How to open the top cover of a Shimano Tourney ST EF 41? My 3 speed gear shifter is stuck. I want to open the cover so that I can clean the old lubricant and dust and apply new lubrication. There are no screws on the top and I am not able to open it even from the bottom. How do I open it?

Page 17 of the dealers manual shows that some of these shifters are not meant to come apart and cables are replaced with an access screw instead of removing a cover.  The manual says not to disassemble further. The shifter may not be able to be easily re-assembled.  That said, disassembling from the bottom would probably be the best way to open the case.  It looks like there are some screws on the underside.

https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/dm/DM-ST0001-05-ENG.pdf

You may be able to remove the screw that gives access to the shifter cable and spray some W-D 40 in there to wash out old lubricant.  Some spray chain lubricant into the same port once the WD-40 dries, might get it working again.

An internal piece may be broken if the lever is completely immobile.  The pieces inside are intricate and do wear out with use.  my 5600 series front shifter had a pawl break off and it was toast.  no lubing could bring back its function.  the other lever I gave the lube job i described and it has been working smoothly for another year so far.


Does Garmin Oregon 700 have Strava integration? Does Garmin Oregon 700 have Strava integration?

I would like to know if there is any integration with Strava or mobile phones in the Garmin Oregon 700 (or 600 series) Is it possible to upload tracks to Strava and are segments visible on your display?

Is it possible to upload tracks to Strava?

Yes, you can upload your tracks to Strava. If your device is connected with Garmin Connect, there is an option to automatically upload your tracks after they're synched with the Garmin platform.
https://support.strava.com/hc/en-us/articles/216918057-Garmin-and-Strava

If you don't want to connect your device to Garmin Connect, an alternative is to manually upload the recorded GPX files in Strava. I would except the files to be stored in the Garmin/GPX folder, which is visible after you connect your device to your PC.
Next, on the Strava website click the + in the right top, chose upload and click "File" on the left column. The upload interface allows to upload multiple files at once.

  Are segments visible on your display?

As far I'm aware, the Oregon 700 does not have Strava live segments available. However, when I was using the Oregon 400, I used a small trick to visualize them on the map.

If you download a GPX of a segment (eg. using this Chrome plugin), you can upload the segment as a track on your device. Next, in the track manager I could chose to show this particular track (being the Strava segment) on my map. Even while navigating another
route or track While cycling, this segment was visible on the map. I didn't got any notifications for the start or end of the segment and had to spot them manually, but at least you know where to push as hard you can.

I couldn't find the exact steps in the Oregon 700 manual and don't have one myself to guide you, but this might already give you a good pointer.


Are hydraulic disc brakes more sensitive to rubbing with warped rotors? Unlike mechanical (cable) disc brakes which feature a brake pad spring and where you have to adjust pad distance manually; hydraulic disc brake pad distance is regulated automatically and many hydros have no piston retraction spring at all.

Does the lack of pad distance adjustment make hydraulic disc brakes more susceptible to rubbing on slightly warped rotors?

This is a little bit of a two-layered question.

The literal answer is yes. Given no gap adjustability, if your priority was to avoid rub, a hydraulic brake would be more susceptible to having rub, or more difficult to set up without it, for any given amount of rotor misalignment.

What makes it more complex is that you usually also have the priority of having it be a good brake. Hydraulic brakes transfer power from the lever more efficiently, so for a given amount of braking power output they can have a wider gap. (In terms of their design versus a mechanical.) This is a subtle point because we're not talking about a much bigger gap, maybe not even appreciably, but it's true that it being hydraulic at least moves the needle in that direction.

Mechanical brakes with their pad adjusters and barrel adjusters don't really free you from having to keep the rotor just about as true as true as with a hydro. With most of them, if you back out the adjusters much at all to compensate for rotor warp, the lever is going to be hitting the bar and you won't have much of a brake. It is true that in some cases you are able to adjust the brake in response to slight misalignment and still have it work, albeit with that much more imminence of the lever bottoming.

Different brakes, both cable and hydraulic, also have some variance in how much leverage they employ. The more leverage, the narrower the gap but the more power is generated. The less leverage, the wider of a gap (rotor truth tolerance) you have, but less hard the rotor winds up getting squeezed. There are also various systems that change the leverage (aka mechanical advantage) of the system at different points of the brake lever stroke and/or armature travel.

There are some mechanical disc calipers that are very gappy and tolerant of poor rotor truth, but they're not good brakes. I believe the department store disc brakes are tending to play this trick these days.


Trainer Roller : polyurethane or metal? Some trainers come with a polyurethane roller not metal. I think that would be a lot better then the metal one. Has anyone used a polyurethane roller? And if so are they good or just the same as metal when it comes to wear and tear, and slippage ?

I haven't had a poly roller for long, only a season but I've never had any issues with slippage, though I always use a trainer tire on it.

Wear and tear I can't note any difference after a season of use other than some dirt and marks from my tire. Nothing deeper than surface dirt. Hope it helps!


Use Raspberry Pi (and C#) in a bicycles Any full source code sample projects about Raspberry Pi (or another) using it in bicycles ?

Maybe interesting for create a dashboard in bike for manage lighting ?

Examples:

live web bicycle (gps logging and web dashboard)
RaspberryPi.Net (not relevant)

Lighting control isn't exactly a good idea since you have 2 lights (front and rear) on a bicycle typically.

Most cycling sensors (cadence, speed, heartrate, etc.) either speak ANT+ or Bluetooth these days, so if you want to read sensors, you just need to know how to speak ANT+ or Bluetooth in your chosen language. You can also add a GPS module and other things as well.

People have accessed USB ANT+ sticks in Python and Bluetooth has a cycling profile and many people have used Bluetooth with the Raspberry Pi.

Note that many phones have both ANT+ and bluetooth, and have their own built in batteries (and are probably faster than a Raspberry pi) and mobile internet, so if you want to read sensors, they may be better than the raspberry pi. That being said, either of these options will likely be far more battery draining than a cycling computer which provides the same functionality, so I'm guessing this is a project just for fun.


How much of a bruising can a MTB take? I recently purchased my first MTB, a Rockrider 560, and I'm curious to know how much a roughing up can it take?

For example, can I ride up and off kerbs without wrecking the tires? What about bunny hopping? Is that going to pummel the bike?

Tangentially related: My first ride with the bike (about 2 hours on off-road) was done without checking tyre pressure or if the new bike's chain was oiled properly. I take it this isn't going to have disastrouse consequences for the bike?

Assuming a decent and well maintained mountain bike it can handle much more abuse than riding up and down curbs or jumping around a bit. Even the most lightweight mountain bikes will not have the slightest problem with that.

However, two things are important: Good maintenance and riding technique! Riding on underinflated tires or a badly serviced suspension fork can easily lead to a flat or a bent rim when hitting hard on an edge. And good riding technique does not only make your riding look smoother but also is softer on your bike since it to some extent avoids the hardest impacts on your bike.

So go on with your riding, don't worry too much about how much your bike can handle, keep your bike well serviced and try to learn some decent riding technique.


Removing Old Freehub Body I saw this.  However, looking at a old 7 speed freehub body, it looks like it takes a special spline wrench (TL-FH10).  It looks very similar to the fixing bolt here.  Or do I need some other wrench to remove it using the notch?  I also did see this.

Do I need this special tool to remove this freehub body or am I totally off?  Is there some other way to remove it without destroying it?

UPDATE: The freehub body does not have notches on it.  I will post a picture of it.

Just a 10mm allen wrench was needed.  Looking at the head for the bolt, it looks special, but its not, so I was deceived.  Probably not a traditional bolt head, as the axle must fit through it.


SCOTT Scale 710 Tires I purchased a SCOTT Scale 710 Plus Bike yesterday.  For some reasons,  I am not going to stick with a plus tire. I plan to replace the current tires to smaller ones (maybe the 27.5x2.35). I do not know if it is possible. Will doing this cause any issue to the bike? Do I need to change the rims, hubs, etc.?
Someone please let me know! Thank you very much indeed!
Alex

Yes it's possible.

No it would not cause any technical issue to the bike. How well it handles can only be determined by experimenting.

However:

The 27.5+ tyre has a similar diameter to a 29 tyre. If you want to maintain the geometry and handling of a bike move to 29.

Either way moving to a 27.5 or 29 will require a new wheel set. The plus rims are too wide for a standard tyre, although it may work it would give the tyre a bad shape. You could reuse the hubs you have which would save you money but that would make the conversion back more difficult. But you'd only have to buy rims. In NZ I'd say about 40%the cost of a wheel set comes from the hubs ($800 for a wheelset, $200 for rims, $100 for spokes, $200 for labour and $300 for hubs). Unfortunately boost hubs and the xd driver will be at the steeper end of the market.

Then you'd need tyres on top of that.

If you'd want to retain interchangeability you'd need a new wheelset, rotors, cassette and tyres. Then you'd have options.

Not sure why you're planning to move away from 27.5+, nothing suggest any benefits of 27.5 over 27.5+.


Could my rim be just a little too small? I have a recurring flat problem in my rear tire.  I can never find the obvious cause and it does not always occur in the same position on the tube.  My rim is a replacement and may be the root cause.  I have noted for some time that putting a repaired tube with outer tire back on the rim is ridiculously easy.  I do not need tire levers; my fingers will do.  Indeed, it practically a finger tip job!

I believe that putting a tire back on my original rim was not so easy; that I really did need a tire lever.  But it is so long ago that I am not sure my memory is accurate and that I am not confusing my front and back tire repairs.

So my question to others is simply whether this is plausible and whether most cyclists can expect a little resistance when they try to replace a tire on its rim.

I don't believe there are any common rim diameters where the next size down would be close enough for the difference between tyre bead diameter and rim diameter not to look wrong. The tyre would blow off the rim with very little pressure.

When finishing mounting a tyre, it's common to pull the already-mounted part of the bead into the middle of the rim where the well is deepest, to give enough slack to easily get the last part of the bead over the lip of the rim.

With narrow rims and single-wall rims, the rim well may be almost flat, leaving very little slack when mounting the bead. A thick rimtape can make this even worse.

If the new rim is a wider dual-wall rim, or you now have a thinner rimtape, you may have more slack even with matching tyre and rim sizes.

Given the recurring punctures, your rimtape is possibly inadequate or missing.


Method to detach a kickstand bracket stuck to bike frame? I installed a third-party kickstand on my bike when I first got it. It's seen lots of riding, rain and now a winter.

I upgraded to a dual-leg kickstand for better balance when loaded down with utility runs. Bit after removing the kickstand bolt, I discovered the kickstand bracket was stuck to the frame.

After a could of gentle whacks I decided to educate myself a bit more before I broke something I'd regret. Any suggestions on how to break the pieces apart as cleanly as possible so I can install the new kickstand?

I only have a basic set of tools and no real workshop (but I do have a work stand). If it's anything advanced I'll head to the LBS and see what they suggest. Thought I'd try my hand at it first.

Why bother being nice to it?  Noone likes those kickstands, they are soon removed from most bikes.  And many cyclists have one or more in their spares boxes!

Please have a good look for a second bolt too - I've never seen one with two bolts, but yours could possibly have a second.

You can also try

blast the whole joint with penetrating oil like CRC or rustblaster or RP7 or similar.
re-threadding the bolt part-way in and then tap on that
shove a scraper or a chisel between stand and frame and lever it
just belt the side of the kickstand with a hammer, use a rubber mallett or a block of wood if you want to avoid damaging the paint.
use the leg as leverage - grab then end and wiggle it both in the closed and open position.

Do let us know how you get on.


Runny nose while biking Now that the weather's cold, my nose gets plugged up after about a mile and inevitably some runs down my throat and I have to pull over and spit. I feel like stopping all the time is probably confusing to the cars behind me and seek a better solution. What's the best (safest?) way to deal with this?

Well, this probably sounds gross and I'm kind of reluctant to say it, but I'm able to blow the snot out of my nose without hitting myself or my bike.  I try to only do it when there's no one around, but occasionally that isn't possible.  Basically, I turn my head so my nostrils are towards the ground and exhale forcibly through my nose.  I'm not sure it will work for everyone--perhaps I have remarkably straight nasal passages?


My bike makes a constant squeak noise I have a Trek Ermonda AL 4 and whenever I pedal forward, I hear a loud and irritating squeaking noise from the middle center of the bike. If I pedal softly I don't hear the noise as much and if I pedal super hard I also dont hear the noise as much. Its just mainly whenever I'm riding at a decent pace. I just replaced the cassette and my derailleur.
Crank
Shimano Tiagra, 50/34 (compact)

Bottom bracket
Press Fit BB86.5

Bicycle drivetrains can make all kinds of squeaking or creaking noises and it's not obvious where exactly the noise is coming from. You have to use a process of elimination to track them down.

Can you replicate the noise with the back wheel off the ground and turning the pedals by hand. If so is the sound coming from the front crank area or the rear derailleur area?

Does the noise continue when you stop pedaling? If not turn your attention to the rear wheel.

My first guess is that your chain is not lubricated properly. Dry chains tend to squeak. Bad rear derailleur indexing, chain rub on front derailleur tend to clatter or rattle. Bottom brackets tend to creak more when applying high torque through the pedals.

Another prime suspect would be the rear derailleur jockey wheels, but you said you just replaced the derailleur.

Check the crank is spinning freely and there is no play in the bearings. This is easier if you open the front derailleur cage and pop the chain off the chainrings.

Also check both the pedals are turning freely and there is no play in the bearings. Try unclipping one foot at a time while riding. If the squeak disappears when you unclip a foot it's that pedal.


Why don't Tour de France riders always ride their TT bikes? When the tour riders are doing time trials, they ride their super aerodynamic, aggressively positioned bikes for maximum efficiency.

However, on normal stages, there are many cyclists who could also benefit from the greater aerodynamic efficiency. Any riders at the front of the peleton or any cyclists on the breakaway would gain a great deal from having their TT bikes.

I can't even think of any downsides, given that with electronic gears they can have duplicate shifter buttons on the aero bars and the bullhorns.

Why don't they use their TT bikes all the time?

There are 2 good reasons for this.

First, a TT bike is the most efficient machine for flat, fast course racing, where there are a minimum of hills. It is not the most efficient machine when it comes to climbing. The body position is far too aggressive for even professional athletes to use in a non-TT style event. A bike with more a more upright body position, a more stable weight distribution, a lighter frame, and far, far lighter wheels, is a more efficient choice for that style of ride.

Secondly, a TT bike sacrifices bike handling for that extreme power and aero efficiency. The TT stages are controlled events, where there are either one rider, or one team on the course at a time, and so limitations on stability and handling are acceptable. Take the same bike in a 150 rider peloton, where riders constantly jockey for position, and where even on a stable bike losing focus for 1 second can cause a major crash, and all of a sudden, those same sacrifices in bike handling and stability are no longer a benefit for the rider or the team. They become a hazard to the team's chances of winning. And not just for the stage or the day, since a bad crash can take a rider out for the season. Or God forbid, permanently.

For these reasons, the UCI has seen fit to ban the bikes in non-TT events, in order to ensure rider safety. And for once, their decision makes sense.


Not sure about using a Co2 Cartridge I have a road bike (Cannondale Synapse Alloy 6). I bought it this past March. In addition, I purchased an inflator. It came with, I presume, a 16g cartridge. I haven't had the need to use this yet. I understand that one of these can put 130lb of pressure in a 27" tire. My tires are designed to hold 105-110lb. I don't want to overinflate my tire. How do I know when I've put 110lb of air in my tire? With my floor pump, this is no problem. I set the pump to 110 and I can't put more in when I reach this amount. I don't want to blow my tire out with one of these cartridges.

Thanks for your help.

These cartridges are intended to inflate a tire in an emergency situation, like during a race, or for example during a ride on the country-side, far away from gas stations ;o)

(or, by the way, just to save your arm muscles from inflating a skinny tire up to a very high pressure)

When they say "up to 130 PSI", I think the manufacturers want the potential customers to be sure that the product actually might achieve 130 PSI if needed. For, say, 700x20 tires (very skinny ones), that would be a very reasonable pressure.

To use the cartridge, it must be attached to an inflator, which allows you to control how much pressure you desire. The key issue is: since there is not a pressure gauge, the only way to know the right point is to know beforehand what the right pressure "feels like" with your current tire, and then trying to replicate that after you fix the tire, for example:

Thumb-checking the tire so that it is "hard enough";
Grabbing the seat or the handlebars and hitting the wheel against the floor so that it is "hard enough";
Riding the bike while looking at the bulge around the ground-contact area, so that it "looks right";
Riding the bike while hitting small irregularities on the ground, so that it "feels right".

(unfortunately the gauge from my floor pump broke, and I am becoming expert on "sensitive" tire inflation methods :o(

As a bottom line, if your tire is designed for 110 PSI max., that doesn't mean (at all!) that it will instantly explode as soon as it reaches anything beyond that pressure, because that is the maximum pressure recommended to BE RIDDEN. If you get, say, 130 PSI with the cartridge, you'll probably feel it is too much, so you can deflate it a bit before riding. In the end, between too hard and too soft, there is a lot of room for personal taste, specially if you just want to go on riding, after a flat.

Just as an example: I had (have?) a lot of friends who ride mountain bikes with knobby tires up to 80 PSI (it's crazy, I know), just because the bike "rides much better on asphalt". So far, no explosion happened (except one with a very low quality tire targeted at 40 PSI max... The girl literally hugged the road, but she was ok...)


Is this a disk brake mount? This is a picture of 2011 scott contessa 60:

Is this some kind of disk brake mount? If yes - what type is it? I've got an avid bb7 (mtn) caliper and it'd be nice to install it here.

No, it is a mount for a kick stand.

See this picture


Bicycle innovations in the pipeline? The (road) bike I bought 25 years ago is very similar to my current bike. (The derailleur on my new bike adjusts exactly the same way). The materials of my current bike are vastly different than the old one. Other than that it's all the same.

What are upcoming bicycle innovations, and if so what?

Considering the comments

Last week cruising through a bike shop, I saw a carbon fiber chain.
Have not seen any sort of radical shifting system lately.

I dunno about upcoming innovations, but I reject the idea that nothing much has changed in the last 25 years.

Bike lights have improved enormously. I started cycling with the big EverReady-style lights that took two enormous D cells and gave only a few hours of rather weak light (that is, if the bulb didn't fail). If you wanted to ride for moderate distances in the dark then you had to use a dynamo that dragged like a 30kph headwind while you were moving and went out as soon as you stopped.

Now my rear LED light lasts all winter on two AAAs, and my high-power front LED is good enough to ride all night on dark country lanes on four AAs. Dynamos have improved too, with hub dynamos and standlights the norm.

GPS has made a big difference to navigation. No more staring at maps in the dark to figure out where on earth you are and why that junction that you should have reached 5km ago has stubbornly failed to show up yet.

Online mapping makes planning bike rides much easier: a route-planning task that used to involve covering your floor with maps and marker pens can be done in a few minutes on your computer. And you can check out the awkward junctions in Google StreetView so you won't get lost.

Mechanically, the advantage of the upright bike is its simplicity, ease of repair, and standard parts. There can be tinkering around the edges: better materials, cheaper parts, slight improvements to ergonomics (like brake-mounted gear levers). There's nothing much that needs doing to improve the machine. What we can improve is the way we ride.


Need advice for my brakes on vintage Torpado I got nice Torpado as birthday present. I am not sure if the brake levers are too big for my hands, or too old. They seem very tight but also not that easy to reach. I am 5.3 tall, the frame is 49cm. I was looking at maybe getting Weinmann Dia-Compe Small Dual Safety brake levers. I have attached some photos of the levers.

