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A few questions for the mountain bikers

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A few questions for the mountain bikers

Old 03-18-11, 02:58 PM
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A few questions for the mountain bikers

Bike questions are centered around: Specialized Hard Rock Sport Disc 29er, 2010, Avid BB5 160mm G2 Clean Sweep rotor, Shimano Altus 34.9mm clamp front derailleur, SRAM X-4 rear, KMC X8 chain.

Hey guys, so now that it is getting nicer and the snow is melting I'm starting to get out on my bike more. Last fall it was stolen, and after getting it back and a few components fixed I didn't have enough time to ride before snow came down. I needed to get my 1-8 rear cassette replaced and a new chain from damages by the thief. I brought it to the lbs and had them go over it, but I've noticed a few problems in the last few days, wanted to know your guys ideas.

1. Front brake squeaks, i believe this is benign but I might be wrong.

2. Shift from 1-2 on front cassette requires some over actuation on lever, occasionally shift from 2-1 chain comes off.

3. Rear cassette shifts are much more rough and abrupt than the smooth shifts before.

random addition: what type of chain grease should i use and how often would you guys recommend lubing the chain?

Last edited by Jbat35; 03-18-11 at 03:02 PM.
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Old 03-18-11, 03:22 PM
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1 - Disc brakes have a habit of squeaking, check the alignment between the caliper and disc or live with it; may be worth cleaning the discs with IPA / Rubbing Alchol.

2- Front cassette? think you mean chainset / crank, the front mech probably just needs adjusting, check out Youtube for some great videos of how to do this.

3- Shifting at the rear, did they put on another brand of cassette, that can cause shifting issues; again as 2 check the rear mech is correctly set up.

For both 2 & 3, may be worth changing the gear cables + outers.

Chain grease? what type of chain oil to use is subjective, and causes lots of differing opinions, it will depend on where you live, i.e. wet or dry area, and time of year, winter = wet lube, summer = dry / wax, what does your LBS suggest?
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Old 03-18-11, 03:32 PM
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Thanks, sorry about the grammar, not quite super familiar with all the names and such. I would like to think I know slightly more than the average person but not nearly as much as I need to. The cassette is a direct replacement of the old. I live in Minnesota, summer rider, mostly dry but I do occasionally hit the roads/trains when they are wet. I hesitate to ask because our lbs has a tendency to have 2 or 3 guys who really know their stuff mixed with a lot of guys who just want you to buy whats most expensive. I got around this by pitting 2 employees against each other on what bike to get and went with the one that had the best perks in the argument (hehe, wasn't on purpose, but it worked, they each hard strong opinions on 29 vs 26 inch tires). I don't know it I could do that again if I tired lol.
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Old 03-18-11, 03:50 PM
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Just the fact that you mentioned that the bike was stolen last fall and that you are just getting it back now with parts damaged or missing pretty much means that the bike has been exposed to both winter conditions and abuse.

I`d guess that a complete lube as a minimum and preferably a complete teardown would be recommended, but thats a little steep if your insurance won`t cover it and you can`t do the work yourself.

You also want to check that the derailleur hanger is straight and if there`s any evidence of an accident - then the front forks at the same time.
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Old 03-18-11, 03:58 PM
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No problem with the terminology, there are differences between the UK and US to what somethings are called, and I am sure with other parts of the world, i.e. in the US you say crank, in the UK it's chainset, but they are both the same thing

A great place to look for learning about bikes is Sheldon Brown website, if you go through the forums, you will find lots of references it it https://www.sheldonbrown.com/

For chain lube, would look at the Finish Line or Pedro's series of products, both of these brands should be available at most bike shops, their both US manufactures, and are widly available in the UK, so would expect the same for the US. Pedro's https://www.pedros.com/products_bikecare.htm Finish Line https://www.finishlineusa.com/products/

For your LBS, it may be worth looking for an alternative, but from my experiences in the US, MD, PA & WV area, good ones can be few and far between, would guess out in MI, they are even further apart, so it may just be a case of getting to know which of the bike shop guys are best to talk to.

Hope my and others suggestions as to how to fix your bike work, and you get out riding
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Old 03-18-11, 04:01 PM
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Burton's suggestion for the rear mech hanger is a good one, but would hope that when your LBS looked over it after recovery, they would have picked this and any other damage up, Also, from you original post, I took it that it was recovered quickly, so not out over the winter
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Old 03-18-11, 04:19 PM
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Originally Posted by jimc101
Burton's suggestion for the rear mech hanger is a good one, but would hope that when your LBS looked over it after recovery, they would have picked this and any other damage up, Also, from you original post, I took it that it was recovered quickly, so not out over the winter
Actually looks like you`re right about the OP getting the bike back before the snow and he`s been sitting on it over the winter. Guess I missed that when I went throught the post the first time.

Would be nice if they were actually professional enough to have given a written report as to what was checked and verified and what work was actually done, but I haven`t found too many shops that do that - even verbally.

Monteal (where I live) also has a big theft problem and stolen bike are either stripped for parts or taken out for `joy rides` - in which case its usually an attempt to see how much abuse it takes to break something.
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Old 03-18-11, 04:32 PM
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When I brought it to the lbs and explained the situation last fall they told me all that was wrong was the 2 problems which they fixed, and they did a "tune up" on the bike. I don't know exactly what their "tune up" means, but I doubt it is a full tear down.
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