Why won’t my gear change off of 5? My bike is a pretty terrible mountain bike held together by duct tape and I just fixed an issue with the brakes rubbing on the wheel slowing it down. And now my gears stop working. No matter what I change the gear shift to, the chain stays on the 5th gear (second smallest). I was cycling the other day and manually moved the chain onto the 4th gear, and even though my shift was on 4, it moved itself back to 5. Any idea how to fix this? Cycling on only gear 5 is very tiring.

More information would be helpful such as type of shifter, derailleur etc, but first of all look at the derailleur and either shift or have someone shift to a different gear (can be done while parked). If there is no movement on the derailleur you likely have a cable that has either A) come loose from its connection B) Broken or C)stretched over time and become so loose that it is not shifting.

It sounds like the shifter is doing nothing at all which makes me think the cable is either not connected (at the shifter or derailleur) or too loose, it could also be that the internal mechanism of the shifter is broken if you find that the cable is still tight, but that is the first thing i would check.

I have also had a cable pull out of the cable clamp at the derailleur which had apparently loosened up over time and when shifted the cable would just slide back and forth through that connection. Easily fixed by pulling the cable back tight and retightening the clamp.

If the bike is up there in age, you may look into replacing all the cables and making sure everything is properly lubricated as well. This is relatively easy to do yourself with some YouTube videos and google.

Sidenote, hopefully it is not truly duck tape that is holding the bike together.. sounds dangerous :)


Converting road single speed bike to 1x I have a very nice bike that I built from a vintage new steel frame, threadless bottom bracket (because of the french thread in the frame) and 110BCD crankset. It is currently mounted as single speed, and I would like to add a rear derailleur.

The dropout spread is 125mm and the current chainline measurement is 45mm.

I have many questions and try to evaluate the feasibility. I would like to keep as many parts as possible, in particular not change the bottom bracket because of the odd standard (and the fact the thread is in part damaged).

I am contemplating the SRAM 1x solutions, but I don't know if 11 speed compatible wheels will fit the 125mm dropouts.

I suppose I could pick a 9 or 10 speed wheel (would they fit?), and add a 9 or 10 speed rear derailleur, but I am not sure of the chain line that is required.

Steel frame can be set out to accommodate a 135 mm rear hub without substantial effort (bear in mind that the dropouts will need to be realigned).
With a rear derailleur the chainline is not an issue (in my opinion) as long as it is not kept on the most outside cogs in the rear.

You can also play with the chainline by mounting another crankset (different offset) or changing the bottom bracket spindle (you mention that it is threadless, you don't say which type is it exactly, cartridge bearings vs cup and cone).

What is often an issue in such conversion (I personally dropped one frame and kept it as fixie because of that) is whether all the derailleur cable eyelets and shifter bosses are available. Also you'd need the derailleur hanger or a suitable adapter.

Have you considered internal gearing hubs? There are Sturmey-Archer or Shimano models widely available with up to 8 gears if I'm not mistaken.


I have a bike with a ratio of 3.11 to 1, how many links do i need in a chain? I legit just broke my bike chain riding it. One of the links just snapped and i wanted to replace it with a brand new chain that will hold up better. How many links do i need in that new chain so that it will fit on my bike?

There isn't enough information to determine the chain length from what is given.

You can read one of the many good articles on how to size a chain on the internet. The chain length depends on the chainring number of teeth, cog number of teeth, chainstay length.


Installing handlebar I've bought a 25.4 mm bullhorn for my fuji feather 2013, and I tried to install it.Then I've realized that my quill stem is for 26 mm handlebar.
Are there any ways to install 25.4 mm handlebar into 26 mm quill stem?

You can buy 0.3mm stainless steel sheets for shimming, but as bullhorns are quite heavily loaded (your weight will create more torsion at the clamp than on an equivalent drop bar), I'd return or re-sell the bar, or replace the stem.


Campagnolo Zonda Ratchet sound I bought a Campagnolo Zonda C17 recently and noticed how quiet the ratcheting noise was. My friend owns a pair of Zondas but his one is really loud. why is mine silent? i use a 15 cassette.

New freehubs are quieter, because they have a thicker layer of grease between contact surfaces in the freewheel. The grease will eventually be pushed away from the surfaces, and the hub will develop the trademark sound in few thousand kilometers.


Jan Ullrich's TT bike in la Vuelta 1999: why the bigger rear wheel? What was the thinking behind having a bigger rear wheel on a TT bike back then?

The rear wheel is normal size (700), the front wheel is smaller (650). It was for aerodynamic reasons. By lowering the torso of the rider, the frontal surface of the rider became smaller.
The configuration appeared first in triathlon and was later banned by the UCI in road and track events. Both wheels must now be of identical size i.e. 700.


Component(gearing) upgrade question I'm a long time ultra-runner turned triathlete so please bear with me. I'm looking to upgrade to Shimano Ultegra 11sp components and currently I'm running on the stock components which are Shimano 105's 11sp. I'm riding a Fuji Norcom straight which is their performance tri bike. I just want to make sure that I purchase the correct parts ahead of time so I can take them all in to get installed on my bike. I have the following parts needed on my checklist and want to make sure I have everything before making this purchase. If you see that I need anything would you please let me know? Thanks!

I wont need to buy front or rear calipers because I have trp brakes which are hidden behind the fork and the backside of the frame. I also wont need the levers because I have vision shifters on the ends of my aero bars.
I will need the Shimano Ultegra 6800 11-Speed rear derailleur
I have a choice between the GS Medium Cage Rear Derailleur 11-speed or the Short Cage Derailleur and am not sure what the differences are. Any help here?
Ultegra 6800 crankset 11-speed
Ultegra 6800 11-speed cassette
Ultegra 6800 SM-bottom bracket
Shimano 11-speed inner chainring bolt set
Shimano Ultegra 6800 outer chainring bolt & cap set

Anything else you all see? I'm purchasing from this site: http://www.trisports.com/shimano-ultegra-6800.html

In terms of the rear derailleur, you will need to determine the capacity you need.

To do that, add together the teeth in largest rear cluster and largest chainwheel to get the max teeth you have.  Then add together the small rear cog and the smallest chainwheel to get the min teeth you have.  Subtract the min from the max.  That is your capacity needed.

You can then go on to the Shimano site and gets the specs for the derailleur you are interested in to see if it has enough capacity.  You will also need an 11 speed chain cut to fit.


Reduced braking force in V brakes I have a foldie which has always had bad/weak rear brakes, which keep getting worse. To preempt the response that they are expected to be weaker than front brake, this isnt a question about weight transfer, or traction being lower in the back, or the rear wheel locking up sooner. Right now, if i were to brake the rear while moving, I barely feel any braking at all. I have tried to adjust it to be angled correctly and hitting the rim correctly but it seems to make the issue worse.

I recently noticed that both the rim surfaces are a bit curved (the centre is about 1 mm thiner/deeper than the top/bottom edges (if that makes sense). One side is worse than the other, which made me feel it was a manufacturing defect, but now i see that the other side has a similar (but less pronounced) curve, which makes me feel it is just a wear thing.

I also notice that the rear brake pads are very smooth to the touch. They still have the grooves vertically, which indicates that they arent worn out yet? Should i try to sand it down a bit to try and improve the braking?

Is there anything else I can do? Is the rim wearing down normally or is that the cause of the braking issue? (I have been sorta compulsively trying to adjust the back brake nearly as long as i can remember, cant get them working as I would like.)

The bike is ~2 years old, ~1300km riden. Sorry for the rambly post.

Edit: The rim is curved, but the wear indicators are still quite pronounced. Does this mean the rim has bent rather than worn out? The brake pads are quite worn out as well, one of the edges of one of the pads has reached the wear indicator, so I have ordered a new pair. Removing, servicing, and reseating the pads seems to have given me some braking power for now. Remains to be seen if it lasts long. I could find a couple of small metal pieces(like 2-3 sub mm size) on the pad, but not enough to explain the wear. I wasn't able to hear them when I brake either so might not have been a major factor.

A 1mm curve on the brake track suggests that the rims are worn and you need new wheels; on the other hand, it's strange that they'd be so worn after only 1300km. I'm not sure how much that will affect your braking performance but the rims weaken as they're worn away by the brakes (of course) and will eventually fail if not replaced.


Chain is slipping relative to large chainring but not the small one The crank on my 2016 Giant XTC Advanced (Shimano XT components) is slipping relative to the large chainring but not the small chainring. In searching for reasons many of the answers focus on chain skipping but do not believe this is the case.
I positioned the front wheel against a wall and then marked the chain and large chainring so I could see whether the chain was skipping relative to the large chain ring.
I applied pressure on the crank using only my hand and the crank slipped.  The marks on the large chainring and chain were still aligned and still in the same position so no chain skipping and no movement of the freehub.
I do not have the same issue when riding in the small chain ring and there is no movement between the large and small chainrings.
Any help is much appreciated.
REVISION
  Apologies again.

From looking up the specs I presume your crank is FC-M8000-2. If you're saying that the crank arms are moving while the big ring and chain remain stationary in space, and the rear cog didn't move, the only possible explanations are that either the interface between the spider and the right crank has failed, or the metal toothy part of the composite XT big ring is spinning relative to the fancy three dimensional carbon body of it. Do more marks and repeat your test to see which it is.
If it was the spider interface, the smaller chainring puts less torque on it so that could explain why it's not slipping on the small ring. But looking at pictures of the crank, it seems like the spider and the arm are contoured together such that the arm couldn't just spin free. So I'm guessing your chainring is all whirly.
If the chain is moving, the suspect becomes freehub slippage, which is about a million times more common.

Edit in response to picture and note that the chain is new etc:
Your chainring is worn out.


Running tires with significantly different pressures? I ordered a replacement for one of the old Schwalbe Marathon 700x28C tires on my ancient road bike, and it turns out that "new" Marathons of that size are meant to be inflated to 80-110psi despite that the older ones I have are rated to 80psi... so, now my front tire has 37.5% greater pressure than my rear tire. Principally, tires do not need to match, but will this significant difference in "hardness" affect the handling/fragility of my bike in any way?

