What Have You Fettled Today?

[Ming the Merciless]

Re-fettled my earlier fettle - I'd swapped to a 28 toothed big cog on the cassette, from a 25 (makes all the difference up hills ), and increased the chain by a couple of links, but it was jumping and catching the derailleur, so back to the original length and it seems perfect, no slipping
Also refastened the gear cable, as I'd clamped it on the wrong side and reset the lower limit screw, as I didn't do that earlier either.

Did you adjust the b screw? Might be the missing tweak for the longer chain and bigger cog.

 

[Willd]

Did you adjust the b screw? Might be the missing tweak for the longer chain and bigger cog.

Yes, when I put the cassette on. Not sure if the chain was the right length originally, but it all runs nice and smoothly now (apart from the front derailleur which is due the other new cable)

 

[dimrub]

My son's gravel bike had an issue today: the front wheel's valve core broke. I tried unscrewing it, but the whole valve rotated together with the core, it was properly stuck. I ended up taking the tire off, pushing the valve out (it's tubeless) then finally unscrewing the core, and replacing it. I put the tire back on and my son managed to inflate it back using a floor pump - kudos to him.

We then rode to the orchard he's been working at, and collected all the oranges we could carry on two bikes. It's our second trip, and we're awash with fresh orange juice at home. I discovered that adding just a couple of spoonfulls of rhum improves it immensely.

The bigger issue is with the other kids' bike. That's the Gary Fisher I restored here, and something's wrong with it: the chain is skipping, and the rear shifter is not working properly. I need to get the Giant off the wall, recheck it and give it to the kid, then I'll be able to take the Gary Fisher out of service and mend it properly. Too lazy for that, but it's unfair to the kid, given that we fixed his brother's bike on the same day the issue was discovered.

 

[DCLane]

Son no. 2 put new Swissstop brake pads onto his BeOne Raw training bike. There was some pad left on them, but not much.

And I've finished working on the Trek 2200 with a new chain. All done, now to decide what to do with it after a test ride by one of us tomorrow.

 

[All uphill]

I had expected to do lots of work on my newly purchased 1986 Halfords Freewheeler.

Jobs needed have just been:

Two wobbly wheels trued.
Three speed shifter moved slightly away from the brake levers so that 1st gear can be engaged.
Front mudguard unbended.
Wheel reflectors removed.
Saddle raised, lots.

Wheel bearings spin easily with no play.
Crank has no play.
Chain has superficial rust but shows no wear.

It's fun, except when braking is required. Next job is to fit an aluminium front wheel.

 

[bobzmyunkle]

Front shifter now working on the best bike. Replaced the cable outer. This bit seems to be the significant factor
'Lubricated internally along its length with low-friction silicone grease to reduce cable friction'
Didn't like being unused over winter and seized up. Low-friction silicone grease became almost impossible shifting.
I've got a tin of grease I've had for over 40 years - works perfectly. I'm available at very reasonable rates Shimano.

 

[Jenkins]

Three of my bikes now have cleaned & lubed chains and much less dirty frames & wheels.

As it was out, I also GT85'd the curtain rail in the living room so the curtains now slide easier.

 

[EckyH]

Changed the stem of the commuter from a 110mm to a 100mm. What a difference...
Stems with with separable plates are an invention nearly as helpful as the wheel.

E.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A new one to me: A friend asked if he could drop round for me to look at his son's bike. The dropper seat post wasn't working properly and in trying to fix it he'd damaged the cable. I have never worked on one of these before so we had an interesting session learning how it all fitted together and putting in a new cable.

He tells me that it's never worked as well as it does now (feels smug ) and I suspect that the cable hadn't been fitted quite right from the factory - it was quite fiddly to do so I can see that would be easy to get wrong if done in a rush.

