Bike repair and improvements are great teacher - and exercise for the brain and hands

Wheels of Happiness

Since this post was not able to bike today, I made the following improvements on my Ti MTB

1. Crank bolt pre load.  Adjusted the preload as advised by GCN.   I loosened the pinch bolt, hand tighteend the crank bolt, and then tightened the pinch bolt.   The crank spun more freely.

2. Cmpression ring. The headset kept on getting loose.  It must be the compression nring that was left out.   So I reinstalled the compression ring.  Hopefully the problem is solved.

3.  Second life to headset bearing.  This post spent P500.00 for headset replacement.  But all that were replaced were two berarings:  the 55 and 44 mm od bearing.   And so I reviewed the parts that were salvaged and they were shells of two bearing.  There was the plastic band that encased the braring for the bottom and two other shells for the top.    The top bearing shell lacked three bearings.  And the top bearing lacked about 20 - 24.  It was good that there were spare 1/8" bearing (left over for the hub repair I bought from Sising.   Sure enough, I was able to reassemble the two top and bottom berarings.   That should save me about P500.00 next time

Bike repair really teach you a lot -  how to repair, improvise and think

Learning how to repair your bike - benefits

Wheels of Happiness

Some would consider it rather unusual to learn how to repair bikes.  Better leave to the mechanics and let them earn a living: But there are certain benefits when you learn to repair your own bike:

1   Self reliance.   When you are in a middle of nowhere,, you can repair and get home.  For instance, if           your break your derrailleur, how do you get home?

    If you have spares, ,can you replace:  brake pads, cables, screws, or even repair a flat?

2.  More learning -  you can be useful to your bike mates if you know how to take care of minor repairs.  

 Bike shops and reliable mechanics are hard to come by in remote places.   All they need and know  are  hammer and plier to repair your bike.  Will you allow this?

     Knowledge is power.   You are higher in the pecking order of the group if you have this advantage

3.  You train your mind to:

     1.  To be clean.   Most bike foul ups are due to dirt and grime accumulation

     2.  To be meticulous in parts:   part number and measurements, proper orientation when installing

           (better take pictures)

     3.  Be process oriented.  Proper sequencing.  Wrong sequence means you have to repeat the

          entire process.   Better take pictures and place the parts disassembled in proper order you

          took them apart

    4.  Have proper tools.  No tools can wreck you bike

    5.  Plan your repair:      1.  Have complete parts,   2.  Have complete tools   3.  Review the YT

         Video, manual

    6.  Be patient.  If you commit mistake, be willing to repeat the whole thing.  Dont throw away

         the repair, and or rush to the mechanic

4.    You definitely save money.

       The mechanic in remote barrio charges P200.00 per item.   The nearby mechanic charged

       me for a hub removal and bearing reinstallation.   A workshop charges P1,500 for taking bike

       from their house and redelivery.  The repair and parts are exclused.

5.  You lengthen the life of your bike

     1. You can be careful with your bike as you repair, and as you use it.  You do not expose the 

         elements that could wreck or destory the bike:   wading the bike in flood waters, streams

         to extreme heat.   You do not water the bike that lets water seep into the bearings and metal

         parts that could rust.  You do not cool disc brake by pouring water.  You do not shift when

         the chain is under tension.   

        Since you can disassemble:   you can chain your wax, change the chain when needed

   2.  Some parts can be recycledd:

        1.  Bearings can be regreased.  You dont need to buy a  new one

        2.  You can make the bearing new again by refreshing its old bearings.   Balls are cheap

6.  You become more connected to your bike.  You learn to appreciate its complex engineering and functioning. so you take care of it more closely.   So its not just a bike.  It is a product of the teamwork and the passion of those who put it together. So you must too

Constant repairs, upgrade on S works now makes it a darling bike

Wheels of Happiness

S works carbon frame, venge vias bike was a least preferred bike because of many challenges:   weak brakes, untrued wheels, noisy hubs  Non functioning sti and RD

I held the bike since 2016 and was a Peter Sagan model.

However I strived hard to make this A-1

1.  To align the wheel, I researched YT and had 5.5 socket wrench sanded out to be a tool to align the

      Cosmic wheel set.  No one dared touch the alignment because there was no tool.  With the tool, it be-

      came an ordinary alignment job.  Cheap.  No need to bring this to Greenhill's.

