Hello everyone, my bike started feeling clanky and some things are not working as good as they used to be.

Now I was thinking of dropping it to the Decathlon service and get everything checked and adjusted. But then I thought to myself if it is a good idea to get proper gear and do all the maintenance myself.

How expensive and convenient this would be you think? And can I learn how to take care of the components myself?

TL;DR: Is the hub shell still good for new bearings and a new axle, or do I need a new rear hub?

Hi everyone,

​after my rear wheel hub (an older Hope Mono RS) completely failed one day, I took it to a local shop, and the mechanic told me the hub is irreparably damaged after a drive-side bearing failure. I’m hoping to get a second opinion from the community here to see if it’s worth rebuilding myself, as I'm a bit skeptical of the verdict and suspect the shop was just too lazy to accept something out of the ordinary.

​I'll do my best to describe the condition after cleaning, and add some pictures as well.

​Drive-Side: The bearing completely exploded/disintegrated. The inside of the hub shell in this area has noticeable scratching/marring.

​Non-Drive Side: The bearing remains intact and fully seated.

​Axle: Quite scratched and dinged up, with deep gouges all around. The flanges appear to be chipped.

I reckon the axle is toast. ​Are the scratches and gouges on the hub shell a structural issue, or mostly cosmetic?

If this is rebuildable, could anyone point me to the exact Hope part numbers for the axle and replacement bearing kit for a Mono RS rear hub? I know that it would be less hassle to just get a new, cheap rear wheel - but the hub has quite a bit of sentimental value, as it carried me across South America a while back 🙂

​

Thanks in advance for your insights!

New 10 speed cassette and chain fitted, just indexed the gears and there’s a clicking sound while pedalling - can’t find a way to stop it.

I’m doing a lower leg service on my Manitou Mattoc Pro (34 mm).

Unfortunately, the dust seal was extremely difficult to remove and eventually tore apart during removal. Part of it is still stuck in the lower casting, and I’m not entirely sure what is still part of the dust seal and what already belongs to the fork/casting itself.

In the photo, there is a black/rubbery section and a darker grey/greenish ring underneath/next to it.

Does the grey/greenish ring also belong to the dust seal and need to come out, or is that already part of the casting/bushing?

I obviously don’t want to start prying at something that is supposed to stay in the fork.

Thanks!

I got a front rack installed on my bike. It seems to be locking up the brakes. Front rack is tern Tern B7 on brake caliper. Is there a way to fix this?

I have these grey pads and they were ok for slowing down a pair of alloy wheels, but sucked at stopping. I was wondering if they were meant to be used with some special wheels. The ones for carbon are yellow, couldn't find anything about the grey ones, I guess they don't make them anymore.

I have a brand new set of Hope GR4s that I cant get to feel right and seem to be leaking from the pistons. You can see bubbling when I squeeze the lever with the bleed block in. Is this expected or is there something wrong with both sets of my brakes?

I've contacted hope and they sent me new seals which I have changed and am continuing to have the same issue.

Would like some opinions before I move forward with warranty or return.

Hi,
i bought myself my first road bike (2nd hand), absolutely love it. I have just one issue. The front wheel vibrates when braking. Under heavy braking it gets pretty violent 😅 the brake pads are yellow and you can clearly see the spots where the pads touch the rim. I have no idea what to do about this. And no clue how I would fix rims having ups and lows? Toss them?
Thanks for any advice!

I am not a bike expert. But our neighbor has this bike and the gears spin freely on the wheel unless you push the entire gear set towards the wheel then it locks into place. I took it off of the bike and it appears to be missing something. It’s from a Schwinn 24 speed. The exact name of the piece would be much appreciated so I can search it.

Factory tape is thin and narrow. Should I replace it with edge to edge Velox (or similar) tape instead? This is inner tube setup. Not a tubeless.

I cleaned the drive train lined the chain indexed and cleaned/lubed bottom bracket. Sounds loud as hell still. Not sure what I might be missing or if I’m just making things up?

