Tech/Maintenance

[AustinBike]

2 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Probably meant folding bike.

I had one of those. It wasn't supposed to fold, but when the frame cracks... 🙂 

[June Bug]

2 hours ago, mack_turtle said:

Be careful with Urban Dictionary. You might find something you wish you hadn't read.

Yup, it's definitely saturated with adolescent sleaze, but one can scroll right by until you you find something like 

skin dogs:  Referring to ones own human children in regards to the opposite of fur babies.

I absolutely love my skin dogs, I have two daughters and a son - Brianna, Tyler and Mayleigh. But no one will greet you at the door like a fur baby! Stryker is my german shepherd puppy and he is so cute!

 

Edited July 18, 2023 by June Bug

[AntonioGG]

34 minutes ago, June Bug said:

skin dogs: 

You are brave clicking on that in Urban Dictionary.

[June Bug]

Picked up my bike from Bicycle House; the mechanic had proactively cut down the existing Ergon grip to work with the grip shift, so that's that. 

Next is going to be a new carbon alt bar -- HayesBicycle.com is having a sale! 

PROTAPER CARBON 20/20 HANDLEBAR

Regular price$174.99 USD Sale price$122.49 USD Save $52.50 USD

Sadly, the 720 mm width is no more; it's 780 only. May have to cut them down a bit. 

 

Edited July 23, 2023 by June Bug

[AustinBike]

I think I still have a 720 somewhere on one of my bikes. My widest is 760mm, never seen a need to go beyond that and the number of tree gates I can just squeeze through is still high enough to merit not going above that.

[AntonioGG]

15 hours ago, June Bug said:

Sadly, the 720 mm width is no more; it's 780 only. May have to cut them down a bit.

Make sure to only cut what you're allowed to cut. The ends on CF bars have extra reinforcement for clamping stuff to.  If you cut too far you risk clamping on areas that were not meant to have clamps.

[June Bug]

Thanks for this!  I did have a thought bubble pop up that will be a bit less expensive option.

I'll take the Surly alt bar off the Hudski Doggler and transition that to the Salsa Spearfish.  The Enve flat carbon bar on the Spearfish has been on there 10 years or so and should be retired. 

Then I'll find a swept back bar with a lot of rise and put it on the Doggler since I need a higher rise on that bike.  

[AustinBike]

While on vacation I realized that my rear brake pads were almost completely worn out. I have Shimano XT brakes on the bike. Bought a pair of Shimano G03A pads at REI and was barely able to get them into the slot. I did not have any piston spreader tools with me (or a bleed kit) and I know that you are not supposed to use metal tools in trying to spread the pistons so I used a Park Pedal Wrench with a rubber coating to try to spread the pistons. Ultimately I could only get them spread enough to get the pads in but it was still too tight to get a rotor between them. Ultimately I gave up. Ended up at the shop later and for $30 I have fresh pads installed for the rest of my trip.

Is the proper technique here to open the brake reservoir and then try to spread the pistons? My guess is that I have done some lever bleeds while the pads were worn down and most likely the system has too much fluid in it so I could not get the pistons spread wide enough. (I watched them do the install but they did not seem to touch the levers at all. 

As for tools, I see that Park sells a piston spreader and a pad spreader. Are both essential, is one more important than the other?

[AntonioGG]

Pedro's tire levers are the perfect piston spreading tool.  They also work in some cases as spacer blocks.  If you have too much fluid, you could let some out from the caliper itself.

[rockshins]

I think on Shimano brakes you are supposed to open the reservoir whenever you push the pistons back in, but I usually never do that. Sounds like you had too much fluid for sure. I use the Park tools pad spreader (pp1.2 methinks)but not on the pistons themselves, can damage the pistons. Just keep pads in and keep the tool nice and clean. The new one the p2-1 I think is more to get the the brake pads spaced as to not rub. 

Edited August 18, 2023 by rockshins

[Ridenfool]

FWIW, I recently went through the same struggle installing new pads after having bled/flushed the brake fluid for better lever feel. Having done the bleed while the pads were between new and spent.

Like Antonio suggests, I bled the caliper and could just get the rotor in, but the rotor drag was very high.

In the end, I took 60-grit sandpaper and took off pad material until the drag on the rotor was acceptable. This was not an ideal solution, and I was left considering whether the OEM of the pads had make them slightly thicker than spec, or perhaps the rotor thickness wasn't standard. It was a head-scratcher.

Getting close to time to do it again and I'm expecting another wrestling match. I may do the bleed first, then, with the syringes in place mount pads w/rotor to see if it all fits before taking the bleed kit off. (naturally, removing pads and rotor again before removing bleed kit to avoid contamination)

I'd be interested to know how the shop handled it. (meanwhile, perusing benchtop belt sanders on Amazon)

[Ridenfool]

39 minutes ago, rockshins said:

I think on Shimano brakes you are supposed to open the reservoir whenever you push the pistons back in, but I usually never do that. Sounds like you had too much fluid for sure. I use the Park tools pad spreader (pp1.2 methinks)but not on the pistons themselves, can damage the pistons. Just keep pads in and keep the tool nice and clean. The new one the p2-1 I think is more to get the the brake pads spaced as to not rub. 

As an FYI, the Park PS-1 is bargain priced on Amazon right now at $12.

 

Here's how it is described:

• A must-have tool for any rider or mechanic who services hydraulic brakes
• A dummy disc rotor on a handle, with a tapered edge to safely and easily drive apart and reset hydraulic disc brake pads
• Strong stainless steel construction with a long, vinyl-dipped handle for leverage and comfort
• Can also be used as a temporary stand-in for the rotor when testing or servicing the hydraulic system, negating the need to repeatedly remove and install the wheel

Mine will be here Sunday 😁

Edited August 18, 2023 by Ridenfool

[ssorgs]

Fyi, TruckerCo replacement pads are great!  No rattles and I had no issues installing on my older XTs (using a pedros lever, of course ;-).  Pretty sure @ATXZJ rec'd these...

[Chongo Loco]

Also a good idea to push them out a bit further then clean pistons with alcohol and a qtip so they’re easier to push back in. I’ve had to push them out a 2nd time and reclean before they’d retract easily.  

[Barry]

On 8/18/2023 at 12:01 PM, Ridenfool said:

As an FYI, the Park PS-1 is bargain priced on Amazon right now at $12.

 

Here's how it is described:

• A must-have tool for any rider or mechanic who services hydraulic brakes
• A dummy disc rotor on a handle, with a tapered edge to safely and easily drive apart and reset hydraulic disc brake pads
• Strong stainless steel construction with a long, vinyl-dipped handle for leverage and comfort
• Can also be used as a temporary stand-in for the rotor when testing or servicing the hydraulic system, negating the need to repeatedly remove and install the wheel

Mine will be here Sunday 😁

I just use a large metal Park tire tool for pushing pistons. Works great. Wait, this thing is $12 and will look spectacular on my slatwall in the garage? I might use it one every few years? Added to cart. 

[June Bug]

On 7/25/2023 at 11:26 AM, June Bug said:

I'll take the Surly alt bar off the Hudski Doggler and transition that to the Salsa Spearfish.  The Enve flat carbon bar on the Spearfish has been on there 10 years or so and should be retired. 

So...final disposition of the bar thing.  Went to Kokopelli in Cortez, CO.  The Jones H-Bar, which was in stock, is basically the same layout as the Surly bars, so added those on.  The old Elixer lever on the right side was somewhat damaged, a replacement brake hose was crazy expensive, so just made sense to replace it with a  new Shimano brake.  

The steering with an alt bar is not as precise as a flat bar, so there's a bit of adjustment.  Overall, good. 

