rumrunn6

question #5 doesn't let us select more than one item
the question "How much would you pay for a safety device for your bike" is not specific enough, do you mean a light? a lock?

SylvainG

When adjusting the rear derailleur with the help of the adjustment barrel, the derailleur will move in the same direction as the top of the barrel.

zammykoo

This one is not really a bike maintenance tip but something useful for those with the base model Park Tool repair stand. You can 3d print your own add-ons (if you have a printer or know someone who does).

Leg clip for storage:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1272344

Tool caddy:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1275681

Hex wrench bracket:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1695559

Misc tool holder:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:49227


My brother printed a leg clip for me and it works like a charm!

RubeRad

That's awesome! My local public library has a 3D printer for rent, I don't have a Park stand, but I'll look around at other thingiverse designs to see what might be useful

ksisler

Read up to make sure you know the difference between foot pounds and inch pounds and that you have the right torque wrench...before tightening those dinky bike bolts that seem to come loose at the wrong time if not tightened perfectly or break off if over tightened...

jbw57

I like Caig products for electrical connections, batteries, lights, etc....they have a host of products for many electrical projects around the bike or whatever.

https://caig.com/

ZuniCycle

I couldn't find an example of anyone else doing this, so I thought I'd share it. I've been riding with the U lock attached this way for more than 100 miles and haven't had a problem. This way it's not taking up other useful space. There's no screw holes to attach accessories there on my bikes frame anyway.

Cyclist0108

There might be a reason for that...

FBinNY 

I don't know what problem you see. I've carried camp stove fuel in just about the same place for decades and never had a problem.

However, the OP's lock extends pretty low, so I expect that he needs extra care if there are old style speed bumps where he rides, otherwise I'll venture that he never has issues with it.

Ira B

Just tighten everything until it snaps, then back off a quarter turn.

ZuniCycle

It doesn't extend lower than the pedals when they're vertical. It doesn't get nicked even when riding up onto curbs.

Besides using otherwise unused space, I really hated having the lock on the top tube or seat tube because it's free to swing on the mount. It would sometimes hit my legs when pedaling which was annoying.

FBinNY 

I'm with you, and agree that it's good use of otherwise unused space. My only concern was speed bumps, because around here there are a number high enough to clip a pedal, though not the BB shell. I ride fixed some of the time, and have to time it so I clear the bump while neither pedal is low.

However, if that's not an issue for you, I can't see any other.

ksisler

Ingenuity for finding a personal use for dead space is well regarded here. Kudos.

Many of my touring bikes and tandems have water bottle braze on mounts on the bottom of the down-tube that would place that water bottle in the top half of the area holding the OP's lock-thing. Some others have pegs for old-school air pump down there. I really like having an extra bottle of water and have been often guilty of removing the bottom side pump pegs on bikes that aren't collectible or historically significant.

Ganzen

Always tighten the nut on the brake lever side (left side) first. This will prevent the bearing nuts from loosening on the axle and goofing up the preload if the bearing nuts are'nt solidly backed with a locking nut, or even if they are.

Ganzen

Had a bike delivered in a box and the seat tube collar was mangled and out of round. It was heavy guage steel and was not responding well to wedging with a small diameter pipe. Then it occurred to me that the bike had a powerful wedge in the handlebar downtube. I pull the handlebars off, slipped the hanblebar downtube into the seat tube just past the mangled spot. I then rotated the handlebar downtube so the wedge nut was located opposite the bent portion of the seat collar and tightened the handlebar wedge a bit. The bent part of the seat collar straightened predictably and after a couple of cycles of repositioning and tightening, the seat collar was rounded up nicely and the seat tube slid into place easily without scratching the finish. Tightened the seat collar quicklock, reinstalled the handlebars and moved on with
assembly.

ksisler

OP; Suggest it would have been more clever to file a claim with the seller for damage. They would then advise that you file a claim with the shipping company, etc., but eventually you end up with a bike in the condition you ordered it in (new, used, etc), not something marginally un-twisted and probably still unsafe to ride.

NJgreyhead

Ganzen, I admire your creative DIY solution. Kudos.
-NJg

woodcraft

When patching an inner tube,

offending seam ridges can be sanded down by pinching the tube

so that the seam sticks up at the fold, also cleaning the rubber next to the seam.

Then use two coats of cement and compress the completed patch to set- I use a ball peen hammer.

capnjonny 

When I find the puncture spot on a tube I take a sharpie and mark an x over the puncture after I clean and sand the area. Then when applying the patch I can center it effectively over the hole. Also, I like to clanp the tube lightly to the work bench on either side of the puncture so the affected spot stays right side up and doesn't move.

RubeRad

When I find a small puncture I mark it by sticking a sewing pin into it, which I keep in my patch kit. It marks the place, and also enlarges the hole just a little bit, making it easier to re-find if necessary, without making it less patchable.

jack002

I use a silver sharpie for that (There's also gold ones) Also a mark on the tire where the stem is is good for indicating where the tire is on the wheel. (handy for finding why you flatted)

sjanzeir

Probably as a possible cost-cutting move (and perhaps I'm a cheapskate for having bought the thing in the first place,) Dahon must've thought it would be a good idea not to provide bottle cage bosses anywhere on the Vybe's frame.

Because I'm not brave enough to drill my own holes in the frame and tap them out, a third-party solution like Topeak's cage mount was handy for a while. With the only practical place to install it being the lower handlepost in a vertical position, though, the bottle tended to pop out if I hit a pothole hard enough, which is distracting and inconvenient, not to mention just plain ugly:





The bike already was up for sale. Being strapped for cash, I wasn't about to spend any money buying new gear, no matter how inexpensive. I needed to finnagle a setup using whatever I had lying around, and one that I could easily undo at any time.

Cannibalizing one of the other new Topeak cage mounts I had, I screwed together a strap that's long enough to go all the way around the main frame tube, avoiding damage to the brake and shifter cables that run along the bottom:



The four rubber pads kept the straps away from the cables, while ensuring that the two straps are screwed together at two points instead of one:







All I had to do next was screw the base down, locking the two ends of the straps together, attach the cage base, and screw on the cage:



The bottle was more secure, and at once more accessible and out of the way. It also looked better!

Despite having used some rubber strips, I still ended up scratching the finish, which is a bummer!

zammykoo

I don't know if this has been covered before but thought I'd mention a quick hack I did today. I installed new cables needed something to crimp the cable ends (my cable cutters don't have the crimper), so I made my own from an old pair of pliers. Just used the edge of a small file and worked in two grooves on opposite sides of each other. Make sure they line up pretty well and are cut deep enough. Only took a couple of minutes to do and worked like a charm!

Asi

I use the tyre's name brand always at the stem. So no need to mark anything.

ElijahCooper

sjanzeir Your post 622 - It turned out well, but it seems to me that now it will not be so convenient to get a bottle, because now it hangs very low, don't you think so?