The Pinkbike Podcast: Episode 66 - The Best and Worst of Repairing Bikes

 Favorite tool: pipe cutter for cutting bars from 800 to 760 in 5mm increments over the course of a month because I'm too afraid to commit.
Another favourite almost-tool: fresh roll of blue shop towels
Least favorite maintenance job: anything headset related because I'm too lazy to remove my front caliper so my steer inevitably scratches my frame as is dangles from my bike like a lifeless body.

 My knipex pilers-wrench has bailed me out of so many situations and has sped up so many of my common reparirs. It's foamed in to the very top drawer of my tool box right next to my knipex flush-cut clippers.

 RC needs to be a monthly occurrence on the podcast...guaranteed top 10 podcast everytime

 My last trail fix... A spoke broke and went through the rim tape.. I was about to hike it the 4-5 miles out when I told myself, "I have a tube, I can figure this out.." I ended up using my extra bacon strips still in the plastic to set over the hole and put the tube in and limped it out..

Oh, and RC, that Answer test track put me into the ICU for 2.5 weeks..

 Favorite tool: Hayes purple disc brake spreader tool. It's so simple and effective.

Favorite job: #1 building wheels (haven't been in the industry in four and I still get calls to do it). Maybe my favorite tool is my Park 4-sided spoke wrench. The thin loop one, not the heavy bunny-head-looking one. I like RC's choice of the round plastic DT wrench also.

Shop frustration stories: #1 remember when tubeless "standards" were all over the place? Mounting a Hutchinson tire on an old Stan's rim. Those old Hutch tires were 618mm for tubeless 29/700c and I'm pretty sure Stan's rims were 626mm. I got the pair on, but I'll bet they had to be cut off that rim when they were done. I did not recommend that combination, advised against it, but was still dumb enough to accept the job... Oh, and I once got DOT 4 in the eyes/mouth bleeding some old Hayes with their shitty bleed kit that would jump out of the caliper as soon as you looked at them. As much as it sucks having a whole bunch of bleed kits, at least they all pretty much work now.

 Question for next podcast: What music does the team listen to? Whether that be getting pumped for a ride or just hanging around the garage, what's your favourite genre and band?

 Bleeding brakes... It's by far and away the worst job. I have tried and tried, now I just employ someone else for that one job.

Favourite tool; park tools Pro chain splitter. Can't count the number of cheap ones broken at key moments. A decent chain splitter with a floating centre guide and replaceable pins with a nice cushy handle and lots of controlled leverage makes this a job I now relish instead of dread.

 My favorite is working on BMX bikes. Only need three tools, not a toolbox worth and a tuned up bmx bike are the most satisfying drop tests ever. Only hear the tires and maybe a hint of cable at most. Favorite tool is a death wheel for cutting housing.

 I HATE.... the mavic springs/pauls... when the freehub body all of a sudden pulls off and the items eject into another universe! RE-GOD-DAM-DICULOUS

 Late to the party. I'm slightly obsessed with German Tools! Knipex adjustable wrench, side cutters, pliers and circlip pliers are amazing. My heuer vice is a work of art and Hazet hand tools are the bomb! Here are some product codes to help anyone out that might me interested....

KNIPEX Plier Wrench :
- Knipex 86 03 125 (125mm Small version)
- Knipex 86 03 180 (180mm Medium Size)
- Knipex 86 03 250 (250mm Large Size)
There are more sizes but these 3 have you covered. If had to buy just one 1 for bike work, then I would for for the medium 86 03 180

If you are looking for knipex pliers and side cutters, I think there are almost 2000 types, but if want a basic set to get you going then the Knipex 00 20 11 Assembly Set is sweet.. It has regular pliers, long nose pliers and a wicked pair of side cutters.

Knipex 00 19 56 Set of 4 Circlip Pliers. Probably complete overkill but they have you covered for any clippy thing you might want.

I could bang on all day about tools.

