenders yesterday on a Fuji Ace road bike. Most of the time, when mounting fenders, it takes a fair amount of guesswork, checking, and adjusting to get them to fit properly with no interference on other components. When I mounted this pair, I first used zip ties, fitted loosely, to hold the various parts and connection points. After it was all together, I checked the fit/alignment and tightened the zips. Checked the fit and alignment again. All was good, so I went back and replaced the ties, one zip at a time, with the proper nuts and bolts,barely loose, and then tightened them down completely when all were in place. It sure seemed easier and less time than in previous fender installations. Maybe I just got better at the chore.

Bigbus

I have lots of those in my junk drawer because I use them for different sets of keys but I had never considered using them like you stated which opens up a whole new venue of thoughts, such as my backpack zippers, etc. Thank you for the great idea!

Digger Goreman

You're very welcome Bigbus!

Digger Goreman

Miele Man

My hands have short fingers and thus I like cloth tape on my drop handlebar. I use Renfrew brand hockey tape for my handlebar. That tape is strong and it's durable.

On one of my bikes I wanted a bit more cushioning but didn't want to increase the diameter of the handlebar by much. So, I bought a length of copper pipe insulation foam and cut it to fit the top of the handlebar from the reinforcing sleeve to the brake lever. BUT... I cut the foam insulation so that it covers JUST the top and the back of the handlebar. When the hockey tape is pulled tight the foam compresses a fair bit and when done it doesn't slip. It gives a lot more comfort when riding with my hands on the top of the handlebar.

Cheers

Miele Man

A use for old inner tubes.

A great use for old inner tubes is to cut them across the tube to remove the valve section. Then I use a thin dowel and carefully turn the inner tube inside out. I then lubricate the inside of the tube and the handle of any yard tool such as a rake and slide the inside out inner tube over the tool handle. This gives a nice grip to the tool and protects from getting blisters or splinters.

Inner tube can also be cut into lengthwise strips and used as a handlebar wrap under thin plastic or cloth bar tape.

Cheers

curbtender

This showed up in another thread. How to make a lock ring tool...
https://www.instructables.com/id/DIY-Lockring-Pliers/

Olefeller77 

Great use for a pair of the channel lock pliers I find for a buck at some estate sales. Thank you for sharing

Le Mechanic

Presta valve tips, tricks, and hacks video if you're new to this style valve:

JakefromModesto

Please exercise caution when using the aluminum foil/vinegar cleaning method described above. This combination produces hydrogen gas which is combustible and may create corrosive byproducts.
Jake

jrm7997

[QUOTE=I_bRAD;4779646]By walking the wheel he means tighten one nut, slide the axle back on the opposite side, and then repeat for the other side. Usually once or twice will do it.[/QUOTE

thanks for posting this one. I’d read the message and was trying to figure out how “walking” might work (rolling the bike backwards) and couldn’t come up with an explanation. Now I get it

praivo

Need a long Allen/hex to remove/install brake levers but the short end of the key then doesn't give you enough leverage to actually loosen/tighten the bolt? Just put a socket (the deeper the better) on the hex and attach whatever extension you want. Voilà, there's your leverage. (Note: If you don't have a socket of the size you need, just use the next size up. A bit of play is not a problem.)

Need a cheap 17-mm cone wrench/spanner? Go into any hardware store and ask for a replacement wrench/spanner for holding the spindle on an angle grinder (NOT the pin spanner for the locknut!). All I've seen so far were 17s and about 2 mm thick.

Want to tighten BB cups but your torque wrench only works in one direction? Put an extension on it and push it through the BB, attaching it to the BB cup tool from the inside. Your torque wrench's right is now the cup's left. This will obviously only work on BBs for 2-piece cranks (i.e. with the spindle on the crankset itself), though.

