Most difficult bike job you've done?

Bikerguy15

I had to re-spoke a pair of wheels on my dad's commuter, seeing as the spokes were screwed. Even had to cut some of them off . Lacing was a problem at first because I had ordered the wrong size spokes, but once you got used to it it was quite easy.

Personally I found that when you true a wheel it is important to use a truing stand (even if it is a cheap one like the tacx one I have, it isnt great but it allows me to get the wheel almost bang on) and use small increments between each adjustment. As for spoke for spoke tension, about 3 to 5 turns should get the wheel right.

I think we all know what the last thing we need is...

supersonic

X9 seems to have intermittant build issues - my test kit was gash, but on another test bike behaved better.

They are putting better internals in them now.

bails87

Bikerguy15 wrote:

Personally I found that when you true a wheel it is important to use a truing stand (even if it is a cheap one like the tacx one I have, it isnt great but it allows me to get the wheel almost bang on)

Roger Musson's book includes instructions on making your own truing stand, if you're a DIYer. We've got some old laminated MDF lying about so I might give it a go as it'll cost me almost nothing.

BigLee1

I tried a puncture repair today, Jesus this bike lark is taxing on the brain

Anonymous

For £2 (or £1 in Poundland if you're pikey enough) per tube, stuff puncture repair.

stubs

bails87 wrote:

Bikerguy15 wrote:

Personally I found that when you true a wheel it is important to use a truing stand (even if it is a cheap one like the tacx one I have, it isnt great but it allows me to get the wheel almost bang on)

Roger Musson's book includes instructions on making your own truing stand, if you're a DIYer. We've got some old laminated MDF lying about so I might give it a go as it'll cost me almost nothing.

I built myself a Roger Musson wheel jig from MDF offcuts. Got the bolts from the hardware store for £3 iirc and had a piece of aluminium plate in the shed to make the axle clamps. To make the gauges I got a piece of 3mm thick black plastic sheet from the model shop for a £1 its called plasticard but a piece of thin aluminuim or MDF will do as good. Also built the dishing gauge from scrap MDF.

Its a really good jig if you build it from decent thick MDF (mines 20mm) its hefty, stable and doesnt wobble like a lot of the shop bought ones I have tried. If you follow his instructions for using it its really accurate and easy to use no mucking about with vernier scales and fiddly dials.

Bikerguy15

It's great to see people making thier own bits, saves a lot of money in the long run.

SupraMel

I must confess to a case of can't be bothered when it comes to my bike on anything past washing and lubing, I let Halfords do the rest. Funny cause I like tinkering with my car, the bike just looks less inviting

Edit: I say that and then realise I'm contemplating taking my old forks to pieces to re-furb and re fit.... it must be growing on me!

cooldad

SupraMel wrote:

I must confess to a case of can't be bothered when it comes to my bike on anything past washing and lubing, I let Halfords do the rest. Funny cause I like tinkering with my car, the bike just looks less inviting

Edit: I say that and then realise I'm contemplating taking my old forks to pieces to re-furb and re fit.... it must be growing on me!

Possibly your first mistake.

d00m

stubs wrote:

Getting a corroded seatpost out of a frame. Took some thinking had to resist the urge to get the heavy artillery out. Got it in the end just had to take me time and go for a walk whenever the urge to smash everything to scrap with a lump hammer was getting strong.

One way is to stick an old saddle in the clamp, then bash it out with a massive hammer

SupraMel

cooldad wrote:

SupraMel wrote:

I must confess to a case of can't be bothered when it comes to my bike on anything past washing and lubing, I let Halfords do the rest. Funny cause I like tinkering with my car, the bike just looks less inviting

Edit: I say that and then realise I'm contemplating taking my old forks to pieces to re-furb and re fit.... it must be growing on me!

Possibly your first mistake.

What would you suggest I do then? do it myself? Take it elsewhere? If I'm doing something wrong I'd like to know why, why is Halfords so bad?

If you can't elaborate and turn your negative comments in to something helpful than please don't direct them at me, I am on here to try and improve my skills with my bike and make some friends not just be told that I'm doing something wrong.

stubs

d00m wrote:

stubs wrote:

Getting a corroded seatpost out of a frame. Took some thinking had to resist the urge to get the heavy artillery out. Got it in the end just had to take me time and go for a walk whenever the urge to smash everything to scrap with a lump hammer was getting strong.

