Stupidest Thing You've Ever Done; Garage Mechanic Edition

[Lewis Moon]

They say confession is good for the soul....
I destroyed a Whisky No.7+ fork.
I was in a hurry to get my new All City Mr. Pink up and running for a weekend ride. The frame came without a headset so I decided to install the crown race the way I've always done it...With a piece of PVC tubing and a mallet. Greased up the seat on the headtube, dropped on the race, made sure it was straight and pre-seated, placed the fork ends on a rolled up towel and started tapping the crown race down with a the PVC.
Crunch.
One of the drop outs snapped.
I am an idiot. The No.7+ has threaded inserts in the dropouts which form a weak spot. I'm not blaming the company, I just didn't know they were there.
Cautionary tale. In the future I'll throw an old hub on and THEN put it on a folded towel. http://theradavist.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/WhiskyNo7.png

[Gummee]

I've done something similar with a 1" Alpha Q fork. Folded one dropout right over on itself.

That was a $250 lesson. Now I install a wheel or hold the fork in my hand when hammering on a crown race

Saw a pic on FB that I can't find: D/A crank with the pedal screwed in backwards. THAT is a big 'oops!'

M

[benb]

Aren't you normally supposed to use a press for this? I've been too cheap to buy a real press as I've never done this particular job.

But I was able to build one (smaller) to press frame adapters into a shock for less than $10 with parts from the hardware store.

If you're too cheap to buy the Park whatever to do this maybe see if you can build a press on the cheap? Just a matter of getting the right size nut/bolt/washers and you can use it to press stuff in. Still not as safe as the real press but safer than this method.

Are you going to take the replacement fork to a shop or just try again?

Those fender mounts are pretty ugly.

[Lewis Moon]

Aren't you normally supposed to use a press for this? I've been too cheap to buy a real press as I've never done this particular job.

But I was able to build one (smaller) to press frame adapters into a shock for less than $10 with parts from the hardware store.

If you're too cheap to buy the Park whatever to do this maybe see if you can build a press on the cheap? Just a matter of getting the right size nut/bolt/washers and you can use it to press stuff in. Still not as safe as the real press but safer than this method.

Are you going to take the replacement fork to a shop or just try again?

Those fender mounts are pretty ugly.
Getting a steel fork. Been doing it this way for 40+ years on 30+ bikes. First problem ever. Not saying it's the best way, but if done carefully (and you know the fork's weaknesses) there should be no problems.

[Cicli]

Use the PVC. Bang the pvc on the ground while holding the fork with one hand. Fork on top. Done it a bunch and never had an issue.

[Black Dog]

Use the PVC. Bang the pvc on the ground while holding the fork with one hand. Fork on top. Done it a bunch and never had an issue.

Yup, this is the better way. Pipe longer than steerer tube. Dropouts never get harmed.

[Hindmost]

Support the fork with one hand grasping underneath the crown, ram the race home with the other hand. Crown race tools function like slide hammers. Or substitute PVC and mallet.

Stupid things in the garage? My mechanic's Mantra is: how much will this cost to replace?

[C40_guy]

This thread is starting out less gross than its twin on garagejournal. :)

My stupid thing? Forgetting to add the height of the stem when trimming the steerer on an uber-rare 1" carbon fork...

[juliussharpe]

I’ve been doing a build with some vintage campy parts and couldn’t figure out why the seat was so far forward, then figured “people used to be smaller.” Realized 3 days later I had the seat post in backwards. I went to college.

[paredown]

Nowhere near as bad, since it is reversible, but I managed to get my Serotta project Campy headset together with either the top and bottom bearings reversed or one upside down...

Why is that strange gap there at the bottom cup, says I???:banana:

At least I hadn't done the full fit on stem/bars/shifters yet.

I have only done a couple of forks, but I've used the 'cradle the hand underneath' and tapped in place...

[chiasticon]

Support the fork with one hand grasping underneath the crown, ram the race home with the other hand.yep, this is how I do it. flipping it upside down also works.

stupidest bike mechanic thing I've done...? maybe re-using a pin on a chain where you're supposed to use a quick link. the chain of course broke weeks later on a ride, several miles from home, in the rain, without a chain tool or quick link on me.

