(light upbeat music)
- As if racing wasn't stressful enough as it is,
we also have to worry of potentially suffering
a race day mechanical,
dropping a chain, suffering a puncture,
or a saddle slipping and so on.
Now if you are someone that has suffered
from one of these before,
or maybe something completely different,
then please do share your stories
in the comment section below
and do let us know if you managed to finish that race.
Now obviously nobody wants to suffer
from one of these mechanicals
yet sometimes, unfortunately, they're kind of unavoidable.
Things happen, so we need to know how to fix them,
or in some cases, maybe we could actually limit
the chances of that happening in the first place.
So here are my top five race day mechanicals,
how to fix them, and potentially, how to prevent them.
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OK well let's start with a rather frustrating one,
and it is dropping the chain.
Now this is where the chain falls off
off the chainrings at the front here.
Now it tends to be to the inside,
between the chainrings and the frame,
but also it does happen outside as well.
So let me run you through how you can fix this
if you do get yourself into this
little bit of a pickle during a race.
So, more often than not, it tends to be to the inside
when we're shifting from the big ring down to the small ring
and it just throws the chain off
between the chainrings and the frame,
so it's really important at this point to back off the power
because if you carry on grinding away,
you are going to, well, potentially jam that chain
between the chainrings and the frame
and maybe damage your frame.
So actually, you want to stop pedaling
or even just easily pedal
as you start to try and shift your gears back up
into the big ring.
And what this will do is hopefully catch the chain
back up onto the small chainring or the big chainring,
and actually get you going again very quickly.
Obviously if it happens to the outside, the same applies,
so try and just shift it back up into the small ring.
So if you've shifted to the big ring,
throws it off, shift it to the small ring,
hopefully it'll pop it back on for you.
Admittedly, this does work a little bit better
with mechanical gears because you can just gradually ease
that chain back on and move that front mech gradually.
But it does also work with electronic gears.
Failing that, then I'm afraid it's time
to get your hands grubby, and we need to move to
the back of the bike.
Push the rear mech around to slacken the tension
in the chain, then pull the chain out
and back on to the chainring.
Now I know it's too late during a race,
but for future reference, it is possible to prevent
all of this from happening in the first place.
And one possible cause is these two screws
on your front derailleur not being adjusted properly.
So we've got, what is sometimes labeled as the H screw,
which is your high screw, and that limits your amount
of movement from the front derailleur cage outwards.
We also have another screw which is sometimes labeled
as the L screw and that is your low screw
and that limits how much movement
of the front derailleur inwards.
So if your chain is falling off to the inside,
between your chainset and your frame,
then it is the L screw that we need to adjust.
So you wanna start by putting the chain
on the small chainring and the larger sprocket on the back.
The inner plate of the front derailleur cage should nearly,
but not quite, touch the chain.
We're talking about a gap of one
or maybe even two millimeters.
If the gap is larger than that,
then you need to turn the L screw clockwise,
to move that inner plate of the front derailleur cage
closer to the chain.
But if the chain is falling outside,
so off the front chainring here,
then it's the H screw that we need to adjust.
So same rules apply, so put the chain on the big chainring,
and the smaller sprocket on the back.
The outside plate of the front derailleur cage,
shouldn't quite touch the chain.
If there's a gap larger than one,
or maybe even two millimeters,
then turn the H screw clockwise,
and you'll see the cage move slightly inwards.
But failing all of that, there is the chain catcher.
Now this only actually helps in the case of,
when the chain is falling off to the inside,
and this is actually one of Si Richardson
from GCN's absolute favorites,
so much so in fact, I think he may stolen mine,
because I can't find it anywhere.
But that aside, it would just attach to the front mech here,
and it would basically just catch the chain,
stop it from falling off between the chainset and the frame,
and keep it on the chainrings.
And this is actually particularly useful
if you are using larger chainrings
and you've got a big step down between the two chainrings.
(gentle upbeat music)
Now punctures are the absolute worst,
and there are a couple of ways to fix them.
On race day, we can go for a full tube replacement,
or tire replacement, if we're using tubeless,
or we can use sealant.
Now I could rush you through both those methods now,
but actually I've done a very detailed video,
with a step-by-step process for both of those,
so you can see that by clicking just up there,
or you can wait until the end of this video,
when I will throw to that very video.
Now, you can actually prevent and limit your chances
of getting a puncture in the first place anyway,
so one of which is to just check your tire over
at least a week before the actual race.
Just check that they aren't particularly worn in any places,
they aren't cut, or they just aren't untoward at all.
Now if they are, then you want to make sure
that you replace them, and you get at least one,
or maybe even two short rides in on them before the big day,
that way it just beds it in
and seats that tire really well.
Also, if the inner tubes are old and you've fixed them
a fair few times, then definitely, definitely replace those
because just for the few quid,
it is absolutely well worth it.
Another thing to consider is your tire pressures.
Now you should be checking these on race morning.
If they're too low,
you could risk suffering from a pinch flat,
but equally, if they're too high,
you could suffer from them basically exploding.
Now this is particularly the case if you're racing
in hot conditions or you're having to leave your bike
out in transition with the sun beaming down on it.
Now in terms of the actual pressure
you pump your tires up to,
well as a rough guide, an example,
if we use a 25 mil tire on a 70 kilo rider,
then the front tire should be at 90 psi
and the rear tire at 93 psi.
And then you want to increase that by two psi
for every five kilos over 70 kilograms,
and then subtract 2 psi for every five kilos
under 70 kilograms.
