What is the consistency of the Finish Line Dry Teflon? I am doing some test for my home purposes of different lubes, and I was quite surprised I have three bottles of Finish Line Dry Teflon with two different forms. I shook all before applying and the bottle I have from the old times have foam like form (it liquefies after a while), but in two new bottles I have a water-like consistency (or even with less viscosity), no foam for sure.

I checked Finish Line video, from the shots presented it looks to my eye like light foam there. The video is from 2013. So my question is -- should be foam-like or water-like? Did FL change the formula (the bottles except for DuPont labels look identical)? Or does the form change in time, meaning fresh lube is water-like and it becomes foam in time. Or this is product which varies from item to item (low quality control)?

Unfortunaly I am unable to recall what was the form when I bought the old bottle, because it was some years ago and meanwhile I used other brand.

I'd guess the old bottle has lost some of its carrier fluid (the clear liquid that separates on-top when the bottle is left to stand) and when shaken, the old bottle has a lot more of the lubricant compared to the newer bottle.

Either chuck the old bottle, or add a very small amount of something volatile like methylated spirits perhaps and use it up on a junker bike.

Only use the newer stuff on your good bikes.


What should I look for when buying a smartphone handlebar mount? I am not interested in a specific product recommendation in answer to this question (like the existing iPhone question), but rather the key attributes to consider when buying a smartphone mount. Please be detailed and specific when describing each attribute and the pros and cons of different choices. Two example attributes:

Mount held by twist ties or screws?
Is the mount universal or model specific?

For each attribute please indicate whether there are trade-offs between choices or whether you always want to go with one choice.

I have owned 2 different smartphone mounts (Blackberry, iPhone). Before getting a mount, determine if you have a straight section of your handlebar that's at least an inch long, preferably 1.3 inches or more. Mounts with rigid plastic secured by screws will require that.

Key attributes:

Favor rigid molded plastic mounts secured by screws over the kinds secured by twist ties, as screws are more likely to keep the mount from slipping than twist ties.
Some mounts are made for a specific phone model, some made for a
family of phone models, and some are universal. My personal
experience has been that the universal or family types require
fiddling to get working right, such as inserting extra padding in
order to better secure the phone. Specific phone
model types typically require less fuss to hold the phone securely in place.
Many models are adjustable thanks to a ball and socket. This is a
good feature so that you can tilt the phone to face exactly the
direction you want.
Consider whether you want a two part model that has a handle bar mount portion and a
specific phone portion. This allows you to have mounts on multiple
bikes so you can switch the phone specific version between bikes.
That can allow you to use old mounts when you switch phones and/or
save money from not having to buy full two part kits. However, if you ride on very bumpy roads or off road, you need to be sure that the two parts lock together, as the smartphone portion may detach and fall when subjected to severe vibration (there are specific complaints about this with Arkon's two piece system).
Consider whether you'll be using your smartphone in rainy or very wet
conditions. If so, you'll need to be certain it's waterproof, yet
with a thin enough covering film so that the touchscreen still works.


What should I look for in a "trailer bike"/"tag-along" bike for a child? My daughter is growing fast, and will soon be too big for the child seat that is on the back of my bike.  She is not yet ready to ride on the road, so I am thinking of purchasing a "tag-along" bike.  What features should I look for, and are there anything to look out for?

Most of of trailer-bikes are pretty similar:

One speed. An inexperienced child will struggle to keep up when you pick up speed. She will also not be able to help much on the steep climbs.
No brakes. Your hands do a lot of work, and your stopping distance is longer.
BMX-style handlebar that can rock back and forth, as child size/shape changes
Attaches to tractor-bike's seat post. When you turn left, the trailer will lean right.
Flexy. As your kid gets heavier, this can make slowly climbing a steep hill really hard. You can't go straight.

I found that it was really good for teaching my son how to pedal, and build the appropriate muscles, so he was at an advantage on his own bike.

The flex was not an issue when we started, but a couple years later I had to retire the trailer. I couldn't track a straight line up a hill.

Some models have 5 speeds. That's more complexity, but if it breaks you can still get home. It can help a kid learn about shifting.

The Burley Piccolo attaches to a special rack, making it lean properly in turns and supposedly reducing flex.

I used to hitch on a standard 2-wheel trailer to my tandem-trailer, either to carry groceries or to pull my baby twins. We had 5 wheels, 4 people, were 16' long, and weight 400+ lbs. I had to take corners carefully.


Do I need to be concerned about a carbon frame if I attach a bike trailer? We have a bike trailer with the hitch attached to the rear axle. The frame of my wife's bike frame is part carbon (right around the rear axle), which I understand is more brittle than other materials.

I would think most forces associated with accelerating and braking go through the wheel and would not affect the frame much. Do I need to be concerned anyways? Does anybody have experience with a carbon frame and a trailer?

I'm not sure of the type of bicycle you have, the trailer you're using, or how much you plan to tow. However, I have a BOB Yak that I tow behind a 2007 Specialized Allez Expert (with carbon fiber seat stays, but not chain stays), and I have not had any problems carrying groceries, textbooks, and other paraphernalia.

If your wife's bike has a similar setup (carbon seat stays but aluminum/steel elsewhere) it should be okay as long as you are careful about weighting the trailer and try to reduce the rotational forces (my trailer is single-wheeled, so it leans with the bike) by not standing in the saddle and rocking from side to side for hill climbs.

You're also right about the wheel taking most of the acceleration and braking forces, as well as weight. On that note, you may want to consider how beefy her rear wheel is, if she has a lightly spoked rear-wheel, you may want to consider a heavier wheel to avoid destroying a 'lighter' racing tire.


Does anyone make a split seat clamp? I built an 'Urban Mountain Bike' and I sometimes like to take it off drops. Accordingly, I cut the 'nub' that sticks up above the top tube so that the seat can be removed without a scary open pipe waiting for my sensitive parts.

The problem I'm having is in relocating the seat post clamp beneath the top tube. I have cut a vertical I shape under the top tube in the steel frame so that it can collapse into the post. If I remember correctly, it's a 28.6mm OD seatpost with a 31.6mm or so OD (a bit more now with a coat of Herculiner).

Right now I'm using 2x Problem Solvers cable clamps, but I cannot get them tight enough to stop the seatpost from dropping a bit, and if I go any tighter I'm in danger of stripping them out. I'd also prefer a quick release to be able to take it out without an allen wrench.

Does anyone make Quick Release clamps that split to get around my top tube?

The best I can find so far is this, but I have to lose any quick release features:

Does something like this exist already, and I'm reinventing the wheel? Or is there some way I could use two quick release levers on the split clamp?

DMR make hinged clamps for mounting chain devices and bottle cages. 3 different sizes and there is a 31.8mm which should be perfect. Easy job to retro-fit an existing QR lever and bolt I reckon?

Part Number: DMR-CLP-286

Alternatively here is something from a different application that would probably work. You might be able to contact the company for a 'sample' :)

URL: Staff-Lok Collar

(it's steel)


70's Peugeot to Fixed Gear Conversion I have an old 1970's Peugeot frame (originally a 10-speed, I believe) that I have been slowly trying to convert to a fixed gear bike. I am at a complete loss for which wheelset is appropriate. I have a rudimentary wooden ruler that says the rear dropouts are 122mm, which doesn't sound right. From what I understand, it should be the standard 120mm... The frame has no dents and doesn't appear to be bent, at least to the naked eye. The front dropouts are 97mm.

Can I feel comfortable ordering a 700c wheelset with 120mm frame spacing?

Yes, you can use 120mm hub. In my opinion the frame is well within tolerance for 70s steel bike. If the difference bothers you, you can add an 1mm spacer to each side between cone and locknut.


Cracking/Creaking noise when pedalling hard or standing on a pedal So my 1 month old bike started making a creaking/cracking noise when I pedal hard or stand on a pedal. For example if I only pedal hard on one side and just let the other side spin its fine but as soon as i paddle with both sides it creaks on every stroke.
Since I'm short on tools I've only tried new pedals, taking of the cranks and put them back on with grease, took the chain of and just stood on one pedal then switched to the other one and the noise still appeared. Took out of seat post and checked every bolt/axle/quick release on the bike except the BB. It seems to be a sealed shimano cartridge so is there a way to "fix" it, do I buy a new one since while I'm already at it or can it be something else?
It´s a Fuji Nevada 1.9 29 2021

From what I can tell its threaded, looks similar to this one:

Where did you buy it? I'm guessing that your local bike store, unless they were the place where you purchased it, probably has little if any interest in working on the bike, unless you are willing to pay a good amount.
I looked at the specs on this bike and the crank/bottom bracket is not precisely described. Pictures would be helpful, but if the bottom bracket has cups that attach it-- the manufacturer only seems to sell that kind-- my guess would be, you need to remove the cups, put some anti-seize compound on the threads, and torque them down properly.
I had a creak like this on my bike, which was assembled in Taiwan, and upon disassembly, found the BB cups were barely lubricated with a minuscule amount of some all-purpose grease. I put in a proper amount of anti-seize compound, reassembled to spec, and all was well, no more creak.


Bmx tire hole. Won't pump up! So I found a small thorn in my tire. It did make a hole in my tube so I replaced it after trying many solutions. My question: I'm wondering if because there is a hole in the tire but not the tube, why won't my tire fill with air?

Take the tube out and find out why its leaking. A picture or description of the tube damage may help diagnosis.

A variety of things could have caused this:

Something else stuck in the tire which damaged the tube
Pinching the tube between the rim and the tire
Damage at the valve
A bad tube
A spoke coming through and punching the tube
Damaged Rim Tape
Etc.

If there is an appreciable hole or damage in the tire, it won't protect the tube and you need a new tire.

Recommended reading: Sheldon Brown


I need help with identifying my 26" cruiser, no ID markings, I built it 25 years ago and could be 15+ years older than that.. TIA Bottom bracket and rear brake (click for larger):

Bike frame and chainring (click for larger):

head tube (click for larger):

The frame looks like a 1979 S&S Newport
S&S is the manufacturer.
Newport is the model

It's amazing how many frames similar to this were made from the late 70s to the late 80s (and even some in the 2000s)

1979 S&S Newport from the BMX Museum

Another bike, same frame, different angle, also from the BMX Museum

Frame only rear shot

The key frame features are:

Slightly "notchy" bend in the top tube. Later years(Newport was made until 1983 based on what's posted at the BMX Museum) seem to have a smoother bend on the top tube.
Two piece rear end
Brake mount made of tubing (not flat steel)
Flat steel chain stay brace just behind the bottom bracket.
Straight "3rd tube" brace tube below the top tube.


