[Other Sport] Cycling geeks

[Motogull]

Good to see you back 10.

How do I cure the squealiest of brakes then fellas?

 

[Hangullton]

This should help...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpTgYGAqtxk

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

If anyone is interested, the Orro Tour of Sussex starts this evening with an ITT up Ditchling Beacon. Starts at 7.30, & should be lovely up there in the sunshine - especially as it is closed roads.
Unfortunately cant get there myself now as the youngest is playing cricket, but sure all support would be welcome!

 

[banjo]

http://m.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/40518442

Some really nice people out there.

 

[1066familyman]

If anyone knows a worse diy bike mechanic than me can they please introduce me to him/her as I need cheering up.

Currently running to about 5 hours + just to replace a sram shifter and put on a new chain. Can't even get the so called 'no tools' Sram powerlink chainlink to lock into place or unlock again to have another go. And I haven't even gone back to gear indexing yet ( having wasted time on that already before realising I needed to order a new chain as the old one was stretched)

 

[Stat Brother]

If anyone knows a worse diy bike mechanic than me can they please introduce me to him/her as I need cheering up.

Currently running to about 5 hours + just to replace a sram shifter and put on a new chain. Can't even get the so called 'no tools' Sram powerlink chainlink to lock into place or unlock again to have another go. And I haven't even gone back to gear indexing yet ( having wasted time on that already before realising I needed to order a new chain as the old one was stretched)

My front mech needs the worlds tiniest fettle, so I have 2 choices:-

A - Wait till it gets worse and book it into hospital.
2 - Do it myself and turn the bike into a unicycle!

I'll wait.

 

[1066familyman]

My front mech needs the worlds tiniest fettle, so I have 2 choices:-

A - Wait till it gets worse and book it into hospital.
2 - Do it myself and turn the bike into a unicycle!

I'll wait.

How long did it take you to put your cassette on the hunt wheels and fit them?

My guessing is I'll spend all evening and then some doing mine when they finally arrive ( email already saying there's a delay on them ). I will give the old cassette a thorough clean though before fitting onto the new wheels.

 

[Stat Brother]

How long did it take you to put your cassette on the hunt wheels and fit them?

My guessing is I'll spend all evening and then some doing mine when they finally arrive ( email already saying there's a delay on them ). I will give the old cassette a thorough clean though before fitting onto the new wheels.

Assuming you have the right tools, t'is a straight forward off and on.

I remember being out on the road very soon after delivery, as I already had new tubes and NEW TYRES waiting to be put on.
I also remember mine just turned up, I don't think they arrived at a date remotely relevant to what they had said, although they weren't late.


I did once shred the axle, on another wheel, in my haste to get the cassette back on after a marathon clean, by screwing the lockring back skew whiff.
That was an extra £50 I could have done without spending.

 

[1066familyman]

Assuming you have the right tools, t'is a straight forward off and on.

I remember being out on the road very soon after delivery, as I already had new tubes and NEW TYRES waiting to be put on.
I also remember mine just turned up, I don't think they arrived at a date remotely relevant to what they had said, although they weren't late.


I did once shred the axle, on another wheel, in my haste to get the cassette back on after a marathon clean, by screwing the lockring back skew whiff.
That was an extra £50 I could have done without spending.

Now that last bit sounds more like me.

Oh yes, I have the right cassette removal tool, the chain whip and the mobile phone with YouTube for when simplicity becomes very complicated as usual, but I'm still almost guaranteed to balls something up.

 

[Stat Brother]

Now that last bit sounds more like me.

Oh yes, I have the right cassette removal tool, the chain whip and the mobile phone with YouTube for when simplicity becomes very complicated as usual, but I'm still almost guaranteed to balls something up.

You'll never be able to sneak up on anyone, as the campagnolo freewheeling click is super loud.
I always have big grin when tucked in and not pedaling as the person in front is pushing on, knowing I'm doing feck all.

 

[Fignon's Ponytail]

Quick question - I've just bought some new bar tape & its arrived without any adhesive backing to it!?!

I've wrapped my bars loads of times over the years, but the tape has always had an adhesive strip to hold it in place. Is it OK to wrap without any? A friend says as long as you wrap it tight enough it should stay in place.

Any Geeks tried and tested a non sticky method before?

 

[Hangullton]

If anyone knows a worse diy bike mechanic than me can they please introduce me to him/her as I need cheering up.

Currently running to about 5 hours + just to replace a sram shifter and put on a new chain. Can't even get the so called 'no tools' Sram powerlink chainlink to lock into place or unlock again to have another go. And I haven't even gone back to gear indexing yet ( having wasted time on that already before realising I needed to order a new chain as the old one was stretched)

Did you manage to get the chain sorted? If you don't have a set of chain pliers you should be able to get the powerlink to lock into place by putting some force through the pedals. Just sit on the bike, back pedal a bit then pedal forward to lock into place. If it's a new link you should be able to get it apart again fairly easily. Drop of chain lube before linking together will help.

