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

cletus wrote: »

If you have a contact cleaner or aerosol chain cleaner, id try that before the WD40, but if not, use what you have.

THe PTFE spray should be fine for the levers afterwards

This seems to have done the trick. Good dowsing with a combination of degreaser/WD40 into any hole that looked like it harbour something moving followed by a good dowsing of PTFE lube. Had it out on a for the first road spin since March this morning and the shifting never missed a beat (after I'd wrestled with the back brake which was rubbing on the slight buckle in the wheel - I'd forgotten I put that one on the long finger when I put the bike up on the turbo 5 weeks ago)

North of 32 wrote: »

My rear derailleur mount came off today. It didn't snap, nor did the mounting screws snap.

But it just ... came off. I screwed the mount back onto the frame and noticed that one of the screws doesn't go tight. When you turn, it reaches a small point of tension but when you turn further the screw just goes loose again. Is it normal for the mounting screws to have so little tension? It's a Canyon Ultimate bicycle.

The threads in the hanger are stripped - not a huge issue, except when you take the rear wheel out, it all falls into a heap, so you have to be careful not to tangle the chain and rear derailleur cable around the wrong way, and you have to ensure that it's all lined up as you mount the wheel/close the skewer.
Get a new hanger for an easier life but, in the meantime, once the skewer is closed it doesn't matter.

Hey guys I'm having trouble indexing gears correctly, it's a 10 speed cassette and I can get 1-8 shifting properly 9 skips and won't drop to 10 or 3-10 shifting properly I can get to 1 but it will jump 2 to 3 or hop up and down between them. I replaced the original tiagra derailleur with a 105 as there was a lot of play in the jockey wheels resulting in even worse shifting, it's a lot better now but still not right. I also replaced the chain, the inner and outer cable and have tried fine tuning the tension but just can't get it right! They're tiagra shifters if that makes any odds. Cassette is a HG500 11-25 and looks ok about 6k kms on it, this is the second(Might be third) chain to go on it, the one I replaced had just about .75 wear on the chain tool. What else should I be looking at?

tnegun wrote: »

Hey guys I'm having trouble indexing gears correctly, it's a 10 speed cassette and I can get 1-8 shifting properly 9 skips and won't drop to 10 or 3-10 shifting properly I can get to 1 but it will jump 2 to 3 or hop up and down between them. I replaced the original tiagra derailleur with a 105 as there was a lot of play in the jockey wheels resulting in even worse shifting, it's a lot better now but still not right. I also replaced the chain, the inner and outer cable and have tried fine tuning the tension but just can't get it right! They're tiagra shifters if that makes any odds. Cassette is a HG500 11-25 and looks ok about 6k kms on it, this is the second(Might be third) chain to go on it, the one I replaced had just about .75 wear on the chain tool. What else should I be looking at?

Sounds like a bent derailleur hanger. I had my bike in for a service last year and they tool a small bend out which improved shifting - though mine wasn't as bad as you describe. The tool they use in the link is pricey and probably one that won't see much use, so if you have a LBS that's amenable to repairs at the moment, that's probably your best bet otherwise there's the Heath Robinson approach here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWdO4dnu18g

(note : I haven't tried this!)

JMcL wrote: »

Sounds like a bent derailleur hanger. I had my bike in for a service last year and they tool a small bend out which improved shifting - though mine wasn't as bad as you describe. The tool they use in the link is pricey and probably one that won't see much use, so if you have a LBS that's amenable to repairs at the moment, that's probably your best bet otherwise there's the Heath Robinson approach here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWdO4dnu18g

(note : I haven't tried this!)

Gave it another go and no different, its infuriating! The hanger looks ok but it does deflect when I tighten the quick release. One for the LBS when its open I think. Have watched every indexing/shifting video I can find

Cletus - there is a period correct Acera front mech in that lump of stuff waiting for you.

