What are some lesser known items or tricks in your profession that most people don’t know about?

For me one thing would be Thrift drain cleaner. I was having issues with my drains being clogged and nothing really worked, but looking around on forums and advice from plumbers lead me to Thrift and now my drains work great.

  • @hawgietonight
    13•1 year ago

    Software Engineer and Bike mechanic here. Since this community is filled with computer geeks, I’ll stick to some bike knowledge that you should know.

    • Tire logo should line up with valve stem. It looks nice and allows to find the stem really fast.
    • To seat a stubborn tire, try some water and dish soap on the bead.
    • To lube a chain correctly, you must clean and dry it first. I use biodegradable deagreaser and shop air. If you can twist the chain and feels gritty, clean and dry again.
    • Avoid non bike chain lubes on chain. Using WD40 on a chain does more harm than good.
    • After a ride, apply a finger dab of suspension oil to fork and shock and cycle the suspension a few times to push the grime from the seals, and wipe it off.
    • Get a good chain wear tool. Catching a worn chain on time can save a lot, by not having to replace expensive chainrings and cassettes.
    • Don’t get a bike specific toolset, because half of the tools you won’t use. Make your own toolset base on what you need. Nobody needs a crank extractor or a axle cone spanners anymore. Start with a decent hex set (2 to 8mm), small torque wrench, brake bleed kit, presta valve extractor, shock pump, 25Torx bit, tire levers, chain breaker, chain wear tool, cassette extractor + chain whip, adjustable wrench, cutters and assorted screwdrivers and pliers. And a floor pump. From there it just goes on, but it will be for specific uses on forks, hub, rims, etc.