@morningsider didn’t know about that sub-6km/hr bit - and I already thought the categorisations were complex enough!
CityCyclingEdinburgh Forum » Stuff
Today's most unsatisfactory and wholly rubbish bicycle maintenance
(272 posts)-
Posted 5 months ago #
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This prompted me to look into throttles for mrs. bakky’s swytch tourer. Swytch offer a thumb throttle for 6km/hr from standstill or that boosts the assistance level from 1 to 5 so you can more easily get some oomph if you reach an incline. Interesting. https://www.swytchbike.com/wp-content/uploads/Thumb_Throttle_Manual_003.pdf
Posted 5 months ago # -
@bakky - don't think this is widely known. Certainly a useful boost for anyone who needs a hand getting going from a standing start, especially uphill or in traffic.
Posted 5 months ago # -
But also helps as another example of how a throttle doesn’t rule out a cycle as an EAPC - for a brief moment some folks were using it as a gauge of EAPC or not.
Posted 5 months ago # -
Think it is fair to say that you cannot tell the difference between an EAPC and a moped just by looking at them.
Obviously, any bike rolling uphill without any pedalling is suspicious (and possibly a motorbike, rather than a moped). Did I mention the three different motorbike categories...
Posted 5 months ago # -
Yes, I was quite shocked to see that. I never use the throttle purely because I manage without and can't be arsed, although I can see how it would be handy on a hill start.
It's quite frustrating, as there was nothing in the materials (which I read extensively) to see that it would be classed as anything but an e-bike. It almost feels like false advertising.Posted 5 months ago # -
For diagnostically failure-ridden reasons, I am needing to replace the crankset on my acoustic runaboot bicycle. I have bought a second hand replacement matching part numbers only, and as it turns out I am facing down replacing a (damaged) Shimano 170mm FC-1056 53/39T with a newly arrived Shimano 170mm FC-1056 with 52/42T instead.
My two questions are; is this differing number of teeth a) even compatible? and b) likely to feel significantly different / be a significant disadvantage vs. what I already had there.
In case it’s not obvious, I’m fairly green, but also armed with a decent torque wrench. I’m like a dog with access the internet and a fake ID; with sufficient support and encouragement I can get a surprising amount done, but not sufficiently trained to go it alone in spite of having the necessary tools. Thanks in advance.
Posted 2 months ago # -
(Additional context; we need the runaboot roadworthy for a holiday away soon; so whatever the path of least resistance is, likely to take it. Youtube tells me I can disassemble the crankset and potentially use the old chainrings and new cranks, saving any lengthening / shortening chain maths and other gear enwranglement…)
Posted 2 months ago # -
Well
Unclear what’s actually broken.
Very unlikely to notice difference between 53 and 52
Quite likely to feel different between 42 and 39 (unless you are going somewhere fairly flat).
All rings 130mm BCD (common ‘road’ size)
Posted 2 months ago # -
Well, at the risk of outing myself as an eejit — at least, any more than my writing usually does! — I felt a pedal was askew and believe the bike may have had a tumble at the hands of a wean and bent a pedal out of alignment. At least, that was my guess.
On inspection:
The other pedal wasn’t feeling quite right either. I resolved to bending this back to perpendicular with a rubber mallet, thinking new pedals would be the backup plan; this pedal then sheared off during light testing about 3cm up the spindle.
Upon fitting new pedals, they are all squirrely and clearly not aligned right, leading me to believe my percussive maintenance has bent cranks / receiving thread out of whack. Hence purchase of new cranks, though potentially I would get away with only changing arms rather than chainrings.
When you mention 39 vs 42; a manual count of existing inner chainring gave me 40T, but I assumed I was off by one when I read 53/39 was a common spec. Would I notice this because it makes hills harder, or easier? Topographically we have chosen to live in the highest (joint) elevation in the city limits, clever us. I’m sure if I thought hard enough about this I could work that out but my brain is mush.
Posted 2 months ago # -
5x/40 slightly harder on hills than 5x/39.
'highest (joint) elevation in the city limits'
What's your definition of city limits?
Posted 2 months ago # -
Within the bypass. Fairmilehead - and the hilliest bit of Fairmilehead too!
Posted 2 months ago # -
Ah, thought you were maybe the inhabitant of Bavelaw Castle :)
Exponential Hill on dodgy pedals would be a struggle...
Posted 2 months ago # -
makes hills harder
Though of course u may be fit/strong enough not to notice…
It’s all relative
There was a time when 52/49 was normal and largest cog on the back might be 24!
That was partly/largely because of ‘racing’.
Another normal for basic bikes was single speed or a Sturmey 3 speed.
Then there were touring bikes with 10T difference on doubles on the front and maybe 28T on the back. Triple chainsets were rare/exotic/‘only’ for people with lots of luggage/camping gear.
Then came Mountain Bikes, commonly with 48/38/28 on the front and 30, 32 or 34 on the back.
Now a new normal is s single chainring and many sprockets on the back with a massive range.
As long as I can cycle from the bottom of Dundas Street to the top of The Mound without standing on the pedals, then my bottom gear is low enough…
Posted 2 months ago # -
@bakky: Fairmilehead - and the hilliest bit of Fairmilehead too!
Sounds like you and I must be near neighbours. Reasonably adjacent to the monumental stone?
Posted 2 months ago # -
@ejstubbs depending on the monumental stone - we're probably equidistant from each of the local ones! I'll PM.
@chdot it's always fascinating when I venture into maintenance / tinkering how much variety and also change over time there is around this stuff. Every day's a school day!
