Removing squeals from disc brakes.

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.29.2021

One of the factors vs disc brake, aside from high maintenance  activities and cost, is its occasional squeal, when the pads and discs are contaminated by oil and dirt.  

I consulted Mr. Mario Toledo a expert mechanic and his advice were:

1.  Clean and sand paper the disc, wipe clean with alcohol.

2.  Remove brake pads (assuming that it is still thick) and clean by rubbing together the friction material after dropping several drops of dishwashing fluid (joy)      Then sandpaper to remove the stubborn dirt or glazed material

3.   Fry the brake pads.  Pinch them together with a plier or vise grip and expose in open flame for 3 to 5 minutes until you see the contaminants evaporate.  

This work for the two bikes I tried to repair last week.  

This is a very common complaint in a page dedicated  to home repair  I hope this helps

Walang endurance ride bago long ride? Hindi puwede...

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.29.2021

May nagyayaya ng long ride sa weekend sa tourist destination sa south.   Eh ang mga takbo lang eh 14 km once a week.  Hindi kakayanin.  Walang endurance eh iyong tourist destination ay kulang2 na 200km.  May titirik at baka maging medical liability.

So training  ride muna.  Next month na long ride.

Nilait ang Rizal sa climbing destination

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.29.2021

Nagkuwento si Insang Smith (Rommel Unidad) tungkol sa isang guest rider na taga Maynila na tila may hangin sa ulo at sinabing walang sinabi ang Rizal tungkol sa matataas na biking destination.   (Hindi pa marahil niya nakikita at nararanasan)  Siya daw ay nag Laguna loop na at basic.  Natural ang salunga lang ay Bugarin at Kalayaan (suwabe pa)

Kaya sinubukan nila.  Sa Bugarin pa lang late na nang 60 minutes at panay pahinga.   

Pagdating sa softdrink hills, pangalawa pa lang latag na ayaw. na.   

Kaya dapat humble tayo at huwag magyabang at manlait tungkol sa lakas natin

Given the chance and the opportunity which of your bike parts would you upgrade

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.29.2021

You have some money and you are confronted with a decision:  which would be your priority?

1.  Group set

2.  Wheel set

3.  or the fork 

The weight of your bike is now may be 11 kgs.  and these are the grams that can be shaved:

1.  Fork  from 2.4 kg to only      .600 grams                                           1,800 grams

2.  Wheelset        hubs -             front                      100 grams

                                                   rear                       100 grams

                            spokes             4 x2 x 10 grams    80 grams

                            rims               100 x 2                  200 grams

                           tires          300  x 2                        600 grams

                                              Total                                                             1080 grams 

                                              GT                                                               2,880  grams =  6.3 lbs

                                              Thats a lot .  Less back pain

Kapadyak suggest the wheelset should be given attention because of the rotating mass.  As in the drive train:    chain, crank, the cogs should be given first priority because thats were you apply the pedalling force.   

                                       

Riding dangerously; how do we remove the dangers?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.24.2021

We see gruesome pictures of bikers being hit by crazy drivers in US, in the Philippines  deaths and accidents involving motor vehicle and bike riders.  Indeed it is riding dangerously:

     1.  Riders beating the red light;

     2.  Bike riders racing vs motor vehicles in highways;

     3.   Gitgit pina by the Motor Vehicles which are travelling fast;

    4.    Pedestrians suddenly darting out from nowhere;

    5.    Jeepney suddenly stopping in fron of you to load unload

    6.    MC overtaking from your right even if the space is narrow;

    7.    Tricycles MV other bikers riding on the wrong side of the road;

When do we see more educated drivers; and when can roads be safe for every one?

The bike lanes are myth and fancy in the Philippines:  they are not protected;  cars and MC use it, they are used as parking and waiting stations.     They are dangerously built too with potholes and drainage  gratings that can trap the RB thin tires;     

Changing the drive train of a carbon fiber MTB imported from the Mainland

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.24.2021

1/3 of the new bike which this post bought from a e commerce platform has been changed - its drive train:  the rear derrailleur, chainset, the chain ring and crank the chain, the cogs, the brake set and the changer  with xt Shimano group set, a preloved group by an MTB rider from Marikina.   I nearly had the scare of my life when the axle of the crank was seen as short by a mechanic I saw earlier,  yesterday.   But the mechanic I saw today, analyzed the problem and was able to deal with it.  He simply clamped further the  

the bb pressfit.  The seller recommended having spacers (but would further shorten the reach of the crank axle)   He would have scraped if there was a machine shop:   2 mm from both sides of the bottom bracket and 1 mm from the crank arm (for a total of 5 mm which  was the estimate of the first mechanic.  I would be disappointed if the crankset would not fit.   That would be nearly 2/3 the cost of the purchase.

