I just had to mention a few things about my recent bike repairs. First of all, bike season is just around the corner (for those of us in the Midwest) and this is an excellent time to get your bike in shape.
I’ve had a few things that have needed repairs since the end of the 2010 riding season but held off until now. I didn’t want my bike in the shop while there was still good riding weather, then there was the Christmas rush but now is a great time for repairs.
I went to my local bike shop (Mikes Bike Shop in Palatine IL) and there was 2 people working there, me and one other customer. It was totally one on one and we had plenty of time to go over the repairs that I needed, some other things that I was interested and in a very comfortable setting. So much nicer than peak season when the LBSs are crowded and everyone is in a hurry.
So my first point here is if you need any repairs or tune up stuff done, this is an excellent time to do it.
Now getting to one of my actual repairs. I had a really bad handlebar shake that started towards the end of the riding season and proceeded to get even worse as time went on. If I let go of the handle bars for a moment it would shake so bad I could hardly control the bike and had to grab the handlebars again for control.
I checked the front wheel and it looked just fine. I also checked the stem and made sure things were tightened up. When I talked to the bike mechanic at Mikes he did a quick adjustment to the stem and checked it out. It still had the shake so I left it for them to look at.
OK, here’s the part that I was just not expecting. The shake in the front was due to problems with the back wheel! They trued the back wheel and it fixed the problem completely. It made complete sense after I thought about it and after I shook the back of the bike and saw how that effected the handlebars.
I’m sure most bike mechanics are aware of things like this and probably many of you out there reading this too but this one just surprised me a little – being my second point – It’s not always what you think it is. 🙂
Later, Rob.
I just got into cycling last Spring so I’m not too advanced yet in the workings of my own road bike, but I love to ride. This is great stuff to know.
I had a weird squeaking noise coming from back wheel and I couldn’t figure out what it was. I took it in and he just put a little lubricant on…I believe it was the dust covers. Simple as that. 😀