Cost effective drivetrain maintanance With my previous bike I followed the general recommandation for maintainance of drivetrain.

This usually goes like the following: replace chain every 3K Kms, replace rear cassette every 6K Kms and after 22K Kms I replaced the chainring as it started to show shark fin teeth.

I am asking what is the most effective method to maintain the drivetrain, does the above procedure which involes quite a bit of money and labor ( not to mention that I have to get my hands dirty with grease in the process ) or simply use the drivetrain until starts malfunction at which point simply replace all the parts: chain, cassette and chainrings?

Supposing that first sign of malfunction would appear after 11K kms ( half of what I got with previous method ), I could replace the wholedrive train and get another 11Kms at lower cost, not to mention that I don't have to get my hands dirty and I do the procedure only once compared to seven times.

Would the approach work? If so, why do get other recommandations in media, books, etc?

Edit

I feel that one can answer the question if we could somehow look at a chart that plots the performance of the drivetrain compared to the distance used. As some suggested performance would include power transfer efficiency, probability of hazards, noise, shifting, etc.

As I see it chain skipping has a high probability of hazards as it could fall of and cause the rider to crash, so that would score something like 9 out of 10 for probability of hazards while a new chain would still score something like 1 out of 10 ( there are chains that brake brand new ).

Make the small investment in a chain checker ( I like park tools CC-3.2). I would generally recommend one of them that measures the chain based on length rather than lateral deflection. Each manufacturer will probably have it's own recommendation, but a safe bet is to always replace your chain before '.75' (75% wear). This will maximize the life of your cassette and chainrings as they will not be ridden on a stretched chain. It also eliminates individual variation, as some people will stretch a chain more or less over a given distance ridden ( some people like to mash and others like to spin).

It is also a good idea to keep your chain clean, as a dirty chain acts like sandpaper as it is cranked over the teeth of the chainring and cassette.

By simply replacing the chain at the proper intervals I have made cassettes and chainrings last years of frequent use. I don't know exact numbers but they would be pretty meaningless as they vary with rider and conditions. Certainly more than 2 chains per cassette.


Remove freehub on this bike I am struggling to remove a freehub from my bike. Please help me to disassemble the hub as it is stuck. When I stop pedaling the cassette keeps turning, to the point where it pulls the chain and derailleur.
I think the freehub is full of grease and gunk which doesnt allow my back wheel to ratchet when I stop pedalling.

This is how the wheel looks after a bit of disassembling already.

And this other side

I dont know how to disassemble any further from this point onwards, please help to open it up in order to replace or lube the parts which are stuck.

Thanks a lot.

To remove the freehub the axle has to come out. Before you start source two new bearings as it is likely they will need to be replaced after you remove the axle. You can try to "gently" tap on the axle with a soft faced hammer (hard plastic or brass). In a pinch you can also place a block of wood on the axle and hit the wood with a steel faced hammer. One side may slide out easier than the other so try both sides. Once the axle is out of the way insert a large (most are 10mm but some are 11)  allen wrench into the nondrive side and unscrew the retainer. An 11mm allen can be hard to find, I use a 7/16" which is easier to find and cheaper.


Biking gloves with finger protection I recently fell off a roof, lost quite a bit of skin from my elbow, which broke the fall, and that made me think: if I took a fall from my bike, how would I land? I would more than likely try to use my hands to break the fall, but my hands are unprotected.

In addition, winter is coming, and soon my hands will be freezing as I ride my bike. Therefore, are there any protective gloves that I can wear? I'm looking for something relatively inexpensive but something that would also give my hands (and fingers) a decent bit of protection should they kiss the concrete/asphalt. Therefore I don't want any gloves with finger holes ... those seem a bit pointless.

Usually when you fall on asphalt, fingerless gloves do cover the area of impact.

Lots of manufacturers do make cycling gloves which are full fingered, such as the Giro Bravo shown below:

You may feel more comfortable with this, but your hands will get a bit warmer and having open fingers helps making some adjustments a bit nicer.

Depending on how cold your winter is, combining a thin running glove with a standard fingerless cycling glove may be adequate and provide enough protection as well. I often use this when its a bit chilly (say around 30F). When it gets into the 10s or 20s, I might double up a thin running glove with something like a Underarmour Coldgear glove -- not too thick, but layers are key for cold.

However, depending on winter riding you may want something like a lobster claw like the following Pearl Izumi's (possibly combined with a thin running glove - great in under -10F ish weather):

Or if you're in the crazy cold, pogies:

(from Icebike's protecting your hands page)


Am I ready for 300km? I've heard that once you've ridden 200km, the bigger distances are just about proper nutrition and hydration. Is this true? I want to know if I'm ready for a bit hilly 300km, if my current max is 200km.

I did 200km yesterday and was feeling ok afterwards - just a bit tired. After my 200km a week ago I was much more tired and in pain, so there's a progress.

Is there a big leap between 200km and 300km rides?

If you've managed 200 km without problems you can also ride 300 km. As usual don't ride too fast and keep yourself well fed.
1st big leap is usually between 400 km and 600 km, because after 400 km you will (typically) need to sleep.


Can I achieve good cycling shoe stiffness in winter with a boot insert? Background: I ride daily in a very cold climate (Fairbanks, AK). My typical winter riding footwear includes a pair of trail running shoes underneath an insulated (NEOS) overboot, as this is a very warm and  light combination. However, on longer rides or endurance races, I find that I notice significant strain on my calves and Achilles tendons, much more so than similar efforts when wearing cycling shoes. I assume this is due to the lack of stiffness in my footwear. I am sure I lose power transfer efficiency in my pedal stroke for the same reason.

I am considering adding some type of stiff insert (e.g., plastic) in between the shoe and the overboot to address these problems. So here is my question, in two parts:

From an anatomical and physiological perspective, is maximum stiffness of the sole the ideal situation for a cycling shoe in terms of comfort and injury prevention, or is the shape of that stiffness-providing structure equally important (i.e., I realize cycling shoes are not flat pieces of carbon or plastic, but they conform more to the shape of the foot).
From a  physics perspective, will a stiff footbed between the shoe and overboot provide similar power transfer to a cycling shoe, assuming there is minimal movement between the three components of the footwear system?

Note: I do not wish to switch to clipless pedals/shoes on this bike. Even with 45NRTH Wolvhammers or the like, most winter cyclists in my area still require aftermarket boot covers for long, cold rides.

Another note: I am going to experiment with inserts either way, but was interested to see what folks on here think about it.

It's not a very good idea, but since you're going to do it anyway, I'll give you some pointers on what to expect.

The contact area between your foot and the surface of the boot / pedal system needs to somehow conform to your foot, or you will have painful hot spots. In your idea, the sole of the running shoe should take care of that, and the insert can be indeed flat. The outsoles of running shoes are curved, though, so your stiffener would have to conform to that shape or you'd need a lot of room inside your overboots.
The shock absorption in running shoes absorbs a bit of energy on each pedal stroke, feels mushy and doesn't really offer any benefits for riding. A plate between running shoe and outer shoe wouldn't help here. This is why cycling shoes usually have thin anatomically shaped soles.

My suggestion would be mountaineering boots or hiking boots with rigid soles combined with large platform pedals. These boots are very stiff, don't have too much shock absorption and are designed for low temperatures.

As a side note, thin plastic plate isn't going to be very rigid. The stiffness of a plate is related to 3rd power its thickness, so in order to have stiff soles you'll need either a very thick plate or 3D structure. Because of the exponential relationship, using stronger materials doesn't help much.


On what surfaces can I safely use my hybrid bike? I will be doing a 50 mile ride in a few weeks' time, most of which is on tow paths and a disused railway line. The surface will therefore be somewhat rough and loose, but not muddy and no major obstacles.

Obviously I would like to use the bike I have, which I use for commuting every day on smooth tarmac bike paths.
It is a hybrid bike (rigid forks, flat handlebars, regular rim brakes), which is obviously not a major problem, but I have replaced the original tires (35mm I think,and a little knobbly) with smooth 28mm tires.

Will my bike be suitable, comfortable and safe (for the bike and for the rider) on off-road tracks?

Edit for more info:
The disused railway is fully decommissioned, and is routinely used by walkers and cyclists (it is now a public bridleway). I haven't seen the surface personally but I gather it is fairly level and smooth but covered in a mixture of compacted soil, gravel and stone chippings and grass in some areas

28mm wide tires are perfectly suitable for riding hard-packed fine gravel trail surfaces. You do have to be more careful when braking and cornering than on tarmac as the top surface is loose. Larger rocks and potholes should be avoided of course.

As the size of the gravel particles gets larger or the depth of the loose gravel top surface gets deeper the less suitable 28mm tires will become.

I personally will ride 28mm tires on deeper, coarser gravel for short sections, but I would not want to do it for 50 miles. As well as increased likelihood of punctures ad discomfort, narrow tires take more power to push through deeper gravel as then tend to sink in rather than floating over the top.

Note that on flat hard-pack fine gravel you can decrease your tire pressure for better grip and comfort, but on deeper coarse gravel higher pressures are needed to avoid  pinch-flats.

Update

  [The surface] is fairly level and smooth but covered in a mixture of compacted soil, gravel and stone chippings and grass in some areas.

You'll be better off with your original 35mm tires. With the larger tires you will not have to worry about what you will encounter, and you will be able to run lower pressure for better comfort.


Are the wheels of Thule and Burley two wheeled trailers interchangeable? I have a Thule Cougar trailer and I would love to put these Burley fat tire wheels on it. Because reasons. The push button hubs on the Burley wheels look the same as the ones used on my Thule, but I can't find a definitive answer on compatibility.

Got a reply from a dual owner (burley and Thule) that they have a slightly different axle-witdh (should have been thickness). :(
https://thismombikes.net/child-trailers-chariot-vs-burley/


Hydraulic disc brakes on cross bike (post mount) I have just bought some post mount calipers (Shimano) to fit on a cyclocross bike and separately some 160mm discs. The calipers do not quite sit flush on the post mounts (front or back) before the disc reached the back of the caliper. Should I expect to need washers to space the caliper out a bit further, and if so, what thickness?

