V-brake pads make contact but don't apply pressure to wheel I own a hybrid Trek bike that uses V-brakes. When I apply the brake, the brake pads make contact with the wheel's rim, but don't apply enough pressure to actually brake the wheel. (No matter the level of pressure I apply, there isn't a substantial difference in the level of braking.) My immediate response was that the brake pads might be worn or too thin — so I installed a new pair. Unfortunately, the same problem persists.
I would appreciate any guidance on what might cause the problem. Do I need to find a better or thicker pair of brake pads? I apologize if this problem appears straight-forward; I am a newbie to both bike repair and the bicycle StackExchange community.
The question should be addressable based on the description above, but I have linked a very brief video here that demonstrates the problem.

I find it useful to narrow down which part(s) of the braking system are having issues.

It looks like you've got a partially-frayed cable with a strand sticking out just past the "noodle" tube, and a long tail past the clamp bolt. I'd trim off the strand and cut the tail to be maybe 1.5" long. Use a crimp cap, solder or even strong tape on the end to prevent it from fraying. Also, the flexible rubber "worm" between the noodle end and the clamp bolt should snap over the lip on the end of the noodle so it stays fixed relative to the noodle.\

Can the brake arms stop the wheel? Just grab the tops of the two arms and squeeze using your hand. If that won't stop the wheel then the pads need to be adjusted to be closer in or there's something blocking the linkage from fully closing.

Another factor is whether the wheel is true or not. If not, the rim will "wobble" from side to side inside the brake pads when it is spinning and you won't be able to adjust the pads to be properly close to the rim.

If you've got issues re: 2 or 3 above, fix them by e.g. following the instructions at parktool.com

AA makes good points about the other end of the system.


Help with choosing an entry level mountain bike Me and my wife are looking to start cycling in the nearby nature. We aren't expert biker cyclers but are in reasonable shape (we're in our 20s). We're looking for two entry level bikes, each up to the price of 350 USD. The nearby nature includes mostly 4X4 paths, sometime narrower but in general in such a paved manner. Could anyone recommend good bicycles in this price range that will fit our requirements?

First of all, why do you want a mountain bike?:

  The nearby nature includes mostly 4X4 paths, sometime narrower but in general in such a paved manner.

This is definitely not what a mountain bike is for: They are intended for serious trail use, i.e. broken paths with lots of obstacles/debris. Given what you're describing and your beginning riding "style", I'd personally recommend either a lower-end touring or hybrid bike with tires more meant for off-road use: They will be more comfortable to ride for longer periods, will be easier/more enjoyable to ride fast (less rolling resistance) and can be easily used for stuff other than trail riding such as hauling groceries with a rack and panniers. Mountain bikes are a pain to use for anything other than, well, mountains†.

However, in order to get a new bike which you will really enjoy riding and can depend on for a long period of time without it breaking, you'll unfortunately have to spend a lot more than $350 USD (cf. a 2015 ranking of good entry-level mountain bikes, on which most start at around $500). Unfortunately, although bikes at e.g. Walmart may be in that price range, you will regret spending that much when just a few hundred more will get you a very respectable machine.

However, you can find a great deal on a used mid-range bike on sites such as craigslist: By buying used, you save the instant "drive it off the lot" depreciation which comes with a brand-new machine. If you don't know anyone who can help you find a good deal on a used bike, however (it's like buying a used car: be careful and always be ready to pay for repairs after buying it), many reputable LBSs will have a few used bikes for sale or will know someone who does.

† Although this recommendation is biased since this is my absolute favorite type of bike to ride, if you really are into doing mixed light off-road stuff like you describe, consider getting a so-called "adventure bike", which is basically a road bike for people who aren't afraid of getting dirty. These bikes are ridiculously fun to ride on nearly any surface and you can still carry groceries with them when needed.


Single disc brake front of SS bike? Just finished building a gorgeous commuter from a fixed track frame. I've got some nice fat 700x28 tires, a SRAM automatix hub in the rear, and a disc compatible front hub. The frame has mounts for rim brakes but lacks any elegant way to route the back brake cable across the top tube.

I've currently got it wrapped up with some fabric handlebar tap and may end up making a nice stitched leather top tube protector BUT I'm super curious...what if I skipped the back brake all together and just did ONE disc brake up front?

Obviously I'll have to perfect a nice progressive squeeze so as not to go over the front and I'll definitely have to get used to shifting my weight back a bit when I brake (especially on hills) but what other down sides are there to this?

Cheers!

Like the late great Sheldon Brown wrote in his article, I use the front brake alone most of the time.  But there are great reasons to have a rear brake in addition to the front brake:

Slippery pavement (wet weather, etc).  If the front wheel skids, the rider will almost always crash.  The rider can often recover from a rear-wheel skid, so if conditions are slippery, I try to use the rear brake and give myself plenty of time to stop.
Leverage.  When I have my hands on top of the brake hoods, I don't have as much leverage as when I'm grabbing the brake levers from the drops.  When I have to make a sudden emergency stop from the hoods, I can stop better when I use both brakes.
Braking while turning.  If the rider tries to use the front brake while turning sharply, that might cause the front wheel to skid.  Sometimes braking with both brakes is better in a sharp turn.  Also if the rear wheel skids, the rider might be able to recover, or the crash might be more gentle than a crash caused by a front-wheel skid.  I generally try to avoid braking while turning sharply, but sometimes I have no choice, if for instance I want to avoid hitting the child who ran onto the bike path without looking.
Equipment failure.  If there is some problem with the front wheel or the front brake, having a rear brake can be very handy.


Is my fork disc compatible? Hello I'd like to show you my fork, is it compatible with shimano m355 non series hydraulic brakes?

Yes, your fork is disc compatible, but your hub is not. The fork appears to have mounting points for the older 51mm I.S. disk brake standard. See

https://www.bikeman.com/bicycle-repair-tech-info/bikeman-tech-info/1638-51mm-international-standard-74mm-post-mount

for examples of the two most common styles of disk brake mounts.


How can I rent a bike in Paris (France) for a short time? Is there a system in Paris that will let me rent a bike to get across town, if so how does it work?

You're looking for Vélib I think.

English explanation of the system.


Need Help IDing SPD Pedal Anyone know who makes these and which model it is? In the middle of the pedal I can kind of make out "C (possibly, not 100% sure)" "ARV" "E (also not 100% sure, just guessing)".

Looks like a pair of Forté Carve pedals. Forté is a house brand of Performance Bicycles. I checked their website, but this particular model of pedal doesn't appear to be available any longer.

(photo from College Tri blog)

Here's another photo that shows the "CARVE" logo with the stylyized "V" engraved into the cross piece that matches the letters you found on your pedals:

(photo from mtbr.com)


Can anyone tell me what bike logo this is? Cant seem to find it Help!!! Please and thank you.!

It's a logo for the Fit Bike Co

With a circle

Fit Bike Co logos


Is the 9-speed Sora crankset compatible with 105 11-speed chain? I'm thinking of upgrading my bike, which has a Sora 9-speed system on it (50/34 chainset). The upgrade is for esthetic reasons - i simply like the look of the internal cable routing. That being said, it is not an absolutely essential upgrade, and if it costs too much I will not do it.

My plan is to buy the new Shimano 105 5800 11-speed cassette, shifters and chain. I understand that the 11-speed chain is thinner than a 9-speed. Does this mean that I also have to buy a new crankset to replace my 50/34 Shimano Compact FC-R345 Octalink?

You should just be able to replace the chainrings for 11 spd ones.

You can also get 9-spd 105 shifters if you just want tidier cable routing (I assume you mean internal as in under the bar tape) which would let you keep the rest of your groupset as is.


Please identify, Lago bike from Germany help me to identify what kind of bicycle frame it is and its cost, if it is valuable, I will be grateful for any information.  (Click images for larger view.)

The last image says

Moped-Fahrrad (Moped Bike)
Mähmaschinen (Lawnmowers)
OTTO D... (A name obv.)
Reperatur...Werkstatt. (Repairshop prob.)
Friedrichs.....en? (Riedrichshafen? Reflection in the way)

That would be a sticker from a repair / service shop for mopeds, bikes and lawnmowers
The second to last should be the brand, as there is another bike from "Liebigt" for sale here: http://www.dealmywheel.de/neue-gebrauchte-fahrraeder/muenchen/741027/frisch-restauriertes-sammlerstueck.php
I can find a few second-hand Liebigt frames on ebay and other German thrift sites, but I'm unable to find any wikipedia article or related information on that name, so other then confirming, that "Liebigt" is indeed the vendor, I can't provide any information on the model other then it should be from around the 1970s or earlier.


Different tone of lens in glasses for bicycle I bought yellow glasses for bicycle, and one lens has little bit less tone (more lighter). Is this defect?

It probably just means that the quality standards aren't too exacting. Kind of like how display panels with a few dead pixels aren't considered defective.

You could contact the manufacturer to ask whether the problem is covered by warranty, or you could just return them and buy a different brand. There's no point in keeping glasses you dislike.


Help Identifying this bike frame I recently bought this bike from a non bike person who didn't know anything about it. I've looked at thousands of pictures and hundreds of websites and I cannot find this frame. So, that means it is either rare, or junk. There are no markings anywhere. No serial number. There is a "1" and "B" stamped/cut on the drop outs. I don't know if this is some kind of logo. Pretty sure the frame is aluminum. Bike is very light. Most of the components are Gran Compe (crankset, seat, seat post, brakes, etc.) Any help would be appreciated. Hate it when I can't solve a mystery. Strange design without a seat tube. Three paralled tubes welded together forms the frame.

Since you guys have all been so helpful, I thought you'd like to hear the answer to this mystery.

The bike was indeed stolen. I was able to find the rightful owner.

The frame was custom made of stainless steel in Capetown South Africa by BouwerWorks. (So, the 'B' did mean something). This builder has apparently stopped making frames, or else, has stopped any kind of marketing. His website is down. But, I found his Pinterest Board  (look at the profile pic) and also found an article on a design site with info.

