Benthekahn's Bike Hacks!

Hello, and welcome to my bike hacks Instructable. I will be showing you a few simple hacks that you can easily and cheaply do to your bike to make it better.

Step 1 Better Pedals

Here is a simple hack for making your pedals work better.

Problem: The spikes that grip your shoes on mountain bike pedals are bent forward so they don't grip.

Solution: Use a vice grip or pliers to bend the spike forward.

Note: This will only work for pedals with metal spikes. Don't bend back and forth many times or the spikes may break. This worked fine for me but i am not responsible if you break your pedal(s) doing this.

Comments

[bobbyderf123]

i think the shifter idea is a very good one. i also see were you are coming from on the grip problem, i have the same problem, but the solution is just some gloves, Ive found that an old pair of batting gloves works quite well. you can also wrap fabric medical tape around where your hands rub.

[geco4ever]

its not illegal, my friends dad is a cop and it is only illegal if you have it turned up too loud

[dianawade]

A little box of text just told me to "be nice", so I would like to point out that I'm not trying to be mean, but isn't using your iPod/wearing headphones while riding a bike illegal?

[a918bmxr]

in the NBL it is i dont know bout the ABA

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

What kind of cop would care in the least about some headphone-wearing road cyclyst!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!??????????????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[benthekahn]

It's more about the fact you can't hear things such as a car horn of a car about to collide with you.

[Zaphod Beeblebrox]

oh..........

[benthekahn]

I believe if you are riding on roads it is, but I was using this while ridding on trails around my property with no cars.

[Ubuntu2009]

Its illegal to wear both earphones at once, if you wear only 1 the cops will let it slide, i was pulled over on my motorbike and the police man said 1 earphone is fine. This goes for bicycles aswell.

[destructables43]

why would you purposely make your grips slippery, dj (dirt jumping) isnt about comfort. why wouldent you just go to your local bike store and spen 25 bucks on a decent pair of riding gloves?

[chrislaxx14]

are you serioussssss? lol dirt jumping is all about comfort... its all flow and its supposed to feel natural and comfortable

[insanityideas]

All of your ideas are excellent bodges to solve a problem, but as most people have said there is already a 'proper' solution available that works better. If your feet slip I recommend getting SPD pedals, they lock your feet to the pedals and make things much safer especially in the wet. They will still release if you fall off, and if you intend to take your foot off the pedal, so any fears about being stuck to the bike are unfounded. Gloves are a must for cycling, if you fall off they stop you cutting up your hand when it scrapes along the ground. Plus with gloves it doesn't matter what grips you have on your bars! Chain slap guard is good... but my favorite out of your selection is the gear indicator modification... that is so cool!!

[destructables43]

ya lock on pedals are only for xc

[SASQUATCH101]

you mean clip-ins? people use them for downhill and BMX racing too.

[benthekahn]

Thanks for your opinion. I don't really want lock pedals because I don't like the idea of being attached to the bike. Even if they release when you fall, having your feet free may be able to prevent you from falling in the first place. My feet don't slip anymore since I bent back the spikes.

[benthekahn]

it comes off easily. I just have exceptionally grippy handlebars and i was doing a bunch of wheelies which makes your hands slide a lot.

[chrislaxx14]

if you get new grips you wont have that problem lol they would be way better than paper friggin towels...actually hahaha that makes no sense at all "i just have exceptionally grippy handlebars and i was doing a bunch of wheelies which makes your hands slide a lot" if theyre grippy than they wont slip dumbass

[benthekahn]

It wasn't that the grips were slipping, it's that they were not. Since they were new, when I pulled the bike up, the skin on my hand stayed with the grips while the bones and flesh tried to move. This was ripping my skin. If you don't want to do this, don't do it. I only put this up because it worked in my situation. There's no need to criticize peoples intelligence because you are skeptical of their work.

[SASQUATCH101]

you just need to buy biking gloves. Easy as that, and its stops the problem. all you noobs are trying to bike now....... huuuuuuuuh.

