Identify this old folding bike that I got from the tip - an early Dahon? please excuse my ignorance. I'm not into biking but i do like to rescue mainly junk from anywhere, charity shops, the tip, skips etc.
so on sunday i was making a trio to my local tip and decided to have a quick peak at the sales shed.
i came across what looked like a screwed up bike which sparked my interest, a folding bike lol very cool, so for a fiver i took it home,
i spent hours looking for even a picture of this same bike and in the end i emailed Mr Baker who restores bickerton bikes, after a few emails back and forth he has told me although it shows the bickerton name it was made by Dahon in Taiwan, Mr Baker didn't give me much but did say it was a nice
find and quite a rare bike.

i would appreciate any help or information on this bike, i still cant find any online although I'm sure there must be some out there.
PLEASE HELP. thanks in advance

It does seem to be an early model Dahon OEM or Dahonesque bicycle -- i.e., made in Dahon's factory or cloned from Dahon blueprints, but then sold under another label.

The way to identify an early Dahon is that their bottom bracket is above the downtube folding hinge. This particular model is missing the steering brace that helped make the early models less rickety.

Early Dahon bikes aren't particularly rare or valuable at all - especially an off-brand like yours. It's not as if you had a 0-series Brompton. With your bike, you can tell from the one-piece crank that it was designed as an inexpensive commuter bicycle - what we tend to call on this forum, a Bicycle Shaped Object. Later Dahons with their oversized aluminium tubing are much better than these early models.

Just remember that just because something is one-of-a-kind or rare doesn't mean that it's valuable.


Does anyone know what kind of bike this is? I found this bicycle a while back and have been planning on either fixing it up (if it's worth it) or selling it. All I have, really, is the frame. I haven't been able to find out exactly what it is and can't seem to find any markings on the frame. All I can tell is that it is a women's bike from the frame design. I'm not a big bike guy, so I don't know if it's even very old, although I would think it is due to the headlight. I would appreciate any help!

See "J.C. Higgins Girls Flightliner" on this page.  Perhaps not the exact bike, but quite close.  And I think Western Auto was also fond of the "tank" between the bars.


Rear derailer/chain skipping/shifting issues I have a Shimano Tiagra derailer on my 9 spd cassette and it's been behaving really strangely.

On the road, when I attempt to shift to bigger cogs, the chain will struggle to move up, sits on the bigger cog for a moment, and then jumps all the way back down to the smallest cog (sometimes just 2nd smallest).

There is definitely a feeling of difficulty of movement coming through the lever when I try to shift.

However I have it in a stand right now and it shifts up and down, albeit awkwardly and noisily. I'm not sure how to make the proper adjustments if the issue isn't happening while the bike is stationary. It's working somewhat fine now, but once I get on the road, it's unhappy again.

I can identify the different parts of my derailer and have a feeling it's a problem with the cable tension, but I'm clueless as to how to address the issue.

Thanks, any advice will be a big help!

If you feel clueless about bike maintenance or troubleshooting, the good news is that there is quite a lot of good content on this subject available, which makes it easy to learn how various bike systems work, how to perform regular maintenance and adjustments and figure out problems. My favorite is Park Tool Company's site and YouTube channel. They have a series of videos that deal with derailleur systems:

            . There are other guides available. These are easy enough to find by googling.

To address your specific problem: because you say you feel excessive resistance at the shift lever, I would initially check that there is no impediment to the free movement of the shift cable and derailleur. There may be a problem in the cabling, at the rear derailleur, or in the shifter itself.

The derailleur auto upshifting (to smaller sprockets) after downshifting (to larger sprockets) may indicate a bigger problem with the shifter. If the chain is only upshifting one sprocket it may be that derailleur is not moving the chain far enough and the chain is falling down to the next smaller sprocket. If the derailleur auto-shifts several sprockets I would suspect that there is a problem with the shifter and it is not holding on to the shift cable properly.

Things you can do to diagnose the problem:

Get the rear wheel out, observer the derailer and run the shifter through its range properly. Does it move at each shift and through the full range? If not it points to a problem with the shifter.
Manually inspect the cable run to make sure they are no snags, twists or kinks and that the housing is properly in each cable stop.
If you have exposed cable rather than full run housing: shift to the highest gear/smallest sprocket, grab the shift cable in different places on its run and pull outwards from the frame to actuate the derailleur to its innermost (low gear) position. If you feel resistance or roughness there is an impediment 'downstream' from where you pulled the cable.
Disconnect the cable from the derailleur. Manually check the derailleur will smoothly sweep through it's full range, outer limit to inner limit, you should of course feel spring tension but no roughness.
With the derailleur still disconnected, manually put a little tension on the cable at the derailleur end (you may have to use pliers to grip the cable, but don't crush it), run the shifter through it's range. Do you still get resistance at the shifter? Does the cable move at the derailleur end at each shift?
If the above does not show up a problem with the derailleur or cable run, you will want to look at the shifter itself. I'd want to try to see if the shifter is slipping back to higher gear positions after being shifted to low gear positions. If you can, get hold of the cable as close to the shifter as possible in it's run, put tension on it and run the shifter from high to low gears, it should pull cable the cable in in increments. if you can pull the cable back out out, the shifter is probably work out or broken and will need to be replaced I'm afraid.


Why is cycling on a road so much faster than cycling on a cycle path? I normally cycle on a cycle path and I struggle to go over 10Mph on my bike for any distance. My Daily commute took me 58 to 42 minutes depending on how much I push myself.

This morning and yesterday evening I decided I'd try to cycle on the road rather than the path. The distance is only 0.2 miles shorter by road but it only took me 34 minutes because I was travelling at 10 to 14 Mph most of the time sometimes faster on hills. I had to stop at more traffic lights but it still took a heck of a lot less time.

Any idea why this happens?

I ride a mountain bike with Semi slick tyres if that makes any difference.

Given the same day and the same rider and otherwise equal conditions, riding on a tarmac road vs riding on a gravel cycle path, the road will be faster.

Why?

It's about the rolling resistance of the surface.

This page gives a good breakdown of the physics involved in working out how much power you need based on various inputs.

But basically, a rougher surface offers more rolling resistance to your bike tyres, so you need to put more power in to sustain the same speed. Given you're likely to put out a constant power (since we're assuming identical rider and conditions) on both track and road, since there is less resistance, you'll go faster on the road, the 'spare' power will come out as speed.

Given identical surface, then you have to look at what else is different in the route. There's a 0.2 mile difference in distance, but, what's the ascent and average gradient of both routes? Plot them on bikehike.co.uk (or the mapping tool of your choice) and see what the difference is.

A local route to me on the Trans-Penine Trail turns out to be a 2% gradient, though it looks flat, on gravel. The road route near by has some sharp hills, but has downhill segments and a much smoother surface, so is faster on my MTB and far faster on my road bike.

Also, on the road are could be benefiting from the drafting effect of cars possibly, whereas on the cycle trail you might be cutting the air yourself, that can account for a 20% energy saving.

And finally, for now, there's always the right of way, if you're having to slow on the cycle trail to negotiate slower cyclists or other route users, whereas on the road you're the slow thing people are moving round.


Food during cross country ride I'm trying to put together a list of foods I can easily replenish in the USA as I tour around the country on my bike. I'm looking for things that are:

non-perishable or last in 100F heat for at least 4 days (Assuming desert summers in my bags).
Preferably light-weight.
At least relatively healthy.
Low-cost and ready availability.

Thus far I have various thick-skinned fruits/vegetables that should be alright (especially if attached to vine), peanut butter, beans & rice.

Are there any other suggestions here? I will naturally find information for the area I'm in to scavenge for natural sources of sustenance. However, in the deserts of the southwest where I will be starting this and doing all my training these sources are few and far between so they can't be readily depended upon.

I finished the ACA southern tier just this last month!

I'd usually be carrying bananas, sardines, peanut butter, oatmeal, knorr rice sides, whole wheat tortillas & granola bars. Less could certainly have been carried, but I'd usually go crazy at the grocery store. Most days you'll pass by a couple reasonably priced groceries so you don't actually need to carry too much on you.

Granola bars are your friends! I started off w/ rice & beans, but they take too much energy to heat up with a stove, and starting a campfire every night is not realistic.

"I will naturally find information for the area I'm in to scavenge for natural sources of sustenance" Don't know how much luck you'll have with that, but you'll be suprised at people's generoristy towards you. There were times when I'd go one or two days without touching my food stores.


How do i fix my v-brake with some part twisted? Here's the pictures

I did a lot of searching on the youtube about the fix but couldn't find as i don't know what that part of the bike is called.Its seems to me as if i need to buy new ones moreover since that is twisted and i tried to straighten it but didn't work.
if this needs to be bought what suold i searh for to buy online and what specifiactions

The simplest solution would probably be to just buy new brakes. You can get them starting at about 10€/15$ which makes any attempt to repair them more expensive.

I don't know whether these tension pins can be replaced. For me, brakes are too important to try to save a few bucks on them.

Make sure the new ones are inserted completely, the pin should ideally not be visible when installed.


use with SHIMANO 105 FD-5504 Front Derailleur on crankset 26/36/48t Can I use a SHIMANO 105 FD-5504 Front Derailleur with Crankset 26/36/48t?
My Cogset Shimano HG-50, 11– 32t

Generally speaking yes, presuming everything else about the chain, ring spacing, and shifter play nice. What you'll tend to find is the gap with the ring will be a little wider than ideal at the tail end of the cage,  since FD-5504 is contoured for a 52. Usually this effect won't be enough to keep it from working fine.


What is the difference between a freewheel and a hub? I think these are both just types of cassettes, one all the rings come apart, and the other it's just one big piece all welded together.

Can someone please tell me what the difference is?

The hub is the body at the center of the wheel containing the axle. It is more or less just some bearings in a pair of cups that rotate around the axle.

The freewheel is the mechanism that locks when pedaling forward (forcing the wheel to be driven by the chain) and spins freely when coasting or pedaling backward.

Both wheels have hubs, but only the rear wheel has a freewheel.

