Is it OK to use pedestrian phase of pedestrian crossing to join/leave the carriageway? (UK) If the start of my journey is on a busy road, and there is a pedestrian crossing nearby, I often take advantage of the pedestrian phase of the crossing by mounting the bike, joining the carriageway and setting off while the lights are red for traffic already on the carriageway. (Making sure, of course, to take care of pedestrians and other users of the crossing.) This seems to me a safe and convenient way to join a busy road.

Is this common practice? Is it advisable? Is it Legal? I don't consider it "running a red" as I'm already over the stop line by the time I mount my bike, but I could see how it could be construed that way.

Likewise if I'm fortunate enough to "catch a red light" at a pedestrian crossing near the end of my journey, I might take the opportunity to dismount and enter the crossing from the carriageway, cross to the footway and finish my journey as a pedestrian. Is this also advisable/safe/legal? In this case I am crossing the stop line under a red light, albeit "as a pedestrian".

If it makes a difference to any of the legalities, I live in the UK - Scotland to be precise.

I doubt the Police would stop you for doing so if you're not causing a nuisance or danger to pedestrians or other road users. I've seen it done plenty of times by cyclists and done it myself.

The Highway Code rules that apply to this are:

Rule 64:
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

Rule 79:
Do not ride across equestrian crossings, as they are for horse riders only. Do not ride across a pelican, puffin or zebra crossing. Dismount and wheel your cycle across.

At the start you should wheel your bike on to the road and start riding. If you're not on the crossing you are just taking advantage of stationary traffic.

At the end, you are allowed to get off your bike and wheel it across or onto the crossing. Pedestrians regularly enter crossings from the carriageway. Just make sure you have time to do so.


Disc brake rotor size and forks strength I have been told that every fork has a maximum rotor size characteristic. For example, for my $75 Suntour this is listed as 185mm. The explaination that I have been given for this limitation is that any larger rotor will have significant chance of breaking the forks! That is, the braking force will be too high and the brake mount system will shutter.

Is this correct and precise information or is it just some legal insurance?

My guess is its not so much about the forks themselves breaking - I cannot imagine that sort of force can be generated by brakes when the forks themselves have to handle the forces generated in prangs etc that would easily exceed any braking forces..... Yep - forks break in a bad prang, but no one would buy forks that did not survive a moderate fall without damage

The failure point is most likely the mounting posts, or the wheel being loosened or even ejected by the brakes on a QR system (well known issue and one argument for through axles).

However, the idea that bigger disks give more braking and bigger forces is overly simplistic. A cheap setup with 200mm discs ridden by a 100pound wimp will not produce the same force as a top quality 160mm disc ridden by a guy with the weight and strength of a gorilla.....

I believe its most likely the manufactures covering themselves and weasel words to get out of warranty claims from guys who buy cheap shocks, put on the biggest brakes they can find and ride them on the biggest drops they can find - and then claim "It broke.......". The kind of guys that do this would not be seen dead on a bike with small discs.....


Front hydraulic disk brake is too powerful on MTB — solutions? I am thinking about disconnecting my front brake altogether because it's either on or it's off, and there's no in-betweens. As a result I've been over the handlebars about five times now and it's getting to be a bit of a pain.

Does anyone know if its possible to soften the brakes so the front acts more like ABS?

It's hard to say exactly what the cause is, but I see two main possibilities:

Mechanical causes

Brake pads.   If the pads are very close to the rotor when at rest, and have minimal motion to close on the rotor then that may be enough to wedge them.  Try inspecting the brake pads and if worn, replace them.  Brake pads are consumable.  Thin brake pad material will reduce your "modulation" zone, same as hard brake pads on rims do.   Could consider swapping your pads front to rear caliper temporarily as a test.
Pistons. If your pistons are a little gunked up at the sides, they may not be retracting fully.  This may be limiting the distance that the pads have to travel to be hard on the wheel.
Rotor wear and damage.  Spin the front wheel off the ground and look closely at the rotor—it should not wobble or divert side-to-side, and the friction surface should not have burrs or obvious wear.
Fluids. I doubt these are the cause of your issue.  Low fluid, or air bubbles will exhibit as spongy-feeling levers and you don't have that.  (edit) though @t_bacon points out that if the system is over-filled it will be slightly pre-pressurised, which will be pushing the brake pistons out a little all the time.     It's definitely worth checking if the fluid is over-filled, by opening the bleed screw and see if fluid squirts out at all.

Technique

When braking, your lever should have a range of motion before the brakes are wedged hard-on.  How tight you squeeze your fingers controls the level of braking effect.   There's a great answer at What does "modulate" mean when referring to brakes? Just visualise your flatbar lever instead of road brake levers, the concept is identical.
Body position for fast braking should be "arms straight and arse back"   If you try and stand up on the pedals while hard braking your center of mass is higher and theres a moment-of-rotation which robs your rear wheel of traction and imparts a forward force on the rider.

One suggestion would be to swap bikes with a friend and try some carpark laps on another bike equipped with hydraulic brakes, and to get that other rider to try your bike brakes.  Decide if its a problem endemic to your bike vs technique, and go from there.


How much resistance should steerer have? I'm replacing the fork on my Giant Defy 3 (2013) road bike.  Since I couldn't find an exact replacement for the Overdrive taper, I chose a straight 1-1/8" fork, and ordered some new parts to make it fit.  When I test fit the new fork, it has noticeably more resistance than the original when steering.  Other than that, it looks like it fits and works well.  So I'm wondering how much resistance is normal here?

New parts:
Bontrager XXX light carbon fork straight 1-1/8"
Cane Creek 110 series crown race 1-1/8"
Cane Creek ZN40 bearing 41mm
Cane Creek Lower Integrated Head Tube Adapter (Converts 47mm to 41mm)

The new crown race has a rubber seal which the original did not have.  Maybe this rubbing on the head tube is causing the resistance.

The steering is not supposed to have significant resistance.

Have you adjusted the preload? Set it to just tight enough that there's no play and that's the correct setting. If there's then a bit of drag from grease or seals don't worry about it.

The way you adjust the preload on this type of headset is loosen the stem bolts and then adjust the bolt on the top. Loosen it first until you have a bit of play (the steerer wobbles a little bit in the headtube) and then tighten it until the play has gone but no tighter. Then do up the stem bolts to the recommended torque. You need the top of the spacer stack to be a little bit higher than that top cap for this to work which you can do by swapping out spacers.


Can I use a shock pump to inflate a tube? I know that shock pumps are meant for high pressure applications so that they can withstand high pressures needed by suspension shocks.

However, can I use a shock pump to inflate my tire in a pinch if I run out of CO2?  How would it compare to a standard mini-pump in terms of volume?

Note: this calculation makes many assumptions, so it's only useful in an 'average use case', not some sort of exact measurement. If you find better information, please post it and I'll update the answer.

How many pumps you would need to fill up a tire depends on many variables. First, the volume of your inner tube, which can be approximated as a torus (doughnut-shape) atop the rim size of a given diameter. You can find yours approximated on this graph.

26" Mountain Bike, 2.1" tire width = 4.8L
29" Mountain Bike, 2.1" tire width = 5.2L
700C Road Bike, 35mm tire width = 2L
20" BMX Bike, 1.85" tire width = 3L

I'm finding pump specifications quite difficult to find (I need piston diameter and stroke length), but here's a comparison of some shock pumps on an empty shock cylinder of a 2007 Fox 36 RLC 160mm Fork.

Average Accu-Gage Pressure Reading after 100 strokes: 77.2 psi
My best guess at RC2 air chamber specifications: 1" (25.4mm) diameter, 160mm length (max travel). If someone can find accurate specs or the true volume, I'd appreciate it.
Fox RC2 Air Volume (estimated): Vcylinder = pi*r^2*h = 81 mL

So then, IF pumping air into different volumes is linearly proportional (it's not, but somewhere in the ball park), and you wanted to inflate the tires listed above to ~77.2psi, it'd take about this number of pumps with the 'average' shock pump:

                                           Tire Volume Ratio of Tire to Air Shock  Number of Pumps to ~77.2 psi
26" Mountain Bike, 2.1" tire width 4.8L             59:1                                   5,900
29" Mountain Bike, 2.1" tire width 5.2L             64:1                                   6,400
700C Road Bike, 35mm tire width 2L                25:1                                   2,500
20" BMX Bike, 1.85" tire width      3L                37:1                                   3,700

So, perhaps if it was a life or death situation, you have a lot of time on your hands, or you just can't afford that gym membership, you might want to pump a few thousand times to fill your tire. You probably don't.

By contrast, if you're just looking for this functionality in one device, you could just use a dual purpose model, such as this Specialized Pump, that can inflate both high pressure, low volume containers (like your shock) and low pressure, high volume containers (like your tire).

(source: bikeradar.com)

You twist the handle to select between uses, and save yourself a few thousand pumps.


Noisy rear derailleur (Shimano RD-5800) From the moment of buying the bike from a friend of mine, I have noticed that the rear derailleur was a little bit noisy. I thought that it would be problem solved by cleaning and greasing the jockey wheels.

Unfortunately, I have thoroughly cleaned the rear derailleur and sprayed some teflon lub on its surface. I have also removed and applied teflon grease on the jockey wheels, but the problem continues.

I have uploaded a video of the noise, and notice that it is an aligned chain situation (large chainring and 4th smallest cog). When I go to the 5th smallest cog, the sound gets worse.

This is a photo of the derailleur alignment in the same settings the video was taken:

Most of this is included in the comments...  I'd start with derailleur alignment.  Once that's done, you'll need to do some light tuning on the cable tension and limit screws to make up for any changes.  If that doesn't fix it, maybe a new chain would help.  Try borrowing a different wheel(with the same number of gears) to see if it still makes the noise, that will eliminate the cassette and hub body from possibly being the culprit.  I know you're saying it's coming from the derailleur, but it's sometimes difficult to tell when all these parts are so close together.  In the long run, though, if it's noisy, it may just be noisy.  If it's functioning right, it may not be worth messing with.


