nav[aria-label="Primary Navigation"] { padding: 0; & ul { list-style: none; width: 100%; display: flex; flex-direction: row; justify-content: start; align-items: start; gap: 30px; padding: 0; & li { margin: 0; } & ul li { list-style: none; } } }

Child Item

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?

Find more posts tagged with

Quick Links

Comments

Type 17

Usual reasons for slack chain when back-pedalling are stiff freewheel or stiff jockey wheel in the rear derailleur.

The new chain would want to have very thick grease on it for that to be an issue.

CormacH94

Deano12345 wrote: »

I use this stuff from eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401630605331

Personally I don’t leave them on the cable when I’m done, but no reason you couldn’t. Generally I just feed them through the internal routing holes, tape them to either side, then feed the cable through and all sorted!

Yeah, changed it out today, thought it might be covered the whole way through the frame, was just where it came out at the bottom bracket.

Troubleshooting chain drop when back pedaling at the minute, figure it could be due to the grease on the new chain gunking it up a bit? Any other reason why a new chain might drop when backpedaling? 99% sure I sized it correclt against the old chain

Deano12345

CormacH94 wrote: »

Do internally routed cables usually have a thinner piece of outer for the section of cable inside the frame?

I've seen carbon builds where the bare frame usually comes with these pieces already installed and the ends are taped to the frame to serve as guides but how would one go about replacing these, as I imagine they also wear.

Would trimming an outer section down to the center piece of sheath work for this?

Any tips for routing internal cables without the specific kit would be greatly appreciated!

I use this stuff from eBay.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401630605331

Personally I don’t leave them on the cable when I’m done, but no reason you couldn’t. Generally I just feed them through the internal routing holes, tape them to either side, then feed the cable through and all sorted!

CormacH94

Do internally routed cables usually have a thinner piece of outer for the section of cable inside the frame?

I've seen carbon builds where the bare frame usually comes with these pieces already installed and the ends are taped to the frame to serve as guides but how would one go about replacing these, as I imagine they also wear.

Would trimming an outer section down to the center piece of sheath work for this?

Any tips for routing internal cables without the specific kit would be greatly appreciated!

cletus

Is the bolt on the right in the chainreactioncycles link? If so, I think you're going to struggle to find a generic replacement. Have you any idea of size or thread pitch

Tony04

On my ride this evening the bolt holding in the mech hanger seems to have fallen off.

Is my only option buying a new hanger? Or is there any other cheaper options or even temporary bodges?
Cheers in advance

Gasco

So, replaced the freehub body on Pave 28 wheel, easy job. But there is a lot of freehub drag, as in it takes effort to get the freehub moving. Took off the new one and reinstalled the old, same thing. Have not used the wheels in a while so cannot remember if this was the case when they were on the bike.

Scratching my head on this - before I tighten the hub cap it spins fine but once these are tightened up then not much moving. Am I over tightening these? they were pretty tight prior to removal.

Did I lose a spacer between the freehub body and hub shell? Looking at the novotec manual, there only appears to be the large metal spacer that fits over the axle - which is in place.

Are the hub bearings the problem? They are cartridge but I presume once the end caps are tightened there is some compression.

Or is this a thing with these hubs / wheels???

Lockdown is causing me to obsess about these things...

mirrormatrix

Type 17 wrote: »

Yes, it's a Thomson BB, AKA Ashtabula). Common on older BMXs and cheaper American bikes

You can tighten it and lock the locknut against it like an older, threaded headset, but note that it is a left hand thread

That's it exactly, thanks!! Yes, it's also left hand thread. Was just unsure whether I needed to hold the cone in place while tightening the locknut to prevent overtightening, but i'll just play around with it a bit and see what works on that front. I might as well regrease the bearings while i'm at it.

Roger the cabin boy

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Hi. I've a kids bike that seems to have a through axle that is also the cranks, so both cranks and axle are one continuous piece (if you get me!). I'd not seen something like this before. Anyways, there was a bit of play in the bottom bracket and it seems as though the locknut had come loose.

On these sorts of systems, do you just tighten the bottom bracket (as it were) finger tight and then use a spanner to tighten the locknut as much as possible?

Cheers
MM

BMX's have these.

Its the same principle as any cup/cone bearing. Clean them, make sure the balls and races are in good order and then reassemble

However, there is a knack to tightening them.
Too loose is better than too tight, but neither is great.

My advice is to tighten everything up finger tight, then, back of the locking cone a 1/4 turn, then, tighten the lock ring. As the lock ring tightens,it will affect the tightness of the locking cone (due to play etc,) and you may find that tightening the lockring, tightens the lockcone too much.

