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

irlirishkev

magicbastarder wrote: »

i wouldn't use a tyre with a 1cm cut in it.

Thanks. It's an MTB if that makes a difference, but I don't think it does. I'll get a new one tomorrow and hope for the best this evening.

Cee-Jay-Cee

irlirishkev wrote: »

I got a small shard of glass in my tyre the other evening.
Changed out the tube and all is well, at least it was yesterday and the way into work this morning.. I haven't gotten home yet!

Small slit (~1cm) in the tyre after I got the glass out.
Can I continue to use the tyre or am I just waiting for the thing to blow/split while I'm using it?

Can bring to the lbs tomorrow for a new tyre if I need to.

Thanks.

If the tyre was relatively new I would usually patch it on the inside with gorilla tape and then fit it on the rear. A blow out on the rear is much safer than a blow out on the front. If the tyre is more than 50% worn then bin it.

riclad

https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/925/how-can-i-repair-a-tyre-with-a-deep-cut
i would fix it and change the tyre to the front,
i rarely get punctures ,but when i do its usually the back wheel.If the rest of the tyre is in good nick, not worn , theres very little chance of getting a punture from the 1cm slit.
i presume you are riding a mountain bike,
A racing type bike is more likely to get a puncture since the tyre surface is smooth.

CramCycle

I wouldn't put it on the front, both are recoverable but I feel recovering from a rear blowout is easier/safer.

irlirishkev

magicbastarder wrote: »

i wouldn't use a tyre with a 1cm cut in it.

Cee-Jay-Cee wrote: »

If the tyre was relatively new I would usually patch it on the inside with gorilla tape and then fit it on the rear. A blow out on the rear is much safer than a blow out on the front. If the tyre is more than 50% worn then bin it.

CramCycle wrote: »

I wouldn't put it on the front, both are recoverable but I feel recovering from a rear blowout is easier/safer.

Well, probably too predictably, it went on the way home after my posting about it
Lesson learnt, don't tempt fate.
I wasn't even annoyed about the 45min walk of shame home - thankfully it wasn't cold and the wind was behind me!

cletus

I'm currently refining an old muddy fox courier. It would seem that the front brake cable is routed through the handlebar stem. I've not seen this before, and I'm just wondering how it effects steering

magicbastarder

pic not showing for me.

Type 17

cletus wrote: »

I'm currently refining an old muddy fox courier. It would seem that the front brake cable is routed through the handlebar stem. I've not seen this before, and I'm just wondering how it effects steering

I had a Courier myself in 1986 (the exact one in your pic!), and many of the other 80’s MTBs that I owned/saw had this feature - no effect on the steering at all, but you need to disconnect the brake cable if you want to remove the stem from the fork. Tip: you can adjust the front brake by moving the stem up or down a mm or two - easier than using the cable pinch bolt on the straddle cable bridge.

devonp

hi


my commuter bike is a hardtail Specialized crosstrail. the whole crankset/chainset has developed play..become noticeably loose.
the BB is apparently a Sram PowerSpline (sealed cartridge) with a X7 drivetrain..?
what tools will i need to remove crankset and maybe replace the btm bracket ?
maybe....!


will i need a crank arm extractor


cheers

cdaly_

cletus wrote: »

I'm currently refining an old muddy fox courier. It would seem that the front brake cable is routed through the handlebar stem. I've not seen this before, and I'm just wondering how it effects steering

This is pretty much standard for canti brakes. It doesn't have to be through the stem but there will be a cable stop somehow mounted to stem or steerer.

ofthelord

Hi All,
I got a new road bike about 5 months ago which has tubeless tyres.
To date they have been trouble free and I'm very happy with them.
What I have not yet done though is top up the sealant.
I've been reading mixed recommendations regarding the frequency this needs to be topped up. Although i have noticed a very slow puncture on rear tyre the other day so think I'm overdue a top up.
I don't want to be having to go to the LBS for this so I'd appreciate some suggestions on the best tubeless sealant to use, the kind of kit required, and how often this needs to be topped up.

I've been bringing spare tube with me in case of puncture when out - I've read that this is best option in case the sealant can't heal a larger puncture. Is there any recommended kit to have for roadside repairs on tubeless?

Any other advice on maintaining tubeless also very welcome.

Thanks in advance..

CantGetNoSleep

ofthelord wrote: »

Hi All,
I got a new road bike about 5 months ago which has tubeless tyres.
To date they have been trouble free and I'm very happy with them.
What I have not yet done though is top up the sealant.
I've been reading mixed recommendations regarding the frequency this needs to be topped up. Although i have noticed a very slow puncture on rear tyre the other day so think I'm overdue a top up.
I don't want to be having to go to the LBS for this so I'd appreciate some suggestions on the best tubeless sealant to use, the kind of kit required, and how often this needs to be topped up.

I've been bringing spare tube with me in case of puncture when out - I've read that this is best option in case the sealant can't heal a larger puncture. Is there any recommended kit to have for roadside repairs on tubeless?

Any other advice on maintaining tubeless also very welcome.

Thanks in advance..

There's a good tubeless thread on here that is worth a read through.

I've got a Lezyne kit with little plastic "worms" in it - the one puncture I got, they seemed too big to plug it.

I ended up having to patch the inside of the tire in the same way you'd patch a tube.