The more challenging part was the removal of old brakeset since the bike frame is internal cabling.  It meant that the brake hose had to be cut, removed, reinstalled with the fitting and bled;  the new one had to be cut also, and inserted from the back, reinstalled. and bled.  I came prepared because I had the pressfit tool for the barb and the olive.  Now I know how to use this firsthand. 

I removed the  42t chain ring and reinstalled the CST shimano 11-36 cogset.   

I must have shaved off:

      1.  Cogset    -        300 grams

      2.  Crankset          500 grams

      3.   Shifter             200 grams

which could further reduce the bike weight to only 11 kg.  If I use a ridgid fork, this would remove about 2.4 - .6 or 1.8 kg.  reducing the weight of the bike to less than 10 kg.    And 24 holes wheelset.  But the mechanics said I would remove the fun out of MTB if I make this very light.    (And very expensive.

        Cost    -          wheelset P8,000;    rigid fork, carbon   -   P4,000.00  but would negate the                                                                                advantage  of RTL

The upgrade which cost a good low 5 figures adds to the prestige and riding experience - smooth shifting and riding.   

What remains is to have an xt brakeset because it appears to be generic now.   The illusion can be made by buying an XT brake lever.  

It should be said that the mainland sellers are very good in marketing,  They oversold me and many others on the Carbon fiber and its technology, on the German design.  But the actual performance and the sales transaction has not been up to par:    they gave me the wrong color size, and groupset.  Their current groupset while it performs normally has a derailleur that is about to give up being thin and weak in it fabrication;  the crankset is heavy and made of tin cans (hahaha -  iron unlike Shimano which is alum) ragged in construction.    They invest much in bloggers and the e commerce platform.   

Great learning experiences from MTB

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

6.04.2021

There were a lot of things I learned from my incursion into MTB world

1.  While others are debating about use of rim brakes vs disc brakes I was busy understanding this:

     1.  Hydraulic brakes vs cable brakes,   For hydraulic brakes, use of mineral oil vs. DOT 5 (for                       SRAM avid models

     2.   Bleeding hydraulic brakes   (bottom bleeding, the hacks for bleeding   Substitute - syringes

     3.  Centering brakes  (in three directions)

     4.   Conversion from 160 to 180 mm;  the adapter kits 

     5.   4 piston vs 2 piston

           Which is better the 4 piston or bigger disc (180 mm nd 203 mm)

     6.   The icetech technology by Shimano; floating disc by Sagmit or 3 Pro

     7.   The one by two by and three by conversion.   Why two by is better

           How can you have two by without buying Deckas.?   All you need are 4 spacers

     8.   The disassembly of the free hub body to access the pawls

     9.  I missed this -  tightening the hub  with lock ring vs the cone.   (That is why I had difficulty 

          with xt hub of an MTB

    10.  Hacks for missing umbrella bolts of hydraulic brakes

    11.  Disassembly of  front hydraulic shocks.    The tools you need and the cleaning needed.  How

           can you prevent expensive repairs.    Why rubber hoses that can be cut can be used as rubber

           seals of the piston assembly.  (It is difficult to buy these small rings/kits)

2.  Canvassing or reading the  e commerce ads:

    1.   Access and/or buy from reliable platform.   Lazada is better;

    2.   Buy from Philippines store and avoid foreign stores.   Do not buy from sites without reviews

          comments, or none sold

   3     Do not access the viber number of the seller.  The e commerce platform will not return your

          payment if the transaction goes awry

   4.    VERIFY READ VERY WELL WHAT YOU ARE BUYING.  THERE ARE MANY MISLEADING ADS.  Sometime they are selling a bolt or a nut or sticker.  But the picture

advertises the whole bike or equipment

   5.  The prices are misleading.  Sometimes they post the price for the left part or right part but not

         the entire set you intend to buy.   You have to press the family color to know the exact price  

   6.  You have to canvass very well;  sometimes stores that are near one another can have massive

         price differences.

   7.  Do you really need the upgrades being pitched.  Sometimes you dont.  But their pitches are so

       good and being bombarded constantly that is why you succumb.  

3.  Know excactly the adventure that you want?   Road ride, trail ride or bikepacking

     Trail ride can be very dangerous and is not for every one.   Practice have conficence before going

     on trail ride

4.  Use your gears to the max when climbing.  That is why MTBS are preferred over RB because of wide range of gears at your disposal.   

5.  The one by or two by does not make your bike go faster.  You will have additional expenses but

      you get slower for dumping the high chain ring.    or the low low granny gear if you go purely

      one by.  You do not save a lot of weight by removing the derrailleur or the changer.   The cogs 

      which are larger have added weight.   

Tips for MTB bikers