David Marshall

Some quick calculations. Current 36T ring with 28 cassette gives an improvement of 18%, A 29 cassette up to 21%. New 34T ring with 28 cassette gives an improvement of 22%, A 29 cassette up to 25%. The maximum with a RD extender and 32T cassette would be in the region of 30%

Chances are that you have a short cage RD in which case the biggest ring on the cassette that your derailleur can handle will be 28 or max 29T. This will make a massive difference compared to the current 23 and will probably solve your problem. If not enough the next step would be to change the 36T chainring for a 34. In the unlikely event of this not being enough you could try a derailleur extender and go to a maximum of 32T at the back. At this point I would not spend any more money. Be careful of mixing new with old. The current 10 speed Tiagra components are not compatible with the older 10 speeds.

Problem solved! Just take out a second bond. True laterally, radially and dish at the same time. One thing about the P&K Lie is that the gauges are too sensitive for you to spin the wheel fast so I tend to build on the Park Tool until I stress relieve the wheel and then move it over to the P&K Lie.

I have the TS2.2 stand and I have never bothered to calibrate mine because I only work with one arm at a time so having the stand calibrated is not necessary. I just put something under the arm not being used to keep it clear of the rim. I also build the wheel biased to the "tight" side and then dish at the end towards the loose side This saves your arm as you are working with spokes at a lower tension.

It is when they dictate what you have to stock. There is a limited demand for some things and they will sit on your shelves for years. Anyone looking for a Shimano PF42 BB brand new going cheap? Elixir rebuild kits?

You have hit the nail on the head. I have a busy workshop with no retail and the only reason it is still open is that I own the premises, have no staff and there are plenty of large retailers around me from whom I can get parts. As for passion that can quickly be extinguished when dealing with the supply players and every new marketing gimmick that comes out on a bike - a product which of course you have intimate and detailed knowledge of because you are a mechanic - even if it is the first time that you have seen or heard of it! My estimate is that 1 to 6 years is the life span of most small shops - unless you are Piet se Fietse with a captive market servicing commuter bikes in the Kalahari. You might last a bit longer.

Cable and housing around R100. You are doing the labour anyway if you remove to clean. To me not worth it just to buy a bit of time.

You may also feel some "rocking" from the brake action. To check the cup and cone bearing play hold one fork leg with one hand and the tyre/rim with the other and feel for lateral play.

JB published a book on the subject. https://www.amazon.com/Everything-need-about-Bicycle-Chains-ebook/dp/B00O46YUW0 Tech Q&A used to be a great Friday thread. Miss him. (That and couches in the classifieds.)

Yes, the balls and cones will wear quicker if over or under tightened. I am assuming that both wheelsets are Shimano. If you compare a cup and cone bearing hub (Shimano) with a sealed bearing hub the sealed bearings will feel smoother.

My opinion, no. The new should run smoothly. Probably the cones are too tight. Often the case on new wheels.

I know what standard is. I have 19 different "standard" headset bearings in my box! As for the Trek I don't know off hand what they use on your bike but they do have their own bearings on some of their bikes. On my son's Madone both the BB and headset bearings are frame specific.

Haven't a clue what they use but I would just top it up with fork oil. I have reconditioned my press and jack with it before. Doubt that the oil weight would be important in this application so get the cheapest.

I still build most of the wheel on the Park Tool and when I am up to tension and almost true move to the P&K Lie to dish and do the final true. The P&K Lie is an awesome tool but does not like the wheel to be spun fast. It really does speed up the build though. The best discovery I found when I got it was how true my wheels built on the Park Tool were!

Johan had a Morizumi. I bought a Japanese one (Kowa) about nine years ago and at the time it was around 2/3 the cost of a Phil Wood. As a wheelbuilder it is very nice to have but an expensive toy (as is my P&K Lie truing stand). I had to build 80 wheels to cover the cost. It comes into its own if you repair wheels with odd spokes and cutting if you need urgently or if stocks are short. Supplying shops or retail is a service and there is no money in it. By the time you have cut and rolled 20 spokes, packed them for shipping, delivered to Postnet or organised a courier, invoiced and tracked the payment you may as well not bother. You would never be able to do it with a Hozan. To me that is a tool for one off spokes or a home wheelbuild. Blanks are difficult to get and if you find them you usually have to order a full production run of 1000+ spokes. There are also so many spoke types that you would end up with an enormous amount of stock. I keep bladed straight pull blanks because they are almost impossible to get in the size that you need. For the rest I keep plenty of the commonly used DB spokes and others in 4 to 6 mm jumps so that I can cut and thread if need be. From a building point of view I would recommend a good tension meter before a spoke cutter.

Had a Merida Reacto 4000 disc in the shop recently with a gritty headset. It uses a similar set up with the cables going through the top headset bearing - unbelievably the hydraulic hoses do as well! Needless to say I will quote before doing any bearing replacement. Luckily the grit was external and I could clean up without disconnecting everything.

243, There are so many exactly the same but different! I use 290 because that is what I have for spokes. They also have one for metal to carbon but not available locally as far as I can see.

Agreed, minor damage to a ring can cause chain suck and a disaster.

They are not negatives until you have to replace them. An Octolink BB (if you can find one with the right spindle length) will set you back R800+. Often this will end up in a new crank/BB combination if the rings are at all worn. A threaded headset you will probably have to import at R1000+ (or use a R45 pressed steel Chinese one) and spring forks are considered non serviceable. Damage a shifter or brake and and you will end up replacing them all because "brifters" are scarce. I am not saying that they don't work, it's just what I would point out to any customer of mine that was interested. Hence my suggestion to split the bike from the touring kit and sell separately. Your estimate of 2-2500 for the bike is about right.

That seal needs to fit firmly into the hub body. Best to push it in with the flat of a screwdriver before fitting the cassette onto the free hub. Once the cassette is on it is almost impossible to get it in. Obviously problematic if the free hub comes out while removing the wheel from the bike. Hope this helps.

Two prices for this kind of bike. What it is worth and what you can get. Unfortunately there are some negatives on the bike - Octolink BB, threaded headset, spring fork and brake/shifters combined. To get the best price I would also offer the touring kit and the bike separately. The other alternative is to trade in the N-1 for a N+1.

My choice would be Hartebeeshoek road as No. 1 and then the valley road through Skeerpoort/Hekpoort as second. I must say that one Sunday morning at around 05.30am my son and I rode up to Hartebeeshoek. Was great until some Porsche club arrived to do their 1/4 mile time trials. No road is wide enough to accommodate a bicycle and 200kmh Porsche!

You can ask your shop to get you Enduro, Cane Creek and possibly others. Depending on the one you are looking for you may have to go Chinese or import yourself.

It happens! As above get direct from Pyga Industries in Pietermaritzburg. If it is the hex key hole that is stripped as a temporary fix you can remove the bolt with a bolt extractor and then drill and tap the hole to take a small bolt to refit it.

Chain Wizard in Sunninghill wraps with Armouride. Check out their Facebook page.