Aero Bars vs The Drops On my road bike I am debating installing aero bars.

Will I notice a significant measurable improvement in speed using aero bars vs being in the drops?

I am looking for specific numbers here with resources, not just opinions.

The case I am really curious about is riding solo, on flat ground around 20 mph where there is no wind.

Yes, typically you will obtain an improvement in speed by adding clip-on aero bars to your bike.

How much extra speed is dependent on many variables though (mostly how it changes your aerodynamics) but a couple of km/h faster is certainly possible.

One of the several compromises of adding aero bars to a road bike versus having a dedicated time trial bike is that the clip-on bars are set up fairly high when clamped onto the tops of the road bike bars. They also take up space where you might wish to rest your hands at times and of course unlike a TT bike you need to move hand position to access gear shifters. It's not a big deal if the road is of a very consistent gradient, but will become a bit of a pain if the road is a little more variable.

Another factor to consider with such bars is how they affect your saddle position as sometimes it helps to bring the saddle forward a little when stretched out more on bar extensions.

Be careful with the clamps and be sure not to over tighten and damage the handlebars, but also don't have them too loose so that they slip when you are riding / go over bumps!

If you do try them then take some time to practice riding with them and stay safe!

Edit: Since the OP wants some specifics, I'll provide an example.

I did some analysis of my own TT performance over a course I raced twice in 2009. It turns out the wind and air density were very similar on both days which meant a direct comparison was reasonably possible. I use various analysis methods to account for variations in environmental conditions, power output and pacing (some of which are derivatives of original work of R. Chung).

The first race I rode on my standard road race bike, the second on a borrowed TT bike and using the same clothing and helmet for each ride. I accounted for differences in pacing and power (only 1W difference) and calculated the difference in coefficient of drag area (CdA) which is the primary measure of an object's "aeroness". My CdA reduced from 0.334m^2 on the road bike to 0.286m^2 on the borrowed TT bike, a 14% reduction.

Now a 14% reduction in CdA does not mean a 14% improvement in speed. In this case it meant an improvement of 3% in speed or a little over 1km/h. Keep in mind that this wasn't a totally flat course, so on flat ground that would equate to a speed gain of ~1.9km/h. Had I simply added TT bars to my road bike, the speed gains on flat road would have been less.

Here is the link detailing the impromptu assessment and data:
http://alex-cycle.blogspot.com.au/2009/04/new-skool.html

Now these things are individual, so YMMV, and what sort of speed gain is possible for anyone depends a lot on the aero characteristics of the starting position, the ending position and what if any power change is experienced when riding with the TT bars (often riders experience a loss of power when riding in a more aggressively tucked or stretched out position).

Further edit:

Here's some more sample data, this time showing the difference in CdA for four continental professional riders between their road bike (hands in the drops) and their TT bike. Again it's not clip on aero bars, however it's a good example of the variance in aero improvement between riders when position changes from road position to TT position:


Need Connector for Motor - I don't want to buy 50 I have no idea what I've gotten myself into, but I've bought electric bicycle motors and they didn't come with the connectors. Apparently the below link is the type of connectors I need. Is there an alternative distributor of these that I can buy just a couple from? Can I make them my self or cut them off and use a different connector?

Also is this type of connector standard? Is there a datasheet for these pin-outs somewhere?

I would like to get 2 of these, not 50

First 9-Core Waterproof Plug in connector at Green Bike Kit

http://www.greenbikekit.com/9pin-waterproof-connector-cable.html

This was the 3rd result when I googled "9-Core Waterproof Plug in connector"


What's the best way to track your performance? I was checking some options to track my performance (kms/hr, distance, altitude, etc...), I do MTB and city biking. The first choice is a nokia based tracker (http://www.sports-tracker.com/), I love nokia phones.

Various choices come from this question (What is a good iPhone app for bikers?) and almost all are iphone based.

But, I'm being attracted to a GPS-only gadget. I want to upload my performance to the cloud(internet).

What you guys use for track your ride?

I would recommend getting a Garmin and using Motion Based software to track your rides. They track all of the metrics that you mentioned.


Anyone recognize this bike frame? My brother recently passed away, and I'm trying to figure out how much his carbon-fiber 21-speed road bike might be worth.  There's no obvious labeling.  I've searched online... seems like key characteristics are shape/tapering of frame segments, shape of frame segment joints, location/style of ports for internal cabling.  Alas, haven't found any matches :^(.  Photo below, and many more photos at:

https://bicycle.oddotter.org/

My sincere thanks to anyone who can offer any leads/help/advice!

Start by exploring some of the identifiable items:

Campagnolo triple crankset, Campagnolo Athena brakes, and Campagnolo Centaur front derailleur - all from different groupsets.
Shimano Deore MTB derailleur - from a different manufacturer
Squishy gel saddle
The sheer quantity of spacers under the stem.
Panasonic Panaracer all-round touring/commuter tyres
Completely unbranded rims and frame, but apparently carbon fibre
7 speed block
Suspension seatpost - not ever found on fast bikes.

I can't see anything on the brifters or the wheel hubs, but based on the pictures that is a mongrel bike made of random items.

Now don't take that badly, it is not an insult.   It just means there's no big decal on the frame with a brand.   You would be quite justified getting a decal professionally made that says "Drew'sBro" (or his name) and putting that on.

As for worth, well that's outside the scope of this website.  Just list it on craigslist or ebay with "pickup only" and see how the bidding goes.  It is worth what someone's prepared to pay for it.   Your other option is to simply ride it, perhaps in his memory.


What affordable rear brake can I get with nut/bolt rather than Allen Key? I am looking for recommendations for a rear brake for a road brake. The problem is that I can see plenty of options for the newer 'Allen Key' style but not the older 'nut/bolt' style. I also want just the rear brake rather than a set, drop is 'normal' for a road bike rather than extra short/long reach.
I am not too keen on going second hand because I want a nice new brake complete with pads.
Just to clarify, I am after the second of these two types:

Thanks.

Brake calipers designed for recessed nuts on the fork crown will typically have enough exposed thread to function as an externally-nutted bolt when used through the rear brake bridge.  Get any recessed-bolt front brake and use your nutted hardware with it.


What is the purpose of the plastic disk between the cassette and the rear wheel? There's a plastic disc between the cassette and rear wheel on my bicycle. It doesn't seem to have any effect on the actual drivetrain; but I've seen it on a number of bicycles.

What is it for?

From Sheldon Brown:

  Spoke Protector

  A plastic or sheet-metal disc that fits between the cluster and the right-side spokes of a rear wheel. This is intended to prevent the
  derailer or chain from getting caught in the spokes, possibly causing
  very extensive/expensive damage/destruction to the wheel, the
  derailer, and the frame.

  A spoke protector is not a necessity on a bike that is well treated, because the derailer can't go into the spokes if it's
  properly adjusted and if it is not bent. Bicycles which are subjected
  to rough handling, however, are prone to getting the rear derailer
  bashed in, and in such a case, the spoke protector can prevent very
  serious damage.

And from purely personal anecdotal experience: I have a friend that doesn't like spoke protectors and has been pretty vocal about it. Faith would have it that a maladjusted XTR derailleur wrecked his wheel and destroyed itself. A spoke protector would have prevented just that.


Suggestions for protecting jeans from saddle clamp bolt I’ve got a bike whose seat post uses the traditional style saddle clamp. It works! The saddle is firmly attached to the bike. Hooray. However. This bike is sort of a “café racer” - I mainly pootle around town on it in street clothes. No padding or spandex here. I got a new saddle, which I love, but due to its shape my jeans are taking a beating in the inseam area:

Due to the way I have it adjusted, the bolt that secures the saddle onto the seat post has its ends sticking out past the edge of the saddle. These are catching on my jeans every few pedal strokes and it’s taking a toll on their structural integrity.

Options:

Buy cycling jeans with reinforced crotch. I probably will, but I’d like to solve this another way in order to give them a shot at a long life, since they aren’t cheap.
Move the saddle forward a bit. This would work, but the bike wouldn’t fit me as well, which would make riding it less fun, which would make me do it less, which is counterproductive. Though it would make my jeans last longer...
Find another bolt that’s about six threads shorter. Possible; would require quite a lot of rummaging in the bolt bucket at my LBC (local bike collective).
Get a new seat post with the newer style clamp. I would like to do this, but I couldn’t find one in the right diameter at the LBC, and I try to confine my parts-buying activity to their used parts bins on principle (and to save cash). I’ll keep looking.
Convert this seat post to the newer style clamp. I would like to do this as well. It’d have the additional benefit of covering that hole where the split saddle looks right down into the open seat post. If anyone has tips on how to do that, I found this Q which could use some answers.
Ride with my knees out all wacky. Works but isn’t sustainable. (Not least because I look like a dork.)

That’s about all I’ve come up with. Does anyone have any other ideas for things I could do to work around this while I wait for the right replacement parts to come along?

I would suggest cutting off the extra threads. If you have access to a Dremel or similar tool it wouldn't be too difficult. Doing it with a hacksaw could be a real pain. Alternatively you could check your local hardware store for acorn nuts. The smooth ends should cover the threads which is likely doing the most of the damage.


Why would 6 stops on a Shimano shifter travel 7 cogs with a Shimano derailleur? I'm replacing the rear shifter on my old Kona mountain bike from the late '90's.  It has an 8-speed rear cassette with a Deore XT derailleur.  I got a basic ST-EF500 8-speed Shimano shifter/brake combo, but I was having a bear of a time indexing the gears.  After about 10 minutes of messing with it, I realized that on the large cog, the display showed gear 2.
So, I went back to the small cog and counted the stops on the way up to the large cog.  Sure enough, it was 6 steps on the shifter to travel 7 cogs from the bottom to the top (and the shifter wouldn't go further, which is probably a good thing since I don't want to shift into the spokes).  I disconnected the shifter to make sure that it actually had 8 distinct stops and wasn't defective and it functioned as advertised.
It appears, then, that a distance of 6 stops on the shifter matches nearly perfectly the distance of 7 cogs from top to bottom of the cassette even though they are both Shimano.  Is this a known thing?  Were there special narrow cassettes for mountain bikes in the '90's that I just didn't know I had?

