Friday, May 31, 2013

BikemanforU LIVE Show - Get Real

            

Well, it's official. The BikemanforU LIVE Show officially debuted on Memorial Day weekend 2013 with a marathon stream. Mr. Pump says it's a dream come true for YouTube's how-to guru of bicycle repair.

If you like to binge watch, here's the full playlist. Get real with us on Saturdays, 10am eastern on the BikemanforU Channel.

Tuesday, May 14, 2013

Gear Shifter De-Gunk & Cable Install - Cut vs Crush

              

Some homemade tools work so well and should be an integral part of your toolbox. Take that awl with a bent tip that the BikemanforU uses to clean out the gear shifter mechanism in this bike repair video. It's a homemade tool that functions like a watchmaker's tweezer - invaluable.
  
Park Tool CN-10 Cable Cutter
The second tool BikemanforU uses in this video is another story. Tenspeed The BikeHanger, a loyal viewer, said it so well in his comments: "You must cut the cable and casing and not crush it." 

The cable cutter YouTube's how-to guru of bicycle repair uses is a parrot-nosed configuration. The cutting edges curl around almost to engulf the small cable and casing. 

This cutter cleanly avoids crushing and fraying. A typical diagonal cutter in this situation is a very poor substitute.

Watch the video tutorial below for a close-up instructions on how to use a parrot-nose cable cutter properly.

Friday, May 10, 2013

Use A Pedal Wrench When It Just won't Fit - Bike Repair



I know the feeling. You take that old bike out of the barn and your eye focuses on the decomposed pedals. That should be an easy fix, you think. Your toolbox has a pretty beefy crescent wrench. Should be a snap to get those old pedals off.

Oh, no. It just won’t fit. The jaws are wide enough but there isn’t enough space between the pedal and the crank arm to get a grip.

Even after you obtain a proper pedal wrench for the proper job, you may find pedals on an old bike are so frozen you can't budge the buggers.

Get your buddy to hold the bike firmly on the ground. Fit a piece of pipe over the tool to increase the fulcrum and give it heck.

You’d better have that bicycle on solid ground if you’re going to use a pipe or it'll be too unstable.

-- Mr. Pump

PS Last resort - Use a sledge hammer

Wednesday, May 8, 2013

Giant Cypress vs BikemanforU - Mother's Day Contest




The Giant USA hybrid bikes shown in this video would make any mother happy and proud. So would your participation in this year's Mother's Day Contest. Details are in the video, so don't hesitate to watch and enter.

At our brick-and-mortar store hybrid bikes make up approximately 75% of our new bike sales within our leisure-recreation-vacation market.

It wasn’t always that way. In the early ‘80s, our dominant new bike offering, dictated by distributors, was a 10-speed drop handlebar bike.

The industry “handle” was a 10-speed racer.

This was okay for our younger client. However, our middle-agers didn’t want to lean forward and stretch their neck upwards to see where they were going.

Racer. yes. Comfort, no go.

The listener, BikemanforU, claimed ‘I’ll fix that.’

Without changing anything other than the handlebar and brake levers to a three-speed design, he made a modified comfort bike to satisfy those customers.

YouTube's how-to guru of bicycle repair, as usual, was way ahead of his time.
Don't hesitate to nominate your favorite Mom Who Rocks by commenting on this video or posting your own video response.

This year's Mother's Day Contest is sponsored by our own RockHell. Winner gets a $50 Gift Certificate redeemable online at our website.

-- Mr. Pump