WD Pro's Guide To Stripping & Rebuilding Ringle Holeys

[WD Pro]

I have decided to post complete instructions with photos for full refurb of these items - if you want to save a bit of time, scroll down to the big red text that says "START HERE"
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I have been asked a few times now about how to strip and rebuild the loverly Ringle 'Holeys'. As I save most of my PM's, I have recycled one of them here.

Note that I didn't take pics as I went along but with my description below, a pair of Ringle's in front of you and the completed pictures at the end of this post, hopefully it should all make sence

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I have striped a few of these now and as they appear to be put together by hand, they vary enormously in how easy they come apart ... :?

I have only needed to strip the ss axle versions and as I have had new Ti axles to replace the ss versions (or new ss studding for the seat clamp) I wasn't concerned in saving the original axles. If I was trying to save them I would have managed it on about every three out of four - let me explain :

They threadlock the barrel on and center punch the joint on the end of the axle / hole in the barrel. Each process is a bit hit and miss but if they did both well you are in trouble (axle destruction), if they only did one well you are in luck (axle saved).

Clamp the axle (very) tightly in a wooden jawed vice. With the QR at right angle to the axle turn it clockwise and wind the QR down / onto the axle about 1". File the burr from the center pop mark off (with a needle file), clean (pick) the dried threadlock off the threads and then unscrew the QR completely anticlockwise

The barrel may not want to come out of the QR body due to a small burr left from the center pop mark. If so, screw the axle into the barrel from the opposite end to the burr (don't go all the way through), clamp the axle back in the vice and using a needle file remove the burr just enough to get the barrel out of the QR. Screwing the axle part in is only so you can hold the barrel without it turning whilst it is filed.

Once the barrel is out put a piece of Emory paper on a flat surface and rub the barrel on it to flat the burr until level and even

I had one that was assembled VERY well - I had to bend the axle at a right angle so it would clamp in the vice without turning, even then it twisted the axle at least a full turn before it slackend off :shock: penetrating oil helps

To reassemble was easy. I didn't center pop the axle, just used (blue / medium) thread lock. It's only as much chance of coming loose as the 'nut' on the other end anyway

Tip - put the barrel on the opposite way to what it came off ;-) A) it will hide any remains of the center pop mark and B) the barrel actually has a nice countersink in it's backside, you can just about see it on some of the random Ringle photos below :

Hope this helps,

WD

 

[WD Pro]

A bit of an update to the above

I have been stripping some more Ringle's to prep them for the Yo and acquired one with a Ti axle. I obviously didn't want to trash the axle so after my wooden vice not gripping it, I needed another method of removal without risking killing the axle ...

I used two M5 nuts locked together, the pictures should explain well :

Hope this helps

WD

 

[WD Pro]

"START HERE"
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I have got myself another batch of skewers to work on so I will add the pictures to make the text above a little clearer.

I will also be adding instructions of how to refurbish these to get them ready to polish or ready for reanodising - I will add the steps / photos as I go along, I will claim the next few posts in preparation ;-)

These will be the subjects :







They will be rebuilt into sets in addition to some I had already stripped ready for refurb. The bagged black levers are hard anodised spares for the bear valley, two of the Ti axles are NOS :



In addition, I have had some PM's with 'Nick' aka 'elite504' aka 'Font Of All Ringle Knowledge' I have asked permission to use some of his words, I will highlight these accordingly First up is a bit of info on this type of skewer :

"To do a "concourse" restoration, levers with the back sides machined out should be "Ti-Stix" on a Ti rod. Plain backed lever is a "cam twist" on a stainless rod. Some colours such as gold were ti only"

and :

"Very early cam twist used a completely threaded stud (M5) and even earlier ones were 3/16. These had a different nut"

These statements are 100% true for mine and dads early levers from back in the day - a silver and a black set, non machined backs and fully threaded stainless rods

Some more great info from Nick can be found here : viewtopic.php?p=365068#365068

WD

 

[WD Pro]

Strip down :

I have striped a few of these now and as they appear to be put together by hand, they vary enormously in how easy they come apart ... :?

I have only needed to strip the ss axle versions and as I have had new Ti axles to replace the ss versions (or new ss studding for the seat clamp) I wasn't concerned in saving the original axles. If I was trying to save them I would have managed it on about every three out of four - let me explain :

They thread lock the barrel on and center punch the joint on the end of the axle / hole in the barrel. Each process is a bit hit and miss but if they did both well you are in trouble (axle destruction), if they only did one well you are in luck (axle saved).

