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

Deano12345

8valve wrote: »

JTEK do a range of SHIFTMATE shift cable pull converters, that will allow you to run any combination of Campag/Shimano shifter/derailleur/cassette.


Their website has a table that allows you to work out which one you need, based on the components you are using.

Thank you kindly!

Sounds like that’ll do the trick, I’ll post pictures of the process of cleaning it all up once it arrives too!

8valve

Deano12345 wrote: »

Thank you kindly!

Sounds like that’ll do the trick, I’ll post pictures of the process of cleaning it all up once it arrives too!

you are most welcome!


I have used one for a shimano ten speed cassette with campag chorus 10 speed shifters/rear mech on my old Merckx and shifting is perfect.


looking forward to pics.


P.

CramCycle

Deano12345 wrote: »

So I may be going down the dark path of having a Campag bike in the stable. Won an eBay auction for an almost old enough to be cool Willier Laverado Crono. Seems to be running 10 speed Campag.

I know compatibility ain’t great between them and other brands. It’s a weird setup in that the “base” bar is just a set of bullhorns with the brifters on the end!

If I wanted to convert it properly to TT bike spec, would any set of bar end levers, like the Dura Ace ones that pull the cable (not r2c) work? Google tells me it should!

If it’s going to be a faff, I’ll just put drop bars on it and have a fast aero bike I guess!

If they have a friction shift option, rather than indexed (and the overall range), you should be fine. I used a pair for years on my audax bike and covered 9 and 10 speed without issue

grogi

grogi wrote: »

Long story short: it turns out I have frikishly short legs and despite 195cm of height I need shorter cranks. I'll be going from 175 to 170mm, so I have to change the chainset. While doing so I'd like to go from the Cx 46/36 I am riding now to 46/30 - while climbing my hills around I am hitting cadences of 60 and still get over 95% of MaxHR. Smaller small cog should help with that.

So, I can see three options:
* FSA Omega Adventure 46/30 - rather rare and I'd like to avoid as they use the exotic 19mm spindle with bottom brackets costing far too much long term
* Shimano GRX FC-RX600-10
* Shimano MT210 (Alivio level) - it is much cheaper and have the added benefit of much wider Q-Factor (suprisingly tall people have wide pelves too and often cycle with pedal spacers). Weight penalty over GRX isn't that big - around 100g.

Is swapping the Ultegra road chainset for a MTB one even doable? Am I right to assume I'd need to get MTB BB and use spacers on my 68mm frame? Is the chain line difference of 5.5mm (43.5 vs 48.8) going to be an issue (might be for the front derailleur I guess)? Getting GRX would be much simpler, but cause it is trendy, it is costly for what you're getting.

I am open to ideas here. Maybe there are better MTB chainsets I could consider?

Just to answer myself here...

With the introduction of GRX Shimano increased the chainline with the GRX from 43.5 to 46.9mm to accomodate wider tyres. Typical road FD has only capacity to deal with chainline upto ~45mm (there isn't much more reach on mine from what it is doing now) and with the GRX might not reach far enough and GRX FD will be required. The chainline will be even bigger issue when trying to use MTB chainset.

It seems the easiest and definately most cost effective option is to go with the FSA Omega Adventure.

Deano12345

CramCycle wrote: »

If they have a friction shift option, rather than indexed (and the overall range), you should be fine. I used a pair for years on my audax bike and covered 9 and 10 speed without issue

Just as an update, the seller cancelled the order

fixXxer

Whats the best way to deal with bangs and scrapes on the body of a bike? Tape them over? Or is there a sealing spray or something you can get?

Plastik

Wear them with pride.

tomasrojo

fixXxer wrote: »

Whats the best way to deal with bangs and scrapes on the body of a bike? Tape them over? Or is there a sealing spray or something you can get?

Nail varnish does an ok job of covering them up. If you can't match the colour, clear nail varnish isn't too bad. I don't know how good a job it does of preventing oxidation on the underlying metal though.

fixXxer

Plastik wrote: »

Wear them with pride.

I completely get this, but it was more so rust doesn't set in :pac: Maybe rust isn't a thing any more, I'm only on a bike since lockdown 1.0

cletus

fixXxer wrote: »

I completely get this, but it was more so rust doesn't set in :pac: Maybe rust isn't a thing any more, I'm only on a bike since lockdown 1.0

What frame material does your bike have

fixXxer

cletus wrote: »

What frame material does your bike have

6061 aluminium alloy according to the instruction manual.

seamus

Rust is a thing on certain components but so long as you keep it relatively clean and store it somewhere dry, it's unlikely to become a problem.