It sounds like your post-mount frame (and fork) is setup by default for 140mm rotors.   This would be expected for the frame and is not surprising for the fork either.

What you need is a post-to-post 140 to 160mm adapter.  This might be more commonly a 160-to-180 adapter, but it's the same thing.  It's moving the caliper ~10mm further away (or more like 12.5mm on top and 7.5mm at the bottom).

Shimano makes the SM-MA-F180 P/P2.

SRAM makes the "20S/20P" adapter also for this purpose.  (This is the one I have used.)  From SRAM's instructions publication, there is a handy table that illustrates that going from 140 to 160 uses same adapter as 160 to 180.

You might want to first check with a local shop to see if they just have the spacers you need in a bin.  Otherwise you can definitely find it online (e.g. at jensonusa, but obviously it can be found elsewhere too).


Do half link chains work on any bike and what is their purpose? Do half link chains work on any bike?

What is the purpose of a half link chain?

I've noticed that only BMXers and DJers use them, and that leads me to believe  there is a technical reason behind that.

From the internet:

"Half Link BMX chains were designed to help dial in the chain length on frames with short dropouts and small gearing, making sure your rear wheel is exactly where you want it. Dan's Comp offers a wide variety of half-link BMX chains for both race and freestyle."

Basically, you can break your chain at smaller increments to get a more precise chain length. 1/2" instead of 1".

Half link chains should work with most single speed set-ups, but not with any bike with multiple sprockets / chain rings.


Shorten or replace bicycle chain? The chain on my internally geared hub bicycle is now too long even when the rear wheel is entirely pulled back. How do I tell whether it's sufficient to shorten the chain by removing some links, or if I need to buy a new chain altogether?

I've done 14335 km (8907 mi) and the chain is a Rohloff.

If this chain has been on it for nearly 9000 miles - I'd suggest a new one!

You could shorten it, but the wear is on the link connectors, so the sapcing is going to be wider than it should be - thus wearing the sprockets!


Luggage rack - upper fastener broken. Can it be repaired? Recently the upper fastener of my luggage rack broke. The part that broke is a small block with two holes, which connects the rod that is screwed to the frame with the rod of the luggage rack. See photo for details.

It's just this small part (two parts actually) that broke, so it feels bad to dump the whole rack. However, I could not find this connector block anywhere, and I don't know the make of the rack (it has nothing written on it).

Is there any way to repair this, or should I just replace the whole rack?

Photo of damaged connector below. Note: One of the two connector blocks is still present (though shifted a bit), only the top part is missing (it broke off). The other block is gone, but there were two of them, one on each of the horizontal rods.

Originally, the blocks joined the horizontal rod and the rod of the luggage rack passing above it at a right angle.

Its steel, so any competent welder should be able to weld them back together.

Your other option is plumbing mounts, something like this.

Imagine a pair of these on each side, with a nut/bolt through that top hole.

http://www.ezystrut.com.au/products/pipe-support-systems/pipe-clamps/e8y/e8y/

Or something like this but with a quarter-turn twist between the two holes.

Another simple fix would be a single jubilee clip around each crossing, at 45 degrees. It will distort on tightening but will hold well enough. AKA a hose clamp.


Bamboo bikes - the verdict? I'm curiously interested in buying a bamboo bike for use as a Sunday road bike, and I'm just wondering whether they're suitable:

Strength at high speed?  I live near Parbold, which has nice hill for climbing and of course speeding down.  So my question is whether the bike would hold together at 40mph+?
Durability in the wet?  The UK has some miserable weather. I accept that the bike would be like a suede jacket, and not something to be caught in the rain with!
Weight - found a quote of a 60cm road frame weighs just under 2.5 kilos.  I think that's substantially more than carbon or my titanium road bike frame.
Joints - Would you go for a bike frame with steel interlocking joints or bamboo throughout?

These are the two manufacturers I'm looking at:

Bamb EcoLogical Technology (my preferred choice)
BamBikes.com

As a note, this is for fun, I just want to be safe.  I fully acknowledge that I won't be winning races on this bike, but not being dropped from the peloton would be good!

Strength at high speed? I have ridden my road frame for 2 years now, and have many miles on it. One of my favorite rides takes me to a hilly section where I have a long sweeping downhill. On a good day, I can reach 70 km/hour. At the bottom is a bit of a tight bend where lateral forces are a plenty. The joints and the bamboo are holding up better than I expected. I love it!

Durability in the wet? The natural characteristics of the bamboo are phenomenal, including the water resistance of the exterior skin. As long as you seal it well so moisture cannot get inside (particularly where the skin is not present, like cuts and nicks in the bamboo or where the shoots come out of the sides at the nodes) you have nothing to worry about. I have been caught in some pretty horrendous monsoon downpours here in Thailand.

Weight - My 54cm road frame weighed in at 2.0 kgs. I built it light as I am a 150 lb rider. The last road frame (we call Thai Silk) that went out the door was a 58cm which weighed in at 5.4 kgs.

Joints - The only place you really need steel is where the bearings or threads go, like head tube, bottom bracket, drop outs (even then, there are ways around this as well). The joints are plenty strong from carbon fiber or fiberglass. Thermal expansion factors are something we consider on our proprietary joint construction. Some builders have abandoned carbon fiber because it is too stable, others have abandoned hemp/sisal joints because the rigidity degrades too rapidly. If you choose to use steel joint lugs, you will need to overcome the challenge of a good bond between the bamboo and the steel.
Take a look at our site if interested BambooBikeMaker.com or email me at philwebb333 [at] gmail [dot] com


What kind of bike rack can go with this bike? I'm looking for a bike rack to put on my bike so that I can hookup the baby seat with the bike. However, I don't see anywhere on my bike where I can mount the front bracket arms of the rack to it (please see pic.1). There is place to mount the lower arms, though (as shown in pic.2). Pic.3 shows the whole bike.

Do you know which bike rack can go with this bike?

Your bike looks like it comes equipped with a full-suspension frame, and the suspension mechanism is located where one would usually attach the rack stays. This will make attaching a rear rack extremely difficult, and almost certainly less secure.

I don't recommend attaching a rear rack to this bike, particularly not one that will be holding a child seat.

Instead, you could look into a child trailer. (For more information on child seats compared to child trailers, have a look at this answer.) Please note that pulling a trailer with any full-suspension bike can cause problems (see the comments).


Suggestions on learning to use Rollers Last year I bought some Kreitler rollers and used them somewhat. The biggest problem I have is starting.

I have 4.5-Inch Kreitler Alloy Rollers with Killer Headwind Fan Drums.

Does anyone have a suggest on an easy way to start?

I had the same problem as you when I bought my rollers, the best advice is to place the rollers in a door frame. Start by holding onto the doorframe and get used to spinning with one hand on the bike.

You should always try to maintain a high cadence (and speed) when you first start, the momentum will help you balance. The plan is to pedal in a perfect circular motion, no pedal mashing! Focus is very important too, keep your body calm and try to focus into the distance to aid your balance.

Aside from that, it'll take a few weeks to get used to it. But once you have, the benefits of rollers are incredible, you'll notice it on rides out.

Good luck!


Switching from a mountain bike to a road bike I will be moving soon because of my work and the new area is not very "mountain bike friendly" as it is very flat and there aren't much hills or mountains around.

So I think of buying a road bike to keep practicing and maybe commuting to work. But I know nothing about road bikes and I have never ridden one before.

What are the main things I should be aware of when buying one that are fundamentaly different from a moutain bike ?

The bike I currently have is a Lapierre Zesty 414 with tubeless tyres. I'm also quite tall (1m95 or 6'4") so I'm wondering if it may cause any problems.

You will find the differences are significant.

When you say a road bike, we understand a bike with drop handlebars. Drop bars give you a very different riding position compared to an MTB. Some people need time to adjust to the new position, and can have problems with weak or tired neck muscles.

An alternative would be a hybrid style of bike, with flat handlebars. This would be much closer to the riding position you are used to.

The thinner, smaller, slick tires will provide two more differences.

One is much less cushioning, so you'll feel bumps more. The other is they'll be much faster. So you'll ride faster and feel any bumps in the road more.

As a consequence, some people get sore hands or wrists.

The other main difference is how light the bike is. On any medium quality bike (or better) you'll feel like you suddenly got on an F1 bike :-)

When switching to road cycling, make sure you have well padded gloves to absorb road vibration. And the bigger the change in riding position from your MTB, the more gradually you should make the change. Keep the MTB and ride the new bike for a few days, then switch back. If you start feeling sore then give the new bike a break for a day or two.

It may sound like I'm talking road bikes down, but as a road-only cyclist I am keen for you to get the best out of the change. You'll quickly discover that each kind of cycling has it's own different pleasures.


Help with the bicycle gearing I'm new to road bicycle with gears. I have 3 gears in front and 8 at the back. The principle behind Bicycle gearing is too difficult for me to understand.

Please tell me what gears to use

When riding on a level road
When riding up a flyover bridge and
When riding down a flyover bridge.

Now I use front gear 2 and back gear  6 to 8  when riding a level road
and front Gear 2 t and back gear 4 to 3 when going up a slope or flyover bridge.

When I use Front Gear 1 and Back gear 3 for to ride a steep upward slope, I  find it easy to ride but the number of revolutions of the pedal increases sharply.

Am I using the right gears in the above conditions?

Thank you for your help.

Pedalling efficiency/difficulty is related to the ratio between your front and rear gears.

Front :

The big crown is the hardest one
The small crown is the easiest one

For rear gears this is the opposite.

In general, you should avoid crossing the chain, which is:

Putting the small front and rear gears at the same time
Putting the big front and rear gears at the same time (especially this one that might break your chain)

After that, the terrain you are riding pretty much determines the front gear to use:

For flat, you should be either on the biggest or on the middle front gear
For uphill, you should use the smallest front gear
For downhill, you should use the biggest front gear

Then, you tweak the difficulty with the rear gears.

For reference, the ideal number of rotations per minutes (of the cranks) is 90 in road cycling (that looks fast, but is efficient).


