bettywood•1mo agoMost Upvoted

Heads up about the new 'bike valet' service at the Riverfront Music Festival

I was working the tent yesterday and saw them using a single generic hex key on every single bike, cranking down on carbon seatposts and stems. They put a 5mm on a 4mm bolt on a kid's Trek and stripped it almost completely. Has anyone else had to fix damage from a festival valet service, or is there a way to politely talk to the organizers about basic tool use?

3 comments

3 Comments

christopher_wells41mo ago

Wait, they used one hex key for everything? That's like using a shoe to hammer in every nail... you're gonna wreck something. I saw a guy at a shop once try that on a carbon frame and it left a permanent crush mark. How do you even strip a kid's bike bolt without feeling that it's clearly the wrong size? Someone needs to hand them a basic tool guide before they touch another bike.

rileyhayes1mo ago

Yeah, and it's not just about the wrong fit, it's that feeling when the key starts to slip and you just lean into it harder instead of stopping. That's the exact moment you ruin the bolt. @christopher_wells4 is totally right, it's a basic feel thing you have to learn. I bet half the problem is people using those awful multi-tools with the bendy arms that let you crank at a bad angle. A proper set of fixed hex keys would stop so much of this before it even starts.

john_cooper29d ago

A carbon frame? @christopher_wells4 that's just painful.