What Have You Fettled Today?

[HLaB]

A bit of a frustrating fettle from me last night but thankfully better today. After a good ride last night I stopped for a disk selfie.

Bad mistake, I got caught behind two joggers chatting away. No problem I thought a bit of patience, a noisy free hub and polite excuse me and I'll be on my way.
After a bit one did notice and beckoned his mate over so I could go by. His mate did but as soon as he did he closed the door forcing me into the longer grass. Much to his amusement "Oh you've got a blow out" 😡 The sealant didn't manage to seal it a tire worm probably wouldn't but I was close enough to home I just headed there to fix it.
Got back to something so larger an embedded a screw driver couldn't prise it out. I eventually got it out with needle nose pliers. I couldn't get the tyre to hold air over 40psi. New tyre needed I thought so I gave up and would try again in the morning after getting one at a lbs.
Then I realised I was waiting in today for a new router that I ordered and got the email that itd be delivered today. Stupid idiots took my money and are switching over my broadband but forgot to actually dispatch it. I stayed in for nothing and I could be without broadband/streaming all long weekend. The company wasn't sure how my old router would react.
Being what I thought was housebound I decided to borrow a tyre off my winter wheels. Couldn't get it to seat at first with the air tank and tried a few CO2 canisters, no success either. I was about to give up then I thought I'd have one more go. Instant success 👍

The other piece of fettling I done was to put a new rear derailleur cable in my TT bike. Being internally routed I took the easy step of just feeding through the old outers and just open up at the barrel adjuster to feed it through the smaller holes.

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Thursday 14th

I had a bit of a rattle riding to work (very) 'early-doors' this AM
On arrival & looking at it, the bolf for the front near-side mudguard stay had somehow gone AWOL

A cable-tie held it in place, for the ride home (via the banking of the River Calder & NewLands Woods)

One was found, in a tin of 'odds & sods'

 

[Andy in Germany]

First full day at the bike workshop, so I was sorting out the workbench and getting myself together mainly, but I also managed to set some brakes on a clients bike, fit a luggage rack, and try straighten out some wheels as suggested by people here, using the brake blocks as a rough guide so it ran a bit straighter, it generally worked fairly well and I could get the brakes a bit closer to the rim.

I checked a bike a client had repaired and cleared for sale: the rear wheel seemed to have loose cones, so I went to take it off the bike to tighten them; someone had tightened the back wheel so much I had to put a 2' steel tube over the end of the 15mm spanner just to get them off again: anyone getting a puncture out on the road would have had serious problems.

I also tried to replace a seven speed shifter where the adjuster screw for the gears had snapped inside the shifter itself. Unfortunately it turned out that the "stored" shifters were largely broken in other ways so that will have to wait until a compatible one turns up.

Also on the jobs list: sort out the stores...

 

[GeekDadZoid]

What sort of rattlecan paint do you use @GeekDadZoid ? My rattlecan job is holding up okay but it scratches easily.

It's actually my first attempt 🙈 I have bought some Rustoleum primer in grey and then I have some Montana MTN 94 colour and Montana top coat. However I don't have the colour for this bike as I had originally bought the tins for spraying the fork on the Holdsworth.

My plan colour wise with this is to have it in a mid grey colour and then augment it with some orange stickers and orange highlights. Might work 🤞so I will probably pop back to the art shop near work and buy a nice grey colour after the long weekend.

 

[GeekDadZoid]

After this mornings ride I was putting the bike back in the car and ended up being distracted and dropping the bike onto the floor with the rear wheel taking the brunt on its side and a spoke snapping.

So had to swap to the spare spare, as I have two rear wheels out of action now, waiting for a 8 speed freewheel for one and now this one. Annoyingly my spare tyre is on the other faulty wheel so had to do a tyre swap too.

I'll have to get this looked at by one of the LBS.

 

[DCLane]

With a 300km audax on Saturday night I've been slowly prepping the Ridgeback Platinum this week;

• New Vittoria Rubino graphene tyres onto a pair of American Classic 38mm carbon wheels replacing the lightweight ITM ones I was using previously.
• New batteries into the cycle computers, plus new power cables for the Garmin.
• Playing with lighting options; the two Smart 50 front lights remain, supplemented by a Cateye 800 instead of a temperamental Hope Vision 1. The two Smart rear lights are staying as well: I had complaints that they were too bright at LEL in 2017 by riders who just sat on my wheel and didn't help
• Bag contents updated with new tubes, given those in the bag have sat there since 2015, new cream / other stuff as it was last changed in 2019

All ready to go tomorrow night ...

 

[Ming the Merciless]

With a 300km audax on Saturday night I've been slowly prepping the Ridgeback Platinum this week;

• New Vittoria Rubino graphene tyres onto a pair of American Classic 38mm carbon wheels replacing the lightweight ITM ones I was using previously.
• New batteries into the cycle computers, plus new power cables for the Garmin.
• Playing with lighting options; the two Smart 50 front lights remain, supplemented by a Cateye 800 instead of a temperamental Hope Vision 1. The two Smart rear lights are staying as well: I had complaints that they were too bright at LEL in 2017 by riders who just sat on my wheel and didn't help
• Bag contents updated with new tubes, given those in the bag have sat there since 2015, new cream / other stuff as it was last changed in 2019

All ready to go tomorrow night ...

