Big_papa_nuts

14 hours ago, 4fun said:

What shop? I had warranty work done a couple years ago on some brakes at the peddler and they said they needed to charge me for a bleed to complete the work and It was only $15. 

Cost to the customer for warranty work can be a bit confusing. SRAM for example will usually throw in a couple chains for the shop to sell to cover their labor costs (though they are getting away from that). Shimano does nothing so the shop either has to eat the cost, which they usually will for a good/regular customer, or charge the customer normal rates, with is actually the industry standard for warranty work.

On 3/15/2020 at 2:40 PM, Bamwa said:

I'm sure he had his reasons.

I know his reasons. I've talked to him about it, he tried to claim my shop installed it wrong. I also talked to a friend who happened to be at MW when the bike came back actually fixed about Joe's rant about how shitty I was. And have talked to a former ME employee about how you learn to always double check Joe's work.

I've heard Joe is a nice guy, and he seems to have a passion for bikes so I can't blame people for giving him a few bucks, but he tried to insult my work and attempted to make his mistakes cost me money. 

11 hours ago, Bamwa said:

This is blasphemy. You should be banned from this forum AND all trails within the great state of Texas. Unless you are kidding which you must be.

Joe tried to have a customer return a bike to me because he didn't know how to remove a bottom bracket. Scumbag salesman in my book. Take your chances.

2 hours ago, June Bug said:

Thanks, AB.  I checked the PUSH site; for Fox, they only work on Fox 36's from 2015 and newer.   Mine is a 32 and may be older. 

I'll check in with my go-to guy, Joe at Monkey Wrench.

Forks older then 2013ish are no longer supported by Fox. There is a guy that will custom machine parts for them and rebuild them though. Let me know if it comes to that.

Also, Joe is a hack I wouldn't trust with a Huffy.

1 hour ago, AntonioGG said:

Does the rebuild do nitrogen recharge?  There are only a few shops that can do that.  BSS (I forget which one) recently got certified.  I sent my old Talas to Fox.  It was $400 but mine had worn kashima coating so it required new uppers/crown which was more than $200 by itself.  It is like a brand new fork.

No nitrogen in forks, just rear shocks. Also, the nitrogen will only benefit riders that are pushing their stuff pretty hard, plain old air is fine for the rest of us.

1 hour ago, ATXZJ said:

cycle progression for local suspension service. that is all.

 

Tim moved to Cycle East. Not sure who CP has doing their stuff now.

22 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

This is something I've wanted to ask.  Would you say there's a different level of resistance to moisture within the Shimano range of products? 

Honestly I almost always buy the cheap ones (Deore level) so I couldn't speak to that from personal experience, and I feel like most info you'll get on the subject will be so subjective it'll be mostly useless. 

5 hours ago, rockshins said:

Had a creak on my last ride so I took apart the frame and checked all the bearing pivots. Main pivot bearings were dry but in good condition. Went and checked all the other bearings and they were all fine, one bearing on the horst link style pivot was a little worse for wear but still moving well, packed all the bearings with grease and reassembled the bike. Creak is gone, but I know the bearing on the chainstay will have to be replaced somewhat soon. Thinking I will just go ahead replace all the bearings. Looking at bearing presses and pullers to get the job done at home.  

Have any of you successfully replaced bearings without having to run to the shop? Any suggestions on a decent bearing press/puller for a home mechanic that doesn't break the bank? Should I just pay a professional?

 I've done it many times with sockets, PVC fittings or pipe, c-clamps, and other various "tools" one might have at home. It's really not that hard of a job for someone who is mechanically inclined or experience. That being said, if you fudge it up it might cost you a lot.

The best I can describe it would be "hydrologic" movement. You want it to move smoothly, but it'll have some drag from the grease. Those can be serviced if you careful, but they are so cheap I usually just replace them.

1 hour ago, SuperSlow said:

Perhaps we just need additional signs reminding people not to stop at blind corners or on the trail, and some signs/plaques thanking and acknowledging the trail builders and groups so people realize that the MTB aren't invading, they are actually making this happen!

I always think about this when i ride walnut.

But to the other point. Riders do need to be more proactive about our reputation. I try to be as kind as possible when dealing with other trail users, and am a huge advocate for a good bell.

Local homeowner is a MTB hater. It'll be us against them till someone gives up. Same old story with most of the trails in the area.

On 2/27/2020 at 11:13 AM, Barry said:

Are the drifts and threaded rod small enough to work as a bearing press for suspension rebuilds? I'm tired of my precarious vice/socket wrench set-up.

https://www.enduroforkseals.com/products/tools/rear-suspension-tools/SBT-HS1.html

It's not cheap, but I'm kind of drooling over it.

16 hours ago, bestbike85 said:

I just had to pull out my derailleur hanger alignment tool after I ate shit on the gravel bike yesterday. I invested in it about 6 months ago and have already used it 3 or 4 times, which would have been $90-120 in new hangers. 

Hangers get weaker the more you bend them, so keep that in mind. Also, new hangers are rarely perfectly straight so you'll get to use your tool even if you decide to replace the hanger.

