Comments on: The Bicycle Tutor

The Bicycle Tutor

Effigy2000 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:46:01 -0800

The Bicycle Tutor is a site with lots of video tutorials designed with a sole purpose; to teach you how to fix your own bicycle. [via mefi projects]

By: sveskemus

sveskemus — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:48:57 -0800

Wow, what a great resource! Thanks!

By: bonobothegreat

bonobothegreat — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:13:04 -0800

Thanks! I was about to use WD-40 on my bike chain.

By: selfnoise

selfnoise — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:20:02 -0800

You'll laugh, but... I recently bought a bicycle and encountered my first ever Presta valve. This would have worked a lot better than my bewilderment and subsequent cursing. Thanks!

By: isopraxis

isopraxis — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:27:05 -0800

How timely: I've just been wondering about rebuilding my bottom bracket since its starting to creak when I crank hard, but didn't really know exactly how to start. Thanks for the great post Effigy2000.

By: everichon

everichon — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:36:28 -0800

I was about to use WD-40 on my bike chain Not a bad first step, for de-gunking it.

By: spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints

spikeleemajortomdickandharryconnickjrmints — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 15:46:43 -0800

I'd like to see a threadless headset overhaul. He's working on a Kuwahara, which is the same brand of bike I used to race BMX. Mine's currently in my grandmother's attic, and will be overhauled when my toddler is ready for it.

By: Joybooth

Joybooth — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 16:15:55 -0800

That is an awesome web site. I've been riding mountain bikes casually for years and I didn't understand shifting one-tenth as well as it explains it.

By: invitapriore

invitapriore — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:20:37 -0800

Very cool, I found this on del.icio.us and had no idea it originated here. I'm in the first stages of building my first bicycle, so a lot of these videos are going to be extremely helpful to me. Many thanks to alxram for creating such a resource and for doing a fine job of explaining the methods demonstrated.

By: sir_rubixalot

sir_rubixalot — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 17:42:39 -0800

Oh great! Now he tells me how to wrap drop handlebars, well I guess it'll come in handy when my white tape turns brown. Thanks for reminding me about this site, now if he could only tell me why the screws on my chain gear attaching it to the crank keep coming loose, its 6 bolt, and I don't have the largest chain gear on. Oh wait theres my problem, I think I need washers.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:01:50 -0800

> Thanks for reminding me about this site, now if he could only tell me why the screws on my chain gear attaching it to the crank keep coming loose, its 6 bolt, and I don't have the largest chain gear on. Oh wait theres my problem, I think I need washers. It's probably five bolt. And, yes, washers. Or just shorter bolts. Do it now. If the chainring isn't secure on the crank spider it will eventually shatter under load.

By: CitrusFreak12

CitrusFreak12 — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:11:01 -0800

Oh my god.

By: yath

yath — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:11:08 -0800

Damn, I wish there was a site like this for... everything.

By: recurve

recurve — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:14:58 -0800

Nice. Bookmarked.

By: [NOT HERMITOSIS-IST]

[NOT HERMITOSIS-IST] — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 18:33:32 -0800

This totally helped me fix my chain a couple of months ago. I don't know why I didn't post it to the blue then...

By: The Michael The

The Michael The — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:06:28 -0800

I can't believe this thread has made it so far with nary a mention of resident river god of bicycle repair Sheldon Brown, RIP. Tsk and shame on all of you! It's probably five bolt. And, yes, washers. Or just shorter bolts. Do it now. If the chainring isn't secure on the crank spider it will eventually shatter under load. Also, grease the threads of the bolts using something like Phil Wood Waterproof Grease and torque them down TIGHT. (re: WD-40 on a chain) Not a bad first step, for de-gunking it. Ehhhh, just use some Boeshield T9. It'll extract the gunk while not forcing out the preexisting lubricant as the WD-40 would do. N.B. that if your chain is gunked up enough to require a WD-40 cleaning, and I mean REALLY crapped up, it's probably a better idea just to replace it... $20 well-spent.

By: nosila

nosila — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 19:24:25 -0800

Awesome! (My new Firefox 3.0 just got its first bookmark tags. Aw.)

By: cheeken

cheeken — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:24:37 -0800

I'm so flabbergasted by the sheer magnitude of awesomeness that I must go lay down. Than, upon rising, I shall fix my bike, and I shall fix it so hard.

By: thylacine

thylacine — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 21:38:55 -0800

Fixing your own bike is empowering! I bought a used bike during the winter and encountered some things that needed fixing. After replacing the bottom bracket and switching over the derailleurs (and adjusting them) from another bike I had and it actually working I felt like a very smart man. I have almost trued a wheel myself, but I was excited that after maybe 20 or so hours it was, while not round, dished correctly for single-speed use(and true enough to ride on). Bikes are pretty simple and I suggest that everyone at least give it a try. Supporting your LBS (local bike shop) is great, but with the price of bike parts on the internet usually a lot cheaper, and the free knowledge to replace the parts its very hard to stop into a shop anymore. bikeforums is also a great resource.

By: PhillC

PhillC — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 22:04:16 -0800

Wow, that is a terrific resource! I've recently taken up cycling as a new hobby, and I imagine this will come in useful sooner or later.

By: dancestoblue

dancestoblue — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 23:51:07 -0800

Great resource -- thanx for posting.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 03:24:35 -0800

This is excellent.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:14:10 -0800

[This is good]

By: toastchee

toastchee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:21:45 -0800

WD40 will cause you to break your chain. I know. I am happy to end your thread now.

By: wfrgms

wfrgms — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 08:59:45 -0800

Very cool. Pretty soon local bike shops will be a thing of the past.

By: ardgedee

ardgedee — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:21:46 -0800

> Pretty soon local bike shops will be a thing of the past. I hope not. I'm all for home and curbside repairs, and I assembled my last bike from components, rims, spokes and hubs. I still had a shop put in the headset and bottom bracket because the tools for that cost many times the cost of labor. Having somebody experienced do it right the first time means I didn't ruin a brand-new frame while trying to get a jerrybuilt headset press to drive squarely. There are some things that experienced pros will always do better than earnest amateurs, either through their experience or resources.

By: drezdn

drezdn — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 11:28:52 -0800

I still had a shop put in the headset and bottom bracket because the tools for that cost many times the cost of labor. That's probably the most frustrating thing for me about bikes, so many of the parts require special expensive tools to do work on them.

By: sir_rubixalot

sir_rubixalot — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 17:12:50 -0800

Sweet, thanks for the tips ardgedee and The Michael The.

By: fixedgear

fixedgear — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 03:59:25 -0800

Even though I'm richie Rich and I love my Park headset tool, you can install a headset with a length of threaded rod, two hex nuts and two large flat washers or fender washers. Total hardware store cost is well under ten bucks. If you use cartridge bottom brackets, the tool is like seven bucks and you can use an adjustable (aka Crescent) wrench to turn it. You can join your local Bike Church or Bike Kitchen for access to seldom-used tools, or you can stop by my house (bring beer).

By: whir

whir — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 10:04:39 -0800

I used this just this morning to figure out how to tighten my spokes enough to get my wheel back towards true and stop squeaking. It is awesome.