Hot answers tagged diy
12
One-wheeled trailers are more agile and don't increase the width of your bike. They lean with the bike. If you're going to go really narrow places, you need one-wheel.
Two-wheeled trailers can generally carry more weight and are less prone to making the bike fall over when you stop.
So, what are you going to do with the trailer? Going up and down ...
11
Your best bet is to use mechanical advantage to your benefit. What you want to do is line the wrench up with the opposite crank, so that your hands are as close together as possible, now straddle the frame and force the two apart. Here's an image from Park's description of how to remove a pedal that illustrates it well:
The worst position for the wrench ...
9
My main resources for pretty much anything include:
Sheldon Brown
In particular:
sheldonbrown: how-to-fixed-conversion
sheldonbrown: fixed-conversion
Loads of general wrenching info at
Park Tool
And of course a friendly local bike shop.
Look out for a bike co-op or skills-sharing non-profit/community organization. They may run classes and provide ...
9
Advantages of a one wheel bike trailer
Easier to add suspension
Less wide (less likely to be hit by a motorist)
Advantages of a two wheel bike trailer
More stable at low speeds
Climbs better (since it does not need momentum to remain up right)
Probably has more cargo capacity
Easier to make
9
Lengthening the wrench is your best bet. You don't need anything fancy, find a bit of pipe at your local hardware shop that fits over the wrench.
Watch your fingers. While trying to remove a tricky pedal, it gave suddenly and my knuckles hit the teeth of the chain ring. It was a daft and bloody mistake.
8
I assuming you are going to put some washers on the inside of the bug so the bolt/net holds well.
I would expect silicone sealant under the washers (on the inside of the bug) and the clips combined with a rubber washers between the head of the bolts and clip and the inside washer and net would do the job.
End of bolt
Rubber Washer
Pannier clip
Silicone ...
8
Paint it with fluorescent paint and then illuminate with ultraviolet lights (and white LEDs serve this purpose fairly well).
There are also glow strips/panels sold mostly to (oddly) computer hackers who like to light up the inside of their computers. And probably a few other specialty markets.
Of course, you'd have to rig up some sort of power supply. ...
6
I just built a trailer based on the Wike DIY kit.
I decided to make it after seeing this great looking trailer.
I don't have experience with single wheel trailers. I am happy so far, but my experience has been very limited. The intent was to use it for local cargo runs - not long-hauling/touring
I'll report more here as the months go by
Here is a ...
6
There are two lenghts on a bike that are crucial for bike fit:
Seat tube length, which tells you how much of your seatpost will be outside the frame;
Effective top tube length, which is the horizontal distance between the centerlines of seat tube and head tube. This tells about your reach to the handlebars, how much the bike will feel "long" or "short" to ...
5
This link doesn't have printable plans, but a small pic and a detailed description. Basically it's a connected set of slots that sit on the floor. I've seen slot-based racks at triathlons lately.
If you are willing to expand your materials to PVC, I have built 4 racks that are variations of this plan. I think this has three advantages over wood:
PVC is ...
5
Although it's mostly geared towards chopping up existing (steel) frames and converting the resultant bits into either recumbents, trikes, quads, electric bikes or choppers, there's a fair bit of generally useful info at the Atomic Zombie site and in their forums.
The same couple who run the Atomic Zombie site also have a couple of bike building books out:
...
5
I think your best bet will be an appropriate diameter brass thread cleaning brush:
Amazon sells a few options, but a local hardware store will probably have more options.
5
My personal experience is go with the one-wheel trailer... you won't even now its behind you if you pack it balanced. My trailer is just like the first picture and while I was training for a 100+ mile ride - I loaded it down with gallon water jugs... and if I got really tired pulling it I just poured the water out(usually some on me - it gets really hot in ...
5
Another option is Ortlieb l bought Office pannier which l can recommend give it is waterproof, robust and the way it attaches to the rack works. This is what l use for my company laptop in a padded bag. If you are looking for something tougher try Office 2 bag I did not go for this one based on price and weight, that said it looks like it would offer more ...
