- Today I'm excited to be joined by our partner Park Tool
with our Director of Education, Calvin Jones.
Thanks for joining us Calvin.
- Great to be here and trying it out.
(laughs)
- Brilliant, well over the last few weeks we've been
asking you to send in your questions on
bike maintenance and mechanics and well,
Calvin is a bit of a guru in that area, and between us,
we've managed to whittle those questions down
to the most common questions, and the most interesting.
- The fun ones.
(electronic sounds)
- Okay Calvin, one of the questions we've had
time and time again, and you'll probably start to notice
that traffics really don't like wasting watts,
and that is with the front mech,
and getting that adjustment right,
and those extreme chain lines.
So this question we had in from PCOLEMAN1982 said:
"How do we reduce rubbing on the front mech?
"Or, is that just something you should deal with?"
- That's right.
And in here, of course, in UK,
we hate to waste watts.
And what better place
to save it than the home of Mr. Watt himself.
James Watt, one of the giants.
So, we don't want this to rub, it has to be adjusted right.
Sometimes, it's gonna rub, because the manufacturers
are exceeding the capacity, doesn't mean you are.
So we start with some basics, always down to the basics.
So first, how far up and down, all right?
So the height here.
So we want this
pretty much two to three millimetres above the top teeth.
Way too high, and too low, not good.
- What would happen then, throw the chain?
- It would throw it off, or shift poorly, or combination.
But on the rubbing part, most importantly is the rotation.
That's what we're dealing with here.
So the bolts are loosened, it can rotate around the bracket,
and we pretty much want it parallel to the chain ring.
Some do prefer it a little bit out.
So, it shouldn't be rubbing normally, in our normal gears.
So, these two screws here, are limit screws,
and they're creating a box.
They're creating a box that it can move in, and then stop.
So, we don't want it to go beyond a certain point.
We don't want to go inside beyond a certain point.
So those are the limits Chris.
Assuming those are correct, we're still not done.
Because the tension or the pull of the cable,
better way to think of it is pull,
when we're up here at our shift lever,
is it actually moving it over?
Let's make a fake example here.
(gear spinning)
I'm rubbing, I'm rubbing, what can I do?
Pull the lever.
(sighs)
Thank you, now it's quiet.
A little bit of a joke, not always, because remember,
in those hard events, oxygen's leaving the brain
for the legs.
That's my theory.
- Yeah.
- So, what moves it is the pull of the cable.
Another good reason for electrical.
It's doing the work, you don't have to remember.
So, there are cases you hit a hill,
you may want to come down to the smaller ring.
Let's go down.
And here, we start getting chain line issues.
So, you have
11 in back.
Soon we may have 12 in back,
two in front, 24 possible combinations?
Not as far as the manufacturer is concerned.
You don't really get that many usable gears.
The electronics are interesting
because they'll literally block out.
Don't do that.
They won't let you use that gear.
But if it's manual,
we're counting on the onboard computer here,
on top of the saddle.
Well, above the bars we should say.
To a pull back and forth, to not scrape.
Okay, so that can happen.
Assuming, of course, the manufacturer has done their job,
with chainline,
so we can see chains are flexible, right?
So, if you're pulling this over this way too much,
you may scrape on the front chain ring.
You come up a few cards and it's quiet,
that's probably the manufacturer's issue.
Simply pick another gear.
But, if everything is set up accordingly,
you should get most of the gears without rubbing.
If it rubs, is it a big deal?
Ah.
- Well on this subject of
the gears and derailleurs,
one question we get time and time again.
And I'll grab this to read it out.
This one came in from Matthew Zechel.
And he said, "How to adjust the B limit screw?"
- B.
Yes. - Yep.
- Right, we want it be correct.
So, what do we do here?
- So, we're moving back little bit here,
aren't we? - Right, let's have a look,
let's have a look here.
For a derailleur we have the lower pulley, it gives tension.
We call that the, it's the T-pulley.
The upper one guides,
this is the most important one,
it guides your chain.
The G-pulley.
Okay, so our limit screws H and L,
and then the body angle,
that's important here.
So, tightening and loosening that,
pivots this, if I tighten the screw,
this is gonna happen.