How can you recognise a quality steel frame? I'm looking to buy/build a road bike and I would like it to:

last 100 years
have a low environmental cost

As I'm not interested in shedding grams (a diet would be more helpful for me), I'm leaning towards a steel frame. But steel frames are often cheaply manufactured, and the price is slowly starting to reflect trendiness than quality.

How do I recognise a high quality new or used steel frame? Are there simple things to look for when weeding out the poorly made or overpriced frames?

Some things differ if you are looking at a new or a used frame, but here are some suggestions:

First, when you say you are looking for a steel frame, what you probably mean is a ChroMoly Steel alloy frame.  This would be a frame made from tubes where chromium and molybdenum  were added as the steel was refined.  Frequently you will see a sticker on the tube with a number like 531, 631, 725 or 853 which is used to describe the particular blend.

Second, spotting a high or low quality frame has become more difficult over the years as machining and welding techniques have filtered down. With older frames you definitely want to look at the quality of the welds and brazing, as well as the paint.  Welds may be smooth, or have a regular pattern.  Watch out for welds that look rough, 'globby' or irregular.  It used to be that the use of lugs was a hallmark of lower quality frames, but today you see them more often on high end boutique or custom touring frames.

You may also want to feel the bottom sides of the tubes for a "seam".  On older low quality frames you frequently find rolled tubes, where the steel was a flat sheet that was then rolled and welded length-wise.

Finally, the durability of a steel frame is largely a function of the paint quality and maintenance. Water and rust are the primary enemies of a steel frame.  If buying used you will want to closely inspect the area around the bottom bracket, dropouts, and the whole underside of the bike for chips, cracks and visible rust.  For long life, as well as the low environmental cost, steel v. aluminum is probably a wash.  In the US and most the developed countries both aluminum and steel recycling is around 50% and the production costs and impacts are pretty similar.  And while corrosion may be an issue, an aluminum frame won't rust.

Good Luck.


Is it worth rebuilding a broken front wheel Hit a pretty bad pothole at the weekend which caused the rim of my front wheel to shatter into 4 peices.
The hub is still intact and appears fine. Is it worth buying a new rim and spokes and rebuilding? The wheel is a Mavic Ksyrium Pro SL.

You would need to cost it out, as it pretty much comes down to the dollars cents.

With a wheel at that price point its worth considering a rebuild, presuming you have a good wheel builder at your LBS. If you buy a new wheel, ensure the cost includes having the new wheel tuned up by the LBS. (If you not buying through a shop, add the cost having a shop tune it when it arrives).

Unless the hub has low miles, consider a full service with new bearings, or at least put the cost of this into the rebuild of the wheel.

In terms of if its worth it, you may decide reusing the hub rather than adding it to a landfill adds to the worth of a rebuild over a new wheel.


Croozer hitch -- axle quick release lever on the left? The croozer manual states that to mount the axle hitch [with the hitch on the left/non-drive side and the quick release axle skewer oriented such that the quick release is on the right/drive side]:

  The quick-release lever must be positioned on the right side of the
  bicycle (relative to the direction of travel). If the lever is on the
  left side, the quick-release skewer must be removed and reinserted
  from the right side

I'm not sure I want to put the QR on the cassette side though :/ . Does anyone know why they want the QR on the right here?

This is about adding a hitch for a bike trailer. I can see why the company recommends to have the quick release on the right (cassette) side, whereas it is usually on the left. The hitch mechanism needs room and is often secured with an additional strap. By putting the quick release to the right, there is no danger of the hitch (and the strap) interacting with the quick release lever.


What is the difference between these styles of helmet? What is the difference between these two styles of helmet? Most "serious" cyclists (e.g. in spandex with clipless pedals) seem to have the first type, whereas I've seen more "casual" cyclists (e.g. on single speeds, cruisers) hanging around Brooklyn with the latter type. Is there an advantage to either? (in safety, performance, etc.)

During longer periods of fast road cycling, the venting in the first helmet will make more and more of a difference. It's impossible to lose trapped heat otherwise and then you'll have sweat pouring down your face..

If you're commuting then the shell helmet is fine.


I replaced my rear hub, but I'm not sure about how to attach the derailleur I'm new to working on bikes and have been unable to find an answer via the internet, which, too be honest, is probably really simple.

I got a bike just for riding around the city that had a cheap hub which went out recently.  I replaced the hub and cassette with a Deore T610 and HG51, which I had no problem doing and they seem to fit the bike just fine.

My problem is that I'm not sure how to attach the derailleur.  The old derailleur was attached inline with the axle bolt, tightened down by a nut.  I was planning on using the old derailleur for the time being, but the axle for the new hub is the standard 142mm, which means it doesn't extend past the bike frame itself, as seen in the picture below.  I can mount the derailleur on the outside of the frame and tighten it with the quick release, but I'm hesitant to do so since it won't be supported by the axle.  Is it normal for the derailleur to be supported just by the pressure of the QR and not supported by hanging on the axle?

I also thought that maybe I should just replace the derailleur altogether, which I have no problem with, but it seems like most derailleurs also attach via built-in hanger or via a removable hanger, which would also be attached to the main axle.  So even if I did replace the derailleur, I'd still have a similar question about how to actually attach the hanger to my bike.  Further more, my bike doesn't have any kind of slot or bolt hole for a hanger.  Can I just use a generic hanger an tighten it down with the quick release?

Thanks for taking the time to read through this! I'd really appreciate any help!

Compare @mike 's photo with your hanger.   Yours does not show a bolt head.  Mike's does, and there's a specially-shaped nut on the other side.

This semirounded nut is supposed to slide up the dropout, and acts as one anchor.  Your wheel axle acts as the other, to stop the derailleur rotating around.

Good news is these generic claw hangers are cheap, so buy the whole unit and you'll be able to fit the derailleur.

Note - you may need to file the backside of the rounded nut to get chain clearance in the smallest cog.


Steel chainrings for 3x9 speed setups I have Shimano M542 with 3 chainrings (44-32-22) for 9 speed chain.

Is it possible to fit it with chainrings made of steel for better durability? I do not mind extra weight. The dimensions are 110 BCD 4.

If yes where can they be bought?

I purchased a Vuelta mountain crankset which came with steel chainrings in the same 44-23-22 sizes to replace the alloy rings on the same crankset you have.  Everything seems to work fine after some minor adjustment of the front derailleur.


getting in and out of shape I was recently really sick and stopped biking for about 2.5 weeks. Before that I was biking 10 miles per day for about 2 years.

Since getting better I've been biking 10 miles per day for about 2 weeks. I am not 100% done being sick - I still have rhinorrhea, but I feel like I am unable to go as fast as I used to before the sickness.

Am I just imaging things or did I really 'get out of shape' during my sickness? Has anyone else had a similar experience?

(On a side note, I also think that maybe the winter is making me go slower - though there is a chance that I am crazy)

You're probably just still overcoming your illness. 2.5 weeks isn't really enough time to lose any noticeable amount of aerobic fitness for an average, healthy person.


Preventing use of low gears while training I'd like to avoid using my two lowest gears while training for a hard and hilly cyclosportive. I am able to resist, but nevertheless do occasionally make a mistake. Is there anything I can do to safely physically prevent myself from using those two low cogs?

You can probably turn the limit screw far enough in to prevent usage of at least the largest cog. Maybe even the second largest cog.

You could also stay on the larger chainring. Depending on your specific cassette and chainrings it’s roughly equal to not using your three largest cogs.

All that being said, in the end cycling is about power output. Using hard gears doesn’t automatically make you faster. Power is force (or more precisely torque) multiplied with rotational speed. Easier gears may allow you to pedal faster, resulting in the same power output over – possibly – a longer duration.


Identify old road bicycle frame Does anybody have idea what is this bicycle frame? We are considering with a friend restoring it and would be grateful for any info, also is it worth it.

Frame is totally without any stickers or manufacturer marks, only spray on it. Only thing characteristic are stars visible on the two connections and under bottom and probably Campagnolo hooks.

https://imgur.com/a/nPj74

The star cutouts in the lugs and BB identify it as a Guerciotti. I couldn't find vintage Guerciotti star pictures on their site, but there are other photos easily available via a Google image search.


Headset, stem and steerer tube gap? I have just adjusted my spacers positions on my headset.
There origionally 3 spacers below the stem one larger than the others and none above the stem, then I took the 2 smaller ones and placed them above the stem, will this affect the gap between the steerer tube and the top cap, (even if that matters). As I am unsure because I was thinking as long as I have the same amount of spacers on the steerer tube then it doesn't matter, or is there importance to do with the position of the stem?

You are fine and your understanding is correct. It's the total stack height of the spacers and the stem between the top of the headset and the cap that matters, so spacers can be swapped from below the stem to above and vice versa to adjust your stem height as you like it.


Which brake should I use, on a full suspension bike, if I broke my brake lever I broke my back brake lever, and I want to use only one brake, which should I use the front or the back?

If it's to get you home or to the bike shop, use the one that works and ride cautiously.  You may have to walk down some things. Trying to fiddle with it at the side of the road or trail is risky - you don't want to lose a screw. If you're considering long term use it's a bad idea to run only one brake in most situations, especially as you know the ones you've got are prone to failure.

As you're taking about full suspension I assume you mainly use it off road. I'm not a mountain biking expert by any means, but on loose surfaces you don't have much stopping power from the back as a side is both easy and ineffective. On the other hand a light touch on the back brake is very useful, and overheating can be an issue on a single brake. On road you have the same effect to a lesser extent but the consequences of your second brake failing can be more severe (an uncontrolled meeting with fast-moving traffic).


Purpose of barrel adjuster on Travel Agent? I mistakenly bought the version of the Travel Agent (by Problem Solvers) without the barrel adjuster, and I’m just wondering if I need it.  What’s the barrel adjuster used for?  My bike has reverse brake levers (short pull) and linear pull v-brakes (long pull).

It functions much the same as a barrel adjuster on a brake lever or caliper.

  A barrel adjuster will allow the fine adjustments to the tension of control cables. Screwing it out - anti-clockwise - extends the length of the outer-cable run while leaving the length of the inner-cable unaffected. Thus the inner-cable gets tighter...

