There are a ridiculous number of competing bottom bracket standards in the bike world at the moment but I eventually established that mine (on a 2015 Giant Defy Advanced 2) was what is called a BB86 bottom bracket. The bottom bracket shell is 86.5 mm wide, 41 mm in internal diameter and accepts a 24 mm axle. The increasingly creaky nature of mine, and the fact that it has 2506.6 miles on it, led me to decide to replace it.
I ordered the bottom bracket and a Park Tool BB86 bottom bracket removal tool from Wiggle, made a red-neck bearing installer and got to work. It was very easy job, I could probably do the whole job again in five minutes, involving some basic tools and a smear of grease.
Firstly, to make the installation tool you'll need to visit B&Q and pick up a length of M12 threaded rod, a pack of M12 nuts and a pack of heavy duty square washers.
You need to saw off approximately seven inches of the threaded rod and smooth the cut end with a file. At one end, using plenty of thread locker, jam two of the nuts together to form a solid fixed end. Now add a square washer and one of the two dies that come with the Park Tool remover. Do the same at the other end but use one nut and leave it free so you can tighten it when you're pressing the new cups into the bottom bracket shell.The materials for this cost less than £9 and because there were four square washers in the pack I was able to make a second tool for my mate Phil at work. If you bought two packs of square washers, you could make four tools for about £11 - red-necking it for the win!
Secondly, here's a quick look at the grease I use on bikes. It's Finish Line grease with teflon. I've used it since it first appeared in the very early nineties when it came in a black tube with white writing. I've seen loose ball bottom brackets packed with this stuff looking absolutely perfect after a couple of brutal Scottish winters of mountain biking abuse.
If anything, I think it's actually improved since then, it used to be white and slightly translucent looking but now it's a sort of cream colour and smoother and stickier.
Anyhow, here's how it's done:
1. Loosen the two 5 mm bolts that hold the crank to the axle and use a Hollowtech II tool to unscrew the plastic adjustment plug from the axle.
2. Here's a pic with it removed. It's a good idea to smear some grease on the internal threads in the end of the axle when you're re-assembling later.
3. Now finish loosening off the two 5 mm allen bolts and, making sure you lift the retaining tab in the gap between the bolts, wiggle the crank off the axle.
4. You now need to unhook the chain from the chainring and carefully let it rest on the BB shell. You can now grab the driveside crank and pull the whole assembly out of the bottom bracket. You may need to bang the exposed end of the axle with the heel of your hand to get it moving.
5. You now need to insert the narrow end of the removal tool though one side of the bottom bracket and pull it until you hear the splayed end of the tool click into place behind the bottom bracket cup.
6. Using a fairly heavy metal hammer, hit the solid end of the tool sharply to get the cup moving and then a few more times to remove it. Mine wasn't difficult, it took three moderate blows and the cup popped out. Remove the central sleeve and remove the other cup. I found I had to insert the tool from the other side, narrow end first again, because the splayed end wouldn't seat behind the remaining cup easily from the now open side.
7. It surprised me how much muck and soil was in the bottom bracket shell. Needless to say, remove as much of it as you can now
8. Get the area as clean as you can and smear a good layer of grease around the inside of where the new bearing cup is going to seat in the shell.
9. With the seating area clean and greased, mount the new bearings either side of the shell (not forgetting to slot the central sleeve into one of the cups) and then assemble the red-neck bearing press through the whole assembly. Do the free nut up finger tight keeping everything as lined up as you can and then start turning the nut with an 19 mm spanner. I was expecting potential trouble at this point but the cups pressed in beautifully, one side seated first and when it was seated the other side followed it in. Tighten until you're sure both cups are flush with the frame but don't go mad; this is a bike, not a cylinder head.
10. And there you have it, job done - a nice new bottom bracket fitted. Re-assembly is easy, just put everything back in the order you removed it.
When you're re-attaching the non-drive side crank, you snug the crank onto the axle using the black screw in plug. Do it barely hand tight, just until you're the crank is seated but the whole crank assembly still spins freely. Now tighten the two 5 mm bolts, alternating between the two until they're both nice and snug.
