Don't let these evens turn you off a MTB trek - just remember these little bits of wisdom/warning so you are aware of them beforehand!

CONTENTS :

1. FILTHY RIMS
   

2. PUNCTURES
   

3. TYRE RUB ON RACK
   

4. WARPED RIMS
   

5. 2ND CHAIN RING BUZZ
   

6. JUMING CHAIN
   

FILTHY RIMS

DEFINITION : You have ridden through something mucky and your brakes are not responding well, or you hear a screeching from your brakes.

RECOVERY : Clean rims not only look good but are a safety issue. Water and a cloth are the best way to clean them up (don't forget the brake pads) but I have found grass to be particularly effective. If your rims are dirty the braking action becomes abrasion, not just friction, and you may find your rims getting worn. When they get really worn they may get nice long holes in them which may let your tube peep out. Although you may like to see your tube every now and then it does mean that you need a whole new wheel. This is a real problem, an expensive one, and something not to have happen miles from nowhere. Mud is bad, sludge is worse, but anything sandy is the worst.

THE GOLDEN RULE : Stopping to clean rims regularly on mucky roads can be annoying but in the long run it saves you plenty of grief and unsightly medical bills.

PUNCTURES

DEFINITION : It is hard to maintain control, the road feels harder and you hear a rumbling sort of sound. Guess what? Your tyre is flat.

RECOVERY : A front tube blowing isn't so bad, but a rear tube with no air is a hassle when you are fully loaded. The faster it went flat the more significant the hole/problem. Most flats just need one patch. Some need a few. Multiple flats means you missed something (or rode over it very well), misdiagnosed the cause, or are just plain unlucky so you get to do it all over again. Take note that tyre wear or weaknesses may be the cause of a flat. Inspect the tyre carefully inside and out while you have the chance. Keep everything clean and in line (especially the valve) and when re-inflating massage around the tyre so the tube fits snugly and doesn't get pinched. You can take preventative measures for flats (tube sludge, punctureless etc) but since you're not racing, enjoy the rest from pedaling they provide.

THE GOLDEN RULE : It's only a flat and you probably have plenty of experience with these so be thankful.

TYRE RUB ON RACK

DEFINITION : You hear a rhythmic 'vrrrt... vrrrt...' from your rear when cranking it up a hill and it has nothing to do with the beans and onions you had earlier. You may even hear it riding downhill. If you sway the weight of the bike and you hear it you know that this is most probably the problem. The sound changes tone and texture according to your speed.

RECOVERY : Your rack will need to be realigned. This can be done by any or all of the following methods:

1. Adjust the bolts or straps holding the rack in place so that it stands straighter;

2. Repack your panniers so that there is less weight on the side opposite to where the tyre is rubbing;

3. Rig an occie strap to your rack and around your seat post to pull it away from the tyre;

4. True your rims - they may be warping and this may be the cause of the sound; or (as a very last resort)

5. Bend your rack a bit towards the side where the tyre is rubbing.

Be aware of the groove that the tyre may cut into your rack if this happens a lot. Another weak spot for your rack which may be difficult to mend.

THE GOLDEN RULE : It sounds worse than it is - don't freak out.

WARPED RIMS

DEFINITION : The ride feels wobbly, your braking is uneven, rhythmical swishing sounds emerge from below or you have a few spokes missing or loose.

RECOVERY : Bike mechanics do this best, but you can do it if you have the time and patience. Again - you can do it if you have the time and patience. To be blunt, this is a real bitch of a job. It's: fiddly; easy to get confused about which way to turn the spokes; easy to lose your place on the wheel; difficult to establish the 'true' position; and very easy to end up worse off than when you started. My best advice for this task, apart from paying someone else to do it, is as follows:

1. Take the tyre and tube off the warped wheel and remove the brake pads.

2. Turn the bike upside down on a bench of some sort and strap it to the bench securely.

3. Where the brakes were, the stays for the rack are, or on the bench, put a strip of tape perpendicular to the wheel and close to the edges of the rim. The rim should be able to spin freely with both edges of the rim nearly touching the tape if possible.

4. Spin the wheel and mark an average line on the tape for each of the edges of the rim as they spin so that you can true the rim towards these lines. Hopefully most of the wheel should be true so this stage won't be too hard.

5. Work out what tightens a spoke and what loosens a spoke. Get this right before you start truing so that it becomes second nature. If you don't you'll be crying/swearing in no time, and this will take twice what will already be a long time.

6. The spokes enter the rim alternately from side to side. Check the configuration of your spokes and notice how they radiate from the hub. Take a lot of notice. Not every bike, or even every wheel on a bike is the same. As a general rule, tighten the spokes on the side which you want to move out, loosen the spokes on the side you want to move in. Half turns at a time are highly recommended. For a warped area work around adjusting the immediate set of 3-5 spokes. (e.g. you should be tightening two and loosening one to alter the warp)

7. If you can't tighten or loosen any more (shredding thread or rattling spoke) yet it still is not right, then ponder what to do next as I have no real answers.

8. When you are at your wits end or have got it pretty close, then put the brake pads back on and see how they work. If happy with your handiwork then reassemble the wheel. If unhappy then you'll have to go back to step 4!

THE GOLDEN RULE : Close enough is good enough on the trail. Off the trail, part with your cash.

2ND CHAIN RING BUZZ

DEFINITION : As you pedal along you hear the chain buzz on the front derailleur or somewhere down there.

RECOVERY : If may be that the chain is contacting the derailleur mechanism (sliding arm). You can see this by looking down from above and watching the chain as it turns on the chain ring. This is easy to fix. Just adjust the tension on the gear lever or half turn the minimum or maximum screws to limit the movement of the sliding arm.

It may not be however. If it isn't, it's probably this: Look at your chain ring from the side and you may notice that when it is on the middle chain ring the most peripheral part of the teeth of the largest chain ring are touching the lower edge of the sliding arm occasionally. You simply have to raise the height of the whole derailleur on the seat post tube so that it is a millimetre or two higher. It took me ages to work this one out, but it was a 'eureka!' moment when I did.

THE GOLDEN RULE : It's all a matter of perspective.

JUMPING CHAIN

DEFINITION : Welcome to a ride of insanity. You're in a low gear looking to power up a hill and all you get is a jump-jump-jump .

RECOVERY : There could be a few problems here, or maybe just one big one. Here are the three most probable scenarios which cause this problem in order of tolerable to intolerable.

1. Your derailleur is not lined up properly. It feels like when you are riding you are on the verge of changing gears on every pedal. Tighten/loosen the gear cable to get the tracking aligned. You can even do this from the gear lever when riding on some setups.

2. Your chain is filthy and a few links have locked in a kink or straight line. When the locked area comes through the derailleur it jumps over the cluster teeth and skips a bit. If you notice a pattern to the jumping (e.g. every 2.5 pedal rotations) this is probably the cause. Clean/scrub your chain and your cluster and reapply lube.

3. Nothing seems to be out of line and you've cleaned your chain twice. The jumps are erratic but usually during a down power stroke. Look closely at the teeth of the cluster. Very closely. Are they looking a tad worn? They should look like molars (square top) and not incisors (pointed top). Yeah, the high gear teeth look fine. The low gear teeth are worn. Too much riding on a dirty or sandy chain up mountains in the wet... or something like that. You will be able to ride in high gear down the hills and on the flats, but you will be pushing up the hills. Suffer until you get to a bike dentist where you can get the entire cluster replaced for a nice sum of money.

THE GOLDEN RULE : Aligned derailleur + clean chain + clean cluster = clean language.