Technical Q&A with Lennard Zinn

By Lennard Zinn

Dear Lennard Zinn;
I have the original Specialized version of the Hed 3, 3-spoke carbon fiber rear wheel. It is rear 700C tubular rim with a Regina 7-speed freewheel on a chrome-moly frame. The problem lies with the binding of the wheel when the quick release is clamped down. If the quick release is tightened so that the wheel does not move when jarred from the side, the wheel is very reluctant to spin, and you can feel the friction when the wheel is spun. When the quick release is loosened so that the wheel spins freely, the wheel is easily dislodged to the side. In fact, at Ironman Florida, it was dislodged by another bike in the bike rack transition to the extent that I rode half the bike route with the wheel askew.

I thought I was having an off day until the half way point when another competitor was kind enough to point out that my rear wheel looked like it was rubbing on one of the stays. I then unclasped the quick release, tightened the adjusting nut on the quick release and was on my way. Unfortunately, to keep the rim from moving about, I had to adjust the quick release so that the wheel then had much drag when spun.Having listened to the advice of some of my buddies, I have changed the quick release from steel, to titanium, to aluminum and back to steel but the wheel continues to behave in the same manner.

Do you have any advice on how to adjust the wheel bearings in this wheel so that I can clamp down the wheel firmly, minimize the drag and eliminate any unwanted movement in the dropouts? –Mike

Answer from Hed:

The bearings in your wheel adjust very easily. Here is how we do it:Starting with the axle out, the cone and outer locknut get tightened down against each other. You will need a 13 or 14mm cone wrench, and a 16 or 17mm open end wrench (I am not sure what sizes specialized used on their parts). On your bike you will want this side to be the freewheel side – you will not be able to access it once the axle is in the wheel. When the first side is tightened, slide the axle into the wheel and then screw on the other cone. Make it finger tight. Next screw down the outer locknut and tighten them against each other just like on the other side. Your axle should now be adjusted about right. If it is still too tight you can loosen the kickstand-side outer nut, back the cone up about 1/4 turn and retighten. You may have to monkey with it some to get it right.If it is too tight and you can get the freewheel off, you can loosen it much more easily by just using the cone wrenches. Put a cone wrench on each cone and turn them both counterclockwise a little bit.Before you do all of this, also check to make sure that your axle is not hanging out too far on one side. When the wheel is on the bike, the axle should not stick out past the outer face of the dropout.
Andy Tetmeyer
wheel guru
Hed Wheels

Dear Lennard;
My wife has a problem with her rear Ksyrium wheel, namely the pedals/cranks keep rotating when she stops pedaling and coasts – too much resistance to freewheeling.

Our bike shop has sent the wheel back to Mavic because it did this the first time she rode the wheels (less than 20 miles into the ride). They say that they’ve had no problems and do not seem to acknowledge that the wheel was faulty. We’ve had the wheels over a year now, but our mechanic worked on the rear wheel last May. He says that it is the way the freewheel hub and wheel are installed, connected. How do you lube the wheel? –J. E.

Dear J. E.;
I know of a couple of possibilities. Sometimes the cream colored bushing on the FTSL freehub body is not perfectly concentric, sometimes the area inside the hub gets contaminated and causes premature wear, and sometimes they just wear out. The FTSL freehub body does not have replaceable bearings; it’s intended to be replaced at the end of its life, but it costs just a bit more than the bearings in the old freehub body did. I couldn’t guess on this wheel without examining the axle adjustment, pawl wear, and where the hub shell may be scuffed.

As you suspect, there is no mass problem that I know of with the product. We sell a lot of Ksyriums (and CrossMax tubeless) wheels with our bikes, and I ride them personally and have never had this problem. –Lennard

Dear Lennard;
I am using the Campy Ergobrain System with my Record triple components. Recently the Ergobrain has started changing modes automatically and at random. Example, I can set it on cadence and it may then (on its own) switch to distance (or any other mode) without me pressing the switch. I wiped the contacts with a dry rag, installed a new battery and also checked the wiring to no avail. Any advice or suggestions? The unit is approximately two years old.

