26" fork on 24" bike: reduce travel on suspension fork My son and I are building him a 24" bike.  The frame was donated from a trashed bike, it had a 24" coil suspension fork with 40mm travel and weighed a ton.  The axle-to-crown measurement was 435mm.
Now I am looking at some air suspension forks, most of which are 26" but all of them have a axle-to-crown that's much more than the 435mm.  I have no experience in this, but I was hoping to reduce the travel on one of these forks such that it has the correct measurement.
Question; would it be likely possible for the fork to be adjusted such that I can reduce the travel more than what is specified on the fork?  For example, I am looking at a fork that is listed as adjustable from 100mm to 80mm travel and I would need to adjust the travel down further to 40mm such that I get the required axle-to-crown.
We are using disc brakes so I am only concerned about reducing the crow-to-axle measurement.
example: a 26" fork is listed with axle-to-crown of 490mm and travel of 100mm (adjustable down to 80mm).  I am hoping to "hack" the travel down to 45mm such that the axle-to-crown is 435mm.

The fork's travel is often regulated by adding/removing or repositioning plastic bottom out and/or top out tokens of fixed height inside the fork. For such a system, one can reasonably assume that two following possibilities are most common.

A decrease of, say, 10 mm of travel is accompanied by exactly 10 mm decrease of axle to crown height. All moving parts of the fork are just getting shifted up by the same distance.

A decrease of 10 mm of travel results in 0 mm of AC length change. This may be the case when the fork's construction decouples travel adjustment from AC adjustment.

It would be less reasonable to expect a 10 mm of travel change to cause an unproportional decrease to AC — where would additional millimeters go to? Again, it should be possible to imagine/make such a fork, but it would not be a feature used/requested by many customers.
In your case, it may be more realistic to try simultaneously reducing both the travel and the AC distance by 50 mm (2"), from 100 mm to 50 mm, thus achieving the desired AC distance and still keeping some of the travel. However, other aspects of the fork's construction may interfere with your plans. It is impossible to say for certain without looking at how it is made inside.


How to prevent ice from clogging the cassette? I've commuted on a bike in winter for 13 years now, but never as far as now, that is 30 km daily. I have a problem which I never experienced before.

In temperatures close to 0C and on paths covered with thin layer of melting snow turning into loose ice particles, the front wheel picks up these particles and splats them over the lower parts of the bike. Some of them get caught between sprockets, which they turn into an ice cone, causing the chain to lose grip and slip over them (with continues cracking sound, just like when riding with extremely worn out chain). This concerns fast gears (sprockets 11-17T), which I use most often.

There's no other choice then but to shift to lighter gears and make a helicopter out of the cranks, but that's annoying over a long distance.

I saw this question: How to prevent my hub body from freezing?, but the author does not mention snow at all, so I don't know if the same advice applies.

Ice wax like in the linked post will most likely solve your problem. if not you can use WD-40. Put it on just before you go out but give it about 10-15 min to do its thing. Don't crank it around or anything just let it sit.

What you want to happen is for the lubricating elements to make it hard for the ice to form, thats pretty much what the wax does too.

But with WD you can use it to de-ice while your riding* as long as you give it a few to evaporate the penetrating elements.

Also, I would not use this on too old of a bike or like a cheap department store bike as the driving mechanisms of that type of bicycle are not built in a way that the WD40 would work best (things can come apart)

I use this method all the time for work. If its a problem you spray it on when you stop to make a delivery, in the few min it takes to do your thing, it does it's thing & your good to go.


chainrings matching up to crank arm? I have a 9 speed specialized sport comp road bike.  my chainrings are 50 x 34t and i wanted to possibly change them to a 53 x 39t to increase my speed. it has shimano cassette/components and a truvativ iso flow crank arm. my question is would most 53x39t chainrings match up with my crank? or would it be better just to get a whole new crankset?

Yeah, you should be fine just to replace the chainrings. Make sure you replace them with Shimano (road) kit that is compatible with your 9-speed setup and you'll be fine.

Note that rings designed for a 10-speed setup will strictly speaking be incompatible, since the 10-speed chain is narrower than the 9-speed chain. I have been told that you should be able to get away with this mismatch, although it will be suboptimal.

As a side note though, I'm not at all sure that this change will make you faster. Sure, riding on the large ring going downhill might give you a little more "oomph" (5% tops) but would you likely lose that advantage because climbing would be that much harder? And how much time do you spend in top gear anyway?

I mean obviously the wisdom of this change is entirely your call, but if it were me I'd think hard before I'd part with my cash on this particular upgrade. For hard numbers as regards the gear ratios of what you have and what you're thinking of buying, check out Sheldon's Gear Calculator.


Recommendation for Carbon Hybrid Bike After some trial and error (see another post of mine), I finally settled in on getting a carbon hybrid bike.  I want carbon because it is lighter and I want a hybrid because I prefer a flat bar (just don’t prefe to ride with a drop bar).
I would like to know if anyone had recommendations in the $1500.00 to $2000.00 range.  Here what I found that looks good:

Trek FX Sport Carbon 4: https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/hybrid-bikes/fitness-bikes/fx/fx-sport-carbon-4/p/32262/
Giant Fastroad Advanced 1: https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/fastroad-advanced-1-2021
Cannondale Quick 1:  https://www.cannondale.com/en-us/bikes/active/fitness/quick/quick-1

Interestingly, the Trek FX 3 Disc looks similar to the Cannondale (aluminum frame, carbon fork), but I have no idea if the Cannondale Quick 1 is any better the FX 3 Disc.
Any suggestions are appreciated.  Thank you for your help.

I would recommend this based on my experience when I was starting to get into the sport and also bit of your other post.

I would encourage you to get an endurance fit road bike. It sounds like you will primarily be riding on concrete or asphalt vs. gravel or mountain biking. Plus it seems like you have a need for speed which is totally fine as I do too. Also, modern disc endurance fit bikes can do some light gravel rides since you can fit up to 32mm tires on them.

You do not like drop handles bars. I think you need to understand a racing drop handle bar has 3 positions on it.

Tops you are pretty much straight up and is used as a recovery
position or when cruising and you do not need access to the controls.

Hoods is where most road riders ride at and is still pretty
comfortable and upright. This is where most road bikers spend most of
their time and is similar to being upright on a flat bar.

Drops are used to gain full aero or for aggressive cornering/fast
descents. Most road riders on the road will not be in this position
their whole ride.

Based on your last post and being in the U.S. I would recommend going to a Trek Corporate store to find your next bike. Ask to look at a Trek Domane SL5. If you are between 5'7'' - 5'10''ish you will probably be a 54 size frame in Trek and probably Specialized too in my experience. Here are some reasons why I recommend this frame and made a similar decision in 2019 when I bought the same model (I have several thousand miles on that bike and do not regret the purchase one bit).

Endurance fit road bikes get you most of the aero a full aero bike
gives you, but you can usually get a more comfortable fit that allows
you to ride for long distances.

Again since new endurance bikes allow for wider tires, you have
some options to do light gravel rides with the same frame. Also this endurance fit frame gives you vibration absorbing bushing to make uneven pavement fell less jarring without losing much if any power transfer.

That model bike gives you 105 groupset, which in short is identical
to what the pros ride except ever so slightly more heavy. The good
part is as you wear out parts, you can upgrade to Ultegra or Durace,
which is exactly what the pros use.

Trek has bike fitters at their stores. I would ask a fitter to make
sure the frame is the right size for you. Note based on my personal
experience never riding a road bike, I wanted to chose a smaller size
frame, but fortunately the sales person was a former bike racer and
fitter. He basically said don't do it and when I asked why he said you
and I are the same size and there is no way I could ride a 52 frame. I
am glad he intervened as right now, I am progressing to making my fit
more aero and aggressive. Had I gone with the smaller frame, I think I
would have been way too jammed up riding vs. feeling like I can get in
a tuck but still easily pedal.

Trek has a no questions 30 day satisfaction guarantee on the bike.
I have never had to use this, but have used other Trek warranties. They
stand behind what they sell and usually do what is right by the
customer is what I experienced.

The other thing to make sure you do is make sure you have them ensure the seat is the right size for you. I would recommend something that has a cutout and short nose. This is what I use - Bontrager Aeolus Comp Saddle. I initially had the wrong size saddle and struggled to do 50 mile rides with padded riding shorts. With the right size saddle, I have no issues doing 50 miles with normal shorts on. I think a lot of people lose interest in the sport because of bad saddle fit and even worse is the advice of get more padding or padded shorts does not really address the root cause of a seat that does not fit your sit bone width.

Last piece of advice after making your purchase is go talk to your insurance agent and get a personal articles policy for your bike through the same people you have your renters or home owners policy. Also let them know you want it to cover damage from a crash. The personal articles policy will cover any damage to your bike without a deductible (e.g. crash, transport damage, theft, etc.) and it is pretty inexpensive peace of mind for a purchase that is 4 figures. I do not recommend a bike specific insurance as they are not as well regulated and are usually by off brand insurers that probably will charge more.

I personally would avoid hybrids, ebikes, gravel bikes because I feel they are not purpose built and I am sure I will get flack for it in some way shape or form via a comment below. Also, I would avoid expensive aluminum bikes due to stress cracks and other reasons. I also would avoid the desire to upgrade anything like wheels, handlebars, etc. until you hit a few thousand miles on the bike. I do not at all advocate buying speed as I think some people try to do that vs. training, but that is their prerogative.


how do i stop my Formula disk brakes from squealing I have seen a number of posts about stopping discs from squealing, but mine don't always squeal, when the squealing starts it doesn't stop (as if something has worn off) and it's not worn out pads.

Is it true that some makes and models of discs just squeal? If so, time to change brake manufacturer?

Is it true that different compound pads will make the squealing stop?

Short answer is don't throw out you brakes just yet and a different material MIGHT make the squealing stop.

What you are experiencing is quite typical. Mine are really bad sometimes if they are wet or have dust on them. A few max effort stops fixes it. Steps to address, in a rough order based on cost and hassle factor, and no guarantee of success...

Find a nice steep down hill and do a half dozen or more max effort stops from the fastest speed to can get up to. (safety warning bla bla bla). If that does not work, repeat after emptying you water bottle over the disc.
Realign the brake calipers
Clean the discs with meths/white petrol etc

if you can be bothered trying it, 'burn' the pads
polish the discs and pads with a very fine (400 or 600) wet and dry sand paper

Replace the pads with Organic ones.
Replace the disc rotors
I'm out of suggestion, buy some ear plugs......


How do I avoid becoming complacent during my commute after riding the same route for a couple of weeks? I've found that when I'm used to a certain route while on foot or on the bike, I tend to have my thoughts drifting away and becoming less attentive, usually leading to dangerous situations and sometimes even accidents involving other road users. It's dangerous and I'd like to avoid it when I start to take the bike to my current job.

What methods can I use to stay attentive and not get distracted by my own thoughts while riding?

My mind also wanders on too-familar routes, so here are a few things that I consider helpful or have been told about.

Having some (even minor) alternative routes may help; you may want a system for choosing which one to take based on which roads are busy.  Taking this to extremes you can map out your city (thanks Criggie; also see if openstreetmap can use the data, or play with veloviewer tiles)
Some goals to compete with yourself might also help -- they help you to concentrate on the riding even if not the traffic.  I tend to slow down as I lose concentration, so thinking about being quick helps.  The sheer physical effort of some of these helps to leave the thoughts behind. Some goals could be:

Total time
Time between 2 points (Strava segments, for example)
Maximum speed on a particular stretch
Getting up the big hill without stopping/in a particular gear.
Trying to keep your cadence (pedalling rate) up is a good one - choose a lower gear than you might by instinct.

A particularly good goal if your roads are rough is to minimise the number of potholes you hit.  This requires you to know whether it's safe to swerve thus to know what's coming up behind.
Combined with this, you can practice bunny-hopping over damaged bits of road, or lifting the front wheel over even the tiniest cracks.
Alternatively you might try keeping count of how many bikes overtake you vs. how many you overtake.
This isn't one for me but making words/phrases out of the letters of the numberplates of cars that overtake you can help keep your eyes on the cars themselves.
I found my handlebar mirror helps -- once I got used to having one, glancing in it became a habit (and in fact with it I can see cars coming up behind out of the corner of my eye).  In turn, knowing that someone is approaching makes me keep up my awareness.
I assume you don't have headphones on (that would be a bad idea). Practice using your rearview ears -- try to work out what's going to pass you next and how wide/fast from sound alone.  Some people like bone conduction headphones which at least don't cover your ears.
Count +1 for each car you pass and -1 for each car that passes you and you win when you get to +10. -10 means pay more attention to the road (thanks Criggie)


Spinning vs city bike riding to keep tone When it comes to winter time, it is always a tough time for cyclists.

In order to keep a decent tone and shape, what is better?

a spinning class, 3 x 1 hour / week (that's what my local gym offers, a group of spinning bikes in front of a monitor, where a virtual trainer guides your through a virtual ride on some Tour de France mountain or the like)
cycling to work, 10 x 45-60 minutes / week without pushing to the limit

I'd say riding outside is always better than a spin class or turbo-time. I ride a hilly commute to work throughout the winter 10x 30mins each way, but do intervals too - and ride fixed gear for extra effort. Commuting through winter gets a bad rap (depending on where you live). Sometimes, here in the UK, the weather can be pretty crap, but you do get some absolutely wonderful mornings. Better a bad journey on the bike than a good one in the car.

I'm much happier out in the real world than on Zwift or in a class - although there's certainly benefit to those. If you think that's the most realistic option for then do that. I have no car, so I have no choice. With that being said, it does keep me in good shape for the season.

TL;DR: Commute. Makes you fitter, stronger and more road-aware ready for the season.


1970s era Huffy 3 speed Sea Trails chain How do I know what size chain fits this bike? Which chain should I purchase?

Thanks,

Mike

Any 1/8 inch width bicycle chain will fit.


Pedals hits the ground too often while turning at relatively high speed I’ve been riding for 40+ years of which the last 25 I’ve ridden Specialized.
Around April last year I decided to replace my old bike with a brand new Sirrus Sport, on an XL frame. While I love the looks and riding it, I have a serious safety concern.
It has happened now multiple times that when I make a turn at a relatively high speed,
the pedal hits the ground scaring the hell out of me. While this has happened in the past
with other bikes, it has never happened to me this frequent, to the point that I don’t feel safe riding and turning at high speeds and that of course impacts my overall performance.

I wonder if anyone has had the same experience with my exact same bike model. Could this be a Specialized design issue...? or could it be that whoever assembled the bike used the wrong stems or pedals...?I've got some pictures of the damaged pedals:

I’d appreciate your feedback, or comments regarding how to fix this. I've contacted the place I bought the bike twice but I'm not getting an answer, perhaps I should try Specialized directly.

It's definitely possible that the bottom bracket height is lower than your previous bike and/or your crankarm length is longer.

The BB could be lower to improve handling and I have definitely seen longer crankarms on large bikes.  A typical measurement is 175cm but you could see 170 on a small frame or 180 on a larger frame. The longer crankarm would be to accommodate your longer legs.

Look on the inside of the crankarm, you should see the length stamped in there, or you could measure from the center of the bottom bracket to the center of the hole where the pedals are.

I don't think it's an inherent design issue but it could be a different design that doesn't work well with your riding style.

Side note: When cornering hard if you are going to have a foot down, you want your outside foot down.  This lets you keep your weight over the tires for maximum traction.  If you really want to continue to corner hard and fast you could ride hard in, drop the outside pedal, corner hard and then standup out of the corner and hammer on!

But, back to your original question, if you want to try and track down the issue, I would measure the bottom bracket height and look for/measure the crankarm length.  One or both of those measurements compared to your old bike would give you some insight.


converting a road bike (aluminum with carbon forks) handle bar I am coming off of a 10 year break from cycling due to a horrible auto accident.  I have back issues and have the following questions:

Would converting or modifying my existing handlebar help? What in particular would help? Where would I go to explore these options?
Should I try out a recumbent bike? What type of places would let me do this?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated!

I'd recommend hitting up a local bike shop for recumbent bike options.  Since product availability is pretty location specific, only this general advice is helpful.  Even recommending a particular website may not be helpful depending on your country of residence.

Regarding handle bars: your entire position on your bike is going to have changed in the 10 years of recovery (welcome back!).  Getting your bike professionally fitted is well worth looking into.  I did so after getting hit by a car.  Not all bike shops offer this service though so it may require some searching online to find a place that offers fitting.

Generally speaking, you will probably find a more upright position more comfortable.  That means raising your handlebars and possibly pushing your seat forward.  Raising your handlebars can be done with spacers as well as purchasing a new stem with a steeper angle.  It's best to get these options dialed in in real-time with a professional that you can give immediate feed back to.

Regarding handlebars specifically, refer to @Criggie's comment.  Handlebars are generally system specific and would require more than just swapping the bars.


Misadjusted B-screw: symptoms? What are the typical symptoms of incorrectly adjusted B-screw in the rear derailleur? How does it manifest itself when shifting? Obviously, if the cage pulley interferes with the cog, the problem is clear. But what happens when there's no interference, just the gap is smaller or larger than optimal?

For example, SRAM recommends 6mm gap between the upper pulley and the largest cog. How is it going to affect shifting performance if the gap is, say, 3mm? Or 8mm?

The B-screw controls the body angle of the derailleur. It pulls the pulleys away from the sprockets, so you don't rub against them. If you set it in the largest rear cog (as you should), when you're adequately clear, you don't have rubbing.

Its a somewhat insensitive adjustment once you clear the cogs, but the closer you are to the loosest screw value which works (i.e. the closest pulley to cog), the better your shifting will be. If you set it too close, note that a bicycle moves, so you need to allow some tolerance due to vibrations and what not. Set it too far and your shifting won't be as crisp as it should be: "Since a derailer shift is caused by forcing the chain to run at an angle, the greater the angle, the sooner it will shift. The closer the jockey pulley is to the cluster, the sharper the angle will be for a given amount of sideways motion of the derailer. Thus, the looser the angle adjuster screw is, the better the shifting will be." (from Sheldon)


How do I buy a used bike? Since we have a lot of questions asking about buying a used bike, I thought we could do a community wiki on how to buy used bikes as a be-all, end-all.

There are a few main questions:

1) How do I check if a used bike is safe to ride ?

2) How do I assess the value of a used bike?

Feel free to add others as answers, one question per answer.

How do I evaluate the value of a used bike?

Well, the simple answer is a bike is worth as much as someone is willing to pay for it.

As guidelines, a few websites may be useful:

Craigslist (See what similar bikes are going for in your area)
EBay (Online retailer)
Bicycle Blue Book (Gives values for certain bikes; can be useful as a rough guideline)
Bikepedia (Gives values for certain bikes when new, along with their original components)
Velobase (Database of vintage cycling and marketplace)


What are the most effective methods of bicycling advocacy? Are all the best efforts truly local, or are there good regional/national causes (for example, the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy) that are worth supporting?

Rails-to-trails, LAB and others are all great groups who do a lot of good, but not necessarily in your area.  Like the saying goes, "Think globally, act locally".

The best form of advocacy is to ride as much as you can.  In the developed world we tend to look at cycling as recreation or a hobby.  As such, many participants drive their bike to the place where they ride their bikes.

The more visible you are to your friends, neighbors and co-workers as a cyclist, the better.  The more you ride for transportation, or utility the more 'credibility' you have with those around you.

Begin in your local community. If you ride to the store, restaurant, or library and there is not a convenient place to lock your bike, talk to the manager.  On a couple of occasions I have mentioned to a manager that I and other cyclists like a particular restaurant but we don't visit as often because there is nowhere to lock our bikes other than a chain link fence, or a tree.  Two 'strip malls' now have bike racks.

Finally, your town or county may have an advocacy group already - join - be active.


Recommendations for 'upgrading' gravel bike with road tires? EDIT:  Several people have commented that I shouldn't ask for shopping recommendations -- fair enough, but really all I want is a more general discussion of the topic: whether it's a reasonable goal to try to make your gravel bike 'more road bike-like' with different tires, and how to achieve it.  You don't need to mention any specific products.