Sounds like you bought the wrong shifter.  The "ST-EF500"  is available in both 7 speed and 8 speed
A 7 speed shifter has 7 resting positions, and will click 6 times across its range. ST-EF500-7R4A
Likewise, an 8 speed shifter will click 7 times.
ST-EF500-8R4A
If your cassette has 8 cogs total, then you need an 8 speed shifter.

If you're totally stuck with these parts, you could make them work somewhat by ignoring one outside cog.  The inter-gear spacing between 6/7/8 speed is the same, and the cassette gets wider as gear count increases.
Conversely, 8/9/10 speed cassettes are all the same width, but the inter-cog spacing decreases.
You could choose to disregard either the top or bottom gear, and index the other seven.  If you never spin out while riding, then exclude the smallest cog.  If you never ride up hills and need a low gear, then exclude the largest cog from indexing.
This is not an ideal solution - the correct shifter would be best.


Mounting caliper brakes without center hole I recently purchased a used Bianchi Cross Concept. I'm trying to upgrade the entire groupset.
When coming to the rear brakes, I realized the bike frame has two holes (1 on each side) for mounting v-brakes. However, the new rear brakes are I got are caliper brakes which need to be mounted to a single hole in the center (see picture). It's a carbon frame so I can't drill anything.
I'm wondering if there are any methods to make this work, some sort of adapter perhaps?

You have a cyclocross bike. There is no reasonable way to add caliper brakes to that rear end, and probably the fork as well. Even if the frame was modified by bonding in a brake mount for a recessed nut, the reach of the brake that came with your group will be way too short, presuming it's a typical short reach road brake.
Low profile, smooth post cantis like you have are infamous for their finicky adjustment and tendency to squeal. If you want to modernize the bike, there are far nicer brakes you could get.


GoPro video is sped up! I'm using a GoPro 9 set to "Looping", "Superview" mounted in a protective case on top of my cycle helmet. The video however is so speeded up as to be unusable as a cycle cam. I believe there was at least one firmware update while I was on the bench with an injury.
I turn it on using the "Quick Record" feature by pressing the "Record" button on top in lieu of the "Power" button on the side. This both powers the camera on and starts recording with a single button press.
Googling the problem only returned THIS, but I've checked the settings and neither "Time Lapse" or any other mode has been changed.
How do I record video at normal speed?!?!?

A potential firmware update being the cause was a red herring; no fault was introduced via any FW update. Nor were any settings incorrect. The "fault" was in fact a "feature":
Answer:
If you long-press the "Record" button on top of the GoPro for 3 seconds it initiates "Time Lapse" with "Quick Capture" and overrides the manual settings.
This is why you clearly see "Time Lapse" is active in the videos, but you can't see any evidence of it when you check your settings: Long-Pressing only sets it non-persistently making it difficult to troubleshoot.
Since the GoPro is in a protective case, when reaching up on top of my helmet activating it with gloves on, I was mashing the button down for too long because the camera doesn't give immediate feedback that it's actually on. Be warned...
That devil was buried in the "Using Quick Capture" section of the GoPro Manual on page 44 of the GoPro 9 PDF User Guide.


what should my training schedule look like if I'm racing every sunday? I plan to do as many cyclocross races as I can until the season ends in early march and the next few weeks have at least one race every Sunday for the next six weeks. How should my training schedule look like after sunday, do I focus on recovery rides and mount and dismount until 72 hours after the event? Then move into had tabata style intervals on Thursday only return to recover style training mentioned about in the, or do I do it a day before on the Wednesday and enjoy a full 72 hour recovery before race day? Or am I doing way to little?

Unfortunately there's no magic formula. A lot depends on your age and training base going into the race season.

There are two things you need to balance:

Intervals/speed workout.
Burnout/injuries.

You will see the fastest gain in the shortest time doing intervals, but you also put yourself at the greatest risk for injury/burnout. Given that you're attempting a relatively long peak, you should probably treat most of your races as simply complex speed workouts and focus on a few events.

For the events you focus on you'll need to take a rest break to allow the training benefits you're getting to take full effect. However, you can't do that every week as you'll never see the training benefits. Learning to monitor yourself and whether you really need rest or not is the hardest part of self-coaching.

You might find the book "Time Crunched Cyclist" very useful. You need to establish periodicity in your schedule if you're going to make it to March.

Here's my best guess at a schedule:

Sun- Race Day
Mon- Active Rest ( very easy 30 mins- hr )
Tues- Skills Practice ( Moderate short efforts, should be fun )
Wed- Intervals
Thurs- Intervals
Fri- Active Rest ( or day off )
Sat- Skills Practice or fun ride ( fun should feel like lot's left in the tank after ride )

That's not a schedule you can maintain long term and it's not a schedule for an older or less trained athelete. After probably 3-4 weeks, you should take a rest week. If you ever start feeling like training is a job, then that's a good signal to take a break. Remember, no training plan survives contact with real life. Recovery is just as important as stress in achieving fitness. Near the end of your season, you should start tapering off on the speed work altogether.

As to whether I know anything or not, well I've been doing endurance sports for over 40 years and I've at least learned all the wrong ways to train.


Shimano Hydraulic disc brakes- Lever compatibility I am looking for practical advice on compatibility between various Shimano hydraulic disc brakes, especially the lever assembly. Currently I have two separate sets, one M446 Left lever, attached to a short hose and a caliper (front brake) and one M395 Right lever with a long hose (rear brake). I would like to have the right hand brake to be the front brake. Can I simply disconnect the brake hose and swap the levers? Do I need new 'Olives'(line inserts)?

I know some Shimano disc brakes use a Banjo bolt connection, but this is not the case for my brakes. Some sites claim that all Shimano hydraulic parts are interchangeable. Others claim that there are very small differences in the brake hose diameter for newer brakes. Is there anyone who has made such a setup work?

According to these pages:

http://productinfo.shimano.com/#/spec/2.4/MTB/Brake%20%28Disc%20Brake%29?q=M446
http://productinfo.shimano.com/#/spec/2.4/MTB/Brake%20%28Disc%20Brake%29?q=M395

These brakes both use the same hose kit, SM-BH59-JK-SS.

In document EV-BR-M446-F, the connecting bolt unit has part number Y8H298010.
In document EV-BR-M395-F, the connecting bolt unit has part number Y8H598010.
For both, the Olive & Connecter Insert (barb) has part number Y8H298020.

I can find no information on the difference between Y8H298010 and Y8H598010, which may be superficial. If you have the fluid and funnel necessary to bleed the brakes, I suggest you unscrew the two hoses and measure the threaded fitting.


Compatibility of pressure gauge with valve I have a tube with schrader valve, for which I want to buy a pressure gauge. Is there a specific type of nozzle for different types of valves?

How many types of such nozzles are available for different type of valves?

Are these nozzle types compatible with different type of valves?

e.g. is Schrader type nozzle compatible with presta type valve?

There are Presta, and Schrader valves. There are also dunlop valves but they are far less common these days, especially in the US/UK.

Schrader and Presta are two different diameters and valve types. There are pumps that will inflate either, there are also pumps that only inflate one or the other. Many people use a pump with a built in gauge rather than carrying an independent gauge. There are however gauges that will also read both valve type, they generally have two different heads, one for each type of valve.

Such as this one:

One side is for Presta and one is for Schrader. A presta will not work on a schrader and vise versa.


Would silica gel inside my bike frame be effective in preventing corrosion? I ride my bike in all weathers, and I'm concerned over the possibility of rust forming inside the frame and going undetected.

I can't easily obtain FrameSaver or the like, so I'm thinking of dropping a packet or two of silica gel desiccant inside the seat tube of my steel-framed bike. I'm concerned that its effect won't last as long, or that it will be rendered ineffective should a small amount of water pool inside my frame after riding in the rain, soaking the gel packet.

Does anybody have any experience with using silica gel packets to prevent corrosion? Does it do a comparable job to corrosion-preventing sprays?

No, it wouldn't work as long as the frame is not hermetically sealed to keep water from entering (I don't know why manufacturers don't do that).

The silica gel can only absorb a tiny quantity of water, a drop or so per packet, then it becomes ineffective. It is only effective to absorb water vapor.

You can bake it in the oven to regenerate it.
If you want to play with it, there is a version with a water-sensitive dye (blue -> pink, now illegal because of cobalt content) and orange to a bit less orange. If left open, it will change color quickly.


Should cheap suspension forks be oiled often? Should a cheap fork be oiled / lubricated from time to time?
If yes, how?

Lubricating the forks wont affect performance by may increase life and preserve cosmetic looks. Cheap forks typically have a coil spring and a sealed damper unit, neither will perform any better with lubrication.

Oiling the stanchions and dust seals (by Vorac's method above) will prevent dust and water from entering the lower, which over time would cause the fork to stop working, and will help keep the stanchions from rusting.

More expensive forks are different where oil dampers can get damaged if seals are not well maintained. The oil can become contaminated (different viscosity = different performance) and leak oil. Also any metal on metal could cause scratches which would allow to leak through.


Can't figure out the correct wheelset size for my Raleigh Rush Hour to replace the stock wheelset I'm trying to order a new wheelset for my Raleigh Rush Hour.  The problem being that my bike is at a friends right now and it might stay there for a bit,  I can't remember what frame size I have and I was wondering if the Rush Hour's wheelset changed size based on frame size or if they all just had the same wheelset.  If all of the frame sizes roll with the same size wheelset then I can order based on the stock wheelset.  Anyone know anything about this?

It's rare for a manufacturer to have different wheel sizes for the same model, but it does happen sometimes. Fortunately, it's easy to check the wheel size, it's always printed or embossed somewhere on the tires. Yours will probably say 700c or 622mm or 28 inch - these are all equivalent.

One other thing you'll have to consider is the rear dropout spacing. If you can't find the manufacturer specs, you'll have to measure it. Most road bikes use 130 mm, and most track bikes use 120 mm, I have no idea what yours is. (The front dropouts are almost certainly 100 mm).


Does only Rohloff manufacture the sprocket for their Speedhub 14? Are there any manufacturers other than Rohloff who make the sprocket for the Rohloff Speedhub 14?

Is the sprocket Rohloff specific or is it a standard / general / everyday part?

