Thread To Tell Everyone What Fettling You've Just Done

mtb-idle

MTB-Idle wrote:

I picked up n+1 last week from Dizzy Dane.

A riding friend of hers had moved abroad and left a circa 10 year old Specialized Langster outside a block of flats in SW London for a few months. <snip>

I did have a great pic of how it looks now but somehow managed to lose it off my phone

Took another pic; here's the Langster today. Got a black saddle on the way too.

itboffin

there's something wrong with your drop bars

rakkor

Tried to go tubeless on my Triban 520 RC with Schwalbe Pro 1 tyres. Not a chance, not even near to getting the tyre on the rim and after 5 broken tyre levers I called it a day and refitted the standard tyre. Bought a tyre setter to see if that will make a difference and going to replace the double wrap of rim tape with a single one to see if that will help, but given the amount of tyre that was no where near the edge of the rim I'm not holding out much hope on that.

langtounboy

MTB-Idle wrote:

I picked up n+1 last week from Dizzy Dane.

A riding friend of hers had moved abroad and left a circa 10 year old Specialized Langster outside a block of flats in SW London for a few months. The biggest surprise is that it was still there when she contacted him to see if he wanted anything done with it. Nah, just get rid was the answer.

I've just done the langster refurb. I'd look to change the headset bearings they are a weak point. My build below

langtounboy wrote:

I found this frame on Facebook marketplace. I'd been looking for a horizontal drop-outs single speed frame for an age.


It didn't come with any chainset, that was my first addition from my spares box.
The Langster seems to come with an unusual integrated headset made from some cheese like caged bearings see below


I knocked out the cups and fitted an FSA IS-2 integrated headset. The remaining bits were from eBay or my parts bin. In total it's cost just under £100.


Took it for a try ride at the weekend and it may be a little over geared for climbing but I'm pretty happy with the result

luv2ride

^ I like that a lot, especially for £100! Are those Ksyriums? How do get them to fit assuming the rear spacing is 120 OLD, new hub? Sorry if daft question, not a wheelbuilder...

langtounboy

Luv2ride wrote:

^ I like that a lot, especially for £100! Are those Ksyriums? How do get them to fit assuming the rear spacing is 120 OLD, new hub? Sorry if daft question, not a wheelbuilder...

Yes they are Ksyriums and I managed to open up the rear spacing just enough for them to fit; they are rather snug. The clearances are very tight and you can only get a max of 23's to fit.

timothyw

You've spread the track ends of a 120mm OLD aluminium frame out to 130mm?

My understanding is that this is very much 'bad idea' territory.

langtounboy

I was a little unsure but as it was basically a disposable frame I gave it a go. It’s 5mm either side & pretty much at the limit of cold setting. I’ve given it some rides & there’s no distortion or evidence of fatigue.
I understand your concerns but all appears well.
The rear triangle gets checked every couple of days

timothyw

Yeah, could well be fine I suppose - I did previously have an alu frame that was 132.5mm old (so could take disks or rim brakes ie 135mm or 130mm) so obviously not a complete no-no - but worth keeping a close eye on certainly.

rhodrich

Rhodrich wrote:

Replaced spoke in back wheel that failed yesterday. That's 4 that have gone in that wheel so far. Then when I was stress relieving after truing it, another one popped. Replaced that one too, but it's definitely on borrowed time! New spokes purchased. The hub is fine, and the rim has never seen brakes, as it's a rear wheel on a fixed gear bike with no rear brake, so it's only the spokes that will need replacing.

Nearly 3 weeks later, and I finally got round to doing this this weekend. Wheel dismantled, rim and hub cleaned, old spokes and nipples put in the bin, and wheel rebuilt with brand spanking new Sapim double butted spokes. Hopefully, that should sort it....

Gallywomack

Fitted a new Clarks hydraulic front disk brake to the Pompino (£20 for everything including disk). Managed to semi-successfully cut the hose down to length - I say semi-successfully because I didn't spill any fluid and no bleeding was required, but I cut it a bit short so there isn't much slack once fitted. Not really a problem and is working fine, but just a bit slapdash and looks a little odd. Ah well. Pleased with the brake, it's not the most powerful I've ever used but that actually suits me fine for the road.

Also meant I could restore the borrowed brake to my HT, which is now fully operational again so I can start getting out for a few MTB rides. Next job is to get the FS fettled ready for summer.

itboffin

Since my Ribble carbon sportive gave up the ghost i've been using my 1980s steel conversion which is a heavy beast but that aside hills have always felt super hard work so i limit it to absolutely the worst weather, well today whilst swapping out the 11-25T cassette for something more knee friendly 11-28T i discovered i've been running an 11-23 all this time

FFS that explains a lot, duh!

cjcp

itboffin wrote:

Since my Ribble carbon sportive gave up the ghost i've been using my 1980s steel conversion which is a heavy beast but that aside hills have always felt super hard work so i limit it to absolutely the worst weather, well today whilst swapping out the 11-25T cassette for something more knee friendly 11-28T i discovered i've been running an 11-23 all this time

FFS that explains a lot, duh!

Yes. Yes it does.

Partially rebuilt the Canyon this afternoon by installing a new cassette, chainset, chain and adding the new wheels.

The dustcap on the old chainset had seized completely. I eventually gave up and deicded to chip the damn thing off with a hammer and screwdriver instead. At some point in the future, I'll try to remove the bit of the dustcap that's stuck in the chainset spindle thread...

Did this in the kitchen/dining area to a combination of frowns and eyebrow raises.

Never gets old doing the bike DIY in the house.

asprilla

Cleaned that Canyon. It's probably a kilo lighter now.

Changed the bearings in a front Aksium so hopefully it won't sound like a bag of spanners.

Tried to fix the front mech on the Genesis but I think it's seized. Liberal application of WD40 and I'll revisit it next week. Realised it's still got CX rings on so I'll need to swap those next weekend anyway.

cjcp

Asprilla wrote:

Cleaned that Canyon. It's probably a kilo lighter now.

Cleaning stuff is amazing and horrifying all at once. I had to scrape the gunk off the Canyon's jockey wheels with a screwdriver. Very satisfying.

I think there comes a point when you have so much crap on your drivetrain that it's protected from any wear and tear.

That's what I like to think anyway.

rower63

itboffin wrote:

Since my Ribble carbon sportive gave up the ghost i've been using my 1980s steel conversion which is a heavy beast but that aside hills have always felt super hard work so i limit it to absolutely the worst weather, well today whilst swapping out the 11-25T cassette for something more knee friendly 11-28T i discovered i've been running an 11-23 all this time

FFS that explains a lot, duh!

So you've been running a 11-23 all this time, AND, IIRC, running your 2K TV at 700 all this time - I'm seeing a pattern

itboffin

rower63 wrote:

itboffin wrote:

Since my Ribble carbon sportive gave up the ghost i've been using my 1980s steel conversion which is a heavy beast but that aside hills have always felt super hard work so i limit it to absolutely the worst weather, well today whilst swapping out the 11-25T cassette for something more knee friendly 11-28T i discovered i've been running an 11-23 all this time

FFS that explains a lot, duh!

So you've been running a 11-23 all this time, AND, IIRC, running your 2K TV at 700 all this time - I'm seeing a pattern

Are you suggesting i might not be reading the instructions :roll:

itboffin

I rode the winter bike with my now 11-28 set up and blimey what change, now i need a good 1" fork the current cheapO carbon wrap one feels Pogo stick like

Matthewfalle

fitted new bars and stem and changed saddle and wheels and brake pads on new bike.

just need to cut down stem and all done.

keef66

Hill-climbing experiment: Removed the 12-27 105 cassette from the CR1 and fitted a 11-32 Tiagra. Failed to get the wheel back in the dropouts. Dawned on me I'd not removed the 10sp spacer the Tiagra cassette doesn't need. Removed the offending item and cassette successfully installed at 2nd attempt. This for use with a triple chainset so I'll have a lowest gear of 30F x 32R which should winch my geriatric @rse up anything.

Extra 5 teeth means a longer chain, right? Found and added a bit of spare chain via 2nd pair of KMC links. Miles too long; RD folding right back on itself in small / small. Two further chunks cut off the extra bit of chain before I found the correct length. Turns out I only added 2 links. Suppose that makes sense given the 5 extra teeth...

