presta valve extender tip

there are 2 types of valve extenders. one is a glorified straw and the other requires the removal of the valve core, threading the extender and rethreading the core on the extender. the one that requires core removal is far superior. if you are using the straw type give the lock nut of the tube a crimp before putting the teflon tape and extender on. the crimp prevents the lock nut from spinning down in the worst moments.

screen for oil bucket

we keep a bucket around for oil. it is mostly used for fork oils. got tired of dropping parts and fishing them out of 5 gal bucket half full of oil. take some window screen and loosely secure it around the top with zip ties(big band around the rim). prevents loss of parts and a good place to drain dampers and lowers while you clean the uppers.

take care of your tools

its winter time here in new england. the shop slows down to a crawl. we got plenty of time on our hands. now is the time to inventory your tools and order any new tools that you may need. it is also time to maintain your tools. chain tool, crank puller, ratchets, etc should be cleaned and lubed. for the park hanger alignment tool i pull out the inside shaft and clean and grease it. the grease provide a hydraulic buffer between the shaft and tool. this reduces play and gives smoother operation.

crows foot cone wrench

this is for working on fox fit dampers. torque wrench on a cone wrench. plug in a park cone wrench and turn it 90 degrees so you don't have to do any calculations.

snap rings

square edges of the snap ring should face the snap ring pliers. the snap rings wont fly off and get lost on the floor anymore. one side of a snap ring is rounded from the stamping process and the other is squared off, easy to see by eye and feel

extend the life of your park dag 1

if you have a older park derailleur alignment tool you will find that the alignment boss is quite large. the large boss interferes with the smaller hangers on many new road bikes. a quick fix is to grab a axle washer and slip it on over the stud. this will reduce the diameter of the boss and give you some room to work with. for example trek madone hangers and the DAG 1 dont play well but slip on the washer and its good to go. the pic above is for illustration. the washer i have is larger than normal and the tool is the newer DAG 2

trek portland update

bike is great. i love it. i took it on some errands around town in the snow/slush. bike handles fine in the snow. need to be careful with the brakes because it is easy to lock up the wheels in packed snow. the brakes are noisy when they are wet but that is to be expected. let me know if you have any questions about the bike

grip tape scraps

i save the bar tape scraps and sometimes i have a long enough piece to wrap around my tools. wrapped my breaker bar with some bar tape. makes laying down the power a little easier on the hands. i also wrap my headset wrenches with bar tape.

cheater pipes and extra leverage

yes i know better than to use cheater pipes. sometimes though the cheater pipe is needed for extra leverage and to get the job done. i have breaker bars and long ratchets but sometimes need more. i keep old steel seatposts around for this purpose. strong and designed to resist bending. pump shafts are good too but they get messed up easily. the walls are too thin but there is an almost endless supply of pump shafts in the scrap pile.

good shop scissors

i use these EMT shears in the shop. good for cutting handle bar tape. they are cheap to replace if they grow legs. they work well too. try them out if you need some new scissors.

put a magnet on your chain whip

put a magnet on the tag end of your chain whip. this will keep the end from flopping around and falling off when you are laying down some serious power. i used an old shoe lace and stuffed a small 1/4 diameter magnet in it. put a few knots it in and attach to the end of your whip. you will like this one

tube tip

i hope all of you carry a spare tube and tools while out on a ride. keep your spare tube in a old sock. this keeps the tube from getting holes and abrasion from rubbing in the seatbag with other things. the sock is for wiping your hands after you swap your tube.

identify the left pedal quickly

while i can identify pedals by looking at the thread there are other ways to identify them. most pedals are marked in some way. a quick way to identify the left one for most cheap pedals is to look near the wrench flats. the spindle with the stripes is the left one. so in my pic above the left pedal is on the left

roto ratchets save time

these roto ratchets save time. long length handles for extra leverage. break the fastener loose in the 90 degree position and then straighten the handle to spin it out like a screw driver. great for 8mm or 14mm crank bolts. i like to keep a 5mm hex bit socket on the little 1/4 drive one. the gearwrench 3/8 and 1/4 drive set runs about $30 on sale at sears.

magicshine mj 836 bracket again

this bracket is a piece of crap. to be expected but whatever its a cheap light. the angle adjustment knob is garbage. with the knob tight for the angle adjustment, the head still has some play in it. this play over time will loosen the angle adjustment. in the middle of a ride the light will just rotate and blast your face. i put loctite on it to prevent loosening. adjust the angle by rotating it on your bars.

bontrager and ritchey torqkey

these torque keys are handy to keep around. ritchey is probably the first company that made these popular. bontrager has a version of this tool that is much easier to use. the handle is larger so its easier to use. the bit it not removeable on the bontrager one. there are reports of people removing the bits with heat or prying it out but i have not tried. the ritchey one has replaceable bits, i keep a t25 torx on it for disc brake rotor bolts. these run about $20 each

gator grip socket and locking skewers

when somone leaves you a bike to work on and it has the pinhead/onguard locking skewers, have no fear. they are easily removed with vise grips. the key that comes with the skewers are very short, so the skewers are not on very tight. a gator grip socket also makes quick work on them.

trek portland initial thoughts

just got the bike today and rode it home. bike rides incredibly smooth with the carbon fork. handles very smooth and fluid like. brakes work great once the pads bedded in. assembling the bike was straight forward, no real issues except the wheels. the wheels needed to be tensioned. the tension was pretty balanced but low around 75 kgf. i brought the tension up to 110-120 kgf. the rear rack is pretty sturdy too. the included fenders do not provide enough coverage so i will be installing planet bike hardcore fenders.

magicshine mj 836 bracket

the bracket that comes with the light is pretty bad. the inside has some ribbed rubber pads. they suck and the mount moves around with the ribs squirming around. the bracket is only suitable for a 31.8mm diameter clamp area. i removed the rubber pads and it fits fine on 31.8 bars.

home made magnetic pick up tool

made this today. piece of brake housing. 1/4 inch diameter magnet and 3/8 shrink tube. stick the magnet on the end of brake housing. i ground the end of the brake housing flat. slide on shrink tube and heat it up. i let the shrink tube roll over the front of the magnet so it holds well. use this to fish cables that are routed internally