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by Brucey
28 Mar 2024, 1:29pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working
Replies: 17
Views: 504

Re: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working

Cyclothesist wrote: 28 Mar 2024, 11:05am.... The only trouble I've had is fishing broken gear cable strands out when I've been tardy in replacing them.
Maybe I've been lucky?
things can wear out or break depending on the exact model but by far the most common faults are dried grease and broken cables. Very often shifters don't survive an episode of broken cables, because they get damaged when the broken bits are removed. Needless to say you don't have the same problem if the cable is largely outside the shifter. One of my chums had repeated problems with broken cables inside STIs on his commuting machine. Riding with him, I soon established the reason; he was wont to do many more gear changes than most people,and his gear cables wouldn't last 9 months without fatiguing and breaking. Using him as a guinea pig, I was able to establish that the life expectancy of cables inside STI shifters is typically about 150000 shifts. By routinely changing the cables at about 125000 shifts my chum's problem was almost completely cured.
by Brucey
28 Mar 2024, 11:18am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: M2.5 bolt
Replies: 30
Views: 1028

Re: M2.5 bolt

FWIW a drop of loctite on these screws never hurts.
by Brucey
28 Mar 2024, 10:23am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?
Replies: 35
Views: 1518

Re: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?

that is pretty much what I'd do anyway tbh
by Brucey
28 Mar 2024, 10:11am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working
Replies: 17
Views: 504

Re: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working

I decided long ago that I preferred not to have STIs and that 'old-fashioned' they might be, but separate gear and brake levers had numerous advantages for me. Accordingly I would take the failure of my left shifter as nature's way of persuading me to do things differently.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 7:51pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Custom Storage
Replies: 15
Views: 624

Re: Custom Storage

I would probably make something like a C shape in timber and leave it on the garage floor so that you would have to drive over the long side of the 'C' to get close to the bike. The two short sides of the 'C' shape would hold it away from the end wall. If 4x2" timber is used, you can make it so that it would only be possible to hit a parked bike if you drove over a 4" piece of timber first.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 7:00pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?
Replies: 35
Views: 1518

Re: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?

what kind of cycle bell is used for the whatsapp sound? It ought to be possible to differentiate the sound of your bell from this...
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 6:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Front wheel 9mm across flats into 10mm drop outs
Replies: 4
Views: 219

Re: Front wheel 9mm across flats into 10mm drop outs

if the front wheel is properly tightened the 0.5mm gap shouldn't matter. However, this is presumably a motor wheel and there is wheel retention to consider too. All front wheels (on bikes where it might be possible to ride them with the wheels not properly tightened) are now meant to have some form of secondary wheel retention, so that even a loose front wheel can't simply drop out of the bike over a bump.

Now it is entirely up to you if you have a secondary wheel retention system or not but should you ever sell a bike on having disabled it, there could be unfortunate repercussions. FWIW if the 9mm dia. axle is threaded where it passes through the dropouts, it should be possible to make some spacers that are threaded on the inside but are 10mm OD. With a motorised wheel, I much prefer to use a separate torque arm instead of just washers.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 4:36pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: how slow do they get?
Replies: 17
Views: 1096

Re: how slow do they get?

with presta valves I am happy enough to forgo a front dustcap. However the other valve types have sufficient propensity to leak or get clogged etc. that I regard the secondary seal as more or less essential.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 1:51pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Broken Chain! I’m a complete amateur
Replies: 17
Views: 1008

Re: Broken Chain! I’m a complete amateur

NickJP wrote: 27 Mar 2024, 5:36am
Brucey wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 12:16pmSince then I have studiously avoided chain tool use on 9s and higher chains, except for shortening them.
I've had a Rohloff Revolver chain tool for many years. It has a tungsten carbide anvil that peens the end of the joining pin. After driving the joining pin through the chain and snapping off the excess length, you rotate that anvil in line with the pin, lock it down, and then apply considerable force to the other end of the pin to peen the end that's come through the chain so that it can't back out. Until recently, all Shimano chains used the joining pin, even 11s chains, but I haven't had anyone come back to me complaining of a failure at the joining pin after this treatment.
PXL_20240327_050447226.jpg
I am not 100% sure about 12s, but 11s campag chain is meant be joined with a peened rivet. This puts off anybody who is keen on chain waxing.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 1:29pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?
Replies: 35
Views: 1518

Re: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?

hoogerbooger wrote: 27 Mar 2024, 9:09am
plancashire wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 9:46pm A noisy freehub can be a useful addition to a bell on shared-use paths, of which we have a lot in Germany. People recognise the sound. Pedal backwards for even more volume.
Or just very irritating when you're out to enjoy the sights and sounds of the countryside.......
I have done a lot of riding on shared use paths in recent years and it is fair to say that hitherto I hadn't really appreciated how useful a good bell could be.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 12:22pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working
Replies: 17
Views: 504

