If they came with your bike, there would have been one somewhere in the box with the instructions/pedals/reflectors etc, or if you bought them new then there would have been one in the box… so maybe ask your lbs where it is..

I do hope you’ve had therapy!

The bike stared at me sullenly from the corner of the garage for months, until I finally found the courage to have another go.. I’d read the manual by that time 🙂 It, and I, made a full recovery.

I was a bit scared of them until I pulled one to bits… but it worked when it was back together so my confidence was boosted. The next thing I tried was a Nexus 8 speed, which left me as a quivering wreck in the corner..! Never, ever take one of those to bits!

Sturmeys are relatively easy really.. You can screw them up by re-adjusting the cones in the wrong order though.

If you measure the distance from the centreline of the bike (centre of the seat tube) to the centreline of the middle chainring, it should be about 47 – 50mm. If it’s more than this then you will need a shorter BB. The instructions with the cranks would have said which axle length is suitable, but you could work it out from how far off the current one is.

I have some 2009 Reba Teams and Reba Races, both set to 120mm.. Strangely they both cost the same from on-one.

The Teams are considerably more stable in braking and when chucking my weight around.. They feel more invisible in use, if that makes sense. They’re a piece of piss to service too. I can’t really compare them to foxes as I’ve never owned a pair.. I preferred the idea of having some forks which are actually sealed.

Currently using a Bontrager Jones 2.35 front and Maxxis Crossmark 2.2 rear on 819s.. I’ve got to have the jones firmer than ideal to stop it rolling around.. This is probably a good thing though, as the sidewalls are fragile and flexible and I wouldn’t want to pinch it. Stiffer UST tyres would probably be fine. They always seat fine first time and only burp at silly pressures – think 15psi..

The rims are 7 years old now and seem to be indestructible.

Damn.. that drop-down menu for “Racing to win?” doesn’t have “Racing to not get lapped 10m from the line this time”.. Guess I was trying too hard!

Paypal is pretty solid, so long as your computer is secure. They pass a token to crc, and not any of your details.

It’s because of sidewall flex.. Lower pressures make the sidewalls flex more, so they are more likely to wear out quicker. Eventually the threads separate. I’ve had a habit of running tubeless tyres at silly pressures, and you can see the threads starting to break apart on old ones. Unless you’re in the habit of running your tyres until they are bald, I wouldn’t worry about it though and run what you want

Never ever use a debit card online. ever.

Cut two slots in the outer side of the remains of the cup, opposite each other. They don’t have to be all the way along, just as deep as possible on the outside edge, at about 30 degrees to the shell. Put a cone spanner tightly in the vice, with just enough showing so you can place the frame on it so that the outside of the cone spanner fits snugly into the slots either side. get one person to hold the frame down on the spanner, and another to turn the frame.. Easy!

Thankyou thepurist!
Will do that. They’ve got some bits turning up in 2 weeks that I want. Hadn’t placed the order yet, and now glad I didn’t!

Cheers again PP!

Makes me wonder why there isn’t a place on-line to share all this info.. Some makes like Specialized give you a datasheet in the manual – bearing sizes, bolt dimensions, torque settings etc. If there was a common place for all this info, then the manufacturers could upload it and give links to their sites and part numbers for any unusual bits. It’s not as if they deliberately keep it secret.

And yes, Kona TC, they should be the same. A King is a Scandium Kikapu..

Would joke at work that I could listen to a bike being ridden past and tell you how much it was going to cost to service…

If I were to have a special power though, I’d rather have a better one than that!

Ah!

Finally a use for that amalgamating tape I bought last year, thinking “I’ll have a use for that one day…”

I agree on the lifespan though.. They are generally very good. This one is 6+ years old and has been to the Alps more than once and is still only a little sloppy.

Mr Poddy,

You are a legend! Will send an email now.

I thought they were wrong, but then I’ve got no idea about how the dimensions are assigned anyway.. If you want I’ll order some extras and chuck them in the post.. They’re always the bit that goes first on those frames.

Coz the new ones have sealed bearings and you can buy the bits to fix them anywhere.. And the important bit on the outside of the bike that it falls over on isn’t made of plastic. 🙂

I’ve got 2 sets of Rebas that need doing:

2 sets of dust seals: £14 each
new bottle of 5wt: £10 (15wt I’ve already got)

Air piston o-rings: ??? I know I need them, but don’t know what size they are until I dismantle a set, measure them, order them, and wait.. I could order the “air piston service kit” from Rock Shox for £20 quid.. But that’s 5 **** nitrile o-rings for twenty **** quid!!! So lets for the sake of ebay call the 2 quid per fork.

