What Have You Fettled Today?

[maltloaf]

I bought a set of open pro rims built onto shimano 105 hubs on ebay a couple of weeks ago, the spokes felt far too loose to me and sure enough it was going out of true almost every ride. Today I upped the tension on every spoke by a half turn then stressed them and re-trued the wheel and after a brief test ride they already feel much stiffer. Time will tell.

I also built a bike from scratch (my first build) and I'll try to post that soon with some pics. Everything done apart from front derailleur, bar tape and some finishing off.

 

[IncoherentJeff]

Used a kitchen blowtorch to remove two stubborn cotters. I'd tried & failed to remove them before, I eventually gave up and whacked the old Raleigh frame in the loft for a year. But today success!

I'd planned to strip the corroded crank back to bare metal but it turns out it's completely different.
One is a Nervar 170mm crank and the heavily corroded one measures 165mm. Looks like I need a new crank then.
I also discovered both cotters had been shimmed with bits of metal measuring tape!

 

[morrisman]

Refitted my Charge Spoon to see if I get on with it better now I'm a stone lighter. Rode 10 miles and it seemed fine

 

[maltloaf]

Finished my bike build. https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/5258929/kiron/sideleft.jpg
also sorted out the gears on my main bike. Wouldn't go into the smallest cog since i degreased it all. Had to adjust the limit screw to fix it which is a new one on me.

 

[Robeh]

onelife ID.....http://www.onelifeid.com/

 

[Goonerobes]

Cleaned & re-greased front & rear hubs, changed headset bearings & removed & cleaned seatpost, all for the first time.
As a not particularly mechanically minded person I'm as pleased as punch with myself & would like to thank my friend "Zinn & the Art of Road Bike Maintenance" for his assistance!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

managed to fettle 3 of the 7 bikes in this household today (as well as get a ride in). Feeling like a full time mechanic at the moment.

My bike needed a new chain & a wash down after today's muddy ride, and I also adjusted the angle of the drops this morning before my ride. Seems more comfortable now but time will tell - planning a big ride (longest since returning to the UK) next week so that will be the real test. And while I was fitting the new chain, I took the liberty of washing my rear wheel down giving the cassette a really good clean. It's silver again! Also balanced my front brake pads because I noticed that one of them is wearing faster than the other, only been on the bike for 500km and I am hoping for 10 times that from them, so shall have to keep an eye on the balance there...

(after today's muddy short ride - but then it looks like this after every ride at the moment!)

My OH had another flat tyre this morning, so baled and took the car, leaving me to fix his flat. He had one on Wednesday morning as well, 'fixed' that one himself and cycled to work. I had him check his tyres at lunch time and they were OK, but this morning it was not the case. A quick inspection of the inner tube showed the same shaped and sized cut in the inner tube and it took me less than 3 seconds to locate the cause (which he couldn't find ). A piece of green glass, duely kept to show him when he gets home later.... his observation skills sometimes leave a massive amount to be desired!

Somehow this was not visible to my OH .

Then my OH old mountain bike - this is an epic, work in progress. It is being stripped and serviced prior to going to my brother-in-law. Luckily my BIL does not use mountain bikes for trails, because its trail life is well and truly over. It will now be for commuting along a canal which it should be OK for but today saw the start of the work. It also had a flat tyre but this one has me defeated because even putting the inner tube in water I can't find the leak... so the rear wheel has been stripped down but will still need new bearings & cones before I am done (as will the front). The rear wheel and cassette have been washed to within an inch of their life - as has the inner tube trying to find the leak and the tyre trying to find the culprit. Chainrings, crank arms and pedals are off, brakes are off (front & rear) and I am slowly working on the rest (BB, headset, seat post, cables, derailleurs. It will also need a new saddle before we are done.)

And finally the kitchen is clean again, just in time for him to get home and not notice I have had 2 rear wheels in the kitchen sink cleaning the mud off them...

 

[smokeysmoo]

Just stuck an IZONE Pulse rear light on the CAAD.

It was cheap as chips, (and bumped a small Wiggle order up so as to avoid paying for P&P), and I just wanted a small discrete yet bright be seen light for general use.

Looks great and seems to work really well, job done.

 

[HLaB]

Took my lights of the bike when I got back from the pub, does that count as fettling!

 

[kedab]

nothing today - but i did get a torque wrench & kit for my birthday last week and i now know exactly how tight i'm doing stuff up...which isn't actually true cos i don't know how tight a newton meter actually is so i have no frame of reference...but anyway, that's what i got and i can now heed the little marks on the bike that tell me how tight the bolts should be..which is comforting.

 

[gbb]

Cleared the shed of circa 12 assorted wheels, a multitude of asst tyres, backbox, saddle and an old frame...I found a bottle cage .
wheels tyres and asst bits donated to a small LBS who buys from police auctions etc and rebuilds what he can..a one man operation but hes got a fair sized unit to house it all....and the bottle cage fitted to the Ribble to replace a cracked one.
Took me circa 2 years to clear the shed of cr&p as the wife calls it... shes the happiest bunny on the street

 

[maltloaf]

onelife ID.....http://www.onelifeid.com/

I looked at those as I cycle alone mostly but decided it was less likely that anyone finding me would bother going to a website rather than ringing a simple number so I got a dog tag made up. My name and dob, my partner's name and phone number.

Was about £4 from eBay for two tags

 

[fossyant]

Giving the bike a rest (me actually) as I've been in a fair amount of pain last few days. The Ribble got upgraded to 8 speeds after my new down tube levers arrived. Used a couple of the sprockets smokeysmoo sold me and now have the same ratios as on the Herety. Cassette and chain given a thorough clean after last Sundays mucky fest.

 

[Hacienda71]

Fitted a new to me set of rock shox and disc brake to my 9 year old sons new to him secondhand Giant mountain bike.
Cut the steerer by 10mm and cut down a spare Poundland rear brake cable to fit.
Now to get him out on some trails.

 

[fossyant]

Forgot to mention, took my rollers down from the garage roof and gave them a good clean. Down side is the drive belt has perished in the last 18 years they have been up in the roof. New one ordered from Ribble.