Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
Thanks!
Show us your bike
- Thread starter el diablo
- Start date
Thanks!
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
It was great to get in a 5 mile bike ride yesterday!
After receiving my replacement parts for my bike, I finally got the repairs done late yesterday and was able to get a ride.
Just a pic of the old broken grip ship vs the new one.
Changed the handle out too. Thought I might need to slice into it but 91% alcohol does wonders!
Fully installed and ready to go! Yeah I should steam clean my bike. She has been good to me for the past 12 or so years. I will change the right shifter in a few weeks. Want to make sure is well before doing that one.
After receiving my replacement parts for my bike, I finally got the repairs done late yesterday and was able to get a ride.
Just a pic of the old broken grip ship vs the new one.
Changed the handle out too. Thought I might need to slice into it but 91% alcohol does wonders!
Fully installed and ready to go! Yeah I should steam clean my bike. She has been good to me for the past 12 or so years. I will change the right shifter in a few weeks. Want to make sure is well before doing that one.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Looking good! I always use Aquanet when I change my grips. One cheap can lasts a long, long time. Changing those regularly at the first sign of significant wear makes the bike feel so much better. Are you checking out the cables and housing as you change those shifter parts? new cables and housing now and again can make a big difference.
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
Irony has it this is this the first time I changed them. FWIW, the cables looked good and probably would have left them had it not been for the crash. As for the other shifter, I will be changing that one too just because. Nice to do it together. I will be looking at my brake cables next - so far so good. After chain lubing every so often, my bike needs a good degreasing. The 91% alcohol is about $2.50 a bottle and it too goes a long way. Besides I use it to strip paint off of my 1/87 hobby items that need repainting so I am good.
Have you done maintenance in the crank area? If so what is needed?
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
That i have not done. Others have greater ken in that area that may chime in. yeah, degreaser is a good thing to have. Don't spray it on your bottom bracket though!
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
That i have not done. Others have greater ken in that area that may chime in. yeah, degreaser is a good thing to have. Don't spray it on your bottom bracket though!
Ideally I would love to pressure washer it. Can you imagine going to a DIY car wash to pressure wash a bike?
Tig
Fucktangular
Not a good idea unless you know you can keep the spray away from all bearings, like the crank, wheel hubs, pedals, and headsets. Also, you don't want water entering the seat tube (at the little keyhole gap at the top where the sear post enters the frame, below the seat post clamp) since it will accumulate in the bottom and possibly rust.
I use an old T-shirt with a simple green type of cleaner for all exterior surfaces, including spokes but not the tires and brake pads (obviously) or any pivot points, like in the brakes and derailleurs. I spray it on the cloth and wipe.
Unless you have the tools and knowledge, I wouldn't mess with the cranks and bottom bracket.
Here's a great source for maintenance and repair info:
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
I agree with Tig here. You can simple green that front fork crown that is carrying the dirt that I caN see in your photo, but you would not want to spray water up at it and risk getting it in your headset. Wiping a bike down is way better. Then you can wipe with a wet cloth if you want to "rinsea' after. Doesn't take long. Shorter than driving to the car wash place and you spend fewer quarters! Likewise on the rear chain stays, down near the bottom bracket, etc. There are things in those areas you don't want to spray water on.
As far as maintenance, I do brake pads, tires, some transmission parts (but sometimes I get help with final tuning and adjustment still), but stay away from bottom bracket stuff and hub rebuilding. Also, I do not have a truing stand for wheels. I think by reading and watching vid, a guy can keep his rubber and brakes in good shape, and his tranny working and shifting well, without getting into too much money. I DO want to get a bike maintenance stand as it is SO much easier to work on a bike that is in a stand. There are some on Amazon that are not too much money. I think that sort of thing will pay for itself over time in saved tech fees, and save my bike shop time for the stuff I really need help with and need more specialized tools for.
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
Thanks for the tip @Tig and @sunvalleylaw
Here is another one for you. How often do replace you chain? Have you degreased you chain?
Here is another one for you. How often do replace you chain? Have you degreased you chain?
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Hey, why did you take my bike and strip it!As you can see in the background, I have a pretty good set of bike tools for home repairs. The only thing I won't do is MTB fork maintenance and hydraulic brake work. Most everything else is fair game, but I've never worked on the latest type of bottom brackets and cranks.
cop0
Tig
Fucktangular
Hey, why did you take my bike and strip it!
"Why, my sweet little tot," the fake Santy Claus lied,
"There's a light on this bike that won't light on one side.
So I'm taking it home to my workshop, my dear.
I'll fix it up there. Then I'll bring it back here."
And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted her head
And he got her a drink and he sent he to bed.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
I replace my mountain bike chain at least once a season. Sometimes twice. The shops sell an inexpensive chain stretch tool that tells you when you need to change them. Probably not nearly as often on your bike unless you are putting a lot of hill mileage on it. As far as degreasing a chain, I am a believer in light lubrication, and keeping the chain pretty clean. I use a teflon based lube by dumonde tech. But some even just use Tri-flow for "getting around" bikes. Just lube it, run the chain around by back pedaling a bit, let it soak in, then wipe off the excess. Do not lube again until it starts making noise. Clean is way better than "Uber-Lubing" to pick up every bit of dust on the road. http://www.backcountry.com/dumonde-tech-lite-bicycle-chain-lubrication?CMP_SKU=DMD0001&MER=0406&skid=DMD0001-ONECOL-S2OZ&CMP_ID=PLA_GOc001&mv_pc=r101&mr:trackingCode=B26BE825-A661-E211-A87C-001B21A69EB8&mr:referralID=NA&mr:device=c&mr:adType=pla&mr:ad=49557848461&mr:keyword=&mr:match=&mr:filter=253989351047&mkwid=sHbRsPAmj_dc|pcrid|49557848461&gclid=CjwKEAjwv9-gBRD5ofn2jd2N0UUSJACcdilsHmQlazH1tQgwfPvtEevfYMQM7IhD8lewNaYZDHgv8BoC_1_w_wcB
I don't replace my commuter bike chain as often yet. I will see how that goes as I am commuting more. Same on my road bike, as now I am putting on more mileage. But I bet I will still replace most often on the mountain bike that gets ridden hard a lot most years.
Last edited:
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Also, chain lube can be a passionate subject. Many have their particular way or thing that they use and are convinced that is the ONLY way to do it. A buddy of mine (father of POW Bowe) who was a crit racer back in the day, still uses old school paraffin in kerosene that he mixes up himself. I considered converting to it, but decided I was too lazy to do it correctly and should continue to lube lightly with more conventional lubes, being careful not to overlube.
Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
I use Tri-Flow as well and another chain lubricant. Was unsure of the replacement interval as I have not that yet and probably should.
sunvalleylaw
Yep.
Go to a shop and get the chain measuring tool. Then you know and can do it yourself when you want to. Changing regularly as needed makes your cassette and chain rings last longer. Chains stretch over time, and can start to wear the cassette (rear gears) and to a lesser extent the chain rings. If it has been left too too long, you might have to throw a new cassette on the rear along with a new chain to do it right. I would be surprised if you had worn the front chain rings too badly yet.
Tig
Fucktangular
I have a chain wear measuring tool and replace as needed. I'm not sure of the mileage since I no longer use a computer. If the chain gets worn too much, it wears out your cogs which cost much more than a new chain. I use SRAM chains on my Shimano 9 speed group bikes as well as my single speeds. I love the Power Link connectors they use. I'm guessing your bike is either a 7 or 8 speed, so a PC 830 chain would run you between $10 and $13 bucks.
I used to drop a dirty chain in a solvent tank and soak, but that was in my shop mechanic days. I've never been a fan of those plastic cleaner kits that you bathe the chain in. Now, I take an old T-shirt and grab the upper section of the chain with it while rotating the crank backwards. Repeat after moving to a clean section of cloth until it no longer picks up gunk. It doesn't get every surface, but it knocks down the majority. If the chain rings and cassette cogs are messy I clean out the funk with the rag using a dental floss/sawing movement. Only then do I lube the chain. I've tried at least 15 different chain lubes over the years, and the only one I really like is Pro Link Gold, but I'm picky about that kind of stuff. :snooty:
To lube, I lay down an old T-shirt (see the pattern here?
) under the chain area to catch the excess drips. I make sure to cover the tire and rim to prevent any slippery lube from getting on them. I very slowly turn the crank backwards while dripping on each link along the lower section of the chain. Once done I let it sit a few hours or overnight to soak into the inner bearing surfaces, then take the rag and clean the excess off kinda' like I did with the dirty chain. Otherwise it will attract dirt after it has splattered all over your right leg and bike frame.
Tig
Fucktangular
Tri-flow is plenty fine. Avoid WD-40 since it is mostly a solvent and not a lubricant.