The frame won't rust. Aluminium oxidises in its own special way, but there's no need to seal up scuffs and scrapes.

If the paint is ever cracked or warped, the frame is goosed. That's all you really need to look out for with Alu.

Cee-Jay-Cee

grogi wrote: »

Just to answer myself here...

With the introduction of GRX Shimano increased the chainline with the GRX from 43.5 to 46.9mm to accomodate wider tyres. Typical road FD has only capacity to deal with chainline upto ~45mm (there isn't much more reach on mine from what it is doing now) and with the GRX might not reach far enough and GRX FD will be required. The chainline will be even bigger issue when trying to use MTB chainset.

It seems the easiest and definately most cost effective option is to go with the FSA Omega Adventure.

What BB are you currently using?

tomasrojo

seamus wrote: »

Rust is a thing on certain components but so long as you keep it relatively clean and store it somewhere dry, it's unlikely to become a problem.

The frame won't rust. Aluminium oxidises in its own special way, but there's no need to seal up scuffs and scrapes.

If the paint is ever cracked or warped, the frame is goosed. That's all you really need to look out for with Alu.

My bikes are all steel, but, yes, I've always understood that aluminium oxide doesn't flake like typical iron oxides and it forms a protective layer, so rust isn't an issue.

grogi

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

What BB are you currently using?

I have threaded frame - was using a SM-BBR60.

To the available options I'd add:
- Miche Graff 46/30 chainset - they use the same 24mm spindle design and share ~44mm chainline
- FSA Tempo Adventure + square taper cartridge
- Shimano TY501-2 + square taper cartridge - a super cheap and heavy solution

woody33

How can I tell if my hubs are cup and cone or sealed bearing? Its a ten year old Felt hardtail 21 speed with a freewheel hub. And should I put a few drops of chain oil into the wee gap between wheel and hub, or might it dilute the grease? The hubs seem fine at the moment, I'm thinking preventive maintenance. Thanks for any ideas.

jamesbondings

im not sure if here is the best place for this, feel free to move it if so.

I have been asked about xmas ideas for me and thought i might get some upgrades for the bike. I would like to increase the amount of gears i have. I imagine this is possible?
If so, could someone advise what I might need to get in order to do the job myself? The bike i have is this - https://www.decathlon.ie/ie_en/rc-100-road-bike-grey-en-s308047.html
It only has 7 gears and the "hardest" gear is easy enough to maintain. I would like a bit more flexibility. Realistically, i know anything is an upgrade on the above!

I am a complete novice to maitaining a bike! I mean i can change tyres and fix punctures etc. But i wouldnt even know where to begin with changing and adding gears. What parts might you reccomend? and what tools would be required? Have a fair few tools, but there might be some specific ones ill need to add to the list. I would also like to change th eshifter if thats possible - the thing is a nightmare and i always seem to be sitting on it

Thanks in advance! If its in the wrong place I am sorry.

cletus

First thing you need to check is whether the rear wheel has a freehub or a free wheel. I could be wrong, but with 7 gears, I suspect freewheel, which might make it more difficult.

Actually, I just noticed it has a single ring at the front. To put on a double chain ring you'd need obviously the chain rings, a front derailleur, shifter, cables and cable housing.

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/51811/single-to-double-chainset-conversion

Here's a link with some of the other stuff you may or may not need, depending on the bike itself.

Note that the parts to do this could run you the same as the cost of your bike new

Type 17

woody33 wrote: »

How can I tell if my hubs are cup and cone or sealed bearing? Its a ten year old Felt hardtail 21 speed with a freewheel hub. And should I put a few drops of chain oil into the wee gap between wheel and hub, or might it dilute the grease? The hubs seem fine at the moment, I'm thinking preventive maintenance. Thanks for any ideas.

If it's a 10-year old bike with 21 gears, and given that you mention a gap, it's most likely to be cup-and-cone hubs, but post a close-up pic and it can be confirmed.

Oil might help, but a better bet would be to add some grease - Park Tool did a series of hub service vids on YouTube in the last month or so - take a look and see if you want to do it, or let your LBS do it.
10 years is a good time to do something though, as grease does dry up, and the hubs will be damaged by dried grease (no lubrication).

North of 32

My issue is a bit tricky to describe as I am far from being a practical person.

Ultegra R8000 rim brake quick release. They were seizing front and rear on my bike. I decided to disassemble the quick release on both brakes to inspect and clean.

