Did I just ruined my rear shock? fox float :( My shock was quite ok, but I still tried to service it.

After dissembling, it has absolutely no oil in it. I filled with 5 ml of fox fluid, put everything together. After installed to the frame started to pump some air slowly.

The problem is that if the sag is correct, than a 20 cm drop can make the shock travel 90% (150psi 73kg), now it's 210psi, and the sag is smaller then 10%, but from an average 30cm drop still travels 70-80%.

Has anyone some idea what could I possibly messed up to have this result?

Really it could be anything, from oil weight to actually damaging something in the shock, to merely a seal issue (allowing easier internal air movement).

If you did not change the seals but it was dry when you opened it up and you opened it because you heard rubbery noises when you compressed it, then i'd be putting my money on it needing some internal seals changed.

Alternatively your shock might be totally FINE! You might have just messed up your shock pump gauge and be seeing the wrong pressure. Borrow another shock pump/guage etc to check.

The good news is you probably haven't ruined it, in the sense you need another shock, but I wouldn't go riding it until you figure out what's wrong.

The bad news is that we can't REALLY help you without actually having you photograph the shock as you take it apart and put it together again, in extreme detail.

It's unlikely that nothing went wrong (unless it's just your gauge showing the wrong pressure all of a sudden); you would still get similar travel from the unlubed shock, it just wouldn't be as smooth.


How to prevent freehub body damage? I feel like this is poor design. I have two wheelsets that are less than a year old which have damaged freehub bodys due to cogs digging in to the splines on the freehub. It's so bad that I can't remove the cassette spacer without filing down the splines. I had to use  pliers and chain whip to remove the cogs that were embedded in the freehub when trying to remove the cassette.

Most of the damage is on the center of the cassette as the largest 3 cogs are held together by carrier. I'm using a shimano 105 cassette and  Novatec disc hub and Velocity ATB convertible disc hubs (which were somewhat damaged in the same fashion, but not as bad as the novatec).

I'm using this bike for cyclocross, offroad exploring, light singletrack use, Rail trails and some road riding.

How can I prevent this damage to the freehub from happening?

From Stan's NoTubes FAQs on wheels and rims:

  Why is my cassette digging into my freehub body?

  Stan's freehubs are made lightweight using aluminum like many other brands.
  We recommend using cassettes with a rigid alloy
  carrier (XTR, XT, XO, etc. - Figure 1) for the largest sprockets.
  Cassettes with individual cogs (Figure 2) may mark the
  alloy freehub, though marks are only cosmetic and will not affect the
  performance of the hub.

From your picture it appears the freehub takes the hit from the individual sprocket.
Need the cassette to act as a unit and spread the load across all sprockets.
Tighten down more or look for cassette that has more of a body across the sprockets (rigid alloy carrier).

See how the rigid body (left) shares the force across not just the sprockets but also between the sprockets.


How to remove this kickstand without destroying anything? I have a 70's Schwinn Collegiate. It has kickstand that's welded to the frame. How can I remove this kickstand from the housing? Looking at the bottom, I can't tell if this pin needs to be pushed in or pulled out.

I want to be able to put it back together afterwards.

The pin needs to be pulled out.  You can remove it using a wrench inserted in the kickstand for leverage to push the ring and that will loosen up the pin. If you need a visual, see this video.  Hope it helps.


Is my front derailleur angled straight? I am attempting to adjust my front gears and have also been following a video to adjust the high/low position of my front derailleur.

The issue I am having is that the low adjustment is no where near the 2mm distance that the chain to front derailleur should attain. The photos below also show the distance I can achieve.

Now I am wondering;
Is the angle of my front derailleur is incorrect? If so, what should I line it up with?

I have supplied a couple of photos. Please feel free to ask for additional info.

The photo was taken while the the rear gear was on the biggest cog and the front gear was on the smallest cog. The chain is almost touching the front, pedal side of the derailleur and the chain is almost touching the derailleur at the back on the frame side.

thank you

View from the top - Click for larger

View from the rear tyre forward. Click for larger

That derailleur appears to be rotated so that the "tail" of the derailleur plate is too far from the frame.

The ideal is to have the inside plate be parallel to the chain rings, and have the bottom edge of the outer derailleur plate be between 1 and 2 mm above the top edge of the large chain ring teeth, while there is no cable attached, or it is shifted to the smallest front sprocket.

The image below is Park Tool's description of proper alignment.


How to attach Wahoo Elemnt Roam central on a RITCHEY WCS C220 110MM BLATT stem I ordered a new bike with a RITCHEY WCS C220 110MM BLATT stem. I got a Wahoo Elemnt Roam and would like to attach this centrally to the stem (not via a side mount or on top of the handle bar).
Does anyone know an adapter that fits the Ritchey stem so the Wahoo Roam is centrally attached in front of the stem (I like a clean look that`s why)?

It sounds a bit like you want the computer mounted centrally and in front of the stem. As you know Wahoo computers all come with an out front mount that attaches to the handlebar. I think that you are looking for something that doesn't clamp there, perhaps because you have accessories. In general, Googling for "out front" mount should identify most examples of this type of mount.
One logical place might be above the stem and under the stem cap. I'm aware of one such mount made by K-Edge, but it doesn't extend far enough forward, and it would leave the computer right over the stem (i.e. it will be as if you strapped a regular computer mount to the center of the stem).

Some integrated handlebar/stem combinations have a hardpoint under the centerline, to which you can attach a spoon-shaped out front mount. I assume that if you had this type of handlebar, you would have said so. Nevertheless, it's included for completeness. "Spoon computer mount" may even be the correct search string for this type of mount. One example by Barfly is pictured below.

Finally, there is a class of mounts that attaches to stem bolts or stem faceplates. Some may be proprietary to a certain manufacturer's stem. I think Bontrager makes some mounts like this, and an Easton example is depicted below. The description for the Ritchey mount that Adam linked only explicitly mentions two Ritchey stems, so I think I'd put it in the proprietary subclass of this mount type. Edit: In fact, I had not noticed that the author has one of these two Ritchey stems, and in fact, I don't think the general purpose stem mounts described below will work at all in their case!

However, there are some manufacturers that may do more universal mounts. I am aware that JRC (in the EU) makes a mount like this, and it claims to be compatible with many 4-bolt stems. I believe they should supply longer replacement stem bolts for this mount. I think there are other companies like this. It turns out that Googling "stem out front mount" appears to bring up a number of these examples, at least for me.


Can I replace a 9spd freehub with a 7spd one? On my commute this morning I established that my freehub needs replacing.  There's obviously something wrong with the ratchet mechanism, because it intermittently refuses to engage.

My existing setup is a Mavic Crossmax rear wheel (circa 1998) which originally hosted a 9spd cassette.  However I have been running it with a 4.5mm spacer and a 7spd cassette which has been working fine.

Can I replace the freehub with a 7spd one, or will that simply not work?  Is the wheel somehow dished specifically for the 9spd width?  Should I instead just buy another 9spd freehub and continue to use the 4.5mm spacer?

I did look on Sheldon's website, but couldn't find this exact scenario.

As you suspected, you may not run a 7 speed free hub with a 9 speed hub shell.  You will need a new 9 speed free hub, and continue to use the spacer ass you have been.

Hubs are not generically sized.  Each model is sized for the number of gears it is expected to work with.  Replacing the freehub will mess with your dropout spacing, or the position of the gears in relation to the wheel, or both.  It can also prevent the bearing adjustment from working properly.


Hot water to unjam trigger shifter Can I use hot water to unjam my Shimano trigger shifters? Has anyone had any experience with this?

It could hypothetically help get them working, but at that point you'll have washed out a bunch of whatever lubricant remains and should replace it with something anyway.

When they stop working, the most common problem is that the grease around the pawls has gummed up, keeping the pawls from being able to spring up into their extended position where they can catch on the toothed ring. The first thing to do is remove the cover (don't disassemble them any further than this), find the pawls, drip some oil (whatever you use on your chain is fine) around them, and work them back and forth with some kind of pointy tool. The vast majority of the time, unless there's a broken spring somewhere that renders them non-fixable anyway, this approach will fix them.


Go tubeless with used tires I have some tubeless ready wheels and tires, but they were delivered mounted with tubes the old fashion way. I’ve been riding like that for more than 800km, and I wonder if there is a problem removing the tube and add some sealant after so long. Especially since I had a puncture from a small nail, meaning the rubber from the tire already suffered a small punch.

Riding with tubes doesn't necessarily affect the tires ability to hold air without one. In fact, I find it easier to inflate tubeless set-ups where the tire has already seen some use, as the carcass gets a bit more flexible.

That being said, any and all holes in the tire need to be sealed. You may have caused some small ones all around the surface of the tire, but those should easily be handled by the sealant. Depending on the exact size if the nail-induced hole you mention, sealant just might take care of that too. If not, it can still be repaired with a dab of superglue, preferably applied to the inside of the tire.

If you happen to have suitable glue easily available, I totally recommend using it before adding sealant, as it has a tendency to make things messier and glue less likely to stick well.


Patch quality difference You can get dirt cheap bicycle patches from ebay, 48 patches for less than 1£.

How do they compare to patches from a well known brand such as TipTop or Park?

My question is only for patches that requires glue.

Patches are simply rubber with some vulcanising agent pre-applied.

The differences between cheap knockoffs and quality patches are exactly that - quality control.  Of your 48 patches, some number might be a bit thin or thick and are useless.  Or the "glue" isn't well spread, or has set or gone off.

Sometimes the thickness/cut of the patch is substituting quantity for quality, so a thicker heavier patch makes up for lower-quality rubber.  And more "glue" makes up for thin sloppy glue.

But for 1 local-currency, its not a big risk to buy some and use them.  I've got one tube with at least 10 patches around it, in use perfectly on a MTB.

As an aside, you can even make your own patches using pieces of old inner tube.  Simply cut a good shape, buff the inside to remove the oxidised rubber, apply vulcanizing agent and allow it to dry.  Then do the same to your punctured tube.


