Does a rear wheel work up front? Assuming that the wheel will fit in the drops, will a rear wheel (minus the freewheel/cassette) work for a front wheel?  What kind of problems could this present?

I happen to have a spare back wheel for my bike (without the freewheel on it) and wonder could I if my front gets totaled.

Most bikes use 100mm in the front and 130/135mm in the back, so its unlikely it would fit unless you knew a priori that your bike was one that could have it fit.

However, some bikes are designed for running rear hubs in the front (Surly Moonlander/Pugsley, for example).

A non-Fat Bike case is the Salsa Enabler.


phantom leak that fixed itself? I recently replaced my front tire. About 3 days post replacement I noticed that the pressure in that tire was at about 50psi (Its a road bike - I keep it around 120).
I pumped it up and hoped for the best for my ride home.

I didn't have time to check for the leak that day so I left until the next day.
Next day the pressure was fine.

about 5 days later it again dropped down to around 50 and I pumped it up.

Now its been about 2 weeks and the pressure is holding as well as it usually does.

Whats going on here?

Luck, most likely.

You probably have a slow leak, which you could treat by replacing the tube or just keep pumping air in as necessary. Less plausibly, theres something up with your valve. You could try taking the tube out of the tire and pumping it up with a bit of air and putting it in your bath tub to see if you can find some bubbles.

[In the comments, DRH has the reverse ordering on plausibilities]


How fast can you go over speed breakers? so I've only recently started biking. I have a hybrid, Montra Trance Pro.

So I went pretty fast over a few speed breakers, and that made me wonder, exactly how fast can I go over a bump? The rear derailleur especially seems really vulnerable to me. Am I just overthinking this, or should I slow down?

On my old gearless cycle, I wouldn't have thought twice over going fast over a speed breaker (not fast enough to lose control), but this new bike has me a bit worried.

With a decent bike such as the one you linked to, it's not so much a question whether the bike can handle it, but it depends on how much you can handle.

How fast you can go over a bump depends a lot on your riding technique: if you are able to shift your weight in the right way you can significantly increase the speed to go over the bump. If you are able to do a bunny hop and jump over the bump, there's basically no upper speed limit. If you are worrying about the derailleur, there will be some noise from the chain clonking against the chain stay. However, a derailleur is built to handle such loads without any problems.

So yes, I guess you are overthinking this one.


Summer Reading Recommendation: Bike Touring (Canada) Summer is here so I was hoping to get some summer reading on the go (for when I am not riding my bike).

Sometime in the future (next summer hopefully) I would like to do a cross-Canada bike tour.  I was wondering if anyone had read any good books on bike touring (bonus points for across or in Canada).

The book could be in story form or instructional.  Bonus points for funny storys and specifi Canadian  route information.

(Blogs are also welcome but priority is given to books, hence the title "summer reading".  It is hard to read a blog post in the park on a sunny day.)

Over the Hills, by David Lamb

Not related to Canada, but this book a great first-tourer story; it also encouraged my own interest in touring -- along with John Doesey's wonderful tour journal, the first one I ever read.

Over the Hills is a memoir of a middle-aged journalist’s 3000-mile "afternoon ride". The book is well-written, fun to read, and strikes an excellent balance between travelogue, personal memoir, and barely disguised worship of middle America’s relaxed way of life.

The author is decidedly not part of bicycling culture. He wore ordinary-looking clothing on his trip, ate in ordinary diners and truck stops, and stayed in ordinary hotel rooms, with his bike standing by the side of the bed. Mr. Lamb is very much a character in his own story.

Funny story, from the middle of a Boston to New York City tour: I was pushing my way up a hill on the way to a repair shop, and chatted with a guy on a motorcycle; he started to describe this book, and I interrupted him, asking if it was this book. We both laughed; it was a bonding moment.

I learned a few things from this book: To keep my hands loose on the bars when going over grooved pavement, that it's not "cheating" to accept a ride to get past an onerous section of interstate, and that talking to strangers is just plain fun.


Does "speed" of a replacement chainring matter? I'm looking to replace one of my three chainrings, and I'm having a hard time finding something that matches my bcd/bolt-pattern/tooth-count. I have found a few options, but they say they are for 10- or 11-speed drivetrains. I have a 9-speed drivetrain. Will the "speed" of a given chainring make much difference?
(I'm using a 3x9 drivetrain)

Will the "speed" of a single chainring make much difference?

