Speed wobble safe fall? What's the best downhill safe fall if you're getting a lot of speed wobble, or you're on a really rocky course and lose control?

I noticed a lot of people try to slide the bike down to its side, but that isn't always possible.  When it's not possible to do that, should the bicycler try to pop a wheelie and go to his back?  Jump up and start running, and then slide on his nostrils?  Roll?  Log roll?  I've seen so many different falls, and I've always improvised.  I'm of the belief that you have to know how to fall before you do any sport, though, and I don't feel right not having researched bicycling safe falls.

Between BMX and mountain bikes I've fallen quite a bit over the years.  If you're getting bad speed wobbles then there is something not right with your bike.  I've never seen anyone get speed wobbles on a rocky course.  If you're going fast enough on a rocky course that this is a risk you should be wearing at a bare minimum a full-face helmet.  Shoulder guards wouldn't be a bad idea either as would shin/knee combos and elbow pads.  Get a helmet, get safety gear.

The worst crashes I've seen have always been when the person doesn't see it coming, and you're probably not going to see it coming.  Popping a wheelie and landing on your back is known as looping out.  Even if you land on your feet, at speed you're going to mess yourself up anyway.  Don't do it.  I might try locking up my back brakes and skidding sideways, but that's still really sketchy and a desperate measure.

When it comes to crashing there really isn't definitive answer, and you really must use your best judgement.  You want to stay loose and judge the situation in that split second before impact.  Screw the bike, save yourself.  It's better to get road rash than to hit a semi/boulder/tree.  Be aware of the worst hazards and TRY to choose the lesser of two injuries.  Remember that if you're going fast enough that speed wobble is an issue, then losing control of your bike is one of the worst things that could happen.


Rear tire tearing away from bead I noticed recently that my rear tire seems to be tearing on the right side. The bead is firmly attached inside the wheel but the wall/fabric are tearing away. The bike and tire are only 3 years old. I’m wondering if one of the following might be causing this:

I ride most weekdays with a rear pannier on the left carrying 5–10 pounds of weight. On rarer occasions I’ll carry more weight.
A month or so ago, I had a flat caused by a sharp sliver of unknown material poking through the rear tire. I removed the intruder and patched the tube. (It’s possible the tube is slightly bulged due to the patch, although I’m not sure the location corresponds exactly with this tear.)

Would anything else reasonably cause such a tear? It looks as though the tube is causing the tire to bulge out a bit where it’s torn, but I wouldn’t say that I normally have the tubes overinflated — if anything, probably underinflated.

Underinflation is bad for tyres.  Your pannier won't have caused this, other than adding more weight to an underinflated tyre.

Its likely that riding underinflated, combined with stresses of changing the tube last month, have damaged the tyre.  Possibly a tyre lever used wrong may have contribited too.

You should replace this tyre, and inspect the front tyre for similar damage.

I see a moderately knobbly tyre - if you're riding roads then consider more of a neutral commuter tyre tread for easier riding.


Just how bad are bottle dynamos? My tourer has a dynamo front wheel, which is great.  It's so handy* that I ended up using it for most of my commuting over the winter, despite having a hybrid that should serve as my foul-weather commuter.  So I'd quite like to add a dynamo to the hybrid which does a few tens of km per week.  The budget simply isn't there for a new wheel** (or rebuild, but the rim is old) plus lights, but a bottle dynamo from a reputable brand is only around £/$/€12 and my tyres (marathon plus) already have tracks.

Bottle dynamo vs. hub dynamo covers some of it (longevity, tyre wear), but I'm interested in day-to-day reliability as opposed to longevity, i.e. can I just jump on and the lights work assuming I don't clobber it? In all weathers? I can with the hub system and this isn't addressed at the linked question.

* Clip-on lights (the vast majority of battery lights) get stolen where I park (and I can't change that) so have to be removed.

** I will downvote any answers that mainly suggest a hub dynamo.  I know they're better in many ways, I know you can get a wheel for ~£100 delivered, but that's too much. Unless there's an option that's similar in total price to a bottle, forget it.

Bottle dynamos aren't actually as bad as often claimed. They are usually cheap, lightweight, have less resistance than people think and zero resistance when not in use. There are some bad parts, though:

Most of available dynamos are complete rubbish and won't last in use. High quality dynamos have been superseded by hub dynamos and battery lights.
Resistance is still higher than with decent hub dynamo
They are noisy and the pitch depends on speed, making any slowing down obvious
The cable connections are often very unreliable (see "complete rubbish")
The clamps damage finish on the fork. Some systems use fork and frame for ground and depend on puncturing the finish, preventing putting any protection between clamp and fork. This also doesn't work with carbon forks.
The dynamo is in perfect position to fall into spokes and can cause serious accidents if not properly installed. It is also easily knocked into spokes, so you have to check every time if you leave your bike in public place.


How to remove handlebar end plug (probably expansion type)? Earlier this year I acquired a second-hand Cannondale Trigger 2014, that was used just twice but standing around for quite some time. Today I wanted to change some things about the cockpit and as a part of it, tried to remove the grips. Not having seen any "sophisticated" end plugs ever I just untighted all screws and then tried to pull the grips and endcaps free - no luck. With admittedly few thoughts I kept turning the middle screw and managed to get it out all the way. Only later did I realize I probably shouldn't have done that. I can clearly hear the counterpart moving inside the handlebar. On the second grip I tried to do it right, but that just results in the middle screw being loose, the counterpart still being connected, but it's still mysterious how to get the entire plug out. The screw is the only thing I can pull on, but that just pulls in the counterpart and expands the plug, i.e. getting it stuck even more.

I can't find any specific details online or in the manual about this handlebar plug/cap or even any instructions, how to "normally" remove those types of plugs. I know options to remove them destructively, so that's not what I am looking for.

In "normal operation", how would you remove this handlebar end plug?

I went ahead and removed the end where the screw was already out forcefully, meaning putting two screws into the side walls of the plug and levering on them with pliers. Once the plug reached out of the handlebar, I couldn't lever anymore and just pulling didn't do the trick -> abused a wood drill bit to mill away enough material that pulling worked. Weirdly enough, there wasn't any clear signs of the device being "abnormally" stuck.

The principle is simple: A split shaft is extended by pulling in a cone like counterpiece to the screw. To undo it, you need to untighten the screw, then push it in to release the cone. The cone has at two points protroding features, which when not aligned with the slits in the shaft prevent it from extending the shaft. So if slightly turned, you can pull on the end cap to retrieve the entire thing. You can use the loosened grip to have a better handle while pulling. If, as in my case, that isn't enough force, use a flat plier to go in between handlebar/grip and end cap and lever the entire thing out.

TLDR:
If you have this end cap, replace it asap (or regularly remove it, maybe that helps). If you have any other cap with a screw in the middle (likely expansion type), I'd advice testing to remove it and if it works fine, hope it will work fine again once you need to remove your grips. If it doesn't work fine, replace it (it will be trash anyway).


Why aren't road bicycle wheels tiny? My understanding is that air resistance is where most of the pedal power goes to at high speeds, and that this is a concern not least for the wheels: What you pay for in a road bike wheel is aerodynamic and/or light wheels, not so much to other losses like rolling resistance and bearings.

So if air resistance is the thing to optimize a wheel for, the wheel should be tiny. Obviously in width, but also in radius, because even shortening the length of a surface reduces boundary layer drag, and the top half of each wheel is basically a surface that moves faster than the rest of the bike. Has anybody thought of this?

Postulate: The faster angular speed of a small wheel is irrelevant to air resistance: If the forward speed is given, every point on the wheel at a given fractional wheel radius has a speed compared to the ground that is independent of the wheel radius. In other words, shrinking the wheel does not speed up any point on its surface; you just get less surface. Which should be good!

Some speed record bikes have had small wheels, including the current record holder.

Assuming a bicycle with a conventional rider position, the rider cannot be positioned any lower because there has to be a certain amount of clearance between the cranks and the road. As wheels shrink, the frame has to extend downwards to reach the axles, so you are not really removing structure that causes drag, you are replacing it with something else.

Smaller wheels have higher rolling resistance, at some point that become significant compared to aero drag.

There are a host of other practical reasons, for instance:

As the driving wheel decreases in size the gear ratios have to increase to maintain the same distance travelled for a turn of the cranks. This is why folding bikes have huge chainrings.

Small wheels are less stable, as anyone who has ridden a Razor scooter knows.


How to tell if a new pair of brake calipers will fit my wheel, tire, and frame? I have a Takara Kabuto. It has 700x32 tires (I don't really know what that means).

I was looking at upgrading the brake calipers. I was looking at these, among others.

How do I tell if they will fit my bike? On the page for the SRAM calipers linked above, it says that they fit 28c tires, but in the questions sections, a person said they'll fit on 32c tires. How do I know if that's correct?

I can't find any size information whatsoever for the Tektros.

How do I make sure that any pair of brake calipers I purchase over the internet will be the right width, length, etc.?

Road brake calipers are built with "reach" dimensions.  The reach is the distance from the center mounting bolt to the pads.  Usually this is a range of values (e.g., 47mm-57mm) as you can adjust the pad vertically within the caliper.  It is important you replace the caliper with another caliper of the same reach. If you do not get the appropriate reach you will not be able to position the brake pads to engage the rim braking surface.

Generally, there are 3 common sizes for road brake calipers.

39-49 mm - "short" reach - Common on race road bikes, lower volume tires (e.g., 700x23c).  The   Tektro R540 (what you linked) has this reach.
47-57 mm - "long" reach - more common on road bikes that slightly larger volume tires (e.g., 700x32c).
57-76 mm  - "Extra long reach" - less common and found on more boutique frames which are designed to fit even larger volume tires or 700c to 650B conversions.

You need to determine which reach your current calipers are. Given the tire size of your current bike (700x32c), if I were to guess, it is likely option (2) 47-57mm.

If you peruse Sheldon Brown's web page on brake calipers you can see which brands and model numbers will match this reach specification.  I would however suggest measuring your caliper reach to confirm my guestimate before any purchases.


How to remove an older Shimano Hollowtech crank? I'm getting some creaking in my crank/bottom bracket and a good first step towards fixing this is to remove and clean the cranks and chainrings. If I still have the creaking, the BB is almost certainly the problem. However, I've hit a roadblock; I've got the big and middle rings off, but I can't remove the crank arms to get the small ring off the bike.

