WD-40 quells the last creak

WD-40 silenced my creaking shoes.

This weekend was a milestone celebrated in silence. Nothing squeaked or creaked on my ride. That means my shoes didn’t creak the way they often do, especially when I ride in dirt.

I had tried oiling the cleats, but that didn’t work. It may have made it worse.

What happens is microscopic grit gets between the metal holding plate, shoe sole and cleat. You can clean out the grit but it comes right back.

I decided to try WD-40. WD-40 is strange stuff. It’s mostly a solvent of hydrocarbons that work by transporting a little Vaseline and mineral oil into tiny crevasses.

So unlike a heavy oil, which gums up the cleat and attracts dirt, the WD-40 penetrates inside the shoe cleat and works where it’s needed. No residue and no creaking. At least that’s my experience.

One of the perks from buying WD-40 — it’s made in San Diego.

Freakish Squeaks Keep on Coming

Old saddles on new seatposts can rub and cause squeaking.

Here’s how it used to look. Campagnolo seatposts offered plenty of clearance.

When will it end? How many more squeaks and creaks do I have to live through?

I blame it on the transition from old, reliable technology to new, reliable technology. I have to learn all over the ins and outs of today’s bike parts and what makes them tick, and squeak.

This time it’s a case of old parts not meshing with new parts.

I purchased a new old stock Avocet Racing II saddle and slapped it onto my new technology seatpost. It’s one of those generic posts with the standard seat clamp I see on most run-of-the-mill posts.

It turns out that the clamp is wider than the Campagnolo Super Record seatpost that used to hold my Avocet saddles, so the inside of the saddle rubs against the clamp. If not lubricated, it squeaks like hell.

Who knew? Today’s saddles don’t have the long sides that characterized the seats of yore. When you think about it, you don’t need the long sides. It was probably a fashion decision to cover the seatpost. Modern saddles have gone the opposite direction.

A Link to Chains

Here’s a chain measurement. At 12 inches (13 shown here because I started at 1 inch) a worn chain will be 1/16 inch beyond center to center. This one is about 1/32 inch so it has more wear.

When I shifted to Shimano Ultegra, minor matters, like the cost of a chain, suddenly took on new meaning. $40-$90 for a chain?

I purchased a Park CC-3.2 chain wear-indicator tool and started cleaning my chain with Simple Green more often. I also purchased a second chain so I’d be more inclined to clean my chain, some KMC master chain links and Park MLP-1 master pliers. I read up on the best way to clean a chain as described by Sheldon Brown. I especially like putting the chain in a container with Simple Green and shaking well.

I’m pleased to report that the chain is wearing longer than I expected. Worn chains will more rapidly wear freewheel sprockets, adding to the cost of maintenance.

The Shimano CN-6600 has about 4,000 miles, but it won’t last much longer. Park has two settings, .5(%) and .75(%). It’s at .5 but being the cheapskate that I am, I’ll let it go to .75, which is about 1/16 inch and the recommended wear point for chain replacement according to the experts.

While Pardo and others mention that most chain-wear indicator tools push the rollers apart and are therefore “inaccurate” it’s easy enough to measure your chain when the chain-wear tool indicates it’s worn, just to confirm. Of course, measuring with a ruler is subject to error as well.

Park no doubt accounted for the roller spread when making the tool and from what I can tell it’s spot-on accurate. Now back to your regularly scheduled bike riding.

Follow Up (April 30, 2013)
About 550 miles later the chain wore down to the 0.75 setting. Your mileage may vary.

Park chain wear tool makes it easy to judge chain wear. When the tool easily fits into the .75 setting it’s time for a new chain.

Bikes hanging from rafters

Lowering hooks makes for easy bike storage in the garage.

I finally got around to lowering my bikes hanging from a garage rafter. It’s no easy thing to lift a steel bike and hook it three feet above your head. I found a spare 2×4 and some left-over hinges, made a few measurements, and now I only have to lift the bike a couple inches for storage.

A Christmas wish come true

Bike-assembly elves had a busy night preparing for Christmas day.

I never was much of a wrench, and I have not gotten better with time, as I proved last night while assembling bikes for families in need.

It took about one minute to recall why I didn’t enjoy working in the repair shop at Palo Alto Bicycles back in 1979. I’m like a beginner violinist. Lacking coordination, unpracticed. No mechanic worth his weight in Phil Wood grease would need five minutes to adjust a front brake.

