Quick mid-week catch-up of what’s been passing through the doors. First, a Mum’s Ridgeback and son’s Revolution that both needed a bit of tinkering with their gears. The Ridgeback’s chain would skip off the top and bottom of the cassette, whilst only 4 of the six Revolution’s gears were available. Some jiggery-pokery with high and low stops and cable tension and both were shifting smoothly.
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.
This Carrera Detonator wouldn’t stop stopping. And it wouldn’t allow you to change from one chain ring to another. By replacing the brake cable on the Clarks mechanical disc brake with a shiny Fibrax Limited item, and cleaning, degreasing, lubing and adjusting the front derailleur, all three chain rings became available. Hoo-hah!
A few from this week, starting with a Cannondale with THE BRIGHTEST new pedals I think I’ve ever seen. Going from dull, old black items to spangly yellow/lime DMR V8s. Good choice.
Finally, and to paraphrase Huey Lewis and the News, we’re gonna go back in time. To a time when there wasn’t just Shimano and Campagnolo components (I don’t think SRAM had been invented at this point), but a host of other standards. One such example was the Benelux groupset which pitched itself against Campagnolo in particular. This Raleigh Blue Streak had a snapped gear cable, so I had to dig out the imperial spanners and set to work on it. Replacing the cable was tricky enough, but the gear adjustments were nothing short of Mission Impossible. Finally, all five rear gears were available (the customer told me the top gear had been unattainable for the last seven or eight years!) Thanks to Fibrax Limited for advising on this one regarding pull ratios and what would fit best.
Another first for Andy’s Bike Clinic; a Daewoo! No, I didn’t know they made bikes either. This one needed a new Shimano MTB cassette, a Fibrax Limited gear cable and a bit of gear adjustment.
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!)
On to a Specialized Vita now. This one has been well used, and like many others, is put away in a state that’s slightly less than optimum. As a result, it needed a new chain and cassette and the front derailleur had to be coaxed back to life so that it actually moved. The front derailleur gets all the rubbish from the road thrown on to it as the rear wheel turns, so it’s one area that needs special attention. A new set of snazzy SKS mudguards later and a quick service, and this is one bike that’s ‘winter ready’.
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
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