Update since buying a torque wrench: The suggested value for these bolts is 12-14 nm. Tighten them alternately but bare in mind that once both bolts are at the correct torque value, the one you tightened first will have loosened slightly so tighten each bolt to the chosen value at least twice.
2nd July: Well, July started with one of the most Rule #9 rides I've done in a while. It was very cloudy with the odd patch of blue sky but it was incredibly windy, more like November than July. On top of that, it chucked it down for about quarter of an hour half way around just to add to the fun. I managed to average 16.0 mph though which I was surprised by given the wind but quite pleasing. One cool thing about this particular ride was that I passed the 7,000 mile 'distance since I started cycling again' marker which is a decent milestone! Anyhow, 26.9 miles to kick July off.
3rd July: I noticed my inner chain ring was looking particularly gross before today's ride so I took the crankset off the bike and thoroughly degreased and cleaned the rings. I then headed out to do the local 21 with the farm track. It was a gorgeous sunny summer day but the wind from yesterday was still around, albeit not quite as horrendous.
I was enjoying the ride so I decided to extend it a bit. I started it by climbing Alec's hill and decided to carry on and come back via King's Moss and Crawford. It was very windy but very warm when the wind occasionally dropped. I averaged 16.2 mph as well which was pleasing. Also, I've ordered a 105 crankset for the Giant to replace the non-series RS 500 crankset so I'll finally have a full matching groupset. Anyhow, 32.0 more miles.
6th July: I booked the day off work today because the BBC weather website was saying there'd hardly be any wind. As it turned out, it was overcast and fairly breezy but very warm when the wind dropped so a lot nicer than the last couple of rides.
I did the local 21 with the farm a quick diversion to take this picture, and added a few miles by staying on the East Lancs and coming home via Carr Mill dam and Billinge. As you can see in the pic, I fitted the new 105 crankset before I set off and I must say, I couldn't be more pleased with it. It's light and stiff and I think it looks absolutely fantastic and really complements the rest of the bike. Anyhow, it was sweaty ride but fun and a decent average speed of 16.1 mph and 33.1 more miles.
9th July: I did the local 21 today with the farm track added on (from here on in to be known as the local 27. It was a lot less windy than it has been recently but there were lakes and puddles from the recent rain everywhere so the bike needed a proper wash afterwards. On the plus side, my legs felt great and I averaged 16.7 mph which was pretty good and the baby rabbits were out in force on the big grass verge behind Kirkby which is always cute. Another 27.4 miles for July.
10th July: It was a bit of a weird ride today. The weather was pleasant enough so I set out to do the local 21 because I was meeting my folks for a pub lunch at 2 o'clock and didn't have a lot of time. For some reason, as soon as I set off my legs just felt like Bambi legs and I was struggling a bit. By about mile 18 they were feeling a bit better and I was puzzled to see I'd averaged 16.5 mph when I uploaded the ride, I though it would've been down in the low 15's, anyhow, an odd ride but it was 21.6 more miles.
13th July: I booked the day off work today and ended up with a rather strange ride, weather-wise. The sky was blue but full of white clouds so it was cool for a few minutes then warm for a few minutes as the sun shone through the moving clouds. The wind was pretty strong but dropped for a while every twenty minutes or so which was odd. Also, I did my usual trick of assuming that because it had been dry and sunny all day, the route would be too. Of course, because of all the recent weather there was a lot of mud and, especially in the woods near Billinge, so the bike needed a thorough wash when we got in. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.0 mph which wasn't bad given the wind and climbs and it was 32.0 more miles for July.
16th July: I did the local 27 again today. The weather was strange for July, it was warm and overcast but with quite a cool wind which felt chilly with just a t-shirt and bibs on. Anyhow, my legs felt good and I averaged 16.5 mph despite getting stuck behind a family with young kids cycling along the by-pass for a while. The total was 27.0 miles which, rather bizarrely, took the July total to exactly 200 miles; plenty of time left to work on the mileage overdraft!
17th July: And again... There was a coolish wind like yesterday but the clouds were largely gone so it was quite a warm, sunny ride. The wind was quite strong but I managed to average over 16 mph so not a bad ride overall and good for keeping the sun tan topped up and 27.2 more miles.
