a Story from the Caveman workshop

I had a dream:

But oh no- a broken rim! Caveman-ized  into total oblivion. My mountain bike mantra of :

Low air, big gear, no fear!

does not work so well with my KTM 950 Adventure’s stock “Butter Rims”:

Really, the rim was tired. I had been riding it like this for a while now, but the cracks grew and the wobbles got worse and I felt a little scared going over 170km/h…

So I had to replace. I ordered a not so buttery rim from Alfie Cox Racing and hoisted the bike into the rafters of the storage unit I’m busy building.

Now, I have never built a wheel, but I have straightened a few bicycle wheels in my time. How hard can it be?

All you need is a wheel stand: ie, a broom, 2 cable ties and 2 upright trees. And a wire wound around one of the trees to indicate bumps and wobbles in the rim.

And you need a spoke wrench. Dont have one? Make one quick stix with a hacksaw. (Caveman’s 2nd best friend)

I wonder if my dad will miss his 7mm wrench?

Meet Caveman’s 1st best friend: The Hammer. It comes in many forms. Today it is a dirt bike boot with 80kg and 1200Watts (over 10 seconds) behind it.

Needed a hammer to undo the rear wheel nut. Normal footwear on the farm is no shoes.

Of course, I always keep the manual on hand. It makes the perfect coffee cup coaster…

I finished just before the Highveld thunderstorm came down in buckets. Testing the new (half finished) roof.

I used the inside time to reconvert the spoke tool back to a 7mm wrench. Now its a 2 into 1 tool. Just undo the wire and cable tie and you have 2 tools again!  I think this one belongs in this redneck website: There, I fixed it!

Caveman’s 3rd best friend:

In South Africa: Baling wire and pliers, since we are still in the Late Iron Age here.

In USA: Duct tape, because over there its the Space Age already.

Finally, on New Years’ day, I was packed with camping and camera gear, in the driveway and ready to rumble. Xtreme Moto Camping, Caveman style…

To be continued…