Most of all, I'm happy that the owner is getting his bike back.
Thanks again.

https://www.designindaba.com/articles/creative-work/building-unique-bicycles-his-spare-time?fbclid=IwAR2xckegUtatQZrxhAEeD_VWCiPDWp-NWsHv1UDGnRpeK5hQ41KtNg7BBCs

Adding a bit more info. SO, I found the owner first and that is how I got revelation on the frame. I have a friend that runs a local charity. Village Wrench - They go into neighborhoods on weekends and do free bike repair for those who might have no other options - they do a mentorship program to teach people (mostly kids/teens) how to work on bikes, learn leadership, learn job skills, earn their own bike, etc. -- I sent him a message with photos. He suggested a few other people. One of them knew the owner (who moved here after spending time in Capetown) and was aware the bike had been stolen. After we connected, he told me the story of the bike and how it was made. With that info, I was able to find the BouwerWorks info online. A bike is only worth what someone will pay for it. But Bouwer regularly sold his frames $3,000 and up. So this owner was happy to reimburse me the $175 I spent. That low price is the main reason I suspected it was stolen. I provided the name of the person who stole the bike. A police report was filed a month ago. But I don't think the owner is going to bother with pressing charges at this point.


What are the pros and cons of internal gears? I've had my hybrid 24-speed for a bit over 3 years now, and just last weekend, when looking for a bike for my wife, discovered internal gears. Suffice to say it blew my mind when I saw 7-speed internal gear hubs, for example on this This Giant Suede Women's bike.
So the question is, what are the trade-offs between the internal gear hub and an external gear hub and derailleur?
I'm assuming they'll be more expensive? but what about the set of gear ratios they provide? the reliability? the serviceability? tuning/maintenance? other effects on the chain/sprockets?
Going back to the bike linked above, there's a near-identical model (picture) with 21-speed external gears that's considerably cheaper, and I'm wondering whether the extra money for the internal gears would buy any real benefits (e.g. longer lasting chains/sprockets or fewer services), or whether it's just for fashion?

The main advantages of hub gears over a 1xN derailleur system are reliability and being able to shift while stationary. Since there's no derailleur or chain tensioner it's easier to add a full chaincase which means chains last a lot longer and with mudguards added there are no dirty bits accessible on the bike. They're heavier and harder to maintain if you have to maintain them.

There's a whole style of bike that uses those advantages (and others) and from a US perspective is called a "european" or "dutch" bike. Broadly, it's a bike built for someone who is not a cyclist, rather they are someone who uses a bike for transport. It should just work, no special clothes or rituals required.

Compared to a 3xN derailleur system a hub gear is much simpler to operate and maintain. All the gears are in order and you only have one shifter. The compromise is a smaller gear range (Rohloff being the obvious exception), ranging from a little smaller for the Shimano Alfine 11 down to "yes, there are two gears" for the back-pedal-shift 2 speed hubs. But in return you get extremely long life for the chain and cogs (10,000km or more for the chain, 20,000km+ for cogs) and a general low-fuss maintenance requirement. That also makes it practical to put a hub gear in places where derailleur gears could go but you wouldn't want them - under my load carrying quad, for instance, where the derailleur hung down between the rear wheels just waiting for a rock to break it off, and turning the thing over for maintenance is a pain.

Removing the rear wheel on a hub geared bike ranges from nigh on impossible (some of the Shimano hubs, and some dutch bikes have chain cases that are just irritating to work on) to almost trivial (a Rohloff with QR). The problem is the shifter cable - you have to detach it to remove the wheel. Good ones just unhook, poor ones you have to undo the adjuster barrel and re-adjust the gears on reassembly. Shimano are getting better, but Rohloff and Sturmey Archer have it down pat.

Servicing hubs is not often done these days. The manufacturers generally allow bike shops to swap out the internals for new, saving the hassle of building a new wheel, but that's about it. I had three Shimano Nexus 8 hubs fail at 5,000km intervals, and every time I just got replacement internals rather than the hub being repaired (the last time, of course, Shimano had stopped making the hub so I had to throw away the wheel). With Rohloff the same thing might happen, except after 150,000km or more... most people don't ride that far in a lifetime. Also, with Rohloff you change the oil every 5,000-10,000km, at a cost of half an hour of your time and about $20 for an oil change kit (or $10 for just the oil).

I usually run a Schwalbe Marathon Plus on the rear of my hub geared bikes, which trades a little extra rolling resistance for huge puncture resistance. It's part of the "my bike just works" philosophy. I'd rather reliably take an extra 30s to get to work than at random intervals be 5-10 minutes late and dirty due to a puncture (because you know that you'll only get punctures when you're in a hurry and it's raining).


Child sleeping in bike trailer My husband and I like to take our 3.5 year old daughter for bike rides and she rides in a trailer. But the problem is that she is sitting idly on a calm, mostly smooth ride on a bike path surrounded by beautiful scenery and she often falls asleep! Her head bobbles around and even slight bumps put stress on her neck.

I need some way to help support her head or somehow allow her to lay or recline safely in the seat. Is there some kind of hack or product I can use to help her? I think ideally her trailer seat would recline, but I don't know if something like that exists.

I'm not comfortable with the seats that mount onto the frame of the bike because I feel they are not very safe for a number of reasons. If I fall or hit something on the bike, the trailer stays upright and of course she has a helmet anyway. But a fall with a mounted seat could be much more dangerous for her.

Anyone have ideas/suggestions for how to keep my little one a little more comfortable (without compromising safety) in the trailer on long rides?

I hacked the seat in our burley trailer to recline by decoupling the seat top from the frame tube it ran through (required disassembling the trailer), and suspending the seat top instead from some climbing webbing which could be tightened or loosened with a typical adjustable nylon clip. I did that so the kid could recline a bit more and sleep more easily. I also ran some pool noodle down the sides of the interior to act as bumpers. The first thing made the kid more comfortable. The second thing made me more comfortable. She'd still fall asleep and her head would sink or flop, and I couldn't believe her neck didn't hurt, or that she wasn't choking herself with her head that far forward. (I eventually tried that position and realized it does the opposite with the chinstrap.)

Finally, I learned to chill.

The same thing happens to kids in cars. And on airplanes. And in the jogging stroller. And when you walk a baby around in a snugly. Are you aware of actual injuries resulting from this? I'm not. And I looked. I couldn't find anything on this (or in car seats) on pubmed.

Don't get me wrong, I used to worry about this with my kid in the trailer as well. (And I took mine on 50-80-mile days beginning when she was 9 months old.) However, before I did that, I created a baby test dummy (a large doll, weighted, with a 3d accelerometer on its head. Yeah, I was crazy.) I ran the numbers from the bouncing in the trailer against numbers from bouncing walking around the house, down the stairs, on the trail nearby, and the peak Gs were all comparable, and very low. When she was older, she never reported a sore neck from sleepflopping in either a car or bike trailer.

There are gadgets designed to support kids heads by wrapping around their foreheads, but frankly, I'd worry more about a choking risk from that than I would a neck injury from a floppy head.


How many sprockets can I fit on a crank? So, I have a pair of ambidextrous shifters on my bike. In other words, both shifters are ten-speed so that you can change the "handedness" of your handlebar if you want. This got me thinking, they could also be used for a 10x10 drivetrain.

So, how many speed chainring is achievable with reasonably off-the-shelf components, and what (if anything) would stop me from building a 100-speed bike, and at what point?

4 chainrings seems to be the feasible limit:

http://abundantadventures.com/quads.html

However if you add an internal planetary gear setup, A 100 speed might be possible if not practical. Here's a 63 speed bike.

https://sheldonbrown.com/org/otb.html

There are internally geared 2speed front axles.

https://www.alphabent.com/internally-geared-cranksets

So in theory 8x is possible on the front, 12 on the back gets you close to 100. You could go 14 in the back with a Rolhoff hub and get over 100.

I suspect such a bike would self-destruct in a very few miles though. Internal gear systems aren't engineered for the kind of forces that gearing could generate.


Bike doesn't brake immediately and comes to a squeaking stop. Do I need to get new brake pads? I was given a bike by a friend (for free) and have taken advantage of biking over short distances to work and school.

When riding I noticed that the braking is not immediate when I applied the brakes and the bike comes to a squeaking stop.

The bike has rim brakes. The brake pads seems to be quite stiff and don't appear to be worn out very much. I am still trying to diagnose what is affecting the braking. Do I need better quality brake pads? Or do I need to adjust the pads and the levers on the wheels get the bike to stop better?

You may need to replace the brake pads, and the brake calipers and levers are very probably out of proper adjustment.

As this is a safety issue, you should definitely have the brakes examined and adjusted by a bicycle repair mechanic.

If you feel confident about making adjustments yourself, and have the necessary tools, there are a number of good resources that will show you how to accomplish the task properly. My favorite is the Park Tool Company YouTube Channel. They have a specific set of videos that deal with rim brake adjustment, including identifying the brake caliper types with links to the appropriate adjustment video.

If the pads are heavily worn, or have hardened due to age you should replace them - pads are reasonably cheap. If braking is still not strong enough after making adjustments then you could consider getting a set of more expensive higher performance pads.


Suspension seat post is loose Is it ok that a suspension seat post like the one shown below (source: cyclande.com) is actually a bit loose (moves a bit left-right and probably also up-down).

The vendor told that for such seats it's OK, but I'm not totally sure.

An up-down movement is perfectly fine – that's what suspension seat posts are designed for!

For the side movement it's a bit more complicated. A suspension seat post is basically two tubes sliding into each other with some suspension mechanism. This requires two things: the tubes need a little clearance to move within each other and they need a mechanism that prevents the tubes from rotating towards each other – let's call it anti-rotation machanism. The latter can be for example something like a bolt sliding in a notch or tubes with a non-circular cross-section.

The bad thing is, those two elements are somewhat conflicting. An effective  anti-rotation mechanism requires the least possible clearance, which may inhibit the original purpose of the suspension seat post, which is to allow for up-down motion of the tubes. Therefore, the manufacturers have to find a trade-off between suspension performance and precision. Such precision is expensive and would quite surely also make the seat post heavier. Especially the products from the lower end of the price range might quite surely sacrifice some of the precision for a more "reliable" suspension performance.

So to answer the question: yes, some side rotation or wiggle (something like +-2-3 degrees) should be quite common.


Bent front-derailleur I biked to school today with my bike in perfect condition. Locked it up and went to class. When I went to my bike a couple hours later, the derailleur was bent out of position. My bike's front gear was at 3, but the derailleur was forced to the first/smallest sprocket. Now I can't shift gears on my front wheel as the derailleur won't move. Is this fixable? Or do I need to buy a new derailleur. If it's fixable, would it be difficult for me to do it myself out should I simply take it to a shop?

