Fitting a saddle with non-round rails to a Stevens Arcalis What options are there to change the saddle mount on an aero seatpost of an Stevens Arcalis 2017 to mount a saddle with non-round carbon rails?

Below you can see the saddle mount that is designed to accept round saddle rails only. Usually 6mm x 6mm or 7mm by 7mm.

Are there any options – specific to this bike or general purpose – to allow that?

Update:

Stevens Vertriebs GmbH (info@stevensbikes.de) informed me via email

  ... we are sorry, we don´t have Arcalis saddle clamps for Carbon-Rail
  available

So stevens does not provide any replacement part for my purpose.

As the "Stevens Vertriebs GmbH" and other sources on the internet mentioned there is probably no 3rd party solution as of now to mount another saddle which has no round bars.

UPDATE:

I sanded down the carbon rails of the saddle to make them fit.
When doing this wear a breath protection and protect you and your environment from the carbon particles.


S shaped down tube (MTB) Are there any advantages of S shaped down tubes over the traditional ones on MTB?

For example: what do you think of this design?

Jamis Exile Comp 2013

The S shape allows for:

stronger head tube and bottom bracket welds without the need for gussetting. You'll find this on more trail focused bikes (such as AM, FR and DH).
wheel clearance for long travel forks
wheel clearance for the front wheel (ie. 29er's)
Still allows for room for a water bottle within the front triangle


Fill my Fox Shock with Air When I go over a sidewalk, the marker ring on my shock goes all the way down the shock, so I think I need air.

I bought a Giant "shock pump" that supposedly goes up to 400 psi.
I screwed it onto my read Fox Shock, on my 2019 Giant Trance 2. The gauge on the pump reads 0. Shouldn't it be reading some air pressure, if there was air in my shock?

Then I started giving it some pumps. It resisted quite a bit. One pump it went up to 50 psi on the gauge. 2 pumps and it went up to 100. Then I can pump all day and it won't move beyond 100.

I don't think air is actually going into the shock. Is there some trick to this? I read over the manual and it just tells me to fill it with air, but there are no specifics.

Screenshots of my attempt:

The red thing seems to spin.
The blue thing seems to have 3 positions: down, right and left.
Where the pump is connected is the only place I see to make such a connection. * If I screw it SUPER tight, I read 200 psi on the gauge, but it will still not accept more air no matter how much I pump.

The blue thing is a 3 position lever, which controls how fast the air moves between the two chambers.  Looking at it directly,

LEFTmost position  is FIRM, ie pointing at your drive side.
MIDDLE position (ie straight down) is MEDIUM
RIGHTmost position is OPEN, ie pointing to your left while riding.

(There's a chance I have that backward.  Test it out first)

So you need to set the lever to OPEN, and set the sag on your rear to about 25% when you're sitting still on the bike, with all your normal riding gear.   This is easier with 2 people.

You can press the small black nubbin on your pump to release air from the shock.  Its straight below your gauge in the first photo.  A brief press should make a Hiss and allow air out.

Some shock pumps have a two-stage connector, where the first thread engages the outside of the schrader connector, and then the second slowly lowers a "presser" into the release in the middle of the valve.  This is to minimise pressure loss when connecting and disconnecting the pump.

  At this point you should be able to release air from the shock, and add more by pumping.

I can't find your pump model - the nearest Giant is https://www.giant-bicycles.com/nz/control-mini-shock-1  but that looks quite different.

The manual for your shock is at https://www.ridefox.com/dl/bike/605-00-139-FLOAT-DPS-Tuning-Guide-white-revB.pdf


What exactly is Shimano's Shadow Plus technology for rear derailleurs? A couple of years ago, Shimano debuted their Shadow Plus technology for mountain bike rear derailleurs. What is it and why would you want it? If it's such a good idea, why hasn't it been copied by other manufacturers or used in other groupsets?

Related: Why doesn't Shimano use shadow technology on road derailleurs? - which deals with the "Shadow" tech, which in true Shimano-style, is different from "Shadow Plus."

TL;DNR
A Shimano 'Shadow Plus' or SRAM Type 2 dérailleur (aka clutch dérailleur)  means you can change the chain tension by flicking a lever.

For completeness - back in the late 2000's, Shimano introduced the 'Shadow' dérailleur (refer OP's link) which brings the deraileur in behind the cassette, providing it more protection from knocks and damage.  A short time (couple of years?) later they added the 'clutch' which in reality is nothing to do with Shadow, but Shadow was still new, and they still sold non-shadow dérailleurs in the lower spec ranges, so the needed to keep Shadow in the name of this new model. Even though/because all clutch dérailleurs were also Shadow, it made a lot of sense for marketing to call them 'Shadow Plus' rather than call them 'Plus'

Unfortunately because of the close time frame between introduction, Some people mistakenly believe 'Shadow' means it has a clutch, as they never saw a 'Shadow' without the clutch.

So what is Plus - As alluded to by @Batman's comment - The Plus means a clutch.  But what is a clutch

  Dictionary: noun: clutch; plural noun: clutches

1.
a tight grasp.
"she made a clutch at his body"
    a person's power or control, especially when regarded as inescapable.
    plural noun: someone's clutches
    "Tom had fallen into Amanda's clutches"
2.
a mechanism for connecting and disconnecting an engine and the transmission system in a vehicle, or the working parts of any machine.
"she let the clutch in and the car surged forward"
    the pedal operating the clutch in a vehicle.
3.
a group of eggs fertilized at the same time, laid in a single session and (in birds) incubated together.
4.
a slim, flat handbag

But the Shimano marketing term is none of the above. SRAM used a more generic term "Type 2"

Going back even further than that (early/mid 1990's if memory serves me right, but might have been the 80's) Shimano came up with a 'new dérailleur' with a lighter spring and lowered chain tension. This was sold as having all sorts of advantages over the heavier springs - easy wheel changes, better drive train efficiency, probably making you more attractive to opposite sex was somewhere in there (it was the 1990's).  When it became apparent that MTB's were suffering because the spring was too light, its was going to be difficult to sell a "heavy spring" without Shimano getting egg on its face (as riders would become less attractive to the opposite sex). They developed the 'clutch' - a little lever that lets you have all the advantages of a light spring (easy wheel removal is the main claim to fame) and all the advantages of a heavy spring (less chain slap, better chain retention over rough ground etc).


What to look for in a bicycle meant for the exercise? I do not need the bicycle for daily commuting or mountain climbing.
I need the bicycle for morning and evening exercise and just for roaming around in order to get some fresh air.

I also want a smooth ride on non-smooth roads. I am a female.

What to look for in a bicycle meant for the above described needs?
Budget: 103$
Country: India

Update

I searched for and found the following bicycles with suspensions.
They fall near about $ 103.

http://www.choosemybicycle.com/in/en/bicycles/hercules/hybrid-/hercules-atom/Technical-Specifications
http://www.choosemybicycle.com/in/en/bicycles/hercules/hybrid-/hercules-rebellio-619/Technical-Specifications
http://www.choosemybicycle.com/in/en/bicycles/hero/mtb/hero-ranger-dtb-vx-2013/Technical-Specifications

How do I know whether they are comfortable for exercise and roaming around?

Regarding exercise:
I am an underweight female so loosing weight is not my goal.
I wish to get mentally fit and therefore I wish to tire myself out without getting bored. They say physical exercise is necessary to get rid of depression.
Hence I chose to cycle out.

What to look for in a bicycle meant for the exercise?

  The most important thing is that it be the right size for you, and after that you appear to want a "relaxed", upright posture rather than a "racing" posture. For that an inexpensively-built "city bike" (such as Andy's illustration) or perhaps a "hybrid" is probably the best choice.

Are the bikes shown above hybrid?

I am an underweight female so loosing weight is NOT my goal. I wish to get mentally fit and therefore I wish to tire myself out without getting bored. They say physical exercise is necessary to get rid of depression. Hence I chose to cycle out.

First and most important is the depression. You should really go to a bike shop and hop on a few different bikes and styles. Try them all. The one that makes you feel giddy and excited is the one to get. Pleasure, smiling, laughter, and exercise all release endorphins which help depression. Get the one that will not only give you exercise but also make you feel great! This is also how you will know if it is comfortable and fits you.

  wish to get mentally fit and therefore I wish to tire myself out without getting bored

This is best done by picking difficult challenges that you enjoy. It could be getting a BMX bike and working to learn one trick after another. It could be setting a speed goal for yourself that really forces you to push yourself. It could be any number of things. Just set challenging goals and surround yourself with others that will push you to reach them.

  I am an underweight female so loosing weight is NOT my goal.

Eat more. Seriously. Any exercise will cause a little weight loss and if you're really looking to challenge yourself mentally then that means more than a leisure ride. That means more calories. You'll have to learn what the right amount to eat is to not lose weight and then you can decide if you want to eat more to put on weight.

My feeling

The bike you chose looks odd to me but if it makes you happy it also looks versatile and fun. I could see taking to some trails and little jumps on it. Otherwise the more I write the more I'm inclined to suggest a smaller BMX bike like:

You can generally find them pretty cheap (not this model but other ones). They're incredibly durable. Relaxing for when you do want those roaming around trips, but can also be pushed for the fitness side. And learning a new trick or jump will burn less calories so you don't lose weight. Loads of fun too!


Where can I find a Shimano cs50 stopper fixing bolt? Somehow I lost a single 'stopper fixing bolt' on my down tube cable stop. I have a set of Shimano sm-cs50 outer down tube cable stops, and I don't want to buy new ones because I only need one bolt. Does anyone know the exact name of the bolt, or where I might find a substitute for it?

Those are M5 button head cap screws (the entire name is needed to specific the exact part), usually 8mm or 10mm long. You can buy them from any fastener supplier, and many hardware shops as well as bike shops.


What to wear under tights with fabric padding? I have a pair of performance bike cold weather tights that have some fabric padding where a chamois normally would be. Should i wear these tights over underwear (worry about chaffing), bike shorts (too much padding) with chamois or nothing at all?

Never had a pair like this before, so I'm wondering what the best practice is with these type of tights?

There is no kind of foam or gel, just a thick piece of fabric.

