yep. I had a Sitero. (amongst others) but it still hard even then.
Yeah I’m well acquainted.
Super adjustable - the saddle moves on the clamp and the clamp on the seat post!
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That’s what she said.
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Had a chat at my local LBS on Friday and he said the ‘sensible’ option would be to convert to 1x up front. I know it’s the sensible thing to do, and anything else means spending big money on a 10 year old 10spd drivetrain, but I was hoping there was a way to make the front derailleur more reliable.
Will have to look at how compromised my range will be. No real big climbs on any local courses, but I did always have half an eye on Tenby one day.
Sooo. After giving up on sorting out my piston/disc brake problem after giving the screw (to take the pads out) one turn and it melting under the force - Yep, old Wreck it Ralph was at work again - I took it to my mate at the lbs.
Turns out I maybe had destroyed the pads, way beyond their life and had been braking metal on metal for a while. They had terrible trouble getting the piston back out having to bleed the brakes and stuff. He said it’s hopefully fixed, but there’s a small chance I’ve totally duffered the caliper.
I also mentioned some headset play - that was obviously discovered by a mate, not me! 
Turns out I’d maybe rusted out the bits and bobs that live down there from the turbo. So that’s been replaced now.
He even fixed my puncture for me!
So hopefully I now have a functioning road bike. And a timely reminder to do something more robust on the tt bike to protect it from my caustic sweat!
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Ok, sorry, this is probably really stupid but I’ve no idea what I’m doing so forgive me. I currently have a hand me down 2014 Pinnacle Dolomite. I’m pretty sure the left crank arm - an FSA Gossamer - is done. I’m going to borrow my father in law’s torque wrench to really do it up but it keeps coming loose and today fell off. Google tells me it’s a common problem with them.
So, I’m thinking it might be time to change chain/crankset, but I’ve no idea what to get and there’s lots of weird numbers and lengths I don’t understand.
The bike currently has a 175mm length, compact 50-34 FSA Gossamer chainset. The bike is 20 speed, with a Shimano 105 RD-5700 rear derailleur. The rear cassette is 11-25.
So my question is, what do I need to get and is there a knock-on to other parts?
As my bike has a 10 speed rear cassette, do I need a 10 speed crankset? Or does the 10/11 distinction not make any difference when it comes to the front rings?
One reason I ask is that a quick search suggested my stuff is all very much out of date, and I couldn’t see a Shimano 105 10 speed option. I could only see the 11-speed R7000, or a Tiagra 10 speed (the 4700, which maybe is fine or there’s another option people would recommend).
I think if I move to 11 speed then based on what I’ve read I would need a new chain and rear derailleur too? So basically I would be upgrading the entire drivetrain - is that a good move on a bike that’s quite old (albeit I can’t see me affording a new one in the next couple of years)?
Once I’ve got that bit sorted, is there merit in moving from 50-34 to 52-36? Similarly, should I consider switching my rear cassette to a 11-28?
And lastly, how difficult is it to change this myself, bearing in mind this post confirms how crap I am at this? In sensing I should just take it to the repair place as I write this and pay them to do it…
I might have a medium used FSA Gossamer crankset in the spares bin. Maybe. Will need to dig in the back of the shed. If you’re interested?
Otherwise I’d probably swap out the chainset and bottom bracket for a Shimano 105 set. 11 speed. Others may argue, but I’ve run 11 speed chainrings with 10 speed chain etc and noticed nothing awry.
If you want to upgrade to full 11 speed you’ll need shifters too, and it’ll get expensive. Merlin usually do the best deal in complete shift sets. But it’s £550 for a full 105 groupo including brakes which you probably don’t need.
So probably best to just swap out the chainset and BB. Do you know what bottom bracket standard your frame has? If you don’t have a look and see if it’s standard English threaded or BB30. Might say on the BB shell or the chainset.
All this stuff is easy as Lego. It’s just a PITA the very first time you learn it.
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Thanks @GeordieM - I’m away with work rest of the week but going to take the bike out at the weekend again and then put it in for a service next week. It may just be I’ve not been tightening it properly but if the thread is gone I’ll definitely give you a shout. Really kind offer.
No idea about the bottom bracket but it was very polite of you to think I’d even know what one was. I’ll have a look at the weekend. Only thing I can see from a quick look online is “FSA External” which probably doesn’t help much.
When you say: “Otherwise I’d probably swap out the chainset and bottom bracket for a Shimano 105 set. 11 speed”…
does this mean getting the 105 chainset, the correct bottom bracket for the chainset and my bike, but leave my rear cassette, chain, and the derailleurs alone?
I think you’re right, if I was going to be looking at investing upwards of £500 on this bike, I’d probably instead look at doing cycle to work on a proper new one (the financial logic makes sense to me…).
Thanks again!
Yes, if you’re installing a new chainset and your BB has some miles in it then may as well replace that too. BBs are consumable and only £25 to buy. If you’re not interested in doing it yourself then this is an easy job for your local shop. New chain time too if I had to guess. And yes you’d just keep the same derailleurs etc.
The only complication in all this is making sure you know what BB standard your bike has. There was a trend from mid 2000s of various pointless new BB standards… BB30 and its ilk. You just need to check before buying a chainset, or just get your LBS to do it. Problem is the sun is out and LBS workshops will be booked solid, at least they are up here.
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This would seem to be the bike. Spec seems to align. I’d imagine it’s just a MegaExo BB that is the similar to a threaded shimano equivalent.
Tbh, you could probably fit a shimano crank in there. Shimano standard are 24.0mm and I think FSA is 24.4mm or something like that. It’s close enough that I’ve been able to force my FSA power2max into both of my roadies with a pre-installed shimano BB, so the reverse will likely be fine with no noticeable play, but if it’s not brand new you might as well get a new one as suggested.
On the 11sp/10sp topic for chainsets, it should be fine. I think some manufacturers claim there’s some difference, but a lot of third party ring manufacturers list their chain rings as 10/11sp.
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Have spent half an hour trying to tighten this to stop my wobbly saddle, tightening it by about 0.0001mm each time. What am I doing wrong?
Is there not access from the side? How would you tighten a seat that didn’t have a hole in the top?
It’s pretty odd for a clamp to have a hex head bolt like that, is it original? Can you show us a pic from the side?
I’ve had a few with those hex bolts. You can normally tighten them from below the saddle with a normal spanner. They also have a hole through the middle of the bolt head that you can use.
Replace that Hex Bolt with an Allen Key bolt. It’s almost certainly a standard size thread. Ask at your LBS if they have one, could look at Screwfix is you have one locally. You will want Stainless Steel though otherwise it will rust
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Second this. It has to be the easiest way to access it and I’m amazed a std set up has that bolt. I don’t think I’ve seen that before.
You would normally put a spanner in from the rear. I think the thing that’s making it so difficult for you is you have a bottle/bag bracket across the rear rails closing that space. Either remove that to gain access or swap the bolt as suggested.
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Thanks all - useful tips. Will swap out the bolt 