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Today we’ve got 10 more bike hacks for mountain, BMX, and beyond.
This time we’ll be doing them in brand new surroundings, at my shop in Asheville North
Carolina.
Let’s get started.
Not enough riders carry first aid kits, myself included.
To have one handy when you need it most, you can keep supplies in your seat post.
First, we’ll need to plug the bottom.
I made a plug from a bar end by widening it with zip ties.
You’ll also need to make sure your plug doesn’t stick out past the post, so if it’s
too wide use a file or grinder to reduce the diameter.
Put your supplies in a bag to lock out the moisture, store them in your seat post, and
then hope really hard that you never need them.
If you crash a lot, like me, it’s normal to knock a few things out of place.
When a shifter or lever takes a direct impact, it’s actually better for it to move than
to stay in place and get damaged.
So, don’t tighten it on so much.
Start with your lever totally loose, and tighten it incrementally until it’s firmly in place.
No need to go further than that.
Keeping it just tight enough will protect it in a crash.
While you’re at it, why not mark your shifters and brakes so you can always reinstall them
at the same angle?
On aluminum parts you can safely make score marks with a knife.
Just choose an inconspicuous spot and put a line on the bar and the clamp in the same
spot.
Next time, these are your guides.
On carbon, or when you don’t want to put score marks on your bike, you can use a different
method.
I made these little arrows with my label maker and then stuck them in place.
We’ll see if they stay put in the long run.
Sometimes you need to clean or work on your bike without a back wheel, which means you
can’t pedal your drivetrain.
Companies like Park Tool make dummy hubs for this exact purpose, but there’s a hack to
make your own.
Just obtain a segment of garden hose—your neighbor might have one.
Cut the hose segment to size so it fits between your rear dropouts.
Install your axle, and route your chain around it just like a cassette.
Now you can clean your bike and run your drivetrain without your wheel in the way.
While your rear wheel is off, accidentally squeezing your hydraulic brake could compress
your calipers and cause a headache.
If you don’t have one of these chocks you can just fold up a piece of paper.
Make sure you get it thick enough to really wedge in there.
Secure it in place before working on or transporting your bike, and you won’t need to worry the
levers.
This simple solution can go a long way.
Have you ever broken your derailleur on the trails?
Or snapped a hanger with no replacement?
To get home, you can shorten your chain and go single speed.
All you need is a multitool.
Just find the gear with the straightest chainline and remove links to make it as tight as you
can.
It won’t be perfect, and you’ll drop chains like crazy, but it’s better than walking
home and it’s worth a try.
If that’s not good enough you can make a disposable chain guide to keep things in place.
I experimented a lot to figure this one out, and yeah, it was interesting, but it turns
out that all you need is about 5 or 6 zip ties.
They’re lightweight and great to keep on hand anyway.
Find a spot on the chainstay that lines up with your chain, and secure a lower pulley
for the chain to slide over.
Now loosely secure a zip tie around it and the chain.
Now make an upper—pulley thing and secure it to the seat stay.
There you have it.
An extremely ugly, but functional emergency chain guide that will actually get you home.
Does your hydration pack smell like…bad?
You can clean it out with—baking soda, I’ve got baking soda!
Just put a few spoons of baking soda in your pack, fill it with water, and then whip it
through the tube until it’s empty.
Rinse it out and leave the reservoir to dry.
If you have this black mold in your bite valve though nothing will get it out, trust me.
Just clean your pack regularly or end up like me, buying a new bite valve.
Most of us ride because it makes us happy, but some people take mountain biking way too
seriously.
Take a stand against seriousness with a Flask Cage.
Origin8 makes one, and they even sell a flask for it.
I fill mine with iced tea so it looks authentic.
You can even get one for your kid.
The next time someone’s being too serious just look them in the eye and take a nice
long swig of—iced tea.
You can offer them some, or not.
Sometimes you just can’t ride, but you want to play on your bike.
Lay on your back and you can have competitions with your friends in a garage or even a dorm
room.
You can probably play a full game of bike this way.
It’s almost as risky as riding a real bike.
You might want to wear some protective gear for that one.
So that’s it, 10 bike hacks for mountain, bmx, and beyond.
I doubt you found all of these to be useful, but if they entertained you subscribe to Seth’s
Bike Hacks for more laughs.
Thanks for riding with me today, and I’ll see you next time.
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