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Old 06-09-03, 03:44 PM
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iconnelly
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Join Date: Jun 2003
Location: san francisco
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handful of ze newbie questions

i've had a bianchi pista for about two years now and have been using it as a daily commuter here in san francisco.
even though i've had it for a while, i still have a few odd (probably simple) problems with it that i was looking for help with.

1) the 32mil nut that tightens down the fork tube/headset bearing keeps coming loose. i'm sure this is natural (loosening up eventually), but now i have to tighten it every few days. i asked the shop i bought the bike from if there was a torque specification but they just said 'not too tight' because it's easy to mash the bearing, apparently. does anyone have a tip on this?

2) gearing. i think i'm running 44/16 (down from the original 46 that came with the bike which was killing me when i started), but i notice a lot of people i see have smaller front rings. what works good for you in urban riding? (the 'what gear' thread from this week was pretty helpful!) i'm 30 and wasted my youthful knees on skateboarding and am wondering if lower gearing would be less of a pain.

3) how do you know when to replace the wheel bearings? my back wheel has about 1/8" or so of horizontal play if i jiggle it.

4) my cog keeps slipping (either when i'm climbing or when i do a skid). the shop (freewheel here in sf) took it off and rethreaded it with lock-tite but it hasn't held very well. is it time for a new cog? or is it the thread on the hub that's messed up, too?

5) how much play should there be in the chain? i know it's 'as little as possible,' but what's a good trick for getting it as tight as possible?

thanks in advance for any replies!
i'm not much of a bike gearhead but i'm a total fixie convert.

ian
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