Jun 20 2008
Maintaining, Modifying, Outfitting, Storing & Riding Your Bike
A bike is no different than a car — both require regular maintenance. But unlike the car, a lot of the routine maintenance and mechanical tasks to keep your bike in top shape are within the grasp or anyone who has modest dexterity and tinkering skills. Every cyclist should know how to lube the drive train, change a punctured tube and inflate tires roadside, adjust brakes, check headset security, and a host of other things that keep us safe and our bikes happy. As I work on mechanical projects, I’ll add more tips from my own experience, so check back for more in the coming months.
There’s more. Few cyclists are satisfied with their bikes right off the showroom floor or out of the box. We like to make adjustments, add stuff, remove bits, and generally customize and personalize our steeds. That makes practical sense if you intend to use your bike for commuting, shopping, or touring. And there’s technique to consider. How do you use bar-end shifters? How do you handle riding on dirt roads? Or climb hills? The articles below should help answer some common questions and concerns.
Come back often for new additions to our archive. And if there’s something you’d like to see addressed, just send an email.
- • A Black Day in Surlyville, or, So Long and Thanks for All the Fish
- • Naming of Parts: A Guided Tour of a Stock Surly Long Haul Trucker
- • Surly Long Haul Trucker—There are Many Like it but This One’s MINE
- • Touring Bikes for Short Folks
- • Making Your Bike YOURS
- • What Rearview Mirror Do You Use? Answering a Common Question
- • Gimme a Brake: Short Hands Get a Grip
- • One Cyclist’s Answer to Numb Hands—Ergon Grips
- • Need a Leg (or Two) to Stand On? Some Help in Choosing a Kickstand
- • Evaluating the Pletscher Two-Legged Kickstand
- • Mounting a One-Legged Kickstand
- • A Free Carry-Along Kickstand Support
- • A Simple HALT Retention System That’s Free
- • The Irreplaceable Halt! Holder
- • Petroleum Jelly: A Must-Have For Bike Mechanics
- • Dont’ Forget to Brush Between Wheels: The Many Uses for Old Toothbrushes
- • Tips for Novice Bike Mechanics—Getting a Different Perspective
- • About Face… Your Stem’s Faceplate, That Is
- • Projects for Novice Bike Mechanics—Changing Pedals
- • Removing and Replacing Handlebars
- • Prescription for Relief: How I Fought Riding Pain with a Short High Rise Stem
- • A Grip on Handlebars: I Like ‘em Wide
- • Bar-End Shifters: How to Remove and Install Them
- • Making the Shift to Barcons… Or, Bar-End Shifter Savvy
- • Bar-End Shifters: The Best I’ve Found, Bar None
- • Bar-End Shifter Savvy: Making the Switch to Friction Shifting
- • A Harrowing Tale of Bar-End Shifter Corrosion
- • Cutting a Metal Seatpost Down to Size
- • Adjusting Your Bike’s Saddle Position
- • Finding Your Bicycling Bliss: Just Grab a Seat
- • Swapping Tires and Changing Tubes Made Easy (Well, Easier, Anyway)
- • Feeling a Little Flat Lately? Inspect Your Bike’s Tires
- • Bike Computers—Who Needs ‘em?
- • Where On Earth Am I? My Garmin eTrex Legend HCx GPS Knows For Sure
- • Hauling the Load: Fitting a Front Rack
- • A Real Knockout of a Rack: The Planet Bike K.O.K.O.
- • A DIY Light Mount for a Front Rack
- • A Free Fix for the Light-Load Wobblies
- • You Can Take it With You! (In the Profile Designs E-Pack)
- • How to Retask a Tea Sack as a Snack Bag
- • Louis Garneau Box HB-09 Handlebar Bag: A First Look
- • Louis Garneau Box HB-09 Handlebar Bag Evaluated
- • Second Thoughts: My Louis Garneau Handlebar Bag Lets Me Down
- • Topeak Tour Guide Handlebar Bag: Tailoring the Fit by Marcos Netto
- • You Get What You Pay For, Right? Consider the Nashbar Townie Pannier
- • Axiom Champlain Rear Panniers: First Impressions
- • Hanging Around With Axiom’s Champlain Rear Panniers
- • Delta Compacts: Panniers for the Short Haul
- • Louis Garneau Profile RR-16 Rack Trunk: A First Look
- • Louis Garneau Profile RR-16 Rack Trunk Evaluated
- • Outfitting a Rack Trunk to Carry Camera Gear
- • The Essential Saddle Bag and Tools
- • Tool Up to Ride: Be Ready for Roadside Repairs
- • Tool Up to Ride: The Big Picture
- • It’s a Wrap: A Cyclist’s Tool Roll in Three Easy Steps
- • Swapping Out Water Bottle Cages
- • A Clamp for Your Water Bottle Cage
- • Design Matters: The Water Bottle Cage
- • Getting a Grip: First Look at Innova Tundra Wolf Studded Tires
- • A Day of Firsts: I Take the Tundra Wolves on the Road
- • Neither Snow nor Ice… Studded Snow Tires Meet the Challenge
- • From Chuck Davis’ Workshop: Make a Black & Decker Workmate into a Bike Stand
- • From Chuck Davis’ Workshop: Make Your Own Handlebar Holder
- • From Chuck Davis’ Workshop: Make Your Own Shop Bottom Bracket Tools
- • From Chuck Davis’ Workshop: Building a New Old Commuting & Touring Bike
- • Bicycling the Rough Stuff: The Pre-Ride Check
- • The Utility of Small Workstands for Your Bike
- • The Topeak Flashstand: Good Enough, but…
- • Doug DuBois’ DIY Bike Stand
- • DIY Bike Racks at IKEA Hacker
- • Heads Up! Do You Know Where Your Bike Is?
- • Mike Hallack’s DIY Rec Rack: Can You Say Tidy?
- • A Clean Bike is a Happy Bike
- • Use a Chain Wear Indicator to Improve Drivetrain Longevity
- • Chain Reaction: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- • Reflections on Pedals
- • A DIY Light Mount for a Front Rack
- • Totally Rad! Lighting Up My World With a Radbot 1000
- • Let There Be Light: Tobie DePauw’s Ingenious DIY Headlight Mount
- • Let There Be Light: The Lowdown on Alan Barnard’s Custom Fork Mounts
- • Let There Be Light: Doug DuBois’ Elegant DIY Light Mount
- • Ding Ding! Finding Room for a Bike Bell
- • Recycling Blown Inner Tubes
- • Make Your Own Presta Valve Guard: Another New Use for Old Inner Tubes
- • The Indispensable Coffee Can—Uses for Cyclists
- • This Bar’s Corked! Improvising a Bar End Plug
The internet can be a good source for help when the time comes to tackle a job. Here are a few sites that are worth adding to your bookmarks or favorites:
The Bike Tutor: Bike repair video tutorials.
Park Tool Repair Help: Park Tool is a manufacturer of some of the best bicycling tools, and their repair help pages are clear and concise.
Performance Bike How-To Guides: Performance Bike, a major national retailer and mail-order outfit, offers help for beginning and experienced cyclists, alike. Check out their “Help Center.”
JensonUSA Tech Library: Guides you toward learning more about bike components, and helps determine how to choose replacement parts.
Bike Nashbar Cycling Tech Help: Sizing questions (clothes, bikes, and components) answered, links to manufacturers’ sites, instruction manuals, and more.
Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Technical Info: The list wouldn’t be complete without a link to Sheldon’s site. Is there anything he does NOT cover?