Updating Bike to Road bike I have a really old bike that hasn't been ridden in dozens of years. Now tho, I want to update it to road bike. It is in really bad condition and because I'm from Eastern Europe, my budget is low. What parts do I need to change/add/remove? Size of frame is 56cm/22".

The only easily replaced part are the tires. The rims look too wide to fit actual road racing tires, but you can probably find something with lower rolling resistance.

Other than that, this is not a road bike in the usual English sense of the word and can be turned into one only by replacing everything. Consider getting a suitable used bike instead.


Rules for rotary/roundabout? Does a cyclist have the right of way in a traffic circle/roundabout/rotary (in the US)? Any tips for riding around one of these scary things?

This past summer, I was riding around a rotary (a.k.a. roundabout) and a driver behind me wanted to leave the rotary, by turning right. Because she was driving faster than me, when she tried to turn right she almost ran into me and had to screech on her brakes - then proceeded to yell "You should have used your hand signals" to me, even though I wasn't turning (I was just following the rotary around). I am almost certain I was following the rules, am I mistaken?

I guess the rules go out the window sometimes anyway, and you have to watch your own back...

Yeah, in theory you should ride near the left edge of the right lane (if multi-lane) until you get near your exit point, at which time you mosey to the right -- "own your lane".  This is basically the same way you should ride on a road with shoulder when the shoulder converts to a turn lane.

In practice, I suspect I'd be tempted to stop, dismantle my bike, and mail it to the other side at many of the rotaries I've seen.

Keep in mind that folks in the US are largely unfamiliar with these beasts, and are often seriously confused by them.  They can easily miss seeing a bike in the confusion.


Why does my cantilever brake squeal *nearly* all the time One of my bikes has cantilever brakes on chrome rims.  With dual compound Koolstop Eagle 2 pads braking is adequate and I can rely on the front brake at least in the dry.

The back brake squeals like a stuck pig.  I could easily make it stop, but it's a much more effective warning than a bell or a shout when someone steps out in front, or when the lights change while passing stationary traffic. I like this feature.

I'll restrict this to dry conditions as wet rims obviously change the behaviour. I can drag the brake lightly without squealing, or lock up the back wheel, but intermediate braking almost always produces a loud squeal for quite a range of pressure.  My issue is the almost.  This morning was dry, and I tested over a number of stops without using the front brake.  All were from around 20 km/h (10--15miles/hour) and were planned but fairly sharp stops. Excluding when I skidded the back wheel on a dirty bit of road, it squealed with no thought on about 80% of the stops.  On the other 20%, no modulation could produce a squeal.  Why?

I have cantilever brakes on my bike so I know the feeling. They just seem much more likely to squeal than any other type of brakes I've owned.  In the spring I had a bit of squealing. I cleaned off the rim, readjusted everything (cables, toe-in, etc.), and sanded down the brake pads a bit and everything seemed to be pretty good.

I also think it's something to do with the temperature.  Ever since the temperature started to drop, my front brake (also cantilever) has been squealing a lot. Even during the summer the first few times I would use my brakes they would squeal, but once they warmed up they seemed to work fine. I wonder if anybody makes a special brake shoe using a different rubber for cold weather braking.


What are these markings on a Shimano FC-M770 crank? On the very tip of the Shimano FC-M770 crank arms there are some markings. They are to be found on both crank arms on both of my sets, so they are definitely no random scratches. I suspect these are leftovers from the hollow forging process, but I am not entirely sure. Furthermore, why has Shimano decided to not machine the tip of the arm in order to remove these markings? I mean It's an XT crank, cheaping out shouldn't be the main reason here.

The only people that can answer this with 100% genuine authority would be Shimano's R&D team.
Clearly those marking are not there by chance so lets presume what is a reasonable reason :

Weight Saving (it's going to be a fraction of a gram at best) but some people are picky
Reduced Drag (it could be a fractional difference while spinning at 90rpm as opposed to 70rpm)
Intentionally built in to make them harder to clone in the manufacturing process

Your best bet is to get in touch with Shimano and ask them, they will either tell you or they wont.


How can I avoid crashes on my urban commute? Tramlines and CBD sections especially I live in Melbourne, Australia, a city famous for its compact, grid-like CBD (downtown area) and trams. Trams mean tram tracks and hook turns. And compulsory helmets. My daily ride is only 10 km but has 32 traffic lights and the second half is shared with trams. It's the second half that really concerns me because it's busy inner-city traffic with a lot going on. The grid is less than 100 m in Elizabeth St.

I'm getting good with tram tracks. Unweighting wheels as they cross the tracks seems to be the main technique (and I haven't fallen yet). I have reasonable situational awareness, and I don't listen to music while riding, but I still have motorists "come out of nowhere" at least once a week.

What do others do about the "come out of nowhere" motorists? I'm already scanning and head-turning to look down side streets but obviously not well enough. Is there a technique I'm missing?
What's the best approach when the light is already green and there are hook turning motorists waiting? Go up the left so they don't turn right on top of me, or the right so I have space to move and am not fighting pedestrians?
How should I deal with "bicycle forward stop" boxes? They're contested by cars and I don't feel especially safe using them, and a lot of motorists seem offended that a cyclist would move over in front of them if they leave the box clear. So mostly I just use the bike lane part rather than the whole box.

3- How should I deal with "bicycle forward stop" boxes?

I deal with a "bicycle forward stop" box by using it (and being grateful that the city planners have started to arrange things for bikes). For example if cars are stopped where they should be (out of the box) and the light's red, I move into the box. It's there for me.

[I'm in Toronto where people drive on the right.]

A bike-specific stop box only happens on the roads that are designated bike routes. On the right of the box I'm in the designated bike lane (so not in any car's way, except if the lead car is hoping to turn right across the bike lane, in which case that is one scenario that the stop box is intended for, and I don't mind if they wait two or three seconds while I move off, they'd have to wait for any pedestrians anyway), and on the left of the box it's because I'll be turning left across the traffic (like any other vehicle turning left, and sometimes in a lane for left-hand-turning only).

My being in the stop box doesn't slow people behind me (on the right I'm in a bike lane, and on the left it's the on-coming traffic that's preventing the left turn; and fwiw my acceleration from a stand-still is no slower than a typical car's). The point of the stop box is to make me visible to people starting off. I like to think that (me being visible) is better for all of us: that even drivers don't want to participate in an accident with me.

I don't rarely see cars contesting them. My reaction to such a car (same as e.g. a car that's stopped in my pedestrian crossing) is to look at and make brief eye contact with the driver, looking through their windscreen. I want to see what they they look like, what/who the person is. I'd like them to see me too, to know that there's another person, outside their car. Hopefully when they're aware that it's people and not just vehicles on the road, they'll be a bit careful about their driving.

No more than that: no rude gestures, I don't want to anger people. Also my seeing who they are helps to keep me calm (and not e.g. demonize the car).

Most of my route (18 km near downtown) is bike lane, or lightly-trafficked residential street. I have two intersections though, where I need to make a left turn (across traffic) that I'm not happy with. One I don't like because it's turning across tram lines; another because it's 'arterial' roads, one without a bike lane, where cars hustle each other across a wide intersection, and I find it difficult to move across the curb-side traffic into the other left-turning lane. For those two intersections, I get off and walk across as a pedestrian. If that's what it takes to feel safe, then why not.


Does a hybrid pannier / backpack exist? From reading around on the internet I understand that pannier bags are comfortable to ride long distances with on a bicycle.

In my current rough travel plan I decided I also want to (hitch)hike a large part of the journey, so I would need a regular backpack (±70L).

To keep the costs down I wondered if there's some sort of hybrid pannier bag that not only can be hooked on to a bike, but also to a "body harness" in practice becoming a backpack.
I found some hybrids but these are small and have far less volume than a hiking backpack.

So does a system where I can carry multiple pannier bags on my back exist?

Yes. I own a north st bags convertible pannier and think it works great.  It hangs a bit low, so don't try and use it on low rider racks.

http://northstbags.com/products/woodward

Also see Richard Jones Convertible Backpack

http://www.convertiblebackpacks.us/

Also try WOHO bags "NINJA NINJA" convertible backpack:

http://www.wohobike.com/product.php?linkid=133


Is it OK if my brake pads are not “just” touching the rotor in my cable disc brake bike? Mountain bike, cable disc brakes.

My bike suddenly took a lot of effort to ride after maintenance. So I loosened the cable locking bolt and released more cable for my bike.

It’s running much better now and the brakes seem to work fine though looser, but not so loose that the lever go too close to the handlebars once engaged.

On online resources I see that they adjust the brakes so that they are just touching the disc? If the gap between the brake pads and rotor is bigger but the brakes are not too loose, is that ok too?

Yes, saying to make it "just touching" is kind of misleading. If you can get it adjusted so there's some gap and it never touches but the brake is adequately grabby without danger of bottoming out against the bar, that's a good place to be.


Are there any bike tires that can hold 500 lbs (225 kg) each? I'm trying to design a 5 foot by 10 foot trailer to tow behind my bike and wanted to use bike tires.

I googled this: "bike tire load chart" — but found nothing useful there.

The most useful thing I found was a site for "big people" and they had bikes that supported up to 550lbs on 2 wheels.

I am looking for more like 1000lbs on 2 wheels.

Actually I found some charts here and it looks like that about 500 lbs is max.

It looks like a motorcycle tire might be a better bet.  See here

At those weights you're looking at three wheels minimum and maybe four.

Simply loading 1000 pounds (500 kg) onto a trailer will be difficult without a lifter of some sort, and you would have to balance it perfectly over the axle.  On a car trailer, nose weight can be several hundred kilos acceptably, but on your bike any more than 2-5 kilos could see the whole thing rotate on the axle while loading.

Three wheels with a super-low slung platform would be safer.

You'll also require power brakes because 500 kilos is a LOT of weight.  I've ridden with 100 kilos on a trailer and it was really too much - had problems getting moving, and it was hard to get over intersections from stopped.

A 2 degree upslope in the road to go over a railway crossing damn-near stopped me cold, and the similar downslope on the other side was a surprise too.

Also check with your local road rules about what constitutes a maximum size and weight for a bicycle.  Could be the dimensions you're planning make the bike too big and could be classed as something else.

Don't be a danger to yourself and other road users - this project sounds dangerous.  I'm all for bikes in life, but look to hire movers or use a car trailer for this one.

bikecalculator.com says that a 500 kilo bike with a 75 kilo rider doing 150 watts on the flat will achieve around 15 km/h (9 mph)  Same combo with a bike of 10 kilos is 28 km/h

I haven't got a good calculation for stopping time for those masses from those velocities, but 5 times the weight will take a minimum of 5 times as long and your stopping distance will be much greater, to the point it would be unsafe for you and others to be sharing the roadway.


A general explanation of rim, tire and tube specifications My bike's manufacturer page specifies that it has a rim size of 700CX14GX36H.  It provides a tire size of 7X28C.  It also mentions that it uses high performance 700C tires, which I think is also referenced in the rim size.

I just replaced my tube by myself for the first time, and it was easy enough to determine that I needed a 700x28c size tube, but I would really like to know what all these specifications I'm seeing mean.

Can someone provide an explanation of what general rim, tire and tube size specifications mean?

700CX14GX36H means it's a:

700c rim (actually ISO 622mm diameter, as the Sheldon Brown page linked by Brad describes)
taking 14 gauge spokes
with 36 spoke holes

So, you need to know the 700c bit if you're buying tyres or tubes, you need to know the 14g bit if you're replacing spokes, and you need to know the 36H bit if you're re-lacing the rim to a new hub (which will need to have 36 spoke holes to match).

Some Context

700c and 14 gauge spokes is standard for road bike wheels.
36 is a fairly high spoke count, meaning it should be durable and relatively easy to repair and re-true. On the other hand, lower spoke-count wheels may be lighter and more aerodynamic (at the possible cost of being more fragile and harder to repair).

  Can someone provide an explanation of what general tire and tube size specifications mean?

700x23 means a tyre fitting a 700c rim, with approximate inflated cross-sectional diameter of 23mm. 700x32 is a fatter (32mm vs. 23mm) tyre for the same diameter rim. Note that even for the "correct" diameter, different tyres fit more or less easily on different rims.

A tube described as 700x18-23 would fit the first (700x23) tyre, but would be likely to burst before filling the greater volume of the fatter 700x32 tyre.

As for a general explanation ... Sheldon's table is probably the best you're going to get.


Sunglasses for cycling - what features to look for? I need some new sunglasses for cycling - what features will actually be helpful - I've seen ones with vents, polarized lens, rubberised frame, replaceable lens . I just need the best value model that looks good.

Definitely something plastic, as that's going to be both safer and lighter than glass.

I'd look for something that was polarizing, as that will reduce glare, and something that offers UV protection.

You also should be aware that different colour lenses suit different light conditions, so you might need to make a decision based upon when you normally ride. I note that you live in London - I'm in the UK too and given our frequently poor light conditions, for the majority of the year I ride with clear (but high contrast) lenses.

Here's a colour chart I found a couple of years ago, to give you an idea.

As for replaceable lenses, they're a great idea but make sure you have an idea of the costs involved first. I got some glasses a couple of years ago and found that the cost of the spare lenses was disproportionate to the cost of the glasses themselves. (But still cheaper than 2 pairs of glasses.)

Another thing would be fit. You don't want them moving around as you cycle - I made the mistake once of buying some nice glasses mail order, when they arrived they were too loose on my head.

Lastly, if you come the the same conclusion as I did about using clear lenses, consider safety glasses such as these. They hit the same quality standards as bike glasses but are a fraction of the price. They are more fragile than cycling glasses but if I go through three pairs a year, its still cheaper.

Aside from that, how much do you want to spend? The pros seem to ride Oakley Radarlocks at the moment but, for what they are, the price is staggering.


Is there a more sophisticated tool than Rohloff HG-Check I bought the Rohloff HG-Check as it was apparently the only tool out there to measure cassette wear.

IMHO it's just too uncomfortable to use and with practice and good sight you can actually determine faster if the cassette needs to be changed.

Already checked:  How to tell when to replace cassette?

Is there a tool more sophisticated/expensive or even unknown to the general public that I can check? And or easier/faster to use.

Plain honest, I'm just not that good checking wear by eyesight.

I bought one too - on the same idea of having a better way to check for chain/cassette wear.   Its pretty useless to be honest.

The best tool for knowing how much mileage is on a chain/cassette is a set of accurate records.   Cars have mileometers/odometers and stationary engines have hour meters.  Sadly bikes don't have the same hardware.

So I record every ride on Strava, and religiously use the "My Gear"* options to note when things were changed.  Works for me

* For clarity, that's "gear" in the sense of "equipment", rather than specifically gears as in cogs.

But records don't help where you have a bike with unknown provenance.  For those you have to fire up the eye-crometer and make an educated guess.   And ride it, if feasible.  You can find more faults quicker in a 30 second ride than any other way.


Creaking on hard pedaling I'm trying to locate a creak when I pedal uphill.

Tightened chainring bolts and rear derailer hanger. I don't see much to do with the bottom bracket (sram xx1). Pedals are tight. Chain, cassette, and rear hub are new.

It sounds like it's coming from the bottom bracket but everything sounds like it's coming from there.

What could it be?

2015 Mondraker Foxy carbon

edit: It's not the bottom bracket or the chainring or the wheels. I can reproduce it by pushing the suspension. I have no idea what to do with the linkages though.

I have a carbon hardtail which I used to ride the Great Divide MTB route last summer. About halfway through I had a similar issue which I couldn't seem to resolve; a creak everytime I put power through the pedal stroke. I took apart and cleaned the cranks, pedals, axle, checked BB bearings for play, etc... No change.

Finally, I took my bike in to a local bike shop when we got to the next town and the owner there straight away asked if I'd checked the rear axle. I hadn't as it didn't seem a likely suspect... It turns out, with the large amount of dust and occasional mud the bike had been subjected to and with no opportunity to give it a good thorough clean, some dirt had accumulated between the rear axle quick release clamp and the frame. When I put power through the pedals, the frame was flexing quite significantly ( exacerbated in part because of all the bikepacking gear strapped to it) and causing the axle to creak as it shifted on each stroke. I gave it a good clean, added a drop of lube, tightened it up and... hey presto, problem solved.

Not guaranteed to be this but it's an easy thing to check (especially compared to pulling out your BB) so worth having a look.


How to avoid buckle wheel? So I have been commuting to work on my bike for about 12 months. The route takes me over a mixture of asphalt and some rocky forest trails. Just last week, I managed to get my rear wheel buckle. It got continuously worst over the last few days.

My bike is a Raleigh trekker bike. Similar to this one

http://www.raleigh-bikes.de/en/modelle/2014/trekking-sport/rushhour-10.html

What are some techniques that I can use to minimise buckling my rear wheel?

update: Thanks for the info. I had a closer look and found that the spoke was not able to extend itself enough to accommodate the bending of the rim. This must have occurred when I side hit a rock in the forest.

Start by checking the tension on the spokes of your wheel. To do this you'll need a spoke wrench that fits your spokes. There are lots of fancy tools for the job, but all you have to have is the spoke wrench.

Within reason, the tighter the better. Ideally what you will have is even tension on all of the spokes on one side of the wheel. There are fancy tensiometers to show you what you've got (and very effective and inexpensive apps for smart phones like Spoke Tension Gauge), or if you've got a good ear you can pluck the spokes like a guitar string and get an idea of how even the spoke tensions are by the pitch you hear.

This is especially important on the rear wheel where the gear cluster means that the hub isn't symmetrical and more tension is required on the drive side (right) spokes to keep the rim centered and true. If the drive side isn't tight enough, then the non-drive side will be too loose to support the rim adequately. One way you'll notice that the spokes are too loose is that you'll hear "pinging" noises from the wheel as you ride.

With disc brakes you can get away with a lot of wobble in the wheel, so I'd really encourage you to try it yourself before having a "pro" work on your wheel. It is fun and kind of meditative – just remember that everything affects everything else, and once the wheel is getting up to tension it makes sense to make balanced changes – tighten one spoke and loosen the spokes it pulls against.

If you want to know more about building and working on wheels, see if your library has The Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt, Sheldon Brown also has posts on wheel building and truing and other repairs.


Bought Wrong Bike: What To Do Now? Yesterday I purchased a Scott Scale 940.  I bought this bike because I really wanted a carbon bike with a lockout suspension.  After buying it, however, I just find it really tedious to ride. I have high end Kevlar Continental tires on it, but the bike is just too difficult for me to get up to speed on any kind of pavement.  Also, the handlebars are too wide and I just cannot find a good riding position. To be honest, it’s a beautiful bike, but it’s just not for me.  Needless to say, I spent a lot of money on it.
Now, after further consideration, I think I should have opted for a gravel bike modified to a flat handlebar.
I am not sure what to do.  Any thoughts about asking my LBS?  I feel like I am now stuck with a nearly $2000.00 piece of metal that is just going to sit in my garage.
Any help is appreciated.

Editor's note
The OP mentioned the following use case in a comment:
Riding not on roads but on sidewalks (allowed in Florida), other suburban paths, and well developed trails? One of the most used areas around here is the Gainesville-Hawthorne trail. (Editor: this appears to be a paved multi-use trail separate from motor traffic.)

Here is another thing to do now: think about what sort of riding you want to do. The Scott Scale appears to be a performance-oriented hardtail MTB. I am not familiar with MTB disciplines, but it may be a cross country (XC) race bike. It is slow on pavement because it is designed for a completely different environment.
If you are mainly on paved roads or trails, there is little need for front suspension. Your tires can provide adequate suspension. Also, drop handlebars offer a better riding experience for most because they give you a large number of potential hand positions. And you don't need knobby tires for traction on paved roads. Actually, while it might seem alarming at first, you can run slick tires on dirt roads. It's only when you start to get a lot of loose gravel or mud that tire tread starts to become meaningful.
If you are mainly riding technical MTB trails, then you need an MTB, or possibly a more MTB-oriented gravel bike. For this type of riding, flat bars do offer advantages. Admittedly, because this is not my preferred type of cycling, I can't speak personally to this. My understanding is that they offer easier and/or more ergonomic braking on steep and/or extended off-road descents. Also, among MTBs, there is a spectrum of capability, with XC bikes being mainly oriented towards light weight and quick handling, trail and all-mountain handling better on descents than XC bikes, and a few more types besides. As I am not current on modern MTBs, I can't tell if enduro bikes just have more suspension travel and descend better than all-mountain bikes, or if there are qualitative differences as well. While this does not seem to fit the OP's use case, a prospective rider who is more oriented toward MTBs might want to do some exploration into the types of riding they expect to do and to enjoy.
If you are riding on general unpaved terrain, it may have a mix of more straight and open dirt or gravel roads and more technical terrain. At this point, the mix will influence your bike choice between a gravel bike and an MTB. There's also personal preference. A lot of people will prefer hardtail MTBs. However, suspension may or may not be strictly necessary to enjoy the ride. In addition, gravel bikes can be used on paved and unpaved roads alike; you may wish to change to slick tires if you are mostly on the road, but even knobby gravel tires roll faster on pavement than MTB tires.
Be aware that modifying a gravel bike to have flat handlebars will be expensive. You are talking about getting a new bar and shifters, likely a different stem to account for the different reach, and I believe new derailleurs. You then need to re-cable the bike and re-bleed the brakes. Why do you feel you need flat handlebars? Is it due to terrain? Is it due to a well-informed personal preference? If the latter, consider that there are a handful of gravel bikes that are offered in stock flat bar configurations, and I imagine there are some fully rigid MTBs. If it is not an informed preference, I would strongly consider trying out drop bars.
The above answer was given mostly from the point of view of performance-oriented bikes. For the use case mentioned in the comments of another answer, a hybrid bicycle might be worth serious consideration. If one is not comfortable with the riding position of a road bike, a hybrid offers a more upright position and usually thicker tires - which offer more suspension than the tires on many road bikes. I alluded to this above, but for riding on paved trails, I would eschew suspension as it is unnecessary. It would add weight, plus you are paying for the suspension. Without it, you could get a cheaper bike, or a bike with better specs on other important parts.


Proper way of choosing hubs Not a product rec question, I mostly need to know the way of selecting the correct hubs for me.

I've got a GT Avalanche 9R expert and I'm not happy with it's hubs.

I use this bike only for xcm and other off-road riding - as I understand I need to have a hub with industrial bearings (not sure if it's the correct word) - right? What difference makes the number of them? (Some have 2, some 4)
(A bit more specific one) That's what I've found in specs:

Should I look only for QR models of I can use 10mm through axle?

Now I have a center-lock rotor mount. Is it interchangeable with 6-bolt?

If you are having to service hubs after a 50km ride in wet and muddy conditions something is wrong. All bearings on modern hubs are 'sealed'; not hermetically, but enough to prevent ingress of water and dirt and should not need servicing so often.

Just to address you other questions:

Re 'industrial bearings' I think you mean cartridge bearing types (which use industrial standards for sizes and quality). You don't need these per se. Cup and cone bearings work fine.

You cannot use through-axles on a frame designed for quick release axles. Some hubs are convertible from TA to QR though.

Center lock and 6-bolt rotors are not interchangeable.

With inexpensive wheels it's not cost effective to replace hubs because new hub, new spokes and the cost of rebuilding the wheel is comparable to the cost of a whole wheel.


dishing on alfine hub I am building a wheel with an Alfine 8 speed hub which has space for a disk brake.
I am measuring the dishing by supporting the rim and measuring the distance from the table to the end of the through bolt of the hub, then flipping the wheel over, make the same measurement and then compare. They should be the same so that the hub is in the middle of the rim.

I am now on my third attempt after truing the wheel laterally and vertically I check the dishing and it is leaning towards the right (chain side) by over 1cm, cm not mm. By eyeing the wheel the hub does not look too out of center.

My question: is this method of measuring the dishing suitable for an Alfine hub with disc brake or should I expect some difference between the sides.  Basically the difference is too great to be altered by adjusting the spokes.

Thanks for reading.

That sounds like it should work, although I would be measuring to the axle nut, not the axle itself, as the axle may not have exactly the same amount sticking out of both sides of the hub (likely not an issue). If the rim is dished to the right then your driveside spokes are too tight and/or your non drive side spokes are too loose. Give everything about a half a turn- driveside loosened, non drive side tightened- and see where it gets you. Also, are you using a spoke tensiometer?
Let me offer an alternate method of getting your wheel trued up without a truing stand which might make things easier for you. Take your wheel (no tire) and drop it in your frame with the bike upside down, or put it in a workstand if you have one. Don't put the chain on. Attach a couple of zip ties to the chainstays or seatstays and cut them short, but not so short that they wont touch the rim. you can rotate the zip ties on the stays to get the closer to or further away from the rim to gauge how close to true you are and you can slide them up and down on the stays to see how close to round your are. That is basically the same way a professional truing stand works. When you are close on one side, flip the wheel around in the dropouts and repeat the process until you're happy with the results.


How close to the kerb should I cycle? I'm new here, and also pretty new to cycling as my main form of travel. Note that I'm from the UK, so we drive on the left. I always ride on the lane closest to the kerb. On one of my journeys I have to go over a dual carriageway, and I noticed that quite a lot of cars overtake me too close for my comfort (like if I deviated a bit to the right, they would hit me). I also noticed that it gets worse if I'm closer to the edge of the road. Because cars try to overtake me in the same lane, rather than waiting for the lane to the right of them to be empty so that they can overtake properly. If instead I am far enough into the lane that there isn't enough room for their car to overtake me on that lane, then these 'close overtakes' occur less frequently.

I don't want to be inconsiderate to drivers by hogging the road and preventing them from overtaking me, but I also don't want to jeopardise my safety by incentivising dangerous overtaking. Is there a guideline on this?

You are already riding considerately by the sounds of it which is great.. I can only advise though on what I used to do. The Highway Code is somewhat vague regarding exact rule for cyclists.. However you ARE entitled to be on the road and drivers ARE obliged to give you plenty of room when overtaking you.

As a racing cyclist (a few years ago now) I would always ride about 2 feet away from the curb, especially on roads that were wide enough for it not to be a problem. This would allow me to clear the drain covers and any recesses they were in, whilst also avoiding the stones & debris which is often laying at the roadside.. I don't think in all my years of road training that I ever had a real problem with drivers.. Well apart from the selfish few that believed that I should just not exist on their road.. But you'll always get those ☺

Personally I wouldn't advise riding towards the middle of lanes as I know of folk who've been hit directly from behind doing this, as they've just not been seen at all.. as hard as that is to believe.

IMO I'd rather be passed closely than hit directly from behind. This has even happened to my brother as he was stopped at traffic lights on a large motorbike.

On your dual carriageway if there is no cycle track/lane just be careful and aware.. Ride about 2 feet from the curb, wear bright clothing and use a red strobing rear LED light, even in the daytime! Also as the roads are so busy and damaged these days a small camera may be worth considering. Not only would it be helpful in the event of an accident, but it will also assist with any claims to the council for damage to your wheels & tyres etc travelling on todays broken roads..

I have been refunded on a couple of occasions after providing pictures to the council of damage to my wheels and tyres due to hitting large water filled pot holes in the wet.

Take care and ride safe


Bicycle to tricycle conversion kits I have back and balance problems and am blind in one eye so DMV took my drivers license away. I have been looking at conversion kits to turn a bike into a trike.

None of the sellers have contacted have been much help on specifics of whether modifications can be made. I live on a very steep dirt road in the desert. I think that I need duel disk brakes on the back wheels and a differential. I will have to ride the brakes all the way for the first 1.5 miles. It is a 1 foot in 10 feet slope.

A recumbent trike will not do because I cannot take any pressure from the rear on my back. Sitting up right is not easy but I can do it. So I need to go slow down hill (dragging my feet is not an option). To go up hill I will need a very low (less than 1 to 1) gear. I mean walking speed low. And I have to do it on a low budget.

Does anyone have experience with the 7 speed bike to trike kits. Can the rear gears be changed. I figure I can put a really small gear on the front crank and a larger one on the back. Does that make sense? I found one manufacturer in Brazil who makes an 7 speed bike to trike adapter for reasonable price but have not gotten any response to my questions. Oh. I already know that I will not be able to make sharp turns at speed.

It might be more practical to invest in a trike that is a trike by design through and through. I am not sure what your budget is like, but this sounds like what you need. It's still a Pedal powered tricycle, but the electric assist will help you up that hill, especially if you are loaded down with groceries, etc. https://www.vitalitymedical.com/ewheels-ew-29-electric-trike-red-bundle.html


UK supplier of short toe clips for small footed woman My wife has size 4 feet and we are struggling to find a comfortable set of toeclips for her.

At the moment, even the Zefal 043 "medium" clips are too long, leaving her with her feet almost centred on the pedal.

We are looking for a set of strapped, two-pronged toe clips, ideally nylon, but which have a shorter than normal plate. Does anyone know of a such a product and where it can be obtained in the UK?

(Clipless pedals are not under consideration....)

Thanks in advance.

MKS, while alloy, makes smaller toe clips. I personally have a set of their small toe clips as I wanted to reduce toe overlap.

http://www.mkspedal.com/English/MKS_padal_news.htm

Most places that distribute MKS toe clips can order you the XS or Small size.


Sturmey Archer 3-Speed Hub Slipping? I'm about to go look at a 1972 Raleigh.  The seller says that the bike slips out of third gear into neutral.  Is this a simple fix (e.g. a cable adjustment), or should I stay away from such a purchase?

Also, when I go to inspect the bike, what should I look for to determine the difficulty of this repair?

Daniel summed up the first half of your question pretty well. For the second half, start by visiting this link to learn how to adjust the hub. When you go to inspect the bike try what you've learned first. If the shift lever is obviously sticky it may just need new cable and housing. Other than that, it's hard to tell. Internally geared hubs typically aren't a component that you visually inspect. If it's potentially trashed, 1972 isn't really a vintage that would be worth rebuilding. If the hub is trashed and you're really in love with the bike, you could always replace the rear wheel with a new one. 3 speed internally geared hubbed wheels are typically pretty cheap. Or you could wait for another bike like it to come around. Most bikes from around that time period are a dime a dozen.


Shimano MTB levers with Shimano flat mount road disk brakes (hydraulic) Can you use Shimano MTB levers with Shimano flat mount road disk brakes (hydraulic)? Cheers

Yeah you can do that. Just make sure you use a new olive and insert pin.

I have seen it done on a self build frame of a guy as the wanted to integrate the brake as much as possible in the rear. You can follow the link and use and use a translator as it is in german.

https://www.mtb-news.de/news/2018/12/20/bike-der-woche-suit-1-eigenbau/


Anti-puncture options I ride my bike to work. But every time I get a flat tire, my schedule is messed up because bike shops are not easily available on my town.

Is there any other option besides puncture-proof tires?

Over the years I've dealt with a variety of puncture inducing issues ranging from desert thorns to broken glass to nails and tacks and metal shards.  While I agree with the other replies here that you shouldn't expect a puncture proof tire, there are some things you can do.  Below are some of the tips and tricks that I have picked up over the years.  The best answer for you is going to depend on what kind of bike you are using.

Start with a high quality, puncture resistant tire.  I know you asked for other options, but a quality tire can make all of the difference.  The Schwalbe Marathon Plus HS 440 is easily the most puncture resistant tire that I have ever used.  I have arrived at work with ~50 desert thorns stuck into these tires without losing any air.  More details available here: http://www.schwalbetires.com/bike_tires/road_tires/Marathon_Plus_HS440.  Less industrious options (that are more suitable for road bikes where weight may be a concern) include the Continental 4000s and Continental GatorSkin tires.
Ensure that your tires are properly inflated.  And double check the pressure at least weekly.
Inspect and replace your tires frequently.  When your tires get too thin, they are more prone to punctures.  While there is no exact science as to when you should replace a tire, I tend to do it sooner than later and have found that this significantly reduces the number of flats that I get.
Consider using a sealant inside your tubes.  This is a liquid that will help to patch small holes in your tube as punctures happen.  The two leading options here are Slime and Stans.  Slime is thicker and is sold both pre-installed in a tube and separately (for injection into any tube). Stans is thinner and only sold separately (as far as I know).  You can use an inexpensive syringe kit to inject the sealant into a tube through the valve stem.  As a tire rotates the sealant will disperse throughout the tube.  In the event of a puncture, the air rushing out is mixed with sealant, which results in the puncture getting patched on the fly.  When it works properly, you might only lose a small amount of air and not even have to get off your bike.  Of course you should replace that air when possible.  And, depending on the size of the puncture, you may opt to replace that tube soonish as well.  Typically Slime is recommended for lower pressure tires whereas Stans works well in higher pressure tires, due to the tradeoffs inherent with the thickness of each sealant.
Finally, when I was living the the US Southwest with lots of desert thorns, some people used a setup they liked to call "the system".  This involved taking an old tire and cutting off the bead.  Then installing this old tire between your tube and your new tire.  The second layer of rubber provides a powerful barrier against punctures.  Of course, it is also heavy and a large pain to install.  I'd suggest that this is somewhat extreme, but I know people that love it so I figured it was worth mentioning here.

After taking all of these precautions, you should always carry the parts and tools needed to change a flat.  With luck, the suggestions above will significantly reduce your need to use such items.  But, it is always better to be prepared.  Again, depending on your bike you may want to carry 1 or more tubes, a portable pump, tire levers, CO2 cartridges, a tube patch kit (I personally don't like these because I find that getting a good patch is often a game of chance, but some people love them), and some nitrile gloves.


Conceptual: Bike Lights built into Grips I am a design student and avid cyclist and am currently working on a design project for school. I had an idea for locking handlebar grips that have LED lights built into them. If you can picture MTB grips or even BMX grips for that matter, essentially there would be an extra 2 maybe 3 or so inches towards the inside of the grip where the inner "ring" on a BMX grip would be (side of the grip closest to the stem). This would give enough extra space to house a few LED's and batteries as well and would be operated by the thumbs of the rider. The intent of this grip is to not only provide safety and visibility for the rider (as you would have 2 "headlights") but to also deter theft as grips are a complete pain in the ass to take off.

Anyway, my question for all of you is do you see any value in this concept? I know there are other options out there for theft proof lights but I feel like a seamless integration would make it less of a "target" if even at all. Honestly if any of you have suggestions or things you think would enhance this idea any feedback would be much appreciated. Thanks for your time. And remember this project is conceptual...there are no wrong answers.

You would be entering in a very busy market with no obvious advantages. Let's look at the two types of LEDs that you might use:

If you're using inexpensive and low-power 5050 LEDs (15 lumens@350mW; usually ganged in groups), then you could power the lights off button cells (two CR2032s would power one 5050 LED for about 3 hours; 3 x 5050s for one hour) but even ganged you really don't have enough lumens to be compelling against $5-10 strap on lights.
If you're using high power Cree type LEDs (300 lumens@3.2 watts), you can charge more but you are going to run into problems with battery life, installation, charging, and optics with your design.

Analysis

I don't see sufficient depth/space in the design for sufficient optics. Again, not a problem for 5050s since they are so weak and diffuse. But for high-power Cree-types, you need beam forming reflectors and optics. The consumer won't be able to aim the light laterally with Crees (unless you have movable optics inside). The angle at which handlebars are bent viz a viz the stem is variable -- from straight-straight to a small bend to a severe bend.  Not a problem for 5050s with diffuse lighting, but people at the higher price points of a Cree want a sharply focused light that goes in front of them.

Second, assuming you use Crees and 18650s, how are you going to charge them? For removable lights, you can just take them off and bring them in the house to charge. Many bikes are stored in sheds without power. Having to string a charger and micro-USB cable all the way to handlebars is going to be undoable for many.

Finally, regardless of Crees or 5050s, the positional relationship of the lights to the brake/shift levers is unclear and installation may be difficult. BMX trick bikes might not have brakes but most consumers will want lights on a street-legal bicycle. If your lights are in the grips, they'll be obscured by the brakes -- and your design is incompatible with grip shifters. If your lights are located further inward, inside of the brakes/shifters, then the consumer has to take the grips, brakes, and shifters off to install -- and you'd have to find a way to get your power (if using Crees) from the battery inside the bar to the lights. Installation would involve drilling the bar or tucking the wiring under the grip and past the brake/shifters. Not something that your average parent could do, so you'd have to add the cost of shop labor.

So because of these issues (optics, charging, battery life or installation difficulties) I don't see how you're going to be able to do it with Crees. You might be able to do it with 5050s but with the amount of diffuse light you're going to get out of it, I think your price point for 5050s is < $50 for a pair, which is going to be tough to make any profit for you.

Additional back of napkin calculations for those who wanted to know if it's possible with 18650s:

Using a single Cree XP-G driven at 1000 mA (250% luminous flux; about 300 raw lumens), you are burning 3.2 volts × 1 A = 3.2 watts.  A high quality 18650 is 3.6 Ah × 3.7 v = 13.3 watt-hours. Boost driver efficiency at 85% gives you 11.3 watt-hours, so you have just under 4 hours of time with an 18650 at full (250%) power.

Mountain bikes have a handlebar diameter of 22mm. 18650s have a nominal diameter of 18mm (i.e., 18-650) but are often closer to 19mm actual because of the insulation and power protection circuitry). It's a tight squeeze. It won't work with many drops.

14500 lithiums would fit for sure as they're the same dimension as AAs (14mm D x 50mm L). However, they only have 900 mAh (fake ones will advertise more but are fake) which is 3.2 watt-hours or about 3 watt-hours after booster. So just about one hour of full (250%) power with one 14500, but you can serially gang the 14500 into two or three, depending on the curve of your handlebar (which would limit which bars it could fit into).


Adjusting Hozan spoke threading tool for different spoke gauges On the hozan spoke rolling tool it is possible to vertically adjust part that holds the spoke, so that spoke would be at the same level as the center of rollers.

When rolling #15 spokes instead of #14, or rolling double butted #14 (so the part of the spoke which is held is actually #15), is it necessary to readjust vertical position of the spoke to take into account different width of the spoke? Or this difference is to small to require readjustment?

I have inadvertently threaded many spokes with my Hozan not properly centered vertically -- so much that the threaded ends were bent slightly. They laced up fine in the wheels. Of course I corrected this after I noticed, but I'd say the difference I got due to my error was much more than the fraction of a mm difference you'd get in height by moving between those spoke sizes.

The vertical centering is so imprecise, were I to move to another size, and if I had mine nicely centered already, I wouldn't bother trying to recenter, because I think I'd be equally likely to make it worse.

But I second the notion of threading a spare(s) of different sizes to see if you even notice a difference.


Triple crank, extra click while downshifting I have an Ultegra triple crankset and shifters on a Giant road bike. When downshifting from the outer ring to the middle ring it requires an extra click.

I've experienced this on several triple chainring bikes that I've owned and wondered if it is just the nature of a triple or if I'm out of adjustment somewhere?

Some shifters have an extra click that is used to 'trim' the front derailleur as the chain moves across the cassette.  This is to eliminate the noise of the chain gently rubbing the plates of the FD.

This data sheet for an Ultegra 6700 shifter has a section to explain this feature:
https://si.shimano.com/pdfs/si/SI-6SC0A-002-ENG.pdf


Chain alignment on jockey wheel Going over the lower jockey wheel (see first picture), my chain rubs against the inboard side of the cage and sometimes snags.  It is a brand new derailleur (Shimano Acera M360) and a new derailleur hanger.  I've tried adjusting the cable tension, the limit screws, and the B screw, but none of those seems to affect it.
I've also noticed that the chain twists a bit between the front chain ring and the rear derailleur (2nd photo), but I'm not sure if the two are related.  Any suggestions are appreciated.

Chain against the left (inner) side of the cage.

Chain twisting between the front chainring and rear jockey wheel.

