Mountain bike like McGuyver: Fix a flat, or anything else, with what you’ve got
by: Robert Cole
Posted on: Monday, December 24th, 2007 at 7:56 pm by: Robert Cole
Comments (0)
Here are some make shift repairs that can be done on the trail. It will save you time, money and a little bit of pride.
If you’re like me, you don’t want to stop for anything when on the trail, but sometimes our bikes force us to a halt. Anything can happen wherever you choose to go riding—flat tires, broken chains, lost seats—and while it’s best to always ride prepared, there are times when you’ll have to make do with what’s around you. There’s no calling mommy to bring you a new tire or chain. No, no—we’re men and women here. We are going to solve the problem, get some bruises and make it back home to tell the story.
Fixing a flat tire with gravel and cloth
I remember riding through the Arbuckles in my late teens during autumn. There was this sharp crevice waiting to be conquered, but I misjudged and gouged a hole in my back end. So I filled the deflated tire with gravel and then used some spare cloth to seal up the hole. It’s easier to do this in stages, holding the gravel in one spot and slowly packing in whatever hard material you can find until the tire is sturdy and trail worthy again.
Of course, the bike didn’t ride the same, but I got fairly far without too much trouble. It really didn’t make much of a difference at first until, after about half a mile, the gravel began to leak out behind me. I suppose if I was lost, I could use this method again (this time maybe with just a bag of colored gravel on the pedal) to get back to where I was. Needless to say, just 400 yards from my house I had to pick the bike up and start walking.
Repairing a broken chain with a shoelace
I thankfully didn’t break the chain on that turn too, but it has happened before. I used a shoelace to merge the missing or broken piece back together, though I have to say this will only help for a short while. The important thing to remember is that temporary repairs in the bush are one thing, but riding with two flats and a haphazard chain isn’t really advisable on a continual basis. Neither is riding without a seat.
Replacing a lost seat with a log
I’d lost the screw that held my seat on months before. Sometimes on those bumpy trails the seat would just pop off. It didn’t take long for the seat to fall into an abyss of leaves and rocks, lost forever in the mouth of nature. It really took a lot more effort than I imagined to not sit. All my weight stayed in my calves and I had to take frequent breaks. Eventually I had to do something about it. I managed to find a fairly level-sided log. I pounded it on the seat stub until an indention appeared that would keep the log wedged between my weight and the bike. I was pleasantly surprised. Sure, the log would break off periodically and I’d have to find a new one, but it was a quick, cheap and easy repair to solve the problem.
Somewhere between the gravel tire and shoe lace chain, I decided it might be best to just buy a new bike. But that’s another story…
