how annoying

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

Quoted message said:

Took the folding bike in for a service last weekend (just over 6 months
since I bought it) and have found out today that it needs a new cassette,
chain and the shifter has broken. This is probably going to mean a huge
bill at the end of it. For a bike that cost nearly £1200 the parts seem to
wear out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average
since I bought it.

It's all relative. I paid 1200 quid for a full service and MOT, on holiday
the windscreen wiper motor packed up which was another 220 quid when I got
back and yesterday it had to be towed away with an engine fault meaning it
turns over but won't start. Luckily I've got 5 bikes and only one damned
car.

--
Simon Mason
http://www.simonmason.karoo.net

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

Quoted message said:

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

Quoted message said:

Took the folding bike in for a service last weekend (just over 6 months
since I bought it) and have found out today that it needs a new cassette,
chain and the shifter has broken. This is probably going to mean a huge
bill at the end of it. For a bike that cost nearly £1200 the parts seem
to wear out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on
average since I bought it.

It's all relative. I paid 1200 quid for a full service and MOT, on holiday
the windscreen wiper motor packed up which was another 220 quid when I got
back and yesterday it had to be towed away with an engine fault meaning it
turns over but won't start. Luckily I've got 5 bikes and only one damned
car.

Yes perhaps I should think positive and consider how much money I have saved
in petrol and wear and tear on the car by driving around 80 miles less per
week.

Adam Lea said:

Took the folding bike in for a service last weekend (just over 6 months
since I bought it) and have found out today that it needs a new cassette,
chain and the shifter has broken. This is probably going to mean a huge bill
at the end of it. For a bike that cost nearly £1200 the parts seem to wear
out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average since I
bought it.

2500 miles is about par for a modern chain and cluster. Shifters should
last longer but on a folder accident happen

--
/Marten

info(apestaartje)m-gineering(punt)nl

Quoted message said:

For a bike that cost nearly œ1200 the parts seem to wear
out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average
since I bought it.

Chains can be thought of as a consumable if you don't clean them regularly
(or even worse, lube them without having cleaned them first). The cassette
won't last long if you've been running a worn chain (and if the cassette is
worn then it'll wear down a new chain very quickly).

If you want longer gaps between services, clean a lube the chain regularly.

"Mark" <pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For a bike that cost nearly o1200 the parts seem to wear
out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average
since I bought it.

Chains can be thought of as a consumable if you don't clean them regularly
(or even worse, lube them without having cleaned them first). The
cassette
won't last long if you've been running a worn chain (and if the cassette
is
worn then it'll wear down a new chain very quickly).

If you want longer gaps between services, clean a lube the chain
regularly.

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this would
be frequent enough.

Quoted message said:

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this
would be frequent enough.

Super, that should be good enough for an on-road bike. You might want to
consider a chain stretch measurey thing - replace the chain when it gets
'stretched' by between 0.75 - 1%. Assuming you find a place with
inexpensive chains (if it's under 8 speed, I recommend SRAM PC48 which you
can pick up between £5 and £11) the cassette will last longer and you'll
save a few quid a year.

In article <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this would
be frequent enough.

Depending on how you do it you might be doing more harm than good.

Quoted message said:

2500 miles is about par for a modern chain and cluster. Shifters
should last longer but on a folder accident happen

I must be doing something wrong[1]!
I'm currently on 7500 miles and the chain doesn't show wear on the Park
chain tool I use to measure it.
The chain is a Shimano HG50. The HG50 cluster is not showing wear nor
are the TA chain rings, drive train all replaced at the same time.
It is annoying as I have an SRAM chain, with its powerlink, waiting in
the wings.

[1]i'm a twiddler, in a spinning sort of way. that probably helps chain
life with less strain on it.
--
del 8-)

Simon Mason said:

It's all relative. I paid 1200 quid for a full service and MOT, on
holiday the windscreen wiper motor packed up which was another 220
quid when I got back and yesterday it had to be towed away with an
engine fault meaning it turns over but won't start. Luckily I've
got 5 bikes and only one damned car.

But isn't it an Alfa?

So you don't actually _expect_ the electrics to work, do you?

regards, Ian SMith
--
|\ /| no .sig
|o o|
|/ \|

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this
would
be frequent enough.

Depending on how you do it you might be doing more harm than good.

