Outdoor Recreation: Page 8

If you were on the hit show "Lost," would you be able to survive? While most of the main castmembers on the show tough it out through learning how to eat the island's vegetation, we know that most of you probably would have no clue as to how to distinguish between a poisonous mushroom and a non-poisonous one, and which plant growths are edible and which aren't.

Fishing is one of the many outdoor activities where tying different types of knots is crucial, and where debates over which knots are superior are common. This video features a former bass guide demonstrating how to tie his favorite fishing knot, a 100% knot. It is very simple to tie and very effective at holding your lure. Practice it, and you should be able to save yourself time and irritation out on the lake.

This video features a former bass fishing guide explaining how to use a drop shot rig properly when you fish. The presenter in this video is fishing in February, so his chances of success are low, but his points are valid and should help get you a little closer to catching 700 bass like he did in 2008.

The 3-inch wacky rigged senko is a good type of bait, but like most it has a specialized technique that you need to use to get the most out of it. This video features a former bass guide explaining how to properly use one of these lures to catch big bass. Get out to the lake and catch some big ones! But, as our host says, throw back the big ones so that they can breed and keep our lakes and rivers populated.

Using a net for fishing is one of the best ways to get a big fish onto your boat. You don't have to pull the fish onto the boat with the net, but they are very good for controlling large fish that can break your hooks and pull you off your boat if you are off balance. This two-part video features an experienced fisherman explaining the proper technique for corralling a fish next to your boat to prepare it for hauling in.

There are as many different types of bait as there are types of fish. This video features a bass fisherman describing how to make one bait that he is very fond of, an internal weighted tub jig. It is light, skips well, and is sure to catch you a lot of fish after you make one and take it to the lake with you on your next fishing trip.

Adjusting the drag on your fishing line is one of several important setting that you can set on a modern rod. This video features a bass fisherman going through how to properly set the drag on your rod for different fishing situations. Basically, if you're catching a big, ornery fish, you need less drag so that he can run without breaking your line. Smaller fish, more drag, easier reeling in.

Pitching a spinning rod is one of the best ways to catch deep fish for those who use spinning rods. This video features a bass fisherman going through some tips on how to pitch correctly in order to catch the most bass. He may be doing it in his front yard, but the lessons herein are no less valuable out on the water.

If you've ever installed a rear derailleur, you know how hard that is. You probably also know how relatively easy it is to install a front derailleur. If you don't, watch this video. It explains how to quickly and easily install a front derailleur on your bike, keeping your chain straight and ensuring good shifting performance for you bike.

Installing new pedals on your bike is one of the simplest types of bike maintenance you can perform, but doing it properly is important or they are likely to fall off while you are riding. Not good. This video will help you attached pedals correctly and quickly, avoiding accidents making sure that your feet have an ideal surface to apply their force to.

Replacing the pads on your bike's brakes is a crucial and reasonably easy part of your bike's maintenance regimen. This video features detailed instructions on how to replace the pads on Avid caliper brakes, ensuring that even in a wet environment your bike will still stop when you want it to.

Hydraulic brakes are the new kid in town in the world of bike brakes, but their simplicity and functionality make them a good choice if you want to upgrade your brakes. This video features a professional bike mechanic explaining how to overhaul a Hayes caliper brake and reset the piston on it.

Hayes sole brakes are a very popular type of bike brake. Then, you probably already know that if you are watching this video. It features a professional mountain bike mechanic explaining how to quickly and easily replace the pads on your beloved Hayes brakes, ensuring a lack of fade while braking and making sure that your bike will stop when it has to every time.

Installing and maintaining properly functioning brakes is one of the most important mechanical parts of keeping your bike working safely. This video features a professional bike mechanic setting up an international standard, or IS, brake caliper on a mountain bike.

Being able to stop a mountain bike abruptly is crucial to your continued survival if you ride. SRAM Avid Juicy's are a popular type of high-performance mountain bike brakes. This video will teach you how to install and cut said brakes on your bike, as long as you have the proper tools. It features many safety tips for keeping your corrosive brake fluid from damaging all sorts of other things, from your bike's paint to your eyes.

Unlike rear derailleurs, which are very complicated and come in at least two very different styles, front derailleurs are pretty standard across manufacturers. That means you only have to watch this one video to learn how to adjust them! It features a professional mountain bike mechanic walking you through the adjustment process. This ensures proper shifting and chain flow, which will keep you on the bike and riding smoothly.

Removing the spider from your mountain bike crank is an important part of the cleaning process, allowing you to get at areas on the crank that you never would be able to otherwise. This video features a demonstration of how to do this for XT or XTR chainring spiders. For those who refuse to compromise while cleaning their own bike, this video is a must.

Bicycle equipment company Shimano is the father of the free hub. This video features a professional mountain bike mechanic walking you through the process for overhauling a Shimano free hub, ensuring that your wheels spin as freely as possible and that your rides will be as easy and fun as the terrain and your effort level will allow.

The wheel hub is the center of great wheel performance for your mountain bike. This video features a professional bicycle mechanic explaining the process for overhauling a Mavic wheel hub, installing a new bearing and cleaning all of the parts, ensuring clean spinning for your wheels and a smooth ride.

If you bike chain is skipping, and you aren't sure why, you could have a worn-out cog issue. This is especially likely if you cogs are substantially older than your chains. This video will teach you how to assess your cogs for wear. which will help you determine whether you need new ones or need to take other steps to get your bike riding smoothly again.