TL;DR If it's got a pad, don't wear anything under it. - Benzo

I've owned several pair of cold weather cycling tights, including some that were questionably "cycling" tights because they had no padding/chamois.  I've always found it best to wear nothing underneath when there is any sort of padding.  If there is no padding whatsoever (just a tight) putting a set of bike shorts/bibs underneath is your best bet. For anything with a pad/chamois/additional material, any additional warmth requirements should be layered on top (long underwear, shell pants, rain pants, wind fleece, etc).

In your case, I may consider either getting rid of them in favor of something with a real winter chamois (should be thicker) or possibly try to remove the extra "pad" and use bike shorts/bibs underneath.

Seat fit is a dicey enough proposition without mixing pads and hoping the combination is not worse than nothing.

FWIW Disclaimer:  I wear bib shorts down to about 10F (usually with over baggy shorts or a wind pant up to 40F).  I wouldn't ever wear my winter bib tights at a temperature above 10F, so it's rare that I would ever want to take them off and have something underneath.  I won't ever buy a winter tight unless it has a thicker pad in it.  I'll take all the insulation I can get sitting on a -20F seat.  For that reason I find my lightly "race padded" bib shorts to be inappropriate for actual winter riding.


Gates Carbon Drive off-road experience? I am planning on a new bicycle and one idea is a Fat bike with the corresponding Rohloff and a Gates carbon drive. I am using Rohloff's for more than 10 years and know what to expect. I am absolutely new to Gates carbon drive and I am unsure, whether these can be recommended on MTBs or for off-road usage. I've heard that dirt is a problem. However, the problem, according to corrsponding stories, is chiefly acoustics, i.e. sequaky noise. I've never heard that the drive would break or not perform as intended.

Do the pros of a carbon drive system still outweigh it's number of drawbacks, even when when the latter is increased due to off-road usage?

The main problem I see with Gates Carbon Drive on a fat bike is that you have to have a frame that "breaks" in the rear triangle to accommodate threading the belt. Have you checked to make sure there's a frame available that supports fat bike tires and also supports breaking the chainstays. As far as off-roading goes, that would create a potential weak spot in the frame. Although I"m sure any quality bike manufacturer would account for that when building such a frame.


New bike but no idea on inner tube size I bought a new bike a few days ago, Cannondale Bad Boy 3 2019 which gets delivered in a few days.

https://www.cannondale.com/en/Europe/Bike/ProductDetail?Id=7f48452b-f9eb-4e10-89e7-4a7550944bfa

Buying the spares I'm at a complete loss on finding the right inner tube size, popped into Evans Cycles today and the guy wasn't much help at all.

Anyone able to tell me and possibly link me to the correct inner tube's required?

Cheers!

The required spec is on the page you link: Tyres: Schwalbe Kojak Performance, 650x35c.  If you go into a bike shop and ask for 650x35 tubes they'll give you the right size (probably 650x32--38 as tubes fit a range of widths).

The only problem is that the valve type isn't specified there.  It's almost certainly Presta, but there's a chance it's Schrader (car style).  Strangely zooming way in to the photo, there's no sign of the valves at all.  You might want to hang on until you can check what valve it's got.


Improve survivability of bicycle container The "white container box" lasted about 2 months until it cracked in multiple places.

It was a cheap box(Dollar General variety).

New container is made by Sterilite and much sturdier.

I believe the old container cracked because of vibration and bumps transmitted from the ground to the box.

Can someone help me with ideas on how to cushion the new box?

The traditional solution on bicycles is metal wire basket. Metal is tougher than plastic and mesh instead of sheet metal makes it lightweight enough.

If you need something waterproof, put your things in waterproof bag or get a more expensive bike-specific rack box.


Crankset and derailleur Iam checking out my mtb for it's parts.

How do I be sure, for the cage length is the right one, if the differnce between the large and the small at the rear is from 42 to 11, and from 36 to 26 at the crankset.
Before replacement by the chain, What is a chain guide for.
How can I check, if the chain line is correctly measured before I replace the crankset and the chain.

The first paragraph is hard to understand. It sounds like you're saying you have an 11-42 cassette and 36/26 chainrings, and you want to know what sort of RD you need. If this is true, then manufacturers will state a chain capacity for their RDs. If not, please rewrite the question more clearly.

Chain capacity is the sum of your largest minus smallest cassette cog and the largest and smallest chainring. You need a capacity of (42-11) + (36-26) = 41 teeth. I suspect this means a long cage RD, but check the specs.

I think that "chain guide" usually means some sort of guide to prevent the chain falling off a single front chainring. You do not need one for a 2x system (and you might not even need one for a 1x system, although mountain bike readers might want to read the addendum to the answer). In any case, this sort of chain guide isn't relevant to sizing your chain. (Pro tip: if you drop your chainring off the inner ring, shift to your outer ring and keep pedaling; this will often derail the chain onto the small ring. The same can work if you drop the chain off the outer ring, provided it hasn't got wrapped around anything).

If your old chain was correctly sized, then you could just break the old one, then put the new one alongside it, and cut the new one to the same length as the old one. Otherwise, Park Tools has a good explanation of how to size a chain.

I don't know what your third question means. Please clarify.

Bonus: I have not paid attention to chain retention devices for 1x drivetrains over the years. However, a recent article on the Cannondale Slate reminded me that chain guides were a mechanism to aid chain retention for 1x systems. A chain guide can be seen in this 2016 review of the Cannondale Slate, which was arguably a precursor to modern gravel bikes, with an earlier version of the SRAM Force 1x drivetrain.

I don't believe these chain guides ever became popular on drop bar bikes. On 1x CX race bikes in the 2000s, my recollection is that riders would sandwich their chain in between chain guards mounted to the crank. That was considered the gold standard. I recall an alternative standard being an outer chainguard and a chain guide mounted on the seat tube, but I don't recall this being that common; you might as well get the second guard.

By the 2010s, I believe that 1x drivetrains had become common on mountain bikes. When drop bar bikes imported them, I believe the technology was already developed enough that chain guides weren't widely used. The 2016 Slate in the link had a narrow-wide chainring and a clutch rear derailleur, both of which are currently considered sufficient for chain retention without a guide. Indeed, the review article already alluded to this, and I saw one other review of the Slate from that era without a chain guide.

I'm not familiar with mountain bikes, but it seems like chain guides may be popular on downhill bikes. Some cross country or enduro mountain bike riders may opt for the extra protection of a chain guide. Two recent cross country world champions, Nino Schurter and Kate Courtney appear to have chain guides mounted.


What parts do I need to change to convert from flat handle bar to drop bar? I am thinking about getting a drop bar for my Merida Speeder 200 (2015). But I am told that I need to change some other parts as well.

My bike has V type brakes, 3 speed front derailleur and a 9 speed Tiagra read derailleur.

Which shifter-brake lever(I mean road bike type shifter) is compatible with my bike I don't know. Also do I need a modification on brake system? Do I need to change any other parts? Most importantly, what would the cost be?

Can you help me?

To do it best, You will need the bar (obviously) and the brifter(brake/shifter) and to switch to cantilever brakes. The latter is avoidable if you use what's called a travel agent but if you have the money the canti's are the way to go, as the travel agents are ugly and I have heard a lot of people having issues with them.

The reason for this is that V brakes have a different pull ratio than road brakes and with v brakes and a road lever you don't get proper leverage and the result is poor braking.

Look up 9sp brifter on google and you should have a plethora of choices. You should be able to use your existing stem as long as the clamp diameter is the same.

If I had to guess your looking at a 200 bucks if your were to go through a shop, total guess on my part though, and that number could vary greatly dependent on the components and quality/brands you go with.


Spoke puncturing my tube, can I cut it? I recently bought a second hand city bike.
After a 2 weeks I got a flat tire. On closer inspection it looks like this is due to the spoke. The rim tape is fine though. It seems that this particular spoke was changed by the previous owner and its end is more prominent than the others. Can this be the reason? Can I safely cut the excess?

This is the spoke I think caused the puncture (although the rim tap seems fine.

This is the look of the other spokes.

I'd cut it without a special tool:

fully unthread the nipple
remove spoke from the rim (no need to remove it from hub)
fully thread the nipple as far as it can go
cut 5mm of spoke thread with a regular cutting plier
fully unthread the nipple. mushed threads (from the cheap pliers) will be fixed that way
insert spoke into rim
thread nipple as much as necessary

Other options:

simply remove spoke from rim until you get a shorter one. missing 1 spoke doesn't cause any problems
partially unthread spoke and bend it in the middle with pliers until you get a shorter one
leave spoke as is and place a rubber square from an old tyre between spoke and rim tape to prevent any further punctures


How should I tie a bike to a hitch mounted bike rack to keep it from swaying into the bumper of my vehicle? I have a couple bike(shaped object)s I'd like to transport to the local state park for fun in the sun in a few weeks. I'm looking at a number of hitch mounted bike racks for my vehicle. It's pretty obvious how to use the rack (general example pictured below), however I can see the bike swaying along the front-to-back of the vehicle axis, potentially rubbing the wheels or handlebar against my vehicle. I've considered a handful of solutions, but was wondering what (if any) other options there are.
1.) Tie the bike to the vertical rack tube wherever it fits, this way the bike is held firm, but it is not straight up and down. This puts the wheel very close to the bumper, so there is less tolerance for any sway before tire-to-paint contact occurs.
2.) Weld an additional support perpendicular to the vertical tube halfway up which I can tie to the bikes to using the downtubes. This way the bikes remain more or less vertical. The downside is that I have to weld something, and I'm lazy.
Are there other solutions to this problem? I understand the bikes are quite heavy and tied on the top tube so the center of gravity helps reduce sway, but I also understand I'm very fond of my vehicles paint job and would hate to have a bike tire rubbing on it for 200 miles without me noticing.

Several possibilities,

Pool noodles - cut one vertically and mash it over the upright post of the hitch.  Retain in place with zip ties.

Bungee cords with hooks on the ends can be used to pull the bike frame toward the upright.  Also can wrap around top tube and horizontal of frame

Old inner tubes can be used in either role - they take a knot quite well.

There's nothing stopping you doing more than one thing to secure your bike.


Prevent internally-routed cable housing from vibrating against frame The rear brake cable and housing are internally routed through the top bar of the frame. It rattles around when riding on bumpy roads and sounds annoying. What's the best way to mitigate this?

With the assumption that the whole cable housing is threaded into the frame (rather than cable-stop internal routing), there are two main hacks/bodges you can do to it.

Electrical tape - fiddle with the cable until you feel that it's more or less either floating in the middle of the frame's tube or resting against it with sufficient force. If your frame tubing's fairly narrow (kind of like a steel bike frame), I suggest you go for the latter and push the routing against the frame inside. Mark the points of the cable housing just on the entrance/exit of the routing holes. Roll a few turns of electrical tape on those marks (just enough for tight-fit on the routing holes) and push them back to place.

Cable/zip ties - If your frame's routing holes are big enough, or has that detachable cover like this:

you can wrap a lengthy zip tie to the cable and slip it inside the hole. The zip tie's resistance to being curled should keep your cable in place. Add more zip ties to your discretion.


What is this rubber on gear cables What is this rubber thing on my gear cable and what does it do?

Such rubber rings are supposed to keep gear and brake cables from rubbing against frame tubes. That is, when the cables are mounted openly outside the frame.


What to look for in a Messenger Bag For the purpose of work commuting, what are the features that one should look for in a messenger bag?

Size of the bag?
Strap configuration?
Color/Design?

Not looking for specific product recommendations (Unless the product illustrates the concept) but instead want generalizations that can be used to select a bag.

Waterproof. Not with a waterproof cover, but really, really waterproof, like e.g. the Ortlieb Messenger bags. That's the one thing that is paramount if you also want to commute in bad weather.

Size depends on what you carry. If it's just some tools, use a saddle bag. If it's a change of clothes, especially shirt and trousers, look for a larger one so you don't have to compress that stuff to much and leave wrinkles. If you also want to buy groceries on the way, as I sometimes do, a larger bag is also good if you don't have or don't want to use a rack.

Strap configuration should be such that you feel comfortable riding with it. This depends mostly on your size and what kind of bike you ride, i.e. how far bent over you ride. I have the classical rucksack design with shoulder straps, belt and breast strap, because I don't take the pack off hundreds of times a day but enjoy the fact that the pack stays where it's supposed to. (Edit: I ride a converted track frame with my handlebars >20cm below my saddle, so very bent over)

Color/design: Whatever you like. I picked mine for visibility, so black and dark colours are out for me, but that's really personal taste.


Options for adding lower gearing for bike with Shimano 105 drivetrain I have a 2015 Salsa Vaya 2 with a Shimano 105 drivetrain. It has a Shimano 105 Triple front derailleur with a 30/42/52t crankset. In the back it has an 11-30T 10-speed cassette (installed for me by the LBS instead of the stock 11-28T one). I was told at the time that I can't get a lower-geared cassette on this bike.

Now I'd like to get into some light touring, and want to lower the gearing for climbing with load. What are my options? I see some 105 cassettes with larger big cogs (e.g. 11-34 11-speed). Can I just drop one in? Do I need a different rear derailleur, a new shifter, or any other parts to ensure things work?

There are a couple of parameters you need to pay attention to:

The rear derailleur's wrap capacity (how much chain it can wrap up)
The biggest gear the rear derailleur can fit under.

With your current setup, your derailleur needs to wrap 41 teeth of chain. It looks like you've got this derailleur, which can wrap 37 teeth and fit under a 32-tooth gear. So you're already beyond capacity in terms of wrap, but if you don't cross-chain, it's probably not a big deal. You could probably get away with a 34-tooth bottom gear by adjusting the B screw on the derailleur (the one pointing straight back, under the hanger) to push the derailleur down.

The current generation of 105 medium-cage derailleurs is designed to fit under a 34-tooth bottom gear and handle 39 teeth of wrap.


Saracen Tenet 2 suitable for long distance I've got some outings coming up which will need a few days of 100 mile bike rides, this isn't something I'm going to do all the time but I'd like to the option to. I've been looking at road bikes and tried a Saracen Tenet 2 2014 at my local bike shop.

I really like it but I'm not really sure looking at the specs if it will be up to the work? I do really like it but I don't have much experience this area.

Here is the spec list:-

http://www.evanscycles.com/products/saracen/tenet-2-2014-road-bike-ec060482

Something's which I've noticed:

doesnt have disc brakes, is this a big deal?
sora gears set seem to be well reviewed
carbon fork keeps this bike light?

Any help people can give me in the right direction would, be greatly appreciated!

The bike should be perfectly fine for 100 mile ride, specs look similar to other products in this price range. I'd rather bother myself with fit and comfort, these will mean more on long distance ride, ask LBS for a test ride.

  doesnt have disc brakes, is this a big deal?

If you are not going to descend mountains or ride in very wet conditions, then no. People are riding without disc brakes for years, it's just another option.

  sora gears set seem to be well reviewed

Sora should do the shifting alright.

  carbon fork keeps this bike light?

Not exactly, aluminium forks are about 200 grams heavier than carbon fiber, which isn't big deal, given the bike weight almost 10kg. It should be somewhat more comfortable, though.


Touring with little kids? I'm curious, has anyone gone on bicycle tours with small children? I did some long-distance camping touring a while ago and would like to do more eventually. For the moment, though, we have a toddler, so a long trip isn't really realistic. But it does seem feasible to ride 50mi or so, camp overnight, and ride home the next day. I'm imagining riding with a toddler in a trailer, but if there are better ideas, I'm all ears.

Does anyone have experience with short tours like this? Are there any things to keep in mind that might not be obvious right off the bat?

I think you have the right idea - build up slowly. I've seen a few people with little kids out cycle touring, and did a couple of weeks with a group that included a mother and pre-walking infant. The people below apparently managed at least 1000km based on Moz's comments.

I think the main limit is how long your kids can handle being on the bike or in the trailer. Remember that your kids are not exercising, so they'll get cold easily. And bored, unless they can see out easily. Ideally you'd be able to make eye contact and talk to them, and not just by having the other parent ride up next to them.

These days I'd be tempted to buy one of the long john kiddy carrier bikes (like the Gazelle Cabby), because a kid in an open-top box is likely to be happier than one in a noisy bag-on-wheels.

But start with the gear you have - drop the kid(s) in whatever you normally use to transport them, go for a long day ride, see what happens. If you all  survive 80km today and 80km tomorrow, an 80km each way overnight trip sounds very feasible. Just keep working up and see how you go. I'd personally start with backyard camping, because if your kids hate that then you will need to tour between motels or B&B's, and you really want to find that out now rather after 80km of riding. Same applies to your fellow parent, BTW :)

I am a big fan of specialised bikes, and if you have the budget there are a lot of ideas out there that you can try and buy. Trailers are a compromise, they're slow, heavy, have lots of wind resistance, and are not a lot of fun to be stuck inside for long periods. For a bit more money you could buy a dedicated long-tail bike, and that's at least more comfortable for the kid as well as lighter and faster (plus easier to park!). Then there are proper load carrying bikes like long johns and the 8-Freight. Those carry more and have more load space, so you get a trailer-sized volume of luggage and child, but in a place you can see it. Even bigger are load trikes (Nihola not Christiana for touring, the cart-axle steering only works at low speeds and for short trips), or things like the Greenspeed Ute (recumbent) or a rickshaw like the Trisled Ute (upright). But real load carrying needs four wheels, and Treehugger has an overview. Quads are unfortunately expensive and not especially popular, so tend tyo go in and out of production. But the smaller manufacturers will often build you one even if it's not on their website any more, so it's worth asking. In the UK they're lucky enough to have dedicated recumbent and load bike shops, but in the USA not so much (AFAIK).

I normally do short tours on a recumbent bike (because it's easier to break it down for transport), and longer tours (anything over a week) on a four wheeler. Mine is 2WD for off road tracks, but other than that it's just a conventional recumbent with a big box on the back for all my stuff. The win for me is stability (I can look at the scenery), load capacity (I just throw everything in the box) and, well, I just really like riding it.


Change chain with cassette or do nothing? Sometimes as a hobby I repair entry level bikes for myself or for friends and family.
The rear derailleur is working fine (no skipping/ slipping etc..).
But than I discover (with a chain checker), that the chain need to be replaced (almost 1.0 by a Park Tool CC-2). I changed the chain slipping / skipping appears.
The conclusion: probably the cassette  also needs to be replaced. So by replacing the chain only, it doesn't improve the situation or even makes it worse.
My question is, in such situation (old entry level bike etc..), if the rear derailleur works fine, is it worth it to replace the chain?
If I leave on an old chain and the cassette is most probably already very worn, can the old chain provide any additional problems?

If chain wear is beyond 1% then you are probably looking at a new drivetrain including chainrings. I would just remount the old chain and get the full wear out of everything else.
As far as changing chain only the industry standard is wear between 0.5-0.75% if you change within this range the theory is you will prolong the life of the drivetrain and perhaps never have to change anything except the chain.
The likelihood of snapping a chain is not very high for normal everyday use.


What things should I look for when purchasing a fixed gear bike? What features are important or of note? What are appropriate prices to pay? Are there specific brands which provide a clear advantage over others?

You are likely going to get some opinionated comments and answers in response to this question.  There are lots of good brands (frames and complete bikes) from all over the world.  There are more and more options showing up in local bike stores, so if you can it will be best to go have a look.  Even if you choose to purchase online, having spent some time looking at physical hardware will help you make your decision.

I'm going to make an assumption that you're asking about a fixed gear bicycle for road use as opposed to a track.

If you haven't read Sheldon Brown's detailed article then please do, it's a great place to start.  Without reiterating all of the detail in that article I'll simply point out a couple of highlights:

The number one thing that you should look for is a brake.  Again, others may offer dissenting opinions on this, but riding a fixed gear bicycle on the road without a brake is extremely dangerous.
Chain tension mechanism.  You will have to be able to tension the chain on your fixed gear bike as it lacks the derailleur and pulley mechanism that handles that task on traditional geared bikes.  This will likely be accomplished by means of horizontal rear wheel dropouts within which the wheel moves back and forth for adjustment.  You may also encounter models with an eccentric bottom bracket mechanism.  These typically add some weight and may be of less interest to you unless you happen to go for a rear disk brake (in which case moving the rear wheel to adjust chain tension is not an option)
If you are new to the world of fixed gears then you may be interested in having an option to run a freewheel as well.  A flip-flop hub can offer the best of both worlds in that you can ride fixed or flip the wheel around and ride with a freewheel.  This adds a small weight penalty and absolutely requires that you install a brake of course.

