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What Have You Done to Your Bike Today?

25K views 509 replies 20 participants last post by  newleaf150 
#1 ·
Figured I'd start up a service/maintenance/upgrade/mod thread to consolidate bits of this kind of info embedded in the Did You Ride Today? and Most Recent Purchase threads. That way those threads could be more focused on riding and purchases and this one could cover purchases and actions to get you out on those rides by keeping your machines happy and thriving...........taking it to LBS for whatever reason allowed too I suppose, lol.
 
#427 ·
Well. Got the touring bike's new tires, started the swap. Found that the velox tape on the front wheel has migrated. A lot. Appears to have been too narrow and 'walked' in the thousands of miles since installation, uncovering parts of multiple spoke holes.

I subsequently visited no less than 5 different LBS in search of more. Apparently they have all decided to no drop the stuff from stock. I understand that tubeless tape will work just as well, but that was all much too wide and I'm not cool enough to cut it down to fit.

Alas, driving during rush hour is an activity that I hate a little more every time I do it. Thus as the traffic got stupid, I gave up and came home. That leaves the bike sitting forlornly upside down, with one wheel on and one wheel off. I could improvise something with electrical tape, but that's a temporary solution at best. Here's hoping I can find something tomorrow.
 
#429 ·
Today I located some Velox tape and bought more than I needed. After re-taping the touring bike's front rim, I installed the new tire and inflated it. Looks good so far.

After that I pulled my venerable Wellgo pedals with their attached toe clips. In their place I installed a set of Bontrager Line Elite flats. I took a chance on the color. we'll see how that works out.

Finally, I installed a new top tube bag from REI and followed it up with a Blackburn Outpost frame bag in Large. Installing that necessitated pulling my topmost water bottle cage. That was too bad, but expected.
 
#430 · (Edited)
Did a little brake pad/rotor upgrade thing on the Fuji Tread....Had great performance out of their blue pads on a coupla bikes so decided to try out the gold Hard Headed Ram sintered pads with a fresh set of 160mm rotors from parts on hand. Adjusted front caliper with washers to center pistons and pads with rotor.

Musical instrument Font Parallel Screenshot Slope


Time for break-in ride....nevermind, 109 with 117 heat index, 🔥
Indoors it is......

Bicycle Tire Wheel Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Bicycle wheel

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#432 ·
So … how is this for the Finger of Fate unfickling things?

For well over a year my rain/work/grocery bike has been refusing to cooperate, skipping gears under high loads. I have replaced the derailleur, derailleur hanger, cassette, chain … I could not figure out what was wrong.

This weekend I am supposed to shoot a bike race on a short course—the kind where normally I would load up all my gear on my bike and ride the course, instead of driving it, to get to good shooting locations.

I have other bikes which can do the job … but I wanted to try the Fuji one more time.

I replaced the derailleur hanger, and tried to ride, but the chain—for no reason I could devine—kept jumping in between the cassette and spokes.

I kept adjusting the limit screw, and finally it stopped …. So I put it in high gear and stomped, and the chain jumped.

This time, as I kept trying over and over, I finally noticed a little play in my cog set. Somehow the retaining cap had come loose …. Which is crazy because not only was that one of the first things I checked, I had checked the old, and a brand-new cassette. How could I have the same issue so many times. On two different cassettes, and not see it?

Whatever. I seem to have found the problem and fixed it, and this weekend I fully intend to load up 70 pounds of camera gear, and go shoot the races.
 
#434 ·
So … how is this for the Finger of Fate unfickling things?

For well over a year my rain/work/grocery bike has been refusing to cooperate, skipping gears under high loads. I have replaced the derailleur, derailleur hanger, cassette, chain … I could not figure out what was wrong.

This weekend I am supposed to shoot a bike race on a short course—the kind where normally I would load up all my gear on my bike and ride the course, instead of driving it, to get to good shooting locations.

I have other bikes which can do the job … but I wanted to try the Fuji one more time.

I replaced the derailleur hanger, and tried to ride, but the chain—for no reason I could devine—kept jumping in between the cassette and spokes.

I kept adjusting the limit screw, and finally it stopped …. So I put it in high gear and stomped, and the chain jumped.