[sparky33]

One morning I was tearing a bike down. I had the handlebars off, in my left hand, pulling the sticky old bar tape off and away from me with my right hand. The bar tape let go suddenly, and I smacked myself in the face with the round aluminum handlebar end. It cost me a few stitches in my upper lip with a small scar to mark the occasion.

To add to that, my wife had gone away for a girls' weekend, and so I had to confess to her later that my little p.j.'d daughters and I spent the morning in the ER because daddy hit himself in the face with bike parts.
My injuries are often funny like that.

[cmbicycles]

Aren't you normally supposed to use a press for this? I've been too cheap to buy a real press as I've never done this particular job.

But I was able to build one (smaller) to press frame adapters into a shock for less than $10 with parts from the hardware store.

If you're too cheap to buy the Park whatever to do this maybe see if you can build a press on the cheap? Just a matter of getting the right size nut/bolt/washers and you can use it to press stuff in. Still not as safe as the real press but safer than this method.

Are you going to take the replacement fork to a shop or just try again?

Those fender mounts are pretty ugly.
Hozan makes a crown race press that tightens on the steerer tube and then screws out to press the crown race on for about $80-100. its intended for 1.125" steerer but I'm sure you could make it work for 1" or tapered steelers with a couple simple adapters. Otherwise a hammer and a tube to set the crown race is the standard tool. It's an interference fit, but usually not so tight that you can't hold the fork in your hand for most forks. You could also keep one of those plastic fork shipping spacers to put in the dropouts if you have to brace it on the floor, or as was mentioned flip the fork upside down and hit the installation pipe on the floor.

[cmg]

had to lower a seat post on a Colnago master light, started to tap the post down with a hammer, luckly I stopper when the seat post reached the tube profile indentions that are on the seat tube. no damage done but what a stupid move.

amazing how many tools you can make from home depot parts.

[ultraman6970]

?? there's many ways to smack that pvc tube, but the safest one is to get a pvc tube longer than the steering tube and smack the pvc to the floor at the moment to give the thing the last touches.

Dumb things ive done? one day I was pissed off of a set of 11 shifters I got because I was not able to make them work right, even swap the cable spooler because thought something was wrong. 2 days later realized I had the cables backwards :D no wonder the RD did not want to work as intended :D

[R3awak3n]

I installed a chainring the wrong way. Was about to climb and the chain came out and almost went over the bars.


Also, let my dog hang with me in the shop. Was finishing up installing the shifter and that shimano cable holder plastic piece fell on the floor. My dog looked at me and I looked at him.... I go NOOOOOO, and he ate it.

Now he is not allowed in the bike room anymore

https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/c2fe7a62541bf956ce7e80d256181dcc/5B8D2CA2/t51.2885-15/e35/31150019_217319165523253_5559447715672227840_n.jpg

but I can't get mad at him

[Ken Robb]

I could use up a lot of bandwidth posting my mechanic blunders but a simple bike-related episode occurred when I was putting new cables and housing on a bike. I put the cable in the housing and stretched it out to see where to cut the housing. As soon as I cut the housing I realized that I hadn't removed the cable first. DOH! At least the housing was usable. :eek:

[Clean39T]

I installed a chainring the wrong way. Was about to climb and the chain came out and almost went over the bars.





Also, let my dog hang with me in the shop. Was finishing up installing the shifter and that shimano cable holder plastic piece fell on the floor. My dog looked at me and I looked at him.... I go NOOOOOO, and he ate it.



Now he is not allowed in the bike room anymore



https://scontent-lga3-1.cdninstagram.com/vp/c2fe7a62541bf956ce7e80d256181dcc/5B8D2CA2/t51.2885-15/e35/31150019_217319165523253_5559447715672227840_n.jpg



but I can't get mad at him


He looks like a really sweet doggo :)

I’ve learned the hard way that bike grease on a cats paw takes a long time to come off...and usually only after it’s been stamped on the carpet a good ten or twenty times...