Also a great site for German tools is www.jensputzier.com They are one of the few shops that ship worldwide out of Germany. Shipping is relatively cheap and fast with DHL. They don't have all the German tool brands but they do stock all the Knipex Tool, Heuer vices, Stahlwille, Hazet and can stock any of the Reca Green Tools on request. If you are searching for knipex tools on the site, remove all the spaces in the serial codes - for example Knipex 8603125.

 Finally, been waiting for this. I feel like I almost fix my bikes as much as I ride them. Ok, this might be a slight exaggeration but I still feel like it should be less. And it’s not that I only run cheap components. Nothing fancy either. Fox forks, DT Swiss hubs, Stans rims, Codes, you get the point. Anyone else feels like maintenance and repair is consuming too much of their (riding) time?

 Favorite tool that I thought was stupid when I first saw it: Cushcore Beaddropper. It's actually a huge help with cushcore install/removal and other tight bead problems.

And sure, it's a $20 tire lever, but no one's going to steal it out of your tool box 'cause it looks like a sex toy.

 Favorite tool; tap set (maybe park). I didn't use it everyday, but it wins for the amount of goodies it has provided me by saving peoples parts, bikes, and money. Second goes to the Silca THandle hex set. They aren't really better than a 3 way or standard hex set, but they're pretty and come in a leather roll.

Hated Jobs; Fixing a flat after someone says, "can't you just fix it now, it should only take 5 minutes". Close second was when we had our shop basically open access to the salesfloor, plenty of neck breathers as you worked on their bike. Hate that. Leave me alone while I work.

Favorite Job; used to work at a shop that was on the Tour Divide route in CO. Always rad to see Dividers come through as by that point they were pretty in the groove of things. We'd always jump them to the front of the queue to get them rolling. I've done some interesting things with Divide bikes to make them roll again, and seen some interesting bikes.

Injury; trying to get a tubeless Ardent on a WTB rim, no levers of course. Dislocated my left thumb and had basically no grip strength in that hand for about a month. I am no longer lever-averse.

 Favorite job, build wheels.
Worst one: working on Tri-bikes. Worst customers most of the time, sweat, pee, power drinks, gu... and everything you can think of on the bike.
Shop injury : fork air shaft punch a hole above my clavicule cause I forgot to release the air. I never forgot again

 hopefully my ears are built to take a pounding cause any RC podcast is getting cranked up immediately.

 Favorite tool is by far a good shop apron. Stay clean, wipe your hands, tools always at the ready, and WAY less likely to lose small bits and parts.

 Question for the next podcast. Do you guys ever get recognized in public? Or are you like not "famous" enough.I feel like id just be like "hey that guy looks like mike levy" and continue on with my day.

 favorite tool my wera hex keys. they are just a joy to hold.

 I love these podcasts and the back and forth banter. My only critique would be to drop the "we get free stuff he he" type comments. It creates an aura of superiority and insider-ship that the cycling industry could certainly do with a lot less of.

 Favorite/most valuable/most used: Arkane Wheels or BSC Tools double square nipple drivers. Park Tool TS2.2. Custom made tension meter from Filip Kralyevski.

Good tools are always a great investment.

 “I leave it in until the stuff comes out…if it starts leaking out of the hole one more time and it looks bad, I just throw it away.”

-RC

 Question for the next podcast. If you could only ride one brand of bikes, (For example Trek Commencal Transition) you could ride any of there bikes but you couldn’t ride bikes from other companies. Which Brand of bikes would you ride?

 Most embarrassing and worst injury in the repair bay, simultaneously: My first year as a mechanic and so surrounded by coworkers, inflating a tube with the compressor for the 100th time and not paying enough attention. Tube burst half a meter from my head, loud pop, everyone laughs, I install a new tube and keep it moving. A couple hours later on the train riding home I'm woozy and sleepy, like you sometimes feel after a concussion. A couple hours after that I experience my first ever panic attack, full on runaway adrenal meltdown with sweating, disorientation, brief loss of speech. Thought I was having a stroke. Housemate, a herpetologist, diagnoses it as panic attack, a condition I wasn't aware of at the time and so didn't believe!

