Maintanance

[Guest]

Didn't I say if it's not broke don't fix it?

I hate to say I told you so

You might aswell learn how to straighten a wheel now that you have the oppertunity.

[eskimo]

Trueing wheels is actually harder than building them.

[Simpson]

what do you guys use to clean your bike?

I just undid a years woth of grit for my bike ready for the sale picutrs

just use petrol......... i do......... / did

[F-Stop Junkie]

Ok, this is a fairly long post, but it's worth reading. Remember, a looked after drive train will not only last longer - saving you money! - but is less likely to skip, jump or for the chain to break. Look after your chain, and it'll look after you!

I think there's a lot of people who run bikes until they start to go wrong, then wonder why. Trials is a killer for chains, high torque and small sprockets mean high tension, and lots of stretch. When a chain wears it stretches and doesn't sit right on sprockets and chain rings, and this causes premature wear. No problem if you can replace a £10 sprocket, but potentially it's causing extra wear to your pricey new freewheel. Want to know how worn your chain is? Sheldon Brown has an excellent article on it:

Measuring Chain Wear

The standard way to measure chain wear is with a ruler or steel tape measure. This can be done without removing the chain from the bicycle. The normal technique is to measure a one-foot length, placing an inch mark of the ruler exactly in the middle of one rivet, then looking at the corresponding rivet 12 complete links away. On a new, unworn chain, this rivet will also line up exactly with an inch mark. With a worn chain, the rivet will be past the inch mark.

This gives a direct measurement of the wear to the chain, and an indirect measurement of the wear to the sprockets:

If the rivet is less than 1/16" past the mark, all is well.

If the rivet is 1/16" past the mark, you should replace the chain, but the sprockets are probably undamaged.

If the rivet is 1/8" past the mark, you have left it too long, and the sprockets (at least the favorite ones) will be too badly worn. If you replace a chain at the 1/8" point, without replacing the sprockets, it may run OK and not skip, but the worn sprockets will cause the new chain to wear much faster than it should, until it catches up with the wear state of the sprockets.

If the rivet is past the 1/8" mark, a new chain will almost certainly skip on the worn sprockets, especially the smaller ones.

So now you're measuring your chain for wear and replacing it before it does any damage, what should you do to look after it? Again, go back and read the article as he has many good things to say. Having worked as a mechanic for several years, I'd add a couple of pointers

• A light lube is great in the summer. It doesn't attract dirt and should last well if you don't wash the bike too vigourously. In the winter though, either switch to a heavier lube or apply a light lube frequently.
• Once you're in the habit of lubing your chain, make sure you clean it every two or three lubes, especially when using a heavier oil! There is nothing worse than adding layers and layers and layers of oil onto a chain, as it mixes with dirt and grit to form a grinding paste, and bye bye chain.
• Do not use motor oil. Please.

I should point out here that when I'm talking about lube, I mean proper stuff - Pedros, Finish Line, Black Gold. WD-40, GT-85 and 3-in-1 oil are not chain lubes. They're not designed to stay on your chain, or bare the loads put on a chain.

What WD40 and GT-85 do well is disperse water. Spraying some on a chain after a wet ride will help push water out the chain and stop rust forming within it. Also spraying it on the frame will help stop mud sticking to it while you're riding.

BTW, the difference between WD40 and GT-85 is this; WD40 evaporates away (not good for chains!), but GT-85 leaves behind a thin film of Teflon. Neither is good for chains, but I prefer GT-85 for lubing cables and things like that.

Be careful though when you're spraying canned lubes around, as once they're in the air it's easy to contaminate discs and pads. For chains, it's much better to use a dropper bottle and just put a little oil on each link. Give the pedals a few turns, then - if possible - leave to stand to allow the oil to really penetrate. If you're using a heavy oil, it's ok to run the chain through some kitchen towel or rag, just applying a little pressure to the side plates. You're not trying to get it off the top and bottom of the chain, but cleaning up the side plates will keep your trousers a bit nicer.

