I have been riding consistently for the last three years and you just answered practically every mechanical issue I've come across while on the trail, in under a half hour. All you new riders are getting spoiled with this talk! I'm already a big fan of both of you, so please keep doing what you do. Cheers from Alaska!
Hello Gene and Alex - great talk! I started biking in the 1970s, and when I was still a kid my dad showed me how to take things apart: put down some newspaper, lay the parts out in the same order as you took them off, and put them back in reverse order. That got me started. Then when I was a young teenager I got my start getting serious about cycling when I bought _The_Complete_Book_of_Bicycling_ by Eugene Sloan. That taught me how bikes were put together, what tools to use, and ever since I've taken care of my own bikes. More than 40 years later I'm teaching my teenaged son how to take care of his own bike. Almost everything on the bike, I can handle. So far I've never torn down a fork or a shock, but I think one of these days I'll be able to take one apart and replace the O rings and seals.
Add to the brake alignment technique. Lightly apply the brakes, turn the wheel while holding the brake. The force of turning the wheel moves the mounting brackets to the centered position.
I surely can fix my own bike. I own a 2017 Specialized StumpJumper FSR Comp Carbon 650b. When I first bought it, I was strongly encouraged to bring it back to the bike shop for whatever repairs I needed because this bike was built for performance only and only specialized trained technicians could work on it. I gave it some strong consideration but I since I live about 50 miles away from where I bought it, I can't be driving 100 miles round trip for simple repairs or for upgrades I would be considering in the future. This is what I did, I made the initiative to educate myself with every component my bike had by doing research through the internet. I visited every manufacture's component and learned about it. TH-cam was also a powerful resource. Since I purchased my bike, I have upgraded my drivetrain completely. The bike's stock drivetrain was a SRAM GX 1X11. I replaced it with the complete SRAM XX1Eagle 1X12 drivetrain. I also replaced the shifter, dropper post cables and hydraulic lines from black to Organic Green by Jagwire. I purchased most of the tools that are required to do the job and followed the manuals instructions for the specific torquing of each component. So, yes I can fix my own bike.
Biggest benefit of doing my own bike maintenance. Take the bike to the shop and it may take a day or up to a week to repair. Do it myself and it is done that day.
great video guys, I learned bike repair by doing it myself, I am an auto mechanic, so working on my own bike is no big deal, but I do know some people who do not have any mechanical inclination what so ever, learning for those people is very tough, my advise would be if you don't feel comfortable, or confident enough with repair is to bring it to your bike shop, or chances are your riding buddy can help
Totally agree man! Sometimes simple projects get messing and tough when attempted with the wrong tools. I can't afford every tool but I do try to get as many cools ones as I can HAHAHA!
Yup I fix my own bike, used to race Corvettes and wrenched them myself, and after what I spent on one bike in a year I may pull the covers off the Vette and save some money.
Great chat. I recently started tinkering with my bike. Upgrades and some maintenance. It’s been nice being able to get familiar with how things work and what right looks like on a bike. I saved a bunch of money by doing it myself.
The real world stuff is fix a flat, break a chain, clean a chain, check your brakes and make sure your bolts are tight. Someone that rides a lot should know to service their bike regularly and if they can do it themselves, great.
Great show guys! I love doing my own maintenance on my bike! I really do enjoy it and with all the support videos we have on TH-cam, it makes it much easier to be a home mechanic. Another basic one I thought of, which Alex also mentioned, is knowing how to adjust your brake calipers if your rotors are rubbing. That was one of the first things that I learned and very easy. GMBN has a good video on how to align them properly.
Great topic guy's, unsurprisingly I work on my own bike. I find that more experienced riders choose to work on their own bikes and buy frames and build their own custom setups. I tend to use my LBS when i dont have time, for example ill drop a wheel set off to be trued on the way to work and pick it up coming home. I hae also found being able to build a bike and strip it down has save me on thw trail numerous times, from mech hanger replacement to ghetto singlespeed setups.
