Comments on: Commuting 101: Weekend Check-up

By: Quinn

Quinn — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:30:55 +0000

I was thinking about this article this morning and I don’t know about anyone else but I need to do the “weekend check up” on the bike I use the least.
Due to riding 2 of my bikes most often, I notice the wear and tear more, and have no need for the weekend check up.

By: tadster

tadster — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 12:54:19 +0000

Good tips, Noah! My tires lose about 10 pounds of air a week, which makes weekend fill-ups a necessity.

As for wheel truing, I found Ken Kifer’s essay very helpful.

http://www.kenkifer.com/bikepages/skills/spokes.htm

It’s not that bad. You can do it! Just make changes very slowly, and follow Ken’s tip… mark the spokes you adjust!

By: Noah

Noah — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:23:47 +0000

I just meant “If you don’t cover a lot of miles, the thumb press and squeezing the brake should be fine for a weekly check”

This run-down is more for people like you or I, Ms. Geonz.

By: Siouxgeonz

Siouxgeonz — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:19:11 +0000

Why are these “if you don’t cover a lot of miles on your bike?”

I’d think if you rode a lot, it would be even more important.

I would *not* trust my skills to truing my wheel.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 22:17:13 +0000

Thanks for posting that caveat on bike truing, Noah. It is easy to makes things worse if you don’t have the proper tools or training. This is one part of the bike that you don’t want to mess around with if you don’t know what you’re doing.

By: Noah

Noah — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:24:22 +0000

Matthew: it’s easy to permanently trash a wheel if you don’t know what you’re doing and/or don’t have all the right tools. You can use your brakes as a makeshift truing stand, but a real truing stand and some real knowledge of wheel building helps a lot.

For bike repair, I just found this place yesterday:
http://bicycletutor.com/

There’s always Sheldon Brown’s archives. He will be missed dearly:
http://sheldonbrown.com/

Finally, there’s Park Tool’s repair site:
http://parktool.com/repair/

If you can’t find it in these places, it’s not likely going to be covered in any printed book, either.

By: matthew booth

matthew booth — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 16:16:01 +0000

Dan,
Is it easy to damage a rim/wheel if you try to adjust spokes yourself? I have noticed both of my wheels have a little bit of wobble but dont have the money to pay a bike shop.

Noah,
Thanks for the article. My commute just increased around 7 miles a day (around 25 miles round trip). I definitely need to increase my knowledge about how my bike works. So you recommend purchasing a book on how bike components work? Sometime this year I would like to disassemble my bike and do a total tune-up. I’m good at working with mechanical stuff, but dont yet understand how my bike works.

By: Dan

Dan — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 14:47:17 +0000

I like the idea about checking the spokes. That’s one thing I neglect to check regularily.

I would also suggest flipping the bike upside down and checking the trueness of your wheels. Use the brake pads as your guide and correct any spots that are wobbling with a spoke wrench.

By: Franky

Franky — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:25:19 +0000

In addition to your tips I also clean and lubricate the chain every other week. Just take a cotton rug (old t-shirt works great), hold it around the chain and push the pedal with your other hand. After a while put some chain lubricant (NO WD 40!!!) on it while spinning the pedal and then wipe the excess lubricant off again. This takes about 10 minutes, extends the life of the chain, cassette and derailleur and makes the bike ride more smooth.