Moscow cyclist survives car and truck collision

Watch the video below and be amazed as a Moscow cyclist counts his lucky stars.

Danny MacAskill's Imaginate, Bicycle Stunts

Danny MacAskill has been up to his old bicycle tricks again. This time in "Danny MacAskill's Imaginate", a 7 minute video supposedly to give us a glimpse as to what goes on in his brain when he is thinking up bicycle stunts.

You can see some of his previous bicycle stunt videos here on The Bicycle Mechanic just by clicking stunts on the side bar.

If you have Netflix you can also watch the documentary about the making of Imaginate. (Although I will admit I skipped forward through some of the boring bits of the documentary. I just didn't have the patience to watch the whole thing.)

The stunt video is below!

Premium Rush - Bicycle Courier Movie

I just finished watching the 2012 bicycle courier film "Premium Rush" on Netflix. (And yes, I realize the film came out 2 years ago and I only now got around to watching it. Whatever. Sue me.)

Anyway I really enjoyed the film. Hence why I am sharing the trailer for the film on here.

So yeah, watch it on Netflix, buy the DVD, download it for free - it matters not to me. I just felt it was an enjoyable movie and wanted to share it with my fellow cyclists who may not have heard of it.

I also find it interesting that the film didn't pull any punches when it came to crazy cyclists, stupid car drivers, and idiot pedestrians. (And don't forget the police, who are often corrupt or clueless.) They all got slammed. Proof positive that drivers, cyclists and even pedestrians are equally stupid when it comes safety issues.

Demystify Your Bicycle at HUB (Vancouver)

HUB in Vancouver B.C. is offering a series of small 3-hour long introductory classes to teach people how to fix and maintain their bicycles. The classes are held at The Pedal Depot (1830 Ontario Street) in Vancouver.

More information on this topic is available at https://bikehub.ca/bike-education/maintenance-mechanics

The introductory classes only cover brakes, gears, hubs and wheels and cost $200 to sign up for all 4 classes.

The graphic below lists the classes as "intermediate", but the classes really are designed for complete beginners.

The "beginner" 2-hour class is more of a "complete basics" class which covers jargon, terminology, etc and almost no mechanical skills and is designed to teach people how their bicycle works, and what the different parts are called. The beginner 2-hour class does a basic inspection, how to clean and oil a chain, check for wear and tear, and patch a flat - basically all things you could learn from a YouTube video or by reading The Bicycle Mechanic.

So if you already know how to fix a flat, you probably don't need to take that course.

On the other hand if you are looking to become a true professional bicycle mechanic, you are probably best off taking the six week bicycle mechanic training course at Quadra Island (which is not far from Vancouver), which costs $2500 for tuition and residence. Students come from all over the world to take the course at Quadra Island because it is the most intensive and comprehensive bicycle mechanic training course in the world.

An Essay on the Topic of Abandoned Bicycles

Many people in Toronto (and other cities like Toronto) have bicycles.

But many people also either apparently lack the mechanical skills to fix their bicycle;

Or they have skills but are simply lazy.

I am uncertain which it is.

What I do know is that I see a lot of abandoned and "broken" bicycles on the streets of Toronto on a regular basis.

Sometimes I even take the abandoned bicycle, I fix it up and I sell it. It isn't thievery. It is an unlocked bicycle with something broken on it.

Often it just needs a replacement part and the part is somewhere in the $5 to $50 range, but for whatever reason the previous owner was too busy or lazy to go to a store, buy the part, replace the broken part, bob's your uncle, your bicycle is (practically) good as new.

And it boggles my mind that the people abandoning their bicycles don't know they can do this. Something breaks, they are too lazy to fix it, so they just abandon the bicycle because they think it is easier to go and buy a brand new bicycle instead.

Let us assume the average person spends at least $200 on a new bicycle. If they make $20 / hour doing whatever it is they do, they just spent 10 hours working just so they could get a new bicycle.

When they could have just walked to a store, purchased a $5 to $50 part, replaced the part, and the comparative cost to them would have been either 15 minutes worth of work or 2.5 hours worth of work (assuming they are getting paid $20 per hour).

And now hopefully you understand why my mind is boggled by the people who just abandon their bicycles and go buy new ones, and understand why I am writing this essay / rant. Essay writing is a great way to get your point across.

It is almost as if people either don't realize how cheap it is to fix a bicycle, or they don't realize how easy it is. 90% of repairs are actually so easy a 12 year old could do it.

It is the 10% of repairs that take a bit more brain power.

Take for example any bicycle which is tossed out because it has a flat tire. (I have lost track of how many bicycles I have seen abandoned just because it had a flat tire.)

You either patch the tire with a patch kit and glue;

Or you buy a new tire that is the same size.

Presta, you're done! (And yes, that was valve pun.)

Next, lets take the example of any bicycle that was abandoned because the chain was tangled up / snagged on something / broken / etc. (This is another very common cause of abandoned bicycles)

Just rip the old chain off, buy a new chain the same size, buy a chain tool, install the new chain using the chain tool.

Bob Schrader's your uncle, it is done!

Sometimes I have found abandoned bicycles that the only thing that is wrong with is that the brakes don't work.

