In the past few months the local bike shop put together a highly customized new Surly Pugsley for me, completely rebuilt both my Gary Fisher Big Sur mountain bike and a Trek 1200 road bike, and tuned up my Trek Madone. In addition, I rebuilt my old Trek 4300 mountain bike from the ground up. As a result, all of my bikes are in perfect condition and ready for summer. This is really good news because last week I was at the local bike shop and heard one of the mechanics tell a customer that the turn-around time for a bike repair is now seven days. Now that Spring is here nearly every bike shop in the Midwest is busier than a one-armed paperhanger—even if your bike only needs a simple tune-up you are going to have to either wait a week or do the job yourself. The good news is that bike repair is not all that difficult if you have a copy of Bike Repair, an app for iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad and Android platforms.
Screenshots of the Bike Repair App for Apple iPhone
I own four different bicycle repair manuals and they all do an excellent job of explaining how to make almost any repair to a bike. However, when I rebuilt my Trek 4300 the only guide I really needed was the Bike Repair app. Some bike manuals go into excruciatingly painful detail for every repair, and while and I sometimes appreciate such detail, most of the time I just want to know how to get the job done quickly and some illustrations to guide me along the way.
Though I am an avid cyclist, I usually don’t do much work on my own bikes—the mechanics at the local bike shop are highly skilled and they work a lot faster than I can. However, a few weeks ago I decided to rebuild a bike on my own—not only for the experience, but because I think it will help me if my bike ever seriously malfunctions when I am 50 miles away from home. It comes as a shock to most cyclists, bu many of the repairs you need to make to your bike can be done with a simple multitool like the one you probably already have in your seat bag (the Topeak Alien II 26 function multitool is my favorite).
Bike Repair has illustrated guides for the installation, adjustment and repair of most bicycle components. It has sections on: Wheels, Front Derailleur, Rear Derailleur, Chain, Handlebar/Headset, Pedals/Cranks, Cantilever Brakes, Center Mount Brakes, V-Brakes, and Disk Brakes. In addition, there is a troubleshooting section where you can follow a flowchart of questions to identify your specific problem and then see how to get your bike running in perfect shape again. The directions are clear, easy to follow and well illustrated.
Before you buy any bicycle repair manual I would suggest you try the Bike Repair app first. If you need help overhauling and adjusting a Campagnolo hub equipped with an oversize axle, well, this app is not going to suit your needs. Bike Repair has 55 highly detailed photo repair guides and over 70 bicycle problems explained—I’d guess that covers at least 80% of the problems cyclists have with their bikes. The Bike Repair app for iPhone, iPod and iPad is available through Apple iTunes for only $3.99. The Android version is available for download from the Bike Repair Website. This is one of the few products I wholeheartedly recommend without any reservations at all.
Lisa
March 26, 2012 at 9:08 AM
Thank you for posting! I actually went and bought the Bike Repair app and I like it a lot
All Seasons Cyclist
March 26, 2012 at 10:26 AM
Lisa, I’m glad you bought the app! Since most of us take our phones with us on a ride you will not have to worry if your bike breaks down on the road — just fix it yourself!
hectorshouse
March 26, 2012 at 9:16 AM
That sounds like a brilliant app. I really known an embarrassingly little amount about my bike, and wish I knew more. Would probably help me out alot more than my book.
All Seasons Cyclist
March 26, 2012 at 10:27 AM
Hector, judging from the comments I overhear while at the local bike shop, I think most cyclists have very little knowledge of what makes a bike work. This app is a lot easier to use than a book!
Ready Set Pedal
March 26, 2012 at 10:22 AM
I need to switch over to an iPhone soonish… this will be the first app I get!
All Seasons Cyclist
March 26, 2012 at 10:29 AM
As soon as you get the iPhone you need to buy the Cyclemeter app as well — I like it better than my Garmin GPS (and the app is about $250 cheaper).
billgncs
March 26, 2012 at 7:01 PM
Thanks for stopping by my blog. This is a nice site. Just a couple days ago, my Specialized Roubaix was skipping gears on the shift. I put it up on the stand and cracked the book and with a simple adjustment to the cable tension it works like a charm. Feels even smoother when you fix it yourself.
All Seasons Cyclist
March 27, 2012 at 9:59 AM
billgncs, you are so right about a bike feeling smother after you have adjusted it yourself! I think it moves faster too!
katballou
March 27, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Great info! I am, unfortunately, a “take it to the shop” kinda gal, but this is good to have in case you need it!
All Seasons Cyclist
March 27, 2012 at 1:26 PM
If your bike ever breaks down 30 miles from home you’ll be glad this little app was on your phone!
adventurefoot
March 27, 2012 at 4:32 PM
Oh! This sounds like an app I need! I was so embarrassed with how little it took to get my derailleur to stop rubbing when the bike shop got a hold of it. That was quite a trip for a 10 second adjustment!
Thanks for stopping by my blog! Yours is great. And congrats on the Pugsley- that’s a fun bike!
All Seasons Cyclist
March 27, 2012 at 10:25 PM
Learning to use the barrel adjuster is easy, but a lot of people end up taking their bike to the shop for this simple adjustment. The mechanics at the shop I go to are a very honest group of guys, but I worry about what happens to customers at some of the other shops I’ve been in.
scorpioscott
March 28, 2012 at 1:36 PM
Love this app. Thanks man.
SS
gitwizard
March 28, 2012 at 4:34 PM
I can’t afford a smartfone but if I could this would be first on my app shopping list.
All Seasons Cyclist
March 28, 2012 at 9:54 PM
Once you get a smartphone you will wonder how you ever rode without it!
gbsmith4
March 30, 2012 at 6:44 AM
Terrific stuff in your blog! Extremely helpful!!
rongarofalo
April 1, 2012 at 7:26 AM
I had this app for a while and it has gotten me out of a jam with adjusting a shifter on the road. Its great to carry around just in cast
Diane
April 3, 2012 at 11:04 PM
bought this awhile back for the iphone and i was a little disappointed that it doesn’t share a version for the ipad.
you’d have to pay twice! anyway, the app itself didn’t disappoint. pretty good idea to have around if you’re not that familiar with repair, and if you don’t have internet access on your mobile.
All Seasons Cyclist
April 3, 2012 at 11:21 PM
Diane, I thought everything you bough for the iPhone would transfer to an iPad as well! My wife is getting a new iPad this month and giving me her old one — I guess I’ll have to buy this app again!
Diane
April 4, 2012 at 12:16 AM
I haven’t tried sync-ing it to the iPad yet, but when I looked at iTunes, there was a different paid version (HD) specifically for the iPad.
All Seasons Cyclist
April 4, 2012 at 10:30 AM
Diane, now I understand! I think you can use the older version that you already purchased on both the iPhone and iPad, but the HD version will only run on the iPad — thus you would have to buy it again if you want HD. My wife has had to do the same thing with several other apps.
formerslug
April 5, 2012 at 3:53 PM
Thanks for the tip – this has just been downloaded on my phone. Here’s to hoping it’ll be a looong time before I have to turn to it on a ride!
Southern Girl
April 9, 2012 at 8:34 AM
Genius – thanks for the recommendation!