You've levered a stubborn tire on the rim and are about to inflate it when you notice the tube is misaligned so the valve stem is canted over at an angle -- and grabbing and pulling on the tire doesn't seem to help.

Put the wheel back on the bike completely deflated, spin it up by hand as fast as you can in the direction the valve is pointed, then grab the brakes so the wheel stops suddenly. Repeat a few times and the valve will be aligned.

Works best if you remembered to use talc on the tire/tube before installation.

dont throw anthing away before you know you can get are placement

i dont tell the wife this, but as most of what i use is from the scrapyard, i chuck all bits i can fit, in the dishwasher!

To cut brake and der. cables:

Use a Hammer and a sharp chisel. Lay the cable on another hammer/piece of hard metal. etc. Hold chisel where you want it cut and ...wackkkk with the hammer. This actually cuts the cable very well!

I do most of my cable cutting with the cable in the housing on the bike. Can I use the frame as a back stop for the chisel?

Regarding using the frame as a back stop when cable cutting with a hammer and chisel, I once drilled an extra hole in a mudguard (fender?) with everything in situ and put the bloody drill straight through the tyre. Such stupidity isn't within the grasp of everybody.

lol in the dishwasher haha!

That splined BB remover can be held in place with the threaded driver from your chain tool.
Check thread compatibility first, wont work with short chaindriver / axle combos.
It doesnt grab deep but a couple of turns is all you need to hold it on and allow purchase on those stubborn (particularly drive side) fixed cups.

Am I missing something here? Surely, once you have the cranks off, all you need do is hold the bb tool in place by loosely reattaching the crank bolts? You have to keep loosening the bolt as the bb tool moves the bottom bracket out.

On the BB tool shown, crank bolts arent long enough reach the axle.

Use your fingers to get nuts and bolts started, then use the wrench to tighten. Works every time.

Try Lemon (or any of the other flavors) Pledge sprayed on a cleanish rag for a quik bike cleanup. It will clean as it protects.
I also use it on my fishing rods several times a year.

My trunk rack (for three bikes) doubles as a repair stand

Here's another way : You can also use a QR skewer + a washer to hold it in place, putting it all the way thru the axle! Also a G-Clamp works well but not everyone has one of these.

A little trick that I found handy when fix'n friends' bikes that required tools that I didn't need for my family's bikes was to buy them- not from my LBS - but from one of those faceless corporate uber stores w/ a no-questions-asked return policy. That way, when I'm done with the tool, I just return it for my $ back or trade it for an other tool that I need for an other freind's bike.

more often than not, when a customer returns an item to a big chain store, the item is shipped across the country to a service hub where the item is inspected or refurbished and then shipped back to a store. But more often, the item is simply disposed of "properly" at the service hub to avoid liability or QC problems. So, by returning that $15 chain whip that you think you'll only use once, it gets shipped all around wasting fuel and then destroyed and thrown into a dumpster bound for a landfill.

Seems awfully wasteful when you could just purchase the tool once and add to your collection and not have to run around scamming retail stores to save a few bucks.

Well said.

Scamming retail stores to save a few bucks. Quite sad, really, although I imagine the morality issue is of no concern to someone mean enough to "peel a fart", as my grandfather used to say.

I have a strong suspicion that such tools are not reinspected, given the quality of the products in the first place.

When trying to pinpoint noise when the bike is on a repair stand, I'll use the empty spool from a roll of paper towels. I'll hold it up to my ear and point the other end to the part on the bike where I think the noise is coming from. It really does help, though it seems pretty stupid after typing it up here.

Not stupid; it's an excellent trick. I use it ferreting out sounds in a high-noise environment, like when adjusting solid lifter valves on cars (remember those?). On bikes, though, I haven't found much need.

I wonder could it be adapted somehow for those only-when-riding noises? Maybe tape it to the end of a bearing stethoscope? Hmm. Now that I think about it, my bearing stethoscope has a diaphragm above the probe that is just about the same size as a paper towel tube.


Dibs on the patent!

Dibs on the paAWWW.

I have concerted several vertical drop out bikes very successfully to ss---be a tiny bit flexible with your ratio AND buy the magical half link !!

ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT TECHNIQUES

Youtube has "how to" videos on almost every aspect of bicycle mechanics. Great resource!

Respectfully
Jack