Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

The cartridge bearing has disintegrated and that's one half of the bearing which is resting on the crown race. Should come off pretty easy with a Stanley knife (wear safety goggles).

The other half is in the bottom of the head tube. This could be a tough nut to crack.

Fingers crossed both comes out easy!

Keep up mate.

This makes short work of the crown race issue 95% of the time. If the other part is stuck you've got bigger problems with a lot of frames where there's no way of contacting the top of the bearing from the top of the headtube because the bearing seats get in the way. I've had luck tapping a thin flathead screwdriver or chisel carefully at an angle from the bottom, then tapping that from the top of the headtube with something else, then moving round the bearing race gradually, and repeating, it's slow and infuriating work. I think I made a tool once out of some bent flat metal but it wasn't much better.

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Thanks all, the other half in the frame was stuck but I managed to drift it out with my persuader and rubber mallet.

Will tackle the crown race tomorrow

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Crown race should be easy, use the proper tool which +snottyotter posted above.

There's a gap which you should get enough purchase on that with a blade or a flat head.

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If the crown race is flush and you can’t fit a screwdriver or the park tool use a Stanley blade. Carefully place it at the base of the crow race and tap it in, working around. Obviously don’t cause damage to the fork.

Thanks again both.

Took one of those wire wool soap pads out of the kitchen and scrubbed it up a bit so I could see what I was doing first.

After that it was pretty easy to use a flat head screwdriver and rubber mallet to knock the bearing race off.

Crown race next...

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Leave the crown race alone!

Or rather it doesn't have to come out.

The sealed bearing sits on top of the crown race.

Yes on second thoughts I had the new sealed bearing and it fits onto the crown race perfectly.

Also once I cleaned up the crown race it was in decent condition, no pitting or anything so I independently came to the same conclusion as you.

Hello! I am wondering about v-brakes. I know very little about them and my mum has been complaining about the brakes on her hybrid. Basically the brake pivot is super stiff, so they don’t spring back away from the rim and rub on one side or the other. Upon inspection the pivot is a plastic thing (rather than the v-brake stud, which baffled me) and I can’t get it to not be stiff regardless of how I try. So I thought a change of brakes might be in order.

• are there sub standards in v-brakes that I need to be aware of?
  
• what’s a good, durable, not too expensive set of v-brakes?
  
  

Many thanks in advance

Oi oi! Shimano BR-T610 is my go to v brakes.

There are shit ones but anything Shimano or tektro will see you right.

I’m doing some maintenance on my dads bike, his rear wheel is an old deore LX with freehub that’s long enough only for a 7 speed cassette.

I’ve got a 9 speed cassette here and I’d like to use it..

I can plonk it on and lose the 2nd smallest cog and it fits, will this cause any issues? Bit of a big jump but doesn’t look too mad.

I’ve also got a shimano FH m475 that I prob won’t ever bother using and I was wondering if it’s possible to transfer the freehub and axle over, as this is the correct size for a 9 speed cassette.

The other option is just finding a 32h rim and assembling a new rear wheel for him (using the m475 shimano hub). Bit long and be expensive but tempting. The rim of this wheel is nearing the end of its life I think and would be nice to freshen the whole thing up a bit.

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Either option should work, though I’ve only done the first option myself.

You could pull the biggest cog off, but you'd need to use a 9 speed shifter for the 8 gears I think.

Freehub swap is possible but I expect you'll have to re-space the non-drive side and re-dish the wheel too.

If you do that, can I have the M475 non-drive cone nut please?

Literally did a freehub swap on a wheel with the exact hub and the NDS nut is badly pitted.

No probs if not, will rummage through the spare bin and hopefully find one.

If you do that, can I have the M475 non-drive cone nut please?

Yeah for sure, if I end up swapping out you can certainly have the rest of it.

Another option would be to find myself a replacement rear wheel- prob cheaper than building myself and less time / effort. (You’d be welcome to that hub still if you want it)

Thanks snotty and lwab

I'm not convinced you can swap out the freehubs, do some proper research on si.shimano.com first anyway. It'll say no but you can compare exploded views before pulling them apart.

I recently changed freehubs on a similar Deore LX for the same reason and I'm pretty sure it took a 10-spline freehub body exactly like the one that shows on the exploded view of the m475 hub

I'll do the swap, space and dishing if you drop it some time next week.

If you remove a brake hose from a hydraulic brake shifter (GRX 810) because the shifter is fucked and being sent away for warranty, do you need a new hose, olive, thingmy bob set up to put it back on or is it a plug n play on the old hose?

This m475 is the worst hub I've ever owned. Shit bearings and freehub so not worth the trouble imo

Depends a bit on how deformed the olive already is, I swapped a Deore brake lever once and didn't change the olive and it was no problem but if the olive is already very squashed it will be leaking.

So, if I have an olive lying around, which I do, I should change it. The olive is the only potential issue in most cases?