Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

Hey, a proper half link is great on a bmx. I assume keeping the pegs and bash guard means the rider is going to make use of them. A good half link chain takes a beating better than a standard one

They just wear everything weird and faster, maybe they're better for grinding on.

where should my mate get his snapped ti frame rewelded, is it worth it (if the frame was a grand) and will it last?

I'd ask Ted James for advice.

And then bin it when TJ answers no to the last questions

Hey guys,

I just purchased a used Holdsworth Mystique frame. I was examining the BB and I noticed there is a crack on the drive side.
It appears to be a threaded aluminium shell bonded into the frame.
I'm not sure if it is just the paint or filler around the shell that has cracked, or if there is an issue with the whole shell/BB.
The shell protrudes out maybe a mm or 2, and the area around the crack feels a little bumpy/lumpy; on the non-drive side the area is smooth and uniform.

Any advice?

*sorry the photos are so large. I can only seem to make them massive or tiny.

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I've had a carbon frame with this. Personally I think it's fine.
Carbon and the adhesive that's used to bond it to the alloy BB shell are a little flexible and the shell is not, nor is paint.

Enigma did an amazing job on my moots. Replaced the downtube and refinished the frame for just under £500 last year. So not cheap, but worth it for that frame ime.

thanks you three! can i ask about the carbon crack too? i have the same cracks in paint where the dropout moulding meets the bottom of the seat stay, on both stays. it freaked me out tbh, i bought a new frame and Tredz agreed it was a problem (though i missed the warranty)

I am absolutely not a carbon expert but I think anywhere you have two dissimilar materials meeting like this you have to take a more relaxed view of cracking.

At work we have replaced quite a few of the alpina track forks on the fire bikes as they’ve cracked at that bit where the ali crown meets the carbon leg. I’m pretty sure a certain member of staff has ‘disposed’ of all the cracked forks and they have led full and fruitful lives on street fixies and those cracks have never gone anywhere and some of those forks must have going on ten years on the street now.

Saying that I just sent back a fork on a Merlin malt that had cracks in a similar place, gave the legs a wiggle before packing and they moved a fair bit, don't think I'd ride those.

yeah i’m going to dismantle and give it a wiggle, plus nick some of the paint off to see where the crack goes. thanks

Limit Fab in Norfolk.

Had a btwin made in France composite frame that customer got warranty on, I made it into a commuter road bike for a mate (hard to find smaller franes) and it did at least 5 years until a van smushed it at a Sheffield stand. Had similar slightly maybe a bit worse cracking of paint around alloy bb shell where it was bonded into the rest on both sides. Don't remember it making any noises.

can I use a campag 11 speed mech on a campag 10 speed cassette with a 10 speed shifter? I.e. are the cable pull ratios the same?

does anyone know if there are hub dimensions online for VIA rear and front iso disc hubs?
or if anyone knows the dimensions?
Cheers

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How does it go in the stand?

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Are you building wheels?

If so, don’t trust anyone’s measurements but your own.

Put it in the sea instead?

yes i am, i thought they'd be some factory specs and ifo on an official website but i cant find any information at all about VIA hubs.

Time to get the callipers out again

Manufacturers are the worst for measurements, if they do supply them they are never right!

Even with sites like SJS that say they've measured stuff themselves I don't trust it. You can see them discussing discrepancies with manufacturer spec in the Q&A on this rim, https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/rims-tape/sun-cr18-16-x-1-38-349-abt-alloy-rim-silver-36-hole/ - yet I measured the rim myself and got a different result, which I then used to calculate spoke length and the wheel built up perfectly, proving their measurement was wrong.

I think items get revised or the machinery that's making it gets adjusted or the actual manufacturer changes so frequently that measuring stuff yourself is the only way to be sure.

That makes a lot of sense, Thank you!!
In the Calliper I trust.
I think I will check the weight of the hubs when i get them too, I have found the weight is always off nearly 50-100grams from manufacturers claims.

I still don't know where VIA hubs have come from, where they are made or anything.

I've used them before and thought they were v nice hubs. Think I've seen VIA stamped on a few shimano parts in the past?

Nice sealed bearings, 7075 cassette body, they are very very nice.
Ive been researching since Monday and I cant find legit nothing.
I found this from 2013 https://bicycleambulance.com/via-hubs/
But it don't list much info. The info on there is similar or same to retailers pages.

WHO MAKES THESE GODDAMN hahahah