Cycling UK Forum

I always thought Shimano trigger shifters were a lost cause when they stopped working, but I have just got mine going again. It is an old LX left shifter, been going downhill for a while. The thumb trigger would get me from granny to middle ring O.K., but then flapped pathetically not contacting anything instead of going from middle to big ring. So I thought it's finished anyway, I'll drop it to bits. I only had to take a couple of "layers" off, and I had the thumb trigger in my hand. There is a spring-loaded pawl attached, which was covered in thick assembly grease which had withstood all the WD40 I have sprayed into the shifter. I thought "can it be this easy?" . I wiped off the goo, gave it some oil and re-assembled the shifter. Works perfectly.

O.K., it was a simple fault, I didn't have to do much dis-assembly, but was I just lucky or are these things not so hard to work on as I thought? How many others have been able to fix shifters? I consider myself a good home mechanic, but I have no training.

Just one more thing------We all say road shifter, so road front mech. But you also need to match the "design" chainwheel size to your actual existing size as close as you can, otherwise for example you may not be able to get the cage close enough to the big ring before it fouls on the middle ring .

Meic is right, Shimano road and mountain front mechs. have different cable pull requirements. But as far as I know, all the road mechs. take the same pull, so any shifter should work with any mech.. And I don't recognise those numbers. Can it be to do with brake cable pull? One shifter was described as suitable for sidepull brakes.

I was admiring Mikewsmith's exceptionally clean bike and beautifully executed headset job when I thought "How does he get that disembodied bit of tyre to levitate above the handlebar stem?" It's very distracting! Just got it-- reflection in handlebar!

Great idea let's have yet another size. Then we can be certain the shop will be out of the tyre we want. After all nobody can decide if 26" or 700c are better (or even significantly different) so we obviously need a size in between those 2 .

Paul

You don't say if you are new to cycling? Any position on a bike is "un natural" and you need to get your body used to doing it before it becomes second nature. Before spending out on a "fitting" I would go riding with some old hands (eg. local CTC rides ) and ask them what they think of your position. Lots of things you can change and try on the road for nothing. You could buy and try a few different handlebar stems for the price of a fitting.

Good luck! Colin

Sandytracker
Have a look at On One website, they have a piece about trail and rigids, but it might by for 29ers!

Haning been self - employed, I can tell you what is going on here, not that it makes it right. If you are Selfriges, you exert a good deal of control over your suppliers, they will do as you want and supply at your price or lose lots of business. If, however you fit carpets or fix cars you can put lots of work into a job then it turns out you have been supplied with something faulty which youhave fitted in good faith. You have a battle royal as a small business to get faulty goods replaced, and as for the labour costs involved, you can whistle. Life isn't fair, Trading Standards aren't fair, and trainers are made by children in the Far East, and that isn't fair. Small businesses can't go to Trading Standards for protection against large wholesalers or importers. The inporters in this case take it upon themselves to be sole decider wether the zip was faulty or subject to unreasonable force.

Less hazardous off road in snow and ice. You could do the Settle loop of the pennine bridleway, Malham tarn, Mastiles lane, Sulber nick, Foxup moor.....

Robgul has got them! I think Whoops ones are actually pump clips, although I have used one as a stick carrier to "train" a dog which used to regularly attack me . Less traffic in those days, now natural selection get them!

probably be easier to just sell the stem- 1" size has scarcity value now if you want one. But there is another way.....you can buy a inch and one eighth steerer extender, which fits inside the steerer and secures with- guess what? - an expander! Now the inside of an inch and eighth steerer measure exactly an inch, so the extender will take your 1" stem. the extenders come with shims to take the diameter back to one and one eighth, but you won't need them. the stem will end up above the top of the steerer tube - you must either cut down the steerer or buy more spacers. Just sell it!

There might be something going on with Specialised. On one of the swankiest shopping streets in the swanky (just checking I got the "s" in) town of Harrogate is an unbelievably swanky shop selling nothing but Specialised. The shop down the road where the handbags in the window are un-priced looks dowdy by comparison. But everything is branded Specialised. So there's not a mudguard in sight, and I was too intimidated by the density of "boutique shoppers" to ask what they did for chains and sprockets. There is serious money there in rent rates and shopfitting -oh yes, a new conversion, fitted out in style. My guess is the money comes from Specialised and/or the importer who want to trouser the whole markup from taiwan factory gate price to UK retail price - a nice little earner for them, but it will put pressure on their existing retailers. This might be the latest "development" in UK bike retailing, Dawes were advertising in CTC magazine direct sales at 10% (or whatever) off . It's all very well, but what do we do for spares and repairs when they force the local bloke out of business?

There's 2 types. On most the canti arm (which has a fixed bush in it ) rotates directly on the frame fitting. The posh type has a bush which doesn't rotate on the frame fitting and another bush fixed in the canti arm. The 2 bushes provide the pivot. In either case just bung a drop of oil behind the head of the bolt which secures the canti. every week in winter, and clean the resulting sh*t off in spring. You may have to WD40 yours to get them going, there is no access to the interface between the 2 bushes in the posh type. Good luck!

The "narrow" isn't that much narrower than the "standard", but the standard is flat-topped at the back whereas the narrow has a rounded top. I prefer the narrow because when my foot is at the bottom of the stroke the flat top of the standard gets in the way of my hamstrings. Also the narrow is easier to "get off the back" off road. I prefer the firmer leather I like to sit on the saddle not in it .Most "mountain bike" saddles have a rounded top.

It's best to keep them dry, but I have rescued an out of shape one by soaking it in a bucket overnight , re-shaping it by winding a ratchet strap round it and cranking it up tight (get one in Halfords for securing stuff to car roof rack ) and letting it slowly dry while still it the grip of the ratchet strap. I'm still riding it , and it was hopelessly out of shape before, otherwise I would never have tried a stunt like that!

Proofid is best- other stuff can get the leather too soft for my liking

SPD and Shimano boots. That's it, really!

Being a rough-stuffer, I wear the rambler-type SPD boots Winter and summer with 1 pair of Bridgedale (Ithink) coolmax/cotton walking socks {blacks sell them}. No athletes foot in summer. Warm feet all winter. Only wet if the water comes over the top or runs down my legs. Good for mild hillwalking-- Ingleborough, Crossfell, High Street, High Cup Nick sprt of stuff. Best £100 I spent!