The markings on the tires for the pressures can be essentially ignored. They're a combination of marketing and legal departments coming up with essentially arbitrary numbers.

Find a set of pressures that works for you so the tires are properly inflated -- it should prevent pinch flats, but keep rolling resistance low and absorb road hazards and irregularities to some extent. The tire will deflect a bit when properly inflated. There are charts which you can use as rough guidelines, but you'll need to play with it.

If the tire is over or under inflated, it can damage the wheel and/or compromise handling and/or lead to flats. Sheldon Brown has a good explanation.

Often, you want to run different tire pressures (for example, the rear tire has more load, so you may want to go 10% higher in pressure or whatever, even if the tires are of the same size). If you're running different sized tires (which is not uncommon, either for lower weight, better handling or comfort; your front and rear clearances for tires are often different), you'll usually be running different pressures.

Chances are the new tires you ordered are essentially the same as the old ones, so you should start with the old pressure combinations you were using, and make adjustments from there.


What options do I have if my rear derailleur breaks when I'm out on a trail? I ran into an unfortunate situation earlier this week. I was out on a mountain bike trail, alone — just me and my hardtail. I'm pedaling, when I suddenly hear a CRUNCH and my bike stops. The hanger has broken, and the derailleur is totally bent.

I couldn't pedal, because the derailleur would travel with the chain and get stuck in the gears, and I had no way of reattaching it.

Luckily, I happened to be pretty close to the town when this happened, so I ended up walking it for ~15 minutes and dropping it off at my local bike shop.

However, I'm wondering what I can do if this happens again and I'm at a less convenient location - say deep in the woods. I don't generally carry any tools besides for a Swiss Army knife and an Allen wrench set.

Is there anything I can do to patch it up enough to at least get back home if I happen to break my derailleur?

If you carry a multi-tool which happens to include a chain tool, you could also convert your bike to a single speed. If you do so, you would have to replace the chain afterwards as well (since you shorten it) but in some situations it could get you out of a rural area.

If you do so, carefully select the gear you would put it in, as you won't be able to shift anymore afterwards.

There is a nice video online illustrating the idea: how to do a roadside fix of a broken rear derailleur.
GCN has some more videos online explaining roadside repairs of various issues, which may also interest you.

Additionally, I always take a missing link with me, as it allows you to get home after a broken chain. This speed link can also be used while converting your bike to a single speed.


How is cornering on the road different than cornering on dirt? The general advice about cornering is to lean the bike, not the body, to put pressure on the outside foot, and not to brake or brake only with the rear brake if absolutely needed.

--me

There are differing cornering techniques for road vs mountain bike riding. I would say that cornering on dirt is much more dynamic than on pavement.

--joelmdev
Supposing that what I am saying about cornering on dirt is correct, how is cornering on (dry) pavement different?

Does one lean with the bike?
Does the bike stay more upright?
Is the pressure more evenly spaced among both pedals?
How can one get feedback when the (front) tire is about to loose traction?
What does "dynamic" mean in this context?
Is it customary to place the inside foot on the road in order to have three contact points and prevent tipping/sliding out?
Is the weight of the rider evenly spaced (chin over stem, butt over seat)?
Is standing up to gain additional "acrobatic" space i.e. freedom to more one's weight around rapidly ever used?
What about slippery pavement - water, snow, sand?

First, let's answer the first to questions together, as they are closely related.

  Does one lean with the bike?

...and...

  Does the bike stay more upright?

Short answers are yes and yes in most cases.

To elaborate, let's take a look at what you're trying to achieve when cornering. I found this image recently and I think it does a great job of visualizing the basic physics of what's happening when you take a corner on a bike:

In a turn, whether you're leaning the bike, or your body, or both, that "local gravity" line is what's keeping you from highsiding or lowsiding. The center of gravity and that center line just moves depending on what you're leaning and how low you're getting.

Do a search for mountain bike cornering and a search for road bike cornering. Notice how centered the road riders are compared to the mountain bikers.
One of the big reasons for the "lean the bike" advice is to engage the more aggressive side knobs on a mountain bike tire. On a road bike this is not necessary.
With a mountain bike you spend a lot of time skirting the line of traction. You lose it and regain it often. Many of the techniques for cornering on a mountain bike are to keep you on the traction side of that line and to recover without crashing when you cross it. Many of these techniques aren't applicable on a road bike, where in most cases you either have traction or you've just crashed.

You'll also notice on the mountain bike cornering images that in big berms the riders are typically more centered over the bike, sharing the posture of the cornering roadies. That's because when traction isn't an issue being centered over the bike is the most balanced and stable way through a turn, and that's why you see road riders using that posture most of the time.

  Is the pressure more evenly spaced among both pedals?

No. The advice on weighting of the pedals and the bars stays the same. Drop the outside pedal and weight it primarily, weight the inside handlebar. Note that the primary reason that you're weighting the inside bar is to initiate countersteer.

  How can one get feedback when the (front) tire is about to loose traction?

If you've got everything weighted properly and you're lucky, the back will cut before the front does, at which point you've got a fraction of a second to stand the bike back up, or you crash. If the front goes first, you crash. A lot of knowing the limits of road bike tire traction comes from experience, and crashing.

  What does "dynamic" mean in this context?

There's a lot more movement of your body on and over the bike on a trail than on the road. The more technical the trail, the more this is true. The "lean the bike, not the body" advice is a good rule of thumb, but it is not a one size fits all solution for mountain biking. There are so many different types of turns in mountain biking- fast, slow, bermed, off-camber, uphill, downhill, steep, flat, loose, rocky hardpacked, etc, and nearly infinite combinations of each. Many categories of turns deserve their own questions for cornering technique.

  Is it customary to place the inside foot on the road in order to have three contact points and prevent tipping/sliding out?

Typically not during the turn. I've seen it done it the wet sometimes, but taking your foot out/off of the pedal during a turn will affect up your balance, especially on a road bike. Getting your foot out of pedal at the last minute is really hard, especially with road pedals.

  Is the weight of the rider evenly spaced (chin over stem, butt over seat)?

Somewhat dependent on slope/incline and speed, and whether you're on the hoods or in the drops, but largely yes, this is correct.

  Is standing up to gain additional "acrobatic" space i.e. freedom to more one's weight around rapidly ever used?

On a road bike, typically only for slow speed maneuvers. There are probably exceptions but I can't think of them at the moment.

  What about slippery pavement - water, snow, sand?

Sloooow dooown. The more treacherous the riding surface, the more upright you need to keep the bike and your body.


What range of sprockets is useful in a road bike cassette? My road bike currently has a 27/39/53 crankset and a 13-26 cassette, both of which need to be replaced.

I occasionally find myself in both extremes—while heading up the very steep hills of the Bay Area the lowest gearing sometimes isn't enough and on much of a downhill grade my legs can't keep up in the highest.

Is it worth going to a wider range on the front or rear?

Ultimately it's a trade-off between a wider range of gears and bigger jumps between those gears.  There will always be uphills that are too steep for your lowest gear and downhills where you spin out.  If you try to fix both problems with a wider range cassette (your triple already has a great range) you may find that you're never quite in the "right" gear for all of the in-between situations.

I'm using a 11-32 cassette on my road bike (with a MTB derailleur for more capacity).  I have plenty of climbing gears but rarely use the small cogs since I spin at around 90rpm.  Like the Bay Area, there are a lot of hill around here.  But I find the jumps between gears too big (either spins too easily or too hard) so am looking for a narrower range cassette.

If you want just a bit more range for climbing, you'll need to jump up to at least a 28-tooth large cog (you'll barely notice the difference going from 26 to 27) which might require a long-cage derailleur.  On the high end, a 12-tooth cog will be a noticeable difference over your 13.  Since you're used to a compact range you probably don't want to go with a much bigger cassette.

Sheldon Brown has a great gearing calculator that you can play with to see what different combinations will give you.


Training Advice for Road Cycling I'm trying to get into cycling. I have a Forme Longcliffe 3.0 2013 and shoes and cleats.

I want to get quicker and build my endurance.

I do 6 miles (10 km) in 22:51 and average 15.4 mph (26 kph). I have realised my tyres where under pressure so I am experimenting with 120psi what speed difference should I expect previous psi 65.

Do you have any training advice?

Goals

Without them, you don't know where you're going, and don't know when you got there.

So set some goals. For example, a 100 km (60 mi) ride by the end of the year.

As Kibbee said, find others to ride with. Ride where you see others ride, stop where they stop, and chat. Or find a local club. Be prepared to move on if the people or club are not meeting your current needs.

It's good to ride with two kinds of riders - ones like you, for friendly competition, and more experienced or faster, to stretch and teach you. And then when you're experienced, ride with less experienced people to pass it on.

I'll add more later ... going for a ride now ... and I'm back.

You'll need to tell us more for us to give detailed advice. We can guess that "Stu" is a guy, and maybe Gen-Y. Or not. We can guess that by training you intend to get seriously into cycling. But we don't know until you tell us. So here is some general advice.