99% sure but just double checking; Is the tool needed to remove a Tiagra bottom bracket?
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/shimano-hollowtech-ii-bb60-tool-tl-fc37/rp-prod137441

I'm assuming the hollowtech bottom brackets are the same, apart from Ultegra and Dura Ace needing smaller adapters for the tools?

Nasty creak coming from the crank/bottom bracket area so want to take the whole thing apart to clean and grease

tnegun wrote: »

Hey guys I'm having trouble indexing gears correctly, it's a 10 speed cassette and I can get 1-8 shifting properly 9 skips and won't drop to 10 or 3-10 shifting properly I can get to 1 but it will jump 2 to 3 or hop up and down between them. I replaced the original tiagra derailleur with a 105 as there was a lot of play in the jockey wheels resulting in even worse shifting, it's a lot better now but still not right. I also replaced the chain, the inner and outer cable and have tried fine tuning the tension but just can't get it right! They're tiagra shifters if that makes any odds. Cassette is a HG500 11-25 and looks ok about 6k kms on it, this is the second(Might be third) chain to go on it, the one I replaced had just about .75 wear on the chain tool. What else should I be looking at?

What series of 105 RD did you get? - the current model (R7000) is 11-speed only and won't work with 10-speed setups. The RD for the 105 10-speed series (5700) is very hard to get now.
The symptoms you mention are typical of a mismatch, but other issues can also cause them.

tnegun wrote: »

I think you're absolutely right from the invoice - SHIMANO 105 RD-5800 11-speed Rear Derailleur Low Gear 28-32T . So what are my options change to a 11 speed cassette? or will that cause issues with the freehub?

Well, trying to go 11 speed will need new shifters (€€), a new front derailleur (they're different too), a new cassette and, as you mention, possibly a new freehub or rear wheel (you might have an 11-speed freehub with a spacer for your 10-speed cassette, but then again, you might not).

The cheapest is to stick with 10-speed and try and get any of the following RDs:
6700 (Ultegra - used to be easier to get than the 5700 105, but now also getting rare)
5700 (105 - very rare now)
4600 (Tiagra - not sure on availability, but compatible according to the Shimano chart)

Getting up to speed very quickly on the difference between the different generation of derailleurs!! I had assumed the derailleur just moved with the indexing on at the shifter but as several posters here have now mentioned the ratio on the derailleur changed too.

I'm using this compatibility chart now is that what you went off @Type 17?

https://productinfo.shimano.com/#/com/3.7?acid=C-454&cid=C-453

Hi, I have a 2 year old Cube Attain and I am having problems with the rear brake caliper not springing back fully. It only springs back about half way leaving slack in the brake lever. I lubed it well but that made no difference.
When I released the cable the caliper spring seems fine and strong and jumps well back when you squeeze the caliper by hand.
Does that mean the problem is the cable? Could that be the case after only 2 years and 13,200km? Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

crosstownk wrote: »

The cable may have gunk and crud in it. The outer cable from the rear of the top tube to the caliper is the most likely culprit for gunk due to it's location. Try and clean it out and see if that helps.

My rear caliper often sticks as you describe as I use a clip on mudguard that is mounted above the caliper causing the caliper to get covered in sh1te in bad weather. Usually a bit of degreaser sprayed on to the moving parts of the caliper followed by repetitive squeezing by hand and releasing usually sorts it.

Thanks. I have the same mudguard set up. I already took off the short piece of outer near the caliper, sprayed WD40 into it and greased the cable, but not much improvement.

crosstownk wrote: »

Perhaps the cable may be damaged/frayed up near the lever. If you have the cable released at the caliper, 'push' the cable back and inspect the end at the lever to see if it's in good nick.

Thanks, I will try that.

Looks like it was the short piece of outer near the rear caliper after all even though it seems fairly smooth.
I connected the cable without the outer and the brake worked perfectly. I have some new outer which I will fit tomorrow. Thanks again.