Fix your own bike home mechanic

So many people think bikes are a complex machine that you need to get bike shops to look at and service for you.

While helping support our local bike shops is important there are a few tasks any cyclist should be able to perform.

• Change a chain
• Change a cassette
• Index your gears
• adjust your brakes

By simply being able to do these tasks you will keep your bike in great condition and save some money.

Change a chain

Tools - chain measure tool, Chain braker ($20 USD)

How long a chain lasts depends how much you ride, and how well you keep it clean.

Measure

Once a month use your chain wear device to check the chain, if it shows wear, swap it.

When it shows as worn

Grab the chain breaker and slit the chain

Count the links on the old chain, dont measure it as chains stretch over time, make sure the new chain is the same length. Then using the chain breaker slit of the chain links you dont need.

Using the pin supplied with the new chain link the new chain together once fed back on to the bike and through the rear mech.

Change a cassette

Tools - cassette tool, chain whip, spanner ($100 USD)

Remove the wheel from the bike, seat the cassette tool in the cassette body. Use the chain whip to stop the wheel spinning, then using the spanner in the opposite direction un do the nut.

Replace the cassette job done.

Index your gears

Gear cables stretch over time, this can cause your gears to become sloppy over time. It a simle adjustent to fix this using the barrel adjuster on the rear mech, but hey GCN can explain this better than me.

Adjusting your brakes

Over time the brake pads on your bike will wear, its a good idea to keep these in good working order.

Every week or so remove the wheels and thoroughly clean the pad with a cloth, make sure there are no metal shards or bits of matter in the pad.

Re seat the wheel, using the barrell adjust on the brake you can tighten the brake t make the brake levers more responsive.

Do all these things and you can be guaranteed a great ride.