Cross bike overhaul

joey54321

So as I am coming to end of the my cross season (last race this Sunday) I am looking at what maintenance needs doing to hit the ground running next year. This year I had a number of mechanical issues which frustrating meant I missed the first month or so of races I had intended to do.

So there are two main points of focus for me:
Brakes
Bottom bracket

Bottom bracket: I previously had run a pushfit bottom bracket with absolutely no noises for over a year including lots of hack rides, a heavy cross season and very frequent washing. However, it got to the point where it needed replacing so I asked a local mechanic to do it. Less than 2 months after the new one was installed I got that creak, creak, which so many people complain about. Unfortunately, the mechanic just said "year, that's press fit" despite it being silent beforehand. Anyway, it's made me want to install a better bottom bracket which isn't going to creak and allow me to clean out the bearings frequently. Any recommendations for a SRAM press fit BB30 bottom bracket?


Brakes: These are still functional, though I did have to grease the master cylinder before the season on one and the other is also in need of doing. If I am stripping the system is there anything else I should consider? I'm thinking replacing pads and cleaning and regreasing the pistons too.

Any other irregular and preventative maintenance that you'd recommend or that you do on your bikes?

imposter2.0

Best thing to do with BB30 (assuming selling it is not an option) is fit a threaded BB adaptor. Might mean changing chainsets, but who cares....

joey54321

something like this?

https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/wheels_man ... lsrc=aw.ds

I don't mind paying for quality if it's going to last a few years (with bearings I can service).

keef66

I'd also give the hubs / freehub a once over, and also whip the headset bearings out for a clean / inspect

Both my bikes have cheapish Shimano wheelsets so I can clean / regrease / adjust the bearings and also take off the freehub and drizzle a bit of oil inside.

Appreciate if you have hubs with cartridge bearings there's little you can do apart from check they are still smooth and replace if not.

Park Tool has this advice re creaking BB30:

The bearings should be removed and new ones installed. Press the new bearings into the frame using a retaining compound such as Loctite® RC™ 609. Even using a threadlocker such Loctite® 242 at would be better than pressing the bearings into the shell dry.

If that doesn't work, try an adapter as suggested

keef66

joey54321 wrote:

something like this?

https://www.cyclestore.co.uk/wheels_man ... lsrc=aw.ds

I don't mind paying for quality if it's going to last a few years (with bearings I can service).

That's PF30 not BB30. Which do you actually have?

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-he ... tandards-1

joey54321

Hubs/Freehubs/Headset is a good point to check over!

Looking online it looks like my bike (Focus Mares CX Rival 1 from a couple of years ago) is a PF30 BB shell, or at least that's what it says in the specs:

https://www.focus-bikes.com/gb_en/45944-mares-rival-1

arturo_belano

All bearings as said - a cross season annihilates my bb30 bearings in particular, they're in pieces by the end. Personally I've never noticed a creaking bb in a race situation, that would be more a thing for general riding around, but certainly checking the BB is in good order is essential.

If you run two bikes then the jet spray can do some damage (esp if it's your wife and kids helping you out....) Had some murdered wheel bearings that way this season but that generally shouldn't happen. The BB area will always get a soaking, though.

Sorting the wheels out tends to be the biggest deal for me - glue-ing tubs, getting tubeless set up right. That's more something for pre-season though, not now.

tgotb

All the bearings, and anything else that moves.
- Take all the chains off and clean thoroughly (consider replacing them if you've raced a lot). They won't register much "stretch", but an old chain will shift less cleanly and is more likely to break. Chains suffer most at the end of the season, so now is a good time to replace and you'll be on good fresh chains for the first half of next season. I used to get a bit of extra life out of mine by reusing them on the commuting bike, but shifting was terrible and they kept breaking; at least that justified my decision to replace them!
- Jockey wheels - bearings ok? teeth worn? I tend to replace mine after the end of the season unless they've only been on the bike for a few weeks
- Brake pads. Bound to be worn, cheap to replace, just do it.
- Cables also suffer disproportionately towards the end of the season. Check them at the very least, I tend to replace (inners and outers) in the Spring. It doesn't cost much in the grand scheme of things.
- Clean and regrease any bearing that's not sealed. Replace any sealed ones that aren't running smoothly
- Check hanger alignments
- Dry tubs thoroughly and store indoors
- Revisit wheels in a month or so, and check all bearings (hub and freehub) are still running smoothly. If a sealed bearing has a bit of water in it, it'll spin freely now, but subsequently seize solid.
- Take the studs out of your shoes before they corrode and become a permanent fixture. Grease and replace, or store somewhere safe if you use the same shoes for other riding in the Summer. I have a box labelled "CX stuff" where I keep all my studs, mech hangers etc
- If you have a pit bag, dry it out and remove any gels or muesli bars, especially if you keep it in a garage. The mice will be disappointed, but your pit bag will be hole-free in September (doh!)
- If you have hydraulic brakes and store the bikes somewhere else over the Summer (mine live in the loft) make sure they're not upside down.

