I'm a champion bike mechanic...

piledhigher
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby piledhigher » Sat May 06, 2017 9:12 pm

Realised that my mystery creak was chainring bolts, checked and they were indeed loose. Might be the first time ever a creak was identified on the first go..

lunar_c
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby lunar_c » Wed May 24, 2017 2:00 pm

My last "crank creak" was a front skewer that moved around a bit under load.

Glued my first set of Tubs last weekend :)

AndyRevill
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby AndyRevill » Wed May 24, 2017 7:46 pm

I'm sure people are going to say "of course they are..." but I recently discovered that the lock ring on a 12-30 cassette is a very slightly larger diameter than the one on a 11-28 and what happens if you inadvertently use the former on the latter - took me a while to work out what was going on with my chain on the small cog on an otherwise silent drive train :oops:

Andy
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find_bruce
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby find_bruce » Wed May 24, 2017 8:02 pm

AndyRevill wrote:I'm sure people are going to say "of course they are..." but I recently discovered that the lock ring on a 12-30 cassette is a very slightly larger diameter than the one on a 11-28 and what happens if you inadvertently use the former on the latter - took me a while to work out what was going on with my chain on the small cog on an otherwise silent drive train :oops:

Andy
I knew that - but only by finding out the same way you did :oops:

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby AndyRevill » Wed May 24, 2017 9:35 pm

find_bruce wrote:
AndyRevill wrote:I'm sure people are going to say "of course they are..." but I recently discovered that the lock ring on a 12-30 cassette is a very slightly larger diameter than the one on a 11-28 and what happens if you inadvertently use the former on the latter - took me a while to work out what was going on with my chain on the small cog on an otherwise silent drive train :oops:

Andy
I knew that - but only by finding out the same way you did :oops:
That makes me feel better :D
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Duck!
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby Duck! » Thu May 25, 2017 1:49 pm

AndyRevill wrote:
find_bruce wrote:
AndyRevill wrote:I'm sure people are going to say "of course they are..." but I recently discovered that the lock ring on a 12-30 cassette is a very slightly larger diameter than the one on a 11-28 and what happens if you inadvertently use the former on the latter - took me a while to work out what was going on with my chain on the small cog on an otherwise silent drive train :oops:

Andy
I knew that - but only by finding out the same way you did :oops:
That makes me feel better :D
Anything with a 12T or bigger top gear will have a bigger lockring than anything with an 11T.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby ironhanglider » Thu May 25, 2017 10:40 pm

I was riding home the other night, and thought my tail light was a bit dim. I have Dynamo lights and the smugness of the reliability is usually enough to light my way. However on this occasion I just shrugged it off as imagination, and didn't even bother to turn my spare battery light on. When I got home I finally twigged that it was operating solely on the stand light function rather than dynamo power.

Suspecting a fault with the connection to the light I tugged on the wires and sure enough one came away. Okay easy, I reconnected the wires and spun the front wheel... nothing. I did this a couple of times, because I cut the cable a few mm too short and it is awkward to get the connectors to connect when the light is mounted on the rack. Each time I tested, nothing... by this stage I thought that I had better remove the light to give me enough space to make sure once and for all that the connections were properly made.

Naturally when I first put the light onto the rack I was concerned about the nuts vibrating loose, so I loctited the nuts to ensure they wouldn't come loose. Given the tight confines between the rack and the mudguard it was really difficult to get the nuts off, and the star washers were giving me grief too. (Red lactate is strong stuff). I struggled away (getting constantly later for work) and got the nuts off and was struggling to get the light off, when I looked at the headlight and noticed one of the twilight wires was no longer connected...

My light is now back to being brilliant again.

