Your Personal Micro Blog(s)

Crimean Bridge

 

got a new bike today, hybrid bike (mountain/road not electric) and the main reason why is the gears.. the new one has rapid fire shifters instead of grip shifters, i don't mind grip shifters that much, they are ok, but on my old bike they were well and truly knackered.. numbers all wrong on it, incredibly stiff, and basically you have to pull the cables on the frame of the bike to get into gear 3 ive tried fixing it, but it needs a few parts and the frame is too small for me anyway..

the new one, the gearshifts are just heaven, you are going up a hill and there is no worry that it might not catch next gear, you just flick the shifter and it drops a cog... drop two if you want, it's so smooth.. downside is that there is no suspension at all on the bike, so instead of me bouncing up and down like a jackinthebox with my full suspension old bike (cheap ~£100 for the whole thing new) it's now a bit rough, and tbh quite terrifying, you go over a bump and the wheels leave the ground for that moment, and you can feel that... i feel like if i go over bumps whilst turning at speed i might come off the road.. which isn't great!

and also damn cycling really shows how unfit you are really tried today and wow felt like i was dying... i'm 16

 

got my old full suspension up and running with new parts and it's really jumpy in 6th gear, despite having a new derailleur, hanger and freewheel

 

I'm attending a 3DS Max extra school course and I'm loving it! I've done two cloth tests and a curved mirror test by myself while we're doing a small house project with lights, etc.with the teacher.
Here is what I'm working on:

And here's a first render test of the patio area

Quite dark… I have to improve lights or adding a natural external light; still Learning

 

That is cool!

I wish I would had chance to study such in school, I even wish I could be school again, funny how things change during the life

 

Make sure you don’t pedal hard during gearchanges, or else..... this.

Lots of money for a new one. Just be careful.

 

Red circle: Is that idler sprocket bent? It appears that the tensioner/idler sprockets are held on by rivets, which would mean that its probably a cheaply made part. I would upgrade to a better unit if you are going to spend the money on it anyways.

Green circle: Is that sprocket cracked?

 

Reason for that happening reads in derailleur, Altus, that is lowest of the low cost equipment and looks like your cassette is similar, those are not made to be used much more than grocery rides, doing any kind of sporty riding makes that happen sooner or later.

That RD tends to snap it's bolts or strip threads and then that whole thing twists and is useless.

Obviously your bike is not a mountain bike, but looks like it uses mountain bike compatible parts, not 100% certain of this, but I would think so.

If you want similar part, that is 16 euros https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy...ed-rear-derailleur-rd-m360-sgs-l-black-499810

Looks like your cassette is end of life too, so that is bit under 12 euros https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-cassette-8-speed-cs-hg41-11-34-46101

At same time you need to replace chain too, that is bit under 11 euros because cheap ones are out of stock but that is quite good chain https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-cn-hg71c-chain-6-7-8-speed-114-links-602717

Also gear cable might need replacing, that is something like 2 euros in there.

So that is not horribly expensive, replacing is quite cheap and easy to do, if you don't have chain cutting tool that is few euros more and bike is almost like new after that, still not possible to pedal hard while shifting, that would require upgrade to SLX and that would mean 9 or 10 speed upgrade which adds gear shifter cost and parts cost little bit more.

Now challenging bit will be RD hanger if that is bend, you might need new one, not expensive, but finding one is bit hard, Union brand makes them and that is sold in europe, but that is usually LBS visit to get new one as there is really lot of them that look alike.

But RD itself is not expensive, if someone sells you something of that same level RD and asking 30-40 euros that is a robbery.

Oh and to replace cassette you need chain whip and cassette nut opening tool, so there is that cost if not already owning those tools, usually not many euros each, but it all adds up.

No, that is allen bolt, very soft metal and ridiculously short threads on ridiculously soft metal cage, it is like threaded to tin can really, they are fail guarantee lowest of low cost parts, usually put to bikes sold to common people, they save cost on those parts as as long it reads Shimano people think it is good and they do their job fine for a short time, but they do that when they get old.

For 8spd there is not much to upgrade to, best would be to upgrade to 10spd, but that is 100 euros with all the new shifters and all, FD need replacing too then as 6,7,8 spd is not good for 10spd chain, it is very very sloppy shifting and drops chain often, works sure, but not much fun.

I have gone from 7 to 8 to 9spd and it starts to be bit hard to get SLX or better for 9spd, but SLX and especially XT and XRT can handle full force shifting just fine, XT is even advertised to do that, also much crispier and more trouble free than cheap same amount of gears parts.

Problem he has is that 8spd is really good system, 9spd and 10spd are much more hazzle, needs more adjustments as tolerances are smaller, also parts need to be better as cheap ones are kinda pain to live with at higher speed systems.

Might be best to just get that Acera, chain and cassette.



Update: Oh yes, I did put this on my bike last time when I managed to destroy SLX RD https://www.bike-discount.de/en/buy/shimano-alivio-rear-derailleur-rd-t4000-9-speed-sgs-black-213586

It is very good for the price, but still kinda useless junk, it is not very precise, but better than some Acera of older type. Should work with 8spd, at most needs small bending of cage so chain does not rub, but also using 9spd chain does work with 8spd cassette, Front Derailleur needs small adjustment though, but at least it would be upgrade over Acera and cost is almost the same.

