Jim’s Tech Talk
By Jim Langley
Before we get to the main story, mega thanks are in order for all your comments about last week’s Tech Talk which was a bunch of tips for new tubeless tire users. Thanks for sharing! And I wanted to add that contrary to how new some readers thought road tubeless tires are, that the first official wheel/tire system actually came out 17 years ago (2007). And RoadBikeRider was the first to review it – took me a little searching but here it is if you want to go back in time.
Now, on with the show…
Today’s hack comes from a bike industry friend I’ve known since the early 70’s, Leonard Rubin. At the time I worked in a shop in Keene, New Hampshire and Len owned a shop called Sunshine Bicycles in Peterborough, New Hampshire just down the road. Even though we’ve moved around and changed positions over the years we’ve kept in touch.
Len reaches out when he’s working on interesting bicycle and bike-related projects – and he’s done some cool things like his SuperBrompton, which involved recreating the popular folding bike entirely in titanium – a huge job that took him years. If you’re not familiar with Brompton bicycles, here you go.
I thought Len’s latest brainstorm was worth sharing with you. It’s especially good for mechanics who like to keep tools right at hand on their bike repair stand. Which is a great way to go if your repair stand isn’t by where your tools are stored or hanging. Or if you have limited space and need to put away your stand and tools when they’re not in use. It’s also great for taking the repair stand and box to events to be able to work on your own or friends’ bikes.
I’ll let Len explain what inspired him to come up with this hack,
“Laziness – and reluctance to spend money on stuff that always seems too expensive and not perfectly suited to my needs – are always the great motivators for me. I got tired of walking to and from the other workstand (an old Ultimate repair stand that had a small, fragile and overloaded, twice-broken-and-repaired, overpriced bare-bones little tool box accessory).
So I looked around the shop, and built this toolbox & tool holder out of scraps I had laying around (see video). This reduces wasted motion and irritation and improves my personal efficiency and comfort by moving tools out of roll cabinets and over to the workstand.
The box is a really cheap, thin-wall, exceedingly flexy one I just happened to have lying around; without the addition of that internal bar I made, it was clearly not stiff enough at all! I would definitely recommend starting with a decent toolbox!”
The Ultimate repair stand with the toolbox closed.
Image 2: This aluminum mount Len made for the back of the toolbox slides over the Ultimate stand’s mount for a secure fit and easy on/off
Image 3: The Ultimate’s built-in mount
Thanks for sharing Len!
Jim Langley is RBR’s Technical Editor. A pro mechanic & cycling writer for more than 40 years, he’s the author of Your Home Bicycle Workshop in the RBR eBookstore. Tune in to Jim’s popular YouTube channel for wheel building & bike repair how-to’s. Jim’s also known for his cycling streak that ended in February 2022 with a total of 10,269 consecutive daily rides (28 years, 1 month and 11 days of never missing a ride). Click to read Jim’s full bio.
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