Bicycle Repairs and Maintenance
All content copyright © 2010-2024 Frank Revelo, www.frankrevelo.com, United States copyright office registration number TX-7931345
Books
- Park Tool Big Blue Book of Bike Repair by C. Calvin Jones (2008, 2nd edition)
- Color photos of common failure modes very useful, and by themselves justify purchase price. Presumably, Park Tool Company subsidizes cost of printing in full-color, whereas other publishers can't afford full-color.
- Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance by Lennard Zinn (2010, 5th edition)
- Another excellent repair guide.
- Bicycle Maintenance and Repair by Todd Downs (2010, 6th edition for Kindle)
- Very comprehensive. Because it comes in Kindle e-book edition, can be carried along on rides for reference.
- Bike Repair and Maintenance for Dummies by Dennis Bailey and Keith Gates (2009, Kindle edition)
- Least comprehensive of the books listed here, but available on kindle.
Allen/Torx wrenches
- 2mm: brake lever reach adjustment, Rohloff cable pulley screws
- 3mm: mirror, Rohloff oil drain screw
- 4mm: stem to handlebar clamp, rack bolts, bottle bosses, brake lever clamps, grips
- 5mm: seatpost clamp, headset, stem to steerer clamp, chainring bolts, brakes, fender bolts, Rohloff disc bolts
- 6mm: pedals, saddle clamp
- 8mm: cranks
- T15: Ortlieb pannier bolts, PD-MX80 pedal screws
- T20: Rohloff shifter, Rohloff gear box
Repair/maintenance gear carried on rides
Note: some items below specific to Thorn Nomad with Rohloff hub. Others apply to any mountain bike.
PDF format service guides on smartphone or ereader:
- Thorn owners manual (guide to adjusting eccentric bottom bracket)
- Rohloff service guide
- Rohloff service guide addendum for new twistshifter
saddle bag tools: 790g
- leatherman kick multitool with needle nose pliers, wire cutters, knife, phillips and regular screw drivers: 155g
- wide-mouth 6" adjustable wrench: 135g
- topeak multitool (2,3,4,5,6mm allen wrenches, T25 torx wrench, phillips): 110g
- park ct-5 chain tool (handle used to turn eccentric bottom bracket): 75g
- 2 x lezyne pressure drive pumps: 175g
- steel-core, plastic body tire lever, dajia-brand from velo-orange: 30g
- 2 x pen-style tire pressure gauge: 50g
- schrader valve core tool: 10g
- Planet Bike blinking LED tail light with 2 AAA lithium batteries, paper insulation at battery contact points to prevent accidentally turning on: 50g
saddle bag consumables: 680g
- 2 x 60ml bottle white lightning epic ride silicone chain lube: 120g
- 2 x 125ml Nalgene bottle filled with chain cleaner: 300g
- 2 x toothbrushes for cleaning chain: 30g
- 2 x 60ml bottles Stan's sealant, inside plastic bags: 160g
- Patch kits (4 tubes rubber cement, 16 patches, 2 sandpaper, 2 park tb-2 tire boots, 2 boxes), stored inside 4x6" aloksak to keep dry: 60g
- small stuff sack (heavyweight silnylon): 10g
additional tools/spares (carried in pannier): 650g
- separate 3mm, 4mm, 5mm allen wrenches, 6mm to 8mm adaptor, T15 and T20 torx wrenches, park spoke wrench (sw-0 black for 3.23mm nipple), spare key for bicycle lock, spare schrader valve core tool, 125ml plastic bottle wrapped with some black duct tape: 125g
- 3 master chain links, 2.5 chain links, chainring bolt/spacer/nut, 3 oil drain screw for rohloff hub, 4 schrader valve cores, 2 schrader valve caps, 6 spoke nipples (14mm x 3.23mm), 5 cut down axle plate screws, 125ml plastic bottle: 50g
- 6 zipties: 5g
- 2 pair (2 left + 2 right) brake pad cartridges: 25g
- 1 pair brake shoe holders (left, right), fits both front/rear brakes: 40g
- spare 8mm saddle clamp bolt: tbc
- spare rim tape: 25g
- 1 set pre-cut brake cables, 4 crimps, shifter cable pulley screws, cordura cable holder: 45g
- spare pair cartridge bearings for Hope Pro 3 front hub (17x28x7 non-standard size): 25g
- spare brake band: 5g
- spare mirrycle mirror: 100g
- spare ortlieb upper attachment hook: 35g
- spare ortlieb lower attachment hook: 20g
- spare sigma BC509 computer: 45g
- spare o-rings for lezyne pressure drive pump in plastic bag: 10g
- 5 paper shop towels in 9x10" opsak: 40g
- 10g grease in 10ml screw-top jar: 15g
- medium stuff sack (heavyweight silnylon): 25g
spare tire/tubes: 1040g
- 2 x spare inner tubes (schwalbe av13) in opsak: 400g
- spare tire (Schwalbe Extreme 50-559) in opsak: 615g
- medium stuff sack (heavyweight silnylon): 25g
spares carried in handlebar, wrapped in foam: 30g
- 3 rear spokes (238mm), 3 front spokes (264mm): 30g
total: 3195g
items needed for very long tours
- Rohloff sprocket removal tool: 50g
- Rohloff 17Tooth sprocket: 55g
- Rohloff oil change kit: 110g
- Surly stainless steel 110mm/36tooth chainring: 90g
- SRAM PC830 chain in plastic case, 100 half-links: 310g
- 1 pair upper/lower FSA Orbit XL II headset bearings: 50g