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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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devonp

hopefully again

devonp

one last try maybe better image...

devonp

with the image ..

Type 17

The first pic (IMG_1487) does appear to show that the outer race of the cartridge bearing remains in the frame, so it needs to be removed.

On an older, steel frame you could tap it out with a long screwdriver or similar, but it's harder on an aluminium or carbon frame (and a bit more dangerous on a carbon one) because the walls of the head-tube are thicker and block access in most cases.

Your LBS will have a tool like this for driving it out straight (it's driving it out crookedly that's the danger here - can lead to ovalisation on a metal frame, and to possible cracking on a carbon one).

If you have the facilities, you can make a tool like the one above by cutting and spreading the end of a piece of pipe (not copper plumbing pipe - too soft)

devonp

cheers...the more i look at it with a flashlight ...i think the race is still in there

rayman1

Same thing happened to me with a 5 year old Carbon Giant Defy. Bottom bearing fell apart on removal but the outer race was corroded into a metal socket.
Had to bring it into my LBS a Giant Dealer and they managed to remove it with great difficulty.
Lesson learned and now I remove and regrease it annually.

devonp

ok, not sure if there is a metal recess/seat for the bearing or just bear carbon..?

8valve

There should be some form of metal insert built into the headtube that mates up perfectly with the new bearing when inserted into it?

CramCycle

Tony04 wrote: »

Any bike specific grease is designed for use with carbon of course you should grease it if you want to make it easier to take off the next time you replace it. Grease all the metal parts

Really? I was under the impression that many greases bikers might use are inappropriate with Carbon. Am I wrong?

rayman1

8valve wrote: »

There should be some form of metal insert built into the headtube that mates up perfectly with the new bearing when inserted into it?

It depends. My 2013 Giant Defy has a metal insert that the bearing race corroded to but with my 2016 Cube Attain Race the bearing fits directly into carbon so no chance of getting stuck.

mosstin

I have a Cannondale Super Six Evo which came with a bog-standard Aksium disc brake wheelset. I'm new to disc brakes so I'm looking to upgrade the wheelset - are all disc brake wheelsets compatible with disc brake bikes?

Type 17

rayman1 wrote: »

It depends. My 2013 Giant Defy has a metal insert that the bearing race corroded to but with my 2016 Cube Attain Race the bearing fits directly into carbon so no chance of getting stuck.

The Cube almost certainly has an aluminium reinforcement buried within the carbon - there's no way the bottom of a carbon head tube could take the loads/shocks without it (unless it was massive, to the point that it would add more weight than an alu reinforcement and ruin the aerodynamics/appearance)
Good design to bury it in the carbon fibre though, as the steel bearing shells react with the alu reinforcement in the presence of moisture, causing corrosion/jamming.

Type 17

mosstin wrote: »

I have a Cannondale Super Six Evo which came with a bog-standard Aksium disc brake wheelset. I'm new to disc brakes so I'm looking to upgrade the wheelset - are all disc brake wheelsets compatible with disc brake bikes?

You should confirm the axle type of the Aksium (I presume standard quick release with skewers, rather than through-axles), and also the width of the front & rear axles of them, and only look at new wheels with the same widths.

Axle widths are especially important with disc brakes - on bikes with rim brakes (and metal frames), you can get away with (but still shouldn't) putting wheels on with a few mm difference, but with disc brakes, if you stretch/compress the frame or fork even a few mm, the callipers will no longer be perpendicular to the axles, and you will get alignment problems (rubbing).

Tony04

If your bike has through axles on a road bike the standard is the exact same 12x142 12x100 so any thru axle road bike wheelset should fit.

If it has quick releases it most likely uses 5x135 in the rear 5x100 in the front. Alot of thru axle wheel sets come with qr adapters so you should be able to change it if you need so

dermabrasion

Question about 1 x11drives
I have a 1 x11, with an 11/28 cassette and a 42T narrow wide chain ring (GRX). The top end is obviously pretty limited.
I have a Bontrager Aeolus wheel set.
Question: Is it a big deal to change the free hub to an XDR on the bontarger? The plan would be to put a 3T 9/34 cassette on.

magicbastarder

the GRX RD comes in two versions - one with a 34 tooth max, the other with a 42 tooth max, so 34T should be fine. however, it has a min of 11 teeth, not 9.

