Weekend Happenings

Unless you've had your head in a hole for the past week or so you probably know that it's Ironman weekend. It's not really my "thing", but from an athletes point of view it is definitely an epic day. The event will also make for an epic day of general navigation around the Truckee/Lake Tahoe area with road closures just about everywhere.

Next weekend (Sept 27-28) is the Little Big Ridestyle event at the Truckee Bike Park. This is a weekend for the ladies. Info here.
Or, if video is more "your thing"....

Closed Sunday's.

  I'm closed Sundays.
  I don't answer the phone.
  I don't work on bikes.
  I try my best to not "talk bikes"... on Sundays.
  It's a "me time" sort of deal... the selfish bastard that I am..... on Sundays.
  It's days like this that I live for.
  Six days a week... I work.
  Sunday's.... I ride!

  We're 40 miles into this particular ride, on this particular Sunday. The Aaron's (Aaron and Erin) have gone their separate ways an hour ago. Smart folks... the Erin's. Already had enough. Places to be. People to see. Not me. It's Sunday. I'm closed. This is my day.... selfish bastard that I am. My remaining partner, Nate, is -of course- "up" for on more section of trail.
   The sky's have grown dark and for the past 1/2 hour we've been riding in the pitter patter of manageable and welcome rain drops. Just enough to keep things interesting. Eventually the rain starts to fall beyond the scope of "neat" and "nostalgic" as we drop into a random neighborhood.
   It's here that we find ourselves taking cover from the storm under the "available" deck of an uninhabited strangers house. We pass the time with talk of work, life and day to day "this and that". We also realize that this very well could be one of the best decisions that we've made all day as the pouring rain turns the street into a temporary river.
   Eventually, the storm clouds pass.
   Eventually the rain subsides.
   Conversation turns quiet.
   Packs back on.
   The journey continues.
   Yep.... Sundays.
    I love Sundays.
   
       

Things to watch out for

   Things at Mighty Mobile continue apace. There are some things worth mentioning that ya'll should now about.

    First off, we'll start w/ Sram 10 speed rear derailleurs (although Shimano can suffer from the same issues). If this is your chain management system of choice, it'd be a good idea to keep a keen eye on your inner cable where it is routed through the bend at the rear mech. You're generally looking here.

 Or, more closely and accurately... here.

See those broken strands of cable? Sure you do. Now, walk out to your garage and have a look at your own bike. Make sure yours doesn't look like this one. The worst part of this breakage is that the bike will continue to shift perfectly fine until there are literally just a couple of strands of cable remaining intact which will surely leave you stranded on your next ride. The cables break due to the tight bend of the cable in this area and the imminent flexing that happens to the cable while your bike bounces through rock gardens at 20mph. Don't put too much blame on the equipment here. Anyone that knows exactly how this stuff works is probably as amazed as I am that the stuff actually works in the environment that it lives in doing what we ask it to do.

Next, Sram 11speed rear derailleurs: The main mounting bolt that holds the rear derailleur to the frame comes loose. This bolt (#1/blue) should be checked daily.

The bolts are treated w/ a mild loctite from the factory. I've asked the guys at Sram about this and they advised NOT adding any other loctite to the bolt as the bolt can get too tight in your frame potentially breaking when the derailleur needs removed from the bike. For those not familiar with Srams tech docs, you need a T25 torx wrench to tighten the bolt to 70-88 in-lbs. Not familiar w/ in-lbs? Don't have a torque wrench? Don't worry. Just make sure the damn thing's not obviously loose and falling off your bike!

Rock Shox Reverb dropper seatposts. Yup.... we service those. Prices range from $60-$100 labor plus parts. Call for details.

Wheel builds. Yup. More than ever this year. I've built more wheels with carbon rims this year that those made of that ancient material folks call "metal". Sounds crazy, but I'll bet we're all riding carbon rims in a few more years.

Suspension service. Fox. Rock Shox. Marzocchi. All major parts and seal kits are in stock. Prices vary depending on the service required. On average, you can expect a fork service to run about $100. This includes service on the lowers and air spring with new seals and oil. Rear shocks. $50 average. This includes air sleeve service with new seals and oil. Closer/better estimates upon request.

Mighty Mobile is always stocked with the best equipment for road and mountain bikes. Tires, grips, handlebar tape, cables, housing, brake pads, chains, cassettes, chainrings, pedal cleats... this list goes on.

And as always, the best service... to your doorstep.