[mack_turtle]

I've been wrenching on bikes since I was 12 and just now learned how to ACTUALLY use Vernier calipers.

https://youtu.be/vkPlzmalvN4?si=7bVuu4sb9hg39pdn

 

Edited October 26, 2023 by mack_turtle

[AntonioGG]

My main bike had a broken seat post clamp that I couldn't get a part in before the Palo Duro marathon, so I tried to get my old bike (2010 Tallboy) that was setup for my wife.  I got pedals and seat moved over, and a new tire, with fresh sealant only to find out the shock was not holding air.  This bike has not been ridden in about 3 years or so. 

So I went to my P29er SS and did a single painful lap on it before pulling the plug (super fun trail...started riding slow to conserve energy/legs but that's boring, so I decided to just ride a fun lap).

When I finished, the fork lowers (yep, both) were completely covered in shock oil that had leaked from the seals.  This bike is stored hanging from the rear tire, so the uppers are lower than the lowers. 

The Tallboy is stored hanging from the handlebar and the seat.

1.  Do we need to cycle the shocks/forks every once in a while to keep them lubed?

2.  Anyone else storing bike from rear tire experience leaking oil?

[AustinBike]

I store all my bikes on Steadyrack hangers, which hang the bike from the front wheel. Never had a shock or fork issue. But I cycle the bikes fairly often. The full suspension is ridden at least twice a week, the singlespeed is ridden once a week. The hardtail is ridden once every 2 months or so. 

[mack_turtle]

Does anyone around here have the tools or feel confident drilling and tapping a cranks to make them shorter? Trying to make some old 170mm SRAM cranks more like 155 or a short rider. Yes, I can start calling machine shops, but I want to see if anyone here has a specific recommendation of where to get it done. The cranks are cheap and old, so I'll just replace them if it's cost-prohibitive.

On that note, why in the hell have so many bicycle companies held out for so long from making proportional cranks? A grown woman who is 5' 1/2" should not be turning over 170mm cranks on her gravel bike.

 

[AntonioGG]

1 hour ago, mack_turtle said:

Does anyone around here have the tools or feel confident drilling and tapping a cranks to make them shorter? Trying to make some old 170mm SRAM cranks more like 155 or a short rider. Yes, I can start calling machine shops, but I want to see if anyone here has a specific recommendation of where to get it done. The cranks are cheap and old, so I'll just replace them if it's cost-prohibitive.

On that note, why in the hell have so many bicycle companies held out for so long from making proportional cranks? A grown woman who is 5' 1/2" should not be turning over 170mm cranks on her gravel bike.

 

Seems like 9/16" regular and reverse thread tap set are a normal bike shop thing, the best thing may be to drill the holes and take them to a bike shop for threading.  Old BSS was reasonable for machining type work (facing, reaming, chasing).

[mack_turtle]

13 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Seems like 9/16" regular and reverse thread tap set are a normal bike shop thing, the best thing may be to drill the holes and take them to a bike shop for threading.  Old BSS was reasonable for machining type work (facing, reaming, chasing).

I have access to the taps at Yellow Bike. The question is, how do I drill the holes straight? I would need access to a drill press and some sort of rig to hold the spindle parallel to the axis of the pedal. Freehanding it would certainly lead to the cranks ending up in the trash.

Edited November 22, 2023 by mack_turtle

[AntonioGG]

Are the spindle and new hole location on the same plane or do the cranks flare out.

[mack_turtle]

9 hours ago, AntonioGG said:

Are the spindle and new hole location on the same plane or do the cranks flare out.

That's a great question! I'll take a flat edge to the arm and see how much flat, parallel space I have. Trying to make a pedal thread in to a crank arm that curves in would be horrible.

Edited November 22, 2023 by mack_turtle

[mack_turtle]

Look what I found at Yellow Bike!

I have no idea who did this, but it appears to be a 170–150 mm conversion. I found what I believe to be the appropriate Octalink v2 BB. Can't wait to try it!