Mechanics and Fixing Any Questions Answered

Aaaand I have found my answer here...

"The 11T Hyperglide cogs also have issues with this freehub. Due to the smaller diameter of the 11T cog, it has a reinforcing flange that prevents the cog from from fully seating on a standard Hyperglide freehub. It is intended for a Hyperglide -C(ompact) freehub with the outer edge of splines being relieved. Still, an 11T Hyperglide cog will work on standard Hyperglide freehub like yours but the entire cassette will sit slightly farther out and require a spacer behind the large cog. This shift may cause clearance issues with the frame stays."

Long story short I have to find another small cog.

Just whack a spacer behind it, looks like when you stick a 7 speed cassette on an 8 speed freehub

I fixed the problem by tossing on a 12T small cog, and it indeed works. Didn't have a spacer at home unfortunately, that would've been my go-to solution.

👍 Life’s too short.

Glad it’s fixed.

At least I have spare double tap internals and paddle for the right lever now.

Tried and failed. That's the whole thing for the bin

Sometimes the best answer

Useful to know. Good work.

I’m still happy with my Silca Super Pista that I bought in ‘95, though I replaced the original hose and chuck with a universal unit.
My question is what do I recommend for some friends? Their current one is a ‘Schwinn Air Center Pro’ which is, as you can guess, shite.
Convincing them to put out for a Rennkompressor or Pista/Super Pista would be my preference, but what are some decent ones on the cheaper end of the spectrum?

My £6 from Aldi track pump has done me well at home for about 10 years, gauge isn't very accurate though.

TBH I usually use the compressor at work, occasional not too high pressure, accuracy not important I'd get whatever though, the bontrager cheapos at work seem acceptable.

The mid range Topeak Joe Blow I nicked from Halfords when I worked there is still going strong about 15 years later.

Partner's burner bike has some really worn chainrings which are causing a lot of chain slipping esp. when pedalling hard/uphill. Thought about replacing just the chainrings but having had a look online I feel totally bamboozled by the number of options (e.g. number of ways I could fuck it up) there are for front/middle/inner, BCD, number of teeth, number of bolts etc etc. Also they seem to be way more expensive than I was expecting?

My question is, does it make sense to just look for a second hand triple crankset and replace the whole thing? However, if there's a strong reason to buy new chainrings, what do I need to look for? (I know the cranks are 110 BCD but not sure what else I need to know)

that looks like a Shimano exage 500lx (110bcd) crank so I think you've got 46/38/24 teeth. I'm fairly sure the cheapo ones from SJS would work https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/110-bcd-5-arm/?order=price+ascending but the shimano branded ones would be better.

If it was my bike though I'd but a suitable narrow wide and go 1x
https://www.superstarcomponents.com/en/raptor-chainring-110bcd-narrow-wide.htm

burner bike

Don't you just throw the whole thing in the bin and replace the bike with the next burner

lol fair point... I meant station lock-up/beater/pub bike/don't mind if it gets nicked/scratched etc

Yeah 1x would be simplest but she specifically wanted an old MTB for the wider gear range than her town bike, so going 1x7 would defeat the point, and upgrading to a massive cassette/10 speed etc would end up being $$$ for new derailleur, shifter, cassette etc

That SJS page is the same one I've been staring at for ages scratching my head... I'm thinking it might be safest to look for a second hand crankset

@jtfh
I've done exactly this for a few friends and we invariably ended up buying a cheap Shimano triple chainset on discount somewhere for £20-25. The only catch is that you normally have to change the BB as well to achieve proper chainline. Plus chain and cassette of course, and then you're looking at a £50-60+ parts bill.

Ah right, didn't think about new chain & cassette - do they also need replacing along with new chainrings? Having said that, I've replaced chain and cassette very recently and it's only been ridden a handful of times since then, so that should be ok?

Also it had a brand new BB fitted this morning! So I'd want to avoid buying a new one...

https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/chainsets/sunrace-triple-chainset-423424t-170mm/

that's cheap from SJS but needs a 113mm bb. So if the model number of your cranks matches one in the attached chart that has a 113mm bb then you could buy that

1 Attachment

Chain and cassette should still be okay in that case, but do not ride the bike any more until you change the chainrings or chainset.

Looks like your chainset is the exage 400 triple, so needs a 121mm BB. Is that what you fitted? If so you must either find another chainset built for a 121mm BB, or swap out out.

That's great, really helpful cheers! Think it's the 400LX M400 so has a 121mm BB. I guess it wouldn't be so bad to buy a new BB and keep the brand new one for gathering dust in my parts box spares

Most of the recent cheap Shimano chainsets that still use square taper are for 122.5mm BBs, so likely fine with the one you've just installed unless you've got some very tight clearances or are at the end of front mech adjustment already, which I doubt.

🙏 ok this is great stuff, thanks all. Looks like either the cheaper sunrace + new BB, or slightly more spenny shimano acera chainset and keeping current BB will be the way to go.

Hope this is the right place to ask, bought an early 90's Raleigh Yukon that has a 25.4 quill diameter stem. Seems pretty much impossible to buy a stem with that quill diameter that isn't gross, is shimming the steerer from 25.4 to 22.2 a bad idea? I feel like if I use thread locker and make sure the shim covers the full length of the stem I should be fine. Am I dumb?