Grinding sound from rear quick release I heard a grinding noise from the rear wheel on my mountain bike. I took out the quick release and saw that it's full of dust. Before my last long ride, I serviced my rear hub by removing the cassette, re-greasing the ball bearings, etc. I did not open the free-hub body, but I did remove it to get to the bearings.

I flipped my bike upside down and took out the quick release. The sound went away when I removed the quick release, but came back when I re-inserted it. It was also quite a tight fit. Is it normal for the quick release to become dirty on the inside? Should there be seals somewhere? Can I put grease on the quick release after cleaning it?

It’s possible you have a bent or broken axle, which is the only reason a skewer would rub against the hub. Disassemble the inner hub and inspect.


Lower Gearing for Ultegra 11-speed setup Hello I have a touring bike with Shimano Ultegra 6800 shifters and derailleurs (11 speed).

I have a compact crank with 50/34 chainrings, and I have a 11-32 cassette.

I would like to get lower gearing for big climbs and I'm looking for the easiest way to do that.

It looks like the largest cog for 11-speed ultegra cassettes is 32 teeth.
Are 11-speed MTB cassettes compatible with my rear hub? If so, whats' the largest cog that the derailleur can accept?

If that won't work, could I put a smaller chain ring on my crank?

A few options:

You can use a wolftooth roadlink.
You could also move to a sub-compact crankset. There seem to be a few
options for 46/30 cranks, nothing direct from shimano though.

You don't have to resort to a triple.


Rockrider 8.1 rack and bags I'll do a bike trip that will last a week and I need to mount a rear rack.

My bike is a Rockrider 8.1 with disc brakes without threaded seat-stay bosses to attach the mounting bracket arms.

A friend lent me these bags http://www.decathlon.it/borse-bici-2x20-litri-classic-id_8248119.html

How can I attach a rack to my bike to use these bags?

Any reasonably study aluminum tube rack should be okay. Panniers and racks use a standard for mounting, so any rack that looks like this should be okay.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_519792_-1___202601

An mtn bike specific rack like that one is probably a good choice since it
will be wider to have more clearance, but most bike racks should work if you
use skinnier MTB tires. The important part is something to hook the lower pannier connection on just above the lower mounts. Avoid older racks with hinged parts, these simply won't stand up to the load.

The tricky part is mounting the rack to the seat stays. You can do this using P-clamps from the hardware store.

Here's an example:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100130546?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&N=5yc1v&R=100130546

If you are using P-clamps for both upper and lower attachements, it would be a good idea to keep the weight as low as possible. You can also get brackets that work with a long skewer on the rear axle, but I'm not sure that's worth it for a single week long trip.

And if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket and want a solid long term solution.

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/


Mid-bar brakes for only rear wheel? I'm interested in adding mid-bar brakes to a Salsa Vaya Deore. Is it advisable to add them only for the rear wheel (not both the front and rear wheels as is more common)? Are there clear downsides to doing this?

If you were going to only add one set of cyclo/interrupter brakes to your drops, I'd add them to your front brakes:

Front  brakes are more powerful and provide almost all of the braking force in emergency stops (i.e., you apply so much braking force you are almost in an endover situation).
Rear brakes skid out more

So assuming your hands are on the tops of the bars when that car pulls out in front of you, you want the set of brakes that actually work to work when you squeeze them.

The cons are that if you're a newbie, the front brake is harder to modulate. The easy solution is to gain more skills in that area.

The other con is that Americans inexplicably have the front brake on their left hand. You can easily (on many bikes) flip the handedness so that your dominant hand (usually right) controls the front brake. I flip all my brakes (right-rear) because I'm used to riding a motorcycle.

p.s. This photo shows an interrupter on the right hand side going to the rear brakes.


Who manufactures 590mm BSD (EA3 | 650A | 26 x 1 3/8) alloy touring rims? I am trying to ask the question in a way that it can be answered. I am not asking who makes the best rim of this size.

Features:
 - In the triangle of price, weight and durability the last one is most important for my question but the list of manufacturers is probably not very long anyway.
 - I am planning to use rim brakes.

So far I have found:

Sun CR18 http://harriscyclery.net/itemdetails.cfm?ID=1348 (sorry for Harry's link - did not find them on manufacturer's page)
Araya SP-30 http://www.araya-kk.co.jp/rim/product.htm

All I see are a Sun Ringle CR-18 and a cheap steel rim from Wheel Master.  The CR-18 is definitely the stronger of those, it's a double-wall with eyelets.  If you're looking for durability, those are very good.


Safely cutting down a seatpost I want to shorten my seatpost it fouls the non-OEM kickstand on my folding bike when lowered.

What is the best way to cut a (33.9mm alu) seatpost? Can I just use a rotary plumbing pipe cutter? The edges of a seatpost appear to be deburred or smoothed, what's the best way to achieve this?
There's no minimum insertion markings. Is there a rule of thumb in their absence?

I agree with @ojs answer on point (1), you can just cut it with a hacksaw but with the exception of point (2) "the common consensus seems to be at least 5 cm of insertion" - the standard minimum insertion mark on a seatpost is 100mm, double this. You may get away with a bit less, like ~90mm or maybe even 80mm but 50mm would seem very much on the short side to me.

The general idea is that the seatpost should extend a decent amount beyond the bottom of the top tube. 5cm is unlikely to accomplish this on most bikes. He may have been thinking inches.

I'd leave this as a comment on his answer rather than an answer on its own but I don't have the reputation and it is an important issue for safety.


switching from 9-speed to 11-speed with a rear hub motor So I want to buy a bike with a rear hub keyde motor, which is only available with the 2x9-speed Sora groupset (probably 3500) in Australia. If I buy it, I might want to upgrade it to the 105 2X11 5800 groupset. I went into a bike shop and they said something about the 11 speed cassette rear hub being incompatible with a 9 speed cassette rear hub. So how would the switch work if the rear hub contains the motor? Here and here are pictures of the hub. Can somebody please help?

The short answer is that the 11 speed cassette is slightly wider than a 10 speed one (34.95->36.75mm = +1.8mm) which in turn is slightly wider than a 9 speed one. Sheldon Brown died before Shimano 11 speed came out, so his chart only goes up to Campag 11 speed, that that suggests 36.5mm for Shimano 9 speed compared to 40.1mm for Campag 11 speed (+3.6mm). You'll note that those numbers don't match up, so it comes back to "measure it yourself".

To prevent the practical problem of someone buying the wrong cassette, fitting it, then complaining that it doesn't work, they have a different arrangement of ridges on the freewheel. In your case, you already know that you need a new derailleur and shifter, but not everyone does.

Now, it's possible you could change the freewheel to an 11spd one and spread your frame slightly to accommodate it, but that would be a DIY task not a bike shop one I suspect. The bike shop could well refuse to spread an aluminium frame because that would probably fatally weaken it, but under Australian law they're liable for any damage they do (including the key point in this case, making the bike not fit for purpose). With most steel frames you could reasonably spread them 4 or 5 millimetres, use a longer axle and an extra spacer, and the only question would be whether you can fit the 11 speed freewhel you that hub.


What is the right bottom bracket for english thread/68mm I want to buy this group set:

http://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/campagnolo-veloce-silver-10-speed-double-groupset/?currency=USD&location=USA&gclid=CjwKEAiAjcDBBRCJxouz9fWHynwSJADaJg9BvbBLTW4dNo1N01VlEhiZaPi9nROtIuW9MJF7RvMFjBoC1APw_wcB#pid=30008

Not sure which bottom bracket I should pick.

My frame spec says bottom bracket shell is 68mm English thread.

help!

The first one, "Campagnolo Power Torque Outboard Cups (EPS Compatible) Eng". The other ones are for Italian, the other threaded standard still in use, and the various press fit standards.


Retrofitting disc brakes on 2000 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC? I just got an old 2000 Specialized Stumpjumper FSR XC that still uses rim brakes. I also have this 160mm rotor and this mechanical disc brake caliper.

Since none of my wheels have 6 bolt holes to mount disc brake rotor, then I need to get new wheel anyway. My goal would be to mount a fatter tire in front and leave skinnier wheel on rear (because in the rear I have electric hub motor and don't have much choice).

After attaching disc brake caliper (without any adapters) I tried to put my old wheel to get a feel on how everything would fit together. Then I noticed that disc brake caliper is touching spokes as can be seen in this picture:

Before I go shopping for new disc brake compatible wheel I have following questions so that I would not make any rookie mistakes:

Why caliper touches spokes on the old wheel? Is it because I need to get adapter for caliper as well and it would move caliper away from the hub? Or is it because spokes on disc brake compatible wheels will be arranged in a more narrow manner around hub and hence will not touch the disc brake caliper?
The fork leg to fork leg distance is 103mm as can be seen in the picture. How much wider wheel I could mount there? Especially - Do fat tire wheels have wider spoke arrangement at the hub area potentially reintroducing the "spokes touching disc brake caliper" issue?
Would there be any issues with having fat tire on the front and this, somewhat skinny, tire on the back?

Update#1:

The caliper is touching the wheel because the caliper was designed for a disk to be there, but the wheel was designed for spokes to be there. With a disk-brake wheel, the spoke flange on the hub is moved closer to the centerline to make room for the disk, which would be where the spokes are now. There are only a few standards for mounting disk brakes, which determine where the disk and caliper should be relative to specific points on the bike. Unless you want to mess around with adapters, you need to make sure all your parts fit the same standard. I'm guessing your fork uses the 74-mm post mount standard.
This distance is called the over-locknut distance. Almost all bikes use a 100-mm standard for the front wheel. There's a more recent 110-mm standard (called "boost"). The fact that you're getting 103 mm is probably a measurement error, but that's a 100-mm hub, and you should continue to use 100-mm hubs.
Not really. It's not clear exactly what kind of rim is on that motorized wheel, but you can probably mount a fatter tire on it if you want.


Increasing length of seatpost on a foldable bike One of my bike is this little Dohiker 14" electric bike, but I actually pedal a lot when riding it, and the seatpost is a bit too short. It is about 50cm long, and I would need a few more centimeters. I'm already exceeding a bit the minimum insertion length, but it's not sufficient. Also, such long seatposts apply a lot of force on the frame because of the leverage, so I really have to insert a safe length of seatpost in the frame.

Problem: the diameter is a quite uncommon 30.4mm, and such long seatpost is also uncommon. I searched everywhere for a 30.4mm × 550~600mm seatpost, without success...

So far, after already a lot of research, my best (and only) solution would be to use these two parts:

This 30.4mm → 27.2mm adapter (I'm considering this model because it's 10cm long, whereas other models are 8cm or 6cm long only…)
This 27.2mm × 600mm seatpost (I think it's initially intended for BMX)

Do you think this solution is acceptable? Do you have better proposals?

(and extra kudos if you find a similar seatpost (27.2mm × 600mm, color black), but without any branding on it :)

I have a 20" folder, long legs, and exactly the same problem.

I strongly advise you to put the seatpost to the minimum insertion mark at least, if not further.  I've personally cracked and broken my frame at the seat clamp, and fortunately it was weldable being steel.

As for your parts - maybe.   The combination of dimensions looks good, but the risk is that a thinner seat post, will be weaker for the same thickness of wall.   If its a thicker wall then you're probably good.

Also, the thinner seatpost will have a leverage focus/maximum right at the point it enters your adapter, so if its going to bend it will bend there.

Another solution is to take your old seat post to a machine shop and ask for a price for "one of these, but 700mm long, please"

Mine's got an old-fashioned 2 piece saddle clamp so all I need is a piece of steel tube, necked down at one end to the right size.  Your sample has an integrated saddle clamp, which would make it more complex.   If you do go this route, buy a cheap seatpost with the right clamp and tube size, and ask your machinist  to cut off the clamp and fit it to a longer tube.   If you're brave you could offer up your existing seatpost, but that leaves you no bike for the duration.


Magura HS33 brake pads strongly pressed against rim, despite adjusting screw fully open. Too thick? Wrongly installed? I have a Magura HS33 with EVO2 mount bought some years ago.  I replaced my Magura HS33 brake pads.  I have turned the brake lever adjusting screw as far open as it gets, but the brake pads are too far inward.  Normally, when I turn the adjusting screw as far open as possible, there is about 1 mm space between the brake pads and the rim, but now there is no space at all, to the extent that the wheel is completely stuck.  Is it possible that the brake pads are too thick?  Or has a recent bike servicing messed up the brake installation?  Can I adjust the "reference width" of the brake cylinder somehow?

Rear brake cylinder, overview

Brake pad pressed against rim, closeup

Brake lever adjusting screw closeup

On the brake cylinder, the brake shoe holders are pushed too far toward the rim.  To pull them out:

Unscrew the adapter screws (marked in red in the image);
Pull the brake shoe holders away from the rim;
Rescrew the adapter screws.

Repeat for the other side (the other side is quick release, so only has one adapter screw).  Magura recommends that there should be 1–1.5 mm space between the front of the brake pad and the edge of the rim.


How suitable is a Dahon folding bike for Indian road conditions? I'm in the market for Dahon folding bike. I have narrowed down on the Dahon SUV D6 since it suits my budget. I would be carrying it around in trains on weekends to tourist towns in South India and roam around in it. Indian roads are notorious for their poor riding conditions. My concern is will the D6 (that is designed primarily for urban commuting) be able to handle a bump or two and be a reliable machine that I need it be during my vagrant outbursts. Since I haven't seen a Dahon first-hand yet and since I'll mostly be placing the order for it online, I'm a bit anxious.

Dahon http://dahon.com/uploads/tx_dahonproducts/IMG_10256.png

Dahon D6 http://dahon.com/uploads/tx_dahonproducts/IMG_10204.png

Unfortunately, I think this bike would be a poor choice for a number of reasons.

First, the small wheel size will accentuate the bad road
conditions. Larger wheels will seem to smooth out the bumps a bit
better.
As has already been commented, folding bikes in general do not handle particularly well, which is not what you want on bumpy streets.
Although this bike folds, that is the extent of its portability.
The Dahon website says it weighs 31.7 pounds, so it's going to be
difficult to heft even though it may fit a bit better on a train
than a non-folding bike.
My experience with Dahon is that you pay quite a bit for the
foldability. It looks like this bike costs $300. When you consider that $300 is the starting point for "bike-shop brand" bicycles, a $300 folding bike is, frankly, using probably the lowest quality components possible. Not ideal for any riding environment and made even worse by rough roadways. I suspect this bike will cause you quite a few maintenance headaches.

I don't know anything about trains in India, but if it is possible to bring a non-folding bike onto a train there, I think you will be much better off overall. You will get more bike for the money, probably a lighter bike, and definitely larger wheels. My advice would be to shop around for something of the non-folding variety if your budget is $300. I would look at a mountain bike if the roads are extremely bad, but for more weight savings a hybrid would be an option.

I don't know the bike shop situation in India, but the folks at a bike shop will probably be able to guide you to something that is appropriate for your local riding conditions.


Do cassettes and chains need to be replaced at the same time? Someone recently told me that if I replace my cassette I need to replace my chain (and vice versa) so that they wear evenly.

Is this true? And, can anyone elaborate on the reasoning for this a bit more? Why is it important for them to wear evenly?

Why does this not apply to the front chainring? Or does it?

You may need to change your cassette with your chain due to damage, but only if your bike has missed out on some previous maintenance. If you ride one chain beyond the point of wear, it will damage both cassette and chain rings to different degrees.

Your chain is a consumable component on your bike.

For most people, 1200-1500 kilometers on a chain is a safe distance to ride it before it stretches enough to damage the cassette or chain rings.

If you treat changing your chain like changing the oil in your car, and just do it based on mileage, regardless of the actual wear on the chain, then you can continue to use the same cassette through (on average) 5 chain swaps.

The chain rings, at least a good quality set, are thicker metal, with a larger diameter, so they don't wear as quickly.  Usually, I get 10 chain swaps before I need to change the chain rings.  But they will eventually need to be changed as well.

I hope that helps.


What is the best gear combo for me on road bike? I've got a 2011 Specialized Secteur Elite with basic sram apex groupset.
It has the following specs:
10 speed 11-34t cassette SRAM APEX
50/34t chainwheel SRAM APEX
Currently running 700c with 25m tires
I am looking to upgrade the groupset to either the ultegra or the 105. A majority of my rides are longer (>30miles) that are relatively flat with a few hills.
I'm 6ft and weigh in about 215lbs right now.
What I am stuck on is the gear combination for my new groupset. I want to be able to go faster for longer. Obvisouly my weight plays a role so I am focusing on slimming down:) but i am currently averaging about 17mph on my rides and I want to aim for >20mph.
Based on all of this, what gear combination should I go for on my new groupset to be able to ride faster for longer? 53/39, 52/36, 50/34, 11-28, 11-30, 11-32, 11-34???

It's a question about physiology first and hardware second. The people that really are better off with a high gear higher than you have now are some combination of pros and/or low-cadence pedal mashers. Figuring out what cadence is really right for you given adequate conditioning is one of the key questions in cycling, and one that you can read endlessly about.
A closer cassette will give you the benefit of closer intervals between gears. If you don't need the 34 with the terrain you ride, that is all upside. The 50/34 compact, 11-34 cassette setups are good for a certain kind of cyclist and terrain, i.e. casual or beginner road cyclists with major hills or mountains to deal with, but can be serious overkill for other use cases, like rolling terrain and/or a stronger cyclist.
If the Apex group you have is still in good shape and you're finding you don't need gearing as low as you have, there's a lot to recommend just getting an 11-28 or 11-25 cassette rather than completely reinventing the bike, plus a new chain. I'm fairly certain that the WiFli type Apex RDs can handle whatever large cog you want to go down to and not have overly large gap.
A good way to begin to learn how to answer this question for yourself is when you're on your rides, keep track of what gear combination you use to climb the hills you work with, and, on the opposite end, if you find your high gear isn't high enough, what gear combination is that (50/11 for you). Then go home and plug those numbers into a gearing calculator and you will know what your ideal range is. If you need or really want to switch groups, you can let that be your metrics.


Is it necessary to upgrade my groupset? Just arrived here!
I have a bike (Venzo Traveler) very similar (almost identical) to a Trek 920.
27v with a RD Acera (11-36) and an Altus FD (22-32-40).
No dropbars, just bullhorn. Very light and with 700x38 tires.
Right now commuting with it but training for crossing the Andes next year. As you can see, will use it in a mountain setting but mainly on asphalt and some gravel.
I've been thinking about upgrading the groupset. Some have told me about upgrading to a Sora 2x9 or going mono but sincerely know nothing about this new Shimano products.
Any advice?
Thanks

I think what you have is more ideal for steep climbs you would find in the mountains than most up-market groupsets. As @Criggie has pointed out, 22:36 is ideal for climbs. Going to a more expensive groupset will most likely give you worse gearing unless you choose something that is specific to climbing.
A standard Sora groupset will come with a 50-34 chainset and an 11-32 cassette, which won't be great for touring especially if you are carrying a load. Some mono (1x) groupsets can get a 50t cog in the back, but to get the same ratio as your 22:36 you would need a 31 tooth chainring which is pretty small and would end up giving you a much easier hard gear. Assuming the smallest cog of 11 teeth, you would only be going at 33 km/h at 90 RPM in your hardest gear.
If you want an upgrade to get better quality components you are better off going with something from the Deore line like a mountain double with something like 36/22t chainrings or a mountain triple with 40/30/22t chainrings


Avid BB5 asymmetrical pad rub position and squeal I'm setting up some Avid BB5s.

As I tried to bed in the brakes, the front one squeals quite heavily, the back does not.

The following image is of the non-drive side of the front disc rotor. (Where the outboard pad hits.)

The following image is of the drive side of the front disc rotor (where the rotor is pressed into the inboard pad.)

Notice the marks where the pad material has transferred onto the rotor in each picture. The marks end further inward toward the centre of the disk on the outboard pad side, than on the side where the inboard pad hits it.

Because of the way the brake works (bending the rotor at an angle as it is pushed into the stationary inboard pad), this would make sense to me as the very top of the rotor hits the inboard pad, and because of the angle, leaves a gap lower down. But is this how BB5s are supposed to be?