Finding Bicycle Parts How would I find bicycle parts cross-referencing make and model? I own a Dept. Store Schwinn Dual Sport (GTX), and before I begin dismantling the bottom bracket for servicing, (it's been 3 years since I bought this bike brand new with a lot of exercise mileage); I would like to have the parts in hand. I've searched and Googled ad nauseam and I find nothing. Also, I can't find a parts blowup specific to my make and model, (just the generic drawings in the so-called Schwinn User Manual....which is probably used for other models). Why is it so hard to find this information? What purchasing source do the bike shops use?

Generally, parts are somewhat standardized. For example, bottom brackets only come in a few types and different size.

Given its a recent department store bike, you likely have a standard square taper bottom bracket with ISO threading. You can take the relevant measurements (spindle length, shell width, etc.), but the easiest way for bottom brackets is either read them off the existing bottom bracket (usually labeled) or take it to a bike shop so they can measure it quickly and give you a new one.

As for other parts, you can usually identify them by what family of parts they belong to if they're in the drivetrain (# of speeds and manufacturer), or measure them for things like seatposts or handlebars (which are also standardized, e.g. road bikes use some sizes, mountain others).


Different locations of C in tire sizes As I understand from this question, the C in tire sizes (when expressed in metric format) is just a historical thing, and should be ignored. As I understood, also, tire sizes expressed in the ISO format should not have any dangling letters.

But then the following tire and inner tube dimensions threw me off. One of my tires reads 700x38C (40-622) (C part of the metric size), and one of my inner tubes reads 35/43-622C (700x35/43) (C part of the ISO size).

Is there a "typo" on the inner tube? Should the C also be ignored on ISO sizes?

(Auxiliary question: I am assuming that 35/43 indicates a range of acceptable rim widths. Is that correct?)

To answer the auxiliary part of your question first, the 35/43 does not indicate a range of rim widths, but rather an approximate range of compatible tire widths. This is expressed in mm which is why it's the same for ISO and the French sizes.

The "C" is indeed historical. Back in the day, a 700c tire and rim combination was such that the overall circumference was 700mm. There were also 700a, 700b, and 700d sizes. "D" was the widest tire size and in order to achieve the overall 700mm diameter, a smaller rim was used. Vice versa for 700a's.

Nowadays, we generally refer to a 622mm rim as a 700c and mount basically whatever tire size on it we want (within certain limitations) and don't worry about the overall diameter.

I have personally never noticed a "C" or any other letter in an ISO size, but then again I pretty much ignore that. Despite the fact that the ISO is the International Organization for Standards, the de facto standard in bike sizing is the old and admittedly misleading French sizing.


Carrying water during touring? The earlier question, here, raised this question about carrying water.

How do you carry water during touring? Do yo carry it in panniers, water-bags, bottles, containers or elsewhere? How does your carrier change in different location. You can see from earlier question that it is not trivial to get even clean water. So it sounds logical to carry a lot of water when you are in locations where water can be tight. In such case, when you get the water perhaps bottled water. How do you allocate it? Have you never thrown something away because you needed more room for water?

I have used old wine cask bags (or bladders, readily available in Australia, not too sure about rest of the world) packed either into a pannier or strapped onto the top of the rear rack (not the best position but I was fully loaded).  Some would say the slight after taste of wine is a bonus.  I have also seen unused bladders available from some camping stores.

I also have carried water purification tablets just to be safe.


Hose Clamp Salsa Watter Bottle Cage to Rigid Fork with No Sliding (Gravel) Last year, I used some plastic clamps I bought from a LBS to mount two stainless steel Salsa water bottle cages to my rigid fork as shown in this picture:

Unfortunately, the plastic clamps wouldn't tighten sufficiently so as soon as I hit the first downhill on plain old pavement, one of the water bottle cages slid into my spokes.  This significantly deformed the Salsa cage and damaged at least one spoke knocking my wheel slightly out of true.

Now (after the fact), I know that Salsa stainless steel cages have slits that can be used with stainless steel hose clamps.  I want to try mounting Salsa SS cages to my rigid fork again using stainless steel clamps from a hardware store instead of the plastic style clamps I got from an LBS.  Only this time, I want the cages to stay in place for a 200 mile gravel ride.

My suspicion is that the stainless steel clamps will tighten much better than the plastic clamps did so the cages will be much less likely to move, but now that I'm transitioning to gravel, the stakes are higher.

If I try this again with stainless steel clamps, is there anything extra I can do (besides installing braze-ons or rivet nuts) that will keep the cages from rotating on a 200 mile gravel ride?

I was thinking I could get some really strong "string" and somehow tie it to my cages and brake posts to prevent rotation, but the strongest "string" I know of is fishing or weed eater line and that doesn't seem to tie in knots very well.

Hose clamps should be more than adequate, although they will chew up the paint on your forks. You might consider an intermediate layer (could be as simple as electrical tape) to protect the paint. And of course give the setup a shakedown ride, and monitor it during the big ride.

There are strings that are stronger than fishing line (you can get carbon-fiber or dyneema yarns), but it wouldn't be feasible to tie them with sufficient clamping force.


Brake lever clamp too loose for handlebars I'm trying to attach a new brake lever onto my handlebars, however, the clamp (circular part) of the brake lever that slides onto the handlebars is a bit too loose. I've tried to tighten it but because it's entirely made of metal, the clamp doesn't tighten much on the handlebars. Right now I haven't put the grips on my handlebars yet. How do I resolve this problem? Will putting a roll of handlebar grip between the handlebars and the brake clamp help secure the clamp? Thanks.

Normal aluminum cans are basically .1mm thick, so a wrap gives you .2mm. Most of the smaller scale clamp diameter discrepancies, say from a tolerance problem or from a mismatch like a 26.0 aux lever on a 25.4 clamp area, one encounters clamping controls and acessories on to bars can be resolved with aluminum can shims, or stacks of them. Going up to putting a 23.8 aux lever on a 22.2 section with them gets dicier; other kinds of shim stock will work better, but even there putting 8 layers of can on is probably fine. As long as your shim material is metal and as long as the finished product doesn't slip readily, it's probably fine. Fiber grip/carbon prep can lend a lot of solidity to such hacks.

Use scissors and math to prepare the shims. Don't cut yourself.


50/34 vs 52/36 crankset for 11-32 cassette (shimano 105 5800FC) Following up on this enlightening answer, I would like to know the differences between 50/34(compact), 52/36(mid-compact) and 53/39 (standard).
The cassette I am choosing is 11-32 to give me a wider flavour of gears but normally I don't use the lower(bigger teeth sprocket) gears, I've just trained like this. I put more power on small slopes rather than shifting down the gears. Thus, I was also thinking to go for 11/28 but then fixed 11/32 as my cassette.

What would be the best crankset to go with it? By default, its 50/34 but I can choose.

I am buying a cross bike from ROSE (DX-2000) and would mostly use it as a road bike for long distance (>100KM). I need a configuration where I can have the smallest gear possibility, in other words, I can put in maximum power and effort (which I miss in my current racing bike with Campagnolo Xenon 9 Speed set, I don't know the exact cassette configuration but its missing the few sprockets :D)

Thanks

50/34 with and 11/32 on the rear is going to be very spinny.
For me - the range is too wide and the gaps between the gears too big. But - this depends on the kind of riding you will be doing. If you are riding the very steepest of mountains - than the 34/32 combination might be what you are looking for.
Purely for fast road work - that's too wide a combination (for my personal taste).
The other thing you will have to consider is the rear mech. For such a wide range you will need to go with a mid or long cage rear mech. I don't think it will work with a standard short cage.
However, I have used 50/34 with 11/28 on a short cage - and that has been OK.

Try the Sheldon Brown gear calculator to work out the combination which will work for you.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html


Mechanical disc brake scratching noise The rear mechanical disc brake on my MTB makes a sharp intermittent scratching sound every time the wheel gets to a certain point in each revolution. The disc is true, so that is not the problem for sure. The brake is a Hayes MX5. Any adjustments I can make? The brake pads are pretty close to the discs, but I don't think they should be rubbing like that.

I have found before that if you decide to do the quick release up tighter than usual it can tighten up the bearings a little too much and you might hear a fairly regular noise as the wheel rotates. I'm not sure I would call it a 'scratching' noise, but maybe that's it. Try a looser quick release adjustment. If the noise remains the same then you can rule this idea out.


Bike patch glue help So I popped my tire manualing down a curb and I went to patch it but I didn’t seem to have any glue left in my old tube of glue, so I went to the bike store and bought a new thing patch kit(cheaper to buy a new kit then a thing of glue) and I get home and go back to fixing my tire, I used the cap of the glue to pierce the top, I then tried to squeeze some glue out and heard a popping sound, I squeezed some more and there wasn’t any glue in the brand new tube of glue I had just bought and opened. Did the bike store rip me off? Or did I do something wrong?

If you buy something from a shop and it doesn't work, take it back and explain what happened. They'll almost certainly offer you a refund or a replacement.


Croix De Fer fork replacement I own a 2019 Croix De Fer 10 and would like to replace its fork since I recently damaged it. I went on Genesis's website to try and find out exactly what kind of fork it is, I am quite new to bike maintenance and cannot tell by just looking at it. The only thing I managed to surmise it is a unicrown straight steerer...I think it's 1 1/8".
I would love if anyone had any suggestion for a replacement fork I could get or if they could help me understand how to look for the right one.
I found this:
https://www.condorcycles.com/collections/forks/products/condor-bivio-disc-fork
but I am not sure it would work.
Does the replacement need to be a straight steerer or can I also use a tapered steerer (maybe with an adaptor)?
What should I look out for? Will my mechanical disc brakes fit on it?
I just don't know what to even look for to go about and find a replacement. I have tried asking my local shops but they are slammed and I am shielding, so I am not sure what to do.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

It looks like at least one company makes a headset that will allow you to fit a tapered steerer in some straight 1⅛" head tubes, but pulling the old headset and installing a new one will be an added expense.
The brake's actuation method doesn't really matter, but you want to find a fork with the right mounting points for your brake. Your existing brakes use a "post mount". The other mounting systems are flat mount and IS mount. You can get adapters to fit a post-mount brake on either of these. The Condor fork you linked to has an IS mount.
Your current fork is built for a wheel with a regular quick release. Many disk-brake forks today will be built for through axles. The Condor fork you linked to would work in this respect.
An important factor to consider is the fork's dimensions, especially the rake and the distance from the axle to the top of the crown--if this is different on the replacement fork, your bike will effectively lean forward or backward a small amount, changing the handling. You'll need to contact Genesis to ask for the fork-blade length. According to the company's description, the rake (offset) is 50 mm. The Condor fork has a rake of 45 mm, so probably close enough, but that will change the handling slightly. It's conceivable that a fork with different blade length and rake would wind up producing the same trail, which is a better gauge of how it will handle, but that would be a fantastic coincidence.