Well it depends on what the weather conditions have been like during the
working week. If it has been dry and the chain looks clean then I won't do
anything to it. If it has been dry and the chain looks grubby then I will
use one of those chain cleaning kits to clean the chain on the bike and
clean the cassette using a cassette cleaning brush (which gets right between
the cogs), then allow to dry. I will also clean the chainring until it looks
nice and shiny again. If it has been wet the chain will usually be black
with grime so I will give it a wipe to get the worst off then take the chain
off the bike and drop it in white spirit, agitate vigorously and leave for a
few hours, remove and allow to dry. I flex the links and listen for any
sounds of grit still inside the chain. If I can't hear anything I put the
chain back on. After cleaning I dribble some lube (finish line) on the
inside of the chain and leave overnight. I then wipe off the excess with a
paper towel and ride. Does anything sound wrong here?

On Sat, 07 Jul 2007 18:14:57 +0200,

M-gineering said:

Adam Lea said:

Took the folding bike in for a service last weekend (just over 6 months
since I bought it) and have found out today that it needs a new cassette,
chain and the shifter has broken. This is probably going to mean a huge bill
at the end of it. For a bike that cost nearly £1200 the parts seem to wear
out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average since I
bought it.

2500 miles is about par for a modern chain and cluster. Shifters should
last longer but on a folder accident happen

On the Brompton I have two chains I alternate and I ride them until the
chain starts skipping. (Saves having to measure anything)

The first time I only had one chain and it lasted about 1000 miles.
These two chains[1] are still going strong after 3000 miles. (I'm better
about cleaning them with two because I can put the clean one on when
it's needed without having to find time to clean the dirty one there and
then)
[1] Actually it's 3 because I cleaned the chain and hung it up to dry
but forgot to oil it. When I came to put it on the bike it was a solid
bar of rust. Fortunately there was little enough wear at that point that
I could just get another new chain and use that.

What I have "destroyed" in about 4000miles in 3.5 years (actually my
back of envelope calculation says about 6000 miles. I can't remember
when I fitted the speedo but that has 6000km on it)
1. The rear pivot hinge (the one that folds the
back wheel under) - been replaced once already and needs doing again.
2. The rear hub gear - the bearings on one side disintegrated and the
bits ruined the inner compression spring. Then the sliding pin snapped
in half - I don't know if that was also related to the bits of bearing
or whether that was just my hamfistedness. (This is still sitting in my
shed waiting for me to get the parts to reassemble it so that then I've
got a spare rear wheel)
3. The headset. Well it's not destroyed but it's "notched" - it actually
makes the bike very easy to push from the saddle as long as you don't want to
make right turns because the wheel is reluctant to turn to the right
when you lean the bike. This isn't noticable when you are cycling.
4. Rear rim - that was a pothole that I didn't see until the last second
- took me a while to realize what had happened - every time I tried to
use the rear brake the wheel locked up
5. Countless brake blocks - I don't think brake blocks last me more than
about 300 miles
6. Countless front light bulbs - although since going to 3W on the front
(plus a rear light) I've only had one blow.
7. Front standlight - after one of those front light blowing adventures.
8. Rear standlight - ditto.
9. Tyres. I can't remember exactly how many tyres I've bought but it
must be 5 or 6. A couple I've lost to severe cuts. A couple I've worn
out and a couple were getting too many punctures. I'm on schwalbe
marathons now and I've only had once puncture since then.

And the front rim is looking very worn and probably should be replaced
fairly soon.

I only ride on the road and never ride up and down curbs. The roads I
ride on in London (Euston Road, Pentonville Road, City Road)
round the edge of the charging zone are fairly free from potholes and
are in much better condition that the roads when you start heading into
the charging zone.
I do ride fairly fast and I'm assuming that that's why my bike is
suffering. I've tried and I _can't_ go any slower :-)

Tim.

--
God said, "div D = rho, div B = 0, curl E = - @B/@t, curl H = J + @D/@t,"
and there was light.

http://tjw.hn.org/ http://www.locofungus.btinternet.co.uk/

in message <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea

(') said:

"Mark"
<pleasegivegenerously@warmail*turn_up_the_heat_to_reply*.com.invalid>
wrote in message news:[email hidden]...

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

For a bike that cost nearly o1200 the parts seem to wear
out remarkably quickly. I have done about 100 miles/week on average
since I bought it.