Cheers,

Cameron

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby Abby » Sat Jun 03, 2017 7:43 pm

Replaced the inner gear cable for my rear derailleur this afternoon. Worked first go, took less than half an hour. Have been running up and down the street high-fiving random strangers since then... :-)
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Tim
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby Tim » Sat Jun 03, 2017 8:35 pm

Abby wrote:Replaced the inner gear cable for my rear derailleur this afternoon.
Next time around you'll have to try replacing the outer cable too.
Maybe some new bar tape at the same time?
It's a very satisfying job when it all works properly.
My cable cutters are one of my favourite bike tools. I've used them heaps, changing cables every 5000km's.
You can buy long lengths of outer cable by the metre and loose inners much cheaper than the cable kits.

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby ValleyForge » Sat Jun 03, 2017 10:41 pm

Tim wrote:You can buy long lengths of outer cable by the metre and loose inners much cheaper than the cable kits.
Cheap cables are no-one's friend. :evil:
Ha ha ha! Cookies on dowels.

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bychosis
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby bychosis » Sat Jun 10, 2017 2:07 pm

Was struggling to get a cartridge bottom bracket out of my son's bike. The tool I have requires a large shifter and it kept falling off when I applied hammer force. I knew I was turning it the right direction because I was in the process of doing a triple bike crank awitch and this was the last one.

Resigned myself to purchasing a new tool, with handle already fitted, until I remembered my Aldi toolkit might have one. It does, and it also has a smaller hex head and fits the rattle gun. Done.
bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

am50em
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby am50em » Sat Jun 10, 2017 4:49 pm

The creak on my bike had been getting progressively worse. Sometimes after riding for a while it would diminish but was always there. Only appeared on right side pedaling.
Lately it was driving me crazy.
Sounded like bottom bracket area so:
1. undid BB and re-greased
2. found one pedal was a bit wonky so replaced pedals
3. Pulled chainrings off and greased and tightened

still no change, a few weeks later (holidays, then mostly riding other bike)

4. found cassette slightly loose, removed, cleaned and refitted.
5. found rear derailleur hanger loose so tightened
6. replaced BB
7. re-greased pedals at cranks just to be sure
8. cable fraying at front derailleur so replaced inner cable (discovered SRAM use 1.1 mm not 1.2 mm cable).
9. Took the opportunity to re-position and adjust front derailleur

still no change

Started to think it was where the spindle and right hand crank were joined but no idea how to fix that.

Read http://www.jimlangley.net/wrench/keepitquiet.html which suggest noise could be coming from elsewhere like seat tube/post.
Could not be the seat post - it is a carbon seat post and I used carbon paste when I set it up. Any way checked it and the paste was dry and not much coverage so cleaned and reapplied.

Success! Only a slight creak.

So now off with the saddle and greased the rails and the plate mountings and now no creak!

ah the joy of silent riding again with a super smooth running drive chain.
Bliss.
And it only took 2-3 months to diagnose and fix!
:roll:

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby lunar_c » Thu Jun 15, 2017 8:52 pm

Image

Needed to stick a rack on my commuter (OCR 3) which has quite low set seat stays.

Picked up a cheap rack and the included hardware had no hope of navigating the turns around the brake calliper.

Bent some up from aluminium stock with some very tricky bends for the left one.

A bit of polish and I'm very chuffed, and no lugging a backpack to work with me 45km a day.

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P!N20
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby P!N20 » Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:27 am

^ My wife's bike has a nifty little angle connector which allows the rack bracket to come inboard to clear the brake arm.

Early 70's Superbug?

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby lunar_c » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:31 pm

66' Australian built 1300 deluxe. Swing axles and drum brakes.

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby duncanm » Fri Jun 16, 2017 3:51 pm

managed to straighten my (non-replaceable) aluminium-lugged carbon frame derailler hanger without it busting after a catastrophic stick incident last week.

Catastrophic in the sense that the derailler broke at the casting around the attachment bolt and flung itself into the rear wheel, chain and all, ending up somewhere down on the chainstay.

Not only was the derailler completely buggered (busted mount point, bent sprocket frames), but the chain even managed to get a couple of links bent into a permanent twist.

They don't make carbon bikes like that any more -- chainstay and seatstay both remained undamaged apart from some missing paint.

