The Bike Station did not have the necessary. I shall have to look further afield for my esoteric needs (or get used to friction)
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Today's satisfactory bicycle maintenance
(478 posts)-
Posted 3 years ago #
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SJS cycles or Spa cycles?
Posted 3 years ago # -
well -miracles will never cease- i changed my wheel set and i managed to handle the bolt though axles without drama- thanks to Pedals for help ordering and supply in these arid times
Posted 3 years ago # -
All four hubs on our comedy folding bikes were overhauled on Saturday (good way to spend a rainy day). Making a virtue of necessity as we'd ridden them through a flooded underpass during one of the cloudburst earlier this month. Not a good thing to do.
Not bad condition considering the age of the bikes, cheesiness of the hubs (Formula) and zero maintenance undertaken prior to my efforts.
The old grease resembled membrillo in consistency but not, I suspect, in flavour...
In other news I spent several notes on some shiny new Microshift bar-ends to replace my recently-killed Shimano Ultegra (formerly 8-speed, now friction) shifters. The Microshifts feel pleasingly hefty. I look forward to seeing what they are like to use.
The shifters are likely worth more than the bike...
Posted 3 years ago # -
Having acquired n+1 from @crowriver, I have been happily tinkering with it to bring it to a state of watch-like cleanliness and quietness that pleases me. A bad moment occurred when, while extracting the internals of the Nexus hub gear for an oil bath, I accidentally caught something on something else and knocked out a 1mm square of soft metal on a big bearing in the hub. Putting it back together, the hub sounded like a bag of spanners rather than the smooth thing it had been before I started trying to 'improve' it. I thought it was a write-off, and a replacement IGH would have been more than double what the bike was worth.
Very pleased to announce that this evening, with Micro-Greenroofer's help, I have had the hub in bits again and, having removed a wobbly roller from a roller bearing (the Carrier Unit here for those who like hubs) it all seems to be running smoothly for the moment. This is a relief.
Not sure how long it will last though, so if you have an old Shimano Nexus 8R2* IGH lying around I'd be glad to take it off your hands.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Probably right thread, but NOT bicycles.
Someone I know is planning to sell various bits of old model railways.
Doing some basic web research, not only am I surprising how much is still available/in use, but also that you can still get spares (there’s enough of user base for it to be worthwhile making ‘replicas’) for things more than 60 years old!
To some extent it’s the same for bikes with the availability of things like chains and tyres that (largely) haven’t become ‘obsolete’, but spares for Shimano items, etc…
Posted 3 years ago # -
Some old things are more available than others, I think. It does rather feel as if Shimano IGH's have definite obsolescence built in: while I can (and am) getting some parts from SJS Cycles*, the only like-for-like replacement hub I've found was on e-bay and the pictures suggest that is just a lump of rust inside. The only option for a defective hub more than a few years old is to replace the whole thing at >£150.
*For example the rubber bungs for the grease ports on the roller brakes because the current ones are rock hard.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Added dynamo lights to the folder last night, involving bodging some brackets from steel strip, old handlebar tape and machine screws. The aesthetic is "rustic" but it works.
My first experience with Axa lights: an Echo 30 Steady; Slim Steady on the rear and an Axa Duo generator rather than B&M gear connected to a dynohub. The lights themselves are decent (cheers StVZo) but there's an almost complete absence of information and the connectors are a pain. There are four different connector types in the system: spade terminal, 4 pin modular jack (only 2 pins in use), wire-wrap plug and some kind of weird spring clip on the rear light. B&M manage with just spade terminals and the wire-wrap plugs for the dynamo end of things. Still you get what you pay for: at £30 for the whole system I can't really complain. A decent B&M front light alone costs double that.
About the weird spring-clip thing on the rear light. What kind of sadistic <rule 2> designed THAT!? I can't even see how it's cheaper to fit than a couple of screw or spade terminals. It took me an hour at least to figure out how to get the wire in so that it stayed in and even now I'm not sure that I've done it right. Kind of weird in that the front light has perfectly sensible connectors (albeit not the kind I'm used to). Given there's some tidying up/weatherproofing still to do I may yet solder some sensible terminals to this light.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yeah electrical connectors…
(Not just bikes.)
