Cycling UK Forum

johnb wrote:

" ukdodger"

Lol. I'll take that as a 'no' then.

You can take what you want. I have made no statement on the merits of any chain cleaning method, I have only sought clarification of your statement where you say

ukdodger wrote:
The only way to clean a chain is to take it off put it in a tub of spirits overnight and clean it using an old toothbrush. Wiping off the dirt does hardy anything in terms of increased efficiency.

To which I asked the question

Johnb wrote: Is that statistically proven or just your personal preference?

So either you can answer the question as asked or you cant.

ukdodger wrote. " Ok It's statistically proven to be the best method."

Ambler wrote:There's also the VSF Fahrradmanufaktur. The Belt drive is about 1600 and the chain drive about 1250.
Both have Alfine 11 with hub dynamos, hydraulic brakes and all the other bells and whistles.

ukdodger wrote:

johnb wrote:

" ukdodger"

Lol. I'll take that as a 'no' then.

You can take what you want. I have made no statement on the merits of any chain cleaning method, I have only sought clarification of your statement where you say

ukdodger wrote:
The only way to clean a chain is to take it off put it in a tub of spirits overnight and clean it using an old toothbrush. Wiping off the dirt does hardy anything in terms of increased efficiency.

To which I asked the question

Johnb wrote: Is that statistically proven or just your personal preference?

So either you can answer the question as asked or you cant.

Ok It's statistically proven to be the best method.

meic wrote:I dont think that stirring is quite adequate, an ultrasonic cleaner is required for the job.

Claireysmurf wrote:I do some of my own maintenance, it just feel like it is needed too frequently. Since February:

Changed saddle. Saddle then slipped repeatedly due to poor design of seat post until a ridiculous amount of torque used (mating surfaces have no grips)
Can't offer advise on this and clearly to have changed the saddle was a personal preference, if you need a lot of torque and the post is of poor quality then maybe it was just an inferior product to start with
Added a carrier rack (Tredz). Just lost a bolt from it, all other bolts loose (been on 3 weeks)
This happens, if you buy a new bike the LBS should offer post sale service to tighten up and tweak suchitems. The nature of our roads means items do loosen, and will need attention after a couple of rides.
Gears adjusted by LBS - now indexing slightly off for downshifts on front changer
Not sure... do your gears change properly or not, if not take back to LBS
3 punctures (repaired by me)
What are you riding on? What are your tyres. 3 visits from the p fairy in such succession often indicates tyres maybe ready for a change, try to avoid bouncing into potholes, look ahead for glass and try toavoid, I commute on some fairly awful roads and have not yet had that number of visits this year (uh oh wrong thing to say) also keep your tyres pumped up well.
New stem raiser added (LBS) - problems of creaking and cracking noises to be investigated. Stem raiser to handlebars worked loose a few times but noise remains. Feeling of lost motion somewhere in headset.
Again no idea, something might be loose, not quite fit right.
Brakes have never felt inspiring - need adjustment every 200 miles or so
This can depend on th level of braking you do, brake pads wear out full stop just as they would on a car. As they wear down nipping them up is a sensible thing to do. Again if you commute / use towns etc a lot, it is a good to anticipate ahead where possible, if you are appraoching a junction / traffic lights / places where you need to slow down, just ease up pedalling in advance, sudden heavy braking will wear brake blocks quickly. Inefficient brakes maybe due to them being poor brakes to begin with.
Rear wheel trued
Shouldn't after such a small mileage, poorly built/cheap wheels perhaps, again try to keep out of banging into potholes and keep tyres well pumped up
Chain and drivetrain wiped down and lubricated a number of times but chain not off so far.

Our roads are filthy and in this particularly wet weather the chain naturally collects some awful dirt not to mention being regularly washed by the rain... maintenance is essential


Bike has been cleaned regularly and looks very smart!

I assume this is a fairly typical example of a modern bike ownership experience and looking at the accounts of others I guess it is a pretty good experience over 1500+ miles No! Have done over 5000 so far this year and not had that level of maintenance, only trouble have had is a broken chain, and this week realisation that another is breaking in similar place, as b/f has also had same problem, we have sent one of them back to manufacturer as we suspect a duff batch but I can't help thinking it could be better. Part of the problem has been replacement parts (one LBS, Tredz, me) not being fitted right first time or needing twiddling afterwards

meic wrote:

Ambler wrote:There's also the VSF Fahrradmanufaktur. The Belt drive is about 1600 and the chain drive about 1250.
Both have Alfine 11 with hub dynamos, hydraulic brakes and all the other bells and whistles.

£350 is a lot of money to pay just to be rid of chains.


But probably worth it! Chains are the biggest pain in the range of things that make up cycle maintenance. Hopefully in fifty years time people will look back on chains with amazement.

eileithyia wrote:

Claireysmurf wrote:I do some of my own maintenance, it just feel like it is needed too frequently. Since February:

Changed saddle. Saddle then slipped repeatedly due to poor design of seat post until a ridiculous amount of torque used (mating surfaces have no grips)
Can't offer advise on this and clearly to have changed the saddle was a personal preference, if you need a lot of torque and the post is of poor quality then maybe it was just an inferior product to start with
I changed to a Brooks B17 saddle due to way too much saddle soreness and it seems to be working. The original saddle and seatpost are Dawes items

Added a carrier rack (Tredz). Just lost a bolt from it, all other bolts loose (been on 3 weeks)
This happens, if you buy a new bike the LBS should offer post sale service to tighten up and tweak suchitems. The nature of our roads means items do loosen, and will need attention after a couple of rides.

