Cycling UK Forum

I use both hydraulic and cable brakes. Prefer hydraulic. Cable brake maintenance is a constant. Hydraulic has been fit and forget. Cable are never as powerful either, especially at the back. Look after your hydraulics, use a proper bleed kit and keep an eye on the seals, and you'll be proud of your ...

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Something Scottish.

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I asked Halfords yesterday for a packet of 3/16 bearings. Is it your front hub?, the shop worker asked. I said 'yes' and told him I needed 20. He said they only sell a packet of two bearing races with a tiny tube of white grease (£3.49). Each race has seven bearings. So two packs are generally neede...

I used a rubber stopper from the bottom of a walking pole. These are £3 for two in Sports Direct. I used a Stanley knife to cut the stopper in half horizontally and then cut a vertical line down one side of the bottom half. I opened the half section up and placed it onto the right hand seatstay then...

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Halfords still do steel tyre levers - £3.50.

I find fitting tyres so much easier when no one's watching.

... push thumb & forefinger together a bit whilst wiggling/plying chain and trying to push in the direction it will unlock. Easy, peasy, with 7 or 8 speed. Manageable, just, with 9 speed. Difficult, very, with 10 speed. Impossible, nigh on, with 11 speed. Untested with 12 speed ... but not hope...

You can get 2 x Spyre calipers for £70. I have used both Spyre and BB7 on the same bike. The Avid caliper lasted twice as long - three years - as the TRP one. The crud eventually got to the Avid rear brake and it stopped working. The Spyre rear brake seized on one side then on the other side. Both p...

Hi Julia. A friend of mine has something similar and has been off the bike for two years. He has ordered up a "pendulum crank" for which he has high hopes of making a return to basic cycling. I had never heard of this device though he tells me there are three different manufacturers and th...

Can't be the blocks if they're new unless contamination has transferred from the rims. You could toe in the blocks by angling the front nearer the rim. This has been known to reduce friction noise. You could use expensive pads which have a superior compound and which generally perform better. You co...

That happened to me. I pushed the bike back to the shop thinking the crank arm just needs refitted. The shop owner/mechanic explained that a loose crank is likely have damaged the teeth on the end of the axle. He refitted the crank arm and told me to try it out. He said he was doubtful it would hold...

Don't open the bleed valve any more than a smidgeon. A 7mm tiny ring spanner provides more control. (I struggled with an open-ender and then a shifter before buying the right tool) Bleed the brakes three times with pads in rather than blocks. Chap hose all the way along its length to push along air ...