Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

I decided that I would change the inner tubes today on my bike because they have been punctured for about 6 months now and have never got round to fixing them.

Tyre change went OK, but I've got no idea how to put the bloody back wheel on because of the shimano gears ... I just can't figure out how it goes on! I wish I'd made a note of how it worked before, but as with everything we do from time to time, it's easier said than done. :dunce:

Can anyone provide me with an idiot's guide as to how to put this on? Or perhaps, a decent res photograph of your bike, or a diagram - anything that'll help me!!

I should have read that fine manual, but as I bought the bike second hand, no manual came with it (assuming such a thing does come with a bike) ...

Thanks ;)

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

been a while since i did this sort of thing .......... , what exactly have you taken apart ?????????? :)

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

I took the back wheel off from the bike itself so that I could take out the old innertubes and replace them with new ones. That I did, but in doing that had to take the chain off the bits at the back but I don't know how to put the whole thing back together again. The geary bit is still on and there is still a chain through it.

God I just wish I had one of those old bikes without all this - much simpler as it just goes round one thing! :D

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

That's what I thought, I don't recall taking anything apart for a tyre change. I recall battling with the cog block on a wheel change (which you need a special tool for), but not a tyre change.

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

If I recall all you need to do is pull the bottom two little coggy things back while you thread the wheel between the forks and chain and back into place.

If you don't pull the bottom two back the chain sort of turns into a single stripe.

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

I did this a couple of weeks ago!

You need to push the derailieur bit back so that it stretches the chain. Then drop the wheel back in making sure that the end of the axle finds its way inside the loop of the chain.

Hope that makes sense!

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

bit late now but is this any use to you , no punctures anymore :)

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Right, what you need to do is use the gear shift for the rear gear mech to shift it into the highest gear (smallest sprocket at the rear when the whell is on normally). Loosen the quick release axel on the rear wheel (or the nuts if it's a solid axel). Pull the rear mech gear cage that holds the two jockey wheels (small cogs) up towards the bottom chainstay (the part of the frame that goes from where the pedals rotate to the back wheel) and then using the other hand pull the wheel upwards or move the rear of the bike downwardsso that is slots into the frame. Let go of the rear gears, tighten up the quick release or axel nut and off you go. I can take photos if you still need them!

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Top post!!! was going to take a photo too!

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

and i will second that :tu:

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

even with all those spelling mistakes!? Thanks! And bike related questions, send them this way. Mountain Biking is my hobby, also my mode of transport every day. Used to be a BikeHut mechanic, maybe be going back to there soon!:) Hope it help anyway, let me know if photos are needed.

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

good to know, thanks, :tu: my mode of transport, too - although mine is a 'sit up & beg' with hub gears, a springy saddle & a chain guard, so I won't be asking how to make riding a bike more comfortable :D

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

mines on foot, can someone tell me how to get these damn boots on :D

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Well, since you're inviting... Those tyres paulyoug666 posted a link for, are they worthwhile? Personally, I can't imagine they are. You may not get any punctures, but I imagine it'll take you twice as long to get where you are going. (Otherwise, we'd all be using them?)

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

wtf are you going on about , why would it take twice as long :confused:

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Sorry, I didn't mean to offend you. I just have this image of cycling on wheelchair/forklift tyres, which I would think would not be very comfortable (re. cushioning), or (if it does cushion) might not be very effective in transferring the force you exert into actual speed (hence twice as long). Now, if they do cushion and transfer speed as well as normal tyres, they sound brilliant, and we may all be using them shortly. But seeing we're not right now, I was wondering if we should.

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Excuse me!!! Please get out of my head. Thats where you got that post from i assume!!!

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

ermm so the fact that loads of people ride around on soft tail bikes makes no difference to the amount of pedal force being transfered into forward motion?

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

too many variables, under-inflated tyre good at low speed traction, but a drag at higher speed, weight of rider ?

how well do they grip the road in the rain?

sound good, though
:)

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Are you referring to suspension bikes? If so, I would think that (especially front) suspension is not very good for speed on the road. I've not seen many of them in the Tour de France this year.

Kidding aside, my original question was serious. Are these tyres as good as regular tyres or not?

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Exactly my point. Rear suspension bikes you lose so much energy

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Thanks for the info, photos would be great! :)

Also some annotated pics would be good too - I don't know my sprockets from my chainstays. :blush:

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Hmm the tyre may be ok if you don't do too much riding, or ride mainly on the road, definitely a no no if you ride proper off road stuff. They're good on road in that they have less rolling resistance (compared to MTB tires) but off road they're firmness does allow them to grip as well as a decent set of conventional tyres, such as WTB's. ATS used to sell (maybe still do) them. As for the rear suspension arguement it all depends on the design, cheap and cheerful sus bike are very bad at transferring thier energy, mainly becuase of their single pivot design (which is cheap to manufacture) where as bikes such as the GT iDrive are exceptionally good (google for it to find out more). Pictures to follow shortly!

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

Here we go:
www.strzelecki.co.uk/images/1.jpg
www.strzelecki.co.uk/images/2.jpg
www.strzelecki.co.uk/images/3.jpg
www.strzelecki.co.uk/images/4.jpg
www.strzelecki.co.uk/images/5.jpg (annotated)

They're kind of in sequence, if a little blurry! The 4th one's showing the quick release being done up.

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

mmmm Marzocchi bombers

Re: Shimano gears ... aargh!!
 

On the subject of "no puncture" tyres, there was a brand called "Care Free" that was sold some years ago that was a solid (slightly compressible to allow a bit of "give") band around the rim. Unfortunately from what I heard they had poor grip in the rain.

Having said that, I've just done a quick google and found the following site http://www.kairfree.co.uk/ which seem to be the same people with a slightly different product.