I have a 2020 Giant Revolt 3 (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/us/revolt-advanced-3) gravel bike that I ride 99% on tarmac.  I was considering a road bike, but as I was coming from a mountain bike background and had never ridden a road bike, this seemed a good compromise.  I thought I'd be taking it out on gravel trails, but with Covid restrictions (we are confined to a pretty small area) and the fact that I am trying to avoid train travel (again, due to Covid), I'm riding it pretty much only on the road.
My bike shop said it's almost time to replace the tires and I'm looking for recommendations for new tubeless tires.  I'm wondering whether there is any choice that would move me a little bit in the 'road bike direction' in terms of reducing drag and increasing performance, but maintain the grip and stability, particularly in wet weather, that I've gotten used to.
Most important is maintaining safety (grip and cornering, particularly going downhill, and in the wet), but, as said, I'd be keen to see if I can get a little more "quickness" (trying to move in the 'road bike' direction, that is, reducing drag while riding).  Is it possible to maintain the same level of safety with a 'road tire'?
Finally, is my goal even a reasonable one? I checked out How much energy is lost with a gravel tire compared with a road tire? and while there is a difference in running gravel tires or 'road' tires, I am not sure how important it is.
For what it's worth, I ride mainly up and down on hills (daily climb is about 600m), and live in the EU (so I'd need to buy the tires here).  The rims are Giant S-X2 Disc, and the current tires are Giant Crosscut AT 1, 700x38.
Thanks!

"whether it's a reasonable goal to try to make your gravel bike 'more road bike-like' with different tires"
It is.
"and how to achieve it."
By mounting a road tyre. That is all there is to it.

We can then get into long arguments between the proponents of Continental vs. Schwalbe, vs Challenge vs. Vittoria vs. Tufo vs. whatever...
It is not productive.
Take a a high performance road tyre and if you really need high performance, think about an aero road wheelset (or an ultralight one, if you mostly climb hills). That is, of course, much more expensive.


Rear wheel is not locking when I am braking So when I put my rear brake on my wheel doesn’t fully stop (skid) and I can keep on pedalling when I have got it full on. And then the same happens with my front brake, I can have both of them bottoming out but I can still move the bike!
Can someone please tell why this is?

If you have mechanical brakes the most likely answer is that you brakes simply need adjusting or the pads need replacing.

Cable stretch and pad wear result in having to pull the lever further to move the pads onto the rim or rotor, eventually the lever hits the bar before sufficient pressure is exerted by the pads for effective braking.

If you have hydraulic brakes things are different as they are self-adjusting. In this case you most likely have air bubbles in the fluid and the brakes need to be bled.

If your brakes are adjusted properly, pad or rotor contamination could be the problem. Although it seems unlikely that both brakes got contaminated (unless you did something to both brakes that contaminated them).

There are plenty of videos and articles available that will show you how to adjust brakes. They are not hard to find.


How can I safely clean Stan's tubeless tyre sealant from carbon rims? I had a minor accident and spilled a lot of Stan's tubeless sealant on my carbon rims, which has unfortunately dried and become quite difficult to remove. What is the easiest and safest way to get dried sealant off carbon rims without damaging them? I guess alcohol might do the trick, but I am a bit afraid that it may damage decals and such.

Stan's is WATER SOLUABLE.  Clean it with water.  Some mild soap may help if it's stubborn.

Stan's FAQ


How to transport bulky things on a bike I am a hobby musician and would like to transport my instruments on my bike because there are just a few parking lots and it is too far to walk.

Is there a good and safe way to carry a trombone, several stands, and sheet music on a normal bike?

This is quite tricky, given a trombone is not a nicely shaped instrument. You can try some larger racks, or mount some plywood or something to a smaller rack to try to get a more stable surface to carry the trombone (or be able to build something that allowed carrying the trombone like a pannier), but I doubt it will be very good, especially with all the additional stuff you want to carry. I do know some cellists who have strapped their cello to their backs and ridden (somehow), but I don't think it was a particularly stable or safe solution.

The real solution I think is for you to get a cargo bike. One thing you might want to try is to do an Xtracycle conversion - the Freeradical was a kit which allowed you to extend a normal bike into a cargo bike (but is currently not being sold -- you may be able to find an existing bike/kit somewhere thoguh). Unfortunately, cargo bikes like the Surly Big Dummy and what not are not exactly cheap (and are not normal bikes), but your use case is pretty much what the cargo bike was designed for.

An example of a Freeradical conversion is:

and a xtracycle carrying another bicycle

Note that there are other styles of cargo bikes out there, like the Civia Halstead:

Another option is to throw the trombone and what not into a small trailer, such as one of those children's trailers like this (a cheap one will be about 150 bucks):

or attach a regular bike trailer like the Surly Ted (about 700 bucks for this model, but there are cheaper ones):


Inflated tire partially slipped off rim, can I fix without deflating? There is a ~3" portion of my back tire that is no longer within the rim walls on one side. It's an older bike but in fairly good condition. The tires had just been replaced by a professional and I put maybe 6 miles on the bike before noticing it. I don't think it occurred while biking since the wheel can hardly turn past the brake and I would have noticed the resistance.

My main question is can I fix this without deflating the tire (I don't have a pump yet so I'd be bike-less until I got one)? What caused this & how can I prevent this from happening again?

Short answer: no.

The only fix is to mostly deflate the tyre (so it's just barely inflated, enough to hold it in place but soft enough that you can manipulate the bead) and work the slack in the bead around the wheel so that you have an even distribution. If you're really lucky there will be a matching place elsewhere that the bead has stuck in the middle part of the rim, and when you push the slack around you'll find that and everything will pop into place. That's the ideal solution.

But this may also indicate that the tyre is slightly too large for your rim, in which case you're better off buying a different tyre. The way to find out is to fix it and see whether it happens again.

When you are fixing this it's tempting to just deflate, push the bead down, and re-inflate. The problem will occur again very quickly. The actual issue is that you have a circular bead that's slighter bigger than the circular bead seat on the rim. If you arrange them so that they're concentric (even all the way round) that will work, but it's not stable until you pump the tyre back up to push it up hard against the rim.

If you have a weird bike with odd-sized wheels it's vaguely possible that this is actually the wrong size tyre altogether. But that's unlikely. More likely you have a cheap bike with slightly undersize wheels, or a damaged rim, and a generously built (cheap) tyre.

It's worth buying a bike pump, not just for times like this, but so you can keep your tyres pumped up which will make riding easier. And it's a step on the way to owning a puncture repair kit (which will save you money as well as time).


Why does front wheel keep more air pressure then rear wheel over time? After pumping both the tires equally, after a  few weeks pass, the rear tire of my bicycle keeps on getting flatter day by day, and looses pressure.
I have checked everything and there is no leakage anywhere.  Why always does it effect rear wheel?

If air pressure is dropping, the air is escaping. This is the simplest explanation. Other hypothetical causes, such as molecular oxygen being bound with  other chemical substances inside the tube, are much less likely to happen unless you have very powerful enemies to organize such chemical reaction inside your tires without you knowing it. Even that would not explain the rate of deflation anyway.
Oxygen and nitrogen molecules (which are 99% of air) are really tiny and are in fact continuously escaping the tube though rubber's natural pores all the time. But this process is slow, and it would take months to deflate a tube. Anything faster than that means that your tube has larger (but still tiny) holes or a faulty valve.

I have checked everything no leakage anywhere.

Patched holes in a tube can sometimes re-open when temperature gets higher (this is mostly for "glue-on" patches, not the vulcanizing ones). Invisible smallest holes can become visible when a tube gets inflated to a higher pressure. Putting  a tube under water and taking your time to monitor all suspicious bubbles on its surface is still the best way to find leaks.
For the peace of mind, I recommend changing the tube to something of a better quality, or at least not from the same manufacturer, in order to make sure that it is not a factory defect affecting the whole batch of tubes. A usual advice is, while changing tubes, is to re-check the inside of the tire for foreign sharp objects. You do not want to spoil a brand new tube due to an oversight.


Are Deore trekking / MTB groupsets compatible with cyclocross frames for touring conversion? I have a pre-disc-brake vintage 10 speed cyclocross bike that has already seen me through some tours, however, I find the compact chainring is sometimes not geared low enough. I'm also growing increasingly frustrated with the lack of support for 10 speed shifters / components now that Shimano's road components have moved-on... I've previously converted from drop bars to flat bars.

It seems like the "trekking" T6000 and T8000 groupsets might be worth considering, but they are hard to find, and appear to be slightly modified versions of the M series mountain versions.

I'm curious if touring cyclists have had much luck finding and using the T6000 or T8000 series components on road frames, or else the M6000 / M8000 mountain bike equivalents. Any issues with compatibility?

Some general rules of thumb:

The front crank does not care how many speeds are in the back. 9-10-11 speed chains all have the same internal width, it is the external width that is different. Using a 10 or 11 speed crank with 9 speed chain and vice versa provides acceptable performance in my experience.

I have had very good luck using deore XT 10 and 11 speed cranks with 9 speed gearing. The one caveat is that the chainline for road and mtb is slightly different. MTB axles are wider.

The really hard part is finding an appropriate shifter/derailluer combo to shift an MTB triple. If you are currently running a compact crankset, then keeping your current derailluer/shifter and switching to an MTB crankset should be a workable solution, provided you can lower your current derailluer enough to match the outer chainring. You might also need to grind the derailluer cage a bit to match the curvature of the outer chainring.

The thing to keep in mind is that everyone has a different definition of "works". The more you stray from shimano's recommended configuration, the less guarantee of flawless shifting. Only you can decide if it's good enough. I'm sure that there are people that would find the bikes I build and ride completely usable.

My 2 cents:

If money isn't a limiting factor, I would seriously consider switching to an 11 speed MTB 11-40 cassette in the back and a double chainring in the front. With the explosion in gravel bikes, support for this setup is increasing. Shimano MTB 11 speed will work on any older shimano 9 speed or greater capable freehub.

