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

Flaccus

Not a MTB but a brand new CaadX....wheels are 28 spoke and as 100KG+ I do expect spokes to loose a bit as they bed in. Bike shop agrees and says it ok and have noticed some spoke flex on each hub. But also noticed only after maybe 30km, slight kink on a spoke on the rear near the nipple and a worse one on the front.  See attachment which shows front spoke.  It's not loose or anything and wheel it true.  Shop says they can straighten it or should I just get it replaced.  Obviously a wheel with a higher spoke count is the long term answer.

CramCycle

Flaccus wrote: »

Not a MTB but

Not an answer to your question but this part, it took me awhile to realise that MB refers to magicbastarder rather than mountain bike (I hope or else, your right, as I always thought from the very beginning).

In regards to the actual question, straighten it will work but it will already be weakened, which will actually get worse. Replace as soon as you can but overall a stronger rim will serve you better than a higher rim count IMO

Zen0

I can't say I'm that impressed with the wheels Cannondale put on the CAADX. I managed to break several spokes in my back wheel about a year after purchase. I'm not that heavy (65Kg), although I do commute with it with a pannier on the back and tend to be quite hard on it. Still, a well made wheel shouldn't be breaking spokes that easily. I eventually found replacement spokes of the right length and replaced the broken ones. I also tightened up a number of loose spokes, which doesn't speak well of the original construction. Has been holding up this past year. The spokes were a slightly narrower gauge, but it doesn't seem to have made a differenced (I'm no expert in wheel building, so I'm open to correction on the wisdom of mixing spoke gauges).

I'm not sure I buy the heavier rim thing. A wheel is an engineered whole; what makes the wheel strong is the quality of the build with reasonable components. Sure, you could put a huge heavy rim on it and it might be a bit stronger, but not if it's not built right and it would feel like riding a farm gate. Measure the spokes and try replacing the broken one, and tighten up the rest taking care not to untrue the wheel. If that fails, Mavic Aksium discs are not bad replacements.

Flaccus

Zen0 wrote: »

I can't say I'm that impressed with the wheels Cannondale put on the CAADX.

Thanks for the info. The shop guy speaking from experience reckoned the spokes getting a little loose around the hub is them settling in and is ideal for a heavier rider (100KG plus) as a spoke perfectly tightened would tend to snap. You can actually move them slightly near the hub though solid at the nipple. He reckoned this was a good thing. While a spoke that adapts to your weight and a is a bit flexible sounds fine but I would be concerned about wheel going of true. He maintained the down force from my significant weight would prevent that and just check the wheel every now and again. He had some documentation to back this up as well incidentally.

Anyway I'm back in 2 weeks for a tuneup and the mechanic will either straighten the 2 spokes or replace them. The solution might be 2 new wheels with perhaps a 36 spoke count, that can take a 37mm tire and support disc brakes, with new hubs. Rear one needs to support a 34t cassette. What's the story with CRC's shimano custom wheel builder ? Anyone tried it ?

Weepsie

Anyone know if it's possible to buy an m15and m26 self extracting bolt in a normal hardware store? 15 quid for 2 bolts is not what I want to pay.

Mikenesson

Can you adjust the limit screws on a tiagra RD so the derailleur moves between cogs 2-7 on an 8 speed?

I'm changing to 1 chainring on the front,it's an old bike,thanks

Type 17

Mikenesson wrote: »

Can you adjust the limit screws on a tiagra RD so the derailleur moves between cogs 2-7 on an 8 speed?

I'm changing to 1 chainring on the front,it's an old bike,thanks

I'd be surprised if you couldn't lose just one cog at each end. More than that is doubtful though.

magicbastarder

Mikenesson wrote: »

Can you adjust the limit screws on a tiagra RD so the derailleur moves between cogs 2-7 on an 8 speed?

I'm changing to 1 chainring on the front,it's an old bike,thanks

you know about the role of the front derailleur in helping keep the chain on? are you also changing the spider (or whatever it's called) on the front, i.e. placing the new chainring in the centre of where the two old ones would have been?

Mikenesson

magicbastarder wrote: »

you know about the role of the front derailleur in helping keep the chain on? are you also changing the spider (or whatever it's called) on the front, i.e. placing the new chainring in the centre of where the two old ones would have been?

Hi
I adjusted the limits to stop at 2 and 7 on the back as i don't use them anyway

I still have the FD on at the moment and have fitted a shinamo triple chainring I got cheap on CRC,i also adjusted the FD to stop shifting to the large ring which i don't use either.

I've got new jockey wheels on the way ,so I'll see how it works out.

