Help me be self-sufficient

"Alex" <[email hidden]> wrote in message
news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Hi all,

Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance - get the book and a set of
tools.

Alex said:

What I was wondering is if I can find out some information about how to
fine tune the derailers/etc. so that they work as they did in the
beginning (I was most pleased with how fast and painless the gears were
changing).

Start here: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
and here: http://www.parktool.com/repair/

Quoted message said:

Another thing is, I wanted to replace the brakes on the stock bike and
get some disk brakes. I know it's relatively easy to do it for the
front wheel, but it seems my rear-frame doesn't support disk brakes. I
found out there's an adapter from Specialized (specifically for the FSR
1999/2000 models) but I can no longer find it in any shops around me,
nor can they order it for me it seems. Do you have any suggestions?

While there are aftermarket add-on gimmicks (I had two of them), they
don't work.

Quoted message said:

--
o-o-o-o Ride-A-Lot o-o-o-o
www.schnauzers.ws

Alex said:

Hi all,
Another thing is, I wanted to replace the brakes on the stock bike and
get some disk brakes. I know it's relatively easy to do it for the
front wheel, but it seems my rear-frame doesn't support disk brakes. I
found out there's an adapter from Specialized (specifically for the FSR
1999/2000 models) but I can no longer find it in any shops around me,
nor can they order it for me it seems. Do you have any suggestions?

The last thing is more of an invitation to people biking in Montreal to
take me with them 🙂 I'm a bit of a beginner and right now I am
completely out of shape, but hope to change that again.

I'm not knowledgable enought to comment on you brake/mechanic problem
specifically, although I think you would also need a new hub/wheelset
on a bike that old to convert to disk brakes.

Penny's suggestion is a good one. As I recall, she has pretty much
taught herself how to repair/replace most parts on her bike using a
book, her common sense, and some advice from folks on this newsgroup.

I also suggest you check out the MEC store in Montreal. They might
very well have some cheap/free to members basic bike repair classes. I
know the US equals (REI and EMS do). At the very least, there should
be someone there who can point you to a lcoal bike club if the local
club does not have a brochure on the cummunity bulletin board at MEC.

TS

small change said:

Zinn and the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance - get the book and a set of
tools.

Second that. Learning to fix your bike is much, much better than taking it
to the shop. Not only does it get the bike tuned up for less money, you
get a better understanding of how everything works and are better able to
fix things on the trail. Zinn is as good a book as any I've seen.

It also gives you a chance to try out with the tools you'll use on the
trail. You might be amazed at how poorly some multi-tools work!

About the brake, you might consider just having a disk brake in the front.
Thats where some 70% of the stopping power is anyway.

--
-BB-
To e-mail me, unmunge my address

Alex said:

I brought the bike to a shop to give it a tune-up, and after charging
me 75$, I discovered they didn't do anything. We argued over it, but
after keeping it a further 2 weeks, the bike was in the same condition,
less some grease over the gears to show me they have touched it. The
problem I discovered this weekend is that the rear derailer (Shimano
Deore LX SGS) is no longer able to use the largest sprockets. Besides,
I have to push the gear lever for the front derailer one time and a
half (so two pushes) to make it switch gears.

Since you are a newbie, there's a chance you wouldn't be able to notice
all or any of the things they did to the bike. Tune-ups are minor
adjustments & greasing the easy-to-reach parts. Thorough shops will wipe
your bike clean for you, but if it's already clean... When I take my
bike for a tune, there might (or not) be something in particular that I
know needs adjusting or fixing, and I can spot those. Sometimes it's
just a de rigeur shop visit.

There's also a chance the shop did crappy work.

Your rear derailleur problem is common and typically requires a screw
turn. A good shop should be willing to make that adjustment for free
especially if your tune-up was recent.

Your front derailleur "issue" is normal when shifting to a larger cog.
Shifting up always takes a bigger push.

--
Lynn Wallace http://www.xmission.com/~lawall
I have nothing but contempt and anger for those who betray the
trust by exposing the name of our sources. They are, in my view,
the most insidious of traitors."
George H.W. Bush, April 16, 1999,

Thank you all for the responses.

I checked out the Park Tool website, and I think this will help me fix
the derailleur problem. From what I was able to asses on the trail, and
have it almost confirmed by the website, it's just cable tension, but I
had no tools to fix that on the spot - which means I messed up with
some other screws that I was able to turn with my hand. Hopefully, I
can put things back in order 🙂 Last night I went out and bought me a
set of tools that I think will be enough to do most of the jobs I want
(I'll upgrade as needed).

I'll deffinitely check out the Zinn book, there's a shop selling it
abot 15 minutes walk from my work.

Ride-A-Lot said:

While there are aftermarket add-on gimmicks [_disk brake adapters_] (I had two of
them), they don't work.

What exactly doesn't work for them? I googled a bit more for adapters
and found this Therapy Components adapter that had good reviews, with
one person saying it broke their frame (which in my
not-so-knowleadgeable oppinion could only happen at an extreme speed
with a sudden brake?), rear wheel is slightly harder to get in and out
and there might be a little play when you break.

I am tempted to look for one, but I want to know what makes you say
they don't work before I make up my mind and dish out the money.

I know I also have to change the hubs, and I think the total price for
changing the brake system on my bike would come up to a pretty
expensive 4-500$ or more, which is quite a lot of money for how long I
make use of the bike. I did think of only installing the front wheel
brake.

troutboy said:

I also suggest you check out the MEC store in Montreal. They might
very well have some cheap/free to members basic bike repair classes. I
know the US equals (REI and EMS do). At the very least, there should
be someone there who can point you to a lcoal bike club if the local
club does not have a brochure on the cummunity bulletin board at MEC.

Yup, found out they're in Montreal too and I think I'll pay them a
visit. I incidentally found out the old club I knew just changed names
and websites, but still exists.

Raptor said:

Since you are a newbie, there's a chance you wouldn't be able to notice
all or any of the things they did to the bike.

I'm perfectly aware it is possible that I didn't notice all the things.
As a matter of fact, I took at look at the bike last night and I
noticed they got the breaks aligned properly (I remember having twisted
one of them in a fall) and fixed the tension for the front wheel. I'm
just a bit surprised that the rear derailleur cable got loose so fast
after the tuneup.

Raptor said:

Your front derailleur "issue" is normal when shifting to a larger cog.
Shifting up always takes a bigger push.

I thought I remembered having to only push once to change from the
smallest cog to the second one, and only on occasion having to do a 1
1/2 push for the largest cog. It was one of the things I noticed as
soon as I bought the bike, as anything I had before this bike would
require me to do the 1 1/2 push. I'll see if I can play around with it
and get it to work as before, if not, this is a smaller issue.