Sequence for a complete road bike overhaul I have a road bike that I plan to completely overhaul soon. Over the years, and with several bikes, I have overhauled most every component, but have never managed to do this for an entire bike, start to finish.

Is there an optimal sequence for a bike overhaul? Or does it matter?

I have two overhaul checklist links that are great. One of the checklists I modified for personal use and have included.

The first is from United Bicycle Institute (checklist PDF link) - UBI is one of the premier US bike mechanics schools.

The one below I modified from the A Convenient Cycle blog (the blog is now dead...) and is what I use in my personal shop.

Wheel Systems:
[ ] Front Hub bearings greased.
[ ] Front Hub bearings adjusted to not be tight or loose.
[ ] Rear Hub bearings greased.
[ ] Rear Hub bearings adjusted to not be tight or loose.
[ ] All hubs locknuts secured.
[ ] Hubs inspected for bent axles and external evidence of internal problems.
[ ] Rims trued laterally to .5mm tolerance or better.
[ ] Rims inspected for damaged or other work needed.
[ ] Tires checked for proper wear and damage, proper mounting, and inflation.
[ ] Wheels mounted in proper alignment and secure.

Drive Train System:
[ ] Bottom Bracket greased
[ ] Bottom Bracket fixed cup secured.
[ ] Bottom Bracket fixed cup secured.
[ ] Bottom Bracket adjusted to not be tight or loose.
[ ] Bottom Bracket inspected for external evidence of internal problems.
[ ] Crank arms securely mounted.
[ ] Chainrings bolts secured.
[ ] Wobbling chainrings aligned.
[ ] Pedals lubricated
[ ] Pedals securely mounted.
[ ] Chain cleaned
[ ] Chain lubed and whipped down
[ ] Chain inspected for wear
[ ] Freewheel cleaned and rinsed
[ ] Freewheel inspected for wear
[ ] Freewheel lubricated.

Brake System:
[ ] Cables lubricated and replaced if worn.
[ ] Front Braking surface cleaned and checked for ware.
[ ] Rear Braking surface cleaned and checked for ware.
[ ] Brake calipers checked for mounting security.
[ ] Caliper arms and pivot/mounting bolts checked for damage.
[ ] Adjustable brake pivots adjusted for no play or binding.
[ ] Pivot nut/bolts checked for secure.
[ ] Brake caliper lubricated at pivots, springs, and cable adjuster barrels.
[ ] Brake barrels adjusters reseted.
[ ] Brake pads checked for wear and replaced if more than 50% worn.
[ ] Brake pad height set so as not to rub tire or hit partially below rim.
[ ] Pads set tangent [parallel] to rim.
[ ] New pads set with .5mm to 1.5mm toe to reduce squeal.
[ ] Pads clearance set to 1mm -2mm per side [except MTB type].
[ ] MTB pad clearance set so that when the pads contact the rim the lever clears the handlebar by a minimum of 1 inch.
[ ] Brake levers set to proper alignment and secure.
[ ] Brake level pivots, cable anchor pivots, and cable adjusters lubricated.
[ ] Cable removed and inspected for rust, frays, and kinks in the inner wire and housing.
[ ] Housings sized to proper length and ends finished with filing and end caps where fit.
[ ] Cables lubricated wherever they pass through housings.
[ ] Cable system stress tested by pulling brake lever fully to handlebar a minimum of ten times.
[ ] Cable end finished with cap or soldering.
[ ] Rims cleaned of lubricants and road grime.

Shift Systems:
[ ] Cables lubed and replaced if necessary
[ ] Rear derailleur removed and hanger checked for proper alignment.
[ ] Rear derailleur pivots, cable adjusters, and jockey wheels lubricated.
[ ] Rear derailleur inspected for damage and worn jockey wheels.
[ ] Rear derailleur mounted securely.
[ ] Front derailleur checked for proper mounting height and rotation.
[ ] Front derailleur checked for proper secure mounting.
[ ] Front derailleur pivots lubricated.
[ ] Derailleur cables removed and inspected for rust, frays, and kinks in the inner wires and housings.
[ ] Housings sized to proper length and ends finished with filing and end caps wherever they improve fit.
[ ] Cables lubricated wherever they pass through housings when appropriate.
[ ] Cables pre-stressed.
[ ] Chain length checked.
[ ] Rear derailleur limit screws set to allow shift to largest and smallest sprockets.
[ ] Rear derailleur checked for over shift at all gear combinations.
[ ] Front derailleur limit screws set for minimum clearance of the derailleur cage to the chain in high and low gear.
[ ] Front derailleur checked for over shift at all gear combinations.

Steering System:
[ ] Headset lubricated.
[ ] Headset adjusted to not be tight or loose.
[ ] Headset locknut secured.
[ ] Headset inspected for external evidence of damage, wear, or loose cups.
[ ] Fork inspected for damage.
[ ] Stem inspected for proper depth insertion, alignment, and secure.
[ ] Handlebars inspected for damage, proper alignment, and secure.

Miscellaneous:
[ ] Frame checked for damage.
[ ] Seat post checked for allowable minimum depth of insertion.
[ ] Seat post secure mounting checked.
[ ] Seat checked for proper alignment and secure mounting.
[ ] Accessories checked for mounting security and interference with moving parts or safety hazards.

Test Ride:
[ ] Brakes checked for stopping power and squeal.
[ ] Bicycle checked for tracking problems.
[ ] Derailleurs checked for performance and over shift.
[ ] Chain and freewheel cogs checked for skipping under load.
[ ] Bicycle checked for unusual noises.


Is there any reason to switch to the Giant Aircap headset expander? Any reason not to? I ride a Giant road bike with OD2 carbon steerer. It was originally built up with a standard expander plug, but was supplied with the glue-in Aircap expander as well. Im not sure whether to use it and there is very little information about these online.

I've only been able to find two things about it so far. Apparently it's a bit lighter, but I couldn't find how much lighter. It seems to also be a lot more hassle if you install it then want to cut the steerer again. If that's the only downside to it, then I'm happy to use it because my steerer is already cut down to have no spacers underneath. Is there anything else that should affect my decision to use this or not?

Many people tend toward a "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" mindset with bicycles.  I think you already understand the main differences (weight, inability to shorten steertube after installation).  The only other immediate difference is cost (money for a new expander, versus the one you already own) and labor.

One other difference may be that if that fork is somehow damaged/destroyed, you'll likely lose the glue-in, however, you have original as backup in that case.  Really it's just a case of you deciding to spend the money to save a few grams (that's assuming the glue doesn't make up the weight difference and make it the whole thing just a marketing gimmick).


Bike broke, strange parts came out, and doesn't know where to find exact replacement My friend's bike broke and this thing came out... From various sources I found that it's probably a cog from deraileur. He went to bike shops but none could find a replacement that's for this exact brand (and no one told him what brand it is even when he asked...). Therefore it would be great if anyone could give some pointers of what brand/size/etc so we could buy it off the internet (if you know where that would be really helpful too!)
I could also update with more info if needed, e.g. if you need the brand of the bike

It is a derailleur pulley, and fairly worn out one at that. The easiest way to find a fitting replacement is to buy a set from an aftermarket manufacturer that comes with adapter shims for different derailleurs. You can simply try different shims until you find the one that fits.

They do come in different teeth counts. From the picture it looks like this one used to have 11 teeth.


How to proceed when pedestrians occupy the dedicated bike path? I go to work every day on my bike. In my town there are only few bike roads but luckily one is about half of my way to job, but a lot of pedestrians believe they are bikes and occupy the bike path. At this point there are several scenarios. Sometimes they hear/see me and move away, this is not ok because they don't have the right to be there in first place, but it looks like they understand that.
But there are other cases when people ignore me or even try to get run over.
Those scenarios are really scary for me. I usually just avoid them which is actually make me the offender because I have to invade the sidewalk.
Or like this morning: a woman was on my side of the road and was completely ignoring my bell, I could not pass her on her left side as there were another bike coming, and just when I was passing her for some reason she thought that it will be the perfect moment to move away from the bike path. Lucky for her she saw me and just end up with a scare.
Should I lecture people about how ignoring roads can be unhealthy? Should I pass them at full speed leaving a nice scare?
A bike + driver hitting someone it is a few broken bones at best. How should I treat a pedestrian completely ignoring bike path, bikes and bikers, or even trying to cross my path?
One more thing, bike paths are not optional if there is one; if you are on  a bike you must use the bike path.
Edit: I live in Spain. Here each town hall writes their own rules for bikes use in their territory. In mine, pedestrians can´t remain on a bike path. Bike riders also are enforced to ride on a bike path if there is one.

Whatever you do, don't be a jerk.  Noone likes a cyclist who reinforces the bad stereotypes.
Do Share The Road  Even though you're in the right, there's no need to be offensive.
Personally I find bells lazy, most cyclists have a good loud voice and a "Hi there, just gonna pass on your left" is far nicer than "ringring"
Absolutely never try to scare someone with speed or proximity.  Think how bad you'd look if it went wrong and you couldn't stop or swerve in time.  You would be at fault even though they were in the wrong.
Conversation and lecturing has no effect, and is more likely to make people defensive and negative toward you and all cyclists.  A rhetorical question like "Where's your bike?" is about as much as you could say safely, and even that much might get you into a physical altercation.
My solution is to anticipate the up-coming blockage, look behind over the shoulder at driver of oncoming traffic, speed up and take the road lane.   Give the obstruction a wide berth.   Making eye contact with the following driver helps them anticipate your action.  The driver can see exactly what you can see and won't get mad because you telegraphed the intent by looking.
Of course this assumes you can ride fast enough to "merge" with the traffic for a moment.


Threatening swerving by driver - should I report it? (Canada) I'm curious to get some opinions on this from other cyclists. FYI this event took place in Ottawa, Canada.

On my work commute, there are about 3 blocks where I ride in the lane with cars because there are no bike lanes or sharrows, and I need to make a left turn in one of two left turning lanes, onto another street which also has no bike lane, and no shoulder. Details below in photo.

During that part of my commute two days ago, I stopped at a red light, in the middle of the left turn lane at the front of a line of several cars. The car behind me honked while we were still stopped, clearly wanting me to get out of his way before we'd even started moving. I stayed where I was since there was nowhere to go: another left-turning traffic lane to my left, and a straight through lane on my right that only buses can proceed through. After taking the left turn, I proceeded in the center of the lane for one block before signalling a right turn, after which I normally ride on the side of the lane because there is more space.

While I was riding the block right after the left turn, the driver who had honked at me pulled into the other lane to pass, then while passing, i.e. while right next to me, quickly swerved back about halfway into my lane, coming within about one foot of me while I was riding, then back out into his own lane. This was clearly meant as a threatening maneuver to scare me. The vehicle did not make contact with me.

I was able to memorize his license plate, make and model, and car color, and I took note of the exact time time, so I can certainly pinpoint who it was in a police report.

So I'm wondering if it's worth reporting something like this to the police, or will that just be an exercise in frustration?

If anyone has any tips or suggestions on reporting something like this, I would appreciate it. (Again, this is in Canada, so any locally relevant tips would be great)

I also live in Ottawa so I can provide some pertinent viewpoints.  Yes, you should report it, and yes, it will probably be an exercise in frustration. Don't expect the police to do anything about it. However, you should report it anyway, it might end up in a database somewhere and give them another data point about why it's important to build more cycle lanes and increase driver education on the issue of cyclists.  If they notice a trend of complaints against the same vehicle, perhaps they will be able to do something about it.

A little anecdote.  I once saw a car ram into the back of another guy's car at a stop light. The driver in question fled the scene. I was able to catch the license plate as I was walking down the sidewalk at the time of the accident.  Even though the police were able to find the car, and identify that indeed it matched the description and damage, they were unable to press charges for fleeing the scene because the owner of the car claimed he wasn't driving, and the police therefore didn't have enough evidence to actually issue a ticket or charge the suspected driver.

Without video evidence, there is probably little they can do to actually issue a ticket.

If you are uncomfortable making this turn because of the high amount of traffic and because of incidents like this. You can just head straight on Rideau across the intersection and then wait for the light to change and then go straight across Sussex.  This will avoid a lot of traffic and won't add much extra time to your commute.  You might even possibly avoid issues like this in the future.  It's not great that cyclists have to ride so defensively, but it's better to be safe than sorry.

Hopefully this situation won't turn you off cycling. I've found that most of the drivers in the city give quite a bit of room to cyclists, but there are always bad apples in the bunch.

One last point, if you want to ride the city without having to deal with traffic, check out the CN Cycle for CHEO. You got 2 weeks to get ready, and it's a great way to see the city and help a worthy cause.


How to minimize damage from pitted cones? While working on a old 60's Raleigh I found that there is slight pitting on one of the cones on the front hub (rest of the hub is good).  Ideally I would replace the damaged part and move one, but spare parts for these bikes are becoming difficult to find.  While I did find a replacement this time, there may be a point that I will not.

So given that one can't fix this properly, what can be done to ensure that damage is minimized?

This will also cause my bearings to wear out faster, and rules of thumb to follow?

In my case these are the oil lubed hubs and I plan on sticking with that, but if grease would work better, then I'm ok with that too.

Here is all the damage the current cone has:

I would recommend doing two things:

Reassemble the hub with the thickest grease you can find (within reason). It might slow you down a little, but it will help the bearings last as long as possible.

Make a mark on the back side of the cone that corresponds to where the damage is. When you're putting the wheel on, rotate the axle so that the damaged side of the cone is facing up. Then (assuming you adjusted the hub perfectly), there will be no pressure at all on the damaged side of the cone, and all the pressure on the good side.


26 inch wheels and fork on a 27.5+ frame I have a 26 inch bike(Specialized Rockhopper 2007) with decent wheels and fork. I want a more slacker head tube and better geometry than what i have now. I might be interested in one of Ragley Marley, Ragley Piglet Ragley Bluepig frames. My fork is not tapered. I know there are some conversion rings for that. I wanted to know if i can transfer all parts from the present bike to this new frame. I am little bit apprehensive about quick releases. I heard some frames take thicker quick release rods.

Overall its probably cheaper and certainly easier to sell the bike you have and buy the one you want. Building a bike from a 27.5 frame with 26 components you may end up with a bike geometry that is 'out' and handles worse than you already have.

The new frame is likely a though axle, and may have a wider (Boost) spacing, meaning the rear hub will need adapters or replacing. The bottom bracket and seat post are unlikely to be compatible. You may need a new chain as the chain stay length could be longer.


Were these bearings defective? A couple of days ago my girlfriend's bicycle broke. The rear wheel was stuck. Tonight I had finally some spare time to have a look. The bearings had failed, so much so that the wheel must have spun for some time piecewise with the axle.

As a consequence, if you are picturing this right, the left nuts had tighten as that very hot place, whereas the nuts and cup on the drive side were completely loose (the axle had screwed itself to the left).

I don't know what caused this. I had replaced the bearings in the past, something I've done many many times with no problems. What I'm asking here is whether this level of damage is normal or the bearings are cheap.
I mean: the rightmost bearing in the picture can be separated into a smaller (about 3/16) inner ball and an outer 1/4" shell!

This is the first time I used bearings from ebay, and would like to have your opinions.

I've also never seen a bearing ball fail like that.  In Jahaziel's answer to this question:

When do bearings need to be replaced?

he notes that in Honduras where he lives they sometimes could only get cheap Chinese bearings that "used to 'peel off' like an onion".  Perhaps you got some of those?  See also the response of "Mike" in this thread [1], who had a similar (albeit worse) experience with cheap bearings.

Good properly tightened bearings should last for many thousands of miles/kms, and usually races tend to show the damage more clearly before the balls do.  I've never actually over-tightened a hub and tried to ride on it to see how it fails when it seizes (and I'm not saying you did that, but it's the only other explanation I can think of other than cheap bearings), but based on both the SKF paper linked above and this paper [2] and this analysis [3] it seems like ball bearings delaminating or fragmenting is not the most common failure mode, because none of them discuss it.  Particularly in [3] you can see that the balls in seized bearings  polished off a contact patch against the race rather than disintegrating.

[1] http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-23340.html

[2] http://www.elongo.com/pdfs/BearingFailures990519.pdf

[3] http://met-tech.com/failure-analysis-of-ball-bearings.html


First shift up after shifting down only moves as I'm releasing the lever not on both the click in and click out of the lever like the consecutive ones Video of Issue: https://imgur.com/nY8s4Z0

I have just been given my dad's old bike and was looking at fixing it up. However, it has a shifting problem where it shifts down the gears perfectly fine but on any gear, the first upshift after a downshift only shifts halfway.

I have noticed that when it shifts properly when you click the lever in it moves a little and then when you release it moves the rest of the way this however doesn't happen on the first upshift after downshifting.

You can see and hear in the video when I click it in the first time nothing moves and then when I release it moves halfway. Then on the next upshift it moves on both the click in and the click out of the shift lever. Then I move it back down and it shifts down fine on both downshifts but then the first shift up only moves when releasing the shift lever and the second one moves on squeezing the lever and releasing.

I noticed the first click in sounds different to the rest as well almost like it's trying to click it and just slipping.

I would take it to a bike shop but due to the lockdown they won't be open here for at the very least another 4 weeks and id like to be able to ride it in the meantime.

I have tried indexing it at least 10-15 times and all of the consecutive shifts up and down work perfectly its just the first shift up after shifting down doesn't. I watched heaps of tutorials I could find but haven't seen anything about this half shifting problem anywhere.

Not really anything wrong there. You'll want to slowly pedal (with your hand!) while working on the derailleurs. Shifting like this simply creates more and more tension until it's unable to move the chain anymore sideways. Chains can only move so far sideways.

Also make sure the cable is free to move easily within the housing. Dropping a bit of (chain) lube at the ends and pulling it into the housing can already help a lot.


Should I worry about uneven disc brake pad wear? My bike was squeaking from the front wheel area when I tilted it to one side or another, but not when I rolled forward or used the brakes.

I figured it was probably my disc brakes so I took them out to clean them and one looks really worn down. See pics. Specifically the bottom one which looks really worn at the bottom right. Should I worry?

Park Tool recommend the brake pads be at least 1mm thick. SRAM and Shimano have slightly different recommendation I think so look up the specs on your particular model of brakes.

I'd definitely be concerned by the asymmetrical wear. The squeaking when the bike is canted over is also indicative of an issue. I'd start by checking the front wheel hub for any play in the hub bearings. Make sure the wheel is installed correctly, then hold it off the ground, grab the tire/rib and push and pull side-side. You shouldn't be able to feel any movement between the wheel and fork.


Carbon bike for commuting - concerns about durability I have been riding an aluminium frame hybrid bike for 20+ years and it is coming to the end of its life. Having tested a couple of carbon hybrid bikes and been very impressed with the responsiveness of the ride I'm considering taking the plunge - something like a Canyon Roadlite or Trek FX  tick most of the boxes. It will be used primarily on my short (5 mile) but hilly commute, as well as longer weekend rides.

I've read several posts that discuss the fatigue and impact resistance of carbon frames vs aluminium vs steel, and I have a couple of specific concerns that I haven't found addressed in detail elsewhere:

I am concerned about possible damage caused by securing a carbon frame with a D-lock (== U-lock). I store a pair of D-locks at my workplace where we have semi-vertical bike racks. I will not be mounting the locks on the frame. However, it was suggested both by a mechanic in my LBS and Canyon's online chat assistant not to let the lock rest on the frame. This is suprising - each lock is insulated with thick plastic and weighs perhaps 1.5 kilos.  I thread one lock through the front wheel and let it rest on the down tube, and use the other one to secure the back wheel to the stand.  I wouldn't expect a carbon frame to have any trouble bearing a small load such as this, as long as there is no forceful impact when locking/unlocking (or of course from accidental damage from others removing their bikes). From what I've read it takes a major impact such as a crash or forceful hits with a hammer to cause impact damage.
I've read a few posts suggesting carbon bikes are less suitable for commuting for several reasons (harder to fit racks and mount locks; more alluring to thieves), bit also due to the weather conditions they will face. As I'm based in the UK there will be no shortage of rain and roughly half my commute is on roads. Road salt is known to corrode aluminium over a long time, but are there similar concerns with carbon, or is it just people being more protective of carbon bikes because they're more expensive?