Re: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working

water only helps corrosion along if it is allowed to linger and/or it is contaminated. It is pretty harmless otherwise.
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 12:07pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: issue with new inner ring on ultegra hollowtech
Replies: 10
Views: 503

Re: issue with new inner ring on ultegra hollowtech

Cyclothesist wrote: 27 Mar 2024, 10:29am ...... Filing the spider arms would seem to be the logical option, but probably difficult to do with great accuracy using hand tools. Additionaly it may mean I have a spider that's perfect for the FSA/Spa mixed manufacturer rings but nothing else. .....
I think you can use a variant of the SG method it if you want. The trick here would be to mount the crank accurately in a chuck. I think you can make a suitable fixture using a crank extractor and some studding. The fixture would mount to the crank extractor threads. You can tell if the thing is running true or not before you start to dress anything. I think you can use a simple wooden fixture to help hold a dremel tool in the,right place, and the crank can be rotated slowly past it.

I don't think you need to worry overly about making the spider arms 'too thin' because it isn't difficult to add spacers if you have to..
by Brucey
27 Mar 2024, 10:21am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working
Replies: 17
Views: 504

Re: Tiagra ST-4703 Shifter Not Working

IME it is worth trying something like GT85 just because the solvent is different. Once the shifter is off the bike the hood can be removed and the shIfter can be liberally sprayed with GT85 and left inside a ziplock bag overnight. This usually resolves any dried grease issues there might be. In the longer term a regular dose of aerosol SFG keeps the shifter sweet, but a synthetic oil might last longer because it doesn't degrade in the same way.
by Brucey
26 Mar 2024, 8:32pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?
Replies: 35
Views: 1518

Re: Noisy freehub - quieten with grease?

Grumps wrote: 26 Mar 2024, 7:17pm Used Car LM grease in freehubs for years. Never had one stick and it shuts them up. Try it, if you don't like it go back to oil.
it is nearly always worth mentioning what hubs/riding style/lubrication method you use. IME if a standard shimano two pawl-freehub is packed with #2 grease, it'll be somewhat 'missy' and prone to damage, especially if it is a bit cold. If there is any damage then the freehub body will need a rebuild at least. By contrast, a freehub with stronger springs in it might have been fine. It can be very easy to cause damage inside a freehub mechanism by using a lubricant that is too thick.
by Brucey
26 Mar 2024, 5:06pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: issue with new inner ring on ultegra hollowtech
Replies: 10
Views: 503

Re: issue with new inner ring on ultegra hollowtech

if the chainring in question has counterbores for the bolt heads you are unlikely to have fitted it the wrong way round, I'd have said. However, if it is really an 8s chainring and the chain is 9s or higher then it could get stuck as described. The other possibility is that the chain is damaged, so it'll run OK on a worn big ring, but not a new small one.

Another poster reports problems with the middle ring on a tripe. If the chain 'rides' as described it only needs to do it once, under load, before it has carved itself a shoulder to sit on, and once it has done that, it usually gets worse and worse. However, there are only a few possible causes including:

1) no part of the correct big ring overhangs the spider arms, but the chain is somehow always thrown far enough by the correct ring for the chain always to mesh with the middle ring

2) the spider arms are slightly thicker than they should be.
3) the chain isn't really wide enough externally.(eg it is really a 9s ring/chainset and you are using 11s chain).

It may be possible to recover the situation in one of three ways:

1) make the spider arms slightly thinner.
2) file or reshape the tooth tops on the middle ring to a more favourable chamfer.
3) make some special spacers that sit between the spider arms and one or other of the chainrings, to function as a guide.

If contemplating the last of these, I would suggest that suitable spacers could be made using an old coke can, provided you can make half-reasonable 10mm holes in it. The procedure would first to cut strips about 14mm wide using ordinary scissors. Next, use something to make nice holes at least 10mm diameter near one end of each strip (tip; you may be able to 'cut/nibble' suitable holes using a good paper hole punch). Finally, you can fit the spacers in position, folding the plain end of each strip over so that there are additionally 1,2,3 or 4 layers above the middle ring/spider, but the chain is unlikely to get held up by the folded shim. In this way it ought to be possible to consistently direct even a narrow chain onto the middle ring.

Come to think of it, suitable guides could also be made easily, using epoxy resin/thread and given a metal facing if required.. The thread could be used to help 'bind' the epoxy resin in place provided the thread is applied whilst the glue is wet and there are suitable cutouts in the 50t ring.