What Have You Fettled Today?

[Gravity Aided]

I added new bar tape after taking my Trek 600 from downtube shifters to brifters, a front rack, and fenders. I couldn't test ride it, though, as I have a Nor'Easter in progress. Started with rain, now a blizzard. Luckily, only an inch or two of snow.

 

[C R]

Cleaned and oiled the drivetrain and chain, and pumped up the tires.

 

[Elybazza61]

Got the cables in on the Ridley with a bit of help from a gear cable and end cap*.
Might wire everything in and charge the battery next to make sure it all works before stuffing port no 2 away behind the bb.

Some rubbish pics I took in a hurry;

Port will stuff away behind the bb with a bit of gentle persuasion.

Routed through the left side so that I can clamp the wireless module to the rear brake cable outer.

Battery cable last one to be done.

*Basically thread a plastic end cap the wrong way on a gear cable and push it on the pear,the excess inside the cap is perfect for pushing the di2 cable in to which can then be threaded more easily around tight spaces.

 

[HLaB]

Mechanically cleaned and lubed the commuter (I don't want to make it too clean/ attractive though. , fitted some clip on mudguards, trued the front wheel slightly and pumped the tyres up.

 

[JhnBssll]

I've struggled to get hold of any bungs or blanking plugs to fill the holes left in the frame after the Di2 installation. I fitted the specific specialized grommet for the rear mech last week and today fitted the Di2 grommet for the front mech.

This left 3 holes unaccounted for; the old cable hole behind the seat tube for the front mech and the two cable entry holes in the downtube. I have done a bit of reading and saw someone suggest the use of Sugru mouldable glue but couldnt find any evidence of it being tried so figured I'd give it a go

I have to say I'm pleasantly surprised by how easily workable it is and seem to have achieved a half decent result. It hasn't cured yet but if it looks like this when it's done I'll be pleased with the result I started with the little hole behind the seat tube as it's quite well hidden and didn't matter if I made a mess

I chalked that up as a success so went for the first downtube hole...

Pretty happy with that so moved on to the final hole...

Jobs a goodun. Hope they look ok when it cures, I've got no idea how much it shrinks or changes but time will tell

Still no sign of the junction box

 

[Elybazza61]

More progress today.

Battery charged and everything connected and it all works

Just need to tidy the cables and fit the brake outers when the new inners arrive tomorrow; might have to get a shorter cable for the front mech as it's just a bit too long.

 

[Johnno260]

Mudguards these things are making me OCD, every little squeak or rub drives me nuts!! lol

 

[JhnBssll]

Just in from my evening fettle. I cancelled the junction box order, told them I'm going to refuse delivery and get it returned to sender when it finally arrives as its been 11 days now and it's not even registering on the tracking website yet. I've orderd one for next day delivery, along with an extra eTube wire.

So this evening I decided to whip the bar end plug out of the Bianchi and investigate whether I could get a wire down the length of the bars. It annoyed me that I've managed a neater wiring route on the winter bike than I have on the summer bike so I figured I'd try and rectify the situation. Low and behold I found I could indeed thread a line from one end to the other so I measured up and ordered a new wire as mentioned above.

I then realised that with the junction box removed from the Bianchi I could fit it on the Roubaix and finish that bike off First I finished stripping the bars down on the Bianchi ready for further fettling tomorrow evening and put her away again...

I quite quickly connected the junction box up, tested everything and re-wrapped the bar

The battery was fairly flat so I've left it charging overnight, I'll unplug it before i go to work in the morning. Last fettle of the day was to swap out the SRAM cassette for the new Ultegra 11-34 I'd bought for the winter bike as this doubles as my 'hilly' bike during the summer months

My mates are already taking the mick out of my new 'dinner plate' but anything that helps get my 100+ kilo's uphill is great in my book

So tomorrow will be rewire and re-wrap the Bianchi bars then lots of Di2 software updates. No doubt I'll brick the new stuff in the same way I did the last lot

Oh, the Sugru seems to be setting nicely - I didn't prod it too much as its supposed to set 3mm thickness every 24 hours so it'll still be soft in the middle but I'm pleased with the result and would recommend it so far - as long as it doesnt drop off the first time I ride it of course

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Some fettling for which money will change hands for me today. When one of @gavgav's colleagues needed some work done on his bike my name got mentioned (being Cytech 2 certified) so I've ordered parts and set to it this morning.

When I saw the bike the other day at first glance it looked pretty good, being clean and shiny. A closer inspection showed that all three chainrings were worn out with the middle one on the verge of losing the remaining teeth altogether. Three sprockets on the cassette were in a bad way and the wheel rims had lost their wear lines a long time ago.

