Stuff you learn(t) the hard way by being your own mechanic

[TheoG]

19 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Not so much a mistake, but a day of struggling with my new chain (on Friday). Struggled to break the chain at the 4th link (112 length). Turns out the pin has broken off on my Park Tool chain breaker. Thankfully I see there is a replacement tool pin.

Also struggled to click the new master link together. Had to use the tool, that I’ve had in the toolbox for years, but never used. It was super tight trying by hand.

Once on, I realised I put the chain on the wrong way. Unclick. Turn around. Reinstall.

Then realised it was upside down… OCT (tendencies, not disorder) says the Shimano logo must be right way up when on the top of the chain ring, like the crankset logo.

Anyway, sanity prevailed and a short while later I was done. New chain days are awesome.

Writing on the outside yes, but upside down, I dont think that's going to make any difference since the chain is pretty much symmetric (no flat top anyway), however, I will in future check for this, didn't know it was a thing until now ... 😊.

[Frosty]

29 minutes ago, TheoG said:

Writing on the outside yes, but upside down, I dont think that's going to make any difference since the chain is pretty much symmetric (no flat top anyway), however, I will in future check for this, didn't know it was a thing until now ... 😊.

Reminder that the upside down logo is an OCD/OCT thing. ☺️

[TheoG]

Just now, Frosty said:

Reminder that the upside down logo is an OCD/OCT thing. ☺️

👍 Thanks for triggering my OCD/OCT on this .... 🤪😂

[MrJacques]

It's probably worth it (cheaper) in the long run if you ride a lot to be able to service your fork yourself, even if it's just a lower leg service. The pain is all the different weights and types of oils and greases you need and that they sometimes come in a larger quantity than you'll need. E.g. 3ml of 0-30w and only being able to buy 500ml. And the special tools required to put in wiper seals, etc. In short, sometimes it's just easier to let the shop do it.

[Chadvdw67]

On 4/17/2023 at 2:50 PM, TheoG said:

👍 Thanks for triggering my OCD/OCT on this .... 🤪😂

If you needed someone to point that out to you, then you cant claim to be OCD/OCT.......

[MrJacques]

R50+ for foam rings... I think we're being ripped off a bit by the industry as a whole. Can't I just cut up a dish sponge?

[Ispeed_V]

Internal cable routing is a B.....tch.

Requires a lot of patience and retry after retry.

Thankfully, google and GCN YouTube are very helpful.

[dave303e]

21 minutes ago, FondTF2 said:

Internal cable routing is a B.....tch.

Requires a lot of patience and retry after retry.

Thankfully, google and GCN YouTube are very helpful.

Someone on this forum possibly this thread once mentioned a vacuum cleaner and string. It really has made life easier for me. I ran an armoured cable through a 32mm pvc pipe across a field. Tied a plastic bag to the string and pulled it with vacuum cleaner, then pulled a wire through and then the cable. It was a 70m length of cable and pipe. Worked like a charm. Had fiber installers looking impressed, they thought I was never going to get the cable through.

[TheoG]

57 minutes ago, dave303e said:

Someone on this forum possibly this thread once mentioned a vacuum cleaner and string. It really has made life easier for me. I ran an armoured cable through a 32mm pvc pipe across a field. Tied a plastic bag to the string and pulled it with vacuum cleaner, then pulled a wire through and then the cable. It was a 70m length of cable and pipe. Worked like a charm. Had fiber installers looking impressed, they thought I was never going to get the cable through.

With a carbon frame, magnet set works like a charm.

[Frosty]

Except for my dual-sus MTB, the only internal cabling I have on any other bike is the cable that runs on the inside of the outer housings.

Does that count? asking for a friend 🤪😆

[W@nted]

For internal routing, I use one of those thin cable sleeves over the old cable through the frame. Then pull out the old cable, whilst the sleeve stays in place. Then just push the new cable through the sleeve. 
 

However, this only works if there is a cable already installed. For first time cable installation, vacuum cleaner and floss it is…

[MrJacques]

This is not the correct way to route a chain. No wonder it sounded so noisy.

[The Ouzo]

10 minutes ago, MrJacques said:

This is not the correct way to route a chain. No wonder it sounded so noisy.

lol, done that a few times. Fortunately picked up the error on the bike stand before the bike was ridden. 

[dasilvarsa]

31 minutes ago, MrJacques said:

This is not the correct way to route a chain. No wonder it sounded so noisy.

Common Error

[ChrisF]

1 hour ago, MrJacques said:

This is not the correct way to route a chain. No wonder it sounded so noisy.

 

Each and everyone of us have done that once ..... part of the learning curve 

[NotSoBigBen]

12 hours ago, ChrisF said:

 

Each and everyone of us have done that once ..... part of the learning curve 

Some of us more than once, ek se maar net 🤪

Edited May 6, 2023 by NotSoBigBen