Bike Snob - Anonymous [47]
Wrapping Bars
For some reason, it’s become acceptable in the fixed-gear world to ride with bare bars. This is ridiculous—you need that extra layer. Would you wear leather pants without underpants? Maybe, if you’re Jim Morrison. But you’re not Jim Morrison. (I know this because he’s dead, and going commando in his leather pants was one of the things that killed him.) So put some grips or tape on your bars.
Sliding on a pair of rubber grips is easy, but if your bars require tape that’s a little trickier, and it does take practice. However, it’s really something you should do for yourself. Having someone else tape your bars is like having someone else bathe you. (I mean that in the childish way, not the erotic way.) Most packages of bar tape come with instructions, but as I said, putting it on does take practice. To start, try to buy bar tape without adhesive on the back. That way you can wrap and rewrap your bars over and over again until you’ve got it right. Once you’ve done it a few times it gets really easy.
Brake Adjustment
While brakes are an essential component, in a way they’re also a maintenance item since they prevent your bike from crashing into other objects. There are many types of bicycle brakes out there: coaster, single-pivot, dual-pivot, center-pull, cantilever, linear-pull cantilever (V-brake), mechanical disc brake, hydraulic disc brake, and so forth. Moreover, each type works differently, so describing how to fix them all is outside of the purview of this sidebar.
However, you should at least know what type of brakes you have. Once you know that, you should take some time to familiarize yourself with their operation. If they’re cable-operated, then they’re pretty easy to adjust. (If they’re hydraulic, they probably don’t need much adjustment at all until the pads wear out.) And whatever kind of brakes you have, you should check the pads every now and again, and if you’ve mastered loosening and tightening small bolts you might even try to replace them yourself.
Once you’ve finished, make sure to test them a few times, since making last-minute adjustments as you’re speeding toward an intersection is a difficult task for any mechanic.
Must-Have Tools
As you get more comfortable working on your bike, you may start tackling bigger jobs. These jobs may call for tools you don’t have, and sometimes they can be expensive. However, new tools are almost always worth it, since after you’ve used them a few times they usually pay for themselves.
But there are some tools you should have from the very beginning, and they’ll let you do pretty much everything I’ve described above:
—Set of Allen keys (not to be confused with conservative political activist Alan Keyes)
—A floor pump
—Appropriate-sized wrench to remove your wheels if your axle is nutted instead of quick-release
That’s it!
Seriously, you can perform almost every basic repair on a newer bike with just a set of Allen keys. Between those and your flat-fix kit, you’re mostly covered. No wonder GM is going out of business. As you go, you may or may not get more involved and comfortable with repairing your own bike. Either way, the above are things everybody should do. They’re the mechanical equivalent of making spaghetti or heating up soup.
4. Your Bike Is Already Stolen
You probably know what it feels like to fuss over something and do everything you can to keep it in good condition, only for some accident to befall it that you could not have possibly accounted for. It’s a painful feeling—not only because you wanted to keep that thing perfect, but also because you realize at the moment the accident happens that all your care and energy were completely wasted. You paradoxically think to yourself, “If only I had that thing back, I’d have cared about it less.” This can apply to everything from a relationship to a new car—and of course, to a bicycle.
When it comes to your bicycle, the worst “accident” that can befall it is theft. Crashes are also accidents, but at least you get to