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

tomasrojo

If it's a screw-on freewheel you only need one specialised tool: a nut that slots into the splines that surrond the axle. Then you need a ring spanner that fits that nut, and an awful lot of force to unscrew the freewheel. I used to use my legs to get enough force. It usually came free very suddenly but I managed to never injure myself.

woody33

Finding the correct tool was the issue, I bought one, wrong, bought another, wrong again, filed it down, still no go. Drat. Possibly should get a new cassette with the right tool, or a wheel with a free hub, but set up for v-brake. Anyway, I'm still on the road, within the 5 kilometres, obvs. Thanks again.

07Lapierre

tomasrojo wrote: »

If it's a screw-on freewheel you only need one specialised tool: a nut that slots into the splines that surrond the axle. Then you need a ring spanner that fits that nut, and an awful lot of force to unscrew the freewheel. I used to use my legs to get enough force. It usually came free very suddenly but I managed to never injure myself.

You also need a chain whip.

cython

07Lapierre wrote: »

You also need a chain whip.

Not to remove a screw on freewheel (as opposed to taking a cassette off a freehub).

tomasrojo

Yeah, based on what's been said, it's an old-fashioned freewheel which screws onto the hub body like a bottle top screws onto a bottle, rather than a freehub.

07Lapierre

Ok, my mistake.

crosstownk

cython wrote: »

Not to remove a screw on freewheel (as opposed to taking a cassette off a freehub).

Unrelated but ...... I vaguely remember needing two chain whips to remove the freewheel on a 7 speed Shimano 600 Select hub back in the 1980s. Maybe the smallest cog was threaded? Am I right or just old and confused?

8valve

crosstownk wrote: »

Unrelated but ...... I vaguely remember needing two chain whips to remove the freewheel on a 7 speed Shimano 600 Select hub back in the 1980s. Maybe the smallest cog was threaded? Am I right or just old and confused?

I think that was the system on the old shimano uniglide freehubs, precursor to the current hyperglide cassettes, which is the design still in use.


the giveaway was the couple of mm of thread on the outside of the freehub body for screwing on the smallest sprockets.


I think suntour had something similar?

cython

crosstownk wrote: »

Unrelated but ...... I vaguely remember needing two chain whips to remove the freewheel on a 7 speed Shimano 600 Select hub back in the 1980s. Maybe the smallest cog was threaded? Am I right or just old and confused?

Before my time, to be honest! I'm just basing my comment off how it works removing freewheels with a remover tool like https://www.parktool.com/product/freewheel-remover-fr-1-3

However, as another poster has said, you may be referring to the uniglide cassettes, where the smallest sprocket double jobbed for the lockring in the current hyberglide system:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zWYLb2RMPA

Type 17

Yes, Uniglide (and previous offerings from Shimano and others) gave the opportunity to configure your rear cluster to whatever sizes you wanted because each sprocket (sold separately at your LBS) worked in almost any position in the setup. I remember buying one new sprocket after changing a chain, because the old chain had caused a bit too much wear on one (fourth of the six). I still have six-speed Dura-Ace Uniglide on a 70's road bike I have - I found that the previous owner had got around the skipping issue with a new chain by turning the first five sprockets around to use the other side of the teeth (an old trick, no longer possible with Hyperglide).

While Hyperglide removed those flexibilities, it allows for quicker, smoother shifting, and with continuous pedal pressure* because each sprocket's profiles and side-stampings/cutouts are related to its position in the cluster, and to the other sprockets beside it.

*On older stuff, if you didn't ease up the pressure when shifting, the chain could slip and/or skate over the tops of the teeth, causing a fall or chain/sprocket damage. Especially tricky when on a steep climb.

tomasrojo

8valve wrote: »

I think that was the system on the old shimano uniglide freehubs, precursor to the current hyperglide cassettes, which is the design still in use.


the giveaway was the couple of mm of thread on the outside of the freehub body for screwing on the smallest sprockets.

Sounds very plausible:

The smallest sprocket on a Uniglide cassette was not splined, it was threaded. The threads of this sprocket would hold everything else together. Dura-Ace Freehubs used a different, smaller thread, which worked only with Dura-Ace threaded sprockets.

https://sheldonbrown.com/k7.html#uniglide

Weepsie

So I've a spare carbon disc form with a tapered steerer. I have a genesis croix de fer on which the fork is a bit dead/dull= but it's a straight headtube.

I believe there is an adapter I can try (and this will change the stack a bit) and allow me to run the forks, but I'm wondering what else I'm missing.

This adapter https://www.adverts.ie/other-sports-fitness/carbon-forks/21982181


I had a compatible fork that I now regret selling!

crosstownk

Type 17 wrote: »

Yes, Uniglide (and previous offerings from Shimano and others) gave the opportunity to configure your rear cluster to whatever sizes you wanted because each sprocket (sold separately at your LBS) worked in almost any position in the setup.

Yep. Uniglide it was. I vaguely remember being able to change individual sprockets alright.

padyjoe

I have a KMC X9-silver, Pedros II showing around 0.5% wear nearing 3k kms. Is it ok to run it down to 0.75%? This is on a new outer chainring and cassette. The jockey wheels have 27k kms on them, time to change I wonder?

LollipopJimmy

padyjoe wrote: »

I have a KMC X9-silver, Pedros II showing around 0.5% wear nearing 3k kms. Is it ok to run it down to 0.75%? This is on a new outer chainring and cassette. The jockey wheels have 27k kms on them, time to change I wonder?

