Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

A spoke key will do enough of a better job than an adjustable wrench and make the job easier by enough to justify the small outlay.

looks like the nipple has snapped the shoulder - that generally happens if the spoke is too short

That's not a definite diagnosis btw, just looks a bit like it from the picture and I wrongly assumed you'd have some nipples and a spoke key somewhere.

@snottyotter totally fair assumption, unfortunately I don't.
@carson thanks for the alternative diagnosis
@M_V thanks for your advice too!

I think next step is taking it past my LBS and seeing what they say, thanks again for all your help.

Agree but also, it looks to me like an ali nipple so could easily be corrosion or just that ali nipples are keech and not worth the weight saving imo.

Also looks like there's some spoke poking out the top of what's left of the nipple but it could just have rattled down the thread a bit.

@snottyotter's suggestion is a good one - for what you'd pay a bike shop to fix it you can easily buy a pack of nipples (NB you'll need to match the length) and a spoke wrench and do it yourself.
it's as simple as remove tyre, tube and rim tape; bit of grease on the spoke threads and inset through rim into nipple then tension.
without a tensionmeter you won't know the exact ideal tensions in the wheel but by sound and the trueness of the wheel you'll get close.
if it, or another nipple snaps at the shoulder you've got a problem with the build and i'd take it to a wheel builder to sort out.

Anyone know who if any shops have Ultegra Di2 hydro groupsets at the moment? I am building up two Ti frames this month and both are Ultegra groups, if possible

Madison are out, Merlin are out....who shall I try?

also not at wiggle, CRC or Bike 24

Probikekit have the components in stock, but only 11 speed.

Have a SRAM S300 crank set moved to a new bike and since then can't keep it from coming loose every 10km. All washers etc are in place, greased contact points, tried loctite on bolt and tightening up with a long Allen key as much as I can.

Does it sound like I am missing something obvious?

About to fit a pair of new old cranks square taper cranks, and they are juuust touching the chainstays when pushed in by hand before tightening. I clearly need a wider bottom bracket.

Currently Shimano fitted a UN55 68mm 110mm, how much wider should i go to be "safe" while still keep it reasonably tight?

It is a 90s steel mtb frame, so there is probably some "frame flex" to take in account as well.

Slightly depends on what size chainrings you'll be using, and what clearance they need on the chainstay. Might end up being an 'estimate, buy a couple, sell on the ones you don't need' situation.

Yes, it´s probably too many "depends" to make a calculated buy. :)
Ended up ordering a Shimano 122mm wide one at Amazon for pennies, should fit for sure and could always get a narrower one when (if) it gets crusty.

My crank arms miss my chainstays by about 3mm on each side but have never made contact. I don’t know how ‘flexible’ a frame would have to be for this to become a problem…

Does anyone know where I can get 1l of Shimano mineral oil in London?

Hey all,

I have a thomson elite seatpost, and an ergon sf evo saddle…
The clamp of the seatpost is clamping closed on the front, but not on the rear of clamp, where there are a few mm of space between the rail and the clamp above, and below. Meaning that the saddle can flex at the rear and if you push on it you can see, from the rear, the rails move down towards the lower plate of the clamp.
Any idea what might be going on?
All clamp pieces are facing the right direction (front)… and as far as I am aware this was not happening on my previous seatpost (not a thomson elite). I don’t have another saddle that I can test to see if it’s the rails or the seatpost, but as the rails seem like they are centred in the clamp - it makes me think it’s the seatpost clamp that for some reason wants to tension at the front more than the rear, even if I tighten the front and rear bolts in small increments..
I can’t understand why this might be happening. Any ideas anyone?
I can buy a new clamp on the web, or try it with a different saddle… but wanted to ask if anyone has ever seen this before? Can’t find anything online.

Thank you very much.

Are the threads on the rear of the clamp stripped? Might be that tensioning by hand it holds but under weight the bolt pulls through…?

Thanks @carson, rear bolt still feels very tight though, so it’s not as if it’s loosing it’s tension. Threads seemed fine when I checked them earlier today..

can you take a picture? might help figure out what's going on

Thanks for your help. Was hard to take photos of it. Rail seems to be clamped until around halfway down the clamp section and then the gap widens towards the rear, at the minute it’s probably 1-2mm gap top and bottom of the rail at the rear

3 Attachments

Second photo is from the front

Also tried having the saddle centred on the clamp guide on the rails, and now as you can see, all the way towards the front of the clamp guide, but no difference made

Second hand?

Yes

with the front bolt loose, can you tighten the rear bolt so the clamp is firm on the rails?