Hi Hubbers, sorry didn't know there were replies on my thread, my house was broken into and everything stolen..including my wi-fi router lol. Anyway thought I would answer some of the questions in the post posted. * Why did I go to Cajees... That is a very good question indeed, as I am also one of the guys who knows better, I have frequented the cajees next to eastage and the one next to east rand mall, however I know you only go there if you want something specific that you can't get elsewhere, further to add I also know you find your item and you ask what the real price is. Anyway my reason for taking there was as follows: The Cajees in question is the newly opened one in Edenvale, I went in the week prior and thought it looked well set up, more like the east rand mall one than the eastgate one, the staff seemed to be all nations, and they seemed clued up. I kept this in the back of my head for a "just in case situation".. moving forward I had noticed my Crank had been creaking under load (no noise if not pedaling) and making the noise in all gears. I therefore assume something is going on in the BB (Bottom Bracket) to answer the one question raised in the threads, when I say an outer lube it meant I removed the crank arm and slid the crank spindle from the Bottom Bracket, I then cleaned the rubber and metal caps, and cleaned the spindle, and cleaned around the bearings, added new grease and refitted. This is what I classify as lubing the outer, yes this doesn't do much other than remove dirt that may potentially get into the bearing seals. I have removed bearing seals in the past and removed the grease, and added new grease a few times before, however those were Shimano and the Bottom Bracket and bearings are easily removed, in this instance I was going to Durban the following weekend and was a bit worried that there is the possibility that I may damage the seal when removing it, I don't have a bearing pull (this is a press fit BB) and therefore just decided to send it to my local bike shop, which is Johnson Cycle works, I swear by them, however in this case they were closed.. So the new Cajees was close by, I decided to ask if they are able to remove the seals and degreasse the bearings and regrease, I thought if they mess the seals up they will fit new ones because Cajees carry stock of just about anything. Sure it wasn't my first option as I would do it myself, second option was JCW, then came third option Cajees (but only coz it was a new cajees that seemed different) lets not forget I was going away and had to get my bike sorted before the weekend. So folks that is why I took it there. And yes I will never go there again. And no the price was not an issue. Next Question was why did I use loctite on the QR and I should take some ownership. To answer this let me first indicate that I am a qualified toolmaker, or at least was for 5 years, I have used loctite on hundreds of occasions and am well versed in the tactile strengths of the various loctites available. To put you in the picture I would not use loctite at all however in case people were not aware, there was a recall on some Trek QR's, specifically because they can come lose and go into the disc brake. mine can't go into the disc brake and was therefor not recalled, however it was coming lose on its own. I therefore used a drop of loctite. Let my further highlight that I didn't just bath the threads in loctite, I used one drop on an ear bud and rolled the bud over the very last thread that the QR tightens onto. in addition I used Loctite 222 which is the purple loctite, not the red or blue as most would use, but the 222 which is used for holding a thread whilst also allowing disassembly, I have used this many times over the years as a tool maker and know it is 100% ok to use, on the Trek QR I had used it around 4 times, each time the QR holds in place and comes lose when any pressure is applied to loosen it. There was never any situation where the QR was stuck. see spec for loctite below : LOCTITE 222http://hybris.cms.henkel.com/medias/sys_master/8797243506718.jpg Threadlocking Adhesive - low strength. Easy disassembly. Suitable for all metal threaded assemblies. LOCTITE 222 is a low-strength threadlocker that allows the adjustment of screws including countersunk head screws and set screws. Good on low-strength metals which could fracture during disassembly, e.g. aluminium or brass. The product works on all metals, including passive substrates such as stainless steel, aluminium and plated surfaces. t is proven to be tolerant of minor contamination due to industrial oils, e.g. engine oils, corrosion prevention oils and cutting fluids. Your benefits Ideal for low-strength threadlocking of adjusting screws, countersunk head screws and set screwsPrevents loosening on vibrating assemblies, e.g. pumps, gear boxes or pressesPermits disassembly with hand toolsEspecially suited to small thread sizesP1 NSF Reg. No.: 123002 So all in all, yes I am at fault for assuming a bike technician would be competent enough to remove my QR even with loctite, however the fact remains I merely wanted them to give me a quote for a new one. if for some reason they wanted to remove it and for some new reason it was not coming lose then STOP, ask your manager or better still call me. in addition this is a Rock Shok Maxle light, it slides into the fork on one side and enters the fork on the other side, I believe it impossible to cross thread. The maxle light not only opens with the Quick release lever but you can use an Alan key on the opposite side, I believe its something like a 10mm, I could have used superglue and still removed it before it would strip. Lastly your bike goes into the mechanics area, it is placed into what I considered a safe area, the mechanic has a proper bike stand, and they are a bike shop that work with bikes. they service bikes, its what they do, the last thing I expected was for my bike to be scratched, after looking at the scratches, my assumption is that the frame was placed onto its side, onto three blocks of something, the bearing was probably knocked out using a hammer and small punch, instead of a bearing pull. the knocking of the hammer onto the bearing would have transfered onto the object that the frame was laying on, hence there are two surface scratches on the upper part of the frame, and a deeper scratch on the frame right above the bottom bracket.. I was wrong to think that a bike shop that offers a service would have the tools to remove eg a Shimano hollowtech with external bearing, and an SRAM with press fit bearings. My rant wasn't sent to highlight my own errors but merely because they had made such blunders over and over and Especially with scratching my Frame that this was not just a once of error but a clear lack of ability on there part, as highlighted in one of the threads, bike owners will do some crazy sh*t to there bikes whilst trying to perform there own repairs, and the bike shop bails them out and gets stuck with trying to fix eg a stripped cap screw, however the shop should at all times have the correct tools, have the knowledge for the item being worked on, and above all else, make sure the frame does not get scratched. Cajees failed on all these counts. If I had welded the QR in place, they still shouldn't have butchered it, they should have phoned and said my QR is not coming lose. Lesson learnt, I will never take my bike there again, i'm not saying you should or shouldn't go there, go listen to someone who has bought a bike at a good price from them and had a good service, you may find one, then go listen to hundreds who say something else, then make up your decision :-)
