New Parts = New bike....Feel anyway?
05-04-23, 07:09 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
New Parts = New bike....Feel anyway?
I brought my 2018 Giant Sedona to the local bike shop for a "Tune up" a few days ago. It has 5,750 km on it and 4,600 km on the chain. I picked it up today and was very surprised at how smoothly the 3 x 7 speed gear set works. They had to replace the chain and cassette. It's better then when I bought the bike. It shifts smoothly into every gear. Even cross chaining is no problem, But its still not a practice I plan to use frequently.
I learned at least one thing today. To pay much more attention to the condition of my chain unless I want to change the cassette each time I replace the chain.
When I brought the bike in I was very impressed with the feel of the hydraulic brakes on some new bikes. Compared to them the brakes on my Sedona would get a 5/10 rating. They basically worked, But weren't very smooth and difficult to modulate at low speeds. They replaced the cables and pads, Cleaned and lubed them. Now even the cheap Tektro linear pull brakes that came on the bike are almost as smooth as the hydraulic, Work in the rain, and have more stopping power then I'll ever use.
It makes me wonder if the standard replacement parts a bike shop would install on a bike are still better then what was installed at the factory.
Happy riding all.
I learned at least one thing today. To pay much more attention to the condition of my chain unless I want to change the cassette each time I replace the chain.
When I brought the bike in I was very impressed with the feel of the hydraulic brakes on some new bikes. Compared to them the brakes on my Sedona would get a 5/10 rating. They basically worked, But weren't very smooth and difficult to modulate at low speeds. They replaced the cables and pads, Cleaned and lubed them. Now even the cheap Tektro linear pull brakes that came on the bike are almost as smooth as the hydraulic, Work in the rain, and have more stopping power then I'll ever use.
It makes me wonder if the standard replacement parts a bike shop would install on a bike are still better then what was installed at the factory.
Happy riding all.
Last edited by xroadcharlie; 05-04-23 at 07:14 PM.
Likes For xroadcharlie:
05-04-23, 10:57 PM
#2
Dirty Heathen
Join Date: Oct 2015
Location: MC-778, 6250 fsw
Posts: 2,200
Bikes: 1997 Cannondale, 1976 Bridgestone, 1998 SoftRide, 1989 Klein, 1989 Black Lightning #0033
Mentioned: 19 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 890 Post(s)
Liked 929 Times
in
542 Posts
Unless you specifically asked for certain parts to be installed, the replacements are probably “O.E. Grade” especially on a mid-tier recreational bike like a Sedona.
The difference is that they’re new; New cables won’t have any dirt on corrosion to cause friction; new chains and cassettes won’t have any wear that makes the shifting noisy or sloppy; brake pads haven’t hardened or glazed from age or use
Add in a decent tune-up (and it’s usually not hard to get new parts working well together) and you get a pretty high satisfaction-per-dollar result.
The difference is that they’re new; New cables won’t have any dirt on corrosion to cause friction; new chains and cassettes won’t have any wear that makes the shifting noisy or sloppy; brake pads haven’t hardened or glazed from age or use
Add in a decent tune-up (and it’s usually not hard to get new parts working well together) and you get a pretty high satisfaction-per-dollar result.
Likes For Ironfish653:
05-04-23, 11:20 PM
#3
OM boy
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Goleta CA
Posts: 4,420
Bikes: a bunch
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 542 Post(s)
Liked 675 Times
in
457 Posts
Yup, the best time for your used bike is when you get to put on a new chain, new cables and new tires at the same time. Makes any older or well ridden bike feel like new. A nice added touch would be to replace the handlebar tape with new/fresh. Would be true also for grips which might be crusty, hardened and just well worn
Often the stock parts on a new general use bike (mid or lower price level) will wear quickly, requiring replacement sooner than one might get from better replacement parts.
Replacing 'stock' tires with some newer, better riding tires can 'change' the bike completely (for the better). Also true for shift and brake cabling - most modern cassettes will last much longer if the chain is replaced whenever it gets stretched. A stretch factor of 5%+ is the best time to replace the chain with new/fresh;
I have cassettes on my bikes which have exceeded 30,000 miles, and are still working without issue. Changing the chain when wear causes a 5%+ stretch will surely save your cassette from un-necessary wear.
I would recommend getting a Park Tools CC-3 chain checker. A very quick, easy and accurate way to check the status of your chain. There are other chain checkers out there, for a bit less cost, and I've tried most of them. None are as accurate as the CC-3. Some are so inaccurate, the chain can actually be well beyond an acceptable state and the checker still reports a 'good' chain. I hold that the Park Tools CC-3 is the benchmark for consumer chain checkers.
