The "I did it!" thread.

[ChrisEyles]

Just dropped my bike, and discovered a slight wobble in the bottom bracket afterwards

Then managed to loosen the lockring, tighten the adjustable cone a little, re-tighten the lockring, and voila - wobble gone

Actually quite pleased, since the BB was the one thing I was too scared to touch for a long time! Without the proper tools, it took a scary amount of force with a hammer/screwdriver to loosen that lockring though! May be investing in a pin spanner or whatever they're called for next time.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Finally i learned how to get my cross rim brakes to stop howling.

They can be a PITA - if you don't need heaps of mud clearance Mini-V's are better (subject to being compatible with your STI's).

 

[SpokeyDokey]

Yes. In truth the reason cross bike v brakes screech is that on a cross bike you get up to much faster speeds, and with softer pads (which are better for the rim) pressing hard they vibrate at a high frequency which emits loud noise. Also, it should be noted that towing-in or out hurts the performance and is difficult to do with the longer pads: with a strong brake is really not possible, so unlike road bike brakes you can't just tow them in/out. Cleaning the rim doesn't help that much, and if i roughen up the pad surfaces i can lose a good amount of milage so other than harder pads-which work great for low speeds off road but heat up and damage the rim at higher speeds- there is no solution.

I use these:

http://www.cyclesense.co.uk/m61b0s104p13363/ASHIMA-V-Brake-Shoe-4-Function-Black-2-Pairs-2013

...on my TRP CX9's.

They have zero squeal and I am really fussy about squealing brakes. Can't stand them.

I run them with a gnats whisker of toe-in on the front and none on the rear.

2000+ miles mainly on road albeit very hilly road there is minimal wear.

 

[geekinaseat]

Managed to attach a casette to a rear wheel earlier, I've no idea if I've done it properly but I guess I will discover that tomorrow!

 

[The Mighty Boosh]

when buying new Tyres always keep the old front one, as when its time to change again you can put that one on the rear for an extra few miles, literally worked that out 5 minutes ago, its kinda a lucky that I had an old front tyre