What Have You Fettled Today?

[subaqua]

Done the spokes . Fitted wheel and fettled Mud guards lubed chain. Like a blooming new bike . Silent and stops on a penny!

 

[Morning all]

I like this thread, I'm still trying to build up my fettling skills. Can do brakes, gears etc and general adjustments but have never touched anything with bearings. I'm going to take my first cassette of soon too. Just got to get a chain whip and watch some vids.

 

[Elybazza61]

Swapped out the Sora kit on the other halfs' Liv Avail and started fitting the Ultegra.

All cabled up but need an in-line cable adjuster for the front mech, also need to decide what to do with the chainset;as it's nine-speed I don't think it will work with the 11-speed chain even if I change the rings(think it's the gaps between the rings rather than the rings themselves).Might be easiest to either swap it out for my Ultegra and get smaller rings(it's 52/36) or just find a s/h Ultegra/105(or even a FSA one) chainset with the right rings.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Out into the cold to clean the knockabout bike today. It hasn't been washed for 3 weeks and it's been just over a week/200 miles since the chain was last cleaned and oiled.

I'm very pleased with the mudflap mentioned when I last posted in this thread. Although the bike was generally filthy the bottom bracket had hardly any dirt on and the drivetrain has stayed much cleaner. Prior to the flap being fitted the chain would have been a horrible squeaky, gritty mess if I'd done 200 winter miles without relubing, but not this time.

I've also fitted new brake blocks to the rear again and a new rear brake cable due to the old one being corroded.

All ready for another week of mucky commuting now.

 

[ColinJ]

Last time out on my CAAD 5, I was annoyed by a slight rattle coming from the bike on rough stretches of road - i.e. a lot of the time, given our local road surfaces!

It took some tracking down. It turned out to be the RH brake lever which was slightly loose. Campagnolo brake levers do not have return springs - they rely on the tension in the brake cable to pull them shut when the lever is released after braking. There was enough friction in the cable to stop that working properly. I turned the bike upside down and squirted some thin lube down inside the brake outer. I then repeatedly operated the lever to work the lube down inside the cable. It helped, but it didn't entirely fix the problem.

The 'proper' solution would be to replace the brake outer cable (and probably the inner while I was at it) but I didn't want to have to take my nice new bar tape off to do that. (I know I could reuse the tape but it took me 3 attempts to get it neat last time!)

I came up with a work-around ... I normally release the brake lever slowly like this - LET GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. That gives friction a perfect opportunity to stop the cable sliding back inside the outer. If instead I just do it abruptly like this - LET GO - the brake lever snaps back to its correct position immediately; 100% effective at stopping the rattle!

I'll put a new front brake cable on next time I change the bar tape.

The lube eventually seems to have done the trick ... I tried the bike a few days later and the problem has gone away for now. I'll still change the cabling when I next change the bar tape though.

 

[ColinJ]

Mudguard fettle this afternoon. On my ride yesterday I turned past Hatton Country World and thought this is getting to be hard work, when I got to the cafe by Hatton Locks I could see that the rear mudguard was clogged with mud, I had a clear out then hit every minor lump bump and pothole on the way home to shake out as much as I could.This afternoon I had the rear wheel off and cleared about a pound of mud out of the mudguard then adjusted the mudguard to fine tune it and get a touch of extra clearance.

I've had clogged mudguards a few times. On one forum ride I was struggling to get anywhere close to 20 mph on a descent on which it is normally easy to hit 30. I ended up scraping the mud out with a stick that I found at the side of the road.

These days I aim for long, shallow puddles mid-ride to wash the mud out before it sets. Deep puddles are a bad idea because you can't see potholes lurking in the depths.

I have a hose pipe permanently set up in my back yard these days so I can take my bike out there post-ride and give it a good wash. I always make sure to blast any mud out from under the guards.

 

[si_c]

Been trying to find a 4mm draw bolt for the mudguards that came with the frame originally, I've not been entirely successful, so I've decided to put some chromoplastics on there for the time being.

