Sunday, January 22, 2012

cup and cone bb adjustment without taking the crank off

quick way to tighten most fixed bb cups without taking off the crank is to use a 36mm headset wrench. it fits most of the time to check the tightness of the fixed cup. i also grind down my pin spanners to sneak it past the left arm. new style ones that use a 20 tooth spline are a bit harder to do without taking the arms off. drive arm must come off but the non drive side i can usually wedge a screwdriver to turn the cup

Saturday, January 7, 2012

stuck or corroded threadless fork

many will want to just drive the steerer tube straight down but this is wrong or much harder than attacking it differently. if you try to drive it straight down you are breaking the bond of everything at once. there is lots of surface area. driving it down also wedges the split wedge tighter and grips the tube. very hard to do. knock off 1 piece at a time. spin each spacer to break the bond. sometimes i use some rubber around the pliers but if its stuck good go for the teeth. after one is spun drive it up with a screw driver or putty knife. now sand the corrosion off the tube. repeat until you win

Sunday, January 1, 2012

disc brake squeal

you can get the squeal out of the rotor by cleaning and sanding. you can't get the squeel out of pads by sanding, or lighting them on fire, fun but doesn't work. replace the pads. also test ride the bike to test the braking performance. can you skid the rear tire? can you lift the rear end when you apply the front brake? if the power is low i would question the condition of the pads if the lever feels ok.