  Barrel adjusters are used in braking systems to compensate for brake-block wear. The adjusters are usually designed and positioned so the rider can turn them ‘on the fly’. Barrel adjusters on gear-cables allow fine tuning to make index systems work precisely

Quote Source

It is a nice thing to have but not necessary, it simply helps adjust tension for wear and fine tuning.

They are helpful in that you can tighten the brake cable slightly after the pads wear or the initial cable stretch without having to adjust it at the caliper. Although they do not replace routine maintenance and caliper should be readjusted after initial cable stretch which is normal with new cables after several rides/miles.


modifying tire sizing I use Schawlbe Durano Plus 700X23C on Bontrager TLB 622 X17 ERD rim and  want to change to a thinner tire as a 21C
Can I make this tire change on the same rim?
If this is possible wich tire brand?
TKS

If 17mm is the internal width, 21mm tires are probably a bad idea. According to Sheldon Browns (admittedly conservative) chart, 25mm is the lowest recomended width on 17mm rims. You could also probably contact Bontrager and ask for this specific rim though.

As an aside, I'm not totally sure why you'd want to use 21mm tires. Barely anyone makes them anymore, they're less comfortable and have higher rolling resistance.


How to maintain chains during touring? I think requirements are reusable, simple, small-size and things-to-easily-to-carry. There are exotic answers with chain clearers and other things that do not qualify to me simple. Perhaps, the Sheldown-Brown's shake is closest, here, to clean chains and then lube -- you can get bottles everywhere and alkali/white-spirit-whatever available to the bottle. But there may be more solutions. How do you maintain chains during touring? (open question: no season specified, etc)

Met today traveling heroes, they offered excellent way to clean dirty chains, cheaply and world-wide-reusable -- a really good touring tip coming! Things you need are mostly-grocery-store stuff, good because you don't need to carry extra stuff and you cannot be sure of bike shops in all of your destinations.

Items

cooking oil
aluminium foil
some hand-bearable cleaner (found in any grocery store)
a cloth
a burner (tested below with normal stove)
a lubricant (the only exception, non-grocery store -stuff but you should have it anyway)
a brush

Procedure

put chains to the mixture of oil, cleaner and hot water (it becomes very black)
brush the chains to remove the hardest black while in the mixture
wash the chains with water and bin the black stuff
use a cloth to dry the chains
warm the chains in the aluminium foil (to let the water in the internals to evaporate and it is easy carry chains in the foil)
lubricate the chains as you wish

I can guarantee the tip works: the chains initially were in very thick black layer. I tried also Sheldon Brown's shake with coco bottle but it failed to remove the dirt, this gentler way with brush worked better. I tried the tip and my chains become like new, love it. So No to pling-pling degreasers and cleaning containers during touring, no extra stuff.


Can a bike frame be retrofitted with internal cable routing without Disassembly? Would I be able to have a local framebuilder retrofit an existing steel mountain bike frame to install internally routed cable guides on the top tube without disassembling the frame? I would probably prefer to install lugged guides for this.

Why? Certainly not for performance reasons. I just like internal routing, which I have on a couple different bikes already. Less external stuff to get caught on while riding and easier to accommodate frame packs for bikepacking.

No. If nothing else you'd need to strip the frame to have it repainted after the guides are brazed into place.


First Road Bike - Some Options and Issues I am looking the market for my first road bike.
I am planing to be using the bike, couple times per week for 1 - 2 hour rides, and maybe on the weekend some longer ones, around UK Yorkshire.

There are two things that I would like to know.

Is there significant difference, on how one road bike will handle uneven roads compared to others? Is there a way to know that from specs?

Also, I am looking to find a balance between performance and comfort. I know for a fact I wont be racing, but will taking long leisure rides on country side. If I where to choose between happy lower back, and 5/10 minutes faster within the hour, I could choose happy lower back. Again, I am not sure if there clues on the geometry of the bike that can help me spot the difference on this.

Tires can make a significant different in terms of comfort, especially on uneven roads.  If you're comparing two different bikes, ask what is the largest tire that either one can handle.

I used to have a road bike where some 25mm tires rubbed on the front derailleur clamp (a tire labelled "25mm" is not always 25mm wide). With that bike I didn't have a choice - 25mm or 23mm tires was all I could use.  Those narrow tires require high pressure and are uncomfortable.

Now I have a cyclocross bike that can use tires up to 40mm, and I'm currently running 35mm Schwalbe Kojak tires. It rolls as fast as any other road bike (I ride with a group, and coasting downhill behind other bikes, I can see that my bike isn't slower). But most of the impact and vibration from the road surface is absorbed by the tires.

There are some road bikes, such as the Specialized Diverge and the Norco Search, that work with tires up to 32mm (with fenders) or 35mm (without fenders).  These are sometimes called "gravel bikes", intended to be rideable on gravel roads.  Obviously they also work very well on paved roads.

You don't have to use wide tires -- but it's good to have the choice. You can try it out and see if you like it.

If you're comparing specs, you probably want the following, based on what you stated as your goals in your question:

greater tire clearance
longer chainstays (results in tire clearance)
greater vertical distance between bottom bracket and handlebars


Upgrading Shimano Tiagra shifters I have a 2014 Opus with Shimano Tiagra 10 speed. I have seen Tiagra shifters which don't have this annoying cabling coming out of the shifter and instead, they are together with the brake cables which goes underneath the handlebar grip tape. Can anyone suggest me how to upgrade the necessary components of the shifters to get rid of these cables in the front? I presume I might be able to save some watts on higher speeds as these flaps a lot.

Newer versions of Tiagra brifters route the shift cable under the bar tape. Do be careful though because Shimano has changed their cable pull on some versions. The 4700 series Tiagra uses a cable pull ratio that is different from any other Shimano models. If you get 4700 brifters you would need to replace your derailleurs to be compatible.


What are your country's rules or regulations for the colors of reflectors or lights? Many countries have rules or regulations that specify what color your lights (headlights or rear lights) or reflectors must be. What are they?

In your answer, please note the country (and state, if applicable) and link to the regulations if possible.

Related: Reflective tape instead of rear reflector  (Queensland, Australia)

New Zealand

Legal requirements for your bike:

Brakes on front and back wheels (just on the back if it was made before 1 January 1988).
A rear reflector visible from 100 metres when light shines on it.
If you want to ride your cycle on the road during the hours of darkness, it must  have:

one or two white or amber headlights that can be seen from a distance of 100 metres (one of these headlights may flash)
one or more red rear facing lights that can be seen from a distance of 100 metres  (this may be steady or flashing), and
pedal retroreflectors on the forward and rearward facing surfaces of each pedal (or if the bike does not have these the cyclist must be wearing reflective material).

Your responsibilities

It’s up to you (the rider) to:

make sure your cycle is fitted with brakes, lights and reflectors that comply with the law
wear your cycle helmet
follow the road rules.

If you don’t, you could get an infringement fine or be taken to
court.

What are the ‘hours of darkness’?

Legally, ‘hours of darkness’ means:

any period of time between half an hour after sunset on one day and half an hour before sunrise on the next day,   or
any other time when there isn’t sufficient daylight for a person or vehicle to be clearly visible at a distance of 100  metres.

That's all from the accessible "fact sheet" http://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/factsheets/01/docs/01-cycles.pdf dated February 2014.

Note the onus is on the rider of the bike to make sure its legal, not the owner should that be different.


Cheap cycling shoes feel 'sloppy' when pulling up I recently bought some cheap ($60) mountain bike shoes. It changed my riding style, and I'm really 'pedaling in a circle' now.

I have a complaint though... when I sprint and put a lot of force into the other-than-down parts of the stroke, my foot moves around a lot. It doesn't feel efficient, and is rather annoying.

If I tighten the straps enough that this doesn't happen, it really constricts my feet and isn't comfortable.

I haven't found it useful to tighten the ratchet before sprinting/attacking. I would rather have the ratchet over my toes, as that's where most of the movement is.

So... is this normal for cycling (mountain) shoes? If not, is it because mine are cheap or do I just have a bad fit?

Visually it looks like a velcro issue to me.
Basically, velcro straps are fine to maintain regular together because of the relatively low mechanical constraint on them.

When riding a bike however, the vertical constrains due to the pedal-locking are way more important. This causes your straps to extend slightly (because velcro straps are a based on a fabric ribbon and when you stretch a fabric ribbon it extends) thus causing a lack of adherence because the little hooks unhooks themselves. This is why after a while your strapping seems to get looser, it's because it actually get looser.

Unfortunately there is little to do against that with your shoes.

This problem is pretty common and explains why in higher end shoes you got complicated hybrid strap+lacing systems in order to balance the benefits of each.

So ideally for bugdet I would say : switch to full lacing shoes, it's a pain to put on and off but it stays in place pretty good.

The other technical solution to the problem is to buy some fiberglass reinforced strapped shoes. It's more expensive, I myself have an old pair of Carnac Quartz (it's composed with four fiberglass straps instead of three) that where somewhat expensive at launch (around 200dollars) but with it you can hammer the pedal, it won't budge at all because of the fiberglass which prevent the velcro to expand.


Which chainring? Shimano M785 So I've never changed a chainring before. But the first step is finding the right one.

I have a Cube Hyde SL 2012 . It describes the crankset as

Shimano Deore XT FC-M785 Hollowtech II 42x26T., 175mm, integrated BB

By which I assume the 42 refers to the number of teeth on the outer ring - which is the one I need to change.

The closest thing I can find is this (M780):

But a) it suggests it's a triple chainring, and b) in the Q&A on that site someone has asked

  "I'd like to swap out the 40t large ring on my Shimano XT M785 10
  Speed Double Chainset with this 42t ring, would that work?"

With the answer

  The chainrings for the M785 crankset have a specific design and
  unfortunately are not listed as having a compatible interchangeable
  option.

So.. err.. what now?

You are correct that the 42x26 is telling you that the large ring has 42 teeth (and the small 26).

I did a search on "M785 replacement chainring" and found a number of sources (but nothing a Chain Reaction). Looking at what I found it appears that the options for the large ring are 38 and 40 teeth. So…

Either Shimano has changed the specs on the M785 and the 42 tooth ring is no longer available, or there is s typo on the Cube site. I'd say it's worth looking at your bike to see if the tooth count is stamped on the chainring or, failing that, count the teeth.

