Handlebar of my bike will not bolt onto the front forks I decided I'd like to remove my front brake from my bmx, but having looked closer i realised I was looking at a gyro brake system. I proceeded anyway, thinking this wasn't going to be a problem, and I removed the front brake with ease, although having to remove the handlebar to get the cable out. I then went to reattach my bars to the frame using the same long bolt that was in there before, but it just wouldn't screw into anything inside the tube. What did I do wrong and how can I fix it?

Sounds like a quill stem, something like this:

That wedge bit at the bottom sounds like its come unscrewed completely.  Take the stem out, and look down the hole.  If you see a lot of light, then you've dropped the wedge and its gone.

If there's only a little light coming through the bolt hole in the wedge, then flip the bike, take the front wheel off, and any front mudguard, and poke the long bolt up from below.  The wedge should fall out the top.

Once you have a wedge again, loosely bolt it to the stem with the long bolt as pictured, insert into the steerer tube, and reassemble.


Setting light to a derailleur At 3:30ish in this video, they set light to a front derailleur. Why? Degreasing it? Waxy lube that needs melting in? I can't think of a good reason. Any ideas?

Well I thought we needed an answer to this, so I just phoned the shop. He's a nice fellow (as you can tell from the vid) and said that his mechanic is convinced that this method works to free-up seized and corroded mechs. Apparently dousing it in something like GT85 and lighting it for a very short time boils in the lube, and works.

I assume that the combination of a penetrating lube, some heat, and vapour would achieve this as a last resort for badly seized metal components. I've done something similar on bearings when trying to get them out of BMX cups in the past.


Why do my knees hurt when I use a trainer? Whenever I use my CycleOps magnetic trainer (like the one pictured below) my knees always end up hurting.

I don't have this problem when riding out on the road. My cadence is the same for the most part. I usually keep it on a medium resistance and the bike is level. The trainer itself rides really smooth and feels pretty similar to riding on flat ground.

Is there a reason why the trainer would cause pain in my knees?

Thanks to @R.Chung I was able to do some research and figure out what my problem might be.

This article, Climbing vs time-trialling: same effort, different power output, explains in great detail the differences in inertial load.

To sum it up in relation to my problem:

When on the road where the elevation changes often I use slow twitch muscles and exert force longer during the pedal stroke and occasionally fast twitch muscles for stretches of flat ground.

On the trainer I use fast twitch muscles a lot more, because I only exert force for a very short period of time on only a small portion of my pedal stroke.

The muscles in my legs/knees are not used to having to fire that rapidly for such a sustained and extended period of time which is what I believe is causing me pain.


What brand is this (maybe Eastern) frame? Is it good for a first bike? What brand is this frame? I think it may be Eastern but I'm not sure. Also is it good for a first bike?

Based on the frame it looks to be a flatland styled BMX. The actual model or brand is hard to say, can you provide any additional pictures of what the decals say or the head badge?
Assuming that you are an average sized adult that is not planning to take up flatland or BMX riding it would not be ideal. You would be best suited finding something that will be more comfortable over an extended amount of time and fit your body a little better. It will save your knees and back.
If you are going to be trying your hand at BMX then sure give it a whirl. It appears to have a gyro (meaning you can spin the bars all the way around without tangling cables) And a sturdy BMX 3 piece crank. The only kicker is that if it is an department store bike aka a BSO, then it was probably intended for a young person and not designed to take the weight of an adult beating on it, so you may want to invest in one that is made for an adult.
A bike is a bike, if you end up loving it and breaking the bike, that tells you that it would be worth getting a little more serious with your next purchase.
EDIT: here is the bicycle blue book on that bike, looks to be a 2010 Eastern Shock. Bicycle Blue Book
Notice the excellent price is about 100 bucks, if it's not pristine i would shoot for less.


Bolt size for the Weerider Kangaroo I lost the main bolt for a Weerider Kangaroo, just wondering if someone has one and can tell me the size of the main bolt the one that attaches the seat to the bar.

I would urge you to check online, and order a replacement from WeeRide. Parts like this are hardened more than standard hardware grade steel.

If this was a reflector screw, then I'd say grab anything from the local hardware store. However, in this case there's a lot more at stake and you don't wanna cut corners.

I have no experience with WeeRide, but I have gotten replacement parts from other companies sent to me, free of charge, when I inquired online.

http://www.weeride.com/Kangaroo-Center-Mounted-Child-Bicycle-Carrier


How to get back into racing after an accident I had an accident where I broke my collarbone. I was totally out of cycling for 13 weeks. Before the accident I was racing in local MTB races. I'm still an amateur but I had good endurance to be a medium level racer (last cardiovascular tests score good / very good in general).

How do I get back to business? Should I start my training with easy, longer rides (base), or should I continue my training with a higher load?

Since you don't have a big Winter racing programme lined up, you can afford (you have time) to take a low risk approach.

So I recommend a gentle test ride of 10 to 20 kms to start with. Avoid jumps, mannies or any other tricks on this ride. Decide what distance you think is good for you, and keep to that decision. Don't go further because you feel good. See how you feel at the end of the ride, and the next day.

Take a day off riding to plan your get fit programme, and recover from the first ride. Use what you've learned from the first ride to guide you.

Plan to break your training up, partly for variety, but partly to keep each session focused. I'm thinking you'll need rides /sessions such as

Aerobic / endurance training. That could be SLK's - Long Slow Kms.
Strength / hill training (think intervals, or hill repeats).
Skills training. Partly for fun. But how did you break your collar bone? Is there a skill you could practice that would avoid that outcome?

Plan to train every second day, until your are feeling strong again. Remember to include recovery rides when the training is leaving you feeling stiff the next day. And / or get muscular massage.

There are many other answers that can help you under the training tag.

Good luck.


CycleOps Thru Axle Kit Help I just got the CycleOps thru axle kit and installed the thru axle on my Litespeed. The bolt action clamp that comes with the kit barely clamps around the axle cap on the thru axle though. Is this really how it's designed to work, and is it really enough to hold my bike in the trainer?

Here's a video showing this: https://imgur.com/uHgCqWl

I haven't been able to use the trainer very much, but it appears to work. Everything seemed to hold fine.


Getting over a downhill phobia I've been riding seriously/regularly for about a year now, although like the majority of the worlds population I've been on a bike since I was a kid.

When I was first starting out I had no real trouble on the downhill parts of my rides ( I live in the San Francisco Bay area so the majority of my rides are hill rides), I was even getting comfortable going fast even on steeper downhills (25-30MPH according to my tripcomp, which might not be that fast, but it sure seems so now). Unfortunately the honeymoon didn't last as I was in a few near misses and an accident with a car (his fault not mine, I wasn't hurt but pretty shook up) on my downhill. Ever since then I've been very wary of any downhill parts, I'm always on the brakes and I don't feel comfortable at all getting any kind of speed.

Mainly I'm worried that I don't have enough stopping distance given my speed, and since I already know what happens to my bike when I slam the brakes, I don't want to experience tumbling down the road at 25MPH. I've essentially lost confidence in my ability to right safely on my road bike (even though its mechanically sound), I don't have this problem on my mountain bike (where the fat tires and disk brakes are very comforting).

I've practiced all the downhill techniques, so it isn't a matter of being inexperienced (although I'm certainly not an expert, before the crash I was attacking the downhills pretty aggressively), I'm just physically frightened of letting go and riding down.

I guess the good news is that my rides have gotten much more uphill-heavy, which has certainly helped my hill endurance.

Anyway, what can I do to make my downhills fun again?

Easy answer....is to recover gradually. My experience has been in S.F., Seattle, and now Portland. All of which are hilly cities. Plus a lot of riding on mountain roads. So, I totally relate to your situation. ...and it's not always an easy answer.

After spooky near-misses, and a few crashes...here's what I do to get my mojo back.

Find some significant, low-traffic hills where you can just have fun and enjoy the exhilaration on the downhills. You don't want this to be too steep and curvy, but you do want speed. The goal here is to comfortably enjoy the descent and ride it safely.
After that, move up to a more congested and/or curvy hilly area and do the same thing.
Once you're comfortable with fast, downhill riding, you can get into some traffic. But now you have "city riding" in the scenario. You must balance your downhill skills with your city skills.

That being said, I have watched some messengers scarily bomb down Nob Hill. Personally, I don't need to duplicate their endeavors; however, one can do those hills without riding the brakes.


Can I use my Endurance bike for my first race? I recently got into road cycling, my first and only bike purchase has been a Scott endurance bike. Now that I am getting more and more comfortable on a road bike, a couple of guys I group ride with, are encouraging me to try road racing. I have been to a couple "Intro to crit racing clinics" and am thinking of entering my first CAT 5 race. My question is when beginning to road race, is an endurance bike ok to use? or should I consider purchasing a race bike?

Yes, an endurance bike will be fine.

I think most people outside Scott's marketing department would be hard pressed to name the differences.

The main differences are likely to be a longer wheelbase, slower steering, and a more upright riding position. Maybe slightly larger tires, but you can change those to whatever you feel you need.


Good backpack for carrying groceries So, I need to be able to carry 3-4 days worth of groceries for one person, about a mile from the store to home.
I'm not too keen on the idea of panniers or anything else that mounts to the frame. I don't want any extra junk burdening me during the 99% of rides that aren't grocery runs.
So, I've been wearing a backpack but its a little small and not well suited to carrying groceries.
Does anybody have a suggestion that will work in my use case?

I don't want any extra junk burdening me during the 99% of rides that aren't grocery runs.

I use a Bontrager pannier (or two) like this one: http://bontrager.com/model/08102

The rack on my bike is permanent, but you can clip the bag onto onto the rack, or detach it again, in a second or two: so put it on the bike only when you're going to the store. I also take the bag into the store so I can fill it there, then bring it out already full and attach it to the bike and cycle off.


Pros and cons of progressive suspension? I am interested in what makes progressive suspension better (or worse) than normal suspension setup. I'm not after an explanation of what progressive suspension is or how it works but I'm interested in people ideas and experiences of it. (For the purpose of the question I mean progressive air suspension)

Thanks.

The idea makes some sense: progressive springs being softer for smaller bumps and preventing bottoming out by becoming firmer as they compress.