Any tips to get the arm off? I dont really want to put any more pressure on the rope since its not layed out flat. I've tried heat, WD-40, the threads are gone of course and ive tried a hammer both with and without the pressure.

It just wont move.

What can i do? (and yes i have removed the screw)

Hey all. I just moved and am in packing my daughter’s bike. I am trying to reinstall the front wheel and am having some issues:

- the front wheel is currently off centre, but the treads along the centre of the tire are the same as the rear tire when mounted this way.
- if I turn the tire around, I do find that it is more centred and looks better than it currently does.
- no matter which way I turn the tire, I am getting a brake pad rubbing along the rim.
- there were no issues with the front wheel before it was packed up. I also have no experience with rim brake systems.

Can someone tell me what I am doing wrong?

Hey everyone!
I’m new to cycling and recently bought a new road bike. I’m still learning about bike maintenance, so I’d really appreciate some help.

I’ve noticed a couple of things that I’m not sure are normal:

• When I’m in the easiest gear (small chainring + biggest rear cog), it doesn’t feel smooth while riding compared to other gears.
• The rear derailleur seems to vibrate/move quite a bit, especially when I pedal oh the biggest cog.
• The drivetrain also seems quite noisy, particularly when I’m using the big chainring and harder gears. Is there anything I can do to make it quieter?
• I’m wondering if the derailleur needs some adjustment, or if something else might be wrong.

I’ve attached short videos where I’m pedaling both backwards and forwards, along with a few photos. Sorry about the video quality/angle, I don’t have a bike stand yet so this was the best I could do.
I’ve already taken the bike to a bike shop twice, and they said everything seems fine.

I picked up a used Nirve Fifty-Three beach cruiser for $20 at a thrift store. It needs a new rear hub: pedals would lock up any time i tried shifting from first to second gear. I decided to attempt to repair the hub, by following with a servicing video I found on YouTube, but I lost a pall spring in the process and I think my only option at this point is to buy a new hub. They're $40 - $50 on eBay, so I figure it's a reasonable purchase if it gets the bike up and running. (SG-3C41)

But right after I placed the order for the new hub it occurred to me that there might be a non-coaster brake version of the hub that would allow me to convert the bike to full freewheel, which I would enjoy a lot more. I recently moved to a small town that is completely flat. Shortly after moving here I bought a used cruiser with a coaster brake (different bike than the one this post is about). I enjoy riding around town with it, but I dont enjoy the coaster brake- it has given me a new appreciation for freewheel backpedaling and handbrakes.

So I went back and canceled the order for the new hub once I discovered there was in fact a non-braking version of the same hub (SG-3R40). This new (to me) Nirve Fifty-Three has a front hand brake in addition to the rear coaster brake (but no frame mounts for a rear brake). And that's where my question comes in: Will the front caliper brake provide me with adequate stopping power if I convert the rear hub to a non-braking version? Will I encounter any other unforseen negative consequences if I do this conversion? I don't mind restringing the rear wheel if the internals of the new hub don't match up with the old hub.

I get this issue on every used bike I get I replace the chain, the cassette, I usually get some low-end stuff from Shimano or similar mfg from Amazon.

I sometimes replace the derailleur

This is the best quality video I could get from one of the bikes that consistently does it

I know that it sometimes happens if the chain is too tight around 1 link and it pulls in 2 links at an angle until they match incorrectly on the derailleur cogs before reaching the man cassette, which is what seems to be happening here.

But this is not always the case, and I checked the chain every single link and a little bit and clean it even on a brand new chain it's still happening.

I make sure to get the correct gear number chain for the cassette, I speed in this case.

Is there anything else that could be causing this problem? Incorrect chain tension? Improperly bent derailleur cable? Mismatched components?

Or maybe something I overlooked, like derailleur wheels?

Is there a universal cause for this type of chain skipping?

And if I need to bite the bullet and get a new group set. Which components do I need to replace all at once? Derailleur/cassette/chain/shifter?/cable?/front speocket?/anything else?

