A free bike - and a week of freehub problems

Popped out this morning and whilst out somebody left a bike propped up against my garage wall. No message, phone call, email to explain. It is very old and tatty, has no chain and the rear hub is shot as well as the back tyre. I don't know if it wants fixing, scrapping or if it is a free pre-xmas gift!
Had a week of freehub problems. Fun bit was getting the Bontrager one off - firstly it requires an unusual size allen key - 11mm - plus a vice and a strong arm! Removal of the seal on the body revealed a lot of orange gunge and a distinct notchiness. Next freehub was making a grating, creaking noise and once removed (easier!) showed it too was full of orange gunge and the inner workings were slopping about.
Another Bontrager hub looked like it would be a problem but turned out to be easy enough once the big plastic mallet was brought out. Nice new cartridge bearings in that one now.
Be careful how you route your hydraulic hoses by the way. I have one to replace as it was lashed to the fork crown (not a good idea). Not only has it worn the crown badly it has also abraided the outer casing of the hose and is down to the plastic inner.

Fork and shock time

This is a good time of year to get forks and shocks serviced before winter to ensure they are in tip top condition to get through whatever the weather may throw at us between now and spring. If we are doing these jobs for you pleae be aware that we may need to keep your bike for a week if it is a full service - so find a time when you are not going to be needing it. Folk do neglect these items, or put off because of the expense - but it can be very costly to not pay attention to them. Service intervals are way more often than what you think - in some instances every 50 hours which is not a lot of riding time. Trouble is you won't see it until it is too late! And even lower price range forks like Suntours can benenfit from a lower leg strip and clean. Talk to us about your requirements and we'll advise.

Avid's live up to their name!

Word of warning for anyone considering fitting Avid Elixir brakes - if you need to replace the hose it will cost you. The fitting at the caliper end is swaged so you have to buy the hose and fitting complete. This will set you back over £30 just for the part. If you have other makes then it will cost a lot less. Hope for example will cost you less than £10 because you can take it to pieces and buy all the individual bits needed. Avid by name and rather avid on the price!!!

Sorry we haven't posted for a while!

Sorry to any regular viewers - we've been so busy over the summer that we have hardly had time to ourselves - except for squeezing in a lovely short cycle tour in the Orkney Islands!
Today's workshop 'disasters' - very seized bottom bracket - so seized it broke the remover tool; disk brake pads worn down to metal - x 2: carbon steerer bung not tight + end of steerer poking above stem = loose headset. Par for the course...but also had some nice bikes recently - a Felt and a Principia - nice and light and clean and a joy to work on!

Ridden into the ground!

We have had a couple of bikes this week which have been rather well-used! But sadly owners have left it rather late to pay attention to the obvious problems and have persisted in riding them. I am always amazed at why folk do this.
This is the first time I have seen an external bottom bracket cup flapping in the breeze. When the chap rang and said he had play in the cranks I assumed he had a splined or square taper bottom bracket. But no - it was external cups. The drive side one was loose and because it had been ridden since coming loose it had worn away the threads on itself and on the frame shell threads too. The bearing was jammed onto the crank too and required a hammer and punch to get it off.The shell threads now have a lovely stepped ridge in them. This may well mean that the frame is u/s as it is ally. This is the second expensive bike where the owner has continued to ride with this sort of problem and it can cost dear. PLEASE do not ride if the cranks have any wobble in them - it will not go away AND it will get worse and cost more the longer you leave it.
Another had 'a creaky headset' - I am not surprised it creaked. The steering was stiff and notchy and grating which is never a good sign. When the forks were taken (rather hammered) out the bearing races fell to pieces. Instead of just new bearings ad some grease - we are now looking at a replacement headset!!!

Dangerous!

Bike in today - mtb front wheel felt a bit loose so went to tighten up q/r. Found that someone had obviously lost the screw end so had cobbled it together - the lever of the q/r was directly against the dropout on one side - the rubber 'knuckle part was on the otehr side and the whole thing held in place by a tiny alloy wingnut. The wheel could never have been tightened up properly and would probably have come out on the first bump. Fortunately no damaged to the drop out - but the q/r lever end was badly damaged so had to be replaced. This was a very dangerous set-up! I assume the same person was responsible for the cobbled together B screw at the derailleur end too!!!

Too busy to blog!

It has been very hectic in the workshop recently. The glorious weather before Easter had everyone getting their bikes out and wanting them fixed ready for the holiday. Lots of folk getting very old bikes out of sheds too and I am always amazed at what folk will spend on geting them fixed up even when we say it isn't worth it. We will fix them but don't expect miracles!
We saw an expensive mistake last week - we had to replace almost new hydraulic brakes as somebody used the wrong fuid in them - and being Shimano they were not serviceable. If you are having a go at doing these by yourself please at least read the manual and check the type of fluid - there are only two types - mineral oil and DOT 4/5.1. Mixing the two is a complete no-no. Other erroneous substances will not do any good either - don' try and save money by using Mum's cooking oil!
We have had lots of kid's bikes in recently too and many of them are in a poor state of repair. Please get them serviced - they need the same treatment as an adult bike - if not more so as most kids are pretty tough on bikes - after all it is their safety at stake.