is bikerepair a needed gift on the playa

bikefixer · Post by **bikefixer** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 9:45 pm

i would like to know if bike repair( aka flat fixxer) would be a needed in the playain 2005.i would like to be a part of BM but this is what iam good at. please let me know

Zulegoona · Post by **Zulegoona** » Mon Nov 22, 2004 9:57 pm

There are a few bike repair theme camps if you wanted to join in with an existing group you could check the theme camp list on the main page,... or if you wanted to be on your own it would be great if you were set up in a different area than the other camps.

you could also use the search function on the top of the page to find comments about bike repair and the people who do it,... well it's a thought anyway

technopatra · Post by **technopatra** » Tue Nov 23, 2004 12:12 pm

YES YES YES!!!

The demand for bike repair unfortunately seems to sometimes exceed folks' ability to plan ahead and make sure they have a bike guru (or even enough of their own bike supplies) in their camp.

We are trying to encourage the bike culture, and encourage folks to learn how to so their own simple reparis, bring extra supplies (you have no idea how many folks don't even bring extra tubes or chain oil!) and to wlecome and honor thier Bike Gurus as the gods & goddesses they are.

I am sure you will have no problem finding folks to love and cherish you for this lovely, practical gift.

ALL HAIL THE BIKE GODS!!!

theCryptofishist · Post by **theCryptofishist** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 8:31 am

A second to Technopatra.
I DID bring an inner tube and other bike repair stuff in '04. But my bike was a freebee that I didn't know how to repair and my husband hadn't had time to go over. When he was in the hospital during the event I dropped by Johnny and the Playa Cruisers and had them go over it an put on the pannier basket. This meant that I had a couple of hours of fun riding around the playa rather than sitting at camp waiting for word. Also, there was later an issue with my back wheel and again they fixed it for me.
Gods is not hyperbole.
There is much to be said for self-reliance. But I work and have something remotely resembling a life and haven't had time to learn bike repair. If someone's willing to gift me (or even underground mutual gifting aka trade) a few minutes of their expertise so that I can contribute in my specialties (i.e. high concept silliness) then so be it. Once you've helped one or two people word will likely spread and you'll be the man with a better mousetrap.

Silver 2 · Post by **Silver 2** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 9:52 am

I have never seen a flat tire out on the Playa but I can say that I have done a fair amount of bike adjustments out there. Everything from loose seats to jammed chains. I have never 'set up shop' but have had people line up for help when I was doing something on my own or someone else's bike. The bikes that are out there are generally third hand junk -- which is a good choice but a lot of folks don't even have the most basic of tools needed to adjust a seat post and wouldn't know how if they did. I carry around a regular multi-tool and some dollar store tools and have been declared a genius several times. This last year I came across a kid that had jumped his chain and he had no idea 1. what exactly was wrong and 2. what to do about it. Got invited to a nice little party that night.

Do not bother to take your good bike tools, most of the bikes are non-metric and have these huge wheel nuts. Look at the cheaper bikes at K-Mart.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Wed Nov 24, 2004 3:52 pm

there can never be too many bike repair stops.
one year after resurecting a 1969 "grey ghost" sting ray -(fucking rare!)
i had all new parts on it EXCEPT the chain...

i blew-out / repaired my chain 13 times in one day. old and rusty.
went through 2 chain tools to boot.
had 3 people in our camp get flats. --(a flat tire on the playa? certainly!)
then we found out nobody had a repair kit that didn't have the cement tube dried and turned to dust.

a lot of playa bikes aren't *real* bikes, and many people don't even ride a bike throughout the year, so there's always bike fixing in need. especially playa bikes.

just be carefull, you might get more business than you want.
but a great idea.

head-sets get fubared out there too due to the constant rattling of the playa surface. just make sure it's appropriately tight. -(you know this though). extra bearing race couldn't hurt.
cheers,
-b

Post by **AntiM** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 8:24 am

We're usually extraordinarily prepared but heck, even our rhoadescar (which is fairly new) blew a chain out there. And the disc brakes sheared a bolt off. Luckily a fellow Hushvillian had brought damn near a whole machine shop and Larry fix the brake. The chain had to wait, the derailer gear itself had broken, but since it is dual drive we were okay for a bit.