This is the email reply from Rohloff customer support

  It is always possible that parts are copied. To ensure warranty and reliability, we advise against buying copied parts. Especially because the  hardness of the metal of the sprocket is important.


Tubeless with liquid or inner tubes with liquid? I am about to replace the worn tires of my Cube Acid 29". My question is what to choose among:

tubeless tires with sealant liquid, or
normal tires, with inner tubes with sealant liquid?

My most important factors are:

puncture proof, and
total kilometers and time resistance of the tires.

Let's put aside all other factors (grip, cost, ease of use, rolling ability etc), as my style of bicycling is low rhythm, no trails, but on unpaved roads with stones, thorns, roots, everything you face in a forest road.

In your case I would go with tubes. The Tubeless evolution comes from the advantages you list and some disadvantages.

The only one that is of interest to you is puncture resistance. By putting slime in tubes, you gain that without most of the the disadvantages of tubeless.

As the slime dries is needs topping up, if using tubes and neglecting this maintenance won't induce a leak as can happen with tubeless.

You will need to source tubes with removable cores in there valve. This not only allows you to insert the slime (without puncturing the tube), it allows you remove the vales when it gets gummed up by slime for cleaning or replacement.

To be clear, the disadvantages of tubeless over slime filled tubes are small - initial seating of the tire and burping. You probably won't have a problem with burping as you won't be running low pressures over rough ground, so really once the tires are mounted, there is not all that much difference in it.


Hard fork and low tire pressure or viceversa? With mountain bikes, what do you think is more efficient: highly preloading the fork and using low tire pressure or having a "bouncy" fork and hard tire pressure?

I like to have the fork with quite a high pre-load and then I set my front tire to around 1.8-2.0 Bar (around 25-30 PSI). I think this gives me good response on the fork, not wasting much energy and also gives me good control on technical zones, specially descending. I sholuld also mention that my fork (Rock Shox Tora 302) has remote lockout which I mostly use in asphalt and technically-easy zones. Bike frame is made of aluminum.

On the other hand, I see some of my colleagues having soft forks, which IMHO bounce quite a lot, and they say they inflate their tires to almost maximum pressure possible.

Also, to what extent is rebound control important here? I like it to be more absorving than bouncing.

I don't think tire pressure should be set on how cushy you want your ride (unless you have no shocks).

Tire pressure pressure and tread selection should be done based on how much traction you need. The trade off is that with more traction, you get a higher rolling resistance and you need to exert more energy to cover the same ground. This is why road bike tires look different than mountain bike tires.

More traction => Lower tire pressure, knobbier tiers.
Less traction => Higher tire pressure, smoother tires.

After you figure out what tread and tire pressure is best for you and your riding enviorment, then you can think about dialing in your fork and stiffness and damping.

Fork stiffness is somewhat subjective, but it's probably best to set it so that you only bottom out the shock when you take a pretty big hit. Most people set the stiffness of the fork based on sag, sag is the percentage that your shock deflects under your static body weight. Most people set their shocks to sag between 25-33%.

The fork damping (what you call rebound) should be set so that for your weight the fork is critically damped. No if's and's or but's about this one, physics dictates that the best ride is one where you are neither under or over damped.


I keep breaking my road frames - why? I've gone through four five frames in the last decade or so, all from different manufacturers, all steel but both lugged and welded both steel and aluminium. Every one of them has eventually developed a crack, and the steel ones have been repaired and then re-developed more cracks until I give up and get a new one.

It's usually on the seat tube down near the bottom bracket, but once on the down tube near the headset, and once twice on the chainstay.

I generally just use the bike for commuting (~150k / week) and occasional weekend riding - all on the road. I've been on my mountain bike for the last couple of years, but I miss my skinny tyres and I'm thinking of getting a new road bike. So is there anyhing I can do to make it last longer than a couple of years or should I give up and just stick to mountain bikes?

Does this point to there being something wrong with the way I ride?
Do you think doing track stands at lights would exacerbate the problem?

Edit: Here's a list of the manufacturers whose frames I've broken:

City Cycles Sydney (steel, unknown origin, but it was really nice)
Cecil Walker Melbourne frame (steel, Ken Evans, a well-respected local framebuilder, custom fit for me, again, very nice)
KHS (steel, Korea, kinda cheap and nasty)
Kona (aluminium, Taiwan(?))
Soma Doublecross (steel, America, from the weight of it I thought it would last, but no).

Seems I don't buy bikes, I rent them.

It is very likely that you are putting too much stress on the frame when you are cycling due to your power stroke.

It took me a long time to train myself to avoid standing and powering the bike through the acceleration of starts, or even powering through it while sitting.  I've long since learned that while I have plenty of power, I actually am able to transmit it more effectively to the wheel using a faster cadence with lower power.

Try to start out in lower gears so that it's easy to get up to 90rpm quickly (quickly, as in within dozens of feet, while you are still accelerating).  If you don't know your cadence, or have an easy way to measure it, the disco tune "Stayin' alive" is just over 100bpm.  There's a lot of other music you may be familiar with that is about 90bpm, you can do a google search for "90bpm song" and you'll find lists such as this: http://www.edenathletics.com/90bpm

The location of the stress fractures really suggests that you are standing up to push more power into the pedals.  If you are doing that, stop standing - road bicycle frames are not meant to take the pounding that this type of riding entails.  The standing position puts a tremendous amount of force on that particular joint, and the pedals are not long enough to really transfer that energy into the chain - you are wasting a lot of power flexing the frame.  It you are a fan of geometry and physics, imagine putting the frame on two stands where the wheel hubs are usually located.  Now place a bouncing 1/2 ton load on the bottom bracket.  You'll find the stress fractures are disturbingly similar to the ones you are experiencing - the two triangle shape of the frame will force the top tube and seat up, while the bottom bracket is forced down, leading to fractures in the seat tube.  If the seat tube is strong, you may instead fracture the chain stay on the chain side.

If you prefer that riding style, however, then you'll have to settle for mountain biking frames, which are designed for powerful stroking techniques.  This is one of the reasons messengers often use mountain bikes - they are standing up a good portion of the time with very powerful strokes to accelerate in very short bursts.

While spinning doesn't allow such high acceleration it is much more efficient in transferring energy from you to the forward motion of the bike.  And you can still stand up and accelerate if a situation calls for it, but doing it often is going to fracture your frame.


Major pitting in bearing cups; what can I replace? I bought a "mystery meat" Peugeot bicycle, it turned out to be 1991 Peugeot "Milano" (couldn't find it in catalogs): 7-speed rear cassette, Shimano 200GS groupset. I disassembled and cleaned everything, replaced the chain and the cassette. I noticed two problems:

The bearing cones and bearing cups have significant pitting on the non-drive side
If I spin the wheel freely while cassette is not spinning, the cassette wobbles ever so slightly, the edge of the largest gear moves maybe 0.5mm back laterally back and forth

For now I've put it all back together, but now that everything has been cleaned and lubed, I can actually hear some noises from rear bearings when riding on a smooth surface; it's synchronous with wheel rotation and I can only hear it when I'm actually on the bicycle.
My question is: what would be the optimal set of components to replace? Should I try to find bearing cups and replace them together with cones? If it's not worth the hassle, what parameters should I take into account when looking for a replacement wheel?
Rear hub is Shimano FH-HG20:

Here's a PDF: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-FH-HG20-1108A.pdf
Bearing cup:

You should replace the balls for sure.  They're cheap, readily available (from any bike shop -- just take in a sample ball), and would very likely solve most of your problems.
You can also fairly easily replace the cones.  You might have to order them, but they should be reasonably inexpensive.  You may want to replace the axles at the same time (they often come as a set).
Replacing the cups would require replacing the hubs, and, if you hire it done, this is usually more expensive than just replacing the wheels.  But you can likely get several years of service out of the bike with the existing hubs.


Is this spoke tension too low? I am building a wheel and it is (pretty much) perfectly dished

Spoke tension calculator measurements say:

However, my wheel required a lot of offset to get the dish correct. My park tool TM-1 verified that my tension is thus,

Non Drive Side Tension

TM-1 Reading: 16

Spoke Tension (KGF): 73

Drive Side Tension

TM-1 Reading: 20

Spoke Tension (KGF): 110

My rim manufacturer says:

Is 73 KGF too low to ride the wheel?If I keep proper dish I could probably only go up by 1 TM reading on both sides.

Here is a picture of the wheel if you care:

The left to right side tension numbers you have are thoroughly normal. 70%-ish is where a lot of disc wheels land.

Once you're actually building the wheel, as opposed to planning it, you're only looking at the more tensioned side to see how close you are to your target tension. The other side falls where it falls. Since you're within the recommended range now, stopping would be perfectly reasonable. The extra 10kgf on the drive side would buy you more strength but also a little less fatigue resistance in exchange, plus you're in the range where windup can be a handful. (Sometimes while learning, builders can overshoot tension and make the wheel unstable, even to the point of ruining it, but this rim is likely far too stout for that.) It's not a totally marginal amount of strength gained, especially if the wheel is going to see the kind of riding where it will die by violence before it ever dreams of cracking from fatigue, but there are tradeoffs either way and you'll gain some experience in making the call either way.

Note also that this is the exact place where the whole third power of the smallest inscribed diameter thing comes into play in a major way for a newer wheelbuilder; getting that extra 10kgf out of 1.7s and still having a windup free finished wheel is well within what a skilled wheelbuilder can do, but it takes practice to get there. Presuming your tensiometer is telling you right, you won't be able to do it successfully without good overshoot and backlash technique. The reasonable limit for a 1.7 even for an expert is probably about 130, and in practice most applicable rims max out at 120 like yours. In comparison, if they were 1.8s it would be much easier, and 2.0s make it trivial. Yet on the flip side, the nagging irony is that thinner spokes mean more elasticity which means more innate resistance to rim fatigue, which brings the choice to go for more strength closer to being all upside. Most of the time, it would be the right thing to do in a professional setting I feel.


What are the differences between men's and women's bike frames? Why do women's bikes have a diagonal bar in the frame instead of a horizontal frame? Is this the only difference?

Sorry if this has been asked (but I cannot find it by searching) and I also just cannot think of a reason why.

