pawl
Legendary Member
- Location
- Desford Leicestershire
Changed the tyres on my best bike,Michelin Endurance Pro.Bit tight but the tyre jack sorted the last couple of inches
What Have You Fettled Today?
- Thread starter threebikesmcginty
- Start date
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youngoldbloke
The older I get, the faster I used to be ...
Replaced rim tape on Orbea Gain rear wheel. Surprised that factory fitted tape not properly centred and as a result creased and the edge folded in places - probably responsible for a couple of recent mystery tube deflation issues.
Domus
Guru
- Location
- Sunny Radcliffe
With the Roubaix out of service while the broken mech is inspected I decided I'd give the Oltre a once over. If the roads are dry it'll be nice to get out on her for tomorrow mornings club ride 
Just a bit of lube on the chain and some air in the tyres was all that was needed other than a wipe down, it was extremely dusty... I can't remember the last time it was ridden 
Just a bit of lube on the chain and some air in the tyres was all that was needed other than a wipe down, it was extremely dusty... I can't remember the last time it was ridden 
ColinJ
Puzzle game procrastinator!
- Location
- Todmorden - Yorks/Lancs border
I have been fettling my old smartphone!
I had a tiny and very cute Xperia Ray which I used for several years before upgrading to a Samsung Galaxy S4 (which I broke) and then to a HTC One M8. The Ray was donated to a friend and she used it for a couple of years until its software got corrupted and it got stuck in a 'bootloop' from which it could not escape. I took it back and she bought herself a cheapo Nokia 'dumbphone' (a.k.a. a 'feature' phone, so-named despite having very few features!
).
It seemed a shame to just recycle the phone so I decided to have a go at fixing it. It took a bit of doing but I finally managed to reinstall the phone's operating system and restore it to its original state.
The phone is incredibly lacking in memory but I managed to make enough space to install a copy of Memory Map mapping software. I had a spare licence for my digital OS maps and looked up the terms - apparently, I can install them on up to 5 devices THAT I OWN. I own the phone, so I can legally put the maps on it. The licence says that I can't pass copies of the maps on to other users, but it doesn't say that I can't lend the phone to them so I am going to lend it back to my friend to use for guidance on her walks and bike rides using the phone's GPS.
Houston, we have lift-off!
I will have the phone back from time to time to test any Android apps that I develop. (I want to check that they work ok on small screens, slow hardware, and old versions of Android.)
I had a tiny and very cute Xperia Ray which I used for several years before upgrading to a Samsung Galaxy S4 (which I broke) and then to a HTC One M8. The Ray was donated to a friend and she used it for a couple of years until its software got corrupted and it got stuck in a 'bootloop' from which it could not escape. I took it back and she bought herself a cheapo Nokia 'dumbphone' (a.k.a. a 'feature' phone, so-named despite having very few features!
).It seemed a shame to just recycle the phone so I decided to have a go at fixing it. It took a bit of doing but I finally managed to reinstall the phone's operating system and restore it to its original state.
The phone is incredibly lacking in memory but I managed to make enough space to install a copy of Memory Map mapping software. I had a spare licence for my digital OS maps and looked up the terms - apparently, I can install them on up to 5 devices THAT I OWN. I own the phone, so I can legally put the maps on it. The licence says that I can't pass copies of the maps on to other users, but it doesn't say that I can't lend the phone to them so I am going to lend it back to my friend to use for guidance on her walks and bike rides using the phone's GPS.
Houston, we have lift-off!
I will have the phone back from time to time to test any Android apps that I develop. (I want to check that they work ok on small screens, slow hardware, and old versions of Android.)
I made it out on the club ride on Saturday morning and whilst the local roads were dry they got a bit wet further afield which left the Bianchi a tad dirty...