Shift lever tight when cable clamped in derailleur, adjustments seem futile I have a 2020 Giant Trance 2 I purchased new at the beginning of June 2020. Recently I had to replace my shifter cable (I broke a ferrule and the cable was fraying and very short, so I figured the best way out was to throw a new cable in to the system.) Prior to this, I have clamped my shifter cable into my derailleur and indexed with no real issues twice before. This time around I am having great difficulty shifting to lower gears only when my cable is clamped.
Observations / General Info

Shifter cable appears to be seated properly. https://imgur.com/a/iV0nsw5
I unhooked the cable and set the H-limit, manually set L-limit (as close as I could tell), and double checked the B-limit (same position it has been in, given the dust rings.)
I replaced the (new) shifter cable just to make sure something wasn't wrong with the cable. These are the shift cables I am using

Cable Unclamped
With the cable unclamped (so swinging freely but still through my outer), the shifter lever feels clean and responsive. Additionally, I can manually push the derailleur into all positions. Derailleur hanger looks fine.
Cable Clamped
With the cable clamped, shifting from the highest gear towards the lower gears starts to get difficult around gear 10 -> 9 / 9 -> 8 (so just a few clicks in.) I can get all the way up to gear 2 with progressing stiffness, and then the system is so tight I usually cannot push into gear 1.
If I start with the cable particularly loose, I can usually click to gear 1 if I really press the shifter lever, but the chain doesn't move. If I click back to gear 2, I'm often not able to click back to gear 1 again.

I keep reading online that either the cable tightness needs to be adjusted (I have tried varying degrees of slack- / tautness) or to replace the outers (which should still be fairly clean- they are only 2 months old and I shift with no resistance when unclamped.)
Does anyone have any suggestions? I can upload additioanl pictures if it sounds helpful.

It sounds like the cable is not routed correctly, putting force on the cable where it was not intended and thus adding more friction than normal.  This would explain why the cable moves freely when there is no tension on it, and why it gets harder when you shift to bigger cogs.
Run down the cable from the shifter to the derailleur to see if the routing is wrong along the frame (or inside the frame).  Then check in more detail the routing of the cable from the last outer towards the cable clamp on the derailleur.
I can imagine that the routing towards the cable clamp is the most likely problem, as it's often not obvious what the correct routing needs to be.  Download the manual of the rear derailleur and double check your installation.
-- Edit below
I can't be sure which model derailleur you have, but the relevant manual should show how to route it correctly.  As an example I have included an image from a Shimano derailleur dealer manual.  Purely as an illustration you might note that the routing is different depending on the model.


Is it cost efficient to Convert a Huffy Mens mountain bike to a road bike like the one I rented at Orange Peel in CO? While on vacation in Steamboat Springs CO I fell in love with a road or trail bike I rented and so did my family.  We road for miles on a trail and it was great.  I want to convert the mountain type bikes that I have in my garage that are falling apart.  They need new brakes, new seats, new tires, and possibly gears.  Is is worth it or scrap and start over?

You can put smooth tires ("slicks") on a mountain bike wheel rim instead of the usual "knobbies". These slicks can be in the typical 1.95" mountain bike tire diameter, or you can go narrower down to 1.75".

Regarding the bikes in the garage which needs brakes, seats, tires and possibly gears; those are not very expensive items. Tires are about twenty dollars; used seats in good condition can be had for a few dollars.

If you'd like higher gear ratios, it is not expensive to swap a casette or freehub. Find out which one your bikes use. Probably, I would guess, these mountain bikes have thread-on freehubs that remove with a FR-1 tool (which should cost under $10, and needs a big wrench to go with it). A new freewheel hub costs about $20 to $30, and gives you an opportunity to increase the gear ratios. The swap is a five minute job.

However, once the repair budget for some cheap old mountain bike surpasses about $50, it quickly stops making sense. Instead of spending $100 on maintenance, you can get something newer and in better condition for $75 and spend $25 on it, ending up with a better bike.

How much is your time worth? Many DIY-ers make the mistake of treating their labor as being free, and only counting the cost of tools and materials! "Look at the bike I put together with a $100 budget!" (And with only 20 hours of my "free" time put in).


Will these tires fit on my bike? If I were to purchase the “Aluminum Road Bike Commuter Bike Shimano 21 Speed 700c”, would I be able to remove the tires that the bike originally came with, and replace them with some “Michelin Lithium 2 Road Bike Tyres”? Links for the bike and the wheels are below. And if so, should I get the 23c or 25c? I’m riding on city streets and sidewalks.

Original bike and its tyres

New tyres on CRC website

Yes, they will fit. You should also be able to reuse the existing tubes without issue.

As to which width tires to get, that is completely up to you. In theory, the 23mm tires will offer less rolling resistance, although in practice this may not be true. The 25mm tires will offer somewhat more grip while braking & cornering.


Can missing cage mount screws cause the frame to rust? I have a Cube Analog Disc 2012 bike, and recently discovered that I have no screws inserted in the bottle cage mounts. Is it possible for rust to form in this area? Also, is it possible for the water to enter inside the tube and develop rust on the inside (since there is no hole at the bottom of the frame, I believe water will remain inside until it clears off)?

It is possible for water or sweat to enter the frame, and for corrosion to build up. Any rust would be most likely to happen on the steel bolt (which is missing) rather than on the aluminum frame, but oxidization comes in many forms.

While this is unlikely to cause you any significant issues, it's an easy fix. Any M4 threaded allen bolt, between 1.5 and 2.5cm will fit just fine.

Stop by the hardware store or your LBS, and you'll be sorted in just a few minutes.


How high should brake levers be on drop bars? How high on the curve of the drop bars should brake levers be placed? Also, how does the angle of the drop bars affect the brake position?

If these settings are dependant on body shape and physiology, is there a way to work out the optimum position for a given person?

Different brands and component levels of levers have different shapes, and different bars have different amounts of drop and different curvatures. Arne's suggestion of lining the tips of the brake levers to be even with the flat part of the drops is a common rule of thumb to get you started. If the bars are already installed on the bike you can do this with a ruler or something else flat and rigid. I found a decent image illustrating just how to do this, albeit on an older bike:

Notice that the owner has left a quarter inch gap above level. This is where the ergonomics of the components you are running and your own personal preference come into play. If you are unsure, I would start with this basic rule of thumb and work from there. A few things to note:

moving the levers too far up or down on the bars is going to give you weird ergonomics in terms of hand positions and lever reach from the drops
once you have the levers set where you want them, be careful of twisting the bars too far up or down in the stem as this will also give you weird ergonomics. On newer setups you typically want to start with the transition from the bars to the hoods being pretty much parallel with the ground
once the tape is installed on the bars you only have so much wiggle room to slide the levers up or down. Ultimately if you feel like you can't move them enough with the tape in place then you're probably trying to make too big of a change- unless you started with them clamped way too low or way too high on the bars. A little change can make a big difference, so make small adjustments and then go for a good ride to try it out.


Mud buildup at the chinstay near FD General question:

The rear tire of my mtb runs too close to the chainstays. If the trail is even remotely muddy, the mud buildup on the chainstay clogs the front derailleur and the chain begins to skip/drop. What can I do to remedy the situation, preferrabli without going to skinnier tires.

More details on the problem:

This is a custom build of Bontager XR4 2.35 tires on Mach1 MAD 25C rims, mounted on a Dartmoor Hornet frame. The problem is that the seat stays are WIDER than the chain stays. Consequently, any accumulated mud instead of getting scraped off harmlessly by the seat stays and falling to the side, gets trapped onto the chainstays and into the front derailleur.

PS: Please refrain from comments on not riding muddy trails - I know I would errode them! My riding is XC marathon type, with a few muddy sections around a lake and some streams.

How about a DIY route by making a tire scraper mounted to the seat stays?  Use a old milk jug or some other sturdy plastic cut to fill the space between the seat stays.  Put a notch (with some gap obviously) in it to slide down around the tire.  Zip tie it in place and go.

The milk jug plastic probably won't hold up by itself (but maybe layers or a zip tie running between the stays for a brace), but it is a starting point (or a good template).  Plastic may get too brittle when cold, but you could try some cheap washable plastic plates (dollar store fine dining, not the throw away kind).  Maybe those "for sale" signs (paint it or turn it around face down, don't want to get bugged).  Just about any flat piece of it that will lay on the stays, and easy to shape.

I thought about a metal solution but I'm not a fan of sharp edges, and it may weigh more.  I'm not a metal worker so I couldn't tell you if filing would work well enough.  An old license plate (with painted numbers instead of raised), some discarded duct work, cookie/popcorn gift tin (ah, they do have a purpose!).

Make a note how far the wheel comes up the seat stays (mark with some painters tape), then take it off.  Take some heavy paper and template it out.  Shape it to lay on the stays without sticking out too far (or fit between them, your choice) and have it go past the wheel mark.  Mark out the space the wheel will need.  Take it to your material and cut it out, drill out some holes for zip ties, and attach.  I bet it wouldn't take more than an hour to get a good enough solution.

This is a close idea to what I'm thinking.  Here is a photo search  of the bridge between the blades of a front suspension fork.  In these the tire is really close to it.  Now imagine creating this and putting on the back tire.


Road fork, tire clearance for 700x28 tyre I am building up a Litespeed T-5 with 46 (possibly 48)/34 Ultegra drivetrain for some spirited riding on undulating and sometimes uneven roadways in Northern New England. I'd like to have the ability to run 700x28 tires hassle free.

I'm planning, at least initially, to run 6800 Ultegra calipers and something along the lines of Vittoria Open Pave 700x28 tyres.

I've narrowed fork options to the following and would appreciate hearing from anyone with real world experience of any of these fine forks with such an application:

Moots
Litespeed
Seven Cycles

The bike has a tapered 44 mm headtube.

Yes, you can use 28mm tires with Shimano Ultegra 6800 calipers (or virtually any other road calipers).

The brands you mentioned produce a multitude of different forks.  I am fairly sure that most all of them would also support 28mm tires.

However, all of this also depends on a factor you did not discuss: your wheels.  If your rims are too narrow, it will be very inconvenient to remove and install the wheel with tire inflated.  If your rims are too wide, you run a slightly higher risk of interference with the fork.  This is because a "28mm" tire is not really standard or as precise as the label implies: it could be 25mm to 30mm depending on the brand, the model, and the rim's interior width.