One way is to stick an old saddle in the clamp, then bash it out with a massive hammer

It was a flyweight road bike hitting it with anything resembling a hammer would have turned the frame into a modern art installation. Softly softly catchee monkey.

Anonymous

SupraMel wrote:

What would you suggest I do then? do it myself? Take it elsewhere? If I'm doing something wrong I'd like to know why, why is Halfords so bad?

Don't worry, sarcasm is to be expected when you mention Halfords.

Not to turn this into a big Halfords bashing thread (there are plenty of them), but they have their place and sometimes you can get good deals and maybe even good service if you turn up on the right day and get the right person who has had more than the basic training of "this is a bike, go sell it to that family over there".

Servicing I personally wouldn't trust them with for a mountain bike that will actually be taken properly off road. I've had experience of how they assemble and set up bikes and had to correct things later, and we of course have heard the stories of backward forks. I actually saw one in a branch (thankfully the owner had brought it in having worked out what was wrong with it and demanding they fix it).

Of the chains, go to Evans instead. They have their problems also, but they do have proper tech guys and their business is bikes and a few more of their customers actually ride off road, not just the pavement. Still you can get served by the clueless weekend kid. Just don't go at weekends. I've come across some knowledgeable guys in Evans who have even gone out of their way to explain how to use a particular tool and how to do certain bits of maintenance.

Best thing though is to just learn how to do it all yourself. Failing that find a really good independent LBS where the staff actually care about bikes. Reputation is a good thing. Find out what shops locals who actually ride trails off road recommend.

BG2000

Not sure if this question is aimed at bike shop mechanics (of which I'm not, but used to be many years ago), but the 'hardest' thing I had to do recently is....replacing an inner tube while on the start line of a race. It was the longest 2 minutes of my life, but I somehow managed it !

SupraMel

deadkenny wrote:

Don't worry, sarcasm is to be expected when you mention Halfords.

Not to turn this into a big Halfords bashing thread (there are plenty of them), but they have their place and sometimes you can get good deals and maybe even good service if you turn up on the right day and get the right person who has had more than the basic training of "this is a bike, go sell it to that family over there".

Servicing I personally wouldn't trust them with for a mountain bike that will actually be taken properly off road. I've had experience of how they assemble and set up bikes and had to correct things later, and we of course have heard the stories of backward forks. I actually saw one in a branch (thankfully the owner had brought it in having worked out what was wrong with it and demanding they fix it).

Of the chains, go to Evans instead. They have their problems also, but they do have proper tech guys and their business is bikes and a few more of their customers actually ride off road, not just the pavement. Still you can get served by the clueless weekend kid. Just don't go at weekends. I've come across some knowledgeable guys in Evans who have even gone out of their way to explain how to use a particular tool and how to do certain bits of maintenance.

Best thing though is to just learn how to do it all yourself. Failing that find a really good independent LBS where the staff actually care about bikes. Reputation is a good thing. Find out what shops locals who actually ride trails off road recommend.

Thanks, I would have rather taken it to JE James where I bought the bike, they really impressed me with the way they all commute on really nice bikes and talk about how they go out on trails and they generally seemed to know a lot about bikes, however thier service was £35 and Halfords was £20 with free labour all year so they won, besides they guy that served me was not in the slightest bit interested in making money for Halfords so told me where to buy everything then fitted it all for free.
When I'm not pouring so much money in to my car I'll go to JE James instead (I don't think I have an Evans anywhere near), or maybe I can just learn, only problem with that is I don't know anyone who is any good with bikes and can show me how to do stuff. Is there classes you can take or anything?

Anonymous

There are classes you can take. They can cost a lot and you may not end up learning much in each lesson.

Far easier to go through the tonnes of videos and help on the Internet. Plenty of tutorials on Bike Radar. Loads on YouTube. Also the manufacturers will have the manuals and maybe some guides, some have videos also.

The Bike Radar tutorials were also put into a magazine you can pick up in the shops and makes quite a nice manual.

The way I learnt was just bit by bit doing little things as needed, finding out what tools and bits were required for the job at the time.

