Replacing cantilever brakes Just bought a winter beater to ride through the winter.  I knew it needed some love but the frame (Giant Yukon) fit well and it was a reasonable price.

I just threw the bike up in my repair stand last night to discover although the brakes were partially working they all have a missing/broken plastic piece (They are missing the plastic piece that is labeled Spring adjuster below).  This piece connects the spring that pulls the brake away from the rim to the frame.

Picture taken from Sheldon Brown's Site.

I was thinking that rather than try and hunt around for that little piece that I should just go and buy a new set of brakes.  I was hoping to get some suggestions.  I was thinking that a set of v-brakes might be a good improvement.  They are a newer (but mature) technology.  I think if I upgrade to V-brakes that I will also need to get some new levers.  I just wanted to double check that they should fit my current bike (ie the pegs are in the same place).

Any other input would be appreciated.  Last winter I rode my mountain bike with disks so I am not excited about switching to rims but I want to protect my mountain bike from salt.

If you switch to V-brakes you will need new levers. V-brakes are designed for levers that have a lower mechanical advantage, but pull the cable farther. If you mix and match, your brakes will work, but not very well.

If you want to stay with cantilevers, I recommend Cane Creek.


Mixing 9-speed Tiagra and 9-speed Deore XT I currently have a road bike with the following setup for the gears:

9-speed Tiagra front and rear derailleurs, Sora shifters, all from 2009:
30/39/52 Crankset
11-25 Cassette.

I need some more low gears for hilly areas, and I am thinking of switching to a 9-speed Deore XT derailleur and 11-32 cassette. Is it possible / compatible? Do you think that cross-chaining would be an issue? Will I need a new chain?

Yes, that will work just fine. I have a similar setup on my touring bike, Tiagra shifters and an LX derailleur.


Wobbly wheel/hub even when I tightened the cones The wheel has a sideways wobble eminating from the hub. I tried adjusting the cones to the point its too tight but the wobble continues. Upon closer inspection there is play in the point where the freewheel connects to the hub. Its a 2006 shimano deore MTB hub. How to fix?

I ran into this issue on my bike recently. It could be a bent axle, damage on the inside of the hub, or both. If the axle is true, you will need to replace the hub or a whole new wheel. Good news, a new MTB wheel is relatively cheap, on the order of about $50-60.


Uneven Chain Ring Wear, or Manufactured This Way? Bike - Trek DS 8.6 (2016) hybrid. Purchased August 2016

Chain set / chain rings - FSA Dynadrive 48/36/26

Shimano Deore front and rear derailleurs

Chain - KMC

Bike usage - roughly 600 miles since purchased, road and bike trails, but not off road / trail; Some hill work (but generally in small chainring for those), and really only using large chain ring when on flat roads. Novice rider, so not huge power output, and rides average 80-85 cadence rpm, topping out 100-105 very occasionally. Rides are generally between 10-20 miles

Edit re "cross-chaining" - when using the large chainring I would tend to be using smaller cogs of the rear cassette, to avoid cross-chaining

Please take a look at the picture - hopefully you will see what appears to be different shaped teeth on the front large chain ring. Some appear quite pointy, others rounded, and two or three almost flat, as if the apex has been removed.

My question(s) - is this excessive wear and if so, caused by some fault in the drive train? Or has the chain ring been manufactured with these differences in the teeth? If there is a likely fault I can go back to LBS, but what are the likely causes? If deliberately manufactured that way, why?

More or less all contemporary multi-speed chainrings are like that. The idea is the different profiled teeth correspond to different areas of the ramps and/or pins to create specific assisted areas for shifts to occur.


tyre size for a 28" bike, at the moment: 35C, is 32C too narrow? since my tyres are a little old and won't make it much longer, I will buy new ones. At the moment I have Schwalbe Marathon 700-35C  and I was thinking to replace them with a Continental Contact II 700 x 32C. Since there are no Contact II 700 x 35 C I thought about going slightly thinner instead of 700 x 37. Any Ideas on this?

Having less friction on the tyres could be great since my commute grew considerably longer this year.

I doubt the rolling resistance or air resistance will be much changed by using a 3 mm narrower tyre.  In terms of compatibility there's a chart here where you can check your rim size against safe tyre combinations.  Although as it says below, many people go outside this range without problems and I have done so myself.


What are the benefits of nickel-plated chains? Bicycle chains with higher model numbers (and slightly higher prices) are often nickel-plated or half-nickel-plated. What are the benefits of nickel-plated chains over non-nickel-plated chains?

How durable is the plating--does it wear off, or do its benefits last for the life of the chain?

Nickel plated chains have this done for aesthetic purposes, and to provide corrosion resistance. They are also less susceptible to the chain binding itself up.

When two metallic surfaces create friction against each other, they create small areas of abrasion (Much like a plaque in your arteries). Over time, these increase to the point where the chain can kink in spots. Nickel helps to stave this off.

The wearing may be slightly higher than with a non coated chain, but the difference to the lifespan of the cogs (cassette) is negligible. Chains should be replaced around the 2500km mark on a regular basis, and cassettes anywhere from 5000-10000km depending on many factors. You'll go through 2-3 chains per cassette, and usually I replace my cassette with every 3rd chain no matter what.

Dust/dirt/mud and poor maintenance will do more harm and accelerate wear faster than any plating on the chain will.


Chainring and cassette configuration How does the 52/36 chainring coupled with a 11/30 cassette match up.
Will it be good for a 70 year old recreational rider? Or what combo would you suggest?

Highly unlikely this is the gearing for you. Standard chainrings on most drop bar road bikes are 50/34 ‘compact’. 52/36 would be considered a higher gearing choice these days.

It’s likely you will need a lower gearing, especially if you live in a hilly area, so consider a 48/32 ‘sub compact’ on a road bike. You may also want to consider bike that can take a wider range cassette. 11-36 cassettes are available on road groupsets.

You may even want to consider a flat-bar hybrid with even lower gearing and more upright riding positions. Find a good local bike shop for advice and to try out some bikes.


Getting a saddle rail back in I have a saddle rail that has popped out.

Does anyone know how to get it to go back in?

Your only option is judicious application of force.

I'd find a way to clamp the saddle down with the nose up against an immovable object, then push the end of the rail forward with something until it clears the lug and can be slipped down and back into it's hole.

Using a length of 2x4 wood held somewhat like a handlebar may be effective at allowing you to push the end of the rail with enough force.


My bike Crank is making noise like Tuk, Tuk... once or twice when I pedal hard I get a sound from my crank as if something were about to break to pieces when I stand and pedal hard.

The fault turned out to be a crippled ratchet in my rear hub. I got it replaced but am thinking of replacing my old bike now, it served me 10000Km in every season, every road in 2 years plus 3000Km in 3 years, a good service.


How exactly are pedals attached to crank arms? Recently I tried to unscrew the left pedal of a bicycle by turning it counter-clockwise with a spanner lengthened with a piece of pipe. The net result is the spanner broke apart and the pedal is still there.

This makes me wonder.

Is that just threaded joint or is there something else besides threading? Is the threading left-handed or right handed? Do I need anything else except what I would normally use to unscrew a threaded joint?

Like Daniel Hicks says, they are threaded opposite to each other. This ensures the act of you pedaling is constantly tightening them both. If they were both the usual right hand threads then the left pedal would eventually unscrew and fall off.

So, if you're like me and use the right hand rule to constantly assess which direction you should be turning things to make them move in the direction you want, you'll now need to switch to the "left hand rule" for the left hand pedal.


Does bicycle rim wear affect wheel truing? I read bicycle rims wear out with braking. As the wear to the different areas of the rim is likely not equal as they are subject to varying brake force and duration, how would this affect wheel truing? Example, if wear at one area of rim is more than another area, the area with more wear would sit further away from the truing needle.
Is there an area of rim you are meant to use during truing, such as the edges?
Is there a part of the rim the brakes should be installed at?

Wear will only vary around the circumference in rather odd cases, e.g. a significantly out of true wheel with brakes that don't self centre, damage, or local contamination reducing friction.
The two sides should wear evenly as well, as brakes rely on squeezing the pads against opposite sides. Here though, it would be possible to get some uneven wear. Perhaps chain oil on the drive side would reduce friction and wear, or one pad could get a piece of metal or grit embedded and grind down one side, but you should hear that and fix it even if you don't do much to care for the bike.
Radially, an old rim will eventually have a taper both due directly to wear on the braking surface (but not right at the bead) and indirectly as the worn rim is thinner and deforms due to tyre pressure. If you're truing such an old wheel to a really precise level, you'll need it to be good and round, and well centred, or you'll be measuring at different radii where wear is different. But if you're seeking real perfection from a well worn wheel, perhaps it's time to go shopping for a new one.


I rode a children's bike, now the chain is sagging - is it ok to shorten it? I know that I shouldn't have, but I had a go on my son's bike (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/xtc-street-20-2012).

I think that I stretched the chain. It's sagging now with about 3" of vertical play at the point between the cogs.

So - can I buy a chain breaker and just shorten the chain, or should I get a new one?

If this happened over the course of 1 ride, it sounds like the wheel just slipped forward in the dropouts. If you loosen both nuts on the rear wheel axle and pull it backwards evenly, you should be able to retension the chain to proper working specs. Then just tighten it back to a torque of pretty f**ckin tight so it doesn’t slip again!


Changing '75 international to clip in pedals and shoes I have developed foot issues because my stiff insoles don't do me much good on the bike, especially if I stand to go up hills. So I think I need to switch to clip ins with good stiff shoes (Bont looked good online). What issues will I have with my Campy cranks on the Raleigh International  and Suntour on the Specialized Hybrid ? I am hoping for one pair of shoes that I could walk around at the grocery store in and ride on both bikes.

Mountain bike Look pedals? The Bont commuter shoes sounded like just what I wanted till I saw they were discontinued.

I would just pull one pedal off each bike and go to a bike shop.  Go with the right pedal as the threads are normal.  I seriously doubt either has odd threads that you cannot find clip pedals.  You would just get compatible (or same) pedals for each bike.   Pick a pair of shoes that walks OK.  A mountain shoe is going to walk better so you should get mountain pedals.  Shimano SPD and Crank Bros Egg Beater are two popular types.

