Bike adjustments, where to start?

[Mattjg01]

I've recently purchased a B'TWIN Triban 500 SE from Decathlon. I'm using for commuting and finding the bike really enjoyable to ride once I reset the gears after the initial cable stretch. However, there are a couple of things I've noticed and looking for advice as to whether to do anything about them or jsut ignore:

1. Braking isn't great especially when carrying a little speed. I've heard suggestions that alternative pads will make a fair bit of difference. Does anyone have any recommendations?

2. I find the pedal toe clips a little annoying and considering changing to some SPD pedals. However, I'll also be using the bike in regular trainers at times. Does anyone have any suggestions for some reasonable SPD pedals that will also be fine with regular shoes?

3. Whilst the Shimano Claris chainring and microshift 8 speed rear derailleur are fine, gear changes are a little clunky and I never make use of the smallest front chainring. Is it worth doing anything with the groupset, and if so does anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers
Matt

[PH]

I've recently purchased a B'TWIN Triban 500 SE from Decathlon. I'm using for commuting and finding the bike really enjoyable to ride once I reset the gears after the initial cable stretch. However, there are a couple of things I've noticed and looking for advice as to whether to do anything about them or jsut ignore:

1. Braking isn't great especially when carrying a little speed. I've heard suggestions that alternative pads will make a fair bit of difference. Does anyone have any recommendations?

2. I find the pedal toe clips a little annoying and considering changing to some SPD pedals. However, I'll also be using the bike in regular trainers at times. Does anyone have any suggestions for some reasonable SPD pedals that will also be fine with regular shoes?

3. Whilst the Shimano Claris chainring and microshift 8 speed rear derailleur are fine, gear changes are a little clunky and I never make use of the smallest front chainring. Is it worth doing anything with the groupset, and if so does anyone have any suggestions?

Cheers
Matt

glad you're enjoying the bike
1) Koolstop Salmon are my pads of choice , though some prefer others. They do make a noticeable difference
2) I use Shimano A530s on the bikes which I also ride in normal shoes, SPD one side flat the other, they work fine
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/shim ... rd|87639UK
3) I'd keep it till it wears out, by then you'll probably have a better idea of what you'd want to replace it with. I hardly ever use my smallest chainring, maybe 1%, 2% at most, but when I do it'd be that or walk and it's worth carrying around for those times.

[Kojak]

I'm rubbish with terminology but Decathlon do a pedal with mountain bike stle cleat on one side and ordinary pedal on the other side for £25.
Their return policy means you can't go wrong.

Can't help you with braking.

You will use the inner chain ring if you find a real hill. Not worth the cost of mucking around I'd have thought.

[Mattjg01]

Thanks both. I'll check out the Shimano and Decathlon pedals and see how they look.

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my SM-G930F using hovercraft full of eels.

[Brucey]

I agree with PH's comments for the most part.

However I'd also comment that

- SPD pedals are great, but very few knock-off ones actually have both a fully compatible binding and good bearings.
- PD-A530 shimano pedals are pretty good, but will need to be flipped flat side up when you are not using SPD cleats
- SPD pedals also require some acclimatisation, just like clips and straps, but a bit less tricky. Most folk topple over when stopped at least once....
- if you are new to cycling, your cadence ( rate of pedalling) may be low, and on short rides you may not yet have got tired enough to need the lower gears, either. I guarantee that your idea of what range of gears is 'correct' will evolve over time.
- apologies if this is obvious, but it is a very bad idea to routinely shift under full pressure; this tends to wear stuff out or even break it. It is a much better idea to back off the pressure on the pedals briefly (but still turning them of course) whilst making a shift; this way shifts are quieter and there is less chance of breaking stuff.

cheers

[mjr]

I'll add that Swissstop and Koolstop are often mentioned. I recently got some BBB Techstop which seem pretty good.

- SPD pedals also require some acclimatisation, just like clips and straps, but a bit less tricky. Most folk topple over when stopped at least once....

...but in my experience, most will deny that it hurts until the break something. I'd consider Power Grips or if there's no real reason to clip in, getting good grippy rubber-faced flat pedals.

[rmurphy195]

Braking - not sure what brakes you have, but a lot can depend on the cable adjustment. For example, cantilevers need the straddle cable to be at about 90 degrees to the brake arms, with the arms parallell, when properly adjusted, to get the best mechanical advantage. I see so many bikes on the road where the straddle cable is nowhere near this. You might want to check out such details. http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/cantilever-threaded-post-brake-service#article-section-4

Pedals - I've used Shimano M324 pedals for years, the SPD is only on one side so I can wear normal shoes on the "back" of the pedals - indeed I use the back of the pedals in traffic or in shared pedestrian areas/paths sometimes even with my SPD shoes on (They are MTB type with deep treads)! The "clip-in" tension on these is adjustable, I always have mine set to the minimum.

