A surgical forcep, applied to the free end of a brake cable, will hold it in position on the caliper until it can be tightened in place.

When replacing the rim tape, use a wooden golf tee to hold the tape in place. Line the hole in the rim tape up with the valve stem hole in the rim. Insert a wooden golf into the valve stem hole and press it firmly in place. This will keep the tape alinged with valve stem hole and you pull the tape firm.

After you are done, you can use the rounded end of the golf tee to rub the tape into place and make sure it not loose anywhere.

Dudes, you're complicating things!
Use your finger for the rimtape!
Surgical forceps??! how mch are those?? and where does everybody get them?? WHAT?!
this forum is to make things EASIER not harder! The latter is what you're suggesting!
So please, simplify.

I did simplify for me. If I try to hold tape in place with a finger, I often get back to the valve stem hole and find the tape has slipped maybe an 1/8" or so. I do not like this. I have golf tees in the garage, right by my work bench, so it is easy to grab one, shove it in the hole to keep tape aligned and have both hands free to do a quality tape job.

Forceps are the best way to get your brakes just...right.

A 30-sec internet search turned up a good pair for $12.50...bet you could turn up a better deal if you did a little searching and/or lived near a uni. They're so much better than "third-hand" brake tools that I've never priced (or owned) those, but I'll bet they're competitive.

The type needed resembles a locking pair of scissors with a "needle-nose-piers" gripper instead of twin blades. Basically, get the brakes (sidepulls is what comes to mind) to the exact place you want them, then squeeze the forceps onto the cable--it'll hold the desired setting as long as needed until you get the bolt tight. Same principle as a cable stop, but installs in 5% of the time.

IIRC, third-hand tools lock the brakes against the rims, so you have an additional adjustment to make...plus, locked brakes give no clue as to centering! (Plus, I'd imagine it could be pressed into use on a derailleur, as opposed to a typical brake tool.)

Obv. not a "must-have," but if you happen to be able to get a pair easy (maybe you're pre-med or somethin'), they're the best tool for the job.

or the wheel isn't properly seated in the dropouts!

Video pls.!
 

Yo, thnks for ur patience and not retaliating back! I was alil annoyed initially but, now i see some potential. BUT, please, send me/us a GOOD VIDEO of how to use these forceps pls.! This could save ppl time n trouble and/or merely be a refreshg new way to do things!

Thnks!
Send video to dextao@gmail.com

The nice thing about a third hand tensioner is that it pulls the cable taught as it ratchets to hold it in place. I've never had one that was really good, but it still makes brake work much easier. Foreceps are great for the holding, but not the tensioning.

On the other hand, I usually install with the brake pads right up against the rims. I find that one or two good squeezes on the lever backs them off enough without adjusting as long as the rims are true.

* when you get a flat and have no pump, patches or new tubes. you can take your tire off and pack grass or leaves where your tube was then put your tire on and carefully ride to the nearest place to fix your tube. you have to be extra carefull to not damage your rim, but it will get you out of a jam.

when installing pedals, hold the rear wheel with your hand to apply easy, maximum torque! (does not work for removal unless you have fixed gear)

tire wont seat correctly on your old rims? spray some pledge or simple green along the bead!

Another college student sans-tools here, the clamp on my FD broke on the way to class, so I took a guitar pick off my keychain and completely removed the derailleur in less than a minute.

Wasn't even late for class.

Same idea, but you can also leave a piece of cable engaged in the derailleur and turn the barrel adjuster to get the desired chainline

Hello, my dear friend.

anyone tried filing their axles to make a fixed gear with vertical dropouts?

other tip for setting brakes. assuming you have something like a third hand to hold the calipers taught. tighten screw to hold cable just a little little bit. then squeeze brake handle to desired pull range when closed. then tighten. brakes set in 30 seconds.

Powdered mica is the best lube to use when mounting tires on rims.
You can order it from bullet reloading supply houses like MidwayUSA.

Those plastic squeeze clamps work as a great third hand tool, use a fairly large one to clear wheel, fenders, etc. They ratchet so you can clamp the brakes shut or leave them where you want them to be when done.

Brass air fittings
 

Now that is a lot of brass air fittings http://www.liangdianup.com/subpages/airfitting_1.htm there is just about every type
of air fitting that you could want. Wholesale prices too. I guess these could be used as small water pipe fitting also. I
used some of the parts to make my babington wvo bu

Forceps guy needs one of these...
http://tbn2.google.com/images?q=tbn:...y%2520park.jpg
the fourth hand tool pulls and locks in one motion, but the locking feature is actually kind of annoying to me and i'm faster without the thing anyhow...

I think you mean "hemostat," not forceps:

https://jawproducts.authsecure.com/i...ichemostat.jpg

Lol, correct! Pops used to sell surgical equipment, can't believe i missed that.

To tighten the chain on the rear wheel of a fixed gear or BMX, loosen the axle nut on the non-gear side and grab the wheel near the bottom bracket and pull so the nut move toward the rear of the bike. With your other hand tighten the nut pretty snug. Then loosen the gear side, grab the wheel in the same place, and push the wheel toward the gear side. Tighten the gear-side axle nut pretty snug. At this point the chain will likely have proper tension, but the wheel alignment will be off, so loosen the non-gear side to adjust, then do a final tightening.

Now before you do this, pedal a few revolutions with the bike upside down or in a stand and see if the chain is sometimes looser and then tighter. Then, to make up for possible out-of-round freewheels, axles, crank spindles, and chainrings, pedal until the chain seems to be at its tightest point, and then proceed to the tightening procedure above. Otherwise the "loose" pedaling phase will be tight and the "tight" phase will be overtight. Better a chain too loose than too tight.

to fix an off center chainwheel pedal cranks to tightest position where the chain is very tight, then take 1 hammer and strike front of chainwheel. pretty hard if you like.

If you ever find yourself in position without a pump with a presta end or an adapter find a department store pump and unscrew the valve at the end and insert the presta valve into the end of the hose. I have done this twice and it worked great. I was able to get my tire to the 80 psi of 85 it called for.

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/p...alve_tip_1.jpg
The presta valve pits perfectly into the diameter of the hose. I have seen it used on two different pumps. Of course not all hoses will be the same size inside.

http://i408.photobucket.com/albums/p...alve_tip_2.jpg

Magnetic Steel Tray
 

Always use one of those magnetic steel trays for holding (and catching) small parts & hardware.
Everything - including bearings - sticks to them without fail.

(Harbor Freight sells them cheap, $2-$5 - http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=37033)

Cleaning out seat posts and fork stems
 

Double a piece of heavy wire over and hammer the loop on the end closed so that the two wires lay parallel to each other. Cut the loose ends flush and chuck the ends into a drill. Take a small bit of cloth and string it between the wires at the end where the bend is. Soak the rag in WD 40 or some other degreaser and place the rag into the tube. Use the drill to spin the rag and clean out the old grease and rust.

You can also chuck up a strip of emery cloth or sandpaper in the wire mandrel to clean out badly rusted tubes (just be sure the dust isn't dumping down the tube into a closed BB and contaminating the bearings).

Ganzen