I don't do any service schedule. I clean and oil as needed and if something is loose, tighten it, if worn I sort that out. I don't bother with the "service shock every 50 hours of riding" etc. I ride until it doesn't feel right or starts to make odd noises and then do it. Has worked for me so far.

cooldad

SupraMel wrote:

cooldad wrote:

SupraMel wrote:

I must confess to a case of can't be bothered when it comes to my bike on anything past washing and lubing, I let Halfords do the rest. Funny cause I like tinkering with my car, the bike just looks less inviting

Edit: I say that and then realise I'm contemplating taking my old forks to pieces to re-furb and re fit.... it must be growing on me!

Possibly your first mistake.

What would you suggest I do then? do it myself? Take it elsewhere? If I'm doing something wrong I'd like to know why, why is Halfords so bad?

If you can't elaborate and turn your negative comments in to something helpful than please don't direct them at me, I am on here to try and improve my skills with my bike and make some friends not just be told that I'm doing something wrong.

Apologies, just random forum nonesense. Halfords can be good or bad, but on the whole, indifferent.
Appreciate you want to learn, the best (and cheapest way - I'm broke as well, mainly due to evil ex) is to read Parktools and similar and have a go.
You can also get a lot of good advice here, not everyone is a grumpy b4stard like me. But it is an internet forum, and you will get different personalities, you can't just decide that only really nice people can respond to your posts.
Most jobs on a bike take a few minutes, and it's best to do things as required rather than wait for a 'service' time. Using that logic, I would argue that most things (a bit of indexing, adjusting, changing bits) can be done quicker than taking a bike into a shop (any shop) then picking it up again.

nicklouse

and back on topic. nothing. fiddly yes. difficult nope.

well not yet.

SupraMel

cooldad wrote:

SupraMel wrote:

cooldad wrote:

SupraMel wrote:

I must confess to a case of can't be bothered when it comes to my bike on anything past washing and lubing, I let Halfords do the rest. Funny cause I like tinkering with my car, the bike just looks less inviting

Edit: I say that and then realise I'm contemplating taking my old forks to pieces to re-furb and re fit.... it must be growing on me!

Possibly your first mistake.

What would you suggest I do then? do it myself? Take it elsewhere? If I'm doing something wrong I'd like to know why, why is Halfords so bad?

If you can't elaborate and turn your negative comments in to something helpful than please don't direct them at me, I am on here to try and improve my skills with my bike and make some friends not just be told that I'm doing something wrong.

Apologies, just random forum nonesense. Halfords can be good or bad, but on the whole, indifferent.
Appreciate you want to learn, the best (and cheapest way - I'm broke as well, mainly due to evil ex) is to read Parktools and similar and have a go.
You can also get a lot of good advice here, not everyone is a grumpy b4stard like me. But it is an internet forum, and you will get different personalities, you can't just decide that only really nice people can respond to your posts.
Most jobs on a bike take a few minutes, and it's best to do things as required rather than wait for a 'service' time. Using that logic, I would argue that most things (a bit of indexing, adjusting, changing bits) can be done quicker than taking a bike into a shop (any shop) then picking it up again.

Apology accepted, I probably wouldn't have said anything had I not had such a grumpy welcome to the forum initially. It's not the first forum I have become a member of so I get how it works, maybe not so full on to us less than 10 posters that don't know you?

Sorry for going off topic!

nicklouse

no probs.

Bikerguy15

deadkenny wrote:

Best thing though is to just learn how to do it all yourself. Failing that find a really good independent LBS where the staff actually care about bikes. Reputation is a good thing. Find out what shops locals who actually ride trails off road recommend.

Not going to bash on LBS's as a whole, but the one that is nearest to me do seem really patronising if you ask to get anything done. I once asked to get a headset installed (first time I had to do it as I was unaware of headset sizes at the time, but that was it and I knew perfectly how they worked) and he talked to me as if I had no clue whatsoever of what he was talking about. Now, he does sometimes get people in that genuinely do need a lot of help as they are not experienced with bike mechanics at all, but you can clearly tell that I was able to build a bike properly. It doesn't take that much to figure it out.

The majority of of people that shop there are clearly road bikers and it is filled up to the brim with top spec pinnarelo frames and the like... that's totally fine but I have a clear problem with the staff when they do not offer me any constructive help and are obviously trying to snatch the money straight out of my pocket. There's no excuse for that kind of behaviour towards customers.

