The Bicycle (Specialty) Tools Thread

[neersighted]

I am willing to bet, (even more so after looking up the MSDS) that the only thing proprietary about their grease is the label. Its highly likely it is just Mobilux EP2 repackaged.

On the CK front I think you might be thinking of a different lube? I'd say it's probably closer to Mobil Centaur looking at what I have lying around.

The CK has a significant amount of moly added and EP2 does not -- the viscosity and dropping point are also significantly different. If I was going to make a substitution, it would probably be Mobil Centaur Moly 1, though I suspect the Mobil is still more viscous than the CK Silver.

 

[The Bean]

Growing up with Schwinn bikes from the time I was a kid, then acquiring any variety of junk bikes and repairing them to ride, I only ever needed this dog-bone tool.

The 2nd one I've ever owned. Really sad when I broke my original...


And what about this English made tool? Bike wrench? Really handy. I call it "the knuckles".

 

[JRC3]

That's what Vice-Grips are for. Ha. I remember clamping a pair on the seatpost in case of needed repairs on bikes I had as a kid and early teen. It was my first onboard multitool.

 

[slowtwitch73]

The transulucent Shimano grease is way different than Phil Wood. Phil Wood lubes are all too thick and gooey imo.

 

[quattroman]

Some others;

Andreani (Italy) Suspension service tools. Vacuum pumps for shock bleeding, shock dyno, fork bushing replacement tool, a range of specialist brand specific tools, shaft clamps etc. Aimed at professional workshops, so not cheap, but can be good value for money compared to some OEM tools.

https://www.andreanigroup.com/resources/workbench-bike/pdf/andreani-MTB-2017-tools-list-en.pdf

ND Tuned (Portugal) Fork Steerer/stanchion replacement tools. Stanchion tools are very slick, I prefer my own crown support on most modern forks for removal, use their setup to fit the new steerer.

Blue Liquid Labs (USA) steerer/stanchion tools, cheaper, finish is not as good as ND, fork bushing resizing tool is nice

Off Street Only (USA) Shock hand dynos

PTR Parts (Czech) hand dyno, shaft clamps (good value for money)

Fox (USA) Fox suspension service tools, normally expensive

DB CycleWerks (Canada) Suspension shaft clamps, cheaper than OEM

Centrimaster (Germany) Wheel tools, the rim ERD tool is great, expensive

Laba7 (Lithuania) Suspension Dyno, vacuum pump, spring rate

Bounce Cycles (UK) OEM suspension tool alternatives, shaft clamps, seal bullets etc

RRP (?) Useful bearing removal and install set (as the bearing tools are aligned)

Hope (UK) Service tools for their own products (bore cap tools, bleed caps and funnel, bearing drifts etc, generally good and good value for money some like the hub support tool are handy general shop tools, some like their cranks are unnecessarily complicated (IMO)

Seized seatpost removal tool I made (while we are on bike tools)



Workshop (if people are into bike tools)

 

[mepstein]

Any recommendations for a well spec'd 32mm headset wrench? The later Park wrenches I've had, have oversized tolerances.

The Park HW-2 is decent but feel it could have better spec. The various 32mm tried all wiggle enough that applying torque I don't want to leave gouges on the headset.

We used the 32 (regular Park wrench) to hold the flats on the race and a very large adjustable wrench to actually tighten the top nut. I know I personally did thousands of bikes this way until the industry moved to threadless headsets.

 

[mepstein]

I worked for about 6 years at a large bike shop (Wooden Wheels Racing). Even though it had sort of a hokey name, we sold thousands of bikes and lots of them were high end product. Even after I left, I would stop in if I needed to work on my bikes. I could do stuff at home but I never had a dedicated space.
Now I’m setting up the second floor of my shop for my own bike shop. I grabbed a park double arm stand from a shop that went out of business and I’ll have a workbench with a decent selection of tools. I still have insulation and walls to finish before I start setting up tools but I’m looking forward to my own space.

 

[Pexto]

We used the 32 (regular Park wrench) to hold the flats on the race and a very large adjustable wrench to actually tighten the top nut. I know I personally did thousands of bikes this way until the industry moved to threadless headsets.

