Fun times, reading this book, thanks to my housemate for the gift. It's an essential for anyone that owns a non-huffy branded bike. It's rather entertaining. I'm worried about doing repairs when in a jam so I started reading the appropriate section of this book, "Emergency Repairs." So I know mountain biking is crazy, and that the technology that is involved in the ever evolving market is getting better and better. But like any sport/hobby that exists one needs common sense. I'm suddenly remembering Honda Civics with "butterflyed" wheels from their owners cutting their suspention springs, thinking that it's the same as getting properly tuned springs for their car. Or my personal favorite, this huge spolier, that serves no functional purpose, but to make the car look fast. There are some serious things to ponder when selecting equipment, upgrades, or even maintenance. For example, carbon fiber handlebars. Now all of you Civic owning "ricers" out there better understand that this is not your car's hood replacement. Much like an automobile, every component on the bike serves a functional purpose. With your standard metal handle bar after some period of usage you will notice some bending, or in some cases when out in the field a-lot of bending. With a carbon fiber handlebar you don't experience this kind of "bending", because the properties of the material. One day when the epoxy that is holding together the carbon fiber layers that have been molded and built up into a handlebar shape fails and looses it's structural integrity, the rider will probably experience a really easy warning sign. It will most likely fracture, and/or crack. But to a newbie, it's like oh cool carbonfiber, ooh ultra light!! Anyways there's a ton of great info. What is really cool is that this book reminds me of those haynes books that one buys at Pep Boys, or any auto parts store. But with a decent amount of humor that keeps your attention span. Check out the excerpt below.
iii-21 Broken HandlebarIt's probably best to walk home. You could splint it by jamming a stick inside and wrapping it with duct tape. If the break is right next to the stem clamp, you could also loosen the clamp, move the handlebar over so the break is insides the clamp, and retighten it. In either case, you must ride very carefully. The stick could easily break or the clamp could let go of the broken handlebar, leaving you with no way to control the bike. A sudden collision of your face with the ground would follow. From what I've heard, that can be a painful experience. In fact, now that I think of it, you might want to consider just walking your bike home.