Way back when safety bikes were becoming popular, women wore skirts. Skirt lengths were to the ankle. The dropped top bar made getting on possible while maintaining respectability. Women were considered too fragile to risk hitting the top tube, hence the slanted bar. The trend continued even long after women stopped riding in long skirts.

Modern WSD (women specific design) geometry differs from conventional bike geometry. The difference goes beyond just size. Whether it is needed depends on who you ask. While some women may be smaller than the average male, many are as tall; height is not the only issue. Many women have a different leg to torso ratio than the male average and the frames are built to fit that difference. This is not to say that a women needs a female specific frame or that a male wouldn't fit on a WSD frame. It all depends on the individual physical traits of the rider.


Why recover with carbohydrates, instead of with protein? Many enthusiasts and intercessors talk about a superfast refill of carbohydrates after exercise. Why carbohydrates? You need those during exercise, but after? You also have a lot of recovery products that contains surprising amount of fat and carbos.

Pure protein to fill up your reservoirs. You can feel comfortable that your muscles are saved, all surplus of proteins (what body doesnt need) are converted to carbos/glucose by your body. Driving your body more empty of carbohydrates while a period of structured training, just makes it more comfortable with that balance and probably got a boost later on with filled reservoirs.

This Q excluding "wear out completely" exercises, which purpose is a maximum carboload before an important competition. The Q is more about the regular training purposed to build up stronger endurance while the season. I would buy many of the promoted products regarding recovery if it's for for spontanouos competitors and joggers that likely are well-rested between competitions and heavy exercices.

What are your ideas here?
How do you eat/fill after cycling?
Wo you know some references to pure protein theory (or evidence for the opposite)?

This answer is primarily based on 2 books by Chris Carmichael. The Time Crunched Cyclist and Food for Fitness, plus some other sources that I am unable to dig up at the moment.

Here's the gist of it... Following a race, intense workout, or an endurance ride, the muscles and liver are glycogen depleted. The key to recovery is to replenish glycogen so that you begin your next event with full glycogen stores. The major building block of glycogen is carbohydrate. The body quickly and easily disassembles carbohydrates into glucose and that glucose is readily available for conversion into glycogen by both the liver and muscle cells. Protein is synthesized into glycogen, however protein must be first transported to the liver, converted to glucose, and then transported to the muscles. So, restoring glycogen levels with protein is less efficient and more prolonged than restoring glycogen with carbohydrates.

According to Carmichael, the 3 critical components post-ride are carbohydrate, sodium/electrolytes, and fluid. And, your body is primed to replenish muscle glycogen stores most rapidly within the first 30 to 60 minutes following exercise, and the sooner the better. As GuyZee points out in another answer, "the glycogen window".

Back to protein... Protein is also important for recovery, primarily for muscle tissue repair and additionally protein enhances the ability of muscle tissue to utilize carbohydrate in the replenishment of glycogen. A general rule of thumb is a 3:1 carb to protein ratio; but some experts recommend a 4:1 ratio.

In essence:
Carbs for glycogen replenishment.
Protein for muscle repair.
Electrolytes and fluid.

Examples... One would be something like a bowl of rice and sauteed vegetables plus chicken breasts. And for a "technical" product, something like Recoverite by Hammer Nutrition. I personally like the Hammer products as they don't use sucrose and high fructose corn syrup; instead a primary ingredient is maltodextrin which is basically long chains of glucose. Sometimes I don't have time for an actual meal, so I'll use Recoverite in that case. It can also be chocolate milk. The basic idea is that you need to replace and repair.

FWIW - None of this matters for the casual cyclist or the "typical commuter". Just eat normal, healthy meals and you'll be fine.

A few references:

REGULATION OF MUSCLE GLYCOGEN REPLETION, MUSCLE PROTEIN SYNTHESIS AND REPAIR FOLLOWING EXERCISE (International Society of Sports Nutrition Symposium)
RECOVERY - A CRUCIAL COMPONENT FOR ATHLETIC SUCCESS (Hammer nutrition)
How to Plan Post-Exercise Recovery Meals (livestrong.com)


Spoke Length Help - First Wheel Build I bought a pair of Ryde Andra 30 28" Rim(ERD=598mm) and Hope RS4 Road Bicycle Hubs(Rear/Front Specs, Front-Type(100mm), Rear-Type(130mm)).

I then used the prowheelbuilder spoke length calculator with the following results:

I have been learning a lot about hubs and wheels, but I don't want to mess up buying the wrong spoken lengths.

Did the calculator give me reasonable Spoke lengths? I couldn't find one with the HOPE RS4 Specifications, so I did manual inputs based on the specifications of each manufacturer.

I noticed the calculator has decimals in the result, but Spokes are sold as integers. If it's 289.8, should I get 290?

Also about material, what is recommended for a touring bike?

You do have some margin for error with spoke lengths, so do round off fractional lengths.

For spoke type, a double-butted 14/15/14 spoke would probably be ideal, short of that a straight-gauge 14-gauge spoke (straight-gauge is cheaper; double butted is preferable because it puts extra material where you need it, so the spoke is more evenly stressed over its length). If you feel you really need something beefy, go for 13/14/13, although that may be harder to find. Get stainless spokes and brass nipples (aluminum nipples are more prone to corrode).

DT and Sapim are the big names in spokes. The only spokes I've seen that I would specifically dis-recommend had S-hooks at the end instead of a J-bend (and those were hooked because they were aero spokes, so probably not an issue for you).


Giant Defy 2018 front brake cable routing problem I have a feeling that there is something very obvious I am missing.

Just got my Giant Defy Advanced 2. Fitted the front wheel and found the way the front brake cable is routed means it is in the inside of the fork and rubs against the tyre. I cannot see any more points where I can attach the cable to the fork to obtain more clearance.

It looks as if the fork is on the right way round.

Any suggestion? Thanks.

I did a quick google image search on 'Giant Defy 2018', found a couple of pics from the left hand side of the bike.

The front brake cable is supposed to run outside then down the back of the left fork leg.

As you are assembling this yourself I guess you did not purchase at a bike store. If you did though, take it back and have them fix the issue and check for other problems.


700 wheels on bike made for 27" wheels I just bought an older road bike with 27" wheels.  I am curious if I can mount 700 wheels (typical road size) on it.  Has anyone ever done this?

The main reason I am interested in doing this is so that I can have more tire selection.  I like the body positioning on my road bike but since I live in a rural area I do a fair bit of biking on gravel/dirt roads and pathways.

Yes, this has been done and is very often done for the exact reason you mentioned: far greater tire selection.

In a general sense, the important considerations you must make stem from the difference between a 700c wheel and a 27" wheel. If we look at a more precise measurement than the common nomenclature, the bead seat diameter, the difference is more obvious:

700c wheel: 622mm BSD
27" wheel: 630mm BSD

This means that the former is 8mm shorter in diameter than the latter, and when you mount a 700c wheel to a bicycle with brakes set for a 27" wheel, they will be mis-aligned by 4mm (a significant amount).

Depending on what type and variety brakes you have, you may or may not be able to reposition the brake pads correctly. In the case that you can't, you will be able to replace them with brakes designed to have a longer 'reach'.


Installing gear cable guide on 80s Holdsworth I have this Holdsworth frame that I got repainted and am rebuilding with mostly modern parts - I recently realised that I'm not quite sure how to run the derailleur cables past the bottom bracket.

I have seen bikes from this era with brazed on above-BB cable guides, but this frame doesn't have them.

I then remembered my Btwin has a plastic under-BB guide, so I got one of those but realised the hole in the Holdsworth's BB cage looks too small to have any sort of screw in it, and looks more like a drainage hole.

(Also, even though the guide says "screw on type", it looks quite different from the screw on one on my Btwin, which has a split plastic nub which wedges into the BB cage hole when the screw is tightened. I'm really not sure how this one I got is supposed to be fastened - I looked up some diagrams on Shimano's site but they didn't help)

Does anyone have any advice on how I should go about guiding the gear cables? Thank you!

The little hole looks a similar size to the one in my early 90's steel frame BB. Mine is threaded, perhaps yours is too. Maybe it didn't get masked off by the painter and the thread is under the paint. You could ask the painter if they remember taping it or not. You could check for threading and possibly tap the hole yourself if if isn't already.

You can also get cable guides which have a little solid plastic nub which goes into the hole and there is no screw, it is held in place by cable tension. I'll have a look for an image or something but might be a needle in a haystack. Chances are an LBS or framebuilder/painters will have some miscellaneous ones, you could ask around in person and see if you can find one to suit your frame, designs vary.

Other suggestions, from here include glue (!) and double sided tape to position the guide before cable tension takes over. I don't know how they would affect the paint long term.


Campagnolo Crank Compatibility 11 speed crank to 9 speed chain/deraillieur/shifters I need to replace my 9 Speed Campagnolo Racing T Crank with a new one which uses the power torque system.

Is a 11 Speed Athena (or 10 speed Centaur) crank compatible with the racing t front dérailleur and the 9 speed Chorus shifters?

http://www.campagnolo.com/WW/en/Components/athena_crankset

Bike parts

Campagnolo Chrous Ergopower 9-Speed
Campagnolo Chrous Brakes
Campagnolo raceing t Crank (needs to be replaced)
Campagnolo raceing t front derailleur
Campagnolo raceing t rear derailleur
Campagnolo Chorus Cassette 9-Speed
Campagnolo C9 Chain

I have used Shimano 10 speed cranks with 9spd chain, derailluers and gears.

Without actually having tried it with the Campy components you list, I see no reason why it shouldn't work. The only difference between 9spd and 11 spd chain is the exterior width of the chain. The interior dimensions are identical (i.e. 3/32 of an inch wide, 1/2 inch long).

The one issue you may run into is that the front chainrings may be slightly closer together
than a 9 speed crank. When you are using gear combos that involve the cross chaining on the small chainring, the extra width of 9 speed chain may catch on the larger chainring.

The shifting may not be as precise and fast as an all 11 speed setup, but of all the parts of the drivetrain the front cranks are the least "speed specific" and the easiest to interchange.


Are Claris(ST-2400) shifters drop-in replacements for St-2300s? I've got 2300s on my bike. I don't much like the little thumb levers. I'd like to upgrade to Claris shifters, but I need to minimise the costs.

