Hors Catégorie Cycling | Businesses
Hors Catégorie Cycling
Phone: +61 414 900 046
Reviews
to load big map
21.01.2022 This is the story of two headsets... both bikes have been serviced within the last year. I know this in respect of one bike as I serviced it - the owner of the other bike told me that his bike had been serviced during the summer months at a shop. One of the checks that I carry out on every level service (except "Check and Tune") is to disassemble the headset and refresh the grease. After all the headset is where your steering comes from. A lot of shops only open the heads...et on the most expensive level of their service and instead rely on whether the bearing 'feels' rough when turning the bars to assess bearing health. One of the 'curses' of living in Perth is sand, and sand mixed with water from winter riding will get into your bearings unless they are regularly sealed in new grease, especially the bottom bearing of a headset. As you can see from the photos, both bikes have had moisture and sand enter the bottom of the headset, but only one of the bikes still has a healthy set of bearings requiring only an exterior clean and re-grease. The other required full replacement of the bearings as they could not be saved. How is your headset?
21.01.2022 There are two main reasons for bar tape - a secure grip under all conditions; and comfort. Bar tape needs to be changed when either of these situations change - old bar tape becomes slippery in sweaty or wet conditions; and it becomes less "plush" and more uncomfortable to ride with as it ages. Talking about handle bars - remember when you first got your bike brand new? And the bar tape looked like it had been wrapped by a machine? Nice and neat and terminated cleanly al...ong the top? With modern bar tape there is no excuse for a professional mechanic to terminate bar tape by running electrical tape onto the bar itself - it looks to be a poor quality job and in our heat the electrical tape adhesive will melt, the end of the tape will lift and there'll be sticky stuff mixed with sand on your bars and hands. Aim to refresh your bar tape a couple of times a year depending on how much riding you do. It doesn't need to cost much. You provide the tape and I'll wrap your bars for $40 - including cleaning off all the old adhesive and crap from the bars and prepping them for the new tape - and it will look like it did when you first saw your brand new bike.
17.01.2022 Here's what is happening under the sweat soaked bar tape of your trainer bike if you don't take it off the trainer, hose it down regularly and allow it to dry properly - especially with aluminium handle bars. Even your second bike needs regular maintenance and if it is to be left on the trainer, the cockpit area especially needs to be visually checked at least annually. Imagine the carnage out on the road if the client had needed to use this bike when his main bike was out o...f action, had decided to sprint against his mates and the front end failed - check out the photo showing where the shifter clamp has worn a slot in the bar. These bars could not be saved and so a second hand set in good condition was mounted, the shifters cleaned and given a complete re-lube, the entire top of the bar area wrapped in electrical tape for further protection, and then wrapped in new bar tape. Happy client - and more importantly - a safe client
11.01.2022 This is a Mavic wheel with a Mavic freewheel that I had previously serviced within the past 9 months, in for another service with its bike. If you own a Mavic wheel set you need to know that the freewheel on the rear wheel should be serviced every 6 months or so depending on how often you ride - more often you ride the more often you need it serviced. As you can see from the photos a Mavic freewheel body has one sealed bearing on the outboard end with a white synthetic bushi...ng on the inboard end. This synthetic bushing needs to be kept lubricated to stop it from wearing and creating slop against the main axle body which will make your cassette unstable and give you uncertain shifting. If you own a Mavic wheel and you are having trouble shifting gears, and the cassette seems loose on the wheel even though the locking ring is tight, it is almost certain that the freewheel body needs to be replaced as this bushing has worn out. They cost around $80 online. If the wear on the actual main axle assembly becomes too bad you will be up for an entire new hub assembly at far higher cost, at near wheel replacement cost. Another sign that the freehub body desperately needs servicing is the infamous Mavic scream where an awful screaming noise comes from your rear wheel whenever you stop peddling, normally when descending which can be very unnerving. This happens when there is no more lubricant inside the assembly and the bushing is rubbing dry against the main hub assembly. This particular free hub assembly has not yet dried up and is still lubricated but you can see how dirty it is with foreign particles already in the mineral oil lubricant possibly causing wear. To stop this happening, have your wheel serviced regularly by someone who knows what they are doing. I have heard of some mechanics who have used grease to lubricate the inside of Mavic free hub assemblies. This is against Mavic’s own mandates and will speed up the wearing process. These free hub assemblies must be lubricated with light mineral oil and not grease or synthetic oil. If you have a Mavic wheel set and you bring your bike to me for a service, the free hub service is included in the bike service price. If you just want the free hub serviced on its own then it’s $20.