Check the derailleur hanger alignment, and that the derailleur is mounted properly without the bolt being cross-threaded.
You can check the derailleur alignment by eye. Pick up the back of the back of the bike and look down the line of the top run of the chain. (This can also be done with the bike upside down).
The derailleur cage should look like it is parallel to the chainrings. Often the bottom end of the cage can get pushed inward.
If the hanger is bent a bike store can re-align it for you with a special tool.


Bicycle maintenance notes, technical book: do you have one? Well, I drive a car and I have a technical book (maintenance) and automatically I want to do the same for my newly bought bicycle. I would love to track repairs, maintenance schedules, changed / added parts, at the same time stats (weight, part durability per km), mileage and stuff like that...

Unfortunately, when I bought my bike I did not receive any of such kind. So, my questions would be:

Do you have 'technical maintenance book'?
Maybe you have a digital template?
Maybe I could buy one somewhere?
Or maybe there is a better way you could suggest :)

I believe that good bike owners should properly take care of their bikes thus providing better value on resale and future maintenance.

Maintenance on a bike is much less than maintenance on a car. It is a much, much simpler machine with far fewer parts. As such there isn't such a thing as a maintenance schedule or service book.

That said, there are a few things you should do;

Tyres
Visual inspection and pressure check once per week.

Chain
The chain needs to be cleaned and lubricated. The frequency will depend on how much and how long you ride, as well as the conditions. I ride on average 100-150 miles a week and do mine roughly once per fortnight. In the winter when it rains a lot and there is salt spread on the road it tends to be weekly.

You should also check your chain for wear and stretching occasionally. You can buy a tool to measure the stretch. A decent chain will last anything from 5000-10000 miles or less if it isn't looked after.

You might also want to replace your cassette when you replace your chain, but this can be expensive. Again, if looked after a cassette should last 10000 miles easily.

Brakes
Check and adjust every so often, maybe once per month. Brake cables stretch and the blocks wear out and need replacing.

Gears
Once set up correctly gear mechanisms generally don't require much maintenance. On a new bike you may need to adjust after a month or so due to cable stretch.

Other components such as head sets, bottom brackets, wheel hubs etc are generally very long lasting and shouldn't require regular maintenance. In fact these mostly now come as unserviceable sealed units.


i have an se dirt jumper with 4 sealed bearings in the rear hub, can i convert it from QR to solid axle? i dont want the quick release for single speed, i want to ditch the skewer for a solid axle to torque it down good for single speed...  my LBS mechanic said they couldnt do it but with sealed bearings in the hub that seems absurd, any thoughts?

If your LBS mechanic looked at it, and said it wouldn't work, why would any of us second guess a professional on a project which can't even look at? There are many reasons I can think of why doing so is a bad idea, even if it works technically.

The biggest reason I can think of for it not working technically is that an axle for a sealed bearing hub has large, machined areas designed to interface with the inside race of the bearing. A solid axle, unless specifically made for that hub, isn't going to be machined to fit the bearing race.

In addition, most axles for sealed bearing wheels are aluminum, which is fine when using a compression closure like the quick release, but which is a poor, and very likely unsafe, material for a threaded closure system like a single speed axle nut.


Do my large and small chainrings need replacing? My drivetrain has 10,000km on it at the moment and the chain and cassette are more than due for replacement. The middle chainring looks badly worn to me and I'm going to replace it as well.

I'm wondering if I should replace the large and/or small chainrings as well, particularly the large which is more expensive than the other two combined.

The photos below should show the wear on all three chainrings. I'm hoping someone can offer advice on the large/small chainrings based on the photos.

If it helps, of the 10,000km on these chainrings, I would estimate less than 500km of that is on the smallest ring, and probably less than 2,000km on the largest ring. I'm mostly a middle-ring rider.

Thanks.

Middle and Large Chainrings:

Small and Middle Chainrings:

No, replacing the middle is pretty reasonable at this point but the others are okay. Little rings in particular you very seldom see someone actually wear out.


How to avoid damaging spoke nipples when wheel building I have just successfully built two wheels.
The final step of the process was perfecting the true and the dish.
I used a spoke key for this, and this resulted in unwanted scuffing and nicks on the (brass) spoke nipples.
Is there any way I could have avoided this?

Using a high quality spoke key that engages on 4 sides (and fits properly) usually avoids this problem, even with coloured alu nipples.


How to equip a bike to avoid parts being stolen I'm looking for a bike (road bike) in Paris, to move around and avoid train and subways. The only thing that I don't want, is to see my bike stolen a week after I bought it.

What are the good ideas to keep it's bike when riding in town ? What equipments can be put to avoid parts to be stolen (like the seat, the wheels etc.) ?

EDIT

Are there any cheep brands that sell bikes with equipment that cannot be taken from the bike ?

There are various proprietary brands of security hardware such as pinhead and pitlock.  I use the former on both my bikes, for the wheels (QR and nutted), headset, saddle and seat post. Pinhead fittings at least are stocked both side of the Atlantic (I suggest with either that you buy a spare key at the same time).

The bike I keep outside has further features: wherever possible, accessories (such as the bottle cage and pannier rack, even the bracket for a removable light) are attached using anti-tamper torx screws (picture is of the tool). The tool is readily available if uncommon, so it is mainly a deterrent against casual thieves but so far so good. I had a whole front light attached this way and half the light was taken/vandalised shop that may give you an idea of the limits to this approach.

You need a good locking strategy. I use a D-lock through the back wheel, both chain stays and a bike rack, work a separate cable lock through the front wheel, front triangle, helmet and rack. This means both wheels are protected by locks not just security fasteners.

Consider not always locking the bike on the same place. I have a choice of racks outside the station overnight, but lock it inside the station for weekends or longer (it takes long enough getting it out of the station that it would be quicker to walk than do it every day).

I use a cheap bike for this, which is a further deterrent. We have questions here about how to make bikes (and by extension their components) unattractive to thieves.

I have failed to find lights etc. designed for secure mounting, instead the manufacturers have gone the opposite way and made them easy to remove.  I've had some success modifying clip-on lights to fit with screws (e.g. glue the 2 parts of the clip together)


Help identifying a bike model Can anyone help identify this bike ?

It is a Vivente bike but I cant figure out the model.

Looks like a Vivente Como road bike circa 2007-2010 (judging by discussion forum posts and ad listings), converted to flat bars and some stickers/paint removed from frame. The crankset looks like FC-3550, which might be aftermarket too, since it seems to have been released somewhere 2013, several years after Como estimated production years (or maybe bike shop sold an old frame like that, who knows). Vivente website does not list this bike as a previous model, but then again the list goes from 2018 to 2012. If you Google for images, there are bikes called "Vivente Como" with partially matching paint job (see bottom tube), fork and logo on it and RD hanger.


Hydraulic brakes not working I recently got my first bike with hydraulic brakes.

The brakes made some strange squealing sounds, so I took it apart to see what could have been the problem.

I took out the pads and cleaned them, since they were dirty. I was very curious about the bike, because it had a new braking system, so I decided to press the lever, but a bunch of oil spilled out. I put the bike back together, but now the bike does not stop.

Help?

I don't live near many bike repairers, and I really want to bike next week.

They need to be bled. Nothing else for it. To do it yourself, you need a bleed kit and new fluid for whatever brake system you have, along with some other miscellaneous tools. It's considered a relatively advanced job as bikes go.

If by "very squeaky" you mean the loud howl of an oil-contaminated brake pad, you should just get new pads, and degrease the rotor thoroughly with something that doesn't leave residue.


Theoretical question about double drivetrain (both-sides drive) If one were to take a single-speed flip-flop hub, and fit two identical freewheels, and couple them to two identical chainrings (i.e. two drive-side cranks, one on each side of the bike), you would have the world's heaviest and least efficient fixed-gear drivetrain. One freewheel coasts while the other drives. (The left-hand pedal would have to be fitted with a right-handed axle, and thread-lock used to prevent it unscrewing due to precession.)

Why anybody would want to do it is beyond me, but I am certain that this would work.

Now, bear with me here...

What if one were to do the same thing, but with a slightly larger chainring on the drive side, and a slightly larger freewheel on the non-drive side? (Obviously magic ratios would have to be selected for identical chain lengths.)

Would this provide a long gear for high top speed, yet provide a shorter gear for less strenuous leg-braking? Or would the freewheels somehow skip and bind?

After thinking about this for awhile, I think this would work, albeit somewhat clumsily. It would operate similar to a retro-direct, except with no reversing for the second freewheel. You would have to use good quality freewheels to avoid having both of them engaging together and binding.

To answer a commenter Blam:

  Just how would you expect it to magically shift grears? The are both attached to the same axle.

The two freewheels being engaged in opposite directions would result in only a single freewheel being engaged at a time. He wouldn't be able to 'change' gears, going forward, but would see a different torque profile when slowing down compared to when going forward.


New chain - problems getting into low gears SRAM GX 11 speed.

I snapped my chain last week.  Replaced with a fresh SRAM 11 speed chain.  I used my old chain as a guide to get the length on the chain right - but I can't swear it is a link longer or shorter as I rushed it.

I took the opportunity to replace the gear cable as well - but things are not good.  It's fine in high gears (small cogs) but after 5 or 6 gear changes there is a huge amount of tension in the system and it wont shift up further.

Could this be due to the chain length?  Or issues with the cable?  I have tried to pull in the cable to increase tension - even when taut it struggles to pull up the gears.

First check the chain length. Do you still have the old chain? If so, count the links, then count the links in the new chain. If you have a quick link find it and use it as a reference point, otherwise wipe off a link and mark it with a permanent marker pen.

Get the bike in a workstand, trainer or somewhere you can turn the pedals manually with the back wheel off the ground and inspect the drivetrain. As you carefully change gear to larger sprockets does the derailleur look over-extended? Is the derailleur unable to extend enough to allow the chain to move to a larger sprocket. Be really careful doing this. If the chain manages to catch on a larger sprocket than the derailleur allows damage may occur.

If the chain is too short get an extra quick link and splice in a inner link from the leftover chain links and the quick link.

If the chain length is OK, something is binding up which is preventing the shifter from pulling the derailleur inwards to engage the larger sprockets. What you need to do is isolate the derailleur, shifter and cable and find out where the issue lies. First inspect the cable run and looks for anything out of place, make sure the housing is inserted in frame stops, shifter, and derailleur etc.

Detach the cable from the derailleur, put a little tension on the cable (you may need to grip it carefully with a pair of pliers), work the shifter and make sure it can pull the cable freely from highest to lowest gears, If you can feel the cable jamming up as it's pulled in you need to search for where that is happening.

If the cable is OK, make sure the derailleur can move throughout its range, as you pedal the cranks by hand you should be able to push the derailleur in (be very careful doing this and don't get fingers caught in the chain). Make sure it can move from smallest to largest sprocket.

If that all checks out, reattach the cable and work through a derailleur setup procedure to make the limits and indexing are set correctly. This Park Tool article and video is easy to follow and comprehensive.


How to avoid/deal with exhaust fumes when riding in traffic I live in Chicago, and I ride through the downtown area and other congested streets to and from work every day. Often when I am at a stoplight, I am directly behind or next to several cars belching exhaust. I can't help but smell and inhale it. Sometimes I try to hold my breath, but I can't always hold it for long enough. It smells bad, and I do not wish to inhale carbon monoxide. Is there some great product out there, or maybe just some tips and tricks from other city riders, on how to avoid inhaling exhaust fumes while riding through heavily trafficked urban streets?

Edit

I believe my question is similar to or the same as the suggested duplicate about "how to protect yourself from pollution", however that question has no usable answer (The answer is basically "a gas mask would help, but of course you cant go biking with a gas mask"). I believe my question is not the same as "is pollution a problem" because I am not making/seeking a judgment on pollution, positive, negative, or otherwise, I am just attempting to avoid it/minimize my exposure.

From The Guardian: (I suggest you Click through & read the whole article)

"It’s a scenario familiar to any urban cyclist: you’re stuck behind a fume-belching bus or taxi, a choking diesel aroma wafting through your lungs. You think: is this really the healthy option?

The good, if simple, answer from pollution experts is: yes. Cycling does remain many, many times better for your health than not cycling, even factoring in exposure to pollution and the risk of accident. What’s more surprising is that on two wheels you might even be exposed to less of the smelly stuff * than those using other forms of transport." *(Emphasis added.)

I have read elsewhere (although I can't find the link now) that this lower exposure is due simply to the fact you are up higher than a person in a sedan, and the pollutants tend to sink.

Edit:

  It's not so much that the rider is higher up, but that the cabin air
  intake of a car is effectively at exhaust pipe level

(Thanks @Chris H)

The science is out the anti-pollution masks, not so much because they are incapable of performing their advertised function, but because exposure levels are much lower for the typical cyclist than most people suppose.

Edit two:

To attempt to address the last crux of your question, it may be reasonable to say that you are already avoiding more exhaust just by biking & not driving, other than that; take a less heavily trafficked route & otherwise don't worry about it.

I suspect general air quality should be more of a concern than incidental exhaust exposure.


Installing SRAM X3 7-speed shifter with Acera derailleur : shifting stops at 4th cog I've never installed one of these trigger shifters.  Here's what I'm doing:

Acera derailleur has chain on the smallest cog.
Mount trigger shifter on handlebar with its gear set to 7.
Run cable to and then through the rear derailleur.
Pull cable taut, gently, so the barrel-end is pulled into the trigger shifter and seats itself.
Tighten derailleur cable clamp.
Pedal the bike (mounted on stand).
Shift...shift...shift...shift.

The chain moves cog by cog up to the 4th cog and then the shifter trigger won't budge any further.

SRAM shifters are generally not compatible with Shimano derailleurs. The reason is that they use different increments of cable pull per shift and derailleur actuation ratio (how far the cage moves sideways per mm of cable pulled).

SRAM X3 7 speed shifters pull 4.5mm of cable per shift. Actuation ratio is 1:1.1 resulting in ~5mm derailleur movement.

You don't say what Acera derailleur you have. Depending on how old it is it could (nominally) be 7, 8 or 9 speed, but all Shimano MTB derailleurs 9 speed and below have an actuation ratio of 1:1.7. For 7 speed the cable pull should be 2.7mm.

Source:
https://www.artscyclery.com/science-behind-the-magic/science-behind-the-magic-drivetrain-compatibility/

I think you probably have a several other adjustment issues - the cable is probably too slack, but the X3 shifter and Acera derailleur will not work together. Any Shimano 7 speed trigger shifter will work (because they all use the same actuation ratio).

When you get the correct shifters, use Park Tool Company's derailleur adjustment guides for (mostly) pain free setup:

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

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


MTB Tyre Safe for Wet Roads I ride %50 on road, %50 XC. When the roads are wet/rainy the bike dances with me. Thus, i want to change the tyres.

What I want is safe (in especially wet/rainy conditions) drive both on-road and off-road with a protection against puncture. However, I do not want to give all my effort to friction when I'm on the road.

Which properties should I search for?

You seem to be looking for a puncture resistant semi slick mountain bike tyre. That's a whole set of compromises, and they're not intercompatible.

For a mountain bike tyre you want big knobbly sections and a thin tyre casing so it flexes easily when you run it at low pressure. But on the road you want high pressure, and for puncture resistance you need a thick casing. The problem with getting both big knobs and a slick tyre is obvious, but that's the most easily solved part - a semi slick tyre - and there are lots of them available.

Problem is, off road they don't have as much traction as a proper MTB tyre, and on road they're fine until you lean the bike, at which point they lose traction. I've used these for a while when my commute had an off-road option, but I quickly decided I would ride that to work only when it was dry enough to do it on slick tyres. The semi-slicks worked better than slicks on the gravel, not detectably better in mud (but they did throw more mud up onto me and the bike), and on the road the "lose traction on corners" feature was downright dangerous.

My solution was to buy a second hand mountain bike and use the wheels off that for offroad riding (the bike itself was in very poor condition, so it wasn't worth fixing, but the wheels were ok).


Danger of adjusting spokes on the road I'm about 3500 miles into a long tour, and the other day we noticed a few of the wheels between my own bike and some other guy's were starting to warp pretty noticable. With the help of someone more versed in maintenance we tightened some spokes to true them against the brake pads and gave them all 1/8 turn on the advice they were a little loose. Another few days riding revealed in the course of this fix we warped the rim a little from circular (radially untrue?) so I did my best fixing that a little. My only worry is in somehow making the bike unsafe to ride since I'm new to truing wheels. On the road and without a means of measuring spoke tension, does it seem excessively risky to eyeball the tensions like this? My main worry, reasonable or (hopefully) not, is I'm somehow crippling the wheel and it will give out catastrophically at high speed or something. Is this fear founded at all? I'm curious how the wheel would fail if I'd messed it up.

Unfortunately there's not many aspects to truing wheels this question doesn't touch. Also unfortunately, figuring out what's going on with a given heavily used wheel with issues and then making it as good as possible are both beyond-the-basics wheel work skills.

Yes, it's possible to set yourself up for a bad situation here. The main ways you would do that are by allowing some spokes to be too loose (making them prone to go all the way slack, which both allows the nipples to unscrew and makes the wheel less strong/stable), having them all too loose (making the whole thing weak and prone to going out of true), or having some or all of them too tight, which can cause fatigue cracking.

It is critically important you understand and are able to spot the difference between truing a rim that's in good condition (would be flat and round if it were a bare rim with no forces acting on it) and truing a damaged rim (would be not perfectly round or flat instead). In the former case you're equalizing spoke tension on each side to make the wheel true. In the latter case you're creating intentional tension disparities to make the wheel look true and limp along having a greater or lesser degree of the above mentioned issues with too-tight or too-loose spots, and it usually won't stay true under touring conditions if there's very much of this going on at all. (Although conversely, wheels can handle some amount of this without incident.) Making this distinction empirically is one of the few things tensiometers are reallly good for. Doing it without one is fine too, but generally takes some experience to be confident about.

It's worth noting here that it's common for even rims in good condition to force you to have a little bit of tension disparity and/or out-of-round at the seam.

It's also worth noting that in the case of a rim with some radial damage only (flat but not very round), if you must keep going with that wheel, it can be reasonable to make the spoke tensions equal on each side and just accept it's not going to be very round, which you'll probably feel while riding and will require rim brakes to either be backed off or adjusted around the warbling tire, and never let the pads touch the tire. There are a lot of wheels running around the world with minor versions of this problem.

Wheels that are sufficiently overtensioned and/or unevenly tensioned can in fact give out under high speeds or from side loads, and a loaded up touring bike is a very probably venue for this to happen.


Cross-chaining on a 3x6 system -- how bad for wear? I keep an old 3x6-geared MTBSO near work, and the front shifter is currently broken (smashed plastic gripshift).  It will be a few weeks before I can get it home to replace it with a spare, so I've currently used the FD limit screws to fix it into the middle chainring.  This leaves the gearing a bit low -- I don't have much accleration once I'm spinning over 100rpm which makes keeping up with traffic hard -- so I'd like to fix it in the big ring, but then for pulling away I'd be geared big-big.

Is this likely to significantly increase wear on the gears themselves?  It's only a BSO so I wouldn't mind, except I don't think the sprockets are ever coming off, and if they did, replacements would cost about as much as the bike is worth.

I would not be concerned in the short term, say 6 months to a year. There are several things in your favor. A six speed chain is wider than a modern 10 speed chain. Wider equals more material equals longer wear. On a MTBSO parts are used that are cheap. Cheap means steel instead of lighter alloys. So I think you will see some wear but it will be minimum.


What is the best way to prevent skidding/fishtailing on wet pavement? This is related to the "What is the recommended type of tire for riding on wet pavement" question.

I also live in Seattle. So now has come the time where I often need to go down some steep hills on wet pavement. When I need to stop I sometimes skid. What is the best way to stop or prevent the skidding/fishtailing? Either, new components for the wet weather or new techniques I need.

Being aware of your weight distribution can help a lot. You want to make sure you are not leaning forward and taking pressure off of the rear tire.
You can also help keep your rear tire planted by giving a slight downward twist on the handlebars with your wrists. Kind of the opposite of a bunny hop.
As far as braking technique goes, try to be "progressive" about it. Instead of just applying all the braking power at once, or applying a tiny bit of brakes and just waiting for the bike to run out of steam. Try squeezing the lever, and as you start to slow, apply more and more brakes. This will help you stop in a shorter distance without your losing traction.

