What Have You Fettled Today?

[rogerzilla]

I got a NOS Sturmey AW mechanism from eBay. Must be old as it's non-NIG. Anyway, I needed a 6 1/4" axle, not a 5 3/4" one, so I rebuilt it around one, then put it in a nice 1965 shell. Nice not to have to deal with the fiddly planet cage pawl springs!

This is for the Merlin (1966 or 1967) so the date is about right. I have a 1951 AM shell on a 1951 Holdsworth, but the internals are 1949.

 

[cyberknight]

Started the upgrade of the synapse from 4600 to 4700 tiagra
front and rear derailliers installed and replaced the rear shifter, re-cabling to the RD was a bit of a pain as its internal routing with nothing in the frame so i had to use tweezers to grab the cable as it exits the frame from the seat stay .The front brake was pretty easy
The front shifter is next which will involve doing the same for the rear brake cable but before that the commuter needs to have the front wheel trued as its well out of whack after catching a pot hole the other day .

 

[ColinJ]

I decided that it was about time that I did another mountain bike ride so I set about getting the bike ready this afternoon.

Both tyres were flat but I have not ridden the bike for about 2 years so that was no surprise. I am fairly sure that neither tyre is punctured. I pumped them up and they are still okay, a couple of hours later. I will find out over the next few weeks whether there are slow punctures...

The saddle was way too high because I had been fiddling about with the bike after my previous ride. The suspension post is shimmed to fit the seat tube and there was a lot of friction when I tried to push the post down. Rather than using my brain to work out a safe way to do the job, I used brawn, and this was the result...

... A broken 25 year old post!

Maybe I could fix it, but TBH, I think that I will just treat the hardtail to a new one. I will have to decide whether to get another suspension post, or buy a rigid post and lower the rear tyre pressure a little to regain the lost comfort.

To be continued, after I get back from my coming holiday in Devon...

 

[cyberknight]

suspension posts are a pita for this very reason

 

[Andy in Germany]

Funnily enough I was just about to ask how you remove stuck seat posts, as you must have come across quite a few. I have one at the moment marinating in WD40 and rust remover, but it seems stuck fast. Any suggestions?

 

[smokeysmoo]

Started the rebuild of my CAAD10.........

Nothing to see here TBH but watch this space, I'll do a full update when she's back up and running.

 

[N0bodyOfTheGoat]

Funnily enough I was just about to ask how you remove stuck seat posts, as you must have come across quite a few. I have one at the moment marinating in WD40 and rust remover, but it seems stuck fast. Any suggestions?

Back in the 90s on my old Peugeot racing bike, I solved a stuck post by turning bike upside down, pouring a can of coke through the BB and giving in 24-48hrs. Then turned right way up, coke drips out, tap saddle (protected by piece of wood) with a mallet... Things may have moved on in ~30 years!

 

[ColinJ]

Started the rebuild of my CAAD10.........

View attachment 819452

Nothing to see here TBH but watch this space, I'll do a full update when she's back up and running.

I thought that you had put that up for sale years ago? I have a vague recollection of one my size (58 cm) being offered, and being tempted by it, but finally deciding that there was plenty of life left in my CAAD5.

 

[richardfm]

Fitted mudguards to a friend's bike and discovered my brake bleed kit doesn't have fittings for his Tektro brakes.

Epic Bleed Solutions got the right kit to me quickly so I was able to bleed the brakes, fit the new brake pads, new cassette and new chain today.
I even refitted his rear tyre the right way round and pumped the tyres up.

It needs a quick road test, but should be good to go now.

 

[Andy in Germany]

Back in the 90s on my old Peugeot racing bike, I solved a stuck post by turning bike upside down, pouring a can of coke through the BB and giving in 24-48hrs. Then turned right way up, coke drips out, tap saddle (protected by piece of wood) with a mallet... Things may have moved on in ~30 years!

I'll have to hold that in reserve.

When I left last week my lads favoured soaking it in the above for the weekend, then clamping the post in a bench vice and turning the frame. They tell me they've heard of subtlety, but they think it's for other people.

 

[rogerzilla]

I know someone who successfully removed one with caustic soda. It is quite dangerous.

 

[smokeysmoo]

I thought that you had put that up for sale years ago? I have a vague recollection of one my size (58 cm) being offered, and being tempted by it, but finally deciding that there was plenty of life left in my CAAD5.

I dabbled with selling the bike a few times but changed my mind each time. Then I was in pinch a few years ago so stripped her and sold all the DA components and wheels but kept the frame.

Then I bought a donor bike a few weeks ago off here, so I’ve been stripping and cleaning all the viable parts off that and sourcing the other bits I needed.

I’ve got everything sorted now, although a couple of bits won’t be here until mid-week, never the less I’ve got enough to be going on with, so today became the CAAD’s new dawn 💜

 

[Andy in Germany]

I know someone who successfully removed one with caustic soda. It is quite dangerous.

Sounds exciting. I'm responsible for my client's safety so I couldn't try it at work, although I'm sure they'd be up to try; heck, they'd turn up with the caustic soda if I suggested it...

 

[rogerzilla]

You have to wear PPE, it can froth and generate heat, and it takes a couple of refills. But it can, if you're careful, dissolve it out without damaging the paint. Only for alu posts in steel frames. I bet someone's tried it with an aluminium frame

 

[Andy in Germany]

You have to wear PPE, it can froth and generate heat, and it takes a couple of refills. But it can, if you're careful, dissolve it out without damaging the paint. Only for alu posts in steel frames. I bet someone's tried it with an aluminium frame

My lads would probably try it just to see what happens. The only reason they haven't tried dynamite yet is that they can't get hold of it.