A hard soled shoe (without clips) designed for biking with larger platform pedals is also an option.   They don't bike as well but they walk a whole lot better.  Five Ten is a brand.


What can be creating resistance when I cycle? I recently bought a foldable bicycle.

Everything seems fine and smooth, but when I cycle I can feel quite a lot of resistance - not air resistance, but resistance on my tires - to the point than when going downhill the bike brakes (itself) and stops.

My first suspicion was that the brakes might be broken, I thought maybe they were too tight. However that's not the case since I tuned them, and at one point I even released them completely to be sure it wasn't the brakes.

When I spin the wheel it seems to run free. It does not spin as much as I would expect but nothing really serious seems to be slowing it.

What could possibly be happening? Maybe when I'm cycling my extra weight affects the wheels somehow; is there some other tuning or test that I can do to find out and fix this problem?

Make sure that:

The hubs aren't over-tightened
The tires aren't rubbing on the frame or brakes
The tires are at the highest allowed pressure
The freewheel isn't stuck

My guess would be that (at least when loaded), one of the tires rubs on the frame.


Clicking noise in rear wheel that stops on load. Bearings? The bike is a Merida Speeder 10 flatbar and about a month old.

I've noticed a rhythmic clicking from the rear wheel. At first I thought the wheel may be bent and the break pads were catching, but that is fine. I also noticed that the noise stops when there is load, eg: when I am pedaling up a hill.

The noise occurs both when cruising and when free wheeling. It happens in any gear and at any speed.

Could the bearing be worn?

Yes this was the bearing. The wheel was cheap, as was the bearing, and was slightly buckled. The bearing just got worn out.

I would not recommend this bike (Merida Speeder 10) as the quality is terrible.


How to transport an unusable bike AND a set of wheels without a car? So as you may know, I have recently assembled a bike, with great help from my friend. Problem is, wheels didn't arrive on time, rear rack wasn't available to buy until recently, and saddle post clamp broke recently.
I do not have a car, and my friends lives, and has his workshop, about 10 km from me. Riding back and forth using public transport would take about 1h each way, so I would greatly prefer to do it once, and go back on my bike, than spend 6 hours in the buses. But I have only 2 hands, wheels are 28 inches, and my bike is far from small and light.
Maybe someone had similar issue and found a solution?

"Ghost ride": Borrow a good bike (if needed). Ride on the good bike, while pulling the incomplete one alongside you by holding its stem. Your secondary hand sits on the second bike's stem and pulls it along as you ride slowly.
It may sound silly, but I had to do it once and I was impressed with how well it worked. One way to look at it: it's not much harder than riding one bike in the first place.

I don't have a clear understanding of what the condition of your bike is and whether this will work for you.
For my solution to work, your incomplete bike needs to be complete enough for you to roll/push it as you walk alongside it, so stem and both wheels need to be on and capable of spinning. But you don't need a seat, chain, gears, brakes, pedals etc.
Some notes from Criggie - he posted a very similar answer minutes after me and he kindly suggested I merge his into mine.

The towed bike should be slightly behind your bike, by perhaps 100mm
or 4 inches, to help limit handlebar interference.
If you have a choice, ride the smaller/lower bike or the one with
the most upright body position.
Obviously you need your prime braking hand ready to brake your bike.
If that means you can't change gear, so be it. Score one for
right-hand front brake and right hand rear shifter setups.
Turning can be a tricky process too - you need the inside bike to
turn more sharply, and to not get the handlebars or pedals hung up
on each other. And if it does go badly you need to be able to
recover without falling off. So pick a quiet route with no big
intersections, no climbs/descents, etc.
It is possible to lift the towed bike to get it back on track, but
avoid leaning on it while riding. However you can do an awesome
trackstand at a red light this way!
This is nothing to do with Ghost Bikes, the white-painted memorials,
and also nothing to do with "ghost riding a whip" a trendy bike
trick where the bike rolls all by itself with no rider.

EDIT: someone already wrote a good guide for this.
Please also note I have no idea whether this is legal, so only do it on your private land:-)


Whats a good entry-mid wheelset for a salsa fargo? Im building my touring/sportive bike for this summer, and i ve decided to go with a salsa fargo frame, and im thinking of having two separate wheelsets, one for more offroad touring, and one for road optimized sportives/brevets.
Does this sound like a good idea, and if so what are your recommendations for the road wheelset on the fargo?

We don't really do product recommendations per the frequently asked questions. Links to manufacturer or shop websites will frequently go stale, and furthermore bicycles and the bike industry are evolving quite rapidly - particularly gravel bikes and their gear.
That said, it's possible to discuss some generalities. The practice of having two separate wheelsets is not uncommon for multipurpose bikes like the Salsa Fargo, which Salsa describes as an off-road touring and bikepacking bike (although clearly, nothing stops you from using it primarily on road). If you use tubeless tires, then because those tires are more troublesome to mount and dismount, having two sets of wheels with different tires could save you effort. If you wanted a wheelset that was more performance road focused, e.g. aero rims with 28mm tires, then that could be another reason to maintain a separate wheelset. However, you have to buy the wheels, and a pair of rotors, and another cassette unless you want to swap cassettes back and forth. Some riders keep one 650B and one 700c wheelset, with the 650B set getting wider tires for even more technical off-road terrain.
Depending on what your gravel looks like, it's possible that some people might be able to use a wide slick tire, and that would tend to bias me away from maintaining two separate wheelsets - I'm thinking gravel that's mainly dry, because knobs are objectively needed in the mud, whereas I'm not sure that knobs help a lot on dry gravel. If you feel like you can actually cover your intended needs with one pair of tires, you might not want to get a second wheelset. If you're not running your tires tubeless, then it's easier to change tires back and forth - however, tubeless is generally recommended off-road.


What is the model of my bike I have anime that I lost it owners manual .. So it's question for me is here anyway to find out the model of that ?

Guessing from the picture, the make is "Viva" and the model is "Warp". It also looks like it's a relatively low/entry level bike, and may be relatively heavy for its size, and will be equipped with a lower quality range of components. It should be noted that there is a higher-end road/transit bike manufacturer that goes by the name Viva; this does not appear to come from the same manufacturer.

I could be completely wrong... It looks like there is a web address on the chainstay. Your best bet would be to contact the manufacturer with the serial number of the bike.


Best way to repair Neoprene gloves I have a pair of Castelli Neoprene gloves. They are just over a year old and one of them has a tear up one of the gauntlet sleeves and various smaller holes on the thumb, fingers and the palm.

All of the tears / holes appear to be along seam lines, which appear to be stitched, but not quite.

Would it be better to repair these tears by stitching, or gluing, I have seen some wetsuit glue that I assume can be used on Neoprene gloves

I've got some wetsuit glue, and the join is really tough.  Just be sure to use it on clean, dry material,follow the instructions carefully (it's a bit like patch cement), and allow it to set for plenty of time before use.  Sadly, you can probably reckon on a nearby failure before too long, as the stress is moved to a different place.

I recommend keeping the glue in the freezer, sealed in a bag -- it keeps longer that way, so you should get another few uses out of it.


Bike feels like it is getting stuck when I start pedaling or increase pressure as I go up hills My bike feels like it is getting stuck when I start pedaling or increase pressure as I go up hills. Of course, I checked to see if the brakes were rubbing but they are completely free of the wheel. When I try to start riding after a stop I get the rubbing noise and feeling of tremendous friction but once I reach a constant speed it disappears. It will reappear as I speed up quickly or climb a serious hill.

To summarise the comments, it sounds like your rear wheel has some freedom of movement where it shouldn't.

If you stand beside the bike and wiggle the top of the tyre sideways, can you perceive any movement?  You shouldn't be able to feel anything.

Try the same sideways push at the front or rear of the rear wheel.  Again no motion should be detectable.

I'm going to go with a broken axle, a loose axle nut or stretched skewer, or a bearing problem that is permitting lateral play in the wheel rim when under load.

Good news is all this is fixable.  Take the rear wheel out and start investigating, and do let us know what you find.


How does one ride 'no handed'? Learning to ride no-handed has been on my new year resolution list year after year after year and I still haven't done it. I'm 46 so I need to be careful about falling off. Do people have fool-proof techniques for learning to ride no-handed they can share?

Just to clarify after Daniel's comment below I have three bikes, a racer, a commuting bike, and a mountain bike. The mountain bike is twitchy but the others feel stable.

Do it little by little.

Like a learner driver, go find a car park or a quiet road, you don't want to be doing this in the traffic. Ironically, you probably don't want to be doing this on a surface that will give you a soft landing. I suppose a flat playing field might work, but cycling on grass isn't as smooth as cycling on tarmac and you'll need a predictable, flat surface to work with.

The biggest skill to master is steering through weight, not through moving the handlebars. You probably do this anyway, but it's something to work on deliberately while you've got two hands on the bars. Just sway your weight from side to side and try to go in the direction you want - in a moment you'll be steering like this for real, so try and get it going well when you don't need it.

I don't think it's worth going one handed first - this is an all-or-nothing exercise. Get going in a straight line with your hands lightly on top of the bars (if you're on dropped handle-bars) and just relax your hands. Hold them flat on the bars and just lift them. Don't look at them. Just lift them a little. A fraction of an inch will feel like a foot ...

But then just try to do things with the hands off the bars. Do the leaning and swaying from side to side. Just a little amount. Just enough to drift a little off line then get you back going in a straight line. Then once you're happy, try to sit up. The more you practice, the less of a problem this becomes.

You will feel very unsteady as your centre of gravity moves around. The key here is that on most bikes your centre of gravity is quite low, somewhere around your knees, but as you take your hands off the bars and sit up, it rises significantly, so you need to be happy in controlling it and how to react to how the bike is taking it.

Pretty soon you'll be taking corners.

Of course, don't forget that, unless you're on a fixed or have non-standard equipment, the only way to stop suddenly is probably quite painful ...


When are studded tires necessary? Aside from racing or riding across a frozen pond, under what conditions do you find studded tires useful?

I have never used them, and the worst I have had to do is take a day off when it is really nasty and icy. Maybe some climates or landscapes are more prone to the spontaneous formation of ice patches?

I find them useful on the street during the winter. Here in Minneapolis it gets pretty cold and the streets can get pretty icy. Their studded-ness plus their aggressive tread pattern give me good traction in snow and on ice.

However, studded tires are really slow. The majority of the time, even in winter, there isn't much ice and I am completely fine riding on slicks. For days when its snowing and icy, I have a spare front wheel with a studded tire mounted on it. I'll swap that in for those days, leaving the slick on the back. Traction on the back is less than optimal, but it is a good speed/stability tradeoff. I can handle my backwheel slipping around, but if the front wheel slips I am going to end up on my face.

Also I did this when I commuted daily, so I didn't skip very snowy days. In fact very snowy days made me want to ride more.


Trying to repair avon roadster 2000 circa Looking for a Manual or pictures to help put back together an Avon roadster circa 2000.

You do not need a special manual and there probably isn't any. You have to identify the kind of parts that are used on the bike. Like: quill stem, coaster brake rear hub, the type of bottom bracket (square taper) and so on.
Most skills you need for this bike are the same as on any other similar bike from older times so you need to get generc knowledge about bike maintenance - directed to older bikes specfically.
There are many resources you can use, books, vdeo tutorials, the Sheldon Brown's website. There are specific questions and answers here that list such resources.


What kind of tool will loosen this nut holding a chainwheel on a one piece crank? Can someone tell me how to remove this nut that is holding the chainwheel in place on this one piece crank? In the picture below, the red arrows are pointing to three slots in the nut that a tool would fit into to remove the nut.

Is there a name for a too like that? I looked on the park tools web site but I didn't see anything.

Is there a way to loosen it without having to buy a specialized tool?

Thanks in advance,

Such a tool may be called hook spanner.

The nut is holding the inner race of the bottom bracket bearing.

A web search with "bottom bracket" and "hook spanner" produces a couple of hits. (For instance, the tool mentioned by Klaster in the comments.) You may use a vernier caliper to determine the dimensions of your nut and find the right tool for you.


Are Tubeless Continental GP5000s harder to mount than non-tubeless (normal clincher tyres)? I'm asking specifically about Continental GP5000 tubeless vs. non-tubeless comparison.
Context: I would like to convert to tubeless on my road bike, and my current clincher GP5000 feel great, but fit my rims just barely (i.e. are pretty hard to fit). I'm reticent to buy 'tubeless' to find out I can't mount them, or with much pain.
I haven't found anything specific to this tire on the web.
Question: is the "tubeless" version of the GP5000 any tighter than the non-tubeless?

They are marginally harder to mount (slightly tighter fit).
If you struggle with the non-TL, you will struggle with the TL more, whether this extra struggle means you won't be able to mount it, depends on you and your rim.
If you get enough practice you will learn little tips and tricks for mounting tubless tyres.
Such as:

Make sure it's seating in the rim well
Coat with soapy water
Use straps to hold seated part of tire onto the rim whilst you manoeuvre the rest
Start at the opposite end of the valve and finish at the valve

There are many more, but we can't really comment on whether you would struggle or not as we don't know you experience on this.


Do tubeless tires offer significant benefits for a cyclocross bike? I've been using tubeless tires with great success on my mountain bike for a year or so, and the time is here to replace the wheels on my cross bike.  I was thinking of getting another pair of stan's rims (the Alpha 400 seems best suited for cross).  A little background on my riding - I use the cross bike for road/trail commuting, CX racing and general recreation.  I would guess that 30-35% of its' miles are off road, and a good bit of this is on rocky/rooty singletrack.

I'm a bigger guy also so when I flat it is typically a pinchflat.  The idea of a more flat-free commute has great appeal to me.  I'd assume the ability to run lower pressures would help a lot for the singletrack riding and the sloppier races as well.

Do tubeless tires offer significant benefits for a cyclocross bike?

The reason I ask is that I've heard horror stories about conversion kits on road wheels (most centered around the dreaded "burp"). Does a tubeless specific rim eliminate this? I'd assume that it does, but that opinion is largely formed by my experience with the stan's mountain bike rims.  I'd love to hear from anyone who has actually ridden a cross bike with tubeless tires and/or rims.

So I decided to take the plunge and try the tubeless wheels.  I've got about 80 miles of road and gravel riding on them now, and figured I should start formulating an answer.  I ended up using the stan's alpha 400 rim because of my weight and the lack of rim brake compatibility in their cross specific rim.

So far it's been as advertised.  The tires can run at much lower pressures than I was able to run with tubes, to the point that if I come back onto the road I actually feel like the tire is going to tear off the rim when taking tight corners too fast (these are corners on neighborhood trails and such, it is not nearly as pronounced when riding on real roads).  The lower pressure lets the tires hook up really well off road - probably not as well as a wide set of tubulars but much better than the tubed tires I've used in the past.  So I would say yes, there are significant benefits.

There are a few gotchas to be aware of though, namely the lack of tire selection - the tires I wanted to run would not lock into the bead.  Even at low pressures they would blow off.  I ended up going with a set of (non-tubeless) continentals that my shop had lying around.  It took a while for sealant to permeate the tire, but they are working great now.  I think there are only a handful of tubeless specific cross tires at this time, but feel certain more will be coming.  With the alpha (road wheels) you also need a special rim strip (in addition to the yellow tape) for higher volume cross tires.  With some tires this is not needed (or even detrimental), but it ended up being needed for mine.  I'm sure you could jury-rig something but I would just plan on spending another $40 or so on these strips (just a rubber strip with a valve stem built in).  I've been told this is not needed with the iron cross rims.

All things considered, I think it was worth the hassle so far.  The stans wheels are great - very stiff when cornering, and I saved almost a pound at the rims off what my factory wheels weighed.  I will come back and post more once I've done some singletrack riding and a race or two.

edit - so I've done some singletrack riding and one race, and now I'm really starting to see the benefit.  The stans wheels don't really allow super low pressures (I burped at about 22 psi while preriding the race course) but they feel great at 30.  This is for a 220 lb rider with 35mm tires, using the rubber strips.  The wheels hooked up really well on the slick grass course, and held up well to dismounts/remounts.  At this point I'm ready to call the experiment a success.  Looking back the only thing I would have done differently is go with a tubeless-specific tire (it took a long time for sealant to sufficiently permeate the non-tubeless tires I used).


Anyone have issues using cx tires on the road when its wet? I have a cross bike and i love the feel the fit and the response to steering that comes with cx bikes but im having a repeat issue. Using it as my daily rider when roads are wet it never fails that during a ride i find myself sliding on my hips because my tires just slip out from under me. Is this related to having knobby tires or maybe a pressure issue. Any thoughts anyone?

Yes knobs have less surface contact and do not have good road traction.

Consider road touring tires.


Using a Sram 22 group with 10 speed crank I have a SRAM Red 22 group set that has a standard crank (53/39), and I also own a SRAM Red 10 speed crank with compact chainrings.  I'll be doing some climbing soon and would like to use the compact that I have already.  I can't swap just the chainrings due to different BCD sizes (130 on the 22 and 110 on the 10 speed).

Can I use the Red 10 speed crank (and compact rings) with the rest of the Red 22 group set, or do I have to bite the bullet and buy compact chainrings?

If they use the same bottom bracket, it's at least worth trying. While 9,10,11 speed chains are different widths on the outside, they are the same width on the inside so
there is a reasonable chance that a 10 speed front crank will work with an 11 speed chain.

I have successfully used 10 spd cranks and rings with a 9 speed chain. I see two potential problems with the swap you want to make.

Your front derailler is not designed to work with 50/34 rings and it may not shift well.
The slightly wider gap of a 10 spd crankset may get the 11 speed chain caught in between the chainrings.

Two is the killer problem, take the crank and 11 speed chain and see if it getting
caught between the rings is a real problem. If not, it's worth a shot. You won't break anything by trying it and you'll have to decide if you can live with the changes in shifting performance.


Screwing reflectors to pedals - what washers do I need, and where? I have Shimano M324 pedals on my bike, and I decided to buy the optional reflectors (Shimano Y41B98010). They arrived with no fitting instructions. There are 4 reflectors, each with 2 threaded "prongs" to engage the pedals, along with 8 nuts, 8 split washers and 8 flat washers. How am I supposed to fit everything? What order do the washers go, and on which side of the pedal? Am I supposed to use all washers? It all looks very fiddly. Including a few photos for a little clarification.

Danger danger!
I have used those reflectors and they are a piece of crap. The failure mode is the plastic breaking. Your shoes will damage them in no time. I'd expect 2000 km use out of them. Then you'll see the plastic holder is damaged and the plastic reflectors have been shattered and lost. The only things in these that don't fail are the metal parts.
If you use PD-M324 pedals, instead purchase orange ECE-R104 reflective tape. It is readily available in long lengths because in some jurisdictions trucks have to use it to mark the perimeter of the vehicle. 5 meters long x 5 cm wide costs less than 10 dollars/euros/whatever-similar-currency-you-use. You can use one roll to reflectorise 50 pairs of pedals once, or one pedal pair 50 times. Thus, one pedal pair costs 0.2 currency units to do.
The reflective tape lasts longer than the plastic reflectors, is probably about as good in reflective power, and it's much cheaper to install.
My current solutions is using PD-T8000 pedals that have the plastic reflectors factory-installed and mounted in a durable metal enclosure. They last a long time too. Besides, the benefit of PD-T8000 is that they have a "heavy side" and a "light side" so every time you stop they are in a well-determined position, so you can time your feet in such a manner that you can repeatedly hit the platform side or the cleat side. Also PD-T8000 are much lighter weight than PD-M324.
But if you want to use PD-M324 despite their shortcomings and don't wish to upgrade to PD-T8000, do use the orange ECE-R104 reflective tape.


Pushing it to my max on a 7% 2kft climb. I'm cardio limited, but legs never hurt. How do I push it harder? I have a climb by my house that is about 2,000 ft over 5mi (610 metres in 8 km or 7.6% grade).

I ride it a least once a week and I've got a ton faster (at 35min right now). Recently my legs stopped burning on it. I'm pushing it as hard as I can, and I think I'm in the 80-90% max HR when I do it. Anything more and my body quickly forces me to pull back.

My cadence is about 80 on it, and if I shift up, I seem to go slower, and if I shift down, my cadence is too high and again I go slower.

I do a lot of rides around 7-8k ft (2133-2438m) over 50-60mi (80-96 km) so this isn't a hard climb, I'm just trying to do it as fast as I can - You know, beat my coworkers.