NOTE : I have now stripped Ti axles :

I have been stripping some more Ringle's to prep them for the Yo and acquired one with a Ti axle. I obviously didn't want to trash the axle so after my wooden vice not gripping it, I needed another method of removal without risking killing the axle ...

I used two M5 nuts locked together, the pictures should explain well :

To lock the nuts together, screw the first one onto the thread about 10 to 15mm or so. Now screw the second nut onto the thread until they touch. With a spanner on each nut, simultaneously slacken the first nut and tighten the second, this will lock them together - do this as tight as you dare. You now have something to turn to get some torque on the skewer shaft. Grip the first nut you put on the shaft to help you unscrew the barrel on the otter end of the skewer.

NOTE : Wheels skewers = M5 / Seat skewers = M6

NOTE : All the Ti axles I have stripped came apart fairly easily, ONLY stainless steel versions (two of them) have been a pain. Stainless is cheap and easy to replace though so after stripping the threads on the ends, I bent it at right angles and undid it by hand

Once the axles are out :

The barrel may not want to come out of the QR body due to a small burr left from the center pop mark. If so, screw the axle into the barrel from the opposite end to the burr (don't go all the way through), clamp the axle back in the vice and using a needle file remove the burr just enough to get the barrel out of the QR. Screwing the axle part in is only so you can hold the barrel without it turning whilst it is filed.

You can just about see the burrs here :



The blue one has the axle screwed in the opposite side ready for filing the burr.





You can just see the file marks here :



You could knock the barrel out without filing it first, but the burr would damage the bore and I wouldn't be happy about that :? but that's just me ...

NOTE : None of the seat skewers I have stripped have been centre popped (Now confirmed by RockiMtn on his set to), they were only thread locked, hence only four levers on the above pictures.

All ready for cleaning and then refurb :



These are the scrap parts :



Stainless steel axle (It was actually fubar anyway - bent at the skewer end from an impact)
Non Ringle springs.
Washer - dinted, I 'might' be able to fix this but no worries if I can't.
Lock washer (I hate the damage these things do ...).
Non Ringle nut (Shout up if you can ID it, or want it ...).

Some more info from Nick :

"If you hold the barrel nut in the skewer with a spanner, it is easier to undo it from the skewer. A 16mm open ender fits perfectly, lets you exert a lot of force without touching the alloy lever, and eliminating the risk of the lever cracking"

"Same technique works on the "twister" although the barrel nut is narrower, and the qr tightening nut has flat sides"

WD

 

[WD Pro]

Cleaning :

This bits easy, not much to say really

My tools of choice :



The scribe is to pick dried thread lock out of the skewer threads.
I only used white spirit as I had nothing else spare.
A small brass brush (the type from the pound shop) is also useful for cleaning the threads - toothbrush sized.

Let them soak for a while :



And then get to work Take your time and do each piece individually / carefully - use it as an chance to check each piece for damage or cracks, I have found the wheel skewer washers can crack (not in this batch though).

Once done, do the same process again in a strong dish wash solution.

Do this for both the de greasing and the washing :



Put cleaning solution / neat dish washing solution on the shaft and spin the nuts up and down them - this will help to clean both the male and female threads. Repeat until no gritiness is found and the nut runs smooth. A single tight spot would indicate a section of damage to the male thread. A long tight spot (all the thread) would indicate damage to the female thread or the full length of the male thread. Check well ;-)

Also do this for both the de greasing and the washing :



A rag covered in cleaning solution / neat dish washing solution threaded and yanked through the holes will do a really good job of cleaning the bores.

All clean and ready for refurb :



WD

 

[WD Pro]

Lever refurb :

This post is going to be very picture heavy sorry … !

I have chosen to do the write up on the levers first as we will use a technique that will get used on most of the other components but we will use nothing more than emory paper and our hands. The other parts will have additional steps and tools - we will use the levers as 'practice'

Here is the starting point :











I picked this lever as a demo as it is visually the worst of the batch.

This is all you need :



Clean, flat worktop.
Clean, soapy water.
Wet n dry / Emory paper.

Use good quality paper – it will last much longer and is worth the extra money ;-)

These are the grades I use :



The fine grade can be found in your local auto body shop / auto paint supplier ;-)

Wet the work top and stick the course paper down. Splash some of the soapy water on the paper :



Rub the lever back and fourth over the emory about 20 times and then wash the lever off in the water and inspect it. Repeat as necessary. Use a 'medium' downward pressure – don't go trying to gouge holes in the paper or worktop, let the paper do the work ! Use all the paper surface evenly, rotate as necessary etc. After about 5 mins :







NOTE : I always find working in straight lines gives the best finish

NOTE : Scratches that are on edges don’t need to be fully removed – just reduce them by about half. The remainder of the scratch will be removed when you sand the mating face ;-)

Repeat above on the sides as (if ?) necessary :



You can see the flatness difference in the surface and the original radius, this now needs to be blended in along with removing the scratches from the radius.