Most rear derailleurs (read: not Shimano) are high-normal, which means that they shift into the highest gear on the bike by default. This video features a professional bike mechanic walking you through the process of adjusting the rear derailleur and its cables into a high-normal setting, ensuring crisp shifting and a more successful ride.

THere are many parts of the rear derailleur on a mountain or road bike that need frequent adjustment to function properly and give you proper performance on your rides. This video will teach you how to adjust the cable tension, the jockey wheel, and the hanger of the derailleur, ensuring that the whole system is functioning smoothly and that your bike will work as well as possible.

Adjusting the rear derailleur on a bike is an important way to fine-tune your bike's shifting performance, but is complicated and can vary in method and effectiveness depending on the brand of derailleur. This video features instructions on how to adjust a low-normal rear derailleur using the adjustment screws.

Most rear derailleurs are high-normal, which means that they default the chain to high gear. Shimano derailleurs, however, are low-normal, defaulting to the lowest gear on the bike. This video details how to adjust a low-normal derailleur into normal cable tension. This works very differently than on a normal bike, so make sure you pay attention!

Cleaning your bike chain is an arduous but necessary part of regular bike maintenance. The Cyclone chain cleaner, or any of its competitors, make the process a lot easier to do without taking the chain off the bike. This video features a professional bike mechanic demonstrating how to use one such product effectively, saving you time.

Taking the chain off of you bike for cleaning is an arduous task, especially since you usually don't explicitly have to do it. It just seems like a good idea. That's because it is. This video features a professional bike mechanic detailing the process of removing a bike chain using a master link in preparation for cleaning. Most modern chains have a master link, so you should be able to do this yourself.

Does the chain on your bike skip? One common reason for this to happen is stiff link chains. This video features a professional mountain bike mechanic demonstrating how to illuminate, or make loose, stiff link chains if you get caught with them out on the trail. If you don't do this, and your chain skips enough, it's going to come off and you are going to stack, so make sure your bike is maintained properly!

The chainring is without a doubt the most intimidating part of a bicycle. It looks like a ninja star from hell, and working with it can be difficult. This video features a professional mountain bike mechanic demonstrating how to install a chainring on your bike yourself. If you ride a lot, this is something you are going to have to do eventually, so learn it now, and don't get you leg stuck between the chainring and the chain! Painful.

If you have a more old-fashioned mountain bike, you may be familiar with the loose bearing square taper system of bearings. This video features a professional mountain bike mechanic demonstrating the process of overhauling a loose bearing square taper, giving new life to that old bike that made you fall in love with mountain biking in the first place.

This bike maintenance video features an experienced bicycle mechanic removing and installing an Octolink-ISIS cartridge from the bottom bracket of his mountain bike. You need some specialized tools if you're going to try this bit of mountain bike maintenance yourself, but doing so will save you time and money on going to the shop, so try it!

In this clip, learn how to do the super cool kiteboarding trick "313". This move is taught by pro Mathias Wichmann and is definitely not for the faint of heart. So, if you think you can handle it, check it out and start flying!

Rear suspension bikes are the bikes of choice for most hardcore mountain bikers. This video features a professional mountain bike rider offering a quick tip on how to set the rear suspension of your bike properly to give it the right amount of travel and maximize its effectiveness.

In this clip, learn how to make a fast, cheap and super easy mount for your your bicycle to display safety lights. Wearing bike lights at night will help you stay safe in the dark and if you want to avoid the cost of getting lights custom fitted, this hack is perfect for you. All you will need is some PVC pipe and some grip tape (like the kind used for tennis rackets). Follow along and get started. This mount is flexible and fits most standard lights or flashlights.

In this clip, learn how to tie up your bait like a pro. You will get step by step advice on tying a traffic jam trico cluster for flyfishing. If you would like to catch the big guys, you will need to use this tutorial to get started.

Check out this video for a step by step tutorial on how to perform the very cool hitchhiker stunt on your BMX bike. In this clip, Rad Dad shows you how to combine a bunch of different tricks into one - the hitchhiker! This is a pretty advanced move so you will need to be familiar with steamrollers, double footed steamrollers, half hikers and karl kruisers.

The FSA Mega Exo is a sophisticated integrated spindle external bearing crank. Like most elaborate bike products, it has several of its own quirks that make installing it different than installing any other similar product, like the Truvativ GXP. This video demonstrates the installation of the FSA Mega Exo system, listing all of the tools your will need and the step that you have to perform to integrate this high-performance part into your biking life.

In the old days, you needed a crank puller to get the crank off of your bike. This video demonstrates how to remove modern self-extracting cranks, that do not require a crank puller to remove, from a square tapered bracket. This is a fairly complicated piece of maintenance, so if you're new to biking you may want to leave this to the professionals.

The external bearing crank is just one of the complicated, necessary parts of a modern mountain bike. This video demonstrates the overhauling and installation of a Truvativ GXP integrated spindle external bearing crank. Without this video or a mountain of bicycle maintenance experience, this would probably be way beyond the skills of most bikers, but now you can install this exciting part on your bike yourself and reap the benefits.

Cleaning your pedals is an important part of regular bike maintenance, but annoyingly enough there is no one way to overhaul a pedal. Every bike maker builds their pedals differently. This video demonstrates how to disassemble, overhaul, and clean Shimano pedals so that they will be free-spinning and functional as the day that you got them.

While the front brakes get all the love and attention, the back brakes of your mountain bike are nearly just as important and more difficult to install. You have to run the hose all the way across the bike without it getting in the way of your feet or any other parts of the bike! This video shows you how to install the rear brake hose properly, whether the bike has brake hose guides on it or not.