Narhay

Care to share some of your oodles of C&V knowledge?

- Double the time you think it will take to do a simple repair. Make sure to do repairs the night before long rides, anniversary dinners and anything else that is time-sensitive.
- Use a screwdriver with a magnetic tip to remove ball bearings from hubs. You can buy a special tool that works slightly better but I'm happy with what I had lying around.
- Never assume a clean bike has been maintained properly. Some of the dirtiest bikes had perfect bearing surfaces and the cleanest bike I've ever bought had a thoroughly pitted headset and bottom bracket.

IVARR

apartment dwellers ( i am not anymore, but in europe you make due ), no parts washer, no problem.
empty coffee can, or random food stuff jar, rubbing alcohol, q-tips and an old towel will clean your parts as well as the italian olympics team shop.
bio-degradable.
non-toxic.
cheap.
dries nearly instantly ...

IVARR

since i've been away for 13 years, what do you put small parts in now that cameras are all SD cards.
i've still got dozens of film canisters with campy and shimano chain ring bolts, cable ends, bearings, cones, hub washers, brake caliper parts, and on and on and on ???

dweenk

I use little plastic zip-lock bags from a craft store - no need to label them, you can see the contents.

SloButWide 

Lol, my father, and his father, used baby food jars to sort screws, nuts, bolts, etc. You can barely find baby food in jars now - it's plastic tubs and squeeze pouches!

Google "disposable food containers" for the kind that restaurants use (the pint and quart soup containers work well). The drawback is that you either buy a few, and they're expensive, or you buy a lot and they're cheap.
Here's 50 for $16. I haven't tried those, you want the soft durable plastic, not the brittle but hard clear plastic.

Glad and Ziploc also make reusable containers, but they run .50 - $1 each.

Iride01 

Whatever old parts you throw out to make room.............you'll need them in two weeks or less.

Slash5

Presta stem nuts fit the loose brake adjusters that seem to go missing from brake calipers in the parts bin - or to replace the rubber washer that does the same thing on Shimano brakes.
Presta valve caps work to hold most downtube shifter parts together - screw them onto the shifter bolt.

Bradleykd

I don't know about up north, but where I'm at in KY, I have an infinite supply of chewing tobacco cans that I use for small parts, guitar picks, fishing hooks, electrical connectors, etc.

Bradleykd

They sell special presta valve core removal tools for tubulars and tubeless tires but you don't need to buy one - use a spoke wrench.

oddjob2

If space is limited, Harbor Freight parts organizer trays are your friend.
https://www.harborfreight.com/tool-s...t-storage.html

Free storage via all the pvc food packaging, yogurt, leftovers, etc.

chainercygnus

For what it's worth, those "disposable food containers" can be found even cheaper at Cash & Carry if you have one locally. We use them for meal prep at my house, and you can get a package of 50 + lids for like $8 I think.

jeirvine 

If you, like me, save decent used cables, don't store them coiled up individually. Keep them uncoiled, wrapped together at the heads with a thick rubber band. Hang 'em on a nail or hook on the wall, and when you need one, it's super easy to find one the exact length needed for a flip/build. And toss rusty ones. You will never use them.

noglider 

After a modification or repair of the bike, take a very short ride. Subsequent rides should be of gradually increasing distance.

Dfrost 

That is an excellent idea!

Chombi1 

A lot of frozen food you buy at warehouse stores come in those black plastic trays that you usually throw away after you heat or defrost the food in the microwave. I usually keep them to use for cleaning/soaking/washing parts and components. Nice thing is they come in all shapes, sizes and depths so I always have a good one to use for anything I might be working on, plus they are usually resistant to most solvents and cleaners I use.....

Spaghetti Legs 

With a new build, no matter how tight you get the stem clamp bolt and seat clamp bolt, it will always come loose on the first ride, so make sure you have the right size allen wrench with you when you leave.

Slightspeed

I use clear plastic containers from lunch meat for lots of small parts. If you eat the meat, the container is free. Large yogurt containers work well for derailleurs, hubs, and shifters, but the containers are not transparent.

Healthy Choice Steamers microwave dinners come with a fairly sturdy plastic bowl and a parts strainer, also plastic. Works great for washing ball bearings and small parts.

I found that the old Campy Gran Sport RD on my '64 Legnano will play nice with a 28t 6 speed freewheel if I back out the Campy dropout screws. Then I pull the wheel all the way back on the dropouts and the big gear clears the jockey wheel.

I found that double-sided velcro computer cable straps work well for securing my frame pump, without scratching the frame. They also come in colors.

CMC SanDiego

I use the "Eclipse" gum canisters with the little flip up tab, they're nice because the lid is clear plastic and you. An see whats inside. They also smell like peppermint at least for awhile after I put them to work.

gaucho777 

I re-use those handy containers that come with my "back pain medicine."

Prowler 

And when you take hubs or HS apart, do that over these trays so you catch the loose balls. Store all the loose parts in the tray while you clean them apt then re-assemble.

top506

Swiffer boxes and take-out containers.

Top

Fahrenheit531 

@gaucho777: Hey, me too!

A tip I learned recently: No matter how much your research appears to have given you the information you need, no matter how much obvious, logical sense that information makes, MEASURE. With a caliper. Because sometimes 0.2mm really does make a difference.

Oh, and always buy about a foot more cable housing than you expect to need.

And last but sorta inventive, if your bike doesn't have one of those fancy-schmancy chain hangers on the seat stay, mix in a rubber band and an artfully bent paperclip:

noglider 

I like glass jars, even though there is a risk of breakage. They are more transparent than glass, and they stay clean and don't scratch. They are also free with preserves.

JohnDThompson 

Baby food jars work well also. If you can fasten a board overhead, you can nail the lids to the board and see the contents of each jar. Unscrew the one you want, the rest stay out of the way.

SloButWide 

The local co-op hangs worn out bike chains on the wall, and threads cables into it for storage. I never have enough wall space to try this trick.

Disassembly:
A 6 or 12 cup muffin tin works great for storing screws, springs, and other little parts when you're taking an assembly apart.
Take pictures as you go. I used to believe I'd remember which screw went where, and would be re-assembling it in a day or two. Something always came up In addition, the order of the pictures on your phone tell you the order of reassembly.