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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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magicbastarder

on my carbon forks, there are two captive nuts in each tine for attaching muguards - they've come a bit loose though (while still remaining captive), and spin as you're screwing a bolt in to tighten the forks on.
i assume there'd be no issue with dropping a little bit of epoxy in to 'capture' them again? i assume it's not that dissimilar from the resin used in the carbon of the forks.

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

on my carbon forks, there are two captive nuts in each tine for attaching muguards - they've come a bit loose though (while still remaining captive), and spin as you're screwing a bolt in to tighten the forks on.
i assume there'd be no issue with dropping a little bit of epoxy in to 'capture' them again? i assume it's not that dissimilar from the resin used in the carbon of the forks.

Are they small rivnuts? If so, use a nut slightly wider than your bolt, put the bolt through it and use a spanner to stop it spinning with the rivnut when it gets in far enough. It basically acts as a brace against the rivnut and holds it in place. Tighten the bolt, with a slight extra push once it is in as far as it will go and this will hopefully pull the rivnut tight again.

magicbastarder

yeah, it looks like a rivnut (had to google to confirm i knew what you were talking about) - didn't know they'd have been used in a carbon fork as they seat by expanding?

Type 17

Rivnuts do expand, but actually squeeze the walls of the tube or panel that they're mounted in, rather than trying to expand the hole in the tube/panel - a common use for them is water-bottle cage mounts.

CramCycle's method for re-tightening them is fine, assuming that they are rivnuts.

magicbastarder

cheers, may try that. i'm not short of epoxy (have been using it to fill cracks in wood) so, in the grand tradition of 'to a man with a hammer, every problem looks like a nail' i may try that first.

1800_Ladladlad

Can you cancel the bike 2 work scheme with your job when thee approved it?

magicbastarder

that's up to your employer. has the bike been ordered?

1800_Ladladlad

magicbastarder wrote: »

that's up to your employer. has the bike been ordered?

not with the bike shop no. i have to wait until they send a voucher out for the chosen amount so i can order the bike, they stated it would be 30 days

Peter T

Have you tried acetone ? If you cant get your hands on that maybe some nail varnish remover (Used to have acetone in it but has been taken out i think)

loyatemu

some of these may not be available here, but I though it was an interesting look at how they work (there's a part 1 on his channel as well):

Charman921

Recently the pedals on my bike started to 'slip'. I knew immediately it was something to do with the cassette on the rear wheel. I brought the bike to the bike shop (one I've used for 10 years) and they inform me that the 'body' of the cassette has worn out but to replace it, the entire wheel has to be replaced. That's because the body is part of the hub on the rear wheel.

I'm now a pensioner but I raced almost 50 years' ago. Those days if the cassette (the 'block' as we called it then) gave trouble, you had a tool with which you could unscrew the block off the hub and replace it with another. Indeed it was even possible to repair the block in maany circumstances.

Now, we are in the 'use-once-and-dispose' era. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a step back, not a step forward in cycling technology.

A decent modern cassette, if that's all that's needed, costs about €60. A new rear wheel costs from €100 to €250, for a decent 'sportive' wheel

ofthelord

Hi All - apologies if this has been asked here before but i'm getting really frustrated this evening with the gears on my bike.
for some reason they won't shift up into the easiest gear. never had this issue before so at a loss trying to fix it the last hour.
All other gears shifting ok. Limiting is ok, I can shift into easiest gear by pulling the cable by hand while turning the pedals, but the shifter on the handle bar won't gear up past 2nd easiest gear.
Any suggestions appreciated. was hoping top get out on club spin in the morning so looking to get this fixed this evening if i can.
thanks

Type 17

Probably the cable is too slack, and is a whole click/gear out - shift to the hardest gear/smallest cog and if you find the cable is even a little slack, then this is the issue.

If so, check/correct the H limiting screw, slacken the rear derailleur barrel adjuster, and then open the cable clamp and hold the cable's "tail" tightly while you re-tighten the clamp - if you do this correctly, the indexing will then be fine, and even if it's not perfect, it should be only a little out on the barrel adjuster.

Useful video

ED E

Small sprocket = released cable
Large sprocket = tense cable

If its not reaching the large sprocket then you've got slack in the cable, use the cable adjuster on the back of the rear derailleur to "lengthen" the outer cable.

ofthelord

Thanks so much to Type 17 and ED E for your replies.

