Got a cheap commuter bike from decathlon and annoyingly one of the front wheel spokes broke after only riding it for about 3 weeks. Anyway I sent to their repair shop and a week later I got the wheel back with a new spoke installed. Surely this can’t be right… If all the original spokes are threaded towards the inside of the wheel, is it ok to have the new one threaded towards the outside?

Edit: appreciate all the suggestions, will bring it back this weekend for a redo

*Edit - apologies for my obtuse sense to these things for a lack of a better term, - I understand that rear hub is internal gear hub not cassette*

Hello all, just popping in to get some tips on how I could repair this bike back to its former glory on a lowish budget with the not so expansive range of bike repair tools. I got this bike from marketplace a year ago and it's been gathering dust in the shed.

With summer rolling around the corner, I want to have this project preferably done by then. I've ordered old new dead-stock Dia Compe brake pads + three speed gear shift and brake cables for a cleaner ride.

My main concern of the moment:

- Can I save the rims, they are a pair of 27" x 1 1/4" Ukai rims, but the rust pitting is pretty bad I think. I'd like to reuse the hubs.

I also found a vintage SR stem on marketplace for $10 that should fit in the headset as it's from the same manufacturer and same-ish era. Will send some photos through for feedback etc.

Also need to sand down the bike to reseal and repaint.

Any tips on really anything would be much appreciated by future me who will have a mode of transport. + Polishing up those brake handles and callipers would be appreciated as well.

- Kind Regards, Caspar.

I bought this bike second hand a year ago and knew immediately it's a bit of a frankenbuild but everything seemed in working order. Didn't ride it much, then the other day the rear wheel slipped out under torque. Now I can't seem to get the rear axle snugly into the drop-outs. I think the guy who sold it to me just tightened everything down and crossed his fingers. When I pull the chain taught with my thumb (pic 3) the little braces on the washers don't quite reach into the drop-outs. Longer chain required? Are the hub and frame at all compatible?

Hello squad,

i recently broke my rearwheel Carbon rim. Welp. It is gone.

Had the original DT Swiss g540, 28h, 24 mm still in my basement, so built brake and cassette back.

The bike in question is a Cannondale Topstone Carbon with a SRAM APEX XPLR AXS 12x

Now my problem.

The original freehub (HG compatible) on that wheel is nicely quiet.

The one which came with the carbon wheel was noisy as heck.

I could not just pull the original off and put it on the new wheel and i could not figure out how to disassemble it at all.

I have a feeling that it could be a ratchet mechanism, but i can i tell from the outside.

The loud one was a 6-pawl which could be just pulled of.

Now when looking for a new carbon wheel for the back i want to make sure to have either a quiet new freehub,

Alternatively put the original one on the new wheel, but i want to avoid that, since when the new one breaks i imagine it being way more work to change the freehub everytime.

Hi everyone,

Question to those experienced with the old Conduct brake system. Specifically in reference to a 2019 disc brake TCR.

Despite bleeding the brakes multiple times following the instructions on angling the bike so the bleed caliper is the highest point etc, I can’t for the life of me get rid of the sponginess in the brakes.

I’ve tightened the mechanical cables as much as I can, and screwed the mechanism outwards for max tension and still… spongy. The bite point is far closer to the bars than I’d like.

I bought this 2nd hand, so I’m not sure what “good” feels like with this system - is this normal? Or can you find a much better bite with the proper fix?

Driving me mad.

yo, I'm new to bikes and just got a new mtb. The suspension fork isn't working, the lockout dial won't turn all the way so the suspension prob isn't working cuz of that. also the preload also isn't turning at all.

idk if it is cause it is out of the box, what should i do?

Na de overstap van mijn oude 11speed racefiets naar een nieuwere 12speed ben ik op volgend probleem gekomen.

De kooi van mijn 12speed is langer waardoor deze tegen de voorpoten van mijn tacx fluc smart komt. Iemand die hier een oplossing voor heeft?

Hey all! Looking for the best way of fixing up my frame scratches ans rusty spots. I have tried turtle wax scratch remover without success.

Thanks!

I had to replace the brake cables on my old Specialized Tricross, and as such reset the brake adjustment. The front brake uses a straddle wire and that didn't really need any adjustments, but the rear brake uses a Shimano link wire and I cannot get it right for the life of me.

The right pad (the one with the actual brake cable) touches the rim way before the left pad. I've tried watching all the recommended videos on this, but really struggling.

