Maintenance on my bike

Discussion in 'Chai' started by Chai, Jan 17, 2017.

  1. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Here's some updates on my bike. Changed the bottom bracket. The previous black plastic piece was shorter, so the trail gunk went into the bearings and ruined it. So time for a proper replacement this time!

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    Time for a new front tyre due to rainy season! This Maxxis High Roller 2 are pretty good, at 835g, not too bad I guess.

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    I fell twice on the same day, and this happened! My ego bruised more than the actual injury. :haha:

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  2. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Tyre sidewall tore, probably hit some rocks.
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    In the mean time, I also changed from 3x9 to 1x11 Deore XT M8000 setup with 30 teeth chain ring at the front.
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    Time to replace with Maxxis Ardent 2.25 26"! I tried once in mild wet condition, and it grips really well, except roots of course.
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  3. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    You changed new tires today? What a coincidence, I just received these and was planning on putting them on maybe later tonight or tomorrow.

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  4. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    I changed sometime last week, just found time to post it today...

    I'm not sure about Continental road tyres, but my Mountain King 2 is really crap, one of the worst tyres I have tried.
     
  5. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    I think the quality depends a lot on a specific line rather than brand in general. Gatorskin, GP 4 Seasons, and GP 4000S II are all pretty good and popular Continental road tires. I haven't heard much about Maxxis for road tires, but funny enough I'm currently using Maxxis inner tubes even though they're quite expensive.

    But holy crap, these Gatorskins are really tough to fit. Had to cheat a bit and use a tire lever to get that last bit of bead over the rim. :shock:
     
  6. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    I have to use tire lever on most tires, it's not worth ruining my fingers anyway. :haha:
     
  7. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    New tools that I bought recently. Spoke wrench, chain breaker tool, and bottom bracket tool.
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    I never have a proper spoke wrench, so I have to get one. The new 11 speed chains are tough to break, so I bought a better quality Park Tool version. I have to get this heavy duty bottom bracket tool because some idiot over tighten the bottom bracket from factory and the thread on the seized bottom bracket is completely ruined, and the threads on the bike was 'almost' un-savagable. Thankfully, after a few turns using a brand new BB, the thread is back to normal.

    I'm not going to make the same mistake. Torque wrench to 30Nm this time, slightly below the recommended 35-50Nm, but I guess it doesn't matter that much because pedaling will tighten it naturally.
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  8. Trinity

    Trinity Little Kiki Staff Member

    Damn dude! Knees and tires... fn ouch!!! Had something like that a few years ago. Now that summer is almost here I have been riding my pk ripper around the hood again. My next upgrade will probably be a rear Holly Roller. I like doing 20 foot fishtails in the stones in my driveway too much! Still feels so fun even at 50 years old.:)
     
  9. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    I thought the standard solution to such issues is to turn it into an excuse for a new bike? :mrgreen:
     
  10. Trinity

    Trinity Little Kiki Staff Member

    That is his new bike.:p

    And a hardcore rider.:thumb:
     
    Last edited: Jun 13, 2017
  11. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    LOL. Too poor to use that excuse... That bike is as good as new now! :thumb:

    Now I have other issues on my other bike. The hubs are dying due to "harsh riding conditions". :shifty:
     
  12. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

  13. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Looks like I will spend RM60 and not getting it back...
     
  14. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Seatpost replacement, it was creaking really bad, no amount of lubrication would get rid of it. And it wasn't clamping the saddle properly which made it worse.

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    Luckily I found a really good deal on Thomson Elite seatpost. No more creaks!
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  15. Trinity

    Trinity Little Kiki Staff Member

  16. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    Where do you normally get your Park Tools stuff?
     
  17. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Good question, I think it's still cheapest to get from fleeBay. But I wouldn't get all Park Tools though.

    Icetoolz from Taiwan is a cheap and pretty good alternative, also from fleeBay. Most of my kit are Icetoolz.

    What are you getting anyway?
     
  18. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    Just doing some research, checking out the investment costs for wheelbuilding and trueing work.
     
  19. Chai

    Chai Administrator Staff Member

    Wheel building? I've actually build a wheel before with nothing but a cheap eBay multi spoke wrench.

    You don't need expensive truing stand. It's all about patience and fine tuning. Not only you need to worry about true-ness, but also spoke tension as well. Not really easy.

    But honestly, I wouldn't bother, just pay the bike mechanic to do the hard work. There are many other maintenance work that you can (should) do on your own.
     
  20. atwl77

    atwl77 Just Started

    Well I suppose flipping the bike upside down turns it into a make-shift trueing stand, as long as the chainstays are not out of alignment...

    Also think maybe I should get a deraillieur straightening tool, seems like that's a very easy thing to get bent.
     

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