Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

Cheers will consult both before shortening the chain to ensure I m doing so to the correct length.

I thought the point of the calculator was to determine whether you needed to buy a chain?

Best to size the chain on the bike. Also, if there's a bit of a window of possible length, I go for the longer length to add a couple of percent of chain longevity, even on my weight weenie bike.

This is probably the biggest actual benefit of OSPWs, because you need more chain to go around them - even if you do what I do and just jam the biggest pulleys you can fit in the stock cage.

It was to know if the chain I had would be long enough. I don’t know why comparing chainstay length didn’t occur to me but the calculator did.

Are these two bolts below the exact same dimensions?
For a Cannondale Lefty Hub - and yes they are both normal Lefty 50 rather than Lefty SuperMax 60.

£35 option, original Cannondale
https://www.cannondalespares.com/Cannondale-Lefty-50-Hub-Self-Extractor-Cap-and-Bolt-QC117/product_detail/3-39838

.

£10 option, DT Swiss for 240 Lefty hub
https://www.freewheel.co.uk/dt-swiss-hcdxxx00s2387s-hub-bolt-for-240-lefty-hbdts2387s

Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative to the £50 SRAM etap HRD official hose kits? Need a black banjo end.

Lol. Seems every other time I open this thread, someone asks just this. Been there, done that. Good luck!

P.S. Ended up reusing my current SRAM hoses and banjo, but extended my hoses via couplers.

Ah ha, which couplers? That's what I really need tbh. Found SRAM hoses for €35 each posted but still not ideal!

more hydraulic questions from me:

I have 105 brakeset all plumbed in, I’m wanting to remove the levers whilst keeping the calliper on the bike, to then get some deore levers plumbed into them (flat bar conversion on a grav bike).

What’s the easiest way to go about this?

They use a different nut to fix the hose to the lever, so you'll have to cut the olive off. If you do it carefully, attach the new levers immediately and the levers are already bled, then you might get away without need to bleed the system.

Unplug levers, install levers, chop hoses to size, install olive, insert and nut (it's a different nut in road levers), plug everything together, remove air bubbles if necessary

It's also possible to crush the olive with a knipex or something similar and keep the insert if don't want to cut

Bump in case anyone happens to look at this ... Am going to have to actually go out to a shop at this rate.

A very mundane question - anyone know of an inexpensive Boost rear thru-axle that's hollow all the way through?
(I want to adapt a QR old man mountain rack onto my mountain bike, have done this on another bike by putting the QR through the thru axle, but my mountain bike has an axle that's solid at one end. I could drill it out, but would prefer not to).

What am I doing wrong with my drivechain? Swapped chains over yesterday. The chain I removed had been on for a couple of months, it had more wear than the chain (admitted not a brand new chain) I replaced it with. New chain on and it skips under any kind of foot pressure. I can't replicate the skipping off the bike by hand turning. The only time it doesn't skip is when in big chainring and largest few sprockets at the back. In the inner/smallest combo it is skipping more than engaging. So the smaller the cogs, the more the skipping.

I had the same problem a while back and figured it was the cassette, replaced that and skipping stopped. The cassette is only a couple of months old this time so I can't understand that it could be that this time? It is 52/34, 11/34 so there isn't much wiggle to remove chain links also.

The cassette and chain are worn, despite being a couple of months old.

Ok, that's a big help thanks I'll replace them then.

Yeah, you need to change the chain before it wears too much to re-use a cassette, usually around .75 on most wear gauges, a worn chain will wear a cassette pretty quickly and it's distance rather than time that does it.

Thanks snotty, looks like I can do it pretty cheap from SJS.

I can't help but might be an idea to post in any question answered, might get a few more views!

hadn't thought of that, cheers.

Maybe?
https://hollandbikeshop.com/en-gb/bicycle-wheels/quick-release/hollow-thru-axle-o12-x-148mm-1-5mm-black-674781/
They don’t post to the uk, but I’m sure you could work round that.

They do seem to post to the uk, but it ups the price to about £30 ...
Which probably means I should just go to a bike shop. Which is what I should have done in the first place. Got about 3 weeks deadline to figure this out so it still feels non-urgent.

Before I waste £16 on trying, can someone confirm the 8-speed pull ratio hasn't changed? This will be paired with an old 8-speed LX derailleur.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/145722808273

Is this white line on Zipp wheels anything to worry about?
Thanks in advance

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Yup, that'll work.

Not sure - looking at the spokes it might be salt from sweat as the bike's been on a turbo. Can you feel it?

If you're asking as you're thinking of buying them (and they're tubs) - these 'on here' are stupid cheap and you should buy them instead https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/395665/