The noise, stop the noise!

Jul 092012

I made a huge leap in reducing the noise pollution from my mountain bike a few months ago; I replaced my Hope Pro 2 rear hub with an XTR hub.

Whilst riding, and also in my GoPro HD Hero 2 recordings, I was hearing a lot of clickety-clackety noises when going over very rough ground at speed; I put this down to chain slap. So I added a Bionicon C-Guide V.02 chainguide to my triple-ring setup in the hopes of reducing chain slap. The Bionicon C-Guide is a modern take on the DCD (Dave’s Chain Device) that was so popular in the 1990s.

Before fitting the Bionicon C-Guide I feared that the chain trundling through the plastic guide might cause some additional noise; this fear was unfounded as the device, so far, is silky smooth (the Squirt lube also seems to help). This, combined with the rear hub change, resulted in a very quiet bike when out riding.

However, there were still some mechanical noises in my GoPro camera recordings. I soon pinpointed this to the camera itself and eliminated that noise by opening it up and putting in some foam padding. But mechanical noise in the recording still hadn’t been completely eliminated. I traced these remaining noises to two items that were close to the GoPro camera: the Satmap Active 10 GPS device and the Knog NERD 12 bicycle computer.

On the Satmap Active 10, it was just the rechargeable battery bouncing around in the compartment. I soon resolved that by putting some foam padding in there.

On the Knog NERD 12, the noise appeared to be coming from within the device when I shook it. I took drastic action by cutting open the NERD with a junior hacksaw; this was done by cutting around the sides of the display. I soon had the unit opened. There were a bunch of items in there that could cause noise if shaken so I put some blu-tack padding in strategic locations within the device. I reassembled everything but have, temporarily, used some blu-tack for moisture protection and cello tape (or scotch tape in the USA) to hold the unit together; I’ll be using some epoxy resin to provide a more permanent assembly of the NERD at some point. Anyway, noise gone!

I do have a traditional mechanical bicycle bell that makes a little bit of noise when shaken and I have found no way of eliminating that noise. I could replace the bell but it was a birthday present from my friend’s 4-year old son so I’m unlikely to replace it any time soon! The noise is only slight and not really noticeable in the GoPro recordings so I can live with that.

The only other potential source of noise is that caused by the brake cables and gear cables hitting the GoPro camera housing whilst riding over bumps. Now, that does need some fixing. I’m looking at better placement of the GoPro and somehow fastening the cables so that they don’t hit the camera housing. I’ve not yet found a solution but have some ideas that I need to try out. It’s going to be trial and error I’m afraid.

Funnily enough, my rear disc brakes have just started to squeal a little. Oh dear, when will the noise stop!

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2012

Swinley Forest – Seagull Run, and Squirt lube

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May 282012

Swinley Forest

A video showing the first half of the Seagull Run in Swinley Forest on Sunday 27th May 2012. I was pretty much tired at this point, made a few mistakes, but am reasonably content with this run.

Swinley Forest, Seagull Run

The conditions were dry, a bit dusty, with some muddy holes dotted around (between Star Post 6 and Lower Star Post).

Squirt lubrication

The Squirt lube kept the bike chain very clean and well lubricated; running smooth. See photos below of the untouched chain after Swinley.

There is some build-up of wax on the jockey wheel but this does not interfere with the chain. Any dirt that is stuck on the wax will likely be shed. If I had used my normal wet lubrication then this chain would have been quite messy, with the oily-dirt mixture grinding the chain. The chain is a Shimano 10-speed HG-X (XTR M980).

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2012

Squirt chain lube – so far so good

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May 232012

Whatever the weather, whatever the trail conditions, I’ve always used Finish Line’s “Wet” lubrication on my bike chain. The Wet lube is great in wet conditions but is a bit gooey, much like most other oil-based lubricants, so has a tendency to pick up dirt especially in dry conditions. Now, dirt isn’t something that you want on a chain as this can cause increased wear through grinding, so I tended to degrease the chain and re-apply the wet lube on a regular basis; messy, really messy.

Of course over the years I’d heard of other chain lubes called “dry” (based on PTFE, or wax for example) which have been formulated to be less sticky than wet lubes so don’t accumulate dirt as much, but they do have a tendency to be washed off in the wet. Hence the word “dry”; use in dry conditions. So I resisted the temptation to try dry lubes for a long time.

Frankly, I was getting increasingly tired with the degreasing routine, so I kept an eye out on the market and finally decided that this year would be a good time to try a dry lube. I went for Finish Line’s “Dry” lube based on Teflon (Teflon is DuPont’s name for PTFE). However, before I was able to try Finish Line Dry lube in earnest I came across Bikinventions’s wax-based emulsion lube called “Squirt”. Squirt has glowing reviews and it appears that it has better resistance to being washed-off than other dry lubes.

I couldn’t resist! I managed to get hold of some Squirt and applied the gloop liberally over a freshly degreased chain (twice, actually, as per instructions for the initial application). Once dried, the lube is largely transparent. I’ve done a couple of minor rides in dry conditions and it seems to be doing well so far. I’m very pleased actually. Any dirt that sticks to the wax is quickly removed as the wax sheds, so there shouldn’t be any need to degrease or clean the chain.

Time will tell how well it does; I’ll provide updates on this blog.

Article by Kulvinder Singh Matharu – 2012

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