How to reset my gears after the chain slips off? I don’t know much about bikes so whenever my chain slips off I always just force it onto the cog I can get it on.
I think this has been messing my gears up because I’m having issues where Cycling in some gears will feel the same, or in one gear the chain kind of jumps around and makes pedalling very jerky, so that gear is unusable.
I thought maybe the gears are not correctly set upon the cogs. I though I could realign my chain so that the chain is on the correct cogs. But I can’t find much info on the web on how to do that so I think I may be searching for the wrong things. Can anyone help?

Expanding on the comment by @DanielHicks, given the symptoms described, it sounds like you are talking about the shifting at the rear of the bike. Chances are that your rear derailer needs adjustment.
Hopefully you don't force the chain on the correct cog by hand - that's what the derailer is for! In any case, when you push a shift lever, it pulls or releases a set amount of cable, e.g. 2.7mm. This will move the derailer a set amount in either direction (not by the same amount of distance, but that's a long story). As they age, however, cables can stretch, and the cable housing will accumulate contamination inside. A click may not pull the cable the intended distance. You can follow the link in Daniel's comment to a guide as to how to adjust your derailer. Also, it's possible that the derailer's top and bottom limits will need adjustment - these two settings govern the range the derailer can travel, and the limits should align with the biggest and smallest cogs. You may not need to touch them if the bike was set up correctly. Anyway, wrongly adjusted cable tension will cause the chain to skip or slip as you described, or if you shift at the lever the chain may not actually make it to the correct cog.
If the chain is too badly worn, then even if the derailer is correctly adjusted, the chain will skip on some of the cogs. Unfortunately, this requires a replacement chain, and possibly a replacement cassette or freewheel. On more expensive groupsets, you should regularly check your chain for wear using a chain checker. If you replace the chain regularly when slightly worn, it will keep you from having to replace both chain and cassette. On cheaper groupsets, it can be acceptable to just let the chain and cogs wear out and change both - but this does accelerate wear on the front chainrings also. It will depend on your mileage and on your costs.
Reading the title, I initially thought you were asking to do what if your chain slipped off the front chainrings. This is likely not what you asked, but the advice here may be generally useful. Sometimes, when shifting to the little ring, you drop your chain off the inner chainring. This can be exacerbated by bumpy terrain. If this happens, you can often shift back to the big chainring and keep pedaling. The chain will often re-engage (if the front derailer was set up correctly). If you are on a steep hill and this happens, then next time you should learn to shift to the small ring earlier - this is not intended as snark, it merely is one of the many small skills we have to acquire as cyclists. Also, if the front derailer's travel limit is wrongly adjusted, this may exacerbate chain drops. Last, as you are able, learn to slightly ease off the pedals as you make a front shift. This reduces the risk of dropping a chain.
Occasionally, you may lose the chain off the big ring, to the outside. This probably means your front derailer's travel limits were wrongly adjusted, but in any case, you can sometimes recover if you shift to the inner ring and keep pedaling (i.e. the obverse of the recovery procedure for chain drop on shifting to the inner ring). Many big chainrings have a pin sticking out - that's called a chain drop pin, and it often catches a chain that falls off.


Changing my crank on a track bike and it wont turn I bought a new crank for my bike, when fitted tight the crank is stiff to turn as I think it is rubbing against the bottom bracket housing.

Any advice on what to do, have I bought the wrong crank?

The problem was embarrassingly having a JIX crank and an iso BB. Seemed to fit fine. You live and learn


Will an Shimano M8000 brake lever blade fit a M8100? Will an Shimano M8000 brake lever blade fit a M8100? I broke my left blade, it's a Shimano XT M8100. I can only seem to find the replacement M8000 part. I don't want to replace the whole unit, seems like a waste.

Thank you!

EDIT, pics make everything better:

Here's the original M8100 lever blade:

and the M8000 lever blade:

Ok this is exciting, I called around locally bikes owned bikes shops and asked if they had some scrap parts laying around. One of them had a Shimano SLX m7000 left brake assembly. I paid for the part and disassembled the lever. It is an exact fit. So, you can take a blade from the m7000 hydraulic series and put it on the newest m8100 hydraulic series! Fits like a glove.
KEEP all the parts from the existing brake handle! Use the existing spring, newer pin, newer retention screw, and newer rubber plug/bung!
Reassembling is tricky. I made a temporary paper pin to hold the assembling together. Then I put the assembly into place, then used the real metal pin to push out the paper pin.


Cold causing squeak in disc brake system? I took my bike in recently for the usual periodic overhaul. One set of brake pads was replaced, brake cables (relatively new) were lubed, all that good stuff.

Since then, both front and back brakes (so, one with brand-new pads, one with older) have developed a periodic once-a-pedal-cycle squeak... but only when it's cold out (roughly, freezing or under). I took the bike inside today, and it didn't squeak at all on the start of my ride afterwards, but was just starting to squeak again as I got home.

On the back brake (worse squeaker, new pads), I can stop the squeak while riding if I squeeze the brake just a tiny bit -- not quite enough to engage it.

Bike has non-hydraulic disc brakes, carbon drive with Alfine IGH. Brake effectiveness is fine.

Ideas for what's causing this and how I can make it stop? It's maddening.

Similar but not identical: How do I get rid of the noise on my Hayes Stroker Trail brakes

From my experience, different brakes work in different condition. Some might scream like mad in certain weather. My brakes scream when its raining while my friends bike's brakes scream everyday everytime. If this is not the case with your brakes, give it some time to break in or check if there is any oil substance on the contact surface.

Hope it helps !


Bent shift lever on Shimano Deore MTB shifter I bent the shifter lever on my Deore shifter mech  and the bottom lever that would shift me into an easier gear is running into the lever above it when the bottom lever gets pressed in. If I try and move the top lever out of the way, I can successfully move the bottom lever and get clean shifts with the crisp click every time. Otherwise the bottom lever pushes on the top lever and the shift doesn’t complete. Hopefully the pictures show the misalignment.

Anyone have any good ideas on getting the lever bent back straight? I’m a decently strong guy and I’m trying pretty damn hard to straighten it back out and it’s not moving. I tried removing the bottom cover from the mech as well to use pliers to try and straighten it out to no avail.

It’s the bottom lever that is bent right?

You are just going to have to find some way to apply leverage to the thumb lever, I.e., bigger wrench or pliers.

An approximately 30cm length of metal or stout plastic tube that just slips over the shift lever is ideal.

Be aware that the aluminum lever is going to be weaker at the spot it was bent and bent back.


Does pedaling while standing damage my knees even if I don't feel pain? I am in my mid forties and ride a seven speed cruiser or maybe mountain bike. I enjoy pedaling while standing, and I don't really care about speed or efficiency. When there is even the slightest uphill grade and I stand. I get in a high gear and enjoy slowly swaying back and forth and using my arms. I've never really measured my cadence, but I'm sure it is sub 60.

I am putting some longer rides in reasonably hilly country with smooth roads. My knees don't ache afterward. Sometimes my shoulders ache a bit after the ride but doesn't feel damaging. I have been doing hills/grades in top gear as my own "check off the list" challenge.

If proper form (for standing at least) and in good shape, am I abusing my body/knees?  Up to now they feel great, but I would hate to have "reality" crashing upon my knees someday.

Standing to pedal won't damage your knees. Supporting and propelling you when you are standing is exactly what knees are designed to do.

If anything standing is better for your knees than sitting. When you are sitting down their motion is limited because the top and bottoms of your legs are 'fixed' in position. When you stand your knees and hips can move freely which is a more natural movement. Watch a child riding a bike and you'll notice they naturally spend a lot of time standing up.

Standing pedalling does require more core and upper body strength than seated pedalling and maybe that's why your shoulders are aching check out BikeJames.com if you are interested in exercises help with that.

As an aside standing pedalling is less efficient than seated pedalling but it lets you put out more power. If you compare top level riders in pretty much any form of competitive cycling you'll see that they spend a lot more time standing up than a comparable recreational rider.


Bike axle block/reverse chain tug? I just recently obtained a classic style bike frame that has horizontal fork-ends (people call them dropouts but they're different).

I wanted to use hollow axles and skewers on this bike but I think that the skewers will slip. I've seen those chain tug screws but what I'm concerned is the axle slipping out of the fork-end, not slipping in. (which is prevented by pulling the axle out, tensioning the chain)

Normally in single speed bikes, it's the chain that prevents the axle from slipping out of the frame. It's different in my case, as I will be fitting a derailleur on this. (the chain is long, and the derailleur tension might not be enough to keep the axle in)

Is there some sort of reverse chain tug or an axle block for a bike that prevents the axle from moving both ways?

Nearly all mountain bikes from early 1990's to early 2010s (which is 2 decades) and even now many low cost bikes, use Hollow axle QR on an open dropout without any concern. Sure the opening faces down, but many MTB's spend plenty of time with wheels in the air.....

When pedaling the wheel is pulled forward with extreme force. When not pedaling, the action on the axle moves to a very small upward pull (depending on the derailleur angle). The QR would have to be extremely loose for the wheel to drop out.

Is it a concern - for a manufacturer of frames intended to run as you desire, the lawyers would be insisting on lawyer lugs to protect against liability when someone does not do up the QR. However, if the QR is done up, its not a concern at all.


Product compatability (bottom bracket and frame) I love biking, but I'm really no mechanic. I currently have a Shimano M6100 groupset (Deore) with me. A friend is going to give me a good deal on a carbon MTB frame, but I'm worried about compatability, particularly the bottom bracket (BB-MT500-PA). The frame specs describes it as "PF 30 bottom bracket" and "46*73 mm" with the Greek fie or phi symbol in between. Would that work or fit?

Bottom bracket standards are numerous and confusing. Have a look at https://wheelsmfg.com/bb-standards. That's the best online resource I have found so far that explains them.
PF30 bottom brackets are designed for a 30mm crank axle. Shimano cranks have a 24mm axle. What you need is a bottom bracket that adapts between the PF30 specification frame and the Shimano crank. An example is https://wheelsmfg.com/pressfit-30-to-outboard-bottom-bracket-for-24mm-cranks-shimano-black.html. Other manufacturers make similar products.


