Be interesting to see what this turns up. I've only ever had to use pretty standard bodges - tyre boots made out of a crisp packet and a piece of toothpaste tube, a rack held on with jubilee clips when the lower rack mounts sheared off (lasted 650km!), a jockey wheel bolt replaced with a bottle cage bolt when it fell out, a rolled up fleece taped onto the seatpost when the saddle rails broke, that kind of thing.

Has anyone ever successfully ridden with a tyre stuffed full of grass and bracken, I wonder...?

I've done the "Different Sizes of Twig to Hold the Front Mech on the Required Chainring" routine a couple of times!

People always go on about the 'grass and bracken' bodge, but I've never met anyone who's actually done it - urban myth perhaps?

It is impossible to ride a bike with a tyre full of grass. I think i saw an article in one of the mags where they tried to do it.

Been pretty lucky so far, havent needed to bodge.

"Has anyone ever successfully ridden with a tyre stuffed full of grass and bracken, I wonder...?"


YES YES YES ACTUALLY! I did it, so there. Got me the 6 miles home.

Admittedly it wasn't easy...its really hard to pack it firm enough to start with. Then, after a about a mile it all mulches down into a squidgy lump and sits in one lump at the bottom of the tyre. You end up with an oval shaped tyre that makes one hell of a thump.
Having said that, it did get me home (just)

Hmmmm, i bow to dans experience. (Still would probably prefer to run with the bike i suspect ;-)

I can't think of anything on bikes but I fixed a Mini rear subframe after it broke on a car-sized Spanish pothole. I repaired it with a piece of a bed frame found at the side of the road and unnecessary looking bolts borrowed from the engine bay. The repair got me from Spain to the breaker's yard in Birmingham where the Mini ended its final journey.

Cut a square section out of a big plastic milk bottle - put it between the tyre and tube if you punch a hole in the sidewall.
It got me round the last half of glentress' red route (and all the north shore).

A nice bodge:

http://www.londoncyclesport.com/reports_2005_x/simon.html

if he'd bought a proper bike in the first place that never would have happened.












;-)

Bodges 'eh?

perhaps later when i get the time i shall post a few :-P

Bass guitar G string as front brake cable.

that was one of the weirdest feeling brakes i'd used in a long time

more to come

I've also packed a tyre with grass for an 8 mile trip home from the forest... Caused by my schraeder tube not fitting my friend's presta rim after his valve stem got torn off... It works, but there's lots of green grass juice oozing through the tyre (Especially if it's an amber sidewall).

I also made a derailleur mounting bolt from a piece of wood: http://www.skynet.ie/~mtbclub/Photogallery/0001_Broken/index.php?action=full&picture=WoodenBolt.jpg&lang=en

It lasted almost 10 miles and then fell off within sight of home...

I once tried to patch an inner tube with a condom, but it didn't work (worryingly i couldn't get it airtight).

*Bass guitar G string as front brake cable*

Did it change note when you pulled the lever...?

Haven't got any pictures of it but the best bodge I have carried out was on a team mates USE alien post, mid polaris.

2 hours into the first day we get to our second checkpoint and Jon shouts £UCK, his USE alien post had snapped both bolts and he was now looking at the prospect of riding a further day and a half with a backpack on and his seatpost up his arse.

We rode 15 miles back to where we had left the car (Jon riding out of the saddle). Then drove 10 miles to the nearest town with a bike shop. Couldn't find a reaplacement post anywhere. Last option was a well stocked DIY store. We scoured the shelves for anything which might allow us to repair the post or shim one from the bike shop.
Finally I decided some BIG jubilee clips and an equally large screwdriver. I strapped the USE clamp up with the jubilee clips really tight - kind of doing the same job as the original bolts had done. It worked! We drove back to the car park at the event centre and rode the 20 miles to overnight camp. Arrived late, lost all our points (2 checkpoints worth). We were able to have a great days riding on day 2 and even got motovated enough to try and beat our friends score.

That rear derallier bolt is class.

Bass guitar G string as front brake cable

Why didn't you just disconnect the back brake, and swap the cable to the front where it's really needed?

I made a crud catcher from a 24 pack of Carlsberg when in Wales a few summers ago

Lasted the day - served it's purpose

A few years ago a group of us experimented with using fircones instead of an inner tube.

It's a lot quicker to fill the tyre than grass but provided a bit of a wobbly ride.

Doesn't ast too long either if you're doing jumps & bunny hops with it, but in an emergency I reckon it'd get you home.