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Moan - Constant maintenance

55 posts & 34 voices | Started 7 months ago by st colin | Latest reply from toppers3933

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st colin - Member

Hi all,

I'm fed up. I'm sick of constantly having gears that jumps, brakes that rub and a headset that creaks.

I'll start with the first one. XTR rear mech, XT shifters. Once adjusted, it last about 2 rides and then it skips in most gears. Limits always seem out, tension is always out.

Brakes. 2008 Deore LX's. Bled every year, pads changed when required. Pretty much every other ride the front or rear drags/rubs. I re-centre the calipers, same thing happens a few days later.

I'm not even going to bother going on about the headset.

Think i'll get the bus....

Posted 7 months ago #
TooTall - Member

Learn to spanner properly.

Or get a scooter.

Posted 7 months ago #
TurnerGuy - Member

Get some better cables for one thing.

I had two sets of annoying hydro brakes, now on BB7s with Gore Rideon cables and avid ultimate levers - bliss.

not sure about the headset though - it is not a Chris King is it?

Posted 7 months ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

My singlespeed has a Cane Creek Headset smothered in grease, hope mini brakes, shimano hubs, shimano BB and race face cranks, and singlspeed.

Untill this weekend it hadn't been maintained in 18 months except to change the forks when the damper and spring blew up. Not evena new brake pads. Just stripped it to sell the frame and parts to fund the next singlespeed!

[edit] it had a new chain because I actualy lost the original one!

Posted 7 months ago #
bigyinn - Member

0/10.
Go to room 38dd after classes today and re-take Rant 101 lecture course. Come back and see me when you're able to do it properly.

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

Learn to spanner properly? Other than follow the manual and use my brain, things never seem right. Silcky smooth XTR shifting my arse!

Headset is a Cane Creek integrated one.

Posted 7 months ago #
phutphutend - Member

Is it not all part of the fun?

Other than spending money to replace worn and wobbly bits, the tinkering is all part of the experience. Especially when it's cold, dark and wet and riding doesn't seem like it's gonna be fun anyway!

Posted 7 months ago #
grum - Member

Pretty much every other ride the front or rear drags/rubs.

Is it actually bad enough for you to notice while riding? I think you are just fretting too much TBH.

With the gears, you do know you can tweak it with the barrel adjusters? It's hardly that much of an ordeal is it?

Posted 7 months ago #
thomthumb - Member

park blue book

buy this.

my 08 deores are bang on and have 1000s of miles in them.

Posted 7 months ago #
amedias - Member

I re-centre the calipers

now, being picky here... do you mean that over time the caliper drifts so that it is not centred over the *rotor*?
or do you mean that over time the pistons stop retracting evenly so that the rotor is not central between the *pads*

Because those are two distinctly different problems. If the calliper is physically drifting then something is not right in a big way.

If the pistons are not retracting/moving evenly, and then you adjust the calliper to get the rotor back in the middle of the pads you will be making the problem worse as you'll be deliberately mis-aligning the calliper to compensate.

If the issue is un-even piston movement/retraction then fix that, don't just keep moving the calliper around, the calliper should always be central over the disk and the pistons should move and retract evenly.

Posted 7 months ago #
foxyrider - Member

All part of biking!

Sounds like you either need to replace worn parts or you need to practice fettling more?

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

Don't get me wrong, I enjoy the maintenance and the tinkering side.

But seriously, today for example. Front breaking squealing on the commute to work. Loud enough that pedestriains were giving me funny looks. Get to work, flip bike over, a normal spin of the wheel stops it in about half a rotation. I know for a fact i'll adjust it today and it'll be back tomorrow. I'm sorry, but I shouldn't have to adjust brakes a couple of times a week ffs.

Yes, I've made minor adjustments via the barrel, it sorts about 2 gears, the rest end up being out by more.

Posted 7 months ago #
wwaswas - Member

it does sound like a sticky piston, tbh.

gears - if it really is that hit and miss there must be an alignment issue somewhere.

Posted 7 months ago #
foxyrider - Member

it sorts about 2 gears, the rest end up being out by more.

Really doesn't sound indexed properly - I'd loosen the cable, index down and start from scratch myself unless the mech hanger is bent?

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

If the issue is un-even piston movement/retraction then fix that, don't just keep moving the calliper around, the calliper should always be central over the disk and the pistons should move and retract evenly.

Totally correct, I agree. I've had constant problems with the pistons not retracting evenly, pretty much after 1 year of use. They get cleaned regularly, but the problem always returns. I know that re-centering the caliper is wrong, but it's a short term fix when I'm at work/out riding.

Posted 7 months ago #
v8ninety - Member

My Hayes nines haven't needed so much as a bleed in six years, still strong, not draggy and excellent modulation. But they're not fashionable...

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

P.S. Rear mech hanger is fine. Indexing is out AGAIN. I'm basically down to about 3 gears together in the range that I can shift between without it jumping. New gear cables fitted quite a few months ago along with my SLX double and a new cassette and chain.

Posted 7 months ago #
xiphon - Member

Sounds like someone needs a bicycle maintenance course for Christmas!

... or just take it to your LBS...

Posted 7 months ago #
D0NK - Member

Sounds like a sticky piston and gunged up gear cables (or bent mech hanger) all should be easy enough to sort.