Can I just change the shifters? They're both 8 speed (and double, in my case), but are the cables compatible as well?

Yes I test rode a Sora a few years ago with those thumb shifters - truly awful.

My gut feel (I know Shimano well, but don't have direct experience of this groupset) is that one is a direct replacement for the other, but the only evidence I can find to back this is a review on Amazon.

For sure there'll be no problems shifting, because you're staying at 8-speed. I was just a bit hesitant to answer in case something to do with the braking might have changed. But that guy's review suggests you'll be ok - sounds like he did exactly what you're proposing.


How to accurately measure brake calipers? So I recently bought brake calipers only to realize they didn't reach my rims. In fact they only go to about the midpoint of my tire.
The calipers are similar to these :

Did I just happen to get a weird size? Are there standard sizes for different types of bikes?
What would be the best way to figure out what size I actually need?
(All of this is assuming you don't have the old brakes to measure)

Caliper brakes have a reach measurement usually expressed as a range, representing the pad's ability to move in its slot. There are essentially 3 different reach classes for dual pivot brakes, but manufacturers vary in the exact numbers. For example most Tektro brakes have 39-51mm for short reach brakes, 47-57 for medium, and 55-73 for long. Shimano short reach brakes are 39-49, Campy is 40-50, etc. That number is the distance from the center of the brake mounting bolt to the center of the brake pad fixing bolt with the brake in actuated position. (I think the exact position it's measured in is with the faces of the arms that contact the back of the pads parallel, but I don't have proof of this.) To measure what reach a bike needs, measure from the mounting bolt hole to the center of the rim.

There are longer reach classes within BMX/kids bikes and other bikes that use fat tires and caliper brakes. Usually these are the single pivot or u-brake/centerpull variety, although there are some uncommonly seen ones out there that are dual pivot sidepulls.

The vast majority of road bikes for the last 25-30ish years use short reach brakes. They're essentially the default for road bikes. This has led to a situation where many people are unfamiliar with anything else and use incorrect and confusing language, calling short reach brakes "standard" and brakes in the 47-57mm-ish group like you probably need "long".

The 47-57 class was common on older road bikes and is used sometimes (never as much as it should be) to make caliper brake road bikes that can take wider tires and/or fenders. That's mostly over now though because disc brakes have more or less become the norm in that genre.


What does "HX" mean on a KMC chain? I'm looking at buying a new single-speed chain and have pretty much settled on getting one of these two: KMC Z510 or KMC Z510 HX but can't figure out what the HX actually means.

The HX costs 37% more (£7.99 vs £10.99) and I'd like to know what that extra £3 actually pays for so I can decide whether it's worth it or not.

Any ideas?

The major differences are the HX series is machined a little differently, which aids in preventing chain stretch from happening as quickly and increases over all tensile strength. The pins are mushroomed which also adds durability and helps with lateral flex. The increased cost is due to increased machining/production process.

Other than those two things they are pretty similar, if you ride a ton i would spend the extra, if you don't ride often then go the cheaper route. I have had some experience with both and they do seem to last a bit longer especially if you are a heavy rider or really power through things and are hard on your drive chain. if your more of a light agile rider that finesses through things rather than powering through then you would probably be fine with the standard 510.

Back when i spoke with KMC and was researching all their chains for work, i believe the number they told me was 30% strength difference between the standard and HX. I do not however know where this number came from or what sort of testing was involved to come to that conclusion.

I personally like their new Neochrome color, its like an oil slick rainbow kinda thing, looks good with lots of black :P


How can I know the number of teeths I need to go uphill? I have a singlespeed with a flipflop hub to change to fixed gear. In my freewheel sprocket I have 16 teeth and in the ring chain 46 teeth.

For me this is almost always the perfect combination for touring where I live.

But sometimes I want to go up a mountain (15-17% ) and I,m not strong enough to keep pedaling. I,d like to have the fixie side as backup for those occasions with more teeth.

I don't have any local shop to try gear ratios so I have t guess and buy.

Is there any method to guess how many more teeth do I need considering what I already have? I can go around 15km/h in a 7%hill.

I don't think you can do it unless you are planning on carrying a few chain links to splice in whenever you flip your wheel. In any case, with the relatively large 46 tooth chain ring I think you'd need at least 36 teeth on the back to get up a 15% grade. Which would require a chain with 10 more links


Cycle touring. First chain failure. Thoughts on cause? Was pedalling up steep hill on gravel road. No gear change. Just seemed to go mid push. Was very steep and out of saddle....had to push the remainder of way!

Well, only really one proximate cause for this: chain was weakened through wear and fatigue (it looks a bit old), you applied enough force to break it.

Likely that there is no single event that broke or weakened the chain.

Chain failure happens. Think of it a a rite of passage.


Do I need to replace my chain ring and cassette? Images attached I know I should replace them if they "look like shark teeth", but I don't know what exactly what shark teeth look like. I know they don't exactly look new, but do they need to be replaced with my chain?

The idea is that chain force causes wear on the edge of the upcurve of the U-shaped gap between each gear tooth, eventually eroding the tooth profile so much that it becomes V or shark-tooth shaped in extreme cases (instead of flat-topped).  The gear gap where the chain roller sits is then much wider than the roller itself, and the gear tooth is much narrower than the gap between rollers, so the chain can have slop and even slip on the gear, causing problems.
Steel gears will normally wear more slowly than alloy gears, and chainrings (front) will normally wear more slowly than rear gears of the same material.  The chain roller connections will also wear (this is called "stretch" but is just wear making the chain looser). Normally, chains get replaced more often than rear gear cassettes, which in turn get replaced more often than chainrings, but it will all vary with the materials and riding style involved.


Teaching an adult to ride My friend wants to learn to ride, and I've got a road bike that fits him reasonably. He's willing to buy a helmet, but not a trike or anything like that.

My plan was to put the seat low and have him try riding on grass, so falls are less of a problem.

What other exercises would help him get going?

It's silly, but with the saddle down so that he is able to push himself forward with the feet, ask him to pretend he's running on low gravity, trying to go as far as possible between steps.

On doing this, he can/could/should lean the bike a bit left when he puts left foot on ground, and lean the bike right when right foot is down.

The "secret" is trying to find and maintain the "sweet spot" when the bike is perfectly upright, and at this spot learn to manage the handlebar to keep balance, while the legs would probably be a bit spread and close to the ground.

This should be done on a flat, smooth surface, so the bike could keep going even at low speeds.

Besides that, I think braking should be learned BEFORE pedalling, so the next step would be to stop the bike, then just reduce speed, and THEN pedal with no foot on ground anymore.

I have never tried this, but I think it's how I'd like to be taught if that were the case :o)

Hope this helps.


Replacing an ebike's cable disc brakes with hydraulic disc I have a Viking Gravity 250w 24v ebike.
I'm just wondering if I can replace the braking system with a hydraulic type and what would happen to the wired braking safety feature? Would I have to retrace the connection and remove it?
Any information would be appreciated as the brakes are rubbish and constantly need adjusting etc.
Also why are my brake pads red? Are they a certain type e.g. ceramic etc?

Assuming you have eliminated contamination of pads or rotor as the cause you can consider a different calliper.
The bike spec on the website lists the brake spec as “Mechanical disc with alloy 3 finger levers.”
A drop in replacement might be an Avid BB7 or BB5 or Shimano BR-M375 calliper which might improve the strength of the brake without needing to figure out the mechanics of the cut-out switch at the lever.
However, mechanical disc callipers can also depend on good pull ratios at the lever to work well so you might need to figure out how to reproduce the switching mechanism with a new lever if a new calliper doesn’t give you everything you want.
The carrier metal of the pads is red because it looks cool. They are probably organic type pads for when it’s time to replace.


Part name: what is this attachment point for on my new Cube carbon frame? I've got a new fully today, and there is one attachment point on the frame that I cannot identify. Perhaps it's a silly question, but I've given up after 20 minutes of googling :)

It is for mounting a front derailleur. A standard clamp on front derailleur will not fit on that seattube, so an alternative mount point is needed.


How important is a heart-rate monitor? How important is a Heart Rate Monitor when cycling for weight loss?

I have an old Everlast HRM watch, but it cannot display the average HR after a workout. I am using RunKeeper to track my rides and I have noticed that it has a field for average HR.

Thanks

The short annswer is not at all important.
People trained and got fit for decades without heart rate monitors. Current thoughs in some camps is to dump heart rate altogether. For someone just wanting to get fit and loose some weight, heartrate monitoring is usually an interesting distraction. The drive for it comes down from pro level sports to trainers and manufacturers selling 'extras'.

Unless you know you maximum heart rate (The 220-age formula is wrong as often as its right - do not use it), a monitor gives little useful information, and is more likely to put you wrong. You also need your aerobic threshold for it to anything more than marginally useful. Its very hard to establish aerobic threshold without knowing average heart rate, but you also need to know a lot more than just average.....

You should use the watch during training to ensure you are in your target bands- just look at the watch occationally. The proviso is  that you can accurately establish the correct heart rate bands. If you have a trainier, averages, time in band etc might help them tune your training program, but if you had a trainer, they would tell you if this is needed.


How to judge comfort when buying a new saddle I bought a Motobecane Mirage S recently from bikesdirect.com

I took the following advice from a bikes forum:

  Plan on changing the seat, pedals, and possibly the tires. The seat
  will make your butt feel and look like a loose meat sandwich, which
  will be the outcome on just about any road-bike you buy for under
   $1000.00.

Because I am on a budget I bought a Selle Italia Flite seat on craigslist for only 30.00

I see reviews saying how comfortable this seat is even on long rides but when I feel it in my hands it feels significantly harder than the seat that came with my Motobecane Mirage S.  I was hoping someone could shed some light on this counter-intuitive phenomena regarding saddle hardness and whether it will actually perform better on long rides and more importantly, why that would be?

This article, The Four and a Half Rules of Road Saddles, from Cervélo Cycles has been really helpful to me when pondering saddles. I think the key points are:

The saddle needs to be wide enough to support your "sit bones" but not so wide that it chafes on your thighs.
The saddle has to be flat enough that the part between your sit bones doesn't press up on your soft tissues.
If the saddle is padded, make sure the padding doesn't defeat the flatness.
A cutout might help.

