Bike Repair and Maintenance

There are few simple pleasures as enjoyable as riding a bicycle that almost effortlessly and silently glides along, free from annoying squeaks, creaks and grinds. Unfortunately, actually riding your bike exposes it to weather, grime and wear, so keeping it in tip-top condition takes varying degrees of knowledge, skill and time. One solution is to entrust your bike to the mechanics at your local bike shop. However, workshop costs can quickly mount up. The other way to look after your steed is to do it yourself, which is where this mag comes in. If you’re reading this, the chances are that you are the sort of person who wants to acquire the skills and knowledge necessary to maintain your own bicycle, or perhaps you’re looking to add new skills to…

£100 to £200 for tools and equipment ✓ Gloves ✓ Mask ✓ Goggles ✓ Pointed drift punch ✓ Bench vice ✓ Torque wrench Ok, we know you can’t wait to get stuck in with the spanners, tuning your bike up from a squeaky shopper into a slick speed machine to turn the eye of the most extravagantly equipped pro. Or at least make it a less squeaky shopping bike! Before you start though, take in these tips on how to fix things without ‘fixing’ yourself good and proper, or repairing one bit of your bike while causing damage to another in the process, with slipped spanners and the like. We’re not advocating that you cosset yourself in cotton wool. We’re just trying to make sure that when you’re done working…

60 mins £15 for degreaser, grease, lube ✓Spoke key ✓Grease ✓Oil ✓3, 4, 5mm Allen keys ✓Chain tool/measuring tool ✓Pressure gauge/pump ✓Torque wrench ✓Pedal spanner We all know that before you start playing around with your bike you should have a to do list in your head. This should cover what to fettle, how to work safely and which tools to use. But a list of things not to do is just as important when it comes to getting the job done properly. Here are the 10 things you should try to seriously avoid. They’re arranged in no particular order but succumbing to any one of them could put you or (even worse) your beloved machine out of action for some time, so respect them. This guide should help you…

10 mins Free ✓ Track pump ✓ Digital tyre pressure gauge ✓ Torque wrench (optional) ✓ Spoke key ✓ 3mm Allen key ✓ 4mm Allen key ✓ T25 Torx key ✓ Phillips screwdriver 1A BRAKE ORIENTATION If your bike is box fresh or borrowed it’s worth quickly checking that the brakes are your preferred way round. In the UK, we usually run our front brakes on the right. Check that the right-hand lever is connected to the front calliper and the left-hand lever to the rear calliper. 1B BRAKE PRESSURE Give the levers a firm squeeze. They should move a little way before stopping with a firm resistance. If not, they may need bleeding (assuming they’re hydraulic discs)–talk to your local bike shop if you’re not happy doing this yourself.…

15-30 mins £10 upwards for a new chain if needed ✓ Phillips screwdriver ✓ Pliers or third hand tool ✓ 3mm and 5mm Allen keys ✓ Chain tool and lube 1 FIND STOP SCREWS With the front mech in place and the chain removed, the first step is to locate the stop screws. These control the range of motion, and are marked H (high) and L (low). They’re adjusted with a Phillips screwdriver. On a top-swing front mech, the L screw is the inner screw–it controls the limit of the mech’s inward motion. The high screw is the outermost screw and it limits the mech’s outward motion. On a bottom-swing mech, this is reversed. 2 SET FRONT SCREWS Set the L screw so that the front mech cage’s inner plate…

20 mins ✓ 5mm Allen key and pliers. If the adjuster is at the limit you might need a 5mm Allen key to loosen the inner cable clamp and draw the cable tight using a pair of pliers. Otherwise, this is a job for your fingers only. ✓ 14mm hex socket and bar, or appropriate size Allen key for the crank bolts. When your gears are mis-shifting then it’s almost certainly time to take a look at your gear indexing–the relationship between one click of the shifting lever and the distance moved by the front or rear mech. A correctly adjusted set-up will mean your chain can pass smoothly from one cog to another. Not knowing what bike you have, here are the three most common adjustments associated with gear systems…