Chains typically have approximately the same internal width (with very small differences so not exactly the same). The external width of a chain however varies. So higher speed chainrings for multi-chainring systems typically have the teeth slightly offset so that the chain can't "skate" over the inner ring teeth when first shifting all the way up in the rear and only then shifting to the small ring in the front. It isn't reasonable to shift that way, so in practice you can have a mismatch of about one generation in the "speedness" of chainrings. So 9-speed ring on a 10-speed system or 10-speed ring on a 9-speed system works fine.
Actually sprocket thickness for 10 and 11 speed systems is the same, 1.6 mm. For 9 speed you would use 1.78 mm and for 8 speed and smaller than that you would use 1.85 mm. So the mismatch of 0.18 mm is very minimal and shouldn't prevent operation. In any case, the mismatch is in the correct direction (too loose as opposed to too tight) so it would be very unlikely for it to not work.
Since the difference between 10 speed and 9 speed is one generation only, it's very likely to work. The absolute worst thing that can happen is that if you use some chainring other than the biggest one and smallest rear sprocket, at the same time, the wider 9-speed chain could rub on the bigger chainring. It isn't reasonable to cross-chain in that way.
So use your gears in a reasonable manner and it should work.


Rim brakes are howling , what do I do? Have rim brakes on my two month old road bike , and they are starting to howl when used. Cleaned the tires and rims but that didn't solve the problem

the problem usually is that the contact between the pads and the rim is too parallel; a secret is too give the pads a tiny angle, so that the front part of the part would touch half a MM before the rear part.

Try it, it will work. I understand it might sound strange to understand, so if you have any question just ask.


Removing Derailleur Hanger from Devinci Spartan So I'm in need of new derailleur hanger and bolt kit. My question is how to remove the hanger from my kinda frame (2018 Devinci Spartan). I'm used to just using a 5mm Allen key to unscrew two little screws on the backend but that's not the case for this one. I'm guessing the bolt there on the front where the quick release goes thru needs to be taken off before I can get to the hanger (based off the picture I provided). Tools to use? (socket wrench?) Any help appreciated.

Welcome back. Sweet ride and I hope to read more about Devinci and their bikes. Leading a sheltered life and really have only heard of the bikes in passing. In the interest of an answer for you, a Google search of "2018 c Spartan," lead me to the company's website and then to the  Technical Manual.

As you can see on page 1 at the rear axle schematic, you will indeed remove that nut to release the split pivot derailleur hangar. They term the rear axle assembly, "Pivot Kit Shaft," and the right side has about 5 pieces, counting the bolt, bearing, axle and dropout insert. The hangar is the other piece. Included in the document are torque values for every connection. These should be closely adhered to along with good threaded fastener techniques (greasing threads, Loctite where indicated, clean surfaces, etc). This is especially so for carbon frames. The schematic helps immensely, making more words superfluous.  Good riding!


spd pedal on spd sl shoe Is it possible to fit a SPD pedal and cleat setup on my SPD SL shoe (SH-R131-S)?

The answer to why, is to save the expenses for a new shoe.

But even if it's possible. Is it a good idea to mix them?

Yes, it is possible with a suitable adapter. eg the Shimano SM-SH85, or the Crank Brothers 3-hole cleat adapter. These bolt onto 3 hole (road) shoes, and provide 2 holes to bolt on SPD cleats or similar.

The main disadvantage is the thickness of the adapter. This will make the cleat stick out further from the shoe, so it will be closer to the ground. If your shoes don't have much tread, the cleat may be touching the ground. So it may be very slippy if walking on a smooth floor. And the cleats will wear out faster, especially if walking across stones or rocks. Also, road shoes can be very stiff, so they may be uncomfortable for walking in.

Proper SPD shoes (designed for mountain biking or touring etc), have the cleats more recessed, so they don't touch the ground. And they are usually less stiff and have more grip, so better for walking.


Just got another used women's Giant bike. This is a Sedona. Any way to tell year, and model? Just got a another Giant that fits me better. Got an XS.  This bike is an S.  The bike is for rider height of 5'4" to 5'7".  It is a Giant Sedona.   Want to sell this one.  Any idea what year and model?  Bought this used as well.
Regards,
Jeri-Anne

bikepedia.com
bicyclebluebook.com
maybe 2010 plus or minus? "W" is the women's model suffix for Giant


Swytch eBike conversion wheel axle diameter I purchased the Swytch eBike conversion front wheel but I found that the axle was 11mm in diameter, which was too big for my hybrid bike and any other bike fork I've tried. Could you tell me if there are bikes which take an 11mm front axle or advice on what to do next. Thank you.

