3 Rapid-Fire Mountain Bike Tuneups

[@Durwood71]

As someone who rode a Trek Marlin 8 for two years and broke the front and rear axles at least once each, I can tell exactly how it happens: riding it like a trail bike. Marlins are cross country bikes and are not intended for chunky technical trails, and certainly not big drops and jumps. I'm riding a Roscoe 9 now with much beefier thru axles, and I couldn't be happier.

[@GavinBayley]

I just had to replace the axle on a Specialized Rockhopper that was also cracked clean in half.

[@smileyguyz]

Thru axles are personally my favorite innovation on bikes ever. Quick release axles are just really, really weak. I've managed to break them riding cruisers on rough sidewalks.

[@creepingjesus5106]

​@@smileyguyzYeah, they were fine on old bikes in the past (I have an old Marin Bolinas Ridge that runs QRs without issue) but I have the feeling they're not beefy enough for contemporary (ish) bikes with more mass, grip, and suspension.

[@rossejera1661]

@@smileyguyz not really. I got an older gen R6 with a QR on the rear and it just handled fine in trails. SOme trail bikes even have QR like the Marin san quentin and Specialized rockhopper. The main reason why its because its a freewheel and all of them have this problem as the load is uneven. Freehub doesnt have this problem. The skewers on a QR and thru axles are just for clamping.

[@lenolenoleno]

@@rossejera1661 This 100%.

[@Vastafari34]

Your bike repair videos are among the best content on the entire Internet. You're a fantastic educator!

[@Durwood71]

Watching Seth's Flip Bike series is what inspired me to start working on my own bike.

[@TroySmith-wx2mq]

I recently became a bike mechanic at a local non-profit bike shop, I had no formal schooling in bike repair and my education on the subject is almost entirely made up of what I've learned watching all your videos for the past several years. Thank you so much for everything I've learned from you Seth!

[@aaronthewhiz3160]

We need a compilation of Seth distributing sealant by wildly bouncing the wheel around

[@Jacob48902]

I never knew Seth played basketball!

[@bikesandbeans]

Steve Nash you mean?

[@bippityboppity5140]

Rapid fire cmon I want an hour long video

[@JJR_BIKES]

Same!

[@schwuzi]

I want videos that are 37 years long!!!

[@Jamie_King09]

Real

[@CHRMTTEAM]

I want 1000 years long videos

[@somewhere0verthere]

For long form I watch comet restorations. Asmr bike restorations with just tool noises. I watch Seth for useful and interesting info

[@The_Iainternet]

I’d love to see a video where you get the kids you gave the bikes to along to service them and teach them how to look after their bikes!

[@tkc5793]

He’s done 20+ videos on how to service them. If these kids reached out to get Seth to fix these bikes for them, then he gave the bikes to the wrong kids. Seth start charging, you can’t give away free shit forever.

[@P83_]

​@@tkc5793Right? If i was one of these kids id love to just ask Seth to use his tools and take care of it all just myself, its part of the fun with bikes 😅

[@noahpfn3987]

We want that!!

[@koekum]

I had this same problem with computer hardware. After fixing someone's computer or even giving them one, you become the owner of all their problems.

[@GavinBayley]

for real bro

[@kusokurae21]

I know exactly what you’re saying. Good thing Seth is being cool about it😁

[@_Zane__]

"Your life is now mine"

[@doorot10001]

Seth. Just wanted to say I have no mountain biking background, but I randomly came across your channel one night. After binge watching both of your channels for a couple of weeks, I have bought a bike to learn and get into the hobby. Just wanted to say thank you! Highly enjoy it.

[@DannyS2301]

Straight as a bent arrow

[@yourchillgamer5800]

I love how Seth explains how to replace, repair, and to see how theres a problem on the bike, PLEASE do more! You have saved me hundreds of dollars worth of repairs with your videos!!

[@iamjessieray]

Seth, I just want to let you know that I genuinely learn so much from your bike repair videos. I am still very much a beginner but I am learning to wrench on my own bike which has already saved me quite a bit of money. It isn't till you start working on them that you realize just how simple bikes are, especially since mine don't have any hydraulic components!

[@speedsk810]

I love all of the Berm channels, Seth. I'm gonna be doing my first big ride in a very long time in Chequamegon-Nicolet National Forest in Wisconsin all because this channel inspired me to do it.