Type 17

magicbastarder wrote: »

you know about the role of the front derailleur in helping keep the chain on? are you also changing the spider (or whatever it's called) on the front, i.e. placing the new chainring in the centre of where the two old ones would have been?

This is a good point - my city hack (single front & 7-speed rear) has a front derailleur with no cable, held in the correct position by the lower limit screw, because the chain would fall off the front ring whenever the bike hit a bump whilst I was changing gear (happened every few days, on average).

I also changed the BB axle length and moved the (44t, originally inner) chainring to the outside of the spider, to place the front ring in between my favourite two sprockets (4 & 5 of the 7).

Mikenesson

Type 17 wrote: »

This is a good point - my city hack (single front & 7-speed rear) has a front derailleur with no cable, held in the correct position by the lower limit screw, because the chain would fall off the front ring whenever the bike hit a bump whilst I was changing gear (happened every few days, on average).

I also changed the BB axle length and moved the (44t, originally inner) chainring to the outside of the spider, to place the front ring in between my favourite two sprockets (4 & 5 of the 7).

Does the chain not rub off the fixed FD in the highest and lowest gears?

I have to adjust mine slightly when going from high to low

magicbastarder

sorry, i might not have been clear - what i was referring to was cross-chaining. as in, if you have decided to 'lock' the bike into the small chainring, there's nothing to gain by removing access to the largest cog on the cassette.
the concern is that if - for example - you shift to the large chainring, and the largest cog on the cassette, you're causing extra wear in asking the chain to cross from the extreme right at the front to the extreme left on the back, it'll wear your chain out more quickly.
if you're removed the ability to shift to the large chainring, there's nothing to be gained by removing access to the largest ring on the cassette. not sure if i'm explaining this well...

Type 17

It would do, but I re-shaped the cage with a pliers at the appropriate point. I rarely use the last (highest) sprocket anyway, but the rubbing was a bit annoying for the occasional times I was drafting busses descending steep hills.

Mikenesson

magicbastarder wrote: »

sorry, i might not have been clear - what i was referring to was cross-chaining. as in, if you have decided to 'lock' the bike into the small chainring, there's nothing to gain by removing access to the largest cog on the cassette.
the concern is that if - for example - you shift to the large chainring, and the largest cog on the cassette, you're causing extra wear in asking the chain to cross from the extreme right at the front to the extreme left on the back, it'll wear your chain out more quickly.
if you're removed the ability to shift to the large chainring, there's nothing to be gained by removing access to the largest ring on the cassette. not sure if i'm explaining this well...

I don't quite understand

I closed off 1 and 8 as i don't use them and to prevent chain falling off and angling.

Front chainring is roughly centred on rear cassette

I'm only guessing myself atm.
I'm not sure what to do with the FD .I presume I'll have to leave on in some form to prevent the chain flying off?

Mikenesson

Type 17 wrote: »

It would do, but I re-shaped the cage with a pliers at the appropriate point. I rarely use the last (highest) sprocket anyway, but the rubbing was a bit annoying for the occasional times I was drafting busses descending steep hills.

So you have the FD fixed and bent to allow chain move freely across all the gears.

Is it sufficient then to stop the chain jumping off the front chainring?

I'm thinking I will copy what you've done if that's the case?

Type 17

Yes, works perfectly.
I set it to *just* not rub on the inside of the cage when in the lowest/biggest sprocket, and then shifted to the smallest sprocket, and levered the outer part of the cage about 1-2 mm to cure the rubbing. I had to be careful not to go too far, or the crank arm would have hit the bent cage (old-school road bike cranks with narrow Q-factor). You can decide to raise or lower the FD on the tube to get the best guidance with the minimum rubbing/bending requirement - the usual rule about FD cage-height doesn't apply if it's not doing any shifting.

magicbastarder

CramCycle wrote: »

Not an answer to your question but this part, it took me awhile to realise that MB refers to magicbastarder rather than mountain bike (I hope or else, your right, as I always thought from the very beginning).

actually, it's short for 'megabytes of no such thing as a stupid question'. aspirational, i know, but achievable.

magicbastarder

i need to figure out a way of getting my rear disc brake assembly to sit higher on the bike - the pads are connecting with the disc probably a couple of mm closer to the axle than they should be. i guess it's just a case of adding a couple of washers to sit it higher? i can't see any dedicated height adjustment mechanism.

iwillhtfu

magicbastarder wrote: »

i need to figure out a way of getting my rear disc brake assembly to sit higher on the bike - the pads are connecting with the disc probably a couple of mm closer to the axle than they should be. i guess it's just a case of adding a couple of washers to sit it higher? i can't see any dedicated height adjustment mechanism.