You say it's bent, but we can't confirm that by the picture. (Your picture is very sharp, but a side view would be helpful) It looks (as someone else commented) like the derailleur may have slipped down the seat tube. If you can't determine exactly what the problem is, you probably should take it to a shop.


No return spring in SRAM Rival 1 brake lever? I bought SRAM Rival 1 mechanical brake lever and a Sram Rival 10 speed brifter. I'm used to brake levers having return springs as well as brake calipers. The Rival brifter indeed does have a return spring, but the Rival brake lever does not. The lever floats freely without a braking cable.

Is this by design, or have I received a faulty unit?

By design:
https://road.cc/content/review/31892-sram-s900-singlespeed-carbon-brake-lever
" Feel at the lever would make Goldilocks proud, not too baggy, nor too snappy, in fact just right, but there's no return spring which might be a problem for those that prefer gritty cables."
https://www.amazon.com/SRAM-Rival1-Pair-Brake-Lever/dp/B017EET2TE
"I like these levers, please note, they do not have a return spring... thus the 4 stars. Also, people are telling me these are the same as the 500's but just with fancy graphics. But I like fancy graphics, so that's cool. But really Sram, why not add a return spring??"
https://www.lfgss.com/conversations/337133/
https://www.retro-gression.com/products/sram-s500-brake-levers
"The S500 features a composite body with adjustable-reach aluminum levers.
These don't have a return spring so you'll need to get creative if you only run a front brake and don't want the unused lever rattling around. You can do it!"


Campagnolo and Shimano compatability so I have some 9 speed campy shifters and a 9 speed shimano wheelset lying around, I'd like to know if they can work with each other so I can save some money as I'm planning on building/ upgrading a bike in the near future with these parts. So in short, is Campagnolo and Shimano in any way compatible with each other?

Campagnolo has two cable pull numbers for 9 speed, theres 3.0 and 3.2 mm per click.

Shimano 9 speed is 2.5mm of cable pull per click, so you're out of luck.

I'd suggest selling on the campy shifters on ebay and use the proceeds to fund some boring but common shimano ones.

Or go the other way and look for a campag rear wheel and derailleurs, but these will likely be more rare and therefore cost more.

Reference link: http://blog.artscyclery.com/science-behind-the-magic/science-behind-the-magic-drivetrain-compatibility/


Is there 28 hole front/rear drum brake hub No time research this now, so has there ever been made a 28 hole front or rear drum brake hub? I know that Sachs and Sturmey-Archer have done a lot of drum brakes. Neither to my knowledge have such a hub in production currently. The reason for asking this is that I have 2010 version of Kona Band Wagon and I'd like to move to using drum brakes, but also retain the current rims that are 28 hole rims.

I've seen 36 and 48 hole brakes, but not 28. 28 strikes me as an unlikely number because hub gears/brakes are not usually made for especially lightweight bikes. Harris Cyclery only have 32 hole and 36 hole in their parts list, and I can't really make enough sense of the Shimano web site to really be clear on the options. Note that Shimano make "roller brakes" rather than drums, and those clip onto the side of the hub. Sturmey Archer drums all seem to be 36H.

If you are willing to really work at building the wheel you could cross-lace a 36H hub into a 28H rim, but you wouldn't get an especially strong wheel and it would take a lot of work (I expect you'd have to do it experimentally and that really means having a range of spokes sizes available on a "pay for what you use" basis).


Is there such thing as an automatic transmission for bikes? Has anyone ever designed or manufactured an automatic transmission (or automatic shifter?) for cycling?

I imagine such a device would automatically change the gearing to allow the rider to maintain constant cadence or constant torque on the cranks.

I used to daydream about the existence of such a system many years ago when riding my first (battered, second hand) racer as it was such an ordeal to change gears.

http://www.landriderbikes.com They were very heavily advertised several years ago but currently they seem to show up more on craigslist than on TV.


Where are the Online Bike Databases? I'm starting to look for a new bike, and have grown accustomed to shopping online (or at least, pricing online) for just about everything I buy. One feature that makes online shopping especially appealing is the ability to search through an online database with constraints. For example, when shopping for a computer, I could start with all computers sold by an online retailer. Then I could filter out anything without 8GB of RAM. Then, from those, select just the machines with a certain processor, and so on.

When I look around for bikes online, I cannot find any such database. For example, I'd like to be able to start with all models 2010-present, then select only those with internal gear hubs, then only those with 8 or more speeds, and so on.

My question comes in two parts:

Is there a database or online retailer like this?
If not, why not?

Note:
I'm not opposed to supporting my LBS, but like to consider as many options as possible when making large purchases. In this case, I'd like to price out many different options and consider tradeoffs on price vs. functionality at home rather than at the shop, but would probably still buy there.

Perhaps your best option is Gear Finder provided by Bicycling Magazine.  They have various bikes organized by type, price, and some sub-details.

As for why you don't see the same types of databases that you see for computer products, this is because the people who actually make these things (computer programmers) are much more likely to be interested in computers (as a product) than bicycles.


Extend clearance for a 28mm tire I tried upgrading to some 28mm but as you can see clearance is very tight. In some spots, the tire doesn't fully clear the brake (Tektro R350). The fork barely has enough clearance.

Is it worth trying to get an extra mm or 2 with a different brake? I searched around and I saw Tektro has long-arm options, but it's not the arm-length that's limiting, it's the shape of the top of the brake itself. Any brake recommendations? (already read this post - I'm hoping to stick with Tektro or any other fairly inexpensive option, and I only need the front brake.)

In some spots, the tire doesn't fully clear the brake

I take this to mean that the wheel isn't straight, and the tire rubs at certain points in its rotation. If you spend some time truing the wheel, you might be able to get it straight enough that it doesn't rub. The advantage of this approach: you don't have to buy anything.

Another option: keep an eye out for cheap cyclocross forks with cantilever mounts.


Replacing rubber connection in a bicycle trailer coupling I salvaged an old bicycle trailer. I have one concern though. The bar that goes from the trailer to the bike, I believe it's called the tow hitch, ends with a small rubber coupling, to allow for movement in all directions. The rubber has gotten brittle, and I don't trust it. Is it possible to either buy a new one or in any other way fix this issue?

I suggest undoing the bolts that hold the rubber piece in place.

Obtain an old car tire, and with heavy shears, cut a couple of pieces the same size and shape. The idea is to put them back to back to make up the width.

You'll need to make holes on each end for the bolts. A large drill could be used for this; I suggest a drill press, rather than a hand-held drill, for safety reasons (the drill bit may bind in the rubber).

You may need to have a few tries to get it all to work right.

Good luck :-)


Does sealant in tubeless tyres slosh around? I'm getting interested in tubeless tyres for my gravel bike

I'm curious about the liquid sealant that you put in the tyre.

As I understand, it should stay liquid so that if there is a puncture, the sealant will flow to close the hole.

Does it slosh around in the tyre as you ride it ? do you feel it moving ?

Tubeless sealant has the consistency of roughly soy milk. If you take a tubeless wheel and shake it, you should hear the sealant sloshing around (and if you don't, chances are it's time to add sealant). You need to have liquid sealant to help seal punctures; if its solid and dried out, it won't be mobile.

Will you hear it when riding? No. There are far louder noises in normal riding, particularly wind and tire noise anyway that would prevent you from feeling it.

Will you feel it? No. There's not much sealant in a tire -- on the order of tens of grams; it doesn't have the mass or speed of movement or consistency for you to notice that it does move (it's not like you're putting a bunch of ball bearings in the tire -- its a sticky yet relatively free flowing liquid).


Skipping bolts on seatpost , please help? Couple weeks back I bought this aluminium single-bolt seatpost .
Now, just 20 days later, the nut that tightens the the mechanism to fasten the saddle rails to the seatpost is skipping around and not tightening.
Why ?
I was testing new saddles on this seatpost, so tightening/loosening. Then, after I got done testing, I tried to put in the chosen saddle.
When I tried to tighten and fasten it, instead of the bolt moving into the rectangular nut, it got stuck and the nut started to move along with the screw, causing the entire upper metal plate to spin and get stuck as I tightened. This had happened a couple times before too. So, I tried holding the metal plate in place with my fingers while tightening this bolt to keep the upper plate straight. Impossibly hard, and I wasn't able to stop the metal plate from turning.
So, I presumed lightly oiling the screw system should help, thinking it has seized. I went ahead and put a couple of drops of oil in there. Now beyond  certain (very loose) extent, the nut and bolt would just skip and slide and rotate around but not tighten anymore. Frustrated, I though that the oiling was a mistake, so I removed the plates, bolt and nut assembly and degreased it thoroughly and properly with a brush and degreaser.
I reassembled the plates, bolt and nut but it's still skipping and not tightening.
I seriously doubt that the bolt is worn out from such light use.
What is the solution ?  I'm so clueless and haven't been able to ride at all since days now...
EDIT :
Link to close-up, labelled pictures of the parts of the seatpost for your understanding of their condition and quality : Here.
I confirm through careful observation that the bolt's thread seems damaged, and , from the observation of others here , also that of the nut's.
This damage causes the skipping and sliding, and I will be going to a hardware store and getting a new nut and bolt or just one depending on which is needed.
I am not sure but AFAIK both the bolt and nut appear to be aluminium.
Over-tightening might have been the likely issue , since at sensibly tight levels, the clamps failed to hold the saddle which would slide noticeably under climbs . Hence, I had regularly over-tightened it (like a true Jeremy Clarkson gorilla-with-a-spanner) and these cheap screws & bolts just couldn't take it.

₹ 555 (Indian Rupees) is about $11 NZD or about $7.50 US, 5.64 UKP or 6.27 Euros.
So you've got a seatpost that is incredibly cheap and likely made of low-grade metals.  Zooming in a bit shows the terrible surface finish, and the inside won't be any better.

