ZINN& the Art of ROAD BIKE maintenance 3rd Edition LENNARD ZINN Illustrated by Todd Telander BOULDER, COLORADO Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 3rd Edition ©2009 Lennard Zinn All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic or photocopy or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Printed in the United States of America 091011 / 10987654321 Distributed in the United States and Canada by Publishers Group West Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Zinn, Lennard. Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance / Lennard Zinn. — 3rd ed. p. cm. ISBN 978-1-934030-42-4 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Bicycles—Maintenance and repair. 2. Road bicycles—Maintenance and repair. I. Title. TL430.Z557 2009 629.28’772—dc22 2009015195 1830 55th Street Boulder, Colorado 80301–2700 USA 303/440-0601; Fax 303/444-6788; E-mail [email protected] To purchase additional copies of this book or other VeloPress books, call 800/234-8356 or visit www.velopress.com. Cover, interior design, and composition by Erin Johnson Cover photo by Don Karle; bike by Lennard Zinn Title font Aviano Slab; body text Caecilia CONTENTS Acknowledgments v Introduction ix MAINTENANCE AND REPAIR 1 Tools 1 2 Basic Stuff 17 3 Emergency Repairs 35 4 The Chain 49 5 The Shifting System 73 6 Wheels and Tires 129 7 Brakes 177 8 Cranks and Bottom Brackets 205 9 Pedals 241 10 Saddles and Seatposts 261 11 Stems, Handlebars, and Headsets 277 12 Wheel Building 317 13 Forks 339 14 Frames 349 APPENDIXES A Troubleshooting Index 361 B Gear Chart 367 C Road Bike Fitting 371 D Glossary 385 E Torque Table 395 Bibliography 408 Index 409 Illustration Index About the Author INTRODUCTION First things first, but not necessarily in that order. —Doctor Who ABOUT THIS BOOK firmly believe—and my experience with the repair classes I have taught confirms this—that anyone S o, you want to maintain your road bike? can perform the repairs illustrated on these pages. Congratulations. You will be glad you took It takes only a willingness to learn and the appro- this step. Although it is nice to learn about your priate tools. bike from friends or shop employees who know This book is intended for everyone from shop more about bicycles than you do, you don’t want mechanics to those who only want to know about to depend on them for routine maintenance or fix- the most minimal maintenance their bike ing basic mechanical problems. And the exhilara- requires. Chapter 2 is for those whose interest is tion of riding with the wind in your hair will be limited to the latter; the rest of the book is for enhanced by understanding the structure of the those who choose to go to greater lengths to make mechanical system on which you are sitting and everything work optimally and look clean and to which you are trusting your life. beautiful. Even for those who wish to focus on Even the purest romantic can follow the Chapter 2, the information in Appendix C on fit- simple step-by-step procedures and exploded ting your bike to you instead of the other way diagrams in this book and discover a passion for around will increase your riding pleasure and spreading new grease on old parts. And, I hope, safety. everyone will develop an appreciation for how infusing love into the work will guarantee success WHY DO IT YOURSELF? at bike maintenance. If not, frustration will take over, you will use less care, and your riding enjoy- There are a number of reasons for learning to ment will be compromised. maintain your bike. Obviously it is a lot cheaper Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance allows to fix a bike yourself than pay someone else to you to pick maintenance tasks appropriate for do it. Once you have some skill and experience, it your level of skill and confidence. However, I is also faster. And home-based maintenance is a ix Excerpt from Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 3rd Ed. by Lennard Zinn 978-1-934030-42-4 Copyright VeloPress 2009 All rights reserved x necessity for most racers and others who live to many years. Satisfaction can be found in disman- ride and have no visible means of support. tling and cleaning a filthy, barely functional part, As your income increases, economic neces- lubricating it with fresh grease, and reassembling sity ceases to be a significant issue. However, you it so that it works like new. Knowing that you made may find that you enjoy working on your bike those parts work so smoothly—and that you can for reasons other than just saving money. Unless do it again when they next need it—is rewarding. you have a trusted mechanic who services your You will be eager to ride hard and long to see how bike regularly, you are not likely to find anyone your work holds up, rather than being reluctant to who cares as much about your bicycle’s smooth get far from home for fear of breaking down. operation and cleanliness as much as you do, or It is liberating to go on a long ride confident will make your bike a priority when you need that you can fix just about anything that may go to have it the next day or in the next few hours. wrong. Armed with this confidence and the tools Furthermore, if you love to ride, you need to be to put it into action, you will have the freedom to able to fix mechanical breakdowns that occur on explore new roads and go farther than you may the road, especially if you ride alone. otherwise have gone. You may also find yourself If time is your biggest issue, having someone more willing to share your love of the sport with else work on your bike might seem to help. But in riders who are less experienced. You will enjoy reality, even finding the time to drop off your bike riding with them more if you know that you can and pick it up from the shop can be hard. You may fix their questionably maintained bikes, and you be able to perform a simple repair faster than you can bask in their appreciation after you have can make a trip to the bike shop. And you won’t eliminated an annoying squeak or skipping chain like missing a ride during beautiful weather while that threatened to spoil a ride. your bike sits in a shop that is backed up with repairs. Finding out that you can’t just drop off HOW TO USE THIS BOOK your ailing bike during high season and expect anything faster than a three-week turnaround Skim through the entire book. Look at the table on a minor repair can ruin your day. Even arrang- of contents and the exploded diagrams, and get ing and adhering to a repair appointment with the general flavor of the book and what’s inside. a shop can be a hassle. Finally, a shop slammed When it’s time to perform a particular task, you with summer work may return your bike in less will know where to find it, and you will have a than optimal condition because too little time general idea of how to approach it. was devoted to the repair or the mechanic was Illustrator Todd Telander and I have done our inexperienced. Ultimately, you may decide that best to make these pages as understandable as having someone else work on your bike creates possible. The exploded diagrams show precisely more aggravation than it alleviates. how each part goes together. Nevertheless, the Working on your bike can be fun. Bicycles are first time you go through a procedure, you may the manifestation of elegant simplicity. Bicycle find it easier to have a friend read the instructions parts, particularly high-end components, are a out loud as you perform the steps. fantastic value. They are made to work well and Obviously some maintenance tasks are more last a long time. With the proper attention, they complicated than others. I am convinced that can shine in appearance and performance for anyone with an opposable thumb can perform ZINN & THE ART OF ROAD BIKE MAINTENANCE Excerpt from Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance, 3rd Ed. by Lennard Zinn 978-1-934030-42-4 Copyright VeloPress 2009 All rights reserved any repair on a bike. Still, it pays to spend some identify the source of a certain noise or particular xi time getting familiar with the really simple tasks, malfunction in the bike. There is also a compre- such as fixing a flat, before throwing yourself into hensive troubleshooting guide in Appendix A. a complex job such as building a wheel. For those into cyclocross, almost every chap- Tasks and the tools required to accomplish ter in this third edition now has a specific cyclo- them are divided into three levels indicating their cross maintenance section in it. complexity or your proficiency. Level 1 tasks need Many tasks will be simplified or improved by level 1 tools and require of you only using the information presented in the appen- an eagerness to learn. Level 2 and dixes. Appendix B is a complete gear chart and level 3 tasks also have correspond- includes instructions on how to calculate your ing tool sets and are progressively gear if you’re using nonstandard-size wheels LEVEL 1 more difficult.