As for greases, best thing to do it go to a car shop, and get a tub of grease. It's cheap, and most bike shops do exactly the same thing. Lithium grease is wax based, so it tends to break down and wash out more easily than petrolium based grease. Best bet is to stick with something fairly sticky and transluscent. If you're using lithium grease now, then no worries. It's also a good idea to have some anti-seize (also known as coppa-slip, copper grease, or assembly compound) if you're working with titainium. It's pretty specialist, and not essential.

For general maintenance, I firmly believe in if it ain't broke, don't fix it. That said, if you've been riding a lot in wet weather, or a lot of mud, then it's worth picking and afternoon and stripping down bearings if you have loose (rather than cartridge) bearings. Pack in plenty of good grease, and you'll be good to go. Don't worry about servicing cartridge BBs, as there's nothing you can do. Run those till they die, then get a new one. Same for any cartridge bearings.

If you do wash your bike, be very careful with any sort of high pressure hose or jet wash. These will push the grease out of bearings, hubs, BBs, and also lube out of chains. They're fine for rinsing a frame tube or tyre, but bearings need care and attention!

As for wheels, find a good local wheelbuilder. They will be a great asset. If you are having constant problems with a wheel, ask them to retension it, as that will probably solve your problems, and give a stronger wheel to boot. Also, a tighter spoke does not mean a stronger wheel!

[RobinJI]

Every now and then I oil and check my chain and ACS, and check/grease my headset and check my wheels.

Before every ride I check my chain tension, pedal and cranks tightness and my breaks.

Besides that basically, if its broken, fix it.

Most important thing, is to always install stuff properly, that way it will play up much less, and wont cause you hassle when you try and take it out or replace it.

[Mr_Pitbull]

i really do look after my bike, i find my bike tends to break alot more in winter. My best friends for maintaining a bike is Lithium Grease and GT85 also a light Halford bike oil. I usually put grease etc in places which dont really need maintaining such as between the bb and the crank...also on Magura pistons, i really do like a pimp as water/rust free bike .

Edited November 6, 2006 by Mr_Pitbull

[F-Stop Junkie]

I usually put grease etc in places which dont really need maintaining such as on Magura pistons

Eh? Which bit of the pistons? And why? There is no interface there which could benefit from grease...

[Tommy d]

F-Stop Junkie, thankyou for your big long post.

EDIT: I hope that didn't sound bad...

Edited November 6, 2006 by Tommy d

[Tommy d]

Just had a thought, why not put this in the FAQ?

[Broomer]

fix broken stuff and clean it occasionaly, thats all.

[omgnoseat]

thanks for the help everyone

thanks for the post about the chain stretching F-Stop Junkie, gonna try that when i get out of school

i can handle post of the maintanance myself now, except for trueing a wheel but its going great otherwise

[Janson]

i oil my chain some times, and fiddle with my back brake. rest of the bike remains untouched unless i break something.

[omgnoseat]

i had no idea how to search for this so i'll ask here..

i got a new freewheel (same as which i had before) yesterday and put it on my bike, worked perfectly..for a while

then it suddenly started skipping, but only when i put pressure on it when the right crank is downwards

i have no idea what this could be

i already checked some things:

- freewheel is greased

- crank is tightend good

- chain isnt too loose

- wheel isnt too loose

i hope than anyone knows what it could be and how i could fix it

thanks in advance

[ogre]

- freewheel is greased

i hope than anyone knows what it could be and how i could fix it

thanks in advance

answered your own question hah! clean the grease out of your freewheel! it'l be sitting in the ratchet (thats the right one isn't it?) where the pawls push into when it engages. the grease is probably stoping them from locking into the ratchet. if you feel the need to lube your freewheel, just do the bearings but be stingy as fook with it! and only use mega light oil/wd40 on the ratchet pawls. and while you've got the freewheel open stretch the spring a bit to