By repeatedly alternating between tight and loose, the threads inside have become "stripped" and there's not enough metal left to hold the bolt.    I bet you found little half-moons of metal flaking out of the hole when removing the bolt fully.
There's a chance you over-torqued the bolt too, which uses the bolt's thread as a kind of lever to force the metal threads off the sides of the hole.
You may be able to put a wider bolt in after re-cutting a new thread with a tap, but given the cheese-nature of the metal, it won't last very long.  You can also fit a replacement thread, but the tools for that cost more than a decent seatpost.
On the other hand, if its the bolt which is missing its threads, and the threads inside the clamp are still okay, a replacement bolt would resolve the problem for now.  Do make sure its a quality bolt.
Buying a better-quality seatpost will fix your problem.  For me, a low-price good one is four to five times as much.   You don't need to spend excessively, but based on the pricing and what has happened, it was a piece of junk.   You might also explore returning the item, though that is up to you.

Your second photo clearly shows no threads left in the square "nut"  If you could replace that with a thicker nut it would hold for longer, but some other part could fail too.  I would expect the pressed metal rail holder to give up next, or maybe the bolt itself.


Shock absorbing handlebar tape - recommendations? Any recommendations for shock absorbing handlebar tape?

I have a very harsh bike with drop bars (cheap alum frame and HD wheels, frame limits tires to 28mm) so I'm doing what I can to minimize the harshness (short of getting a new bike).  I will be getting some padded gloves but I won't always be using them.

I'm a commuter/day tripper.  I think I've dialed in my positioning well enough, the only thing that hurts after a couple hours is my hands, and I do move their positions.

Try adjusting the angle of your seat, so that the front of your saddle is level to the back of the saddle. This will change your riding position and encourage you to lean forward less.


My bike goes up one gear at a time, but down two: is this normal? Just over a year ago I bought a new bike (a Giant Escape 3) with a trigger gear system - my previous one had a grip-twist to change gears.

After riding and experimenting for a while, I was able to determine that the trigger down didn't shift a single gear - it changed down two. This behaviour is consistent as far as I can tell: it does it every single time I've thought to check, whatever gear I'm in. The trigger up does increment a single gear as expected.

It's just something I've learned to ride with: it's not entirely inconvenient in traffic when you're stopping frequently at lights. But lately, I got to wondering whether it was, in fact, a "feature" or a "bug"?

If it is a fault, how can I fix it?

On or off road, but especially off road, it is desirable to be able to shift down more than one gear at a time to deal with abrupt changes in gradient and avoid being stuck in too a high a gear and stalling out.

Also (as you mentioned) if you are required to slow down or stop suddenly, it's convenient to be able to drop down several gears while simultaneously braking, then be in an appropriately low gear to accelerate back up to speed.

Some modern shifters allow downshifts of 4 or 5 gears. Yours may provide 2 with a full stroke of the lever, so the solution may be to simply 'half stroke' the lever to get a single downshift.

If you edit your question to add the make and model of shifters and derailleurs you have we may be able to provide a more specific answer (or tell if there is something wrong).


Can I replace 11 speed 11-40t with a 11-42t or 11-46t staying with Shimano XT family? Can I replace the 11 speed 11-40t cassette with a 11-42t or 11-46t? What other parts will be needed to complete job? I.e. new chain, long chain, spacers?

Depends on what derailleur and front rings you have.

The current Deore XT M8000 GS (which we can probably assume you have) specs say:

Max 11-42T cassette for a 2x11 setup
Max 11-46T cassette for a 1x11 setup

Additionally for a 2x11 setup there is a max 10 teeth difference between the front rings.


What is the spacing for trek 1.1? I'm trying to find new wheels for my trek 1.1, and I can't find the spacing for the hubs. The wheels I'm looking at have a front spacing of 100mm, and a back spacing of 130mm. Will these fit on my bike?

Road front hubs are 100 mm and 8-10 speed rear hubs are 130 mm.

In the case of the Trek 1.1, it's always been spec'd with a 8 speed rear hub, so those wheels should fit on the bike.


Cleats with asymmetrical foot positions I am looking to buy some cleats for the first time, but due to a misplaced cast of a broken leg when I was much younger my feet do not both point directly forward, my right foot is approximately 20 degrees from forward (pointing out to the side).

Would this be an issue using cleats.

As i work with fitting, i would recommend you to look for medical advice first. Probably you need some work on your foot and then think about solutions for your foot position.


Front wheel DT Swiss C1800 vs CR1600, is it worth the extra bucks? I have to replace my front wheel (700C, disc brake, QR), and I'd like to take the opportunity to upgrade it. My current OEM wheel has a manufacturer weight of 1310g…
It's for a gravel DIY e-bike, usually with some luggage. I'd like something light (considering my price range), yet quite robust. My current tire is a 700x38mm, but I may replace it with 40~45mm.
So far, I'm considering the DT Swiss C1800 (130€) or the CR1600 (190€). The CR1400 (280€) being a bit too expensive.
The C1800 and CR1600 seem to be very similar, the main difference being the hub (370 vs 350). If it were for the rear wheel, I'd pick the 350 hub without hesitation as it's much better. But for the front wheel, I don't know if there is significant difference.
So, I'd like to determine if the CR1600 is worth the extra 60€ over the C1800.

The main difference between these wheels comes in the freehub. The 350 freehub is a ratchet system, whereas the 370 is a pawl system. At the front there's not going to be much difference and you can save your money.


Putting brakes from a fat frame onto a skinny frame I took a bunch of parts off of a bike with a hybrid titanium/carbon frame (it died), and am using them to build up a bike from a sweet steel frame I got on ebay for a song. It's my first time building up a frame from scratch, and although it has been mostly smooth sailing so far, I recently ran into a major issue with the brake calipers.

As far as I can tell, due to the fact that the tubing on the steel frame is so much skinnier than the tubing on the titanium/carbon one, the pivot bolts on both of the calipers (the part that actually inserts into the frame) are too long, so that even when the nut is tightened all the way the calipers are still loose and flop around. Is there any way that I can work around this and still use those old calipers?

The difference is usually in the length of the threaded insert that goes in the frame, and that the caliper bolt threads into.
The inserts are available separately, and must be sized correctly for the frame.
There may be some older calipers where the bolt itself is too long, but a Ti/Carbon frame sounds pretty new for that.
They come in 16mm and 22mm lengths. A steel frame would normally use the shorter 16mm version. See photos.

____________ 16mm _____________________________________________________ 22mm _________________________


Protecting bikes from elements when traveling suspended on hitch bike rack I'll be traveling this summer (1000km each way, with one stop in between) and would like to take our bikes (4) along with us.

I have a Thule Apex installed in a 1.25" hitch that will be host to 2 mountain bikes (29er, 27.5), 1 woman's hybrid and 1 kid's mountain bike (20"). I have storage at destination.

How do I limit the impacts of the elements (rain, road debris, etc) on our bikes, most particularly the disc brakes and drive train, when traveling?

Edit #1

Consider the encountered wind (ie. highway vs. storage) as reviews seem to indicate that certain products may not withstand various degrees of wind.
Using RV in the keywords also tends to help

There are several companies that make covers for trailer hitched bikes.  It's essentially a giant bag that's designed to cinch down over your bikes and rack. For a long trip like you are suggesting, it's probably well worth getting one.  I have seen bikes after such road trips on a rear rack coated in horrible, horrible road slime.


converting stem shifters to brifters I'm new. I'm 26, from the UK and until last year I'd never cycled more than 10 miles before. Then in September I cycled 2700 miles from Maine to Florida. It was great.

I've just bought a Dawes Galaxy, I believe made in about 1997. It's got a Shimano RSX rear derailleur, 7 speed, indexed shifters. Three cogs on the front with friction shifting. Shifters are on the down tube.

My plan is to buy some Shimano brifters. I was hoping to upgrade the down tube shifter into the integrated brake shifter. Could anyone give me advice on which Shimano sets would be compatible? I imagine any Shimano 3x7 would work. Is that correct?

Would these work?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Shimano-ST-3300-Sora-7-Speed-STI-Lever-/291470495079?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item43dcfecd67
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/New-Shimano-Sora-ST-3300-7-7-Speed-Right-Hand-Side-STI-Shifter-Brake-Lever-/281698654774?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item41968c5a36

Other equipment I believe I'll need is: cable housing, wire, crimp tool, end caps, bar tape, cable tensioners ... What do I put in place of the current shifters, some sort of cable stop?

Anything else I would need? Anything else I need to consider?

You can buy any 7 speed Shimano brifter (or compatible ones made by Microshift). The ones you link to are fine. The front derailleur needs to be Shimano road.

You'll need:
- Cable stops on the downtube
- New cables and cable housing (brake and shift)
- Probably new bar tape

The tools will be cable and housing cutters, an awl, a file and some screwdrivers/hex keys.

Not sure what you mean by cable tensioners.


Non-drive bottom bracket cup loose/wobbly - what options are there? I have this pretty/ugly Pinarello single speed and for a while I had a problem with the bottom bracket lockring loosening up and the BB clicking.

After I removed the cranks and the lockring I can feel that the non-drive side BB cup is not tight in the BB thread. I really mean the cup, not the spindle.
Even when the cup is fully screwed in (so the spindle turns freely but doesn't have any wobbles) I can move the non-drive cup up/down/left/right by hand. It's a tiny movement, but it's observable and visible to a naked eye. It's as the threads on the cup and the BB did not match. The threads on the cup and inside the BB look ok, but I haven't cleaned them yet.

If I put locking on the removed cup it also isn't tight. It seems it fits, but there is tiny sideways movement.

(I don't think this related but after removing the non-drive side cup I still cannot remove the spindle - which I think usually should come out.)

Question:
What are my options? Since the non-drive side cup for cartridge BBs are typically made of plastic, could this be an option?

The two pictures below are my attempt to show that the cup can move up/down:

Is this the same bike as Bottom bracket lockring keeps loosening up  ?   Colour looks the same.

It is time for a new BB cartridge I think, and if that doesn't fix it, then the BB threads are damaged and the frame is scrap.


Two handlebars on bicycle I have butterfly shaped handlebars on my hybrid bicycle.  These were an aftermarket addition.

These allow for different positions but I would like to add another set of handlebars with a wider position above the butterfly handlebars.

There is a component that allows this attachment of additional handlebars but I do not know what it is called.  This looks like two bars with loops on each end and they are positioned on to the existing handlebars and affixed then to the additional handlebars above the existing.

Can anybody help with the name of this component and where to get them?

From later comments - those loop-type attachments are only rated for attaching accessories like lights and so-forth.

These are NOT handlebars

They are intended to be used like this

If you want higher bars, then raise your bars with a higher stem.  The dirty-hack described in JonR's excellent answer remains a workaround at best.

Always consider how you're going to get to the brakes in an emergency.


Problem with replacing inner tube of old bicycle with tire code: 47-559 (26 x 1.75) I'm replacing the inner tube of old bicycle with tire code: 47-559 (26 x 1.75).
I bought a new tube that has spec: 26*1.75 - 2.125 (47/57- 559).
However, the diameter of the new inner tube is too large, such that it can't fit (folded inside the tire). It is also obvious that the new inner tube has larger (in diameter) than the rim.
I've read the previous post and also https://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html#iso.
I thought that using the same ISO code (47-559), I would get the correct diameter, but it isn't.
Then I realized, there's a code 26 x 1.50 on the old inner tube.
Can anyone help me with this matter? Is this mean that I can't use the ISO code (47-559) for finding a replacement?

A 26 * 1.75-2.125, 47/57-559 tube should be fine for a 26 x 1.75, 47-559 tire.
Tubes can appear to be a little floppy and oversized on a rim before inflation. Remember the tube expands radially inwards and well as outwards as its cross-section diameter increases as it is inflated. Try inflating the tube a little before inserting it between tire and rim - this helps prevents folds and twists.


Should V brakes be able to lock the front wheel? I recently bought a folding electric bike for commuting by train, and braking has been a constant pain.

The shop has adjusted them most weeks, I've never had a bike need this much adjusting, but they won't even entertain the idea that they could be faulty.

Today, they've changed the brake pads, after less than 200 miles use, and when I've come test the bike, the front wheel doesn't come close to locking (nor does the rear of the bike raise off the ground), and the bike will casually come to a stop.

The mechanic has just argued that v brakes function like this and should not lock the front wheel, and he couldn't make them any more effective than they are, I explained that every bike I've ever owned with v brakes was able to lock the front wheel, but it just felt we weren't going to see eye to eye.

So, should v brakes be able to lock the front wheel?

Update
To clarify, the bike has at times been able to stop much more sharply than it currently is, on delivery, the brakes were okay, and after each previous 'adjustment', so the weight is not the problem. It can 'endo', the claim by the mechanic is that it shouldn't be able to, and that configuring the brakes like this is fine.

A few details, which were requested in the comments:
It has 20" wheels and weighs 18kg,

Here's a picture of it:

Regarding locking the front wheel, they are sort of correct: on paved surfaces and tires with decent grip the rear wheel should lift off the ground before front wheel locks.

However, it sounds like you can't lift the rear wheel either. A decent set of brake pads should last much longer than 200 miles and brakes should not be adjusted every week (unless you ride 2000 miles in a week), so it's probably best to switch to a different shop. It might also be that the brakes are just garbage and could be replaced with a better set. As mentioned in a comment, a brake booster arch might also help.


I got glow-in-the-dark tape. Where do I place it? Would I be able to use glow-in-the-dark duct tape to help illuminate a bike at night? I already ride with forward and rear lights.

You don't want glow-in-the-dark tape -- it's only useful if you store your bike in a dark shed and need to find it. The amount of "glow" is such that it's only visible in pitch darkness -- and that's for only a few hours after it has been exposed to bright light.

What you want is called "retroreflective tape" -- it reflects light back in the same direction regardless of the angle of incidence. It essentially turns your whole bike into a bike reflector. You can also buy it in adhesive rolls. Go wild with it, put it on anything and everything on your bike -- especially things that move as the eye is more sensitive to motion. The side of the bike is particularly important since we tend to have front and rear lights, but little on the side except wheel reflectors (which often fall off).

This is some retroreflective tape that I put on the rear fender and seat stays of my commuter (I have more retro tape on the sides and front that aren't visible in this photo). Left is under normal light, right is with my camera flash.

Photos by me, released to public domain.


Security wheel skewers for front facing horizontal dropouts I was looking into upgrading my current skewers to security skewers, e.g. Pitlock skewers (These are skewers which are designed so that its harder to remove a wheel without a specific key provided with the skewers).

An example is here:

(From Peter White Cycles)

My bike has horizontal dropouts, but front facing (i.e. not a track forkend, in contrast to this question).

The Pitlock FAQ states: "If you have horizontal dropouts on your bike's rear wheel (horizontal and open at the rear), we dissuade you from using the Pitlock system.

Usually (almost) all rear wheels are assembled in vertical dropouts (opening diagonally towards the bottom). Here the assembly with PITLOCK works without problems. "

They specifically highlight track-style forkends, but not horizontal dropouts which open in the front. So, can Pitlock skewers be used safely with horizontal dropouts? If so, why can they be used safely with horizontal dropouts which are front facing, but not track forkends?

An example of the dropout types is here (mine is similar to the second one from the left on the top row):

(From Sheldon Brown)

The Peter White page claims this is due to Pitlocks being unable to exert enough clamping force (similar to some aluminum QR skewers, since aluminum can't bite into the drop out enough), but Pitlocks are made from steel, so I'm still not sure why the track forkend was specifically highlighted by the manufacturer but horizontal dropouts were not.

This may be too late (just joined StackExchange), but the reason that Pitlock does not recommend using their skewers in any horizontal type dropout is in the configuration of washers between the "cup" of the rotating end, and the Pit inside the "cup".
Please refer to the photograph below; all numbers begin from the left side of the image.

The toothed washer (3rd) grips the hex flats on the end cap (6th), which passes through both the cup (5th) and the nylon washer (4th). If the Pit (2nd) is torqued down too much, it can cause the toothed washer to deform to the point where it no longer grips the end cap. It can also dig too deeply through the nylon washer and eventually secure some purchase against the cup. This would allow a would-be thief to be able to grip the cup with some sort of pliers and potentially loosen the Pit.
To avoid this (and this is not common, but any locking skewer only works correctly if used correctly), Pitlock does not recommend any torque on their skewers above 10Nm. A wheel held at this torque in a horizontal or semi-horizontal dropout, under heavy load, has a much higher chance of slipping. They also recommend replacement of the toothed/nylon washers over time to avert this.
You can over-clamp a skewer to avoid this. If you still want security skewers, I would go with Delta locking skewers, and white-glue a ball bearing into the 5mm hex head opening. You can torque them down to your heart's desire, and still have a good measure of security.
pitlocksecurityquick-releasehub


Can a 21 speed Shimano Tourney groupset get converted into a 7-speed? I currently ride a 3x7 Tourney bike, which I’ve upgraded moderately and it is riding nice. I’d like to know if I can somehow replace my 3-crankset for a simple one, and also get rid off the front shifter and its cable.

Yes - note that some bikes will still need the front derailleur to help prevent the chain from falling off, which defeats the lightness goal, and only makes the bike slightly simpler.

You'd use the upper and lower limit screws to force the FD cage to an appropriate place, and then can remove the cable and shifter.


What size are the replacement o rings in the prestacycle set? https://www.crosslakesales.com/products/prestacycle-prestaflator-tool-rebuild-kit-o-ring-new
I asked the company that manufactures them, they said they didn't know.
Does anyone know the sizes? I ask because the set is not available in the UK. Flying it over the Atlantic seems ridonkulous when I could just buy some o rings here.

Got mine from AliExpress 10X5X2.5mm O seal ring for US$2.
Tested it and it fix perfect.


Rear Derailleur won't move I've changed my chain, and now when I shift into lowest gear, the rear derailleur won't move back out, and the cable goes slack. Any  insight?

I saw a bike with a similar problem last weekend, but as other people have said, it's hard to know the correct answer without pictures and a better description.

In his case, the derailleur cage had somehow sprung past the stopper and the spring was fully unwound. The result was that the derailleur did not provide any chain tension.

Fixing it required:

Remove the chain
Rotate the cage against the spring and past the stopper, which was hard to get past
Put the chain back on.

After that it worked perfectly.


What is the logic to the order of Shimano Components? I understand that the product lines (105, DuraAce, etc.) are ranked in terms of quality, and that last years high model drops to this year's low model. Could someone lay out the logic for the naming system so I can understand it?

For road components Shimano has the following quality ranking, from top to bottom and from (very) expensive to cheap: Dura Ace Di2, Dura Ace mech., Ultegra Di2, Ultegra mech., 105, Tiagra, Sora and Claris.

What trickles down from year to year are the innovations. If some innovation appears with the pro-groupset Dura Ace it will appear in the following or second year in the Ultegra group and so on downwards while the the Dura Ace components have some further improvement.


Shimano STEPS E8000 battery won't charge I have a STEPS E8000 bike and wanted to make some improvements, like possibility to charge from any kind of CC/CV charger (even using solar panels when grid is not available) and to charge it to 41v to improve cycle life but things went wrong after first brief charge.

I charged(CC/CV) just a little from 40.3v to 40.6v when i observed that the battery level indicator is not working anymore.

The battery doesn't want to start at all and the Shimano charger is just blinking when connected, meaning some kind of error.

Now i have 2 options: buy a new battery or find some Shimano service but i have no ideea if Shimano fixes a battery without warranty.

The second problem is that im not sure if a new battery will work wihout pairing/programming.

Any thoughts why the battery(or BMS) got bricked when charging the cells directly and will a new battery work (plug'n'play)?

It looks like you might have bypassed the charge controller on the pack and charged the cells directly? The smarter pack controllers do a form of coulomb counting and will see anomalous or unexpected pack voltages as a risk and premptively brick.

But before you get to that conclusion, I’d measure the individual cell voltages and make sure they are all within 0.1 volts of each other and that none are anomalously low. Balances often have a limited capacity for rebalancing and will brick a pack that is unbalanced too far.

Finally if you want to repair the pack, you may find a new / used pack controller part on eBay or you might be able to scavenge off an older pack. But be aware some controllers do brick themselves at end of life so you might be SOL anyway.

The worst case scenario is that you bricked the controller on the  pack and you can’t recover the controller. It’s not a huge loss. You can still break the pack apart and use the 18650 cells in other projects or sell them on eBay.


Identify missing fender part Let's play "identify the missing part"!

While riding, something which holds the fender to the frame between the chainstays and just behind the bottom bracket fell off:

Please help me make my bike stop making horrible rattling noises.

You need

Leather washers in between the metal fender and frame.
a washer and locking nut to secure the fixing bolt.

