Workshop
How to choose a bike repair stand for your workshop
A buying guide to repair stands across portable, single-arm, double-arm, wall-mount, and electric formats; covers the clamp-mechanism decision and the e-bike capacity question.
Tech Tips
Repair guides written from the workstand in Ballston Spa — bleeding brakes, chasing creaks, setting preload, and the tools each job actually needs.
Drivetrain
How to install and remove bike pedals
Pedal threads, install torque, the wrench formats that fit each pedal, and what to do when a pedal will not come off. Our shop's pedal-service procedure, end to end.
Workshop
Hex and Torx wrenches: how to pick the right tool for the job
A working mechanic's guide to choosing hex and Torx wrenches for bike maintenance. Sizes that matter, handle shape, ball-end vs straight-tip, stripped-bolt prevention.
Brakes
Which bleed kit fits Shimano road brakes and SRAM Maven Bronze? A compatibility guide
How to match a bleed kit to your brake: mineral oil versus DOT, the Shimano M5-vs-M7 road funnel, the SRAM Maven Bronze 5.0 mm block, and which Bleedkit.com kit fits each system.
Workshop
Hammers and striking tools in the bike shop: which face, which weight, which job
Light taps for headsets and bearing seats, dead-blow for piston work, punches for pins. The right strike makes the part go where you want it.
Workshop
Combination wrenches in the bike shop: when you reach for one
Pedal axles, lockrings, and seatpost binders still need a real spanner. The right combination wrench keeps the finish clean and the fastener seated.
Workshop
Hex and Torx wrenches for bike work: choosing handle types and tip styles
L-shape, T-handle, Y-handle, ball-end. The handle shape you reach for changes how long the job takes.
Workshop
Sockets and bits for bike work: 1/4, 3/8, and 1/2 drive choices
Match drive size to torque. Where 1/4-drive bits land, where 3/8-drive ratchets save time, where a 1/2-drive socket earns its space.
Workshop
Pliers for bike work: which tool for which job
Long-nose, slip-joint, locking, retaining-ring: a working bike shop reaches for a different plier almost every job. Here is the decision tree we use.
Hubs & Bearings
Frame prep: head tube, crown race, and star nut work
When a head tube needs facing, when the crown race needs pulling or setting, and how the star nut closes the steerer-prep chain. The frame-prep walk-through for everything north of the bottom bracket.
Workshop
Servicing an e-bike: what's different from an analog bike
An e-bike isn't just a bicycle with a motor; service is different in three concrete ways. We cover the weight and the workstand, the live-electrical safety question, and motor-specific tooling like the Shimano STEPS chainring lockring.
Bottom Brackets
How to remove a crankset (and pick the right tool)
A workshop guide to crankset removal across the four interfaces you'll meet in service: square taper, splined (ISIS/Octalink), Hollowtech II, and SRAM DUB/GXP. Tooling decisions, the cheat sheet, the gotchas.