What Have You Fettled Today?

[ColinJ]

Fitted some new brake blocks to the Winter bike, probably due after at least 12,400 miles Added its third lot of bar tape too.

Not too much life left in the old ones
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It is obvious that you don't live somewhere really hilly... I have worn blocks down more than that in a couple of weeks in a Yorkshire winter!!

 

[Willd]

36.5 feet per mile

 

[ColinJ]

36.5 feet per mile

Roughly one third of the lumpiness of most of my Yorkshire/Lancashire rides. They are nearer 100 ft/mile or 20 m/km so the downhills can require significant braking which isn't great for wear with rim brakes and heavily gritted roads!

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

First TPU tube puncture repair effected, after a p*nct*re visitation on the club run. Two tiny pin holes where the sidewall would be, perpendicular to the rim and about 5 mm apart.

I'm kind of thiking pinch flat, because I can't see any evidence of anything going through the tyre's sidewall.

I'd have thought 70 PSI in a 28mm tyre (with a 74kg) rider would have been enough to stop that. I don't recall hitting any potholes at speed either, but the deflation did happen in rather a fast descent.

I guess I'll be waiting to see if it happens again.

Rubbed the front pads down a bit to remove a couple of shards scrubbed off the front rotar and greased the slide bolt whilst the wheel was off. Probably do the same to the rear slide bolt next time I swap the chain for a freshly waxed one.

 

[Jenkins]

Recently bought these new SPD type pedals for in a £10 sale (including cleats): https://www.bananaindustries.co.uk/...ts/wilier-pd-sm01-mtb-spd-pedals-ball-bearing

The bearings were set too tightly & there was a design feature that wrecked my brain for a long while*: no space for needle nose pliers or the smallest flat blade screwdriver to hold the cone in place while the locknut is adjusted by an 8mm socket.

Two points: no washers between cone/ locknut & an anti-clockwise thread on the right pedal.

All 4 sets of loose bearings were syringed with new grease, thin washers (from V-brake blocks) were fitted over the cones before replacing the lock nuts & the anticipated challenge of bearing adjustment.

What finally worked was backing the cones way out with tweezers, and with much retry, retry, retry, managing to guess where the fully tightened locknut & an ideal bearing preload could be set. The second pedal was much easier & now both have no lateral play and are spinning very freely. Soon they'll be attached to some cranks & out into the world.

Probably made by Wellgo - time will tell how durable they are. It was a rewarding test of patience.

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* I'm not gifted at all in finding the answers for problems in bike mechanics. Up north they would say: "Yer no' the shiniest spanner in the tool kit."

I've been using a pair of those on one of my bikes since the start of the year. They were a bit stiff to start with, but have loosened up with use and I've had no problems with them at all. The only thing I've noticed is that they seem to allow a bit more foot rotation (float?) for what feels like the same amount of tension than Shimano M520s.
As said, for £10 (+P&P) with cleats they are quite a bargain.

 

[CXRAndy]

Fitted Andriod based DAB+ single din radio with flip out 7" screen to tractor. Pairs nicely to phone.

Next job 3D phone holder bracket with wireless charger built in

 

[Jenkins]

...
Firstly some unnecessary bling was added to the Pickenflick to match the other bits fitted over the years
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...

One final finishing touch of unnecessary bling for the Pickenflick...

 

[dicko]

Fitted the Magicshine magnetic bike lights, with a bit of fiddling about at the carrier end.

 

[geocycle]

Fitted new rear derailleur cables to Spa Elan and Spa Audax bikes. They were both approaching 4500 miles so decided it was time for a precaution change even though both were ok on inspection after removal. The audax had previously failed at around 5000 miles. I’m always reluctant to disturb the indexing but it seems ok on the stand at least. We will see!

 

[HLaB]

I fitted a new chain and cassette to the bike. Whilst the wheels were off I changed for aesthetics some scraped name plates. I did it outside degreased and drip waxed the new chain but it got dark. The drip wax will harden with some junk mail on the floor to catch its drips whilst it does so.
PS I forgotten how hard it was to close an 11sp quick link.

 

[geocycle]

I fitted a new chain and cassette to the bike. Whilst the wheels were off I changed for aesthetics some scraped name plates. I did it outside degreased and drip waxed the new chain but it got dark. The drip wax will harden with some junk mail on the floor to catch its drips whilst it does so.
PS I forgotten how hard it was to close an 11sp quick link.

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Years ago I invested in the special pliers that open outward to close a quick link. It was one of those things I bought to justify postage on something else. They are great and I feel pleased to have them each time I need them. My only concern is not having the skill to close one without them while on the road.

 

[ColinJ]

Years ago I invested in the special pliers that open outward to close a quick link. It was one of those things I bought to justify postage on something else. They are great and I feel pleased to have them each time I need them. My only concern is not having the skill to close one without them while on the road.

I just mount the bike, apply the front brake, and stand on the pedals. That pulls the quick link shut.

 

[HLaB]

Years ago I invested in the special pliers that open outward to close a quick link. It was one of those things I bought to justify postage on something else. They are great and I feel pleased to have them each time I need them. My only concern is not having the skill to close one without them while on the road.

I've got similar pliers (https://bbbcycling.com/uk_en/btl-77...HJavvGZRg1fKlmg0ok7ptYADi5B_LIMyvCMA4TyTye9n9) great for opening Quick Links but less effective in closing new 11sp ones as you need to squeeze the links slightly which needs a 3rd hand :-/

Lower speed quicklinks I have in the past dont really need that squeeze and are much easier.

I usually end up, moving the chain round so the quick link is the upper part of the chain then I can use my weight on the pedal.

 

[geocycle]

I've got similar pliers (https://bbbcycling.com/uk_en/btl-77...HJavvGZRg1fKlmg0ok7ptYADi5B_LIMyvCMA4TyTye9n9) great for opening Quick Links but less effective in closing new 11sp ones as you need to squeeze the links slightly which needs a 3rd hand :-/

Lower speed quicklinks I have in the past dont really need that squeeze and are much easier.

I usually end up, moving the chain round so the quick link is the upper part of the chain then I can use my weight on the pedal.

Yes I agree regarding the third hand! The initial squeeze to get it in position is sometimes awkward and needs pliers, then care before snapping it lengthways with either the tool or the pedal method.

 

[roubaixtuesday]

Years ago I invested in the special pliers that open outward to close a quick link. It was one of those things I bought to justify postage on something else. They are great and I feel pleased to have them each time I need them. My only concern is not having the skill to close one without them while on the road.

I just fit the link on the top loop of the chain, then apply pressure to the pedals, works a treat.