The Velotard Thread.

[Parkins left foot]

On a par with your pre sportif wheel bearings from last year,Taxi turns up 10.45am Monday,loads of time to sort it........

Given where you are heading, probably better to get problems out of the way early

 

[Keef]

Yea,better now than putting it together in the airport,or it even collapsing on a main road,or downhill,doesn't bear thinking about

 

[Keef]

Sorted! Went to halfords first thing,got the part I needed,cost £1.89 tool to fit it £40 just bought the bits,not paying £40 for basically a 4 inch tube with a bit of thread on the end,put a bolt through the nut whacked it with a tent peg mallet,jobs done. Now to see if it'll fit in the box

 

[lemonjelly]

Further to the earlier conversation regarding wet and dry lube. Dropped the bike off for a service at work today (they do free services) and they commented on the amount of gunk on the chain. In discussion they advised that for simple short commuting, I should be using dry lube, not wet lube, as it collects and holds to much crap, being thick and what not.

The above advice might not work for others, who do a hell of a lot more mileage than I.

 

[machin05]

Yeah, and if you don't clean it, the lube and dirt combine to form a paste which will then grind down your components!

If you wet lube, you need to degrease and clean regularly. Dry lube is fine as long as you don't ride in the rain, as water will wash it straight off.

I always use wet lube as I, unfortunately, can't control the weather and I'm not a fair-weather cyclist (well at least not when I'm commuting).

 

[machin05]

In other news, I upgraded my hybrid commuting bike last week. Just in time too as the front mech had completely seized and the free wheel wasn't, well, free-wheeling! (I'd given up washing and maintaining it as I knew I was giving it an overhaul).

In brief, I've converted it from a triple chainring to a 1x9 drive train, and upgraded the wheels.

In more detail....list of jobs done:

Remove cranks
Remove triple chain ring
Remove front shifter and cables
Remove pedals, clean and regrease bearings
Install single narrow-wide 42T chainring
Remove knackered old wheels
Remove tyres and innertubes from old
Clean hard to reach parts of the frame
Relube and regrease everything I could get to (rear mech, jockey wheels, brake arms etc.)
Install new 9 speed 11-32 cassette onto new (well 2nd hand, nearly new) Fulcrum Sport wheels
Install new rim brake pads
Install new rear gear cable (inner and outer)
Install new brake cable (inner and outer)
Installed innertubes and tyres
Install wheels
Install new 10 speed KMC chain
Index gears
Fine tune brakes

I'm pretty happy with it to be honest. Only ridden it once and that was a quick blast into town for the match yesterday. I was a little more hungover than I wanted to admit, so was blowing pretty hard before I even got to the end of the road! Will be commuting on it on Thursday, which will be a good test. Hopefully got the gear range correct with the 42 tooth chain ring so it will be interesting to ride up and down the hills of my commute (nothing too serious, steepest bit in Goldthorn Hill which hits about 7% for a couple of metres).

Only slight issue is the chain-line is a bit too severe when in the biggest cog at the back which causes a slight rattling noise as the chain travels over the front chainring. Will see how that plays out in real life, but I'm hoping to not really need that gear 99% of the time.

All in all I've shed about 1kg of weight from the old bike. Only a rudimentary "pick up the bike whilst standing on the bathroom scales" measurement, but I think it's gone from 12kg to 11kg, which isn't too bad for an entry level hybrid commuter.

Need to clean the rest of the frame, which I'll do soon and then post a pic.

 

[Keef]

I used pro link lube,it's an all weather thing,did the job in all weathers,chain stayed clean and rust free,it basically puts a 1 molecule thick coating on the chain,says their adverts,£6.50 a bottle from Fred's in snow hill. Just go careful how you use it,all the warnings on the bottle make plutonium look safer

 

[lemonjelly]

I've been using wet lube, as according to the label, that's what you use in wet weather.
However, as I'm only doing short commutes (I don't really do other cycling currently) apparently the wet lube gathers up all the crap.

I do try to clean the bike regularly. Have done it less so recently as the weather has been shocking, but intend doing it weekly at least from now on (again!)

 

[machin05]

First commute on the pimped-up hybrid. Got to say, I'm pretty damn happy with it! Feels soooo much easier to ride, smooth drivetrain, feels lighter - even set a segment PR on the way to work!

https://www.strava.com/activities/1517608257

Gears need a little fine tuning, but I'll let the cables settle in first. My only gripe is the chain-line in the biggest cog. Didn't need to use anything smaller than 3rd gear today, but the conditions were lovely this morning. I can see a colder, windier, rainier commute requiring a slightly easier gear up Goldthorn Hill.

I think I can fix it though, so if I get a chance I'll give it a go over the weekend.

Another slight niggle, which may become more of a problem, is that when I'm out of the saddle I'm getting a clicking noise from the pedals on the downstroke of the drive-side pedal. I'm guessing it's bottom bracket, but I didn't have the tools or knowledge to change this when I upgraded everything else, and once I'd stripped the bike it felt like it was in good nick.

 

[Keef]

Grabbing hold of the cranks and rocking them,is a good start for BB play,are the pedals tight,cleats tight,cranks tight? I'd check those first

 

[machin05]

Grabbing hold of the cranks and rocking them,is a good start for BB play,are the pedals tight,cleats tight,cranks tight? I'd check those first

Cheers buddy. I had them all apart recently, and I'm pretty sure I tightened it all up with all my super-human might. Probably worth double checking though :icon_wink:

 

[Keef]

If you've used it since building rebuilding it,always best to go round and check everything,re tightening what's needed

 

[Wombat del combate]

Perhaps one for Machin: Decathlon stock a BTwin pair of bib shorts for a mere £25 which are supposed to be very good generally, not just because of the price. Question is: are they?

 

[machin05]

I dunno mate. My only Bib Shorts are made by Sportful I think. They're pretty comfy. Got me through the Velo without any discomfort. I could do with a second pair so I'll take a look.

 

[machin05]

Decent review here - http://road.cc/content/review/121341-btwin-bib-shorts-500

 

[Wombat del combate]

That's the same review I read. Unless they fall apart at the merest hint of groinal twitch, they must be worth a punt?

 

[machin05]

They do a black and green one, so I'm sold.

 

[machin05]

Back in my own personal top 3 of my nemesis Strava segment - https://www.strava.com/segments/1319662

 

[Wombat del combate]

Squelch 7?

 

[machin05]

99.9% headwind this morning - thankfully only 3.8mph