Those levers are from the days when road bike levers mostly all came in one reach "category," which is quite a bit longer than ideal for probably a good 50-60% of the adult human population.

You may be able to get it a little better without changing components by adjusting either the angle of the bars (where they're clamped into the stem) and/or the position where the levers are clamped to the bars, which involves messing with the tape. It's normal to have to tweak both before one feels the lever ergonomics are as dialed as possible. That said, they may very well still be too far out.

If by tight you mean the brakes are adjusted now so there's little lever travel before the brake firms up, that's pretty easy to adjust by giving the brake cable some more slack, either by screwing in the barrel adjusters if they're out now or by re-clamping the cables, being careful not to leave any overly crimped spots in the system. That might make the brake feel in use a lot better for you even if it doesn't help the initial reach.

There are at least two different modern brake-only levers that you could get that are designated as "compact," for smaller hands. Tektro makes them and a bunch of companies have versions of them with their name on them, like Cane Creek and Origin8.

Current road bikes usually have integrated brake levers/shifters, which these days all have some way of adjusting reach.


Metal sheet inside bottom bracket on frame: can I remove it? I have an old frame (60's vintage), into which I'm trying to install a modern sealed cartridge bottom bracket.

I've got a bog-standard Shimano BB-UN55 with diameter 68mm, which should fit the frame. Indeed, if you hold the cartridge up against the bottom of the shell on the frame, it's definitely the right size (phew).

However, I can't actually screw in the cartridge to install it. It turns out this is because there is a sort of wrapped around metal sheet inside the shell, which starts about 12mm (1/2"?) in on each side and the Shimano cartridge only gets narrow in the middle about 17mm from each end.

I assume this sheet is just to stop grot falling into the non-sealed bottom bracket from the frame tubes and I can probably pry it out with a screwdriver or similar, but wanted to check: should this be there for some other reason?

Thanks!

Based on your description, its some kind of "cover" that would stop water dripping down the seat tube from sitting on the BB axle.

Seat tubes are notorious for leaking, mostly because the slot at the back of the seat post is an entry point for water, which then weeps downward by gravity and eventually drops through the weld breathing hole between the BB tube and the bottom of the seat tube.

In theory water should continue through and drip out the drain hole at the bottom of the BB, but some bikes don't have that so water collects.

On the other hand some frames have ridiculously oversized cutouts like this which allow a lot of water to spray up off the front wheel:

So your metal shield could be doing the same job for water from the road.  Above picture shows a white waxy plastic liner.

So in theory your modern BB cartridge will have a shield purely because it IS a cartridge already and is much more resistant to moisture.


Which rim tape size fits my bike? I need to replace the rim tape of my back wheel as it's pretty damaged and it's popping my wheels all the time. Finally made sense of the cause and I'm in need of a replacement. However, I'm unsure of the size that I need.

My wheel size is: 37-622 (28 x 1 5/8 x 1 3/8 - 700 x 35C) HS297

Now I also measured the width of the rim tape manually and it's roughly 2cm.

These are some of the amazon results of rim tapes, but I'm not sure which one fits my bike:

https://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=rim+tape

Your help would be highly appreciated.

EDIT:

Pictures of my rim: Rim 1, Rim 2

I’m pretty sure the wheel size you quoted is what’s written on your tires i.e. ISO 622 rim (aka 28”, 700c) with a 37mm wide tire.

You need the internal width between the flanges of your rims to know what size rim tape to get. This is easy to measure with the tire and tube removed.

I.e. 22-622 rim tape is for ISO 622 diameter rims with 22mm internal width.


What can I use for interior helmet padding? My bike helmet needs more padding on the inside.

Any suggestions of what to use?

I"m thinking double sided tape and some sort of neoprene or other cushiony material.

I have used some half-inch thick strips of foam to help raise the helmet

You need to add the foam where there is a void between your scalp and the helmet.   It should not be added where the helmet presses on your head.

Small amount should not mess up how the helmet works.  Its no different to going from a long haircut to a short haircut.

In winter I wear a thin beanie under my helmet.  Some people wear bandannas or cycling caps.

If its a really bad fit you might want to replace it.   Why did you buy it if its a bad fit?   Do not mail-order helmets site-unseen!!!


Scott Aspect 700/900 frames Do I understand correctly that Scott Aspect 700/900 series use the same frame and the difference between the 910 and 960 are in other components?

https://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/product/scott-aspect-910-bike?article=265276008
https://www.scott-sports.com/global/en/product/scott-aspect-960-blue-orange-bike?article=265284009

The pages you linked to both say "700/900 Alloy Frame", and they look identical in geometry and tube sizes, so they are very likely functionally the same.

I notice the higher spec bike has internal cable routing though.

Update: after a closer look at the pictures of the bikes, several small differences can easily be seen, in addition to the internal cable routing.


Ball bearings only on one side, and smashed "ring"? I have been given a bike for free, as the rear wheel was very wobbly.

I'm been learning how to take things apart, and investigated the axle - it's not bent.

The ball bearings, however, were a surprise. There were 9 on one side (the side of gears) and none on the other side. Those 9 balls were kind of loose (I think 10 could fit well), and there was a smashed up steel ring in there.

I'm not sure if that's something "useful" (eg, reduces friction?), or if it's the "dust cover" that got pushed in and smashed thinner. I found it weird that only that side lacked a steel dust cover.

Could you help me understand if this was just a bad maintenance job (the rear wheel is clearly newer than the front one) or if it makes sense to have ball bearings only on one side?

There are supposed to be ball bearings on both sides of the hub. You need to rebuild the bearings replacing at least the non-drive side balls.

Bicycle hubs with loose ball bearings use a ‘cup and cone’ system. The cups and cones have the bearing surfaces and the balls are sandwiched between them. The cups are in the hub, the cones are threaded into the axle.

There are many videos on YouTube that will show you how to disassemble, repair and reassemble a cup and cone hub. RJ The Bike Guy has a good one.

You’ll need to inspect the cup and cone bearing surfaces for wear or pitting. the axle, cones, spacers and balls can all be replaced. Balls come in a couple of different sizes. If you don’t have accurate calipers a local bike shop can help you out.


Is it okay to store bike tires in unheated garage over winter? I have a lot of spare tires for bikes. I can either store them inside my house in the basement or in the garage. I've got a lot more open space in the garage, so that's my preference. However, I live in the northeast U.S. where we get a lot of temperature fluctuation around the freeze point and sometimes temps lower than 0F (which is rare, but happened quite a bit last winter). Is it generally okay to store my spare tires in the garage or should I bring them in the house for the winter?

Very cold and very hot are generally not good. Zinn has written an excellent article on this topic, and notes that Michelin recommends storing in 5C to 35C temperatures.

You should hang the tires, or keep them mounted and inflated. In general you want to avoid UV and ozone (so keep the tire away from a heater, if you put them inside), and store the tires in a cool, dark, well ventilated, dry place.

I'd say just throw the tires in the garage, even though 0 F is below the recommendation of Michelin; I've left bike tires on bicycles outside in the winter at those temperatures, and the tires are fine. Of course, there may be some life cycle reduction, but the risks are tiny overall.


Change from 2 chain rings to single chain ring on a MTB. What size should I take? My current drive train is pretty much used up and needs replacement. I thought with this occasion, I could replace my curret drive train (2 chain rings, 10 speed cassette) with a singe chain ring and 11 speed cassette.

Currently I've got the following parts:

Chainset
Brand: Race Face
Type: Turbine
Sprocket 1: 26 Teeth
Sprocket 2: 36 Teeth

Cassette
Brand: Shimano
Type: Deore XT / CS-M8000
Ration chainring: 11-40 Teeth

I would like to get a single chain ring so I can remove a shifter and also gain more space to the ground. It did happen to me quite a few times that the larger chain ring caught a rock or a tree.

What size of chain ring (teeth) would I need so I'd have about the same transmission as with the current setup (especially regarding climbing)?

Currently the gear ratio of your lowest gear is:

26/40 = 0.65

The Shimano XT cassette with the largest range is 11-46.
To get the same lowest gear with this cassette you would need an chain ring with 46*0.65 = 29.9 teeth

You would need a 11-46 cassette and an chain ring with 30 teeth to get the same lowest gear with an 1x setup.

But your highest gear will be lower.
At the moment the gear ratio of your highest gear is:

36/11 = 3.27

With the setup from above it would be:

30/11 = 2.73

This is approximately the same ration as the second largest gear you have at the moment with

36/13 = 2.77


Hood setup on dirt drops I recently bought my first gravel bike (Breezer Doppler Pro), and I want to upgrade the stock bars with some flared out dirt drops. Hoods are my primary hand position, and I generally find most standard road drops to be useless. I wanted to get something with shorter reach and a shallower, flared drops to see if that helps. I've been looking at the Daija Far Bar. The naked bars look like they would be super comfortable in a lot of hand positions, but whenever I see pictures of them setup, the levers look canted so far outward that it would make for awkward feathering and shifting from the hoods position.

My question is: Is this an inevitable feature of wider flares like the Far Bar or the Salsa Woodchipper? Or is it just the way people set them up? In other words, can I setup the levers with a more nominal hood position and still be able reach them from the drops?

I'm aware that this is somewhat of a matter personal preference, but I can't seem to find a straight forward answer on any of the forums or reviews, and given the current state of things, I can't go into a shop to try different bars on for feel.

The shifter/brake units have to be angled outward on a flared bar, because the part of the bar where the shifters are attached is angled out. This should not affect reaching the levers when your hands are on the hoods though, because your hands will also be rotated along with the shifters. Think of super flared bars as halfway to flat bars.

If you don't like that rotated hand position, but want useful drops, perhaps look at bars with a small flare like the Salsa Cowbell or a very shallow drop.


Damaged cog while taking it off Damaged my cog while taking it off. Is there any possibility of repairing it?

Sprockets are wear parts anyway so just replace. Welding would be relatively expensive and I strongly suspect it would damage the heat treatment state of the steel.


Coaster brake brakes itself My bike has a coaster brake (pedal brake).

I am not sure how it started, but it has just started to brake itself even if I don't do back pedal.

It works weirdly that, it is kind of latching the brake when I use the back pedal. Sometimes it gets fine especially when I do a strong pedal brake. But, it usually brakes itself and the strength of the brake varies, and time-to-time it gets fine itself for a while. It does not have a consistent state.

Does anyone have an idea what might be wrong with it and if it is something that I can fix it?

EDIT: Picture of the brake arm:

Are you sure that the friction comes from the hub, not from tyre rubbing against frame? Axle mounting point looks as it is not tightened properly.

Second thing to check is to assure that hub is not screwed too tight.

I would personally unscrew arm-side of the hub and check the clutch and its "spring" condition. It's easy, no special tools required. Check the very first minute of this video.


Remove fully enclosed bottom bracket I am in the process of replacing my worn out bottom bracket. After removing the crankset I see that there are no insets on the bottom bracket for my bottom bracket removal tool to latch on to:

According to the bike manufacturer the bottom bracket is fully enclosed as seen in the picture. I have tried prying the black cap off with a screwdriver but it wont come off. Applying more force with the screwdriver seems to damage the frame and cap as seen in the picture below. The cap seems to be made of some hard rubber type material.

How do i remove this type of bottom bracket?

I contacted the manufacturer and they said to  use a hammer from the drive side which worked perfectly.


Looking for an old fashioned bicycle with coaster brakes & hand brakes for a woman I am looking for an old fashioned style bicycle. I had a bad accident on a new bicycle and I feel safer with with an old-style bike. I've never crashed before and I've been riding bicycles for over 40 years.

They are still made! Try a search for "bicycle coaster brake." You can narrow it to a "woman's" frame by adding "mixte" or "step through" or "woman's" to the key words. If you want gears add "3-speed" or "internally geared." Those searches will get you quite a range of bikes – from retro beach cruisers to very modern urban bikes.

Once you find some that appeal to you, post some links. There are plenty of folks here who can help you evaluate the differences between them.


Can tubes be used in tubeless rims as well as tires? I've gotten a bike with very nice tubeless wheels, however I have little experience with fixing or replacing tubeless tires/wheels. I would much prefer to be able to put a regular mountain bike tube in the tire and rim without problems or much hassle.
Is this possible?

Yes - take off the tire and the tubeless valve, clean up the rim, put on some new rim tape and then install a tube + tire.

If you're running tubeless and you have a failure, you can always just pop a tube in and continue your ride. And tubeless has its advantages (lower pressures since you can avoid pinch flats), so you may want to embrace it.


What is the origin country of the bicycle brand called Longhorn? I recently brought a hybrid bicycle from a brand called Longhorn. I have never heard about it. However the quality is quite good. So I am quite curious to know from which country the brand originates and if it has been established for a long time or if it is a newer brand. I brought the bike from India.

You can find and answer in this article:
https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/features/indian-bicycle-industry-losing-sheen-336950

In fact, a couple of firms here have started manufacturing bicycles abroad. Suneet Syal from Vinsun Enterprises said they were manufacturing bicycles by the name of Longhorn and Chase in China and importing these here*.

*India


Risk of flat tire in bicycle I am planning for a Ultra distance (~230 km) cycling. I don't own a good bicycle for that and when I was checking rental bicycles (Road bike & cross bike) one of the shopkeeper suggested me to take cross bike saying that rate of the risk flat tire of Road bike is more than of Cross bike because of the thin tire. I didn't understand the logic. Could anyone explain the logic behind this?

Excluding tires so old and worn they obviously need replacement, there are two main root causes of punctures in well maintained bicycles.

Low Pressure causing 'snake bite' punctures. When the pressure is too low, and you hit a bump, the tire can pinch the tube against the rim and cause a puncture. Small tires have to run at higher pressure to stop this happening and have lower volume. All tires leak air slowly - so the combination of low volume and higher pressure means they  need to be pumped up more often than larger tires - in some cases weekly.
Additionally a slow leak that may go unnoticed for longer in a larger tire will become catastrophic to a low volume tire much quicker.

Punctures where an object penetrates the tire is what most people think of. While small tires have a smaller area to hit such an object, they run higher pressure and are therefore harder - which generates more force to push the object into the tire. Generally a larger tire spreads the loads over a larger area, so less likely to push an object into the tire. Another aspect is something sharp like glass may cut a tire and the higher pressure of the smaller tire will push the tube though the cut.

The differences are small, and it depends as much on tire and wheel choice as size, but all else being equal, experience shows that most cyclists puncture less on larger tires.

As far as punctures go, you need to be able to deal with them on a long ride regardless of the bike you are riding. If the road surface is good quality and generally swept clean, then a road bike is more suited and practically no more likely to puncture than a cross bike. If the road potholed and rough, with lots of stones and litter then larger tires are better choice. Larger tires also offer a more comfortable ride and for this reason may be more suited for you. The rolling and aerodynamic efficiencies of narrow tires may make a difference to a pro rider trying to break away from the peloton, but you may find the few seconds per hour difference in speed less enticing at the end of 200+km or riding.

Also I suggest you take the bike out for a decent ride before the event. 230km on a bike you have ridden no further than around a car park is a big risk.


What do you bring in your winter pack? I have two winter packs on for if I will be away from pay phones and taxis and another for when I will be close to home and telephones:

Close to home pack

money for calling a cab
lights in case it gets dark
extra tube and pump (although I am considering removing this)

Far from home pack

Close to home pack plus:

Pannier to carry extra gear
Extra clothing including:

Extra gloves
Warmer/cooler pair of long underwear
Extra sweater

Thermos full of hot/warm water
Piece of fruit and an energy bar
Tool kit (Although maybe it is too cold to use these outside)

tube and pump
zip ties
chain tool
small vice grips
allen keys

What else do you carry in your winter pack?

Wet gear.

Granted I'm cycling to work and live in Ireland where we seem to have several rain gods.

It's the top item in my pannier.  Share some of your other items but not quite as organised: maybe I should take note.


Broke the lid cover of my Shimano Deore combi hydraulic brake reservoir. Repair options? Crashed.
I thought I escaped unscathed but turns out I broke the plastic lid and from a vintage bike there's no one selling the entire combi levers or just the lid itself. (in shops locally, I saw on ebay but with shipping, it aint worth the cost)
It's on a 3x9 speed XC bike with XT parts ..

friends are egging me on for a 10 spd upgrade but I am not ready to shell out more cash on a 2 week old (2nd hand bike)

what do you guys think I should do?

fyi my combi levers look like this
http://www.ebay.com/itm/VINTAGE-SHIMANO-DEORE-XT-9x3-BICYCLE-SHIFTERS-HYDRAULIC-BRAKE-LEVERS-M765-/151247697679

If you have only broken the upper part, which I have marked A on the exploded view diagram, then I don't think that serves a functional purpose other than making the brake levers look nicer. Therefore, you should be able to continue to use the levers so long as part B is in place, but without the added thickness of part A, the screws (part C) may be too long to fit in the threaded holes in the lever body. Shimano lists these as being 'M3 x 8', and they appear to be Phillips pan-head machine screws. You'd want to buy some M3 x 6mm machine screws to replace them and be sure of not bottoming out the screws.

Alternatively, Shimano make available the entire reservoir cover assembly, (26) on the diagram, under the part numbers Y-6JK 98080 for the right-hand assembly and Y-6JK 98090 for the left hand assembly. You may be able to find an online stockist of these spares, or possibly ask your LBS to order them from Shimano. However, as M760 series Deore XT is relatively old, it is unlikely that any spares will be available direct, and you'll have to hope that shops have the parts already in stock.

The full exploded view diagram is available at https://www.paul-lange.de/support/shimano/explosionszeichnungen_archiv/ST//ST-M765.PDF


Suitable Shimano integrated shifter/brake replacement for old STX I am looking for a replacement of an old Shimano STX right shifter, from a Raleigh MT-200 (I am pretty sure this is accurate).
It is an integrated shifter, 7 gears, cantilever brakes.

Other than getting a vintage part, which is hard, I found Shimano ST EF-51 may be ok. But I am not sure if they are ok for cantilever or V-brake. Any hints?

  Are there any other options out there?*

As linked here, 8 speed shifters seem to work ok.

  Would 9 speed shifters also work?
  Where can I check specs to confirm this (I would have to check the pull length, probably a piece of information hard to find)?

EDIT: Found an answer here for the first question.

EDIT 2: This and this are posts of mine on different issues of this same replacement need.

EDIT 3: Any suggestion about this Vintage Shimano Altus 3/7 in ebay (ending today)? Is there anything specific that I should ask to evaluate its usefulness?

PS: Interesting post, with many pictures on page 4, e.g., this.

The ST EF-51's have a little switch in the back of them to switch between V-brake and cantilever. I found them too low quality to use reliably though.

You have several options:

Go to 8 speed or more and pick up some Alivio shifters. This is what I did on a 7 speed bike, and this is what I'd recommend.
Microshift makes some 7 speed shifters that are shimano compatible. Buy your brake levers separately. If you're not going to go 8+ speed and want indexed shifting, I'd probably try this (even though I haven't seen these used, the ST EF-51's lasted so short for me that I'd be willing to try this instead).
Friction shifters always work. Add your favorite cantilever brake levers.
SRAM Attack! 7 speed (twist) shifters work with Shimano and aren't too hard to find. Add your own brake levers.
Find a better grade Shimano 7 speed shifter (somebody might have old stock in a decent bike shop). Some may have V-brake only (see 6) or cantilever or bring your own brake lever.
V-brake levers can work with cantilever brakes with the aide of a travel agent (a pulley to change the cable pull). Alternatively, you can replace the corresponding cantilever brake with a V-brake. I'd buy a V-brake rather than the travel agent (it's cheaper and easier, e.g. Avid Single Digit 5 or 7).


