Free Bicycle Maintenance Book

Well, here it is. The bike book for the average Joe and Jane who doesn't know squat about bike repair or maintenance. 40 pages of instructions and tips written with the novice in mind, you won't lose yourself in technical terms with this one and I have added some detailed images to help you along.

This book is my first written document following 16 years of experience as a rogue bike mechanic and 3 years of publishing my knowledge of bike care on the web at howtofixbikes.ca.

Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

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DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca

Chapter One, Wheels and tires.

WHEELS AND TIRES


Wheels and tires are the things that allow you to maintain contact with you and the road. Anything goes wrong here and you’ll know right away. First things first, let’s start by figuring out how to remove the wheels.

Wheel removal

Front wheel

If the bike is equipped with front brakes, disconnect them first so that the tire will clear the pads once you remove the wheel.

Simply unscrew the two (2) nuts on each side, pull the washers and remove the wheel.

When reinstalling the wheel, make sure that the axle is properly seated in the slots on both sides of the fork.

Once you are done, you can confirm this by eyeballing the middle of the tire thread and the top of the fork to see if everything is lined up straight.

Reinstalling a front wheel is always best done with the bike on the ground, so that the weight of it sits on the axle in the fork, allowing for a straight fit every time.

Rear wheel

With a derailleur-equipped bicycle, first you must shift the chain to the last gear, the one closest to the frame, that’s the smallest one. This will make the job of removing it easier by getting tension off the chain...

Want to read the whole thing? Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca

Chapter Two, Brakes.

BRAKES

Bicycles are great machines that can get you anywhere, but the need to stop is imperative above all else. There are many types of braking systems out there, but I will concentrate on the 3 main ones that are most common.

Coaster brakes

Also known as back pedal brake, this system consist of a pedal-actuated internal hub mechanism. There is no way of adjusting this. Usually when the inner brass pads are used up, the entire hub unit must be replaced. However, it is essential that the arm coming out of the hub on the left side of the bike be solidly attached to the frame. If that arm is not secured, the brakes will just not work. I have seen this often on children’s bikes. Make sure that this bracket is on tight...

Want to read the whole thing? Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca

Chapter Three, Derailleur, chain maintenance and pedals.

DERAILLEUR, CHAIN MAINTENANCE AND PEDALS

Many of you are intimidated by gear shifting adjustments. It looks complicated and whenever you try your hand at fixing this, it all goes wrong and generally stays that way. Let’s start demystifying the entire gear changing system by looking at how it works and what is the principle behind it.

A derailleur equipped bike has multiple gears on the rear wheel and at the pedals. In order for the chain to be able to move on these multiple gears, it needs something to push it along. This is where the derailleur comes into play. This simple spring loaded device pushes, or in effect “derails”, the chain from on gear cog to another. This is done by a cable that pulls the derailleur via the shifter. In a rear derailleur you have two springs. One is preloaded to hold the derailleur at the last and smallest cog on the gear cluster. The shifter cable pulls on it and keeps it in position either by friction or by a ratchet system. The second spring is in the cage of the derailleur where you find those two small wheels. This one is used to put tension in the chain while it is being moved from gear to gear. You will also find two adjustment screws on the rear of the derailleur with the letters “H” and “L”. H, meaning High, is for adjusting the position of the derailleur on the smallest cog and L, meaning Low, is for the biggest cog, more on that later. You will also find an adjustment barrel...

Want to read the whole thing? Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca

Chapter Four, Seats, handlebars and basic bike fit

SEATS, HANDLEBARS AND BASIC BIKE FIT

Bicycle fit is the most basic of things you can do on your bicycle and, regrettably, the most ignored. You cannot be efficient or enjoy your bike if the fit is not right for you. If you are not comfortable on your bicycle, you won’t ride as often and vice versa. We’ll see what can be done with a few simple adjustments to make this happen. Here I will list the different elements related to a proper bike fit.

Seats

Improperly adjusted seats can lead to a very uncomfortable ride. There are two very basic types of seats, women and men’s. Women’s seats are wide and men’s are narrow. This is important because what actually make contact on a bicycle seat are your sitting bones. Women having wider hips, for the purpose of bearing children, have their sitting bones wider then men’s. This is why it is preferable for women not to use a narrow seat, the riding position would be very uncomfortable.

Seat design hasn’t evolved until recent years...

Want to read the whole thing? Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca

Chapter Five, Bike Accessories

Bicycles come equipped and sometimes with added accessories. We’ll try to cover most of them here.

Reflectors and lights

By law, in most places, bicycles are required to have one white reflector at the front, a red one at the back, a yellow one in the front wheel and a red one in the back wheel. This is in case you have to ride at night. However, it is not safe in any way to ride in the dark without proper lighting on your bike.

Present technology affords us the luxury of LED’s that operate with very small batteries for a long period of time and they are available in white and red. Gone are the days of the big bulky lights with energy grabbing dynamos rubbing on the front tire. They are very bright and inexpensive. There is no reason why you shouldn’t equip your bike with a white light in the front and a red blinker light in the back if you want to ride at night. Installation is straight forward...


Want to read the whole thing? Download the pdf for free right now and feed on my experience. Yeah, you read it right, free! Print it, use it. You're only invited to make a donation of the amount of your choice.

DOWNLOAD THE BOOK HERE

Thank you and enjoy.

As always, comments are always welcomed.

Gerry Lauzon :)

http://howtofixbikes.ca