Bottom Bracket Time

 The last time I rode the Noble Bikes GX5 out in the country I started hearing something. Maybe "feel" something was more correct. It was a bit windy at the time, so hearing a noise was tough. Plus it only happened on hard efforts. However; as the ride went on the noise became audible and by the end of the ride it was happening upon every crank revolution.

I hung the bike up after the ride and checked on it the next day. Spinning the crank set I could hear and feel the roughness and bearing crackle which any bicycle mechanic with a decent amount of time under their belt has heard thousands of times.  There was no denying it, the bearings were failing. 

This was not the typical PF-30 shell noise. I get those from time to time. A simple removal of the bottom bracket, a good cleaning, re-greasing, and re installation is all that is necessary in those cases. However; a new PF-30/Shimano compatible bottom bracket is a completely different deal. This was going to cost me!

The bottom bracket that was in there wasn't "bad" from a standpoint of service life. I believe I got that one in 2019. So, it has been at least five years going and almost all the miles have been dusty gravel ones. This was a Wheels Manufacturing model, for the record, and I would not hesitate to recommend one to anyone. However; I've had experience with another PF-30, thread-together bottom bracket which I ended up ordering. 

Enduro Bearings Torq-Tite (Image courtesy of Enduro Bearings)

The Standard Rando v2 was set up for a component review last year with a suite of Enduro Bearings products. The Torq-Tite bottom bracket was sent as the Twin Six bike uses that standard. 

And the Torq-Tite isn't bad, it just is not as awesome as the Max-Hit, one of which I have in my Gryphon. So, I'm not sad about it. It'll be good, and I hope it will be an improvement over the Wheels Manufacturing one I was using. I think it will, again, judging from the Standard Rando.

 I received the part early on Wednesday. So here is a look at the thing and an interesting note about how it works which I will point out in my images following...  

The Enduro Torq-Tite bottom bracket. Nice presentation.

 

Unlike other thread-together PF-30 options, the Torq-Tite is threaded on two ends instead of just one.

 By the end of the weekend the ol' Noble GX5 will be gravel-ready again. I'll be curious to see how long things go before I get creaks and have to clean it up, and of course, how long the bearings hold up. If this one is as good as the Wheels one was, I think this bike will be retired before I wear out the bottom bracket. We'll see!

When The Simplest Thing Fails

The Raleigh Tamland Two- Highly evolved, not much stock here anymore!

I was doing maintenance on a couple of my gravel rigs yesterday. The first up in the stand was the Twin Six Standard Rando. I wasn't happy with the SRAM cheapo cassette that was on it as it was making a racket whenever I shifted due to the individual cogs not being secured perfectly. I opted for a lower geared cassette, an 11-36T, and in eleven speed, of course. The cogs are mounted on a carrier for the last three, largest cogs, and the others are made more precisely and should not rattle. I have the same model cassette on the Tamland Two which has worked really well.

I thought I might need a chain also, but when I checked it with my tool for wear it was well within spec. Such a waste to pull it off, so I left it on there. I am chalking the longevity up to using DuMonde Tech lube which I have used on that chain for a while and on the Tamland's chain for ever. That chain also checked out good as well. The Tamland just needed a bit of fresh lube on its chain and a refresh on sealant. Then it was out for a bit of a test ride.

I noted a "clunk" which was hard to repeat. Was it the chain not shifting quite right? Hmm.....nope! What about that bottom bracket? I couldn't remember ever replacing it. It could be time for it to go. However; the noise wasn't tied to pedaling. Weird. What was it?

Bad part! Bad part! Go to the bin!

I got off my bike and grabbed the rear wheel and tried to see if the hub bearing maybe had loosened up. To my surprise, I could wiggle the wheel and recreate the clunk. That White Industries hub had a bad bearing already? Well....... I do ride it in severe dusty conditions a lot. It was possible, but I had ridden other wheels more miles on gravel with no ill effect. Maybe the axle was broken? Gah! That would suck!

But once the wheel was pulled I could not find fault with the hub at all. Hmmm...... What about that QR lever? Now, I'd be real surprised if it was that, because the wheel moved a lot when it was clamped in the frame. But whatever..... I had to try it to see if I could eliminate that as a reason for my troubles. I grabbed a good Shimano skewer, they are the best, you know, and slammed the wheel with that Shimano skewer installed into the frame and clamped it up.

No more wiggle, no more noise!

A simple part swapped in and no more issues. Shimano skewers are always a sure bet.

I'm not sure what company made that skewer, but it won't ever get used again after that! It is ironic that Shimano makes such a dead reliable skewer and hardly anyone else can seem to come close. Most skewers that you see are external cam skewers and most of those are junk. Then you have some internal cam skewers which can be relied upon other than Shimano, (Velocity USA's are pretty good), but those are rare. I have a set sold by FSA that were designed like Mavic/Simplex skewers and those are pretty decent, but they are an oddball design.

Obviously, through axles get rid of a lot of this, but they also have their own issues. One being that no one wants to pay SRAM or Shimano/Fox a royalty for their good designs and they come up with their own. Some are good, some are........dumb. Some are so difficult to get to work properly you may as well just use a bolt, and some other through axles are bolts! So don't just say QR's are dumb and everyone should use a through axle, becuase there are some real clunkers in the through axle world too.

