Search found 182 matches

by Mr Tom
3 Jan 2024, 4:32pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Stem sheared off, remains seized in fork
Replies: 35
Views: 2462

Re: Stem sheared off, remains seized in fork

I had a stem once which kind of came apart like a toilet role will if you soak it in water (must have done this at school) as I was riding across a mini-roundabout at the top of a hill. Luckily saw it happening and had enough time to get to the pavement.
by Mr Tom
23 Dec 2023, 2:41pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Presta or Schrader rim hole
Replies: 33
Views: 2922

Re: Presta or Schrader rim hole

So updated to the mystery of the burst tube. I removed the tyre again and very carefully inspected the rim and inside of the tyre and it all looks fine as far as I can see. The damage to the sidewall from previous pics doesn't seem that bad now, so maybe it was just a thin piece of the surface which had flaked off, and the brake blocks are nowhere near the tyre in terms of rubbing. So I think I'm just going to ride it again and keep an eye on things.

Thanks for all the advice and feedback anyway
by Mr Tom
21 Dec 2023, 7:25pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Presta or Schrader rim hole
Replies: 33
Views: 2922

Re: Presta or Schrader rim hole

I'll take another look at it all tomorrow. Sorry for any confusion caused. The second (this) thread was only really meant to work out if I had the correct rim tape size for my wheels and tube. I didn't expect it to connect back to the first one.
by Mr Tom
21 Dec 2023, 4:26pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Presta or Schrader rim hole
Replies: 33
Views: 2922

Re: Presta or Schrader rim hole

Brucey wrote: 19 Dec 2023, 2:09pm FWIW if the tube had really come out of the tyre, surely the OP would maybe not have been baffled and would have have mentioned the damage?
I've heard the noise of a tube bursting from coming right out of the rim, and this time the noise seemed less of a deep bang, more high pitched. Somewhere between a bang and a high pitched hiss, and then a longer hiss. When I squeezed the tyre there was still some air in it, and before I removed it I was still able to get air to come out of the valve. Didn't notice the tube to have come out of the rim, but maybe I missed it. I haven't been able to find any rough patches or anything unusual inside the tyre or rim. Will have another look tonight or tomorrow.
by Mr Tom
18 Dec 2023, 1:37pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Presta or Schrader rim hole
Replies: 33
Views: 2922

Presta or Schrader rim hole

Hi, I posted a few days back about a puncture and a few people suggested my rim was drilled for Schrader valves not Presta which I'm using. Also that the rim tape was the correct size for Schrader.

I checked the valve hole today and it seems that there's about 1mm of room if I push the valve stem over to one side. Would this suggest Presta or Schrader? Also are there any fixes I can apply that will save me buying new tubes or rim tape?

Thanks!
by Mr Tom
15 Dec 2023, 2:51pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Unusual puncture cause
Replies: 7
Views: 1724

Re: Unusual puncture cause

OK thanks for the ideas! I hadn't thought of the brake blocks, will check them when I get home. I guess will need a new tyre which is a pain but can't be helped. May have an intact one in the garage
by Mr Tom
15 Dec 2023, 11:40am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Unusual puncture cause
Replies: 7
Views: 1724

Unusual puncture cause

I was sitting on the sofa and heard bang and hissing noise which made me jump out of my skin! I felt my tires and one was a bit softer than I'd expected, but not flat. Spent ages looking round the room with my Mum for the source of the bang. Anyway later went to cycle somewhere and realised the tyre was indeed the source of the noise. When I came to take it off next day it still had some air in.

I had pumped it up a few days before after it being pretty low pressure, maybe too low, and used on occasional local trips. Maybe I'd had it too low and it had managed to slip between the bead and rim and got pinched?

Also, we have underfloor heating in that room so possibly I'd pumped it up when the floor was cold, to around the max 85 psi, and then the floor had heated it up and caused the pressure to rise.

Anyway in the shop I mentioned the explosion and they recommended checking the tyre and rim which I did, can only see some external looking damage near the tyre bead, not sure if that was even near the hole.

Anyone recognise that kind of hole? I just want to avoid it happening again in that way. Never had this issue before with that wheel and tyre.
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by Mr Tom
15 Dec 2023, 11:25am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Best wishes for Brucey
Replies: 613
Views: 73479

Re: Best wishes for Brucey

Just returned here are seen that Brucey is posting again! What great news. Brucey if you read this you gave me loads of tips and advice on wheel building and internal geared hubs, which I'd rashly dived into exploring!

