L
Lorne Kates
Guest
About a month ago I picked up a cheap bicycle so I wouldn't have to drive to school every day. It's
been serving me well until this week when I started to experience the following problems:
Front gear won't shift to lowest gear (the smallest set of spokes... I think that's the lowest?) I
just clicks clicks clicks and sometimes falls into place if I'm lucky.
Front gear has trouble shifting to highest gear (I need to push HARD on the lever, and if I push too
hard, the chain flies off and I need to spend 10 minutes getting it back on).
Of course, those I could live with. The problem is with the rear tire. Little by little I've felt
the back tire giving more and more resistence. It got harder to peddle, and the bike would slow down
instead of coasting on some downhill slopes. The the rear handbrake became very loose, and if I
pressed it, the brakes wouldn't release.
So I get it home today (walked it home... ick) and began poking and prodding around the bike. here's
what I found:
1) The rear brake line was loose. After doing some tightening, I managed to fix that, which
conversely fixed the loose handbrake. Sort of.
2) The rear brakes still won't release properly. I think this is because the entire brake clamp is
loose. IE: Where the two arms join, and it screws onto the frame of the bike... I can't get that
tight enough, and it keeps pivoting. So when I hit the brake, instead of both clamps coming
together, the whole clamp just shifts.
3) Along the ways, I noticed that the rear wheel looked like it was wobbling, but it was on tight.
I turned the bike upside down and spun the wheel, and after a rotation it stopped. I spun it
again, and it stopped in the same place. Sure enough, there is a buldge in the rim that keeps
hitting the brake pads, even if they aren't engaged.
So, I guess my question is:
4) How do I properly secure the rear braking unit to the frame of the bike?
5) Is it possible to overcome the tiny dent/bulge in the rear rim by widening the distance between
the two brake pads? If so, how?
6) Is it worth replacing the rear tire? I paid $50 Canadian, which is ~$37USD, for the whole
bike, compared to the ~$120 Canadian (~$80USD) a new one would have cost. So, if a new rear
rim won't be all that costly, I won't mind paying to have it replaced. I just don't want to
get ripped off. =)
I'm hoping to get the bike up and running again soon, since otherwise I have to drive to school and
either pay for parking, or park way the hell away from the campus. Plus, I'm really enjoying biking.
I haven't owned a bike in over 12 years... and the last one I had was one of those old ones that
doesn't even have handbrakes or gears!
Thanks in advance for your help, Lorne
been serving me well until this week when I started to experience the following problems:
Front gear won't shift to lowest gear (the smallest set of spokes... I think that's the lowest?) I
just clicks clicks clicks and sometimes falls into place if I'm lucky.
Front gear has trouble shifting to highest gear (I need to push HARD on the lever, and if I push too
hard, the chain flies off and I need to spend 10 minutes getting it back on).
Of course, those I could live with. The problem is with the rear tire. Little by little I've felt
the back tire giving more and more resistence. It got harder to peddle, and the bike would slow down
instead of coasting on some downhill slopes. The the rear handbrake became very loose, and if I
pressed it, the brakes wouldn't release.
So I get it home today (walked it home... ick) and began poking and prodding around the bike. here's
what I found:
1) The rear brake line was loose. After doing some tightening, I managed to fix that, which
conversely fixed the loose handbrake. Sort of.
2) The rear brakes still won't release properly. I think this is because the entire brake clamp is
loose. IE: Where the two arms join, and it screws onto the frame of the bike... I can't get that
tight enough, and it keeps pivoting. So when I hit the brake, instead of both clamps coming
together, the whole clamp just shifts.
3) Along the ways, I noticed that the rear wheel looked like it was wobbling, but it was on tight.
I turned the bike upside down and spun the wheel, and after a rotation it stopped. I spun it
again, and it stopped in the same place. Sure enough, there is a buldge in the rim that keeps
hitting the brake pads, even if they aren't engaged.
So, I guess my question is:
4) How do I properly secure the rear braking unit to the frame of the bike?
5) Is it possible to overcome the tiny dent/bulge in the rear rim by widening the distance between
the two brake pads? If so, how?
6) Is it worth replacing the rear tire? I paid $50 Canadian, which is ~$37USD, for the whole
bike, compared to the ~$120 Canadian (~$80USD) a new one would have cost. So, if a new rear
rim won't be all that costly, I won't mind paying to have it replaced. I just don't want to
get ripped off. =)
I'm hoping to get the bike up and running again soon, since otherwise I have to drive to school and
either pay for parking, or park way the hell away from the campus. Plus, I'm really enjoying biking.
I haven't owned a bike in over 12 years... and the last one I had was one of those old ones that
doesn't even have handbrakes or gears!
Thanks in advance for your help, Lorne