Now obviously this does change ever so slightly
in wet conditions because you'll want to run
a slightly lower pressure to increase that grip,
so do drop a few psi out of both front and rear tires,
but again, just be wary of those pinch flats.
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Well I've changed bikes now because with the advancements
in technology, more and more bikes are coming with
electronic gears, which is fantastic
until the gears don't work, because unlike mechanical gears
when they aren't quite working right,
you can still kind of use the gears.
With electronic gears, when they're not quite working right,
you really can't use the gears.
Sometimes absolutely no response at all from the gears,
which can be really quite scary on the morning of a race.
So what could be the cause?
Well one of, probably the most common causes of this,
is the battery is flat.
When did you last actually charge the battery?
I know that's an obvious thing,
but you'd be amazed how many times people forget.
So, a really good habit to get into is literally
just charging it fully the night before a race.
If you need to rack your bike up the night before a race,
then obviously charge prior to that,
or something that I quite like to do is if
you can remove the individual batteries from components,
as you can with something like SRAM eTap,
take those batteries out, charge them up overnight.
It also keeps them out from the rain
in case it's raining in transition the night before.
And then just remember to take them back on race morning
and install them into your bike.
And if the charge isn't the issue,
then another possible, and quite common cause,
is that one of the cables
has come out of one of the components.
So just check that all the cables are properly pushed into
each of the components, so check the front mech,
the rear mech, and just try and push that cable in.
If it's not quite in, you'll feel a slight click.
If they're okay, then you want to move on
to the junction box, which can actually be located in
a number of different places,
depending on your bike.
And this is kind of like the hub point for the gears,
and the same sort of thing, just check that the cables
are clicked into that fully.
(upbeat music)
Okay but how about the handlebars, the seat post,
or even the saddle slipping during a race.
This can be infuriating, and I know firsthand about this,
because it's happened to me during a race.
Fortunately, I was able to complete the race,
although obviously slightly hindered,
but for some people, this can be race ending.
And it happens more often than not when we're traveling
out to a race, we've had to dismantle the bike,
build it up, and we've just not quite tightened
the odd bolt here and there enough, okay.
It's pretty bad but the obvious thing is, obviously,
to tighten those bolts up enough.
Another, and probably better solution, is to travel
with a torque wrench.
I think these are must-haves.
Everyone should have one of these,
if they're traveling out to events,
because you'll notice beside a lot of bolts on our bikes,
a number, it'll say four, five, six newton meters
and that is the recommended torque setting for that bolt.
And that's where these come in.
And that'll just make sure that you're not only
keeping that part in place well,
so say, the seat post for instance,
but also you're protecting the frame and that bolt
from potentially overtightening it.
But of course if you are still having issues
with things slipping on the bike,
although they're done up to the recommended torque setting,
then you can apply an assembly paste, or a fiber grip,
to that certain part.
A seat post is a prime example for that
because the nature of triathlon, we run out of transition,
we jump onto our bike quite energetically,
so it takes quite a lot of sudden force and can slip.
Now another thing that I do see people doing, is,
well I guess it's where they're trying to go
for a more aggressive and optimized position
on their TT or triathlon bike,
and that is, ignoring the minimum and maximum setting
on their saddle rails.
Now the problem with this is, if we're shoving say,
the saddle forward, and then perching on the end of it,
we're applying a lot of force on quite a long lever.
That therefore is putting a lot of stress and load
on this saddle, or seat post bracket
that's connecting the saddle to the seat post.
And that is going to cause some issues,
potentially with the saddle, then
either dropping, or in worst case, shearing,
so please avoid that.
(light music)
Okay finally, the dreaded rubbing brakes.
Now this is the tamest mechanical of them all
because this is hardly race ending,
but it is really annoying
and obviously, it is going to slow you down.
Now this is quite common with TT bikes unfortunately.
Some come with standard dual pivot brakes
which are really quite good,
but others come with different brakes
because they're trying to accommodate aerodynamics,
they're trying to position brakes in odd locations,
such as under the bottom bracket.
Now you may not notice anything
until perhaps you start to put your race wheels in.
They've got slightly wider rim width,
and it kind of accentuates an issue that was already there.
Now you'll hear of athletes sanding brake blocks down,
to try and make a little bit of extra room,
so the brake's aren't rubbing.
Now that does work to some degree,
but I'd honestly recommend that as a final course of action.
What I would recommend is actually loosening off the cable
to that particular caliper,
and just allowing those brake blocks
to open out a little bit more.
If that still isn't working,
or perhaps the caliper is getting stuck,
then it's a case of giving it
a little bit of an overhaul and a clean.
Now this is particularly common with the rear brake,
if this is positioned underneath the bottom bracket
then that is gonna collect a lot of dirt there.
So you want to remove the rear wheel
and you want you remove the brake blocks
from that particular caliper.
You want to clean that caliper down,
and then you actually want to spray
a little bit of lubricant into the hinge and the spring
within that caliper.
You then want to push that caliper in and out,
and letting it release off, and do that over and over,
until hopefully that caliper starts to glide
and release off quite quickly and naturally.
And then once that's all done, clean it all down,
pop the brake blocks back in, and the wheel in,
and set it up nicely.
Well there you go, there's my top five
bike mechanicals on race day
which is an odd phrase because they're not top at all,
they're not a great experience,
but hopefully that does help you out for race day.
If you got any of your own that I haven't featured today,
and you've got some advice,
and then please do drop them in the comment section below.
If you liked today's video, hit that thumbs up button,
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And if you'd like to see that video
on how to fix a race day puncture, just click up here,
and if you'd like to see a bike mechanics lesson
with Calvin Jones from Park Tool, then just click down here.