5
On a standard front wheel all spokes (both left and right) should (in theory) make the same musical note when plucked. A rear wheel is 'dished' to make room for the cassette. The non-drive side spokes will be at a higher tension (and pitch) than the cassette side.
If you can find a bike with the same spokes and lacing pattern use that as a guide. If not, any ...
4
Your best bet for weatherproof and crash worthiness is going to be a pelican case. They have a whole series of cases for laptops.
http://www.pelican.ca/case_group_search.php?CaseGroup=Laptop
I've personally taken a 'hardback' case on a paddling trip and it held up great. Many pelican products also have a warranty against failure as well so if the product ...
4
So far most of what have been suggested are handtools... some planning and design tools are important as well.
Get a copy of the International Mountain Biking Association's book, "Trail Solutions: IMBA's Guide to Building Sweet Singletrack." Find it here: http://www.imba.com/catalog/book-trail-solutions
I spent the last three winters designing and ...
4
First off, I've tried several tricks to remember which way to turn the wrench on which side, and he only rule that I can consistently remember is use the rule that rotating "forward" as if it was a wheel of the bicycle tightens the pedals and rotating "backward" loosens them.
If your pedals are standard size you should be using a 15mm pedal wrench. This ...
4
I made a very rough drawing which already helped me to release a singlespeed cog, using three wrenches: one for the locknut, one chainlink-bar to lock the cog itself, and another bulky one BETWEEN both, in wich I applied the actual force. I had to hold everything very firmly in place, and wrapping things with rubber might be helpful to avoid getting hurt and ...
4
The biggest advantage of building your own bike is getting exactly what you want when you knew what you wanted from the git-go. Since you don't know what you want and admit to not really knowing what you're looking at, you're better off getting a built bike from a shop. Your first set of components are basically going to be an experiment. Those components ...
4
These are the Wisconsin State Bicycling Laws:
http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/vehicle/bicycle/docs/bikelaws.pdf
340.01(5) defines a bicycle thusly: "Bicycle" means every vehicle propelled by the feet acting upon pedals and having wheels any 2 of which are not less than 14 inches in diameter.
As it makes no mention of where or how the machine was ...
4
It would be wise to check the chain wear with a chain "stretch" gauge and replace it if the chain is beyond 0.75 or 0.8. Re the rear sprockets, they're only likely to be a problem if the current chain is worn beyond 1.0 stretch.
The other thing to worry about is whether the derailers can simply handle the difference. The rear derailer has a "tooth range" ...
3
Is there a bike co-op near where you live? Many offer classes. It's a great way to learn hands-on how to build bikes and breathe new life into old steeds.
Also: So far, no one at any local bike shop has turned me down when I've expressed interest in learning and asked if I could watch them build bikes and ask a few questions. Seeing the process demystifies ...
3
The most detailed account/details I've come across for building your own bike computer is here on PIClist.
Those pages contain detailed instructions for building a bike computer using a PIC microcontroller linked to a Hall Effect Sensor (it detects the magnet attached to a spoke as the wheel spins). In addition to the build details it also features a ...
3
Based on your illustration you could find a wooden pallete that is the right size to hold the front wheels of your bikes. You can find wooden pallets in skips or building sites and if you ask nicely, they're usually free. It requires little DIY work other then a few coatings of water resistant wood dye
3
A quick search for "Bike Storage" on Instructables gives me somewhere in the region of a 100 results (not all of them are relevant obviously) which are listed here. You may get further with a different search.
Something like the Bike Tree might be what you're looking for:
3
The case below is not a hard case but it is well padded, and attaches securely with very little sway. It also includes a rain cover. It's my favorite.
Jandd 19 inch laptop case
I've also used padded sleeves and just slipped them in either my messenger bag or one of my panniers.
I haven't seen a hard case that attaches to bike rack but there certainly may ...
Only top voted, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible
