August 2021 - Upgrade time

I've been doing some research - trying to work out if my bike really is as comfortable as I can make it. 

It was billed as an entry level cyclocross bike when I bought it. 

If you have never seen cyclocross, then stop right now, do a quick search on you tube for 'women cyclocross' and wonder and those crazy people that start a bike race and end in a mud bath, with lots of peddling and running in between. 

Not being a huge lover of mud, I have not actually ever taken part in a race. I have been to a couple of training sessions though and marvelled at way others could jump off and on their bikes with ease and grace, without loosing any momentum at all. 

So why did I buy a cyclocross bike then? Well it was extra brake levers that attracted me. 

I also wanted drop handlebars as I was fed up with the sore hands that came with the one position on my flat bar bike,  but I really felt that I was just way too clumsy for the thin sleek road machines on sale at the time. 

I saw this bike - a Liv Invite and just loved everything about it - except the colour of the bar tape. 

Pink? I hate pink! Why does everyone put pink on anything designed for women? 

When I get that bike - the first thing I am going to do is change the tape to black. 

Now if you have been following my posts at all, you realise that the pink has stayed, in fact it has been totally embraced and accentuated over time. (The fact that it is also my house colour at school has helped somewhat too.)

So having never debuted in the glory of XC,  the bike has spent its time being my main ride - my commute bike and now my tourer. 

There are a couple of things that make it harder to use as a touring bike - the main being the lack of attachments to the front forks meaning that all the weight is on the back of the bike. The other issue is the handlebars are really narrow. So having watched a couple of You tube videos from another inspirational woman cyclist - Kajsa Tylen who is also vertically challenged, but has just tried a particular handlebar from Redshift called the Kitchen Sink. (Don't ask me why!) So when I found a set in a local bike shop, I decided to give them a go. They are a little wider than my current bars, they angle back towards the rider a little and sweep out making them much wider at the drops. All this should give a more stable platform that a gravel rider craves. Though I have no desire to ride gravel, I am hoping the extra control (and space) will be useful. 

So enough of the reasons why - lets get on with the job:-

First job - take the old tape off - I cant believe how mucky they look and they haven't been on a year! And, of course, photos taken to remind me which way to wind the new tape. 

It took a while to undo the hoods and the secondary brake levers, then remove the old bar. Putting them in the correct place on the new bar, I realised that I would need to put some new cables on, this again added to the job as a whole, but if its worth doing, then it's worth doing properly. So I set to and recabled my brakes. 

Then time for a test ride with my naked handlebars. 

I had bought some gel pads last year, but hadn't used them. So I set to and taped them into place. Then off for another test ride. 

When I was happy with the position of everything, I applied the new bar tape and was very pleased with the effect. 

But, of course, the proof of the pudding is in the eating and what better way to test than a Ninja training ride. Now I can't say this is wholly as a result of this change, but the resulting ride saw me hit the highest average cycle I've ever ridden. Impressed is an understatement. 

August 2021 - Bike TLC time.

I had to stop. The clunking was getting worse. 

Was there something loose? I needed to check. Grabbing my pedals, pushing then pulling them at 90 degrees to the frame gave me the answer I didn’t want to hear. 

It moved. 

Was I making it up?

Was I sure? 

I pushed then pulled the crank away from the frame once more, this time looking carefully at the bottom bracket. 

Yes there was a definite movement. Bother! 

Maybe the crank had just worked loose? 

I would have to wait till I got home to check that one. But in my heart of hearts, I knew that I was looking at replacing the bottom bracket again. But thankfully,  this time, the job didn’t fill me with quite as much fear as it had the first. 

It was too dark to do anything when I got home, instead I ordered another bottom bracket - just in case I needed one and knowing it wouldn’t go to waste. Then I patiently waited for the next sunny day to take a proper look. 

The sun came out, so did the bike stand. 

As always, I took a set of photos to remind me how it all looked before taking apart. I am not experienced enough to know what looks right and don’t ever trust my memory. 

A quick reminder from Kelvin on the invaluable Park tool You tube channel and I was off and running. 

I checked the crank. Nope, not loose. So that confirmed it. The non drive side came off really easily and with a slight tap of a mallet so did the drive side. Meanwhile my chain enjoyed a luxurious bath of well earned degreaser. 

The bearings were surrounded by a mix of grease and grime. No wonder they weren’t running smoothly. I removed them and set to cleaning the area where they once sat. 

Then time to put the new ones on. Grease first just like Kelvin said. Then fit the  non-drive side being careful not to cross thread it. 

It wouldn’t screw in. What was going on? 

I tried again. Nope. It just wasn’t going to do up without force and I knew that wasn’t right. 