Faffed with the B-screw to give a bit more clearance twixt RD and plate-sized cassette. Now it will actually run smoothly in both cross-chaining extremes. Obviously I'll never consciously select them when riding, but it's nice to know I'll not rip the RD off if I cack-handedly do it accidentally...

Steepest thing I've found round here is Hartest Hill, which I only just managed with the 27T cassette, a lot of gurning, and a bit of speculation about what a heart attack might feel like. So I'm off to see if the new arrangement makes it any easier...

rower63

Should probably post in "what fettling i'm about to do", but here goes...

I have a newish (2,000 London winter commuting miles) rear wheel with what looks like an unbranded Bitex BX311R rear hub. Upon dismantling and removing spindle end-caps, outer sleeves, cassette and freehub, I'm left with the hub body with the 15mm spindle sticking out each end, and 6802 bearings each side still flush to the faces of the hub body. When I twiddle the spindle, the bearings are absolutely horrid, totally square (the freehub bearings, in contrast, still turn smooth and fine).

I have a pair of highly-sealed MTB replacement 6802 bearings ready to go in.

My problem is, the spindle just ain't moving. I've given it a tap or two and used my weight to try to push the spindle out, but to no avail.

Youtube videos of similar show mechanics easily sliding the spindle out, but I guess that's with new components, and this spindle seems to have seized onto the inner of the bearing cartridges.

My plan is now to place the hub body over a wooden block with a hole in it, and smash the spindle out with a big hammer.

Wheel experts ... any comments/advice?

tgotb

rower63 wrote:

My plan is now to place the hub body over a wooden block with a hole in it, and smash the spindle out with a big hammer.

Wheel experts ... any comments/advice?

I've had the same problem with Novatec hubs used for cyclocross. My observations:
- either use a wooden drift or a wooden mallet you don't mind trashing (I'm guessing you were planning this anyway)
- consider dousing the whole thing with penetrating oil beforehand. Once you've separated them, both the bits you're keeping will wipe clean, so you're not going to be stripping out any important grease or anything.
- if it moves part way but is still stiff and needs a drift, don't be tempted to use the large hex key lying on your workbench, you'll trash the axle. Make up something out of wood
- grease all the contact surfaces before fitting the replacement bearings (again, I'm guessing you'd already thought of this)

rower63

TGOTB wrote:

rower63 wrote:

My plan is now to place the hub body over a wooden block with a hole in it, and smash the spindle out with a big hammer.

Wheel experts ... any comments/advice?

I've had the same problem with Novatec hubs used for cyclocross. My observations:
- either use a wooden drift or a wooden mallet you don't mind trashing (I'm guessing you were planning this anyway)
- consider dousing the whole thing with penetrating oil beforehand. Once you've separated them, both the bits you're keeping will wipe clean, so you're not going to be stripping out any important grease or anything.
- if it moves part way but is still stiff and needs a drift, don't be tempted to use the large hex key lying on your workbench, you'll trash the axle. Make up something out of wood
- grease all the contact surfaces before fitting the replacement bearings (again, I'm guessing you'd already thought of this)

thanks, good advice about no metal-on-metal impacts, I'll proceed...

howardv

Planet X CNC Brakes.

Whilst these are great value, light weight brakes, they have developed a reputation of being difficult to set-up/center and therefore get accurate & repeatable performance. In addition, as they are no longer available it means that most users will either have owned them for a number of years or recently purchased them 2nd hand.

Already owning a number of sets of these brakes fitted to various bikes, I recently bought another set on eBay. At first look these were in excellent condition, however, they were in effect "seized", which meant they needed taking apart to see what the problem was.

Undoing everything I was amazed to find a miniature bearing set installed between the two pivot arms. This bearing was seized with a build up of rust/dirt etc., meaning a complete strip down was needed. Having done that I noticed that the majority of the small ball bearings were no longer round. I sourced spares, which were easy to fit back into the bearing carrier and reassemble everything. The result was a set brakes that opened and closed as freely as when they were new.

With so many sets in use for so long, I wonder how many people who have these brakes know that there is this bearing inside, which no doubt will have been neglected and is therefore in need to a service.

