https://www.bikeforums.net/ en Sun, 07 Jun 2026 10:47:22 GMT vBulletin 60 https://www.bikeforums.net/images/misc/rss.jpg https://www.bikeforums.net/ https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321380-driving-my-self-crazy-indexing-must-something-simple.html Sun, 07 Jun 2026 01:34:45 GMT you know how "it will just be a quick and easy upgrade" becomes lots of hours in the shop, I have one of those

I am running Shimano ultegra r8000 mechanical shifting with 11-34 cassette and 50/34 compact crank (mechanical brakes)
I set it up about 3 years ago and once I got it dialed in shifting has been flawless

I am using a high end set of Jagwire cables, short housing under the bar tape and the little bit attached to the derailer

A member of the bike club I belong to posted how going to an 11-40 cassette was really workable so that is my project

I put the cassette on and replaced the shift cable with an Jagwire pro polished.

I followed the park tool instructions

I didn't need to change the hi/lo and b screw looked good

The set up will shift over the entire range of the cassette, with no issues when going to larger cogs.

The issue I am having is that shifting to smaller cogs is inconsistent. The lever often just moves in without releasing the cable for the derailler to move out, felling like it does if you don't have any cable tension at all

Sometimes just pulling the break lever fixes this, or rotating the crank a bit by hand, but have not found a consistent pattern

Maybe I just need more cable tension overall so will start over with a bit higher tension.

The chain is maybe a link or two long, low/low chain is a bit loose. I have cut too many chains to short, so will get a cheaper one tomorrow, cut it a link shorter and see if that makes a difference.

Any other bright ideas? thank





]]> Bicycle Mechanics squirtdad https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321380-driving-my-self-crazy-indexing-must-something-simple.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321376-any-tips-storing-spare-tubes-bike.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 22:41:42 GMT Out for a ride on the tandem today, about 25 miles from home, front tire goes flat. No problem; we have 2 spare tubes, a CO2 inflator and a mini pump. I put the first spare in and it won't hold air. I put the second spare in and it won't hold air either. OK, I also had a patch kit, so I patched the original tube; all good and we made it home.
I always check tubes to make sure they're viable before they go in the bag, so I know when I put them in they were good. Upon inspection at home, I found leaks in both that appear to be on the crease from the tube being flattened for storage. These tubes may be a few years old, but not like decades or anything. So I am perplexed, as I have never had this happen in decades of riding, and now it happened with two tubes. And, incidentally, one was a Schwalbe and the other a Kenda, so there's no chance they were from a bad batch - or at least not the same bad batch.
Some questions:
Is this a known issue, or was I just freakishly unlucky?
Is there a way to fold a tube, dust with talc or some other magic to mitigate this?
Should I be checking my spare tubes with some regularity? How often? I have always operated as though road hazards were the only ones to be concerned with, but now I don't trust what's in the bag. I hate the idea of riding around with a spare tube that may or may not hold air.
Thanks for any insights. ]]> Bicycle Mechanics due ruote https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321376-any-tips-storing-spare-tubes-bike.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321367-rear-axle-schwinn-mountain-bike-seems-bent.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 17:58:57 GMT I have a Schwinn mountain bike that I bought 'new' --it had never been fully assembled, and had some issues. Not my daily rider, but i got it rolling.

It has had a rear shifter issue that I could not track down; no matter how much I adjusted, it seemed to be never aligned; at best, occasionally rubbing on higher gear. Off the ground, could not really reproduce, it seemed always to start about a mile into any ride.

Finally, I realized the rear axle seems to be bent. At high enough speeds the cassette has a slight wobble to it.

It has a non quick release axle right now. I don't actually use it for heavy trails; gravel/dirt trails maybe. Coffee runs more commonly.

Would it be okay to use a quick release on it? ]]> Bicycle Mechanics NewATBikeComute https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321367-rear-axle-schwinn-mountain-bike-seems-bent.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321362-fd-r8150-shifting-issues-big-ring.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 15:28:55 GMT Front dérailleur is not working properly. New crankset (x2, tried a second one) and both new and old chain (kmc and Shimano Ultegra). Freshly waxed on one and used on the other.

It seems to be random, sometimes shifting up to the big ring properly, other time it just doesn't quite make it.