[tculbreath]

Thank you for this info. I do the exact same thing, and have never thought twice. I will now go a bit easier, and sue a hub. Painful lesson....

Thank you!

[C40_guy]

I could use up a lot of bandwidth posting my mechanic blunders but a simple bike-related episode occurred when I was putting new cables and housing on a bike. I put the cable in the housing and stretched it out to see where to cut the housing. As soon as I cut the housing I realized that I hadn't removed the cable first. DOH! At least the housing was usable. :eek:

My father in law did that once, except he was cutting an extension cord and he hadn't let the electricity out first.

Boom. I'm a bit surprised he wasn't hurt (or worse).

[smead]

?? there's many ways to smack that pvc tube, but the safest one is to get a pvc tube longer than the steering tube and smack the pvc to the floor at the moment to give the thing the last touches.


Yep - PVC or copper pipe, either smack the top of the tube on the floor with the fork upside down in your hands, or hold the bottom of the fork with one hand and slam the tube down the steerer w/ the other. I'd never involve a hammer or put the drops on the floor.

Pretty much all stupidest things I've done while wrenching involved a hammer or big set of pliers - when I reach for either I try to take a step back .....

[Kontact]

Every shop I've every worked for installed crown races by holding the fork in the air with one hand and either tapping the setter with a hammer or using a slide hammer setter.

The advantage of doing it this way is that the impact forces are somewhat self centering compared to sticking the setter into the floor or using the dropouts. The fork and your arm have sufficient momentum to resist the hammer blows, so there is no reason not to do it that way.

I have never seen a crown race press in the seven shops I've worked in.

[jtakeda]

I’ve made many mistakes but most recently I forgot to put the plunger back in when unscrewing the bleed funnel from some hydro brakes.


What’s dripping?? Oh damn it

[smead]

Oh I just remembered another good one. About 10 years ago PeterB and I did a double century on my tandem. Earlier in the week I got it all prepped for action including new chains. I mean I had it dialed in.

Then the night before the ride just as we were about to turn the lights off, peter gives me this you are an F###ing idiot look ...., the tandem was right in front of me for days .., and I never noticed that when installing the timing chain, I forgot to sync the cranks - they were about 120 degrees out of sync :bike:

[benb]

I could use up a lot of bandwidth posting my mechanic blunders but a simple bike-related episode occurred when I was putting new cables and housing on a bike. I put the cable in the housing and stretched it out to see where to cut the housing. As soon as I cut the housing I realized that I hadn't removed the cable first. DOH! At least the housing was usable. :eek:

LOL.. I've done this one too. And I think I had some important ride the next day and it was night time and the LBS was closed and I didn't have a spare cable.

That's why you need a lot of bikes I think.

[Dude]

Back when I used to work in shops (not necessarily "garage mechanic" edition) it was more/less a rite of passage when young summer/junior mechanic punched a chainring removing pedals. I got close once, one guy I know cut a tendon.

- Accidentally clipping the computer wiring while clipping the zip tie...
- crossthreading a crank (though you can usually retap the cranks and they are fine)...
- passing tools OVER a bike frame (instead of around it) and dropping the tool on the frame. Dinged a cannondale top tube with a pedal wrench like that.
- Not paying attention to where the handles of my cable cutters would be, I accidentally pinched some of my "little dude" when cutting some housing.
- stabbing my finger with a single strand of brake cable - that freaking hurt.
- recabling an internally routed frame and without thinking, pulled all of the cables/housing out right away without setting up or checking for guides.

[benb]

Heh.. when we have the silly "disc brakes are dangerous" threads you can tell who has changed pedals more than once and/or has done much MTB based on whether or not they think disc rotors are horribly dangerous but are not afraid of chainrings.

Change out any pedals from time to time or MTB a significant amount and you're eventually going to cut yourself on those rings, possibly badly. It's maybe one of the better arguments for 1X! Less severe cuts if the chain is on the ring!

[ultraman6970]

Did not happen to me but what about putting the pedals backwards? Dude realized when was half way the second pedal :D

The other one that happens often is with the campy compact small chainring. Guys dont know and then they bust the hidden bolt because the hole is off.