Start like this :



Then drag the part over the paper rotating it so you finish like this :



Repeat as per first process, rinsing off etc until you are happy with the results. This process can be used for the end of the lever to.

You should end up with something like this :





i.e. nice flat faces and nice 'sharp' edges

NOTE : Still a little bit of damage on the end on the above pictures – don’t worry, this will be removed in the next step.

We now need to 'break' the sharp edges and put a small radius back on them.

Start by adding a small chamfer on the long edges. About 20 'light' passes like this will do the trick :



The rads around the circular parts of the lever will now need adding, this will be done by hand.

If you don’t have any old paper, you will need to cut off a bit of your new paper :



A nice trick to add even rads – hold the paper at an angle, stick your thumb (or finger) in one of the holes and rotate the lever back and fourth around your thumb (or finger) :



You should now have a lever looking in really good shape

If not – repeat any parts of the process you didn’t do well enough until you do ...

Once done, repeat all of the above with the fine grade paper. This sounds like a ball ache but it will work very quickly and remove the (relatively) rough marks from the first process and give you a very nice / even / smooth / satin finish. As a guide, if you spent 30 mins with the 'rough' paper you will only need to spend about 10 mins with the 'smooth' paper

NOTE : If you scuff any of the flat faces when adding the rads, two or three 'light' passes on the face again will restore it very easily.

This is what you should end up with :











Note that the camera and lighting highlights some so the marks left by the emory - in reality the lever looks much better than the picture suggests. I will get a better photo on good / natural light at some point for comparison ;-)

The lever can now be very easily polished up from this condition and (I think) they look very cool – check the black skewers from my bear valley in the pictures at the top of this thread. For polish I would use (and recommend) Meguiar's NXT metal polish which is available from car shops, I am sure other polishes will work just as well

This batch of levers will be anodised – talk to your anodiser to find what surface finish they are looking for / what end result you are looking for

Time wise the above process took me about 40 mins (but I have had a bit of practice now ) including stopping, washing my hands, taking pictures etc.

NOTE : All the work done has only altered the aesthetics of the lever – it hasn’t altered its basic design or operation in anyway. Its true that some material has been removed but it is only (very) nominal and from non stressed areas. Its surprising how bad a scratch can look but it actually be very minor. Out of interest I might weigh the next lever before and after as a comparison

The paper I used is still in good condition and will probably live long enough to refurb another one, maybe two levers before retirement. Keep some of it for working the bits by hand.

The above process should fix most / all of the common aesthetic issues of 'most' levers but some have other issues that I will address separately …

I won't photo all the other levers as I have done above, just a single before and after shot of each lever at the point of worst damage

Hope this helps – more coming soon !

WD

 

[WD Pro]

Barrel refurb :

These are real easy to do, and you can also add a bit of bling if required …

First of all, clear the old thread lock out of the threads, the easiest way to do this is with a correctly sized tap :



I am lucky as I have most common sizes, but if you don’t and you want to do this stage, they are available cheaply of eBay etc and will last you years if looked after. Both sizes are common and used on multiple places on a bike so probably a worthwhile investment if you are frequently rebuilding frames or refurbishing components etc. The sizes you need :

·         Wheels skewers = M5 x 0.8mm
·         Seat skewers = M6 x 1.0mm

Run the plug / third tap in and out of the thread a few times to clear it out. As you are not actually cutting any (or very little) metal, any light lubricating / cleaning spray will do, in this instance I used GT85.

Once done, screw a skewer 2/3 rds into the thread from the non damaged side.



Using the rolling / sanding technique (that we used on the rads of the lever body) and a suitable piece of emory paper, remove the burrs from around the hole :



Don’t go daft, just enough to remove the burr and without sanding the barrel and altering its form :



Time wise, this only takes a couple of min (max) per barrel

They are now good enough for a standard rebuild, but read on if you want to add a bit more bling, a new process is required but its quick and easy, let us commence …

This bit uses a power tool – I am sure you are all capable of using one safely and addressing the risks ;-)

Mount the barrel in the chuck of a (variable speed) drill :



On a medium (ish) speed, hold some emory on the end of the barrel moving it around a little. Keep the paper flat to the barrel end to maintain a flat finish :



Sand / dress the end of the barrel just enough to remove any scuffs and the original machining marks – aim for a nice even finish, it will reflect the light well, similar to the back of a DVD :





Spin it around and do the other side.

Repeat the process with a bit of metal polish on a cloth, hold any excess cloth in your hand so it doesn’t snag / wrap itself up around the chuck …



Aim for a nice mirror finish (very hard to photograph, but you get the idea – it should be just like a mirror … ) :





Spin it around and do the other side.

This process should take approximately 10 to 15 mins per barrel

WD

 

[WD Pro]

Nut refurb :

After reworking the levers and barrels, these are relatively easy to do, and you can also add a bit of bling if required …

The first step is to flat off the front face using the same technique that we used on the levers, from this :



To this :



Light scratches around the perimeter of the nut can be removed individually by hand using emory but be careful not to alter the shape / concentricity or it will look a bit cak …

A nice method to use is to mount the nut on the end of a bolt :



And then mount the bolt in a drill :



It can then be spun whist emory is held against it :



If you follow up with a smooth grade (i.e. the 1500’s that we used before) it will leave a real nice finish Simply spin the nut off and swap it with another :



You can do the drop out side this way to. If needed, do it first so as not to mark the visible end when mounting the nut the other way around :



Expect around 5 to 15 mins work per nut to rework depending on condition etc

Use a combination of processes depending on what is required :



If you want to bling them up a bit, you can leave it in the drill and continue to polish the end section – same method that we used on the barrel. If there is no damage elsewhere on the nut and you carefully finish the new / polished surface at the o ring groove (without marking the remainder of the nuts surface), this can make a real neat looking nut that doesn’t necessarily need re anodising Reassembled, this type of nut finish (in my opinion) can look really cool

This is not polished, but you get the idea of where to stop :



WD

 

[WD Pro]

Washer refurb :

Having now worked on the levers, barrels and the nuts etc, I don’t think much extra needs to be explained – just use the same processes

Before :



After (the extra three at the back are other items I already had that will get anodised at the same time – they got the same treatment) :





Again, these items can be mounted in a drill and spun to repair slight damage off the edges. Use a suitably sized nut, bolt and washers. Clamp it up accordingly and then mount it in the drill chuck



This one had some deformation from a previous accident (that also bent and trashed the skewer) :



I carefully dressed it using the rolling / sanding technique :



Flatted both sides off and then spun it up in the drill. It looks OK now so I will send it for anodising with the others. I am not too concerned if it doesn’t turn out so good as I have spares to replace it if required



Expect around 5 to 15 mins work per washer depending on condition etc

WD

 

[WD Pro]

Skewer refurb :

These are easy to do and again, you can also add a bit of bling if required …

The minimum I would recommend is a quick tidy up of the thread around the centre pop mark using a needle file – just enough to get rid of burrs / sharp edges :



If you want to make them a bit neater, you will only need to file off approximately one thread to completely remove the centre pop mark. This 'could' reduce its engagement with the barrel slightly, but I would be surprised if this would cause an issue. On the skewers I have stripped, the thread has been longer than the barrel anyway so it has a little to spare without compromising thread engagement / strength.

Filed / centre pop mark removed Ringle skewer on the left, NOS generic skewer in the centre, standard / 'as removed' Ringle skewer on the right for comparison :



Put a nice finish on the end with emory paper. You can spin the skewer in a drill - clamp them tight enough to grip but not enough to damage the thread form. If you are concerned about damage, wrap the thread first in a couple of layers of paper / thin card / emory paper / insulation tape etc

Finished with emory after mounting in the drill :



The finished skewer end assembled, still longer than the barrel :



From the 'nice' side :



If you want to bling them up a bit, mount them in a drill and polish the ends as per the process we used in the other sections

Do the other end after a trial fitment so you can shorten them to suit. I made the overlap the same on all three of the bear valley skewers :



Expect around 10 to 15 mins work per skewer to shorten / sand / polish etc

If you are replacing damaged skewers or converting a front to a rear etc and your chosen material is stainless steel, just search eBay for ‘Stainless Steel M5 Studding’ or ‘Stainless Steel M5 threaded rod’ – remember its M6 for the seat clamps

Simply buy the length you need and then chop and dress the ends as per the procedure above.

It's possible to buy enough to make a rear skewer for about £2

Both the Ti seat skewers I had (M6) had some damage on the threads so I repaired them with the following kit, locking two nuts together to allow the skewer to be held without damaging it further :



Ti is a real sh1t to work with ... It squealed like a pig with the standard cutting compound Copper grease helped but it still wasn't good ... The finish isn't to bad though, certainly good enough to reuse :



WD