Ya just never know what'll hit ya ...

madmatt · Post by **madmatt** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 2:20 pm

bikefixer wrote:i would like to know if bike repair( aka flat fixxer) would be a needed in the playain 2005.i would like to be a part of BM but this is what iam good at. please let me know

YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES
YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES
YESYESYESYESYESYES***YES***ESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES
YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES
YESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYESYES
YESYESYESYESYES

sparkletarte · Post by **sparkletarte** » Thu Nov 25, 2004 3:31 pm

Hey bikefixer, my honey is one of those too. He wasn't part of anything specifically bike- he'd just cruise around and when he saw someone in distress, he'd help them out. You could just carry around tools, pump, tubes and probably have more than enough to do.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Mon Nov 29, 2004 2:08 pm

sparkletarte wrote:he'd just cruise around and when he saw someone in distress, he'd help them out. You could just carry around tools, pump, tubes and probably have more than enough to do.

GREAT way to obtain gifted beers! bring a large messenger bag!
-b

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:46 am

bikefixer wrote:i would like to know ...

... if that foamy stuff you can inject into tires to fix flats can be used on bike tires very effectively?

I know its not safe for high speeds, but the playa is slow speed anyways, and usually cluttered with trash bikes with limited non-playa use.

sputnik · Post by **sputnik** » Wed Dec 01, 2004 6:54 am

There was a camp near earth and 7:45 or so that saved my ass this year. My bike came out with someone else and along the way the rims got bent to shit. This camp just had a bunch of parts and tools laying around. They didn't do the work for me, which was just fine. I spent a couple of hours in the dust storm on Wednesday fixing my bike. So good came of it, now I know how to replace the wheel and repair flats.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 11:59 am

spectabillis wrote:
bikefixer wrote:i would like to know ...
... if that foamy stuff you can inject into tires to fix flats can be used on bike tires very effectively?

I know its not safe for high speeds, but the playa is slow speed anyways, and usually cluttered with trash bikes with limited non-playa use.

hmmm good question. at a glance we have used "slime" in the past, but it was administered when the tube was newer than older. -(and of course not rotted -(which i would bet a lot of playa-bikes™ on the playa have bitter parts on them). so the slime works great when you get a puncture, but i'm not sure about trying to put it in after a hole has developed.

i would lean to 'flatting' on the playa would stem from bad rim tape and no protection from the sharp spoke edges over a thorn on the playa.
as well, again i think a lot of playa bikes are crap-bikes® used primarily for that week only, so they're on the shady side as it is.

--- now if your talking about the compressed green shit in the can for cars that blows car tired up, -- i'd bet they blow up bike tires too. -- but in the bad way.
-b

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Sat Dec 04, 2004 3:03 pm

shitmouse wrote: as well, again i think a lot of playa bikes are crap-bikes® used primarily for that week only, so they're on the shady side as it is.

--- now if your talking about the compressed green shit in the can for cars that blows car tires up, -- i'd bet they blow up bike tires too. -- but in the bad way.
-b

Thats why I like crap bikes: not too concerned with the care going into them and the limited emotional attachment when they surprisingly disappear. Its final destination is the home dumpster and not more uneeded playa-trash.

Yep, I was referring to the car tire inflators. Cars are usually in the 30-35psi range so the cans can only max to that. Blowing up could be fun, but it would suck to be covered in sticky green snot.

III · Post by **III** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 7:52 am

> Cars are usually in the 30-35psi range so the cans can only max to that.

not hardly. in order to hold a full tires volume at 20-25ish psi, those cans have to be pressurized a whole lot more than that.

dumping that volume into a skinny (compared to a car) bike tire will get you a whole lot more pressure.

fix-a-flat does make a bike version of their inflator, though.

to answer the op question: bike repair is definitely something that's needed out there, and there are quite a few camps that do it, but it's not needed frequently enough to make it really worthwhile if that's the only thing you do. my camp does it as a sideline, but their big thing is sitting around all day building mechanical bullshit anyway, so the bike repair is just a sideline that fits in with the overall thing.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 9:47 am

I've exploded a bike tire with fix-a-flat. It's still a must-have for a vehicle tool kit, though, along with a puncture repair kit and a pump of some sort.

New tires and tubes are a good idea, even on a beater bike. Any cracks in the rubber will open up wider in the desert.

spectabillis · Post by **spectabillis** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 11:10 am

III wrote:not hardly. in order to hold a full tires volume at 20-25ish psi, those cans have to be pressurized a whole lot more than that. dumping that volume into a skinny (compared to a car) bike tire will get you a whole lot more pressure.

Was talking about the can maxing to 30-35psi in a car tire, I was not clear about that.

I think some have a push-button top that 'should' let you control the volume and pressure a bit, with being able to reuse it for everyone.

Bob wrote:I've exploded a bike tire with fix-a-flat.

So what was that like?