This time, as I kept trying over and over, I finally noticed a little play in my cog set. Somehow the retaining cap had come loose …. Which is crazy because not only was that one of the first things I checked, I had checked the old, and a brand-new cassette. How could I have the same issue so many times. On two different cassettes, and not see it?

Whatever. I seem to have found the problem and fixed it, and this weekend I fully intend to load up 70 pounds of camera gear, and go shoot the races.
How wonderful to have (hopefully) figured the root cause and fixed the problem! I hope it stays fixed. What an ongoing PITA this has been!
 
#437 ·
Got the nexus shifter for the electra and swapped it in. Had to use some salsa grips with shifter side trimmed to fit. Not enuff bar length and not cutting the original grip. Wasn't super stoked about it but turned out OK.
Bicycle Bicycle tire Bicycle handlebar Bicycle fork Plant
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Pimped out and peppered up! OLE!
 
#443 ·
Today I replaced the brake pads which came with my touring bike's TRP Spyke brakes. Dropped in a set of Hardheaded Ram disc pads in DH blue. Cleaned the rotors and adjusted everything. Now I just need to bed the pads into the rotors, and I'm ready for some big descents. I hope.
Awaiting your review....I love the ones i have on 2 bikes
It took longer than anticipated, but I finally got to test these pads on a proper descent: ~1500' in ~12mi. They are the right answer! I was surprised at the difference in feel using them on a high speed descent vs. everyday cycling.

Around town they can be a little chattery and seem to require more frequent adjustment than the stock pads did. They also grab noticeably but not hugely better than stock. Vastly quieter when wet.

Coming down the mountain at speed, I daresay that as DH specific pads, they really 'woke up' for the first time. The brakes' grab was solid, consistent, and unwavering. Almost like dropping an anchor :love:.

Also silent. Did I mention that? No squeals, chattering, grinding, nothing but sweet, blissful stopping power.

With the stock pads, I could induce fade by grabbing too much brake too fast. Nothing dangerous, but noticeable. Not with these pads. I'm sure it's possible to get them hot enough to induce fade, but it appears to take a good bit more effort to do it.

The bike on which the pads are mounted is not an e-bike but may as well be in terms of its weight. Last time I weighed it in riding trim, it came in at 70lbs. I ride with quite a lot of gear. On top of that, I'm no lightweight myself. More weight means greater strain on brakes even on the flats, and much greater when things get steep.

In several places, the geometry of the trail and number of other users combined to require quick speed checks. Nothing close to a panic stop, but a still a series of solid brake grabs to go from ballpark ~25-35mph down to ~10-15mph. Performance was consistent and utterly predictable.

Interestingly, while they seem to wear faster in around town riding, on the mountain, the pads seemed to wear more slowly. With the stock pads, by the end of this descent, I could feel that the pads needed adjustment. The same was true of any descent of more than 1200ft or so. Nothing dangerous, just that change in feel which tells you it's time to adjust.

Not so with Hardheaded Ram's pads! I didn't notice any significant change in brake feel, lever pull, sound, or any of the other indications that it's time to adjust one's mechanical disc brakes. They just kept grabbing.

In closing, I think that for me, the pads are largely wasted riding around town. They work better than stock, but not a whole lot, and they appear to wear faster. I am not a fan of chatter, and they do that from time to time. I find those weaknesses to be offset by their performance on the terrain for which they were designed.

There, they grabbed vastly better than the stock pads, with no detected fade and seemingly plenty of additional stopping power on tap. The lack of 'feel-able' pad wear at rides' end was eye opening for me.

I've questioned whether I'd buy them again based on everyday riding, but wanted to reserve judgement pending a proper test in the conditions for which they were designed. I'm glad I did. For steep grades and tight curves, these pads are the bomb. No question that I'd order them again, and I'll probably grab a set for the fat bike, too.

Thanks for the recommendation, i12!
 
#445 ·
FWIW, they offer a variety of different colors, which correspond to different pad materials and design intents. It might be worth looking at their Gold pads, which claim to be good for wet weather and e-bikes. I recognize yours isn't an e-bike, but from some of your posts, it sounds as though it can get as heavy as one.

I have only used their Blue series pads so far, but I'd order other varieties without reservation based on the Blues' performance. It may be worth a look at their website.
 
