Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

KMC do have a longer "e bike" chain with 128 links but then I also thought this morning I could just use a couple of quick links to join some chain(s), at least for the test. Better than pushing new pins in I reckon.

https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/p/kmc-e11-11-speed-electric-bike-chain

Ooh, 136 Link version
https://www.merlincycles.com/kmc-e11-ept-e-bike-chain-11-speed-114487.html

I presume these will work with normal 11S stuff? e-bikes haven't gone to 1/8th width cogs or anything weird have they?

I've built a few. I kind of hate doing them. Happy to answer questions if I can though.

Brilliant (for me)
Here or DM?

IME, 11s is where reusing pins starts getting too risky for comfort, especially on some chain models. Def better to buy a £5 quick link than £500 dental crowns, or ride in fear of the chain snapping during a sprint.

Should work, unless you need a sram flat chain.

Yeah, that's why I was looking for a long chain rather than joining chain. But two quick links would work. I'm just as likely to buy a new chain though and if it works, keep it on, leaving the old chain for the 42T cassette.

SRAM? LOL

still had to make a funny face to hit the 50Nm (and sometime I would shake a little bit).

Funny face and shake is right for 50Nm, shitting yourself while pulling a muscle is too hard.

Big wrench has come and it has, surprise surprise, made the BB very easy to undo. Turns out I hadn't overdone it yesterday after all, but have now loosened and retightened everything up with a good grunt but no standing on things, and after too many skinned knuckles (turns out the most painful part of crank extracting is removing the extractor from the DS crank..) I feel like I am fairly confident I can replace BBs and cranks going forward - the last major frontier unexplored in my bike fettling adventures! Thanks very much again all you helpful souls.

Well. Still don't have a fork/head tube crown race extractor, but I think I understand how it all works at any rate and will cross that bridge when I get to it..

Edit: Took it down to LBS to get the cranks torqued in to be sure, turns out my 20cm hex key to "beyond reasonably tight" was pretty far off the mark!

I've managed to snap the barrel adjusting bolt on my SRAM red rim brake, looking online it appears the barrel bolt itself is slightly different between Red/Force etc, does anyone know if just the bolt will be cross compatible as I don't want to buy the full aero link assembly just for the bolt.

Links below if of any use.

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/sram-apex-force-rival-brake-barrel-adjuster-threaded/

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/brakes/sram-red-aero-link-brake-barrel-adjuster-quick-release-for-caliper-brake-2013-models/

I'm moving the Gravel P2M (Rotor 24 Road axle) onto the Mason. I was surprised to see it had a MegaExo BB fitted. I assume this was used during the Great Shimano Shortage of Whatever Year It Was.

I always thought FSA MegaExo stuff was a weird diam, like 22mm at one end? This clearly says 24mm on the bearing cover and 24mm on the axle though so maybe I'm thinking of something else?

Anyway, is there any reason this Shimano SM-BBR60 won't work? They're both normal 68mm BB shells

Guess I was thinking of GXP, which is what WAS on the Mason for the Quarq cranks.
https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/the-complete-guide-to-bottom-bracket-standards/

3 Attachments

The NDS MegaExo feels fucked anyway so if this setup works I'll probably fit the Shimano BB and Rotor/P2M to the Mason and then when I swap it back to the Tripster, it'll get the Shimano BB and the MegaExo can go in the bin.

I bought myself a GoSystem MT2055H blowtorch for various bearing removal jobs, butane thingy. I cannot get it to make a flame properly, it either blows out instantly or won't even light. I've dismantled the torch and checked nothing blocking it, there was a tiny piece of fluff in there. That helped a bit, but I'm barely getting a flame stronger than lighter or a match. Anyone know what's wrong? It's brand new, gas cartridge is new too. Nothing looks damaged, but I have lost the receipt, obviously

Turn the gas up very slowly once lit? Don't have a blow torch but regular gas torches sometimes blow out until they're warmed up in my experience

I always thought FSA MegaExo stuff was a weird diam, like 22mm at one end? This clearly says 24mm on the bearing cover and 24mm on the axle though so maybe I'm thinking of something else?

You're thinking of SRAM/Truvativ GXP. MegaExo is 24mm all the way through, and many people have put FSA/Vision MegaExo cranks through Shimano HT2 BBs and vice versa

Figured as much. Thanks for confirming :)

The new wires are in. I might leave it overnight just to see if there's any odd battery drain again.

Turn the gas up very slowly once lit?

Except in the case of nitrous oxide, where you should shut the gas off once you're lit, otherwise you'll just go out like a light

Except in the case of nitrous oxide

https://youtu.be/l_RfediFJFQ?t=145

I don't know about that but this is just a simple butane torch right

I've tried that, it said it would take a minute to warm up but I can't keep it lit (with gas turned up or down, doesn't matter) unless I keep a lighter in front of it

HT2 on MegaExo is a tight fit but it will work with a bit of mallet tapping if needs must.

Is that a genuine tolerancing difference or just a slight bearing misalignment on particular bikes? Any of the external BBs other than Ultratorque can go from a sliding fit to a light press if the shell isn't faced parallel🙂

There are some megaexo 19mm straight through cranks and BBs thankfully you don't see too many of them anymore, the BBs are shit and cost way too much.

FSA cranks and BBs are ever so slightly bigger than Shimano, ask me how I know. You can normally get away with a threaded one, but press fit not so much.

ask me how I know

How do you know? Have you measured a representative sample from both? I'd find it very surprising if the nominal 24mm bearing bore varied outside the usual tolerance range for industrial standard bearing cartridges

Every one I've had the pleasure of working with has been ever so slightly larger, they fit but it's always tighter than Shimano would be, not ideal when they try to remove the seal/spacer the Shimano BBs run on (I guess looser for hippy and his Shimano cranks in FSA BB, I've never tried that combo).

There are two types of FSA MegaExo cranks. The older version has external pinch bolts, very similar to Shimano Hollowtech II, and they work fine with Shimano BBs. The newer version doesn't have external pinch bolts, just a single bolt in the centre of the crank to tighten the cranks, more like SRAM GXP. They're known as MegaExo NBD cranks, NBD standing for Non pinchBolt Design. Although they're both nominally 24mm crank spindles, the NBD cranks don't work nicely with Hollowtech BBs in my experience.

That's why FSA make different BBs for NBD and non-NBD cranks. The BB-6000 works with non-NBD cranks, the BB-6200 with NBD cranks, despite the fact that both are supposedly 24mm BBs. In fact, the BB-6200 has very slightly larger diameter bearings.