If it is a 42 tooth ring (and you want the higher gears) it might be worth going to your LBS to see if they can order the 42 tooth ring, or else look for NOS (new old stock) rings on places like Ebay.


automotive lubricants (ATF, manual trans fluid, or heavy motor oil) as bike chain lube? Good afternoon,

I'm quite mechanically inclined (formerly an auto mechanic and currently an engineer) but relatively new to cycling.  Compared to other contexts I'm familiar with, I've noticed that bike chain lubricants, for example the Park Tool chain lube (https://www.amazon.com/Park-Tool-Synthetic-Blend-Bottle/dp/B000AOA290) or the Finish Line wet chain lube (https://www.amazon.com/Finish-Line-Bicycle-Chain-Lube/dp/B000WYCD5O?th=1) are very expensive per quantity compared to automotive lubricants.  I'm wondering if anybody has extensively tried any of the following as bike chain lubricant:

-Automotive Transmission Fluid (ATF)

-Manual Transmission Fluid / Transfer Case Fluid / Gear Oil

-relatively "heavy" motor oil, ex. 10W-40

In my general experience I've found that ATF is usually the best lubricant for almost any purpose, for example I've found that ATF lubricates air tools better than air tool specific lubricants.

I'm planning on trying ATF out before I spring for another bottle of Park or Finish Line chain lube.  Has anybody else tried any of the above for bike chain lubrication?

In my experience, the objective of a good chain lub for a bike is to maximize lubrication time while minimizing dirt attraction.

That happens for three reasons:

The chain is totally exposed in a performance bike. You have dirt coming from the ground, the wheels, the air...
You legs are surprisingly close to the chain, and may rub it quite easily.
The situation where your chain snaps from the crankset and you may have to reinsert it manually in the crank teeth is not quite rare.

That is why there are a great variety of chain lubs. You can go from minimum dirt attraction (wax) to the maximum (wet).

I would say that if you are perfectly happy with a wet lub, a switch to an ATF one would not pose a big problem. What you do not want to you use are solvents, most notably WD-40, they do not act as a lube long enough.

Do not use thicker oils, as standard engine oil: they will render your chain a mess in not so long and they won't penetrate deep enough in the links.

On the other hand, if you want to minimize dirt attraction, something I prefer personally, I would use a bike chain specific dry lube or wax.

As a bottom line, you know that a 120mL bottle lasts like forever? You have to apply only one drop per link, meaning only 0.05mL per link.


Are double walled rims worth the money? I need a whole new front wheel.

I have been around some of the bike shops in my city and found that the cheapest whole new wheel (wheel, tire, tube, tape) is about £55.

I also asked at the shop I bought my bike about getting a like for like replacement (i.e. the same make of wheel that I am replacing) and the guy helping me said that would cost about £100, probably a bit more.

The increase in cost is because the hub (sorry for my lack of expertise) is aluminium and the rims are double walled rims (which I think are sprint rims judging from the picture in the wikipedia article). He explained that double walled rims significantly increase the strength of the wheel, which is important when hitting potholes.

I have a hybrid bike, and ride almost entirely on road. I currently ride about 54 miles a week, and I'm hoping to increase that to nearly 90 once I'm fit enough, so I guess that's low to medium usage. The roads around here are fairly potholey, but I manage to avoid the holes most of the time.

This is the bike I currently have: http://www.giant-bicycles.com/en-gb/bikes/model/escape.2/7090/43391/ (without the front wheel!)

Given the above, is the more expensive wheel worth the extra money?

Extruded aluminum double wall rims are pretty much standard now (they are very much stronger than the cheap single wall rims).

Can you post a link on the bike you currently have ?

Cheap yet good quality wheel :

http://www.bike24.com/1.php?content=8;navigation=1;product=900;page=1;menu=1000,2,140,17;mid=0;pgc=0;orderby=2

Update :

OK - it is not a top quality bike, but still a good one that should last quite a bit with proper care (cleaning, lubing, changing chain when it's time, etc). Probably more than 10.000 km. Much much better than budget bikes that are totally destroyed after 1000-2000 km.

So it makes sense to put a good quality 50€ wheel on it.

FYI, I just bought a wheel for 100€, it has a Shimano 3N80 dynamo (which is expensive), excellent quality spokes, and an very tough rim designed for loaded touring (forgot the name).

Basically in bike gear there are three broad "zones" :
- cheap crap
- reasonable price, reasonable quality
- expensive stuff whose purpose is mainly to shave off some weight or survive extreme conditions

Without dynamo, you can get a good quality wheel for 50€ if you shop around. Don't spend 100 quid, it's not necessary. But don't spend 20 quid, you'll get crap.


Tightening torque for a Surly bike I just bought a Surly steamroller frame and I am about to mount my bike.
I would like to know the tightening torque related to my frame or other components of my bike that is recommended by Surly.
But I couldn't find these information on their website:
https://surlybikes.com/uploads/downloads/Surly_Steamroller_Frame_Sheet.pdf
For instance, in the following generic manual instructions, they mention -- at the end of page 3 -- a Fastener Torque Specifications given in Appendix D but it doesn't exist...
https://surlybikes.com/uploads/downloads/Standard_Bike_Manual2011.pdf
Where can I find these ?

Your frame as a steel frame made from a high quality chromium molybdenum steel is generally quite tolerant of torque. Thus, it's not as important to have precisely the recommended torque as it is for e.g. aluminum alloy frames.
As far as I know, the only parts screwed to the frame that are essential to riding the bicycle are:

Bottom bracket: you will find the recommended torque given by the bottom bracket manufacturer, but 40 Nm is a good guess.
Thru-axles for wheels if not equipped with QR: many thru axles have the torque written on them, if not 10 Nm is a good guess. However, your frame does not use thru-axles.
Brakes (disc or rim): you will find the recommended torque given by the brake manufacturer. For caliper brakes (like what the Steamroller uses) about 8-9 Nm is a good starting point.

Then there are obviously components screwed to frame threads that are unnecessary for general riding, such as water bottle cages, fenders, pannier rack, etc. For a good guess for these, you can use any generic bolt calculator. Of these non-essentials, the only that  you have to get absolutely right is the pannier rack if you're carrying a lot of cargo, as it is a load bearing component. 5 newton meters for the pannier rack is a good guess. You are unlikely to damage a quality steel frame with 5 newton meters. The others (fenders, bottle cages) can be left slightly undertightened as they are unlikely to vibrate loose unless left very loose.
For any other component, it isn't attached to the frame threads so you won't find the torque spec given by the frame manufacturer but rather the component manufacturer.


My chainstays have been eaten by rust, can something be done? I hope you are all safe and sound and your Christmas time is at least decent in these pandemic times.
The other day I decided to give a good clean to my steel city bicycle and I removed the stand, which was quite tightly closed on the frame. Doing this I discovered two horrible holes in the ground-facing side of them:

(I did not notice the ride quality as being very soft, but my other bike is an aluminium bike with a carbon fork, so probably I am biased towards stiffer bicycles)
The other side is in good condition, no rust inside or outside.
Now, is anything possible to fix them? I would like to get 2/3 years more of life from this frame ... in its current form, without building it as a frankenbikes or other funny contraptions :D , if possible.

The only thing that can be done to save the frame is to have patches welded over the holes. You would need the expertise of a professional welder to get it done properly so that the frame is made structurally sound.
Unfortunately, you may find that this repair is more expensive than simply finding a similar replacement bike or frame. The welding repair job will involve removing the wheel, crank, bottom bracket bearings and other components to in the area to be welded. The frame will need to be repainted as well of course.


Torpedo duomatic stuck in one gear because of too much grease. How to lubricate correctly? I have a Speedo Duomatic that has been stuck in one gear the last 10 years. Probably because of too much lube in the wrong places. Now is the time to fix this. Everything is clean and I'm ready to put lube in the right places.

How should I lubricate to make sure it doesn't get stuck again?

I've planned to lubricate like this:

Brake flaps gets oil.
Brake drum gets a thin coating of grease.
Bearings and parts that spin on the axle get moderate amount of grease.

I suspect the small plastic ring with a metal pin on it should not be greased (even though it spins on the axle)?

A couple of months ago I did this exact overhaul and it has been running super smooth ever since. Can't comment on the longevity yet but here is the logic:

Bearings: standard bearing grease, oil is too thin and will result in increased bearing wear.

Brakes: "Bremsmantelfett" (brake grease) from Hanseline. Here you can probably get away with normal grease, but if you do a lot of braking (eg. hilly area) the grease can heat up and harden, so the more heat resistant the better. Don't grease the braking surfaces of course.

Gears: oil, this area is well contained so no chance of the oil running away and oil makes the gears change smoother.

Pawls: oil, you can also use grease or a mixture but be careful not to apply too much grease underneath them or they can stick down. Give them a good test before and make sure they are really springy.

Other mechanisms: grease oil mix, oil can run away and get places you don't want (brakes) but grease can be prone to hardening. A sticky oil can also work here.

Not sure about the plastic ring you mention but if it rubs against something wipe a bit of grease on it. In general anything that should slide should have some sort of grease or oil on it and choose oil vs grease based on how well it needs to stay put.


Correcting the chainline on triple crankset with chainring spacers I have Marin Four Corners bike with 3x9 Sora crankset (most likely FC-R3030) for which chainline is not given on Shimano site, but I've read all road cranksets have 45 mm chainline.

I would like to replace it with 3x9 Acera (FC-MT300-3) which has 50 mm chainline.

Since I would need to narrow down the chainline I am thinking about adding 5 mm spacer to biggest ring which should shift all the rings towards the frame. However this method is listed on Sheldown Brown as suitable only for single chainrings. Is it a simple omission or it is indeed not possible with 3 rings?

To avoid "whys" -- I need low gears with smooth shifting (ratio close to 1.1), this means tight cassette like 12-26 and small crankset.

When 135mm-spaced QR and 142x12 thru axle disc road frames became the norm, a lot of what was written about bike chainline took on a hidden caveat that in many cases hasn't been corrected, which is that those bikes put the rear ideal chainline in exactly the same spot as their mountain counterparts. Many higher end road cranks are now offered in two versions (disc vs rim brake) for this reason.