However, that is the main downside. The spring is too easily compressed at first, making the bike front (or rear) go down more easily, returning back more slowly in the "top" range of shock absorber movement.

As the shocks compress further, they become noticeably stiffer, compressing less and rebounding back faster.

It is clear that such springs make it impossible to set up an optimal compression and rebound for any riding terrain/style/preferences.

Compared to optimal rate linear springs, the small bumps will feel a tad smaller - since the springs will work in their lower rate range. But the bumps are small to start with. As you get to the "rougher bumps", you end up with shocks that are "harder" than optimal - compressing harder, rebounding quicker.

It boils down to personal preference: do you want even softer "small bump ride" at the cost of a bit rougher "big bump ride", with somewhat worse control/handling (compared to linear rate springs)? Progressive springs provide that.


Why is it important to wipe excess lubricant off your chain? This question about chain maintenance during touring raised this question.

This tip sounds unintuitive, of course, I know that the extra lube will attract dust (not good to chain) but I have paid for the lube. My biased view is that when I just ride fast enough it will just fall off because I use liquid Teflon lube but I don't want to limit this question only to Teflon lube.

Please, tell me should you really wipe extra lubricant from your chains?

How should you wipe it? Is piece of WC-paper enough?

What does the term to wipe really mean?

Do you wipe things similarly with all kind of lubes?

Please, note that there is a huge variety of lubes, more here.

The primary purpose of chain lube is to lubricate the rollers and other internal parts of each link, not to lubricate the outside. Excess lube on the outside of the chain will get dirt stuck to it, that dirt will slowly work its way into the rollers that you're trying to protect, and dirt inside will grind away at the internal parts and wear out the chain faster.

I wouldn't use toilet-paper (WC-paper), as that's usually pretty flimsy and will leave bits of itself behind. You don't want to wipe with something that will leave anything behind. Use a lint-free rag of some sort.  I either use a worn out dish towel or a worn out sock. A sturdy paper towel would probably be fine.

I interpret "to wipe" as meaning to rub an absorbent cloth against all 4 sides of the entire length of the chain, such that there's only a thin coating of lubricant left behind (no visible drops).  I would usually wait a few minutes and ride the bike around to give the lube a chance to penetrate into the internal parts of the chain, then wipe off the outside of the chain.


How to tell if a chain is Bicycle Chain or something else? Hello is there anyone that is able to help me?  I need to get a new chain for my little boy's quad bike and I'm unsure on what size I need to get.

Its a 50cc mini motor quad bike. I have looked online but says all different numbers of links and the one that is on it already is too small as I bought it off some bloke who didn't have a clue what he was doing.

From a little research it would appear most Mini Moto Bikes & Quads up to 50cc mostly use a 25H or 25E chain.
They vary in price depending on retailer but most seem quite easy to buy being a popular item. As we know very little else regarding main drive dimensions (cog / gearing) apart from the fact it should only consist of a main drive gear and a smaller one on the rear axle.

All I can do is attach a chart of the most likely chains and the OP can hopefully work out what chain is required according to the dimensions on the gearing.


Partially disassembling Sticky Shimano STI shifter for service There are a few questions floating around regarding sticky STI shifters and the standard procedure seems to be to flush with a load of WD-40 and relube with aerosol grease or similar.

My set is Ultegra 6500 series.

Having tried this with with unsatisfactory results I think I need to take more drastic action. It is clear there is still significant grime and gummed-up grease in the mechanism (excerbated no doubt by long-term lack of name plate). I figured the best method would be to remove the shifter from the bike and give it a good submersion in degreaser.

My idea was to leave the body on the bars and just remove the lever, which incorporates the mechanism by removing the pivot pin and brake/gear cables. The tech docs show this process but I'm slightly scared of tiny pieces flying everywhere and being unable to reassemble. It also requires a "return spring installation tool" which I do not possess.

Has anyone had experience with this? How tricky is it for a reasonably technically inclined person? Would I be better off just removing the bar tape and taking off the whole unit?

So, after studying the tech doc I took the plunge. It is actually not difficult and the only tools you need are some hex keys. I managed to successfully remove the lever assembly from the shifter for cleaning. Just don't try to disassemble any further than the doc instructs.

The bad news was that even after a thorough soaking in degreaser (which turned black from the grime) and relube, shifting performance has hardly improved, suggesting some mechanical issue. I think some new shifters are in order.

Reassembly for almost as easy, the only slightly tricky bit was getting the return spring in the right place without the official tool. A bit of poking with a pointy implement solved it though.

Conclusion: definitely a viable and effective way to clean shifters - if grease and grime buildup is the cause of stickiness.


What fork size is 32mm (inside diameter on the frame) considered? Good day, I'm new to the whole bike building process, but I've finally decided to make the step and build a semi-nice bike.

I've bought a really nice aluminium frame 2nd hand, but its sizing has me stumped. The inside diameter of the front part of the frame (where the front fork goes in) is ~32mm. I've been searching online (e.g. http://www.sheldonbrown.com/cribsheet-headsets.html) for a couple of days, but I cannot understand what type of fork I should get.

Should I get an 1 1/8", 1.5" or some other type of fork?

EDIT: After some investigation, the bike frame is an Alpinestar Almega DX, the same as in this picture  I couldn't find any specs though :(

Here is what I measured, when I said it was ~32mms (apparently it's the headset, not the pipe itself). The other end is the same size.

Thanks!

If you have a 32mm approximate head tube inside diameter, this is an 1 1/8" frame, assuming it is a standard headset design.

An 1 1/4" head tube would have approximately a 35mm inside diameter.

Here is a link to a PDF from Cane Creek detailing most other styles of headsets fitment for non-traditional options.

These have become very common also.


What needs to be changed if I put in a larger chainring? My current bicycle is a 2013 Specialized Allez C2. It has an 8 speed rear cassette. If I swap the current chainring (50/32) to a larger one (52/36 OR 54/39), other than the chain itself, what else would I need to change, if anything?

You need to first check that your front derailleur has enough capacity to handle the new chain rings and can clear it (i.e. you can re-position and adjust the front derailleur to handle these chainrings). You should refer to your front derailleur's data sheet to see if this is possible. In general, you also need to check the rear derailleur's capacity to see if the rear derailleur is long enough to take up the extra possible slack, but in this case, the capacity required will go down for a fixed rear cassette, so you don't need to worry about it. You also need to make sure the chain adequately clears the frame under the new chainring size (which may require changing the bottom bracket or other things, if possible).

Here are some directions on adjusting the front derailleur.


What are the absolute essentials a cyclist should own? Context:
My bike shop includes free servicing as a standard with a new bike. I don't need such thing and live too far away. In lieu of waiver I can get €100 of stuff from the shop.

Best bike problem ever: I need to decide what to get for free form the bike shop...

Can anyone advise on what they would consider to be absolute essentials as a road/touring cyclist?

This is what I tell everyone to get first when they get a new bike:

Seatbag, to hold the following:
Spare tube (maybe two)
Small multitool
Mini-pump or CO2 inflator
Tire patch kit
2x tire levers

That assumes you have bidons and cages.  Those six things should get you by for many miles and should get you out of any trailside emergencies.  As with anything though, make sure you know how to use them when the need arises.  For your own personal bike shop, I'd recommend a good floor pump with a pressure gauge, some high quality chain lube, and a maintenance book for DIY repairs.

Also a helmet should be entirely recommended as a required purchase, and probably front and rear lights.  Nothing hurts worse then getting hit by a motorist that "didn't see you" at an intersection.


How to determine tire size when the sidewall label is unreadable? I have a women's Mongoose hybrid bike that is older. The tires are dry rotted and I can't read the tire size info.

How do I determine what size replacements to buy?

Tire sizes are extremely complicated because there are so many different measurement standards. See: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

One strategy will be for you to ascertain what the common tire size of your bike is (more likely than not 700c for a hybrid bike of the 1990s) and order that (I’m assuming you’re ordering online) but that won’t work if someone replaced the rims or wheels on your bike and returning tires would be a pain.

Really, the easiest is to take one of the wheels to a local bike shop (not a bike department in a big box store) and ask them. They can also help you get white wall tires if you want the classic look. If you’re cheap, just get the one wheel done and order the companion online but I’ve found my LBS to be within $5-10 of online prices and it’s worth the convenience. Note: you’ll also need a new inner tube and you’ll likely also need some new rim tape. The bike shop can also ascertain how much corrosion there is and whether or not it’ll affect the new tire.

Note that many older bikes from the 1970s and prior have steel rims which have lousy braking performance.


Will These Bike Racks Fit a 2002 Citroen Berlingo? Could someone please advise me as to whether either (or both!) of the following bike racks will fit on the back of a 2002 Citroen Berlingo?

3 Carrier with Clips
2 Carrier without Clips

Please note: these are links to eBay (UK) listings - I realise that this is irregular, but I couldn't actually find the manufacturer's website for them!
They are both strap-mounted, not tow-bar mounted; I do not have a tow-bar. Please note that it is a van and so has a vertical rear, not like a saloon/hatchback/estate, but to a smaller degree with an estate.
I am looking to mount a road/racing bike and a mountain bike on it. I would prefer the 3 Carrier with clips, since, well, it holds three and has clips (!), but if it doesn't fit and the other one does, then the other one will do fine. :)
Thanks in advance! :)

Those style of racks are pretty versitile, I would be surprised if they do not fit.

The only problem may be that as you Citroen has a near verticle rear, the bikes may sit further out from the rear than needed, depending on rack design and adjustments. This puts weight further behind the rear wheels affecting handling. I used a Rhode version of these regularly, but when I need to carry 3 or more bikes I use my old 4x4 (Isuzu Bighorn, Opel/Vauxhall Monterey/ GMC Trooper depending where in the world you live) and a towbar mounted rack. Even that car is affected by the weight of 3 bikes hanging off the rear end.

I would hesitate to put too much weight on such a rack, and I would invest in a reputable brand if the bikes are worth a lot, but I have seen racks like these loaded with 4 mountain bikes. Think about what happens if the rack fails - I had a mate who managed a large bike shop, he often had customers buying new bikes after they fell off racks. One customer purchased 4 new bikes after the rack fell off at 100km/h with a logging truck following him.

