I love the mechanics of a bicycle, cars thou, that will take some long studies and teachers to perfect. IDK why people cant just learn a little bit of the basics of a bike.

Nice +1

bike stuff is more about feel rather than knowledge because so much is about alignment and tension and getting the tightness just so. it' not hard to learn but hard to do well and even harder to do well quickly.

that's when you take it to a shop. not because you can't but because you know it will be fiddly.

just look at how simple it is to change a wheel on a car or jump start a dead battery.
and bikes are easier.

Fix a flat, dial a phone or ride with someone who can.

Rocks can be useful. Like last week, the bushing on my thudbuster came out, saddle tail went "whoops". My choice was to ride 2 mi home standing up, or re-install the bushing. I found a nice rock to pound it in. It wasn't even native, it was decorative for a subdivision entrance. Good thing they weren't using crap faux fiberglass sh**.

I suppose it is because:

1) I almost always ride with a group
2) I ride to have fun
3) I have been an Engineer/mechanic all my professional life

that I have no desire to work on a bike on the side of the road with tools that will fit in my jersey/seat bag on a Saturday or Sunday, except for fixing a flat. Besides, I would not consider holding up the group long enough to do anything else. I consider it bad form to repair a flat instead of changing the tube on a group ride.

Could I fix most things if I had to? Probably. Would I attempt it? Doubtful.

I make sure the bike is ready to go in the parking lot. If the unexpected happens, it is either the wife, one of the kids, or someone in the group that will come and get me (That actually happened last summer to a group member - he sat on the side of the road with a split rim until the group got back and then someone went and picked him up.)

I've suspected this for years, but never been able to confirm it....Is the first thing HD teaches in employee orientation "I don't know, this isn't my department. I'll get someone to help you."? Then they disappear never to be seen again. That's day one, right?

A tweak of a derailler limit screw can be easily done in 30 seconds provided one has a phillips head screw driver with them. Without one, you are stuck with the compromised shifting throughout the ride. Granted, this would only happen right after some other major work on the bike (like a new bike build that hasn't fully been sorted yet) but I have been in a situation where it's happened. I had done a few hundred miles on a new build and never had an issue with over-shifting going into the big ring. 10 miles into a century ride, I drop my chain off the outside of the big ring. Multi-tool to the rescue!

A headset adjustment is another repair easily done with a multi-tool in a very limited amount of time that could turn an otherwise fun ride into an annoying experience with shuddering at every braking oppurtunity.

Once my chain fell off onto the bottom bracket. I didn't want to mess with it because it's all oily and dirty. So I stood there staring at it for about 2 minutes, then a nice guy showed up and asked if I needed help, I told him my bike was broken. He laughed and put my chain back on the chain ring. People are real nice.

I always ride with a professional mechanic who carries enough tools in his little kit to do anything save for bb and headset overhauls.



We teach basic mechanics courses at our co-op and the first thing people learn is how to change a tube and repair a flat... I always carry a spare tube despite the fact I almost never get flats, a patch kit, and a decent pump.

A patch kit is universal so it allows you to repair any puncture and one should carry a boot, this could be a dollar bill in the US and a fiver in Canada since we no longer have $1 or $2 notes in circulation.

If you are riding without support you should also know how to adjust a derailer, you don't have to hit them hard to knock things out of alignment and this will make your ride to the shop more enjoyable so they can straighten things out.

Being able to make small wheel / spoke adjustments is a great skill but I don't expect anyone to be able to straighten out a taco'd wheel at the side of the road, this is what a cel phone is for.

I carry a multi tool and a combined chain break / spoke wrench, a 6 inch crescent wrench, a compact bb tool, plus a few extra chain links, a quick link, a few chain ring bolts, and a few fender nuts with bolts. And cone wrenches... can't forget those.

My toolkit weighs 3/4 of a pound and might give weight weenies a fit but I often ride alone or am the go to guy on group rides when things break... I also do a lot of random roadside repairs for people.

