What Have You Fettled Today?

[ColinJ]

I've raised the saddle by about 8 mm now and will see how that feels on a proper test ride tomorrow, if I can get out before the rain sets in for the afternoon.

I also noticed a few patches of dirt that I had missed (e.g. the undersides of the brake calipers) so I took a baby wipe to them. While I was at it, I noticed that the wheel rims had a greasy film on so used the baby wipe on them too. I was a bit shocked by how black the wipe ended up!

I'll carry a big screwdriver so I can adjust my cleats again while out, if I have to. I'm not going to carry it in my pocket or in my Camelbak bag though in case I fall off the bike. Road rash or a broken collar bone would be bad enough, but a screwdriver blade through the spine or internal organs does not bear thinking about ... I'll fix it to my seatpost with a small bungee cord!

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Ahhhhh - men.... can I kill him please... OK carry on reading this because I could have let him kill himself really, would save me a task for this evening!

Finally managed to get my OH to bring his Thorn Nomad down the spiral staircase last night so that I could check it over (apparently we don't have enough space in the sitting room for 2 of them for a couple of days....) anyhow I made the mistake of looking at it when I fitted the new dynamo light the other day (whilst it was on the landing) and noticed that the rear brake balance was out... and so was the front brake balance and it needed a clean and the Rohloff hub is leaking on the drive side again making the chain a total mess of the wrong type of oil (that is going to have to wait though).

So having just taken it outside to clean it (easier to balance clean brakes than mucky ones) and cleaned off all the crap of the chain, not only have a found some damage to the frame (nothing major and nothing that a few good layers of undercoat and paint won't cure) I looked at the rear brakes. No issues there, re-balanced easily... but the front brake was another matter altogether. the lever felt funny (yep apparently it has been like that for a while - not returning to its 'home' position very quickly (count 5-10 seconds) and brakes just not really being OK... so find the keys to the Ortlieb barbags - no easy task (we leave them locked on all the time and simply keep all of the contents in a cotton bag which we lift out as and when needed)... remove fight merry hell with the bag to get it off the attachment.... and take one look at the brake cable and swear loudly. The outer cable sheath is broken at the joint into the lever... Now swear loudly at my OH who is not here to hear me thinking back to all that torrential rain we cycled through on the last tour last year (including snow) and think RUST masses of it... and thank my lucky stars that when I ordered the new light from Germany I took advantage of the Shimano Brake sets (front & rear cable plus caps, ends and very long section of outer sheath) being only £6 when I order them from Germany.... New cable inner, new cable outer and guess what - no balance issues at all... only thing I don't have a replacement for is that funny little plastic tube that goes into the fixed bend on the brakes - that is shot to pieces as well, not to mention full of crap - rust colour crap. It's back in their now full of clean lithium grease but no longer well it was already badly split, its just a longer split now...

Strangely the front brakes now work and didn't need rebalancing... MMMMMEEEEENNNNNNN ahhhhhhhh

(yep I feel better now thank you...) Off to ring SJSC... need some parts before our big tour to get that Rohloff hub oil leak dealt with - tis just a seal that has failed. (and think his headset bearings need replacing as well)...

 

[ColinJ]

Ahhhhh - men.... can I kill him please... OK carry on reading this because I could have let him kill himself really, would save me a task for this evening!

Finally managed to get my OH to bring his Thorn Nomad down the spiral staircase last night so that I could check it over (apparently we don't have enough space in the sitting room for 2 of them for a couple of days....) anyhow I made the mistake of looking at it when I fitted the new dynamo light the other day (whilst it was on the landing) and noticed that the rear brake balance was out... and so was the front brake balance and it needed a clean and the Rohloff hub is leaking on the drive side again making the chain a total mess of the wrong type of oil (that is going to have to wait though).

