Ask the experts

[Dantheman]

Not trying to convince you one way or the other, but plenty of name brand pedals are just rebranded wellgos (kinda like how lots of hubs are just rebranded novatecs). No idea who's making the one ups, but I can pretty much guarantee that they're made in some random Chinese factory and are functionally identical to any number of generic brands. Making platform pedals isn't exactly rocket surgery.

Good point. Though, chainrings are even easier to make and the off-brand ring I bought in the spring had to be filed down to fit on the crank spider. I have to figure that, even coming out of the same factory, I'm less likely to get something that's defective from OneUp.

eta: Hah, I looked up those Rockbros and they do look pretty much identical to OneUp's resin and metal pedals. It's a bit concerning that the price difference for the resin ones is $10-20, but for the metal ones it's over $100.

[toast2266]

Good point. Though, chainrings are even easier to make and the off-brand ring I bought in the spring had to be filed down to fit on the crank spider. I have to figure that, even coming out of the same factory, I'm less likely to get something that's defective from OneUp.

Yeah, definitely true. And at least sending money to one up feels a bit more worthwhile than pumping money into Amazon / China.

[mall walker]

is there any limiting factor on the low cog a derailleur can handle? I’ve seen a couple production bikes specced with GRX 1x and 11-46 cassettes; any reason this couldn’t be changed to a 10-46 or 9-46 down the road if you wanted the extra range?

[toast2266]

is there any limiting factor on the low cog a derailleur can handle? I’ve seen a couple production bikes specced with GRX 1x and 11-46 cassettes; any reason this couldn’t be changed to a 10-46 or 9-46 down the road if you wanted the extra range?

I don't think there's a specific issue with the small cog, but you'd potentially run into issues with range (depending on the frame). Like if the derailleur was maxed out in the 46t cog, the chain might be hanging a little slack in a 9t cog.

At a guess though, I'd bet you're fine.

[SchralphMacchio]

Shock experts ... brand new Monarch Plus RC3, on initial stroke it makes a thunky “click” sound and feel when compression damper is wide open. It’s about 3(?)mm into the stroke that I hear and feel the click sound. Switch to middle compression position and click goes away.

Feels like maybe there isn’t enough oil in the damper and something is “whacking” into the fluid on initial stroke - is that even close to possible?

If it’s a warranty issue would they cover a local authorized service shop for the work?

[toast2266]

Shock experts ... brand new Monarch Plus RC3, on initial stroke it makes a thunky “click” sound and feel when compression damper is wide open. It’s about 3(?)mm into the stroke that I hear and feel the click sound. Switch to middle compression position and click goes away.

Feels like maybe there isn’t enough oil in the damper and something is “whacking” into the fluid on initial stroke - is that even close to possible?

If it’s a warranty issue would they cover a local authorized service shop for the work?

I don't think a lack of oil would do that. If nothing else, a lack of oil would still present an issue in the middle setting.

My guess / theory is that the shim stack is fucky, and is doing something non-optimal on compression. Putting the shock in the middle setting puts some spring pressure on the stack and keeps it from being noticeably fucky.

Either way, probably needs to be opened up / warrantied. TBD how rockshox wants to handle it. Probably depends on the capabilities of the local shop.

[XXX-er]

How to clean and/or lube internal routing on a carbon frame? Yeti SB150 specifically. Swapping the drivetrain over and putting new housing. Old housing wedged in there really bad with dirt.

These are internal tubes within tubes style routing not open into the frame cavity routing.

Something mild like Maxima suspension cleaner? Simple green? Nothing and just lube the new housing somehow?

i recnetly changed the housing & inner on my 5.5 by attaching the new cable housing to the old cable and pulling it thru to the swing arm, the 150 might be different than the 5.5 but I don't think there was an internal tube for the cable housing ?

the job went OK till pulling it thru the swing arm where it came loose but it wasnt hard to poke the new housing thru, what was hard was getting the housing thru the rubber grommets of the frame

Changing a full length cable housing definalty made a noticable difference to the amount of force I used to shift but the friction kind of sneaks up on you ... I didn't notice till I changed the cable

[XXX-er]

Question:
Ok, so I have both a wet lube and a dry lube at the house... I have a handful of rides where I don't know which is best... or if it just doesn't matter and I clean and relube when I'm done. There are a few trails that are super dusty right now (go figure) that have a small creek crossing or two. So, you have both extremes. Which lube does one pick?