On 2/27/2020 at 11:13 AM, Barry said:

Are the drifts and threaded rod small enough to work as a bearing press for suspension rebuilds? I'm tired of my precarious vice/socket wrench set-up.

Pivot bearing can be a pita. Some companies are nice enough to make tools for their bikes, Santa Cruz comes to mind, but they are usually very expensive, Santa Cruz comes to mind. Wheels MFG's kit come with some standoffs to make the job easier, but they don't always work. And if all else fails I tend to resort to some combination of sockets, c-clamp, and PVC fittings to get the job done.

51 minutes ago, mack_turtle said:

Peddler has a 44mm headtube tool.

ATX Bikes faced my BB shell.

REI downtown has all those tools too.

Technically neither the Peddler or REI had a 44mm headtube reamer/facer. Peddler Cedar Park currently has access to one though, if you talk to the right guy.

I'd be careful going to REI downtown, they haven't had a qualified mechanic in a few years.

14 minutes ago, AustinBike said:

Do you mean 104BCD? If so I can scrounge one up for you.

 

Looks like Mack might have something for me.

 What do you do when you find a bike in a dumpster? Fix it up for a friend to use. I've managed to scrounge a drivetrain to replace the one that was rusted solid but it's gonna need new tires before I seem it trail worthy. Anybody got some beefy 26" tires laying around, or a narrow wide 140bcd ring?

On 2/22/2020 at 5:47 AM, AustinBike said:

Because there are different sizes, it is probably worth going to a shop to get your spokes, you'll be guaranteed to have the right stuff. Installing spokes is not that hard, usually the worst part is if you have to undo the rim strips and reinstall the tape. Sometimes I have been able to sneak a spoke in without taking the tape off, but as a practice this is not a good idea.

Once you have all the spokes, you'll just need a truing stand to help make sure you have the wheel back in true once you are done. I have one you can borrow if you do not have one.

You can actually use your frame or fork as a truing stand with a zip tie, or pencil and rubber band, or various other methods.

On 2/22/2020 at 6:43 AM, mack_turtle said:

I am not sure, but I don't think many shops stock straight pull spokes. If you can find specs on the exact wheel, perhaps you can find the correct length online. Measure one from the same side of that wheel to be certain.

The Peddler in Cedar Park actually has straight pull spokes they can cut and thread to may length. MJ's also has a large stock 

I was just talking to Jude the other day about Magura suspension and he told me that they regularly changed their recommendations on lower lubes and then applied those recommendations retroactively. I believe Fox has done this a few times as well, but have no proof of this. Fox is almost as bad as Magura at disseminating information.

I'll take that 9 speed stuff if you're up north.

26 minutes ago, Chief said:

8-9 will work on 10 speed. 10 speed ring has narrower teeth. 10 speed chain on 8-9 ring probably not.

I actually used a 10 speed chain on my '91 Trek when I converted it to a  1x7. It was a stamped steel, Biopace, ring though.

3 minutes ago, Tree Magnet said:

I’d say that the most important thing about spoke tension is consistency (precision) not accuracy. Unless you plan on swapping tension gauges after you do half the spokes on the wheel, the gauges can differ by some %. Sure, it would be great if they were all perfect and read exactly the same but do you want to pay $50 or $500 for one? Personally, I just try and get the tension near the recommended range for the spoke and then focus on getting all the spokes close to each other.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You say that until you spend $500 on a rim who's warranty will be void if it's not tensioned properly.

I have an old Wheelsmith tensionmeter I really like, and use all the time. I actually bought four Parks for work a while back and they showed up reading 40kgf different from each other. I sent them back to be recalibrated, they returned with a business card someone scribbled "a-ok" on and still had a 30kgf spread. Needless to say I can recommend that thing, unless you feel like finding a way to actually calibrate it correctly.

On 1/2/2020 at 9:53 PM, TheX said:

All of my bikes have these.

 

Hell yes!

13 hours ago, AustinBike said:

Interesting. I wonder where the cedar pollen is getting into the water supply. Not surprising based on the pipes in my neighborhood.

I'm no doctor but I think it helps in a few ways. First it will rinse some of the pollen out of your throat as you drink, drinking it ice cold may also reduce some of the inflammation. Second it will give your body what it needs to produce snot and tears. Which sounds like a bad thing, but if you drink enough they come out "pure" and actually flush away irritants without leaving a mess. Last, filtered water can actually leach minerals and such from your body, so maybe they are taking some of the counter productive things that come from eating and drinking the regular crap I do away.

One Zertec and about a gallon of filtered water a day works well enough for me. I kinda stumbled on the filters water things one day when my water main broke but it seems to make a huge improvement.

Shit. That's cheaper than I paid at dealer cost when I bought my Phantom.

6 hours ago, AustinBike said:

I rode Flowline last month. Riding up it I pedaled a lot. Riding down it I hardly pedaled. 

Your comment that you pedaled 90% of the time tells me that you were riding it uphill. 

Definitely rode it the right way, as confirmed by the signs and the other person I rode it with, and my data collecting app. Definitely pedaled more than I coasted. Also, had to stop and clear two trees. Definitely NOT a "flow" trail.