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

jc1001

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121746932#Comment_121746932

This is too funny! My kid has a Cube I bought second hand and didn't seem to appreciate the need to start in a low gear on take-off - pulled the derailleur into the spokes on more than one occasion while I figured out whether he needed a long / short cage replacement / matching hangar etc. on Amazon, then realised the chain was bent etc. causing slippage. Too many Saturday mornings on this then off to the bike shop for the walk of shame...

07Lapierre

I did that before…ended up buying a new bike to fit the mudguards to! :)

triggermortis

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121760204#Comment_121760204

No problem. This bike maintenance thing isn't so bad once you realise that nothing is standard anywhere on the bike. Ever.

07Lapierre

Regarding Mudguards. Anyone know where I'll get full Mudguards for a 10 year old bike with 23/25mm tyres? Alltricks, Mantel and bike24 only have Mudguards for 28mm of Bigger?

Seth Brundle

Cycle Super Store mudguards range...

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/showsearchresults.asp?idCategory=135&withstock=1

These raceblades (€56) cover up to 25mm...

https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=159169

triggermortis

Bikeinn | Online store for bicycles and cycling equipment (tradeinn.com)

lots of choice here..

07Lapierre

Maybe I need to be more specific. I’m looking for this type of mudguard set for 25mm tyres. I don’t want clip on/ass savers or race blades as my bike can take full /bolt on mudguards: https://www.cyclesuperstore.ie/shop/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=147523

07Lapierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121763649#Comment_121763649

Thanks..i'd forgotten about Bikeinn. I've had a look and the nearest match i can see is these:

https://www.tradeinn.com/bikeinn/en/sks-raceblade-l-25-mm-28-mudguard/137473693/p

Not quite what i want as they are specifically designed for racebike frames that don't have mudguard clearance.

gaffmaster

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121764094#Comment_121764094

Bontrager make easily adjustable ones:

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Bontrager/NCS-Mudguard-Set/JE21?utm_source=google&utm_medium=base&co=GBR&cu=GBP&glCountry=GB&id=904703&ds_eid=3823279037&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=&ds_cid=20157694724&ds_ag=&ds_agid=&ds_k=&ds_kid=&ds_kids=&gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiA5rGuBhCnARIsAN11vgSlFk8_gpoGMVZRM0M1WwP49VDSAOtlSxImty0CFvSHqRK3O4VUUjsaApFmEALw_wcB

07Lapierre

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121766410#Comment_121766410

Great thanks! they'll do the job! I measured my existing mudguards and they are 35mm wide. Most mudguards that i found up to now were 38mm or wider so i was reluctant to buy them.

Fian

20240214_224326.jpg

2 Questions from me:

1. I have a GIRO helmet, never been involved in an accident but there are delicate plastic pieces on teh inner frame and one of them has snapped, just above the wheel to adjust the fit of the helmet at the back of the head:

20240214_085825.jpg

I have another one of them, not sure if it is from a previous helmet or was a spare that came with this one. I can easily enough fit the new one to teh helmet - but the straps go through the existing one. I can't see anyway to do that with the new one without disconnecting the straps from the helmet and I can't see any way to do that. Am I missing something or should i just use it without threading eh straps through the loops? I think I will have to cut the damaged one to remove it from the straps.

20240214_090002.jpg

Question 2 is probably easier but I don't know the answer to it. I am waiting on delivery of a new bike, commuter 5 from Canyon. I have just noticed it has 650b wheels rather than 700c. I don't know much about the difference tbh. Are tyres easy to get for this size? I had hoped to use the gatorskins I have on the commuting bike I am replacing for it, but i guess that isn't possible now. Presumably the pile of spare tubes I have will be ok though since they look like they are not wildly different. What are the characteristics of a 650b vs normal 700c wheels? I don't think i have ever had anything other than 700c since I was a kid.

Edit: Can't seem to move the images. The first photo is the replacement (new) frame, the second is the one that hs snapped which has the helmet straps snapped through it. In any case I have figured it out - the helmet straps split into two on the right hand side (i was looking at left. So can split it on right hand side, feed it back out through the bit in the centre and remove the frame, then feed the strap back into the new frame. Finished now and delighted to have helmet back feeling normal again, was less comfortable with that split bit.

20240214_224326.jpg

all fixed.

CramCycle

Does anyone know of a disc mount fixed cog that is 1/8 rather than 3/32? I realise I could probably get away with the 3/32 with my 1/8 chain but I would rather not, example here: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/sprockets/16-problem-solvers-332-inch-disc-mount-fixed-sprocket-silver/?geoc=IE

ARX

I have been having trouble fitting Swissstop pads to my new hand-built alloy rim brake wheels. I couldn't get the pads to contact the rims squarely - they will only touch the rim at the part of the braking surface nearest the tyre.

It turns out that the braking surfaces on each side are not parallel: they are 24 mm wide at the edge nearest the hub and 25 mm wide at the edge nearest the tyre. I checked a cheap alloy rim and a DT Swiss alloy rim (both brand new) and in both cases the braking surfaces are parallel.

Have I got a bad set of wheels? The DT Swiss pad holders have less angular adjustment (around the vertical axis) than Shimano pad holders so I might not have noticed this if I'd been using Shimano pads.

I found this thread from 2008: Braking Surface Tapered? | Road Bike, Cycling Forums (roadbikereview.com) and these carbon rims with a tapered braking surface: PR50 Carbon Rim Brake wheel front only 700c inc tyre – Pacenti Cycle Design.

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121780828#Comment_121780828

What brand wheels? Quite a few wheelsets have it, and once you set up the pads right though it should be fine. You could get a donut thing from an old set of Shimano holders if you think they have more adjustment.

seanin4711

Gear shifting issues

Sram 1x gravel bike with hydro brakes and 11 speed rival rear D.

fully internal cabling- could be tight in there!

