Bike maintenance I now know, and things I don't.

[BOTG]

Its been a while since I have been back on the forums, it got a little heated when I decided to be honest about my lack of bike fixing skills, due to somebody else who used to fix my bikes over the 10 years who sadly is not around anymore and a small select few who were lets say a little hostile.

Which brings me on to where I am now months later, having had various issues with my Haibike All Mtn 7. Its been quite a journey, but first up I want to say thanks to the general community for being there when I needed answers or I had specific questions regards the tools I needed or how to achieve certain things. Here is a list of basic things I can now do confidently having learned from my mistakes.

Changing brakes pads
Setting up and going tubeless
Fixing and repairing broken chains
Re greasing headset bearing
Removing of pedals and fixing issues
Setting correct sag, and setting air pressure and rebound settings front and back
Replacing from chain ring and spider ring including what tools needed
Repairing tubeless tires on the trail with cuts and tears
Swapping out re hanger and refitting
Indexing of gears and proper use of high/low and B screws
derailleur tension based off B screw pressure
Basic bike maintenance and pre ride bike checks including all torque bolt settings
How to clean and look after bike, including where to put gt85 and Silicone and where not too
How to check for chain and cassette wear
Much better rider

Things I still need to learn and maybe you could advise on correct guides:

How to bleed brakes properly with a bleed kit
How to achieve more pressure in brake levers they always seems to be too soft no matter what I adjust
Barrel twist seems to do nothing on either gears or brake
How to solve bike creaking (going to regrease all motor bolts and take seat apart)

So while I am not expert, I have learned a lot in the last 3 months or so, thanks to those of you who reached to advise and help.

Haters going to hate, leave them to it.

It actually feels great to be able to fix and do things your self and not pay your LBS for basic stuff you can learn and achieve yourself.

Thanks. Boots.

Andy.

 

[KennyB]

Epic bleed solutions good for kits, videos and guides. Firmness at the brake levers should be improved by bleeding.

 

[Rahr85]

Glad to see you back posting.

 

[BOTG]

Glad to see you back posting.

Thanks mate.

Epic bleed solutions good for kits, videos and guides. Firmness at the brake levers should be improved by bleeding.

Will have a look, thanks, its one area I really feel I need to learn. For example as your pads wear down to half, where should the adjustment be made to maintain the same strong brake pressure?

/b\

 

[KennyB]

Thanks mate.

Will have a look, thanks, its one area I really feel I need to learn. For example as your pads wear down to half, where should the adjustment be made to maintain the same strong brake pressure?

/b\

Pad wear shouldn't result in loss of firmness, just more lever travel. Some systems self adjust (like your car does). You can usually adjust lever travel by a small screw near the lever hinge. The manufacturers manual is really useful.

 

[Tubby G]

Its been a while since I have been back on the forums, it got a little heated when I decided to be honest about my lack of bike fixing skills, due to somebody else who used to fix my bikes over the 10 years who sadly is not around anymore and a small select few who were lets say a little hostile.

Which brings me on to where I am now months later, having had various issues with my Haibike All Mtn 7. Its been quite a journey, but first up I want to say thanks to the general community for being there when I needed answers or I had specific questions regards the tools I needed or how to achieve certain things. Here is a list of basic things I can now do confidently having learned from my mistakes.

Changing brakes pads
Setting up and going tubeless
Fixing and repairing broken chains
Re greasing headset bearing
Removing of pedals and fixing issues
Setting correct sag, and setting air pressure and rebound settings front and back
Replacing from chain ring and spider ring including what tools needed
Repairing tubeless tires on the trail with cuts and tears
Swapping out re hanger and refitting
Indexing of gears and proper use of high/low and B screws
derailleur tension based off B screw pressure
Basic bike maintenance and pre ride bike checks including all torque bolt settings
How to clean and look after bike, including where to put gt85 and Silicone and where not too
How to check for chain and cassette wear
Much better rider

Things I still need to learn and maybe you could advise on correct guides:

How to bleed brakes properly with a bleed kit
How to achieve more pressure in brake levers they always seems to be too soft no matter what I adjust
Barrel twist seems to do nothing on either gears or brake
How to solve bike creaking (going to regrease all motor bolts and take seat apart)

So while I am not expert, I have learned a lot in the last 3 months or so, thanks to those of you who reached to advise and help.

Haters going to hate, leave them to it.

It actually feels great to be able to fix and do things your self and not pay your LBS for basic stuff you can learn and achieve yourself.

Thanks. Boots.

Andy.

Boots is back in town ! Welcome back

 

[BOTG]

Pad wear shouldn't result in loss of firmness, just more lever travel. Some systems self adjust (like your car does). You can usually adjust lever travel by a small screw near the lever hinge. The manufacturers manual is really useful.