These are two variations on freewheel design, taken from the Wikipedia article linked above:

On most modern bikes with multiple gears, the freewheel is built into the rear hub and the whole assembly is called a freehub. The cassette is just a set of gears bolted together, without any moving parts, that slides onto the hub and is held in place with a lockring.

On older bikes, the hub was just a hub with some threads on one side. The freewheel was built into the rear gear cluster and that whole assembly screwed onto the hub.

Single speed bikes are still (typically, though variations exist) built like older bikes, with the freewheel and the gear being one piece and screwing onto the hub.

If you want to read more, the Freehub article that I linked to on Wikipedia has a section comparing freewheels and freehubs.

The ever helpful Sheldon Brown also has a very detailed article (which the above photo was taken from) outlining the difference between freehubs and freewheels.


Repair parts from Shimano - What are these part for? I got a new Cannondale bike with hydraulic disc brakes and Tiagra set from Shimano. With the bike came seom parts which I cannot identify. I think they have to do with the brakes, but can't find anything. The yellow bit says Shimano on it, but thats it.

Any ideas what are these parts for?

The yellow block is a 'bleed block' which is a spacer which replaces the brake pads when bleeding brakes to keep the pads away from oil and to avoid over filling the system.

The white cylinder with o-ring is a funnel extension, which makes a funnel compatible with your road levers when bleeding the brakes (mtb levers don't need it).

The two metal pieces are often known as connector inserts, or barbs, which go inside the hydraulic hose when installing brakes or shortening hydraulic hose. They are essential to prevent crushing the hose. These are just spares. They would normally be found alongside brass olives which are also required to do these tasks.


Is 700c 25/32 iner tubes the same as 700c 18/25? I'm trying to replace inner tubes on my bike but I got ones that do not match the one that I am taking out of a wheel.

700 essentially refers to the diameter of the wheel, while the other two numbers give the range of tyre widths that the tube is suitable for. So 18-25 covers tyres between 18mm and 25 mm inclusive, while 25-32 would suit slightly wider tyres (25mm wide - 32mm wide inclusive) of the same wheel diameter.

So both tubes would suit a 700c x25 tyre as they overlap sizes there, but they aren’t the same per se


How to pick mountain bike pedals (platform)? I am new to mountain biking, I have a Novara Ponderosa 29er and one thing I have noticed is my feet are slipping off the pedals with frequency.  I don't have mountain bike specific shoes but I have been using skate shoes which are flat and have pretty good grip.  I started looking into getting some new pedals but I quickly realized that I could spend a wide range of money on them and I don't even know why.

What are the important aspects of shopping for new pedals and what are some of the nice to have features that could be a good reason to spend more?  I would like to stick with platform pedals because being new I like the ability to put my feet down.

We can't recommend which model to buy, but some good things to keep in mind are the following.

Platform size: Width and thickness, if you have wide feet you may
want a slighter wider pedal. And being overly thick means you will
probably catch them on rocks more often.
Pins: Removable metal pins or molded in pins, i prefer removable metal ones, which are usually found on slightly more expensive pedals. However when you smack your shin on a metal pin it does quit a bit more damage than a plastic one and they can also scratch your legs up when standing over your bike. Some metal pins are also hollow, improving both grip and leg shredding ability. Some are very sharp and some are well rounded.
Bearings: Sealed or loose ball, cartidge or DU Sleeve. Sealed is generally better as it will keep dirt and water out making sure your pedals are buttery smooth. A lot of people are unfamiliar with DU sleeves but they are actually in a lot of different pedals, sometimes under a different name. Basically they are a Teflon impregnated tube that is in contact with another tube of the same material, the have a longer break in period but both self lubricate and are virtually maintenance free. Many pedal manufacturers use both a sealed cartridge bearing and a DU sleeve.
Concave or Flat: This is more of a personal preference, but a concave (curved inward) surface is suppose to help keep your feet planted and increase traction on the pedal.
Material: Metal or composite, generally metal will last longer, and the pins will not be worn down or sheered off on rocks if they scrape. But an expensive composite pedal could certainly outlast a very cheap metal one. There are also composite pedals with metal pins, offering low weight and good grip.
Price: Kinda obvious, i will say this though, there are pedals out there that are every bit as good as other 3 times the price. Just because they cost $100 and have a name brand doesn't necessarily mean they have any more features or durability.

These are what i ride and i have zero complaints. Love em, super thin, and their affordable should i ever break one. Best thing this company makes in my humble opinion. A good example of a metal pinned pedal

And here is an example of a plastic or composite pedal with molded in pins.

You can easily see the difference in thickness between these two. The concave isn't as obvious due to the angles but you can see how the curve downward toward the center of the pedal creating a bit of a dish effect. While the Origin8 pedals in red are rather flat in comparison.

Lastly, what type of riding your doing will also have somewhat of an impact, generally dirt jumping riders prefer a stiffer axle so that the pedal doesn't spin when they are air born with their feet off the pedals. General MTB riding this is not the case and not as important.


Single Speed Freehub I have a Road bike with a Shimano 8 Speed Freehub.

I want to go to a single speed bike, but I'd rather not use a fistfull of spacers.
Is anyone aware of a single speed freehub body that I can replace my Shimano freehub body with?

If it matters, Shimano freehubs are the lose ball bearing types.

No. Single speed freehubs have totally different spacing so you have a less dished wheel. You'll have to use spacers.


New bike disc brake noise I have just bought a brand new bike which was put together in the store and the disc brakes, which I have never had before, make a very slight scratching noise. Does this need altering or is it fine because it's a new bike?

The brakes should be adjusted. The disc caliper mounting bolts allow a small amount of adjustment to center the pads between the disc rotor. Your caliper is likely misaligned allowing the rotor to rub on the pads. If the rubbing sound is cyclic meaning it rubs then stop at the same place each wheel rotation the cause is more likely a warped rotor. Another potential issue is the axle not fully seated in the dropout resulting in a slight misalignment.


How to prevent loose brake cables with a single pivot side-pull mechanism? I recently bought a second hand bike and am now tweaking it to my liking.
The bike has single pivot side-pull brakes, but it has a straight steering bar with regular brake levers (very similar, if not the same as this one).

I did not like the travel of the levers of the brake. I only had to squeeze them half a cm and the brakes would be fully applied already. I find it more comfortable to press the brake levers halfway (2-3 cm), it feels more controlled.

So I elongated the cable slightly at the brake, but now the cable travelling from my lever to the back wheel brake is hanging loose under the frame whenever it is not applied.

What should I do to increase the travel distance of the lever, but also make sure that the cable is not hanging loosely when not in use?

It's because you have a combination of brake levers designed for V-brakes and side pull brakes. V-brakes need more cable pull for the same effect, so your levers pull the cable too fast.

The solution is to get levers designed for caliper brakes, something like for example this (note "Caliper or Canti Brake Lever System"): http://www.tektro.com/_english/01_products/01_prodetail.php?pid=69&sortname=Lever&sort=1&fid=3. There are also adapters for cable pull issues, but they are made to solve the problem other way round and cost as much as simple brake levers.


How to remove old style chainring held in by a single nut between bearing and chainring? I've got this old school mountain bike, back from 1986.  It's a 5 speed rear cassette with single front chainring.  Make unknown, but has an emblem on the front that says "Concord".  I'm jammed up trying to get the chainring off.  The chainring removal requires removing the crankset as the chainring will need to be slid all the way off the "left" side of the crankset.  It's held in to place with a single large nut around the crank (which the Park Tool HCW-18 3 pointed side is a perfect fit).  To keep the chainring from slipping under power, there's a pin from the right side of the crankset that pokes into a hole on the chainring.  So, relatively straightforward:

Except, the big nut that holds it in place is giving me fits.  It's so tight I can't even figure out if it's right or left threaded!  Since it's on the right hand side of the frame and bearings I figured it would be right hand thread.  However, since it's facing from the frame/bearing side out away (with the chainring out further from the frame), perhaps it's left threaded?

Won't budge with muscle power.  I've also tried tapping the HCW-18 with a rubber mallet in both directions after using PB Blaster on the nut.  No go.  Can't seem to get any motion at all in either direction.  I'm about ready to go at it with my 20lb sledge to either break it free or just plain break it, but would like to have some idea which direction to go first...

No exposed threads to check.  The Sheldon Brown site was helpful in general, but couldn't answer the direction, but led me to find a Park Tool page which suggested it should be right handed.  That knowledge combined with the PB Blaster sitting on it for a couple hours and I was able to break it free with a few hard hits from my rubber mallet again.


Irregular sounds on new 50mm wheels at speeds over 16mph I just bought new Chinese Carbon 50mm tubular wheels and I have a number of noises that are driving me crazy.  There is a whistling or irregular whooshing sound on every rotation.  Besides the normal white noise constant.  Is it just me or do other people have irregular sounds at speed over 16mph.  Wheels are true and round with new mavic tubulars.

Please let me know if anyone else has a rotation noise issue.   My aluminum campy wheels are dead quiet.  Thanks. Ken

Generally speaking, the deeper the rim the more noise the wheel makes. A pronounced whooshing noise isn't unusual among deep dish wheels and disc wheels (as in the solid wheels, not the brakes) are even noisier. I had Cinelli and Hed discs when I raced and used to love the sound of them (the ride, not so much!)

I would personally be very nervous of the no brand Chinese carbon wheels, frames and parts being sold on eBay. I've been hearing some absolute horror stories from shops and race mechanics.


restoring old bike, remove scratched stickers, yes or no? I'm restoring the first adult bike I owned.

It has about 30 years and was made by a brand that no longer exists, which makes it some sort of a semi-relic :)

My problem is that the brand stickers at the frame, are very scratched and I plan to paint the frame and so probably they will have to be removed...

I've read that when restoring an old bike the stickers are important, and I think this is a matter of "are the stickers that important in this particular bike?".

In other words, should I keep the stickers and try to restore the rest of the frame the best that I can, or just remove them and do a proper restore?

To be honest, this bike's value isn't that much, even with its semi-relic status, I'm just afraid of making the mistake of taking the stickers and find out that it was best to leave them on. This combined to my urge to take a lot of pictures in high-quality to preserve a record of how it looked before the restoration, and then work on it stripped from any sticker, with a proper paint job and all.

If you feel the bike has no significant resale value, then why not just do what would produce the results YOU would like the most?

But if you really want to preserve the stickers, but want to avoid the trouble and less than ideal paint job due to masking them, I'm guessing it would be possible to photograph (and PhotoShop) them (or find matching images on the web) and then reproduce them somehow with a reasonably waterproof printing scheme.


How to install pre bled brakes with internally routed frame I have a 2017 Salsa Mukluk with an internally routed rear brake.  I bought Shimano XT hydraulic brakes to replace the low end mechanicals that came on the bike.  My problem is that the brakes came pre-bled.  I wanted to buy them not pre-bled, but couldn't find any.

My question is, what's the best way to install the brakes?  Should I completely empty the lines, internally route, cut to length, install new olive and barb and then refill with fluid?  Or is there a way to keep the fluid in the lines?

Doesn't pretty much everyone need to cut the lines to length?  I don't really understand why anyone would want pre-bled brakes.

Usually what you do is disconnect it at the lever, install the lever to the bar, and run the hose up from the caliper end. Because it's sealed on the other end, no more than a few drops of fluid will escape. Then once it's through you can size the hose by turning the bars as far as they go while holding the hose up to the lever and finding the length where the hose can't get accidentally kinked. Cut it at the lever end and put on the spare barb and olive that come with the brake.

Once you have the system reconnected, in many cases you'll find there's no need to even re-bleed the brake. Since you're cutting the hose, usually the fluid will be essentially flush with the cut. Only a marginal amount of air gets introduced, and Shimano brake reservoirs are able to absorb it. (That air floats up to the reservoir in the lever and won't be in the system during braking.)

If you do want to bleed it, usually only a "gravity bleed" is all that's needed, where you skip the step of shooting oil up from the caliper and just drain it down from the cup at the lever end into the collection bag or bottle at the caliper. (Basically this is taking Shimano's written procedure and eliminating the whole first half.) The concept here is that you've only introduced air in the hose, which the gravity bleed will be well able to eliminate.

As for whether it's really better for brakes to come pre-bled, it's probably kind of a concession to giving people something they can just put on their bike and ride without needing a bleed kit or the ability to use it, etc. It's not necessarily the best way of doing things.


For a slightly warped wheel, is it worth getting it repaired? My son has a relatively cheap kids mountain bike, no suspension or anything flash, and after a minor crash into a friend the back wheel is slightly out of true. It only causes issues under braking when the warped area of the wheel leads to stuttering braking, and locking up entirely when the brakes are pulled hard.

My gut feel is that I should just throw it and get a new one, as I don't know how repairable these things are.

Can bike shops repair that sort of thing?

Trueing a wheel is something you can do on your own, but until you get good at it it'll take you time to do it right - "carefully tighten the spokes on the opposite side..." is kind of an oversimplification. Typically a trueing stand is used; the wheel is placed in the stand and prongs or arms on the stand determine exactly where the wheel is out of true.

The problem is that sometimes you need to loosen some spokes to get enough play to pull back against the deformation enough to straighten it out. Someone who does it all day makes it look easy - you bring your wheel in to a good bike shop and usually it takes longer for you to describe the pothole you whacked into than to actually true the wheel. If you've got a good relationship with them they may not even charge you for a 10 second job (karma would demand an offering of beer or pizza as appropriate).

If you don't have a trueing stand but you're feeling adventurous you could try doing it with the wheel in the frame - stand behind / in front of the wheel (so you're looking at the tread) and spin the wheel slowly - you should see where it comes out of true. Use an actual spoke wrench - if you use pliers you can round the ends of the spoke over and if you use a wrench you'll put too much torque on it (I have a friend who has done it with a leatherman in the middle of a ride but he also repaired and managed a bicycle store for many years).

Since it's an inexpensive wheel if you're confident enough in your abilities I'd say go for it - worst case is you end up replacing the rim, but you may learn a new skill in t he process.


Can you use slime (brand) auto tire "tubeless" sealant for a bicycle tube? I'm used to using slime in my tubed tires, the bicycle sealant kind with the "red trim":

but I noticed some "prevent and repair flat tires tire sealant, all tubeless tires" blue trim tire sealant, offered in a larger size, so cheaper.

It says in the description that it seals "even larger" holes.  But doesn't mention bicycles.  Or tubes.  But does mention tubeless.

Can I use the blue trim "tire sealant" in standard bicycle tubes?

Couldn't seem to find an answer to this exact question, or on the slime website.

According to Slime's blog,
"The red label line of Slime products is designed specifically to stop flats in tires with tubes. Tubes are the key word here. Your bicycles, dirt bikes, hand dollies, wheelbarrows and jogging strollers with tubes are perfect candidates for the red label product."

I get the impression, and am doing more research into slime, but in a lot of these companies, the difference in the product line is more label and less chemical.  but according to info I read about the three lines they have, red is for tubes, blue is for everything else except highway-speed vehicles and yellow is for highway-speed vehicles.

https://www.slime.com/us/blog/which-slime-sealant-do-i-need.php

According to the Safety Data Sheets for the products, the three are identical, with the exception, MAYBE, of using different percentages of the three ingredients. Logically, I can see how a different amount of a chemical can make enough of a change to determine what type of tire we are fixing.  So, after researching, I would stick to the red for a tube, blue for all tubeless non-highway speed vehicles and the yellow for highway speed.  Let me know if I missed anything.


Why almost every custom framebuilder builds steel bikes, but not many work with aluminum? I know it's easier and cheaper to work with steel, but is it THAT MUCH easier and cheaper?

When you consider the overall outcome - the final bike, not just the frame, hand building in aluminum rarely makes sense. Modern aluminum factory frames are hydro formed into all sorts of engineered shapes that save weight and provide stiffness and compliance where needed. There is no way to hand build an aluminum frame even close to the characteristics of a mass produced frame. Perhaps when we can 3D print aluminum things will change.

If the custom frame customer is a "money is no object" kind of buyer, you custom build a carbon frame.

This leaves the customer having a budget to work to for the final bike. The weight savings of aluminum over a quality steel frame is about 500gram (much less with a custom hand build). However, the weight savings in putting the money saved working with steel into components makes a lighter bike with better components.

Frame builders will usually switch to titanium if steel is too heavy and the budget allows for more money to be spent. Its not as light as aluminum, but easier to work with.

If you look at the needs of customers that want custom frames, and are prepared to pay for them, you find they understand more about bikes than most of us, and therefore know how small a part weight in the frame really makes to the cycling experience, and will sacrifice a few grams for improvements elsewhere.


What is the best web application to create cycling cue sheets for future rides I'm looking for good software to help me map out routes that I have not done before and create cue sheets and probably also printable maps.  I plan to use this for my own rides, planning group rides, and maybe even alleycat routes.  Things like elevation profile would be nice too.

Optionally, this would also have a cue sheet viewer app available for my smartphone for reference. It doesn't have to navigate me, just show me a list of turns and notes.

I don't really care if it supports upload of routes from gps units or a mobile app since I'm using it more for future rides than past rides. I rarely do the same ride twice.  However, some people find this very useful.

I'm willing to pay money for a good app, so free isn't neccesary, but it's nice. The key thing is it has to be easy to map out a route and generate a cue sheet and add notes.

I mostly use it for tracking rides after the fact, but Ride With GPS has cue sheets and route planning based off of Google maps for their paying members.  From the GPS side, it works great, your mileage may vary for pre-planning.


Handlebar alignment with wheel The alignment has drifted such that when my front wheel is looking straight ahead, my handlebar is not perpendicular to the wheel.

How do I fix this at home?

Nowadays most bikes have a 'threadless' headset. The steerer tube of the fork protrudes out of the frame's head tube and the stem clamps onto it. The stem serves to hold the whole system together and apply a little pre-load force onto the bearings to remove any play or movement. Without this pre-load the bearings will become damaged as the fork rocks in the frame slightly as you go over bumps.

If you have a threadless headset and your stem has rotated on the steerer tube, the chances are the clamp bolts are too loose and you have lost the bearing pre-load.

It's not too difficult to re-adjust the stem (and re-align the stem and wheel at the same time).  There are many video's on YouTube that show you how to do it. Here's a reasonably good one.

If you don't feel happy doing this adjustment a local bicycle repair shop will do it in under 10 minutes.

If you have an old style threaded headset, the stem is simply secured by a bolt in the top of it. Here is a good tutorial on how to adjust it. The process is fairly fool-proof.


Why are some chainrings specs appended with an 'a' or 's' Shimano 22s x 32s x 44a

Why isn't that 22x32x44t ? What does the 's' and 'a' stand for in this case

From this article:

Type B: by far the most popular one and also the default on Ultegra
cranksets; it comes in 52 and 53 teeth and must be paired with 39
tooth inner chainring.
Type A: comes in 53 as well as 54 and 55 teeth; as per Shimano’s
advice must be installed together with a 42 small ring.
Type E: a VERY rare combination: 56/44

There is NOTHING unusual about the 39, 42, and 44 tooth chainrings. It is the outer big ring that has special gates and pins machined into it for smooth and fast shifting. Since the 53/39 cranksets are dime and a dozen, flatlanders and time-trialists alike may opt for a 42 inner ring for tighter gearing. The more inquisitive like myself are aware of the A and B type Shimano story so we go on Google and search if it is possible to mix and match. And what do you know, the internet says it is, so it has to be true!

As for the 'S', Shimano is Japanese and using an S is very common from Japanese manufacturers to denote a newer or Superior product. Nikon does this with their cameras, Shimano does it with chainrings and component updates, and so on. Shimano has also used S to denote a product is a sprocket/cog and many other manufacturers- some Japanese, some not- use an S to mean single speed.


Is Shimano Claris compatible with disc brakes? All of the Shimano Claris groupsets I have seen come with cantilever brakes as far as I can tell.

Is it possible to get this with disc brakes, would I have to buy the individual components?

What would be a good, affordable configuration of components (or entire groupset ideally) to get this?

I'm thinking of STI levers, is this important?