I stopped. Went back to the instructions. Nope, no inspiration there. Was I going to have to admit defeat and find a bike shop? 

I checked the arrows on the new bearings. I was definitely turning it the right way. What was going on? 

I went back to Kelvin. Watched the video once more. 

Stopped it. 

Replayed. 

Checked. 

That was it! How stupid did I feel? 

I’d turned the bike round when removing the cranks. I was trying to fit the non drive bearing cup onto the chain side. 

I tried the other side. It went on like a dream. Back to the drive side (the side the chain goes on) and that slipped straight on too. I was so glad that I hadn’t resorted to brute force. 

They were on, and ready for the crankset. The upgrade looking a much smarter black. 

I wondered how far the old one had gone and how far this new one would manage. I thought I really ought to make notes, then decided that was just way too geeky. 

Everything back together, just in time for a scheduled and hopefully very smooth bike ride! 

As for taking photos - can you spot the mistake? I didn’t till

I checked. 

All sorted now. 

June 2020 - TLC during lockdown 4

The return of the rear mech. 

I mentioned in a previous post that I was a bit gutted that the bike shop had fitted my rear mech as I was really hoping to give it a go myself. 

Well as it happens, they happened to have fitted the wrong one. They had used a mech designed for 8 gears rather than the 9 that mine has. This doesn’t sound too important, unless you a. Have an idea what that part does and b. Know that the reason you started changing bits was because the gears just kept jumping. 

So which bit is it and what does it do? 

The rear mech is basically a couple of cogs held on a moving hanger that he held in place by a big spring and a wire attached to the gear shift changers. As you loosen the wire, the spring moves the gogs away from the wheel. The wire is released by a specific amount each time you click the gears. So with everything lined up perfectly, the cogs allow the chain that’s running over them move onto the different sized cogs of the cassette attached to the back wheel. 

Lining them up to allow the chain to move perfectly between the cogs is called indexing. 

The mech I was given was working better than the one that had been removed, but I didn’t want to hit any issues that might be caused by a possible incompatable system (and possibly more of a driver - I wanted everything to match) I decided to change the mech. 

This was actually fairly easy (and again explained much better than I ever could in a Park tool video.) While I was at it, I replaced the hanger too. 

This is a small piece of softer metal that attaches between the frame and the rear mech. It is designed to be the weak link in the system - if the mech gets hit, the cheap hanger will bend and can be replaced rather than a costly repair or replace of the frame. 

Once I had everything back together I had to index the gears - this involved tightening or loosening the cable to get the cogs in just the right place to change gear. It was a lot like tuning a guitar. Not tight enough, it wouldn’t make the next cog, too tight and it would jump two. But after a while of fiddling, we hit a Goldilocks position. 

Finally it was out for a test ride. 

To my relief, it worked. But that’s a bit of an understatement really. It not only worked. It honestly feels like a new bike. I will leave you with a quote from the comments on one of the Parktool videos, which I wish I had written myself as I can echo with its sentiment ‘I would perform open heart surgery if Calvin had done a video and talked me through it.’ 

So apart from the bike feeling so much better to ride - what have I gained from this experience. A few more tools in my toolbox - both the physical one and the skills bag we all possess. But most importantly I have so much more confidence that I can sort a mechanical issue with my bike. I know there will be times I will need to hand it over to the experts, but the basic stuff is much easier than I thought. Now I just need to keep practicing! 

June 2020 - TLC during lockdown 3

Its all done - but it wasn’t as easy as it could have been. I’m not going to go into all the details - there are some excellent how to videos on You tube that will explain so much better than I ever could. But I’m writing this to show that it can be done - by someone with little experience and not the greatest of strength. But as you will read later - it wasn’t all plain sailing. I hit a snag. 

Ok so everything was going really well - I started by removing the pedals - had to check which way each went (lefty loosey doesn’t work for me at the best of times and it definitely doesn’t work for one of the pedals as it goes the opposite to the other) - the best tip I was given worked for whichever pedal you were undoing - Put the spanner (or in my case an Alan key)  on the pedal in the 12 o’clock position then turn it towards the back of the bike. I did label the pedals with masking tape just to make my day easier too. 

Once the pedals were off, it was time to remove the cranks. Non driving first. There was a cap which unscrewed with an Alan key - that was easy. Then I needed to use a crank puller tool to remove the crank from the spindle (check me out with these fancy names). 

The non drive side came away quite easily - giving me more confidence that I could do this. (I was carefully storing each bit that came off in order in case I just had to put it all back on again) 

Onto the drive side. The cap came out easily enough, but I just couldn’t get the crank puller to move. 

Time to give up? 

Find someone stronger? 

Na! 