For anyone interested I have a series of photos showing the complete strip & rebuild.

keef66

HowardV wrote:

Planet X CNC Brakes.

For anyone interested I have a series of photos showing the complete strip & rebuild.

Good fettling skills there. Many would have simply chucked them in the bin.

I don't think I've ever owned a caliper sophisticated enough to contain any actual bearings...

keef66

Serviced the rear hub on the winter bike. Cheap as chips R501s but everything was still shiny inside. Freehub off so I could more easily clean it externally. Still feeling silky smooth so I left the internals alone. Bearings out, quick wipe down and back in with fresh grease. Few minutes faffing with the cone spanners to get the adjustment right. Cassette and its components dunked in white spirit and scrubbed. Clean enough for this time of year. Chain off for a thorough wipe down (I'd overdone the lube last time) and a chance to give the jockey wheels and chainrings a proper clean. All back together and purring like a sewing machine.

itboffin

HowardV wrote:

Planet X CNC Brakes.

Whilst these are great value, light weight brakes, they have developed a reputation of being difficult to set-up/center and therefore get accurate & repeatable performance. In addition, as they are no longer available it means that most users will either have owned them for a number of years or recently purchased them 2nd hand.

Already owning a number of sets of these brakes fitted to various bikes, I recently bought another set on eBay. At first look these were in excellent condition, however, they were in effect "seized", which meant they needed taking apart to see what the problem was.

Undoing everything I was amazed to find a miniature bearing set installed between the two pivot arms. This bearing was seized with a build up of rust/dirt etc., meaning a complete strip down was needed. Having done that I noticed that the majority of the small ball bearings were no longer round. I sourced spares, which were easy to fit back into the bearing carrier and reassemble everything. The result was a set brakes that opened and closed as freely as when they were new.

With some many sets in use for so long, I wonder how many people who have these brakes know that there is this bearing inside, which no doubt will have been neglected and is therefore in need to a service.

For anyone interested I have a series of photos showing the complete strip & rebuild.

Yes most definitely, i had two sets, sold one and now have the other front only on my single speed the rear is seized!

luv2ride

Just picked up a 27mm CG Open Pave so stuck it on the front of my CR1, replacing the 25mm that was on there. Vernier calipers say its literally 2mm bigger! Not sure why but kind of assumed it come up bigger. Not sure it's going to afford any more cushioning seemed harder to get on than I remembered with the 25mm tò...

wolfsbane2k

Decided I'd try and have a fiddle at straightening the mtb's emergency wheel, after all it's unusable in the current state...

Thought I'd have a go at trying a wheel build, so it's currently sat in piles of pieces on the kitchen table, ready for a relace.

At least I was able to check the rim was still flat enough; it had 3 spots of over a cm movement on it for a few months, so it was worth the full delace.

Now to start the rebuild... Gah

rower63

rower63 wrote:

TGOTB wrote:

rower63 wrote:

My plan is now to place the hub body over a wooden block with a hole in it, and smash the spindle out with a big hammer.

Wheel experts ... any comments/advice?

I've had the same problem with Novatec hubs used for cyclocross. My observations:
- either use a wooden drift or a wooden mallet you don't mind trashing (I'm guessing you were planning this anyway)
- consider dousing the whole thing with penetrating oil beforehand. Once you've separated them, both the bits you're keeping will wipe clean, so you're not going to be stripping out any important grease or anything.
- if it moves part way but is still stiff and needs a drift, don't be tempted to use the large hex key lying on your workbench, you'll trash the axle. Make up something out of wood
- grease all the contact surfaces before fitting the replacement bearings (again, I'm guessing you'd already thought of this)

thanks, good advice about no metal-on-metal impacts, I'll proceed...

Successfully replaced today. Twiddling the spindle with the previous bearings was a real grind, literally. It took effort and the bearings felt square. But once I’d removed them, they turned fine and smooth! WTF? I put in the new ones anyway, but I can only imagine the old ones had been badly installed and jammed in at a slightly non-parallel angle, and hence wouldn’t run smoothly. Flummoxed. Will monitor the new ones to see if they go the same way. The old ones are useful spares anyway.