Thread To Tell Everyone What Fettling You've Just Done

deptfordmarmoset

Cafewanda wrote:

Having a lazy morning which means I'll be speeding round the shops shortly :roll: , I decided to give Babygirl (bike) a once-over as I've not really taken care of her properly these past two months or so.

Found a few loose bits, duly tightened :shock: . Adjusted the front brake levers so they are 'tight' and moved the brake levers on the handlebars downwards a tad more for comfort. Hadn't realised the screws on the mudguards were loose either so they were duly tightened too. Put air in the tyres and now need to clean the chain, but I'll do that tomorrow after my trip to SE London.

Lesson: weekly and monthly maintenance checks are a good idea - reinstate them! :oops:

Buying a torque wrench seems like a good idea too.

Hey, our roads aren't that dirty!

cyclopsbiker

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

Hey, our roads aren't that dirty!

agreed!!! and CW knows so having been over this way

DM - and anyone else who's around - we'll be in the Union sometime around 1ish....or maybe a little after. meeting CW & Coriander for a brief pootle, probably just through the park and down the hill to the Union for a Sunday afternoon chat

deptfordmarmoset

cyclopsbiker wrote:

deptfordmarmoset wrote:

Hey, our roads aren't that dirty!

agreed!!! and CW knows so having been over this way

DM - and anyone else who's around - we'll be in the Union sometime around 1ish....or maybe a little after. meeting CW & Coriander for a brief pootle, probably just through the park and down the hill to the Union for a Sunday afternoon chat

That sounds like fun. I'll probably skip the pub because once I get a taste for beer in the afternoon, well, that's me pretty much immobilised for the day. But I'm definitely up for a bit of a pootle.

cyclopsbiker

well I suspect it will be a tinsy winsy pootle....you know the beer at the Union makes sense

returning to the thread....I've just added some reflective black stickers to my bike

itboffin

Clean the black chain on my commuter and low and behold it was actually silver! go figure!

Fitted some replacement crud racers AGAIN

Changed the rear brake blocks for shiny new cartridge blocks mmmm stopping power 8)

swapped out seat posts on the commuter and FGSS mmmm new carbon-tastic

Cafewanda

Sorry guys, didn't mean to imply SE London roads were dirty. That was my way of putting off a mucky job

CB - that kind of pootle will be very appropriate and welcome. Hmmmmmm chips+trimmings and beer!

mkirby

i just built a new bed and adjusted my race blades so they didnt rub.

wheeled_warrior

Turned my Trek Hybrid into a speed machine, with minimal FCN penalty :twisted:

Flipped the stem and handlebars upside down for a more forward position. Swapped the 32c slicks for 25c. Fitted SPDs and purchased shoes to go with them. Cleaned the chain and got the gunk out of the drive-chain. Disciplined the brakes, which were cruelly sticking to the rim on one side.

(reaches for the Swarfega ...)

Its a lovely day for riding, but feeling the fear of riding clipless in London traffic for the first time ...

nich

mkirby wrote:

i just built a new bed and adjusted my race blades so they didnt rub.

You fitted raceblades to your bed? :shock:

mudcovered

Just finished the check ride after a complete clean and drivetrain rebuild. New chainrings, cassette and chain. Also replaced front derailleur which got bent when the old (ridiculously worn) chain got wrapped around the crank arm. :shock:

I've now got a 10spd bike where I can actually select all the gears again. Just in time for a trip up to the Yorkshire Dales which will probably kill me.

Mike

itboffin

Cleaned the rear mech actually I took the whole thing apart and soaked in white spirit then re-greased, what a difference a clean drive train makes.

Campagnolo art in motion 8)

asprilla

On the Bryant:

Changed the tyres to 25mm M+
Cut the steerer and fitted fork
Fitted brakes, first time with discs and I'm struggling to adjust them properly.

SPOODZILLA

On my trek 1500: full clean down, batteries for lights charged, swapped from long seatpost back to factory carbon one - stupid thing to do, looks nicer, but seatpost is now and inch shorter (maxed out), ride in was an uncomfortable one :-(

On the Fury: Been off the road for 2 weeks, but finally managed to tease sheared bolt head out of the hub, trip to halfrauds & £2 spent on new bolt. Also deflated 2.35" rear tyre and pumped back up slowly to try and make it sit straight. Still wonky, pinches in at one point, giving the back end a nice 'bounce' when riding roads at speed. Doing my head in!!

rolf_f

I bought off ebay a pair of Raleigh Record Ace alloy wheels (Weinmann rims, Maillard Normandy hubs) for my bike of the same description (which came with crappy steel wheels). They seem true enough but some alloy corrosion and lots of dirt. So far, I've cleaned up the rear quite nicely - every spoke repolished etc......