21st July: I went out today to do the local 27 but ended up getting diverted by a road closed sign at the left turn traffic light at the back of Kirky. I ended up cycling down a long straight road along the edge of Kirkby which ended up on the main road so I ended up cycling through the middle of town, something I haven't done for a long while. A somewhat reduced 24.2 miles.
23rd July: It was a warm day today without much wind so I headed out to do the local 27. The road blocked sign was there but being a Saturday there were no workmen there doing anything so I decided to ignore the sign and see what was going on. It turns out they were coating the road on the bend with that weird grippy beige coating. It was a fast ride with a 17.5 mph average and another 26.5 miles.
25th July: I got out this afternoon to do the local 27. It was fairly windy so not as fast as the last ride but an enjoyable ride nonetheless and I stopped at the Subway as I left the industrial park for a tuna sub which is always nice. Another 27.2 miles.
27th July: My new sports glasses from Optilabs arrived today so I dragged myself out to do the local 21 after work. It was overcast and fairly windy but quite warm overall.
The glasses felt a bit weird but I'm sure I'll get used to them, they certainly keep a lot of wind out of your eyes though which is pretty cool. One slight downside is that I can no longer glance over my shoulder to check for cars when turning right but I'm sure I'll adapt a new technique. 20.8 more miles.
29th July: I got out after work tonight with aid of a mug of Old Brown Java and did the local 27 again. It was overcast but warm enough so not too bad. It was quite windy but a pretty enjoyable ride overall and another 26.5 more miles.
30th July: I got out and did the local 27 today. The weather was better than it has been, it was blue sky full of white clouds and quite warm. I'm getting used to the glasses now and enjoying the lack of wind in my eyes, I'm getting better at looking behind me as well which is probably a good thing! Anyhow, another 26.8 miles.
31st July: I managed to get out early this afternoon and drag myself around the local 21 for a final 21.7 miles. The weather was same old, same old ie blue skies but with lots of big white clouds floating around and quite warm out of the wind. I chose this distance knowing it was going to contribute to quite a significant event (for me!) in that it was the highest mileage I've ever done in a month - 400.9 miles! My mileage overdraft for the year was nearly three hundred so by having a bumper July, it's now less than seventy so roll on the rest of the year!
Having lowered my stem about a centimeter the other day and really enjoying the results, I was getting quite annoyed with the two unnecessary narrow spacers above the stem so I bought a stem cutting guide from Planet X and borrowed a star-fangled nut setter from my mate Al at work and got to work.
I unscrewed the brake caliper and snipped the two zip ties that held the cable to the fork leg and moved it out of the way. I then removed the top cap and loosened the stem clamp bolts and removed the stem and bars. I then removed the forks and trimmed the necessary half an inch or so from the steerer, set the SFN with the setting tool and put the bike back together. I think it looks absolutely epic and I'm now fully Rule #45 compliant as well!
After a ride like yesterdays, I always clean my bike thoroughly when I get back because I hate sand and grit and the damage it can do to delicate parts! I've used Muc-off in the past but am getting increasingly disillusioned with them, their stuff seems really over-priced for what it is.
I saw method grapefruit in the Tesco near work purely by accident and decided to buy a bottle just to see what it's like. It's great around the house and smells absolutely gorgeous, exactly like pink grapefruit. I now use it on the bike as well. I just spray it over the wet bike and use a brush to loosen all the dirt and then hose it down with a spray gun. It's eco-friendly, smells gorgeous and leaves you with a sparkling clean bike - perfect!
June 1st: I did the same ride again today but I avoided the dirt track near El Golfo and added a bit of length by coming back in via Playa Blanca town center. I was quite proud of myself, I came back through town with the evening traffic and didn't go around a roundabout the wrong way and get killed once!
Anyhow, another hard but fun ride. One thing that really struck me about Lanzarote was how courteous the drivers were. The main roads are fast but every car that went around me gave me a full car's width passing space which was a very pleasant change! It was 25.1 miles to start June off.