So as we require more or less pressure, is that a matter of increasing fluid by doing a bleed or adjusting the brake lever reach?

 

[BOTG]

Boots is back in town ! Welcome back

Thanks Tubs. Really been enjoying my rides recently, Peak district, Lakes, Dales.. its all good and the bike feels great, just creaking to sort out now. Seat and motor bolts on tomorrows list for me to look at. Might record it as a few others haver similar issues.

 

[B1rdie]

The fluid reservoir at the brake levers is meant to deliver more fluid to the hoses as the pads get worn, so there is no need to adjust anything. The bleeding is always done with the block in place so that the calipers pistons are pushed all the way back.
If you bleed using worn pads it will be necessary to drain fluid out when you fit new ones.

 

[KennyB]

The fluid reservoir at the brake levers is meant to deliver more fluid to the hoses as the pads get worn, so there is no need to adjust anything. The bleeding is always done with the block in place so that the calipers pistons are pushed all the way back.
If you bleed using worn pads it will be necessary to drain fluid out when you fit new ones.

It's really not a good idea to bleed with pads in, any fluid leaking will ruin them. As B1rdie said, always use a bleed block.

 

[Mikerb]

For any jobs on the bike you are not yet certain about, my advice is to first to learn how things work ( or are supposed to !). It helps greatly then to have some idea of where any problems might be and how to fix them.
So as far as brakes are concerned they all basically consist of lever ( brake lever) pushing a piston in an open reservoir of brake fluid ( the rest of the brake on the bars) which is in turn connected to a hose through to the calliper and calliper pistons. The main attribute of the brake fluid is that it does not contract in volume under pressure. Air however does compress. So if there is any air in the system the brake lever will feel spongy.............depending on the amount of air in the system the lever may, under constant pressure, gradually continue to move until it hits the bars/grips.
This is not to be confused with lever throw or lever contact point. More basic brake levers only have adjustment for lever throw ( adjust the position where the lever sits at rest..........closer or further away from the grips. More upmarket levers also have contact point adjustment ( e.g Code RSC). This enables adjustment of the amount of movement of the lever between its rest position and the point at which it is actuating the pistons in the calliper.

ps a job to add to your bucket list is hub/freehub maintenance including bearing changes.

 

[Gyre]

Hi Boots. Lever firmness *sometimes* gets affected if you've had a really big downhill day. I never notice this in day to day riding but once in awhile it happens to me at chairlift parks. Not sure why - maybe I had a tiny bit of water contamination in the lines. As others have said, it shouldn't happen because of pad wear.

In my experience, the best technique to get a firm lever bleed on the rear brake is to pull the caliper off the frame, get the hose as close to vertical as possible, and make sure the caliper is oriented so the bleed port is as close to the top of the caliper as possible. It's a hassle and I'll usually try to get away without pulling the caliper first, but it can make a big difference when nothing else works.

"Barrel twist" and (hydraulic?) brakes in the same sentence has me a little worried. If you've done that, it may just be a rubber cover rotating, but you may want to check the torque on the bolt underneath the rubber cover that fixes your brake hose to the lever.

Barrel twist for your shifter adds a bit of cable tension as you dial it out. If you think of how each click of the shifter makes the derailleur land in a different place, barrel twist shifts where all those clicks land. The derailleur is still restricted to moving inside the range of your limit screws. So, if you're in your smallest cog and the cable has a bit of slack, you won't notice anything from a little barrel twist right away, but it will affect your shifting for all the other cogs.

 

[Sander23]

Something I would like to know this: saddle cracking.
Recently got a new one and frist ride is cranking like crazy! Do you need to put some grease on it or not?

For bleedkit I used this 13.0US $ |2018 Nieuwste Ezmtb Bleed Kit Geavanceerde Versie Voor Shimano & Tektro & Magura & Hayes & Formule & Sram & avid & Giant Fiets Rem|bleed kit|bicycle brakebleed kit for shimano - AliExpress
Pretty cheap, feels decent and it couldn't be that bad if the local stores also sells it but at a 3x price

This method worked for me, was also my first time bleeding the breakes

 

[Mteam]

Barrel twist seems to do nothing on either gears or brake

This one is important - on hydraulic brakes (which you have) there is no barrel to twist, barrel adjusters are used on cable operated gears, brakes and dropper seatposts .

If you have been twisting 'a barrel' on your hydraulic brakes you have been turning a rubber cover, under which is the nut that holds the brake hose in place. If you have loosened this nut you could find yourself with no brakes at a point when you need them most. It should be very hard to loosen that nut by hand, but you never know..

