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  #21  
Old July 21st 20, 06:40 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
AK[_2_]
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Posts: 226
Default Adjusting brakes

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:14:23 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:04:34 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side, when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.


Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


There is a book - "The Bicycle Wheel", by Jobst Brandt, which can be
downloaded that explains the bicycle wheel in excruciating detail, but
it is probably more logical for the average rider to just take the
bike to a bicycle shop :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.


That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

Best regards,

Andy

I tried to look at my bearings.

I have greased and repacked them many years ago.

It appears it takes special tools now to do so.


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  #22  
Old July 21st 20, 07:00 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
John B.[_3_]
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Posts: 5,697
Default Adjusting brakes

On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 22:40:47 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:14:23 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:04:34 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side, when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


There is a book - "The Bicycle Wheel", by Jobst Brandt, which can be
downloaded that explains the bicycle wheel in excruciating detail, but
it is probably more logical for the average rider to just take the
bike to a bicycle shop :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.


That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

Best regards,

Andy

I tried to look at my bearings.

I have greased and repacked them many years ago.

It appears it takes special tools now to do so.


Well, to do it right you need a "truing frame" and the proper spoke
wrenches. Then the, at least for me, comes the problem of obtaining
the correct length spokes and, at least on my wheels one side of the
rear wheel takes a different length than the other side :-( Then the
question of how tight to tighten the spokes, and so on :-)

To be honest it is sooo much easier to just hand the wheel off to
someone like Andrew and come back in a couple of days :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.

  #23  
Old July 21st 20, 07:31 AM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Ralph Barone[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 853
Default Adjusting brakes

AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy


The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side,
when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to
make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the
brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the
wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best
done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.


Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


If you know the right hand rule and have patience and common sense, you can
true a wheel.

  #24  
Old July 21st 20, 01:13 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Stephen Bauman[_2_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10
Default Adjusting brakes

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:04:37 PM UTC-4, AK wrote:

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


Truing requires experience and practice. Find a broken wheel somewhere and practice on it before attempting to fix your own bike. It also requires special tools (truing stand, dishing gauge, etc.). There are ways to true wheels without them.

If your bike shop did not tell you, bring the bike back after about 100 miles to check the wheel. Repeat until a touch up is no longer required.
  #25  
Old July 21st 20, 01:24 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
AMuzi
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 13,447
Default Adjusting brakes

On 7/21/2020 12:40 AM, AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:14:23 PM UTC-5, John B. wrote:
On Mon, 20 Jul 2020 19:04:34 -0700 (PDT), AK
wrote:

On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side, when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


There is a book - "The Bicycle Wheel", by Jobst Brandt, which can be
downloaded that explains the bicycle wheel in excruciating detail, but
it is probably more logical for the average rider to just take the
bike to a bicycle shop :-)
--
Cheers,

John B.


That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.

Best regards,

Andy

I tried to look at my bearings.

I have greased and repacked them many years ago.

It appears it takes special tools now to do so.



How special? Cone (thin) wrench and a 17mm or adjustable
wrench. Hardly a burden.

--
Andrew Muzi
www.yellowjersey.org/
Open every day since 1 April, 1971


  #26  
Old July 21st 20, 04:20 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Frank Krygowski[_4_]
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 10,538
Default Adjusting brakes

On 7/21/2020 2:31 AM, Ralph Barone wrote:
AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side,
when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to
make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the
brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the
wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best
done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.


Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


If you know the right hand rule and have patience and common sense, you can
true a wheel.


Agreed. Or at least, some people can true a wheel. Bike books from the
1970s had illustrations on how to do it with the wheel in the bike,
watching for the wobble at the brake shoes. No tools but a spoke wrench
are really necessary. (And I remember making minor adjustments with a
little adjustable wrench.)

But it does get tricky for many people. There are those who get confused
about which way to spin the nipple to tighten a spoke. There are those
who don't grasp the idea that to move the rim to (say) the right, you
could tighten a right spoke or loosen a left one - or perhaps both.

I recall riding along one day and seeing a beginning cyclists I'd
recently met; he was walking toward a bike shop, carrying a wheel shaped
like a potato chip. I thought he must have had a bad crash, but no.

He said his wheel was a little out of true, so he bought a spoke wrench.
He inflicted the rest of the damage himself.


--
- Frank Krygowski
  #27  
Old July 21st 20, 04:45 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Radey Shouman
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 1,747
Default Adjusting brakes

Frank Krygowski writes:

On 7/21/2020 2:31 AM, Ralph Barone wrote:
AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side,
when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to
make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the
brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the
wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best
done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


If you know the right hand rule and have patience and common sense, you can
true a wheel.