I already mentioned goals.
Have a goal for every ride. I just went on a social Coffee ride - 63 kms to have coffee with friends, at a very relaxed pace. Other rides are training rides, where I might do intervals at a given speed for a given distance, then slow down for a period to recover, and then repeat. Or climb a specific hill some number of times. Some people unkindly call any ride without a goal as junk kilometers or junk miles. See the questions tagged training and performance.
Learn good technique early.
If you are going to do Triathlons then join a Tri club and follow their advice, because Tri riding is quite different to ordinary road cycling.
For road cycling, get a bike computer that shows you your cadence. If you don't already pedal at 90 rpm, then aim for that. Then 100 rpm. Pedaling too slowly causes knee and back problems.
Learn to use your ankles, to help you drive the pedals all the way around the stroke.
Keep your knees in; they should almost touch the top tube on each stroke.
Make sure you have a good riding-position.
Having a professional bike fitting can boost your performance and save you lots of problems later.
Learn some basic skills and techniques.
Have fun.
If you join group rides, be aware that there is etiquette for groups involved.
Increasing your endurance.
Generally, we can increase the distances we ride by about 10% per week. If you work hard on each ride then give your body a day off to recover before the next ride. As you increase the distance, try to maintain your pace. Remember to warm up and cool down properly, and do longer and shorter rides for variation. And check out What is a recovery ride?
Increasing your speed.
This means increasing your power output. You can just ride faster, or climb hills, but the most common way of increasing power is interval training.
Measure what you do.
If you want something to change then measure it. Smartphone apps are one easy way. See Is there an easy to use app for tracking my cycling performance? (iOS or Android) or What is the best way to track your mileage, routes and calories burned?.
Many people use a Garmin device.
If you get serious then learn about VO2 max and diet.
Join a club.
Or more than one. Different clubs can focus on different things, so find one or more that suit you and your goals.

Enjoy.


Dynamo light without rear light connected? I wish to repair a faulty dynamo light system however I am a complete newcomer to these systems.

I bought an old bicycle with a bottle dynamo ("Vitalux C 6V") connected to the rear wheel. There is a single wire connected from the dynamo to the front light. There is also a single wire leading to where the rear light should be, but the light has been removed, with the wiring just loose in the air where it should connect normally.

When I connect the dynamo to the tyre and spin the wheel the globe does not light up.

Is it possible to have this system functioning without connecting the rear wiring to anything? To what and how should I connect this wire if I need to complete the circuit?

The wiring at the from the dynamo to the front globe had been cut so to reattach it I stripped some of the coating and twisted about 1cm of the internal copper wiring together. Could this be the problem and would using a length of unbroken wire potentially resolve this problem?

Thanks for your help.

On old bikes usually the (steel) frame was used as second wire for closing the circuit. The old dynamo have one wire going out and some sort of built in electrical continuity with the frame.

First of all check that the bulb works, by using a trusted electricity source. Then:

If you bought a modern dynamo and a modern light, just lay an
additional wire between the two.
If you instead want to use a new dynamo with the old light, make sure
you connect one of the two outputs from the dynamo to the frame (a
washer in the right place will do the trick)

Not requested by your question: The rear light usually had connection to the frame via the mud shield (either it was made of metal, or had a metallic strip in the plastic body.


On fitting 700C rims to a dynamo hub rated for up to 20" I am currently in the planning stages of creating a really fancy front fork for my bike.
For a little background, I want to try to get this custom built Burrows monoblade with disc mount:
https://bikefix.co.uk/blade
And attach a dynamo hub to it.
The thing is that I have so far been only able to find the Schmidt SON XS-M series of single-sided dynamo hubs which seem remotely correct, and all of them are listed as max 20" rims, while I want 700C rims.

My question is this: What would happen if I tried to fit the larger rims to the smaller hub, and why shouldn't I do it?

Generator hubs for small wheels will output less and produce less drag at a given speed when built to a 700, because they'll be operating at fewer RPMs than expected.

AFAIK all the non-sondelux Schmidts still have output suitable for halogen, including XS-M. You should double check when you order the hub. If so it will pair fine with LED in a larger wheel.


Cycle training to prepare for first racing season I wish to improve as a cyclist, I have a goal that I want to start racing by next summer.

I want to know what is the best start I can give myself in or order to prepare.

The hard part, it's coming into winter and my cycle computer broke.

What is the best training I can do to get race season?

I plan on doing an 90 min hill climb route after work twice a week.

I'm very green to all this so be gentle :)

An optimal training regimen will include about three hard efforts a week, with at least one rest or recovery day in between those efforts. Trying to put in any more hard efforts than this has shown to be detrimental by most trainers.

Cyclo-computers are an important tool, but if you have your mileage mapped out ahead of time computers are not critical. The most important tool of all to help you with your training is a heart rate monitor. If you don’t’ have one. Get one. It is extremely hard to gauge your effort without one, this is especially true for training on a stationary bike or trainer. When you get another bike-computer get one with a cadence monitor. Cadence is especially important if you are training for road racing. The cadence monitor will teach you proper cadence and keep you from becoming a pedal masher.

Hill climbs are a good strategy because they force hard efforts, so are intervals especially if you are using a trainer. I define a hard effort as keeping myself above 85% of my max heart rate for most of the ride. I would sustain between 85% – 95% for a full 90 minutes and  get a really good, hard work out. As a beginner this may be difficult, so see what you can do and adjust your goals accordingly. Seriously test your limits. You may be surprised how long you can go at a seemingly impossible pace.

Fueling up is important. If you don’t fuel up before putting in a hard effort your body will use up it’s energy stores in around 60 minutes. At around that time I would find myself really beginning to fade. I started fueling up with a light 200 – 300 calorie carb and sugar snack an hour before riding and I could keep going strong long after the 60 minute mark.

Recovery rides in between hard training sessions are important but the amateur does not always have the option. My schedule didn’t allow for them and as a result I would get sore muscles more prone to injury. Recovery rides are VERY light rides, that keep your heart rate below 140. A rider who is very aggressive about training is going to find it very difficult to ride at a pace this slow. Think leisure and get training out of your mind when doing these type of rides. Because the effort is minimal mountain bike trails are generally not very suitable for recovery rides.

Keep a training log. Log time, distance, Average MPH, effort, conditions and brief notes on how you felt. This will help you focus and allow you to see your progress. I had a loop I would ride every month or so that I would use to see how I had progressed physically.

Don’t let the weather inhibit your training. Learn to dress for it. Your body generates a tremendous amount of heat while cycling and this allows you to train comfortably in almost any condition. Keeping the feet warm is still a challenge so it’s worth investing in winter cycling shoes and wool socks. Here is a cold weather cycling article I wrote.

Consider spin classes. A couple of winter’s of deep snow forced me indoors. Coupled with a heart rate monitor, spin classes provided good, hard, motivating training sessions. Because the sessions were usually short, 45 minutes, I would also ride the trainer before and after the class or find back to back sessions and ride the whole way through.

This is my culmination of a lot of research, advice and practical application. I trained and raced seriously for several years and I got good results out this training regimen. I am currently ‘retired’ due to a back injury but I raced as an expert level mountain biker and was winner the Sport Vet 2009 WVMBA mountain bike series. This regimen served me well. Good luck with your training.


My Serfas USL-5 raider usb headlight failed after rain, should I attempt user service? I own a Serfas USL-5 raider usb headlight.  This failed after very heavy rain, the blue charge light lights, but the switch won't produce light?  What should I do.

Don't attempt user service.  The rubber front-piece doesn't give access to the body, the case body is tightly shut, and there is no way in through the power button.  All you'll do is ruin the pre-existing water resistance by damaging the seal on the rubber front-piece.

Do leave the light indoors in a dry area and allow natural movement of moisture to clear the light.  In some cases this will allow the light to return to normal functioning after 2-3 days or more.

If you have removed the rubber front-piece, carefully and gently use a flat nose screwdriver or plastic probe to lift the plastic body of the light and try to use finger pressure to cram the rubber gasket back into place.  It will be held by plastic alligator style jaws that come together when the body of the light reseals.  Just be gentle and keep at it and you'll get most if not all of the way there eventually.


Lost teeth on second ring? I'm thinking of buying a second hand Shimano FC-TY30.

However, looking at the photo there seems to be either worn or chipped teeth on the second ring1.

Are they actually broken/chipped, or is that by design, for changing gear? Even though I'm not an expert on gear technology, they don't seem even spaced, if they are intentional.

1 At about 9 o'clock, at five teeth clockwise to around 10 o'clock, at half past two and at about 4 o'clock.

This is a common misconception. The shorter teeth are not chipped or broken off.

Modern chainrings and cassette sprockets have features to assist the derailleur with moving the chain. The shorter teeth allow the chain to more easily move off the chainring and onto an adjacent one.

Definitely fairly well worn. Personally I'd stay away from something this worn that does not have replaceable chainrings. Given it's possible to get new square taper cranksets for about $30 US, I'd look for something in better shape that will give you more service life.


Finding better routes than bicycle apps suggest Nowadays there are many cycling apps like Strava, etc. One useful feature of them is giving the shortest or lowest altitude change route between point A and B. Although they have that lowest altitude change, some of these routes are definitely not easy to climb up.

For example, from my house to shopping mall, there are 2 routes, one is suggested by Strava and the other one is mine as well as any citizen of my town would suggest.

Route 1. Climb %8 hill until reach the shopping mall.

Route 2. Climb %15 very short hill, then ride downhill a parallel way to Route 1, then climb very short %15 hill and you reach your destination.

Definitely it is easier to ride Route 2 and also it does not need so much physical condition since it does not always climbs. My main point in here is that it seems easier to climb a high slope for a short period of time and drive downwards to recover.

My question : is there any apps that can create routes like Route 2?

This is an impossible question for the mapping sites to answer. They come up with heuristics about what makes a good route, that will do a pretty good job, but there is fine detail they do not and cannot know. For example, Your route 2 is the easiest on paper, but what if it poorly sealed with course chip and has lots of rubbish and stones in the shoulder. Route 1 has been recently sealed with smooth, fast hot top and has a wide clean shoulder. Route 1 would be better. What if route 2, getting onto the top of the ridge exposed you to a prevailing head wind that route 1 was sheltered from - in this case the best route changes daily (Where I live, hourly).

Add to this, a good route is subjective - as already suggested by @bibz guys out for training rides have different definition of good to a commuter. As a MTBer, I have a different definition of good to a roadie, as I have much lower gearing I can climb steep hills roadies want to avoid, I careless about gravel roads, road works or poorly maintained roads than roadies. They tend to want to go faster (and further) then I do. I am a strong hill climber, and will take a hilly route over a flat route any day, there are many who hate hills and a much stronger than me on the flat. (TBH The vast majority who are stronger than me everywhere).

