Cycling chat

[BR traction instructor]

With both main leg bones sawn/deflected and pinned/plated, to start wearing her knee joints on the other side, Dawn needs a bit of building up with the cycling. Our first shared ride on a lovely evening earlier took us from Silloth to Abbeytown and even onto The Joiners Arms at Newton Arlosh (20 miles round trip)…

 

BeRTIe

Edited May 22, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[big jim]

The thing I don't like about the ride to abbeytown is how busy and fast the road is especially the wagons going to and from the mill and concrete factory 

 

I normally stick to the back lanes around there

 

ill be up on Saturday so we can have that ride we said we’d do, try and get a decent one in before the end of may for  the challenge! 
 

did a bit of bike maintenance today, after my wet ride last week I’d noticed the bike was sounding and feeling a bit ‘Grindy’ from the crank and rear end, I’d jet washed it after the ride but it still didn’t feel right, in that ride I went down a badly surfaced road which really seemed to jar the bike and it started to make strange noises! 
 

first thing I did today was strip the crank down and sure enough there was a lot of grit and dirt between the bottom hub and crank which I cleaned out and regreased

 

 

as well as cleaning the crank arm, got all the dirt and lubricant residue off rhe teeth etc 

 

When I got the bike I found it sounded ‘different’ to the other bikes I’ve had/have which I put down to having a through axle, I think it may still be the case to a point but I did notice that when I pedalled there was a hollow ‘rumble’ which stopped when I stop pedalling so I took the rear wheel off and gave it a spin, you can hear in the following video it’s certainly making a noise, I then noticed the cassette has a bit of play in it so I suspected the bearings may have gone in the hub

anyway I stripped the cassette off and then the hub from the axle which again had a lot of grit and dirty grease around it, I gave it a good clean up as best as I could but I think I’ll get myself a replacement hub at some point and get the existing one refurbished as a spare (as they aren’t that cheap!)

 
didn’t get any pics of the cleaned up bit but I put it back on the axle and refitted the cassette, managed to get it a bit tighter on the hub so there isn’t as much movement in the cassette but the main thing is it doesn’t sound like it’s got half a beach in the workings now!

 

Took it for a spin and it sounds loads better on the move, front brake pad is catching at times again so I’ll have to look at that again, was a nice little test ride along the back of the park next to the house, just about dusk so there were loads of bats about, one even flew  along just in front of my head for a while, great to see! 

 

 

[njee20]

That part is the freehub body, and they’re hub specific. What hub is it? Just looks like a basic OEM one. A Cube dealer (if it’s the Cube) will be able to order a replacement. Shouldn’t be that expensive.

 

You also desperately need to replace the bearings in the hub (that’s the rumbling noise when you turn the axle), looks like they’re just cartridge bearings, again, pretty trivial cost. There’s probably two in the hub body, plus the freehub body. Shouldn’t be more than £10/bearing. 

[big jim]

I’d just written a lengthy reply then realised I lm getting the wrong end of the stick over terminology!!

 

What your saying is the rumble is from the hub which is basically the bit the spokes attach to so that needs doing as well as the free hub bearings needing replacing/refurbishing to stop the cassette wobbling 

 

Wheel bearings look simple enough to do

 

 

 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by big jim

[njee20]

No worries, it is a bit confusing. The whole thing is the hub. That comprises the hub shell (the bit the spokes attach to) and the freehub body (the bit the cassette attaches to, which you’ve photographed above), plus the axle, bearings etc. Parts are not interchangeable, so you don’t need a new hub (that would need you to completely rebuild the wheel), you just need new bearings to cure the rumbling when you spin the axle, and given how bad they sound, plus the wobbling cassette I’d say that a new freehub body is very likely needed too. But it has to be that exact freehub body, hence you need to go to a dealer and get one, it’ll like be a Cube part. 

On all but a handful of hubs the freehub body is a sealed unit, you just replace the whole thing. So the bearings in the hub, plus a new free hub body is my diagnosis! 

 

Edited May 22, 2022 by njee20

[big jim]

The free hub body is a shimano one for fulcrum wheels with a 17mm axle, available from wiggle, can’t really see it any cheaper that this..

 

As I say there is someone on eBay who will refurbish the old one for £20 so I’d probably buy a new one and get the existing one done as a spare otherwise I’ll be without a road bike while it’s away being done (and I want to take this bike to the caravan next week!) 

 

just Googling some decent quality hub bearings to do on that myself, May as well do both wheels 

 

This is interesting too, didn’t realise the small collar on the wheel is a preload adjuster to remove any play, it didnt improve the rumble much so it’s no doubt needing new bearings rather than just adjusting but it shows how easy it is for a complete amateur like myself to mess about and make a mess of things, I’d be lost without google and YouTube!

