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

hesker

tdf7187 wrote: »

Can anyone help me with this, the gap between my rear derailleur and cassette seems far too large. Everywhere I look online says the gap should be between 5 and 9 mm depending on the bike, it is much larger than that on mine. I tried adjusting the gap adjuster ("B Screw") to little effect. Gear change functions ok, could be a little smoother:

What happens if you remove b screw altogether

Chain might be too long. Can you post a pic from a bit further away

tdf7187

^ Removed B-Screw, screwed it back in but only a few turns. Distance now better but still slightly too big, approx 1cm maybe a little more.

Yeah was thinking you meant chain too long rather than too short.

Weepsie

Weepsie wrote: »

Well i know this isn't normal and I certainly didn't notice it the other day, but did this morn.

What the video doesn't show is the BB itself moving quite a lot. I've never had that much play in a bb before.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/WRs8VLhJtuEtpRqq8

Bottom Bracket is maybe a year old, previous .

An update on this and as I had feared but dared not say, lbs thinks the threads have basically come unbonded from the frame.

My bike is dead, long live my bike. I just bought a campag groupset for it an all. This is incredibly poor timing.

ARX

Weepsie wrote: »

An update on this and as I had feared but dared not say, lbs thinks the threads have basically come unbonded from the frame.

My bike is dead, long live my bike. I just bought a campag groupset for it an all. This is incredibly poor timing.

fat bloke might have a spare frame lying around that he's not using ...

hesker

tdf7187 wrote: »

^ Removed B-Screw, screwed it back in but only a few turns. Distance now better but still slightly too big, approx 1cm maybe a little more.

Yeah was thinking you meant chain too long rather than too short.

Put the chain on big ring on front and second biggest on back and post a photo. The der should be fairly stretched out in that combo.

Do same for small small to see how wrapped the der is

Weepsie

ARX wrote: »

fat bloke might have a spare frame lying around that he's not using ...

I just sold him another bike and all! Me and Fat Bloke are being punished.

This was the only bike I looked after reasonably well too. New Groupset for it, new wheels.

only offer a 2 year warranty. I have it bang on 5 years and 2 weeks today.

tdf7187

hesker wrote: »

Put the chain on big ring on front and second biggest on back and post a photo. The der should be fairly stretched out in that combo.

hesker wrote: »

Do same for small small to see how wrapped the der is

Type 17

Chain is a few links too long - the official Shimano check is put the chain in the highest gear (biggest ring, smallest sprocket,) and the small silver bolts for the jockey wheels should be vertical, one above the other, or close to it.

tdf7187

Type 17 wrote: »

Chain is a few links too long - the official Shimano check is put the chain in the highest gear (biggest ring, smallest sprocket,) and the small silver bolts for the jockey wheels should be vertical, one above the other, or close to it.

Ah ok thanks. Edit: do you not mean lowest gear?

Wishbone Ash

The right cleat on one of my shoes is losing tightness on longer rides. It's not becoming visibly loose but requires about quarter of a turn of the bolts to tighten it again. It's not a big deal when solo but very annoying to others on a group ride as it begins to squeak (especially when climbing or out of the saddle).

I'm reluctant to use Loctite or similar products in case I won't be able to remove them again when required. I've never had this problem before. I can temporarily stop the squeaking by moving my heel slightly to the right (but it naturally drifts back to proper position).

Any advice/tips? Thanks.

Brian?

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

The right cleat on one of my shoes is losing tightness on longer rides. It's not becoming visibly loose but requires about quarter of a turn of the bolts to tighten it again. It's not a big deal when solo but very annoying to others on a group ride as it begins to squeak (especially when climbing or out of the saddle).

I'm reluctant to use Loctite or similar products in case I won't be able to remove them again when required. I've never had this problem before. I can temporarily stop the squeaking by moving my heel slightly to the right (but it naturally drifts back to proper position).

Any advice/tips? Thanks.

Use blue loctite and it'll be ok to remove. Don't use red

Speedplay cleat screws come pre coated in loctite, I'm surprised more don't

Wishbone Ash

Brian? wrote: »

Use blue loctite and it'll be ok to remove. Don't use red...

Great stuff thanks. I didn't know there are different types.

Brian?

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

Great stuff thanks. I didn't know there are different types.

Yeah, the blue stuff isn't hard to break at all. I've used it loads over the years in industrial settings.

