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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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silverharp

magicbastarder wrote: »

that's a fairly tough lowest gear. not a bike you'd be taking up the mountains regularly.

it would need to get me up that hill outside Enniskerry to Glencree at least :pac: , ok good to know, so safer to stick to 21ish to be assured of an easy low gear

[Deleted User]

The highest and lowest will typically be the same regardless of number, just the gaps between gears bigger the less you have.

That merida spec you posted strikes me as odd for a claris group set. Those are normally for entry level bikes and you'd expect to see something like standard compact or sub-compact 50-43 and 28 or 30 - 11 on the back.

magicbastarder

many bikes would be sold with a 50/34 and 11-28 - giving a low gear of 1.21; and that would not be particularly low, some people would go to 30 or 32 on the back, if they bike was specifically going to be used a lot in the mountains.
a low gear of 39 to 25 (as on the bike above) is 1.52, which is quite a difference.

Gasco

Hi
Just moved to Ultegra 11 speed after many happy years on the 10 speed version.
Have used Wipperman chains for a number of years with no issue, so decided to stick with what I know. Have an Absolute Black small ring that is just not meshing correctly with the chain, the chain works ok with the big ring.
Overall the chain is quite noisy on this set up, if the limit screws are not perfect on the rear der there is poor meshing there also.
Anyone using this combo - experience similar issues with this set up??

thanks

G'co

magicbastarder

are you sure the small ring is not worn?

Gasco

magicbastarder wrote: »

are you sure the small ring is not worn?

Sorry, should have said, new chain, rings and cassette.

statto25

statto25 wrote: »

magicbastarder wrote: »

have you taken the chain off for the purposes of testing?

No I havent removed it. I have taken off the derailleur and cleaned and lubed it again

So turns out the derailleur was shot. New derailleur and a new cable along with a lighter pocket means I'm back in action for the Fondo tomorrow.

magicbastarder

had something snapped on it?

North of 32

There are 2 vertical lines on the carbon fork of my brand new bike (both sides, one worse than the other). It definitely came from the factory like this as I've only done 30km on it, no falls, bangs, scratches etc.

When you run your finger over it there's no noticeable crease or bump. If you closed your eyes you wouldn't know it was there.

Anyone have experience with this?

cletus

North of 32 wrote: »

There are 2 vertical lines on the carbon fork of my brand new bike (both sides, one worse than the other). It definitely came from the factory like this as I've only done 30km on it, no falls, bangs, scratches etc.

When you run your finger over it there's no noticeable crease or bump. If you closed your eyes you wouldn't know it was there.

Anyone have experience with this?

Possibly mould release marks?

Wishbone Ash

North of 32 wrote: »

There are 2 vertical lines on the carbon fork of my brand new bike (both sides, one worse than the other). It definitely came from the factory like this as I've only done 30km on it, no falls, bangs, scratches etc.

When you run your finger over it there's no noticeable crease or bump. If you closed your eyes you wouldn't know it was there.

Anyone have experience with this?

I had a black carbon bike and it had lots of those type of markings. Doesn't seem to be as noticeable on lighter coloured bikes.

Eamonnator

My 4 year old matt black Canyon has similar marks on the top tube. To be honest, I've never given them much thought, always assumed they were mould marks.

magicbastarder

Eamonnator wrote: »

To be honest, I've never given them much thought, always assumed they were mould

does your bike smell mouldy?

North of 32

I was a bit worried seeing them show up on the fork but it sounds like it's only cosmetic. I can live with that. Sent a few pictures to Canyon earlier as well and I'll see what they say.

Miklos

I have them on my Scott along the top tube as well. It's from the manufacturing process, nothing to worry about.

LollipopJimmy

Can't say I would be overly pleased with the marks, for me they wouldn't pass cosmetically, structurally they'll be sound but a new bike should be mint

ED E

I wouldnt be happy with that either. Canyon rushing to beat the backlog?

devonp

Eamonnator wrote: »

My 4 year old matt black Canyon has similar marks on the top tube. To be honest, I've never given them much thought, always assumed they were mould marks.

same here, never any probs:)

Fighting Tao

I have seen a lot worse on a Matt frame from Ribble.

rayman1

I have 2 carbon bikes, a gloss black Giant and a matt black Cube and there are absolutely no such marks on them.
Both bought in lbs and while I realise they are cosmetic, I wouldn't have bought them with those marks. Just not good enough on a new bike.

