Unlocking the Bicycle Installation and Repair Skill Package

[Detected that the host is upgrading cycling components. Please independently complete one component replacement. Reward: 2 Beginner Optimization Points. Unlock the Bicycle Installation and Repair Skill Package.]

Watching the system issue new tasks one after another in such a short time, Huang Chong felt like he was going numb.

Obviously, unless he overfulfilled the task requirements, the 2 Beginner Optimization Points were probably fixed for now.

As for the second type of reward the system issued each time, it seemed to vary depending on the task.

This time, it wasn't a consumable special item like energy gels or Heart-Lung Strengthening Pills.

But when Huang Chong saw the exact wording, he was far more excited than he had been by the first two rewards.

"Unlock the Bicycle Installation and Repair Skill Package?

Does that mean that as long as I complete the requirement, I'll completely master every bicycle installation skill?"

Fundamentally speaking, bicycle assembly and maintenance weren't particularly difficult.

After all, the overall structure of a bicycle was pretty straightforward, not all that complicated.

As long as someone wasn't hopelessly clumsy, they could basically learn it after following online tutorials and trying a few times.

The only variable was that in the age of carbon fiber, the torque applied to every bolt had to be handled with extreme care.

Even with a torque wrench, if the setting was wrong and too much force was applied, the entire carbon-fiber frame could still be ruined.

That was why so many cyclists who bought carbon-fiber road bikes would rather pay a hefty assembly fee than work on them themselves.

After all, top-tier carbon-fiber frames at the UCI WorldTour level often started at thirty or forty thousand yuan, with some even costing fifty or sixty thousand.

If they accidentally damaged one themselves, they wouldn't even have a place to cry about it.

"Let's see what this so-called skill package can do!"

Huang Chong thought silently as he quickly removed the aluminum wheels from his original bike.

Then, following the assembly skills he had already learned, he removed the freehub body, cassette, and other parts from the rear wheel and transferred them to the new carbon-fiber wheelset.

He also removed the inner tubes and tires from the original wheels and fitted them onto the new ones.

Although the Giant's stock aluminum wheels were heavy and terrible, Huang Chong had replaced the tubes and tires himself long ago with Germany's Continental GP5000 S TR.

Those top-tier tires weren't cheap. They even cost more than Giant's pair of aluminum wheels, and he hadn't ridden many kilometers on them, so he definitely couldn't waste them.

After replacing the cassette and tires, he inflated them and mounted the new carbon-fiber wheelset onto his 9th-generation TCR ADV3.

Compared with the next-generation 10th-generation TCR, which already had disc brakes and internal cable routing, the Ninth-Generation TCR still used rim brakes and external cable routing. Huang Chong didn't have many demands in that regard, though.

His legs were still weak. Upgrading the most important component, the wheelset, was already enough.

Although there was practically a whole pile of components on the stock bike that could be upgraded, he had no intention of continuing to throw money at this piece of junk.

The Ninth-Generation TCR was outdated in itself. Continuing to upgrade its groupset was far less cost-effective than buying a new bike with fully internal cable routing, disc brakes, and electronic shifting.

By 2022, rim brakes, external cable routing, and even separate handlebars were no longer mainstream road bike designs.

Of course, the most important thing was that he had already graduated from college. He couldn't bring himself to ask his family for money anymore, so he could only earn money himself to upgrade his gear. Every penny had to be spent carefully.

He remembered that in his previous life, he had earned too little, only four or five thousand yuan a month. Even that was the friendly rate Du Wei had deliberately given him. His parents thought he was wasting his time, so they called him back from Hangzhou to inherit the family convenience store.

So if he wanted to become a professional rider, he had to solve the money problem himself.

In this age of capitalism, having no money was simply not an option.

It wasn't about getting rich. He needed to keep his parents placated so they wouldn't make him stay in his hometown county at the end of the year, never to leave again.

Once he returned to live in that county town, even with the system, becoming a professional rider would probably become impossible.

After all, his hometown was just a small mountain town with a population of one hundred thousand. Its connection to outside information was far too isolated. It was suitable for retirement and taking it easy, not for striving forward.

"Done!"