You basically need a tool that will handle all the fittings on your bike, most modern bike fittings are allen headed and may require a Phillip's to make derailer adjustments... one can convert all these small screws to allen headed ones which are less prone to being stripped.

And as always, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure so making sure your bike is up to the ride makes a lot of difference.

I have not had to do a roadside repair for myself in years but it was a good one... I bent a chain ring and snapped the chain in a few places on a road ride.

It seems like folks who ride in the dirt have better skill sets as mountain biking is far more likely to result in crashes where things need to be fixed lest one has to hike out.

Fixing flats and a broken chain. Adjusting derrailleurs eh I think you can get away without that till you get home most times.

Yeah, but what's the first thing you teach them at HTF University?

I know how to do quite a few things myself, but reality is that I will only fix a flat or do some minor adjustments on the road. The rest can wait until I get home. I don't mind giving someone a ride to their house/car if needed, and I don't mind helping someone out to do something. I do mind doing basics things for other people that they should know how to do. For example, I will stop and offer a pump orCO2 or something else to someone that needs it on the side of the road, but I will not get off my bike to change a flat for someone else simply because they don't know how to. That experience should teach them how to do it.

Whatever it takes to get you home. So a flat definitely, derailleur is useful. Other than that I don't think anything is necessary.

At HTF University we teach people how to change flats when they can't feel their fingers.

One of the few flats I have got in the past few years was when it was - 30 C and I was lucky to be downtown where I could pull my bike into a parking garage and work under the heater.

That's one thing that makes me nervous about riding in really cold weather.

I've ridden approximately 130K road miles over 20 years, and I've only had to change flats and turn a few allen bolts. Never had to true a wheel, adjust a derailleur (I don't count turning that hand adjustment thing on the rear cable tension, that's usually all it takes) or anything that crazy. I can change tubulars on the road, and I have used $ bills as shims in side tire casings that were torn or ripped badly.

OK, who's impressed?

you'd rather make a group member drive to pick you up or your wife rather than carry a multitool that weighs 3 ounces in your back pocket? i'd rather carry a multi tool, let the group continue their ride and then ride back home or finish the ride solo rather than inconvenience anyone else.

There is a good reason why my extreme weather / apocalypse bike is a fixed gear mtb with puncture resistant tyres... there is less to go wrong and I used to come through a long stretch of valley where a serious mechanical would have meant a 30 minute walk out at minimum.

If the brakes froze over I was still fine and there was no freewheel or cassette to freeze solid.

As it is, I seem to carry my tools to help everyone else as my bikes rareky give me any grief.

If you're going to ride it's best to know some basic maintenance; I for one don't want to bother someone on their ride just because I didn't bother to learn something simple I can do myself.

1) Changing a flat - If you can't do this don't ride a bike.
2) Tightening Bolts - This is as basic as it gets and if you can't turn a screw then you have bigger problems.
3) Simple Brake/Derailleur Adjustments - Similar concept to turning a screw, just make sure you read up on the topic so you don't over do it.

I only have about 100000 kms so far, but I've experienced or seen:

- bent wheels (potholes)
- broken spokes
- broken chains (probably badly assembled)
- broken seatpost bolts
- broken cables
- loose cones
- loose BBs
- torn tires (shards)
- not working freewheels
- bent derailleur hangers
- broken frames
- loose or broken rear racks

And you feel good about that?

Men and women are such different animals...

This might explain some of those brake rubs....

I've had chains fail (1), cables break (2), shifters fail (2), rims explode (1 - QC issue there), damaged RD's after getting large debris thrown in them (1), frozen freehubs (1), and discovered a loose headset (1). In all cases except the exploding rim, I was able to make my bike rideable.

I found a solo rider way out at the end of the White Rim trail in Canyonlands last year. He was 55 miles from civilization, 2500 nasty vertical feet from water, and he had a broken chain.

And no chain tool.



I think you should always carry enough tools so that you won't die if you break something.