Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

Hi guys! Just got a Fuji Declaration 2022 and I forgot cycleschemes existed, so I'm looking to get some components on the scheme and upgrade it. I've already made a change and switched the ThickSlicks it came with to Gravelking SKs, much more comfy on London roads and kinda feels a bit faster too, weirdly enough.

My previous bike is an old Peugeot frame with some random parts put together, but it came out pretty light - as light as making me feel the 1-2kg difference or whatever it is.

Would this list be worth it or would most of them be just throwing money away?

Thanks and I hope I asked the question in the right place!

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Is the gear ratio the same on the Fuji as your old bike? (Same size wheels / tyres too?)

Ride it and replace bits as they break or wear out. I’d expect new pedals might be the first thing to look at.

If you know your bike fit then adjust the bike to fit you eg stem length/degree of rise.

Buy a decent lock, lights and a track pump if you don’t have one already.

The only bit of that that I’d have thought was worth spending the money on would be the Clickster. It will work/feel a bit nicer than a non branded basic freewheel and will sound better too.

That said, £50 isn’t far off a 2nd hand White Industries if you can take some time to wait for one to come up on here or eBay.

Miche wheels are generally underwhelming. We have some of those X-press ones and some of the Pistards at work, the Pistards are terrible for the spokes holes causing pictures because the drillings are really wide and rim tape struggles to cover them. I don’t think the X-press suffer from this but the hubs are a bit rubbish and the rims are heavy and narrow by modern standards.

Miche bb are now jis taper so are in direct competition with Shimano units which are both cheaper and better quality.

£58 for a very run of the mill chainring is a lot. I know it’s on cycle scheme but you’d likely get a much nicer ring on here for less money. Again miche quality isn’t great so it’s unlikely to be very round, you’d be much better with a lightly used DA or Sugino.

And £50 seems steep for a very ‘meh’ Specialized stem…is that in there just as an upgrade or to change the fit?

Your basket there is roughly £330, Google says cycle scheme could save 26-29%, so £330-29%=£234. Spending that on here would get you some much nicer components.

That is some very in-depth information. I'll add some more information on everything and my 'train of thought'.

Would be great if I could get things on the scheme, as currently I only have around £140 to spare for any upgrades. Though I could fit the chainring and freewheel you mentioned in that budget.

Wheels are the first thing I was told to upgrade and those seemed to be the best choice, given the discount. I'll happily keep the ones on the bike currently, if there's no point in changing them or a massive difference. I'd love the lightweight Wabi ones but I'd have to order from the US. I'll keep an eye out on wheels for sale here but I don't really know what to look after - was mainly thinking weight. Miche seemed like a pretty good brand from what I could find online, so I th0ught the components I chose from them were good value.

Chainring - does DA mean Dura Ace? I think I'll wait for something better to come up here, I'm currently running a 46/17 drive and it seems alright for now, maybe if something comes up in 47T size I could switch to that. Would love a Sugino.

Freewheel - is there a specific White Industries model I should look for or are any of them fine? I wanted to change this as some reviews online mentioned they have a tendency to lock up. I'll keep an eye out for these, thank you.

Stem - it's the same size and angle I currently have, so yeah I presume it might be a pointless change.

BB - makes sense, I'll keep mine for now - but I don't really know what to look for on here and decide if something is a good upgrade - I'm pretty new to this.

@dancing james - I could use some new lights, as I have pretty cheap ones that aren't as strong as other options. Anything you could recommend maybe around 50£? I have a pump at home and I got a Kryptonite Evo 7 mini with a cable. Bike is also on Bikeregister and I'm thinking of insurance, too.

@MCamb - honestly don't know what the ratio or tire size is on that other bike. The front drive is a 2-speed chainring with a single speed chain going on the larger cog, lol. Tires are Schwalbe Lugano.

Looks like there's a thick washer pressed onto the square taper on this BB. Is that normal? should I try and remove it, how? If it's there on purpose, why?
The BB measures 108mm end to end

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It's meant to be there, leave it be.