Also make sure that you've got the saddle adjusted well. Make sure the height is high enough, but not too high (I start too high and work down, because it seems easier to recognize too high than too low). Also make sure that the saddle is level – nose up can make the pressure worse, nose down and you may feel like you're slipping off the front to the saddle.


How to remove crank arm with broken bolt on SRAM Omnium crankset I apparently over-torqued the crank bolt and it made a loud snapping sound. Now the hex wrench just spins freely and so I can neither tighten nor loosen the bolt. How do I remove the (non-drive side) crank arm? Will a replacement bolt, if available, resolve this issue or have I done more damage than that?

I brought this to my local bike shop. They were able to get the external bolt off with a larger hex wrench (the bolt is 8mm). Not sure how they got the inner bolt out--I'll edit with an update when I stop by to pick it up after the replacement part comes in tomorrow.


Chain brushes derailleur I just got my ever first road bike, Revenio 3.0. I'm so excited. Already got my ever first road bike injury as well - those damn cleats are hard to unclip, springs on those shiny new pedals are too tight.

Anyway, I've noticed that when both rear and front shifters are on their lowest gears (rear - all the way to the right, front - all the way to the left), the chain brushes right side of front derailleur and makes that 'whoosh' sound. That's not right, isn't it? I'm thinking if it's something very easy to adjust, and I can do it myself, or better to take it back to the store?

Also, can you guys tell me about common problems of bikes of this series or Raleigh road bikes in general that better to know?

Derailer  adjustment is easy - at least in theory. When it comes to fine adjustment you may find that you cannot easily get this problem fixed without making something else worse - i.e. its a compromise. Its a good opportunity to learn how to adjust derailers- make adjustments slowly, one step at a time, and count the turns so you can go back to the start if needed.

Given you should not be spending any time in this gear combo, and its not really doing any damage to the bike components, one option is to leave it alone and learn to switch to the smaller chain ring sooner.

It is worth taking it back to the bike shop and seeing if they can tweak it, but do make it clear to them that you do not want to compromise gear shifts to get it fixed.


New road bike comes with cryptic tag on the brake/shift lever I just got myself a B'twin Triban 500; this is my first road bike, and my second bike overall, so it's fair to assume I'm as newbie as can be.

The brake levers came with the following sticker, and I'm very intrigued by their meaning — especially since the brakes are a little out of reach from my ridiculously tiny hands, and this may be vaguely related.

These are referring to pad spacers. They essentially increase or decrease the amount of motion you have when moving the brake levers.

See page 16 of the following PDF for a better diagram:

Shimano Brake Levers User Guide


Patching innertubes containing sealant From my experience, I've learned that Slime will plug/seal a small hole in a tube. Sometimes the tube needs to be inflated 2 or 3 times for hole to seal.

If a glueless patch is applied over a small hole, the Slime will eventually loosen the patch. The Slime will seal the hole if the patch is removed.

I have a tube with a large hole that Slime isn't sealing. What are some ways to patch it?

I'd like to try to patch it with a piece of tube and rubber cement:

scuff both the tube and piece
apply the rubber cement to the tube and piece
allow to dry
apply piece

There is exactly one way to fix that tube: Toss it in the trash can, and buy a new one. Whether patches are glue-less or not, they all get unglued over time by the slime.

And while you are buying a new tube, don't buy more slime. Buy a serious puncture proof tire instead. For any slime, there is an upper limit of how much puncture it can seal before failing you, and then you are again reduced to patching/replacing slime filled tubes. This happens much more frequently than that you find shards large enough to defeat a good puncture proof tire.

(I used slime myself for many years, and I patched my tubes over, and over again. Then I switched to puncture proof tires many years ago, and had exactly three punctures since, one of which was largely my own fault. With all the time I'm saving on the futile patching of those puncture riddled squishy tubes, I find the extra money for the better tires is an excellent investment.)


Why is my chain slipping/dropping on the smallest chainring when pressure is applied? Why is my chain slipping and dropping on the smallest chainring when heavy pressure is applied (hill starts mostly)? It seems to be worst when the chain is on largest two cassette cogs.

The bike just came back from a full service at a reputable LBS after
a collision with a car, this issue wasn't apparent after the
accident and appears to be a result of the recent changes/service.
There is no (excessive) chainring wear. It looks as good as new.
Cassette, cables and chains are all new and fitted by the LBS and shifting is perfectly smooth.
The cassette was changed from 28-12 to 25-11. Chain is correct length and 10spd which is appropriate for the bike and is properly tensioned.
Rear and front mechs are both aligned and limited correctly, hanger alignment also fine.
No frame damage, the LBS assured me of that.

Am I missing something, I am completely baffled and frustrated as to what is causing this.

You say the cassette and chain have been replaced but the front rings have not. You also mention that the front rings look ok, which maybe so, however it seems there is still a meshing issue between the new chain and older front rings. Assuming the frame or bottom bracket are not misaligned. I would take it back to the bike shop and have them check the chainrings over fully.
Your not just looking for worn teeth on the rings but the way the chain locates on it.. Even slightly worn teeth can cause issues with a new chain.
Also check for a loose chain side crank arm or cracked/loose chainring bolt.


Why don't BMX plugs fit on MTB riser bar? In a previous question, I have been told that the grip diameter of a MTB riser bar is 22.2mm. From research I did, the grip diameter of BMX handlebars is also 22.2mm. In fact, it's possible to use BMX grips on MTB handlebars. I thought this would allow to use also BMX bar plugs on MTB riser bars. As I experienced first hand, this is not the case, see picture below.

Is that because the internal diameter of MTB bars is smaller than in BMX bars?

The outer diameter of bars is the same. Internal diameter can vary a bit between manufacturers, but you're going to have an ID of around 20 mm for road bars and 17 mm for mountain bars (source). A BMX bar is somewhere in between -- if you get the right MTB bar and the right BMX plugs, they'll probably work.

That being said, if you can't get those in with a bit of twisting and turning, you could probably shave them off. Or, go for an expander style plug.


Upgrading an old Trek I have an old Trek from the early 80's, the serial number says its either a 610, 613, or 614. A lot of the parts are getting old and I'd like to replace a lot of them.

One part that I an not sure on sizing is the rear derailleur and cassette. It currently has a Sun Tour Vx derailleur with friction shifters on a 6-speed 14-30 cassette. I'd like to replace the wheels and cassette, but not the derailleur as it functions well and is still in good condition.

My question is whether the current derailleur, with some adjustment, would work with a a 7 or 8 speed cassette.

I would buy 700c wheels with a Shimano/SRAM freewheel and a cassette to match, I'm thinking an 11-28 or something similar since I'd like some harder options.

I will be replacing the chain and bottom bracket at the same time along with an identical (but not so worn) front chainring.

Is there anything else I should be aware of in terms of compatibility?

Thanks for the help!

The derailleur specs you have to consider are:

Max sprocket size
Min sprocket size
Total tooth capacity

If you want to go to a 11-28 cassette from 14-30, max sprocket size is ok. 11 tooth min sprocket may be too small. Capacity is also increased by 1.

11-28 may work but 12-28 is safer.

6, 7 and 8 speed systems use the same sprocket spacing and progressively wider stacks of sprockets. The other thing you will need to check is the lateral range if both the derailleur and shifter. It may not be enough to cover 7 sprockets.


I changed my V-brake pads but I can't adjust them correctly I changed my V-brake pads with new ones but now one of the pads is in touch with the rim all the time while the other one has a normal distance from the rim. Adjusting the cable or spring force didn't help. In case it helps, I attach a photo to the topic.

If all you did was to unbolt the old pads and bolt on the new ones, adjusting the spring tension should be almost enough.
Each arm has a return spring and a screw for regulating the tension of each one. If one pad touches the rim all the time, tighten the spring on that side and also losen the other one. Do it in small steps (1/2 turn or 1/4 turn each time).
If that does not help, ensure the springs are properly engaged. Many v-brakes have springs that engage a small hook behind the arm and is easily knocked out of place during maintenance.
Disengage the cable from the quick release and check if each arm has a return force that separates it from the rim. If not, the spring is too loose, disengaged or out of shape. (I doubt the spring is out of shape if the brakes where working before. Also, It's very difficult to bend a brake spring while it's assembled)
There are also brake mounts (in the frame or fork) that have 3 holes for the spring to engage, each hole provides a different tension range. But to access that you'd have to remove the brake arms from the fork or frame and reattach. If you did not remove the arms and your brakes where working correctly before, this is not the cause and it's not necessary to disassemble.
Also, check if the cable is pulling the brakes to one side. It is common when the cable is too short or is routed badly or if it's being pushed by an accessory or something else.
It is also possible that the rim is not centered in the fork. (It may be dished to one side, that is, the rim may be true and round, but with an offset from center.) Or may be that the fork (or rear triangle) has an asymmetry so the rim does not sit at the same distance from both brake bosses (the bolts the brake arms are fixed to).
If that's the case, you can place the brake pad's spacers in such way that the pad does not rib the rim permanently. Each pad has two pairs of concave-convex "washers" that allow for alignment adjust. One of the concave pieces is taller than the other and is usually placed "inboard" (between the pad and the arm). As a last resort, you can exchange the taller for the shorter one, which would make the pad sit closer to the arm. Do this only if you are certain that both arms have their return spring properly engaged and that the wheel axle is properly mounted.
Check whether the wheel is properly affixed to the bike (check if the axle is well fastened and that the wheel is aligned with the fork or bike frame)


How do I use a freewheel as a single-speed? Can I disassemble a free wheel sprocket and use it as a single speed sprocket or I have to buy a single speed sprocket?

There are multiple options.

Just use one cog and don't change gear.   Cheap and easily reversible.
Remove and store your rear derailleur/shifter/wires, and then trim your chain to length so it only suits one cog.  This may require a chain tensioner and risks dropping the chain off, if the chain line isn't good.
You can get single-speed kits that fit on a freehub, essentially a cassette with one cog and spacers for either side.  Since the horizontal placement is adjustable, you should be able to get a better chainline.  If you only have a freewheel, this is not an option.
The expensive solution is to get a single-speed wheel, or rebuild your existing rim onto a single-speed hub.   This may give you a flip-flop setup where each side of the bike has a different gear, or the choice between a fixed-gear and a single speed.

