Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

borrow what? you lost me...
i think i will try to use clarks i already have on the left hand for the back brake (apparently they are swappable cause i got the left hand one but i am using on the right side)
and i will use the magura on the right hand actuating the front brake and see if it works or if i need to bleed them
if i do need to bleed them its not a problem to reuse the hose and get the correct left hand magura you think ?? (i have both)
thx!

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borrow what?

The expensive bleed kit :)
But maybe you already have it now. I also had a single Magura and used a Sram Level on the right because I couldn't get it to work but my man @chak has sorted them out for me

soooo, turns out magura louise is a great brake...just needs to be installed correctly...who knew... a few pumps and it was back in business....

Ciao,

One of my XTR SPD's developed quite severe play after around a year of use. Shimano's XTR warranty is 3 years BUT I opened it up to see what was wrong (some bearing balls missing at the end of the spindle)...does that mean I've humped the warranty?

You never took it apart and have no idea what's wrong with it.

Isn't that right?!

Yes, that is right.

And I have no idea where that fresh grease came from.....

Recently purchased a bike with a set of roval wheels on it. There's been a small amount of play in the front hub. It looks like it might be missing a spacer of some sort because there seems to be some on one side but not the other, any ideas?
Also, I managed to snap my derailleur hanger in an accidental flip. There's no markings on it, but it is an outside mount from a 2020 carrera vanquish and it's got a spacing of 38mm between the closest hanger and frame bolts. How would I find out the part number?

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Probs needs new bearings, for the hanger you could go to spits Halfords or check out wheelsmfg's website and try to find it, the search isn't bad but they don't always have carerra ones, you can then get any lbs with a Madison account (like all of them) to order it with the part number or search it and somewhere online will probably have stock.

Any recommendation on chain whip and cassette tool? Something that works okay and wouldn't break a bank. Just broke a nobrand whip and a cassette tool I have from one of them multi-kits feels too tall and finicky, no chance on using cheater bar too.

Mudguards question.

I have a set of Portland Design Works mudguards, and they attach to my front forks like so:

https://imgur.com/kSD4zpj

As you can see, I'm missing a part. Fucking little thing has gotten lost at some point, and now I can't attach them for autumn riding.

Does anyone know what this part IS? None of PDWs current lineup seem attach like this. I found an item known as Safety Tabs, but I believe these are the larger ones for the rear wheel.

Also, does anyone know a retailer in the EU who might sell PDW parts? All I can find from their website is little shops that dont list their inventory, or bigger shops that only appear to sell their baskets.

https://www.condorcycles.com/ stocks PDW parts and the In Stock status is reliable.

The safety tabs are standard fit on front and rear, at least for bikes that have more conventional eyelets.

Did the bike come with the mudguards when you bought it? It’s possible it’s not a PDW part. What’s the other side look like?

I think there's two parts you're missing - the ends for the stays and an insert for the fork.

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/pdw-safety-tabs?variant=37796496605334

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/sks-direct-mount-adaptors

Though I don't know if the thread of those direct mount adaptors is correct for your forks

Tldr; likely ok or no?

I have first refusal on a Beinn 26 for my daughter, ding in top-tube though as pictured, but otherwise sound. Likely to be ok or best avoid?

My steel commuter had a similar ding from a bikelanding on it when unsecured on a commiter train, and my cannondale track has a filled ding in a similar spot. Difference being I can accept the risk for me, but my partner might be a bit upset if daughters frame fails catastrophic style.

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if it was for my child’s bike- I’d say that sort of ding is acceptable and I wouldn’t worry about it failing.

I seem to have bought a wheel that has too wide an axle, annoyingly, and wondered if I can adapt it to fit between the dropouts on my bike. Pictured below is what looks like an additional bit of metal and a washer that look like they might unscrew, rendering the axle narrow enough to fit. I don't have the right spanners to undo it, but is that possible/a feature of this kind of axle? Or do I have to sell the wheel and buy a new one? It's a thru-axle wheel, but I've bought an adapter to turn it into a QR.

Cheers.

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https://www.condorcycles.com/ stocks PDW parts and the In Stock status is reliable.

The safety tabs are standard fit on front and rear, at least for bikes that have more conventional eyelets.

Did the bike come with the mudguards when you bought it? It’s possible it’s not a PDW part. What’s the other side look like?

Thanks, but it needs to be EU as I'm in Finland. Well, I could order them from Condor, but delivery would be like twice the cost of the items themselves, then they'd get stuck in Finnish customs for 2 weeks, then the finnish post office will charge me an extra €50 for their bullshit :(

Yeah the bike came with the mudguards. I think it is PDW though, as it looks like a smaller version of the one used on the rears.

I think there's two parts you're missing - the ends for the stays and an insert for the fork.

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/pd­w-safety-tabs?variant=37796496605334

I don't know if those first ones are for the front or the back, though. They both look the same, just the rear ones are twice the size.

I have no idea what that second part is for, though.

https://www.condorcycles.com/products/sk­s-direct-mount-adaptors

Though I don't know if the thread of those direct mount adaptors is correct for your forks

Ta.

Shimano road leaky piston syndrome!

Shop might not have done a good job of cleaning up though after a bleed, so always that. Someone else already said it, bleed block or tyre lever and clamp it overnight with a zip tie/pedal clip strap.

They are renowned for splitting pistons, USUAL non shimano faults are....
Customer rammed piston back in on a jaunty angle = cracked piston
customer chipped edge of piston with rotor when putting wheel back in = cracked piston
customer got hungry and decided to attack pistons with teeth/hammers/claws and now = cracked pistons.
Etc

Sometimes they crack at the edge, sometimes across the whole thing, and quite a few times they crack down the centre, creating an inner and an outer piston! The inner piece gets stuck against back of bore, the outer piece leaks fluid and crumbles away. Mean time the brakes sort of work.

You can buy aftermarket metal or phenlolic plastic pistons and just stick them in, very little else wrong to go in the caliper, you don't get the same corrosion issues inside the reccess that the o-ring sits in like Sram/Avid/Hope/Formula brakes due to been sat in minging 10 year old dot fluid

Just removed the bearing cages in my threaded campag headset because I noticed the steering was beginning to 'index', replaced the 20 3/16 balls and packed full of grease (to keep them in place), and oddly enough only seemed to be able to pack in two extra ones. Steering works fine and smoothly (my litmus test is braking + riding no-hands) but the headset oddly enough does not allow free movement past a certain point - it will get very sticky/stiff when turned far to the left or the right. Any ideas?

one or more of the cups/cones out of alignment meaning the space for the balls widens or narrows depending on where the bars are pointing.

Cheers - is there anything else that might cause this other than cross-threading?

That's a strong candidate, as the treads would be keeping it mostly in line. That or one of the cups have shifted from the time it was cross threaded, and putting the nut/cone back on better aligned now means they are not parallel.

Check for pitting on the races, also if the crown race/headset cups is/are sitting flush with the fork crown/head tube.

@youClown Was the headset maybe a little looser before you worked on it? Have your tried backing off the threaded cup a little and seeing if it doesn’t get as stuck?