Derailleur hanger compatibility / fender angle I recently bought a pair of Qbicle Tangent fenders for my folding bike. The bolt for the derailleur hanger is in the way of the mount:

The fender is supposed to be installed at around this angle:

The derailleur hanger looks pretty much like this:

And the dropout is just flat (no grooves) with a hole beside it like this:

Is that derailleur hanger the only type of hanger that can be used for that kind of dropout?

I could install the fender so that the bolt of the hanger would pass through the fender mount. The fender would be mounted at around 170°; it would just cover the area between the 9 to 11 o'clock positions. Would the fenders be useless at that angle?

It looks like a tricky problem.  When I am faced with such problems I try to exhaust options before altering original parts..

With that in mind, I would look for a button head (rounded top) screw to replace the hex-head that hold on the derailleur hanger to see if the lower profile of the button head gives you the needed room to mount the fender in its designed configuration.

If that does not do the trick I would weigh my options between the fender angles you mention (hard to comment on effectiveness not seeing pictures) and perhaps countersinking the derailleur hanger so a flat head screw can be used to buy you the clearance you need.

Final thoughts... the derailleur hanger hex head looks pretty beefy.  I have seen them attached with a couple 2M screws which are quite small.  Changing the screw to button or flat head will result in using a smaller hex wrench for tightening.  If getting the required torque to tighten it securely is a concern you may want to consider using some medium strength lock-tite as a measure against potential loosening due to vibration.


Steel vintage bike restoration and modification, troubleshooting help I acquired a vintage 10 speed Healing Commuter made in New Zealand, rode it everyday and treated it pretty poorly. No regular maintenance, chained it on the street come rain or shine. Having grown fond of it I decided I would do a complete over haul.

Fast forward 6 months, it’s a new colour and all the mech is working well... independently.

The bike has all its original parts except:

The derailleur now a Shimano Tourney 6 speed SIS
Both wheels now Shimano specialised pro mondo with a 6 speed cassette and
A new chain now a 7mm SRAM chain with a quicklink.

The crankset is a Shimano Front Freewheel System - from what I can tell, the FFS was pretty low end and a solution in search of a problem, to quote Sheldon.

Sadly my first ride was lack-luster thanks to a knock. When pedaling with gusto, something in the crank system is slipping so the rider experiences the pedal engaging normally followed by no opposite force from the pedal followed by the pedal engaging normally again. This occurs rhythmically and on both sides, when left foot is leading then right then left etc.

I’m wondering if it’s something to do with the crankset being a freewheel system plus the free hub system in the considerably newer wheels?

Maybe it’s an error I made in the rebuild of the crank?

Any crank troubleshooting tips would be much appreciated.

Ta

I had a Schwinn World Tourist and those had the freewheel system, too. It might... might be because you have two freewheels. The bikes that had those, had fixed gears on the wheel, since it was the crank that coasted. And yes, the whole point of the system was so you could change gears by coasting.


How to minimize wear on pants I commute on bike and I wear jeans (which I work in).  I find that after about 500 miles of bike commuting in a single pair of jeans I've got holes in my pants from the saddle-jean rubbing.

My problem is probably accelerated by the fact that I have a fabric seat, the "Jamis Aurora Sport" saddle which comes stock with the Jamis Aurora.  However, I'm told that people experience similar issues with non-fabric seats.

Having said that, I'm trying to figure out whether I should get a new saddle (something smoother like leather or plastic), or alternatively wear a pair of athletic shorts over my jeans (easily/quickly removeable at work/ in public).

At my current rate I will need to replace and/or repair a pair of jeans every 2 months.

My question is, what measures can be taken to minimize the rate at which my pants wear through when commuting (without the obvious solution of having dedicated pants for cycling)?

The obvious answer would be to get some Cycling Jeans, i.e. jeans specifically designed for cycling in. These have reinforcement and stretch in the right places and often have other features such as deep pockets, a loop to carry a small lock and reflective strips.

Levi, Rapha, Muxu and Swrve all make cycling jeans, so there's a fair amount of choice.


High pressure water cleaning and chain lube After mountain biking in muddy conditions I clean my mountain bike with a high pressure water blaster. I'm assuming that after this I should re-lube my chain?

I've heard you should keep high pressure water away from your bike, because it can easily work it's way into the bearings, even sealed ones, especially around the bottom bracket and wheels. Pressurized water will push the oil out of the spaces between the chain links, and it's probably not a good idea to use pressurized water at all.  You should be able to sufficiently clean the dirt off your bike with some light water, or, if you want to really thorough, use a chain cleaner.  And you should always relube after cleaning regardless of which cleaning method you use.


how to convert my 21 speed mountain bike into a road/cycling bike? I was wondering if I could convert this https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/q71/s480x480/430156_461794267240029_1042500253_n.jpg to a cycling bike like what would i have to do to that bike to convert it ? tell where and what and how much the parts are i want it so i can have better cardio and endurance i live on gravel road but i can get to pavment from my house. i dont hav any money to spend on a new one so i was just wondering if i could do tires and pedals and maybe bars if it all come less then $100 iwas hoping to sped around $70 or less*** i race motocross and saving for racing so that is why i want the cheapest way lol ih and i dont have any cycling shoes i was just going to use regular training work out shoes.. so if u guys could help me out give me websites and  prices and everything that would be great

Start with your tyres. Go for slicks, the narrower the better. I used to run 1 1/4" tyres on my old mountain bike, at the time this was pretty much the lower limit on a 26" tyre. This will be by far the biggest bang for your buck.

It will probably also blow your $70 budget if you get good tyres. You may also need to invest in new tubes, depending on what you have currently. But it will make a big difference.

The other thing that springs to mind is to improve your position. Difficult to do this much given the geometry of the frame, although I have heard of people putting aero bars onto their MTBs. Should improve things but its more cost.

As for pedals - remember you'll need shoes as well - and these on their own will probably blow your budget. I'd stick with what you've got for now and think about upgrading as and when you have the cash.


Are there big differences in maintenance/care between different types of clipless pedals? I was reading this article http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/best-road-bike-pedals-33045/

and it talks about maintenance/care with a couple of the pedal options, even mentioning that "Shimano" pedals can have mud and dirt in the cleats, and still connect to the pedals fine.

I am curious if there are pedals/cleats that we should avoid as beginners due to them needing to be taken care of frequently, as well as any that we should avoid getting dirt or anything that could "clog" the pedals?

From what I've been reading there are a lot of interesting pedal systems out there, but in most articles it seems that the name "Shimano" keeps coming up as more of a beginner friendly option, even though there are some that sound nicer.

Shimano pedals are usually brought up as a good beginner pedal because they are readily available just about everywhere, have several low-cost options, have standards that much of the industry follow for cleats and cross compatibility, and require little maintenance.  As you said, they don't get clogged up easily, but it can happen.  It just takes a LOT of mud.


Cleat holes "covers" for Shimano shoes I have a pair of Shimano MW7 shoes, and a pair of Shimano SH-AM9. These shoes are designed for pedals with cleats. But I am often in the situation where

I have to walk a bit etc
even worse I have to put the feet down in a the snow or I very cold water

so that I would like to know if Shimano provides covers for the cleat holes on the shoes. (I know for sure that some of their shoes models have these covesr by default, like the XM explorer series for instance.) I tried to contact Shimano by several ways, without any answer.

Based on comments, you want to seal the holes in the sole which are used to mount cleats.

Put cleats on.
Put the cleat bolts in the holes, but be careful they're not too long when there's no cleat acting as a washer.
Put some RTV Silicon sealant up the hole - should be possible to dig this out with a sharp screwdriver or drill later.
Short term fix is to slap a square of duct tape over the holes.  Should last for a bit because the shoe sole doesn't touch the ground where the cleat is.

Another option is to wear shoes without cleat holes.


Shimano Sora vs higher range brake pull ratio I've just upgraded my commuter bike (old Trek 370) to the replaced components from my main road bike (originally 2009 specialized allez - new head and handle) and found the brake calipers aren't long enough (similar to this). They are unbranded calipers anyway so I'm looking to upgrade them.

Looking at these long reach calipers I've found they state

  Must be used in conjunction with ST-4600, ST-4603, ST-5700, ST-5703, - ST-6700 or ST-7900 STIs for correct leverage ratio

As far as I can see these are Tiagra and above. I'm not sure which the Allez's shifters were (ST-3500?). What difference is there in lever ratio? I thought all shimano shifters were compatible and can't find any more details about compatibility.

Which calipers can I look at to work with my shifters?

The cable pull ratio was changed for the listed models, whereas previous generations were compatible with a wide range of Shimano and non-Shimano brake components.

Use Shimano's Specifications site to compare the compatibility of your levers and brake calipers.
http://productinfo.shimano.com/specifications.html


Can I combine different wheel sizes in one mtb? Imagine a mountain bike that uses a 29er fork with 29er wheel and a 27.5 wheel at the rear. Can this be realized and what are the pros and cons?

Technically it can be done. Different wheel sizes were used over the years, starting from late 1980s in some niche touring bikes, where front wheel was significantly smaller than the rear one. Mountain bikers have used a setup of 26" wheel at the front and 24" at the back, especially for downhill (even at World Cup level) at the beginning of this century, when frames tended to be suspended ridiculously high. However with the progress in frame design, this idea lost its popularity lately.

The points raised in favour of the 26"/24" setup were:

lower bottom bracket, thus lower centre of mass meaning better control on the downhill
"flatter" head tube angle, which gives better stability at high speed and again, more control on descents
smaller wheel is easier to propell
smaller wheel means shorter spokes, which adds to its stiffness,
shorter effective top tube which helps to lean more backwards on really steep sections.

Arguments of the other side were:

lower bottom bracket could mean hitting the ground with your crank when frame suspension is fully compressed (applicable to full-suspension bikes only, but only such bikes used this trick at the time)
You need relatively higher pressure in your rear tire to make up for smaller volume of it. This in turn will give worse grip of this wheel,
Smaller wheel will generally have a smaller area of contact with the ground, which can mean worse grip, but also posibility of getting stopped by obstacles which could be overcome by your front, bigger wheel
Due to flat head and seat tube angles, going uphill, especialy on steep and technical fragments can get more tricky (obviously no one would ride uphill on their 25kg downhill bike back then, this is more applicable to today's bikes)
worse aerodynamics, but it's not what you do it for.

Most of these points are equally valid for all configurations with the larger wheel at the front. Basically the goal of such change is usually to make a bike beter on the descents, not looking at its performance on flat gruond or uphills.

Now to your specific case: note that the difference between a 29" and a 27.5" wheel is not very significant - ~6% when we look at ISO rim diameters. Therefore if you aren't too sensitive to geometry changes, you may not even feel the difference.

And obviously you need a 29er frame for this to make sense. If you decided to put a 29er fork and front wheel on a 650b frame, you would end up with a bike unsteerable on flat surfaces and exhausting to your knees. There are a few bikes on the market which use various wheel sizes, such as this Trek with a 29"/26" setup, but it's still a niche.

On the side note: a small brand called Unibike once made a cross-country bike with a 26" wheel at the front and 29" at the back. This idea seemed a bit pointless for off-road use, but they tried to forces itfor some 2 years, before letting it die.


What size adult tricycle? I am 5 foot tall (152 cm) and have a 25 inch (63.5 cm) inseam.

I am unsure as to which size of wheel/frame to buy.  Also, recommendations for adult trikes, no more than $400 would be appreciated.

What size adult tricycle?

Sizing a bike is about getting a bike that fits your height and body proportions.

For an adult tricycle frame and wheel sizes are not a factor in fitting the vehicle to the person like they are with bicycles. Small wheel sizes on a trike help the rider get on or off the bike. Larger wheel sizes generally aid in riding longer distances and/or heavier loads.

All of the rider size adjustment for a trike will come in how high or low the seat will go and how the handlebars are adjusted.

Height recommendations are hard to find on trike specifications. I found one for the Schwinn 26" wheel trike.

  suggested rider height is 5'4" to 6'2" and the recommended weight limit is 300 pounds.
  From Amazon product description

Note, it says "suggested". I'm never confident that much effort - actual science - is put into "suggestions". According to the information provided this trike would not work for you. As I said - I had a hard time finding any height recommendations for the other trikes.

Since you are 5" tall riding before you buy is critical.

Since an adult tricycle are supposed to be "one size fits all" how do you choose one?

First
One size does not "fit all". At best one size will fit a range of average sizes.

Since you are not averaged size you will need to be careful to find something that works for you.

The key is to only buy something you have test ridden.
A few things to look for on the test ride:
- Will it be easy to get on?
- Will the seat go low enough to be comfortable?
- Will the handlebars adjust to be comfortable?
- How easy is it to pedal?

If you are working with a bike shop and you have a trike that is close to fitting sometimes mechanics can swap parts or configure the trike to fit.

Second
My quick survey of the adult tricycle market indicates that you can get one, three, six, or seven speed trikes.
If you will be riding on very flat terrain one speed might be enough. If you will be riding very short distances one speed might be enough. Gears make it easier to get up hills, even small ones. Once again, the test ride is critical.

Third
There are other features to consider:
In no particular order - not a complete list
 - Folding? Do you need to be able to load it into a large vehicle?
 - Fenders? Will you be riding in bad weather?
 - Cargo capacity / basket? There are industrial trikes built to handle larger loads.
 - Seat comfort - try before you buy.

Fourth
Assembly - most of these come with "some assembly required".
Factor your mechanical skills or the availability of help into your buying decision.

How well a trike, or bike, is assembled has a direct relationship on how well a bike rides, how long it lasts and how safe it is to ride.

One more thing.
Evaluate if this purchase is worth the cost.

List the benefits of having a trike
Weigh the benefits against the cost.

Calculating the cost

How many times each month will you ride?
Divide the cost of the trike (ignore assembly cost and maintenance for now) by how many times you plan to ride (be optimistic, it's a rough calculation)

For example:
If you spend $400 and you ride one per month you are spending $33 per ride to have a bike for the first year.
If you ride once each week that cost drops to $7.60 per ride for the first year.

In either case the benefits of having the trike might make it worth the cost but it's something to take into account before buying.


Do I need a new tire pump or can I fix my old one? My old bike pump psi gage shows a different pressure than my newer hand held tire gauge. Is there a way to fix the pump or do I need a new one?

You're not going to be able to fix something like a pump: you won't be able to buy spare parts for it and, even if you could, you could probably only install them using the manufacturer's tooling.

However, the fact that your pump and pressure gauge disagree doesn't tell you which one is wrong. Maybe your trusty old pump is actually right and your new gauge is inaccurate. Maybe your pump really is old and worn out.

If your two devices each measure in a consistent way (e.g., one always reads 10psi lower than the other), then just learn the translation between them. Assuming you're not running at close to the maximum pressure of your tyres, it doesn't really matter if you inflate to 80psi or 90 psi, as long as the results are comfortable to you. If you're happy with the state of your tyres when you pump them up to a certain pressure as measured by your pump, then keep doing that and just be aware of the different number your pressure gauge will tell you. It doesn't matter if they're not real pounds per square inch (or bar or whatever scale you prefer).

If you want to decide which one is wrong (and it might even be both!), you'll need to use multiple devices. Can you borrow a pump or gauge from somebody else? Your local bike shop, for example, probably has a pump they'll let you use.


Can you use non-UST tubeless ready tyres on a UST tubeless rim? Is it possible to use mountain bike rims which use the original UST (Universal System Tubeless) standard for using tubeless tyres with tyres that are tubeless ready, but do not conform to the said UST standard?

Namely, I am thinking of getting Mavic wheels which are, naturally, UST (Mavic created the standard along with Michelin and Hutchinson), but since the choice of UST-certified tyres is quite limited, I intend to use other tubeless ready tyres (specifically, by Maxxis). I am already reasonably sure that this is possible, so, assuming I'm correct about this, I am especially interested in how well it performs. Anybody used or seen such combination being used? Is sealant neccessary?

Yes, works fine, but you do need sealant. UST tires have an additional rubber layer in the tire to achieve airtightness; tubeless-ready tires do not and have porosity that necessitates sealant. The extra layer adds meaningful weight and reduces suppleness, which are several big reasons UST isn't popular.

The UST bead profile is a precisely defined form factor for both tire and rim. This is useful or necessary to achieve an airtight lock without sealant. Tubeless Ready tires and rims use physically and conceptually similar bead profiles that don't conform to any defined standardized form factor, or at least not one defined by a third party. (Each tire and rim company does tend to have their own name and profile design for their own tubeless system, if you want to call those standards). In practice, we've now reached a point where sealant-based Tubeless Ready tires and rims can be mixed and matched more or less freely with good results.

A side note is that some companies, WTB as the major example, make tires that adhere to the UST bead profile only, but are still only TR in the sense that they need sealant. There's arguably some potential advantage there, since in the abstract it would seem like defined standards is a better way of doing things than everyone just loosely copying each other like we mostly have now, but it's largely seen as irrelevant because the not-quite-standardized bead profiles of current tires and rims have gotten to the point of very high reliability and burp resistance anyway.


Can I use a 1x10 wide range cassette with Shimano SL-BS79 bar end shifters? I'm putting together a drop bar hybrid conversion for a gravel bike and want to run a 1x10 drivetrain. So far the only shifting component I have is a pair of Shimano Dura-Ace sl-bs79 10 speed bar end shifters. I'm planning to just use the rear one, obviously.

Before I go ahead and buy a RD and cassette, I though I would check for any compatibility issues. I guess that the shifters are intended to work with road RDs, whereas I guess that I'll be wanting a MTB RD to deal with whatever wide range cassette I end up getting.

Any suggestions?

Edit: Although I'm committed to the idea of 1x10 with bar end shifters, I'm not particularly wedded to these particular shifters - they just happen to be the ones that I have in the parts bin. So if what I'm proposing is going to be a big ordeal, please say!

One thing you could do is use a Microshift Advent 9 rear derailleur. You could even get the clutch one. They're 9-speed Shimano compatible, which means they use the same actuation ratio expected by a 10-speed road shifter - there are many questions here about this. The Microshift mountain compatible bar ends are another path, but having worked on tons of bikes with them, I just don't like them all that much - the lever motion is sloppy and indeterminate, especially compared to the Shimano one you've got, plus you're buying an RD anyway.


Bottom Bracket for Trek Crossrip Elite 2014? I am planning to upgrade my group set to 11 speed 105 along with the bottom bracket. However, I have no idea what type of BB should I get and brand.
If anyone could help me that would be great?

The trek archive is a bit light on B.B. detail but mentions an FSA Vero crankset.

Googling FSA Vero shows me images of a square taper which is pretty straightforward and means that the bottom bracket is going to be threaded. Most likely it is 68mm across the B.B. shell, which you should measure.

If it’s 68mm and you’re getting Shimano 105 cranks, just use any Shimano Hollowtech II (or compatible) road bottom bracket, which will have outboard cups for a 24mm spindle.


Is this a puncture protection thing? I got a vintage bike to commute with (I wanted a heavy one for the exercise) and I was hoping for a flat so I would have an excuse to spend money on a puncture resistant street tire to replace the knobby tire.

After more than a year of hoping for a flat, I got one. While inspecting it I noticed I had two small pieces of glass in the knobs, but the flat turned out to be on the valve neck.

Also, when I took the old tube out, it had what I guess is a Kevlar layer protecting it. I'm not really sure what it is; it is just a brown layer on top of the tube.

It is "glued" to the tube thanks to the amount of time they were together, but it peels off easily. Also, you can see the flat where the valve meets the tube on last pic.

If it is a puncture protection, I must say it was doing a very good job. And I will probably buy regular cheap slick tires and reuse that and be happy with not wasting expensive material every time the rubber wears out. In fact I will continue wondering why tire manufacturers even insert that layer on the tires at all! Unless someone with more knowledge here has an argument against that layer and in favor of modern puncture resistant tires.

That is a tire liner.

I think http://sheldonbrown.com/flats.html is good reading on the topic of liners / flats in general - in particular, he generally doesn't recommend them (and I don't either). He also claims that if they're improperly installed, they can increase the frequency of flats. If you are prone to flats and you've eliminated improper installation, maintenance and riding (pinching the tube, improper inflation, bad rim tape, going down curbs the wrong way, etc.) - by this, I mean the environment forces the flats (such as certain types of thorns, etc.), you may want to invest in a tire with additional puncture protection (like the Bontrager hard-case tires) which eliminates the improper installation issue or thornproof tubes (these are thicker tubes, so thorns only go in partway, and you can pluck them out of the tires), but these all add unnecessary weight (and a bit of expense, and often some more noise) for most people (i.e. people who live outside areas such road hazards exist in reasonable frequency). Otherwise, just get a normal tire and tube and maintain it properly (install rim tape properly, inflate properly). And you should always have a patch kit on hand anyway (and/or a way to get home).

There are also products like Slime - a sealant that goes in your tube and is supposed to patch up punctures. Some mountain bikers swear by it, I think it just causes a mess.


Where is the grease on my front brake caliper coming from? I've had a new road bike for three months to commute. I live on the east side of Hawai'i island so I'm often riding in the rain. A few weeks after I first bought the bike the front brakes started squealing, so I tried cleaning the brake disk with isopropyl alcohol. Unfortunately this didn't fix the problem. I took the bike to a mechanic and he found that the brake pads were contaminated and had to be replaced. This was three weeks ago. Now the squealing is happening again with the new pads, and I've noticed that my front brake isn't working as well as before when the pads were new. I checked out the brake caliper and the outside casing has a greasy layer on it, the sort that's sooty and black when you run your finger over it. No doubt there's also grease inside the brake caliper that has contaminated the pads again, and again I'll have to get new ones.

Does anyone have any idea where this greasy stuff is coming from? Or how I can prevent it from getting into my brakes? I don't know if it's coming from the rain, the road, car exhaust, the brake hydraulics themselves, or somewhere else. My rear brake hasn't had any problems since I first bought the bike 3 months ago, the grease only seems to affect the front. I've also been very careful not to touch the brake disks, so I'm really confused as to how they're becoming contaminated. Any information or advice is appreciated, as I'd really like not to have to keep shelling out for new brake pads every few weeks.

Assuming you have hydraulic disc brakes, the most obvious explanation is that you have a brake fluid leak in the front caliper. If the grease isn't appearing anywhere else it must be coming from the caliper itself. Shimano uses mineral oil as hydraulic fluid which will feel greasy, the black color is road dirt sticking to the oil.

You can probably prove this by thoroughly cleaning the rotor, pads and caliper (inside and out) with degreaser, reassembling and applying the brake hard several times. Remove wheel and pads and look for fluid in the caliper (the pads are already contaminated so this won't do any further harm). DON'T try this with the rotor and pads removed as you will over-extend the pistons and they may come out of the caliper body, resulting in all your fluid spilling on the floor. Alternatively you can use a bleed block in the caliper to retain the pistons.

If the bike was bought new the store you bought it from should fix or replace the caliper for free.


Can anyone identify which Specialized Diverge model this is? It was built in 2017 I I am thinking about buying this bike, but the owner has no information about it. No specification sheet. Can anybody identify which bike model this is?

That's a 2016 bike I think. The 2017 models did not have the kink in the seat stays.

I'm guessing it's above the 'Sport' Level (equipped with Sora), and below the 'Comp' (105).

I'd ask the seller if they bought it new and if so if they have a receipt.


What options do I have to charge my GPS and Phone using a dynamo hub? I'm planning to purchase a supernova infinity-8 dynamo hub and wanted to use this during daylight hours to charge my Phone and GPS during bike tours.

What products are available that will work with hub dynamos to charge iphone and Garmin GPS units?

You might want to look at the Biologic ReeCharge by Dahon. It says it hooks up to any standard dynamo hub. The nice thing about this is that it has its own battery. So the dynamo charges the internal battery and the battery charges your phone/gps/device. This allows you to charge while you are resting, as well as provide added protection against sending bad current to your device.  I don't have any experience with it, but the idea is sound, and Dahon has many good products. It sells for $100 which isn't too bad considering it has its own battery.


Shimano Altus 9x3 speed shifter leaver is soft I’m having trouble with my rear shifter lever. When I go to push the lever in to go through the gears it’s just soft and doesn’t go back to its original position.

Any ideas what’s this could be and how I can fix it. It’s a new bike I just bought a week ago and the drivetrain is Shimano Altus I know they aren’t the best but couldn’t resist the price of the bike.

If there are any problems with a bike after a week you should take it back to the store where you bought it.

If that's not possible or you bought online etc., it sounds like there is no tension on the shift cable, or possibly the shifter is broken.

The cable may have become detached from the rear derailleur, or pulled through the pinch bolt. A section of housing may have come out of a frame stop, or the cable may have broken (unlikely on a brand new bike). Possibly the derailleur is jammed on a low gear (large sprocket) so the spring is not pulling the cable.

Inspect the cable run from the shifter to the derailleur, making sure the housing is in the frame stops and is attached to the derailleur.

If that does not reveal a problem, detach the cable from the derailleur by undoing the pinch bolt.

Inspect the derailleur, can you force it to change gears by pushing the parallelogram while manually turning the cranks? Be very careful to not get fingers stuck in the chain while doing this!

Grab the cable (pliers may be needed) and put tension on it. Work the shifter. If the shifter is not working and releasing and pulling cable as you shift up and down then the shifter may be broken.


When registering keys, which number is the Kryptonite key#? I've just bought a new Kryptonite lock and am about to register the keys at www.kryptonitelock.com, but which number do I enter in the Key# box? Both? The keys each have two numbers, one LXXXX and one SSXXXXX, and they're in a different order on the big key and little keys.

(Also, I was surprised that the "Personal Password (for security purposes)" entry field on their site is in plaintext! Not very secure, especially for a lock/security company...)

I directly contacted Kryptonite customer service for an answer to this question.

I quote directly:

"The number that you need to register is just the SS followed by 5 numbers. The L code is used at the factory and is not needed."

Hope this helps!


Touring tires and fixing flats I am riding the Florida Keys Overseas Heritage Trail (FKOHT) in February 2021. There will be flats. The ride is unsupported. Most riders say they have at least two flats on the ride, some riders have as many as 8! I use clinchers and tubes. I admit freely that I am a weakling and cannot get some tires on the rims without using a Koolstop tire jack, which I do carry with me on the bike. The Koolstop tire jack is not perfect, but it mostly works for me.
Whats the best strategy? Use a tire with flat protection that I will have to wrestle with and use the jack if I get a flat? Or use a tire that I can mount by hand, but will probably have less flat protection and one that will likely result in more flats?
Or is it just a matter of using a tire I like and stop over-thinking? I would like to spend my time riding, not fixing flats.

Questions related to ease of mounting can be nebulous to answer, because usually much more than any other factor, what determines how difficult a tire is to mount is the tolerances of the rim and tire. The most difficult mounting situations occur when the bead seat diameter of the rim happens to run large, and the bead diameter of the tire runs small.
There are some known models to avoid if mounting ease is a priority, but there is no totally reliable way to buy a tire that's easy to mount, because tolerance problems can strike randomly. Light, supple tires  mount easier on average, but it's not a guarantee.
Some highly flat-protected tires are notorious for being difficult to mount. As pointed out in the comments, the Schwalbe Marathon Plus has become a poster child for this. The reason is that, especially in narrower sizes, the massive amount of casing armor makes it difficult to get the beads sunk in to the rim well so that the section of tire 180 degrees away can be pushed over the rim and seated. They're also stiff and can be hard to even wrangle the first bead on.
I think that as long as you have still have the ability to reinstall the tire when needed, using a bead jack if necessary, it makes more sense to just choose something tough enough for the roads you'll encounter and the loads you'll be carrying. Unless it's thorns/goatheads/cacti/etc you're worried about, the stuff that gives you flats in a lot of flat-prone areas can also damage or destroy tires. Undergunning it carries the risk of a tire getting sliced instead of simply punctured, which is the kind of damage that the overbuilt casings of proper touring tires are good at mitigating.
If you do want to have some insurance against punctures that won't make any difference in mounting difficulty, you could also use tubes with sealant in them. Sealant has downsides, but can work well in areas plagued by thorns and goatheads, and makes a little more sense in an event ride type context than day-in, day-out.


My key jammed in my U-lock. How can I unlock/break it? I've been biking for 2 months now with my U-lock still on my bike, it sort of gets in the way of pedaling sometimes and I'm kinda tired of it.

Does anyone know of any ways to get the remnants of the key out from the lock? Or is my only option to send this to the bike shop and have them saw it off?

I can provide pictures if necessary. I've been using a secondary chain in the meantime.

It seems like you have 2 basic choices: (1) remove the key from the lock and unlock it with a backup copy of the key, (2) defeat the lock.  Option #2 is an awful lot like asking how to steal a bike...   Also, option #2 really depends a lot on the specifics of your lock.

Lubricate the lock
If there's anything sticking out, try grasping it with needlenose pliers, nail clippers or something like that
If there's nothing sticking out, you can try a thin bit of metal along the side of the key with the teeth.  Or a couple sewing needles, or maybe a pair of thin tweezers.
Also worth trying giving the lubricant a little bit of time, then bang the lock against something, trying to get the key to fall out.
May be worth heating the lock; it may expand enough to release the key
A locksmith might be able to get the broken key out.  No idea if that would be more or less than the bike shop cutting it off.

If none of those things work to get the key out, you have to really defeat the lock.  There are leverage attacks, but those are likely to break the bike.

An angle grinder will get through it in seconds.  If it's a really good lock you might have to make two cuts.  Got any friends into power tools?  Someplace else you can rent or borrow power tools from? You'd need to use a vice to secure the lock so it doesn't move, and be careful not to hit the bike.  And all the other appropriate safety measures...
An electric hacksaw would, I think, take a bit longer but still not tire your arm out.
A hacksaw should work, but it's slow. It's likely that the price of a new hacksaw with the right kind of blade could be as much as taking it to a bike shop...  Might need a second blade...
If it was possible to close the lock without the key inserted, it should be possible to defeat it with a shim: cut away any rubber from the locking end of the U, cut a wide strip of aluminum from an aluminum soda can, wrap the strip around the U, slide it into the lock
If you can get a car jack inside the lock without hurting the bike, you can spread the lock open.  Most U-locks only lock on one side, the other side is an L joint, so if you spread it far enough the L will release. Or it might just break the U.  Be very careful with your bike doing this, of course.

