What Have You Fettled Today?

[Mike_P]

Finished off putting former ebiked hybrid back to normal pedal power re-equipped with its triple 28-38-48 chainring and repaired its left SPD pedal which had lost its bolt, washer, spring etc. Postie also brought the new SPD pedals for the new ebike so by 4pm I actually had three fully functional bikes. Have personalised the new ebike with a BC sticker on the rear of the seat post and sort of double bar tape wrapped some cut inner tube with double sided tape on its rear around the end of the top of the pannier rack as its too readily grounded when flipping the bike over.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Major vernal equinox fettle of commuter, brought forward a couple of weeks.

New cassette, chain, chain ring, tyres + clean.

Before and after:

The marathons have done about 15,000 miles, and I think they could well have managed a few more, but decided it was about time.

Found a very strange crack in the front one:

Hadn't really planned on swapping the chain ring but inspecting it showed the teeth very worn compared to the new one, so bit the bullet.

New one is functionally fine, but frustratingly slightly different to the old one. Separate thread on that.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Noticed over the last couple of weeks that the guttering for the kitchen roof had got blocked, I couldn't get at it from below, I hadn't got a ladder long enough, but its a flat roof so I got the little kitchen steps got out through the back bedroom window and sorted it from above, lots of debris in the guttering and a rather happy looking plant growing in the end blocking the down pipe, cleared it all out, then noticed that there was a lot of debris on the roof as well, with a lot of small seedlings growing on it, so cleared all that as well.

 

[Mike_P]

Further customisation of the new ebike, added a bar end mirror, one of the Mirracycle ones that can be moved out of the way so its tucked under the handlebar to be pulled into place if needed.

 

[CanucksTraveller]

I replaced a bent gear hanger on my daughter's bike, the bent hanger was as a result of a small prang last week where the rear mech bore the brunt.
Rear mech and wheel came off, the hanger was swapped, then everything went back on with the wheel needing only a tiny bit of encouragement from a hammer to re seat.

Happy daughter can now use all 7 gears without the chain heading for the spokes.

 

[wafter]

Following a shamefully short service life ended by a sidewall blowout I replaced the nasty Specialised Armadillo tyre on the rear of my beater road bike with a nice new bargain £10 Vittoria Zaffiro Pro; an easy choice given the price and the great service the same tyre has given me so far on my other road bike.

As usual it wasn't straightforward due to a radial bulge at the valve which was eventually attributed to the thickish (0.6mm) rim tape interfering with the tyre bead. This was because the tape was a) too wide so encroaching on the bead seat and b) doubled-up at the valve, making the situation far worse in that spot. Tyre ended up going on and off the rim 4-5 times as I labouriously trimmed the outside edges of the tape with scissors and shaved down the edges of the double-thickness portion with a knife.

It's still not quite right but a lot better than before and nothing that can be felt on the road. After the obscene time spent on the job I didn't really feel like going out for a ride but forced myself. Turned out to be a nice little thrash for which I felt a lot better on my return; the bike feeling a bit faster now I've got rid of the old tyre and its atrocious rolling resistance

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Major vernal equinox fettle of commuter, brought forward a couple of weeks.

New cassette, chain, chain ring, tyres + clean.

Before and after:

View attachment 507451

View attachment 507452

The marathons have done about 15,000 miles, and I think they could well have managed a few more, but decided it was about time.

Found a very strange crack in the front one:

View attachment 507455

Hadn't really planned on swapping the chain ring but inspecting it showed the teeth very worn compared to the new one, so bit the bullet. View attachment 507456
New one is functionally fine, but frustratingly slightly different to the old one. Separate thread on that.

And job completed with new jockey wheels. Shifting now perfect! The old ones were more than a little worn...

 

[Gravity Aided]

Replaced brakes from the co-op on the Trek Elance with proper accurate Shimano SLR brakes and levers from the same time period, as the bicycle was originally specced with these. Although I have upgraded shifting to Shimano 600 indexed, that would have been a common upgrade in that time period. I have already checked with the local Eroica-type ride people to make sure that's all okay for the ride in which I participate.

 

[carlosfandangus]

After giving the bike a good clean/wash yesterday I re fitted the rear derailleur, I have had a problem where it will not change from large/large down the cassette to the next cog ( I know, don't cross chain) any way I replaced the rear "hoop" and the cable, outer's are fine and only 1000 miles old.
The cable would go slack on the chainstay but the mech would not move, cable is free to move in the hoop, Shimano manual downloaded and set up from a new install, high/low set, B screw set to take any slack out of the chain when low/low and 6mm clearance when on large, it still wont change down, it is slightly better though, 1 clicks of the shifter get no movement, 2 and it changes down to the 3rd largest cog, all the rest is good, have to remember to stay out of big/big, this is the only issue I have.

 

[wafter]

After giving the bike a good clean/wash yesterday I re fitted the rear derailleur, I have had a problem where it will not change from large/large down the cassette to the next cog ( I know, don't cross chain) any way I replaced the rear "hoop" and the cable, outer's are fine and only 1000 miles old.
The cable would go slack on the chainstay but the mech would not move, cable is free to move in the hoop, Shimano manual downloaded and set up from a new install, high/low set, B screw set to take any slack out of the chain when low/low and 6mm clearance when on large, it still wont change down, it is slightly better though, 1 clicks of the shifter get no movement, 2 and it changes down to the 3rd largest cog, all the rest is good, have to remember to stay out of big/big, this is the only issue I have.

Of course avoiding cross-chaining is always the way to go, however FWIW I've had success lubricating sticky cables by withdrawing the cable from the outer and running it through a pan of moulten wax - a nice, dry, long-lasting lube that shouldn't draw grit into the outer as wet lubes can, and well worth a punt before replacing cables IMO

 

[carlosfandangus]

I already had a new cable so I just replaced it, the cable moves fine, even through the rear hoop, its just the mech does not move down the cog from largest to next, newish mech and the spring seems fine, what are your thoughts on adjusting the "B" screw to give a larger gap than the 6 mm that Shimano specify? not tried that yet.

 

[wafter]

I already had a new cable so I just replaced it, the cable moves fine, even through the rear hoop, its just the mech does not move down the cog from largest to next, newish mech and the spring seems fine, what are your thoughts on adjusting the "B" screw to give a larger gap than the 6 mm that Shimano specify? not tried that yet.

Cool

I'm afraid the intricacies of the "B" screw are somewhat outside my sphere of knowledge; other than (IIRC) having to abuse it once to cure a chain slipping issue. Good luck getting it sorted!

 

[MonsterEnergy]

Does anyone know how to loosen the brakes, as mine are very tight, and you can only pull them a little?

 

[Bad Machine]

Does anyone know how to loosen the brakes, as mine are very tight, and you can only pull them a little?

I'm sure there'll be someone who does, but with so many different varities of brakes, cables and levers, you'll make it easier if you can post some photos on here so people know what you've got. Photos of the brake levers, how they connect to the cable that runs all the way to the brakes themselves, and a photo of the brake arrangements on the wheel ? That'd be helpful.

 

[MonsterEnergy]

I'm sure there'll be someone who does, but with so many different varities of brakes, cables and levers, you'll make it easier if you can post some photos on here so people know what you've got. Photos of the brake levers, how they connect to the cable that runs all the way to the brakes themselves, and a photo of the brake arrangements on the wheel ? That'd be helpful.

okay...will do