Posted 3 years ago # -
After riding around with the Microshift bar-end for a few weeks, I can confirm it is excellent. Very solid feel, less "plasticky" than the Ultegra bar-end it replaced, very accurate shifting. Marvellous.
I then soaked the failed Ultegra bar end in some solvent for a few days. The indexing has returned but feels gritty and loose. Good enough for the bits box!
Posted 3 years ago # -
I managed to fit a new Marathon Plus tyre, and two new sets of brake blocks (on two different bikes) without too much swearing and only getting my hands totally covered in oil once.
When I used the brakes on the Brompton this morning, the bike actually stopped! Oh, yes, I had forgotten I'd done that...
Posted 3 years ago # -
Glad you were able to sort the Brompton, fimm! I took my calipers apart once or twice to lubricate all the pivots, too. I seem to remember one of them nearly seizing after one winter too many or general non-maintenance (or both).
Posted 3 years ago # -
I think I found the source of a creak! A problem with both my bikes - seems the headset was a bit loose. The issue is to tighten enough but not too much.
Phew!Posted 3 years ago # -
I had that once amir. Quite misleading (for me) as it happened in sync with crank rotation. See also seatposts
Posted 3 years ago # -
Yes, it turned out that I could get the brakes off without removing the wheel. Getting the blocks out of the shoes was more of a pain, but I managed it in the end.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Oh those marvellous tiny grub screws/split pins. Heavily corroded and covered in Skog(TM).
Posted 3 years ago # -
Having decided that my brake levers were starting to come back rather too close to the handlebar before having the desired deceleratory effect, I set to yesterday to give them a thorough overhaul. Surprised myself by completing the the job - cleaning pistons, replacing worn pads, bleeding, and re-aligning calipers - without any major swearing incidents. Thanks in large part to Park Tool and Epic Bleed Systems for their quality products and helpful documentary and video guidance. A shakedown run out along the canal and back along the WoL confirmed brake performance was back to what it should be.
Posted 3 years ago # -
Actually, MediumDave, the wee screws came out fine. Sliding the blocks out of the shoes was a different matter...
Posted 3 years ago # -
One or two skinned knuckles?
Posted 3 years ago # -
I promised I wouldn't take out my nice Orange Five in the wintertime on salted roads but I didn't have a choice recently, so I availed myself of a pair of those cheap clamp-on plastic mudguards from Planet X.
The rear one was simplicity itself to install on the seatpost. And the front one? Ah, well you see it plugs into the bottom of the steerer tube using a little wedge, like a quill stem or a bar end mirror, and Planet X thoughtfully included two different sizes for bigger or smaller steerers. Well the small one was something like 16mm and I was surprised that it didn't even fit. The Fox 36s have a big steerer but it's reinforced at the crown, and it turns out the hole is only 14mm in diameter.
So today I made a quill and wedge that was the right size. I'd bought a piece of acetal rod in the correct diameter. Acetal you might know by its other popular name, Delrin. It's stiff, low friction and it cuts/machines nicely; chain idlers on recumbent bikes are often made from it.
All I needed to do was drill a hole exactly down the centre of the rod for about three inches, tap the first inch to M5, then cut that piece off at 45 degrees and cut the second piece off square at about two inches. If I had a chuck for my lathe's tailstock, or a decent vice for my pillar drill, I'd've done it more accurately but after marking the start position I just used my cordless drill and a 4mm woodworking bit. It went a bit squint because I always find it hard to drill exactly vertically, but didn't matter too much because I reamed out the longer piece anyway, to about 7mm. You can cut acetal with a metal hacksaw or a woodworking saw; I just used my old tenon saw.
And, it worked great! My Orange now looks like a motocross bike.
