- Welcome back to the GCN Tech Clinic,
where we aim to get you riding again or maybe answer that
burning question you've got about a cheeky little upgrade.
So, let's crack on then, shall we?
With the first question this week,
and it's from Graham Smith,
who says they had a full service on their bike recently.
They had a new bottom bracket chain and both gear cables.
But since they've have this done,
they've got a single click only when they're in the 53 and
when they push on their right foot.
Any ideas, as they've checked most of the things
which they think it could well be?
Now, the tick of the click, awful.
My personal pet hate because as soon as I get one,
I just wanna go home and solve it.
Now, what I would suggest first of all:
take off all of your chain rings and your peddles.
Clean up the spider, where they attach to
as well as the threads of the crank for the peddle.
And then, refit all those components
but using fresh grease or NTC's.
Torch them up to the correct recommendation.
Go back out, have a little ride.
Still creaking or clicking?
Right, okay.
Make sure then it's not something like an end cap
of your front derailleur which is rubbing on the crank
each time you go pass.
You say it is on the downstroke,
but sometimes bikes have a weird and wonderful way
of doing things.
And then finally, make sure the bottom bracket is
still tight inside of the frame
and there's no movement there
because possibly, just possibly,
it could've come loose somehow.
If it's a press fit one, then maybe it needs
a little big of retaining compound in there.
Next question is a drive train one, and that's from C Mad.
If they put just a 9100 rear derailleur,
can they still use the 9000 levers?
I know what you're thinking here, C Mad.
You're thinking about a cheeky little upgrade, aren't you?
As I mentioned earlier on.
Now, those 9100 derailleurs, when they first came out,
I was a little bit undecided about them.
I thought, "Do you know what? It looks a bit like a
mountain bike component."
But hey, we've all got to take sacrifices so.
But in all seriousness,
I think now they look absolutely brilliant.
Anyway, enough about the aesthetics.
The good news is it will work for you.
And it's a great upgrade,
and it's likely you're gonna get a little bit
lighter action shifting as well as the benefit of
possibly being able direct mount it onto your
derailleur hanger depending on
what type of frame you've got.
And whilst you're at it, fit some new cables in there too.
Never does any harm.
Another Di2 question, I can't help but pick them out.
Anyway, Carlos Sanchez wants to know.
They recently purchased their first Di2 bike,
a Scott Foil 10.
And they're curious as to what precautions they need
to take when washing it.
They imagine water is not good for electronic components.
Nice new bike you've got there.
Well, water and electric generally don't mix;
however, Di2, it's basically almost faultless
in all types of weather conditions.
After all, if the pros are using them day in day out,
and the mechanics are jet washing them,
well there doesn't seem to be any problems with them.
However, I'm sure the mechanics are not hosing
or jet washing directly at any connections
or junction boxes, that kind of thing,
where water could possibly seep in.
And I'd advise you to do the same at home
when you're actually washing your bike.
So don't go crazy with a jet wash or a hose all over
those cables and connections.
Simply, wash the components as you would do a normal one.
Now, I think Finishline actually makes some
electric bike component specific cleaner,
so you could well take a little look at that,
as well as either using silicone grease or
dielectric grease to basically seal around the Di2 cables
where they go into the components.
That's something which I do on my own,
just to safeguard me against any possible water ingress.
Now, Liam Sangaku, they've got themselves an annoying squeak
coming from the drive chain every so often.
Now, Liam keeps his chain lubed and clean.
Any suggestions?
Right, first here Liam, get down nice and close
to the drive chain,
and peddle it backwards and try and find out exactly
where it's coming from.
Sometimes, it's coming from your jockey wheels
because they have tiny little rubber seals
around the metal washers,
which are spacing them away from the cage.
Sometimes they just get a little bit caught
and can give you a little squeak there.
Alternatively, it could be a stiff link.
So again, peddle backwards whilst inspecting around
one of the sprockets.
So make sure that chain is running nice and smoothly.
If it's not, then simple grab the chain
and flex it a little bit, side to side,
and try to free it up.
Failing that, could well be a shoe cleat.
If it is, give it a little spray with some silicone spray.
Hopefully then, you'll be squeak free.
Oh, and it could also be your jockey wheel bearings.
Sometimes some water gets in there,
and that's known to give a little squeak too.
So, you could simply lay the bike sideways.
Non drive side down.
Then put a little bit of chain lubricant
onto the jockey wheel bearings,
and that could go in there and hopefully
get rid of that squeak for you.
Galahad Bland wants to know,
is it okay to use a pipe cutter,
so that's a plumber's tool, to cut an aluminum steerer tube?
Right, so for those of you who don't know:
basically, this is what plumbers use day in day out
for quickly cutting pipes.
So it clamps onto a pipe,
and then with a little turning knob,
you simply adjust it to the diameter of the pipe,
and then rotate the tool around,
and it gives you a perfectly clean cut.
Absolutely perfect for your aluminum steerer tube.
I've used one in the past.
Aluminum steerer tubes, as well as mountain bike handlebars,
just to try and cut them down a little bit.
These days, mountain bike handlebars seem to get wider,
so that shows you how often
I actually ride my mountain bike.
Absolutely fine to use it,
just remember to de burr it at the end of it.
So get yourself a file and just get rid of any sharp edges.
Now, next up is a question from Jochem who,
I'm gonna cut this one down a little bit shorter.
Basically, they need to adjust the B screw
every time they swap the wheel set around on their bike
because of different ratios off cassettes.
Now the JIS Phillips head B screw is starting
to become a little bit worn out, and they want to know:
can they replace it with a screw of similar length,
thread pitch, and material, but with a hex head?
So it's more suitable for frequent adjustments.
Now, it is annoying, Jochem,
how this does happen to those little bolts
because we don't tend to adjust them very often.
A little tip for you here: when you are adjusting it,
actually pivot the rear derailleur backwards
so the screw is not touching the drop out hanger.
In turn, it'll be a lot easier to actually
tighten it in there.
But answering your question,
can you change it for a different bolt?
Yes, you can.
Just make sure it's a very good quality bolt.
There is certain types of stainless steel
which are a lot better than others,
so get yourself a good quality one.
Yeah, a hex key will be absolutely fine.
Final question this week is from Alec Teo,
who asks, "What can I do if I've already maxed out
my front derailleur limit screws but still get
chain rub on the front derailleur when I'm on my big ring?"
Right Alec, well first up make sure that
your cable rooting is all okay and it's not getting trapped
or taking an odd route or anything like that.
Failing that, have a look at your chain rings
and make sure they're fitted in the correct way.
Basically they're not flipped around the opposite direction
which could be meaning that there's a bigger gap
than ideal for the front derailleur to be able to handle.
Still not working?
Right, then let's unclamp your cable
and then physically try and push the front derailleur
as far to the drive side as possible
and see if maybe the spring inside of it has
become a little bit gunked up, or something like that,
which is preventing the light action from your shifter
to be able to operate the derailleur correctly.
Also, just have a good check to make sure that
nothing's become wedged or lodged in there
which is preventing any movement.
Any dirt, stone, twigs, anything like that.
Importantly though, Alec, let me know how you get on.
Right, I hope that I've helped solve your problem this week
on the GCN Tech Clinic.
Now do remember as well to let me know your problems
down there in the comments,
and I'll do my very best to help answer them.
Now remember as well to like and share this video with
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