Cycling UK Forum

5) The bike was supplied with a bottom bracket gear cable guide, this was different from the 'standard' ones I have received with gear levers. Worth keeping in mind if you ever need a spare...(photo)
Some components had to be replaced : Headset, Brakes, seatpost and front brake cable hanger. Gets opinionated at this point.

Headset : I posted a question on the CTC technical section asking for suggestions on headsets and settled on the FSA PIG, because the replaceable ball bearings would work out cheaper than sealed bearings in the long run. It was however a VERY tight fit. I have some doubts as to weather it would be possible to remove it if I needed to do so for any reason. I'm happy with its performance but would not recommend anyone else attempt to fit it to this frame.

Seatpost : Check the size of your current seat post ! I could have sworn I had a 27.2mm seatpost, but it creaked when fitted to the LHT so I checked it with callipers and it was 27mm. Replaced with a FSA SL-280 27.2mm dia Black 350mm £15(spa). My opinion of the new one is coherent with others found on the web : cheap, fairly light, a little difficult to adjust but adjustable enough to get the right angle in the saddle.

Brakes : I had calliper brakes on the previous frame. The LHT frame WILL NOT take calliper brakes. The rear seat stay stiffener is made from thin walled tubing and isn't suitable for mounting a brake. The fork crown looks sturdy enough to mount a caliper but the face it presents to the brake is not suitable. Don't bother trying to do this even temporarily. (photo)


I selected a front brake "up-hanger" cable stop from spa (http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s101p1809) but it was fouled by the large diameter of the headset lower bearing.[PHOTO] The PIG is significantly larger than most headsets here but I still believe this particular cable stop would cause problems for other headsets and would not recommend it. I bodged it with a couple of spacers and a longer bolt but there are other problems here (like how tight the nut has to be to hold the hanger in place to ensure the hanger doesn't move when braking force is applied. Find another solution. In addition - it doesn't stop brake squeal as advertised. Advice : use a stem based cable stop.

I selected Tektro oryx cantilever brakes (http://www.spacycles.co.uk/products.php ... 0s101p1062). These will come up as the cheapest option when purchasing cantilever brakes. There is a major problem however with the supplied pads.(photo) Posts on various websites described these pads as rim eaters but their capacity for destruction is understated. I fitted them for one day and they did clearly visible damage to my relatively expensive mavic A719 rims. AVOID. I ended up fitting the road pads I've been using for years and they're wrong but they work. The brakes also squeal when the rims and blocks are cleaned. I don't recommend these brakes.

Opinion on ride compared with Dalesman
About me : 6'2" 115Kg. Always ridden touring bikes, 531 based for the past 20 years.
Bike use : Commuting, shopping (heavy), weekend rides, evening rides, endurance rides. 3500-4000 miles pa.
I've not ridden many different bikes to compare the LHT to so I'll just do a comparison with the dalesman. The LHT has a much harder ride than the dalesman (This is an 80's dalesman and I understand most frames have got a lot stiffer generally since then). The back end is tighter in every respect. The front has a more brittle feel to it which I attribute to the Ahead headset/stem arrangement. That having been said it is still comfortable on a long ride. The other important thing is that it just goes faster. For exactly the same bike with a different frame, I typically go more than one sprocket down the cassette for any given situation. The geometry is similar so I have to attribute this to a change in stiffness.

The frame was purchased from triton cycles for £317.99. I had a similar experience to other users of the shop with a long delivery time and reminder phone calls. It was the cheapest price I could find.

Final note : I saved a chunk of money when I replaced my old quill stem with a ahead adaptor (on my previous frame) which meant when I came to replace the frame, the new stem and handlebars fitted. So next time you break a stem, get a AHead adaptor (make sure you use plenty of grease though - since your less likely to be adjusting it....).

Hope this is helpful to someone

I recently broke another 531 frame and decided to replace it with a Long Haul Trucker frame on grounds of cost when compared to a new reynolds based frame. Questions about the the LHT crop up on forums periodically so I've decided to describe the issues that arose in detail in the hope that it will be of some assistance to others. At the time of writing the bike has been in use for 8 weeks.

