Need Info On Tools For Replacing Bottom Bracket

[cny-man]

(10-22-2014, 07:20 PM)straightbangin Wrote:  I did manage to open a soup can with a power drill the day before I moved and my can opener was packed away... Also I cut a hole in the bottom of my scooter trunk so I could access than manual fuel shut off I installed by drilling a bunch of tiny holes and popping it out. It looks much better since I bought a jigsaw and cleaned it up.

Translation - born mechanic.

[straightbangin]

Thanks CNY lol. Ya I'll try that with the hammer and screw driver. I want to try a few ways to see what works and what doesn't for me. My grandfather raised me and he was a contractor. I preferred playing with tools than toys as a child. He probably wished he didn't teach me the difference between phillips and flat head screw drivers at the age of four. I would laugh with glee when he would put something on a table then it would collapse. I'd take all the screws out and then balance the parts like a jenga game.

That little bike thing sounds so great, too bad its not in the college area near me ( better area that is almost a more centralized area in Miami. Maybe I'll start one someday.

I had some little nicks and areas of rust on my white beach cruiser bike. ( the favorite one but too heavy to want to bike far and fast ) so I went to the white trash ghetto circus ( walmart ) to get some touch up paint for it. I found a tiny bottle ( looked like white out ) of Rustoleum for touching up appliances in white. I figured that would work perfect and it stops rust. At the register the cashier actually hit a button and the screen said " verified age over 18 " I said why would I have to be over 18 to buy that. She shrugged. She said I dont know maybe kids are sniffing it. You even have to be over 18 to buy rubbing alcohol there now. WOW! Lol. I told her it was for my bike and I promise I'm not going to go home and make meth out of it LOL.

[cny-man]

Probably rent's too high near the college. I helped found a bike co-op next to a big U, but we lucked out on location, getting the back portion of a building right across the main drag from campus - 2 floors plus basement storage at a reasonable rate.

[straightbangin]

That's cool. True about rent

[straightbangin]

I'm glad that they are sending me all news parts since this is pretty rusty.

On both sides of the bottom bracket I popped that little plastic cap off and removed the nut under it with a 14mm wrench. Now this picture is what is left on each side. I think this is where the crank puller comes in and if so I'm not sure what to do. I've seen videos of how to use them but the one I have doesn't screw over the threaded bar sticking out on each side. I emailed huffy to ask exactly what crank puller I needed for my particular bike and they gave me this link. I'm glad it was cheap but it took forever to come.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006UMFUES/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o09_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

If this is what I'm supposed to use next perhaps they linked me to the wrong one?

[cny-man]

As far as I can tell it should work. Unscrew the outer (black) part of the tool entirely from the rest if you can, and then carefully thread into the crank arm threads. It would be a good idea 1st to go at the threads with a wire brush and some WD-40. Once the outer part of the tool is bottomed out inside the crank arm, screw in the inside (silver) portion of the tool. You may need a cheater bar to get enough leverage on that rusty a crank arm.

[straightbangin]

the crank puller I have wont screw onto the threaded thing sticking out. its too big. I tried taking it apart, trying all ends of it etc. I'm wondering if I have to contact huffy to tell them they gave me the link to the wrong one? Sigh. One mountain bike I can't pedal, one beach cruiser that is so loud the neighborhood can hear me coming and one scooter I can't drive until the mini air compressor I ordered comes so I can change the valve stems on it. I'm doing awesome

[straightbangin]

http://youtu.be/223cY4PywTk

Thanks again for all your input with this. I learned all I know about fixing my scooter from some great guys on a message board and I'm learning a lot from you.

ooo wait, I AM supposed to screw the fat end in and the other piece pushes the bar out the other way. I just saw another youtube video that looked like my bike's set up this time.

I kind of figured the other end would fit into my socket wrench. blah

[cny-man]

p.s. The "bar" is called a spindle.

