Rock Salt On Roads

Carrera

My bike is knackered. The rear wheel has given out due to rock-salt on the roads and grit. I wash my bike down after rides but the stuff must have got inside the hub somehow. Every so often the cassette will just spin and not drag the wheel forward.
I visited 2 bike stores today and neither has any rear wheels and I don't have time to place orders.
Normally this wouldn't be a problem but these days we have big cut-backs at work and so I'm trying to economise on money. The minimum charge for a new wheel will be possibly 50 pounds.

Wurm

Bum luck on the wheel. Too bad you can't rebuild the hub at lower cost than a whole new unit. (Hint: buy Campy hubs next time!)

They salt too often where I am, often more salt on the roads than snow or ice. Idyuts!

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MountainPro

Hi Carrera, i dont think its a great idea to wash your bike too often, the water and detergent gets into sealed bearings in hubs, bottom brackets and pedals..

despite what manufacturers say, there is no such thing as a sealed bearing that is water tight.

salt is a big problem here too, but ice is a bigger killer on the roads so i dont mind it too much.

there are several options

1. rebuild the hub and freewheel with a quality lithuim grease.
2. buy a new hub and rebuild the wheel, a total nightmare if you are no good at trueing wheels
3. buy a new quality wheel. Steer clear of the high street especially Halfords. For what they charge for their own brand wheel you can get a decent Shimano/Mavic or Campy/Ambrosio set up on mail order..

i personally would rebuild the hub, but it sounds like its your freewheel unit itself thats goosed. That requires a special tool depending on who manufactured it.

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quil

Sounds like your hub and FW/H are mucky-fied, so you need to cleany-fy and lubey-fy them. Go to step 1. of the MountainPro scenario above. Don't worry about dishing just measure how far the axle bolt (opposite the FW/H side) sticks out and use that measurement when reassembling.

-Mike

FredC

We used that orange stuff called pump grease for all axles and bearings. We used to the simmer to block in a lighter grease. Let's have it right he's fucking useless. What's more I don't ever remember anyone one with any probs. We even dunked our hack bikes in the canal to get rid of the salt and grit. He hasn't a clue.

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Carrera

I've been getting so frustrated over these snags that last week I seriously considered quitting cycling. The main problem has been this jinx I have with front derailleurs.
I've tried everything to stop rubbing of the chain. One idea was to cut a piece of inner-tube to a narrow strip and place it inside the derailleur clamp so it would stop oil and grease getting in and causing the thing to slip and start rubbing. That helped a bit but didn't cure the problem.
I've adjusted screws, experimented with angles and you name it.
Then yesterday, cycling back from work, I finally blew a fuse. I just got off the bike, saw (and heard) the chain rubbing hard on the desrailleur and then bent it right back with as much force as I could muster.
A small crowd gathered as I shouted: "You stupid ++++++ bike!"
Miracle of miracles - it worked!!
My chain no longer rubs - not even in the smallest of gears. Not even the mechanics thought of that one and they didn't manage to fix it for more than a week either. Seemingly all it needed was a bloody good bending back (and I figured I had nothing to lose as I was going to buy a new derailleur anyway).
As for the wheel, I replaced it.
So, we'll see how it goes.

Carrera

"Let's have it right he's fucking useless."

So long as the ladies don't repeat such a phrase after a night of amor.

MountainPro

i have always said that no matter what you are repairing, be it a laptop computer, microwave oven or an oil rig, the most important tool in an engineers tool box is his hammer.

you would be surprised just what can be achieved by mindless violence against machines.

a font derailleur needs to know who is boss, give it an inch and you'll regret it for the rest of your life, its important to set boundaries....you are the master not it....dont be frightened to kick it once in a while...swearing helps immensely as does random threats of violence especially when you have an aucience...

just a few weeks ago i threw my bike down a 50 foot gorge...last time that little bastard will play up lemme tell you....

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lwedge

You see Carrera, you are a bike mechanic after all !
You could have easily fixed your rear wheel !