I've switched to Squirt on all my bikes which is a liquid wax which might not work for where you ride, but its not very dusty/dry here so it seems to work well here and it did seem to work OK for 7 days of Moab last year which was pretty dry ?

I clean all that preservative shit off a couple of new chains by putting them in a jar to soak with a little white gas ( Naptha ?) over night, I tried white gas cuz the can happened to be sitting in the shop, I had never used it before but the chain comes out super clean/ super dry so it turned out to be a good ( bit expensive ? ) way to super clean a chain

you want the chain super clean before the switch to wax, lube with squirt ( or Boeshield ?) ever thing is very very clean & runs fine

[SchralphMacchio]

Either way, probably needs to be opened up / warrantied. TBD how rockshox wants to handle it. Probably depends on the capabilities of the local shop.

Thanks. Local shop used to be a factory tech for SRAM/RoxkShox, and was going to give me a custom tune of the compression and rebound damping shims based on my feedback after my 3 weekend rides ... (came with stock compression and rebound damping configuration, not what was spec’ed for my frame).

[XtrPickels]

I've switched to Squirt on all my bikes which is a liquid wax which might not work for where you ride, but its not very dusty/dry here so it seems to work well here and it did seem to work OK for 7 days of Moab last year which was pretty dry ?

I clean all that preservative shit off a couple of new chains by putting them in a jar to soak with a little white gas ( Naptha ?) over night, I tried white gas cuz the can happened to be sitting in the shop, I had never used it before but the chain comes out super clean/ super dry so it turned out to be a good ( bit expensive ? ) way to super clean a chain

you want the chain super clean before the switch to wax, lube with squirt ( or Boeshield ?) ever thing is very very clean & runs fine

I run Squirt on everything, cleaning the chain deeply is a very necessary first step for those whom are thinking about using it.
Additionally, you need to apply and let dry (a few hours to overnight). If you apply and go ride, it's very sticky to dust etc.

[Andeh]

Question:
Ok, so I have both a wet lube and a dry lube at the house... I have a handful of rides where I don't know which is best... or if it just doesn't matter and I clean and relube when I'm done. There are a few trails that are super dusty right now (go figure) that have a small creek crossing or two. So, you have both extremes. Which lube does one pick?

I've had terrible luck with dry (wax) lubes in NorCal. Our conditions here 90% of the time are super dry, the soil is bone dry clay with sand/decomposed granite mixed in. Even stripping the chain of grease and then applying wax lubes (Rock n Roll, Muc Off, etc) just ends with an awful hard back crud built up on the cassette, chain ring, and jockey wheels that affects shifting. A local mechanic suggested trying WD40 Bike (the spray can kind), and since I've switched to that, no more hellcrud. I do have to relube every other ride, but it just takes 10sec, and I never have to go through the drivetrain scraping crud off with a dental pick.

[skizix]

Agree with Dee. The Shimano 12-speed I've been running this year seems really sensitive to the dust around SLC. It gets very noisy after only about 10 miles of following someone in dusty conditions. Not as bad if I'm by myself. I'm moving back to a dry lube to see if it helps. I've been using Rock n Roll gold, but seems to build up dirt and grime too quickly.

Maybe give Rock n Roll Extreme a try. Amazingly little dirt/gunk buildup, and lasts a long time. I've tried quite a lot of lubes over the years, and this is my favorite by far (on the mtb, mostly riding in CO) - I just got a big-ass bottle (16 oz). Best (but not necessary) to apply the night before riding, to give it time to cure. I applied it right over the goop that comes on a new (sram) chain, and it didn't seem to care.

[El Chupacabra]

I've had terrible luck with dry (wax) lubes in NorCal. Our conditions here 90% of the time are super dry, the soil is bone dry clay with sand/decomposed granite mixed in. Even stripping the chain of grease and then applying wax lubes (Rock n Roll, Muc Off, etc) just ends with an awful hard back crud built up on the cassette, chain ring, and jockey wheels that affects shifting. A local mechanic suggested trying WD40 Bike (the spray can kind), and since I've switched to that, no more hellcrud. I do have to relube every other ride, but it just takes 10sec, and I never have to go through the drivetrain scraping crud off with a dental pick.

I'm in Reno, so dry and dusty, not much clay though. I strip off all the factory packing lube (degreaser soak), and I use Dupont "chain saver" lube - yellow spray can, sold for use on motorcycles, about $7-8 at Walmart or Amazon. It's a wax based lube that dries after application.

I wipe off the chain, chainring, and derailleur pulleys, after each ride. Relube and wipe chain again. Works well. Collects no black greasy gunk.