Presumably you have a bike designed for quick-release wheels that have a 9mm diameter axle.

The Swytch eBike conversion wheel seems to use 10mm solid threaded axles that are secured to the fork with nuts - which makes sense as this provides higher clamping force required to handle the motor torque. (FWIW, this fact seems to be absent from the Swytch website, and it means that their product is not compatible with any bike.)

If your fork dropouts have sufficient material, you may be able to enlarge the dropout width with a file, but beware that you will not be able to use the 9mm axle wheel. It would be dangerous to do so.

You could also find a cheap fork designed for threaded axles. You would need to match your current fork's geometry (headtube to axle distance, rake). As threaded axle hubs are used on cheap bikes you will not find a replacement part available for sale as a separate component. You'll want to get one from a old used bike. A good source for things like this are bike cooperatives or  bike stores that specialize in refurbishing old bikes. They often have piles of bikes that are not worth refurbishing or frames that have had parts stripped from them.


Will a Miyata 912 be able to take wider tires/bicycle racks/fenders and still handle well? I've found a Miyata 912 going for $300 on Craigslist. From what I've read, it should be a 1970-80s road bike on the high end but supposedly built quite strongly.

I'm looking for a bike to commute to class and work so I definitely want:

wider road tires (I'm assuming that this handles bumps better than skinner road tires)
fenders (mud/sand/gravel/dirt/etc)
bicycle racks (if I want to carry more stuff)

Will the Miyata 912 be able to take that and how will those changes affect its handling? Does it make sense to use it as a commuter bike even?

You're right on the money in terms of commuting upgrades. Buying used bikes is a great way to go about acquiring a ride, but sometimes bikes need a bit of refitting for commuting.

I took a look at the 1981 Miyata Catalog. Models from year to year are generally similar, so this should be accurate for most late 70s early 80s 912s. This bike is described as a "fast sport rider for racing-oriented cyclists," meaning that it isn't going to fit fat tires, fenders, or racks too easily. What is important is the distance between the tire and the frame.

You may be able to get away with a 700c x32 tire and narrow, metal fenders. Metal fenders are a bit more expensive than plastic, but can be bent to fit into tight places. Note that most fender manufacturers specify 10mm clearance between the tire and the fender, so as to prevent a pebble or twig from tearing your fenders off. There may or may not be braze-ons for fenders or racks, but that is easy to get around. Lots of bike shops sell metal clamps that secure everything to the stays quite well.

If you're comfortable with the largest possible tire being ~32mm, go for it! Understand, however, that bikes designed for skinny tires and no fenders may be difficult to fit. If you decide not to, look for Touring or Sports-Touring models which always have clearance and braze-ons (In this catalog, the 1000 and 610 are both touring models).

One alternative option that will require more work is to convert the wheel size from 700c to 650b. This will involve new wheels and long-reach brakes, but it will allow you to run fatter tires and fenders with no issues.


How to objectively evaluate torque wrenches? My local bicycle group bought very nice but very expensive torque wrenches (if I can remember right they cost about €300–500). My local discount store markets them for about €50. My local auction site has them ranging from a few euros to many hundred euros.

I don't care about product recommendations. I want to know how I can objectively evaluate them. I know that even a superb one can deteriorate due to poor handling, hence my local bike group locks them. It must always be unloaded to 0 Nm after use so that the spring won't deteriorate, non-verified information. I am planning to invest in one because I tend to destroy the metallic things such as these here. If not at all possible, please let me know whether I could use any hardware store tool for bicycle things or should I invest in one marketed to bicyclists?

P.S. by torque wrench I mean the thing that shows Newton meter units.

Following on from Wayne's answer, there's a few things to consider:

beam and needle, beam and dial gauge or set torque type? Needle ones are cheap and robust but not very accurate or easy to use, dial gauge is the fragile, expensive and accurate version of needle, and set torque ones are more fragile but not necessarily more accurate.
how easy it is to set the desired torque, assuming you buy a set torque one.
accuracy. Both how much accuracy you need, and how well the device keeps its accuracy.
how robust it needs to be. If it's going to kept in it's protective case in a cupboard, and only used by you then any of the above will work. But if you'll be using in shared workshops other people will borrow it, so the beam-and-gauge type will not be ideal.