It's confusing because the industry has responded slowly to this and a lot of road cranks do still only come in one version despite getting put on both 130 and 135mm bikes.

You actually need a chainline of about 47.5mm. You can corroborate if you want by taking your back wheel off, measuring with a caliper or pocket ruler with one eye closed the distance from the centerline of the 5th cog to the face of the right axle locknut, and subtracting that measurement from half of the hub's over-locknut-dimension aka spacing.

50mm front chainline is fine with a rear of 47.5. That 2.5mm in either direction approximately corresponds to how much you can push the chainline without any major consequences, although this stops being true for very short chainstay bikes.

You can't adjust the chainline of most triples with spacers because you can't use spacers to shift all the rings in the same direction. There are some crank designs that are exceptions, but not this one.

For square taper and ISIS/Octalink you can adjust the chainline with different length BB spindles.


Why do cones pit in hub bearings? So called cones are the the inner races in angular contact bearings in hubs. The outer races, usually simply called races, are usually integral to the hub and cannot be replaced.
Cones however are easy to replace, often one would simply get a new axle with cones and counter nuts included.
Apparently, it is quite common for cones to become pitted. Where the surface of a race is covered by a number of small depressions and in worse cases becomes rough and This may happen in a process like Brinelling where the hardened steel balls leave a small concave impression on the race or spalling where after an initial crack flakes from the surface are shed.*
Pitting is often encountered only on the cones while the outer races remain in good shape. Evidence for the frequency of this failure mode is that replacement cones are readily available, which also indicates demand.
Why is that so?
Is this perhaps coincidental due to load geometry? (Concave vs convex ball race interfaces.)
Or is this by design, for example by different hardness outer races > balls > cones?
*In case of insufficient lubrication and/or corrosion fretting may also lead to pitting.

According to my research, which consists of a couple of web searches and looking at a few photos, the failure mechanism that causes pits in bearing cones is spalling. It is the result of metal fatigue from balls repeatedly rolling over the same part of the cone, and it can be recognized by the irregular shape of the pits. This is different from mechanical wear, which produces a smooth groove and brinelling, which produces smooth indentations at even intervals.
The reason why cone is affected first is that the load is concentrated on smaller surface. The inner diameter of the bearing is smaller than the outer bearing, so the surface is smaller to begin with, and in bicycle wheels the cone does not rotate so the load is concentrated on a small part at the lower side of the cone. Because the outer race rotates, the load is spread to the entire bearing track. The quality of materials has also some effect here: I have seen this damage only on two Alivio hubs. The cheap no-brand cup and cone hubs that I have seen had a worn groove at the bottom side of the cone, and I have not had cone failures in higher tier hubs.


Is this issue possibly related to a defective damper? (Fox Evolution 2013) I have a 2013 Fox Evolution fork on my bike (bought new by me) that is subject to recall due to some forks having defective dampers.

I've been riding with a suspension fork since 1996, and I have never had a fork that tops out like this one. It tops out with a ridiculous clunk when I pop a curb, it tops out the same way when I ride down a bumpy trail. The rebound control knob has never seemed to have any effect on the rate of rebound.

I was hoping that the damper repair would fix the top out. So I took it to my LBS for the recall damper repair.

They called me after 10 days and said, "it's topping out a lot, we think we must have got a defective replacement damper, we'll order another replacement damper."

They called again after another week and said, "Damper is all good, still topping out a lot, we think there is some air that leaked into the negative air chamber, you need to take it to a specialized suspension repair shop for repair."

Is there any reason to think this is a warranty issue, or should I just cough up the dough for someone to bleed the air out of the negative chamber (which is what the guy said I needed to do)?

While it can be related to the damper, if 2 new dampers have not fixed the issue, as you describe, it is likely related to the SPECIALIZED BRAIN mechanism in the fork.

Take it to a Specialized dealer. They will repair or replace it. And should do so at no cost or minimal cost.


Road Bike or Hybrid Bike For Paving Stone I haven't got any experience for these bikes. I want to buy a bike but I can't decide because I will use on paving stone. For example here.

I'd like to buy a hybrid bike however I saw this
bike in Decathlon and I fell in love with it. This situation confuses me. Which bike type should I buy ? Hybrid or road bike ? Will I have a problem by road bike on paving stone ?

Those paving stones look fine - you could take just about any bike along them.  it's worth considering that there are bike races on far worse pavements - the Paris Roubaix famously.

So you don't need to worry about that.  I would say that the bike you linked to in Decathlon is also a hybrid - it's not a 'road bike' in the traditional sense, which would imply drop handlebars, more like this one:  http://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-3-road-bike-white-id_8239800.html

(I have no idea what that bike's like - it's just the first one which came up)

As to which one you would buy.. well try them out, see which styles you prefer.


Converting a Bicycle without gears into a Geared one? I have a racer street bicycle without gears. I want to convert that into a geared one. For that I will need to modify the rear part of the frame where the wheel goes in. Is it advisable to do so?

Modifying frame is usually not worth the trouble. Maybe your bike was previously equipped with gears, and it has necessary provisions (derailleur hanger)? If not consider a hub with internal gears. If that is too expensive, consider a new bike.


Can I change my large chainring without changing the entire crank? The bike I wanna buy has a 42/34/24 crankset and TX-50 FD, now I was wondering if I could install a 48t(or bigger if possible, do tell) ring upfront while keeping the rest (i.e transforming it to 48/34/24..). Is this possible ? What do I need to adjust ?

Thanks

The TX-50 is a tourney level part (bottom of the barrel). If the bike is spec'd with a Tourney derailleur, it is most likely spec'd with a crankset which does not have replaceable chainrings, and you'd need to put on a new crank.

As for chainring size, I'm not sure a TX-50 can take a 48t chainring (likely not - you'd have to look at the data sheet, which I also can't find), but most bikes which such a part would be mounted on would have problems with either chainline or actually getting the front derailleur up high enough to clear the chainrings for a 48t.

Your options for increasing speed generally on mountain bikes (or bikes with mountain-type groups on them) are:

1) Slick tires

2) Locking out your fork/rigid fork

3) possibly a smaller cassette

4) (Most importantly) Bring up your cadence.

If you really want to go faster on roads, look at a different (road) bike (possibly on the used market).


What Innertube is needed for my Schwinn Men's Volare 1200 Bike, 700c, Grey I thought I purchased the right size. Two times I have gotten this wrong.
Can any body point me in the right direction? i was hoping to find some on Amazon. And it is so confusing...

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00P0IN13K/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Bike tyre sizing is a horrible mess.

Your wheel is a 700c - that means the diameter of the whole wheel.  you have to get a tube that is a 700.

The second number on the tube relates to the width of the tyre, and is often given as a range.   Racing tyres are 18-23 mm, the next band is often 25-35,

So you need to read the writing on the sidewall of your tyre and see if its a 700-28c or similar.

It doesn't matter what width of tyre the bike came with, what matters is the width of tyre on the bike now.

Refer to How are tire sizes measured? for more info.


Difference between 3 campy 80mm deep section wheels Currently, three 80mm wheels are listed in Campagnolo's websites, but I can't fully see what's exactly the difference between them.

BORA ULTRA 80
BULLET ULTRA 80MM
BULLET 80MM

I guess BULLET 80MM is a cheaper version of BULLET ULTRA 80MM (using aluminium in places or what else), but no clue between the first two.  So, while I've not made the hardest research ever, very little (or even no) info available on the comparison of them.

The najor difference is that Bora wheels are full carbon while Bullet are both aluminium rims with carbon profile. Also Bora wheels are tubular and Bullet are clincher rims. Still Bora are considerably lighter. And they have carbon hub bodies.

As for these 2 Bullet models, as you said Ultra are slightly lighter; not sure where the weight savings come from though...


What are pinch flats? Also known as a snakebite or pinch cut, a pinch flat is a common term among the bicycling community for a certain type of puncture — but what exactly defines one?

What causes pinch flats? What helps avoid them, and why? Diagrams would be very helpful.

Pinch flats or snakebites are caused when the rim bottoms out and the tube gets pinched between the rim and the tire and punctures - usually 2 smallish holes 10mm (1/2 inch) apart, hence the name "snakebite" because that what it looks like.

The two holes (or a hole and a sign of damage close to it) are the tell tale sign - its rare to get a puncture from a foreign object causing two holes in quite the same pattern.

The cause is that the air pressure was not enough to prevent the tire collapsing to the point the tube is pinched. Usually a sign of too low tire pressure, but can happen when you hit something like a rock or pothole with a sharp edge.

Prevention depends on riding - for a road bike, more pressure (under-inflated tires are the main cause), and check pressure before every ride. Avoid potholes and such like. For heavy riders or bad roads, bigger tires and thicker, stronger tubes can help.  Mountain bikers have a different problem - often we want to run lower pressures for traction on rough ground - the very same ground that makes you susceptible to snakebites. Its not unknown to keep lowing pressure till you suffer snakebites, and bring them up a bit. There are also option for tubeless tires, which do not suffer snake bites (but can suffer bead separation if run too low pressure), and as for road bikes, bigger tires and thicker tubes.

Another preventative measure is to coat the tube with talcum power before installing it. The talcum acts as a lubricant, and allows the tube to move without tearing itself apart. I have used this method on my MTB for years and it seems to be effective as I have not had a snakebite for a long time.


How do I calculate spoke length? I have lots of bikes and lots of interesting wheel sizes, I would like to know how to calculate the right spoke lengths for a wheel.

I appreciate that there are probably rather a lot of variables but this is something that has been an issue for me from time to time so being able to work out the right spoke length for an arbitrary wheel (did I mention that I have half a dozen or more different wheel sizes in the garage?) would be useful.

To be clear - I don't want a calculator, I want to know what the sums are.

