What fettling blunders have you made?

davmaggs

I haven't been happy with my gears for a while, felt like they were skipping and dropping me on to the wrong cog. Sunday was a big clean and degrease (haven't done a single one this winter) of the chain and cassette as this was so bad it could have been the cause of the problem. This didn't fix it and I ran out of time, and still mystified.

Monday night put the bike up on the work-stand and spent time spinning wheels and adjusting indexing. Still not running right (this should be easy) and as time went on the levers started failing to do anything, the mystery deepens. The cable then drops out. Turns out it was fraying inside the shifter and jamming up the lever, and my fettling finally broke it. Now I have a reason for the bad indexing and I am happy.

Tuesday buy a cable and fit it. Easy job, except it still feels like something is wrong. Back and forth checking the barrel adjuster and now getting annoyed. Something then catches my eye. 3 months early I had fitted a new cassette and now I see that I actually put two cogs on the wrong way around. Idiot, switched them over and 10 minutes later all is indexing well.

I realise now that no gears were being skipped, I was changing up by changing down and assuming things were wrong. It all ran perfectly until the cable fraying so I didn't notice.

So, make your confession here

TheStone

I've split a new chain too short ..... 3 times.

davmaggs

Not for the same job I hope?

veronese68

The only one that springs to mind is spending hours struggling to put a KMC 9 speed chain together for someone. The split link would nearly go on, but not quite. After forcing it on using far too much force it was unsurprisingly rather stiff. Only then did I think to measure the chain. Turned out they had packaged an 8 speed chain as a 9 speed, but with a 9 speed split link that was of course a bit too narrow.
Not really my fault, I blame Wiggle. I was just annoyed that I realised after we'd got it together when I knew it wasn't right the whole time, just hadn't figured out how.
I'm sure I've done far worse, just blocked it from my mind.

welkman

I have a few:

1) I am always putting the chain through4: the rear mech the wrong way and wondering why it is so noisy.
2) Chopping chains too short.
3) On a set of Jagwire cables there is one really short brake cable for the front and one really long for the back, I have twice cut the long one for the front brake only to be left with a cable way too short for the back.
4) Snapped rack mount bolts off on my Jake frame using too much torque.
5) Using tubes with valves that are too short to get the pump on after they pass through the rim.

you get the idea

EKE_38BPM

I did a brake service on SWMBO's BSO yesterday and I've just noticed that the rear brake cable does not go through all of the eyelets it is supposed to. Dagnabit!

I blame this thread. If it wasn't for this thread, I wouldn't have noticed!

mudcow007

cross threading pedals is a bit of a stinker

& cross threading a rear mech..needed a new hanger ordered from Scott, which took weeks to arrive

bad times

W1

Hundreds.

My best was re-indexing my gears, setting off for a ride, going for the easiest ring - and the chain being pushed onto the hub, sawing through five spokes are killing the rear wheel.

veronese68

mudcow007 wrote:

cross threading pedals is a bit of a stinker

That reminds me. Going out drinking straight from work. I had recently gone clipless and thought drunk cycling best performed on flat pedals. Changed back to flats, didn't do them up very tight as I would be changing back the following day. Riding to the pub along a cobbled street, so stood up, a pedal came off. Knackers hit the cross bar, I wobbled but managed to stay on. The pedal had taken out the end of the thread so I couldn't get it back in. Thought I'd just walk the bike back and sort it later.
Eleventy pints later cycling back with 1 pedal seemed like it wouldn't be a problem. Ha! Riding along the tow path, foot slipped off the 1 remaining pedal, I veer towards the river, swerve the other way and go down like a sack of spuds. Carried on home (still on the bike)
The following morning I'm rather sore. Manage to cover up the bruises. Thinking it best not to tell the EPO the truth (only for her protection so she wouldn't worry) I go out to the garage and make a lot of noise. Go in tell her I tripped over something due to my slight hangover to explain the bruises.
A week later one of my colleagues asks me how I feel after falling off with 1 pedal whilst I'm with the Mrs, oops.
I'm sure ther are many others, you understand why I try to block them out.

GiantMike

I fitted Crud Roadracer 2s. Both were broken within a month. Never again.

Kieran_Burns

None.

Ever.

I'm perfect when fixing my bike.

Don't use the search function.

mudcow007

Veronese68 wrote:

mudcow007 wrote:

cross threading pedals is a bit of a stinker

That reminds me. Going out drinking straight from work. I had recently gone clipless and thought drunk cycling best performed on flat pedals. Changed back to flats, didn't do them up very tight as I would be changing back the following day. Riding to the pub along a cobbled street, so stood up, a pedal came off. Knackers hit the cross bar, I wobbled but managed to stay on. The pedal had taken out the end of the thread so I couldn't get it back in. Thought I'd just walk the bike back and sort it later.
Eleventy pints later cycling back with 1 pedal seemed like it wouldn't be a problem. Ha! Riding along the tow path, foot slipped off the 1 remaining pedal, I veer towards the river, swerve the other way and go down like a sack of spuds. Carried on home (still on the bike)
The following morning I'm rather sore. Manage to cover up the bruises. Thinking it best not to tell the EPO the truth (only for her protection so she wouldn't worry) I go out to the garage and make a lot of noise. Go in tell her I tripped over something due to my slight hangover to explain the bruises.
A week later one of my colleagues asks me how I feel after falling off with 1 pedal whilst I'm with the Mrs, oops.
I'm sure ther are many others, you understand why I try to block them out.

Ha...that made me chuckle

its always the simple straight forward jobs that are the issue with me....possibly because i rush

i remember showing off in our work carpark on my mountain bike doing stoppies an wheelies, endos an decided i would do a rockwalk so got the back wheel up, started to spin when *crunch* the steerer tube snapped on my forks landing me on my face in the gravel much to the amusement of all at my work

i had to spend the rest of the day with a bloody knee an ripped pants

ha!

Twostage

Recent one was putting the cable on the wrong side of the pinch bolt of the rear DR. Simple mistake meant it was impossible to get it to index properly. Spent over an hour adjusting hi and low and barrel adjuster before giving in and searching the web. Park tools site had the warning 'putting the cable the wrong side of the pinch bolt may make it impossible to set up the gears correctly'. Very true.
Not really fettling but...
It took years of struggling to get my front wheel on and off before I noticed someone else use their quick-release.
Similarly I used to struggle to get the front wheel centred in the brake blocks before I discovered I could just wiggle the caliper side to side.

shouldbeinbed

I left a rear brake caliper unhooked once. I didn't realise until nothing happened when I was trying to stop for a junction. Enough front brake not to to tip me over the top and feet out just about stopped me before I went into the line of cars.

I sliced the tip of my finger open to the bone cutting a cable tie off with a stanley knife.

cyclingprop

Notable mentions:

1) splitting new chain too short - to lbs who replaced it ... 100 m down the road the new chain sheered.
2) cleaning/replacing rear bearings. Put the but back together in the wrong order. Whoops. Hours of swearing before lbs request.

Other than that I hate indexing .

The Rookie

Had a bad off on the MTB at Cannock, chucked bike in the boot and drove home in some pain, got home and the bike went in the garage as quick as poss before I went to A&E, next ride about a month later I was getting really frustrated with the rear shifting badly, then it felt all wobbly going round a corner, only then realised that neither QR was done up any tighter than to just keep the wheels on while I put the bike away, then spent the next 3 miles (group ride) getting the rear shifting how it had been before I tweaked it to fix the 'problem'!

Simon

bompington

TheStone wrote:

I've split a new chain too short ..... 3 times.

My goodness, how short was it after the third split?

meanredspider

Whoa - I'm glad you lot don't work on my race car - i'd be pushing up the daisies. Not made any fettling cock-ups on my bike. Once forgot to put the oil filler cap back on the race car - made for a pretty messy engine bay :roll:

Blue Meanie

I work for a busy online bicycle retailer, so I won't tell you any of my mistakes (5 years in the workshop?)
Took a phone call from a disgruntled customer, apparently we'd 'threaded' the pedal when fitting it to his new bike so he couldn't get it off and was after a warranty. (Claims to be an engineer and understands these things)
Turns out, he was turning it the wrong way.

Zachariah

Nothing too bad on the bike, yet (though I think I've somehow knackered the indexing last rear wheel change by knocking the rear derailleur, haven't gone outdoors on it yet but on the turbo I'm getting worrying signs). Wife leaned my steel commuter against a stone brick wall, gouging a big scar on the paintwork.

I have killed an expensive graphics card when my screwdriver slipped while changing the cooler fan. Scored a nice line across the board.

PBo

Is there anyone here who didn't not also check the tyre after proudly fixing their very first puncture?

Still, good practice for fixing punctures, as you get your second pretty soon after your first.....

bompington

Like Kieran_Burns, I never make mistakes. In particular I have never, ever, hammered on a crank because of some vague half-remembered idea that that's what you're supposed to do. Only a fool would do something like that :oops:

Greg T

Wondering why my crank extraction tool isn't extracting the crank . . . . . .

Noticed I wasn't gettiong many threads buried in the crank arm but just ignored it . . . .

Braced the bike . . .

Stood on the arm of the wrench to up the torque

Ripped out the outer three threads of the crank arm . . .

Swore fecking blind.

Had a cup of tea . . .

Came back . .

Ah . . . . . . hadn't taken the bolt off . . . Took the securing bolt off the crank arm holding it to the bottom bracket . . .

I could have popped it off with my hands . . . .

Arrrgggghhhhhhh

essex-commuter

Greg T wrote:

Wondering why my crank extraction tool isn't extracting the crank . . . . . .

Noticed I wasn't gettiong many threads buried in the crank arm but just ignored it . . . .

Braced the bike . . .

Stood on the arm of the wrench to up the torque

Ripped out the outer three threads of the crank arm . . .

Swore fecking blind.

Had a cup of tea . . .

Came back . .

Ah . . . . . . hadn't taken the bolt off . . . Took the securing bolt off the crank arm holding it to the bottom bracket . . .

I could have popped it off with my hands . . . .

Arrrgggghhhhhhh

Classic!

DrLex

Ha! Remember doing exactly that on my first proper bike; I now think of the crank puller as the "thread-stripper" and leave non-trivial jobs to the LBS.

andyrr

Gear cable adjuster was stuck in the down-tube frame braze-on of a Spec Allez frame I'd bought a few years previous and it had sat in the garage. Now had a use for the frame to build into a winter trainer/commuter and wanted to fit cables etc. The adjuster just wouldn't come out, dried drilling it out (failed), using a drill bit to knock it out from the lower side (failed and bit broke-off) so, getting hacked off and finding the access to do much was difficult due to the proximity of the headtube the hammer was brought into play. Braze-on was no longer brazed on, it was on the floor. Oops. Had to run full-length outer to the rear-mech.

redvee

When I first changed a cassette I only used a cassette tool and 12" jussie with a screwdriver through the cassette and into the spokes. Had to go to LBS for new spokes and truing :oops:

CiB

Another one of Kieran's ilk here, never getting anything wrong at all ever.

I did notice the other day tho that the front brakes wouldn't open to let the wheel out. Why? Because last time I'd had them off for cleaning I'd put them back on and adjusted the pad-to-rim clearance to absolute perfection, but had left the quick release in the open position. When I did close them, the bike wouldn't move.

Greg T

Think I posted this in the last "things you've fecked up" thread but it's a good one . . . .

So i had a Lemond, alloy frame, carbon forks and cockpit, nice bike.... Carbon seat post....

At some point i worked out that the seat post had seized, all the ususal, WD40, shouting, strong language, gently warming the frame, shouting, being grumpy with the wife etc had not worked so I get kinetic on its ass . . . .

I drill holes through it to try and get some torque going by stick a scredriver through it - this just splinters the carbon when the force is applied....

Flipped the bike upside down, braced the top tube against the corner of a work bench so the the seatpost pointed at the floor. Smacked it repeatedly against the clamp with a claw hammer.

Nada

Upped my game, 2 1/2 pound lump hammer . . .

Now we are getting in to a Rythm -in my eye I am a stout yeoman Blacksmith hammering out halberds to fight the French . . . . .

Booom

Out it comes!!!!!

Ah HA. take that you bike bitch I am the fecking master of THIS shed.

The top tube is of course bent like a banana....

Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh

greg66_tri_v2.0

Greg T wrote:

Think I posted this in the last "things you've fecked up" thread but it's a good one . . . .

So i had a Lemond, alloy frame, carbon forks and cockpit, nice bike.... Carbon seat post....

At some point i worked out that the seat post had seized, all the ususal, WD40, shouting, strong language, gently warming the frame, shouting, being grumpy with the wife etc had not worked so I get kinetic on its ass . . . .

I drill holes through it to try and get some torque going by stick a scredriver through it - this just splinters the carbon when the force is applied....

Flipped the bike upside down, braced the top tube against the corner of a work bench so the the seatpost pointed at the floor. Smacked it repeatedly against the clamp with a claw hammer.

Nada

Upped my game, 2 1/2 pound lump hammer . . .

Now we are getting in to a Rythm -in my eye I am a stout yeoman Blacksmith hammering out halberds to fight the French . . . . .

Booom

Out it comes!!!!!

Ah HA. take that you bike ***** I am the fecking master of THIS shed.

The top tube is of course bent like a banana....

Arrrrrrggggghhhhhh

Next time, proceed straight to here:



and do not pass the tool box.

pst88

Yesterday I noticed all my chainring bolts had come loose some how so I decided to tighten them up. Not owning a torque wrench I decided to just do them "pretty damn tight". Needless to say I sheared the head of the first one clean off. This never would've happened if I had steel bolts but I was using tarty red aluminium ones because that's all the shop had in when I originally needed them. Luckily I had a spare steel one (but not a full set) so now I'm riding round like an idiot with mismatched chainring bolts. What will the style police say?

I've also made the mistake of stripping the thread whilst trying to remove a crank in the past. Nothing would make it budge so eventually I ended up just cutting it off with an angle grinder. Problem solved. Of course I had to buy a new set of cranks and bottom bracket but that's why I was removing the cranks in the first place so no big deal.