Maintainence

ej2320

Hello

I have always been the If something goes wrong take it to a LBS

But I want to do a lot more myself.. I do the general clean, lube, brake align but nothing more such as a headset service

I have an Allen key mulitool which has all the Allen keys and a few other bits but I will need some more tools

I was wondering what I should buy?
I will need;
Crankpuller
Lockring tool
Chain whip
Chain tool
Spoke wrench
Torque wrench

Can I get a kit with all these for no too much? Any other bits I could do with

Then for grease
I've heard Motorex 2000 is a good waterproof grease
I'd also need an anti siese grease

Any other greases I'd need?

Thanks

brucie45

I asked a quaetion regarding some work on my bike, I am the same as you, I can do minor work and maintenace but nothing to technical.

Regarding tools I was advised on something like this which I will be getting next week.

http://bit.ly/13BKjRX

homers_double

Thats pretty good but I always have a hate of cheap tools. Buy things as you go along and spend a few quid extra and you'll have a good quality kit rather than a cheap one.

zx6man

I trydo most of my own work, and have always bought icetoolz stuff, quite cheap and decent enough for the home DIY stuff.

They even do a kit

http://www.shinybikes.com/ice-toolz-ess ... -82f1.html

ej2320

Thanks guys

It seems those kits have everything I need at a good price

I'll think about buying one

As for grease? Help

prawny

ej2320 wrote:

Thanks guys

It seems those kits have everything I need at a good price

I'll think about buying one

As for grease? Help

According to another forum, car grease is fine. Loads cheaper too. I've also heard marine grease reccommended but I'm dubious, I'm no engineer mind. It could be awesome.

zx6man

Just done the same investigation. I have the weldtite lithium for bike applications, but found in wheel bearings doesn't last more than a few months so needs reapplying quite regular (for bottom bracket its fine). For the wheel bearings I got some Castrol Lithium Grease from Halfords for about 6 quid for the tub and seems to be thicker and longer lasting. read about the marine stuff but not tried it.

mrmonkfinger

marine grease is fine, and cheap, and waterproof

in fact any normal grease is fine on bikes, they're not exactly very demanding on lubricant performance


lithium grease can solidify over time - worth avoiding on that basis, and definitely avoid copper grease

cooldad

Don't use lithium grease, it dries out and turns to gum.
Use silicone grease, or plain old grease grease as sold in big tubs by Halfords.

zx6man

grease grease it is then :-)

ej2320

Ok, is it better to get a waterproof grease?

Also is it a case of 1 grease will fit all?

mcnultycop

homers double wrote:

Thats pretty good but I always have a hate of cheap tools. Buy things as you go along and spend a few quid extra and you'll have a good quality kit rather than a cheap one.

It was me that recommended that on another thread. It is cheap but it's good stuff.

slindborg

cooldad wrote:

Don't use lithium grease, it dries out and turns to gum.
Use silicone grease, or plain old grease grease as sold in big tubs by Halfords.

Lm grease only dries out if you never use the bearing its in and that takes years and years.



I'm totally confident stripping and rebuilding million £ cars but bikes always made me wary...... Had a crack at it a while back and wow its easy despite the claims by many folks on the whole interwebs. Parks site is good, and youtube is excellent for guides to really show you the way.

Kowalski675

slindborg wrote:

I'm totally confident stripping and rebuilding million £ cars but bikes always made me wary...... Had a crack at it a while back and wow its easy despite the claims by many folks on the whole interwebs.

At the end of the day, bicycles are very simple machines - any half decent home mechanic won't find anything to tax their abilities. Whipped out my crank and BB at the weekend to grease it up. Never done one before, but it was a piece of p*ss. I'll be doing the rebuild myself when my warranty frame arrives - no way I'm letting Halfords muppets loose on it. I do all my own spannering on my motorcycles - when you're riding round like a tw*t you want the reassurance of knowing that things have been done right, by someone who cares.

Agreed re lithium grease - no reason not to use it on a bicycle.

ej2320

Anyone can do better than the halfords chimps...

Is there any reason to use different greases on different parts?
I've been recommended Motorex bike grease 2000, i think that will work on everything..?

Kowalski675

ej2320 wrote:

Anyone can do better than the halfords chimps...

Is there any reason to use different greases on different parts?
I've been recommended Motorex bike grease 2000, i think that will work on everything..?

Different greases are designed for different applications, depending on the requirements. Lithium grease is good for bearings 'cos it has a high melting point, molybdenum grease is good for general use (spindles, suspension pivots etc). Copper grease is just for anti seize purposes (threaded fasteners, for example, particularly steel fasteners in ally threads, or vice versa, to prevent galvanic corrosion). I've just used this stuff in my bottom bracket - saw it in my LBS, so thought I'd give it a try and add it to my collection:

http://www.fenwicks.info/bike/index.php ... bly-grease

jairaj

The Icetoolz kits looks decent quality not pro level quality but good enough for the home mechanic. Also seems to cover most the basic tools you'll need.

The other tool kit on ebay, the bike hand one is nasty. I had a similar set but branded differently, the tools were very cheap I wouldn't recommended it.

As for grease, lithium is not recommended to be used on a bike for anything that moves ie bearings etc. Standard grease or silicon grease is fine for bearings and is naturally water resistant anyway. The "waterproof greases" can be the same thing just labelled differently so they can charge more money.

You can use a anti-seize compound on bits that aren't supposed to move ie stem bolts etc. Using grease here is likely to cause premature loosening.

ej2320

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... &langId=-1

Would this be fine for bearings and generally headset, hubs and BB servicing?
There's no nossle but I can work round that or is it worth paying the extra for the motorex stuff

slindborg

Is it wrong to judge the icetoolz kit based on the poor looking afs?

On one are doing a decent looking tool kit for cheaps at the moment

jairaj

ej2320 wrote:

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductMobileDisplay?catalogId=10151&storeId=10001&productId=715185&categoryId=228374&langId=-1

Would this be fine for bearings and generally headset, hubs and BB servicing?
There's no nossle but I can work round that or is it worth paying the extra for the motorex stuff

Yep that should be fine. A grease gun helps but isn't essential.

ej2320

I'll go for that then, the halfords home brand stuff seems good and not too costly

I could buy a syringe for like £1 and then just put some grease in it when I need to

swod1

some conflicting posts on here, recently i fitted some new forks to my bike and while doing so regreased the headset with some lithium grease, which it said on the side of the tub for use on bearings.

next time i check this am i better off using something else, I've seen ceramic grease suggested for use on headset bearings ?

zx6man

The weldtite stuff I bought also said the same. After a few months it seems to have "Gone" (on wheel bearings) so next time I will just use normal stuff to see if it lasts better.

swod1

zx6man wrote:

The weldtite stuff I bought also said the same. After a few months it seems to have "Gone" (on wheel bearings) so next time I will just use normal stuff to see if it lasts better.

In wheel bearings i would use some really thick grease to pack it out, this lithium stuff i got out of evans as i was in a rush after work seems to be pretty thin.

zx6man

Indeed, thats my plan from whats mentioned above.