Tony04

Shimanos derailleur capacity recommendations are known to be conservative but I dont know why you cant put a mtb 11-36 cassette or even a sram road 11-36 cassette on

dermabrasion

Thanks Lads
I know I can put a bigger cassette on like a 11-36, but its the top-end I was looking to change. Currently my chain ring is 42T, which on my 11/28 spins out when I hit around 48-50kph. The 3T cassette has a narrow range in the 28-40kph zone (ie.racing speed) but it has a bailout cassette for climbing. The simplicity of just changing the free-hub and cassette appealed.
So, if I stay with shimano, then I need to change both the chain-ring and the cassette to have a downhill gear and a climbing gear.
So, I could put a 46T with 11/34.

cletus

Weepsie wrote: »

Cutting a fork (or2)

Spacers are on, bars on.
I'd normally have a small 1mm spacer between bar and top cap too. Do i cut fork where itlines up with bars, or do I leave a few mm, or have it under a few mm.

Does it matter that much?

Is there only a 1mm spacer between stem and top cap?

Tony04

You've got to cut a few mm for top cap to compress properly as far as I'm aware, gmbn tech do a nice video on it.
Measure twice, cut once!

devonp

smallest spacer i have or seen are 3mm...

cletus

Tony04 wrote: »

You've got to cut a few mm for top cap to compress properly as far as I'm aware, gmbn tech do a nice video on it.
Measure twice, cut once!

It's this. That's why I was wondering if your spacer was only 1mm, you'd want to be pretty accurate with your cut.

Essentially, you need to make sure the cup is compressing on the spacer, not the top of the steerer tube

magicbastarder

i paid derek humphries €15 to do mine. to be fair, it was a carbon fork so i was taking no chances.

cletus

Weepsie wrote: »

I have 2 frames to be done including fork. I wish to both support them and save money.

What needs to be done with the frames

cletus

Weepsie wrote: »

I have 2 frames to be done including fork. I wish to both support them and save money.

Just thinking, a plumber's pipe cutter might be a good way to get a clean and level cut

Tony04

cletus wrote: »

Just thinking, a plumber's pipe cutter might be a good way to get a clean and level cut

Yeh they're the best option if you dont have a vice, although some cheaper ones are designed for pvc so mightnt be strong enough. Definitely better than holding a hack saw with the fork between your knees. Although if your cutting carbon you might want a carbon specific blade, for a better cut, you mightnt find on a pipe cutter.

Also be careful of carbon dust meant to be a bit dangerous to inhale.

magicbastarder

if they were aluminium, i have a mitre saw with a blade that can cut aluminium.

swarlb

A query more than anything, but can anyone point out when bikes 'changed'...
The last time I raced a bike was late 80's, and the last time I rode a bike in any reasonably long distant event was the last of the Dublin Belfast mar- cycles of the early/mid 90's.
Back then virtually all bikes were steel, with a few exceptions of Vitus and Alans... but basically everything was 'the same'.... cassette sprockets were reasonably new, and a rear sprocket bigger than 21 or 23 on a racer was probably unheard of, as was an inner ring smaller than 40 on the front, and you changed gear on the down tube. Tyres were 19mm wide, and disk brakes were on cars or motorbikes.
I dragged my old bike out of the cobwebs during the lockdown and went for a few spins. On chatting to a few people I met, I was curious at the width of tyre, and amused (maybe not the right word) at electronic gear shifters....
I feel like Rip Van Winkle in a strange new world....

cletus

Bikes, like every other technology, are always changing. There's no one discernible point where the Modal T turned into a Tesla, where Del Boy's portable phone turned into an iPhone, or where your steel racer turned into a carbon fibre di2 road bike.

What you will find is that there is a certain cache for bikes like the one you pulled out of the shed, steel being real, and all that.

cletus

Weepsie wrote: »

I have the cutting guide tool, hack saw and a file. It's not the cutting so much as the cutting it too much.

They're both touring frames, so want them fairly relaxed.

I cheapest out on the star nut tool too but will give that a go.

If you have the tools, then take of the top cap, arrange the spacers and stem how you would like them, and mark around the steerer tube using the top edge of the top spacer as a guide. Figure out the actual height of your top spacer, and make the cut somewhere between the top mark you made, and height of the top spacer. 2mm in the difference should be fine to get the clamping force you need