Bike shifts down cassette but not back up

Noticed the issue and brought it to lbs.

New gear cable ,through full internal housing and nothing out of lever once it's goes to bottom gear to shift back up.

Sram 1x hydro gear lever.

Gear lever click's but no cable pull back up cassette.

When I manually push derailleur back up the cassette the cable and housing become detached from barrell adjuster by about 20mm approx.

Does it sound like a pinch point in housing internally that it allows the cable to slacken off going down and stuck in housing and lever won't pull the cable back up?

Unsure if there is compressionless housing for gear cable as mate built up bike for me.

Brought to lbs and guy confirmed it being fixed with new cable (sram 1.1mm).

Got home to lube chain and low and behold back to square one.

Help me obi wan Kenobi, you're my only hope!!!

Plastik

Yep. New cable inner and outer needed as first step.

seanin4711

New cable,must be a kink in housing

Elvis Hammond

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121783522#Comment_121783522

If it's letting cable out, you'd think it should pull back in no problem, unless the shifter is damaged, hooked up wrong, or you're just not pushing the paddle in far enough. ('Double Tap')

CramCycle

I can't tell from the description, do you mean that it is shifting up in gear (smaller cogs) or up to the lerger cogs?

Best I can think of, is that the tension isn't correct in the cable in the first place. Click it in to the largest cog if possible while spinning the wheel. Grab the cable with a pliers and loosen the connecting bolt (derailleur should go back to the smallest cog, if it doesn't on it's own, the issue is the derailleur). Then get someone to click to the lowest cog on the shifter the correct number of times while you apply a pull on the cable. Hopefully it will pull out to the correct position, reattach it and test, should take 5 minutes. Other options are the shifter is ballsed but without knowing which you are describing exactly, it is hard to say. The fact that the bike shop say they had it working before you took it is weird, and may point more to the shifter.

ARX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121781809#Comment_121781809

I got them from Just Riding Along in the UK - the rim profile is below (nominal external width is 25 mm)./

I measured the external width of the rim at the point nearest the hub and the point nearest the tyre at 4 points 90 degrees apart.

I did this twice: once with the tyre fully deflated and once with the tyre inflated to 80 PSI.

Deflated, width nearest hub: 24.15 mm

Deflated, width nearest tyre: 24.3 mm

Inflated, width nearest hub: 24.2 mm

Inflated, width nearest tyre: 24.9 mm

So the the part of the rim nearest the tyre is pushed out by 0.7 mm when the tyre is inflated to 80 PSI.

For comparison, I did the same with a cheap Cannondale stock rim and found that in the deflated state, the corresponding figures are 24.9 and 25.0 mm, and in the inflated state they are 25.0 and 25.4 mm (so the rim is pushed out by 0.4 mm).

So the rim is deformed by the tyre pressure, which I guess makes sense, although I'm a bit surprised that it's as much as 0.7 mm.

At a guess, the braking surfaces were parallel before a tyre was mounted and were permanently deformed by the tyre pressure, and now do not return completely to their original form when the tyre is deflated.

@CramCycle I have some old Shimano brake shoes so I will try your suggestion, thanks for that.

nicksnikita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121782601#Comment_121782601

I had a similar sounding issue on an old Ultegra mech.

The pivot was part-seized. it baffled me for ages. I had to strip, flush, regrease and rebuild the mech which solved the issue.

Id say this would only be relevant if the mech has been well used in mixed conditions. Any way you could swap in a mech that you know is good?

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121785133#Comment_121785133

I wouldn't be over the moon with that either, but maybe that is why they are so light. I immediately thought they might be hookless and you over inflated them but alas no. Next best guess is to bite the bullet and ask the company directly, is this expected or tolerable. Better from them than a randomer on the internet.

CramCycle

Stupid question time, I want a fixed cog that attaches to my disc brake mount points. Found a few but I have some old cogs and am thinking, can i simply just drill them myself. Easy to mark, they are all hardened steel so shouldn't affect integrity. Can anyone tell me why I shouldn't do this?

EAFC_rdfl

My chain went loose all of a sudden Sunday, I managed to stay going by keeping to the middle of the cassette. If I shift down to the smaller cogs it results in a lot of play in the chain.

Is it likely to be something gone wrong with the derailleur?

CramCycle

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121854275#Comment_121854275

Can you be more descriptive when you say loose? Is it bouncing around, kinking, swaying ? Do you have you a chain wear tool? How long has it been since you replaced the chain or cassette? Sorry for all the questions but pictures or a video might make it easier but the obvious guess is chain or cassette wear, but there are other possibilities.

nicksnikita

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121854275#Comment_121854275

It could be that your derailleur pivot has seized. Try having a look at the derailleur as you shift gears (you may need spare hands or a bike stand) and see if it’s pivoting or try moving it by hand and see is it stiff

Wishbone Ash

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121854275#Comment_121854275

It sounds like the spring tension in the RD is weakened. Do you ensure that the chain is on small cog/small cog when the bike is not in use?

traco

Where are guys finding the nest value for bike parts on line post Brexit?

Want to get a new set of cables for the local hack as shifting has become clunky and its on original cables which must be 10 years old. Hoping it will be a cheap upgrade and transform it.

Ta!

ARX

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121855750#Comment_121855750

Germany - it's been cheaper to get stuff from there than the UK for years.

Try bike-discount.de, r2-bike.de, bike-components.de, rosebikes.de, bike24.com. Also mantel.com in the Netherlands.

traco

Cheers - order placed with bike24. When you mentioned them I though they sounded familair so had all my info. Easy decison although I may have saved a few euro if I bothered to look. Thought they prices were reasonale enough so ran with it.