Looking up Shimano Hollowtech cranks isn't giving me any help, I don't have the Hollowtech II crank and all those direct me to loosen bolts that aren't on my crank arms. Can anyone identify exactly what crankset I have? How can I safely remove and clean all this?

Specs:

Novara Randonee touring bike, circa 2008
Bottom bracket: Shimano Octalink (as per this, so maybe?)

Every Shimano crank has its model number stamped on the inside of the arms.

If you have an Octalink BB, all you need is either an Octalink crank puller or an adapter.

Below is an adapter type tool. It fits in to to the end of the spindle so that any normal square taper type crank puller can be used. They work as well as anything and only cost a few dollars, or at least did when they were a more commonly seen item, so if you have a crank puller already they're a good choice. There are some different ones out there that are all basically the same thing, and I believe they can all do both Octalink and ISIS. (I have a non-Shimano one that can and I think the Shimano one pictured can too, but not 100% certain.)

Some crank pullers can do both Octalink/ISIS and normal square taper, like Park's one with interchangeable bits:

There are also Octalink/ISIS-only crank pullers. They're kind of the least desirable option if you're buying tools these days because these cranks are relatively uncommon, despite the years from about 2000-2004 where there was the perception they were going to be the new normal.


Identify tandem frame with no LK99040060 Looking to identify my tandem frame
It was bought without decals and buyer claimed it to be a Gary Fisher but I want to know for sure before I have it refinished.
It has eccentric bottom bracket shell and v-brake mounts
Frame number stamped underneath the shell is LK99040060
Any help gladly appreciated

IS that the only number listed?  I looked on a bike registry and found nothing, but it may not include tandems, or there is another number stamped on the frame somewhere.  This site: https://bikeindex.org/serials  give pictures and descriptions of different locations for that stamp to be.  But I have not found a registry for tandems or that just says it includes tandems.

I am sorry that I could not help more!  Good luck :)


What do you do to cure road rash more quickly after a crash? Crashes are an inevitability in cycling. This weekend, I hit a 4" stick on my bike. It flipped over, stuck in the spokes of my front wheel and did this to it:

It stopped my bike really quickly and I wound up flying over the handlebars, and earned a trip to the local ER where they spent an hour scrubbing the road out of my face, arms and shoulder.

So what tips and tricks do you folks have for recovering quickly (and without scarring) from road rash?

Wow! That looks like a horrid crash.

There are some newer ideas on road rash healing. My doctor recommended that I NOT use Neosporin type ointments. The reason being that it only has an affect on the superficial layers of the wound and that infection, if it occurs, will be in the deeper layers; and also that topicals are shown to interfere with wound healing. He also told me not to use hydrogen peroxide as it damages tissue. The keys to healing and preventing scarring are to keep the wounds clean and moist.

The advice I got from my physician (who is a cyclist) is pretty much the same as the advice here on freewheel.com.

According to the article and my doc:

After a proper cleaning it's recommended to apply an application of a hydrocolloid or semiocclusive hydrogel dressing.

"A moist healing environment is provided by the dressing... Two basic options fulfill this requirement."

Semipermeable film dressings, such as Bioclusive (Johnson & Johnson, New Brunswick, New Jersey) andTegaderm (3M Company, St Paul), in combination with semiocclusive hydrogels such as Spenco 2nd Skin (Spenco Medical Corp, Waco, Texas). These dressings are impermeable to water and bacteria but allow the exudate to evaporate."

Hydrocolloidal dressings. Examples of hydrocolloidal dressings are Duoderm (ConvaTec, SkiUman, New Jersey) and Cutinova hydro (Beiersdorf, Inc, Norwalk, Connecticut).


Vicini brand - original or clone? I have seen a racer for sale in BKK, for 2500 Baht, in a scrap yard. It is a bit of a hybrid, but the frame is apparently branded Vicini:

However, the logo doesn't match that which I found on the web. This is the logo, on the bicycle that I found:

This is the logo that I found on the web, from this page:

Does anyone know if this is a good brand, and whether I have found a dusty nugget of treasure, or is it just a no-brand fake clone? I have googled for Vincent branded bicycles and not come up with all that much.

Additional photos and info
FWIW, the rear derailleur mechanism is a Exage 300EX, the gear shifts are Shimano (although the photo is unfocused unfortunately), and the rear brake cable is threaded in-frame inside the top horizontal tube:

The logo can also be seen on the seat tube:

After going over the photos again, and then googling "Vicini Special Pro" (as is seen on the seat tube), I found this frame on eBay, going for over 200 Euros:

Even though the frame isn't exactly the same (the rear brake cable doesn't go inside the frame's top tube), the logos all look the same.
Another link shows a complete bike (with the same frame (brake cable internal)) going for 400 Euros (original image):

I think that the whole bike for ~50 Euros (equivalent to 2500 baht) is probably worth it...
There's even an interesting Wikipedia page about Mario Vicini with the following information:

You can tell his frame and fork sets by the Vicini name stamped into the top end of the seat stay flutes and the V in the top of each side of the fork crown.

As DavidW states in his comment, the original logo was in lower case, like so (source):

So, the logo appears to have had a "recent" revamp.


How do I fix my front wheel that’s hitting my brakes? I’m totally new to bike maintenance and I know next to nothing about it. I was on a bike ride the other day and noticed it was abnormally difficult to ride. I got off and saw that the front wheel was not spinning freely and was rubbing against the brakes.

I watched a video that said my quick release could be the problem, but I don’t think that’s it. I think it has something to do with the brakes because they are slightly tilted and their attachment to the handlebars.

If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated! Thank you!

The return spring on the right hand caliper (from the point of view of sitting on the bike) has come out of its stop in the caliper. The spring in the left hand caliper is pulling both calipers to the left.

You can see the return spring sticking horizontally out of the right hand caliper. It looks like about 10cm of stiff wire. The spring wire should be on the inside of a peg or flange near the top of the caliper arm. In several of your pictures you can see the spring wire correctly seated on the left hand caliper arm.

Re-seat the spring and the calipers will return to center.


Easy Clean Handlebar tape My white handlebar tape is an absolute nightmare to keep clean even using Sprint Spitfire Spray  and I don't have time in my life to keep on top of it. Are there any bar tapes out there that are very easy to maintain? The tape does not necessarily have to be white.

The secret with Handlebar cleaning and also with brake hoods (I have white ones, it's cool but it never stay clean more than 10minutes ^^) is to use some hospital-grade ammonia based cleaning products.

Since your stains are essentially composed of handfat and dirt you will clean your tape with minimal effort.


What is the “clip ring” part on my hubs? I recently bought a vintage Japanese Zunow road bicycle from the 1980's. The Sunshine hubs comes with small little rusty “clip rings” on both sides. Any idea what is the purpose of those clips?

Is there a small hole that was covered by the ring? If so it covers a lubrication port. Many old Raleigh, and other utility type hubs came with such a port.


Shimano STX RD-MC30. Replacement Apparently there is too much play, indicative of it being too worn to function properly. Would the RD-MC31 be compatible or is there a newer compatible set that I could use?

most shimano derailleurs will do, as long as you keep them "9-speed" and below. See also the biggest table here (the biggest table with the 1.7 derailleur ratio).

Make sure your replacement has at least the tooth capacity you have / you plan to use (big chainring + biggest sprocket wheel - smallest chainring - smallest sprocket wheel)

Do not replace the shifter with one for a different amount of gears, as that is the part that determines how far the derailleur will travel per gear change.


Max speed for wheel bearings I don't know much about bikes. I've got myself an older Specialized Stumpjumper. I asked myself the other day while I was riding with +50km/h through the forest what the maximum speed is the wheel bearings will endure and if there is e difference between smooth roads and trails.

50km/h = 13.9m/s = 833m/min. Wheel circumference is roughly 2m so that the wheel is spinning at 417rpm. Sealed industrial bearings easily withstand 10.000rpm and more. The steel ball bearings inside even more.


Continental 4Seasons vs 4000S I am currently riding Conti GP4000S tyres, in 700x23mm version, inflated at 115 psi.

The grip is great, the (light)weight is amazing. I have punctured twice with them (in 1500 km) which is more that I would hope, but I can live with that.

Still, when I look at my tyres, I see minor cuts on the tread. Nothing major but let's just say that any time I am stopped at traffic lights, and I look down, I can see at least a "wound".

Do I run the risk of increasing the number of punctures? are those tires really too road-training-oriented to use them for commuting?

I like Continental, I like the 23mm format, I like this (lack of) weight. So I was considering 4Seasons which are a few grams heavier but offer an extra layer of protection against puncture.

I have plans for a long ride (~150 km) and would want to avoid more than 1 puncture in the day.

Tyre management is tricky. I also notice the gashes and cuts in the tyre. Also if you take your tyre off and look really closely (while bending the rubber back and forth) you'll find heaps of glass and metal embedded in the tyre. If you were really keen to extend the life of your tyres you can go through and pick out all the junk you can find.

I personally replace my tyres when the frequency of punctures gets too high. Over time it happens more regularly until I get sick of it and buy new ones.

If you want a longer lasting tyre, I've had good experience with Continental Gatorskins. I generally run 4000S's on the front for the amazing grip, and Gatorskins on the back for longer life.


Best bike for distance, best bike for speed I am biking the Pacific Coast from Vancouver, BC to San Diego this September. I am looking to purchase a new bike, but I am struggling with the choices.

I enjoy racing with friends on weekends. On an average weekend, I might bike 80 miles and will sustain and 25mph pace. I regularly participate in relaxed races, like the Portland Century. I also bike to work.

In an ideal world, I'd purchase a race bike and a touring bike, but unfortunately,  I cannot afford both. I need to purchase a bike that is capable of making a 1850 mile journey, but also sporty and speedy enough to satisfy my weekly needs. I'm really lost and I'm not sure what bike fits both these requirements.

Any tips, pointers, or advice would be greatly appreciated!!!

Few other tidbits of information:
- I could potentially purchase a trailer for the trip, so I don't have to purchase a bike that has bIke bag capabilities.
- I'm willing to sacrifice comfort on my trip for a bike that will meet my needs in the future.

Thanks!