If you do go ahead with one of these be aware of the common failure modes-  the straps on some models often loosen over hours of driving - so long trips pay speacial attention. Also the ones with the rubber clips that hold the bike, do not trust the rubber. Many internet reviews discuss straps breaking and bikes falling on the road. I always use an independent tie down (bungies are fast and effective), maybe I am paranoid. Also many people discuss problems at speeds like 70MPH - think of the wind pressure of a bike movign sideways at 70mph, even on the back of a car its significant (My car uses 2litre/100km more petrol carrying bikes, all of that is drag caused by the bike....).


Shimano sora 9 Speed rear derailleur capacity Rd-3500 SS I'm having a go at replacing a drive train for the first time.

It's a 9 speed, and I've ordered a compact chainset (50/34), and 11-28 cassette (all Shimano). To go with them, Ive ordered a RD-3500 SS derailleur.

On the Shimano website, the specs said capacity 37T, which by my reckoning, should be enough (50-34)+(28-11)= 33.

However, now that its arrived, the logo on the box says "Max 32T"- i.e, 1 less.

Will this be a problem (do i need to change for the medium cage), or is there usually enough tolerance in the spec?

Does this maxiumum capacity only come into effect if 'crossing the chain'? (of course, one should avoid doing that anyway)

many thanks

Max 32T here refers to the largest rear sprocket, not the total capacity. So with an 11-28 you'll have no problem.


Do simpler casettes have less issues with missing shifts? On my new Trek Marlin with a 8 gear cassette, sometimes I try to downshift into the middle of the range of gears and it doesn't take (upshifting works fine). I can hear the gear clicking for a few seconds before the chain finally snaps into the correct position causing the chain tension to jerk while pedaling.

Do cassettes with a large range of gears have more issues with getting the chain to switch to the proper gear? Is this an issue that can be fixed by adjusting the derailleur tension?

To shift smoothly, you need 5 components to be working together harmoniously: the cassette, the derailleur, the shifter, the frame, and the chain. Any one of those could be causing your problems.

In the specific case of cassettes, there is a wide range of quality and capability in cassettes. Many models have carefully aligned cogs, with little ramps and pins that assist in shifting, whereas others are little more than stamped plate steel. Those differences in quality will dwarf any difference between 8 and 12 speed.

So in short, a high-quality setup at any cassette size should have clean, crisp shifting.

With this said, a new bike should work reasonably well right away. Check that your deraileur is properly aligned, it may simply be a slight bit off and that is enough to cause your troubles.


Direction of saddle clamps on seatpost I have a seatpost from a Canyon Dndurace AL 7.0 from 2016. The seatpost has a saddle clamp consisting of two parts. The lower part has one long end and a shorter one. I can rotate both parts of the clamp. Which direction of the lower part should be forward facing? Also was I right in matching the upper part to the lower part?

It seems that from their photos, you have the correct setup.

Structurally, it also makes sense as the longer rear of the clamp supports the part of the saddle that you'll sit on, though it would also make sense to rotate the top clamp to assign its beefier 'claw' to the front, which also undergoes a larger vertical cantilever force.

If you want to be sure, you can contact Canyon themselves. As for my opinion, I'd just rotate the top clamp for the aformentioned reasons and it'll likely be good to go.


Can I use fiberglass cloth and resin to fix tiny holes in fenders? I'm trying to restore an adult tricycle and the fenders have multiple very small rust holes in them.  Can I cut fiberglass cloth and make a "sandwich" with them with the fender in the middle and then cover both sides with resin? Or would a substance like "Bondo" be better?

Since it is no load carrying part and if you keep enough clearance between the repaired spot and the tyre there should be no problem. Take care to sand away any rust beforehand and treat the rusted part with rust removing chemicals.


Why do consumer battery powered LED lights fail mid ride I've had consumer battery powered LED bicycle lights fail mid ride without the battery being at fault.  This has been spread across brands, weather conditions, ride lengths.  The most recent failure is a rear blinkie that dies on a 6km commute.

Factors I've tested:

Water proofing.  This causes one light to fail and later recover.  But not the other which is adequately sealed.
Battery contact patches / corrosion.  This caused a third light to fail intermittantly, but isn't present in the currently failing light.
Shock.  I can't produce a shock that causes the blinkie to turn itself off.
Battery life.  I've put it on to test if it fades over half an hour.  It doesn't.

Help.

In my experience cheap lights die, and some more expensive designs are prone to failure. Bike shops sell cheap lights because that's all some people will buy, and better they have a dodgy light than no light (there are enough cyclists without lights already).

All the factors you list come down to one or two factors, depending on whether you consider "built to an excessively low price point" to be a factor. The other is poor design. It's not easy to make a bike light that works, and doing so costs money. If you search for bike lights on kickstarter those projects often document the design and testing (which is one of the few places you can read about it).

I've had lights intermittently turn themselves off while riding, and that's either something hitting the on-off button or the batteries momentarily disconnecting when bumped. Rather than reproduce the latter I prefer to add conductive spacers with the batteries and see whether that solves the problem - add a chunk cut from a tin can or 5-10 thicknesses of aluminium foil at one end of each battery.

I expect to pay ~$40-$60 in Sydney for a decent rear light, maybe $30 online, and if they don't last at least a year I take them back. And I do take them back. Maybe 5% fail within a month. For front lights I pay the same as a rear one for a blinky, ~$100 for a "to see by" light. But I also DIY and use dyno lights (more expensive up front, heavier, but cheaper in the long term).

This is easier if you're running multiple bikes, whether for yourself, your household, or your group of friends. Or you have a decent LBS. Buy 2-3 different lights to test, pick the one you all like the most and buy one (or more ) each, plus a couple of spares. That way you know you're getting something that works, and have a communal spares pool. You can get a similar effect by buying what everyone else has. But buy exactly what they have, a lot of bike lights look very similar and a cheap clone is not the same as the real thing.

I have lights regularly last until the LEDs are so dim the light is worthless. Specifically, I have a box full of "bike lights and bits" in the garage that contains 5-10 rear lights and 3-4 front ones, none of which I would use today as my primary light (I use them on trailers and take them to group rides to lower the suicide rate). The front ones I expecte to fail, white LEDs have a finite, short life that in a "every weekday in the winter" light means 2-3 years. Rear ones mostly just fall to the progression in LED efficiency, in that "the same" light bought next year will be noticeably brighter (front ones too, obviously).


Is it possible to avoid anaerobic 'burn' on ascents? As a total noob to cycling the thing that really kills me is hills steep enough I get into anaerobic territory. My general fitness lets me cycle for hours without really getting tired even working fairly hard, but my thighs have a pretty limited total amount of ascent in them which takes a long time to replenish.

I feel like on steeper hills (say 10% and above) I have to go anaerobic to get enough speed... if I shift down to my lowest gear at my regular cadence I am so slow I risk falling off, and of course the climb just takes much much longer anyway!

My beginner question is: should it be possible to get up most/all hills aerobically using gears, or is it a fundamental feature of cycling that you will end up burning, and you will find sometimes your legs just give out mid-hill until you improve your muscles/fitness?

Get an app like strava to log your rides, and see your progress on those climbs.

I have a climb near home which took three hours first time I did it.  I rested a bunch of times on the way up, and got passed by dozens of riders.

Over the last three years I've improved to the point I can do the climb in 40 minutes non-stop, still get passed but I'm passing others, some of whom look shattered.

Remember it never gets easier, you just go faster.  Some logging will help show you your improvements, because it never feels faster at the time.


Direction of chain whip Is there an easy way of working out which way round to apply a chain whip to a cassette for its removal? I've taken plenty of them off in my time but always end up having a couple of tries at it before I put it on the right way round.

Not something I do often enough to worry about, but certainly a 'problem' I also have.... One solutiojn that comes to mind is write "Install" and "Remove" in the side of the handle you can see when installing and removing (My luck would be I would get it wrong way round).


What hood for this bike? After 8 years; the hood of my brake levers is in pretty bad shape.
The bike is (I think) a Bruno 700c TOUR SOLO 2012

I'd like to replace the hood; but I have no idea what model to buy.
Any idea ?

It's a Tektro RL340, or the same lever under another name. Cane Creek SCR-5 hoods are the readily obtainable option. Tektro made variants of this lever for a bunch of brands, including their own, but the Cane Creek hoods work for all.


Name for the thing attached to spokes to remove tires? Some properties:

it is good to have it plastic so it won't break the inner tire
it is size is about 10cm*2cm*0.5cm at maximum, a small thing
you will attach them to spokes so you can change tire
you usually need them two pcs

Since I miss it, I work with spoons to remove tires but I really need the item. So I am just looking for the word of the tool to buy them from Ebay or some other shop online.

Please, create a label 'definition question' or equivalent.

Tyre lever (in the UK anyway - WP redirects that to tire iron but to me that sounds more like metal fatigue. After all, they're not made of iron).


Which chain should I buy to replace the one on my Specialized Rockhopper 2016? I own a Specialized 2016 Rockhopper Expert and the chain is slightly twisted and needs to be replaced.

This bike has 10 rear gears and 2 front gears. The specifications indicate the chain is a "KMC X10, 10-speed, w/ reusable MissingLink".

I searched for a replacement chain but only found KMC chains with 114 links. The one I own has 110 links. Should I go with a chain such as the KMC X10EL Silver?

New chains are a standard length more or less. You’ll need to remove some links to make it the correct size. Any 10 speed MTB chain is fine. KMC is a good brand.

You need a chain breaker tool to do this task.

If you have used this chain for a long time there’s a likelihood that the chain rings and cassette are stretched too and need replacement at the same time. This isn’t literal stretch, it means the tooth pitch has been worn into the chains worn out pitch. Look at the teeth on the chainrings, do they look sharky? That’s a sign.

You can check that with a chain wear gauge.

If the wear is a lot greater than 0.75% (most tools check 0.75 and 1.0) then you probably need the entire chain/chainring/cassette set changed.

If your drivetrain is stretched and you only replace the chain you’ll get skipping when you pedal.

You can avoid the full drivetrain replacement in the future by changing your chain once the stretch gets to 0.75. The cassette/chainrings will last 3-4 chains if you do that.

Links aren’t recommendations, just illustrative.


