Author Topic: DK Signal/Opsis Information Thread  (Read 212058 times)

Offline Stubbleduck43

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #45 on: August 11, 2008, 06:16:30 AM »
Man, that's a pretty sweet ride to start out on.  You don't have to do anything but put it together and a pretty reasonable price. 

Offline hanglooose

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #46 on: August 11, 2008, 11:08:49 PM »
hey everybody

i am a total beginner at flatland. never tried but it seems cool and it's something i wanna do. i plan on ordering a dk signal sometime next week so:

is there any stock parts of the bike that I should replace with better parts? if so what parts and what should I replace them with?

also do I have to adjust the seat or anything or does a rider that is 5ft and a rider that is 5ft 11 just get on the same bike and go??

please help a beginner. thanks :D

Offline 1slosvt

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #47 on: August 11, 2008, 11:35:58 PM »
just ride it and replace parts as you feel needed. as far as adjusting the seat yes you need to change it to your preferences there is no one set height for everyone. adjust bars,brakes,levers cables you name it just adjust to where you are comfortable with them not where some one else sets  them

Offline Probate Ted

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #48 on: August 13, 2008, 03:59:29 AM »
I just picked up a Signal and i'm having trouble with the front brakes. When i do what the manual says, or what i think it says, i end up with the left pad (as you're sitting on it), not moving off of the wheel. When i adjust the cable housing/nut thing, the other pad goes towards and away from the wheel like it's supposed to, but the left pad just stays resting on it. I've tried lots of different things, and i'm not sure what i could be doing wrong. Any tips?

Offline David (Toucan)

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #49 on: August 13, 2008, 05:02:15 AM »
I just picked up a Signal and i'm having trouble with the front brakes. When i do what the manual says, or what i think it says, i end up with the left pad (as you're sitting on it), not moving off of the wheel. When i adjust the cable housing/nut thing, the other pad goes towards and away from the wheel like it's supposed to, but the left pad just stays resting on it. I've tried lots of different things, and i'm not sure what i could be doing wrong. Any tips?

disconnect the cable from the brake, unscrew the nut on the brake lever as far as itll go without it falling out, have a friend hold the brakes so that they are touching the rim, re-attach cable and pull reallll tight, let out about .25 inches of slack, tighten, let go of brake, screw in nut. Thats pretty much it! ;D ;D
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Offline Probate Ted

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #50 on: August 13, 2008, 07:26:23 AM »
I just picked up a Signal and i'm having trouble with the front brakes. When i do what the manual says, or what i think it says, i end up with the left pad (as you're sitting on it), not moving off of the wheel. When i adjust the cable housing/nut thing, the other pad goes towards and away from the wheel like it's supposed to, but the left pad just stays resting on it. I've tried lots of different things, and i'm not sure what i could be doing wrong. Any tips?

disconnect the cable from the brake, unscrew the nut on the brake lever as far as itll go without it falling out, have a friend hold the brakes so that they are touching the rim, re-attach cable and pull reallll tight, let out about .25 inches of slack, tighten, let go of brake, screw in nut. Thats pretty much it! ;D ;D

Yeah, that's what i've been doing. One arm moves just like it should, and the other stays completely stationary. I'm sure i just hooked something up wrong. Here's a picture. I don't understand what's supposed to stop that left arm (right arm in the picture) from just naturally being pulled onto the wheel. Anyway, i'm new to these things and clearly underqualified, so any advice would be great. Thanks!

Offline djmikec

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brakes
« Reply #51 on: August 13, 2008, 06:38:01 PM »
hello.  please note that when you make any fine adjustments to the tightness of your brake cable, you'll want to do so using the nut at the BRAKE end of the cable.  this one is made of steel and therefore won't strip or break as easily as the nut at the LEVER end of the cable, which to my understanding is made of aluminum and is therefore not as sturdy.  so just keep the nut at the lever end of the cable screwed all the way in at all times.

as far as the one brake arm that stays next to the rim all the time, this is caused by your brake not being centered.  take a look at your brakes.  see the two allen key bolts that hold the brake onto the mounting posts?  well, just barely outside of each allen key bolt you will notice that there are flat ends on either side of it.  take a wrench and turn these "flat ends" in the direction you need the brake to adjust.  please note that this has a different effect than turning the allen key bolts themselves.  if you turn the allen key bolts, you will instead adjust the tightness/pressure on the springs inside the brakes, which may or may not be necessary to solve your centering problem.

hope that helps.  cheers
« Last Edit: August 13, 2008, 06:45:33 PM by djmikec »
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Offline David (Toucan)

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Re: brakes
« Reply #52 on: August 14, 2008, 12:35:22 AM »
hello.  please note that when you make any fine adjustments to the tightness of your brake cable, you'll want to do so using the nut at the BRAKE end of the cable.  this one is made of steel and therefore won't strip or break as easily as the nut at the LEVER end of the cable, which to my understanding is made of aluminum and is therefore not as sturdy.  so just keep the nut at the lever end of the cable screwed all the way in at all times.
...


