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

Went out to the shed when I got home from work, Weepsie. Unfortunately, I don't have a bolt, or a threading die, of the right size.

I will be in Ted Johnson's hardware on Thursday. They have the widest range of odd sized hardware I've ever seen. If they have a suitable bolt, I'll pick one up, it'll only be cents

Are you 100% definite that the front derailleur is correctly adjusted? in my experience they are more finnicky than the rear derailleur.

Other things to check

Check the crankset and bottom bracket

If the crankset is loose, it can move sideways during pedaling, which can allow the chain to come off. So make sure the crankarms are securely attached and that there’s no side-to-side play in the crankarm or bottom bracket. Some bottom brackets can be tightened. Worn out ones will need to be replaced, but they’re not overly expensive.

Check the chainrings

If the chainrings wobble side to side, that can throw the chain off, too. Loose chainring bolts can cause this, so check all of them with the appropriate wrench to ensure they’re tight. Once you know the bolts are tight, check the chainrings to make sure they spin straight and true. Just sight from above as you turn the crank by hand. If there are wobbles, you should true the chainrings or have it done (you don’t need new chainrings).

Check the lower derailleur pulley

Sometimes the lower pulley (called the idler pulley) will be misaligned with the chain. Since its job is steering the chain correctly, when it gets bent, it can cause the chain to drop. The easiest way to see this problem is to stand behind the bicycle as someone else shifts through all the gears. The pulley should remain perfectly aligned with the chain. If the chain is trying to come off the side of the pulley in some gears (usually toward the outside shifting limits), gently bending the pulley back in line could solve your chain drop.

Edited to add: have you checked that the serailleur is alligned correctly with the chain?

No except you must use carbon paste and not grease to lube inside the seat tube. If you use grease, the seat post will keep slipping down.

Yeah, just google bolt on skewers, security skewers, or allen key skewers

The cranks on my bike are not spinning freely. I took them off and the bottom bracket on drive side whilst turning is a bit rough/gravelly whilst on non drive side it’s very difficult to get it to spin/turn at all. It’s a press fit on an alu frame, about 6 years old. Is the bb toast or can it be cleaned in some way?

If it is toast, is it worth buying the tools to extract and fit a new one myself? I like to be able to do most things at home but am wondering if replacing bb is a step too far for someone who just tinkers around? Maybe with an alu frame there’s less chance of an expensive cock up?

I've had this on the bike for near 5000km now and I've only just changed the battery this morning, very easy to do. Simple to fit to the crank and very cheap. Also connects easily with the Garmen. Would recommend if you are looking to keep costs to a minimum.

Thanks for the advice. I tried to knock the bearings out today. I did get them out but had damaged some of the bb sleeve in process. Sourced a new bb and fitted it using some washers and a threaded bar.

It was a satisfying job to do, especially when the bearings flew off. Hammering the **** out of things is about my level 😂 I’m not sure that I’d take it on with a carbon frame though where a bit more finesse than I possess is required.

The cranks are back on and all seems much smoother. I’ll take it for a spin tomorrow and fingers crossed all ok.

Tidy!

Looking at the markings, it seems like if you push the saddle all the way back it will be not overly supported by the bottom of the clamp, so I would only push it back as far as it is supported by the clamp.

I got a new hplus son archetype rim to replace the identical old one on front wheel; it's had zero servicing in about 40k km but today was the day( I have rim for at least 6 months).

Part 1

All laced and ready to take up slack

All finished and ready for the road.

The old rim, should hang on wall I suppose 😉.

Front and rear done now, not bad for a wheelset bought 2nd hand in 2014

Just before Christmas, I picked up a second hand Liv Avail SL1 for my partner. It had been bought but never used as the purchaser had an unrelated accident and was advised to never cycle again.

I didn't notice it at the time, and even if I had would have assumed an easy fix, that the saddle was misaligned - it points to the left of the steerer. It's far enough off straight to be causing her discomfort on the left side (the side it's pointing to). Only this week we took a closer look and it looks like the seat post (carbon) is most likely glued to the saddle mount, and it's not straight. There's a step at each side where it's misaligned. The seat post has a D-shaped profile - called auto align - so it's not something that can be addressed by just twisting the tube in the frame.

I can't see a way for it to be anything but a manufacturing error, but the bike was originally bought in June 20, so it's outside of warranty for components. My partner's contacted the bike shop that sold it anyway (she has the receipt) but I'm not sure the chances of a goodwill replacement of the seat post.

Question is: is it likely to be glued and is there a way of straightening it up?

Hmmmm, a tricky one. If it were mine, I'd have a go at straightening it but there are a number of ways of going about it (that I can think of):

1) Strike the nose of the saddle with your hand in an effort to realign it (with the seatpost and saddle in-situ in the bike).

2) Place something over the saddle (like a large diameter pipe) and use that as leverage to realign the saddle (again with the seatpost and saddle in-situ in the bike).

3) Remove the seatpost, clamp it using soft jaws in a vice and attempt to realign the saddle by hand.

It may be risky, and the above methods are only what I may attempt if I had the bike in my hands. I don't want to misguide you and take no responsibility if you damage the frame and/or components.

I believe that seatpost is common across a fair few Giant models (open to correction) so there's a good chance you could pick up a spare online. A quick look on eBay has given some potentials. I'd say the shop where the bike was bought is a good place to start anyway...

Could you get wider rim tape that would cover that spot?

I'd be suggesting filing it too. It'll be tricky to get a hand file on there, but if you have, or have access to, a Dremel, that would be the easiest solution

Probably not the solution you're looking for, the replacements are available, particularly if you decide to try and adjust it and it doesn't work out