Thank you.

TL;DNR - All else equal, an aluminum framed bike at the same price as a carbon bike will be a better bike.

My general feeling for Carbon frames are they are overrated, or more accurately, quality modern aluminum frames is underrated. Aluminum frames cost alot less to build than the cheapest carbon, let alone a quality carbon frame. With Hydro forming, the designer has a lot (not all) of the design flexibly of carbon, and a lot more than the days they build frames from tubes.  Savings building the frame can be spent on components, making a better bike at the same price point.  Obviously at the "Money is not issue" end of the market, carbon makes a better frame for riding, but care must be taken because at this end fo teh market carbon layup is done in a way to maximize performance weight, with less concern to robustness.

As far as robustness and longevity, a quality, but not race focused, carbon frame will be more than robust enough.

Using the N rule, you really should have two bikes, which will probably be more cost effective longer term. One for commuting which is cheapish (its only 5 miles, a few hundred grams weight saving won't make any difference to you commute times or effort even if it is a bit hilly) and robust. Then have a weened bike for longer rides that you keep the miles down. After a year, the weekend bike is still in great condition rather than having been used in all weather and banged around in the work bike racks by other riders.


Have old bar end shifters which don't seem to fit in the new handlebars I retrieved the Shimano bar end shifters from some old handlebars and now I want to fit the shifters to new bars.

However strangely  I can't fit the shifters in the new bars. See the following photo:

I don't understand why this happens: I have loosened the stick of the  bar end shifter enough so the the clamps can "fall" to the centre.  Here a photo to illustrate this:

?

Some more details:

The new bars should have the same inner diameter than the old bars.
Even more important; The  shifters don't seem to fit back into the old bars either.

Do I overlook something? Do I do something wrong? Or are the shifters just broken?

Update 2 days later

I have payed around with the shifters - and noticed that apparently the area of the handlebars which is on the inside wide enough differs between the old and the new bar:

I found this out by using the screw with the cone head which goes through the clamps of the shifter: With an allen key I held the srew as far into the hanldebars as possible.

In the old handlebars I can fit the whole screw in:

However in the new handlebars only approx 2/3 of the screw fit in:

It explains why I cannot fit the whole shifter in the new bar even with grease and lots of wiggling!

Not sure what to make it tough: I can think of two explanations for the difference:

Either it is a manufacturer fault. (The new bar is from the same manufacturer as the old one and both are designed for bar-ends.)
Or newer Shimano bar-ends have a shorter stick part than older versions of Shimano shifters have.

Any ideas? (Particularly abot explanation 2.)

I think your picture shows that the expander wedges are riding up on the ridged part of the shifter pod, which keeps them from being able to get small like they're supposed to, hence not fitting the bar they just came out of. You need to twist them around so they're not riding up. Also at the very least grease inside the bar, but ideally grease the threads and every surface of the expander wedges.


Pads in contact with disk when idle on my SLX L675 disk brakes I've recently bought a Nishiki Hyper pro which features the hydraulic Shimano SLX L675 brake system.

What I've found is that the pads on the back wheel breaks appear to be in constant light contact with the disk. The wheel turns with no effort what so ever on the front wheel, but on the back wheel you both see and hear that it's a constant contact between the disk and the pad(s).

I wonder if, and if so, how I adjust this? I've Googled and looked around but don't seem to find the correct info I'm after unfortunately.

Brakes:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=0Bw1M3VAfJAdzQk5YWVRKY2NsSzQ

Lever:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw1M3VAfJAdzXzlRMEVrX1R2OXc/view?usp=sharing

Does the rear brake lever has spongy feel to it or longer throw? If not, you might want to manually rectract the caliper pistons:

Remove the wheel.
Remove brake pads.
Use something with flat non-sharp surface to slightly push both pistons (two white ceramic cylinders behind pads) inside caliper body. I usually use an allen key long arm.
Assemble everything back in reverse order and try it out.

If it didn't help and pads are still too close, it can be the case of too much mineral oil in the system. I had the similar issue when I overbled M615 brakes. In this case you'll need to open bleeding port (black bolt to the left of "SLX" print on lever from second photo) prior to step 3 and wrap with some cloth to catch extra mineral oil. After you're done pushing the pistons, screw the bolt back in and try the brake again.

As a side note, keep disc rotor and pads away from mineral oil.


Chain drops in smallest gear under load I'm baffled. I installed a new chain, cassette, cables and housing yesterday. On the stand, all is happy and shifting is silky smooth. On the road all seems happy except on the bigger cogs in back (in either ring) where it feels like the chain might skip somewhere under load. More frustratingly, the chain will periodically drop to the inside. On the big ring, it'll drop to the small ring. If I'm in the small ring and biggest cog, the chain will drop without fail within a few pedal revs. When this happens, the chain isn't rubbing on the derailleur though there is definitely the sensation of something slipping. The limit screw is adjusted as far in as possible without the chain rubbing on the derailleur.

I'm struggling to find a cause. I'm using the same wheels and didn't touch the crankset - the chainline didn't change. The chainrings are in good shape, but to eliminate that as a cause, I swapped in an unused pair to no avail.

Any ideas? Thanks

I ran into this exact problem. In my case, it was buying 9-speed chain for an 8-speed drivetrain— I didn't realize backward compatibility was an issue.


Is a 3-bike rack needed for two bikes? I've been looking into getting a trunk-mounted bike rack for two bikes. However, I've heard a few people say that I actually need a 3-bike rack because there isn't really enough space on a 2-bike rack for two bikes.

Is this true? If so, why do 2-bike racks even exist? Does it just depend on the brand? 3-bike rack models are a bit more expensive than their 2-bike counterparts, and I don't plan on ever transporting 3 bikes, so I'd rather not buy a 3-bike rack if I don't have to.

It depends on how... scratch averse you are for your bikes.

A 4 bike trailer hitch rack by Thule can get 4 bikes on it. If you want to ensure that there is never any pedal to frame contact, then you can get 2 bikes on it.

In general with some wiggling and possibly removing a wheel or two, you can always get as many bikes as advertised on a given rack. Just be aware that there will be some rubbing as you fiddle with the bikes to get them on.


What do I do when I am unsure if a carbon fiber component is safe to use or needs replacing or repairing? Intended as a canonical answer to the many questions we have about damage to carbon parts.
It is well known that carbon fiber parts can be damaged and fail, and carbon parts can be fragile when stressed in certain ways, but we get a large number of questions on this site asking if a carbon part (Frame, rim, stem) with damage is a concern or not.  Many of these parts are obviously suffering no more than a minor cosmetic blemish, and very few are suffering from clearly significant damage. Most fall into the gap between where physical inspection is required to make an assessment.

Carbon fiber composites are made up of sheets of carbon fiber filaments. These are usually impregnated with resin. To make CF structures, manufacturers will cut up the sheets, then lay them up onto a mandrel or other structure. They will then bake them at high pressure and temperature to cure the resin. The image below is from a Youtube video showing how Mad Fiber wheels are made - that company is now defunct, this is just for illustrative purposes.

If you have a CF frame or component and it's been damaged such that you can see torn fibers, it needs repair or replacement. This is obvious but probably worth stating. The image below is from Appleman Bicycles, who is a carbon framebuilder and repairer in my city. Disclosure, he's local to me and we are acquaintances, but I'm not a customer. On the left side of the frame, the fibers are clearly broken. It may not be as obvious on the right side, but I'm pretty sure that if you saw that frame in person, you'd see broken fibers also.

With that trivial question out of the way, it is frequently hard to know what to do if you crash on a carbon frame or component and there's no obvious damage. Damage to carbon items is frequently not visible at the surface. However, an impact, even a fairly soft one, might lead to a delamination below the surface that later grows into a larger failure. Delamination is the CF term of art for a fracture.
Ultrasound or other imaging is used to inspect CF parts in the aerospace industry. Ideally, we would have this capability widely available, but we do not. This is the only reliable way to detect a delamination under the surface. There may be a carbon repair shop close to you with this capability, but your local bike store cannot do this. Many people will propose a tap test, where you tap a coin lightly around the suspected fracture and listen for a change in pitch. The problem is that this test is most reliable on flat surfaces, and bikes don't really have a lot of those.
What to do: a proposed set of steps for consumers
This section concerns what to do if you sustain an impact that doesn't leave visible damage. For major impacts like a car vs. bike accident or a crash at racing speeds, more caution is recommended. It also depends on what part is involved; if your handlebars are damaged and they break, that will almost surely cause a crash, although if you are extremely skilled you may be able to recover (but you shouldn't count on being able to do this). I think the same would hold for stems and forks. I would lean towards replacing these parts immediately if you take a major impact. Minor impacts can be handled through watchful waiting, but some level of caution and regular inspection is still recommended.
I'm less certain about frames. In many cases, they are shielded from direct hits by the other parts of the bicycle and by your body. Again, the ideal case would involve an ultrasound or equivalent inspection after a crash. In the absence of that, I would propose watchful waiting. Be familiar with how your bike sounds and how it flexes under your pedaling. If you notice a sudden change, stop riding and try to see if there are any cracks. The picture below is from a video by Raoul Luescher, a carbon bike repairer based in Australia. Here, a metal part associated with the steering system hit the bike's head tube from inside due to arguably poor design. There was a small visible crack from the outside.

I believe that paint chips around frequently handled parts can be ignored. These might include areas around the dropouts. Gravel bikes may frequently take paint chips from flying bits of gravel. Some examples of what I believe to be paint chips are below, taken from recent posts.

Last, consumers should be aware that damaged carbon frames can be repaired. These repairs are not that expensive compared to repairing metal frames. On metal frames, damage will frequently involve replacing the entire affected tube. In contrast, with carbon, the second photo from Appleman bicycles shows that repairs can be localized to just the damaged area. I believe that forks, wheels, stems, and handlebars are not cost effective to repair; you should just replace those if damaged.


Convert Cannondale Quick5 Hybrid to a road bike? I have a Cannondale Quick5 Hybrid.  I would like to convert this to a full road bike. What changes do I need to do? Is it possible?

This kind-of depends on what you mean by 'road bike'. The definition can include road-oriented hybrids such as yours, touring bikes and drop-bar 'racing' bikes. Let's assume you you want a 'racing' style bike designed for higher speeds.

It's possible to make the conversion, in a way; but it will probably not be worth it in terms of cost and you'll end up with a poor compromise that isn't really what you want.

Others have provided answers that deal with mountain to road component swaps and compatibility issues. If you need to replace the bars shifters and entire drivetrain you would do better to sell the hybrid and buy a bike of the type you want.

The other major problem is frame geometry. Your hybrid has a 'relaxed' more upright geometry with slower, more stable steering; racing bikes have a more 'aggressive' leant-forward geometry with faster, less stable steering. Even if you put a drop bar on the hybrid you are not getting away from the intrinsic geometry of the hybrid, so you won't really end up with a racing bike.

BTW, if you want a slightly more aggressive riding position on the hybrid, you can lower the handlebars by lowering the stem on the steerer tube by moving one or more of the spacers from below it to above it, and flipping the stem over so it points slightly downwards instead of upwards.


Children's bike problem with back wheel My daughter has sparkle and glitz 12 inch bike with stabilizers (training wheels). Since we purchased the bike every now and again the back wheel keeps spinning when she is pedaling. This seems to happen more when there is a bit of an incline.  Any suggestions what problem could be?

The stabilizers are taking too much weight. This can happen if they are mounted too low, or she is leaning too much and transferring weight off the rear wheel.

The first problem is easily fixed - the bike should lean slightly to one side or the other. When its held upright with all the weight on the back wheel, the stabilizers should be about 1-2cm off the ground (Higher for rough ground).

The second is teaching her not to lean on the stabilizers. This can take some time and effort, especially with younger children. It is well worth investing time now to teach her to ride upright than later, when she has learned bad habits.

I regret using stabilizers on my boys bike. I now believe they hinder progress as the kids get used to them, and prevent them learning proper cornering (as the bike cannot lean). They probably cause as many crashes as they saved with my boys. If I did it again, I would buy a balance bike, (or remove the pedals and cranks) and get them balanced, then add the pedals.


Replacing the bike seat on my mid-1990s Trek mountain bike I have an old Trek mountain bike, about 22 years old but still in great shape.   I want to replace the original "Avocet" seat with a more comfortable seat.    Are bike seats universal so I could buy any one for the bike?

tl;dr: Yes, you can pretty much buy any seat except some rare/expensive racing or classic leather seats.

Explanation: As long as your seat attaches by two parallel rails that are 44mm apart (which is 95% of seats), then you can replace it with another seat that also attaches by the rails. In case you don't do metric, 44mm is just under 1.75 inches measured between the center of the rails.  Here's a photo of a seat with standard rails from wikimedia commons:

For example, even bizarre noseless seats use the two parallel rail design, visible here (for the record, these noseless designs make it hard to control your bike, so they aren't advisable, also see comment by Criggie):

If you're keeping the same seatpost, then you would normally keep the old seatpost adapter as that's what changes between different bike models (seatposts vary in diameter and some seatposts are tapered at the top). A slight complication is that some rails are 7mm in diameter, some are 8mm in diameter and so forth. Usually the clamps are flexible enough to accommodate that variation. I think your bike is bog standard so you shouldn't encounter any problem.

The 5% of seats that don't use the 44mm rails include some keirin racing bikes (that use 30mm rails), classic leather seats (like older Brooks) that use four rails, banana seats, children's bike seats, and a few others.


Sealant in inner tubes: what's the difference? I was thinking of converting my wheels to tubeless but my rims and tyres are not tubeless ready. I just recently learned that I can add tyre sealants into inner tubes. Can it prevent pinch flats like the normal tubeless setup?

Putting sealant in your tube does nothing to prevent pinch flats. (The long gashes caused by pinch flats would normally be too big for the sealant to handle, at least reliably.)
Putting sealant in a tube adds to the weight of the tube, rather than replacing it as in tubeless.
Likewise, with sealant in a tube, you have all the rolling resistance you already had with the tube, plus more energy cost to turn the wheel due to the sealant. (Bicycle Rolling Resistance tested this.)


Understanding width of tires Saw two different tires. One marked 700c 38mm 40 622 measured 1.25 " wide.Other tire ,same markings but with addition of marking, one and five eighths x one and a half,measured 1.5" wide. If both 38mm wide why quarter inch difference in width?

Tire sizing can be very confusing.  The late, great Sheldon Brown has written a web page that does a magnificent job of answering your question.


I want to change the tyres on Voodoo Marasa I could be completely wrong but, replacing the default tyres that came with the bike (Kenda K948, 700 x 40c) with something slick would make the ride easier?

I see guys with road bikes or other bikes push past me with ease while I feel like I am struggling. The only thing I noticed is the tyres, correct me if I am wrong.

On a completely different note, if I can replace, what tyre sizes should I look at?

I use this bike purely on road to commute from home to work

EDIT: Thanks guys for all the response
@Criggie, the max psi on these tyres is 85

Changing tires will help - but probably not as much as you want. The annoying truth is likely simply that the people passing you have lighter, more efficient bikes and are fitter and stronger.

That said, you can definitely decrease your rolling resistance with narrower tires, with less tread, running at a higher pressure. The narrowest you can go is limited by your rim width. There are many rim with vs tire width charts out there you can consult. Manufactures also specify minimum and maximum rim widths for their tire models.

A 28mm road tire is probably as narrow as you want to go on your bike, even if your rims allow narrower. Be aware that narrower tire affect ride comfort significantly.

Other things you can do are: make sure you are not running pressures that are too low for road use in your current tires; make sure you drivetrain is clean, lubed properly and not worn out.


Axle to wheel bore ratio? This may be the wrong site but it's the closest one I thought someone would have knowledge of the question...

It's not for a bike but rather replacing the wheels on a power wheels... The axle is 7/16" can I use a wheel with 5/8" axle hole (bore?) or does it have to be tighter fit like 1/2"? Or even 7/16, 15/32?

Using an axle much smaller than the hole it fits into is sure to end badly.  However, you can make up the difference with a sleeve bushing.  Maybe you can find a standard size bushing that fits well, or maybe you'll need to invent one e.g. from copper plumbing pipe.  If you want to try the pipe approach, use 3/8" copper surrounded by 1/2" copper and you might just find a good enough fit.

You don't want the wheels to wobble...if they do, they will wear out rather quickly, and the vehicle's--ahem--performance may be adversely affected.


Are tubular tires still used today? I bought an older second-hand racing bike, which has tubular tires mounted. I went to a bike shop and wanted to buy a spare tubular tire, but they told me:

  Wow, such an old bike! No, we don't have tubular tires. No shop has them. They are not used anymore nowadays. Instead, use an inner tube an a tire.

Is that true? If so, why?

I alternated tubulars and clinchers (different wheelsets) on my commuter bike for over a year and it was clear that I had fewer punctures with tubulars.  In fact, I have so few punctures that I have to reglue tires after a year or so since the glue dries up.  YMMV.

when a tubular does flat, you almost never get a catastrophic deflation (bang), you get slow leaks.
if you're careful you can ride on a flat.  I finished the last mile (uphill) of a race on a flat.
they are more comfortable, especially when cornering because of the suppleness of the side walls.
you can get a sub 1500 gram wheelset for well under $500 (Campy Record and Mavic Reflex).  Try that with clinchers.  Tubular wheelsets are generally much lighter than clinchers.
if you do get a slow leak, tufo or stan's tire sealant will almost certainly fix it.

Now all of my bikes run tubulars.  For my commuter bike I use Tufos which last forever despite the broken glass that you inevitably see on roads. For racing Veloflex are superb.  And as was mentioned tubulars dominate the cyclocross scene.

Once you get the hang of gluing, it's not really a big deal.  The main disadvantage in cyclocross is that you need multiple wheelsets to be able to shift tires on short notice due to weather changes.  Dry vs mud, say, requires two completely different treads.

Finally, for most places in the US you have little choice but to buy your tubulars off the web since the LBS is unlikely to stock them.  See: http://www.worldclasscycles.com/tubulars.htm


Muddy Fox Pathfinder 90s MTB Not such a specific issue but a general question, I am interested in repairing a bike and for £10 there is a Muddyfox Pathfinder from the 90s, is this worth the £10, does it have any value or should I leave it?
Thanks
Charlie

We can't give valuations - that's considered off-topic because they're highly region-specific, and go out of date fast.
The bike you're looking at is available here-and-now, and the seller is asking a token sum.  In these days of C19 and shaky supply lines, any bike is better than no bike.
If you need a bicycle, and this one fits your body, you find it comfortable, and the bike is mechanically sound then grab it.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/token%20payment says

Definition of token payment
: a very small payment made upon a debt and intended by the payer merely to acknowledge the existence of the obligation

If an item is given freely with no cost, then the receiver may not value it sufficiently.  By asking a nominal charge then the receiver is more likely to value the item, whatever it is.
I used to volunteer for a bike fixup, and there were a group of local kids.  Every 3 months they would come and ask for a replacement bike because they'd dropped their previous, or put it down and forgotten it, or left it outside and it was pinched.  A lack of cost and easy access to replacements meant they did not appreciate what they had.
Problem was solved by asking them for the old bike back so it could be handed onto the next user.
So 10 UKP is there to make the buyer value the item, but seller also feels they've got something out of the trade.  The actual cost is small (often about the cost of one person's lunch, or sometimes as little as $1)


How to loosen eccentric BB shell? I have a one-year-old REI CTY 1.3. Aluminum frame, belt drive, with an eccentric BB shell for tensioning the belt. The bottom bracket itself is a standard Shimano BB-RS500, but I cannot identify the eccentric shell. At first glance it looks like a Bushnell unit, but it seems to be a solid machined aluminum cylinder (on the Bushnell the crescent shaped piece with the holes is separate).

I cannot get the shell to rotate in the frame at all.

There is a single bolt (socket-head cap screw in a counter-sunk hole) that runs the full length of the shell. I assume that bolt tightens some sort of internal wedge against the frame.