If you replace the chain when it goes beyond the 5% mark but is still within the 7.5%, you'll get a huge amount of miles from your cassette and chainrings. The difference some simple and regular maintenance can make for a bike and how it rides is huge;
Enjoy the 'New' bike...
Yuri
Often the stock parts on a new general use bike (mid or lower price level) will wear quickly, requiring replacement sooner than one might get from better replacement parts.
Replacing 'stock' tires with some newer, better riding tires can 'change' the bike completely (for the better). Also true for shift and brake cabling - most modern cassettes will last much longer if the chain is replaced whenever it gets stretched. A stretch factor of 5%+ is the best time to replace the chain with new/fresh;
I have cassettes on my bikes which have exceeded 30,000 miles, and are still working without issue. Changing the chain when wear causes a 5%+ stretch will surely save your cassette from un-necessary wear.
I would recommend getting a Park Tools CC-3 chain checker. A very quick, easy and accurate way to check the status of your chain. There are other chain checkers out there, for a bit less cost, and I've tried most of them. None are as accurate as the CC-3. Some are so inaccurate, the chain can actually be well beyond an acceptable state and the checker still reports a 'good' chain. I hold that the Park Tools CC-3 is the benchmark for consumer chain checkers.
If you replace the chain when it goes beyond the 5% mark but is still within the 7.5%, you'll get a huge amount of miles from your cassette and chainrings. The difference some simple and regular maintenance can make for a bike and how it rides is huge;
Enjoy the 'New' bike...
Yuri
Last edited by cyclezen; 05-04-23 at 11:33 PM.
Likes For cyclezen:
05-05-23, 07:22 AM
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: northern Deep South
Posts: 8,946
Bikes: Fuji Touring, Novara Randonee
Mentioned: 36 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2624 Post(s)
Liked 1,968 Times
in
1,232 Posts
Color me not too surprised. It's kind of like tires on a car; you have a gradual decrease in how crisp everything is, but it's like the "frog in the pot" syndrome. Since the change is so slow, you get used to it. New tires? Suddenly they grab every bit of road when you twitch the steering wheel. Same thing happens with the chain and cassette -- suddenly every gear change is crisp and clean.
Two more quick notes:
I find I need to change chains around 2,000 miles (3200 km, IIRC). You'll get a lot of chatter on bf from people who go 3,000, 4,000, even 10,000 miles between chain swaps, but you've found 4,800 km is too long for you. I'm slightly obsessed so I keep a paper log of maintenance. You don't have to be able to look up how far you've ridden since you put on a new chain, but it helps me.
Yuri (@cyclezen) is, I believe, off by a factor of 10. Chains should be replaced when they've worn 0.5 - 0.75% vice 5-7.5%. And check multiple places on the chain. I just replaced one that wore unevenly, some stretches weren't worn to the 0.5% point, and the checker fell through other parts at 0.75%. That made me replace an entire cassette because one stinking middle cog got most of the wear. Grr.
Two more quick notes:
I find I need to change chains around 2,000 miles (3200 km, IIRC). You'll get a lot of chatter on bf from people who go 3,000, 4,000, even 10,000 miles between chain swaps, but you've found 4,800 km is too long for you. I'm slightly obsessed so I keep a paper log of maintenance. You don't have to be able to look up how far you've ridden since you put on a new chain, but it helps me.
Yuri (@cyclezen) is, I believe, off by a factor of 10. Chains should be replaced when they've worn 0.5 - 0.75% vice 5-7.5%. And check multiple places on the chain. I just replaced one that wore unevenly, some stretches weren't worn to the 0.5% point, and the checker fell through other parts at 0.75%. That made me replace an entire cassette because one stinking middle cog got most of the wear. Grr.
Likes For pdlamb:
05-05-23, 08:25 AM
#5
OM boy
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Goleta CA
Posts: 4,420
Bikes: a bunch
Mentioned: 11 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 542 Post(s)
Liked 675 Times
in
457 Posts
Color me not too surprised. It's kind of like tires on a car; you have a gradual decrease in how crisp everything is, but it's like the "frog in the pot" syndrome. Since the change is so slow, you get used to it. New tires? Suddenly they grab every bit of road when you twitch the steering wheel. Same thing happens with the chain and cassette -- suddenly every gear change is crisp and clean.
Two more quick notes:
I find I need to change chains around 2,000 miles (3200 km, IIRC). You'll get a lot of chatter on bf from people who go 3,000, 4,000, even 10,000 miles between chain swaps, but you've found 4,800 km is too long for you. I'm slightly obsessed so I keep a paper log of maintenance. You don't have to be able to look up how far you've ridden since you put on a new chain, but it helps me.