MangleBadger

So my new wheels finally arrived. Spent the afternoon fighting with tyres and tubes. Forgot to put some rim tape on so punctured a tube. Also put the tyres on the wrong direction. Finally they’re ready to be mounted.
Open my new rotors and pads to find out the rotors did not come with lock rings. And my old wheels are 6 bolt.
Hopefully I can pick some lock rings up locally tomorrow.

hesker

tdf7187 wrote: »

Ah ok thanks. Edit: do you not mean lowest gear?

I would guess Type 17 means big front small back. Certainly do that test if that is the official one but I'll be honest from the photos you posted it doesn't look too long to me.

You could simulate what removing a few links would do by just putting a suitably sized object in between the big chainring and the chain. Or pull out the chain and fold over a couple of links.

I'd check also if your derailleur is pivoting freely where it is attached at the derailleur hanger.

07Lapierre

tdf7187 wrote: »

Can anyone help me with this, the gap between my rear derailleur and cassette seems far too large. Everywhere I look online says the gap should be between 5 and 9 mm depending on the bike, it is much larger than that on mine. I tried adjusting the gap adjuster ("B Screw") to little effect. Gear change functions ok, could be a little smoother:

How old is the chain and derailleur? They look well used/old in the photo? Is the derailleur working? Can you select all the gears?

If you put the bike in a work stand, remove the chain from the chainset and see if the derailleur moves freely? Maybe the main spring is clogged with dirt and is not allowing the derailleur to move up towards the cassette?

tdf7187

hesker wrote: »

I would guess tdf7187 means big front small back. Certainly do that test if that is the official one but I'll be honest from the photos you posted it doesn't look too long to me.

You could simulate what removing a few links would do by just putting a suitably sized object in between the big chainring and the chain. Or pull out the chain and fold over a couple of links.

I'd check also if your derailleur is pivoting freely where it is attached at the derailleur hanger.

Too late I'm afraid I've already removed a link. It's working fine, seems smoother.

tdf7187

07Lapierre wrote: »

How old is the chain and derailleur? They look well used/old in the photo? Is the derailleur working? Can you select all the gears?

If you put the bike in a work stand, remove the chain from the chainset and see if the derailleur moves freely? Maybe the main spring is clogged with dirt and is not allowing the derailleur to move up towards the cassette?

Chain and derailleur each under 6 months. Left out in the rain so may look older. Edit: They are actually older than I thought, 8 months, I looked at my receipts. Derailleur is working fine in the sense that I can select all gears but there is slippage on a small number of them (however, I haven't checked if any improvement since I did the adjustments referred to below).

I don't have a work stand unfortunately. The situation has improved since I unscrewed the B screw almost all the way out and removed some links from the chain.

Brian?

tdf7187 wrote: »

Chain and derailleur each under 6 months. Left out in the rain so may look older. Edit: They are actually older than I thought, 8 months, I looked at my receipts. Derailleur is working fine in the sense that I can select all gears but there is slippage on a small number of them (however, I haven't checked if any improvement since I did the adjustments referred to below).

I don't have a work stand unfortunately. The situation has improved since I unscrewed the B screw almost all the way out and removed some links from the chain.

Give your drive chain a good clean or there are more problems coming.

Type 17

tdf7187 wrote: »

Ah ok thanks. Edit: do you not mean lowest gear?

The lowest gear is smallest ring / biggest sprocket and the highest gear is biggest ring / smallest sprocket.

It's the ratio between input and output that gives us the term 'gear ratios'.

Vehicle gears are described as high or low because a low gear has a low output (wheel-speed) for a given input (pedal or engine-speed), and a high gear has a relatively high output for a given input.

Type 17

Brian? wrote: »

Use blue loctite and it'll be ok to remove. Don't use red

Speedplay cleat screws come pre coated in loctite, I'm surprised more don't

For anyone interested, here's a good webpage from Loctite about their various thread locking products and which one to use across different applications - useful technical stuff, rather than marketing blurb.

Brian?

Type 17 wrote: »

For anyone interested, here's a good webpage from Loctite about their various thread locking products and which one to use across different applications - useful technical stuff, rather than marketing blurb.

Interesting, I have only ever used 243 or 277.

I would advise anyone to use 243 on cleat screws, but I see this recommends 222 on bolts smaller than M6 so that's probably a better option.