Is WTB Tubeless Compatible System rim incompatible with clinchers? WTB is offering a rim/rim design described as conforming to a standard, the Tubeless Compatible System.  The rim has a rounded well over the spokes along the center.  Is this rim incompatible with clincher tires and tubes?  And is there anything special here compared to other tubeless designs?

Here's the description: https://www.wtb.com/pages/tcs

Here's what they say:

  Our TCS™ (Tubeless Compatible System) technology is the solution for
  riders seeking high performance, lightweight and durable mountain bike
  wheel systems that are easy to install, fun to ride and simple to
  service. TCS tires are the first sealant tubeless tires to receive
  Mavic UST® certification, which means a proven fit between sealant
  tubeless tire and rim. Say goodbye to air compressors, tire levers and
  pinch flats. Say hello to your full riding potential.

All tubeless compatible (aka "tubeless ready" or just "tubeless") rims and tires can be used with tubes. It would be impractical even for bike industry standards to disallow people from putting in a tube when something goes wrong, or even buy a modern wheel/rim if they weren't interested in tubeless.

The main special thing about the TCS rims compared to many others is, as their ad copy points out, they have a certified UST standard bead seat. The idea there, not to give an opinion either way, is that in conjunction with a UST tire the bead interface meets a designed standard and can have greater security than the alternative of just using parts that are more arbitrarily designated as "tubeless compatible," in other words every non-UST MTB tire and rim on the market. You can still use whatever tires on TCS rims, tubeless or not.


How to remove Race Face crankset? I have a Race Face Ride XC single ring crankset that I stripped out the pedal threads on one arm.  I am trying to remove the crankset, I have followed the instructions that came with the crankset, and it is not budging.  I have a Park Tool CWP-7 and have tried to use it (following any instructions I could find) and got nowhere.  I have soaked it in WD-40 for a week and have pounded on it with a hammer, and its still stuck.  There is supposed to be an "extractor bolt" but the only piece I have to "extract" is the end-cap bolt on the drive-side.

What am I doing wrong? Do I need a different crank puller?

The Park Tool CWP-7 is the tool for this job. Remove the outer cap using an allen key and then install the CWP-7. There is no need to tighten it ultra hard. Then use an allen key on the CWP-7 and start tightening the bolt. The extractor will "penetrate" the crank and the crank arm will start detaching itself from the other crank arm which also has the spindle.


Items required in a World travelling bike? I saw a fascinating bicycle today with "world traveler" hand-written on the frame. I was awe-struck by this bike. The odometer showed over 2000 km ridden, in freezing winter temperatures. The plastic rear fender looked like it had been hit like by a cannonball. Its Brooks saddle (perhaps this model) and handlebars were very old and worn-out.

The bike had a sturdy headlight in the front, no disc brakes (a good decision, it just had easily fixed rim-brakes), a lock mounted to the frame by tubes wrapped around it, as well as front and rear racks.

There were also many oddities like a Hamex child-carrying-seat without the chair and a metallic chuck under saddle with a hole (perhaps to move something or to attach something).

It did not shine in glory, but it surely is a very well-used bike.

On such a bike, one would have to balance utility, weight, and durability. What do bikes being ridden around the world look like? How should a bike outfitted for an around-the-world tour be equipped?

Please explain why bikes on long-term tours have the equipment they have. I need to know this because I want to understand the differences between different items used on long-term tours.

Resources

spare master links (good insurance in the case of a chain break)
cable-actuated disc brakes or rim-brakes, more here
a lot of good stuff here for traveling

On a very long tour such as this, the cyclist will want to be as self-sufficient as possible. Bike components and accessories are often a trade-off between weight and cost, but touring brings durability and ease of repair to the forefront.

This kind of riding is often called loaded touring, and has the strong implication that the cyclist is carrying everything needed such as food, camping equipment, tools, spare parts, maps, and sometimes more. There are other styles of touring such as supported touring, but I'm guessing the cyclist whose bike you saw wasn't doing this. Features of a bike suitable for extended loaded touring include:

A comfortable saddle may well be the most important component of a diamond-frame touring bike. The cyclist will be spending many long days, weeks, months, or even years sitting on that saddle. The Brooks B-17 is an extremely popular saddle, and is common on touring bikes. Brooks has made leather saddles in England for many years. Leather saddles are comfortable because they conform to the wearer's butt over time, and may not be comfortable until they have several hundred miles on them. If you see a bike with an old, ratty-looking leather saddle, there's a good chance you're looking at a well-loved and well-used bike.
Touring bikes need to be durable. This is a reason that steel frames are favored. Steel is flexible, strong, and can be fixed by welding. Steel frames are sturdy enough for racks to be installed on them. Other frame materials, such as aluminum and carbon fiber, are lighter than steel but aren't as strong. There are touring bikes made from aluminum, some of them good ones, but carbon fiber cannot at present take the weight of 30-60 pounds of panniers and camping equipment. Steel is also inexpensive. Unfortunately, steel is heavier than other frame materials. (This summary is a significant oversimplification.)
Handlebars on a touring bike are a less-critical component, but bars that are a little wider than on a typical road bike are common. Since the posture of the rider on a touring bike will be oriented more towards comfort than on a road bike, riders often favor a more upright posture and handlebars are therefore set higher up. Handlebars may have room for accessories such as computers and lights.
Wheels that are stronger are best, since a bike that is carrying a lot of weight will tend to break more spokes. A high spoke-count usually means a stronger wheel. 700c wheels are common on touring bikes, but 26" rims are more commonly found worldwide simply because of the availability of 26" tires and tubes worldwide.
Tires will be selected for durability rather than speed. A tire that is faster but is prone to flats will slow the rider down more than a tire that is more durable.
Navigation hardware can include a standard bike computer with an odometer paired with maps, a GPS with routing capabilities, or even both.
Sturdy racks are important. Weaker, inexpensive racks will bend and break under a heavy load. Most racks used for touring are sold with a maximum weight capacity figure. Tubus makes an excellent selection of touring racks.
Panniers will be selected based on durability. The question of whether a rack will have many small pockets or one large one (i.e., a simple sack with attachment hooks) is a matter of packing style and personal preference. Ortlieb and Arkel are two higher-end touring pannier manufacturers.
Drivetrain components should be durable and easily fixed on the road. For this reason, internally geared hubs are seldom used, even though they are generally more trouble-free. A traditional derailer can be fixed at the side of the road in many cases. A gear ratio should be selected that allows for hill-climbing, even at the expense of sacrificing speed. Bar-end shifters are often favored, because they're simpler to fix than more complex shifters.
Suspension is often not used on a touring bike, since they are less efficient at translating pedaling into forward motion. However, there are offroad touring bikes. Suspension also makes it difficult to attach racks, particularly rear suspension.
Brakes are usually rim brakes, for similar reasons as drivetrain components: they can be fixed with few tools. However, disc brakes are starting to be more common on touring bikes.

Common touring bikes include the Surly Long-Haul Trucker and the Trek 520. (The Novara Randonee is essentially a clone of these bikes.) Rivendell and Bike Friday also make well-regarded touring bikes; there are no doubt many other manufacturers of sturdy frames. Steel hardtail (non-suspension) mountain bike frames can be converted into touring bikes relatively easily.

There's an old touring adage: You can tour on any bike. Carbon-fiber racing bikes can pull a trailer full of gear. The above outline of what's helpful on a touring bike is what I would consider a best-case scenario, but is by no means mandatory.

I'll close this with a picture of one of my touring bikes.


Can anyone help me with identify this Giant bike? I need a name for this bike so I can look into it. It's going to be sold to me but I don’t want to get ripped off. Thanks!

You should ask the seller for all the information you need about the bike, because a) they should know more than we do and b) if they can't give it to you readily then there is more risk that it is stolen. These things do happen!

Don't tell the seller this, but the name is usually written on the frame. If they can't manage that much then consider walking away.


Cable Stop For Internal Cable Routing All of a sudden, I desperately need those, but I'm failing to find it on ebay or anywhere else. Maybe I call them wrong? Do they have a specific title or something?

Thanks for help guys, you're the best!

UPDATE: The frame is made of steel not carbon (as shown on the image below). It's a simple steel frame that has holes for internal cable routing.

As all the comments have stated most appear to be brand/ model specific. Since it is an older frame it is possible that it didn't have them. Some older frames snaked the entire cable housing thru the frame. The stop was on the component, (brake, derailleur or frame mounted cable stop). If you search for custom bike frames builders you may find some local sources. If you don't have your heart set on internal cables, you can use bolt on frame mounted stops. You will need to measure the frame tube diameter and figure out if you need single, double or triple stops.


Are there any alternatives to Strava? I have been using Strava for the last year to track my daily commutes, mountain bike rides and hikes.  Unfortunatly, I have found that Strava appears to be hiding my data from me.  It seems like I only have access to a small number of recent rides (maybe 10?) and I can't search for rides based on name.

I would like to switch to something that will not hide my data from me and will allow me to:

Record rides & hikes
View rides & hikes on a map afterwards
Browse my rides/hikes
Search the titles for specific things
See things like yearly totals, maybe average speed
Allow me to export my data to some open format (geoJson is preferred, but GPX works too)

Bonus points to any product that:

Is free or has a one time cost
Has clear info on how they are using your data
Is opensource

We don't recommend products here, Mapmyride is what i and several friends use though, it's free. Does not allow exportation as far as i know.

That is a lot of wants out of an app. You might be better pressed to look into the high end gps enabled cycling computers rather than a phone based app.

Strava is one of the most popular for a reason, it offers more than most app type software. Assuming you don't, If you pay for the premium Strava i believe it unlocks a bit more usage data but i would read up on it before jumping in.

Often times apps ask for permissions for things that won't really effect your personal info, for example if it wants your FB friends list it will automatically link to your friends that have that app as well. Mapmyride gives me notifications that "Bob just rode 6.8 miles" etc.


What is the the difference between the new MTB Altus, Alvio, Acera? What is the difference between these derailleurs. I want to change my derailleur and don’t know which one is better.

In increasing quality (and expense) is Altus, Acera Alivio.

In real world conditions, there is not a lot of difference between each set. Experienced riders will probably notice that Alivio is better than Altus, but other factors such as shifters, cables and drive train wear make a larger difference

General advice I give to  people is buy the right component - i.e. that matches the number of speeds and cage length - that's on the largest discount but still in your budget.


