timtak

Rather than "Your Most Recent Cycling-related Purchase" what is your most recent cycling related repair? New is good but repair is cheaper.

Recently I patched my Shimano gloves (which I can't seem to find on sale in XL to go over three layers)

Mended Glove by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

Mended the cleat bolts of my Shimano shoes with a claw nut
https://goo.gl/IWP0wL

And patched the heels of the same shoes with some carbon from Carbonology

Shimano Cycling Shoes Word Down at Heel by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

Carbonology Carbon Patch by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

Wileyrat

A 10 minute brake cable adjustment in a parking lot today.

I shoe goo the walking points on my spd-sl cleats.

Silvercivic27

Is this a cry for help? Do we need to open a go-fund-me page for you?

noodle soup

Shoe Goo is great stuff.

Drew Eckhardt 

Today I swapped my right 2010 Campagnolo Centaur Carbon Ultra Shift mechanism for one from my spare set of NOS 2010 Veloce Ultra Shift levers after the front paddle return spring failed from 24,000 miles of shifting induced metal fatigue.

That was about $32.50 because the levers were $120 including a $30 cable set and $25 hoods; although it'll probably be less in the long run because I'll be rebuilding the shifter after I get a new spring.



With shift cables removed, I took the opportunity to replace the rear shift housing which was getting sluggish, shift cable due in 500 miles, front brake housing (10,731 miles), and cable (7,759).

That ran $5 for shift housing off my 25 meter roll plus $3 for the cable imported from the UK. The brake cable and housing were free as left overs from when I was buying kits because they cost less than the individual pieces.

Jiggle

I replaced the badge on a 105 5800 shifter that I had broken off in a fight with a rabid cat.

gsa103

I like the idea of this thread!

ClydeTim

Wrapping handle bars with Cinelli cork tape!

FBinNY 

Rebuilt the road bike's rear wheel that had been warped in low speed car crash.

Carbonfiberboy 

Replaced the totally worn-out left Ultegra 9-speed brifter on our tandem with a 10-speed Ultegra. Shifts the same crankset even better. Have too many 9-speed parts for the other side to replace that one. I'll replace it when I run out of spares. Meanwhile my FlightDeck only shows the RD so Stoker has to remind me which ring I'm in. PITA. Can't replace the bracket until I replace the right brifter too.

timtak

I like many of these. This is particularly good.
Cheers! Who doesn't want their SPD-SL cleats to last longer.
Shoe Goo is not cheap here in Japan so as always I have researched a Chinese alternative
UV hardened "liguid plastic" complete with UV light at about 1.5USD! (on order)
https://goo.gl/QK4J2p
Shoo Goo-Looking Chinese adhesive
https://goo.gl/L0c3Pj

jdjones

Probably more maintenance than repair, but I took apart my Chris King R45 rear hub, cleaned out the innards, and relubed. I was getting a little noise under acceleration and the helix needed cleaning, lubing, and the bearings had a little too much play. Cost: $0.

CliffordK

Can we also do ignored maintenance?

I have a cassette on one bike that is on its last legs. I can generally flip into the 11T, and a couple of the larger sprockets, but 12T, 13T, and some of the others are all shot. So I'm either riding too hard, or too easy, and doing a half dozen shifts between the two

I now have a replacement cassette, but I replaced the chain a couple hundred miles ago, and don't want to replace the cassette without a newer chain. Especially with mid-winter riding.

I'm trying to think of other maintenance projects. I'm waiting for a few parts to arrive to build up another bike. Fixed a flat a month ago. Tinkering with the rear derailleur adjustment on one bike.

Oh, last fall I broke a spoke. Brought it in, fixed it, and discovered a cracked rim near a nipple. So, I dissembled, and swapped out the rim.

timtak

I am not sure of the difference between maintenance and repair. I guess maintenance is proactive repair

Yesterday I put Sidi-alike )?) replaceable heel pads on my repaired Shimano shoes using a shortened (with a grinder) claw nuts and cleat bolts to hold bits of rubber on. I have since bought better bits of rubber (dollar store shoe heels).

Sidi Type (?) Replaceable Heels by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr

timtak

This morning I changed my bottom bracket: a very well spent 15USD.

