What have you done to your bike today?

rosceaux

Well-Known Member
Don’t use a rock, you just need a piece of wire, a string orca piece of shifter cable...

So last week I wanted to take off my chain, give it a thorough cleaning, and remove two links. Not having quick link pliers, I first tried an old shoelace. Then I tried some old climbing cord. Then I used a section of cable. It had always worked before on my cross bike, but after cutting into my hands there was no movement on the quick link. I was just about to order a set of pliers, but went down to try it one more time. That's when I noticed my "quick link" is actually a master link with the retaining clip.

I am an idiot.
 

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
Don’t use a rock, you just need a piece of wire, a string orca piece of shifter cable...

For emergencies--which is how I view a multi-tool component stuck on a bike. Again, just my opinion, but if I actually NEED to remove the quick link on the trail, it's already mangled, and no harm will come from a well-placed thump with a rock. Yes, it could be tourniquetted off with a stick and a shoelace (I'm not willing to potentially sacrifice my shoelace for it...) or a well sized green vine...but I'm not picky about how. First thing I find will do fine. I use professional tools to remove them when I'm at home/being paid (btw, the Park pliers suck).

You may be [un]surprised to learn that my on-bike toolkit is sparse, but more than capable of dealing with everything but removing a crank/pedal. I chortle a bit about things like portable truing devices, or hanger alignment tools. If you duffed your [modern] hanger enough to bend it, the derailleur is probably dead, too--jam a good sized stick in it, support with your hand, and bend it straight-ish. Use your finger to true your wheel acceptably (and I hope you have something to hold your bladed spokes, too!). I've used splined aluminum nipples for a couple of builds for other people. They didn't want the wrench needed when offered--hope they don't have problems. The difference between my 'expedition' kit and my normal riding kit is an extra tube, some patches, a fiber-fix spoke, and a spare cable. At some point--and I feel I can't stress this enough--you just have to accept that some damage, somewhere, will require a call out or packing it in. What they level of damage is will depend on what you are okay with. If I destroy the derailleur, I'm done with the ride, and my focus is getting to a replacement, not maximum efficiency or crushing the next descent/climb. Likewise, if the chain isn't fixable with a chain tool and a spare master link, I'm rolling the bike out. Good thing I can just lower the saddle and scoot along.

So last week I wanted to take off my chain, give it a thorough cleaning, and remove two links. Not having quick link pliers, I first tried an old shoelace. Then I tried some old climbing cord. Then I used a section of cable. It had always worked before on my cross bike, but after cutting into my hands there was no movement on the quick link. I was just about to order a set of pliers, but went down to try it one more time. That's when I noticed my "quick link" is actually a master link with the retaining clip.

I am an idiot.

Wait till you find the ones that are links flexed together to attach them. The 8-speed Shimano connector is nice enough to tell you there's something different about it, but the only thing on old 1/8 or 3/32 chain (I'm sure you'll never encounter skip tooth, but that, too) that tells you it's a master link is slightly longer notched pins.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
Being this is my only MTB at the moment, I threw one of my spare AXS groups on it. Actually, this is the group from the last time I had gears on this bike, which worked out great because everything was pre-set.

20210123_144835.jpg
 

xtrpureguts

Well-Known Member
Daughter is wrapping up her time at school in NC and returned an old MTB I had lent her about 5 or so years ago. With the help of Eric from Hilltop Cranford did some tuning and swapped in a spare Pushed Monarch RS rear shock that travelled around UT and CO as an emergency backup when I used to travel to ride frequently.
97C68EB0-B1B3-4CAC-AF0B-B5823139FF25.jpeg
E1CB55FA-1C0D-40EF-8F87-DBAFBDEAFDFD.jpeg
F86B4CCC-17A6-42B7-B39C-64BE07737F7B.jpeg
406C0BC8-BFE3-4D84-8384-0E4CAB4C7548.jpeg
 

iman29

Well-Known Member
Out with the old (will be for sale soon)

7C11A8B5-7D0D-4683-AD7D-BD74932EEDB4.jpeg


In with the New to Me!

3143C452-D5B2-4B22-A53E-FC5251E70809.jpeg


I’m still under restricted riding indoors only due to my shoulder so an outdoor ride will have to wait until next weekend.

but totally stoked to finally have a legit MTB that fits me properly.

Thanks again @LP70 nice meeting you!
 

Tim

aka sptimmy43
Follow up on your ingenious adaptation of the dynaplug into the EDC Carrier v2. Ipurchased on ebay the EDC v2 tools and realized mine has a regular o-ring instead of the 'rigged' one shown in your pictures. I don't really see any ill effect to that. The tool seems legit, the carrier has the 'matryoshka' storage, the package is OneUp...I did get it at a very low price. Pre-production maybe? Can you confirm the threaded hole in the carrier is a 3/8-24 ? I'd like to follow your lead but not willing to pay $35 for the insert and pliers which are (though maybe not a total) waste of money...
Well I had already “wasted“ the $35 on the plug tool and pliers so I had that going for me...which was nice. Anyway, the Dynaplug insertion tube is threaded to the same size and pitch as the OneUp plug fork. I was able to remove the fork and replace with a Dynaplug with no modifications. And it fit under the small storage capsule perfectly. Hopefully a couple reloads will fit in the larger capsule threaded on top of the small one with the Dynaplug in it. As for quicklink removal, didn’t the original EDC tool have a way to break quick links by using a combination of the allen keys or something? I’ll have to look that up and see if the V2 multitool retained that functionality, you know, just so I don’t have to use a rock or anything... 😜

EDIT: The quick link removal feature was removed as it was not compatible with 12 speed chains. Oh well, rocks will have to do...🤘😝🤘
 
Last edited:

Ian F

Well-Known Member
One of the old bikes I still have is a Yeti Lawwill DH-6 that I bought new back in 1998. It's retired now and eventually I'll sell it, but over the years when I thought it would be my "forever bike" I collected spare parts for it when they came up for sale. One part was a used upper swingarm in good condition (not cracked or bent, which is rare...). Not sure when I bought it or how much I paid for it, but I don't need it now and when someone posted on the Schwinn/Yeti Lawwill Facebook group looking for a swingarm, I offered it for sale. He also needs the inner bushing carrier parts of the pivots. One of my other purchases was a beat to hell frame a friend was selling. While pretty much the entire frame is beat beyond usefulness, those bushing carriers are just about useable. I just had to remember how to remove them... since the last time I've done this was some 20+ years ago.