Converting my Raleigh Equipe to a single speed: Can I use a conversion kit? I am a complete bike novice and am trying to convert my raleigh equipe road bike into a single speed (after a plastic bag blew out my rear derraileur).

I have purchased a single speed conversion kit: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B01LWVTCS0/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 but have not been able to fit it onto my wheel.

If I purchase a shimano cycling freehub (something like this: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00G98QQU0?pf_rd_r=H50JHNAAZCRQN6SV9FQM&pf_rd_p=e632fea2-678f-4848-9a97-bcecda59cb4e), would I be able to attach it to my wheel, having removed the freewheel, so the single speed kit would work?

Photo of the wheel and removed free wheel attached.

No, you have a freewheel and the conversion kit you have bough is for a freehub. The freehub you have linked to will not fit your freewheel.

I don't know if you can get freewheel kits with spacing.  Most freewheel kits I have seen have the cog close the hub flange - the chain line would be wrong on your wheel.


how wide 28" can be ? or how to beat mountain trails with 28" I have an hybrid bike with 28 in wheels and 40 mm wide tires. The problem is that the recommended pressure is 70 psi. They are quite thin compared to mountain bike tires and that pressure makes me feel every stone on the way. They have terrible grip making the bike slip and the wheels to deviate on any stone bigger that a pingpong ball.

In resume I feel really uncomfortable in that terrain. This problems can be solved if I go with some speed; I can just jump over the obstacles. But this is impossible in group rides as they will be going far slower (also that speed breaks don't work well: my bike just slips on stones). Some of my mates insist that I could mount wider tires without any problem. But I didn't find any wider ones on the internet. Do they even exist ? Also I really doubt that my wheels can handle wider tires as far I am aware they are made for a small variation in wide.

EDIT (looks like there is more that enought room):

Edit2: I got 1.95 tires but the back one is hitting the frame partially it is because it is to big and partially it is because I have to true the wheel but even true they would be millimetres to frame. I cant understand why it is so much bigger!it should be only 10mm wider.

Ok so I presume your tyres are 700x40C. First of all, that pressure sounds high - is it recommended or max pressure? I am sure you could decrease it a fair bit, although if you decrease it excessively you run the risk of pinch puntures.

If you do want to change your tyres, 700c road rims and 29" MTB rims are the same diameter, so you can use, for example, a 29x2.0" tyre - if your rim is a suitable width - see the table at the bottom of this page for recommended rim/tyre width combinations

EDIT: As armb has quite rightly pointed out, you will also need to check for sufficient frame clearance if fitting wider tyres - and remember you'll need to allow some space for mud accumulation if riding off-road


Increase bicycle resistance? I'm riding a lot with my girlfriend. We just ride - no training or such. Yet I do like to train. The intensity I normally ride with her is not enough for any training benefit. I guess adding weight could be an option, but the problem is that we sometimes go on long flat routes so the added weight would have to be uncofortably huge to compensate (I don't think carrying a bag of bricks is a solution). Using brakes all the time is tedious and potentially unsafe but also will produce uneven power outputs resulting in uncofortable speed changes, also using up brake pads swiftly. Is there a way to make pedalling less efficient without making rides too uncomfortable/unsafe?
Bicycle type is gravel 46-30 / 11-34 with a very relaxed geometry

Get a tandem. Wherever your relationship is going, it'll get there faster, and together, on a tandem.


Re-use Shimano quick link? Can I use the quick link from my old shimano chain to my new shimano chain? Or the old link will cause any problem? I have to say that no damage is visible  in that old quick link. Both 2x11, same model.

If I understand correctly you want to buy a new chain and re-use your previous masterlink. I'd strongly advise against.

The reason for NOT re-using an old masterlink with a new chain makes sense. Chains are commonly replaced because they are worn. The links are lengthened with time and above a 1% lengthening the chain is considered over the top. The masterlink is worn at the same rate. Now if you use an old masterlink on a new chain you'll have ~110 links of the correct length and one that is longer. The smallest annoyance may residde in a noisy drivetrain. The worst will have the chain skip at each time it reaches the sprockets and once again it reaches the rings.


How to address a wobbly cassette I've had this mountain bike a little over 2 yrs. I had it serviced when I bought it because it was recommended even though it's not an expensive bike.  One day the chain slipped off multiple times which had never happened. Once I flipped it over I noticed the cassette was wobbly. Would this be an expensive repair and what exactly should I be looking at to have replaced?

Could be a number of things:

Cassette is loose on the freehub body. If the cassette lockring has come loose the cassette sprockets can slide axially on the freehub body and possible 'rock' on it a little. If you take the wheel out of the frame you should be able to see of the lockring is loose quite easily. To tighten it you need a chainwhip, lockring tool and a big wrench. It would not cost much to have local bike repair shop do this.

Freehub body is loose on the hub: If it looks like the cassette is firmly on the freehub body, but is moving relative to the rest of the hub, the body may be loose, or one of the bearings supporting it is damaged. To tighten the freehub you'd need to get the cassette off, and then figure out how your particular freehub is secured. Again, your local bie repair shop can do this for you.

Possibly the axle or hub bearings are broken. With the wheel in the bike try pushing and pulling laterally on the wheel rim. If there damage to the bearings there will be movement.

If the freehub or hub bearings are damaged on an inexpensive bike the best thing to do is just get a whole new wheel. Inexpensive wheels are not worth rebuilding to replace the hub as the cost of rebuilding will be a significant fraction of the cost of a new wheel.


Warranty on lock damaged during attempted theft Someone attempted to steal my girlfriend's bike tonight and they damaged the lock.

Do you guys know if we can use the warranty to get it exchanged? The lock has a 2 year warranty and I'm planning to take it to Decathlon to check what they can do but in the meanwhile is there anything we could do?

Warranties exist to protect you, the consumer, against defects in materials or workmanship, not against deliberate damage. The purpose of a bike lock is to help avoid your bike being stolen, so if it has prevented a theft of the bicycle then it has done its job well.

Perhaps you can ask Decathlon and report back to us by answering your own question for future readers, that would be most useful.

You would have to explore if the damage is covered by any of your insurances, check local laws on any time limits to report the attempted theft by (to police etc).

Sometimes lock companies will offer private schemes to replace stolen goods, like this number one Google hit, but you would probably know about such a scheme if it was advertised on your product and you'd likely need to have registered the purchase.

In this case, you bought a lock to protect the bike, and it worked, which is great.


Would "fat" tires help me learn skinnies/log rides? I'm relatively new to mountain biking, and am considering purchasing a new, less expensive bike to help me learn to ride wooden obstacles (skinnies, curved bridges, etc.) without fear of damaging my "good" mountain bike in a hard fall.

I've also wanted to pick up a snow bike (or "fat bike"), but can't really justify the cost considering my area gets, at most, 3 or so snowstorms per year. But looking at these two issues together makes me wonder: would the wider, lower-pressure tires on a snow bike make it easier to learn correct technique & feel for riding on slick, wooden obstacles? What would be the benefits/drawbacks of very wide vs. standard-width MTB tires in this scenario?

From my experience, no they would not. Have you ever watched anyone ride a fatbike? Their front tire wobbles all over the place, the extra weight from the heavy tires makes fine-adjustments much more difficult, putting extra fatigue on your body. That being said, training with a bike that's not suited for skinnys will make riding them easier when you hop on a bike that is suited for skinnys.

Tires don't help you balance on a bike as much as frame geometry does, particularly head-tube angle. I've found that down hill bikes with a more aggressive head-tube angle are actually more difficult to balance on skinnys. You don't need a fancy bike to ride skinnys unless you're doing big drops, if you're worried about wrecking your bike while learning, then get a cheap yardsale bike that you can trash and practice with. Also, wide low-pressure tires make it easier to slip off the sides of the especially narrow skinnys, I've got scars on my face to prove it.

When I was a kid we would practice our balance in our backyards, riding on 2x4's just laying on the ground or across a couple logs, or by trying to stay on the painted lines on the roads, or riding on the curb of the sidewalk. Slow races are great for balance too. We'd race like 10 feet, and the last one across the line won. Basically, whoever was the best at brake stands had the advantage.


Why do my pedals shake and pop? I just purchased a cruiser bike online that I had to assemble.

When I rode it for the first time, I notice my pedals felt shaky, whether pedaling or coasting, and when I did pedal every few seconds they made a crack/pop.  I don't feel anything abnormal when this happens.

Turned the bike over, and I noticed the chain shakes too. It is tight, but the wheel looks as if it is up as far as it can go- it looks like if I adjusted it further to loosen the chain, I'd be at risk of it falling off.

I opened up the wheel sprocket- no broken ball bearings

Does any one know why this is happening, and if its an easy fix or defective bike that I need to return?

The popping sound could be coming from the chain not lineing up properly on the freewheel. This can happen if the chain is either bent and or twisted or if the chain is not the proper size for the sprocket. More than likely it is a bend or twist in the chain.


Which way does this ring go on the left crank of this Shimano deore hollow tech external bottom bracket crank? On the inside of the left crank there is a small ring. The picture shows where the ring is meant to go.

The ring is smooth / flat on one side. The picture shows the flat side which seems to have been rubbed silver by friction. The flat side seems to be made of metal.

The other side has a raised ridge on the inner circumference. The raised ridge has a rubber/ plastic feel.

What is the correct way to install this ring?

(Please excuse the low resolution images. It's the best this phone can do.)

Update

It's possible that I previously installed this ring the wrong way and that's perhaps why the one side is polished. The ring seems to fit best with the ridged-side towards the bearing.

The side that you say has been rubbed silver by friction is like that on a new ring (I've got two, bought from SJS cycles). From what I can tell from other posts it's intended to stop water and crud getting into the bearing. That would suggest that the non-silver side, the ridged side, should go next to the bearing because this is like an oil seal (although there appears to be no rotational movement between the two). The silver side goes into the recess on the crank arm. The washer is a tightish (waterproof) fit on the spindle so together this should stop water getting into the bearing from the spline on the crank arm.

