There are holes in the top left and right corners of the number plate, as well as the bottom. You will need about 3 ties, same as you would find on a garbage bag, about 6-8 inches.

Pinch Cables

Position the number plate at the center of the handlebard. Take one of the ties, put it through the top hole, and wrap around the handlebar, then twist it to tighten. Do the same with the other top hole.

Number Plate

For the bottom hole, pinch the cables together and wrap the tie around your cables. Do not put the number plate behind the cables or else it can lead to problems.  

This is one of the easiest fixes out there. Whether you are out riding or back at home working on your whip it's a quick 3 minute fix that will leave you riding waaaaay better.

Let's face it having your mountain bike's brakes rub is a little like having your soul sucked out slowly by dementors from Harry Potter (nerd). Every pedal revolution you can feel it sucking energy out of you. So don't give in to brake rub, just pull over and fix it.

Adjust Allen Bolts

To fix a rubbing brake on your mountain bike you first need to know whether it is being caused by an un-centered caliper or a bent rotor. If the brake is rubbing intermitently, or not consistently, then it is most likely a brake rotor and you will need to suck it up and get a new rotor.

However, if it is consistent, thats a good thing. That means it is just a brake caliper that has become un-centered and you can quickly and easily put it back into place.

Tilt Caliper

To re-center your brake pads and caliper and get rid of the soul sucking brake rub, just undo the mounting bolts a little bit, twist the brake caliper until it is re-centered and then tighten the bolts back down.

Easy peazy! Hopefully this helps you fix any brake rub problems you may be having. Please help support our content by sharing this video with a friend.

Welcome back to The Bearded Bike Tip, today's tip is a throwback to some video I took up in the Oachita National Forest in early March.

While out riding the Womble trail I tore the sidewall on my mountain bike tire. I happened to be 14 miles away from camp with little to no cell reception.

Sidewall Hole

Luckily I had just eaten a GU packet and I decided to film this video on how to repair a torn sidewall with that Gu packet. This tip can be used with all sorts of stuff. Dollar bills, candy wrappers, obviously the GU packets, and even fabric from a jacket if desperately needed.

Patched Wheel

You essentially just want to use the GU packet (or dollar bill, etc) as a patch to reinforce the sidewall of the tire and prevent the rubber tube from expanding out of the cut or from anything like a rock or thorn from peircing the tube through the exposed crack.

It's simple, it's easy, and I did it pretty much 1 handed!

Hope this helps you one day when you're out riding and get stranded with a torn sidewall.

Today's Bearded Bike Tip is talking about the Derailleur Hanger on your bicycle. It is a little tiny piece of your bike, at first look you wouldn't even see it. Tucked away at the back of your bike it is the small piece of stamped aluminum that secures your derailleur to your bike frame.

Derailleur Hanger

Unfortunately, this thing is incredibly easy to bend which makes for some frustrating riding once that happens. As soon as that derailleur hanger bends your shifting is shot.

Bicycle manufactureres purposefully make these easy to bend for a good reason. If this little piece will bend prior to your frame, then you only have to replace a $15 hanger and not a $300+ frame.

Some Hanger Types

Sounds like a good deal to me!

So here are a few tips for dealing with your mountain bikes derailleur hanger. Different bikes have very different derailleur hangers on them. Just look in the video at the difference between my Giant Anthem's hanger vs my Kona King Kahuna's hanger. Very, Very different design.

That brings us to tip 2, keep a couple extra derailleur hangers around your house, apartment or garage. Being that they bend so easily you don't want to be stuck with a bent hanger and no replacement for it. Don't rely on your shop to get you that replacement, the bike manufacturer could decide to switch their design and then you'd be screeeeeeewwwwwed.

Quick Release

Start by loosening the quick release skewer, then lift the wheel out. Sometimes, if the brake lever is pressed while the wheel is out, the pads will close and it won't fit back in. To fix this put a screwdriver gently between the pads and open it again. You can also use a spacer to put in between the brake pads.

Screwdriver in Pads

Make sure the wheel is fully in the dropouts when putting it back in.

This is a short video about how to fix the squeal on MAFAC center-pull brakes. These brakes are known for and susceptible to squealing, and are original to a Peugeot Mixte, a vintage French bicycle.

Mafac Brakes

I tried all the usual methods for reducing squeal such as replacing the brake pads, scuffing the brake pads with sand paper and adjusting the toe-in on the brake shoes. None of these worked. That is because the squealing comes from the vibration of the brake arms caused when the pads rub against the bicycle rims.

To get rid of the vibration, move the brake pads as close as possible to the brake arms.

My video left out a few steps. Hopefully you get the idea without me showing every step. If you still need more help, have a look at the more detailed instructions below. This is applicable to both front and rear center-pull brakes.

1. Loosen the brake pads, and move them as close the brake arms as possible. Finger tighten them to a proper position so when you pull on the brake lever, the pads are aligned to the rims.

Use Vise or Find a Helping Hand

2. Now that the brake pads are backed all the way out, take your vise grips or have a helper squeeze the brakes together for you so that the brake pads bottom out to the rims. Note: if you like, place a piece of cardboard, or other material to use as a shim between the brake pads and the rim. This will help you maintain some gap between the brake pads and the rims so that they will spin freely.

3. Tighten up the slack on the brake's bridge cable, as shown in the video.

4. Remove the vise grips and tighten your brake pads.

5. Move silently like a Ninja.