Disclaimer: I've never done any of these. I'm mostly only aware of those techniques in order to know what to look for when buying a bike lock. Only lock I've ever defeated was a simple combination lock back in the 80s that you could pull on and slowly spin the dials to feel what the combination was.


Custom/modified Drivetrain 2x/3x Considerations and Planning Planning a drivetrain setup for a new bike:
Currently running old Shimano 3x9 44/32/22t on 11-34t, which gives me 19-115 gear-inches (about 620%).
I used 29x2.0, 170mm crank to calculate my current setup at https://sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html.
The old 3x9 provides me with nice little jumps between the gears, which is something I definitely do not want to miss.
Turned out to be not too easy to find something nearly close the gear setup of my 12 year old bike...
Requirements:
I definitely want the option to mount a set of 29x3.0" tires, which may already cancel out 3x cranksets (even though full boost is used?). And I want to stay in the sub-20 and 110+ gear-inch range, preferably even going a bit lower than 18 gear-inches.
Also I do not want to use drop bars/road-shift-levers. The ideal rear-levers would have gear-indicators, but only found some Shimano/Sunrace-SRAM variants for 11speed.
Added current frame considerations:

Surly ECR 29+ (Large)
Jones Steel Plus LWB Diamond (Large)
I know that at least the ECR is good with 2x and 29x3.0" tires. Both support 148mm boost.

Seems like 2x still allows for comparable small steps, while having the extended 600%+ range.
SRAM/Shimano 2x11 of either brands uses 11-*t cassettes, which ends up in a significantly lower max-speed with the corresponding dual chainring cranksets.
The only off-the-shelf option getting close, seems to be the Shimano M9100 XTR 2x12 (10-45t,38/28t). And to some extend, the 2x12 XT/SLX (10-45t,36/26t) drivetrains. But those further decrease the higher gear-inch range (of course, providing better climbing gears instead)
I was thinking of going with XTR M9100 and maybe try to fit a 26t granny, when derailleurs are working fine with it.
But the full M9100 XTR setup is pretty expensive, also in replacement parts...
What are your experiences with custom or modified dual chainring cranksets, maybe even as far as 15-20t difference (e.g. 40/20t)? It should allow for using the cheaper 11-34 or 11-36 cassettes. I guess, I wouldn't even have to go 12-speed that way.
Which combination of manufacturers/models/series of cranksets, cassettes, front/rear derailleurs and matching shift levers did you came up with to make it work?
Hoping for an interesting exchange of known-good custom drivetrain setups. Maybe someone has additional ideas, which I failed to consider yet?
Best Regards,
Wiener :)

In my reading of your question, the big limiting factor is the 29x3. Your question isn't just about what FD/chainring jump hacks function and how well, but also of those which will also work with your clearance needs. The answer to that question is generally not very many, but it's going to depend on the chainstay length of the frame in question, whether the cranks are boost, etc.
Contemporary double MTB FDs of the dainty, short variety that are made to give as much clearance as possible do not play nice with hacking the jump that much. I don't have a ton of experience doing it, which admittedly is what your question is driving at, but if you look at one you'll see that their total top-to-bottom cage space is limited and the contact points for the chain are not large. Maybe you can get it to function okay with 2t extra jump, maybe not.
What always works is just going with a larger cassette range than the total capacity of the RD can handle and accept having a slack chain in some small-small gears. This has been the standby approach to cheating the range on derailleur systems forever and it applies here just the same. Then you're not forever playing games trying to make a front derailleur make a shift it wasn't designed to.
Don't discount just going Rohloff. At 526% the range isn't quite what you're looking for, but obliterating all clearance problems forever is huge.


Cassette compatability regarding Shimano 9 speed I have a Ultegra CS6700 9 speed rear deraileur that came on my bike.  Originally the gearing was 12-25, which I changed to 12-27.  I was wanting to know of that deraileur would work without a problem switching to a HG50 cassette.  The reason for doing so is because it offers a 9 speed 11-32 gearing.  I was wanting to get the bigger granny gear so I could more easily go up big hills.  Would this new cassette work with just swapping the cassette and adjusting the deraileur to accomodate the bigger gear (also changing the chain to have more length) with the older Ultegra deraileur or would it not shift because of the differences?

The published max large cog for both RD-6700-SS and RD-6700-GS is 30. They can sometimes work acceptably with 32, but they're not designed to and it's hit or miss. The variance is because dropout design is not universal. Putting in a longer b-tension screw or running it in reverse can help. You can also get something like a Wolftooth Roadlink.

Total capacity is 34t for SS and 40t for GS.


Lights for Rixen Kaul Klickfix shopper basket I am looking for a solution to attach lights to my Rixen Kaul Klickfix shopper basket:

Any suggestions? Would this clip work with the basket above?

You might have to modify that bracket but it's a good starting point if you've got basic tools. You might, for example, have to enlarge the groove - or you might need to glue some thick rubber across it.

One thing to check on the basket itself is that that edge where you want to fit the light is rigid enough to mount on, and attached fairly stiffly to the bike. It probably is but the fabric means I can't be sure from the picture.


Can I use a rim brake rear wheel in a disc brake bike, for indoor training? I have a disc road bike (QR); I use it also with an indoor trainer with a specific training tire.
I would like to buy a wheel to be used only on the trainer (with the specific tire).

Since I don't use the brakes on the indoor trainer (no descents there...) could I use a non-disc wheel on my bike for the indoor trainer? They would cost less and easily found on 2nd hand market...

Or are disc wheels actually different (both QR obviously)?

The standard hub width for road wheels with QR is 130mm for non disc and 135mm for disc hubs. Even though you can force the frame to clamp around narrower hub, it is strongly recommended to add spacers to the axle to adjust the width. As mentioned in comments, if you have hydraulic brake it's best to insert a spacer between brake pads so that you do not eject the pistons if you accidentally grab the brake.


I cannot change my pedals because of a plastic cap I cycle casually every day and I know at least something about bikes. But not that much that I know how to deal with the problem I experience.
Recently I got a new great bike (for me at least), but I noticed that the pedals were starting to get loose (issues with the thread). They are a basic plastic model, so I wanted to change them to something better.
Anyway, I got the new pedals and started working. I had an idea on how to do it, but after reading the instructions and an hour later I thought I was doing something wrong. So I watched a few videos on how to do it, and I was doing everything right.
Except this little problem...
The place where the Allen wrench should go, there is this plastic coin kinda thing, that very confidently says "made in china", that blocks the hole for the wrench (at least I suppose there is a hole for the wrench behind it). There is no point in telling about the bike because it was built in the local shop and the pedals don't have a brand and it won't help if I tell you the other parts.
So my question is, how do I change my pedals?
Any help is well appreciated.

Not all pedals have hex-socket insets on them.  This is especially true for cheap pedals that come on some bikes.
You should invest in a proper pedal tool, which is a 15 mm wrench with a narrow profile, widely available from tool manufacturers. If you look closely at the area between the pedal itself and the crank you will see two small "flats" or "lands".  This is where the pedal tool fits and you can then tighten or loosen it.


Do saddle ergonomics matter if you've got padded shorts? Those of us who try to bite off 50+ mile rides without padded shorts really have to pay attention to our saddle's shape and padding.

With padded shorts, how much of a difference can you tell between saddles that, when ridden without padded shorts, would mean a large difference in comfort?

I've never had padded shorts, so I'm curious.

The short (pun intended) answer is "yes." Or at the very least, "probably yes." One of the big things that makes saddles uncomfortable is pressure on the soft tissues between your "sit bones" (the ischial tuberosities). It may seem counterintuitive, but padded saddles can make this worse. The problem is that the padding allows your sit bones to sink into the saddle increasing the pressure on your soft tissues. Padded shorts won't do much, if anything, to prevent this and may actually make it worse.

What you want is a saddle that supports you sit bones with enough conformance to avoid pressure points around the bones, but without so much give that you end up carrying your weight all across your "bottom." On a saddle that basically works, but where you find yourself getting sore around your sit bones, padded shorts may help. But a good saddle is a lot like a good hard chair – you can sit on it for hours. You'll get tired of sitting before you it becomes uncomfortable from the pressure.

In my experience the benefit of the chamois is in minimizing chafing, not in providing padding.


Gap between fork and frame I removed the fork from my old racer because I was hit by a car. When I'm trying to put the new fork on the frame, I get a gap where the top bearing is situated. What should I do? Could I just remove the bearing and put everything in place, or is that just too stupid?

It's possible that your head tube was ovalized when the wreck occured causing a gap. Also keep in mind that head tubes come in many sizes. Your fork may be the wrong size.

See this Wikipedia article for more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headset_(bicycle_part)


9 Speed Cassette does not go all the way in on the free-hub body Wheel: Shimano WH-R500
Cassette: Shimano CS-HG400-9 9 Speed

I can put the cassette on the free-hub body but the chain will stuck on the highest gear. The cassette seems to not go all the way in on the free-hub body, see the gap between the spokes and cassette.

What did I wrong?

If all the cassette sprockets fit on the free-hub body and you can install and tighten the lockring then all should be good.

You should be able to see from the non drive side that the cassette spider is sitting at the base of the free-hub body grooves.

Note that some cassettes come with a spacer ring that sits behind the cassette spider.


2010 Specialized Tricross BB size I have a 2010 Specialized Tricross Sport Triple. I want to know what type and size of Bottom Bracket I need to replace the original one.

Specialized's archived page for this bike lists the BB as a "BB-7420 w/crank bolts". From what I've read online, this is a British threaded, square tapered, 68mm BB.

From what I've read elsewhere online, a common replacement for this is the Shimano BB-UN55, at around $15 CAD online. However, I haven't found a consensus about what length the Tricross needs. Here someone says 118mm for the 2011 Tricross; Bikepedia lists 113mm for the 2010.

Is there any way to figure that out without taking the bottom bracket out to read the specs off of it?

And is there any other spec beyond the threading, width, taper style, and length, that I need to ensure compatibility?

Finally, if there's a better replacement than the BB-UN55, I'd be curious to know about it. I'd like to stay under $50 CAD.

Thanks.