And there is another potential problem: you have chip seal roads there, do you not?  The chips sometimes get stuck to tires, and when that happens, you will not be rewarded for having the least possible fork crown clearance.

In summary: you'll have to try it out.  You might be forced to buy 25/26mm tires, or a different brand, if your chosen 28mm ones run on the wide side, or you have unusual rims, or you have debris where you ride.  Consider buying one 28mm tire first to try out, and use it in the back if it doesn't work in front.


Why would I need a torque wrench for a bicycle? I was rather surprised to find a question about choosing a torque wrench on this site. I haven't cycled for years, but many years ago when I actually cycled I would do with a set of ordinary wrenches just fine.

What bicycle maintenance tasks would require a torque wrench and can't be done with an ordinary wrench?

A torque wrench is needed mostly for lightweight bike parts, especially at the high end.

There are several related causes:

with lightweight parts the manufacturer has shaved off everything that is not absolutely essential. There is no spare strength to allow for overtightening.
things are made very precisely now. Rather than being able to take a 250kg gorilla, the lightweight bike can take a 120kg human. And rather than be maintained by a gorilla, you need an actual bike mechanic. This is partly to save weight, and partly to shave costs. Why use 1kg of titanium where 500g will do?
Most people do things up until they feel the resistance change. This slight yeild in steel is non-destructive and can be repeated thousands if not millions of times. In aluminium you need to be more sensitive because the yeild limit is sharper, but with composites and lightweight metals like titanium and magnesium the change is so fast it might as well not exist. The torque limits are likely to be tight and precise.
to save weight more threads are cut into expensive parts. Rather than having a semi-captive nut the body of the bike/fork/wheel is threaded. Stripping it means replacing something expensive.

What this means is that the traditional steel bolt in a steel bike will work well with (say) 15-50Nm of force used to tighten it. At 15Nm it's only just tight, at 50Nm it's probably digging into the frame and it's about to strip. But a (hollow!) titanium bolt in a carbon/epoxy stem will have a torque range of 5.5-6.4Nm, and the failure mode at the high end will be the stem failing- either it will strip the thread or the clamp will snap. And the bolt is built to match - why put in a bolt that will take 10Nm of tightening when the stem will fail at 7Nm?

There are other design changes to match these - four bolt handlebar clams on stems are now commonplace where there used to be one bolt and you just bent the clamp open then forced the (curved) handlebars through it. You can't bend an aluminium clamp like that, it will fail. And splined cranks require a lot more precision than tapered one, but that precision also allows them to be lighter as well as easier to service. The days of stripped extraction threads in cranks are (hopefully) over.


Why are higher-end freewheels so much louder when coasting? I tend to ride relatively modest gear (Tiagra/Ultegra), but when I'm riding near higher-end bikes, I sometimes notice that the clicking sound that comes from their cassette/free-wheel while coasting seems to be much louder and more distinct than on my bike.  Why is this?  Intuitively, one would expect that a quieter drive-train would be an indicator of greater efficiency, but that doesn't seem to be the case here.  Is it something to do with different construction, or materials?  Can you get 'quiet' high-end cassettes, or is being noisy while coasting the price you must pay for being efficient while pedaling?

Most of the noise comes from pawls on the freewheel hitting against the splines on the engagment surfaces which makes up the racheting unit.

Some reasons for the noise between freewheels?
Tension on pawls could be higher causing more noise as they glide over the engagment surfaces

High end freewheels have more pawls and engagement points than lower end freewheels, so there are more ridges in the engagement surface and more pawls hitting the splines on the engagement surface. The reason this is desirable is that more pawls and engagement points means faster engagement when you start pedaling.

Different grease (or less grease) could also be used inside higher end freewheels that is less viscous and provides less resistance, allowing the spring action of the pawls to cause more noise as they float over the the splines on the engagement surface since they are less restricted by the grease.

Of course there are exceptions to these.  Some hubs don't use your standard racheting mechanism and use a 'roller clutch' instead. The roller clutches tend to be very quiet, but are more prone to failure.Here's a good description of how those work.  http://pardo.net/bike/pic/mobi/d.winners-hub/index.html


Upgrading cassette - what do I need to be aware of? I'm looking to replace my rear cassette and reduce the tooth count between the sprockets in order to make my gear changes less dramatic.

I currently have a 11/26 9 speed SRAM cassette, and a stock shimano tiagra derailleur (whatever the 2011 trek 1.5 comes with). My chainring is a compact 50/34 110mm.

When I'm cruising along I often find that the jump between gears on the cassette is pretty substantial and it feels as though I could do with a missing gear to get the best efficiency with a cadence above 90.

I have my eye on a 12/23 cassette: http://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-hg50-9-speed-cassette/ (Shimano HG50). This is a fairly cheap cassette so it's not the end of the world if it doesn't work out, but what I'd like to know is if I can just replace the existing cassette with this one without having to buy a new chain/derailleur etc. Or, if I do need to buy some new stuff - what would that be? New jockey wheels?

I have all the tools to replace the cassette so that's not a problem. My concern is all the talk of 'hyperglide chains' etc.

As far as I'm aware, Shimano and SRAM cassettes are interchangable, at least in the 8 and 9 speed range. Your derailleur should be fine.  As far as the chain goes, depending on how worn it is, you might want to replace it with a new one. Mixing a worn chain with a new cassette is a sure way to wear out the cassette prematurely.

Also, this is a good upgrade, as long as you don't do too many hills, as you'll be losing a few of the easier gears.  I recently did a similar switch, from 11-32 to 12-23 with an 8 speed groupset and noticed a huge difference. You aren't making as drastic of a change, so I'm not sure if you'll notice it as much as I did, but having a single step between adjacent gears makes finding the right gear quite a bit easier.


Identify depicted African (?) bike ...or tell me anything you can say definitely about this particular depicted old African bicycle:

The purpose of this question (my personal reason for asking) is to gather as much details and information about this particular image / bike for the story that I am writing. Where this picture / African boy / African bike is one of the 3rd level elements.
I would like to learn virtually anything about it that I can learn (and add to my story) or that you can provide with any level of certainty. I.e.:

type,
model or model name,
manufacturer name,
originating country,
production date, period or bike age,
any particular technical solutions used within,
any particular parameter like width, weight, wheels dimensions, tyres type,
whether it is a single-set model or something that looks like a wreckage made out of twelve different bikes etc.

This might sound weird, but virtually anything, you can provide will be valuable for me. Because right now (and based only on uploaded file's name) I can only say that this is a bike ridden somewhere in Africa. Not enough, as for my story.
Validated that this question is on-topic.

Photographer here.
The bike is a very common one used here in Tanzania. It's much cheaper than the multi gear mountain bikes.
Sorry, don't think there was anything special with the bike, unless of course you look at the young boy riding it and appreciate his hard work :)
Cheers


How to maintain the bicycle after a commute, when not home? When I commute, which is a 20 minutes bicycle trip, I'm able to park the bicycle indoors at a facility, where I can rinse water off of it. See my other question regarding whether or not this is a good idea: Should you hose down your bicycle after having used it on salty roads?

However, I'm given the impression I should not only rinse off of it, but also lubricate the drivetrain after doing so. To do this twice a day is a stretch, but if I'm going to consider doing that on top of rinsing salt water off of it. What should I bring?

This artificial limitation of "one item" is not meant as a joke, I'm sorry, but I simply don't have the energy or time to do full maintenance of the drivetrain after such a short commute. But a simple spray or oil is perhaps possible to add to my routine.

I'm sure others find themselves in a somewhat similar situation, perhaps not with a facility to rinse off the bicycle, but nevertheless perhaps could bring one small spray or similar to maintain the bicycle with after every commute.

So the routine in my case is: commute on roads with salt and debris, rinse the bicycle with cold freshwater at low to medium pressure. Then, what?

What should I bring, how should I use it (chain, entire drivetrain?), and why?

WD-40? Oil? Just a rag? Some other spray?

Do nothing.

Yes, nothing. Unless you are biking wearing a hazmat suit through some corrosive volcanic crater where it rains acid.

Rinse it off, at home when it's convenient, or it is especially dirty. Give a more thorough cleaning once a year in the spring. Lube the chain occasionally when it begins to make some noise. Other than that, you really don't need to screw around hosing your bike off so much. Just ride, it'll be fine.


Specialized rockhopper crankset replacement - please help I recently got a new bike the Specialized rockhopper elite 29 and the crankset has been cross threaded and can no longer hold the pedals.
I am searching High and low to find a replacement crankset that will fit my bike. Im not entirely sure where to order from or even the right keywords to find what I need. I have supplied a screenshot of my bike spec and the url where I got the bike from. On the crank arm itself it says Stout and I believe the length to be 175mm.
bike url
Is anyone able to help me out with this. I feel completely lost and unsure what to do.
Andrew

Stout is a captive brand for Specialized, so if you want an identical replacement, the first place I'd go is to the Specialized dealer who sold you the bike. They should be able to source replacement parts. If you didn't buy it new, just find a Specialized dealer near you.
Alternatively, you can look online for a matching crank. The ones you'll find for sale are usually used or taken off of a new bike, since these cranks are not sold separately in other stores.
Note, though, that if only one arm is cross-threaded (usually the left because people try to put the pedal in as if the threads are normal right-handed), you might not need to replace the whole crank. You might be able to just replace the damaged part.
If you aren't attached to that specific brand and want to replace the whole crank, another option is just to buy a different brand crank that is compatible with your bike. The key specifications are the bottom bracket type (yours is square taper, though you often buy a new BB with a new crank anyway), the width (73 mm), the number of chainrings (1) and the crankarm length (175). The 73 mm standard is very common for mountain bikes, so you should have no trouble finding many options for replacement cranks.


Do deep section wheels sound different? I normally ride regular 700c alloy wheels around town and for sport. Not deep section in any way. They're great, no noise or complaints.

Recently I got a pair of really nice mid section wheels (Zipp 303 firecrest disc).

Last time I was riding them, I noticed a "wooshing" sound when cornering hard and certain times while just riding fast.

I've also heard this noise when being approached from behind by a rider who is passing quickly, much to my chagrin. Often they are riding a nice bike with a pair of deep section carbon wheels.

Since I've never heard this on any other bike I've ridden except the one with the 303's, I've attributed the sound to the wheels.