Your chain whip slips on the cassette, or you don't have a whip to begin with? Get an impact wrench/driver on the remover instead of a breaker bar/ratchet, set it to reverse, hold the cassette with a thick glove or a rag, and press the trigger. The impact action will remove the locknut very quickly with very little torque on the cassette and no risk of cutting yourself on the teeth. You can also press down on the gun to keep the remover seated in the splines.

The method mentioned above can, of course, also be used on freewheels. The only difference is that you need to hold the wheel instead of the cassette.

You can use a vacuum pump (sold as an automotive brake bleeding tool, here's one example) to bleed brakes without making a mess (I've only tried my Shimano M615s, but it should work on other models, too). Attach a funnel with brake fluid/oil to the lever and pump the lever a few times to get all the air from the lever out, then connect the vacuum pump to the bleeder valve on the caliper with a piece of clear tubing, pull a vacuum and open the bleeder about half a turn. Brake fluid/oil will be drawn from the funnel on the lever into the caliper, taking any air bubbles with it. There are two big advantages to this method: The first is that there's no positive pressure to push the hose off the bleeder nipple. And if it does come off, any fluid in it will be sucked into the reservoir attached to the vacuum pump and the rest will stay in the caliper instead of spraying everywhere. The second is that once you have the vacuum and the bleeder open you can sit the pump on something and watch the brake bleed itself. All you need to do after that is to watch the level of fluid in the funnel and close the bleeder when there's still a bit left so that you don't draw air into the lever (but even if you do, you'll only have to "burp" the lever, not bleed the whole thing).

And the last tip for today is related to the above: Instead of using the funnel from Shimano, you can use a regular syringe with the plunger removed. The end (where the needle goes) is just the right size so that you can screw it into the lever and it'll stay in there perfectly and not even leak (despite not having the O-ring that the Shimano funnel has). Not only is it cheaper, it's also transparent so you can see how much fluid/oil is in it from any angle. Just keep a rag on it when you're removing it to catch the oil that's still in it (which won't be more than about 2 ml if you use the method described above).

realsorryman

good tip!

Bigbus

I use lead fishing weights on the ends of cables to prevent fraying.

capnjonny 

I buy 3 packs of picks at harbour freight, (the ones with the yellow handles) for a couple dollars. I use them all the time . One thing you can do is insert the end of the pick( 90 deg. works best) into the end of a zip tie where it holds the tie from slipping. Push it between the two pieces and the zip tie will open back up so you can use it over again.

Kittyklaw789

You guys are really profi

Kleopatra

Love it

viperocco

aaand I just bought one...

vane171

When I expect leaving a bike locked while shopping, I use my older bike that is not anything fancy, plus I carry two U-Locks and one goes on frame and back wheel and some railing or whatever is available (avoid bike racks that can be loaded on pickup truck with your bike included, also some traffic signs can be unscrewed...). The second U-Lock goes on front wheel and bike frame. Sometimes it is the front lock that is put around some external railing, sign post, or whatever is available. If possible, both locks include the external anchor point.
Downside is, U-Locks are fairly heavy and also bulky.

Also, never lock anywhere in public space your fancy bike, no matter how good your locks are. Those bikes are meant for sport riding, not shopping or whatever else that includes leaving them unattended. Even group rides when going inside a restaurant, someone should sacrifice himself and stay with the bikes.

capnjonny 

one "tool" that I have found indispensable working on bikes is a flat mountain bike handle bar. The one I use is aluminum but steel works just as well. The open end slides snugly over my socket wrench handle giving me a 2 ft lever to torque down bottom bracket spindle bolts or loosen really tight axle nuts. Slid over a hex wrench it makes loosening or tightening quill stems easy. I cut mine down a couple inches so it fits in my tool box so I always know where it is when I need it.

easyupbug 

I agree, with arthritis in my hands I have a couple sizes of "cheaters" but would be careful with a 24" bar tightening on a typical 5mm class 8.8 quill bolt as that would be only 2.5 pounds applied at your 24" and 5 pounds with a 6mm.

dmattushik

interesting