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby jasonc » Fri Jun 16, 2017 7:14 pm

duncanm wrote: They don't make carbon bikes like that any more -- chainstay and seatstay both remained undamaged apart from some missing paint.
With non-replaceable hangers?
Nice work on the fix

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WyvernRH
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby WyvernRH » Fri Jun 16, 2017 9:12 pm

lunar_c wrote:Image
Bent some up from aluminium stock with some very tricky bends for the left one.
A bit of polish and I'm very chuffed, and no lugging a backpack to work with me 45km a day.
Conflicted here...
The artisan in me admires the thought, effort and workmanship that went into those stays but the structural mech eng is screaming 'How much weight do you want to put on that carrier- arrrrghhh!!!! :)

Richard

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby lunar_c » Sat Jun 17, 2017 10:08 am

I am totally with you, as I am a mech engineering dropout but it only takes my lunch and a change of clothes.

There's a multitude of reasons why it's bad engineering but I can't make it flex with my body weight either.

:wink:

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby duncanm » Sat Jun 17, 2017 4:55 pm

jasonc wrote:
duncanm wrote: They don't make carbon bikes like that any more -- chainstay and seatstay both remained undamaged apart from some missing paint.
With non-replaceable hangers?
Nice work on the fix
yeh non-replacable.

I used a piece of pipe over the remains of the old dropout bolt and gently straightened. Much like a 'real' dropout tool.

It seems to be some sort of cast alloy - I was expecting it to break off, but it was surprisingly ductile and looks undamaged.

I'm sure its significantly weaker than it was originally.

ouch...

Image

better..

Image

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby QuangVuong » Sat Jun 17, 2017 5:16 pm

Cadex's have stainless steel dropouts, not aluminium. This is why the RD blew up, and not the dropout.
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby bychosis » Sat Jun 17, 2017 7:36 pm

WyvernRH wrote:
lunar_c wrote:Image
Bent some up from aluminium stock with some very tricky bends for the left one.
A bit of polish and I'm very chuffed, and no lugging a backpack to work with me 45km a day.
Conflicted here...
The artisan in me admires the thought, effort and workmanship that went into those stays but the structural mech eng is screaming 'How much weight do you want to put on that carrier- arrrrghhh!!!! :)

Richard
And then there is the OCD voice about them not being symmetrical. :shock:
bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby Duck! » Sat Jun 17, 2017 8:36 pm

duncanm wrote:
jasonc wrote:
duncanm wrote: They don't make carbon bikes like that any more -- chainstay and seatstay both remained undamaged apart from some missing paint.
With non-replaceable hangers?
Nice work on the fix
yeh non-replacable.

I used a piece of pipe over the remains of the old dropout bolt and gently straightened. Much like a 'real' dropout tool.

It seems to be some sort of cast alloy - I was expecting it to break off, but it was surprisingly ductile and looks undamaged.

I'm sure its significantly weaker than it was originally.

ouch...

Image

better..

Image
Can't imagine that new derailleur working too well if you've paired it to the old shifter....
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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WyvernRH
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby WyvernRH » Sat Jun 17, 2017 9:39 pm

lunar_c wrote:I am totally with you, as I am a mech engineering dropout but it only takes my lunch and a change of clothes.

There's a multitude of reasons why it's bad engineering but I can't make it flex with my body weight either.

:wink:
And there is the thing...
Sometimes art and effort triumph over 'exact' science for the use required. More power to your elbow I say.... :)

Richard

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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby duncanm » Sat Jun 17, 2017 9:45 pm

Duck! wrote: Can't imagine that new derailleur working too well if you've paired it to the old shifter....
ya what?

I defer to your greater knowledge, but I understand shimanos are all 1.7 pull ratio

They both work fine(*) with my campy-10 ergo / shimano 9sp cassette hubbub cable clamp setup.

(*) - well, obviously the old one doesn't work any more.

EDIT - you might be thinking that tiagra derailler is a 10sp (4700) unit with a 1.4 ratio ? I think its an old 9sp mech.

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