Save Time and Money With Do-It-Yourself Bicycle Repair

Anyone who often rides bikes, whether around the neighborhood or during a race, probably has a few stories about how their bike broke down and they had to walk ten miles home … uphill and in the rain of course! Well, you can save time and money if you learn a few do-it-yourself bicycle repair basics. That way, you at least have a better than average chance of riding your bike home rather than walking it.

Luckily, with bicycle repair, most bikes have standard interchangeable parts that are great news if you are not home and you have to pop into a bicycle shop for parts. In addition, some of the tools needed for basic bicycle repair are those that you would likely have anyway for other household projects.

Basic Tools Needed For Bicycle Repair

For short hops around the neighborhood, you likely would not even think to carry any repair tools or supplies with you. However, if you are biking long distances, it makes sense to carry the most essential tools for impromptu bicycle repair to avoid being possibly stuck on the side of the road with no means of getting home.

Many screws and bolts have either a hexagonal socket in the head of them, a Phillips or a flat head slot. Therefore, you should be prepared with a set of Allen wrenches which are L-shaped tools with hexagonal ends to tighten or loosen screws with corresponding heads. A Phillips and flat head screwdriver would be helpful for the other bolts and screws which need those tools for tightening and loosening.

A chain tool, cone wrenches, a box wrench and even a spoke wrench can all be helpful for impromptu bicycle repair. A chain tool allows for the mending of the bicycle chain while the cone wrenches are flatter than other types so as to get to small spaces. A box wrench is adjustable to fit varying sizes of nuts and bolts while a spoke wrench can adjust the tension for each spoke in your wheels.

Basic Bicycle Repair Jobs You Should Anticipate

Probably just about every biker should expect to make a few repairs to flat tires during the course of their biking life. Therefore, having a few spare tire tubes and puncture kits would be a smart plan. You can buy small kits for tire repair at most outdoor or bicycle shops that easily strap on to your bicycle frame.

Adjusting brakes and replacing pedals are also par for the course in terms of basic bicycle repair. This is where those basic tools can come in handy, especially when on the road. Therefore, you will want to create your own basic tool kit with some of those tools as well as a few replacement parts. Most kits do not take up much room and can easily be strapped to your bicycle frame or even a simple backpack. If you have the room, you would definitely want to pack at least one extra pedal and even perhaps come bicycle chain as well.

Bicycle repair is a lot more involved than just tires, brakes and chains although these three things are the main problems that most bike riders have. Bicycle repair involves continuous maintenance like tweaking the brakes, adjusting the tension on the wheel spokes or repacking the bearings on the wheels. Your best bet would be to invest in a bicycle repair manual and brush up on all the moving parts of your bike to that you can save time and money doing all maintenance yourself.