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Regular maintenance

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Life over the last many years has gotten to the point where any free time I have is spent riding. I do as little maintenance as possible to get me out there and riding. Well, it's finally time to put off that deferred maintenance. Let's use this thread to chronicle this side of biking.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
The drivetrain on my trail bike is 6 years old (save for the deraileur and chainguide which are much much older). It's time for some updates.

IMG_6664-parts.jpg
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Have been meaning to try a more minimal chain-keeping setup. My current chain guide has been flawless since I put it on in 2008 or whenever. It was part of payment for work I did for e13 back in the mid 2000s. Lots has changed since then and I'm finally ready to try something new. Curious to see if the oneup upper guide will be sufficient on this 9spd drivetrain. If not, I suppose I'll just pop it back on!
IMG_6666-lg1.jpg
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Was shocked to find the bb was in perfect working order. Not a hint of roughness. 6 years old! Guess I don't have to swap this out. Was also surprised to see this ding from a rock. Must have been a pretty good hit. Glad it has no effect to the bearings.
IMG_6668-sov-bb.jpg
 
I check chain wear and lubricate chain as appropriate, check tire pressure, and don't touch much else unless something's misbehaving. I ought to check fork and shock air pressure more frequently.

Annually in December, the bike goes into a competent shop for suspension maintenance and to check everything out.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
These hubs continue to amaze. I last overhauled them in 2012 when I replaced the freehub body on the rear and cleaned/greased everything. 9 years later front and rear are completely smooth. No contamination whatsoever. Not a hint of roughness. DT Swiss and CK will get my money in the future when I need new hubs!

Minor observation: I cleaned the spaces between the bolt holes on the DT hub first. It was a little fiddly to get in there with a rag and dirt didn't just come out. On the CK, it was the opposite experience. Theirs are shaped shallower, and fit the fingers perfectly. It actually felt nice, easy and quick to clean the same spot. This seemed intentional and was a minor moment of delight.

IMG_6671-sov-wheels.jpg
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
I check chain wear and lubricate chain as appropriate, check tire pressure, and don't touch much else unless something's misbehaving. I ought to check fork and shock air pressure more frequently.

Annually in December, the bike goes into a competent shop for suspension maintenance and to check everything out.
I buy chain lube so infrequently that the industry has shifted when it comes time to get a new one. My original favorite Pedros xtra dry is no longer sold (I don't believe). Then I did triflow and boeshield. Triflow wasn't great for me (smelled nice!) The latter is available, but good luck getting that shipped to canada. Trying out some Rock N Roll gold on this round.
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
These hubs continue to amaze. I last overhauled them in 2012 when I replaced the freehub body on the rear and cleaned/greased everything. 9 years later front and rear are completely smooth. No contamination whatsoever. Not a hint of roughness. DT Swiss and CK will get my money in the future when I need new hubs!

Minor observation: I cleaned the spaces between the bolt holes on the DT hub first. It was a little fiddly to get in there with a rag and dirt didn't just come out. On the CK, it was the opposite experience. Theirs are shaped shallower, and fit the fingers perfectly. It actually felt nice, easy and quick to clean the same spot. This seemed intentional and was a minor moment of delight.

View attachment 166899
That would actually be a good time to repack the BB bearings. If you wait until they are toast, they will have to be changed. Purging the debris and packing with fresh grease would prolong their life.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
One day chain guide installation will not require a file/grinder. Unfortunately, that day is not today. Not impressed with the OneUp so far. Instructions are difficult to follow. Step 2 requires me to file my crank.
8698F883-5147-4068-BE44-0EB23D4EA889.jpeg
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Wheels in the truing stand. Near time to replace the rims, but straight and round enough for now. Had this truing stand since I was 14.

A83CC481-141A-488A-812E-9CEBB583F471.jpeg
 

Jm_

sled dog's bollocks
Jan 14, 2002
18,850
9,556
AK
One day chain guide installation will not require a file/grinder. Unfortunately, that day is not today. Not impressed with the OneUp so far. Instructions are difficult to follow. Step 2 requires me to file my crank.
View attachment 166916
Why would someone put a bunch more holes on a crankset? That's crazy!
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,825
13,054
One day chain guide installation will not require a file/grinder. Unfortunately, that day is not today. Not impressed with the OneUp so far. Instructions are difficult to follow. Step 2 requires me to file my crank.
View attachment 166916
I've fit the OneUp bashguide to a bunch of bikes with older cranks, never had to file anything before. Interference between the backplate and the granny ring mounts?
 