I've tried removing the bolt completely, as well as unscrewing it part way and tapping the bolt head with a hammer. I've tried to move the shell with a pin spanner, and also dropping a long allen key in one of the holes and using the crank arm to get more leverage. Nothing budges.

I assume the wedge mechanism is not un-wedging. Since I don't know what's going on in there I don't know what to try next without potentially damaging something... Any ideas?

Yours looks like the one described in this blog post: https://handsonbike.blogspot.com/2013/11/avanti-inc-3-eccentric-bb-for-belt.html?m=1.
The writer was able to free it up by putting the bolt partway in and hammering it, so I would try that.  It’s the same principle as old quill style handlebar stems.


Chain Pops When Leaving Cogs This problem has consumed a lot of time and resources and has yet to be solved.

This is a basic Giant Iguana mtb, with a Deore rear derailleur, SRAM 950 9-sp cassette, Truvativ chainrings, Shimano HG53 chain. The bike ran smooth without issue before any work was done.

I initially figured it was time for a new chain and it was apparent when I installed it, that the cogs were worn because the chain wanted to skip, especially in the middle one where I do most of my riding. So I set the bike to the side, ordered new Truvativ chainrings (middle and outer), new SRAM 970 cassette, SRAM chain (just in case of differences with Shimano chain on SRAM derailleur - though I've never had an issue with that), also new cones and ball bearings (inner races are like new). Later I would add a new bottom bracket at the sketchy advice of one of three of my LBS (all three LBS's are baffled too). Basically all the parts are the same I've always used and were the original type and brand that came on the bike new (except I used the SRAM 950 in the past, now the 970 cassette).

Also inspected and serviced the pedals, freehub and derailleur, checking the bearings and races for any damage and free-play in the hub. Bearings are shiny, no gouges in the races, minimal play in the freehub.

I get the everything back together, index the derailleur, shifts fine, no pre-shifting issue on the rear cogs and then. . . an odd thump/pop felt in the crank on cog number six. It could be happening on the adjacent cogs too, but if so, it’s not noticeable. I then notice that under even slight load (bike is on a bike stand) when the chain is leaving the cog (top side) it pops out of the cog (like binding), and always in the same place (near the cog tooth number identification imprint).

So more taking things apart, taking the bike to two different LBS, no help. Finally decided to see if SRAM would warranty the cassette. It has to be done by an LBS and the place where I bought the bike agreed. Same SRAM 970 (9 speed) cassette arrives, LBS installs it and runs through the gears on the stand, everything shifts fine. . . and. . . it’s worse. Now the pop is in more gears. The LBS had already said if this one doesn't work, then it’s inherent to the cassette model. So I didn’t bother to balk.

I have rebuilt, degreased, re-greased, serviced, aligned, replaced, inspected, virtually every part I can think of on the drivetrain, even used dial calipers to measure cog width, teeth thickness etc.. Any thoughts, even way outside the box would be greatly appreciated. Hate to just drop the bike off at the river where one of the homeless would love to take it off my hands.

Sorry for the length, figured it would save time to provide as much as possible.

If I understand the description of the issue properly: the chain hangs on the cassette sprockets slightly at the approx. 12 o'clock position where it should be peeling off to go to the chainrings, then 'pops' as it lets go.

In other words, you have slight chainsuck on some teeth of some cassette sprockets.

If there is a slight manufacturing defects or burrs on some cassette sprocket teeth that is catching the chain, those are probably going to wear off pretty quickly. I'd try to put a few miles on the bike and see if the problem resolves itself.

Something else you should probably check for are stiff joints between links in the chain. Again, some running-in wear on the drivetrain may resolve chain problems.


Degreaser and oil recommendations for Nexus 8 Morning!

i read a few articles about how to clean and lube the nexus 8, but i didnt found a good degreaser here i can leave my internal hub inside for a hour at least to breakdown the old grease, which degreaser i should to use?
After i would like to do the bath dunk with Shimano Oil but it is a quite expensive for 1L (£64), is any one can recommended a good oil and cheaper?

thanks

Don't use degreaser on the insides of an IGH! Not! Ever!

For Shimano Nexus/Alfine you are supposed to use the same oil for cleaning and lubrication.

For Rohloff there is a separate cleaning oil which I think has lower viscosity than the lubrication oil.

Also you replace the oil at most once a year or every 5000km, not more often. Some hubs might need their very first oil change earlier, like after 1000km.

This assumes going though the bleeds nipples like normal people.

If you are going to take the hub apart completely (not just remove the gear block from the housing) this doesn't necessarily apply, but taking the hub apart is not something even good bicycle mechanics do. It never makes economic sense. If taking it apart and fixing it is cheaper to you than having it replaced, then it didn't make economic sense to buy it in the first place and you should have gone with something cheaper, simpler, more mechanically elegant and more maintenance intensive - as in, much less maintenance than taking apart and fixing an IGH.


Keeping a leather saddle in good condition Is shoe polish a good or at least adequate solution for keeping a leather saddle in good condition? And/or better options?

I guess shoe polish (the creamy one, not fancier new ones with sylicone and lots of synthetic polymers) at least won't do any harm, but maybe there are better choices.

Manufacturers advise the use of specific products (Brooks Proofide, for example) both for treating the surface against wear and tear induced by friction and the elements, but also for treating the deep layers of the saddle thickness, improving its mechanical characteristics, specially when new and yet uncomfortable, but also after some use and possibly abuse (mainly due to weather).

Leather tanning actually takes the subcutanous connective layer of cattle skin, which is rich in collagen, and treats it so that it can last longer. As such (at least it seems so to me) they have a "natural" affinity for natural substances, specially the lipo-soluble molecules found, for example, in Proofide itself: tallow, beeswax, cod oil, etc.

I like to look at my Brooks as if it was a somewhat living friend: we have a friendship, I treat it nicely and it responds by treating me nice. Even caressing it and silently talking to it is fine (at least is makes ME feel fine).

So with the Proofide I like to think I am giving something it likes: those fatty, variated, long-chain, apolar, gracefully degrading organic molecules, and not the inorganic, synthetic, industrialized, unlively plastified synthetic products one might choose as an alternative.

(and by the way, the thinnest layer once in a while is more than enough: that tiny can of Proofide will last for many years!)


Trek Multi-track 750 I just purchased a Trek multitrack 750 1996 in black. I found it in almost perfect condition and want to upgrade the tires. What is the max tire size you can run on the 750 without any clearance issues?

A quick Google search turned up a thread at BikeForums that seems to have a consensus that 40mm is about the max size.  Depending on the particular tire and how inflated it is, a 42mm tire might fit.


Apparent pedal force improvement from swept back handlebars; why not use them? As a teenager a friend found some antique swept back motorcycle handlebars that had the same expansion nut type fitting as my bike and we had to try them out; the handles just touched the front of the saddle when turning very sharply - with any kind of speed, not at all. The point is the amount of force that could be applied to the pedals was greater, because pulling up on the handles was close to being in line with the force down. As analogy, it was like lifting a weight in a straight line from standing above position instead of having it out at arms length and trying to lift. My father immediately ordered their removal as unsafe - it certainly made it (too) easy to wheelstand both from centre of mass being further back (upright position) and that greater force. However, if a bike were designed to achieve that in line pull on handlebar/push on pedals, would performance, especially uphill/against the wind be improved?  I think recumbent designs may use this effect.

For one thing, the aerodynamics are terrible. For another, most cycling is not dependent on peak power, but on sustainable power, for which leg strength (or body strength) isn’t as important as cardiovascular capacity.
Some recumbents do use bars like the ones you mention, but the geometry is so different that muscle recruitment is also very different.


Do I need a medium or large cage rear derailleur? My SRAM x5 rear derailleur got caught on something and broke. I went to order a new one and learned there are different cage sizes. I don't know which size cage I currently have. While trying to figure out which one I need I figured out that I need to know my Total Drivetrain Capacity. All of the sources that I have come across say

Maximum Chainring Difference + Maximum Cassette Cog Difference = Total Drivetrain Capacity

Not sure what the formula is when you only have 1 chainring. The answer to this question appears to just be

Maximum Cassette Cog Difference = Total Drivetrain Capacity

Is that correct? So in my case it would be 34 - 11 = 23? So a medium cage would be plenty? The sources I have come  across say if in doubt, get a large. I would rather have a smaller cage though to hopefully not have it catch on something again.

My current setup
Crankset: alloy arm with 34T single ring
Shifters: SRAM x4 9 speed
Rear Derailleur: SRAM X5, 9 Speed
Rear Cogs: SRAM PG950 Cassette, 9 Speed, 11-34T

SRAM x5 medium cage specs
Largest Cog: 34
Chain Wrap Capacity: 37

SRAM x5 long cage specs
Largest Cog: 36
Chain Wrap Capacity: 45

You have it right. Between medium and long cage, medium is the one to get here.

As you say, you only need a capacity of 23, which is short cage. SRAM is still listing a short cage X7 on their site, but I couldn't find anyone selling or distributing it. If you can track one down and if you're staying with this gearing, that would be more ideal than medium cage. But the medium X5 is fine too. Sadly the short cage 10-speed GX with a clutch is not compatible.


Can I replace the front front derailleur with chain guide? My front derailleur (Shimano LX T670 / 34.9mm) has been stuck on the highest gear for a couple of weeks now which has got me thinking about how little I use it. To save weight could I replace my front derailleur with  some sort of static chain guard/stay to keep my chain on the same chain ring? Does such a thing exist for three speed chainsets (Shimano T780 48Ax36x26 with chainguard)?

I am not ready to completely convert my bike to a single speed just yet as I imagine I could install the front derailleur back on if I decide to go on a more adventurous journey compared to the daily commute where its not needed.

Update

While the FD is only 155 grams I do enjoy finding ways to save weight here and there, before you know it it's half a KG lighter. The problem with leaving it on is that the spring has rusted into place almost at mid shift, this causes the chain to rub the side of the chain guide which produces an annoying sound and causes it to occasionally jump to the middle chainset.

For now I have simply removed it but in the past on a different bike I suffered from chain jumping which is what I am trying to avoid by using a chain guide.

Thanks

The simple test is just to remove the derailleur. Some of them have a screw holding the bottom of the cage together, in which case it's easy - just undo the clamp holding the derailleur to the seat tube, the cable clamp, then once it's loose undo that screw and wiggle it off the chain.