Nice video, Gene and Alex! You guys gave some good advice and I think it'll be useful for many beginners. Some of these may have already been covered in other videos, but a few recommendations I can think of for some videos are: Series of videos on the different things you can do with a multi-tool. I think you can do most of the basic, at-home maintenance on your bike with a multi-tool if you bought one of good quality and variety. These would include using the chain breaker, using power links, checking that all bolts are tight, how important it is to NOT over-tighten bolts, and covering the stuff you mentioned in this video. Some tips on how to choose a multi-tool may be quite useful, like making sure the chain breaker is compatible with your chain, because not all of them are compatible with the newer chain sizes. I think something really important to know is: What to check on your bike after a crash. Make sure your bike is still trail-worthy to get home as safe as possible! How to align your handlebars and stem with the fork, how to adjust your brake levers and your shifters, what to do if you've bent a disc rotor, using zip ties to temporarily compensate for broken spokes, how to identify if the damage may be too severe and would put you at risk if you rode your bike like that (damaging your brakes to the point that they won't function or breaking a component that's left with an edge that could cut/stab you, for example). I once saw a guy break his seatpost and ride his bike a few kilometers with a jagged carbon post that could stab him in the * if he forgot about it, sat on it, lost control, or any other thing that could happen. It was on a road bike, so that's less dangerous and less bouncy than on a trail, but I thought it showed incredible lack of thought from him that he didn't remove the broken seatpost before riding to the next regrouping point. Something that many riders, no matter their level, still don't get around here is the importance of carrying your own tools and spares instead of relying on luck or thinking that someone else will have the stuff you need to fix your issues. With the second point, it's also extremely important to replace (or pay them back for) whatever someone else used to fix your issues. I dislike using my own stuff to fix someone else's problem and not have them replace it for me; sometimes I'm okay with it if the circumstances are understandable, but it gets old and expensive really fast. People who don't replace your stuff around here get bad reputation for it, and then, when stuck on the trail, no one is willing to stop and help them. Sorry for the rant! Hahaha. Cheers, Gene!
Excellent video guys.I think my 2 biggest gotchas on the trail have been the wheels coming lose while I am riding. So I've learned to check them before the ride, "almost" every single time. And of course, keeping my bike clean, or at least the chain and all the parts that touch it.
23:02 simple brake alignment is not always as simple, I got Hope floating rotors & TRP Spyke mechanical brake, the rivets will touch the calliper mount if you do it this way, so I get the out piston all the way against the rotor until the rivet does not contact the caliper mount, and then I tighten the other piston, then I torque the calliper mount bolts. But you can always just use your eyes, that's what I did with the Shimano hydraulic brakes. if there are no big rivets this is not an issue.
It's not just the mountain bikers.... its also the roadies too. I've been on a lot of half century bike tours, and have come across so many riders, including my own friends who don't know anything about their bikes, and solely rely on their LBS for EVERYTHING! I mean, don't get me wrong, yes, please support your LBS. But if you're a riding enthusiast and are out there a lot, you gotta have at least a basic understanding how some of the things work on a bike, and be able to handle most common roadside situations. I was on a half century ride, and I helped a rider with a snapped chain. I admit that using a chain breaker, and making a quick chain repair is something on the more advance side that maybe the common rider doesn't really need to know..... But a rider should at least realize the need to regularly clean and lube a chain, so the chain doesn't prematurely wear and snap. This rider I help thought her chain was well lubed. I said just because it's oily to the touch doesn't mean the pins / rollers are oiled. I have a roadie friend who took his bike to his LBS for a quick tune before a half century ride. We go on the ride, and his chain is skipping on the cassette. We get to the next rest stop where there's a bike mechanic adjusted the cable tension of the rear derailleur, we head out and continue the ride..... The chain was still skipping. We pull over, I flipped the bike onto it's bar and seat, i played with the adjusting barrel on the rear shifter and eye ball the rear deraileur alignment to the cassette, and BOOM, perfect shifting and no chain skipping. So my list of things most riders should know how to handle. - Removing a tire, and replacing or patching a tube. - adjusting a out of alignment rear and front derailleur - adjusting a out of alignment brake pads - if you wind up taking a spill and knocking the handlebar, brake levers, shifter out of alignment, you should know how to re align those things, and tightening them down - being able to adjust your seat, not just the height, but also playing with the tilt and the fore and aft, to get the perfect seating position - even something as basic as filling the tires with air. Many riders don't realize how much air pressure impacts rider quality and handling
I built my new bike almost completely, the only thing that i couldn’t do was set the derailur screws no matter how many times I tried, i had to pay a guy at the shop $15 for him to do it in literally 20 seconds
one thing I have not done yet is suspension service, but it's one of the most expensive maintenance you can pay for, it's one thing that is the easiest to mess up,atleast I got new damper & stantions for free. over the 3 years of owning the trail bikes, I had spent as much cash as a new bike on upgrades and & service so it was not the best economical choice, but at least I got more experience, and have tweaked my set up, like reach and bar width and so on. I am almost broke, But I will continue researching, and one day my plan is to build a dream bike, with absolute most durable I can.
Alex, as always, thank you so much for joining me in this Bike Chat! Hey folks, need some tools? Check out some of my kits here that might help you out! kit.com/rgmtb
For me, it's necessary to do almost everything my self, or I run out of working bikes, most maintenance & repairs your self, save a lot of cash and time, instead of days or weeks of waiting I can do it in some minutes. my local shops always messed some things up, forgot to this and that, installing wrong BB, over tightening, and lack of knowledge, I did the impoossible I installed Chris King headset in my hardtail, but there are some good shops out there, But I have not been in one yet.
wheel truing can be difficult if the spoke nipples are too weak, al so cheap wheels can have horrible tolerances, resulting in bent axles, and wobble, and badly engeneered freehubs, So I am done with cheap wheels, cust they cause issues after few rides, not as much when I was a kid cus of weight. so investign in proper components, and proeprly maintaining them is important, saves alot of cash in the long run.
Hey Gene,Alex...do all chain breakers work on all chains? I just have stock chains on my bikes. I want to buy a tool but not sure what to do? ALSO..can I just buy some quick links and be set? OR...what?..Never have used the pins before.
whats up Gene & Alex!!..heck yeah you can work on your own bikes..im new to these bikes and ill dive in a little myself..:D I took my bmx's apart as a kid..so..might as well learn this..;)
Gene! Whats Up!?! I hate working on my bike. I just like riding my bike. Having to work on them is just an annoyance. I would rather someone else fix it and I just get to ride it. checkout my channel, its on the Come Up and going to be big. HAHA
Alex knows a lot about servicing the bike? Since when, if even himself admits he doesn't know much and a lot of his work at bike shops revolved around more simple jobs. When I watch him servicing, I cringe quite often. It's not hate speach btw, it is enjoyable-funny to watch him, but sometimes I just can't believe the stuff he's doing after working in a bike shop.
Good video, but instead of just mentioning the things riders should know to do, please make videos on how to do those things. That will increase your subscribers exponentially. Provide videos on all the things you and STS discussed. Why do you talk about it and then advise me to go research on someone else's channel? I will watch your channel if you show us REGULAR GUYS how to do it
I have been riding consistently for the last three years and you just answered practically every mechanical issue I've come across while on the trail, in under a half hour. All you new riders are getting spoiled with this talk! I'm already a big fan of both of you, so please keep doing what you do. Cheers from Alaska!
Hello Gene and Alex - great talk! I started biking in the 1970s, and when I was still a kid my dad showed me how to take things apart: put down some newspaper, lay the parts out in the same order as you took them off, and put them back in reverse order. That got me started. Then when I was a young teenager I got my start getting serious about cycling when I bought _The_Complete_Book_of_Bicycling_ by Eugene Sloan. That taught me how bikes were put together, what tools to use, and ever since I've taken care of my own bikes. More than 40 years later I'm teaching my teenaged son how to take care of his own bike. Almost everything on the bike, I can handle. So far I've never torn down a fork or a shock, but I think one of these days I'll be able to take one apart and replace the O rings and seals.
Add to the brake alignment technique. Lightly apply the brakes, turn the wheel while holding the brake. The force of turning the wheel moves the mounting brackets to the centered position.
I surely can fix my own bike. I own a 2017 Specialized StumpJumper FSR Comp Carbon 650b. When I first bought it, I was strongly encouraged to bring it back to the bike shop for whatever repairs I needed because this bike was built for performance only and only specialized trained technicians could work on it. I gave it some strong consideration but I since I live about 50 miles away from where I bought it, I can't be driving 100 miles round trip for simple repairs or for upgrades I would be considering in the future. This is what I did, I made the initiative to educate myself with every component my bike had by doing research through the internet. I visited every manufacture's component and learned about it. TH-cam was also a powerful resource. Since I purchased my bike, I have upgraded my drivetrain completely. The bike's stock drivetrain was a SRAM GX 1X11. I replaced it with the complete SRAM XX1Eagle 1X12 drivetrain. I also replaced the shifter, dropper post cables and hydraulic lines from black to Organic Green by Jagwire. I purchased most of the tools that are required to do the job and followed the manuals instructions for the specific torquing of each component. So, yes I can fix my own bike.
Biggest benefit of doing my own bike maintenance. Take the bike to the shop and it may take a day or up to a week to repair. Do it myself and it is done that day.
great video guys, I learned bike repair by doing it myself, I am an auto mechanic, so working on my own bike is no big deal, but I do know some people who do not have any mechanical inclination what so ever, learning for those people is very tough, my advise would be if you don't feel comfortable, or confident enough with repair is to bring it to your bike shop, or chances are your riding buddy can help
Maintenance is very easy, the trick is having the correct tools.
Totally agree man! Sometimes simple projects get messing and tough when attempted with the wrong tools. I can't afford every tool but I do try to get as many cools ones as I can HAHAHA!