So my question is, am I correctly attributing the sound to the wheels and, if so, why do deep section wheels sound different than a regular wheel?

If it is the airflow over deep section wheel hoops thats "wooshing", does that mean a less turbulent airflow, i.e. that of the 303's vs an alloy hoop, can and does generate more noise than a less aerodynamic wheel with more turbulent airflow?

The source of the whooshing sound is contact between tires and road. The sound is present with all road bikes, but much quieter with aluminum rims and tires with thick sidewalls.

What makes carbon wheels loud is that they resonate like acoustic instrument's sound box at the tire noise frequency range and the larger surface is more efficient at transmitting the sound. You can hear the resonant frequencies if you just tap the wheel with your finger nail, a carbon wheel will have a lower pitched and much louder sound.


Do faired recumbents need more gear range? I am researching into faired recumbents, bicycles or trikes, such as the Velomobile Quest or the Sunrider.  I'm interested in cycling long distances as a daily commute and for touring, but have no interest in racing or mountain-biking.  My current, upright bicycle (Koga Miyata) has a Rohloff gear and on my trips, I use both the smallest and the largest gear regularly.  According to Rohloff, typical derailleurs do not have a higher gear range than the Rohloff Speedhub (which has 526%), although Wikipedia reports gear ranges up to 700% for derailleurs.

Faired recumbents can be really heavy (45 kg for the Sunrider) and really fast (2% downhill, 100W, 63.8 km/h, but also 30% faster than racers when flat).  Really fast means one wants to have a very high gear, but really heavy means one also wants a really small gear to make it up steep slopes.  Considering that I'm already using the full 526% range on my current upright bicycle, I wonder; do heavy, faired recumbents need more gear range than upright bicycles?  I love my Rohloff, but should one consider getting a higher gear range on a faired recumbent?

Short answer: yes, but a Rohloff works for me.

I've been riding a Rohloff-equipped RotoVelo on and off for a couple of years now. I did play with the gearing a little when I got it and it's pretty usable now. The RotoVelo weighs about 33kg and I live in a relatively flat city.

I have it set up so that spinning reasonably fast in bottom gear I'm doing about walking speed - say 3km/hr. That way I can go up overpasses and the sort of hills we get in Melbourne and Sydney with a bit of work. Set up that way I spin out at about 80kph. Frankly, at 80kph I've usually stopped pedaling and I'm just going "wheeeeee!". My top speed ever is over 100kph, which was a bit scary.

When I stop at a traffic light I shift all the way down then back up a couple. And I mean all the way down, typically at 30-40kph cruise speed I'm in gear 9 or higher, so it's much easier to just twist all the way than try to remember what gear I'm in. Which is an advantage of the Rohloff - all the gear intervals are the same so you can just keep shifting without worrying.

It's possible to combine a Rohloff with a front derailleur if you really need to. I suggest waiting until you have the velo before committing, but make sure you can if you need to - most velo makers normally ship deraillers, so getting them to leave the front derailleur post in place shouldn't be an issue. With your small rear wheel (most velos are 406/20") the low gear should be fine with the Rohloff 2.1x gearing requirement, it'll be a question of how big a chainring you can fit in.

For touring I'd be tempted to use lower ratios than for commuting. With heavy gear in the bike and more hills in the country I found that I was pushing the velo more often than I would prefer. Partly that's from the heat build - lack of ventilation becomes an issue when you have to work really hard to keep the vehicle moving at all up a hill. Not being able to pedal faster than (say) 60kph wouldn't bother me, but being able to sit back and grind slowly up long hills would be better than pushing.


Mavic - TIME ATAC pedals compatibility I'm using from a long time TIME pedals (ATAC).
I saw that Mavic now is making pedals that looks like Time's.

Do you know if they are compatible?
Can I use cleats from Time (already on my shoes :) with pedals made by Mavic?

Thanks.

Mavic pedals are ATAC (see also the cleat page). They were developed by TIME and just rebranded by Mavic.

So, I'd expect that they're compatible.


Disc brake pad release allen bolt I have an Tektro Auriga Comp Hydraulic Disc Brake System. It's been running worry free for ~10 years.

But now I need to replace the rear disk brake pads (for only the second time). However the 3mm allen key holding the pads in place had rounded off. i.e. Meaning I could not take it out with an allen key. Instead I had to drill it out with a bolt extractor.

I'll need to replace this bolt but I'm not sure what it's called.

Does anyone know the name of this bolt? Alternatively can it be replaced by a different type of bolt?

This part is generally called a "brake pad retaining bolt" or often only "retaining bolt". They differ between brake brands and sometimes models, but a quick search for your brake model and "retaining bolt" usually turns up the right part.


How do I keep a bike feeling "new"? I think there is a subjective feeling of "newness" to a bike which is straight out of the box. What is it mechanically and aesthetically that creates that?  What can I do to prolong, preserve or restore this state?

N.b. I know of course that simply maintaining the bike goes a long way to doing this, but is there anything specific that can be done?

Aesthetically, it's just a case of keeping it clean. Use a toothbrush to clear accumulated dirt out of the little nooks and crannies, like the joints between tubes (especially around the bottom bracket). Waxing the frame can help keep that brand-new lustre.

The back of the chainring and spider, sprockets, rear hub, and dropouts, can get grotty pretty quickly, so use a gentle degreaser to keep on top of it. Same for the chain. Use a brush to get all the little bits of road dirt out of the links, then, with a clean brush, apply oil liberally. Brush it right in there. Wipe off any excess afterwards. As far as the feeling of mechanical "newness" goes, a clean, well-oiled drivetrain is the biggest contributor IMO.

Edit: Bike cleanliness pr0n


Front brake lever will not stay tightened I have a 2011 Trek Cobia with Hornet brakes. About an hour and a half into my trek through the woods this morning I noticed that (once again) my left brake lever was hitting my knuckle when I fully compressed it. I had noticed it compressed too far two days ago so I adjusted the position with a 2 mm allen wrench. I notice that the brake lever is also closer to the handlebar than before. These are hydraulic disk brakes.

I've had this problem before, a few months ago I noticed that I could compress the brake lever almost all the way to my handlebar, which was unusual (this is all with the left lever by the way, my rear brakes are fine). Eventually my front brake lost all power and compressed fully to the handlebar with no resistance.Since I was relatively new to mountain biking I just took it to my LBS and they bled the brake. A few minutes into my next ride the same thing happened. Note that the brake stayed fully functional until I used it. I got that same LBS to bleed the brake again, but alas, my brake lost power again. This time I took it to another bike shop to bleed it for a third time, and it stayed. I had no problems on any future rides.

So, on to the problem at hand. When I noticed the problem two days ago (just in my room) I readjusted the position of the lever with a 2mm allen wrench (as stated earlier) and I also decided to reposition the entire mechanism relative to my handlebar so I could get an easier reach and so my wrists would drop more, making going over obstacles easier (saw it on a video on YouTube:

            ). The reason I bring this up is that I may have merely noticed the brake lever compressing too far and touching my knuckle when I used it because I just raised the brake lever. So I'm not sure if this is a new problem or not.

I have never noticed any discharge on any part of my front brake system, not on the cable, not below on the caliper, not by the brake lever. Could there be a small enough hole that lets air in but doesn't let liquid out? I'm going to reposition the lever again with the 2mm allen wrench and see if it happens again. Do I need to take apart the housing, could there be a "screw loose" or something along those lines?

Thanks for your patience, I feel like I rambled on a bit, but I just wanted to be clear and give all the relevant details I could.

P.S. I have no money, so going to the bike shop is kind of unavailable at the moment.

Thanks for any help!

Do these brakes have a small adjuster screw just behind the lever blade? If so, that is a reach adjustment. It allows you to adjust the distance of the lever blade from the bar. Sounds like it's turning on it's own. Some brakes have this issue. What you need is the tiniest amount of blue (workable) loctite/threadlocker on the threads of that reach adjuster bolt. Very important that you don't get it anywhere else or else it will gum everything up. I would apply it with a needle or safety pin to ensure precise application- squeezing it directly from the tube may prove messy. Once that sets, the lever should stay in place.


Dealing with homicidal drivers I do a 35km return commute into a big city. Almost daily, someone tries to run me over.

Just in the past month I've experienced the following:

I filter to the front of the traffic, wait at the front of the bike lane, and the car behind me who is not blocked at all, because i'm a meter over to the left into the bike lane, makes a sharp turn into my lane to deliberately drive into the back of my bicycle, while the lights are still red. I have to do an emergency takeoff and left turn through the red into a side street to get away.
cycling along a major road in the bike lane at night with bright flashing lights at the front of my bike and red light at the rear. I ride past a side street where someone is waiting to turn right, and as I'm directly in front of his car, he slams on the gas and pulls out, narrowly avoiding cleaning me up.
Going through a roundabout, in the middle of the lane, lights on, broad daylight. Following about 20m behind the car in front of me. Again, go past a side street, and the driver pulls out at full speed just as i'm going past him. Only narrowly avoid getting run over because I scream out some sort of profanity at a voice breaking volume and he backs off slightly.

How do you deal with attempts on your life by people who are more focussed on eating their macdonalds and throwing their cigarette butts out the window than the safety of other road users?

In many cities, doing a 35 km (22 mi) commute will take you through parts of the city with different socioeconomic levels and different driver behaviors.

Cyclist behavior that works well in one part of the city can lead to road rage in another place. It's valuable to recognize this and adapt your approach at different parts of your commute.

Some years ago, my commute took me through some quiet streets of a well-to-do suburb of mostly older residents. It took a few interactions, where a driver would look right at me and then apparently try to run me down, for me to realize that they simply didn't see me. They were looking for cars. It's like These are not the 'Droids you're looking for. They are looking for cars, not bikes.

Knowing the area you're riding from, I would describe it (for other readers) as rural / urban interface. There are new developments, and little infrastructure. Roads become congested early, and stay congested late. It's also Winter here now, so it's often only half-light or dark when commuting. Because of the ongoing development there is a higher than usual number of tradesmen (tradies) driving utes (pickups for US readers) and commercial vehicles. Their focus is on getting to their current job. It's not an area where I would choose to ride.