Cee-Jay-Cee

I have a matt black S-Works Roubaix and under certain lights there are all sorts of patches/lines/colours in the carbon but no lines that could be attributed to the mould process.

Are the lines in identical position on both forks, are they the same distance apart and same length?

North of 32

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

I have a matt black S-Works Roubaix and under certain lights there are all sorts of patches/lines/colours in the carbon but no lines that could be attributed to the mould process.

Are the lines in identical position on both forks, are they the same distance apart and same length?

Not quite the same length but otherwise near-identical.

doozerie

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

I believe that the main reason that the bike industry moved from screw-on cassettes to the current freehub design is to reduce the load on the drive side of the axle.

With screw-on cassettes, the bearings on the drive side are set very far back/in from the outer edge of the axle - they have to, since the hub is narrower to allow space for the cassette. As a consequence, there is a significant amount of axle that is not supported on the drive side, and this led to axles snapping.

With the freehub design the bearings sit much closer to the end of the axle on the drive side, I believe this has largely eliminated rear axles snapping.

Gasco

Gasco wrote: »

Hi
Just moved to Ultegra 11 speed after many happy years on the 10 speed version.
Have used Wipperman chains for a number of years with no issue, so decided to stick with what I know. Have an Absolute Black small ring that is just not meshing correctly with the chain, the chain works ok with the big ring.
Overall the chain is quite noisy on this set up, if the limit screws are not perfect on the rear der there is poor meshing there also.
Anyone using this combo - experience similar issues with this set up??

thanks

G'co

An "out of interest" update on this, solved the problem by installing a Shimano chain. I think the Wipperman 11 speed chain has bigger rollers. I could not get the Connex link to work with the Shimano chain. One side of the link would not fit through, the other, just about. Very frustrating, as it was not a cheap chain.

G

Type 17

Keep an eye on your chain wear with the Shimano - they're very soft, and will take your cassette and rings down with them before you know it. I've heard good things about the Wipperman, but if it doesn't work with your setup, you might look at SRAM as a substitute when the Shimano wears out.

Paul_Mc1988

Have some 60mm deep carbons on the road bike currently and have been toying with the idea of latex tubes. Biggest presta valve I can find is 60mm deep. I always use 80mm deep on the normal tubes and have a decent bit to attach onto. Anyone with 60mm deep wheels know if a 60mm presta would be long enough?

padyjoe

Any idea how to get this screw out? Its head snapped off, I didn't even notice for a while. Or keep riding with 1 screw?

I feel like it's not worth the hassle, it's upgrade time for something sleeker like A530 or XT M8020. Using these on a roadbike.
Thanks!

tomasrojo

doozerie wrote: »

I believe that the main reason that the bike industry moved from screw-on cassettes to the current freehub design is to reduce the load on the drive side of the axle.

With screw-on cassettes, the bearings on the drive side are set very far back/in from the outer edge of the axle - they have to, since the hub is narrower to allow space for the cassette. As a consequence, there is a significant amount of axle that is not supported on the drive side, and this led to axles snapping.

This is exactly right. I snapped a lot of rear axles carrying shopping on my old hybrid, and I've carried an awful lot of stuff on my tourer (with freehub), and never had an axle snap.

But in my freewheeling days (not as exciting as that sounds) I was able to get wheels that didn't have the freewheel built in; wasn't aware that that might have changed. Still have the tool for getting freewheels off. Was very good exercise, as it got tighter and tighter the more you cycled!

EDIT: Ah! I misunderstood; the conversation was about how you could always remove the freewheel from the wheel, but this modern wheel doesn't allow it. I think it's pretty standard to be able to remove freehubs with a big allen key though.

Gasco

Type 17 wrote: »

Keep an eye on your chain wear with the Shimano - they're very soft, and will take your cassette and rings down with them before you know it. I've heard good things about the Wipperman, but if it doesn't work with your setup, you might look at SRAM as a substitute when the Shimano wears out.

Thanks T17,

Will keep the chain gauge to hand.

G

Effects

I'm looking into getting a torque wrench, anyone have any advice?

Thinking I'll go with this Rose one: https://www.rosebikes.com/rose-2-24-nm-torque-wrench-688275

I have a toolset of theirs that's always worked pretty well for me.