Watch those fingers!

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mrmacmusic

Veteran
Location
Tillicoultry
What should have been a fully satisfying weekend of first-time DIY drivetrain maintenance turned into 50% satisfaction, 25% swearing and 25% bleeding...

OK so that's a slight exaggeration, but having replaced my chain, cassette and chainrings for the first time ever over the weekend, the points I wanted to make were:

1. Doing your own maintenance is not particularly difficult, and highly rewarding;
2. Having the correct tool for the job is essential, and will not result in you stripping the threads in your chainset, muttering unmentionables or cursing your stupidity; and
3. When you're trying to remove a stiff chain-ring bolt, it's all too easy for your hand to slip off the allen key and get a chainring tooth stuck in your finger... not pleasant :cry:

Despite having never attempted any of this before, experiencing a couple of hiccups along the way (and not to mention a bl**dy sore finger), I'm really glad I decided to give these repairs a go myself – I saved a bit of money, learned a few lessons along the way and feel better prepared to look after my bike :thumbsup:
 

cyberknight

As long as I breathe, I attack.
:laugh:
Just you wait till you try a BB, i had a new sqaure taper to install but the new one had a plastic sleeve one side rather than a metal one .....cue lots of swearing and bruised knuckles as i constantly cross threaed the plastic side .
Replaced it with the same sort with a metal sleeve and it went in in about 10 minutes .
 
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mrmacmusic

mrmacmusic

Veteran
Location
Tillicoultry
Oh I'm sure the air will turn blue, and I'll have plenty more cuts and bruises as I hone my DIY skills earning various bicycle repair badges ^_^ By the sounds of things though it won't be the BB – I think my hubs might be getting disassembled next :unsure:
 

Tim Hall

Guest
Location
Crawley
Top tip: Put the chain onto the big ring, so it covers those nasty sharp teeth. That way when the tool slips, there's less chance of impalement. And swearing.

Another Top tip: If you have the chainset off, put the allen key in a vice, then turn the chain set, rather than the allen key, to undo the chainring bolts. Reason as above.
 
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mrmacmusic

mrmacmusic

Veteran
Location
Tillicoultry
Top tip: Put the chain onto the big ring, so it covers those nasty sharp teeth. That way when the tool slips, there's less chance of impalement. And swearing.

Another Top tip: If you have the chainset off, put the allen key in a vice, then turn the chain set, rather than the allen key, to undo the chainring bolts. Reason as above.
Thanks Tim – excellent advice :thumbsup: I had the chainset off but didn't think of using a vice. I'd heard of leaving the chain on the big ring, and was cautious of the sharp teeth, yet still managed to slip up... D'oh!. On reflection I could have slackened the stiff bolts whilst the chainset was still attached.
 
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