The typical thing to do here would be pull the cranks and measure the spindle length with a caliper. You don't need to pull the BB itself, all you care about is the spindle length. (On older bikes you'd also care about whether it was symmetrical or not, but yours will be).

There are some tricks you can play if that is not an option.

If the spindle is hollow, you can remove the crank bolts and poke a wire, spoke, QR, or string all the way through, mark it, pull it out, and know your spindle length that way.

If it's not hollow, you can remove the crank bolts and then use a caliper or pocket ruler to measure the distance between the tip of the spindle and the outside surface of the crank. Then you could use a couple straight-legged chairs or similar pieces of furniture, or some big squares, pushed up against the surfaces of the crank on either side of the bike to measure the spindle. Sandwich the bike between them, gently lift it up, measure the distance between the two surfaces, subtract the inset distance of the spindle tip, and that's your spindle length.


Convert single speed, steel framed, vintage track bike to geared Is there any way to convert a steel framed single speed vintage track bike to a geared bike? I have a track bike with only the rails for the wheel but I've moved out of the city and there are more hills where I am now living so would like to convert to gears if possible and rather than buy a new bike, save some cash.
this is actually the bike. Apologies for the butchering of its style in this form. sorry don't have a closer pic at the moment. I don't have the bike at my home and cant get to it due to lockdown :(

Yes. Absolutely. Simply install an internal gear hub.
Prices for internal gear hubs are basically what you want to spend: You can buy decent second hand IGHs (SRAM 7 speed, 300% gear spread, super reliable) for as low as 25 Euros, or you can invest roughly a thousand euros into a new top-of-the-list IGH (Rohloff, 14 gears, 500% gear spread, super reliable, no-delay switching, losses similar to a chain-shift bike), and there are quite a few models in between these extremes.
In any case, with an IGH you get much more robust gear shifting than with a chain-shift bike, and you won't need to dish the rear wheel or widen the stays of your frame(*). It's really the worry free solution.

*) Unless the frame was built for axles shorter than the standard 135mm that is common for single speed and IGH bikes. But even if that's the case, you won't need to widen the stays nearly as much as you would need for a large cassette. You'll most likely be able to do it with your hands alone.


Do aluminium chainrings/cassettes contribute to chain wear? In trying to achieve a long lasting, low maintenance drivetrain, I've read statements about aluminium oxide being the source of the black colour of chain dirt and also being highly abrasive:

  Aluminum oxide from chainrings makes chain dirt black - and it is very hard and abrasive. Grinding wheels are made of aluminum oxide!

  — John Allen on sheldonbrown.com

Others state that pretty much all the abrasives (including the aluminium oxide) come from the road:

  I believe almost all the grit comes from the road. Aluminum is very
  common in most soils, in the form of aluminum oxide, which is a pretty
  effective abrasive.

  — Frank Krygowski in rec.bicycles.tech

My question is this:

How much of the dirt/abrasive on a chain comes from the chainrings, and how much does it really affect chain wear?

My feeling is that the aluminium oxide particles ground off the chainrings would be of very low diameter, and thus wouldn't have a significant abrasive effect compared to the larger particles of sand and dirt thrown up from the road/path itself. Obviously this brings up questions as to the lubricant used (as a sticky lube will attract dirt) and riding conditions, but for the sake of this discussion, I'd like to consider a bicycle which is regularly maintained and ridden in all weather, primarily on made roads.

To bring this into the realm of the practical, my reason for asking is that if the cog material truly does affect chain longevity, I would consider changing to steel cogs (not currently considering the other advantages/disadvantages of steel, which have been covered elsewhere).

Interesting question.  Real world conditions are messy with multiple factors impacting any analysis, as such my answer will be speculative, but based on a number of sensible working assumptions.

Chainring degradation as a source

First lets consider how much material comes off a chainring. Generally speaking, if you replace your chain regularly before it stretches, it should be quite easy to  get 10,000km+ out of a set of chain rings before needing to replace them.  This indicates a slow rate of wear, and therefore a small amount of contaminating/abrasive material.  Furthermore the chain ring touches the rollers of the chain, not the whole chain width.  As such, the small amount of material that does get deposited gets deposited on the roller.  It still needs to make its way to the edge of the roller and then down the side of the roller and into the contact area between the roller and the "bushing-inner plate" before it will start contributing to chain wear.  Given the location of the abrasive material and the limited and slow movement of the rollers (this of course depends on your gearing - e.g., Big-big will have slower roller movement than Big-small), I suspect this is a very slow and low volume process.

Road debris as a source

Now contrast this to road debris.  Even when riding on pristine roads your frame will often get covered in a fine layer of dust.  This dust is being kicked up primarily from the front wheel. Next look at the proximity of the chainring to the front wheel.  It is unfortunately located in very close proximity to the dust plume kicked up by the front wheel.  This will cover the chain with a lot more debris.  It will also force debris into the gap between the roller and the inner plate, which will make it easier for the debris to make its way down into the deep recesses of the chain roller / bushing-inner plate assembly.  Given the volume of debris this will likely be the predominant source of abrasive material and therefore wear.

Lubes

I noticed you mentioned choice of lube

  Obviously this brings up questions as to the lubricant used (as a sticky lube will attract dirt) and riding conditions

This is the common wisdom, but I personally question it.  Over the last 3 years I have been carefully recording chain longevity under different lubes and conditions. Under the same conditions (brand/model of chain and season) a thicker wet lube resulted in longer chain life. Sometimes the difference relative to a light or dry lube was startlingly (e.g., 1000 km more life on an Ultegra chain).  I suspect the thicker/stickier lube remains in place better (some sort of hydrodyamic property that I can't remember the technical term). As for debris, it does have an effect, but I suspect it is somewhat over-rated as I only see a small drop (e.g., ~300-500 km) during the winter under the same lube chain combo and in some pretty nasty muddy conditions as I keep off the main roads and ride on more gravel during the winter.

In the end I suspect choice and frequency and quality of lubing may actually play the biggest role!


Difference Between SRAM SX eagle chain and SRAM NX eagle chain(12 speed)? I have a Trek X-Caliber 8 with a SRAM SX Eagle 12 speed drive train, but I only have a SRAM NX Eagle chain. What is the exact difference between the two chains, and how can I modify my chain to make it work with my bike?

I do not have another Eagle chain
The chain is too long, not too short
I do have a chain breaker, but the pins seem to be stamped so you can't take them out? My chain breaker might just not be up to the task.

The NX chain is of slightly higher quality, so it will last longer and shift better. That's not relevant here though.
Yes, you need to shorten a new chain in most cases. The riveted pins increase the chain's strength, but do require a decent chain tool to punch out. Hold the new chain up beside the old chain, matching link to link, and break it at the same length/link count.


Does Enduro make a ceramic hybrid wheel bearing kit for WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs? I would like to replace the bearings in my front and rear WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs. I'm interested in upgrading the OEM steel bearings to a ceramic hybrid. I've hear that Enduro is a quality manufacturer of ceramic hybrid bearings.

So, does Enduro make a ceramic hybrid bearing replacement kit for WTB Laser Disc Lite hubs?

I was unable to find any information on Enduro's site (http://www.endurobearings.com) or on other sites selling Enduro wheel bearing kits.

Please provide information on part numbers and where to buy.

http://wtb.com/pdf/manuals/ServiceLDLiteV6.pdf

This service .pdf indicates that you need 15x26x7 bearings. I did a quick search on Enduros website and they don't appear to make this size in ceramic.

A quick web search came up with one option that I could (quickly) find.

http://www.vxb.com/page/bearings/PROD/Kit7872

Typically, in my experience, the bearing manufacturers are not going to say that they have a kit for a WTB LaserDisc Lite hub. They simply make bearings of a given size and if they are what you need, great.

What the .pdf doesn't specify is what size the freehub body bearings are. It gives a part number for replacement as a UNIT but does not break it down into its finer parts. Read further along in the .pdf and they do indicate that you can replace the bearings from the freehub quite easily. My recommendation is taking them out, measuring them w/ a vernier caliper and then doing a quick search to see if you can acquire a ceramic version.

Hopefully this helps a bit.


Cyclocross touring, studs for SPD shoes? I just bought my first bicycle shoes (Specialized, SPD) and got four mountable studs. I'm planning on touring for about a month. Mostly on roads, perhaps occasionally on dirt tracks and larger trails.

I'm not too concerned about weight, so I started thinking of whether it would be a good idea to mount them before going or not. I'm thinking either of mounting them permanently or not mounting them at all, as I don't want to bring extra tools/stuff with me on the trip that I might not end up using.

What do you guys think?

Unless you plan to do a lot of sprinting up muddy hills to jump barriers, the studs are just extra weight that makes annoying noises when you're walking around.

SPD is great for touring since you can easily walk around in the shoes, the studs detract from that without adding much benefit.

You can get small "set screws" to fill the holes where the studs would go. This prevents
the threads getting filled with dirt in case you decide to use them later.

https://www.boltdepot.com/Metric_set_screws_Allen_Cup_point_Stainless_steel_18-8.aspx


Other commuters riding too close I have been commuting to work for a few months now, and generally I enjoy it. Unfortunately I've noticed that on the way back (never seems to happen in the morning - I set off quite early) I will often find someone rides much too close behind me, i.e. within half a bicycle length, trying to draft.

I think it is the same person or a small number of people (I ride the same route at the same time every day.)

This person (these people) will ride this close for a couple of miles - there's a fairly long main road with an on-road cycle path. I think riding this close to my back wheel is rude and dangerous because I could need to stop for any reason (car turns without signalling, small child runs into road, mechanical failure).

I'd much rather he kept back or overtook me, but I feel I would catch up and we'd be in the same situation. I'm not going to slow down because somebody is being rude.

For example, I turn off a main road into my village. In one instance I signalled very clearly, well in advance, and after a pause started braking, only to hear the other rider actually skid behind me. That to me indicates that this person is much too close and isn't paying attention enough to do so safely.

1) Is it reasonable to feel that this person is too close and riding dangerously?

2) I'm going to try to say something next time this happens, but I'd much rather concentrate on the road and not look over my shoulder trying to talk to someone who probably can't hear me over traffic. Is there a clear (polite!) signal I can give that will indicate I'd like more space?

Thanks!

