I presume he means looking down on the sprocket, not side on, you’ve got a 1/64 gap each side.

Yes, of course that’s possible, if by ‘bottom of the tooth’ he actually meant the side… :)

If you’re looking from above which side would be the bottom and would it change if you looked from underneath instead?

@woodlikesbikes

A 1/8” chain won’t sit properly on a 3/32” sprocket – you would see daylight between the bottom of the tooth and the chain.

Both chains will be 1/2″ pitch so how exactly does that work?

Of course it works, like my 3/32 sprocket which I ride to work everyday with 1/8 chain. 3/32 on to 1/8 teeth won’t go.

I normally use freespoke http://www.kstoerz.com/freespoke/bench.php?action=add&hubid=1

Or edd https://leonard.io/edd/

I cannot recommend highly enough that you (don’t be lazy and…) check the ERD yourself and also confirm that the hub measurements given are a good match to the one you have before ordering spokes.

Let us know when you’ve tried a zinc coated chain then boss :)

From my experience the coating wears very quickly on those surfaces and although the exterior stays protected the other surfaces don’t.

Zinc is soft. Chrome is much harder. All platings wear away through abrasion.

Takes about a nanosecond for the zinc to wear off the internal surfaces of the chain and the bearing faces of the rollers and the rust is generally seen between the sides of the inner and outer links. Nice idea in theory but not that helpful in practice. The outer surfaces which retain the zinc coating also tend to keep a coating of wax for quite some time, for the same reasons.

A stainless chain on the other hand would be very nice.

What is the issue with using a chainsaw? Why would you do it under the cover of darkness? Is it illegal?

It’s got to be semi fluid so it doesn’t gum up the pawls. AFAIK it didn’t have to be branded

Although I am in no sense an engineer, as a fan of oldish bikes I have had the occasion to be out of my armchair and looking in more than a few rusty bike bearings over the years. Of course their previous owners often maintained them poorly but my experience has been that even many new bearings have very little grease in them. The most recent unpleasant surprise was a little different, a set of enduro max bearings that had a good loading of grease but still rusted within months. Most of my riding these days is commuting and salted roads are a killer. Everything bearing I buy now gets stripped and filled with semi-fluid grease that has lots of corrosion inhibitors and I can tell you that the bearings are not rusty six months later.

If santa cruz or anyone else are filling their bearings with a grease that is suitable for the UK and other rainy places I would applaud them.

@brant

Happy to be corrected with insider knowledge if you’ve got some to share.

Assume you would’ve stated it rather than being snide if you did though…

How many units do you have to order to get a custom fill?

Buy an old ratty bike and lock it up outside?

Self serving bollocks justifying inadequate grease fills?

Load them up with a decent water resistant grease with corrosion inhibitors and solid lubricants, not a 30% fill with high speed bearing grease designed for an electric motor.

https://www.santacruzbicycles.com/en-US/news/347

Q: I’m lazy and lack motivation, what can I do to prolong bearing life?
A: Stop washing your bike so much. We did some experiments with bikes that were washed a lot but ridden infrequently, bikes that were ridden a lot but washed infrequently, and bikes that were both washed and ridden a lot. Guess what? Your bike hates only being washed and not being ridden. This test group had the worst results. They became creaky and not much fun to be around, much like the people who own bikes like that. Don’t get all angry (you know who you are), you can still wash your bike from time to time – and there are those times where it has to be done after every ride. Everything needs more attention during those times. BUT, maybe you should examine your priorities. It’s a mountain bike. You can get dirt on it. It’s OK.

Those pictures indeed all show sufficient engagement.

If the spoke end in the first picture was a mm lower in the nipple it would be insufficient. You can see that the threads would also have just barely disappeared into the nipples if that is the case.

My recipe is (in priority order) and also repeating much of what is already said.

Long mudguards with flaps. SKS bluemels or Tortec have both been good. I avoid chromoplastics though. Do your fellow bike commuters a favour and fit a long rear flap.

Puncture protection layer tyres. I have not liked marathon plus in the past due to the weight and feel. Interested to hear that the most recent ones are improved though. Also quite interested in the continental top contact II winter tyres if in case we do have a cold winter some year or if you live in a colder place more prone to frost.

Pannier rack, front or rear with ortliebs roller classics. I’ve always hated cycling with a rucksack or backpack due to the sweaty back. Also, why would you be faffing around with a dry bag when you can buy waterproof roll-top panniers?

Dynamo lights front and rear bolted to the bike, always on and ready to go.

Cheap and robust gearing. Currently singlespeed or fixed due to living in a flat area. Previously has been a 3 or 8 speed Nexus internal hub gear or 1x.

Waxed chains x3, changed approx monthly during the winter. If I didn’t wax I’d probably fit some type of chain guard.
Battered old steel frame.
I previously had a day one with mechanical discs and found them worse than v-brakes to be honest. I’ll be sticking with Vs or using hydraulic discs in future.

Can’t wait for someone to eat eBay and Paypal’s lunches.

What don’t you try it at 120, then at 170 and see if you notice any difference?

A few points.

I think that capillary action will mean that wax is retained inside the chain rather than flowing out.
It is certainly true that a lower temperature (wax or ambient) means more wax is just on the outside of the chain.

I think that the small amounts of grease or oil are irrelevant to the wax mix. Indeed, homebrew waxers often add some oil or grease to the mix. I suspect that homeopathic amounts of detergent are irrelevant to wax too.