There are also conversion kits that allow you to add a 40t cog to an existing 10spd cassette. With add-ons like the Wolftooth road-link, you can shift these cassettes with current long cage road derailluers.


Should a cross-threaded (but functional) freehub body be considered safe? I cross-threaded my cassette lock-ring on a pair of Fulcrum racing 4 DBs (aluminum threads AFAIK). Upon removing the cassette it looked like the top of the threads were slightly damaged, but I was able to put the lock-ring on correctly and tighten it properly.

Should I consider the fact that the threads were still usable evidence enough that it's fine, or does it need to be replaced?

Assuming you refitted the lockring correctly, and the threads are now mated up correctly, then mechanically it should be fine.

You should definitely use a torque wrench to make sure its tight enough but not too tight - a well calibrated elbow just isn't good enough for aluminium where the tolerances have been reduced by munching up a turn of thread.

Long term, don't be swapping cassettes unless you have to.  The freehub body might have half the number of refits left that it would have had if undamaged.  But it might be a 90% reduction or a 10% reduction too, depending exactly how much is damaged.

Its possible to "chase" threads to help move material out of the valleys, but it won't restore that material into the lands (high bits of the thread)  Plus a tap that big is uncommon.  Your LBS might have one, but you wouldn't buy one as a home mechanic.


Do GPS computers always need online account I am looking to buy a GPS computer. I have looked at Giant's NeosTrack and Garmin's Edge series. Looking at the manuals, it is not entirely clear to me if you have to set up an online account. I would rather not because I value my privacy. The main thing I would like to do is transfer my routes between computer and device. I have no need for services like Strava

Does anyone have experience on setting up these devices, or recommend one which does not require an online account?

Depends what you want to do with the information.

If you just want to see your location on screen and nothing more, then no online account is required.

However if you want to push your ride recording/location to a service like strava etc, then you'll need an account with them.

The device maker would want your information for registering the device, and warranty.  That would be a different matter, but doing this may give you access to firmware and map updates.

Finally, if your device wants internet access but has no internal cellular SIM, it might pair with a cellphone via bluetooth etc, to get internet access.  This is often done through an app on the phone.  Or you have to wait till you get home in range of a wireless AP to upload the device's recording.

I don't have a garmin personally, I use an android phone with ANT+ to talk with a HRM and a Cadence sensor.  The phone has a data internet link when in-range, and also has wireless ethernet when I'm at home.

I need a strava account, and a cellphone account, and a working internet connection at home.


Older Shimano Road Brake Levers vs Newer Ones Quality (SLR vs Super SLR) I'm owner of relatively new (non STI) levers of low Sora/Tiagra level, they are Shimano bl-r400 (Super SLR).

Now i'm thinking of replacing them with pretty Dura Ace BL-7402 (SLR). These come from early 90-s i guess, and were top of the line atm.
I dont care about weight difference.

So my question, is there any significant difference in braking quality (this is most imprortant), construction quality difference etc, considering the fact that there are 20 years between them.
Does 'Super SLR' really matter or it is marketing stuff..?

BTW, i use single Pivots DA BR-7402, so their generation match with desired BL-7402.

Thanks for sharing your ideas about that.

small fix: i discovered my current Levers are Ultegra bl-r600, which are a little bit more fine made i guess

The difference between SLR and Super SLR is mechanical advantage: Super SLR moves the cable for slightly longer distance with slightly less force. In principle, the brakes work best when brakes and levers are designed to match (like the configuration you are asking about), but the difference is so small that mixed setup (like what you have now) does work too.


Spokes go further inside rim than others Used all 184mm spokes, nipples screwed in equally just to cover the spoke thread, wheel is almost true, however some spokes go inside rim further than others!
Already tried to tighten them its same story they do not tighten at equal lengths (equal number of turns some spokes not tighten at all while others turn all the way).
Used same spoke length as this wheel was built with before i taken it apart and i put new hub that is exactly the same as old one.
This rim is very bad design - it has sharp inner wall and nipple hole is about 4mm thick so nipple fixed at 90 degree angle from the rim.

EDIT: I made it over and same issue, rim is trued and all spoke nipples are screwed just to cover the spoke thread.
Heads out spokes go inside rim too far.
I put all the heads out spokes first on both sides, then added heads in spokes on both sides.

On every single wheel I have built (and I have built 6 of them), the wheel looks mis-laced before the spokes have been tightened to the final tension, even though it was correctly laced. You tighten the spokes to the final tension and it starts to look like a real bicycle wheel.
One possibility is that you're seeing just this effect. Tighten the spokes more. If you cannot tighten the spokes enough, you have too long spokes.
Edit: on second thoughts, there is actually a possible issue you may have caused during the lacing. When lacing the first set of 9 spokes, it doesn't matter which hole you choose. When lacing the second set of 9 spokes, the first spoke must go to the correct hole. If you push a spoke through the test hole, you see that all holes in the left flange are inbetween the holes of the right flange. You need to select the correct hole: if the first spoke in the second set goes to the right side of the first spoke in the first set at the rim, the spoke hole at the hub needs to be just barely on the right side too. Not choosing this hole properly could perhaps lead to an issue where the spokes are regularly too tight, too loose.


How do I measure a bottom bracket? I need to replace the bottom bracket bearing on my fixie. I plan to get a Shimano UN26, but I note that there are a number of different sizes. The sizes seem to be expressed as 68-110, where 68 is the shell width and the second number varies according to the table below, from Shimano's tech specs.

I assume the second number relates to the width somehow.

How do I measure my existing bearing? Is it length from end to end of the axle? Given that the only tool I have for this is a ruler (no calipers) what's the best way of measuring my existing bottom bracket to ensure I get the right size?

Update

I removed the bottom bracket and it had "103" stamped on the axle. I also measured and it was exactly 103mm from end to end. So it looks like the measure is the length. I went to my LBS and they assured me a 107mm (coincidently the shortest one they carried) would be fine. I installed it and my chainline is marginally out (I guess by 2mm). So I'm going to try to find a 103mm from somewhere else.

Thanks!

The numbers 113, 115, etc. mean the total axle length in milimeters.

On a singlespeed (fixie, internal-geared-hub), the important measure is how much the right side of the axle "shows out" (not always perfectly symmetric), and how much the crank can "sink" into the tapered square, which may vary from model to model even with the same nominal spindle length, and with how much torque you apply to the bolt when installing.

I have two single-speeds (fixie and IGH), which required some "fine tuning" to get a straight chainline:

One had a 73mm bottombracket tube on the frame, so I had to use a slightly shorter spindle, because it is installed off-center (2.5mm to the right because of extra "frame width" on the right side, the nut on the other side didn't have a lip and could be inserted fully inside the bb thread);
Other was regular 68mm, but two models with same spindle length had different offsets on the crank (because of taper, lip width of the shell, and some other obscure factors) and I had to install a cheaper model (generic instead of Shimano), it was the only one that fitted, and I'd rather have an aligned chain than a slightly better bottombracket.


When is using a suspension fork worth it? I've recently picked up biking again since my childhood years, so I'm quite the newbie. I've figured out most of the features I'd need so far but I'm at a loss at this one.
Why would you pick front suspension?

In my case, I'll be commuting 5 miles each way every day, 1/2 through paved road and 1/2 through gravel trails with a ~200m stretch of moderately bumpy off-road.

Proviso - my advise presumes you are not looking at forking out $2K or more for a bike, and probably significantly less. At a high price point I might suggest suspension. I also presume the gravel section is well maintained with average (pea - grape) size gravel (Where I ride, we sometime use logging roads, the "gravel" is stones about 2"-3" across.), and straight rather than technical single track

Advantages of suspension - Softens the ride on the arms making the ride more comfortable, holds front wheel on the ground providing better handling, especially  while cornering. Allows you to ride a straighter line than you might otherwise be able to.

Disadvantages: Heavy and very expensive for good shocks, need maintenance and cheap ones don't really work well. Absorb energy while riding slowing you down - can be mitigated with a lockout, but even ones with lockouts move a bit.

You only have 200m of rough ground to cover, so a suspension fork is probably overkill. If I was buying a bike for that commute, for the same $$$ you will get a significantly better bike with no shocks, any loss of time over 200m of rough ground would be made up on the rest of the 5 miles because of the better quality bike. Cheap shocks won't really help with the comfort, so unless you can get to at least a mid range in price, don't bother.

I would consider padded hand grips and gloves - cheap and easy to "tweak" if needed. Also big tires will help with the rough ground and gravel - I would look at 1.75"-2" slicks, and probably a 29er MTB of cyclocross style wheels (depending on your height).

Consider a quality steel frame if you cannot afford carbon - they absorb vibrations much better than aluminum. The problem is many shops do not stock, and know nothing about steel and will tell you "stories".


Why are crankset "sizes" often defined by the amount of cassette sprockets? For example: https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/components/road/category/crankset.html

Almost all of the listed cranksets have sizes listed as 2x11/3x10/3x9 - why does the amount of cassette sprockets matter when buying a crankset?

Is it physically impossible to pair, for example, a 3x10 crankset with an 11-speed cassette?

The distance between chainrings (and possibly design of ramps and pins) is determined by chain external width, which is determined by number of speeds in the rear. Too narrow (higher number of speeds) and you will have chain rub, too wide (smaller number of speeds) and you will risk jamming the chain between chainrings.

I have been riding 2x10 crankset with 9 speed chain for years without problems, but on the other hand I have also seen the chain jamming which was took quite some time to fix on the road.


Tube Flat Fold Width I work in the bicycle industry and have never heard nor needed to know the term Flat Folding Width of a tube. Is this even pertinent information to anything other than maybe how many you can jam in your pack? Anyone familiar with or heard this term before? I'm guessing it's the size of a tube when its still folded up with no air, basically right out of the box..

Which seems really pretty pointless to me. It would be on the distribution side of the industry but even to a shop i don't see it having a point as the boxes they come in will be the deciding factor for stocking on a shelf, not the tube inside.

Anyone heard this term or can think of a reason it would be important to anything?

I've never heard of that either. Surely useful to a manufacturer of tubes. I could see it being useful in that it might give you a real measurement of how much rubber you are getting. As you may know, bike tires and tubes are measured with nominal numbers that don't actually reflect the real size of the product accurately. So you might be able to tell how wide a tube is without the nominal numbering. Or, if the nominal numbering is accurate.

For example, I've noticed the more recent batches of innertubes we've had at our store are narrower for the same nominal size. This would mean a lighter, thinner inner tube in use (Any size tube will fill the same size space of the tire if possible, less rubber means it has to stretch more to fill the same space). And I've noticed a slightly higher rate of defective tubes. But I haven't actually measured anything, this is just my impression over a period of time. It's hasn't been an important issue.

Inner tubes in bicycles are sized quite approximately and one can usually fit the wrong size tube into a tire to make if work if you have only got that one option. I'm someone who would recommend a thicker tube, as I favour that reliability over the small weight gains. So I would use that information to pick wider, thicker tubes. Others might do the opposite and choose narrow for the weight savings. All of this is assuming consistent quality, which is a big if.

Anyway, I agree with you there is little need for this number to most people. I'm just expanding on the idea to show there could be some use for a very few. Mostly people who overthink trivial matters ;-)


Chain stuck between chainring and frame My chain fell out while switching the gears and now it is stuck between the chainring and the frame. (I'm not a native speaker nor a bicycle expert, the terms may be wrong)

I tried to unscrew the bolts on the crank arm to remove the crank arm and the chain ring, but it didn't move after removing the bolt. How do I remove it or is there even a better option to get the chain out there?

Update: I managed to wiggle the chain free with some force and it looked like the limit of the derailleur was not set correctly. In the picture you see like it looked before adjusting.

I've managed that before more often than I'd like to admit.

Normally you can wiggle the chain free, though it does take some force and may damage paint. Pull some slack in the chain by moving the derailleur forwards, or it will pull back on the chain you are trying to free up.

You've tried removing the middle and outer chainrings, but I think not the little chainring which is the one pinching the chain against the frame. This has four bolts of its own holding it on, accessible on the inboard side of the small ring. You can remove these one at a time while the crank is still fitted. It should give enough play to release the chain. I would try this first but if you can't rotate the crank to access enough of the bolts then it might not work.

So that gives option 2, removing the crank. To remove the whole crank needs a tool called a cotterless crank puller, cranks won't come off on their own just by taking the bolt out. Very searchable online for instructions. With the right tool available you'd probably just do this first anyway.

Remember to do all the bolts up tightly again. It's a good opportunity to clean them and add a little grease to all the threads.

If the chain likes to fall off the inner chain ring it needs looking at. maybe a tooth is bent, or the chainring is worn, or the limit screw on the derailleur is not set properly.


Traffic lights: double red I have seen several times bike traffic lights like these:

This one is from Vienna, Austria. One can also find them in Bordeaux, France and in Paris if I remember well.

What purpose do these serve ? There are a few possiblities, as discussed in this blog post for pedestrian lights, but I don't find any of them very convincing.

Redundancy, in case one fails. But people tend not to consider an 'off' traffic light as green, and it's not used for car traffic lights, for which it would make much more sense. Also, that's +50% power consumption.
Colorblindness. This makes it possible to distinguish between red and green light other than by color alone. As a partially colorbind person, I have doubts. I can normally distinguish between red and green, but in some situations, no (think bright sunlight hitting the light), then I can not even tell if one of the two lights is on, so a double red wouldn't help me. For truely colorblind people, that might be different.
Be more assertive, i.e. discourage people from crossing at a red light, which works according to a Danish study, according to the post. I cannot find it through <search engine>, but that may be the best explanation. Note that in Vienna, these double red lights are far from the rule, and I haven't seen them for pedestrians.

Edit: here is a poll, so you can signal if such lights are used in your area.

I wrote to authorities in Austria that might be able to shed some light on this question, in terms similar to those above. Here are the answers.

TL;DR : Redundancy in case of failure*.

Anwser #1 (Austrian ministry of transportation)

In short, they don't know, citing Section 38.8 of the Traffic Code, which states that special lights can be used for some specific groups of users, like pedestrians, taxis, cyclists, etc. without any specifics. They also tell me to ask the local (Viennese) authorities, which I did, see answer #2.

Original text, for the brave:

  Nach Rücksprache mit der entsprechenden Fachabteilung übermitteln wir
  Ihnen gerne die folgende Auskunft:

  Gemäß § 38 Abs. 8 der Straßenverkehrsordnung 1960 (StVO) „Bedeutung
  der Lichtzeichen“ gilt, dass zur gesonderten Regelung des Verkehrs auf
  einzelnen Fahrstreifen oder für bestimmte Gruppen von
  StraßenbenützerInnen, wie etwa FußgängerInnen, RadfahrerInnen oder
  Fahrzeuge des Kraftfahrlinienverkehrs sowie Taxifahrzeuge,
  unterschiedliche leicht erkennbare Lichtzeichen verwendet werden
  dürfen.

  Das bmvit kann Ihnen jedoch keine Auskunft darüber geben, wieso an der
  von Ihnen angesprochenen Kreuzung eine solche Ampel zur Regelung des
  Verkehrs herangezogen wurde. Wir ersuchen Sie, sich diesbezüglich an
  das zuständige Magistrat der Stadt Wien zu wenden, dessen Kontaktdaten
  wir Ihnen gerne übermitteln: Verkehrsorganisation und technische Verkehrsangelegenheiten (MA 46) [...]

Anwser #2 (Wien MA 33, Öffentliche Beleuchtung und Verkehrslichtsignale)

The first paragraph emphasizes the fact that for this specific location (photo), the bike lane goes against traffic in a one way street.

The second paragraph explains that this additional red light is meant to avoid switching to the blinking yellow light in case of failure.

Original text:

  Bei der Verkehrslichtsignalanlage (VLSA / Ampel) Burggasse #
  Schottenfeldgasse wurde für den Radverkehr in der Schottenfeldgasse
  ein separates Vierkammerradsignal montiert, weil die RadfahrerInnen
  gegen die Einbahnrichtung der Schottenfeldgasse unterwegs sind.

  Da für die Überwachung des Rotlichts zwei Signale pro Fahrtrichtung
  erforderlich sind, damit die Anlage bei Ausfall eines Rotlichts nicht
  sofort in den Gelbblinkbetrieb übergeht, wurden zwei Rotlichtsignale
  übereinander montiert.

*My german deciphering skills are pretty limited so please correct me if I'm wrong.

After reading that blog post and some forum threads about this issue, the cause seems pretty obvious to me.

At the time, the local traffic light crew had 4-light groups on hand, and didn't have 3-light groups.

This 4-light group was probably originally designed for car traffic, with one of the lights being a turn light.

If having an extra red was an improvement of any kind, it would be much more common (and likely mandatory).


Front disc brake noise only at high speed At a high speed (about 50km/h, but not sure exactly, as I don't have a speedometer) the disc starting to noise like it is touching the caliper/pad. At low speeds It doesn't noise and it's rotating free - it doesn't touch anything. It's hydraulic discs.
Is it a known issue for disc brakes? Or should one to replace the rotor / caliper?
What should I check for (all components are tighten well)?

Edit:
It's front disc 180mm rotor. The noise is when going straight.

2 Edit:
@ Vorac & starnger thanks for comments and answers, but it's looks like it's not the situation:
The noise is starting at some speed, and do not get louder it's the same all the time. The caliper and rotor are well adjusted (few shops checked it). The noise is even if I do not touch the brakes at all.
And it's not about lightly touching the pads - the bike is in use every day, and thou it's not downhill, it supposed to be already gone.
By the way, it's relatively new Merida bike, so the brakes should be in good condition yet.

If the disc is not touching (as you insist) then it must be the bearings.
Take the disc out or pads out and verify.

A more likely scenario is the the disc is indeed touching.
At speed you get a higher frequency of touching and the materials heat up and expand slightly.
With the expansion they touch even more and now the touching is audible.


Safe saddles for men's health As a continuation to Why is it important to have good saddles? I would like to know: Are there non-expensive saddles that are safe for men's health that you can advise.

A slightly different question, are there saddles that are safe for men with urology problems? For example, this is what I found in the mentioned question.

  Fortunately, there are several types of seats that can help alleviate that pressure and prevent injury. Look for seats with a split saddle, or one with a space in the area that would normally press into the perineum.

This means that there are such saddles, but can you mention any models?

No saddles exist which are unsafe for mens' health. What exists are saddles which do not fit particular bodies and, most importantly, misconfigured saddles and bad riding postures which can give a man some health issues.


Hydraulic disc brake too loose I recently replaced my brake pads on a Tektro M285 Hydraulic Disc. After replacing them I pumped the levers so it would go back into place but after a bit of pumping, I noticed that it only adjusted itself a tiny bit. Before I had replaced the brake pads, when I would press down the on the lever it wouldn't go so far but now when I press down on the lever, the lever would hit my fingers before a proper brake could be applied. Is there a way to tighten the lever more so it doesn't hit my fingers?

Also when I was waiting for the new brake pads to be shipped to my home I did notice a small drop of pinkish liquid under the caliper, does that mean something is leaking on my brakes? The specifications on my bike brakes mentioned that it uses Non-Corrosive Mineral Oil. Is the pinkish liquid the Mineral oil? What do I need to do to stop that from happening?

If the lever travel/bottoming problem got worse when you replaced your pads, that's a little unusual.

There is no way on these brakes to adjust the "bite point," otherwise known as lever travel. If it bottoms out or has excessive travel even with fresh pads, that's a symptom of air in the brake line, and the only solution is to bleed the brake.

The pink fluid is Tektro mineral oil. The brake leaking fluid is consistent with symptoms of air in the line. If the fluid leaked due to either the pistons being over-extended, the bleed port being open or loose, hose damage, or a loose hose fitting, it is probably correctable. If it's losing fluid anywhere else for no apparent reason, that's often indicative of a problem with the caliper seals that may not be fixable, since replacement seals for calipers often are not available. There's not really a middle ground situation of a small leak that still allows the brake to basically function. Any noticeable amount will quickly degrade brake function or get the pads contaminated.

