Incoming... small boys bike, Specialized enduro S-Works.

[weeksy]

Thought you'd flogged his dropper post? Have you gone soft and given him yours?

I flogged his Ant+ dropper, his cabled one is on the bike. Currently pointless as he can't use it due to being slightly large for him, but it'll get used eventually

[weeksy]

So the 40mm stem arrived and has been fitted. Along with a bit of rotation on the bars as they were angled too far back. Re-adjusted the brakes and shifter/dropper levers and he's ready to play again

2020-10-24_03-11-34 by Steve Weeks, on Flickr

Next Thurs is Katy Curd for i think his 3rd session with her. Between her teaching, Swinley Summit and him playing in the woods with his mates, his progress is absolutely astounding. Next time we're allowed to go to BPW i'm going to be absolutely blown away i fear, i may be able to use some pedal power to catch some bits back, but on the trails, i think i'm in a world of trouble.

[weeksy]

More bike discussion with the boy today after him playing in the woods.
"Daddy I don't like the brakes" he went into details and it came down to what's essentially the free play and bite point on the XT m8000s. Basically the lever seems to drag a bit before the bite point.

So I grabbed a front SRAM Guide and stuck the lever on, bled it and sent him to test. His reply is 100% SRAM. So I'll fit the rear tomorrow too.

Also moved the shifter inside the brake, closer to grip. He's only got small hands so was too far to reach.

Next up was the Specialized saddle he wanted instead of the WTB one. He's now all good.

[flicker]

Much prefer the sram guide brakes over any of the Shimano brakes I've used in the past.

[weeksy]

Much prefer the sram guide brakes over any of the Shimano brakes I've used in the past.

Me too.

Sadly the spare rear doesn't have a barb and olive fitted and I only have Shimano ones, so ordered a pair of SRAM ones which are on their way now.

Family cake and coffee ride today, loveky

[weeksy]

Much prefer the sram guide brakes over any of the Shimano brakes I've used in the past.

Me too.

Sadly the spare rear doesn't have a barb and olive fitted and I only have Shimano ones, so ordered a pair of SRAM ones which are on their way now.

Family cake and coffee ride today, loveky

Both front and rear are running SRAM Guide now, he's a happy boy

[weeksy]

I noticed yesterday how crappy the bearings were sounding when pushing up and down on his bike suspension.

As some of you will know, suspension in that context isn't particularly complicated on pushbikes, so i whipped all the linkage bolts out this morning to check the bearings, some of it was just generic dirt, but basically we've got to replace the full set in the not too distant future.

It's not an amazingly hard job, press it out, press it in... but it can be a little bit irritating as they're obviously a tight fit and getting them in straight is never the easiest job, even with the correct tools.

They're all 6802s which is a generic size for many bikes and wheels etc, so common to replace, but still £50 a set to buy... which is slightly irking. That's the great thing about buying Whyte bikes, the bearing are free... but sadly they're not that size hahahaha.

No massive hurry, they're just a bit yukky, but he doesn't even notice. But will get them done in the coming weeks though.

[weeksy]

After watching the ladies DH race I was bored so decided to remove the suspension linkage and pivot and whip the seals off all the bearings and fill them with grease as an interim fix.
They were all fairly yucky and past their best in there, so I've filled all of them with grease and they're obviously a lot smoother. So it's now all back together for him to ride this week.

[weeksy]

After watching the ladies DH race I was bored so decided to remove the suspension linkage and pivot and whip the seals off all the bearings and fill them with grease as an interim fix.
They were all fairly yucky and past their best in there, so I've filled all of them with grease and they're obviously a lot smoother. So it's now all back together for him to ride this week.

Did the ones this morning on the axle end at the back... I'm not sure what you techincally call them, chainstay pivots maybe... They're a different bearing than the front/linkage ones being 6801s, but still obviously the same process. So they're full of grease and the contact points all cleaned. I must admit i do enjoy this sort of thing... if only it paid better

[Mr Moofo]

I need to work up to changing the Cotic bearings ( they are three years old - but all seem in good nick). I shy away from it as this sort of stuff frustrates me!
I assume you need the proper tools to pull out bearings ...?

