I didn't twig that mine had been bent outwards all the way round and thought it was mere brake-scraping concavity. Hopefully keeping tyres fairly high-pressured will make a non-Caiqstrophic bend-outwards occur prior to a catastrophic split-off.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Infrastructure
Fettling
(95 posts)-
Posted 9 years ago #
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Is that bend at the right hand side all the way round? That makes everything look much worse. I'll get mine out of the bin and see how it compares with a new one.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Had the single speed making horrific grinding noises (like a blender filled with ball bearings) after breaking a chain last week. Decided it was the bottom bracket, bought replacement, removed old one with some difficulty and then managed to slightly cross thread the new one.
Many and various swear words have been muttered. Have to wait until Saturday for a shop to look at it, which will be a fair chunk of this weeks wage gone! I could kick myself, as it might be the hub instead!
Fettling isn't for me.
Posted 9 years ago # -
"Fettling isn't for me"
Oh contraire, I think you have:
(a) fettled,
(b) learned
and can now move to the next stage
(c) pretending on bike forums that you have Sheldon-like knowledge.:-)
Posted 9 years ago # -
This isn't the first time I've wandered towards a bike, waving a spanner with malicious intent. It's clearly the air of competence that I carry that lulls everyone into a false sense of security when I'm around tools.
Spent far too much money on this bike now, I'll have to do some serious overtime now to justify this.
Posted 9 years ago # -
After reading the braking thread and taking up front braking only my front brake needed some serious adjustment but first I cleaned, polished and lubricated my drive chain.
Both brakes are now tightened and realigned too so I can climb and descend the mountains of Dalmeny as if they were molehills.Posted 9 years ago # -
My cycle to work Brompton is almost down to the metal on the front brake blocks. I ordered some from Brilliant but they are marooned in the post office until I can get there between 0800 - 1300 which is tricky during the week.
Using a different Brompton today.
DeathbyPomp,
Bikes are fairly logical things. You can see how much of it works before you whip out the spanner. There are a few wee wrinkles like a couple of left hand threads but other than that it's fairly straight forward.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I've just discovered that Wiggle have the TRP parabox in their sale for under £160. At that price how could I resist getting an almost hydraulic setup on the CX bike.
Hopefully they'll be easy to setup but I may need to surrender the flat bar brakes.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Have you looked also at the Hy/Rds? They are supposed to be good too - sorry I haven't yet sorted out a time to show you the spyres yet...
Posted 9 years ago # -
Been running the Hy/Rd on my commuter for over half a year, after mechanical BB5-R (and rim brakes on previous bikes, obvies). You basically get the best of both worlds: modulation and self-adjustable pads of hydraulic, hassle-free use and compatibility of mechanical brakes. Like the parabox, only better. Performance is ace too.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Very minor fettling…. My everyday bike is a courier race - 8 speed with a single sprocket at the front. The front sprocket was horrendously worn, as was the cassette and chain, so I went to change the lot. I couldn't find where to get a single front sprocket not designed for multiple use with a front derailleur. I didn't want a multiple one as they tend to try and climb with the increased chainline angles…. so thanks to a suggestion from Joe at the Bike Works I got a Sturmey Archer designed for a hub gear at the back - works very nicely…
Posted 9 years ago # -
@ algo I have tht sprocket on my spesh which was eight speed nexus but is now three SPD sturmey archer. I never contemplated it would wear out but all things must pass
Posted 9 years ago # -
@gembo - then I am happy to know I am joining a stylish club, but this bike will probably never be as elegant as to have hub gears - it will have to suffice with alluding to them with this front sprocket….
Posted 9 years ago # -
With my three spd I thought I was buying the flicker that would change the gears but came with a grip shifter. Keech. Leave it mostly in first as if shift up good chance the rubber of the grip just spins round and does not shift the gear back down and bike is too heavy on most up hills for anything but first. Shame as you can bowl along on flat in second and third. Downhill third isn't quite enough. So really your 8 spd dérailleur is the better system
Posted 9 years ago # -
I've had a couple of replacement chainrings from JEJames (or SJS) which are FSA (or something) which just have teeth, with no gaps, slidey bits, ramps or pins. It makes using them as the middle ring of a triple slightly laborious but makes it much easier to sit on the middle ring for everything except extreme conditions.
Posted 9 years ago # -
After a winter's commuting (except probably a week'sworth on the "winter" bike), I ended up with a bike that creaked, rattled, groaned, slipped out of gear constantly, felt laborious to cycle and had a rear brake that sounded like metal grinding on metal every time I pulled the lever.
So I stopped by the Bicycleworks on the way home and picked up a pile of replacement consumables, got the spanners out and got to work. I was quickly proved right that it was time to replace the cassette when the chainwhip would grip nothing but the largest cog. Right too on the bottom bracket, the seals for which were dead and fell apart as the cranks and spindle were pulled out. Much persistence with the WD40, biggest wrench and the rubber mallet needed to get things loosened. Shimano have completely changed the design of their external cup BBs, resulting in (yet another) new tool to install. Fortunately a plastic adapter is included in the box which fits it to the regular / olde BB splines. They've handily swapped around which side holds the plastic tube the spindle sits in too, which was mildly confusing until I tried the obvious and referred to the little letters "R" and "L" on the side.
The jockey wheels were replaced, and I binned the old ones which were so caked in gunk and wrapped in bits of accumulated hair and fibre that you could barely find the teeth in them.
The brake blocks and front tyre also went to the rubber scrapheap in the sky, as did my cleats (once I managed to unwedge the little bits of flint that had perfectly filled the head for the Allen key) and a general trip round the frame was had with a crud-removing rag and creak-silencing Allen key and grease routine should hopefully solve most of the persistent audible protests about my shoddy maintenance regime.
4 hours and about £80 well spent. The last time it got any new bits was certainly when I put the new handlebars on and that must be 6 months back now.
Posted 9 years ago # -
@kaputnik
Great post. The first fettle of spring on a perennial bike is one of the true joys of cycling.
I'd be impressed if anyone could capture the feeling of the first post-rebuild ride on a well known bike - where everything feels familiar but utterly different for the first hundred turns of the crank, all tight and smooth and quiet.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Note to self (and others) - if you replace cleats that are so worn they've been self-extracting from the pedals, remember that you're going to have to release them properly when you put fresh ones in...
Almost tipped over at the first set of traffic lights as I sloppily pulled my foot out upwards rather than sideywards.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I got worried last year when a few places were selling square-taper BBs off cheap that they were about to disappear forever, so I got a few to tide me over whilst I still have square-taper cranksets to feed.
Posted 9 years ago # -
Tried to buy a Tiagra bottom bracket from Evans last week. Got to the shop armed with my £7.50 Wiggle price match request only to discover they had sold it 20 mins earlier.
Had to then buy a Deore bottom bracket, not too bad as it turned out that Ribble were selling them for £6.50, so got a price match on that. :)
Having fitted countless Bottom brackets before the instructions were duly disregarded, and the BB fitted...
Next day riding to work it looks as if the non drive crank arm is coming off, big gap between crank and BB. My gears also seem to be not quite right. Seems tight enough though so I risk the cycle home.
Get home, take the wee plastic end cap thingmy off, and the crank is where it should be against the splines, but the gap is still there?
Go and have a wee look in the box it came in and there are 4 plastic washers there, oh, that one looks as if it will fit the wee space. Crank off again, fit the spacer, all is tight again good. But the gears are still juuust off.
Finally give in to the instructions, ahh, road, and MTB BB's are different widths, that's what the spacers are for....
Whole crankset, and bottom bracket removed this time fir the 2 correct spacers, put it all back together, and the gears are now worse than they were, sigh. They just won't index.
Lesson learned, don't just buy a bit that will 'probably' fit with the supplied spacers, and get a road specific BB, at least I only wasted £6.50 in cash, but probably ten fold in tin time wasted.....
