As you may know, I converted the business from Sales to Assembly/Repair last year, and though it has been lean through the winter months, this week the shop got crowded, with 5 bikes needing some tuning and adjusting.
The HeyBike just came back home from a season in Florida, and had a coating of fine sand everywhere, as well as rust where it does not appear here away from the salt breezes. The Magnum Cruiser needed tuning, brakes mostly, while the RadRunner is in the process of upgrading to hydraulic brakes. Back in the corner is a GoBike Forza fattire trike, which came in for a broken throttle. (I ordered right away, but it took a slow boat from China to get here.)
Then this Radcity came in for a quick tune-up; it is a sturdy ride, easy to mount, and has a really solid feeling.
Folks ask what types of repairs I do the most, so in order here it was for 2022:
Brakes – 95% of ebikes use disk brakes. So normally this means adjusting the cable and inner/outer pads, replacing when needed, as well as cleaning the rotors to prevent sqeaking
Tires/tubes – Most bikers end up with a flat tire at some time. With an ebike, this is is made difficult due to the weight of the back tire in most cases, and having to disconnect the wiring. Most common culprits were small pieces of metal or glass that work their way through the tire into the tube. This does not mean the tire needs replacement (unless the side wall has blown out), but the offendint item must be found and removed before installing a new tube.
Drive train – The derailleur on an ebike seems to get less use than an analog bike, as most users just up the power rather than gear down to keep spinning at the same pace. But they do occasionally get damaged or knocked out of alighnment, requiring some futzing around the with the H, L, and B screws, or bending/replacing the derailleur hanger, repacing the cable or shifter. Then there is the standard clean and lube the whole drivetrain.
So those who got this far, I need to move some of the ebikes I have left just sitting around now that I am no longer selling them as such. Anyone need a deal, or a loaner, or whatever, I need the space.