Without that cage screw you'll have to break the chain which requires either a quick link that can be undo by hand, or a special tool. Putting it back on afterwards is slightly more complex but quite doable for most people. If that works, you can then remove the cable and outer, and possibly the shifter (these days likely to be built into the brake lever so not removable).

But as Batman pointed out, the front derailleur is not the heavy part of a multi-speed setup. Most of the weight loss from a single-speed conversion is in losing the extra chain, cassette and rear derailleur, and the maintenance benefits also come mostly from not having to adjust the rear derailleur. So the total benefit is likely to be low. You might also lose a little weight by removing one of both of the extra chainrings, but again not every much.


Does this chainring need to be replaced? Here is a closeup of my triple:

All three rings are Shimano Ultegra and have never been changed.  They probably have at least 12000+ km on them.  I've been pretty good about changing the chain regularly although at this point I'm pretty sure that the rear cassette is in need of changing.

If you compare the middle ring with the two outer ones, it looks fairly worn (shark fin pattern).  Is it bad enough to need replacing?  If I just change the chain and rear cassette will I be entering a world of pain?

UPDATE:  Thanks for the advice so far.  I have a new cassette and chain standing by but would need to order a new middle ring since it's a bit exotic (one LBS didn't know Shimano still made Ultegra triples).  I know that there's a lot of km's on these rings (mostly on the middle one) and I'm also familiar with the "if it still skips, try changing it" philosophy, but I was hoping for a more objective answer.  Something about the wear pattern or what to look for if I put a new chain on?

Presumably with 12K+ km, and never having bought new chain rings, you have a very high cadence.  You should get a new chain every time you change your cassette, btw.

If you are doing the work yourself, I don't see any reason to change the chain ring immediately.  Try the new cassette and chain and see how it works.  If it isn't broke, don't fix it. If it doesn't ride well after changing the first set of parts then yes, change it.

On the other hand, if you are taking it to a shop and paying for the work, it's probably worth having them put on a new chain ring while they've got it in the stand.  A good shop will test ride it and be able to tell you if it is needed before you buy.

12K is a lot of distance for the equipment, so I wouldn't hesitate to change it either way.


Bicycle weight limit (carrying capacity) increase I have a cheap 20" folding bicycle. Its specs say that the max rider weight is 105kg. The frame is steel (vaguely defined as "HiTen" steel).
I want to convert it to electric, so will be adding approximately 12kg more (mid motor, battery, etc.). I also want to carry panniers, let's say another 20 more kg. My weight is 100kg. So with some reserve, the bike needs to carry approximately 150kg of weight.
I assume that the weak point will not be the steel frame itself, but some components, like bearings, rim material, spokes and so on...
The question is: what components are recommended to change (in general) to get a more sturdy folding bike - i.e. which components have the greatest impact on the load capacity of the bicycle?
I assume that the exact type of bicycle is irrelevant, but let's say something like this.
Edit
Just found this article about the stress analysis of the folding frames. Really interesting reading. https://www.irjet.net/archives/V6/i10/IRJET-V6I10207.pdf

On a non-folding bike,  I'd look at the wheels, and probably replace them with 36 spoke touring wheels and reasonably wide, tough tyres (e.g. 35mm). The tyres absorb some of the shock loads.
However a folding bike has made some compromises affecting the structural strength, as well as introducing weak points. Two major ones are the main hinge and seat post. The latter is probably OK as your added load isn't on it, but the main hinge will be under added stress from the extra unsprung mass. It's probably not replaceable or serviceable, and obviously overloading the specifications would give the manufacturer an excuse to get out of warranty repair. The risk here is that the frame won't last as long as it should.
Adding a mid drive motor may not be as easy as you think - there's not much room given the need to not affect the folding, combined with the small wheels (short chainstays and reduced ground clearance). A kit for a different folder might help, but might be very specific in its mounting.


Locking your bike in public areas I recently saw a small clip about how to securely lock your bike.
I was wondering what are your tips for minimizing the chances of getting your bike stolen.

Here are a few of my tips:

use 2 chains
take the saddle off ( makes it less attractive, especially in a bike rack )

Lock related

Have a better lock than the bike next to yours.
At the very least get a lock such as this one: http://www.bicycleworkshop.co.uk/products.php?plid=m2b1s93p186 they are relatively difficult to break and are easy to operate meaning you'll lock your bike as a matter of course.
Don't use a cable lock. Bolt cutters snip them in like 5 seconds.

Location

Use a U-lock or solid chain lock (links thicker than 12mm) to attach your bike to something, but (and this is important) never lock your bike to something that would make it inconvenient for someone else.
Lock the bike to something solid.
Never leave your nice bike outside overnight or for extended periods of time during the day (but you're already doing this because you don't want to leave your precious bike out in the rain right?).
it should be in a reasonably populated, busy area
if you park in one area frequently, try to move around a bit - thieves might notice a decent bike often in the same place

Bike Tips

Get a cheap, ugly secondhand bike for city use.
Get allen key skewers as opposed to quick release
Keep your lights and/or cycle computers with you, not on the bike


Which rotors and do I need lock rings I'm upgrading wheels on a cross bike. My new wheels are centerlock disc whereas current ones are iso 6-bolt, so I have to buy some new centerlock rotors. I'm confused about the lock rings. Shimano centerlock rotors seem to ship with some kind of lock ring, whereas SRAM centerline rotors don't. What are these lock rings and do I need to buy them separately if I go with the SRAM rotors?

SRAM discs also come with lock rings. Standard lock rings get screwed on with an cassette tool. If you have a 15 mm thru axle on the front wheel, you will need an special lock ring, because the tool wont fit between axle and ring, and the right tool (probably an bottom bracket tool).
If your old discs are still in good shape you could use centerlock adapters. Lock rings and adapters are sometimes included in new wheel sets. Check that, so you don't buy them twice.


What is a good iPhone app for bikers? There are tons that are out there for recording routes, and such.  There's also the physical mounting.  Is the iPhone actually good/useful for bikers?

Cyclemeter is my favorite ride tracker.  If you are a bike commuter, you will appreciate seeing your splits and daily times.

Endomondo is also a nice app, and runs on a variety of other smartphones.  It's free, but more web-based, whereas cyclemeter is more phone-only.


Why do full suspension bikes seem to be on average £1000 more expensive than hardtails? I was just looking at the new On One Codeine full suss mountain bike and 45650B hardtail (£2599 vs £899) respectively. However, what is the great difference apart from the shock? A fox rear shock goes for about £300 max. What causes the giant price difference?

I don't think you are matching like for like and actually the price differential is quite small.

The only fair way to compare two bikes is by looking at the frame only price. In this case I've been unable to find the frame only price for the Codeine (SingleTrack forum suggested £599 with Monarch R vs £225 for 456) so have used Santa Cruz instead:

The frame only price for:

The hardtail Highball is $750USD RRP
The full suspension Superlight 29 is $1,099USD RRP with a Fox CTD

Both are XC bikes, 29" and alloy.

So the price difference between the two bikes is $349, this would include:

the shock
the pivot bearings bolts etc
additional welds for the FS
additional strengthening for the FS
more complex manufacturing of the pivots
additional design costs

There are other factors that influence the price of a complete bike that may explain the difference between the 456 and the Codeine. The £899 45650B is an intermediate level specification whilst everything I have seen on the Codeine indicate it will have a high performance build. The differences from what I've seen include:

the 45650B has a Deore groupset, a XT or X9 groupset would be £300 cheaper but the Codeine prototype had an XX1 groupset which would be at least £500 more.
the Codeine may come with a dropper post which would be £200 more.
the 45650B has a Sektor fork vs the Revelation on the Codeine which would be £100 - £200

Comparing the two bikes side by side there would be more examples where the specification levels are different and would justify additional costs (brakes, wheels, tyres, bars, saddle etc.).


Why are bicycles so expensive? I am looking to buy a bicycle to go from university to home everyday( about 20 KM per day), but I saw the price of bicycles are around $5000-$10000! I know I can buy many great motorcycles within this range of price and I am just wondering why is a bicycle with very very simpler frame and architecture and technology and material, etc. has same price as very good motorcycles?

Some example from Austria and Germany for new bikes:

~300€ will get you a cheap city/trekking bicycle with the cheapest components and 3x7speed gears. Often not assembled properly, low quality and heavy.
~600€ will get you a solid brand-name city/trekking bike or cheap MTB.
~900€ is where real road bikes and MTBs start.
>1300€ here you get good aluminium frames and Shimano’s or SRAM’s mid-range components.
>2000€ carbon frames, upper mid-range components. From this point on you mostly get improvements in weight.
>4000€. The best of the best. Road bikes with electronic shifting, aero wheels, <6.8kg weight etc.

I think for the US you can just replace € with $. Of course prices depends on region, discounts etc.
I don’t think bicycles in general are particularly expensive, you probably just looked in the wrong place.
As Pere points out in the comments, used bikes are often a good idea, especially when you need a cheap (<300€) bike. But in my opinion you should have some knowledge about bike fit and bike mechanics to be able to properly evaluate (and repair/maintain) a used bike. Sometimes good bikes are sold as “broken” for a few dozen Euros despite only needing some adjustments, a new chain and new tires.


Where can I get a sprocket that works with a standard bicycle chain that mounts onto a 5/8" bore rod? I'm trying to set up a bicycle powered machine (grain mill), and I want to drive a 5/8" diameter shaft with a standard bicycle chain. I'm trying to find a sprocket that is 5/8" bore that fits a bicycle chain. I've tried 3 separate ones on Amazon and all of the sprockets are too wide for a standard bicycle chain. Does anyone know where to get a sprocket like this?

If your grain mill is a prototype, I would make a sandwich of steel plates (ie really big washers) and clamp it all together.

        | <-- sprocket
      | | |  <-- two steel plates
   ==||=|=|=|======= <-- shaft
      | | |
        |

Getting the alignment perfect might be hard and require tweaking, but this temp solution allows you to undo it and make adjustments.

Consider welding it in place. - this would have to be perfect, and it does make replacement of the cog difficult.  But it won't move or slip on you!

Final thought - if you don't want a rigid shaft, consider cannibalising a freewheel or freehub.  I'd consider slapping a whole freewheel cassette on, and using an appropriate gear.  This way the machinery can move forward on the freewheel but not backward.  Clamp it up between two cone nuts on the threadded shaft.