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Merlin

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Everything posted by Merlin

  1. Apologies for the delayed response. Thank you, everyone. Much appreciated. Very helpful responses all around. 🙂
  2. Hi everyone, The original tyres on my Trek EX8, 650b x 2.8 Schwalbe Nobby Nics, are nearing the end of their life. I sliced my rear tyre open on a rock yesterday. Although the remaining gorilla snot finally sealed the hole, I'm taking it as a sign to change both out. The LBS can only supply Bontrager XR3s, which do not appear to garner overwhelmingly great reviews. Also, the quoted price is rather horrendous. I'm rather distant from the cycling world these days, so outside of the LBS, I'm about as disconnected as can be. I Googled all the online bike stores in ZA that I could find. I seem to be running a rather uncommon tyre size. Where else might I find tyres in this size, please? I do prefer a more aggressive tread, and I ride a wide variety of surfaces, from city riding to trails, mud, etc. I'm in the southern suburbs of CPT, if that's of any significance. Thank you.
  3. Hi all, Who's the guru on vintage bikes in this part of the world? I have an old DHC, which belonged to my Granddad, and is in original condition and I've now found another old bike which I'm interested in, but it seems to me to be quite the hodge-podge... The frame is labelled as an 'Assegai', has a BSA chainring and Sturmy-Archer 3-speed gears. It's been 'touched up', in various places, by brush, with black paint ( ), but does come equipped with the usual plethora of vintage accessories. Are you on you able to give me more info' on it, please? I'd love a guesstimate on the value too, if possible? Thank you. Nic
  4. Thanks chaps. Absolutely, copperhead.
  5. Thanks NSBB. Does the small and large look used to you or are you sitting on the fence there? Anyone else, please? The more, the better.
  6. Thank you, th. That's confirmation of what I've concluded.
  7. Hello everyone, On a Shimano 9-speed HG chain, is it standard to find the letters 'LF' engraved on random links? http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/3/30/900x900px-LL-30ca5466_DFUmG7U.jpeg Do these chainrings look new to you? They were fitted, the gears adjusted and the bike was then ridden around a parking lot in order to test the adjustment. http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/e/e8/900x900px-LL-e8c5951c_bDeakrO.jpeg http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/1/17/900x900px-LL-1703776d_6viqetD.jpeg http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/a/a7/900x900px-LL-a7ba7f3c_tqs2zn4.jpeg http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/8/88/900x900px-LL-8802074c_FrxRy6H.jpeg http://cdn.cyclingforums.com/8/84/900x900px-LL-8492dff6_yZJhZ5X.jpeg Thank you for your time.
  8. Here's my dilemma, Skylark... 1. I haven't yet finished sorting this out. I want to get a second, professional opinion on some of the other parts. 2. Although I knew that the derailleur had been swapped out; and I was then able to extract this info' from the owner/techie and have things corrected, to what extent would it need to be proven in the public domain to preclude myself from coming off in a negative light as a potential slanderer. I would like my bike sorted, but in so far as "naming & shaming", I simply have far too much else on my plate to deal with at present to take on the prospect of defending myself. I don't like it, but I also have to be rational about the bigger picture.
  9. Although I wasn't subjected to that, Mojoman, I can confirm that that is certainly a problem in the IT world as well, with high-priced parts. howardsteele, it was indeed the front derailleur. I am usually quite an independent chap and do most work myself. Circumstances forced me to go through a store at the moment. Frustration is not the word.
  10. UH, I'm still busy sorting out my bike and so far, the owner has been co-operative. I'm merely trying to caution others to be on the lookout, not start a flame war. @ DJR.
  11. This serves as a cautionary message... I gave a small, independent LBS a chance a few days ago and handed in my bike in order to have some worn parts changed. This was after a 'brand' had disappointed me with some work done prior. I collected it earlier today and quickly discovered that my derailleur had been stealthily changed out for an inferior one. Long story short, I stood by whilst my original one was refitted. This exercise cost me a master-link in a brand new chain, a weak link, so to speak, which is annoying me no end. I am also of the opinion that the parts that I requested and paid for, are inferior and used items. I have confronted the owner/techie about all of this; the enquiry is on-going. I intend on checking the parts purchases with their supplier and will also seek out a second opinion on the fitted parts. I am livid. In future, I will be allocating the time to effect all work on my bikes myself and will be only accept parts in their original packaging. I am not giving out names, but please, check and mark ALL components on your bikes. You just never know...