The bottom line is that a simple part like a skewer should just work, and when it doesn't, and fails, I find that to be rather amazing. Just quit trying to make it different so you can avoid the fees and make simple parts that actually work!

When The Simplest Thing Fails

The Raleigh Tamland Two- Highly evolved, not much stock here anymore!

I was doing maintenance on a couple of my gravel rigs yesterday. The first up in the stand was the Twin Six Standard Rando. I wasn't happy with the SRAM cheapo cassette that was on it as it was making a racket whenever I shifted due to the individual cogs not being secured perfectly. I opted for a lower geared cassette, an 11-36T, and in eleven speed, of course. The cogs are mounted on a carrier for the last three, largest cogs, and the others are made more precisely and should not rattle. I have the same model cassette on the Tamland Two which has worked really well.

I thought I might need a chain also, but when I checked it with my tool for wear it was well within spec. Such a waste to pull it off, so I left it on there. I am chalking the longevity up to using DuMonde Tech lube which I have used on that chain for a while and on the Tamland's chain for ever. That chain also checked out good as well. The Tamland just needed a bit of fresh lube on its chain and a refresh on sealant. Then it was out for a bit of a test ride.

I noted a "clunk" which was hard to repeat. Was it the chain not shifting quite right? Hmm.....nope! What about that bottom bracket? I couldn't remember ever replacing it. It could be time for it to go. However; the noise wasn't tied to pedaling. Weird. What was it?

Bad part! Bad part! Go to the bin!

I got off my bike and grabbed the rear wheel and tried to see if the hub bearing maybe had loosened up. To my surprise, I could wiggle the wheel and recreate the clunk. That White Industries hub had a bad bearing already? Well....... I do ride it in severe dusty conditions a lot. It was possible, but I had ridden other wheels more miles on gravel with no ill effect. Maybe the axle was broken? Gah! That would suck!

But once the wheel was pulled I could not find fault with the hub at all. Hmmm...... What about that QR lever? Now, I'd be real surprised if it was that, because the wheel moved a lot when it was clamped in the frame. But whatever..... I had to try it to see if I could eliminate that as a reason for my troubles. I grabbed a good Shimano skewer, they are the best, you know, and slammed the wheel with that Shimano skewer installed into the frame and clamped it up.

No more wiggle, no more noise!

A simple part swapped in and no more issues. Shimano skewers are always a sure bet.

I'm not sure what company made that skewer, but it won't ever get used again after that! It is ironic that Shimano makes such a dead reliable skewer and hardly anyone else can seem to come close. Most skewers that you see are external cam skewers and most of those are junk. Then you have some internal cam skewers which can be relied upon other than Shimano, (Velocity USA's are pretty good), but those are rare. I have a set sold by FSA that were designed like Mavic/Simplex skewers and those are pretty decent, but they are an oddball design.

Obviously, through axles get rid of a lot of this, but they also have their own issues. One being that no one wants to pay SRAM or Shimano/Fox a royalty for their good designs and they come up with their own. Some are good, some are........dumb. Some are so difficult to get to work properly you may as well just use a bolt, and some other through axles are bolts! So don't just say QR's are dumb and everyone should use a through axle, becuase there are some real clunkers in the through axle world too.

The bottom line is that a simple part like a skewer should just work, and when it doesn't, and fails, I find that to be rather amazing. Just quit trying to make it different so you can avoid the fees and make simple parts that actually work!

Maintaining Part II

More rain, more maintenance! I got to looking at the frozen titanium pinch bolts for the eccentric bottom bracket and broke two 5mm wrenches before saying 'no mas!

Dang! I guess all that snow riding froze the little buggers into place......forever! Galvanic corrosion is like that. I suppose I could try the "hot wrench", but that doesn't appeal to me on several levels.

34 X 20T gearing is what I am stuck with for single speeding now. Not the end of the world, mind you, but it does go against "T-6 Brent's Rule Of Single Speeding". I'm supposed to be on to an 18 tooth cog out back now, (actually, a seventeen tooth cog!), and this gear I originally set the Dillinger up with was with snow riding in mind. Well, what can ya do? I guess I'll have to make up for it by taking the Dillinger to somewhere with steeper, or longer climbs.

Actually, that sounds quite fun. 

More maintenance to be done yet, so back down to The Lab!

Maintaining Part II

More rain, more maintenance! I got to looking at the frozen titanium pinch bolts for the eccentric bottom bracket and broke two 5mm wrenches before saying 'no mas!

Dang! I guess all that snow riding froze the little buggers into place......forever! Galvanic corrosion is like that. I suppose I could try the "hot wrench", but that doesn't appeal to me on several levels.

34 X 20T gearing is what I am stuck with for single speeding now. Not the end of the world, mind you, but it does go against "T-6 Brent's Rule Of Single Speeding". I'm supposed to be on to an 18 tooth cog out back now, (actually, a seventeen tooth cog!), and this gear I originally set the Dillinger up with was with snow riding in mind. Well, what can ya do? I guess I'll have to make up for it by taking the Dillinger to somewhere with steeper, or longer climbs.