As for price, brands, geometries, gear ratios, frame materials etc. this is very much personal preference and the rules are the same as for any bicycle.  You can typically splurge a little on a fixie because there are far fewer other components that you have to purchase and maintain.


Do pedals come in widths? Do pedals come in widths? Can I get a wider pedal to fit my wide feet?

I wear a size 13 EEEE, a wide shoe. I'm biking in regular shoes, not cleated. My pedals are plain platform style (not cleated, no strap, no toe clips, just flat). I'm having trouble fitting my feet on the pedals. I'm either off the outsides by an inch or two, stepping on the crank arm, or both.

I'm getting overuse on the outsides of my lower legs, and I think it's from trying to keep my feet flat on the pedals.

The bike's an MTB, but I'm just using it to get around, nothing intense.

Follow-up a few months later (2017/06/12):

I went with pedal extenders (Sunlite Pedal Extenders, $16.50 on Amazon) and it's about one million percent better.  They offered 21mm and 27.5mm variants, and I went with the wider one which turned out to be the right choice.  My shoe fills all the space between the crank and the outside of the pedal.  (When did my feet get so big?)  It doesn't seem to matter that there's no pedal under the inside part of my feet.

The extenders take an 18mm wrench (field repairs) although I think tightening a pedal with the usual wrench would also tighten the extender.

You can get spacers to move the pedal further from the crank. Combine these with some larger pedals and you should be OK. Probable worth seeing a bike fit specialist in your situation though.


Left crank cracks when the left pedal is pressed My crank has a little slack and cracks more and more when I pedal, but only on only with the left pedal.

What could be the cause(s) of this ?

Video of the loose crank:

Video of the cracking crank:

If it is an older 3-piece crank, and if you feel play on the left-side downstroke, then it could certainly be a loose cotter, but it could also be that the bearing cap needs to be tightened in a tad more.  I have an older 3-piece crank (w/ loose ballbearings) and I've had to do that before, especially after an overhaul when things tend to loosen up after a few rides.

Of course, there are many types of bottom brackets, as explained here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottom_bracket


My chain snapped ,need help My chain broke today and I want to get a new replacement for it I just don't know what size I need my bike has 3 gears in front and 6 in the back which I'm guessing is an 18 speed and if you can leave any suggestions for a chain I will appreciate it preferably under $30 I just commute to school.

You should get to the bike shop and they get you a chain the size you need. If you don't want to go with you bike, take your older chain. For sure it is under 30$. I paid less than 20 for a SRAM chain not long ago.


Cyclocross suspension I would like to know if there is any brand that sells cyclocross bikes with front suspension. I would like to buy the Specialized Crux E5 but I also like the Trek DS 4 but this one is flat and I want it from road.

While proper cyclocross bikes typically do not have front suspension, you can find a few drop-bar bikes that do have it.  The Cannondale Slate is one: http://www.cannondale.com/en/USA/Bike/ProductDetail?Id=4a8a930f-c1de-422f-bf23-81d13da8c706

These bikes are usually called "adventure bikes."  While most adventure bikes still don't have suspension, the term may help you narrow your search.

You may find that a good quality, wide front tire is enough suspension.  Any drop-bar bike with clearance for tires at least 40mm wide should be useful here.  This opens your options up to a much bigger slice of the adventure bike market.


Which is faster, going all out then burning out, or steady pace all along? I know in a race, pacing is key so you can always have your power for the last sprint/climbs and ultimately at least finish the race. However, strictly speaking on a solo ride let's say 10 km, and in both of these cases you do finish. Is going all out then burning out and still forcing yourself to keep going, is slower or faster, than having steady sweet spot pace? why?

I don't have the time to give a full answer at the moment, but I'll upvote a full answer and delete mine. The short incomplete answer is that you're better off pacing yourself relatively evenly. The reasons are both physics and physiological. The physics answer is that drag increases nonlinearly with speed so at higher speeds you're using more of your energy overcoming drag. The physiological reason is that when you go over threshold, you get tired (that's why it's called a threshold) and the time needed for recovery is exceeded by the time you're able to spend above threshold, so the net effect is that your average power output will be lower.

These two effects, the physics effect and the physiological effect, mean that unless your ride is shorter than, say, a minute, you're better off pacing (nearly) evenly.


Brake fluid replacement Whilst replacing my pads I made the mistake of pulling the brake lever,  which pushed the piston too far, and thus lost loads of fluid.

I've searched online for the type and quantity of fluid to replace it with, but I cannot find anything specific to my Specialized Hardrock.

What kind of fluid do I need?
How much will I need for one brake system?
I've included picture of top and bottom of system for conformation of fluid in and out? Fluid in, I think;
fluid out.
could someone point me in direction of a video on replacing the fluid on this specific bike?

You have Tektro HDC 300 hydraulic brakes.

Follow the bleed procedure as described in the proper Tektro manual; https://www.tektro.com/upload/Product/F_20180828170966wPjDlH.PDF

The bleed process also adds additional fluid to the system so that will replace what you lost.


Should I lubricate rear derailleur wheels Replacing the chain I found  that the plastic wheels of the rear derailleur are rotating with high resistance.

So I disassembled the wheel, cleaned it from dirt and sprayed with WD-40. Here is how it looks now:

I have Motul Tech grease 300, that I used to lubricate the ball bearings in the hub. So, should I put the grease between the steel cylinder (how is it called?) and the inner round hole of the wheel?

Or it will just attract dirt and make things worse?

Usually if they're turning as you describe with high resistance, they're either gunked up and need cleaning or they're put together wrong. They should spin very freely without any added lubrication. Grease would probably tend to do as you say and attract dirt, but a thin coating on the outside of the bushing isn't going to ruin anything if you want to try it. I do a drop of light lube at the gap of each one to keep them running quietly, but it's usually a negligible difference either way.


3 cross pattern what's the right way? I have one wheel that has lacing pattern like #1 and other wheel is lacing pattern #2?
What is the right way to make 3 cross lacing pattern?
Blue spokes cross over green

Green spokes cross over blue

Jobst Brandt says it doesn't matter so long as the pattern is mirrored over the hub. There is an argument (small) for having pattern #1 on the drive-side rear to reduce the chances of the chain getting stuck in an over-the -cassette disaster situation.


Increase clearance between tire and frame The tire on my bicycle rim slightly touches parts of my frame. Obviously, the rims are too large for my frame. However, is it possible to get tires with a lower "height" (see red arrow in the picture) to increase the clearance between tire and the frame (0.5 cm would be sufficient)? If yes, for what do I have to pay attention when buying a tire? Any other suggestions on how to solve this problem without buying new rims?

It's possible that your rims are not too large for the frame, you are just using tires that are too wide and tall than the frame was designed to accommodate.
Tire height is related to width, you can't specifically get a tire that is shorter. YOu just need to drop down to the next lower tire size. E.g., if your tires are nominally 32mm wide try 28mm tires.
There are only a few rim diameters in common use on new bicycles [559mm, 584mm, 622mm) it would be obvious if you had the wheels that were larger than the frame is designed for. Possibly though you have older 630mm rims a frame designed for 622mm.


Why don't bikes by auto manufacturers make it into bike shops or onto the streets? Currently I am considering getting a 'Mini' brand folding bike mail order, even though I have not seen one in a shop or in the street. This I am happy to do as it is a re-badged Dahon at a special price.

Being a niche product I can understand why bike racks are not filled up with 'Mini' folders, however, I don't know why it is that all other bikes by auto manufacturers seem to completely fail in the marketplace.

Peugeot did really well until mountain bikes came along so it is possible for an auto manufacturer to succeed at bikes. Other than the past efforts of Peugeot the only real-world evidence in the UK of the efforts of the auto manufacturers are a few bicycle-shaped-objects from mail order catalogues with tacky 'Land Rover' decals on them.

I would not mind a Mercedes road bike and a BMW mountain bike just so I could have running jokes, e.g. casually mentioning that 'I came in to the office with the beamer today', 'I parked my Mercedes in the car-park', etc. For joke-reasons alone I would have thought bikes-by-auto-companies would have enough kudos to sell. But they don't. Why is that? Do they sell well outside the UK?

In case you have not seen any bikes-by-auto-manufacturers, here is a small selection of them.

The simple answer is market forces. Most bikes done by auto makers are built as an add on to a vehicles' sport package.

They are not manufactured or offered to bike shops at all. This tactic can be quite effective. Look at the VW Jetta Trek, or the Ford/Kona partnership.

The problem is that they are generally very basic bikes, offered at a much higher price than the value of the bike.

In the Ford/Kona case, it was a 500 US dollar bike offered as a 3000 dollar add on with the car.
No reputable shop will do that.

The Jetta Trek was a very similar package, but it was a $5000 add on and included a Thule rack for the car.

Mercedes' offerings are a piss poor design, offered again at a ridiculously high price, although they at least have the excuse of a unique in house design and low production numbers to blame the price on, since they didn't just rebrand a cheap bike shop bike.


Road bike tyre impossible to get off I have a road bike tyre that is proving impossible to get off its a 700x25 on a set of tubeless ready rims (i know these can be more difficult to deal with).

It was very tight to get on in the first place.

I have tried a number things. I cannot free the bead to get a tyre lever under.

I have tried using my thumbs (led to blistering), standing on the tyre and pulling the rim, as well as a set of pliers to pull on the tyre but it won't come loose.

Any suggestions? I am considering cutting the tyre off if anyone as any experience of this that would also be useful.

Road tubeless generally should have tighter tolerances but there is no single standard so the target measurement may differ between manufacturers leading to potentially problematic rim/tire combination. Furthermore, tubeless systems that are designed to be run at high pressure (i.e., road) require beads that stretch very little, otherwise bead could become dislodged under pressure leading to a catastrophic deflation event. The rigid bead can further exacerbate issues associated with  tire/rim mismatches.

That said, most tubeless compatible rims will also have a deep center channel, which is intended to be used when mounting the tire and when removing the tire.  Once you have the bead in the center channel this should give you slack to get part of the bead over the rim.

When removing a tubeless tire go around the rim dislodging the bead into the channel.  You will often hear a load "thwack" as you dislodge the bead into the channel due to the release of tension caused by the tight high fit needed for an air tight seal. This is the critical step that may require a reasonable amount of hand strength. As you work around the wheel also check on areas you have already dislodged into the channel as the bead can work its way back out of the channel and back to the bead seat.

