Fettling hint

[james]

Just a quick hint, if you're installing headset cups in a frame, please double check which is for the top and the bottom, and note that a pure frame looks remarkably similar upside down.

Otherwise, you may find that your relief at finally fitting everything is termpered by the regret that you now need to get them out again and do it again properly.

Not that I'd ever do something so foolish...

[Notsototalnewbie]

Also - when doing something stupidly simple like changing pedals, make sure you've done it properly. Otherwise one pedal might start to work free, crossthread itself, strip the crank threads and fall out as you pedal over Vauxhall Bridge, meaning you have to half walk/coast back down to the friendly chaps at Brixton Cycles to get them to put a new crank on, and now have mismatched cranks. Ahem.

[Deano]

On a similar note:  if you find that your bottom bracket is unusually difficult to screw into the frame, double check that you have it the right way round.  Do not use a large spanner and lots of force.  Not that I would know about that sort of thing...

[eck]

Just a quick hint, if you're installing headset cups in a frame, please double check which is for the top and the bottom, and note that a pure frame looks remarkably similar upside down.

Otherwise, you may find that your relief at finally fitting everything is termpered by the regret that you now need to get them out again and do it again properly.

Not that I'd ever do something so foolish...

Me neither, oh no, not me.  Well, they were kind of in the right way when the frame was upside down. 

On the upside down theme, I once heard the story of someone applying new frame transfers to his down tube. He knelt down, applied the one to the RHS of the tube, smoothed it down. Then he stood up, leaned over the top tube of the bike, and carefully applied the other one nice and straight to the LHS of the down tube. Only when he went round to the other side of the bike to admire his handiwork did he realise it was upside down. 

BTW James, the brake levers wot I've just sent you are - if you look closely - marked L and R.  Not that you would need such a hint. 

[Tourist Tony]

Fettling hint? Keep the wound dressings handy

[Mrs Pingu]

Fettling hint? Keep the wound dressings handy

Yay, you've arrived!

[Cyclops]

The following fettling hints come from a "friend":

• ensure you do the QR levers on your brakes back up after changing the wheels otherwise your braking performance is seriously compromised on steep hills with sharp bends at the bottom
• pay close attention when repairing a broken chain at the roadside to how you thread the chain through the jockey wheels. This will prevent you having to stop in 50 metres and do the whole bloody thing again
• when scraping stuff off components with a sharp screwdriver point the screwdriver away from yourself to prevent improptu DIY keyhole cardiac surgery
• have a rudimentary knowledge of wheelbuilding before using a tool called a "spoke-key". This prevents a bemused look on the mechanic's face at the LBS when you claim "I was just riding along and this happened"

[PeteB99]

From my "friends" youth

When you've finally managed to put it all back together and find you have a little bitty spring and a couple of washers left over don't say "oh feck it" and go out for a ride anyway

They might be the part of the derailleur that stops it pushing into the spokes

[Dave]

Don't cut the steerer tube on the brand new set of forks, which have been in your possession for less than 45 minutes, 5 cms too short.

Particularly not after:
(a) measuring the length of the steerer it was replacing. Twice. And adding a bit "just to be on the safe side".
(b) having reminded yourself of, and actually followed, the mantra "measure twice, cut once" on the new steerer.

I My friend still doesn't know how he managed it. Still, it gave TFT a chuckle on the Monday morning. "Hang on, didn't we only despatch this last Thursday?"

[ian]

After fixing a p*nct*re on a cold and rainy day, don't let the unpleasant conditions persuade you to ignore the fact the back wheel now has a rather drunken wobble on its axle. Don't then, in your enthusiasm to be somewhere warm and dry, continue to bang the same wobbly back wheel over 12 miles of south London's finest potholes. Note also, that grinding, chumpa-whump kerringCHA noises are not a sign of of well functioning, mechanical grace.

If, like the distant friend of mine, you did this, then you might find yourself relearning those childhood hub stripping and axle/bearing replacement skills at a later date.

[LittleWheelsandBig]

When removing the right-hand pedal, make sure the chain is on the big chainring, not the little.  A slip could otherwise put some nicely spaced puncture marks in your hand...

[Adam]

If you're drilling through something which you're holding, make sure your finger hasn't moved on the other side. 

[peliroja]

Don't put your bottle cages on upside down. 

[toekneep]

When fitting the first few components to your brand new Dave Yates custom built frame don't drop the allen key and chip the paint before you have even ridden the bike. 

[toekneep]

When fitting the first few components to your brand new Dave Yates custom built frame don't drop the allen key and chip the paint before you have even ridden the bike. 

Don't worry, though. I did this to my Surly when it was just out of the box. Now I look at the chip and smile at the fond memory of first receiving it. 

Also, bear in mind that there is a very poor selection of nail varnishes in pearly blue.

[alan]

When leaning over the chainset on a Trice fettling the front mech,don't let your I-pod & earphone cable hang down on the neck lanyarrrrrrrgh

[TimO]

When reassembling the drive system of a recumbent, make sure that you put the chain on correctly, it would be very silly to find that you had to pedal backwards to get the cycle to go forwards.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Also, bear in mind that there is a very poor selection of nail varnishes in pearly blue.

I've got at least 2 in my fridge! Try Superdrug.

ETA: or Barry M mail order - they do an excellent range of colours.

[Tiger]

When threading cables inside the frame using a clever bent spoke as a hook to catch the loose cable end - don't drop the spoke into the hole as it will never come out and will rattle there for all eternity...

[little miss mac]

I've got at least 2 in my fridge!

Is this a nail varnish tip that I don't know, or just because?

[alecstilleyedye]

find out your seat tube diameter before ordering a band on front mech. if you happen to do something that oafish, thank your lucky stars that the band can unscrew, so you can use the existing band with the new mech. and be sure to buy a second hand bike that the "new" band fits, so you have a mech that says sora and tiagra.

[bobajobrob]

When fitting a new kitchen worktop in a U shape, don't assume that because the two side walls are parallel that the end walls are perpendicular, rather than being in kind of a rhombus shape. Check this *before* cutting the worktops to size.

When fitting a new sink, make sure your compression joints are done up properly before lifting it up slightly. Otherwise you might end up with a nice water fountain in the cupboard under your sink.

[Notsototalnewbie]

I've got at least 2 in my fridge!

Is this a nail varnish tip that I don't know, or just because?

It makes it last longer, I believe. 

[Jurek]

It makes it last longer, I believe. 

It does.
Don't ask how I know.
I don't use the stuff.
Put your superglue next to it for a similar effect.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I've got at least 2 in my fridge!

Is this a nail varnish tip that I don't know, or just because?

It keeps it at a better consistency for longer. I keep mine in the egg-holders in the door.