Just to clarify, there is probably no rotational movement between the crank arm and the face of the bearing - the inner part of the bearing appears to be free to rotate with the arm and the spindle. However, there must be a seal within the bearing to seal the rotating inner part from the fixed outer part.


Is there an optimal postion for SPD cleats? I bought some SPD clipless pedals and shoes at the beginning of the season, and I want to make sure I'm getting the most out of them.  There is quite a bit of distance I can move the cleat forwards and backwards on the shoe.

Is there an optimal position for the cleat?
Are there certain positions better suited towards hill climbing or riding mostly on flat land?
Should I just try a bunch of different positions and see which is most comfortable for me?

A lot of questions I guess, just looking for general recommendations on placement.  The cleat is currently in the middle, and I don't have any real "problems" with them, like pain or fatigue, I'm just wondering if my setup is optimal.

You pedal with the ball of your foot and this should placed directly above the pedal axle. However, because you move your foot in a ~170mm radius circle altering the angle of your foot, 'directly above' moves back and fore through the pedal stroke. Getting the ball of the foot behind the axle is not desirable as you are then using the toes rather than the ball (or arch) of the foot to pedal with. Therefore, in practice, you need to have the ball of your foot approximately 10mm forward of the axle.

Placing the ball of the foot 10mm forward of the axle helps during the bottom of the power stroke. You can push the pedal backwards through the dead spot. It also helps at the top of the stroke. IMHO if the toes are having to do all the work (and the cleats are too far forward) then you can tell on a climb - the toes want to give up on you, almost dangerously so...

Alignment is also important. Ideally you want the cleats to be pointing forward with the left/right bolts in the same positions in their little slots on each shoe. This can feel 'pigeon toed' when you get on the bike and it does no harm to angle in the heels so long as there is clearance between them and the cranks. We all have variations in gait and this needs to be accommodated with a little bit of adjustment.

On the subject of natural variations, we all have one foot larger than the other, sometimes this can be some margin, in many cases this can be a whole E.U. shoe size. In practical terms, if placing the cleat so that the ball of the foot to be 10mm forward of the axle, there should be no need to adjust relative cleat positions.

As for determining exactly where the ball of the foot is, with an already worn shoe you can take the insole out and line it up with the sole. Otherwise you have to take an educated 'feel' from looking at your feet on the pedals.


Tyre bulge when inflated, new Got some new bicycle tyres yesterday (CONTINENTAL COMFORT CONTACT 700 x 32c CITY COMMUTER ROAD) The tyre I fitted to rear wheel seems to have a bulge in sidewall. Took it off, looks ok inside. It feels perhaps a bit thinner where its bulging. The tube seems a bit big for the tyre but I doubt this could cause it?!? and the front is ok with same tube. Previous tyres were 35c.

The bulge is perhaps 10mm diameter and 1-2mm deep. Not very visible but immediately feel it if rotating the wheel.

They were from an ebay shop and arrived twisted / folded in half so as to be much smaller to post - wire bead type. They seem to spring back into normal shape when unpacking them, no visible damage. I assume the folding may have stretched/torn a cord?

Edit, I did remove, inspect, rotate and refit the tyre. The bulge was in the same part of the tyre, so its not the tube. I inflated to about 65psi.  Recommended on the label is 70, max 85.

I did see the other post, but that is showing a used, damaged tyre, rather than a brand new one. Thanks I will be sending it back.

Something is wrong with the casing. Not safe to ride. Sometimes the come from the factory that way, who knows why. Send it back and get it exchanged. Don't risk a catastrophic blowout.


Which Masi model is this? I'm going to check out this Masi and the owner doesn't know which year or model this is. Can someone please help identify this bike?

It looks a lot like a Masi Speciale Fixed LTD
This is a picture of a 2010 model

Link to the 2010 catalog
Link to the Masi catalog page


Is it possible to fit an internal dropper to 2x bike I'm thinking about getting a XC bike and fitting a dropper.

I've got my eyes on some of the cubes, ie
https://www.cube.eu/uk/2017/hardtail/reaction/cube-reaction-gtc-2x-carbonnflashred-2017/

It's got a narrow seat post (27.2mm) and the only cheap dropper I can find to fit it needs to be internally routed. (http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/brand-x-ascend-27-2-cx-dropper-seatpost/rp-prod159175)

Is it going to be possible to internally route this , when the bike has a 2x not a 1x setup?

Being able to route an internal dropper is nothing to do with 1x/2x, and more to do with if the frame manufacturer has provided the facility to do so.  There will usually be a dedicated port in the seat tube.

As demonstrated by this Canyon Spectral (picture linked from Pinkbike):


is it possible to go and install a suspension onto a bike that dosen't have any suspension? I have a huffy 3.0 fortress mountain bike, I have to ride on some bumpy roads and trails, I have a friend who has a bike that has suspension. I rode it once and it was very smooth when I went over a speed bump. So I wondered if it was possible to install a suspension onto my bike. I tried to search it up, but I didn't find anything helpful. So I decided to see if any of you can answer that.

You could add a suspension fork (this bike seems to come with a very low quality one) or suspension seatpost or suspension stem.

On such a low end bike though, only the suspension seatpost would make sense -- for the other options, you're more likely better off getting a new bike.

Another option is to get the biggest tires that fit and run them at a low pressure, which should provide some shock absorption. But this bike wasn't intended for use off-road really -- just to be ridden a few miles on road.


Any tricks to disassembling an Easton R4 rear hub? We're looking at a Raleigh (very) lightweight bike with Easton R4 hubs on it.

The rear (apparently part # HD10M1732 on the hub) has a broken spoke on the non-drive side.  To access the spoke ends we must remove the cone-shaped piece (#2 in the diagram) on the non-drive side.  I got the thing most of the way apart but couldn't get the end cap (#1) off.

Before I apply a bigger hammer (uh, I mean wrench) to it I wanted to make sure this piece comes off as a standard right-hand thread.  Thinking about it, one would observe that the twist on the main shaft (#6) is clockwise, as seen from the drive side, so, viewed from that direction it imply a "standard" thread.  But precession would imply the opposite.  However, I don't see how precession could be a factor here.

Has anyone here ever taken one of these apart?

Summary of findings:

All threads (on this version of the hub) are "normal" right-hand threads.
The non-drive-side end cap (#1) and cone-shaped preload adjuster (#2) are both threaded onto the same threaded section of the axle (#6).
Assuming that the preload adjuster can be adjusted, the "handedness" of that end of the axle can be double-checked by observing which way the preload adjuster moves when you twist it.
The whole thing (other than the sprocket cluster) comes apart with allen wrenches -- both end caps and both ends of the axle have a hexagonal interior, to accept an allen wrench.  (The sprocket cluster uses a conventional cassette tool, which is not needed to access the spokes or bearings.)
The only non-allen wrench you need is the (larger than normal) cone wrench (19mm?) for the preload adjuster.
But note that the wrench you need for the drive end of the axle is quite large -- I'm thinking it was 6mm.
To remove the non-drive-side components you'll probably need to first remove the drive-side end cap and use the large allen wrench in the end of the axle.  Though you could get lucky and have the non-drive-side cap come off first when you first twist both caps.

Yes, this is a horrible hub due tot he cone shaped pieces you are hammering on. You need to go to the shop and buy one 19mm (I believe) cone wrench. It'll solve everything. Also, buy another set of these cone pieces as they are what adjust the bearing tension (they are sealed bearings) and you have likely damaged them.

If there is no indentation for a cone wrench, which was the case on mine, I used a rubber mallet and taped at the cones obliquely as possible till they were off. The new ones will have the cones wrench fitting.

Easton had a problem with these cones coming loose. The way that mechanics handled it was to use loctite, which held them in place but made it insanely hard to remove without that oversized cone wrench. The new cones you'll buy are the updates and will hold on their own.

While your at it, be sure to clean the pawls thoroughly and use a thick oil, like gear oil, or marine grease to lube. And pick up a new seal so it won't let water in.

That is what the problem is. I destroyed the cone pieces in the end, cleaned the threads on the hub, lubed them with light grease and put them together. Customer is still using them years later.  Good luck!


What is the top sprocket? I am reading the Shimano specs and I cannot figure out what is the "top sprocket". An example: https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/sora-r3000/RD-R3000-SS.html

"Low sprocket" (I couldn' tell what it is, but the value is more meaningful) describes the rear sprocket, ok, "Total capacity" this I understand as well, but what is "Top sprocket" with min/max values 11/14T (accordingly)?

In that context, Top sprocket is the smallest one on the cassette, which gives you the Top or highest gear.  (You would think they would match terms Low and High or Top and Bottom.)


Single Speed/Fixie Wheels with cup and cone bearings I need to replace the wheels on my cheap single speed/fixie bike (similar to a mango or purefix bike). The current wheels are 700 diameter deep-v style rims with Quando hubs that use cup and cone bearings. Most of the similar style wheels I find for sale now use sealed bearings instead of cup and cone. I really like the cup and cones because I enjoy servicing it myself and don't really want to invest in the specialist tools for replacing sealed bearings.

Are cheaper single speed wheels with cup and cone hubs still being manufactured or is this a thing of the past?

Yes, you can get all the cheap cup and cone fixed/single-speed hubs and wheels you want. The hubs are still mass produced (unless they made so many during the fixed gear craze that they're still coasting off that, but I digress) and used as OEM on bikes and aftermarket wheels. Examples would be the Formula TH31 (fix/free) and TH32 (fix/fix) and Joytech A166DSE. For some reason KT is no longer listing your cup and cone Quando hubs on their catalog or site. I don't know what the story is there. In the US, one of the major distributors and wheel producers, J&B Importers, makes a bunch of wheels with the aforementioned Formula hubs, and any shop can get them for you.

The track hubs from Shimano and Campy are also cup and cone, and very high-end. Because of their lack of sealing, I've never loved the idea of getting them just to ride on the road unless you live somewhere without weather or dirt. But they are some of the most exquisitely made cup and cone hubs around, if you're into that sort of thing.

You really don't need anything to do a fine job of replacing the bearings on the common cartridge bearing track/singlespeed hubs beyond a hammer, a rag, some sockets and washers, and a block of wood. That sounds crude, but the fact that they use a solid, shouldered axle design means that there's no way of getting a special press on them anyway, and no bushings that are going to do anything for you that the old bearing can't.


