David Marshall

Visited one last year after stage 3. Muscle problem in the lower leg. She had me sweating worse than during the race but they are the real deal - not recruits from the local day spa!

Not to make any excuses for the trade but certain things can't easily be seen in a service. Owners have to take some responsibility. Things like fork and shock service intervals and to some extent suspension bearing condition can't be seen without extensive stripping (and cost). You need to keep track of these things and let your mechanic know the status of your bike. By the time the wear is obvious it should have been done at an earlier service.

Are you sure that it is a solid bolt? Does the head not remove like the other side (if you clamp the shaft and unscrew)? Otherwise plan B. I pressed a seized bolt out of a shock mounting - you could hear the screech two blocks away. Pity you are in CT.

Best is to try and get hold of a small bearing separator as in the pic. You can also try to fit a nut onto the bolt and try to tap the bolt out while supporting the bearing over the jaws of a vice. The bolt thread must not protrude above the nut otherwise the bolt will be damaged. If the bearing collapses and separates, leaving the inner race still stuck to the bolt you can run a small weld onto the race. The weld must only cover about a 1/4 of the race. The uneven heating usually allows you to easily remove the race.

No problem at all. I charge R3 per spoke to cut and thread yours or R20 per spoke (DB) with silver brass nipple cut to length.

I know of 4 industrial spoke cutting and threading tools. JB sold his to Cyclelab Fourways, Doug Patterson has one - maybe he has passed it on with the Pillar agency. Kiwi and I each have one.

.....Jobst Brandt

The Bicycle Wheel - Jobst Brandt all the basics. Download it and read selectively. Tension meter is a luxury - especially if you are building aluminium wheels. You can check tension when you relieve the spoke wind up. I will teach anyone who is interested. R2000 for two full days to build your own wheel set with my tools. email me at dave@spokeandspanner.co.za or 072 222 7185

Your cables only need to be tightened to 4 or 5 nm. Use a pre set 5 or torque wrench. That said the new 11 speed Shimano road FD cables need to be 7 nm - and pulled tight tight! Not nice to set up.

I see that Fox has taken over Marzocchi.

See you are in Randburg. PM me as I have stock.

Rock Shox fork service around R850-00. Monarch air can service R420. Air can and damper R900. They may have had a courier charge in it as well.

Too many claims for stuff lost in the SA post. You can try get it via Aramex shop and ship.

The creaking door is opening.......

Try and contact International Trade. They are agents for FSA. If they can't help you then you will probably have to bring it in yourself.

Your question is logical but not practical. I am assuming you would want to replace the hub while using the same spokes and rim. You would then need to get the exact same hub as a replacement. To do this you need to know what model it is (find the serial number/name - or get the specs from your bike manufacturer or from the hub manufacturer). To use another model of hub it would have to match the following measurements exactly. 1) Over lock nut dimension (OLD). This is the length of the hub from the outer surface of left lock nut to outer surface of right lock nut. So in the pictures above it is the length of the hub excluding the part of the axle that goes into the frame. 2) You then need to mark the exact center of the hub (1/2 the OLD) and measure from this mark to the center of both the left flange and the right flange. Because the gears fit on the right side the distance from the left to center is larger than the distance from right to center. 3) You need to now measure the diameter of each flange from the center of two opposite spoke holes. Sometimes the flanges are the same size but often they are not. 4) You need to measure the spoke hole diameter. 5) You need to know the number of spoke holes on each flange. This is why I say it is not practical. You can't get these measurements accurately enough with the hub in the wheel and secondly, you can't easily find this info on other hubs to compare the specifications. In practice you could replace the hub with any hub with the same OLD if you replace the spokes as well. This is expensive as good spokes are R15+ each and a wheel build is anything from R150 (not me) to R300 (me!). To get back to your original posting, you need to get a second opinion on the problem. What is bent on the hub and is the damage repairable? As others have said it could be tire or rim causing the hop. My suspicion is the replacement spoke is short and the radial truing is out. But then I am just a cynical old man.

See if you can't get the hub bearings serviced. Replacing that hub will not be cost effective . Cheaper to replace the wheel.

It will have to go to Probike for a rebuild. I don't stock the seals and by the time I've ordered and collected them it ends up costing more.

I smell a rat! Get the half of you based in JHB to bring the wheel to me and I will assess it for you.

Yes. I used to work at Yellowsaddle with Johan Bornman so I have have experience on most brands.

I doubt that it is your hub. More likely to be tire or rim related. Take it to some one who knows wheels to check it out before you spend money on a hub.

Give me a call. 072 222 7185

My top FBS (far bike shop). Always seem to have those not so easy to get parts in stock for my not so young bike! Worth the drive.

There are three o-rings. Two on the -ve piston, the one between the piston and stanchion is 3.5mm by 21mm (not easy to come by so use a 3.5 by 20mm) the other between the piston and the shaft is 3mm by 10mm. The positive piston has one, also 3.5 by 21mm. Lube the o-rings and the lowers as per U tube. You will probably need crush washers on the lower nuts as well. I am sure that the guys at Stoke can supply you with a "kit" or do it for you. When pumping I usually pump the negative first to about half the pressure that I want the positive to be, then pump the positive. Go back to the negative and adjust if necessary.

Lube the skewer/axle thread?