[@djsercy5879]

The Marlin 4 can be swapped from a freewheel to a cassette (I converted mine from a 3×7 to a 1×9), but for most people, doing that isn't worth the effort considering how you'd have to do a full drive train and brake swap in the process (the stock shifters and brakes are integrated into each other) and you'd need a new rear wheel. I did it with mine to see if it was possible and bike rides great

[@littleshopofrandom685]

See this is the problem giving out bikes, you become the free repair man :P

[@andybidlingmaier4466]

" This time these bikes are leaving my house for good. " FAMOUS LAST WORDS. 🤣🤣

[@NoodlesSoucy]

Your videos have helped me so much in my personal bike repairs and those in the local community over the past few years, just wanted to say thanks!

[@MorganGlassco]

I may not need the knowledge right now, but these videos give me the confidence to tackle bike repairs and upgrades. And I'm glad to be learning about freewheels and lower spec bikes cause they are super prevalent and will encounter them. Keep the videos coming!

[@madtownangler]

I remember once when I bent my seatpost on my BMX bike my dad took a metal rod and pounded it into the seatpost tube to the right height and I put my seat back on. This was about 1990 or so. We also used a crescent wrench as a spoke tool.😊

[@NonLegitNation2]

YT is your best friend when it comes to learning how to repair and maintain your bike. I firmly believe a person shouldn't own a bike unless they know some basic maintenance. I don't attest to know how to do everything but I would say I can repair and maintain 95% of the problems on a bike and the place I learned to do that stuff is through years of watching YT videos. I'm sure plenty of people disagree with me, but those people are probably the ones who don't know how to repair and maintain their bikes. I work at a retail store and assemble bikes and a couple months ago we had someone return a bike because they got a flat tire. If you can't fix a flat tire then I'm sorry, you shouldn't be riding/owning a bike.

[@ricobohm7781]

Well, while im also a person who does everything on my bike (and friends bikes) myself and would of course absolutely love if everyone could work on their bikes themselves, i do politely disagree with the notion that everyone should have to learn. Not everyone (especially people who just use bikes as commuters) have the time, energy or frankly desire to learn how to fix bikes. And imo thats totally fine. If you are willing to pay a bikeshop to fix your bike, thats great, thats what they are for. If we want more people to cycle, the 'entry barrier' should be as low as possible and thus i think its fine to just pay someone to work on your bike, if thats what keeps you riding. That being said, i do encourage everyone to learn to fix your bike, because its fun, its a great skill to learn and can save you loads of money in the long run. Just my two cents, cheers :)

[@jonasboone4505]

I'm a full time mechanic, thinking these would be the last video's i'm wanting to watch after a days work. Yet, you always make me laugh (in a good way!). Also, use a magnet for them lil ball bearings. :D

[@masonsmith8956]

Seth you should get a 2lb slide pull hammer for the caps of the hub for the bearings. Mine is a Pittsburgh it doesn't damage anything and it just yanks the cap right off. And to install all you need is grease and a soft mallet. And this also doesn't damage anything. Highly recommend

[@stantheman5163]

Repair videos are so fun and educational. I used to keep my bike stand right next to my home office desk. When I needed a break I'd fiddle with the bike and do small repairs or upgrades. Very relaxing and my bike was always in top shape. That bike is now 25 years old and still in top shape, though very out-dated compared to modern standards.

[@WhitebreadYT]

Love watching you fix up bikes. Keep making these kind of videos!

[@richardharker2775]

Your generosity is heart warming Seth. I did laugh my guts out with the ball bearing saga. Fully understand that.

[@adamspivey]

Love the video and love what you do for bike people. You are indeed a treasure to your community.

[@themeatpopsicle]

I always put a differently-colored spoke nipple in when I replace spokes on my own bike. Lets me see exactly how many I've had to replace 😅

[@chrisko6439]

Nice. I sometimes count how many patches are on my inner tubes, the last time I counted, the inner tube had 16 patches on it. Lots of snakebites.

[@YanDoroshenko]

What are you doing with them wheels partner? I've had all sorts of misfortunes, I weigh almost 100 kg and don't always land as intended, had some broken bones and stuff. Yet the most I've managed to do to the wheels is to break one bladed spoke on a light-duty Mavic wheel more than five years ago.

[@papajonn87]

I don’t think Seth could handle looking at that.

