💾 Archived View for zaibatsu.circumlunar.space › ~solderpunk › bikes › franken-peugeot › log › af9_2… captured on 2020-09-24 at 02:12:31.
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September 28th, 2018 -------------------- I did more or less a complete bottom-bracket overhaul today. Despite my best efforts to flush as much crap out of the non-drive-side bottom bracket bearings, having the left crank still attached just made it too hard, and I was bothered by the amount of grittiness I could feel. So, despite my tremendous reservations, I pulled that troublesome left crank so I could get right into the cup. I had originally built the Franken-Peugeot up with caged bearings, 9 balls in each cage. The unanimous advice of the internet seemed to be that replacing this approach with 11 uncaged balls was well worth the extra effort, so I did this. Being able to do this on both sides at the same time was another motivation to pull the left crank so I could service the entire bottom bracket. With the new, un-pitted drive-side cup installed, and new bearings and new grease on both sides, my short test ride in the area around the co-op was nice and quiet. Well, not 100% quiet, but definitely a total lack of the horrible sound which had been bothering me. The remaining sounds I can hear are slight and I don't think they're a cause for major concern. Getting a Franken bike made of random parts to run totally silently is a big ask. I think the biggest remaining sources of noise are, one, that I am using a 1/8th inch chain but my chainwheel is designed for narrower derailleur chains, which permits some side-to-side movement, and two, that the pedal bearings have a little play in them. So, the biggest problem that I've been facing for quite a while now appears to be solved. I would *love* to immediately embarck on a really long ride, but naturally I am now once again greatly concerned about that damn left crank coming off, since it has been reseated. Before pulling it, I used a permanent marker to put marks on the crank and on the spindle so I could put it back on in precisely the same orientation, so that I could hopefully keep the same seemingly secure fit. I did everything "properly" putting both cranks back on (greased the splines, and gave the bolts a little extra tightening after an intial ride to account for the loss of preload), so fingers crossed it's all good, but I don't want to find myself far from home on this bike until I have convinced myself that it's staying put. Thus, relatively conservative riding on the weekend - perhaps to my recent S24O location for some outdoor coffee and back.