Many punctures on my 18" wheels Strida I have a Strida with 18" wheels. Unfortunately the places I cycle seem to have lots of glass and I get a new puncture almost every week. I commute in London, so this is really unavoidable. The tires I have are not cheap, but they don’t have thick treads. Its hard to find much else for this wheel size. I do keep a close eye on my air pressure, and anyway, I'm digging shards of glass out the tires each time, so its not a pinch puncture.

Does anyone else have a Strida? Do you get lots of punctures and is there any solution?

EDIT; A couple of things I should have added;
This is a strida,

Unfortunately you cannot do anything funky with weight distribution on a strida, you cannot even stand on the peddles. The way its balanced only works if you keep your bum on the seat.

The size 18 wheels are only just small enough to fit, so I cannot fit any tire wider than 35-355 etrto size (1.35).

I may try the brush suggestion if I can work out how to fix it on. I will report back on the results.

That is an unusual tire size, and it's true you don't have a lot of options.

As Ross points out, Schwalbe does make the Marathon tire (which is very robust) in that size.
You could keep your current tires and put some tire-liner strips inside them. You'd need to cut them to fit.
You could add sealant to your innertubes (you might need to swap tubes). This won't prevent the punctures, it would just mean they're less trouble.

Good luck.


Best cycle to work provider? I'm looking at signing our work up to a Cycle to Work scheme in the UK. There are a lot of online reviews of the benefits of the scheme, but not much feedback on which are the best providers to go for.

Would anyone like to share their experiences with particular providers? Has their customer service been up to scratch?

Thanks very much.

I run my own company, and therefore had ready access to this scheme since I was both the employer and the employee, but I actually decided against it altogether.

Now, this was a couple of years ago, so you'll need to check whether what I say still applies, but this is what I found:

You have a twelve-month agreement where essentially the company buys the bike, and you then pay £x per month to lease the bike off them. The "x" covers the cost of the bike, but there is a tax saving to be had.

But I think you need to look at what happens at the end of the twelve month period. My understanding is that the company, not the individual, actually owns the bike. So in order for "you" to end up owning the bike, you'd need to buy it from your company (i.e. more expense). And when I looked at it, HMRC (the UK Tax authority) were making noises about the company having to sell the bike at a "fair market price". In other words, its not reasonable to take a £1000 bike, then to say that after a year it is only worth £10, or some ridiculously small amount.

Now, as I say, this was a couple of years ago. At the time I decided that the scheme was a bit half-baked, and to steer clear of it.

But I think what I'd be looking for now is to see some clarity on what happens at the end of the twelve months, how much you would need to pay to actually make the bike yours. Whether there were now concrete guidelines in place, or whether it was all as woolly as it was when I looked.

I think if looking at the different providers, that would be my defining criterion.

Sorry, I know this probably doesn't directly answer your question, but hopefully it'll give you some idea of one line of questions to ask the different providers in order to allow you to make your own decision.


Dropout check/Components check Help a boy live his coaster dream! 1.) This is a 1989 Cannondale SM2000, is that a good derailleur?

2.) Will these dropouts suffice for a coaster brake? What if I over-shorten the chain? Do-able?

A derailleur (or pulley-type chain tensioner) can't be used with coaster brakes. You also have vertical dropouts, so if you want to run something without a derailleur, you need an eccentric hub (which I don't think exists with a coaster brake -- the only one I'm aware of is the White Industries Eno) or eccentric bottom bracket (Phil Wood makes some). You can't just shorten the chain. You'll also need a new wheel on top of that (or at least a new hub) so that you can have a coaster brake. All in all, putting a coaster brake on a bike like this is not a good idea.

As for the bike being any good as is, that's in the eye of the beholder; it looks like it was a decent bike when it came out, so assuming everything is in working order it'd make a great commuter, for example.

If you really want a coaster brake, sell the bike and get a frame with horizontal dropouts.


Surly Disc Trucker with STI Shifters I like the feel of Surly's Disc Trucker, 3x10.

http://surlybikes.com/bikes/disc_trucker/bike_specs

But I want STI shifters, not bar-ends.  Moving to STI would seem to screw up the brake pull; duly noted.

Two questions:

Will STI shifters work with the front derailleur?  (Sora Triple)
Will STI shifters work with the rear derailleur?  (XT 10-speed)

Guessing yes (front) and not at all (rear).

It looks like a 9-speed XT RD would work and give me all ten in the back??

If you get a 3 x 10 STI shifter, the front (Sora) shifter will work fine. For the rear, you're going to need to replace it with a 10 speed Shimano road rear derailleur or a 7-9 speed Shimano rear derailleur due to the change in cable pull (7-9 speed and 10 speed road use the same cable pull in Shimano. 10 speed mountain does something else). Note that the bar ends spec'd on the Disc Trucker are Microshift BS-M10, which are specifically designed for 10 speed mountain cable pull. You can use the JTek Shiftmate 6 as an alternative to putting a 7-9 speed or 10 speed Road Shimano rear derailleur, but I'd recommend against it since its one more place the cable can be damaged, and it will cost more than buying a 9 speed Deore rear derailleur (which is what I'd do to save some cash rather than buying the 9 speed XT, unless you have it laying around or can get it for very cheap).

As for brakes, the Tektro RL520's are for linear pull (V-brakes / mountain disc brakes). This means that the Disc Trucker is outfitted with the Avid BB7 Mountain disc brake calipers. So, if you want to switch to STI brakes, you can either swap out the brake calipers for road brake calipers (e.g. Avid BB7 Road) or use a Travel Agent, which is a pulley that switches the cable pull between short and long pull brakes. These increase cable wear at the pulley so you have to check them every so often to see the cable is in good condition. Travel agents may be a bit cheaper (two of them should run about 50 USD), but I'd probably opt for the new calipers since it removes one failure point in your brake system (two brakes with rotors will probably run about 100 USD; less if you can find them without rotors). Hayes and Tektro/TRP make disc brakes with short pull (such as the Hayes Comp CX) which you can also use.


Indexing issues on new build, shimano 105 5800 I am in the process of building a road bike.

I currently setting up my rear derailleur. I can't seem to index the gears. I have set the high and low limit screws.

I can shift up the cassette (small to big cogs). I can shift down the cassette to every cog until the 5th one, any shifting down the cassette from here on results in nothing happening or certain gears are jumped.

Everything is new. I can't see any kinks anywhere although it is internally cabled. I am using an (11 speed) 11-32 cassette and a medium cage derailleur, all Shimano 5800.

Appreciate if anyone can provide any advice.

From the sound of the issues you are describing, I expect your derailleur hanger is misaligned.

When troubleshooting rear derailleur setup, these are the basic steps. (I know you said you've checked some of these. I'm still including them for the sake of a complete answer.)

Disconnect the cable from the cable fixing bolt, and remove it from the derailleur.
Remove the derailleur from the frame.
Check the alignment of the derailleur hanger. Many shifting issues start there. Even a new derailleur hanger often needs to be aligned.

Once your hanger is known straight, reinstall the derailleur, taking care to check that it is threaded properly. Cross threading the derailleur will also cause misalignment.
Double check the limit screw positions, with the cable still disconnected. Manually move the derailleur to the top of its range. The upper pulley should be aligned with the center of your largest cog when stopped against the upper limit screw.  When at the bottom of the range, the upper pulley should align just slight to the dropout side of the center of your smallest cog.
Put the cable back through the barrel adjuster, making sure that the barrel adjuster is positioned to allow it to be turned 2 full rotations in either direction, and pull it across the notched side of the fixing bolt. It matters which side of the fixing bolt the cable lies on. Make sure this is right.

Pull the cable tight, and use a 4mm Allen key to tighten it. Torque to 4 - 7Nm.
Check your shifting performance. Adjust cable tension as needed until shifting is smooth.


Stuck lock-nut on one side of the axle, can't push the axle out from the other side So, I have a stuck lock nut on one side of my front axle, and I can't seem to get the axle out pushing on the other side. I need some pointers on diagnosing and repairing this.

The bike is a Merida Speeder 300, and the product page lists the hub as "Bearing disc". The bearings are cartridge bearings, which means this answer doesn't help.

Here's a shot of the stuck nut:

I believe the cause of my troubles is that those outward-facing ruffles have been tightening the nut.

The other side looks like this:

There's nothing on the axle where a wrench could find purchase.

The nut and assorted washers that came off are these:

The other side of the nut is flat. Only the nut is threaded, and it's the only one that has flat sides for a wrench to grip.

What I have tried so far is to grip the free end with a pair of pliers, but I didn't get a good enough grip to get the other nut loose. I have tried to push the axle out from the free end, including whacking it with a rubber mallet a few times, and I even tried to put my weight on the hub with the free end resting against the ground. The axle hasn't budged at all, as far as I can tell, and I'd at least like to have a second opinion before I try to hammer the axis harder than I already have.

As this hub has pressed-in cartridge bearings, it means that the axle sits pressed into the inner races of both bearings and cannot be extracted without some sort of smashing process. This is meant to be done when your are about to change both bearings as they are not designed to be reused after extraction. All in all, it is expected that you are unable to extract the axle at this point.

The lock nut is unrelated to axle being "stuck". If you screw on two locknuts on another side of the axle again, you can use them to place a counter-action wrench and thus be able to unscrew the thing from the other side.


How can I measure cadence without attaching anything to the bike? This is prompted by curiosity, so a cheap and cheerful solution is desirable.
I'd like to measure my cadence, not just on my own bikes but on the heavy, clunky, undergeared, undersized rental bikes I sometimes use. I don't need realtime feedback if I can record.
So a sensor that goes on my ankle (or in a pocket, but I don't always have leg pockets) would be ideal, but does such a thing exist?

The RPM Cadence Sensor from Wahoo can track your cadence based on the motion of your foot. On the product page it specifically mentions the following

The RPM can be worn on your shoe for spin classes or use with multiple bikes

Here's an article explaining how it can be used to track your GPS usage.  It's important that it is mounted in the correct orientation.
I'm not sure if there are any other cadence sensors on the market that work solely off of motion as opposed to the traditional magnet based sensors.
EDIT:
I found that Garmin makes some accelerometer based candence and speed sensors that attach using rubber bands.
Here is a similar product from Saris
I found that the best way to find these products is search for "magnetless cadence sensor".


Back wheel started moving backwards when pedalling backwards I have a 10 year old cheap 21 speed mountain bike that I have only ever done basic maintenance on (replacing inner tubes, tyres, brake pads, lubricating chain etc).

I have just noticed that when I pedal backwards (even slowly) the chain goes a bit loose and then starts to drive the wheel backwards. I'm just trying to find out what might be causing this, whether I can fix it myself, and whether it is ok to ride.

I have never taken anything relating to the drive mechanism apart, and don't have much knowledge about it. I have noticed that the teeth on the cogs are quite worn, but the chain doesn't usually slip off.

It's pretty normal for a bicycle with a freewheel/freehub to turn the wheel backwards a little bit when pedaling backwards a bit (i.e. if you turn the pedals backwards pretty quickly, you get some very slow backwards turning of the wheel) when the bike is in a stand/lifted in the air. You can sometimes get rid of this by servicing/replacing the freehub/freewheel.

If the wheel is turning backwards reasonably quickly when pedaling backwards, the freehub/freewheel is shot and you need a new one.

As for the chain becoming loose when backpedaling, there could be several causes:

Freewheel/Freehub is sticky (you'd need to service it)
Stiff chain (make sure all the links are flexing freely)
Grimed up derailleur (clean it. Jockey wheels sometimes cause this, for example)

That being said, if you're backpedalling like a maniac, most bikes will do this even if they work fine. But at slow speed backpedalling, you shouldn't really see this.

Finally, I see you didn't say you ever replaced the freewheel/cassette and chain or lubricated the chain in your maintenance for a 10 year old bike. Depending on the wear of the freewheel/cassette and chain, you may want to replace one or both. This does need a few tools (chain breaker, freewheel tool if you have a freewheel / cassette tool + chain whip), but they're relatively cheap/a very quick job for most bicycle shops.

Your bike probably has a freewheel.


How to talk to authorities to convince them to bicycle initiatives? Since at least 1998 in unkempt, secluded place in Warsaw, PL,  there was an unofficial downhill track. Between the bushes some youngsters constructen on their own ramps etc. Between september/october this year users of that place decided to talk to the authorities to mark this track (at their own, private expense) and make its legal status clear.

Our authorities said not only: "No", but within single month wiped everything away, claiming that this is just a piece of rubbish, that is also unsafe, not compliant with local plan, entacted in 2000 (but that plan can be seen as "dead", within 16 years nothing has been constructed, there are wild trees, trodden paths, a lot of rubbish and one official pavement/stairs to the 1944 Warsaw Uprising monument). No will to consult, no will to discuss.

At present:

So how would you talk to authorities to gain at least no hostility against
grassroots initiative?

Clarification: This place is an artificial hillock, made from the  post-WWII-rubble.
Since 2004 it's named to commemorate Warsaw Uprising, but its not any kind of graveyard or so.

Your best recourse is find yourselves rich and influential sponsors to advocate for you.

Or purchase the land outright.

Or a combination of both.


Front chainring issues + can I install Falcon Friction thumb shifters to an Shimano STX derailleur set? I'm interested in trying friction shifters, also to save space on my cockpit. I bought a Mongoose Hilltopper 1994 recently and I want to play with it a little.

A bike mechanic told me in order to shift to the large chainring I need to keep pressed the shifting button until the front derailleur manages to jump on the bigger chainring. I always try this and it rarely manages to shift into the bigger chainring.  Perhaps my front derailleur needs proper adjustment (which was made by the bike mechanic so IDK what's wrong).

So my final question is, would a friction mechanism be compatible with the "Hold the trigger pressed until the gear changes mechanic" the front gears have?

The beauty with friction shift levers is they're compatible with almost every derailleur.

The greatest challenge is to get the rear shifting dialed in with the closely spaced rear cassette cogs on 10, 11 and 12 speed setups. But your Hilltopper was probably sold with 7 or 8 speeds in the back which will work perfectly for friction shifters. If one over or under shifts a bit the chain will be noisy, so be prepared to have to make minor adjustments to quiet any noise. That's just how thing work with friction shifters, but again with a 7 or 8 speed system this shouldn't be a problem.

Oh and yes, with many (most?) friction front shifters one must push and hold the shift lever until the chain actually engages with the chainring teeth. As soon as the chain engages it will begin to climb onto the big ring and the shift is essentially done.

That said, it sounds like the FD HIGH travel limit screw needs to be unscrewed (counter clockwise) a bit to all the FD to push the chain up onto the big chainring.  I would suggest a half turn. Check to see if this helps and incrementally unscrew the limit a 1/4 turn until the FD shifts quickly.

If you find the FD overshifts (i.e. drops the chain onto the crankarm) simply reduce the FD limit by turning the limit screw 1/4 turn clockwise.

A couple other things to check:

Make sure the cage of the FD needs to be parallel to the chainring. To improve shifting to the larger chainring one can slightly angle the cage outward (i.e. the rear of the FD cage is pointed out very slightly).  This however will reduce the shifting performance to smaller chainrings.  If you do this just make certain the crank arm does NOT contact the FD cage.
Ensure there is at about 1 mm and definitely not more than 3mm clearance between the bottom of the FD cage and the top of the chainring teeth. Too much clearance and the chain & FD can flex which will slow shifting.

That vintage Hilltopper is a great bike. Enjoy!


Should internal brake cables use ferrules at the entry point to the frame? I recently got a titanium frame with internal cabling. The holes where the brake housing enters the frame are just big enough to fit a ferrule. Should I use ferrules or is it OK for the cable housing to go directly into the frame without them?

If the ferrule fits use it. It's neater that way and it protects the frame from the sharp end of the housing. Ferrules that have a seal against water ingress do exist. You should consider using these as they keep water (and rust) out of the housings. A glob of grease at the contact point between ferrule and frame eliminates rubbing noises.

Even if you cut and prepare the end of the housing properly the metal spiral retains sharpness. And anyway steel is harder than Ti and will let a pressure mark at the point of entrance. The ferrule puts a softer buffer between the contact points.


How to chose the correct hydraulic disc brake rotor size for touring bike? I have ordered a Shimano Deore M6000 disc brake set. What rotor size should I chose for my touring bike?
I am 85 kg and my bike is approximately 15-20 kg.

There's no one right answer.

Most get by with 160 front and rear. There can be some virtue in going to 180, especially in front, to help manage heat and ensure a good power level when descending mountains heavily loaded, if that's going to be a thing you do much. Not every frame/fork is strong enough or has clearance for 180, however. The forks on more MTB-ish/adventure/bikepacking type bikes will often be able to handle it, while more road type forks may chatter and flex too much.

Running 140 either front or back, as often see on road or cross bikes, would generally be not adequate for loaded use.


Does the glue in tyre repair kits expire? I have a tyre repair kit that I bought ~4 years ago. I never used it. In fact, I never used such a kit in my life.

Does the glue expire after some time, or is it good indefinitely? The tube is still sealed, but I am worried that should I need to use it, I might find that the glue has already set.

Not indefinitely, but it is good for many years. After you open it, there could be a tendency for drying, but even that takes a very long time. Even opened and well closed glue will survive for years.


Repair or Upgrade Centrepull Brakes? I found an old Shogun Trailbreaker on the side of the road and I'm slowly fixing it up.

It currently has centrepull cantilever brakes, which work fine on the front, however the rear brakes barely make a difference. I've tightened the brake lead (?), adjusted the position of the brake pad, and checked that the wheel is true, but no matter how hard i squeeze, they barely stop the bike.

I think they will just need new brake pads, but I'm wondering if I should just replace both front and rear brakes with v-brakes? If so, how does one choose a brand/make?

Cheers

The first thing to note is that v brakes need their own levers (long pull), as they don't use the same cable pull as standard cantilever brakes, so that may add an extra expense (unless you have one of the few levers which are switchable between V-brakes and regular brakes). Thus, if you want to switch to V-brakes, you need either {a V-brake compatible lever (long pull) and a V-brake} or {a regular lever (short pull) and a travel agent (essentially a pulley) and a V-brake}. The option of a V-brake compatible lever and V-brake is typically the better and cheaper one if you want to go V-brake (unless you need to use an existing lever, such as Shimano STI levers with a V-brake, in which case you need to take the other option). Note that if you have an integrated brake and shift lever, going to V-brakes would also mean buying a new shifter as well. (*)

As for what to buy, we don't do product rec on this site. However, for drop bars, the Tektro RL-520 brake lever is pretty much the only model (aside from a rebadged Cane Creek) out that I know for V-brakes. For flat bars, the options are pretty much all there - Avid, Shimano, Tektro, etc. all make levers marked for V-brakes (or equivalently, non-road mechanical disc brakes) - pick one which feels nice. Similarly, those 3 companies also make a wide variety of V-brakes. My personal setup is Shimano Alivio brake levers with Avid Single Digit 5/7 V-brakes on a bike with flat bars.

Trying new pads (esp. if the old ones are worn/dry) may help. Adjusting things like the mechanical advantage may also be necessary - this link may be of use, and new cables may be in order for an old bike as well. Certainly, a new set of pads or even a new cantilever will be cheaper than switching to V-brakes (and may be perfectly adequate), but you'll likely get better stopping power easier with a V-brake setup.

(*) There exist mini-V brakes which work directly with short pull levers, like Paul's Mini Moto. These are generally not cheap though.


Cyclocross tyre patching problems, bulging inwards I bought a new cyclocross bike, very good very handsome. 2 days ago I rode it on quite a rough road composed only from rocks. Two punctures (slow leaking ones, cause only realised after coming home 2 hours later, tire was a little quite deflated).

I bought a patching kit. Patched as usual. I used to have a mountain bike, so I think I patched it well. But this time, with the CX tires, I ended up with two annoying (and very uncomfortable to ride) dented inwards tires. If you try to rotate the tire, you see a single dent on each of the tire. So ... I think it must be coming from where I patched it.

What are your thoughts on this?

My thoughts are:

If you patch a narrow tire, don't glue the whole patch to the tire, glue only a small part, touching a puncture. Couple of millimeters in diameter. Cause if you do, you might end up with the tire tightened at the place of patching, and when inflated, it will have smaller diameter.
Well, first described pretty much everything.