Poor little spacers are getting a lot of stick of late.

but what is it for???? surely the taper wants to seat unhindered, right 🧐

In your position I would hold tight, use the current bike, save up, then make a LFGSS Wanted thread and buy something decent for ~£350.

Trying to improve that existing bike with new parts is not a game I would play - you'll never improve the frame itself. Sure, spending £234 on components will help a little, but the parts themselves aren't brilliant. You can do better.

Save up that £234 and sell your bike for £125 then you have £360. This is not enough for a decent off-the-peg SS bike (even in sales with cycle scheme discount), but £360 on LFGSS can get you something sweet like a converted 531 road bike with decent SS parts. With £300-350 you can find, say, a Claud Butler 531 bike with Mavic rims and a Shimano 600 crankset and brakes. This will be lighter, faster and more fun than anything listed off-the-peg at £500-700.

I have that exact stem, and it can be yours for £20 with all the angle changing inserts. Drop me a DM if youre keen.

That being said, if you're just changing it for the sake of changing it... why? If you want lighter, you can go much lighter for less money (Kalloy uno), if you want bling, you can get a used zipp stem or something.

Good shout with the Kalley, I don't really know parts that well yet! I'll think about the offer, thank you!

Freewheel - is there a specific White Industries model I should look for or are any of them fine? I wanted to change this as some reviews online mentioned they have a tendency to lock up. I'll keep an eye out for these, thank you.

The trials ones have more engagement points but are only available in a limited no of tooth options and the regular ones are fine anyway.

and LOUD

Since the fixie phase is a decade since gone theres hardly reasonbly priced freewheels, whyte industries is the go to if you are a daily rider, halo clickster next level below that. Sturmey archer ones are cheap and actually pretty reliable, they have maybe 4 engagement points and make zero sound, but so long as you don't wash it to death will get a few years, 5k miles+ for £12

MV is right, that stem is mega overpriced, bb yup just get an UN300/UN55, chainring again not much choice these days. Basically it goes amazon/CDM junk for about a tenner, then up to velo orange, miche, kcnc, TA specilaiites etc, then above that real decent chainrings but your knocking on £100 these days.

I've gradually worn the outside 7mm or so edges on my drive side titanium bb shell and a brand new bb will now not stay secure. I don't want to go to the hassle of getting the frame rethreaded with an insert but think a longer threaded section of bearing cup would provide sufficient grip to stay tight in the frame. I'll used ptfe tape on the worn threads as well.

My question is do you think it'll work, and with this bb? And any reason I shouldn't go for the 68/73mm version as I always have? Is the 83mm version just with a wider plastic centre section?

Shimano Saint BB80 Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket

If you look at your your current brand new BB, is the threaded length on the DS cup shorter or longer than the thread length on your frame's BB shell?

There's a good 9-10mm of unused thread available on the frame that the previous bb didn't touch if that makes sense. It looks to me like the saint bb would grip onto that fresh thread quite well.

Sounds like a plan to me. I would double check the compatibility between your cranks and that Saint BB, and of course make sure you get the correct length sleeve.

Ok thanks, they're Middleburn cranks so I think they should fit fine.

Hello,

Can a dropper post's aluminium base part be cut down?

My seat post needs to go down just a tiny bit but it wont as it has reached a bend in the frame.

Probably not, there might be a bit of overhang with the tube surrounding some of the external workings where the cable actuates things that I guess you might be able to file a bit off at an angle to sit with the bend a bit better, but it depends on the dropper and you still shouldn't do it.

Yeah, plan to get rid of it anyway as its a Bonty Line post and has play in it. So, upgrading to a Fox Transfer eventually. Will need to do measuring and I have a 175 drop Transfer in another bike for experimentation. It does seem to have a particularly small amount of insertion for a large frame (Trek Fuel EX9.8 2019).

Not the end of the world at the moment.

Not the end of the world at the moment.

Especially as you can just, like, drop it a little bit.

Exactly my friend, exactly. We ride at dawn!