Today I did something to my bike thread...

dvntie

New saddle mudguards and brakeset for the "winter" bike

OldBean

Mounted some Axiom lowrider racks onto my Genesis CdF...



Then filled my panniers with beer...



Great success.

xxyyzz

New bike arrived with slx brakes, swapped them out for my existing xt brakes, set up tubeless tyres, took bike for first spin and fell off and broke brake lever. Ordered new xt brake and swapped out the old one. Hopefully the next spin will be less expensive

xxyyzz

New bike arrived with slx brakes, swapped them out for my existing xt brakes, set up tubeless tyres, took bike for first spin and fell off and broke brake lever. Ordered new xt brake and swapped out the old one. Hopefully the next spin will be less expensive

Alek

OldBean wrote:

Mounted some Axiom lowrider racks onto my Genesis CdF...

How do you find steering on front-loaded cdf? Did you have any load on the back?

OldBean

Alek wrote: »

How do you find steering on front-loaded cdf? Did you have any load on the back?

Not too bad at all, considering it's the '11 model which didn't come with rack mounts on the front, hence using the Axioms.

That said, my panniers are tiny 4L guys.

Nothing at all on the bag. I was between these racks or a Carradice saddlebag.

G1032

Just in from the garage
Chain rubbing off the rear derailleur cage on my spin today. Checked the hanger alignment and it was a fair bit out. Was full sure I'd break the hanger when attempting to realign but I've somehow managed to get away with it and get it aligned. (don't have a spare either).
A couple of minutes then to re-index the gears and thankfully now it's pretty much perfect again.
Gotta go order a new hanger now. Need a spare.

brownian

Rear brake cable snapped. Never happens, but it's internally routed, and where the housing enters the frame (at the front end), the bars had gotten over-twisted when fighting with a bike rack. The housing snapped, but it all worked fine, so I ignored it...then yesterday the brake stopped working. On top of Kippure....

Anyway, got it home, got the old cable out (wrecked), then fiddled the new cable into the frame and out the other (rear) end. That took a few tries, but then out she popped. The rest was easy. Just waiting on some new bar tape from CRC, and we're back on the road.

Rogue-Trooper

Replaced the cassette & chain yesterday. Had never attempted it myself before - had always let the LBS do it, assuming there was some great expertise & dark magic involved. Watched a couple of youtube vids and off I went.

Couldn't believe how easy it was! It's amazing how your mind convinces you that some simple things are impossible. Delighted I also got to finally use the chain whip & cassette tool in my tool kit!

That said, was relieved to get to the bottom of the hill in Howth this morning with all essential bike parts still attached.......

OleRodrigo

OldBean wrote: »

Mounted some Axiom lowrider racks onto my Genesis CdF...


Great success.

They look lovely. A bit like Giles Berthoud:

Alek

Recently I morphed my Croix de Fer into a tourer.

Tubus Vega and Tara racks, Gilles Berthoud stainless mudguards, Sora 3x9 groupset, Vittoria Hyper 38mm tyres, shorter and reversed stem. Only compact bars and tape to be done:





BTW, it handles super steadily when front-loaded.

route66

Alek wrote: »

Recently I morphed my Croix de Fer into a tourer.

... Only compact bars and tape to be done:

Saddle a bit low at the front?

Nice rig btw!

Alek

Only slightly, I prefer it pointed down a bit. Cheers

dvntie

Replaced all the cables and outers on my good bike. New tape and hoods after the winter sweating indoors was required.
Nothing like the smell of brand new bar tape ;-)

OldBean

Nice work Alek - I find it much nicer carrying on the front.

OleRodrigo wrote: »

They look lovely. A bit like Giles Berthoud:

Yep - They're GB alright - Quality is amazing, but bloody expensive though. I bought them thinking they were 15L each (At about 200 quid...) and when they landed, it was 7.5L each, 15L with the two.

I'm saving up for their taller handlebar bag at the moment for my other ride.

OleRodrigo

OldBean wrote: »

Yep - They're GB alright - Quality is amazing, but bloody expensive though. I bought them thinking they were 15L each (At about 200 quid...) and when they landed, it was 7.5L each, 15L with the two.

I'm saving up for their taller handlebar bag at the moment for my other ride.

They are pricey alright. Was looking at the smaller 5L bar bag myself, the carradice saddle bag I'm currently using can be a bit fiddly. However, am wondering if it's best to just travel light and get some new wheels instead

OldBean

Have a look at Velo Orange's bar bags - I have the GB replica and have found it great so far, but ultimately too small for what I want. Still 170 cheaper though.

OleRodrigo

Thanks I will. Would like to avoid a mounting frame if at all possible, though, so I might take another look at the new Carradice keswick.

Lots of options anyway.

route66

After its recent Christmas overhaul, my Trek FX 7.3 needed some work in the drivetrain department. I ordered up a new chain, cassette (11 - 32t) and bottom bracket (68 X 122.5) from Chainreaction.

Amazingly enough, it all went very well, I correctly did righty-loosey when removing the drive-side bottom bracket, the cassette was easy to replace and the quick-links made the chain removal and replacement a doddle. All this with my Aldi tool kit.