Yup I fix my own bike, used to race Corvettes and wrenched them myself, and after what I spent on one bike in a year I may pull the covers off the Vette and save some money.
Great chat. I recently started tinkering with my bike. Upgrades and some maintenance. It’s been nice being able to get familiar with how things work and what right looks like on a bike. I saved a bunch of money by doing it myself.
The real world stuff is fix a flat, break a chain, clean a chain, check your brakes and make sure your bolts are tight. Someone that rides a lot should know to service their bike regularly and if they can do it themselves, great.
Great show guys! I love doing my own maintenance on my bike! I really do enjoy it and with all the support videos we have on TH-cam, it makes it much easier to be a home mechanic. Another basic one I thought of, which Alex also mentioned, is knowing how to adjust your brake calipers if your rotors are rubbing. That was one of the first things that I learned and very easy. GMBN has a good video on how to align them properly.
Great topic guy's, unsurprisingly I work on my own bike. I find that more experienced riders choose to work on their own bikes and buy frames and build their own custom setups. I tend to use my LBS when i dont have time, for example ill drop a wheel set off to be trued on the way to work and pick it up coming home. I hae also found being able to build a bike and strip it down has save me on thw trail numerous times, from mech hanger replacement to ghetto singlespeed setups.
Nice video, Gene and Alex! You guys gave some good advice and I think it'll be useful for many beginners.
Some of these may have already been covered in other videos, but a few recommendations I can think of for some videos are:
Series of videos on the different things you can do with a multi-tool. I think you can do most of the basic, at-home maintenance on your bike with a multi-tool if you bought one of good quality and variety. These would include using the chain breaker, using power links, checking that all bolts are tight, how important it is to NOT over-tighten bolts, and covering the stuff you mentioned in this video. Some tips on how to choose a multi-tool may be quite useful, like making sure the chain breaker is compatible with your chain, because not all of them are compatible with the newer chain sizes.
I think something really important to know is: What to check on your bike after a crash. Make sure your bike is still trail-worthy to get home as safe as possible! How to align your handlebars and stem with the fork, how to adjust your brake levers and your shifters, what to do if you've bent a disc rotor, using zip ties to temporarily compensate for broken spokes, how to identify if the damage may be too severe and would put you at risk if you rode your bike like that (damaging your brakes to the point that they won't function or breaking a component that's left with an edge that could cut/stab you, for example). I once saw a guy break his seatpost and ride his bike a few kilometers with a jagged carbon post that could stab him in the * if he forgot about it, sat on it, lost control, or any other thing that could happen. It was on a road bike, so that's less dangerous and less bouncy than on a trail, but I thought it showed incredible lack of thought from him that he didn't remove the broken seatpost before riding to the next regrouping point.
Something that many riders, no matter their level, still don't get around here is the importance of carrying your own tools and spares instead of relying on luck or thinking that someone else will have the stuff you need to fix your issues. With the second point, it's also extremely important to replace (or pay them back for) whatever someone else used to fix your issues. I dislike using my own stuff to fix someone else's problem and not have them replace it for me; sometimes I'm okay with it if the circumstances are understandable, but it gets old and expensive really fast. People who don't replace your stuff around here get bad reputation for it, and then, when stuck on the trail, no one is willing to stop and help them. Sorry for the rant! Hahaha.
Cheers, Gene!
Gene, you guys are both awesome, thanks for the great information, and sharing this video....truly appreciate the time you guys take to make these!
Excellent video guys.I think my 2 biggest gotchas on the trail have been the wheels coming lose while I am riding. So I've learned to check them before the ride, "almost" every single time. And of course, keeping my bike clean, or at least the chain and all the parts that touch it.
23:02 simple brake alignment is not always as simple, I got Hope floating rotors & TRP Spyke mechanical brake, the rivets will touch the calliper mount if you do it this way, so I get the out piston all the way against the rotor until the rivet does not contact the caliper mount, and then I tighten the other piston, then I torque the calliper mount bolts.
But you can always just use your eyes, that's what I did with the Shimano hydraulic brakes.
if there are no big rivets this is not an issue.
Regular and Single Track👊🏽
Hell Yeah!
Great Job Guys!!! 👍👍👍👍👍
Thanks!
It's not just the mountain bikers.... its also the roadies too. I've been on a lot of half century bike tours, and have come across so many riders, including my own friends who don't know anything about their bikes, and solely rely on their LBS for EVERYTHING! I mean, don't get me wrong, yes, please support your LBS. But if you're a riding enthusiast and are out there a lot, you gotta have at least a basic understanding how some of the things work on a bike, and be able to handle most common roadside situations.
