The video that I made, starring our friend Scott Tauzin that shows you how to do a bunny hop has received quite a bit of attention on Youtube. As of this writing, it has had 10,675 views, not bad. It’s not viral, but pretty good in my book.

Just in case you’re still having a hard time doing bunny hops, here’s some help!

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Khoa made an in-depth video showing you how to build a wheel. He’s using Mavic 717 rims, American Classic Hubs and DT Swiss Spokes. Since building wheels isn’t something that takes a few minutes, I’d suggest you grab a drink and a snack before you watch the video.

By the way, the wheelset he built are sooooo sweet! Black rim, nipples and hub with silver spokes!

Enjoy!

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I was just going through some of our archives and found this little gem…

Learn how to install your favorite beer cap on your bike!

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If you had the money you can easily convert over to a tubeless tire and wheel system with UST wheels and tires or you can use Stan’s. But if you’re p’oh and broke like me, you can do the following for about $10….

*Disclaimer, do this at your own risk.

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I’ve talked about this subject quite often for the sole purpose of trying to save a buck. My mechanical Avid BB5s have been great to me and I really don’t see the need to upgrade to hydraulic brakes. For one its too expensive and secondly I’m just poor and frustrated so that means I have to find ways to make what I have work and last. To give you some history on this, it all started because a few guys that I worked with at a LBS told me that you can run 4mm derailleur housing with your brake cables. This process is supposed to give you compression-less braking in which would feel more like you’re using hydraulic brakes.

So with that all said I started my experiment with installing some 4mm der. housing for my rear brake and left the 5mm brake housing for the front. On my first ride out with the new 4mm set up, I was quickly impressed with the modulation that my rear brake provided. Braking was quicker and snappier. To help you understand this…if you’ve ever tried hydraulic brakes…well think back to the first time you tried them. Remember how you first pulled the lever when you were riding the bike. Remember how quick the wheel(s) locked? Well think of that when I’m describing how the 4mm der housing felt when I first pulled the levers. I was actually shocked on how well it worked!

Fast forwarding, Nokon Cables have provided me a set of their wold famous compression-less housing and cables. Gore also provided me some cables as well, but that’s going to be tested later. For now I’ve installed the front brake with the Nokon Cables and left the 4mm der housing in the rear.

Right now the front brakes feel pretty decent, but later this week I’ll testing out this set up on my favorite rock garden, Rock-it in Aliso Woods.

Before you go out and replace your 5mm brake housing with 4mm der housing…you may want to wait a while, just for liability reasons. One of the warnings that my old coworkers as well as Steve Richey of Nokon said was that 4mm der can explode or fail while under braking pressure. So for now, let me take one for the team…cuz’ that’s the kind of guy I am.

I’ll be reporting back soon with some more information to see how this all works for me. Keep checking the site!

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Some people call this a diagonal bunny hop, or a sideways bunny hop. Our friend Scott Tauzin who has shown us how to do a regular bunny hop, is now demonstrating how to do a fancier style of bunny hopping that can be useful to to jump over logs, poop, ruts, sidewalks and old people.

Enjoy!

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Priscilla was running some nice Avid Vbrakes on her bike. She wanted to give disc brakes a try so I installed a set of Avid BB5’s on her bike. This video shows you how to remove the Vbrake system and install disc brakes.

Enjoy!

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One of the best ways to maintain your cables is to properly lube it. There are many ways to do this and the one that I am most familiar with is to dismount the cable/housing from the braze ons and slide the housing up or down, then apply lube on the cable. But if you want to speed up this process, you can use one of these thingies, its called a Cable Luber.

With this tool, you can place it right how the picture shows, take your favorite spray lube with one of those red spray nozzles and insert it to the red straw, spray! There’s nothing really to it. These luber tools can cost as little as $10, and can be found all over the Internet, especially Ebay. You could also find these things at a motorcycle parts shop or dealer.

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This week’s Thursday Tech Tip was proudly presented by Jeremy Yang. He needed some help with the Redline Mono9’s crank arms. So rather than giving the boy the fish, I taught him how to catch a fish…and placed him in front of the camera for the whole world to see!

So with out further adieu..I present, Jeremy Yang and this week’s Thursday Tech Tip!

You can see more Thursday Tech Tips at MtnBikeRidersTV.com

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The best way to build up your mountain biking confidence is to start working on your own bike. Working on your bike isn’t rocket science….well truing and building wheels might be. But having the knowledge and skills to repair your bike on the work stand or on the trail will greatly increase your cycling confidence.

Think about it, if you were so worried about breaking every little thing on your bike…which causes you to slow down or not ride as hard…then you’re robbing yourself of the fullest potential a trail, your bike and your biking abilities can dish out. On the flip side of that, if you knew how to work on a busted chain, mis-shifting derailleur, flat repairs and many more…you’re more likely to go balls out on your rides.

In order for you to start building your confidence, you need to learn how to fix your bike. We offer a weekly How To called, “Thursday Tech Tips.” We started with our how to’s with regular article format, that included photos and step by step instructions. Which I may add, we have over 65 How To’s posted. We’ve recently started doing a video version of the tech tips on MtnBikeRidersTV.com. In fact we’re filming one tonight…ya its a bit late, but this one is really good.

If need more help, you can certainly talk to your LBS and see if they offer FREE clinics. Most LBS’s that I know offer basic bicycle repair sessions after the shop closes. Another great tool is to get the Video Bike Repair DVD. Those folks that created this DVD did a great job in covering things from disc brakes to bottom brackets.

Now if you don’t have access to either of the two, ask your mechanically inclined buddy to show you the ropes. Usually they’ll be happy to oblige, but sometimes a 6 pack wouldn’t hurt.

Confidence has to start with knowing every aspect of your bike. Sure knowing how to handle your bike has some value, but knowing how to fix it will bolster your over all mountain biking experience.

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