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

new2tri19

I want to swap the wheels on my bikes. I have a TT bike with 10 speed shimano casette . I have a road bike with an 11 speed shimano casette. My basic understanding is 10 speed will work on 11 speed with spacer but not vice versa. So can I just swap the freehubs bodies so the casette will be compatible to swap? Are freehubs interchangeable? Thanks

Type 17

Unfortunately, unless both hubs are the same make and almost the same model/series, it’s very unlikely that they’ll be interchangeable.

Roger the cabin boy

cletus wrote: »

Is the cable in the picture a specific type, or can I use the end of MTB brake cable

That's a cantilever cable which has nipples on both ends.

A std cable only has one

Type 17

Hard to see in the pic, but some have two nipples and some have a pinch-bolt at one end.

cletus

Roger the cabin boy wrote: »

That's a cantilever cable which has nipples on both ends.

A std cable only has one

If you have a look at the picture, it's clamped in at one end.

magicbastarder

new2tri19 wrote: »

I want to swap the wheels on my bikes. I have a TT bike with 10 speed shimano casette . I have a road bike with an 11 speed shimano casette. My basic understanding is 10 speed will work on 11 speed with spacer but not vice versa. So can I just swap the freehubs bodies so the casette will be compatible to swap? Are freehubs interchangeable? Thanks

as i found out, to my benefit, mavic wheels made going back years are (nearly?) all both 10 and 11 speed compatible. so if both rear wheels are mavic, you could be in luck.

new2tri19

magicbastarder wrote: »

as i found out, to my benefit, mavic wheels made going back years are (nearly?) all both 10 and 11 speed compatible. so if both rear wheels are mavic, you could be in luck.

Thats good to know thanks. It's a set of cosine wheels and a set of sram s60 wheels , a bit of googling it seems the sram s60 uses a Reynolds freehub and it's possible to get a 11 speed freehub from Reyonlds that will allow me to fit a 11 speed casette on. Thanks for replies.

cletus

So, I started a thread in the adverts forum, but said I'd ask here just in case. I'm missing a straddle wire carrier, and while they're cheap enough online, the shipping is stupid, so on the off chance someone has one lying spare in a box in the shed

CormacH94

Out of curiosity, how much of a hassle is it to turn a triple into a double? Currently have a Tiagra 50 - 39 - 30 but would like a bigger chainring - 52/53?

Most obvious route I imagine is just buying a full 105 groupset and new wheelset? But what is the bare minimum that would you would need to do for triple to double?

Type 17

New chainset, new front derailleur (cage-shape is different) and new front shifter (only sold in pairs).

Unless you've got used/spare stuff lying about, it's easier/better value to buy a new/complete used groupset.

CormacH94

Type 17 wrote: »

New chainset, new front derailleur (cage-shape is different) and new front shifter (only sold in pairs).

Unless you've got used/spare stuff lying about, it's easier/better value to buy a new/complete used groupset.

Was thinking as much, hoping to pick up the same frame as I have now but in a darker color, swap the Tiagra to that and put 105 on the current frame and have a summer/winter combo.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

I cycle a hybrid bike.

I find when cycling my crotch area gets numb, I googled this, apparently it's because the blood flow is inhibited by the shape of the saddle or how you're sitting. Does anyone else get this? Is it bad for you?

I am looking at ordering a saddle online. Are the steel things that slot into the bike one-size-fits-all? Will it make a difference buying a soft saddle to my numbness?

magicbastarder

take a pic of your bike - one issue might be saddle position/angle. should be easy enough for someone here to tell you if your saddle is at the wrong angle, before you go changing it.

tomasrojo

CramCycle wrote: »

I think its a silly idea, replace each tyre as it needs to be replaced. The effort of switching tyres around to gain something seems ridiculous, they either grip or not . You don't save money, or get any extra value and the claims of increased grip etc seem negligible unless you had really sh1t tyres.

When I was really broke I did this -- basically, I was flatting on the rear all the time, so switching them around meant fewer punctures without having to buy new tyres -- but it's a terrible idea really, as you give yourself a much higher chance of having a blow-out at the front, which could mean a catastrophic lack of control.

I was very, very broke though, so I didn't really have much choice.

JMcL

magicbastarder wrote: »

i would assume that a reasonably worn tyre would have the same grip levels as a new one, the issue i thought would be more to do with puncture protection/prevention.

I rotate front to back as well the reason being is if the back tyre blows, it's probably not going to have very serious consequences - most likely a bit of road rash at worst. If a front tyre blows at speed however, you could be in all sorts of trouble

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

magicbastarder wrote: »

take a pic of your bike - one issue might be saddle position/angle. should be easy enough for someone here to tell you if your saddle is at the wrong angle, before you go changing it.

Thanks. Much obliged.

ED E

Anyone had issues with 6800 casettes coming loose over time? Third time its happened now. Fairly sure I glued it last time I tightened it.

magicbastarder

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Thanks. Much obliged.

looks like there's a slight tilt backwards in the saddle, might be worth angling the nose down first and seeing if that makes any difference.
also, it can help to get up out of the saddle occasionally to pedal standing up, just to take the pressure off and to let the blood flow through.

