It’s been so long I don’t actually remember when Mike and Julie bought their two boys, Andy and PD new bicycles. I can’t remember if they were ten speeds or twelve speeds. Anyway, they rode the heck out of them. After about a year they suddenly stopped riding. Mike told Julie that the bikes were junk and needed to be replaced. Julie said it was ridiculous to throw away the bikes and replace them, her dad could fix them.
She called me on the phone and asked if I would consider being a good grandfather and repair These bicycles. I agreed to do it, only if the boys came along with the bikes. They were old enough to learn how to do these kinds of things. She agreed, and so they delivered the bikes and two boys the next Saturday.
The first thing was to assess the damage to the bikes. We determined that the wheels had some bends in them, cables were stretched and loose, shifting mechanisms needed adjustment, and a flat tire or two. In addition, they were filthy.
We started with a good washing of the bikes so we could work on them without getting dirty ourselves. First item was to repair the flat tires. They learned ow to remove the tire and innertube. Then using a tire pump and a bucket of water how to locate the leak. Then they learned how to apply a patch and reassemble the tires to the wheel. Then we turned them upside down and they learned how to realign a wheel using chalk and a spoke wrench. With the wheels done we learned how to adjust the brake cables, so they applied the pads to the wheel rims evenly. Next, we locked them in my Black and Decker workbench and adjusted the shift cables, so they selected the proper gear.
Finally, we readjusted the kick stand so the bikes could stand on their own, and oiled the drive chain.
In just one day I put myself out of business repairing grandsons’ bicycles. I have never had to raise a finger, as they had and used the knowledge to do it themselves.
