raleigh mountain bike issues

[BrokenBiker]

just out of interest, what sites can I look at that sell decent performing but reasonably priced mountain bikes? I wont be looking to buy on for a while, at least not until my fitness I back to where it should be, but there are a lot of nice places local to me to ride through so it would probably be a good idea to look at new bikes for the future lol

 

[Rocketman]

Ouch super stuck. Happened to my brothers team marin years ago - everything was tried so it ended up having to be the old cut out job.

An out of date bike is your best bet for saving a load of money on a bike, which can mean a big search on the net.

TBH it's so person bikes it's hard to give you 'get this' advice. Biggest problem by far at the moment is deciding what size wheels you want. The industry are trying to kill off 26" at the moment. It's put me off buying a new MTB for the time being and stay with my old Kona.

 

[graffian]

tell me about it. after we were done fiddling with mine (he set my brakes properly, and made the alterations I did with the derailleurs better) he offered me a go on one of his, so he altered the saddle to fit me, and said just take it around the woods, as its fairly flat and a safe ride where the woods meet the back of our street. it wasn't till I got back I said that is the most comfortable bike I have ever ridden, and his reply was, I should think so, it only cost nearly 3k with a few mods...needless to say I gave it straight back incase I scratched it lol

3k so it was a cheap one;-)
I went in a local shop to ask about some wheel cones, they had bikes reduced to 7k! I paid 40 quid[it was one of my more expensive bikes] for the bike I was riding and couldn't see how you can pay 7k. I am in SURREY.

Easiest way to get an ali seat post out is caustic soda, takes a few days but not a lot of work.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i have noticed a lot of places selling the 29", which would be ok for around here, flat and open land with a bit of easy woodland, but if i wanted to go anywhere more complex i can imagine the wheels being more of a hindrance and less agile than the 26"

 

[BrokenBiker]

well, in starting to realise why this bike was free. It appears the seat post is too big for the seat tube and has been forced it. Its not easy to see, but after having a feel there is a buldge in the seat tube right where the seat post ends. And to make things worse, after cutting the seat post as described above, i crushed it, twisted it...amd split the seat tube underneath where the bolt goes to tighten the tube....i was hoping it would be ok but i still cant get the post out and every time i try the damage gets worse.


seriously considering buying a cheapo 100 quid Halfords special just to get something that actually works

 

[BrokenBiker]

yep its knackered. May have slightly lost my temper with ut and now the seat tube is nit only split, but bent too. Its going in the skip.

right, cheap bikes. Choice of 2. Either a 20" frame 26" wheels 18 speed rigid, or 18" frame 26" wheels 18 speed full suspension. Both have shimano rear mech, v block brakes and are brand new.

which is best for just ridi g through country lanes, a bit of flat and quite thin woodland, occasionally some more dense woodland and bumpy track?

 

[BrokenBiker]

this one http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/...d_10151_productId_949337_langId_-1_categoryId_

or this one? http://www.halfords.com/webapp/wcs/..._productId_770971_langId_-1_categoryId_165499

this is at the moment my max budget, hence why I was looking for a free one originally

 

[Rocketman]

I think you would have to spend about £300 now days mate for something even very basic if you are going to use it every week.

£100 bike would be OK for a couple trips out a year. If you use it every week it ain't going to last.

 

[BrokenBiker]

i hoped you wouldn't say that, although i did think id have to spend a bit more.

if i can ge the post out of this without doing any more damage i might try welding it. Its not like i can make it any worse. Ive managed to straighten it enough, just gotta get this post out but i cant see whats stopping it now

 

[Rocketman]

Yeah sorry. If you were just popping out a couple of times in the summer with the OH I'd say sure a £100 bike will be fine but it sounds like you want to get a bit of fitness so will be using it a lot more and £300 comes to mind these days minimum spend.


Unless.............. you go down the second-hand route but after what just happened I bet you aren't too keen on that.

 

[BrokenBiker]

second hand isn't an option after this lol

as for the crack in the tube, ive been cunning. I cut it out and looks like it should be like it. Essentially ive just elongated the gap in the tube to allow it to tighten down to the post. 10 mins with the dremel sorted that out. Just got to get this bloody post out, and there isn't anything to grip anymore as it has all twisted and broken.

as a last resort in looking at an abrasive home type job, but that will take a long time. May try gently wedging something tjin, lime a hacksaw blade down the sides to try and break any remaining corrosion off

 

[CRB]

We have http://www.recyke-y-bike.org/ up here. They take unwanted bikes, sort them out, if possible, and sell them back to the public for £30-40. Lots of students and recipients of benefits get mobile for very little outlay.