It's important to only ever use one drop per screw as well!

Type 17

I'd be happy to use 243 on cleats because the torque needs to be relatively high for these small bolts, and 243 is rated for higher torques than 222.
However, even using 222 (or grease) is better than dry assembly, because wet (salty in winter) spray from the front wheel causes the bolts to rust solid, and then the Allen heads round out...

g0g

I know it's a MTB question not road bike, but more likely to be seen more in this thread. Looking at the Vitus Nucleus MTB and I see it has a "Box Four" 1X setup 8 speed. Has anyone come across this setup on other bikes and know much about it? I'm wondering for maintenance/repairs if those parts will be more difficult to come by or are becoming common? Any advice appreciated!
"For 2021 the Nucleus has received a threaded bottom bracket for increased durability and a wide range groupset thanks to the new Box Four drivetrain. A clutch activated rear mech, and a narrow-wide 1x chainring up front will keep you on the trails all day."

Type 17

I've only heard of them, and not used/serviced them, but they look ok, and the page for the 1x8 stuff has compatibility info, and it looks like it works with most Shimano standards (derailleur hangers, freehub bodies, etc), so should be ok.

I've no idea if their stuff works well or not, but the online reviews do look very good.

tdf7187

My derailleur manual says:

Gear Combination Largest sprocket to guide pulley distance
11-42T 5-6mm
11-36T 5-6mm
11-34T 5-6mm
11-32T 9-10mm

But the spec for my bike, a Carrera Crossfire, says the gear combination ratio is 14-28 which isn't listed above.

I should mention derailleur isn't the original, which was destroyed in an unfortunate incident involving some plastic tarpaulin.

How do I translate the ratio into the appropriate distance?

Edit: that said, the new derailleur the bike shop installed looks v similar to the original:

07Lapierre

tdf7187 wrote: »

My derailleur manual says:

Gear Combination Largest sprocket to guide pulley distance
11-42T 5-6mm
11-36T 5-6mm
11-34T 5-6mm
11-32T 9-10mm

But the spec for my bike, a Carrera Crossfire, says the gear combination ratio is 14-28 which isn't listed above.

I should mention derailleur isn't the original, which was destroyed in an unfortunate incident involving some plastic tarpaulin.

How do I translate the ratio into the appropriate distance?

Edit: the said, the new derailleur the bike shop installed looks v similar to the original:

Just adjust the B screw so the chain touches the 28 cog. Then unscrew the B screw by 1/4 or 1/2 turn, spin the pedals and see how the chain moves up and down the cassette. Repeat until its smooth. that's what id do anyway.

Pdoghue

Paul Kiernan wrote: »

Some of the earlier BH Quartz had QR before they switched to thru-axle. Which is yours? AFAIK they always used 1.125 to 1.5 tapered steerers. This type of carbon fork with thru-axles is the de-facto standard now and on almost every new mid to high level disc brake bike. It should be fairly easy to find, even from BH!

This saga is never ending!! I finally found out that BH don't make the QR compatible forks any more (my bike is 2017 model), so I have to get the thru-axle version (12 mm). I have to therefore get a new front wheel now. How do I know which front wheel is compatible with the new fork? And do I have to get a new rotor for the wheel?

tdf7187

07Lapierre wrote: »

Just adjust the B screw so the chain touches the 28 cog. Then unscrew the B screw by 1/4 or 1/2 turn, spin the pedals and see how the chain moves up and down the cassette. Repeat until its smooth. that's what id do anyway.

I've pretty much done that and it's fine. Guess there's no point in obsessing over the distance unless anyone else has input on the matter.

DaveyDave

Pdoghue wrote: »

This saga is never ending!! I finally found out that BH don't make the QR compatible forks any more (my bike is 2017 model), so I have to get the thru-axle version (12 mm). I have to therefore get a new front wheel now. How do I know which front wheel is compatible with the new fork? And do I have to get a new rotor for the wheel?

Most disc wheels should be 12mm thru axle as standard but some also support QR or 15mm with adaptors. You can use your old rotor if it matches the wheel, if it's 6 bolt rotor on a Centrelock wheel you can get an adaptor which is probably cheaper than buying a new rotor.

Bolt thru = thru axle. HH12 = 12mm.

Keep in mind Centrelock have two lockrings, external toothing (bottom bracket style) or internal toothing (cassette style)