It really depends if your frame has track ends (probably not if it has a derailleur) or some other way to set the chain tension.

Remember you still absolutely need working brakes, front and rear.  Don't remove them in your quest.

Personally I just ride with my gears - the 1935/6 Tour de France riders petitioned long and hard to be able to use gears!


Strida single speed - upgrade to 2-3 speeds possible? Would it be possible to upgrade a single-speed Strida to 2-3 speeds?
I know there is a Strida model with 3 speeds but the frame is different with respect to the one of a single speed. In particular, the 3-speeds model has a bottom bracket shell suitable to fit a Sturmey Archer KS3 (https://stridacanada.ca/product/sturmey-archer-ks3/).
Do there exist commercially available alternatives to fit in the bottom bracket sheel of a single speed?
Someone did it already, but they are unreachable. This is the post (in italian): http://stridaroma.it/it/works/kit-upgrade-2-speed/. This is the google translate version. If only I could de-focus this picture!

This is a closeup of the bottom bracket in place and the frame of a single-speed Strida.

Thanks,
Luca

3-speed is possible, but not at bottom bracket without heavy modification to the frame. The usual location for 3-speed gearbox is the rear hub. As far as I can tell, one could rebuild the rear wheel with suitable 3-speed hub. Running the shifter cable to the hub might be complicated with the folding frame, but I don't see how it would be more difficult than running it to the bottom bracket. Some models already have disc brakes, which also suggests that you can run a cable to the rear hub. If disc brake is not required, another option would be kick shift 2-speed hub. These things have a coaster brake and shift gears every time you brake, no cables required.


"Climbing" small steps in 23mm tires Sometimes at a crossing, when one wants to turn right for example, the "new" street has a different surface and there is a small step (2-4 cm) to get there.

These kind of steps are already unconfortable to apprehend when getting the from the front but when one's turning right, even getting a 45 degrees angle is not always easy.

How should one proceed?
How big a step can a wheel handle? should I stand up? hop somehow?

And when one is facing the obstacle, how to proceed? angle is not a problem, but should one ride slowly towards it? or as fast as possible?

What is the safest way?

First of all, to reinforce what Daniel pointed out, do NOT approach such an obstacle at an angle unless you want to eat pavement. Hit step ups, step downs, and especially railroad tracks as perpendicularly as possible. If it's a right turn you're taking, assuming you're in a country that drives on the right side of the street, signal, take the lane, and take a wide turn so you're hitting the lip at a 90 degree angle or close to it. Left turn you should offer you a little more room. That's the first half of hitting such an obstacle safely without dismounting from the bike.

Part two: if you want to get over the step "as safely as possible" then you want to hit it as slow as possible. That's great if you're not in traffic, but even if you aren't it sucks to lose your momentum. What you need to practice is something akin to a bunny hop, however having both wheels leave the ground simultaneously for small bumps typically isn't necessary. Practice pulling up your front wheel and immediately after gravity takes back over pulling up your back wheel with your feet and legs. Practice this in your driveway or on a quiet street over small obstacles. As you become comfortable with this maneuver you can practice on bigger obstacles and at higher speeds. If and when you feel comfortable to do so you can hop both wheels at the same time at high speed- whatever you feel comfortable with.

How big an obstacle you can handle totally depends on how comfortable you are with doing this and how high you can pull the wheels off the ground.


Legal to ride bikes on sidewalks in Seattle? I know in parts of the US it is illegal for bicyclists to ride their bikes on the sidwalk.  I've been seeing it a lot in Seattle, WA, US and not sure if it's allowed.

It would seem that cycling on the sidwalk in Seattle is legal:

  Section 11.44.120 RIDING ON A SIDEWALK OR PUBLIC PATH.
  Every person
  operating a bicycle upon any sidewalk or public path shall operate the
  same in a careful and prudent manner and a rate of speed no greater
  than is reasonable and proper under the conditions existing at the
  point of operation, taking into account the amount and character of
  pedestrian traffic, grade and width of sidewalk or public path, and
  condition of surface, and shall obey all traffic control devices.
  Every person operating a bicycle upon a sidewalk or public path shall
  yield the right-of-way to any pedestrian thereon, and shall give an
  audible signal before overtaking and passing any pedestrian.

-- Regulations for Bicycling and Driving with Bicyclists, Seattle Department of Transportation


How does Lockable Suspension work? I recently asked a question about how to make a lockable suspension last longer. There zenbike told me about the “blow off” feature. Now, I am curious about how the whole system works.

So, can anyone tell me about how a lockable front suspension works, together with features like “remote-lock” and “blow-off”.

Modern suspensions have a valve inside, and when the suspension moves, the valve moves inside oil, and the oil is forced to pass a very narrow opening.

The size of this opening is different depending if the suspension is compressing or returning. Usually, there is a spring which lets the oil flow more when it compresses, and less when it rebounds (the spring closes the so-called lip-valve), thus damping the oscillations and giving the rider more comfort and control.

Then on these modern suspensions, there is a knob that shuts the valve close, so that is impossible to compress the fork at all (some models), or the suspension locks close to the bottom and keeps some of its travel (some other models), and so on.

The blow-off feature is one that allows the system to auto-release when you hit a very hard bump, because the oil pressure rises so much that it activates an auto-release system. Some extra-super-fancy models allow you to adjust how hard the hit needs to be in order to release the lock.

As far as I remember, some cheaper models have mechanical locking system, which lock the suspension the same way you lock a door (some metal slides inside and blocks the suspension), but this might be considered a not very elegant solution.

Remote lock means the knob you turn is mounted on the handlebar, so you can activate it without taking your hand from the handlebar. I guess this is actually NEEDED only for high-end mountain-bike racers, but you know, mountain-bike is a very fashion-oriented activity...


the thread for screwing in the pedal has been stripped on right side. Any way to avoid buying a whole new crank? Put a new pedal in, and followed advice not to screw it in too hard. Unfortunately, I made it too loose... and the thread on the right crank is now almost completely stripped because the pedal was moving around and abrading it.

Is there any way to replace just the right arm?

Cranksets are typically sold with both arms, not just one of them, so the exercise of finding just a right arm that is compatible is mostly academic (the only case I can think of that's somewhat reasonable is a parts bin at a bike co-op or shop which has one, but this is still unlikely). You're more likely to find the whole crankset instead, in which case there isn't really a reason to not install both of them.

That being said, on a square taper bottom bracket, you can install different square taper crank arms on the left and right (different sizes, different makes, etc). You can mix hollowtech 2 crankarms on the left and right as well. So on, so forth -- the compatibility is determined by what type of crankarm you're running.

If you have an autoshop nearby or a bike shop, you can also try to helicoil the crankset. This puts a new set of threads on for the pedal.

Also, note that if you don't have a crank puller, you're going to have to borrow one or likely go into a shop unless the crank is self extracting.


What are cheap options for an extra set of brake levers for mechanical disk brakes? A quick question. I want to have an extra pair of brake levers for my mechanical disk brakes set at a different position on my handlebar(s), and I want the whole upgrade to cost as little as possible. Ideally not more than 50$, at max 100$ (so no ultra-hightech sport competition-grade stuff). What are my options? So far I've discovered only the thing called "Cross/Inline brake levers" They seem like the thing, but it seems to me they are a bit limiting regarding where you can place them. Are there any other relatively cheap options?

Edit:
Sorry for confusion, I had to mention I don't have a typical road bike's or cyclocross bike's setup. I'm riding a hybrid bike, which has a butterfly bar as a main bar, and a couple of high curved horns attached at its left and right edge. Horns allow me to sit almost perfectly straight, and the main (butterfly) bar allows to lean forward for a bit more aggressive posture when riding over rough terrain. So I would like to be able to engage my brakes from both those main hands' positions.

Presumably you have drop bars. Inline brake levers are your only choice. The only places to mount extra levers on drop bars are tops. With inline levers installed you can reach levers from the drops, hoods and tops, so you really don't need levers anywhere else.


cable too short to reattach into a sturmey archer 3 speed shifter I've just been given a Rayleigh Chiltern. The only problem is, the cable has unattached from the gear shifter. I Googled how to re thread, but the cable isn't long enough at the top end to slide right into the length of the shifter - it barely fits inside the shifter at all.

Can I use the excess cable at the hub end (if so how?) or am I just doing something wrong? Never done this before, so any advice would be massively welcome.

Cables have special ends on the brake lever / shifter lever side which you need in order to hook the cable into the lever. A brake cable end for mountain bikes looks like:

You can't add these ends to an existing cable. If the cable is broken near the lever, then almost surely the part of the cable with the end is not going to be long enough. Thus, if you don't have a cable end, buy a new cable.

It's quite dangerous to have a broken brake cable, so you should get that fixed asap.

If you do have the appropriate cable with end, you just need to remove the cable tension (disconnect it), and then thread it through the part of the lever which can grab the cable as shown here.


mounting disk brake caliper problem: wheel doesn't spin freely, rubs outside pad, and caliper already as far to outside as possible Problem:

I can't mount the caliper in such a way that the wheel spins perfectly freely (There's always a slight rub).
When the brake engages, the rotor bends slightly (because the caliper isn't centered...)

I can't screw the caliper in far enough over to the outside so this doesn't happen... I'm guessing the bracket, where you mount the disc brake on the fork, was welded onto the fork at slightly the wrong position (i.e. a little bent, too close to the wheel)?

Question: Can I solve this myself? If I take it back to the bike shop where I bought the bike, what should I insist on?

I have a new, Bianche Volpe disc brake bike (it's steel). Hayes CX Expert mechnical disc brakes.

I know from the other disc brake bike I have that the standard way to center the caliper is to (1) squeeze the brake closed (which positions the caliper properly) and (2) screw the brake into the bracket on the fork in exactly that position!

But I can't do step 2! It's close, but it's off... Is there anything I can do? Take it back to the bike shop I bought it from? Should I insist on a new fork? Or can they work this out somehow?

It's not so bad that the bike doesn't work, but this can't be right...