Should I buy a new tire? (I think I will anyway, this bulge is punching my bike like hell with every revolution.)

Should I be careful next time? How?

And just in general, suggestions for patching small tires.

If you inflated the tire and the tire itself is indented at times, it is likely that you did not seat the tire correctly.  This means the tire bead is not sitting correctly in the rim.  The rim should have hooks to catch the tire bead. The tube should expand to many times its original size and will fill the volume made available to it.  As such, a tire that is not seated properly will present a different radius to fill making it look like the tire is indented.

Try deflating the tire so that is has a very low pressure then squeeze and pull on the tire to try and get it to seat properly.  Re-inflate, then check.

Also sometimes a high pressure can make the tire seat correctly.

Finally, if your rim tape has slipped it can interfere with the tire seating correctly.  Check to make sure the tape is in the proper location.


What front brake caliper is compatible? I have a fork suitable for short drop brakes and I have Shimano tourney brifters (ST-A070) with the gear cable coming out of the side of the hoods and the brake cable going under the bar tape. Which brakes are compatible/ would you recommend?

Specific product recommendations are off topic here, but general guidance can be given.

The Shimano ST-A070 shift/brake units are for a road drop bar bike, and I assume 'fork suitable for short drop brakes' means you need standard road bike rim calipers .

Generally, all standard road bike rim calipers work with drop bar levers. The levers pull the correct amount of cable for the leverage the calipers provide.

The obvious answer would be Tourney calipers from the A070 range, but these appear not to exist. The next level up (Claris 2400 series) does include road calipers though. I believe Tektro and Promax make some inexpensive road calipers as well.


What are the benefits of 700c23 tires? 23s come on almost all new road bikes, and tire selection is much better for 23s than other tire sizes at most shops.

The benefits of 25s and 28s are a better ride, more traction, and are more flat resistance than 23s. How noticeable is the difference in rolling resistance (in fact, some people claim that running slightly lower pressures allows for better rolling resistance on most 'real-world' surfaces)?

Are narrow tires only for time trials racers, or do they have advantages for the other 99% of riders?

WIDER TYRES ARE FASTER

Every study on rolling resistance (including ones carried out by the leading tyre manufacturers) demonstrates clearly that wider tyres have LOWER rolling resistance and not just at the same pressure. This is also verified by many people (including myself) who use 25mm-28mm and much wider tyres on a regular basis and will never go back to anything narrower.

For vast majority of road cyclists there isn't a single rational reason (other than time trailing) for using 23mm tyres if the same model is available in 25 or 28 or wider width. On some bad roads (e.g. UK) it's actually unwise and dangerous to bounce around on such narrow piece of rubber.

There are several reasons why the myth of "fast" narrow tyres is still alive and kicking.

23mm is everywhere from the adverts, your local bike shop, cycling club to the TdF.
It's inconceivable for most of people to think that so many people around them could get it so wrong. Most of folks just go with the flow and don't ask questions.
People believe that they can "feel" rolling resistance and if narrow tyres are pumped up to its usual 100-120PSI it feels fast. You can't feel rolling resistance but you have to methodologically measure it with a power meter of some sort. Firmness and discomfort doesn't translate to speed, quite the opposite.
It's a common belief that rolling resistance is just a function of
a contact patch and the lower the contact area the faster the tyre is. The facts are that the shape of a contact patch and volume are more important than the total area.
People assume that rolling resistance is just about hysteresis (friction/resistance with the tyre itself) and nothing else. They are unaware of (or ignore) "suspension losses"
which occur on some less than perfectly smooth roads (most) and are about energy lost on lifting the rider/bike on imperfections of the surface.
For the same reason but on a much larger scale most of experienced mountain bikers with half brain run their tyres at a low pressure to go faster as even small obstacles (even bumpy field or gravel) are absorbed more effectively with less energy lost.
People confuse assumptions and beliefs with hard evidence. How many times you've read/heard: "Surely there is a reason why 23mm tyres are so popular..." "Surely if the pros use 23mm tyres..." Assumptions don't prove anything.
Some people (like one of the posters) have tried wider tyres and they found them slower.
Only comparing identical tyres in different sizes make sense and it's pretty obvious that a 23mm Michelin Pro3 is going to be faster than a 28mm Gatorskin due to a different design. Also the difference in speed that 2-3mm difference offers is most likely very small and can be only measured during repeated tests with a power meter at various pressure levels to find each tyre's sweet spot.
Many people have never tried anything wider as their frames/forks don't have enough clearance and more sensible and practical bikes taking wider tyres aren't "good/fast" enough for them or don't look right. They've never tried any fast wider tyres like Rivendell Jack Browns 33.3333mm or Schwalbe Kojaks 35mm or some fast 650B tyres. They have never run a pair of custom shaven completely bold 26x2.00 Schwalbe Furious Fred 120TPI 3oog mountain bike tyres on the road. It could be an eye opener.
Narrow tyres can be pumped up to higher pressures and higher pressure equals more speed. That's incorrect. As you increase the pressure, rolling resistance is going down but then at a certain point starts climbing sharply due to reduced ability of the tyre to conform to the non-perfect road surface (suspension losses). Even on a track/velodrome you won't benefit from 200PSI.
For every tyre width/volume, road surface and the rider's weight combination there is always an optimal (fastest) pressure. High pressure on its own means absolutely nothing.
The pros use it!
This the favourite argument of the defenders of status quo. You can't argue with it, can you?

Well... the pros ride at completely different speeds and therefore the aero benefits are probably more significant than rolling resistance. An average amateur rider would be naive to worry about the air flow differences between 23-28mm tyres.
Weight is also crucial as winning the stage / future career can be decided on a single climb. Again people worrying about the weight difference of several grams (rotating or not) may be slightly over-anxious.

The pros used to use 19mm tyres too in the past and now they are very slowly migrating to 25mm tyres. Were they wrong at the time, or are they wrong now or they will be wrong in the future? What if they discover that 28mm is even better? Will everyone be blindly following them?
The truth is that they are as guilty as you and me of being humans and use stuff that feels right and also aren't immune to peer pressure.

Road cycling community tends to be very traditional, conservative and protective of the status quo as I've experienced on other forums and in real life but for being open-minded and embracing "new" things can greatly benefit one's cycling.


What to buy when looking for a low maintenance city bike that allows sportive riding I just want to replace my good old 50€ used Peugeot City Bike, that has served me well for the past year, but has some problems (like ribbed Steel Rims) that are hard to overcome.

I want something that is very low maintenance, can be ridden in winter and in rain without needing much oil on the chain and brake maintenance. The brakes need to be very good, for fast but controlled city riding ...

I would include fenders, lightning, a luggage rack, the usual accessories. For shifting i am thinking about an internal hub.

I am still unsure which brakes i should choose. There are some low maintenance roller brakes, but how is their braking power? Should I keep using rim brakes despite their lower performance in winter? I guess disk brakes are not appropriate for low maintenance...

I am also not sure about staying with the good old chain (encased, so it is protected from dirt) or if i should switch to belt drive. Is the belt drive really worth the extra money, or is it just a marketing fad?

My Peugeot had drop bars, but I guess I will drop them for standard city bike bars.

So question is: What should a bike that is to be bought for shopping and riding in the city consist of? Anything I have forgotten or not considered?

I would try to avoid rim brakes for a low-maintenance commuter bike, because they're not low maintenance. And they don't work very well in the rain. They're also not much cheaper than cheap disk brakes. It's not worth the price difference.

In my experience the roller brakes are less effective than disks or drums. The roller brakes don't bite, they're very gradual, and require a lot of force on the lever to lock a wheel. Which sounds desirable, but it means they work quite differently to other brakes. I found that when I had a cheap cable disk on the front and the roller on the back I tended to treat the roller brake as broken, since it didn't seem to work at all with normal braking force. They also need non-obvious maintenance, meaning that when something eventually went wrong I had to take them to the bike shop and wait for the one guy who knew about them to deal with the problem (worn pads).

Definitely look at hub gears - the reason your generic "European bike with gears" has hub gears is that they're low maintenance and very tolerant of abuse or neglect. The modern hubs mostly work very well (search this site for copious discussions). It's also much easier to build a fully enclosed chain with a hub gear setup. Which matters a lot in snowy weather. In the other Austr-something-a we get kangaroos and Shimano 8 or 11 speed hubs in a range of city bikes (Gazelle at the high end), and at the bottom end various 3 speed hubs. The three speed ones eventually need a new gear cable every 10 years or so, the 8 and 11 speed ones need cable adjustment and new cables more often. The Rohloff end need new oil every 5000km (no, really, it says so in the manual).

It may also be worth looking at a hub dynamo setup. Yes, you pay quite a lot for the privilege of not changing the batteries in your cheap LED lights. But, you never have to worry about changing the batteries in your cheap LED lights. In practice I use both - LED blinkies on the handlebar, helmet and underseat, dyno lights above the front and rear wheels. But I never turn the dyno lights off (there's no real drag when riding), and I sometimes forget the blinkies.

Luggage carrying is a balance between weight and bulk, and how much you carry. If you can reduce your load to what will fit on a rack-top bag you only need a lightweight rack and don't have much air resistance (plus the load is centred on the bike). If you want to carry more you could use a basket, but for more people the question becomes: one pannier or two? One is lighter, cheaper, carries a bit less, but is off centre. With two you can balance the weight but you have more carrying capacity so you end up carrying more stuff.

It's worth buying expensive, waterproof panniers. Ortleib panniers. There are other, inferior brands, but unless it's an Ortleib or looks very much like one, I wouldn't buy it (just for the record, I'm a customer and don't benefit from any sales). After a couple of years an Ortleib will no longer be airtight, and after 10 it will probably leak a bit. My commuting panniers have quite a few holes at the bottom (but not at the top), and whatever is in the bottom gets wet when it rains. But they're (ahem) 20 years old. My good touring panniers (home-made Ortleib style) are 10 years old and don't leak... but they're huge and I don't use them as often.


How do I remove my bicycle handlebars that are connected by a single rusted bolt? I'm trying to remove the HANDLEBARS from the stem of my bike and the handlebars are put into the stem and secured with a bolt. However, the bolt is rusted and will not budge no matter how hard I go at it. Thanks!!

