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Sunday, August 10, 2014

Brompton Accessories #13 - Replacing The Nylon Hook

You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Bikes & Accessories / Brompton Accessories #13 - Replacing The Nylon Hook
                                                   AhPek Biker - Riding Adventures                                                  
BROMPTON ACCESSORIES #13 - REPLACING THE NYLON HOOK
(This blog is not a review, it's more on my foray in purchasing accessories for my 3rd Foldie - a Raw Lacquer Brompton P6R. Pricing are indicative and is at time of this blog post; for accurate pricing please refer to the relevant dealers or distributors.)
I had the misfortune of having the Nylon hook snapped while my Brompton was on air transit to Phnom Penh. The flight landing was delayed by an hour due to stormy conditions that made landing too dangerous. Upon landing, it was still raining heavily, and I guess because of this the air-handlers must have been rougher than usual. When I unpacked my Brompton, I found the arm of the Nylon Hook broken. This hook does not break easily unless it's through a rough fall or in my case, a really rough handling. The handlers must have gripped the bicycle tires through the Dimpa Bag (... which I use to pack my bike for air-travel, see blog). They must had wrenched it or thrown it very hard for the arm to break.
Fortunately, I had my ever ready bungee cord (... see Securing The Brompton 2 blog) and used that to tie the bike up in place of the hook. With that I was able to have my little adventure in Cambodia (... see Mekong Islands Revisited blog).
While still in Cambodia, I made calls back to Malaysia enquiring of where to get a replacement hook. At that point of time, the shops selling Bromptons did not stock this part yet and I ordered through Outdoor Xplorer. They were pretty prompt on acting on my order and by the time I was back in Malaysia a few days later, the parts had arrived.


Okay, let's get down to fixing it. Below will show a step-by-step process of how it's done:

 STEP 1: READING THE INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions gave some pointers on where to be careful in the fixing process. I was quite concerned about how the mud-guard fixing may affect the function of the hook. Friends had advised that removing the mudguard will ease the fixing of the hook, but with the warnings in the instructions, I decided to let the mud-guard be and not take it out. If doing it this way, be careful not to bend the mud-guard stays.

 STEP 2: TOOLS REQUIRED
The following tools are required:
1. Box Spanner #15 - for dismantling the front wheel.
2. Box Spanner #10 - for releasing the front brakes cable.
3. Hex Key #3mm - for screwing in the hook onto the bicycle.

 STEP 3: THE PARTS
The parts package comes with the Nylon Hook and two washers, one with a larger hole.

 STEP 4: POSITIONING THE BIKE
For those without a bike trestle and have a rear rack, it's best to fold the rear wheel inwards and then tilt the front upwards so that the front wheel is facing upwards. This position is ideal for working on the front end of the bicycle.

 STEP 5: RELEASING THE FRONT BRAKES
Although it may not be necessary, it is best to remove the front wheel to ease the installing of the hook. Outdoor Xplorer had advised me on this, mentioning that without releasing the front wheel, slotting in the new nylon hook will be a tight fit.
The very first step for removing the front wheel is to release the front brake cable, this will open up the gap brake shoes and the front rim so that they do not obstruct the removal of the wheel. Use the Box Spanner #10 to do this, a few turns of the nut will do.
NOTE: it is not necessary to remove the whole nut, just unscrew until the cable is released.

 STEP 6: REMOVING THE FRONT WHEEL
Use the Box Spanner #15 to release the nut on the side of the hook. This nut must be fully removed so that the arm holding the Nylon Hook can be released.
Note: It will be a good idea to lay out the nuts, washers, screw in the order of dismantling so that they will be re-installed in the correct sequence later. In the above photo, the washer with the larger hole is still with the Nylon Hook nook.
This is how the assembly should look like after removing the wheel, the mudguard stay arm have been released from the right fork but is still in place, with loop of the end of the stay must be dismantled.
Oops..... my mudguard and mudguard flap sure looks dirty from all the riding in Cambodia; but we will come to that later.

 STEP 7: THREADING THE NYLON HOOK SCREW HOLE
The instructions for fixing the Nylon Hook came with a clear diagram on the front assembly and a specific pointer that the screwing in the screw into the hook will be stiff as it will be cutting its own thread as it goes in.
Now, screwing in the screw is DEFINITELY stiff! I found it easier to pre-thread the hook by doing some preliminary screwing without the hook in position on the bike. In the photo above, the washers are in place as a guide to how far in the screw has to go in.
Even doing this pre-threading was not easy as when the screw goes further in the resistance was great, so I can imagine how much more difficult it would be if the hook was placed in the  mudguard stay loop while screwing the hook in. I was using a short hex gear, perhaps it would be better to use one with longer arms.

 STEP 8: INSERTING THE HOOK INTO THE MUDGUARD STAY LOOP
Insert the washer with the larger hole into the nook of the Nylon Hook and then slot the loop of the mudguard stay loop into the notches provide, as shown above. It should fit in easily.

 STEP 9: SCREWING IN THE NYLON HOOK INTO THE MUDGUARD STAY LOOP
Insert the washer with the smaller hole into the screw, (the hole just fits the screw nicely) and then start screwing in the screw with the 3mm hex key. The hook may fall out of position while this is done, so as it gets tighter make sure that the mudguard stay loop fits into the notches by holding it into position.
This is how the whole assembly should look like when the screw has been tightened. Now we are ready to fix this onto the front wheel fork.

 STEP 10: PUTTING BACK THE FRONT WHEEL AND THE NYLON HOOK ASSEMBLY
Other than laying out components in the sequence that they were dismantled, it is also a good idea to snap a photo of the assemble section of the area you are working on.
Above is the assembly at the front wheel fork/hub area; re-assemble the as per the photo taking care to ensure the U-washer is inserted in the correct direction.
This is how the newly installed Nylon Hook should looked like when assembled.
Lock in the front brakes cable by tightening the nut with Box Spanner #10. After tightening, try out the brakes by spinning the wheel, it should spin freely. If there is any resistance, readjust accordingly.
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With the front wheel dismantled, it is a good time to clean the inside of the front mudguard, front fork, etc. This is where a handy old toothbrush comes in useful to brush away dust and dirt from the affected area before cleaning with water and a rag.
The front wheel area after cleaning up.


You may also like :
Brompton Accessories #9 :
Bagging The Brompton For Air Travel
Bagging the Brompton for air travel is distinctly different from putting it into buses or trains. 
It will be out of our hands for a while and will be in the hands of strangers - airport luggage handlers.
So it's best to take additional precaution for any rough handling.

Brompton Accessories #8 :
Securing The Brompton #2
Hassle free ways of securing the un-bagged Brompton while on trains, boats, etc.
Leave the bike secured and have a more comfortable ride.

Brompton Accessories #7 :
"Akslen" Two-bulb 10-Lux Headlights
A headlight that mounts onto the Brompton handlebar post snugly.



You are at - Jotaro's Blog / AhPek Biker / Bikes & Accessories / Brompton Accessories #13 - Replacing The Nylon Hook
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