The basic arrangement for cross-laced spokes is thus:

Spoke Length = sqrt[ (RRSP - (HSR * cos(SAA)))^2 + HFO^2 - (HSR * cos(SAA))^2 ]

For radial (straight) spokes, the formula is simpler:

Spoke Length = sqrt[ (RRSP - HSR)^2 + HFO^2 ]

RRSP (Rim Radius plus Spoke Penetration) is half of the Effective Rim Diameter given by the manufacturer plus 2mm for the spoke's penetration into the nipple
HSR (Hub Spoke Radius) is the radius from the hub center to the outermost edge of the spoke holes on the hub
SAA (Spoke Anchor Angle) is the angle of from the hub spoke hole to rim hole that the spoke goes to.  It depends upon the lacing pattern and which individual spoke you are calculating for.
HFO (Hub Flange Offset) is the distance from the hub's flange to the lateral center of the wheel, based upon the dish of the wheel.  For a front wheel, this will be the same on each side, but for a rear wheel, which has a dish to accommodate the rear gears, this is different for each side since the hub's own lateral center is different from the wheel's lateral center.

I'll credit this page for the formula; it also has more detail.

There are also a bunch of calculators online, the easiest of which is probably Damon Rinard's spocalc spreadsheet.  Other calculators:

Danny Epstein's
Roger Musson's (he literally wrote the book on wheel building)
United Bicycle Institute

As usual, Sheldon Brown has a great page on wheel building and you can learn more about the math from the above mentioned book.


Changing cassette road bike I have an 11-25T cassette with a Sora derailleur on my road bike. There are a ton of hills around me that I am struggling on when I'm on my road bike but not my mountain. I can easily remove the cassette, and I am wondering: Would upgrading to a 11-34 or 11-32 cassette be a simple swap? Would I need a new chain with more links/less links removed to accommodate the 11-32/34 cassette?)

It would be neat to have my fast setup and a climbing setup with a chain to match each cassette, though it would be simpler to use the same chain for both. Let me know if you have any experience doing a swap like this. Any information is well appreciated.

If you have the short cage version of the latest RD–R3000 Sora rear derailleur the largest (official) sprocket size is 32 teeth. The medium cage version supports up to 34 teeth.

If your current chain is shortened correctly it will probably be too short for a ≥32 teeth sprocket. Theoretically you could still use the chain and avoid the large–large gear combination but in practice that’s hard to do. Unless the chain is almost new I’d just invest the 10€ in a new 9 speed chain.

Once you have a long enough chain it should be possible to quickly swap between the 11–32 and 11–25 cassette. Some adjustment of the B-screw (the one which sets the vertical distance between derailleur roller and sprocket) might be necessary.

Personally I’d just use the 11–32 cassette all the time. The only disadvantage are the larger gear steps and the very slightly increased weight.

See this comparison of the cassettes. If the larger steps don’t bother you, just stay with the 11–32 cassette.

I’ve recently got a power meter and it really made me realize how important easy gears are in hilly terrain. Especially if you want to do recovery rides.


Is this brake cable alignment correct or problematic? I have a BB7 disc brake to fit to a CAAD10. Am I fitting this wrong or have I bought the wrong thing?

It doesn't look like the brake cable lines up with the rubber bit - like this:

I have not yet run the cables but it looks like they would need to bend considerably as they are supposed to come out of that hole in the frame.

I can post a pic of a different angle later, but how much bend on a brake cable is okay?

Will this be a problem? Am I fitting it wrong? Thanks.

Frames and set us do differ so sometimes you can't use the built in cable routing without making the cable bend at an unrealistic angle. This can be resolved by leaving a bit more cable so it can (in your pic) loop a little under the chain stay and then probably miss out that cable route. However, saying that, looking at the pic the rubber housing makes the angle look particularly severe and it probably won't be that bad.

I would offer up the cable and see how it looks and if you are worried about it I would just use some tie wraps on that section.

Alternatively there may be a better brake that suites so check what brake came as standard and see if the angles look any different.


Where should I sell old bike parts? I seem to have amassed a huge collection of bike parts. Some parts are old and need a specialist market so I don't think that ebay is the best marketplace for them. How can I sell on / give away old bike parts so I know that  I'm getting the best price and/or reaching the right audience.

Depending on the urban-ness of your area, there may be local "bike swap" events once or twice a year. If you really have a lot to get rid of, this could be one way to get it in front of the right people.


How should I approach safe cycling? I have interest in biking to and from work, but have heard some horror stories from cyclists at work.

Short of asking coworkers on safe cycling practices, where should I go for a more authoritative source of how to practice safe cycling?

For example:

Cyclists sometimes use the cross walk and sometimes using the road's turning lanes. Which is appropriate, and when?
Should a cyclist use a road without a shoulder or bike lane?
What gear is essential for safety?
Are there exceptions to driving in the same direction as traffic?

From my experience, the single most important point is properly choosing your route. Google maps and the satellite view are your friends.

For example, there is a 2x2 lanes road nearby. I see cyclists there quite often when I drive. It is an extremely dangerous road, 90 km/h, big lorries, no shoulder. There is a smaller, parallel road though. It is very nice for cycling. It runs through the countryside, has trees which provide shadow in the summer, you can even hear the birds sing... and it has very low traffic, because you can drive much faster on the 2x2 lanes road.

Every time I see a cyclist candidate for suicide by lorry, I wonder... U NO HAVE GOOGLE MAPS?

So, if you're used to traveling by car, forget about the routes you know. The safest cycling route could be much shorter, perhaps a bit longer, but it is almost guaranteed to be completely different from your usual car route. Maybe you will have to walk down some stairs, or become a pedestrian for a few seconds to dodge a dangerous part. Try to consider all your options.

  What gear is essential for safety?

Besides the helmet, the most important is being noticed by drivers who are typing a text while lighting a cigarette. So that would be a safety fluorescent yellow or orange reflective vest on top of your normal clothes, plus a front and rear light.

Some drivers would need to get their eyes checked...

In my case, bright orange vest + bright red LED blinkie on the rear cut down the number of "I didn't see you!" from once a week to once a year. It works!

Besides that, check your local regulations for what is allowed or not. Feel free to ignore them (with moderation) if it is safer, for example it is usually much safer to be the last vehicle to cross an intersection instead of being the first with all the cars behind you.

Some other very important rules:

Stay one door length away from any stopped car.

From the inside of the car, it is difficult to see if a cyclist is coming, especially for someone who sits in the rear of the car, since they don't have a mirror. Also, no-one looks into the mirror.

Thus, keep your distances. That way when a door will inevitably open in front of you, you will not crash into it. You will simply ride past without having to swerve into traffic (and under a bus) to dodge the opening door.

For example, this bike lane is designed to kill you. You'd have to ride on the dashed line, or smash into a door.

Notice where danger might come from, and expect it.

A kid will always step right in front of you from behind that big truck which blocks your view (or behind anything else that blocks your view, bus stop, publicity panel, whatever). If there are buildings, then one of the doors will open and a lady pushing a stroller will come out. If there is a parking exit, then a car will come out. I've even had a car come out of the entry of the underground parking lot right in front of me, completely oblivious of the fact they were crossing a bike lane.

Thus your speed and position on the road should take this into account. Too far right and you will see the surprise a bit later, too fast and you won't have time to stop.

Someone will step from behind that bus stop and into your path:

...and when you swerve to avoid them, your wheel will hit the curb thoughtfully placed there by the designers, and you will crash. In this case, ride on the sidewalk on the left of the bike lane and give a wide berth to the bus stop. Yes it's illegal. Who cares. Always look out for the tiny stupid bits of curb that seem to grow out of the tarmac everywhere, if you take them at the wrong angle you will fly. Another reason why fat slick tyres are a nice thing for city riding.

This is an example of a crossing where drivers crossing your path won't see you because of a brick wall. Thus you must think for them.

Never sway to the left without looking

If you hear nothing, you still get run over by a Prius.

Thus, never ride to much on the right if there is a possibility that you will have to dodge something (like a pothole). It's OK to dodge the pothole by riding closer to the curb... but not the other way around unless you look over your shoulder for that sneaky Prius.
Make sure both brakes brake.
If you feel unsafe, pick another route.
If a car does not have its turn signals on, it will turn anyway
Sometimes, cycling infrastructure requires a full suspension MTB (or just use the road instead, seriously)

Sometimes, cycling infrastructure is designed to kill you.

In this case, you will need to look over your shoulder to check for cars coming from the left, while also dodging the bollards. Also, a dog will run into you from the right. If you're a beginner, dismount and cross as a pedestrian. Note the bollards are dark grey, not reflective, and thus rather difficult to see at night...

...also if you follow the arrow, you will end up into a curb. Bummer.

Picture this with pedestrians and other cyclists hiding the bollards. I would just ride on the road:

always mind the right hook

Anyway. Cycling is pretty safe if you are careful and aware of your surroundings. I gave these examples to make you focus on the issues of visibility, line of sight, murderous cycling infrastructure, and anticipating what will happen.

When there is an open garage door, a car will come out of it. Maybe not today... but if you adjust your speed and position as if it was going to happen, when it eventually does (and it will) you're not surprised and simply come to a soft stop. Riding safely like this might cost you a couple minutes... not a problem ;)

Have a nice ride!


Information about an old frame I'm looking for information about this frame- it's my trusty touring bike, and I've been gradually upgrading it - next up is to convert to 700c and a modern chainset (probably sora to keep costs down)

The frame is a Falcon, and has a decal saying 'falcon' on it, but I can't find any information about falcons anywhere - no mention on Sheldon Brown of a falcon model, and scant information on Google.

The frame is steel - 25 inch, lugged. It is pretty much the only original part of the bike!  It was originally a 10speed, down tube shifters, rear indexed, front friction.

So my questions:

Can anyone give me an approximate date for the frame?

Can anyone point me in the direction of a resource about falcons?

Are they a well known brand?

I'm thinking of getting the frame resprayed - is there anything I should bear in mind?

.

.

Falcon Cycles is a British Cycle manufacturer that is still going to this day, although under different ownership

See Falcon Cycles on Wikipedia


Recommended exercises for preparing to bicycle commute I'm female, in my early 40's, and out of shape, but I have the most perfect bike route to work and I want off the bus. I dislocated my right shoulder about four years ago and it's never been the same. My plan is for an upright, swept-back-handles e-bike (there's a nasty hill on the way home) to keep minimal pressure on my shoulder. The commute would be roughly five miles each way.