I used to do it this way, with a 12" adjustable, until I got a 10" Plierswrench. The pliers provide a much better, secure, and non-marring grip on that locknut.

 

[slowtwitch73]

That frozen post remover is v nice. Msut be a good day in the shop when a frozen post comes in!

Back in my wrenching and shop owning days I prided myself on never getting beaten by a stuck post.

Old Fat Chance frames with the supposed sealed seat tubes were the worst... they just trapped moisture and gave a false sense of security.

 

[mepstein]

That frozen post remover is v nice. Msut be a good day in the shop when a frozen post comes in!

Back in my wrenching and shop owning days I prided myself on never getting beaten by a stuck post.

Old Fat Chance frames with the supposed sealed seat tubes were the worst... they just trapped moisture and gave a false sense of security.

Yea, fat chance was a problem. Especially if the owner used a TCO / tall cool one seatpost. That post bent easily.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Just this week I solved a creaking noise that was driving me insane on a BMX bike! I kept hearing the creaking, but it was inconsistent to recreate unless I leaned the bike over and put a lot of side pressure on the pedal/crank. I could literally feel it in the seat tube down low near the bottom bracket. I could've swore the frame was cracked at the bottom bracket. Turns out I forgot to cut the seatpost down after building the bike over a year ago and it was in need of more grease. I cut 6" off the post, greased it up like.....well you know....and I stuck it back in. Perfect silence.....like you know......damn it!

I raced that bike tonight and with a gearing change, new pedals, and a new bottom bracket, I've never had a better bike! Barely pulled out of a bad crash because I hit a rhythm section far faster than I'm used to. Swept all 3 heats. My back is so sore I don't think I'll be able to walk tomorrow.

 

[Pexto]

That frozen post remover is v nice. Msut be a good day in the shop when a frozen post comes in!

Back in my wrenching and shop owning days I prided myself on never getting beaten by a stuck post.

Old Fat Chance frames with the supposed sealed seat tubes were the worst... they just trapped moisture and gave a false sense of security.

I have a YoEddy that I love dearly. One of my best friends bought one around the same time (1991?). About 5 years ago he noticed a rust spot on the BB shell next to the down tube; a little poking with a fingernail, and then more exploration with a screwdriver ensued; turns out the seat tube rusted all the way through; and not in a small way. He has talked about getting it repaired but for now the frame sits idle. Very thin steel with no provision for drainage is not a recipe for frame longevity, who would've guessed?

 

[RB80]

Some others;

Andreani (Italy) Suspension service tools. Vacuum pumps for shock bleeding, shock dyno, fork bushing replacement tool, a range of specialist brand specific tools, shaft clamps etc. Aimed at professional workshops, so not cheap, but can be good value for money compared to some OEM tools.

https://www.andreanigroup.com/resources/workbench-bike/pdf/andreani-MTB-2017-tools-list-en.pdf

ND Tuned (Portugal) Fork Steerer/stanchion replacement tools. Stanchion tools are very slick, I prefer my own crown support on most modern forks for removal, use their setup to fit the new steerer.

Blue Liquid Labs (USA) steerer/stanchion tools, cheaper, finish is not as good as ND, fork bushing resizing tool is nice

Off Street Only (USA) Shock hand dynos

PTR Parts (Czech) hand dyno, shaft clamps (good value for money)

Fox (USA) Fox suspension service tools, normally expensive

DB CycleWerks (Canada) Suspension shaft clamps, cheaper than OEM

Centrimaster (Germany) Wheel tools, the rim ERD tool is great, expensive

Laba7 (Lithuania) Suspension Dyno, vacuum pump, spring rate

Bounce Cycles (UK) OEM suspension tool alternatives, shaft clamps, seal bullets etc

RRP (?) Useful bearing removal and install set (as the bearing tools are aligned)

Hope (UK) Service tools for their own products (bore cap tools, bleed caps and funnel, bearing drifts etc, generally good and good value for money some like the hub support tool are handy general shop tools, some like their cranks are unnecessarily complicated (IMO)

Seized seatpost removal tool I made (while we are on bike tools)



Workshop (if people are into bike tools)

That tool is very cool and impressive, I really like it. It's probably not a factor for most, but without legs that press against the ground, the forces appear to be seatpost vs. BB shell? If so, does that assume the forces required to remove the post are less than the force required to push the BB shell from the frame?

