New specailized hardrock problems with everything on it I think??

I used my new bike for the first time yesterday... Loads of mud, but it all
worked OK, except the front derailier got clogged with mud, so didn't work
quite right after that. Today though after washing and oiling it last night
nothing works! I had to adjust the front derailier as it was rubbing on the
chain, the back and front disk brakes dont work half as well as the did, and
the front gear shifter doesn't click back when I change gears up or down. I
have to move it back with my thumb. I think some WD40 might have got on the
brakes, but I have cleaned the disks several times and nothing is coming of
them now.

Should I expect this, and is there anything I can do about it? Any help
would be appreciated

Cheers
Scott

http://www.hayesdiscbrake.com/support_faq.shtml

FAQ # 11 & 12
--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

"a" wrote in message
...
I used my new bike for the first time yesterday... Loads of mud, but it all
worked OK, except the front derailier got clogged with mud, so didn't work
quite right after that. Today though after washing and oiling it last night
nothing works! I had to adjust the front derailier as it was rubbing on the
chain, the back and front disk brakes dont work half as well as the did,
and the front gear shifter doesn't click back when I change gears up or
down. I have to move it back with my thumb. I think some WD40 might have
got on the brakes, but I have cleaned the disks several times and nothing
is coming of them now.

Should I expect this, and is there anything I can do about it? Any help
would be appreciated

Cheers
Scott

What are you doing with the WD40?

--
DTW .../\.../\.../\...

In message , a
writes
I think some WD40 might have got on the
brakes, but I have cleaned the disks several times and nothing is coming of
them now.

They are shagged. You'll need new pads as the ones you've got are now
contaminated.
--
Devs
"Punchdown Pete the old Kroner"

On 09/06/2007 23:11, a said,
I used my new bike for the first time yesterday... Loads of mud, but it all
worked OK, except the front derailier got clogged with mud, so didn't work
quite right after that. Today though after washing and oiling it last night
nothing works! I had to adjust the front derailier as it was rubbing on the
chain, the back and front disk brakes dont work half as well as the did, and
the front gear shifter doesn't click back when I change gears up or down. I
have to move it back with my thumb. I think some WD40 might have got on the
brakes, but I have cleaned the disks several times and nothing is coming of
them now.

If you've got WD40 on the brakes, then throw the pads away - nothing you
can do will ever make them work again. The discs need to be cleaned
with IPA (rubbing alcohol in the USA, I think) thoroughly, including all
the little holes. In future, when you are oiling around, cover the
brakes - discs and all - with a plastic bag! The mud itself won't stop
the brakes working - in fact mud is excellent for bedding in new pads :-)

The other thing is that WD40 has no place on a mountain bike anyway! Go
into your LBS and ask them what lubes they advise. Local because they
ride the same trails you do, so should have sorted out which lubes work
best for local conditions. Riding in wet, claggy Somerset mud needs
different lubes to riding in Californian dust (so I'm told - I've never
been to California!)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

No this was on the south downs (to many yanks for my British accent on the
web) The bitch of it is, I read a few months before I got the bike about
disk brakes. I did try to keep it of them but not enough. Do you no what
could be causing the gear lever to stick?


"Paul Boyd" wrote in message
...
On 09/06/2007 23:11, a said,
I used my new bike for the first time yesterday... Loads of mud, but it
all worked OK, except the front derailier got clogged with mud, so didn't
work quite right after that. Today though after washing and oiling it
last night nothing works! I had to adjust the front derailier as it was
rubbing on the chain, the back and front disk brakes dont work half as
well as the did, and the front gear shifter doesn't click back when I
change gears up or down. I have to move it back with my thumb. I think
some WD40 might have got on the brakes, but I have cleaned the disks
several times and nothing is coming of them now.

If you've got WD40 on the brakes, then throw the pads away - nothing you
can do will ever make them work again. The discs need to be cleaned with
IPA (rubbing alcohol in the USA, I think) thoroughly, including all the
little holes. In future, when you are oiling around, cover the brakes -
discs and all - with a plastic bag! The mud itself won't stop the brakes
working - in fact mud is excellent for bedding in new pads :-)

The other thing is that WD40 has no place on a mountain bike anyway! Go
into your LBS and ask them what lubes they advise. Local because they
ride the same trails you do, so should have sorted out which lubes work
best for local conditions. Riding in wet, claggy Somerset mud needs
different lubes to riding in Californian dust (so I'm told - I've never
been to California!)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

Could you tell me what lubricants to use as well? I have been using WD for
the chain, and oil for the rest.


"Paul Boyd" wrote in message
...
On 09/06/2007 23:11, a said,
I used my new bike for the first time yesterday... Loads of mud, but it
all worked OK, except the front derailier got clogged with mud, so didn't
work quite right after that. Today though after washing and oiling it
last night nothing works! I had to adjust the front derailier as it was
rubbing on the chain, the back and front disk brakes dont work half as
well as the did, and the front gear shifter doesn't click back when I
change gears up or down. I have to move it back with my thumb. I think
some WD40 might have got on the brakes, but I have cleaned the disks
several times and nothing is coming of them now.

If you've got WD40 on the brakes, then throw the pads away - nothing you
can do will ever make them work again. The discs need to be cleaned with
IPA (rubbing alcohol in the USA, I think) thoroughly, including all the
little holes. In future, when you are oiling around, cover the brakes -
discs and all - with a plastic bag! The mud itself won't stop the brakes
working - in fact mud is excellent for bedding in new pads :-)

The other thing is that WD40 has no place on a mountain bike anyway! Go
into your LBS and ask them what lubes they advise. Local because they
ride the same trails you do, so should have sorted out which lubes work
best for local conditions. Riding in wet, claggy Somerset mud needs
different lubes to riding in Californian dust (so I'm told - I've never
been to California!)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/

a said the following on 11/06/2007 00:48:
No this was on the south downs (to many yanks for my British accent on the
web) The bitch of it is, I read a few months before I got the bike about
disk brakes. I did try to keep it of them but not enough. Do you no what
could be causing the gear lever to stick?

This group is USA-biased, so there is a tendency to assume that most
people here are Yanks. (...and I don't like being called a Brit
either!!!) You might like to consider joining uk.rec.cycling, if you're
not already, but that can often seem like an off-shoot of alt.politics.
It's mostly utility and road-biased, but there are a few MTBer's there
as well.

Is it the actual lever that's sticking, or more likely the cable?
Assuming it's the cables, if they're really that sticky you probably
ought to consider replacing them, but in the meantime run a load of GT85
into them and work them a few times. Spraying some GT85 inside the
lever housing around any pivots won't do any harm either. If you can
stretch to an XTR cable set (about £17-£20) that's well worth the money
and makes a big difference to shifting performance. The sealed ends and
pre-greasing also mean that I haven't had to lube them yet.

As far as the chain goes, current favourites are Finish Line Cross
Country for muddy stuff or very wet, or ProGold ProLink Chain Lube for
dryer conditions - an American product, BTW, but available from Wiggle.
The bottle is relatively expensive, but a little goes a long way. You
need to run a drop into each and every roller and between the plates -
don't cover the outside of the chain with the stuff. A lot of people
also recommend Purple Extreme lube for the chain and on paper it sounds
very good. I've just never tried it yet. You can use GT85 on the
chain, but it doesn't seem to last very long and probably the solvent
evaporates before the lube can run into the rollers, so I wouldn't
recommend it.

For things like derailleur pivots and suspension struts, it's GT85 again.

Hope this helps :-)

--
Paul Boyd
http://www.paul-boyd.co.uk/