How deep does a quill stem need to be inserted? I have an old road bike with a quill stem and I want to raise the stem. After raising it to where I want it, the stem has about an inch between the high end of the expander nut and the top of the headset.  I looked for markings on the stem and didn't see any indicating how much should be inserted.  Is there a minimum amount that should be inserted into the headtube to ensure my safety?

I measured five quill stems that I have, three steel and two aluminum. The overall lengths vary from 5 1/2 to 6 1/4" (about 14 to 16 cm). The minimum insertion length was 2.5 to 3.0 inches (about 6.5 to 7.5 cm). There was not a consistant ratio of length to minimum insertion. It is possible that the insertion length increased on newer bikes due to safety/liability concerns. If you haven't got at least 2.5" (6.5cm) I would shop around for a longer quill or one that has an angled stem that will give you the height you need. An alternative is an adapter that inserts like a quilled stem but allows the use of threadless stems. The availability  and variety of lengths and angles on modern stems will give you more options.


Damping effects of carbon forks Around where I live the common wisdom is that on a road, gravel or similar bike, a carbon fork will cushion some of the vibration more than a metal fork.

On some web discussion forums I see that opinion reiterated. I don't have any personal experience of it yet.

If indeed it is the case, given that composites can be incredibly rigid, how is this damping implemented? Is this a property of the composite that it can be formed in such a way that rigidity is in certain directions only? Finally, does anyone have any pointers to evidence of this fork property? Is this urban legend or is there truth to it?

Having only my experience as source, it isn't a myth. Carbon forks tend to "copy" the road better, translating into a more soft riding experience for your arms. It makes the behaviour of the bike a little more "nervous" though.


Bosch battery stopped charging It is a Bosch powerpack 500 and the other day it stopped charging.

The charger seems to have some output since one of the LEDs on the battery lights up. It is only one LED though and I believe I remember the other LEDs (in the column of LEDs) light up in a fashion when charging.
I only measure 5V of output from the charger which might, or might not mean something. The charger can be so cunning as to output only a low voltage until it has found out a proper Bosch battery is attached and is ready to be charged.

I have tried taking the battery out of the charger and depress the button for 10 seconds as I have been told it resets the battery but to no avail.
I have unplugged the charger, waited for some time, and replugged.
Nothing is running hot, not battery nor charger.

I am taking both battery and charger back to the shop but before that, is there another trick or check?

For future reference I add what has happened so far:
The dealer has software with a license dongle s/he had to buy from Bosch. S/he connected a computer and saw some logs about the battery being too hot (I am certain it has not been) or cold (inprobable) and it being bricked due to hardware failure.
S/he saved the log and then resetted the battery. I can now use the battery again. Bosch has commented the error log with "no danger".
So Bosch bricked my (very expensive) battery without any reason and then forced me (the dealer) to pay for a solution. That is not serious business.

Here are the indicator lights and reset procedure straight from my Bosch e-bike training manual.

Voltage from the charger should be 5V so that doesn't seem to be the problem (See if it matches up with what is printed on the charger (either you have the 4 amp or 2 amp charger)).

The battery does have a built in management system (BMS) that safeguards against overheating, overcharging, short circuiting. As per the picture, you need to hold the button for 15 seconds to reset the battery, not the 10 seconds you wrote about. When the battery is critically low and gets recharged, you will need to do that reset.

I would recommend going into a Bosch certified shop if that doesn't work as they will have the dongle and access to the diagnostic software.


full suspension whole/frame only mountain bike box dimensions i am planning to buy a full suspension whole or frame only mountain bike (commencal meta am v4.2). what boggles me is the dimensions of the box when it is shipped because the shipping price is really expensive.. I need the size in Length, width and height. Thanks!

Depends how broken down / disassembled it is.  Normally a new bike is shipped in a box with the front wheel removed or sometimes both wheels removed.

The front wheel is beside the bike.  The rear wheel is left in here, probably to stop the chainrings from carrying the weight.

Its not unusual to have the forks both protected and extended by packaging, again to keep the pressure off the more delicate parts, and to protect paintwork and disc caliper.

Saddle and post are often removed for height reasons even though the width there would be okay.

Bars and stem are normally completely disconnected, which can cause issues with pre-charged hydraulic brake lines.

Pedals always come off too.   All these small parts are stored around the bike, either between the chainring and the forks, or sometimes in packing and then cable-tied to the frame, which also wears packing.

So reading into your question, you feel like you're being overcharged on shipping for a bike?

Remember the shipment may be coming from another country.  Not uncommon in these days of globalisation.
Shipment cost may include

insurance
import duties
customs fees
cleaning/fumigation fees (yes sounds silly for a new item)

This may be how the super-cheap bike seller recoups some of their costs, by moving some of their markup onto the freight cost.

  You should re-evaluate the cost of buying from your Local Bike Shop, given they have paid for all the transport costs already.


sram grip shifter to be fox CTD shock remote lever the FOX shock CTD remote is a nice shock, but the remote is bulky, even the new 2014 version, still uneasy to change between CTD.

I come across this article
http://www.bikeradar.com/mtb/gear/article/trail-tech-clever-levers-37844/

the mechanics of Jerome manage to tweak by sram grip shifter to be the fox shock remote lever.
it's such a very nice hack indeed.
I wonder if anyone did it as well?

would one please post the step by step guide?

Just follow the twister shifter instructions, but attach the cable to the CTD actuator (same as the current remote is currently attached, on the blue actuator on the shock), instead of the front derralieur. Adjust tension as necessary using the barrel on the gripshift.

Finding a SRAM front derraileur 3-position twister shifter might be hard these days (I think they only sell rear derraileur shifters now, since 1 chainring is the current "fashion") but if you find it... it's just a cable tensioner, same as the CTD remote.


Does the USADA have the authority to strip Lance Armstrong of his Tour de France titles? Lance Armstrong has announced that he will no longer fight charges brought against him by the US anti-doping agency. The USADA says it will ban him for life and strip him of his 7 Tour de France titles. Armstrong says that the USADA does not have the authority to do that.

My understanding is that the International Cycling Union (UCI) is in charge of professional cycling events, including the Tour de France. So what is the relationship between the UCI and the USADA (and other anti-doping agencies)? Who has the final say over banning and disqualifying cyclists?

It's a bit muddy and will probably ultimately be decided by the lawyers, but...

According to the John Fahey, the president of WADA:

"I am confident and WADA is confident that the USADA acted within the WADA code, and that a court in Texas also decided not to interfere," Fahey said in a telephone interview. "They now have the right to apply a penalty that will be recognized by all WADA code countries around the world."

http://www.greenwichtime.com/sports/article/WADA-Armstrong-stance-raises-questions-on-charges-3811670.php

And according to the WADA Code, it is the responsibility of international organizations:

20.3.9 To vigorously pursue all potential anti-doping rule violations within its jurisdiction including investigation into whether  Athlete Support Personnel or other Persons may have been involved in each case of doping.

20.3.12 To cooperate with relevant national organizations and agencies and other  Anti-Doping Organizations.

http://www.wada-ama.org/Documents/World_Anti-Doping_Program/WADP-The-Code/WADA_Anti-Doping_CODE_2009_EN.pdf

So according to WADA, the USADA does have the right to impose penalties and the UCI is bound by the WADA Code to comply with their findings. They can, of course, appeal to The Court of Arbitration for Sport. And they almost certainly will.


Are 28 / 47 - 622 / 635 tubes ok to replace my 28 / 44 - 622 ones? I recently got my first flat on my Cube hooper
It has 37 - 622 (28 x 1.40 - 700 x 35c) schwalbe tyres on it.

I ordered the new tube online before pulling the old one off, picking what I thought were the same tubes but the numbers are slightly different.

Are the 28 / 47 - 622 / 635 tubes i got ok to replace my 28 / 44 - 622 ones?

Thanks

They would be perfectly fine. As their specification suggest (28 / 47 - 622 / 635 ) inner tubes can function in wide range of tyres.


Does climbing put extra stress on the chain, making it stretch out faster / higher break risk? I remember taking it for granted, but then somebody gave me some reasons on climbing not affecting the chain, and I forgot about it.

Today I just got scared that my chain might break when struggling on some really steep hill I recently discovered.

The amount of force you put on the chain makes it stretch faster and have a higher risk of braking. Climbing can sometimes mean more force, but it doesn't have to. If you have the right gearing combinations on your bike, you should be able to climb without putting an excessive amount of force on your drivetrain. If, however, you have a single speed or fixed gear with a high gear ratio, you can put quite a bit of stress on the chain. If you're up out of your seat and putting a lot of power into it using your full body including arms and legs, there could be a possibility of the chain breaking spontaneously. If you regularly check your chain for wear and replace as needed, you shouldn't have to worry too much about your chain breaking unexpectedly.


What large chainrings are compatible with Shimano FC6603 crankset? On my race bike I have a crankset FC6603. I want to replace my outer chain ring (My inner and middle chainrings are OK).

But I cannot find an online store where they sell the outer chainring of this series. The middle and inner ring are available on the online stores, but not the outer chainring.

Maybe the outer ring isn't be produced anymore?
Which series (with an available outer chain ring) is compatible with the series FC6603?

The FC6603 seems to use a standard 130 mm BCD 52t chainring for the outer ring, unlike the special ones used on some other Ultegra/Dura-ace cranksets.

You can buy such rings from  most major brands. Look for ones marked 10 speed or 11 speed.


Stud Tyres - fixing the spikes on new tyres Schwalbe Snow Stud tyres seem like a good winter commuting tyre in places that have only occasional snow/ice conditions. When they are fully inflated they can be used on normal roads and when run on low pressure they should provide good enough grip to cycle in icy conditions.

There is a following note on schwalbe website:

  In order to ensure that spikes are permanently fixed, tyres should be
  run in for about 40km on asphalt, while avoiding any fast acceleration
  or heavy braking.

My question is: Should this tyre be run on normal or low pressure for that initial 40km use on asphalt?

I just bought these tires for Scottish winter, will chuck them on pretty soon. I think the idea for this 40km is to break the studs-in, to settle them into the tyre.
So I would run them on medium pressure: the tyres are not overinflated, but also not on low pressure, sot the studs are engaged, but not 100%.