Is anyone aware of specific problems with Vanmoof cranks/bottom brackets? I have a 2013 Vanmoof 5.1. I had it serviced recently by Vanmoof in Amsterdam and when I got it back, it was riding wonderfully—everything felt smooth and "free", like every little bit of power I was putting into the pedals was getting to the road.

Two weeks later and it's kind of back to where it was before the service. There is a little creaking/ticking sound coming from the cranks every turn and it feels a little like I'm riding through treacle.

Is anyone aware of a specific problem with Vanmoof bottom brackets, or could you suggest what it might be?

I've got the same problem on (what I believe is) a 2013 3.1. I was going to try replacing/upgrading the bottom bracket myself soon, hoping to smooth out the ride.

Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find the size online so I'll need to take it out and inspect before I can order a replacement, hopefully this goes smoothly.

Either way, I'll update with my results when I have them.

Update: Replaced with Suntour 68x118mm Square tapered BB from local (Arlington, MA) bike shop and removed chainguard (personal preference).  Awful sound is gone... For now.

Your mileage may vary. Good luck!


Do I really need to pamper myself with a stand? I went through three phases. First I adjusted my child's (I was 9-13?) bike, always fantasizing about a hook-and-cable to the ceiling that I can attach to the metal loop behind the elongated (and lavish) seat. Instead I flipped the bike upside down.

Then in my mountain and hybrid biking days I invested in bike tools. Avoiding to change the ball bearings in hubs/cranks when they were due was more a result of laziness, but delaying the tune-up of derailleurs to perfection was, I imagined, less a result of laziness than lack of a stand.

I'm now entering the road bike phase. On one hand I see that the bike is quite steady when it's upside-down. If I ever dare attempt truing a wheel myself, a stand, even a very solid one, will be wobbly compared to turning the bike upside-down. On the other every bike seems to have a top-access-to-bolts-and-screws design. And hence tuning brakes and derailleurs is inherently easier with the bike on a stand.

I appreciate that an upside-down bike is better than one on a wobbly stand, but assuming it's either a solid stand or none at all, I'm wondering:

Is a bike stand really necessary for pleasant/patient regular maintenance of one's bike?

(Update: And does there really exist such a thing as a "solid stand"? In various repair videos taken in serious bike shops I see that the bike moves way too much with even mild work being done on a screw here or there. It's as if a truly solid hold must grab the frame in three, or possibly two, places.)

Almost all jobs are easier in a repair stand. It also a lot harder to knock over the bike in a repair stand, which is otherwise quite easy to when reaching for tools with the bike upside down on the floor.

Here's a few things that are much easier in a stand

headset service
replacing brake and gear cables/bleeding brakes
front mech adjustment
rear derailleur adjustment
brake pad replacement

The only one out of this list that is actually quite tricky is headset adjustment, especially if you have a headset with loose ball bearings; although many quality bikes nowadays come with cartridge bearings. Most of the these jobs should be fairly infrequent too. Once initially set up, your derailleur should only need tiny adjustments using the barrel adjuster to account for cable stretch.

It really comes down to how many times you needs to service your bike. I would normally be commuting to work by bicycle covering approx 100km per week. I therefore need to service my bike each month, sometimes more if the weather is particularly horrible.


Trek 26" mtb disc, how to change up crank set /gear size? What should I consider with regard to the front gear (derailleur) selector unit when changing up from a 42 to a 48 tooth crankset? I have changed a few similar cranksets but not done a gear ratio lift. A previous attempt (grip shifts) resulted in only one of the 3 crankwheels usable. Thanks.

There are several things to consider. As @Batman has suggested you may have a clearance issue between the 48 tooth gear and the chain stay. The chainstay is the part of the frame that extends from the bottom bracket to the rear drop out. Because it tends to widen as it gets closer to the rear axle it may hit the largest ring gear. You may also have an issue with the bottom bracket axle length. Different offsets may move the new crank in or out. Offset is the distance from the inner face of the smallest ring gear to the point the axle enter the crank arm. This may be mitigated by staying with the same brand but not guaranteed. You may also be beyond the tooth capacity of the rear derailleur. This is calculated by adding the tooth difference of the cassette and the tooth difference of the crank. A 12-32 cassette would have a difference of 20, a 22-32-42 crank has a difference of 20. The derailleur must have a 40 tooth capacity. The front derailleur must be compatable with a 48 tooth gear. If all this seems like a lot your chain may be to short when you are done.


What is the usual pattern of use of a velodrome (cycling track)? In the first place, if the title is not properly describing my question, please edit it.

The fact is: the bike advocacy groups of my city are slowly getting some attention from City Hall, and bicycle culture is slowly growing, with some cycle paths and education campaigns. The growing of bikers, in the other hand, is much faster, and there are a lot of people prone to advocacy and putting pressure on the politicians.

We are beginning to think about asking to build a public velodrome (track), nothing fancy, but something that would allow regular folks, respecting some rules of course, to train in a controlled environment instead of in traffic.

The problem is (and now come the questions):

How can city hall perceive any positive effects of having a velodrome, so as to justify investment? Should we mention racing events, and such?
Normally, the cities which have velodromes allow non-track bikes to train there? What are the common restrictions for use of a public velodrome?
What should we care about, in terms of size, surface type and other norms, in order not to end up building a track that could not be used in official events?

Thanks very much for reading and for any advice!

Velodromes are not a suitable cycling venue for members of the general public. They require specialized equipment (e.g., higher bottom brackets to avoid pedal strikes), training (e.g., no moving up/down track without ensuring you have room, maintaining enough speed in corners), and discipline.

Expecting untrained riders and/or unsupervised novices to ride on the track is practically begging for crashes, injuries, and lawsuits.

As an example of restrictions on use of public velodromes, the Dick Lane Velodrome in East Point, Georgia was built as a public venue. Control over operations was granted to a 501(c)3 nonprofit, the East Point Velodrome Association. It is operated as a sporting venue. Members of the public are allowed to ride on the velodrome during unscheduled hours provided they have signed a release waiver, are accompanied by at least one other person, and have completed a weekend-long training course. Track bicycles are required, with the single exception of pursuit-style events, where riders may (but for all intents and purposes never do) ride a standard road bicycle.

Cheaper and more appropriate for your purposes would be to petition the city to build a circuit. Essentially, just a mile-or-so long, limited-access, paved bicycle path that loops back onto itself. No banking necessary, and bike paths are cheap and fast to build. You're not constrained to a flat oval, and turns need not be sharp enough to require banking for fast riders.


Bearing failure and wheel offset on Chicco Red Bullet Our 4yo is not yet fully comfortable on her next bike, so she's been riding her Chicco Red Bullet to school - until the bearing packed up on her back wheel today (has she been doing stunts or what?). I'm really impressed it's the bearing that gave and none of the plastic parts, because the bearing might actually be the easiest to repair. We might just try and turn this into an opportunity to encourage her to switch to the new bike for good, but let's get to the actual questions:

Can I use this 7-ball bearing as replacement for the damaged 6-ball bearing? The caliper gauge is in a cupboard in the girls' bedroom, so I can't get to it before tomorrow night now, but I took some rough dims:

Outside diameter (=internal diameter of socket in grey plastic plate) 20 mm
Cone rolling surface diameter range 11 to 14 mm
Bearing width 5 to 6 mm - but I doubt this matters as there is plenty of room for adjustment.
nuts are 13 mm (must be m8 axle then)
So the dims generally match and the difference seems to be only in the number of balls. Is there a reason why the bearing in the link would not be a suitable replacement?

Is there an issue related to the bearing failure that's causing the wheel to be offset?

Please see the photos below, clearly it's not all in the best of conditions, but I guess I didn't appreciate even balance bikes need proper care.

The damaged bearing is on the rider's RHS (highlighted in the photo). I can't remember if it's always been the case that the wheel is off-centre and there is a lot of axle visible on rider's RHS side but none on rider's LHS. I doubt the cones could "travel" gradually (one tightens, the other loosens) in usage without a substantial change to how tight the bearing is. And I can't imagine the bearing failed because it was overtightened: if it was overtightened, I would expect the plastic "plate" to crack. I think the bearing failed due to rider weight (would it be called radial load?). NB I loosened the cap/end nuts before taking this photo but not any of the remaining nuts.

Overview of wheel construction

Overview of bearing construction:

Damaged bearing cage (by the way, it's interesting it's called a cage - my impression is that a much more appropriate name would be bearing crown or nest - these are the terms I googled first). I also find it strange how the six "wings" on the damaged side have different shapes and I wonder how much that has to do with the load (they all look even and equal on the good side).

I know it's a lot of photos but I don't want to put a new bearing on, only to find that a stronger new bearing causes the failure of a part which is harder to replace!

Ok, answers are not exactly flooding in, but I can see why my OP might not be the most interesting. However, I will record briefly what I've done in case anyone does face this situation in the future.

Research: I researched the subject of bearing replacements a bit. I failed to find a proper single thorough article dealing with all the considerations, but I got the impression caged bearings must be avoided, so I went for replacing with a loose ball bearing.
Buying: I measured the balls with a caliper gauge and confirmed they were 5 mm. I bought 20 on eBay for £2, and a 20g tube of lithium grease for another £2. I'd love to support an LBS but every penny counts at the moment and I don't even have time to go into one.
Work: I built a loose ball bearing, the process was very much like in the many YouTube videos. I used the surviving caged bearing first, and reassembled the wheel so that the axle stopped the balls falling in. The process was messy: the plastic plate disc doesn't have a trough-shaped race to hold the balls, so they bundled together around the axle instead of forming a circle around the perimeter of the recess. It didn't help I was distracted with my 2 and 4 yo helpers. For example, I did a dry assembly before using any grease to see how many balls I need. I failed to write the number down. With grease, I found the number that seemed right would not allow the cone to go all the way in , so I had to take one ball out, and the remaining gap seemed big. But everything seemed to fit together well, there is no play and the wheel seems to spin ok. I really don't know how tight the cones are supposed to be, I would say they are just a touch more than "finger tight" as I was conscious about snapping the main plastic disc, but it all seems to work, and I have been checking regularly since. Finally, I also greased the other wheel.