Whilst I rinsed most of the salt and mud off when I got home I gave it a proper clean this evening and used some Velo 21 cleaning products I bought for it a while back. Theres a matt paint cleaning spray that supposedly leaves a streak free finish and a glaze that then protects the paint and makes it easier to wash next time round. Both seemed to work pretty well - the bike is sparkly again but I guess we'll have to wait until next time it' ridden and cleaned to know how much of a difference it has made. Anyway, she looks like this now:
Once clean I tweaked the trim of the front mech slightly then put her back to bed on the wall
I also bled the brakes on the commuter after the brake hose shortening the other day. It's hung up out of the way again now awaiting new spokes later in the week as per my dynamo thread
Hopefully I'll get a replacement front mech for the Roubaix this week too...
Whilst I rinsed most of the salt and mud off when I got home I gave it a proper clean this evening and used some Velo 21 cleaning products I bought for it a while back. Theres a matt paint cleaning spray that supposedly leaves a streak free finish and a glaze that then protects the paint and makes it easier to wash next time round. Both seemed to work pretty well - the bike is sparkly again but I guess we'll have to wait until next time it' ridden and cleaned to know how much of a difference it has made. Anyway, she looks like this now:
Once clean I tweaked the trim of the front mech slightly then put her back to bed on the wall
I also bled the brakes on the commuter after the brake hose shortening the other day. It's hung up out of the way again now awaiting new spokes later in the week as per my dynamo thread
Hopefully I'll get a replacement front mech for the Roubaix this week too...
Levo-Lon
Guru
Bought a polycarbonate 8x6 shed for work ride on mower.
Instructions say we strongly recommend not attempting this on your own ..no shyte Sherlock...
What a slow pita job.
It's ok now its done but I was 8 hrs building and finishing it, screwing it down into paving slabs.
I wouldn't recommend one of these to keep anything of value at a your home.
The double doors are a plus mind.
£429 delivered and flat packed 50 kg package .
Instructions say we strongly recommend not attempting this on your own ..no shyte Sherlock...
What a slow pita job.
It's ok now its done but I was 8 hrs building and finishing it, screwing it down into paving slabs.
I wouldn't recommend one of these to keep anything of value at a your home.
The double doors are a plus mind.
£429 delivered and flat packed 50 kg package .
DCBassman
Guru
- Location
- The lumpy far South West
Handlebar day today. Took pics, then realised I've no micro-SD adaptor with me. Rats.
Remove steel quill stem and alloy 25.4mm bar from Trek 800.
Install A-head adapter and fit 38.1mm alloy bars off the Norco. Break bell in process. Apart from this, all good, feels good, 300g weight gain to 15.06kg.
Remove rusty steel 25.4mm bars from Claud Butler Urraco.
Replace with light alloy bars removed from Trek.
Replace pretty knackered pedals with the old Wellgo plastics frfom the Trek which has shiny silver Wellgos now. 190g weight LOSS, at 14.69kg. Attempted to rebalance V-brakes, but cables too knackered.
To be done:
Both bikes need work on cones, both on the CB, front on the Trek. If I can can get all new wheels as below soon, then no need, except on the Trek front.
Definitely leaning toward keeping the CB and offloading the Scott roadie. New wheelset for the CB, so I can regear it similarly to the Trek revamp, new front (matching!) wheel for the Trek. Recable the CB, maybe try and scavenge some more modern V-brakes also. Put the 1.5" City Jets, which have done maybe 600 miles, on the CB.
Utterly and completely sold on 26" steel!
Remove steel quill stem and alloy 25.4mm bar from Trek 800.
Remove rusty steel 25.4mm bars from Claud Butler Urraco.
To be done:
Both bikes need work on cones, both on the CB, front on the Trek. If I can can get all new wheels as below soon, then no need, except on the Trek front.
Definitely leaning toward keeping the CB and offloading the Scott roadie. New wheelset for the CB, so I can regear it similarly to the Trek revamp, new front (matching!) wheel for the Trek. Recable the CB, maybe try and scavenge some more modern V-brakes also. Put the 1.5" City Jets, which have done maybe 600 miles, on the CB.
Utterly and completely sold on 26" steel!
