Photo: © Park Tool

Garage Days: Calvin Jones' 2004 MTB World's

As MTB equipment becomes more sophisticated and specialized, a mechanic's life becomes proportionately more complicated. Especially if that mechanic is travelling on the road - or harder still, out at an event like this year's MTB World Championships in Les Gets, France, where Park Tool's Calvin Jones found himself as manager of the Team USA mechanics.

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2004 MTB World championships, Les Gets, France, September 8-12, 2004

Friday, September 10 Junior Men World Championships, U23 World Championships, Trials Championships Women 20-inch and 26-inch, plus 4-cross qualifications. Also, today is downhill practice and preparation. Today is Calvin's favorite day. There is downhill practice, and then preparation of the downhill machines. There has been quite a bit of tapping and thread repair here. So far we are able to handle what we have seen. The taps we have include; 2mm, 3.5mm, 4mm in both 0.75 and 0.8mm pitch, 5mm x 0.8, 6mm x 1, 10 x 1, 1/4-inch x 20 and 28 tpi, 10 x 32 tpi, 9/16 x 20 tpi in left and right hand threads, and two heil coil sizes. This does not include the bottom bracket taps and reaming tools we have. It is important to carry taps so they do not touch each other. Sometimes the best stand is the ground. The downhill bikes can be very heavy, so for only a tire change, we sometimes turn the upside down. This can cause air to seep into the brake lines, so the bike must sit a bit before use. It is an "inside joke" that the mechanic's motto is, "Who did this?" Yet, we say this several times a day. The wheel below is laced so the valve is difficult to access. There is no reason for this, it is simply wrong, yet the wheel will work, as the rider proves. Notice the open space to the left of the valve. This is where the valve should have been lace. On the valve is a tire core tool, used to depress the core. This deraillleur wire is miss routed through the pinch bolt. This plate should have been rotated 90-degree counter clockwise, allowing the cable to sit properly in the slot. We are sometimes asked to modify equipment, which is often reasonable. However, we try not to cut on equipment for juniors and younger riders. In the image below, the brace in the linkage is being opened for a larger shock. Matt Eames uses the cutting wheel with the hands of a skilled craftsman to slice through this brace. There are times when there is no time for a proper repair. This rider had ripped cable housing, chewed from the chain and pivot moving. He had practice runs to make, and would be in soon. I did not want him to see his bike apart, so this repair was made. It is not a repair I am particularly proud of, but it did work. The shift housing is wire tied in this image. The housing was replaced in the evening after is day of practice, with protective tubing. If a rider is trying to go fast in downhill, smashing the equipment is what can happen. This rim was trashed on one run. The tire would no longer hold the rim, a new wheel was required. However, amazingly this Maxxis® tire was not damaged at all, and the tube was not flat. Some riders take good care of their equipment, and clean it often. Lubrication of the chain and pivots is important, and is best done one drop at a time. Alex Hagman (U23) know that too much lube is simply messy. This trials parent is using a 4-inch grinding wheel on the braking surface of the rim, which can add extra stopping power. It is important for a good mechanic to learn may different skills. Even handlebar wrapping can be useful, as in the chain protection below. Downhill is an extreme event, even the practice days. We had a broken chain, after it jammed into the frame. We repaired this at the venue pit. The chain was inspected later to be sure it was correctly installed, which it was. Failure was not a the installation rivet.

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