Once all of the beads on both sides of the tire are in the channel you should have enough slack to get a tire lever under the bead and to dislodge the bead over the rim.  You may need a second lever, one to hold a dislodged bead in place, the second to continue dislodging more tire bead over the rim.

If the tire starts becomes incredibly tight while dislodging the bead, check that the remaining tire bead is properly nested in the channel  and has not worked its way out of the channel.

Finally, if you are running tubeless tires on a non-tubeless rim, older varieties of rim (i.e., more than 5-10 years) may have no or an insufficiently deep center channel for the easy mounting/dismounting of tubeless  tires. In this case I would suggest forgoing the tubeless tire and sticking to regular clincher tires, most manufacturers still offer both construction types.


Why doesn't "butt soreness" affect serious cyclists? Over time, my seat (butt) has been broken in by my saddle. I don't have a callus, and nothing obvious has changed. Physiologically, why doesn't riding cause seat soreness anymore?

On the flip-side, what does a saddle do to a less-experienced posterior? Is soreness caused by something as simple as bruising, or is there some other effect going on?

EDIT:

To clarify, I am referring to muscle soreness caused by the saddle rather than soreness of the skin (e.g., saddle sores). The question is about why the soreness doesn't affect experienced cyclists who have adapted (over the course of many months or years).

When seated on the saddle, your weight is primarily supported (or should be) at the ischial tuberosities which are commonly known as the "sit bones".

Quoted from Wikipedia:

  When sitting, the weight is frequently placed upon the ischial tuberosity.[2] The gluteus maximus covers it in the upright posture, but leaves it free in the seated position.

Essentially, there is very little sub-cutaneous fat or muscle tissue covering the sit bones while sitting on a bicycle saddle and thus little "padding" between the skin and bone. So, when you go through periods of not riding or are new to riding, that region is not adapted to compression and impact from the saddle. After riding for a while, the bone, tendons, and muscle in that region adapts by strengthening in that region, and no doubt vascular and nerve changes occur as well.

What happens in the case of an inexperienced cyclist or one getting back into cycling, is that micro-damage occurs to the bone, muscle, tendons and other tissue in the area. The micro-damage leads to inflammation and thus pain/soreness. At that point, the the tissues begin to repair and strengthen. The bone is thicker and stronger, the muscles/tendons are stronger, nerves are adapted to the stresses, new blood vessels, etc. Once those tissues have remodeled and healed, there is no more soreness. (Actually, the process can happen again if one goes say, riding for 3 hours to riding for 6 hours, but usually won't be as bad the second time around.)

It's pretty much like any other area of the body that goes through the adaptations from not being exercised to being exercised. So, one gets sore at first, but as muscle/skeletal tissue adapts, one is not sore later on. To some degree, the issue is similar a bruise, but it's much more like the muscular/skeletal adaptations that occurs from exercise.


Crank fell off square taper BB. Should I replace bottom bracket After years of use and multiple retightenings my crank will fall off my bike about once a week and definitely needs to be replaced. I believe that the square hole of the crank has expanded to the point where it can no longer get a tight grab on the bottom bracket

My question is whether I should replace the bottom bracket when I replace the crank given that it's bearings are still good. Is it possible that BB spindle deformity is also part of the reason the crank is falling or is it probable the spindle is fine and I just need to replace the crank.

For reference, the bb spindle looks fine .

Without seeing any pictures, I think you'll likely want to replace both, but you can figure it out easily enough.

Usually, the bottom bracket will be fine after a crank improperly coming loose. The bottom bracket spindle is typically made out of a hard steel and only the most miserable metal cranks are made from anything other than aluminum, so when the crank gets loose, the aluminum gets wrecked and the steel axle stays ok.

However it sounds like you've caused this to happen several times, so you may have managed to round the axle as well.

If you have had many years of use of this bike so far, I think it would be worth it to just cough up 15-25 bucks for a new square taper BB in addition to a new crank and not have to think about it anymore. Your existing BB might be getting worn out already and so you can kill two birds with one stone. You can read the Park Tool guide to cartridge BB servicing. If the bearings are getting worn with age, then it makes this whole ordeal a no-brainer.

Otherwise, if you put your new cranks on your existing bottom bracket, and you pay very close attention to whether it's getting loose or not, you'd probably be fine in determining if the existing bottom is fine, and if it does get a little bit loose, replace the BB immediately and your new cranks should be fine. Do be careful because if they get so loose they come off, you could possibly damage your new cranks.

Ultimately it boils down to whether to pay 15-25 bucks up front, or gamble the price of your replacement cranks that they won't come loose. Only you can decide that.


Where can I find a compact/ultra 7 speed freewheel? Does anyone still make these?

I'm aware that I could coldset my frame for a wider spacing, but I'm interested to know if it's still possible to buy a compact freewheel (apart from via e-bay or another 2nd hand route).

Found a few sources by searching on "compact 7-speed freewheel" – here is what Sheldon Brown / Harris Cyclery has. The claim is that they will work, perhaps with the addition of a thin washer or two if the clearance is tight around your dropouts. The appear to have new (or maybe NOS) Sunrace FW760 (13-25), and Shimano FW722 (13-28), and a FW723 (14-34) freewheels in stock.

Nashbar has a 13-24 and a 13-32. It appears that Amazon has some sellers with some as well.

Hillary Stone in the UK also has some, both NOS and used.


Using 9 speed Deore front shifter with 10 speed Ultegra front Deraileur I am trying to build a bike out of all the spare parts I have in my garage. I found a 3x9 Deore front shifter, 3x10 Ultegra front d and crankset. Would they work together?

By the way, I am building a 3x1 drivetrain, with a Shimano Alfine 20t chain tensioner.

Cheers!

Front derailleurs don't care what you have in back (as long as the chainline is within reason). So you can ignore what's going on behind the front derailleur.

In terms of matching shifter and derailleur, an indexed front shifter needs to match in terms of capacity (3x), make/series, and capacity (tip of the hat to @mikes).

Fortunately, the Deore and Ultegra front shift points are largely compatible even though one is from the mountain bike line (your Deore shifter), and the other from the road bike line (Ultegra f. derailleur and crankset). Because you're using an indexed front derailleur with a different series shifter, you may need to tweak the indexing a bit but you should be able to get them to work. Many people use MTB triple cranks on their road bikes because of the wider range available, although you're doing the opposite here.

Life was easier with friction shifters.


What is this brown goop on my new bike frame? I'm building a single speed bike, and ordered parts from various different places.

My EAI Bareknuckle frame got delivered this morning, and it looks great, except for this part of the fork, that has this dried brown goop on it. It doesn't look like rust, though it smells kinda metallic. I'm not a rust expert though. Or a frame/bike expert for that matter.

Have you seen this before? How can I clean it off? Water didn't dissolve it. Not sure if using soap is a good idea.

Pictures:

Thanks!

It looks like cosmoline  which is a waxy rust preventative. It can be difficult to remove from finished parts without damage to the paint. If you can, scrape some of the heavy stuff off with something like a plastic knife. Then I would try something like WD-40. If it doesn't soften it right away soak a rag and wrap it around the fork tips over night. You can see if a hair dryer will soften it without hurting the paint


Is my derailleur broken? This is a Peugeot UO 8 from the 1970s. My problem is recently when moving to the largest gear the chain slips and eventually it will come off the front crank. When researching the problem it seems like the derailleur on my bike is in a different position than ones I see online (red lines). Is my derailleur broken or just needs adjustment?

There is clearly damage to the two plastic gears in the derailleur too which I figured could also be causing me problems.

"when moving to the largest gear the chain slips and eventually it will come off the front crank"
By largest gear you mean large front, small rear?

I would check if the chain is worn out, before investigating the derailleur. I am  assuming

old bike, no one bothered to change cassette and crankset, so gears are at least as worn out as the chain, probably much more (like 2-3 chain changes and no gears changes);
that if the chain is worn out, for some reason it slips on the front rather than on the rear cog.

If the chain is ok, then time to investigate the derailleur.
Internet may help you, there are a lot of documented restoration projects of old Peugeot with simplex derailleur. Example:

from the site https://peugeotcoursepb12.wordpress.com/ (I do not own or know the owner, just a search and some scrolling on duckduckgo images


Identification of non-standard frame feature and suitability of frame for mid-drive e-bike conversion My question comes in two related parts:  firstly, what is the piece of folded, drilled metal projecting rearwards from the lower bracket in the photo above?

Secondly, does this piece of metal have any significant implications for the suitability of this bicycle to have a mid-drive e-bike conversion kit installed?

EDIT

This is a wider view of the bike.  In order to address matters brought up in current answers, I should point out that I am this machine's first and only owner and rider, and it has spent most of its existence gathering dust in storage.  It is around ten years old, and I doubt that I have ridden it more than around ten kilometers.  It was very cheap, less than $200 Australian brand new from Big W.

I was considering installing a Bafang BBS or similar mid-drive kit.

The piece you refer to is a kickstand mounting. As to whether it can be utilized in, or get in the way of, a conversion depends on the 'kit' use. Can it be cut off? Yes.

The frame looks like a high mount single pivot style rear suspension - with the shock mounting almost horizontally between the top front point of the swing arm frame and the downtube. This might have chain length issues you would have to be mindful of - the chain 'length' changes depending on the rear axle's position along the arc of suspension travel. A trickier conversion. The bike doesn't look like it has been used a lot chainrings, wheels etc show few signs of wear - though it maybe an older style, older build. a picture of the whole bike would help further.


Changing from Shimano Road Double Chainset to Triple Chainset? Road bike setup at the moment is:
Shimano Tiagra (9 Speed) Shifters / Front Derailleur / 52-39T Chainset / Short Cage Rear Derailleur / Casette 27-11T.

Will I be able to do a straight swap and install an Ultegra 6300 52-39-30T Triple Chainset designed for 10 speed?
If not any other ideas?
Many thanks
Steve

If, by "a straight swap" you mean "Can I change only the crank set, and no other parts, then the answer is in short, no, it will not be a straight swap.

If I read the question correctly, you are currently using a 52/39 double designed for 9 speed, and you want to install a 10 speed triple.

A triple shifter has 5 positions, not 3, because it requires additional "trim" positions which move the derailleur without actually shifting gears. This prevents the chain from rubbing as you get closer to extreme chain line angles. (Shifting into very large or very small cogs on both the front and rear gears at the same time.)