June 12th: I took the Claud Butler out for it's first proper ride today. It was fun but a totally alien experience compared to modern bikes. When you're used to STI shifters, reaching down to the down tube to change gear is very weird. The skinny brakes are strange too, I generally ride on the hoods but there kind of aren't any on old road bikes - the Eroica is going to be an interesting challenge. One rather amusing incident happened on the ride, about 5 miles from home the seatpost dropped right down so I got home looking like I was riding a kid's bike! Anyhow, another 10.2 miles.
June 14th: I took the Giant out after work this evening and did the local 21. It was a fairly average ride buy my legs felt good and I averaged a fairly decent 16.7 mph. Another 21.0 miles.
June 19th: We've had some amazing rain this month, the type that only last for 30 or 40 minutes but leaves the roads running like rivers. Anyway, it wasn't too bad today so I took the Giant out to the local 21 with the farm track tacked on. The first hour was constant light rain but the heavens really opened for the last 40 minutes, by the time I got in I couldn't have been any wetter if I'd fallen in a swimming pool! One downside to rainy weather was that as I was coming in along the by-pass, sweat and moisturiser was being washed into my eyes by the rain making my eyes burn so badly I could barely see, I had to stop about four times to wipe it out of my eyes with my thumbs. Despite this it was one of the most enjoyable rides I've done for ages (my weird cycling in the rain fetish seems to be going strong...) and another 27.5 miles for June.
June 20th: Today started off with rain but the BBC weather website said this afternoon should be sunny and dry. With this in mind I took the Giant out again to do the local 21 with the farm track tacked on. As it turned out, it was an absolutely gorgeous afternoon, very windy but sunny, bright and warm. The wind kept my average speed down to 16.3 mph but an extremely enjoyable ride nonetheless. 27.5 more miles.
June 22nd: I was planning on doing the local 21 with the farm track tacked on after work today until I realised that wouldn't leave me time to make tea and watch an episode of Person of Interest when I got in...
..So I ended up just doing the local 21 in the end, it was hot and fairly sunny so it was a pretty fun ride. I didn't feel particularly good but I averaged 16.9 mph which was good for me, particularly after a day at work. Also, I finally managed to take a decent pic of the enormous wind turbine that I pass on the route as well. I hadn't realised until I was standing near it that it makes an almost inaudibly deep 'Woosh, woosh, whoosh' noise as it rotates. Anyhow, 20.6 more miles.
June 25th: I did the local 21 with the farm track tacked on today. Before I left, I lowered my stem and bars by about 10mm to see what effect it had on the handling. As it turned out, the bike felt faster and felt better on the climbs. This mirrors what I found with the Planet X I hired on holiday that climbed so well so I've ordered a steerer cutting guide so I can get rid of the surplus spacers above the stem. It was a mixture of clouds and blue sky and quite windy but a nice ride, I finished at my dad's to pick up a delivery so it was 26.7 miles overall.
June 26th: I finally got around to replacing the mucky white bar tape on the Giant with brown tape to match the saddle today. I'd ordered two packs of the tape to keep one as a spare because Planet X were having a 'everything under £5' sale but I ended up using both packs - fitting bar tape is such a black art!
The new tape matches the saddle very nicely and I think it looks great, a little bit of retro on a modern carbon fibre bike. I set off to do the local 21 with the farm track but it started raining and I needed to be back by 2:30 to meet my dad for lunch so took the photo above and came back via the old coach road. It was fairly cold and windy ride but it was 23.0 more miles for June.
29th June: I'd booked the day off work today in the hope of some nice weather. The weather gods however had other plans and it turned out to be pretty much the most Rule #9 ride I've ever done! It had rained all morning so I knew there'd be puddles everywhere but the heavens opened solidly again for pretty much the entire ride. At one point I was stopped at a junction and saw there was a pad of sand on the back of my saddle where the spray had filled the gap between my bum and the cover. Anyhow, I survived unscathed, the Giant's had a good wash, and it was 27.1 more miles to finish June off. The total was 208.7 which wasn't as high as I'd hoped but the second half of June was ridiculously rainy so hopefully July proves to be a bit nicer...
