One thing leads to another...
New wheelset purchased for commuting but ended up putting CX tyres on them because they are nice wheels and offroad is more fun than commuting. Additional 2nd hand nice wheelset purchased and this time put the gatorskins on them for commuting. Felt guilty about using my ineffective and decrepit brakes on the new rims, so installed new brake blocks all round. Test ride revealed wornout chain jumping on new cassette so installed new chain as well. Removed pannier rack, then followed German instructions for installing a Follow-Me for the first time on CX bike for upcoming holiday, realised I can have both at same time so reinstalled pannier rack. Then discovered English instructions were later in the book but I'd missed them. After much soul searching, cleaned the rest of the bike.
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Today's satisfactory bicycle maintenance
(471 posts)-
Posted 5 years ago #
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@snowy, that sounds like a very productive day
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Snowy
I'm hoping the German instructions were based on step-by-step DIN-compliant operations and the English ones on winging it, getting angry, wrecking it and bodging something half as good together with Gaffa tape.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Went to put the trailer fitting on BOW (bike-of-wife) as she will be wrangling chilld this week.I remembered that last time it was a nightmare to put on because of the way the rack fits on, however this time it went on really easily.
So I sat in the garage and drank a beer while sorting through my "assorted bits and bobs and bolts" collection. Top fun.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I'd noticed I had a stretched and slightly frayed gear cable on my latest steed. I tightened it as best I could and made a note that I needed it replaced soon-ish (the elderly, cracked rear tyre being more pressing*).
When I saw her this weekend, Susan had sprouted a shiny new cable! A knowledgeable friend had been visiting the premises that houses my bikes and gave Susan a once-over. The cable offended him so he quietly got me a new one and fitted it. I like this sort of maintenance!
*New tyres and tubes have since been purchased. They are sitting ready for me to break my nails fitting this weekend. Unless an elf gets to them first.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I bought a pair of old Tiagra brake/shifters in the Bike Station last week. I thought I only needed the left one but I then found that the right-hand shifter was also jamming so I replaced that too. Perfect shifting restored on my winter bike.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Trixie - can you tell us more about these magical premises?
Posted 5 years ago # -
My Charge Grater suffered its first puncture in over four years of regular use over the weekend, possibly helped by my carrying a substantially heavier load than usual in my panniers. I didn't notice it at the time so presumably it was just a slow puncture, but just as I was heading to bed I spotted that the front tyre was flat. Despite having not done so for a while, I managed to remove tyre without much difficulty, extracted the culprit (I hope!), a fine thorn, fitted a new tube, and refitted the wheel. It took longer than I'd like to readjust the mudguard not to rub though.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Highly unsatisfactory non-maintenance report: back still very stiff, can't fix anything needing more than brief bending despite various slightly worrying squeaks from Surly that may or may not be the result of @sheeptoucher's rather speedy re-attachment of the wheels after Carlisle rescue in car; nor can I reconstruct the probably more back friendly mountain bike that's still in bits in the hall since it finally came back from Canada. Currently can't face shame of Alpine Bikesing these issues (plus that would require two trips on foot, as I have limited carrying capacity at present).
Maintenance of back also unsatisfactory: why can't it just magically stop being not ok? I fear my instructions are not even printed in an Indo-European langauge...
Posted 5 years ago # -
Happy to help out of an evening, unhurt.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@unhurt, are grease monkey still going and if so are they still picking up and bringing back? Given your back issues absolution is unconditional.
Anyway you just received a much better offer
Posted 5 years ago # -
For info, Grease Monkey are still around and doing the bike pick-ups.
Posted 5 years ago # -
@Frenchy, I don't want to break the spell but apparently the new tyres and tubes have magically installed themselves now too!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Satisfactory absolution, thanks - though I still haven't DONE anything about these issues...
@Arellcat be careful what you offer!
Posted 5 years ago # -
Setting quite a low bar, but I have just managed to repair a puncture despite having a fairly new Marathon Plus tyre. A minimum amount of swearing to get it back on, too.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Marathon plus,if relatively new are a booger to get off and on. If was a struggle hopefully no p words likely in near future.
When I first used them and thought they were invincible I picked up a number of them, maybe seven before I accepted I need new tyres. These repairs were less difficult as the tyres were old and very well run in.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I have a special subset of swear words reserved for bike repair situations.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Had a quick round of maintenance to check on the cdf after Fridays explosive decompression. Huge gash in the tyre running from the edge of contact area down the side wall completely bypassing the gatorskins kevlar and negating the reinforced sidewalls.