[@RiversideM]

@@YanDoroshenko I have a commuter/pub bike that I don't treat very well. I knew I had some broken spokes but at some point it got basically unrideable after I rode down a curb, immediately noticed how wobbly the wheel was all of a sudden. I rode home, checked it out and counted 12 broken spokes lol idk how I made it home then But obviously the durability of a cheap dutch roadster isn't comparable to a mountainbike

[@YanDoroshenko]

@@RiversideM That's weird. On one hand, breaking so many spokes means that you use the pub bike a wee bit too often. On the other hand, it's contradicted by such a degree of neglect.

[@nathansteer3829]

Haha yep that axel has had it have actually done this before too as there was a street in my home town that had some deep ditches that were fun to drop into and about 2 weeks later my rear wheel couldn't take anymore drops

[@mattk7795]

How about a video on what to look for when buying a used bike? I recently bought a bike & missed some major dents in the frame I could have easily found by running my hand around it. Thanks for what you do.

[@tkc5793]

Hey Seth you might not read this, but you’ve inspired a lot of people to start biking. In one of your more recent videos you stated you’ve been doing a lot of gravel riding. If your trail riding videos took a lot of time and effort, maybe it won’t be worth the effort, but I would definitely watch some road/gravel content and I’d consume videos where you talk about bike infrastructure and bike commuting. Your channel has a lot of reach, and with that, the potential to get more people on bikes full time.

[@mykhailyna1]

I actually replaced a freewheel for a freehub on my bike (the axle was bent and I didn't feel confident replacing it). Not that hard in the end (spent about 5 hours). Just needed a new hub & spokes. I feel really good about this upgrade with the new cassette

[@Iosis6]

Same except I reused my spokes. I replaced everything that wasn the frame on that bike. Was a good learning experience and I really enjoyed it.

[@mykhailyna1]

@@Iosis6 wow, you're crazy with reusing the spokes. To find a hub that would exactly match the spoke size is a huge find

[@Iosis6]

@@mykhailyna1 I had some seriously dumb luck on the build as I thought I had done enough research but definitely didn't. Everything I randomly ordered ended up fitting though!

[@Lolwutfordawin]

​@@mykhailyna1cheap shimano hubs are all basically the same, and tend to be 1-1 fits for cheap freewheel hubs since they copy shimano. Joytech, quando, all the Chinese crap tends to use the same sizes as shimano.

[@bogdanvlad9165]

here's a hug for being nice to those boys all the way

[@JerseyGearhead]

I enjoy the repair videos. Broken axles are pretty common on freewheel hubs since the hub body is so narrow, leaving a lot of axle sticking out the drive side. If it breaks again a cassette hub would be a nice upgrade I think.

[@tkc5793]

Yeah Seth this guy is right, just go ahead and replace the entire wheel, drivetrain, shifter, cables, derailleur, buy a new cassette, and then rebuild it all for free. Just go ahead and do that because this guy knows what he’s talking about!

[@Benjamin-se8pp]

for the exception: beware of the spacing of the hubs, freewheel hubs are usually smaller, alloy frames don't like to be bent. Otherwise I'd agree with you

[@mattgies]

@@tkc5793 That's a seven speed freewheel. An 8-10 speed freehub type wheel, a 7 speed cassette, and a 7 speed spacer is all you would need to replace. It's still a pittance compared to his ad revenue.

[@Lolwutfordawin]

​@@Benjamin-se8pp most freewheel hubs are 135mm just like standard cassette hubs. For the oddball 130mm hub, you can use a standard road-bike hub instead, those are 130.

[@richardandrews6299]

As a proud member of the UK branch of the neckbeard council - we request longer videos for bike restoration. I personally spent Saturday actively avoiding all social contact with other humans to binge watch your FLIP - BIKE videos - ALL OF THEM! Even ones I'd already watched 🤷 Between you and Evans MTB Saga - I never need to "entertain" other humans who don't share my dark obsession (I mean passion......) with bike repair videos. We need more 20+ min videos - please & thank you 😎😎 Live long and prosper 🖖🖖🖖

[@theboysneverstop]

I love how Seth is already amazing at bouncing those wheels around the shop

[@byroboy]

Good to see the freewheel bike back on the trails too. They are not great but good to get someone active. Word of warning Seth, I just dislocated my big toe doing something similar to how you got off your truck at the very end. I seem prone to similar injuries to some of yours (shoulder, wrist, knee) so be careful out there.

[@jccapistrano13]

Those kids are freaking lucky, they got a new bike and they also got a free first tune-up?

