Is my bike worth fixing? Will it be easy?

[jon the student]

Chain slipped on me in the top 7 today so I'll be dismantling it tomorrow, giving it a good degrease and then seeing what's what.

Stay tuned (if you have the patience...)

 

[swee'pea99]

Before you do that, get hold of a 12" steel rule and watch this...

 

[Dave5N]

[quote name='swee'pea99']Before you do that, get hold of a 12" steel rule and watch this...[/quote]


Pay attention. We've already been there.

 

[jon the student]

Ahh, it's all fun and games isn't it! Dave has indeed talked me through the bike chain wear indicator. Are old chains made of steel? Must be a lot of force on it to make it extend by 3mm. I guess just fatigue and 'creep' could make it extend 3mm as it's probably, what, 80cm-1m long perhaps? Just off the top of my head.

I was wondering about getting a lighter framed bike, but then that would take the 'work' (literally) out of riding it. Yeah, my bike is old and heavy. Maybe 15-20kg, but I can lift it clean over my head when needed and obviously a higher mass will equate to a larger force needed (energy used) to make it go faster. So it's making ME work harder. Which is a good thing. Plus the car needs a lot doing to it.

 

[Dave5N]

JOn.

They don't stretch really, they wear. SPecifically the bushings and rivets, or for more modern ones without bushings, the rollers.

Essentially, (I'm not an engineer) the chain gets longer because as it wears it gets looser at each link.

 

[John the Monkey]

Jon, you'll find that bikes are mechanically pretty simple for the most part.

That bike tutor site posted earlier has some good video tutorials, with clear written instructions (that you can print out and take to the garage ). For sorting your gears out, I've yet to find a better resource for shimano stuff than their own site (follow the links to the support, technical docs section, and look for the SI- (service instruction) pdfs). For anything you don't fancy doing yourself, a good local bike shop is indispensable. I don't know Oxford, but searching the "LBS Recommendations" Thread might help.

Oh, and if you've got (and use) lights, and don't put yourself or other people in danger through inattention or thoughtlessness, you've no need to apologise to me

 

[jon the student]

Cheers for the help JTM.

And yeah, I use lights, helmet, big flourescent jacket even in the day (good extra layer!), look over my shoulder before manouvring, wave to people who move over to let me pass :-) it's all about courtesy isn't it really. I'd move over for a bike if I was in my car, so...

I will deffo look at Shimano's website. Thanks again.

 

[jimboalee]

Hi Jon the Student.

When you graduate, write to a company called Zytek in Derby.

They are a bunch of bods who were Lucas Racing in the eighties.
There are a lot of my old pals from Lucas and SAGEM working their, so mention you are on a cycling chatboard with the guy who ran the Engine test facility for SAGEM when they were at MIRA.

You could try Cosworth Racing, CP Engineering, or even John Sleath ( if you like Drag Racing ).

You will probably be aware that Honda have pulled out. This is the start of the slippery slope. Be not dismayed, there are plenty of lesser known engine tuners and chassis builders up north that are looking for good men.

One thing is for sure though, you will NOT get into Morgan. I couldn't so went to Jaguar as a vehicle tester.
Times are hard for all of the motor industry ( except Morgan ) lately.

Motor racing is a very extreme trade. You have to be ULTRA clever ( PhD ) or know someone in power.

I knew someone.

 

[John the Monkey]

Jon, one other thought - does your Uni have a bike user group (BUG)?

We have one at Manchester, and we occasionally do "Dr. Bike" days, where BUG members and the mechanics from one of the local shops look over people's bikes - we fix the small stuff, and suggest where/how the big stuff might be sorted out. Could be worth asking at Brookes whether anything similar is going on.

 

[jon the student]

As it's a nice day, I decided to get some shots of my bike to put up here. I did get a little sidetracked with turning this pile:

into these:

but then I got the bike out.

Sorry about the shadow.

Trigger gears

Brakes and gears

Bit of frame info and front derailleur

Rear derailleur

Cassette(?)

Worn chainwheel teeth

 

[jon the student]

JTM, I think my uni does have a BUG, or at least they have companies who come up to campus in freshers week during sept/oct to help people with bike advice and sort their current bikes out. I'll ask at the union whether there's a society or some such.

 

[mickle]

Jon, the chainring teeth may be worn but what you are looking at there are manufactured ramps and cut-outs which enable easy shifting between rings.

 

[Paulus]

Most of those teeth on the cassette look a bit like sharks dorsel fins, probably time for a new cassette and chain.

 

[jon the student]

Hi Jon the Student.

When you graduate, write to a company called Zytek in Derby.

They are a bunch of bods who were Lucas Racing in the eighties.
There are a lot of my old pals from Lucas and SAGEM working their, so mention you are on a cycling chatboard with the guy who ran the Engine test facility for SAGEM when they were at MIRA.

You could try Cosworth Racing, CP Engineering, or even John Sleath ( if you like Drag Racing ).

You will probably be aware that Honda have pulled out. This is the start of the slippery slope. Be not dismayed, there are plenty of lesser known engine tuners and chassis builders up north that are looking for good men.

One thing is for sure though, you will NOT get into Morgan. I couldn't so went to Jaguar as a vehicle tester.
Times are hard for all of the motor industry ( except Morgan ) lately.

Motor racing is a very extreme trade. You have to be ULTRA clever ( PhD ) or know someone in power.

I knew someone.

Hi Jimbo, sorry for missing your post first time round! I have in fact applied to Zytek Engineering (CAD Design and R&D office in Banbury) for my placement next year, as yet there's been no news. Might try to get a direct phoneline for someone there. I don't really have a design portfolio yet, but will have by the summer as I have a big CAD project starting in Feb.

I know people in BTCC and GT3 (worked on a Lamborghini team for a bit) but I really like Rally. Bit to be honest, I'm more inclined to be a designer than a race engineer. Thanks for all the companies and the advice though, definitely appreciated! Geoff Goddard of Cosworth fame is one of my lecturers now, he's pretty cool albeit a little eccentric!

Thanks again,

Jon.

 

[jon the student]

Thanks Paulus and Mickle for the confirmations! I'll actually get it apart tomorrow all being well.