If you are running inside front chainring to rear outside cluster sprocket - '\, (small to small) for any reason and feel you need that gear to survive, then you need to take a look at your Gain Ratios . You should be able to find similar ratio on big chainring and middle to large sprockets on cassette ,/' Do you ever have chain rubbing on larger sprockets on the cassette ? Very hard on chain, sprokets and Le derailleur.

How is it that all mechanical devices share the same name ?

Lw

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stevebaby

I'm guessing that pump grease would be pretty water-resistant?
Marine grease or lubrimatic would probably work OK too,but I don't know about the friction loss.Might make a difference on a racing bike(viscosity)?

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MountainPro

I remember my first job as an electronics engineer. I had to repair a TV.

i turned up with a screwdriver and a hammer. (the two most important tools in engineering, the spanner and soldering iron being 3rd and 4th)

i opened her up, whacked her about a bit with the hammer and hey presto, it was fixed.

the engineer asked, 'what did you do? re-align the x-y deflection amplifiers?'

me: 'errr...'

engineer: 'did you calibrate the dual time-base circuit?'

me: 'well actually...'

engineer: 'i know, it was the UHF modulator needed to be reset..'

me: emm...'thats right, it was the modernlater thing, it was loose wire..'

i have a tip for anyone in engineering, technology industry if youre a ICT technician, software engineer, it doesnt matter...

always carry a tool. a screwdriver looks best, even if your going to the vending machine for a coffee, always be seen holding a screwdriver...it looks like you are in a middle of the job...

if your boss passes you by he'll say...'you look busy!'

you can reply, ..'yes, it never stops in this place..'

he may ask, 'so whats doing?'

you say, 'oh its that time of year...the oscilloscopes need calibrating, the signarutre analysers are....'

half way through the sentence he'll butt in and say...'okay keep up the good work'

jobs a good'un.



i think i have been in this job too long....

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Dondare

If you are not an engineer, carry a clipboard, and keep asking people "Have you seen so-and-so?"

Carrera

Never have I experienced such rage as at that moment.
After months of that damned derailleur playing up, I snapped, so help me, I snapped.
The problem was principally after shifting onto the big chainring. When the chain was on the big ring and largest cassette sprocket, the grinding was like a mincer. On a good day, it would cease on the second largest sprocket and get better as I changed to smaller sprockets on the cassette.
I adjusted screws, height angle and everything and undid the allen key screw many times.
Finally I took my other functioning bike and shifted onto the big chainring and compared height of derailleur with the troublesome bike. I decided I could lower it somewhat.
Even then, soon as I shifted there was terrible rubbing.
Then I snapped while riding, got off the bike and pushed that derailleur back with every bit of aggression I could muster. I was using the most hideous swear words and cuss words. I wanted to bend the darned thing right off the frame.
Believe me, the problem has been solved. I've ridden to the boat and back today and the derailleur doesn't rub at all. It shifts perfectly too and doesn't fly off. Somehow, luck was on my side and I must have bent it exactly as required.
This has changed my philosophy about bike-mechanics.

Carrera

Mountain Pro, today I removed the old ammeter and also removed the horn switch on the boat. The only worry is that the old, knackered ammeter is connected to three very thick brown wires, whereas the new ammeter has only two thin, red and black wires.
I'll get advice about this. Maybe I will need to buy some sort of socket to connect the new ammeter wires to the thicker brown wires. I'll find out before I do anything.
The main thing is I carefully marked which wires go there and marked the wires on the boat so I know where they ought to fit.
Looking at the wiring I can see the problem. I figure I'm going to save myself a heck of a lot of money doing this myself (so long as I get advice from my dad who's a retired engineer). The connections as they stand are damp, loose and dirty. New spades sockets are required.
I figure the ignition switch needs changing too and maybe I can even make a new dashboard pannel or, at least, paint the old one.
This boat is going to need a lot of work but I plan to give it my best shot.