Mission: This Is Why We Exist

Lazy Day Bicycles exists because I want to enable people to have fun. You know what's not fun? Fixing a broken bicycle, especially if you haven't done it before.

I know! That's where I started out. So let me fix your bicycle so you can have fun riding it, let me worry about the mechanics. The truing wheels, the chain and I'll put all my powerful experience into maintaining it so you won't have to come back for awhile. I love to help people. I live to serve. I also rather see people riding than on the curb with their chain falling off.

So what's our mission? I don't know. Making life's funner and happier through a dedication to craftsmanship and maintenance of the bicycle. Oh yeah, I also like to make bicycles look pretty.



I'm not certified in bicycle repair. What does that even mean!? Professional bicycle mechanics have experience, nobody I know cares about being certified. I have lots of experience, portfolio available upon demand. I'll send you a catalog of all the bicycles I've had the honor of servicing. I can even give you the name of some of my clients.


Question to Kansas city: What do you think of my name? Is there a market for a mobile bicycle shop in Kansas City? If so, where should I setup shop?

Maybe like Moto Bike Repair Kansas City!

Goal: What Drives Me

Hit a new personal record for fastest sprinting speed on flat ground. Hit 27mph. Found one of those speed devices local police use to show people how fast they are going. I think my new goal? New goal: break 30mph sprinting on flats, next goal break 35 mph on flats after 40 mph, after that 45 and 50 mph sprinting speed on flats. I'll stop maybe when I break the world record, I think is either 57mph or 63mph. I dont recall..I'm not reading books anymore I'm fucking training. It's go time. Go Go Go. Plan a little if you need but get going as soon as you can.

I'm unstoppable.

Steel road bike or nothing, don't listen to that bullshit, my focus is all steel made in the 80's with tons of spokes. Dont listen to those technology fools. The bicycles engines is in those legs, that heart and those lungs and that's all the matters, the rest is just accessories. All the power lies within, you can hit 27 mph on flats too. I welcome you all to post your records and hopefully how you've beat mine, your maximum speed on flat ground. Give me something to chase! Are there none among you who will answer such a call?

Go for it!

Stories from the Tour De France

      Sometime Ago I found these stories from the Tour De France. These stories illustrate pretty accurately what life is like for a professional cyclist. These stories are pretty old but the narrative remains the same, with rider's enduring the challenges of the toughest bicycle race ever created.

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 1913: FORKS IN THE ROAD

The idea of support cars carrying replacement bicycles was unheard of in the early years of the Tour. In fact, riders faced severe time penalties if they were caught receiving any help at all to effect mechanical repairs. It was this typically draconian rule that led to an incident that has gone down in Tour legend. While descending the Col du Tourmalet at high speed, Eugène Christophe's front forks snapped. Remarkably, he was unscathed. Even more remarkably, Christophe – aware that he was the race leader on the road – slung his bike over his shoulder, grabbed the broken forks, and set off on foot for the nearest village, 6 miles (10km) further down the mountain. The village was St Marie de Campan, and right in the middle of it was a blacksmith. Stoking up the forge, Christophe set about repairing his forks. As he did so, a Tour official looked on to ensure that no rules were broken. When Christophe asked a local youngster to work the bellows, he was informed by the official that he had been docked ten minutes – on top of the four hours he had already lost since the crash!

Such was the outcry over the decision, the time penalty was eventually reduced – to three minutes. Towards the end of his life, Christophe returned to St Marie de Campan to watch the unveiling of a commemorative plaque on the site of the former smithy. To add insult to injury, his name was misspelled.

 1920: NAPOLEON AND HIS DONKEY

Was there ever an unluckier rider than the Italian Napoleon Paoli? While racing down a narrow mountain track, he collided with a donkey that was standing in the middle of the road. Both he and his bike flew into the air and, when he landed, Paoli was on the back of the donkey. The beast of burden duly set off in panic in the opposite direction, with the helpless Paoli unable to get off. When the donkey eventually collapsed from exhaustion, Paoli had to run nearly a kilometre to where his bike was lying by the roadside. Further along the road, he was hit on the head by a rock that had been worked loose from an overhanging cliff. Paoli managed to get to the summit of the Tourmalet, where he gave up and fell asleep in a hut. In all he would ride three Tours, and finish none.

 1924: THE TOUR OF SUFFERING

The 1924 Tour was dubbed "Le Tour du Souffrance" (The Tour of Suffering) by the journalist Alfred Londres, and there is little doubt that in terms of draconian rules and regulations, Henri Desgrange excelled himself this year. Not content with forcing riders to contest 15 stages in which only two were under 186 miles (300km) and five were in excess of 248 miles (400km), and insisting that they have no mechanical back-up, Desgrange decided that in addition, riders would be disqualified if they were found to be discarding clothing or equipment en route. When most stages started in the pre-dawn cold and finished in the burning afternoon heat, this was perhaps the greatest torture of all. It proved too much for Henri Pélissier, who withdrew from the race claiming that Desgrange would soon insist on riders carrying weights "since God made humans too light".

Gitane Cycles (Ca. 1970's?) Refurbishment and Tips -- Before Picture

Here's a before picture of my first Gitane (Second French Bicycle):

     As you can see Gitane decal is a little scratched, there's some scratches on the top tube from riders mounting/dismounting and some scratches on the fork.

Gitane Cycles (Ca. 1970's?) . Gitane is French for "Gypsy woman" : )

It will require quite a bit of refurbishment. Will post post-repair picture when I complete the job.

