Hilarious Previous Owner "Repair" Work
 

I'm sure we've all encountered stuff like this at some point. People who, while I'm sure they meant well, just had absolutely no idea what they were doing when they did "repair" work on their bike. As a regular bike flipper near a major college campus, I deal largely in very low end stuff, and encounter a lot of examples of this. Here are a few of my favorites.

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=306020
"I need to lube my chain? Hmm, well grease is a lube, isn't it?"

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=306016
Bought a tube that was too big? Just jam it all in there, it'll be fine! (this also might have been caused by trying to install a tube without partially inflating it first)

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=306017
No bolts to install your new rack? No problem! Bent pieces of broken off wire coat hanger will work just as well!

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=306019
And speaking of rack installation... "Hmm, there's nowhere to attach this rack to... I know, I'll just weld it on! But now I can't tighten down the seat post clamp... oh well, I'll just weld the seat post in too!"

http://bikeforums.net/attachment.php...hmentid=306018
To be fair, this actually worked.

What horrible repair attempts have you encountered? Can anyone top these?

This routing was pretty awful:

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-L...0/cross_03.jpg

But it's not quite as bad as the way the chain was bodged together:

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-T...0/cross_02.jpg

If that wasn't bad enough (this is all on the same bike,) the original 700c rear wheel was replaced with a 26", and judging by the wear on the tire, someone was actually using the rear brake to squeeze the tire. I assume the chain "fix" put the nail in the coffin for this bike, there's no way it was rideable with the chain wired together, and I didn't try to ride it as it came.

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-l...0/cross_04.jpg

The most common hack that I see is a reversed seat post.

The braking on that back wheel would be plain awful. Poor bike.

:lol:

Funny if not unbelievable stuff

The rim sidewalls last longer this way.:thumb:

That looks like a cotter pin, not a coat hanger. It might sort of work, almost, kinda'. Okay, maybe not.

Not to worry, I fixed it up:

https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-m...7/cross_06.jpg

I think you're onto something...

I've used the folded over tube trick a few times successfully. Once was entirely my fault. When I put some repair supplies in my daughter's bike before she left for college I must have grabbed a 700c tube instead of a 26". She rode the bike for a couple years before she got a flat. Then she calls me up asking for instructions on how to remove the tire and replace the tube. Everything goes fine until it's time to put the new tube in the tire and it becomes clear that the tube is too long. So I have her put a fold in it and to be careful that it didn't get pinched under the tire bead. Worked fine for the rest of the semester when I came for a visit and replaced it with a tube of the right size.

Did the same thing when we came across a rider halfway up Mt. Diablo who had an unpatchable blowout on his child trailer. I think it had 12" tires and the only tubes we had were 700c. Folding one over let us pump it up so he and his kid could ride home.

The opposite will work too, they are stretchy little bastards. I only had a bmx tube on a mountain bike ride, so I stretched that sucker around and pumped it up... and I'll be damned if it didn't last me the rest of the season.

Im guilty of the first one, i used chainsaw bar and chain oil in a pinch... its messy as sin .. but it quieted the drive train right down.. make sure you have clean components if you ever do this.. because the leftovers are like glue to clean up...

Really? That's what I'm using now, since I've discovered that I prefer high-viscosity oil. Is that a bad idea?

The wrong-size tube isn't the worst thing you can do, depending on how bad it is.

If the brake shoes rub the tire, it will make enough heat to cause the tire to explode. It happened to me. I saw a delivery biked parked outside in NYC with this setup, and the owner had improvised some sort of setup using plastic grocery bags as brake pad material.

Sometimes, I'm tempted to fix the bikes I see locked up outside in the city. The most tempting repair is fixing the front brake which is disconnected or missing the cable. Wouldn't it be funny to be a clandestine bike mechanic?

The problem with chainsaw oil is it is really sticky so it won't fly off at high rpm. But that means it's a dirt magnet too.

That seat post clamp is similar to the Capo system, which is a flat plate bent into a horseshoe or hairpin profile.

Every time I see someone ride by with some stupid and fixable problem I feel like pulling the tools out of the seat bag and fixing the thing. I can't fathom how people can stand riding a bike with brakes that don't and gears that are so badly out kilter they are useless.

That's how I met my wife, 41 years ago. Long story, involving theft, vandalism and puppets...

I remember riding with a friend whose bike rattled so much it was annoying me, although he insisted he knew how to fix it. Eventually I got sick of hearing his bike rattle so tweaked the gears (which took about 30 seconds) and cleaned the chain. It stopped rattling after that.

Yes... yes it is.

My favourites have always been when someone has managed to install bottom brackets in reverse... they must be on steroids to do this.

Reminds me of the "Let's see your seat cluster!" thread!

One f the worst I've seen was a piece of 1" rebar welded to the frame and saddle as a seatpost.

I love bikes, I hate to see them abused this way. :(

How NOT to clamp a saddle to a seat post. This was on a nice Trek 710, not exactly an entry level bike.

http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5167/5...d9c36bf4_b.jpg



Or my favorite, how to turn an 18 speed bike into a 24 speed.


http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/7...bb27c671_b.jpg

And without the pant guard:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8181/7...6f3b056a_b.jpg

bill

Puppets???:eek:
Just how young was she at the time?:lol:

I once removed a mtn bike tire which I had installed 2 years earlier, to find a half twist in the inner tube at one point, with a matching reverse twist at the opposite side of the wheel. Couldn't believe I had done something so dumb.

Madre de Dios!!! :eek:

i see a LOT of bikes with disconnected brakes. it's the 'in' thing to do.