Should I be able to pull more from my muscles on this climb? If so, how should I change my training?

This type of effort very much comes down to W/Kg at FTP (Functional Threshold Power).  You can get lighter, or you can work to raise FTP.

There is no magic formula to improve FTP, it requires (beyond a basic level of fitness) either a coach, or some well thought out self coaching.  A power meter and knowledge of how to use it is an invaluable tool, but where this is not possible, a HRM (Heart Rate Monitor) and RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) can work as an alternative.

A very popular training session is to ride 2x20mins at FTP 1-2x per week.

Self coaching can be tricky, but rewarding.  Pay special attention to making sure your easy rides are easy so that your hard rides can be hard.


Why do new road bikes come with handlebar tape attached? It appeared to me that typically new bikes are sold with tape already installed on the bars. That is both buying from a local bike store (LBS) or online. (Please correct me if I'm wrong, I have not have had a road bike yet.)

However, it would be quite unlikely that the drop bars of a new bike would fit the new rider. Likewise is it not very likely that the levers are correctly positioned.

Since removing the glue from bars is rather arduous, it is not convenient for dealers to sell or return them. However, looking at advertised bikes, I did not get the impression that the bars are there only as proxies to hold the levers in the store.

The question was thouroughly answered in the comments. I shall try to summarise the points given.

@rclocher mentioned that handlebar tape today can be removed easily without much residue. Thus making replacing bars and tape simple. This is contrary to my assumption which was based on limited and outdated experience. The tape is inexpensive for dealers and manufacturers (mentioned by @mattnz)
In my question I overestimated the use to cyclists of having bars that differ from the original (@mattnz). The assumption that customers or dealers are willing to replace handlebars seems also unfounded (@mattnz, @batman)
A typical fitting session typically includes only saddle height and position, stem spacers, and adjustable stems (@batman). More effort on this would erode the dealers profit margins and the patience of 80% of the customers (@mattnz). This is disputed since the typically high value of bikes and possibility to further service the customer is an incentive for the dealer to invest in good fitting (@andy256).
A bike without tape would be uncomfortable to test ride (@batman) and would look bad in the showroom (@Criggie). It cannot be compared to bikes without pedals, since attaching pedals is done in a moment, taping however takes time (@batman).

In case I misrepresented someones comment or overlooked it all together, please be so kind to mention it in a comment on this answer. I do have a few questions on some of these point, which I shall also post below.

Than you very much for the very interesting comments, they were informational beyond the initial, somewhat trivial, question.


No movement between two lowest shifter settings I bought a new derailleur, cassette, and hanger after a decent wreck. Shimano 105 set, 11 speed, 11-34 cassette. I've tried adjusting the shift cable barrel, H/L limit screws, and the screw that sets offset from big cog.
The derailleur hardly moves at all between the two lowest (biggest) gears and when I get to the highest (smallest) gear it doesn't always travel go far enough, and barely even touches the limit screw. I thought indicates the tension is too high, but if I loosen it any more it become sloppy and starts skipping.
The cable is older and has an tiny kink in it in the highest (biggest) gears when loose, should I start with a new cable? I've never worked on the cockpit of a road bike so I've been avoiding taking the bar tape off.
I'm not sure why the derailleur movement at the low end is so small, is that by design? Every other shift causes a noticeable chain-width-sized shift in the jockey wheel's horizontal position.

Time for some troubleshooting.  Start by getting the rear wheel off the ground, in a workstand or hang the bike somehow.
With your LEFT hand, directly move the derailleur while pedaling slowly with the right hand.  You should be able to get into the lowest gear (easiest, most teeth) by pushing the derailleur inboard.  When you relax it the derailleur should move outboard and the chain will move to the highest gear (smallest tooth count)
Watch out for your fingers!  This area of the bike can be dangerous to digits !
If not, adjust your limit screws.  By doing this you're taking the shifter and inner/outer cable out of the picture.   Only then do you move onward.
Set your rear mech's barrel adjuster on a middling setting, neither fully in nor fully out.
Set the chain on the second highest gear (the one beside the hardest gear/smallest cog) AND then click your shifter so it would drop into the hardest gear if you pedal.  But don't pedal.
Then undo the pinch bolt on the rear mech and pull through all the slack in your inner cable.  Check that the outer hasn't come loose in any frame cable-stops.  Then tighten that pinchbolt again.
At this point, it should be pretty close, but you will need to dial in the adjustment using that barrel adjuster.  Hand-pedal slowly, using the shifter to change gears this time.    Ideally chain should go up or down one cog per click of the shifter.
Finally - be miserly on the low limit screw asjustment.  You don't want the chain to have any way to hop over the top and destroy spokes.


Unbending Derailleur hanger Reading this article at park tool, it looks to be lacking some information, and here are my questions (some of them maybe pretty silly):

Why the bike should be "with the wheels level as the bike would appear on flat ground"?
Why in position C I should replace gauge?
Should I re-bend it with the same tool? How actually I re-bend the hanger?

Answering your questions about the Derailleur Alignment Gauge

The bike is positioned level as it easier is to reference and reset the horizontal and vertical alignments.
The wording around Condition C is a little vague.  If the hanger is bent (as in Condition C), as you straighten it your original reference position will have shifted, so head back to 9:00 position to reset the gauge, then go back to position 3:00, and check the alignment again. If more horizontal straightening is required you will need to go back to position 9:00 and reset reset gauge after each straightening session, then head back to position 3:00 to check how you are doing on alignment. Repeat until straight or beer calls you away.
You will use the tool itself to bend the hanger back into position.  You will want to put force on either the horizontal axis or vertical axis depending on how the hanger is misaligned. Keeping the bike level (Q1) makes this easier to do.  Typically, I use the frame for leverage.


Has anyone cycled London to Fishguard? I'm planning a company charity ride to Dublin and was wondering how hard the route was and how many days to expect to take?

It seems likely, since that is exactly NCN 4 - however, I haven't found any references to people riding the length of route 4, and the CTC route database isn't giving me anything either.

For reference, I plugged Charing Cross to Fishguard into cyclestreets and it reckons a shade under 300 miles (for the balanced route). Whether that means three consecutive 100-mile days, or five 60-mile days will depend on you.

I'd take the cyclestreets routes with a grain of salt, or at least study them carefully (and compare with the sustrans route description and mapping linked above).

Oh, and I see about 2km of total ascent on that route, with what look like some steepish sections once you're into Wales.


tire sizes do not match correctly I have a tire size of 40-622 and 700X38:

But when I look at the table I see that it does not match:
40-622  28 x 1-5/8 x 1-3/4  700 x 40C   28 x 1½ x 1,75  1995    Find tires
38-622  28 x 1-5/8 x 1½     700 x 38C   28 x 1½ x 1,75  1995    Find tires

You see how on the first line we got 40-622 (in the first column) and in the second line we got 700 x 38C (in the third column)? So what's the actual size of my tire?

Tire sizing is a mess. Read it and weep.
"700" or more properly "700C" is derived from an old French tire-sizing system; the number indicates the outside diameter of the tire in that system (700 mm), and the "C" indicates the width of a tire under that system (meaning "wide,"). "622" represents the bead seat diameter (or, approximately, the inside diameter of the tire) of a 700C tire, under the modern ETRTO sizing system. These days we use "700C" as the name for a size with a tenuous relationship to its original measurements (curiously, 700C has mostly survived as the name of the size for skinny road tires); "622" is more precise.
You'll see that these tires are also called 28" on that table, which is extra-fun because they're slightly smaller than 27" tires (which have become very uncommon), but have exactly the same bead-seat diameter as tires labeled 29" (used on mountain bikes).
Why the widths (38/40) aren't the same is less clear to me. Maybe the company has their own system for measuring widths that is slightly different from the ETRTO system.


Had the front derailleur adjusted, now it feels like the rear is skipping Here is the short version. I'm all for adding more once I know what that more is to help answer said question.

I work on the road. I take my Felt ZW75 (http://www.feltbicycles.com/USA/2013/Road/ZW-Series/ZW75.aspx) with me. It rides inside my work van to be nice to it as well as having in my possession after lunch. I had a full tune up done. Then, the front derailleur required two clicks to change gears. I took it to another bike shop and had that adjusted. All happy.

NOW, when I'm riding, and not necessarily under pressure, it feels as though the chain is skipping OR I'm changing gears and changing right back (on the rear cassette). It will do this 4 or 5 times in a row, then quit for a while. All under the same speed and pressure. It seems to not do it in some combinations, but that could be my imagination. It will act the same way on the trainer indoors as well.

I've really only ended up riding it once since the tune up, and three times (once indoors) since the weird skipping. So she is still nice and clean and oiled. In theory.

I am fully capable of taking it to yet another shop. However, I received a copy of the Barnett Manuel and a set of Park tools in a nice little toolbox for Xmas. I'd like to start learning to fix the thing myself on the road, since the whole take it back to the shop isn't exactly an option. The best answer I have found in the Barnett is either the chain, a cog, or the pawls (?!) are worn or dirty. But she really only has ~200 miles on her.

Thanks for the help.

Jennifer

It's hard to tell, but what you are describing does not have to mean that anything is broken. The most likely cause would be improper adjustment of the rear derailleur. It may seem outrageous after two tune ups from two different shops, but you have little to lose in at least trying. Oh, and you will not need your box of tools for this, sorry!

Watch this video. Pay attention to the last part, the barrel tension adjustment, which I think may be what's bugging you. Although the website you linked says your bike is equipped with SRAM, Shimano has a detailed procedure to adjust that tension, which you may want to follow: as far as I know all brands work more or less the same. The document I have linked is for a random rear derailleur, but the SIS adjutment part, which is the only one you should worry about, is the same for all.

If you can't get it to work, then I would recommend getting it to a bike shop. I would think that any of the two you have already been to should at least take a look at it without charging you anything.


Can I somehow attach a bashguard on top of largest chainring? I have a 1x system with an ordinary 104BCD chainring and I bought a bashguard foolishly thinking it goes on top of that. Turns out a bashguard typically replaces the largest cog and I've got only one.

Is there any way to place the bashguard on top of the chainring? I have longer chainring bolts, but when I place the bashguard directly on top of the cog, there isn't enough clearance for the chain.