Being out of shape and overweight at this age and given the shoulder (specifically, the connecting tissues are especially weak along the top of my shoulder), what kind of exercises would you recommend to prepare me and strengthen the muscles I need for actually cycling? I have access to a good treadmill, top-of-the-line rowing machine, mediocre recumbent bike, and resistance bands. I used to exercise before the dislocation happened and the recumbent bike was for exercise while I couldn't jostle my shoulder.

I would see a rehabilitation center or certified trainer for exercise for the shoulder. It does not cost that much for 1 or 2 sessions to get a set of exercises.  You will need some light weights as fly will be an exercise.

I tore a rotator cuff and it was easier for me to ride my mtn as that angle was more comfortable.

I could ride after about 2 months but I could not really exercise as I could not pull.

I kind of had a sense of what to do at the gym. I was riding hard after about 6 months and pretty much heeled after a year.

In addition to the gym get on the bike and spin around.  Until you are strong you need to be concerned with a fall.  I can ride one handed safely so that was not an issue with me.


Carry road bike inside an SUV I'm in the process of getting a road bike. I already have a SUV with interior space large enough to carry a road bike. Worst case, I might have to remove the front tire and place it horizontally. Are there any problems in carrying a bike inside of an SUV by placing the bike horizontally?

There is no real problems other than things getting scratched or broken being shuffled around, derailleurs easily get caught on seat belts etc. There is however a very easy and affordable option to avoid this. (Assuming you have QR skewers)

Install a 2x4 or similar piece of wood. Then mount QR truck mounts to said 2x4. If you are going to be using your SUV to carry your bike very often this is the way to go if you don't want to spend the money on a roof or trunk rack. Generally, and depending on SUV make and model you can easily fit more than one bike using this method.


How do you determine which cassette lockring tool you need? I'm looking to order the tool to remove the cassette lockring on my bike, but I'm not sure which tool to get.  Is there a way to tell just by looking at it, or do I have to look it up using the make and model of the cassette?

EDIT

While I was looking for a more generic answer, specifically I have a Shimano CS-HG20-9 Cassette. Seems to be a freehub style, and probably takes FR-5 tool. However, I wanted to know if there was a way to know for sure that the tool will fit, so I don't waste time ordering the wrong tool.

In general you will need to know the brand of the hub and whether it's a freewheel of free hub

This page may help as a start:  http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/cassette-and-freewheel-removal-and-installation

Don't forget if it's a free hub you will need a chain whip tool as well as the correct cassette lock ring tool

Might be worth removing the rear wheel and taking it to your local bike shop if you're really not sure


How do you evaluate and choose chain lubricants? Terms such as wet/dry/xyz/winter/summer/autumn lubricants are not well defined. I find it very hard to determine which bottle is worth buying, spray, bottled, wax, parafin, purple, green, Y (other things) -- now, my brain encountered a stackoverflow.

Can one measure objectively which oil is more appropriate to a particular usage case?

Help Questions

Which properties to look for in chain oils?
Are there standard terms by which to judge chain oils?
Is there an index of different properties in oils that would cover things such as viscosity?

I must confess the topic is more like a research type of question and hence hard to attack directly. Things such as soft matter/dynamics research require computing power, numerical analysis, statistics and understanding of the inner structures. For unknown souls, you may like to watch directly into the dragon's mouth here. Do not think that this question is solved even if I accept an answer.

I've talked to a lot of folks about chain lube.  I've met quite a few people with strong opinions, and they vary wildly.  Some folks swear by paraffin wax based lubricants like the White Lightning line of lubricants.  Other folks swear by oil-based lubricants like Phil's Tenacious Oil.  Still others won't ride without a teflon based lubricant like Tri-Flow.  Everyone who swears by one of these three types of lubricants will tell you the others are terrible and will destroy your chain or some other nonsense.  The rhetoric is silly -- each of them works well enough.  I've had good and bad luck with different products in each category.

When it comes down to it, you just need to find a lubricant you like and use it.  The biggest deal, according to some very experienced mechanics I've talked to, is to keep your chain clean.  Your chain needs lubricant on it, but it doesn't take much to keep it lubed.   The big thing that destroys chains is dirt.  If you clean your chain frequently, it will last a lot longer.  When you clean it, you should be able to run your finger along the links (the top or bottom, not the sides) and have your finger come away with a little bit of lubricant on it.  If there's nothing there, you should lube your chain.  If you do this, what lube you choose won't matter nearly as much.

That said, there are some differences to take into account.  The two things I think most about are waterproofness, wetness, and application instructions.

Waterproofness: If you ride your bike in the rain, you need a lube that will resist washing off.  A lot of the inexpensive lubricants you can buy are not very waterproof, so by the end of your ride the whole thing has washed off.  That's bad for your chain.  If you look at the lubricants you're considering, the bottle should explicitly say if it's waterproof.  For this condition, Phil's Tenacious Oils work pretty well, as does Boshield's T-9 lube.
Wetness: Some lubricants leave the chain with a glistening wet surface.  When you put it on, you should be able to wipe this off a lot, but some lubes (like oils, and some of the teflon-based lubes) will leave an oily sheen whenever they are present.  This oily sheen can pick up dust from the environment.  If you're riding in a dusty environment you want something that will dry completely and still work.  For dry conditions, Tri-Flow makes a product that dries completely and leaves a teflon lubricating layer.  Boshield's T-9 is good here too -- it dries and leaves a parafin wax lubricating layer.
Application Instructions: Different lubricants require different rituals to apply them.  Some of them suggest you put them on the chain, wait 30 min, and wipe off the extra.  Others suggest you lube the chain and immediately wipe off the extra.  Some even suggest putting it on the chain, wiping off the extra, and then letting the bike sit in a warm space for 12 hours before use.  Depending on what you're doing, this may be impossible.  My girlfriend and I accidentally bought a bottle of the "sit in a protected place for 12 hours" stuff on a bike tour, and it was terrible.  We were camping, we had no protected place for it to sit.  When you apply the stuff "wrong", it works very poorly; we were applying it every 2 hours of riding, and still getting some nasty wear and squeaking.

So there you go: there's no one answer.  If there were, you wouldn't see so many products on the market.  If you give it some thought, and do some experimentation with a couple of the products that suit your needs best, you should settle on something you can use well, and go through slowly.  Chain lube doesn't need to be a big expense.


Novatec QR D812SB max speed? Can anybody tell the specification of Novatec QR D812SB? I'm looking to buy used wheelset using these hub. Can I use Shimano 11 Speed using this?
I am looking at this https://issuu.com/novatecwheels/docs/novatec_hubs_guide_2014 but not sure how to read it.

Based on other experience it should be able handle 11 Speed.
But because it's already discontinued, I've been able to negotiate to buy only the rim(WTB Frequency Team i23).


What is the actual width of a Panaracer Pasela tire? Not unlike other brands, I've heard that older Panaracer Pasela tires ran slim when compared to their advertised width, probably a marketing ploy to get the weight down for its size - but I've also heard and read (on the internets..) that recent production has changed such that the widths are wider, more true to spec.

The cool thing about the Paselas is that they come in so many sizes.  That's also the bad thing - none of the local bike shops carry them.  I'm trying to determine the widest tire I can fit in my bike.  Anyone out there with Paselas on your bike, can you report the width of the tire at its widest point, along with the spec'd width?  Even better would be someone with the Pasela TG 700c x 28 - the size I'm aiming for - that would more than awesome.

I just got an email from Harris Cyclery, and they said the plain Paselas (no Tour Guard etc.) run "pretty true to width".  Didn't get any measurements from them, though, and i don't have any Paselas myself.  I use 28 mm Panaracer Rolly Poly tires, and will soon be getting a set of 28 mm Grand Bois Cerf.

Would be nice to have a webpage of true width measurements of various popular tires on various popular rims.


Can I remove one spring from my suspension fork? my new below-entry-level MTB came with a basic coil-spring front suspension, with 2 super firm/rigid springs. 2 new soft springs would cost like $50, so I was wondering, can you simply remove a spring from one side, thus effectively halving the spring rate?

Look, I made a fancy picture too :)

No, i would not advise doing so. If it is a dual spring fork like your image illustrates one spring-less leg would put the entire thing under constant stress. This seems like a horrible idea all around. It may loosen up some after time, and you may be able to adjust some settings if that is the same fork in the image.

Does is have any knobs on the top of the legs like those in the image?

I would advise either buying softer springs if available, a new fork, or just learning to deal with it. Inexpensive fork are not really made to be adjusted or tampered with generally and i would not trust them to perform after doing so.


Can you open the trunk with the Saris Bones 2 trunk rack attached? I'm looking into purchasing a Saris Bones 2 bike rack for daily use (driving part way, then biking the rest of the way to avoid parking fees), and occasional use on long road trips. I intend to keep it on the car most of the time. This is a trunk-mounted rack that bears its load on the rear bumper on two rubber feet.

My question is, can the trunk be opened if the rack is still attached to the car? Obviously without a bike mounted on it (but if it works with a bike mounted too, bonus). Will the feet slide off the bottom of the trunk when it is lifted, or is there enough grip for it to stay?

Details: I have a 1999 Volkswagen Jetta. Because the trunk is held open by hydraulic shocks and not the balanced hinges of most American cars, the trunk does not swing freely and must be pulled open and closed manually. Shutting it requires a bit of force (maybe ten pounds), so it can bear a bit of weight without slamming shut.

Apparently the Saris Bones is a pretty well-known and popular rack, so I'm hoping somebody can give me their experiences with it. I've been searching online and can't find a straight answer.

I have a different Saris rack that has one top foot and two lower feet like the one you show, but I didn't find it on their website now.  It has six straps, two top, two side, and two bottom.  I use it on the hatch of a Lexus CT200h, same as Prius C.  The lower feet sit on the bumper for me, not on the hatch.  I can open the hatch when no bikes are installed with no problem.  In fact, I open the hatch to install the rack because the side and bottom clips are hard to get on with the hatch closed.  I had a previous Thule rack with the same experience except that you have to keep your head out of the way when closing the hatch.  All the feet of that one sat on the hatch.