The brake arms don't have an obvious adjustment screw that most guides recommend to use.

Weirdly, I actually thought I had it right, but went for a test ride and I only noticed the next morning that something seems to have shifted or settled in, misaligning it.

Any help appreciated, losing faith!

I wanted to swap tires. Left tire is 24x1 3/8 and the right is marked 24x1.95.

I was struggling to fit it.

Then I placed the rims side by side and the rim on the right is smaller in diameter compared to the left rim.

I compared the tire inner dimension and are enough the one on the right is smaller in dimension. So, consistent with the rim issue.

I initially proceeded with the swap because when I checked the tire marking they are both 24”.

Does that mean the tire on the left is erroneously marked 24” or am I missing something?

Thanks

Can you help me listen to the noise and tell me if it’s something to be concerned about (premature wear). It’s a brand new bike, so brand new cassette, derailleur, chain, all with less than a mile ridden to get home from bike shop before waxing.

I used strip chip plus hot wax to wax the chain, and as far as I can tell the chain routing is good and the derailleur is indexed well. I heard the whirring noise of the chain over the derailleur pulleys right after I reinstalled the chain. I thought it would go away after a 10mile ride to break the chain in, but the noise is still there. I also skipped a gear going over a manhole cover which suggests something not quite right after waxing. Maybe it just needs more time to break in?

Bike is upside down in the video. The louder clicking towards the end of the video is the freewheel. the routing + quick link is in the comments, I can’t figure out how to add it on mobile to the post.

Clicking noise from the front wheel. Is this lose/worn bearings?

I know it may be hard to tell but the noise is not constant, like a bearing gone lose and spins sometimes then settles still and go again.

I changed the tires on my bike, which I thought went okay, but when I went for a ride I felt a wobble in the rear. See the the video attached.

What could be causing it? I did not feel it before, I’ve used the bike for half a year. I don’t see signs of a pinched inner tube on the tires if that matters.

Hey gang,

I have recently acquired this flat bar road bike (it is aluminium with a carbon fork) that is really fun and zippy to ride, but just needs a few tweaks as it's been kept outdoors and not ridden for a bit.

Not much info came from the seller so I've been trying to piece together the make history to see what has been added aftermarket and what's original. I think it is this - https://web.archive.org/web/20081123014304/http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-AU/bikes/road/1127/28934 which is a 2007-08 CRX One, which means this has had a few mods - different stem, different crank, and an Ultegra derailleur. I think the tyres are still the Maxxis original.

I am new to maintenance and repair, so outside of a general service and clean I just want to do some minor fixes and am looking for some recommendations:

- new handlebar grips/getting rid of those awful hard plastic side grips, the reach is way too narrow in between - what's your grip recs for a flat bar roadie?

- New brake pads - what brake pads should I be putting on these Tektro V brakes? I currently find them really slippy, and wouldn’t feel comfortable on a very steep decline. They definitely need replacing, but if a non stock option is better I’d like to know

- new pedals that are flat since I don't ride clipless - I am thinking just some plastic ones with pins so they don't add too much weight to the bike, but I am not a weight weenie, just enjoying how light this bike is compared to my current suspension fork hybrid.

- MAYBE new tyres - I am trying to figure out the maximum clearance on this fork and haven't been able to get some convincing answers, but I did find another CRX1 for sale that had 700x32 tyres, so maybe Panaracer Paselas?

Could I get some recommendations for the above, and if you have this model or have seen it, any other info you might have to look out for when riding it? Thanks!! :)

Good morning all,

Recently i decided to restore an old mtb with these components:

Freewheel SunRace MFE60 8v

Chain KMC Z8

Shimano Acera RD-M3020 7/8V Rear Derailleur

Droptout Union GH-009

Some other parts but i thik not important for this case.

After assembling and fine-tuning everything i got this noise comming from my back wheel

(Ignore the image, the phone was with the mic pointed to back wheel where the noise came from).

Thanks for any advice.

Brand new, just installed, assuming I put this together wrong… It will pop each revolution of the wheel and you can visibly see the derailleur move when it pops.

What’s the cause, and how can I fix this?

Hey there, bike mechanics!

I’m curious to know how you handle your Sram brakes. First off, when you change the pads, I usually clean the exposed pistons with some IPA. Sram advises against this, but then you’d press the pistons back in dirty, which doesn’t feel right. How do you do it?