 

[rdenney]

That tool is very cool and impressive, I really like it. It's probably not a factor for most, but without legs that press against the ground, the forces appear to be seatpost vs. BB shell? If so, does that assume the forces required to remove the post are less than the force required to push the BB shell from the frame?

Yes. But if the seat post is so frozen that it rips the bottom bracket shell off, it seems to me there wouldn’t have been any alternatives anyway.

Rick “who has used a slide hammer with a foot on the inside of the main triangle” Denney

 

[mepstein]

If the post was really stuck, I used to cut it off, leaving about 2 inches. Drop some thin penetrating oil on both ends of the post. Then using a sawsall, make some lengthwise cuts down the inside of the post. Then I could grab the post and remove. I think the sawsall vibration helped distribute the oil between the frame and the post as much as making the cuts to relieve tension. The cuts didn’t have to go all the way through for it to work. We were in a college town so lots of kids leaving their bikes outside.

 

[slowtwitch73]

TCO post.... yuck.. There really were some odd/bad parts brands. Zoom was another..

Getting the worst posts out required complete disassembly of fame, tubing blocks to hold post, and large vise, some kind of oil/lube, and time. Most bikes had a way to get oil in.. either through the seat tube vent, bottle holes (unless blind like Fat Chance) or sometimes through top of seat post. A few of them came out smoking from the friction.. often took two of us. Don't know that a tool that pulls straight up would have worked on some of them.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Just this week I solved a creaking noise that was driving me insane on a BMX bike! I kept hearing the creaking, but it was inconsistent to recreate unless I leaned the bike over and put a lot of side pressure on the pedal/crank. I could literally feel it in the seat tube down low near the bottom bracket. I could've swore the frame was cracked at the bottom bracket. Turns out I forgot to cut the seatpost down after building the bike over a year ago and it was in need of more grease. I cut 6" off the post, greased it up like.....well you know....and I stuck it back in. Perfect silence.....like you know......damn it!

l

When cutting bars or seat posts down it’s a good idea to debur the Cut end. A deburing tool works for this, but what I find that produces a better finish and is quicker is to use one of these Rigid pipe reamers as it will do both inside and outside surfaces. For carbon I just use some 120 grit sand paper.

 

[Jim C.]

Some others;

Andreani (Italy) Suspension service tools. Vacuum pumps for shock bleeding, shock dyno, fork bushing replacement tool, a range of specialist brand specific tools, shaft clamps etc. Aimed at professional workshops, so not cheap, but can be good value for money compared to some OEM tools.

https://www.andreanigroup.com/resources/workbench-bike/pdf/andreani-MTB-2017-tools-list-en.pdf

ND Tuned (Portugal) Fork Steerer/stanchion replacement tools. Stanchion tools are very slick, I prefer my own crown support on most modern forks for removal, use their setup to fit the new steerer.

Blue Liquid Labs (USA) steerer/stanchion tools, cheaper, finish is not as good as ND, fork bushing resizing tool is nice

Off Street Only (USA) Shock hand dynos

PTR Parts (Czech) hand dyno, shaft clamps (good value for money)

Fox (USA) Fox suspension service tools, normally expensive

DB CycleWerks (Canada) Suspension shaft clamps, cheaper than OEM

Centrimaster (Germany) Wheel tools, the rim ERD tool is great, expensive

Laba7 (Lithuania) Suspension Dyno, vacuum pump, spring rate

Bounce Cycles (UK) OEM suspension tool alternatives, shaft clamps, seal bullets etc

RRP (?) Useful bearing removal and install set (as the bearing tools are aligned)

Hope (UK) Service tools for their own products (bore cap tools, bleed caps and funnel, bearing drifts etc, generally good and good value for money some like the hub support tool are handy general shop tools, some like their cranks are unnecessarily complicated (IMO)

Seized seatpost removal tool I made (while we are on bike tools)



Workshop (if people are into bike tools)

That’s a really comprehensive set of bike tools. Back in the 1970s, Sears thought this was all you needed.

