Search found 6016 matches

by foxyrider
17 Mar 2024, 5:46pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: How to Move saddlepack further back
Replies: 5
Views: 314

Re: How to Move saddlepack further back

By chance i was watching 'Ride with Roy' on Utube last night and he had a similar issue which he sorted by fitting one of those handlebar accesory bars to the seatpost. This allowed the bag to be held further back and so not contact legs.

here is a link to the vid https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DHCrWnDrErk which may or may not work!
by foxyrider
16 Mar 2024, 8:17pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Campag freehub failure
Replies: 14
Views: 834

Re: Campag freehub failure

Went out today, 100+km and i haven't haven't heard the newly bearing'd hub or lubed freehub once - its never been so quiet, leastways not for a long time! Oh the joy of a silent bike.

The only issue now is that i can hear all the other creaks and groans which seem mostly connected to the rear swing arm (its an Airnimal Chameleon).
by foxyrider
14 Mar 2024, 10:37pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: XT shadow rd not keeping chain tension
Replies: 2
Views: 207

Re: XT shadow rd not keeping chain tension

slowster wrote: 14 Mar 2024, 9:19pm Does the clutch need servicing?
Thanks for that, now i know how the thing works guess my next job is to take it off and take a look :D
by foxyrider
14 Mar 2024, 8:46pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: XT shadow rd not keeping chain tension
Replies: 2
Views: 207

XT shadow rd not keeping chain tension

The mech has been working fine, changes sprockets crisply and quietly until this today when lack of tension caused the chain to do all sorts of weird stuff up to throwing it off the 1 x chainring. Everything seems to be working, its just not holding tension.

Is this terminal or is there a fix, something i can at least try? The mech is XT 11 speed RD-M8000 as per below

Screenshot 2024-03-14 at 20-44-23 Shimano Deore XT RD-M8000 XT 11-speed Shadow&#43 design rear deraille.png

I've never had a shadow mech on one of my bikes before, i still run Mod 76 Campag SR on one bike so all this fancy gubbins has passed me by!
by foxyrider
14 Mar 2024, 8:32pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: If anyone does Emotor repair and or refurb?
Replies: 2
Views: 269

If anyone does Emotor repair and or refurb?

In the automotive world its common practice to refurbish alternators / starters etc so is anyone doing this for Ebike motors rather than just running a diagnostic and telling you that you need a new motor?

Yes i have a vested interest, an ebike with a motor fault that i'm sure isn't terminal but without even looking at it, the experts say it needs a new unit at £900! What happens to the old units? are they just binned?
by foxyrider
14 Mar 2024, 8:21pm
Forum: On the road
Topic: Dangerous mudguards
Replies: 37
Views: 3297

Re: Dangerous mudguards

jimster99 wrote: 14 Mar 2024, 3:48pm I've never had a wheel jam with mudguards thankfully but I can easily see how if you were a bit unlucky and the guard ingests the wrong size object that front wheel could lock up suddenly and over the handlebars you would go!

Single point of failure never a good thing...
I have had it happen, unknown object flipped up, front guard ended up folded in half and jammed under the fork crown. Luckily that bike had huge clearances so it didn't lock solid straight away so i came to a juddering halt in the middle of a main road. That was before mudguard release systems were available, you can bet your bottom dollar that i was an early adopter when they came on the scene.

I have had them pop out but there has usually been a cause, worn clips usually as i tend to leave the fixed end fitted when i take the guards oiff for the summer. Or its been some unseen twig or such. Anyhow, the worst that happens IME is that the stay flaps about a bit , never had one get caught in the spokes but that's just my experience of 30 years use.
by foxyrider
14 Mar 2024, 8:09pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Campag freehub failure
Replies: 14
Views: 834

Re: Campag freehub failure

A quick update.

Well i picked up the fresh bearings today then spent longer than expected rebuilding the hub from bare axle up. Close inspection of said axle revealled light scoring of the surface that the freehub sits over clearly caused by whatever swarf had made its way there from the broken bearing.

It was a more involved task than i'd thought but at least i know the ins and outs now. i took the opportunity to re=lubricate the pawls with light oil, the bearings got a good dollop of extra grease too - i say extra, they had very little on delivery, maybe my generous addition will keep them running longer? Took the opportunity to straighten the wheel a bit, its back to @ 0.25mm, the first time i've checked it since building @ 2 years ago since when it's done @ 20k km.