I have pretty similar cycling needs as you. I love to race, but still commute over 250km per week in bad weather, so I needed a durable, sporty bike, on a budget.
After doing a LOT of research, I bought a Verenti Defense WR2.1 Sora 2015.

Hope this answer helps, I have done over 4000km in 4 months on this bike in terrible weather (Ireland) and have also mounted rear and front panniers. Therefore, in my opinion, this is defiantly a sporty bike as well as a workhorse.

P.S. Comes with mudguards, rear rack mounts, 25mm tires (only had 2 punctures so far), etc.


Sora R3000 brifters with the M4000 rear derailleur Is the pull ratio still the same ? I can only find info on the older gen sora shifters not the most updated ones..

Yes, the rear derailleur cable pull ratio, unlike the front one, is still the same. You can use any (7-)8-9 speed RD.


Flashing light when pushing bike with (constant) low speed When someone pushes his bike beside him in a constant (low) speed the light will not be at constant (low) brightness, instead it will flash with it's full brightness.

Why does it work like that?

This happens because the power from a hub dynamo (which technically is a magneto, not a true dynamo) is not clean sine-wave AC but consists of short pulses with alternating polarity. At high speeds these pulses follow each other fast enough that a LED can burn continuously with a small capacitor and a filament bulb does not have time to cool down between pulses.

The effect does not have anything to do with programming or the fact that LED is a diode, and it happens with filament bulbs too. A more complex LED setup could have a capacitor to enable continuous dim light and perhaps even be programmed to flash at low input power, but I doubt this is the case.


Reinforced pin replacement with a missing/quick link Usually, when breaking a bike with Shimano reinforced pin, the general recommendation is that you find the reinforced connecting pin but then move to another pin, a few links aways.
It is the "original pin" connected to this "other part of the chain" that will be pushed out of the chain, effectively breaking the chain.
As far as I understand, the reason for that is that the reinforced connecting pin relies on mechanical deformation of the receiving plate in order to stay in place. So far so good.
However, what happens when someone wants to break a Shimano chain to install a KMC or a Wippermann quick link?

Should they break the reinforced link? or

Should they break one of "common" pins?

Reason would tell me: Break the reinforced connecting link as that external plate holding the reinforced pin (which I assume is the part subject to deformation) will be discarded as part of the missing link install.
However, I could not find instructions confirming this.
Would anyone know?

You are correct, the pins have an interference fit in the outer plates only.
When a regular pin is forced out the hole in the outer plate is enlarged. The reinforced replacement pin has a slightly greater diameter than the regular pins and so forms a interference fit in the outer plate again. This is why you cannot replace the reinforced pin.
If a outer link with a reinforced pin is replaced with a quick link the deformed outer plates are discarded.


Garmin edge 520 maps installation In order to install a new set of maps on my garmin edge 520, I downloaded from site "http://garmin.openstreetmap.nl/" the file "gmapsupp.img" 85mb, renamed it as gmapbmap.img deleted the existing file "gmapbmap.img" 45mb and tried to copy the new "gmapbmap.img" file but received the message "not enough space". The site, for that case, recomended that I should not only delete the old file but also  "empty the trush" from Garmin device I suppose. Where is that "trush" in my garmin?

Are you sure you have enough free space on the Garmin for a 85 MB file, even after removing the old map file? The Edge 520 has very limited storage of around 100 MB. That is also used by the stored activities, which can take dozens of megabytes if you never remove them.

I have used a 88.5 MB map loaded from the same site on my Edge 520, but I had to remove the activities from the device every couple of months. The device doesn't warn you when low on storage space, so you find out when it finally fails to store your whole ride.


Clear coat on top of old paint in order to preserve it/frame? Using nail polish to touch-up scratched/rusted frames is more or less well-known (cf. Girls Biking to Work), but recently a hobbyist restorer of old bikes told me that you can "just apply clear coat over the entire frame" in order to keep the frame from rusting and to protect the paint job. Is this true?— What are the implications of applying a layer of clear coat over an old paint job on an old frame? I would be afraid that e.g. the clear coat would somehow discolor the paint job or perhaps cause the old paint job to somehow come off or something like that.

You can but there are a couple things you will have to do first. Like @FreeMan was saying, to do it properly you would need to thoroughly clean and I would also use a degreaser before you paint it.

Something you could try before using the clear coat would and adhesion promoter like this. Even after doing all of that, there is no telling how well it will work and/or how long it will last.

Without a proper paint booth or ideal conditions it can be really easy to screw up a paint job.

If there is any underlying rust that hasn't presented itself, it will eventually even with a new coat.

Your best bet if you really want to do a proper job, is to sand, prime, paint again, and then use a clear coat.

If you want preserve the paint then you may be out of luck. If you want to simply restore/reuse the frame then I would just go back and do a proper job. It all depends on if it's worth the time, money, and energy to you.


New innertube won't inflate when in the tyre I'm replacing my inner tube after getting a flat. When I inflate the tyre with the new tube in, it feels soft- even though the pump says the pressure is 100PSI.

The tube inflates and holds its shape when I inflate it on its own (outside of the wheel). I'm convinced I'm making some fundamental error but cannot figure it out.

Details:

Old tube: Schrader 700X28-38C Specialized (came with the bike)

New tube: Schrader 700X28-45C Kenda "kwick-seal" and says e-ready. (only one I could find online because of lockdown).

The new tube valve is shorter than the old one. It also appears to leak a bit of fluid when I deflate and doesn't deflate easily when I push the pin. I'm using a track pump which I have tried on my girlfriend's bike and seems OK.

Any suggestions would be great as all my local bike shops are closed because of COVID.

Since you say the track pump's gauge reads 100 PSI, that suggests the air is pressurising inside the hose.  I'd bet that it only takes a couple of pumps to get there too.

This means the valve is not opening to admit air into the tube, AND that the pump head is forming an airtight seal with the valve.

If its a Presta valve, make sure you back off the acorn nut on the tip of the valve.

If its a schrader valve, try depressing the pin in the middle.  It could be that the valve seat is not moving when in the rim, though that's unlikely.  Its also possible that some sealant has got the valve stuck closed, which would explain your difficulty in deflating the tube.
In this case, try to unscrew the valve core out of the valve, clean it, and then reinstall.

The valve core  itself looks something like this:

and the tool to remove it needs to engage the two flats on the left side.  You might be able to unscrew it with needle nosed pliers, but the proper tool looks something like this:

  The new tube valve is shorter than the old one.

Could be that the valve stem is retreating inside the rim as you try to clamp the pump's head on.  I feel this is not your problem, but adding for completeness.

If its Presta, fit the locknut.   If its Schrader, then press a thumb hard into the tread of the tyre, outside of where the valve is, to stop it squashing into the rim.
 Once the tube's air pressure gets above ~10 PSI it should be plenty to hold the valve in the right place.

Another solution is to use an air pump with a thread-on head not a clamp-on one, if you have access to one.   In the same vein, a CO2 based inflater can help, but they're expensive and only worth using if time is of the essence (like in a race or group ride.)


How to get the rear wheel off Pure Cycles bike We tried for hours to get the rear wheel off this bike using wrenches and hammers. Then I noticed this screw that looks like it attaches straight to the rear axle. Do we need to undo this screw?

Its probably just rusty but before we break something I thought I would check.

The nut in the orange circle is what you need to remove on either side of the hub, there should be no use for a hammer in this application. Simply use an adjustable wrench on either side and remove counter clockwise.
The yellowish green arrow points to a tensioner screw, which helps to tension the chain and properly space the axle in the dropout so that it is equal distance on either side.
The blue oval is an issue, your chain should not be doing this and i'm not sure how that happened. Is the chain off the front chainring so that it is loose i assume? I would roll the wheel forward and fix this chain hang up before removing the wheel so that your not fighting it when you try and slide the axle back and out of the dropouts,


RockShox Tora TK mountings for Hope Mini M4 I'm on the verge of buying a RockShox Tora fork for my bike, and plan to use them with Hope Mono Mini M4 brakes.  I'm stumped as to what mounting to buy for these, how do you guys find out this information?

RockShox Tora TK Suspension Fork with PopLoc

Hope Mono M4 Mini

What you need to know is the type of mounting you have on your fork and on your brakes to know what adaptor you need to get. There are IS (so-called international standard, used by Hope and Formula, among others), Post (used by Rockshox, Marzocchi for forks and Avid, Hayes for brakes, among others) and some manufacturer and/or fork specific mounts.

According to the link you provided, the fork has Post mounts. (From the description: Lower tubes: Magnesium, Post-disc mount). Hope uses IS mounts.

So you need a Front IS to Post adaptor.

See this for an example

The size of your disc is another important thing to know, since you might need a bigger adaptor for it.


What is a good small bicycle bag to store your gear and/or personal things? I'm looking for one that attaches to your bike and easily detaches so you can take it with you.  I usually ride with a small Timbuktu messenger style bag (really small, it's about the size of a large book) and I carry my wallet, phone, keys and stuff in it.  Is there something for bikes so that I can easily attach and detach from the bike?

Saddle Bag

It may seem too small at first. But check what I can fit in with my Specialized Saddle Bag:

Two spare inner tube boxes
Cell phone
Keys
Money
Train travel card
3 tire levers
Small toolset


Torque wrench specs & features for small to medium jobs I'm looking for advice on the range of torque, bit pieces and any other features I might need for smaller to medium sized jobs.

From what I read I'd need a separate wrench for the bigger jobs like bottom bracket. I'm not sure about pedals: I'm running Shimano M520 and I haven't seen them installed with a torque-adjustable wrench before, just a pedal tool. Would a non-calibrated pedal tool be alright for installation + removal?

I'd like to be able to work on things like handlebars, headset, derailleurs, crankset, brakes, shifters, racks, seatpost, & similar sized jobs.

The only carbon parts are the forks and the seat post. The largest hex bolt I've found so far is 5mm. The bike is a 2019 Fastroad SL-1, details are here https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/fastroad-sl-1-2019

Some examples of specs for reasonably priced wrenches that I've found so far are:

2-15nm adjustable torque click type, Hex: 2/2.5/3/4/5/6mm, Torx: T10, T25, T30, one-way torque
2-24nm adjustable torque click type, Hex: 3/4/5/6/8/10mm Torx: T20, T25 & T30, one-way torque

I'm leaning toward something click-type in the 2-15nm range: The bits seem to be more suited to bike component size, and I don't think any of the jobs that I could be doing with Hex / Torx ends require more than 15nm. I'm having a bit of trouble finding confirmation on that for all components though.