Alignment is *perfect*. Distance between teeth and derailleur is 1.5mm (tried 2mm as well). Aligned 1.5mm in on the tail, then made straight and perfectly in line with the teeth via the 2mm angle pushing out screw, whatever the heck the official name is. You know what I mean :)

Broke out the shims to measure gaps and do the rest of the alignment via the app. First setting in the app for the front deraileur is "by spec" at 0. Next is between 7 and 11. At 7 it just barely touches when the chain is under tension and 11 it definitely touchesd. Second setting is at 12, again barely touching.

With the above, it barely works. Rarely switches when I tell it to change gears.

Changing that to +2 giving me a 1.5 or so mm gap for the first setting between the outer wall of the derailleur and the chain, then absolutely maxing the other two items gets me "shifting" but its a bit random.

Also randomly get it throwing the chain off to the outside.

I am guessing the unit has worn out the bushing inside? It DOES move, but the fact it sometimes works and sometimes doesn't makes me think the bushing is getting out of round and I am getting random behavior. Is the above a symptom of that failure mode? With about 8k miles on the derailleur that is supremely disappointing. Enough to drop Shimano and switch to SRAM. (but the 1499 price for a groups with only what I need is slowing that decision down.)

Anyone have any ideas? I cant find a single shop in northern va with an r8150 in stock to try to swap it out, plus for the cost... ugh I dont want to spend another 300 dollars to "find out" that it is just going to happen again.
]]> Bicycle Mechanics scot https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321362-fd-r8150-shifting-issues-big-ring.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321359-di2-tri-bike.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:15:15 GMT Hi,
I've run into a problem I can't seem to solve.
I recently worked on a Cervelo Tri bike in the shop. The customer states it won't shift from the big to small chain ring.
The bike is 11 speed Ultegra Di2...it does not use 'brifters' but 'blips' on the 'cow horns' and 'clickers' on the ski poles.
I confirmed his complaint...while on the stand and running up and down the cassette the front derailleur remained on the big chain ring and didn't change as it was supposed to.
I am using the Shimano etube project system. Upon connecting it immediately picked up the drivetrain and showed 6 firmware updates which I installed. After doing this I ran through the setup and when checking the front and rear derailleurs it shifted front the big to small and back again as it should.
When I looked at the customization...rats forgot the correct tab name...it only allows semi and full synch...if I change from full to semi I get a warning that the front der. won't work...when I go into full synch it shows the gear ratio/change path but I can't change the ratio...there is no response on the app allowing a change to occur.
I'm thinking this is because the bike is using shifters other than brifters...I didn't change a set of shifters to front der only...the current set up only allows for all the shifters to control the rear der only.
I ran full diagnostics and it said the drive train is functioning as it should.
I've used this app on several other bikes...my Tarmac SL8 Di2 12 speed Ultegra as well as several other standard road bikes with either 10, 11 or 12 speed Di2 and everything worked as it should and allowed me full customability...new word I guess lol...to the drive train so my thoughts remain as this Tri bike is limited due to the shifters.

After going through roughly an hour or so on this problem I disconnected the app and shifting through the cassette it started working in full synchro mode shifting from the big to small and back as it is programmed to do...don't know why, perhaps just going through all the stuff perhaps woke up or reset the mode...but it does work 'now'...this frustrates me more because I did nothing to warrant this change...there was no crash mode recovery as the bike didn't go into crash mode and I didn't do a crash mode reset...
Do you concur or have other insights, suggestions I may have missed or are unaware of...
Thanks in advance... ]]> Bicycle Mechanics Kai Winters https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321359-di2-tri-bike.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321358-does-your-shop-have-mascot.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:03:27 GMT Here’s mine. His name is Sheldon. Image: Here’s mine. His name is Sheldon.
]]> Bicycle Mechanics Dan Burkhart https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321358-does-your-shop-have-mascot.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321353-wheel-question.html Sat, 06 Jun 2026 02:33:28 GMT THE SITUATION: I have a 2022 Trek Domane AL3. Aluminum wheels. I broke a spoke early this season on the back wheel. I'm not too heavy; 175 lbs. I thought maybe hitting those rough tracks after just popping the front wheel up, so that the rear slams into it might've caused it. This past Wednesday, I was riding along on smooth pavement, and I heard a PING. I looked down and the wheel was wobbly. A block later, I heard another one go: PING! I aborted the ride and limped back. I dropped the wheel off at the shop the next day. They said after 3 broken spokes, they recommend doing something besides just replacing spokes, as there are probably a bunch of others waiting to go as well. They suggested buying a new wheel or taking the wheel apart and completely re-lacing it with new spokes:

• Bontrager wheel: $300 YIKES. That's a lot of money to put into an aluminum wheel on a 4 year-old $1600 bike.
• "Bontrager Approved" wheel: $160. OK, that's not as bad.
• Labor to re-lace a wheel: $90 + spoke cost.
• Trek carbon rear wheel: $600. Yikes again. A pair of those is worth as much as the whole rest of the bike.
• Zipp wheels are even more.

The other thing I thought of was that maybe this is the motivation I need to learn to work on wheels? I have spoke wrenches and I think the right socket to remove the cassette from the hub. The thing is that it doesn't sound like fun, and I think I'd rather spend my free time riding. My only other road bike is my single speed. However, that would run the cost right down on re-lacing the current wheel.

Side question: Am I right to assume this wouldn't be happening with carbon wheels? It's something to keep in mind for the eventual replacement of this bike. I've heard that carbon wheels don't really go out of true, but it seems like it could be BS. ]]> Bicycle Mechanics Smaug1 https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321353-wheel-question.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321348-options-height-angle-threadless-stem.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 21:21:36 GMT There's no threadless-to-quill stem right?

Looking at the Cannondale Quick 6.
https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bik.../quick/quick-6
I believe that's a threadless stem. That's from Google Gemini though. I'm not sure where it's getting that info. That specs and geometry page from Cannondale doesn't say what the stem is for sure.

And this answers that. This is a quill stem on the Raleigh. I like how it goes straight up and has the adjustable tilt. On the Cannondale Quick 6 the stem goes out horizontally and then to the handlebars. I see there are extensions to the threadless stem, which might be the only option.
https://www.bikepedia.com/QuickBike/...spx?item=18283
Handlebar Stem Alloy Adjustable Quill

I see lots of quill-to-threadless adapters, but are there threadless-to-quill adapters or options? ie Could I take a Cannondale Quick 6 with a threadless stem and somehow get a quill stem on there?

Is there any threaded stem then where you can adjust the angle of the stem directly above the stem, an adjustable threadless stems similar to an adjustable quill stem? Head tube, continuing in a quasi-vertical line from the headtube to the stem, to an adjustment point on that stem still in line with the head tube..... but unthreaded. Does that exist? The adjustable unthreaded stems I'm looking at all go out horizontally first. ]]> Bicycle Mechanics bikerbobbbb https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321348-options-height-angle-threadless-stem.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321343-2011-jamis-trail-x2-fork-replacement.html Fri, 05 Jun 2026 17:18:58 GMT My GF and i are getting back into mountain biking and I just purchased a Trek Marlin 4. The last mountain bike I had was an IronHorse Warrior from the early 2000s...bit of a change to say the least.

Now the GFs bike has some age but is in unreal shape. It's a 2011 Jamis Trail X2, 15" frame and 26" wheels with a RST 191-T fork which is ready for the garbage bin.

This is where I need some help. I want to replace it with something inexpensive as we are using them for riding around lakes, campgrounds, etc...not ripping down mountain slopes. I would like to throw something together that will get us through the summer months and maybe sell it in the fall. I know it's an entry level bike thats 15 years old...it what she wants. :)

Any help will be appreciated! ]]> Bicycle Mechanics D@rkImag22 https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321343-2011-jamis-trail-x2-fork-replacement.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321326-interesting-unusual-loved-wheel-building-tools-library.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 22:01:14 GMT Spoke key or Nipple wrench who knows! Just seen this Raleigh spoke key on eBay, which I personally have never seen before so thought I would create a thread that if I saw an interesting/unusual or loved wheel-building tool, I would have somewhere to store it (if it carries history, even better,... Spoke key or Nipple wrench who knows!
Just seen this Raleigh spoke key on eBay, which I personally have never seen before so thought I would create a thread that if I saw an interesting/unusual or loved wheel-building tool, I would have somewhere to store it (if it carries history, even better, tell us about it/you/them).





