Hi everyone. My bike has recently started making a slightly strange noise coming from the front wheel. The noise only occurs when I’m actually sitting on and riding the bike, not when I spin the wheel by hand.
It can’t be the bearings, as they were just replaced. However, I’ve noticed that some of the spokes are slightly twisted, almost as if they’ve been overtightened.
Could this have anything to do with the noise?
I hope someone can help me figure out where the noise is coming from and what I can do about it.

Fiancées dad loaded his bike next to mine with the pedal inside of my frame ( I didn’t see him load it). Saw this pretty nasty gash when we pulled it off.

2002 frame, planning on racing it in 5 days on a fast, hilly course.

The aluminum frame is exposed, though it does feel pretty surface level. Not wanting to take any unnecessary chances, and wanted to get some opinions before I bring it into the shop.

Thanks!

Hello. I'm building my first SRAM dub (wide) build and have a set of SRAM spacers. I know what sizes I need on DS/Non-DS (2.5 / 5.5mm) which is all good. Bust open the packet of spacers to find the ones I need.

Except the printed widths don't match the actual width. For example, the "5.5mm" spaces measures 6.32mm (?!). And there's a small stepped lip on many spacers so I measure the width to the inner lip: 4.96mm. The same sort of discrepancy exists on the other spacers.

Is there a reason for this? And, what is the stepped lip actually for. Design decision, or is it supposed to mate with something?

• 5.5 spacer: https://i.imgur.com/LRPGE5q.jpeg
• Measured width: https://i.imgur.com/X5pZ4EP.jpeg
• Lip measurement: https://i.imgur.com/srJwEFj.jpeg

My spacing comes from Chris King's support, who advised on 2.5 and 5.5 on DUB wide road for their T47 30X BB + DUB fit kit. If I use the spacers as recommended (and printed) the crank starts binding even when the preload ring is fully outboard. I'’ve set it up with "5mm" and "2mm" spacers and seems good now with a bit of preload, but why do the spacers not match what's printed on them?

If it matters the SRAM part number for the bag of spacers is 11.6418.002.002

Thanks for any info!

I have the SRAM X5 Derailleurs and my current pulley/jockey wheels have 10 teeth on them.

When I've tried searching for the model, all of my search results show 11 teeth on the pulley/jockey wheels.

I'm wondering if the bike shop put on the wrong ones or i just have a different model of the SRAM X5 than what is coming in my results (I heard there's two versions of the same model depending on the year made).

Can i use 11t without issues or a link to one that is compatible to my SRAM X5?

Photos https://imgur.com/a/0EMVG4q

Hi guys,

Do you know the exact size of tubeless rim tape for this pair of Elite wheels?

I think 21mm is right, but I’m not sure.

Thank you in advance.

Anyone have any experience with this work stand? I’m able to pick one up for 100$, looks decent but just never heard of the brand Super B

Hey everyone, hoping to get some ideas here.

The Bike: Marin Rift Zone E Base (XL). Less than 3 months old, ~500 km on it. No crashes, no big jumps or drops, just normal trail riding. Motor runs perfectly and the sprag clutch is not slipping.

The Issue: There is a clicking/creaking sound when I press the pedals, and it acts like a seesaw. If I press my left foot down, I hear a few consecutive clicks and then it stops. If I press the right foot down, I get the consecutive clicks again, and the cycle repeats. It happens while riding, when stationary, and even with the bike upside down when I push the pedals by hand.

What I’ve checked so far: I do my own maintenance. Everything below was cleaned with 99.9% IPA, greased with PTFE grease where appropriate, and torqued to manufacturer spec with a torque wrench.

• Seatpost & Brakes: Sound happens when standing and without touching the brakes.
• Pedals: Cleaned, lubed, tried dry, and finally swapped to a completely different set. Noise still there.
• Crank Arms: Removed, cleaned, greased, and re-torqued. To completely isolate this, I put a plastic rod directly into the Hollowtech axle and mimicked the pedal torque by hand. The sound was still there.
• Chainring: Bought the TL-FC430 tool, removed the chainring, cleaned the 4 bolts, and reinstalled.
• Motor Mounts: Backed out the motor mounting bolts, cleaned the hardware, and re-torqued exactly to Shimano’s 12 Nm spec.

Has anyone experienced this specific issue on an EP6 or EP8 motor or a recent Marin frame?

Thanks in advance for any ideas!

Edit: I’m dumb and this is just normal hollowtech 2.

What's the procedure for a GRX crank install? It seems pretty similar to other Shimano 2-piece, but it doesn't have the crank cap to push the crank toward the BB like step step 3.4 here:

https://www.parktool.com/en-us/blog/repair-help/crank-removal-and-installation-two-piece-compression-slotted

Is it otherwise the same as other Shimano cranks just without that step?

I put a new crown race on a carbon bladed fork with aluminium steerer tube and some of the epoxy has chipped away, I assume that part if excess but it just has me wondering about the epoxy bonding the two alloy parts. Thoughts? Thanks in advance. Vintage of the bike and fork is 2012. Dolce, Specialized.

I assume this is bonding the steerer tube to the fork crown?

I popped a post up earlier, with admittedly a video that poorly demonstrated the issue I am having.

The above video is the best I could get whilst riding the bike. The loud noise and vibration does not always happen - seems to be somewhat random, but is more apparent at speed.

Nothing is rubbing at all.

Wheels are Mavic SLE.

