Cycling UK Forum

I have a couple of sets of Crud roadracer 3 guards. They attach using 'velcro type' pads but didn't seem a secure as I would have liked.
I have removed the velcro and replaced it with 3M Dual Lock strip, obtainable at low cost on e-bay.
It is a moulded plastic strip with a pattern of micro mushrooms that interlock with each other. It clips to itself firmly with no 'looseness'. It seems to be much more suitable for applications where flexing occurs or a more secure attachment is desirable.

I sometimes use a megarange threaded freewheel and swap sprockets around.
It has to be one of the type that dismantles with a threaded clamp ring. Rob an old 14-28 freewheel, fit the 28 sprocket next to the 34 and remove one of the others further out. Sometimes one of the 'ramped' splines on the '28' doesn't fit so you have to grind the flank back a millimetre or two (bit hard for a file). It works, though.

The SA sprockets are pretty hard steel. They needn't be. Put it on the gas stove and heat until cherry red then slowly cool. A split-point pilot drill would also help, or use a spherical dental carbide burr in a dremel to 'centre' it.

Mine did the same. I stripped it (used pointed nose pliers on the plug), cleaned it and assembled with grease.
It later leaked around the lever, worn O-ring. Replaced it with one from a 'budget box' bought in Lidl.
Good as new.
One thing they DON'T like is an blowback of 'slime' if you use it..... it gums them up and corrodes the metal part.

I had two Schwalbe Marathon 700 x 25C tyres fail with sidewall damage, a rear suddenly bulged badly over a 1 mile ride. Got it home by letting the pressure right down. It's sister was fine, put away in the garage, then 3 days later noticed the velcro front mudguard had fallen off. No, blown off by a sudden side-wall failure. It was a fixed-wheel bike. What if it had failed at 20mph down a hill?
Both Schwalbes had no visible damage beforehand.
Bin any damaged or suspect tyre.

More important than 'heads in/heads out is to make sure that the head of a J-type spoke is snug in the flange hole, so minimising the bending leverage on the bend itself. This may mean that, if the flange is thinner than the 'width' of the spoke 'foot', you may need to put thin washers ('burrs') on the spoke before threading it through the flange. I came across this on a tandem with a steel rear hub. It broke 3 spokes on one holiday before I realised the problem.

Which way to fit crank cotter pins?
I have never thought about it, just made sure they matched each side.
To my view, the 'continental' way makes more sense, nut-leading. That way, the thinner end of the taper gives the wider bearing area to take the turning loads. The down-side is that if it does fret and wear, the resultant step catches when trying to remove the pin.
The main problem, however, it that people don't use anything to react the impact when the pin is knocked in or out.
I always 'stand' the bike on a suitable diameter socket and extension, so the impact load is reacted by the concrete. If not, the crank bearings get 'brinelled'.....

A newton is one tenth of a kilogram, Most torque figures are not that critical, just set a value that will not come loose or shear the fastener/collapse the clamped item. Work out the force needed on the length of the spanner or lever (Torque= force x leverage length).
My 6-speed left gear lever fell apart when the screw fell out. It was VERY loose in the nut thread (all the bits fell in to the front carrier bag !!). I searched my scrap box and found several screws that were a much better fit. The original Brompton screw was clearly 'undersize' on diameter.....

I have removed a couple of (friends!) seized seatposts and an alloy handlebar stem by sawing. You don't have to saw right through, just enough to allow the remainder to spring a bit.
Couple of points:
WD40 is not a particularly good penetrating fluid. Plus-gas is, if not 'fresh' diesel fuel, My son also uses acetone (nail varnish remover)/vegetable oil mix, no flames!!
For hard steel parts (old BB cups, etc.), use a dremel with the fibre-reinforced cut-off wheels to slot. Carbide tipped dental drills also work as cutters with a reasonable life, if used with spray water coolant and care & PPE.....

Thanks. It isn't my FG so I will be leaving it as-is.
Might try one day.....

I spoke to the man at Colwood. He confirms that there is a gap of a few milimetres when the thread bottoms out, so our rod is 'healthy'.
When in stock, the remade rod sets cost £35. Not cheap but reasonable.
Thanks for all the replies. I'll try it back in the bike soon.

It sounds as if the 3.5mm collar is trapped between the two sections of the rod so the rod threads bottom out with a gap filled by the collar?
I was wondering if the two shoulders should butt up against each other, hiding the smallest diameter and thread completely. This would have meant rust of debris in the female part. It looks clear.
I assume that the bore of the 3.5mm collar just fits over the male threaded section of the left side rod?
Thanks.

I wonder if anyone can help. I have a question on a 1950 FW dynohub wheel for a bike I am sorting for a friend. It had dried out and I have taken the main assembly out, cleaned and oiled it and adjusted the bearings up.
The two-piece central gear change rod has a female thread on the chain-side part and a male thread on the dynamo side part (with a screwdriver slot in the end).
With the two parts outside of the hub, screwing one in to the other, a few treads remain showing when it tightens. I had a feeling that the parts tightened until the shoulders touched, but maybe the gap is there to grip the internal 'cross piece' between the shoulders.
I don't want to force things and the thread is fragile.
I haven't put the wheel back in the bike yet and wanted to get things right before risking that.
Can anyone advise, please?
Andy.

Thanks, all, for comments.
The tyres were generally kept dry, put in a dry garage after every use. The white residue is the talc I use on the beading and inner tube to stop things sticking together (often the case with a new tube and tyre pair). The talc isn't a contributor as I use it on all bikes.

The rim type is OK. The tyres are old but very little used, having spent much of their life on the garage shelf as 'spares'.

I have several greenguard tyres removed part worn, generally when I went from 32C to 25C on some bikes and 28C to 25C on others (we have 7 of 17 bikes shod with various Marathons !). I might replace the remaining Kevlarguards with those if in any doubt.
Thanks again.

A few years back, I bought two Schwalbe Marathon 700x25C tyres. They have no 'model number', just a blue background with 'The Original' in it, 'Performance line' and 'KEVLAR GUARD'.
I fitted both to my fixed wheel bike, that only sees occasional use. Stored in a cool dry garage out of sunlight.

Last autumn, out riding with the Bristol Thursday club (BTOTC), I noticed a patter as something clipped the rear mudguard, stop in a minute when convenient and safe. A few yards later, it turned in to a bump as the wheel went round, so controlled emergency stop. The carcase of the tyre had split over a 35mm length and fibres of the reinforcement were sticking out. Only the thin rubber inner tyre layer covered the inner tube, which was obviously going to burst if ridden further. I dropped the pressure to 'very soft' and crawled home. The tread was about two-thirds worn.

Today, I got back from a ride on my mountain bike and was about to put it away when I noticed the fixed wheel bike sitting on the front rim. I wheeled it back and the front crudguard mudguard just fell off, revealing a 75+mm split in the tyre. It was perfect when put away 2 weeks back, it just suddenly exploded at a random moment! Damned good job I wasn't riding at the time! This tyre was barely worn at all.

Both tyres have been replaced with spares I have had for a while. These are similarly marked, but 'Performance line' and 'GREEN GUARD'.

They are different tyre type and I have had no problems with the many Schwalbe Marathons I have used over many years (700x 28, 32, 35 and 27x1.1/4).
I must admit that my confidence in Schwalbe Marathons has just been badly shaken. Between my wife, son, daughter and I, we have 17 bikes, of which 7 are shod with Marathons.

I do hope Schwalbe are extremely helpful, as otherwise I expect to be replacing tyres earlier than end-of-life and not with Schwalbe.

Any thoughts, please?