 

[1066familyman]

Did you manage to get the chain sorted? If you don't have a set of chain pliers you should be able to get the powerlink to lock into place by putting some force through the pedals. Just sit on the bike, back pedal a bit then pedal forward to lock into place. If it's a new link you should be able to get it apart again fairly easily. Drop of chain lube before linking together will help.

Didn't even attempt it today as the heat has nearly killed me off, again

Thanks for the power through the pedal trick, I will definitely try that. The chain is brand new and sticky to the touch with grease so not sure if lube would make much difference, but no harm in trying I suppose.

I couldn't find my pliers but have sourced a set of mulgrips so might have to try that as a last resort. I didn't get much luck with the chain link tool. They say to just squeeze the powerlink and they come apart but mine won't move into the fully locked position or come apart no matter how hard I squeeze the bloody thing!

 

[Hangullton]

Didn't even attempt it today as the heat has nearly killed me off, again

Thanks for the power through the pedal trick, I will definitely try that. The chain is brand new and sticky to the touch with grease so not sure if lube would make much difference, but no harm in trying I suppose.

I couldn't find my pliers but have sourced a set of mulgrips so might have to try that as a last resort. I didn't get much luck with the chain link tool. They say to just squeeze the powerlink and they come apart but mine won't move into the fully locked position or come apart no matter how hard I squeeze the bloody thing!

Force through the pedals will lock it into place for sure. If the powerlink wont come apart using just your hands then I would advise to only use chain link pliers. Anything else may cause damage. A chain link tool will be no help at all with a power link, they are to remove pins from chain links. You can get a set of decent chain pliers for around £10...

 

[Pantani]

Force through the pedals will lock it into place for sure...

This. By far the easiest way to do it. I am not really a fan of power links though, much prefer the old school pins.

 

[1066familyman]

This. By far the easiest way to do it. I am not really a fan of power links though, much prefer the old school pins.

Agreed. I could do the job on a normal link easily enough with the chain tool on my multi tool. It took no time at all for instance to remove the excess links to get the chain the right length (don't worry, I did count the links on the old chain rather than measure it by length).

This, combined with the shifter failure is fast putting my off Sram. If money was no object the whole groupset would be whipped off and replaced with Campag in an instant.

 

[Hangullton]

This, combined with the shifter failure is fast putting my off Sram. If money was no object the whole groupset would be whipped off and replaced with Campag in an instant.

What's up with the shifter?

 

[1066familyman]

What's up with the shifter?

The right shifter broke on me whilst out on a ride. I was left in the 11 ring and no way of repairing it. On closer inspection when I got home a bit of metal plate fell out and was clearly sheared off. Research into parts shows it's not a replaceable part and seems that Sram shifters, just Rival in this instance, are prone to this ( Red maybe fairs better being their top of the range). Had the bike a couple of years though ( from nearly new secondhand) so perhaps it's just wear and tear, but the old alloy Campag Centaur on my other bike is at least 4 times older than that Sram and still going strong and shifting sweetly.

P.S As much as I don't mind Srams double tap, I still much prefer the rabbit ears on Campag, plus trimming is just so much easier on Campag compared to Sram (or so I've found at any rate).

 

[Stat Brother]

The right shifter broke on me whilst out on a ride. I was left in the 11 ring and no way of repairing it. On closer inspection when I got home a bit of metal plate fell out and was clearly sheared off. Research into parts shows it's not a replaceable part and seems that Sram shifters, just Rival in this instance, are prone to this ( Red maybe fairs better being their top of the range). Had the bike a couple of years though ( from nearly new secondhand) so perhaps it's just wear and tear, but the old alloy Campag Centaur on my other bike is at least 4 times older than that Sram and still going strong and shifting sweetly.

P.S As much as I don't mind Srams double tap, I still much prefer the rabbit ears on Campag, plus trimming is just so much easier on Campag compared to Sram (or so I've found at any rate).

If you have any luck betting the tour, keep your eye on this link, the price/discount fluctuated almost daily:-

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/..._dc|pcrid|161846076625|pkw||pmt||prd|508434UK

I got mine with almost 50% off, when it was 'last one in stock'.
Who knows where they're getting them from as Campagnolo stopped making Athena when they bought in the Potenza range, but when the price got down to a shade over £300 I didn't care.

I thought the upgrade from 'tired' Veloce to Athena would be slight, but especially the brakes are amazing.

 

[1066familyman]

If you have any luck betting the tour, keep your eye on this link, the price/discount fluctuated almost daily:-

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/..._dc|pcrid|161846076625|pkw||pmt||prd|508434UK

I got mine with almost 50% off, when it was 'last one in stock'.
Who knows where they're getting them from as Campagnolo stopped making Athena when they bought in the Potenza range, but when the price got down to a shade over £300 I didn't care.

I thought the upgrade from 'tired' Veloce to Athena would be slight, but especially the brakes are amazing.

I thought Potenza replaced Centaur, not Athena. Could be wrong though.

Thanks for the link but the amounts I bet I'm never going to afford a groupset from any rare winnings