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OGRipper

back alley ripper
Feb 3, 2004
10,647
1,116
NORCAL is the hizzle
I check chain wear and lubricate chain as appropriate, check tire pressure, and don't touch much else unless something's misbehaving.
I wish this was it. Suspension, dropper posts, brakes, tires, and wheels also need pretty regular maintenance. And although I happily serve as in-house wrench, given that my SO rides as much as me (sometimes more), it's 2X for everything.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
I've fit the OneUp bashguide to a bunch of bikes with older cranks, never had to file anything before. Interference between the backplate and the granny ring mounts?
Bolt heads sitting proud of the guide and hitting the granny mounts.
 

jonKranked

Detective Dookie
Nov 10, 2005
85,558
24,181
media blackout
does it need to be stated that modern chain guides are designed for single speed cranks? not triples? it's not that they can't be made to work, it just takes extra effort.

also, a 1/2" drill bit will get rid of the granny tabs an awful lot faster :clue:
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,825
13,054
Bolt heads sitting proud of the guide and hitting the granny mounts.
Never actually checked clearance of the mounting bolts to my 64bcd holes. I'm still running XTR 970 9 speed triple cranks as 1x on my trail bike with the 1up guide and a 30T NW chainring.

The only thing I had to do was slightly raise the top guide to stop it interfering with the end of the spider arms.

edit: @dump I think I have a single spacer between the frame tabs and the backplate. If you've got more than that I could see interference being more likely.
 
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dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Never actually checked clearance of the mounting bolts to my 64bcd holes. I'm still running XTR 970 9 speed triple cranks as 1x on my trail bike with the 1up guide and a 30T NW chainring.

The only thing I had to do was slightly raise the top guide to stop it interfering with the end of the spider arms.

edit: @dump I think I have a single spacer between the frame tabs and the backplate. If you've got more than that I could see interference being more likely.
I have no spacers, flush with the tabs. And zero chainline spacers on the guide. Fwiw.
 
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dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Well, it’s a drivetrain. Will see how it runs in the am! The crispness and lightness is remarkable after hobbling along for so long. I could get used to this again!

B7A8CC8B-3972-42C2-8AB2-1275A81ACBCB.jpeg
 
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dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
Well, it’s a drivetrain. Will see how it runs in the am! The crispness and lightness is remarkable after hobbling along for so long. I could get used to this again!

View attachment 166953
First ride went well. Tried all the rowdy stuff in town, which is mostly trail, some rough, medium speed, jumps, drops, steep… but short. Disappeared beneath me. Quiet. Nothing out of place. Let’s see how it holds up and what happens when it’s more full-on. Will also investigate a clutch derailleur for said instances.

Buttery shifting was nice to experience.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
I wish this was it. Suspension, dropper posts, brakes, tires, and wheels also need pretty regular maintenance. And although I happily serve as in-house wrench, given that my SO rides as much as me (sometimes more), it's 2X for everything.
I hear you. I have 6 bikes under my charge atm. 4 get active use. Luckily, there is only 1 mtb that needs regular work.
 

canadmos

Cake Tease
May 29, 2011
20,188
19,155
Canaderp
If you're running a short cage derailleur and the spring is still strong on it, you might not even need to look into a clutch derailleur. The chain there can't get as slack as one on a ten or eleven speed with a bigass cassette.

I forget where it was, maybe Vital, but they did some slow mo of derailleurs bouncing around. The chain on 12 speed stuff is basically flopping around and touching the ground when the derailleur unwinds.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
If you're running a short cage derailleur and the spring is still strong on it, you might not even need to look into a clutch derailleur. The chain there can't get as slack as one on a ten or eleven speed with a bigass cassette.

I forget where it was, maybe Vital, but they did some slow mo of derailleurs bouncing around. The chain on 12 speed stuff is basically flopping around and touching the ground when the derailleur unwinds.
Yeah, I haven't looked down, but my ears tell me it's not doing this at all. The spring is definitely still good and strong. Add to the equation that it's a hardtail, so the relative motion of the drivetrain is fixed, unlike a suspension bike where the front and back are moving independently. Short of getting a clutch derailleur, I could always resurect the bullet brothers chain tensioner from my youth! :)

bb-chain-tensioner.jpg
 

6thElement

Schrodinger's Immigrant
Jul 29, 2008
15,825
13,054
I've got a short cage 9 speed X.9 I'm about to list with a few other XT/XTR/X.9 front and rear derailleurs on CL for a tenner each.

But if interested in a spare @dump I'll do it for postage.
 

dump

Turbo Monkey
Oct 12, 2001
8,194
4,419
I've got a short cage 9 speed X.9 I'm about to list with a few other XT/XTR/X.9 front and rear derailleurs on CL for a tenner each.

But if interested in a spare @dump I'll do it for postage.
Appreciate it, but no need. I have a spare x9 already. Thanks.