self extracting cranks

some self extracting crank caps are left hand threaded and this prevent the cap from coming off when pulling the crank. for normal right hand caps give it a shot of lube under the cap before you pull the crank. this lubes it to fight the friction between the bolt and cap. this helps to prevent the cap from coming off

barke cable

crap pic

housing ferules

we stock 5mm derailer and brake housing for the most part. 4mm shimano housing is used occasionaly for the newer finicky shimano 10spd stuff. 5mm ferules come in two flavors, one for brake and one for index or derailer housing. brake ferules are low quality and should be avoided. i only use the derailer style ferules for the 5mm housing. give your ferules a quick squeeze between the thumb and index finger to check the quality. the brake ferules will just collapse. derailer ferules have thicker walls and bottoms.

front brake or fork shuddering

getting shuddering while slowly going down a steep or bumpy road while applying the front brake? check your headset adjustment

disc brake squeel

noise can come from many factors. a good bed in is the first line of defense. grease the back of the brake pads. i use a thin smear with my finger on the backing. be careful to not get any on the pad material or rotor. does not work on oil soaked or contaminated pads. for contaminated pads douse it in alcohol and set it on fire or torch em, or get replacements. .

screwdriver tip camming out?

if the tip is caming out make sure your screwdriver tips are in good condition. if the screw head is getting chewed up dip the screwdriver in some carbon assembly paste for some extra traction.

securing housing under bar tape

here is a quick way to secure the housing to the bars before taping them. uses 1 piece of tape. 2-3 wraps in the corner, then loosely wrap towards the stem finish of with 2-3 wraps at the end. works great. pic is not great but hope it helps

cables without weld cut ends

cables without weld cut ends are much harder to thread through a shifter. most cables have weld cut ends these days but some cables are double ended. for cables without weld cut ends, take the cut end to the grinder and shape them for easy insertion. twisting slightly in the direction that the cable is wrapped also helps

brake ferule in a shimano shifter body

you know someone puts a ferule/housing cap in the shimano shift body when they are not supposed to. now how do you get it out? easy, grab your easy outs or screw extractors and pop it right out. works like magic

blob o grease, like glue

rattling noise in the frame or rims? cant or don't want to get the offender out? inject grease through the water bottle bosses or in the rim. shake until noise stops. great for when you drill out rivnuts

shifter tune up in a can

bike looks new under the dust? shifters not working too well? the grease inside the shifters probably dried and and turned gummy. grab some wd40, liquid wrench or similar product and hose the inside of the shifter down. for older trigger shifters push the thumb lever upwards a bit and it will catch most of the time.

presta air chuck

this is what i have at work. its from united bicycle supply. pretty easy to make at home too

removing pedals without wrench flats

high end pedals don't have wrench flats. the pedals can be a bear to remove with a allen wrench even if you have a long one. my favorite tool for this job is the bent handle flex ratchet(also called a spark plug ratchet), a 6 in extension, and a socket bit in 6 or 8mm depending on the pedal. bent handle for chainring clearance(AWESOME). long length for leverage

rear derailer adjustment

first step is derailer hanger alignment. you can find the rest of the instructions elsewhere

non striking pry bar to striking conversion

picked up this mac 28in pry bar on the side of the road a while ago. handle was cracked on the end from the previous user striking the handle all the way through exposing the steel. i pushed the handle about 1/2 way off the shaft and gave it a quick buzz with the circular saw to cut the cracked stuff off. hammered the handle back flush. looks better and functional now.

golf ball file handles

read about using golf balls as file handles on the internet a while back. passed some golf balls on a commute home so i picked them up for some files that needed handles. drill a hole in the ball and bang it on. epoxy if you must.

park tns-1 or star nut setter repair

no need to order the set screw to replace your bent up one. remove the old set screw. grab a disc brake caliper mounting bolt or v brake mounting bolt. these are usually hardened. i know for sure that avid cps bolt are hardened. screw it in the star nut tool and cut off the excess with a hack saw. clean up the thread with a file or on the grinder. good as new and ready for service. for future repair just stick the stub in the vice and twist, should come right out

keep bits and screws in place

use a piece of plastic bag to keep your bits in your tools. prevents the bit from falling out. good for starting socket cap hex screw too. wrap some plastic around your hex key and stick the screw on, now the screw wont fall off. works like a screw holding screwdriver. you can also do the same with bolts and sockets. to remove the original bit from the torqkey i heated it with a lighter and pulled with my knipex pliers wrench

why so long specialized?

get your act together

trek portland wheels and hubs

just overhauled the hubs on my portland. quality is about deore level. polished cones. the wear track on the drive side rear cone was a a little off axis. i suspect the freehub or cone is not perfectly straight, axle looked good. front hub could have gone till the end of the season but i expected that. drive side rear cone was pretty dirty and showed the most wear on the cone. non drive rear cone had the same cleanliness level as the front hub. the wheels are holding up just fine straight and true