 

[CarBikeGuy70]

If the post was really stuck, I used to cut it off, leaving about 2 inches. Drop some thin penetrating oil on both ends of the post. Then using a sawsall, make some lengthwise cuts down the inside of the post. Then I could grab the post and remove. I think the sawsall vibration helped distribute the oil between the frame and the post as much as making the cuts to relieve tension. The cuts didn’t have to go all the way through for it to work. We were in a college town so lots of kids leaving their bikes outside.

Sawsall is the way to go for a stuck seatpost. I've had to use that method more times than you can imagine.

 

[mepstein]

Workshop (if people are into bike tools)

Gotta have a shop dog.

 

[Odd-job]

This thread is getting expensive.

Need a better presta inflator to attach to my air compressor. Am liking Grant Gunderson's Milton setup with quick connects. Can anyone comment on how the Milton analogs do at lower pressures (20-30 PSI)? Have an S-506, but am wondering if I am just better off attaching a presta adapter to a blowgun and airing down with a modded longacre gauge.

Ultra tef-gel is now in my shopping cart. Wow food and marine grade. $33 for 2 oz.

 

[imagineer]

Back in my days at a bike shop in Massachusetts, we renamed the Park 4th hand tool (cable stretcher) the "Jenny" tool; after the girlfriend of one of the shop workers (because she didn't do anything either).

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

When cutting bars or seat posts down it’s a good idea to debur the Cut end. A debuting tool works for this, but what I find that produces a better finish and is quicker is to use one of these Rigid pipe reamers as it will do both inside and outside surfaces. For carbon I just use some 120 grit sand paper.

My process for aluminum bars and posts is to throw them in the bandsaw, which produces a nearly burr free cut, then I use one of the pictured hand deburring tools. Carbon I cut by hand and finish with sand paper. I like that Rigid tool, I just don't do enough to justify buying one.





Maybe it's just me, but I hardly ever wash my bikes. My reasons are two fold;
1) I dislike cleaning things
2) I think the more time bikes are exposed to water, the more likely they are to have bearings wash out and rust to form.

Granted, I live in Arizona, so dust is all we really deal with. I'm pretty **** about greasing everything during assembly to help "seal" everything up. I do clean chains probably more frequently than is needed, but the dust can be kinda rough on chains in my opinion. I also perform basic suspension services at much lower intervals than prescribed as it's cheap and easy.

 

[Mr. Tool]

---

​

• Birzman (Taiwan): A Taiwanese bicycle tool manufacturer who (as best I can tell) exclusively sell under their own name. Birzman tools have average distribution in the US, but tend not to be that popular in my experience. That being said, they have some novel tools in their line that no other brand offers/seems to have thought of, and their kit is solid if not the best in feel in my experience.

Thanks for the excellent write up-post!

As you mentioned, Birzman tools, well I do happen to have a few of their tools. Maybe not top quality but not cheaply made either IM0.

I've been satisfied with them and how they handle.

Birzman Tools Anyone?

BIRZMAN tools.....geared more toward bike shop's, cyclist and bike enthusiast basically these tools are designed more in mind for working on bikes. But yet still I found them most interesting and well decided on purchasing a few of them to try them out. The intent of this thread is not to say...

www.garagejournal.com

 

[mepstein]

Back in my days at a bike shop in Massachusetts, we renamed the Park 4th hand tool (cable stretcher) the "Jenny" tool; after the girlfriend of one of the shop workers (because she didn't do anything either).

We used it all the time for cantilever and V brakes. 4th and tool and a park y socket wrench were the go to for brakes before bikes came 99% assembled.

