Big Star

I read somewhere once that wherever you think the creak is coming from, look somewhere else…

Check if the bearing you take out is 6mm or 7mm deep. If it’s 6mm a standard 6805 (7mm) won’t fit correctly and the plastic “top hats” will stick out.

I thought this was going to be a thread about GT85..

..and wheels.. where does the cost of an expensive (say £400 upwards) set of wheels come from exactly?

The parts certainly seem expensive to me.

What’s the RRP on an XTR crankset – £450 odd? Bargain!

£20 for a chain?
Cassettes – £35-50?

And to think it all gets shagged from being ridden in mud…

Mech hanger definitely.

The reason being it’s the one bit of the bike your mates are unlikely to have a suitable replacement for, and even a bike shop is unlikely to have one. Could seriously ruin a trip. They don’t weigh much, so order one and keep it in your pack!

😀

The pros are a lot nearer 6W/kg…

.. but are they happy? 🙄

Thanks- i’ll try another o-ring.

Any thoughts on pumping a bit of grease down there while I’m at it?

When the rebound pushrod enters the stanchion, it displaces some oil, this is what the swiss-cheese part acts on.

Eurika!! Now I see!! Thank you!
So it follows the volume of oil transferred through the mo-co port = the volume of the piston rod.

So to allow this to happen, I guess the air sitting in the top of the mo-co either compresses or gets pushed out and sucked back in again.

I read somewhere that apparently a lot of motion control units “leak air” (and oil)

To me, it sounds like mine is farting air out the top (for want of a better way of putting it 🙂 )

Is this supposed to be happening, or should that little bit of air be contained/compressed?

I thought the ports on the piston did the rebound damping and the port on the mo-co did the compression damping.

On the compression stroke, does the oil go through the ports on the piston AND the port in the mo-co.

Otherwise I can’t see how the piston would move at all.

Is there any air in the equation?

Ok, I’ve read that, and sorry for being thick, but I don’t quite get what’s going on with the oil in the damper?

If anyone else isn’t down the pub, could they explain it over a virtual pint (my round)?!

Great – thanks!

god, i feel sick………….

Speed wasn’t my friend in this case, as hit the deck about 14-15 mph, but my lid certainly WAS my friend otherwise it would have been a far worse story as the side of my head took a big wack.

So remember kids – wear your crash helmet!!

cheers guys. what troubles me, is how do the two sections of broken bone know how to align themselves to bond back together? probably best not to think about it…

I still can’t believe it happened…. sob…

Yes these are the dual chamber air jobbies. I tried deflating the forks, and even deflated I am getting the same short travel.

So thanks for the replies chaps – good suggestions. It sounds like I’d better investigate further.

Just after I fitted them, I thought "I wonder if I should pop the seals and add some extra grease.." Never mind..

They certainly perform better than the rounded off squeeking ones they replaced! Let's see how long they last.

Jockey wheels are the sort of thing I can't bring myself so spend lots of money on.

I can confirm that the tool is fantastic – 7 quid well spent (the one I bought was made by silver line, and came from Amazon, of all places…)

I don't think you can, as far as I know. I had this trouble after shortening the hoses, and found that bleeding sorted it out.

I don't like stuffing anything non-squashy in the back pockets of riding jerseys in case I go flying and land on it – ouch!

I've ordered "the tool", so I'll let you know how I get on with that, but I like the claw hammer idea (something to protect the plaster from being marked by the hammer might be in order though).

Thanks for all your input 🙂

I saw the setting tool, but couldn't see / find out quite what it does. Maybe that's the answer? Anyone have any info on these things?

I've got a feeling that putting the bolt through something (like a metal bar or a bit of wood with a hole in it) before tightening would stop the rotational force from the screw head being applied straight into the plug outer itself. Hard to explain, but I think that might help…

I have the small I-beam Park one, though seems a lot of money for what you get. Ebay have some cheap I-beam ones – I thought about getting a bigger torque range one, anyone tried these?

I saw a kaesae youtube video about removing a pro 2 freehub using 2 pence pieces, which I did myself once. I thought it was quite a cunning trick!

To clarify what I mean by "smooth", I mean turning the bearing in my fingers, feeling for graunchiness/lumpyness.. I'm not referring to the effort required to turn the bearing.

What happened to kaesae then, he was some kind of bearing master so I gather?

I've started expermimenting with this.

I took a brand new (cheap) BB bearing and packed it full of grease. Before I touched it, it ran 100% smoothly. After I'd popped the seals and packed with grease it was not so smooth (say 90%).

So I'm not sure if I have a net gain or not.. It isn't as smooth, but maybe the longevity will be improved?

And I'm not sure if it was the addition of the grease which has caused the drop in smoothness, or the action of removing and reseating the seals.

I know where you're coming from. The way I (try to) look at it is that there are ALWAYS faster people, so rather than depressing myself comparing my times with the fast guys, I just try and see how I've done compared with before, and if it's better, great.

And if you enjoy it anyway, who cares.

I got into homebrewing quite seriously when I was a student (some years ago now…)

The "secret" I found was to avoid dried yeast, and source a live yeast, possibly from a local micro brewery, or it is possible to propagate the yeast from a bottle conditioned beer.

Possibly a bit much effort for your first go though.

Update – now they have dried they seem secure enough without hairspray, which should mean replacing them should be nice and easy.

are foam grips really that good?

Well I don't know how long they'll last, or what they'll be like in the winter when they're wet, but I really like them so far.

what ones did you go for

I got the Ritchey grips for my 456 which I was really pleased with, so I bought some cheaper superstar ones for the bike with the child seat on.

Today I removed the ones I put on with washing up liquid, washed them off and put them back on using a "special method" of putting a cable tie under the grip as you push it on (with midly soapy water). It seems to stop the grip sticking as you push it on. Then when in place pull the cable tie out. I read something somewhere about using 4 cable ties, but I found just 1 did the trick.

As an aside, I would recommend watching the hope BB installation video on youtube (even if you have Shimano, it's worth watching)

hope BB installation

He emphasises how the preload cap should not be overtightened, which was an eye opener for me. Also make sure you have undone the pinch bolts on the crank arm when trying to get the preload cap out!

A good pair of wire cutters for cleanly cutting gear cables springs to mind. I splashed out for the Park Tools ones, but at today's prices I think I'd possibly opt for something cheaper, though I'm happy to be corrected if this would be a false ecomomy 🙂

Umm.. External bottom bracket tool pretty essential. Chain whip and cassette lockring tool pretty essential.

I also found a magnetic parts bowl to be surprisingly handy. That's a good one to get as a birthday present 🙂

Oh, that's four things I've said…

New seal arrived today, and popped in nicely first time.

Note to self: next time I order a new set of pro 2 bearings, get a new drive side seal too.

I now feel a bit more like a proper biker having rebuilt a pro2 😉

Thanks!

Judging by this photo, you're right. Step side towards the ratchet:

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=25986

Ok thanks, so the way I'd concluded was wrong (I tried both ways). I think I'm going to order a new seal and try that. Perhaps my one is too shagged to fit properly.

Thanks for your help.

Clamping in the vice and pulling upwards did the trick. I tried "walking" the caps off as recommended elsewhere but that didn't work too well. An almighty yank did the trick.

Getting the freehub off was another story. It certainly didn't just pop off like on the Hope video!! I did the 2 pence piece trick as seen on youtube. I would add if anyone tries this to LEAVE THE CASSETTE ON. Otherwise when you try and undo the lockring you'll have nothing to grab onto to stop the freehub spinning. I learnt this the hard way..

Thanks, yes I do have a vice – I was thinking that would squash/deform the cap? I'll try then, with some bits of protective rubber.

Apparently there's one in Woodley nr Reading if that's any good, but I can't find it on http://www.yell.co.uk.. But a couple of others cropped up:

Rotary Motion
Monks Mead House, Bath Rd, Hare Hatch, Reading, Berkshire RG10 9SA, 0118 989 0000

Brammer UK Ltd
Unit 11-12, The Micro Centre, Gillette Way, Reading, Berkshire RG2 0LR, 0118 987 4222