#449 ·
More fresh pad reviews.....another epic shenanigan session on the Stache 7 with the blue hhr pads. Fast, slow, wet, krusty and not one peep out of the brakes. Can't imagine what i would have to do to outride the brakes on this thing. Super solid and silent.
Bicycle Wheel Tire Bicycles--Equipment and supplies Bicycle wheel rim
 
#450 ·
Well .... not worrying about the brakes now, because I saw a flaw in my front rim ... 38-mm carbon fiber .... looks like a spoke is pulling through the sidewall .... I am pretty sure it is safe to ride, though.

Trying to explain that a new wheel is necessary even though they are a little pricey. Her response? "You have so many bikes."

She still has at least 80 pairs of shoes, less than half what she had when I met her ... many she had to throw away because they literally rotted in their boxes, unused .... apparently there is no equivalency between unused footwear and possibly life-destroying mechanical failure ......

On another hand, I loaded up my bike with photo gear and rode in small circles again. That's what I did to my bike.
 
#451 ·
Today, in an exacting operation well nigh to rocket science, I removed a bell from my Diamondback Wildwood and installed a new Incredibell in its place :p.

I never imagined it was possible to wear out a cycling bell, but it is! The old bell was originally mounted on my touring bike for some ~20k mi. Its internals got so loose that every time I hit a bump, the bell would ring. Gets annoying in a hurry. I forgot about that before installing it on the Wildwood.

After such an intense and technical operation, I cooled down by swapping the three remaining water bottle cages on my touring bike for new ones: an Arundel Grypto on the bottom and a pair of Lezyne side loaders at the top. Hopefully the Grypto cage will work as well in this application as two others have on my fat bike. The only thing I don't love about them is the price at $25 per.

After that I played with the touring bike's derailleur enough to confirm that professional help was needed. Loaded the bike up and rolled to the shop. It's funny how denial works: I'd looked at the derailleur and setup while trying to adjust it and could tell something was off, but my mind just wouldn't make the painfully obvious necessary leap.

My derailleur hangar was bent. More than a little. My blood ran cold at the wrench's warning that it could break off during the repair. Meaning the end of that frame. I am well aware of how all that works, but it's worse hearing it from someone else.

In any event, the wrench went to work with a derailleur straightener and the touring bike's steel frame worked its magic. The hangar is back in its proper position and shifting is restored to normal. Hooray!

I honestly think I'd have cried right there in the shop if the hangar had broken. I have 23,000mi of wonderful memories wrapped up in that bike, and I'm not ready to let it go. Thrilled that I don't have to. Now I have a pair of road tests waiting to be ridden.
 
#453 ·
That they do! Detriments too, but I'll take 'em. I think I need a derailleur protector of some sort. The addition of the frame bag increased the bike's sail area by too much. I'd prefer to avoid the metal fatigue involved in having this happen again. Steel is awesome, but fatigue life is real. I dodged a bullet, and I know it.
 
#454 ·
Today I tinkered with the new-to-me tandem I found earlier in the day. The cranks came out of sync, which would drive both Mrs. Newleaf and I nuts in short order. Easy enough to fix, and done. I adjusted the Captain's saddle height and plotted replacement pedal and handlebar colors.

I confirmed that the stoker's seat can be adjusted and lubed the chains. Adjusted both sets of handlebars to make 'em straight and added Slime to the balloon tires. Their tread surface looks great, but the white sidewalls are tired indeed.

I see replacing them sooner than later, but hope to get a couple of rides in first to see if this is even worthwhile. Neither of us has ever ridden a tandem before and we're not sure how well it will go.
 
#458 ·
Dude, you're awesome. Thank you. I will get some detail pics posted here shortly.

I'd love your input on parts color combinations. You're amazing at that. As for parts, I'd be happy and grateful to help you re-home some things :D. Happy to pay shipping and so forth.

Mrs. Newleaf calls the tandem's main color rasberry, but it includes red, white, and black accents.
 
#461 ·
Despite the fact that I plan to replace all the tandem's cable housing, today I spent some time lubricating the rear brake's cable housings and cable. Despite my intellectual understanding of the bike's length, I was surprised at the amount of cable housing in need of lubrication.

The rear brake actuates much more smoothly and easily now. It still needs replacement, but I want the bike to be safely rideable now. So it is.

Going forward, it'll hopefully just get prettier and more mechanically sound.
 
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