Be Excellent To Each Other

Christ, it's shocking what a week without riding can do to your stamina.

I'm really aching today, and I think it's because I rode up the only hill in the area yesterday.

I run mine at about 80psi, but the range in my tyres is 80-120. I have a fixed frame, so I don't want them too solid.

OK Mountain Bike peeps, I have a problem. I can't cycle and this makes me unhappy.

As I mentioned elsewhere, the changedown on my front gears had become shit recently. Going from 3 to 2 on the front cogs actually required me to give the derailer thing a gentle prod with my foot to get it to change.

So about 2 hours ago I decided to fix this. Presumably it was the tension in the cable.

2 hours later I've given up. I even when I have tension it feels wrong. When I change down on the handlebars, it feels like the cable isn't released that easily. If given a gentle tug the cable suddenly becomes free.



The loose cable is the gear cable (which probably needs replacing but that is probably an even bigger job). The sprinything feels like it needs more ability to pull back towards the frame.

This is how it all looks at the moment. Is this a bike shop job I wonder? Or can I go and buy a load of stuff tomorrow to fix this myself?

Can't help you, sorry, chap - I'm absolutely useless at adjusting gears. I took mine into a bike shop to do mine when they were seriously out, and they charged me £12 to sort it all out.

Guess I'll have to bite the bullet and take it down there. Means I'll be bikeless until they can repair it which will make me very unhappy.

Unless I go out on Mrs Chinnys bike. But I might get strange looks.

Have you checked the cable is free to move in the plastic guides and things, these can end up with a groove worn in them which grips the cable.

Liberally apply oil everywhere if in doubt.

I've emailed the bike shop to see if they have a slot. I thought I was getting quite good on bike repairs but this one is probably beyond me. Ideally it probably needs new cables as well.

Gears seem to be somewhat of a dark art to me on mountain bikes. Everything else is pretty straightforward.

Da da-da-da Bicycle Repairman to the rescue.

Right, this will be one of a few things. But easily fixable. Firstly it sounds like dirt to me.

This sounds to me to be more likely to be an accumulation of gunk in the cable housings and on the front derailleur. Clean everything thoroughly - pull the cable out of the housings and squirt WD40 down the tubes, if the cable is slightly corroded then rub some grease on the actual cable - run the cable back and forth through the lubed housings and make sure it moves smoothly.

Clean the derailleur itself - degrease it with WD40 and then use a small stiff brush and some hot soapy water to thoroughly clean all the shit off it. Grease the main spring, lightly oil all the other moving parts.

Put the cable back in, reattach it to the derailleur - it will need to have no slack and a little bit more tension in it - basically whatever gear the shifter is in and I assume it's either the top or bottom crank, the derailleur needs to be close to centred over that crank ring. Get it as close to approximately right by eye - you may need a second pair of hands to tighten the retaining bolt or hold the cable tight when doing this.

For fine tuning, there are or should be, two raised screws on the derailleur marked (hopefully + and -, or H and L ) which adjust the limits of it's travel from side to side - you may need to tweak these a quarter turn at a time while shifting on the crank cogs to make sure the the chain isn't thrown off the crank on either the top or bottom cog. Extra tension adjustment is available at the shifter end with a threaded bolt that the cable goes through into the shifter.

If this fails, replace the cable entirely, if that fails, you've got a fucked derailleur. Both of which are fixable at home quite easily. Simply replace both with new ones.

EDIT - - did I say grease the cables? Pah! I meant lube them - WD40 or very light oil will do.

Even with that rather excellent guide, it all sounds like witchcraft to me. Steer clear!

It's really simple but I would recommend buying a good guide such as Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance as it's difficult to remember this shit if you don't do it for a living and I completely understand from my own fumblings in the past how easy it is to make your bike unrideable if you're not sure what you're doing. Now I do all my own bike maintenance and save myself a fortune in the process. The thing is, if you keep your bike clean and well lubed, all you should be doing is getting into the habit of changing the chain a couple of times a year to save on wear and tear on the expensive rear cassette and crank (do this more often if you're riding every day - a chain will cost about £15-20 for a decent one, but it stretches and consequently wears down the rear cassette and chainrings to accommodate this - change the chain often to save the bigger expense of replacing the rear cassette (£35 for a crap one) and probably the middle crank ring (£20 for a crap one) as well as the chain.

Nah it's simple really and just requires some practice. It's worth acquiring a decent maintenance manual such as Michael Zinn's Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance which I have, though there are obviously others on the market which I haven't read. Heck, I think you can even buy Haynes manuals for MTB's nowadays. It'll save you a fortune in the long run as bicycle servicing can get pricey quite quickly.