[Spaghetti Legs]

I once installed a a crankset backwards - chainrings on the left side.

[unterhausen]

topic drift, but is there a decent home method of removing headset cups? I have a press, just never bought a remover. I don't want to use a screwdriver on aluminum cups

Which size pvc for a 1" crown race?

[Aldus]

Stripped the head of a bolt that held in an internally routed brake cable. Tried to drill said bolt out and did a well enough job, buttttt I went a little too far and drilled through the carbon frame as well. Oh well no one to be mad at but myself. Frame was a major brand nothing special.

[vertebraille]

For headset cups I've had success using a soft piece of wood and a mallet. Granted, I also installed the headset and put plenty of grease in so I knew it would make its way out eventually.

[charliedid]

[QUOTE=Lewis Moon;2359903]They say confession is good for the soul....
I destroyed a Whisky No.7+ fork.
I was in a hurry to get my new All City Mr. Pink up and running for a weekend ride. The frame came without a headset so I decided to install the crown race the way I've always done it...With a piece of PVC tubing and a mallet. Greased up the seat on the headtube, dropped on the race, made sure it was straight and pre-seated, placed the fork ends on a rolled up towel and started tapping the crown race down with a the PVC.
Crunch.
One of the drop outs snapped.
I am an idiot. The No.7+ has threaded inserts in the dropouts which form a weak spot. I'm not blaming the company, I just didn't know they were there.
Cautionary tale. In the future I'll throw an old hub on and THEN put it on a folded towel.

Right there with you. I did the same thing after work (bike shop) with my wife's new Gunnar fork. Waterford did a great job at not laughing at me and fixed it in a week. :-)

[weaponsgrade]

I could use up a lot of bandwidth posting my mechanic blunders but a simple bike-related episode occurred when I was putting new cables and housing on a bike. I put the cable in the housing and stretched it out to see where to cut the housing. As soon as I cut the housing I realized that I hadn't removed the cable first. DOH! At least the housing was usable. :eek:

I've done that too.

I once forgot to re-attach the straddle cable to my front canti-brake after I put the front wheel on. I started riding away. It was bumpy from the start and one of the front brake arms or maybe it was the straddle cable swung down into the front wheel. Somehow I didn't go over, but it messed up some spokes and bent the brake arm.

I had my LBS install a headset and what he did when installing the crown race was to hold the fork between his legs while he wacked away at the installation sleeve for the race.

[Cicli]

topic drift, but is there a decent home method of removing headset cups?

Which size pvc for a 1" crown race?

I remove cups with a 3/4 inch aluminum bar/drift.
1” crown race? I use a junk 34.9 seatpost.

[fa63]

I was actually thinking about starting a thread just like this after a recent stupid mistake :)

I bought a Specialites TA 48-tooth chainring made specifically for Ultegra 6800 crankset. It comes with these bolt covers to thread the bolts into. I was working on the bike late at night so I could make it to a ride the next day. I thought the bolt covers would have the same bolt torque specs as the Shimano ones (12-16 NM), so I started torquing away. Long story short, I ended up breaking the bond between the plastic and the aluminum insert in all of the bolt covers, which meant that I couldn't just unscrew them out because they were just spinning free. Had to cut them all out with a dremel; now the chainring doesn't look so new anymore even though it has zero miles on it :D I put the 50/34 chainrings back on there for now; might try again later with the Shimano bolt covers.

[eddief]

brand new custom frameset from Steve Rex. Took it outside from its perch on my living room sofa. Going out the back door I banged the seat stay on the concrete porch. No dent, just paint chip. Wrecked my day.

[Wolfman]

I tried to remove downtube mounted cable bosses with a pair of big channel locks once; I was breaking down the frame for cleaning and I thought that they screwed in. I couldn't get them to turn with a smaller socket and though I had to go bigger. Completely mangled it and had to have the frame repaired.

[joosttx]

whacked my nose with a cheater bar when a seized bottom bracket released. I put a nice slice on the bridge of my nose. I remember seeing the drops of blood dripping down and thinking everyone is going to think my wife beat me at work the next day.

