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

magicbastarder

is there a simple list of chemicals which you should not get near disc brake pads? i.e. would even something like a detergent cause issues with contamination; i was wondering as i was cleaning the bike earlier if i can be overcautious in cleaning the bike near the brakes.

any tips on looking after a steel frame? my latest purchase has mountings for racks and also a couple of unthreaded holes - should i tape those up to keep water out, or leave them uncovered to let the water out should it get in?

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Type 17

All My Stars Aligned wrote: »

I wouldn't agree with this. New cables, cassette & chain would be my first port of call. Perhaps jockey wheels while you at it. Unless the derailleur has received a few knocks I would imagine it's fine. I certainly would go throwing money at it unless actually proves to not be functioning after cables, cassette & chain have been changed.

Well, at 200km per week for say, 2.5 years is about 25,000km, so I'm pretty sure that a chain that has done all those kms will have worn enough to wear out the chainrings as well as the cassette, but it doesn't cost anything extra to change things over time, rather than all at once.

magicbastarder

might be worth posting pics of the jockey wheels and teeth on the chainring, to see if the latter have sharkfinned?

crosstownk

Type 17 wrote: »

Well, at 200km per week for say, 2.5 years is about 25,000km, so I'm pretty sure that a chain that has done all those kms will have worn enough to wear out the chainrings as well as the cassette, but it doesn't cost anything extra to change things over time, rather than all at once.

I'd have to agree with the above. The worn chain will have eaten away at the cassette as a minimum. It'll be easy to find out - replace the chain and the gear shifting will be all over the place if the cassette is worn.

Just for a bit of anecdotal 'evidence': I've two cycling buddies who don't clean their chains regularly. Both of them replaced their chains after 5,000km to discover that the cassette was also worn. In contrast, I degrease and relube my chain every 200/300kms and replace it as it wears (usually after 5,000kms or so) and my cassette with almost 18,000km on it is still shifting like new.

D13exile

Well I spent the afternoon and evening working on my bike. I put two new tyres (conti GP 4000's) and new tubes on and replaced the brake blocks with swisstops as the old ones were badly worn. That was the easy part. The big chain ring is showing signs of wear I'm afraid. While I managed to index the gears to shift better, the chain ring and cassette are reaching their end of life.

So what now? I've never replaced a drive train. My Trek has a carbon frame but the current set up is Tiagra as it was all I could afford at the time. I'd like to upgrade to Ultegra. I presume I should go the whole hog and replace shifters and cables too? How hard is this to do? Would I be better off getting a good bike mechanic to do it? I can't afford to buy a new bike so upgrading the drivetrain would be my only option.

All My Stars Aligned

If you are thinking of replacing the groupset it would be worth looking at 105 rather then Ultrega. There is practically no difference in performance yet Ultrega is between 160 & 200 more expensive. The only real difference if weight and that isn't a whole lot. Perhaps you could put the difference towards a nice set of new wheels.

As for doing it yourself, I'd say go for it. Youtube is your friend!

Edit: You could even go for the new Tiagra, it's a fantastic piece of kit. I have it on one bike and have 105 on another and TBH I cannot notice any difference in performance. You would then have over 300 for now wheels. If you are still running the original wheels you will notice a massive performance difference I'd imagine.

magicbastarder

getting a lovely loud ticking/grinding noise from my back wheel. happened before, and dropping a little bit of oil on each spoke nipple at the rim end sorted it at the time. it's back, and the oil didn't work this time; loudest when pedalling, but also present while freewheeling, and happens if i have my feet out of the pedals, or stand out of the saddle.

would this sort of noise occur if it was the hub - i can also reproduce the same as in this video; and it's the same wheelset? i.e. will a hub make a popping noise even if the brakes are preventing rotation? i guess doing this will put stress on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZtQCnEuSL0

i have seen online comments that aksiums can be prone to similar noise caused by the spokes.

