Modern Cyclist Magazine Issue 1, September 2014 | Page 48

Tech talk

MC

The
BIKE

Whisperer

Hi, my name is …. but wait, where
is the fun in that? You can just call
me the Bike Whisperer. I will be your
faceless link to the inside wonder of
your beloved steed. The person to tune
to about the mind boggling mechanics,
diagnostics and solutions of your bike.

M

y journey into this trade started
at childhood, where all I yearned for was the
freedom and thrill of having a set of wheels under
me. It was a never about the destination, but the
ride to wherever my mind took me. This usually
included me getting lost and getting acquainted
with mother earth when trying to defy gravity,
completely losing the plot along the way.
This eventually ended up in friendships with the
doctor and the bike store. As a kid, one could
always do with an extra bit of change in the pocket,
which a local bike store (LBS), gladly traded for a
few hours of labour over the weekends.

48

This was grade one all over again, never in
my wildest dreams would I have thought that
there was such a diverse selection of gadgets,
components and technologies to tinker with. You
could easily rig up a steed that cost the same as a
second hand vehicle.
Having learned about the possibilities, I was in,
hook, line and sinker. It has become a career
choice that everyone I told said that I was nuts
and working on bicycles was not a “real” job.
With 15 years of experience later on, I’ve proved
them all wrong and loving every moment of it.
Someone once told me, “If you do what you truly
love, the rands will take care of themselves”, and
I believed it.
Tuning bikes is an art, something you learn with
repeated practice and mistakes and trust me, the
learning never stops, with technology evolving

ISSUE 1 SEPTEMBER 2014 / www.moderncyclist.co.za

and more choices presented. Every day is a
challenge to stay on top of your game.
As time has passed on I now have the privilege
of holding a senior managerial position in a wellknown Johannesburg cycle store, and the editor
of Modern Cyclist has given me the wonderful
opportunity to share with you my knowledge.
In the columns to follow, I will take you through
the simple basic tasks of fixing a flat wheel to
dialling in your drivetrain. Preparing for an event
to troubleshooting or just choosing the right gear
to suit your specific needs.
You will be able to submit questions via email to
the editor and forwarded through to me, where
a selected one will be answered and debated in
this column. So until the next edition ….. happy
cycling.