A few observations that may be of help to others:

1. When I replaced the wheels at Christmas, I found it a bit hard to put the QR back on. I've since discovered that this was because the new wheels were for a road bike which have 130mm frame spacing rather than the 135mm of the Trek frame - typical for Mountain bikes and most Hybrids. I put about 5mm of washers on the non-drive side of the axle. Luckily there was room and now is all ok. The best solution would be the buy 135mm spaced wheels in the first place but it's too late for that now; the washer solution isn't perfect but it's better than leaving the aluminum frame permanently compressed by an over-stretched QR.
2. I removed the 2 jockey wheels, cleaned and lubed them. The 2 wheels are different so be sure to put them back where they came from!

cdaly_

route66 wrote: »

When I replaced the wheels at Christmas, I found it a bit hard to put the QR back on. I've since discovered that this was because the new wheels were for a road bike which have 130mm frame spacing rather than the 135mm of the Trek frame - typical for Mountain bikes and most Hybrids. I put about 5mm of washers on the non-drive side of the axle. Luckily there was room and now is all ok. The best solution would be the buy 135mm spaced wheels in the first place but it's too late for that now; the washer solution isn't perfect but it's better than leaving the aluminum frame permanently compressed by an over-stretched QR.

I would worry about this. Your weight is now being supported by the QR skewer instead of the wheel axle and is probably unsafe. It may be possible to replace the 130mm axle with a 135mm or there may be proper adaptors available...

route66

cdaly_ wrote: »

I would worry about this. Your weight is now being supported by the QR skewer instead of the wheel axle and is probably unsafe. It may be possible to replace the 130mm axle with a 135mm or there may be proper adaptors available...

Hopefully it's ok:

Even with the washers installed, there is still some axle protruding into the dropouts on that side. Less than would be the case if the wheels were 135mm, but enough to ensure it's the axle doing the supporting.

The wheels are basic Shimano R501s - is it possible to get a longer axle or what are the adapters called?

Thanks!

Cee-Jay-Cee

route66 wrote: »

A few observations that may be of help to others:

1. When I replaced the wheels at Christmas, I found it a bit hard to put the QR back on. I've since discovered that this was because the new wheels were for a road bike which have 130mm frame spacing rather than the 135mm of the Trek frame - typical for Mountain bikes and most Hybrids. I put about 5mm of washers on the non-drive side of the axle. Luckily there was room and now is all ok. The best solution would be the buy 135mm spaced wheels in the first place but it's too late for that now; the washer solution isn't perfect but it's better than leaving the aluminum frame permanently compressed by an over-stretched QR.
2. I removed the 2 jockey wheels, cleaned and lubed them. The 2 wheels are different so be sure to put them back where they came from!

Would it not have made more sense to put a washer (or two) on either side so as not to have the wheel spaced incorrectly to one side?

route66

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

Would it not have made more sense to put a washer (or two) on either side so as not to have the wheel spaced incorrectly to one side?

It might - the reason I put them all on the Non-Drive side was to not upset the alignment of the rear derailleur.

I'll have a look again tonight to double-check that the overlap on the ND side is enough to support the wheel. If it's not, then I can distribute the washers evenly and adjust the derailleur to suit.

Thanks for the advice !

TychoCaine

The r501 is a road bike wheel, so wouldn't be designed for a hybrid. Still, it's a standard cup & cone axle, so your local bike shop should have a 135mm axle in stock that'll work. They just need to swap the cones over and add 5mm of spacers.

dancrowley

Had the chromoly version in black but thought the stainless version in red would suit the bike better. Looking forward to thrashing them up and down the bergs this weekend!

dvntie

So after a couple of months of tinkering the last piece of the winter build is finally on.
Sram force/rival mix with oval rings and of course, the ever essential in this country, mud guards. The only piece of the build that o needed help on was installing the crown race on the forks. All the rest I did myself.

LollipopJimmy

I had left my bike into LBS to have a chain and BB replaced, would have done both jobs myself but lack of the chain breaking tool and the BB tool meant I had to leave it in.
I had been using a local chap who opened a small shop, nice fella but turns out he's a clown. While my bike was in he decided to close down, took me a few days of chasing to get my bike back.
Anyway I finally got my bike back with the work done. Took the bike out yesterday morning to head to the gym before work only to discover the front mech won't drop onto the bottom ring. I should know better than to get other people to do work and should have adopted the same policy I used with cars over the years and that was to but any tools needed and do the work myself.
So I went to sort the problem this evening myself thinking it would just be a simple adjustment, turns out the mech was on crooked as well as the limits being set all wrong. Fixed now though and I got to give the mech a good clean while it was partially removed which pleases me, I like to clean moving parts!

The aul wall hanger has earned it's keep since this bike arrived



Little chip out of the paint, will probably require a new bike



Manky bike



Moar Manky :eek:



Trusty Tools, handy set this for quick jobs, need to pick bike specific tools, if anybody could suggest a good set, I have all the sockets, spanners, screwdrivers, hammers (hide and rubber included) allen and hex sets I could ever need so just the bike specific stuff needed



Cleaning the mech



Never ever ever put a dirty nut or bolt back onto anything. Details details details...
Before

After


Then my battery died so no more pics. But all is well, back to perfect shifting and no noise

traprunner

Just cleaned the road bike again. I'm hoping for dry weather so it out dry lube on it. Should save cleaning so soon again. Also put on new Grand Prix 4000S II tyres on it and the gatorskins are stored for the winter. Also took off the mudguards. Now for the weather to screw me over!

LollipopJimmy

Snap.. Mine got a good clean tonight, although I went with the wet lube

Chemicals Guys V7, love this stuff and it smells awesome



Shiney Shiney



A couple of coats of wax now and then just a squirt of the V7 every couple of weeks will have it shining for months. I can't cope with the bike being dirty

LollipopJimmy

New shoes, needed some new (to me) wheels. Fed up with the crap stock wheels constantly leaving me stuck. The difference even with a cheap set is unreal, went for a few pints last night and even though a little bit tired and emotional this morning after locking myself out of the house at 3am when letting the dog do his business and having to resort to sleeping in the shed until my neighbor with the spare key woke up, I managed to knock 4 minutes off my commute without any extra effort