Wishbone Ash

magicbastarder wrote: »

getting a lovely loud ticking/grinding noise from my back wheel. happened before, and dropping a little bit of oil on each spoke nipple at the rim end sorted it at the time. it's back, and the oil didn't work this time; loudest when pedalling, but also present while freewheeling, and happens if i have my feet out of the pedals, or stand out of the saddle.

would this sort of noise occur if it was the hub - i can also reproduce the same as in this video; and it's the same wheelset? i.e. will a hub make a popping noise even if the brakes are preventing rotation? i guess doing this will put stress on it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZtQCnEuSL0

i have seen online comments that aksiums can be prone to similar noise caused by the spokes.

Try a little lube on the drop outs before you do anything else.

magicbastarder

i should probably disassemble and clean the hubs anyway.

OleRodrigo

Its probably the freewheel. Easy enough to clean.

magicbastarder

showing my ignorance here, but i wasn't sure if the fact that it happens both when coasting and when pedalling, that would make the freewheel less likely to be a culprit?

magicbastarder

popped the back wheel off and spun it, and i can just about feel a *very* faint notchiness as it spins. the aksiums use cartridge bearings though, not sure if that's something i could replace myself.

Muahahaha

Ive a Boardman Comp and the stem to the handlebars is at its highest setting. Id love for it to be an inch or two higher, what would I need to do this? Is there some kind of space I can buy?

gaffmaster

Muahahaha wrote: »

Ive a Boardman Comp and the stem to the handlebars is at its highest setting. Id love for it to be an inch or two higher, what would I need to do this? Is there some kind of space I can buy?

I have no experience with raising stems, but as far as I know you have two options.

1. An adjustable stem - like this one

2. A Stem riser - like this one

Mystery option 3 might be to replace your forks with ones that have a longer steerer tube.

When adjusting stems always be sure not to knacker your headset by over tightening your pre-tensioning bolt. I made that mistake on my first road bike. Then I discovered YouTube videos.

magicbastarder

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Try a little lube on the drop outs before you do anything else.

didn't work - also oiled all contact points of spokes, didn't work.
was passing by humphries, derek said he'd look at the bearings for me, but i've just called in with the wheel and himself and his dad diagnosed the issue just by looking at it. it's a known issue with aksium rear hubs, there are three outer parts of the housing glued together and the glue is failing on one of them. (i probably have some of that wrong).

so the suggestion is to oil the join where the glue is failing and hope that fixes it; the bike is secondhand so warranty is not going to help.

[Deleted User]

Be careful with the stem risers. I found they worked as a temporary solution, but didn't hold up in the long term. The only long term solution for me was to switch from the MTB bars to BMX bars which sweep up significantly higher. It looked a bit mad, but worked fine.

I know that may not be an option with a road bike, mind you.

magicbastarder

magicbastarder wrote: »

it's a known issue with aksium rear hubs, there are three outer parts of the housing glued together and the glue is failing on one of them. (i probably have some of that wrong).

so the suggestion is to oil the join where the glue is failing and hope that fixes it; the bike is secondhand so warranty is not going to help.

just in case anyone has unexplained creaking from aksiums, here's where i ended up having to oil the hub; took a couple of kms to work the oil in and for the noise to cease. and don't do what i did, which is manage to get oil on the disc.

Budawanny

Compact versus Semi compact versus standard

Hi , Not sure if this is the right place but the questions got to do with bike tweakery so I guess its right.
I bought a new bike (first road bike) a few months ago. I'm still pretty clueless at the jargon but trying.

So I bought a bike with
Dura Ace 9100 11 Speed
Shimano Dura Ace 11-30 cassette
Shimano Dura Ace 52-36 chainset

I believe 52-36 is considered/called a semi compact.
now I get on fine for most climbs in Wicklow. anything over 15% becomes not just difficult but bordering on impossible.

so I'm wondering if anyone knows if its possible to stick a compact chainring (50-34) with an 11-30 cassette?
I'm thinking of when I hit bigger hills, maybe alpine etc.

thanks

Type 17

It will be fine, this page gives the maximum sizes and total capacity* of the 9100, and both your suggested combination and the bike's current one are the same (just within the limits).

