Carerra Subway 1 repair/s.

[embarcadero]

Hi all.

I've had a Carerra Subway 2 for just over a year now (purchased second hand). Intended as more of a stop gap until I upgrade in the future, I actually found it a pretty decent bike for the price (replacing 20 year old, heavy mountain bike!).

A couple of months back I picked up two Carrera Subway 1's for my other half and our older daughter. They'll be used (at best) to pootle around the nearby river and the occasional road trip (especially in the case of my daughter).
Again, these were purchased second hand (auction site) and I got them both for around £50 each. There's barely a scratch or knock on either (I did bide my time watching various Carerra's until these two came up at the right price).
However, one of them (and in each occasion, I was made aware of the faults before bidding) has a loose seat (suspension post - unfixable so will source a replacement post - non suspension this time) and a rusty chain (may need replacing - I have a chain replacement tool).
The other has a 'wobbly' bottom bracket. The whole set wobbles (both pedals, crank set and bracket) and I've taken one pedal off. Iniitially thought it might require a new 'washer' but on researching, it might require a whole new bottom bracket?
The crank set is a Shimano SF Suntour PFF btw.
For budget reasons I'm going to have to dive in and try and fix this myself (something I've never really got round to doing) rather than take it somewhere locally.

So I guess I need to know what type of bottom bracket to order (if it sounds like that's the issue) and also type of chain for these bikes. Would I take out the existing one and measure? Again, from research, the numbers that are suggested are 113 or 115??

I can only apologise for my lack of knowledge on the bike mechanics!

Kind regards.

 

[Racing roadkill]

The BB is going to be a 68X113mm square tapered number. Very cheap and readily available from just about anywhere. Amazon / Wiggle would be my first point of call.

 

[adamhearn]

68-113 I'd image... http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shimano-un55-square-taper-bottom-bracket/rp-prod71369 or the UN-26 if you want to save a few £'s

Grab a KMC chain http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/kmc-x8-93-8-speed-chain/rp-prod25424

 

[embarcadero]

Wow - thank for the quick replies folks!

From what I've written above, does it indeed sound like the BB has gone awry rather than a replacement internal component (within the BB)? I've no idea if that's even possible, but looking at the prices for a new one, probably not worth thinking about.

Is there a great deal of difference between the UN-55 and the UN-26? The bike it's going on/in won't really see much action (at least for the foreseeable future) - it's not a commuter bike or anything so would the UN-26 suffice?

As for the chain, would you usually consider a rusty chain past it's sell by date? I haven't checked the chain as it happens (I'm doing a bit of a crash course/online research at the mo) - but I'm considering picking up a chain, um, 'measurer'?
Again, it's not a big cost to replace the chain either, so it might be worth grabbing a new one.
The gears might need adjusting (derailleurs?) and my own Subway 2 needs a new gear cable (may need help on that on another thread) but for the time being, they are the only issues with these bikes.
My other half had a really clunky, 'ladies' bike pre this Subway. She took her eye off it in a park one day and it was promptly stolen. In all fairness, they probably did her a favour (she hated cycling on it) and really likes the subway!

Thanks again.

 

[adamhearn]

Standard BB's are mostly sealed (cartridge) units these days; thus if it's loose or grinding then the whole unit goes in the bin. The UN-26 will be up to the job. I'd personally spend a little more but that's because I can rather than have experience of better reliability, etc.

Reconditioning a rusty chain can be possible but quite frankly if it's quite bad the effort required [and mess generated] far outweighs the cost of a replacement. You don't need a chain wear tool as you can just use a standard ruler measuring 12". The chain wear tools measure slightly differently (erring on the side of caution) so a ruler is actually more accurate.

Cables are cheap and reasonably easy to fit; indexing can be time consuming but not overly difficult unless you've got a subtly bent hanger or similar!

 

[adamhearn]

BTW you'll need a bunch of tools if you proceed..

• to replace a BB, you'll need a BB tool, a crank puller and a hex/socket [for the crank bolts]
• to do the cable you'll need some cable cutters, crimp tool/pliers for the ferrule and hex/screwdriver bits

 

[Tim Hall]

When you get to swapping the BBs over you'll need a crank extractor, BB tool and a big spanner. The right hand (the one with the chain) is left hand thread. See this Park Tools guide for a bit of how to goodness.

(x post with adam)

 

[fossyant]

Easy fix and we can talk you through it ....

 

[embarcadero]

Many thanks again.
I'll order the items and give it a whirl sometime this week.
As it happens, I picked up a cheap bike tool set on sale a few weeks back. It appears to have all the tools listed above (I've already used the crank puller to take one of the crank arm off). Looks like the BB tool is also included (as is the chain removal device).

The guide posted by Tim above suggest applying a mild thread locking compound?

The gears (on my Subway 2) is a bit trickier. I'll explain in detail when I start a new thread. In a nutshell, I was advised (incorrectly) that the bike had 24 gears. The left side gear shifter (SRAM) only shifted to 2 - I presumed there was an issue inside the shifter and promptly took it apart. It sprang open and was virtually impossible to put back together (I managed to source the, seemingly, one guide on the whole net which detailed the process of putting it back together). I did the same with the right shifter - both put back together and worked (it was extraordinarily tricky...real PITA), but the left shifter eventually gave up. I'll leave that for another thread however.

Cheers folks.

 

[Tim Hall]

Many thanks again.
I'll order the items and give it a whirl sometime this week.
As it happens, I picked up a cheap bike tool set on sale a few weeks back. It appears to have all the tools listed above (I've already used the crank puller to take one of the crank arm off). Looks like the BB tool is also included (as is the chain removal device).

The guide posted by Tim above suggest applying a mild thread locking compound?.

I wouldn't bother with thread lock, although I can see their logic - it seems to be to prevent corrosion and then seizing when you put an aluminum cup into a steel frame. I've occasionally used a turn or two of PTFE tape to stop creaking, but normally I use a dab of grease. Be careful of crossthreading the cups, as the threads a quite fine for such a large diameter fitting.

 

[embarcadero]

Thanks Tim - saves a bit of cash if it's bordering on the unnecessary (I have PTFE tape anyway).
The cups are the ends of the BB? I'll follow the guides you linked me to re direction of thread/type of bike.

Many thanks.

 

[embarcadero]

Ordered the the items mentioned above, so hopefully give it a whirl over the weekend. Looking forward to it (if I can successfully manage to switch the new items onto the bike/s!) - might spur me on to build my own/future bikes

One thing, and might be a daft question, but I noticed the chain (from chain reaction) mentioned 8 speed? Is that relevant to the Subway 1 bike (which, I think, has 14 gears)?

Many thanks.

 

[Tim Hall]

No. 7 and 8 speed chains are the same/interchangeable. Your 14 gear bike is 7 speed.

 

[embarcadero]

^^ Cheers. I'll admit I'd forgotten about the speed/gears difference - I really am at base camp when it comes to bike mechanics.
Hopefully that will change soon enough

Thanks again.

 

[Racing roadkill]

As above. The chain will probably say 7 / 8 / 9 speed. It will work on any of those comfortably. It's just referring to the number of sprockets in the cassette.