Life In The Saddle

In my Workshop Focus series, I have so far considered Essential Workbench Tools  and Intermediate Workshop Tools ; in this post things get advanced—with wheel truing and building. It took me quite a while to pluck up the courage to give wheel truing/balancing and then wheel building a go; they are certainly two tasks that take quite a bit of time and skill. As with most workshop jobs though, wheel tuning is something that is far easier with quality tools. With this in mind, I opted for the Feedback Sports Pro Truing Stand and the Master Wheel Building Kit from Unior Tools .  The Feedback Sports Pro Truing Stand Wheel building is an art, yet the Feedback Sports Pro Truing Stand is almost a work of art in itself.  I developed a bit of a lust for this anodised red stand the moment I set eyes on it. The quality, durability and performance of the products from the American brand Feedback Sports are second to none. The Pro Truing Stand has a unique ...

A good quality bike repair stand will make your bike washing and bike maintenance far easier. The Unior Tools BikeGator+ Workstand (this is the auto-adjust model) is one of the best that I've tested to date. High quality materials The Unior Tools BikeGator+ Bike Repair Stand is made of high quality aluminium and stainless steel parts, coated in chip-proof paint; to provide a durable, strong, yet lightweight product. Bike repair stands take a lot of abuse in the form of bike washing, frequent transportation, and heavy handling; so having quality components, which will stand the test of time, is a worthwhile investment. The jaws on the BikeGator+ clamp are made of a soft non-marking rubber, to avoid damage to your bike's tubes. Then, the lever on the clamp features the same soft-touch rubber that you find on the handles of all Unior mechanics tools. This is a product built to last. Ease of use A bicycle repair stand should function without fault, and make the tricky...

When I see 'newbie' cyclists out on the roads and trails, I sometimes have to stop myself from wincing at their creaking bike or squeaky chain. I force myself to smile instead, because at least they're out there, enjoying the ride. I also have to remind myself that I was once the same… when I started getting into mountain biking, at the age of 12, I remember having no end of problems with skipping gears, squeaking brakes and sticky cables; those maintenance tasks that now take a few minutes in the bike stand at home, used to have to require a trip to the local bike shop to resolve. Trips to the local bike shop are in fact a key part of many cyclists' development; however, it's often not long before time constraints, frustration and purse strings push budding cyclists into doing their own mechanic work, at home. For me, I bought a copy of Leonard Zinn's legendary 'Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance', along with a budget LifeLine Essential...