In the end technology cannot make you decisions for you, all it can do is make suggestions based on the data it has. Ask around locals for better advise, but in the end you have to actually ride the routes to work out which is best for you.


Replacing thick wheels with thinner ones My heavy bike (~15 kg) has thick wheels, the rim width of each is about 3 cm. Accordingly, the tires are also thick (~4.5 cm). Unless the tires are fully pumped up, the bike is difficult to ride and is considerably slow (due to significant traction).

I am thinking of replacing the wheels with thinner ones. Is this possible in principle? If so, what issues have to be considered before doing that?

Your problem is that you're riding a BMX bike.  While you can certainly go narrower than 1.75, you can't go much narrower -- maybe to 1.5" (3.8 cm) with the same ISO 406 wheels.  You might be able to switch to a slightly larger ISO 451 rim and get down to 1-1/8" (2.8cm) width, but it would be quite expensive to swap the rims and spokes, and the tires might not fit your frame anyway.

If rolling friction is an issue for you you'd be advised to switch to an "adult" bike.  Just about any "adult" bike, new or used, will roll significantly easier than the BMX bike -- they're designed for hot-dogging, not riding any distance.


Why is my front Derailleur not shifting as smooth as it used to? I have a Specialized Hard Tail 10' Model. When I ride and am shifting to the bigger gear on my front derailleur it isn't as smooth as it used to be or sometimes doesn't shift to the gear I'm going for. How can I fix this? Do I need to adjust my shifting cables and loosen my barrel adjusters?

As you ride and shift your shifting cables stretch.  You can take up some of the slack by turning your barrel adjusters counter clockwise.  Eventually, you will reach the limit of what your barrel adjusters can handle.  At this point you will need to loosen the bolt that holds your shifter cable to the the derailleur and pull in the slack, then tighten the bolt back down.  Having the right tools for this job makes things much easier.  You should move your barrel adjusters almost all of the way back in (turn clockwise) before you do this.


Could I be pumping up my tyres the wrong way? I now have my first road bike. When I am pumping up the tyres with what seems like a sturdy pump (that you stand on and push with two hands), I can barely get to around 100 psi, even putting my back into it. Is this normal, or am I just weak?

Notes: Valves are obviously presta, which I 'unscrew' and depress to let a little air out before connecting the pump.

Cheers.

I have had such experiences even at much lower pressures, (I ride diverse disciplines of mountain bike, so I use my tires around 40 PSI, but still...). I have found three main causes for inflation difficulty:

I will discard air leaks as this one is pretty obvoius.

1) Faulty valve: Some valves get somewow obstructed, and won't get air in as easily as it should. This has happen to me with three types of vaole: Schrader, Presta and Dunlop. To test for this, inflate the tube while it's off the tire. You should feel almost no resistance, since the tire is not there to build up pressure. The tube should inflate quickly. You can also try a different valve core (Dunlops are easily changeable, but not too widely used, Schraders require a special tool but are also easily changeable. Some presta valves are changeable but not all of them.

2) Pump design: Some pumps are simply, by design, not capable of much mechanic advantage, so it is harder for the operator to achieve high pressures. The force required to push down the pump's piston is the pressure in the chamber multiplied by the piston area, thus, a pump with a large area piston is harder to push, but, usually such pump will put in a bigger amount of air per stroke. As per my personal experience with a wide range of pumps, for a floor pump the best sacrifice is a pump with piston area of about one square inch (roughly one inch in diameter). It will be painfully slow for 2.5 downhill tires, but will easily pump the pressures required for road tires. (For my downhills I use a cheap pump that has a piston with 1.5 diameter, its quick, but you'd start to suffer at 45 or 50 psi).

3) (or 2.2 if wou will...) Flawed pump: This is somehow related to the previous point, but this reffers to some defect, design error, damage, wear, etc. I have used pumps that have restrictive hose, valve (almost any pump has a 'check' valve) or connector. If this is the case, sometimes these parts can be cnanged or modified, but most of the times, it's not worthy. To test for this, press the pump without anything attached. The pump should move freely, with almost zero effort and you should hear the air hissing out without restriction. In fact, you would not be able to exerpt any force donw the handle, it will quickly go down before you know it. If you can apply noticeable force, this may be the cause. This is more common with cheap pumps, but there are brands able to sell expensive ones from time to time. Restriction to air flow can also be due to debris that somehow got inside the air ducts or the valve. If the pump is serviceable with regular tools, then carefully disassemble it to check the hose, the connector and the valve or any other narrow air passages.

Naturally there are other issues tha can come up with a pump, but they are rather obvious and do not seem to be your case: such as piston seizure (It is difficult to displace the handle even as slow rate) or seal failure (gives the oposite symptom, you can not apply gerat force to the handle because the air is leaking out).

Perform some tests to discard possible causes: inflate someone else's tires with your pump, borrow a pump with different design as yours and use it on your tires. You'll easily find the culprit.


Smaller front rim on mountain bike I have a Repco Warrior 29, I recently twisted the front rim doing some stuff I probably shouldn't have been doing at my advanced age.

There are no 29 rims available here, but there are 26's. Has anyone tried putting a 26 on the front of a mountain bike (I don't care about the brakes problem). What are the disadvantages of doing so? (I don't ride offroad)

I am aware that handling will change, that goes without saying. What I want to know is how will the handling change. Specifically will having a lower front end have a detrimental impact on hill climbing. But also in general, if the bike for instance would become unstable or unsafe.

The specific handling changes you will get come from two effects.

First, lowering the front puts your weight further forward, and tilts your torso down. You'll find the bike tends to "dig in" more then you go down into a dip or rut, and you're more likely to go over the handlebars as a result. You'll also have more weight on your arms, so you're likely to find the bike less comfortable on longer rides. You might also have more neck soreness since you're looking up more when riding.

Secondly, you've changed the head angle and trail. A steeper head angle normally makes the bike more twitchy (responsive to steering input), but since you also have more trail (if you extend the line through the head tube to the ground, and measure back from there to the centre of the contact patch, that's the trail). More trail means more castor effect - the steering tends to return to centre if the bike is upright, or turn in towards the direction of lean. The combination is likely to make the steering feel heavier, and you'll have to work more to keep the bike on track if you're not leaning perfectly on a  banked corner. On a flat track when cornering the bike will want to oversteer, twisting the handlebars into the turn until the wheel flips sideways and you crash.

The change from 29" to 26" is relatively small, so the above effects are unlikely to be dramatic, and you will probably be fine. I expect you'll ride for a bit, re-read this answer and go "yeah, it does that, a bit".

You could eliminate the first effect by buying a stem or bars with a bit more rise in them. You're going from ISO622 to ISO559 (bead seat diameter (BSD) in millimetres), or a difference in diameter of 63mm, so the bars will drop about 31mm (assuming tyre size stays the same). A stem 30mm higher should be fairly easy to find.

This assumes you're using disk brakes, since rim brakes won't work with the smaller wheel. If you don't have disk brakes, the missing front brake will be the main thing you notice. You'll lose 70-90% of your braking power, and that's bad.


I want to upgrade my 2020 Allez from Claris to Shimano 105 I have a 2020 Specalized Allez that came with Shimano Claris, but since I live in a very hilly area, I feel as if I need more gears. I have been biking for a while now, but I don't know if I need to train more or need more gears. The inclines that I find myself needing more gears on are over 10%. I am wondering if I can just put in a 105 rear and front derailleur, and keep my original brakes. I am also wondering if I have to get new rims to compensate for the extra 3 gears I am putting in, or if I can just put a more narrow spacer in the back.
Thanks for reading!
Edit: For those of you wondering, I have the base claris gearing system, so an 11-32 cassete in the back and 34-56 in the front. Thank you all for your help. When going up 5-12% inclines, I don't need to shift all the way down, its usually in-between 13-25% inclines that I find myself using my smallest gear. I will probably train more for the next month or two and then see if I still need to upgrade! Thanks everyone.

To go to 105 you would have to do the following:

Front + Rear Derailleur
Cassette, Chain Rings
Chain
STI Lever (at least the right one) - This alone is like $150 per lever if I recall correctly.
Possibly new rear wheel

Overall most people will not make a jump from Claris to 105 because the costs usually end up being almost the same price as 50% or more of the value of the bike.
Now 105 to Ultegra/Dura-Ace is more common and cost effective (e.g. As I wear out components in the drivetrain I am replacing them to Ultegra).
What you can do or at least what I would do is this:
Check your current number of teeth on your largest gear on your cassette and count the teeth on your chain ring. If you are struggling on climbs I would try the follow in this order:

If your cassette is not 11-34 Claris I would spend the $20 or so and try that: Link
If you are still struggling on climbs replace your chain ringings to 46-34T. This will not necessarily make the climb easier because you still have a 34 T chain ring and max 34 T cog in the back, but it will make flatter portions feel easier, which can make the climb feel more doable: Claris Chain Ring
Save the money you would have otherwise spent on a 105 upgrade and use it towards a full carbon bike with 105 or Ultegra (e.g. Trek Domane SL5 and I think Specialized Roubaix not sure of which trim though).

Here is the important thing to realize though it will not get easier even with 105 or another bike (assuming both bikes are of equal weight/aero/etc.) if your cassette already is 11-34. The reason being is that 34T is the max size rear gear you can get whether it is 105 or claris and the smallest inner chain ring on both sets is 34T.
Also, are you sure the gradient is 20%. That is pretty steep for a bike - Link. Many cyclist will have to walk that:

Here is what 7% or so looks like as a reference near the end:

In that clip, I am in a 34 T chain ring and the 4th cog of a 105 11-34 cassette. So to your other point with training climbing 7-10% is possible even for an amateur.
Hope that helps.


Can I use a spoke tension meter to fix my uneven pre-tensioning prior to truing? I've managed to lace up the wheel I’m building, however I think I've managed to unevenly tension the non drive side as a few spokes aren't as tight as others.

If I get a tension meter, I can go round the wheel and more easily fix it, right?

Am I correct in assuming if I get the spoke tension even, it will be easier to true?

You're in the "iterative" part of truing.