For detailed instructions on metal fender install see the detailed Velo Oranges fender manual.


My bike's chain vibrates with every pedal stroke I have a mountain bike, and with every pedal, it will vibrate seemingly in the chain and on the pedal. This is with every pedal without fail.

It started with steady occasional vibrations that went away when I went fast, then always were there, and just in the last hour, it’s very frequent and almost does a double vibration. I don’t know what to do or if it’s bad. I always go down big hills and I don’t want my bike to fail on me or something as send me sprawling into the road going fast.

If it’s nothing I can just keep riding with it, but if this bike breaks my mom will kill me. Suggestions?

It's important to remember that while your mom would kill you if the bike breaks, she would be so much more upset if you did get hurt! Moms are weird like that, so don't be afraid to ask her for help with the bike, or money if something important needs fixing.

So how to fix the bike, we need to figure out why the vibration is happening, so that means inspecting the bike as best as possible.

You mentioned the pedals, so we can start there. Are both pedals fixed to the cranks securely? Do the pedals feel nice and smooth to turn, or are they rough and noisy?

Can you wobble the cranks side to side, or are they nice and stable? They'll spin forwards and backwards, but you should't be able to wiggle them side to side.

The chain runs front to back, is there anywhere along the chain where it rubs on something that it looks like it shouldn't? does the vibration depend on which gear you're in?

Check the rear wheel, when you spin it forwards, does the rim, or the tyre wobble side to side? Does the tyre touch the frame of the bike at all anywhere? It shouldn't. Make sure that where the wheels are held in the bike, they haven't slipped just a little bit out of where they should be, and that the brakes look like they aren't interfering with the wheel turning.

I shouldn't really answer the question with lots of questions, 'site rules', but the goal is to help you have a good look over the bike, then you can update the question with some of the findings, and anything you think is out of the ordinary. Maybe some photographs of the bike where you think there could be a problem.

There's a system of inspecting the bike known as an M-check, see a page here, which might help you look for issues, but I'm not sure that it would help you figure out this particular vibration or not. It's a good check to learn about though.

If you don't find much with these suggestions, or other people's, then its a good idea to have the bike looked over by someone who knows about bikes, maybe a bike shop mechanic or a family friend. If you've noticed this problem, and it's getting worse as you ride the bike, then I think it is something worth getting fixed.


Minor hamstring pull, can I keep going at easy pace? I'm 53 and for the past year have been pushing it slightly.  Have always been careful to not push it too hard, but yesterday I got a mild pull in my right hamstring.  Just a slight soreness right behind the knee.

Can I keep riding, 5-10 miles a day, at an easier pace without worsening it, or should I stop riding until I can't feel it?

Probably best to see a doc.

But it would probably work to lay off for 3-4 days (at least until you can gently cycle without immediate pain), then start up again, being careful to limit the stress on the area.  If your pain level stays low then SLOWLY work up, otherwise back off or stop (and see the doc).

You should probably find some stretches (from a PT or maybe on the web) to "balance" the muscles in the area.


Genesis Onyx 29" New tires? New wheels? I want replacement tires for this bike.  I believe they are 29" x 2.125.   Can I buy tires that are more narrow for the same rim/wheel?  2" 1.75?   Also,  Is it possible/practical to swap the wheels for 26" wheels?  One last question,  since I'm new to this,  is 29" tires the same as 700cc?

thanks

In general, switching to a slightly less wide tire should not cause any problems, unless the tires are much too narrow for the rims. Sheldon Brown's Tire Sizing page (under Width Considerations), suggests that if the tires are much too narrow, this can cause pinch flats and rim damage. If you're just going down a few sizes, you should be fine.

Switching to 26" wheels is impractical. The brakes wouldn't line up with the rims, and I don't know how you could fix this. Maybe someone else will have a suggestion, but my hunch is that if it's even possible at all, switching to smaller wheels could easily cost more than the bike is worth, especially for a bike in this price range (about $150?). Do you have any particular reason that you would want smaller diameter wheels?

Finally, 29" tires are the same diameter as 700c (also mentioned on the Tire Sizing page). However, make sure not to use tires that are really narrow relative to the rims.


what rebound setting on my fork does Let me get this straight.

If I turn the knob to the left it reacts faster.

If I turn the kob to the right it's slower

You are correct.  The reason for the rebound control so so you can adjust the fork for your riding.

If the rebound is too fast, the fork acts like a pogo stick - you hit a bump, the fork soaks it up then 'pings' back so fast it unweights the front wheel, (with fairly predictable consequences) when it happens while cornering.

If the rebound is too slow, you go over a bump, the fork soaks it up, but before it rebounds back you hit the next bump. A few bumps later, the fork is at the bottom of its travel (with predictable consequences).

The trick is to adjust the rebound so its fast enough that the fork recovers without bottoming out, but slow enough that it holds the front wheel firmly on the ground. There is a little science behind this, but as every rider, bike and trail is different, there is not way to tell you how you should set your fork up.  On top of all this is (if its an air shock) - the amount of air pressure in the shock affects the amount of damping needed.

If you have air shocks, there is now some science around setting them up - you can buy/beg/steal/hire a Shockwiz


full fenders on a track bike I recently purchased a Fuji Track Classic bicycle. It's meant to be my commuter bike.

I was resigned to using a clip-on fender, but when I looked more closely it appeared that there should be room to mount full fenders on the frame. There's lots of clearance. The front for even has mounting points for a fender.

Is there any guideline for clearance that I should be conscious of? Does it look like it will work?

It certainly does look like you have ample clearance for fenders.

Those look long deep drop brake calipers too.

If you don't have fender mounts on the rear - you can always use P-Clips.


Determine miles on a bike I'm a beginner trying to get on a road bike. I've been shopping around for a new bike for the last week and am also toying with the idea of getting a gently used "pre-owned".

One of the guys I've talked to, has said that he has only put around 250 miles on the bike. Is there  a way to determine that this info is right? What do I look for to make sure that he is not bluffing.

250 miles is nothing. 2500 miles is also pretty much nothing -- this is under a year's worth of riding for many people. Many people still ride (and buy) bikes which are ~30 years old, and probably have 25000 miles or more on them (and will ride them for many years to come).

You can look at the model number (and compare it by year to which model year it is). But beyond that, you can't really tell anything, since a lot of parts which wear (tires, brakes) can be easily be replaced (and you won't know if they've been replaced unless you knew what was originally spec'd; and they could have easily been replaced due to other reasons, such as cutting a tire on some glass). Mileage isn't a good indicator of the condition of the bike anyway (you can easily have a bike which you've racked up 5000+ miles and looks and runs like new).

What you should look for is no cracks in the frame, a solid headset, true wheels, straight fork, etc. -- a 250 mile ridden bike which has been in a crash which damaged the fork is probably worse off than a 2500 mile ridden bike that was cared for.

We have several questions such as this one and this one on how to check out a used bike before purchase.

All that being said, most bikes which have really been ridden only 250 miles will have all their original equipment, and look pretty much new (no wear on the cassette, no worn chainrings, the original chain which likely hasn't picked up much dirt, handlebar grips and saddle looking like new, very few scratches, etc.). But there are bikes parked next to mine right now which have been ridden thousands of miles which look that way too, because someone took care of it.


How to fix a broken dura Ace shifter( body)? Crack just beneath the lever.
As you can see that my dura Ace shifter is cracked but but interesting part is that it works perfectly fine but the problem which I face while sprinting is the play which is in the right shifter.
It was cracked when I was crashed during a mass start.!
People please I would really like to know you opinion. Any kind of glue or paste which I could use to get it back together.

Due to the critical job of your brakes in helping you race safely, the wiser action is to replace your equipment rather than try to fix this type of break.  The shifting and brake system may work now but the system is compromised and can fail at any time regardless of how you patch it up.  It's hard to swallow, for sure, but you are putting yourself and those you are racing/riding with at risk by continuing to use broken equipment.

Depending on the age of your shifters, Shimano equipment can be mixed and matched so if the price of replacement at the highest level is too much you can look into replacing with Ultegra or 105 without noticing a great dip in performance.


How important is it to face the head tube? I have a frame that I've built up and I'm having trouble getting the tension perfect on the headset, which is not usually something I have trouble with. A friend of mine who is much more knowledgeable than I about these things suggested that I should look into facing the head tube. I've read that it's not always necessary. Is there much truth to this?

edit: Nothing is damaged or chipped. The frame has its factory paint.

In most headset designs, bearings sit between a pair of cups and races, one half on the fork steerer and the other half press-fit into the head tube.

If the cups are not parallel at both ends of the head tube, then you'll find it difficult to adjust the headset to the proper tension without binding - the cup will be meeting the race at an angle and it can seem too loose in some places and too tight in others.

The process of facing is ensuring that the ends of the head tube are parallel. The previous question of Why don't frame manufacturers ream/face their frames? addresses a little bit how a new frame can end up needing to be faced.  In general many frames manufactured today don't need it, but if you are having issues it's certainly worth pursuing.


What do you call the plastic bit that mounts brake cable housing to dedicated frame mounting spots? I lost a couple and have no idea what to search for online.

Jagwire calls these "Hose Guide for Frame Loops".
I've also found these under "Cable Guide" on Amazon.


How to attach mini-pump to valve on kids' bike with no space to manoeuver? I bought a new, unused mini-pump from Ebay, here:

https://bit.ly/2HbbYRW

From the enlarged views, you can see that the pump works with both Presta and Schrader valves.

For two kid's bikes, I can only get the pump to fit one valve out of four. For the other three, I seem to be screwing forever, with no mating.

Here's some info.

I use the Schrader setting. So the valve end of the flexible extension is screwed fully in.
The pump fits my car (UK)
All caps fit easily on all bikes.
A cap from my car fits all valves on both bikes.
All the caps from the bikes fit my car.
All caps, including the car are countersunk. So roughly 4 pitches of thread are missing. This makes the cap self-centering, so it's easier to start the thread, even if the attitude is slightly incorrect. I think If the threads on the flexible extension had been countersunk, I might have succeeded.
The flexible extension is not as flexible as they were 50 years ago. Those extensions could easily form an "S" shape. There's not much space for my fingers (but more space than with a chuck). The reduced flexibility of the current extension means that it's difficult to angle the knurled end such that the axis of the knurling is inline with the axis of the valve. So the angle is offset by about 2 or 3 degrees, which is enough to prevent the threads from mating. I suppose a stronger guy with leather-tipped fingers might be able to do it.

