Well, for personal reasons, I am giving up MTBing until this coming Spring (maybe). Unfortunately, I am just not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Perhaps, it is just, because I am an urban cyclist/commuter at hear! But, who knows? I am selling my MTB on CL, which, I bought on CL back in June for $60. I am hoping to get what I bought it for, but I am not sure I will. As for me working on the brakes, it didn't turn out quite how I expected it would. It is funny, because it is just one little step (pulling the cable taught to get good leverage on the lever itself) does not seem to be working out for me. So, I have just given up, mainly, because I do not have the time to do it, nor the space, so I will simply sell the bike without the brakes done, or a seat, as I am taking back the seat that I put on it to Performance Bike (thank the Goddess they have one hell of a return policy). It will also have one Blackburn MTB pedal on the right, and the standard pedal on the left, but I will include the other Blackburn MTB pedal to the buyer.

All in all, I put new shifters on it which only cost me $20, but with my whole brake debacle, I estimate I have spent about $80 - this includes the cables (I f'd up about six - don't ask), the housing, crims/caps, and the Park Tool Cable Housing Cutter (which will come in handy for my commuter, as will all my other tools and my extra brake cable/housing stuff that I have and am keeping for future use).

Anyway, I guess the old adage is true - "Practice makes perfect." I look at it as a good lesson in bike mechanics for the future!

I am saving up my money in order to buy a better MTB in the Spring (if I decide to take it back up), as I, honestly, believe that I made a mistake buying my MTB (even though I named him Lanny - LOL). It was an impulse buy, but hey, I learned my lesson!

I'll be around the MTB forums every once in a while, and when I am ready to buy my new MTB, I will be back for all the good advice there!

I am not sure why I posted this in the Commuting Forums, but oh well! Thanks for "listening" to the rant!

p.s. Check out the new jersey I bought! So cute!

Why would you try to sell a bike with mismatched pedals? Is it because you cannot get the left pedal off? Are you aware that the left side pedal needs a clockwise force to unscrew it and vice versa?? That is a common, very common, bit of missing knowledge in many a newbie mechanic's knowledge-base. Re: the f'd up brakes... I did not see any earlier posts on this... I doubt you are out of the woods or have learned anything useful from your experience with this bike. As you say, practice makes perfect. Unfortunately the home mechanic can never get that kind of practice. You must, do your repairs with a good bike repair book literally in your lap, checking yourself as you go. Every time. In your post "taught" should actually be "taut". And as regards getting brake tension to the proper degree of tautness, this is my trick for doing it, and I've never seen it mentioned in any book or online repair site I've visited, so consider this advice very much FWIW. It works for me, however, I swear by it in fact. To wit: when you work on brakes alone, you need a 3rd hand tool to hold the calipers shut against spring tension. Most home mechanics, yours truly included, do not own one. What if you simply remove the spring tension?! I've yet to find the side-pull, center-pull or v-brake that didn't have easily accessible tension springs. I pull the cable taut with pliers with the brake springs released. I reset the brake springs and see how much clearance I have. Probably not enough. Well, unhook the brake return springs again, loosen the cable clamp just enough to let the cable slide and open the brake arms a smidge. They will stay where you leave them, because their is no spring tension on them. Re tighten the cable clamp, Re-seat the tension springs and test clearance. Rinse and repeat until perfect. FWIW.

H

p.s. I cannot comment on the jersey, because there is no link supplied.

you know if you go to youtube you can find some videos showing how to do bike repair... and if you can't find it there you could also go the Park Tool website... they have videos showing how to do common repairs...

Very true. I have a lot of respect for the Park Tool website. I only mentioned books because I am 54 y.o. and don't own a smartphone. You might can hold the insights gleaned from a video in your head until the time comes to do the actual wrenching, but some of us need factual reinforcement as we go. A book does that best, I think. But, whatever works.

H

Um, a laptop perhaps?

Hi,

Well, I am aware of everything that you mentioned in your post, and yes, I have learned my lesson from my mistakes, thanks. I ended up taking it to a local used bike shop today, and he just took it off my hands for me. I ended up keeping the set of pedals (the one mismatched on the bike) & have placed them on CL.

Oh, and thank you for correcting my grammar, as I was simply typing my post too quickly to do that myself.

My apologies for not including a link, I thought that I had. Here it is.

Oh, by the way, I appreciate the sarcasm. As, there is no need to be preachy, I simply put the post up for kicks and giggles, as I have found that (most) posters here, on BF, are supportive, as well as helpful within their advice/opinions.

Anyway, have a nice day.

I second that.

Is this real?

Meh, it doesn't do it for me.

FWIW, I think the jersey's pretty cool ...

I find that the best combo are videos and a bike manual (I actually own the zinn's books) but there are tricks that are shown that can make life easier that isn't always conveyed in books...

Having all Shimano stuff*, I use these instructions.

They are installations papers and have great drawings and accurate adjustment procedures.

Those, combined with a search on the Bicycle Mechanics forum have got me out of most every jam that I've gotten myself into.

A lot of times it helps to search the mechanic forum to get several methods and tips just to do a routine something easier or quicker.

This thread is forever long but has a lot of good stuff if you haven't seen it yet.


*It's not that I am a Shimano freak-nutcase, it's just what happens to be on my bikes.

That's alright. To each their own.

Thanks!

Thank you. I wore it to the Nite Light Ride on Sunday night. although, I couldn't find my underlayer, and was quite cold due to the slight rainy/chilly weather, which has resulted in a bit of a runny nose and the chills, but oh well!

Yeah, it is. LOL