Home repair... manuals and manageable?

[Latitude]

I am a guy who really gets into anything I try out. Sailing, woodworking, gardening, painting, photography... I’m pretty good at all of those. Partly because I have an extensive library of books at home on all of the above. So my attention is turning toward bikes, the reason I am here. I am seriously equipped and self sufficient in any or all of the above areas. I have sailed and raced thousands of miles on the Great Lakes, built furniture, have artwork in collections all over the world, grow lots of our own food. Now to biking. I am about to order the Park Tools Big Blue Book as a starter reference (They have such good videos). Interested to hear your thoughts and experiences on home maintenance. What to do, what never to attempt, etc. Thanks!

 

[MikeDD]

I use the Park videos and sometimes youtube. I have not purchased a paper manual in years. I down load free manuals from the internet. This includes: cars, bikes, chainsaws, chipper, etc.

 

[Latitude]

I use the Park videos and sometimes youtube. I have not purchased a paper manual in years. I down load free manuals from the internet. This includes: cars, bikes, chainsaws, chipper, etc.

I’m a bit old fashioned. Really find the videos helpful, but there’s something about browsing a book that’s absorbing (even the Park Tool book author speaks to this in his video about it). Plus, I find it easier to have the book handy than starting and stopping a tablet beside the job at hand.

 

[Dallant]

Having just gone through a 2 week power/internet stoppage, I’m an even bigger fan of print manuals.
Sounds to me like you have the confidence and skill to pull off all but the most technical bike maintenance. My guess would be to stay away from cracking the motor unless and until you have the official service manuals and/or training.

 

[AHicks]

Another fairly accomplished DIY'er here. I've found books to be mostly out of date when working with state of the art equipment and ideas. E-bikes are not like sailing, flying, home building, or many other well established concepts at all. I'd love to find a good book, but often feel one has yet to be written with a focus on the newer information I'm most often looking for.

That in mind, I'm a huge fan of Forums like this one. It's only places like this you can find info/discussions/focus on cutting edge ideas and products, all while helping/advocating for others just coming up to speed. Solidly hooked here..... -Al

 

[Dallant]

I’d really like to know if anyone knows of a Trek Allant Service Manual resource!

 

[Sierratim]

Pre-internet I used print copies of Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance and The Bicycle Wheel. They're still in the shop but as our internet connection out here in the sticks has improved I generally use the Park Tool videos and Sheldon Brown's collection of articles.

 

[Iridebikez]

I'm more of a visual learner, so watching and emulating youtube videos is usually the most helpful for me.

But if you like reading I'll second the Sheldon Brown recommendation. There's an enormous wealth of bicycle information there, but he was a genuinely interesting and engaging person. You could spend days just reading through his personal blogs. It was very good of Harris Cyclery to keep everything up and keep it alive after he passed.

 

[Dallant]

I am a guy who really gets into anything I try out. Sailing, woodworking, gardening, painting, photography... I’m pretty good at all of those. Partly because I have an extensive library of books at home on all of the above. So my attention is turning toward bikes, the reason I am here. I am seriously equipped and self sufficient in any or all of the above areas. I have sailed and raced thousands of miles on the Great Lakes, built furniture, have artwork in collections all over the world, grow lots of our own food. Now to biking. I am about to order the Park Tools Big Blue Book as a starter reference (They have such good videos). Interested to hear your thoughts and experiences on home maintenance. What to do, what never to attempt, etc. Thanks!

Nice shop! I used a bench just like that when I built rocking chairs at a furniture shop for a time in my youth. Also spent many years as a corporate photographer.

 

[Latitude]

Another fairly accomplished DIY'er here. I've found books to be mostly out of date when working with state of the art equipment and ideas. E-bikes are not like sailing, flying, home building, or many other well established concepts at all. I'd love to find a good book, but often feel one has yet to be written with a focus on the newer information I'm most often looking for.

That in mind, I'm a huge fan of Forums like this one. It's only places like this you can find info/discussions/focus on cutting edge ideas and products, all while helping/advocating for others just coming up to speed. Solidly hooked here..... -Al

I completely understand where you are coming from. It is surprising there isn’t a better resource manual on Ebikes. Maybe a reflection on the fact that not enough people would buy one, but still, a digital version with a print copy for those who want one would be welcome. It would date itself quickly to be sure.