I would be grateful for any advice on how to fit the pump to the valve.

Thanks.

Edit:  All the above info about car caps and bike caps was to prove that I have a schrader valve rather than a presta valve.

But I've just seen photos of these two valves here, and there's absolutely no resemblance (as many people probably know):

http://sheldonbrown.com/gloss_u-v.html#valve

So, based on these photos, my valves are definitely schrader.

Angled valve-pump adapters help in those cases. Google them, or ask at local bicycle shops.

As an example, something like Topeak's "Pressure-Rite" Schrader adaptor.


I need help replacing my bike's tube I recently popped the tube in my front tire and need help replacing it. I don't really know very much about bikes or the assortment of numbers on tubes, tires, and wheels. Here is what I do know:

The tire that popped has 700x35/43C on it.

The spare that I got when I bought the bike has A2 25/32 x 622/635 on it.

I was told that the spare is not the right size for my bike. I inflated it just a bit to see what it looked like in my tire and it does seem a bit small as it looks like it has a bit of room.  .

I just got a spare tube that has a schrader valve and learned that those cannot fit through the hole in my wheel. I'm not sure but I think this is the type of tube I need to get http://www.amazon.com/Avenir-Bicycle-Presta-25-35c-27-Inch/dp/B002K2DQ4S/ref=sr_1_10?s=cycling&ie=UTF8&qid=1337452869&sr=1-10 700 x 35-45c or 700 x 25-35c as I was told I need 35 to be in the range of the second set of numbers. Is this correct? Can I get these with a presta valve in a store (like Target, Walmart, etc local large merchant) or should I just order and wait?

For additional info: My actual wheel says it is 622x17 6061H-T6. On the inside of the wheel groove it looks like it is stamped 900x16. It looks like the tire name and brand is Alexrims G6000. It is a hybrid bike.

Any bike store, and probably any Walmart/Target/etc, will have what you need.

700C (or 650c, 26", 29", etc) is how big around the tube/wheel is, while the x23,28 or x30-42, etc are the width range. You want to find one that, as you mentioned, includes the target size within the range and is a match on size and valve type.

Based on the "replacement" not fitting, I'm thinking your wheel is a 700c/29" and you are most likely looking for the right tube: 700x[range including 35] with a presta valve. That said, if you have a local bike shop, swing in there and the bike mechanic can make sure you are getting what you need. In most cases, the tube is going to cost the same (it's actually cheaper at the LBS I hang at as they buy tubes in bulk and sell them at close to cost) and you will be sure to get the right item.

Bonus: Ask the mechanic if he'd mind coaching you through changing out the tire. Someone who has changed a couple hundred tubes can usually give you pointers on how to roll the tire back on without tools, hot to prevent a pinch flat, and how to make the whole process quicker and easier.


How does a two wheel drive bike work? A two wheel drive bike is a bike without a motor that can still turn. The front and back wheel both get power. How does a bike with this type of drivetrain work?

The obvious answer is a linkage up to the head set, and down to the wheels. Hydraulics would be viable as well. However any power transfer system will lose power, which cyclists do not have in excess, which is probably why it has not been done.


Hubs compatible with 7 speed cassette I have one Gt aggressor 2.0 2014 and want to make some upgrade. So someone told me to buy a new hub to use with a 9 speed cassette. I want to buy the hub but later the 9v cassette, so has any hub can use 7 speed cassette?

The GT Aggressor 2.0 2014 ships with a rear wheel which uses a freewheel, so if you want to go 9 speed, you need a rear wheel which has a Shimano-compatible cassette freehub as well as a 9 speed rear shifter which is Shimano compatible (and obviously a 9 speed cassette).

Buying a new rear wheel will be likely cheaper and more reliable than having the existing rear wheel rebuilt with a freehub. A 9 speed cassette freehub can use a 7 speed cassette with a spacer.

However, I'd recommend against the whole idea -- by the time you've done this, you've spent likely half the cost of a cheap bike like the Aggressor 2.0 and with the low spec of the rest of the bike, you're not really going to see performance gains (especially for the amount of money you're spending). If you want 9 speed, sell the bike you have and buy something is 9 speed already.


What's special about bicycle socks? I do understand why I'm wearing cycling pants all the time. I'm totally used to the pockets in my back of my jerseys and jackets. I understand where my gloves and helmet help. And I could continue going through my wardrobe but there's one more thing I'm seeing all the time: Socks. What's so special about road cycling socks compared to other socks? Ok, they have to make sure my feet don't swim in sweat, but that's no specialty over other kinds. What else?

If it's about other riders laughing at me when I'm on my road bike, well, I can live with that. I simply laugh at them when they finish the track -- just when I'm done showering. ;-)

Other than wicking sweat and drying quickly, there's nothing special about them. Any high quality athletic sock marketed for another sport will be comparable.


Handle bar rotates on its own. Can’t screw the screw all the way down I have a second hand Peugeot road bike. I noticed the handlebar was rotating on its own, unscrewed the screw, straightened the handlebar and found out it won’t screw back.  Later I found out the screw is a bit deformed which is probably the reason it won’t screw back.

.

Went to my local hardware store and they don’t have this screw. Anything I can do? Are there still screws like this one?, cause these bikes look pretty old.

That’s a tension bolt for a quill stem I think. Is there a wedge shaped piece floating around inside the fork now? You can fish it out with that bolt or maybe flip the bike upside down.

The last few mm of the bolt look stripped which may or may not be an issue. The small bend in the bolt shouldn’t be an issue.

Try cleaning everything then reinstalling with a dab of grease on the threads and the interface between wedge and stem. Don’t over tighten the bolt.

You can buy a new quill stem at your local bike store or online for not much $. You’ll need to get the right size for your fork diameter.


What is the maximum weight could 26 1 3/8 tire and tube could withstand? I bought my first bike few months ago, and it is old Raleigh 26" 1 -3/8 size.
Every time I go with this bike through some bumps the rear tire and inner tube get punctured with large hole.

It is written in the tire that the maximum weight is 70Kg and I am 80Kg.

Is it the quality of the inner tube and tire makes it vulnerable to puncture? (we only have some cheap chinese tires and tubes in my country)

Or the size will not fit with my weight?
Or I can find a 26" tire and tube that could hold my weight?

You are not putting 80 kg of weight on either tire; you're putting 80 kg + bike weight (say, 15 kg) on both tires combined, probably about 60% on the back, 40% on the front. So, about 57 kg on the back. In any case, I doubt very much that your weight is making you more susceptible to flats.
The quality of the inner tube doesn't affect puncture resistance very much. The tire does determine puncture resistance. Some tires are engineered for light weight, some for flat resistance, some to meet a price point.
One important cause of flats is under-inflation, which can happen with any kind of tire or tube. This permits the tire to bottom out against the rim when you hit a bump, causing what's called a "snakebite flat." So a first step towards preventing flats is ensuring adequate inflation. Here's an inflation calculator.
The other main cause of flats, as you might imagine, is road debris. There's not a lot we can do about that other than try to avoid it. If I unavoidably ride through a patch of broken glass, I'll try to wipe down my tire with my (gloved) hand immediately after, but realistically, the damage is probably already done. If you think this is a likely culprit, you might try tire liners, which fit between the tire and inner tube and provide an extra layer of protection.


When going up hills, my gears drop 2 to 3 slots. Is this my cable tension? I own an old bike, with the old style gear shifters (levers). I have been trying to get the cable tension right. However, it seems to be getting worse. Whenever I am on a slight incline or just in a high gear on flat land the gears drop (involuntarily). Is there a certain way to fix this problem? Could it be anything besides for my cable tension?

Others have commented this and it is the likely cause.

With friction shifters the position of the lever is held by the screw that holds the lever in. When pressure is exerted on the drivetrain the chain tries to drop down the cassette, only being prevented from doing so by the rear deraileur which in turn is held by the cable tension of its shifter. If the shifter screw has loosened a bit the force from the chain will overcome the deraileur, pulling on the shifter cable, and shift down by itself.

It's simply a case of tightening the shifter screw to a degree that it's still comfortable to shift but won't be pulled out of position. It should feel pretty stiff when you shift but not so much that have to put much effort in.

On my old peugeot racer I found myself tightening the screws every month or so.


Why don't most MTBs have rear shocks? This keeps me wondering. I normally see front and rear shocks on downhill bikes, but when it comes to touring, road, or mountain bikes, almost every one has only the front shock.

What is the reason for this?

Price - a suspended frame is much more complicated and expensive to make, and a good shock alone can cost more than a decent rigid frame.
Maintenance - both shocks (due to gaskets/seals, lubrication, cleaning) and elements suspended frames (additional bearings) are relatively high-maintenance and short-lived, compared to rigid frames. This also translates into less reliability, especially important in touring/trekking trips.
Cost-effectiveness and weight-effectiveness - especially in road biking or touring, it's not such a big deal. Much better to put wider tires or suspended saddle.
Pedalling efficiency - even the best suspension systems rob some of the user's energy. In mountain biking, it's more than offset by less energy expended by the rider, who can spend less time out of the saddle on uneven terrain, but in road cycling it's absolutely unjustifiable.


Shimano Ultegra CS-6800 11/32 replacement? I currently have Ultegra CS-6800, 11/32 w/Di2 on my bike.  I've been wanting to get a second set of wheels and see that CS-6800 series is now replaced with the CS-R8000 series.  If I move to the R8000 platform using the same 11/32 gearing, am I going to have issue with detuning of the shifting system or should it be a 1 to 1 swap?
Thanks
Greg

I think you must be referring to the new cassette on the second set if wheels.

Sprocket spacing remains the same on Shimano 11 speed across generations. The new Ultegra R8000 cassette will work perfectly well with the 6800 derailleur, maybe even a bit better.

The only trouble you may have is that the cassette may be in a slightly different position on the second set of wheels.


Front wheel doesn’t spin freely My front wheel doesn’t spin freely. I had the hub tightened and now it has a lot of resistance. I use bolts, not a quick release.
There isn’t rust on the fork, the brakes are not rubbing.

You've over-tightened the hub, the most likely explanation. Hub tightening needs a lot of forth and back between too little and too much. And putting the hub into the fork and tightening the axle nuts may also become that little too much.