Posted 7 months ago #
thisisnotaspoon - Member

Yes, I've made minor adjustments via the barrel, it sorts about 2 gears, the rest end up being out by more

textbook bent mech hanger symptoms.

Get a hanger straightner and a new hanger.

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

Gear cables are mudlovers, so not gunked up at all.

Posted 7 months ago #
foxyrider - Member

A bent mech manger is often not noticeable St Colin. I presume you are also not using a mixture of SRAM and Shimano? Also the shift ratios can be messed up by not clamping the rear cable properly i.e. straight through the guide.

Posted 7 months ago #
stumpy01 - Member

st colin - Member
Gear cables are mudlovers, so not gunked up at all.

mud lovers, with the internal sleeve? I had them and they were cak. I persevered with them for about 6 months and then just got rid.
They were never that great when they were working well, but the liner kept slipping from the shifter down into the cable, causing it to bind.

The gear issue you are having is not a maintenance problem. Once set-up, you should be able to leave them for months without fiddling, so either something is out of alignment, overly worn or gunked up.

Brakes - it sounds like you need to do a bit more digging to work out what is wrong. Constantly re-adjusting them obviously isn't working.
If one piston is binding, then you should still be able to get them set-up so they don't rub excessively. Even if you end up with the caliper not centred, but biased over to one side.

Posted 7 months ago #
the00 - Member

sram gears might be better with a 1:1 actuation ratio. Worked for me.

Posted 7 months ago #
vorlich - Member

My Hayes nines haven't needed so much as a bleed in six years, still strong, not draggy and excellent modulation. But they're not fashionable...

I took a similar approach to maintaining my Hayes Nines, the pistons seized and crumbled and the caliper bolts seized too, so I couldn't strip them down.

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

Yes, mudlovers with the sleeves. I bought them because I thought that standard cables getting gunked (depsite regular cleaning) was giving me the shifting issues.

Oh, and all Shimano apart from the SRAM cassette.

Posted 7 months ago #
ljs1977 - Member

Brakes = sticky pistons

Gears = follow this to the letter!

Park tool

Posted 7 months ago #
nedrapier - Member

Thumbshifters on friction for the no-maintenance win!

12 years and still going strong. The rear shifter's been 7 speed, 8 speed and 9 speed. Friction on the front means you can trim to suit and stop rubbing at eitehr end of the block. There's a little bit of play in the rear lever unfortunately, but the friction bit stays exactly where it's put.

Edit: Or singlespeed!

Posted 7 months ago #
stumpy01 - Member

st colin - Member
Yes, mudlovers with the sleeves. I bought them because I thought that standard cables getting gunked (depsite regular cleaning) was giving me the shifting issues.

Have you checked the shifter end to make sure the liner isn't on the move? The flange that stops it getting pulled down into the outer was too small on mine. Even after trying to increase the size of the flange, it would still disappear down the cable.

Posted 7 months ago #
TurnerGuy - Member

My Hayes nines haven't needed so much as a bleed in six years

My Hayes 9 were the worst for sticky pistons, the same for a mate who had them, and the mech in the LBS I talked to also hated them.

They were the 2004 version - I think that was a bad year.

My BB7s are miles better anyway.

Posted 7 months ago #
bigthunder - Member

Take it to a decent repair shop - not one that sells bikes just one that does repairs. See if they can sort it out and start your own repairs/maintenance when its running nice. A full strip down service will be about 80 quid.

Posted 7 months ago #
st colin - Member

Thanks for all the replies so far.

It's just very frustrating for me. I will re-adjust the gears again and see how I get on. I'm tired of cleaning the pistons. Popping them out to clean them fully means a re-bleed.

Posted 7 months ago #
amedias - Member

Also, in case you haven't already checked, check the mech over for sloppy pivots, in the parallelogram and on the cage, often gives same symptoms as bent hanger or incorrect tension due to flex/bend in the mech when it should be pulling the chain over the cassette instead.

I have had problems with Shimano brakes and sticky pistons before, but that was with older deore callipers, in the end I just got shot of them.

Two of my riding buddies use current SLX brakes and they don't get problems with drag, but they do always wear out one pad (I forget if it's left or right) before the other which suggests they have uneven piston movement problems.

Matt

Posted 7 months ago #
no_eyed_deer - Member

--------------------ARRRRGGGGGGHHHHH-------------------

DON'T DO IT MR Colin!!!!

I tried this approach once, when I was having gremlins. Perhaps looking for a bit of STW sympathy, or shared common experience of woes.

The borderline-Aspergic hordes of STW will not let that happen.

OH NO.

You've had the same experience as me.

Queue a billion people giving 'useless' 'advice', basically trying to tell you how it's done, and have a pop by telling you that you are a TW-@ at the same time.

I feel your pain, dude.. :-/

Posted 7 months ago #
slimjim78 - Member

SINGLESPEED!!!!

totally agree with the BB7 comment above too, if you want hassle free.

I do have sympathy with OP though, I can fix just about anything on a bike and have the tools to do so but it takes so much time to get a bike dialled in properly and keep it there.

Never looked back since going dedicated s/s earlier this year. Plus im fitter. Bliss.
Got 81 gears in the garage not doing anything!

Posted 7 months ago #