So, either recognize the local conditions and adapt to them in a safe way, or find another route. Another route may not seem practical, but on a 35km commute, a safer route that involves a 3km detour will not be much slower (it may even be quicker), and could save you hospital time in the future. You could maybe drive a short distance to the start of your safer route.

Another change you could make is to use a helmet-mounted light. They shine where you look. So when you look, the drivers are more likely to notice you. Be careful not to get one that's too bright though. If you dazzle the driver then they actually can't see you.


Touring load weight distribution What's the best way to load a touring bike, to increase stability and balance? Assuming a standard two-rack-and-panniers setup, where should I put most of my weight? I have a camping load, about 50 pounds (23 kg, including 4 water bottles, laptop, tent, food, and clothing). My bike is a steel touring bike, a Novara Randonee. I also have a large handlebar bag.

We can generalize the main areas where one can load weight as such:

Front rack vs. Rear Rack
High (on top of rack) vs. Low (in panniers)

The most commonly accepted points for load distribution are as follows:

Keep dense, heavy items low to the ground. The lower you & your bike's center of gravity is, the more easily you can keep yourself upright. This means loading heavy things into panniers (bottom up, like a grocery bag) and leaving less dense items for the tops of the racks (sleeping bags/pads, etc)
Be careful about putting too much weight on the front wheel. One advantage to having weight on the front wheel is that as you turn, it will turn with you--unlike weight over the back wheel. However, too much weight on the front, especially if the center of gravity is too high, will cause you to over steer, or have to steer very rigidly.
Make sure your load is balanced. You didn't mention anything about this, and although it seems like common sense, I want to make sure it's included. An unbalanced load will cause you to have to compensate by continually steering in the opposite direction. You should be able to roughly balance your pairs of panniers by holding one in each hand.

I haven't used a handlebar bag myself, but the same logic applies. Weight in such a bag will have a very high center of gravity, as well as the ability to turn with you. Therefore, it might be a good place for maps, snacks, phone/keys/wallet, patch kit, etc.


Is axle cone pitting more common on rear drive side? I finally got into the rear hub of my new-used bike and found one cone pitted, the drive-side cone only.  The other three cones are fine.

I happen to have also picked up a second, compatible bike from a neighbor who was throwing it away.  Lucky me; I've rescued a lot of good stuff off of it.  I thought I'd use the corresponding cone from that one, but that turned out to have pitting too.  And the other three cones there are fine.

Is this a common thing, maybe because of the chain pulling on that side?

The rear wheel carries the most weight, so straight off its subject to 60% of the stresses where the front only carries ~40%.

Rear axle takes drive from the chain, which is on the right hand side.  As the power comes from the chain via the cassette, that side of the axle is pulled forward.  Any microscopic slack will allow a bit of movement.  When the axle moves, the left side (NDS) is more likely to seat better merely because its not on the drive side.

So you have movement, which is a sure fire way to make your ball bearings unhappy.  This leads to hot or glazed bearings, and damage to the cone.

In addition this is in the middle of the cassette, which is probably the dirtiest place on your bike.  There's always some powdered grit or oil or something, and the tiniest movement of the axle will allow contaminants into the bearing which exacerbates damage.

Short answer: Yes.  The DS cup and cone suffers damage faster when not properly maintained.  Check your nut tension whenever the wheel is off the bike.

When adjusting wheel bearings, the rear should be pre-loaded just a little.  That means just a tiny bit "too tight" when compared to a front axle.  Not so tight it doesn't roll, but just enough to apply some constant pressure on all the balls, not just the ones at the top of the race.

Finally, be happy because cones are relatively cheap.   Take the old cone into a LBS and ask for one like that.  Depending on sizes, you could be looking at anything from $1 to $20.   On beater bikes, I've sometimes found a whole rear axle set works out cheaper, and gives me a known unbent axle as spare.

Do buy new ball bearings too, its false economy to rebuild on old balls.


Disc brake rub problem There are a lot of answers for this topic already but I haven’t been able to fix it yet.

When my disc brake caliper bolts are loose the rotor does not rub but when I tighten them the rotor rubs. I’ve tried doing it by eye and using the brake lever to center it, but no luck, the pads keep rubbing. I cannot push the pistons back any further, is that the problem?

I’ve tried most solutions already unless I’ve been doing it wrong. Thanks.

Check that the rotor is true. If the rub occurs at a specific point of wheel rotation the rotor may be slightly bent. You won't be able to adjust the caliper position to eliminate rub if this is the case.

Rub is not caused by the pistons being advanced too much, so there is no point pushing the pistons in. As soon as you use the brakes they advance again. However, a piston might be sticking, so that it is not retracting from the rotor when the lever is released. You can try to unstick a piston by carefully advancing an cleaning it.

These Park Tool videos may help you:


Why do we rarely see recumbents and almost never see velomobiles? Recumbent bicycles are more efficient than ordinary upright bicycles, and velomobiles are even more efficient. Then why do we see them so rarely on the road? Is it because they are expensive, or are there some non-financial, significant disadvantages?

Talked to a guy who had a velomobile at a local charity ride. He said the thing cost $5000. Recumbents, while not as expensive as velomobiles are also quite expensive. Usually over $2000. That could be part of the reason. Sure, with economies of scale, they could be made cheaper, but that's kind of a chicken and an egg problem.  Also, even though recumbents and velomobiles are so much more efficient, they do have quite a few of their own problems.  Because they have so much extra weight, they tend to be quite a bit slower on the hills. Many people also don't like being so close to the ground.  I like being able to stand on my pedals and see over most of the cars when riding in traffic.  Also, regular bikes are pretty efficient these days. For $1000 you can get a pretty good bike. And one last thing. Don't underestimate the "conformity" factor.  Many people don't want to be seen as weird, or outsiders, and want to fit in with social norms. Riding a bike is already going against social norms in many places. For some people, having a recumbent just takes things a bit outside their comfort zone.


iPhone 4 bike mount recommendations Can anyone recommend a good bike mount for the iPhone 4?

There seem to be a lot of reviews for the old models.

Update: I'm mounting this on a Trek 1.5 Triple with Bontrager SSR VR bars.

Update: I've heard horror stories about phones popping out of mounts so having it secure would be good, waterproofing is a plus as well.

Biologic now makes an iPhone 4 specific mount. I have the 3 version that I use an iPhone 4 in.  It's pretty decent, but this looks like they've made some good improvements.


What is causing this sound? https://vimeo.com/270962821?utm_source=email&utm_medium=vimeo-cliptranscode-201504&utm_campaign=28749

Guys at the bike shop recommended a bottom bracket change would fix the problem however it didn't. Do I need to change the crankset? Click sounds only appears when I pedal with my right side between 12 to 3 o'clock angle.

Thanks!

Note: if I pedal only on my left pedal, there will be no clicking sound.

I think you kinda answered your own question. If the noise appears only when force applied to the right pedal, it's almost certainly that pedal. Especially as you changed the BB already.

Check for play between the pedal and the crank. Turn the pedal and see if you can feel a 'hitch' or click.

Most bikes shops have a pile of old pedals (especially cheap platforms that come with new higher end bikes that get swapped out for clipless pedals). Ask if they will swap out your pedals for a set that are know to work OK as a test. If the click goes away - bingo. I'd ask them for a bit if a deal on replacing the pedals as they mis-diagnosed the problem first time around.


What is the purpose of a serial number? It seems like pretty much everywhere I look, serial numbers can't do the things that it seems they should be able to do.

They can't help people figure out what bike they have.

They can't help at all when recovering a stolen bike, unless you have the bike's number linked to your identity somehow (good luck finding the bike in the first place).

It seems like the only thing they're useful for is warranty fulfillment. You take your bike to the shop, and they check the serial number to make sure that it's the same one you bought from them three months ago. Is this the only intended purpose of a serial number?

If a manufacturer found they had a quality problem with a batch of products (e.g. bikes but equally cameras, phones...) the serial numbers would allow identification of the substandard units.

If you've recorded the serial number of your bike and a bike thief is caught with bikes in their possession the serial number should help you get it back. This has happened a few times recently around here.


Replacing crank rings 26/36/48 on XT T8000 with 22/30/40 SLX M7000 Are the crankrings interchangeable, will XT front derailleur work?
Bike set up all XT components. Want to improve gear inches. XT is not offering smaller crank rings.

The bike is all T8000 components. I will check for M8000 dérailleur.
I am assuming the chain ring are compatible.

If your bike came with those ring sizes, it probably has one of the trekking type front derailleurs. Find its model number on the back side of the cage and look up its specs to corroborate. Using this type of FD with a 40, 42, 44 etc will create excess gap with the cage that may result in chain drop and/or mediocre shifting. To avoid this, switch to a non-trekking 11s triple Shimano mountain FD.
If 30/40 is what you're after, double check compatibility for the FD in question with the minimum middle to large difference spec. Your resource for those numbers is si.shimano.com.


Creaking which is temporarily resolved by tightening rear quick release My commuter road bike (Pinnacle Arkose 3 - actually a disc-braked cross bike, fitted with mudguards) has an annoying and loud creak, associated with each turn of the pedals - there is a creak each time a pedal passes the 2-3 o'clock position, on either side.

It sounds like a bottom bracket creak, but I have replaced the bottom bracket and adequately tightened it, yet the creak continues.

If I unclip one foot and pedal one-legged the creak stops - this works for either foot. If I pedal very lightly at a very high cadence (e.g. 120 RPM), the creak stops.

If I pedal hard or sprint out of the saddle, the creak is louder.

If I stop and tighten the rear wheel quick release (traditional QR, rather than through-axle), the creak stops, but inevitably returns, often within a few miles.

So far I have tried/checked:

swapping in the QR skewer from my turbo trainer and this makes no
difference - the creak only goes away temporarily
checking the chain for wear - currently showing as 0.5% worn
checking the rear wheel is properly seated in the dropouts
tightening the bolts on the rear derailleur hanger, which
the QR skewer tightens to

What else can I try to resolve this annoying creak? It's driving me crazy! I'm also concerned it could be a sign something is under fatigue or close to breaking.

In my experience, when tightening the quick release only temporarily solves the problem, try putting a little grease between the rear derailleur hanger and the dropout. Often it is the seat post but ruled that out since you said it gets louder when sprinting out of the saddle.  Good luck!


