I'm a champion bike mechanic...

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

Postby BradL » Sat Aug 06, 2016 1:13 pm

A broken spring in a 30ish year old derailleur meant that this morning's task was to raid the spares box, and to replace with whatever I could find. Somehow this turned into attempting to mate 7 speed 105 shifters with a suntour alpha 3000 derailleur, across a 6 speed shimano freewheel.

Surprisingly, the indexed shifting works. Shifts are crisp and precise across the entire cassette. I can't quite believe it.

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

Postby mikesbytes » Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:05 pm

A great mechanic never blames their tools. So to prove I am not a great mechanic, I've misplaced my chain whip and lock ring spanner.

My options are;
1. hang out until they reappear
2. buy replacements

If I do option 1, I will find myself in desperate need and will have to go to someones place to borrow the tools. If I do option 2 the missing tools will turn up within days of the replacements arriving
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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

Postby Uncle Just » Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:11 pm

^ At least you know you had the tools but have misplaced them. I on several occasions have forgotten I had the right tools and made do with a length of pipe, hammer or block of wood!

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

Postby mikesbytes » Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:42 pm

Uncle Just wrote:^ At least you know you had the tools but have misplaced them. I on several occasions have forgotten I had the right tools and made do with a length of pipe, hammer or block of wood!
LOL :shock:
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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

Postby jasonc » Sat Aug 06, 2016 2:47 pm

You can make a chain whip....

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

Postby mikesbytes » Sat Aug 06, 2016 6:38 pm

jasonc wrote:You can make a chain whip....
I know someone who did that and they made it with a handle that was long enough to hold outside of the wheel, so you didn't bang your hand on the spokes.

But then again, I could simply buy one that combines the lock ring tool and the chain whip

http://www.this link is broken/lifeline-perfor ... hain-whip/
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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

Postby bychosis » Sat Aug 06, 2016 7:28 pm

i had trouble with an old cluster. Couldn't work it with the chain whip I had.

Solution was gripping an old bit of chain in a bench vice then winding the wheel onto it and up under the bench, followed by pushing my foot down on a big spanner on the lockring tool. Pushing down with a foot was quite efficient as it was at a good height.
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 trailgumby » Sat Aug 06, 2016 7:32 pm

What was meant to be a short session topping up the sealant in the tyres on the 130mm travel 29er trail bike for my young bloke to take to Canberra ended up being a bit of a marathon.

Ended up replacing one set of pads, then the other, and then doing a brake bleed on the front. Then I did a Lefty fork reset and suspension tune. 4:30pm I finally made it out the door to go to Bunnings and get started on what I intended to do at 11!

At least the bike now the bike pedals properly and stops when you want it to. Kind of important at Stromlo. And I had fun psyching out the kids playing in the park opposite my place when testing the brakes and suspension settings :lol:

But now I need to top up my spares stock. :(

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

Postby Bunged Knee » Sat Aug 06, 2016 7:48 pm

bychosis wrote:i had trouble with an old cluster. Couldn't work it with the chain whip I had.
When I was doing bike mechanic volunteer for bike shed with old donated bikes. The quickest way to remove it without chain whip is to put the cassette removal tool in it and put it in bench vice and twist it anti-clockwise with force by hands. It comes off.
ID please? What ID? My seat tube ID is 27.2mm or 31.6mm depending on what bikes I ride today.thanks...

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

Postby Duck! » Sat Aug 06, 2016 9:14 pm

Bunged Knee wrote:
bychosis wrote:i had trouble with an old cluster. Couldn't work it with the chain whip I had.
When I was doing bike mechanic volunteer for bike shed with old donated bikes. The quickest way to remove it without chain whip is to put the cassette removal tool in it and put it in bench vice and twist it anti-clockwise with force by hands. It comes off.
For screw-on freewheel clusters this is the best way to do it; chain whip is actually completely unnecessary (or even useless).

For cassettes, if you don't have a chain whip but do have an old chain floating about, hang said chain over the cassette, preferably the largest sprocket for maximum engagement, stand the wheel vertically and clamp the ends of the chain in the vice so it can't freewheel, and then use your lockring tool to undo it. It helps to have the quick release skewer in with the nut loosely wound on to hold the tool in place.
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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

Postby Duck! » Sat Aug 06, 2016 9:16 pm

mikesbytes wrote:A great mechanic never blames their tools. So to prove I am not a great mechanic, I've misplaced my chain whip and lock ring spanner.

My options are;
1. hang out until they reappear
2. buy replacements

If I do option 1, I will find myself in desperate need and will have to go to someones place to borrow the tools. If I do option 2 the missing tools will turn up within days of the replacements arriving
Option 3, go and look for something else, the mislaid tools will miraculously reappear (but you won't be able to find whatever it is you go hunting for instead :P ).
I had a thought, but it got run over as it crossed my mind.

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foo on patrol
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby foo on patrol » Sun Aug 07, 2016 12:28 pm

What's wrong with a claw hammer and a length of chain, Mike? :? :wink:

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Goal 6000km

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

Postby mikesbytes » Sun Aug 07, 2016 6:00 pm

Duck! wrote:
mikesbytes wrote:A great mechanic never blames their tools. So to prove I am not a great mechanic, I've misplaced my chain whip and lock ring spanner.