I was on a half century ride, and I helped a rider with a snapped chain. I admit that using a chain breaker, and making a quick chain repair is something on the more advance side that maybe the common rider doesn't really need to know..... But a rider should at least realize the need to regularly clean and lube a chain, so the chain doesn't prematurely wear and snap. This rider I help thought her chain was well lubed. I said just because it's oily to the touch doesn't mean the pins / rollers are oiled.
I have a roadie friend who took his bike to his LBS for a quick tune before a half century ride. We go on the ride, and his chain is skipping on the cassette. We get to the next rest stop where there's a bike mechanic adjusted the cable tension of the rear derailleur, we head out and continue the ride..... The chain was still skipping. We pull over, I flipped the bike onto it's bar and seat, i played with the adjusting barrel on the rear shifter and eye ball the rear deraileur alignment to the cassette, and BOOM, perfect shifting and no chain skipping.
So my list of things most riders should know how to handle.
- Removing a tire, and replacing or patching a tube.
- adjusting a out of alignment rear and front derailleur
- adjusting a out of alignment brake pads
- if you wind up taking a spill and knocking the handlebar, brake levers, shifter out of alignment, you should know how to re align those things, and tightening them down
- being able to adjust your seat, not just the height, but also playing with the tilt and the fore and aft, to get the perfect seating position
- even something as basic as filling the tires with air. Many riders don't realize how much air pressure impacts rider quality and handling
I think you should learn basic upgrades. Replace fork. Go 1 by from 3 by.
It's mostly pretty simple
I love working on the bike..It's part of the fun of mtb ing...sometimes i screw it up and sometimes i fix the problem..it's all good
I built my new bike almost completely, the only thing that i couldn’t do was set the derailur screws no matter how many times I tried, i had to pay a guy at the shop $15 for him to do it in literally 20 seconds
one thing I have not done yet is suspension service, but it's one of the most expensive maintenance you can pay for, it's one thing that is the easiest to mess up,atleast I got new damper & stantions for free.
over the 3 years of owning the trail bikes, I had spent as much cash as a new bike on upgrades and & service so it was not the best economical choice, but at least I got more experience, and have tweaked my set up, like reach and bar width and so on.
I am almost broke, But I will continue researching, and one day my plan is to build a dream bike, with absolute most durable I can.
Good job guys really good vid!
Alex, as always, thank you so much for joining me in this Bike Chat! Hey folks, need some tools? Check out some of my kits here that might help you out! kit.com/rgmtb
For me, it's necessary to do almost everything my self, or I run out of working bikes, most maintenance & repairs your self, save a lot of cash and time, instead of days or weeks of waiting I can do it in some minutes. my local shops always messed some things up, forgot to this and that, installing wrong BB, over tightening, and lack of knowledge, I did the impoossible I installed Chris King headset in my hardtail, but there are some good shops out there, But I have not been in one yet.
I love Kona
wheel truing can be difficult if the spoke nipples are too weak, al so cheap wheels can have horrible tolerances, resulting in bent axles, and wobble, and badly engeneered freehubs, So I am done with cheap wheels, cust they cause issues after few rides, not as much when I was a kid cus of weight.
so investign in proper components, and proeprly maintaining them is important, saves alot of cash in the long run.
Hey Gene,Alex...do all chain breakers work on all chains? I just have stock chains on my bikes. I want to buy a tool but not sure what to do? ALSO..can I just buy some quick links and be set? OR...what?..Never have used the pins before.
👍👍
whats up Gene & Alex!!..heck yeah you can work on your own bikes..im new to these bikes and ill dive in a little myself..:D I took my bmx's apart as a kid..so..might as well learn this..;)
mikieson Hahaha! Good stuff my friend :-)
What up Mikieson! Dig in and start learning man!
Gene! Whats Up!?! I hate working on my bike. I just like riding my bike. Having to work on them is just an annoyance. I would rather someone else fix it and I just get to ride it. checkout my channel, its on the Come Up and going to be big. HAHA
Alex knows a lot about servicing the bike? Since when, if even himself admits he doesn't know much and a lot of his work at bike shops revolved around more simple jobs.
When I watch him servicing, I cringe quite often. It's not hate speach btw, it is enjoyable-funny to watch him, but sometimes I just can't believe the stuff he's doing after working in a bike shop.
Good video, but instead of just mentioning the things riders should know to do, please make videos on how to do those things. That will increase your subscribers exponentially. Provide videos on all the things you and STS discussed. Why do you talk about it and then advise me to go research on someone else's channel? I will watch your channel if you show us REGULAR GUYS how to do it