[straightbangin]

thanks. I knew that I just forgot. I'm used to calling things that I dont know the name of the " thingee " lol. Well I got it off! I can't believe I made it happen with my basic little adjustable wrench. Its a good thing I'm a strong woman lol.

so I got the one arm off ( the one attached to the crank ), unscrewed a cap with just my fingers, pulled out a ball baring ring, took the other arm off, pulled the spindle out with the ball baring ring from the other side. Both ball barring rings looked like they had a party in a pool of rust, mud and grease. I'm glad I remembered to buy grease for the new set. I guess I expected the balls to come pouring out into my hand like they did to a guy in a video I saw. I also thought they would have been totally mashed up from how bad it was to try to pedal.


Now I'm just down to taking 2 more lock ring, cap, circle disk thingees and the part where I would have had to spend about $15+ on two tools to get them off but I'm going to see if I can do it with tools I have. I bought a multi tool thing for bikes that looked like it could take the outer ring off but it didnt work at all so I'm returning that. I think I'm just going to buy the two tools I need. Otherwise I'd have to buy a larger adjustable wrench or vice grips to try to get it off. I may as well get the correct tools since I have 2 bikes and always plan on having a bike and fixing them myself.

Just waiting for the parts for both bikes now. I'm going to try to avoid taking the beach cruiser out if I can since its embarrassingly loud lol.

[straightbangin]

The parts came today and I just finished putting it together. The whole process was cake once I had the right tools. Wasn't thrilled about spending money on 3 new tools but I know its an investment if I'm going to continue doing my own work on my bikes. Glad to have both bikes back in business. Now I just have to work on the scooter. :p

This is the BEST video I've found for replacing bottom bracket. This guy is great at explaining things and had a bunch of tips I wouldn't have thought of that were pretty important.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXQA4kNmhPA

Thanks for your help guys

Here is a pic of the mountain bike. Yes I love to go overboard with reflective tape

[cny-man]

Per the video:
He does a great job of explaining both the how and why of how the BB fits together and removing the crank arms, and does a pretty thorough job of explaining the process from start to finish.

It's not a good idea to use the wrong term when you are helping others, as it will hamper their future communication in searching for parts or interacting with bike shops/providers. The part the arms are connected to is a spindle, not a "shaft" or "center part."

In your case you have all new parts, but it's a bad idea to re-use ball bearings. They are inexpensive and it's not possible to properly inspect them. In this particular case the bearings no longer have a mirror finish, so there's no question that they need replacement.

He did in fact overlook a pit in the fixed cup, at 11:42.

Doing the entire process with the bike upside down - especially with one that is dirty and rusty - can allow contamination to enter the bearings. If one does not have a repair stand the bike should at least be put upright once the BB is apart to make sure there is not debris in the frame that is going to fall to the bottom.

[straightbangin]

Wow really good points. Thanks. Luckily I took the bottom bracket apart when the bike was upright and cleaned everything out then put it back together upside down. Since Huffy kept sending me the wrong parts I now have two extra spindles. I wonder if that is something that would ever need replacing they seem pretty sturdy

[cny-man]

Thank you. Sounds like you did a great job. Videos are a great way to see a process being done, but are not as good at covering some of the details and "gotcha's." I always suggest that folks go to a good site such as sheldonbrown.com or parktool.com/blog first to read the detailed procedure and have access to description and even links to the proper tools as well as links to related items and info. Then use videos to see the procedure dynamically. That tends to help one avoid following a wrong procedure in a video.

The spindles take many thousands of mile before needing replacement as long as they are kept adjusted and overhauled occasionally (frequency depends on weather conditions when ridden as well as miles, but still in the thousands typically). So the odds are you won't need even one extra, let alone two. A different bike will odds on require a different spindle. Donate one to a bike shop or the co-op.