A note about skidding: Generally rear tire skids can be handled when they happen. A lot of times the best way to ride them out is to keep on the brake and slowly ease it back out. If you just let go of the brake immediately, the rear tire can snap back around and it is easy to lose control. Front tire skids are a little different. If your front tire starts to skid you do want to let go of the front brake immediately. Keeping your front tire rolling is very important to maintaining control of the bike.


What is the easiest and quickest way to pump up a tyre? I find that I need to pump up my tyres at least weekly and am looking for how to make this quick and easy.

So what is the easiest and quickest method of pumping up a bike tyre?

As an example, I found this device recently. (forwarded to the best part)

If you're at home, use a floor pump. They are very easy to use and have a gauge so you can measure the pressure.

When you're on the road, the quickest and easiest way to get you back on the road is to use CO2 cannisters. They are not that cheap though and the CO2 will leak out of the tube faster than air (mostly N2), requiring topping up over the next few days.

More information is available on Wikipedia


Putting a wheel axle back together I've been trying to fit a new freehub/freewheel (Bontrager) onto my (BTwin) wheel. The freehub is on, but for the life of me I can't figure out the order of nuts for the skewer bolt. I've put everything together once and noticed on the cassette side the bolt wasn't poking out far enough to clear the cassette's cogs.  I've numbered the parts to make it a little easier;

The wheel with the new Freewheel/freehub unit;

Changing cassette shouldn't require you to pull the axle (4) from the hub body.

To get all this put back together you're going to need at least 1 15mm or 17mm (depending on hub) cone wrench and a little bit of know-how.

I would assemble what you have there as 4-6-9-6-5 starting from the inside. The tricky part is getting the locknut (5) tight against the rest without upsetting the load on the bearings.

Start by tightening the cone (4) against the bearings the the amount you want, no play, but not tight.
Then hold the cone still with a cone wrench and the opposite cone and locknut still with another wrench.
Add the washers.
Tighten the locknut against the whole assembly with either another cone wrench or an open ended wrench of the correct size (some locknuts are too small to manage this).

This is all much easier on the none drive side unless you have the tool to pull the freehub apart.


Chain too wide for gap between chainring and chainring guard I have a Seek 0 2013 and recently the chain has been stretched so far that it needed to be replaced. On the Giant site it says that this is sold with a KMC Z51 1/2" * 3/32" chain.

I've since gone to two different shops who have both sold what appears to be the same sized chain (1/2" * 1/8") which isn't fitting, as it's too wide and brushes against the chainring guard. (This was dumb on my behalf and I have no defense for this.)

Is it possible to still use these chains (perhaps by adjusting / removing the chainring guard) without any complications in the future or are these chains simply the wrong size and I need to go return them and get the right chain?

the Giant site it says that this is sold with a KMC Z51 1/2" * 3/32" chain.

So it should have a 3/32" chain.

  I've since gone to two different shops who have both sold what appears to be the same sized chain (1/2" * 1/8")

1/8" = 4/32". That's more than 3/32".

  which isn't fitting, as it's too wide.

Funny that.

1/8" chain isn't stronger unless you spend a lot of money on a high-spec track chain, which would have a more complex construction inside the rollers.

Get a 3/32" chain.


Stop-A-Flat tube for 26 x 2.25 tire I want buy  Stop-A-Flat tube for my tire. Tire size is 26 x 2.25

Closest airless tube what I found, has size: 26 x 2.125

Is suitable that size for my 26 x 2.25 tire ?

Amazon web pages says

  Stop-a-flat tubes are "Size Specific" to a tire and care should always be taken when matching the tube to the tyre.

But then

  Please note that the 1.75 sizes will fit a 1.90 standard tire.

So that's confusing. You'd really have to check with the manufacturer,

Bicycle tires vary in actual size for a nominal width specification by quite a lot, so if the solid inner tube needs to exactly fit the inside dimensions of the tire it will be difficult to get a match.

Personally, I would not use a product like this as I suspect they could negatively affect tire grip in a dangerous manner.


Function of colored tabs on SPD-SL Cleats What are the function of the colored tabs on the SPD-SL cleats?

If they wear through to the black, Shimano recommends their replacement.

In my own case, the outboard side of the colored pads are worn down, but not the front or the inboard side.  To me, the function of the front is obvious, it is what actually clips you in.  However the sides are a bit of a mystery.

Shimano also says that if you have trouble clipping in or out, or staying clipped in then you should replace the cleats.  I have had no such troubles despite the pads being worn down.

The coloured areas work as wear indicators, and the colour (e.g. yellow) tells you how much float the cleats have.

Looking at a pair just now, it seems that coloured areas assist the cleat in disengaging from the pedal. The front of the cleat acts as a pivot around which you twist the foot to release. The more material that remains here, the better it can act as a pivot.

The two rear areas of coloured cleat seem to ramp upwards against sloped areas on the back edges of the pedal when you twist the foot. This raises the back of the cleat which helps to open the spring mechanism of the pedal to release the cleat. If these areas wear down, they will not rise as high and so be less effective at releasing the cleat.

Edit: the cleat starts opening the spring before the rear coloured tab ramps up, but this ramping up gives the final 'pop' which releases the pedal.

Edit again: it is the inboard side of the rear coloured tab which ramps up, which would be why you have had no trouble yet clipping out when they are worn on the outboard side.


What road bike size to get? I am very new to road bikes and have decided to buy one. The problem is both shops I have gone to said I should get a 54cm frame, even though I'm only 5'5. This seems to go against a lot of online information and my friends advice. What should I do?

54cm does seem large for you. I'm between 5'8" and 9" and ride a 54 or 55cm (and I have relatively long arms).

Some thoughts:

Some models are effectively larger or smaller than their seat tube measurement. Bicycle shop staff may have been taking that into account for a specific bike you were interested in.
Take a knowledgeable cycling friend with you when looking at bikes.
Look at the sizing charts that some manufacturers publish e.g., this from Trek. Print it out and take it with you when looking at bikes.
Sit on or ride a 54cm, then say 'that feels too big'.


Does fitting mudguards / fenders improve aerodynamics? Since the tops of the wheels are moving at twice the speed of the bike, you would think that covering them up would make quite a bit of difference to the drag coefficient, particularly the front wheel.

Or is it more complicated than that?

It complex.

The aerodynamics of a bicycle and rider through the air at the speeds involved in cycling mean the factors which determine drag are primarily:

the size of the bike + rider,
the shape the bike + rider presents
to the air flow, and
to a smaller degree, the texture of the surface
of the bike + rider.

Size

Size is pretty straightforward, a larger object (as determined by frontal surface area as presented to the air flow) of the shame shape and surface texture and relative air speeds has greater drag, and the increase in drag will be in proportion to the increase in size.

So one method of reducing drag is to make the bike + rider smaller. Riders do this by using narrower wheels, tyres and components, and most notably by changing their position on a bike, with the most obvious example being riding a recumbent bicycle.

Obviously competitions of different types (UCI, triathlon and others) have rules which limit the scope of equipment and positional changes possible.

Adding a fairing or guard increases the size of the overall bike + rider, so on this basis it will increase drag, however as we shall see, whether it does in fact increase drag (or indeed reduces it) depends on its shape.

Shape

Shape presents a more complex set of interactions on aerodynamics. Air at these speeds does not "like" surprises, by that I mean objects that present rapid changes in the air flow such as sharp edges or angles on bluff bodies. These create a lot of turbulence in the air flow and this in turn creates a larger difference in the total pressure in front of and behind the object than when air is less disturbed as it flows around a smoother object. It's this pressure differential that largely (but not solely) determines the total drag.

You can reduce drag by creating a more streamlined shape, hence the development of deeper section wheels, streamlined shaped tubing and other components (handlebars, helmets etc). So even though an object's size might be larger, it can still present less overall drag because its shape is more streamlined. This is why speed record recumbents are fully faired with a long teardrop shape, and are a lot faster even though they are physically larger than the bike and rider they enclose.

Hence a fairing or guard has the potential to make drag better (or worse) depending upon its shape.

Surface texture

Finally, the surface roughness also plays a small role in aerodynamics of cyclists as this relates to what we call the surface frictional drag. The more aerodynamically shaped an object, the more this element comes into play. For cycling it's a minor (but not insignificant) component, one for which more attention is paid when size and shape have been optimised given the constraints in play (e.g. competition rules). Simple things like using tight fitting clothing (e.g. skin suits), or more sophisticated use of surface textures and air trips. We can expect that the surface texture of a fairing or guard would be relatively smooth to present minimal frictional drag, although there is potential for the use of strategically placed air trips.

Wind direction

All three of these factors are complicated by the fact that when cycling air does not always flow in the same relative, i.e. head on, direction but can flow around a bike + rider at a different angle to head on (e.g. when riding in cross winds). Aerodynamically this has the impact of changing the effective size, shape and surface roughness of the object presented normal to the airflow. So what was a better aero choice in head on conditions may now become a worse choice when the air flow is at an angle relative to the cyclist's direction of travel.

So, what's the answer?

I don't know. And neither does anyone else.

Guards and fairings add size but have the potential if well designed to present a more streamlined shape and reduce frictional drag. They also have the potential to make a shape less streamlined overall and to compound the additional drag presented by their increased size. Adding to the complexity is how they impact aerodynamics when the relative direction of air flow varies.

The only way to know is to measure drag using a wind tunnel and/or via validated field based aerodynamic testing methods, and/or by doing so virtually via computer modelling (use of Computational Fluid Dynamics techniques - CFD). When testing modest changes of equipment or position, it requires well honed methods and analysis techniques.

Once thing I have learned from performing aerodynamics testing is you can never really be sure what the outcome of such modest changes will be until you test. And retest to make sure.

Showing the results of one test, of one type of guard/fairing on one specific set up and rider only ever tells you the answer for that particular set up and rider. It is not an outcome which can be applied universally.