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A love letter to bicycle maintenance and repair

It was the 28th of June, 2020; the perfect summer day. I remember it distinctly because of two important events that took place on that day. The first was the unfortunate discovery that I am highly sensitive to the venomous hairs of the Oak processionary caterpillar. If you’ve never wished you could use a cheese grater to remove the skin off your arms and legs just to be rid of the itching, then you can’t really understand how I felt for two whole weeks that summer.

Every major technological advancement has brought with it increased safety, ease of use, and performance, at the cost of adding extra layers of complexity on top of the basic initial machine. Internet forums like/r/bikewrench give one the ability to pick the brains of real-life professional mechanics (although, just like every other subreddit, it does have its idiots that one needs to learn to steer clear of), and no list of bike repair resources could be complete without mentioning the Bible, the website of the late Sheldon Brown. On more than one occasion I realized I was missing some vital tool, or some tiny part that I hadn’t even known existed until I suddenly needed it–like cable ferrules, or a star nut –and without which the whole project ground to a halt.

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