 

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/videos/bike-fit-and-maintenance/adjust-bearings-fulcrum-wheels
 

Edited May 23, 2022 by big jim

[BR traction instructor]

8 hours ago, big jim said:

The thing I don't like about the ride to abbeytown is how busy and fast the road is especially the wagons going to and from the mill and concrete factory 

 

I normally stick to the back lanes around there

 

ill be up on Saturday so we can have that ride we said we’d do, try and get a decent one in before the end of may for  the challenge! 
 

did a bit of bike maintenance today, after my wet ride last week I’d noticed the bike was sounding and feeling a bit ‘Grindy’ from the crank and rear end, I’d jet washed it after the ride but it still didn’t feel right, in that ride I went down a badly surfaced road which really seemed to jar the bike and it started to make strange noises! 
 

first thing I did today was strip the crank down and sure enough there was a lot of grit and dirt between the bottom hub and crank which I cleaned out and regreased

 

 

as well as cleaning the crank arm, got all the dirt and lubricant residue off rhe teeth etc 

 

When I got the bike I found it sounded ‘different’ to the other bikes I’ve had/have which I put down to having a through axle, I think it may still be the case to a point but I did notice that when I pedalled there was a hollow ‘rumble’ which stopped when I stop pedalling so I took the rear wheel off and gave it a spin, you can hear in the following video it’s certainly making a noise, I then noticed the cassette has a bit of play in it so I suspected the bearings may have gone in the hub

anyway I stripped the cassette off and then the hub from the axle which again had a lot of grit and dirty grease around it, I gave it a good clean up as best as I could but I think I’ll get myself a replacement hub at some point and get the existing one refurbished as a spare (as they aren’t that cheap!)

 
didn’t get any pics of the cleaned up bit but I put it back on the axle and refitted the cassette, managed to get it a bit tighter on the hub so there isn’t as much movement in the cassette but the main thing is it doesn’t sound like it’s got half a beach in the workings now!

 

Took it for a spin and it sounds loads better on the move, front brake pad is catching at times again so I’ll have to look at that again, was a nice little test ride along the back of the park next to the house, just about dusk so there were loads of bats about, one even flew  along just in front of my head for a while, great to see! 

 

 

 

…cycle route 72 doesn’t use the main road Jim. Leaving Solway via the Lido exit there is a half mile on the main road. At Causewayhead you turn right, then left to cross the main road before taking another right for the last mile into Abbeytown. Once there the first left past the abbey gets you back onto the country lanes to the pub in Newton Arlosh.

 

I’ll be arriving back in Silloth on the Wednesday after you arrive, so will be available from Thursday for our ride.

 

BeRTIe

Edited May 23, 2022 by BR traction instructor

[big jim]

29 minutes ago, BR traction instructor said:

 

…cycle route 72 doesn’t use the main road Jim. Leaving Solway via the Lido exit there is a half mile on the main road. At Causewayhead you turn right, then left to cross the main road before taking another right for the last mile into Abbeytown. Once there the first left past the abbey gets you back onto the country lanes to the pub in Newton Arlosh.

 

BeRTIe

i go that way on my circular tours normally, you pass a couple of old railway crossing cottages en route too

 

I sometimes head out via skinburness from solway which means I have to use the main road through Calvo before turning right and heading back south toward the aspatria road at the crossroads you mention and onward to allonby 

 

 

[njee20]

7 hours ago, big jim said:

The free hub body is a shimano one for fulcrum wheels with a 17mm axle, available from wiggle, can’t really see it any cheaper that this..

 

As I say there is someone on eBay who will refurbish the old one for £20 so I’d probably buy a new one and get the existing one done as a spare otherwise I’ll be without a road bike while it’s away being done (and I want to take this bike to the caravan next week!) 

 

just Googling some decent quality hub bearings to do on that myself, May as well do both wheels 

 

This is interesting too, didn’t realise the small collar on the wheel is a preload adjuster to remove any play, it did t improve the rumble much so it’s no doubt needing new bearings rather than just adjusting but it shows how easy it is for a complete amateur like myself to mess about and make a mess of things, I’d be lost without google and YouTube!

 

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/videos/bike-fit-and-maintenance/adjust-bearings-fulcrum-wheels
 

Apologies, I completely missed that they were Fulcrums, assumed it was just an OEM hub. Is that the right one though? Your video is for the Racing 5, that freehub body is for the Racing 0 and 3. The one for the 5 and 7 is £55. Looks like the axle width may be the driver though.
 