Chains can be thought of as a consumable if you don't clean them
regularly
(or even worse, lube them without having cleaned them first). The
cassette
won't last long if you've been running a worn chain (and if the cassette
is
worn then it'll wear down a new chain very quickly).

If you want longer gaps between services, clean a lube the chain
regularly.

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this
would be frequent enough.

It should be. Is there a problem with your method?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

;; Good grief, I can remember when England won the Ashes.

in message <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea

(') said:

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this
would
be frequent enough.

Depending on how you do it you might be doing more harm than good.

Well it depends on what the weather conditions have been like during the
working week. If it has been dry and the chain looks clean then I won't
do anything to it. If it has been dry and the chain looks grubby then I
will use one of those chain cleaning kits to clean the chain on the bike
and clean the cassette using a cassette cleaning brush (which gets right
between the cogs), then allow to dry. I will also clean the chainring
until it looks nice and shiny again. If it has been wet the chain will
usually be black with grime so I will give it a wipe to get the worst off
then take the chain off the bike and drop it in white spirit, agitate
vigorously and leave for a few hours, remove and allow to dry. I flex the
links and listen for any sounds of grit still inside the chain. If I
can't hear anything I put the chain back on. After cleaning I dribble
some lube (finish line) on the inside of the chain and leave overnight. I
then wipe off the excess with a paper towel and ride. Does anything sound
wrong here?

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

X-no-archive: No, I'm not *that* naive.

[Sorry, think I've just accidentally sent a reply without adding anything -
apologies]

in message <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea

(') said:

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

Quoted message said:

In article <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea
[email hidden] says...

Quoted message said:

I clean the chain, cassette and chainring once a week. I thought this
would
be frequent enough.

Depending on how you do it you might be doing more harm than good.

Well it depends on what the weather conditions have been like during the
working week. If it has been dry and the chain looks clean then I won't
do anything to it. If it has been dry and the chain looks grubby then I
will use one of those chain cleaning kits to clean the chain on the bike

I'm really skeptical whether these things do any good at all.

Cleaning the chain off the bike - using the 'sheldon shake' method - is
much more effective, in my experience. If you use a less than 10 speed
Shimano chain, bin it and get an equivalent SRAM chain with a magic link;
the SRAM chains are better anyway. If you have a Campagnolo chain, get an
appropriate Wipperman Connex magic link for it.

Quoted message said:

If it has been wet the chain will
usually be black with grime so I will give it a wipe to get the worst off
then take the chain off the bike and drop it in white spirit, agitate
vigorously and leave for a few hours, remove and allow to dry. I flex the
links and listen for any sounds of grit still inside the chain. If I
can't hear anything I put the chain back on. After cleaning I dribble
some lube (finish line) on the inside of the chain and leave overnight. I
then wipe off the excess with a paper towel and ride. Does anything sound
wrong here?

I would dry, lubricate and clean the chain while it's still off the bike,
mainly because it's easier. Apart from that, this method seems fine.

--
[email hidden] (Simon Brooke) http://www.jasmine.org.uk/~simon/

See one nuclear war, you've seen them all.

Simon Brooke said:

in message <[email hidden]>, Adam Lea
([email hidden]'😉 wrote:

[...]

Quoted message said:

Cleaning the chain off the bike - using the 'sheldon shake' method - is
much more effective, in my experience. If you use a less than 10 speed
Shimano chain, bin it and get an equivalent SRAM chain with a magic link;
the SRAM chains are better anyway.

You don't have to bin the chain: you can just take out one of the
Shimano links (or half a link technically I suppose), bin that, and
replace it with an SRAM link which you can buy on its own for about 90p.

Quoted message said:

If you have a Campagnolo chain, get an
appropriate Wipperman Connex magic link for it.

Quoted message said:

If it has been wet the chain will
usually be black with grime so I will give it a wipe to get the worst off
then take the chain off the bike and drop it in white spirit, agitate
vigorously and leave for a few hours, remove and allow to dry. I flex the
links and listen for any sounds of grit still inside the chain. If I
can't hear anything I put the chain back on. After cleaning I dribble
some lube (finish line) on the inside of the chain and leave overnight. I
then wipe off the excess with a paper towel and ride. Does anything sound
wrong here?

I would dry, lubricate and clean the chain while it's still off the bike,
mainly because it's easier. Apart from that, this method seems fine.

Oiling it is quite easy with it on the bike because you can spin the
crank round while dripping the oil on.