All best wishes with your continued recovery!
by Mr Tom
13 Sep 2023, 4:55pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech hitting spokes
Replies: 23
Views: 1160

Re: Rear mech hitting spokes

I'm really referring to more like the temptation to fix very simple things, like when a chain is totally rusted and you know you could make it stop squeaking, or if somebody hasn't put a light on properly and you can fix it with a shim so it points in the right direction and you can actually see it. I might not be expressing it very well, but I guess I've done enough fiddling with bikes to realise that I don't actually know that much. The stuff I've done so far has been within what I would say I can definitely do safely, like trimming frayed cables or giving my friend a new bell I had spare.

I think my reason for posting this in the first place was being worried that a colleague / friend was riding on a bike that wasn't safe.

Thanks for all the advice and warnings though, that is genuinely appreciated.
by Mr Tom
13 Sep 2023, 8:39am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech hitting spokes
Replies: 23
Views: 1160

Re: Rear mech hitting spokes

ANTONISH wrote: 12 Sep 2023, 10:31am You are both work colleagues.
You need to keep things on a professional basis.
She may regard your interest with suspicion - did she approach you to find out what was wrong with her bike?
Possibly she mentioned the problem in passing and you offered to help - of course you have also mentioned her reluctance to allow this so perhaps you are being too persistent ?
My workplace is very small, only two or three people in on most days, and we have quite a lot of downtime, so lots of chance to chat. No bike sheds, just the back of work. So, it's not like an office job in a big building where it might seem like being a lot more pushy to start pestering somebody because I've seen they cycle in. We are often out the back by the bikes emptying bins and so on, so it's an easy for something to come up in conversation. I will tread carefully going forward though. It's a shame as I'm always keen to help people out with bikes - have given various colleagues old lights so they aren't riding home in the dark, stuff like that. Still I guess it's important to make sure that if it's a woman they know I'm doing it to be nice and because I enjoy working on bikes. I think she did approach me about it though, in answer to your question.

I think it must be the case for most people on here that it you see something wrong on someone's bike it's really tempting to offer to fix it because you know it will work so much better when it's done :D
by Mr Tom
12 Sep 2023, 8:56am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Worn tyres, how much is OK?
Replies: 33
Views: 1967

Re: Worn tyres, how much is OK?

thirdcrank wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 12:59pm AIUI

BANG! accompanied by an instant flat is not a simple puncture, but rather it means that a bit of the tube has escaped from the outer cover (AKA the tyre) either by getting under a badly-seated or through a split in that outer cover when the inner tube has ballooned and then burst
Ah could well be. All I know is that it was flat by the time I stopped and looked and a nail was stuck in the tyre! I've also seen the tube come out and explode when we pumped our bike tyres up using the pump at the petrol station, so we could get them to ridiculously high pressure. I was only about 14 at the time.
by Mr Tom
11 Sep 2023, 7:13pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech hitting spokes
Replies: 23
Views: 1160

Re: Rear mech hitting spokes

rareposter wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 4:24pm
Mr Tom wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 4:02pm
alexnharvey wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 12:30pm Just ask her out :D
:D The thing is, I think she's reluctant to let me do too much in case I'm doing it to get in her good books, which I'm not. The reality is it brings genuine happiness to my day getting to fiddle with a bike instead of whatever I should be getting on with at work. If I ever find anyone who has an interest in bikes at work I always chat to them about it.
I hate to get all kind of "professional" here but you've got a woman who is reluctant to let you do too much to the bike and (I'm assuming) an employer that is paying you to do a job rather than disappearing off to the bike sheds to fettle with a fellow employee's bike; things like that tend not to go down too well with HR.
The fact that you're asking on here for "what could be wrong with this bike?" also suggests that, while it may bring you genuine happiness to be trying to fix it, you might not know exactly what you're doing or what to look for - both she and your employer are unlikely to be thrilled to bits if you "fix" it and she then ends up falling off, whether it was anything to do with you or not - partly because it'll be quite difficult to prove it wasn't your intervention that made things worse.

I've been in similar situations at work - being "the bike guy" who always rides in, you become the one-stop-shop for any colleague to start asking all sorts of crap about bikes from "can you just...?" to "what sort of bike should I get...?" to the more harmless but thoroughly annoying "you mean you ride in every day?!!!" and "ooh you should be in the Tour de France!".

