Category Archives: maintenance and repair

Upcoming Bike Month Events

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There are a few events coming up next week to prepare you for Bike to Work Week and the Carson City Corporate Challenge, so mark your calendars!

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Our first flier

Monday, May 9
Cruiser Ride With the Carson City Board of Supervisors
Meet at 11:00 a.m. at Telegraph Square (Telegraph St. & Curry St.)

We have four tandems available for the BOS.  Mayor Bob and Supervisors Karen Abowd, Shelly Aldean and Molly Walt have placed their lives in our hands and are climbing aboard for a fun ride around downtown Carson City with stops along the way for pics at; Telegraph Square, BAC, Governor’s Mansion, Sunset Park and the Capital Grounds.
Please come out and join us!

Shelly and Jeff
Skinny Guy with CC Supervisor Shelly Aldean

Wednesday May 11
Vulnerable Users Procession
Meet at 10:30 a.m. at Greater Nevada Credit Union 911 E. Second

The procession is to support AB328 which amends Nevada’s reckless driving statute to include striking a bicyclist or pedestrian as reckless driving, with penalties up to a $2,000 fine and license suspension. While the law would not of course do everything to protect vulnerable users, its intent is to put drivers on notice that they are sharing the road with these users, and that there will be significant penalties for striking them.
Please come out and show your support!

Flat Tire Repair Clinic at The Bike Smith
900 N. Carson St at 6:00 p.m.

Flat Tire Fix Class at the Bike Smith
First person to name the Three Bees wins a prize

Are you the type of cyclist who loves to ride but has yet to learn the skill of fixing a flat tire? If you would like to learn this valuable and necessary skill you’re in luck. Micky McDowell is teaching a free flat tire repair clinic at The Bike Smith in downtown Carson City. He will demonstrate wheel removal, how to locate the source of the flat, how to repair the flat, and how to reinstall the wheel. All without looking like a grease monkey. If possible, travel to the clinic by bike, and bring a friend.

Bike to Work Week Corporate Challenge May 16 – 20

There is still time to register for this fun event. To register please send your team name, number of employees, and contact info to: corporatechallengecc@gmail.com

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The Jeff’s during Bike Party Half Time

Five Ways to Make your Bike Feel New Again

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Summer riding is in full swing and you’re ready to ride to your full potential. But is your bike up to the task? Worn out parts can make your bike feel inefficient, unresponsive, and less comfortable. The winter months are hard on your bike, with the wet sand and dirt rapidly wearing down your moving parts. Here are five areas to inspect on your bike to see if it’s time to replace some parts. Thankfully these parts don’t cost a lot of money, so it’s affordable to restore the performance of your bicycle and make it feel new again.

Grips

Grips are one of the cheapest bicycle parts you can buy, and new grips really help make your bike feel new again. Just a couple millimeters of worn rubber can adversely affect comfort and hand grip. Additionally, handlebars that have poked through the end of the grips pose a danger should you crash your bike (think little cookie cutters).

What to look for: Worn down tread. Handlebars poking through the ends.

Worn Out Parts
Worn rubber on the bars decreases comfort and grip

Tires

Tires are the interface between the bicycle and the ground. If the tires are worn out, climbing, descending, turning, braking, acceleration, and rolling resistance can all be affected. The rear tire seems to wear out at twice the rate as the front, and is usually the tire that needs replacing first. Don’t forget to inspect the tire’s sidewalls. Tubes can poke out through tears and holes in the tire and cause flats.

What to look for: Lack of braking power, tires that slip on the climb, tire feels vague in the corners, tread worn down to the casing, torn knobbies, exposed casing threads, sidewall damage.

Worn Out Parts
Inspect your tire tread for excessive wear and the sidewalls for damage.

Chain

As the bushings beneath your chain’s rollers begin to wear down, the chain starts to stretch out. Worn chains shift poorly and wear down your chain rings and cassettes prematurely. Since chains are a lot cheaper than new chain rings and cassettes, it’s a good idea to replace your worn chain and prolong the life of these parts.

What to look for: Measure your chain with a chain wear indicator, rollers that appear loose on the bushings, bent links.

Worn Out Parts
Stretched chains shift poorly and wear down the other parts of your drivetrain.

Cassette and Chain Rings

Worn out teeth on your cassette and chain rings will decrease shifting performance and will make your pedaling feel inefficient and less responsive. Instead of instantly pulling the chain around the cog, the chain roller will slide back and the up the leading edge of the worn tooth until it finally engages. This creates a mushy feeling when pedaling hard.

What to look for: The area between the teeth should be a uniform “U” shape (not shaped like a Nike swoosh).  Poor shifting.  Chain may slip under heavy load.

Worn Out Parts
Worn chain ring.  Notice the leading edge is severely worn away.

Brakes

Worn out brake pads won’t stop your bike efficiently, can be noisy, and can even damage your rims or disc rotors if they are left to wear down past the limit. Rear brake pads wear down at about twice the rate of front pads.  Changing disc brake pads is snap, and they come with easy to follow instructions.  Needle-nose pliers can come in handy during pad replacement.