Posted 9 years ago # -
I feel your pain BC. I wore out an Ultegra BB and got a 105 replacement. But I wasn't happy with the downgrade on principle (nothing wrong with the BB). Found a Dura Ace BB on Ebay for less than £10. They normally go for £50-60 s/h. But Dura Ace are the only Octalink BBs with a lock-ring to allow adjustment of the pre-load. And this one doesn't have one - sold as seen. It's now an ornament on the shelf in my shed.
Posted 9 years ago # -
I bought a pop-riveter for £3.99 in TKMax yesterday and fixed the mudguard that had become detached from its stays when a branch caught in it earlier in the day. Looking for other things to pop-rivet now.
Posted 8 years ago # -
*keeps at safe distance*
Posted 8 years ago # -
Glad I'm not the only one that succumbed to that temptation. Although my mudguard is currently holding out with sawn off bolts and zip ties as I couldn't lay my hands on a riveter.
It'll be there for the next time though.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Looking for other things to pop-rivet now.
I've pop-riveted the metal straps that hold together the wooden crate/box in which I keep the pop riveter back together.
Posted 8 years ago # -
Spent a large part of yesterday cleaning and sorting the single speed commuter.
Last clean and lube was (ahem) August, and it was at the point where the chain sounded like it was filled with rice crispies rather than a well oiled machine.
An hour or so later, and the chain is as good as new (I had forgotten it was gold coloured it was so manky !!) - amazing what soapy water and pipecleaners can do.
Sad news was that one of the teeth on the chainwheel has broken (possibly part of the noise issue) so a new one and chain ordered.
On the plus front it felt like a lot less effort riding in this morning.
Posted 8 years ago # -
"A clean bike goes faster and lasts longer"
https://bikebase.wordpress.com/basic-basics/beginners-guide-to-living-with-a-bike
Posted 8 years ago # -
My post above - was going to replace the chainwheel and chain at the weekend there, but had a wee look see at the wheel rims on the SS commuter.
Ye gods ! Front and (rebuilt a couple of years ago) rear were so concave I cant quite believe they had not collapsed.
I am no wheelbuilder, so straight into The Bike Works for a fresh front wheel, new rear rim built round my existing hub and a couple of tyres for good measure.
A bit more pricey than I had anticipated (which was zero) but a collapsed wheel could have had a sub-optimal outcome on my teeth.
Maybe I will do that Chainwheel this weekend.......
Maybe I will also clean my bike to make it go faster :-)
Posted 8 years ago # -
Replaced the chain on the Para, Para, Parabike on Sunday. Pin snapped on my chain tool whilst shortening the chain meaning a dash to Halfrauds in the car (no lbs open on a Sunday in Fife, seems they go cycling) to get a replacement chain tool.
Never done a single speed chain on sturmey archer hub gear before, what a kafuffle, I hope I never get a rear wheel *p....... on that bike...
1. Install chain (easy)
2. Tension chain, undo gear chain thingmy, remove plastic cover thingmy, undo bolt. Undo bolt at other side and try to wiggle wheel back in stay. Only moving on one side, oh. Undo brake frame clamp thingmy.
3. Tension chain, screw / bolt / re-attach all the gubbins back together.
4. Re-index gears (not got time for that now, will do it next Sunday).Gears driving me mad yesterday, including having to cycle up / back from the Royal.
And in my incompetence I obviously hadn't tightened the rear wheel up enough.
Cue chain coming off this morning twice, and having to walk up hills due to it continually skipping.
Take it to the Cycle Service, wheel back on securely, and chain tensioned. Gears kind of working, well, as well as a 5 speed SA gear is likely to ever work, ie, a bit.
The Para, Para, Parabike is my favourite bike, but my word it is rubbish!!
It's also fairly good at killing my legs despite averaging only 8mph on it. Seems I don't have muscles developed enough in the right places for Pashley riding.
*realised too late that I should never mention'the word', rear tyre probably hissing as I speak...
Posted 8 years ago # -
Spotted a frayed front gear cable on the summer bike yesterday. Spent an hour putting on a new one. Ye gods I am useless at that. At one point I had it so out of whack the mech was preventing the crank from turning. Good excuse for a test ride tomorrow though.
Posted 8 years ago #
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