What Have You Fettled Today?

[si_c]

Toe clips on my pedals broke today Took them off, left hand pedal wasn't spinning properly, so took the opportunity to see what the inside of one looks like

Grease inside had turned to a paste, so cleaned axle and bearings, regreased and put back in. Just been to tesco to get some milk, and the clicking sound that's been driving me mad for the last month has disappeared

 

[ColinJ]

Sorting out my Basso's brake cables might be my next fettling task. The rear brake has had too much friction in the cabling since I flipped the stem (the cable was really a bit too short but I just about got away with it). It has got worse recently though, and the brake now only half releases so it is time to tackle the problem.

I might wait another month and do it once this winter is over and the roads are grit-free again. My new Crud Roadracers are keeping 95% of the salty crap off the bike, but some inevitably gets where it shouldn't.

I had a quick look today and to my surprise the friction is at the handlebar end of the cable - I thought it would be at the brake end and be due to road crud getting inside the outer.

I dripped some thin oil down the cable and worked it in and that has half-fixed the problem. Fixing it properly would involve a new cable and outers and redoing the bar tape. I'll sort it out when my irritation with it overcomes my laziness!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

A clean of the knockabout bike as it was especially filthy from commuting duties this week and fitted some new tyres to the Raleigh.

I've been toying with the idea of some more sporty tyres for a while (was thinking of Schwalbe Kojak or Marathon Racer) and noticed that On One had Vittoria Voyager Hyper tyres at £15 each which are quite a bit lighter than the current Marathons and claim to be fairly puncture resistant. First impressions on a quick test are that they give a more supple ride than the Marathons despite having them pumped up harder. It's quite blustery out so was difficult to tell if they are faster. I await better weather conditions for a proper test ride.

 

[Gravity Aided]

I fettled some bikes for the big giveaway at the county courthouse parking deck. One BSO and a GT outpost. I gave the GT a test ride outdoors in the 10F weather. A very short test ride. A very nice bicycle.

 

[Robeh]

put a pair off schwable Lugano's 25c on my winter bike,i took them off my Cannondale synapse 105.
i didnt think they would run with my Crud Roadracer mk2's but they fit just perfect.
im sure i read somewhere they would only run with 23c tyres

 

[BigAl68]

I was sorting out the brakes on my carbon bike at 5am and then had to fit a tub to the steel bike out on a ride this afternoon. All good as both bikes running like a dream

 

[Dirk]

Adjusted brakes and gears on my wife's Olymique Mixte and raised the saddle about 1/4" for her.
Put new chain on my Motobecane Special Sports, took rear brake apart and reassembled it correctly (someone had previously left a couple of washers out), adjusted position of bars and saddle.
Cleaned both.

 

[ColinJ]

put a pair off schwable Lugano's 25c on my winter bike,i took them off my Cannondale synapse 105.
i didnt think they would run with my Crud Roadracer mk2's but they fit just perfect.
im sure i read somewhere they would only run with 23c tyres

It depends entirely on the bike!

My mate can't even get 25C tyres to fit on his bike and Cruds don't fit even with 23C tyres.

I can put 25C tyres on my Basso but then not get the Cruds on. I put 23C tyres and Cruds on instead.

There is quite a lot of clearance on my Cannondale. I haven't tried, but I reckon I could easily put 25C tyres and Cruds on that bike. It's my fair-weather bike though so I won't be putting mudguards on it.

 

[ChrisEyles]

Finished fettling the Vee brakes on my wife's commuter today after receiving some helpful advice on here. TBH they're still not quite perfect, and I'll be asking the nice people at the LBS to set them up (pretty please) when we get some new brake blocks soon. But they do the job, and no longer rub constantly on the rim, so job's a good 'un.

 

[Elybazza61]

New chain fitted to the Icarus as the old one was somewhat shagged.

 

[Smokin Joe]

New PX Pro Carbon build finished, apart from the bar tape. The friggin' about trimming cable outers is the worst part of any build, checking and re-checking the length before you cut to make sure you get them just right. I'd already cut the front brake outer too short yesterday meaning an emergency dash to my LBS for a replacement.

 

[Gravity Aided]

Fitted brakes to the expedition tourer Schwinn Woodlands, had to do a wee bit of metalwork due to the front cantilever brake hanger being bent, and out of round, which was probably the reason the previous owner removed the front brakes and single speeded the bike. Trued and aligned the fitting, and added all brakes back to the frame. I'll set cables on Wednesday, and should nearly be done.

 

[Kevoffthetee]

After work I started the project of fitting claris shifters to my peugeot optimum 531 Reynolds. I wanted to do it so that once I have the money for a new bike it could be converted back to its original state and was lucky enough to find brand new shifters, drop bars and tape which has just been removed from a new Boardman race sport.

All cables were there as well so all I needed was a quill stem adaptor and stem. Everything came off in one piece and can easily be put back on, bringing her back to standard at no extra cost. The only snag I've hit is that modern bikes don't have outer brake cable running all the way from front to back so I need to find a tidy looking joiner as I don't want to remove the bar tape for the sake of a brake cable.

Once I have this ill fine tune her and take her out on the clubs development ride this weekend.

I might even buy her come white wall tyres to match the White charge saddle and bar tape

 

[raleighnut]

After work I started the project of fitting claris shifters to my peugeot optimum 531 Reynolds. I wanted to do it so that once I have the money for a new bike it could be converted back to its original state and was lucky enough to find brand new shifters, drop bars and tape which has just been removed from a new Boardman race sport.

All cables were there as well so all I needed was a quill stem adaptor and stem. Everything came off in one piece and can easily be put back on, bringing her back to standard at no extra cost. The only snag I've hit is that modern bikes don't have outer brake cable running all the way from front to back so I need to find a tidy looking joiner as I don't want to remove the bar tape for the sake of a brake cable.

Once I have this ill fine tune her and take her out on the clubs development ride this weekend.

I might even buy her come white wall tyres to match the White charge saddle and bar tape

Use an in line adjuster.

 

[DCLane]

The front derailleur's been playing up on the Secteur for months, certainly at least 6 months. It'll sometimes work and sometimes stick - requiring me to unclip and kick it. That doesn't work well, particularly on a fast club run , so I too the opportunity to:

• Fit a new Ultegra 6700 front derailleur.
• Fit a new Ultegra 6700 chain
• Index the rear derailleur.

Basic prep for a 200k audax on the 16th done which was needed since I haven't ridden this bike since November.

Also the Raleigh Team has been put into use with the bad weather we're having. The rear wheel needed trueing so that got done and a general check-over, lube and grease. All good. I forget how good the bike is, ride it and then think again about whether it should be sold. However, needs must so it'll be on sale later this month.

I've cheated with the Ridgeback Platinum commuter; it needs the headset doing after the winter so that's gone to the LBS. When it comes back it's being treated to an upgrade; Dura-Ace 7800 crankset, front & rear derailleurs, new Pearson bars, Ultegra 6700 shifters, Ultegra cassette. The aim is to turn it into a long-distance audax bike for the 400 and 600km PBP qualifiers (it'll still have to cope with commuting though!).

Also fitted some new jockey wheels to an old Shimano 600 derailleur plus cleaned the Shimano 5700 front derailleur I removed earlier.