Practical workshop: bikepacking repairs in the field

Practical workshop: bikepacking repairs in the field

Anything can happen when bikepacking. A broken derailleur hanger, gears playing up, a punctured tubeless tyre, a bent brake rotor rubbing against the pads – and the nearest bike shop is 30 km or more away.

That’s why we’re holding a practical workshop where we’ll learn to repair our bikes ourselves out in the field.

This session isn’t about elaborate workshop repairs with a full set of tools. It’s about getting yourself out of trouble with just your own tools and whatever you’ve packed in your bag.

What will we try?

• Replacing cables and adjusting gears;

• Replacing brake pads, adjusting and bleeding hydraulic brakes;

• Straightening bent brake rotors;

• Repairing tubeless punctures with tyre plugs, including more serious cuts;

• Fitting tubeless tyres without a compressor;

• Dealing with a badly slashed tyre – learning to stitch it up and salvage it so you can get home;

• Replacing a derailleur hanger, straightening a derailleur and lubricating its jockey wheels;

• Converting to single-speed when the derailleur hanger breaks.

We’ll also have some “learning materials” – old tyres, bent rotors, damaged derailleurs and other parts that we can freely take apart, damage and repair.

The goal is simple: the next time you run into a problem in the middle of a forest, instead of thinking, “That’s it, I’m walking home,” you’ll know what to do and how to tackle it.

Lots of practice, minimal theory. And, most likely, plenty of dirty, greasy hands.