[SASQUATCH101]

I happen to a cyclist myself, and Ive had friends ticketed for wearing head phones while riding bikes. it happens often. and this instructable is sooooo pointless. if you dont loike your grips, just get new ones. And covering the rest of your shifter numbers is a really bad idea. you shouldnt teach people to do the wrong thing whle riding bikes unless you actually know what your doing. And can i mention that your bike needs a bit of matenance, and you it seems that you DO suck at dirt jumping. Over all lame excuse for a cyclist...

[lasersage]

totally agree on the chain guard, thats a well proven mod, but are you serious about paper towels? what happens when it rains? or you sweat a little? if you want soft hands then biking may not be the pursuit for you, but yeti used to make some exceptionally soft grips which worked well for me, trouble is they wear out quite quick. course you might not want soft hands/no gloves if ever you fall off. if your chain is giving you too much slap for the type of riding you're doing you might consider taking out a link or two, or even a chain device (extra tensioner or guide). Even with a chain device I always still needed chain stay protection.

[chrislaxx14]

fuji also makes some quality grips that are a nice cross between wearing down quickly and not gripping

[benthekahn]

Its not the rubbing that was bothering me, it was the grip keeping my skin in one place while my hands moved. That actually was cutting my skin a bit. As for my solution, its summer so it's not gonna rain for another 5 months or so, and i was using those paper towels that are like half cloth.

[jimbo333]

learn your stuff and use common sense before making something like this. the pedals were designed to be a certain way so they still grip but its harder to end up with a huge scar on your shin like me. also that makes the shifter harder to read your limiting the view. as for the handle bars buy some gloves. the chain gaurd in an ok idea though ive done something similar to my bike

[benthekahn]

These may not seem like good ideas for you, but I found that all these things worked for me.

[chrislaxx14]

yeah they worked for u..u kno what would work better? buy gloves/new grips, buy new pedals or just leave them the way they are, put your ipod in your pocket, and live with the gear indicator. you dont even need that you should go by feel

[LonNasty]

half-assed

[philipster]

well with half of your hacks everyone practically knows then and most bikes come out now with a protector for the chain slap and for the paper towels you not get gloves and why would you bent your pedals are you nuts i had non grip pedals and the pedal slipped half why through a jump and i cut open my shin ( from the weight of me pushing down on the other pedal that all my weight was on when i landed)had had to get like 10 stitches in my knee imagine what would happen with these spikes that are going into you leg from bending them i think that would hear a little but don't you reckon and you normally know what gear your going in if its your bike you you can feel the tension

[destructables43]

get shin pads

[benthekahn]

I fail to see which of these everyone knows, but whatever helps you sleep better at night. And the reason i bent the pedals is because i hurt myself going off a jump when my feet slipped off the pedals and I landed with all my weight on the seat. as for the gears, sometimes you need to change gears quickly or you will lose your momentum. If you keep clicking the lever to move down a gear and nothing happens because you were already in your lowest gear, then the delay will make you lose your momentum.

[chrislaxx14]

if your in the lowest gear it wont matter anyways.. you should be able to go by feel only, especially if its a mountain bike.. most mountain biking is all flow anyways so you barely pedal.. and you would never ben in the first gear unless going up a very steep hill... in that case you should still be able to feel it and clicking again wont do anything to your momentum... or get a da vinci bike and stop riding off road

[imkwl12345]

you slipped off thae pedals...simple solution: dont jump. as for the gear thimg-most people no what gear they are in and can tell by feel when they are in the lowest gear

[philipster]

are you toaking to benthekahn or me caus i said theat thing

[shooby]

Yeah, the handlebar idea looks a little flimsy. Some cheap gloves will help your hands. Or you could just deal with the callouses, and have man's hands.

[benthekahn]

Actually its not flimsy, despite all appearances to the contrary.

[LinuxH4x0r]

Nice! Might not want to do the handlebars though