It's the end of January, New Years has come and gone. Resolutions have already been broken, and most importantly, it's time to dust off your trusty steed. This is the beginning of a multi-part series on seasonal tuneups and the home shop. Why multi-part? Because triathletes, cyclists and other readers of this blog have short attention spans, and it guarantees semi-regular updates.
Let's talk about the home shop. Not to take anything away from the local bike shop and keeping the ladies from fawning over Hot Bikeshop Guy(s) but tuneups are really easy and can save you some claude. More money in your pocket = more money for toys.
You're gonna have to have some basic tools to develop the home shop. Ladies - steal, erm, borrow your husbands, boyfriends, daddy's tools. Gents, this gives you a perfect excuse to visit the hardware store for necessary purchases. Fortunately, most bikes require normal everyday tools for the basic tune up. Click on the links for pictures.
The Tools:
4, 5, 6, 8mm Allen Wrenches (Hex Keys). Almost all bike now a days are held togeather using allen bolts. The smaller sizes are for bottle cages and cable bolts, while the larger sizes are for derailluer attachment bolts, and headsets. Try to avoid buying a set of keys in random sizes, you'll end up with 3 useful ones and 40 sizes perfect for losing. T handles wrenches are great for torque and hard to reach places, little more expensive but worth it.
Phillips and Standard Screwdrivers: A garage stable. You'll want a couple of sizes, small ones for the limit screws and brake adjustments, standard sizes for general work and prying off seals. You can go cheap with these, but be warned, they tend to walk off for mysterious reasons.
8,9,10 mm Combination Wrenches: Another staple in a garage. Old school folks who ride 1980 Bianchi's have these all over. They are pretty much replaced by allen keys, but still appear here and there. Get quality wrenches, cheap ass wrenches love to strip bolts.
Cable Cutters: Diagonal cutters will work, but a proper cable/houseing cutter by Park, Pedros or Shimano will work better and provide cleaner cuts in houseing.
Needle Nose Pliers: Great for holding cables for tensioning, plucking nose hairs, and crimping cable caps. Scissors, Knife, Sharp Instrument: Cutting bar tape, electrical tape, opening beer for shotgunning, and fending off tool thieves.
Adjustable Wrench, 6" and 8": Removing cassetts, lockrings, crankarms. A truly versitale tool.
Special Tools: These tools help make life easier when working on bikes.
Chain Breaker: No matter what the fancy chain cleaning machine claims, a chain is best cleaned off the bike. Besides, it keeps the sludge off your sexy frame. If you're one of the schmucks with a universal link then ignore this tool....for now.
Headset Wrenches: Old school threaded headsets, or richboy Campy and Chris King headsets require to big assed wrenches, usually a 22-24mm size. 2 wrenches are needed, please refrain from using channel locks for the adjustable cup.
Cone Wrenches: Thin open ended wrenches for adjusting wheel bearings. Can also be used for opening bottles of your favorite fermented beverage.
4th Hand Tool: The most awesome tool for cable adjustment, be it derailluers or brakes. Pedro's make a great yellow one.
Chain Whip, Cassette Lockring Tool: No, this is not for BDSM role playing. These are used to remove the cassette for cleaning and replacing. Other tools/items:
Flammable Liquids: Chain lube, WD-40, degreaser. Lubing and cleaning of the bike, and for making blow torches. Rags: The 10 year old T shirt, underwear with holes larger than a quarter, or last years sweater from Aunt Fanny.
Workstand: You gotta hold the bike somehow. You can get away with a simple stand here. Fermented Beverage: Need I say more? Next up: Cleaning the bike for prep and adjustments.
Next up, how to clean your steed for a tuneup.
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