Try loosening a tight spoke by 1/4 turn and tighten the spokes either side by  1/8th of a turn.   Then spin and find the next tight one.  You could use a tension meter to identify tight ones, but touch works pretty well too.

Then move to checking for "out of round" for a bit.  Keep making the worst bit better, then move on.  Remember to relieve the wheel and check it again.

Don't assume that if all spokes had the same tension that the rim will be true... sadly its not like that at all.  There will always be some tension variation around the same side of the wheel.

Even minor variances in the rim and spoke length can cause tension variations in a completely true wheel.   I missed putting spoke prep on one spoke thread, and it needed to be significantly different tension to all other spokes in the wheel.  That was a puzzler!


How well does Mountain Bike body armor work? I have started getting into mountain biking, i have already got knee and elbow pads and am considering getting some back/spine protection. I would describe my riding as trail/enduro so i do a fair amount of pedaling to the top then jumps and chutes down.

How well does body armor (especially back and breast plates) work and what features should I look for when buying them?

Body armor works fairly well at preventing abrasions and cuts, but does not do as well against impact damage.  I wore a SixSixOne pressure suit for many years when downhilling.  Basically during all the slow and medium speed crashes it keeps you from walking away bleeding from rocks, bark and maybe small punctures (from exposed tree branches and such) depending on where they land.  It doesn't keep you from getting bruised (that much), and will do little to mitigate the forces you encounter during a high speed crash.  I still managed to dislocate my collar bone during a high speed crash in full armor.  However, I wasn't bleeding where my shoulder slammed into the tree, so there is that.  I'd sum up by saying body armor is NOT like a helmet for your body.  It will not protect your spine from a high impact crash, but it may keep the skin on your back from getting torn up.

As far as what to look for, I recommend the same things you's look for in any cycling gear.  It should fit well and be well made.  Depending on your riding conditions and weather, ventilation can be very important.  Even at 75F, my armor made me sweat like the dickens.  At 85F or 90F, I don't think I could have stood the heat, but I was used to riding in sub arctic (interior Alaska) conditions.


What tool do I need to remove this bottom bracket? Would I need a three-notched tool to remove this?

Three-hooked spanner is not necessary, but it would improve the engagement and decrease chance of stripping a notch on the BB lockring. Parktool makes the  HCW-5 spanner, which combines both a three-hook and a single hook. Here's a relevant quote:

  One side is a single hook, the other is a hook spanner with 3 notches
  for better engagement in the lockrings.


Why does my bike make too much sound if I am in the top 3 gears in the back and large gear in the front? I have a Cannondale Synapse SE 105. Whenever I go downhill I tend to shift into combination of top (smallest ring) gears in back and large gear in front. My bike just makes so much amount of noise every time I try to pedal in these combinations (I think the chain is rubbing on front derailleur). Can anyone please help me on how to eliminate this sound?

If you think your chain is rubbing on the front derailleur I think it's safe to say that the noise is coming from the drivetrain.

Front derailleur rub tends to occur when the chain is at the most inboard or outboard positions, either small chaining / largest sprocket or large chaining / smallest sprocket. I would not expect to get rub on the 2 or more of the smallest sprockets, unless the derailleur rub is very bad.

In any case, the first thing to do is to check the front and rear derailleur adjustment. (You may be getting some noise from bad rear indexing.)

Detailed written instructions would be far too long and difficult to follow, but there are many instruction article and videos available on the Web. The best by far I have found are those from Park Tool.

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailleur-adjustment

https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustment

Run through those adjustment procedures and see if that fixes the problem.


How do self-sealing inner tubes work? How do self-sealing inner tubes work? I understand it protects against objects up to a certain length, but do I need to still remove the offending object eventually? Or do I need to leave it in?

Are they generally reliable and worth it?

Self-sealing tubes are filled (well, not completely filled) with a sealant, similar to this used to seal tubeless tyres. When a wheel is spinning, sealant is distributed evenly around the tube, and when the puncture occurs, the sealant should be able to stop the air from leaking. They are quite reliable for small punctures (say, up to 5mmm at a time) but the sealant may lose its properties after a few months so I'd be careful with these.

And whether you need to remove the puncturing object, well it depends. If it's small and could progres into a tube it's better to remove it immediately before the hole increases. And when it's large (say, a larger nail) it could sometimes help stop the leak. However there's no strict rule here, and you have to check what works better in each situation.


Clipless vs. Flat Pedal Speed Difference Assuming one is biking on flat roads and assuming equal power in both scenarios, how much faster would one go using clipless pedals versus flat pedals?
[Note that this question relates to: https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/questions/5647/how-much-of-a-difference-do-toe-pedal-clips-make-in-comparison-to-platform-pedal. I apologize if someone else has asked my exact question.]

With flat pedals, the only thing holding your foot to the pedal is friction. Friction only exists if your foot is in contact with the pedal -- what physicists call "normal force" or "contact force". No force, no friction, and your foot is off the pedal, by definition.
Because of this fact, you have to exert some amount of pressure to the pedals all the time, particularly on the back-stroke...unless you have super Jedi warrior reflexes and can move your foot in exactly the same arc as the crank, your foot is either going to come off the pedal, or it's going to have to be pressed against the pedal at least a little bit to maintain traction. This "little bit of retarding force" directly counter-acts the main driving force of the other crank...you are literally working against yourself; your legs are working against each other...and this extra effort that must be expended to maintain traction also won't show up in a power meter, depending on the design of the power meter.
It's a physical fact that flat pedals require you to keep your foot pressed against the pedal, and this backward force generally is non-productive and actually detracts from forward force. The main argument is how significant of an effect this is. There have been studies to measure the difference, but not all of them directly measure the right things. The current consensus is that the effect is small, and efficiency for most practical purposes is not greatly different between flat pedals and clipless/clipped pedals. To directly answer your question, I believe attempts to find a difference through practical testing (the straight road, direct comparison test) have failed to find a reproducable difference.
It may be a difference too small to matter, but other things considered, clipless should be more efficient because the need to apply this retarding force to the cranks is removed.


What to do about damaged bike frame I recently bought a used bike from a police auction that had a nasty cut in the frame (presumably caused by a angle grinder or something similar). Should I be worried about the bike's structural rigidity? If so, what should I do to mend the frame? I thought about wrapping a piece of aluminum around the damaged area and bolting it down with metal ties, but I'm not sure how much that'd help.

I personally would not ride that bike. The top tube is severely compromised now, it will get worse as cracks develop from the ends of the cuts.

No-one plans to crash so you can't resolve to always ride it 'gently', You do not want to ride over a pothole or off a curb and have the top tube buckle up into your face, neck or chest.

Your proposed fix of clamping a sheet of aluminium over the tube would not be sufficient, neither will JB weld. There is no safe solution for $30.

Unfortunately, a proper welding job will probably cost more than you paid for the bike.


What cadence should you sprint at? Current knowledge is that riding at a higher cadence is good for long-term aerobic efforts. Does that mean that sprinting at lower cadences would be better? I have certainly experienced myself that I seem to be able to sprint faster when pushing a fairly tough gear. It feels like I can put more power out and I am exerting myself more.
Or is it that I'm just bad at riding at high cadences and I should learn how to do so? Professional sprints all seem to be at high cadences.

Sprinting is usually a (very) short time effort combining high power and maximum speed, per se excluding each other in normal cycling. The idea is to combine a very high cadence and the highest wattage on the pedals in a totally anaerobic effort lasting seconds or 200-250m.


Angled in drop bars like Salsa Woodchippers with slightly less angle in? I like drop compact drop bars but I think I'd like them better if they were angled in like Salsa Woodchipper bars. I adjust my brake levers to angle in on regular drop bars and compact drops because like my hand to grip something at an inward angle, not a straight ahead parallel.

I want to try those Salsa Woodchipper bars, but I'd prefer to first try something less extreme, like a cross between the Salsa Woodchipper and the compact drop bars I use now. Anyone know of such an animal?

(I ride more or less upright, saddle about the same height as the top of the bars. Slow, steady, but sensual. And classy.)

The Salsa Cowchipper! http://salsacycles.com/components/category/road_handlebars/cowchipper

Handy comparison image from the salsacycles.com website, in case it ever vanishes from the web.

More information here: http://salsacycles.com/culture/introducing_cowchipper_handlebar

On a sidenote: Maybe your current bar is too narrow? It should be about as wide as your shoulders.


Can an odometer (magnet) be attached to an exercise bicycle crank arm (not the pedal)? Just received from Amazon, assembled, and successfully used the following:
Folding Exercise Bike with 10-Level Adjustable Magnetic Resistance | Upright and Recumbent Foldable Stationary Bike is the Perfect Workout Bike for Home Use for Men, Women, and Seniors (Black)
I am a senior that wants to use the exercise bicycle indoors for moderate daily exercise.
I regard the purchased exercise bicycle as a good deal for the money.  However, its
wiring is bad, so I don't get any speed/distance readings.  Since I own a stop-watch,
all I need to compensate for the bad wiring is to install an external odometer (if possible).

Edit
The manufacturer subsequently came through, very nicely, shipping me a replacement.  There was simply a temporary communication delay.  Anyway, the responses to this article were great, re this is not an uncommon problem.

I emphasize that the odometer does not have to be accurate.  However, I do
need the odometer to be consistent from one day to the next.
As the following image shows, I do not have access to any spinning wheel on
the exercise bicycle.

Therefore, the only idea that I have is to (somehow) find a moderately priced
(under $50) odometer that I can attach to one of the pedals, and then have its
readout located near the top of the exercise bicycle, for my easy viewing.
My research has completely struck out re attaching an odometer to a pedal.  Is
this do-able?  If so, what type of odometer should I purchase?  If an odometer can not give consistent (not necessarily accurate) results when attached to a pedal, is there any other approach that I can take?
Edit
As indicated by the responses, the do-able approach involves adding the odometer magnet to the crank arm rather than the pedal.

For your requirements this would work fine.   The speedo readout would not reflect a real-world value, but for comparing efforts on the same bike it would be ideal.
I'd suggest the lowest priced wired Cateye bike computer (velo9 or similar) because it lasts years on a battery.  I've had cheaper bike computers, and they can eat batteries in a few days.
For fitting, I'd try mounting the receiver end of the wire somewhere near the L of Landis on the housing, using double-sided sticky foam tape.  Secure the magnet on the inside of the crank, such that it won't get banged by your shoe.
Great work for finding a solution.


Single-speed vs Multi-speed bike purchase I am looking at buying my first bike as an adult.  I grew up in a neighborhood that was very hilly, so am used to getting bikes with gears to be able to do hills more easily.  I now live somewhere comparatively flat (long shallow hills; E.g. 0.5 mile at a few degree incline, <5 degrees), but am very out of shape.

Question:  What are the real things I need to consider to decide

1) Whether I need a multi-speed bike at all

2) How many speed bike I need?

For completeness & context
I am about 6' and 160 lbs but not in shape at all.  I currently walk or bus pretty much everywhere.  I'm looking to use the bike mostly for getting to/from work, not necessarily to get in shape.   My ride to work can be 0.5-3 miles, depending on if I decide to ride to transit or bike the whole way.

Single speed bikes tend to be very low end bikes--aside from fixies, but those are a different animal altogether.  As such, you almost certainly will want a multispeed bike.  Don't get too focused on having a specific number of gears.  Instead, focus on a bike that meets your needs.  For commuting, you'll mainly be looking at commuter bikes and road bikes, and you'll likely be looking at a derailer bike with at least 16 gears.

Visit some local bike shops with absolutely ZERO intention of buying something that day.  Depending upon where you live, the selection of shops may range from great to sparse.  Get a feel for the place and how they treat you.  The customer experience will range from great to awful.

I strongly urge that you stay away from big box stores and only shop at local bike shops.  You will have a far better selection of bikes at a local bike shop, and service is non-existent at big box stores.

What's available at bike shops in your area may be completely different from what's available in my area.  As such, it's impossible for anyone on the Internet to make specific recommendations.  It's best if you look at the inventory of bikes in shops in your area.  Something that you have to custom order or drive 100 miles to pick up adds a lot of unnecessary expense and hassle.


How can I prepare for cycling 60 km, before getting the bike? Help me win free ice-cream!
I happen to be someone who's yet to start cycling "properly" (the highest I've ridden yet is about 15 kilometres in a session, on a bike that most people here would find unimaginably uncomfortable).
Now, a friend of mine has challenged me to go 60 kilometres on a bike within 10 days from the day I get it, which would be at least a fortnight from now, I believe. It's going to be a cheap hybrid bike (a maximum of 15000 INR or 200 USD). If I'm actually able to do that, he'd get free ice-cream for 100 days!
I'd first like to ask for the kind of saddle I should get. I've read about saddles depending on the distance between sit-bones, but to be honest, I don't think I'd get any saddle around here (India) that, if it says it's 155mm wide, it'd actually be. So is there anything such as "too wide" a saddle? Is just buying a saddle that's "wide" or "widest available" the safe bet?
Now, coming to my own fitness. I'm able to walk easily for about 10 kilometres without feeling a thing, even while wearing slippers or flip-flops (and I mean i feel just as "fresh" as when I'd started). I'm able to do at least (because that's the much I've done as a part of my usual workouts) 30 lunges followed by 30 squats back to back (and vice versa). In a whole workout though, I'm able to do 200 of each
Coming to the core and upper-body, I'm able to perform 4 sets of 10-second push-up hold followed by 10 push-ups followed by 10 seconds pushup hold with up to 30 seconds of rest in between sets. (if you think it's easy, give it a try!). I don't know how or why, but I'm able to do 26-27 push-ups at a go otherwise. In a whole workout, I can manage to pull off about 250 of them. I'm also currently capable of holding a three and a half minute elbow plank.
Are there any exercises that I can do /areas that I need improvement in, to be able to get the free ice cream?

Edit: As discussed in the comments, I assume that OP is allowed to take a total of 2 hours of breaks, not that the ride (moving time) itself must be shorter than 2 hours. A 30km/h average speed over 60km would be challenging even for an experienced rider on good (but public) roads on a road bike.
It sounds like you are in quite a good shape. You should easily be able to do 60km in a day on a halfway decent bike. Unless there are lots of hills or headwind or bad roads. My sister recently got her first cheap 250€ city bike and imediately did a 90km trip along the Danube river without any issues. She didn’t do any bicycle specific training before but can probably perform all the exercises you mentioned.
Just take it easy, take a long break in the middle and remember to eat (but not too much and mostly carbohydrates, e.g. fruit or pasta or rice) and drink enough.
A wide saddle can chafe on the inside of your legs. A very soft saddle can put pressure on areas where you don’t want it. The specifics depend a lot on your body and your seating position. Just try the saddle which comes with the bike. Get bicycle shorts or at least tight shorts (e.g. running shorts) and wear them without underwear.
Adjust the saddle position to be high enough. As a rough estimate, with the pedal at the 6'o clock position and your heel placed on the pedal your leg should be fully extended. Considering your core strength you can probably lower the handlebars as low as possible for better aerodynamics.
You can’t really train endurance within 10 days. I’d take a few short rides (an hour or less) so your body gets used to the movement. Make sure your seating position is as good as possible and everything else is set up correctly (tire pressure, chain lube, shifting etc.) Don’t overdo it, you don’t want to start with sore muscles or a sore neck.


What is the maximum and average power that can be produced by 175 mm crank length Power produced by 175mm crank length in semi recumbent racing bike

The crank does not generate power. A human does.

As such, crank length is only a part of equation to get power (in Watts): P = F×l×ω, where F is the force one applies (Newtons), l is the distance between axle and pedal (meters) and ω is angular speed (radians per second). The higher the force and rotation frequency, the more the power.

Certain crank lengths may be more comfortable for a given human, thus allowing to achieve higher resulting power. I assume the optimal crank length depends more on legs' geometry, but I doubt that there is a ready equation for that. And do not forget clearance issues — if you take a crank that is too long, it will start interfering with frame or even ground.

The only way a crank could be able to limit power is if it would be possible to break it by applied force. That would require an inhuman strength.

So it is not the crank or even not a bike, it is human. Cranks and bicycles are literally levers in mechanical sense, and the golden rule of mechanics states that no advantage in power can be achieved with a lever.


How often should I refresh the sealant in tubeless tires? I've got a set of tubeless tires that have been on my mountain bike for over two summers and have had zero flats. How often should I be adding more sealant? How much? Should I be removing old sealant first?

At minimum, you should replace the sealant every 6 months or so.  As you have found, a good tubeless setup will stay inflated well beyond that time, as the latex in the sealant has already sealed any small holes.  However, the sealant does dry over time, so the systems ability to self-repair when you run over a thorn or sharp rock is greatly reduced.

There is no need to clean and remove the old sealant.  However, some brands tend to leave clumps that you can pick out.

If you're valve cores are removable, the easiest way to add sealant is through the valve.  Otherwise, you'll have to break the tire bead off the rim (just a small section) to add sealant.  This can sometimes take a few tries to get sealed again (helpful to have a compressor or large CO2 cartridge to "slam" the tire into the rim).


mountain bike vs. cyclocross bike I've recently started trail riding on my mountain bike and i love it, but my bike is really old (circa 1992 steel Trek with Deore LX). I really want to get a new one, but I'm also really attracted to cyclocross. Ideally i would just get two bikes, but I'm wondering if i could get just a 'cross bike and use it for trail riding.

How do i determine if a 'cross bike would work on the trails I ride? They're beginner / intermediate trails and I think a 'cross bike should be ok, but I have zero experience on a 'cross bike and don't really know.

Cross bikes are generally ok for less serious trails where you're looking for decent speed, without the need for serious climbing, suspension and traction.

You've got more clearance on a cross than a road bike, but the frame is a similar size and they've generally got 700mm road size rims, so they aren't as maneuverable as an MTB. They generally don't have suspension. Tyres are fatter and with more tread than a road bike, but they'll normally only get to about 32-35mm width - MTBs will go wider. The gear ranges reflect this too - you'll be able to go faster at the top end, but the lower end gears to tackle the serious inclines will be more favourable on MTBs.

In general use cross bikes are great for road use with a bit of off road, where MTBs would be the other way around - especially if you're going to be going seriously off-road.

The 'real cyclist' answer is to get both. After all, you'll always need another bike, right?


When to buy an enduro bike: autumn or spring? At what time of year can I buy a bicycle for the best price?

Here is some more information for my specific case.

I live in Bulgaria, and as the bike needs to be tested, purchasing from abroad is not an option.
It is early autumn now, and the prices have already dropped, that is 20% off Trek bikes, and other bikes have fallen e.g. 5000BGN->3500BGN; 12000BGN->8000BGN
Budget between 2000-4000BGN (I would like to stay away from the steep region in the price/quality chart, but still have the money for a good bike)
Scott, Trek, Specialized, Giant, RAM, Shockblaze are the most prominent brands here i.e. most bikes in the shops are from those brands
Target riding stile is climb+trail, climb+ski track downhill (summertime), maybe ramps later
The showroom bikes that are at reduced cost seem not ridden at all, probably due to the high cost
From the moment that I make the decision, it will be probably around a couple of weeks until I try most bike shops locally and choose a model
I will not be riding this winter, however storage in an apartment is not an issue
The bike will be used only for MTB, I have a separate commuter bike

I am worried that at early spring, when the new models arrive, the old promotions might be dropped. Those promotions are quite substantial. At what point (now or in spring) would I be best off, buying a bike?

Quick currency converter: 4 392BGN == Trek Slash 7

Generally late fall (when new bike are arriving on dealers showrooms) or in the middle of winter (when dealers want to move inventory just to help cash flow).

Of course, the older a bike is, the more likely it is to be discounted, but it will also be less likely that you will find the size/spec. that you want.


Are there any major outstanding recalls of bicycle parts? Sometimes bike companies don't get things right.

Are there any major recalls people should know about? Where can people find information on recalls?

There is one answer which has places to find information on recalls (for a given country). Other answers could be by part.

(Moderators: I'd like this to be community wiki)

Places to Find Information on Recalls and Safety Issues

United States

The US Consumer Product Safety Commission is the organization responsible for recalls and safety issues in the US.
Recalls.gov
To report safety issues, SaferProducts.gov
A convenient listing, Consumer Affairs

New Zealand

https://www.recalls.govt.nz/


How to assemble '70s-era center-pull brake I've (supposedly) got a 1976 Motobecane Le Champion with what appears to be the original center-pull rim brakes, which unforunately are not in one piece and need to be re-assembled:

As you can see in the picture, there is a spring on each caliper arm (in the blue square) which needs to be "set" between a hook on the center piece and a hook on the arm itself. When doing this for only one side, you can simply manipulate the arm into place by squeezing it in your hand and then letting the spring settle in. However, when trying to assemble the other arm, I run into huge problems:

The spring for the inner (here unattached) arm needs to be put on before the arm itself
The two arms need to "already" be aligned together, as there is a "rivulet" on the inner plate into which a rubberized "nub" on the back of the outer plate fits (outlined in green).
However, the aforementioned spring needs to be set properly before aligning the two plates, because there is no way to move the spring into place once aligned in such a way.
Trying to "squeeze" the second arm into place doesn't work as with the first one because it's already "influenced" by the first one, since they interlock (as described above) and, in order to "squeeze" the second arm, the first arm also has to be squeezed at the same time so that the "pulls" on the end of the arm (where the cables are supposed to go) otherwise block the movement of the opposing arm.

Unfortunately, I have tiny little baby hands and so I simply can't squeeze the two arms together in a way which is non-clumsy enough to allow me to then use a ridiculous amount of strength with the other hand to contract the spring manually in order to set the opposing arm.

However, after literally hours of trying to take it apart and put it back together, I started to think (hope?) that there must be a more efficient way of doing this which I have somehow missed: After all, these brakes were designed to be serviced by humanoids with two hands. Unfortunately, the internet has not been very useful in this matter; Does no one have an idiot-proof set of step-by-step instructions for assembling this type of brake?

I finally got it to work by employing a third "hand" as such:

Disassemble both arms.
Start with the innermost arm, squeezing the arm into place so that, when it is in its "resting" position, the spring lies inside the two respective hooks on the inner plate and the arm itself.
Screw the retaining bolt for the inner arm all the way, so that the arm remains on the bike without falling off.
Grab the second (outermost) arm.
Put the retaining bolt into the arm and then push it just barely through so that you have enough space to put the washer on the other side, and do so.
Adhere the bolt to the arm temporarily by covering the head of the washer in adhesive tape and then wrapping it around the arm so that it holds the bolt in place by itself. Cut a ring in the tape inside the washer so that the bolt can be screwed in easily.
Squeeze the second arm into place in a similar fashion to that used for the first arm and hold it in that position with your hand.
In order to keep the spring from "jumping" out of place, push the retaining bolt through the washer and into the retaining plate. Hold the entire assembly together by pushing on the head of the bolt with your thumb.
With your thumb on the bolt, it is now possible to release your hand grip on the arm itself and then to use the hand to properly position the bolt into the plate and then screw the bolt securely into the plate.


How to grease an internal hub gear? Are there any online tutorials or can someone explain how to grease an internal hub gear?

I did a bit of searching but I only find people completely desassembling their hub gears. I am looking for a more practical day-to-day example.

Typically you will find a nipple on the hub that allows you to drain out the gear oil and then replace with new fresh oil which greases the gears. The placement and instructions for doing this depend largely on the type and brand.


Rear disk brakes stopped working in Trek DS 2 I have recently bought my first disk brake bike and after having the first ride, I noticed a slight rear disk brake rubbing noise. So, next day I decided to have a look and reposition the brake. Since, I've never dealt with disk brakes before I've unscrewed every possible screw and started "experimenting". (Yeah, very stupid of me). Eventually, I didn't manage to fix the noise and left the brakes lightly screwed when returning home. On the ride I tried to pull the rear break lever several times to check if I can still stop on such loose brakes. But after several tries the break lever became quite loose and lost pressure. When arrived I noticed oil everywhere... Can I fix it somehow?

The liquid in the top photo is hydraulic fluid.

You probably unscrewed the bleed port screw at some point and now your system has less fluid than it needs and also air.

Seek a tutorial using your preferred search engine "bleed tektro brakes" on how to bleed your brakes and follow it.

When you have done that you need to check two more things.

There's no fluid on the pads.
There's no fluid on the rotors.

You'll know either of these things if after a successful  bleed theres no braking power/friction even with the brakes jammed on hard.

Clean rotors with isopropyl alcohol (not meths or petrol) and clean paper towels. Really bad contamination might require sanding the rotor with fine grain sandpaper too. Try isopropyl first.

Contaminated pads should be replaced or if you cant afford to there's a hack which you really shouldn't do.

Dont do this. High likelihood of destroying pads anyway

Ventilate well. Wear something over your eyes.
Place pads metal side down on a cold stove top element and then turn on the element.
Wait for the element to heat up and the fluid will start burning off too.
Once the fluid has burnt off (smoke stops) remove pads from element immediately with a tool. This will be in the order of less than 60 seconds.
If a pad gets too hot it will crack and need to be thrown away. Don't turn the element on too hot.
Allow pads to cool naturally. Clean pads with isopropyl.


How can I fit a tapered fork to a 1 1/8 semi-integrated/zero stack head tube? I have a 2004 Giant VT frame with a zero stack / semi-integrated headset.  It currently takes a straight steerer threadless fork.

Is there any type of headset I can put on so I can fit a tapered fork?

There are products like the Cane Creek 40.EC44/40.Bottom Assembly (Here's a press article on it and its kin, which should read first) which may work (I know its been installed successfully on some other Giant bikes, such as the Anthem, but not on your particular bike). Theres a lift of the front end by 5-10 mm, so its not a free lunch (aside from the cost of the unit and ancillaries). You should go to your LBS and test this actually works with this or a similar unit and the desired fork though, before you drop the money on it.


How can I get rid of I.T. Band pain caused by cycling? I have struggled for a while with Illiotibial Band pain or Illiotibial Band Friction Syndrome when cycling and running, here are some of the things that I have done to get rid of the pain:

When it is inflammed:

Cataflam (a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory - NSAID)
Ice
Transact patches (topical anti-inflammatory)
Rest

Prevention:

Hamstring strectches
Massage (cross friction on ITB)
Strengthening of gluteus medius
Stretching of gluteus medius and TFL (Tensor Fascia Latae)
Foam roller
Bike setup correction (moving saddle forward worked for me)

There are some good resources on the Internet, here are some I have read:

Cycling Problems - ITB Pain And Tightness, by Karen Doyle

ITBS Help Site

What have you done to get rid of ITBS?

Not sure if my direct pain was related to ITBS - but this cut out a lot of pain I was having: Custom Pedal Extenders.  I am large person and this reduced a lot of pain I was getting in my inner thighs and hip.


How long should a well maintained chain last and what can I do to prolong its life? I commute on a fixie. I'm using KMC Z410 chains.

Every evening if it's wet I wipe and re-lube my chain, using ProLink lube. Every weekend I remove the chain, soak it in kero, brush it with a citrus degreaser, allow to dry and then re-lube.

My current chain is 2 months old (about 800km) and is over .75 already so I think I'll replace it this weekend. Mind you, it is winter here and it's been pretty wet most weeks. Also there is a lot of fine sandy grit on the paths I tend to ride.

I read questions like this and am amazed how long people's chains will last. I don't mind replacing the chain often as it's a cheap chain ($15) and I want to protect my chainring and cog.

Is there anything I'm doing wrong with my maintenance regime? Is it surprising that my chain isn't lasting that long? Or is everything okay and I should stop worrying about it?

Update: I relaxed my maintenance regime. I just wiped down and re-lubed occasionally. The chain was very quiet and smooth. However today, after just 20 days and 353 kilometers, it's already over .75!!! I checked the chain guage on a new chain and it is definitely indicating that the new chain is under .75. Why am I burning through chains so fast?

Update: A little about me and my riding. I weigh about 88kg (195lbs). I ride fairly aggressively on bike tracks on the way to work (I almost never get passed). There are some hills so I am reasonably often out of the saddle and pushing pretty hard. I will take the old chain into a bike shop next weekend and let you know what they say.

A new chain has factory installed lube inside on the bushings and pins. It is a thicker, stickier lube than anything you can put back on the chain after a cleaning which is that thorough.

I love that you take time to maintain the bike. Definitely check your chain checker, as Daniel said, but on your next chain, try relaxing the maintenance a bit.

Clean the chain by spraying a light citrus degreaser on a rag, folding the rag in the palm of your hand, and running the chain through the rag. This will clean the exterior and the accessible bits without soaking away the internal factory lube.

Once clean, lube the exterior of your chain with a quality lube (I like Boeshield T-9 or Dumonde Tech yellow) and wait 15-20 minutes. Then wipe off all excess lube.

Starting with your new chain, do that for the first 6 months, or until your fresh lube job sounds unlubed again within a few on the bike hours.

Once that is not working, go back to your current method. I'd say do the complete strip and relube once a month, with the process described above on the in between weeks.

After your next chain, let us know if and how your mileage changed.


Why does Fox specify to fix the lever in an upright position, on a Rhythm 34 fork that uses a Through-Axle? I vaguely remember that "conventional wisdom" states that closed QR levers on MTB forks should point towards the back of the bike (see Which direction should QR lever point? or What is the proper position for quick-release levers?). However, I just saw that Fox
 specifies something different from the anwers to these questions in the manual of the Rhythm 34 thru-axle fork: "The closed lever position must be between 1-20 mm in front of the fork leg.", i.e. like this:

Out of curiosity: Why is this so? Would it be harmful in any way if I ride with the lever pointing backwards instead of upwards?