Remove the wheel, undo the locking nut and the cone by 1/8 of a turn. Hold the cone with your cone-wrench and relock the locking nut. Put the wheel back in and re-tighten the axle.

If it turns smoothly it's OK. If it's too loose now, take it out again and tighten the cone by a hair. It's a kind of game, time consuming and nothing to do in a hurry. One of the major reasons why so many 'modern' industrially produced wheels have industrial-type bearings. Correct adjustment of cone and cup systems can be time consuming.


St 4700 shifter trim down question I got a st 4700 tiagra shifter and fd r7000 front derailleur in double crankset. My problem is when i am in the big ring and try to trim down i pull the little lever on the shifter and hear a good click, feel the movememt in the cable but the front derailleur does not move? There is good amount of cable tension i checked. And also trim on the small ring works. Can this be a cable routing issue or is this normal?

UPDATE :I installed the tiagra fd-4700 derailleur and the trim works fine. Actually the 105 fd r7000 derailleur is not fully compatible with Tiagra shifters.

It seems that the problem is that the cable is not beign pulled through the hose. this can be caused by various things:

Get your chain on the bigger chainring and shift down, since the derailleur does not shift properly, try to move it by hand. if you feel just a little resistance you should check your routing and/or change hoses and cables. if the resistens is strong, do not apply to much force. In this case check if the limit adjuster screw is preventing the chain from moving onto the smaller chainring. you should find two screws on the derailleur which are responsible for setting the upper and lower bound, e.g. prevent your derailleur from moving the chain to far.

hope that helps!

PS.: make shure that the cable is routed the right way, it looks kind of wrong in the posted picture (near the point where the cable is clamped).


Is it ever legal in the UK not to have two brakes on a bike? When using a bike on a road in the UK, is it ever legal not to have separate brakes on the front and back wheels?

Yes. A fixed wheel does not need two, it needs only one (on the non-fixed, presumably the front, wheel).

Two separate and independent bracking systems, one per wheel, are required, but as the CTC say

  Apart from saying that a brake that
  acts directly on a pneumatic tyre
  shall not be deemed to be in efficient
  working order, these regulations do
  not define how the brakes are operated
  (by hands, feet or maybe even the
  teeth?) or how they work. A lot of
  words are nevertheless devoted to
  wheels that cannot rotate
  independently of the pedals (i.e. no
  freewheel), the effect of which is
  that a fixed wheel drive counts as a
  braking system – on that wheel or
  wheels.

Note also that, when sold, European regulations dictate that it should be left-hand rear, right-hand front.


Ultimate way to communicate while riding, an offline walkie talkie app? I find it super strange that there is no popular offline walkie talkie app for mobile devices. It could be really handy when you are biking with someone for a long distance! You could talk with your friends all the way without any problem. And the best part is that it is free because you will use local network Wifi, or bluetooth.

I have been searching for quite some time and the only app I found was Intercom. It does exactly what I need, provides an easy way to communicate without an internet. But the problem is that it is super glitchy! It can just stop receiving and transferring voice. If you use headset which could be really cool when it is loud on the road, like it usually is, it just does not use headsets. And so on. Very bad...

So the question remains! How to communicate with friends when you are on a ride?

Have you tried talking with the people you ride with? If traffic is too noisy to understand each other, look for different routes. What is more, such busy traffic is not the time and place for chit-chat.

On a moderately quiet road I find it easy, and pleasant, to chat while riding side by side.

When riding in a file yelling and gestures work well. If you go on a group ride it might be a good idea to agree on some useful phrases. Select them in such a way that similar phrases sound distinctive.

There are a few hand signs you may want to learn. Typically one uses the hand towards the centre of the road to indicate. Most symbols are displayed low, just beside one's buttocks.

Stop:
Flat hand up with bent elbow (not in USA, might indicate turn)
Hand down, palm facing rear.

Pot hole, obstacle:
Finger points, down, at line that leads into the hole.

Slow:
Flat hand with palm facing down, wrist extended, elbow angled, hand and lower arm parallel to ground, move hand slowly up and down.

Here's a video explaining some symbols:


Changing road bike tyre from 28mm to 32 or 35mm I have a Triban RC500 bike. Apparently it's wheels can take wider tyres.
A lot of internet info suggests that this  is a good thing to do for comfort and perhaps for better rolling resistance too?
My questions is, will I need to change to different inner tubes or the current tubes are OK to go from 28mm to 32/35 mm tyres?

Inner tubes will stretch to fit a bigger tyre, so it is likely to be ok. There is some risk that the stretching will make the tube wall a little thinner, and it can be more prone to punctures, or it can expose a weakness and cause a flat.
Personally I would change the tubes at the same time, as tubes are cheap. You could likely keep the old tubes with the old tyres in case you wanted to go back to the smaller tyres.
Another issue may be clearance of the frame. The bike might not accomodate the wider tyre. Some times the rear wheel will not go into the dropouts properly when the tyre is inflated. That is not fatal, just perhaps annoying that the tyre may need to be deflated when putting the wheel in. Makes it difficult when fixing flats out on the road.


silicon spray to treat porous inner tube? A friend of mine claims that porous (very slowly deflating) tires with inner tubes can be treated by the following procedure:

Let the air out.
Elevate the bike so the tire is of the floor (no external pressure on it).
Use a spray-can with silicon grease spray to spray a fair dose of silicon in the nipple. (EDIT: Dunlop/Woods valve with the valve-stem removed.)
Spin the wheel to distribute the silicon and wait 5 minutes to let it dry a bit.
Repeat step 3-4 another 2 times to get the silicon evenly spread along the inside of the inner tube.

The rationale is that the silicon coating will seal the porous rubber from the inside.
(And needs to be applied 2-3 times because the first dose will stick to much to the inside close to the nipple, so it won't make it all through the tire. The 2nd/3rd dose will propagate further as it travels past the area already coated.)

This sort of makes sense at first glance....

Fact of fiction ? Whats your take on this ?

Honestly?  Sounds like crap.

Here's what proper tyre sealants look like in action:

The latex mix is pushed through a hole and as it passes to the lower atmospheric pressure, the liquid comes out and leaves the salt/latex material in a clump to seal the hole from the inside, which looks like this.

Instead, Your friend has managed to merge the concept of tyre sealant products like Stans or Slime, with canned silicon.

Your friend's advice also says nothing about valves.  So if you tried to spray through a schrader valve, you'll get exactly nothing in the tube and all the silicon will be on the valve stem.   Spraying around a presta valve might get some small amount in if the cap was opened.  Instead the advice should have said to remove the valve completely using a valve tool for schrader, or a small spanner for presta.

Next, the bulk of the silicon will pile up on the inside of the tube, straight opposite the valve.  It won't "flow" around the inside of the tube  much at all.

So my suggestions instead would be

1) Buy a new tube.  They're cheap.  Just buy one if yours is loosing air.  Stick your old one in the saddle bag as a "get-home spare"

2) If your tyres are balding or have gashes, or you can see the threads, buy new tyres.  Buy two if you can.  This won't really help leak down but will reduce punctures.

3) Optionally remove the valve stem and squirt in some tyre sealant for piece of mind.

Note - some bikes don't even have tubes.  Instead they run a setup called "tubeless" where the tyre does all the job of holding the air pressure.  These tyres do need sealant added as best-practice.


Bead Separated from Fabric The metal bead on my tire seems to have come out of the fabric in one spot, and so the tire no longer stays in the rim. Is it possible to fix this, or do I need to get a new tire?

Unfortunately, if the bead is popping out, you're going to need a new tire. Your tube could have a blow out through the gap. You may want to inspect your brakes and make sure they were not rubbing on the tire.  This could be causing pre-mature wear around the edge of the tire near the bead.


Wobbling on Shimano Nexus 8 My rear wheel has a Shimano nexus 8 internal gear shift.

i noticed some wobbling on the axis recently. that means there is a little bit of play when i try to twist the axis sideways respective to the wheel itself.

is there a way to fix this?

edit: there is a nut on one side of the axis. if i tighten that one, it fixes the wobble, but it also makes the whole wheel harder too move. if it turn it while in air, it stop quite quickly by itself

You likely need to tighten the hub bearings.  I'd take it to a shop and ask for a hub bearing adjustment.

On most hubs I'd say you can do it yourself but the Nexus series are complicated and have different features depending on the model.
This means most step-by-step directions for standard hubs won't apply.  E.g. it may have a brake built into it.

You're better off paying an expert to do it IMHO.


Can I convert Kiddicarrier jogger to a bike trailer? Kiddiecarrier jogger/stroller. Any tips on how to convert/attach to a bike?

If you’re transporting kids then I’d stick with the manufacturer’s conversion kit if they have one. If they don’t have one, then I’d sell your trolley and buy one that does have a conversion kit. You don’t want to explain to your spouse or parents why their kid/grandkid died in a horrific accident when your DIY trailer hack came apart in a busy intersection.

Otherwise, if you’re carrying cargo the DIY conversion isn’t hard. You just need to first decide if you want to put the hitch on one of the axles or tow from the seatpost or rear rack. There’s advantages and disadvantages to both. I have a question of here that lays it out.

Fabricating and mounting a drawbar isn’t too hard. The folks at the hardware store can help you bend pipe or conduit and sell you pipe clamps to mount the drawbar.

Then you need to buy a quick release or make your own. They’re not hard to make but hard to make well. They sell kits on amazon.


Adapter for a M5 screw for a 6mm hole I have lost the fixtures required to attach a bike rack.

The hole at the bottom of the rack has a diameter of 6 mm. It requires an adapter which sits in that 6 mm hole so that a M5 bolt fits snugly.

I have been trying to search for a replacement adapter, but do not know a good term to search for. Does anyone know the name of this particular kind of adapter?

One of my racks has similar oversize holes and just doing the bolt up tight is fine, with a washer under the head. Some clearance in fact is necessary (the typical clearance hole for M5 is 5.5 mm). I've also seen plastic spacers in this role. If you find it needs just a little something to fill most of the gap, heatshrink sleeving might do the trick, again with a washer under the screw head, as the spacer is centring rather than bearing a load. It is possible to find aluminium tube of just the right size whic could easily be cut with an adjustable pipe cutter used gently, or a hacksaw (I assume you don't have access to a lathe or this would be trivial).