Cleaned the bike at the jetwash at the garage () to get all the mud and crap off that had been building up for a while, then fitted the guards. Required a bit of improvisation as the rear brake bridge bolt is perpendicular to the usual way of fitting them (for the original mudguards) and I only had 7 of the 8 draw bolts (fell off and rolled off somewhere, and I can't find it now), so I used a bit of electrical tape for now. I've ordered some new fittings and pick them up in a couple of days.

Should be fit for wet weather commuting again now, new job means 14mi each way instead of the 5 in the previous job

 

[youngoldbloke]

I've had clogged mudguards a few times. On one forum ride I was struggling to get anywhere close to 20 mph on a descent on which it is normally easy to hit 30. I ended up scraping the mud out with a stick that I found at the side of the road.

These days I aim for long, shallow puddles mid-ride to wash the mud out before it sets. Deep puddles are a bad idea because you can't see potholes lurking in the depths.

I have a hose pipe permanently set up in my back yard these days so I can take my bike out there post-ride and give it a good wash. I always make sure to blast any mud out from under the guards.

The blue Ribble Winter-bikes are notorious for their lack of mudguard clearance and constant clogging-up. I carry a teaspoon in the saddlepack - just the right shape to scrape out the guards. I aim for the safe shallow puddle too.

 

[Will Spin]

I had one of those Ribble bikes for a while, it was hopeless in the muddy lanes around here! Bought a Ribble sportive 365 frame and transferred some of the good parts over into it to make a nice winter bike.

 

[youngoldbloke]

I had one of those Ribble bikes for a while, it was hopeless in the muddy lanes around here! Bought a Ribble sportive 365 frame and transferred some of the good parts over into it to make a nice winter bike.

Yes - I've just done the same, onto another alloy frame with more clearance.I was surprised when I found that the brakes on the Ribble were not long drop as I'd always assumed. Very little left of the original blue Ribble now - see Triggers Broom Bike

 

[Elybazza61]

Never mind the bar tape, Bazza, (fine job though it is) how did you fettle that splendid stem cap?

Apologies for the late reply.

It's one of these;

https://www.stif.co.uk/mtb/product/niner-yawyd-headset-cap/5715

Comes with a star nut but worked ok with the carbon fork bung.

Need a Oude Kwaremont bottle cap to swap in occaisionally(and Chimay,Primus etc,etc)

 

[GuyBoden]

Just cleaning up my latest acquisition, a genuine early 1980's Selle Italia Turbo, Bernard Hinault Leather Saddle.

I'm hoping that it's as comfy as I remember my old Turbo saddle was in the 1980's, but I think my weight, age and fitness play as big a part in saddle comfort as the actual saddle................. Nostalgia strikes again.

 

[si_c]

Just cleaning up my latest acquisition, a genuine early 1980's Selle Italia Turbo, Bernard Hinault Leather Saddle.

I'm hoping that it's as comfy as I remember my old Turbo saddle was in the 1980's, but I think my weight, age and fitness play as big a part of saddle comfort as the actual saddle................. Nostalgia strikes again.

I find the modern reproductions very comfortable.

 

[marknotgeorge]

I fixed my Knog Oi bell. I found that it didn't work properly unless the retaining bolt was a bit loose for my liking - so much so that the bolt worked loose and fell out. I realised that if the handlebars are narrow, the retaining bolt pokes through the thread and prevents the metal sounder from vibrating properly. A couple of nuts on a replacement bolt mean I can nip it up good and tight, and still have a sonorous bell.

 

[Will Spin]

Yes - I've just done the same, onto another alloy frame with more clearance.I was surprised when I found that the brakes on the Ribble were not long drop as I'd always assumed. Very little left of the original blue Ribble now - see Triggers Broom Bike

Actually, there weren't many "good" parts that were worth transferring, in the end I think it was only the handlebars and the cassette! Not one of my best purchases.