You can use disk brakes with road levers as long as you buy the ones specifically designed to work with road levers. The difference is the amount of cable pull (the distance that the cable moves when you squeeze the lever). This distance is lower for standard road levers than for MTB levers, so the design of the brake has to take this into account. I know that the Avid BB7 brakes are available in road and mountain versions, I'm not familiar with the Shimano line.


How to pick the brake cable housing size? I am trying to buy new brake cable housing for my road bike, but got confused about the sizes. I was going to go for this one (5 mm diameter). Which should nicely fit around a 1.6 mm brake cable.

However, Googling a bit further revealed there are also 3 mm, 4.9 mm or 5.5 mm diameter variations available.
Is there any difference in functionality and performance between these sizes?
Google search hits for reference:

Note: the question is similar to this one (What is the difference between brake cables and derailleur cables?). But there is no information about brake cable housing size in there.

5mm is the standard for bike parts made since I don't even know when, 1940s-ish.
6mm was an early MTB thing and is found on some 80s brake parts and frame housing stops. Don't worry about it unless you're working with a vintage mountain bike with overtly chunky housing and cables.
5.5mm is confusing the way a few manufacturers toss the number around. Basically, some special kit-type brake housings use it, typically braided or those with a braided outer, and they also need their own special ferrules, which will come with the housing anyway. There are no frames or parts that need or are designed for 5.5mm.
3mm isn't a thing.


Can I use Rockshox tokens with my Sektor fork? (Fuel EX 5) I would like to experiment with ramp control with tokens but I cannot find out if my fork is compatible with the regular Rockshox tokens, is it too low end??

Thanks.

The Sektor fork does not appear to have a compatible token. From the Rockshox web site https://www.sram.com/rockshox/technologies/bottomless-tokens:

Black bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Solo Air forks: RS-1, SID, Reba, Bluto, Revelation.
Grey bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Solo Air forks: Pike, Lyrik, Yari, Pike DJ, BoXXer.
Dark red bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Dual Position Air forks: Pike, Lyrik, Yari.


How to trim down using Shimano Tiagra front derailleur shifters? I have Shimano Tiagra 9 Speed shifters on my road bike. On my front deraileur, when I shift up (smaller chain ring to larger chain ring), I can control the amount my derailleur moves, therefore I can use this to trim the front derailleur going this direction to remove chain rub.

However, how do I trim going the opposite direction?  On my shifter, when I shift down (larger ring to smaller ring), when I press the shifter, it instantly goes down to the next ring.  There is no in-between and I can't control the amount it moves.

Are you supposed to be able to trim going that direction somehow? Sometimes, if I happen to find myself in my larger cassette gears but also my largest chain ring and I'm not able to adequately shift to a different chain ring (maybe going up a sudden steep hill or something), then I get chain rub. But the only way it seems to be to trim the front derailleur in this case is to shift to the lower chain ring, then shift back up to the larger chain ring but don't push the derailleur all the way into place.

As per alex's answer and the manual you should be able to trim both up and down. Assuming you have that or a similar model Tiagra (there are multiple variants and I'm not sure all have a trimming option).


Tips for adjusting Shimano M355 hydraulic brakes I have upgraded from cheap old front cable disks brakes and rear v-brakes to Shimano hydraulic M355's front and rear. I always adjusted my old brakes for a very tight fit (to reduce dead space between pads/rotor) thus shortening my lever throw.

As a sidenote, I know the M355's are the lower end of the hydraulic spectrum but i would have expected them to be better than my old lower end cable brakes. Also, I have bled both of these brakes twice in succession so air cannot be an issue

Q1.
With these new hydraulics there is a large space between the pads and rotor. The pads do auto-adjust correctly but not enough. Are there any tricks to modify this? (I have tried over-filling the system and it works briefly until the pads wear down a bit. However, i am unsure if overfilling could damage the bladder/diaphram in the lever)

Q2.
I have noticed that both the front and rear levers feel different when applying braking pressure. The rear feels nice and soft, yet firm and feels the same all the way through the stroke. It also provides good power. However, on the front, when the pads contact the rotor, you can really feel the lever go from soft to hard immediately. The front does not provide as much power as it should.
Does this indicate something is wrong? If so, what?

Sorry for the long paragraghs, just trying to give you all a clear picture.

Thanks in advance for any help

First, I think you made a good decision. Hydraulic disc brakes are the way to go, and the M355 are really nice for the price. Also, I assume brake pads/discs are not contaminated and caliper is straight in relation to the disc.

These are indeed the cheapest brakes, and therefore there is not much place for adjustments. If without touching the lever the pads don't touch the disk, and when you apply they do, than I would say they are ok. Maybe you would like them to do have a tighter feel, but with this model there isn't much you can do apart from lever distance to handlebar (play with this a little to feel confortable).

I don't think overbleeding helps. It shouldn't cause any harm, but the brakes were designed to work in a specific way, so it might affect behavior under heat, or might be causing the "instant brake" feel you are talking about, or might cause rubbing with new pads.

Another thing to notice is that it is normal, even in good brakes, that the rear and front feels slightly different, because of expansion on the tube under braking (there is so much tube going to the rear, right?). And also, as the rider you are more sensible to brake forces in the front, and they affect more the dynamics of the bike.

One thing I would recommend you to do is to bleed according to manufacturer's instructions and try to adapt. The change from pads or mechanical disc is huge in terms of the relation between lever force - braking force, and it is normal that as a rider you need some time to feel comfortable as you change muscle memory.

For example, on my road bike I always pull the lever/pads with as much strength as I can to do an emergency brake, whereas in my mountain bike with hydraulics I have to re-teach myself that I must always modulate brake lever even in an emergency brake. The dynamics are very different.

Of course there might be something wrong with them, but from your description I doubt it. If you can't take it out of your mind though, go to a shop, pretend you want to buy a bike with the same brakes as you have and ask for a small test-drive :)


Swap MTB parts to road bike I have changed my tires to road and crank set to 48 teeth. The question is with all my current parts is there a way I can buy a road bike frame and transfer everything on to the road bike frame?

My MTB is running disk brakes, not a V-brakes.

What's the wheel size? If it's 700c, then you can get disc road/CX/gravel frame. Do mind type of bottom bracket, hub widths and seatpost diameter, though. You can fit MTB shifters and brake levers to a drop bar, but that would look funky, so probably flat bar only. For proper fit, stem might require replacement too.


Seeking powermeter data I am developing a small tool that allows to pick a day for a long cycle trip. The idea is to use weather forecasts to compute how bad/good the wind along the route in the following days is. You can have a look and read further details in the project page.

One of the requirements for the model accuracy are good estimates of the real physical parameters used in the model. This parameters are personal and depend on the rider/cycle. Therefore, the program should have a feature to estimate those parameters, provided some powermeter data. Unfortunately, I don't have a powermeter, so I cannot collect the data myself and play around with the way those parameters are estimated.

Therefore, I am reaching out for people who have a powermeter and willing to help me to get this data examples. The data I need should ideally contain the following entries: timestamp, latitude, longitude, elevation, power. The entries are needed to be collected along a cycle trip (or several).

You do not need a power file (although I am happy to provide some examples), what you do need to do your calculations are the power curves and total weight so you can calculate watts/kg.

The ability of humans produce sustainable power changes over the duration. The highest power is produced for short intervals, with a rapid drop off from 1 sec to 1 min interval, followed by a leveling out over time.

Most online training analyzers will provide this.  Strava actually provides these figures to members, and allows you to access power curves of riders you follow that upload power data.  You can also download files of athletes you follow (i.e., those who allow you to follow them).

Therefore you will need to:

Make an account on Strava
Make friends with some users who have a power meter
Become a "follower" - it's kind of like joining a cult.
Download/analyze applicable rides.

To get you started below are a couple power curve examples, one from a commute and another from an actual pro athlete (which would probably not be very indicative of touring efforts).

Example - MAMIL Commute

Here is an example an out-of-shape middle age man in lycra (MAMIL) riding to work:

This was last week, riding a tempo pace but not killing it. I was putting a reasonable effort on the climbs which is why the 20 minute power is around 300 watts, but didn't want to work too hard so the 1 hour power falls off and the short duration power is relatively low.

Example - Pro Athlete

This is a high end example of a pro athlete (triathlete) riding full out for an hour in a cyclo-cross (CX) race, a type of racing known for its intensity:

They are putting in big efforts out of the corners (2000 watts!!!! - #$%!) and are maxed out everywhere else.  Here the CP60 (critical power - 60 minutes; also known as Functional Power Threshold [FTP]) is around 370 watts!!! Impressive fitness to say the least.

If you look at 5 minute power, which is a good indicator of potential fitness, the pro athlete is still putting out almost 100 watts more power than the MAMIL commuter example.  That is 30% more capability! Granted I wasn't completely maxed out on my commute, but there is no way I could find another 100 watts to match, plus I have more weight which would put me at a lower watts/kg and a further disadvantage.

Summary

Both examples are probably outside what someone on a long cycle trip will want to do.  I would simply shift the curves down appropriately.


Is a Hollowtech II BB compatible with an Octalink Crank? (Shimano Claris) If I fit a Shimano Hollowtech II Bottom Bracket (Claris), can I still use my Octalink Claris crank?

No, you cannot, they are fundamentally different. Octalink uses a 3-piece crankset and Hollowtech 2 uses a 2-pice crankset.
The 3-piece means that the spindle is integrated in the Octalink BB. The 2-piece means that the spindle is integrated with the right crank and inserted through the hollow BB.
The BB is usually much cheaper than the crank so it is normal to buy the BB you need for your crankset if the crankset is OK. One only buys a different BB if their new crankset requires it.


upgrading an old bike gears and shifter I don't have a whole lot of knowledge on this, but here goes. I have an old Murray Ultra mountain bike (prob. 15 yrs.+). It is a 15 speed bike, with a 5 speed freewheel. The whole Shimano system is the 515 which includes front and rear derailleurs.I really don't want to spend a lot of money on an upgrade, but an up grade of some sort is necessary because of simple wear and tear. All i'm asking is there a set,or equivalent where i can replace - at least the shifters to a more modern ones,and front derailleur without having to break the bank. At the very least the front derailleur and shifters.

Having restored a number of old cheap bikes, I can tell you that the biggest problem is almost never the derailleurs/shifters. Usually these bikes have not been ridden much and have spent most of their time in a garage exposed to the elements. The biggest problems are rusted parts, poor lubrication, and horrifically bad tuning. Frequently, on a bike like this you're likely to find that it was never properly put together.

Here's a quick checklist of things to go over that can be fixed economically:

Buff all rusted parts with steel wool, regrease all bushings on derailleurs & brake calipers/levers.
Clean/lube chain & freewheel or replace with similar if worn out (unlikely).
Replace cables and housings for brakes and shifters with inexpensive new ones (example) ~$10-20
Replace brake pads ~$10
Adjust brakes-- following readily available instructions
Adjust shifters-- following readily available instructions
disassemble/re-grease/re-pack hubs, headset, bottom bracket-- following readily available instructions
True the wheel, tighten spokes if needed.
Replace inner tubes, tires, rim-tape (If they're in bad shape) ~$30-50

If you have to replace the shifters or derailleurs, just try to find cheap replacements or used parts that are similar. You'll want to stick with 5-speed stuff, you aren't going to be upgrading to a 10 speed freewheel (they don't exist!).


Stupid question: does my rear derailleur have a hanger? I don't see it. The place where it should be seems to be part of the frame. If not, why not?

The hanger is part of the frame in this case. This is a pretty common design, though many newer frames will have the hanger as a removable part of the frame that can be replaced if damaged. In the case of your bike, if there is damage, you have to (carefully) bend it back to shape.


MTB Weekend rider: step up to carbon worth it? Target: weekend rider, cross country, enjoying technical sections, approx. 3hrs rides. Would like to improve MTB skills and spend more time on the trails.

Current setup: Grand Canyon 4.0 2018, 13,3 kg, Alluminium. Shimano Deore 2x10 crankset, 11-42 10s cassette.

Situation: Having difficulty in steep climbs, bike feels really heavy when I lift it. Considering investing in a carbon model (Focus Raven 8.7).
PROS: approx. 2kg less weight, 30t chainring (as aftermarket upgrade) and a 10-51 cassette, more responsive
CONS: price, less comfortable to ride (?)

Guess some of you could have been / are in the same situation. The author of this article rules against the upgrade decision.

Taking into account technical considerations, is the investment worth it? Thoughts? Experience?

You can drop 2.2kg easily with upgrades to your current bike that would probably be less expensive than purchasing a new bike. Much of that weight could be dropped where it matters the most and where you will notice it first; the wheels and tires.

Find a lighter weight wheelset with tubeless tires and sealant and I would almost guarantee you will drop over 1kg from the bike. Upgrading the components where your body makes contact to the bike will also drop some weight and make the ride more comfortable. Carbon fiber handlebars designed to flex slightly, dropper seatpost to get it out of the way when moving the bike around, and good grips go a long way to aid in comfort and confidence. The other place where you can lose some weight is by swapping out the stock fork for a lighter and better performing one that has a more secure lockout feature.

FWIW; my steel singlespeed 29er is an XC racer, weighs in at 11kg, and has secured numerous podium spots in regional races.


What is neuromuscular endurance in the world of bicycling? I read the term neuromuscular endurance perhaps something related to having your brain not accustomed to high speed pedalling. I'm curious as it is related to bicycling cadence and I'm working on that.

I think that you've misunderstood the concept a little. There is no neuromuscular endurance power range quite like the aerobic or anaerobic power zones. There are however neuromuscular adaptations which will affect your endurance and cycling performance.

The nerve connections to muscles are how your brain controls them. Through training, you're able to create more nerve connections to a muscle, which will also have faster firing. This allows better activation of your body's muscle fibres. The end result of this is better pedalling efficiency and better peak power.

The best way to train for these adaptations is through strength training. When training high weight low reps, your muscle is forced to recruit far more muscle fibres than it ever needs to when cycling. Even a maximal sprint effort doesn't come close to the torque requires for heavy deadlifts or leg press. To meet these requirements, your body makes these neuromuscular adaptations which in turn are beneficial to cycling performance, which is where the endurance relationship comes into the equation.

This article discusses the concept.


Titanium fork in a chromoly frame I have heard there can be issues when dissimilar metals are in prolonged contact.  Would that apply to titanium and chromoly? Ive got may eye on a new titanium fork for my old chromoly frame bike.

As the comments to the question reasonably state, the problem of dissimilar metals contacting is really not applicable in the case of a fork and a headtube, because there is no direct contact.

The fork contacts either bearings' balls or one of bearings' races. Balls rotate, so unless you leave your bicycle in a cellar for a year, they will not get a chance of chemically reacting to the point they stick. And if the race binds, so what, the bearing will still rotate, and if the case of bearings replacement procedure the fork still can be extracted and races removed.
There should be enough of consistent grease to prevent both bearings' rusting and materials binding. That is the thing that one can control when installing a new fork, and then periodically refresh it with a new grease.

Where things may bind is where heterogeneous surfaces contact and do not move relatively to each other. The most notorious pair is seatpost and seattube. For a titanium fork, the stem/steering tube contact point should be something to watch for instead.


What headsets can be used to replace the FSA No.57/No.61BP headset? I managed to damage the headset on my Merida Speeder 300. In particular, I warped the bottom bearing, and I need a replacement. Normally, this would be a simple matter of looking up the specifications of the model in question, except the FSA website doesn't list a product numbered 61BP or 57/61BP.

I took a caliper and measured some of the parts. The steerer measured 28.4mm at the top, and flared to 39.8mm at the crown. I probably messed up the measurements, and that steerer is a 1-1/8"-1.5". The cups are semi-integrated, the top one measured 40.1 mm on the inside, and 32.4mm inside the lip. The bottom one was 47 and 41 mm on the same. Of course, I couldn't get at the tube because the cups were in the way, and my handling of the caliper is suspect..

So, what is this product and what are the critical measurements of it, with an eye to getting a replacement.

I received an email from FSA customer support:

Thanks for contacting us.
Headset No.57/61BP is a cheeper headset with retainer bearing, we don’t have this Headset in stock and also this type of bearing as spare parts.

We suggest to install the below upgrade version, so in the future you can replace only the bearing:
130-0026            HS SX Pro (I/I) 15mm alloy 1-1/8 1.5
Hope this can help.
Ciao
Stefano

Googling this, I found a headset called FSA Gravity HS No. 55 SX Pro, which has the following specs:

Upper headtube ID 44mm
Lower headtube ID 54.92mm (Follow-up email indicates that this is in fact 55)
1 1/8" to 1.5" tapered steerer
50-61mm headtube outer diameter


How you can reduce wind noise in the ears while cycling? Whan I cycle I usually listen to music with a headset but the wind noise is so annoying that I do not hear music

I would not too turn up the volume of the music because I prefer to easily listen to the noise of cars and everything that around me

I use to listen to music only from the right headset and with a low volume, so the wind noise seems stronger and I am not able to understand the music. I cycle low speed so the wind noise is caused by the power of wind, not by the high speed

I had this exact problem, and I found a variety of products that can solve this and reduce the wind noise significantly. Cat Ears, Wind Blox, and SlipStreamz being the ones I know of (no affiliation).

These products attach to your helmet straps and force the wind around your ear, therefore reducing the wind noise. I've heard you can also put a twist in your helmet strap to have a similar effect.'

Once I started wearing these, I could put my headphones in and understand podcast conversations much better. I even wrote a post about these wind blocker products on my bike commuting blog I love them so much (I am NOT affiliated with any of the companies mentioned, just an enthusiastic bike commuter).

When I was initially looking a few years ago I believe only the Cat Ears were available, so I got what's now called the Cat Ears Classics. They look a little funny, but they definitely work and provide a little warmth from wind chill as well. Here I am wearing them.

Happy biking!


Optimal beginner training I have been road biking for about 6 months now (before that mostly running and gym.) I signed up for a 300km race (mostly flat), and my goal is to pass it in 9h. My current level of biking is 90km in 3h (alone). The race is in June so I have plenty of time.

I find it hard to optimize my training. There seems to be many different schools:

Intervals intervals intervals.
Distance distance and more distance.
Mix

So I'm a well trained bicycle beginner that want to maximize the improvement
in 6 months. Obviously I don't want to be injured or overtrained.

Anyone have any recommendations? or reference (publications?)
How many pass/weak? Gym? Intensity?

Probably many of you have been in my situation before.
And yes, btw the training for the coming three month will be on a trainer,
since it is winter.

I have pulse watch, cadence meter, speed meter, and a build in power meter.
The trainer is a tacx i-flow and I have signed up for trainingroad.

Training plans are all well and good, but the first goal is to be able to ride 9 hrs.

There is no substitute for doing long rides to prepare to do a long ride. In my experience,
for just developing pure endurance you get 80-90% of your training effect from a long ride. The rest of your training should be focused around reducing the recovery time to enable you to do your next long ride. There are also lot's of logistics around eating and drinking for 9hrs on the bike that you'll have to figure out as well and there is simply no way to know what will work for you without getting some 5-6 hr rides as practice.

Given that you'll be inside the next 3 months, you should probably focus on consistency with some intensity work. Do as much cross training as you can. It's very hard mentally to do significant endurance training on trainer. If you can find another activity like XC skiing or a similar winter endurance sport, that would be beneficial. The most important part over the winter is to stay consistant and to not mentally burn out. You want to be raring to go when the weather gets good, not disgusted with riding due to burning out on the trainer. Going to the gym to work on flexibility and core strength is also a good winter activity. 9hr rides will make muscles painful that you normally don't notice riding.

Once the weather gets nice start working towards a regular extra long ride at least every 2 weeks, every week would be good if you recovering in that time. Start at 3 hrs and add a half hour until you start to reach a point where you can't recover in time for the next ride. Stay there for a while until you're ready to make the next increment. You'll know you're ready to move to the next level when you're excited to do a long ride, if it starts to feel like a job or an obligation, that's the time to step back.

Endurancing training is as much about managing recovery as it is actually training. People with the mindset to enjoy endurance sports rarely have trouble with training, but they almost all struggle with overtraining. Learning when to push through and when to back off takes a very long time. As a relative beginner, I'd urge you to err on the side of caution. Taking a rest week every now and then should be part of your plan. Taking a week off will not significantly affect your fitness at all and might provide suprising benefits. Overtraining that extra week can destroy months of training with injury and illness.

300 km in 9 hrs is a very ambitious goal. If you want to be confident I would want to be
doing training rides of at least 6 hrs, 7 or 8 hrs would be better.

You'll also need to taper at some point before the event. Plan on at least 2-3 weeks of reduced effort leading up to the race.


bigger tires smaller bike If my bike currently has 24 inch wheels, will 26 inch wheels fit?

I have a cruiser with 24 inch wheels an I want to put 26 inch wheels on it, I am not sure they will they fit.

Most likely no. That is too big of a difference in wheel sizes. The frame does not likely have enough room for the larger wheels. If you have rim brakes there would also be the problem of adjusting the brake pad position for the larger wheel. You could always go to a shop or swap wheels from another bike just to see if they will fit, but I think it is very unlikely that they would,


Is shimano ct-s500 chain tensioner supposed to move around its bolt? I disassembled my Shimano ct-s500 chain tensioner and now I am putting it all together. However after attaching it to the frame it moves  for about 60 degrees around the bolt which attaches it to the frame. Here is a video https://drive.google.com/open?id=1itR1nnxvhlJbIqK0KxWzaiwva47sI4Cj (see the second half of it). Is it supposed to be like that?

Yes, no problem. When there's no chain in place it's normal for rear derailers and this type of chain tensioner to be able to rotate like that.


Front wheel getting misaligned while climbing hills I've got a single speed bike with bullhorn handles. When I'm climbing steep hills I pull on the bullhorns quite hard, and once I'm back on a flat I'll occasionally find that the front wheel has become misaligned.

It's a new bike, could this be due to the amount of lubrication on the stem that will fix itself over time?

If not, I presume I could tighten the stem, but would that introduce any new problems?

That's scary, you shouldn't be able to do that. It sounds as though you can straighten it easily too. If you straddle the front wheel facing backwards can you twist the bars in the fork easily?

If so, definitely tighten it up. Firmly. You should not be able to move that!

Who put the bike together? If it's new, take it back and talk to the owner of the shop - this is something they should be aware of so they can (re)train whoever assembled/serviced the bike. Of course, if it's a big box shop paying schoolchildren $2/bike to take them out of the box and assemble them they won't care, but you shouldn't be buying bikes from them for exactly that reason.

(edit: answer second part of the question) Over-tightening it could break things, yes. But that's normally quite hard to do. If it's a new bike get the shop to do this. If it's your bike it's easy enough to do.

For a modern threadless headset there will usually be two allen key bolts to tighten, and the best solution IMO is the Rolls-Royce one* - use a multi-tool with a short handle, so you don't have enough leverage to overtighten it. Do the bolts up firmly, test by trying to twist the handlebars. If you can, do it up a little more firmly. Then stop, because you don't want to strip the stem and there's probably something else wrong.

For a quill stem there will be a single hex head bolt going down into the headset (rather than across the top). But the procedure is the same, tighten it firmly and test.

In both cases, if that doesn't fix it you should open things up and find out why. But I'll leave that for another question.

Henry Royce made each spanner of such a length that when tightened firmly the relevant bolt was correctly torqued. There's a description here in the paragraph beginning "It is worth recounting that the ‘S’ series".


Regulations regarding Braking redundancy on single speed bikes. Recently there have been an increase in the number of fixed gear bikes in my (U.S.) city.  Increasingly they tend to have one or zero brake levers, justified by their ability to stop with pedal power alone.

Even more recently, I've noticed even larger numbers of single speed (non-fixed gear) bikes  --- outnumbering the fixed gear bikes.  And they often have only a single brake lever (for simplicity or fashion?).

I understand the justification for having only a single brake on the fixed gear bikes because their braking redundancy lies within the drivetrain.

I do not understand why this is acceptable on single speed bikes.  Is there something I am missing or is that indeed ridiculously dangerous?

Are manufacturers allowed to sell bicycles with non-redundant brakes?  Is this regulated in the U.S. or anywhere else? This seems like a recipe for disaster (having experienced brake failure on my bike).

No, you're not missing something, it is unsafe to have less than two brakes. If you only have one brake and it fails, you're going to have a bad time. Mostly, it's just cool to have one brake, or even zero lever brakes on your fixie. This style is probably just bleeding over into single speed bikes as well.

The law in most states here in the U.S. only requires you to have one brake, and even still there are some rebellious people that challenge how the law defines a brake and how many you should have. There have been court cases in my town that have tried to define whether or not a fixed gear system counts as the one brake, but the judge usually wins these arguments. Many European countries require road-going bikes to have a brake on each wheel.

Manufacturers that sell bikes with only one brake could very well be at risk of being entangled in a legal battle if someone is injured when that one brake fails.


What's the maximum tire width of a Cannondale Bad Boy 6 2014? A quite basic question; what's the widest tire that can be fitted to a Cannondale Bad Boy 6, 2014 (with a rigid Fatty fork)?
Would a pair of studded 40mm tyres (Suomi Tyres W240, 40-622) fit?

You'd have to test it out - theres enough variation in tires (esp. studded tires) for two tires to be marked the same size and one fit and one not fit.

This thread indicates that for an older Bad Boy with rigid fork was able to clear a 47 mm tire (which looks to be the largest possible), so I'd guess the answer is yes, but YMMV.


Can i convert my Road bike to a Fixed Gear bike? I was just wondering if i can convert my aluminum road bike into a fixed gear bike? If so, what is the BEST/SAFEST way to do so?... Reason why is because i have no need for gears due to the fact that i only ride on flat surfaces for short periods of time throughout the day. The dropouts on my bike are perpendicular to the ground by the way... Thanks in advanced!

Yes. The best way to do it is to use a White Industries ENO Eccentric Hub (I don't care that I'm giving a product recommendation here because this is the only product that's ever done what it does), the alternative being using a magic ratio setup. The other part of it is getting set up with the proper chainline up front.


What is the largest hole a tire can bear before replacement? Saw this question today. The tire in question has a 2cm long hole on the inside, from a knife.

I sometimes get puncture flats from e.g. glass. Never as big as 2cm. Usually if they're less than 1/2cm, I just keep using the tire. Is this at all dangerous? At what size does a hole in the tire become dangerous?

There's probably not a hard and fast rule as to how big is too big. It's going to vary based on tire width, pressure, the thickness of the tube, etc.

As someone mentioned in the comments on that other question, damage to the threads is the biggest concern. If the puncture goes between the threads like a sewing needle would through clothing, there's definitely no problem. If one or two of the threads gets damaged, probably still not a problem. At what point it's too many threads to be any good anymore though is pretty much a judgment call.

One thing that you can be sure of: If you put the tube in and fill it up, and you can see the tube from the outside of the tire; the hole is too big and probably needs a boot to get you home. And if it's that big, you need to replace the tire.


Is it safe to ride on cracked carbon rims (Zipp 404 Firecrest 2010 edition)? I've got a set of Zipp Firecrest 404 Tubulars (2010). I went over a pothole recently but did not crash. It was a pretty big pothole. After going over the pothole, I heard a rubbing sound from the front wheel when braking. Continued the ride home (20Km) and inspected it when I got home. I found a crack on the side of the rim. The tubular tires look fine. At the point of the crack, there's no visible damage to the tubular tires or the other side of the rim. The tubular tires also still hold air perfectly. I've attached some pictures below. A couple of questions:

I don't think the crack is due to impact. It's probably due to the side grazing the pothole. There wasn't damage on the other side. If it's an impact crack, it would likely appear on both sides?
Is this repairable and worth repairing?
I've read many other posts and the classic answer is "is your face worth more than 1000 dollars for a new wheel". It's of course easy to buy a new wheel, but I'd like a more thorough answer on what caused this crack and whether or not it is still rideable from a scientific perspective.

Sorry to hear about your damage.

I don't think the crack is due to impact.

Maybe, maybe not, but regardless of a reason the wheel has become damaged. On the two sided likeness of damage — things are not symmetrical in practice, especially pot holes, and a crack does not have to be symmetrical.

Is this repairable and worth repairing?

It depends on whether a specific shop agrees to repair it. A wheel after such a repair essentially becomes warrantied by the repairing shop and not the wheel manufacturer. In a case the repair won't hold and you'll crash because of that, the liability will be on the shop. For this reason, many carbon repairing shops won't risk fixing such a critical part of a wheel as the braking surface. Other shops are more willing to address the problem.

I'd like a more thorough answer on what caused this crack and whether or not it is still rideable from a scientific perspective.

The wheel is certainly rideable now because you have managed to get back home on it. For how long it remains rideable before it fails, that is something nobody can tell for sure. There is likely not enough public statistics of people riding cracked carbon wheels to make any scientific predictions.


How to prevent my disc brakes from locking/sticking due to debris? Context:

I have a commuter/crossover bike with disc brakes, and a daily commute of ~20km. I upgraded to a bike with disc brakes after standard caliper brakes kept losing their stick and requiring pad replacements, as my rims became coated with oil from the roads (I commute past a diesel truck depot, and the road is nasty for about 1km).

Problem:

Since I upgraded, I have the opposite problem: literally every day in the winter, my disc brakes get full of mud, road salt, and sand. That stuff gets on top of and behind the (magnetically attached) brake pads, and makes them drag on the rotor. At best, they make the brakes constantly pull as if they were about 1/2 engaged. At worst, the water in the mud freezes and expands over night (I have a tiny apartment, and the bike sleeps outside), and the brakes are completely locked in the morning.

What I've Tried:

At first I thought it was the cables that were freezing with tension on the brakes, but after replacing and oiling them, I isolated the problem to the brake rotors/pads themselves.

The roads where I live are pretty much always covered in debris all winter, so changing my commute to avoid that stuff doesn't really work.

I've tried adjusting the brake pads farther away from the rotors. This works a little, but to fully prevent sticking, I have to adjust the pads so far out that I can't fully engage the brakes when I want to.

Up until now, I've been washing the bike with water every night (annoying, since during the winter the outside faucets don't work), and rinsing the brakes with warm water every morning to unfreeze them.

Question:

This is getting really old, so my question is: without obsessively cleaning them 1-2 times a day, how do I keep my disc brakes from getting gummed up? If the answer is "buy better disc brakes", that's fine. I just have no idea what to look for.

I think that cleaning with water is the problem. You wash them overnight, leave the bike outside. Water freezes inside of the breaks. You splash hot water again in the morning and get more water on your breaks and behind the pads that will freeze later on.

I would try avoid using water in your daily clean. Just try it for couple times. Clean the pads with dry cloth and make sure there is no water in the system. And see how it works next day.

To be honest, I have never experienced this kind of problem. And I've used disk brakes for the last 10 years in very different conditions, including thin wet mud all over the bike, brakes and pads. And I never got mud between pistons and break pads.
So I think the problem with "magnetically held" pads. My pads always been held in place by a spring.

So if you have this option, try changing the breaks, but make sure that new breaks hold the pads with a spring, not magnets.


Just getting into biking I'm just getting into the biking world and I am in the market for a better bike than my current Huffy bike. I'm looking on Craigslist and I came across a 1980 Schwinn World Traveler bike for $120. Obviously I will be trying to talk down the price but is this going to be a solid bike? Or should I shop around a little more and find something better. If it helps I can post the link to the craigslist page. Thanks for the help!

Solid, yes. Worth it? Probably not.

Unless it has been kept in perfect running condition, a 30+ year old bike is going to need lots of maintenance. IT will also have really outdated parts. Finding spares will be difficult, newer parts might not fit at all. All this boils down to maintenance nightmare.

Even if you find bike that's perfect to ride, it will still be an old bike. It will be heavier and its' gears and brakes won't be as good as in newer models. Unless you get a kick from riding vintage bike (nothing wrong with that), I'd go for more modern one.

This site has 1980 Schwinn Traveler specifications: http://schwinncruisers.com/catalogs/1980.html.

At least the 27" wheels that the Traveler has are going to be trouble. 27" size is not used much these days. Finding new tyres/inner tubes in case of flats will be tricky.


What to Look for In a Fixer Upper I have decided to buy an older worn down bike and fix it up as my commuter.  What things should I look for?  I know I should check the frame for rust.  But, that's about it.  For example, is it easy to get a good condition cassette for an older bike?  Or, should I try to find a bike that already has one?  Advice like that.

Check for something that has easily available parts.  If you buy a bike that's too old, then new parts won't fit on it properly, and you'll have to either find old parts in good condition, or pay more for parts because they aren't made in high volume anymore.  I guess if you're talking about a commuter, then it's going to be a road bike. Make sure that it has 700c wheels, or can accomodate them.  Otherwise, finding 27 inch wheels and tires can be a bit of a pain.


Can cycle shoes be widened? I have new cycling shoes.
They fit fairly well -- I've worn them for an hour -- but I'd like them a bit wider at the toe (I have wide feet).
Can they be widened? They uppers are not made of leather. I think that when a shoe-shop widens leather shoes, they do that using some product which softens the leather, and which doesn't work with a synthetic upper.
I tried one shoe-shop, who told me they couldn't do it, because they only have the product for leather.
Can it be done at all? Does it need a special product (for synthetics), or perhaps some heat, or only patience? I realise that widening might not be as effective as it is with leather, but if it can be done at all then even a little might help.

According to this manufacturer's web site, some shoes can be "heat-molded":

Heat Molding
This cycling shoe is the most heat moldable shoe on the market today. Bont's resin is developed in house and has been perfected over 36 years to be an extremely stiff resin that becomes pliable at relatively low temperatures. The base of the shoe is moldable which means all stiff areas of the shoe can be molded in a standard oven. You do not need to mold your shoes if they fit you straight out of the box. To mold your shoes, remove any cleats, laces or cleat mounting screws and innersole before molding. Failure to remove the innersole can result in it becoming deformed by the heat. Pre heat the oven to 70°C/160°F. Place the shoe in the oven for 20 minutes. Higher temperatures will void your warranty and may damage your boot. Caution: Do not place your feet in the hot shoes or you may burn your feet. Let them cool a little and test the shoe temperature with your hand before placing your feet in the shoes. Tighten the straps and allow to cool. If you have any lumps or bunions on your feet or if there are any areas causing discomfort, while the shoe is hot you can use the round end of a screwdriver to press out any part of the boot. You can heat mold the shoes as many times as you like.

I read some people recommend a hair-dryer, but this suggestion of an oven seems to me more measured, a more accurate temperature.


Can I put a lower geared cassette on my bike? I bought a bike recently that has a 34 front 28 rear gear ratio. It is an Elfama E2500, which is a Korean brand I believe. It has a Shimano Claris (which is rated for up to 32 teeth) rear derailleur and an 8 speed 11-28 cassette in the back.

I would like to go with as big of a gear as possible for climbing, somethine like 11-32 which is the biggest I can find in an 8 speed. Something like this... http://goo.gl/eLbluH

Will this fit? Is there some other variable I am missing? Would it be possible to go up to a 10 speed cassette without changing too much on the bike?

Changing to 10 speed gets real expensive real quick, because you need new chain, cassette, shifter at a minimum.

32 tooth is 4 more than 28, so its a ~14.3% increase.  That's quite a lot - you will need extra chain links, and your rear derailleur will need adjusting and may not work with the extra teeth. It's hard to be sure without trying it.

Your other possible change is to shrink the smallest of your front chainrings.  This may mean slower changes between rings, or the FD may not have enough capacity.  You'll also need a medium or long cage rear derailleur to help take up the difference in chain length.

Final option is to grin and bear it.   Climbs up hills aren't fun.  They're supposed to be a workout.


Increasing e-bike battery range by limiting speed Can I get more range out of my e-bike if I put a speed limit on it?

I got my bike a few days ago and I really am enjoying it. As of now I am getting about 35 km per charge. So I was wondering if I am able to get more range by putting speed limit on the bike.

I tried putting the speed limit and I hope I will not cause any damages.

Depends totally on your bike's Battery Management System and what options it offers.

Generally speaking, a battery has a certain amount of stored energy, which is its capacity in watt-hours, which may be expressed in amp-hours (at a known voltage).

Functionally, a battery could put out energy at half the maximum rate, for twice as long.  If your bike's BMS lets you choose a lower level of assist, then it will get you further on a charge.

Excessive speed also costs you in power - at 15 km/h roughly 10% of your power goes into aerodynamic drag, with the bulk as rolling resistance and friction.   At 40 km/h your rolling resistance power loss remains about the same in terms of watts, but the aero losses are now 75-80% of your power usage.    So you're using 5× as much power to cover the same distance, at 3× the speed.   (figures are for a road bike; it's worse for a less aero bike)

If your bike has a throttle and not pedal assistance, then get it up to a safe riding speed and stop using the throttle.  Pedal to keep it at that speed, only use the motor to accelerate or to climb hills.

Remember in the end it's an assistance system, not a replacement for pedalling.  If you're treating it like an electric motorbike, then start pedalling and that will extend your range incredibly.


Can I replace a Shimano Deore SL-M590 3speed Left shifter with an Acera SL-M310? Total n00b question here, I did have a look for similar questions & answers first!
I have a 2009 or 2010 Specialized Rockhopper SL with all Deore parts. The left shifter is broken. I can pay £23 for an exact replacement or £9 for the Acera. Both new and supplied with cable. Is the Acera compatible? Will it work? will I notice much difference in smoothness of changing? is the Acera very cheap and mostly plastic parts? also, does anyone have a decent link to a step by step guide of how to carry this job out, feed the cable through and make sure the chain, shifter indicators and the FD-M590 derailleur all end up in the right place?

Many thanks

Short answer - yes it will work, its a 3 speed Shimano "mountain" shifter so the amount of cable pull should be identical.

Long answer - You get what you pay for.

Acera is the cheapest of the M series groupsets. Above it you have Alivio , then Deore. In saying that, Shimano's trickle down development tends to send improvements down the production line over the years so a 2018 Acera won't be much worse than a 2009 Deore.

You won't (initially) notice much difference in shifting quality. It'll probably feel better for a while.

Yes it will be plasticky. yes it will break faster than a new Deore part. YMMV depending on what sort of riding you do.

You can find many tutorials on YouTube on how to do this ("replace front shifter bike"). With luck you just need a 4mm and 5mm Hex and to be able to get the left grip off. Worse luck, the cable housing has degraded and needs replacing too.


Old Shimano Altus Hub disassembly. Clockwise or counter clockwise? I hope to squeeze a bit more life out of this old Shimano Altus hub and apart from having to build my own tool:

Do I have to turn the inner part with the two notches clockwise or counter-clockwise?

Edit: Thanks to you guys I just needed to buy an Allen wrench for 2.75€. Turns out the small tool shop is much cheaper than the big 'we sell everything' construction markets. The hub needs a thorough cleaning and should be fine after that.

The part with the two notches is left-threaded, so clockwise to loosen from the perspective of your picture.

It should be noted that these are quite the can of worms once apart, and cleaning/lubrication can be done pretty effectively by taking the whole freehub body off using the 10mm internal Allen wrench flats (poke a 10mm Allen into the hole in the center of the freehub; that part is normal threaded). Then on the back you'll find a rubber seal. Carefully pry that out and keep track of its orientation. Then you can easily blow or drip air or whatever lubes/cleaners you want into the mechanism.

The one thing that can't be done this way is take advantage of the seldom-discussed cassette play adjustment that Shimano freehub bodies have. To do that you remove one of the thin shim washers you find inside the freehub internals.

If you do take it apart you must answer the question of what you're going to use to keep the ball bearings in place when putting it back together that's also not too thick for the purpose. You don't want regular bearing grease in there because it can gum up the mechanism. The main thing I know that works is a thin layer of Slick Honey or similar very light grease.


