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

[MORNE]

4 hours ago, splat said:

Step 1; loosen stem bolts
Step 2; loosen bolts more because they are not loose enough
Step 3; realize bolts are too loose so tighten them up
Step 4; straddle bike with one eye closed and twist bars, bar don't move easily because bolts are too tight now
Step 5; twist bars only to over-compensate cause bolts are too tight
Step 6; twist bars back the other way only to over-compensate
Step 7; get off bike and go around to front and straddle front wheel
Step 8; bars look square WTF
Step 9; re-straddle bike, nope bars are not square
Step 10; go back to straddle front wheel and over compensate twisting another 3-4 times
Step 11; get back on bike in your 'attack' position to make sure it feels good while wiggling your bars back and forth a bit to make sure they are square
Step 12; bars slip and get mis-aligned whilst doing this
Step 13; &$(# it, get it close and tighten up your stem bolts
Step 14; realize you are hyper aware of bars being .0001 degree off and it's screwing with your head for the first 1/2 mile
Step 15; ride it like this for 6 months and never think about it again

(Copied from Pinkbike)

Hahaha. For reals though, i find it easier to alight it with the wheel out, the fork placed in a wide ish tile grout line that keeps it sort of in place, stand in front of bike facing saddle, then align. 
 

but yes, that eliminates all the fun headsets and attack position bits so where’s the fun in that? 

Something ive also done with qr forks is do the above…but put a wooden dowel close to size through the dropouts to give you a nicer reference line to measure against.
edit: Should work on a TA fork if a dowel can pass through both ends. Get like a 900mm one.

Edited August 15, 2023 by MORNE

[droo]

6 hours ago, 100Tours said:

I have learnt that Magura makes the world's finest calipers, and pairs them with the world's most impossible 'carbotecture' levers.

After watching a lot of Youtube the only failsafe way to bleed Magura's is to remove the levers, throw them away, install shimano levers, and suddenly you have the worlds best brakes. 

Magura levers are fine if you don't overtorque the clamp bolts, bleed them every 6 months, and don't crash. Most issues with them are caused by #1 - more than 2 Nm and you'll crack the piston cap.

[droo]

4 hours ago, Meezo said:

phuck!!! this is me every time... my 6 months its nearing its end

Line the back of your bars up with the front of the crown, making sure the stem lines up with the tyre.

Easiest way I've found, and I've done a few...

[100Tours]

4 hours ago, droo said:

Magura levers are fine if you don't overtorque the clamp bolts, bleed them every 6 months, and don't crash. Most issues with them are caused by #1 - more than 2 Nm and you'll crack the piston cap.

Understood, but there's a whole selection of youtube videos that basically say that the reason your Magura levers are still spongy is that you haven't been trying hard enough, and you're only a few bleeds away from having them actually work properly. They are overdue for a redesign.

[Meezo]

10 minutes ago, 100Tours said:

Understood, but there's a whole selection of youtube videos that basically say that the reason your Magura levers are still spongy is that you haven't been trying hard enough, and you're only a few bleeds away from having them actually work properly. They are overdue for a redesign.

Shigura

[droo]

33 minutes ago, 100Tours said:

Understood, but there's a whole selection of youtube videos that basically say that the reason your Magura levers are still spongy is that you haven't been trying hard enough, and you're only a few bleeds away from having them actually work properly. They are overdue for a redesign.

Trust the YouTube mechanic at your peril. 

[michaelbiker]

Love my Maguras and definitely don’t think they are much harder to bleed than Shimano. I don’t like how the Shimano levers feel. Am keen to try out Curas but the Magura’s are pretty close to perfect for me. 

[ChrisF]

26 minutes ago, droo said:

Trust the YouTube mechanic at your peril. 

 

Search for more than 10 minutes and you have a wide selection of wannabee video makers contradicting each other ... 🤦‍♂️

[dasilvarsa]

If You have a Tubeless Puncture that Does Not Seal TAKE OFF your Gloves.

Just Wrecked a nice pair of Gloves with Sealant.

[splat]

18 hours ago, dasilvarsa said:

If You have a Tubeless Puncture that Does Not Seal TAKE OFF your Gloves.

Just Wrecked a nice pair of Gloves with Sealant.

Sure that will wash out ?
They cant be that wrecked...

[AkwA]

it depends on the sealant, some leave permanent stains

[dasilvarsa]

2 hours ago, splat said:

Sure that will wash out ?
They cant be that wrecked...

Chamois Leather Gloves. Soaked them Overnight but No Go.

Still Usable but Fuggly.

[love2fly]

A slightly different slant ...my roadbike (Ultegra 10 so) rear brake (still rim brakes)was seemingly seized....turned out cable was REALLY toast AND arches somewhat seized/sticking closed ...

Now usually shift cables are a doddle, and the same for my Eagle 1x12....

