Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

How precious are the frame & crank?

I’d stomp on it & see what happens. If it rubs, file the third-ring flanges and/or crimp the stay.

Neither is super precious, although the cranks are the un-preciousest. I’ll give them a file down. I have actually ridden it like this - kind of didn’t notice how close it was when I built it up.

Just received a Cotic FlareMax from a mate, who previously had Eagle AXS installed on it. Frame has a Nukeproof Horizon DUB BB.
Now, I'm installing the same groupset but a different crankset (still DUB obviously) but I cannot get it to spin smoothly. Bearings feel fine without spindle in, but with everything installed and done up, 4.5mm spacer on DS and preload set to remove play, it feels fucked.

As I understand, the Nukeproof bearings are replaceable, so could it be they're not seated in the cups properly? Any other ideas welcome

Bleeding a Shimano st-rs785 and finding the fluid blocking and building up at the reservoir (part in red in below image).

What do you mean by blocking?

It’s not unusual to get a drop or two of excess fluid in the reservoir when doing a bottom-up bleed. It looks like the liquid is nearly spilling out of the bleed port hole. This causes the pads and pistons to be impossible to separate enough to run the rotor through without rubbing. If that sounds like what you’ve got, quickly dab the corner of an absorbent lint free cloth or paper towel on the port hole, and that should be enough. In theory the bleed port screw shouldn’t be pushing down on any excess liquid, it should just be sealing the port.

Would anyone here help with an insurance claim?

Housemate's bike got Indra'd while locked up in Highgate. No idea how it happened, looks like someone has attacked it (maliciously or maybe just carelessly).

The insurance company need a "written statement" from a bike shop to state that it's a write-off. I've never worked in a UK shop so I don't think I can write it in my name. But I can write the email text if someone would be kind enough to copy, paste and send it back to us. And I'll make a forum donation in your honour.

Aye up spanner folk. What big capacity brake callipers are there? 40c minimum and shiz.

Tektro or will I have to go proper anorak stuff?

How deep a drop do you need?

Weinmann/Paul Racer style is least flexy design in my limited experience.

No fluid flows through the lever from the cup/syringe even with the hoses all disconnected.

The fluid starts to seep from below the reservoir cover as I gradually loosen it off.

They don’t need to drop enormously, but wide enough. Racers do look good.

Where the hell can I find 29x40x6.8mm bearings for a Dub bottom bracket? It's for a Nukeproof Horizon, no bike shop has any in stock, and Wych and the likes don't seem to stock that size

I believe they're a SRAM proprietary size so I suspect you'll only be able to get them from SRAM. Bloody SRAM.

Have you tried BETD?

Yep, they don't stock any

Ugh.

Friend’s 1sp Cinelli has a ‘wobble’ feeling in the rear wheel when riding. I haven’t been able to isolate the issue or the circumstances, but it’s mainly when free-wheeling and it feels like the wheel were shaped like a wavy washer instead of a circle. Any ideas?

Hub and bearings are good;
axle isn’t bent;
locknuts are tight;
frame isn’t cracked,
clincher tyre is seated and inflated properly;
rim is straight and aligned in the dropouts.

Only thing I can think of is the spoke tension, but I don’t have a measuring tool for them and they all feel/sound ok.

Anyone know anyone who has the cutting tool for creating a 45 deg. chamfer / angle to the inside of a bb so as I can fit my Mavic bb? Apparently there is such a tool, along with a tooth fairy and sunlit uplands.

It does, I beheld it with my own two eyes, it wasn’t in this country, and it was inside a barn in the middle of nowhere.
Not even joking.

Have you tried swapping the wheel(s) out anyway to see if it sorts it?

If it’s not the wheels might be worth checking frame alignment

:(
My LBS suggested I use a file. They clearly haven’t seen my skills with hand tools. The state of the skirting boards I fitted, the chamfered internal corners look like they were filed by a dog chewing them.

Have you tried swapping the wheel(s) out anyway to see if it sorts it?

If it’s not the wheels might be worth checking frame alignment

Have not as I didn’t have one handy. Guess that will be our first port of call. Also don’t have a frame gauge but will figure something out if it comes to it, lbs has a couple weeks’ waiting list. Cheers for the reply.

If you have any fine string, fishing line or even thread you can check your frame alignment. Tie it on a dropout, loop around the front of the head tube and bring it backwards again to tie on the other dropout. It'll now be passing by the seat tube on both sides, like 55-60mm outboard. Check that this distance from thread to seat tube is equal each side. Sheldon Brown has a guide.

Can you partially dismantle it? I had moderate success in the past just getting out the bladder, cleaning and carefully assembling back together, but it was a different model. Another thing you can try it's blow air in if you have a compressor or an air shot, but save that for a last resort before binning it.

Anything fitted to the wheel like a reflector (or something much cooler) that would add weight to one point on the wheel? I was surprised recently by how much an unbalanced bike wheel can shift its weight around when lifting the bike up and spinning it by hand.

There’s a bike locked outside near Camberwell that I pass sometimes, has fairy lights woven through the spokes of both wheels, with huge fuck off AA battery packs for them gaffer taped near the rims.

Dealing with a bike similar to this one - https://billigcykel.dk/shop/avenue-broadway-sort-6802p.html

Shimano Nexus 7 internal gear hub, and 46T front chain ring. Right now the gearing is too high for the bike's not inconsiderable weight and the lumpy terrain it's used on. What would be the best way to remedy this?

I was looking at a 38T chainring from Shimano, but it appears that maybe you can change the sprocket on the IGH instead? Would that be an easy enough job for the LBS?

I'm also thinking of changing the handlebars to something with a bit more sweep, would that affect things wrt the cable tension on the shifter?