I only use the set torque ones because I often find that I can't easily see the dial/gauge when I'm using the wrench. My preference for evaluating accuracy is to pay of access to a decent torque wrench and do a straight comparison by hooking them together.

Edit: Wikipedia article. Pics with labels from hhh's comment:

Beam and needle type torque wrench

Beam and dial gauge torque wrench (used to get these with a mechanical dial, modern ones are all electronic - for the price you expect as much)

Click set type torque wrench - there's a scale and twist to set handle on the end of the shaft.


How many ball bearings inside shimano MF-HG20 freewheel top and bottom? help me fix the bearings in my freewheel. I need to know the number of ball bearings top and bottom in my shimano mf-hg20 freewheel, and what size are they?

According to http://www.bikepro.com/products/freewheels/shimfw.html:

  There are thirty-eight 3.0mm inner steel ball bearings used in the inner bearing assembly


How to find the cage length of a rear derailleur? I need to replace my rear derailleur. I've been looking at a few ones on eBay, however, my issue is that the seller does not know the size of the "cage". Specifically, I have a Shimano Tiagra RD-4400 that I would like to replace. On the actual derailleur it does not explicitly state the size. I can do the math with my 12-25t cassette and 30-52t 3 ring chains to know that what I currently have is a GS. But the sellers of a few of the RD-4400s I've seen on eBay don't know the cage length. Since they aren't connected to a bike, I can't estimate it based on the gears.

Is there a way to figure it out by just looking at the derailleur? Again, I don't see it explicitly stamped on my on RD-4400 so I assume it won't be stamped on the eBay ones... Thanks!

If you have a reasonably clear photo from the seller you can measure directly. This only works because there are known-size elements in the same plane as the cage that you want to measure.

What I would do is measure the derailleur you have, and count the teeth on the idler gear you'll be using as a reference just to make sure they're the same on both your one and the on you're considering.

This is a random image I chose because it has the cage flat to the plane of the picture so it's easy to discuss. If you can get the seller to take a similar photo it'll make your life easier (eg by pressing the cage flat on a table, then taking a photo looking straight down at it).

The red lines show the size of the idler. Measure in pixels if you have an image program that shows you the length of the line you're drawing in pixels, or use a ruler on your screen if that's all you have. The yellow line is one possible option for measuring the cage length, but it's not ideal because it's going from the back side of the cage to the front, so if there's any tilt to the cage your measurement will be off. Or you could measure from the text on the cage to the edge of the bolt. But for best accuracy make the line as long as possible - measuring the text size is likely to give a huge uncertainty because there are so few pixels available (read up on quantisation noise in wikipedia or this introduction if you're interested). So I'd try to use the green line instead.

You need to get four measurements.

size of the idler you have (in millimetres or units of your choice)
size of the idler you might buy (in pixels)
length of the cage of your derailleur (millimetres or whatever)
length of the cage of the one you might buy (in pixels)

From that you can calculate the pixels per millimetre of the idler gears, then divide by the pixel length of the cage in the picture to get the millimetre length of the pictured derailleur. Compare that to the one you have and decide if it's the right size.

If you are really concerned you could do this for the reference pictures on the Shimano website to get an idea of the lengths that are available. That way you can guess which actual derailleur is for sale, rather than possibly rounding incorrectly (eg if you calculate 100mm from the picture and the actual options are 95mm, 102mm and 115mm you can either guess it's the 102mm one or compare the pcitures more closely to get a feel for the correct choice. Without the reference pictures you're left with "my one is 103mm, the seller pictures gives 100mm... that's close enough)

This all substitutes effort on your part for effort from the seller, but it also means you know more about how accurate the measurement is. I find it's often easier to measure the picture than the derailleur - note that the green line crosses through the pivot in a way that a tape measure can't do. To fake that lay the tape or ruler parallel to what you want to measure and as close to it as possible while keeping it in the same plane, then take the photo. (it's probably easier to buy a cheap vernier caliper and learn how to use it)


Can anyone identify this bike? I don't know much about bikes, but I've tried searching around and haven't been able to identify the bike I am currently riding. I know the brand and some specifications but I can't find anything else.

I received this bike a few years ago from a family friend, and it seems slightly old, but definitely not from anytime before the 21st century.