So having just taken it outside to clean it (easier to balance clean brakes than mucky ones) and cleaned off all the crap of the chain, not only have a found some damage to the frame (nothing major and nothing that a few good layers of undercoat and paint won't cure) I looked at the rear brakes. No issues there, re-balanced easily... but the front brake was another matter altogether. the lever felt funny (yep apparently it has been like that for a while - not returning to its 'home' position very quickly (count 5-10 seconds) and brakes just not really being OK... so find the keys to the Ortlieb barbags - no easy task (we leave them locked on all the time and simply keep all of the contents in a cotton bag which we lift out as and when needed)... remove fight merry hell with the bag to get it off the attachment.... and take one look at the brake cable and swear loudly. The outer cable sheath is broken at the joint into the lever... Now swear loudly at my OH who is not here to hear me thinking back to all that torrential rain we cycled through on the last tour last year (including snow) and think RUST masses of it... and thank my lucky stars that when I ordered the new light from Germany I took advantage of the Shimano Brake sets (front & rear cable plus caps, ends and very long section of outer sheath) being only £6 when I order them from Germany.... New cable inner, new cable outer and guess what - no balance issues at all... only thing I don't have a replacement for is that funny little plastic tube that goes into the fixed bend on the brakes - that is shot to pieces as well, not to mention full of crap - rust colour crap. It's back in their now full of clean lithium grease but no longer well it was already badly split, its just a longer split now...

Strangely the front brakes now work and didn't need rebalancing... MMMMMEEEEENNNNNNN ahhhhhhhh

(yep I feel better now thank you...) Off to ring SJSC... need some parts before our big tour to get that Rohloff hub oil leak dealt with - tis just a seal that has failed. (and think his headset bearings need replacing as well)...

I'm sure you have reported in the past that your OH is capable of doing these jobs but for some reason doesn't, and doesn't even tell you when they need doing. I'm a bit baffled by that - if I had somebody volunteering to do my repairs for me, I would keep a list of jobs topped up for their attention!

 

[ColinJ]

I've raised the saddle by about 8 mm now and will see how that feels on a proper test ride tomorrow, if I can get out before the rain sets in for the afternoon.

I also noticed a few patches of dirt that I had missed (e.g. the undersides of the brake calipers) so I took a baby wipe to them. While I was at it, I noticed that the wheel rims had a greasy film on so used the baby wipe on them too. I was a bit shocked by how black the wipe ended up!

I'll carry a big screwdriver so I can adjust my cleats again while out, if I have to. I'm not going to carry it in my pocket or in my Camelbak bag though in case I fall off the bike. Road rash or a broken collar bone would be bad enough, but a screwdriver blade through the spine or internal organs does not bear thinking about ... I'll fix it to my seatpost with a small bungee cord!

Post-fettling test ride report:

The new saddle height feels right. I might try moving the saddle forward a couple of mm, but it felt pretty good where it was. I just felt that I was sitting ever so slightly forward of the widest part of the saddle which is where I think I will be most comfortable. I'll do a few hundred miles with the saddle as it is, then push it forwards and try again and see what I think.

The new cleat alignment feels right. I have 9 degrees of float on the pedals and before it felt that too much of the float was outwards, where I did not want it. I like to turn my heels in a degree or two when riding, and I wanted a quicker release when turning my heels outwards. That's all sorted now.

I might slightly reduce the shimming under my left cleat, but I will do a couple of long rides first to see how I get on. (I can feel that there is now more height between foot and pedal on the left side (which is a negative) but it compensates to a degree for my shorter left leg and will hopefully reduce my back problems on hard rides (which is a positive).

Now then, the answers to 2 big questions

• Q: How well does the new gearing work mechanically? A: Very well indeed! I have not changed the derailleurs, shifters, or chain, and had to rotate the rear derailleur with a baked bean can shim (!) to get it to work properly, but it shifts quickly, quietly, and reliably. I did a hilly 11 mile test ride this afternoon during which I repeatedly shifted up and down through all 30 gears and didn't experience one flunked shift. I am chuffed!
• Q: How well did I get on with the new gear ratios? A: As I hoped - very well indeed! The big ring is more usable - I can spin the 48 much more easily than the old 53. I don't think I will miss the one gear at the top end that I have effectively lost. The middle ring is great. I now have a 38 instead of a 39 and that makes it possible to stay longer on the middle ring up some fairly steep climbs. I did a few stretches of 12-15% in 38/29 and felt comfortable. I would drop down onto the new little ring for longer or very steep climbs, but the 38 ring with a 23, 26 or 29 sprocket is ideal for sprinting up tough little rises, especially with the lightness and stiffness of the Cannondale frame. The little ring gives me a luxury 28/29 gear which will enable me to survive stretches of 25+%, and be really nice on longer climbs of 10-20%.

All in all, that is £80 just over £85 well spent [I had forgotten the new bottom bracket], and I hope to recoup some of that by selling my old double chainset and bottom bracket.