In which case, just follow the instructions on The Bicycle Mechanic for fixing the brakes (seriously, they're not that hard to fix), and voila c'est fini!

In some cases they might require you to purchase new brake pads. They cost about $5.

And there you go, three of the most common reasons why people throw out / abandon their old bicycles - and how easy it is to fix those three common mechanical problems.

Now I could understand if someone was throwing out a bicycle because they were leaving the country and could not take the bicycle with them.

In which case the thing to do is take it outside, put a piece of paper on it that says FREE BIKE, and watch how quickly it disappears. In which case the bicycle should be in perfect working order.

Typically you will see the perfectly working free bicycles outside of apartment buildings on the 1st of each month. The previous owner moved out on the 30th or 31st and left their bicycle outside on purpose for someone to take it.

That I can understand. But for the silly people who abandon their bicycles because it has a broken part that could be replaced for $5 and some brief elbow grease? Those people need to realize how easy it is to fix their bicycle.

Schrader Vs Presta Valves

If you read my post about Bicycle Mechanics in Leaside Toronto then you know I purchased two things today: #1. A Presta-Schrader valve adapter, and #2. a bicycle pump that is compatible with both Schrader and Presta valves.

I already have a Schrader bicycle pump, which is pretty standard. But I didn't have a working Presta one so I decided to get a new one (that works) and in the event it ever breaks and I need an adapter, I therefore bought an adapter too. I call it the Mechanic's Rule of Tool Redundancy - when in doubt, get two or more in case you cannot find the other tool, it breaks, or cannot be used for whatever reason. This is why you can never have too many toolboxes, screwdrivers or tools in general.

Since the invention of the pneumatic tire many valve types have come along but for bicycles the two most popular that are still in use are Presta and Schrader (or as I like to call them, de French one and zee German one - not because that is their country of origin, just because they sound like they are French and German).

The Presta valve is the skinny one of the two and is slightly more cumbersome to use, having a lock nut instead of a spring to make sure it is closed and doesn`t leak air. The Presta valve is more popular on racing bicycles because it is skinnier and doesn`t leak air easily.

The Presta valve also enabled racers to inflate tires with a simple pump with attached chuck (pump head) and no hose. Having no valve spring to overcome it is therefore faster and easier to pump gas into the tires. If Schrader valves had a valve depressor it could speed up the process, but it would make the pump head larger, heavier and impractical.

Because of the small diameter of the Presta valve it requires a smaller hole in the rim, which means that the bicycle rims can be narrower. This saves on weight and increases overall speed.

However Presta valves break easier, are harder to fix, are not widely used except in racing bikes, and Presta pumps break easier too (based on my first hand experience with them). Some Presta valves have been made with removable cores to make them easier to fix, but demand is so small that they are uncommon. Removable Presta cores can be identified by two wrench flats on the coarse valve cap threads.

In contrast Schrader valves are robust, universally used, and have an easily removable core. And they are easier to fix. Spring closure makes them simpler to use because one needs only to press the inflation chuck onto them at any gas station that has an air pump. With foot or hand pumps, a screwed or lever chuck provides the valve depressor - and it can tell you what the pressure is in the tire too.

My advice for my fellow bicycle mechanics? Get a Schrader pump and a Presta adapter. You might never use the Presta adapter, but at least you will have it when you need it.

Bicycle Mechanics in Leaside Toronto

Sandy's Bikes and Books

Address: 95 Research Rd #1, Leaside, Toronto, ON M4G 2G8
Phone: 416-467-1035

As you can see above Sandy's Bikes and Books is just that, a bicycle mechanic / bicycle store that also doubles as a book store. Oh and vinyl too. Don't forget vinyl.

Sandy himself is very nice, very talkative and I am sure I will be going back there again to buy bicycle parts. Today I purchased a Presta-Shrader nozzle adapter there for a mere $3.04 (tax included).

GEARS Bike Shop in Leaside

Address: 109 Vanderhoof Ave, Leaside, Toronto, ON M4G 2H7
Phone: 1-888-984-3277

GEARS is all about racing bicycles - and I make this review with the knowledge that GEARS has been sponsoring this blog for the last 2 years and hopefully will continue to sponsor the Bicycle Mechanic. So, knowing that these are high end racing bicycles expect that if you want to purchase a bicycle at GEARS that you will be spending a pretty penny. However at the same time I will point out that their service was excellent when I said I was looking for a Presta pump. What I got was an Evo Hurricane pump which is compatible with both Shrader and Presta valves. Cost was $29.99 + HST.

Enduro Sport in Leaside

I am not going to list Enduro Sport's address or phone number here.

Why? Because they snubbed me. I think they saw my GEARS bag and then chose to snub me. Didn't even ask if I wanted help, if I was looking for anything, etc. So I am snubbing them back in return. Nyah nyah!

Seriously though, I have been to Enduro Sport twice before and they were rude both times. This is the third strike / last straw in my opinion. I have given them three chances to redeem themselves and they were rude twice and snubbed me once. I doubt they remember me from the previous times I went there. Both times was in 2009 when I first started this website. So having been treated poorly three times I shall now return the favour.

Call it the Golden Rule of Shopping - If you are rude to the customer with the gold, they take their business elsewhere. And the customer is always right.