Here are a list of the decals and things written on it:

"Mongoose" (All over it, assuming this is the brand.)

"Raging Element" (On the part connecting the frame to the front tire)

"Maneuver" (On the frame near the handlebars)

"Tubing Aluminum", "Designed in America, Made in China" (On frame)

"Unified Suspension", "21 Speed" (Connecting Frame to back wheel)

"750 (lbs/in)" (On shock absorber)

"TQ One" (On small part near chain)

"PacificCycle", "Support: 800-626-2811", "Model: R4718Z", "Date: FSD02JG" (On sticker, I think this is important but I couldn't find any info on it)

Here are some pictures:

https://imgur.com/ug0BQij | https://imgur.com/NqKHMgF

Thank you for helping!
Also, if you are able to find something like a search engine for the model number and such, I am happy to do the searching, I just couldn't find anything. I am also happy to provide any other information you might need that I could get from it. Thanks!

It's a Mongoose Manuever... late 90's early 2000's if i had to guess. Basically a Walmart or department store bicycle shaped object. There should be a serial number, probably beneath the crank. Pacific Cycles is who bought that division of mongoose which is sold in big box stores.

If you want to know more you could contact Pacific Cycles with the model number and serial number to find out the year, or look them up on google. There are resource sites that help identify the numbers and letters meaning in the model and date codes. Complete guess but i would say a 2002 based on the 02 in the date code.

You have all the information you need to identify it, seems pretty cut and dry.

Bottom line it is not an expensive bicycle, but if it works for you that's what matters.


Does anyone know of a machinist who could convert a dual ring Campy Nuovo Record chainset ('spider') to accept a 3rd chainring? I have a 1971 Raleigh International whose Campagnolo Nuovo Record chainset has Campy pedals that are 'frozen' into their threads (I know, this is an instance of neglected maintenance).  I really like this bike and its components - pedals included - and would like to have lower gearing than typically possible with a 2-ring chainset (have 42 rear/34 front, now). I'm looking for a master bike machinist who could tap an additional set of 5 holes to accept the 5 sleeves for a triple crankset?

Drilling a crank that old is not a great idea. They weren't that strong to begin with and 40+ years of use hasn't made then any stronger. I would not do anything to further weaken them.

To be honest, if the pedals are frozen I'd think twice about using that crank. Aluminum corrosion expands and can create stress that crack the material ( similar to the way ice can expand and split a crack in a boulder).

All that aside, if you look hard enough you can find a "tripleizer" ring. This is a special inner ring that
includes the mounts for a smaller inner ring.

Vintage Trek Tripleizer Page

On a bike that old, there's a reasonable chance that you won't need a new bottom
bracket to allow the inner ring to clear the chainstays. Also, there's a pretty good chance the existing derailler cage will be low enough to allow use of the small chainring. Back then there was no such thing as a "triple" front derailluer.

Shifting will require a bit of practice compared to modern triples; you will drop the
chain, so get a Dog Fang or other chain catcher.

If you want components that are modern but look old and don't cost the insane price of
used campagnolo on Ebay; Check out Velo Orange Components This should bring back some
memories.

That crank is a 34/48 that I think would be a really good choice for an upgrade on a older bike.


Hydraulic brake not retracting sufficiently off the disk? Sorry if this has been asked before (if it has, I haven't found it).

I have Shimano hydraulic disk brakes (type BR-M486).

The front one is beginning to make a slight noise even when I'm not using it:

A whispering noise like it's touching lightly
Happens even when it's cold i.e. when just starting out
Sometimes (but usually not) seems fixable temporarily by applying then releasing the brake

Apparently, when I squeeze the brake lever then the brakes close on the disk, and when I release the brake lever the brakes don't open again far enough to completely clear the disk.

When the noise happens it's slight but more-or-less continuous ... it doesn't sound as if only happens over part of the wheel's revolution.

Shining a torch/flashlight through it from behind, I can see daylight on one side of the disk but not the other ... so apparently, one of the pads doesn't retract off the disk. Looking at the rear brake I can see daylight on both sides.

I tried re-seating the wheel (to try to ensure it's sitting equally on both forks), which made no difference.

Do you (might I) expect a symptom like this if it's been too long since it was last serviced?

I don't understand the internals of hydraulic brakes: I can change a tire but haven't touched brakes. Is it something I could maybe fix, e.g. a screw to turn to adjust it, or should I take it to the bike mechanic?