I once hired a Toyota dealership moonlighting mechanic to work on my car and he let me watch. It was like cellist Yo-Yo Ma making beautiful music. He could troubleshoot like no other, and there was nothing he couldn’t fix.

But I digress. Fortunately I broke my wrist in a bike crash on Mt. Hamilton and that put me in mail order. Much better. I could sort and pack, process returns.

Target bike quality
While working on the bikes sold by Target I learned a few things. Magna mountain bikes, retail $100, aren’t bad. They would be fine for around-town riding. Just don’t take them on a trail with serious jumps. They’ll snap like a dry twig.

How Target can make a profit on a bike costing so little is a mystery. It’s not like they’ll get rich from return customers buying bike accessories. Tubes? Tires? Give me a break.

Quality is decent. Sure there was a glaring gap in one of the robot-welded frames, but all in all the parts work. I was especially impressed with the gears. Nice shifting.

A few pointers. These bikes need tuning by a pro. The bottom brackets barely turned on some bikes. Fortunately I had the tools. Brakes are hard to adjust. It was a combination of poor alignment, cheap parts, lack of lubrication, and incompetence.

Headsets were tight, some so bad the forks barely turned. That’s an easy fix when you have the right tools. But what of the poor person buying this bike and trying to assemble with no experience? It’s a frightening thought.

Fortunately some local agencies have the best interest of the less fortunate in mind. They relied on experienced bike riders to put them together and then they took those bikes to a shop for further inspection. So for someone’s Christmas morning it’s going to be a smooth ride on a shiny new bike. It was a pleasure to help.

Creaky Bike Seat

Creaky saddle? Oil it here with Liquid Wrench penetrant oil.

I’ve had not one but two creaky bike seats in recent weeks. They’re both Avocet, a NOS Racing II and an ancient Gelflex. It just so happened they had the same issue, common with older saddles running a lot of miles.

The seat rails just need a squirt of oil where they fit in the saddle. It dries up in there. Not just any oil. I found Liquid Wrench penetrant oil works best. Other oils may be too thick to soak in. Be sure to tip the saddle vertical as shown in the photo.

The saddle creak symptom only happens when you’re sitting in the saddle, usually while climbing. It won’t creak when you’re riding out of the saddle.

Easy and Not So Easy Tire Mounting

After more experimenting on tire mounting, I’m changing my thoughts about what’s more relevant to a good fit.

I thought it was the tire, but now I’m beginning to think it’s more the rim than the tire that matters. I mounted all sorts of tires on the modern Mavic Open Pro rim and they went on with ease, even the Nashbar tire, although that was not my original experience (Good Tire, Bad Tire).

However, mounting tires on the old Mavic MA2, MA40 and Rigida rims was much harder than the Open Pro for the same tire. After looking carefully at the two rims, the deeper channel on the Open Pro appears to give the tire more adjustability for an easier fit. I can’t think of any other explanation.

The Open Pro has a 19 mm vertical profile, while the MA2 is only 13 mm.

I’m not an expert though, so I’d like to know more.

I still believe the tire plays a role. Some tires go on easier than others, but I’m not finding anything on the Open Pro rim that’s an issue, yet.

Considering how much easier it is to mount tires on the Open Pro, my love affair with the MA2 is over. I’d certainly never shell out $300 for a NOS pair on eBay.

A brief video above shows how incredibly easy it is to mount tires on the Open Pro, versus mounting a tire on an older French rim.

Tire	Size	Actual width
Bontrager Select	700×28	27 mm
Bontrager All Weather	700×28	27 mm
Continental Ultra 2000	700×28	25 mm
Continental Grand Prix 4 season	700×28	26 mm
Continental Gator Hardshell	700×28	26.5 mm
Michelin Optimum Pro	700×25	26 mm
Michelin Speedium 2	700×25	25.5 mm
Nashbar Prima	700×25	25 mm
Continental Ultra (modern)	700×28	25 mm

Miles to Ride Before I Re-tire

This Nashbar tire is starting to bulge, a sure sign of impending failure. Check your tires regularly.

As I last reported, my rear tire failed on a fast descent. It had about 2,500 miles, 3 percent of those miles on dirt. The brand is Bontrager, All Weather Hard Case 700×28, wire bead, rated at 100 psi and retailing for about $44.