Some rim brake pads have replaceable inserts.  This saves you money, since you only replace the rubber part.   Look for a little bolt on the side of the pad.  Simply loosen the bolt, slide out the old pad, and slide in a new one.

What to look for:  Decreased braking performance, squealing brakes.  Rim brakes are easy to visually inspect, but disc brake pads may need to be removed from the calipers for a full visual inspection.

Worn Out Parts
Worn Pads

The replacement of the parts mentioned above is relatively easy, but will require a few bicycle specific tools. Since these maintenance tasks need to be performed regularly, purchasing a few tools may be a good investment. The other option of course, is to take your bike down to your local bike shop.

Corporate Challenge 2010 Starts Today

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Today is the kick off for the Carson City Bike To Work Week Corporate Challenge, and this year  is shaping up to be our most competitive Challenge ever.  

The solo category will be a tight race. So far it appears that all of the entrants share a similar distance to their work place and it could be their trip mileage that will decide the winner.

The percentage of employee competition will once again be a close race. While Redrock Dental and The Bike Smith have a fierce rivalry, it could be that newcomers Hair Studio & Spear Me, or Carson Tahoe Hospital Surgical Unit, will sneak up to take Dr. Drew’s coveted plaque.

Who will win the mileage category is anyone’s guess.  USGS team leader Tim Rowe said he plans on winning again this year, but he has some stiff competition with large employers such as Carson City School District, Chromalloy, and NDOT.

This is going to be great year!  Have fun, be safe, and good luck to everyone!

Monday after work a few of us will be gathering at the Feisty Goat for couple of post work brews. Please join us if you can.
Feisty Goat: 1881 E. Long St. 5 p.m.ish

Tuesday, May 18th
Flat Tire Repair Clinic @ The Bike Smith 900 N. Carson St. 6 p.m.
Bike Smith

Are you the type of cyclist who loves to ride but has yet to learn the skill of fixing a flat tire? If you would like to learn this valuable and necessary skill you’re in luck. Mickey McDowell is teaching a free flat tire clinic at The Bike Smith in downtown Carson City. Mickey will demonstrate wheel removal, how to locate the source of the flat, how to repair the flat, and how to reinstall the wheel. All without looking like a grease monkey. If possible, travel to the clinic by bike, and bring a friend.

Mountain Bike Tire Pressure

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The tire is the interface between the bike and the dirt. The tire has to roll, turn, provide traction, stop the bike, and add suspension. As little as a 5 pounds per square inch (psi) variance in tire pressure can make a big difference on how a tire will perform these duties. The following is a guide to help you determine the correct air pressure for your mountain bike tires.

Recommended Pressure on Tire Sidewall

Most mountain bikers know to read the tire sidewall to figure out the tire’s recommended tire pressure, but there are many who don’t know how to select a pressure for maximum tire performance. Most off-road tires have a pressure range specified with the minimum pressure often as much as 30 psi less than the maximum. This is quite a range to select from, and as a result, many mountain bike tires are overinflated.

Traction

An inflated, unweighted knobby tire has a round profile. You want to adjust your tire pressure so that when you put your body weight on the bike, the tire flattens out a bit where the tire contacts the dirt. If a tire is overinflated, the surface area of tire in contact the ground in minimized and traction is reduced.  This effect is amplified further when turning, a moment when you want maximum traction.  Low rolling resistance may be the goal when riding on the asphalt, but traction is our biggest battle when riding a mountain bike. It’s also important to remember that the more knobbies you have in contact with the dirt, the better your braking will be.

Where the Rubber meets the Dirt

Suspension

When we think of mountain bike suspension, we instantly think of the expensive and elaborate hydraulic telescoping devices that are today’s forks and rear frame triangles. But good suspension begins at the tires. A properly inflated tire will better absorb and conform to trail irregularities, and help keep your wheels from deflecting off rocks and roots.

How Low Can you Go?

Here are some guidelines for getting the most traction and suspension from your tires:

  • The minimum pressure recommendation on the sidewall is a good starting point for most mountain bike tires.  Ride, test, and adjust to suit your tastes and requirements.
  • In some cases, you can actually run less pressure than the minimum listed on the sidewall, and get better performance.  This is especially true for front tires.  I run my 2.5″ wide front tire at 22-25 psi, even though the recommended minimum is 35.
  • When experimenting with pressures below the recommended minimum, start with small increments of about 2 psi, and work your way down.
  • Keep an eye on how your tire interacts with the rim when running low pressure.  Too low, and your tire may slip along the rim when braking, leading to a broken valve stem.  You don’t want the tire so soft and squirmy that it rolls off the rim either.  Keep enough air in the tires to prevent pinch flats!  Again, start off with small psi changes, and see how your tires react.
  • Rear tires generally need more pressure than front tires.  Not only is there more weight over a rear tire, we tend to wheelie over trail junk and let our rear wheel slam into the obstacle.  I run my rear tire 5-7 psi greater than the front.
  • The fatter and/or taller the tire, the lower the pressure you can run.  Although it comes with a weight penalty, you can make your ride pretty plush or float over sand with aired-down 2.2 – 2.5″ tires.  You may even consider running a big aggressive front tire, but keep your rear tire fast and light.
  • When inflating your tires after a tire swap or flat repair, you may have to overinflate your tire first to seat the bead of the tire into the rim.  Once the bead is seated, you can let air out and recheck the pressure.
  • The little round nut on a presta valve stem is helpful for keeping the stem in place during inflation, but take it off when complete and put it in your tool kit.  If you’re running big aired-down tires, the valve stem may tear off if it can’t flex with the tube.  I went through a few tubes before I figured this out!