A lot of 104 BCD bashrings of the type that don't have cutouts for the crank arm would interfere with the crank arm by the time you spaced it out enough to go "on top" of the ring on a 1x crank. There's also the question of the spacers increasing the leverage that the spider tabs end up receiving, etc.

If your crank has the ability to mount the ring on the other side of the tabs, you might try putting it there and measuring the chainline to see how bad it really is. Cranks where the stock chainline isn't actually perfect as a hedge against frame clearance issues is sadly common anyway, so it might be fine, and if it's borderline than it's probably only your smallest cog where it really matters anyway, which might be another thing to weigh. Crank-mounted bashguards do have a long history of encouraging people to ride crossgears; it's essentially what you're signing up for when you put one on a 2x.

Frame (ISCG) mounted ones have become way more popular. There's a certain logic to that in how once you're hitting stuff that's too much for the inherent strength of a steel chain on a 1x ring, maybe you don't want it hitting your cranks at all, and certainly not via extra long spaced-out chainring bolts.


Why haven't Shimano or SRAM internal hubs had as many gears (or as much range) as Rohloff? What limitations cause Shimano to stop at 11 gears and 409% overall ratio, whereas Rohloff can cram in 14 gears and 526%?

There are a couple of likely reasons IMO.

First, Shimano don't make anything like a Rolhoff and that's intentional. Shimano market strategy is all about mass sales to bike manufacturers, and expensive, complex IGH are not part of that. Even their spare parts - those sales are not a huge profit centre, but they do take a lot of staff time (even though their staff supply wholesalers). Their whole importer/wholesaler/retailer supply chain works like this, it's about supporting the sale of new bikes.

Whereas Rohloff stock spares for everything. Ring your Rohloff importer and ask, they will almost certainly go out of their way to help you, because that's the company ethos. But then, Shimano sell more top level groupsets than Rolhoff sell hubs. Rolhoff have chosen a market that Shimano ignore: the "buy it once" market. Few sales, at a small price premium. But loyal customers.

Second, the engineering is hard. This is not simple commodity manufacturing. Rolhoff make the machines to make the parts to build the hubs.  They also have a really smart IGH designer who has been working on this one thing for twenty years. Shimano would have to put one or more of their really smart engineers on the design for a couple of years too. Instead of those people working on products that might actually turn a profit.

Note that you can't just copy a Rolhoff or any other complex machine. What goes in to the process is not what comes out. For, say, a gear, they start with a blank. How big? Only the maker knows. Then it's machined, with a special gear-cutting machine. Do Shimano have a machine that can make this gear? Maybe, maybe not. But they definitely don't know the exact  design dimensions and tolerances. Then it's likely heat and chemically treated before final machining/polishing. Again, the details are important but you can't work them out from the final product.

Finally, given shitmanos reputation for briefly making short-lived crap, the Rolhoff market is going to look at a $1000 14 speed hub from Shimano (or 15, 16 etc) and say "how long is the warranty" and if it's the standard shitmano two years... They're going to snigger. Shimano would have to work hard to convince customers that they're even capable of offering a competitive warranty to the Rohloff one.

(I have owned a Shimano 8 speed hub... It failed after 5000km. Three times. So arguably 3 of them. After the last failure it couldn't be fixed because Shimano didn't support that model any more. A new wheel would have cost about a third as much as a new Rolhoff-equipped wheel. If I was stupid enough to fall for that trick again, anyway. By contrast, I have a low 5000's serial Rolhoff - 16 years old - that has been cheaper per kilometre and obviously much more reliable. The two hubs are not even trying to do the same job, except in the very broad "both are bike parts" sense.)


Ebike chain vs regular chain for up to 350w Mid Drive What are the differences between an ebike chain and a regular bike chain, and would I see an advantage in using an ebike chain for a mid-drive motor 250w-350w? I'm considering the Bafang BBS01B.
The price I can find for KMC e10 is roughly double the KMC x10 but I haven't found any information on what the differences between the two are.
I'm interested in the wear characteristics, strength, and whether a 350w or lower motor would cause any issues on a regular chain that an ebike chain could help with.

I don’t think you need an eBike specific chain. Pro cyclists can achieve 1000W and huge torque in a sprint and they use lightweight road bike chains. Even with a 350W motor you are unlikely to reach similar levels.
It looks like the e10 has beefier pins with "mushroom" riveting. The weight is basically identical (2.34g vs. 2.35g per link) and both have nickel plating.
Doesn’t look like it would make a difference. I think it’s merely a way for KMC to make more money with "eBike specific" parts. The same can be seen with eBike specific tires.


Tips for a novice cyclist wanting to get fit with a turbo trainer before summer I have decided to have a dalliance into cycling since a lot of people I know are quite into it themselves.

I have bought myself a bike (Specialised Tri Cross). Only a cheap, used one for now as I can always buy a nice, expensive and more lightweight one further down the line if I find I need it.

I chose a cross/adventure/gravel bike as I do intend to go slightly off-road, along river/canal paths on my travels, rather than being stuck to the road with a specific road bike.

I have also bought a turbo trainer (Tracx Flow smart trainer), along with training tyre so that I can get cycling no matter the weather.

My plan is to make the most of the turbo trainer whilst the weather is less than nice outside, after work so that (hopefully) I can have some sort of fitness for when the summer and the warm(ish) weather comes.

My question for the bicycle.stackexchange community is, how would I best go about doing this?

A lot of cyclists find they need motivation to train on a static trainer. It can be unrelentingly tedious to sit spinning on you bike staring at the same wall when you are used to nice scenery going by. If you are used to running on a treadmill or a similar exercise this may not be such a problem for you.

As you have a smart trainer that will work with Zwift, I'd recommend getting a subscription and taking advantage of the structured workouts they offer, and the motivation of virtual cycling courses and competition. You only really need a laptop or tablet to create a workable set up.

If you are not going to do Zwift, there are structured training videos for 30-60 min workouts on you tube that you can use. The Global Cycling Network has some pretty good ones.

You'll want to figure out what your goal is for when you transition to outdoor riding and pick appropriate workouts. E.g. if you live in a hilly area you would want to train for hill climbing, or if you want to do long rides select workouts that build endurance.


What type of tyre is is the most shock absorbing, between MTB or Hybrid) I want to setup my bike to the most shock-absorbing configuration possible. Rear and front suspensions are set to "soft", will look for a shock absorbing saddle, but how about tires?
My bike is a heavy e-MTB (Riese Muller), currently equipped with hybrid tyres. Keeping them soft makes a huge difference, at cost of a worst rolling(no problem).
But how about the tyre type? Would a MTB tyre be softer or not, compared to a hybrid one?

The most important thing for shock-absorption in tires is low pressure. The next important thing is width. The wider the tire the more “suspension travel” you’ll have and you can lower the pressure even more without risking a “bottom out” when hitting a pothole or rock.
I think tire type or construction is less important, but generally high-end MTB (or cyclocross/gravel) tires are made to be run at a low pressure. This means a thin and supple construction (especially of the sidewalls) at the cost of being less puncture proof.
So first of all you should lower the pressure as far as possible. When I ride low pressure I usually “test” it by pushing the front wheel hard against a sharp edge (e.g. kerb). If I can make it bottom-out with my full body weight it’s just about right. If you ride carefully you might be able to go even lower, but at very low pressures there is danger of the tire “collapsing” sideways in turns.
Edit: I should add that MTB tires don’t necessarily have big knobby tread. There are also versions with almost no tread or very fine knobs available in case you mostly ride on tarmac or smooth gravel. They should also run smoother and be less noisy.


Is this cone nut in proper condition? This is the original cone nut of a new coaster brake hub I bought recently. I didn't install it yet, it's new.

What bothers me are those weird stains / corrosion signs on the bearing surface.
It looks like the chrome plating is damaged (or whatever plating is on them) by corrosion (caused by improper storage conditions?), or physical damage (over tightening?). Just my speculations.

The camera/contrast settings might make it look worse:

Video (for different angles / light reflections):

Is it a good idea to just ride it and recheck its condition after a couple of rides? Or will it just fail right away? Can I polish it with sandpaper?

Update: It's been over a year since I posted the question and I rode ~1000km on that bike. I had no problems with the hub. The cone looks better now, and performs well. I believe there were just some stains on the surface.

Here's a picture of it now, cleaned and degreased. I left the dust cap on now, because last time I took it off it was a pain to put it back on. I think the imprefections on the bearing surface are being accentuated a little by my camera's default edge enhancement algorithms; with the naked eye they're less visible.


My MTB tires say "Inflate to 50 PSI". Can I inflate them a little more for commuting? I bought this MTB for commuting. Yup, I found out later that I should get a road bike instead. Too late. Not planning to use on rough terrain. Can I inflate the tires more than the manufacturer recommends? If I can, how much?

How wide are the tires compared to the rim? Wide tires at high pressure put stress on the rim’s sidewalls which can result in sudden, catastrophic failure. If the tires are relatively narrow it’s probably okay to over-inflate, but I doubt you’ll see much benefit. There are diminishing returns for rolling resistance.

See for example this test of 56mm wide Vittoria AKA tires https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/mtb-reviews/vittoria-aka-2015 which have a very high rolling resistance to begin with:

Rolling Resistance Test Results (Speed: 29 kmh / 18 mph / 8 m/s, Load: 42.5 kg / 417 N)
Inner Tube  Conti MTB 29 (225 gr butyl)
Rolling Resistance 55 psi / 3,8 Bar     35.6Watts
CRR: 0.01067
Rolling Resistance 45 psi / 3,1 Bar     36.3 Watts
CRR: 0.01088
Rolling Resistance 35 psi / 2,4 Bar     38.0 Watts
CRR: 0.01139
Rolling Resistance 25 psi / 1,7 Bar     40.7 Watts
CRR: 0.01220

As you can see, the effects of pressure on rolling resistance are surprisingly small (though I guess for a tire of this width 1.7 bar is already a relatively high pressure). Going from 45 psi to 55 psi for this tire saved only 0.7W per wheel when measured at a relatively high speed of 29km/h. At the same time you’d start to feel every tiny bump in the road and you’d have decreased grip on pebbles or debris.

I dimly recall an experiment where high pressures even started to increase rolling resistance on rough surfaces above a certain point.

As others have said in the comments, getting some good, slick (i.e. treadless) tires will improve rolling resistance much more.