Upon disassembly I could see that a small, thin plastic ring which sits inside the QR and keeps tension had completely disintegrated and broken due to dirt. I simply removed the plastic ring from both brakes, cleaned and reassembled. The QR is a bit loose now but still works as far as I can tell.

Has anyone had a similar issue and found a solution? I guess I could just try to find 2 similarly sized plastic rings, but I also lost one of the little springs. It seems like a kind of shoddy/corner-cutting design.

CormacH94

Anyone here running Condor Poggia Deep Drop Brake Calipers? I think they are rebadged Tektro's from what I have read.

Replaced the stock Condor brand shoes/pads with Swiss Stop BXP's and still find the braking a bit spongy compared to the Tiagra calipers on the summer bike. Is a loss of power/instant grab from the brakes just part and parcel with deep drops or are the Condor/Tektro deep drops a bit bad in this regard?

Type 17

North of 32 wrote: »

My issue is a bit tricky to describe as I am far from being a practical person.

Ultegra R8000 rim brake quick release. They were seizing front and rear on my bike. I decided to disassemble the quick release on both brakes to inspect and clean.

Upon disassembly I could see that a small, thin plastic ring which sits inside the QR and keeps tension had completely disintegrated and broken due to dirt. I simply removed the plastic ring from both brakes, cleaned and reassembled. The QR is a bit loose now but still works as far as I can tell.

Has anyone had a similar issue and found a solution? I guess I could just try to find 2 similarly sized plastic rings, but I also lost one of the little springs. It seems like a kind of shoddy/corner-cutting design.

Take a look here: https://si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/ev/BR-R8000/EV-BR-R8000-4251.pdf

Looks like you should buy part 5: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/shimano-ultegra-brr8000-quick-release-assembly-y8ru98010/

North of 32

Type 17 wrote: »

Take a look here: https://si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/ev/BR-R8000/EV-BR-R8000-4251.pdf

Looks like you should buy part 5: https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/shimano-ultegra-brr8000-quick-release-assembly-y8ru98010/

Brilliant, that's exactly it. Thank you!

magicbastarder

how old are the brakes? just wondering if you could claim it as a warranty call?

North of 32

magicbastarder wrote: »

how old are the brakes? just wondering if you could claim it as a warranty call?

Yeah that just crossed my mind as well. I got the bike in April 2019 so I might get in contact with Shimano. As far as I can see the warranty is for 2 years.

https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/information/warranty.html

Leprechaun77

My older son has passed his bike on to the smaller fella (7) and I need to put a new set of tyres on. The current tyres are 24 x 1 however these are probably a bit too narrow for the younger lad as he is fairly new to the cycling. I was thinking of a 1.75 tyre however the wheel rim is only 15-16mm which makes me think it may be a bit too wide? Any thoughts or suggestion in this regard? (Plenty of fork clearance)

cletus

Leprechaun77 wrote: »

My older son has passed his bike on to the smaller fella (7) and I need to put a new set of tyres on. The current tyres are 24 x 1 however these are probably a bit too narrow for the younger lad as he is fairly new to the cycling. I was thinking of a 1.75 tyre however the wheel rim is only 15-16mm which makes me think it may be a bit too wide? Any thoughts or suggestion in this regard? (Plenty of fork clearance)

I'd be less concerned about the rim than the space in the fork and stays

Type 17

24x1 is not a common size on kids MTB-based bikes - what kind of bike is it? If it's a junior racer, then the 24x1 tyres (25-540) are not the same size as 24x1.75 (44-507).

Leprechaun77

Type 17 wrote: »

24x1 is not a common size on kids MTB-based bikes - what kind of bike is it? If it's a junior racer, then the 24x1 tyres (25-540) are not the same size as 24x1.75 (44-507).

Bare with me......

The bike on first glance has the physical appearance of a MTB with flat handlebars etc, however on closer inspection (and a quick google) it appears most similar versions are of a road bike variety. The main differences I see between our one and the road bike version appear to be the handle bars, brake clearance and fork clearance. The narrow wheels do look quite unusual on this type of bike I have to say.

I suppose what I need to establish is what type/size of wider tyre is safe to fit?

Type 17

Take a look at the current tyre sidewall and, beside the 24 x 1 marking, there will be other numbers in the format xx-xxx - this is the ETRTO measurement (more details here, if you're want the whole story).

This is the bike/tyre/rim manufacturers' measurement and is the definitive size, because all of the other sizes are a historical mish-mash of metric, imperial, French, British, American, japanese and other measurements.

Post the ETRTO size and we can work out if wider tyres are available and/or suitable.