Found a 2018 Ultegra set for $200 on Craigslist but the chainrings were pretty worn, went with the new 105 instead. Anyone else ever make the call between used higher end vs new mid range parts?
I was rebuilding my old Fuji last month and needed a torque wrench for the bottom bracket. The click style was 60 bucks at the shop, but the beam type was only 15 at Harbor Freight. I went cheap and now I'm second guessing if I'm actually getting the right torque on my cranks has anyone used those beam wrenches long term without issues?
I bought a cheap folding stand off Amazon for around 50 dollars last spring because I was tired of flipping my bike upside down to fix the gears. Figured a stand is a stand, right? Big mistake. The clamp was this hard plastic piece that scratched the paint on my top tube within two minutes of use. Then the whole thing wobbled so bad during a chain adjustment that my bike tipped over and bent my rear derailleur hanger. Took me another 40 bucks and a trip to the local shop to get it straightened out. Ended up spending more fixing the damage than I saved on the stand. Has anyone else had a cheap stand wreck their bike or am I just unlucky?
I was dead set against buying a proper shock pump for my mountain bike for like 2 years. I just used the same floor pump I use for my tires at 60 PSI and figured the fork felt close enough. Then I finally caved and got a digital shock pump for 40 bucks at a local shop in Portland. The first time I used it I realized my fork was running at 40 PSI instead of the 90 it should have been. The difference was night and day, no more bottoming out on every root and rock. But I still have a buddy who swears by just guessing with a floor pump and a thumb test. So which side are you on, is spending the cash on a dedicated shock pump actually worth it or not?
Bought a no-name chain whip off Amazon for fixing my cassette. First time I put any real torque on it, the handle bent in half. I was only trying to loosen a Shimano lockring on a 11-speed cassette. Ended up having to buy a Park Tool one for $25 more and it worked fine. Has anyone else had luck with budget chain whips or should I just stick with the name brand stuff?
I got tired of CO2 cartridges on rides over 50 miles, so I grabbed a frame pump from a shop in Seattle. It takes 3 times as many strokes, but I've saved maybe 20 bucks on cartridges this summer alone. Anyone else ditch the mini pump for something bigger?
My neighbor Dave told me to use WD-40 on my bike chain. Said he'd done it for years. I tried it for two weeks. Chain got super sticky and picked up dirt like crazy. Had to deep clean the whole drivetrain. Anyone else get burned by bad lube advice?
I was convinced my bottom bracket was shot because of this loud creak every pedal stroke, so I pulled it apart, greased everything, and put it back together no luck. Turned out the noise was coming from a dry seatpost sleeve that I never even touched. Has anyone else spent way too long chasing a phantom noise on their bike?
I was chasing a ghost shift through my whole drivetrain, tweaking limit screws and everything, only to discover I trimmed the housing like an idiot during a cassette swap. Anyone else waste a whole afternoon on something this boneheaded just because you forgot to double check a measurement?
I was at the local bike co-op last weekend and heard a mechanic say something about how cheap lube just washes off in like 20 miles. I'd been using a $4 bottle from the hardware store for months. Then my chain literally snapped going uphill on a 6 mile ride near the river trail. Switched to a $12 bottle of Squirt wax lube and my drivetrain has been silent for 50 miles now. Has anyone else had a chain snap from poor lube choices?
Park Tool chain whip vs the generic one from my local shop
Spent a whole weekend replacing a chain on my old Trek only to have it snap again after 3 miles. Turned out the hanger was bent maybe 2 degrees from a crash last fall, and that slight angle was binding everything up.