campagnolo chainring bolts

campy chain ring bolts are tough to remove once they are corroded. the t30 side of the bolt has a lot of surface area for corrosion. the best way i have found to remove these is the clamp a t30 torx in the vise and use an impact screwdriver. set the crank on the t30 wrench and use the impact screwdriver with the biggest flat bit you got. should free it up. i have used an impact gun on the t30 side but it can strip out. the t30 on the crank arm gets the impact gun or normal wrench. i use a pick to pick out the anti tampering plug

crank puller

tired of cranking hard on the crank puller? crank seems seized on? use the crank puller as usual, when you build up a lot of pressure and tension give the crank puller a good hit with the hammer. should loosen the crank right up

drywall screw

another trick for pulling out jammed ferules in shimano road levers. brake ferules inside a shimano road lever is a no no. if one is stuck then grab a drywall screw to pull it out.

screw starter for starting nipples

use a screw holding screwdriver to start nipples in double wall or deep rims. ullman d-2 or kd 2282 are good choices with a magnet on the other end for fishing cables. ebay or amazon are good places to get them. under 10 bucks. i also use the straight pick to start nipples.

cleaning out bottom bracket threads

head to the plumbing section at the hardware store and grab a wire brush for cleaning out 1 inch copper pipe. buy the cheap one with the twisted wire handle. chop the handle off and chuck it in your drill. use this to clean out bottom brackets. run the brush through then wrap a towel or rag around and give it another spin. squeaky clean now

Fork/Stem transfer tool

copied this from efficient velo tools. when you need to do some fork work just pop the top cap off and slam this tool on top of the steerer. holds the stem and spacers in place. no more dangling bars and kinked housing. made from an old stem and a steerer tube cutoff piece. end of the steerer tube is tapered for easy insertion.

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