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

Fighting Tao wrote: »

Seeing that BB's are the current topic. I have a 2015 Cube road bike with a Hollowtech II BB and 105 compact chainset. I suspect that the BB is nearing the end of life. It had been making a brushing noise for the past year and now there appears to be a bit of a click too. I know there is different threads, english and Italian. Apart from that are all Hollowtech II BB's the same fit?

As mentioned, some series' of Dura Ace stuff is different, but with 105, you should be fine with any Road* Hollowtech II BSA (English) threaded BB.

*the spindle spacing on the MTB ones can be different.

magicbastarder wrote: »

also, if you do this while the tube is mounted on the rim, it'll give you the two spots where it might have happened relative to the rim (assuming you don't know which way the tube was oriented); if it matches up with the rim weld line, you may have your culprit.

well the latest tube is still on the rim, inside the tyre so first step is to remove teh tire and inflate the tube i guess and see where teh problem is.

Also good idea about mounting the tyre with the logo at valve, I have not been doing that.

The headset on my winter bike is either fooked or just needs a good grease, it feels proper rough.

Looked at vids and it seems okay to do but in reality is it?

Bike is a alu frame with carbon fork.

S_D wrote: »

Hi all, I need help! I have a Zipp 900 disc, and noticed the free hub(188 hub) was loose, so decided to take it off, check it out, seemed ok (I think) , i cleaned it with de-greaser , popped some dry lube on the little pawl sockets, (Didnt lube anything else) popped it back together, tightened it up(not overly tight just so theres no play) but it feels very stiff and doesnt spin very freely! Maybe im being paranoid but am i missing something? I guess my main question is...how does one know when the free hub is worn and need replacing? (and I made sure to put it back together lol)

Anyone?

looking for a second hand bike for junior aged 14 he would be in the 5`1″-5`5″ 15” / 16″ range , how do i make sense of an advert like below that just gives the wheel size? are mountain bikes generally more forgiving sizewise?


https://www.donedeal.ie/bicycles-for-sale/gents-apollo-gradient-mountain-bike-like-new/21072239

silverharp wrote: »

looking for a second hand bike for junior aged 14 he would be in the 5`1″-5`5″ 15” / 16″ range , how do i make sense of an advert like below that just gives the wheel size? are mountain bikes generally more forgiving sizewise?


https://www.donedeal.ie/bicycles-for-sale/gents-apollo-gradient-mountain-bike-like-new/21072239

You can't really make sense of that ad, as 26" is the "adult" wheel size - smaller sizes (12, 14, 16, 20, 24) are the ones which can be used to define the rider-size involved - 26" bikes may have small, medium or large frames.

Looking at the shots in the ad (frame size in proportion to the known-size 26" wheels), I'd say that, unfortunately that bike is too big for your son...

S_D wrote: »

smooth stiffness


I don't think so but I'm sure I have the eyes for that

Strange - did it come on suddenly (did you take it apart before and accidentally omit a shim?) or if not, do the bearings in the feel free (or is the grease dried up and stiff?).

If not, it's hard to say...

Make sure it has a head that you like (some are very awkward to use), a plastic barrel is fine for light use, but a metal one is better, and ones with a tripod-style foot are much more stable (ones with a two-way bow-tie foot fall over every time you look at them).

Bontrager have a good one (Charger) for a rrp of €29

Does anyone know of anyone in the country who fixes Vitus 979 frames? One of the glued joints of the frame has dried out — apparently a known issue — and the fix seems fairly/very complicated. (i.e. ThinkBike wouldn't do it)

magicbastarder wrote: »

maybe give this chap a shout? he's a frame builder.

http://www.bicycledesigncentre.com/

cheers

Thargor wrote: »

My chain is skipping, a couple of gears unusable (will just hop to another gear), cant trust standing on the pedals anymore. Gave it a good clean and lubrication today, seemed to fix it for about 2 kilometers then started happening again. Google says I might need to tighten the derailleurs? Or could it be chain stretch after 3 years of moderate use if thats even a thing? Whats the best way to go about fixing this issue please?

EDIT: Its a Giant Defy roadbike.

Would they be your most common gears? (at a guess the 11/12/13's range) You may be into new cassette territory.

1. Get a wear tool https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00J3AA1A2/
2. Get somebody familiar with it to review your cassette. If you know what you're looking at you can see the damage when its that severe. Clean it with strong degreaser/petrol first.

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Gonna ask a stupid question but did you try indexing them? If not watch this https://youtu.be/Bbk5RcH0bbQ

Do you ever notice with that Global Cycling Network channel that they always solve the problem immediately and make it look so easy, they never actually take the bike down and ride it on the road to see that the problem is still occurring which happens 99% of the time? I think every single problem Ive ever had on a bike that crowd have been the first result on Youtube and its always "oh just make a 1/4 turn on this limit screw and the problem is solved" but it never works like that in the real world, they're kind of timewasters tbh, nothing on a bike is ever as easy to do as they make out.

Thargor wrote: »

Do you ever notice with that Global Cycling Network channel that they always solve the problem immediately and make it look so easy, they never actually take the bike down and ride it on the road to see that the problem is still occurring which happens 99% of the time? I think every single problem Ive ever had on a bike that crowd have been the first result on Youtube and its always "oh just make a 1/4 turn on this limit screw and the problem is solved" but it never works like that in the real world, they're kind of timewasters tbh, nothing on a bike is ever as easy to do as they make out.

I like most GCN videos (about fitness, riding styles, etc), but for technical stuff, I find the Park Tool channel to be better, and it's the one I recommend to interested customers.

The Adjust a Rear Derailleur one includes Possible Scenarios, for when the obvious solutions aren't the answer, and they also have in-video links to separate advanced troubleshooting videos for when basic setup and adjustment haven't corrected the issue(s).