Cycling UK Forum

Thanks for that, Brucey. I’ll try the simplest first, that is to adjust the cable a notch or two. Can you tell me what ACW stands for? I’ll try to look at the cassette joint next and work through the other suggestions. The gear changer is a twist grip. Can they get worn? Is this likely after < 4000 miles? I have an Alfine trigger shift to substitute if all else fails.
Cheers

The cheapest and most effective de-greaser I’ve found is stuff called ElbowGrease, obtainable in most supermarkets for £1 for a 500 ml spray bottle. Also beats Swarfega as a hand cleaner. (Btw, if you do use Swarfega, it’s effectiveness I’d doubled if you put a small amount of caster sugar on your hands before using the former ( exfoliates, I suppose and is environmentally friendly)

Suggestion welcome. I have an e- bike fitted with Shimano Nexus SG -C6000-8R hub gears. This has covered 3,850 miles of gentle use on flat roads. Gears 6,7 and 8 are slipping intermittently. It seems worst in 7th. The strange thing is, they don’t slip while changing DOWN, only when going up, when the cable is under increasing tension. Most odd! I have changed the inner cable, made sure the pinch bolt is tight ( awful design IMHO) and precisely indexed things by lining up the yellow dots in 4th.
Any ideas ? I have a smooth running Alfine hub on another bike, but I’ll bet the innards aren’t transferable. Can’t swap the hubs as one is 36 h, the other 32..........Ah, well , looks as if I’m going to have plenty of time at home to fix it!

Relating to counting teeth on sprockets and chainwheels and links on chains, I find tippex on one invaluable ( or blu-tak) I suppose.
Happy New Year to everyone.

I have two Asgard steel stores at the side of my drive in full view of the road. I think they cost about £460 each. They are advertised as being big enough for 3 bikes. They’re not. Two adult bikes with wideish bars is a practical maximum. Advantages.- good looking, strong locks,
very well made and painted, look like bin stores to a scroat’s eye, kick up a hell of a racket ( booming) if you so much as tap one, which would wake the whole neighbourhood. Disadvantages - Price, some condensation, not really roomy enough.
Hope this helps........ fenmanctc

Thanks, brucey. In fairness to the (now deceased) owner of the LBS who built the bike, the original spec back in 1988 was drops with SunTour down-tube shifters, which worked fine. Sometimes tempted to go back to them, but they’d be awkward to reach from flat bars,I guess.

Hello, and a Happy and Safe New Year to you all.
My question is this. I have a Raleigh 531st touring bike ( frame has GVD decal) which was built up for me in 1988. It has a SunTour Alpha 6x2 transmission. I suspect the rear derailleur is now getting a bit weak in the spring department. Changes via Shimano indexed flat bar shifters are getting imprecise and difficult to index across the whole range, even using Jagwire cables.
Is there anything out there other than Shimano Tourney which will be a suitable replacement for a 6-speed set-up? The freewheel is 14-28 t, the chainwheels are 46-36t. I like quality stuff if I can get it, but there doesn’t seem to be much out there.
Cheers fenmanctc

Located in Boston, Lincolnshire.

Thank you all- it’s like having a panel of wise men permanently in your living room without the necessity of feeding them! I was about to bid on eBay for a Princess 5 speeder with a larger frame, but am going to follow your advice because a) An extra-long strong seat post replicates the bigger frame, as all the wheelbases are the same ie 44”, and b) The 3 speeder is as sweet as a nut and reminds me of my first bike, a used 1950s Triumph, I’m now 76, 6’2” and the Princess is a cracking town bike for me, very comfortable and roomy, clean and with good drum brakes.
My only question now is how much bigger can the rear sprocket go without fouling the chain case? I’ll have to do some careful measurements. I may even have to truncate the back of the chain case as per some Dutch bikes. I’d have trouble matching the cranks if I went small at the front.
Cheers John (fenmanbctc)

My experience of Bosch batteries, either in drills, hedge trimmers or ebikes is that ownership is a lottery. All the batteries fitted to the aforementioned have suffered premature failure. Chinese knock-offs to replace power tool packs have lasted twice as long. My ebike battery bricked after 3,800 miles and under 3 years. As replacement cost £550, it would have been cheaper to have covered the same distance in the car!
Has anyone out there had experience of other system’s longevity? My problem seems to have been the BMS, but it’s still toast. If anyone needs my old unit free for spares ( I think cells are ok) I only need the cost of postage.
John

Hi Brucey
Thank you so much for this comprehensive reply. Having noticed your posts on IHGs in the past, I was hoping you’d pick this up.
Based on your advice, I’m going to stick with the sweet-running 3speeder and accept that I’ll have to spin at times in 2nd.
I found your observations on the basket interesting. I did attach an after-market wire basket for a while, but found the extra weight made the steering twitchy, so I fitted a non- standard rack after enlarging it’s bracket holes to allow me to use the seat stay bolts as anchorage points and found the resulting handling much more balanced. I’ve now removed the basket support. In any case I reckon the wind resistance of the standard Pashley huge basket must be off the scale. I live on the Fens, and this is important! Thanks again and have a good Christmas.

Hello, you knowledgeable people!
My question is this.I have rebuilt a Pashley Princess cycle which had been abandoned outside a flat in London for several years , but the only bits to have deteriorated beyond rescue were the basket and saddle. It’s only a 17.5 inch frame, but with a new overlong seat post I can happily ride it, although I’m over 6ft. The only thing I would like to change is the gearing. It has a Sturmey Archer X-RD3 rear hub and the ratios are rather wide, although the hub works faultlessly. On browsing eBay, I have found that Edinburgh Bike Co-op have new 5-speed internals for £90. My question is, will this block fit inside the X-RD3 casing or will I have to fork out £150 for a new hub and build it in? In your opinion, will this be worth doing, and is the 5 speed as reliable as the century old 3? Your advice will be valued. Thanks. PS did you know that the wheelbase of the Princess range is the same whatever the downtube length
Explains why Pashley have bolt-on seat stays!

The chain is 3 years old, is a KMC Z610, doesn’t seem to be worn very much( have used a chain wear checker on it). I attach a photo of the chainring. By the way, the hub was adjusted so that the yellow dots lined up exactly in 4 th gear.

I have a 2017 Cube Step-thru fitted with a Bosch ActiveLine mid motor, which has done approx 4000 miles since new. I have had a number of issues, all related to Bosch components. First, the battery went totally dead. the cells are fine, but the Battery Management System (a pcb) has failed, resulting in a £550 replacement.
The latest problem is skipping gears, mainly in 7th and 8th, under load.. the hub is Shimano Nexus, but I suspect the problem is the front chainwheel on the Bosch motor. This has only 18 teeth and seems somewhat worn. Is this likely to be the cause, or the hub? The rear sprocket doesn't seem worn at all. I am trying to source a replacement chainwheel, which is proving difficult, as it is dished, and the cheapo replacements aren't, so Bosch must have changed the design of this motor around 20016/17. Anyone know?
Can anybody offer advice on my problems, or share their experience of Bosch stuff? I'm a lifelong cyclist, but the cost of ebike ownership is proving crippling.

I have a titanium Airborne Carpe Diem with a carbon Crosslite fork and I can honestly say it has a wonderfully forgiving ride, even compared with a Reynolds 531st framed bike which I also have. On a hybrid set-up it would obviate the need for suspension forks. Aluminium frames are not even in the same ball park. I have no experience of Carbon Fibre frames.