# Cheap tricks for easy repairs



## skindel (Jan 21, 2014)

how about a thread posting your best trick if its already been done some one delete this but i'll start with a couple of mine--one of my favorites is using a self starter screw for drilling out broken bolts-- if you have never tried this you'll love it -those screws come in many sizes and they are cheap and work a few times then toss them--push as hard as you want you wont break the screw but easily can a bit-the next time you break a fender bolt in the bottom of a fork cause you didn't have a heat source  you can break a cheap drill bit made in china or go through the junk bucket till you find a self starter  trick 2 heat source when i get a pile of balloon wheels that have some good double butts i use a little propane bottle when its not empty and heat the nipples up till they glow after they cool they release o so easy but let them cool if you want the nipples


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## greenephantom (Jan 22, 2014)

Electric Impact Driver for frozen stem bolts and headset top nuts. On real rusty bikes I used to snap off stem bolts all the time with a standard wrench. With the impact tool something like 90% of them come right out. Harbor Freight (or whatever your regional China-direct cheap-o tool depot is called) has them for under $40. Also handy for automotive stuff.
Cheers, Geoff


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## bricycle (Jan 22, 2014)

My old auto shop class teacher told me to alway's smack the head of a rusty bolt first before applying loose juice to help it capillary action into the fitting.


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## bricycle (Jan 22, 2014)

old baking pans make dandy parts holders... old muffin/cupcake tins are great to separate parts too.


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## bricycle (Jan 22, 2014)

bad 2.125 inner tube? cut it up to make rubberbands to hold spare pedals together with. works great! Makes tons too!


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## bricycle (Jan 22, 2014)

slide a piece of sectioned old innertube over had grip to give you extra grip when twisting off grips.


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## bricycle (Jan 22, 2014)

pieces of old spokes make dandy "spring clips" that hold lenses in toc lamps and some newer lamps.


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## skindel (Jan 22, 2014)

*hand grip removal trick*

an old timer told me put your thumb over the hole in one hand grip and blow compressed air in the other hand grip from your compressor and they come off i haven't try it yet


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## skindel (Jan 22, 2014)

*new departure cone wrench*

take the brake arm from a crap hub and cut it out to the size you want and you can't get any cheaper than that-- and they are  strong i got one near the end i made it wider so its has 2 sizes on one arm


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## skindel (Jan 22, 2014)

*stem nut stuck*



greenephantom said:


> Electric Impact Driver for frozen stem bolts and headset top nuts. On real rusty bikes I used to snap off stem bolts all the time with a standard wrench. With the impact tool something like 90% of them come right out. Harbor Freight (or whatever your regional China-direct cheap-o tool depot is called) has them for under $40. Also handy for automotive stuff.
> Cheers, Geoff




on the stem nuts put the head set cap nut back on to protect threads after removing the stem and place flat washers at top and bottom of an impact socket and slide the stem bolt through the socket and thread into the stuck stem nut and tighten down --it pulls stuck stem nuts up out of forks everytime --experiment with a couple length sockets to find right length or if you have a bolt the right length you may only need the washers on top of cap to pull them out--


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## OldRider (Jan 22, 2014)

My Dad's advice : When all else fails hit it with a hammer


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## spoker (Jan 22, 2014)

giving a tap to a stubburn fastener is really good info,heres what works for me for head badge screws,hols a knife in the screw slot,carefully tap the back side of the knife with a hammer while trying to turn the screw,have patience,ive save alot of screws and head badges this way,anytime you can tap or impact a bolt or screw your succes fate will go way up,if grips are hard first give em some heat,then slide or tap somthing thin down the side of the grip between it and the handle bar,squirt somthing like wd 40 down the side and twist and repeat as neccassarywhen putting grips on,rud dish soap on the handlebar ,the grip will slide rite on anwhen the dish soap drys the grip will stay,mowt oil type lube wont dry so the grip with stay loose,when appliing decals use sopy water on the mtal,this will allow you to move the decal around to where you want it without damagine decal,once again the soapy water will dry,if you have a thick decal use a rubber sqeege to sgeege out air bubbles,or poke the air bubble with a needle,solvaset works really well to make the decal lay flat an adhere well,if you have the welding torches,try this,we used to do it at the eng rebuid shop,heat the bolt red hot and stick a piece of wax on it,the wax gets pulled into the threads,simmilar to sweat soldering copper pipe,as far as using comprest air on grips or anything,be VERY carfull if you get an air bubble under yor skin its a serious injury,always remember,be in a good mood and go slow on alot of this stuff you only get one shot,oh one more thing,if you want to dye your leather seat find a good shoe maker that makes his own leather dye,i use gearges in minnesota,they are a high end shop been in bussiness since the early 1920s


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## Jennifer Parker (Jan 23, 2014)

*Needle nose tweezers.*

I pulled a long set of needle nose tweezers open, wedged it in between the grip and handle bar, and poured 3 in - oil in the gap. Wiggle back and forth, more oil if needed, and slide it right off. Also reconditions the grip so it doesn't crack. Relube and reattach later. It won't slide after a minute so hurry up with adjusting the grip's position. I did this to three sets of 80's hunt-Wilde grips.


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## SJ_BIKER (Jan 23, 2014)

*new use for old inner tubes*

for old inner tubes....dont toss them....simply cut out the valve stem and cut all the way around the inner part the part the rests on actual rim and when done put your working inner tube inside the old one and what youll have is a double layer of rubber(heavy duty thick) for protection against torns .....


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## SJ_BIKER (Jan 23, 2014)

*got loose grips on your handlebars??*

use wide blue painters masking tape and put a thin layer around the bar ends to fill in the gaps to have a tight grip for your grip....