Yuri (@cyclezen) is, I believe, off by a factor of 10. Chains should be replaced when they've worn 0.5 - 0.75% vice 5-7.5%. And check multiple places on the chain. I just replaced one that wore unevenly, some stretches weren't worn to the 0.5% point, and the checker fell through other parts at 0.75%. That made me replace an entire cassette because one stinking middle cog got most of the wear. Grr.
Two more quick notes:
I find I need to change chains around 2,000 miles (3200 km, IIRC). You'll get a lot of chatter on bf from people who go 3,000, 4,000, even 10,000 miles between chain swaps, but you've found 4,800 km is too long for you. I'm slightly obsessed so I keep a paper log of maintenance. You don't have to be able to look up how far you've ridden since you put on a new chain, but it helps me.
Yuri (@cyclezen) is, I believe, off by a factor of 10. Chains should be replaced when they've worn 0.5 - 0.75% vice 5-7.5%. And check multiple places on the chain. I just replaced one that wore unevenly, some stretches weren't worn to the 0.5% point, and the checker fell through other parts at 0.75%. That made me replace an entire cassette because one stinking middle cog got most of the wear. Grr.
wish I could 'Edit' my post to correct... however, there seems to be an issue with my 'chrome' browser and BFforums site. When I click 'edit', I get a totally blank edit box...
not sure if others experience this, but everything was fine and as expected back 5 months ago when I last visited BF...
anyone else having issues with BF forums functions ???
Ride On
Yuri
05-05-23, 08:49 AM
#6
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Thanks for the responces.
I was hopping to find some good quality new tires locally because as pdlamb in post #4 points out they can produce a big improvement in ride. But there isn't much of a selection of high quality 26" tires in stock around here. So I had the shop put on some cheap 26 x 1.9" Vee Rubber tires. There is little information on Google on my specific version, But they appear to be a well established manufacturer of bike tires. I've only rode them a few km so far, But they seem OK for now. Probably on par with the stock Kenda tires that came with the bike.
I found some 1" plastic grating that I cut to make a chain stretch gauge. The new chain, as expected is perfect. But boy that old chain was really bad. No wonder the cassette wore out. One good thing about low end bikes is parts are cheap. I've been wiping the chain down with a rag and lubing it regularly. Now I bought a Park Tool C Clone chain cleaning device that might make the job a lot more rewarding.
This bike is equipped with comfortable rubber handlebar grips that I clean with soap and water regularly and is still in good shape. But they started twisting on me when I ride. I removed them and cleaned the inside with alcohol and managed to wrestle them back on.
I was hopping to find some good quality new tires locally because as pdlamb in post #4 points out they can produce a big improvement in ride. But there isn't much of a selection of high quality 26" tires in stock around here. So I had the shop put on some cheap 26 x 1.9" Vee Rubber tires. There is little information on Google on my specific version, But they appear to be a well established manufacturer of bike tires. I've only rode them a few km so far, But they seem OK for now. Probably on par with the stock Kenda tires that came with the bike.
I found some 1" plastic grating that I cut to make a chain stretch gauge. The new chain, as expected is perfect. But boy that old chain was really bad. No wonder the cassette wore out. One good thing about low end bikes is parts are cheap. I've been wiping the chain down with a rag and lubing it regularly. Now I bought a Park Tool C Clone chain cleaning device that might make the job a lot more rewarding.
This bike is equipped with comfortable rubber handlebar grips that I clean with soap and water regularly and is still in good shape. But they started twisting on me when I ride. I removed them and cleaned the inside with alcohol and managed to wrestle them back on.
05-05-23, 08:51 AM
#7
Mother Nature's Son
Join Date: Mar 2016
Location: Sussex County, Delaware
Posts: 3,129
Bikes: 2014 Orbea Avant MD30, 2004 Airborne Zeppelin TI, 2003 Lemond Poprad, 2001 Lemond Tourmalet, 2014? Soma Smoothie
Mentioned: 15 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 856 Post(s)
Liked 1,451 Times
in
825 Posts
The edit issue has been going on for a while. It is a reason for quite a few double posts recently.
Likes For delbiker1:
05-05-23, 11:35 AM
#8
Steel is real
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Not far from Paris
Posts: 2,024
Bikes: 1992Giant Tourer,1992MeridaAlbon,1996Scapin,1998KonaKilaueua,1993Peugeot Prestige,1991RaleighTeamZ(to be upgraded),1998 Jamis Dragon,1992CTWallis(to be built),1998VettaTeam(to be built),1995Coppi(to be built),1993Grandis(to be built)
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 685 Post(s)
Liked 1,008 Times
in
670 Posts
If you buy an old bike frame and put modern components on it, you have literally a new bike, better transmission equipment, better brakes,betterwheels, better tires, better saddle and better cockpît make of it a much more enjoyable ride.
Likes For georges1:
