What to look for when buying bicycles for children I have young children (5 - 7 years old), and having taught them to cycle on some really cheap bikes, I am looking to get them something more road worthy with a view to cycling to school with them. (~1 mile).

I looked briefly at a chain store (Not my regular local bike shop but closer to home), but was disappointed by build quality - The bikes were about twice as heavy as my own racer, the bearings seemed a bit rough, and the final assembly seemed to have been performed by chimpanzees. Even if I bought these, I think they would require a lot of tweaking after purchase and a lot of maintainance.

What should I look for when buying children's bikes? Are there any check lists that anybody can recommend? With regard to weight, is it normal for them to be so heavy? Why are the tyres on children's bikes all so wide? (~2 inches across) - I would imagine that the lower weight of a child would make thinner tyres a better option?

Thank you.

To answer your specific questions first:

wrt weight: you are paying less for the children's bikes than for your own I hope? (they'll only fit on it for a few years after all) so kids' bikes use cheaper materials, cheaper usually means heavier in cycling gear. Don't expect to match your racer, but twice as much is a bit much even for a cheap model. Shop around a bit more.
Tires: Wider tires are more stable because of the wider surface and because the higher tire weight that comes with width increases gyroscopic stability of the tires. Width, and the thickness that comes with it means the tires can take more of a beating going over bumps, ridges, ledges and sidewalk edges. So actually wide/heavy tires save you time in money in patches both for your kids and for the tires.

As for things to look for:

Make sure the bike just barely fits your kid now (i.e buy maximum workable size), that way you can use the bike for a few years with just some adjustment to handlebar/saddle height.
Make sure you can add something like a flag on a long (high) pole to the bike. That way your kid is still visible from the other side of parked cars etc.
Brake quality is a big issue, especially if you are going out on the road with your kids, more so if the route is slightly hilly.
avoid bikes with gears unless you like spending your weekends cleaning and fixing bikes. Less gears=less maintenance.
Regarding the tire issue, and my point about bike size: when considering multiple bikes: get the bike with the largest tires. Larger tires=higher gyroscopic force=more stable and all at the same weight.
Don't overspend. Your kid is not going to be as careful with his/her bike as you are. You shouldn't be wincing every time they just let the bike fall to the ground where they stopped.


Why is a derailleur guard present only on more affordable bicycles? Looking at http://decathlon.co.uk, I see a derailleur guard only on more affordable bicycles, e.g. this one.

This one does not have it, and there seems to be no obvious way to install one.

Are derailleur guards important? Why does the more expensive bicycle (with higher component replacement costs if something breaks) not have one? Is it correct that one cannot be installed on the one shown in the picture? If it can be installed, is it recommended?

One might always fall, or a parked bicycle may get knocked over.

Derailleur guards are rarely found on more expensive bikes for several reasons:

Protection: These guards only protect from minor contacts. Forces that would bend a typical derailleur would also bend these guards. Also, more expensive bikes usually have exchangeable derailleur hangers that are supposed to be the first thing damaged in a crash (and, thus, prevent the more expensive derailleur from more damage).
Weight: if the bike is handled properly (as owners of more expensive bikes tend do), the little added protection against minor touches is generally seen as not necessary.
Style: These things are ugly!


How much do components really matter for a non-competitive rider? I do not ride competitively, but plan on doing some longer distance rides (30+ miles).
I've read that better components are lighter, run more smoothly, and last longer. Out of those three categories, durability (lasting longer) is the only one that really matters for me, as long as the components don't break all the time and get the job done.
Are the main advantages of high end components the reduced weight and smoother operation, or are they significantly more durable as well?

Here's a little bit of information that's in contradiction to "higher end equals better"  Lower end components can sometimes last longer and be less problematic than the higher end components.  In order to shave off every single gram they sometimes have to skimp on materials.  Also, the tolerances are much tighter, and high end components can often be difficult to tune because fractions of a millimeter matter.  An 8 speed derailleur can be quite a bit out of tune before you'd notice. The same can't be said for a 10 speed.  With so many gears, there's very little room for error. 10 speed chains are thinner, and therefore stretch and break more.

Don't go for very low end stuff, because it often will be made bad, and will break faster.  But different components are built with different goals in mind.  Very high end parts are often built for racers, who have professional mechanics who can ensure that everything is tuned properly, and parts are replaced more frequently.  If you buy decent components and maintain them well, you'll get plenty of life out of them, and you'll be able to replace them when it's necessary, instead of waiting until it's too late.


Lessons from downhill crash I was taking my usual morning ride before dawn on an 'adventure' road bike. It is a very steep hill with bends (Ditchling Beacon, East Sussex, England). I was descending and noticed (too late) some debris on the road and applied the brakes on the first corner. My front wheel skidded, and I hit the road and slid quite some distance with very unpleasant consequences. No bones broken but a cracked helmet, torn clothes and some very nasty grazes and bruising. I have been riding a road bike for less than a year and obviously this is down to my lack of skill and judgement as a rider. I would like to learn from this experience. Factors I have considered are:

Light. A better front light may have allowed me to see the debris earlier thereby braking before the bend, maybe not. Can you recommend a good front light?
Braking technique. Perhaps I should not have used the front brake at all. I didn't think I applied it excessively, the bike just seemed to go before I realised it.
Tyres. The tyres I have are mainly smooth with a very slight tread at the edges. Are there tyres that would prevent this kind of accident more than others?
Clothes. My head hit the road very hard and the helmet saved me from serious injury I'm sure. However, as I was going downhill at speed I slid for some distance. When I came to rest I had large holes in my cycling trousers, gloves, tops and skin. Are there clothes that offer more protection without limiting movement or comfort?
Experience. Assuming I want to continue riding downhill, in the dark, on less than perfectly clean and dry roads, what techniques should I aim to learn and how best should I learn them?

To ride in the dark is difficult.  You should have a decent head light on your helmet so it tracks your vision, and a handlebar light that tracks where your front wheel is aiming.   In addition you should have a secondary front light and two back lights for redundancy.  We don't make product recommendations here, but that would be the minimum.

To increase your awareness, consider riding UP the track that you plan on coming down later.  This way you'll be moving much slower and have a better chance of spotting obstructions before you come through.

Also consider not doing crazy speeds on downhills.  The road rules say "Don't outdrive your lights" so you should be able to stop in the distance illuminated.   Perhaps you should leave the downhill leg until the sun is higher ?

Braking technique - if you were doing a hard brake on a turn, and your front wheel slid out from under you then its all over, you're going down.  Some more tread on your front tyre may have helped, as would lower pressure in the front tube.  Another technique, you could overweight the front wheel to make the side lugs dig in and regain grip, or you could unweight the front wheel and try to stop it pushing, and therefore regain grip.   All this has to happen really quickly, we don't generally react fast enough.

Clothes - your outerwear did its job, and took all/most of the sliding damage.  I suggest you slap some patches on the damaged bits, and on the knees, and call it your Riding Gear.   No point dressing up all pretty for a ride (unless you're into that sort of thing)   My favourite riding pants have canvas on the knees, over a patch of woollen blanket, and some light cotton on the inside of the knee,  They're butt-ugly but totally comfortable.

Finally experience - you've just acquired some.  Sadly it was painful.

You should also give your bike a close look and service.  Standard crash damage to look for includes:

Wheels out of true, rim damage, broken spokes and loosened nipples.
Disk Brake rotors no longer flat, or rim brake pads slightly out of position
Gears out of whack - bent derailleuruer hanger is very common.
Mudguards/fenders out of position, or plastic bits cracked.

Also give the bike a service and lube, and look for damage while doing it.


32-622 tire too small for 622x19 rim? I recently bought a Mavic A 319 rim with ETRO 622 x 19C and Schwalbe Marathon 28" tire with ETRO 32-622. Based on the tire sizing chart found at Sheldown Brown (https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html) and the recommended tire width by Mavic of 28 to 47 mm, I thought that the 32mm would fit for sure. However, it requires enormous strength to pull the tire onto the rim. Much more than any tire that I have changed in the past. Because of the very tight fit, my tire was pulled down slightly on one side, making it run unevenly. To correct for this I had to pull and push on different parts of the tire to make it fit evenly. Also, something I never needed to do on a bike.

Is this expected, because the 32 are on the low end of the spectrum or did I read the numbers wrong?

You have the correct tires.

This does not have anything to do with tire width. The diameter determines whether tires will fit or not, unless there is a huge width mismatch. Rims and tires are both made to a tolerance, and you just happen to have an unusually large rim and small tire. I have had the opposite problem with some Schwalbe tires, they were so loose that they kept slipping off the rim when installing.


Conversion to horizontal dropouts (for fixed gear), V-brake If I convert vertical dropouts (as on picture) to horizontal dropouts as on youtube video by cutting and welding:

            .
Will there be any challenges with the V-brakes ? If axle hole more or less will stay on same place, there shouldn't be any problem ?

V-brake calipers have a radial (with respect to the wheel) adjustment range, so they can accommodate the wheel axle moving fore or aft a little.
What you need to do is make sure that the placement of the new dropouts does not place the wheel axle such that the brake track on the rim is outside the range of caliper adjustment.
You could do this with a simple cardboard template that marks the axle to brake track distance.


Shimano Tiagra 4700 10 speed lever only shifting 9 gears I have a Shimano Tiagra 4700 10 speed group set.

I can only get 9 gears working - the shifting is smooth with no jumps but one gear is missing, either at the top or bottom depending how I setup the rear mech. If I disconnect the cable from the rear mech and then hold the cable by hand I can feel the shifters click through 8 times - one click too few!!. So the problem seems to be in the shifter, as if there is something blocking the shifter from turning that last slot.

Could it be a faulty shifter? Is it easy to take them apart to check?

By removing the cable from the derailleur and operating the shifter while applying tension to the cable by hand you have proved the shifter is the problem (unless the cable is hanging up somewhere, it's best to do this test holding the cable as close to the shifter as possible).

Sometimes shifters can get a bit of dried grease or dirt in them that prevents a pawl from catching on a ratchet. Unfortunately they cannot be disassembled as they are riveted together.

Soaking with WD40 or equivalent and/or blowing out with a compressed air hose can reportedly clear the contamination.


Front Derailleur Not Working I recently bought a new bike off of BikesDirect.

http://www.bikesdirect.com/products/windsor/wellington2_IX.htm

However, no matter what I do, I can't seem to get the front derailleur to do anything. The bike came in on the smallest cog, and no matter what I do, I can't shift it to even the middle one. I've tried changing the tension, changing the limit screws, etc. but I can't get it to move the chain. The derailleur itself moves when I shift, but it doesn't seem to move enough. It doesn't even come close to getting to the largest cog. I've watched countless videos and I'm out of ideas, so I was hoping if anyone could give me any suggestions.

Also, I find it weird that for my rear gears, whenever I shift either using the lever or the thumb button, it takes me one gear up or down depending on what I press. But for the front derailleur, the lever can shift it one at a time but the thumb button always shifts it all the way back to the smallest cog not going through the middle (and is very stiff). I was wondering if this was normal?

The bike is brand new so I don't think it has any mud or dirt stuck inside, and I've tried my best to align the derailleur cage parallel to the chain and the derailleur slightly above the largest cog.

Thanks for any help.

Have you looked at the instructions for the derailleur? If not, it might help.

If the bike is a recent purchase, have you contacted BD? I'm not sure they will be able to help (how recent is a "recent purchase?"), but you have nothing to lose.

Your other alternative would be to go with the bike to a local bike shop, and let them repair it. It won't be free, in all likelihood, but you'll get results.


Theft deterrents (in addition to locking up a bike) Besides locking a bike up properly, are there other deterrents against theft (such as engraving) that make a bicycle less attractive to a potential bike thief?

UPDATE

It was stolen.  :-(

In addition to locking your bike securely with a good lock, there are several strategies you can use:
Location
Where you lock up can be nearly as important as how well you're locked up. If you're in a public, well-lit area, a thief might think twice about stealing a bike. A rack in an isolated, dark area may look more attractive to steal -- there aren't as many potential witnesses.
Beater bikes
While some may not have a choice in this matter, if you know you'll have to lock up in a sketchy neighborhood fairly often, you might consider getting a cheap, used mountain bike if possible. Save the flashy carbon expensive-looking bike for club rides and longer road rides.
Take the bike with you
There may be situations where you don't have to lock the bike up. Many supermarkets and big box stores will let you take the bike with you, if the aisles are roomy. Take care to stay out of the way of other customers. If asked to take the bike outside, you can either comply with the request or take your business elsewhere, but be nice about it either way.
Folding bikes are great for this, especially when you can fit the bike into a shopping cart.
Uglify your bike
I've heard it said that you just need to lock up your bike better than the next bike in the rack. That may or may not be true, but consider making your bike uglier than the bike next to it. A terrible rattle-can paint job (i.e., spray painted) will make a nice bike look like a jalopy of a ride.
You can also approximate this by putting a plastic grocery bag over the saddle, using ugly/old bar tape, fenders that are scratched up, and so on.

More here: Reduce Resale Value to Avoid Theft?

Quick-releases
Wheels and saddles with quick-release hardware are a target for thieves. Much of this can be combatted by locking them up properly (feed a cable through the saddle rails or the spokes of the wheels), but consider replacing these with hardware that needs a tool to open. Maintenance will take longer, but locking up (and unlocking) will be quicker.


Frequent flats with Michelin Pro3's Since switching from the Michelin Pro2's to the new Pro3's I've experienced an increase in puncture flats.  Nothing has else has really changed in riding style or conditions.

The Pro3 ride much nicer.  A bit more supple.  But I'm tired of flatting.

Are these tires particularly prone to flats? Is there anything that can be done to prevent flats with them? If not, are there other similar tires that are more puncture-resistent?

My answer to this was old school. I put on tire savers. This won't work with knobbies, but it will work great with street tires. Back in the day, I tried a bunch of things including puncture resistant and kevlar. I have both sew-ups and street tires and it stops the nagging flats from small things that don't puncture on the first pass.

This will give you a picture of them.


I need an StVZO compliant bike light. Any recommendations? I tried to buy one from Amazon but after testing it today the beam is clearly symmetrical and has no advantages over a normal bike light. I live in the UK so the StVZO regulation is not one which I have to comply with but I feel it is part of being a responsible road user. I'm open to the idea of having one that mount son my helmet.

If you live in UK, you should have no problem ordering from Germany. The mail order houses there sell mostly lights that are street legal in their home country, and label non-compliant lights as off road only.

EDIT: The above goes for bike-mounted lights. Helmet-mounted lights do not seem to be under the same regulation.

If you absolutely must buy from UK, you can look up models on German sites and see if they are available in UK. Although, UK and continental Europe seem to be strangely separate markets even if they are in the same customs union.


XTR Shadow Plus derailleur soft setting? XTR Shadow Plus derailleur has a switch between a hard and soft chain tension. The difference is hardly noticeable when shifting.

Is there ever any good reason to use the soft setting when the hard setting keeps the chain quite more stable on bumps? What is it for?

The switch disengages the clutch mechanism and releases the spring tension to allow for easy wheel changes. Technically this is the sole purpose of the lever and Shimano designed it simply as engage/ disengage switch and that the clutch cover had to be removed to adjust tension.

In reality riders have discovered the lever works for simple tension tuning. You can set the switch any where between soft and hard, it isn't an on and off, so you can make small adjustments to the tightness for smooth changes using the lever. If you want to increase the tension past the tightest point on the lever you need to adjust the clutch inside the clutch housing.


Who has information on this Fondriest Bike we found? Any good? Does anyone here know anything about this old Fondriest bike?

Brifters, lugged steel frame, flat pedals, single pivot brakes - I'll go with a late 80s bike or early 90s, but the brifters are probably retrofitted.

The wheels look relatively new.

Looks like a loverly bike and would be a great ride.

I note there is no rust evident anywhere, and its in very tidy overall condition.  So its been well stored and cared for.

The company is Italian, and their current website is http://www.fondriestbici.com/


Any special issues with putting a wider internal gear hub in a narrower alu frame? Can I safely put my 130mm internal geared hub in a 126mm spaced aluminum frame by forcing it?  What are the consequences?  How would the IGH be "damaged" by this?

My IGH hub has a wheel laced and ready to use, but I would like to use this older, lugged aluminum frame I picked up cheap.

I have heard that steel frames can be "cold set" (i.e. bent), but that aluminum frames cannot.  However, I do find that there is some leeway in stretching the aluminum rear stays, so I think I could force the new IGH hub into the (horizontal) dropouts.  However, Sheldon Brown says that IGH hubs might damaged when you put them on a spacing with the wrong size.

I'm not sure if I would be effectively throwing away my IGH if I put it on this frame.  Has anyone done such a thing?  Does it affect the IGH?

Do not use a mis-matched internal geared hub for your frame.

You risk damage to your gear hub, your frame, or both. Aluminum frames are much stiffer than steel frames, which is good for good for riding, but it is also prone to cracking due to this stiffness (when compared to steel's malleability). Even if you do fit the part, it will be a weak point in the frame.


What are the differences (and their practical implications) between a 29" mountain bike and a cyclocross bicycle? I am considering the purchase of a bicycle for riding off road, and have heard a lot of buzz about 29" mountain bikes. However, I am not particularly interested in technical riding - although I would like to be able to ride through most things, even if I have to do so slowly.

I am leaning to a CX bike because I am familiar with the handle bars and geometry. However, the 29" also ride very smoothly. I can see that the tires, handlebars, suspension, and geometry are different, but what are the consequences of these differences that I need to consider?

Mountain Bike:

Cyclocross Bike:

There are a few very good answers on here already, however, I feel that a few pointers have been overlooked.
Height
I am not sure whether 29-ers suit all riders. Height comes into it, a 29-er imposes a high handlebar and heavier wheels than a 26" MTB. IMHO you need to be 6" or taller for the big wheel to make sense.
Standover height
The distance between you and the top tube is important on a MTB, regardless of your skill level. Most MTB's have a 'compact geometry' with big seat-post. Out the saddle it is useful to not have a 'five bar gate' between your legs, so, if you do go for the MTB, err on the smaller rather than the larger frame. You don't get this with CX bikes as a rule, although I would not be surprised if Giant do make one.
Brakes
Most 29-ers (if not all) come with disc brakes. CX bikes can come with discs but that is the exception rather than the rule. Disc brakes give much better stopping power, with little need for the rims to clean first. This gives you much better control.
History
Cyclo-cross pre-dates MTB-ing by some decades and the bikes for the sport evolved from road bikes. Meanwhile, the MTB evolved from a few Californians wanting to have fun, any notion of competition came along later. They were not tied down by UCI rules and UCI rules have always served to hinder rather than advance bicycle design. CX bikes are essentially a legacy product, for a 'formula' sport, not 'pure evolution'. They were not that popular before the mountain biking boom and have not been subsequently. Meanwhile, the separately evolved MTB is the 'weapon of choice' for many, many cyclists and CX ideas such as drop bars have not lasted long on MTB's (they have been tried by Johnny Tomac and Specialized did make a 'Rock-Combo' model with them, this was short lived). Wisdom of the crowds is that the MTB rocks off-road.
Suspension
For a long time I thought Suspension was a solution looking for a problem. However, there is suspension and there is suspension. A full suspension top end bike by the likes of Cannondale is amazing off road, you can roll over anything without losing speed or control. Cheap suspension is no good at all, i.e. the effort you get on a £300 MTB, perhaps useful for going up a kerb but that is about it. Modern, expensive full-suspension bikes are ridiculously light for how much is going on and a delight to ride. Well worth the investment, unless you are going XC with a bit of road to get to the trail in which case a hard-tail with front lockout is better for the ride as a whole.
Other uses
If you are a road-bike person then you probably carry nothing. Sometimes it is useful to have a bike you can carry stuff with. An MTB is really well suited to putting a rack on the back and carrying stuff. That may be just a trip to the shops or a long distance tour. Whatever your choice - CX or MTB, do look for those magical eyelets on the rear dropout for putting a rack on there. It may not be what you want to do now, but down the line it just might well be.


Full helmet (BMX) for Commuting, what is the current 2014 opinion? So, back 15 years ago, I think wearing helmet is kinda hype.
I started wearing cycling helmet around 10 years ago seeing how dangerous cycling on the road is.

Just recently I got in an accident which I'm not sure what I can do better to avoid one (the accident) but to have more protection on myself.
The accident happened just when a young motorist decided to pulled out without any signal, checking blind spot and possibly mirror (I use Cateye EL-130, a warning sign 300 m away from me can still reflect my flaslight-strobing well back; a full Hi Vis jacket).

So when I was swerving, I lost balance and get thrown off the bike, chin and face planted on asphalt. 4 stitches on the chin, internal bleeding around the front teeth (have to take fluid for 3 weeks) and scar on face.

Enough with the accident background, my question is
1) Would it worth buying a full helmet (BMX not motorcycle style) just to provide some protection, before my front teeth ever decide to part from me and my abuse.
2) What is your thought being a cyclist, seeing another wearing full helmet on the road?

Side question:
a) Regarding the accident, was there anything else I can do, apart from riding on the very right edge of the lane (UK driving on left) and/or driving unacceptably slowly (less than 10 mph or 16 kmph) to keep control of the bicycle (and encourage motorist behind to overtake).
b) I am still hesitant to claim personal injury against the driver. Is there any advice? Looking for a solicitor I believe?

EDIT: Sorry I forgot to tell that I'm living in Scotland so temperature is not really a problem.. but I have never seen people riding full helmet on the street, lol. I think in here 50% people choosing not to have helmet, even worse...
EDIT 2: I actually mean this kind of helmet just to prevent some simple face-plant injury

Protection level is a personal preference matter.  You could just as well wear downhill style full body armor to commute and if you are willing to sacrifice the mobility and comfort for that extra level of protection, I'd say more power to you.  So my answer is you should wear whatever makes you feel more comfortable mentally.  The reality is it's all shades of grey.  If a one ton pickup hits you going 55 mph, there really isn't much you could be wearing that is going to do you any good.  I've been hit twice now commuting, but have stopped wearing any sort of helmet in the winter due to temperature control issues.  I value ease of temperature adjustment more than any feeling of safety I get from a helmet.

So much of cycling is personal preference that I have seen several folks in town wearing full face helmets on what is seemingly a commute, and it doesn't bother me any more or less than the brand of bicycle they are riding.

Edit:  I do not recommend wearing any less than the level of protection required by law in your area.  My jurisdiction has no such requirements.


What gloves work well for winter riding? I'm starting to plan ahead for winter riding, and gloves are definitely high on the list.

What gloves work well for winter riding?  Are cycling-specific gloves the way to go for a flat-bar bike with index/thumb shifters?  Would regular winter gloves be good enough?

Another option I'm considering is buying some MTB gloves (full finger, some small amount of insulation) and wearing them inside regular winter gloves on the extra nasty days--letting me keep some protection if I need to ditch the thicker gloves (for repairs, or any other time the larger gloves get in the way).  Is this advisable?

Update 1: I should mention I live in Burlington, VT.  Lots of days below (and some well-below) freezing, and lots of snow :-D

Update 2: More clarification!  I'm hoping to commute in the winter on a fairly short route.  Initially (late fall) it will be ~4.25 miles, but hopefully by the time real winter sets in it will be about half that distance to a new location.  I'd expect my ride will consistently be 20-30 minutes, so I'm looking for something that will work well for a relative short while--but not worried about all-day hauls.

Bike-specific full-finger gloves are generally going to give you more dexterity, allowing you finer control over shifters and brake levers. They'll also have padding in the places you need it when riding. However, very few of these gloves will be warm enough for winter riding.

The best solution I've found is to ride with a few layers of gloves, using full-finger gloves as the outer layer and thin gloves as the inner layers. On longer rides, you may need to pack several pairs of gloves and switch off as you need to warm up and cool down.

Wind is your biggest enemy when riding in the cold, and your fingers will get cold. Options to prevent this include thicker gloves (like ski gloves), although these will make your hands clumsier; and lobster-claw gloves, which keep groups of fingers together. (Essentially, these are mittens with a split making you look like a Vulcan about to tell someone to "live long and prosper".) I haven't had to get one of those - yet.

Here's what I use, and why:

(click this image for a larger version)

Upper left: Regular cycling gloves

I'll use these, usually with glove liners underneath, when riding in slightly warmer winter weather.

Upper right: Glove liners

These are about the thickness of denim, but can be rolled up like a small pair of socks. I usually take them along for that reason along, but they serve well under regular cycling gloves or even full-finger gloves.

Lower left: Full-finger cycling gloves

I used to bring bulky ski gloves along before I got these. The full-finger cycling gloves  I have are made by Gore, and are super-warm (more so than those bulky ski gloves) and water-repellent. It's a bit of a squeeze to fit liners under them, but it works well. The disadvantage of these gloves is that I can't work my GPS or phone easily with these on. They're also overkill when I'm not riding, or if I'm riding slowly.

Lower right: Conventional winter gloves

These are good for off the bike on a tour, or when the Gore gloves are too warm but the liners/half-finger gloves are too cold. These are also excellent for snowball fights.


How does a bicycle tyre and wheel affect its performace and speed? I have 700 x 38c wheels on my bike. While reading online I found that wider tyres have lower rolling resistance at the same inflation pressure than narrower tyres but they will be a little heavier and will offer more aerodynamic drag. I am not bothered about the weight because it won't make much difference if I am riding mostly on flat ground --  aerodynamic drag and rolling resistance drag are far greater sources of drag than that caused by the direct increase in weight of the tyre.

Considering that, I am not sure which will perform better on the road. My online research shows that wider is better.

What are the other factors of a wheel (like untrue wheel) that contribute to performance of a bike.

The general answer is "it depends". Certainly, weight reductions help increasing speed, but improving the rider's strength and good bike fitting will go much further for improving performance than tire faffery. (Obviously, for professional racers, this advice doesn't apply - cutting grams and everything is part of what they need to do to win).

Wider tires should be run at lower pressures than narrower tires. It is true that rolling resistance drops with pressure increases and for similar tires of different widths at the same pressure the wider will have lower rolling resistance (but this is moot by the prior sentence). Note the word "similar" - a knobby tire of the same width will have higher rolling resistance than a slick.

Wider tires can better absorb bumps and what not, so they can increase control giving net better performance in the real world. However, as you see on many road race bikes designed for purely nice pavement, thin tires are normally spec'd.

As for aerodynamic drag, the paper "Aerodynamic Characteristics of Low-Drag Bicycle Wheels", Aeronautical J., Vol. 99, No. 983, Mar. 1995, pp.109-120 (summarized here) says ~10-15% of the drag is due to wheels, and by switching wheels you can get net 2-3% improvement. This is tiny, especially when you look at how much fancy aerodynamic wheels cost (and their low durability). For someone who is not racing, its almost surely better to put the money you might spend on a fancy aero wheel into having a durable wheel.

Now, to the reality of the situation: A wider tire is going to give you better ride quality and you can get very good rolling resistance by picking a smooth tire for road use. You have to balance durability of the tire and the wheel if you choose to do improvements here. For most people who are not in race situations, pick a decently wide tire, play with the tire pressures so you get a good ride and low rolling resistance and move on with your life. In theory, depending on the terrain, you might be able to go faster with a narrower higher pressure tire, but the possible ride and control effects may hurt you in net.


Townie gearing suddenly too easy So the rear wheel (26x2) on my Electra Townie 7d broke its axle, and I ended up replacing it with a new 26x1.5 wheel, that being what the LBS had in stock. The bike seems a bit faster, which is nice, BUT I find myself cruising in sixth gear (of seven) on flat terrain, and sissy gear is no longer usable at all, even on hills -- the gear doesn't seem to bite.

Is there anything I can do about this, short of replacing the new wheel with another 26x2?

I am not sure if I got it wrong, but to me it seems that what you describe as a problem is in fact a solution.

It is expected to get a SUBSTANTIALLY faster bike if you replace a tire, because of tire quality, rubber compound, thread pattern, pressure, etc.
1.5 size, comparing to 2.0, is a specially much more efficient tire measure, which would for sure make the difference you mentioned.

If you are getting "the result" (bicycle is moving) with less effort, and the old gearing seems inadequate, I would suggest you to update the gearing, for example, getting a bigger chainring (not TOO bigger), and keep going faster.

If you don't want to spend, you can just enjoy less effort for the same speed.

Keep in mind wider tires might be more comfortable due to cushion, and more resistant to impact-induced flat tires, because they have larger air volumes. But except if you don't feel the bike right, consider to keep the narrow tire (perhaps exchange also the front one) and enjoy a new level of cruise speed at lower efforts.


My bike won't shift out of 7th gear in the back My bike is stuck in 7th gear. The front three gears shift fine, but the back does not. It shifts fine when no one is on it, but as soon as you put weight on it, it no longer will shift.

Assuming you did not have a fall and it was working well in the recent past and it does shift but not correctly then you just have to adjust the tension on the cables. What you are describing seems normal some adjustments on your bike are due after some use. If adjustments cannot fix I would then check the cable condition and derailleur function.

The cables needs to have a certain strech so it can move the derailleur far enough to reach all gears. And yes it is also not suprising that the strech changes when a rider is on the bike, your weight and motion streches the frame and cables and they may behave differently especially if not well tuned or are too old. You more likely just have to adjust - again, unless something out of the ordinary occured which is not mentioned.

Most bikes have a fine adjuster which can adjust the tension by just turning a knob (barrel adjuster) without tools even while you are on the road. If this is not enough just adjust the cable tension with tools. Then try all your gears to make sure all shift fine.

If your rear does not shift at all then this is an indication that your cables are getting stopped or impeded somewhere when the rider is on the bike. Run visually the cables from your shifter up to your rear derailleur and find where their movement seems impeded (especially if you have rear suspension have someone sit on the bike when you do that). For example some cable guides or ferrules may have been worn out on one end and when someone sits the cable runs through that part and gets impeded by the wear. If you cannot find the wear run full new cable set (should be fairly inexpensive).


Do you need to open the calipers of a hydraulic disk brake in order to clean it? I would like some advice about cleaning disk brakes. Recently when I've braked I've occasionally heard a noise as though air is being released, not a squeak or croak but it sounds like there is friction. Many of the roads I've been cycling on have been rough or muddy and I think that there could be grit in my disk brakes.
I've had my brakes serviced quite recently and so I don't think it's a problem of overuse or brake pads fading, they still seem to be responsive. I've read online what most of the steps are but I stil have a doubt.
Is it possible to thoroughly clean your disk brakes without opening the calipers on a disk brake and if it is necessary how do you open them? I'm guessing it could be necessary because I know that brake pads are found inside them.

You can clean inside the calipers as part of a general bike wash if you take the wheels out. It’s best to put the bike in a repair stand or find some other method for suspending it above the ground. As you wash the bike wash around the calipers. You can thread a clean rag between the pads and use a ‘flossing’ action to clean between the pads. But very careful to not pull the brake levers when you are doing this as the caliper pistons and pads would be over-extended, and you will not be able to get the wheel and rotor back in the fork or frame.
When cleaning, make sure you thoroughly wash off any detergent or cleaning product that might act as a lubricant on the pad or rotor.
If you want to be a bit more thorough, you can remove the pads and push the pistons back into the caliper. This will give you more space to clean in inside the caliper with a rage or small brush. Again, do not pull the brake levers. With the pads out the pistons can over-extend and may come out of the caliper. If this happens you’ll need to have the calipers rebuilt and bled. How the pads come out is dependent on the caliper model but generally you undo a retaining bolt, then the pads slide out of the top of the caliper. Check the model of your brakes and look up the manual to find out how to remove the pads. Do not try undoing random bolts on the caliper. You also want to make sure you know how to re-install the pads properly, for obvious reasons.
In some cases the pistons can get sticky in their seals. There are special cleaning methods to address this. See this Park Repair Help video

            .


Which bolts and nuts to use to install Osymetric chainrings to replace Shimano Ultegra R8000 chainrings? I would like to install 52-38 Osymetric chainrings instead of my 52-36 Shimano Ultegra R8000 ones.
I've bought the Osymetric chainrings and tried to install them, but I realised I need bolts and nuts to install them (rookie mistake!). That's because the Shimano Ultegra R8000 comes with integrated nuts, therefore I cannot use them.
And now I'm not sure about which bolts and nuts to buy:

Those fancy ones but according to Shimano's documentation, it's only for 46-36T chainrings (from Shimano I assume?): https://www.sjscycles.co.uk/chainsets/shimano-ultegra-fcr8000-gear-fixing-bolt-nut-set-m8-x-101mm-y1w898090/
That would be nice that they fit, because like that the design of the crank will follow.
Those normal ones: http://shop.osymetricusa.com/CHAINRING-BOLT-KIT-ROAD_p_46.html
Other ones?

The documentation by Shimano about the R8000 chainrings: https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/ev/EV-FC-R8000-4256.pdf
How can I know bolts and nuts will fit on my Osymetric chainrings? Will the fancy ones by Shimano fit on my Osymetric chainrings?
Thanks for your help!

Shimano 46 tooth outer chainrings are flat and lack the '3d' profile of the 50 and 52 tooth rings. The 'fancy' bolts you linked to are shaped to cap off the crank spider arms. Those will work with the flat Osymetric rings.
Regular bolts will also work but not look as 'finished'.


How should I store inner tubes to maximize their shelf life? The LBS's in my area tend to have major sales around the same time once or twice a year. During this time, I can get replacement tubes at about half their normal price. I can buy several tubes, enough to last a year or more.

What is the best way to store the tubes so they last as long as possible?

Dry and cool place is the way to go. But also play attention to other items stored near the tubes. Do not store them near paint or solvent containers. Many chemical products can damage tubes, even just the vapours. Anything like gasoline or other fuels should be avoided. They chemically degrade rubber and can easily render them useless. Gasoline vapour for example, over a year can turn a tube into a black paste stain...

Other factors that affect rubber on the long term are UV light and oxigen or ozone. Thus you should also avoid storing them exposed to direct or strong sunlight. UV light degrades rubber so it becomes dull looking and less flexible. When it happens to a tube, it does't show until you inflate them, and it looks as cracked or notoriously porous surface.

It also helps to store them in a somewhat thick plastic bag and tuck them tight (Ziploc type would be overkill there) specially if they come packaged in plain cardboard boxes. Some high powered electric motors, generators or dynamos produce sparks in their brush and collector parts (i.e. electrical connection between moving parts). These sparks are known to produce ozone, so, if by any chance you have such equipment, do not store the tubes near it. (High speed lathe, electric grinders, etc.)

Personally I have had sucess storing used tubes for very long periods (some more than 3 years) by puting them in a thick plastic bag in my closet. I usually apply talcum between the tire and the tube, so these tubes where stored all covered with talcum. I think it helps because previous attempts, I washed the tubes before storing, and they ended stuck with each other and where damaged when I tried to separate them; they where otherwise in similar conditions.

However, in my tropical country, temperatures are almost all year between 15 and 30 ºC (60-87 ºF) so I have no clue on extreme temperature effects.


Can if fit new 105 5700 cranks on my existing 5600BB? I am refreshing my drive train. I have been running a full 105 5600 set for a couple years. I have an ultegra cassette and chain ready to fit, and I am consdiering crankset/chainring options. Is the new 105 5700 hollow tech compatible with my 5600 Bottom Bracket?

Short answer?

Yes, you can. Any Hollowtech 2 Bottom Bracket is compatible with any other Hollowtech 2 crank set.

There is no difference in size or function between the 5600 BB and the 5700 BB.


Upgrading From Ultegra 6600 to 6800 Help My Ultegra 6600 shifters need replacing. My thought was to replace it with a new 5-piece 6800 set including shifters, front derailleur, rear derailleur SS, an 11-28T cassette and obviously a new chain.

Can I keep my current compact front crank set? I just replaced the bottom bracket.
Will the 6600 brakes work with the 6800 shifters?

The crank end generally is fine. Pre- and post-super SLR brakes and levers don't work together because they changed the cable pull. Presuming you have a 10-speed rear wheel, it can't take an 11-speed road cassette.


Tektro Draco hydraulic disc brake not gripping rotor well enough to stop I have two Motobecane commuter bikes with Tektro Draco hydraulic brakes. For several years we lived an apartment where the bikes had to hang vertically on a wall which would cause the brakes (particularly the rear ones), to become spongy and have little pressure. Usually taking them off the wall and pumping the brakes several times would create pressure in the brakes such that they would work again and there would be less play in the brake lever. They would typically be fine until they were put back on the wall.

Anyway, have since moved and the bikes are stored level. Started doing maintenance as I want to learn how to maintain my own bikes, particularly the hydraulic brakes.

I gather the last thing that should be done to resolve issues is to bleed the system, so I'm trying to trouble shoot the system. One bike had a ton of play in the brake lever and it would almost touch the handle bar. That was easily fixed by adjusting the screw behind the lever.

The other bike is the one I am having trouble resolving. Basically, the rear brake caliper isn't grabbing the rotor well enough to stop, especially when a +170lbs person is on it. Here are somethings I tired:

The lever was getting pretty close to the handlebar, so figured adjusting that might help, still nothing.
Pumping the brakes no longer works as far as what I perceive to be building up pressure in the brake line.
Check the brake rotor and pads for contamination. The rotor seems fine as there isn't a film on it or anything. The pads were pretty dirty, almost black, and were smooth. Figured that was the issue. Took sand paper to them and still not gripping the rotor well enough to stop.
I've ordered new brake pads which haven't arrived yet and will try to put those on. Tektro says to replace them if <0.5mm. I'd say they still have around 2mm on them. If that is the issue though, it seems like it would mean the calipers aren't getting close enough to one another to grab the rotor, right?
If that is the case, what is the next step? Adding more mineral oil to the system and bleeding it, or is there a way to adjust the calipers so that they are closer to one another when compressed?

As the comment by @Chris H, pointed out, you may have some air in your system. This is easely solvable by bleeding the brakes. Dependening on the design, you may need a big syringe, small hose(ideally translucent) and a small discardable bottle, or a propietary bleeding kit. Hydraulic system needs to be bleeded at least once a years, IMO.

WARNING: Never mix mineral oil with DOT, those are incompatible. You must choose properly your fluid Dot or Mineral Oil. Mixing DOT5 with DOT6, is fine, not recommended but fine.

Check the fittings on the handle and the caliper, tight them if needed. Some air may be getting into the system due to loose fittings. Also check the bleeding valves too.

Lastly, check the hydraulic lines while you pump the lever. If they seem to stretch, wide, or inflate a small ballon, etc. You will need to replace them.


Does the initial position of the B-tension screw matter? When I'm installing a rear derailleur, should the B-tension screw be in a high or low setting or does it not matter? I've tried searching for information on this but no one seems to mention this so it seems like it doesn't matter.

The B-tension screw on the derailleur that I have makes contact with the hanger. The part of the derailleur to which the screw is attached can move and is spring loaded (if that's the correct term) so to me the initial setting seems important.

It doesn't matter how it's set when you first begin the installation. If it were out so far that it prevented the guide pulley from clearing the large cog at all, that would be a problem, but you'll see that pretty quickly. The ideal time to set it is after the wheel, derailer, and chain are all in place, after the limit screws have been set, and after the cable has been anchored and the tension is in the ballpark of correct, but before final adjustment of the cable tension, since it will affect how smoothly the system shifts in each gear and you want to see an accurate representation of that as you decide whether to tighten, loosen, or leave alone your barrel adjuster.

Note that we now live in a world of wildly different recommended pulley/cog gaps, so if it's a newer derailer and especially if it's a 1x drivetrain, it's a good idea to check what the manufacturer says it's supposed to be.


Mysterious squeaky sound I have noticed that my bike makes a high pitched squeaky sound when pedalling on my 12th tooth cassette cog (second smallest), especially when going a bit faster ( over 30 km/h or 18 mph) and applying a bit of torque. The cassette is a Shimano 105 10 speed.

It just happened in that cog. I disassembled the cassette because I noticed it was a bit loose, cleaned it all up, lubed it (with drip lube), same for the chain. After a few tens of kms I noticed that the sound reappeared though much less pronounced and much less frequent.

After another inspection, I noticed that if I rotated hard the cassette it would budge a little, so I decided to tighten much better the cassette and now it appears to not move at all. I do not have a torque wrench so I just did it hard by hand.

The problem now is that I'm back at square 1. The noise has become again very frequent when I pedal at high velocity and applying torque.

I have ridden about 2000 km with this bike (give or take) and the mysterious thing for me it that it happens just at that particular cog (which i would use frequently before). I had the impression that after retightening, maybe the squeak also migrated to the neighboring cogs but I don't think so anymore.

I realise that my comments aren't very precise but I'm quite lost here.

Should I change the chain, because it might be the culprit?  Should I change the cassette? Should I grease the cassette using actual grease instead of drip lube?

Thank you very much.

Hmmmm, it sounds like (to me) that you may have a spacer missing behind the cassette on the freehub body for the whole thing to be moving a bit. Also try unscrewing your high limiter screw ever so slightly (about a quarter of a turn) just to see if the noise starts to disappear. (Note, you'll have to change gear and then back in again to get it to deadzone as I call it.)

(I usually call the highest gear a dead-zone gear because there is no force from the cable acting on the derailleur to keep it there, making it rest against the limiter screw.)

It may or may not also be from the derailleur jockey wheels being so far away from the cogs; Has your B-tension screw been set accurately? The tooth of the jockey wheel should be about two millimeters away from the cog when it's on the lowest gear, depending on where you're looking at the reference point. I'd personally reccommend taking it to an LBS if you still can't figure it out; It can take a fair bit of experience to try and diagnose things like this, but if you're not face-to-face with the problem, there's not much that can be gleaned from this. What you perceive as a tapping could be a ticking to me. Or a squeak could be a squeal. It's how each person would personally describe a sound, which is what makes online assistance hard.

If you want to test to see if it's the spacer that's causing the problem as a temporary check method, get a pop bottle, cut it and lay it flat, cut a circle the correct size to fit on the freehub body and test it.

Actually, whlist you're at it, check your rear derailleur hanger; if it's out of whack slightly, it could mean something is rubbing where it wouldn't normally, and may not be to do with the hub at all. (Though, the cassettes moving still does cause concern.)

When reassembling the cassette onto the freehub body, I redidculously highly recommend using Lithium Grease on each component, between where each plastic spacer meets the cogs of the cassette. This grease is very, very light, does not clump as much as others, and is very handy for the fact it's bright white, so you can clean it off of your brake components if ever it flicks, which it shouldn't if you put a thin layer on. :)


Voodoo Bizango: Will the Schwalbe Marathon Almotion fit? I have a Voodoo Bizango mountain bike. I don't do any mountain biking. I use this bike to commute to and from work in West Yorkshire (lots of hills). Once I've lost more weight, I'll invest in a bike more geared for tarmac, but not yet.

Today, I got a puncture. I want to take the opportunity to change the tyres because they are fat and feel very slow on the tarmac.

Will these fit? How do you find that out? I don't want to buy it and then return it when I find out it doesn't fit.

Here is an image of the current tyres:

Yes, the new tire will fit.

When checking the tire fit, see what's already on, it's generally safe to assume that narrower products will be good to go. Your current tire is marked as 2.25 inches wide, so a narrower 2 inch would be OK.

There are cases where you have to take into account various factors like rim width, bottom bracket height, amount of travel, crankarm length, frame clearance, but not in your case.

  change the tyres because they are fat and feel very slow on the
  tarmac.

Feeling slow does not necessary mean going slower. But hey, it's up to you to decide what to put onto rims.


Road Shifters, Mountain Rear Derailleur? I have a road/cyclocross/commuter frame that is currently spec'd with road components - all Shimano 105, with an Ultegra rear derailleur.

The cassette (10 spd) tops out at 27 teeth, and the rear derailleur has a very short cage compared to Deore/XT/XTR I've looked at.  If I wanted to use a cassette with more teeth, 32 or 36 - I was wondering if there'd be any issue with swapping out the current Ultegra for a 10 spd Deore/XT/etc cassette & derailleur but still using the 105 STI?  Both shifters & derailleur would be 10 spd, but I don't know if say cable pull is the same?

Won't work. Dyna-Sys uses a different pull ratio than Shimano road components, and the cassette uses a slightly different spacing as well. You could use a SRAM cassette, but that still leaves you with the derailleur issue. They do make 105 and Ultegra long cage derailleurs, however. If you've got a double up front, especially a double with proper cyclocross gearing (tigher ratio than standard or compact road), the long cage road derailleur should be more than adequate.


Campy Chorus Shifter I just bought a used bike but I'm unsure of the condition of the brifters (Campy Chorus 10 alloys). When set up, the brake lever is pulled outwards by the brake cable, away from the shifting pedal. As a result when the bike is stationary, the shifters look like this. I don't think this is right... does anybody have any tips on if this is how they're supposed to be or if there's a broken component in the shifters causing this?

Thanks,
Chris!

There's this horizontal pin on the brake lever next to the hoods. It's meant to open the brakes for easier wheel changes as Campy brakes don't have release levers on the calipers. It seems be in the 'released' position. Pull the lever and push the pin from the side that's sticking out. See if it resolves your problem.
If yours brake pads are already very close to the rims you will probably have to adjust the cable.


Upgrading road and cyclocross bike with a single carbon cross bike I have the potential opportunity to buy a full carbon cross bike (fairly new Specialized Crux Pro, specs say around 17 pounds; not sure what it would be with pedals, etc.). I currently own (a mtn bike which is not part of this equation) a cruddy commuter, a Kona Jake 2010 (24 pounds!), and a Giant TCR2 2005 (21 pounds with aeros on). I race all of the bikes (ok, not the commuter), but my primary racing on the road bike is in triathlons where I throw on clip-on aerobars. My Jake weighs a ton, and I'd like to switch that over to being my commuter. But I also would like something a little lighter for my triathlons, and the compact geometry of the TCR2 doesn't work well with the aerobars. Would buying the carbon Specialized get me closer to my goals in one fell swoop (budget is very limited, but I'd get a second set of light road rims), or just get a new road or cross bike? I have some dream of someday buying a tri-bike, but that's a long way off. I'll also add that one of the things I really don't like about the Jake is that the brakes suck, and it can be downright scary on some trails. If it helps, I'm a female.

N + 1 is always the answer.

Seriously though, if you're going to actually use it for cyclocross then I'd advocate buying it as this would be a substantial upgrade.  Lugging 5+ pounds less of a bike over obstacles, up hills, etc, etc over the course of an hour means a ridiculous savings in energy.

Will this upgrade your cyclocross bike (Kona Jake)?  Yes.

Will this upgrade your road bike?  Doubtful.  The weight difference won't matter as much as the wheels/tires/cockpit/general configuration.

Will it double as a tri-bike?  Doubtful.  Tri-bikes are just too specialized.


How much speed can I buy I am currently riding an entry level carbon road bike (Fuji Gran Fondo 2.5, compact 50/34 crankset, 105 group, 12/30 10 speed, Oval 327 wheels, but I suspect the details are not important-you have all seen similar bikes on club rides)  My typical ride is 30 miles and 1500 feet of climbing (as reported by Strava, if I add up the hills they are not this high) in 2 hours, so I am not a speed burner.  The Gran Fondo is promoted as an "old guy's" (which I am) bike-the head tube is a bit longer (only 1/2 inch) than standard so you sit more upright, you get (my year, not now) the 30 tooth on the rear and the tires are 25 instead of 23.  Will another bike blow me away if I ride it a short distance (5 miles) on the flat?  How much time can I save at the same power input over the 30 mile ride? Let's pretend I have no budget limitation, I just want the fastest (easily available commercially) road bike for my use.  How much faster is it than what I have?  What would you look for? Don't send me looking for an 11 tooth on the cassette-I rarely use the 50/12.  You need to send me to a class descending hills faster first.

Added based on Craig Hicks answer:
I have inverted the stem, which probably counteracts the longer head tube of the bike I have.  I didn't notice any difference in comfort.  I could take a couple spacers out of the the head tube to lower the bars another inch.  I did a high end fit with my LBS with some comfort improvement but no speed.  I suspect the biggest speed increase I could buy would be race tires that have less rubber so less flexure loss on the road at a price of durability.  That is what I was looking for, what should I look for and how much would it speed me up?

A bicycle in and of itself is a half of the equation.  If you want to eek out as much speed as you can you also need to consider how you interact with the machine.  This answer focuses on the human/bike interaction rather tweaking bike specs.

Bike fit is a continual compromise between power, comfort, and aerodynamics (Bike Fit by Phil Burke). Simply plugging specs into a worksheet will not give you insight into these types of compromises.  New high-end bikes can be problematic as they are often very aggressive.  As you get older if you compromise the comfort dimension too much your power can drop of substantially.  You may be more aerodynamic, but you can end up slower due to a drop in sustainable power!

Flat Land Speed

In terms of absolute speed on flat cutting down your frontal area (i.e., aerodynamic drag) will go a long way to increasing your speed. There are lots of little tweaks you can do to your current setup if it is currently fitting you well.

Tighter fitting clothing (any flapping clothing = aerodynamic resistance).
TT bars are another big aerodynamic gain (don't use on a group ride though).
Supple fast rolling tires pumped to the appropriate pressure.  (This isn't always the max pressure and can change from tire-to-tire.  You really need to experiment here)
Tweaking your current position to further optimize the aero/power/comfort relationship.
Drive train gearing

Tighter  gearing ratios (aka a smaller range in the rear cassette). This can let you fine tune your cadence more.
Big/big combinations are more efficient that Big/small gearing combinations for a given chain line.

Maintaining your drive train!

Climbing

Here a lighter bike will help, but also more appropriate gearing is very important (aka low enough to spin up all the climbs).  As Andy256 suggested you an play with some calculators.  But again I will harp on bike fit. Do you have the hand positions available to put you in a open upright climbing position so you can breath properly? Are your shoulders, neck and back relaxed on climbs.  Do you have enough hand positions (i.e.,drops) so that you can comfortably get in the drops on decent and faster sections.

Going up to get down

One day I finally admitted to myself that I could not ride the slammed positions of my youth and revised my cockpit putting myself in a more upright position.  The result of this is that I am much more comfortable on the hoods and can crank out the climbs at a harder pace.  I can also use my drops a lot more now as the higher hood position this give my back a change of position it now needs. My drop position is still quite aerodynamic position and I can spend a lot more time in the drop position than I have been able to in the past.  Overall I don't think my aerodynamics has been too adversely affected as I am using the drops a lot more than even when I was younger (then I used to just use them in crits, sprints and pursuits).  I wish I had taken more measurements when I was younger to confirm or refute this thought.

I suggest taking time to investigate how bike your current fit compliments your bio-mechanics before delving into the quest for new gear.  You might be surprised how many gains you can find!


Mechanical Ultegra's R8000 right-mech cable failure On my Giant TCR Advanced SL I have mechanical ultegra R8000 groupset and every 7/8 thousands kilometers the cable constantly breaks(usually it should happens every 20 thousands kilometers). It happened five times in total, at the third time we changed the lever(the right one) but the cable is still failing. We also changed the cable housing length in order to prevent some bad bend in the cable, but is still failing.

Does anyone can help me with some advices? The cable breaks in the lever. I wonder if could be the rear mech or something else different from the lever, in fact the lever was defective and it was changed with a working one.

This problem happens enough across the board with all recent STIs, especially on heavily ridden bikes, that there may be an element to it where the bends the cable is being subjected to is the real problem and there's some inevitability to it. But it's happening to you especially often. Here are some possible reasons:

You shift a lot.
The fancy nosed plastic Shimano ferrule isn't being used at the shifter.
Friction elsewhere in the line, like from overly tight routing or any of the other causes for it that contemporary road bikes sometimes create, is causing you to need to be more forceful with the shifter, causing the first bit of cable to see higher loads on it.
The cables have been getting installed in a manner that kinks them near the head. Then when combined with the tight bends that are inherent to this shifter, some strands are experiencing heightened fatigue and breaking prematurely.

Kinking the cable on this shifter during replacement is a fairly easy mistake to make, especially if you're not unwrapping the bars. The easy way to install the cable is to feed the whole thing through first until the end is resting in its seat, and then feed the whole thing back the other way, then into the tip of the ferrule. The trouble is if the ferrule is rigidly taped down and in place, it's easy to create a kink in the cable just ahead of it, especially with the nosed ferrules that one really should be using. The way to avoid this is feed the first part of the cable in and back the other way, but not pull it all the way through, and use a pick or small flathead screwdriver to guide it into the ferrule. Then gently push it through the housing bit by bit, and only seat the cable head in the shifter when it's all the way through and you can pull it into place without any of it getting bunched up and then kinking. Failure to do this is a way to cause the cable to break at the shifter.


Difference between Cyclocross, Touring, and Road Bikes? My question is "What is the difference between Cyclocross, Touring, and Road Bikes? Also what are their intended uses (their place in the cycle 'community'?)"

I have looked at What is the difference between race/road and cx bikes? and it has answered part of my question but it still leaves the rest unanswered.

Any help would be much appreciated.

Road

Road bikes are designed for performance on (mostly) well paved roads. They are the lightest weight of the 3 categories, have the shortest wheelbase, lowest bottom bracket, and the steepest headtube angles. These geometry features allow the bike to react to rider inputs quickly and to have a low center of gravity which is beneficial when turning.

Wheels are almost invariably 700c - sometimes smaller wheels are used on very small frames. Tire sizes will typically vary from 20-25mm width but the most common width is 23mm, thus the 700x23 that you'll often see. Road frames can be made out of just about any material but the most common ones that you'll see are aluminum for budget oriented bikes and carbon fiber for high end bikes.

Gearing will be the highest and narrowest on this type of bike. Road bikes are designed to carry the rider and his/her water bottles and not much else, although some are drilled for fitting racks - usually on the less expensive side.

Road bikes still make great commuters if you want a light weight, fast reacting machine to get from point A to point B.

Touring

Touring bikes are designed for long, multi-day excursions on the road. They are usually the heaviest bikes of the bunch as they are built for durability and to carry a lot of stuff beyond just the rider. They will maintain a relatively low bottom bracket but the wheelbase will be longer and the head tube angle slacker when compared to a road bike. This adds to their stability, especially when fully loaded.

Wheels are often 700c but many are actually designed for 26" - some will accept either, though this will make for a higher BB with the larger wheel. Stock tire sizes will run wider - usually 28mm or above. This makes of a more comfortable ride since the air pressure can be dropped.

You may see touring bikes made from other materials, but the most common is steel due to its forgiving nature and durability. Drillings for back and front racks are standard, and drillings for extra water bottles are common.

Gearing may be a little lower, but will certainly be wider on a touring bike. Sometimes mountain bike components are used for rear gearing to give the rider extra low gearing. This is very welcome when ascending with a fully loaded touring bike.

This type of bike makes an excellent commuter as it is stable and when fitter with racks/panniers gives you lots of places to put your stuff besides on your back.

Cyclocross

Cyclocross bikes are designed to travel both on and off road. Cyclocross is actually a race discipline that evolved as something for road racers to do in the off season, but the bikes have become very popular outside of racing due to their versatility. Cross bikes will typically be heavier than a comparable road bike but lighter than a comparable touring bike. The wheelbase will be in between that of a road bike and a touring bike while the bottom bracket height and headtube angle could be on either side of that of a touring bike depending on the manufacturer's philosophy.

Wheels will be 700c and tires will typically range somewhere in the 30-40mm width range with small knobs to grip loose surfaces as opposed to the slicks you'll see on dedicated road tires.

Frame materials vary widely just as with the other bike types, but for high end cyclocross frames carbon fiber is becoming a more prevalent material. Aluminum and steel are also common, especially amongst mid level bikes and below.

Traditional cyclocross gearing is a little odd as they typically come with a very close ratio double crankset but this may be compensated for by a wider cassette.

Race dedicated cyclocross bikes may have drillings for water bottle cages in the front triangle though you'll often see them with no bottles mounted so they don't get in the way of shouldering the bike over obstacles. On the other hand, many cross bikes are drilled for racks since they can double as a touring bike due to the similar geometry.

Cross bikes make wonderful commuters due to their versatility and durability. You can often run racks or not, and swap the knobby tires with slicks should you so choose.


Is it possible and safe to attach this type of seat to suspension seatpost? I have a Merida Crossway 20 bike, and want to change its saddle.

Now after buying a new one I am not sure it is even possible to mount it. I had forgotten I have a suspension seatpost, but the new saddle seems to use a different type of attachment.

Is it even possible, and if it is, then is it reasonably safe to attach this type of saddle to a suspension seatpost?

The original seatpost + saddle:

The new one:

Looks like the new one has the same kind of saddle rails so you can remove the attachment from it and try the bare saddle rails in the suspension seatpost. It should work!

Undo the two big black nuts and it should all fall off.

Edit (Grigory, Criggie): The extra bits are just the clamp from an older design of seat post. So they’re not needed, but might be useful back on the seat post they came from. The common interface on the saddles is/are the two parallel rails.


Tubeless vs Tubeless ready I've decided to upgrade to road tubeless. Hutchinson sells both "Tubeless" and "Tubeless Ready" tires. According to Hutchinson' website, Tubeless Ready means that (in addition to having a special bead) the tire's tread is air permeable and will gradually lose air, so sealant is needed, not just to seal punctures, but to slow the loss of air.

Their Tubeless tires, on this other hand, have a butyl lining that prevents air loss. Although a sealant can be used to seal punctures, it's not required.

My question: Do tubeless tires -- the tires that have a lining -- hold air as well as tires with tubes? (Note, my car's tires don't have tubes and they hold air quite well.) I ask because I need my tires to stay pumped up, and not go soft overnight the way they usually do on my mountain bike.

Proper tubeless (UST) tyres do indeed hold air well, but are also heavy and don't roll as well (due to extra material that needs to deform around objects).  Due to the nature of MTB'ing you are also likely to need sealant for puncture protection, as whilst UST tyres are more robust, they can't shrug off all potential punctures.

This is why you see very few UST tyres available for sale now, with most riders (and manufacturers) preferring tubeless ready.

In my experience, a well set up tubeless ready tyre with sealant holds air at least as well as an old tyre/tube combo.  I typically lose ~2psi/wk on my tubeless ready setups so usually top them up once a week, but could go 2 weeks if necessary.


Can I use an RC motor to make my bike electric? I would like to make my ebike to have the minimal look, so adding big hubs or mid drive motors isn't really an option since it also costs more. I found this Keda brushless outrunner 2000w 190KV motor on hobbyking and wondered if it can move my bicycle? It's 2000w so it should easily move it yes? Or do RC motors work differently, will it overheat? Do I have to use zippy battery packs or can I build my own 10s battery? And finally, if it can't move me on its own could I make it pedassist?

Here's the link https://hobbyking.com/en_us/kd-53-30-high-voltage-brushless-outrunner-190kv.html

Thanks.

Its designed to attach the prop of a model aircraft directly, i.e its designed to drive a fan that cools it. It has little (or none) weather protect, and would be destroyed on a bike in months. Another concern I would have with that motor is the shaft size- its one thing to deliver 2000W to a prop, but to connecting it to a mechanical drive train that can load it with sudden changes in forces is likely to destroy it, you would need to get very creative with shock isolation from the drive line.

As far as costs, I doubt the basic motor part of the bike kit costs all that much more, after all, its only a few coils, a shaft and bearings.

The very best current commercial mountain bikes come, despite a lot of frame design and engineering, with a a huge, ugly and heavy mid drive motor. With all the R&D, and money to be made creating the perfect E-Bike, do you honestly think if the big boys could add a 2000W motor weighing 670gram and the size of a bottom bracket, they would not have done it already?

As far as battery packs, with the right controller you can roll your own easliy enough.


How easy is it to explode a tubeless tire whilst seating, and how do I avoid this? I installed tubeless tires about two months ago, but the back tire had been leaking fluid and yesterday went completely flat. All the fluid inside has dried up and a lot of it had built up between the tire and the rim wall, so I'm guessing I didn't seat it properly first time. I remember I heard a small pop and stopped inflating because I was worried I would blow the tire off the rim. It seems I was being over cautious though so now that I have to redo everything I would like to know how afraid I should be of having the tire explode, how long it should take for an air compressor to seat the tire and when to know that it's time to stop.
The tires I'm using are 700cx35 gravel king tubeless ready tires with a max psi of 60

I remember I heard a small pop and stopped inflating

The pop is what you are waiting for when inflating. It means that the tyre has become seated on the rim and will stop leaking  air fast and it is now enough to just add the air as necessary.
For 35c gravel tubeless tyres I would use pressures about 35-40 PSI or somewhat more if you are heavier than me (many people are). For the initial seating I would go up to 50 get some proper pressure. There is no reason to go to 60 but it won't explode unless the tyre is not connected to the rim properly - but then the explosion would rather be a fast burp of air, the tyre would remain intact.


New wheel, why not go with disk hub? I'm getting a new rear wheel built for my commuter.  My bike frame does not support disk brakes.  I do not intend to use disk brakes in foreseeable future either .   I checked the price for Hope rear hubs.  The price for disk and non-disk are around the same.

Is here a reason I should't go with the disk brake hub?  Weight is not concern for me.

A good wheel being a substantial investment, why not future-proof the build?  ie, the wheel doesn't need to be rebuilt in case I decide on disk brake bike in future.

As we've discussed earlier, its fine to have a disc brake hub to work with a rim brake rim, but most disc wheels aren't built with rims that can use rim brakes (you need a rim brake track to use rim brakes safely; I don't know of any higher end wheels which are shipped this way, so if you buy a complete bike later, you may end up with better wheels on the complete bike).

One thing you may run into later is that your hub uses a different disc brake standard than the rotors you want to run (but this is an easy enough problem to deal with). Another thing you might run into is different types of hub compatibility needed (e.g. if your next bike has a thru axle or something; unlikely on a commuter though, I suppose, or width as Jamie A points out in the comments).


Shimano Nexus SG C6000-8R and SL-S503 I have a very specific compatibility issue : I just bought a Shimano Nexus 8 "SG C6000-8R" rear hub and would like to know if I can use it with the Shimano "SL-S503" gear trigger.

The reference page, which is about a slightly different hub (mine doesn't have coaster brake) claims that we can use it with the Shimano SL-500, nothing said about SL-503.

So, does anyone have experience having a bike with both components? Or can someone surely say that they will work together.

More generally though, I don't understand how references are made: what's the difference between the SL-S500 and SL-S503, between the SG C6000 and SG C6001, etc?

This answer depends heavily on Shimano documentation and has a number of links to the Shimano website, which will inevitably suffer from rot. My apologies to all those reading this years from now when Shimano has changed all the URLs.

I think that in general the last couple of digits in Shimano component names/codes denote variations in the spec or quality level of the components.

One can dig around in Shimano's tech documents looking for answers. Current URL is http://si.shimano.com/#/

The Line Up Chart offers some insight into the compatibility of current parts (note there is an archive also).

The Nexus Inter 8 Chart indicates that the SG-C6001-8R hub can be used with the SL-S503 lever.

I note that the the 8R postfix in the hub name denotes 'roller brake spec', but I'm not sure if that means it has a roller brake built in or it is compatible with a roller brake. There seems to be a specific compatibility with brake levers for roller brakes.

Update: after reading the Sheldon Brown / Harris Cyclery page on roller brakes, I found out that the 'R' postfix hubs are compatible with an add on brake unit.


Replacing a Positron II with a modern gear shift I was tinkering on an old Enik Roadbike (see here: Convert old road bike to comfortable commuter). Most of the parts were still working fine, but the Positron II was not in a good shape, so I bought a "new" one from ebay. This did work reasonably good for about a year now, but the bike was not moved too much during that time. Now again I'm having problems with the replaced Positron II.

While I was searching for a way to fix it, I found a few posts online where people were mentioning that the Positron is not a good derailleur and they woud recommand to replace it - but no recommendation of what a good replacement for the Positron II would be.

Is it possible to replace the Positron II with a more modern, reliable gaer shift?
What would be a good replacement for a reasonable price?
And how much efford would that be?

Positron doesn't have return spring but instead uses single wire for pushing and pulling. That means you have to replace the cable and shift lever, too.

The photo shows that the bike has claw mount derailleur. The best bet is to get a cheap claw mount derailleur and non-indexed shiter.


Toddler bike seat vs. bike trailer? Our 2.2 year old toddler seems very interested in a random, abandoned bike seat we found, so we're considering some method of letting him ride with us. But I am not sure whether to get ...

A bike seat, which fits one toddler, and mounts above the rear wheel on the rack
A bike trailer, which fits possibly two toddlers, has its own wheels and attaches to the rear of the bicycle.

It seems to me the trailer is more flexible and potentially safer, since the center of gravity is much closer to the ground. I also worry that having a thirty+ pound weight on the rear rack will cause us to make more riding mistakes, and if the bike falls over, there goes the toddler.

However, the bike seat seems more fun for the toddler since he can see more of the ride and feels more like a co-rider than a passenger.

It's hard for me to decide without trying both, and right now I've tried neither. Can someone who has tried both a bike trailer and a bike seat with their toddlers share their experiences and thoughts on this? I'm interested in the pros and cons from people who have spent some time in the saddle with their toddlers using both.

I've had both. A really nice trailer and a child bike seat -- where the child sits between the rider and the handlebar (like this WeeRide Kangaroo Child Bike Seat).

My daughter was ok with the trailer, but absolutely preferred the seat.

I found with the seat in front of me, the weight didn't affect me almost at all, and if the bike was going to fall, I'd be in a much better position to protect my child (since she's directly in front of me).

We used that for a long time and never ever had an issue (and let's face it, with the kid along for the ride, you're not likely to ever ride like a madman, right?)

She's six years old, and still misses it (we stopped when she was about 3.5 yrs old--just getting too big!)


My wheel tilts to the left (to the disc side) any solution My front tire tilts to the left when I brake hard when speeding on my bicycle. I tried almost everything to get it fixed but no luck. Can you guys tell me the reason for that? If you know how to fix it please tell me.

It is a normal effect with disc brakes, the major reason why most motorbikes have left and right  discs at the front. Braking on the left side only will cause a slight deformation of the left leg of the fork, pushing it backwards. The wheel follows.

I'd guess you have quick releases on your bike. If you do, try to tighten it a bit more. Through axles have been introduced to help better secure the wheel in the drop outs but also to stabilize the fork.


What rear derailleur do I need? I could really could do with a hand here, I'm currently restoring a old Raleigh Milk Race bike which has friction tube shifters fitted. I want to upgrade the rear derailleur but I'm not sure if I have to buy a certain type. It has a SunRace one fitted, and the front one is a Shimano one.

The bike is a 7 speed.

Almost any rear derailleur will do.  You aren't limited by the shifters (since they're friction shifters, they have no index incompatabilities) and it's a 7 speed, so anything that is rated for 6, 7, or 8 speed will work fine.  Go to a local shop that sells used parts or a local community group and take a look at what they have in their parts bin.


Crank power meter incompatible with my bottom bracket I have received a 4iiii crank power meter 170mm length that I can't install on my Merida trainer bike because it has square taper bottom bracket.

What would be the cheapest way to have it installed? Are there any adaptors that could be used? New crank set? Or perhaps just sell it and buy Assioma pedals?

There’s no kind of adapter to fit the power meter crank to a square taper spindle, it seems to be a Hollowtech II left crank power meter (Shimano 105?). You’d need a crankset with the same Hollowtech II interface. You’ll need to check the width of the Bottom Bracket (B.B.) shell on the bike frame to see if a road crankset will fit.

Also note the gearing may change, with a road crankset, I think the spec says it’s a nine speed triple which you would want to match the best you can, probably Shimano Sora IF you have a road B.B. shell (68mm).

If you want to replace the crankset you’ll need to swap the bottom bracket too, which is no great obstacle, but might require tools you don’t have. Will also depend on the B.B. shell width.

Economics are up to you, you can add up the cost of the new crankset and bottom bracket plus tools or labour, and compare that to the cost of selling it and buying pedals.

I can foresee a case for the pedals, certainly it could be mechanically simpler to install pedals. You’ll have to see if it’s cheaper where in the world you live


Best kind of bicycle for lower back issues? I've ridden bikes all my life.  Now nearing 50, for the past year or two I've noticed that when I ride over 20km or so, my lower back gets extremely painful - enough to make it not possible to ride.  The bike is the same one I've already had, so it's not a bike-fit issue.

Because the bike is breaking down, I need to replace it.  I'm worried about getting a bike that I won't be able to ride for anything other than short commutes because of back pain...and not finding this out until the first 20km+ ride.    A short test ride of a new bike isn't going to be enough to determine whether it will trigger pain.  Knowing that it's the lower back, what style of bike should I consider?  I currently have a mountain bike and am thinking either of a touring bike or hybrid.  I probably don't have storage space for a recumbent.

Oh, and current bike is a mountain bike.   In the past I did heaps of touring on it, with no issues.  Now I use it for commuting, and sub-20km rides.

I have a touring bike and I find it quite comfortable. But them again, I don't have back issues. It's a bit more upright than most road bikes, and possibly more upright than some hybrids I've seen, as long as I'm riding on the hoods. Try to find a place that rents bikes or will let you have an extended trial ride in order to determine if it would help fix your issues. Spending $100 renting a few different models for a few hours at a time could save you a lot of money and help you find a bike that's comfortable for you.