I've adjusted the headset (sealed bearings are smooth so adjustment was all that was needed), replaced the gear and brake cables (the LH gear cable was right on the verge of snapping inside the shifter), glued the loose shifter indicator lens back down, replaced wheels, brake blocks, chainrings, cassette, chain and derailleur pulleys, checked the pedals (also sealed units which are silky smooth so left those well alone), set up the gears and brakes.

All it needs now is a test ride which I would have done today if not for the 50-60mph gusts of wind recorded locally this afternoon.

Fairly happy with that lot.

 

[JhnBssll]

Some fettling for which money will change hands for me today. When one of @gavgav's colleagues needed some work done on his bike my name got mentioned (being Cytech 2 certified) so I've ordered parts and set to it this morning.

When I saw the bike the other day at first glance it looked pretty good, being clean and shiny. A closer inspection showed that all three chainrings were worn out with the middle one on the verge of losing the remaining teeth altogether. Three sprockets on the cassette were in a bad way and the wheel rims had lost their wear lines a long time ago.

I've adjusted the headset (sealed bearings are smooth so adjustment was all that was needed), replaced the gear and brake cables (the LH gear cable was right on the verge of snapping inside the shifter), glued the loose shifter indicator lens back down, replaced wheels, brake blocks, chainrings, cassette, chain and derailleur pulleys, checked the pedals (also sealed units which are silky smooth so left those well alone), set up the gears and brakes.

All it needs now is a test ride which I would have done today if not for the 50-60mph gusts of wind recorded locally this afternoon.

Fairly happy with that lot.

Certainly sounds like disaster has been narrowly avoided there, or a long walk home at the very least Nice work

My final Di2 bits arrived today so I finished off rewiring the Bianchi bars then put new bar tape on it. I then connected both bikes up one by one to the PC to update all the firmware; the Bianchi was up to date which is as I expected, the Roubaix had updates available for the battery and the bluetooth adapter so I installed those then tweaked the gears a bit, all running very nicely now

With both bikes lined up you'd be hard pressed to see the difference between the STI's if the branding was covered. In fact the only difference I've noticed (besides the minor weight difference) is the Dura Ace seems to make a slightly nicer noise as it shifts

The whole fleet is fully functional again, what am I going to do with the rest of my evenings this week?! I'll have to converse with my darling wife Maybe I should spend the time convincing her why I need a gravel bike...

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Certainly sounds like disaster has been narrowly avoided there, or a long walk home at the very least Nice work
...

Thanks. I think the chap enjoys the kind of luck that most of us would give our eye teeth for.

I've just got a couple of photos of the gears to give an idea:

Not a lot of meat left on the middle chainring, particularly on the side furthest from camera. I'm amazed it worked at all.

Note gears 4 and 5. @Yellow Saddle might appreciate this photo.

 

[Yellow Saddle]

Thanks. I think the chap enjoys the kind of luck that most of us would give our eye teeth for.

I've just got a couple of photos of the gears to give an idea:

View attachment 440732
Not a lot of meat left on the middle chainring, particularly on the side furthest from camera. I'm amazed it worked at all.

@Yellow Saddle[/USER] might appreciate this photo.

He will find it most interesting. Especially the chainring. It indicates someone with one strong and one weak leg.
Weird.

 

[Domus]

Dusting off my old Trek Hybrid for a ride on the Wirral Way. Mate who recced it last week recommended I use the Trek instead of the Ribble.
Anyway, removed wheels to find the bearings sound a little dry, no cone spanners so on order, cleaned cassette and gave the frame a good looking at. The original seat post has a bouncy section that is no longer bouncy so took it out. It seemed very heavy so swapped for a Deda seat post I had knocking around.
303 grams saved. Kickstand removed, 302 grams saved. Fewer pies and cakes over the next week or two should have me flying.

 

[Justinitus]

Polished and waxed the Diverge - the gloss black paintwork now shines again!! Touched in a couple of tiny chips with nail polish and removed, cleaned and regreased the thru axles.

Fitted my Planet-X 5p bottle cage to the Tern.

 

[JhnBssll]

A fettle too far

I had planned to take the Roubaix out tomorrow afternoon to stretch it's legs after the upgrade but had a bit of play in the rear mudguard and I wasn't entirely happy with the clearance on the front guard.

The front was easily remedied by removing a little more material and raising it a few mm but I snapped the rear eyelet when tightening the rear guard I've just ordered some replacements but I won't be going out on it tomorrow now. If the weather is ok I might take the Bianchi instead, we shall see