     All in all, shouldn't take me more than a couple weeks to repair then it's on to the next project. In the interim though, I guess I could do some research on Gitane. Thanks to the Sheldon Brown website, it's come to my attention that my derailleur is a Suntour Spirt. (Not to be confused with the Spirit or Sprint). It turns out this is a pretty special derailleur, when you press the lever forward the gears actually shift into a higher gear(Opposite your normal Derailleur). According to the Sheldon Brown site that derailler came out in 1966, that puts my Gitane somewhere in the late 1960's range or later.

Bicycles No Longer Being Manufactured -- Araya

     Araya Used To Make Bicycles. Araya made many bicycles for other companies and put other companies decals on their frames. For awhile though in the 70's Araya made their own bikes. I came across one of those bikes and in my research I discovered there's very little information about them.

I found out a couple interesting things. Araya made a really nice bicycle, one model with Reynolds 631 tubing and downtube shifters. Eventually I emailed Araya and they sent me this neat catalog page. Pictured Below is the Araya Sport. I hope this helps you identify your Araya Bicycle.

   

Araya Sport --- (Tall 62cm Frame)

  Araya, a company with a long history.

Tips On Buying A Quality Used Bicycle (Or how to put a bike through its paces)

     This guide doesn't attempt to discuss bicycle fit. Hours of discussion can easily be spent on the subject. This guide is to ensure you find a bicycle of good craftsmanship that is repairable and I believe if you follow this guide you'll find a decent bicycle.
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    The used bicycle market is full of wonderful bikes(Classic road bikes, mtn bikes, Cruiser bikes and tandems). How do you know if the bicycle you want is good or not? Three elements make a great bicycle: Craftsmanship, Brand, components. If you can find a brand that was once sold in a bike shop you are on track, most of the bikes you'll find in bike shops are well-made and I'd argue are worth repairing. They won't let you down.

     Visual Inspection of the Frame: Check the frame for any cracks, scratches or rust. Rust and paint damage like to hide in the most conspicuous places. Check the bike under the frame where the pedals are and all along the down tube(see below).

  A bicycle built for heavier loads will have lugged welds like those below(Or TIG welding on Aluminum Frames). Double-butted and triple-butted steel may be found on touring bikes for added strength and durability, this is important when considering the extra weight loaded touring bicycles can handle.

-=scorch=- Flickr.

     Check the rear of the frame where the rear wheel bolts on to the frame. (This is called the rear drop outs, quite appropriately, because it's on the back of the bicycle where the wheel drops out). Bikes of very low quality will have crimped on rear dropouts like those below. (Caveat Empor)

No Welds  =(

     Here's a short and incomplete list of brands I trust. Like your Azuki, Peugeot, Raleigh, Bianchi, Giant, Trek, Gary fisher, Nishiki, Araya, Haro, Specialized, Puch, Miyata and that's all that come to mind. Brand can often be a sign of quality and craftsmanship but it's not de facto. It's all about craftsmanship and the components. Learn what the quality bicycle components are (Shimano, Araya, etc) and look for those parts. Beware of bicycles with parts that aren't branded or labeled, virtually all bicycles from a sporting good's store or bicycle shop will have components that are labeled. Not all branded parts are quality but it will give you something to Google. If your search returns no results, that's a red flag. Unsure about a part's quality? Check consumer reports, consult your local bike shop or other bicycle professional. Feel free to e-mail me, however, if it doesn't return a Google result normally it's unknown. Whether the part is quality or not can only be made by a competent mechanic or other bicycle professional and that's outside the scope of this article.

Destructive Removal of a Freewheel That Has No Freewheel Removal Tool

     In this article I will explain how to destructively remove a freewheel so as to save your wheel. The freewheels most commonly designed without proper notches for removal are often among the lowest quality. If your bicycle came with this freewheel stock chances are the wheel is also of low quality and you might take that into consideration when considering this repair option.

     Sometimes there doesn't exist a removal tool. Other times the notches aren't wide enough (See Picture Below). Notice how the notches on the outer ring are thin and shallow. I attempted to use a hammer and punch to remove it with these notches, but even with careful and skillful blows it only served to damage the soft metal. When it comes to this destructive removal is the only way to save the wheel.

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Tool's You'll Need:

• Pin Spanner (Park SPA-2)
• Or Hammer and Punch

• Bench Vise 

     In the picture below you will see two holes, these holes are for a lockring that keeps the cog piece attached to the freewheel body, inside are about 50 tiny bearings. A park tool SPA-2 pin spanner is the easiest way to remove it, but I took mine off with a hammer and punch. Follow the arrow imprinted on the freewheel, if there is no arrow go clock-wise, they are always left-hand threaded. When the cone ring is removed bearings may spill out all over the place, and there's lots of them.

     Once the outer shell of the body is removed it exposes the main body that is threaded on to the hub. From here, simply tighten on to a strong vise(With some teeth) and turn counter-clockwise. This will unscrew the freewheel from the hub, thus saving it from the garbage and allowing you to thread a new freewheel on to your wheel.

Disclaimer: It is possible to reassemble these, however, these freewheels are so inexpensive that it really isn't practical and given their low quality to begin with no good mechanic would recommend it. If all bicycles were standardized, this repair would become obsolete, as all manufacturers wanting to build to standard would be required to make a freewheel removal tool slot that fit a Universal Freewheel Remover.

Updated: June, 29th, 2014