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Old 07-03-07, 09:57 AM
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JohnBrooking
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Southern Maine
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Bikes: 2006 Giant Cypress EX (7-speed internal hub)

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I hope the following is an okay tip, because I'm still an amateur, and I only just picked it up from a 9-year-old! But it worked for me this morning.

When installing the back wheel of a singlespeed, where the chain tension is adjusted only by the placement of the axle on the dropouts (such as a kids coaster-brake bike), you can use any blunt tool as a lever between the bottom bracket (as the fulcrum) and the wheel so that you can keep the wheel pushed out with one hand while you ratchet the axle nuts with the other.

Another newbie (and I mean it) tip for working on kids' bikes that I just figured out myself last night: If you turn the bike upside down to work on it and the back wheel is resting on the floor so that you can't work with it, turn the bike back upright and raise the seat so that, when upside down, the seat rests on the floor instead, leaving the back wheel free to turn.
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