Posts Tagged ‘Mason Robbins’

A lot, I think. Following is a list of the repairs/maintenance I performed during 30 days in July and August:

Monday 7/20: Repaired tube. 15 minutes.
Tuesday: Cleaned both brake cables and replaced cable housing on front brake – 45 minutes.
Saturday 7/25: Repaired three tubes – 40 minutes.
Sunday: Repaired tube with two punctures – 30 minutes.
Tuesday: Puncture. 5 minute road repair, 15 min. patching work
Sunday: Trip to bike store, Replaced brake calipers, mounted new light, tightened bottom bracket on the fixie – 2.5 hours $25
Tuesday: New seatpost – the old one was almost 12 years old – 45 minutes $19
Saturday: Rebuilt front wheel – rim was almost 12 years old and out-of-round. $70 rim and spokes. – 2 hours
Sunday: Switched out rear tube to a Slime tube – other tube had six patches: 15 minutes
Friday 8/14: Fixed cable and adjusted internal hub shifter cable that was completely not functional: 20 minutes (still need to zip tie the cable to the frame and I noticed the cable is frayed at the shifter – will need to replace.)
Saturday 8/15: Biffed it on the fixie. Lots of time doctoring wounds. Have a nicely bent rear wheel. Will need 45 minutes to true. (Not included in the calculation)

For July/August 30 days: 8.25 hours of repairs.

This seems like a lot of time to be spending maintained a fleet of bikes as my primary form of transportation. I don’t wonder long about whether many of our current population would be interested in spending this much time repairing their primary form of transportation. We need more dependable bikes with more durable components!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was on my bike train with my two children. A gentleman in a brand-spanking-new hybrid crossover leaned over and said, “I really appreciate what you’re doing.” “Riding in Memphis is so dangerous with so much traffic.” I wanted to say, “Have you ever ridden a bike around Memphis?!!!!!” “What the hell do you know about riding in Memphis?!!!!” But I’ve been tempered by age, experience and I gave the guy a break ’cause he actually shut his vehicle off while at the bank, unlike most of the bank patrons. So I said, “Memphis is a great place to ride. Of course, I don’t take Poplar or Union. I take to the backstreets. In Midtown, there’s very little traffic.” He said, “Well, I appreciate what you’re doing. Be safe.” To which I responded, “Always.”

I wish people like him and his family would get out and actually check out the scene. They may realize it’s not so bad and the more we’re out there the more comfortable the undesirable vehicle drivers would be. Again though, a few things temper my feelings here: 1. Bikes are high maintenance. (see my blog later this month). 2. Fellow bike advocates think we have to have bike lanes for people to start riding (I think more expensive gasoline — around $10 — would be more helpful and warranted as far as sustainability is concerned). 3. This is the south. It ain’t cool to ride a bike unless it’s a Harley Davidson. 4. Most people make their decisions based on fear. Many times this fear is groundless. If people didn’t have airlines and automobile companies telling them it was safe to travel in their vehicles, few would. Think about how much money the auto companies spend to advertise safety features. Despite that, if you die prematurely, chances are you’ll be in a car.

Cheers,

Mason

After wrapping up a shop-lead ride, a badly needed commuter bike tire change and tube patch while watching the Tour de France, I realized that a floor pump serves nicely as an alternative hassock.  Just place the pump a couple of feet from your beer-stinking couch and rest your achilles tendon on the handle.  With beer in hand and legs raised, your leg metabolites will work their way to your organs and allow you to relax and watch others suffer while you recover.

My Miles (estimate):

1. To Work: 17mi/day*260days= 4420mi
2. Farmer’s Market: 13mi*20 = 260

3. Misc. rides to store:  52*10= 520

4. Critical Mass:  10*13= 130

Total Mileage:  5330

My Bikes:

1.  Circa 1997 Schwinn Homegrown converted to single speed with knobby street tires (work commuter)

2. 2005 Breezer Citizen 3-speed with trailer bike and child-car attachments (grocery getter)

Things I Bought for Biking (that I can remember)*:

2 pairs of shorts (baggies), Two poly shirts, 3 pairs of socks, 2 chains, 2 pairs of pedals, numerous tubes and patch kits, 1 pair cranks, 1 bottom bracket, one rigid fork (the suspension was warn out), 2 rear tires (my front tire is about 5 years old and has about 8000 miles), 1 saddle, 2 rear lights, 2 front lights, two boxes gauze pads, 2 boxes band aids, two rolls medical tape, 1 tube of triple antibiotic goo, 1 pump, 1 rear hub rebuild kit, 1 single speed conversion kit, 1 brake cable kit, 2 sets of brake pads, 1 set of brake levers, repair of internal hub (I messed it up trying to adjust it), one rear fender, reflective tape, 1 pair shoes (my others were 6 years old)

Keep in mind that this was not my first year of commuting.  Most of these purchases were required just to maintain the bikes.

* Does not include cash purchases

Total Cost:  $1358.49

I recently began converting an old Peugot Monaco frame into a fixie. While very familiar with most aspects of bike repair, the old frame represented new challenges. Before I began buying a bunch of replacement parts (I found the frame without a seat and seatpost, wheels, brakes, chain. While also having a loose bottom bracket), I headed to Outdoors, Inc. Fortunately, I found Jason there and he demonstrated how to remove the bottom bracket and he set me up with some new bearings and a lockring tool (not something found commonly in stock at other shops). Jason also understood — without me saying directly — that I wanted to do the repairs myself. He removed the components of the bottom bracket and got me what I needed and threw it into a ziplock bag — ready for the work in my garage. The staff then helped me measure and order all of the components I needed to make the conversion. When the components came in I had some problems with the seatpost sizing, since the Peugot has an odd size seatpost. Mike (who also builds his own frames (Magnolia, if I remember correctly)) took the time to describe what I should do to shim a post in order to make it fit.

Furthermore, since I use bicycles as my primary form of transportation, Isaiah has been more than helpful and diligent in making sure that I was aware that parts I order were in and ready for pickup.

The bike repair staff at Outdoors, Inc. is knowledgeable, helpful and organized. With that being said, they need to make sure they continue to help bikers learn how to fix their rigs. After all, there aren’t bike repair schools readily available to teach repair techniques. And, if you hadn’t accommodated my needs for instruction, I would have gone elsewhere.

Outdoors, Inc. Midtown receives a 5 Broken Down Car rating. Cheers to you!