I'm a champion bike mechanic...

[MichaelB]

Now to buy a new set of cleats to get the bolt ….

Surely someone local has a spare bolt lying around. I’ve probably got half a dozen.

I’ll try my luck at the LBS and go for the cheapest option.

[DavidS]

So, finally some dry weather and after work done the gear for a late afternoon ride. Wait for train to pass and set off again, only to have a faff clipping in the L shoe. Eventually get there.
At the next traffic light, get ready to clip out and WTH, it’s stuck. Lots of desperate attempts as I’m slowing down , and too late.
A rather gentle and undignified clipstack.

Gather myself and try and work out the issue as I thought I hadn’t clipped in properly at the train line

Doh !!!



Now to buy a new set of cleats to get the bolt ….

That happened to me in traffic one day, lucky I managed to clip out the wrong foot but it is so hard to clip out the other foot.

Just this week I had a loose cleat, luckily got to work and checked it.

Gotta watch those things the bolts do come loose sometimes.

DS

[warthog1]

I have always tightened the sh it out of them and have been lucky.
Only recently started using spd (as pictured) rather than spd sl road pedals.
Surprised just how good it is
Yes a heavier combo, but so what. Much, much better to walk in and easier to clip in and out.
I do hundred km + rides regularly in them and no hot spot at all on my feet. Very good.

[biker jk]

I check the cleat bolts every week, especially before a big ride. It takes two minutes to check with my torque wrench.

[MichaelB]

Snaffled some screws from LBS last night. And will check more often. Now ..

[robbo mcs]

I put locktite on my SPD bolts. Never had an issue

[ningnangnong]

This has reminded me to check how tight my cleat bolts are for the first time in a long time.

[jasonc]

JasonC - 1 Shimano Australia - 0


While over in EU I got spare parts that I just cannot get in Australia

2 sets of brake hoods
1 outer chain ring
1 disc rotor
1 at of jockey wheels
25 pack of brake pads

[blizzard]

I checked the brake pads on the cargo bike today, they are Magura. I was surprised when I pulled them out that there was no spring. Then I realised the the pistons use magnets to hold onto the pads... Seems like much more positive retention than the Shimano spring.

Also the pads can be removed out of the back of the caliper, which is fantastic, I wish every caliper was like this.

[Duck!]

The downside of magnets holding the pads is that sometimes they come out stuck to the pad backing and can be inadvertantly thrown out with the worn pad....

[DavidS]

I checked the brake pads on the cargo bike today, they are Magura. I was surprised when I pulled them out that there was no spring. Then I realised the the pistons use magnets to hold onto the pads... Seems like much more positive retention than the Shimano spring.

Also the pads can be removed out of the back of the caliper, which is fantastic, I wish every caliper was like this.

I have Campy discs and they ran a magnet to hold the pad in, but they have moved to having springs which mine have. They are Magura brakes made for Campagnolo. It is an interesting one, magnets looks like a good idea but I figure they found it didn't work as well as they hoped.

DS

[blizzard]

The downside of magnets holding the pads is that sometimes they come out stuck to the pad backing and can be inadvertantly thrown out with the worn pad....

Thanks for heads up. I will be careful to make sure I don't chuck them.

[OnTrackZeD]

I saw a video on how to heat and oil dip metal so it would blacken it yesterday, since I remove my quick link for waxing I figured it wound be easier to find to remove. The quick link has being removed every 250km for about 7000km that's around 21 times.

I don't recommend this as the heat and oil treatment made the pins fall out of the quick links.
Removing the link multiply times didn't hurt it but a bit of heat and oil killed it. lol

[bychosis]

Also the pads can be removed out of the back of the caliper, which is fantastic, I wish every caliper was like this.

I wonder if it’s a design feature to make it harder to mess up and have the brake pads eject themselves. The number of home mechanic hacks working on bikes is probably a lot more than work on cars.

[familyguy]

Slightly unrelated, but has happened more times than I care to admit:
If polishing things on a bench grinder buffing wheel, either make sure you have a good hold of the part being worked on, or don't turn them enough to catch a square edge on the wheel. Maybe don't do it when you're slightly under the weather with a cold/light flu that may impact your hand strength and focus, either.

The tinkle of a part bouncing (slamming, more like it) across a concrete floor, perhaps breaking into two pieces, is unmistakable and unwelcome.

[uart]

I saw a video on how to heat and oil dip metal so it would blacken it yesterday, since I remove my quick link for waxing I figured it wound be easier to find to remove.