Notes on the frame :
1) Rear dropout spacing. The surly website specs the rear drop outs at 135mm, suitable for MTB hubs. In fact it measured exactly 132.5 mm [PHOTO]. This is actually surly's "Gnot-rite" spacing, as found on the their Cross-check model. The frame has to be sprung very slightly to insert my (135mm OLN) wheel. I'm kinda OK with this since it's such a tiny amount but I disagree with sheldons view about springing and cold setting because the last two frames I've broken had cracked chain stays - one was sprung, the other cold set. This frame also has oversized tubes, is welded and may be more brittle than 531(?) - Opinions please. Having said that, both previous frames were 2nd hand and had seen years of riding so YMMV.

2) Rear brake cable routing. The frame has two cable stops on the top tube : located under the it, slightly to the left. Unfortunately, when you hoist the bike onto your shoulder, the stops dig in - so this is a niggle. I've toyed with the idea of taking a hack saw to them and using cable ties to run the brake cable outer from the lever to the rear stop but - not yet.

3) Brake and gear cable stop housing sizes. These are all to big for the cables I have (far too big). This isn't much of a problem for the brakes but for indexed gearing I think it may be a weak point. The cable outer exiting the rear gear cable stop is at a pronounced angle. I find indexing isn't as perfect as it ought to be. Happy to hear from anyone with a nifty solution for this, or with knowledge about cable stop sizing standards (If there are any). Stop inner diameter 6.2mm, cable ferrules outer 5.7mm.

4) Preping and facing. I did no preping or facing on the frame (other than for the seat post - see below). I'm using a sealed tapered bottom bracket (UN54) and didn't feel the necessity to face the bottom bracket shell. The surly website says the frames are faced at the factory, but you may need to remove the paint for outboard BB bearings. I did have a problem with the seat post, there were two small lips on the inside of the top of the down tube that scratched the seatpost [PHOTO] that I had to file off. Fortunately, I had to buy a new seat post and I discovered this before inserting it the first time.


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Brucey wrote:It is important to realise that in most bicycle bearings, the loading is fairly high, the speed is fairly low, and the parts are not made with the highest precision. These things mean that the load is usually on one or two balls only, and there will be metal to metal contact at least some of the time. If water is present, the surfaces will simply erode, and only the best quality lubricants (high base oil viscosity, EP additives, perhaps solid lubricants too) will reduce wear to very low levels.
cheers

I'd used a heavy grease in an attempt to reduce service intervals to 1/year. When you say "loading is fairly high, the speed is fairly low" this seems to imply that the viscosity of the lubricant is irrelevant as even the thickest of greases will not prevent metal to metal contact. This raises the question of what lubricant to use in a hub for maximum longevity. I'd even considered experimenting with ground pencil lead mixed in with the grease (works very well on the nut of my guitar).

531colin wrote:Any help?....http://wheelsmfg.com/products/all-cones.html....click top right for cone chart
I think Madison are the UK importer, your LBS may even have one of their boxed cone "kits"

Brucey wrote:There is a cone interchangeablity table here;

http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/ ... le.html/04)%20Cone%20Interchangeability.pdf

Many thanks both of you. What is QBP ?
Shimano made a big deal about the borozon(?!) hardening process used for these hubs, will the after market replacements be as good ?

Some information I left out in the original description of the problem because it appeared irrelevant at the time was the source of the bearings I fitted. They had been OK the previous year so I ignored that info. I purchased the bearings from ebay from a guy who described them as the same spec bearings as used in Dura-ace. Are these any harder than the bearings normally used for XT stuff ? I propose to fit these when I re do the hub :
http://simplybearings.co.uk/shop/p37916 ... _info.html
Could harder bearings be the source of the problem ? I've noticed the bearings sold with a packet of lithium grease at the LBS tend to be short lived - but better the bearings than the cones.
Cheers,
Bruce.

Sounds like it could only be maladjustment then, but I have to say I was very careful, and always set the pre-load with the skewers. Still having trouble locating the required parts, I noticed that the LX hub from the following year has the same part numbers for the cones. How long after the end of a line to shimano supply parts for ? I can't find the LH cone on the net and the LBS hasn't got back to me. Is it worth emailing madison ?

Is the tyre idea completely absurd ?

Cheers,
Bruce.