Type 17 you were correct - on checking the cable it was slack when in the smallest cog. I unclamped the cable and tightened it and all good now.

That was a very frustrating hour I had spent trying to see the problem myself so thanks so much for your advice. So easy when you know how!

magicbastarder

Charman921 wrote: »

Recently the pedals on my bike started to 'slip'. I knew immediately it was something to do with the cassette on the rear wheel. I brought the bike to the bike shop (one I've used for 10 years) and they inform me that the 'body' of the cassette has worn out but to replace it, the entire wheel has to be replaced. That's because the body is part of the hub on the rear wheel.

I'm now a pensioner but I raced almost 50 years' ago. Those days if the cassette (the 'block' as we called it then) gave trouble, you had a tool with which you could unscrew the block off the hub and replace it with another. Indeed it was even possible to repair the block in maany circumstances.

Now, we are in the 'use-once-and-dispose' era. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a step back, not a step forward in cycling technology.

A decent modern cassette, if that's all that's needed, costs about €60. A new rear wheel costs from €100 to €250, for a decent 'sportive' wheel

do you have a photo of the cassette?

Type 17

Charman921 wrote: »

Recently the pedals on my bike started to 'slip'. I knew immediately it was something to do with the cassette on the rear wheel. I brought the bike to the bike shop (one I've used for 10 years) and they inform me that the 'body' of the cassette has worn out but to replace it, the entire wheel has to be replaced. That's because the body is part of the hub on the rear wheel.

I'm now a pensioner but I raced almost 50 years' ago. Those days if the cassette (the 'block' as we called it then) gave trouble, you had a tool with which you could unscrew the block off the hub and replace it with another. Indeed it was even possible to repair the block in maany circumstances.

Now, we are in the 'use-once-and-dispose' era. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a step back, not a step forward in cycling technology.

A decent modern cassette, if that's all that's needed, costs about €60. A new rear wheel costs from €100 to €250, for a decent 'sportive' wheel

As magicbastarder says, a photo would be good.

You're familiar with a block, which is a screw-on freewheel with multiple sprockets on it.
Your current rear wheel is likely to be a freehub with a cassette on it - the freehub is part of the wheel*and it contains the pawls and some bearings, and the sprockets on it are removable - they slide on to it on splines, and are held on with a threaded lockring..

*The freehub is part of the wheel, but can be removed and replaced. however, only relatively expensive wheels have freehubs that can actually be bought as replacements - the cheaper wheels' freehubs aren't easily obtained, and it's cheaper to buy a new wheel.

Charman921

When I clean my carbon framed bike I power wash it to clean off any suds from the cleaning solution I use. The power wash is for maybe 1 minute. When finished I then dry off the derailleur and re oil it sparingly. All works well after all that

saccades

Type 17 wrote: »

As magicbastarder says, a photo would be good.

You're familiar with a block, which is a screw-on freewheel with multiple sprockets on it.
Your current rear wheel is likely to be a freehub with a cassette on it - the freehub is part of the wheel*and it contains the pawls and some bearings, and the sprockets on it are removable - they slide on to it on splines, and are held on with a threaded lockring..

*The freehub is part of the wheel, but can be removed and replaced. however, only relatively expensive wheels have freehubs that can actually be bought as replacements - the cheaper wheels' freehubs aren't easily obtained, and it's cheaper to buy a new wheel.

A lot of the cheaper freehubs are rebranded novatech, if you can work out which, sjs cycles stock pretty much everything for them.

[Deleted User]

Charman921 wrote: »

When I clean my carbon framed bike I power wash it to clean off any suds from the cleaning solution I use. The power wash is for maybe 1 minute. When finished I then dry off the derailleur and re oil it sparingly. All works well after all that

Good alternative to the powerwasher is one of those garden sprayers, you know the ones that hold about 5 litres of water you can pump up to give it pressure before spraying. Saves water though way less pressure etc but the main reason I use it is so that I don't have to get the hose out for the power washer and the extension lead.

Wishbone Ash

Charman921 wrote: »

....I'm now a pensioner but I raced almost 50 years' ago. Those days if the cassette (the 'block' as we called it then) gave trouble, you had a tool with which you could unscrew the block off the hub and replace it with another. Indeed it was even possible to repair the block in maany circumstances.

