Time taken: 30 minutes.
Difficulty: Moderate.

How to tell when you need to overhaul your hub:

The biggest indicator, which generally points to a hub overhaul due in the next 100 mi, is unusual clicking or dragging of the wheel when it should otherwise be spinning freely.  If your hub ever gets submerged for any reason, it should be overhauled too.  Hubs, while filled with grease, are not waterproof.

What you’ll need:

• Grease – around $7. A grease gun will help but is not required to do this.
• Appropriately sized ball bearings. Typically the front hub is 3/16″, and the rear hub is 1/4″.  Bearings were $0.10 each, and you’ll usually need about 10 for each side of the hub on the front and 8 for each side on the back (20 for the front, 16 for the back).
• Depending on whether you’re doing the rear hub or front hub, anything between a 13mm and a 16mm cone wrench.  You can get two double ended cone wrenches for $10, or buy the individually sized shop wrenches for slightly more ($7 per wrench). Mine’s 13mm on the front, 15mm on the back.
• A 17mm open ended wrench (pictured is an adjustable wrench as I do not have a 17mm open ended wrench)
• Some rags or tissue paper to clean the bearing surfaces.
• Not pictured, but something to remove the ball bearings.

What to do:

1.  Disconnect the brakes and remove the wheel.

2.  If you have one, remove the quick release bolt.

3. Loosen and remove the lock nut. To do this, use the cone wrench to hold the axle in place and the 17mm spanner to loosen the lock nut. Once it’s loose, remove by hand.

4. Carefully remove the axle by undoing the cone nut on one side and sliding the axle out the other. Again, start it off with the cone wrench, then undo by hand. Be wary that some of the ball bearings may fall out in this step.

5. Remove the bearings from the hub on both sides. There are specialized tools to do this, but you can use your finger, a magnetic screwdriver or magnet from your local hardware store. Be sure to count how many bearings come out of each side.

6. Use your rag or paper towel to clean the various surfaces. Clean the axle, the bearing housing, and the cone nuts.

7. Re-coat the bearing housing with grease on both sides.

8. Once the bearing housing is re-coated with grease, insert the same number of new bearings into the hub. There should be a little bit of play between the bearings.

9. When all the bearings are in the housing, coat them in another layer of grease.

10. Coat the axle in grease, and re-insert it into the hub. Take care not to dislodge any bearings.

11. Coat the bearing surfaces and replace the bolt on the other side. Tighten the cone nut hand tight, and use the cone wrench to tighten it further if necessary (note: it doesn’t need to be very tight).

12. Replace the lock nut and tighten it against the cone nut using the cone wrench and 17mm wrench.

13. Adjust the cone nut tightness if the cone nut is too tight or too lose. Hold the axle between your fingers and spin the wheel – if the axle resists the motion at all, it’s too tight. If the wheel has any side-to-side movement, then the cone is too loose. To adjust the tightness, loosen the lock nut, adjust the tightness of the cone nut, then re-tighten the lock nut. Note that with a quick release, the quick release mechanism will squeeze the axle slightly, so leaving a tiny bit more play on the cone nut is a good idea.

14. Replace the quick release mechanism, put the wheel back on the bike and tighten the quick release. Re-attach the brakes and spin the wheel, checking for any drag or unusual noises. The wheel should spin freely and not move side-to-side when wiggled.

Note that while the front hub was used for this demonstration, the rear hub is essentially the same, with the biggest difference being that the rear cluster must be removed in order to get to the hub.

Every time you check the chain for wear, also check the cleats for tightness.  I have Crank Brothers Eggbeater Cleat, otherwise known as a Crank Brothers 3-Hole Quattro cleat, and after some digging around the recommended torque is 36-44 in lbs of torque on a 4mm Allen key.  Most shoes should fall into roughly the same torque specifications, although consulting your manual may save your shoes from damage.

General concept:
The top bar of the bike will balance over the two bars that extend out at the top. The two bars will be covered in a rubber-foam so as to not scratch the frame and provide grip and stability. I may shorten the vertical bar if it’s too high; it will depend largely on the available materials. The stand will be made out of 1/2″ galvanized pipe, will require no tools to construct and will weigh around the 5.5 kg mark (upper estimate).

Item list:

I did get the idea from somewhere else to used galvanized pipe with threaded ends, but their requirements didn’t match mine so the design is slightly different. I also took into account what I thought were design errors and made adjustments accordingly.

Changing the stem on a threadless headset requires knowledge of three parts of the bike: the headset, the stem and the handlebars.