ProTip. Clean and lube the running gear on your bike often. Chain/Crank/both derailleurs.
Do not get any oil or other lubes anywhere near your brakes as they will be fucked as a consequence and if you're running discs that gets expensive replacing pads.
Change your chain every couple of months if you're riding daily - it stretches and wears down the teeth on the rear cassette and crank rings which are more difficult and expensive to replace without the proper tools.
Clean the chain by lightly gripping it with a freshly oiled rag and turning the crank to run the chain through it. Do this regularly.

EDIT - - bloody flakey internet connection bounced my first post and I thought it hadn't gone through

Thanks. That's all good stuff.

I'll wait on a reply from the bike shop. If they can't look at it tomorrow (unlikely) then I might pop down there and get some bits and bobs as well to see if they have a book. I've done 800 miles this year and 85 alone this last 7 days without doing much to the bike at all. It's just a shit £200 bike from 2002.

I actually think all the cables need replacing anyway as they are now all frayed at the end and have split bits.

I'd love a better bike but I have to live with what I have. You only notice it's crap when other people go sailing by effortlessly.

To compensate for not riding tonight I decided to go for a run. I've never been for a run before. Was out for 40 minutes and did 2.8 miles and I feel fucked! How come I can cycle for nearly 50 miles and be fine but running for a couple of miles has done me in?

The really humiliating thing was our old school cross country was about 3 miles and we had to do it in 25 minutes or face punishment!

Cheers, Snappy. I'll have a look at picking up a book, though I can do most of the stuff already, but it can't hurt to read up - the cost of servicing does indeed get expensive when you're paying for labour, and mountain bikes are hardly the most complicated of machines so there's no real excuse.

Start with supporting your own weight, then deal with the impact of said weight on the road and you're in the right ball park for why running will feel a country mile harder than cycling. Also, the muscles you use for cycling are probably more suited for sprinting and not distance. Then I suppose you can deal with distance travelled versus effort; then you can easily understand why running a shortish distance requires more effort to cycling a similar distance when you factor in effort expended on a pedal equalling far greater distance covered as opposed to simple running/jogging strides.

If you hadn't spent all that money on a frivolous toy camera, you could've bought yourself a spiffing new ride.

On the other hand, if I had kept the money and bought the bike, I would have ended up paying the same again in tax. Go figure. Did you want me to make Gordon Brown richer?

Been to the bike shop. New cables, lube, chain and toolset. 60 quid which was the last of my birthday money from March.

God I love cycling. Kids party today while the wife took the offspring in the car I went on my bike.

22 mile round trip which was quite hilly in parts but not too tricky and I feel like the king of the world right now. 2 months ago I wouldn't have managed any of that without having to stop every 10 minutes.

Why didn't you lot tell me about this earlier? Selfish bastards.

Nice one, chap. It does feel wonderful when you manage something like that, doesn't it!

How much of that was on parts, Chinny? It doesn't sound *too* bad, but obviously it'd be better if you could manage all that yourself in future.

Gosh, 3 hours after I started I have fixed the gears and have fitted a new chain. Gears were a bitch to get right and are probably now as good as they'll be on my worn out bike. Snapped the casing off the controller thing on the handlebars though (cheap screws) so I'll glue it. If it lasts 6 months that'll do me as I'm aiming to replace the entire thing by the end of the year.

Thanks to DBSnappa for the advice, Think I'll leave the brake cables and the rear gears for another day.

Might do a run out in a minute. Wanted to do a long one today but it's getting late now.

Be prepared to have to tweak and adjust the gear cable in a day or so as it will stretch in the first few rides.

Just did a short 15 mile run. Had to adjust the derailer a mile out as it seemed to change its behaviour slightly.

Gear changes now snappy, chain feels better. Still have an annoying noise coming from the front wheel where I think I lost a spring when I did the tyres a few weeks back.

But otherwise it's nice to have a bike that works even if the cover of the left gearshift is currently held on with gaffer!

It only has to last until Christmas. Next year new bike for sure as I'm now clocking up proper miles on a bike designed for occasional riding.

My work has just reopened their cycle to work scheme and I am thinking about getting myself a nice wee bike. We have to choose one from Harlford but I don't know the first thing about bikes, can anyone recommend what sort of thing I should be looking for?

There is a guide thing on the Harlfords website which is supposed to help you decide but all it has done is list loads of bikes, how am i supposed to tell one from another, or judge why i should pay an extra £50 for one that looks the same. I'm rubbish at this.

