The Quick Fix
Breaking down on a day trip or a cross-country adventure can
be a real problem. Knowing how to get your bicycle rolling again with limited
supplies is vital to your tours success.
New bicycle components are very reliable and seldom break.
If you are planning a long distance tour rebuild your bike before you leave.
Why invest all the time, money and planning that a tour takes to leave with
worn out equipment. Look at new running gear as buying an insurance policy for
trouble free riding.
I will go over a few tricks of the trade we have learned
over the years. Please review the section Tools and
Equipment to Carry and see what a properly equipped touring bike
should have on board for tools and spares. I will assume that anyone leaving on
an unsupported tour has some basic knowledge of bicycle repair. If you don't
you better get some before you leave.
Front Derailleur Cable Break
New cables rarely break. So if you are planning a long
distance tour outfit your ride with new cables. Should you break a cable here
is how to get out of a jam.
When you break the front derailleur cable you will quickly
find yourself on your crankset’s smallest chain ring. Not a bad thing if you’re
on a big climb, but not too good for running on the flats. The roadside “quick
fix” for this is easy.
Most touring cyclist run a triple so you will want to get
onto your middle chain ring. On this ring you will still be able to climb the
hills plus maintain a decent speed on the flats.
The only thing you need for this roadside repair is a stick
of the right diameter. Place the stick between the frame and the disabled
derailleur. (See photo)
Don’t worry about damaging your fancy paint job. The wood is
actually softer than your paint and will not scratch or nick it.
You can choose which chainring you want by the diameter of
the stick.
Rear Derailleur Cable Break
The most common cable to break is the one that operates the
rear derailleur. When this happens the derailleur moves down onto the
cassette’s smallest cog.
If it is early in the day the best choice is to pull out
your spare cable and thread it through the housings. But if you’re looking for
the “quick fix” to get rolling again, here is what to do.
Unless you are on a relatively flat grade being stuck in
your lowest gear could become difficult. You would be much better off running a
gear closer to the cassette’s mid-range.
You could use your Hi/Low adjustment screw to make a one or
possibly even a two cog change, but most likely this would not be enough. To
move the derailleur onto a larger cog you will need to put tension back on the
cable.
Normally the cable breaks on the end inside the shifter.
Just pull the cable out of the housing. Next loosen the bottom bolt on your
bottle cage.
Pull on the on the cable until the derailleur is aligned
with the cog you want to run. Next wrap the cable around the bottle cage bolt
and tighten.
Be sure to go over the outside of the bottle cage so the
cable does not touch the bike frame.
It may look like the cable is touching the frame in the
picture but it actually has over one-eighth of an inch clearance.
Should you have a narrow cage and the cable does contact
your paint job just put something soft in-between the two. The cable is not
going to be moving so anything will work. A small piece of paper, bar tape or
even a twig will do the trick.
This quick fix will get you back on the road without too
much effort and in a gear you can work with.
Flats
Flat tires are one of the unexpected pitfalls of long
distance touring. Some people are luckier than others but at some point all of
us will have the pleasure of changing out a flat while on tour.
Some simple tips will help you get through this unpleasant
experience without further incident.
Choosing the correct tires for touring is important. A
touring tire needs to be much more durable than a racing tire. I cover tire
choices in more detail under the Tools and Equipment
section of the site.
The first thing to do after you get a flat is check the
outside of the tire. You are looking for something obvious like a cut or
protruding object. If nothing is found on the outside you will have to search
the inside of the tire for the cause.
Remove the tube without taking the tire completely off the
rim. Now add a little air to the damaged tube and note the location of the leak.
Next, align the tubes presta valve with the hole it went through on the rim. This
correctly orients the tube and tire to where they were before the flat occurred.
Now look on the inside of the tire adjacent to where the tube
is leaking. You should be able to find the cause of the flat. Rubbing your
finger in the area will usually find the problem. It is extremely important to
find out what caused the flat to occur. Otherwise the thorn that popped your tube
will strike again.
There is a type of flat that you
can get without a foreign object penetrating your tire. It is the dreaded
“snakebite”.
No, it is not caused by a
diamondback rattler snapping at your tire as you ride by. It is caused by
compression of the tire and tube against the rim.
When you remove the tube it will
be obvious if your flat was caused by a snakebite. If you see two holes
parallel to each other as in the photo that is a snake bite. This flat happens
when the tube gets pinched between the rim and the tire.
If you do not choose the correct
size tire under inflated expect this type of flat. You will not see any
indication on the tire for what caused this flat because it was pinched not
punctured.