Gears - I have the 8-speed Claris, and the front changer is a bit clunky. Again, however, if you can't get onto the small front ring careful adjustment will make everything so much easier. Best to get the Claris leaflet (on line PDF unless you had it supplied with the bike) and have a look at how to adjust the front derailler. I'd find it difficult to explain but, believe me, a few minutes study and tweaking pays dividends both in performance and also knowledge! This is a good place to start http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustment

[Mattjg01]

Thanks all, some great replies and plenty to consider. For clarification I can get into all the gears and have adjusted so that changes are as smooth as possible but still a little clunky. So far longest cycle is c. 30 miles with small hills and haven't got anywhere near small front chainring. I guess if I hit some proper inclines I may do, although not currently on my list of places to go [emoji16]

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my SM-G930F using hovercraft full of eels.

[gregoryoftours]

The brakes on those bikes are ok but not too great and have uncomfortably heavy return spring tension to boot. I have a similar bike - the old Triban 3 when it had a carbon fork. I replaced the calipers with some very old shimano 600 dual pivots, much lighter spring tension and more powerful braking. Changing pads may help though. I agree that Koolstop Salmons are nice. And check that the cables are installed well - squared off ends to the outers etc. As other people have said, you might as well keep the stuff on the bike, changing over to a double chainset etc would be expensive, wouldn't save a whole lot of weight and if you ever go anywhere really steep you might appreciate the granny ring. The low end microshift stuff isn't great, serviceable but clunky. The front derailleur cage sides are not vertical so you tend to get more rubbing than would otherwise happen. I'd check that your wheel hub bearings aren't overtightened too. Mine were almost too hard to turn by hand when the wheels were out of the bike and wouldn't have lasted long in that state. Get some nice tyres when your current ones wear out, tyres are rotating weight and affect ride quality quite a bit, so are good bang for buck. 25mm tyres are a bit more comfortable than 23mm that come with the bike but leave even less room for mudguards (read no room!)

[gregoryoftours]

As far as pedals go you could always try the current pedals with the clips and straps removed, or get some flats like Welgo v8 copies - quite a fashion faux pas on a road bike but practical if you want to wear normal shoes. Some friends of mine like their Shimano A530 clipless/platform combination pedals.

[Tompsk]

I have both the M324 and A530 Shimano pedals. The M324 have been good if a little heavy, the rubber seal ring on the inside perishes and falls off after a few years - I replaced it with a cut down small tie-wrap to keep the dirt out. I found the A530 to be pretty bad and I wish I had not got them as the non SPD side is slippery and the left pedal developed an annoying click after a few hundred miles. YMMV! As they are virtually un-serviceable they will probably end up in the bin.

[Mattjg01]

I have both the M324 and A530 Shimano pedals. The M324 have been good if a little heavy, the rubber seal ring on the inside perishes and falls off after a few years - I replaced it with a cut down small tie-wrap to keep the dirt out. I found the A530 to be pretty bad and I wish I had not got them as the non SPD side is slippery and the left pedal developed an annoying click after a few hundred miles. YMMV! As they are virtually un-serviceable they will probably end up in the bin.

That's useful as I was interested in the A530s but was concerned about slippiness of the flats

I'm a trendy consumer. Just look at my SM-G930F using hovercraft full of eels.

[PH]

I found the A530 to be pretty bad and I wish I had not got them as the non SPD side is slippery and the left pedal developed an annoying click after a few hundred miles. YMMV! As they are virtually un-serviceable they will probably end up in the bin.

My experience with slippery pedals is that it has as much to do with the footwear as anything else, my 530s are pretty poor with my smooth soled town shoes but fine with my winter boots.
Servicing Shimano pedals is pretty straightforward
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/h ... deo-24286/

[ChrisOntLancs]

i got a 520 with similar complaints.

the stock brake cables were covered with fluff and they stretched without much force, be it due to poor set up or quality, the rear had started to unwind on the way home. replacing those gave me a lot more control. i changed the cartridges for some shimano ones i had on an old bike (sorry i cant be more specific, they came off a second hand bike with tektro calipers) and they helped a little, but in my not so expert opinion the flex is in the calipers.

a reviewer also said they replaced the calipers with shimano R650 with good results, but i've not had the money to try that one yet.

EDIT the specs on the 520 actually promised "shimano long reach" calipers, but on the caliper they've spelled it "btwin" so i suspect they'll be the same as the 500