[omgnoseat]

answered your own question hah! clean the grease out of your freewheel! it'l be sitting in the ratchet (thats the right one isn't it?) where the pawls push into when it engages. the grease is probably stoping them from locking into the ratchet. if you feel the need to lube your freewheel, just do the bearings but be stingy as fook with it! and only use mega light oil/wd40 on the ratchet pawls. and while you've got the freewheel open stretch the spring a bit to

meh i'm way too nooby in maintenance for that

but i think it could be something else too..

i noticed that my rear wheel was still moving abit after i tightend it, so i tried to tighten it again but it felt like the bolt was way too round to get it any tighter.

so i'll get some new bolts tomorrow and see if that solves it

if not, i'll try to do what you said.

thanks alot for the help

[eskimo]

You said it was a new freewheel...

Perhaps it hasn't worn in yet. My eno slipped a bit for the first few rides.

[omgnoseat]

ok new problem...

My pedal cages were a bit f**ked (broken in 2 to be exact) so there were moving all the time, i felt my pedals moving the whole i was riding, but i thought that was normal since they were broken in 2, so i continued riding (very good ride btw )

got my new pedal in today, wanted to put them on, and noticed that it wasnt my cages, but the whole pedal that was loose

so i took off the pedal, and put my new one in, but it turns out that the threads are f**ked up and the pedal just won't stay in there..

i can keep screwing it but it just won't get tight

anyone has a solution or a trick or something to get them in tight?

or do i have to buy a whole new crank..?

edit: did some research and i think what i tried to explain is that the threads in crank have been stripped

i also found out about heilcoiling, i do not have acces to any of the stuff you need for that..

so thats why i'm asking if anyone has any other idea's how to fix it, besides buying a new crank

Edited January 20, 2007 by Meteor~

[omgnoseat]

lil bump

if no one knows any solution i'll just get it helicoiled

if my parent will lend me some money that is, damn poor

[Tomm]

I'm not sure you'll be able to get it helicoiled you know... It's worth a try, but I didn't think helicoils came in big enough sizes for crank threads (In fact, are they even a standard thread size?).

I think you may end up having to buy a new crank

[eskimo]

I've seen cranks get helicoiled before. I guess you just need to buy the right size from wherever sells them.

If there isn't much movement you could use some adhesive to secure the pedal. I'm not sure what would be best though. This would only be a temp. solution though.

[omgnoseat]

i had the cranks helicoiled and it's working out great so far

I got a new problem how ever, my wheel keeps coming loose

I've tightened the bolt next to the rear hub so it won't move from side to side, and still is able to roll smoothly.

But after about half an hour of riding the wheel is loose again..

Does anyone have any idea how i can prevent it from coming loose so quickly?

[manuel]

i had the cranks helicoiled and it's working out great so far

I got a new problem how ever, my wheel keeps coming loose

I've tightened the bolt next to the rear hub so it won't move from side to side, and still is able to roll smoothly.

But after about half an hour of riding the wheel is loose again..

Does anyone have any idea how i can prevent it from coming loose so quickly?

loctite ?

[eskimo]

Get a sealed hub. Some do have a tendency to come loose. It's just one of those things you have to deal with. There might be some way though. Like use a cone with a lock nut instead of just a cone?

[omgnoseat]

Get a sealed hub. Some do have a tendency to come loose. It's just one of those things you have to deal with. There might be some way though. Like use a cone with a lock nut instead of just a cone?

I'm a total noob when it comes to hubs..and any other bike part really

i'm looking for a solution to fix the problem with this hub atm

I will look into a sealed hub when my current hub will break

[omgnoseat]

ok lil update now;

I've locktite't my wheel and it's working great now, except for 2 things:

- When i try to tighten my wheel at the rear end bolts (bolt 1), the bolt next to the tire (bolt 2) spins aswell, so my wheel won't tighten up at all and the axle just keeps spinning

just to clear up what i mean:

- when i give a reasonbly hard swing to my wheell it won't turn further that like 3/4 circle, will this have any affect when i ride, like power in pedal kicks or something or doesn't it really matters?

Thanks for the help so far btw, it has helped me out alot