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## spoker (Jan 24, 2014)

old inner tubes work good for makin slingshots,the red ones are best


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## rustjunkie (Jan 24, 2014)

skindel said:


> an old timer told me put your thumb over the hole in one hand grip and blow compressed air in the other hand grip from your compressor and they come off i haven't try it yet




Done this more times than I can remember, yesterday actually...unless the grips don't have a hole in 'em  
Hairspray on the bars and inside grips before sliding on. 
Baby powder on inner tubes before putting into tires: makes inflation better by decreasing friction, and removal later easier.
Put a bit of air in so they hold their shape too, makes installation easier, and decreases chance of pinching by levers and between bead/rim.


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## militarymonark (Jan 26, 2014)

bricycle said:


> old baking pans make dandy parts holders... old muffin/cupcake tins are great to separate parts too.




OH SNAP!! i was just about to throw away a muffin pan. Thanks bricycle


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## militarymonark (Jan 26, 2014)

OldRider said:


> My Dad's advice : When all else fails hit it with a hammer




or Jeremy Clarkson's


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## petritl (Jan 26, 2014)

bricycle said:


> old baking pans make dandy parts holders... old muffin/cupcake tins are great to separate parts too.




I learned this while being a tech in an auto dealership. The pans work better if you place some used speaker magnets on the outside and bottom of the pan. This will help hold the parts if the pan is knocked over.


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## ChicagoFlash (Jan 26, 2014)

*remove Schwinn  kickstand*

saw this tip on Youtube

Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand

push the wrench forward which compresses the spring loaded Schwinn
kickstand remove the pin and remove stand - to replace insert stand 
do the same thing and drop the pin in - he used a 10" wrench in the video

Here's the Youtube video check it out

http://youtu.be/hlfXmN7C5TY


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## skindel (Jan 26, 2014)

*can't wait*



ChicagoFlash said:


> saw this tip on Youtube
> 
> Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand
> 
> ...




i can hardly wait to try this one think i'll take one out just for kicks


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## morton (Jan 26, 2014)

*Why didn't I think of that*



ChicagoFlash said:


> saw this tip on Youtube
> 
> Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand
> 
> ...




Winner of the best tip so far!!!!  (if it works, haven't tried it yet)


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## SJ_BIKER (Jan 26, 2014)

*i saw the video..........*



ChicagoFlash said:


> saw this tip on Youtube
> 
> Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand
> 
> ...




that was way too easy....not it will work for 40s and 50s kickstands thought the compressed part is way to deep/nearly flush with the welded tube....but who knows until its tried


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## ReVo (Feb 5, 2014)

If you want to restore the look of old, rusty, yellowed, or glazed headlight lenses get a bottle of blue magic and some blue shop towels. You can get it at most auto parts stores for about 6 to 8 bucks. Cleans em up pretty well. Here is the before and after of a junk lens I had from a delta torpedo. 
Before:




After:







~Ron~


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## DJ Bill (Feb 5, 2014)

SJ_BIKER said:


> that was way too easy....not it will work for 40s and 50s kickstands thought the compressed part is way to deep/nearly flush with the welded tube....but who knows until its tried




We just had a long discussion about this on the Musclebike forum. If you make a washer out of a coathanger or use some other sort of spacer (no washers commercially available are right) you can still take out the flush or near flush kickstands.  You want it large enough to slide over the bends in the stand and small enough to fit inside the frame tube. Same basic idea as the Schwinn tool and not as fancy as the Park tool.


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## Richard Bergdahl (Feb 6, 2014)

SJ_BIKER said:


> that was way too easy....not it will work for 40s and 50s kickstands thought the compressed part is way to deep/nearly flush with the welded tube....but who knows until its tried




A guy at my local bike shop taught me to use an offset box end wrench for this.  If you can find the right size, it works pretty well.


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## HIGGINSFOREVER (Feb 7, 2014)

Cut up inner tubes make good rim strips


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## pedal_junky (Feb 7, 2014)

*washer trick*



DJ Bill said:


> We just had a long discussion about this on the Musclebike forum. If you make a washer out of a coathanger or use some other sort of spacer (no washers commercially available are right) you can still take out the flush or near flush kickstands.  You want it large enough to slide over the bends in the stand and small enough to fit inside the frame tube. Same basic idea as the Schwinn tool and not as fancy as the Park tool.




You can drill or step bit a washer to the correct size. I painted mine pink so it doesn't get used for its original purpose.


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## skindel (Jun 14, 2014)

what did i really do do get smacked in the head ((( i know how long you been waiting))))


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## ricobike (Jun 14, 2014)

I just did this one today.  Had to straighten a crank, the pedals were wobbling all over the place.  Put on a pair of crap pedals, took a blade fork and stuck it in the gaps in the pedals.  It gave me the leverage I needed to bend the cranks back into shape.  A little pushing in the right direction and voila, straight cranks.


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## M & M cycle (Jun 14, 2014)

*thank you*

thank you for sharing this one!!







ChicagoFlash said:


> saw this tip on Youtube
> 
> Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand
> 
> ...


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## Rivnut (Jun 14, 2014)

ChicagoFlash said:


> saw this tip on Youtube
> 
> Slide the hole in the handle of a crescent wrench over the kickstand
> 
> ...




On the early years, as mentioned earlier, I cut a 3/4 circle out of a peg board screw driver holder.  It was the correct size. it's hefty, and it's chrome plated so I know not to use it on anything else.  You can also use a box end wrench instead of the hole in the handle of a Crescent wrench; the angle of the box end gives you some leverage room.


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