Conclusions for the two questions in my OP

I wish I had ignored the superiority of loose ball bearings and gone for a caged bearing. Everything would have been quicker and the size I needed was available on eBay as a pair with a 5 g tub of lithium grease for £2, and it would probably have been fine for a balance bike. I wish I had kept track of which plate and cone went with the surviving caged bearing. And although it was reasonably clear which way the caged bearing needs to face, I did find it reassuring that the other wheel had it facing the way I expected: .
The space between the screws and the frame in my OP was because the nut had worked itself loose, there are no visible parts of the axle after I put it all back together.


How can I assess my torque wrench? I have owned a dynamometric wrench for two years now, and I got it second-hand in the first place. I fear that relying on its indication could be even less accurate than tightening by intuition. For example, I know that oscilloscopes need to be tuned once per year.

How can I measure the accuracy and precision of my wrench? I have a tape measure and a low-end electronic scale (rated 45kg+-10g, but I have noticed deviations as much as 50g between measurements of 2kg parts), plus a wide range of inserts for the wrench. This is a 20Nm-100Nm piece of equipment.

How about this:

attach an extension that can be clamped in a vise such that the handle of the torque wrench is horizontal, and its own weight is applying torque that attempts to rotate the extension around its axis
using some wire or string, attach an empty 1 liter plastic bottle to the handle of the torque wrench
adjust the setting of the wrench such that it's own weight (+ the empty bottle) is just enough to cause it to "click"
increase the setting by an amount such as 3Nm (on a wrench that is 30 cm long, this would correspond to a weight of 9N which is slightly under 1kg)
add water to the bottle until the wrench clicks again
measure the mass of the water added and compare to the expected amount based on the torque setting increase and the length of the handle of the wrench

The only missing part is that we don't know if the initial setting (corresponding to the torque of the wrench's own weight) is accurate.  You could find the center of the mass and measure its distance from the point where sockets are attached to the wrench, then calculate the torque from the weight and distance.


Should one buy a used Brooks saddle that is already broken in? I understand that Brooks saddles (and similar leather hammock/sling style saddles) break in as they are used so that they conform to the particular shape of a riders sit bones, crotch, etc., and that, famously, these saddles can become more comfortable over time. This answer was particularly helpful in explaining this process and explaining that it's important to understand that the size and design of the saddle must fit right in the first place.

Given this process of break-in, is it wise to buy a used leather hammock/sling style saddle? Is it:

A bad idea because it is already broken-in in a way that means it is irreparably shapes for the previous owners body?
A good idea because the leather is more supple and more easily bent and shaped to the new riders body?
An equally good idea because the leather will simply reshape over time?

I've purchased a couple of used leather saddles. The ones that were barely used or just broken in were fine, but there was one well-used one that was the exception. Its sit bone area was visibly lower on one side than the other, enough that it was the likely cause of an SI joint dysfunction for me.

I'd say if it looks relatively new and close to the original shape, you're probably fine. If it looks worn or stretched and especially if it looks uneven, it might be best to pass.


Is there an inherent problem with expanding chainring drives such as Veridrive and WaveTrans? The Veridrive is just the latest iteration of the idea of using an expanding or contracting chainring rather than a derailleur for shifting:

There also WaveTrans:

We've seen this design tried before (Linley & Biggs' Protean Gear in 1896). What are the problems with these types of systems that make their mass implementation doubtful? On the surface, they seem simpler than epicyclical (planetary) gear systems such as internal geared hubs and cranks.

Yes, there are problems.

Not only do the mechanisms have to be complex, as you can see in the videos, but they have to be very strong, too. The moving parts of the chainring drive has to withstand the total force the rider is delivering, because the input to the pedals will try to drive the expanding elements inwards. Complicated precision mechanisms, high strength, and low weight is a combination that is rarely found together for reasonable prices.

Compare that to a derailleur system. In a derailleur based drivetrain, the derailleur doesn't see any significant loads. All it really has to do is to move the chain from side to side. That's about it. It can be a little tricky when you are shifting under load, but pins and ramps on chainrings and cogs can do the job to ease the load on the derailleur.

In the expanding chainrings, that has to bear the brunt of the entire rider's power output.

Ever had a brake cable slip through the binding bolt while braking? That was only with hand power. Imagine standing on the brake lever, imagine how much of a hassle it would be to make that connection rigid enough. Furthermore, imagine trying to shift under load when you have to overcome the force you're putting to the pedals.

You still need a chain tensioner on the drivetrain too with these systems so there really isn't any benefit apart from novelty.


Help me understand my Hub Gear bicycle I recently acquired a second-hand Hub gear hybrid bike. It only has 3 gears.  I know little about bike mechanics but would like to try and understand more.

When I cycle the gear shifts between gears but I feel no difference whatsoever in the changes. I did notice when I go downhill it's almost effortless to pedal, as if in 1st gear and when I am going up the hill the same gear will make it really hard to pedal, as if in very high gear. I don't really understand why it would "change" without me actually shifting anything.

I appreciate there's physics involved but this isn't it. I'm sorry if this sounds really basic but it must be something to do with my bike mechanics so if anyone has any answers for me that'd be amazing.

In order to understand how your gears work, it's probably useful to do a little experimenting own your own.  Since you have a hub gear, switching between gears is very easy. Just move the lever while not pedalling. This is a lot simpler than a derailleur bike which requires you to pedal and takes time for the chain to move between gears.

It will probably be easiest to assess how your gears work if you just stick to a flat surface or a quiet road with a slight incline.

Put the bike in first gear and pedal for a known distance, such as between two sign posts.  Count the number of pedal revolutions required to get between the two points without any coasting. Now try the same in gear 2 and again in gear 3.

Gear 1 should take more pedal revolutions than gear 2 to go the same distance, and similarly gear 2 should take more than gear 3 to go the same distance.

If you don't find the above to be the case, then you should take your bike back to the store you bought it to ensure the gears are indeed working properly.

Gear 1 is the easiest gear and should be used when going up hills. Gear 2 is usually for flat roads, and gear 3 is for if you want to pedal going down hills. As you become a stronger rider you may want to use 3 for flat roads  an may find that 2 is easy enough for some gentle hills.  If you are new to riding, hills will often seem very hard no matter what gear the bike is in. But the more you ride, the easier the hills will be.

Physics does play a huge role is how easy or how hard it is to propel a bike.  Assuming you have relatively smooth tires, even a slight downhill can indeed make pedalling extremely effortless, and almost pointless as the bike will often roll faster than you can spin your feet anyway.  A flat asphalt road can be travelled at 20 km/h at almost the same effort as walking.  An uphill section that doesn't seem much trouble to walk can actually create quite a bit of resistance.  A 5% grade road probably wouldn't trouble most reasonably fit people to walk up, and most car drivers wouldn't even recognize as a hill at all would actually be reasonably difficult for a new cyclist.


What type of pedals are these? My brother bought a second hand bike. He’s now looking to buy shoes. But we are uncertain what type of cleats he needs.
Is there some sort of guide on how to identify the pedals?

They are road pedals made by XLC parts.
https://www.xlc-parts.com/en/road/bike-parts/pedals/

At XLC you can choose between clip-in pedals based on the SPS or Look system.

You should be able work out which system that pedal is using from the part number and get the appropriate set of cleats.
Probably either Look Delta or Look Keo.


Full carbon fiber 29er suspension mountain bike from AliBaba Does anybody have any experience with this bike?

Full carbon fiber 29er suspension mountain bike with Deore XT 30 speed groupset

I'm looking to buy my first expensive mountain bike and trying to decide between this and the Giant Trance sx 27.5. Also, on the bike above, can someone tell me what the rear suspension travel is? Is it possible that it is just 37.5 mm?!

  DT Swiss M212 Rear Shocks - Eye to eye:165m/m, Travel:37.5m/m, Alloy,
  Black anodized, Air, Elastomer negativ spring, Oil damping, Rebound,
  Lockout

I ride on Arabian mountains.. don't do a lot of jumps, but need to climb and descend very rough, dry and rocky rocky sections. Can somebody have a look at the specs and tell me if it is a good bike?

Thank you so much for your help!

Ask yourself this- would you buy a car off of Alibaba to save a few bucks, or would you fork over a little more money and buy a Honda/Toyota/whatever?

Buy the name brand bike. If your Alibaba bike's headtube snaps off on a gnarly high speed descent, who's going to do something about it? Not Alibaba, and good luck getting the manufacturer from god knows where to do anything about the catastrophic failure of their no-name bike.

Buying the bike pictured is a total gamble, not just in terms of your money, but in terms of your safety as well. Play it safe, pay a little more, and stick with the Giant- they've got a great reputation, they make great bikes, and they back them up.

Alibaba is for widgets. A bike is not a widget.


What's a good way of cooling down my legs after a long ride? Are pain-relief sprays a good idea? Usually, after doing some legs intensive exercise (150 burpees, 2 hours of football) my legs burn and I have problems to fall sleep, and to keep asleep. I'm planning a small bike touring trip, that should last around 7-10 days, covering over 100kms each day. I'm worried that I'll have the same problem every day.

What's a good way of cooling down my muscles? Is using pain-relief sprays a bad idea, because they conceal my muscles' complains? I'm talking about those cooling sprays, I don't know the name in English.

I'm looking for things that I can carry with me on the bike. I also understand that this burning feeling might be a sign that I've overloaded my legs, and that I shouldn't do that for several days.

What I usually do to relieve fatigue on legs after long and/or intense cycling is the following:

at the end of the shower use the shower faucet directly on both your legs for at least 30 seconds with warm-hot water. Then turn the water to cold and again keep the flow for about 30 seconds. (if you are brave enough and you do not suffer form heart diseases you can do the same on your entire body).

The abrupt change in temperature will help your muscle squeeze out of the cells lactic acid and all the other methabolic residuals.

Alternatively, you can soak in a warm bath for some minutes: I did it during my trip in Japan (cycled up to 120 km/day on hilly roads), and the onsen at the end of the day was really a leisure.


Are velocity A23 rims suitable for building a wheelset for a 29er Mountain bike? I'm was looking to build a new wheelset that I can use on my rigid Karate Monkey 29er using either cyclocross or Trekking tires for gravel / dirt road riding and 29er tires for singletrack (mostly cross country riding). I need a rim I can use with either disc or v-brakes, depending on my setup at the time. My weight tends to be around 190lbs. I also tend to be really hard on my wheels and have bent rims on my 29er before.  I'm not really concerned about tubeless compatibility.

I planned to use this rim, the velocity A23, since it seems to be recommended for cyclocross on velocity's website. It seems to meet all the specs superfically. I can use it with rim brakes, it's relatively light, and it's 23mm wide, which should be good for wider 29er tires while still being suitable for 32mm+ cyclocross tires.  It comes with the appropriate amount of drillings for 32 spoke mountain bike hubs. It also doesn't seem that it would be too weak for disc brakes since velocity themselves offers them in a build as a road disc wheelset.

Would the velocity A23 rim be suitable for this wheelset build? Are there any factors besides tire compatibility, spoke hole count matching the hubs, and brake compatibility I need to be concerned about?

I've briefly ridden A23's on a road bike, and while I think they'd be OK for cyclocross I did find them a bit flexy (I am ~220lbs).  I've spent significant time on the delgado cross rims, and I found the A23's noticeably less stiff.  I think you'd want something a bit beefier for singletrack riding, especially if you are hard on wheels.

In your situation I'd probably want more of a mountain bike rim that's skinny enough for the cross tires  than a road rim that might be strong enough to stand up to mountain biking, but imagine the lack of good mountain bike options with v-brake compatibility does make the road rims more attractive (along with their light weight).  Guess this all depends on your weight and trails you ride though - I'm a pretty heavy guy and ride in eastern PA where we have a lot of rocks/roots.  A lot of people seem to like the mavic open pros as a 29er rim and they don't look much beefier than the A23's - I always assumed these folks weighed 120 lbs and were riding really smooth singletrack but I guess I could be wrong.

If sticking with Velocity, maybe the Dyad would be more up your alley?  They look a bit like A23's on steroids.


Larger tires on a road bike I am curious if anyone has put larger tires (mountainish) on their road bike.  I am thinking about doing this to do some riding on gravel roads/touring/commuting from rural areas.  I have an older steel Norco.  How rough can I ride this with bigger tires without damaging the bike?  (Purely just for curiosity.  I am not planning on doing any drops etc but if I drop off a curb now and then does that matter?)

Well, it depends a lot on the specific model of bike, and likely even on the exact frame size.  You can probably eyeball it to get a good idea.  Remember that larger tires are both wider and stick out more from the wheel.  On a road bike, odds are high that you can put a slightly larger (say, go from 25mm to 30mm) tire but not a hugely larger tire.  If you want to make a big jump you probably also want to get wheels with a wider rim. Note that for off-road tires, the knobs aren't usually counted in the mm size but definitely do affect whether or not the tires fit on your bike.

Look for:

Front and rear: Brake clearance — can a larger tire fit in the brakes? If this is the only issue, you can get different brakes
Rear: Stay width — will a wider tire rub on any of the stays (rear)?
Rear: Stay bridge clearance* — will a larger tire hit the bridge between seat stays or chain stays?
Rear: Seat tube clearance — many bikes have a geometry where too large of a wheel/tire will hit the seat tube above the cranks
Front: Fork clearance — how much room is there under the fork crown? (height and width)
Front: Down tube clearance — how much extra room before the front tire hits the downtube?


Carbon Wheel Heat Bending After riding about 800m downhill, I got this:

BTW, this is TriAce Wheelset for Dahon Mu Ex 2014. Do you think this is safe to ride? Can I repair this?

To answer your questions

No, they are not safe to ride due to risk of the tube blowing out or the tire rolling off the rim.
No, I do not think they are repairable (at home). If they were repaired I would not trust them again.

I believe that this item is not fit for the purpose of a bicycle wheel.

It should be returned to the place of purchase on those grounds and a replacement or refund sought.


Can a rusty chain be saved? I picked a girl's mountain bike out of a dumpster . It looks very excellent except for a chain that is so rusted that each link needs to worked free.

Name is Techno Lite , 26" wheels, 15 speed Shimano, center pull brakes Lee Chi.

I know it is not the caliber of bike that most posters here have, but I have a 11 year old granddaughter that could ride it ; a "starter" bicycle to see if it is something she would be interested in. My guess is some one rode on a salt water beach then put it in a garage for years without rinsing it; the chain was essentially solid.

Question: Should I oil the chain and work it free or buy a new chain ?

If the chain isn't worn (which it probably is not, kids bikes don't get high mileage) it might be worth trying to save, but you may end up spending more compared to getting a new one.

Penetrating oil, a wire brush and a lot of effort may free it up enough and get it reasonably clean.

Removing the rust chemically is problematic. Something strong enough to work with the chain in place may damage paint or plastics. There are safe products such as Vapo-Rust but the chain would need to be removed and soaked for an extended period of time. Also, new chains for 10 or 15 speed bikes are inexpensive. Instead of buying chemicals, just buy a chain.


How to improve the degreasing process? My Situation :
I degrease my drive train occasionally and absolutely hate the job. I also maintain my dad's bike, so this whole degreasing thing is really getting on my nerves now.
I use solvents such as paint thinners, petrol etc rather than what is typically marketed as 'bicycle degreaser', considering that to be weaker product for much more money.
[Typically in my region, especially marketed degreaser costs about 27x more than petrol by volume (if lucky), not to mention being generally less effective as far as chemistry is concerned]
Also, I use toothbrushes instead of a chain cleaner tool, but am realising that those devices are a good and reasonable investment if I am to do this regularly.
Not to mention I get pretty OCD about clean drivetrains but can't take the bike apart, because I have neither the tools, nor the time nor the patience to assemble and disassemble the drivetrain.

The Problem(s) :
Despite being excellent solvents, they aren't appearing to great cleaners.
If I intended to submerge my cassette and chain in them, sure they'd be perfect. But I intend to apply, brush and rinse.
For this task , these are quite the pain in the arse, requiring lots of re-application due to having vaporised quickly while I got up to stretch my back or sip some water; requiring more scrubbing to no end; and with petrol , being quite difficult to rinse off.
In the end , I get a decently cleaned but not sparkling chain and cassette , a through 2 hour back-straining workout and absolutely no desire to go clean my dad's bike .
Sure, the evaporation and chain-scrubbing issues can be fixed simply by using a chain cleaner tool. The rinsing problem can be used by boycotting petrol and sticking to thinner.
But of course, the cleaning of the cassette remains unsolved - it still takes way more brushing and odd angles than tolerable.

The Fantasy :
Now, a couple days back I saw a YouTube ad for WD40's bike degreaser. I understand ads are hyperbole and inaccurate. I also understand that regularly buying specially marked bike degreaser is outside the bounds of my budget.
BUT , the ad showed the dream degreaser. All you had to do was backpedal the suspended bike a few turns while spraying degreaser from the can to the cassette. The shit would foam up like luxurious soap. You waited for a while. You rinsed it off with a garden hose. Ta-Da ! Sparkling drivetrain !

The Question :
To someone who has actually used a marketed degreaser on his drivetrain, is the foaming and ease of rinsing real ? Does it actually get the grime very well with minimal brushing , like they show in all the internet tutorials ? Or is this just the magic of the exaggeration of an ad, and the jumpcuts of GCN and GMBN ?
Do I really need to invest in any more than a Chain cleaning tool ?

I don't know why you think bicycle degreaser products are 'weaker for more money' when you have basically proved to yourself that gasoline (petrol) is a very poor cleaner because it evaporates very quickly.
I've had success with a basic citrus degreaser available at Home Depot that costs $4 for a reasonably sized bottle. It's effective at loosening dirty chain lube, minimal brishing of the chain and cassette is required and it rinses off with water taking the dirt with it.
I should point out that you are likely over-cleaning your chain. Too much solvent/degreaser removes the lubricant from deep between the link plates and rollers. I've found I get much better chain life by only wiping down the outside of the chain with minimal degreaser.


Can l add more gears by replacting the cassette on my mountain bike? I have a Giant Yukon with 8 speed. I want to know if l can change it to 10 or even 11 speed?
Is it possible to change the cassette on the rear wheel?

To do that you need to change the shifter and derailleur as well.
Different brands, and different numbers of cogs on the rear require different amounts of pull on the gear cable to shift one gear, and the cogs, chain etc are all different sizes. This also means that the total cable moved to get from highest to lowest gear is generally also different. Note that it's usually specified in tenths of a millimetre (0.1mm), so everything has to be quite precise. Otherwise the bike won't stay in gear.
While you can change everything over like this it's generally more expensive than selling your bike and buying a newer or higher spec one with the new groupset on it. If you can find a damaged bike with the necessary parts intact that's likely to be the only cheap way to make the change.


Spoke tension - is a left tilt ok to prevent explosion? The left hand steel blade spokes of my WH-RS30 (not 30A) are constantly exploding inside of the nipples when going up hill in a standing position. I have increased the right hand side tension to about 2150N (1600N is the recommended limit for the rims) and the left hand side to about 1150N (1100N recommended limit). The wheel now however is not perfectly centered, but slightly shifted towards the left. Is that acceptable?

I don't want to tighten the right side any further, but lower tension on the left is not acceptable either. I only increased the tension by about a 1/4 turn.

Is going that much above rim recommendations dangerous? No right hand spoke ever exploded, only the left hand side. Might I just be to heavy / "strong" with 90kg?