Rotor and mounting bracket: (it looks like there's a slight angle and the bracket is a bit too clo

Your problem may be that you're misunderstanding mechanical disc brakes.

On most, only the outside pad moves, the disc is bent onto the inside pad. This means the loosen, clamp and tighten method doesn't work. You can do it by eye, or use a spacer between the inside pad and disk when you tighten it up.

Hayes install instructions are here.


Reason why bike scratched up in this location under crankset After owning my bike for 8 years and admittedly not always paying the most attention to it, I was thinking about buying a new bike soon. So I thought before buying the bike I'll see where damage is to my current bike so I can try and avoid damaging it the same way in the future.

A lot of videos I've watched online advise you to protect the toptube, downtube, chainstay etc. Looking at my bike though I have a lot of damage under the crankset and was wondering if this is a common thing? Is there something I could have done to prevent it etc. It looks really badly scratched up and I'm not sure what caused it so any ideas about that?

My guess is that this was caused by chain suck. This is a problem where the chain doesn't roll off the bottom of the chainring as readily as it should, and the chainring draws it up toward the chainstay. It can get wedged between the chainring and chainstay, and take off paint in exactly this way.

This can be caused by worn cogs, a worn chain, a too-long chain, or too little tension in the rear derailleur holding the chain taut.


Freewheel removal help This freewheel has been giving me a lot of pain. I can't seem to move it at all with hammer & punch (clockwise). From the videos, it always seems so easy :P

So I'm going to buy a removal tool. Is the FR 1.3 compatible with this, in your opinion?

A few questions:

do I need to put the axle back in, and screw it to the removal tool?
do I need to separately remove the lockring?

What I'm doing this for is to change the ball bearings. They've already come out, so I need to clean inside, put grease and the new balls.

Yes the FR 1.3 should work. Note that you should be turning counterclockwise to remove the freewheel. You do not need to put the axle back in or remove the lock ring. One trick is to secure the tool in a vise pointing upward. Set the wheel onto the tool and use the rim of the wheel to turn the wheel off if the freewheel rather than turning the freewheel off the wheel.


Noise + vibration while back-pedalling. Should I be worried? Recently I noticed I'm getting a bit of noise and vibration through the drivetrain if I backpedal on the largest sprocket at a reasonable speed.

There is enough vibration that when I'm stopped at lights getting into position the whole bike vibrates.

I looked at the chain while the bike was on the stand and it looks like the lower segment is jumping up and down while the bike is on the stand back-pedalling unless it's really slow.

It looks to me like the top jockey wheel might be putting pressure on the largest sprocket.

The chain is at basically 0 wear, and has been running fine for a while.

Recently I changed lubricant from a paraffin wax + paraffin oil 1:1 blend to 100% paraffin wax.

Apart from the noise & vibration the bike seems to be running fine.

If you're interested in the sound & behaviour here's a short video:

You can hear the vibration when the back-pedal speed increases

Is this something that requires maintenance to correct or should I not worry?

Your video shows that the problem resides in the position of the derailleur. The RD is much too close to the cassette. The jockey wheel almost touches the large sprocket.

Use the B-screw to move the upper jockey wheel further away from the sprockets.


Mudguard/fender width advice I have a Trek 7.3 with 700x32cc tyres. I've been offered a set of SKS mudguards that are 35mm wide. These are only going to be 3mm wider than my tyres and I'm worried I'll still get a lot of spray off the sides?

Thanks!

3mm is definitely not enough, especially with plastic fenders!

A good rule of them is your fenders should be at least 10mm wider than your tires. I run 42mm tires on one bike and it has 58mm fenders. On my other bike I run 32mm tires and 45mm fenders. You also want at least 12mm between the inside of the fender and the tire. Ideally, you should have 20mm between the tire and point on the frame the fender bolts to (to account for fender thickness, protruding bolt heads and mounting hardware).

Keep in mind poorly fitted fenders can be a safety issue. If an object gets kicked up into the fender it can cause a crash.

Some good articles on fenders: https://janheine.wordpress.com/category/components/fenders/ (Jan probably knows more about fenders than anyone in the cycling biz!)


Schwinn meridian three-wheel bicycle Should I rotate the back left or right tire to the front tire.  The front brakes are locking up on the front tire.  I have also loosened the brakes on both sides as much as possible too.  Could rotating the left or right back tire to the front tire solve the front brakes from rubbing on the rim.

Note that you cannot swap wheels, since the front wheel has a different hub from the rear ones.  You could presumably swap tires, but there would be little point in this unless the front tire for some reason has a much thicker tread than the rear ones.

If the brakes are rubbing on the rim it may be that the rim is warped and needs to be "trued", or it may be that the brakes are out of adjustment somehow.  (Rim brakes can be tricky to adjust.)  It's also possible that the axle is simply not seated squarely in the notches of the fork.


Braking on a vintage road bike I recently bought a vintage Gitane road bike. I understand that in the 70s and 80s they sold a lot of these road bikes with drop handle bars. Sometimes they came with the extra lever for an easier grip from the top but mine doesn't.

Most modern road bikes seem to have more of a grip from the hood which allows you to squeeze the brakes when sitting upright.

So I am wondering if you are supposed to quickly change to the bottom grip to reach the handle bars? Is that something you get used to doing quickly after some time?
Riding in the city seems very uncomfortable having your hands on the brake at all times while looking out for cars.
Is that intended to be used more in touring than in busy city traffic?

It is true that the old style brake levers were not as powerful from the hoods as modern ones. The reason is geometry.

The picture below shows how old and new levers move when pulled. With old levers, braking from the hoods requires one to pull back and push down at the same time. As said in comments to other answers, this is doable but not very effective or intuitive. With new levers one simply pulls the lever towards one's hand. The small blue arrows show how brake cable moves.

If you want to improve braking on the bike and don't require complete authenticity, there are aftermarket levers with modern pivot placement.


shimano M545 left pedal cap unit bolt fallen off during use I recently (2 months ago) bought my first set of clipless pedals (first pedals I have ever bought, just used default ones before).  Shimano M545.  All was well till this morning when I noticed that the left pedal has lost the bolt on the side that holds it together, (think its called the cap unit bolt).  This cap unit bolt and the washer bits have disappeared, presumably during a ride.  Here is a link to shimano's site that shows the pedal and the cap unit bolt bit:

http://bike.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/tech_support/tech_tips.download.-Par50rparsys-0015-downloadFile.html/09)%20PD-M545%20and%20424%20Overhaul.pdf

I took it to my local bike shop and they say they do not have a bolt for it.  Can this sort of thing be found / bought and replaced or do I have to replace the whole pedal?

I bought it from Wiggle and have just contacted them about the issue but wanted the advice from the community about how I can deal with this situation.

Thanks

Wiggle will do you a refund as well as a replace. There should be no problem with that as M545's are known to fall apart in the way you describe.

Sounds like you are looking for a pedal that works well with cleat and without cleat. I do not think the M545 does either job properly, and, as evidenced, can fall apart. They also do not work with some leading brands of 'SPD' footwear.

I would send them back and upgrade to the plain Time ATAC pedals, also available from Wiggle. These may not work too well with leather soled shoes in the wet, but you can get home from the pub with them and regular trainers without your feet slipping off.

I have updated the clipless pedal page with my own IMHO on Time Atac pedals:

What should I look for in clipless pedals and shoes?


Should I buy a CX bike or a Road bike? I'm looking at two specific bikes.

Here is the first: http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/fantom_cross_trail_xiv.htm

It's a cyclocross style bike.

The second:
http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/motobecane/disc-brake-roadbikes/turinoelite-discbrake-roadbike.htm

I'm just really unfamiliar with bikes, as I haven't bought a new one since I was a kid over 15 year ago. I will only be riding on pavement; however, the roads along my route are really rough with many potholes in the concrete. I think a roadbike would make more sense, but would the cyclocross be more durable?

If one has rims/tires that will need replacing much less than the other, that is what I want.  But I haven't seen any information on this online? Does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks in advance!

It's tough to give an "objective" answer to this, but I was in the same scenario 5 years ago and went with a CX bike and have no regrets.

I always advise newbies to non-mountain biking (e.g. you're new to pavement commuting, road biking, racing, touring, gravel road biking, etc.) to at least consider a CX bike.

Here are some thoughts:

Road bikes tend to be very specifically tailored to road cycling, with lightweight (i.e. less durable components), and an aggresive (i.e. "hunched over" riding position that while great for racing is not so hot for almost all other pursuits (commuting, touring, etc.).

CX bikes, at least at the entry level (think aluminum frame, carbon fork, low to mid-range components) tend to have a more upright position that's a lot easier to get used to if you're coming from mountain/hybrid bikes. They also tend to have more heavy duty components, e.g. wheels with more spokes, etc., and the aluminum frame ones will often include mounting points for racks, fenders, etc., which road bikes tend not to.

As such, a CX bike can be a bit of a jack of all trades, letting you try out various types of road riding:

Want to try gravel racing? You've got the tire clearance for fatter knobby tires.  I just put 42mm tires on my CX bike; that's not gonna happen on a true road bike.
Want to try racing in a local race or time trial? Put some skinny slicks on it, take off the fenders/racks, you've got a reasonable road machine. You're not going to win any races, but you're also not going to get laughed out of the race. I spend a lot of time riding pavement with 28C Gatorskins on mine.
Want to try some light duty touring? If you go with a ALU frame CX bike with fender attachment points, you can throw a rack and fenders on and go for a few days tour. I did a 135km ride last year on my CX bike with 60 pounds of gear on it.

Ultimately, I've found my CX bike to be a real swiss army knife and it's allowed me to experiment with a lot more different types of riding than I think I could have if I'd gone with a dedicated road bike.

In the end you should test ride both bikes, a couple times if the first rides aren't conclusive, and see what you like the feel of better.

Also, quick caveat: in the time since I bought my bike, spinoffs of road racing have been proliferating and manufacturers are putting out more and more high end bikes within those niches (e.g. high end all-carbon CX bikes or gravel bikes), and like a dedicated road bike, those will not be as multi-purpose as an entry level CX bike would be. E.g. if you look at a high end CX bike, it will probably be all-carbon, with no fender/rack mounting, so will not offer much in the way of touring capabilities.

Hope that helps!