[weeksy]

I need to work up to changing the Cotic bearings ( they are three years old - but all seem in good nick). I shy away from it as this sort of stuff frustrates me!
I assume you need the proper tools to pull out bearings ...?

Depends really but yes mostly.

some are this type

But i prefer to use something a little more friendly and a socket on one side and a bearing spacer on the other to pull it out instead of bashing it out. Both work though.

Where it gets more complex is blind bearings, 2 in a frame for example that makes getting to them really tricky.

The harder part than getting them out though is getting them IN !!!

Stick them in the freezer overnight which makes them a tiny bit smaller, but still you can end up with it going in, going in, then it just kicks off slightly, so it's back out... then in again... repeat about 15 times. It's a fiddly job that i'd love to do better...

Overall, i'd say on the G160 you're looking at 2 hours or so for the 8 bearings. But i'm guessing a bike shop that does it regularly can knock it out in an hour

[Mr Moofo]

^ I have one of the above. Now we are going into lockdown perhaps it is time to learn a skill!

[weeksy]

^ I have one of the above. Now we are going into lockdown perhaps it is time to learn a skill!

Is it the right one for the particular bearing ? Obviously there's different internal diameters

The pressing in of the bearings, my tool seems to be on the inside race, but i find it easier using the one on the outside race as it seems to go in straighter. Maybe i should actually watch a bit of YouTube and see if there's a way to get it done easier lol.

[Mr Moofo]

going off to YouTube.
I know the main bearing on Cotic is meant to be pig as they have the habit of not greasing it when they got it originally ....
Seems a tad odd ...

[weeksy]

going off to YouTube.
I know the main bearing on Cotic is meant to be pig as they have the habit of not greasing it when they got it originally ....
Seems a tad odd ...

Removing them with the hammering tool can be slightly scary ! That's for sure, you hit it, it doesn't move... so you hit it again, still doesn't move.... Then you start questioning just how hard can you hit these things without it exploding !

[Mr Moofo]

going off to YouTube.
I know the main bearing on Cotic is meant to be pig as they have the habit of not greasing it when they got it originally ....
Seems a tad odd ...

Removing them with the hammering tool can be slightly scary ! That's for sure, you hit it, it doesn't move... so you hit it again, still doesn't move.... Then you start questioning just how hard can you hit these things without it exploding !

the alternative seems to pay someone to do it for me ( and there is someone local) - but it seem s bit of a kop out. I have always worked on the basis of is a bike technician can do it, then so should I !

[weeksy]

going off to YouTube.
I know the main bearing on Cotic is meant to be pig as they have the habit of not greasing it when they got it originally ....
Seems a tad odd ...

Removing them with the hammering tool can be slightly scary ! That's for sure, you hit it, it doesn't move... so you hit it again, still doesn't move.... Then you start questioning just how hard can you hit these things without it exploding !

the alternative seems to pay someone to do it for me ( and there is someone local) - but it seem s bit of a kop out. I have always worked on the basis of is a bike technician can do it, then so should I !

I'd agree mate, that's why i've done all of mine But i do have a rather expensive removal and press kit

[Mr Moofo]

Removing them with the hammering tool can be slightly scary ! That's for sure, you hit it, it doesn't move... so you hit it again, still doesn't move.... Then you start questioning just how hard can you hit these things without it exploding !

the alternative seems to pay someone to do it for me ( and there is someone local) - but it seem s bit of a kop out. I have always worked on the basis of is a bike technician can do it, then so should I !

I'd agree mate, that's why i've done all of mine But i do have a rather expensive removal and press kit

I have press envy. Where did that come from?

[weeksy]

the alternative seems to pay someone to do it for me ( and there is someone local) - but it seem s bit of a kop out. I have always worked on the basis of is a bike technician can do it, then so should I !

I'd agree mate, that's why i've done all of mine But i do have a rather expensive removal and press kit

I have press envy. Where did that come from?

https://wheelsmfg.com/presses-tools.html

Plenty of others/similar on Ebay.

[crust]

I bought one of these, got sizes for all of the bearings I've found so far, though most of its use has been on Ducati suspension bearings.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Cycle-Bearin ... SwMXxfUdSf