I say this because the while a similar thing is happening on the rear rotor, it is not quite as pronounced (ie, the inboard pad side seems to be hitting a smidge more square on, and does not squeal).

I have played around with different pad adjustments as well as caliper alignment. I've tried the sanding the rotor and pads trick. And it's new so nothing is contaminated and I've used alcohol on everything just to be sure. Nothing seems to make any difference either with trying to bring the position of the inboard pad lower as it makes contact, or the squealing itself.

I took it to my LBS, he seems to think it's an acceptable set up and just needs riding, but did not say why the rear seems to be acting differently to the front, despite setting them up in the same way multiple times. Could it be a slight manufacturing defect on the front one that causes the inboard pad to sit at a slight angle (it's not totally clear with the naked eye).

Having seen some mechanical disk brakes over my life, the Avid's 9 out 10 will emit some sort of sound.

You indeed are correct about how a mechanical disk brake works, by bending the rotor. So it's most important to set them properly. This is my procedure:

Take the caliper off, and check that the pads are parallel. Clean them if necessary.
Check if the rotor is tightly bolted to the hub.
Set the fine adjustment bolt on the lever and the caliper to none(all the way in)
Mount the caliper and bolt only using your hands
Bolt the cable lines.
Set, the static usually, adjustment to lock the rotor, then set it back half a turn.
Now, hold the handle with a ziptie and lock the brake.
Meanwhile use a hex tool to tight the caliper bolts
Finally, fine adjust the brake line.

Hope this will help you.


What child seats have a quick-release mechanism? I'm looking to purchase a rear child seat for my almost-two-year-old.

The main feature I'm interested in is being able to very quickly and easily take it on and off.

This Yepp Maxi I saw in a store here in NYC fits the description but it is $210+ and that's more than I wanted to spend.  REI link for Yepp Maxi

What others are out there?

I know this is a late response but others like me might still refer to this page for advice. (I know I did read up on this before we made our decision)

We have just brought a Soosi Flinger bike seat for our 14 month old, 10 kg toddler. He loves sitting in it! It must be comfortable enough as he fell asleep in it during a ride! My husband likes the seat/bracket system because it is quick to take the seat off when he rides his bike to work.

Here is a link to the manufacturer's website: http://soosi.flinger.com.tw/sw-bc07-1.html


Smartphone mounted on handlebar: Will vibrations during cycling damage it? I would like to mount my smartphone on my bike's handlebar. However, I am worried about that the vibrations when cycling will damage my smartphone's internal electronics.

I am using a trekking bicycle in a city and sometimes travel longer trips with it. The surface I usually ride on is:

Asphalt (including rough and bumby asphalt streets)
Cobblestones
Gravel roads

I am not doing mountainbiking with it and I am aware of that having an accident with my bike will probably damage my smartphone as well. I also know that a dedicated bike computer is doing better under different weather conditions. But that are not the things I am concerned about.

My smartphone is a Samsung Galaxy S Plus, so not a special "outdoor" smartphone.

Will the vibrations during cycling damage my smartphone?

The vibrations will be hard on it.  The result will not be instantaneous failure,  but an increasing likelihood of failure after perhaps several hundred hours of riding.

The likelihood of damage can be greatly reduced with a resilient, shock-absorbing mount of some sort (I assume most commercial mounts include some shock-absorbing function).

Most important is to avoid mounting in a way that the device will bang against the handlebar, or rattle in its mount.  A mount that is too flexible can actually increase the G force the phone is subjected to.


What's a safer alternative to a flag for marking special bikes? Every year I marshal a family ride organized by my local cycling campaign. As it's targeted at people who don't cycle long distances, the main job of the marshals is to offer help to people with mechanical problems, as well as to give them confidence they're following the right route.

To make us more visible among the huge crowd of bikes, we carry flags, like this:

Picture courtesy of Mike Clark

These flags are very effective and visible, but have some problems:-

They tend to fwap people in the face. Most of the ride is on cycle tracks, and if a wind blows from your left, the flag flaps out to the right, taking the whole width of the track and inconveniencing oncoming riders or pedestrians.
The bamboo canes sometimes snap if we go under low signs or tree branches too fast.
Part of the route is lined with high brambles. If the flag rubs against the brambles, they tug at it, pulling the bike off-balance (and this can snap the cane too).
If you stop riding in a tail wind, the flag envelops you and you can't see anything until you start moving again.

They also help a little with publicity, as passers-by always stop and ask us what the flag is for and where we're all going. (The design of the flag itself is irrelevant: the one pictured here happens to be the county flag of Northumbria, but all the marshals have random flags.)

Is there a way to improve on this design, removing one or more of these problems without making the marshals less visible? HV jackets just won't cut it: you can't see one HV jacket in a dense crowd from more than about 20 m away. Besides, some normal cyclists wear them, which could cause confusion. Rigid flags won't work either, even if they're shorter: there are parts of the route where even the riders have to duck under low branches.

Some local recumbent users have a different style flag on their bikes rather than the rectangle or the pennant.  I couldn't find a photo online, but the flag is about a 1~1.5 meters tall, and the poll runs up the whole length of it.  It is then about a half meter wide.  There is very little flapping around and nothing loose to blow in faces and get tangled up.  I came across them driving so I can say they make you visible.  I have seen businesses use them before for advertising signs in windy locations.

Here is a image from Wikipedia.  It is called a vertical flag on it, the type I'm describing is 3.  (image credit)


Rear wheel stuck (not moving) I have a Mongoose XR-150. Just brought it from Craigslist a month ago.

Suddenly while biking today, the rear wheel got jammed. It just stopped moving, however hard I tried to pedal. Immediately after this, when I tried pedalling, the pedal moves but none of the wheels move with it. There's a weird tension on the pedals though.

I would really like to get this fixed as cheaply as possible. Does anyone have any ideas/advice?

Thanks

At a guess, you suffered chain suck where the chain got stuck between the smaller chain-ring and the frame, or you dropped the chain between the rear cassette and spokes. The forces you then used have possibly been more than the QR skewers could handle and the rear wheel slipped in its mount. The weird force is the tire rubbing the frame.

My real concern is the "However hard I tried....." - you may have done significant damage to drive train components. Never put pressure on a jammed drive train - a modern bike is actually a very highly tuned, lightweight and fragile piece of machinery. Forces it is not designed to take will break it.

You do not say how you went from jammed and not moving to moving and not driving - was there a bang/crack/snap involved?

There are a few things that can be wrong, and based on what you said, you probably now have more than one fault.  You need to isolate parts to find out what it is. Most of the of these checks can be done almost instantly without removing anything.  The chain will get in the way - you won't need to remove it though.

Remove the wheel from the bike and check the freewheel. It should be
moving freely in one direction and locked up in the other
Check the rear derailleur  - is the chain running freely though it.
If not, check the chain line and make sure the small sprockets are
free spinning.
Check the chain line though the front end. Is the chain clear of the
derailleur and sitting properly on the chain ring.
Spin the pedals and check the bottom bracket is not jammed up
somehow. check the pedals and cranks are properly aligned and
attached to the bottom bracket.


my first frame jig - a customized one - which addons and features to add? i am currently workin on the Bicycle-Frame-Building-Jig that is designed by tanner W at Instructables https://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-Frame-Building-Jig/
which bottom bracket assemblies should i work out:
The question is - which bottom bracket-assembly-types would you suggest!?which axles and dummy shells should i drill see https://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-Frame-Building-Jig/
well at the moment i am musing bout the extras and features

what should i add
which features should i add
eg some dummy axles for the bottom bracket assembly - what do you suggest!?

i think as long as we can get a standard English bb in both 68 and 73,
we should be fine.
afaik: It's hard to deal with the press fit sizes because AFAIK nobody is selling facing/reaming tools for them. As far as i know: Paragon has a ton of bb shells available, so we could match what they sell.
but I think the two most standard sizes will probably do for now.
the tanner w fixture is adjustable for width, so we only need one set of blocks see here: https://www.instructables.com/id/Bicycle-Frame-Building-Jig/
and also see the bottom bracket shells: https://www.paragonmachineworks.com/frame-building-parts/bottom-bracket-shells/steel.html
well at the moment i am musing bout the extras - what should i add ?

You should use tapered cones, so they work with any BB. There's no need to have different fittings for different BB.


Are all folding pedals a bit... bendy? I have recently acquired a folding bike.  One of the most irritating things is the folding pedals, as pictured:

Pedal in folded position

Pedal in deployed position, ready to ride

Close up of pedal latch - this image shows the sliding latch in the middle of the platform that holds it in place.  To fold, you insert finger into hole and slide the middle section outboard.  This pulls two tabs from a slot in the silver metal part, and the pedal platform is free to rotate up/down

When pedalling normally, it feels "okay"  but when exerting some force on a climb I can feel the pedals bend under the load.   It gets much worse when out of the saddle.

If I were to estimate, it might be a 10 degree deflection of the pedal body from the pedal axle center line.

To minimise the effect, I've made a conscious effort to put the ball of the foot on the silver metal part, which feels much more solid than the rest of the pedal.

So my main question: Is this normal for folding pedals or should I be exploring for folding pedals that are more solid?

Or do I simply fit normal pedals?  This may interfere with the folding function on the left crank, and will leave the right one poking out more as a shin-collector.   On the plus side, clipless.

Yes, I've used a variety of folding pedals on my Dahon and Brompton and they're all a bit flexy. I've had plastic ones snap in half on me (and yes, that can be very painful/dangerous). The best ones I've had were all-metal ones in which the axle and folding pedal were both metal. But even those aren't as strong as fixed pedals -- and none of the folding designs are designed for putting all your body weight on (by standing to pedal).  This is the MKS FD-7, perhaps the solidest of the folding pedal designs, but also quite heavy:

Instead, the best pedals sold for folding bikes are the removable axle pedals made by MKS and others. Rather than the pedal folding, the pedal axle disengages from the crank with a quick release. This removes the folding component  and so this type is stronger and more rigid. The other advantage is that you can also get clipless as well as regular pedals. But even with this design, the pedal will still remain the weakest link in your power chain. The removable axle thins where it enters the crank (which means that the bearings are also smaller) and that the pedal retention system while improved and generally bulletproof is not foolproof (they keep making better fools).

Here is their regular style Ezy pedal:

The ideal design would involve cranks that had a custom pedal quick release built into them  but that would mean you wouldn't be able to use standard pedals anymore and would be locked into that manufacturer, which makes me wonder why Shimano hasn't done this. :)


Grip for Shimano Nexus hub gear shifter Would you recommend for a good grip from Shimano Nexus shifter? I hardly find a good option. Ergon grips seem to be the best choice.

Choosing a grip is a matter of personal preference. If you're worried about the fact that the Nexus shifters require a smaller grip on one side than the other (due to the shifter taking up room), you can get grips that are made to mate with an internal hub shifter like the Nexus.

Alternately, since these can be difficult to locate, you can cut down the grip on one side with a hacksaw blade. That's what I did on one of my folding bikes, and it worked fine.

Just be sure to cut the grip in a straight line. You can mark the location of the cut with masking tape or painters tape before sawing to get an even edge. The edge will be slightly rougher, but since it'll be sitting up against the shifter it won't be very visible. If you want to cut down a non-locking grip, you can probably do something similar.


Riding fast on an MTB I have been cycling for quite some time now (an MTB - hardtail) and I intend to go for higher speeds above 45kmph (on road). I typically cruise around 38kmph (on road). I can endure my cruise speed pretty well and for very long durations about 2 hours continuous pedalling. But whenever I try to maintain my speed at something above 45kmph like trying to cruise at 50kmph, I run dry pretty fast. Is there a good procedure that I should follow to attain this goal

! - I am specific here about the hardtail mtb. Not the road bikes.
! - I have good aerobic and cardiovascular as well as muscular strength. Applying force on pedals is not the problem. Consistently putting that output for a good duration is.

The critical factors are rolling resistance, wind resistance, gearing, and body posture.

Rolling resistance is minimized with smooth, high-pressure tires.  It's not required that they be super-narrow, but narrower than 2" is probably best for wind resistance.  You should generally run 80-100 PSI.

Wind resistance is minimized by a head-down posture, with arms fairly close to the body.  Changing out the handlebar, or installing bar extensions, may be necessary to optimize this.

Gearing is important if you "max out" your high gear, or you can't find a gear to let you run at optimal cadence.

Body posture (over and above issues of wind resistance) involves having the body "fit" the bike in a way that lets you pedal efficiently at high cadence (and with your head down).  This is more a function of the bike than the other factors, and likely harder to optimize on a mountain bike.

(Remember, maintaining speed on the road is not a matter of putting out maximal force, but rather sustaining power output over a long period of time.  Higher cadence with less force is generally better than maximizing force.  A cadence of 80-100 RPM is generally considered optimal, and a reasonably good first take at balancing force and cadence is to be doing two revs of the crank for every breath you take.)

Oh, and lock out the suspension.


Raleigh M20 with broken rear derailleur Broken rear derailleur.

What do I need to look for to replace a RD-TX30?

You can use most common Shimano rear mountain derailers made for 9 speed cassettes or fewer.

Currently, good value choices would be the mid-range Deore RD-M591 for a bike that sees a lot of use that you want to keep going, or Altus RD-M310 if you want the cheapest reasonable option. Both meet or surpass the total capacity, min/max sprocket size, and max chainring difference numbers of RD-TX30, so they'll both be compatible anywhere TX30 was.


From hybrid bicycle to MTB I have a 2013 Giant Escape 3. I intend to use it as an MTB or gravel bike. Please advise changes, if any, that I need to make to use the bike as an off road bicycle.

I intend to use it as an mtb or gravel bike

I assume you mean "MTB" as "cross-country", and I assume you do not plan to take part in competitions, except in those meant for absolute beginners.

The most important thing you could have done is to change tires to the widest the frame/fork would fit. However, this bike already comes with tires 35 mm wide, and I am afraid those are as big as one can squeeze there. You might want to change them  to ones with more "off-road" tread, but that would mean sacrificing the width, and I am not sure it is a reasonable trade off.

The next thing would be lowering the gear range available to you. Front of your bike has a triple with 28/38/48 teeth, and the rear cassette is 14-34 teeth. You are unlikely to ever use the front 48 teeth chainring offroad, while having a smaller smallest chainring is desirable; something like 22/34 at the front is what I typically use. Similarly, he rear cassette should have as big teeth count as possible, e.g. 11-36 or even 11-42 are likely to be achievable on the rear wheel hub you have now.

Changing gears as I described means you would have to change everything around them: rear and front cogs, rear and front derailleurs, rear and front shifters, the chain and possibly the cranks. Of course, you might be able to just find a bigger cassette or tighter front chainrings compatible with your existing system, but that is unlikely given that your drivetrain uses 7-speeds at the back.

The amount of changes I listed (+ installation costs) would cost you as much as a new bike. Your current bike is really just tuned for the city transportation task.

So if you are serious about offroad riding, just go and sell the current bike and buy another one more suited for the task. Otherwise, just try riding your current bicycle where you want it; I'd say nothing prevents it to conquer regular gravel roads and easiest singletrack. Lower the tire pressure to have a bit of more cushion, swap in decent pedals to avoid feet slipping, take it slow, know your limits, and have fun!


How far do I “pull over” in a bike lane? If I am riding down a marked bike lane on a road which is adjacent to the curb, and I need to stop for a very short time (e.g. to adjust something, turn on lights, or drink some water), how far should I get off the road?

That is: As a car driver, if I had to stop I would move onto the shoulder of the road, or otherwise as far right (US, drive on the right) as is safe for the vehicle. With a bicycle lane, there is no specific shoulder, but I can pick up the bike and move off the road entirely. Should I take the time to do so, even if there is essentially no traffic?

What if the lane is especially wide (e.g. if it is a bicycle lane to the left of parking space, but with no cars actually present), or if it is only a generously wide road without any markings?

(I am looking for a safety and politeness perspective, not regional traffic laws, though if there is a general trend in law on the matter that is also useful information.)

Please don't block the bike lane or traffic or parking spaces, but use your best judgement; in that order.

Personally I feel a curb is a logical and physical barrier which protects you from the activities of the traffic way.

Protection
Getting on a curb means a car that hits you has already been slowed down by a 6 in. cement block applied up to 4 times (4 tires) against the cars momentum. Ever see a car hit a curb? Sure they can plow over it, but they definitely slow down, and change direction. When riding you have several options to evade, but when on foot you are much slower/less agile. Use the curb as a natural defense. Also, I'm not a law expert but I'm sure there are better legal protections for being off the road with regards to this matter.

Courtesy
Do you look everywhere and try to decide what everyone will do before they do it while riding. I sure hope you do, it will help keep you safe if you can anticipate situations, both while riding and while driving. If you remove yourself from the bike lane you become a non-player to those using the traffic ways. The cars don't have to decide if you might fall over while mounting/dismounting/precariously balancing while tying shoes etc. Like wise for bikers, will you see them when you decide to start? How straight will your line be when you do start etc. Even if you pull over far and look before you start up, you have forced others to do the extra work of thinking through possible scenarios and possibly slowing down, changing lanes or changing routes around a block where you are 'pulled over'.

If you are on a long straight away with no intersections and you can anticipate the traffic for the next 2 min, and you will only take 20secs then who cares. If you don't see anyone, but a car could pull up from around the block in less than 10 secs even though it seems dead you should probably just get over the curb.


Adjusting chain length I am upgrading a vintage 10speed, new chain was purchased. The new chain was a couple of links shorter than the original that I removed. I currently have the new chain connected with a piece of wire. See picture below:

It seems that it fits, I had the chain on both lower sprockets, front and rear and it seems to function fine when I move the chain on different gear combinations. Once I remove the piece of wire it will be a little tighter but it seems there is some play in the length. The rear derailleur just moves if I increase or decrease the chain length slightly. Just wondering if this is correct, is there some degree of flexibility in terms of how long the chain can be ? Does the new chain have to be the exact same number of chain links as the old one ?

Your chain needs to be long enough to move freely when it is shifted to the largest cog and the largest ring at the same time.*

To check the length, shift to these positions and move the chain by hand there. Then pull the chain together. You have to pull against the springs in the derailleur that requires a bit of force. As D. R. Hicks mentioned in the comments, the derailleur ought to be almost flat.

If you manage to do that, the chain is long enough.
If you can push up the derailleur even more, the chain is too long.
If the derailleur is nearly horizontal and does not move without a lot of force your chain is too short indeed.†

* It is not a good idea to ride an old bike cross chained that much. But one doesn't want things to break when doing this.

† This would be somewhat unusual, given the largest cog on an old bike is not all that big. Unusually long chain stays could lead to it. Some chains meant for internal hub gears and single speeds are short though. These are mostly 1/8" wide chains rather than 3/32" derailleur chains.


Rim dish and flange angle problem this is the n-th time I have faced with this problem. The problem is than one flange of the rim is higher than another one. As you can see on the photo.

My rim is new this time, I have dynamo hub. Btw I faced with the same problem on simple hub not dynamo, so hub is not a problem. My hub is asymmetric, so one side should be tighten more than other one.
To be clear right side is where power connector is and left is opposite side.
I tried make equal dish between hub locknuts. And in general wheel is quite okay, laterally and radially true, but this issue.
Even if I have such result I still have to tighten right side as you can see on following photos, so If I do this right side flange will become even more higher than left.
I have some experience lacing wheels,so it is laced using 3-cross pattern correctly, but I have faced this problem several times, and don't know what is wrong. I mean I know that such result is because of one side is much tighten, but how to make correctly dished wheel and without such issue.
Also it is important to note that spokes are the same length, even wheel laced on the factory has spokes of the same length.
I can guess that if spoke on one side were shorter than on the other side everything would be okay, but by default wheel was laced using spokes of the same length.

Please help with this problem, how can I solve it, what is the reason of such result, maybe I should do something differntly ?

Thanks.

Simple idea - turn the wheel over in the truing stand.   The low side of the rim should move to the other side.

If the Right-hand side is still low after flipping, your gauge is out and needs calibrating.