Just wave him past, that's what I do. I don't draft and I'm not interested in someone drafting off me. Nor am I particularly interested in being polite to someone who is interfering with my ride or looking around worrying about them.

Waving someone past is a pretty universal hand signal I would think. I use it with cars, cyclists, and anything else.


Carbon frame strengh Almost every question Bicycles.SE about damaged carbon frames seems to get the same answer: "the frame isn't safe anymore."

How strong of a hit is needed to break a carbon frame? There are little stones that get thrown up by the wheels and hit the bottom of the frame, from time to time the bike falls down, etc.

The real problem with carbon is that it only has two modes -- not broken and broken.  When stressed beyond its strength limits the carbon fibers break and the frame is seriously weakened.  Plus, once this has happened, the "threshold" for further damage drops lower and lower.  And, except for cracks that MAY OR MAY NOT be reasonably visible, there's no obvious warning sign of impending failure -- nothing is "bent".

Steel, on the other hand, will (unless it's super-hard stuff) "yield" ("plastic" deformation) before it breaks, and "yielding" (within limits) only slightly reduces the strength of the metal.  Thus the frame will visibly bend before it breaks (unless, of course, it's run over by a truck or some such), and catastrophic failure is very rare.

(Aluminum is somewhat in-between the other two.  It unfortunately has a tendency to "work harden", and thus can, over a long term (years of rough roads), develop cracks that lead to catastrophic failure without obvious bending before-hand.  But it reacts more like steel in the face of short-term impact-type forces.)


bottom bracket clunking noise When cycling my bottom bracket sometimes starts to make a clunking noise, I can get rid of the noise normally by doing one or two strong pedal strokes. Is this anything serious does the bracket need to be looked at?

First, it may not be your bottom bracket.  Creaks and clunks are notoriously difficult to localize.  If you can reproduce it with the bike on a stand (or upside down on the ground), it may be easier to know for sure.

If it is your bottom bracket, you should replace it (or less commonly, replace only its bearings, depending on the type of bottom bracket).

If you continue to ride, eventually it will probably get worse, but this won't harm anything other than the bottom bracket, so it's not particularly urgent.


Ackermann compensation for tadpole trikes- how to work Peter Eland's spreadsheets I am building tadpoles trike with "dual crossed drag link" type steering, and having been using the spreadsheets below to get the Ackermann compensation right.  I am however not really sure how to get best results. If anybody uses these, or had a more up to date/simpler resource to point me to, do let me know!

http://www.eland.org.uk/steer_download.html

I am also familliar with the much simpler "point your control arms at the rear wheel", but I am not sure how to apply it to a tadpole trike with drag link steering.

Thanks!

Edit:  Here's a picture of the Dual Crossed Drag Link configuration.

From (http://forum.atomiczombie.com/showthread.php/5192-Crossed-Dual-Drag-Steering)

The story about pointing to the center of the rear axle is valid but sometimes you have to set the ackermann a bit of in the positive or negative direction. In my setup the full ackermann works fine.

You might be able to solve your problem by making an animation of the setup so you can see the angle that the wheels are making when you turn the handlebar. I tried but I did not succeed in it.


How are the categories for climbs decided? In cycle racing, there are five grades or categories for climbs - Category 4, 3, 2, 1 & Hors (Above Category or HC).  How do they decide what is category 1 and what makes it so hard it is a HC?

As noted above, part of the ranking of a climb depends on its placement within a stage: usually, the ending climb of a stage gets "bumped up" by a category. You can see that in the plots below, which show climbs as categorized by the organizers of the Tour de France itself for the 2012, 2007, 2005, and 2004 editions of the Tour, and plotted by the length of the climb and its average gradient. If given the length of the climb and gradient, you can calculate the total elevation change for that climb, and the dotted contour lines in each plot show that. Cat 2, 1, and HC climbs are named. For example, in 2004 the Vilard de Lans climb was classified at a Cat 2 climb rather than (evidently) a Cat 3 because it was the end of the stage. Similarly, in 2005 the climb to Pla d'Adet ended the stage, and it appears that its category was also increased from (arguably) Cat 1 to HC.

As an aside, the Madeleine was climbed in both 2004 and 2005 but, as you can see, the length and gradient of the climbs were different in those years. In 2004, the Madeleine was climbed from the southern side; in 2005 and 2012, the approach to the Madeleine was from the north.


Effect of BMX bike geometry on manualing What aspects of the geometry of a BMX bike have an effect on the ease (or lack of ease) with which a manual can be performed? Obviously there is an element of skill to performing a manual, but do variables like chain stay length have an influence?

As far as I'm aware, it's all about the rider's location vs. that of the rear wheel.

A short chain stay helps, because it tucks the rear wheel up closer under your center of gravity.

What really makes a big difference is the tilt of the handlebars: When the handlebars are rocked backwards, it lets you get your center of gravity way back past the rear wheel, making it really easy to lift the front wheel. In the same manner, tilting the bars forwards makes it hard to manual.


Replacing Schwinn Rim spokes I need to replace my rim spokes for Schwinn 28" men and women's bikes which size do I order? and where can I order them? thanks

The easiest way to find the correct length is to measure the existing spokes. Note that the front and rear typically use different lengths and rear has different lengths on left and right side. If there is a disc brake in front, the different sides may have different lengths too. The nipple threads are usually same size, but the middle of the spoke may be thinner, again the easiest way is to use a vernier caliper to measure the thickness.

Shopping questions are frowned upon here, so I'll just leave a hint that spokes are available in most specialized bicycle stores, both online and brick and mortar. You can sure find one.

Replacing the spokes is not very advanced skill but takes some patience at first. There are many instructions online, read at least one set before doing anything and decide whether this is something you want to attempt.


How to tell if 700mm tires fit 29" rims? My MTB has 29" x 2.25" tires on it now.  I'm looking at these 700mm x 35mm tires to replace them.  Will they fit a 29" rim?

Three factors to check:
Factor 1. Diameter. If your wheel is a standard 29", then it equals 700c or 622mm. They are different convension name of the same diameter for different types of bicycle markets.
29" = 700c = 622
Ref: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/29er_(bicycle)
Factor 2. Clearance
Since, 35mm is much narrorer than 2.25" (~57mm), the clearance will not be any problem at all. Your current bicycle frame will have much clearances to install 35mm tyres.
Factor 3. The specificiation of the wheelset
The final factor to check is to go through the specification of the wheelset.
The official specification will tell if the tyre width is compatible with the wheel.
For an example: MAVIC Crossmax Pro <-- A MTB XC wheelset
In the specification of it, you will see
#1 The RIM size is ETRTO size 29": 622x22TSS
#2 Recommended tyre sizes: 46mm to 64mm (1.8" to 2.5")
Since 35mm is narrorer than the official recommendation, in the case of MAVIC Crossmax Pro, it will be not recommended to install a 700x35C tyre.
PS. Please don't argue the marketing or not marketing with me. It is a free world. Anyone can try any not recommended combination as his/her free willings but I just can't give the answer of the kind.


Fox F120 RL fork mystery fluid - with pics The fork of the bike I bought used - a Fox F120RL (installed on a 2011 Trek Fuel 8 EX) has started leaking a weird see-through fluid from the side where you adjust compression and rebound. Does anyone know what happened or what is leaking?  Is it worthwhile fixing? Have I been scammed? What even is that fluid? (Pics in the end of the post)

The full story:
Recently I bought an amazing-feeling 2011 Trek Fuel 8 EX (second hand, of course). After a couple days I significantly lowered the pressure on the fork and rear shock and achieved that perfect feel (15-25% sag). The bike could clear a small speed bump without feeling anything - true magic.

But after I made my first ride on a rocky trail with the new sag and air pressure settings, I noticed black oil on the front of the fork. Being naive, I thought this is just a bad seal and temporarily made the decision to turn the compression up to the maximum. After that, I took my bike home and stopped using it until I can take it to get the fork rebuilt.

Today I woke up to a weird smell and a pool of clear fluid on the floor. It is on the the right side, opposite to where the hydraulic disc brake is mounted. I have never seen any fork leak this badly before. If I turn the compression it makes bump noises and it maybe losing air pressure...

side view of the leaking fork. the "dirt" on it, is oil from a previous ride. notice the fluid leaking down the leg:

Sounds like the internal air seals are leaking. This pushes the fluid up and out the upper seals.

The F120's Air forks should be serviced every 50 hours (similar to all quality forks) , with a full service every hundred hours of riding. Its entirelyt possible its never been serviced. If the fork has not been used in a while, again, possible with a used fork, when you start to use it the seals and go suddenly.

Check the stanchions - those Fox were prone to wearing the inside of the right stanchion, just above the seal. If the stanchions are worn a repair is uneconomic, otherwise its a run of the mill fork service (Typically $US100-$US150, but pricing depends very much where in the world you live.  If you want to save money and do it yourself there is plenty of detailed information on the net.


Watts per wheel on my cyclocross I have a pair of Continental Cyclocross Race, 700x35c, folding for my Fuji Cross 2.0 cyclocross. I just bought a pair of Continental Grand Prix 24. I had a look at this study where different tires where tested and their wattage per wheel has been listed.

Can anyone tell me how much difference in this "wattage per wheel" measure I have with my new and previous tires?

Unless you are an elite-level professional cyclocross athlete, you will never have to worry about the rolling resistance of your cyclocross tires. And at that point you will be able to pay someone else to worry about those things for you.


Will this chain work on my bike? I've bought the Shimano HG40 chain which is advertised as a 5,6,7 and I think 8 speed chain. I've just received it and it also says 15,18,21,24. (Obviously including the front gears). My bike is a 2x6 so it's got 12 gears, why isn't that listed and will it still work? Surely it has to since it seems to be one of the only chains for 6 speed.
Thanks, Harvey.

It will work adequately on your 6 speed rear cluster.  Its basically 8 speed chain which is identical width to 7 speed chain, and its "good enough" for 6 speed.

Curiously, on a supplier's website for HG40  I notice this line:

  Shimano Altus HG40 6-7-8 Speed Chain
  7.3mm chain width, optimised for 7- and 8-speed HG drivetrains

6 speed is 0.5mm wider but given the tolerances of the day, that should work adequately.  You have to move the derailleurs a tiny bit further to make a shift if its friction shifting.  The FD cage may need to be closed up slightly.

