Tech Tips

[Plakespear]

Thought this might be a good place to share some litle tricks to help keep your ride running smooth.

Whenever you replace your cables, spray some lube inside the housings. This will improve shifting performance.

Replace the chain every 6 months or 1000 miles.

Cut a 1"x1" piece out of an old tire, and carry it in your pack. This can be used as a boot to get you home if you get a cut in your tire.

[phUnk]

Two hands for beginners.

[snow_slider]

Wrap duct tape around your seat post. You never know when you'll need it on a ride and it fixes just about anything.

When swapping/replacing inner tubes, spritz a little talc powder around the inner casing of your tire and wipe some around the new tube. Cuts WAY down on pinch flats for some reason.

Use a ruler to check if your chain has stretched and needs replacing. Hold the edge of the ruler against a chain where two links join (at the chain pin) stretch the chain down the edge of the ruler. If the 11 inch mark doesn't fall directly on another link joint (chain pin), your chain has stretched and your should replace it before it wears your cogset/chainring teeth.

[bagtagley]

- Run full-length housing to your rear derailleur. I just replaced mine after almost 2 full seasons of use, and it was still in reasonably good shape

- Camelback cleaning: Fill the bladder w/ hot water and pop in 3-4 Efferdent tablets. Run some through the drinking hose and let it sit 'til the water turns clear.

- Wear full finger gloves without padding. Padding contributes to hand fatigue and exposed finger tips get sweaty and slick.

[bagtagley]

Just thought of another one.

If you get lube/fluid on you brake pads: Take out the pads and clean them with alcohol. Hold the pad face down over a burner on a gas stove or hit them with a propane torch....you can also bake them or hold them over an electric burner. The idea is to cook out whatever has fucked them up. Say what you will about this, but technically if you've gotten fluid on them, they're already ruined so why not give it a shot?

Next, clean the hell outta your rotor w/ alcohol. Put the pads back in and do a couple of hard stops from high speed. If you're still having braking issues, rub some dirt or mud on the rotors. I don't know why this last part works, but it does.

Voila, pads will eventually work like they should, and you just saved 20 bones.

[Theodore]

Use hairspray when putting on new grips. Slick at first, but glues them on decently afterwards. Some people also use spray paint.

[altagirl]

Just use lock-ons and avoid the whole mess...

[Spats]

Rubber boots on your fork stanchions will make the seals last a lot longer.

I know they're considered dorky, but there's a reason every motocross and enduro bike in existence has either plastic wraparound guards (for USD forks) or rubber boots (for conventional forks). And since all mountain bike suspension tech has come from motocross, it's worth following their lead.

[char]

Originally posted by Spats
Rubber boots on your fork stanchions will make the seals last a lot longer.

I know they're considered dorky, but there's a reason every motocross and enduro bike in existence has either plastic wraparound guards (for USD forks) or rubber boots (for conventional forks). And since all mountain bike suspension tech has come from motocross, it's worth following their lead.

BUT! BUT! I SAVE 2 OUNCES!

[snow_slider]

Rubber boots on your fork stanchions will make the seals last a lot longer.

Just make sure to lift them off the fork seals and clean the seals properly every once in a while. The rubber boots can cause dirt and grime to collect around the seals and actually damage the stanchions over time.

[phUnk]

Originally posted by bagtagley
If you're still having braking issues, rub some dirt or mud on the rotors. I don't know why this last part works, but it does.

Because it sands the pads down past the contamination. You can just hit the pads with sandpaper to get the same effect.

[Mountainman]

Bumppity bump

[Superstar Punani]

Don't carry shit with you when you ride. No tool kits, no water bottles, no nothin'!