Agreed. Or at least, some people can true a wheel. Bike books from the
1970s had illustrations on how to do it with the wheel in the bike,
watching for the wobble at the brake shoes. No tools but a spoke
wrench are really necessary. (And I remember making minor adjustments
with a little adjustable wrench.)

But it does get tricky for many people. There are those who get
confused about which way to spin the nipple to tighten a spoke. There
are those who don't grasp the idea that to move the rim to (say) the
right, you could tighten a right spoke or loosen a left one - or
perhaps both.

I recall riding along one day and seeing a beginning cyclists I'd
recently met; he was walking toward a bike shop, carrying a wheel
shaped like a potato chip. I thought he must have had a bad crash, but
no.

He said his wheel was a little out of true, so he bought a spoke
wrench. He inflicted the rest of the damage himself.


In cases like that, one should refer to the law of holes: If you find
yourself in a hole, stop digging. More difficult to apply in practice
than would first appear.
  #28  
Old July 21st 20, 05:42 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,270
Default Adjusting brakes

On Tuesday, 21 July 2020 11:20:11 UTC-4, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 7/21/2020 2:31 AM, Ralph Barone wrote:
AK wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 10:49:43 AM UTC-5, Stephen Bauman wrote:
On Monday, July 20, 2020 at 9:59:59 AM UTC-4, AK wrote:

I just found a broken spoke on my rear wheel.

I think my bike is plain wore out.

I need a better bike, but everyone is out except those bikes costing $800+.

Does anyone have any mountain bikes in stock?

Andy

The broken spoke probably means the wheel is wobbling from side to side,
when it is spun. This means you had to increase the brake clearance to
make sure the brakes did not rub. The increased clearance meant that the
brakes did not lock onto the rim, when you applied the brakes.

The first order of business is to replace the broken spoke and true the
wheel. You may find there are more than one broken spoke. This is best
done by a bike shop.

Once the wheel is fixed, the brakes should be easy to adjust.

Bike is at the shop for spoke replacement and truing.

I saw some material on truing, but it was confusing at best.

Andy


If you know the right hand rule and have patience and common sense, you can
true a wheel.


Agreed. Or at least, some people can true a wheel. Bike books from the
1970s had illustrations on how to do it with the wheel in the bike,
watching for the wobble at the brake shoes. No tools but a spoke wrench
are really necessary. (And I remember making minor adjustments with a
little adjustable wrench.)

But it does get tricky for many people. There are those who get confused
about which way to spin the nipple to tighten a spoke. There are those
who don't grasp the idea that to move the rim to (say) the right, you
could tighten a right spoke or loosen a left one - or perhaps both.

I recall riding along one day and seeing a beginning cyclists I'd
recently met; he was walking toward a bike shop, carrying a wheel shaped
like a potato chip. I thought he must have had a bad crash, but no.

He said his wheel was a little out of true, so he bought a spoke wrench.
He inflicted the rest of the damage himself.


--
- Frank Krygowski


When I worked in bike shops some of the words we hated to hear when someone brought in a wheel to be trued were, "Can you straighten this heel? I tried to do it myself."

A lot of the times we'd just back all the spokes off so that it was like a newly laced wheel and start from there. That worked if the customer was honest in how the wheel got it of shape and it hadn't bent the wheel in an accident.

Cheers
  #29  
Old July 21st 20, 05:54 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
SMS
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 9,477
Default Adjusting brakes

On 7/20/2020 10:40 PM, AK wrote:

snip

That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.


It takes a truing stand, patience, and the realization that you will
probably never achieve a perfectly true wheel. Tightening and loosening
spokes on alternate sides by only a small amount in each iteration of
truing. Remember that not only does the wheel need to be true side to
side, it also has to remain round. And you can really screw things up if
you over-tighten spokes.
  #30  
Old July 21st 20, 06:57 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
Sir Ridesalot
external usenet poster
 
Posts: 5,270
Default Adjusting brakes

On Tuesday, 21 July 2020 12:54:06 UTC-4, sms wrote:
On 7/20/2020 10:40 PM, AK wrote:

snip

That is mostly true.

But as a retired scientist, I love to learn new things.

I will at some point learn how to true a wheel.


It takes a truing stand, patience, and the realization that you will
probably never achieve a perfectly true wheel. Tightening and loosening
spokes on alternate sides by only a small amount in each iteration of
truing. Remember that not only does the wheel need to be true side to
side, it also has to remain round. And you can really screw things up if
you over-tighten spokes.


Many people have trued many wheels without having to use a truing stand. They do it with the wheel still on the bike. It's a good skill to have if touring. Then you can true a wheel on tour or on a long ride if needed.

Cheers
 




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