A world of change

Mohammed is a bicycle repair man in Nairobi, Kenya. His repair stand is the dirt floor, and his tools are home-made. His wheel-building and truing machine is… Amazing. Check it out:

That stand looks a lot better than the ones they use in my local bike shops — it seems like it would last forever. Even Mohammed’s spoke key looks home-made, to a superior design than any I have used — the slotted ring acts as a lever and makes it easy to locate the right sized slot for the nipple you are twisting. The price to have a wheel trued by Mohammed? 10 Kenyan Shillings, or around 13 cents US.

Then we see his freewheel cassette remover. Taking one of these off is near impossible without the right tool, so Mohammed built the right tool. The huge metal mitten grabs the cog-teeth an a screw locks the cassette so it unscrews instead of just spinning.

Innovative stuff, and a lesson to you next time you go to the bike shop just to have them change a tire. Quit being so lazy and do it yourself.

Video of home made bicycle repair tools and gadgets in Nairobi [AfriGadget]