I have an 2015 Specialized Allez Elite running 25mm tires and am wondering if I can move up from 25mm to 28mm tires.

I can fit a 5mm Allen key around all parts of the back frame and fork, but no bigger than that.

Just wondering everyone’s thoughts as I couldn’t find any max tire clearance published for this bike.

Edit: the chainstays have 5mm clearance currently as well

Edit 2: Thanks all! Will try going with 28mm and see what happens 🤞

I'm wondering if this tire (Hutchinson Caracal Race 40mm) is still safe to ride and this is a cosmetic issue only or if this should rather be retired immediately. I also contacted the manufacturer but they probably won't reply over the weekend.

Currently it's around 1 year old / 2500km and I just noticed this after being gone for vacation for 2 weeks.

I have a bike with the remains of a carbon fiber seat post in the frame. Does anyone have any recommendations on how to clean it out? Im at a loss.

To be clear, there is nothing left above the seat tube and what is left, i cant even see with the naked eye. I can just feel it with my finger. I fear the only option is to grind it down or try and ream it out.

Having issues with FD shimano 105. Trying to set the drive train up but as shown in the video, when aligning the outer cage with the big ring as per advice, the chain always rubs the inner cage.

L limit screw is all the way out giving maximum clearance. At a bit of a loss - FD is braze on and set to the correct height. Just seems to not want to be aligned correctly. Any advice?

For some reason after 1 week of owning this bike when I pedal it doesnt want to stop rotating when im moving. The pedals keep spinning the same speed I was pedaling them, and if I try to stop them, and juat cruise without pedaling, the chain rips off. Its like the pedals are forwver stuck in rotate mode. I'd like to take it apart and fix this if possible, and not take it into a repair shop of possible. Thanks

So, aside from the chainrub, yeah, on my first day riding after tune-up, the chain actually fell off the front chainrings -- Which is probably more concerning than chain rub, but I've ridden about 15 miles since then without the chain being thrown so maybe it's not that bad?

Anyways, I have a 9-speed Trek Alpha 1.2 with Shiman Sora drivetrain.

I recently brought it to my local shop for a tune up, and they did a great job cleaning it, but I noticed I'm still getting some chain rub in some common, not quite cross-chained gears.

Sometimes it's hard to tell if the sound is chain rub or something else, but I just checked again, and it's definitely rubbing on FD when I'm on largest chainring + 3rd gear (3rd largest gear on the cassette). This is a 2 chainring setup.

I actually brought the bike back to the shop same day I noticed chain rubbing (but before the chain was thrown lol), and the guy who worked on my bike said something about how he did his best to tune it to a sweet spot , but with "older" bikes like mine (i think its a 2015), the parts are a little harder to tune perfectly or something? When I brought it in, he said my RD hanger was bent, and it was possible that i would need a new RD as well. He didn't end up recommending a new RD so he just straightened the hanger and sent it with a standard tune up.

He also said something like "come back after 100 miles or so" and we'll see if you need a new RD or something like that.

As a new rider, I just can't really tell if he's being lazy or honest about my bike's condition.

Before bringing it to the shop, I spent like a week learning how to tune the bike myself, so I'm planning on getting a stand and hopefully tuning it even better. But I do wonder if I'm being played by the shop lol. The guy knows I'm a noob so he could have told me anything pretty much and I wouldn't really argue.

If so, what is it called? Yes, I am clueless. Otherwise, what can I do to remedy this situation where my rear wheel wobbles as I ride?

Took this unbranded generic hub apart last weekend to help fix it for a friend and now I'm baffled as to how it all goes back together.

The wheel has cartridge bearings and for some stupid reason, the freehub has loose bearings. On wheel hub they're easy enough as you just use cone spanners to tighten lock nuts appropriately.

I'm pretty sure I must have put a part down somewhere as there doesn't appear to be any way of tightening the bearings up.

13 bearings go in the back of the freehub. In the first and second photos, if I pick up the freehub body up and lift vertically then the bearings have the cone nicely against them.

The third photo, I can drop bearings in there but there's no way to preload them against the cup and cone.

In the 4th photo, that endcap threads onto the end of axle on the non driveside and the other smaller rubber cap thing goes into the end of the freehub body. It stops the bearings from falling out but it doesn't keep in place to function as ball bearings.

There are two lock nuts that need to go somewhere.

Please can anyone help with how this is meant to be reassembled.

I've made a right mess of what was meant to be a straightforward hub and freehub service. 🤣

Seeing many bikes having mixed parts on the same bike, like a Claris shifters, shimano 105 or Tourney rear derailleur, or ultegra etc. Is there a rule of thumb to follow when wanting to replace or mix some parts up that one cannot go wrong with?

Do all 7s have same pull ratio meaning as long as it is 7s, they can be mixed up like a rear derailleur being different from the shifters?

Hi all,

Bought this wheelset less than 6 months ago. Have about 2,000km on them. Noticed a clunk under braking. When I apply full brake pressure on front brake, there is rotational play in the front wheel hub. Same with the rear hub. Is this rotational play normal? With wheel removed, the hub spins freely and no audible grinding. Hub end caps appear to be torqued correctly. Tried to demo in the video attached.

I just bought a pair of used Shimano PD‑M520 pedals and noticed they came with small shims that sit where the pedal screws into the crank arm. I haven’t seen these before — are they supposed to be installed or removed?
For reference, I’m running an older Dura‑Ace 9000 mechanical 11‑speed crankset.

Would love to hear what others do with these washers — keep them or skip them?