Finding 5/6 speed chain will be interesting - even KMC's own chain checker only lists 8 speed chain as the best option.  http://www.kmcchain.eu/chain-road_cross-multispeed-5_speed

Apparently "clarks CL20" is 5/6 speed chain and may be found at various on-line suppliers.

6 speed is a comparatively old standard and is way less common now, so not worth printing on the packaging?

As per https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bicycle_chain#Width

  6 speed – 7.8 mm (5⁄16 in) (all brands)
  7 speed – 7.3 mm (9⁄32 in) (Shimano HG), 7.1 mm (9⁄32 in) (SRAM, Shimano IG)
  8 speed – 7.3 mm (9⁄32 in) (Shimano HG), 7.1 mm (9⁄32 in) (SRAM, Shimano IG)


How tight should a fixie's chain be? I ride an SE Lager fixed.

How tight should the chain be and what is the best way of measure it? I have a chain tug so I can be pretty accurate in dialling in the right amount of tension.

I don't like to have much slop. Part of the joy of riding fixed is having a direct connection to the road. I like to have it adjusted so that there's no significant movement of the pedals when the bike is stationary. This often equates to about a centimeter of movement in the chain if I squeeze the top and bottom of the chain mid-way between the cog and chainring but it's hard to judge how hard I should be pushing to get that movement.

As always, Sheldon Brown has a lot of information, mostly about centering the chainring(!!) and recommends having the chain as tight as possible without binding.

The simple answer is, as Sheldon brown says, as tight as possible without binding.
But define binding. The noises you described on your chain in your previous question were symptomatic of binding or of a worn chain. The description you've given there of how you run your chain tension is tighter than I would recommend.

  To clarify the tensioning - When I replaced the chain I adjusted the tension. There was a very noticeable adjustment required. But then when I subsequently adjusted the rear cog I didn't adjust the tug from it's setting with the new chain. I agree that I might have changed the tension marginally just be removing and refitting the wheel.

1 millimeter of movement is too tight, in every case I've seen. The manufacturing tolerances on the components (cog, chain, and chain ring, ans well as the hub, and BB axle), would need absolute perfection to allow that tight of tension to function without damage or noise. I've never seen good enough all at once, and you would need to be amazingly lucky or diligent to find that mix of perfection.

Typical tension on a fixie or single speed is roughly 1/4" to 1/2", or 5-10 millimeters, when pressing on the chain from the top, and from one side. A single speed requires slightly less tension, because the bearings in the freewheel will bind, and it won't roll at all, where a fixie will just be noisy and prone to wear. Make sure you check for the spot where the chain is tightest, and do the adjustment there, as well.

You don't need to be that tight, and your drive train will still maintain good contact between pedal and wheel.


How much does non-ideal frame size matter? I have an opportunity to buy a barely-used Allez Elite for a very small amount of money (around $100). However, its frame size may be slightly different than the "ideal" size for me. If this difference in size will make the bike uncomfortable on extended rides, I'd rather purchase a different one that fits well, even for more money.

Based upon my height and leg length, I ought to be using a 55cm bike frame.

How much smaller/larger of a frame can I use before it will be uncomfortable? +/- 5cm? More? Less?

First, note that frame sizes aren't standard - you may ride a 55cm in one model, but a 52cm in another model (say, comparing road racers to cross bikes). And, you do pick your model based on preference - I prefer a larger bike than most people of my height, since I have relatively long legs and long arms.

Most of the time, you can go about 1 frame size above or below the ideal frame size (thats around +/- 2 cm in model numbers, typically ) with part tweaking - the most important measure being top tube length, which can be drastically different between similarly labeled models (This can be offset with saddle and stem replacements to some extent, but the adjustment ability is relatively limited). This is why getting good bike fit is important (and why people have to try bikes before buying them) - the geometry chart isn't super useful unless you know how that chart fits you (and some relevant swappable parts like saddles come into play as well). Of course, you have to be careful with this, especially for bikes which will be used off road (you wouldn't want to hit the wedding jewels on the top tube for example).

This is a good article on the topic of frame sizing.

For what its worth, if I had to intuitively place a 55cm, 60cm, and 50 cm road bike, for males, I'd guess a 50cm being for people closer to 5'2" ish, 55cm for people closer to 5'6", and 60 cm for people who are probably 6'1" ish. But again, this is completely useless without trying the bike.

To add, most likely, a wrong frame size (or misadjusted frame) will lead to back pain or knee pain. Both are not fun to deal with once you're past being a teenager.


Cargo Rack Suggestions? I recently bought a bicycle, and have found the need to purchase a cargo rack to go on the back of it.

After scouring Amazon looking for a reasonable one, I’ve discovered that, while there are many “brand names” they all use exact same image/version of cargo rack.

Anyone have any suggestions?

If it helps, I have a disc-brake system on my bicycle.

Thanks!

This question I remember was about fitting rear racks to disc brake bikes, using quick release (QR) skewers. Seemingly, good ones are supplied with an extra long QR skewer to mount the rack: Which holes to use for mounting rear rack?


What are the differences between "clincher" and "tubular" tires? What are the differences between "clincher" and "tubular" tires?  I'm just a casual road cyclist at this point and don't put any more than 200 miles in over the course of the week.  I'm looking to upgrade to some better, lighter wheels, but want to make sure I go with the correct type.  I'm looking for something that will be easy to fix on the road and doesn't add a lot of complication when problems spring up.

If you want simple and easy to fix then you sure as heck don't want tubulars.

Someone else will probably provide more details and links, but clinchers are rims/wheels with a tube, then a tire is mounted over the tube and the bead of the tire is hooked under a lip on the rim.

Tubular rims have no lip.  The tire encases the tube completely and is sewn in typically.  SO fixing a flat means cutting open the tire and patching the tube, then sewing it back up.

The tire assembly is glued to the rim.

Heat from brakes can melt the glue supposedly and cause tires to roll off.

The rolling resistance used to be much better on tubulars.  Unless you are a purist or a pro I don't think there is a reason to go with tubulars these days.


What hand signals work best for cyclists in the US? I am looking for some guidance on what hand signals and strategies to keep me alive on the roads.

Actual legal signals:

Left Turn - hand out straight to the left (with palm forward (not down or up).  I'll often point with two fingers to help convey the message.
Right Turn - hand out straight to the right; mirror of the left turn.†
Stop (or slow) - Left hand straight down with palm flat.

Commonly recommended but not necessarily exactly what the law says:

Merging - Point at the lane position you're merging to.  Looking over your shoulder in the direction you're going to merge can also help make drivers aware you're planning to merge.  Or point straight, the same as with a turn.
Straight forward (at intersection) - point forward.

† In most of the US, left hand straight up (palm forward) and upper arm straight to the left to signal a right turn is a legal alternative or the legally preferred signal, but many drivers will misinterpret it. I highly recommend using the right hand straight out to the right version (either with palm forward or pointing with your fingers), since many people are either unfamiliar with the left-arm-straight-up signal, or misinterpret it (perhaps even as a rude gesture).


Vintage MTB, mounting new v brakes I'm installing deore v brakes on a 1988 Bridgestone mb2.
The front brakes installed fine.
On the rear, the pin on the v brakes that is inserted into the frame to set spring tension does not align with the hole in the frame. It's misaligned by a mm or two.
This is my first v brake setup, could be missing something obvious.
I definitely have rear brakes. Also tried installing a front brake in the rear, with the same misalignment.
Not sure if this is an issue with standards that have changed over the years? Strange that the front pins insert perfectly.

I find the v-brake on the front fork, which often times has just one hole for the spring pin, is a smoother install. Idk why.  There is no difference in "front" or "rear" v-brakes except the direction of the pads.

Typically at the rear, the frame's tabs where the brake bosses are threaded or brazed on will have three holes per side drilled in them from which to choose the insertion of the brake arm's spring pin. Each arm's spring pin should be placed in the same relative hole (if the left spring's pin is in the middle hole, the right spring should also be in that side's middle hole).  Spring tension is highest when the upper most hole is used. Typically the middle hole is chosen.

One way to ease getting the pin into the desired hole is loosen the brake pad's nut enough so the pad can be rotated parallel with the arm. In this position the whole side of the brake can freely rotate on its boss without the pad bumping into the seat stay.   This way allows easier access and placement of the spring pin into your desired hole.  This may be the crux of the problem. Is the brake pad blocking the movement of the arm before it's pin is sufficiently lined up with the hole?

Park Tool has a great tutorial on installation of linear pull brakes.  V-brakes is a term coined by Shimano and is a linear pull brake system.


Bike Setup: Correlation between seatpost offset and stem length? Say the current setup uses a zero offset seatpost, and a 100mm stem.  If the seatpost were replaced another seatpost that has a 20mm offset, should offset be subtracted from the stem length?

My current situation is for a road/cross frame, dunno how important that is to the topic vs mountain/etc frames.

Saddle setback is a fixed position for each rider.

It is necessary to place the saddle in the position which places your knee in alignment with the pedal spindle, when at the correct saddle height.

Arbitrarily changing the saddle setback can interfere with a proper fit.

You should set your saddle height, then fore/aft position to align your knee correctly, then choose a stem length that makes the saddle position reasonably comfortable.

If the 20mm setback post is necessary to align your knee, then, yes, you may need to subtract that extra distance from your stem. But that will leave you with a very short stem in this case, which will affect how the bike handles.

I would expect that if that change is necessary, you are on the wrong frame size.


Bontrager thorn-resistant vs self-sealing tubes? So I arrived in New Mexico a bit over a month ago from the East Coast. Little did I know, there are things called "goatheads" that will give you flats like crazy. So I found that out fast on my 29er. Knobby tires don't matter at all, it's about the tube. So, because I do not want to spend money at this time on a tubeless upgrade (I just got a 1x drivetrain), I needed a solution.

I went into the city and thought I found my magical solution. Orange Seal. Pour 4oz of that in each tube and I'm good. Well it seemed to work for a bit, but then after buying 2 CO2 canisters and 2 tubes this weekend, I've already had to use them on two separate rides. Both times I actually wasn't riding singletrack but just pavement. Deflated in about a minute or less and had to put in a new tube and use a canister.