What's happening?
Can we see this in the audience there?
The guide is coming down, down, down and away.
Loosening?
Up, up, up, up, up and closer.
- So if it's overtightened,
and we've got too much gap there,
what is the, what are the real issues we might experience?
- This one is pretty classic, we have a pretty big gap here.
So our mountain sisters and brothers
vary a bit from the road and the try.
Generally here you want that close, close,
so that it shifts well.
Let's grab our chain again
and talk about flexibility.
Okay.
I'm going to be the cassette cogs.
You're going to be, grab the, yeah,
you are now the G-pulley.
So you have to move left and right to shift up to me.
Nope, toward, yes.
Back and forth, back and forth.
Look at all that flex.
So, let's move the B,
move the screw looser.
The shorter this piece of chain, the less slack,
the more effective you are in moving.
- Yeah. - So, far away,
whoa, that really has to move to shift.
Really close, yes less slack.
- [Mark] It's far more efficient.
- [Calvin] Yes.
- Right, we're going to move on to something
completely different now, and actually this is something
I'm quite intrigued by and interested to hear from a pro.
So this one's coming from RUNFATBOYRUN7,
They've said,
"How do you properly maintain the bottom bracket?"
And then, PASSBAUER has said,
"I keep breaking bottom brackets
"because I'm too strong.
"What should I do?"
- Well I've talked to my connections at British Cycling,
and they're going to want to talk to you
if you're breaking all those bottom brackets.
(laughs) So, you have,
may have some potential there.
Or possibly Cytech or ATG
put some proper training in your gear.
So, one of the two.
So, what do you do here?
In the modern world, it's just mostly,
you ride it, you throw it out.
You ride it, you throw it out.
Maintenance in the old sense,
we, (sighs) not doing that so very much.
There's very little that can be done,
depending on the bottom bracket.
So, we have several here,
very traditional thread in style.
This one threads in here, they put a seal over it,
to help keep out a lot of stuff.
You can't effectively get this off without damaging it.
They didn't want you to.
They're clever people.
They're saying, buy a new one, come on.
So, we also have the press fit style that's,
yeah, hand that off, very similar.
So it presses in the bike, but again there's a seal here.
I bet I, we can get that out.
Where's the hammer?
Huh, hammer? (laughs)
Yes, you're going to smash it up.
Are you going to get it back in nicely?
No, no, so again, this dial, disposable.
So, away with that.
This one, depending on the model,
if you can get the cover off, the seal off,
there's often a rubber seal on the cartridge bearing here.
So here we can take a seal pick,
we pry from the inside edge, not the outside,
the inside edge and gently pry and lift that off.
Oh, there are those little beauties in there.
So here we can scrubby scrub scrub with the toothbrush,
some solvent, blow it out carefully, dry it,
and then pack, pack, pack, with grease.
When we push the seal back in,
it will push the grease in.
- So then, on the subject of replacing
and installing bottom brackets,
now, this is something
I can probably admit to because I used to
continually reinstall BB30 bottom brackets,
and probably for a reason--
- That's a good one. - Because I was installing
them incorrectly.
I didn't have the tools for it.
So, I know this is a very broad subject,
there's so many bottom brackets out there.
Any advice you give people about them?
- Well, the right tools for the job are important.
And you picked a really good one, the BB30.
So, thread in.
If it's thread in, basic rule of thumb,
correct tool tight, you hardly can strip these out.
It's a big thread, fine thread,
so these need to be tight.
The press type.
Well, you do want it tight.
This is trickier.
Goldilocks is important here.
So, there's no threads in the frame,
we take this, if we shove it in by hand,
no good.
If you, you have to, if it presses in too tight
it can literally squeeze it.
BB30 is classic.
It's a very, it's a cartridge alone,
and if we press it in, if it's too tight a fit,
you're squeezing the bearings and they're gonna wear out.
- Okay, well, next question in from Chris David.
He said, "How to loosen a rounded or stripped bolt?"
And, I've got to say, I know this pain.
There's actually a couple of bolts
that I've got at home that,
I'm a little bit scared
if I had to loosen or tighten them again.