Sounds like you have a Quill Stem, which has a single large long bolt going down into the steerer tube, which is part of the fork.

Here's a cutaway showing what's inside.

Generally speaking they're fairly corroded over time.  The thing labelled Clamp in the diagram is more normally known as a wedge or expander.

So you need to get some penetrating oil into the threads in the wedge.  This is not possible from above.

Remove your bike's front wheel and put it aside.
Flip your bike over, and identify the dark hole in between the fork legs.   You may need to remove any mudguard or fender too.
Squirt some penetrating oil down this hole and let it sit overnight.  Probably a good idea to put some rags, paper or basin down to catch any oil that comes through.  Some will sneak around the sides.
After a day of sitting, try and undo the bolt.

If the bolt moves, undo it about 2 full turns and then give a gentle tap with a hammer downward.  This will knock the wedge loose.  If you remove the whole long bolt, the wedge will be left behind.

The reason heat didn't help is because the head of the bolt is a long way from the threads, and the heat won't carry that far.  Applying heat to the outside of the bike won't really help either.


6-bolt vs centre-lock: pros and cons? I am having a new set of wheels built, and am trying to decide on whether to go with 6-bolt or centre-lock rotor interface.

What are the pros and cons of the two systems?

Centerlock largely exists because since the beginning of modern disc brakes for bikes, Shimano has more or less alone had a weird cautionary take on the physics of rotor bolts theoretically being able to loosen in the six-bolt design. That's why their six-bolt rotors have always come with various retention systems for the bolts that nobody else bothers with.

Centerlock doesn't accomplish anything special and doesn't allow for lighter hubs or rotors (at least in a meaningful sense). Shimano rotors are excellent so it's not like you're trapped if you have centerlock hubs, but you do have fewer options, and centerlock rotors are inherently more expensive at the low end because they can't just be flat pieces of steel.
Centerlock has the disadvantage that carrying a lockring tool plus something to turn it isn't practical, so the best you can do if you severely bend a rotor on a ride is undo the caliper mounting bolts and try to hang the caliper out of the way, which is awkward. Even though the risk here is small and theoretical, it's enough of a potential day ruiner that given centerlock has little to no functional advantage, there's an argument to avoid it if all else is equal. The catch is that all else is often not equal, because Shimano hubs are some of the best value choices.
Six-bolt does have the disadvantage that bolts getting seized, heads getting stripped, and/or hub threads getting damaged are all things that happen sometimes, whereas centerlock tends to be free from any such problems. Having one big high-torque fastener does create a more reliable interface in that sense. But it's a pretty fringe concern; six-bolt is perfectly robust and very few people will ever have to deal with a seized rotor bolt. However, in all fairness it can be a difficult enough problem to deal with when it does happen that centerlock usually looks pretty good by the second hour in.


Pedaling in Rear Wheel design I had built a bike similar to this one before. I think many would have this idea, too.

However, for some reason, not many of these designed are commercially marketed.

https://sites.google.com/site/pendalbike/pendalbike

There are several advantages on this design:

More aerodynamic posture
Better up-hill climb efficiency (personal experience)
Less maintenance for the drive train
Less Frame materials (weight are transfer directly through the pedal
to rear wheel, and through fork to Front wheel)

There are disadvantages:

Fewer gears (I doubt this, technology in this Information age should
be more than enough to design a robust Internal Hub gear that support
a pedal axle in the middle)
Cost: Obviously it is not in the stage of mass-production, so the
cost would be high. But I do not see why it should be more expensive
(if not to say cheaper) than a normal bike.

Unless I missed many unforeseen disadvantages, what else could prevent this design from becoming popular in the last 10 years?
What are other disadvantages in comparison with a normal bike that can level the advantages I have stated?

One problem is that the design would not be appropriate for technical riding requiring speed.  Getting behind the seat to push against the pedals would put you out over nothing, instead of out over the back wheel.  The design would be less stable because of that and consequently unsuitable for technical riding. The puts it out for mountain styles of riding.

On the road side, the UCI has been fairly quick to ban anything as non-traditional as this.  While materials improvements and the like are generally the norm, major changes to the geometry of a bike is combed over closely and often thrown out.

New designs take sometime to take hold (Fat bikes are a good example from recent years).  The fat bike market lingered for years because very few companies were producing the tyres, bottom brackets, cranksets, hubs and rims it needed to grow.  Although most of the other parts were standard road and mountain bike parts, key components can be a hold back.  Once these bikes started getting raced regularly, the market and manufacture of the specialty parts took off.

For the design you are talking about, I don't see enough appreciable advantages for the commuter market to champion it.  Since it's not appropriate for the other markets, I can't  see such a radially departing design gaining any traction.


Kryptonite lock falling apart? Just a quick question but should the Kryptonite lock fall apart like this when it's open without they key in? To me it feels too loose but I'm not sure. Guess it locks anyways?

Yes and no.

Yes, that’s how they’re constructed - as two concentric pipes for strength.

No, as in they shouldn’t come apart that easily. You may have lost a retaining screw that keeps them together. You could also just glue the two shells back together with some metal epoxy, taking care not to foul the locking mechanism. Just a little epoxy is all you need as the strength of the lock is in how the lock shackle passes through the external cylinder. You could even flex- or duct-tape them together, again the lock strength is in the shackle passing through the two shells.

If you’re under warranty, you should get it replaced though.  That’s what a warranty is for.


Bicycling apps for Android I have an Android smartphone, with GPS, accelerometer, 3G internet connection, and other features that seem useful for bicycling. Are there any good bicycling apps on Android?

One app per answer please; feel free to answer multiple times.

Endomondo!!!! Free your endorphins : )

I love this app!!! I have used it to track over 1,000 miles of cycling this year. The android app is just a small part of the entire service. With endomondo you get

challenges with your friends
live updating of your route
global challenges
personal bests summary
teams
more

With their great android app you get the ability to track

duration with option of auto pause
distance
speed
avg. speed
calories
heart rate
average heart rate
listen/control music
view current position and track on map
view previous workouts
set goal and get mile by mile updates on progress

I personally really enjoy being able to use my bluetooth heart rate monitor with this android app.

http://www.zephyr-technology.com/9600.0112.html

All my workout info is then updated live to the endomondo website where I can later inspect my workout in detail. If you are looking for a service/app to track your rides/workouts you have got to give this one a go.


Most suitable and tasty ride food? I ride relatively long distances on a road bike on Sundays, usually around 90-100 miles and have experimented much as to what to eat.  Here's what I've found so far.

Soreen - tastes good, full of carbs, although must be buttered other the slices become a little stodgy after the fifth slice.
Bananas - Certain provide energy but don't "fill you up"
Power bars, expensive especially if you eat 5-6 on ride, but do what they say and give you a good energy boost
Gels, immediate energy boost for when your really flagging.  However, taken as the sole food but prepared to much through quite a few!
Special K bars, 80 kcals per bar!  I was felt hungry even after eating 8 of them.
Snickers (Marathon) bars, great energy boost but felt like my teeth were going to fall out by the fifth.  Also this makes gum essential, plus with so much sugar you can kinda feel it come out in your skin when you sweat.

Basically I'm looking for superfood which make a perfect riding companion.  To make a good riding food it must be;

Consumable - Easy to open when riding, i.e. the packet can be broken into whilst riding, either through ease of packet, or use of teeth
Digestible - goes down well tastes good, and won't repeat when I start climbing through the hills.
Calories - Must contain enough calories so I can continue to ride without feeling hungry.
Durable - Are they going to melt in the heat?  Or become too brittle to eat in the freezing cold.

I'd be very happy for some more suggestions :-)

A few years ago I ran across a recipe that Team Garmin uses (or did at the time). It's boiled potatoes with a bit of olive oil and salt. If you wrap it up right it's easy to carry, unwrap and eat while riding. I'm not sure how many of these you could carry. I've tried it on medium rides (40 to 50 miles) and they were great. I can't find the text of the original recipe but here is a video that shows how to cook and wrap them.

They are very cheap, they do require that you have some water to get them down, but the olive oil helps a lot. The potassium in the potato is great and they digest easily. I'm not sure I'd eat 5 or 6, but perhaps as one or two of the 5 or six snacks you go through.


Importance of "H.E." rim designation on MTB to tire fitment? I'd like to convert an MTB with 26X1.95 knobbies to road use for the wife but wonder if the present tire designation, specifying H.E. rims means anything once proper size tires are found. Many thanks!

I suspect "H/E" means "Hook-edged". This would apply to almost every MTB rim.

I have two bikes with slicks on MTB rims. I currently use Schwalbe Kojak 26 x 1.35" on one, and Schwalbe Marathon Racer 26 x 1.5" on the other.


Performance difference between Shimano SPD and SPD SL Is there a noticable performance different between the SPD and the SPD SL systems?  I've got SPD SLs on my current bike, but some of the touring I do required quite a lot of walking, so I was thinking of getting some SPD pedals so I could use shoes that were easier to walk in.

My current shoes are racing shoes - exposed cleats - but they will take SPD cleats in it.  So if I swap them over, will the ride be particualrily different?  Or should I keep them SPD SL and just swap over the pedals whenever I want to use them (as I find them very comfortable with the rigid sole).

Thanks

There likely isn't much difference in performance. Some people do find that SPD cleats lead to "hot spots" (painful spots) on the balls of the feet; that's why I went to SPD-SLs.

You might find a difference in platform height; IIRC the height of the SPD cleats + pedals is shorter than the SPD-SL. You'd want to adjust your seat height to deal with that.


chain getting stuck between chainrings I have an old Cannondale road bike with Suntour shifters.

When I shift from the front middle ring to the small inner-most ring, the chain falls into the gap and binds tightly between the two rings. The chain seems to be an appropriate width for the back cassette and there doesn't seem to be anything that I can tighten to close the gap between the two rings (the two are screwed together and seem tightly affixed to one another).

Aside from not using the inner-most ring, I'm at a loss for what to do. Any ideas (aside from a fixie)?