Point her in the direction of the nearest decent bike shop. I get that there's "being kind / being helpful" but there's also a world of complexity if you balls it up or you try to fix it but can't.
Yeah I think that's all very sound advice. I do appreciate that it's a massive responsibility fixing anyone's bike apart from your own. I mean I kind of know how to troubleshoot things and have repaired most stuff on my bike, fiddled around with hub gears and even done a complete build from the frame, but I think sometimes there are just those issues which aren't obvious unless you're a mechanic. Like as I mentioned before, adjusting the limit screws wrong on my own bike and finding out that it shifted the chain right off the biggest cog and jammed my wheel, or stuff like mudguards getting caught on the tyre and chewed up. So yeah, agree with you!
by Mr Tom
11 Sep 2023, 4:02pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech hitting spokes
Replies: 23
Views: 1160

Re: Rear mech hitting spokes

alexnharvey wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 12:30pm Just ask her out :D
:D The thing is, I think she's reluctant to let me do too much in case I'm doing it to get in her good books, which I'm not. The reality is it brings genuine happiness to my day getting to fiddle with a bike instead of whatever I should be getting on with at work. If I ever find anyone who has an interest in bikes at work I always chat to them about it.
by Mr Tom
11 Sep 2023, 12:11pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech hitting spokes
Replies: 23
Views: 1160

Re: Rear mech hitting spokes

rareposter wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 11:25am
Mr Tom wrote: 11 Sep 2023, 11:13am My first thought was that it was the limit screws, but then if they were out of adjustment the chain would get pushed off the biggest cog into the spokes (I found this out the hard way on my bike years back!).
Not really - it can be just far enough out of adjustment to push the mech into just catching the spokes (especially when standing out the saddle and the frame/wheels flexing) without actually sending the mech and chain into them.

Or it could be a bent rear mech hanger, wheel not in the dropouts properly, broken rear axle...

Depends a lot on what kind of bike it is (basic BSO vs decent commuter) and what state it's in - frankly I'd not get involved and would just suggest a bike shop. You run into all sorts of issues around liability etc once you start "fixing" other people's bikes.
Hey, yeah I agree about liability. Really I'm exaggerating, my repairs have been giving her a new bell, trimming her brake cables and putting crimps on, checking her back wheel was in correctly (it wasn't), and finding a nut for a rear light bracket. So - nothing very technical! If I went further I'd make it clear that I'm not a pro mechanic.
by Mr Tom
11 Sep 2023, 12:07pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Worn tyres, how much is OK?
Replies: 33
Views: 1967

Re: Worn tyres, how much is OK?

Carlton green wrote: 29 Aug 2023, 3:56pm
Sweep wrote: 29 Aug 2023, 3:02pm
irc wrote: 28 Aug 2023, 10:02pm I usually retire tyres well before they are worn out once they are thin enough that they puncture more often.
well I follow a similar principle but would say that I replace them right at the very end of their life - ie when I start to get repeated punctures. Until then I care not about cuts, even quite bad looking ones. Important that the tyre is safe of course and you need to keep an eye on the sidewalls. Would also put new/ish tyres on before a major trip.
But essentually, run them into the ground - it's a bike not a car. Have the idea that many tyres are being chucked long before they are really worn out,
Sweeps attitude - which I applaud - reminds me of the slogan: “use it up, wear it out,”. The slogan was adopted in WWII and the fuller version is: “use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”. At the time it was focused on the war effort and controlling unnecessary consumption … but I can see parallels to today too.

https://www.rfcafe.com/references/radio ... -craft.htm
Yeah I really agree with this! It was a bit of an obsession in my family too. I can remember my Dad and Grandfather spending ages drilling holes in a front mech to try to adjust how the cable attached on my bike because it wasn't working correctly, and wanting to just be allowed to go and buy a new one! I remember being so irritated as a kid that they were fiddling round with it for so long instead of replacing it. In the end they couldn't fix it but I understand now where they were coming from.

These days I'm learning how to repair my clothes from my Mum and the internet, but that's another story!

I've had a couple of horrible punctures from screws people have dropped in the road, both times it was a bang and instant flat, once in busy traffic in Vauxhall, and then a ruined tyre. These days I sometimes pick screws up if I spot them, to make the road safer.