If you can get it refurbished then great, it’s a very long time since I serviced Fulcrum wheels, I honestly can’t remember how rebuildable they are. From that photo there’s a cartridge bearing in the nose of the freehub body though, which is a good start. 

 

Bearings can definitely be a DIY job given you’ve already got as far as disassembling the hub. IMO there’s no need to go mad on bearings, get something with 2RS suffix (two rubber seals, rather than metal shields). The problem with cartridge bearings on bikes is that they never rotate particularly fast, and then sit for prolonged periods, which lets corrosion set in. I’ve never found ‘branded’ bearings like SKF or FAG to last materially longer, that said I’d also avoid the cheapest. Simply Bearings is a good source. Avoid jet washing the bike, or at least avoid pointing it straight at the hubs. 

[big jim]

I’ve bought a pack of these bearings as they appear to be the right size going by the number on the original bearings, (30x17x7)

 

Not expensive ones but worth a try (I bought them before i read your post about buying cheap!) 

 

as for the freehub size if it’s the same one I’ve been looking at I was reading the £55 one as being for 9mm axles, the one above is for 17mm axles which is what mine is, I‘m going to be bike fitted on Friday so they can advise me on which one I need while I’m there, hopefully I may just get away with swapping the bearings beforehand 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by big jim

[Killybegs]

15 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Railway-themed again, and a rather different bike.

 

 

I was given the bike earlier in the week by a fellow RMWebber. It’s a 1990 hybrid, the “commuter” variant of what Peugeot sold at the time in multiple guises, with different qualities of drivetrain and wheels, those on this one being decidedly “entry level”. Recommissioning involved dismantling, removing impressive quantities of a thick gunge consisting of ancient 3-in-1 and fine wood dust, reassembly, new tyres and chain, and …. that was it. It really needs new brake blocks, the old ones being rock hard, but I’ve had to mail-order those. Apart from the seat, everything is original, and the only bit where I suspect excessive wear is one jockey-wheel bearing.

 

 

 

Here's my 1985 Peugot MTB, similar colour scheme. Halfords in Cheltenham didn't know of the existence of MTBs at that time but found this one and ordered it for me. I've been into mountain bikes ever since. Sorry about the picture quality, scanned from an old small print.

 

[Nearholmer]

Have you still got that one “in traffic”?

[big jim]

I’m slowly creeping toward the £1250 target now, only £70 to go, as I’ve now passed the 300 mile target I’ve upped my personal target to 500 miles although it doesn’t show on the just giving page as the target but I can see my accumulated miles 

 

it wound be nice to complete that before the end of the month especially as the 30th of May is the anniversary of me getting my electic bike and starting cycling again, some a long way since then, and it’s one of the best thing I’ve done 

https://cyclethemonth.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/jim-scotts-300-mile-in-may-challenge

 

 

 

 

Edited May 23, 2022 by big jim

[Killybegs]

23 hours ago, Nearholmer said:

Have you still got that one “in traffic”?

No, the frame wasn't really designed for mountain biking and the welded joints started to show signs of stress after a couple of years. My daughter then used it to potter around on her grandfather's farm for a while before it was stolen. 

[zarniwhoop]

As an occasional reader here, I'm surprised at how some things have changed in the 23 years since I was last able to ride. This afternoon I was waiting for an eye review at the local polyclinic, and in my field of vision was the bike rack. The nearest bike had drops, probably shimano controls, sloping top tube, some sort of conventional brakes, and what looked like heavyish tyres. So far, so normal.

 

But what caught my eye was the front wheel - 24 radial spokes, along with a reflector at the rim. When I road time-trials I had some front wheels with 24 radial spokes, but I would never have considered them for general=purpose use.

[big jim]

£1250 reached so upped my goal to £1500

 

https://cyclethemonth.prostatecanceruk.org/fundraising/jim-scotts-300-mile-in-may-challenge

Edited May 24, 2022 by big jim

[Bernard Lamb]

2 hours ago, zarniwhoop said:

As an occasional reader here, I'm surprised at how some things have changed in the 23 years since I was last able to ride. This afternoon I was waiting for an eye review at the local polyclinic, and in my field of vision was the bike rack. The nearest bike had drops, probably shimano controls, sloping top tube, some sort of conventional brakes, and what looked like heavyish tyres. So far, so normal.

 

But what caught my eye was the front wheel - 24 radial spokes, along with a reflector at the rim. When I road time-trials I had some front wheels with 24 radial spokes, but I would never have considered them for general=purpose use.

Quite common these days.

Factory built and the machines are very clever in getting them to the right tension and they work very well.

24 seems a lot. A quick check and I have one with only 16 radial spokes on my best road bike.