  12. Loving the prompt replies, from Hubbers and EB. Thank you, everyone! I'll forward my Order number to your email addresses in a moment.
  13. Thanks Raab. Yep, they have all of my current contact details. Most online shops have a Comment section when checking out, which I intended on using to let them know about my Wednesday deadline, but not with EB...hence my worrying.
  14. Morning all, I took a chance and ordered with EasyBike for the first time on Saturday, with overnight express as my delivery option. Their system is still showing my order as 'Processing', which is a rather large problem, because I'm relocating to the sticks on Thursday. I emailed them yesterday morning and I've tried their phone number twice, which doesn't seem to be working. Do any of you have contact details for them that work, please? Thank you.
  15. OK, so here's the latest on this saga... I purchased a new gear cable this past weekend and fitted it myself, because I discovered a damaged cable upon its return from LBS #2. I realigned the derailleur and dropped it. It is now pretty much dead on 1mm from the top of the large chainring. It changes gears very nicely too. ...but the chain still drags along the bottom of the cage. We've been playing around with the idea of cutting the bottom of the cage off and trying to extend it downwards with a small plate, fitted with pop rivets. http://i.imgur.com/2GVO7.jpg http://i.imgur.com/WsCXW.jpg http://i.imgur.com/5aXIg.jpg
  16. Some of the places I ride, desperately require the Granny Gear, funjunkie. OK, I took my bike back to the second [better] LBS on Saturday... The guy immediately knew what I was talking about and explained to me, with the aid of a newer Specialised as an example, that the newer derailleurs are made differently. The 'lever' part of them is shorter, as I understand it. Apparently the geometry of my 2006 frame is now defunct. He showed me, when we shifted onto the large chainring, that there minimum clearance there, around 1mm or so. Short of adjusting my chainring ratios, there isn't much I can but live with it, unfortunately. My best bet is probably to cut my losses and look for good used derailleur.
  17. My rig is such a mish-mash of parts these days it doesn't bug me too much, Mojoman. I'm just glad if something lasts with my riding... If time and transportation permis tomorrow, perhaps I should take it back to the second shop and ask them to have another go at it. It's the first time they've ever let me down.
  18. Wow! Thanks for all of the replies. I'm relieved to hear it's only a case of adjustment and not a wrong derailleur. I'll have a go at setting it up again this weekend. Hopefully I can get away without having to adjust the H and L screws.
  19. Hi all, It's been MANY years since I've actively tinkered with this stuff, so go easy... A week ago I discovered that the cage on my front derailleur had cracked right through on the back side. I took the bike up to the LBS and they fitted a new Deore mech', which is a seriously ugly piece of kit if you ask me, but anyways... I got my rig Home and went for a test ride and whilst it shifted properly, through all of the usual combinations of gears, the chain was dragging on the bottom of the cage with the smallest chainring selected. After some Internet consultation, I had a go at adjusting it but only made it worse. This week I took the bike to my usual store, which I have a lot more faith in and again paid to have it set up. She's shifting like a champ, but the chain is still running on the bottom of the cage. http://i.imgur.com/lfYjT.jpg The costs are adding up, my frustration is building and I'm running out of ideas. Why is the new derailleur doing this, please? Thanks.
  20. Thanks for the explanation. These days I put very little mileage on my bike, so it's probably been developing for quite some time.
  21. Perhaps I should've written post a l'il differently... When necessary in the past, I have gone the claim route for parts that have failed erroneously, but I have no problem replacing something myself when necessary and due. WAY back when, I used to work in bike shops and I was generally very active in the bike world. I've never seen a crack develop like this, and as you can see from the rest of the derailleur, it hasn't been struck or damaged externally in any way. Maybe manufacturers would like to be told about unusual breakages? I'll take the bike in for a new one when possible. Thanks for the input.
  22. Hi all, I noticed this distressing sight yesterday... The back piece of the front derailleur is cracked almost right through. I've never seen or even heard of a problem like this before. It's been on the bike for a couple of years and there's little chance of me finding a receipt for it. Should I bother contacting Shimano about this, as a clear manufacturing defect or should I cough up and replace it without a fight? HtF does that even happen? Thanks.
  23. Thanks chaps. Just found it a bit odd that there were no updates on their site, etc.
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