Now, we are in the 'use-once-and-dispose' era. Which, as far as I'm concerned is a step back, not a step forward in cycling technology.....l

Pro rata, wages were much less years ago. Many items nowadays can still be repaired but it simply doesn't make financial sense as the labour costs for the repair will often exceed the value of the item being repaired.

North of 32

I took my rear wheel off to change a flat and noticed that there's a lot of play in the rear axle. On the non-drive side I can pull out the axle a few millimeters.

When I put the wheel back on there's side-to-side wobble.

I'm guessing (hoping) the lock nut just needs tightening? But I guess the bearings could be contaminated.

Type 17

If it only happened when you took the wheel off, it’ll be fine, but if it’s been loose for a while, then damage could have occurred. Open it up for a visual inspection and then make sure the drive side is locked up well and then set the preload on the non-drive side to finish.

cdaly_

Charman921 wrote: »

When I clean my carbon framed bike I power wash it to clean off any suds from the cleaning solution I use. The power wash is for maybe 1 minute. When finished I then dry off the derailleur and re oil it sparingly. All works well after all that

Power washer is a bad choice for bike cleaning. The pressure tends to wash oil/grease out of bearings. That may have contributed to your freehub issue.

cdaly_

North of 32 wrote: »

I took my rear wheel off to change a flat and noticed that there's a lot of play in the rear axle. On the non-drive side I can pull out the axle a few millimeters.

When I put the wheel back on there's side-to-side wobble.

I'm guessing (hoping) the lock nut just needs tightening? But I guess the bearings could be contaminated.

If it's a shimano hub with cup and cone bearings, you can do a strip/clean/grease/adjust on it. Fairly handy to do. Seek out youtube...

Fighting Tao

Weepsie wrote: »

Picked up today. It is super at getting the frame super cold.

When you spray it inside the seattube, the outside frost's up. It's remains quite cold to the touch for a while after.

Don't think it'll help though. Then it's plus gas, then I'm giving up.

Has anyone recommended a new bike yet?

Type 17

Weepsie wrote: »

...Don't think it'll help though. Then it's plus gas, then I'm giving up.

I missed the start of your issue - is the frame steel, alu or carbon?

The last resort (which I used successfully on a steel frame) is to drill a 10mm hole across the seat post and put an old hub axle in it, then drill a 12+mm hole in the BB shell (with BB axle removed) so that you can (with the frame upside down) drop in a long metal rod (I used some 12mm rebar from a skip) directly down the seat tube, so it rests against the old axle across the seat post. You can then hammer out the seat post from 'below'.
Be sure to support the frame's top tube on soft wood, close to the seat tube join, to minimise the chances of damage.

I probably wouldn't try this unless you're prepared to lose the frame...

SpatialPlanning

Questions:
How do I pump my tire? Have a small hand pump but struggling to inflate my
Tire with it.
Why is there a constant clicking noise from my gears/chain as if I'm mid gear change?
I'm a complete beginner. Did I make a mistake buying a nice bike?
Starting off, what should I focus on

Type 17

SpatialPlanning wrote: »

Questions:
How do I pump my tire? Have a small hand pump but struggling to inflate my
Tire with it.
Why is there a constant clicking noise from my gears/chain as if I'm mid gear change?
I'm a complete beginner. Did I make a mistake buying a nice bike?
Starting off, what should I focus on

Small hand pumps are only for emergencies - you'll struggle to get past ~60PSI - Use a track pump for regular top-ups at home, and only use the hand pump out on the road.

Poor indexing - look at YouTube for adjusting rear derailleur. If the bike is very new, the shop you got it from will re-tune it for free.

No, buying a nice bike is a good move, ask for advice on here to keep it nice.

Focus on regular maintenance - find out about keeping the tyres pumped up and the chain clean and lubed.

[Deleted User]

As Type 17 says it's a new bike it's likely due back at the shop for a free first service, there is a "bedding in" period on new bikes and they need to be adjusted after a few weeks/kilometres.

No harm in learning how to index etc yourself though I chased my tail for ohhhh about 2 hours the first time I did it

I think the videos I used were either GCN (global cycling network) or Park tools ones on youtube. I'll see if I can find them in a bit an edit.

Oh if you are going to be doing things yourself I'd recommend getting a stand for working on the bike, they can be got for reasonable money.