Trouble removing bottom bracket I've got an FSA MegaExo bottom bottom bracket that seems to have gone bad. I've head that FSA doesn't have the greatest bottom brackets, so I was going to try to replace it with this Shimano bottom bracket, unfortunately I've run into trouble. The bottom bracket tool I'm using seems to be a bit too big for the bottom bracket I have. When I apply force to remove the bottom bracket, the teeth  of the tool dig into the bb's teeth and end up just deforming the teeth of the bottom bracket.

So my question: is there another way to remove a threaded bottom bracket, or do I need to buy a new tool? If the latter, do the bottom bracket tools come in different sizes? Which size should I buy?

I've posted a picture below in case it'd be of any help.

Park Tool list the BBT9 as the tool to use for both Shimano and FSA external bearing bottom brackets. I would see how tight the wrench fits on your new Shimano bearings. If the fit is as loose as on your FSA I would replace the tool so you don't strip the notches off your new bottom bracket. While the type of wrench with the open side allows tightening the bearing with the crank in place it is more prone to spreading than the type that forms a complete ring around the bearing.


Shimano saint chain ring lower than 34 teeth? I have just purchased a bike with a Shimano 34T sm-cr82 chain ring and crank set.  Is there a 30teeth chainring that you can put onto it to make it easier to ride uphill?

The smallest SM-CR82 is 34t, but FC-M820 and FC-M825 (one of which is your crank model) can take other 104 BCD rings, down to 30t. 30t 104 rings are a somewhat recent hack/innovation and have to play some tricks to be able to physically work without interfering with the crank (most or all of them have integrated spacers and threads). Most of the narrow/wide chainring makers have a version.


Where to find replacement Clarks Skeletal right brake? I had completely fixed a stuck piston, when I bloody managed to perfectly snap a reservoir screw so I have no chance of removing it. I’ve had a look online, but I can’t find anywhere selling either the right (front) brake whatever you’d call the whole lever + reservoir bit that attaches to the handle bar, or a the whole new lever + calliper. Any help would be very much appreciated.

If you’re struggling to find a replacement part online, others would probably be googling the same terms and struggle too.

What you might not appreciate about your local bike shop is that shops generally have access to the majority of cycling brands through their various suppliers, even if you don’t see that brand on their shelves. It would be pretty trivial for a good shop to order something in if they can get it.

If they can’t find an exact replacement they might be able to show the current range and spot a compatible replacement lever.

You could also replace the whole brake for a different model as alluded to by mattnz, or have a go at drilling out the screw if it’s otherwise junk - might be prohibitively small!


Through axle (thru-axle) - typical/minimum number of turns of active tread engagement On opening the cam lever of a 15mm through-axle, I have noticed it is possible to slide the axle out after only two whole turns.  When installing the axle, more that two turns results in a cam tension that is too tight, less than two turns then the cam tension is too loose.  I am concerned about safety and durability.

Does anyone know the minimum turns that a through axle should have in order to retain the wheel?  Otherwise what is the typical number of turns from your experience?  The bike in question is a cyclocross (if that makes any difference).

The image shows the threaded hole from the inside of the fork.

The length of the bolt that goes into this whole matches the outside distance of the fork, however the bolt is tapered at the end so the thread at the very end is not used.  The partially threaded hole seems to by typical of thru-axle designs to allow the bolt to pass into the fork for alignment purposes before threading begins.  In this case however I believe there is insufficient thread.

This is a new bike and I have concerns over safety and long term durability.

Sounds weird and wrong. Usually you indeed have a lot more thread engagement, I think 5-6 turns or more on the road/cross forks I have my hands on all the time. If there are a lot of threads present on the fork and nothing filling them up, I agree it sounds unsafe.

One easy possibility is that the bike ended up with an axle that isn't a correct match for its fork, and someone either didn't notice or care. To be really right it must be the axle intended to go with the fork in question, and they can require some work to track down, particularly if it's an OEM fork as opposed to a named aftermarket one.


Android tracking app that only periodically uses GPS I'm of course fully aware that there are tons of tracking apps for Android. But I want to track where I rode without draining my phone's battery. I want to know roughly how far I want, roughly where I went, and when I stop at a place for a few minutes, I want to be able to find that place later.
Runtastic (now renamed to "Running" by Addidas) did a great job at that before all the bugs that cause it to crash were introduced, except it drained my battery because I always used GPS. They had a heatmap-like tracked path on a map so you could see exactly where you slowed down. So you didn't even have to trace your path later on trying to find that place you went to. You could just check out the few places where you weren't moving for several minutes.
Google Location History does a good job at not draining my battery. However, its accuracy SUCKS. It often shows track sections of over 10 kilometers where I according to Google Location History went in a perfectly straight line right through lakes and dozens of buildings.
I'm looking for some middle-ground here. For example an app that only records my GPS coordinates every 10 minutes and then uses map data to figure out where I probably went and that can show me where I went slower or stopped completely. Of course it doesn't have to work exactly this way. But it shouldn't use GPS so much to drain my battery and not use it so little that I have no idea where I went.

Locus Maps allows you to configure GPS auto-off times, but I haven't tried it yet. However in my experience that's not even necessary unless you go on very long rides (or have a very old phone).


Riding with a Gates belt past its due replacement mileage: can it snap or other risks? I just purchased a belt drive bike (Gates CD).

Maintenance free, according to the BS and what I have read online. The only attention is to replace it every 5000 km.

Since I usually ride around 8000 km/year, I was thinking to replace it once a year.

However I don't know what can happen by using a belt past its replacement swap mileage.

Can it snap like a belt in a internal combustion engine? Or, more in general, what are the risks?

The mode of failure I have seen in similar belts used in industrial applications are typically one of two types. In the first scenario the belts show physical damage. The teeth may start to separate or be missing. You may also see cracks on either side of the belt. In the second scenario the belt just snaps. A visual exam will show no wear, cracks or damage. What you will see is the ends of the internal cordage be it Kevlar, Aramid or similar fibers. The second scenario is common enough that belt manufactures generally suggest time or mileage intervals rather than visual inspections. Depending on your model (some are easier to change than others) you could carry a spare belt. As others have commented the belt breaking has some consequences other than inconvenience. Any unexpected component failure can result in loss of control and potential injury.


installing cotter pin cranks - pin isn't flush So I managed to get the right sized cotter pins. Without installing the cranks onto the spindle, I could drop the cotter pin through the hole.

However when I attached the spindle, the pin won't go all the way in. It's only roughly 2/3 of the way in. The nut and washer fits on but The pin head itself isn't flush with the cranks.

Does this matter? I thought it's the taper of cotter pin that prevents the cranks from moving anyway.

For a correct installation the top of the pin does not need to be flush with the crank.
The last picture in this how-to article is of a correctly installed pin and it is not flush.
As long as the flats of the pin make correct contact with the spindle and the pin goes through far enough to have threads sticking through the nut it's OK.

Keep in mind,

  You cannot get a cotter tight enough by tightening the nut: you must use a press or a hammer. Cotters are made of fairly soft steel, so that they won't damage the axle. If you try to tighten them just by turning the nut, either you won't get them tight enough, or you will strip the threads.
  After a cottered crank has been re-assembled, the bicycle should be ridden for a few dozen miles, then the cotter re-tightened with a press or hammer. If this is not done, the cotter will probably loosen up. If the bicycle is ridden with loose cotters, the motion of the crank will cause the axle to cut notches into the cotters, and it will become impossible to tighten them.
  https://www.sheldonbrown.com/cotters.html


Shimano GRX Left 2X lever with dropper post Has anyone run a dropper post with the GRX 2X left lever? Intuition tells me it won't work since it'll click into the next "gear" and get stuck there, without being able to return.
I can get by for now with a solid post, but would like to know if a dropper has a future with my current GRX 2X left lever.

No, but provided you are running a 1x setup, you can use the Shimano GRX ST-RX810-LA left hand lever, which is specifically designed to control a dropper post


Will a newer Shimano series cassette be easily interchangeable? I'm trying to create two wheelsets that I can quickly swap out on the same bike for different conditions.  My existing set has a Shimano 105 5800 series 11 speed cassette.  They discontinued that so you pretty much can only find the newer Shimano 105 7000 series 11 speed cassette.

While reading a review of the newer series, it was mentioned that:

  It's designed to also fit a mountain bike wheel, so you need the optional spacer if you're fitting it to an 11-speed road wheelset.

My question is, will the spacer requirement on the new cassette with my road bike force me to mess with my rear derailleur indexing/etc. when I swap the wheelset/cassette?

The spacer is required for 11-34 cassette only, same story as CS-R8000 11-34. The 34t cog hangs over freehub body, which allows to use the good old 8-10 speed HG freehub body. For a note, Shimano MTB 11 speed cassettes do not require 11-speed specific freehub body either.

  My question is, will the spacer requirement on the new cassette with
  my road bike force me to mess with my rear derailleur indexing/etc.
  when I swap the wheelset/cassette?

To be honest, I did not run this cassette, but it would make no sense to change offset just because it uses a carrier spider instead of cogs riveted together. At worst, you'd have to put a thin spacer under the cassette when swapping it between 11-34 and smaller range options like 11-28.


72 Fuji S10s Barrings I have a 72 Fuji S10s frame and front fork and all the headset parts to reassemble. However, I'm missing the barrings and I'm not sure of what the correct size barrings I need.

Assuming that "barrings" is the portmanteau of "ball + bearing"....

Harris Cyclery says that most (classic, i.e., non-cartridge) headsets use 5/32" bearings, with 3/16" being rarer. Since bearings are so cheap (US$6-8 for a box of 25-75) you could buy both sizes and see which fits better and use the remainder to overhaul your pedals or hubs, as appropriate. Or take an old bearing if you have one to your local bike shop and have them measure it with their micrometer.

Harris Cyclery also warns you not to  mix and match old and new bearings -- you should replace them as an entire batch. This is because old bearings will be slightly worn smaller than new ones and using mismatched sizes is a sure way to cause pitted races.

p.s. I hate American customary sizes. The nice thing about cartridge bearings is that most of them are metric.

p.p.s. Beautiful bike. It should restore quite nicely.