Tire Footprint with Full Knobby Contact

Other factors that can influence tire pressure settings

Now that I’ve talked you into experimenting with lower tire pressures, keep the following in mind:

  • Body Weight – Heavier riders require more tire pressure.
  • Terrain – Rocky trails may require greater tire pressure to keep the tube from pinch-flatting, or to prevent damage to your rims.
  • Tire Size – Skinny race tires need more pressure; wide and tall All-Mountain tires can run with much less
  • Speed – The faster the impact, the more tube and rim protection you need.  Consider how fast you’ll be riding and the conditions of the trail.
  • Tubeless Tires – Tubeless tire systems can run lower pressure without fear of pinch flats, but you still need to be wary of rim damage.

Get out there and experiment with your tire pressure!  In the end you should have a tire that provides better traction and suspension, without sacrificing much rolling resistance.  If you already own a pump, it could be a FREE performance upgrade.

Did I miss anything?  What additional recommendations do you have?

Cleaning a CamelBak

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Has your CamelBak lost its not so fresh taste? Or worse, did you pull it out of winter storage, only to find the remains of a science experiment long forgotten? Thankfully there is a pretty easy way to restore your drink system’s freshness.

Cleaning a CamelBak
Cleaning a CamelBak

Most drink systems never taste pristine, but it’s very disheartening to get up in the mountains and have nothing to drink but throat burning brackish water when you’re terribly thirsty. The water bladder needs to be periodically scrubbed and sanitized to kill the junk that grows in that warm, moist micro environment.

CamelBak sells scrub brushes, and I’ve seen them in a couple packaging options. I bought the $10 package that included a big brush for the bladder and a little brush for the tube. More expensive packages included some special cleaning tablets. It’s unlikely that I’d have access to the cleaning tablets when I really need them, so I use just a little bleach to do the sanitizing.

I fill the CamelBak reservoir with water, and add just a teaspoon of bleach.  I let it set overnight, and turn it over once to make sure all parts of the interior get sanitized.  I also let a little run out the hose to make sure the bleach solution reaches this part too.  The next morning, I use the brushes to scrub it out, and I rinse it several times.

The bleach can add a little taste to the water, so make sure you rinse it well. It might even be a good idea to let it set for a while with water in it, and then rinse it again. I’ve also read that a final soak with a water/baking soda mixture can further remove any aftertaste.

Does anyone have any cleaning tips or tricks they’d like to share or add?

Trailside Repair Kit

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When you’re out on the trail, it’s not a matter “if” you’re going to have a breakdown, it’s a matter of “when”. Thankfully, most trailside repairs are easy to fix if you have a simple toolkit with you.

I have a basic toolkit for shorter rides, rides that are short enough that walking or scooting the bike home isn’t that big of deal if you have a problem you can’t fix. I carry the tools that will fix the most likely repairs, but leave the extra stuff home to save room and weight. These items include a spare tube, tire levers, a multi-tool, a pump, and material to temporarily fix a torn tire sidewall.

Repair Kit
Trailside Repair Kit

For longer rides, where walking home or ruining the ride is not an option, I add a few more items.  A patch kit, chain tool (if your multi tool doesn’t already have one), spare clipless pedal cleat bolts, and a Leatherman style tool that includes pliers and a knife.  Singlespeeders may want to include spare chain links…you can make a multi-geared chain shorter, but can’t on a single speed.

I prefer to carry my tools in a waist pack, since I frequently switch bikes and don’t like the rattling of tools going down bumpy trails; however, under the seat bags work pretty well too if you have enough room in them. Be prepared, and don’t assume your buddies will have everything you need!

Anything I’m missing? What do you carry in your repair kit?

Flat Tire Repair Clinic at Comma Coffee

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Square Nail
What caused my flat tire?

On Thursday night at 6:30 PM, Dan from the Bicycle Authority will be hosting a Flat Tire Repair Clinic at the Comma Coffee courtyard. Learn how to change a tube, one of the most important repair tasks that will keep your bike running. Learn how to patch a punctured tube. Most punctures only need a simple patch. Save your money! Don’t throw away those perfectly good tubes.  Bring your flat tires and punctured tubes down for some hands-on training.