The plains 300? As for riders complaining lights too bright then sitting on your wheel and not doing any work…

 

[DCLane]

@Ming the Merciless yes, it's Plains 300. Are you riding it?

I don't mind people sat on my wheel. It was the complaining whilst being sat there for over 100k south-bound into the wind.

 

[ColinJ]

Sorry, but I agree with whinges about over-bright rear lights!

I organised an autumn forum ride years ago which got back after dark. I was riding behind one of our group who had a crazily bright rear light. We were on the fast descent of the A6033 to Hebden Bridge but I could barely see where I was going. Even when I dropped back 50 - 100 metres I was still being blinded by the damn thing.

As for bike fettling... I am mid-fettle, replacing the handlebar, stem, brake levers and bar tape on my singlespeed bike. When I built the bike a few years back I was hard-up so I used old junk parts wherever I could to save money. Now that the state is kindly giving me a pension, I can afford a few new nicer bike parts. I got all the parts I needed today so I set about doing the upgrade...

But then I realised what I had forgotten... new brake cables! The old inners were fraying and the old outers were worn and sticky. I ordered some inners and outers, which should arrive tomorrow. Meanwhile, I did what I could.

I took the old bar tape off. I am going to reuse that and put the new tape over it to give my hands extra comfort on our rougher northern roads.

I took the handlebar, stem, and old cables off.

I discovered that the new stem's steerer clamp is ever-so-slightly shorter than that of the old stem. I had to juggle spacers about between bikes to be able to clamp it on properly. I did that.

I fitted the handlebar.

I added the new brake levers. They are a huge improvement on my old ones. The 20+ year old previous levers were Campagnolo Ergopower 'brifters' with the worn-out shifter parts removed, but that left an uncomfortable sharp-edged gap underneath each handgrip which my fingers used to squeeze against. Also - the old hoods were falling apart. New Campag hoods would have cost as much as the new Tektro levers I have now which look better and are much more comfortable.

I'll complete the job tomorrow (Saturday) if the brake cables arrive as promised. (Amazon Prime haven't let me down yet, but I suppose there is always a first time.)

I have another fettling job planned which I will also hope to do tomorrow - to turn the bike into a 'dinglespeed'.

 

[alicat]

I fitted a key safe to the outside of the house to save me getting locked out. It was quite a challenge to tighten the bolts with the 8mm Y-spanner at my disposal. Very proud that I only drew blood once!

 

[Ming the Merciless]

@Ming the Merciless yes, it's Plains 300. Are you riding it?

I don't mind people sat on my wheel. It was the complaining whilst being sat there for over 100k south-bound into the wind.

I’ve been out on the Double Dutch 200 today. But Cheshire is the place of my birth and still have family that way. No doubt I’ll do the Plains 300 sooner or later.

 

[Gillstay]

Took a pedal off a crank today. Been soaking it in release agent, and warming it and nothing. Had to drive to a mates place, put it in his much bigger vice, spanner on one side, allen key on the other side with a 4 foot tube over it and we both carefully went the RIGHT way. It did not budge. Warmed it up, plus longer tube and more lube, nothing. Then warmed it as much as we dared without melting it and finally it came loose. Amazing how much force it took and it was always on the edge of shearing, rounding etc. I chose my chum with care as well. A chap with less mechanical nous would have knackered it. As a professional car mechanic he was amazed at what force was needed.
How they did it up so tight is beyond me.

 

[Gunk]

Took a pedal off a crank today. Been soaking it in release agent, and warming it and nothing. Had to drive to a mates place, put it in his much bigger vice, spanner on one side, allen key on the other side with a 4 foot tube over it and we both carefully went the RIGHT way. It did not budge. Warmed it up, plus longer tube and more lube, nothing. Then warmed it as much as we dared without melting it and finally it came loose. Amazing how much force it took and it was always on the edge of shearing, rounding etc. I chose my chum with care as well. A chap with less mechanical nous would have knackered it. As a professional car mechanic he was amazed at what force was needed.
How they did it up so tight is beyond me.

it amazes me how some people think hitting a spanner with a hammer will release it, heat and leverage is sometimes the only way of getting them off, or chucking it away and buying another one off eBay is sometimes the only option.

I always put some copper grease on the threads.

 

[ChrisKz]

Took a pedal off a crank today. Been soaking it in release agent, and warming it and nothing. Had to drive to a mates place, put it in his much bigger vice, spanner on one side, allen key on the other side with a 4 foot tube over it and we both carefully went the RIGHT way. It did not budge. Warmed it up, plus longer tube and more lube, nothing. Then warmed it as much as we dared without melting it and finally it came loose. Amazing how much force it took and it was always on the edge of shearing, rounding etc. I chose my chum with care as well. A chap with less mechanical nous would have knackered it. As a professional car mechanic he was amazed at what force was needed.
How they did it up so tight is beyond me.

Nothing worse than a steel bolt going into alloy/aluminium . I a;ways use Copper ease on the threads before reassembly . helps stop siezing and easier to take apart next time

 

[Richard A Thackeray]

Nothing with the CGR, but a bit of searching & subsequent testing