]]> Bicycle Mechanics awac https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321326-interesting-unusual-loved-wheel-building-tools-library.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321324-another-chain-question.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 21:33:57 GMT When I got this Falcon I didn’t have the tools to take apart the bottom bracket to make sure it was ok. The bike went to a local bike shop to have the bottom bracket serviced and to change the RD from a Campy Velox to Nuovo Record. The freewheel had just come from a Pastorbob service and the RD was... When I got this Falcon I didn’t have the tools to take apart the bottom bracket to make sure it was ok. The bike went to a local bike shop to have the bottom bracket serviced and to change the RD from a Campy Velox to Nuovo Record. The freewheel had just come from a Pastorbob service and the RD was cleaned and jockey wheels replaced.
‘I put maybe 10 miles on the bike and went back to polishing the rims. I noticed the jockey wheels had crud on them and the chain was completely cruddy. It occurred to me that the LBS never cleaned the chain and I failed to notice. Took it off today and ran it in the ultrasonic with Dawn as a degreaser. Well, it needed more than dawn but noticed it was a Renold chain.

Do I need to use a specific master link or quick link or just push the pin back it?


After a run in the cleaner



]]> Bicycle Mechanics Mvcrash https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321324-another-chain-question.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321320-proper-shifter.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 20:36:26 GMT I have a 10 year old Raleigh Tour 4.0 that I have rebuilt/upgraded into a true hybrid; front suspension, but many road components. My friends call it my Frankenbike, aptly named. So my rear derailler is a Shimano 105-5700. My shifter is a Shimano SL-4700. When I had the local bike shop true my... I have a 10 year old Raleigh Tour 4.0 that I have rebuilt/upgraded into a true hybrid; front suspension, but many road components. My friends call it my Frankenbike, aptly named. So my rear derailler is a Shimano 105-5700. My shifter is a Shimano SL-4700. When I had the local bike shop true my wheels and do a mild tune up, they said I had the wrong shifter. I had complained about it missing gears. They said I needed an SL-4600, which would match up perfectly with my 105-5700. I did a duck-AI, and that was one of the three shifters that was listed. Two were for handlebars with drops, but mine is a straight bar. Before I go and spend the money on another shifter, can anyone confirm that this is the proper shifter for a Shimano 105-5700 ten speed? TIA

AL ]]> Bicycle Mechanics AlRose https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321320-proper-shifter.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321309-noobie-one-here.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 17:19:27 GMT So new to air forks. Am I using up too much fork here for just pot holes and dropping off curbs and bunny hopping off speed humps? Ill show a picture of my sag too. I also noticed picking up the bike the wheel drops about 12mm


Just seems like alot for what i was doing seems like it would definitely bottom out in the woods then but i could be wrong


This is the drop amount just picking up the bike
]]> Bicycle Mechanics Kmeyer93 https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321309-noobie-one-here.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321307-shoved-noise-protection-foam-hose-into-frame.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 16:16:05 GMT ...by the bottom bracket up to the headtube on my Wittson Illuminati titanium disc frame I'm building. I thought the noise protection hose (Jagwire branded) would give me insurance against rattling. Problem is, the little opening near the bottom bracket was too tight to accept the Hope hyraulic brake hose with the noise protection hose preinstalled. So i made an attempt at pre-installing a long length of the noise protection foam hose through the small bottom bracket opening then attempted to feed the Hope hydaulic hose onto it. I thought I was making progress but all I did was to shove the length of foam hose up into the down tube where it then disappeared. I was unable to see into the frame, and I was unable to fish it out. I was able to use the park tools rare earth magnet kit that is used to feed internally routed hoses to get the brake hose to exit out the side port on the down tube (but the foam must have just gotten shoved aside). Just wondering if anyone could share some tricks about this. ]]> Bicycle Mechanics masi61 https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321307-shoved-noise-protection-foam-hose-into-frame.html https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321303-new-frame-wheel-wobble-descneding.html Thu, 04 Jun 2026 13:38:53 GMT What would be causing this? Had a "bit" of a scare the other day. Coming down a hille at 10% or so and there was side wind. Got a MAJOR wobble but manage to slow down and put my foot down. Today I balanced the wheels to see if that is going to help at all. Anything else to check?
Headset is tight. Nothing feels loose on the bike etc.
Or is this just the beauty of an aero bike with carbon spoked rims? ]]> Bicycle Mechanics crazyravr https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/1321303-new-frame-wheel-wobble-descneding.html