Dealing With Equipment Breakdowns

Dealing With Equipment Breakdowns ven well-tuned bicycles break down from time to time. Normal wear and tear, grit and grime and crashes can bring your bike to a stop. Fortunately, you can fix many of the problems (with a little practice) using the basic tools that you bring on your tours. The further away you tour from "civilization" (bike shops, hardware stores, pay phones), the more you'll need to know about bike repair to tour safely. Know how to patch and replace flat tires. Understand your brakes. Learn how to remove and reinstall your chain.

Common Breakdowns

Flat Tires They're unavoidable, so learn how to patch and replace your inner tubes and outer tires no matter what kind of touring you enjoy or how often you go. Wobbly Rims Rim damage is usually caused by severe bumps or jolts. It's a special concern for touring cyclists because of the added weight that is carried during tours. Damaged rims are usually easy to spot—most wobble or hit the brake pads at the damaged spot when they're spun. Unfortunately, rim damage is perhaps the hardest damage to fix on a trail. If you've learned to adjust your spokes, you can compensate somewhat for the damage. You can also place the rim on a hard surface and try to step on it to bend it back in place. These are last-ditch efforts that will get you back to civilization. A true repair is all but impossible in the field. Properly built and tuned wheels are much stronger than poorly built ones. Have your wheels checked and tuned periodically to avoid rim problems on the road. Broken Spokes Increased weight puts stress on the bicycle spokes. Breaks rarely occur, but when they do you'll need to replace the broken spoke before you attempt much more riding. Touring cyclists planning multi-day tours often tape a couple of replacement spokes to their bike frame before they leave home. (REI's Randonee comes with extra spokes.) Some spokes are much harder to replace than others (depending upon their position), so this repair is often handled by a professional mechanic. Brake and Brake Pad Adjustments Brake systems wear down. They can fall out of tune during the course of normal riding. Every touring cyclist should know how to make basic brake adjustments such as positioning or replacing brake pads, positioning brake assemblies and making basic brake-cable adjustments to increase gripping power. Derailleur Adjustments Derailleur systems also tend to fall out of tune over time as a result of normal riding. You should know how to make basic adjustments to get them working well again. Broken Cables Occasionally, brake and derailleur cables snap or fray. Spare cables are easy to carry in your repair kit, and learning how to install them is not difficult. Still, you'll need to know how to readjust your brake and derailleur systems in order to reinstall cables correctly. If you carry replacement cables, measure and cut them prior to your departure to limit installation problems on the road. Chain Problems Make sure you know how to remove your bike chain, check it for stiff links (or other damage) and reinstall it using a basic chain tool. NOTE: Your local REI store can be a great place to learn more about basic bike maintenance. Most stores offer basic maintenance clinics, classes, reference books and videos. Also, check out our online Gear Care and Repair Clinics for more information on basic maintenance and repair procedures.