The Ultimate Bicycle Repair Quiz

If you can't remove a tire from the rim by hand, use bike tire irons. Starting at a spoke, insert the plain end of a tire iron carefully between the rim and the tire; pull the slotted end down and behind the spoke, and hook the slot over the spoke to hold the tire iron firmly in place. Insert a second tire iron at the next spoke and repeat to pry more of the tire until the you get the tire off.

Use a bicycle pump to fill the tube until it's firm. Fill a bucket with water, then hold the tube underwater a section at a time and watch for air bubbles. Check the entire tube; there may be more than one leak. Mark any leaks with chalk.

Use the roughing device or the top of the kit, scrape the damaged area of the tube to clean it and provide a rough surface for the patch to bond to.

To give you access to the damaged tire, you must first remove the wheel from the bike.

Let the patch dry for five minutes and then sprinkle it with talcum powder so it won't adhere to the inside of the tire.

With the right tools and materials ready at hand, it should not take more than about 30 minutes to patch a bike tire.

Chain tension on single-speed bikes and 3-speed bikes with gears in the hub can be manually adjusted. On a derailleur bike, chain tension is adjusted automatically.

If you can't measure by the old chain, check chain length by stretching the chain into place around the rear sprocket and the front chainwheel, exactly as the old chain was installed, with the two ends meeting at the front chainwheel.

When you have tightened the new spokes correctly, the wheel spins freely and evenly. If it rotates with a wobble, adjust the spoke opposite the new spoke until the wobble stops.

Inadequate braking is often the result of a loose brake cable on one or both bike wheels. It can also be caused by wear to the brake shoes, the blocks of rubber that press against the wheel rims when the brake levers are squeezed.

Single-speed and 3-speed bikes use a 1/8-inch chain with a master link.

Five- and 10-speed bikes use a 3/32-inch continuous chain.

Bicycle chains are easily cleaned using kerosene.

You use needle-nose pliers or a chain rivet extractor to repair bicycle chains.

The master link of a 1/8-inch chain has straight side plates. To open the master link, pull out the retaining clip with a needle-nose pliers; then remove the side plate.

After cleaning the chain in kerosene, immerse the cleaned chain in motor oil, remove it, and wipe off the excess oil with rags. Let the chain dry until it stops dripping.

You must measure the new chain against the old one and remove links as necessary to adjust the new chain to the proper length.

Set the bicycle upside down and prop it firmly in place.

If the old spoke is still in the wheel, cut it off at both ends with wire cutters. Remove any pieces of old spoke left in the wheel rim or the hub.

Place a third hand -- a special tool available at bike shops -- over the brake shoes and use it to draw them into contact with the wheel rim so you can adjust them.

Examine the brake shoes carefully. The rubber should be flexible; if a shoe is hardened or cracked, or if it's less than 1/2 inch thick above the metal mounting plate, it must be replaced.