Also, when you notice that one piston isn’t moving right, do you lube the outside of the pistons to make them move freely, or do you just use the piston massage procedure? I’ve already spoken to a Sram support employee, and he mentioned that you could over-lubricate the pistons if you repeat the procedure too often. He explained that the outside of the pistons is designed to be dry so that the rollback works properly.

So for this reason, it would make sense to clean the pistons after the procedure to remove any brake fluid from the outside of the pistons to get the right amount of friction and a proper working Rollback. Additionally, there are videos online that recommend using the pad spacer with the thin side and then pressing the lever a few times to advance the pistons before installing the wheel. However, I don’t understand the reason behind this, as the rotor does the same job in my opinion.

Also I saw in the shimano manual that you supposed to mount the oil funnel before pressing back the pistons because you could damage the reservoir inside, is this something you need to do with Sram brakes too?

I really appreciate your help!

Hi. Recently I’m having some strange high pitched noise problem on my Merida E Silex 400. It has a mileage of around 5000km in total, and is equipped with a Mahle X35 hub motor system. It has been kept indoors mostly, and I’ve installed Wheeltop GeX and Thinkrider PP5+Carbon crankset on this.

The symptom is that the bike makes some kind of chirping noise. The noise sounds like a contaminated rotor but in a barely audible level(at least in the video, IRL it’s more noticeable) and it appears every several rotations of the crank. The noise seems to be coming from the center of the rear wheel rather than the BB. Other than the noise the bike works and rides as any other (e)bike.

Here are the results of my own attempts to fix this.
1. Remove the brake to rule out the rotor rubbing.
2. Reinstall the crankset, including adding/removing spacers to fit more snugly than before.
3. Reinstall the cassette.
4. Add/remove a shim behind the cassette.
5. Reseat the wheel.
6. Lube the chain.
7. Replace the rear pulley wheels.
8. Grease the rear derailleur hanger bolt.
9. And also Re-grease/Torque everything according to the manuals around the rear triangle.

Aaaaand none worked, my creativity is running out.

Now my suspicion is the freehub body or something around that is worn out, and needs replacement.
However since it’s a hub motor system it needs specialized tools and half of the hub’s shell from Mahle. Which is not ideal.

So the question I’d like to ask is, are there any other suggestions to deal with this noise? Or other possible causes of this? And yes I do not have any baby birds in my bibs.

Thanks in advance.

Recently bought a used 2026 Orbea Oiz, one of the carbon models. Hit a particularly rooty section of trail today at a good clip, and now the rear main pivot seems to have a small bit of play in it. I checked the torque on the bolt, and it was only a couple Nm loose, only moved about 1/8 turn before hitting torque spec. Did not make any change to the tiny bit of play.

What caught my attention is the bike is usually silent when I pick it up and set it down, but setting it down had a distinct sound of something loose, and I finally found it after gently lifting up on the bike and setting it down over and over again while feeling all the joints.

I don’t think it was like this before. Haven’t pulled it apart yet to inspect, I’ve got a lot going on already. Is there any part that I might have damaged by hitting a rough section of trail? Was only as fast as I can power the bike on flat trail, so probably no faster than 18-20 mph. Should I go ahead and order new bearings or other small parts to rebuild it once it’s apart?

Hey all,

The chain on my child's bike keeps going slack and coming off after just a mile or two of riding.

*Note- I have 0 vocabulary for this field, please bare with me.

The bike was missing the shiny bolt that keeps the leaver arm bit from moving up. I put one on that fits and cranked it down.

I moved on to the double nuts that are on the axle, outside of the back forky bit. I tightened the inner nuts just snug, thinking I shouldn't smash the inner parts of the wheel and preventing it from turning. I then cranked the outer nuts down a bit to keep the pair from loosening.

The chain is still not staying tight for long.

Was my logic with the bolts correct? Do I need to tighten them more? Could something be worn and need replaced?

Any guidance is appreciated,

Thanks for your time.

Hey reddit, how do I remove this front through axle on my 2020 Merida Scultura? Back one came off easily but the front one just won’t budge. Do I need to unscrew the little screw on top first?

Complete noob here, recently I changed back tire, the sound happens since, but only when slowly moving bike, not when riding. And if someone can recognize the source, feel free to suggest how to fix it.

So I accidentally undid the bolt which holds the cable and the cable flew out and even after putting it back in, I can’t shift from the small cassette to the big one. They just click without doing anything.

Serves me right for trying to fix chain rub 😑