Well, my Gumtree searching hasn't been in vain, I picked up my 'new' bike yesterday. It's a 1984 Claud Butler Sierra. She needs a bit of work but she's basically in excellent condition. Everything is original with no replacement parts fitted and all the original stickers on the frame, including the dealer decal which is cool.
She's a size 22.5 inch which is perfect because it works out at 57.1 cm in modern money and I generally take a 56 or 58 cm in road bikes. Luckily, because it's a touring bike, it has a small inner front ring which I suspect I'll need for the hills on the upcoming ride!She's not perfect of course and I've just had a good on-line shopping session ordering tyres, brake cables and blocks and a new chain. The bottom bracket has a very slight wobble which I'll either buy the tools for and fix or drop at the bike shop. Other than that, she's in great shape and I can't wait to take her out and try the local 21 miler on her!
I've decided to start a maintenance log for her which may help other people:
16th May: Took the front axle out of the front Sunshine 5345 hub to check the bearings. What little grease there was was baked hard and dark but the races and bearings look good. I've ordered a 13mm Park cone spanner because the cones are 13mm (I used a 15mm to undo them but they were very loose so no worries there) and the locking nuts are 17mm. The hub takes ten 3/16" bearings per side so Ive ordered a pack of 50 grade 10 bearings from Simply Bearings Ltd.
17th May: The new tyres arrived today so I've fitted them already. You can get 27 x 1 1/4" tyres for £6 each but I went for the Schwalbes because they are guaranteed to have 50 tpi carcasses which means they should be reasonably fast rolling compared to the very cheap ones.
They also have a basic anti-puncture strip fitted so I think the £30 I paid for two tyres and two tubes was pretty reasonable, especially compared to fancy modern tyres! I was also particularly happy with the understated graphics. The photo on ebay showed had fairly bright blue Schwalbe logos so I'm pleased they turned up with subtle black graphics.
18th May: I've definitely been keeping the various delivery companies busy recently with bits and bobs arriving for the bike all the time. I managed to find some Koolstop salmon compound brake blocks and a brown brake cable kit from a company in London so I decided to fit them today.
Removing the old perished outer and mangled inner and installing the new cables was very satifying. The old brake blocks were dried up and fairly chewed looking so replacing them with new Koolstop salmons was a pleasure. I might even stand a slim chance of slowing down a little bit if I ever have to brake in the rain... I'll do the fronts when I can find another brown brake kit in stock somewhere and keep you posted.
On another note, I managed to get the cranks off with no issues using a standard puller. The axle is loose and slightly bent so I've ordered a modern square taper Shimano bottom bracket. Cheating slightly, I know, but I've got the tools to fit a modern bottom bracket and I don't want to fork out for tools I'll probably never use again.
19th May: My packet of new bearings has arrived so I'm going to try and get the wheels done this weekend if time allows. Bearing come in various grades, grade 100 being generic ball bearings such as you might buy from a bike shop, the diametrical tolerance being 1/10,000".
There are various grades but I tend to buy grade 10 bearings which have a diametrical tolerance of 1/100,000". They only cost a couple of quid more for a packet so I tend to spend the extra figuring what the heck.
21st May:I replaced the bearings in the front wheel today, the old grease was disgusting, it was a blacky brown colour and so dry it was almost fibrous. Unfortunately one of the cones was fairly pitted but they should last a few miles hopefully, they're still a bit grumbly but very smooth now. I noticed the wheels didn't really look chromed this morning so I Googled the info on the sticker and it turns out they're aluminium. This should make the bike considerably less dangerous in the wet so that's definitely a bonus!
I cannot get the bottom bracket to move so I've stripped the bike down and I'm going to drop the frame at the bike shop in town this afternoon if my car gets through it's MOT in time.
Update: Right, the bikes at the bike shop in town to have the bottom bracket removed. The mechanic had a quick go at getting it out but said "It's stuck...
...but we will get it out", which was confidence inspiring. I've left it with them until Wednesday so I'll pick it up then and fit the Shimano BB-UN55 that arrived today from Chain Reaction Cycles.
26th May: I collected the frame from Thatto Cycles on the way home from work today and was very pleased when they presented it to me with a bag containing bits of bottom bracket attached to it. They charged a tenner for labour for removing it which I thought was pretty fair given they saved me a couple of hours of broken tools and skinned knuckles!