Front derailleur sticking, not shifting. Will soaking in solvent damage parts? I've got an older deore lx front derailleur for a mountain triple crankset. It wasn't shifting properly, and it seems that it's sticking and not returning back to a neutral position when I shift it.  I've tried loosening both limit screws with no change in behavior.  I took it off the bike and tried to move the derailler as if I was shifting, but doing that moves the cage, but it doesn't try to return to the original position.

I'd like to soak the derailleur in a cleaning solvent (such as kerosene or paint thinner) to remove any gunk that may have built up on inner surfaces.  Should I worry about the solvent damaging parts? Is there anything else to try to revive the stuck derailleur?

In some derailleurs such as Shimano Tiagra, a small metal nub against which the spring presses is prone to breaking off. In such case there won't be any tension on the spring which could explain the symptoms you're experiencing.


How to make coaster brake work backwards, or disable? I'm installing 49cc engine on kids' 20 inch bike.
Chain on engine located to the left, so I flipped the wheel and need to make it work. Brake are coaster. I will install both rear and front hand brakes. Thanks for any help!

There is a probably very useless potential discussion here about which internal parts of the hub would have to be remade to do this, i.e. if you machined a reverse-threaded driver to take the place of the original one, what is the next thing that would go wrong after that. Barring those kinds of considerations, there is no way of doing this because you're reversing the motion of the driver and thus there's no way of getting it to drive the shell.
Do it with left drive BMX parts.


Atomized bubbles while following Park process to bleed Magura MT5 I have the Park tool mineral oil bleeding kit (BKM-1), and followed their instructions for bleeding my MT5 calipers.
I ended up with soft/useless brake caliper.  I think maybe I introduced air into the system when I took too long to insert the stopper bolt on the caliper-side, and some oil tumbled out. (as an aside -- with the lever-side bleed screw closed, I thought the sealed system would prevent oil from tumbling out the caliper-side port, similar to how I can use a straw and my finger to lift coke out of a glass. But it doesn's seem to be the case here)
So I went back and repeated the process, adding more fluid in via syring/funnel combo and trying to drive the air out.  I got it to the point that I didn't have any big glug-glug bubbles, but I seemed to have an incessant plume of extremely fine microbubbles on the caliper side when I sucked with the syringe, and on the funnel-side when I pressed the syringe.  I was working at night with a head-lantern, so maybe this was overly sensitizing me to the microbubbles, but they steadfastly persisted.   It's like I somehow atomized the air and diffused it so widely in the fluid it was never going to come out, or at least not till they had a long time to aggregate into larger bubbles?

I had the fittings all snugged on as tight as my fingers allowed and they had their rubber gaskets, so I don't see where there might have been a leak that could suck any air in.
I eventually just pushed up into the funnel, and replaced the fluid with fresh fluid that presumably didn't have all this atomized air in it.  Once I pulled that in and sealed up the system the brakes work, at least ok. (I'm not sure if they're as strong as they could be -- I couldn't get my front to lock-up.)
One variation from the Park guide that I did my second time was detach the caliper from the fork and bring the vent hole up to parity with the lever-side vent so that I didn't leak oil or leave space when I put the stopper bolt on. That seems to have helped.
Anyway, my question is, "what was I doing wrong to generate all these microbubbles which are the source I my problem I assume?"
And I guess secondly is there a followup process I could do to further purge any remaining air from the system?
Thanks

I thought the sealed system would prevent oil from tumbling out the caliper-side port, similar to how I can use a straw and my finger to lift coke out of a glass. But it doesn't seem to be the case here

I had similar experience with Magura brakes — just shutting the lever-side port closed did not stop oil from leaking from the caliper body's opening.

One variation from the Park guide that I did my second time was detach the caliper from the fork and bring the vent hole up to parity with the lever-side vent so that I didn't leak oil or leave space when I put the stopper bolt on. That seems to have helped.

Raising the caliper body at the lever's level is what the official Magura video tells us to do; see timestamp 3:30.

And I guess secondly is there a followup process I could do to further purge any remaining air from the system?

When I had problems with banishing of remaining bubbles from my Magura calipers after a full bleed process, a follow-up quick bleeding process helped me. See the official video:

Because only the lever's port gets opened during this process, there are no dangers of introducing new air to the system via the bottom hole.
I used Magura's own bleeding kit with a syringe with a hole at 30 ml mark to achieve so. I do not know whether Park Tool's kit that you have has a matching device or not. If nothing else, you can make it yourself from a regular 30 ml syringe and a needle.
Good luck!


How can I use a small Shimano BB on any frame? I have a Shimano BB-ES25 bottom bracket and 45T crankset that was removed from a Giant-CRX City with an eccentric hub (it had Shimano Alfine internal hub gears).

They have literally never been used, and the bike they came out of has since been stolen.

Now I'm planning a custom fixed gear bike build, and hoping to re-use these parts, since I'm on a shoestring budget.

What parts do I need to use this BB in a frame that expects a standard sized BB?

Also, am I correct that, since this is designed for an eccentric hub, I should be able to use any frame for my fixie, instead of being restricted to ones with a horizontal dropout?

The link says that the BB you have is a 68mm shell width, which is standard ISO/British thread.  That's going to fit a lot of bikes.  It is not designed specifically for eccentric bottom brackets.  To use the item you linked to in a single/fixed speed bike you would need horizontal (or at least diagonal) dropouts.

If that was part of an eccentric BB assembly, you would also have had something sort of like this:

http://www.jensonusa.com/Misc-Frame-Sup-Bushnell-Eccentric-BB

that it would have gone into, and then that eccentric BB would have gone into an oversized/eccentric bottom bracket shell that was part of the bike frame.

If you still have that eccentric bottom bracket, then you might be able to go looking for a frame with a same-size eccentric bottom bracket shell that it would fit into.  Such a frame would then have vertical dropouts, because there's no reason to have an eccentric shell and horizontal dropouts in the same frame -- don't need to solve the chain-tensioning problem twice.


How to polish a steel fork? I recently acquired a steel fork, but the paint is very damaged and I would like to polish it and have it silver colour.

What is a good system to have it nice as the one they sell, which look so bright?

Thanks

Shiny metal parts on a bike are either chromed steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or titanium.

Bare steel can be polished to a shine, but the shine will only last a few hours (if that).  Steel naturally reacts with oxygen in the air and turns to rust, so any steel that is not to be painted is generally plated with chromium.

Stainless steel (which is essentially steel mixed with chromium) can be polished to a shine and will hold the shine, but it's heavy and its properties as a metal are not ideal for major structural pieces (though it does make pretty good screws and the like).

Bare aluminum isn't really all that shiny, but rather has a matte finish due to being "anodized".  If aluminum is not anodized it also oxidizes and turns kind of a mottled white/gray.

Titanium can be polished to a shine and is reasonably corrosion resistant (it oxidizes but the oxide is protective).  It also costs an arm and is only found in expensive bikes.

You can attempt to polish the steel and then clear-coat it, but you're not likely to be very successful.  Steel that is to be exposed to reasonably harsh environmental conditions needs to be "primed" with a special type of paint that chemically bonds to the steel.  Other coatings are apt separate and peel off.


Front wheel twist and move in dropouts when braking or on aggressive turns I discovered that my front wheel moves on the dropouts. I have searched the web to know why? But most of answers was "replace quick release and problem gone" so I replaced the quick-release with different one. Not quite quick-release per se because it is allen bolt(you know hexagon shaped socket) but problem remain. It is quite tight right now I put some strength to tighten it up really good. So I looked at the old quick-release and saw this:

It this quite damaged in my opinion and I'm afraid that because of this my dropouts are damaged too. Could this be the case? How do I resolve this problem? What's to do when problem remain even with new quick-release? Fork is aluminium, wheel size is 29', disc brakes. I would love to provide any information that could help resolve this problem.

A lot of forks do this because the axle path is wrong. It needs to open forward to resist ejection force by disc brakes. The downward path was chosen to do the same for rim brakes. Many companies have made this switch, but not enough.
High-quality internal-cam QRs apply the most clamping force of any type. The simple answer is get any Shimano skewer. A better answer to this question would feature actual cam math, and I would welcome that, but barring that the above is usually a good starting place.
Dropout alignment can be a component of this problem as well. Being an aluminum fork, you'd have to replace the fork to do anything about it though if there was significant misalignment.


Who's the manufacturer and what year was this tandem bike manufactured? The previous owner said this could possibly be a Schwinn:

It's a Schwinn Twinn. The serial number will be located on one of the rear dropouts, if it's not on either side of the head tube. There are a couple websites that will help you determine the date of manufacture. Judging from the type of tires fitted to the rim, and the shape of the rim, I surmise that the bike has had both wheels replaced at some point, as the bike no longer has S-7 rims and tires, which would have been stock on a Schwinn.


Bearing cone and locknut won’t tighten. Easily fall off when taking wheel off. Has it snapped? Recently I noticed a ball bearing had almost fallen out of the hub so I took the wheel off to find out what’s wrong and the cone that covers the bearings just fell off the wheel! Not the one but both. I took a closer look and noticed there was another piece inside that the QR goes through, but that was loose as well and it almost fell out of place when I touched it. So i’ve put everything back in place and put the wheel back on my bike and left it alone.

Can anyone tell me if it has snapped or what’s wrong with it?

Yep, axle is broken.

Do not ride the bike with the broken axle! The axle is supposed to support the frame on the wheel, but you are now asking the quick release skewer, which has much less material and strength, to do that. If the skewer fails, the wheel will come straight out of the dropouts and a nasty crash will likely ensue.


Rear dropout with adjustments screws of a single speed bicycle I have got a single speed bicycle (Pure Fix Original Series) and I need to remove the rear wheel to the replace the punctured tube. The rear dropout has adjustment screws (I am not sure if this is the right term but you can see them in the photo).

I have never removed the rear wheel of my bicycle since I bought it about a year and a half ago. I am not sure if I have to loosen the adjustment screws when I remove the rear wheel or if I have to readjust them when I put the wheel back. I would like to make sure that I do not mess something up when I remove and reinstall the wheel. So my questions are as follow.

Do I have to loosen the adjustment screws when I remove the rear wheel?
Do I have to readjust the adjustment screws when I put the wheel back having in mind that the adjustment was done about a year and a half ago? If yes, how should I do that?

