Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

I do everything on all my bikes. Always rather buy the tool and do the job myself...etc.
BUT, this is a skill that I dont think I'd use very often, and given how critical it is, I'd rather not have a crack at it. Thanks for the tip on Condor!

I can also tell you where to get your punctured tubs repaired, when that happens!

It's pretty hard to get wrong, it's all made to go together. It is, however, a pain in the arse, so I don't blame you for getting someone else to do it. Thankfully I've never been asked to repair a tub.

Where should I take tubular wheels to be glued? Preferably east, central is OK.

Do you use the velodrome?

One of the coaches up here does them for people and he's definitely doing them considerably more often than anyone in any bike shop and therefor making a far better job of it.

This. I do tub's very occasionally, maybe 10 or 15 sets a year? But the best person to do them is the person who constantly has glue on their hands, its a skill that few people still have.

Any chance I can make a 700x35C inner tube work with a 635 wheel? Tyre says 635x40.

That's pretty close, should be alright.

Cheers, will give it a go.

Whats a more accurate way to get chain length correct?

When I built my bike up I used the Parktool Video below, good result in terms of feel and function on a brand new drive train.

Just replaced the chain and had used the calculator out of curiosity and its gave me a slightly shorter length which I decided to use. First ride felt a bit shit, a bit noisy, shifting normally. Could be chain settling on slightly worn drivetrain?

https://www.omnicalculator.com/sports/chain-length#how-do-we-calculate-bicycle-chain-length-bike-chain-size-formula

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O0YibMDWBAw

The London Cycle Workshop too (or at least the Mortlake one) and Look Mum No Hands I believe also do this.

However -
https://www.effettomariposa.eu/products/carogna-double-sided-tubular-gluing-tape

this is amazing, and very easy to fit

Never mind. I tried to shift into big/big and it shat itself. Changed the chain, will use shorter one on a different bike.

Hey all, any recommendations for welders in East/North/Central London?

The bar bracket on my basket snapped clean, I think from over tightening of the bolt, and seems like a shame to just get a new basket for such a small problem. Have tried a few metalwork shops and have been turned away somewhat understandably.

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might be wrong but I think those brackets are alu so might be hard to find someone to weld it back. Test it with a magnet. Plus the break goes through the hole you need to use

Luckily not alu, so should be doable to weld?
It's for my 'pub bike', so just needs to be mildly functional

Are they chromed / galvanised or something? Welders prob won’t want to touch as I believe heating that shit up generates nasty chemicals into the air.

Prob easiest to bodge a new bracket too

Good points, thanks to you and @fredtc for the advice.

Much easier to make a new bracket.

Anyone able to point me in the direction of a good article to help me understand suspension correction and putting a rigid fork on a formerly suspension MTB? Or is the answer always sheldon brown?

Does it need an article? It's just using a fork that's long enough to account for the length of the suspension fork the frame was designed around.

...after having been compressed by a human sitting on the bike.

Question.
Right hand Campy Record 10 speed lever no longer makes a clicking sound when changing down. It still “works” but feels spongy.

Grease might be gumming up a bit, proper way to fix it would be to carefully look inside, clean and regrease with the correct grease, but you'll probably be fine spraying a bit of GT85 in there and shifting up and down a bit too loosen stuff up, if nothing else it'll confirm that was actually the problem.

I suspect that the tip of the thumb-actuated shifter button is worn.

This happened on my 10-speed RH Centaur shifter.

Eventually I had to replace the whole unit, less the brake lever.

I've had success spraying the inside with electrical contact cleaner, which dissolves the grease, then using silicone release spray as the lubricant.

Could also be a broken g spring.

It's actually relatively easy to strip one down, open it up to take a look. The second video below is assembly only, but I use both, as one shows some processes clearer than the other, and vice-versa.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6OocYpHXJ3Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSAnAmBXYSY