A couple of maintenance questions

[battered]

Oh Christ, yeah I forgot Campag will insist on playing silly b****rs, as per usual. OK, Shimano or SRAM interchange and it's the most common fit. This refusal to standardise really gets up my nose, it's a return to the dark days of the 70s and 80s when NOTHING was interchangeable and it was a nightmare getting anything to work. By the mid 90s things had settled down and one set of tools worked, for a while at least. I now however need 3 different BB tools. Tossers.

Message to Campag - I'm not buying any of your stuff until it works with Shimano gear, including the same service tools.

 

[lulubel]

Question: Do you have the tools to remove the cassette - you need a chain whip (although a length of old chain and a vice will do) to stop the cassette turning when you try to undo the lockring, a lockring tool, a big spanner to go with it and maybe some brute force depending on the size of the gorilla that fitted it. If not it might be best to pop down the LBS to buy one and get them to replace it which many will do for free if you buy it off them. Otherwise Chain Reaction Cycles or Wig)gle are good sources.

No, we don't have the tools, but OH has recently said that we need to build up our own workshop if we're going to maintain our own bikes, which is the way it's going at the moment. I like the idea of being able to fix things myself because you never know when something might go wrong, and you won't have a LBS nearby to help.

I am a bit concerned about getting any of the locking bolts undone after OH replaced the pedals on her bike, and had to take it to the LBS because she couldn't get the old ones off - and she's the stronger one of us - but we didn't have a suitably long spanner, so couldn't get much leverage, and I know pedals tend to be done up very tight.

As for OH's question, as battered says, you can take the ain't broke don't fix it approach. Factors to weigh up are how long are they likely to keep the bike - they may have grown out of it before it needs fixing - and how good are the components. The disadvantage of waiting is you will probably need to replace the whole drivetrain - cassette, chain and front rings. If they are expensive it can be much cheaper to replace the chain regularly but if they are cheap its probably cheaper to run it till it wears out and then change it all.

I think waiting until it's unrideable would be OH's approach, but then you're left with an unrideable bike until it's sorted - and I know she'd be unbearable in that situation - and you have the cost of the chainset (about £100 from Wiggle if you don't count their current discount) on top of the chain and cassette. That's why I'd rather do it before it gets to that point. And I certainly don't want MY bike to be unrideable!

 

[lulubel]

Errr no. Shimano and Campag are not interchangeable and some of the others are not. See Sheldon Brown

I think it was an SRAM cassette I was looking at, so I think that would be OK?

 

[slowmotion]

If you can't get enough torque on a short spanner, slip a length of pipe over the end to extend the lever arm. Be careful not to overdo it.

 

[battered]

A SRAM cassette will go on a Shimano fit.

You can run cassette and chain until it starts slipping and the chainwheel will often survive. One of mine saw off 2 cassettes, 15000 miles, countless chains and has been replaced with a SH item out of the bits box.

I use a mallet to get pedals moving. Get the spanner on and apply a light load. One sharp tap then sees them moving.

 

[Red Light]

I think waiting until it's unrideable would be OH's approach, but then you're left with an unrideable bike until it's sorted - and I know she'd be unbearable in that situation - and you have the cost of the chainset (about £100 from Wiggle if you don't count their current discount) on top of the chain and cassette. That's why I'd rather do it before it gets to that point. And I certainly don't want MY bike to be unrideable!

It tends to fail gracefully so you have plenty of time to sort it out between when it starts to protest and when it becomes unrideable. The chainset shouldn't cost that much if you just replace the rings - unless you've got one of those nasty chainsets where the rings aren't replaceable.

 

[lulubel]

Thanks for all your advice so far. I'm going to order from Wiggle because I know they ship to Spain and their delivery is quick. So, here's what I've got so far:

Cassette - Shimano HG50 12-25

Chain - KMC X9-93

Are these suitable to replace what I have currently on my bike? The bike is "entry level" (a mix of Sora and Tiagra), so doesn't have any high performance components currently. The 12-25 cassette will replace like for like.

Here are the tools I think I need (and this is where I'm more vague):

Chain Tool - Park Tools Screw Type

This looks expensive, but it is Park Tools, and I understand this means quality. It's also bigger than their Brute Force one, which is much cheaper, so I assume it will give me more leverage to compensate for my own lack of brute strength. It specifies it works with 9-sp chains, but I'm not sure if it will work with my OH's 8-sp chain?

Are there any other cheaper options on this page that would be a good alternative?

Chain Whip - Park Tools SR1

Park Tools again. And again, are their any cheaper alternatives on this page that would do an equally good job?

Lockring Tool - Cyclus Shimano Lockring Remover

Some reviews of this have said it isn't very tough, but the reviews of the Park Tools equivalent have said it's an extremely tight fit with Shimano cassettes.

I'll also need a long handled spanner, I think. Our adjustable spanner is about 9in long, so I think probably something longer, but I should be able to get that locally easily enough.

Have I covered everything here, or is there anything else I need, or any alternatives to the products I've selected?