trek330

Pleased to report I passed the 1000 mile mark since I bought my vintage Trek 330 about 2 months ago!Near daily round trips of 20 miles to and from work and longer trips on my days off.I've lost 21 lbs,my blood pressure has dropped to record lows and I am so into this new life I have no words!!I posted about my first 50 miler not so long ago and mentioned problems with my Avocet seat.Well I picked up a Specialized BG cheap off E-bay and I love it!!It seems to adjust to all situations almost magically!In the drops ,sitting upright ,climbing.When I got it I thought it would be a torture device, so hard and stiff, but I'm a believer now!!Sometimes I get a little discouraged as I struggle fighting a hill or the wind and see the vast majority of bikers are much more in shape than I .Also sometimes I seem to have no strength in my legs at all and wonder what good all the effort has done!!Then I remiond myself it's only been 2 months and the progress I've made which is considerable ,is probably small compared to where I'll be in a year.Basically,Except for my daily excursions with my dogs every day I've spent the last few years drinking beer and eating!! One question about bike maintenance.My bike is a 1989 Trek.I had a tuneup at the LBS when I bought it and figured wheels and BB lubing would be included in the service and learned it had not been.How essential is that?Is it a big deal to do it right?Is all the old grease real hard now and to really bring it to like new condition do the parts have to be soaked in degreaser ETC.The bike seems to work great except for an intermittent noise that comes and goes that seems to emanate from the BB crank area.(I've tightened everything around it)Advice is appreciated!!

The Weak Link

Re-greasing the hubs is pretty easy and I would go ahead and do it. I assume the hubs don't have cartridge-contained bearings, so be careful that you don't lose any. I did that stuff on the kitchen table way back when.

I don't know enough about servicing vintage BBs. Would Sheldon or Park Tool web site help?

Your mileage has surpassed what this veteran produces. As they say, Chapeau.

stapfam

BB noise---About the hardest noise to diagnose. Last sunday I had a creek coming from the crank. Same position of rotation of the crank and the noise came. Checked it several times and changed to a different crank ring. Noise still in the same place. tried pulling up on the pedals and noise in same place. Stopped and checked to see if it was a loose crank arm or pedal and it wasn't. So looking and sounding like The BB. Nothing I could do so carry on.

Then stopped for a photo shoot and as I grabbed the saddle- It moved. Broken seat pin bolt. The noise was the saddle rails squeaking.

But plenty to do before diagnosing BB. Tighten crank bolts- Check pedals- Check Headset (Another cause) See if it is a cable touching the frame on Bike sway- Check Chainrings for damage------And then look at the BB. Normally it just needs tightening if it is the problem- but can also be a lot of other problems such as Cleats on the shoes- wheel bearings-bent spokes----The list goes on.

Good going on the fitness- but after only two months you still have a lot more to come.

And although you may be off the beer and food- Don't forget them completely. You need to replace the lost Carbs after a ride.

bkaapcke

The best way to see if the BB is bad is to remove the chain and spin the cranks. Any roughness will be readily apparent. bk

ecrider

Congrats on your milestone. Don't worry about conditioning, you'll be there soon enough. Keep it up.

Robert Foster

I have read that the first place to check for a squeek is the seat post. Happened to me and it was driving me nuts. The squeek sound will travel through the whole bike and make it very hard to tell where it is coming from. The hubs can be easy to re-grease as long as you have a flat hub wrench. When it comes time to put the bearing cone back on you have to be sure you get it just tight enough but not too tight so the wheel spins free.

mkane77g

Ride to eat, with a beer to wash it down.

trek330

"ride to eat, with a beer to wash it down"

I'd prefer to wash it down with 8!!Better yet forget the food!!That's why I've eliminated the beer completely.Good news!No more noise from the crank.I tightened the crank bolt-rather the LBS did and though I didn't think it tightened at all I guess it did.Here's keeping the fingers crossed.Now that the noise is gone is a lube advisable both bb and hubs?Thanks to all on your feedback!!

Philipaparker

First wow great job on the weight loss I being trying to lose 10 lbs since the first of the year and I think I have lost 4! Second check out You Tube they have videos on every aspect of bicycle maintenance and repair. I do all my own work now and you can too.