When to Replace…

A good rule of thumb is that payroll is on a 2 week cycle at Big Shark and rent is due by the 5^th of the month at all of our locations. So, most of your parts should wear out around or near these times. It might sound coincidental, or even selfish, but most bike repairs cost more around those dates…

One of the things that triathletes are notorious for is treating their bikes like crap. Usually if a tri bike comes into our store for an event it is completely covered in some sort of carbohydrate and protein based cement or, worse, smells vaguely like urine.  The majority of our mechanics somewhat cringe when we see these bikes coming, except for “that one guy,” who has a fetish. We don’t let him answer the phone FYI.

Almost nothing is worse than having a race get flummoxed by a mechanical that could have been prevented. The only thing that could possibly be worse is having this occur at a race you’ve prepared for over 6 months, travelled thousands of miles to, and were only able to enter after having volunteered the year prior. So…what to do?

Tires. Tires last only ‘yay’ long. I’d reckon that most tires last about 1200-2000 miles depending on manufacturer, where you ride, and luck.  They get thinner overtime- and the top of the tire casing which would normally the thickest (with the most plys) can become more susceptible to flats. If you care about the race, I’d go for new rubber a few days prior. Even if you’ve got some life left in your tires…deflate them and look for any cuts and pinch the deflated tire so the little cuts can be ‘purged’ of glass or debris that will flat you mid-race somewhere exotic.  Sidebar comment: you can usually tell if it’s glass from a Michelob or a Heineken bottle.

Chains AND Cassettes. Your chain allegedly stretches… which it actually doesn’t do. I mean, sure, metal can elongate, but who puts out that kind of power? Other than me? What happens is that the engagement of the teeth on the chainrings wears down the rollers on the chain…and over time this results in a looser chain that actually does become visibly “longer” when measured.  This will wear down the teeth on your chainrings and on the cassette. The catch here is that for every one revolution of your chainring/crank you have multiple rotations (depending on what gear you’re in) of your cassette. So…your cassette wears out faster than your chainring and the culprit is your chain…that dirty scoundrel.  So… if you don’t want to replace your cassette once per year, you should probably replace your chain 2 times per year. Please note that chains cost a LOT less than cassettes. If you’re not a super long course triathlete or don’t ride that much volume, maybe changing the chain annually is ok… Raise your hand if you’ve never done this? The problem…if you wait too long sometimes you have to replace the chain, the cassette and your chainrings.  So it’s the ounce of prevention.

Cables and Housing. Triathletes tend to sweat like alien beasts from the salt planet. They drip everywhere. We have seen triathletes who have f’d up body chemistry actually turn alloy parts under tape into anthrax powder. Truly, not making this up. One of the things that most competitors want is for their bicycle to shift. Smoothly. Quickly.  The best way to replace your cables and housing is to upgrade your bike to either the new electronic Shimano Dura Ace Di2 shifting, or if you’re a cheap skate, the Ultegra version.  Because then….you won’t need to replace your shift cables when you’ve turned them orange with a combination of rust and gu/mix paste grossness. Most high end things on your bike are aluminum, carbon, titanium. So rust is not so much an issue.  The parts of your bike that are susceptible to rust are, of course, the ones that are critical to most of the “action” verbs you expect from a tri bike. Shifting, Braking, Rolling, and Stopping.

I won’t assume that you actually know how your bike works…so we’ll explain a few concepts and be totally patronizing. Sorry. Well, not really. When you squeeze your brake or ‘click’ your shifter you’re pulling a cable through housing. Or…if you’re releasing a shift (downshifting) or releasing your brake (easing up) you’re relying on the spring tension of your derailleur (or brake) to pull the cable and the derailleur into gear (or pull your brake pads away from your rim). When you up shift, you are literally pulling the cable, which in turn pushes the derailleur up and into the desired gear. If your cable can’t slide easily through the housing (which SHOULD be lined with Teflon) then you should probably replace both the cable and housing. The cables are steel, usually stainless, and they oxidize and become ‘thicker’ or coarse, resulting in a frozen or slow moving cable. Things that can cause this: humidity (hmm…Missouri), rain, sweat, cleaning your bike at a power wash station or…ugh…peeing yourself.  Since cables are round wound- they do literally stretch over time, especially when new. An easy way to understand this type of stretching would be to twist a towel and then pull on each end…it will elongate. And then try to use the towel like a whip. (Because it’s fun.)  The point here…is you don’t want to put new cables on immediately before an event unless you really have to, there is a chance that they could stretch and annoy you lots. Change them with some frequency…maybe annually. And if you need to pre-event, then maybe one month out.

Brake Pads. These are rubber and they wear down. They pick up small bits of metal from your rims and sound like nails on a chalkboard. Periodically ‘observe them,’ if they’re getting worn down to the point where it’s visible…replace’em. And if you have no idea how thick brake pad is, come take a look at a new set and compare them to your equipment. You can pick out the bits ‘o metal and ‘fresh them up’ with a file or a grinder/wire brush. You can also remove brake pad glaze from your rims with acetone or a bit of sanding.

Bearings. Most bearings are steel (some are ceramic) and many today are actually not ‘loose ball’ (c’mon, be adult) and are contained in a cartridge. Some are sealed and not serviceable. The thing to know, like chains and cables, they can rust and oxidize…and have grease, over time, become depleted. So…on occasion it’s a great idea to put your hub (the center of your wheel) in your hand and feel the bearing. It should be smooth. People always wonder why ZIPP wheels are so expensive… check out the bearings…they’re like ice. So… if you identify that you have a bearing surface that is crunchy or tight…it’s making you slower.  It’s also making you stronger. But you probably want to be faster and stronger, not slower and stronger. So… periodically re-grease your bearings, if they’re “loose,” or you can replace the ball bearings or bearing cartridges…and presto. Speed.

 One of the lost arts of a bicycle store is the mythic overhaul.  This is the comprehensive bottom to top replacement of chain, bearing grease or bearings, cables and housing- as well the full complement of adjustments. This is something to consider doing annually, preferably when you don’t have a race in 12 hours.  

I think that’s all I have for the time being. Please remember… don’t pee on your bike or your friend’s bike.

Best,

Mike