I did however change the chain on said cdf and fit the rack mount rear light and fettled the mtb for service for the rest of the week until a new tyre can be procured.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Over the course of four hours (including stoppages whilst popping back inside when my neighbours popped out to smoke, to retrieve boxes from the lift and to control children) my geared bike now has spikey wheels, a functioning rear light, an attached rear mudflap and a front brake with two arms which move. Unfortunately the brake is the same type as the one it replaced so will probably gum up in another few months.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Hmm, 28 or 32 for the rear of the cdf spends a lot of time with luggage (and me) on the back. 32 is fractionally more expensive in the GRAND PRIX 4.
Posted 5 years ago # -
I'd go for 32. I went up to 35/38 from 28 on the geared bike when I put the non-winter tyres on it back in April or May, seeing as it's now the sole bearer of the childseat fittings and has a luggage-friendlier rack.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Fitted the new tyre to the cdf, 32 (seems more comfortable), had a test ride with the chain I put on last week. Mercifully the cassette wasn't too bad so meshed fine with the new chain.
Had another go at the mtb tyre but the kids were in the garden which limited my swearing so gave up.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Fitted the Cx tyres to 5yo's new 16" bike. Then decided to bring forward Tuesday's planned excursion as he was very keen to go Mountain Biking.
Fuelled by chocolate and a promise of beans on toast he made it round both green loops at Glentress plus some playtime in the (rather lacking) skills area.
Fingers crossed for a lie in tomorrow.
Posted 5 years ago # -
After failing to fit a new shifter (bought the wrong one) and a new drivetrain to my MTB (ran out of time in holidays) I took my MTB to a bike shop with all parts so they could build, tune, and generally fanangle the bike to tip top shape.
They rang me 10 minutes later to tell me there is a fatal crack in the driveside chainstay. A spiral crack all the way around being held together by 5mm of aluminium.
New frame for me :/
However! Positive note is that I was going to use that frame for a MTB race in a few weekends up north and if I'd not taken it to the shop would have missed this, and likely snapped it during the race, taking out my wheel, derailleur etc, not to mention potentially myself.
So my satisfaction is in my LACK of bike maintenance.
(Going to see if I can get warranty on frame - unlikely though)
Posted 5 years ago # -
Micro-Greenroofer and I have this evening fitted a new Marathon Winter (not completely sure why, given the weather, but they are currently quite cheap on Wiggle) using the fancy tool we have been discussing. He (aged 9) got the bead of a brand new Marathon Winter on with no problem at all.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Received and fitted my panniers today. It took me 15 minutes of fiddling and then finally Googling before working out how to open the clasps, however...
I'm now fully expecting that I've attached them wrongly and they'll bounce off on my commute home tonight.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Not necessarily satisfactory on my behalf, but good service from Alpine Bikes!
On the way home from a squash lesson nano-Roibeard pulled over complaining of handlebar problems. Thought he had just yanked the handlebars but, no, they were completely free... No Allen keys with me, so walked round to Alpine, who sorted us out in a jiffy.
Really glad the loose bars were discovered on the way up Stockbridge's setts, rather than down! Mind you, those setts probably rattled it loose the first place...
Robert
Posted 5 years ago # -
After a very cold afternoon in the bike shed I have replaced the rear mudguard stays on the superbike with a spare old set that actually work. This involved drilling and pop-riveting a new fixture onto the mudguard. It also involved discovering that the screw near the bottom bracket was loose and fouling the tyre. Now running sweetly with all the rattling eliminated and no points where the 32mm tyre catches on the mudguard or its fixings.
Fingers now gradually re-warming and toes returning to having some feeling.
Posted 5 years ago # -
Swapped rack from abandoned commuter to current commuter. Great to be able to carry lots of stuff again.
(Satisfactory bicycle-usage maintenance?)
Posted 5 years ago # -
I didn't take a day off to spend it all in the garage but somehow I did. After Saturday's somewhat abortive bicycular DIY, I sorted my too-long front-right brake cable and made it too short, then got it just right. I did almost the same with the front-left brake cable, because the brakes on the torpedo are a kinda stupid design.
I also mended my quite-new Marathon Supreme front tyre with a TipTop tyre patch because goodness knows what had gone right through the carcass. While the wheel was off I replaced the rim tape. And while the glue was drying I tried to find out why the front tyre on my sparkly purple recumbent had gone flat, but there were no holes in the inner tube, so maybe the valve core is dodgy.
While I still had some energy I got to soldering the new power connectors. It would've been easier if my soldering iron had a decent tip (they'd all gone rusty or the iron had been sanded away to the copper, and none would tin properly), and if the temperature control on the iron worked. But it all works now, which is a relief.
I put new batteries in both the bike computer sensor, which has been a bit temperamental recently, and the other bike computer, which hasn't worked for ages.
Posted 5 years ago #
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