Your eureka moments in cycling
rumbataz
Posts: 796
What have you discovered about your bike or cycling in general that has bugged you for years, if not decades?
When I bought my bikes I noticed two pieces of plastic in the documentation packs. I thought they were just packing items that were no longer needed.
Years on, I've just figured out that they are disc pad wedges to hold the pads apart when you take a wheel off, so they actually have a use!
What eureka moments have you had?
When I bought my bikes I noticed two pieces of plastic in the documentation packs. I thought they were just packing items that were no longer needed.
Years on, I've just figured out that they are disc pad wedges to hold the pads apart when you take a wheel off, so they actually have a use!
What eureka moments have you had?
0
Comments
-
Bike work stands ... only now at the age of 43 have I got round to buying a bike stand
Why .. why why why why why why didn't I get one when I was 12 ! ..... All of my bikes have chips and dents in them when they have fallen over during washing or maintenance ..... trying to index gears with the bike balanced upside down, trying to fettle with brakes whilst leant against a wall .. GNNNNNNN ...... all you need is a bike stand and everything clicks into place !
since getting a work stand I have invested in wall hooks and axel stands ...... basically my eureka moment is devices to hold bikes so I don't have to !0 -
Brooks saddles0
-
Track pumps and proper mudguards.0
-
Riding up a bit of a drag towards the end of a long ride and seeing a ten pound note laying in a pull in.
Rewarding. :?0 -
That strange piece of wire in my chain splitter - for holding the slack while splitting/joining the chain.
Getting fingerless gloves off. I struggled for ages shuffling one finger at a time to get them off
"Just peel them off" said LBS man "then turn the right way once off"0 -
rumbataz wrote:What have you discovered about your bike or cycling in general that has bugged you for years, if not decades?
When I bought my bikes I noticed two pieces of plastic in the documentation packs. I thought they were just packing items that were no longer needed.
Years on, I've just figured out that they are disc pad wedges to hold the pads apart when you take a wheel off, so they actually have a use!
What eureka moments have you had?
Funny thing is I knew what they were for but have never need to use them0 -
kingrollo wrote:Brooks saddles
+10 -
Learning only on the third occasion that it's better to check the cable where it goes into the shifter from time to time, and replace it before it frays to buggery, rather than after.
Hmm. Three times. Perhaps I'd better take a look at the FD cable soon (for the first time ever... it lasts a lot longer, right? :oops: ) ....Is the gorilla tired yet?0 -
This one is really embarrassing - I've just discovered how to ride 'on the hoods' on my road bike! What a revelation - everything is so much easier now. I had been gripping the hoods behind the upright part, so I wasn't hooking my thumb around the uprights.
Doh!0 -
This is probably going to sound a bit "fluffy" but I have to say buying my first road bike. I've wanted one for years and finally took the leap recently and despite only having ridden it for half an hour, it's been a revelation.0
-
fat daddy wrote:Bike work stands ... only now at the age of 43 have I got round to buying a bike stand
Why .. why why why why why why didn't I get one when I was 12 ! ..... All of my bikes have chips and dents in them when they have fallen over during washing or maintenance ..... trying to index gears with the bike balanced upside down, trying to fettle with brakes whilst leant against a wall .. GNNNNNNN ...... all you need is a bike stand and everything clicks into place !
since getting a work stand I have invested in wall hooks and axel stands ...... basically my eureka moment is devices to hold bikes so I don't have to !
THIS ^^^^^
Just read ya post yesterday and nipped to Decathlon.
£29.99 ... purchased.
Makes life so much easier!!!0 -
Not that much of a eureka moment but after years of not bothering, discovering how easier it is to wrap bar tape if I put the end plug in right away after the first few turns. Also the cheat of using the cut off piece of tape under the hoods.0
-
Had a eureka moment with bike fit when I built up a road bike recently. I transferred my measurements from the previous bike to the new one. Long story short- after months of lower back pain and playing with everything including hoods, saddle position, cleats etc. etc. etc. Turns out it was just the headtube on the new bike was 10mm shorter than the previous one- 10mm spacer sorted that one out instantly!0
-
-Raising the saddle height. I can put down loads more power when my leg is nearly straight. When knees are completely bent, you can't deliver bugger all power. When I was climbing the steepest hill I found during a commute, I still struggle on my lowest gear, the 25 teeth. Then after raising the saddle, the same hill is now easy. I now use my 19 teeth to climb it. Can't believe I'm riding bikes with low saddles all these years!
-Learning how to use gears properly. Before that I almost never use the 50 teeth chainring. So that means I have cross-chained my gears. Chain ring at 34 teeth and the gear at 12 teeth. Bad idea! Now I use the upper chain ring every day and never cross chain.
-Buying a track pump. Inflating tyres with them is so much faster with mini hand pumps. Mini pumps kills your arms.0 -
Realising I could open and close brakes rather than having to let air out of tyres to get wheels back on
0 -
flipping road bars up (so the drops are on top, bar ends facing forward) made you instantly cool as feck back in the early 80s!Big Red, Blue, Pete, Bill & Doug0