So now I'm thinking these thick Bontrager tubes may be the ticket. But I'm not sure which to go with, the thorn-resistant or self-sealing ones.

I used to live in the Mojave desert and had that problem a lot. The only thing that seemed to work was a hard plastic strip that you can install on the inside of your tire, that's the first line of defense. Then I bought thick thorn-resistant inner tubes on top of that.


My bike after a new spray paint, gets scratched easily I completely sandpapered my bike a few months back and repainted it with a coat of primer first, and then matt black. The paint was sprayed only after sandpapering the bike with the appopriate gritt so as to make sure that the primer would stick great.
With the original paint, my bike hardly got scraped too much and too badly, but now, it is easily scratchable. The pure metal is visible as if the primer and the matt black simply were peeled off (where the bike got scratched).
What could I have done so differently to make it so much more scratchable than the original factory paint job?
More Info

I sandpapered the bike clean and wiped it down with rubbing alcohol as suggested (I don't remember where).
Avoided touching the frame before the painting.
Sprayed a coat of primer.
Once dried, sprayed the matt black paint.
The paints were not at all sprayed heavily to make the paint peal off, and not too lightly either.

Commercial paint jobs often use heat-baked enamel, with multiple coats (not just undercoat and topcoat), and finished with a clear top coat.

The baking process produces a really tough, well bonded coating, and the clear topcoat (as well as being tough) produces a nice finish that hides scratches.


Feasibiliy of KERS for bicycles I want to know more about KERS for bicycles...
I have a question. What will happen if we attach the flywheel on front wheel? Does it make any difference?
Please reply me.. I preparing this as my minor project of M.E 6th sem... Please provide some guidence...

I take it KERS is "Kinetic Energy Recovery System" which takes energy from your momentum and stores it temporarily, also offering a braking effect.  With the intention to use this stored energy for subsequent acceleration.

A spinning flywheel on the front wheel may have significant precession effects when spun up.   If the rider tries to turn left or right, and the flywheel is co-planar with the rim, then the wheel will experience a rotational force around the long axis of the bike.

In short the front wheel will try and lie on its side.

This would prove dangerous if unexpected by the rider, and the scale of the force would vary with how much rotational energy the flywheel has stored.

A flywheel on the back wheel would experience similar forces on cornering, but the back wheel follows the turn rather than being moved to create the turn.

Downsides to a rear KERS, the wheel is already busy with drive, and often has disk brakes too.  Adding something inside the rear wheel will increase the weight where we don't want it, and rear wheel braking is the least useful sort of braking.

So, added weight, added complexity, added adrenaline when the bike kicks sideways, and minimal benefit.


Not enough space between front mounted child bike seat and rider I ride a city bike. We recently switched from using a trailer to a front bike seat for transporting our son:

Unfortunately, the back of the child seat (Yepp Mini) does not leave much space for me to mount/unmount comfortably. We also considered the bobike seat, but I think I'll face the same problem.

Is there a way I can use a front bike seat without buying a new bike? I am not so tall, so there are not many bikes that suit me.

We live in the Netherlands.

I found something called a "mother steering" ("moederstuur" in Dutch). We replaced the steering bar of our bike with this, and viola, ~20cms of extra space between me and the mounting point of the bike seat!

Disclaimer: the steering we bought is heavier than the original steering, it took a couple of days to get used to it

There seem to be a few different such products, serving a similar function, at least available in the Netherlands.


Options for new equipment when replacing older parts that are end of life? I have a 2004 Giant OCR Touring. It is a used bicycle.

These old touring bikes are a mix of mtn-bike and road bike parts. Most typically a road front derailleur/crank and a mtn-bike rear derailleur.

The previous owner put a triple compact mtn bike crank on it and it has had shifting issues. Partly due to the FD is braze-on and fits way above the largest chainring.

The original Shimano 105 FD finally took a dive and broke. It was a 3x9 derailleur.

It still has the Shimano Deore LX rear derailleur and that is running fine.

I am looking to replace the derailleur, and possibly update the crank as well. This is where my problem lies.

The only new 3x9 FD and crankset from Shimano is the Sora. The original crankset was a 52/42/30. These from what I can tell are no longer made. The new Sora 3x9 crankset is close at 50/39/30.

Can I replace my old Shimano 105 FD and ghetto crank with a new Shimano Sora FD and Crank and keep my current RD?

The short answer is yes.

As @Criggie notes in his comment, the rear half of your shifting system is working. So there is no need to mess with it.

The front derailleur and crank are both Shimano road product, so if you replace both from current 9 speed triple Shimano road product, you're pretty safe.

The 9 speed part only matters to maintain chain rings that match your existing chain width, and 10 speed rings will work reasonably well also.

Do not use a 10speed front derailleur.


Older Shimano Ultegra Shifter compatibility I have an older Shimano Ultegra Shifter that broke, and I am wondering how I can know what shifters are compatible with the gear set as a replacement? My broken shifter is on the right side and is a Shimano Ultegra ST-6510 9-speed. Are current generation Shimano 9-speeds backwards compatible with my older gear set? I've looked at this Sora shifter as a possible replacement. I am not so concerned about weight or performance and am only hoping to get a couple more years out of my older bike.

Any Shimano compatible 9 speed road shifter like the Sora you linked will work. While it will be visually different it will perform the same function. The last of these models were produced in 2007. While the Sora shifters you are looking at may be lower on the hierarchy list, they are likely equal to or better than your nearly the 20 year old technology you currently have. As new improvements are introduced Shimano eliminates the oldest technology and everything moves down a tier. Latest version of Ultegra is the previous version of Dura-Ace and it all moves down the line. My guess is you will be satisfied with a new Sora shifter.


Is it harmful for a hydraulic brakes bike to be put upside down I have heard that bikes with hydraulic brakes should not be left upside down. If they are, 15 minutes should be allowed before the bike is used.
Is there any truth in this? What process could be happening?
I am asking this because I sometimes leave my bike upside-down overnight, to remove any water from inside the frame. Today I noticed some oil on the inside of the lever of my BR-M445L.

There are two risks to turning your hydraulic brakes upside-down.

The brake system isn't filled to overflowing with hydraulic fluid: there's likely to be a small air bubble. Normally, this sits at the highest point of the system: the oil reservoir at the brake lever. There, it's not compressed by the piston when you brake, so it can't interfere with braking. If you up-end your bike, air bubbles might travel through the system to the brake pads. If they don't manage to make it back up to the reservoir before you want to brake, you might find your brakes are squishier than usual. 15 minutes is perhaps a pessimistic estimate, and it's not that much of a risk unless you get on your bike and right away need to brake very hard.

The other potential problem is if the seals in the oil reservoir aren't quite tight. You might not notice in normal use, because they're at the top, but when they're at the bottom of the system, the pressure might let some brake fluid seep out. If you notice this happening, stop turning your bike upside-down, and make sure to check that you still have enough fluid to brake properly. If it keeps happening after you've re-tightened the seal, you may need to change the rubber grommet(s). Often rubber seals are dissolved over time by the oil, and stop doing their job properly.

As others have said in the comments, you'd be better off avoiding the need to turn your bike upside-down. Find where the water is getting into the frame and seal any gaps. Some bikes already come with holes in the bottom in case they need to drain, and you might consider adding your own.


Replace or patch inner tubing? I'm 16 this year and I commute to school on a regular basis on a second-hand Urata Avanteguarde (about 2-3 years old.) I kept getting flats on my rear tire, but by the time I has isolated the problem to a needle sized puncture in my inner tubing, I had already torn my tire beyond repair. I've already bought a replacement tire, but i wonder if it is completely necessary to replace the inner tubing? If not, what are the risks of doing so ?

I am relatively new to road bikes, so I do apologise in advance if there is anything I'm missing out, or if this is a stupid question in general.

Some terminology first.

TUBE is the doughnut-shaped ring that holds the air (inner tube)
TYRE/TIRE is the bit with the tread, and on your bike this holds the tube in place.

So you got several punctures in the tube caused by something sharp in the tire

You damaged the tire somehow and have a replacement.  Now you've removed the sharp thing from the tire, and you want to know if the tube needs replacing ?

ANSWER Probably not.  If the tube holds the air pressure its fine.  If the tire has worn tread (ie to the point you're through the rubber and riding on the threads, or if it feels really thin to your fingers)  or if the tire has a cut or significant hole, then replace it.

I'd recommend you throw a spare tube in your schoolbag, along with a mini-pump and tire levers if you need them, and a tool for your axle nuts if required.  This will let you change tube on the side of the road, and patch it at home later.

Replacing the rear tyre should reduce the frequency of punctures too.  The rear wheel suffers punctures about twice as fast as the front wheel.

Also, you might consider avoiding things that generate punctures too - which means not hopping kerbs/curbs, not bouncing through potholes, and going around patches of glass on the road/cycleway.


connecting center pull dia-compe lever cables I have some old dia-compe center pull brakes.

Inside the lever is the little roller pin with a slot in it for the cable and the small hole on the bottom and the larger hole on the top that the nut on the end of the cable sits in. These have suicide levers and a red metal pin sticking out of the inside of the brake handle.

My question is: how do I thread the cable so that the nut is in the big (proper hole) and doesn't fall out when I put tension on it to hook it on to the caliper cable?

The cable is curved it has taken a set from being on there so long. I think it's too simple and I've been looking at it too long.

dlu. exactly. thanks for the terminology reminders. it seems like the socket is upside down. the slug is stepped down from about a 1/4" to an 1/8" so it has to go in that hole which is shaped to accept it and the cable comes out the opposite side of the socket through the smaller hole. what am i missing?

I think the only thing that you're missing is the knowledge that the part that anchors the cable (with the hole) is free to rotate. One way to get it to go back is to take the end of the brake cable and catch the edge of the socket or slot and then drag the cable out again. Usually this will get the "socket part" to spin back around the way it should be facing and you can drop the cable in for real.


Exercises to Counter act muscluar imbalances I have overdeveloped quads, which has affected my knees, what are some exercises that will help counteract this imbalance?

Patellofemoral pain syndrome is a fairly common complaint from cyclists.  You really should consult with a medically-trained therapist, but straight leg lifts, oddly, are a good place to start.  (Lay on back, hold leg straight, lift without bending knee.)