From Gage: "The bicycle is a cheap cruiser that was acquired by trading a 30-pack of coors to a co-worker—it even came with the ape-hangers. The dual drive chains are provided via a fixed/free hub from a fixie (it was originally built with a coaster brake hub that blew up in "testing"). The a-frame is made up of locally harvested dumpster steel. I had originally intended to use floating chainrings as tensioners in the chain but they proved to be dangerous and un-reliable [first pic below]. So I installed a few derailleurs to straighten things out [last pic]. All in all the event was a success and the machine didn’t blow up."

He took the frame out of his old-school hiking pack, added some bars and cradles from a rear hitch bike rack and strapped that damn bike to his back: 

Clever? Yes. Silly? Yes. Awesome? Yes. Dangerous? Absolutely.

Downtube Shifter Mounts
Because we like things that are old school and we want to keep using 'em. This handy-dandy mounts to 31.8 & 28.6mm tubes so you can mount your old downtube shifters on your new bike. 

ChainSpy
"1x" drivetrains are the new singlespeed for a lot of folks, in case you hadn't noticed. If, by chance, you don't have one of those fancy new derailleurs with a clutch mechanism, some sort of chain retention is necessary. Our ChainSpy is simple, easy to install & adjust for your custom 1x applicaton. If you're a downhiller, you're barking up the wrong tree. 

Singlespeed Cassette Cog Carrier
Stamped steel cogs are nice 'n' cheap, but they dig a nasty groove into your freehub body. Wide profile cogs are awesome, but tend to be pricey. What we've got here is a wide-profile alloy carrier (won't damage your freehub) sandwiching a stamped cog (won't damage your wallet). The pattern is 6-bolt compatible for attachment to your rotor mounts to allow for the fixed-gear riding as well.

11-Speed Cassette Spacer
For putting your 9/10-speed cassette on a new 11-speed freehub body. 

Leather Washers
Because they're awesome, that's why. They look great, they keep your fender hardware from rattling, they won't scuff or scratch. 

2. Realize that you're in over your head and find a tree that someone else already cut down: 

3. Cut

4. Cut

5. Realize that you should have brought the gas can with when you hiked in. Go home. Get the team together to strategize: 

6. Return the following morning with gas, better transportation, and your resolve steeled:

7.  Transport section of log from woods:

8. Slap some 4 x 4" & 2 x 4" logs together for a base, and get out the wood burner to inscribe your sigil: 

9. Gather some of your friends to hammer the night away. Note: since your back yard doesn't have legal consul, you can probably skip the safety goggles, but depending on your condition, you may want 'em just in case. 

Thanks to all the folks who joined us at QBP's Frostbike this past weekend: you made it great. 

We've got a few new faces on the Problem Solvers team, so I thought I'd introduce y'all.

Gage Jacobson—Customer Service 

My baptism into bicycles came from bicycle hooliganary in my middle-teen years, when a friend and I started a bicycle chopper gang. My mechanical skills and the ability to re-build a coaster brake got my foot in the door at Bingham’s Cyclery (an original Schwinn concept store from the 70’s featured in the movie RAD), where I received a crash course in bicycle retail and tech from a pair lifers. I eventually scored a job as a telephone personality at QBP. I habitually build up bicycles; I probably have one of everything. My riding preferences seem to reflect this common trait—jack of all trades master of none. I’m seeing the most use from my commuter and my polo bike at the moment. I’m a firm believer in DIY lifestyle: if it’s broken there’s no harm in breaking it until it’s fixed. I also enjoy home brewing and dumpster diving. 

Mark Woker - Customer Service

I’ve been tinkering in the bike industry for more than 15 years now and have no desire to stop anytime soon. Mountain bikes are my jam and I’m certified to work on nearly every type of suspension out there. Commuting to work is something I’ve taken on in the past few years due to getting fat in the winter—there are only so many sweaters in my wardrobe to cover up with. It’s pretty simple to describe me. I fix things, I make some things worse, I like good beer and I usually have a way to keep people talking for hours. You’ve been warned.

Anders Broste - Engineer 

To me a bicycle is freedom to go, freedom to think, and freedom to achieve. I ride because I love it and for no other reason. I've always loved fixing bikes, and now I design bikes and bike parts, which is a dream come true. I love Problem Solvers because necessity is the mother of invention: creativity at its finest. And we've always been about re-purposing and reusing all of our bike stuff, which was "green" before "green" was cool. 

Welcome gentlemen.

You find an awesome Problem Solvers part—like our handlebar shims—and decide you want 'em. 

Clicking the "Buy Local Now" button brings up a new window where you select which thickness of shim you'd like to purchase. A list of bicycle retailers (in your area, or the zip code of your choosing) populates the map. The red pins represent dealers who have the product in stock at their store, blue pins mean they have it in stock at the warehouse, gray pins are dealers who can order the product: 

You pick the shop you'd like to go to (or purchase from online). Easy. 

Why is this important?

We understand that despite our best efforts, time keeps moving forward. Kids in my mom's high school English class don't know who the Beatles are. I haven't seen a rotary phone in years. And a whole bunch of people these days have mobile electronic communication device-phones and "internet" book-computers—and they may prefer to shop online.

It's important to us for our customers to get the most out of their Problem Solvers product. The local bike shop is in the best position to help you with your bike. They have the knowledge, they have the tools and most importantly, they can interact with you and your bike in-person. They can tell you that the shim you are about to purchase isn't compatible with your current handlebar setup, for example. They can make certain that our parts are properly installed. They are the real problem solvers. We want you to go into bike shops, because bike shops are some of the greatest places on Earth.

So Buy Local Now gives you a little of both worlds. Click a couple of buttons to purchase, and it's up to you if you'd like to take a quick trip to the store to pick it up, or drink hot cocoa at home while you wait for your shim to arrive...we hope you like it.  

Todays post comes from Certified Problem Solvers and grip-tape-enthusiast, the BikeTinker. Standard disclaimers apply...

"I’m a big fan of grip tape on pedals. It’s been sticking soft-soled shoes to skateboards for 40 years, so why wouldn’t it work for bike pedals and bicyclists?

It does. I use it on my wooden skateboard pedal decks, and I’ve used it on a couple pairs of platform pedals. $5 worth of tape will do about 800* pairs of pedals. These are some MKS pedals.

Recently I got some magnesium BMX pedals that come with 18 spikes per pedal. They’re red. Just the word “shinburger” has kept me off pedal spikes, and some of my shoes have soles thin enough so I can step on a penny and tell “heads” or “tails.”

I used a little specialty hex tool, and a pipe wrench for the leverage to pop the Loctite free. Now I have a little bin of pedal spikes, which is nice, because having little bins of hardware of indeterminate future use is an end in itself.

To make the grip tape fit the pedal, I put the tape on a cutting board, grip side down, and traced each side of each pedal with a sharpie. I labeled each one, and then cut them out with an Xacto knife.

This uncut one has the non-pedal parts filled in, to make a robot monkey face. The left-over rounded bits went into another bin, in case I ever need sandpaper that sticks to the end of my finger.

Peel it off, line it up, and press it down firmly. Pay attention to the edges. The rounded corners will help keep the tape from peeling up, and you can burnish the edges down with something hard and smooth that won’t get too ripped up by the tape. I think I used a bottle.

The finished pedals look pretty professional, and give me a good grip for my size 12 (or 13) feet. So far, nothing has peeled or slipped.

These are 360 grams, if you care.

*Exaggeration for effect.