I cleaned out the shell with a tooth brush and loads of WD40 and then fitted the new bottom bracket with tons of copper grease slathered over the threads of both the shell and the bottom bracket so I should be able to remove it myself in the future if I ever need to. Now to decide whether or not to grease the tapers or not when I fit the cranks, a debate among cyclists second only to the infamous 'helmet or no helmet' question...
Whilst I had the bike in bits, I thought I might as well deal with the rust on the area of the frame behind the bottom bracket. There was a lot of rust and the paint was flaking badly so I started by removing as much paint as I could by picking at it with my fingernails.
I then got the half-loose stuff off with the small blade on my penknife and finished by going over the whole area with wet and dry paper. I then wiped the whole area with brake cleaner and painted over it with some clear nail varnish I bought ages ago for touching up my Pace suspension forks. It's not a permanent repair but it will prevent any further corrosion while I ponder future plans.
10th June: The one I'm calling the saddle saga... The first time I turned the bike upside down, I was greeted with a fairly gruesome sight. It appears that at some point in the past, the seatpost has seized and someone decided whaling on it with a hammer would get it out!
The aluminium has been peened right into the bolt rendering the seatpost a mess and the bolt completely irremovable. I've since bought a replacement post of ebay and wondered how I was going to rescue the saddle? I know angle grinding aluminium is a no-go but I figured I might as well try./span>
I figured if I could separate the head of the bolt, it might just all pop apart. The grinder smeared through the aluminium slowly but I was then pleases to see a huge fan of orange sparks flying out of one side. I carried on until I figured I must be close to separating the bolt head and stopped to check progress. The whole assembly still felt solid but when I held the saddle and tapped the post - PING - the bolt head seperated and the whole lot fell apart. The saddle is now installed on the new seatpost and it's time for the next job.
11th June: This entry is an important tip for bikes with horizontal drop-outs. The bike is more or less ready to ride now so I took it for a pootle up and down the back drive and noticed the rear wheel kept moving and rubbing against the left stay. A quick Google revealed you have to use traditional, internal cam type quick releases such as the old steel Shimano, Campagnolo or Maillard type. I'd been using a cheap modern cam-over type whilst I carried out the overhaul so I refitted the steel Suntour one very tightly and I'll test it again when it stop pouring down and dries out a bit!
The big reveal! She's not finished yet, I still need to nail the settings for the rear hub adjustment but that's about the only job left to do. The silver no-rust Clarkes chain is a pain but I'm sure it'll turn black soon enough.
The saddle was a bit of a bargain too, they're normally £20 at most bike shops but Winstanleys Bikes in Wigan were doing them for £11.99 which definitely appealed to my Yorkshire ancestry!
12th June: Aaagh, I was just having another look at some stock photo's of my bike and noticed it had brake hoods! Another order has just gone in to SJS Cycles...
15th June: One thing I noticed recently when i had the bike upside down was that the teeth of the smaller front chain ring were ridiculously worn, especially the teeth on opposite sides of the ring that bare the brunt of each legs power stroke.
This was confirmed when I took the bike for it's inaugral 10 miles ride the other night, the chainring was slipping around a bit which would get annoying on a longer ride and dangerous on a climb. Anyhow, I replaced it with a new Stronglight 36 tooth ring and it should be much more pleasant to ride from now on.
Having seen a few references to it at the Spin cycle festival in Manchester on Friday and been intrigued by the brilliant retro imagery, I did a bit of Googling and thought "That looks pretty awesome!". It's a 3 day retro cycling festival in Bakewell in Derbyshire that also includes food and drink stands, a retro cycling parts emporium, family fun events and a whole lot more.
The main reason I signed up however is the bike ride, it's a huge retro ride with some interesting rules... All bikes must be pre-1987, have downtube shifters, non-aero wheels, no clipless pedals, you must wear period-specific clothing, you get the idea - retro! I've signed up for the 55 mile route which would be hard, even on my Giant, but I figure it's an expensive event so I might as well make the most of it. With this in mind, I'm looking at an early 80s Claud Butler on Tuesday after work so more to follow...