Any help is much appreciated!

With a backwards-opening (track) dropout like you have, yes, you typically will have to screw them out to get the slack you need to remove the wheel.
They achieve a couple different things on a backwards opening dropout:

On a similar dropout without them, you have to keep the centering of the wheel more eyeballed in place as you tighten the nuts, and as you do that you also have to keep the chain tensioned. There are some tricks to doing that without much hassle, but the adjustement screw(s) make it much easier. With them, starting from the point where they're loose and the wheel is in place, you tighten the drive side one down until you have the chain tension you want, tighten the drive side axle nut, and then screw the non-drive side one in until the wheel is centered in the frame and then tighten the nut.
They eliminate the wheel's ability to squirm around as you tighten the axle nut, which also helps with achieving the above.
They are an insurance policy against the hub being able to slip in the frame under heavy loads. Most of the time this shouldn't be a problem if the axle nuts are properly prepped and tight, and many frames have similar dropouts without adjusting screws.

One of the deals with them is as the drivetrain wears, your chain will pick up just a little slack, so it's likely they're not in proper adjustment per se anymore anyway if they've been in place for a year and a half.
This all leads to the question of how to use them properly to get correct chain tension on a fixed gear or singlespeed. That is a good question and there is a lot written about it. The simple answer is that as you add tension to a chain on a fixed/SS drivetrain, there reaches a point where the chain begins to bind a little as you spin the cranks because all the free space in the internal parts of the chain is being taken up. You want to be just shy of that point, but still tight enough that it's physically impossible for the chain to derail and that the top run of the chain looks like a straight line from the cog to the ring. As you read different takes on how to define good chain tension, it's pretty common to see people site numbers for how much the chain should be able to wiggle up and down, but these are inexact at best because it depends meaningfully on the chain construction, chainstay length, etc. Use your tensioning screws to go to where you can feel it binding a little, then back off from there. Also while messing with them, always put a bit of oil or grease on the threads if they feel dry.


Home made bottom bracket plastic sleeve I want to make a plastic sleeve from a water bottle, for a classic cup and cone bottom bracket, to protect against moisture and impurities that may run down the seat tube.

How do I know the proper size I need to cut it to?
Is there a better material I can use, rather than a plastic bottle?

Since the only opening through which debris can get into bottom bracket is the seat post (provided it is open from the top), yes, there is a better material than a plastic bottle. Simply stick a wine cork into the seat post blocking the opening. Not only you stop the debris from getting into the bottom bracket, you also stop them from getting into seat post and seat tube.

You can also place a so-called micro adjust seat post, which is closed from the top (picture only for illustration):


Why is the tube too long? My current tube was badly pierced by a screw in the street, so I wanted to replace it with a new one. The tire is a Continental 32 - 622 (28 x 15/8 x 1 1/4 - 700 x 32c), so I bought a 28" tube, exactly this one. (Actually I said in the shop that my tire was a 700 x 32c and they gave me the 28", which made sense at the point).

Then, when I put it in the wheel, it was obviously too long (excess length). How comes? Shouldn't a 28" tube fit perfectly a 28" tire? I got a 26" tube and it fits better. I'm very confused.

PS: The pierced tube was also too long, as it was folded. It's a second hand bike and it's the first time I've taken the tube out in 4 months.

That does not look like a 28 decimal
That is a 28 fraction and that is not a 700 (622)

Sheldon Tire Sizing


Which parts should I pick for the ideal reasonable road bike? I am shopping for a new [hypothetical] bicycle and want to pick the absolute best parts I can. I read a lot of internet advice, most of it from bicycles.stackexchange.com, which taught me a lot. How does this list look?:

The bicycle shall have a carbon frame, fork, handlebars, and wheels. Chromium molybdenum steel, aluminum, and titanium are out of the question. I have a $100000 X-ray machine at home ready to use for inspecting the bike.
The bicycle shall have disc brakes, but with a QR skewer wheel attachment system. Thru-axles will most certainly eject your wheels into low-Earth orbit the instant you even touch your brake levers.
It shall have a ludicrous number of gears, like 3x12, shifted by brifters. Bar-end shifters are a disgrace to the cycling community. These gears should be spaced as closely as possible to minimize the gaps between gears. Having fewer than twelve cogs in the back is a crime against humanity.
The tires will be Schwalbe Marathon plus in as narrow a width as possible. This is to minimize the risk of punctures. Of course, these will be set up tubeless. GP5000s in 32mm width are for losers. Having tread on these tires will save you half a watt at 45km/h.
The wheels will be made of carbon fiber as previously mentioned. They will have the fewest number of straight gauge spokes possible: 16 spokes laced radially in the front and 20 in the rear. Having 36 spoke wheels with DT SWISS Alpine III spokes is ridiculous and you will break spokes in no time. The hubs will be from any brand other than Shimano, and must not use cup-and-cone bearings. The rims must not have double eyelets, let alone eyelets of any sort. In the event that carbon rims are unaffordable, hard anodized single-wall aluminum rims are an acceptable compromise. Aluminum nipples are a must too.
The bicycle shall have provisions for at least three bottle cages because it is important to carry water on any ride regardless of duration.
The front light shall be mounted on the handlebar and be powered by a battery. A fork-mounted light powered by a dynamo hub is not aero.
After modelling a crashing cyclist as a falling rod, I have come to the conclusion that the rider will not wear a helmet because wearing a helmet is not aero. Cracking your head open during a crash is simply extra weight reduction.
SPD-SL, Look, or Speedplay pedals will be used. Regular SPD is for commuters and joeys.
The cranks must use an attachment system other than Hollowtech 2. HT2 is the worst invention ever to come to cycling.
The chainrings on this crankset must be made of untempered 6061 aluminum. 7075T6 or T651 is the work of the devil.
Finally, the bicycle should be right at the UCI weight minimum: 6.8kg. We all know that the lighter a bike gets, the more durable it is, and also the more aero your wallet gets.

Does this sound about right?

The chainrings on this crankset must be made of untempered 6061 aluminum. 7075T6 or T651 is the work of the devil.

This may sound a good idea at first -- it is clear that untempered aluminum is far better material for chainrings than for example bad-tempered aluminum. So a good starting point for an entry-level reasonable road bike.
However, you will obtain an order of magnitude better lifetime from well-tempered aluminum. So if you are looking for a truly ideal reasonable road bike, I recommend selecting well-tempered aluminum for the material.


Disc brake adapter too close to rotor I've just bought a new (Planet X) Holdsworth Stelvio (http://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/CBHOLSTELTIAG/holdsworth-stelvio-shimano-tiagra-4700-touring-adventure-bike) and am having a problem with the front disc brake rotor being too close to the brake mount/adapter.

The lower bolt & washers holding the caliper to the adapter are less than 1mm away from the rotor and the caliper is adjusted fully outwards (away from the rotor) at this point. On spinning the wheel there is no contact, but whilst riding and putting any pressure through the frame there is nearly always contact between the rotor and the washer/adapter.

Note: next two images with bike upside down

The brakes are Avid BB5s as come standard on the Tiagra build of the Stelvio.

So far I've tried:
- tightening the bolts holding the adapter to the fork,
- adjusting the caliper position (though there is little movement since the rotor is too close),
- wheel is correctly seated in the fork,
- checking the truing of the rotor - it is true (brand new rotor).

I can only think that there might be an issue with the hub, somehow placing the rotor too far out on the left hand side? So far, the manufacturer have been helpful, but have only suggested things I have already tried.

Any ideas?

It's not the hub's fault unless somehow its axle hardware is put together wrong or it's otherwise not putting the rotor in the right spot, but that would be a weird problem, whereas forks and frames with the issue you're having are an unfortunately common one. Step one could be downloading the IS disc mount standard and confirming it's the fork's fault.

It appears the fork tabs are unfaced. It's possible that simple facing, or even just sanding off the powder/paint, could buy you the space to make it work.

If not, the main option to make this physical combination of parts work, presuming there's adequate material for it, is file off some material from the tabs and then finish by facing it again (don't try to do it all with a facer). Either that, messing around with filing the washers (might actually be a better approach if they're what's seeming to invariably hit first), or a different brake that might have marginally better clearance, or get them to send a less borderline defective fork.


Replacing a rear wheel My rear wheel is bent and I have no idea what kind of wheel I should be buying for replacement.

My bike is a 700Cx23 road bike with 14 gears and a 7 speed cassette. I was advised that I'd need to buy a new wheel and fit the cassette into it.

What equipment and what kind of wheel do I need?

I'm really clueless as I'm quite new to all this so any feedback would be really appreciated! :)

The first thing, you should actually verify that you do have a cassette, ond not a freewheel. Sheldon Brown's site is good here, providing photos etc.. My answer will assume that you are actually running with a cassette.

The outside of a wheel is called a rim. The centre is called a hub. On your bike, bolted on to the side of the hub is something called a freehub body. This part holds the cassette in place (and provides the freewheel mechanism).

The thing is, different manufacturers use different patterns to keep the csassette in place, so if you're buying a new wheel you need to make sure you buy one with the correct freehub body, or be prepared to fit one yourself (added faff, more tools). So that's why we can't fully answer your question.

However, what we can say is that 700x23 is enough to define the size of new wheel you'll need. This is actually the tyre size, but the two are pretty much interchangeable in terms of defining wheel size. Also, you need to make sure that you get something compaztible with your 7-speed cassette.

In terms of actually swappuing the wheel out, new wheels generally come with freehub bodies ready to ride, but don't come with cassettes. So your problem basically becomes one of getting the cassette off the old wheel to use on the new. To get the cassette off, you'll need something called a lockring removal tool, which is basically a keyed nut, but again these vary with cassette manufacturer, aqmongst other things. Park Tools, among others, offer a good selection here.Then you'll need a spanner, 1" iirc, and lastly something - a vise or a chain whip - to keep the freewheel still while you unscrew everything. You'll use the same lockring tool/spanner to tighten it all up again. It really is a 2-minute job, but without the correct tools is quite impossible.