 

[mepstein]

My process for aluminum bars and posts is to throw them in the bandsaw, which produces a nearly burr free cut, then I use one of the pictured hand deburring tools. Carbon I cut by hand and finish with sand paper. I like that Rigid tool, I just don't do enough to justify buying one.





Maybe it's just me, but I hardly ever wash my bikes. My reasons are two fold;
1) I dislike cleaning things
2) I think the more time bikes are exposed to water, the more likely they are to have bearings wash out and rust to form.

Granted, I live in Arizona, so dust is all we really deal with. I'm pretty **** about greasing everything during assembly to help "seal" everything up. I do clean chains probably more frequently than is needed, but the dust can be kinda rough on chains in my opinion. I also perform basic suspension services at much lower intervals than prescribed as it's cheap and easy.

It's not uncommon to do a complete wash every time we ride mt bikes. Lots of mud on the east coast. It's nice when everything freezes solid but then even a sunny day can melt the first inch and turn everything slimy. A lot of times I will ride my single speed because there's so much less to catch mud and wear out. And when it does, the parts are cheap.

 

[slowtwitch73]

Back in my days at a bike shop in Massachusetts, we renamed the Park 4th hand tool (cable stretcher) the "Jenny" tool; after the girlfriend of one of the shop workers (because she didn't do anything either).

Great for tightening zip ties...

 

[quattroman]

That tool is very cool and impressive, I really like it. It's probably not a factor for most, but without legs that press against the ground, the forces appear to be seatpost vs. BB shell? If so, does that assume the forces required to remove the post are less than the force required to push the BB shell from the frame?

Yes the tool mounts on through the BB, so you could potentially pull a frame apart. I cut a vertical slot in a lot of the alloy posts seized in carbon frames before removal (made a depth adjustable hacksaw blade holder so I could cut a slot without damaging the frame)

Its not a perfect tool, just one I made when I had 3 bikes in with seized seat posts one week, and modified it as needed. Became a bit of a thing though and i got a lot of seized seat post work!

 

[quattroman]

Getting the worst posts out required complete disassembly of fame, tubing blocks to hold post, and large vise, some kind of oil/lube, and time. Most bikes had a way to get oil in.. either through the seat tube vent, bottle holes (unless blind like Fat Chance) or sometimes through top of seat post. A few of them came out smoking from the friction.. often took two of us. Don't know that a tool that pulls straight up would have worked on some of them.

I have done that on some seized posts in another shop in the past, but I have used my puller to remove posts that other shops have snapped off trying to twist out. Also need to be careful with the frame when twisting, the seat tube is reasonably strong in tension.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Maybe it's just me, but I hardly ever wash my bikes. My reasons are two fold;
1) I dislike cleaning things
2) I think the more time bikes are exposed to water, the more likely they are to have bearings wash out and rust to form.

Granted, I live in Arizona, so dust is all we really deal with. I'm pretty **** about greasing everything during assembly to help "seal" everything up. I do clean chains probably more frequently than is needed, but the dust can be kinda rough on chains in my opinion. I also perform basic suspension services at much lower intervals than prescribed as it's cheap and easy.

Here in the PNW, during most of the year, you cant really ride without washing your bike each ride due to all of the mud.

Modern bikes almost exclusively use sealed cartridge bearings. These hold up surprising well to water, as long as you dont hit them with a pressure washer. Nothing is worse for the pivots then dirt getting in and starting to wear at them. So you really are better off keeping them clean. In general clean bikes work better.

I use one of these small jet nozzles on the garden hose. IT works incredibly well and has lasted 5+ years now. I found that pre-rinsing the bike, then spraying it with Simple Green with one of these then brushing and a final rinse goes really quick and takes less than 5 minutes, if you do it immediately post ride.

Speaking of riding, the machine built wheel set on my current E-bike is nothing but a pain in the ***, especially after riding custom made wheel sets the last 15+ years. With the spokes coming loose just about every other ride. After having a spoke snap on yesterday's ride I decided to do something about it.


I like to use my Festool Impact to zip the rotors off. I also use it on the torque limiting setting to install, followed by a Torque wrench.