50/34 compact with 11-32 10-speed Shimano 105 - will 11-34 make climbing easier or change chainring As mentioned above...I'm running a 50/34 10 speed with 11-32 cassette but would like to change to a configuration that would make climbing hill easier.

I live in a hilly area so every time I cycle, I can't avoid hills almost immediately, averaging 5-11%.  So for a recovery cycle, I still can't avoid pushing high watts.  I'd sacrifice top end speed and even tolerate gaps in the gear ratios elsewhere (which I know would make my cadence uneven here and there) to make the hills easier to climb.  I enjoy high cadence so spinning going up a climb is my preference.  I don't race so basically challenge myself at times and then need recovery rides.

Is it an option to go for a 11-34 or 11-36 even with current config of 54/30 10-speed or maybe shoot for an 11-speed 11-32 or would retaining my 10-speed 11-32 and instead opt for changing the 54/30 compact to something else? My preference would be to make the changes on the cassette end if possible.  I have a new 105 long mech so that should not need to be changed at least, so possibly only the cassette.

Looking forward to hearing your thoughts/suggestions

You are already pretty close to the limit of what can be achieved easily.  You could certainly stick a 34t cassette on there, but it's not going to make any appreciable difference over a 32t.

The next step is a 36t cassette, which is likely to need a MTB rear mech (9 speed XT mech works well with 10s road shifters).

Another thing you can consider is a subcompact 46/30 chainset.  Making both changes would give you a 30/36 gear ratio, which is extremely low for a road bike.

If you know your target power (z1 for a recovery ride) you can use the following websites to calculate the gear ratio you need.

http://bikecalculator.com/
https://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence


Can I add 3rd chainring to a an old Sugino double? I have a vintage (165mm-Crnk) Sugino 40/48 on here now, but am looking to add some gear range for up hill with med-sm load. I have a Tiagra short cage RD and  a Sora double FD. I am friction shifting. I'm considering doing a chain ring like 26/36/48  with an 11-34  freewheel  which would give me adequate range, I believe 20-117 ish.

Can I add a chainring to my set? Mine is 110mm 5 arm which sems like it should be replaceable with say a Shimano. I was also thinking I could just get a smaller maybe 36 tooth and call it a day with 2 rings.

My understanding so far is that my Tiagra rear derailleur has maximum of 28T. I've heard of people friction shifting using a double FD for triple front rings. Has anyone seen this?

Check out the IRD Defiant wide range double crankset http://store.somafab.com/irdwicorodoc.html) It has a 94bcd which allows it to run 46x30 rings. Combine that with a 12-27 cassette or freewheel and you'll have plenty of range.

Going to a triple presents a few problems:

They don't shift as well as a double.
You have a short cage rear derailleur so max rear cog is 27, maybe 30 teeth. Definitely won't handle 34 teeth.
Triple cranks require triple compatible front derailleurs.
A double is simpler and lighter.
The Interloc will look a lot nicer on your 80s era bike.
A triple will usually require a longer bottom bracket spindle than a double.


Cannondale 24 Speed BIke Anyone knows this bike? I only know this is 24 speed. Model name please?
I know this picture is blurry, but this is the only pic.

The cantilevered dropouts date it from 1989 to 1996, the threadless headset to the later end of that. Based on a quick look through the catalogs here, it looks like a 1995 R700, their entry level triathlon/TT bike, which was sold that year with a polished aluminum frame and black fork. That's making the assumption that it wasn't converted to tri-bars later in it's life. It was had a 2x8 (16 speed) drivetrain, not 3x8 (24 speed), but looking at the picture it looks like you may have miscounted the speeds, I see a double not a triple. The brake levers also don't match, but that's an easy switch so they could be aftermarket.


Replacing Shimano RS21 rims I have damaged the rim of my rear Shimano RS21 wheel (unexpectedly hit a sharp kerb) which affects braking quite severely so I was wondering if it is possible to replace just the rim and not the whole wheel (the rest is in perfect condition). I've searched a number of online shops and none seem to offer Shimano rims, do Shimano not sell them separately?

You don't have to replace it with the exact same rim. Your wheel doesn't appear to be anything exotic, so anything with the same diameter (700/622 bsd) and the same number of spokes (20?) should be compatible. You'll also probably want to look for something that is about the same width, although you can make small changes to this depending on your needs and availability.


What are the reasons for these two very different post mount adapter designs? I'm looking to adapt my 160mm post mount front fork to accept a 180mm rotor.

As I'm looking between adapters, I find them falling into two very distinct categories, and I'm wondering if there are any trade offs or reasons for preferring one style over the other.

The first style bolts to the 160mm post mounts with separate standard length bolts, then juts out farther and drops down to accept the brake with standard length bolts.

The second looks smaller and lighter, and comes with longer bolts and rounded washers that go through both the brakes and the adapter and into the 160mm post mount.

Here is the difference when mounted:

Would there be any particular advantages of one way or another?

While I can't find anything from Shimano themselves, this description is used in regards to the second one on a number of websites selling them (so perhaps it is in Shimano's sales literature?):

  2nd version of adaptor, lighter and better hose routing

Since this is the best I can find, I'm posting it here as an answer, but by all means if someone else finds more details post that up.


what benefits does a road bike give over a regular mountain bike for casual cycling? I'm a casual cycler, for recreation.

I have a carerra kraken, MTB with front suspension and wide tyres. I use this for forrest trails and local back roads cycling (normally do a 15mile or 30 mile route once a month, all road with several inclines)

What benefits would a road bike give me for countryside cycling? I've never actually used one and wondering what I would "get" out of investing in one

I think a road bike gives you better efficiency so you can go further with less energy and do it quicker. This is because they are:

Lighter - Less mass to get up to speed and keep moving.
More rigid - less flex, so the bike itself absorbs less pedal energy, meaning when you pedal, more of that energy is used to propel you forwards.
Less suspension, as suspension on a mountain bike works by moving oil/air around, and that warms up - you're providing the energy to warm the suspension up instead of moving forwards.
Have higher gears, so you can go further for one revolution of the pedals.
Have thinner tires - For less contact and friction with the road that would slow you down.
Have higher pressure tires - So they squish less and don't use up energy.
Get you in a more aerodynamic position so you incur less wind resistance. But, this might mean you feel less comfortable.

You might get:

Fun from choosing one and getting bling'ed up with a new shiny bike you can show off and take pride in.
The buzz/addiction for cycling more and wanting to go on longer rides.
The ability to keep up with other road cyclists who you can be buddies with, especially if you join a cycling club.
Fitter because you cycle more so you live longer.
A strange desire to wear lycra which will show off your body better and may attract the opposite sex, and you might end up with a better sex life.


Will a Shimano MTB 9 speed derailleur work with 10 speed cassette? In general, what issues am I likely to run into, if I use a 9 speed derailleur with 10 speed cassette?  Is the chain width main problem?

I'm interested in Shimano XT CS-M771 cassette/XT M772 Shadow 9 Speed Rear Mech combo.  Will it work?

If it will, what flatcar shifter would work the best (indexed)?

With Shimano MTB components the short answer is No, it won't work, the 10 speed shifters and derailleurs have different pull ratios.

The long answer is it can be made to work. You just need to define what you mean by work. When I buy XT, I want and expect it to 'work, just like XT should' - reliably, for the life of the components. Its silly to spend XT kind of money to get Tourney performance. Mixing components from different speeds, even when using 'problem solvers' often leaves a less than ideal version of 'works'.

That said, a few people seem to have magic hands and/or the patience of saints and get these frankeinsetups working smoothly and reliably.


On my Shimano FC-6800 right crank arm, is that a QR code imprinted on it? On my Shimano FC-6800 right crank arm, is that a QR code imprinted on it? How is it used?
When I scan it I get this: 68R4NL097388

Its not uncommon for items to have serial numbers, to track them through the manufacturing process and out into the retail world.

QR codes can be read by cameras no matter which way around they are, compared to traditional 1-Dimension barcodes that can only be read in one direction, with some tolerances.

You're looking at a serial number for that item - if you still have your receipt it might be logged on there too.

If the QR code bothers you, you could remove it with light+gentle sanding or a solvent and touch up the surface afterward.


Thinking of getting a new chainset I've decided to get a new chainset as my current 38T Nexus is giving low speeds with my Alfine 8 speed hub. I have my eye on the 45T Shimano Alfine chainset.

Currently I have a square taper bottom bracket installed, which has a 116mm axle length IIRC. The Alfine chainset looks like it has an integrated axle and includes a bottom bracket in the package. (To my surprise, given that I can get it for £45 - is that too cheap for a product such as this?)

If I purchase this product and this product only, will I be able to simply remove my current chainset (and bottom bracket), and stick the new thing in, hassle free?

That really depends on your definition of "hassle free" and how much of a newbie you are. Personally, I always find square taper bottom brackets to be a pain the &*$#!

The square taper bottom bracket requires a special tool to remove it. The ever helpful Sheldon Brown has a list of the different types. the first or second one on the list is the one you want. It's a bit awkward to use, especially if your bottom bracket has had time to "seize" into the shell. You'll need a different tool for the integrated bottom bracket on the new tool, the Hollowtech II tool on that same list. It's much easier to use.

You'll also need a tool to remove your old crankset. The cotterless crank puller near the bottom of that same list should be the one you need. It's pretty easy to use, but be careful. There are two different sized heads and if you use the bigger one when you need the smaller one, you can strip the threads on your crank and then it's very difficult to remove.

Changing cranks and bottom brackets almost always effects your chainline. I can't find any measurements for either your current crank or your new crank. There are ways to measure and adjust for this though. Sheldon once again explains it all very well here: http://sheldonbrown.com/chainline.html.

It's also important to remember that one side of the bottom bracket has left-hand threads. I can never remember which one, but luckily it's usually labeled on the external (integrated) bottom brackets. If someone else knows off the top of their heads which one it is, feel free to edit it in.

Good luck!