How can I find a replacement derailleur for a nice bike that is 20 years old (GT Winstream) My derailleur kinked up when I was pedaling hard and became a twisted mass of metal. It has a derailleur in the back which is a Shimano Altus and has some numbers on it that Google didn't identify. I can't find a manual for the exact bike online, I think it is a 2003 model.
Does anyone know how to find the exact specifications for such a derailer? I am afraid that if I go to a bike repair shop, they will tell me that they (and they alone) have the right connections to get the part and then they will order one, and I will have to pay the price for a brand new one, plus shipping and then pay the guy 45 bucks an hour to install the thing.
I could probably get another bike like mine used for what I might pay the professional. (If I were very wealthy then I would support such people as bike repairmen, but I prefer to borrow tools from friends and fix things myself.

Good news. Shimano kept broad compatibility between their products, even between generations.
An Altus derailleur from circa 2002 may be from a 7 or 8 speed (number of gears in the rear cluster) drivetrain. You can actually use any Shimano 7, 8 or 9 speed derailleur with a 7 or 8 speed shifter. Shimano used the same derailleur actuation ratio (ratio of cable pulled to lateral derailleur movement) for all these drivetrains.
Remember you need to select a derailleur that has a sufficient total capacity (capacity required is (difference between max and min sprockets teeth) + (difference between max and min chainring teeth), and has a appropriate max and min largest sprocket size for the sprockets on your cassette.


Speedplay Zero Engagement Force I just bought a pair of Speedplay pedals and was trying to set them up today. Once I got the cleats on with the included shims, I tried to clip in and had to use an absurd amount of force to get into them (basically pulling up on my frame while putting almost all of my weight into the pedal). I did lube the engagement spring and have tried to put my heel down and wiggle a bit when clipping in but have still been largely unsuccessful.

Is this normal for a first setup before they are broken in? Or did I set up the cleats improperly in some way that is causing me problems?

Also, at 130 lbs, do I weigh enough to be able to reasonably expect to clip in ok? I thought about the X5s or Light Actions since it sounds like the engagement force is less, but Speedplay says you shouldn't race on them and LBS said engagement force wouldn't be an issue.

Zeros do take a bit more finesse to engage. It's more about alignment than raw force, so even at 130, once you build a bit of muscle memory in the exact foot position, you should be fine. Practice a lot.

Bottom line, it's not (mostly) a matter of force, but the Zeros have much tighter tolerances so your foot has to be just right.

FWIW: I used Zeros for track, but Light Action elsewhere...I suspect the "don't use for racing" is primarily a legal thing, but I have pulled out of the Light Actions most recently causing me to hit the ground unkindly whilst in traffic.


Training wheels for adults I'm new and just found this site and look forward to being able to contribute where appropriate.

I am a stroke survivor and trying to do my best to stay in shape despite my limitations.
I want to return to cycling, but only have the use of one hand, so a conventional bike is not an option.

Recumbent bikes are of interest to me.
I recently purchased one and had it modified to allow operation with only the one hand that works.

All seemed fine until I tried to start riding once again. Even though both my legs work somewhat normally, there is some remaining weakness I have to deal with.  Due to this weakness I've had a very hard time getting started on the bike. My balance is not what it used to be,so getting both feet onto the pedals to get started is turning into a big issue for me.  If I have help by someone holding the bike steady while getting started, I have no issues after that and enjoy the exercise greatly.

This is not practical since I may not always have help getting started each time.
So, if was suggested that training wheels might be what I need.  Has anyone ever heard of  or seen training wheels on a full size bike used by an adult?  Or does anyone see any reason why training wheels would not work for me?

fyi, I have located heavy duty training wheels on Amazon, but before I order them, I thought I'd ask if there might be issues I've overlooked.

Any help will be appreciated!
Thanks to all in advance!

This sounds like a really bad idea. Training wheels limit your ability to lean into a turn. If you're going fast enough to balance without the training wheels, you're going fast enough that you need to turn by leaning.

So you would need training wheels that retract when you get above ~5 mph, and deploy below that speed. Apparently something like this does exist for motorcycles, but I've never heard of anything like it for bicycles.

The alternative would be to ride a trike.


securing disk brakes against theft in a low-visibility locked bike room I have once again had my disk brake stolen on my bike in my apartment building.  Being a high rise they forbid us taking bikes up in the elevator (and I don't really have the space to store it anyway).  But they don't put any camera in the locked bike room.

So, people from the building can just go in at night and take out the brakes.  The first time (different building), it was the whole wheel and the brake.  This time, they left the wheel alone, but took out the brake handle, cable and the clamp.  It's incredibly annoying to replace a $150 part every time some loser decides to steal in his own building.

What are some possible strategies to deter that?  Locking the wheel would be an option, using an extra lock.  But I don't think it would stop someone from just removing the brake components.

I have had a suggestion for non-standard fixation bolts.  Also, Deterrents against partial (component) theft they suggest gluing the parts together.  Or soldering in the head of the bolts.

It's a nice, but old-ish bike that I don't intend to sell - I don't mind scuffing it up a bit to secure the brakes.

Any suggestions?  Keeping in mind that it should stop someone from easily ripping off the brakes in a 15-30 minute time frame, using regular tools.  i.e. just get the loser to steal from another unsecured bike.

Another would be to install a spy camera and catch the person in the act.  That might work, but they could also steal the camera if they see it.  And it's a 400-500 person building, no guarantee they are easily recognizable.

Or a sound alarm.  But the bike can easily be jostled by someone just trying to get at his own bike in the next rack over.

In any case, the solution only really needs to work in my building, so it can be fairly heavy, as long as I can just leave it on my assigned bike rack.

Realistically there's nothing you can do to stop a thief who has regular, unsupervised access to your bike from stealing parts of it. You can only have nothing he wants to steal, or not put your bike there. But you can make it more annoying for him (at the risk of vandalism, either accidentally when trying to steal stuff, or deliberately out of frustration).

There is a whole world of "secure" bolts out there, and a matching world of drivers for those bolts. At best it's "security through obscurity" but in reality someone who wants to steal your bike parts can buy a $20 set of "200 different security drivers" and remove 99% of those very easily. We've had a question about those closed as too broad, which really translates to "impossible to answer".

Most of the solutions I've seen just add time and tools to the removal process, which doesn't really help when the thief can check up on what you do then come back a few days later with different tools. Using ball bearings in the heads, or hose clamps over them, is unlikely to work for that reason.

One fairly easy approach is to buy a roll of stainless steel wire and a crimping tool. They're not too expensive and the wire is lightweight. Once you have one they turn out to be quite useful, and with ~2mm wire you can tie components to your bike. It's relatively easy to cut the wire with decent side-cutters or cable cutters, but hard to cut with bolt cutters because it's too thin. It's also harder for a thief caught in the act or on camera to argue that it's their bike they're working on... because if everything is tied on, where is their replacement wire and crimping tool?

 (both via SWR.com)

One problem is that you don't know whether it was a one-off theft by someone who wanted the brakes for themselves, or a theft for sale. If the latter I'd expect more stuff to go missing on an ongoing basis, which means you reporting the theft is important. The sooner building management know there's a problem the sooner they can act.


What's the specific use in carrying a pump? I've seen people fit tire/tyre pumps to their bikes. What's the use in that?

If I have a puncture it's usually a sizable hole in the tube, such as a piece of glass that pierced the tube.

I could image that the pump is for if you also carry a puncture repair kit, plus levers to get the tyre off. Is that the use in carrying the pump?

Yes, people riding with a frame pump or a mini frame pump will use this in conjunction with a repair-kit (spare tube, patch kit, tire levers).

Most if not all recreational cyclists carry some method of a repair kit because flats happen and it doesn't have to mean the end of your ride. Generally with practice a reasonable time to fix a flat is 5 minutes. Those 5 minutes spent fixing a flat will be much faster than calling an Uber or your SO for a ride, or even resorting to public transit. Better yet spend those five minutes changing a flat and then go finish your ride!

You don't need a lot of bike tools—you, just need the right tools. A frame pump is one of those tools...

A frame pump can be seen as a one time cost to get air into a deflated tire. Whereas others use a CO2 cartridge to inflate a tire, but over time a few bucks for one cartridge adds up. A pump and a CO2 cartridge have their advantages and disadvantages, but in the end the result is the same—fix a flat and be on your merry way!

Some satire on the matter can be found here.


Shimano Ultegra Bottom bracket replacement with Dura-Ace The bottom bracket on my Van Nicholas Astraeus is a creaking when going up hills. It's already been tightened recently, yet seems to creek more and more lately - probably due to the mileage (many, many thousands of miles).

The bottom bracket is a Shimano Ultegra 6700 (SM-BB6700), I've been looking at upgrading the unit.  I have an existing Shimano Ultegra crankset, would a Shimano Dura Ace 7900 Bottom Bracket be compatible with this setup?  I'm also looking at Hope bottom brackets, do ceramic bottom brackets last longer?  Or are they just smoother?

Providing that is of the same type and size it will interchange. As an example hollow-tech II 10 speed BB30 English will interchange Dura-Ace, Ultegra, 105 will all fit. Ceramic bearings are sold as smoother hence less resistance, will you notice the difference? It is hard to say, but probable not except in your wallet.


Is my rear cog wobble the fault of the axle, the hub, the bearings, or the wheel trueing? Adjusting the rear derailleur on a Bicycle Shaped Object in a stand, I observed skipping gears when shifting from 6 to 5 (it skips to 4), 5 to 4 (it skips to 3), etc, but would snap in place correctly when going in the other direction.

Observing this, I then noticed that the cogset is wobbling. Maybe the hub is wobbling. And the rim is appearing to not be centered (visually, radius does not equal half-diameter) around the hub. Distance between brake pads seems fairly consistent for a BSO.

When spun softly, the wheel does not balance with the reflector down.

Is my rear wheel wobble the fault of the axle, the cogs, the bearings, or the wheel trueing? I suspect the skipping is ultimately a derailleur alignment issue, but I can't begin to work on that until I solve this.

Video of same:

I think you have a bent rear axle.

Looking at your rear block it does not have a lockring on the cassette, so its likely a freewheel  (ie the clicking part is integrated with the gears, not part of the wheel)

This means the axle is less-unsupported on the right hand side, and they bend easily.