Yeah, don't go to Halfords. Find your local independent bike dealer who won't sell you a load of shit and will look after you.

Are you sure it has to be Halfords, Gill? The government cycle to work scheme allows you to use any accredited bike shop, of which there are usually loads (because it's a real money spinner for those dudes).

Halfords did a good deal for us, but I went over the bke myself when I got home. The local bike shop had a bike advertised at £250 on the internet and £280 in the shop. The extra 30 notes was to put the pedals and handlebars on, and irst service. They wouldn't drop the price to £250, so we got a £250 bike from Halfords which was a much better spec AND £50 of accessories with it. And, what DoccyG said.

Is the bike to go to work on, or for playtime? What do you wish to use the bike for?

Our local shop doesn't charge for the first service or assembly. They are probably more expensive than Halfords all in but they *really* know their stuff.

I went to Halfords and they were fine. They even do a free six week service (which was excellent seeing as all my cables had stretched etc).

Gill: will you be riding mainly on roads, or do you want to do a bit of off-roading too?

It would probably be mainly on the roads although there a few places around here where I wouldn't mind taking the bike for a wee bit of off roading. Nothing very off roady though.

Just checked the website and it seems it is only Harlfords- they say they are doing this scheme in conjuction with them, I think it might be because we pay through our salary although maybe that is how it normally works?

Sorry for the delay in my reply, I went for my breakfast (roll and slice and tattie scone. yum.)

How much do you want to spend?

That is a pretty standard offering in my experience.

You probably want a hybrid then, which is what I've got.

I don't know how much you want to spend, but this one looks quite good. It's got the strength and stability of a mountain bike, but has thinner tyres that make it easier to cycle on the road.

To be honest, best advice is get one that fits you and you feel comfortable one. Keep in mind that for a given price, anything like suspension forks or disc brakes will remove cash in the budget for the frame. having a decent frame is better than having suspension. You can change tyres and things more easily than a frame as well.

Good. Plus they didn't try to sell me anything I didn't want (in fact, I went and hunted out all the extra stuff I wanted myself). They were friendly, helpful when I had questions, and I managed to get exactly the right bike I wanted, which I'm extremely pleased about. What more could I want?

If you want a mountain bike, front shockers make a world of difference to the ride. But remember that gizmos like that (and mountain bikes in general) are heavy, and as such are harder work to ride on the road.
Any chance you can link us which bikes are available?

I would imagine it varies from one Halfords to another. I doubt the company is that great about recruiting and retaining genuine cycling enthusiasts, as opposed to bored schoolkids looking for a Saturday job; so one store might be great and another lousy.

I saw someone with a Land Rover bike the other day, you know. You got yours back, didn't you?

I probably got lucky. They do have separate people working in the bike section though, that don't work in other parts of the store. So maybe.

We can get any bike from the Harlford website. I will spend up to about £400 if the bike is worth it but obviously I'm not setting out to spend as much as possible and I have no idea what a bike is worth anyway. If we dont live near a Harlford store we can get it delivered to us but I think there is one in Kilmarnock where I work.

Myp, that bike seems to be good, how do I know what size I need though? I am quite tall, 5'11" and my inside leg is 34-36".

Sizing chart here.

If you're going up to £400, I'd recommend the one I've got. Are you going to be going up a lot of hills, though? It can be tough at first to ascend, as the gearing is quite high.

http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/stor ... yId_165534

You really need to go and try one out in-store if possible. I wouldn't advise going for the punt and ordering one straight off the internet. They'll let you ride it around a bit.

Agreed. I'm just giving Gill links to give her an idea.

I did. They trashed all the tread on the rear tyre, but otherwise it's okay.

I've got a mental image of someone doing doughnuts with a bike now.

I will go to the shop and check it out before ordering anything, I would just quite like to at least pretend I'm not completely glaikit when I go in.

I had a look at that sizing chart but I got confused when I realised there are different sizes for girls and boys. I asked my boss and he calculated his inside leg size in cm which really didnt help me in anyway and then decided that boys and girls have different clothes sizes so this must be similar. So given my impressively long legs, would the highest female size do me?

I know, I know, go to the shop and find out. But I'm impatient and want to know now.

If i spend £400

That sounds ok?

When my rear tyre was worn out and I knew I was fitting a new one the next day, when cycling back down a road where I could get to my top speed of 40MPH I deliberately kept on locking the brakes and leaving huge skidmarks down the road. The smell of burning rubber when I got to the bottom wasn't something I thought you could get on a bike!

Who's going to be first to work out the Salary, then?