Check that the tube isn't pinched under the tire bead, every time, friends

 Favourite tool? My DT-swiss spoke wrench. It's expensive, but so nice to use.

www.rockcitycycles.ca/product/dt-swiss-spokey-pro-spoke-wrench-393251-1.htm?variations=3846304?utm_source=google%20shopping&utm_medium=organic&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI3d-9weeQ8QIVEBmtBh0xBgOKEAQYAyABEgJDMfD_BwE

 @mikelevy Question for next podcast: In the last podcast, you briefly mentioned the bike you and Kaz refer to as the Snufflophagus, however you spell it Which bike are you referring to exactly, and how did the nickname come about?

 Question: I’m struggling to get full travel out of the rockshox revelation fork on my hardtail. I’ve tried taking out the volume spacers, reducing the sag and even just riding harder but even on over-jumping landings and dropping to flat doesn’t use the last 20mm of travel. I’m currently running 25% sag, no volume spacers, no compression and 5 clicks of rebound. Any suggestions? Could this be a geometry issue given that the bike started as 27.5+ and is now a mullet with regular tyres? Thanks guy, love the podcast.

 Question for next week: where do you think the corporate money for Wyn Masters' privateer award has gone? 2019 had a few big donations from brands, but it doesn't look like there's been any so far this year. We know they're not spending it on salaries

 the drivetrain companies aren't wrong. yes, giving themselves an extra 2mm can absolutely improve bearing life. the problem is that we're cramming 30mm hollow aluminum spindles in a BB shell standard designed 50 years ago around steel square taper axles.

 How about trying to use an old, frayed cable and having that one strand that won't cooperate? So you unwind that strand back to the lever and cut it off. Front derailleurs are the worst and now I love all the mechanical work.

 @levy oh man, this just reminded me thatyou sold me one of those god damn Stout tires for my old Proflex back at Pedal Sport. I could never get it off the rim and I remember the dread on your face when I brought it in to get removed. I’m sure you all had a good laugh.

 Late to this party but better late than never...

Favourite tool: Jagwire cable cutters. Not for their cable cutting ability, but for the little hole in the middle that puts a beautiful 3-point crimp into the cable end-cap.

Favourite job: Besides wheel building - the nervous thrill of cutting the steerer tube on a brand new fork. That's living on the edge.

 why would you need an electric drive train, why would they make your bike better, if you had this would it make you more capable or what types of MTB would be best to have a n E drivetrain on your bike.

 Here’s an idea: we feed that AI @Charliewentoutside made everything we can find that RC has said. Its worth the risk of it becoming some synthetic divine being.

 Wish I heard about that dummy pedal for turning the drivetrain before I sheared off the tip of my finger wrenching on my fixed gear.

 Any podcast with RC gets me moist! Could listen to that dude for hours.

 Nothing beats a good hammer.

 P&K Lie Tensionmeter has got to be the favourite tool. Trimming/tidying cables and hoses is the favourite job... nothing like tidying a birds nest!

 The Toyota commercial is for sure on purpose! Brillant marketing. Toyota has worked with pro athletes for a long time. They would know better.

 I'm thinking Toyota's ad agency managed to pull a Homer (en.m.wiktionary.org/wiki/pull_a_Homer) - I'm betting it wasn't intentional

 While we're talking about industry standards, can we PLEASE do away with press fit bottom brackets? Trek, I'm looking at you...

 Whoop. Fullerton Bikes mention in the first few minutes.

 That nobody mentioned cutting the tip of your finger off while centering a caliper makes me sad. Can’t be just me!

 Hey pinkbike, nice round up of new release bikes.................you guys are so Evil......................................

 You were spot on with the tire seating and being coverd in soapy water/stans... Lots of stuff got thrown around!

 Is it only me or the podcast stop at 58min? Like impossible to load anything beyond this point?

 @mikelevy i bought an OEM shimano derailleur cage last week on eBay to fix my bent cage

 "Is Super Glue sweet like Loctite?" Legendary line. @mikekazimer