Road bike maintenance Archives

Monty is an enthusiastic road cyclist with only moderate talent. He started Sportive Cyclist in 2013 to record the journey to his first 100 mile ride, the RideLondon 100. Over time the blog has expanded to include training advice, gear reviews and road cycling tales, all from the perspective of a not-very-fit MAMIL. Since you're here, Monty would also like you to check out his YouTube channel and subscribe to receive email updates. Also, Monty really needs to stop referring to himself in the third person.

How To Overhaul A Road Bike

October 9, 2020September 24, 2020 by Andrew Montgomery

This post is mainly going to comprise a series of videos that I produced over the course of 2020, showing how I stripped down my Trek Domane 4.3 road bike to a bare frame and then rebuilt it.

The main issue, at least initially, was the lower headset bearing being totally shot. It turns out you shouldn’t ignore the rusty brown liquid dripping down your forks each time you give the bike a rinse off.

As I delved deeper, I realised that one of the bottom bracket bearings was seized.

And I already knew that a large part of the cabling and drivetrain would need replacing.

So here are all the videos in order.

How To Fit A Bontrager Duotrap Speed and Cadence Sensor

October 11, 2020April 11, 2020 by Andrew Montgomery

So this is a nice specific post then. If you are looking for a bit of intel on how to fit a Bontrager Duotrap Speed and Cadence sensor to a Trek road bike (OMG – THERE’S A HOLE IN THE CHAINSTAY), then you’ve come to the right place. Okay, you’ve come to a place. Okay, you’re here.

On the other hand, if you’ve come for some general road cycling entertainment, then these are not the droids you’re looking for, Move along now.

So, for the roughly 0.1% of you that own a Trek bike with a hole in one of the chain stays, here’s a guide to installing a Duotrap speed and cadence sensor. Two things: (i) it’s very easy; (ii) I took loads of photos.

And now an additional THIRD thing as I update this post. I madez a video. It is, after all, 2020, and we are stuck in our houses. So, either watch this YouTube dispatch, or continue to read and look at the pictures, your choice.

Yes, you are welcome for all the value I am giving you.

Confessions Of A Drivetrain Cleaner (How To Prep Your Bike For Your Next Sportive)

October 9, 2020August 20, 2017 by SC Staff

Everyone will tell you a sportive is not ‘really’ a race, and then visualize leaving you behind in a proverbial ball of smoke. No matter how you approach it, everyone wants to maximize their bike’s performance and do what they can to gain an edge on the road.

So as a race-loving mechanic, here’s the down-low on my various last-minute hacks that can help you prepare for your next sportive.

Note from Monty: Today’s post comes from Simon Laumet, an experienced bike mechanic based in London. Simon’s post has already inspired me to give my drivetrain a proper clean (the drivetrain on my bike…), which will be the subject of a future post (ooh, can you contain your excitement…). If you find the post useful, please do let me know in the comments below (along with any tips you have).

A Grease Gun For Your Bike (Or How To Lubricate Speedplay Pedals On The Cheap)

October 9, 2020July 14, 2015 by Andrew Montgomery

This post is not going to interest everyone, but if you have a strong desire to make precision insertions of oil into certain parts of your bike, then I’m about to blow your mind.

(Sort of).

I have found (and used) ((and liked)) an alternative to the ludicrously expensive Speedplay grease gun.

And I’m going to share my findings… (ooooh!)

How To Make Your Bike Lighter

October 9, 2020September 24, 2013 by Andrew Montgomery

As a Grimpeur Heureux reader, I’m sure you’ve already achieved your optimum cycling body fat percentage, so this post is going to look at how you can make your bike lighter.

Let’s face it, for finely-honed athletes such as ourselves, the weight of our bike (and associated equipment) is the remaining final frontier before we can say we’ve squeezed out every incremental gain going.

My aim is to discover where we can reduce weight, and whether it’s worth doing. So what are our options?