the 'there's no such thing as a stupid question' bike maintenance thread

Wildly Boaring

Brian? wrote: »

Have a look at this

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/stem-removal-installation-threadless

Is there a load of spacers under the stem? Pay attention to the height between the top of the steerer tube and the top of the stem. Shouldn’t be more than 3mm

I'd say you're onto something here.
I'll look tonight.

Funny enough I've been working on my flexibility the last year. Had plenty spacers under. For about 6 months they've all been above the bars.
Not in any way pretty but I've been leaving the chimney stack alone.

Wildly Boaring

The abomination of a turret

Brian?

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

I'd say you're onto something here.
I'll look tonight.

Funny enough I've been working on my flexibility the last year. Had plenty spacers under. For about 6 months they've all been above the bars.
Not in any way pretty but I've been leaving the chimney stack alone.

6nm is about the right torque. That’s not a lot of torque, you need to back that bolt off and find the problem before you destroy your steerer!!

Take off the cap and take a picture. You may need a different sized spacer in the mix somewhere.

devonp

devonp wrote: »

on the trailing edges of the teeth esp on the 3 o' clock to 5/6 o' clock ones there is a sharp edge with a little point at the top ....not good news (most likely worn chain did the damage)

just fitted a new chain to my 2 yr old Chorus cassette (prob about 8K)...skipping in the middle cogs only when any power applied
ordered a new cassette from Mantel tuesday might arrive tmrw :rolleyes:

many sources ,YouTUbe etc say this behaviour and wear indicate new cassette time...guess i'll find out this weekend

fitted new cassette, Chorus 11sp 12-29, no skipping on the small hills in the estate...will try something harder tmrw hopefully

magicbastarder

i distinctly remember being told 'just mount the chain so the shimano logo is facing out and is the right way up as it crosses over the top of the cassette and through the FD to the chainring'.

Brian?

magicbastarder wrote: »

i distinctly remember being told 'just mount the chain so the shimano logo is facing out and is the right way up as it crosses over the top of the cassette and through the FD to the chainring'.

I don't think it matters, mechanically speaking

07Lapierre

magicbastarder wrote: »

i distinctly remember being told 'just mount the chain so the shimano logo is facing out and is the right way up as it crosses over the top of the cassette and through the FD to the chainring'.

AFAIK the "Shimano" stamp must be on the outside (as per your photo). if it was on the inside (facing the wheel spokes) it would be incorrect.

Wildly Boaring

Brian? wrote: »

6nm is about the right torque. That’s not a lot of torque, you need to back that bolt off and find the problem before you destroy your steerer!!

Take off the cap and take a picture. You may need a different sized spacer in the mix somewhere.

Might need a very thin spacer
The cap is thicker in the center
Spacers almost flush with steerer top

cletus

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Might need a very thin spacer
The cap is thicker in the center
Spacers almost flush with steerer top

Can you take a picture on the steerer tube with all the spacers in place, and if possible, a ruler with mm increments to show the difference between the steerer and too spacer

Wildly Boaring

cletus wrote: »

Can you take a picture on the steerer tube with all the spacers in place, and if possible, a ruler with mm increments to show the difference between the steerer and too spacer

This is the issue.
Went to take off again.

Loosened the cap
Then tightened the cap to a reasonable tightness.

There's a 0.5mm gap between the cap and the stack

cletus

You need another spacer. The cap should be tightening down onto the spacer, not the steerer tube

cletus

Did you remove a spacer when you lowered the stem?

Wildly Boaring

cletus wrote: »

Did you remove a spacer when you lowered the stem?

Oddly no.

And I took the smallest spacer off my spare bike and it's too much.
I'm going to need a 2 or 3mm spacer. Smallest I have is 5mm

Might be time to bit the bullet and cut the tube!

Brian?

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Might need a very thin spacer
The cap is thicker in the center
Spacers almost flush with steerer top

Replace the top spacer with a thicker one that gives you about a 3mm gap and your problem is solved I reckon

Brian?

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

Oddly no.

And I took the smallest spacer off my spare bike and it's too much.
I'm going to need a 2 or 3mm spacer. Smallest I have is 5mm

Might be time to bit the bullet and cut the tube!

Or replace one of the spacers with a thicker one

07Lapierre

Wildly Boaring wrote: »

This is the issue.
Went to take off again.

Loosened the cap
Then tightened the cap to a reasonable tightness.

There's a 0.5mm gap between the cap and the stack

Remove the top cap and check the expansion plug in the steerer tube. If it has come loose, when you tightened the top cap, the expansion plug may have been pulled up a bit.

Make sure it’s tight and make sure it’s down far enough in the steerer tube.

Wildly Boaring

Brian? wrote: »

Or replace one of the spacers with a thicker one

Thought of that too.
Have a couple small ones on way.

Cheers people

fixXxer

https://www.bikeinn.com/bike/tannus-mini-velo-regular-16-tyre/137491816/p

Are these any good? Having bad luck with punctures right now, three in three weeks.

magicbastarder

is that for a kid's bike?

fixXxer

magicbastarder wrote: »

is that for a kid's bike?

Yeah but more the whole tubeless thing in general.

Terry

Bought a bike about two years ago. First one with disc brakes, and when I asked how long the brake fluid would last, I was told "forever".
Are the discs wearing out, or is the brake fluid being used up? The brakes are nowhere near as good as they used to be.
The front ones still slow me down on a steep hill, but it's not good enough any more.

Brian?

Terry wrote: »

Bought a bike about two years ago. First one with disc brakes, and when I asked how long the brake fluid would last, I was told "forever".
Are the discs wearing out, or is the brake fluid being used up? The brakes are nowhere near as good as they used to be.
The front ones still slow me down on a steep hill, but it's not good enough any more.

Change the pads? Bleed air from the fluid?

magicbastarder

yeah, my first thought would be brake contamination or brake wear if you've had the bike two years.
you might be able to easily see how much meat is left on the pads if worn.

How noisy are the discs?

Terry

Brian? wrote: »

Change the pads? Bleed air from the fluid?

No idea how to do that, but I'll look into it. Cheers.

magicbastarder wrote: »

yeah, my first thought would be brake contamination or brake wear if you've had the bike two years.
you might be able to easily see how much meat is left on the pads if worn.

Will check them out. Thank you.

Deleted User wrote: »

How noisy are the discs?

No noise at all.

magicbastarder

contamination would often make itself audible in the wet. the brakes would squeal.

Brian?

Terry wrote: »

No idea how to do that, but I'll look into it. Cheers.


Will check them out. Thank you.



No noise at all.

Changing the pads:

https://youtu.be/Xqw0SaZl-jo

Terry

magicbastarder wrote: »

contamination would often make itself audible in the wet. the brakes would squeal.

Brian? wrote: »

Changing the pads:

https://youtu.be/Xqw0SaZl-jo

Thanks for all the answers.
It seems that the problem is with the brake pads. I'll be leaving the bike in with the experts in my local bike shop. They know what they're doing, and I'm only capable of fixing a puncture.

Also, the crank has been sounding dodgy for over a year, so I need to get that looked at, too.

Thank you all.

patspost

Hi folks,
I've an old mens bike that Im going to fix up a little, starting with new tyres & tubes.
the current tyres are size 26" by 4, what would be the best size tyre to get for it?

thank you

magicbastarder

do you mean 4cm?