After a check that I was turning the right way (the pedals had got me doubting) I went and found some assistance. My preferred option was to use a pipe over the tool and use the law of moments to help me. But, I didn’t have a pipe to hand. Instead I found a rubber mallet which gave enough force to ge the thing moving. 

And now I could see the bottom bracket and the realisation hit - I had the tool to fit the new one, but didn’t have the tool to remove this. 

So what now. Even if I ordered one on express delivery, I couldn’t move on till tomorrow. I didn’t want to hand the bike over to a bike shop - that would defeat the whole object. 

Montys Bike Hub to the rescue. 

I had been chatting to one of the chaps at the local ‘Bike kitchen’ abouty plans and he had kindly offered their tools if I needed any. I messaged to see if his offer stood. He responded really quick so off I went with bike frame and new bits in hand. 

I was a little worried that the usual would happen - girl walks into bike shop (*replace with any area of vague expertise) Man in shop goes into ‘girl in distress mode’, the words “Leave it with me Love” inevitably get muttered and the job is wisked away without you ever having the chance to learn anything. But no - with huge credit to Montys - I was shown where to set up. Was given the tool I needed. The guys were on hand if I needed it, but were more than happy to let me crack on. What a breath of fresh air!!!! 

I didn’t take any pics while there apart from that missing tool. 

They offered for me to stay and do the rest of the job there - in case I needed any advice. I took them up on their kind offer - I cleaned the shell (the bit of the frame the bracket sits in) which took a fair bit of time. Apparently you accumulate a lot of mess while riding 6000 miles. (Though I’m sure I’ve had a bracket replaced before now) 

The new style bracket was really easy to fit - drive side first - nice direction indicators telling me which way to tighten  and the correct torque setting too. The non drive side next - again that went in so easily and the bracket was a perfect fit. 

The new crankset was different to the old (hence the need for a different type of bottom bracket) It’s a two piece with the spindle attached to the drive side. A quick check on the official Shimano website by the chaps showed which side  the spacers went. Again everything was shown and explained to me in a completely non patronising way then I was left to it. For their own piece of mind I think, the chaps checked my work then I was back on my way with the satisfaction that I had done the job myself. 

I can’t thank those guys at Montys enough. Go check out their website - they do a fantastic job refitting bikes and getting them into the community. 

Montys Bike Hub

So in the voice of Sesame Street - this repair was brought to you by Montys bike hub and Park tool videos

Next stop - The rear derailleur and the fun of indexing! 

June 2020 - TLC during Lockdown 2

I’m not sure whether I am excited or scared right now. This has just arrived and I am now worried that I’ve bitten off more than I can chew. 

I decided I needed to change the front cogs (chainset) as they were looking very worn. 

But, some things are never as easy as they sound. 

If I wanted to change the chainset, it looks like I have to change the bottom bracket too. 

So having ordered the parts once. Panicked. 

Cancelled the order. 

Then reordered a couple of days later.

I now have a set of bike bits looking at me waiting to be fixed. 

I will try to keep you posted as I go along. 

June 2020 - TLC during lockdown 1

This is my bike, well one of them. It is a Liv Invite, sometimes known as Invi for short, but more often referred to as 'the pink one’ 

We’ve been on over 6000 miles together, including Ride London last year. She’s been brilliant, but is now showing her age. 

She would usually be going to the bike shop right now, to get a service and some TLC, but due to a small thing that has changed the shape of day to day life, the bike shops are a little busy with fixing Key workers bikes and building new ones - but let’s not go into that one. 

Having chatted to a few friends, I decided that changing the chain wasn’t going to be beyond me - so hit the online shop (my only option at the time) and ordered some bits. 

New chain - Tick. 

I then decided to tackle the really poor indexing. Was it the cassette? This was getting scary! 

So after finding some excellent video tutorials, I ordered a new one and the tools to fit it too.

But it was still jumping. 

After guidance from more video tutorials - I realised part of the problem was the mech hanger was bent. 

So back to the online shop for more tools. (These arrived much quicker than the new hanger which I had also ordered just in case.)

That wasn’t as hard as I thought. So tried indexing again. It was still jumping, but better than before. I gave in and took a trip to the local bike shop (LBS) 

The chap was great. Though he was really busy, he took the time to change the gear cable - which was not easy by any means. 

He also fitted a new rear mech for me. I have to say I was a little gutted about that as I really fancied giving it a go myself - what is going on? I don’t usually want to mess with things - but this was becoming fun. 

But... the mech is the wrong one. The LBS was great - they didn’t have the right one and couldn’t get hold of one, so gave me my money back and said to keep using the mech till I could source another. So I looked. I found and I ordered. 

Stage 1 of TLC complete.