[@50whatnomadtravelnursemtb5]

Teach the kids how to do this, these are such simple fixes. Great videos though, love Berm Peak

[@broken_rcs3121]

Hi Seth I would love a video of you showing your most used tools and tools you recommend for mountain biking! Thanks! I’ve been watching the videos since the beginning 🤘

[@ravennexusmh]

axles break like that because old freewheel style hub, plus kid, likely riding hard and jumping. this is why when shimano brought out the parallax cassette hub it was such a game changer. moving the drive side bearing out to near the rear mech, and bearing riding on a steel bolted to the hub casstete body made the wheel much stronger, a designed they've only just gone away from with the microspline rear hubs which moved the drive side bearing back to the hub body

[@fromanify]

I had seth install some audio equipment on my bike decades ago and i gotta say i only trust seth for my bicycle AV needs. He keeps my bikes Movin On.

[@nauticalpirate]

That's the most accurate part of fixing a bike "Bend it back"

[@cup_and_cone]

Seen snapped axles a few times. It happens from a combination of the threads being rolled too deep during manufacturing and the cone sitting at the perfect spot of a groove/step that it points loads it.

[@cedarwings82]

Love these types of videos, and the bike repair at the trail last week.

[@SouthernSender]

Those axles break like that all the time! My assumption is all the force of the drivetrain is overloading the strength of the cheapo axle right at the point of the bearing race. Great video as always Seth 👏

[@LawrenceMacMacster]

The chain on that Marlin. Someone is putting out a lot of watts 😂

[@OldDirtGuy]

Wow! I rode out of the woods about a week ago and noticed that my front wheel had a wonk to it. Sure enough. Broken silver spoke nipple. All I had was a black one to replace it with. Seth's channeling me.

[@NeoPayneHK]

i love the third bike part so much~ thank you

[@andrew86fl]

Those young boys rode the hell out of that Marlin. Good job, proud of them.

[@nickryan3287]

Love me some Mills River Ace hardware trips. Had no idea they had loose ball bearings in the nuts/bolts area thats sweet

[@SteepUp11]

So proud to see my indonesian polygon appear on your video, i hope i can have 1 of it in the future.

[@dronko-fire-blaster]

cool, I just got my "new" bike, it was used a handful of time by the previous person, I very quickly gave it a toon up, and have already put new crank arms and chaing ring on it, going from 40t to 30t

[@thesdombeck08]

crazy I had the same marlin come through my shop and had the same broken axle, I was like woe!

[@GenX-80s-Kid]

Whoa! I never knew that you could convert a tube tire to tubeless with a kit. Definitely doing the conversion next time I get a flat.

[@Lee-At-Green-Pheonix-Rc]

Ive had my custom Downhill Xc hybrid for nearly 13 years and use it daily and feels great despite the rear shock needs a rebuild and some new bearings but only road use it gets for now its booked but big wait time

[@cemmy410]

7:40 I have a Marlin 6 (purchased brand new in 2023) and about 8 months in my rear axle broke in half in exactly the same way. Massive play, messed up my shifting really bad, but still rideable. Weird that it happened twice

[@peglor]

Rear axle failures exactly like this are literally the reason Shimano came up with freehub style hubs. That failure is inevitable on any bike that actually gets used regularly, and that includes road use.

[@AmateurPhotographer12]

Ahhh my favorite part of the videos fixing and building!

[@Aimee-n1s]

Love your vids seth keep it up!

[@HondaMonkeyMan]

Well done going back to basics! 🤙

[@bspyder4310]

If you don’t want to use a breaker bar and a socket you can put the wheel in a vice and turn it like a wheel to tighten or loosen the free wheel

[@Aivaras.Kriauciunas]

Can we just appreciate the fact how seamlessly the dork disc was removed without even acknowledging it.

[@petef15]

I use a hoover to get the spoke nip out.

[@marcelh-7084]

I learned that Schwalbe Nobby Nic (wired beads) can also be turned into tubeless! nice!

[@thenormalberries6767]

I would watch these repairs all day.

[@eggstwelve]

Repair videos are my favourite on this channel

[@benitezjosem30]

One of Best video ever. Thank you.

[@jessehedges5123]

When you “instruct” those youngin’s in the art of bicycle maintenance, can you make a vid?

[@Iosis6]

I bent the axle on my old bike that had a free wheel. No idea how I did it other than I struck it on a root while leaning the bike over in a corner. Didn't even wreck but it was good and messed up after that. I rebuilt it recently and replaced the free wheel with a free hub. It was a fun build over all.

