We’ve all been there, and it’s always at the furthest away point from home! Maybe you’ve wiped a mech off in a crash or forgot to pack a spare tube, either way, you’re left with a long push home. But with a little canny thinking, it doesn’t have to be that way! Here are a few handy trail side repairs that might just help you avoid the dreaded walk of shame.
Cable Tie Bodging
These little plastic saviours are quite possibly the best invention of all time! There is a whole host of scenarios that the simple cable tie will solve, from stray bolts to snapped clamps. You can link them together to make them longer or to make a stronger anchor point, use your imagination! We’ve done both brake mount bolts or even seat post bolts, certainly not as strong but it will keep you rolling.
Cable ties can rescue loads of situations, it’s definitely worth carrying a few in your pack.
Bolt Cannibalism
With all the vibrations and hits it’s not hard to see why the odd bolt makes a break for freedom. There are a multitude of different bolt lengths and thread sizes across your bike meaning it can be a bit of a lottery and pot luck whether you’ll be able to salvage one from a less critical point. Cleat bolts can swiftly be replaced for a rotor bolt, you may feel the rounded head of the rotor bolt on the bottom of your foot depending on the pedals you run, but it works! If your bike has water bottle mounts, these can be scavenged and are usually the same size as those found in your stem in the strange case of those popping out.
Chain Quick Links
These take up no space and weigh nothing so there’s no reason not to have a couple stashed away somewhere, you will, of course, need a chain tool to remove the damaged link. Many of the top EWS riders simply tape the link to a brake or gear cable, you’ll forget it’s there until the moment your chain is spat from your drivetrain.
Ghetto Singlespeed Conversion
Quite possibly one of the worst feelings on the bike is the noise of your mech being digested by your rear wheel. Its pretty difficult to salvage much in this situation unless you are wise and have a spare hanger stashed away, but most of the time the mech will be mangled anyway. 1) Split the chain and remove the mech from the hanger, wrap the cable around the frame out the way. 2) Choose your gear wisely as you’ll need to remove a substantial chunk of links to make sure it isn’t too slack, but bare in mind the motion of the rear suspension as this may tighten or slacken the chain once riding. If you can, lock out your suspension and avoid big hits if possible. 3) Splice chain back together and plod your way home.
Torn Sidewall
Flats frustratingly are still ever present and even if you are carrying a spare tube sometimes a slash in the sidewall can have your fresh tube spilling out the side, usually followed by another pop. Carrying a strong tape such like duct tape can we rewarding, doubling this up should be enough to keep the tube at bay. Even old gel / bar wrappers and other materials you can salvage can be used to rescue your ride.
Feeling Deflated With No Tube Or Patches
You may have forgotten a tube or simply ran out, but either way, you’re going nowhere. We’ve all heard the stories of someone packing their tyre with grass, leaves and any other foliage they can lay their hands on! We can’t comment on the effectiveness but if worst comes to worst it may just be worth a shot…
Tacoed Wheel
Perhaps you cased a jump, crashed head first into a tree or the wheel simply gave up itself. If the wheel is so badly buckled that it will not even pass through the legs of the fork you have nothing to lose from giving it a little abuse to try straighten it out a little. There are a few different tactics for this one, you can use your own body weight with the wheel laid flat on the and the buckle point against the ground, then try to push down on either side of the rim. If that doesn’t work, you can go for the brute force and bash the rim off the ground to try and true it enough for it roll freely again.
Bent Derailleur Hanger
The derailleur hanger is intended to bend in the case of a big hit to prevent damaging the derailleur. Nine times out of ten you will bend the derailleur towards the wheel, in this case you will definitely want to avoid mech meeting spoke. The easiest way to see the bend is to crouch down behind the mech with the bike standing straight, pry gently using the distance and angle from the wheel as a guide (a very rough one!). Bending the hanger significantly reduces its strength so be careful not to cause further damage. Your gears will still be clicking and clunking, not a permanent fix but enough to gently getting you spinning once again.
Now, these are bodges and hacks aimed to rescue your ride but there is a whole host of trailside scenarios you could be hit with… The best tool you can have is a little bit of crafty thinking!
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