Also, I gave three of your Road Bike Maintenance books as Christmas gifts to friends this year. They loved it (as I love mine as well). Thanks for a great book.–Jeff

Answer from Campagnolo

The first thing to do whenever possible is to interchange the main unit with someone else’s ErgoBrain in order to ascertain if the problem is in the main unit or in the cables or switch.Probably the problem is located at the switch. Please verify inside the Ergopower that the right switch return spring is returning the button (maybe the tape is putting pressure on it). It could be damaged, and the switch is continually activated or is sensitive to road vibrations. As I said before, trying the main unit on another bike or just removing it from the support can isolate the problem. If the problem persists, it must be an electronic problem in the main unit, and in this case send it to Campagnolo USA for inspection.If the problem disappears by using it in another support, then probably the switch or the cables are damaged. Check the switch spring as above and restore its function if possible. If that does not work, replace the computer mount.
Joseba Arizaga
Campagnolo Italy

Dear Lennard;
My Park consumer truing stand came with a dishing tool. With a stiff and repeatable stand like the Park, I’ve always just flipped the wheels back and forth to keep the rims on center when building a new wheel. The dishing tool always seemed inconvenient and crude. What am I missing?I can’t believe the Park kids would go to all the expense to include such a beast if it wasn’t of some value. I’ve only ever used mine once – to quickly check a store-bought wheel that seemed off-center.–Steve

Dear Steve;
There are so many inconsistencies in a wheel, as well as in how you clamp it in the stand, that your method of flipping the wheel does not work for checking the dish. A little bend in the axle or asymmetrical flattening of axle threads, or a failure to install it to the same depth or with the same side pressure will throw it off.Do your flip-flop and then compare it to a dishing tool. Or set the feelers on the truing stand against the rim, loosen the stand, rotate the axle 1/4 turn and clamp it down again. You’ll see what I mean.On the other hand, your method could be accurate to within 1-2mm, which might be good enough.–Lennard

Follow-up on converting ErgoPower lever to 10-speed
By far the best internet bike shop I have found for that kind of thing is Branford Bike; check out this discussion of how to convert any speed of Ergo lever to any other speed:

http://www.branfordbike.com/campy/campy.html#Upgrade

or; if you’re in a hurry:

LD-97-42 10 speed, use with any Campy 10 speed rear derailleur and 1999 to current Ergo right side lever. Campy part number: EC-RE061, $29.88.

I’m sympathetic to your local bike shop recommendation, however, depending on the guy’s location, a Campagnolo-friendly LBS may not be available.–Rob

Follow-up on Campagnolo rear derailleur capacity
I think you have to add that all those silly rules apply only if you’re nuts enough to try to ride the 53×29. If you restrict yourself to the 53×23 or 53×25, then even the short cage derailleur works fine on the 13-29 freewheel. And the thought of ripping the derailleur off and destroying your frame should be good incentive to remember not to jam it down to the 53×29!–Steve

Follow-up on crank tick
Dear Lennard;
I have a tip for “ticking noises” from the crank area:Several years ago I experienced a moderately loud ticking noise coming from my bottom bracket area 5 to 10 miles into any ride following a ride in the rain. I had gotten to the point of pulling my cranks and BB cartridge to dry, clean and re-lube everything prior to reassembly and used Teflon tape on the BB cups after every wet ride. The tick always returned somewhere on the next ride. My shop owner showed me this trick that had worked for him once: he removed the front derailleur clamp, cleaned it and the seat tube, lubed it with titanium anti-seize compound and remounted it onto the seat tube. I’ve never heard the “tick” again. My frame is titanium with a satin finish. Thought this might help other frustrated titanium frame owners with “BB ticks.”–Paul

FILED UNDER: Bikes and Tech