I have an Abbey universal truing stand adapter. It works well, but at some point, I need to cut a longer section of all thread to use with it, as what is supplied is a bit short.

I like to use Boiled linseed oil on my spoke threads. I find that it really helps to keep them from loosening. I use an small syringe to apply it.

Each spoke gets a drop. I then wipe away the excess.

 

[AdAstra]

Simple Green

If the original green formula, careful to rinse that stuff off completely and quickly, and not to let it get/wick into any cracks or threads, etc., it can do unfriendly things to aluminum and other metals. https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/migrated/aviation/safety/upload/SA_2000-01.pdf

 

[Grant Gunderson]

If the original green formula, careful to rinse that stuff off completely and quickly, and not to let it get/wick into any cracks or threads, etc., it can do unfriendly things to aluminum and other metals. https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/migrated/aviation/safety/upload/SA_2000-01.pdf

I have found using it to wash bikes, and immediately rinsing it, is no issue and it does a great job. Using simple green in the Ultrasonic however tends to strip any anodizing right off.

This thread is getting expensive.

Need a better presta inflator to attach to my air compressor. Am liking Grant Gunderson's Milton setup with quick connects. Can anyone comment on how the Milton analogs do at lower pressures (20-30 PSI)? Have an S-506, but am wondering if I am just better off attaching a presta adapter to a blowgun and airing down with a modded longacre gauge.

Ultra tef-gel is now in my shopping cart. Wow food and marine grade. $33 for 2 oz.

Ha! My wife complained about the cost of bike tools. Next time we where in a bike shop getting parts for the kids bike, I told her to inquire about the cost of a full service..... she hasn't complained about the cost of the tools since.

Milton makes the Accuracy-guages. These are very reliable. Pick your poison, for the various ranges, but they are very accurate and are highly recommend around the pro bike tech community.

Try this for the Ultra-Tef Gel. 4oZ for $41. 4OZ will last quite a while as a little goes a long ways.

Also, this looks to be a good alternative for Tef-Gel. I haven't used it, but the specs look good as does the price.

 

[imagineer]

Another Bike tool memory... one of my specialties at the bike shop was custom wheel building. I was know for consistent and and reliable race wheels.

After work and after driving (or biking home), getting in the shower, I'd find I still had a spoke wrench looped over my finger.

 

[Odd-job]

I have found using it to wash bikes, and immediately rinsing it, is no issue and it does a great job. Using simple green in the Ultrasonic however tends to strip any anodizing right off.

Ha! My wife complained about the cost of bike tools. Next time we where in a bike shop getting parts for the kids bike, I told her to inquire about the cost of a full service..... she hasn't complained about the cost of the tools since.

Milton makes the Accuracy-guages. These are very reliable. Pick your poison, for the various ranges, but they are very accurate and are highly recommend around the pro bike tech community.

Try this for the Ultra-Tef Gel. 4oZ for $41. 4OZ will last quite a while as a little goes a long ways.

Also, this looks to be a good alternative for Tef-Gel. I haven't used it, but the specs look good as does the price.

Thanks for the links. Looks like I overpaid for the Tef-gel but if it saves me from welding a seat post in a frame then I guess it’s not so expensive after all.

Have an accu-gage from a long time ago, but am liking my converted long acre a little more because of the larger gauge. Need to find a better presta attachment eventually.

 

[CallumRD1]

Here in the PNW, during most of the year, you cant really ride without washing your bike each ride due to all of the mud.

Modern bikes almost exclusively use sealed cartridge bearings. These hold up surprising well to water, as long as you dont hit them with a pressure washer. Nothing is worse for the pivots then dirt getting in and starting to wear at them. So you really are better off keeping them clean. In general clean bikes work better.

I use one of these small jet nozzles on the garden hose. IT works incredibly well and has lasted 5+ years now. I found that pre-rinsing the bike, then spraying it with Simple Green with one of these then brushing and a final rinse goes really quick and takes less than 5 minutes, if you do it immediately post ride.

Speaking of riding, the machine built wheel set on my current E-bike is nothing but a pain in the ***, especially after riding custom made wheel sets the last 15+ years. With the spokes coming loose just about every other ride. After having a spoke snap on yesterday's ride I decided to do something about it.