Replacing a normal hub with a dynamo hub I'm the owner of a Kona Sutra 2017. I'm pretty happy with this bike, but I'm looking to get a dynamo hub for it, with some lights and maybe a charger for my phone.

So far I managed to figure out that the front hub is a Deore HB-M525A.

This would require me to find something that supports a disc brake with 6 holes and 32 spokes.

My candidates are:

DH-3D32 DISC HUB DYNAMO

And that's about the only one I can find that would fit, sure there are one from SON, but the price is a factor x7.

This a valid option for me, and what kind of lightning would fit this dynamo? It seems like it's a bit hard for me to find these parts.

I hope you are aware of the fact that replacing the hub requires re-lacing/rebuilding the complete wheel. I was about to suggest using a spoke dynamo, e.g. Sunup Eco MaxiDyn 6V12W but after seeing a price tag (far above €200) I came to the conclusion that rebuilding the wheel with a hub of €50 is still cheaper.

Furthermore, Sunup is to be mounted on the rear wheel, where the OP has already a cassette and brake disc on both sides, hence no space for the dynamo.

Some years ago AUFA was delivering front wheel mounted spoke dynamos, unfortunately they are nowhere to be found now.

Coming back to the original question: bicycle voltage generators, afaik, are standardised on 6V and the one you've chosen is capable of 3W of power. This means that any standard bicycle lighting is suitable as long at the total consumed power does not exceed 3W (e.g. front light of max 2.5W and rear light of max 0.5W).


What is the advantage of a reverse arch suspension fork? There are a couple of suspension fork manufacturers that have adopted a fork design where the lowers have a reversed arch.  I can't see that they claim any particular performance advantages for it, although there are some people on mountain biking forums saying they have improved torsional stiffness. Why would that be the case?

Also, how do they compare in muddy conditions, more/less resistance to clogging?

Looks like nobody has taken the geometry into account yet...

In the image below I have drawn the situation with highly exaggerated proportions.

All not-lowest-end suspension forks (at least the ones I know of) have a rake that is created by shifting the axle in front of the lower tubes. Let's take a wheel of radius r (solid blue circle) and add some clearance for the tire (dashed blue circle). Above that, the upper edge of the lower tubes shall be of equal height with respect to the upper tube's axis.

Here we can already see, that the wheel passes the front side of the lowers at a "higher" position than its back side. As the arches (green rectangles) have to span from one lower tube to the other over the clearance radius, we can see that the arch in the front side (the right one in the image) has to reach higher (higher green rectangle) above the lower tube's body than the one on the back side.

Technically speaking this means, that to build an arch with the same stiffness, less material (i.e. less weight) is needed on a reversed arch or at the same weight, the reversed arch can be built more massive and therefore stiffer. Unfortunately I don't have any measurement values about how much influence that really has. And obviously there are (or at least were, cf. heltonbike's answer) other drawbacks to be taken into account.


Are fixed or floating SPD-SL cleats most suitable for a long commute? After much procrastination, I've finally jumped in and bought myself a road bike, under the cycle2work scheme we have here in the UK.

I opted for a Boardman Road Race, as it seems to be the most affordable entry level road racer. Since my commute is 20 miles one way (aiming for twice a week to start with) I've been advised to invest in some SPD-SL pedals.

I've never used a road bike, or SPD-SLs for that matter, however from what I can tell there are two types of cleats, floating (which give a little movement sideways) and fixed (no sideways movement).

For such a commute, which type would be most suited? I'm thinking that floating probably for the extra range of movement which could be more comfortable for a longer commute.

Is there anything in it? Or is it just down to user preference?

p.s. Any reason these pedals/cleats would not be compatible with the above bike? Or are pedals universally OK

Fixed position cleats, or 0 degree float cleats, require far greater precision about cleat setup on the shoe. Failure to get the setup right will mean pain, and can mean injury.

That is also true of floating cleats. Most pedals come with cleats that have between 4.5 and 9 degrees of float built in. I don't know of any pedal which has a 0 degree cleat, stock. You would have to buy it separately.

For your purpose, there is no benefit to a fixed position cleat. They are primarily used for track racing and for sprinting specialists in racing.

Given that, floating cleats are most suitable for a commuter's bike.


What type of bike does this text refer to? While looking up things for answering another question, I found that USA has a separate import duty category for "Bicycles having a front wheel exceeding 55 cm but not exceeding 63.5 cm in diameter and a rear wheel exceeding 63.5 cm in diameter, weighing less than 16.3 kg complete without accessories and not designed for use with tires having a cross-sectional diameter exceeding 4.13 cm, valued $200 or more each". Does this refer to an existing type of bicycle, and what is it?

As far as I know, the largest common rim size is exactly 63.5 cm, but I have no idea if tire is in included in the number.

There is at least some evidence findable via google that 'Wheel size' here is interpreted with the vernacular 'outer diameter of the tire' rather than the bead seat diameter.

e.g., a common 26" Mountain Bike from the era is described as having '66.4 cm wheels' not 57.1 or whatever they would have been.

  Model ATB-S is the Rebel 10 speed mountain bicycle. The frame size is
  48.26 centimeters (19 inches) and the wheels size is 66.4 x 5.397 centimeters (26 x 2.125 inches). This bicycle weighs 17.3 kilograms.

If we accept they mean the vernacular outer diameter "wheel size" then it's simply describing the Time Trial 'Funny Bike' that was popular 30-40 years ago.


Bottom bracket spindle length I have a square taper (JIS) Shimano UN-55 bottom bracket with dimensions 68mm (shell width) and 110mm (spindle length) on my single speed (chainline 42-44mm).
Can a set of Stronglight JIS track crank arms (107mm axle length) be fitted to my BB (110mm spindle length), or must the axle length of a crank arm match the spindle length of the bottom bracket?
If the cranks can be fitted, how is the chainline affected?

Axle length and spindle length are the same thing.
Three-piece cranks typically specify a required axle/spindle length to achieve a specific chain line, I.e. how far away the chain rings are from the center plane of the frame.
An axle/spindle longer or shorter by x millimeters will move the cranks x/2 millimeters outboard or inboard respectively.
Some manufacturers are very good about specifying axle/spindle length for individual crank models. Some provide a recommended bottom bracket model from which the length can be found, others provide no information at all.


Can a carrera valor mountain bike be converted to disk brakes? My Carrera valour mountain bike currently has v-brakes but the are not very good and to be honest they look a bit tacky compared to disc brakes, is it possible to convert it to disk brakes, because I'm not sure whether my bike has a suitable frame...

Assuming this is your bike, the answer would be no.  You could technically add disk brakes on the front, but it would require changing the forks to ones that had attachment points for disk brakes. You would also have to change the wheels/hubs to ones that are compatible for mounting the disk.  There is no good method of adding disk brakes to the rear as this frame is aluminum and adding disk brake mounting points after the fact isn't a good idea.

Why do you feel that you need disk brakes? V-Brakes can perform quite well if they are adjusted right and are good quality. A good set of v-brakes will work better than a cheap set of disk brakes.


What is air pressure on Marzocchi forks? I have changed oil in a set of Marzocchi Drop Off forks with 110mm travel. I can’t find the recommended air pressure on Marzocchi website. There is a spring on one side. I think they are 2004 but not certain, forks are black coloured throughout.

Air pressures in Marzocchi Bomber All Mountain forks are between 2.0 & 4.5 bar.  The range is suggested and based on rider weight.  Obviously, desired sag is a factor in your choice of pressure as well.   I've copied the chart from a 2006 Bomber AM maintenance guide.  I can't find the web link at the moment.  The use of commas and periods is confusing to me, but this is exactly how it's written in the book.  The commas are like a decimal point in the U.S.

(User weight ) Air pressure

(kg.) (lb.) bar | psi

(55 - 70)(121 - 154) 2,00 - 2,75 | 2.900,00 - 3.987,50
(70 - 80) (154 - 176) 2,40 - 3,10 | 3.480,00 - 4.495,00
(80 - 95) (176 - 209) 2,90 - 3,80| 4.205,00 - 5.510,00
(95 - 110+) (209 - 242) 3,60 - 4,50| 5.220,00 - 6.525,00

The maintenance guide I have deals with 110, 130 & 150 mm of travel AM forks and there is only one air chart for all three.


Highest gear much harder to pedal after repair - did the repair break something? I recently bought my bike in for repair and I got it back and I've noticed two separate issues that are causing me some concern and I wanted to ask this community what they thought of it.

The hardest gear is MUCH harder to pedal than when I first bought it in.  I'm talking some he-man strength to get this thing going.
When in the hardest gear and pedaling it feels like you can FEEL the chain, I don't know how else to describe it, but there is a feeling in the pedals.  This is only in the hardest gear, the other gears are ok.

If you only feel the chain when in the hardest gear, maybe the chain is rubbing somewhere or maybe the chain is being squeezed by the frame of the bike.

Put the bike in the hardest gear and turn it upside down. Pedal by hand while seeing if the chain has enough clearance everywhere. You may find your problem this way.


How safe is v-brake system with handbrake and coaster brake for child going downhill? I have bought a Volare blaster 16” bike for my 5 year old son (due to arrive tomorrow), but am now a bit concerned whether I have chosen the best braking system for him. The blurb for the bike states it ‘has a safe aluminium V-brake system with both a handbrake and coaster brake.’ I don’t really know what that means now! From the photo, it looks like the front wheel has the handbrake, so I presume the back wheel is the coaster brake. He spent a long time on a balance bike with a handbrake and can sail down our steep hill on this no problem. His first pedal bike was a very heavy second hand bike with hand brakes that were too big for his hands, so he lost confidence on the hill and would wheel it down or drag his feet to slow. I was hoping this bike would be the solution but am now paranoid about him flying over the handlebars if he stops too suddenly. Can anyone explain to me how the braking system works on this model? How do you safely regulate your speed downhill on a bike like this?
Thank you very much!