Here's a pic - the red circles are the ball bearings, and the freewheel axle (schraubkranznabe)  has a long lever arm of 2-5 cm compared to under 1 CM

The upshot is minor bumps and regular riding are enough to deform the rear axle over time, right where the bearings are.

As such, the rear wheel oscillates because the bearing cone on that side is no longer equal distance from the bearing cup all the way around.

Your fix is a new rear axle for $20ish but it could happen again.   The longer term fix is to replace the hub with a cassette-based wheel.

Or simply ride it like it is and keep your eyes open for another rear wheel.  The bearings will munch themselves over time, and the cone will get pitted and damaged, but as you rightly point out, its a BSO.


First long bike ride: Determining the cause of saddle soreness I went on my first long bike ride yesterday - approximately 30 miles. (I know, it's cake to you grizzled road veterans out there, but I'm proud!) I had a great time and we took a fairly leisurely pace - approximately 10 mph or so. Lots of cycling and a lot of conversation.

I didn't have any problems with energy or anything, but during the ride I was a bit sore in the saddle. Due to our pace, I was able to ease this a few times by standing in the pedals and pedaling infrequently. By the time we were getting back (the last mile or so) I was really feeling it, but today it seems to be okay. Overall, it worked well.

I'm thinking that the soreness is probably just the symptoms of a longer ride (and me not being used to that). However, I figured I'd ask. How would I, as a relatively new rider, know when saddle soreness is caused by a bad (for me) saddle or bad saddle adjustment versus extended time in the saddle? Are there specific symptoms that I should be looking for?

Edit: I'm looking for generalizations, as I know that specifics change with each rider and bike. An example would be something like, "if you have excessive soreness in your inner hamstring area, your seat may be too far forward", stuff like that. As it stands right now, I'm chalking this all up to the first ride, but I'd like to be knowledgable for future rides (and not ignore any potential warning signs I might miss).

Thanks!

(As a note, for anyone who might ask - I'm riding a Fuji Traverse 1.7. Everything's stock. I'm about 5'10", 5'11" with long limbs.)

The first ride gives almost everybody soreness.

You should be using your sit bones with your saddle. You can roughly measure this at home. A too narrow or too wide saddle may give some pain (note this is not the same thing as soreness).

Also, you may want to invest in padded bike shorts. Those help some people.


Pedals feel like they are too far back I bought a cheap bike to ride around the driveway/neighborhood with my kids.  It feels like the pedals are right underneath my butt rather than just in front.  Makes for not so comfortable position.  Is there a reason for this?  Anything that can be done about it?

Well, there are a ton of adjustments you can make, but sometimes a bike just won't fit someone. You may want to look up "bike fit", though this is something you probably should have done before you bought the bike.

You can:

Move the saddle backwards
Move the saddle up/down
Change the angle of the saddle
Change the stem height
Change the stem (to get a different length/angle)
Re-angle the handlebars

I'd start with moving around the saddle, since doing anything other than re-angling the bars may not be an option.

The saddle height is adjusted by a bolt or quick release lever where the seatpost goes into the frame. The rest of the adjustments are normally controlled by an allen key on the bottom of the saddle, where it is clamped into the seatpost. You can see this video for example.


Claris front shifter with mtb derailleurs? My son's bike (Decathlon road bike with 24" wheels) has the following configuration: Shimano Claris 3x8 STI shifters: the crank set is a Suntour 48-38-28 teeth with 152mm crank length; the cogs are a vintage Sachs Maillard, made in France, 12-28 teeth freewheel (screw on type); both derailleurs are Shimano Claris.

Now, while the rear derailleur works like a charm, the front derailleur doesn't change very well (it needs several pushes and goes directly to the third chainring, doesn't come back easily etc.) Someone explained me that this might happen because the crankset is a MTB type, and there's a wider distance between chainrings than in a road crankset. My questions:

Is this explanation correct?
If this is the explanation, can I replace the Claris derailleur with a MTB type derailleur (i.e. Deore?) Will the Claris shifter change properly the gears on a MTB derailleur?
What other hacks could I try to make the bike shift gears easily? I don't want to give up the claris shifter, nor the crankset, so, it's only the derailleur that remains, apparently, available for hacks / tweaking :)

I assume you've got the triple version of the Claris FD.

There are no strict standards for chainring spacing so while if the crank you had was too far off what the shifter/derailer "expect" then yes, that could cause bad performance, that part isn't really a mountain vs road thing, and is more about what width chain the crank is intended for. If that was causing the problem, it would probably be pretty clear when trying to adjust the shifting.

To answer your second question, no, a Shimano MTB front derailer will not work well because their road and mountain front shifters pull different amounts of cable. It can be made to work badly and this is enough that some people will tell you it works.

One probable reason it's working badly is because you're going under the minimum mid/top tooth difference spec of your FD-2403 by 1 tooth, which forces the derailer to be mounted higher than it should be and can throw off the chain contact points. That will exacerbate its not quite optimal match with the profile of the rings you have. Both of these tend to cause larger problems than people often expect.

Just using an IRD Alpina may completely solve the problem. It is currently the only STI-compatible FD available optimized for this kind of application. (And the main one ever, the exception being one or two weird old Shimano ones, RSX I think). What I don't know offhand is how well it's going to play with an 8-speed chain. If that proves finicky you can use a 9.


Front chainring spacing difference between Shimano and Campagnolo? I want to upgrade my mid 80s road bike from a 50 tooth to a 53. But the BCD of the big triple chainring is some rare standard that it costs less to buy a whole (used) crank instead. And of course this saves some weight ;)
Currently the crank is a Sugino with Shimano Deore derailleurs and 105 indexed toptube shifters. I know that this will get me a 'empty spot' in my shifters. I now did get some really good deal on a Campagnolo Veloce 53/39 crank. Is this compatible with the Shimano tech? Thanks in advance.

Campagnolo cranks should work just fine. They use the same spacing between tha chainrings as Shimano cranks and work fine in practise from my experience.

Detailed explanation of bicycle cranks cross-compatibility.


Upgrading Bicycle Gearing I have a Raliegh falcon touring frame, which I've been upgrading gradually as it's in good nick, putting modern componants on it.

I've got to the point where the next thing I need to do is upgrade from down tube shifters, ideally to combined brake/shifters.  I've got a triple chainring on the front (sora) and 6 speed on the back, with 27 x 1 1/4inch wheels. The rear shifter is indexed, whilst the front is not.  I'm aware I'll probably have to install a new rear derallier at the least.

So I have two questions.  Can I get any more gears on the back?  Do they make 7speed rear cassettes for older bikes?

And secondly, looking at sheldon browns website, the Campagnolo "Ergo" set would let me keep the front unindexed -am I correct?  And is the rear shifter modfiable to a 6speed, if I can't upgrade the rear cassette?

Thanks

Not brifters, but you can take your downtube shifters and use retroshift levers to get combined brake and and shifting. Essentially, they bolt a downtube shifter onto the hoods. Pretty cheap and reviews are generally positive.

As for fitting more gears, you may be able to get a 7 speed freewheel, but you may better off taking your 6 speed freewheel to the LBS and swapping it one with better spacing between the cogs.

Tires in 27" aren't too limited (Conti makes gatorskins in 27 inch, panaracer has some, etc.). But if you need to move to 700C, you need to make sure you can move your brakes down by 4 ish due to the 700c diameter change. The selection of new 27" wheels is more limited though (Sun CR-18, etc.), though can be found.


Laws applying to Homemade Tricycles I am a freshman in high school who is planning to build his own recumbent tricycle.  However, I would be very disappointed if my creation was illegal to ride on bike paths and sidewalks.  I have already perused the Wisconsin State Statutes, and there is nothing that would apply to even a store-bought tricycle.  Is anybody aware of laws from other states covering tricycles, so that I may be aware of them before I start building?

These are the Wisconsin State Bicycling Laws:

http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/safety/vehicle/bicycle/docs/bikelaws.pdf

340.01(5) defines a bicycle thusly: "Bicycle" means every vehicle propelled by the feet acting upon pedals and having wheels any 2 of which are not less than 14 inches in diameter.

As it makes no mention of where or how the machine was manufactured, it sounds like your tricycle (and its rider) will be held to the same legal standard as any other bicycle. The wheel size requirement means that if two wheels are larger than 14 inches, it's a bicycle. My guess is that this is intended to rule out kids' "Big Wheels" and the types of tricycles that a 5 year old might ride.

That said, it's worth reading the entire document. I didn't bother because I don't live in Wisconsin.

It's also worth noting that local municipalities can pass further laws defining or restricting bicycles as long as they don't conflict with the state laws. So you'll want to check those as well. Those are sometimes hard to locate on the internet. If you have can't find them online, check out your public library. They usually try to archive local information like that.

Finally, as others have mentioned, the sidewalks are often illegal and even more often dangerous places to ride. If you do so, do so with great caution.


New derailleur - shifts up smoothly, or down - but not both I've just replaced the rear derailleur and cassette on my bike. I have Shimano Tiagra 9 speed shifters. The cassette is now a 9 speed 11-32 and the derailleur a Sora RD-R3000-GS.

I've set the limits on the derailleur, but I can't get the indexing right. Either, it shifts perfectly going up but won't then drop from the 32 to the 28 ring. Or, it shifts perfectly going down, but won't then rise from the 11 to the 14 ring. I've made as small an adjustment as possible, and yet there doesn't seem to be a happy middle ground.

I've also cleaned the cable / applied bike oil and the mounting point is not bent (following the advice in Why does my rear derailleur's indexing work for either the high or the low gears, but not both?)

What am I missing?

Thanks!

You mentioned replacing the RD and cassette but not the chain. Unless somehow the chain is nearly new already, you should replace it along with the new cassette. Unless it's very worn, it's not likely that's what's causing this though.

This is almost always a problem with either the hanger alignment or the cable.

Cleaning and lubricating the cable does not eliminate it as a potential factor. If the housings are too short, if they're contaminated with something you couldn't clean out, or if the cable has any kinks within them, they could be causing your issue. Having too short of a rear loop in particular is a common problem.

Hanger alignemt doesn't have to be obviously bent to still be out enough to cause problems, especially if you're not used to looking at it. For better or for worse, getting it aligned with a proper tool is pretty much required to eliminate it as a factor.