Some other considerations I'd like to nail down are:

Do I need two-direction measured torque for any of these jobs? Pedals probably won't be handled by this size wrench I'm guessing, BB seems way off.
Would a beam style wrench be just as good, or more suitable than a click-type?
Am I overlooking any bit adapters that I might need?
Do I actually need two wrenches for all the jobs I'd like to handle?
Am I overthinking things and will be fine without a calibrated tool?

Would a beam style wrench be just as good, or more suitable than a click-type?

Definitely not. With a beam-style wrench you have to accurately observe where the pointer is on the scale. That means you have to be looking straight-on at the scale. Bicycle bolts are at all angle and orientations, which means looking at the scale will be very awkward.


Pannier rack bag for a not suitable suspension fork (Btwin Rockrider 5.1) I ride a Btwin Rockrider 5.1 with a baby seat, and want to attach one or two pannier rack bags. I guess I only can put it on the front wheel because of the baby seat which goes over the rear wheel, fixed to my seat tube.
At the store they say I have nothing to do, since this fork is not ready for that kind of accesories (it only has two screw holes for an eventual disk brake).

Is there any kind of rack I can use?

Do I have any chance to put it on the rear wheel under the baby seat?

While I am not familiar with your bike or its front fork. I would think a front pannier rack like this may work. http://www.zefal.com/en/racks/118-raider-front.html

Please note that weight on the front fork makes the bike even easier to fall over. Please be very careful when the baby is on the back. I am not a fan of rear baby seats and would just buy a trailer.


What may be the cause of a loud noise when riding? For a fortnight I hear noise from my bike. The sound appears to originate somewhere aft. The bike in question is a disc brake equipped cyclo-cross bike (Merida CX600). Overall weight of bike, rider, and load is a little under 100kg. I shall describe a few observations in order to help to narrow down the cause of the noise.

it comes from aft of the saddle
it has a combination of pling, creak, and scratch sounds
the sound is only audible on smooth surfaces (tarmac)
its frequency of occurrence increases when going faster
it does not sound the same every rotation, it is sometimes longer, shorter, sets in earlier or later
it persists when not pedalling and with no force applied to the cranks
it becomes louder when pedalling
it persist when out of the saddle
shifting my weight forward reduces the noise
shifting my weight aft increases the noise
there is no disc rub (sounds decidedly different) progressively pulling levers does not change sound of the noise
spinning the wheels on a stand does not cause this noise
turning the pedals on a stand does not cause this noise

Beside the noise the bike is new, about 800 km, in very good working order. Some observations on the bike:

The rear brake is difficult to centre, in particular after replacing the wheel. Disc rubbing used to be common until I took a lot of time to set up the brakes.
Something with the front fork, the through axle, hub, or bearings is not right. At side loads it may cause a clicking noise.
I've not checked the chain for elongation in 500 km.
Spoke tension out-of-the-box on this bike surprised me for being rather low. In particular the non-drive side of the rear wheel had and has rather soft spokes. I checked both wheels 500 km ago for centring, they were turning perfectly true.
The bike is ridden for 40% on tarmac, 50% on smooth gravel, 10% on rough terrain (by distance).

My suspicion turns to the spokes. You've said they're a little loose, and one looser than the rest could easily make a noise only when there's weight on the bike, but with no need to pedal. A slight tighten of all the spokes on that wheel might sort it out, while keeping the wheel true. You may also be able to feel/hear a loose spoke by plucking, and confirm by putting something like tissue paper between that spoke and the ones it touches. An unusally tight spoke may also be the cause.


Can Park Tool CG-2.2 kit work with the bike upside down? I've recently acquired a new bicycle with coaster brake and internally geared hub.

Naturally, I'd like the bike to last as long as possible. Unfortunately, the local weather seems to be stuck in "eternal autumn" mode, with rains at least twice a day every day, low temperatures and salt on the roads. Local terrain produces lots of mud and some sand as well. All this produces quite a bit of dirt on the chain, which I'd like to get rid of. Unfortunately, I don't really have any space for a workshop, where I could remove the chain and clean it properly, so I was thinking of getting say Park Tool CG-2.2 kit and using that to get rid of some of the grime. In the instruction manual for CM-5.2, it says that the bicycle should be pedaled in reverse during the cleaning procedure. This seems impossible with a coaster brake, so this leads me to my question:

Can I just turn the bicycle upside-down, so that wheels are pointing up, and then use the CM-5.2 by pedaling forward?

Yes.

All those tools require is that the chain moves through them. They do require the chain move through in a particular direction so you will probably find that you end up with the handle on the bike side of the chain rather than on the outside, which will be mildly inconvenient. But it beats not being able to clean your chain at all.

Here's what I do, I took the handle off and set it up so the rear derailleur is pulled forward far enough that the chain cleaner can rest on the mech rather than hitting the idler. That lets me pedal with one hand and have a hand free for wiping the chain, chainrings, idlers etc. I also find disposable gloves essential for this, there's no chain lube that's good for your skin.

You could do the same thing with the bike upside down, but you'd need to rearrange things a little.

The question body makes it clear but the original title didn't, so just in case it's not obvious, if you have the tool upside down it will not work - there's a reservoir full of fluid at the bottom, if you invert it that won't hold the fluid.

(note that the above photo is a bit of a cheat, it's of a 406 wheel bike with hub gears so the derailleur is used as a chain tensioner and the chain only runs over one idler. But I do the same thing with my 622 wheeled road bike)


Why don’t fixed gear bikes have brakes? It seems to be assumed you will not have any brakes on a fixed gear bike, why?

The reason is historical.  Fixed gear bikes have been traditionally used for track racing, long after most other bikes had switched to using freewheels.  In the high-speed velodrome environment, it would be dangerous if the rider in front of you could brake suddenly:  you would crash into them, and likely most of the group behind you would join in the fun (this is also true in a paceline or peloton on normal roads).  So brakes have always been banned, and aren't really needed on the track anyway.

But track bikes sometimes get retired to road use.  And as fixed gear has gotten more popular, many frame makers are building similar bikes for the road.  Some of them are closer to track bikes (no brakes), others might include front brakes or both front and rear.


Burley trailer hitch, classic or alternative? I've just bought a new bike that I intend to tow my Burley trailer. I've always used a standard hitch before but this will not fit on this bike because of the way the rear drop out is made.

I gather my options are the alternative hitch and the classic hitch.

The alternative hitch looks ideal.  However, I can't appear to get hold of one in the UK.  It looks like it might be discontinued.  Does anyone know if that is the case?

As for the classic hitch, I'm reasonably convinced that it will fit. However, I'm unsure how quick and easy it will be to disconnect and connect the trailer. My daily routine, storage space etc. means that I need to do this once a day.  So my question concerning the classic hitch is, how long does it take to remove and reconnect the trailer?

I had one of these that had, at the end of the towing arm from the trailer, a moulded plastic part that fit in the angle between the seat stay and chain stay tubes, it then had a hinged part that was tightened down onto the seat stay. It only took 30 seconds to fit or remove. Having said all this I do not know if this it the 'classic' or 'alternative' system.


Modern Retro-design (Peugout-mixte) bicycle for girlfriend My girlfriend would like to buy a bicycle, though, she's marveled about these old Peugout Mixte bicycles. These seem to be very hard to find. So, I am wondering if there can be found any modern bicycles that somehow match her  taste. Which brands should I search for, given that we're living in Europe (Portugal)?

Edit: Finally, my girlfriend decided to get a Peugeut. She insisted that she wanted this and not any other bicycle. The reason for this choice was that the Peugeut is a city/road bike hybrid.

I wonder why aren't there manufacturers focusing on this mix anymore, specially for girls....

The first thing to do is find the local bike shops (preferably locally owned, not large multinational chains) and look around and ask around there. Try to check multiple shops, not just the first one you find, since they may specialize and you may find some easier to work with. Try chatting with the staff; if they don't carry what you're looking for they may know who does or be able to order it.

Since I don't speak Portuguese (or Spanish), it's difficult to see which bicycle companies distribute widely in your country. When I can figure out which ones have some kind of distribution into the general area, it doesn't necessarily mean that specific models make it into the country or into the local shop.

All the major bicycle manufacturers make "women's" bicycles with a step-through frame, fewer of them make ones that are a true "mixte", however.

But here's a few attempts at mixtes that may be available in Portugal:

Globe Live Mixte -- their website looks like they distribute in Portugal. Globe is a sub-brand of Specialized.
Giant Via 2 -- that's from the site for Spain, so likely also available in Portugal
Trek Belleville WSD -- Trek does seem to distribute into Portugal. This one's my personal favorite mixte of the big manufacturers that I found.

If you can afford it, another option would be to talk to a local framebuilder and have a custom bicycle made. I expect that almost any framebuilder could make a mixte (but they might have to special order some parts they don't keep stocked).


Any drills for looking while riding? I have come to believe that the major skill when riding singletrack is scanning the terrain. After any turn there could be a hiker, a fallen log or just a boulder that you didn't memorize during the last pass. From then on, the reflexes, embedded in the muscle memory, kick in and braking/turning/dabbing/hopping occur.

I attempt to look as far forward as speed dictates, and not to get fixated on obstacles. Still, the perpetual concentration becomes tiring after a couple of hours.

Any tips on both how to both improve scanning at high speeds and how to become less fatigued by a whole day of riding?

Just keep on doing what you're doing.

To get good at anything, the easiest way is to keep doing that thing.

As an aside, I find I descend a lot quicker when I'm wearing a cap with the peak down. I think that having the peak in my field of view forces me to keep my head up.


Reason for handlebar diameter Why are handlebars the diameter they are (22.2 or 23.8 in grip area)? In general, the best diameter for grip strength is where the hand around the grip has about 1mm from the tip of the middle finger to the palm (this rule is used to select tennis racquet grip diameter for example). Sounds like the usual handlebar diameter is too narrow for optimal grip for most people, even with thick wrapping tape. Any reason for this?