20/20 Hindsight:

Knowing the several measurements on your stem will make it much easier to replace.  You need to know the handlebar width, which is usually 25.4mm (road, older bikes) or 31.8 mm (new road, MTB’s).  You need to know the rise angle, to buy the new one.  The stem length, expressed in mm and usually longer than 70mm but less than 120 mm.  The type of stem, in my case threadless, but there are other types too.  Finally, you need to know the headset size, expressed in inches – mine was the most common size, 1 1/8″.  It’s easy to find a headset that matches afterwards; Amazon.com has a pretty good selection.

Most places say mount the handlebars to the stem, and then the stem to the headset.  I recommend the other way around, as it’s more weight, physically larger and harder to manage when you do it their way.

Replacement process:

The process was pretty straightforward for a threadless headset.  There’s two bolts that clamp the stem to the headset; another set of bolts that clamp the handlebar to the stem.  At the top of the headset there’s the headset bolt.

1. Undo the bolts holding the handlebars to the stem.

2. Undo the headset bolt.

3. Undo the bolts holding the stem to the headset.

4. Slide the stem off; replace it with the new stem.  Partially tighten the bolts holding the stem to the headset so it moves easily side to side but not freely.

5. Put the headset bolt back in and tighten it hand tight.

6. Mount the handlebars to the stem and tighten the faceplate.  Be sure to mount the handlebars so the center of the handlebars is where the face plate mounts.  Take a note of the allen key size for the faceplate.

7. The stem should still be able to move left and right, and probably won’t line up with the front wheel.  Line up the front wheels and handlebars so they’re straight; once it’s correct tighten the bolts clamping the stem to the headset.

8. Tighten the headset bolt, but not too much.  Check for play in the headset – move the handlebars backwards and forwards, up and down.  If they move, tighten the headset bolt a fraction (1/8th turn each time) and check again.  Note: the headset bolt is typically very “loose” by comparison to the other bolts.

9. Test ride the bike!  Take the Allen key that matches the faceplate with you.  When out riding, stop and adjust the handlebar angle to be comfortable for you.  If you have lights and know where they normally shine relative to the bike, it can help a lot to do this step at night or somewhere dark and you may not need to adjust it on the road.

Recommended torque values:

You should use the ones recommended in your manual, but not all of these will be easy to find or even in there as it’s no longer part of the frame.  The faceplate on the handlebar is 60 inch lbs (little “oomph”); the stem itself is 100-120 inch lbs (big “oomph”).  If you strip the threads… well, at least now you know how to change a stem.

If you’re a casual commuter, changing the chain frequently doesn’t mean a rear cluster replacement every time.  For the more hardcore of us, we have to change the clusters and chains every time, even with preventative maintenance.

20/20 hindsight:

• Replacing only the chain is possible, but will only really work for people who are replacing them because they’re old and stiff, or got grime in them and wore out prematurely, or chain break due to manufacturers defects.  People who replace the chain because they’ve actually USED their bikes will most likely have to replace the rear cluster.  Chain stretch remains to be an excellent indicator for wear and tear on the rear cluster though.
• The easiest order to do this in is:
  • Remove the chain up to the point where it’s put on the drop sheet. (1.1-1.4)
  • Change the rear cluster. (2)
  • Continue the chain replacement process. (1.5-1.9)
• Have a rear cluster on hand regardless of whether you think you’ll need to replace it or not.  Riding with a new chain on old, worn sprockets will have the chain skip a lot, possibly lead to injury and wear the new chain out faster.  Trying to put the old one back on may be difficult, verging on impossible if you accidentally pushed the pin all the way out.
• On the test ride following the chain replacement, progressively push harder until you’re pushing as hard as you can.  If you didn’t replace the rear cluster and the chain skips the rear cluster at all, you will have to replace the rear cluster as well.
• Some minor adjustment of the derailleur gearing may be required; the fine adjustment screws should be enough.
• It’s easier to pull the chain ends together when there’s less tension on there; there’s less tension when it’s on the smallest rings at the front and back.  Put it in to top gear on the rear cluster and the smallest gear at the front.

#1.  Replacing the chain

1.  Use the chain breaker to push the pin out from one of the links.  The chain may flick back violently when it separates, so take care when removing the link and if possible hold either side of the chain before removing the pin.  Where possible, push the pin out far enough to separate the links but not so far that it pops out entirely – this ensures that if you have to put the old chain back on for some reason (e.g. to ride to the store to buy a rear cluster) you will have little difficulty doing so.

2.  Once the pin has been pushed out, lay the chain down as straight as possible on to the drop sheet.

3.  Line up the master link end of the new chain to the open end of the old chain, and count out the matching number of links.  The easiest way is to line both chains up to each other, and match up the links that way.

4.  Use the chain breaker to remove the excess links.

5.  Feed the chain through the drive train.  It should look roughly the same as just after the chain was separated using the chain breaker.

6.  Have the master link close by for this one.  Pull the two ends of the chain together, and feed through one half of the master link.  Press the two pieces of master link together.  No tools should be required for this.  Note the pin for the master link is currently in the first position, and there’s a gap on the left side of the master link.