 

[8mph]

I'm part way through a build and about to have a break. Swapping parts over from one steel hardtail frame (Medium) to another (Large)

 

[cyberknight]

Changed the stem of the commuter from a 110mm to a 100mm. What a difference...
Stems with with separable plates are an invention nearly as helpful as the wheel.

E.

much as integrated cockpits look cool the ability to change reach easily makes standard set up`s a lot more sense for the average rider .

 

[EckyH]

integrated cockpits

Imho we are at a point of separation between high end technology for racing stuff at the highest levels and technology for everyone. The thing is that we have to change our mind set from "what the professional riders use is just good enough for me" to "I need technology which fits my needs".
For example: an aero racing bike would surely allow me to save two or three seconds per kilometer. At my current average speed of 23,x km/h... on good days.
Otoh: I maintain my bicycles myself and I have to fund them by myself. Therefore for me simple servicability is much more important and manageable prices. That's why I avoid integrated cockpits, internal cable routing, current top end gear, more-than-10speed-stuff (the 9speed Sora on my commuter works good enough for me and more important: reliable), hydraulic disc brakes, electronic shifting, for compatibility reasons thru axle hubs, cranks with proprietary chain rings, frames with other than BSA and ITA bottom brackets and proprietary seat posts, carbon as far as possible and the tubeless stuff.

Ymmv.

E.

 

[cyberknight]

Imho we are at a point of separation between high end technology for racing stuff at the highest levels and technology for everyone. The thing is that we have to change our mind set from "what the professional riders use is just good enough for me" to "I need technology which fits my needs".
For example: an aero racing bike would surely allow me to save two or three seconds per kilometer. At my current average speed of 23,x km/h... on good days.
Otoh: I maintain my bicycles myself and I have to fund them by myself. Therefore for me simple servicability is much more important and manageable prices. That's why I avoid integrated cockpits, internal cable routing, current top end gear, more-than-10speed-stuff (the 9speed Sora on my commuter works good enough for me and more important: reliable), hydraulic disc brakes, electronic shifting, for compatibility reasons thru axle hubs, cranks with proprietary chain rings, frames with other than BSA and ITA bottom brackets and proprietary seat posts, carbon as far as possible and the tubeless stuff.

Ymmv.

E.

I am pretty much the same ,commuter is 8 speed claris and the rest are 10 speed.the carbon is 11 but only cus someone gave me it when the shifter died after the cable snapped in it.
Last 2 builds are square taper bb ,I still prefer threaded BB in general as I have the tools.
All in the name of easy home maintenance

 

[chriswoody]

The old Goodyear tires on the Mountain Bike have been getting a little worn and the back one especially has been a little sketchy. Rather than a Goodyear though, I managed to get two Goodyears out of them. Seriously though, I'd not considered Goodyear as a bike tire manufacturer, but the bike came fitted with them and they've proven to be a good choice. At €60 each though, I'm not keen on replacing like for like, so I've bought a Vittoria Mezcal for the back and a Vittoria Barzo for the front. I changed the rear tire this morning, breaking the seal on the old one and using the injector to drain out the sealant.

The Mezcal went on easy enough, but the bead needed two blasts on the airshot to properly seat and seal. I injected some sealant through the valve core and pumped it up, pretty easy, painless tire swap. Took the bike out for a spin this afternoon over a real mix of surfaces, roads, gravel, mud and sand. First impressions are favourable, nice and grippy on the sloppy stuff and not too draggy on the roads.

 

[Jameshow]

I am pretty much the same ,commuter is 8 speed claris and the rest are 10 speed.the carbon is 11 but only cus someone gave me it when the shifter died after the cable snapped in it.
Last 2 builds are square taper bb ,I still prefer threaded BB in general as I have the tools.
All in the name of easy home maintenance

Me too
winter bikes 9spd
Summer bikes 10spd.

I do have bb30 summer bikes and the BB are easier to change than BSA. Funny that no one complains about integrated headsets!

No Di or disc brakes , although discs on next winter bike would make sense.