I'm in trouble.
So, I'd love to hear your recommendation on this.
- K, this is gonna be your mom talking to you.
You should've of though of that before you left home.
So, what are we talking about?
Preparation when you're building the bike.
So, lubrication, which can be by the way
sometimes a threadlock or it prevents rust and corrosion.
Or an anti-seize, or a grease,
or at least spit on the stupid thing.
Okay, so, doing it right the first time.
So, let's get a little deeper into that,
and talk about the tools for trying not to ruin things.
So, a good quality wrench,
and we want it in good shape.
And we also want what's called good purchase,
so, there we go, it's gonna go in a certain amount.
Okay, so let's go.
This one is a four.
Here, we're going all the way in.
You'll see people, they're in a hurry,
they just catch, oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, that's good.
I'm gonna turn it.
- All that dirt inside
so you can't fully-- - That's right.
And okay, our tri fans.
T for titanium.
Titanium bolts are notorious for shallow stamped head,
and very difficult metal.
Okay, so, you want full engagement,
then proper turning.
So, that's your, we're stopping it.
So, we've prepared the threads,
and we're gonna purchase.
These eventually can wear out.
There's really not contact 360 degrees.
It's only on the corners when they wear out a new one.
This is your rotor lock, right?
So, we'll have a tight shot,
boy that inside is a mess.
Proper technique?
Not on this one.
Or a bad fitting, the wrong tool.
- Now this actually happens a lot,
I'd say for triathletes when we're
travelling with our TT bikes.
We've got to take our trial bars off
quite often. - Yes.
- And, quite often the bolts they use here,
I don't know whether it's just the material they're using,
but they seem to thread, or sort of,
they lose that grip on them quite quickly.
So, I'm very interested to hear what the solution is.
- Number one is always slow down,
I know a triathlete doesn't wanna hear that.
Slow down.
So, if we, if one is ruined, this is a tough one.
This was an easier one.
Okay, so here, good pressure,
as you turn, and also heat.
Some mild heat can move things in there.
Okay, so you get expansion.
- What happens in the case that it's completely rounded,
and you can't get any purchase on that bolt?
- Mark, well.
- You're in trouble.
(laughing)
- Who are we?
We're gonna use our professional mechanics,
and what we're gonna do my sisters and brothers of the pros,
is get a left-handed drill bit.
Left hand is, crazy thing is this?
It drills anti-clock wise,
and puts a hole in it,
but as it drills,
it tends to back things out.
It's a sweet trick.
- So, what we're saying on this one
is probably at that point,
take it to your bike shop.
- You got it, yes.
You gotta take it to the pros.
Take it to the, take it to the bike shop.
Let them give you the lecture.
Okay, Calvin, now, for a bit of a quick fire, I'm, so.
I've had quite a long cleaning as well, so.
How often and how should I clean/lube my chain?
That came from Carl Halnowell,
and following on from that,
are there any downsides to cleaning your bike
and chain too often?
I've heard this from people,
but maybe it's just an excuse.
- Right, so, one of the purpose of Park Tool
is to get us to work on our bikes,
and clean our bikes all the time,
and never ever ride.
So, always clean your bike.
Well, not true.
I think, honestly, people clean a bit too much.
Every once in awhile is good.
A big race to get you excited is nice.
But the important bits,
the chain is a good example.
This is not an eating utensil.
It doesn't need to be cleaned.
And we can see it, it's visible.
So, think of it like this.
We wanna pull the dipstick out of your car,
and oh, the oil's dirty,
I should clean this and get new oil.
It's still working, it's okay if that's dirty some.
So, over cleaning not good for the bike.
- Okay.
I'm following on from that.
Fozzie the bear said,
"What's the best cleaning tip for midweek rides?"
- Best cleaning tip midweek rides, I would say is
if your a family man, the diaper wipes, or the hand wipes.
So, just get the bottle hand wipes, take 'em out.
Wipe, wipe, wipe, clean, clean.
It'll look good.
You look really close, there's some dirt.
Just stand back and it'll look good.
So, just a quick wipe down, that's all it needs.
- Brilliant, okay.