BTW congrats on adding some life to this forum. You're threads are probably responsible for at least 90% of the activity here recently. If you want to see another forum that I consider the best on the Internet try bikeforums.net. I come here because there are so many people helping there who are still actively in the bike biz and up with the most current equipment that I don't always feel it's necessary for me to add my 2 cents. I was in the biz for over 20 years but just work casually on friends' and neighbors' bikes. I mostly post there to help people understand the diagnostic process and more of the "why" behind why something does or does not work. Some assertive posters there but you will have no problem.

[straightbangin]

Ya I was thinking of donating at one too.

Thanks.

I saw a neighbor with a yard sale that had a road bike. My eyes lit up going by it thinking " ooo project " (like I need another) but realized it was a mens on the way back.

I still don't totally understand why guys bikes have that crotch bar and womens' bikes don't. I would think it would be the opposite and lack of bar for lack of chance hitting male parts against bar. I think I read something about it dating back to days where woman usually wore dresses so they wouldn't have to swing their leg over a bar or something I don't remember. In which case you'd think they just made all bikes the same / unisex.

So I was riding my mountain bike today and I was missing the hand grips on my beach cruiser. I really like sitting totally upright when riding. My back was hurting a little from the slight lean over I'm not used (even though I was trying to keep my back straight ) as well as the bouncing I'm not used to ( my bike is dual suspension )

As I was riding I was wondering...

1) Do they make some sort of extension you can put on your handle bars to bring the grips closer to your hands so that you don't have to buy a new stem/handle bars?

2) And this is a big day dream one.... I was wondering if building a custom bike like in my head is even feasible or if the type or tires exist.. I know it will look pretty strange but don't the road it would be nice to have a bike that has all the features and comfort I like.

My Unconventional Custom Bike Idea -

1) It would be a road bike, light wait, thin, etc..
2) The tires would be road bike tires but with treads of a mountain bike for more grip
3) nice fat comfy bike seat
4) handle bars grips that are perpendicular to my hands like a mountain bike but come so close to me I can ride it sitting totally upright
5) single gear - free wheel ( no interest in fixie and no changing gears )
6) coaster brakes ( no v-brakes ) - I really hate adjusting v-brakes.
7) longer with bigger pedals? My mountain bike pedals feel like the outside of my big big feed are half off the pedal. Maybe my beach cruiser has a wider pedal set up? I never noticed my feet feeling like they are kinda half off on my beach cruiser. I don't want to put undue stress on the pedal but I also don't want to have my knees bending in a little and put contraindicated wear and tear on them not being straight up and down. ( lol went to school for sports medicine )

Kind of like a hybrid hybrid lol.

Is it doable? If so do you see any possible issues I'd run into?

[Painkiller]

I would repost this question under its own topic and delete it off of this one. But I would say start with a frame or bike like this Nishiki Montour. as upright as one can get, 700c wheels. I would forget about the coaster brake thing. V-brakes are easy to set up if they are of good quality. search my "cool tips" and you will see a couple tips about v-brake set up. At least 7 speeds would come in handy. I picked up this Nishiki for $60 and sold it as is for $180 a couple days later. They are sold out of Dicks Sporting Goods and list for around $360. Good foundation to start an upgrade project with. Go somewhere that has one and go sit on it and you see what I mean about upright. First thing I would have swapped out was the crankset/BB. But sound extreme on the upright part so you need to start with this type of frame and work from there.

[cny-man]

[quote='straightbangin' pid='33995' dateline='1415483376']
I still don't totally understand why guys bikes have that crotch bar and womens' bikes don't. I would think it would be the opposite and lack of bar for lack of chance hitting male parts against bar. I think I read something about it dating back to days where woman usually wore dresses so they wouldn't have to swing their leg over a bar or something I don't remember. In which case you'd think they just made all bikes the same / unisex.

It does date back to the days when women wore long dresses. The men's style (diamond frame is the better term) is stronger due to triangular design. Women's frame are still made because there is still a demand for them, but of course a woman can ride a diamond frame, and many do so.

[straightbangin]

Good info. thanks!