New bike, needs help...

PiersHS

Hi all,

First post so forgive the newb questions etc but I just bought myself my first road bike second hand which was a Giant SCR 3.0 which I'm dead chuffed with and have a couple of questions...

I can hear a clicking noise when i start pedaling, but it soon goes away after 5 or so seconds, I've checked the crank and front casette etc but still can't work it out...

Also when it comes to regular maintenance I have no idea... but could anybody point me in the right direction to what I need to do to keep my bike in good shape, like adjusting gear or things that gradually go out?

Sorry for the newb questions, I'll eventually get the idea!

Hope to start racing soon which is why I want to give it a service.

Cheers
PHS

desweller

Off the top of my head I'd probably break it down as follows (in no particular order):

Frequent maintenance:

1. Chain lubrication (there will be many and varied opinions on this topic, amazingly enough. Cyclists are a weird bunch sometimes)
2. Tyre pressures
3. Brake cleanliness and rim cleanliness

Annual maintenance:

1. Cable replacement - even if they seem to be OK
2. Tyre condition - wear indicators, flat spots etc
3. Brake conditon - how much material left basically
4. Chain and drivetrain
5. Wheel bearings (cone, ball and grease condition if cup-and-cone, water ingress if cartridge)
6. Bar tape
7. Headset bearing condition
8. Wheel condition - rim wear, true and spoke tension
9. Crankshaft bearing condition and cup torque
10. General cleanliness

night_porter

Welcome to the forum and your first road bike.

Some good advice from Des there and if you get yourself to your local library you should be able to find a good book on bike maintenance. If you intend to race then you will need to know how to strip the bike down and ensure that everything is in good order or it may cost you a small fortune at your local bike shop. The good news is it is all fairly simple providing you know which way to turn a spanner to tighten something.

As for the "clicking" I would suggest that you enlist the help of an experienced cyclist/mechanic as actually being able to hear the noise will help in tracking it down. Sometimes things that seem unrelated cause strange noises and although some are serious and most are not.

PiersHS

Cheers guys,

I will go over to my LBS and find out about the clicking, from what I can see and my (limited) knowledge it seems to be OK.

As I just bought the bike I will probably re-grease everything and the brake pads also need replacing on the back. I'm sure I can find a guide of how to dismantle and grease the bearings etc. Then just give it a clean and lube up the drive train. (I'm guessing that you lube wherever the chain goes and grease everywhere else?)

I've noticed that on the two derailleurs there are a couple a screws on the rear one and similar on the front one, I know these are for adjustment but would it be possible for someone to tell me which does what? I'm running Tiagra on the back and Sora on the rest if that helps (need to replace that sometime for full tiagra)

Thanks
PHS

P.S If there is anyone in oxford up for a ride this sunday then give me a shout!

night_porter

Hi Piers,

I am from just outside Oxford (Yarnton) but unfortunately I am being dragged to the Blenheim Horse Trials on Sunday.

As far as the adjustment screws on the derailleurs are concerned you shouldn't need to touch them. They are limit screws to prevent the mech going into the rear wheel or preventing the chain from going where it shouldn't. They are supposedly set and forget adjustments and apart from when you fit a new mech or bend the old one they should be left alone.

You adjust your cables to fine tune the operation of the mechs and there are cable adjusters either near to your levers or near the mech or both to do this.

There are guides on here to show you how to do many things just follow this http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/workshops

Also Part Tools website is very useful for repairs guides too http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help

PiersHS

Thanks, will check those out in the future. Now just need to do my BC license and I'll try and enter some races soon, see how I go...

PiersHS

Well something had to go wrong so but at least it wasn't a major issue, the bottom bracket needs replacing as the clicking was coming from that... grr, that was money I was going to spend on some shimano SPD SL pedals....

Anyway, anybody know of a good spec bottom bracket to fit my bike? But can't really spend more than £30.00.

Was thinking of something like a Shimano UN54- £13.99 or UN 26- £8-99 or a Campag Veloce? £18-99

Anyone have any experience of these or recommend something different?

The bike is a Giant SCR 3.0

night_porter

Not all bottom brackets are the same so you will need to remove the one you have to find out exactly what it is you need. If you intend doing this yourself there are some special tools you will need to remove the BB and you need to know that the drive side probably has a left handed thread (if it is an English BB).

I have known "clicking" bottom brackets to be perfectly alright once removed and cleaned around the outside then replaced. Because they are sealed you cannot clean inside but sometimes a build up of muck is what is causing the problem.

There are different lengths, different shaft types, English or Italian threads, different shell sizes and some of them fit on the outside of the frame so again it is probably best to get some advice from someone who has seen the bike and knows what needs to be done before you buy any tools or a new BB.

Whoever told you that you need a new BB should be able to give you more detailed advice too.

I don't know if you know but the Oxford Cycle Workshop http://www.ocw.coop/ run courses on bike repairs and lend the tools and workshops to members and on Mondays there is a mechanic on hand for assistance too. I have heard some glowing reports about their helpfulness as well. Might be worth checking them out?

PiersHS

Yeah, I've got the tools already. It is an english thread and I'm going to take it out, measure it and get the details but all of those come in a range of sizes so the sizing doesn't affect my choice atm.

What I was really after was as there seems to be such a huge price range ( from £9.99 to £179) what I should be looking to spend to get a decent BB for the bike as there doesn't seem to be a guide anywhere... I would like to race this eventually so something that is good but also lasts a reasonable amount of time.

So far I was thinking something around the £18.00 mark? Can anybody help clear this up?

Also, Thanks for the advice on the Oxford workshop, I'll defo check it out.

Thanks,
Piers HS

P.S I'll definately clean it and see if that solves the problem before I go and buy a new BB.

MichaelW

Clicking in the BB area is really difficult to diagnose. I usually start with the pedals since they are the easiest to damage and to fix.
Then check that the crank is on tight. Some people use a dry spindle, others use grease on the mating surface. I prefer greased spindles.
Giant almost invariably use Shimano style BB units (unless the crank is made by Campagnolo). The UN54 is as good as you need, they last for years and there is little point spending more. They usually have the dimensions on a sticker around the cartridge shell.
Giant often use their own-label hubs (rather than Shimano) which are usually bog standard cartridge bearing hubs (such as Formula). Servicing is completely different.
Parktools is a good place to start for instruction.