My options are;
1. hang out until they reappear
2. buy replacements

If I do option 1, I will find myself in desperate need and will have to go to someones place to borrow the tools. If I do option 2 the missing tools will turn up within days of the replacements arriving
Option 3, go and look for something else, the mislaid tools will miraculously reappear (but you won't be able to find whatever it is you go hunting for instead :P ).
True in a sense. The replacement I'm looking at is for 3/8 where my missing one was actually for a road cassette and its chain was a little tight for a track cog but did work. So if the old one does turn up, then I have one for road cassettes and one for track/fixie :) only the lock ring remover will be duplicated :(

foo on patrol wrote:What's wrong with a claw hammer and a length of chain, Mike? :? :wink:

Foo
I'm sure its been done 8) However you soon forget how much you saved on tools when you crash :cry:
If the R-1 rule is broken, what happens to N+1?

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foo on patrol
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby foo on patrol » Sun Aug 07, 2016 7:05 pm

A claw hammer and length of chain was all we ever had back in the early days and I never spun a sprocket off or had it slip. That's what locking rings were for :wink:

Foo
I don't suffer fools easily and so long as you have done your best,you should have no regrets.
Goal 6000km

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

Postby bychosis » Mon May 01, 2017 11:05 am

Drop bar roadie shifters died, so I'm tweaking a flat bar for commuting purposes.

Had trouble setting up the front derailleur to not rub. It had a triple chainset and I figured I wont be using the granny ring so switched to another set of cranks to get a better chainline, which meant replacement BB as well. Cleaned off the existing chainrings and reinstalled them, derailleur readjusted - about 5 times. Rode to work this morning - with chain rub in my cruising gear and I still can't work out which way to turn the barrel adjusters to try and fix it.
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 g-boaf » Mon May 01, 2017 1:02 pm

Duck! wrote:Option 3, go and look for something else, the mislaid tools will miraculously reappear (but you won't be able to find whatever it is you go hunting for instead :P ).
So true. :lol: And with cursing for why the hell couldn't I find that before?!

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

Postby CXCommuter » Mon May 01, 2017 1:25 pm

g-boaf wrote:
Duck! wrote:Option 3, go and look for something else, the mislaid tools will miraculously reappear (but you won't be able to find whatever it is you go hunting for instead :P ).
So true. :lol: And with cursing for why the hell couldn't I find that before?!
My Garmin 810 has gone walkabouts- found three other things I was missing in the process of looking for the Garmin...

Garmin still missing though
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Re: I'm a champion bike mechanic...

Postby Duck! » Mon May 01, 2017 1:28 pm

bychosis wrote:Drop bar roadie shifters died, so I'm tweaking a flat bar for commuting purposes.

Had trouble setting up the front derailleur to not rub. It had a triple chainset and I figured I wont be using the granny ring so switched to another set of cranks to get a better chainline, which meant replacement BB as well.
If you're using a front derailleur for a triple on a double crank they can be very difficult to tune because of the different cage shaping, particularly because the middle to big jump on a triple is smaller than the small to big jump on a double. There's a step on the inner cage plate that locates nicely below the middle ring, but drags the chain badly with the smaller ring of a double.
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 bychosis » Mon May 01, 2017 3:43 pm

Thanks Duck, sure it is my tuning skills as I reused the rings from the existing cranks.
bychosis (bahy-koh-sis): A mental disorder of delusions indicating impaired contact with a reality of no bicycles.

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

Postby jasonc » Mon May 01, 2017 7:42 pm

CXCommuter wrote:
g-boaf wrote:
Duck! wrote:Option 3, go and look for something else, the mislaid tools will miraculously reappear (but you won't be able to find whatever it is you go hunting for instead :P ).
So true. :lol: And with cursing for why the hell couldn't I find that before?!
My Garmin 810 has gone walkabouts- found three other things I was missing in the process of looking for the Garmin...

Garmin still missing though
Buying a new Garmin will have it turn up within days

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

Postby Warin » Tue May 02, 2017 11:51 am

Having trouble shifting rear gears ... seam to be miss some gears stops that could be handy ... time for a new shifter. New shifter .. now have gear stops .. but still missing a gear (at least one)... errr .. looking at what remains of the jockey wheels teeth .. time for some new jockey wheels!
It would be better if I actually looked over the entire bike before ordering in the new stuff in one hit .. rather than sequentially finding problems :?

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

Postby Marx » Tue May 02, 2017 1:02 pm

New pads for my Shimano hydraulic brake equipped Specialized Diverge, pistons in the caliper were easy to push out for the fatter (new) pads, & a quick spin/grab, tighten on the caliper bolts aligned the pads just nice.

I owe it all to this little thing I never thought I needed for a pad change:
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A bike and a place to ride.

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

Postby nemo57 » Sat May 06, 2017 1:10 pm

foo on patrol wrote:A claw hammer and length of chain was all we ever had back in the early days and I never spun a sprocket off or had it slip. That's what locking rings were for :wink:

Foo
... which in turn are removable with a cold chisel and an engineer's hammer, after fixing the rim firmly upright in the vise ...

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

Postby foo on patrol » Sat May 06, 2017 1:56 pm

^^ Yep, ya got that right! ^^ :lol:

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Goal 6000km

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

Postby defy1 » Sat May 06, 2017 3:47 pm

First time Cleaned and re-greased and reinstalled cone hub bearings in my new MTB.

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