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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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Type 17

While you might have the cage nice and close to the teeth of the big ring, when the chain drops to the small ring, and the RD is on a relatively small sprocket you may find the chain fouls on the cage - it depends on the FD model and what type of bike it's meant for.

Look at how far around the rings the FD cage extends - ones for triples and older MTBs are very deep (top to bottom) and will take any ring-difference, but older FDs (eg:for 42/52) are very shallow and therefore limited:

F005QGQGTWPB2WY.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&crop=3:2&width=600&height=1024&fit=bounds&md=c3256c2cf24107a1529198f20092ea02

F005QGQGTWPB2WY.jpg?auto=webp&frame=1&crop=3:2&width=600&height=1024&fit=bounds&md=c3256c2cf24107a1529198f20092ea02

Vintage-SUNTOUR-CYCLONE-Mark-II-Front-Derailleur-Clamp-On-286mm.jpg

Planet X

Never had a MTB before.

OK.......First "kinda" mountain bike. Kona Unit. New.

Bought new tyres, Schwalbe Marathon Mondial 28 x 2" to replace, what came on the bike, WTB Ranger TCS 2.6"

Struggling. Tyres off, new Schwalbes on but cannot seat anything. I think this is because the inner tubes in the WTB's state, 2.5" to 3.0".
I have new matching tubes.......in work. Didn't think I'd need them.

So, is it the 2.5" to 3.0" inner tubes that won't let me seat the 2" tyres?
Think so.

wheelo01

Quick question, I have hydraulic disk brakes on my road bike, should i buy resin or steel replacement pads, it's only leisure/fitness cycling (max70km (occasional 100)) i do.

Shimano BR-R7070 brakes

Cheers

magicbastarder

what's the difference in price between the options?
i wouldn't worry so much as to their 'everyday' use, i'd be more concerned with maintenance and confidence in them. you want to judge them by how good they are when you *need* them.

CramCycle

Either will do the job, I would just pick the ones that fit and are available.

magicbastarder

i would not be so quick to decide 'any brake pad will do' (as i'd previously done) after buying BBB pads for my rear brake, and them turning to butter at the first sign of any crud getting on them, and being quite simply impossible to clean. only pads i've ever had that issue with.

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

i would not be so quick to decide 'any brake pad will do' (as i'd previously done) after buying BBB pads for my rear brake, and them turning to butter at the first sign of any crud getting on them, and being quite simply impossible to clean. only pads i've ever had that issue with.

I was more thinking of, lets say, between resin or metal, one beds in quicker and one lasts longer but if they are both lets say Shimano equivalents with the actual brake part the only difference, it won't make a huge difference unless you are going off road, both will stop you.

wheelo01

magicbastarder wrote: »

what's the difference in price between the options?
i wouldn't worry so much as to their 'everyday' use, i'd be more concerned with maintenance and confidence in them. you want to judge them by how good they are when you *need* them.

Theres about 6 Euro difference, both are Shimano parts, both are available.

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-k04s-metal-disc-brake-pads-541324

Vs

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-k03s-resin-disc-brake-pads-806533

They came with resin, and I've no real problem that I noticed with them

I hadn't thought of spurious parts, but I might have to look em up now

cletus

I've often wondered about consumables for bikes, and whether it was similar to consumables for cars.

Case in point. Mate of mine insisted on only ever putting VW brand brake pads on his Golf. Didn't matter what you said,you couldn't convince him that there were spurious brands that were as good as he was buying from the main dealer, but even more to the point, you couldn't convince him that Volkswagen weren't actually manufacturing those pads.

So when Shimano sell branded pads, cables, grease, chains, etc. how much is actually made in-house?

CramCycle

Can you buy the K03S or K04S in multipacks like you can for other brake pads, I can't find them anywhere but I bought a 25 pack of B01S which knocked off 33% of the already discounted price. For the price of them I would be happy to get something like that for these ones.

CramCycle

cletus wrote: »

I've often wondered about consumables for bikes, and whether it was similar to consumables for cars.

Case in point. Mate of mine insisted on only ever putting VW brand brake pads on his Golf. Didn't matter what you said,you couldn't convince him that there were spurious brands that were as good as he was buying from the main dealer, but even more to the point, you couldn't convince him that Volkswagen weren't actually manufacturing those pads.

So when Shimano sell branded pads, cables, grease, chains, etc. how much is actually made in-house?

I presume they make most of it in house but certain things they probably just QA and order from suppliers.

On the same note, does anyone know of any alternatives to the K03S from other brands?

wheelo01

Okay, that is my homework for tonight sorted - See if I can find spurious versions at a much reduced price (or its just not worth it), or multi-packs.

Challenge accepted

Roadtoad

Fitting a new hanger to my Giant Defy:

I over-torqued the tiny screws, and ran the frame threads (I didn't really, I used the lightest of touches!).

What are my options?

I've used Heli Coil in larger problems, but I'd really value an opinion from those who have repaired bicycle threads.

cletus

Roadtoad wrote: »

Fitting a new hanger to my Giant Defy:

I over-torqued the tiny screws, and ran the frame threads (I didn't really, I used the lightest of touches!).

What are my options?

