Tire changing/Wheel removal

[OakLeaf]

Everything's in place, just not lined up?

Fully inflate the tire.

Support the bike upright with a hand on the seatpost or the seatstays, whichever's more accessible. Very little strength required, gravity's holding the weight of everything, you're just giving it a hand against tipping over.

Grab the rim directly behind the dropouts and give it a gentle pull straight backward (while using your other hand to prevent the frame from moving back with it).

If your chainstays are symmetrical you can eyeball the alignment fairly closely at the tire, near the BB (but if they're asymmetrical, they're obviously no help).

That might help.

[Catrin]

Ok, I've done it now

I finally got the rear wheel seated and the caliper brake closed...but apparently I played with the adjustment barrel for the rear brake rather more than I should have as the picture indicates.

Can I fix this myself, or is it an LBS job at this point? Leave it to me to mess up my brake cable...I hope I can fix this myself as I just made a huge payment on my Gunnar today...

[laura*]

Ok, I've done it now

Can I fix this myself, or is it an LBS job at this point?

It looks like the cable housing simply popped out of the braze-on bit on the frame. If you look closely at the little nib on the frame, you'll notice it has a narrow slot. That's so you can hook the cable into it without taking anything apart. Start by screwing the brake adjusters all the way in. (If you can,) using one hand, press the rear brake cantis together against the rim. at the same time, with the other hand, grab the cable housing, guide the cable through the aforementioned slot, and let the housing end seat into the little nib.

[Catrin]

It looks like the cable housing simply popped out of the braze-on bit on the frame. If you look closely at the little nib on the frame, you'll notice it has a narrow slot. That's so you can hook the cable into it without taking anything apart...

Oh, I see! I understand what happened now. I will try it - but if I can't quite get it at least I know they wouldn't charge me much at all to fix it.

I had a very difficult time to even get the rear brake to release - the front brake is far easier to release. Is this normal? I know my hands/fingers are weak - and even with all of the strength training I've done over the past 15 months have not been able to really change that due to the arthritis. My hands don't hurt unless I put weight on them, I just have little strength in them. My arm strength has greatly increased, but not my grip.

[Catrin]

I did get it - but the only way to get it was to release the rear brake caliper...and now I can't get the rear brake cable back on $&*#. A friend has said I can drop by their house this afternoon while he and his wife are doing yard work and he will look at it.

If this does turn out to be a pure hand-grip issue then will have to find some way of dealing with this. I WAS able to get the tire back on the wheel with my hands only so they can't be THAT weak

[PamNY]

I did get it - but the only way to get it was to release the rear brake caliper...and now I can't get the rear brake cable back on $&*#. A friend has said I can drop by their house this afternoon while he and his wife are doing yard work and he will look at it.

If this does turn out to be a pure hand-grip issue then will have to find some way of dealing with this. I WAS able to get the tire back on the wheel with my hands only so they can't be THAT weak

I have this problem, too, with linear pull brakes. I wonder if there's a type of brake that's easier to release/reattach? If so, I would change just for that reason.

[Catrin]

I can get the calipers against the wheel without a problem, I cannot get the cable to stretch quite far enough to go into the tab - I really had to loosen it a lot to get it to release in the first place...

I doubt my LBS would charge anything, but I am unsure they have mechanics on Sunday. I will run it by my friends house first and see what he & his wife thinks - if I have to drop it off at the LBS I will, but it would be a shame to have to leave it at the store for such a small thing.

I AM considering eventually converting to v-pull long-reach linear brakes on this bike if I like them on the Gunnar. This won't be any time soon, but I don't if that would help this particular kind of problem.

[soprano]

I also have a tough time with the rear brake cable on my LHT. Closing up the front brake is easy. Not sure what it is about the rear brake that makes it such a pain.

I started inverting the bike for rear wheel removal after almost dropping the whole thing on multiple occasions. I figured that a scuff on the saddle or handlebar (both easily prevented with a saddle cover, jacket, plastic bag, etc.) was better than dropping the bike and getting stranded with a bent derailleur or broken rear fender. I also hated laying the bike down on its side while the rear wheel was off, because that exposed even more components to the sidewalk and usually resulted in a mis-aligned front fender. I'm curious: what do you non-inverters do with the bike while you fix the flat?

To invert the bike easily, I lean over the frame, grab the seat stay with my right hand, the front rack or fork with my left hand, and brace the frame a little with my body so it doesn't flip over too fast. I don't have much upper body strength, so it takes a little muscle for me, but it's easier and quicker than holding the frame with one hand and fiddling with the wheel, chain and derailleur with the other hand ever was. I find myself using many fewer four-letter words this way.

[OakLeaf]

There's really only two times I'm holding the frame in one hand for a rear wheel change: doing the little alignment tweak I describe above, and actually removing the wheel from the rear triangle. Any other time I mostly have the stays in both hands and use gravity (the ground), knees, a foot, or fingers and thumbs for the rest of it. (Front is different - stem in one fist, wheel in the other, pops right out.)

I'm sure bikes that are balanced differently respond better to different techniques ... and lighter makes everything easier/requires less finesse.

Re: resting the bike - mostly I just lay it on its side. Remember that nothing gets scuffed or even dirty unless you're applying pressure, which doesn't happen when a bike is resting rather than being manipulated. The only thing on a bike that might not take its own weight sideways would be a handlebar mirror - in that case, just lay it on the derailleur side. Again, if you lay it down gently, no problem. You'd lay it on its side at a rest stop with both wheels on ... this is no different.

[withm]

Oh, I see! I understand what happened now. I will try it - but if I can't quite get it at least I know they wouldn't charge me much at all to fix it.

.

If you bike shop is charging you to fix this you need to find another bike shop.

[tulip]

I have no problem turning my bike upside down for changing a tube. Always have, probably always will.

Catrin, you did it (mostly)! That is great. You can get a Third Hand tool from a bike shop or on line. It will hold the brake calipers together while you reattach the cable.

Practice more, it will get easier.