Source (image and quote): Fox manual https://www.ridefox.com/dl/bike/605-00-136-34-Tuning-Guide-revC.pdf

Most likely the manual writing team knew they had to specify a 'safe' QR position so the company would be covered legally. In consultations with the engineering and legal team they decided that in front of the fork leg was the safest position, or at least the position that a company lawyer could defend as the safest position in the case of a lawsuit.


Friction in the free hub? I have noticed there's some friction in my free hub on the TCR - when I pedal backwards slowly, I can get the rear wheel to roll backwards (while on the stand). This strikes me as a bad thing - means when I'm coasting on the bike, I'm losing more speed than I should be.

Is there anything I can do to fix this? Is this something I should take to my friendly LBS and have them take a look, or is it something I should be able to handle at home?

My Ksyriums do that, and have done for the last 5 years.  They still work fine, so I wouldn't be worried about them breaking.

I have on a couple of occasions taken the hub apart and cleaned an re-greased the palls and all bearing surfaces.  This seemed to reduce it slightly.

I would not recommend any changes to the internals of the hub, other than cleaning and lubricating.  The consequence of a hub failure at speed are quite bad.  The amount of drag you are experiencing is quite small.  It's not worth risking that crash for that tiny gain.

If you are racing, and that tiny amount of drag really is the difference between win/lose (or, as in my case, between being dropped and hanging on the back. ;-) ) then you might consider second "racing" wheelset.  If you do that, I recommend ceramic bearings.


What is this effect on my chain called? I have a new road bike and when I move into the largest cog in the back, some variation on the above photo happens every couple of rotations. (Has been fixed by adjusting the barrel adjuster). I'm curious: what is this called?

The photo shows the result of a derailleur being out of adjustment. There are many on line tutorials that explain derailleur adjustment. There is also the chance that the trainer stand is somehow interfering with the derailleur movement.


What kinda of maintenance does a Sturmey Archer X-FDD DynoBrake hub need? I have a Sturmey Archer X-FDD dynohub and drum brake for about 2 years. I've riden it about 6000 miles and I don't know if it is due for maintenance or even what kind of maintenance is required. I can't seem able to find anything about it on the interwebs. Any pointers?

There is very little to do with this hub.

Mostly you need to tighten brake cable.

Edit.

  After 2 years of everyday use with 7-30 kilometers per day in city traffic with lot of junctions, using front brake as main brake (est. total
  10 000 km) in my case there is still a lot of ( ca. 60-75%, didn't
  measured exactly) brake lining on my X-FDD brake shoes.

  For most regular users it's going to be 'lifetime' with no maintenace.

I disassemble it every year, what is, in my opinion, more often than required.

Sealed bearings require replacement when they get perceptible clearance.
Brake shoes need to be replaced when brake lining is gone (you will hear & feel the difference).

What I do with it is also greasing the cam that pushes brake shoes (1) and axle on the opposite side (2) (see picture), that keeps shoes together (it's inside and need to be done carefully so as not to grease braking surface). This procedure reduces friction and make you use less power to pull the brake lever.

The second problem may appear when you like to pull lever lightly when approaching a junction slowly. It produces a glazed surface on the brake shoes, that makes braking harder, and less effective. You can get rid of it with sandpaper, but it's easy to break the circular shape of the shoes. Less effective, but a safer option is to brake firmly when going down the hill - several times.


Norco 7.1 charger with rockshox 30 gold tk. Can I upgrade to rebas I want to upgrade my norco 7.1 charger 2015 to use RockShox Reba RL Solo Air.

1) is this better fork than mine

2) Does it accept tokens

3) Is there limit as to how long a fork I can put on the bike
I assume it would alter the head angle but what effect would that have on my bike

3) If changing a fork, you should aim to have the same effective length when riding.  If your fork ends up longer, its able to exert exponentially more force on your head tube.

Also, a longer fork will raise the front of the bike effectively slackening the head tube angle and giving you more trail.   The rake angle of the new fork may also add or reduce trail.  Either way, yes changing fork is likely to change handling.

Ideally you want the bike to have the same silhouette from the side before and after changing the fork.

Breaking that down, you want the same trail measurement before and after to keep handling the same.  The top tube should be the same angle from the horizontal before and after, and the wheelbase should be the same.

If you fit a longer fork with the same size wheel it will look more like this.  Note this is 2 degrees of rotation centered around the rear axle.

The upshot is there is now more trail, so your bike will resist turning more, until it gets to about 25 degrees of steering input and the front wheel will then try and turn sideways hard, because it wants to "fall over"

Upshot, you want the trail value to be identical before and after, and ideally the forks no longer than original.


What is the difference between a speedometer and a power meter in terms of performance measurement? If I cycle the same route every day, what would be the benefit of having a power meter over a speedometer?

Can't I just measure my speed and compare it against my last run and see if I've done better?

Can't I just measure my speed and compare it against my last run and see if I've done better?

Yes, but it's only directly comparable if the wind (and surface, and traffic ... but particularly wind) conditions are identical. Since you don't usually have an accurate measure of the wind vector relative to your movement at each point on your ride, you're going to have a pretty rough comparison at best.

Even that rough comparison is available only if you take exactly the same route, whereas a power meter can give you some idea how you're doing even on a different route with a different elevation profile.

Also, just measuring speed doesn't tell you anything about the power distribution through your pedal stroke, or the (im)balance in work done by your two legs.

Whether all that extra information is actually useful or interesting to you, or worth the cost of a power meter, is naturally a question only you can answer.


Jammed lock (shackle stuck in crossbar) Yesterday evening, my Kryptonite U-Lock was pretty stiff when I unlocked it after work.  The key turned fine, but removing the shackle from the crossbar took a few minutes of pulling and jiggling.  I eventually was able to separate the two, ride home, and lock the bike up outside.  This morning, I couldn't separate the two, even after 10 minutes of finagling.  The key turns 180 degrees and presumably the lock is open, but the two parts will not separate.  I put some tri flow on the joint, no luck.  What is causing this?  How can I remove the lock, and prevent this from happening again?  For what it's worth, these have probably been the two coldest days of winter so far in my area.

Sounds like you have moisture in there somewhere and its frozen.  Try pouring warm (not boiling) water on it from a jug.

When you get it open, take it inside, dry it,  and store in a hot water cylinder cupboard to drive out moisture.  If you don't have a HWC then 30 minutes in a normal oven on super-low temperature would do.  Or even putting the open lock in a sunlit window for a whole day.

Once its dry you need to keep the moisture out - I'd use a lot of grease like White Lithium.

You also want to check the seals and perhaps arrange the lock with the keyhole facing down, and the curved part of the D would be lower.  That way rain water won't run into the lock along the sides of the D.


How to store old hydraulic disc brakes? Since I'm replacing my old Shimano M446 hydraulic disc brakes with new ones, I'm wondering is there a way to properly store disc brakes that are not in use (disassembled from bike frame)? At the moment, I'm not sure if I'm going to sell them or keep them but anyway I would like to keep them in working order.

Here are some of questions:

Should I keep system closed (filled with oil), replace old oil (probably needs replacing anyway) or drain it completely?
Should brake pads stay in calipers or remove them and place bleed blocks?
How to handle brake hose so it doesn't break or change shape?
How to store rotors so they don't bend?

Because you are buying new brakes - the best thing to do would be to store your old brakes in the same manner you receive the new brakes.

And that would also be re-using the existing packaging.

I'm sure the logistics in getting newly manufactured brakes from the production line to the retail counter / customer involves many months of transportation and storage. So you should be absolutely fine mimicking this.


Wobbly splined cranks, yet bolts are very tight I have a road bike with ISIS splined cranks.  I've been noticing front derailleur rub lately, and when I took a look, both of my crank arms are wobbly.  The retaining nut is very tight, so tight on the drive side that I can't even back it out.

The bike is an entry level bike equipped with Shimano Sora. Except for the crankset, which is an alloy crank from (Taiwan).

I checked the BB by seeing whether the wobble transmits to the other side, or to the crank axle.  It does not.  Each crank independently wobbles.  From what I've read, this implies that the crank splines are worn.

I am thinking the most conservative move is to replace the cranks and see what happens.  The most aggressive repair is to replace the entire crankset, including BB and chain rings.

Are there any options that I have missed?

Sounds like wear between cranks and bottom bracket.  Strange its the same on both sides, I'd expect your primary foot side to be more worn.

Have a good look at the interface between crank and BB.  Look for wear and witness marks to see if they're worn together or just the BB or just the cranks are worn.

You shouldn't have to change your chainrings unless they're a one-piece unit with the right-hand crank.


How do I align a wheel? I broke a couple of spokes on my wheel, now it's all bent, how can I align it back again? What kind of tools do I need to do a good job?

First, replace the missing spokes with properly sized spokes.

Next, on the drive side of a rear wheel with derailleur gears you will need to remove the cassette, insert the new spoke(s), then replace it. That requires a special tool (there are several variations for different cassettes and freewheels). A bike shop can do this or sell you the correct tool.

You will always need the next special tool: a spoke wrench that fits the size of spokes you have.

While a truing stand is great, you can do some basic truing of a bike with rim brake by simply putting the bike on a stand. With disk brakes a cable tie round the bike frame or fork can be turned so the free end is almost (but not quite) touching the rim. Anything similar will work, you just need something close to the rim that lets you see the gap between that and the rim.

Let the air out of the tire.  Air pressure in the tire will push the tube against the turning top of the spoke head, and can puncture the tube.  Spin the wheel slowly and watch the space between the rim and the brake pad.  When you have found the centre of a an area that is listing to one side, use your truing wrench to loosen the spoke nearest to it on that side ¼ to ½ turn, and tighten the spokes on the opposite side an equivalent amount.

As long as you work in small steps and work slowly, it is safe to play around and figure out how truing works.  Patience is required.

If the rim itself is bent, it may be hard or impossible to true.