Worked the whole afternoon getting my TI MTB in tip top condition.

Wheels of Happiness

On my bike ride to Wawa, I noticed the shifting to be hard.   The headset problem has been solved.  Now its the time to look after the drive train.  These were the things I did:

1.  First, this post disassembled and soaked the rd and fd in degreaser and cleaned them well.  Then the oiled the pivot points.  However I could not get the main spring have the proper tension.   I could only get

the cage to 90 degrees vertical not at horizontal.  Therefore the chain was slack  II tried a dozen times to get the tension of spring back.

2.  I researched at YT and found out that I have to rotate the cage clockwise by at least 180 degrees.  This I could not do since I observed the part that attaches to the cable gets into the way.  (You will be surprised that I was not thnking outside the box.  )  It looked immovable.  The only way out is to move the spring by other means.   I gave up on my DIY and went to the bike mechanic,   He proposed creating a tool to rotate the spring.  Later on he found like solving a puzzle that the parrallelogram can be moved and the cage can be rotated 180 degrees.  Voila.  I gave him P50.00 for the effort.

3.  Then I found out that the cable inside was rusted.   So I had to replace the outer too.   And so I looked for  full length shifter cable and I found one.  My waterloo there is inserting the cable at the changer.   I entangled a cable before.   I had smooth sailing this time.   I replaced the outer at the last 20 cm portion of the cable near the RD.

4.  It took me 4 tries to get the cable to the right tension.  And I had to adjust the limit screws.  The bike would not shift to the biggest and smallest gear.   

5.  Then the rd would not shift back to the lowest gear.  I found out that the upper pulley was hitting the chain stay.  So thats where the B screw adjustment came in.  I scewed in the B screw to clear off the chain stay.   

Perfect.  Now the Ti MTB is a Ok.   But was tired.   Finished at 7:00

Final adjustment of the Shimano XT hub?

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

4.03.2021

I am about to buy a new  rear XT hub (BN) or buy from Lazada (but unfortunately its the front being sold) just to get over my difficulty in the rough rotation of the rear wheel.   I have spent about 2 weeks trying to figure out myself how to get this right.  

It all started when I overhauled the rear hub.  I might have missed some steps.

My problem is:   if I adjust the preload too tight, the wheel wont turn freely;   if I adjust the tighetining nut by 90%  (or quarter) then the wheel plays laterally.   

I planned to go to a super mechanic to get this right.   But before doing that:

    1.  I consulted again Google how to do the disassembly and assembly

    2.  I disassembled the hub again  -  found out:

                1.  That some of the bearings  fell off the races;

                2.   The cone at the non drive side had scores on the surface

                3.   That the bearing  cover on the drive side were not properly pressed in

                       hence the drive side cone cant be tightened well by 2 to 3 threads, and hence

                       there was no correct tightening and loosening

   3.  So I reinstalled and regreased the bearings

        Pressed the bearing cover;   regreased the non drive side;

   4.  Refitted the cones,, and followed the advice of loosening again the nut by 3 to 6 minutes

This time, the wheels spun freely even if I tightened the locking nut full.

And so I can smile again and not go to the mechanic anymore

My bike is teaching me a lot on mechanics, patience and analysis.   

        

Hub Preload adjustment learning

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines

3.24.2021

Preload adjustment from Park Tools

This post believes that in the hub repair, the preload adjustment can be the most difficult part (in my case the cone on the drive side is defective.     

If it is too tight, it is difficult to pedal and drive the bike, if it is too loose, the wheel wiggles from side to side.  It is challenging to get this right.    Sometimes the tighter tightening of the QR can solve the problem

Listening to the unusual sounds of your bike so that you can tune it 100% in tip top condition

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
July 27, 2018

                                              Kumikiyakis ang kadena sa chain catcher

                                            Lumuwag ang cogs (sprocket)

Nakasingit ako ng bike today maski kulimlim.  Mukhang umulan na from Tayuman to Binangonan.  Balak ko tumuloy sa Morong pero tumigil na ako sa Mambog dahil sa unusual sound at functioning ng F10 na tinest drive ko dahil bago wheelset nito:

1.  May sound ng kumikiyakis na hindi nawawala maski ibuka preno iadjust ibang piyesa

2.  May kumakalampag sa likod pag nalulubak ang bike

3. Ayaw magshift sa big ring pag ikinambyo left STI

Nang makarating sa bahay, tiningnan ang puwedeng maging diprensiya.

Sa #1, dumikit ang chain catcher sa kadena

Sa #2, lumuwag ang pagkakahigpit ng nut ng cogs...Nangyari na sa akin iyon sa S works

Sa #3, lumuwag din ang kable na nakakabit sa FD.

So ang gagawin lang iadjust ang chain catcher, Hinigpitan ang cogs at kable.  Now everything A OK

Sabi ito ng mekaniko na after assembly huwag umasa na 100% na perfect ito.  Ang mga piyesa at cable ay mag aadjust ng tension at kailangan i re adjust.  Kaya hindi dapat kampante pag bagong assemble ang bike. May maaaring lumuwag or kailangang iadjust

Tuning the front derailleur could be frustrating

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
June 23, 2017

On my birthday bike ride, I was only able to use the small chain ring;   the front derailleur wont shift to the large chain ring.   Yesterday, I had the opportunity to tune it for it to work on large chain ring.  The lack of large chain ring slowed me down on flats and going downhill.

I spent almost 30 minutes  trying to get the fd work right.  Armed with a 5 mm allen wrench screw driver and pliers, I tried my luck.   First thing I did was to get the slack off the cable,  Then trying to get the shifter a little bit out by turning the low screw clockwise until I got the chain go to the large chain ring.  However the chain was jumping off the ring.   So I had to turn the lower (high screw) about 4 x so that the limiter will prevent the chain from over reaching.  After wards, I tried the shifter and it would not shift again.  I had to turn the lower screw cc about 3 turns to get it right.  

I think did trial and error of the adjustment about 4x;  I nearly gave up to bring the bike to the mechanic. The patience paid off and was rewarded with a functioning front derailleur.