Posted 1 year ago # -
“Today's satisfactory bicycle maintenance”
I suppose it depends how satisfactory is defined.
Assuming it can include setbacks and disappointments as long as it results in a rideable bike, then satisfactory is ok - but still things to do!
Bought a mountain bike on eBay (not for me) described as ‘in working order, but needing new middle chainring’.
I can cope with that.
Decent equipment inc Hope front hub and Deore rear.
Paid less than i thought it would go for so ‘bargain’ (still think so).
First ride (has very long seat so I can ride it) confirmed middle ring needed replacing. Hard to understand how it could get THAT worn. Basically unrideable in middle ring.
Almost inevitably chain also long past any sort of realistic function - though it coped on other rings.
First problem was that chainset is a compact and I don’t have any rings.
So I swapped it for a normal Shimano MTB triple.
Didn’t realise they were so different that front mech won’t move chain onto lowest ring!
Problem for another day.
Replaced the chain with new SRAM 8 speed - still in box.
BUT i couldn’t get the quick link to work - or the two spare pairs clearly stamped 8.
Weird.
Fixing chain in ‘normal’ way was delayed as I’d ’lost’ the pin on chain tool a few days ago.
While doing this i noticed cassette was loose.
No problem, tightened it up.
Then realised it was a 9 speed block (8 speed levers). Though as I’d just replaced the chain i assumed I’d need to replace the block anyway.
Went for a ride.
Basically it all runs pretty well. Only one sprocket slipped under pressure (ok not able to try with smallest ring yet).
Just hope I can find a middle ring in the Bike Station…
Posted 6 months ago # -
Question for locals: has anyone found a way around nasty solvents like white spirit to clean really grimy drivetrains?
Also wondering if anyone would consider splitting an ultrasonic cleaner among Marchmont neighbours, for example. I think a 3L size would hold a cassette, not to mention a chain for deep cleaning.
Any advice from other chain pathological people appreciated.
Posted 3 months ago # -
Wouldn’t an ultrasonic cleaner still need some kind of solvent? The ultrasound just shakes the dirt off, but it still has go somewhere, and I’m not sure water is going to cut it.
I find WD40 (mostly butane) a good solvent for chain cleaning. Then apply your dry lube or wet lube of choice. WD40 probably has bad climate warming potential - raw butane 20x worse than when it’s been burnt into CO2 (guesstimating based on methane)
Make sure to keep the WD40 well away from the hubs and brakes
Posted 3 months ago # -
Apparently WD40 is terrible but GT85 is fine. They seem similar to my untrained eye, though I do not snort them. And as @neddie says, keep away from Hubs
Posted 3 months ago # -
I use alcohol based as the first line, with white spirit for a fallback. You can probably get green detergent for ultrasonic cleaners, like limonene (?)
Posted 3 months ago # -
@neddie: "I find WD40 (mostly butane) a good solvent for chain cleaning."
Given that butane vapourises at around freezing at normal atmospheric pressures, isn't it there primarily as a propellant rather than an active ingredient? There are other things in WD40 but they're very coy about giving :specific chemical identities and percentages", claiming that they are a "trade secret". (Though I suspect that most people actively working in that trade have a pretty damn good idea what goes in to WD40.)
As it happens, butane also appears on the safety data sheet for GT85 - as does white spirit (as "Stoddard Solvent").
My bottle of Evans "citrus bike degreaser" lists limonene as an ingredient, but only under "fragrance components".
Posted 3 months ago # -
GT85 also contains PTFE (teflon) so definitely keep it well away from brakes!
Posted 3 months ago # -
Thanks kindly. @dave I'd also like to use alcohol or a degreaser which would be less harmful than white spirit first.
Yes, there would be grime to dispose of, but it's at least possible, theoretically, to avoid dissolving it in a volatile fluid with an ultrasonic device (according to one of the helpful mechanics at the Bike Station).
I have used white spirit previously in this situation, but found household waste centres weren't able to accept the dirty results afterwards.Posted 3 months ago #
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