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 11:21 am

What?

madmatt · Post by **madmatt** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:03 pm

spectabillis wrote:
bikefixer wrote:i would like to know ...
... if that foamy stuff you can inject into tires to fix flats can be used on bike tires very effectively?

I know its not safe for high speeds, but the playa is slow speed anyways, and usually cluttered with trash bikes with limited non-playa use.

NO - you need to get extra tubes, the little tools needed to get the tire off, and you can change a flat in like 5 minutes. You need - tubes, a pump, the tire tool, and an adjustable wrench or other tool needed to get the wheel off.

Bob · Post by **Bob** » Sun Dec 05, 2004 1:46 pm

Many bikes look like they were abandoned simply because the axle nuts slipped. Doesn't take much of a tool kit to deal with the few nuts & bolts on a bike.

Wish people would leave more of these behind...

DaShiv · Post by **DaShiv** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 3:29 am

bikefixer wrote:i would like to know if bike repair( aka flat fixxer) would be a needed in the playain 2005.i would like to be a part of BM but this is what iam good at. please let me know

bikefixer:

Come over to Camp ByB (Borrachos y Bicicletas) at the 3 o'clock plaza on the playa. We've got bike stands, tubes, umm some electrical-powered air pump or compressor type thingie, and more tools that I can't identify because I'm just the designated guy to help set up camp, clean out trash, and snap pictures. And eat leftovers. We've ran our camp's bike repair shop for 5 years now, but we can always use more mechanics to help staff the shop. This year we were hit hard because there was no Center Camp bike repair, but luckily for us (and those coming to us for help), we were bailed out by a handful of really great drop-in mechanics that kept everyone serviced smoothly. We couldn't thank them with enough beer! And if you have any tools or tubes (one drop-in mechanic this year even brought his own stand), we always have people waiting who could use a hand with their bikes.

Stop by and visit us if you have time to help pitch in--ask for CTP, and he'll be happy to give you a borracho welcome! The invitation to help us also goes to anyone more mechanically inclined than I am when it comes to machines with rubber and chains and stuff. We accept gifts but we don't barter--we just want to keep everyone rolling along happily. And if you have parts you'd like to donate or if you run into a bike problem out on the playa and you're in the neighborhood, drop by Camp ByB at the 3:00 plaza!

[/end announcer voice]

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Mon Dec 06, 2004 11:15 am

gotta love the bike culture. that's one of the biggest things for me on la playa. bikes. the perfect match.
-b

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Tue Dec 07, 2004 6:47 pm

My camp, Johnny & the Playa Cruizers http://www.playacruizers.com(9:00 & Esplanade) is the counterpart to Borrachos y Bicicletas. We aren't connected or affiliated in any way, other than that for the last 5 years we've been the designated bike repair shop camp at 9:00, and for the same 5 they've been the one at 3:00, directly opposite us.
You'd certainly be welcome to either join one of our camps, or just come in and put in a shift or 5 fixing bikes. There's lots of flat tires, busted chains, and just general adjustment issues, as well as the occaisional real fuck-up.

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 3:30 pm

hey cappy,
we'll come by for a ride or something.

have always wanted to gather up a bunch of folks to do a mass ride. maybe i'll get some flyers going.
-b

Captain Goddammit · Post by **Captain Goddammit** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 7:04 am

Oh hell, I never RIDE a bike on the playa! We just fix 'em!
I'm usually at the helm of the Playa Cruiser. But I'll toss your bike onboard and make you a margarita!

shitmouse · Post by **shitmouse** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 5:35 pm

my bike is hazardous to people. -(sharp edges) and it's almost as long as your boat. but, it does have an insane fog horn on it. --(i'll cover the sharps).
we'll look for ya, cheers.
-b

CagedKitty · Post by **CagedKitty** » Tue Jan 04, 2005 10:21 am

Hey! Thanks to you at the 9: bike repair, my bike was fixed in time for me to ride in the women's bike parade later that day. You sprayed some jiffy-lube into my chain thingy because the pedals weren't catching. I had meant to make it back to gift you something in return and I hoped the parade went by your camp but I didn't see it. Because someone told me you were only repairing bikes for trade I thought I was obligated, but you didn't present it that way and since I never made it back your way again I gifted someone else instead, so I hope it made it all the way back to you ten-fold! If not, I'll be back next year.

Later I did get a flat tire, and first tried flat-in-a-can, for cars, and blew up my tube. It doesn't really blow up because the tire held it in. It did make a mess for me when I replaced the tube, which my neighbor gave me(thanks again!) till I found mine. I've used the flat-in-a-can at home but I just added a little at a time and it works for a long time, mountain biking and everything.

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