Just keep adjusting it until the crank run smooth. A trick here is to tighten the lockring somewhat and then back off the lockcone a small bit whilst still holding the lockring.

Its a trial/error thing really. Easy but takes a few goes...

Type 17

Yes, it's a Thomson BB, AKA Ashtabula). Common on older BMXs and cheaper American bikes

You can tighten it and lock the locknut against it like an older, threaded headset, but note that it is a left hand thread

CramCycle

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Will try to get some later. It's basically like this photo though.

Is it like a Shimano Hollowtech crankset then? Is there a shell for the through axle bit to rest against? Is that loose or disintegrating. If it is not, then yes, simply tightening it up should do the job but I'd prefer to see pictures fo the specific set up before putting any money down on it.

mirrormatrix

Attachment not found.

Will try to get some later. It's basically like this photo though.

cletus

mirrormatrix wrote: »

Hi. I've a kids bike that seems to have a through axle that is also the cranks, so both cranks and axle are one continuous piece (if you get me!). I'd not seen something like this before. Anyways, there was a bit of play in the bottom bracket and it seems as though the locknut had come loose.

On these sorts of systems, do you just tighten the bottom bracket (as it were) finger tight and then use a spanner to tighten the locknut as much as possible?

Cheers
MM

Pictures?

mirrormatrix

Hi. I've a kids bike that seems to have a through axle that is also the cranks, so both cranks and axle are one continuous piece (if you get me!). I'd not seen something like this before. Anyways, there was a bit of play in the bottom bracket and it seems as though the locknut had come loose.

On these sorts of systems, do you just tighten the bottom bracket (as it were) finger tight and then use a spanner to tighten the locknut as much as possible?

Cheers
MM

rayman1

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.

Type 17

rayman1 wrote: »

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

Problem is definitely the cable if the calliper works smoothly and strongly in the hand when the cable is disconnected.

The rear is the more likely section of cable to be bad, but the other piece of outer housing under the bar tape can possibly be bad too.

If you don't want to disturb the bar tape, and the old inner wire isn't too bad looking (white oxidisation/light rust, rather than heavy, dark rust) try a new inner wire, and drop a bit of oil into the rear of the front outer cable, and use the new cable to clean it out by shoving it backwards and forwards to clean things up and then withdraw the inner wire and wipe it down to remove the dirt-oil mix. Repeat once more and then reassemble it and try the brake action. If it still doesn't work well, you'll have to disturb the bar tape.

rayman1

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.

crosstownk

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.

rayman1

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

rayman1 wrote: »

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.

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.

rayman1

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.

Type 17

tnegun wrote: »

...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

That's the one - very useful since the backwards compatibility was broken by Dyna-Sys - (Shimano's marketing name for the newer pull-ratio), which was introduced because 11 sprocket cassettes meant that the old pull-ratio would be so fine at the shifter, that it would be easy to over-shift - the newer ratio means that the shifter moves a bit further in the hand for each click (and a bonus is that the shifting feels lighter).

tnegun

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

Type 17

grogi wrote: »

The derailleur is not a problem, as long as the pull ratio is ok.

That's the issue - the pull ratio changed between 5700 & 5800 for 105 (and similarly for Tiagra, Ultegra & Dura Ace).

If you look at the arm on the RDs that the cable pinch-bolt is on, the later models have a longer arm, which gives a lighter feel at the shifter.
5700 (old pull ratio)

5800 (current pull ratio)

magicbastarder

grogi wrote: »

The derailleur is not a problem, as long as the pull ratio is ok. Derailleur moves as much as the shifter tells it to move.

not that i'm aware. derailleurs also operate on a pull ratio too, and everything i've read is that a derailleur has to match the shifter in terms of the number of gears it was designed for, if you're talking about 10 and 11 speed systems.

grogi

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?

edit. Actually thinking about that the shifters are probably wrong too then?

The derailleur is not a problem, as long as the pull ratio is ok. Derailleur moves as much as the shifter tells it to move.

What needs to match is the shifter and the cassette. If the shifter is 10 speed, it will work only with 10 speed cassette. 11sp shifters will only shift correctly 11sp cassette.

Type 17

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)

tnegun

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?

edit. Actually thinking about that the shifters are probably wrong too then?

Type 17

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.

cletus

saccades wrote: »

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

I have one on the way from England. Thanks though. Luckily enough the pieces you have for me are ear marked for another build that I started before this one