Modern Saint
Starve your Fear, Feed your Dream!
heat and humidity mojo!
Thanks!
heat and humidity mojo!
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.
View attachment 15957
Changed the handle out too. Thought I might need to slice into it but 91% alcohol does wonders!
View attachment 15958
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.
View attachment 15959
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.
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!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?
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?
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
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.Ideally I would love to pressure washer it. Can you imagine going to a DIY car wash to pressure wash a bike?
Hey, why did you take my bike and strip it! cop0As 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.
Hey, why did you take my bike and strip it! cop0
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_wcBThanks for the tip @Tig and @sunvalleylaw
Here is another one for you. How often do replace you chain? Have you degreased you chain?
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.
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.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.
Thanks for the tip @Tig and @sunvalleylaw
Here is another one for you. How often do replace you chain? Have you degreased you chain?
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.
Tri-flow is plenty fine. Avoid WD-40 since it is mostly a solvent and not a lubricant.