[Matthew]

One of the first times I trued an MTB wheel with disc brakes I put my finger near the disc when it was spinning. Managed to somehow get a finger in one of the holes in the disc and pinched it in the truing stand. Lost a finger nail with that genius moment. Never made that mistake again.

[Cicli]

One of the first times I trued an MTB wheel with disc brakes I put my finger near the disc when it was spinning. Managed to somehow get a finger in one of the holes in the disc and pinched it in the truing stand. Lost a finger nail with that genius moment. Never made that mistake again.

Reminds me of a friend that ran his finger between the chain and chainring on a fixed gear. Made a mess.

[bjf]

topic drift, but is there a decent home method of removing headset cups? I have a press, just never bought a remover. I don't want to use a screwdriver on aluminum cups

Which size pvc for a 1" crown race?

The Park tool for this is simple and pretty cheap.

[marciero]

One of the first times I trued an MTB wheel with disc brakes I put my finger near the disc when it was spinning. Managed to somehow get a finger in one of the holes in the disc and pinched it in the truing stand. Lost a finger nail with that genius moment. Never made that mistake again.

This is me-Spinning the wheel slowly to check for pad rub whilst grasping and moving the caliper. Much-discussed is the sharp rotor edge, but it was one of interior cut-outs that got me, cutting my finger clean through the nail, on an angle against the fork blade. I hope this is not over the line for gruesome content without warning.

[quickfeet]

I broke the spindle of an XTR crank in a vice trying to do a Jones conversion sans dremel... womp womp

[jtbadge]

I put two paint chips in the fork crown of my (then) brand new Log Lady frame when I was trying to install a stem/bars with the frame in a stand instead of on the ground.

[johnniecakes]

Grab a piece of 3/4" or 1" thin wall conduit longer than your head tube by at least 4". With a hack saw make 2 cuts 90^ apart parallel to the center axis of the conduit as deep as your hacksaw allows. Remove all burrs and sharp edges. Then evenly pry apart the 4 prongs and you have a removal tool that looks similar to a Park removal tool. The conduit is softer than the cups so you will not damage the cups or you head tube.


topic drift, but is there a decent home method of removing headset cups? I have a press, just never bought a remover. I don't want to use a screwdriver on aluminum cups

Which size pvc for a 1" crown race?

[oldpotatoe]

Every wrench has done something similar..I have too..broke a dropout..or cut a steerer too short? Etc..:)

[Spaghetti Legs]

topic drift, but is there a decent home method of removing headset cups? I have a press, just never bought a remover. I don't want to use a screwdriver on aluminum cups

Which size pvc for a 1" crown race?

I bought a piece of 1” copper tubing and made 3 or 4 longitudinal cuts with a hacksaw to spread the ends and make it work like a factory made tool. I’ve been using it for over 10 years.

[marciero]

Installed an ultegra bottom bracket using only the plastic insert; that is, by hand, and rode around on it. More than a little. Including steep climbing. Later realized-oh!-that insert fits in the bb wrench I have.. Ti frame. When I eventually got creaking I had to wonder and second guess. So far so good as I was able to address creaking.

[CNY rider]

brand new custom frameset from Steve Rex. Took it outside from its perch on my living room sofa. Going out the back door I banged the seat stay on the concrete porch. No dent, just paint chip. Wrecked my day.

I feel your pain.
I was building my brand new Goodrich and fumbled a small wrench while putting the rear brakes on.
It fell and left a tiny nick in the paint inside the seat stay. No other human could possibly see it or know it's there but it bothers me to this day, years later.

[oldpotatoe]

In ProPeloton...brand new, beautiful red DeRosa..test ride with pedals and bike shoes/cleats..swung foot over top tube, hit top tube with cleat..nice paint chip..brand new bike..hadn't even delivered it. :eek:

[B^2]

spent a couple hundred dollars on a used fork only to realize the steer tube was too short.

[Mikej]

I say we need that dog's face on the banner -pacelines official mascot.

[longlist]

i cut a fork tube too short once. that really sucked.