CramCycle

ED E wrote: »

Anyone had issues with 6800 casettes coming loose over time? Third time its happened now. Fairly sure I glued it last time I tightened it.

Would your lockring be worn or could the freehub threads be poor? Happened once with a SRAM cassette but I put it down to being undertightened.

seamus

ED E wrote: »

Anyone had issues with 6800 casettes coming loose over time? Third time its happened now. Fairly sure I glued it last time I tightened it.

Seems like an odd one alright.

If there's a spacer missing (i.e. the cassette is slightly too small for the hub), then the rattling might shake the lockrig free.

Other thought is that the frame and lockring are coming into contact in some way. This would cause the lockring to come undone when pedalling forward. Was the axle ever removed? If the cones weren't reset in the correct place, then the frame might be just a hair too close to the hub, and is rubbing the lockring, perhaps when flexing under load.

Roger the cabin boy

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS! wrote: »

Thanks. Much obliged.

Selle Catania

Looking at google pics, i'd say the seat is just rubbish.

Look for a new one with a proper center channel. (Giant upright, etc)

ED E

CramCycle wrote: »

Would your lockring be worn or could the freehub threads be poor? Happened once with a SRAM cassette but I put it down to being undertightened.

Visually it doesnt seem so. Theres a smaller washer between the lockring and the 11t which came on it.

seamus wrote: »

Seems like an odd one alright.

If there's a spacer missing (i.e. the cassette is slightly too small for the hub), then the rattling might shake the lockrig free.

Other thought is that the frame and lockring are coming into contact in some way. This would cause the lockring to come undone when pedalling forward. Was the axle ever removed? If the cones weren't reset in the correct place, then the frame might be just a hair too close to the hub, and is rubbing the lockring, perhaps when flexing under load.

I think its spaced correctly, fit is good. Plenty of clearance to the drop outs.


Cassette is nearly end of life now, have a new chain waiting to go on when the I replace the cassette so might as well go ahead with that. Just if it happens on a new one Ill lose my ****.

Hairy Japanese BASTARDS!

magicbastarder wrote: »

looks like there's a slight tilt backwards in the saddle, might be worth angling the nose down first and seeing if that makes any difference.
also, it can help to get up out of the saddle occasionally to pedal standing up, just to take the pressure off and to let the blood flow through.

Thanks. I tweaked it today before I nipped out for a quick 10k. I don't know if it's a placebo effect but it definitely worked.
Much appreciated.

cletus

So, being annoyed that the wheels I got don't fit (at least the rear doesn't), I decided to do what any sensible person would, and take the axle apart to see was there any way to Jerry rig it to fit.

Having removed two spacers, the distance between overlocking nuts (o.l.d., I think) is now 125mm. So the axle fits between the dropouts.

I now have two options open to me.

a) run one of the spacers on the outside of the dropout to take up the excess space (less than ideal)

b) cut off enough of the axle to allow the qr skewer to tighten up on the dropouts.

Is there any reason not to go for option b?

Type 17

cletus wrote: »

So, being annoyed that the wheels I got don't fit (at least the rear doesn't), I decided to do what any sensible person would, and take the axle apart to see was there any way to Jerry rig it to fit.

Having removed two spacers, the distance between overlocking nuts (o.l.d., I think) is now 125mm. So the axle fits between the dropouts.

I now have two options open to me.

a) run one of the spacers on the outside of the dropout to take up the excess space (less than ideal)

b) cut off enough of the axle to allow the qr skewer to tighten up on the dropouts.

Is there any reason not to go for option b?

You can cut the axle no problem, but you'll need to check the indexing on the cassette and the dishing of the rim.

cletus

Type 17 wrote: »

You can cut the axle no problem, but you'll need to check the indexing on the cassette and the dishing of the rim.

I'm hoping to change this to a single speed, so indexing shouldn't be an issue.

Dishing is another matter. Is there a simple way to check this?

Type 17

Trial-fit the wheel in the frame - see if the centre of the rim is centred on the hole in the brake bridge of the frame.
If not, see if you can change the axle spacing to make it better.
If the axle spacing won't bring the rim fully to the centre, then you'll have to do some dishing.

PS: keep an eye on the chain-line to the single-speed sprocket when doing the axle-spacing (remember you can sometimes alter the chainring spacing, if required, by putting it on the other side of the spider or by changing the BB axle length). If the chain-line is poor, everything will wear very quickly.

.red.

I need a new tube and I'm clueless as to what to get.
The one in it is 700x18-25c.
Any recommendations on brands?
I looked online and saw different thickness, different length valves and numerous brands and didn't what to go for.

magicbastarder

just go to your local bike shop and ask for the same again (but buy a couple). my local place charges five or six quid each for them.

Type 17

What size is your tyre?

You can fit a slightly narrower tube, but don't bother with a slightly wider tube (except for a temporary fix) because kinks/folds in a too-big tube wear off the tyre and you'll get a puncture that way in a few weeks/months.

Any brand is ok, except super-cheap crud, which can fail at the seams. Only worry about tube quality/weight if you have a really fancy bike (and you are built like a jockey!), where a few grams will actually make a difference.

Valve lengths are relevant if you have deep rims (fancy wheels) - 48mm is today's standard size, 60 & 80mm are the other sizes commonly available (check your old ones, and if they fit, get them again)