If you are struggling on steep hills, you might like to consider such a conversion on your bike if you think that you would prefer using a triple, rather than a compact chainset with a huge cassette.

 

[ColinJ]

I forgot to mention that the chainline is very good when on the middle ring and the biggest sprocket. On my Basso, it always feels and sounds like I should not be cross-chaining that much. On this new setup on my Cannondale, the chain didn't complain at all, and the angle didn't look worrisome. I won't very often go to the other extreme of the cassette from the middle ring because the big ring is much more inviting now once the speed hits about 20 mph.

 

[potsy]

Fettled a spare set of Raceblades to the Caad so it can be used for a few commutes and not just for dry weekend rides.

Also added/changed the frame protector patches, now instead of being bits of mismatched electricians tape it is proper clear stuff I've had in stock for ages but hadn't got around to fitting.

It now has lights fitted too as they will be needed soon with 7pm finishes.

 

[ColinJ]

Fettled a spare set of Raceblades to the Caad so it can be used for a few commutes and not just for dry weekend rides.

Also added/changed the frame protector patches, now instead of being bits of mismatched electricians tape it is proper clear stuff I've had in stock for ages but hadn't got around to fitting.

It now has lights fitted too as they will be needed soon with 7pm finishes.

View attachment 53359

When I was doing my CAAD-fettling, I noticed that there is a lot more clearance for CRUD Road Racers than there is on my Basso. I'm sure I could fit them and never get the annoying rubbing noises that sometimes affected the Basso's rides in wet weather. The thing is, I want my Cannondale to be my fair-weather bike so the guards would normally not be needed. Of course, what happened on today's test ride was that the rain forecast for later in the afternoon arrived early and caught me out! My lovingly cleaned bike ended up covered in gunk, and so did I ...

I think I might get some CRUDs for the Cannondale and then take them off most of the time, only refitting them for rides which might turn out wet, when I still want to ride that bike (holidays, forum rides, events).

I might bodge split SKS mudguards on the Basso the way I did about 10 years ago, because that avoided the rubbing issue ...

 

[Kevoffthetee]

I decided to finally fit the new kmc x8-99 chain to Le Pug. Well overdue

The downside was I noticed my wheels are needing a major retune as there is a fair old bevel as the wheel goes around, but I'm going out on a pacey 40 miler tomorrow lunch time.

I'm already in the dog house with the missus so don't think I'll get away with going out for a spoke key and tinkering for ours

 

[arch684]

changed a 42 32 22 chainset to a 48 38 28 and adjusted the front mech

 

[Kevoffthetee]

I decided to finally fit the new kmc x8-99 chain to Le Pug. Well overdue

The downside was I noticed my wheels are needing a major retune as there is a fair old bevel as the wheel goes around, but I'm going out on a pacey 40 miler tomorrow lunch time.

I'm already in the dog house with the missus so don't think I'll get away with going out for a spoke key and tinkering for ours

With my wife otherwise occupied I set about truing the wheel, I'm a lot happier than I was but it'll definately be putting her in for a service before the winter

 

[Cyclopathic]

Spent about half an hour servicing a crappy folding pedal because the ones I had in stock were 9/16ths and this was a 1/2 inch fitting. Customer left it with me saying he'd had the pedals recently fitted by Halfords. Managed to get it working a bit better but told him to take it back as a pedal should last more than 5 weeks. Honestly servicing those cheap plasticv pedals is a real exercise in futility.

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

With my wife otherwise occupied I set about truing the wheel, I'm a lot happier than I was but it'll definately be putting her in for a service before the winter

The wife or the wheel?

 

[Kevoffthetee]

The wife or the wheel?

The wife, I'm buying a new bike

 

[ufkacbln]

The "Stand up aids" arrived last week from HP Velotechnik and I have just fitted....

Remove headset cap, insert adapter into headset and replace with longer bolt
Now slide aids onto adapter and tinker position of arms and grips to suit

Makes a massive difference to the ease of mounting and dismounting

.. and if you are brave enough to steer without brakes, it now has direct AND indirect sterring!

 

[raleighnut]

The "Stand up aids" arrived last week from HP Velotechnik and I have just fitted....

Remove headset cap, insert adapter into headset and replace with longer bolt
Now slide aids onto adapter and tinker position of arms and grips to suit

Makes a massive difference to the ease of mounting and dismounting

.. and if you are brave enough to steer without brakes, it now has direct AND indirect sterring!