2.  I had new tires 25mm fitted;

3.  For the  SRAM red STI i tried to get BN 10 speed STI.  Fortunately Mario Toledo repaired the broken barrel drum and found the problem to kinked cables which he replaced

4.  As for the crank, disassembled this, cleaned  regreased this.  However the crank bolt kept coming off

     A stronger push on the 14 mm made sure it would not get loose again

5.  Centered the V brake and had a barrel adjuster for the rear brake to get this finely adjusted

6.  Disassembled  the rear hub repaired the pawls, regreased the bearing and oiled the pawls.  Spent             some  time perfecting the pre load and centering the wheel in the bike

But finally got things right.  It now runs as smooth as a better.  And is equal to or better than Pinarello 

What were the thing I learned in 2022 regarding bikes

Wheels of Happiness

I thought there were many.   Here are some

1.  Making splash guard from softdrinks plastic bottle.  They are expensive and costs about P400 each

     It is free when making them from used PET bottle

2.  Repairing spokes converting them from J to straight pull using pliers and inserting them at hub holes

3.  Partially truing a wheel.  The correct tightening is counterclockwise

4.  Retightening a fork top tube extender.   This is what he mechanic did to the Pinarello top tube 

     when it got loose from the Daraga 400 km ride

5.  Installing a goat link to SRAM red rd so that the rd can accommodate 11-36 cogs

6.  Cheap saddles are good for your butt   

FB posts:    senior rides, Jorgeus George

Fixing my S works Venge Vias

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
July 15, 2019



I have not used  my Venge Vias S works bike shod with Cosmic wheel set Kenda tires, SRAM red groupset (which is light)  for a while  More than a year  Because 1. The bike is not that strong  it feels
vague compared to Shimno brakes (VV has built in V brakes)  2.  There is a clanking noise at the rear chain stay which is rather annoying.   I bought this bike from a Globe Electronic Engineer from Batangas who used the money to buy a Bianchi    Nakatawad ng mga P12,000 sa original buying price niya sa BN.  Now I know why. he disposed. it. Because of the internal brake cables at the handlebar and steerer, the cables are likely to get kinks and not function well....  He was obviously troubled by the braking efficiency.... The external bikes and external cabling works better.

When the bike news featured again the bike of Peter Sagan, a Venge S works, I decided I must bring out my S works again.  First I had to do something with the brakes   Many mechanics from the area, including the  Cainta area.   Some hope from #Dante of Lifecycle at Greenhills, Mechanics of Jay  Gotangco at Calumpang, and Jun of Christy's.

As stop gap measures:

1.  I adjusted the front brake adjustment so that the pads are closer.  It worked. Lumakas na preno. Sa
    rear, hinatak ko ang cable much tighter para mas dikit ang pads to brake line.  It worked too.  Maybe
    the brake efficiency is now 75% instead of 50% before.

2. As for the unwanted sound at the rear stays:  

   1.  I cut a plastic tube  about 3/8 in diameter  2 inches long  into two wrappped the  RD cable entry into            the rear stay so that it is not loose;

   2.  From the BB side, I cut a length of the same plastic tube wrapped the metal spaghetti cable of teh
       RD cable so that the clanking against the tube could be dampened.  Nabawasan na kalampag.

So you see, you do not have to bring all your problems to the mechanic or hope for a high cost solution like bringing the bike to Missing Link or Bikezilla (where the repairs may cost me a thousand)

I am happy now with my S works bike.  Naitravel ko na nang Morong.    Maasahan na

No bike ride today, January 1, 2016; it is raining

Wheels of Happiness

Rizal Philippines
January 1, 2016

I can not bike today. There is a light drizzle.  It is going to be cold and dirty ride if I do so now, if not dangerous because of slick road.  It was raining at 12:00 midnight.  This failed to dampen the massive fireworks display last night.  Wow they had money to burn, which I find rather odd if they worked hard for the money.   (It must have been several hundreds of thousands of pesos worth of fireworks.

Yesterday though, to prepare for the coming new year, I did the following to my three bikes (2 roadies and 1 MTB)

1. washed them thoroughly with soap and water and wiped them dry;

2.  replaced the bike pads of the SARS bike.  It was tricky, since I had to readjust the centring, the cable tightness, the alignment of the pads with the rim, etc.  It was a work for a mechanic.

3.  replaced the cable for the FD of SARS bike.

Now they are ready for the 2016 rides

Happy and prosperous new year every one.

Link to Repair and Installation tips - Bike Tutor

Wheels of Happiness

Please click for more tips on how to repair your bike and install parts to save money and visit to the bike shop:

Bicycle Tutor