Gears adjusted by LBS - now indexing slightly off for downshifts on front changer
Not sure... do your gears change properly or not, if not take back to LBS
I should do, it's not a huge problem - the front changer seem to have invented a 4th position
3 punctures (repaired by me)

What are you riding on? What are your tyres. 3 visits from the p fairy in such succession often indicates tyres maybe ready for a change, try to avoid bouncing into potholes, look ahead for glass and try toavoid, I commute on some fairly awful roads and have not yet had that number of visits this year (uh oh wrong thing to say) also keep your tyres pumped up well.
I have been on to a fair few gravelly paths and loose surface paths. The people I cycle with ride hybrids and mountain bikes and seem to like to punish me (nice people) and what I have done is at the edges of comfortable on a bike with 700c x 25 tyres. The tyres themselves are Vittoria Rubino and I think are fairly cheap. I will look at Marathons etc but am keen to avoid gaining too much weight or rolling resistance. The back wheel has a slime filled tube (the second of two I bought); the first had a very quick puncture and taking the tyre off was a riot of green. Cardiff and surrounding area is looking terrible for potholes and at a fair few places I can do little but go through them due to inability to take primary given amount of traffic/speed

New stem raiser added (LBS) - problems of creaking and cracking noises to be investigated. Stem raiser to handlebars worked loose a few times but noise remains. Feeling of lost motion somewhere in headset.
Again no idea, something might be loose, not quite fit right. Sorted - just loose
Brakes have never felt inspiring - need adjustment every 200 miles or so
This can depend on th level of braking you do, brake pads wear out full stop just as they would on a car. As they wear down nipping them up is a sensible thing to do. Again if you commute / use towns etc a lot, it is a good to anticipate ahead where possible, if you are appraoching a junction / traffic lights / places where you need to slow down, just ease up pedalling in advance, sudden heavy braking will wear brake blocks quickly. Inefficient brakes maybe due to them being poor brakes to begin with.
I do try and anticipate as well as I can and learning to drive on a 1960s car taught me well. I do find that I really heavily on the brakes for downhills and on some rides even where I have used brakes heavily still find I have done 35+mph. I will try cleaning the rims and maybe new pads too as it has been suggested that metal particles from the rims may be affecting the brakes. However, that does not seem to answer that the brake feel only feels decent when it is nipped right up (Tektro calipers)
Rear wheel trued
Shouldn't after such a small mileage, poorly built/cheap wheels perhaps, again try to keep out of banging into potholes and keep tyres well pumped up
Alex R450 double wall alloy but see above re potholes/surfaces
Chain and drivetrain wiped down and lubricated a number of times but chain not off so far.

Our roads are filthy and in this particularly wet weather the chain naturally collects some awful dirt not to mention being regularly washed by the rain... maintenance is essential


Bike has been cleaned regularly and looks very smart!

I assume this is a fairly typical example of a modern bike ownership experience and looking at the accounts of others I guess it is a pretty good experience over 1500+ miles No! Have done over 5000 so far this year and not had that level of maintenance, only trouble have had is a broken chain, and this week realisation that another is breaking in similar place, as b/f has also had same problem, we have sent one of them back to manufacturer as we suspect a duff batch but I can't help thinking it could be better. Part of the problem has been replacement parts (one LBS, Tredz, me) not being fitted right first time or needing twiddling afterwards

You should have seen the club runs we had in the late 70's early 80's, we regularly had emergency roadside repair stops, but such is the nature of modern bikes this is more of a rarity these days, so I believe bikes are far more reliable. But like any machine they do need looking after.

What side of the bike do you walk on, manouevre it when getting thru the door, always always walk and operate your bike from the left side... it does help to avoid those nasty dirty oil marks... or you could join the lady I saw in Majorca last year, and have a chain mark tattooed on your leg!

eileithyia wrote:Right hand mounting... now that does surprise, as a kid was always to mount / dismount left side after all that is the pavement side and it does not feel 'right' to push the bike from the right side only ever on the left.

Mind you I always start with right foot/pedal cocked up and always put my right foot down when I do stop at junctions. I don't why it just feels natural, but once I started riding with a club I realised this was silly and there was a reason why they all put left foot down; the puttheir foot down on the kerb/pavement and leant toward the kerb, unlike myself who actually slightly leans towards the traffic. I did try to wean myself off it by tightening up my toe strap remembering to put my left foot down.. no avail.

However 4 years ago it saved my ankle... because I had spotted car bumper heading toward me I was freewheeling and I guess I must have had my right foot upper most as this is most natural for me. When we inspected the damaged bike the car had clearly hit the chain ring / bottom bracket area UNDER my foot, had I been freewheeling with left uppermost my right ankle would have been smashed as well as my shoulder!

Ribblehead wrote:The Woodrup Chimera has Belt-Drive. I think it's custom built, so you can have Rohloff, Alfine, Disc-Brakes, or whatever takes your fancy.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/woodrup_cycles/sets/72157626968678198/

Unfortunately, even when you've spent that much money on something highly reliable and almost maintenance free, you'll still need things adjusting/replacing/repairing from time to time. Maybe Claireysmurf should advertise for a bike maintenance flunky.