Tools for those "Oh...no!" moments

[Danneaux]

Would like to see the 'toe in tool'...

Hi Ryan!

Wish granted in the photo below. This is a nifty little device that came on the market briefly about 25 years ago. It is made of glass-filled nylon, a few rivets, a stainless spring, and a couple swiveling spacer blocks that self-align and grasp the rim so there's one less thing to hold while making adjustments.

To use the toe-in tool, you just spread it apart so it clasps the rim, release your brakes, and rotate the wheel forward till the spacing blocks are under the trailing end of the pad. Clamp the brakes, loosen the pad nuts, allow the pads to seat as they will, retighten and remove -- et voila! -- pads properly toed-in. The spacing blocks are the correct thickness for most jobs, but the real beauty of this little tool is how it leaves one's hands free to fiddle with the brakes. The spring keeps it clasped nicely on the rim, and you can back it into and out of place just by turning the wheel.

Some real thought went into designing this, and I wish they were still on the market today. Dutch firm Tacx used to make one that worked a little differently, shown here:



Jagwire's version (also out of production) looked like this:



I much prefer to adjust my brakes and pads with the brake springs released. It is so much easier and the job goes so much quicker for me. Full details here: http://www.thorncycles.co.uk/forums/index.php?topic=3800.msg16427#msg16427

Ryan, your idea of a zip-tie is a great one; I've also had good luck on occasion using a large rubber band of the sort sometimes used to roll newspapers for doorstep delivery in the States. I also have a little stepped-block tool I made from nylon so I can quickly move from one level of toe-in to another if "just a little" doesn't solve a brake squeal. The stepped nylon tool has steps of 1mm, 1.5mm, 2mm, and 2.5mm, but is not self-clamping. It drops to the ground when the brakes are released.

Best,

Dan.

[Danneaux]

Hi All!

Several of you have asked by email about my freewheel grease injector. The photo below shows it in some detail.

This is not a trivial operation, but well worth it if you -- like me -- prefer your freewheels to uh, freewheel in near-perfect silence. Just the ticket for sneaking up on wildlife, and far better than the usual buzz. The freewheel innards are protected against water and dust, and -- if properly wiped first and done right -- the next injection flushes out any contaminants that have worked their way into the freewheel body. Springs and pawls stay nicely lubricated, and you can pretty well count on the bearings and races lasting through any number of cog replacements.

I find the grease holds up and nicely quietens the freewheel for the better part of a thousand miles/1609km.

Greasing a freewheel is serious business. First, you have to pick the proper grease, and for me that has been Phil Wood grease. It is the perfect consistency to prevent the freewheel pawls from sticking in any weather, yet maintains a nice edge-deal of grease while breaking-down nicely into oil of just-right consistency for the freewheel bearing races and pawls. The threaded fitting on the tool perfectly mates with the neck threads on a tube of Phil grease, so it is an easy task to spin on a tube after fitting the injector, standing on said tube, and waiting for results on the other side (a thin bit of grease will emerge around the freewheel body; when you see that, stop, and unthread the tube of grease. You can also use an injectable tapered-end bulk-tube grease gun or screw in a zerk-type fitting for bulk cartridge-tube grease guns with flexible hoses.

Getting the injector off is another matter and requires a freewheel pullerplaced in a bench vise, and a pin wrench is then used to spin the injectors out of the freewheel body's hub mounting threads.

My injector bears no brand name, but I believe it is by Bicycle Research. The later model with Phil Wood markings used a cast body with finger grips, where this one is machined and requires a pin wrench to remove.  Nifty tool, makes the freewheel last longer, and completely and utterly obsolete in a world populated by cassette freehubs...unless you still have a few freewheels you like to keep going (like me!).

Best,

Dan.

[expr]

Just a quick addition to the thread although I'm kind thinking of a "sticky" called don't forget to take.....

Similar to a holiday list and one that would jog your memory before setting off on a big tour or just the weekend possibly but I thought it would be a good idea to create a list that we could add to for those just in case moments or similar...

I would like to recommend a product that I've used and can vouch for highly, even if you only use it at home. It's a product that I've used a few times now and it has helped me get out of a few scrapes. It's called polymorph and comes in bead/ pellet form initially and when immersed into boiling water for a few minuets it can be moulded in all kinds of shapes. It's extremely strong and has the same strength to that similar of nylon ie. a nylon zip tie. This could be used to mend or repair various things, and so long as you can get a heat source, hot air gun or boiling water it can be made ready to mold. You can reuse it also, I notice now that you can buy a colour additive for it also to further enhance its appearance should the repair become permanent ..

This can be purchased from eBay if you search under polymorph....

Dave.

[Man of Kent]

Thanks Dan: I might try building a similar toe in tool!

Here at 'Bristol Bike Project' we've got what seems to be a much easier to use freewheel greaser: I'll see if i can dig it out later today and take a picture for you.

Polymorph can also be bought from a lot of independent hobby/wargaming stores; it's become a popular mould making material.

R>

[Cambirder]

Polymorphs can be rather dangerous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i1o78X0BQ5k

[Andybg]

LOL

Certainly one of the classic comedy series.