As I see it, from my experience you may have any one or a combination of the following issues (from most to least likely):

You keep on pedalling at force while shifting down. Usually, when you switch from the middle to the smallest ring on the front you are going uphill and you have to keep pedalling just to avoind falling over. Still, you have to significantly reduce the pressure you apply to your pedals while shifting. If this happens often you should try to change gears a bit earlier in the climb when you still have enough momentum to pedal without force for one or two strokes while your chain switches.
Your front derailer is not properly adjusted. Over time the adjustment of your derailer may shift a bit due to al the shaking, or due to dirt lodging between parts. It may need readjustment. If you don't know how to do this I would strongly suggest you ask your LBS for help about this.
Your rings are old and worn. Your rings have special grooves and notches on the sides. They are not there because they look good or save material or weight. They are there to help your chain catch onto the next ring. If the rings are very old these grooves and notches might be worn away too much. Ask your friendly local LBS what they think about your rings or just compare your rings to those on a newer bike.
Your front derailer is old and worn. Over time the different parts of your front derailer are subject to normal wear and tear and everything becomes more loose and you get some play. You can compensate for this a bit by readjusting your derailer, but eventually replacement is the only option.
Your chain is incompatible with your rings.  You say it looks compatible with the back cassette, but in the past someone might have changed the back cassette to a model that requires a very thin chain that is incompatible with your rings. Possibly to increase the number of cogs in the back cassette (and thus the gear range) without changing the rear wheel. Are back cassette and front rings the same brand? Can you find serial numbers? Can you find anything in the website of the manufacturer? Again, you might want to visit your LBS for help on this.
Your chain is old and worn. If you live in a very dry climate and are a master of bike maintenance this might be the problem. But usually a chain is rusty and squeeking years before it is worn too thin.


With what material should I fix a creaking sound on one of the pedals? I recently (about 2 weeks ago) changed from regular road clipless pedals to SPD clipless pedals on my road bike.

I didn't have time to change them myself so I just asked one of the workers to put it on and I know for sure that he didn't apply any grease or oil for where the pedal is inserted and tightened.

Now (after 2 weeks of pedaling) my right hand pedal makes a creaking sound once I put my full weight on it, I don't even have to pedal, just putting my whole weight once the right hand pedal is at 6 o'clock will cause the sound (I specifically didn't touch the saddle to be sure it doesn't come from there).

I searched on youtube and looks like the simple solution is to take off the pedal, apply grease to the inserted end of the pedal and tighten it back.

My question is:
Do I have to buy grease for it or can I use chain lube or WD-40 and if I have to buy grease, does it have to be a certain type of grease (I'm guessing motor vehicle grease is a no no)?

Solution:

I loosened and retightened the chainring bolts and afterwards greased the pedals.

It wasn't hard at all for me to take out the right pedal with the wrench  (where I presumed the clicking was) and it looks like that was the main problem.
anyway, I took the time and greased everything anyway!

thanks for the help, guys!

Don't ride before servicing thos-e pedals. A poorly greased or loose pedal will ruin the thread of the crank or may even cause breakage of the pedal axle. A correctly tightened but non-greased pedal thread may cause the threads to fuse.

You should remove both pedals, clean the threads and the crank arms, apply grease and thread them back in. In case you own a torque wrench the tightening torque ranges normally from 35-40 Nm.

Remember that the right pedal unscrews counter-clockwise and for the left pedal it is clockwise.

Grease: chain lube isn't adequate because it contains a large proportion of volatile components. WD-40 is an absolute no-go, it isn't grease. White cycle grease is best this case, it is generally available in smaller portions. You should apply the grease to the threads of the pedal and screw them in by hand for the first turns. It should fit in easily without the use of a tool. Tighten and check again after a 10-15km ride.


Why the vertical difference between the right-most point of TT and the left-most (union with ST) is not part of a geometry chart? One of the things I often look to determine whether a bike fits a specific purpose is that distance mentioned in the title, that is, if you draw a line from the stem to the seat tube, and then you draw a vertical line from the union of both ST and TT to that line, measure such difference.

Maybe it does not provide any meaningful insights, but IMO, when I see a bike with a higher distance at this "metric", it tends to be more focused in AM / Trail, whereas if this distance is shorter, it's often more suitable for XC.

That dimension by itself hints at a bunch of different things without telling the full story on any of them. It has implications for how much dropper travel can be run for a given seat height, but you can't figure it out exactly without knowing where the seat tube actually ends. It has implications for how much bar height you can or are forced to have, but again doesn't tell you exactly without a measure of how far the head tube extends above the TT intersection. The top of the head tube can get pushed up to accommodate a given fork travel, but you still need to know what fork axle-to-crown dimension is actually intended.


Compact crankset to 1x My MTB has currently a Deore FC-617 2x crankset. I am looking what components I need to convert to 1x. Do I need to change the crankset, or simply getting a new chainring for my existing crankset will work fine ?

The problem going x1 from x2 is the chain line can end up being wrong. Its easier with an x3, you just use the middle position and can often get away with using the standard chain ring. With a 2x conversion you use spacers to get the chain ring into the correct position Refer Here, which usually required longer chain ring bolts than standard on a 2x.

The M786 has a derailleur is less than ideal for going to 1x unless you plan to stick to an 11-36 cassette. Although many run it with 40 or 42 tooth cassettes, its max tooth size specification is 36 teeth. You can use third party adapters to increase its useful maximum tooth size at a cost. If you already need a new cassette and derailleur to go 1x, the extra cost of a shifter and chain means going 11 speed will give a much better system for only a little extra cost.


Which type of frame for slopestyle? So I'm looking to build a slopestyle-trail kind of bikes, something like Brandon Semenuk used in Redbull Raw videos. I want something I can use on trails while being playful enough to commute on the street (and jumping on stuff). But I don't know which frame to start with.

Can I use trail frame like Stumpjumper FSR or do I need a purpose built slopestyle? what is the difference in geometry (if any)?

There is no perfect all-rounder. Slopestyle bikes are basically dirt jump bikes with the suspension designed to soak the harshest of impacts. This suspension design was never thought to behave like a normal bike suspesnsion, that used to "even rough trails". Typically slopestyle riders put a lot of pressure in their air shocks to prevent bottoming out.

Now, I'm not sure what do you mean by "something I can use on trails while being playful enough to commute on the street (and jumping on stuff)". Do you have some dirt jumps or nice skateparks around you, so you could use your DJ bike to its full potential? Or maybe you want to ride most of the time your local MTB trails and add some manuals and bunnyhops here and there? You should be honest with yourself, no normal trail bike will be suitable for average dirt jumping (it will be practically impossible to do a barspin or a tailwhip, and plush suspension will swallow all pumping rhythm), as no 100% DJ/slopestyle will be suitable for a fun round on normal MTB trail (imagine doing off-camber turn with an almost rigid bike, or pedaling 30 km + with a frame sized two sizes below your regular). Either choose one, or both.

To summarize, I would recommend you learn to manual and bunnyhop on your SJ, then pay a visit to local DJ / skatepark and try to get some airtime and learn some basic DJ tricks (whips, tables). If you'll have the feeling it's fun then go ahead and buy a DJ bike. Otherwise, save your money for something else.

EDIT: looks like GMBN heard your voice and did a video on riding a slopestyle bike in a bike park. Check it, it's quite entertaining. I guess this won't leave you any doubts about slopestyle bike specialization. Click


What does usually worn first, the chain or the cog? I have an old bicycle that I would like to repair. Basically the chain is always "clicking/jumping" when I pedal.
I know this is either a worn chain or cog. My question is what worns first?

If it's the chain I might actually give it a try and switch it. If it's the cogs I don't think it's worth the money and I doubt I can switch it myself and I don't want to spend too much money with this.

Tricky one.

You will go through several chains before going through a cassette.

A worn chain can be measured quite easily with a gauge.

Measuring wear on a cassette is more difficult. It is usually the middle set of sprockets which wear first - due to their more frequent use. If examined carefully - you may notice the teeth on them thinning.


Differences between wheelsets - 700c gravel bike and 29" mountain bike I'd like to set up my Surly Ogre for commuting. It currently has 29" 29mm internal width rims, for bikepacking.

I'm thinking of getting a second wheelset for commuting, so it rides less like a tractor. I've been looking at 700c gravel bike wheels or 29" mountain bike wheels, with an internal width around 19mm...

What would be the differences/benefits of these options? They each seem suitable. It seems like I could get either with hub spacing to fit the bike (100m front, 135mm rear). Strength?

I'd probably get a tyre like the WTB Expanse (32mm).

Example of 700c

Thanks

As comments to the question state, in terms of wheel diameter alone, 29" and 700c monikers indicate the same rim diameter. Your bike, being Surly, should be able to fit just about anything in terms of wheel diameters and tire widths, up to 27.5"×3.0" (650C) and 29"×2.6" (700c).

However, according to the frame specifications of the latest Ogre model, the frame uses "Gnot-Boost" 145mm spacing for rear wheel. It means it is compatible with  through-axle hubs of 142 mm and 148 mm widths, but not with 135 mm ones with quick release. There are adapter washers for QR wheels from Surly to accommodate for QR hubs, so it should be possible to use such wheels. I think you might also have to adjust the rear disc brake caliper position when axle type is changed, but that is usually required anyway at wheel swaps.

The bike does not have a front derailleur by default, but if you use one, the specifications page mention that you will have to use different derailleur offset adapters to keep optimal chainline.


What is the cause of my fork wobbling when applying the front brake? When I apply the front brake of my bike it feels like the connection between the fork and the frame is loose and there is a one time movement. It happens every time I brake. The bike is new but it was bought in a sale and so it might be that it was not fully assembled... Thanks!

There are a number of things that could contribute to such a feeling.

You don't mention the type of brakes you have, but disc brakes can contribute to such a feeling since there is some flex between the breaking point (the disc/caliper) and the contact point (the patch of tire touching the ground).  If you have a "flexy" wheelset, this may be something to get used to.  If the brakes are not adjusted properly or are loose, it's possible your disc caliper is moving as well.

Your headset could also be loose, meaning the steertube is moving around inside the frame and should not be.  A headset adjustment may fix this problem, if none of the components are damaged.

Finally, if you have a suspension fork, it's possible you are misinterpreting some suspension compression as an issue (it isn't).  However, it's also possible (with a suspension fork) that the upper and lower are poor fitting and you are experiencing movement that you shouldn't.

Without more information and specifics, your question won't have a firm answer.