Today

   Interesting day. Typical.
   Started with a quick trip to work out some spacing issues on a crankset. New bike. Scared customer. Don't blame him really. I'd be scared too after realizing that I forgot the spacers and seals on a $300 crankset and wasn't exactly quite sure just how things come back apart after tightening the shit out of the crank arm fixing bolt with the biggest allen wrench in my toolbox. Better safe than sorry.
   Then off to Donner Lake to tension up some wheels that were built a couple of months ago. Interesting customer. Likes touring (different bike). Dude's been everywhere. Seems as thought the Sierras aren't quite big enough. Stories of the Andes, Alps broken chains and epic days fill my two hours at this stop. Good guy. He also needs a rear shift cable and housing. He asks me about converting his bike to 11 speed. I suggest he buy a new bike. I'm hungry.
    Stix Market. Good spot. Got me a turkey sando w/ a bunch of fixin's. I didn't partake (this time), but the beer selection at this place is killer!!
    Then off to Paco's to loan them some tools. Rock Shox Reverb rebuild tools. Those boys are in for some cussing and oily hands.
    Off to Prosser. Next up on the repair stand, we have a Specialized Stumpy EVO. Cables for this guy. Dropper post and rear derailleur cables. Also fixed (hopefully) a creaky upper shock mount pivot.
     2:30. Meet a customer in town. Lots of work. Lots of parts need to be ordered. Ibis in the van to be worked on at a later date.
     3:00. Tahoe Donner. Nobody's home. Key's under the door mat. I love Truckee. I let myself into the garage and grab the Pivot that doesn't like to shift in the front anymore. Some tweaking here and there. Let's center up that front brake caliper while we're at it. Rubbing brakes suck.
     Back at "world headquarters", I'm waiting on a delivery when a call comes in from a desperate and stranded road rider on the west end of Donner Lake. Though I empathize with his tales of tire piercing staples and expelled Co2 cartridges I can't help him. I'm hearing the desperation in road riders voice, but it's almost falling of deaf ears as I spin a new mango colored Chris King rear hub between my fingers and wonder to myself as to just what sort of epic journeys this little beauty will experience.
     Delivery delivered. Papers signed. After a few estimates and phone calls, Mighty Mobile's day is complete. Beer thirty... as they say. Beer thirty.

A Day In The Life

A day at Mighty Mobile is always interesting. Regardless of the amount of questions I ask on the phone with a customer, the actuality of the task at hand can be different when I show up. 

Sometimes it's easy. Leaking oil. That needs fixed. Seals.... in stock. 

Sometimes it takes a little longer than originally anticipated. No... I can't just "true it out". But I can build you a wheel.... while you wait.  

Other times the doors to the van don't even make it open. 

Yup. Bikes. Interesting little machines. Sometimes simple and straightforward. 

Other times.... not so much. 

The beauty of being a mobile bike mechanic is that I'm usually never in one spot too long. This makes for an interesting work day. I arrive. Set up. Fix. Chat. Pack up. And I'm on my way again. 

Well, ok. This stop might be a little different. I'll be here all day. No time for chatting. Just time spent with wrenches in hand. Fixing. Testing. Tweaking. Still... life is good. 

I do this because, generally, fixing bikes is very satisfying for me in a weird sort of way. Aside from odd jobs like the "mystery squeak" that can drive a mechanic (and rider) crazy, most things can be worked out with a little time and patience. When the bike is tuned and running like the well oil machine it should be it can make for a damn fine day. Just ask that guy!

Don't throw your bike!

   I'm as much a bike freak as I am a bike mechanic. This being the case, I've never understood why anyone would want to throw a bike. Especially one that you most likely bought with your own money and will have to inevitably fix on your own time after (insert expensive component here) breaks because of your unwillingness to count to ten before shoving your bike into a pile of rocks in a moment of frustration and rage.

   Then there's this way:



    Sure to appreciate. Hard to replicate.

It's 2015

    Though your calender may beg to differ, it's 2015 as far as the bike industry is concerned. 

    Most people think of the Sea Otter Classic as a bike race, but with 450 exhibitors on hand at Leguna Seca it's just as much a bike show as it is a bike race. For years, companies have been using the Sea Otter as an unveiling period to show us that even though you just took out a second mortgage to put that dream bike together two weeks ago, it's already starting to get outdated.  

    As an industry dude, I'm always trying to educate myself on what's happening in "bike world" so I can be as informed as possible when y'all come asking about doo-dad to nic-nak compatibility and when the latest something or other will be available. 

    Wanna waste time in the morning like I do? Then grab a cup of coffee, get your clicker warmed up and surf around on some of the links below. 

    

    Bike Rumor: This is a daily stop for me. Updated frequently, contains descent photos and some classic comments. (note: i actually hate the comments section, but some can be quite entertaining)

    Pink Bike: Pretty similar to Bike Rumor. Some minor differences here and there. 

    Bike Magazine: In case you don't like the other two.

   MTBR.com: Again.... lots of the same, but you can't waste an entire morning unless you visit multiple sites.

