Right, now that the summer holidays are done and dusted (at least for those of us with kids), it’s back to work with a vengeance. Last week was brake week. Three bikes, three sets of new hydraulic brakes. Can’t recommend these Shimano-MTB stoppers enough; straightforward to shorten (measure twice, cut once) and decent modulation for the money. What’s not to like?
Tag Archives: Shimano
Trek road bike
Boardman Comp LTD
Finally, some before and after shots of a Boardman that has a hard life transporting its owner from East Lothian in to a well-known Bank’s Head Office that used to be an asylum (naming no names). It needed a Premium Service, a new KMC Chain USA 10spd chain, a Shimano Road 105 10spd cassette and a SRAM road chain ring on top of that. As part of the Premium Service, the control cables are all replaced with spangly Fibrax Limited cabling, so clean, precise shifting is guaranteed.
Daewoo
Whyte King’s Cross
Ridgebacks
Finally we have a couple of Ridgebacks which were a little worse for wear. New Fibrax Limited cabling, a new Suntour chainset, Shimano MTB bottom bracket (as you’ll see, the old bottom bracket had outlived its usefulness) and SRAM MTB twist shifter for the MX24 and new grips meant they were ready to go for a family ride (weather permitting!)
Boardman Comp
Next up here’s a Boardman that needed a fair bit of work. The bottom bracket was wobbly like a wobbly thing with the bearings having been totally worn out. FSA item fitted and adjusted to get things back on an even keel. A new KMC Chain USA chain helped to get things going again, along with a refreshing Annual Service. Finally, the freehub body had seized solid…no amount of cajoling or adjustment could bring it back to life. Now, this is one of the areas where mid to lower level Boardmans make some concessions to quality to hit a price point, so it’s actually cheaper to replace the whole wheel. On the plus side, the replacement Shimano Road item is 11 speed ready, has silky smooth bearings and an easily replaceable freehub body. Not the best news in the world, but a silver lining could be seen
Saracen Tufftrax
Busy week after being off for a couple of weeks convalescing. First up there’s a Saracen Tufftrax that came off second best to a chunk of rock…well, it’s rear derailleur did anyway. The gear hanger needed adjusting to bring everything back in line, and a new Shimano MTB Tourney rear derailleur fitted. Gears adjusted and it was off again.
Condor
This Condor had been in a couple of weeks ago with a very, VERY worn bottom bracket. Its owner needed it in a hurry for a charity ride he was doing the same weekend. Unfortunately, the bottom bracket cups wouldn’t shift as they were corroded tightly in place (not a lick of anti-seize had been applied I assumed). Fast forward a couple of weeks and its owner asked me to try again as it was virtually un-rideable. So, using a slightly Heath-Robinson solution consisting of bolts and thingymajigs, I finally managed to shift it. As you can see the bottom bracket shell was in a state.
Once cleaned up, and the threads chased, it was time to fit a new Shimano bottom bracket, re-fit the crankset and double-check the chain line. Result? One very happy owner and a (slightly) relieved bike mechanic.