Cable was so buggered where it comes out of toptube/steerer tube (Supersix Evo) that I battled to get enough slack into the lever to pull it out, but did so eventually ...I was clever enough to cut it but leave an end sticking out on both sides of the frame...or so I thought.

There is a "barrel" that the cable slocks into in the lever/shifter, in the lever, which came out when I pressed the cable out - by that stage I was becoming moderately concerned, luckily I spotted the plastic bushes on each side and taped the thing together to avoid any more leopard crawling the garage floor with a light looking for parts..I'm still missing a cable end...by then I had undone half that sides bar tape and removed the lever as for the life of me I couldn't get the cable to enter the shifter as the lever needs to be only slightly depressed....ok, when that was done I cleverly taped new cable to the old in an attempt to pull it through which it wouldnt so I thought, "what the hell and pulled the old out ....getting the new cable through the top tube was a battle, luckily despite Messrs Cannondale not fitting a guide into the frame, they fitted a removable ferrule into the frame above the rear brake so after pushing and pulling the cable with the bike on its side I got it through....oh and then I noticed the rear arches were partially seized and cleaned and lubed withQ20 ( not bad for once in about 12 years).

What takes 10 minutes in most cases took me an hour and a half .  🤣

 

[The Ouzo]

4 minutes ago, love2fly said:

A slightly different slant ...my roadbike (Ultegra 10 so) rear brake (still rim brakes)was seemingly seized....turned out cable was REALLY toast AND arches somewhat seized/sticking closed ...

Now usually shift cables are a doddle, and the same for my Eagle 1x12....

Cable was so buggered where it comes out of toptube/steerer tube (Supersix Evo) that I battled to get enough slack into the lever to pull it out, but did so eventually ...I was clever enough to cut it but leave an end sticking out on both sides of the frame...or so I thought.

There is a "barrel" that the cable slocks into in the lever/shifter, in the lever, which came out when I pressed the cable out - by that stage I was becoming moderately concerned, luckily I spotted the plastic bushes on each side and taped the thing together to avoid any more leopard crawling the garage floor with a light looking for parts..I'm still missing a cable end...by then I had undone half that sides bar tape and removed the lever as for the life of me I couldn't get the cable to enter the shifter as the lever needs to be only slightly depressed....ok, when that was done I cleverly taped new cable to the old in an attempt to pull it through which it wouldnt so I thought, "what the hell and pulled the old out ....getting the new cable through the top tube was a battle, luckily despite Messrs Cannondale not fitting a guide into the frame, they fitted a removable ferrule into the frame above the rear brake so after pushing and pulling the cable with the bike on its side I got it through....oh and then I noticed the rear arches were partially seized and cleaned and lubed withQ20 ( not bad for once in about 12 years).

What takes 10 minutes in most cases took me an hour and a half .  🤣

 

[ChrisF]

52 minutes ago, love2fly said:

A slightly different slant ...my roadbike (Ultegra 10 so) rear brake (still rim brakes)was seemingly seized....turned out cable was REALLY toast AND arches somewhat seized/sticking closed ...

Now usually shift cables are a doddle, and the same for my Eagle 1x12....

Cable was so buggered where it comes out of toptube/steerer tube (Supersix Evo) that I battled to get enough slack into the lever to pull it out, but did so eventually ...I was clever enough to cut it but leave an end sticking out on both sides of the frame...or so I thought.

There is a "barrel" that the cable slocks into in the lever/shifter, in the lever, which came out when I pressed the cable out - by that stage I was becoming moderately concerned, luckily I spotted the plastic bushes on each side and taped the thing together to avoid any more leopard crawling the garage floor with a light looking for parts..I'm still missing a cable end...by then I had undone half that sides bar tape and removed the lever as for the life of me I couldn't get the cable to enter the shifter as the lever needs to be only slightly depressed....ok, when that was done I cleverly taped new cable to the old in an attempt to pull it through which it wouldnt so I thought, "what the hell and pulled the old out ....getting the new cable through the top tube was a battle, luckily despite Messrs Cannondale not fitting a guide into the frame, they fitted a removable ferrule into the frame above the rear brake so after pushing and pulling the cable with the bike on its side I got it through....oh and then I noticed the rear arches were partially seized and cleaned and lubed withQ20 ( not bad for once in about 12 years).

What takes 10 minutes in most cases took me an hour and a half .  🤣

 

 

We have all been there at some point ....

 

 

I remember an instance where a 2 minute brake block replacement turned into a multi.day ordeal to get the brakes bled properly ....

[love2fly]

55 minutes ago, ChrisF said:

 

We have all been there at some point ....

 

 

I remember an instance where a 2 minute brake block replacement turned into a multi.day ordeal to get the brakes bled properly ....

The road of good intentions is paved with ...🤣