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Dibs

Veteran
Location
West Lothian
:welcome: to the forum...
 
OP
OP
G

gambled48

New Member
Thanks for the welcomes all. As advised I have downloaded the "spec" of my bike. I want to start upgrading components as mentioned and though to start with tyres. Chain rings and wheels in that order.I currently have
Specialized fast track OK SPort 26x2. 60tip wire bead tyres!!!!!!!
rimsare Alex.he'd 26"alloy double
wall pinned 32h!!!!!!!
Chain rings are 42sx32sx22s replaceable outer. Herrera
Should I opt for a road tyre with puncture resistance
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
To decode the specs:
26x2 is the tyre diameter and width (26 inches by 2 inches). These fit onto 559mm rims, which are the mountain bike standard and you'll find the size marked in the ETRTO sizing on the tyre too in the format ??-559 (This is useful to know because there are about four different sizes known as 26inch, which are all incompatible with each other)

60tpi refers to the fabric carcass of the tyre and stands for 60 threads per inch. The more threads per inch, the harder it is for a foreign object to penetrate. This is a good high count meaning your current tyres have decent puncture protection.

Wire bead - the bead of the tyre is a steel wire. More expensive tyres have a kevlar bead which allows them to be folded for easier packaging/storage and to be lighter.

With the wheel, double wall refers to the rim. A double wall rim is stronger than a single wall.

32h refers to the number of spoke holes. 32 is a good high number meaning the wheel will be strong (36 is usually the most a wheel is built with except for the extra strong wheels on tandems or cargo bikes)

With the chainset, the 42-32-22 refers to the number of teeth on the chainrings at the front. Since you've said they're replaceable ones, you have the option to customize your drivetrain a bit.


Changing the tyres would make the bike roll a bit better on road. A slick such as Schwalbe City Jet would be fine if you are sticking to purely road use, or a touring style treaded tyre would be good if you still want a bit of off road capability. I've tried and like Continental TourRide which has good puncture protection and seems to work on most surfaces (except for mud). Schwalbe Marathon is another one I'd suggest, which has better puncture protection still, but costs a bit more. There are plenty of alternative choices which others will no doubt suggest.

Wheels wise - those look like decent ones and if it was my bike I'd be inclined to stick with them.

With the chainrings, I'm not sure what you want to achieve. I suspect a little more top end gearing? If that's the case changing to a 44 tooth big ring will probably do the trick. Do you know what spec the cassette at the rear is?

Apologies for waffling on a bit. I hope this makes sense and I'm not teaching you to suck eggs.^_^
 
OP
OP
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gambled48

New Member
Phil that was exactly the kind of stuff i was looking for. So big thanks mate. As for the cassette at the rear i cant find any kind of a stamp to identify it. I got the bike serviced about 1 year ago, the guy told me the chain was stretched and the cassette was worn and he changed them both. I suspect he has swapped the factory installed SRAM PG-730, 7 speed 12-32!!! with a bog standard replacement.
The teeth on the larger ring on the chainrings have obviously(even for my untrained eye) worn down but a little more top end gearing might be useful for the downhills.
whilst i'm here could anybody suggest replacements for the brakes which are both Tektro IO Mechanical Discbrakes, dual pad angle adj...160mm rotor and more than 2 years old and squeeking like mad
 

Rickshaw Phil

Overconfidentii Vulgaris
Moderator
If there's no obvious marks on the cassette it may be something like a Sunrace. The number of teeth will probably still be stamped into the metal of each cog. Being a 7 speed it'll most likely be a 12 or 13 tooth top (smallest) gear, meaning that a 44 tooth chainring would be worthwhile. You'll need to measure the furthest distance between the chainring bolts to determine what size you'd need. You'd also need either a new chain or to add a link or two to the existing chain to cope with the larger chainring.

I'm not an expert on disc brakes, however when I developed squealing problems with the discs on the rickshaw I took the pads out and filed a small (and I do mean small) chamfer into the leading edge (facing to the rear of the bike) of the friction material, which did the trick.

A squeal could also be caused by contamination on the pads or the discs, in which case a bit of brake cleaner might be beneficial.
 
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