TOTALLY not true. the only easy way to get it really dialed is to use the nut at the lever.

its plenty strong enough
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kdac

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #53 on: August 14, 2008, 07:52:53 AM »
just take them off.. you'll never look back i promise you.

Offline Aeons of Flat

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #54 on: August 14, 2008, 07:59:40 AM »
hey guys wonderin whether should buy signal for 500 (im in Australia) or order one from global flat for 430.

Offline David (Toucan)

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #55 on: August 15, 2008, 02:00:21 AM »
hey guys wonderin whether should buy signal for 500 (im in Australia) or order one from global flat for 430.

Buy it, with shipping from global flat it will be even more.

FOR THE BRAKES...

I figured out your problem on the train today...

Just loosen the nuts that hold the brake to the fork. not the allen nut, but the other hand tightened one.
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Offline pitdog504

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #56 on: August 24, 2008, 10:31:09 AM »
Aboot that wheel, they mailed a new wheel, tire, and tube.  It was the wrong wheel.  They said keep it and mailed out the right wheel and another tire and tube.  All this in three or four business days.  They made it right.

On a side note i bent the cranks on his bike trying to do feeble grinds.  After i landed a few they were shot so i had to replace them too.  That was my fault though but i needed to do it.  That was my first feeble grind in 17 years.

Offline David (Toucan)

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #57 on: August 26, 2008, 11:07:26 PM »
Aboot that wheel, they mailed a new wheel, tire, and tube.  It was the wrong wheel.  They said keep it and mailed out the right wheel and another tire and tube.  All this in three or four business days.  They made it right.

On a side note i bent the cranks on his bike trying to do feeble grinds.  After i landed a few they were shot so i had to replace them too.  That was my fault though but i needed to do it.  That was my first feeble grind in 17 years.

Lol... I have yet to try a feeble grind... tempted though.

Your lucky for getting a new wheel...

When I bent my axle DK said that its not warranted... pretty yag.
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Offline ionymous

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #58 on: August 27, 2008, 04:56:24 AM »
I got my Signal today.  I thought I'd share my experience so far.

As I was putting it together, I felt bad for those out there who have posted in these forums who have shown concern about putting it together.  I found some of it a bit tricky.

To put the pegs on, you need socket wrenches and extensions long enough go through the pegs and tighten the wheel nuts.  I'm lucky I could come up with the right combination of extensions and deep sockets to tighten both sides at the same time.  On one side I had an awesome combination: big-socket-wrench-->big-to-medium-adapter-->medium-extension-->medium-to-big-adapter-->big-socket.  hahaha
The rear axle nuts are pretty big... bigger than any typical Walmart bike... or most bike shop bikes I've ever seen.  I'm new to flatland... so maybe it's the norm here.
Anyway, I used a 17mm sockets in the front and 19mm in the rear.

I also found my front wheel's bearings were too tight.  When you hold a wheel by the axle in your hands and spin it, you should not feel the bearings.  If it feels bumpy... or crunchy (hard to describe) then the cone nuts are too tight.
The wheels have inner cone nuts and outer lock nuts.  Ideally, the cone nuts get adjusted just right, and the lock nuts keep their neighboring cone nuts in place. (Two nuts that once spun easily on a threaded rod do not move easily once they are tightened against each other)  But I was able to loosen a cone nut on one side a bit by turning it with its lock nut. But not much at all.  Just enough so I couldn't feel the bearing when I turned the wheel, but not so loose that you can feel play when jiggling the axle. You really should not be able to feel any play.   Sometimes you might have to compromise.  I'd rather feel the bearings more than feel play in the axle.  Play in the axle means your wheel is wobbling and you don't want that.  You might have to settle for some bearing "bumpiness"... but you probably won't feel it when you ride anyway.

Oh... I also checked the bearings on one side and I saw enough grease.  So I was content with that.

The rear wheel seemed good.  No bearing problems, so I left it as is.  But while I had it off I took the chain off the crank sprocket and turned the crank.  WTF! It was actually hard to turn.  That's not right.
This is a one piece crank and has a lock washer holding a cone nut on the non-sprocket side.  I used a spanner wrench (I was lucky to have) to loosed the cone.  Once it seemed free to move without feeling any play in the crank, I held the cone in place with the spanner and tightened the lock nut.  If you don't have a spanner, you might be able to hold that cone at the right position using a flat head screw driver from the side.  I think I remember doing that about 20 years ago when I was a kid with no tools.
I assumed the bearings in the crank had enough grease.  I didn't check.

I tried the best I could to lube the cable housings with tri-flow.  The front cable was easy because it had no end on it and I could take the housing all the way off.  The rear cabled are trickier and mostly installed so I just did the best I could with the housing still on the bike.

Tomorrow evening I'll work on adjusting the brakes.

Hope this helps someone.
Ion

Offline David (Toucan)

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Re: DK Signal Information Thread
« Reply #59 on: August 27, 2008, 05:21:12 AM »
repairs are wayyyyyy easier with the right tools... its an investment worth making...

GET A CONE WRENCH!!

i spent hours fiddling with normal tools until i got one... took me ten minutes using it.

and it came out perfect!
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