One tip is that sealant seems to struggle with road tire pressures, if you get a puncture that isn't sealing maybe worth trying lower pressure just to get home

ofthelord

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

There's a good tubeless thread on here that is worth a read through.

I've got a Lezyne kit with little plastic "worms" in it - the one puncture I got, they seemed too big to plug it.

I ended up having to patch the inside of the tire in the same way you'd patch a tube.

One tip is that sealant seems to struggle with road tire pressures, if you get a puncture that isn't sealing maybe worth trying lower pressure just to get home

Thanks for the reply - I'll be sure to take a read through the existing Tubeless thread.

padyjoe

Lads!

I've pulled apart my 105 rear hub and noticed 1 of the ball bearings damaged. I've found this:Halfords bearing cage.
Thinking about getting the balls out of the cage and putting them into the hub.

Should I change all the balls or the damaged one until I get proper bearings?
Thank you!

8valve

padyjoe wrote: »

Lads!

I've pulled apart my 105 rear hub and noticed 1 of the ball bearings damaged. I've found this:Halfords bearing cage.
Thinking about getting the balls out of the cage and putting them into the hub.

Should I change all the balls or the damaged one until I get proper bearings?
Thank you!

Makes more sense to replace all the bearings at the same time, or you'll just end up having to repeat the job.
Most good local bike shops will have little bag packs of bearings in the correct size you need.
Bring an old bearing with you for comparison.

Kevhog1988

Any reccomendation for YouTube videos on bike maintenance?

magicbastarder

Park tools videos for in depth ones, GCN for more lightweight ones. Any particular jobs in mind?

brchun0dpvotyk

Just wondering has anyone experienced a rear wheel that sits in the frame slightly crooked. It is noticeably closer to the frame on one side than the other. If I turn the wheel around it is closer to the other side of the frame so seems to be a wheel issue. It is sitting correctly in the frame so wondering if it is a dish issue of some sort?

Type 17

Could be dishing, or could be a bent axle if the hub has a screw-on freewheel, or if it's a quick-release, check if the skewer springs are right way around (small end should face the centre of the hub, so it doesn't sit over the axle and foul it in the drop-outs).

Did it just start looking like that, or is it a new wheel to that frame? Any recent accident? (frame made crooked?)

brchun0dpvotyk

Type 17 wrote: »

Could be dishing, or could be a bent axle if the hub has a screw-on freewheel, or if it's a quick-release, check if the skewer springs are right way around (small end should face the centre of the hub, so it doesn't sit over the axle and foul it in the drop-outs).

Did it just start looking like that, or is it a new wheel to that frame? Any recent accident? (frame made crooked?)

Thanks for that. It was a new issue and no crashes. Just gradually seems to have gone out of straight slightly, only noticed when I removed the rear wheel the other day.

Brought it to the bike shop today and it was a dishing issue. They had it fixed in about 20 mins by tightening the spokes. All good now.

CramCycle

Am I stupid? I have the following chainrings from Shimano FC-RS510 and a 4 arm 110mm 5800 Crankset but no matter what I do, they seem to struggle getting the outer chainring into position. I can get two bolts, possibly three on, and the fourth looks like it lines up but it is as if the chainring is less than 0.5mm to narrow to slip on easily, or the crankarm is stopping it. Are they incompatible? I could shave a little from one arm of the chainring or the Crankset to make it slip on but I'd rather not.

Weepsie

I had similar when putting 4700 chain rings onto a 5800 chainset. Kinda had to hammer them on,.they fit, but the arm shapes are a bit different.

Pita taking them off again too.

Kevhog1988

Can my front wheel be on backwards? Noticed my front picking bolt tightens the opposite way to everyone else. My bolt is on right side. Everyone else's is left side

magicbastarder

picking bolt? you mean the quick release lever?

CramCycle

You can take the skewer out and put it in from the other side, or for most wheels, just flip it around, I never had an issue running a wheel in either direction, but there maybe certain brands that do. Obviously for disc brake bikes, this is not true, just rim brake.

doozerie

It really doesn't matter which side the quick-release lever is on, but it might matter whether the tyre is facing "the wrong way".

There is a view that bicycle tyres are too narrow and the treads too shallow for the direction of the treads to make the slightest difference, but if you don't subscribe to that view then you'll want the tyre oriented in the recommended direction to take the tread into account (there is often an arrow on the tyre to indicate the recommended direction of rotation), in which case it matters which way round you put the wheel in.

That was a question I actually had and I think I forgot to ask here I think , sometimes see a bike parked up at the local Aldi with the front wheel having the qr on the right.

magicbastarder

doozerie wrote: »

There is a view that bicycle tyres are too narrow and the treads too shallow for the direction of the treads to make the slightest difference,

From schwalbe's site:

In the case of a road tire the rolling direction is mainly important for aesthetic considerations. Tires marked with arrows simply look more dynamic..

tuxy

Deleted User wrote: »

That was a question I actually had and I think I forgot to ask here I think , sometimes see a bike parked up at the local Aldi with the front wheel having the qr on the right.

Yeah, that's fine from a mechanical point of view but it sends my OCD in to overdrive.

tuxy

tuxy wrote: »

Yeah, that's fine from a mechanical point of view but it sends my OCD in to overdrive.

I know , I feel like standing by the bike waiting for the owner and telling him he's got his wheel on wrong.