At the very least it sounds like the brake needs to be bled. The basic Tektro bleed kit is cheap so it may be worth a shot. If it leaks oil after being bled, cut to the chase and get a whole new caliper or brake.


What does WSD mean relating to mountain bikes? I keep finding a WSD version of bikes I'm interested in buying. What does WSD mean?

In this case, it stands for "Women Specific Design".

With regard to bicycles, in some respects, especially the seat, clothing and shoes, women often have different needs than men. WSD bicycles or accessories address this problem.


Does this abandoned 1976 Murray Alpine 26 I found have any significance or worth? So earlier this week behind a local school I discovered something remarkable. Someone had put a old, wrecked women's bicycle in a pond.

The wheels toast, the chain rings are useless, rust in many spots and the handle bars take some effort to get them to turn. The frame itself isn't too bad, just has some rust and chipping paint everywhere.

Here are some photos of how I found it initially:

After closer inspection i noticed a decal on the top tube that read "Alpine 26" which I can only assume implies 26" wheels. Also there is a sticker on the down tube that reads:

"Lawrenceburg, TN 07 76"

Made July, 1976 in Tennessee?

I know Murray doesn't make bikes anymore and I heard that there quality of bikes went south in the 80s. I couldn't really bring myself to leave it there so I have it now and would simply like suggestions as to what to do with it.

Scrap/recycle?

Wall art?

I really don't think there is any point in restoring this unless I find another bike that has working components that could fit but a damaged frame or something for free/cheap.

So could this be significant at all? I don't have a clue as I can't find this model anywhere on the web.

Personally I feel like it's not, but just checking.

Murray was a pretty cheap brand to begin with, and the bike in the pictures is clearly rusted beyond the point of reasonable repair, even if you found suitable wheels for it.

It's only value is as steel scrap, or perhaps as an "art object" for a local sculptor.  There are no usable parts visible in the pictures that would be worth salvaging.


Where to find good bicycle maintenance info? If there is a good book what would it be? I'm pretty sure I can find stuff on YouTube (any particular user?).  Any blogs out there?

A Bit More Than Basic Bicycle Maintenance for the Average Cyclist, at the How to Fix  Bikes
Sheldon Brown's site has articles on many aspects of bike maintenance
The Park Tool website has instructions for most basic repair operations, and their handy bike map is great when you don't know a headset from a handlebar.
Bicycle Tutor has videos demonstrating many repair jobs
Beachbike's Youtube channel has a lot of information specific to beach cruisers. The videos on internally geared hubs are helpful and clear.


Replacing broken nexus 7 gear hub with second hand one My previous nexus 7 gear hub completely broke down and i decided to replace it with a second hand wheel. I took my bike apart, and used the sprocket gear of my old wheel on the new one. After that i reassembled the bicycle. I seem to have installed it correctly but whatever i do it will not shift way from first gear. I took the wheel apart again, and reinstalled the external shifting assembly but that didn't fix it. While reinstalling i noticed something that seems odd to me. It's about the part where the external shifting assembly hooks onto the gear hub. I always thought that the part that it hooks onto should have some spring like tension on it. But it doesn't.

Three questions:
Should there be tension on the part that the external gear assembly hooks onto?  If so, is that fixable, or did i buy a lemon?

A little unrelated, but if someone happens to know i can use a nexus 7 SG7-R42 gear shifter on a nexus SG7-R46, than i would love to know that too. (I tried googling that but got nowhere.)

Any and all help is greatly appreciated!

I took my bicycle to a local bicycle shop. They unfortunately told me that it should jump back to it's original position, and that opening the hub is the only way to find out what is wrong.

The good news is that all the nexus 7 gears can work with the same gear shifter. The nexus 7 SG7-R42 gear shifter is therefor compatible with the nexus SG7-R46.


How much friction arise from the tires? Does anyone know how much friction (rolling resistance) arise from the tires? I know this heavily depends on type of tire, their air pressure and the type of surface. I would therefore like to see any source describing the friction on any combination of these factors. I am only interested in knowledge that can be verified.

The reason why I am interested is to understand what the maximum potential is if developing new types of tires.

How about the rolling resistance from terrymorse.com. Its the top link from a google search on "bicycle tyre rolling resistance".


Kurt Kinetic Trainer hard to release, should I grease? I have a kurt Kinetic trainer. I find that it's sometimes hard to remove the bike from the trainer, as the knobs are really hard to turn. I thought about putting grease on the threads which clamp on the skewer. Is this a good idea or not? Am I likely overtightening the tension?

According to an email I received from Kurt Kinetic, lubricating the threads is part of normal maintenance. I had to do it because my KK Rock&Roll started making an awful sound. Lubricating the threads fixed this.
Below is the response I received from them.

We're happy to hear that the trainer provides such great companionship on > those dark and cold evenings!
Below you'll find a basic trainer maintenance video that will address the squeaking noise that does not come from the elastomers.

In addition, please ensure that you're performing regular bike maintenance to eliminate any of other potential squeaking sources.


Can I install caliper or cantilever brakes on a frame and set of wheels designed for disc brakes? I have a 2008 Giant XTC 01 that came with disc brakes. Those brakes have been difficult to service throughout my time with the bike, now the pads on the back are worn out the fluid lines on the front has ruptured. As such, I'm ready to consider replacing the disc brakes with more easily serviced calipers or cantilevers. The problem is, I'm not sure whether my frame and wheels will support this style of brake. Attached are images of the fork, wheels, and frame.

You would need a new fork in the front to add v-brake bosses and the frame does not support this either. I don't think it's worth the effort on this bike. It's sure not going to be easy without replacing both fork and frame.

I think for your situation, what may be a better solution is to switch to Mechanical Disc Brakes. They are much more field serviceable than hydraulics.  I'm going to recommend avid BB7 brakes since they are easy to adjust (you can adjust pad position on either side of the brake) and very easy to find parts for (most shops are going to have pads).


How to measure handlebar? pls Do you know what size my handlebar has? I want to buy a new pair of Tektro brake levers and I do not know what steps to take about it

You need to measure the grip area diameter (the diameter of the handle bars where the brake levers clamp onto). I'd suggest using a pair of calipers.

22.2 mm will fit flat bar (typically mountain bike/flat bar road) components, 23.8 mm will fit drop bar (typically road) components.

Note that you need to also get compatible pull brake levers -- in your case, you have a caliper brake so you need a short pull brake lever (ie. one that is marked for not linear pull/V-brakes).


BMX V-Brake lever for MTB compatibility Shimano have this v-brake levers in the product family DXR for BMX.

Is there any difference between a BMX brake lever and an MTB one? Are they smaller?

Most BMX Levers are "Standard Pull", which means they have the shorter pull and are typically paired with road bike brakes (caliper, cantilever, mini-v, or road disc).

Mountain bike brakes (like v-brakes, or mtb disc) typically pair with "long pull" levers, which pull more cable. This is also known as "linear pull"

So, if you use a BMX lever with V-Brakes on a mountain bike, you likely won't be able to pull enough cable to work properly. You'll probably be able to stop somewhat, but they will feel off and will have to be setup so the pads are very close to the rim. You're better off getting MTB specific levers.

However, it appears that the Shimano DXR brakes and levers are linear pull, contrary to standard BMX tech, so it's likely fine to use this particular lever with v-brakes on a mountain bike.


Is it ok to use an inner tube that is slightly too large for the tire? My hybrid bike tire measurement says 700x35c. I ordered a replacement inner tube stating it was 700x35-40c but when it arrived it is actually 700x38-45c. Could I still use this or will it cause a problem, e.g. with my brakes?

It won't cause a problem with your brakes – the tire casing will prevent the tube from "over expanding."

Your tire is a bit smaller than the small end of the range for the tube. You may find it a little harder to fit in the extra material and it would be good to take a bit of extra care to make sure you don't pinch the tube if you use tire levers.

Be careful to avoid any twists, but it should work. This question, Using a wider inner tube, explains in more detail what can go wrong if the tube is significantly too large, and also points out that inflating the tube slightly will ease installation – especially in a case like this.


Can a carbon fiber bike have rack eyelets? With the new generation of gravel bikes, I was curious if any of them are being made with carbon fiber frames and rack eyelets. Are carbon frames capable of bearing the weight of racks installed on the eyelets?

I have a 2011 Jamis Xenith Endura 2. It is a carbon frame with rack mounts embedded in the frame. I have been commuting with this bike for 5 years, maybe twice a week, most of the year. I also run errands and take recreational with it. I use Ortleib Panniers and often have them loaded up. So far no problems.


What sites support Garmin Edge 200 .FIT format? I'm wondering what sites support uploading .FIT (from a Garmin Edge 200) files for analysis and mapping? I know that Garmin Connect does, but I'd like to evaluate other sites that does what Connect does.

Thanks very much.

@freiheit answered above, but I highly recommend strava.com as the added component of segments and battling it out with my friends over a section of road whether or not we are riding at the same time, or even if we are, seeing how much time I took back (or gave up) on a hill is pretty cool.

With a paid membership they add additional ride analysis, such as HR and power. With your entered body weight and bicycle weight it will estimate your power and have found it to be a little off of my measured power, but it is always off by the same, so you can use it for trends (up or down) but wouldn't compare it to other cyclists too much.

I prefer it so much that I am now logging all my rides, runs, swims and other workouts, basically using it as my training log.

Another option (not a website though) is SportTracks from Zone Five Software, download this onto your computer and import your rides, your data on your computer. I've used their free version and have to manually upload/import my .FIT files. I think the newer version will read right off your device.


Can frequent light bicycle commuting severely damage pants? I bought a nice pair of pants to wear to work, and I am reasonably certain they were of good quality (although maybe I was mistaken) and I found that the seat of the pants was worn down to holes in less than a year of near-daily commuting. I commute by bike to my workplace and I don't bother changing because it's a leisurely 15 minute ride and I don't work up a sweat, even when wearing business-casual attire. I of course use the bike to go elsewhere but it is the same in that I don't "ride hard", so to speak.

One thing to note though is that the seat was leather but cracked so there were some sharp edges on the torn leather which may have contributed to the problem.

