Handlebar

I use any grease as long as it's clean. I've been using Marine Grease lately because I had some. It's gooey and it makes packing open bearings awkward. Seems to be working though. Getting to about time I service them again but they still seem to be running smooth.

Thanks Johan. The bearings were in really bad condition and the lettering totally unreadable. I should have just measured them when I had them out but I figured I'd find out what they were on the internet. I'm pretty sure they're the standard 1-1/8" 45/45 and 1.5" 36/45 ACBs but I know the thicknesses on these vary.

Can any of you clever okes tell me what bearings this headset takes? Its off a Merida BigNine. If you know who stocks that will also be great.

Echinacea. Nuff said

Terible, terible news. A south african to be proud of. Condolences to his family.

Try e-bay for the seals and CRC for suspension oil. <Hijack on> Why don't bike shops service forks? <Hijack off>

Just curious..Which hubber's done it fastest on a mountain bike? State tyre type and size please.

I reckon once you've chosen a lubricant stick with it for that chain. Keep a separate chain for wet rides. I never used to like squirt but I've found that it starts working well after a few rides and reapplications and if you brush and wipe the chain clean instead of washing. The older the chain get the less often it seems to needs lubricating.

Who's your local dealer?

Thanks for the advice.

Please pm me some prices too? What is a seal inserter?

After "forking" out a small fortune for a basic fork service I've decided to have a go at it myself next time. I'm struggling to find everything I need in one place though. Any idea where I can get a service kit, oil, wiper seals, lubricant for a rockshox recon silver fork? CRC don't seem to have anything for Recon. The SA stores don't seem to stock it. The online store I have found don't ship to SA. I've found some stuff on e-bay but I'd prefer to get everything in one go to save on delivery costs. Any advice? What else do I need to get?

Thanks for all the replies. Sounds like I need to concentrate a bit a strength training - which I do very little of and don't need to lower my HR zones.

I've been training with a HR monitor for about a year now. When I started I could, with effort, get my HR up to around 192bpm and actually measured 195bpm once or twice. Now days I have to almost pass out to get to 187bpm. I was under impression that maximum HR only decreases by a couple of bpm per year. So do I need to get my HRM checked or is it something to do with getting fitter.

Welcome to the sleazy world of the the bike shop business. Trust nobody! I've also found that shops don't treat all customers as equally. Normally it's us okes with the cheap bikes that get the worst service - m.o.