I am not convinced that waxing dirty chains is sensible. Whilst larger heavy particles will fall to the bottom quickly, the smallest ones can stay in suspension for a long time. In fact this is used as a way of separating particles by size. Since most wax mixes contain solid lubricants like graphite, mos2 or PTFE such we want keep in suspension there is a risk that we also have very fine grit suspended. I use plain hot water or hot detergent rinses followed by plain water to remove grit.

Wera hex plus, wiha ergostar or Bondhus.

I bought the wihas, but would spend the extra and get the hex plus if doing over, not that the wihas have let me down, just think the hex plus design is worthwhile to reduce the risk of rounding.

If the suggestion is correct, replacing the spoke with a 1-2mm longer one should resolve your immediate problem.

While you have the tyre and rim tape off you should also investigate the length of the other spokes. The concern would be that others may also be too short and not be sufficiently threaded into the nipples and therefore at risk of failing in the same way.

Slow cooker works fine too if you’ve got one spare or free but takes much longer and you have to fish the chain out out rather than having a basket built in. I’d prefer to have a fryer though.

Did he break any spokes?

Single butted 13/14g (Sapim Strong, DT Alpine) or triple butted 13/15/14 (Force, Alpine III) are the main alternatives to DB but a difficulty then is manipulating the 13g elbows to fit the flanges well. I had to massage alpine IIIs with a soft faced mallet whereas I can press a 14 gauge elbow into shape with my hands.

36H rear would be another obvious option.

Onzadog

Member

From what you describe, you maybe be able to pull it back a bit with tensioning but you’ll not solve it. Sudden and significant change after a noticeable impact sounds more like a bend than a buckle

Indeed. You might need to use some brute force to straighten the rim, then true.

I like my endura fs260s but they’re made in China, not England, if that matters to you.

Had anyone tried the hozan c504?

A good quality bi-metal hacksaw blade will cut hardened steel, although it’ll take a bit of work to do.

If you’re using an angle grinder buy a thin, metal cutting disc (rather than a grinding disc) and wear eye protection.

Can you get some penetrating oil on the frame side of the taper? Have you tried putting the other crank back on and taking it for a careful ride so that pedalling forces loosen it?

Aluminium expands more than steel so that should be very helpful in loosening it too.

Plastic wine cork. Cut a wedge out if too big or whittle with a sharp knife.

I walk my bike into a medium size Tesco when I want a bag of coffee on the way to work in the morning from time to time. 0745, no one says a thing, coffee in the pannier and off I go again. My lock is on the rack at work you see. Some day there may be a bugger who takes issue but as long as I don’t hit one of the staff stocking shelves or the three other customers what’s the problem?

90 quid for a bottom bracket. I think that’s your main problem.

Revolutionary for winter riding imho. Got £10 neoprene ones from China for my drop bar commuter. Far better than they’ve any right to be.

Been toying with the idea of adding a little vent for the milder mornings as they can get a bit sweaty, but better than gloves in that respect any way. Do any have a vented design?

I think Trevor B is right. Accounting for nipple heads ~2mm each by adding 4mm to the ERD would make it 289mm. I would still be tempted to take a couple of 287-8s and 290-1s just in case.

Freespoke suggests 287mm too but that didn’t account for the erd difference @TrevorB mentions. What is LB short for?

https://kstoerz.com/freespoke/?link=1&e=592&hub=238&n=32&xL=3&xR=3

Is it normal for the rim tape to get worn away at the spoke bed like that? How old is it?

How many spokes do you need altogether? You could bring a couple of longer and a couple of shorter ones just in case.

Freespoke tells you the spoke angle at the rim.

Spa are now doing an audax mono which sounds along the lines you are looking for and won’t be too expensive. Haven’t seen pics but assume it will look much like their audax frame but with track ends.

https://www.spacycles.co.uk/m2b0s143p2828/SPA-CYCLES-Steel-Audax-Frame-and-Forks

How much do you weigh and what sort of riding will you do on the bike?

What is the tyre clearance? What tyres are you likely to fit, tubes or tubeless?

Do you prefer cartridge bearings, cup and cone, or are you happy with either?

Do you want very light wheels or aero ones? Based on that and your weight, do you want fewer spokes or more for greater strength?

New only or are used ok?

As suggested above, there are some great 9/10 speed wheels being sold off relatively cheap if you are willing to go used.

I could tell you my answers but I’m not sure it’s particularly helpful as our priorities likely differ. I have a preference for robust easily maintained wheels, so tend to go for mid range Shimano hubs, double butted j bend spokes and brass nipples from DT Swiss or Sapim, more spokes rather than fewer, rims that are likely to still be available in five years if damaged or worn out and so on.

Can you use the greater thermal expansion of aluminium to help, eg by putting the stem in some boiling water or using a hair dryer on it.

Also, get some proper penetrating oil rather than wd40.

Not sure mikes doing much teaching

Whoosh.

I like the sturmey archer s3x sprockets for singlespeeding, paired with a 1/8 chain. Also spreads the load on the freehub a bit better without the expense of a wide foot sprocket.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/sprockets/sturmey-archer-16t-sprocket-18-for-s3x-cp-hsl890/

Why would a pro mechanic use slip joint pliers on anything bike related? Serious question btw. When I was a mechanic(many years ago). They were bodgers tools.

I was curious about that too. Apparently those are Knipex wrench pliers, highly regarded and near ubiquitous. Check these special ones out, machined down to fit cones https://cyclingtips.com/2019/03/knipex-pliers-cone-wrench/

Has anyone tried them?