Trek Mamba 2013. 1x11 upgrade I would like to know if it is worth and possible to upgrade a 2013. Trek Mamba from a 3x9 to a 1x11.

Rear hub: Formula DC22

Possible? Yes. Worthwhile? Probably.

You would need to buy a new rear derailleur, the cassette and the crankset (you may reuse the cranks with a new front cog, the tricky part is to get a good chain line, similar to the one you have now with the middle front cog) and of course a new chain.

Rear Hub is fine, it can accomodate a relatively cheap Sunrace 11-50 11-speed cassette.

The dismounting/mounting work is something you can do, no specific trouble, you will need to have 3 specific tools (for cranks and cassette) which will increase the budget needed of about 50/60 $/£/€.

On one hand, doing this you will spend xxx$/£/€ and get the bike you are familiar with, upgraded to a nice 1x11 speed system and you personally will understand a bit more of bicycle manteinance&co.

On the other hand, I think the Trek Mamba is a entry model with rather standard components, so it may be worthwhile to buy a used mtb for 2 times (or even 3 times) the amount xxx with similar geometry and a 1x11 system already installed ... if the "new" bike fits you, you are good to go, sell the Trek Mamba and you recover a bit of money, otherwise you can be almost sure that you can swap the 1x11 components to your Trek Mamba and viceversa and sell the "new" bike for something around xxx.


Chain skipping on new freewheel and chain setup - What went wrong? BACKGROUND NOTE: The bike is a 1992 Univega MTB that originally came with 6-speed SIS with a triple chainring. I removed the SIS shifter when it broke, and went with a friction shifter.  The bike is used as an all-purpose commuter/errands bike; I was having no problems with the "old-tech" setup other than a worn chain, and I have no plans to change the friction shifter on an old bike.

OLD SETUP
6-speed Sunrace Freewheel (straight-cut, 14-28); 6-speed chain (don't know the type).

NEW SETUP
7-speed DNP Epoch freewheel (beveled or ramped cut cogs, 11,13,15,18,21,24,32); KMC Z50 chain (1/2" x 3/32", 6-7 speed). The KMC chain box says "Indexed."

BOTH SETUPS USE:
Long-cage rear derailleur (Shimano Exage), triple chainring (28,38,48; Shimano Alivio, 18-24 months), and friction shifters.

THE REASON for the change:
chain wear and skipping, wanting two faster cogs and a lower hill-climber cog. The new chain was adjusted for length using the chain adjustment equation on Parktools web site.  After installing the chain, I doubled-checked and eliminated any chain kinking.  The rear derailleur is adjusted and shifting well with the new setup. When I re-installed the rear wheel, I placed a thin washer between the right-side axle nut and the dropout for chain clearance on the 11-cog but it might not be necessary.

THE PROBLEM:
The new chain is intermittently skipping in a "skip-forward" or half-shift" motion; less so when riding casually, more so when riding under load; less so on the 48-tooth chainring, appears to be more so on the smaller chain rings.

What's wrong with my new setup?

sounds like your chainrings are worn.  Look at the rings and see if they are "shark fin" shaped rather than symmetrical - a google image search for "worn out chainring" will show examples including some really, really worn out rings.  The old worn out chain likely wore out the rings as well.

I've had exactly what you're describing on a couple bikes and it was remedied with a new chainring up front.


What makes snap-on roll-up reflective bands want to roll up? I have some of those reflective bands that snap around the ankle or arm to increase visibility while riding.  How are they constructed such that they want to roll up?  What's inside them?

(The reason I'm asking is that I want to punch some holes in the end of two bands so I can connect them, probably with zip ties, into one longer band.  The first time I rode with them their urge to curl was so strong that the ends were rolled up and and it was halfway off my ankle when I got back.  I think a longer band will stay on better.  I want to know if I can punch holes without damaging the bands.)

If you were a kid in the 90s, you probably remember slap bracelets. They're basically the same thing. Usually made up of something like a bit of old tape measure (though you can make bistable structures out of many things).

You can make a slap bracelet by taking a bit of tape measure (say 6 inches) and rolling it up (gently but tightly), with the number side up (i.e. on the outside of the curl). See this video for an example of how to make it.

For what you want to do (and for riders in general), I recommend getting velcro reflective bands.


Just how much difference does your bike make? I'm new to cycling and got a cheap (not the very cheapest probably one step up) mountain bike as a way to get around the country lanes in Cornwall, with the odd rough track here and there down to a beach.

I am curious about the quantitative differences I'd see if I had:

The same type of bike but much lighter
the same bike but more road focused tyres
an actual road bike

My interest is more on ease of getting up hills and conserving energy in general than raw speed... Can anyone give me firm figures or real life comparisons?

Bicycles, like many machines, are efficient, but a large amount of energy converted by them is not in fact used for their "intended" purpose: The largest energy sink is air/wind resistance, which you can only very marginally improve on a "normal" bike†. However, wind resistance squares in relation to your speed, so maintaining a more leisurely pace would improve your efficiency. For example, people riding on cross-continental tours actually ride pretty slowly compared to e.g. people riding a road bike for training: They do this so that they can put in longer distances over the whole day rather than pushing themselves as hard as possible for e.g. 5 hours and then being destroyed for at least a day.

The second biggest contributor to the bicycle's lost efficiency is rolling resistance, as you seem to already realize; Therefore, getting a bicycle with proper road tires will drastically improve your riding speed and efficiency over riding a bike with heavy-tread mountain bike tires. As a real-life example, I can easily handle 50+ km in a few hours on a 40-year-old ten-speed without really "pushing" myself past my limit but on a mountain bike this would probably kill me.

Lastly, weight is very important when riding over hilly terrain but less important on the flats. However, you stated that you are riding over hilly terrain, so reducing overall bicycle weight might actually make a big difference for you even if it doesn't improve actual mechanical efficiency much: Humans are extremely complicated machines and we only have a very narrow power band, quickly becoming exhausted once we leave this particular "sweet spot" of cadence and load: If your cadence is too high you run out of breath but if your load is too high your body starts using anaerobic power and builds up lactic acid in your muscles, which wears them out.

TL; DR

If you have the money, go look for a decent used road bike (even if it's old, it's likely going to be more efficient than a fancy new mountain bike)-- if not, go look for decent road tires for your current bike. However, no matter what you do, ride your bike at a casual pace because you'll go further without getting worn out.

† You can significantly reduce wind resistance by riding a bike with full fairings but, for your stated purposes, this would be a bit ridiculous.


Front V-brake not working My V-brake isn't working and I am not sure how I can fix it. I have uploaded a photo of it. Any advice or tips?!

I think the flange might have come off the noodle and got stuck in the boot - any tips on getting it out??

Thank you.

The 'noodle' (the curved silver tube the brake cable passes through) has slipped through  the holder on the right-hand (in your picture) brake caliper. The noodle is designed to come out of the holder to spread the calipers to enable the wheel to be taken out.

The proper configuration looks like this:

Squeeze the calipers together and free the noodle from the holder. Pull the dust boot off the end of the noodle, you should see a little flange on the end - that fits into the end of the holder. Before you attempt to fit the noodle in the holder, slide the cable housing into the other end of the noddle, and also make sure the housing is inserted in the brake lever body on the handlebar. Squeeze the calipers together to fit the end of the noodle in the housing. When the noodle is back in the holder you can push the boot back on.

if that's not clear, here's a video on assembling v-brakes at a point where it shows how the noodle fits in the holder.

Updates based on futher info:

The flange has come off the end of the noodle. Normally the flange is permanently fixed to the noodle and it should not come off. You can probably shove the flange through the boot with the noodle, then slip it back on the end of the noodle, and re-assemble the brake as in the Park tool video. That will get the brake working. The real solution of course is to get a new noodle. A local bike shop will have one, they can also be found on Amazon or any of the the on-line bike stores.


Lights that don’t use o-rings I’ve looked through this site and couldn’t find a question asking the same. Sorry if this is a duplicate. Also, apologies as I’m posting on phone.
Are there any bike light sets that don’t rely on the o-ring design to attach them to the frame?
I hate having to fumble with o-rings every day when taking my lights on or off to charge. I would rather have a design where the mount is attached to the frame and you simply slide the light into it to hear a click alongside a quick release. Does such design exist? Or something similar that doesn’t involve taking the whole thing on or off?

To give a brand neutral answer: all the big light brands have at least some o-ring mounting styles now, but some of them still offer clip-in brackets as optional parts for the same lights. And there are still some around that come with that type, but it's the kind of brand-specific thing that changes a lot and so is off-topic here. So short answer, find lights you like or already have, and look at the spare parts options offered for them.


What's the cause of this kind of tyre damage? What's causing this type of damage to the tyre?
It's a 25 x 622 tyre on a 13 x 622 rim.
Tyre is a Schwalbe Active Line K-Guard.
The tyre itself doesn't seem worn.

Another possible cause is misadjusted rim brakes where the brake pad makes contact with the tire's sidewall.


How can I check tire pressure without a pressure gauge? I would like to tell if my tires are correctly inflated, in this case road tires, but I do not have a pressure gauge.

Is there a handy heuristic for checking the pressure? Could I do it, for example, by trying to squeeze the tire between two fingers and seeing how easily it gives? (I can do that anyway, but it wouldn't give me any idea about the pressure level.)

Unless you have got correctly inflated tyres then you do not know what you are missing. No rule of thumb can make up for this. Tyre inflation is really important and your best bet is to get a track pump with valve to check your tyres with. Do this every fortnight, leave it to every month if your journey times are not important to you. I cannot stress enough the importance of getting a track pump, however, that is not what you asked.

Several answers here have mentioned that you should take a peek at how much your tyres splay when you are riding the bike. This is definitely a useful check, however you must bear in mind that a correctly inflated tyre is not a solid tyre and it will bulge out sideways anyway. Only when drastically under-inflated will it show an easily discernible extra bulge. But do watch for that, particularly if you go over a bump and the bike 'thuds' more than normal.

There is also the ride-through-the-puddle test. Go through a puddle and onto a dry surface, e.g. a pavement or a hallway. If you look at how much water has been left behind you can get a comparative idea of how much of your tyre is in contact with the road. If you know what you expect and if the trail is thicker than that, e.g. with a lot more than the centre ridge making contact, then you may want to get the track pump out again.

