Physics don't lie man. All three excel in different areas.
Mountain bike repair questions
- Thread starter DouglasR
- Start date
WapitiBob
Well-known member
I bought a Release 1 off promotive for 1700.
Diamondback, right? I've been looking at some of those for my daughter.
Start with a new chain for sure, look at the teeth on rear cassette if they are worn down get a new one they are not that expensive. What will happen is once your chain stretches which I can guarantee yours is way stretched it doesn't fit the teeth correctly and wears them down. I replace my chain at least once a year sometimes twice on my road bike. Once you have done both of those look up a good video that takes you through proper derailer tuning. Its pretty simple if you follow the correct steps. I recommend this one
but im sure there are others out there.
if you are up to it im sure new cables would help as well, as grit will get into the housing making shifting not as smooth as new. It is still decently simple just follow the same path the current cables are installed. Have a very good set of cable cutters as making a nice clean cut will help a lot on both the cables and the housing. You should be able to do all of this for less than $100.
if you do decide to replace the cassette you will need a special socket for the cassette nut on rear wheel any bike shop can hook you up with one or they may even swap it out for you, its takes minutes to swap one. As for regular maintenance just keep the bike clean which will go a long ways in not having to replace stuff as often. also if you are riding in dry environment use a dry/wax type lube and save the wet lube for wet conditions. once you lube make sure to come back an hour or so later and run the chain through a rag. you dont want a lot of that on the chain to collect dust.
hope this helps. O and if you are going to be doing regular bike maintenance pick up or make a bike stand they are well worth it to work on stuff at standing level and being able to run the gears and such as you tune.
if you are up to it im sure new cables would help as well, as grit will get into the housing making shifting not as smooth as new. It is still decently simple just follow the same path the current cables are installed. Have a very good set of cable cutters as making a nice clean cut will help a lot on both the cables and the housing. You should be able to do all of this for less than $100.
if you do decide to replace the cassette you will need a special socket for the cassette nut on rear wheel any bike shop can hook you up with one or they may even swap it out for you, its takes minutes to swap one. As for regular maintenance just keep the bike clean which will go a long ways in not having to replace stuff as often. also if you are riding in dry environment use a dry/wax type lube and save the wet lube for wet conditions. once you lube make sure to come back an hour or so later and run the chain through a rag. you dont want a lot of that on the chain to collect dust.
hope this helps. O and if you are going to be doing regular bike maintenance pick up or make a bike stand they are well worth it to work on stuff at standing level and being able to run the gears and such as you tune.
MJE2083
Well-known member
Try a different bike shop...seriously. Not sure how many options you have where you live, but I just recently had some maintenance done on my bike. Local bike shop in my college town is booked for 4 weeks. I ended up calling another shop in another town about 30mins away, more rural area...less bicycling culture. The guy "sure I can help you, drop it off any time". He had it fixed in 10 days, and that's only because he didn't have the parts in stock. I suspect it was cheaper than my local shop also.
TexAg09
Active member
+1 for replacing cable, chain and cassette. I'd bet money they all need replacing. I only know because I've been in the exact same boat. The easiest thing in the future is to keep an eye on your chain, and replace it when needed. It will save your cassette. There is a cheap tool you can get to measure chain stretch.
Sounds like a Salsa Timberjack
R
rwc101
Guest
I am partial to Salsa.
I would get laughed out of the room if most people knew how little I spent on my bike, kind of embarrassing. That being said, I'm learning all about repairing bikes because every time I take it out I have to repair or adjust something 
Guess you get what you pay for.....
Guess you get what you pay for.....WapitiBob
Well-known member
Wildabeest
Well-known member
Or Mukluk if you wanna go phat...
I think I paid $1500 for this and they threw in the rear Rack and pannier bag. They had a carbon one as well, but it was $500 more and the components were slightly lower grade. This is a decent rig for day hunts.
Be wary of replacing the chain without considering that you replace the cassette and chain rings as well. Here are a few things to look at. If the cable is adjusted and everything is lubed, A tight link in your chain will cause what you are describing. Take the chain off the front rings so it is slack and flex each link one at a time to see if there is any tight ones. Chain wear can be measured by putting a 12" scale up to the chain and see where the pins fall on the 0 and 12" mark. A new chain will be right on the marks. A worn chain is stretched more than 1/8 inch from the 12" mark. One more thing that can cause phantom shifting is a loose and worn out freehub. Take the chain off the cassette and spin the cassette. Make sure it spins free, and then press side to side on it to see if it has a lot of loose motion. If it is loose, your freehub is shot.
DouglasR
Well-known member
Wah! There was some side to side movement in the rear wheel that kinda started this whole thing.
I have a really shitty bike rack so for the past couple months on top of years of neglect I’ve just been popping the wheels off and tossing it in the bed of my truck. I’m afraid I bent some stuff and just messed it up.
The breaks aren’t dragging and the wheels just feel kinda clunky like they’re not rolling free. If I change the cassette and front rings I’m guessing I’m gonna be into it for at least $200 and at that point it’s almost like I should just go buy a new $500 gt and call it good... but I’m trying to save up for some ski boots and a Randy Newberg in 6.5... but not having a bike probably isn’t an option...
Hopefully I’ll get some time to mess with it this weekend and see if I can figure anything out.
Thanks again for all the help!
DouglasR
Well-known member
Update: So I found another bike shop in town that wasn’t on pot and they were able to get everything tuned up and running again in 3 days as opposed to a month so that worked out awesome.
Luckily things weren’t as bad as I had feared and all the bike required was a basic tune up and shifter cable replacement so I ended up getting out the door for $102.
Also, I can’t send the basic Illinois drop pictured below so I think I’m just gonna keep riding my old trek till the wheels fall off.
Thanks again for the help!
“Dude, bro, get a video of me going off this jump” -30 year old grown man.
(Chickens out and walks down in shame)
Luckily things weren’t as bad as I had feared and all the bike required was a basic tune up and shifter cable replacement so I ended up getting out the door for $102.
Also, I can’t send the basic Illinois drop pictured below so I think I’m just gonna keep riding my old trek till the wheels fall off.
Thanks again for the help!
“Dude, bro, get a video of me going off this jump” -30 year old grown man.
(Chickens out and walks down in shame)
DouglasR
Well-known member
Update: I watched several technique videos on YouTube and now I can send that drop no problem.
You guys got any recommendations for a pair of gloves to keep my sweaty hands from slipping off the bars when it’s 90 degrees out?
Looking for something less than $50 preferably around $25.
You guys got any recommendations for a pair of gloves to keep my sweaty hands from slipping off the bars when it’s 90 degrees out?
Looking for something less than $50 preferably around $25.
MO Betta
Well-known member
Mechanix gloves
