Overhauling a Bicycle

A priceless excerpt from Jerome K Jerome's 1900 novel Three Men on the Bummel:

He said: "Have you overhauled it?"

I said: "I have not, nor is anyone else going to overhaul it. The

thing is now in working order, and it is going to remain in working

order till we start."

I have had experience of this "overhauling." There was a man at

Folkestone; I used to meet him on the Lees. He proposed one

evening we should go for a long bicycle ride together on the

following day, and I agreed. I got up early, for me; I made an

effort, and was pleased with myself. He came half an hour late: I

was waiting for him in the garden.

Checking for Chain Wear

Last week I checked my chain for wear using the Park Tools CC2 (thanks to SP), and I read up some stuff about chains and wear generally, and here's a jist:

Locking a Quick-Release Wheel

I noticed at least two bikes in campus being ridden with the QRs not correctly locked. The proper way to use the QR is to use its cam, and not as a 'handle' to tighten the nut on the other side. Most QRs have "open" and "close" etched on them - if you can read the word "open" your QR is not locked.