Don't let my complaining put you off though :P There will of course be some genuine shops out there that will try to help you. Just watch out... some of them are clearly not worth going to.

mattv

Worst jobs are;
Bleeding avid brakes. Never work quite right, even with the workshop bleed kit.
Removing ali seatpost from steel frame when its been there a while. Best way is drill a hole horizontal through the visible part, then get a screwdriver through it to twist. Can usually still reuse the post as well.
Steel loose bbs in cheap ali frames. Often no way to bite in a vice, so cut them out with a saw from the inside out!

mrmonkfinger

stubs wrote:

I built myself a Roger Musson wheel jig from MDF offcuts. Got the bolts from the hardware store for £3 iirc and had a piece of aluminium plate in the shed to make the axle clamps. To make the gauges I got a piece of 3mm thick black plastic sheet from the model shop for a £1 its called plasticard but a piece of thin aluminuim or MDF will do as good. Also built the dishing gauge from scrap MDF.

Its a really good jig if you build it from decent thick MDF (mines 20mm) its hefty, stable and doesnt wobble like a lot of the shop bought ones I have tried. If you follow his instructions for using it its really accurate and easy to use no mucking about with vernier scales and fiddly dials.

x2

Have you made any clamps to fit a 20mm axle?

stubs

mrmonkfinger wrote:

stubs wrote:

I built myself a Roger Musson wheel jig from MDF offcuts. Got the bolts from the hardware store for £3 iirc and had a piece of aluminium plate in the shed to make the axle clamps. To make the gauges I got a piece of 3mm thick black plastic sheet from the model shop for a £1 its called plasticard but a piece of thin aluminuim or MDF will do as good. Also built the dishing gauge from scrap MDF.

Its a really good jig if you build it from decent thick MDF (mines 20mm) its hefty, stable and doesnt wobble like a lot of the shop bought ones I have tried. If you follow his instructions for using it its really accurate and easy to use no mucking about with vernier scales and fiddly dials.

x2

Have you made any clamps to fit a 20mm axle?

I havent no need so far but I am sure it wouldnt be hard possibly just drill a 20mm hole in 2 plates and that would be enough. The axle plates are bolted on with wing nuts so would only take seconds to swap.

nferrar

Trying to bleed Hayes Stroker brakes, a lot of people say they're easy and the vids make it looks simple but I think I must have tried at least a dozen times between two bikes and never got a decent bleed - thank god for LBS's

twonks

Just to prove my previous post in this thread a while ago, I have had to stop my new frame build up today because I couldn't do a job.

Seen as how my cable cutter has taken the half term off with the kids, I couldn't cut the nice new 3m outer gear cable without making a mess of it. Despite messign with knives, pliers, cable strippers and nearly resorting to hammer and chisel, it just wouldn't cut cleanly.

In the end I packed up and now have a bike all nicely built up but with no gear cables.

It's the little jobs that cause the hassle

ilovedirt

I think the most time consuming/frustrating (not necessarily difficult, but a pain to get right) job I've done is fitting a chain guide. Some of them go on a doddle, some of them just don't. Then when it's new frame time, the process starts all over again!

Bleeding brakes is a pain as well.

Everything else is relatively easy (found servicing my coil RS forks fairly easy, as was servicing the air can on my fox shock)

ilovedirt

deadkenny wrote:

For £2 (or £1 in Poundland if you're pikey enough) per tube, stuff puncture repair.

£1.80 a tube from CRC, however I ride so frequently that I get a lot of punctures, £1.80 a tube suddenly seems pretty pricey! £2.50 for 6 park tools glueless patches however, bargain

StefanP

or 60 puncture patches for £1.20 and a tube of glue for 99p!

I serviced my forks today for the first time ever, satisfying though time consuming and difficult at 1.5ºc or whatever it was today

ilovedirt

StefanP wrote:

or 60 puncture patches for £1.20 and a tube of glue for 99p!

I serviced my forks today for the first time ever, satisfying though time consuming and difficult at 1.5ºc or whatever it was today

I'm usually rubbish at using traditional patch + glue kits, got some of those park tools glueless patches today, they're so much easier!!