I'm just wondering if anybody else has had experience with pants becoming worn out in the seat due to only light riding, and with an undamaged seat, because it will make me more hesitant to wear work clothes on the bike in the future.

Absolutely. The thicker your thighs, the more friction, and the quicker the pants loose their thread. This happens relatively irrespective of material, even jeans can wear through rather quickly. I guess that specialized bike wear uses materials that are much less prone to this, but I have not tested that myself.

Of course, saddles with sharp edges do contribute to the wear. Yet, one pair of pants in a year is not too bad. I've worn down jeans within two or three months, simply by biking a lot more with them than you do.


Can anyone help identify this valve? Can anyone help identify this type of valve? (see picture below). I've recently bought this bike and am having trouble inflating the front tyre correctly.

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Cheers

This is a screw-on valve extension for a standard Sclaverand (aka Presta) valve. They are usually fitted when short valves are used with high rims. But here the 3 or so threads visible next to the rim indicate that it may not even be required. Screw it off and you'll find the normal valve-head underneath. If you have a track pump with a screw-on chuck it may fit nicely, with a lever action chuck it could be fiddly.


Is it possible to change the bike’s friction shifter into a trigger shifter? I found my twist shifter inconvenient because it is very hard to twist, I would want to replace it with a trigger shifter to make it convenient. Is this possible?

Yes, this is possible. You just have to select trigger shifters that are compatible with your derailleurs.

As far as as know, Shimano only offers twist shifters in their low-level Tourney range, which are all rear 7 or 6 sprockets, and either triple or single chainring cranks. You just need Tourney shifters that match the number of sprockets in the rear and chainrings in the front. There are several models of Tourney shifters but they are all interchangeable.

The same principle should hold if you SRAM gripshift twist shifters and derailleurs.


V brake tension adjusted by bending a wire enter image description hereI have v brakes with a stiff wire which you bend to adjust the release tension, as opposed to turning a screw. I love this system, it's such an instinctive way to adjust the tension. Anyone know what this system is called as the brake units are getting rusty (it's an old bike) and I'd like to replace them?

All but the cheapest V brake arms come with a spring tension adjustment screw. These screws push on the short end of the spring, but the springs are common to any V brake.

Models with adjustment screws still have the long arm of the spring alongside the caliper arm, it is still exposed and you can still bend it to make adjustments. So you could make do with your preferred method and take your pick of any quality brake you can find.

Turning the adjustment screw is a better way to do it, but there's nothing to stop you bending the spring on your own bike to achieve the same result.


Why does my brake housing keep breaking Okay so i have standard "Bmx U" brakes.
I've noticed the inner housing is passing the little stopper that is on the housing. (They were all new housings and this is my second housing this month.)
Is my brake lever the problem?

Whatever housing stop contained the pictured housing end has a hole that's too big.
Most BMX brake levers have barrel adjusters. If this is true for yours, and as you indicate this occurred at the brake lever end, replace the barrel adjuster. You need to get the right size, and there are several possibilities. Real BMX shops tend to have all the sizes, but replacing barrel adjusters all the time is less of a thing elsewhere so not every bike shop will necessarily have what you need.
If the lever doesn't have a barrel adjuster, as in certain fancy minimalist levers, you might need to replace the brake lever.
If a housing stop braze-on is allowing this to happen, the expedient fix is going to depend on where on the frame it is, what type it is, and whether persuading it back into shape with pliers seems to be a viable option. If it's a normal split housing stop then just reaming it out completely and using it to contain an M5 or M6 barrel adjuster to act as a housing stop may be an option.


voltage of lighting system I had a B&M ? brand (german make) rear bike 'standlight', removed the capacitor as I found it annoying when switching to a battery. Used a 6x cell AA 1,2v pack for awhile, with no issue. Upgraded all the wiring to silicon, and put in a 0,8AHr Yuasa gel lead acid.

For some reason I choose a 12v lead acid instead of a 6v.  ?

The front headlight, which was a xenon lamp design with a voltage regulator circuit that I replaced with a LED inside the reflector, same headlamp control circuit, seems to like it. Good light.

However, the rear red 'standlight' got dimmer, and dimmer. And now barely lights up at all. I think it was not designed to operate with such a continuous peak voltage around 12v and wondered what you thought.

You most probably damaged the rear light and are risking damage the voltage regulator on the front, too, since the huge majority of generator hubs provides 6 Volts.

If the regulator on the front is sophisticated enough, perhaps it is using just enough current and voltage to feed the light, but I think most circuits use a Zener diode, that actually make the excess voltage to "leak". This is not big issue with generators, whose alternating current waveforms just go above 6V during very short fractions of a wave, but with a battery, it's possible that it is working a bit like "short circuited". If the front light is over-heating, that most probably might be happening.

As for the back light, the light-emitting elements of leds are very sensitive to higher-than-normal voltages, and tend to "burn" due to overheating and chemical/physical damage.

I advise you to check the current voltage of your system, and switch back to a lower voltage if that is the case.

Hope that helps!


What makes a great kids city bike? (and where can I find or how can I build one?) I have two children age 6 and 8. In good weather we often ride 10 or 20 miles in a day to school and misc activities. I'd like to get them city / commuter bikes but almost all of the kids bikes I can find are BMX, MTB, or beach cruiser.

However we mostly ride on paved surfaces and these styles aren't as efficient as a hybrid or 3 speed with narrower, higher pressure tires. I'd also like them to have fenders, racks, and water bottles. But I can't find such bikes at stores I've visited in the US or online.

What type of bike would be a good city commuter bike for kids? I am happy to extensively modify what is available, but am not sure where the best place to start would be.

So, if your kids are like most, they are going to be hard on bikes. They will jump off curbs, do wheelies, and likely toss them to the ground when they dismount. I recommend something that will take a bit of abuse. A bmx will take a beating but it is an awful commuter bike. Beach cruisers are not much better - and they won't take the abuse.

I recommend a hard tail mountain bike for most kids. A hard tail is one with only suspension in the front. You will want to make a single change to it, put on some slick road tires. A slick tire mountain bike can be fast, I recently had one fly by me on a 100-mile ride (and I am pretty fast)

A hard tail is a great choice because it is cheaper, lighter, and easier to maintain than one with suspension in the back as well. You can often find them for a good price used. They will accept all of the accessories that you mention.

Whatever you do, don't buy one from a department store. A used quality bike will be much better than a brand new one from a box store any day of the week.

You will need help finding a good one, quality varies a lot. Look for brands like specialized, giant, trek, Santa Cruz, though there are many others. Stop by your local bike shop and ask if they have one used, or bring in some ads from Craig's list. If you start by saying "I would like to get a bike and have you service it", they will be apt to help you more.

Also, pinkbike.com is a good source for used bikes and parts. You can filter for bike types, location, price, etc. Expect to pay at least $250 for a used one, and that is bottom end. Process will go up from there.

I hope that helps.

Cheers


How many miles of riding require the same effort as one mile of running? A co-worker and myself are having a friendly bike / run contest. What is a good ratio for miles ridden vs. miles run? I know it depends on pace. But I'm curious what a generally accepted range of ratios might be.

The short answer to your question is "probably between 2.5 and 3.5 miles; the faster the runner the closer to 2.5 while the slower the runner the closer to 3.5." The long answer is quite long.

As you already noted in your question, the full answer depends on pace; but it also depends on the surface being run or ridden on, whether it is up hill, down hill, or flat, whether it is windy or calm, and how "aero" the cyclist is. That said, if we are talking about a road bike on a firm flat surface under calm conditions, it is possible to make some estimates of the “equivalent” distance. The simple answer is given in the chart below, which relates the distance one must cycle in a given amount of time to equal the effort in running a mile at a given pace.

In this chart, the x-axis is the run pace for a mile and the y-axis shows the distance one must cycle in the same amount of time. For example, if you can run a mile in 4 minutes, an equivalent cycling distance if you were riding "in the drops" would be to ride about 2 miles in the same 4 minutes (that is, to average 30 mph). If you ran a mile at a 10 minute/mile pace, it would take you 10 minutes to run a mile and an equivalent cycling distance would be to ride about 3.5 miles in the same 10 minutes (that is, to average about 21 mph).

How was the chart calculated? In running, the power needed to run X meters/second is approximately X watts/kg of body weight (cf. Hall, Figueroa, Fernhall, and Kanaley, 2004 or McArdle, Katch & Katch, 2007), while the power needed to ride at Y meters/second varies with Y^3 (cf. Wilson and Papadopoulos, 2007). Thus, if we know the amount of time it takes to run a mile, the weight of the individual and the bike, and some other simplifying assumptions we can make the conversion. An exact estimate of running power will depend on the individual's gross metabolic efficiency, the runner's energetic economy (that is, how economical in an energy sense is the individual's running style), and the runner's resting metabolic rate, but it is commonly observed that for a normal-sized individual without unusual abilities or disabilities, energy expenditure while running on a firm flat surface will range between about 0.8 to 1.1 kcal/kg/km. Thus, a common rule of thumb is that running requires about 1 kcal/kg/km. There are 4.2 joules per kilocalorie but gross metabolic efficiency usually lies in the range of 19-25%; if we assume a value of 23.8% for GME, we can derive the happy simplification that (running speed in meters per second)*(body weight in kg) is a reasonable estimate of power in watts; or speed in meters/second ~ watts/kg.

For this chart, I first calculated the speed in meters per second for various running paces along the x-axis, from a 4 minute mile (= ~6.7 m/s) to a 10 minute mile (= ~2.7 m/s). By the running rule of thumb, this requires roughly 6.7 watts/kg down to about 2.7 watts/kg. I then presumed “average” values for the coefficient of rolling resistance (Crr) of .005, flat ground, no wind, and a CdA (drag area) of the cyclist of 0.25, 0.33, and 0.42 sq. meters (typical of a road bike rider "on aerobars", "in the drops", and "on the hoods") and calculated the cycling speed for a cyclist able to produce between 6.7 watts/kg and 2.7 watts/kg. The running pace defines a total amount of time needed to run a mile so the question becomes "how far must a cyclist producing this much power ride in the same amount of elapsed time?" Knowing the speed and the elapsed time lets us calculate the distance. That is what is shown on the y-axis. Note that for the fastest runners, the equivalent cycling distance approaches 2 miles while for the slowest runners competing against the most aerodynamic cyclists, the equivalent cycling distance approaches 4 miles. Thus, for a friendly race between you and your co-worker, if neither of you is a world-class athlete, a reasonable range is 2.5x - 3.5x the running distance to handicap a race so that you both finish in approximately the same time.

