What Have You Fettled Today?

[Pale Rider]

Finished off fettling @gavgav's bike today which has been rather more drawn out than hoped. On the last ride he did on it he got a grinding noise from the rear disc brake which, when I was able to check, turned out to be the pads having worn down to the metal. I went over to try replacing the pads but it turned out the one caliper piston was seized so I ordered up a new cailper and picked up the bike a few days later.

Caliper went on fine and bleeding is so easy with the proper Shimano tool. Checked disc for thickness and found it's at 1.4mm (minimum is 1.5mm). Drat. The original disc seems to be out of stock everywhere and I suspect it may have been discontinued so I've got hold of a Deore spec one instead.

All fitted. Works nicely on the stand. Could do with a road test when it stops raining.

Edit: Just done a short road test. Brake works well - will be even better when it's bedded in. Also did a tweak of the gears and fixed a really annoying rattle.

The Shimano XT rear calliper on my bike seized after about 15 months/3,000 miles/a set of pads.

I was a bit disappointed given it is supposedly a premium component, and Shimano flat bar discs are usually reliable.

New one was £50, but it's supposedly upgraded.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

Cleaned, polished, lubed and re-indexed the commuter None of which really needed doing but the SO is out with friends and I was at a loose end so

I love this bike, it's potentially even my favourite which is a bit weird If I had to keep two and get rid of the rest it would be this and the Stumpjumper I think...

View attachment 455686

That does look nice

 

[Pale Rider]

Tubeless top up time for me - not something I was looking forward to.

Ebikes are heavy, the stuff is messy, and I only have a standard track pump, so bead resealing could have been a problem.

I've been tubeless for about 14 months, and I did do a 'through the valve' top up a while ago when I had a partial deflation incident.

That was the rear, which has always lost pressure faster than the front, so this time I needed to get the bead off for a proper look see.

There was no liquid sealer left inside the tyre.

It's a wonder it stayed up as well as it did.

I used Joe's this time, which is a lot runnier than the stuff I used previously.

The job went smoothly with only a few drips spilled.

Resealing the bead needed some aggressive track pumping, but didn't take much longer than an ordinary inflation.

I quit while I was ahead (and out of sealant) - the front can wait for another day.

Tubeless has been a success for me on the road - I was getting a few punctures, I've had none that have stopped me riding since.

But the rear losing pressure over time was irritating.

Hopefully today's king size dose of sealant will cure that.

 

[Justinitus]

Fitted the new Schwalbe G-One Allrounds (in 38mm flavour) to the Diverge, re-indexed the gears and adjusted both front and rear brake pads. Then it rained.... so no test ride

Edit: Oh, and trued up both wheels

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Yesterday’s ride found my brakes squealing every time I pulled the lever when I was halfway to my first stop. Both back and front brakes so I assumed I’d picked up a contaminant on the disc brake rotors. Didn’t have time to sort when I got back yesterday so today was the day.

Used disc brake-specific cleaner on the rotors and thoroughly cleaned both sides on both wheels. Removed brake pads and found a lot of dust on the pads so cleaned them up on some very fine sandpaper and got it all off. Refitted and tried brakes with no squeal. Brake cable tension was a little too loose so a quick tweak of the adjusters saw full stopping power.

I’m not happy with the brake pads. There was too much debris coming off the pads for my liking. I bought the bike second hand and I would say the pads have never been changed from factory fitting. Plus the bike looked like it had stood for a while before being sold. To be on the safe side, I’m going to order and fit new pads. I don’t want the current pads disintegrating and damaging the rotors when I next brake. Especially at speed!

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

The Shimano XT rear calliper on my bike seized after about 15 months/3,000 miles/a set of pads.

I was a bit disappointed given it is supposedly a premium component, and Shimano flat bar discs are usually reliable.

New one was £50, but it's supposedly upgraded.

The problem appears to be that water had got into the system and the caliper had corroded internally so that eventually the piston couldn't retract. I think that brake fluid changes are going to have to be at every service from now on to try and avoid it happening again

 

[raleighnut]

The problem appears to be that water had got into the system and the caliper had corroded internally so that eventually the piston couldn't retract. I think that brake fluid changes are going to have to be at every service from now on to try and avoid it happening again

Brake fluid is hygroscopic (It absorbs water) Maybe that's why some makers use mineral oil in their systems instead.

 

[Rickshaw Phil]

Brake fluid is hygroscopic (It absorbs water) Maybe that's why some makers use mineral oil in their systems instead.

This is a mineral oil system. The only thing I can think is that the seals are better at keeping oil in than they are at keeping water out since there has not been any outward sign of fluid leaks anywhere in the system.

 

[CXRAndy]

Ive found Shimano calipers decent. I tend to see one piston is slower to move than the opposite, which will be internal friction/seal tightness. I had the same when I upgraded to Hope 4 pot calipers. 2 pistons were reluctant to move, so I held back the easy moving pistons and forced the others to move. A tiny pop from the pistons then they were moving freely. I guess it was how they were assembled and needed the seals to settle into position

 

[Elybazza61]

Cleaned, polished, lubed and re-indexed the commuter None of which really needed doing but the SO is out with friends and I was at a loose end so

I love this bike, it's potentially even my favourite which is a bit weird If I had to keep two and get rid of the rest it would be this and the Stumpjumper I think...

View attachment 455686

Pah! can't be any good no Di2 on it

 

[derrick]

Fitted aero drop bars on the bike yesterday, gave them a little tweak today raised the shifters up a bit, i find the top of the bars are so comfatable, as they are so flat, so it's a nice big area to put your hands on.

 

[LeetleGreyCells]

Fitted my two new Schwalbe X-One Allround Evo tyres (700x33c) that come with fetching tan side walls and EDC brake pads for Tektro Mira callipers front and back. Unfortunately, I can't test everything out as it's raining (a lot) .

The bike is looking good . To finish it off, I just need lightweight bottle cages in orange (already sourced, but £10 each and I've already been told 'definitely not yet' by my better half).

 

[DCLane]

Cleaned my son's Boardman AirPro and my Raleigh Pioneer, although I need new brake pads for that so they're ordered. I've realised the brake pads are probably the originals - so I've had 750 miles riding on a pair of 23 year-old brake pads. Not bad value!

Then prepped by Ridgeback Platinum for tomorrow night's North Riding 300 audax. Still not sure about riding for various reasons but everything's ready.

 

[Vantage]

Rerouting the dynamo wiring along the downtube, I discovered this unsightly mess thanks to the Pletscher kickstand.

Not a happy bunny

 

[JhnBssll]

Rerouting the dynamo wiring along the downtube, I discovered this unsightly mess thanks to the Pletscher kickstand.

View attachment 456418

Not a happy bunny

Eek, that's made a mess