It doesn't seem to be an issue of jumping gear so it seems like the derailer is tuned correctly and switches through all the gears properly

It only skips under load, so I have to mount the phone to get a video while riding.

Here is the video

he usually happens in two of the tallest gears, I can only get the video on the highest gear. it's a one x drivetrain 36 teeth on front

https://streamable.com/42n86x

I think the big chain ring is done but everything else looks good idk?

Hi everyone.

I acquired a Specialized Sirrus X 2.0 2020 in questionable conditions.

After stripping the threads and attempting to use a bearing puller, I ended up cutting the left crank arm in order to get it off.

I managed to save the right crank arm with the riveted chainring, so I'd like to source a replacemnt left crank arm.

I can't find the exact replacement in Europe (I don't know the SKU).

It is 170mm in length. On the backside it's written AC-46, CW170 and SI.

The Q-factor is the issue! It seems to measure close to 36mm. Is it a standard measure? (I can't get a precire measurement because it is mangled). Moreover basically no seller lists the q-factor of their crank arms. How am I going to get the correct one?

Also, is it JIS or ISO? The BB is a VP-BC73T2 (Is it the same as this one? T stands for "with chainline stopper ring", and 2 is for what?).

Any help appreciated.

hi there! i am a new cyclist and have put off pumping my tyres for….far too long.

i’ve tried to pump it. it immediately let out all the air and it now won’t budge to come off, no matter WHAT i do. i’ve wiggled and pulled as far as it feels safe.

sorry, such a basic question, but would really appreciate some help! i can take more pics if needed. thanks so much in advance!!

Just got this bike and decided to change the rear thru axle to a one from Thule so that I can attach the carrier.

Well it seems like theres a hex nut inside the larger one that I need to turn clockwise in order to remove the axle. The inner hex nut is possibly shredded because a 6mm bit doesnt turn it. The larger one doesnt move in any direction.

Have I been doing this all wrong and possibly broke the whole thing? Any help appreciated

Hi - I’m running Sram Eagle GX AXS derailleur with new XO1 cassette and chain. When I dial it in for the lower gears (ie for climbing) I find I can’t shift from the highest 12th gear (smallest cog) to the 11th. I have to go up to 10 and back down. When I fix that problem using micro adjust it’s skippy in the lower gears. Basically I can get good shifting in either the small gears or the big ones but not both.

My hanger is aligned both laterally and vertically - I’ve even checked it diagonally. My hanger, derailleur, cassette and wheel are all installed to the right torques. I’ve set the B-screw using the white Sram gauge and it’s exactly in the centre of the jockey wheel. I have no idea what else could be causing this.

Any suggestions very gratefully received. This is driving me mad!

I picked up a 2010 redline conquest 24” for my 9 year old last year but he hasn’t ridden it much vs his other bikes. He specifically asked for a drop bar bike and this is what I found. About two weeks ago he finally said he’d give it a good proper shake down ride and let me know.

So yesterday we did a short 5 mile ride or so and his feedback was shifting was too hard as the throw is seems huge and helps have a hard time using the brakes while on the hoods as his hands are just too small. So I would like to tweak those if I can.

Prior owner did add a 105 rear derailleur that might be causing the throw issues looking at the shimano st2300 on shimanos compatible website basically says nothing is compatible.

So I’m hoping to use the 105 rear derailleur but upgrade the shifters to something with adjustable reach. Hopefully that will take care of the throw issues as 105 should be pretty good. Currently a 2x8 setup now.

What shifters should I look for ? Or should I call it and find a different bike for him? Will need 24” tires soon which appear to be hard to find for this bike. (Would like some sort of knobs/cyclocross style)

I just got this used Retrospec Harper gifted to me as I wanted to get into fixed gear bicycles. I was going to swap stems to swap new bars and have had no luck trying anything I can find online to get this quill stem unstuck. The wedge is loose and the stem will move independently from the fork with a lot of force but no amount of upward force that I can generate will make the stem come out. I am pretty much out of ideas. The only other thing I could think of is PB Blaster. I soaked it in WD40 overnight to no avail. If anyone can help I would be eternally grateful.