[macaroon]

Was rushing to assemble my bike before a holiday, and didn't quite install the lower headset cup correctly. Spent a week riding downhill tracks in the Alps before I realized something was amiss. The cup had somehow worn a ridge into the fork steerer tube, which thankfully was made of thick alloy, otherwise it could very well have snapped in two.

Have cut cable outers whilst the inner has been inside more than once.

Have also punctured innertubes when fitting tough tyre/rim combos.

Stripped the threads from a crank arm when using a crank extractor.

A mate threw me a spanner once and I didn't catch it, ended up putting a decent dent in his Canyon frame.

[mktng]

forgot a spacer/nut when threading fender mounts to my new C3 Cervelo.
fender mounts punctured through the TA openings of the fork. compromising the fork completely.

luckily.. i was able to find a replacement fork from a dealer.

but i still hang my head in shame thinking about that.

[thwart]

Throwing on a bit larger cassette just before a hilly challenge ride several yrs ago... for some reason the shifting in the bigger gears just wasn't right...

[C40_guy]

Throwing on a bit larger cassette just before a hilly challenge ride several yrs ago... for some reason the shifting in the bigger gears just wasn't right...

You did that on purpose, right?

Shift up to a higher gear and wow, I feel like it's getting easier!

[Steve in SLO]

Got too many to recount each, but my favorite was actually an auto-related one:
Finished changing the engine oil in my pick up and had not confirmed the old filter gasket was on the filter when I took it off. Screwed the new one in place, filled up the engine with fresh oil, and told my son to start the truck while I watched under the hood for leaks...I sure found one and wore it all over my face.
Lesson: 2 gaskets are NOT better than one.

[ColonelJLloyd]

Getting a steel fork. Been doing it this way for 40+ years on 30+ bikes. First problem ever. Not saying it's the best way, but if done carefully (and you know the fork's weaknesses) there should be no problems.

That's kind of a shame. Maybe reach out to All City and see if they will sell you a replacement fork for cost if you send them the damaged one.

[thwart]

You did that on purpose, right?

Shift up to a higher gear and wow, I feel like it's getting easier!

Hey, I needed all the help I could get... :help:

'twas the HorriblyHillyHundreds.

[Gummee]

Reminds me of a friend that ran his finger between the chain and chainring on a fixed gear. Made a mess.

I made the mistake of spinning the cranks backwards with my finger for some reason back in the 80s

Managed to get my forefinger caught in the dip between teeth and halfway down the front derailleur. As in my finger was trapped between the chainring and the derailleur. Tried to pull it straight out. That wasn't going to work, so I had to pedal my finger out the long way. I knew it'd fit pedalling forward, so that's the direction I went

It's a rare day indeed when I'm not installing a pedal in the crankarm (or a dummy pedal) to check shifting, etc. on a bike. Still have that scar

M

[chiasticon]

^^^ I have a friend that lost the tip of his index finger that way, as a kid, playing with a fixed gear exercise bike. he's missing about 80% of the nail. pretty crazy looking.

[Gummee]

^^^ I have a friend that lost the tip of his index finger that way, as a kid, playing with a fixed gear exercise bike. he's missing about 80% of the nail. pretty crazy looking.

Yeah. I got lucky. Could have been much worse

M

[kingpin75s]

Not paying attention and forgot that I could not drag the far side of a Fat tire across the bead shelf of a Stans Hugo rim.

Got it stuck so bad in the center of the bead shelf that I spent over an hour and could not make progress. Took it to the head wrench at my LBS at the time and he just cringed and said it would take him hours. Would not do that to him.

Had to cut a brand new Surly Black Floyd 120tpi tire that is of course out of production and no longer available in the more supple casing. That hurt.

[weisan]

I tried to do as much by myself as I can. I am a third-rate bike and car mechanic, a fifth-rate plumber, and "stay-far-away-from him" electrician.

Too many horror stories along the way, you don't know half of it.

[oldpotatoe]

Throwing on a bit larger cassette just before a hilly challenge ride several yrs ago... for some reason the shifting in the bigger gears just wasn't right...

We did something similar on a guy's bike that worked at Morgul-Bismark..built a 8s 12/13/13/13/14/14/15/15...he didn't notice until he did.