I like to use my Festool Impact to zip the rotors off. I also use it on the torque limiting setting to install, followed by a Torque wrench.

I have an Abbey universal truing stand adapter. It works well, but at some point, I need to cut a longer section of all thread to use with it, as what is supplied is a bit short.

I like to use Boiled linseed oil on my spoke threads. I find that it really helps to keep them from loosening. I use an small syringe to apply it.

Each spoke gets a drop. I then wipe away the excess.

I use boiled linseed oil to lubricate the ******* of the wheels I build too. I find it makes coming up to tension far easier with less spoke wind up and after a few days sets up enough to prevent the spokes from loosening. I have had to disassemble a few wheels I've built due to damaged rims and it's remarkable how tenacious that cured linseed oil can be!

 

[Grant Gunderson]

On my ride last night, I ended up completely loosing my rear brake right in the middle of a super steep chute. No matter how much I pumped the brake lever, it would just go to the bar. Ended up having to hike a bike down hill for 2K vert. Not fun. Looking at the lever and caliper there was zero sign of leaking fluid. So there must be a leak in the hose.

This bike uses an Acros internal cable routed headset....its quite possible it would win an award for the worst designed bike part of all time. Notice how the heat shrink on the brake housing is all torn up.... its also wet. So pretty sure this is my leak.

I used my park brake line wrench to remove the line from the lever.

I then used my Jagwire, brake line cutter to cut the olive and ****** off of the end. This cutter works really well for the price. There are nicer ones available, but I dont have any complaints with this one.

I then attached a Park internal cable routing line to the end of the brake line. With E-bikes if you dont do this, it is nearly impossible to route the brake housing ( or seat post / shifter ) lines between the frame and the motor. A little forethought will save hours of time later.

I unscrewed the bajo fitting from the caliper.

I then pulled the main pivot. This gives access to where the brake line and the speed control wire enter the main triangle right above the motor.

I could then pull the brake housing from the bike. Notice how it is cut! WTF?

I then pulled the headset apart to see what caused the line to get cut. This plastic spacer sits between the steerer tube and the top headset bearing. Notice the crack! It turns out both sides have one. Pretty sure thats what sliced my housing open mid ride.

 

[Bigblue&Goldie]

Grant, How do you like the Maguras? I think I'm over dealing with Shimano brakes.

I have a single piston XT front setup on my hardtail where the pads go bad from sitting for a couple of months. I put new pads in and they're fine for a while. I've never seen any kind of leak and the levers are perfect, so it's not like they're getting contaminated with leaking fluid. The backs have never had an issue.....WTF?

My new bike I did the dual piston XT's with the nice 2 piece XT rotors. The front brakes are half as strong as they should be and the rears are worthless! Once again, perfect levers. I just can't get them to break in. I even spent time trying to bed them in. My wife's bike has the exact same setup and they're perfect. The only thing I can think of is they're COVID production parts and I don't know if the rotors were ground flat as well as they should be.

As much as I love Shimano, these issues have me pretty sour.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

Grant, How do you like the Maguras? I think I'm over dealing with Shimano brakes.

I have a single piston XT front setup on my hardtail where the pads go bad from sitting for a couple of months. I put new pads in and they're fine for a while. I've never seen any kind of leak and the levers are perfect, so it's not like they're getting contaminated with leaking fluid. The backs have never had an issue.....WTF?

My new bike I did the dual piston XT's with the nice 2 piece XT rotors. The front brakes are half as strong as they should be and the rears are worthless! Once again, perfect levers. I just can't get them to break in. I even spent time trying to bed them in. My wife's bike has the exact same setup and they're perfect. The only thing I can think of is they're COVID production parts and I don't know if the rotors were ground flat as well as they should be.

As much as I love Shimano, these issues have me pretty sour.