Take off the washer from under the bolt head and place it underneath between the caliper and the frame. There's usually a couple in there to adjust the height.

Weepsie

Oooh TRP hy rd. On the look out for a pair of them! How's maintenance of them?

magicbastarder

they're fine - the only issues i've had with them really are the normal things you'd expect with disc brakes. had an issue with contamination, but that was unrelated to the brakes themselves. one thing to watch out for is the adjustment barrel - it's for initial setup only, but if you start using it to adjust for pad wear, it can throw of the automatic adjustment mechanism; the brakes supposedly accoutn for pad wear themselves.

magicbastarder

iwillhtfu wrote: »

Take off the washer from under the bolt head and place it underneath between the caliper and the frame. There's usually a couple in there to adjust the height.

as it turns out, the washer on the bolt would not come off. found a few spare ones in the tool box anyway.

GeneralC

How/when do you know to change gears?

Type 17

When your cadence (pedalling rate) gets too slow/hard, shift down.
When it’s too fast/easy, shift up.
Ideal cadence is 75-90rpm (IMO - others may have differing opinions).

seamus

magicbastarder wrote: »

as it turns out, the washer on the bolt would not come off. found a few spare ones in the tool box anyway.

You should always have a washer between the bolt head and the unit anyway. Means you're less likely to damage stuff and less likely to have seized/fused bolts.

CramCycle

Type 17 wrote: »

When your cadence (pedalling rate) gets too slow/hard, shift down.
When it’s too fast/easy, shift up.
Ideal cadence is 75-90rpm (IMO - others may have differing opinions).

I would say the cadence depends as well on whether you want to push hard or not, lower cadences are fine if your not interested in speed and your not putting alot of force on your knees. Everyone can disagree with the following:

60 -75rpm - little force on the knees, happily tipping along at a casual pace - low gearing

70 - 90rpm - touring or commuting - a bit of force but not enough to make you blow up, tipping along nicely at 20 to 25kmph - middle gear range

90 - 110rpm - racing or fast commuting cadence - middle to high gearing depending on whether you are uphill or downhill.

I nearly stay around the 100rpm all the time and adjust the gears to keep me moving

magicbastarder

CramCycle wrote: »

60 -75rpm - little force on the knees, happily tipping along at a casual pace - low gearing

probably just worth clarifying that you can do this low cadence when there is little force on your knees, when you're just moseying along. choosing this cadence while trying to go fast by selecting a tough gear will actually put more force through your knees.

@GeneralC - you may see references to spinning and grinding. for a given speed, spinning would be choosing an easier gear and pedalling faster; grinding is when you choose a tough gear and pedal more slowly. the latter will tend to tire you out faster (within a reasonable range of cadences - you don't want to go to an extreme at either end of the range)

CramCycle

magicbastarder wrote: »

probably just worth clarifying that you can do this low cadence when there is little force on your knees, when you're just moseying along. choosing this cadence while trying to go fast by selecting a tough gear will actually put more force through your knees.

@GeneralC - you may see references to spinning and grinding. for a given speed, spinning would be choosing an easier gear and pedalling faster; grinding is when you choose a tough gear and pedal more slowly. the latter will tend to tire you out faster (within a reasonable range of cadences - you don't want to go to an extreme at either end of the range)

Pretty much what I meant, bar racing, if it is a tough slog or alot of effort through your body, drop gears until you can sit down and not wobble all over the place like you are climbing a mountain in a grand tour.

Speed should be the secondary consideration in cycling, as speed will come as the fitness, cadence and comfort increase.

dahat

CramCycle wrote: »

I would say the cadence depends as well on whether you want to push hard or not, lower cadences are fine if your not interested in speed and your not putting alot of force on your knees. Everyone can disagree with the following:

60 -75rpm - little force on the knees, happily tipping along at a casual pace - low gearing

70 - 90rpm - touring or commuting - a bit of force but not enough to make you blow up, tipping along nicely at 20 to 25kmph - middle gear range

90 - 110rpm - racing or fast commuting cadence - middle to high gearing depending on whether you are uphill or downhill.

I nearly stay around the 100rpm all the time and adjust the gears to keep me moving

100rpm, that's impressive.

I switched to 11/25 and as a consequencey cadence has dropped but each time I try the 11 28 again I suffer from cramps, during & after a spin.

Weepsie

dahat wrote: »

100rpm, that's impressive.

I switched to 11/25 and as a consequencey cadence has dropped but each time I try the 11 28 again I suffer from cramps, during & after a spin.

Shorter cranks maybe?