 

[Dallant]

Hell my problem is that they don’t even document most of the stuff specific to each model. For me it’s an absolute requirement to have the service manual if I wanted to do anything in depth to my bike.

 

[Latitude]

Hell my problem is that they don’t even document most of the stuff specific to each model. For me it’s an absolute requirement to have the service manual if I wanted to do anything in depth to my bike.

So true. The only manual that came with my bike was the Bosch one. Before Google and in fact the internet, this would have been so much more of a challenge.

 

[FlatSix911]

Pre-internet I used print copies of Zinn & the Art of Mountain Bike Maintenance and The Bicycle Wheel.

They're still in the shop but as our internet connection out here in the sticks has improved I generally use the Park Tool videos and Sheldon Brown's collection of articles.

I second this recommendation... Zinn has been the bible of Bike Maintenance for years and Sheldon Brown was the man!

 

[Latitude]

Dallant, on another matter: It looks like the chain wheel cover from the Allant might fit my Verve + 3 now that I have taken the big, long chain cover off. The chain wheel looks similar. I don’t really need it, (rode 40 km through forest trails today with no grease stains on my jeans), but it looks nice and clean. Do you think it’s worth following up with Trek about?

 

[rich c]

I'm confused, you only mentioned bikes once and everything else is about home maintenance or home repair? LOL

 

[Dallant]

Dallant, on another matter: It looks like the chain wheel cover from the Allant might fit my Verve + 3 now that I have taken the big, long chain cover off. The chain wheel looks similar. I don’t really need it, (rode 40 km through forest trails today with no grease stains on my jeans), but it looks nice and clean. Do you think it’s worth following up with Trek about?

I really don’t know if it’s “worth” it, I mean that’s up to you. Maybe this photo will help to see if it might fit. There are 4 attachment points and the face is approx. 7” across.

 

[Latitude]

I really don’t know if it’s “worth” it, I mean that’s up to you. Maybe this photo will help to see if it might fit. There are 4 attachment points and the face is approx. 7” across.

Thanks Dallant... looks like a fit, and the chain ring behind it has the same pattern from what I can see. Cheers

 

[Dallant]

Thanks Dallant... looks like a fit, and the chain ring behind it has the same pattern from what I can see. Cheers

Good luck! BTW my crank is a ProWheel alloy, 170mm.

 

[Latitude]

Just did a full overhaul on my bike after a breakdown on a sandy trail… chain got so jammed inside the chainring next to the motor that I had to break it, then reassemble it to get going again. End result was an oily, sandy chain and gears that looked guaranteed to wear fast. Decided to start from scratch. Totally cleaned the chain, cassette, derailleur and all. Hosed the works with water, WD-40, and dried everything. Used teflon dry lube instead of oil. Then put the Park derailleur hanger alignment gauge on, straightened everything and readjusted the whole system. The cassette is an 11-46 SunRace and the derailleur is a Deore Shadow that I have put on a dropped hanger link… it has never worked that well. My Trek LBS said that it wasn’t able to be adjusted to work properly. But guess what! Test ride, it works perfectly now, first to 9th gear. Very satisfying morning.
EDIT a couple of days later… the bike seems to be riding so much more effortlessly since this tuneup… I actually got off it in 9th gear to see if it was actually there, and it was. Combination of cleaning and the teflon chain lubricant? Can’t believe the difference… 9th now feels like previous 6th or 7th.

 

[Latitude]

This has been a week of bike changes/overhaul/maintenance. But the results are positive. I pulled an old Schwinn ebike out of the garage, cleaned it up and put it on facebook for free… the battery didn’t work. A friend picked it up, took it to a local shop who sent it away for new NiCads. Works great, she’s happy and left me a $200 tax receipt to a local charity. I suggested a donation of their choice if it worked out.
Then I ordered 5 new lead acid batteries for a scooter that has been languishing around here, batteries fried with a charger that didn’t turn off. My wife isn’t really that mobile, and it’s starting to work out great for her to get around on.
I ordered new 26” Schwalbe Marathon 365 tires (same as my ebike) for my DS trail bike… the Velociraptor tires had serious rolling resistance on pavement. They are working great, along with the pedals, Bontrager seat and stem from my Verve +3. It’s now a pleasure to ride on pavement and trails around here, much much easier to ride.
I’ve put a new Brooks saddle on my ebike… it has finally worn in after 2 or 300 miles,
and I like it.