New BB by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr
I also changed my Ultegra outer, big chain ring for a biopace oval ring "rotarized" to make it like a Rotor Q ring chain ring.

Rotarized Biopace Chainring by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr
The bottom bracket felt smooth. The biopace chain ring did not feel much different but perhaps a bit rounder (even though it is oval) than the round Utegra chain ring because in the configuration I am using it, it has a wider diameter where I am stamping on the pedals. Biopace chain rings are cheap.

The theory of Rotarized Biopace are explained below
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihonbunka/15993936801/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihonbunka/15942780872
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nihonbunka/15756021748/

f4rrest

Agreed.

This one will live.

f4rrest

Added a shim to one side of the Romin Evo saddle.

seedsbelize 

Tore down and overhauled a Dia Compe single pivot caliper, and replaced part of the cable housing. I'm in the process of a complete overhaul on my S&S coupled bike, in preparation for a trip north inMay.

timtak

I had a stubborn, or rather large, 2mm puncture which kept bursting at pressures above 100 psi. I had to load up with homebrew sealant made from thinned latex (100 yen shop sewing glue a few drops of ammonia water and water) containing rice flour, glitter dots and moons, and cut nylon string flakes, the latter packed in prior to the liquid sealant with a point-removed nail and some brake wire. To get the sealant in, I had to remove the valve core and extender and flip the valve out of the rim. It seems to hold 120psi now.

Stubborn puncture by Timothy Takemoto, on Flickr
I will glue the valve area of the tyre back onto the rim, with 100 yen shop glue, next weekend.

evan326

@timtak: Clean your chain!

gsa103

I took my son out in the trailer today, and had a weird clicking noise from the front end. Getting home I decided to address it. This is on a Giant Toughroad (rigid 29er).

Wound up doing basically a full tear-down and rebuild.
1) Cleaned up headset.
The lower bearing literally fell out of the frame when I removed fork. I suspect the noise was a loose headset. Headset might be too tight now. It may be worth taking it to the shop for this and the front hub...

2) Adjusted cones in the front hub.
Wouldn't spin smoothly, maybe I got it now, but what a pain. The cones are either way too loose and don't stay adjusted, or so tight the wheel binds...bleh. Makes me want to just upgrade to a cartridge bearing wheelset...

3) Swapped the stock Shimano M355 hydraulics for an old set of XTR's off another bike.
Required doing a full bleed, since I needed to perform a caliper swap.

tollers

You've put the new chainring on in the wrong position. That protruding bit it supposed to be behind the crank arm.

Could be dangerous.....but also....having it in the wrong position defeats the point of having biopace/ossymetric chainrings. You'd definitely want to correct that.

Phloom

Does assembly count? Does my 12,000 snow peso titanium Marinoni Sportivo Ti with Campagnolo Super Record groupset and many other titanium parts count? Still fiddling around with the electronics, eh. A far more complicated assembly than my vintage bikes, eh.

timtak

You are right with regard to Biopace, but Osymetric are, afaik different.

A) Biopace forces the human to match the bike, by encouraging the ride to put out more watts in the parts of the pedalling cycle where ordinarily humans do not put out watts by having more teeth in those positions. I see this as a training ring, to build upswing muscles and the to build the tendency to use the upswing.

B) More recent pro tour Osymetric, Rotor Q Rings, and Doval etc force the bike to fit the human, and have more teeth in the part of the cycle where power meters show that riders naturally stomp, to get the most watts out of a typical human pedalling motion. I see this as speed/racing ring.

Please see the links posted above for more details.

I prefer B, so I have rotated my Biopace rings "Rotarizing" them to make them like B. It does not feel much different, but kind of smooth, like I wrote above. Biopace are dirt cheap: the poor man's Osymetric.

Thanks again. You are definitely right here. It could be dangerous if my chain were to come off and get caught behind the crank as I am going along. I will try to add a "protruding bit" behind the drive side crank arm and perhaps remove the current protruding bit.

@f4rrest I hope that saddle shim is not necessitated by any pain. @evan326 I will clean my chain.

Reynolds 

Patched a tire for a cycling buddy on yesterday's ride.