Bike commuting on the Captial Crescent Trail in Washington DC I am moving to the Washington DC area and will be working in Bethesda at the NIH. It looks like living in/near Georgetown and commuting out on the Capital Crescent Trail could be really nice. I was curious what the path conditions are like (e.g., potholes, speed bumps, road crossings, and bike/jogger/car traffic). I would also be interested in other areas that would provide a nice sub 10 mile bike commute to Bethesda.

I commuted often on this trail for awhile and loved it.

Most of the trail is free of vehicle traffic and has bridges going over roads. It's a heavily shaded trail that can provide a nice respite from the sun during the hot summer. Potholes are minimal, though minor cracks from tree roots are not uncommon. Also, there can be quite a bit of debris on the trail after a good wind storm.

Not too far out of the city the path has a wooden ramp, in good condition, that last about 50 yards.

During the commuting hours, foot traffic exists, but I remember going at a pretty good rate with no issues.

There are a couple poorly lit tunnels, so you will want a bike light.


Why are there no team breakaways in road racing? I've watched the Tour de France for the last few years, and I'm beginning to think I understand the basics of the tactics and strategy. But one question has just struck me:

Why don't team breakaways happen?

The teams have radios so such a move could be planned and coordinated without the knowledge of the rest of the peleton.

I can see that it would be hard to prevent one or two freeloading non-team members tagging along, and that if such riders are sprinters they could well win the stage. But if your team is more interested in the general classification that wouldn't be a big issue surely?

(Postscript: As such things don't happen I'm assuming there is a good reason why they don't happen. I'm not claiming to know better than the team managers! I'm just after a good explanation of why.)

While a breakaway could be organized by a team, the peloton would not allow it to succeed. The mechanics of 8 or 9 riders, even excellent riders working together, are such that the maximum sustainable speeds would not be high enough to stay away from the peloton for long enough to matter, and every other team would develop a vested interest in ensuring that the breakaway was caught.

The GC advantage of a team that succeeded in such a maneuver would be all but impossible for other teams to recover from, so any every other team would work together to make sure it didn't succeed.

Breakaways are often allowed by the teams in the peloton as it gives the GC teams a lever to play rivals against. Which team will have to expend the energy and manpower to reel in the break? How is that going to affect their chances tomorrow?

Edit:

And to add... An entire team breakaway would be a waste of "specialists" energy. For example, a entire team breakaway to win a single stage, could ruin a climber's chances in a mountain stage the next day. – Courtesy of *wdypdx22*


Can I use a Suntour Cyclone GT Rear Derailleur for a 10 speed Campagnolo cassette? I'm building up a road bike and have a wheelset with a rear hub that has a Campagnolo Chorus 10 speed cassette. The front derailleur will be a triple and I'm looking into the possibility of using a long arm friction shift Suntour Cyclone GT rear derailleur.

Is there any reason I can't do this? Will the Cyclone have enough adjustment range? Will I need to replace the derailleur cogs with thinner ones for the 10 speed cassette? I've heard the older derailleurs like the Suntour have worked with 9 speed cassettes, and I may respace the Chorus to a 9 as an option.

This is one of many questions I have to ask about this bike build, but thought it best to focus on one question at a time.

Campagnolo 10 speed cassette is only 0.6mm wider end-to-end than their 9-speed cassette, so as long as the 9-speed setup still has that much adjustment in the limit screws you should be fine on that count.

The jockey wheels only care about the inside width of the chain which is 3/32" on pretty-much all derailleur gear systems that have ever existed, so you won't need to change them for that reason.

I would try it, if it doesn't work you can always fall back to your 9-speed plan.


Putting new grips on handlebars I have new flat bars and grips. What's the easiest way to slide the grips onto the bars?

If you have access to a compressor, compressed air works well – use the hole in the end of the grip to blow in air while covering the other end of the bars with your hand (or something). The air escaping around the grip opens it up enough that it is easy to slide on.

Rubbing alcohol can be used as a lubricant. It will evaporate leaving the grips snug on the bars. Be wary of a lube that won't evaporate as the grips may tend to spin. Some people glue grips on, but that can make them pretty hard to get off without cutting.


I'm a fairly new mountain bike rider. Doing a mix of on and off trail. What is your opinion on handle bar extensions for new riders Just what types of extensions there are and what's best for new riders.  I mainly do off trail but every now and then I'll go off trail

There are several types of extensions available. One type is molded into the handgrip, these tend to be on the  shorter side. Another type tend to extend out and turn toward the centerline. The finish can be bare metal with a knurled finish or a rubber grip installed. The advantage of the inward turn is it prevents the end from becoming a bayonet in the event of a crash or fall. One of the purposes of handlebar extensions is to allow multiple points to hold the bars to eliminate fatigue. Another purpose on earlier mountain bike was to increase stability when climbing. In my opinion on most modern bikes this is no longer necessary as the changes in gearing and geometry have eliminated the need. There are several downsides. If you have your hands on the extensions they aren't near the brakes. A pretty important criteria for a novice rider. The other minus is the extensions move the shifters and brakes inboard. This can have the affect of a slight change in handling, similar to riding with narrower bars.


Good locks seem awfully heavy I am looking at buying an electric bike (possible the smart ebike) -- these are not cheap. So I began to look at locks and stuff and -- these are ridiculous! 3.5-4kg even 6kg for a chain?? How do people take these things with them? I heard you should wear them like a belt but I can't quite imagine how would that work without bruising myself with the chain not to mention the padlock And then the suggestions go for two locks so I guess I would need another monstrously heavy U-lock as well. Really, how do people with multiple thousand dollars bike protect their ride when they park it in front of a cafe, cinema, school?

The lightest lock I have found which I see as "strong enough" is the Abus 401 d-lock, which weighs in at approximately 1kg. Might that be light enough for you?

Now, when I say "strong enough", what I actually mean is that this lock has a "Sold Secure Gold" rating - this is a scheme used by the UK insurance industry, which basically means that if I attach my bike to something using this lock and the bike is subsequently stolen, then my insurance company will cough up. As far as I am aware this is the lightest lock to meet this standard, and I know of no lightweight chain that I would consider appropriate.

As far as I am concerned bike locks have two purposes. First, to deter. Second, to make sure the insurance company pays out should the worst happen. They will not prevent.

Now having said that I almost never use this lock. This is because when I am out on a leisure ride, I hardly ever park the bike up. If I know I'm going to make a stop, or if I'm touring, I will carry this lock, but not otherwise.

When my bikes are at home, they're secured by (insurance approved) anchors to the garage floor by those heavy chains and d-locks that you've already discovered (in general I like the Kryptonite Fahgeddaboutit range which will deter and are insurance approved). But those locks live in the garage and don't travel.

When I am commuting, I keep a set of locks at each end. Works out expensive but as you say, they're heavy.

And yes, I mix a chain and a d-lock, both conforming to this Sold Secure Gold standard.

Note lastly that I make absolutely no claim that "Sold Secure Gold" locks are any good at what they do! In fact I've heard others say that its just a scam. But they keep the insurance company happy, that's all.


Since seat tube angle has little effect on max power output, why not adjust the reach with saddle setback? According to this article, a seat tube angle between 65 and 110° has little effect on max power output. At most, it varied 1%.
https://www.me.utexas.edu/~neptune/Papers/jab26%284%29.pdf

Adjusting the setback would affect the effective STA. The reason for a more forward seat position seems to be an aerodynamic position.

If it works, it can allow wrong sized bikes to fit. If the bike is too large, the reach would be too long so to decrease it, the seat is moved forward. If the bike is two sizes too large, one might flip the seat post to move the seat even further forward. The opposite is true for a bike that's too small.

Is it possible it's rarely done because it affects aesthetics, preferred postures, safety reasons, or weight distribution?

Bike fitting isn't just about maximising peak power output. In fact it's rarely even the priority. The study that you've linked only touches on absolute max power without looking at any other factors which may actually be more important for most cyclists. This study is only really relevant to track sprinters who have to do a max power effort, almost as soon as the race starts.

The most important thing for most riders is comfort. For recreational riders, this is because they enjoy riding more when comfortable. For racers, this is also important, because it becomes very difficult to race for hours on end if your bike fit is uncomfortable.

The study doesn't look into the effect of saddle position over the course of a longer effort. You might find that while the difference is only 1% in a max effort, it could be far more important when looking at the power that can be produced for hours on end.

Bear in mind that elite track sprinters will spend very little time on their bikes at all. They always set it up for their very short race efforts, because it doesn't matter to them how they feel on their bike after 20 km of riding, because they don't need to do that. Be wary of applying the findings of this study to cycling in general, because track sprint is a very specific discipline with very different requirements which don't apply to the rest of cycling.


Replacing the front derailleur: unlink the chain? If I want to replace the front derailleur on an already set up bicycle (replace SRAM Apex with SRAM Force), do I have to unlink and relink the chain on order to thread it through the FD cage? Or can I open the cage instead? I notice that the FD cage has a screw near the bottom. Can I just unscrew it, open the cage, put it over the chain and replace the screw afterwards? It looks like a have to force the cage open for that to work, risking damage to the cage.

Virtually every FD replacement guide on the Net does it by threading the chain through the cage before the chain loop is closed, but most of them apparently refer to new setups. What about the situations when the chain is already installed?

A followup: Unscrewed the cage and installed the derailleur without unlinking the chain. The cage is actually slightly pre-tensioned to spread apart when the screw is removed. Granted, it is easier to perform the initial alignment and adjustment of the derailleur without the chain, but it is also doable with the chain in place.

If your chain has a powerlink, you can disconnect it pretty easily. Otherwise, it is pretty straightforward to open up the cage and slip the chain out. It shouldn't damage it (as front derailleurs are pretty simple mechanisms).


why do left shifters switch chainrings and right shifters cogs? Can that be changed? Is it just convention? Is there any commercial bike that comes with a left-shifter that switches cogs?

I would not call it convention but rather a reasoned design choice: most  people are right-handed and one shifts the rear gears more frequently, therefore right shifts rear. This is the same worldwide for all integrated shifters, which integrate the brake and shift mechanics.