If you try and use 23mm tires on
a loaded bike you will see plenty of these fang like puncture wounds. Narrow
tires do not distribute the load as well and are not as tall as larger tires
and snakebite easily. Again choose the right tire for the job.
If the tire has a pinhole caused by a narrow pointed object
pull it out and you should be all set. But if you sliced your tire with glass
or some other object you will need to repair the tire before you put the tube back
in. If the tire has any “slice” in it at all you will need to protect the tube
from that slice. A slice in the tire will eventually pinch the new tube and
cause a flat. If the slice is long (over 1/8”) the tire should be replaced
with your spare immediately.
But if you do not have a replacement to use here is how to
repair a sliced tire. Quickest and easiest way is
with tape. I always carry electrical tape with us on tour. Just cover the
slice with at least three pieces of tape stacked on top of each other. In the
photo we used the finishing tape off our bar wrap. If you don’t have any tape
a piece of the tube that went flat will work. Place a piece of the old tube in
the area of the cut. Just be sure it stays in the right spot when you are
placing the new tube on the rim. That is why tape is easier.
These are just quick fixes if youdo not have another tire to replace the damaged one with. You should never run
long distances loaded with a cut tire.
Broken
Spoke
If you should break a spoke the
best things to do is stop and repair the wheel immediately. Trying to ride to
your next sleep spot or some other convenient location could end up damaging
the wheel. Without wheels my friend, you're not going anywhere.
I know you can buy a
Fiber Fix spoke kit for a quick repair but they do not replace the real
thing even for a short run. A loaded touring bike can put a serious strain on a
rim missing a spoke. You still have to do a real spoke repair so why fool around
do it right the first time is how we figure it. Even a rear wheel spoke replacement
can be done in less than 30 minutes on the roadside .But if you are in a jam
the fiber spoke will work.
If you have read the article on what a well-equipped touring
cyclist should have onboard you know I have a spare spokes and the tools needed
listed to complete the job.
Replacing a spoke on a front wheel is easy compared to one
on the rear. If you break a rear spoke you will need to remove the rear
cassette to get the new spoke on. Instead of carrying a chain whip, cassette
tool and a wrench you can get by with one lightweight item, the Stein Mini Cassette Lock Too.
Stein Mini Cassette Lock Tool
This tool is used to remove the cassette
lock-ring without the need for a chain whip. This tool secures the lock-ring
from turning by locking it to the dropout so that when the cranks are turned the
force will actually break the lock-ring free. It is a light duty tool designed
primarily for emergency use. Models are available for both Shimano and
Campagnolo. The tool can be used in reverse to install the lock-ring.
Chain Problems
Chains seldom fail but while on tour anything can happen.
Miss a shift under power or catch a stick the wrong way and you could have a
chain problem.
Most of the newer 10 speed chains use a special “one time
only” link to connect the chain together. You cannot just take out a bad link
or two with you chain tool and join the remaining chain again. If you do it
will come apart quickly.
For this reason you should carry a “master-link” that is
capable of joining the brand and size chain you are touring with. What has proven to be a life saver for us is the Superlink III.
 This handy item will join your
chain together without the need for that special link. The best part of using a
Superlink is you are able to
disconnect and reconnect the chain for cleaning. They make
a variety of sizes to fit most popular chains…. Don’t leave home with out one.
Expect the Unexpected
That's right, expect the unexpected. If it can break it
will. Again leaving with new equipment will greatly improve your odds of not
having a breakdown but in life nothing is 100%. With some ingenuity and the
spares we have listed in our Tools and Equipment section you should be
able to make the repair.
Here is just one example of an unexpected breakdown. We were
west of Durango, Colorado when one of the riders decided his seat felt a little
low. He stopped raised and the seat post a little bit. When he was re-tightening
the bolt on the seat post clamp it broke off. Even though we had a bolt to
replace it we could not get the broken bolt out of the clamp. We made the
repair with 2 mini hose clamps and vice grips. This repair lasted until we reached
the next bike shop along our route.
Notice the two mini hose clamps connect together to hold the
seat post up. We have used mini hose clamps to support a broken rear rack and
other things. Mini clamps are a life saver. Now I know even a small pair of
vise grips is a heavy tool to carry but it has so many uses it has to be
brought along. It was once said, "If you can't fix it with a screwdriver
and a pair of vise grips it can't be fixed". I'm not sure if that
statement is true of everything it will cover a lot of breakdowns.
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