Continuing on fixing what I broke in Death Valley. Technically I didn’t break my tire levers, but I did break the safety wire and zip ties holding them onto my rear rack. I think it was the morning of Day 2 and as I was looking my bike over I noticed my levers were gone!
Here’s what they looked like on the underside of the rack.
Gorilla Tape, Safety Wire, and Zip Ties – what could possibly go wrong?
Well, on the opposite side I used to carry a bicycle pump, and that didn’t end well.
So first, I had to buy new levers and they are not cheap but then again – these are some of the best levers you can buy!
Last time I had simply drilled two holes through the levers so I could thread both a zip tie and safety wire through them. This time I drilled the same holes BUT bolted them to the rack with stainless steel M5 bolts and Nylocs. They are NOT going to accidentally fall off again!
I’ve since replaced the bicycle pump with a side stand support (IYKYK) and carry an even smaller pump in my backpack.
I figure that if and when I get a flat on the trail, it’ll be just a few minutes extra to have to unbolt the tire levers but at least they’ll be there when I need them!
He's an avid hockey fan, rides a mountain bike, sometimes rides a road bike, has a few motorcycles (he had a really fast one, had a big cool orange one, rode a really slow one, and is currently building a perfect "BDR Weapon"). If that isn't enough, he makes cheese and sourdough bread, loves strong beer and good red wine, and poorly plays the Mandolin.
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