To do this job with 10 speed, you will need to change your shifters, front dérailleur
, rear dérailleur, cassette, chain, crankset, and possibly bottom bracket bearings.

If you use 9 speed, you will save the cassette, rear dérailleur, and possibly rear shifter.

I assume your purpose is to get easier climbing type gears? If so, consider using a compact double (50/34), possibly combined with a different cassette on the rear of the bike.

It should get you quite a lot better gearing, and will only require changing the crank itself, and readjusting the gears on your front derailleur.

I hope that helps.


How often should one service headset bearings? How often should one disassemble one's headset and service the bearings, assuming it's a fairly new road bicycle with sealed cartridge bearings and is ridden every day?

Probably never -- headsets can easily last the life of a bicycle for most people without needing an overhaul.

If you ride in the wet, it is advisable to have a front fender, though (to reduce the likelihood of needing an overhaul even further).


How tiring is riding the bullhorns? I was wondering if anyone here who is riding with bullhorn handlebars could share how tiring it is to ride, say, 50 km? I am thinking of setting up them to my road bike, mainly because, you know, it looks cool, but it almost feels like riding on drops which I find uncomfortable after a while. Bullhorn handlebars also provide 2 positions, so, does that make it more manageable? I am interested in rides which are about 30 - 70 km long. Thanks!

I use bullhorns on my fixed gear commuter bike, and sometimes get some hand fatigue/numbness because of the position.  As with everything, everyone will have different experiences because physiology.  But it's been my experience the most comfortable position is in the curve forward.  The forward position is close in comfort to riding on the hoods on normal drop bars.  If comfort is your aim, you will probably get more mileage(get it?) out of better tape or a nice set of gloves.


Is there a route-planning tool that clearly indicates tunnels? I'm planning a ride (Strava route) in the Alps, and I know there are some tunnels in the area.  Coincidentally by taking the old road I'm planning to avoid the ones I know about.

I'd like to have a decent amount of rear light showing when I enter the tunnel, but don't have enough battery to have it running all day (it's a 200 km ride).  I'm also not likely to be able to find a safe place to pull over and turn on a rear light when I know there's a tunnel coming up.  So in an ideal world I'd run my high-power rear light for any stage of the route that has tunnels (and I'm likely to be stopping reasonably often).  The front isn't an issue as I can switch that while going along, but my (good Lezyne) rear light is in a fiddly place and has a fiddly switch requiring a long-press. I'll have a back-up on my helmet that I can easily press while going along but can't confirm that's on while riding.

Cue sheets from Strava and Google Maps don't mention tunnels, and so far I've been following the route in one window and examining it on OpenStreetMap in another.  If I plan further rides while I'm out there, I'll only have a small screen to check, and some are subtle or hidden under place names. Is there a better way?

None of the bike routing services I have tried or asked about know about tunnels.  They don't even mention them on route/cue sheets (unless presumably the road name has "tunnel" in it) so a text-search fails too. When it comes to scanning the route for tunnels, OpenStreetMap (standard or humanitarian layer) is clearer when zoomed out to a reasonable scale than Google maps or OpenTopoMap.

If you like watching video and your route is on Google Streetview, this video player for Streetview (link is a section of my route) will indicate tunnels, but it takes more patience than scrolling through the route.


Shimano GRX lever with cantilever brakes Will Shimano GRX levers work with cantilever brakes? Related question here but answers more about shifters.

No. GRX levers are only designed for hydraulic brakes. All cantilever brakes that I know of are actuated by cables.
Edit: per Adam's comment, Magura does make hydraulic cantilever-style rim brakes, e.g. the HS33. However, these pair to Magura's own flat bar brake levers. I was not aware of this fact, and I didn't consider these brakes.
In Googling the Magura brakes, it does seem like some people used them on mountain bikes in the mid to late 2000s as disc brakes were growing in prevalence but many older MTBs had fittings for V-brakes. Thus, they might have sufficient power for cyclocross. However, to pair them with GRX shifters, I am not certain that the mineral oils that Magura and Shimano use as hydraulic fluid are completely inter-compatible. Mineral oil refers to a general class of hydrocarbons, so the composition and additives might differ between manufacturers. If they are not compatible, you would risk damaging the rubber seals or other components of the brake calipers and/or the shifters. A Magura rep in 2013 swore that the fluid they used then was incompatible with Shimano fittings. I have seen people on forums say they use Shimano oil in Magura units, but I am honestly not sure I would chance it. I'm more writing this out of general interest.


How to select a rim? I have noticed there are a huge number of rims available for sale. Some are cheap, some are expensive. Some are intended for rim brakes, some are intended for disc brakes. Not all rims are available with all possible spoke hole counts.
How should I select an optimal rim for my uses?

Simple question, long answer requiring a book to cover it fully. Here is my attempt at the introduction chapter.
The biggest concern for most people selecting a rim would have to be total cost of the rim built into a wheel. You have to consider the cost of spokes and wheel building.  In all but the high cost product range it is often cheaper to buy an entire wheel then buy a rim and have it build up to a wheel. The new wheel does not have to match an existing one, apart from cosmetics, its OK to have different rims and spoke counts on the front and back of a bike.
Once it has been decided to buy a rim and build it into a wheel, you will need to select the correct size for the bike you are fitting it to. The diameter chosen will usually be the size the frame builder designed the bike for, however it is possible to go up and down under limited circumstances.  If the brakes are disc, you can go smaller, but risk lowering the bottom bracket too much. Smaller rims may be compensated for by wider tires, some mountain bikes are sold that will take a 650B+ wheel and tire, or a 29" wheel+tire. Larger rims can some times be fitted to bikes not designed for it, but you run the risk of not having enough room depending on tire size, so should be done with caution.  If the bike has V or canti brakes, changing rim sizes may still be possible, requiring new brakes, but is probably best avoided.
The tire width you want to run will determine the ideal rim wide, but there is quite a lot of room for wider and narrow tires and a lot of overlap with rim widths, so this will probably not limit choices.
If you run disk brakes, any rim will be good. if you are running rim brakes, you need a rim with a brake track.
Once you have sorted the rim size, you need to match this to the hub you will use. Pretty much all that has to match here is a hub that fits the bike and has the same number of holes as the rim.  If you are buying a new hub as well as rim, you need to chose the spoke count. Some people get hung up on this, but always keep in mind a well build 24spoke wheel will be stronger than a poorly build 36 spoke.  Choose more spokes (32 or 36) for heavier riders and hard duties like tourers, cargo and down hill mountain bikes. Choose fewer spokes if you prefer lighter wheels and the look, and you are riding smoother surfaces.
At the same price point you may need to decide between a lighter rim or a stronger rim. Look at things like double wall and eyelets. In all but the cheapest rims (when you would be buying a made up wheel) the rim will be build for  a purpose, and be strong enough for the purpose. Double wall and eyelets are a given at a price point its worth buying a rim on its own, so you are looking at weight vs strength.
Finally you have a choice of material - I'll limit it to carbon vs alloy.  Here you need to decide if the extra cost of carbon is worth the weight saving and performance benefits, While cheap carbon can be lower cost than brand named high quality alloy, I would caution buying cheap carbon on such a safety critical part of the bike. This is probably decided by the answering the cost question.
If you plan to reuse a hub and spokes (not recommended) you will need to match the Effective Rim Diameter (ERD) of new and old rims.


Chain rubbing on new derailleur and crankset My bicycle is a Rockrider 520. I have replaced my front derailleur with Shimano Acera FD-M390 and my crankset with Shimano Acera FC-M391. But chain is rubbing inside of FD even when FD cable is not attached. I tried completely loose L screw but it still rubbing and FD is not moving inside anymore. FD is parallel with chainrings and there is 3 mm gap with FD and biggest chainring. How can I solve this?

Pics: http://imgur.com/a/QJlHg

You can:

lower the front dérailleur, so that the protruding part on the inner side of front dérailleur does not touch the chain.
if the above does not fix, try to re-align the rotation of front derailleur: make it just enough so that it won't rub on the lowest gear
then check if it rubs the chain on the highest gear, i.e. 3 -9 gear. If it does, try to adjust the cable so that it can bring the front dérailleur a bit further away on higest gear.

If all fails, it's now a trial and error from all the steps I have said.


Areas to mask when painting a bike This summer, I'm going to buy a BMX bike because I've wanted one for a while, and I have zero self control. I'm going to paint it because first off, the color is kinda boring, and second, spray painting things is fun. The bike is a Kink Gap XL (2021 model) and the paint is from Spray.Bike. So, when I paint it, I'm gonna have a friend disassemble it for me (because I don't trust myself to do it) and then I'm gonna mask it. So, other than inside all the holes, like where the stem and crank go, and the slots for the wheels (on the end of the fork and back of the frame) what else do I have to mask? I cant think of anything else, but I'm probably forgetting something. Thanks!

First up - consider buying a bike in the colour you want.  That will be the easiest/cheapest solution.

Anything with threads (internal or external) and anywhere that has flat machined surfaces for nuts/bolts to tighten against should be masked to prevent paint.  If you do paint surfaces like dropouts, the paint will crack and flake off quickly.
You should also mask off anything you want to stay chromed, and remove all parts like groupset, bottom bracket, seatpost, bars, stem, cables, etc.
The best paint job comes from a completely blank frame, so remove all decals/stickers and wash the bike to remove any oils.  Then scuff the existing paint with sandpaper all over to give the new paint somewhere to tooth into.
I would also strongly recommend you take lots of before photos and post them here, along with the serial number.  In the future someone might come along asking to identify their dirty old BMX that was overpainted decades ago.
Progress and post-painting photos might be cool too.
Do consider that this painting will void any and all warranty as well.


Upgrading cheap "cruiser"-type bike for commuting My current bike is this one: http://www.amazon.com/Avalon-26-Mens-Cruiser-Bike/dp/B00BF0DDRG
To disclaim, I don't know very much about bikes, and I'm trying to get more into bikes for commuting and for pleasure. To that end, I suspect that this bike's frame and tire structure are suboptimal for commuting, because there is a shock in the frame, and also two front shocks. As well, the tires are thicker and lower pressure, and what I'm made to understand is that higher pressure is better for commuting, because the rolling friction is lowered.