I wouldnt run an old chain on a new cassette, you're just going to wear the cassette much quicker.

Jockey wheels are cheap, id be inclined to change them also at that mileage

padyjoe

LollipopJimmy wrote: »

I wouldnt run an old chain on a new cassette

It's an all new set, well it was 3k ago, when I changed every component: chain, cassette, chainring. Considering the below explained, better off not 'stretching' to .75%?
I don't go OCD on cleaning the chain but I wipe and lube it on a regular basis.
The chain is stressed above average I reckon: ca. 105 kg total, 36 spoke wheel and average 27-30 km/h.
Thank you!

Type 17

Think of it this way: if you run the chain down to .75%, you're also running the cassette & rings down to .75%, so they will drag a new chain down to their wear-level that bit quicker.

If you keep changing the chains at .5 or .6%, the cass/rings will only ever be at the that level and the extra few km you "lost" off the end of each chain (by not going past .5% or so) will add up to less than one chain, which is far cheaper than a cassette and big ring.

padyjoe

Well, this needs no further explanation. And no excuse either as I have a spare chain in my drawer. KMC threw in a 17k number for a roadbike in their leaflet, I know it's extreme distance with a minimal abuse. I think, I should be proud of myself being able to kill the chain in 3k. Or I'm still a fat fúkker! :-DDD

LollipopJimmy

Sorry I had read your post as you had just fit the cassette and chainring now. Answered above anyway by Type17

padyjoe

No, it's my mistake, I've never mentioned the chain condition, it wasn't clear.

Thanks for your input!

Away With The Fairies

I got home ok yesterday. I didn't cycle over anything sharp, that I know of. Then this morning, I woke up with a flat tyre.

I done a google search and cold weather can cause flat tyres! How likely is cold weather the cause? Have the bike almost a year and no bother with it until the flat tyre this morning.

Type 17

Most likely a slow puncture, picked up on your way home, but not noticeable until later on.

The kind of cold weather that causes punctures is the kind you get in Siberia, Northern Canada, etc.

Away With The Fairies

Type 17 wrote: »

Most likely a slow puncture, picked up on your way home, but not noticeable until later on.

The kind of cold weather that causes punctures is the kind you get in Siberia, Northern Canada, etc.

Thanks, have to get this fixed.

cletus

Some idle thoughts and questions here. My bike currently has Sora STR300, 11-34t cassette with a Sora R3000 derailleur, 48/32t chain set, also with Sora R3000 derailleur.

I've been wondering what would the next step up on the Shimano ladder be, and would it be worth swapping it out on my bike.

I won't be buying a new bike any time soon, so no n+1 suggestions, thanks

gaffmaster

cletus wrote: »

Some idle thoughts and questions here. My bike currently has Sora STR300, 11-34t cassette with a Sora R3000 derailleur, 48/32t chain set, also with Sora R3000 derailleur.

I've been wondering what would the next step up on the Shimano ladder be, and would it be worth swapping it out on my bike.

I won't be buying a new bike any time soon, so no n+1 suggestions, thanks

The next step up would be Tiagra 10-speed, but the better groupset upgrade would be Shimano 105 R7000 11-speed. It's fairly costly to upgrade the gearset though, as you'll need new shifters too. If you're thinking of upgrading a component on your bike, the best money is spent on wheels. Campagnolo Zondas get recommended on here a lot, and they're great value upgrade. Also - much easier to do yourself at home than a groupset swap.

cletus

gaffmaster wrote: »

The next step up would be Tiagra 10-speed, but the better groupset upgrade would be Shimano 105 R7000 11-speed. It's fairly costly to upgrade the gearset though, as you'll need new shifters too. If you're thinking of upgrading a component on your bike, the best money is spent on wheels. Campagnolo Zondas get recommended on here a lot, and they're great value upgrade. Also - much easier to do yourself at home than a groupset swap.

Thanks for that. The Zondas are road wheels, it seems. What's the maximum width tyre you could run on them?

gaffmaster

cletus wrote: »

Thanks for that. The Zondas are road wheels, it seems. What's the maximum width tyre you could run on them?

Sorry that was silly of me to assume you were on a road bike. What type of bike are you thinking of upgrading?

grogi

cletus wrote: »

Some idle thoughts and questions here. My bike currently has Sora STR300, 11-34t cassette with a Sora R3000 derailleur, 48/32t chain set, also with Sora R3000 derailleur.

I've been wondering what would the next step up on the Shimano ladder be, and would it be worth swapping it out on my bike.

Shimano road lineup is: Tourney, Claris, Sora, Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, Dura-Ace.

But it is completely not worth upgrading. Shimano is horrible in recent years when it comes to compatibility - they gradually change the pull ratio on the rear deraileurs. You'd have to go all in and upgrade the brakes to hydraulics as well, shifters and RD.

What's easiest to upgrade is wheels and chainset. You can get an Ultegra chainset for less than €100 if you look at ebay etc - that would give you a significant weight reduction.

cletus

gaffmaster wrote: »

Sorry that was silly of me to assume you were on a road bike. What type of bike are you thinking of upgrading?

It's a gravel bike, currently running 40mm tyres

gaffmaster

cletus wrote: »

It's a gravel bike, currently running 40mm tyres

Zondas won't be ideal in that case. I'm sure someone with gravel bike experience will suggest a better upgrade.