Update2:Changed last link as I remembered model wrong, correct one is some 7 euros more expensive than Acera, but is better and even that Acera is better than Altus.

 

Micro blogs? Hm

 

I have successfully returned from Barrow.

My signature has been updated to reflect this.

 

The green bit isn't a crack, it's shaped like that so that when you go down a gear, the chain catches on it, and lifts the chain up onto the bigger cog. Providing smoother and more reliable gear shifts.

Derailleurs typically fail when they get hit on things. So be careful if you find yourself putting your bike on the floor often. Since that can bend and damage it, which can lead to more serious failure.
I also tend to find them to be a bit of a nightmare for loose screws. I have to remove and re-oil the jockey wheels quite frequentlyddue to British riding conditions, sometimes they start to come loose while riding. I should probably start using locktight on them.
So if you ever find that your shifting performance suddenly falls apart, it could be cable stretch (in which case adjust twister on handlebars), but first do a bolt check to make sure everything is done up correctly. Do NOT change any of the adjustment screws though, unless you know why you are changing them. Since they are designed to not be fully screwed in.

 

i always pedal during gear changes. that's how the bike changes gear.

 

Wow, you guys really like bikes here.

I've thrown a chain countless times, sometimes because of user error, but sometimes I can blame the shifters. I have the twisty handlebar shifters, which I don't really like at all, Id have much preferred to have the lever-y kind. Oh well, $75 is $75. All the range icons are totally screwed up and misaligned, it usually shifts without too much trouble, but a lot of times when I shift I can hear the chain grind against the derailleur, which is probably bad. I'll get around to some tinkering when it's actually biking season, we just god about 5 inches of snow. At least it wasn't the mid April 14 inch blizzard we got last year.

 

That is pedal lightly aka just spinning, not really pedaling, when you pedal properly steel is stretching.

Aljowen is also right, those little screws that attach half of cages to each other and hold jockey wheels in place do get loose, for various reasons, with that specific RD there is not much thread with them to begin with.

Some RD had different length of screws for top and bottom RD, many have that, not all, but if accidentally they get swapped during service, top screw comes loose very easily.

I think they might have something to hold them in from factory too, because after taking apart their screws are more prone to work themselves loose.

Locktite is certainly a good idea, just best to get variant that is designed to be openable, that other stuff holds bit too well.

I should get spring service part for my bike, maybe my knees could allow short rides this spring, close to 200 for bike that I rarely can use is just bit annoying.

 

Just don’t pedal hard. “Lift” a little bit during shifts.

 

Well, with new chain load is better spread to teeth of cog, with old chain there can be slightly more forces to jockey wheels during a shift, but under no circumstances you will get any meaningful pedal force to jockey wheels, it is cog and chain that makes noises when shifting, there is forces from shifting of course and it is more of consequence that your RD failed at time of shifting, it could of done that even when pedaling hill.

Between red lines is where pedaling force acts on your components, with worn chain it is shorter distance, smaller number of teeth.


But when that top jockey wheel becomes loose, it jams the chain to RD, then chain pulls RD up, it happens even when shifting when it is about to happen, shift might of been last bit it needed, but even if you would of pedaled lightly it would of done the same.

All that is really needed is tiny bit of wood to block jockey wheel, as MTB rider that has happened to me many times, also those screws of RD have come loose many times and then thing is pulled up because chain is no longer moving and is stuck together with RD cage, then only thing that can move is RD itself.

Damage that happens when shifting under power is bent cogs or broken chain, RD breaking will not happen because of shifting under power, just not really possible to happen, because even when shifting Cogs, chain is holding on those Cogs and force is at top of Cog, not under it.

There just is no way for pedaling to affect RD in such way that it would get damaged from it, physically impossible, something else has to cause your jockey wheels not to be rotating freely or chain to get fixed to RD cage.

What you claim is physically impossible because of how chain drivetrain works.

 

What would you reccomend for a derailleur?

 

SLX, Deore, XT pretty much, but it depends number of speeds and budget, for 8spd there is not much options, for 9spd I would get XT if budget allows, if one wants to go cheap, Alivio 9spd I linked is manageable, especially if not going offroad, but there is Deore for little bit more. With 9spd RD I would use 9spd chain, it does work with 8spd gears, but shifting is not the best, also 9spd RD works as 8spd as it is shifter that makes it move correct amount, but then again it is something like 30 euros more to replace cassette and shifter to get 9spd upgrade if one has 8spd and needs to replace rear derailleur already.

Thing with bikes, there is always little better for little bit more

9spd or 10spd upgrade to 8spd costs money, but it is kinda needed if one wants better parts that don't self destruct quite so soon.

Staying away from Altus and Acera is usually for the best, Alivio is kinda borderline, not for heavy abuse, but can do a job, still only would get Alivio if budget is super tight.

 

SRAM drivetrains also exist. I have had a SRAM X4 drivetrain on a previous cheap bike, it was absolutely fine. They have other models too though.

You can also save money by getting your cogs from other brands, for example sunrace is a cheap second tier brand that makes good compatible parts. If you are planning on going for a 1x setup, you can get front chain rings from Praxis, Raceface etc. There are lots of different brands making good parts, just depends what budget you have and what you want for it.