You also need to consider how people use the handlebars. e.g. covering the brakes -- could someone with small hands reach the brakes easily with an optimal-for-the-average-person diameter (I suspect not, especially with the brakes of many years ago when standards were set).  Also if pure grip comfort were the issue, drop bars wouldn't have happened; instead they are optimised for a range of positions for different situations and to allow the rider to vary their body position for several reasons.

It's easier to take a thin bar and make it thicker by double wrapping or padded gloves, but if your bars were too thick (small hands) they would have to be replaced, reducing the market for standard bikes.

Flat bar bikes tend to have grips with some thickness to them, taking them closer to the optimal while still allowing the rider to cover/use the brakes for long periods without contortions or spoiling the grip you'd need over rough terrain.

The exact numbers are a matter of convention, which may derive from imperial measurements, a round number minus a fixed thickness, or a combination of the 2 -- this is well documented for tyre sizing as a comparison.

This was a comment before I expanded and formatted it.


What kind of bike is this, found in basement i got these pictures from my dad, can someone tell from what era this bike is? And is this something valuable/rare?
The owner died last year, he was 86. Lived in flanders, belgium.

Any help would be more than welcome

Starting with the last picture first...

According to Google translate "velos" is French for Bicycle. "Sport" is probably a model.
The picture also shows Mafac Racer center pull brakes - Mafac is a French company

On the middle picture - Bocama BCM is a type of lug used to build frames. Here's a catalog. The catalog is in French.

The first picture is so dark it's hard to tell much about the bike. From what little I can see it looks to be equipped like a 1970s era low end Peugeot.
Without more clues this is as much as I can find.

Value - it's worth what someone is willing to pay for it. The only way to judge value is to sell the bike and see what people are ready to pay.
As a bike geek I love seeing these bikes and the history they represent but that does not translate into actual dollars.


Is it acceptable to wear kit from old team? When I was in college I was on the club cycling team and it was fun, I went to a good share of races, was pretty involved with the team, etc.  Now I'm out of college and it's a few years later...is it acceptable for me to wear my old university team kits when I'm out riding casually on my own or with a few friends (not at events)?

I guess it's a matter of opinion, and cyclists have a lot of rules, but personally I would go for it. You were actually on the team after all. I think that the rule #17 from the above link applies here. Personally, I'd rather wear old kit from a team I was personally on than wear kit from a pro team that I have no affiliation with, or even non-pro-kit with logos plastered all over it.

Might even be a great way to start up a conversation with people who recognize the kit, either riders who are currently on the team or even just people who went to that school.


What type of rear derailleur is used on my bike? Direct mount or hanger mount?

Sooo, one glance at these photos will tell you why I'm asking this...

Needles to say, I need a new one and I'd like to know what I should be looking for. It's for a 21-speed mountain bike, if it's of any importance. I hope you can make out anything from this mangled mess.

I think that the model you have is 'hanger mount' as it mounts to a derailleur hanger built into the frame rather than being attached by an axle nut.

There are many Tourney rear derailleur models. All Tourney rear derailleurs are 6 and 7 speed compatible. You'll want a model with a long cage (SGS postfix on the model number).

The RD-TX800, RD-TY500 or RD-TY300 models should be drop in replacements.


Alternatives to shorter cranks for knee pain I've recently developed pain at the front of my knees when cycling. I suspect this is caused by, or at least made worse by, my bike having cranks that are too long for my leg length (172.5mm cranks for 77cm inseam).

Assuming crank length is a factor, a long term solution would obviously be to get shorter cranks. However, I can't afford that right now.

Are there any bike fit adjustments that I could make to open the angle of/reduce the strain on my knees at the top of the pedal stroke? I've already experimented with various seat height and setback changes without much success. I'm prepared to temporarily compromise other aspects of my bike fit, if it would allow my knees to recover.

Product options

You can purchase a bolt-on plate for either side that will give more pedal positions.

Any competent machine shop should be able to make you something like this, given the cranks to work from and test-fit.

Downside, this will increase your Q-factor by at least 10 mm, which could be uncomfortable.  Adds weight and surface area,and leaves end of crank arm poking well below your pedal.

On the positive side, it doesn't change your bike and can be removed in the future.  Can be fitted to hollow crank arms that can't be drilled.

Link: https://tadpolerider2.wordpress.com/2015/05/11/short-cranksetscrankarms/

Another similar option is a swing-arm pedal.  Its very similar to the plate above but includes a hinge/swivel.

Perhaps best-explained by an animation:

From https://highpath.co.uk/pulse-swing-cranks/

Downsides, they add double the Q factor change of the plain bolt-on plate.   Significant cost, and there's now another moving part in your transmisison.

Upsides, you can shrink your pedal circle, and you can also lower your pedalling circle if that's what you need.


Can old, stiff friction shifters be made serviceable? I've got a few friction shifters knocking around but all seem so rough as to be impossible to use on a bike. Are they meant to be like that or can a service be done on them to get good use out of them?

Based on my personal experience with friction shifters, they are relatively easy to keep serviceable. Mine have adjustments to add or reduce friction which I generally leave set to a generally usable amount of friction between maintenance cycles. The level of friction should hold them in place, but it shouldn't be a workout to shift gears. Maintenance for me mostly consists of replacing cables and the tubes which the shift cables travel through, along with some cleaning.


Shimano 105 front derailleur, Sugino crank and large chain ring, chain touches the derailleur cage Why does the chain on Shimano 105 front derailleur with Dura-Ace downtube front shifter touch the derailleur cage with the Sugino large chain ring?

The outer limit screw does not move it far enough. I have set the outer limit screw on furthest out I can set it. I don't see any other adjustments anywhere on the Dura-Ace downtube shifter nor on the derailleur.

There is plenty of play on the smaller chain ring, but I don't know how I could move the whole front derailleur further out? Any ideas?

It seems like the Shimano front derailleur/shifter has sort of 2 speed indexing, maybe this is the problem with Sugino front chainring spacing, I'd love to unset this indexing, but I don't know how.

Solved it, it was the nut oriented incorrectly on the dura-ace downtube shifter.
Turning the inside nut so that its oriented correctly against the main tube, inside from the lever, and retightening the cable to remove all slack, and then setting limit screws again, I now have the shimano 105 derailleur with the Sugino  working correctly (non-indexed). Thanks for all your ideas.


How often should air spring forks be reinflated (topped up)? Forks that use an air spring, as opposed to a coil spring, have to be pumped up to the desired pressure to work as intended (using a shock pump). From experience, I know that they lose pressure over time. However, I usually notice the pressure drop only after it becomes very apparent, and the time in which this loss occurs seems to vary somewhat, so I do not know what is the normal interval for reinflating forks, or the normal range for such interval. The service manual of my forks (all are RockShox) does not state this interval explicitly. Rather, it describes intervals for more elaborate service procedures (50 and 200 hour service) that involve deflating and reinflating the air spring as an inevitability, so I do not think that they should necessarily be taken as reinflating intervals.
I would like to know this primarily because it would give me an indication of whether my fork is damaged or in good condition (I can always check if my fork is losing air, but without knowing how often this loss normally occurs I cannot tell if the fork is fine or not). So, what is the normal fork reinflation interval?

For one, it depends on how sensitive you are to changes in suspension performance. You can’t really measure for any drop (your shock pump will initially steal some of the air chamber’s air in order to equalize the pressure), so you’d have to go by feel.
From my experience, leakage has been negligible, even after a few months. Topping the air up isn’t hard anyways, so it’s not a big issue. Just screw the pump on, get back to your original pressure, equalize the positive and negative air chambers (if applicable), and you’re good to go. If your fork/shock leaks faster than that, you probably need to do a service.


Rear V brake replacement So I am replacing the rear v brakes on my old Saracen ruff trax, callipers, cables and pads.

My questions is...

Unless I pull the brake cable tight through the calliper the pads do not get close enough to the wheel.

My concern is I’ve pulled the cable right through so that basically there is just the rubber boot and no cable (apart from cable outside the pinch bolt).

Is it an issue that inside the little bracket at the back the rubber boot gets squished up a bit.

Complete novice at maintenance if it wasn’t obvious

If you haven't already or if they didn't come like this, the first thing to do in this scenario is switch the thicker pad spacers to be between the pad and the brake arm.

The optimal geometry is such that at the point in the arms' movement where the pads contact the rim, if you were to draw a triangle between the center of the brake pivots and the cable anchor as the points, you'd get either a right triangle or a slightly obtuse angle.

The reason is that the pad faces move in an arch. If you set up the brake like you have it, the pad is hitting the rim only once it's in the downwards part of that arch. This causes a squirmy, indeterminate brake feel, squirming noises, and the tendency for pads to dive off the rim. So you either want more like a rectangle than an A shape, or a slight V shape to give some room for pad wear before you're in the down part of the arch.

Pad spacers are your main tool to correct this. Put the thicker spacers inside and the thin ones outside. You can't always make it perfect, depending on if the post spacing is too wide or the rim too narrow.


Specialized Allez - Upgrade to Carbon Seatpost for Long Distance Comfort? A bit of background: I've been riding a stock 2012 Specialized Allez since I bought it (in 2012). I am a larger guy (105 kg), and tend to go for rides in the 50-100+ km range.

No matter what I wear for my rides (padded shorts, bibs, etc - spanning price points), I start to feel it in my seat right around the 40-50 km point, and end up shifting around due to discomfort for the rest of the ride.

Three questions:

1) Is this due to the stiffness of the aluminum?
2) Is part of it due to my weight?
3) Would an upgrade to a carbon seat post help with this/be noticeable?

Thanks.

There are a lot of more potentially useful avenues to investigate first, because you feel that chamois pad quality is not the culprit next most obvious choice is the saddle:

Stock saddles are often not very high quality.  They are also typically too soft (aka not supportive) which will cause problems on longer longer rides. Adding to this, if you still have the original saddle, it is 4 years old now.  The padding may have simply become compacted and unsupportive. Being a heavier rider you would likely benefit from a saddle that uses more dense/supportive foam, as well as one that has a stiffer body to better support weight.
Is the saddle angled correctly.  The Allez should have come stock with a Specialized body geometry saddle. It should have explicit instructions on how to angle it correctly.  If the saddle is not tilted correctly, your pelvis will not be angled correctly and you may not be distributing your weight as evenly across the saddle as it could be.  This can cause hot spots, and other problems
How is your position on the saddle?  Saddles are often designed for a particular body angle.  Some are designed for a more upright posture, while others are designed for a more aggressive body position.  This affects pelvis position/tilt and how you interface with the saddle.  For example, a saddle designed for more aggressive body positions may be too narrow for a more upright riding position which can cause hot spots and discomfort.
How is your pelvis position?  Ideally, your pelvis should be rolling forwards like a pitcher pouring water (especially for endurance riding).  Many riders due to bike fit issues find themselves rotating the opposite direction (sometimes to protect the prostate, due to a poor saddle) which can change how you bear weight on your sit bones and cause high pressure areas and discomfort.
Is the saddle the correct width for you?  Saddles are like shoes, one size does not fit all.  There are tools to measure the width of your sit bones in order to ensure that you are matched to the correct width of saddle.  Too narrow and you will not be supported properly, too wide and it can interfere with pedalling and cause chafing and hotspots.

Expanding on (4) pelvis position (@gaurwraith)

This passage from "Bike Fit" by Phil Burt (lead physiotherapist for British Cycling and a consultant physio for Team Sky) describes pelvis position.

  POSTURE

  Posture is the maintenance of a certain body position and requires appropriate joint mobility, joint/muscle coordination and muscular endurance.  Limits in any of these elements can result in postural irregularities.  Good posture on the bike required good flexibility through the hamstrings and the glutei muscles:  this allows the pelvis to roll forward, keeping the back in a straight position while reaching the handlebars.

  One major factor limiting the back's ability to remain relatively straight while on a bicycle is thoracic immobility: lack of movement in the middle of the spine normally results in the spine flexing too much.  Excessive spinal flexion while on a bicycle will limit breathing and compromise your ability to stabilise your spine for torque production to the pedals

I personally when through a episode of mid-to-upper back pain caused in part by the issues described above.  I was posteriorly rotating my pelvis (rolling towards the back rather than forward), which also affected how I sat on the saddle.  My Brooks saddle developed very deep sit bone impressions and modern saddles quickly became uncomfortable.  As I regained my back flexibility, I noticed I could roll my pelvis much farther forward evening out sit bone pressure on modern saddles, which made them comfortable again.


Slow switching up higher gears I have a fairly new MTB and I'm currently trying to tune the gears. Currently I can change down gears pretty smoothly I.e. 6 > 5 > 4 etc but going up the gears is slow for the chain to switch cogs. What should I check to fix this problem?

It would have been slightly helpful if you told us from what front and back gear ratio (e.g. 2:3 or 2:4) the problem starts occurring.

I had similar problems and it was even the case when I was changing to higher front gear but the cassettes (or clogs) did not change or they changed after a long time when it received external shocks from my ride. Did you check how the shifts are happening from 1(front):1(rear) onwards i.e. if you were to use the gear ratio from 1:1 to upwards? If you do this, then you will come to the point where you feel exactly from which gear ratio it is taking longer to switch cogs. Also, you might even find out once in a while changing to a higher gear actually does not change to the new cassette at all and gets stuck. One of the cable (front/rear derailleur) tension would not feel right to you.

For me it was some dirt and blockage in the front derailleur lever area (i.e. the allen key-based connnector with wire clenched around) which is universally near pedals. Usually, this is a minor problem and the way to fix it was to make sure first your gear ratio is 1:1. Then, loosen the allen key just enough so that the wire comes out. Now clean around the allen key are well enough and then use a little bit of wet lube around it to finalise. Then, put the wire back in and tighten the allen key as it was before. Reccheck the gear shifting from 1:1 upwards and see if the problem is solved. This could happen even to the rear derailleur too. The key problem originator is the derailleur lever (i.e. the allen key based moving area). What happens normally is that dirt and blockage occur there and the cable tension feels higher than it should normally feel. Also, please update your question by saying for how long and where (i.e. what type of tarmac) you have used your MTB until the problem started manifesting.

Also, I am assuming that you know NEVER to change both gears at the same time? If you don't know and have done this already, please don't do this again. For the investigation I mentioned above, make sure you change the gears down or up appropriately.

Let us know :)....Don't forget to add the additional information to your original question :)

UPDATE

If these are of any help see This one

And also this

Hope this helps


What is the metric thread diameter of my crank arm pedal thread that's stripped I'm in the market for a threading repair kit. I live in Australia so the closest options for me are to go to Supercheap Auto or Bunnings Warehouse (links to products from those stores). These repair kits have metric sizes e.g. m6, m8, m12, etc. What is the right sized repair kit for my crank arm to be re-threaded?

My crankset is Shimano Deore FC-T6010 170mm.

No idea which one will work. Thanks for any help.

The vast, vast majority of pedal threads are 9/16" x 20 TPI. In nearly a decade in the bike industry I am aware of zero metric-threaded pedals (amazing, considering the lack of standardization in other parts!). The taps we use at the shop cost much more than the cost of a generic replacement crank (assuming it's the non-drive side, which it usually is).


Quick release lever for wheel is stuck So I was going to take my wheel off to replace my cassette but last night I gave it my all but could not get the quick release lever to disengaged. I've read to use a pipe for some more leverage but the lever is right next to the frame.

Should I try some PB blaster or anything like that one it? The other side seems to have those plastic caps vs a metal bolt (if that makes sense).

My guess is this wheel hasn't been removing in many years.

Best bet with quick releases when they are hard to remove because of the frame in the way is to get a rag, place it against the frame and then use a long-handled screwdriver to pry it up. That works all the time in the bike-shop I work at. Good luck!

EDIT

I should actually say, if you have carbon fiber release levers, be VERY careful not to crack/crush it, otherwise that's gonna have to meet the wheelie bin.


Sensible shifting on a triple chainring? I have found from experience on my 3x7 MTB that shifting a triple front chainring is useful if you do the following:  I tend to use only the first 3 cogs in the smallest chainring so that is 3 very low gears for hills, grass, or just low speed stuff.  I can use all 7 cogs in the middle chainring but tend to avoid the largest cog so that is 6 more gears.  Then for downhill or just for slow cadence, I can use the 2 smallest cogs on the large chainring so that is 2 more gears.  So that is 3+6+2 = 11 usable gears.  What is particularly nice about this is the shift sequence (using S,M,L for chainring with S being small (granny), M being middle, and L being largest, and using 1 thru 7 for cogs with 1 being largest diameter cog and 7 being smallest) is (S1, S2, S3, M2, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, L6, L7), is that there is never a shift to a gear more than 1 cog or chainring away.  Going from S3 to M2 for example and also from M7 to L6.  So this is basically a poor mans 11 speed bike but it works and fairly well too (from actual riding experience).

So my question is why do people tend to favor a 1x11 as superior to a 3x7 where only 11 of those are used as a described here?  Is it because the 1x11 shifts better and with less complexity?  How about the joy of doing successful double gear shift simultaneously that is fun.  Also with the triple you can get very tall and very short gears without having to resort to very large and very small cogs, both of which cause some problems.  Also shifting the 3x7 as I described here should have better chain alignment on average (assuming it has chainrings aligned with cogs 2,4 and 6 and the 1x11 has the single chainring aligned with cog 6).

Some answers here talk about ground clearance.  My largest chainring on my triple is 42 which is less teeth than the larger chainring on some doubles.

Also to make my triple chainring shift sequence even easier, the rider can shift only 9 gears this order (L1, L2, L3, M3, M4, M5, M6, M7, H7).  A biker can select front chainring sizes such that the shift from L3 to M3 and the shift from M7 to H7 is moderate (10% for example, such as 40 to 44 teeth).  If I had an 8 speed freewheel I could get 10 progressive gears which would be good.

Less complexity (less things to go wrong and set-up.)
No chance of shifting front and back gears simultaneously leading to
loss of chain tension and resulting in chain drop.
Less weight.
Optional chain guides.
More clearance (in most practical applications)

Furthermore:

3x7 is very old. 1x11 is pretty new. Materials and technologies have evolved significantly since 3x7. Naturally this is not an inherent advantage in the idea of 1x11 but an advantage of real world 1x11 over real world 3x7.

However:

1x11 has worse chain line than a correctly used 2x? or 3x?.

You should generally avoid doing simultaneous gear shifts. Most people who think they are often doing simultaneous shifts really shift the rear, then shift the front a very short time afterwards (or vice versa, though rear then front is far safer).

Performing genuinely simultaneous shifts, especially on real MTB terrain, is asking for serious damage to yourself and your bike.

Finally:

The actual choice is largely personal but is influenced by terrain and riding style.

I for example love 1x11 but it is totally impractical for my local area + style:

15degree-20degree climbs and some even steeper descents. Some descents don't really give you much opportunity to pedal, but others do and the 1x11 can't provide a high enough gear. Likewise some climbs are not particularly technical but very steep and I prefer to leisurely spin up them at 110rpm which is simply not going to happen with 1x11 without making the higher gears even more unacceptably low.

EDIT UPDATE: Based on personal experience/partly subjective since going 1x11, you don't ride where I do, how I do, or in the weather I do, so your results will almost certainly vary:

With a clutch RD and Narrow Wide chain ring: No chain drop in 3.5k+
km.
Less to do when shifting. Not a big deal, but it's nice.
Better positioning for my dropper trigger.
Can't maintain just the right
cadence so easily. This is worth it for me, but can be irritating if
I am riding something not very technical. However I've taken to
forcing myself to push the harder gear (initially I would drop to the
easier gear and border on spinning out), so one can also "look at the
positive side" of this feature... but it's certainly a negative.
The shifting does actually feel allround better than my old XT 3x10 (with
SLX shifters)
Surprisingly I am getting more life out of my first
chain. (Note: I am rarely in the easiest 2 gears, where the chain
line is pretty bad.)
I am getting noticeably more wear on my hardest
3 gears, but everything is still running perfectly.
More noise in the
easiest 2 gears.
Less noise everywhere else. (Even without considering the lack of chain slap due to clutch RD)

END EDIT.


Are there safety differences in helmets with ce marking? I am considering to buy a helmet for everyday use in Munich (Germany). Most of the time, I will wear it when I go to work. I go to work at any weather.

I want to have a helmet which has a light in the back so that cars have an easier time to see me.

Even when I only take this, the price differences are huge:

Shinmax Fahrradhelm mit LED-Licht: 29.99 EUR
KINGLEAD Bike Helm: 34.99 EUR - mentioned here; not sure if that means anything
Uvex City Light Fahrradhelm: 113.65 EUR

This is a huge price difference. uvex seems to be a well-known brand, so I could imagine that you pay for the name. Abus is another brand I noticed. Is the price difference only the name?

For about 15 EUR I can get plug-in LED lights for helmets for the back. When I look in shops, most helmets for adults start at about 60 EUR (Sport Schuster, Globetrotter, Karstadt Sport starts at 40 EUR, Sport Bittl). This again makes me wonder if a helmet for 30 EUR which additionally has LED can and is sold from China (via Amazon) has some serious flaw ... and if it is possible for me to actually notice that when I have it.

edit: How much should I spend on my helmet? does only partially help as it focuses on the US. It does not even mention the ce markings.

Helmets sold in Europe generally must meet the CEN EN-1078 bicycle helmet standard that limits the amount of energy transmitted to the head during a series of tests using weighted head-shaped forms (around ~5kg) dropped from various heights onto flat or curved surfaces at different locations on the helmet. While helmets with the CE certification must meet EN-1078, manufacturers can choose to exceed the standard and have their helmets protect your head at even higher impact energies. A similar standard, the CPSC standard, applies to helmets sold in the US: all helmets must meet the CPSC standard but manufacturers can choose to exceed them and sell safer helmets. Although the CE and CPSC standards are similar enough that many manufacturers will aim to satisfy both standards so that their helmets can be sold either in Europe or in the US, there are subtle differences that mean that a few helmets may be certifiable under one standard but not the other. Larger manufacturers will test their helmets in-house, and swear to the CE and CPSC that their helmets passed; smaller manufacturers will often send their helmets to third party certification laboratories to do the tests. In that case, the certification laboratories swear that the helmets passed.

So although the CE and CPSC certification tells you a helmet met the standard, it doesn't tell you whether the helmet exceeds the standard (and, if so, by how much). In part, this is because testing is not done until failure; that is, manufacturers typically don't increase the height of the drop or increase the weight of the head-shaped form until the helmet fails. They drop the helmet at the standard height and weight and measure the energy transmitted to form. If that energy meets the certification standard they are satisfied and do no further testing.

Worse, you cannot use the price of the helmet as an indicator of "safety." Helmets are generally marketed by how much they weigh, how many ventilation holes they have, the colors available, how aerodynamic they are, whether they come with visors, celebrity endorsements, and, of course, how much they cost -- but not how much they exceed minimal standards of energy transmission. That is, manufacturers will gladly provide information about almost every characteristic of a helmet except for how well it will protect your head.

In the US there are a few independent research institutes that will test bicycle helmets but they tend to test expensive helmets, not the least expensive ones. There may be similar helmet testing institutes in Europe.


Brake pads don’t fit into the calipers This is my first time replacing the brake pads of hydraulic brakes.
I removed the old ones and the model was Shimano B01S Resin, so I bought the same ones.
However, when I have replaced them. They don’t fit into the calipers... well they fit but there is no space for the disc between the pads.
I have drained the brakes completely and nothing...
Does anyone has an idea about that?

Thanks in advance. I have attached some pics about the issue.

I got to fix it just pushing back the pistons with a plastic card. Once they are in their position there was space enough like to set the wheel and the disc brake in it.


Newer-model bike similar to Raleigh M50 A little over a decade ago now, I had purchased a brand-new Raleigh M50 mountain bike.  Though whether or not I really need a "mountain bike" could be very much up to question, I greatly enjoyed the bicycle regardless.  However, various circumstances have brought me to the point that I'm fairly certain it will cost me nearly as much to replace the bike as it would to get it in good operating condition again.  So, I've junked it and am considering my options for a new one.

Since I did so much like that particular model, my ideal option would be for a brand-new Raleigh M50.  Since no such thing exists this year, I'm looking to you guys to help me find a comparable model.

Some particular features (pardon if my verbiage isn't quite industry-standard) I liked about the bike included:

Click-shifting, trigger-style gear changers
Finger-tip braking levers

I'd actually had some trouble adjusting to these at first, with one "learning experience" involving an over-the-handlebars tumble at the end of a hill.  But I eventually grew to really like them.

Front suspension

I like the shocks in the front, but am quite happy to have none in the rear.

Quick-release seat and wheels
Water bottle holster

A minor feature to be sure, but still nice to have.

A really solid-feeling frame

Added after some research:

Mechanical rim brakes:  I have no experience with using or servicing the newer hydraulic or disc brake systems.  I feel that I would trust the mechanical rim braking systems further, since they seem to be much simpler and therefore (I expect) more durable and reliable.

Feel free to politely dispel me of any misconceptions on this point, (I'm happy to learn about the new technologies) but my stance on this in regards to a final purchase decision will not likely change.

Some additional points brought up by @zenbike:

Inexpensive, but good quality: A "real" bike, built by a professional, which happens to be cheap.

This was absolutely a big selling point for me.

Off-road capable: Regardless of whether you need or use this option, it feels good.
Commute friendly: Though @zenbike disagrees, I found this bike very enjoyable during my daily commutes, which typically lasted 1/2 hour or more one-way.  I was even pretty comfortable with it on one particular 3.5-hour trip.  But, I think I did purchase a softer seat for it which probably helped.
Fun.

My needs when I first bought the M50 weren't too outlandish, but I liked the feeling of versatility and ruggedness the mountain bike gave me.  Though I'd probably never test it to its fullest measure, I felt security in knowing that it could certainly deal with whatever I did put it through.

Most of the time, my daily commute was about 10 miles one-way.  Later, the commute was much longer but mostly done via city bus.  Still, I did occasionally get the wild idea to run the whole 20+ miles on the bicycle myself.  This would all be across your general urban terrain - mostly sidewalks and streets, but occasionally across long stretches of grass (where there was no sidewalk, and riding on the road was just plain insane).  Living in Florida also means that steep inclines are few and far between.  Of course, having grown up here also means that most mole-hills feel like Mount Everest to me when I have to ride up them.

Today, my needs are much simpler.  I'm mostly looking for something to ride alongside my young daughter, but also would like to get back out on my own now and then for a bit of joy riding.  I'll probably be sticking a lot more to the sidewalks than I used to, but would still enjoy knowing I can take my bike practically anywhere without much trouble or worry of breaking it.  I'm much more concerned about durability than I am speed or weight.

So, what do you guys figure?  What's the "Raleigh M50" of today, or what else might be a good fit for my needs/wants?

A Raleigh M-50 was a great entry-level mountain bike. In order to answer your question well, let me clarify for you what buying a bike "like an M-50" means to me:

Inexpensive, but good quality:
  A "real" bike, built by a professional, which happens to be cheap.
Off-road capable:
  Regardless of whether you need or use this option, it feels good.
Commute friendly:
  To be honest, the M-50 wasn't a bike I'd have picked to commute on, and there are better options now as well. But you will compromise the off road capability if you pick something else.
Fun.

There are a few bikes to look at. Pretty much every quality brand has a similar model of MTB, with some variation in spec and price.

The first thing to decide is if you really want an off road bike, or just a durable one.

If you want an off road bike, meaning that you want to ride in dirt, gravel, or non-pavement situations on at least a part time basis, look at the Scott Aspect series. The price range is good, an in just about every respect, I would consider them a modernized M-50 type bicycle.

Also, the Specialized Hardrock series.
And the Trek Sport series.

If you really want a commuter, which is as tough and as durable, and as simple to use and maintain as a mountain bike, but with the speed, agility, and distance friendliness of a road bike, then look at:

The Scott SUB series (Particularly the SUB 10)

or

the Specialized Sirrus (Less durable, but a great commuter).

You need to find the bikes in a LBS and ride them, which will tell you more than I ever could here, but I hope that helps, and feel free to ask more questions if I can do anything more.


How did I strip my crank arm with a crank puller? I'd decided to remove the FSA Tempo square-taper crankset of my 1-year-old road bike to measure & replace its bottom bracket as it's clunking and has little lateral play. The non-drive side crank arm was stripped when I tried removing it with a crank puller, at which I immediately stopped and also gave up removing the drive-side crank to avoid risking further damage.

(Crank Puller)

What could've gone wrong? I first threaded the tool by hand without cross-threading and tightened using a wrench to engage the threads fully into the arm.

Edit: Is it just that the 3-piece crankset is badly designed that there's a high-risk of stripping aluminium crank arms?

There's a few factors that can lead to this problem and range from tool and crank material quality to user error.

If you have a tool made from a weak metal or is manufactured badly (ie diameter is wrong), the threads on the tool can easily be ripped off. Similarly, if the cranks are made from a weak metal, then the threads on the arm can strip off.

User errors can include not moving the inner part of the tool out enough so you end up tighting the outer part of the tool onto the cranks only half way. So when you start winding the puller to press into the bottom bracket, the threads strip.

Another issue could be if someone glued the crank onto the bottom bracket in the past. I don't know if you got the bike second hand or if someone put loctite or glue at some point. But it's possible.

If it's been glued on, you might have to cut the crank off to get the bottom bracket out. Either way, if the threads are gone. I would personally start thinking about replacing the crankset too when the bottom bracket fails, or before if you don't want to risl walking home at some point.

If you're not sure about what to do next, post another question or visit your local bike shop.


How to remove slider legs from old rst suspension fork? I want to clean and lube my old rst suspension fork.

So far I've failed to separate the slider legs from the frame to clean/lube the inside of the legs.  There is a 4mm hex bolt on the bottom of the slider leg. I tried to unscrew the bolt.  The bolts turn and turn and don't come out.  I had someone compress the fork by leaning on the handle bars, and tried to unscrew the bolts.  Bolts didn't come off.  I tried to unscrew the bolts with a 4mm bit and a respectably powerful impact wrench. Bolts didn't come out.

Batman suggested that I put a stick into the slider leg to immobilize it while unscrewing the bolts.  I'll do this and edit this question to let you know the result, probably this weekend.  Thank you, Batman.