So now I’m down 3 hours total (2 for labour, one for ebay), a few days wait for bits, and £21 per fork, and I’ve still not replaced all the damper o-rings that would be done on a retail service.

I’d still do forks myself, but what you get the retail price I think is very fair. Rear shocks are a no-brainer though. They’re too intricate and fiddly and need too many special tools for me to consider doing anything more than an air can service.

I went looking for one for a customer and was told my Madison (the main Shimano importers) that it’s an OEM only product… So you’ll only find it grey import, or on a bike.

Sturmey is better though!

Public transport is very cheap.. A 2 hour long bus ride from Stockholm airport to Bodo island was about 6 quid.
Went there last year to do a week’s sea kayaking. We took almost all out food and booze with us. The most expensive thing was 2 nights out in Stockholm when we’d finished..

no it doesn’t

for similar gearing (descending) big ring (3 ring) and mid cassette gives less chain slappage than middle (2 ring) and lower cassette (and only becomes worse with the long chain length you need for 36T rear sprocket

We’re talking on cross purposes… I was talking about a big ringed 2x setup – 42/28, not a double and bash

TBH, going 2×10 will give you less chainslap anyway, as you’ll just spend more time in the big ring. So if you do hear it then just change up on the front!

You can of course do this on a 3×10, and not have to buy a thing…

I did it on some bontrager tyres – similar thickness to schwalbe ones – with no punctures.
I’d take an opened up toothpaste tube as an emergency tyre boot though.. Works a treat!

We had a load floating around at my old work. Phone Peter Hansfords in Winchester on 01962 877555. It should still be there, and they should have some olives and odd end connectors.

Get a Connex link on it. They’re reusable and much easier to remove. They only go on one way round so read the instructions!

would leaky pistons cause my pads to get contaminated after only a couple of rides?

hehe.. Yes! Put some paper between the pads and pistons, rubber band the brake lever to the bar (with the rotor in place!) and come back after a half hour or to see if the paper has oil on it. You can always get new callipers for cheaps- last years are always available for peanuts!

You just need to take the mechs both off and work some proper degreaser in. They will come free. Try working them in a sink of hot water.
And second the above. Unless the pistons are leaking the brakes can be fixed, and unless the stanchions are scored so can the forks.

Or give the bits to me and go and buy that nice new Whyte…

XT shifters and whatever secondhand mech I can find (with new jockey wheels).
As said.. cables and sleeves are prob the most important bit.

I’ve used a couple of options in the past.. either put the cassette back on and tap it on the back of the spider to drift the freehub body off, or drift the axle through to the non-drive side. The second method will take the NDS hub bearing out though, and you’ll have to protect the axle end by putting an M5 screw it before you tap it.

XTR are quiet and very well sealed.. Super low rolling resistance and you can usually find older ones a little cheaper.
819s are quite heavy but very very strong..

^ as above. 2.1 on the front is about the same size casing as a trailraker 1.95 (which I use on the rear)

That is the permanent solution as they all rattle. The Tech ones deffo won’t fit though.

Is this going to turn into another bromance thread?

all non lock on grips will move, even wire-ons or glued grips.
only recipe for keeping them still is mincing around rather than riding.

hehe.. I use spraymount and tie wire. I’ve never had them slip so I must be mincing.

Lock-ons are deffo for gays though.

hehe.. I answered the same question yesterday..

Do you remember Richard Feynman pointing out what had gone wrong in the Challenger disaster, using a rubber o-ring and a glass of iced water? Well it’s that. But it won’t explode.

If you do the crank cap up tight you’ll just knacker your BB, and the cap will probably snap when your crank comes loose again.

I would try using some loctite 643 on it.. At leastI think it’s 643.. it’s the one for holding studs and bearings in.
Degrease the crap out of everything and get a good smear of loctite on the splines, inside and out.. you want to fill all the gaps. Clean any off the cap end thread and put the cap back in with grease. Only do the cap up thumb tight. Do the pinch bolts up as normal, and then leave it for 24 hours for the glue to fully harden.

I’ve known this to work with some slightly knackered ISIS cranks, so it’s worth a try.

The piston seals will get harder when cold. They’re what controls the return stroke.
It may cause them to rub a bit more, but they’ll always release. I really wouldn’t worry about it.

oops.. email wasn’t set. YGM!

As a singlespeed you’ll probably get change from £3k. His was also an XL BTW.

I think this guy possibly has the lightest geared one:

here, at bikeradar

I built it for him. It’s about 21 pounds and cost about 6 and a half grand… ouch!