Brakes however are often reversed in countries, like the UK, where traffic runs on the left side of the road. This is indeed a convention and can be easily changed.

It is not possible to swap the gear shifters, using off the shelf components, without making some changes, e.g. the cable routing under the bottom bracket. Therefore, I would abandon this idea except if there is some medical reason, which makes a change necessary.


Do stocked tubes go rubbish over time? I'm stocking tubes that I found in discount. One of my friends said that tubes get old over time. Do Butyl tubes do this?  If it is true, what are storage tips for stocking them?
And they came packed with a powder-like solution, how does this work?

Yes, they do degrade over time. Unfortunately, various brands and different storage conditions yield different results, so I'm not able to give an estimation of how long can you safely store a tube. How ever, I can recommend the conditions that appeared to give best results.

The tubes I could use after long time of storage without problems where those that I kept in my room, which being in a tropical country, had temperatures of 15°-25° Celsius. They where obviously far from paints, solvents or oils, where taken out of bags and kept on a small plastic basket. Those that came in a cardboard box, where kept in the box. Also, at buy time, they where dark gray and with a subtle shine.

Negative results where obtained with tubes that where kept outside the house, in a dusty environment and subjected to humidity but not direct sunlight. (And there were paints, oils and solvents nearby, though not in an enclosed storage)

Also, tubes that had dull surface and where very dark (i.e. black) at buy time where the ones that failed shortly after installed, almost regardless of whether they where used immediately or after a time stored. Due to this, I suspect that they where already chemically damaged (And today I'm reluctant to use/buy a tube that looks this way).

Another observation is that Tubes I stored inside of plastic bags where found stuck to themselves and with a sticky or gooey surface after a year or so.

Upon inflation (outside a tire) those tubes that where badly stored shown one or more of the following tale signs:
 - They stretch irregularly, with bulges, instead of uniform diameter.
 - Crackled surface.
 - Irregular surface (different color and/or texture in certain spots).
 - Apparent punctures, i.e. what visually appeared to be holes but did not leak when water tested.


When I put my bike on the repair stand and turn the pedal, is the rear wheel supposed to spin freely I recently bought a cheap road bike.  I feel a little drag in the back. When I put it on a repair stand and turn the pedal,  the wheel spins a few times and stops.

Could be as simple as the wheel rubbing on the brakes - rotate the pedals and listen for a scraping noise as the wheel contacts the pads. If this is the case, check that the wheel is true by observing for any wobble side to side as the wheel rotates. If that looks ok your brakes probably need adjusted away from the rims.

Start here for brake adjustment http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html#about but it very much depends on your particular brake type.

Wheel truing info can be found here - http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/workshop-truing-a-pair-of-wheels-19199/


Should I let chronic training load drop (as in stop training) to end my current level of tiredness or continue riding? I currently feel very tired yet have not been doing much interns of high mileage, I have however entered a Tuesday night tt series which is usually 10 miles but the week it was a 25 mile tt. I feel particularly burnt out despite the low mileage I have accumulated.

Should I wait till my chronic training load and acute training load drops and start again with lsd rides and attempt to build my form up from the beginning again?

At the end of one particularly hard road racing season, I felt pretty tired as well. I decided to take about 3-4 days completely off the bike and by the end of that I felt good again and ready to go. If you haven't even taken that off you might try. Also be sure to eat right and get enough sleep if you're not.

But everyone's body is different. Attempting to build form back up "from the beginning" seems like a strong initial reaction if you haven't tried more simple R&R first.


Is 17 miles (27km) each way a lot for a newbie cyclist? I go to the gym on a regular basis and do a fair bit of running. I feel like I'm fit enough to do this. It would be a one-off ride from Wembley to Slough and back so it would be a fair bit of road which could be a problem.

As a one-off, that should be completely doable. Your fitness from running and the gym should be plenty enough, especially as the route is pretty flat. Bear in mind that it will be tiring, since cycling uses different muscles to running, and the saddle may get a bit uncomfortable if you're not used to it.  Make sure you have plenty of water and something like a cereal bar or a banana to eat half-way would be good, too. (You want something that will release energy over time, rather than a big sugar hit.)

Riding in traffic can be mentally tiring when you're not used to it so definitely consider a route using quieter roads and cycle paths, even if that adds a few miles. The thing you want to avoid most is narrow roads with lots of traffic: if cars can overtake you easily, everybody's much happier.

And there's lots of public transport available so, if you get to Slough and can't bear the thought of cycling home again, you can always get on a train, though don't try to do that at rush-hour.


How to calculate width of 28" tire to 26" with constant damping factor? Let's say you have a 28" tire with X width.

The question is how to calculate the width for 26" tire to get the same damping factor? I am looking only for solid solutions.

I will assume that calculating it backwards is simple reformulating the equation.

Update

"Solid solution" = "I tried it, I know it, so I say it".

Damping = it is like "user experience", you ride and either it feels comfortable or not. After all I hit both kinds of obstacles, rails for example and holes in the street (Poland is famous because of them).

Tires -- what I have in mind, is exactly the same tires, same manufacturer, same type, etc. Currently I use 26" 2.35" (Fat Frank and Super Moto) tires, and I am wondering (approximately) what 28" tires would be the equivalent.

From my experience, dampening depends too much on non-dimensional factors. That makes very difficult to come with a formula that would work reliably.

Of course the width of the tire is a very important factor, and balloon tires always will dampen better than skinny ones.

But the hardness of the carcass (be it the layers within or even the rubber hardness itself, or the thread pattern) plays such an important role that I think it counts more than the difference in diameter from 26 to 28 inch wheel sizes.

I have ridden wide tires which were very bumpy and uncomfortable, and narrow ones that just made the harshness of the road disappear.

Also, and this might help to formulate a real answer to your question, are you referring to the transversal dampening, where the tire's cross section counts a lot, or to the longitudinal dampening, where the wheel diameter counts more - and which is responsible for "rolling over" obstacles being smoother on bigger wheels - ?


Aluminum fork dropout potentially compromised - advice? I hope y’all can give me some advice. I bought a bike, had it shipped, looks great except one thing — the fork was slightly damaged in shipping. It’s carbon but the aluminum part that attaches to the quick release is narrower on the right side. See pictures comparisons of the 2 below.

The leading edge of the Drive-side fork dropout is squashed back, the axle won't fit through the gap.

Bianchi Via Nirone 7 sora.

Bent dropout:

The other dropout which is fine:

The seller insisted on it being steel. The bike shop said carbon but the bottom is aluminum. Any advice would be helpful - is this severely unsafe? With how and where it’s damaged - is the fork totaled?

Fork is toast, dropout cannot be trusted or reasonably repaired. Carbon forks with steel dropouts basically don't exist. Probably best for everyone is get comped for a fork plus install labor. Shouldn't be a difficult fork to get a suitable replacement for.


Chainstay Angle on a 2010 Kona DEW I want to replace the front derailleur on my 2010 Kona DEW C62cm. Currently it has mounted a Shimano Altus. Unfortunately, I can not find a model number on it, which would made things easier.
There seems to be derailleurs for (61)63-66° and 66-69°. I tried to measure the chainstay angle on the bike and get to around 65° - with a large uncertainty. Because the value is so close to 66°, I wont risk to buy the 63-66° and then have the wrong type... However, it looks like 63-66° is the most common angle.
Is there another way of finding this angle or does the Altus should have a model number somewhere?
Can I get this angle somewhere out of the geometry table on the Kona website?

The 63-66° and 66-69° exist because there are two types of bicycles.
Mountain bikes have small diameter 559mm wheels and a high bottom bracket for a lot of ground clearance. The combined effect of the small wheel and the required high ground clearance mean the chainstays are nearly horizontal. Thus, the angle between the seat tube and the chainstays is rather high, about 66-69°.
In contrast, road and hybrid bikes have large diameter 622mm wheels and the bottom bracket is typically put as low as possible for making it easy to stop and making the ride feel of the bicycle stable on roads. Thus, the chainstays angle downwards towards the bottom bracket, meaning the angle between the seat tube and the chainstays is low, about 63-66°.
Your Kona Dew is a hybrid bike with 622mm wheels. Most likely you measured correctly: the angle between the seat tube and the chainstays should fall between 63-66°.
Of course you can calculate it based on seat tube angle, bottom bracket drop or height and chainstay length. Your seat tube is at 72.5° angle. Chainstays are 440mm. Bottom bracket height is 280mm. The rear hub height is about 347mm for those 622-37 tires. Thus the rear hub is 67 mm higher than bottom bracket. asin(67/440)*180°/pi = 8.8°.
That should give 72.5° - 8.8° = 63.7° which falls between the angles 63-66°. So there was quite large uncertainty in your measurement indeed.


Helmet Safety Standards Canada I am looking at buying a helmet meeting ASTM F 2040, CPSC and EN 1078 safty requirements.  Are these reasonable standards and will they protect my head in an axcident?

Are these standards recognised in Canada?  If I am involved in an accident and if I am wearing a helmet meeting these standards will I be found to be partially neglegent?

(These are the helmets I am considering).

Those are reasonable standards that will protect your head in an accident. Comparable to the Snell B-90 standards.  Snell B-95 standards is higher and would provide more protection.

ASTM F2040, for instance, is a "snow sports" helmet standard based on the same testing as the ASTM bicycle helmet standards with some additional cold-conditions tests added in.

Canada has its own bicycle helmet standard, CAN-CSA-D113.2-M.

You have to pay to get a copy of the actual standard, but this site has a nice comparison of helmet standards.

The Canadian and ASTM standards use similar flat and round anvils but ASTM has a curb/kerb anvil that the Canadian standard doesn't have. (ASTM is better here)
The Canadian standard has a more protective maximum acceleration

As far as the Canadian tort law part of your question, I don't think we can really answer that.


How to attach bell with metal bracket I've got a big old "ding dong" bell which has got a metal bracket and a screw for affixing it to the bike rather than the more modern "clamp"-style attachment:

How does one attach this properly to the bike?-- The screw isn't long enough to meet the "washer" (not sure what it's exactly called) which lies against the handlebar inside the U-shaped bracket, so when the screw is tightened, the bracket is still loose and the washer of course falls out since it doesn't have anything holding it in place.