Hi, I have a FH-M760 (XT) rear hub that has been in use since 2006. The hub has been rebuilt each year with seriously purple grease (heavy) and new bearings. On inspection the cones and cups have been evenly worn and smooth. This year they were massively pitted. I'm trying to figure out why. Other than a major error during the rebuild, e.g. over tightening, (This was not apparent during disassembly), the only explanation I can come up with is the change of tyre from a Marathon plus 700x35 maintained at 85PSI to a Continental Ultragatorskin 700x32 maintained at 105PSI. Is this silly ? Nothing else has changed. Both cones are terminally pitted and the bearings used are the same batch as those fitted the previous year. The bikes very reliable so the wheel is rarely removed and pitting occurs in patches which I assume are the parts of the cone facing downwards when they are struck. This is a steel touring bike with no suspension and a B17.
Anybody got any ideas ?

Also trying to source right and left cones for this hub, can find drive side but not non-drive. This has been passed to the LBS but any pointers would also help.
Cheers,
Bruce.

My local stores are machinemart and toolstation, neither has a 1.5mm single hex wrench/bit available (on website). Is your's an independent or have I missed one of the big stores that sell this sort of thing ?

Hi, I have a set of Shimano PD-MX30 pedals with grub screw grips with 1.5mm hex holes. The pedals were supplied with an allen key and longer screws which I now wish to make use of for better grip. The pedals are about 6 months old. I did about 80% of one pedal before the allen key snapped but couldn't get any out of the other pedal. The allen key supplied measure exactly 1.5mm with my digital caliper. I'm confident I can get the rest out with a quality tool - but I'm having trouble finding one. Any suggestions ? Preferably one with a handle, and top quality materials and machining.
Cheers,
Bruce.

Malaconotus wrote:Brucey, I recall a mechanic raising an eyebrow at my suggestion of fitting an FSA Pig to my Long Haul Trucker. The specifics escape me, but IIRC he was sceptical of the ease of installing a fat all-steel headset into a fat steel frame with a steel steerer, what with the general absence of ductility. Any idea if this has any foundation?

Didn't understand any of that....

Brucey wrote:I've seen quite a few of both sorts get contaminated by muppets who wash their bikes upside down,

errr ummmm It's important to keep the mudguard clean to prevent contamination of the rim braking surfaces..... (ouch)

Brucey wrote:an external seal on the upper race. It is -for an easily serviced headset- well sealed.

Haven't had a threadless headset yet, the threaded headsets I've had have had seals on the lock nut but sweat still got in and trashed the lube. I think I'll give the PIG a try. Where can you get it for £15 ?
Cheers,
Bruce.

---
- Let the music play, worries for another day ~.

They look a little out of my price range at the moment, do you have front suspension ? This is for a raked fork bike.
Cheers,
Bruce

Brucey wrote:A very strong headset that costs peanuts is the FSA 'Pig' which comes with a stainless steel lower race set up with 1/4" loose balls inside it. Obviously it weighs slightly more than other headsets but maybe that isn't such a worry for you. Since they cost about £15 each, just buy two while you still can if you want spares.

cheers

I had a look at the pig but got the impression it had no seals. Comments on the net seem to indicate the C2 is the same.

One warning about Ortlieb, think twice before buying the city ones (which always seem to be on offer) - They have no handle. The little strap you see on them is just a pull release for the locking mechanism, if you have any weight in them and try to carry them this will quickly break. I use on old laptop bag strap over my shoulder but this attaches to the 'top' of the bag so the bag hangs differently when rolled up or open. I'd check out all the brands, the assumption that the old guard stuff is the best doesn't ring true anymore.....
cheers,
Bruce.

Hi,
Just about to do a frame set transplant from the claud butler dalesman (oldish lugged 531) to a surly LHT and need a 1 1/8 headset. Really want ball bearings and proper seals (O - ring or something like). Trawled the various shopping sites but can't get exploded views for most of them. Will be fitting one of those neoprene things around the lower cup but I tend to sweat directly onto the top of the headset. Needs to be heavy duty (I'm heavy and tend to go on trails a fair bit).
Also, I've heard that some of the 'industrial sealed bearing' types can be flushed out, is this true ?
I'd be grateful for any recommendations and/or pointers to exploded views.
Cheers,
Bruce.

Thanks all, I think I have my solution, I'll dig a file out and improvise something to keep the threads clear. Thanks also for a timely reminder to replace my tube of copper grease, I really have to me more methodical when I reassemble my bike.....
Cheers,
Bruce.