First I tried the "screw in a bolt and hammer" method. No dice. It didn't budge and since it's just a M6x1.0 thread in aluminum, I knew it couldn't take a lot of pounding.

I needed to make a tool.

For better or worse, this is an operation I've done a number of times on cars. In fact, I have a special (and not cheap) tool made by BMW for doing this task on MINI Cooper lower control arm bushings (because I used to do that task a lot for friends when I was active in the NJ area MINI club). I needed a sleeve that I could pull the bushing carrier into. But a sleeve that wasn't too thick, due to the design of the upper swingarm (on the lower swing arm, a large socket would have worked).

So with a dial caliper in hand, I headed off to Home Desperate in search of something I could fashion into a sleeve. Something turned out to be a 1"x3/4" copper reducer. The 1" end of the reducer was the perfect inside diameter and wall thickness. So I grabbed that along with some M6x1.0 bolts in 65mm and 75mm lengths with matching nuts and washers.

I would also need a fairly stout backer plate with a 1/4" hole, so I made that from a piece of 1.5" steel stock I already have. After an hour or so of sawing, filing and drilling, I had my tool:
1611457911279.png


So... does it work? Assemble the sleeve and plate on the swingarm, thread the bolt into the threaded carrier side, tighten with a 10mm wrench, and after a minute or so of turning, the carrier was out of the swingarm:

1611458084809.png


(repeat for the upper swingarm).

The other side is a little different - since it's not threaded (a short M6x1.0 bolt pulls the two parts together into the frame). In this case, I used a nut and washer on the inside of the frame and two 10mm wrenches to tighten up the tool and pull the carrier out.

1611458330920.png


And out it came...

1611458368422.png


Now to get them cleaned up a bit, packed up with the swingarm and shipped off.

Edit: Mert Lawwill is actually a member of the Facebook group and posted a response in my little thread. That made my day.
 
Last edited:

Karate Monkey

Well-Known Member
And it fit under the small storage capsule perfectly. Hopefully a couple reloads will fit in the larger capsule threaded on top of the small one with the Dynaplug in it.

I've got three extra plugs between two pieces of the thicker-than-cellophane packaging that some stuff comes in. Fits in the little capsule with no problems, but you do need to remember to not tip it when you unscrew it.

If you mean reloads as in, the tube+plug, yeah, you probably need the big one.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
I converted my Tarmac SL6 to a Force AXS 1x. This was previously a 2x with 36/48 up front and 10/33 rear. I used Garbaruk Components to upgrade the rear derailleur cage and a 52 tooth oval chainring with anodized purple hardware. Added a new Sram Red chain as well. Next round I will replace the rear cassette with a 10/52. Thanks to @jimvreeland for his words of wisdom in getting my axs configuration sorted.
 

Attachments

  • A526EA59-C831-4B9B-8F3E-21FB9C5DBB57.jpeg
    A526EA59-C831-4B9B-8F3E-21FB9C5DBB57.jpeg
    97.1 KB · Views: 111

Patrick

Overthinking the draft from the basement already
Staff member
52-10
5.2:1
spun at 90rpm, is 468 rpm of the back wheel
diameter around 31" ? - circumfrence 97" per revolution
97" x 468 = 45,396" per minute
3783' per minute
3783 / 5280 = .72 miles per minute
.72 * 60 = 43 mph

that is crushing some gravel right there!
and you lowered the low end. hell of an upgrade!

bike looks great.
 

Dave Taylor

Rex kwan Do
52-10
5.2:1
spun at 90rpm, is 468 rpm of the back wheel
diameter around 31" ? - circumfrence 97" per revolution
97" x 468 = 45,396" per minute
3783' per minute
3783 / 5280 = .72 miles per minute
.72 * 60 = 43 mph

that is crushing some gravel right there!
and you lowered the low end. hell of an upgrade!

bike looks great.
Ain’t no gravel bike son!
 

Big Dumb Animal

Hippo Nipples' #1 Fan
I converted my Tarmac SL6 to a Force AXS 1x. This was previously a 2x with 36/48 up front and 10/33 rear. I used Garbaruk Components to upgrade the rear derailleur cage and a 52 tooth oval chainring with anodized purple hardware. Added a new Sram Red chain as well. Next round I will replace the rear cassette with a 10/52. Thanks to @jimvreeland for his words of wisdom in getting my axs configuration sorted.
That color though! Bike looks really sleek.
 

Steve Vai

Endurance Guy: Tolerates most of us.
52-10
5.2:1
spun at 90rpm, is 468 rpm of the back wheel
diameter around 31" ? - circumfrence 97" per revolution
97" x 468 = 45,396" per minute
3783' per minute
3783 / 5280 = .72 miles per minute
.72 * 60 = 43 mph

that is crushing some gravel right there!
and you lowered the low end. hell of an upgrade!

bike looks great.

I had a 50x9 on my SL6, it's impossible to spin out. Like I used that bike in the BRP and couldn't spin it out. It's absurdly huge. I'm running a 46t on my SL7.
 
Top Bottom