Carrera Kraken Mountain Bike 2011/2012 Replacements

SCOOOOP23

Hello all,

Im new to Mountain Biking and this Forum so any help would be very much appreciated.

Heres my situation..

I bought one of these bikes 3 months ago..

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/bikes/mountain-bikes/carrera-kraken-mountain-bike-2011-2012-medium-18

From the start of riding the bike there was a random click i could feel while pedaling the bike on the right crank arm, which turned into random creaks and now the crank arms move and wobble alittle after todays ride and are creaking alot, so im guessing that the BB needs replacing or does it just need tightening?

If the BB does need replacing could anyone suggest a replacement that aint too exspensive and is better than the one that originally came with it please.

Also would this tool kit have the correct BB removal tool i need to do the job....

http://www.halfords.com/cycling/tools-maintenance/tools/halfords-essential-bike-tool-kit

I have no clue what BB is already originally installed as i have no tools to remove everything yet!


Second problem ive had is the gears not shifting correctly on the rear wheel cogs, they would be catching onto the next larger cog mainly in the top 3-4 high gears even after adjusting the tension on the cable many of times i just cant seem to get it to be perfect, ive noticed that the rear derailleur is not snug against the frame and you can wobble it but the bolt is as tight as it goes so could this be the gear changing problem and do i need to replace it?

If it does need replacing could anyone suggest a replacement that aint too exspensive and is better than the one that originally came with it please.


Thanks

cooldad

Sounds like the crank arm are loose, they can be tightened but if you've been riding with them loose, chances are the splines are damaged. Likely to need new cranks in that case, not a BB.

The mech shouldn't be loose, but it is attached to the frame with a hanger - is the hanger loose, or the mech.

Bikes need constant checking and fettling - read Parktools - useful for how things work.

SCOOOOP23

Thanks for the reply.

The crank arms are tight i forgot to mention that, I just went to give the crank arms a wobble to see what was actually moving and it was more difficult to wobble it today but it looks like it is the actual BB moving slightly, So i will get the set of tools to tighten it and see if that fixes the problem.

Also read somewhere that it could be my Quick Release Skewer not tight enough that could be causing the gear change problem so i will tighten that up too and see if the problem goes.


Thanks

SCOOOOP23

I got the tools to check it out and it was just loose on the crank side and there was alittle wear and tear on the frame and where the BB had been rubbing inside the frame of the none crank side. Also the top gears are not catching on each other anymore when changing gears up so that could be either tightening the Quick Release Skewer or the BB im not sure.




One last question is the derailleur ment to be so close with the chain when its in the bottom gear like this....




Thanks

stubs

Chain too long read Parktools on how to measure it up.

SCOOOOP23

I read park tools on how to shorten the chain and took two rivets out and put it all back together, then i watched a video on how to measure it with it being on the biggest cogs both front and back and now mine does not go on the biggest cog on the back when its on the biggest one on the front it will only go on the second biggest on the back, so was the chain the right length after all in the picture above where it rubs against itself on the derailleur plastic cog?

I dont even put the gears into both big cogs so does it matter at all or should i put the chain back to the way it was?


Thanks

SCOOOOP23

I put the chain back to the length it was and adjusted everything again, while looking at the sram manual i noticed that it says if you have cassette's XG1099,XG1080 or XG999 then you should adjust the B screw so that the upper guide pulley is 12mm above the largest cog NOT 6mm , so im guessing i must have one of these cassette's as it does not wobble as much as it use to and the chain aint as slack when on the smallest cog but the chain still does rub against itself so that must be just normal i guess.




Thanks guys for the help.