Bicycle recycling in south wales gets you a load of possibilities.

 

[BrokenBiker]

right, new post arrived today, its not as long ass it said it would be, but It should be long enough.

only problem is I still cant get this ali post out, and now its not in the best of conditions for trying to extract it. after much trying to twist it, it sheared pretty much flush with the top of the tube. I put some more heat into the tube and thought of just knocking it down to the bottom of the tube as there is only about 3 inches of it left now. this just folded the top inwards. once again I tried the hacksaw to cut a slot then crush it, but it seems as if it is bonded in with the corrosion. it simply will not budge. I even went to the extreme length of putting an end mill in my drill and tried to cut the material away, with no luck.

so here is the situation as it is now, you may realise that I no longer care about the paint, I can cover that with something later on.

any more ideas as to how to get this out? a mate suggested brick acid, as it will eat away the ali, but I don't want to resort to something like that yet.

I have thought about a hone, one of the ones with loads of little abrasive balls on wires, but that doesn't seem the right way to go

 

[CRB]

?Can you make a three-legged puller which you can drop down the seat tube, open on reaching the bottom?

If PlusGas has not worked, I think caustic soda would eat the aluminium but not the steel frame.

SabreSaw or jigsaw the tube into smaller segments, especially if it only three inches long now.

There is always one thing which is a swine to remove.

 

[Rocketman]

the easy answer

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/specializ...ces_Women_s_Fragrances_PP&hash=item41805f57a3

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Carrera-C...ces_Women_s_Fragrances_PP&hash=item4ad53ffbf6

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/saracen-t...ces_Women_s_Fragrances_PP&hash=item41809ab6b6

 

[BrokenBiker]

had a few mins spare in work so ground a chisel that should be small enough to do the job, and ling enough the reach the bottom. If that fails i will try caustic soda. Is it just a case of mix it as normal and let it soak?

 

[CRB]

Good luck.

 

[graffian]

4 of my bikes came with stuck seatposts, now I don't see it as a problem;-) I remove them with caustic.
Obviously if they are not broken you just flip the bike upside down and pour the caustic in through a bottle bolt hole.
I had one that came with the sized seat post cut off and hammered down a few inches, he then put a new post in,
I got something like a rubber cork, put a nut and bolt through it and used that to block the frame tube, then poured
caustic in as I would if the post had been complete. I took a post out since then that had actually been chopped off
level with the top of the frame, I blocked the tube with my "cork" and burnt the post out, the small bit that the caustic
doesn't get at is left, but it comes out really easy.
I just remembered the cork was infact a bit of 19mm silicon hose.

I was talking to someone who removed posts with a mag drill cutter with a pilot to fit the id of the post, he bored the post out
so it was about 20 thou or so thick and then they come out easily.
He also mentioned another quite neat thing, a sort of hacksaw frame made from 2 pieces of half round steel, the blade is clamped
between the bit's of half round and the blade isn't sticking out enough to chop into the seat tube.

By the way the bulging of the tube could well be external butted tube, think all my frames have external butted tubes.

 

[BrokenBiker]

cheers fella. I think caustic might be the only answer. How long does it take?

 

[graffian]

cheers fella. I think caustic might be the only answer. How long does it take?

Taken me between 2 days and 5 days.

You need some instructions I suppose;-)

You mix some caustic into clean water, I just put a little bit in and determine the strength by the temperature, when I did the above post
I measured the water temperature raise so I could say how strong the solution should be.
If you make the caustic solution to strong it will boil in the seat post, blow itself out of any holes and so it won't work for very long.
I mixed it so the water gets to about 60ºC, it works OK. I tried some at 70ºC and it squirted out of the open bolt holes.
Mix to much caustic in and the temperature will go up really quickly, the water will boil and climb out of the pot. ***Hot caustic will burn you*****
When you mix it in put a little bit of caustic in and swirl the pot around till it gets hot, then put a bit more swirl again and so on.
If the water doesn't get hot the caustic has some other **** in it, I get my caustic from the local hardware shop, I think I may have got it
from Tescos once.
You will be able to feel the level you have filled it to because the seat tube is hot.
You can feel it heating up when it's eating the aluminium. The seat tube/ post will get around the to hot to hold temp and cool down as
the solution stops working.
I fill it drain then it and refill it as soon as it gets cold, but i usually fill it at midday and empty and refill it again at 7pm and do the same the
next day sometimes it comes out that day, I took the post out of my brother bike and he kept coming round and sat and looking at it, you guessed
it it took longer than ever before[about 5 days].

Hope thats some help.