Once he had installed the new wheelset, Huang Chong immediately saw the system prompt.

[Congratulations! You have independently completed one component replacement.]

[Reward being issued: You have received 2 Beginner Optimization Points and unlocked the Bicycle Installation and Repair Skill Package.]

Almost the instant the system prompt appeared, installation information for dozens, perhaps hundreds, of different bicycle models flooded into Huang Chong's mind like a stream of images.

It included not only bicycle assembly procedures, but also repair techniques for every bicycle component on the market. It wasn't limited to road bikes either; it covered mountain bikes and even electric-assist bicycles.

"Hiss! My head—it hurts!"

With so much external information forcefully poured into his mind at once, Huang Chong's nerves naturally felt somewhat uncomfortable.

He raised a hand and gently massaged both temples. Only after a minute or two did the discomfort gradually fade.

"What's wrong, Old Huang? You okay?"

Du Wei had finished dinner by then. He came over and looked at Huang Chong's TCR after the wheelset replacement, nodding approvingly.

"Now that's more like it. Your bike's a little outdated, but it looks much better with those carbon rims.

Still, a 50mm-deep wheelset improves flat-road cruising, but it also makes climbing harder.

You should train more on flat sections first. Once you've fully adapted to the new wheels, then it'll be better to tackle climbs!"

Du Wei had gotten into road bikes much earlier than Huang Chong. Back when the whole country had been affected by the pandemic and traveling was inconvenient, road bikes had become one of the best ways to get around.

After all, riding a bike avoided public transportation and the resulting close contact with groups of people.

Huang Chong, meanwhile, had been stuck in his county town. He had even attended college online from home, only returning to campus during his final semester for things like his graduation defense.

After that, under Du Wei's influence, he entered the road cycling scene.

"I know that. Besides reducing weight, carbon-fiber wheelsets are designed for aerodynamics. But aerodynamic benefits need a certain stable cruising speed before their advantages can really show."

Having returned from the future, Huang Chong wasn't entirely a newbie.

Although the strength in his legs had indeed been weakened, his theoretical knowledge of cycling had carried over from his memories of his previous life.

On top of that, the system had just given him such a comprehensive skill package. His understanding of bicycles was now even more extensive than that of the highly paid professional technician in the shop.

"You really know a lot now, Old Huang!"

Du Wei found Huang Chong's performance today increasingly astonishing, his eyes full of surprise.

Not only could Huang Chong offer pointers on UCI WorldTour tactics, but he also seemed to know far more about road bike theory.

How had he done that?

This was completely unlike before, when Huang Chong had understood almost nothing and relied on Du Wei, the veteran, to explain everything.

That suddenly made it very difficult for Du Wei to keep showing off in front of Huang Chong.

"Why didn't I ever hear you talk about this before? Did you secretly cram all kinds of professional knowledge behind your brother's back just so you could turn pro?"

Hearing that, Huang Chong turned and shot his college classmate a sidelong glance, then snorted.

"It's just theoretical knowledge. What's so impressive about that? I've even learned how to assemble and repair bikes!"

"Sure, nobody boasts better than you."

Du Wei gave him a thumbs-up, but his words were full of teasing. Clearly, he didn't believe him.

Bike assembly wasn't something that could be completely mastered through theoretical knowledge alone, nor did reading product manuals mean someone had learned it.

Practical operation would always outweigh theoretical knowledge.

Besides, professional technicians were wary of competitors stealing their livelihood. They would always hold back certain key techniques rather than foolishly teach everything to assistants or apprentices.

Huang Chong was just a technician's assistant at the shop and had worked there for less than a month in total. There was no way he could have learned bike assembly.

Normally, he only helped the technicians install wheelsets, freehub bodies, brake rotors, and similar things. He did nothing but basic assistant work.

If they weren't good brothers, with his level of ability, he would earn at most two or three thousand yuan a month. How could his pay have directly doubled from that base?

"You don't believe me? Old Du, how about this? There's a YETI SB-150 full-suspension mountain bike in the shop that needs a full maintenance service. Leave it to me, and you and Master Liu can supervise from the side!"

Seeing Du Wei's look of complete doubt, Huang Chong added with a smile.