Actually, that sounds quite fun. 

More maintenance to be done yet, so back down to The Lab!

Maintaining

This is a weekend where I have to stick close to home, so I am not going on any adventures this weekend. This is becoming a weekend that I am spending on some maintenance. Not like I don't have a slew of bicycles needing it!

So project #1 was to get the Fargo back together, since I robbed parts off of it to get the Dos Niner up and running for last weekend. I decided to leave the Dos as is and I went ahead and scavenged an old Shimano cartridge bottom bracket, old Shimano five arm 110/74BCD crank, and some old touring bike chain rings to cobble up a 2X crankset. I found a 44T ring and a 28T granny that I matched together, slapped on the Fargo, and whattya know? It seems to work just fine, (field test still needed), and that old cartridge BB spins like a champ.

This nearly matches what I was running on the Dos Niner, which is a 44T/29T set up. My chainline is juuuust about there on the Fargo, but I think the slight bit that it is off shouldn't be an issue. It is going to be used mostly for gravel pursuits this summer, so that gearing should be fine. That done, I threw on the next bike to be worked on, the Dillinger.

I had taken the big, 120mm fork off, slapped the Dillinger fork back on, and put on a different wheel set. Trouble arose as I needed to tension the the eccentric, which I found had frozen pinch bolts. Gah! Penetrating oil applied, I had to leave it for another session. Most likely tomorrow.

There is more needing attention. Things like switching out a tire to another rim for tubeless use, hack another light mount, and clean up the Gryphon which has dried up limestone goo all over it. (Joy!)

It's gotta be done sometime or another! 

Maintaining

This is a weekend where I have to stick close to home, so I am not going on any adventures this weekend. This is becoming a weekend that I am spending on some maintenance. Not like I don't have a slew of bicycles needing it!

So project #1 was to get the Fargo back together, since I robbed parts off of it to get the Dos Niner up and running for last weekend. I decided to leave the Dos as is and I went ahead and scavenged an old Shimano cartridge bottom bracket, old Shimano five arm 110/74BCD crank, and some old touring bike chain rings to cobble up a 2X crankset. I found a 44T ring and a 28T granny that I matched together, slapped on the Fargo, and whattya know? It seems to work just fine, (field test still needed), and that old cartridge BB spins like a champ.

This nearly matches what I was running on the Dos Niner, which is a 44T/29T set up. My chainline is juuuust about there on the Fargo, but I think the slight bit that it is off shouldn't be an issue. It is going to be used mostly for gravel pursuits this summer, so that gearing should be fine. That done, I threw on the next bike to be worked on, the Dillinger.

I had taken the big, 120mm fork off, slapped the Dillinger fork back on, and put on a different wheel set. Trouble arose as I needed to tension the the eccentric, which I found had frozen pinch bolts. Gah! Penetrating oil applied, I had to leave it for another session. Most likely tomorrow.

There is more needing attention. Things like switching out a tire to another rim for tubeless use, hack another light mount, and clean up the Gryphon which has dried up limestone goo all over it. (Joy!)

It's gotta be done sometime or another! 

Maintenance Time

I had a great weekend, but never rode a bicycle! How can that be, you might ask? Well, I took some time for maintenance. It really worked out for the best anyway.

Friday was taken up with work, then a quick meal before heading out to get to a band rehearsal for a wedding I played guitar in. Saturday was almost all wedding and then playing guitar in the church service that evening.

Sunday was Father's day. So, with two little ones that are not going to be little much longer, you know.....ya gotta be there when it's happening. Bicycle rides are great, but my kids are not going to be here forever. Priorities.

So as things were progressing through the day, the kids decided to watch some movies, which was my cue to hit the Lab. I did a bit of re-organizing, then hit some of the rigs with some tweaks that I had to make. Add a link to a chain, straighten a chain line, lube some chains, air up some tires, and started the "HiFi Rebuild Project". Some plans were laid, and I made some progress on cleaning too.

Back out of the Lab to re-join the family for the remainder of the day. It sure was good to just relax and hang out with everyone.

Hope you Father's Day was great too.

Maintenance Time

I had a great weekend, but never rode a bicycle! How can that be, you might ask? Well, I took some time for maintenance. It really worked out for the best anyway.

Friday was taken up with work, then a quick meal before heading out to get to a band rehearsal for a wedding I played guitar in. Saturday was almost all wedding and then playing guitar in the church service that evening.

Sunday was Father's day. So, with two little ones that are not going to be little much longer, you know.....ya gotta be there when it's happening. Bicycle rides are great, but my kids are not going to be here forever. Priorities.

So as things were progressing through the day, the kids decided to watch some movies, which was my cue to hit the Lab. I did a bit of re-organizing, then hit some of the rigs with some tweaks that I had to make. Add a link to a chain, straighten a chain line, lube some chains, air up some tires, and started the "HiFi Rebuild Project". Some plans were laid, and I made some progress on cleaning too.

Back out of the Lab to re-join the family for the remainder of the day. It sure was good to just relax and hang out with everyone.

Hope you Father's Day was great too.