Returning to the weight-on-the-wheel and how much the tyres splay idea, you can also roll your bike slowly over a kerb and see how much it deforms. At speed it will do so more than under the static situation, so try it slowly and there should be no danger to your rims and 'snake-biting' your tyres.

As for squeezing the tyre after inflating it as best as I can with a mini-pump, when I get to the track pump with gauge I am always surprised at how many tens of P.S.I. I was off the mark. Squeezing the tyre is a waste of time.

If you had car-type valves (which you don't) then you could get those valve caps that some car-part shops sell. These go red when you lose 5-10 P.S.I. They are good but not available in Presta to my knowledge.

Personally I find the best gauge to be how the bike feels and how fast it goes. On some parts of my commute I like to go quicker than the 20 m.p.h. speed limit (as cars cannot over take me then), however, there are times when I am not able to hit my expected speeds, as measured on the bike speedometer. With a bit of extra air in the tyres I can usually get back to where I expect to be.


Road bike tyre size for a mountain bike The mountain bike I've restored has spent all its time riding roads. I'd love a road bike but funds aren't up to it yet,
so I was thinking about putting a pair of road bike tyres on and swapping with the mountain bike tyres when needed.
I'm running 26x1.95 at the moment, and I'm wondering if I would benefit from a different size for the road.
I'm assuming the 1.95 refers to the width of the tyre.

I think what you are looking for are a pair of "slicks" for your mountain bike.  They come in a number of sizes for 26" wheels.  Batman suggests looking for a set between 1.7 - 1.9"  That is a good suggestion since you will be able to use the same tubes are are in your 1.95 mtb tires.

If you are willing to get a new set of tubes with those tires, I would suggest looking for 26 x 1.25 - 1.5" slicks.  It is a matter of preference, but I find them to be a bit quicker and responsive if you are willing to run the associated higher pressure.  If you commute has lots of curb jumping, pot holes, or broke pavement 1.75s may be my choice...

My experience is that 1.95 slicks really dont offer much over a fast rolling knobby tire.


Caliper brake -- middle piece loose I am putting my old cane creek 200 sl brakes on a different bike. I've had these brakes sitting around for awhile and I don't recall any problems the last time I had them on a bike.

But, on this new bike, the full calipers themselves loose, both front and back brakes, and has a wobble to it. I'm not getting great braking power and suspect this is why.

Could these brakes be the wrong size for the frame? It's an older Legnano steel road  (pretty similar to the 80s bianchi style road frames), and I am not sure how to figure the compatibility.

Some brake calipers have a small locking screw with which you can adjust the rotation of the brake caliper without having too loosen the bolt with which the caliper is mounted to the frame. Check if your caliper has such a locking screw and if tightening it helps. It should be approx 2mm in diameter.

The afore mentioned locking screw can be seen here: https://www.parktool.com/assets/img/repairhelp/dual27.jpg

Image source: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/dual-pivot-brake-service


What's this torque specification on the seatpost for? I read 12Nm torque on my seatpost (a Cinelli Vai seatpost).

What does this torque refer to?

I would assume it's for the two bolts above that tie the saddle rail to the seatpost, but at the same time it looks like a very high torque to me for those bolts, so I am confused.

I suggest looking at this table from Park Tool for what each component needs for torque.

For the seat rail binder (aka seat fixing bolt aka the bolts you've photographed), Park tool gives a range from 174 - 347 in-lbs as the Shimano value, with some others requiring as little as 44 or others as much as 300.

If we convert 174 in-lbs to N-m, thats about 20 N-m (the rule is divide by 9-ish). So, its a reasonable value for the bolts under question.

As noted in the table, the number doesn't really make sense for the seatpost binder (thing that holds the seatpost in the frame); you normally just go enough that it doesn't slip for that, which Campy suggests 4-6 N-m which is much lower.

All being said, I'm not sure who actually measures that torque unless you have fragile saddle rails or post or something. But I suspect many people go (well) below the 20 Nm ish figure from Park Tool by a good amount. I've never used a torque wrench for this,  but I'd guess I've tightened with 10 Nm at best.


Vertical dropout chips for Civia Bryant I have a Civia Bryant that has horizontal dropouts and an Alfine rear hub. The Bryant had interchangeable vertical/horizontal dropouts I didn’t get the vertical dropouts from the shop when I bought the bike and now regretting it.
Might anyone know where I could find vertical dropouts for the Bryant? I contacted Civia and they did not have any in stock. They suggested a derailleur hanger/tensioner option but it would be really nice to find the original proper dropouts.

Chris

I think your best bet is to do what research you can to find shops that were stocking that bike who might have then bought spares of the dropout kits, and then see if you can get one to sell you some remotely and send them in the mail. There's a good chance there's some shop out there that still has them, because they were the way you replaced the hanger on that bike.


Can a long stem be used safely with a short head tube? I picked up a 91 Rb-1 50cm down tube and 53cm top tube but the reach is a little short. A new stem was my best option so I picked one up. the height of the stem seems too long visually for the head tube but feels better. I understand the handling may be a bit different but would like to know if its safe?

If the quill stem is in the steerer tube at or past the minimum insertion length then mechanically this should be safe regardless of the height above head tube. This is assuming that the bike is still running a threaded headset and quill stem and the headset was correctly fitted with the fork.

I can't comment on the effect on handling and how safe the bike is to ride now.

Great bike by the way.


Rear brake rubs against the tire I just had my rear tire replaced at an -- admittedly shady -- bike shop, and now the upper part of the rear brake is rubbing against the lower part of the tire:

The yellow dust on the picture results from the friction between the tire and the brake.

However, the wheel is the same as before replacing the tire and the axis seems to be correctly centered:

Brakes are lowered as low as possible. I'm really at a loss here, so I'll be happy to hear any suggestion.

Turned out it had nothing to do with changing the tire: the brakes were simply worn out. Solved by replacing the brakes.


Safe to mount rear rack for Grail 7.0 al 2020 ( no eyelets )? The 2020 model of Canyon al 7.0 gravel bike does not come with eyelets:
https://www.canyon.com/en-sk/road-bikes/gravel-bikes/grail/grail-al-7.0/2370.html

But for longer tours ( for what I would like to use it too ) would need to mount a rear rack.
So the manufacturer does not advice to put on adjustable racks, for example:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07219CDH7/ref=cm_sw_r_apa_i_BN9EEbNX5G26G

But could it do really harm to an aluminum bike?

Thanks!

It will really depend on how much load you plan on carrying, the type of roads you would be traveling and somewhat your riding style.

I would not recommend the use of that particular rack on a road bike unless it is for little or minimal load on really even roads. Particularly for touring, as damage to the frame would be a trip stopper.

I have used racks that only clip to the seatpost, and also racks with supports for the proper eyelets in the frame.

Seatpost only rear racks are fine for a lunchbox, a few pieces of clothing. Something around 15 pounds (6 Kg.). You can carry a bit more if being really careful while riding over any obstacles, curbs, potholes, etc.

Moderate loads on this type of racks will cause fatigue failures sooner or later, except maybe on the highest quality ones. On low or mid level ones, it's just matter of time. In my case I've had failures on the main rack beam, near the weld to the clamp.

In the case of racks that mount to eyelets near the dropouts, they are the sturdier but the force of impact while hitting a pothole, jumping of sidewalks, etc is pretty direct. In My case I had a cheap rack and the support rods where made from soft aluminum and bent rather quickly. I had to re-make them with rebar. (Mild steel rod about 1/4-inch diameter). With this setup I was able to carry loads heavy enough to lift the front wheel if I unmount the bike without pressing down on the handlebars. I used this bike to commute, for grocery shoping and for delivery service (With a medium sized plastic crate tied to the rack).

The point of this anecdote is to show that the vertical force for a proper rack is rather high. On a bump the supports "see" many times the static load applied to the rack. In the case of a frame with eyelets designed to install a rack, the eyelets are placed on strategic points to transmit the load to adequate points on the frame. For example, near the dropouts (The force is transmitted almost directly to the axle, without applying significative bending force to seatstays or chainstays.)

All of this was done with a mountain bike aluminum frame. They are sturdy enough to cope with that kind of abuse (up to a limit), however, road bikes tend to have minimal thickness wall tubing to reduce weight. They optimize the frames for just the strictly necessary forces, so extreme care must be taken when mounting this kind of accessories.

The rack you have shown uses not vertical but tilted supports, if they are not long enough for the wheel size of the bike, those supports won't be able to reach near the dropouts, and may end upd clamped near the middle of the seatstays, perpendicularly, right where they are most vulnerable. (Imagine trying to break a stick, where do you apply force and in what directions?)

Another concern is that the clamps on the rack may not be the exact shape of the seatstays tubbing, thus will apply a crushing force on them. You risk deforming them and once that happens, they area permanently weakened.


Is it preferable to pedal downhill? How do I use up less when I go down the hill? What is better? If I really drive down (I start down the hill fast and when I will at the foot of the hill I will have a rest since I slow down to my average velocity - in this point I will start pedaling again.) or if I have rest by the way down the hill and start pedal again at the foot?

(MTB rider here, XC & DH, with little road exp.).

There is a certain speed for which up to that speed you should pedal, above it you gain more from adopting the most aerodynamic position and use gravity the best you can.

In my case I find this speed by trial and error in specific circumstances, because it changes according to slope, terrain, bike and tires used and length of the descent.

What I have found is that once you get to the highest gear and start approaching your max cadence, it is very difficult to provide the power needed to accelerate, and it may be even harder to do so while tucked in aero position. At this point, if the incline is steep enough, tucking in more will give you more advantage than pedalling.

In have one example, where a hardtail mtb with knobby tires on a paved road with little incline (I can ride it up at 20km/hr approx) this speed is around 42 km/hr. At this point I'm near max cadence in highest gear, so I adopt my aero position. It is common for me to even overtake other riders who are pedaling and when I get to the bottom of the hill, I can pedal harder because I have had a rest during the descent. In those descents, I get near 50 Km/hr just because of aerodynamics. (In a road bike in the same road, my threshold is near the same, and i know/feel my speed in aero position is much higher, unfortunately I don't have the numbers yet)

This works for me because in my general shape and level of fitness, on MTB rides, if I stop and rest for 3-5 minutes I resume pedalling approx 5 km/hr faster than if I pedal continuously. For longer rests my body starts to cool down and I have to re-warm up.