This brake setup would probably be the safest for a five year old, which is why its so popular. It would be rare for a child of five to be able to brake hard enough and go over the bars with V brakes.
V brake front + Coaster brakes are common on children bikes because children generally do not have the hand strength to operate brakes properly, but you need two brakes and it helps them learn to use hand operated brakes  while still having one that is effective. Expensive hydraulic disk brakes would be effective, but too expensive to be practical on kids bikes, and risks over the bars and front wheel loss of traction type accidents far more than weaker brakes.
One big advantage of coaster brake is it is nearly impossible to go over the bars, yet possible to lock the rear wheel (need for new tires makes it expensive with some kids). To get the brake to work, you have to press back on the pedal, transferring weight to the rear. Any weight shift forward, needed for a over the bars,  release the brake.


Understanding how to calculate critical power curves Hello fellow cyclists,

There are services out there that can calculate power curves based on your bike ride (when training with a power meter).

This curve shows the time to exhaustion (t) based on the power P. So let's assume that my maximum power is 1000 Watts, then this formula will. calculate how long it would take to be totally exhausted (probably not that long for me).

The formula I keep seeing is this: P(t) = W’/t + CP

This formula looks extremely easy and yet I have trouble understanding what those values are. Are there any calculation examples out there?
If I understand this correctly, CP is the critical power. This is the power that can be sustained (theoretically) infinitely. I have to provide this value, so let's just assume this is 200 Watts.

What is W'? According to the internet, this is the work capacity that is currently available. How can I calculate this?

Are there any example calculations?

Example activity (not real numbers, just for an example calculation):

Duration 1h, 3600 seconds

FTP = 200 Watts

CP = 160 Watts

Power During Ride: 3600 data points, every even data point is 150 Watts and every odd one is 120 Watts.

I also now that there are way more complicated formulas out there, but I would like to understand this simpler one first.

TL;DR: What is W' and how can I calculate it based on my bike ride.

Any help is appreciated.

There are a couple of different versions of the CP model. You are looking at the earliest, simplest, two-parameter model proposed by Monod and Scherrer in 1965. While there have been modifications and expansions of the original model since then, the basic simple model has enough features that you can understand it. Although CP has been described as "the power that could be sustained indefinitely," in practice it works fairly well from durations of perhaps 3 minutes out to around half an hour -- additional parameters have been proposed to address durations before and after that.

If you have been riding with a power meter for a while you've undoubtedly seen a curve as you described, showing maximal average power in watts over durations in time. The simplest way to understand the Monod-Scherrer model is to notice that a watt is a Joule per second. So, to get Joules of work, multiply the power in watts by a duration in seconds. Monod and Scherrer noticed that if you plot Joules on the y-axis and time in seconds on the x-axis, the relationship is nearly linear for durations from around 3 minutes out to around half an hour. A linear relationship like that can be approximated by a line with an intercept and a slope. The slope is what they called CP, and the intercept is what we now call W'.

If Joules(t) = W' + cp*t, then an equivalent formulation is the one you've already seen. Since a watt is just a Joule per second, just divide the equation by time on both sides to get watts(t) = W'/t + cp. In this formulation, if you plot watts against time, CP will be the asymptote and W' will be a constant that determines a hyperbola. You can see why some people prefer the intercept and slope formulation rather than the asymptote and hyperbola formulation.

Note that because W' is the y-intercept, it describes an amount of energy in Joules; because CP is a slope in the regression of Joules on seconds, it describes power in watts. Thus, if CP were 200 watts and W' were 15000 Joules (= 15 kilojoules), then a prediction for the amount of work you could do in 600 seconds (= 10 minutes) would be 15000 + 200 * 600 = 13500 Joules over 600 seconds, or an average of 13500/600 = 225 watts. You can think of W' as a "stock" of energy (like a storage battery) that you can expend in addition to the steady state power you can sustainably produce (that is, CP). You can expend that W' quickly or slowly but once the battery is run down you have to recharge it. In this example, you were expending it over 600 seconds, so another way to think of it is this: if your CP were 200 watts and you have 15000 Joules of stored energy, your baseline is 200 watts and you can add to that 15000/600 = 25 watts for a total of 225. If you expended it over 300 seconds (= 5 minutes) your baseline is still 200 but you can add to that 15000/300 = 50 watts, so your predicted maximum power for 5 minutes would be 250 watts. This alternative way of calculating predicted maximum power is Watts(t) = W'/t + cp.

In either formulation, if you have values for W' and CP, you can calculate the estimated power for any duration from around 30 seconds up to around an hour. (If you use the Joules formulation, you just have to divide by the duration to get watts). That's how the CP curves that you've seen are calculated: using values for W' and CP, you can create a curve and plot it showing predicted power at any duration. Note that with only two parameters, the model implies a power duration curve that has an asymptote not only at CP, but also one with the y-axis at zero duration. This is why models with more parameters have been developed -- to deal with the asymptote at zero and the asymptote at long durations.

From a practical perspective, typically your curve of time to exhaustion will not be "smooth" if you base it on just a single ride -- usually, you combine the maximal durations for several rides over a few days or weeks. Also, to get reliable estimates of W' and CP you'll want to make sure you've put out maximal efforts. A typical procedure may be to do maximal efforts at, say, 3 minutes, somewhere in the range of 5 to 8 minutes, and perhaps somewhere in the range of 15 to 20 minutes. That will give you 3 data points. You want these efforts to be maximal for the targeted duration, and typically that means you want them to be relatively steady -- there will always be some variability in your efforts but you don't want the efforts to be repeated sprints of 30 seconds followed by 30 seconds of recovery. Aim for the maximal output you can sustain. I don't recommend that you do these 3 efforts in one ride or even over 3 consecutive days -- space them out over a few days.

That procedure will give you 3 data points of maximal power and durations. Convert to Joules, and calculate the regression slope and intercept. A side effect of this is that you will have the usual regression diagnostics, with standard errors for the slope and intercept and an R^2 so you can evaluate goodness-of-fit. If you do more tests, you can use more than 3 data points for your regression.


Any experience with shaft driven bikes? I've ridden a shaft driven bike once, when biking in deserted mines in Limburg.‡ They used shaft driven bikes because the mines are damp, and a shaft can be enclosed completely, protecting it against the moisture.

I like the clean look of a shaft driven bike, as opposed to a chain driven bike. So I'm interested in getting one. But I found some information (Dutch) that hints at a shaft being a bad choice for a drive train, due to high wear on the gears.

Does anyone have experience with riding shaft driven bikes? Is the wear on the gears that bad? Are there any other issues I need to be aware of?

‡ An experience I can recommend to everyone. With a dynamo fed headlamp, if you stop, it's pitch black all around you.

I used the term "cardan shaft" in an earlier revision of this question, but I think now that use was incorrect. A cardan shaft seems to be a shaft that transfers rotation at an angle, using two universal joints. Drive shafts in bikes usually use gears.
"Cardan" however, is not a brand name.

I own & ride an XDS COM10 2014 bike. This is fitted with a Sussex (Taiwan) shaft drive transmission & Shimano Nexus 8 speed hub gear.

I have used it regularly for over a year & travelled about 4000km on it without any issues . It works perfectly, smooth  & quiet.I thought it was very reasonably priced at about AUD700 brand new on-line.
It is very similar to ride as a Trek S500 2007 Nexus 8 speed chain drive bike I own, only without the chain maintenance. I intend to fit it with Shimano Roller brakes like the Trek S500 which would make it about as maintenance free as one could get with a bike.

Downside would be the proprietary nature of the shaft drive system but it appears to be a high quality product & I think it will be durable But I didn't pay that much for the bike anyway & bought it because of the unique factor.

The front drive is totally sealed, the rear drive well protected & both are well lubricated. It is the same system used for more than 20 years by Dynamic Bicycles USA.
Removing/replacing the rear wheel is easy & easier than the chain drive Trek bike.

I note that there is plenty of negative opinion about this type of bike but it seems to come from people who have not actually experienced using them, which is disappointing as I think they have a lot going for them for recreational/commuting use, as do internal hub gear bikes in general.

It works for me !


Bottom bracket for framebuilding This question has got me hugely excited about building a bamboo bike. I've found some instructions and tips here and here.

I plan to find/buy an old bike to use as a donor. I think I'll use the head tube, forks, stem (basically the whole front end) from the donor bike to minimise compatibility issues. I'll use the dropouts from a bmx, since I'm building a fixie and it has horizontal dropouts.

Which leaves the bottom bracket. I could buy a new one from a framebuilding supply site or use the one from the donor bike.

My questions:

What do I need to consider for the bottom bracket? Should I use a cartridge style bearing and buy some single speed cranks?
What are the odds that my old donor bike will have a bottom bracket shell that will fit with the new bottom bracket bearings? Do I need to buy a bottom bracket shell from a framebuilding site?
Are there any other complications I've overlooked?

I would agree with Daniel about the cartridge style BB. Just make sure whatever cranks you get that they're compatible. One thing to think about with bonding, if you plan to use carbon fibre you will need to do some form of barrier layer to protect the steel, otherwise overtime the carbon and steel will have a chemical reaction that causes corrosion.  Applies to any carbon and steel bonds, not just the BB shell.


Why does my freehub body have such shallow lockring threads? My new freehub body (right) has much shallower threads than my old one (left). The threads are so shallow that I cannot properly install the cassette lockring.

They are both for Campagnolo 9/10/11 speed. I am using the standard lockring that came with my Campagnolo 11 speed cassette.
How can I fix this?

The right hand one appears to have been assembled incorrectly. You may be able to fix this by pushing the bearing home with a suitable press but you'd be better off referring the problem back to the supplier of the part who will likely exchange it.
Which of the two routes you take depends very much on where the part came from and how you want to spend your time. It is very frustrating when new parts arrive in this condition!


Ultrasonic cleaner advice, for cleaning chains before waxing I'd like to avoid solvents, or use less solvents when I re-wax my chain.

Are there any features I need to have in an ultrasonic cleaner?

I've seen unheated 700mL cleaners for ~$30 USD and 2 to 3L cleaners with 80 degrees celcius heating starting at ~$90 USD.

My current chain cleaning process is

Boil chains in some water and wipe the melted wax off onto a rag.
Soak chains in solvent and agitate. I always see some metallic particles in the solvent after I remove the chains.
Hang & wipe dry the chains.
Soak chains in melted wax.
Take chains out of the wax pot when the wax starts to form a skin, wipe the excess wax off.