Just slide , dont twist , the rubber cover down the brake hose a little and check that nut is still tight and then slide it back into place.

 

[Coolcmsc]

…..always use a bleed block.

I’d add

For any jobs on the bike you are not yet certain about, my advice is to first to learn how things work ( or are supposed to !).

This the cornerstone of everything, isn’t it?

Learning how something works first, means you’ll recognise a sensible suggestion for servicing something and most time be able to work out your own perfectly reasonable method — and it will also help you recognise advice that’s a crock of….

 

[Coolcmsc]

As @B1rdie @KennyB say, “Pads out, Bleed Block in”… And that’s not just any old bit of tat that kinda fits in the space between wherever the pistons are when the pads are removed…
Bleed blocks are slightly different sizes for different manufacturers. The correct bleed block won’t fit in if the pistons haven’t been pushed back correctly and will seem too thin and tumble out if they have. It should just slip between the retracted (carefully pushed back in) pistons and then stay there, maybe with a light pull on the brake lever. Some have a little handle/tab thingy to hold them whilst you do that.

 

[Sander23]

As @B1rdie @KennyB say, “Pads out, Bleed Block in”… And that’s not just any old bit of tat that kinda fits in the space between wherever the pistons are when the pads are removed…
Bleed blocks are slightly different sizes for different manufacturers. The correct bleed block won’t fit in if the pistons haven’t been pushed back correctly and will seem too thin and tumble out if they have. It should just slip between the retracted (carefully pushed back in) pistons and then stay there, maybe with a light pull on the brake lever. Some have a little handle/tab thingy to hold them whilst you do that. View attachment 64037

The set I bought of aliexpress has different pieces of bleedblocks

 

[GrahamPaul]

Barrel twist seems to do nothing on either gears or brake

Not wanting to teach you how to suck eggs, but just twisting the barrel on the gear cable is unlikely to do anything unless you have pulled it a little in the direction of the cable (pull the barrel adjuster along the cable, away from the gear lever).

The plastic bit will then connect with the hollow bolt that you need to turn to add or remove tension from the gear cable. Not pulling it along the cable to engage it will do nothing (except if the barrel adjuster is wound completely in <- as no doubt someone will add helpfully). Apologies if you already knew that, but I suspect you didn't given your comment about the brakes.

Pulling the plastic bit along the brake cable will expose the threaded connectors - there being no barrel adjusters on hydraulic lines. You'll do no damage pulling these away from the brake levers.

Mate of mine, a few doors down, has a Haibike Allmtn something or other which had a spongey back brake from day one. The Haibike dealer in this part of the world was extremely unhelpful (the bike wasn't from his dealership) and our LBS diagnosed it as bad caliper assembly which had damaged the rear caliper resulting in air being sucked in because, no matter how often it was bled, it went spongey again within a few kms.

It was certainly a guarantee claim, but Haibike insisted that the bike be returned to Germany (from Southern Spain!) for them to inspect before any repair was made. A change of brake lever and caliper solved the problem for not a lot of money.

 

[Bomble]

If I’m unsure of something I always find it helps loads watching a few different YouTube vids of the same process but by different users.
Even on jobs I’ve done before, sometimes you can pick up a tip from how different people do the same job.

 

[Coolcmsc]

The set I bought of aliexpress has different pieces of bleedblocks

Exactly.
Several, to cover different brakes. Although none of them looks quite like the manufacturer original. One’s a Code/Guide brake pad replica. One’s a poor copy of a Magura MT block and one’s maybe equivalent to a SRAM Code/Guide block.
Can’t tell from the photo if they’d be any good in practice.
Which brakes have you found them to be correct for in practice?

 

[Coolcmsc]

It was certainly a guarantee claim, but Haibike insisted that the bike be returned to Germany (from Southern Spain!) for them to inspect before any repair was made. A change of brake lever and caliper solved the problem for not a lot of money.

?

 

[Mikerb]

Brake blocks are often provided with a new bike but are the type used to avoid accidental pushing of the pistons out with the brake lever when the front wheel is removed ( as it is when delivered in a box). These are often a tapered wedge shape and not the same as a full brake block designed to hold pistons in their fully retracted position ( n.b the pistons will not be in the fully retracted position on a bike where the pads in use have some wear).

 

[Sander23]

Exactly.
Several, to cover different brakes. Although none of them looks quite like the manufacturer original. One’s a Code/Guide brake pad replica. One’s a poor copy of a Magura MT block and one’s maybe equivalent to a SRAM Code/Guide block.
Can’t tell from the photo if they’d be any good in practice.
Which brakes have you found them to be correct for in practice?

I've used the one with the smaller holes on my magura mt4 brakes it fitted perfectly.
I'm no expert by far on this, was my first time ever doing this