Search found 2819 matches

by rogerzilla
2 Apr 2024, 8:58am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Dynamo carbon fork mounting options
Replies: 24
Views: 1068

Re: Dynamo carbon fork mounting options

You can buy adaptors to mount a lamp on the end of an axle. You get quite a good beam, although it's a little more vulnerable to knocks.
by rogerzilla
2 Apr 2024, 7:17am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: eBay listing offers
Replies: 5
Views: 346

Re: eBay listing offers

plancashire wrote: 1 Apr 2024, 7:32pm Strange, here in Germany I have never paid fees to eBay for selling, right from the first item about a year ago.
How do they make money?
by rogerzilla
2 Apr 2024, 7:16am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: towbar bike rack's license plate
Replies: 4
Views: 213

Re: towbar bike rack's license plate

We normally call it a "number plate" in the UK - you might get blank looks in the shop otherwise.
by rogerzilla
1 Apr 2024, 7:30pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: eBay listing offers
Replies: 5
Views: 346

Re: eBay listing offers

It means sellers create lots of empty "coming soon" listings to lock in the offer. Very annoying.
by rogerzilla
1 Apr 2024, 7:29pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why was this 3 speed hub so cheap?
Replies: 17
Views: 1560

Re: Why was this 3 speed hub so cheap?

Carlton green wrote: 31 Mar 2024, 7:37pm
Brik wrote: 31 Mar 2024, 5:57pm I'm out on the bike now, just getting used to the new gears.
This picture shows the axle nut interface
17119040141288894007758149752429.jpg
It looks like you’ve got a mid drive motor on that bike? The SA AW has a reputation for robustness, but how much power you can reliably put through them I’m not so sure. It’ll be interesting to see how you get on.
The standard AW crumbles in tandem use. The planet pinions can't take it.
by rogerzilla
31 Mar 2024, 8:30am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Why was this 3 speed hub so cheap?
Replies: 17
Views: 1560

Re: Why was this 3 speed hub so cheap?

The SRC3 can be had with a 175mm axle (not in Europe - I had to get an axle via the USA), and the SRF3 probably can, too.

Swapping an axle is not a trivial job if you've not been inside a SA hub before, but you can leave pawls and other sub-assemblies intact. If the hub has been used, it would be best to completely disassemble it, degrease it, and build it up again. "Greased and sealed for life" really means "ongoing massive maintenance headache every year or two".
by rogerzilla
30 Mar 2024, 3:50pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Pricing policy.
Replies: 5
Views: 513

Re: Pricing policy.

At some point you have to "upgrade" because the stuff you want is no longer made. Chains are ok but good quality 7-9 speed cassettes are getting more difficult. Rear mech compatibility was also broken with 11 speed.
by rogerzilla
27 Mar 2024, 8:28am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair
Replies: 13
Views: 1139

Re: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair

I've seen more photos of cracked steel or Ti frames (the supposedly everlasting materials) than any other material.

Ti is especially treacherous to weld correctly, snd cheap Ti is highly likely to crack within a few years. Steel is easier to weld but you still get the odd bad frame, and thin-walled tubing is less forgiving than the gaspipe they use on Apollos or Universals. Unless you see the discolouration of the frame before it's been blasted and painted, you have no idea if it was locally overheated.

My theory is that the fatigue limit only gets you so far; an overheated joint means the metal starts off weaker, and the kind of life a bike frame leads means it gets occasional overloads that may exceed the fatigue limit locally, like hitting potholes with a heavy rider in the saddle.
by rogerzilla
25 Mar 2024, 6:25pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair
Replies: 13
Views: 1139

Re: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair

kitaan wrote: 24 Mar 2024, 12:42pm
rogerzilla wrote: 23 Mar 2024, 9:05pm That should be ok with a brass fillet. I thought it would be one of those corkscrew cracks you often see at the base of the seat tube.
Thanks. I've got silicon bronze rather than brass- any reason that won't be suitable?
I'm afraid I'm not a brazing expert. Silver braze aka solder is the kindest to tubing but isn't generally used for fillets.
by rogerzilla
23 Mar 2024, 9:05pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair
Replies: 13
Views: 1139

Re: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair

That should be ok with a brass fillet. I thought it would be one of those corkscrew cracks you often see at the base of the seat tube.
by rogerzilla
23 Mar 2024, 3:26pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair
Replies: 13
Views: 1139

Re: Spa Cycles Tourer 540- frame alloy info for repair

540 is just the frame size in mm. The main frame is probably Reynolds 725 but the other tubes may be unbranded chromoly.

I'm not sure I'd bother welding it as it's quite likely to crack again due to the extra metal acting as a stress raiser, and the tubing was probably already overheated at that spot. If you just want to get another year out of it, maybe.
by rogerzilla
22 Mar 2024, 8:14pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Checking Slime-tube pressure?
Replies: 6
Views: 325

Re: Checking Slime-tube pressure?

10 or 2 o'clock doesn't work, as some stays in the valve stem. I've tried various permutations.
by rogerzilla
22 Mar 2024, 2:53pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Checking Slime-tube pressure?
Replies: 6
Views: 325

Re: Checking Slime-tube pressure?

Put the valve at 5 o'clock or 7 o'clock, wait 5-10 minutes, then attach your pump and check the pressure.

With butyl tubes, a typical road tyre only needs air every three weeks before it's lost enough to affect anything. Lower-pressure tyres can go longer than that.
by rogerzilla
22 Mar 2024, 2:51pm
Forum: Off-road Cycling.
Topic: Tire sealant question
Replies: 17
Views: 5898

Re: Tire sealant question

Pinhead wrote: 12 Sep 2023, 7:10pm Please

It is TYRE not Tire

Never understood why this is so misspelt

TIRE is

1. feel or cause to feel in need of rest or sleep. "soon the ascent grew steeper and he began to tire"

2. lose interest in; become bored with.
I would guess it's because the majority of English speakers spell it "tire", however much we might dislike USian spelling.
by rogerzilla
22 Mar 2024, 10:48am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Is this terminal?
Replies: 50
Views: 2616

Re: Is this terminal?

Isn't that just flaking powdercoat?