If the cyclist were a bit more aerodynamic (for example, if the cyclist used aerobar extensions and subsequent CdA was below 0.25 m^2) the curve would move upward and the rider would have to ride farther in the same amount of time (that is, faster) to match the runner's energy expenditure. If the cyclist were a bit less aerodynamic (for example, if the cyclist's position was more upright, or was wearing loose and flappy clothing) the rider would be expending energy at a faster rate so the curve would move down.

A rough validation of this approximation is that, anecdotally, people who both run and cycle say that running 10 km in about 42 minutes is roughly about as hard as riding 40 km in an hour. That's a running pace of about 6:45 per mile, and the chart equates that to cycling about 2.75 miles in 6:45, or about 24.5 mph -- which is 39 km/h. Our rule of thumb for equivalence is "between 2.5 and 3.5 times as far; closer to 2.5 times if the runner is fast and closer to 3.5 for a slower runner." Running a mile at a 6:45 pace is moderately fast, so we would expect the equivalent multiplier for cycling distance to be closer to 2.5 than to 3.5 -- as you can see, the predicted multiplier is 2.75 so the rule of thumb appears to work. Further evidence can be gathered from duathlons or triathlons. Below you can see data from the 2010 Ironman World Championship in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. The Ironman comprises a 2.3-mile ocean swim, a 112-mile bike ride, and a 26.2-mile marathon. The scatterplot matrix below shows the swim, bike, and run times (in hours) for each of the finishers.

If we ignore the swim leg and concentrate only on the relationship between the run and the bike, we can prorate them to equivalent 10k run times and 40k bike times, as is done here:

What these latter two charts clearly show is that equivalent bike distance will depend heavily on run pace but also on the individual. There is a great deal of "scatter" in the scatterplot, which indicates that while the rule of thumb is reasonable it is not precise.


Don't integrated headsets wear out, ruining the frame? I came upon this marvelous explanation of headset types.

However, this got me wondering. Isn't the role of the headset cups similar to that of the derauler hanged - to not waste the frame as soon as some wear-outable components ends it's life? How do frames with integrated headsets survive more than several years?

from forums.mtbr.com

Here's an excerpt from Chris King about headset types:

  What is an “Integrated” headset?

  It is a bicycle frame, fork and bearing system designed to eliminate the humble headset cup. To integrate
  means to combine and hopefully to simplify. What has been “integrated” by the integrated headset? The bearings
  now rest inside the frame instead of inside pressed-in cups. All of this trouble and confusion is to remove two 12
  gram headset cups from the front of your bicycle. True, an integrated headset can give the bike a nice, smooth
  looking front end, but the consequences of this change to your bicycle are significant.

  Simply put, the performance
  and lifetime that you expect from your new bicycle will be reduced, most severely in aluminum mountain bikes. All
  bicycle frames that use integrated headsets will ultimately have substantial performance and reliability problems
  due to the inherent flaws in this design. The largest flaw is a bearing system that does not positively attach the
  bearing to the frame, leaving the bearing to “float” resulting in wear and impact damage to the frame.

  As an
  additional complication, each manufacturer seems to be doing their own thing, with no real standardization to date.
  As a result, there are multiple bearing types and sizes (some of which have been discontinued with no replacement
  options) and the frame builders and bearing makers are not all working from the same drawings. Lack of
  standardization is a bad thing for everyone. It means that you may not be able to get replacement headset bearings
  for your bike, and you
  will
  need them.

So, to answer your question, yes, an integrated headset will eventually wear out, but that service time is dependent on riding type, style, number of hours, and quality/material of the frame.

You can read more about all three types: Integrated Headsets Explained


Kick-stand on a commuter bike? If I get this commuter bike, should it have a kick-stand?

One LBS said "no": they explained that stands are difficult to attach, weigh a bit, don't stay on well, and/or scratch the frame.

I've never had a bike without a stand. A lot of my parking will be locking to a post-and-ring device like this.

If your bike doesn't have a kick-stand:

Why not?
How do you park it without one? Can you just lean your bike up against whatever you're locking it to? If so, doesn't it roll and fall over easily? Do you only/mostly park it in the kind of rack where you push a wheel into a vertical slot which holds it upright?

Whether a bike has a kickstand is really a personal decision, but what the frame is made of is important. If you're not concerned with scratching the frame, and the frame is reasonable sturdy, then get yourself a kickstand; it'll make the bike more usable, and that's what's important. (I wouldn't attach a kickstand to, say, a carbon frame or a bike with a nice paint job I wanted to keep intact, but most of my bikes have them.)

When your LBS told you that "kickstands don't stay on well", what that means to me is that they're either using bad kickstands, or they don't attach them well. However, there are some bikes that won't fit well with a kickstand (such as many folding bikes and racing bikes). However, a commuter bike that won't take a kickstand isn't nearly as useable as one that will.

I don't have kickstands on my touring bikes, because one is a folding bike and the other is a diamond-frame touring bike. The latter will take a kickstand, but I removed it because a bike with a full touring load won't really stay put with a kickstand. I ended up getting a gadget called a click-stand that's essentially a tentpole with a thing on the end that hooks onto the frame, and also comes with a pair of brake bands (they do just what you'd think). Unfortunately, it takes a minute to deploy and isn't suitable for everyday use, but it perfect for touring.

A bike without a kickstand can be parked by leaning it against a railing, or the end of a bike rack, or even lying it on its side on the ground if you're not locking it up. You can use cable locks combined with a sturdy lock such as a U-lock (or even a bungee cord combined with a lock) to keep the bike steady. My kickstand-less bikes have bungee cords that live on the rear racks for this purpose.

If you want a kickstand, do a little research and order one and attach it. If you're concerned about scratching the paint (you will), you can cut up an old tube and use it to protect the frame. Don't tighten it so much that you crush the frame, but check it every so often and make certain it's reasonably tight.


Bicycle for 2 x 30mins commute I plan to use my bicycle 5 days a week to get to work and back, approximately 30 minutes(~6 miles /10 km) one way, mostly good/ok roads but with some bumps here and there.

Should I care about cx bicycles because of not perfect road conditions or typical road bicycle would be able to endure?

I don't care about comfort that much and only carry my laptop with me in a backpack, so my priority is to get from one point to another and do it fast. Any recommendations?

Thank you.

A 10K commute is pretty short, I would say almost too short for a racing style bike for several reasons. I would recommend you look at tourer or hybrid bikes. Allow me to explain.

You say you are not really interested in comfort. I assume you will ride in your regular clothes. This is a bad combination. When done regularly, no matter the amount of discomfort you are prepared to take. A hard saddle and stiff frame, combined with the seams-in-stupid-places of your regular outfit will wear you down. Moreover, 5 days a week, regardless of weather means dirt everywhere, even on paved roads. Your clothes will get dirty, and you might even get mud in your hair, so you'd need to shower. But with a 10K commute the time it takes to change clothes and shower takes up a significant part of the total time you spend commuting. (if showers are available at your place of work). Some comfort -a good saddle and fenders- will save you time and pain.

Then there is the matter of durability. Think about the appointment you will miss because you had a flat 5K into your commute and you had to either walk 5K or take the time to fix the flat. This is just one of the many things that can break. Remember: "regardless of the weather" so dirt will accumulate, oil will wash off, things might rust. I expect you are not going to spend every weekend meticulously cleaning, checking and oiling everything, so you want durability.

My suggestion for a good commuter bike for 10K one way in your regular clothes would be a touring bike with full fenders (to keep away the mud) a chain guard, puncture proof road tires and a relatively comfortable saddle. This will be heavier, so your top speed will be lower, but any time that costs you you'll easily gain not showering, changing clothes, and fixing your bike.


Putting wider wheels on a hybrid bike I've recently had a bike donated to me by a friend so I can start commuting to work. It's a hybrid style bike, and uses 700x32C tyres. My ride to work is along a pretty bumpy, muddy canal path and my feeling is that the tyres currently on the bike are a bit too narrow for the terrain. I'm very new to cycling, and particular bike maintenance, so this might be a dumb question, but can I replace the wheels on the bike with something wider? If so, what measurements should I take from the bike to make sure I get something that fits?

Frame clearance can be a problem, especially if the mud is sticky and the tire too close - it can clog up quite badly if you go too wide. If you have V brakes, these can also, however my experience has been worst case is new brake pads.

29" Mountain bike tires are 700C. (As Always - http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html has the answer), so you now have a wide range of tires to choose from. The web page also has a great chart for tire width vs Rim Width compatibility. With a bit of luck you will not need new rims, just tires.

If in doubt, take the bike to the guys at the LBS and have a chat with them. They will put you right on local conditions and will hopefully know the route you are riding and give good suggestions.


BMX: Training routine for a beginner? At the ripe old age of 20, I finally moved to an area with a BMX track, so this summer I'm finally going to be able to follow my life-long dream of racing. Other than spending a lot of time riding daily and practicing on my home track, what other sort of training should I be doing? What muscles do I need to work, and what's an effective way of doing so (preferably without gym equipment)?

Off-bike? You might try out plyometric exercises. Plyometrics can help you improve your agility and power. In addition, you'd probably want to work on core strength.

I think that plyometrics would be helpful since BMX races are relatively short and rely a lot on agility and sprinting power.

You also mention that the track is too muddy for riding. So, you could do sprint intervals on pavement. Sprint intervals will improve your stamina and speed. An example would be something like this:

Ride easy for 10 minutes
Sprint for 30 seconds and work your way up to 2 minute sprints
Ride at a comfortable pace for 3 minutes
Repeat the sprint/comfortable pace cycle 4 to 6 times
Finish up by riding at an easy pace for another 10 minutes
Do this 2 or at most 3 times a week but NOT on consecutive days