7.  Pull the chain on either side of the master link tight until it clicks into the second position.

8.  Oil each of the rollers on the chain using the chain oil.  Turn the pedals a few times and if possible, cycle it through the gears to ensure that everything is ok.

9.  Wipe off the excess oil using a paper towel or clean rag.

Side note:
As an example of a chain that does not require changing, the chain stretch tool applied after the new chain is fitted:

#2.  Removing the rear cluster

1.  Disconnect the brakes and remove the rear wheel.

2.  Remove the axle.  Do this by unscrewing the end off it on one side, then sliding it out.

3.  Take the spline lock ring tool and insert it into the lock ring.

4.  Wrap the chain whip around the biggest gear you can.  It should hold the gear in place when you try to spin the gears around (the gears will only spin freely in one direction).

5.  Using a crescent wrench, remove the lock ring.  The lock ring will come loose in the same direction as the gears would spin without the chain whip there.

6.  With the lock ring off, remove the old rear cluster.  Now is a good time to ensure the freehub spins without too much resistance.

7.  Remove the rear cluster from the packaging.  The splines on the freewheel hub are not uniform; there are several that are thick, one thin and one medium one next to each other (see this picture for an example).  Line these up with same sized splines on the new rear cluster and put the cluster over the hub. In the picture below, the thin spline is at the bottom of the rear cluster.  Also note the arrow on the rear cluster.

8.  On bikes with more than 6 gears, the smallest gearing will be separate rings.  Line the small arrow up on the gears and put them on in the same way the rear cluster was put on.  Note: the way the splines are designed means that the smallest rings cannot be physically put on backwards.  If they’re not going on right, check the splines are lining up correctly; if they appear to be the wrong size, it may be backwards – flip it around and try again

9.  One the rings are all on, the remainder of the process is the reverse of removing the rear cluster.  Replace the lock nut and tighten it by hand, then with the wrench.  The direction of tightening it will be in the opposite direction of the freewheel spinning; hold the rim with one hand and tighten it with the other.  Once the lock nut is tightened, check to see that the gears spin freely and are not loose (try to wiggle side to side).

10.  Replace the axle and screw the axle nut back on again.  Note the orientation of the spring; the large end faces outwards.

11.  Once the whole lot is together again, replace the wheel and reconnect the rear brake.

From the manufacturer’s website for my tool: A worn chain shifts poorly and wears sprockets at an accelerated rate. The CC-3 is a “go, no go” gauge designed to accurately indicate when a chain reaches .75% and 1% wear, the points at which most chain manufacturers suggest replacement. Made from precision, laser cut steel.

How:
Luckily, it’s quite easy.  I use a chain stretch tool.  They cost around $7, and are almost brainless to use.

There’s two sides, marked .75% and 1.0% – the amount of stretch in the chain.  Placing one hook into the chain and letting the other side slot in between two links will let you know how much stretch there is.  The flat side of the tool will rest on top of the chain when the chain stretch is less than 0.75%.

In this case, the chain has stretched 0.75%.

0.75% is the “preventative maintenance replace” mark.  1.0% is the “need to replace” mark.  As such, this chain should be replaced to avoid excess wear on the rear sprockets.

Inspection interval:
Well, depends on the amount of riding.  Probably once every 200 mi should be enough, which is about once every 2 weeks for me.  Personally though – it takes 5s to put the tool in and check it’s ok.

Something nice and easy that can be done in a lunch break, with time to spare.

1. Unhook the brake pads at the cantilever arms.

2. Remove the old brake pad pin using the pliers.

3. Slide the brake pad out to the rear.

4. Slide the new brake pad in from the rear.

5.  Replace the old brake pad pin with a new one, and push it all the way in.

6.  Repeat steps 2-5 for the other 4 brake pads on the bike.

7.  Reconnect the brakes to the brake cables. (IMPORTANT!!!)

8.  As always, a gentle test ride!

Additional notes:

• These are directional brake pads.  Be sure to face the right way forward!
• I had these set up by a professional bike shop the first time, so that the brake pads toe in was right (front of the brake pad touches before the rear of the brake pad)
• When buying brake pads, be sure to get the right type.  I usually get the first set fitted by a bike shop, and if I’m satisfied with the brake pads I buy 3-4 more sets of pads.
• These pads were not heavily worn.  Replacing pads more frequently means replacing cables and cable housing less frequently.

I had a lot more trouble with the front brakes than the rear brakes.  These particular brakes fit well on the back, but on the front the brake pad pin was actually under the front fork.  In order to get to them, I had to remove the front wheel and fenders.  When I put them on, I had to loosen the front brake cable as well.  Took an extra 5 minutes.

Additional images: here