Posted 2 months ago # -
Bits of Balerno are higher but not within the bypass. Though that is a somewhat arbitrary definition of City Limits. Willie Melvin need not apply.
Posted 2 months ago # -
I spent too many long hours taking a bus from Liberton into town, and out again to Balerno where my now missus stayed when courting — from when we were both 15 onwards — to be anything other than uncharitable about its proximity to what I consider Edinburgh :)
We are mid-fun-times over here:
Current plan is old rings, new arms
Posted 2 months ago # -
Check the BB spindle as whaling on the pedals may have bent that too. As well as general wear and tear. I'm assuming it's cup and cone.
Posted 2 months ago # -
You should have cycled the contour or caught the 400 circular?
Posted 2 months ago # -
I rarely leave my 42t middle chainring, even when going round Arthur's Seat or up to Balerno, unless I deliberately go up a daft steep road like Calton Hill/Ramsey Gardens/Kaimes, or outside-the-bypass Steep Dalmahoy Road or the one which leads up from the WoL to the big puddle. When Sora changed to 9 sprockets rather than 8 is reduced the occasional noticeable ratio gaps (such as going anticlockwise round the NEPN on the way to work at ~17mph, which never felt quite right with some cassettes), though I tend to just buy whichever roughly 11ish to 28ish cassettes are on sale whenever I stock up thereon.
Posted 2 months ago # -
Yes I only go down that way @wingpig, preferring the flat way to the Big Puddle as featured in my award winning Spokes entry [oh wait, judging still ongoing?] Ravelrig Road or Heart attack Hill being the steep one up from the Long Dalmahoy to Balerno. In way outside the bypass news if you ever find yourself in Andalusia do not return to Malaga from Almogia on the road signposted Malaga It is so steep ~20% that Fast Dave’s dad had to actually stand up. It also goes on a long time [take the road that isn’t signposted for Malaga as it goes back to Malaga too]. However, if you ever find yourself in Malaga do take the Barrancos de Sol Valley to Villanueva de la Concepcion. Nice ramps. Bit steep at the top near the town but then after that, heading down to Almogia the road surface is brand new.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@gembo in 2002 I was on a neon Apollo BSO and nowhere near roads for the most part - and the 400 didn’t exist (or if it did, boy did I miss out on a time saver).
Maintenance wins; now running the new 52 outer with the old (actually) 38 inner ring; all went well. Maintenance plot twist; if you look closely in my ‘success kid’ photo below you will note the pedal manufacturers logo is readable from in front of the bike, which yes is a telltale sign that not only did I misdiagnose ‘bad cranks guv’ due to fitting the replacement pedals the wrong way round, I also did so on the new cranks as well. Did you know pedals come as a dedicated right/left pair? Did you know there are often notches on the left pedal’s spanner flats to indicate it’s left? Did you know the logo can be an indicator of which is which? Today, I learned many things, including all that.
Time will tell whether I end up in trouble for my sins against the threads on these and/or the old cranks; I have made adjustments to the hanger mech for the first time so I can smoothly change between chainrings again, and put the pedals on their correct sides, and all running nicely now. Cheers for the assist!
Posted 2 months ago # -
“Did you know pedals come as a dedicated right/left pair?”
Yes
I assumed you did so didn’t ask ‘you know about L&R?’
“Did you know there are often notches on the left pedal’s spanner flats to indicate it’s left?”
Yes
BUT
Uusually both pedals are lettered OR NEITHER!
Thank you for reminding me to not assume what people know.
I used to do basic bike checks.
Always make sure tyres are blown up and seat appropriate height. Also make sure gears and brakes work ‘properly’
I remember doing a session in Victoria Park and doing the basics on one person’s bike (definitely blew up the tyres and made sure levers were comfortable for owner.)
“Feels like a new bike.”
Posted 2 months ago # -
In 2002 the 400 bus was known as the 36 did a wee circuit from Muirhouse to Westerhailles to Craigmillar then leith and back to Muirhouse - basically a bus up to the route then the 44 from Gillespies so not ideal but not into town then back out, Ran every half hour. Quite lively bus.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@gembo aye from Liberton I could have done a 38 across to join the 44 at Slateford but it wasn’t timely or often enough for a young fool to rely on!
@chdot my sarcastic questions there of course to make light of me being daft rather than quality of assistance - as Andy Rutherford put it (who lent me a peg spanner for crankset disassembly) pedals a mistake you will make once and learn from! I was also glad to manage to track down my crank puller in the garage void, which I used once back in my student days and have never needed since. Good confidence building session today all in all.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@bakky, no i dont advise going back in time and trying to get the 38 to work. It never linked with the 44 when i tried to go to muirhouse from Balerno, and I never even considered rhe 36/400 as it was also unreliable but also mental. 38 well heeled as went to Blackhall. Just sayin LBC as was, would stress there were options for your winching.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@gembo - think it was a 32, rather than a 36. Ran a circular route right round the city. It think one of the directions was changed to a number 52 in the late 80s/90s, so folk stopped getting the bus heading the wrong direction.
The circle was eventually split in two and the 32/52 became the 18 and some other number (north Edinburgh buses a bit of a mystery to me). That then became the 400.
Used to get the 32 early doors to get to weekend jobs many years ago. Saw it all - bloke waving a machete about, a paralytic women huckled off by the police, fella taking a dump up the back of the top deck, several folk heaving their guts up, a guy with world's worst BO. Come to think of it, no wonder I cycle everywhere.
Posted 2 months ago # -
@morningsider your correction is gratefully received. [on my holidays so dont have my usual Gazzeteers and almanacs to hand]
Posted 2 months ago # -
The 400 is now the 18 again.
Posted 2 months ago #
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