Stripped and regreased the hub and cones all of which look almost like new. Unfortunately, the front wheel is a bit cackier and will probably take a fair bit longer to do. Still, a good deal for £22 the both.

redvee

Other the last two days I've stripped two wheels down the hard way with a spoke key, yesterdays wheel dimantle was for the Mavic open 4cd rim. Todays disnmantle was for the alloy hub with the intention of turnig it into a 120mmOLN ss wheel. Just need to get a spindle sorted then do the wheel building thing after a session with the vernier calliper.

Zachariah

Wouldn't it have been quicker to take the rim tape off and unscrew the nipples from the inside of the rim?

Today, I used a chain breaker for the first time. It went very smoothly, unlike the incident that made me need it (chain fell off during a commuting sprint, I was out of the saddle and both feet slipped off the pedals, leaving me using the soles of my feet as brakes and a big chunk gouged out of my right ankle).

Keep those chains tight, single-speeders! I had to remove a link from my chain as my rear wheel was already as far back as it could go. Might have to get a new chain aftger winter.

redvee

Zachariah wrote:

Wouldn't it have been quicker to take the rim tape off and unscrew the nipples from the inside of the rim?

The nipples were too stiff to do it this way, once I loosened them off with the spoke key I did get the Stanley Yankee screwdriver on them though.

Fireblade96

Not strictly bike-related, but I've just unpacked, set up and got working my 1990-vintage NAD turntable, having rediscovered it last time I was at my Dad's.

In the CD/MP3 generation, people don't realise what an art there is to setting up a turntable !

Now re-acquainting myself with my record collection
Damn, some of those old bands were good !!!

marksteven

just fitted crud racer 2s to my lynskey not tried it yet fingers crossed eh

Harveytile

Just nipped out to straighten my handlebars / stem after my off on Monday morning :shock: . Hopefully that should get the light pointing staight. (It's a Hope bar mount so don't start...) :roll:

ketsbaia

Have just spent the past four hours putting a new crankset on my commuter hack and cleaning, lengthening and lubing the chain. Stopped short of giving the bottom bracket a service as I wasn't confident.

Turns out the bottom bracket is slightly too long as the chainline is marginally off.

At least I get to practice doing the whole thing again. :roll:

itboffin

Swapped seatposts because the old one was creaking and worn, then I attempted to true the rear planet-x wheel only to find that the wheel wasn't out of true in fact the rim is so warn that it's actually bowed all the way around :shock:

Damn glad I found out before something nasty happened.

So I need a new rear wheel :?

UndercoverElephant

Have been having a bit of shoulder pain recently, as an attempt to fix this, I tried looking at the handlebars on my bikes. The Genesis and BeOne both have 44 cm baars, which seem about right (and is the same width as my clavicles), I measured the bars on the Orbea only to find that they are 40 cm. I suspect that being hunched over won't be helping much.

Realised that a pair of bars I had hanging on the garage wall were the exact right size and would do a fine job, so I swapped them over and re-wrapped them in a rather lovely white cork with a reflective stripe. 'Tis nearly the season for forgetting all tartiness and going with reflectives everywhere, after all.

further

Replaced broken spoke and fitted my old mudguards back on. First time I've replaced a spoke, was much easier than i'd imagined.

cjcp

Replaced the cable barrel thingy in the front brake hood - i'd somehow bent the cage and it was sticking when you released the brake. Bent the cage bakc into place with pliers, too.

Paul E

fitted a constant light to the front to compliment the flasher, a second light to the rear and yesterday refitted my aksiums as the standard wheels simply don't roll as well.

redvee

Put a new pair of cleats on my Lake shoes. The Lakes have been in use constantly for 7 months and wearing my DHBs the difference between the two sets of cleats is noticable. Just got to remember to wear them equally.

asprilla

Very little.

I've tried replacing the barrel adjuster on the Bryant that was damaged in delivery, but the end of the gear cable is frayed and had been cut very short (it's an alfine) so if I take it out of the outer I won't be able to get it back in again.

Looks Like I need a replacement cable.

il_principe

Tried to fit my new Ultraskins yesterday only to find that I'd done one of the rear tracknuts up so tightly I couldn't undo it and have ended up completely rounding the bolt off. Now having to pay a mechanic to sort this tomorrow and praying I don't p*ncture on the next 2 commutes. I wish someone could invent QR for horizontal dropouts...

cjcp

Battled to pump my tyres up this morning with the track pump. My track pump is broken, so this was a problem. (No less of a problem after I'd smacked said pump on the floor in a hissy fit.)