Chris suggested that I hit the bolt with a wooden mallet.  At first, I thought that I would do this.  But this is an RST fork, and the hammer remedy is apparently for Rockshox.  According to bikepedia.com, my 2004 Specialized Hardrock Sport has an RST Gila TL fork.  Maybe I shouldn't hit the bolts as suggested.

I know that when taking Rockshox forks apart they will often say that you should partially unscrew the bolt at the bottom of the leg and then use a rubber or wooden mallet to hit the bolt. It should free up the lowers from the bottom of the internals.

Once you've done that you may get better luck removing the bolt.


Are HV/HP switchable pumps as capable as a specific HP or HV pump? There are generally two big specialties for pumps. High Pressure (HP) or High Volume (HV). I ride Fat bikes, mountain bikes and road bikes, so I'm confused about buying a new pump to carry while on rides and whether I could find one pump to rule them all?

I know there are good pumps that do high pressure and others that do high volume. However, there are several that claim to be switchable between HP or HV.

How effective is this?

Will it be as effective as a dedicated HV pump on my fat bike tires? Will it also be able to put 110 lbs of pressure in my road bike tires as efficiently as a HP pump? Or are these a compromise that kind of works, but less than a purpose made HV or HP pump?

Examples of switchable pumps:
Giant Control Mini Combo Pump
Blackburn Mammoth Mini Pump
Raleigh RMJ604 2 Stage Switchable Pump

Answer: No.  Any tool intended for a specific job will always be better at that specific job than a multi-purpose tool.

That said, pricing may mean that a single pump is sufficient for your needs.

Fat bike tyres have a lot of volume to fill, but generally they don't go to high pressures - I'd be surprised if you're running them at anything above 40 psi.

Note I assume you're not talking about shock pumps when you say high pressure - they are used on higher end shock dampers and not tyres/tires.

You said "less work" but from a wording point of view, the work remains the same, your input multiplied by the efficiency of the pump will approach the total work required but never equal it.  So a 50% efficient pump will feel like you're doing more work than a 75% efficient pump.


Clipless shoes & pedals and long distance For the past few months, I have been thinking about clipless pedals.
I am mostly a long distance rider. I go for the randonneuring and long distance triathlons.

From various sources, I am informed that I can increase speed wearing clipless pedals but not ride long distances like 600 km or 1000 km. These are not expert sources. I want to hear from experts.

Can you please tell me if I can go for clipless shoes and pedals for long distances?

Clipless pedals let you pull up a bit and road shoes are rigid-ish, so you can get some more power from each turn (of course, you're using your muscles in a bit of a different way). This also gives a bit of a different pressure distribution than platform pedals (look at the layout of say, a Look pedal versus a platform pedal). In an off road situation, they prevent you from bouncing off the pedals as well. You can use them for going for long distances just fine -- in fact, thats where they're primarily advantageous (note that for riding long distances, you need to be sufficiently physically fit and have a sufficiently well suited bike, such as a well bike fitted touring bike -- if you don't, no shoe can help/hurt you). However, walking around in them can be annoying (there are cleat covers and other things for dealing with this) due to the cleat and the type of sole in most cycling shoes. Note that just because something is labeled mountain doesn't mean it won't work with road (you just need the same type of cleat and pedal). They do make one side platform one side SPD (a type of clipless) pedals for people who ride with regular shoes sometimes and SPD shoes at other times / are transitioning.

http://sheldonbrown.com/shoe-pedal.html is good reading.
http://www.rei.com/learn/expert-advice/bike-pedals.html is as well, though note that SPD is also available for road use.

The most important thing is fit and knowledge of how to use them - you don't want to fall down while stopping or have uncomfortable shoes for long distances, so you may want to invest in shoe fitting when giving them a shot. Much like buying boots, you may not use the same size cycling shoe as you do sneakers (especially if you wear US 13 sneakers like me...).


Is it realistic to fuel a long ride with NO sugar? On a 6 hr. ride, I will burn around 4,800 cals.

Assuming I start the ride fully carb loaded with around 1,500 cals in me, that means I will have to consume an additional 3,300 cals over the 6 hours, or 550 cals/hr.

Is it at all realistic  to try and do this during the ride using real food ONLY  (whole grains, fruits, veggies), with NO sugar (ie. no gels, powders, or energy bars, etc.)?
If sugar is a must, and there is no avoiding it, I would at least like to eat the maximum amount of real food, then supplement with sugar. So, what is the maximum cals/hr that the digestive system can metabolize into energy?

EDIT: Please see my answer below. Thanks to everyone for the great points.

Most sources I've read suggest that your body can process at most 300 calories per hour during exercise. And a lot of sources suggest that you only attempt to replace roughly 200 calories per hour at best. You should be able to do this easily without any simple sugars. Your initial budget is much much larger than 1500 calories, you don't need to do a one for one replacement. In endurance events
your primary energy source is body fat, not muscle glycogen. You've easily got
a 10K calorie reserve.

I've done a fair number of Road Centuries and 8 hr MTB races over the last 10 years and overeating is just as bad if not worse than undereating. There are some companies/groups ( Hammer Nutrition ) that recommend avoiding simple sugars altogether and only consuming complex carbs.

There's nothing that works for everybody and everything works for somebody. The only way to know is to try. One thing I've found that works really well for me is steamed mini potatoes with a little salt and olive oil.

Eating and drinking a little bit as constantly as possible works the best. For a 6 hr ride, I'd focus more on proper hydration and a good balance of electrolytes. Unless you're at less than 5% body fat, you've got plenty of reserves for a long ride. What eating does is allow the body to use it's reserves[1].

Getting all this right is very tricky, most people err way too much on the side of over consumption. ( I know I've been guilty of this and it's led to some pretty terrible results. ). It's very easy to overthink and over plan all this, ( and there are certainly a lot of companies that will gladly take your money along the
way. )

What you eat or drink is generally far less important than that you eat and drink
something that agrees with you and that you like eating and drinking. You need water and electrolytes, enough calories to make them enjoyable is really all you need to worry about.

[1]- This is just my own theory based on 35+ years of long days in the mountains, but often even just a tiny intake of food will yield a big jump in energy. I'm convinced the body "hoards" reserves until it detects an incoming supply of energy.


New Chain causing skipping on cassette - will this work itself out or is it unsafe? I just installed a new chain on my 2002 Trek 2200 Road Bike.  The old chain was a Shimano 9 speed that I installed 18 months and about 5000 miles ago.  It had stretched modestly and was full of winter cruft/grime.  The new chain is a SRAM 9 speed, my first time using the gold snap ring system.  I followed instructions and made sure I have the same link count as the chain that came off the bike.  The cassette was new with the old chain, so it has about 5000 miles on it and doesn't appear to have significant wear.  After installation and a clean/wipe/lube/wipe, I took it for a 15 mile easy ride at about 15-16 mph.  It shifts perfectly and I didn't have to make any adjustments to either derailleur.  Three times, however, when putting it under stain (once on a modest hill climb, once starting from a stop sign in a fairly big gear, and once on an acceleration coming out of a sharp turn) it skipped several teeth and caused my foot to slam down hard.  On the hill, it actually hurt as I had my weight off the saddle (not really standing) and I came down hard on the inside of my thigh.  I think all three were on the right side (power train side) pedal stroke, and I don't think they were all in the same gear.  I'm pretty sure it was the rear cassette that skipped, not the front chainring, but it did happen really fast each time.  I will also say that it's not like these were the only three times I put substantial pressure on the pedals in the ride - I wasn't going hard, but I wasn't being tentative or anything.  Also, in case it's relevant, it was cold, about 40 degrees F or about 4 degrees Centigrade.

My question:  Is this going to get me hurt, or will the new chain 'settle in' over a few rides?  I searched here and pretty much got confirmation of what I had previously thought, that you always get a new chain when you get a new cassette, but you should be able to get a few chains out of each cassette.  Thanks!

Over time an old chain and cassette wear together, so you don't notice the wear until it gets really bad.  When you replace the chain while leaving the old cassette the tooth profile is no longer correct and the new chain will skip off of the teeth, especially under load.

Unfortunately it won't get better and the only recourse is to replace the cassette as well.  In the future you can save money by changing the relatively inexpensive chain more often as the cassette wears faster with an elongated chain.

More info:  http://sheldonbrown.com/chains.html


Campagnolo Athena - Lost plastic part on front derailleur. Now the chain is droping on upshifting Somehow the plastic part on the side/front of the derailleur is lost. Now I can't shift properly because the chain drops to the outside on an up shift.

The plastic part is visible in this image. Its the black thing.

Is there a spare part available or is this a warranty case?

The spare part code is 5-FD-RE116 for double or FD-AT016 for triple and it's available from several online shops. LBSes specializing in road bikes should have it too.

Check out the spare parts catalogue from Campagnolo: http://www.campagnolo.com/media/files/035_250_Catalogue_spare%20parts_tools_Campagnolo_2015_part_A.pdf


I have a customized Salsa Journeyman Claris. How small can I go for my small chainring? I'm not sure how to verify compatibility It's a Salsa Journeyman Claris drop bar 650b converted to flat. The flat and drop frames are the same, but the drop comes with road bike components.
I have already upgraded a Sunrace 11-40t cassette to the rear with the help of a Wolftooth Components Roadlink which leads me to about 20.06 gear inches.
I currently have an FSA Adventure Tempo 30t/46t crankset in the front paired with the Shimano Claris front derailleur but was hoping to drop my small chainring to around 24t for the sweet, sweet, 16.5 gear inches.
Is it as simple as an easy cog swap and a chain? I'm not sure what parts need to be compatible to make it work.
Cheers all!

The crank chainring bolt center diameter (diameter of a circle that passes through the center of the chainring bolts) is what limits the maximum and minimum chainring sizes.
It's likely that you will not be able to get a much smaller chainring on the FSA crank. To get to 24 tooth small rings you need an mountain bike crank. 'Two-piece' MTB cranks made for external bearings in threaded frames or press-fit bearings are not compatible with road frames as they require a wider bottom bracket shell. The FSA Tempo crank is three-piece for a tapered axle cassette type BB though, so you made have luck finding a three-piece MTB double crank with the chainring sizes you want. Bear in mind you will probably have to change the BB as different crank models require different BB axles lengths.
Check that your front derailleur can accommodate the difference between chainrings on the crank you select, and can be dropped far enough down the seatpost.