Wrenching

Some people hate working on their bikes, some don't have the ability to do it, some don't have the time. Others like myself enjoy working on their rides. I will perform nearly every maintenance item on them with the exception of a few things like truing wheels or reuilding shocks & forks. Everything else is fair game to me.

I have always tinkered with mechanical things, I'm good with my hands and I like figuring out what makes things work and what makes them not work. When you ride as much as I do and you don't have a professional mechanic to work on your bikes then you learn to do it yourself. It also saves you a ton of money and down time waiting on a shop to do something simple. However, making a mistake can cost you as well... Usually, you only make that mistake once.

One of the beauties of doing my own work is that I know everything about the bikes, I know every sound, click and whirr. The bikes all have 'personalities', each is different. It also makes a big difference when something goes wrong on a ride... and if it can be fixed on the spot then I know how to fix it in the field... I don't like to walk, besides pushing your bike for 15 miles back to the truck is just plain no fun.

A while back 3 of us were starting on a ride and one of the bikes brakes wouldn't work. These are hydraulic disc brakes that normally work flawlessly. Between the 3 of us we improvised the tools, gadgets and fittings needed to extract brake fluid from my truck and get it into the bike brake cylinder. Long story short, we did a full brake bleed job in the parking lot and it only shorted our ride by about 15 minutes.

Wrenching is a 4 letter word to some, to me it's a necessary but fun aspect of being an avid rider.

Life is Short... Enjoy the Ride