I have ridden the Bontrager Select 700×28 and like it better than the All Weather, which doesn’t seem to have anything going for it in terms of riding in different weather or flat protection, other than the name.

I was hoping for 3,000 miles, but from what I’ve been reading, 2,500 miles is about right for tire life. I have read numerous accounts or riders claiming 5,000 miles, but I’ve never had a tire last that long in my 30-plus years of riding. I’ve had plenty of tires make it to 3,000+ miles.

This leads to a word of advice. Always check your tires for bulges (something I failed to do), especially at the bead. There’s nothing worse than a front blowout. Jobst Brandt, author of The Bicycle Wheel, had one of those around 2007 descending the back side of Mt. Hamilton at 40 mph.

The crash left him with a bloody head, scrapes and bruises. He did not finish the ride. The tire was a Continental Ultra 2000, one of the less expensive models minus the reinforced protective sheath around the wire bead.

I checked my Nashbar Prima 2 front tire, which had the same number of miles, and sure enough it had a bulge. It’s 700×25, rated at 100 psi and retails for about $15.

So this begs the question: Is a $44 tire better than a $16 tire? I ran the economy tire on the front, so it’s hard to say how long it would last on the rear. Remember, a $60 tire cuts just as easily on a shard of glass as a $15 tire.

My big issue with tires is the lack of models in 700×28. Note that 28 mm is a nominal diameter. The Bontrager measured 27 mm. The Nashbar tire was a true 25 mm.

New Tires to Test
My new tires are the pricey Continental Grandprix 4 season 700×28, rear, and the Michelin Optimum Pro 700×25 in the front. Oddly enough, both tires measure 26 mm actual diameter.

I’ve never tried Michelin tires but I’ve used Continental ever since Avocet shut down. I liked the Avocet tires for their traction, low rolling resistance and durability. They were made by IRC, which still makes bike tires. However, their 700×28 is a low-end model.

The late Sheldon Brown has excellent information about tires on his website.

I’ll let you know how my new tires hold up.

A Boot Saves the Day – Again

A rip in your tire can leave you stranded. Always carry a boot. The brown cord at the tear is the boot. It’s the second time in a year that a boot came in handy.

Riding down Stage Road on Sunday my rear tire flatted. The loud pop indicated a blowout. Even though I was going fast, rear flats aren’t so bad. Front blowouts are a different matter.

I stopped and began the usual routine of replacing the tube. I didn’t look for the cause of the flat, which was my big mistake. Locate the hole and make sure you know the cause. I ran my fingers over the inside of the tire, but that was it.

After the quick change I set off again, only to have another rear blowout seconds later! I then had to patch the tube and noticed this time that it was a large cut at the bottom facing the rim. However, I saw nothing wrong with the rim, so I patched the tube and set about once again inflating the tire.

This time I heard a hissing sound even before the tire was fully inflated. I looked at the tire and immediately saw the problem. The tire had separated near the wire bead and the tube was oozing out.

Once again I had to patch, choosing the other tube, which had smaller slice, but this time I had the solution, which I always carry – a boot. The piece of bike tire went between the tube and the tire, covering the hole. I filled the tire with air and was on my way.

At the summit of Skyline Boulevard I decided to check the tire just to be sure all was OK. You don’t want a blowout descending Page Mill Road. Sure enough, the tube was bulging again. I let the air out and repositioned the boot to cover the hole.

The descent on Page Mill Road went without incident and I made it home. Next I’ll review the tire and give my observations about tires.

Keep Your Seat Rails Dry

Don’t oil the seat rails or you may wind up with a creaky saddle.

For more than 30 years I never had a squeak or a creak caused by my saddle, until recently. The root cause turned out to be a classic case of unintentional results.

I had an annoying creak in my bike that I couldn’t pinpoint, but after a couple of months finally discovered to be a loose front quick release. During that time I added oil to just about every part of the bike, including the seat rails.

This is one place where you should never add oil, I discovered the hard way. Fine dirt and grit kicked up by the rear wheel clung to the oil on the rails and eventually worked its way down into the rail bed.

It was the perfect recipe for saddle creak. I took off the saddle and removed all signs of oil and dirt from the rails and post. That fixed the problem. You may want to grease the seat post bolt, but that’s the only place that needs it.

I’m not saying this is the cause of your problem. But try cleaning the rails before moving on to the next possibility.