Now, Goodoffsteppertenor said,
"How many times do you have to grease
"all he mechanical parts?"
- Pfft, boy that is the tough one.
If I throw out a number,
your just throwing spaghetti at a wall.
When it needs it.
Okay, chain's a good example.
It's gonna need it more.
It's when it's dry.
It looks dirty, do I need to oil it?
No.
No, it's still, you still feel something on there,
leave it alone.
It can really vary.
The cart, the bearings we talked about,
you can pull them off,
those, maybe three times a year would be good.
If you're gonna replace them once a year
then why bother?
So, the pivots and the shifting,
that's a good thing.
- Okay, so how about for us guys in the UK
during the winter--
- Yeah. - Water just seems to get
in everywhere and one that I've always had issues with them.
Rope bucks was headsets.
Is that something you should take apart?
Regrease? - Yes.
And the line to cartridge headsets is very easy.
Loosening this, dropping it down.
Wiping things off, almost to reboot.
And then, though the cartridges again.
If you can get inside that seal that we talked about,
and grease them, that's fine.
But even greasing the outsides, when that thing gets stuck,
that would be the thing to do.
- Brilliant, okay, we're moving on now.
And this is from Coco Agarlis, and they said,
"Can you use the same size chain on a 10 speed cassette
"versus an 11 speed cassette?"
- You can typically cheat a speed going one way,
but not the other.
So, if I'm running a nine speed here,
I have a 10 speed chain, it's gonna work.
You can't go the other way.
All right, so, I've got a 10 speed in the back,
and a wider nine speed chain, not gonna happen.
But you can get away with one going the right way.
- What's the, what is the downside,
like um, even if it does work,
do you just have slight poor shifting?
Is that the--
- It's gonna work in some gears.
It's gonna rub, and that's more to do with the spacing,
when these are really tightly size gear ratio,
not gonna rub as much.
When they're really tall, next to each other,
you're probably gonna end up with some rub,
and more chainline issues.
- Okay. - You get a little wider pin
as you go wider and skinnier as you go down to the 12.
- Okay, well next question,
and it involves this fantastic tool.
- Yup. - It's the Cyclone.
And this one came in from Mark W., and he said,
"How do I use the Park Tool's Cyclone Chain Cleaner
"so the chain doesn't fall off when they use it?"
- Right, that's a really good question.
Some people have trouble with this.
So, we're gonna talk about, again,
remember our guide pulley, and how things work.
And chainline, very much like that.
So, when you take this little device here,
we're gonna have solvent in it.
It's gonna have brushes that go around it, and clean it.
So, that's, yup. - This solvent here.
We be pouring that in.
- Pour it in.
We can stall here, but if you're brand new to this tool,
I would actually do this totally dry.
Totally dry.
Because then we can practise.
So, what I'm doing is having to learn how to steer.
So, if I'm not careful with the handle,
If I pull over this way.
Guess what's gonna happen?
I'm gonna come off that front chain ring.
So, you have to keep that chain straight.
So, if the chain's straight, all is good.
If I get over here, it's gonna jam or fall off.
So, first, try it without anything.
Just get used to it.
Holding it straight,
then pouring your fluid in.
Go to town.
Another nice tip on this, run a degreaser first.
Right, we like ours, or somebody else's?
Pour it in a bottle, reuse it.
If you let that settle,
you can get several several reuses out of it.
All right, the grits gonna go to the bottom.
So, we've attacked it with certain chemicals.
You can use any kind of mild, a detergent,
and then rinse that.
Afterwards, or even plain old water.
If you get the little bitty fine grit in there,
a second flush with a different chemical.
H2O, would be a chemical.
It will help take out that grit.
Right, so, two different flushes there.
Gonna be good to go.
- Fantastic, and final question from It's Not Kyland,
and they said, "I can't change my bar tape.
"Do I need a new bike?"
Well, you know, lot of technique there.
Talking about the tapes and this, but you know what?
He's right.
He can't change it.
You can't change a bar tape.
Get a new bike.
- Well, needless to say, that has been very interesting.
I've certainly learned a lot.
So, thank you for sharing some of your
maintenance wizardry with us, Calvin.
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