Show Us a Tool

[kevinmccune]

I have had back-to-back appointments and drop-ins today. One was a kid's MacFox. Dad pulled a thorn from it and the rear slowly deflated. Instead of removing the rear hub-motor's wheel and replacing the tube, I sold a FlatOut injection for $15. It lasts for ten-years, or the life of the tire. For just the price of one tube. Dad wanted both tubes injected. It cost him $30. The thing is, a gallon of FlatOut costs me $60 and I can do 60 bike tubes with it. $15 x 60 = $900. And $900 - $60 = $840 profit. The bike took ten minutes to do. While father and son waited in comfortable chairs with garden views. A flat fixed on a hub-motor bike in ten minutes! Regular bike shops want $40 labor to replace the rear tube, plus $20 for the tube. For half the price of taking it to a regular bike shop and waiting a week for one flat, he got both tubes protected in minutes. And I made $28. $28 x 6 = $128 per hour. I will also get a 5-star local review on Google Maps worth about $50. $28 + $50 = $78 for ten minutes. $78 x 6 = $468 per hour. All with a happy customer who will tell friends. They Googled 'highest star rated bike mechanic, Petaluma'.

I really like flatout,much better then slime in my opinion (shop owner got my shifter working today the chain wasn't quite long enough,so I am missing "granny" 32x36 teeth( maybe its 34 teeth cant remember,to slow I don't use it anyway,the main reason I changed freewheel was for the 11 tooth high gear,36 tooth front sprocket didn't give me the top speed I wanted the little 500 watt motor( pulls 625 watts at stall) never been on a driveway that it wouldn't go up with help from me pedaling really like its rear suspension.

 

[kevinmccune]

Was it the quick-release kind? My Radpower bikes had them and I hated them. They would release fast, but they took me longer to put on, and they weren't foolproof, which is bad for a potentially dangerous device.

One morning before mounting my Radmission, I shoved it from the side and something moved. The front axle was loose. I noticed a washer under the serrated nut at the end opposite the lever. Huh? It was a very hard stainless steel. I remembered that I'd put the wheel on that way because that was how it had come. I assume the enamel on the dropout was elastic enough for the serrations on the nut to bite when the lever was clamped. The nut had worked loose because the serrations couldn't grab the hard steel washer. I removed the washer and had no more trouble.

I wasn't smart enough to see the problem when I put the bike together. Most washers are softer than that one. Did a disgruntled employee in China put it in the wheel assembly?

He or She used what they had.

 

[PedalUma]

Was it the quick-release kind? My Radpower bikes had them and I hated them. They would release fast, but they took me longer to put on, and they weren't foolproof, which is bad for a potentially dangerous device.

One morning before mounting my Radmission, I shoved it from the side and something moved. The front axle was loose. I noticed a washer under the serrated nut at the end opposite the lever. Huh? It was a very hard stainless steel. I remembered that I'd put the wheel on that way because that was how it had come. I assume the enamel on the dropout was elastic enough for the serrations on the nut to bite when the lever was clamped. The nut had worked loose because the serrations couldn't grab the hard steel washer. I removed the washer and had no more trouble.

I wasn't smart enough to see the problem when I put the bike together. Most washers are softer than that one. Did a disgruntled employee in China put it in the wheel assembly?

What happened was the Prospero conversion had been put into a rental car with the front wheel removed to avoid one section where she would be forced to ride on the shoulder of I-90 where cars are doing 90 weaving around lumbering big rigs on climbs. She took a basic bike maintenance training class for three-days in February. They stressed not over tightening and using proper torque. She did not fully tighten the through axle. It is funny but true that a loose front end will show as a wobble through the saddle and appear to be a problem with the rear wheel. She said the front wheel was ready to fly off and roll away. It took me three hours to diagnose remotely.

 

[LandoftheGiants]

The nut had worked loose because the serrations couldn't grab the hard steel washer. I removed the washer and had no more trouble.
...Most washers are softer than that one. Did a disgruntled employee in China put it in the wheel assembly?

probably all the bikes had them. I bought a Chinese made Ryobie cordless years back and the keyless chuck would never clamp up tight enough because it was made of stainless steel. China can often make a good product but more often than not it will have a fundamental flaw inbuilt. Take the $170 DeLonghi electric kettles currently on sale at my local, all SS, no plastic lid, they look beautiful with their enamel paint jobs, but it blisters off after a year or so. And the reviews say the kettle is prone to leak too

 

[fooferdoggie]

I have the park piston tool but the thing is you take the pads out to inspect them and if you need to replace them you have to put them back in to use the tool. with the shimano ceramic pistons they are too easy to crack. Plus you have to use it from underside and that can be a pain. plus if the pads are really worn you put the new ones in then you have to use the tool again. si I bought this guy it will press all 4 pistons in at the same time and with even pressure and work as a bleed block.

 

[PedalUma]

I have the park piston tool but the thing is you take the pads out to inspect them and if you need to replace them you have to put them back in to use the tool. with the shimano ceramic pistons they are too easy to crack. Plus you have to use it from underside and that can be a pain. plus if the pads are really worn you put the new ones in then you have to use the tool again. si I bought this guy it will press all 4 pistons in at the same time and with even pressure and work as a bleed block.


View attachment 211912

Could have used that today. The rear full bleed took four hours to get all the bubbles out.

 

[fooferdoggie]

Could have used that today. The rear full bleed took four hours to get all the bubbles out.

it will work better then those plastic blocks. of course I just changed pads in my bikes so now it wont get used for awhile.

 

[kevinmccune]

What happened was the Prospero conversion had been put into a rental car with the front wheel removed to avoid one section where she would be forced to ride on the shoulder of I-90 where cars are doing 90 weaving around lumbering big rigs on climbs. She took a basic bike maintenance training class for three-days in February. They stressed not over tightening and using proper torque. She did not fully tighten the through axle. It is funny but true that a loose front end will show as a wobble through the saddle and appear to be a problem with the rear wheel. She said the front wheel was ready to fly off and roll away. It took me three hours to diagnose remotely.

 

[kevinmccune]

America is starting to get too bunched up we need a few more "low density" communities so the tyrants( American legislative bodies) would have a harder time controlling us as it is they can starve 90% of us out within a year,we have plenty of room to coexist with nature,oft times when I walk through a hilly town I wonder what the surface looked like in grass and trees,with natural"rills" and streams( didn't know you could ride a bike on interstate anywhere.)

 

[PedalUma]

America is starting to get too bunched up we need a few more "low density" communities so the tyrants( American legislative bodies) would have a harder time controlling us as it is they can starve 90% of us out within a year,we have plenty of room to coexist with nature,oft times when I walk through a hilly town I wonder what the surface looked like in grass and trees,with natural"rills" and streams( didn't know you could ride a bike on interstate anywhere.)

I guess that it is where the state/county roads merge with interstate 90 in eastern Wyoming, so stuff like farm equipment can roll on the side.