Tips for bike commuting

[dongs]

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll contact the sellers on some of those postings. Bikes seem to go like hotcakes unfortunately. I found one I really liked the other day, called up the seller and it had been sold only a few hours after posting.
Sven7,
Not sure what frame size, but I'm 6'2"

[Sven7]

Originally Posted by dongs

Thanks for all the input guys! I'll contact the sellers on some of those postings. Bikes seem to go like hotcakes unfortunately. I found one I really liked the other day, called up the seller and it had been sold only a few hours after posting.
Sven7,
Not sure what frame size, but I'm 6'2"

Road Bike Size Calculator



PS- everything goes like hot cakes on CL!

[dongs]

Update: picked up an older amf road bike the other day. Just had a couple little things to repair. Picked up some new spokes to replace some that were broken and a new axle to replace the original bent one. The bike frame calculator suggested a 22" frame, at 6'2" i guess I just have a long torso. This bike was one of very very few that had the correct size frame.
Question: I haven't been able to tinker too much since I've been busy with work, but I've got the rear axle out but not the hub with the sprockets on it. I need to take it off to replace the spokes. It looks like it's splined and sure enough I found a handy dandy tool for it, unfortunately that tool is $20 and only does that one thing for me. Is there any improvised tool that can be made to pull the hub? I was thinking maybe a big bolt with a couple nuts jammed together but I'm not sure if that will bite into the splines enough to turn it without messing anything up.

[California98Civic]

Sounds like a job for a youtube search, maybe seeking... remove rear cassette hub splines ... or something similar.

[veloman]

Get and old bike chain and put it in a vise.

[Frank Lee]

Originally Posted by veloman

Get and old bike chain and put it in a vise.

And tighten it so that it'll never come off?

[veloman]

Originally Posted by Frank Lee

And tighten it so that it'll never come off?

Maybe I misread the question. He didn't seem that clear on what type of gear/freewheel he was trying to remove.

[Frank Lee]

If you think you'll be doing your own service work again in the future, just buy the tool. This is coming from one of the country's biggest cheapskates.

Or go to your local bike shop and ask how much will it cost to spin that sucker off for you. It'll take them all of 30 seconds to do it vs who knows how long it takes to jerry rig something and probably damage it besides. That's the magic of having the proper tool.

[veloman]

I agree, don't bother jerry rigging something. Buy the tool or bring to a bike shop.

[dongs]

Alright. Yeah I'm a bit of a cheapskate. Odds are I'll more than likely be using it again in the future. I do own a couple spark plug sockets and those see a lot less use than a hub puller would