Bike Overhaul (Step 2)

The plan is to remove some high-quality components from an old mountain bike that someone donated to Steph (but is too small for her) and replace the cheap components on my mountain bike with them.

Time: 2 hours

Cost: $40 (for new cables and housings and new grips)

Witch-gear: Repair stand, torque wrench, headset wrenches, pedal wrench, bike chain tool, allen wrenches, socket set, needlenose pliers, dry degreaser, dry lubricant, synthetic grease

Level of Difficulty: (What's with the saws?)

What I Learned: 1) Bike cable and housing are very hard to cut. I tried older pairs of metal shears and diagonal nose cutters, but the only tool that worked was the cutters on my newer pair of needlenose pliers. (Even then, they really had to be squeezed.) and 2) Before you grab your chain tool and pop any old pin out of the chain to remove it, research how your particular chain is supposed to be removed. I popped a pin all the way out of my bike's chain, only to discover when I tried to reconnect the chain that it wouldn't go back in. Turns out the pin was only supposed to be pushed through the outer plate enough to allow to inner plate to slide out. With the help of an assistant I was able to get the pin back in the outer plate, but it was really difficult.