[@rudylocs420]

you making tubeless look that easy makes me think about switching i only worry about a mess as i have carpet and keep my bike indoors

[@rupedog]

Tray under the hub! Genius... I never thought of that 🤦‍♂️ I even have magnetic trays... Great hack

[@lewisgilliland60]

Such a nice guy, and I always learn something.

[@Vincent-_-123]

Congrats on the 1 million.

[@helicom314]

The Park Tool pick has a magnet which is very handy to fish out the bearing balls :)

[@sidshel4428]

with all the nice park tool tools you have I would suggest purchasing the park tool grease gun. its my favorite tool . squeezing the tube of grease nah no more ever again.

[@Evo_Spec]

It's nice to see the kids are riding these bikes hard.

[@NickHaven28]

I have an identical Trek Marlin 4 and snapped that rear axle the exact same way!

[@chinchill7374]

in 29" wheels with freewheels the axle cracks super often because when pedaling it loads the axle only on the right side i think, my friend changed his axle around 15 times before he changed his bike to one with casette

[@lowdownbrown2002]

Can you do a segment on standard forks and inverted forks which is better through axles at that double shoulder also...

[@bikecommuter24]

Tip from and old mechanic when you get those parts bags and ball bearings from the hardware-parts store, roll the top of the bag and staple it shut or use a binder clip that you bring with you.

[@Zensaitv]

Gosh they really rode them into the ground lol. Glad you got them in perfect shape 😂

[@BodenBurke-hu2nt]

I just got my First full suspension bike, and my water bottle from my heart tail along do you have any ideas?

[@ridingwithreggie]

We are watching a master at work!

[@JKinsman468]

I got a polygon T7 as well ! Same color and all .

[@MrChristiangraham]

I feel like there's an opportunity to teach the young riders of these bikes how do to some of these repairs themselves (and avoid them too).

[@RZRBLAZ]

Dude I am sooo happy you dropped this vid just last week I bought a 2018 Trek Marlin 5 and I’m trying to see what the Bottom Bracket is so I can upgrade to the 11spd Shimano Deore System. Anyway you can help me with more info? I’d love to go ahead and order one! Thanks in advance Seth!

[@BillRossi-y3x]

It's a 73mm threaded square taper bottom bracket. Approximately 127mm wide give or take a mm. You can replace it with another square taper bb or upgrade to hollowtech II. I replaced mine with a suntour square taper bb, haven't had any issues. You will also need to replace the rear wheel or hub since it has a 7 speed freehub body, so you won't be able to put a larger cassette on.

[@1_WAY]

Wish I had bike like that, it's awesome

[@stephenmacioci3228]

Ever think about doing a gust spot fixing bikes for the day at a shop?

[@mitch_smith]

That's a solid video idea. How-to clinic w/ those 2 kids teaching them how you do simple maintenance.

[@cborecky]

I'd have been tempted to install a solid rear axle with nuts. Wheels Manufacturing sells these and they've got to be stronger than QRs.

[@liammcfarlane3729]

just watched the whole video simply splendid

[@Faeskis_1]

Interestingly enough, I cracked my rear axle on my marlin 5 the exact same way! And on another occasion I bent my replacement axle going down Bentonville's Rock Solid over at coler

[@Faeskis_1]

The story actually gets even better. Despite breaking 2 axles, the QR skewer was just fine. I'm still running that same QR to this day

[@levihicks5134]

I am looking for a fair priced bike to ride technical terrain and trials on. Do you have any recommendations?

[@Crossainz]

Bicycle mechanic sensei 🙏

[@deutscherderkeindeutschkan5377]

Idk why, but i apparently love watching bike videos now lol

[@danielvelasquez7708]

I would love to see Seth to do a live video, and come on freewheels those are now a thing of the past.

[@ximingzhang8713]

you should try the new “foxcat 130” frame that dropped just recently it is a really interesting frame

[@hondolane3125]

When I true wheels for people, they think it's witchcraft! Since Seth does not go into that sort of detail, I'll just mention that adding tension to a spoke that attaches to the right side of the hub will bring the rim over to the right, and vice-versa, and a little turning goes a long way.

[@TypeIIAdventures]

I like to heat my pick and melt it through the rim tape for the valve stems on a tubeless conversion.

[@danielnolan2920]

2:28 I would say there is a hole lot of science to it!

[@su1raM]

I had same broken axle on my marlin 5 2020, after using it for 6 months bought new.