The issue with Shimano brakes is there is no real bite point adjustment. So if you are coming from Codes, etc It can be really tough to get the bite point as firm as some of us would like. I have had good luck with the dual piston XT's. In fact I had them on my previous e-bike and had no complaints with them at all, and they never made me wish for more power, even slowing the E-bike down on the steepest trails we have here in the PNW. Most likely the issue you are seeing is that your brakes probally came with organic pads. Organic pads are pretty much useless in my mind, they dont stop as well or last as long as the metal sinistered pads. Based upon what you stated I'm really to bet this is the issue. If you have a spongey lever, then they need a good bleed. I always bleed new brakes as I find the factory bleeds are usually so-so and I like to shorten my lines as much as possible as I like a really tidy cockpit.

I am Luke warm on the Maguras. They do have a ton of power and stop very well. A bunch of us are running them here in Bellingham on our E-bikes and we all found they took for ever to properly bed in... almost 4K vert of decending before they where good to go. None of us have ever experienced such a long bed in before on any brakes system, and we have pretty much ran everything at this point. The maguras do tend to go threw brake pads a bit quicker than others. This is due to the calipers using magnets to hold the pads in and there being no pad springs, so it seems the pads can drag a bit. The bigger issue with the Maura's is they use a composite lever body. I dont have very high confidence in it holding up. The screws that mount the lever to the bars are essentially wood screws going into the plastic lever body. Also the master cylinder cap is not retained by screws. It just snaps on / off and I have seen it pop off and bleed fluid everywhere when the pads get pushed back in for a pad change. Not confidence inspiring.

Now, I think a pretty good setup would be Shimano levers with the Magura calipers. The idea is the Shimano levers are clearly better made, but more importantly they have a larger master cylinder then the Magura levers, so that gives you even more stoping power. Lots of people have been doing that conversion and if you google "Shigura" lots of info comes up on it.

I know a few people that have been running the new TRP 4 pistons, and all of them are saying they are by far the best brakes they have ran with really good stopping power and modulation. I haven't used them yet, so I cant say first hand, and its probally too early to know how they will last long term.

 

[Grant Gunderson]

This is what the Acros headset top assembly looks like.

As you can see the issue is the large slots that allow the cables to pass through leave the steerer tube unsupported. Its no wonder this piece cracked. Anyone that thought plastic headsets where a good idea is an idiot. This is a new updated assembly, and they changed the frame side cup to metal, but thats not going to address the main issue.

So I packed the slots full of silicone. My thought is, that it will hopefully add some more support (minimal at best) to keep it from cracking, but more importantly it will help reduce water intrusion to the bearings. Once again this is the worse headset design possible.

I also added some double wall heat shrink to both the control wire and the brake line where they pass through the headset to give me a little additional insurance.

I used the Park RT-2 to remove the old head set top assembly.

The frame then gets prepped with Tef-Gel

And the new top assembly gets pressed in.

I dont know if it's just me the the centering mandrills for the Park head-set press dont fit for a ****. They are oversized so they dont really help to line anything up. Once my lathe is done, I'm going to turn them down for a better fit.

Cables then get routed up through the center of the headset and threw the center plastic cup that I filled with silicone. I used way more of the supplied headset grease than normal, as thats all thats going to keep water out. The rest of the assembly is like normal headset install.

Next step was to finish hooking up the new brake line to the levers.

There is a difference between the Shimano and Magura olives. The Shimano's are 6.75mm in Dia. and the Maguras are 7.00 on the dot. So its best to sue the correct olive for the lever you are using. The dust cap gets slide on the line, then the retaining nut, followed by the olive and then finally the bradded ****** needs to get pressed into the line.

I use a Jagwire tool for this. It's cheap and works well enough. It also has a reversible drive tip for Sram / Shimano Magura etc styles. I then torque the brake line down using an 8mm Flarenut Crowfoot. The spec on the Maguras is 4NM or 35in/lbs. This torque is critical as the olive needs to be compressed enough to seal, but if you over tighten it, it will leak.

 

[rdenney]

The last few posts make me very happy I stick with my old-school bikes. Current designs are too complicated for their own good, it seems to me. Hydraulic lines through the headset? Really?

Rick “never had a profound brake failure” Denney