Basically, what I want to do is piecemeal upgrade this bike, so that in the end I have a nice commuter bike (perhaps with all the fixings), too. My current plans are:

Get new wheels (not in the least because my current ones are not perfectly flat, and I've had to hammer the rim back into shape using a rubber mallet.
I would like a better handlebar, but the angle of the seat stem makes drop bars seem impractical.
Tires more suited to city riding (which go along with the wheels)
Longer term, get a new, lighter frame

For the record, I'm aware that it could be cheaper and would be easier to simply put away some money each month, and then outright buy a nicer bike. However, this is as much a learning exercise as a practical endeavor.

What general trajectory should I take to accomplish this upgrade to commuter bike?

I appreciate any and all advice and/or criticism!

This is what we call a BSO (Bicycle Shaped Object) -- everything on that is as cheap as possible, which makes sinking even modest upgrades into it not really worth it. For upgrading and tweaking, you'd be much better off starting with an old (but decent quality) bike. You'll likely come out monetarily ahead, and have better quality parts to make it easier to learn (e.g. derailleurs which stay in adjustment, etc.). Also, be careful if you're removing dents in a rim with a hammer -- its less safe than the proper tool (and be careful with spoke tension).

If you want to do something to make it better for commuting, I'd limit it to maybe a set of bar ends if you want more hand positions or a better saddle. You already have slick tires.


Crankset and arm fitting issue I have 2008 Specialized Rockhopper Comp. I bent my crank arm but can't find the same model online which is a Shimano FC-442/443 crank arm. If I wanted to replace my crankset what could fit onto my bike? I know there is Octalink and square taper but how do I know the difference and what is the right fit.

Don't worry about square taper vs Octalink and finding a crank that will fit the bottom bracket you have in the bike, you are going to have replace the bottom bracket anyway. There are a couple of technical reasons, but you bracket is probably worn out in any case.

If you go with a three-piece crank (older style, cranks are separate from the axle which comes in the bottom bracket cartridge), it's typical to have to replace the BB with the crank, because different cranks require a different axle length to get the correct chainline. See this answer for longer explanation.

If you go with a newer two-piece design (axle is permanently attached to the drive side crank arm), you'll need a different style bottom bracket of course.

I'm guessing the Shimano FC-442 is a 9 speed rear triple crank. Shimano's current lineup only has 3x9 cranks in their Alivio, Acera and Altus groups. You could look for a used crank from a higher but older series (see this table on the Shimano Wikipedia page for and overview of mountain groupsets). You can also look for a crank/BB from manufacturers like FSA.

if you go for Shimano can use the Line Up web page to pick a current crank and select the appropriate bottom bracket.

Don't forget about selecting the correct chainring sizes and crank arm length. Your bike will have an ISO threaded bottom bracket shell; you'll need to know what width it is - either 68 or 73mm. Shimano MTB BBs should fit both but check this.

Remember you'll need to replace the chain and probably the cassette when you replace the crank.


What are the alternatives to SwissStop Blue v-brake pads We've got a tandem with Rigida Andara CSS tungsten carbide rims and Swisstop Blue v-brake pads. We're happy with the performance and life of both of these over the last 1000 miles.

The problem is that only Swisstop Blue blocks are recommended. I've been led to believe that other blocks will wear out too quickly on tungsten carbide rims, possibly leaving a rubbery deposit on the rims.

I'd like to know of more than one manufacturer or supplier (preferably in the UK) who can provide suitable replacement v-brake block cartridges, so that I have options if the Swisstop ones are unavailable or become expensive. I don't like being tied to a single brand for what should hopefully be quite long-lived rims.

Are there any reasonable alternatives?

Kool stop R9 Magura HS33 Pads are made to work with Rigida CSS rims.

Also  V-Brake inserts  by kool stop for Rigida CSS rims.


Looking for orange tyres I'm looking for a pair of folding, orange training tires, size should be 700x23C.

I'd like to have only an orange stripe, not the whole tire.

Can you recommend some model?

Check out the Michelin Pro 3. 700 x 23c, folding bead.

http://www.biketiresdirect.com/product/michelin-pro3-race-tire


How does Google Maps estimate cycling times Google Maps has a bicycling routing option in beta. It does seem to do a good job routing in my town by using streets with bike lanes where possible and avoiding going up steep inclines directly.

But I'm curious how it estimates travel time. For cars, it seems to use the speed limit with a proprietary  fudge factor that uses historical and current traffic conditions.

But for bicycles, what is it using to estimate travel time? There's considerable spread in terms of speed between the fastest Strava PR (personal record) seekers and the slowest bike moms with trailers - maybe even as great as 2-3x difference.

Has anyone figured out what the algorithm seems to be doing in terms of cycling times? Does it take into account the user's own cycling speed? Has Google said anything re: this?

This site seems to have some good answers to your questions. It says

  Google assumes a baseline moving speed of around 16km/hr (10miles/hr) regardless of trip distance.

but if you read more you can see there are adjustments to that baseline. For some routes where I've actually compared, I divide the Google cycling time by 1.5 to get an estimate of how long it would take me, but I used to race pretty seriously.


Huffy 24 Alpine mountain bike POWER shifter compatibility I need a compatible front and rear shifters for a Huffy Alpine 24" mountain bike. It presently has POWER shift shifters.

A 24 gear bike means you have 8 sprockets in the rear and 3 on the crank. Any shifters for 3 front gears and 8 rear will work, that match the manufacturers of the derailleurs.

If derailleurs are Shimano you need Shimano shifters. If the derailleurs are SRAM you need SRAM shifters.


Conversion to Quick release I am pretty new to bicycles and have a query regarding my Giant Contend 3.

The bolts on my wheels looks like in the picture, how can i convert them to quick release and what components would be required for same?

Sorry if this question has been asked before.

That might be a security bolt - although the photo is unclear. Are you sure the bike wasn't stolen? The previous owner should have had the matching 'key' for the security bolt. If you don't have the key (and have made sure your bike isn't stolen by checking the stolen bike indexes), you can remove the security bolt by using  brute force (grinder, dremel, vice grips, jamming an allen key into it, etc.). These are usually destructive processes.

Otherwise, if it's just an allen (hex) nut, you can remove it with an allen key / hex driver. Your local bike or hardware store should have one that fits.

Once you get it off, replacement quick releases are easily purchased at your bike store or online. You could even replace it with your own security skewer such as a PitLock, for which you'd have the key.

If it were me, though, I'd keep the hex bolt as is and just get a $10-15 bike multitool that has the right size hex. The hex provides a modicum of security (especially if you fill it with a ball bearing/wax) and makes it a smidge harder for bike thieves to make of with. It'll just add a few more seconds to changing your tire but will prevent casual theft.


Cannot fit pump nozzle properly to the presta valve of my tyre I bought a Reebok Bike pump yesterday which is this one. I have presta valves for my Jamis Allegro Sport 2012 hybrid bike and I was trying to pump the tyres using the pump as part of my monthly maintenance. I could not lock the pump nozzle to my presta valve because the nozzle was not fitting properly even after locking the clamp and was constantly coming out. Additionally, I could not hard-press the nozzle as it might damage my presta valve. I would like to know what the problem is and if I (possibly) need an adapter to corretly fit the valve? Does anyone have any previous experience? I kind of feel that the pump itself is rubish

Also, When I connected the pump to the presta valve, it did not gauge the existing air pressure which is weird as I expected it to show so.

First you need to make sure you have the right chuck setup.  If the pump you have is the one in the link then it claims to be auto-converting between Schrader and Presta -- you can skip to the next paragraph.  But if you have a slightly different pump it may require manual conversion.  As you press the chuck onto the valve you should feel some resistance as the rubber gasket in the chuck snugly fits around the valve stem.  If the fit is not snug the chuck probably requires manual conversion and is probably set up for Schrader, so you need to unscrew the knurled nut on the very end of the chuck and reverse the rubber gasket inside (taking care to no lose any spring or washer behind the gasket).

Regardless of whether the chuck is auto-converting you may need to tighten the knurled nut on the open end of the chuck, to make it tight enough that you feel some resistance from the gasket as you slide the chuck on.

But before installing the chuck you must unscrew the little knurled knob on the top of the Presta valve.  Unscrew it all the way until it stops against the crimp on the top of the threaded rod.  Just to be sure you have it open, press the end of the rod with your finger and listen for the puff of air.

Press the chuck onto the valve.  If the Presta valve does not have a nut retaining it to keep it from sliding back into the tire you will likely need to use your thumb on the tire, on the back side of the valve, to keep the valve from sliding into the tire.

When you get the chuck all the way onto the valve (about 3/4" or 2cm) then flip up the lever to lock the chuck on.  (Note that there have been a few chuck designs where you flip the lever up while applying/removing the chuck, and flip it down to latch instead of vice-versa.)

Once you get the chuck on properly you should be able to read the air pressure (if any) already in the tire.  If not the valve is not open and you will likely not be able to get air into the tire.

Once inflated, remove the chuck and screw the knurled knob down snug (but not over-tight).  And install the cap, if you have one.  This helps prevent damage to the relatively fragile Presta valve mechanism and prevents accidental release of air.

You need to add air to your tires much more often than monthly.  Once a week at the very least, and in most cases 2-3 times a week.


What is the impact of changing to a smaller chainring? My road bike has a Campagnolo Veloce gearset. It's running 53 and 39 tooth chainrings. I have a 13-25 10sp cassette.

I find that a lot of the time when I'm cruising, I'm on the big chainring and in the 3rd or 4th largest gears on the back. There is a fairly significant chain angle. Because of this, the chain is a bit noisy and I'm sure it's stressing the drivetrain a little. Also, when I need to drop down a gear I quickly need to drop onto the small chainring which necessitates significant adjustments on the rear.

I'm thinking of changing the 53 chainring to a 50t. I am happy to lose a little top end speed.

According to my theory, dropping a 53t to a 50t will reduce my gear ratio by 1.06 (53/50). Which would be the equivalent of switching from a 17t on the back to an 18t. Assuming this is correct, it's not going to have a very big impact, but it might be enough to make it worthwhile.

I know there is an option of using a 3 chainring crankset, but I think that will be a bit too expensive and still won't solve the core issue of getting the right sized large chainring.

The other option is to change the cassette but I can't see many that would really make much of a difference. If I could get a 15-25 that'd probably be about right.

My questions are:

Will the change mean I need to change or adjust the front derailler, the rear derailler or  the chain?
Will there be any other impacts I haven't thought of?
Any other ideas to solve the problem?

EDIT: I can't seem to find a 135mm BCD 50t chainring. I asked my LBS and they said no go. ChainreactionCycles don't have the combination I want. Can I get a 50t 135mm BCD campag chainring? If not, what can I use as an alternative?

EDIT: I've found that BBB make a campag compatible chainring that looks like a good option

EDIT: As indicated here the BBB chainring doesn't fit. Looks like a proper compact crankset is my only option now.

I would consider changing your crankset to a true compact, 50t/34t, and running an 11/25 rear cassette.

Campy actually made a specific derailleur for running a compact front, because they said that the 50t doesn't work well with the standard front derailleur (that may be a function of the tooth differential, so it may not apply if you leave the 39t in place).

(Edit: It does appear that my data on the campy front derailleur may be outdated. Their 10 speed Chorus and Record had an individualized front derailleur, but current product appears more universal.)

The 50t x 11t combo is a 119.6in gear, compared to 107.2inches for the 53t x 13t you're running now.

It will give you a slightly faster gear than current, a better climbing range, and slightly crisper shifting. Downside is you have to buy the crank set and cassette, not just a chain ring.

Check out UBI gearcalculator for more info on how gearing changes will affect you.

Hope that helps.


Do stickers or paint compromise a helmet? Would sticking stickers on a helmet or painting them etc make a helmet less useful in a crash? Not knowing the science of helmets but perhaps stickers in the wrong place might make it not behave how the manufacturer intended during a crash (not breaking apart correctly)?

I agree with the others, it doesn't seem like stickers should be a problem.  My helmet has stickers on the shell added by the manufacturer - clearly they were added make me ride faster.

Paint is a different story...  Polystyrene (aka Styrofoam) and certain other plastics can be damaged by the solvents used in paints, like some spray paints.  I believe petroleum solvents in particular can cause polystyrene to melt.

Polystyrene is sometimes used in crafts and model building, so a hobby store might stock some polystyrene safe paints or be able to recommend a brand of paint that'll be safe to use.


How tight should a threaded BB be? I have an english-thread, octalink Shimano bottom bracket, and a new frame. The frame has been faced before painting.

I am not sure the BB is compatible with the frame.

When trying to install the BB, I greased the thread, screwed in the driver-side cup and tightened it. I do not have dynamometric wrench, so I just torqued hard, but not as hard as not to be able to undo it. Then repeated for the non-drive side.

The bearings had became stuck - only with great force could one spin the axis. I loosened both cups about one revolution each, until the axis began moving freely. Now both cups have some threaded surface visible. The cups are not tight at all.

Are stuck bearings when over-tightening the cups normal? The free cup (non-drive side) looks like it can go all the way inside the frame. Have I set my BB correctly?

UPDATE:
This is my exact BB. I have identified the problem. The non-drive side cup presses against the white seal. The seal is stuck to the axis (which I think it should be), and sandwiching it between the cup and the BB body fixes it's movable flange causes excessive friction.

I am leaving the installation as described above. Will ride it a couple of hundred kilometres and report if any problems occur.

Most components will have an instruction sheet detailing the reccomended torque. This is typically measured in Nm (newton meters). Torque wrenches can also be purchased that show you how much torque you apply.

Some components even have the reccomended torque value on the component itself.
Checking other components will give you an indication of the difference in required torque in relation to your BB.


Light for Giant Quick e+ 2018 I purchased a 2018 Giant Quick e+ for commuting.  Giant uses a modified yamaha PW-X system they have branded "syncdrive pro".  The bike is great but the headlight it comes with stinks.  I would like to drive a light with more lumens off the battery. The yamaha system uses a 36V battery that it drops down to 6V for the headlight (and presumably the tail-light).

For the 6V systems there are some options including lights from lupine SL S Yamaha E-Bike Light (500 lumen) and supernova mini2 (235 lumen).  I am getting one of of lupine lights to see if 500 Lumen is enough.

The question: I am not sure why Yamaha decided to use 6V internally, except for perhaps cost.  You can buy a 36V DC to 12V DC converter that is waterproof. IF installed the converter (and find a place for it) it seems reasonable that I could rewire the bike to use a 12V light. This would let me have a light that drives up to 1100 lumens.  Am I completely nuts or is this reasonable?

The answer to your question is that 12V is not the standard for bicycle lights. 6V is. There are a lot of very good 6V cycle lights designed for dynamo power (I don't know enough about the Yamaha/Giant wiring to know how they connect to lights). Or you can get a separate battery powered light (again, lots of very good options available).


What is the "preload" setting on the front fork suspension? I've made a photo of the actual "thing" as I find it very difficult to explain otherwise:

I'm wondering what this "thing" sets and how it actually works. So, what is "preload" and what happens when I turn it clockwise (plus) and anticlockwise (minus). I tried rotating it both ways to its maximum limit and I didn't notice any change in anything.

The bike the photo has been taken from is Merida Matts 40-D.

This fork setting exists so that the fork can be customized to your weight (major reason) and riding style (minor reason). It's simply the initial compression of the internal spring in the fork. The more it's compressed, the stiffer the fork will feel.

Bigger preload compresses the spring more, and so it's best for heavier riders and/or people who need/prefer the stiffer ride (racers etc.)  Lighter riders should use less(-) preload. Less(-) preload will also give you plusher ride, but the bike will e.g. dive more during braking.

Source: http://bicyclethailand.com/setting-the-sag-on-mtb-suspension-forks/


My brake lever is coming loose from my handle bars; how can I tighten it? I have a road bike with drop bars, and the left brake lever is slightly loose - it can rotate a few degrees around the handle bar from side to side. How can I tighten it? Is it possible to do so without unwrapping the handle bars?

Be removing the cap from the front of the lever, a hex socket is revealed through a small opening, which can be tightened to snug the lever to the handle bar:


Can anyone tell me how pedelec sensor in PAS bicycles work? While doing a literature review I found out about pedelec sensors (while googling some sensor to find torque applied by the rider). Is anyone who has used it willing to share the mechanism and can you briefly explain the mechanism?

From my experience working with electric bikes, most of what I saw were sensors that were mounted on the crank which measure your biking cadence. A sensor would be fixed around the bottom bracket, and then a ring of magnets would spin with the crank, 'tripping' the sensor every time a magnet passed.

They're called hall effect sensors and should be easy to integrate into your design as buying just the PAS sensor is relatively inexpensive.

You can find a Wikipedia page that covers Pedelec sensors here.


What road double cranksets will work with a 108mm JIS square taper bottom bracket spindle? So far it seems like the Shimano Sante or Suntour Sprint cranksets are the only ones that would fit my bottom bracket spindle (I am hoping to keep both BB and spindle).  Am I missing any possible cranksets?

Going off-spec here is only useful if your spindle is actually symmetric 108mm.  If it's older and asymmetric it may actually be equivalent to a wider modern bottom bracket.  You also don't specify a BCD preference; it looks like the cranks designed for narrower spindles seem to be 110mm BCD.

According to Harris Cyclery, the Origin-8 cranks give a chainline of 43.4mm with a 107mm bottom bracket, which would be only 0.4mm off the Shimano spec of 43.5mm if your spindle is symmetrically wider.

The Sugino XD Swiss Cross lists 45mm as the chainline with a 110mm spindle; that would be 43mm in your case and 0.5mm to the inside.  Possibly good if your frame can handle a narrower Q-factor.

The TruVativ Touro and other TruVativ square taper cranks also seem to be designed around a 108mm bottom bracket.


Best XT pads for weak hand strength After a serious crash that left my right hand with plates and pins installed, can anyone suggest a grippy pad for my rear XT disk brake? My hand strength is about 30% of normal.
Thank you.
David

I can't offer brand and product suggestions but I will say that you could opt for organic pads over sintered for better initial bite. That may compensate for the reduced strength. There's a decent writeup on Pinkbike which coveres the differences between the 2 types of pad.

If you're going to be riding in wet and muddy conditions though, it may be best to swap out for some sintered pads for that ride. Can you get someone you trust to help bed your brakes in? On new and freshly cleaned rotors it makes a huge difference to how much braking force is needed.

Can you brake using a single finger? That should allow you to keep most fingers on the grip for better confidence. My levers are adjusted so the hook at the end of the lever is in line with my index finger.

Although it's a rear brake you can increase your rotor size, possibly by 2 steps if you're running standard 160mm discs. That should give you an increased mechanical advantage. I recently increased my front rotor to 180mm using a postmount adapter. It's a simple job.

The other extreme would be to use one lever to operate both brakes. I've seen a junction box for brakes hoses recently that will allow such a thing. The downside is that you'd probably also need a lever with a larger volume. I think Hope do something that should do the trick.

Lastly, I'm sure you're doing you physio but keep at it. I smashed my scaphoid and several years on I'm stil paying the price. Keep flexing, stretching and doing your grip exercises. If you don't everything tightens back up again and you have to start over.

Nice to see you're still eager to ride though. Good luck.


Road Front Derailleur / Shifter Tuning I've recently converted into 2spd crankset so I've bought a new 2spd road lever. I'm really struggling now to tune the front derailleur. Could you please assist me by answering this questions:

Why the shifter does 2 clicks instead of 1 when you go up? Is that normal? It's 2spd shifter isn't it supposed to have only 1 click? And at the same time ...
When I do one click up with the shifter the derailleur moves but always seems like not far enough so I need go up for another click, which leads to ...
When I try to go down the gears and I release the shifter that was clicked 2 times it goes all 2 click at once and the derailleur makes this ugly very loud clutch back to the first gear. It doesn't sound right at all.

Can you tell me what am I doing wrong here? I guess I'm missing something very important here, but I don't know exactly what.

I watched bunch of youtube instructions on how to properly tune a front derailleur, but I still facing the same problem over and over again.

Thank you in advance, and please ask if the question is not clear enough.

The two clicks are just one shift. You can do a half shift from the big ring to the small ring by pressing the downshift paddle about halfway. This is to keep the chain from rubbing when you are in a low gear in the back and the big gear in the front. This half shift is known as "trim". So two clicks up for a full shift into the big ring, two clicks down for a full shift into the small ring, one click down to trim the derailleur away from the chain when you're using gear extremes (big-big).