Could I get away with a cheap ultrasonic cleaner and pour in boiling water + maybe a little detergent instead of using the solvent I currently use to clean my chains?

Some notes from my experience:

If you are in a 220-240 volt country avoid the cheap Chinese cleaners, they are designed for 110 volts and remove a rectification diode as a hack to make it work on higher voltage.  This doesn't work well as the peak voltages are still higher and the output transistors fail.

Secondly, I found ultrasonic cleaning in just water and soap is nowhere near as effective as using a solvent.  I use kerosene, however its very smelly so I only use it outdoors, but it does clean everything well.

Lastly, I haven't noticed much increase in chain life vs just wiping with a rag and oiling the rollers.  Because of this I don't bother ultrasonic cleaning chains unless I am cleaning something else like a cassette.  My theory is the oil aids in flowing out contaminants in the rollers but I have no evidence to back this up.


Bicycle trailer wheel size I'm drawing up a plan for a trailer, I've looked at quite a few online and some have larger wheels than others.

Does anyone know if a bigger wheel (or smaller) conveys any advantage to handling or anything else? I have spare 26 inch wheels and can get smaller ones.

It will be a single wheel trailer.

Update clarification, the idea is basically to chop up another bike removing everything except the forks and the bars in the picture and turn it around, then a bar to go over the bikes back tyre and attach under the seat.

My expectation with this design is that you'll be able to carry 15-25kg over a fairly rough track, if you built it reasonably well. Use the heaviest bike you can find as the donor, you want nice thick tubes. But it will probably fail by bending close to one of the joints. Bike tubing is not really designed to deal with bending.

With the design sketched I think that'll work fine with 26" wheels. The main thing will be welding the steering on the trailer frame/donor bike so it doesn't wiggle. Because the fork/wheel is going backwards the rake on the steering will be backwards, so if it's loose it'll be like trying to roll a castor backwards - very wiggly and unstable. Turning the fork round will help, but I suspect not much.

The suspension will probably not work as well as you hope because a fair bit of the force will be across the line of the suspension movement - rather than "brake dive" you'll have... nothing. I'd be tempted to try to get the fork more vertical, but that could end up making the design more complex and you're better off making something quickly, riding with it, then fixing the things that annoy you most once you have something that works.

Chainstays, your "bottom part", are really not designed to take bending loads, so that will be your weak point (assuming your welds hold). I would be tempted to brace those somehow, even just putting another tube between them with welded joints at the ends to reinforce that area will make the trailer stronger. If you have a space bit of tubing that would be well worth while. Gussets, BTW, will not help (here, or almost anywhere), they just shift the point of failure to the end of the gusset - designing an effective gusset is hard.

That ExtraWheel trailer design is all about a triangulated frame, and you could probably fake it using the seatstays and chainstays off two bikes, welded to a headset. It would probably be easier to build, but the attachment to your bike would probably be more tricky. I'd be tempted to bolt into the rack eyelets, if you have them, and see what happens.


What should I consider when buying a saddle? My current saddle is starting to show its age and isn't as comfortable as I'd like on longer rides. I am considering buying a new one.

Obviously saddles differ in price and weight, but what other aspects should I look at when buying a new saddle?

For example, I've see Fizik adverts that suggest people should buy a saddle suited to their level of flexibility, with pictures of people attempting to touch their toes. Is this something I should consider?

Comfort
Width/size/fit
Price
Weight
Perineal cutout/groove (if that works for you)
Low friction
Angle your pelvis will be at while riding

That last one is what I suspect Fizik is talking about with the flexibility.

Assuming you're on a road bike and want to go as fast as possible, being bent forward more will help make you more aerodynamic. As long as getting more aerodynamic doesn't interfere with oxygen intake or leg motion that means going faster.

The part of your pelvis you sit on a saddle is a sort of triangular shape with the point forward, so as you rotate your pelvis forwards a narrower part of that triangle is what you're sitting on. So you need a narrower saddle (and maybe some other shape changes) if you're in a more bent-forward position.

Also take into account that saddle fit is not an exact science, despite the measuring gimmicks many shops have. You'll probably just have to try a few saddles out.


Road bike tires that are ok on sand I've got an old Trek 1200 road bike circa 1995 with down tube shifters and mostly original components.  These days, I mostly ride it on my summer vacation on Martha's Vineyard where most of the riding is on pavement but occasionally I'll want to venture down a sandy road.

I currently have smooth 23 mm tires that I fill to 115 psi.  These are terrible on the sandy roads!

Can you recommend tires for a road bike that would do better on sandy roads?

UPDATE: These are sandy roads that cars and mountain bikes would have no problems going down.  It is a mixture of packed dirt and shallow sandy areas.  Sandy roads are not that long, no more than a mile here and there.

UPDATE2: I bought two of these 700x28 Kenda tires. This worked for the front but was too big for the back.  I'm going to return one and get a 700x25 for the back.  People on Amazon say these tires run big, so other 28 tires might work on this bike.

On sand you'll need wider tires that do not dig into sand as easily as well as some tread pattern to prevent sand grains from rolling under your tires. 23mm is too narrow.

Measure the forks, if they are wide enough you can use cyclocross semislicks. I have seen an old Trek road bike with cyclocross tires used in a race, so it might be possible for your bike too. Narrower touring tires are an option too, get the widest that you can fit.


Brake lever compatibility between disc and v brake I bought a used bike that had no front brake lever or caliper.  I am putting this one onCaliper
and am wondering if I can use a lever from a v brake.

It should work. They both require the same amount of cable pull.


Why is the Selle Anatomica X1 saddle rated for longer rides than the X2? The X-series Touring bike saddles from Selle Anatomica are arguably the most comfortable bikepacking saddles in the world.
The main difference between the two is the frame, one is a chromoly frame and steel rails, the other is lighter with an aluminum frame that can be upgraded to take carbon rails.
Obviously it would be nice to shed some weight and get the lighter saddle with the carbon rails if you don't mind spending the extra money, but what confuses me is that the cheaper saddle is designed for cyclists who ride more than 100 miles per week, and the lighter saddle is designed for cyclists who ride less than 50 miles per week.
What I want to know is, why is the lighter saddle "designed" to go short distances?

This might be the sort of question to ask Selle Anatomica. However, here is an educated guess based on the part descriptions.
Generally, we know that aluminum has a lower yield strength than steel: in lay terms, aluminum can withstand a smaller amount of force before it fails. Also, given the same external diameter and material, I'm pretty sure a hollow tube is weaker than a solid rod. (NB: given the same mass, a hollow tube is stronger than a solid rod).
Assume the balance of the saddle construction apart from the frame and seat rails is identical. Selle Anatomica may believe or they may have proof that the X2, with an aluminum frame and tubular steel rails, is weaker than the X1, i.e. the entire structure's yield strength is lower.
However, their own descriptions are confusing. This sentence about the X2 directly contradicts their usage ratings, emphasis mine:

The new frame used with our Series 2 saddles is lighter weight, stronger, and user serviceable.

Also, they say that the X2 is, emphasis mine:

Designed for cyclists who ride less than 50 miles per week and/or weigh between 120 and 190 pounds

And about the X1:

Designed for cyclists who ride more than 100 miles per week and/or weigh between 120 and 190 pounds

I'd hypothesize that the literature was written by a product manager who did not really think through how the yield strength of the X1 and X2 might compare. In any case, given the plain language of the descriptions, you should be able to ride either saddle if you are between 120 and 190 lbs. By implication, if you are over 190 lbs, Selle Anatomica might think that you are better off on the X1, assuming that the X1 actually has a higher yield strength. Also, the language is a bit sloppy.


does a tire bead 'jack' work? I'm having great difficulties getting a kevlar belted tire onto my rim (maybe I'm getting old).  I had heard about the Kool-Stop tire bead jack as a possible alternative to using just my tire levers. Has anyone used these things? Am I signing myself up for a pinch flat?

Interesting tool.  I haven't used one but can sympathize after breaking many tire levers with my old tire+rim combination.  It's no fun being in the middle of nowhere and snapping a lever while fixing a flat.  I've since switched tires (and later the rims) and can now roll the tires over the rim by hand -- what a difference!

Unless you plan on taking this tool with you on rides, you may want to look at tires that are easier to work with (if this one is new, you can probably exchange it at your LBS).  Otherwise a single flat could end your ride.

For beefy plastic levers, I'm now using a set of Pedro's.  They're about 3-4 times the size of the ones I had before and were strong enough to wrestle my bad old tires back onto the rim before I switched.

To avoid pinch getting flats while putting the tire back on, try putting a bit more air in the tube.  This will make it hug the inside of the tire instead of getting caught between the tire and the rim.


What muscles am I using when wheeling? I recently received a MTB as a birthday gift. I'm 18 now but have been riding bikes since I was 6. I've always wanted to wheelie for longer distances and now I learned how to after praying. But anyway, I'd like to improve by training my muscles, but I don't know what muscles I have to stress in order to get better wheelie endurance. I have a back hydraulic suspension which I set to bet pretty hard because the softer it is the more of a setback it is for wheeling.

Thanks

Wheelies aren't a strength thing, they are a function of weight distribution on the bike.

If you move your weight far enough back the front wheel will lift - this can initially be assisted by applying a few hard pedal strokes in a light gear.  As you correctly observed, rear suspension is a disadvantage here, as it absorbs some of your initial weight movement.
Once the front wheel is up its about maintaining your balance point.

As with anything balance related, some core strength conditioning will help, but is not really much of a determining factor in ability to wheelie for long durations.


Gear step sizes between Shimano Nexus 8 and Alfine 8 compatible I recently replaced my broken nexus 8 with a new alfine 8.

i thought that they are compatible in regards to the shifter and the step sizes between the gears.

but i notice now on the alfine that i dont hit all gears precisely. there is sometimes a slipping on the very high gears and very low gears.

so are step sizes on nexus and alfine gears compatible or not?

Alfine 8 and Nexus 8 can use the same shifters. I'm guessing you need to adjust the shifter by turning the barrel adjuster on the shifter (there are marks on the hub which need to be lined up in order for it to shift properly -- check the setup instructions for the hub/shifter).