It turns out that the "washer" is upside down in the photo: The flanges on the sides of the washer are perfectly flat on one side but are slightly curved on the other. By flipping the washer over so that the flat side faces the bell and the curved side faces the handlebar, the flanges then protrude ever-so-slightly away from the handlebars. With this slight difference, there is enough friction between the edges of the flanges and the respective edges of the holes in the bracket to catch and hold the bracket in place.

In order to put the washer in place on the screw so that it can be tightened, a flathead screwdriver can be placed between the handlebar itself and the washer, gently pushing the washer upwards towards the screw and holding it in place while the screw is tightened. Once the screw is tightened enough, the flanges will catch on the holes in the bracket and then begin to pull the ends of bracket together, which will then keep the bell securely on the handlebar through this tension.


Should I drive or bike to work? I'm going to start a job next summer as a sailing instructor. I've volunteered before and biked the 3.6 mi (5.8 km) commute a few times a day on a mountain bike I found trashed a year prior.

I'm thinking because I'll have my license by next summer I won't need a new bike, but also this bike is just fine. The bike just has a bent wheel that is a bit wobbly and the gears are wonky. Would I be saving money by getting a bike and using that, or is it worth the space and luxury to just use the car? (I already have a car I would use).

I was thinking of getting something like this, but with fenders and a suspension fork: https://www.rei.com/product/816068/novara-randonee-bike-2014

I am located on the east coast of the US.

It seems like everybody has a false impression that I'm a sports instructor or that this is hard work; it's not. Sailing can be hard work, don't get me wrong. But I'm in a motorboat following the kids around.

Health

Two decades ago I threw away my bike.  Admittedly it was worn, but I had that "I have a car, why do I need a bike?" thought.

After a long time in a sedentary desk job, I got back on a bike and started the return to a healthy weight and muscle tone.

Best to keep the habit of healthy exercise by doing plenty of it. 3.6 miles (5 km) is 15 minutes at a casual pace, or 10 minutes if you're making an effort.

Nowadays my car does 150 miles (225 km) in one year, while I did twentyfold that on a bike.


British Cycling Attire How can I find the correct outfit for a British Cycling event?

http://www.abcetour.com

NO sign-up, NO fees, NO lycra, just wander in!

I am strictly a Lycra guy... now what will I wear? ;)

But seriously, if anyone can point to a good resource for Vintage bike attire that would be great.

Looking at the ABCE Tour website has a section specifically about the dress code.  In the photo section you can see what others have been wearing in the past.  Some of the past attendees even wore jeans and t-shirts.  So it shouldn't be to difficult.  Check out your local second hand and thrift store if you want to purchase something specific for this event.


Mountain Bike Disc brake pads price vs performance I know the differences between organic and sintered pads. That bit is (fairly) easy.

Where I come unstuck is finding out what is the difference between pads at different price points. Does anyone know what the difference between a set of $10 set of disc brake pads and a $40 set is likely to be.

TL:DR bullet point version at the end.

Since you do not specify the pads at those price levels, I chose to interpret the question as what are the potential differences between brake pads.

You said you know the difference between resin and sintered (there also exist semi metallic pads as a kind of middle ground), well resin and sintered is a huge difference (see end of answer for more info), you will not experience a difference anywhere near that magnitude between pads within each compound.

The next "biggest" difference is heat dissipation (which is actually also a difference between sintered and resin) I'm sure there are some other options out there, but I'll stick to the one I know:

Shimano Ice-Tec finned pads give better heat dissipation, this reduces fade and improves pad life (both in theory and in my own experience).

Lastly there are some minor differences like titanium backplates or slightly different compounds, never been able to tell the difference between different resin compounds or different sintered compounds, except once when I had a pad emergency and got some horrendously fast wearing and crap braking resin pads from an LBS, can't remember what they were, but they were the most expensive pads I had had at the time (pre ice-tec days).

The above are the real differences, beyond that, it's just brand, marketing and profit margins (not that I could tell the difference between normal and Ti backplate sintered shimanos, so backplates are crap unless proven to reduce temperatures... although the backplate would make a difference if you wore through the pad and used the backplate...)

Oh there are also people like Mr.Magura on mtbr forums who have made carbon discs and pads, while his creation is impressive, there have been some attempts at commercial versions but all have been total crap as far as I am aware, but it's worth mentioning that pads for those discs no doubt have a lot of differences to standard pads.

Resin vs. Sintered,

Sintered have:

More bite (and less modulation).
More stopping power.
The ability to stop you effectively in the wet.
Less fade.
Slower wear on the pad (but faster wear on the discs)
Compatibility issues with some (usually cheap) disks.
A Reputation for being loud (but I don't find this to be the case, IME there's very little difference, unless you haven't bedded in properly, or haven't set everything up correctly.)

Resin has:

Better Modulation (less bite)
Allegedly make less noise.

TL;DR Version:

Heat dissipation via fins = less fade. (important to some people, but
not most)
Minor compound differences, back plate material. (irrelevant to most
people)
Marketing bullshit and profit margins. (irrelevant to most people)
Resin pads (+modulation +quiet? +wear on pad)
Sintered pads (+power +wet performance +wear on disc +less fade)
Semi metal pads (between the other two)


Can i use 26er tires and rims on a gravel fork? I'm planning to make a gravel bike out of mtb frame but still use the mtb tires, the specific tire size is 26x2.0. The problem is i can't find proper 26er fork with disc mounts, can i use gravel forks instead?

If you use a 26er frame, 26" wheels and a 29er fork, the geometry will be awkward. It is possible to mount it, it will work, but the bike will be...
... well, I was wrong, it is the other way, it will be shorter in front. Gravel forks have axle to crown lengths aroun 400 mm (more than road bikes to accomodate larger tyres).
If I were you, I would be looking for a rigid 26er MTB fork. they are not rare. And quite often come.with straight steerers as required by the older MTB frames.
As @mattnz requests, such a rigid fork should be corrected for the fork travel the frame was designed to be used with. For example, this is a 26" fork designed for frames used with forks with 100 mm travel (axle to crown 453 mm). https://surlybikes.com/parts/1x1_fork


brand new fixie, different sized dropouts - send back? i recently purchased a cheap fixie bike on ebay, brand new. it arrived today and looks great, but when i tried to attach the front wheel i realised that the right dropout is slightly (1mm) larger than the left dropout. also, the right dropout is slightly bent. this means that the wheel needs a lot of pressure to be put in to the dropouts. do you think this is a dealbreaker? should i send the bike back? or get a new fork? or is this normal with no-name bikes? am i compromising the structural integrity if the bike if i ride it?

I bought this bike for £130, and I think return postage would be around £30. The link to the eBay auction that I got the bike from is here:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fixed-Gear-Road-bikes-700C-Brand-name-Green-WAY-London-/111469878644?pt=UK_Bikes_GL&hash=item19f41f5d74

and I have attached some photos to help illustrate the issue I'm having...

If the issue was just the 1mm difference in the dropout, I would personally just file it out and note it in the Ebay feedback.

With this one bent, contact the seller and see if there is a replacement/return option.  Failing that you could try to get a shop to bend it back and bill the seller.  If the seller gives you a lot of grief then take it up with Ebay right away.  Whatever you do, be sure to reflect it in your ebay feedback.

If using a nutted axle, it shouldn't be a safety issue but may take more effort to get the wheel on/off.


Chain keeps slipping on in-hub geared bike. Stretched chain? I have an Avanti Discovery 8, which is a mid-range hybrid bike with Shimano in-hub gears. I ride about 20klms a day on bike paths so whilst it gets a work out, it never really gets much bad abuse. I've owned it about a year.

Yesterday I found that the chain would slip and catch occasionally when I was applying torque, like going up a hill. When I got home I checked all the links in the chain were flexing, moved the rear wheel back a few millimeters to tighten the chain, and tightened the crank (it was a little loose and wiggling a few mil) and re-oiled the chain. I also ensured the gears were aligned.

Next morning the bike felt fine until halfway to work then the slipping started again and increased as I rode. It got so bad that by the time I reached work I could no longer ride. Every stroke the chain slipped.

I can't figure out why this could be. It's not the gears, as there is no derailleur. Could it be the chain is actually stretched?

Chains do not literally stretch, i.e., the metal links do not actually elongate due to  the force placed on them. A chain will get slightly longer as it wears though, caused by the holes in the links the pins go through getting slightly bigger, allowing the individual links to move slightly further apart.

Here's a good article on chain wear: http://www.bikeradar.com/us/road/gear/article/bicycle-chain-wear-explained-46015/

If you ride a lot, your chain might be worn out and this has worn the rear sprocket as well, causing the chain to slip over the teeth.

See this question for diagnosing if you rear sprocket is worn out: How to tell when to replace cassette?

However, in your question you say that the problem went away when you adjusted the chain tension, then came back when you rode the bike. It may be that the wheel had slowly moved in the frame over a period of time until the chain started slipping, then you moved it back but did not tighten the wheel sufficiently allowing it to move again (and more than before) when you rode the bike once more.

If the wheel moved you will see that the chain tension is now too low again. If you do not feel happy tightening the wheel in the frame more, or don't want to risk stripping threads on the axle or nut, have a bike repair shop adjust the chain tension and tighten the nuts to the proper torque setting with a torque wrench, and check the chain and sprocket for wear at the same time.


How to pump tire with cap that won't come off I have a Schwinn bike from probably mid 2000's. The front tire has a regular valve cap that I can twist off and pump with a floor pump. The back tire has an oval cap that I cannot get off. And it seems like it is attached onto a tube, not just a regular valve like the front tire. I can't pull off the cap or twist it off. Not sure how to get it off to pump the tire.

I don't bike a ton and am not sure if I am using the right terminology. It might be too vague but if anyone knows what I am talking about I appreciate the advice!

Judging by your description you have two different tubes: one with Presta valve and the other with Schreder valve. Both should have protective plastic caps that should pretty easily come off. It might be possible that cap on the rear wheel valve is stuck so some pliers might help to unscrew it.

Regarding pumping tires, your floor pump should have adapter for both valve types so you should use one that fits.

Maybe, if you have pump for only one valve type, you could consider changing your tubes to be of the same type (that matches the pump). Anyway, it is recommended to change tubes because they get porous and leak air (especially if they are too old).