*Total capacity is the differences between the largest and smallest sprockets and the largest and smallest chainrings, added together - 35 in both cases, which is the limit for the 9100. Additionally, no other limit shown in the link is exceeded.

Budawanny

Type 17 wrote: »

It will be fine, this page gives the maximum sizes and total capacity* of the 9100, and both your suggested combination and the bike's current one are the same (just within the limits).

*Total capacity is the differences between the largest and smallest sprockets and the largest and smallest chainrings, added together - 35 in both cases, which is the limit for the 9100. Additionally, no other limit shown in the link is exceeded.

Aah I see . That's super information type17.
All new to me but vital information so much appreciated .

jamesd

I am putting new discs onto my road bike today, they are centrelock - when I put the disc onto the wheel should I put a grease or locktite onto the thread for the centrelock nut ?

magicbastarder

I have an old hardtail stumpjumper and the forks just feel a little tired. Are forks the sort of thing it's easy enough to service at home, or best left to the experts?

iwillhtfu

magicbastarder wrote: »

I have an old hardtail stumpjumper and the forks just feel a little tired. Are forks the sort of thing it's easy enough to service at home, or best left to the experts?

I'd give everything else a go but forks I'd leave well alone. I have visions of undoing something and a thousand tiny pieces falling out. :eek:

Type 17

High quality forks should be serviceable (perhaps with some special tools), but cheap stuff is not designed to be touched once it's left the factory.

Google your ones (manufacturer's website and forums), and if you can't find any decent info, it's probably a sign that you shouldn't touch them (other than pumping them up, if that is possible).

plodder

I degreased the rear derailleur for the first time recently and was amazed at the difference it made. However, since then, a horrible noise has developed off the pedal crank, which may have been something to do with having hosed the bike down after degreasing, and water getting in somewhere maybe. The noise is a kind of mixture between a crunch and a clunk. First question. Could I be causing damage by riding through the noise (before I get to look at it). Second, what is the likely cause and fix? Thx.

LollipopJimmy

I have a 'ding-ding' noise from the rear wheel area... It's like a fecking bell, I've checked as much as I can at the roadside so looks like I'll have to get it into the stand to check. Would my mind be going the right direction thinking an over tensioned spoke? Rear wheel is a Mavic Ksyrium SL

seamus

Over-tensioned spoke shouldn't really ping often. A broken spoke might

If it's a regular noise, i.e. has a rhythm, then it's something banging off something else.

If it's something that only happens over bumps, i.e. it's more of a rattle, then something is loose.

magicbastarder

Type 17 wrote: »

High quality forks should be serviceable (perhaps with some special tools), but cheap stuff is not designed to be touched once it's left the factory.

Google your ones (manufacturer's website and forums), and if you can't find any decent info, it's probably a sign that you shouldn't touch them (other than pumping them up, if that is possible).

yeah, that's the plan; they're rock shox duke XC from about 2004 so would have been decent enough spec while new, and have never been serviced (but the bike has received only very light use so has never been an issue before). finding old manuals for that specific fork is not easy, but it does seem the basic design hasn't changed much.

magicbastarder

well, it turns out i can't even check the pressure in the forks because the schrader valve is recessed and my track pump attachment won't fit in the recess.

magicbastarder

plodder wrote: »

I degreased the rear derailleur for the first time recently and was amazed at the difference it made. However, since then, a horrible noise has developed off the pedal crank, which may have been something to do with having hosed the bike down after degreasing, and water getting in somewhere maybe. The noise is a kind of mixture between a crunch and a clunk. First question. Could I be causing damage by riding through the noise (before I get to look at it). Second, what is the likely cause and fix? Thx.

try a tiny drop of oil on all the contact points between the spokes and the wheel and the hubs.
i had a similar sounding noise which a drop of oil on each spoke nipple sorted out for me.

MediaMan

magicbastarder wrote: »

well, it turns out i can't even check the pressure in the forks because the schrader valve is recessed and my track pump attachment won't fit in the recess.

You need a special shock pump for that. If you're on friendly terms with your LBS, they might check it for you and advise you on what work might need doing too.