Bike Maintenance.

[kwijibo]

I don't know what a dork disc is.. but it's some kind of flat circular disc like thing

[Enforcer-J]

Ha! That is the dorkiest dork disk I have ever seen! So dorky its almost cool!


almost. :P

[kwijibo]

Hey it came with the bike.. it could be holding the whole thing together for all I know about bikes

[Enforcer-J]

Lol tbh i recently got some new wheels for mtb and realised the 'spoke protector' disc didnt fit from my old rim to the new rim and I was worried that it might be important but it really isnt neccessary for the once in a million chance your chains going to slip that way off the top of the cassette unless your rear derallier is way out of wack.

[Hz-Lab]

The real reason it is on there is so when you are Riding past all the other riders sitting at the Cafe having a Latte, they can't spy on your Driveline and judge you!!!.. ofcourse this doesn't help if you are the other side of the road, but hopefully their vision is shitty anyway, which is very very likely, cos if they seen themselves in those onesies... well, sheesh.

True story that.

[kwijibo]

Anyone got a guide on disassembling a brake/gear lever? One of mine has gone sort of stiff... it sort of does nothing for a cm, and then gets a stuck spot which requires a bit of force to move past. The other one is smooth and starts pulling the cable from the very first mm

[CLP]

Anyone got a guide on disassembling a break/gear lever? One of mine has gone sort of stiff... it sort of does nothing for a cm, and then gets a stuck spot which requires a bit of force to move past. The other one is smooth and starts pulling the cable from the very first mm

are you sure it's the brake lever? i'd bet it's the cable sticking inside the cable housing

[kwijibo]

Nope I'm not sure...

[CLP]

Nope I'm not sure...

if you pull back the brake lever, you should be able to see the end of the brake cable. there's a ferrel attached which fits inside a cut out section inside the lever. if you were to loosen off the cable at the caliper end, you should be able to push the cable out. there's very little that can go wrong with a brake lever, and it's more common that grit etc gets into the brake cable housing and binds things up..

have a look here:
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/brake-levers" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[kwijibo]

You are a fountain of cycling knowledge, CLP!

I think you're probably right, but I'm not sure how to fix it still. I loosened the caliper end, and pushed the cable through and then wiggled it around, pushed it in and out a few times (this is the technical way of fixing it, right? ), and then tightened it all back up. After the first press of the brake lever, the cable doesn't slide back up into its normal position, which gives it that 1cm play where nothing happens. So the cable doesn't seem to be sliding through its coverings smoothly.. but how I can rectify that I am not sure!

[CLP]

I think you're probably right, but I'm not sure how to fix it still.

depends on the condition of the casing.. you make be able to pull the cable out completely and then clean and lightly grease it, then re-install. if there's any kinks in the cable, or it's looking worn or frayed, then replace it. if the issue is with the cable housing, then unfortunately that will require unwrapping the bar tape and replacing the housing and cable and then re-wrapping the bar.

[CLP]

think i've been a bit slack in my maintenance .. probably most of the bikes here need a bit of clean and adjust...

I pumped up the tyres on the CX bike for the first time since i bought it.. seems they are quite ridable at 40psi and have only just started to feel like they are rolling off the rim around corners... good to know for the up and coming summer CX races

[Swain OHaw]

I finally got my bike to Spain, but poor packing meant she arrived damaged - front forks (steel) bent pretty badly, couldn't get the front wheel on by a good inch or two, so she's in a local shop to be fitted with new forks (carbon fibre - essentially an upgrade) and bar tape (a mouse took a shine to the existing tape during her months waiting for me to rescue her from a Cumbrian barn) ... she'll be good to go again soon, albeit probably still overdue some new brake pads and a clean.

Ready to be picked up when I'm not at work all day ... so Friday. Will also have new front brakes as well due to a mounting issue with the new fork ... I suspect that's because the old front brakes were a bit bent from an old accident with a Golf in 2009 that has meant they're intermittently working ever since. I would say intermittently broken, but they were probably broken more of the time than working ...

[Shonky]

Hey guys, have you blokes got any recommendations on a chain breaker? I just tried to break a Shimano 9 speed HG chain and managed to destroy my chain breaker in the process.

Small and portable or a shop tool is ok with me, I just want one that is tough and won't turn to butter doing what is supposed to be an easy job.

[CLP]

Hey guys, have you blokes got any recommendations on a chain breaker? I just tried to break a Shimano 9 speed HG chain and managed to destroy my chain breaker in the process.

Small and portable or a shop tool is ok with me, I just want one that is tough and won't turn to butter doing what is supposed to be an easy job.

Park tools are usually decent. Though i've never managed to break a chain breaker before! :o if you busted the pin, you can usually get replacements

[Enforcer-J]

I broke my top peak chain breaker recently (its useable but could wreck a chain) so ive got a park tools compact one on the way from CRC so i can can chuck it in my camelback along with some quicklinks

[Shonky]

Cheers guys, I've been looking at the park tools ct5 and from all accounts it's alright.

I'm off down to the lbs after work tonight to see what they have, I got the old chain off with the help on an angle grinder, maybe I should take the chain with me and test their breakers on it to see if they are any good.

Sent from my GT-I9100

[kwijibo]

My gatorskins, which have given me not one puncture since purchase, are causing me problems. I went to ride to work on Wednesday, and my rear tyre was deadflat. I couldn't be bothered chucking the spare tube in at 6:30am, so I bussed to work and bought a new tube at lunch (is $10 normal? seems expensive!)

Installed that tube when I got home, and 2 seconds later, BOOM.

So tonight I installed an old patchy, and see the problem. The sidewall of the tyre is coming apart, and the tube is pushing its way out... Pretty shitty from a tyre that hasn't done a great deal of kms! (compared to others here anyway). Guess I need a new tyre now

[norbs]

My gatorskins, which have given me not one puncture since purchase, are causing me problems. I went to ride to work on Wednesday, and my rear tyre was deadflat. I couldn't be bothered chucking the spare tube in at 6:30am, so I bussed to work and bought a new tube at lunch (is $10 normal? seems expensive!)

Installed that tube when I got home, and 2 seconds later, BOOM.

So tonight I installed an old patchy, and see the problem. The sidewall of the tyre is coming apart, and the tube is pushing its way out... Pretty shitty from a tyre that hasn't done a great deal of kms! (compared to others here anyway). Guess I need a new tyre now

It hasn't been cut at some point and you didn't see it?

Not good either way. My Gators were great. I got one puncture in 8000kms.

[kwijibo]

No, its more the rigid bit on the bottom has unglued/unstitched from the rubber bit, causing the weakness.

This is at about 50 psi



At 100psi it just balloons right out and explodes

[norbs]

No, its more the rigid bit on the bottom has unglued/unstitched from the rubber bit, causing the weakness.

This is at about 50 psi



At 100psi it just balloons right out and explodes

I would send that photo to who ever you bought it off. Looks faulty to me.

[CLP]

No, its more the rigid bit on the bottom has unglued/unstitched from the rubber bit, causing the weakness.

This is at about 50 psi

ouch.. that's no good. Have you hit anything significant on those tyres? I've hit a rock before and managed to split the casing on some continentals. so while they're really good puncture resistance-wise, they're still susceptible to impact damage.

[kwijibo]

No, its more the rigid bit on the bottom has unglued/unstitched from the rubber bit, causing the weakness.

This is at about 50 psi

ouch.. that's no good. Have you hit anything significant on those tyres? I've hit a rock before and managed to split the casing on some continentals. so while they're really good puncture resistance-wise, they're still susceptible to impact damage.

Not that I recall. This is causing quite the set back to my 3000km goal this year! I'm way behind already

[kwijibo]

Wiggle are sending me out a new tyre - great service!

[CLP]

Wiggle are sending me out a new tyre - great service!

excellent result!