Best way to approach this is write yourself a list for each bike, then you can work your way through it at leisure, order replacement parts etc with no time pressure. Sort out the bearings and chain now though, unless you're definitely planning to replace them; if you don't even have time for that, spray everything with WD40 or GT85 to try to limit deterioration until you have time to get to it. I once forgot to clean/lube a chain after the last race in the season, and it seized so badly that I had to dismantle the mech just to get it off the bike...

Don't leave it until August; you'll waste time removing bits that have seized solid, and will end up scrabbling around to get hold of components you could easily have ordered in February.

arturo_belano

TGOTB wrote:

All the bearings, and anything else that moves.
- Take all the chains off and clean thoroughly (consider replacing them if you've raced a lot). They won't register much "stretch", but an old chain will shift less cleanly and is more likely to break. Chains suffer most at the end of the season, so now is a good time to replace and you'll be on good fresh chains for the first half of next season. I used to get a bit of extra life out of mine by reusing them on the commuting bike, but shifting was terrible and they kept breaking; at least that justified my decision to replace them!
- Jockey wheels - bearings ok? teeth worn? I tend to replace mine after the end of the season unless they've only been on the bike for a few weeks
- Brake pads. Bound to be worn, cheap to replace, just do it.
- Cables also suffer disproportionately towards the end of the season. Check them at the very least, I tend to replace (inners and outers) in the Spring. It doesn't cost much in the grand scheme of things.
- Clean and regrease any bearing that's not sealed. Replace any sealed ones that aren't running smoothly
- Check hanger alignments
- Dry tubs thoroughly and store indoors
- Revisit wheels in a month or so, and check all bearings (hub and freehub) are still running smoothly. If a sealed bearing has a bit of water in it, it'll spin freely now, but subsequently seize solid.
- Take the studs out of your shoes before they corrode and become a permanent fixture. Grease and replace, or store somewhere safe if you use the same shoes for other riding in the Summer. I have a box labelled "CX stuff" where I keep all my studs, mech hangers etc
- If you have a pit bag, dry it out and remove any gels or muesli bars, especially if you keep it in a garage. The mice will be disappointed, but your pit bag will be hole-free in September (doh!)
- If you have hydraulic brakes and store the bikes somewhere else over the Summer (mine live in the loft) make sure they're not upside down.

Best way to approach this is write yourself a list for each bike, then you can work your way through it at leisure, order replacement parts etc with no time pressure. Sort out the bearings and chain now though, unless you're definitely planning to replace them; if you don't even have time for that, spray everything with WD40 or GT85 to try to limit deterioration until you have time to get to it. I once forgot to clean/lube a chain after the last race in the season, and it seized so badly that I had to dismantle the mech just to get it off the bike...

Don't leave it until August; you'll waste time removing bits that have seized solid, and will end up scrabbling around to get hold of components you could easily have ordered in February.

Nice post TGOTB. Do you take your tubs off now for a fresh glueing at start of season, regardless, or store them on the wheels and see what they look like in August? I've got a limus on my front wheel that's done 2 seasons now and was wondering how long one could expect it to be in good order - does look fine at the mo.

tgotb

Arturo Belano wrote:

Do you take your tubs off now for a fresh glueing at start of season, regardless, or store them on the wheels and see what they look like in August? I've got a limus on my front wheel that's done 2 seasons now and was wondering how long one could expect it to be in good order - does look fine at the mo.

I've always tended to leave them on, and then inspect in August. I haven't kept proper records, but I *think* that for me the glue survives one year quite happily, but not two, so tubs glued in the 2018/19 season should be fine for another season, but tubs glued in 2017/18 are likely to need redoing. Maybe it would be better to remove the 2017/18 ones now, so that they can dry out more easily? I wouldn't be surprised if there are better ways of managing tubs than mine. I'm also not convinced that storing them in the loft is great (it gets very hot) but I don't have a better location.

It's all a bit irrelevant for me this year; a bad decision several years ago to build wheels with carbon wheels and aluminium nipples means that I'm in the middle of a wheel rebuilding programme. All the wheels that didn't explode and get rebuilt during the season will have to be rebuilt over the Summer, so all my tubs are going to have to come off regardless. I'm experimenting with Effete Mariposa Carogna tape, so the (new) tyres getting taped on will be done in the Spring/Summer to give the glue time to cure in warm temperatures. The old ones will have to be reglued, I'll probably plan to do that in August (why give the glue longer than necessary to deteriorate?), leave it too late, and end up doing the first 2 races of the season on clinchers.

One other tip: Stock up on tub glue and other consumables (glue brushes, cables, brake pads, spare wheel bearings, chains, mech hangers if you broke any) now - you'll be glad of it in August, especially when everyone's sold out of Mastik 1 and no-one has your hangers in stock!