Learning To Work On A Bike

Nermal’s drivetrain is shot.  I’ve put over 3000 miles on that poor cheap bike, and it’s really showing signs of wear.  I bought a new chain and cassette yesterday, and a few tools from Bluegrass Bicycle.  One of the tools I needed was a chain whip, but they didn’t have one in stock.  It is on order now though.

I decided to fix the bike without the chain whip, using the old chain, a screwdriver, a rag, and my daughter’s assistance.  It worked.  I was able to swap out the cassettes.  Installing the new chain was much easier.  I still have worn chain rings, but that will wait another 3000 miles or so.

I haven’t been riding Nermal much recently, but that’s partially because the chain had begun to skip when pedaling hard.  This should fix that.

Bikes are quite simple to work on.  You only need a few specialized tools, and you can fix nearly everything that goes wrong with just a little research on the internet.  Unlike a car, they are small and light enough to pick up and flip around any direction you need.  I’ll never be a great bike mechanic, but I’ll at least be able to handle much of the maintenance of my bikes.