The MAMIL Channel
In this post, complete with video, I show you how to remove and fit a BB90 Bottom Bracket on a Trek road bike (in this case my carbon Trek Domane).
It’s time for me to, once again, apply my razor-sharp analytical skills to the assessment of a piece of cycling equipment. I’m going to ‘review’ the Elite Race
In other words, I’m going to waffle a bit, show you some photos and a couple of videos and try to help you decide whether a work stand might be useful to you.
Read moreElite Race Workstand Review (Or How To Fix Your Bike Without Leaning Down)
In this video I demonstrate how to remove the pedal cranks from a square taper bottom bracket.
It’s pretty straightforward, you just need a crank wrench and puller tool (which I may have referred to in the video as a crank AND wrench puller – no matter, it doesn’t make a lot of sense either way).
Watch the video to learn how to use it.
Read moreHow to Remove A Crank From A Square Taper Bottom Bracket Using A Crank Wrench Puller Tool
Here is my video review of the LifeLine (or X-Tools) Pro Torque Wrench Set.
I don’t have an exemplary record when it comes to bike maintenance. In truth it makes me nervous. Whether it’s a mental block or a fact, it generally seems that when I attempt to fix or tweak a component on my bike, the issue I’m trying to solve gets worse.
Oh to be one of those patient engineering types that can calmly fettle away on their bike and get it running as smooth as a newly opened tub of chammy cream.
Looking for the best
So, you’ve decided to take the next step towards cyclo-service self sufficiency.
You need to take your cassette off the bike, either to clean it or to replace it.
It is one of your core principles that you like to avoid shredding your fingers whilst undertaking bike maintenance.
You therefore need a
And in this post we’re going to find out what they are, who sells them and which is the best (or rather, which will do the job with the minimum fuss).
Read moreBest Chain Whip And Cassette Lockring Tools (And What They Do)
Summer, at least in the northern hemisphere, feels well and truly over. Perhaps you’ve decided to take a short ‘off season rest’ (it is raining after all). Perfect time then to show your bike a little TLC in the workshop/garage/propped up against a random wall. And as every beautician will tell you, performing TLC requires a serious torque wrench.
So, what exactly is a torque wrench, and which is the best one for your road bike needs? Read on McDuck.
The basis for this post is the research I did whence selecting and buying my own torque wrench. Having done the work, I thought I’d jot it all down to help other cyclists in the same pedalo.
If you have an inexplicable desire to tighten bolts with an extraordinary degree of precision, or you simply want to fix things without accidentally crushing them with your Hulk-like strength, this is the post for you. En avant me enfants!
Read moreTorque To The Hand (Best Bicycle Torque Wrench 2020)
This post is mainly going to comprise a series of videos that I produced over the course of 2020, showing how I stripped down my Trek Domane 4.3 road bike to a bare frame and then rebuilt it.
The main issue, at least initially, was the lower headset bearing being totally shot. It turns out you shouldn’t ignore the rusty brown liquid dripping down your forks each time you give the bike a rinse off.
As I delved deeper, I realised that one of the bottom bracket bearings was seized.
And I already knew that a large part of the cabling and drivetrain would need replacing.
So here are all the videos in order.
So this is a nice specific post then. If you are looking for a bit of intel on how to fit a Bontrager
On the other hand, if you’ve come for some general road cycling entertainment, then these are not the droids you’re looking for, Move along now.
So, for the roughly 0.1% of you that own a Trek bike with a hole in one of the chain stays, here’s a guide to installing a
And now an additional THIRD thing as I update this post. I madez a video. It is, after all, 2020, and we are stuck in our houses. So, either watch this YouTube dispatch, or continue to read and look at the pictures, your choice.
Yes, you are welcome for all the value I am giving you.
Read moreHow To Fit A Bontrager Duotrap Speed and Cadence Sensor
Gweetings. In this post I’m going to talk about the bike tools I use the most on my magical cycling adventures. Or ‘bike maintenance’, as normal people might call it.
No particular science was applied (plus ça change). I took a mental canter through my memory banks and tried to think about the implements I’d had most cause to use in recent years.
Then I wrote them down. Hopefully this will prove useful if you’re starting your own cycling tool collection, or wondering what all the cool grease gurus are tinkering with.
Or something. On with the show!
Read moreThe (Bike) Tools That I Use Most: 6 ‘Must Have’ Implements
I feel like I’ve never properly cleaned my bike. Actually it’s more than a feeling. Its a truthing.
Partly (mainly) this is because I’ve never had the confidence to take the dirty bits apart in order to give them a proper deep clean.
The last time I took my bike to my friendly local bike mechanic, I got a friendly rebuke. As he replaced my broken front derailleur, he noted that the teeth on both the cassette and chain rings were worn. The chain was stretched. The rear hub was on the verge of knackery. The cause: infrequent (and ineffective) cleaning.
After returning from our holiday in Cornwall, where both long motorway journeys saw the roof-mounted bike being doused with finest English summertime rain and road muck, I decided to rectify past transgressions. I would give the bike, and specifically the drivetrain, a really good clean. And this would mean that an incompetent would be taking apart his bike (and hoping he could put it back together again).
I thought I would record my ‘journey’ to share on this here blog, perhaps to share some useful information, but more to provide fellow mechanically challenged people with the confidence that they too can destroy a bike and then half put it back together again.
Read moreHow To Clean Your Road Bike Drivetrain (or Zen and the Art of Bicycle Maintenance)
Everyone will tell you a sportive is not ‘really’ a race, and then visualize leaving you behind in a proverbial ball of smoke. No matter how you approach it, everyone wants to maximize their bike’s performance and do what they can to gain an edge on the road.
So as a race-loving mechanic, here’s the down-low on my various last-minute hacks that can help you prepare for your next sportive.
Note from Monty: Today’s post comes from Simon Laumet, an experienced bike mechanic based in London. Simon’s post has already inspired me to give my drivetrain a proper clean (the drivetrain on my bike…), which will be the subject of a future post (ooh, can you contain your excitement…). If you find the post useful, please do let me know in the comments below (along with any tips you have).
Read moreConfessions Of A Drivetrain Cleaner (How To Prep Your Bike For Your Next Sportive)
This post is not going to interest everyone, but if you have a strong desire to make precision insertions of oil into certain parts of your bike, then I’m about to blow your mind.
(Sort of).
I have found (and used) ((and liked)) an alternative to the ludicrously expensive Speedplay grease gun.
And I’m going to share my findings… (ooooh!)
Read moreA Grease Gun For Your Bike (Or How To Lubricate Speedplay Pedals On The Cheap)
As a Grimpeur Heureux reader, I’m sure you’ve already achieved your optimum cycling body fat percentage, so this post is going to look at how you can make your bike lighter.
Let’s face it, for finely-honed athletes such as ourselves, the weight of our bike (and associated equipment) is the remaining final frontier before we can say we’ve squeezed out every incremental gain going.
My aim is to discover where we can reduce weight, and whether it’s worth doing. So what are our options?