Regarding lemon pledge it also works on alloy car rims to keep them from collectijg brake dust that makes the rim coated with rusty tone
As a tool junky who has two of every thing when it comes to my carpentry trade… i havenr bothered rushing out for cutters for the bike. I have some mini side cutters that work fine… they also get used for cutting guitar strings when restringing my accoustic
I will be keeping this tip in mind whenever straightening my handlebar.
Yeah I only ever just used my cable cutters for the zap straps but was gifted some mini side cutters and haven’t looked back.
I didn’t read the recommendation for side cutters as elitist or GTFO. Just a suggestion to start building one’s bicycle tools collection, and a recommendation based on experience with good tools.
P.S. @Slider’s been around for a while - he’s got lots of experience - note he’s been around this version of ECMTB since 2009.
In my opinion, the “Awesome, I’ll remember not to bother helping in the future” was a bit of a dickish response…
Well… that was in response to @Coaster2 , who’s brief response to me sounded a little snippish (so to speak) to me in dismissing @Slider 's suggestion. Probably neither of them meant much disrespect. Text doesn’t necessarily carry the nuances of what one might say in person.
I was waiting for you to say, “Chek yur Cables.” 
Keep in mind nail clippers are much more compact too. Lol ultimate multi tool
Setup wise. A hard lesson i learned going tubeless the first time was putting the sealant in the tire before the tire was seated. Sealant got all over the place and was actually beginning to dry because i was taking too long trying to get it fully on the rim
Now i get the tire on the rim first including setting the bead. Then just take the valve core out and install the sealant through the valve
The Stans Injector is the shit, especially if you buy sealant in bulk or don’t have one of those little 2 oz bottles any more. It also helps to blow out the valve stem to help keep it clean from sticky dry sealant.
ON THAT NOTE
My absolute favourite, most badass tip was learned the hard way this past winter when my $$$ fatty tires were all stuck together with old sealant. I tried everything. A hot bath (destroyed the tub), Isopropyl (got high, nothing came off), and then I found a barely viewed video of someone using a rubber cement pickup to remove the sealant. I used to use these for cleaning up the mounting of projects when I went to design school. Normally you’d be able to get these at DesSerres or other art stores, I bought mine at the NSCAD art supply store, but you can also order them from Amazon. It looks like an eraser, but it’s completely different. It will allow you to completely clean the old sealant out of your tire and get a good seal on the bead.
Sweet im in deserres regularly where i draw… ill keep an eye out for that next time im in
As for the 2 0z bottle i kept my original one just for that and just refill it from my medium size stans bottle
Regarding tubeless - I second the method of setting bead (I use a short blast from a compressor into the valve stem with the valve core removed) and then adding the sealant through the valve stem. I use a big syringe and a piece of rubber tube, Also if I am removing the tire I use the same syringe and tube to suck up the sealant once I have the bead off.
I’ve used the method shown in this video a few times with good luck to seat tubeless tires with just a basic floor pump first try. Even worked with 4.8 inch fatty tires. Basically you seat the bead with a tire lever half way around on one side and then half way around on the other side on the opposite half. You can skip to about the 3.5 minute of this video for a demonstration:
Similar to above I keep my old orange seal 8 oz bottle with tube injector on the end and inject the sealant through the valve core after the tire is seated. I also had a bad experience making a huge mess seating the tire after already putting sealant in (before I learned the method mentioned above)
I have had intermittent luck with a floor pump, but I’ve never tried that technique. Very cool.
I had a broken plastic bottle holder, so I snipped off the excess bits to make a nice little mounting plate for a tube/tool. Spaced it out with a couple of presta nuts so the straps fit under nicely without rubbing the frame.
I set my compressor at 30-40 psi output - I use a wand with a rubber tip (normally used to spray air to clean up dust or whatever) I hold it against the stem - if anything goes wrong it is not screwed in so it is pretty safe to not over-pressure to anything as I would not be able to hold it in place with any extreme pressure - once the bead snaps I just pull back and let the pressure drop - then do the regular stuff with the valve guts and a bike pump…
Picked up some wire loom from Princess Auto to clean up my cables. I like the look of the ziptie/tubing @JoshM posted up top too, though. If I can’t afford wireless mechs and posts, I at least want to keep things as uncluttered and quiet as I can.
I’ve never seen that tubeless technique before. The method I used has more steps but I find it easier than the muscling he’s doing with the bead.
Insert a tube, inflate tire.
Deflate tire, break seal on one side only, remove tube.
Put loose side of tire back over the rim.
Lay tire flat with sealed bead facing down.
Remove valve core.
Inflate tire; bead should set, even with a floor pump.
Deflate, insert sealant, replace core, inflate.
Ride.
I’ll often skip steps in that method if I’m using a latex strip like Fatty Stripper.
Absolutely hate having to use this method and will only do it if I cannot get the bead to seat any other way. I hate doing things twice which is what this feels like to me. But, I have resorted to it a few times. I’ve even had to do it and have still been unable to seat certain beads.
Concussions have left me with the memory of a goldfish so I keep a note in my phone with my suspension settings and tire pressures.
Not sure if this is really a setup tip, but I put a note saying “This bike is owned by…” with my contact information on a rolled up sheet of paper in my handlebar. That way if my bike is ever stolen and recovered, I can prove it’s mine.