And this is where descent length comes into place. If the descent is long enough for you to cool down, (climate can have a role in this too) then the benefit of the rest you get, is negated because once you get to the bottom of the hill you have cooled off and will have to warm up again. For these cases, I recommend what some call "soft pedalling", that is pedal just to keep the blood flowing, sustaining the heart rate up. This can be done at intervals, alternating between aero position and soft pedalling, according to your cool-off time in that particular descent/climate.

You need to find a certain speed threshold, a simple computer will do. I know this is subjective, but there is a speed where you feel you need to put double the effort to get 1 Km/hr faster. In that point tuck in aero position an watch what happens with your speed.


Replace hub from old cassette to new fixed I have an old mavic race rear wheel where the hub is rusted, but the spokes and rim is in prime condition. Thinking about changing just the hub (reusing spokes) to a fixed flip-flop to use the wheel on a project bike. Doesn't have to be perfect.

My hunt for the correct rear hub for the operation, has led me to a couple of questions and a checklist:

Mounting width is easy (normally 120mm or 135mm).
Axle width affects the chainline.
Number of spokes.
Flange diameter affects the spoke length (+ stiffness of wheel).

The point I'm most concerned about is the flange diameter. The old hub has a pretty low flange and all fixed hubs has high flange. Also drive-side of the old hub looks like it uses shorter spokes then the left side. Is this conversion event doable?

I've seen this done and mostly work out ok, but I still wouldn't recommend it for the commented reasons.  If do want to attempt to reuse the spokes, you'll need to buy a hub with as close to the same flange size as possible.  If you go with a wider flange, you'll end up with spokes poking through your rim that you'll need to cut and possibly rethread.  If you go with a smaller flanged hub, the spokes may not be long enough.

Spokes are the answer to a question involving the effective rim diameter, flange width, pattern and a few other variables.  If you change any of those variables, the answer will be different and you'll need different spokes.


How do I figure out what the model number is of my Shimano rear derailleur? Here are pictures of my current derailleur I need to replace.

Definitely one of the models in the Shimano Tourney range.
You don't need to know exact model to replace it. You just need to know what specs the replacement derailleur needs. You can look at the derailleur models in the Tourney lines in the Shimano Line-Up pages (you might find you exact model by comparing pictures also).
All the specs are pretty self-explanatory apart from speeds which is the number of sprockets in the rear cluster and total capacity needed which is tooth count difference between largest and smallest sprocket plus tooth count difference between largest and smallest chainrings (if more than one).


"Quick Fix" Tyre Repair Spray Cans I saw this in my local supermarket, as they are having a cycling event on at the moment. I was thinking this would be quite useful if I had a puncture away from home, the car or bike repair shop, or in case of an emergency, as let's face it, who wants to repair a tyre at night in the pouring rain? I certainly also do not want to ride with a flat tyre, as it can destroy the tire and wheel rim.

This is what I am talking about:

What pros and cons are these to these sprays?
If I used this, would I be able to repair the puncture, and reuse the inner tube afterwards?
Do they actually work? (Implies 1!)
It is "temporary", so how far could I cycle before I have any more problems?

Note: I am talking about the sprays in general, not specific brands (e.g in the image)

Edit: Also, I would not want to remove the tyre at all (i.e. so I do not want to carry a spare tube). I am talking about its effectiveness as a "quick fix".

Dead link: http://www.baileysbigstore.co.uk/carmotoring/carmotoringpics/cycletyrefix5292.jpg

Possible contenders for "similar product"

Pro's:

May be a quick roadside fix.
May be able to fix without removing tyre.
May last a long time.
May offer protection against a second puncture in the same wheel.

Con's:

Expensive for a puncture.

Bulky and heavy.
Only one can per tyre.
Wouldn't be suitable for some punctures and would be a waste if you didn't realise this.

This fix may work for a long time, dependent on the sealant and whether it degrades. Silicon sealants do not degrade quickly.

This type of system is good for small punctures where you can quickly identify the cause and eliminate it. If you have a large puncture (such as a tear or a cut) the sealant may not be able to effectively seal it and once the air leaks you would not be able to re-inflate it.

Also it's best practice to ensure you remove the cause of the puncture before inflating a flat tyre. This generally involves removing the tube and checking the tyre so you're not actually saving that much.. If you don't do this you may get a subsequent puncture.

If you are that adverse to fixing a tyre in the rain or at night use a preventative treatment rather than a temporary repair such as this. Use slime tubes (or fill tubes with slime) or move to tubeless and use a sealant such as Stan's. I ride single track twice a week and have put a single scoop of Stan's in each tubeless wheel 6 months ago and have yet had to remove the tyre. I occasionally add air (probably a month ago and this week) so I know I have a leak somewhere but it hasn't required me to fix it yet.


Rear brake pad clearance problem on '06 Specialized Langster I have a 2006 Specialized Langster, size 50cm. I replaced the brake calipers years ago with older-style Shimano 105 single-pivot sidepull brakes.

The brakes have never been very powerful. Worse yet, the rear brake caliper fixing bolt seems pretty short and the brake sits close to the seat stay bridge, resulting in very little clearance between the pads and the seat stays. This severely limits which pads I can use because most pads bang up against the seat stays and ding it repeatedly.

I'm thinking of replacing the brakes with newer, dual pivot 105's for better stopping power. Is there a way I can tell if those brakes will fit or not before I order them (ie what measurements do I need to know and compare with the newer 105 dual pivots?). Also, I'm wondering if those brakes would provide enough clearance for 28mm tires. I would appreciate your thoughts.

Well, I went ahead and ordered some Shimano 105 dual pivot calipers. Unfortunately the rear caliper arms will not clear the seat stays. There's just no fixing it as far as I can tell. If I put on additional washers, the fixing nut will not thread onto the main mounting bolt far enough. I tried several sizes of fixing nuts and none of them will work.

I hope that I will be able to find some other brakes calipers that will work. If you know of any, please let me know!

***Update: I solved the problem by ordering a SRAM Force brake caliper set. Those calipers have a lot more clearance between their arms and the frame, and the bike shop filed down the main fixing nut so it will fit inside the rear brake bridge.


I need to change my fork after having an accident with my bike I need help as I need to change the fork for my bike (Ridgeback Speed 2013 Womens Hybrid Bike)

I live in London and I went to few shops but in all of them they need to order the fork and it will cost me between £80 and £100

Do you know if there is anywhere I could find a fork for my bike and make cheaper to fix it?

Many thanks in advance

Isabel

These folks should be able to help out for super cheap:

London Bike Kitchen


What should I upgrade first? I just got a new basic hardtail bike. I want to get better, and it’s not the best bike, so I want to upgrade it. I was thinking about changing the gear set up to 1 and 11 speed rather than 3 and 8 speed. I go out about mountain biking twice a week, and I really like it. My budget is £250. Any suggestions?

Switching from 3x8 to 1x11 would be an expensive upgrade, well beyond your budget unless you get lucky hunting for used equipment, and may require a cascade of upgrades you hadn't planned on, which increase the cost further.

You'd probably be better off saving up for a new bike--bike manufacturers are able to get parts at much lower cost, so when you buy a complete bike, you're getting the parts more cheaply than you could get them as an individual.


Has anyone else experienced the Topeak MTX DXP bag getting stuck in the rack? I've got the MTX DXP luggage bag from Topeak.
Their suggested rack is the MTX Dual Side Frame, but I have the Explorer Tubular rack (image on site is reversed with the spring version).

Since it's listed as compatible, I'd expect that it would mount smoothly, until the latch catches, but instead it's really sticking on loading it in, and it near impossible at times to remove.

Is this something anyone else has experienced?

For today, I'm going to try applying some lubricant to the track, to see if that helps at all, but it seems like it's a really tight fit.

The Topeak rack systems all fit pretty well, I have sold a few in my time and not encountered any problems. I don't believe there are any bolts for fitting that could be potentially put in wrong to compromise the rail/fit, but the fit on them has to be snug because you would not want it rattling away. You do have a compatible bag/rack combo b.t.w.

I am not sure you will find anyone on here able to confirm the same problems you are having, and these things are subjective anyway - some people just put up with a problem like this. What I suggest is that you try your bag on a different rack. You can go into a bike shop for this or you can scout around the bike racks and see if there is another rack you can borrow. Topeak are usually very good on warranty issues, so if you do find a problem then it will most likely be sorted by them.


Replacing thick tire with thin tire I ride a Hero Sprint, with tire size 26 inch. The wheels are thick and become slow, given my cycle's weight. Is it possible for me to switch to thinner tires? If yes, what are the plus and minus points i might receive?

The ability to use a thinner tire will depend on your wheel's interior rim width. The inner rim width will constrain how thin of a tire you can have. Take a look at the conversion chart below to see if you can use a thinner tire. (note this chart is conservative, many cyclist have gone thinner with no problems).

Thinner tires have less roll resistance, so that will help with the slowness. The flip side is it'll feel bumpier (but this is only noticeable at higher psi: 80+).

If you're interested to learn more, take a look at some material from the great Sheldon Brown: Tires & Tire Sizing


Deformed Headtube Around Bottom Cup Crashed into a fallen tree at speed on my bike. I disassembled the front end to inspect for damage and noticed I could wiggle the bottom headset cup back and forth slightly. On further inspection, the bottom of the headtube is slightly deformed as can be seen in the below pictures:

There are no cracks or other damage visible, but the bottom cup no longer fits firmly in the frame.

Does anyone have experience fixing something like this on an aluminum frame (not too expensively) or is the frame/bike ruined? I know aluminum loses its strength as it's bent.

Searching online I was able to find references to epoxying the bottom cup in place and using strips of aluminum to pad the gap, but that doesn't sound like a particularly safe fix.

If I was that desperate to save the frame, then the epoxy method sounds quite reasonable.

The only difference I'd make would be to use some carbon fibre in place of the aluminum strips. It's pretty cheap to get a short roll from Aliexpress

Put the bearing in and out a couple of times until it's a snug fit. Pull it out, epoxy the carbon, pop it back into place, clean excess resin off

If you can do it with the bearing wrapped in glad wrap, you may not even have to make it your last ever bearing change as you should be able to remove it once the epoxy is set

Whilst the aluminium will have lost some strength, it's not going to fail catastrophically in that position as it's really well braced