   After a thorough perusing of the interwebs you'll surely be late for work because you just had to know what an "automatic adjusting negative air chamber" did, how many parts will you need to convert your Chris King hubs to 11 speed and your brain will probably hurt from reading about such technological wizardry such as Shimano's new "four-piece chainring, bonded from aluminum, carbon fiber and capped with titanium teeth"....those sound cheap? 

   Wondering what I've seen at Sea Otter that I like best? Well, it's probably not something I'll buy anytime soon, but ya never know. 

 

nice

     The bike industry. What a place. Talk to any shop owner/employee and you're sure to hear frustrating stories of parts that weren't shipped, companies that don't call you back, orders that got "held up" and the ever popular "blame it on the other guy" scenario.
      I used to do the parts ordering and warranties at a shop years ago and had an item in need of warranty service. Every morning for three mornings in a row I'd start my day by calling our rep (lets call him Tom) and leave him a message about said warranty product. All day the shop phone would ring, but it was never Tom. On the fourth day, I made my daily call to Tom but instead of leaving a message about needing help with a warranty item I said that we were doing a sale to a "huge group of people" and I needed to place and order that would be "very large", possibly even requiring freight service. Of course, none of this was true. There was no "huge group of people" or "very large order". I hung up the phone and walked to the bakery behind the shop. That trip for a cup of house blend coffee and a glazed doughnut of epic proportions took all of 6 minutes. Upon my return to the shop I was told that Tom was on hold on line 1. Hmm. I picked up the phone with an anxious Tom on the other end of the line inquiring about our "very large order". Five minutes later, I had a return authorization number for my warranty item and a heartfelt talk with Tom on his lack of customer service skills as our rep. Bastard.
     Fortunately it's not always like this. If it were, I'd go postal! This week I was in contact with Woolf Tooth components about setting up an account. Within an hour I had a response from sales (Brendan) and after going through the normal process of credential verification and whatnot I placed an order. The parts arrived in a timely fashion, the order was complete and my customer had his bike back for the weekend... just like it's supposed to work. That being said, Mighty Mobile Bicycle Repair proudly is a dealer of and highly recommends Wolf Tooth components.

    So, this morning... I raise my coffee mug to Brendan at Wolf Tooth for doing something as simple as filling an order, putting it in a box and shipping it out. Amazing. Thank you.

Not doing that anymore

My ears are still ringing from yesterdays tire explosion.
I swore off messing with Stans tubeless kits a couple of years ago after the hissing of air and the pissing of white sealant had me "in the red" while attempting a conversion to an old clapped out Cannondale ruining an otherwise nice typical summer day in Tahoe. I haven't thrown a tool for a long time, but I was close that day.
Now, don't confuse a tubeless "conversion kit" with some other misc industry nomenclature for products that actually work such as TCS, TR, 2BLISS... the list goes almost as deep as the marketing people that dream these names up. The heart of a tubeless conversion kit consists of a rubber rim strip with a valve stem attached that is supposed to allow an older non-tubeless rim to be set up tubeless. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the kits can't work. I will, however, say that they are hard (sometimes impossible) to get to seal and most tire and rim affiliated people (other than Stans) that I've talked to cringe at the subject when it's brought up.
So yeah, back to yesterday. When my old neighbor asked me to get some tires mounted up for him on his one speed, I almost turned him down after noticing that his rims had the dreaded tubeless conversion strips in them. But, with his other bike requiring some parts that needed to be ordered I wanted to get him back out on the trails.
One of the curious things with the tubeless conversion kits is that the tires can be difficult to seal while simultaneously being really hard to get the bead of the tire to "seat" properly on the rim. It was a the "bead seating" stage of this nightmare job I never should've taken on in the first place where the 50psi I had in the tire proved too much for the bead of the tire to handle as it exploded off the rim. Aside from ringing ears, the other nasty side of something like this happening is that the white tire sealant mixes with the exploding air and anything within 10' of your workstand is subject to a good splattering of tire sealant.
That being said, I'll leave you now so I can go spend 20 minutes cleaning up what took less that a second to explode over my bench, tools, workstand, other bikes, floor mat and probably some other places that I'm not thinking could possible be effected by the incident.... but surely will be.

On the skis today.



It was kinda like that.
Damn good fun.

Fox Fork Recall

If you have a 2013 Fox Evolution series fork on your bike, it may be worth a minute of your time to check the serial # to see if your fork is one of the 11,250+ forks effected by a voluntary recall from Fox.

Click here to be taken to the Fox recall site.

This recall was actually posted by Fox late last year... just about the time most of us here in Tahoe were waxing skis and praying to the snow gods. I was reminded of the recall yesterday while disassembling one of the forks in question as it exploded oil onto my pants, shirt, shoes, bike stand, floor mat and workbench. I wonder if Fox will recall my oil stained shoes??

Just A Reminder

Bike Tunes.
Yep.
Still doing them.
Just sayin'.