Bicycle Repairman
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bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Bicycle Repairman
@bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
480 followers 88 following 1.6K posts
Was once told my bike was a "three-speed with five gears." Now posting actual bike repair #BR tidbits here on bsky instead of that other place.
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bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Here's a tool combination I used VERY often during the Cotter Pin years. #BR

Since the shop had only one caliper gauge, having an inexpensive diameter gauge to carry around was invaluable. A miniature 1-meter long tape measure for checking frame sizes of display bikes completed the duo.
A cable/rope diameter gauge adapted for measuring cotter pins. The gauge is a flat stamped stainless straightedge with metric markings. In the center, a narrow triangular gap has graduations for measuring diameters. .A small 1-meter long tape measure is attached to the gauge via a keyring.
December 14, 2025 at 9:40 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
It's only logical.
Close-up of a "quill" stem, showing the lower portion of the quill and part of the expander wedge. On the quill are the markings "MAX HT" and "22.2." Tick marks indicate the maximum height the installed stem may extend, while the numbers indicate quill diameter in.millimeters.
December 8, 2025 at 8:31 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
"The Devil in the Dark" is actually a very heartwarming story.
Spock contemplates a mysterious silicon nodule as McCoy and Kirk look on. ST:TOS S1E25 "The Devil in the Dark."
December 8, 2025 at 5:53 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
The Doomsday Machine always gets me.
Commodore Decker (William Windom) having a emotional meltdown as he recalls the fate of his crew. ST:TOS S2E06 "The Doomsday Machine."
December 8, 2025 at 5:48 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Meshing three gears together doesn't work. #BR #StuckGears

But making the gears wildly mismatched isn't helping.
Three gears of different sizes seemingly with their teeth meshed with one another. However, the gears and the tooth pitch are all different and the tooth engagement is very poor, so the gear set is very unlikely to be able to function.
December 2, 2025 at 9:45 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
YEAHBUT, the Rollei 35-family cameras had the hot shoe on the bottom when you wanted to take those weirdly-lit grab shots of people.
A Rollei 35B camera, upside down, with a Rollei flash affixed to the hot shoe, which is on the bottom of the camera. Photo lifted from an ebay.com listing.
December 2, 2025 at 7:08 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
HTPD-1
A crudely drawn tool with a blue handle. The image is cropped tightly so that the tool's function is not clear. From a thumbnail of a stock image from dreamtimes.com.
November 27, 2025 at 4:07 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Inspect and correct any faults with rim strips when building or refurbishing a bicycle. #BR

YIKES--I found THREE instances of mis-installed rim strips on the same bike!
A front wheel from a kid's bike with the tire removed. The rim strip is partly skewed, exposing several spoke nipples. A rear wheel from a kid's bike with the tire removed. The rim strip is partly skewed, exposing several spoke nipples. The same rear wheel from a kid's bike with the tire removed. Part of the rim strip is also twisted!
November 24, 2025 at 11:31 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
These used to work pretty good back in the day.
A self-inking rubber stamp that prints"TOP SECRET" in bold red lettering.
November 19, 2025 at 9:06 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
I mean, it's pretty hard to mess up with a coaster brake--unless it's a no name hub?
A screenshot of the specifications web page for the Trek Precaliber 20. The data for the rear hub states, "Coaster brake, 19T, 110mm bolt-on."
November 17, 2025 at 10:23 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Making the gears all the same color won't help. #BR #StuckGears
Three gears of the same size, with teeth of each gear meshed with teeth of its neighbor, against a blank white background. No gear can rotate given this arrangement. Image lifted from a shutterstock.com thumbnail.
November 17, 2025 at 6:00 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
I AM NOT A DOLL DO NOT PLAY WITH ME.
Screengrab of Dr. Migleemo playing with what appears to be a doll on a bed in sick bay. Security officer Kayshon, temporarily transformed into a doll, is in bed recuperating. A handwritten paper sign warns, "I AM NOT A DOLL DO NOT PLAY WITH ME." Star Trek: Lower Decks S2E02
November 17, 2025 at 3:44 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
For most nuts, use a box wrench or a socket wrench. Pliers may be used as a last resort--but you're going to cause damage. #BR
A saddle mounted on a seatpost using a common ratchet style saddle clamp. Both the clamp and nut are damaged. Detail of damage to saddle clamp. The clamp plate has deep gouge marks, while the knuckles on the nut are rounded off.
November 14, 2025 at 10:09 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Each of these gears could turn freely, so no #StuckGears in this illustration!
A drawing of an electric light bulb but the silohouette of the bulb is made of multicolored drawings of gears in different sizes. None of the gears engages with any other gear. Image borrowed from a thumbnail at vectorstock.com.
November 13, 2025 at 3:06 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Do you think they'll melt us down?
A Jawa sandcrawler in a desert landscape.
November 13, 2025 at 2:46 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Making the gears in bright colors won't help them to operate. #BR #StuckGears
Three plastic gears of the same size, with teeth of each gear meshed with teeth of its neighbor, against a blank white background. The gears are colored red, blue, and green. No gear can rotate given this arrangement.
November 7, 2025 at 7:06 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Someone tried to "stretch" this tire onto the rim! #BR

Hint: Tires are constructed to resist the force of inflation pressure. Therefore, they are designed NOT to stretch.
A 54-559 (26x2.125") tire removed from a wheel. The wire bead shows a sharp bend, likely caused by force-mounting the tire with a tire lever. Using proper technique, most tires this size can be mounted by hand without tools.
November 6, 2025 at 11:11 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
A single loose bearing locknut can affect many things! #BR

The wheel:
-may not tighten properly
-may not center properly in the frame
-cannot be trued correctly
-may affect proper derailleur adjustment

Always inspect axle hardware on new bikes at assembly time, when it's easier to correct.
A rear wheel removed from a bicycle, showing the freewheel and axle and axle hardware. There is a noticeable gap between the spacer bushing and the bearing locknut (indicated by a red arrow). A callout pointing to the locknut says, "loose."
November 5, 2025 at 5:18 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
It'll likely overload!
Mr. Scott reports on a damaged dilithium crystal.
October 31, 2025 at 6:45 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Hope this makes you feel better bsky.app/profile/bicy...
Close-up of Rutherford's tray of sushi, which appears to have Star Fleet delta-shaped salmon nigiri.
October 27, 2025 at 2:24 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
A possible cause of some brake failures: turning handlebars around too far. #BR
A kid's mountain bike shown with the handlebars turned almost 180-degrees. The cable on the front linear-pull brake is hitting the frame and forcining the noodle against the tension link, causing the latter to bend. Detail of the brake cable hitting the frame and causing damage. The ferrule has fractured and is no longer able to retain the cable liner or housing. The noodle has to be replaced. The tension link is also getting bent.
October 24, 2025 at 5:11 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
Can you see it? #BR

This "radial" spoke pattern is not built correctly.

Not a big deal on a kid's bike, but if you spoke a pro wheel like this, you're going to get called out.
A close-up of a wheel with large flange hubs and spoked in a "radial" spoke pattern--spokes on the same flange do not cross one another. This wheel is not correctly laced for a radial pattern. The camera is lined up with the wheel's axle, showing that one side is laced one spoke hole off. In other words, one flange has its spokes one hole "ahead" of the other spokes. A true radial spoke pattern when viewed from this perspective will have all its spokes appear to radiate radially.
October 23, 2025 at 7:19 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
"Be seeing you..."

as people say in The Village.
Patrick McGoohan (Number 6), left, and Leo McKern (Number 2) meeting Number 2's for the first time. Number 6 is sitting on 2's desk with his arms crossed, looking at Number 2, who is sitting cross-legged inside a hemispherical chair. From the TV series "The Prisoner" (1967).
October 17, 2025 at 8:02 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
monstre bouba aka "Moopsy"
"Moopsy," a predatory creature from the animated series, Star Trek: Lower Decks. Moopsy utters the word moopsy and drinks the bones of its prey.
October 16, 2025 at 5:24 PM
bicyclerepairman.bsky.social
POP QUIZ: What is a common cause of mysterious flats? #BR

Answer is tn the image [ALT] text.

Fun fact: Both these wheels are from the same bike!
A coaster-brake wheel from a kid's bike with the tire removed. The rubber rim strip does not fully cover the spoke nipples, which can puncture the inner tube, causing a flat. A front wheel from a kid's bike with the tire removed. The rubber rim strip does not fully cover the spoke nipples, which can puncture the inner tube, causing a flat.
October 14, 2025 at 5:00 PM