[g_man80]

Great suggestions. Thanks!

[SchralphMacchio]

Are there decent aluminum aftermarket narrow-wide pulley wheels for the Shimano stuff? I’ve not run ceramic - but anyways I’ll still say it’s worth looking at to reduce derailleur noise when dry and dusty.
Made a huge diff when I lived in NorCal.

[Boissal]

Are there decent aluminum aftermarket narrow-wide pulley wheels for the Shimano stuff? I’ve not run ceramic - but anyways I’ll still say it’s worth looking at to reduce derailleur noise when dry and dusty.
Made a huge diff when I lived in NorCal.

Garbaruk sells aftermarket NW pulleys, almost bought some when I got my chainring to offset the cost of shipping a bit but I couldn't convince myself to drop an extra $60 for them despite their sexiness:

[XXX-er]

Squirt is water based you apply it and leave it overnight so the water can evaporate , so I left the bottle in the shed at -20 C over the winter which fucked up the consistancy,

it thickened Squirt up so that it stopped penetrating the links, I e-mailed the squirt folks and they got back to me same day ... just add water and shake !

[skizix]

I run Squirt on everything, cleaning the chain deeply is a very necessary first step for those whom are thinking about using it.
Additionally, you need to apply and let dry (a few hours to overnight). If you apply and go ride, it's very sticky to dust etc.

I used to use white gas to clean chains - put it in a small Nalgene and shake, shake shake. Then rinse it off in warm, soapy then clean water, then dry in the sun or oven. Works great. Like, really great. But how do you responsibly dispose of the remnants? No way without hassle, so I stopped doing that.

I tried Boeshield, then found Kermode Concepts Friction Free lube, which was similar but even way better. Silky smooth, lasts a very, very long time, even with a ton of wet conditions. But it gradually builds up an extremely dense, sticky gunk that is stupid-difficult to get off. Like a ton of work, even with the white gas. Without question: the best performing lube I’ve tried, but maintenance was a nightmare. Rock n Roll Extreme is the best compromise I’ve found.

Not sure if Kermode is still in business (main biz: lube for paintball guns), and the bike lube is definitely not sold anymore. Last time I ran out though, I emailed dude and he whipped up a batch (Still have some - I’m over it now but if anyone wants it drop me a line).

[meter-man]

You need plastic man - liquid polymerization. Total liquid lightning. It'll blow your miiiind, maaaannnnnn

Dumonde: https://www.dumondetech.com/portfoli...ginal-formula/

[XXX-er]

I used to use white gas to clean chains - put it in a small Nalgene and shake, shake shake. Then rinse it off in warm, soapy then clean water, then dry in the sun or oven. Works great. Like, really great. But how do you responsibly dispose of the remnants? No way without hassle, so I stopped doing that. .

yeah white gas is fucking amazing for chain cleaning I just submerged the chain in a glass jar and it came out incredibly clean with no trace of the factory coating, i used the same jar for 2 new chains, I think i'm just going to put the lid on the pickle jar and hang on to that white gas for more chain cleaning or whatever

I used squirt on my road bike which i had on a trainer in the front room last winter, the wax would kind of flake off in larger chunks so I put a piece of cardboard down to catch the flakes of wax, long term I don't bother cleaning the chains, I just let the wax fling itself off and keep applying new stuff ... seems to work

[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Ughhh. So I am swapping an SB150 from GX eagle to XT 12 speed. This involves new BB since the crank interface is totally different.

Who the fuck invented press fit? Fucker.

Got the Park BBT 90.3 which is for "BB92, BB90, Sram press fit, etc"

Looks way too small for this BB92 I am trying to remove. How ghetto is it to remove by tapping all the way around with a large flathead from the inside?

I do have the correct press for the new BB fwiw.



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[Whiteroom_Guardian]

Ok so I widened the fingers of the tool so that it fits nicely behind the bearing. How much force does it take to get this thing out? Shit I thought installing headsets was scary.

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[rideit]

If you aren’t re-using the bearings, go ahead and punch em out.
Just work around the bearing evenly and slowly.

[Dee Hubbs]

Ok so I widened the fingers of the tool so that it fits nicely behind the bearing. How much force does it take to get this thing out? Shit I thought installing headsets was scary.

More than "swing from the wrist", and less than "swing from the shoulder".

[El Chupacabra]

And to press in the new BB bearings squarely, I like to do one, side at a time. That way the other side (the frame) aligns the bearing.