That process relies on black oxide (iron(II) oxide or FeO) to blue (or grey or black depending on oxide layer thickness) steel. It's not suitable for your quick link in any case as it will be nickel plated. The basic idea is that heating the steel produces surface oxides and the oil bath locks in the black oxide (iron(II) oxide) form before it can oxidise further to iron(III) oxide (aka rust). The nickel plated quick link will not form any iron oxides as the surface contains no iron.

I don't recommend this as the heat and oil treatment made the pins fall out of the quick links.
Removing the link multiply times didn't hurt it but a bit of heat and oil killed it. lol

Yes, heating a part that has interference fit pins is not a good idea (due to expansion). There are other chemical and caustic methods of getting that oxide layer without any significant heat, but as per above it'a a moot point anyway as the link is nickel plated.

[skyblot]

Paint the quick link with fingernail polish. Choice of colours too...

[jasonc]

Paint the quick link with fingernail polish. Choice of colours too...

Oh I like it

[OnTrackZeD]

Paint the quick link with fingernail polish. Choice of colours too...

Much easier, gave it a clean and some gold nail polish, thanks.

[bychosis]

My commuter drivetrain has been playing up a bit. Wouldn’t drop onto a smaller cog in the back reliably. Mind ticking over considers options and reliving the cable seems viable. Continue riding for a few commutes with it not shifting properly and one day this week I remembered the barrel adjusters. Couple of turns and it’s shifting great again. Forehead slap. Been riding for weeks with poor shifting trying to avoid maintenance and I fixed it while riding without stopping.

In other news, the new BB that I installed after getting a replacement that was DOA also needed replacing. It’s developed play in the axle and is creaking under load again. Grabbed one with a shorter axle from the spares bin. I didn’t use it before because “different length”. Installed it just now and I’ve improved the chain line a lot. When I installed the original it was off a triple ring bike and I’ve only been running 2 since I built this commuter up. Really should have thought it through before ordering the replacement BB a few months ago.

[elantra]

working on bikes - what could possibly go wrong !

Cutting cable housings is a dark art. Well for me it is, especially gear cable housing with their linear wires.
I have tried using hacksaw, but it is not a fun process.

I had a nice new cable housing, which had been cut from a roll for me at the local bike store.
Both ends were slightly munted from the cutters that were used, but it was easily remedied with a 2mm drill bit
Next part of the process is measure length of the cable to fit from the cable stop of the gear selector/shifter mechanism to the cable stop at rear derailleur.
(I am using an old Suntour Command LEFT shifter, mounted on the inner handlebar, to move the rear derailleur cable)
I wanted to use ONE length of cable housing for the WHOLE tract to keep water and grime out, because the local Railtrail is built with a fine granite mixture - beautiful to ride on in any conditions - but when wet becomes a sticky slurry that loves to coat things like FD mechanism.

Measure and cut - they say measure twice and cut once don’t they ?
Nope, measured it wrong, cut it too short !!!
Don’t ask me how, it’s embarrassingly easy.

But they also say that there is a solution to every problem, don’t they ?
I discovered that by rerouting the cable along the top tube and down the seat stay, the cable is JUST long enough ! Hallelujah

Proceeded with this plan, hooked everything up, took her out for a test ride, very gratifying.
The shifter setup actually works very nicely.
But I am still going to get a longer section of cable housing and do it properly, one day.

Pics below:







And gotta share a pic of a healthy looking Python taken while out on the test ride ….

[stevenaaus]

Hmmm. I have an old 10 speed rear wheel, with a campagnolo freehub which i'm having trouble identifying.

It has an unusual asymetrical RED collar on the axle (with a 2mm hex locking screw).
The end bolts are the normal 5mm hex cap things, but they are marked with "lock >>>" which seems to point in the wrong direction! These old caps can be tight anyway, but this reverse "lock >>>" has me worried about getting it open.

Any idea what sort of axle it is, and will it take a shimano freehub ? Cheers

[Duck!]

Campagnolo do produce Shimano-splline freewheel bodies, more commonly found on Fulcrum wheels, but like a lot of other parts, shared with parallel Campag models.

[warthog1]

Campagnolo do produce Shimano-splline freewheel bodies, more commonly found on Fulcrum wheels, but like a lot of other parts, shared with parallel Campag models.

Yep. My Campag zondas were bought with a shimano freehub.
Equivalent to the fulcrum racing 3 I believe. Have the G3 spoke pattern though. Probably not stronger, but strong enough. I love the look of it.

[stevenaaus]

I can't identify it, or even open it. Note the direction of the "lock". Surely it's a normal right hand thread? I just don't want to put the wrench on it till I'm sure. It's too tight for the little Allen keys.