Bernard

 

[kernowtim]

Rain early this morning but 4 miles in the wrong direction got me to a bench overlooking the beach, on my evening commute and managed an extra 10 miles home! 

[big jim]

Changed the wheel bearings on the rear of the cube, the old ones were definitely knackered, you could feel it when you turned them by hand once removed

 

punched the old ones out but as I didn’t have a bearing press I used a 22mm socket and gently tapped the new ones back in after seeing someone on YouTube doing it that way!

 

certainly a huge improvement however once the hub was put back on you could tell straight away that the bearings need replacing in that too, or the hub replacing as they are grinding/rumbling 

 

I then went onto the front wheel and popped the bearings out and refitted new ones only to discover that the axle wouldn’t go though the bearing, got the callipers out and discovered the axle diameter was 17.5mm, the bearing was 16.5 inner diameter, the strange thing is the bearings that came out of both the fronts and back hubs were marked up the same, I checked the rear hub and the axle is 17mm so I in can’t figure out how it’s gone through the bearing, it’s not loose at all, I googled the spec of the wheels and found the cube part number for the front axle and discovered a bearing kit which has an 18mm inner diameter bearing in it! Anyway I’ve ordered the equivalent bearings from Amazon for delivery Friday, hoping they will fit ok

 

The front axle was a bit rough too, cleaned it up with IPA 

 

ive got the bike booked in for bike fit Friday morning so I’ll have to put the old front bearings back in for that and swap them afterwards, I may well strip the hub back off at the same time and send it away for refurb while I’m away at the caravan and use the trek up there for the week instead of taking the cube as I’d planned (and take the hybrid too)

 

I’ve done a few miles on the hybrid today to and from work places and I’ve struggled with it a bit, I’ve got so used to doing big mileage on the racer in the last week where I’ve been travelling light as it were it was quite an effort to ride with big boots on, back pack, jacket etc on 

 

Edited May 24, 2022 by big jim

[TheSignalEngineer]

31 minutes ago, big jim said:

Changed the wheel bearings on the rear of the cube, the old ones were definitely knackered, you could feel it when you turned them by hand once removed

If you are careful it's possible to remove the seals from those and check if it's just dirt causing the problem. I've washed some out with degreaser and injected new grease before refitting the seals. 

 

33 minutes ago, big jim said:

punched the old ones out but as I didn’t have a bearing press I used a 22mm socket and gently tapped the new ones back in after seeing someone on YouTube doing it that way!

I use a length of studding with a thick washer and nut on each end. Slowly tighten being careful to keep everything in square as the bearings pull into place.

 

[big jim]

I’ve just been Googling the freehub bearing type and watching vids on YouTube and it’s something I can do myself I recon, again ordered the 2 bearings (27x17x5) and will have a go at it on Friday after the bike fit session

 

Also ordered a bearing press to put in the toolbox 

 

hopefully save me a few bob 

Edited May 25, 2022 by big jim

[zarniwhoop]

13 hours ago, Bernard Lamb said:

Quite common these days.

Factory built and the machines are very clever in getting them to the right tension and they work very well.

24 seems a lot. A quick check and I have one with only 16 radial spokes on my best road bike.

Bernard

 

Thanks. I guess what I saw would be described as a gravel bike rather than a best road bike (and I doubt many people would use their best bike to commute).

[Nearholmer]

Seems odd to have that lacing on a gravel bike, because they are intended to be given a severe thumping over rough-ish ground. Mine fits into the general description "gravel bike" and has robust wheels with multi-cross lacing, likewise the CX bike that I was using for the same purpose until recently (I was mega-impressed with how well the wheels on that stood up to six or seven years of sometimes very harsh treatment).

 

I will ask around to find if any gravel-type wheels are sold like that.

[Bernard Lamb]

About eight years ago I acquired a set of deep section carbon wheels for the racing trike. The front wheel has 16 radial spokes. I was assured that it would be OK but had some doubts as in the past it was considered not to be a good idea. Once I started to throw it about  I found the front wheel would take any strain that I could impose on it. I can see no reason that a gravel bike cannot work with radial spokes. With modern deep section rims the strength would seem to be in the rim section rather than in the spoke pattern.

Bernard

[Nearholmer]

I raised the question in the Gravel Bikes forum, and so far nobody can think of a wheel marketed for gravel that has radial lacing. The nearest anyone has come is an I think obsolete design from Fulcrum, which has radial lacing on the non-drive side.

 

The consensus, whether it be based on deep knowledge or wild assumption I don’t know, is that radial isn’t suitable for the combination of hard knocks, and hard application of disc brakes creating torsional stress, that typify the sector.

 

I will report further off someone does find a gravel wheel like that.

 

 

Edited May 25, 2022 by Nearholmer