I've used Heli Coil in larger problems, but I'd really value an opinion from those who have repaired bicycle threads.

What size holes and screws?

You should be able to drill and tap to take slightly larger screws, assuming you have the tools.

Could you take s picture or two?

If you decide to drill and tap, there are certain hole sizes that go with certain tap sizes to ensure proper thread engagement.

CramCycle

Roadtoad wrote: »

Fitting a new hanger to my Giant Defy:

I over-torqued the tiny screws, and ran the frame threads (I didn't really, I used the lightest of touches!).

What are my options?

I've used Heli Coil in larger problems, but I'd really value an opinion from those who have repaired bicycle threads.

Is it disc brake or rim brake, having lost the tiny bolt on an old disc brake bike, you can simply hold it in as you screw in the thru axle, although you have to keep an eye as it can work loose. If its not disc and thru axle, is it far enough away from the wheel hub that you could put a small nut and bolt in or does it only partly go in?

Type 17

The screws for hangers are only to hold it (and the RD) in place while the rear wheel is out of the frame.
If you can't fit the screws, you can still fit the wheel/ride the bike, but it can be a bit annoying when the RD & hanger fall about (and they can turn around and tangle the RD cable and chain) when the wheel is out, but once you have the wheel in and the hanger lined up, then it won't matter whether there are bolts in the hanger or not.

You could also try using an appropriate size of self-tapper screws, if you can get ones with small enough countersunk screw-heads.

wheelo01

wheelo01 wrote: »

Okay, that is my homework for tonight sorted - See if I can find spurious versions at a much reduced price (or its just not worth it), or multi-packs.

Challenge accepted

So, I can't find any multi packs, nor any spurious parts that are stupidly low prices, so I am just going to buy them from bikediscount .de, however they charge €10 for delivery, so I was going to get some mineral oil, is this too good to be true?

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/barbieri-mineral-oil-1-litre-for-hydraulic-disc-brakes-1064525

I'm also going to get two sets (front and rear).

Does anyone want to add anything to my basket, to get value for the €10 delivery (I'll pay the delivery, I just can't see any other items to add to my basket)?

[Deleted User]

wheelo01 wrote: »

So, I can't find any multi packs, nor any spurious parts that are stupidly low prices, so I am just going to buy them from bikediscount .de, however they charge €10 for delivery, so I was going to get some mineral oil, is this too good to be true?

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/barbieri-mineral-oil-1-litre-for-hydraulic-disc-brakes-1064525

I'm also going to get two sets (front and rear).

Does anyone want to add anything to my basket, to get value for the €10 delivery (I'll pay the delivery, I just can't see any other items to add to my basket)?

Can you add this on your credit card and I'll fix you up later for it

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/cervelo-caledonia-5-ultegra-di2-1057939

magicbastarder

wheelo01, you have my permission to call his bluff, and do it. and the rest of us will act as witness that he entered into a contract with you.

wheelo01

Deleted User wrote: »

Can you add this on your credit card and I'll fix you up later for it

https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/cervelo-caledonia-5-ultegra-di2-1057939

What size mate??

[Deleted User]

wheelo01 wrote: »

What size mate??

Too bad for my short arse, they only have 56 and 58 in stock

a148pro

When lubing chain do people just put bottle in contact with the chain and spin it through maintaining a regular pressure on the bottle to ensure approximately the right amount goes out? Or do you go through each chain link and lube individually? I can never find the chain link and can rarely see where the lube has or hasn't gone so get annoyed with the latter and just do a plough on, then rub off excess.

These are clearly the pressing issues of our times.

magicbastarder

one small drop on each link. the quick links i use are usually easy to spot.

rayman1

a148pro wrote: »

When lubing chain do people just put bottle in contact with the chain and spin it through maintaining a regular pressure on the bottle to ensure approximately the right amount goes out? Or do you go through each chain link and lube individually? I can never find the chain link and can rarely see where the lube has or hasn't gone so get annoyed with the latter and just do a plough on, then rub off excess.

These are clearly the pressing issues of our times.

I spin the chain. Life's too short to do 110 individual links

CramCycle

rayman1 wrote: »

I spin the chain. Life's too short to do 110 individual links

+1, it should not take much more than 10 seconds

AaronEnnis

Any tips for putting on an indoor turbo tyre? I ordered it from Decathlon and it arrived completely out of shape and folded, finding it very tricky to keep enough of a shape to put it on like a regular tyre.

wheelo01

I had a bit of a mechanical while out today- bike felt like the brakes had engaged and were trying to slow down. (Rear wheel)
Removed the brake pads, wheel still wouldn't spin freely. Loosened the skewer by about one full turn as I was going to take the wheel off, and it spun freely. Left it like that and limped it home.
I took the wheel off when I got home, freed the 2.5mm Allen key, spun the nut(?) Off, pulled on the axle, and the cassette stayed attached - is this normal? Or is this where my problem lies?

magicbastarder

freed which 2.5mm allen key? is it a through axle?

wheelo01

Yes, skewers, I believe they're called, fulcrum racing 66 wheels

CramCycle

Possibly your skewers weren't tight in the first place and a small bump put the wheel at a funny angle, try and put the wheel back in and see does it work?