Maybe with the mileage i do i should up the maintenance schedule a bit?
by foxyrider
12 Mar 2024, 7:30pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Elbe Radweg
Replies: 46
Views: 6902

Re: Elbe Radweg

LucyEliz wrote: 10 Mar 2024, 7:18pm @foxyrider: which routes would you most recommend?
Depends what you like, the Main was quite nice, the Ostsee very enjoyable (i did a loop along the Danish side too), but i think my favourite was the Bodensee - Konigsee which is hillier than the others as its in the sub alpine region but its never silly hard and includes some great places, Chiemsee, Neuschwanstein, Fussen, Bertchesgaden for example and side trips to the likes of Kempten and Salzburg are easy to incorporate. I went west - east then returned through Austria and Switzerland having flown to/from Zurich.
by foxyrider
12 Mar 2024, 7:05pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Oldest bike
Replies: 30
Views: 1787

Re: Oldest bike

My 1978 Owen Blower race bike is my oldest, one owner from new! It does have a couple of original parts (rear mech, handlebars) although most parts were 'upgraded' at some point. I spent a bunch of money ten years ago returning it to as near as dammit the original set up,
by foxyrider
8 Mar 2024, 4:05pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Elbe Radweg
Replies: 46
Views: 6902

Re: Elbe Radweg

Galactic wrote: 8 Mar 2024, 7:55am PS ADFC (German cycle touring club) have just released statistics showing the Elberadweg to be the second most popular cycle touring route in Germany (as opposed to routes cycled when people are on holiday).
I've done 6 of those in their entirety and parts of the others - some inspiration for 2025!
by foxyrider
8 Mar 2024, 3:56pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Campag freehub failure
Replies: 14
Views: 834

Re: Campag freehub failure

Valbrona wrote: 8 Mar 2024, 12:48pm But the pawl spring appears to be missing ...
I can assure you its there, it sits well within the groove and the pawls all work smoothly - may well regrease when i reassemble - there was a lot of crud around the shell/freehub interface!
by foxyrider
8 Mar 2024, 12:38pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Campag freehub failure
Replies: 14
Views: 834

Re: Campag freehub failure

Thanks everyone for your replies but it seems we were all wrong!

So this morning i stripped off the Zonda freehub, actually very easily, and turned my attention to the Record hub. The freehub came off with just a little more effort along with a cascade of ball bearings! After some cursing i pulled everything apart to confirm that the issue was/is failure of the drive side main bearing. I checked the freehub as well, as you can see in the pic all is well there unlike the hub bearings, some balls were actually broken / missing! Not sure how it was affecting the freehub like it was, maybe a bit of broken ball was jamming it somehow?

IMG_6854.JPEG
IMG_6855.JPEG

I've sourced a replacement set which i'll hopefully have early next week, so hopefully i'll be back on the road soon (yes i know i could borrow the Zonda bearings but they could be on the way out too.) £20 for 4 races so i'll even have spares and now i know how to get it all apart they might get some better maintenance!
by foxyrider
7 Mar 2024, 1:53pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Campag freehub failure
Replies: 14
Views: 834

Campag freehub failure

First overnighter of '24 and @ 70km into day one and the rear wheel starts making some noises but only when freewheeling. Get to my overnight and a quick once over can't identify a bearing issue and the free hub seems to spin okay. Day two and heading back home, picked a route without too much proper downhill with options to bail out at several points, no worse so i push on. And then it does get worse with @ 50km to go, the issue is clearly the freehub, fine in drive but sticking when you freewheel with resultant chain slap etc. I got back home by avoiding freewheeling - easier said than done, especially on even the longer downhills.

The hub is 2010 Record which shares parts with many Fulcrum wheels as well as the Campag Zonda i have with a damaged rim. (The bearing races and bearings were replaced in '22 at some expense so i'm quite invested in the wheel.)

So the question is, do i a) buy new bearings and rebuild the original freehub at @ £25 if i can get them, b) buy a complete new freehub @ £60 or c) recycle the Zonda freehub complete for 'free'?
by foxyrider
4 Mar 2024, 6:44pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cycle Show 2024 Cancelled. Alternatives
Replies: 18
Views: 1401

Re: Cycle Show 2024 Cancelled. Alternatives

Eurobike at Friedrichshafen first weekend in July, not the easiest place to get to but the show is huge
by foxyrider
3 Mar 2024, 8:23pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why are bike tyres so expensive?
Replies: 56
Views: 2762

Re: Why are bike tyres so expensive?

but are bike tyres really expensive? Its unfair to compare with automotive products which, compared to the modern bike tyre, are stone age!

I can remember paying out best bit of £20 for race tyres back in the '70's, according to the Bank of England that's over £100 today, £60 for a GP5000 is a bargain by comparison! A five quid Michelin World Tour that i used on my winter bike should be @ £25 today, you can get the modern version for as little as £2 today, even at full price they are only £16! The cost of inner tubes has risen ahead of inflation, a basic butyl tube shouldn't be more than a fiver but my 24" tubes can be a tenner each,

As for longevity, i used to get through a pair of World Tours each year, they probably did @ 3500 miles (i was but a mere strippling doing 5000 a year total!) I've had GP4000's last that long with considerably less rubber. The Schwalbe One on the front of my bike has done @ 4000 miles despite being a skinny 23 on 24", its outlived 2 rears so far, at @ £40 a pop that seems like reasonable value. The last truly cheap tyres i used on the same bike @ £7 each, same width and similar appearance, died in under 500 miles, so if i'd stayed with using them that would be £56 and no doubt a bunch of punctures too.