Maybe my TM-1 (tensiometer) is a bit off? The left side spokes still feel awfully easy turnable. What settings do you use on your TM-1. Mine are 20 right - 15 left because I think the spoke is closed to a steel blade with 1.0mm x 2.2mm

Interestingly, as I ordered repair spokes, they came with longer nipples (part number didn't change). Is this a sign of a known problem?

Your wheel is overtensioned. That is not good as it will eventually lead to premature failure somewhere, maybe worse than you're currently experiencing.
In the case of wheels that don't come as manufacturers' sets, ie the spokes, hubs, and rims were all purchased separately, the spoke and the rim and even the hub are going to have different maximum tensions. In this case if you overtension the rim it will either not stay true or crack at the spoke holes- in extreme cases it can even encourage the wheel to taco under less lateral load. If the spokes are overtensioned they will eventually snap. Should the hub have the lowest maximum tension and you overtension it you run the risk of breaking the hub flange.
In the case where the wheel comes as a manufacturer's set (for example, many high end Mavic and Shimano wheelsets have compoenents that are all proprietary and only work with a given wheelset), you're going to have a maximum tension which is still going to be limited by one of the aforementioned components but you likely wont know which one. Same rules apply though- something will prematurely fail if you keep the wheel overtensioned.
You need to let the tension down instead of bringing it up to get the dish correct. How old are your wheels? If they're relatively new you may have a warranty issue on your hand, although you may have voided said warranty by overtensioning the wheel. If the wheels are old, it's important that spokes have a fatigue life just like everything else and you may be hitting it. Often when you get close to the fatigue life of the spokes on your wheel you'll bust one after another until you relace the wheel.


Are quick-change pedals a thing? I'm considering buying clipless pedals for riding my bike on the weekend, but they might not be the best choice for a 15 minute ride to work during the week—I'd need to drag along my regular shoes in a backpack anyways, I need to stop at a bunch of intersections (Manhattan), etc.

From a quick Google I saw an article about changing pedals "quickly" in 5 minutes. I assume this is for people that are particularly good at it and have practiced a lot, and it will still involve tools. Are there systems that allow me to quickly remove and swap out pedals, in 10 seconds or so? Like swapping a seat or a wheel.

I know that there are combination pedals, but these seem like they might be the worst of both worlds? Mediocre at being a flat pedal, mediocre at being a clipless pedal?

Quick release pedals as you describe do exist. They are often marketed in Japan as "Rinko" pedals as they were developed to as part of the Japanese tradition taking apart full size bikes for transport on trains:

Currently, MKS makes these pedals (if you do an internet search for "MKS Rinko" you can find a distributor), they branded them with the "EZY" moniker.

They also make an assortment of flat and clipless pedals to interface with the quick release mount


For 'classic' cantilever brakes, are cartridge brake shoes better than non-cartridge ones? What are the advantages of cartridge brake pads compared to non-cartridge ones? Do they offer better braking characteristics?

I'm about to replace brake pads on a 1994 MTB which has Shimano STX brakes (front) and STX-RC brakes (rear), model BR-MC33. Both are 'classic' low-profile cantilever brakes. The STX-RC brake has cartridge brake shoes (type M64/T for aluminium rims), whereas the older STX brake has non-cartridge ones.

Stores still sell Shimano non-cartridge replacement shoes for 'classic' cantilever brakes, but the replacement inserts I need are almost nowhere to find, anymore. I wonder if it's better to replace the brake shoes completely with cartridge ones from some alternative manufacturer, or to just go with easy-to-find non-cartridge replacements.

There's little difference between the two types as far as braking performance is concerned, as you can easily find the same pad compound in both types. I've been able to easily find Salmon Kool Stop brake shoes that fit the vintage Mafac brakes on my Peugeot 12 speed. That being said, the one issue you may run into is the lack of the correct inserts, which might be the case for your brakes. Even if you are able to find them, you may not have much variety.

Overall, you should use the non-cartridge pads. They're easier to find, relatively inexpensive and should offer you a wide selection. As a side note, you don't need to buy Shimano replacement pads. All that matters is how the brake pads fit into the brake arms.


Can I Upgrade shimono Ultegra 9 speed 12-27 cassette I have a 2009 Trek 7.7 FX with Ultegra 12-27T cassette, 50/39/30 Front triple. I want to upgrade the rear cassette to give better hill climbing gears. Can I fit an 11-34 Rear cassette and if so what else needs to change?

It depends on your rear derailleur. For 11-34 you will need a long cage one.


How to ride under obstacles Commuting by an MTB, there is a trail at the local park, that is partially blocked by a tree. It has fallen over the trail, forming a triangle with the living trees on the sides. The highest point is maybe 10cm higher than my saddle height.

How can I ride under the tree (at speed), without dismounting?

My best try has been tilting the bike severely to the side, and crouching onto the outside pedal. Still, I hit my backpack and fell. Other attempts have been even more miserable. What is the correct technique?

10 cm from the saddle would be possible if you are talking about XC saddle height and the handlebars are lower than the seat.

One way is to do this:

Another way is to bend and go very deep:

knees bend pointing outside
hands totally straight to the bars so your body moves backwards
back totally straight
position your body so the saddle goes exactly between your head and your left or right bicep (whatever works best for you)
look ahead


could I mount a different manufacturer brand rotor to use with my brakes? I've a tektro draco hydraulic brakes on my mtb and I would like to know if it is possible to mount a different brand rotor to use with my brakes?

The brand of brake doesn't matter. The only variables you should care about are:

Rotor diameter. You should probably get the same size as the old one; for a different size, you'll need an adapter to reposition the brake calipers.
The way the rotor attaches to the hub. Most of them are held on with 6 bolts, but a few use the "Centerlock" attachement which looks like this:


Gravel Riding: Why gravel wheel over lighter XC mtb wheel? What is the rationale for using a gravel-specific wheel for a gravel bike over a lighter cross-country mountain bike race wheel?

Background

I'm looking for a wheel with an internal width of 20mm to 22mm to fit some wide 45mm tires on my gravel bike.

I've seen that some cross-country mountain bike wheels are lighter than gravel specific wheels.

For example, Mavic's new ALLROAD ELITE UST DISC has a 22mm internal width and weighs 1720 grams. But Mavic's CROSSMAX PRO cross-county wheels also measure 22mm internal width but weigh 1595 grams, for only $200 more. Both wheels have bladed spokes and a similar depth for aerodynamic purposes.

If this is the case for wheels generally, what factors contribute to the rationale of choosing the heavier gravel specific wheels over the lighter cross-country wheels?

Since the question was asked, high-performance carbon wheels for drop bar bikes are evolving towards an internal width of 22-25mm - that is, wheels aimed at both performance road and gravel bikes. I am not sure how alloy wheels for drop bar bikes are evolving, but I suspect they will follow (White Industries already makes an alloy rim with a 25mm internal width, and there may be a few other small brands that I can't remember). I believe this would have been considered wide even for mountain bikes in the early 2010s. That said, while I'm not familiar with MTB disciplines these days, I think at MTB wheels are approaching 30mm internal width.
I can't see any substantive reason not to use an XC wheelset on a gravel bike if one is available, provided that the spacing matches the bike. I believe current MTBs use the Boost standard, i.e. the front and rear dropout spacing is 110mm and 148mm respectively. On drop bar bikes, this doesn't yet give an advantage, and as far as I know the majority of gravel bikes and all road bikes have converged on 100/142mm spacing. I'm not sure what the state of  play for Boost spacing was in 2017, but it is an issue now.
The folks at the blog Riding Gravel noted that you can often get good deals on second hand, high-end 29er, non-Boost 29er wheels, as this is a dated standard on MTBs. Because many of the front hubs used 15mm thru axles and most drop bar bikes use 12mm, you often have to source some sort of adapter. These wheels will also tend to have 6 bolt disc rotor mounts, whereas the drop bar world uses center lock mounts. One would simply acquire a 6 bolt rotor and use that.
While aerodynamics and gravel might not have been as big a deal in 2017, I suspect this trend will develop for gravel bikes. If you used an XC wheelset, you might make a minor sacrifice versus a deeper section road-oriented wheelset. This sacrifice won't be relevant to all users.
As to the specific wheels mentioned in the original question, there may have been no substantive reason to choose one or the other on a gravel bike. So, if you could buy the Crossmax Pro for less than the Allroad Pro back then and you were willing to use a 6-bolt rotor, then you should probably have done so (keeping in mind you needed an adapter for a 12mm thru axle; Mavic doesn't supply this with the current Crossmax Pro linked by Cray Kao).


Cleaning leather bike gloves I have fingerless leather gloves which are smelling pretty bad and stink my hands up when I wear them. So I've been googling ways to clean them. Most methods seem to need exotic stuff like saddle soap or a washing machine.

What I have done is turned them inside out, scrubbed them with bath soap and sprinkled some dettol mixed with water on them and now they're sitting in the sun drying.

Is this a reasonable cleaning method? I need these gloves and shipped them in from Australia, can't buy another pair here. Anyone with a better method let me know, but nothing esoteric please.

It doesn't matter what it's made out of, bike stuff gets stinky. Especially the stuff that goes on your hands and your feet since they're similar appendages that you keep similarly wrapped up and pressed against surfaces that don't breathe well.

There are a lot of active wear specific detergents out there- Sportwash, Sport Suds, WIN, Nikwax, etc etc. I've tried none of them, but probably should. Most of these detergents are supposed to be especially well suited at removing odors from synthetics. I see a lot of folks recommending castile soap or oil soap for leathers. This is usually for larger pieces like jackets and handbags. Given your situation, I think you're probably overthinking it. A soak in warm soapy water using a bar soap that you'd use in the shower followed by a brisk hand scrub and rinse should be sufficient. Air dry them, and if you're really worried, use a light leather conditioner once they've dried.

They're going to get stinky again, and quickly. There's just no way around that. Your hands are just funny looking feet at the end of your wrists that you're pulling these leather socks over and perspiring heavily into. Wash them as necessary with mild detergents and realize that- just as with almost everything else you purchase for the sport of cycling- the gloves are consumables and they won't last forever.