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rogerzilla
Legendary Member
I bought a 1982 Holdsworth Mistral last week to convert to a fixie for a friend. Tonight I gave the frame and forks a good scrub prior to taking it to the powdercoaters tomorrow. I wouldn't have one of my own bikes powdercoated but I've seen reasonable work from this place and I'm not dropping £165 on an Argos wet paint job since it's a surprise gift; £45 is more reasonable. Anyway, nothing can be worse than its current poo brown colour. Holdsworth called it Sable Brown but I think it's had a rattle can top-up at some point.
Most of the bits are coming from my extensive parts bin!
Most of the bits are coming from my extensive parts bin!
mgs315
Senior Member
My cheap-ass eBay Garmin/Go-Pro mount arrived today so just a quick job fitting it (along with the other cheap eBay Go-Pro/Cateye adapter).
Et voila, centre mounted front light and nowt on the handlebars.
Solid mount too. I like the setup enough that I’ve bought the exact same two bits again for the gravel bike. Now to wait another month as it gets the slow boat over!
Et voila, centre mounted front light and nowt on the handlebars.
Solid mount too. I like the setup enough that I’ve bought the exact same two bits again for the gravel bike. Now to wait another month as it gets the slow boat over!
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
Oh dear! Off the back of some problems I had last week on an epic big MTB ride in sub-zero temperatures I stripped down the Shimano XT hubs today.
During the ride the freehub started catching and trying to flick the chain round instead of freewheeling. I just assumed this must be down to frozen water that had somehow got in. Turns out I was wrong.
Spot the difference....
Hub looks otherwise OK which is a stroke of luck because the cracked bearing had filled the grease with glitter!
I also need to swap the headset, have been meaning to do it for years but just keep greasing it up instead, so I will order one now from SJS and tag on a few packs of bearings at the same time
During the ride the freehub started catching and trying to flick the chain round instead of freewheeling. I just assumed this must be down to frozen water that had somehow got in. Turns out I was wrong.
Spot the difference....
Hub looks otherwise OK which is a stroke of luck because the cracked bearing had filled the grease with glitter!
I also need to swap the headset, have been meaning to do it for years but just keep greasing it up instead, so I will order one now from SJS and tag on a few packs of bearings at the same time
Swapped the pedals over on the two commuters. Decided it would be more sensible to have the M530's on the charge and the A530's on the Kona now I've got the winter tyres on there - if it gets slippy it'll be useful to be able to unclip and use the cage on the other side
I also fitted some shiny Hope bits to the charge to go with it's ongoing dynamo upgrade
I've got some new black with blue stripe bar tape to go on too but will wait until I'm confident the cable and hose routes are right before I fit it
I also fitted some shiny Hope bits to the charge to go with it's ongoing dynamo upgrade
I've got some new black with blue stripe bar tape to go on too but will wait until I'm confident the cable and hose routes are right before I fit it
I like Skol
A Minging Manc...
- Location
- Sunny Ashton-under-Lyne
Swapped the pedals over on the two commuters. Decided it would be more sensible to have the M530's on the charge and the A530's on the Kona now I've got the winter tyres on there - if it gets slippy it'll be useful to be able to unclip and use the cage on the other side
I really, really don't get this. In my experience the best bike control is when clipped in, and unclipping happens in a heart beat without any conscious effort! I have flown through the air too many time to mention and found myself miraculously detached from the pedals to worry about this. If a foot needs to go down it just does, clipped or otherwise.
Levo-Lon
Guru
Swapped the pedals over on the two commuters. Decided it would be more sensible to have the M530's on the charge and the A530's on the Kona now I've got the winter tyres on there - if it gets slippy it'll be useful to be able to unclip and use the cage on the other side
View attachment 448840
View attachment 448839
I also fitted some shiny Hope bits to the charge to go with it's ongoing dynamo upgrade
View attachment 448838
I've got some new black with blue stripe bar tape to go on too but will wait until I'm confident the cable and hose routes are right before I fit it
Fook that must be heavy..if you needed a trolly jack!!