Maybe this is the service manual for the brakes. Reading it, I see it says (towards the end),

  Remove the pad spacers, install the wheel, and then check there is no interference between the rotor and the caliper. If they are touching, adjust while referring to "Installation of the caliper".

Dare I loosen the "caliper fixing bolts", so that the caliper can move sideways? Or (instead of the rotor being too far to one side) is the problem that one of the pads doesn't retract properly, for some reason, so there's simply not enough total space between the pads for the disk?

You should indeed start by just loosening the caliper mounting bolts and trying to do a simple adjustment of the brake. Try to center the gap either by eye or by squeezing the lever while tightening the bolts back down, which sometimes works great and other times not at all. Tighten the bolts to about 8nm, which is firm but not super tight.

If that doesn't work, remove the wheel, remove the brake pads (careful never to touch the pad surface), clean around the pistons with alcohol and a rag, then stick a tire lever in and push the pistons firmly back in place. You've now reset the automatic centering of the brake. Put the wheel back in and re-adjust the brake. You have to work the lever a couple times until it firms up.

If none of that works, you probably have a sticky piston. If it's fixable, it's done by re-lubricating the piston seals with Shimano mineral oil.


I get dizzy when I dismount. Causes? Saturday I went on a ride with the local cycling club. At a certain point in the ride (after about 20 miles/32 km), I was extremely tired to the point that I decided to get off of the bike and walk for a space.

After dismounting I became so dizzy that I fell over (and don't remember falling over).

Oddly enough, I rode the same route the week before without any problems.

I am curious to know if anyone else has had this problem and what steps they took to effectively deal with it.

The two possible causes that I am already aware of are:

I am taking blood pressure medications (amlodipine and lisinopril)
I am not entirely sure my bike is a good fit; after about twenty miles I find it very difficult to find a comfortable position while riding.

I was dead-dog tired at this point in the ride (I had just gone up a fairly steep hill in a stiff headwind), and that probably exacerbated whatever is going on here.

Clarification:

I have spoken to my physician about this, about nine months ago when this first happened to me. His advice was that this was probably due to the readjustment of blood pressure after changing positions. This makes sense, as it only happens once I dismount.
My meds are for high blood pressure, so they could be doing the job too well.
I actually drank more on the ride where I was dizzy than on the ride where I was not, but the doctor has advised that I drink more, so I need to scrape together some funds for portably fluids.

Update

Went out riding with the local cycling club. I had a bit more to eat before leaving the house, and I brought along a whole lot more water, and a banana which I ate when the group stopped. I was fine until the 26-mile point, when I got a flat tire. None of the problems of the prior week appeared.

Final Update

I did the Houston MS 150 in April. I downed a banana or and equivalent amount of food at each stop, and drank my fill of water as well, and drank every time my mouth felt dry on the road. No dizziness at all.

It sounds like you over-exerted yourself and "bonked" – your body ran out of sugar so you fainted. In that case, you reduce the risk by eating more while you ride* and by listening to your body more and backing off when it's getting too much.

It may also be blood-pressure related: people with low blood pressure are (as I understand it) more susceptible to fainting. Since you're on blood pressure medication, you should talk to your doctor.

I don't think bike fit is really a contributor but, of course, improving that would make you a happier, more comfortable cyclist so you should do something about it even if it doesn't help the problem you most want to fix.

* In this context, snacks are not evil and you should eat them. Or, if your username indicates that you are the snack, consider eating yourself. However, this probably isn't a long-term strategy.


How to adjust rear brakes on this bicycle? Background

Because I just cannot ask a question without a textwall of unnecessary context. This is my old bike. It's somewhere between 20 and 25 years old; the last 15 of which were spent on my balcony (dry, but outside temperature). It's seen all my teenage years, but not a professional mechanic. Lately we've started cycling in our family, so I've resurrected it. I changed the tires and the tubes (since the old ones were a lost cause), and the next part that is now giving me trouble are the brakes.

The front brakes are kinda OK-ish. When I say "cycling" I mean "slowly cruising between 10 and 20 km/h, because we have a 6 year old kid with us", so for that purpose they are fine. Although I wouldn't expect them to perform any emergency stops. Still, I guess that's just a matter of tuning so I'll just keep on twiddling them until I get them right.

The rear brakes however are so weak as to be basically negligible. And I haven't been able to do anything about it.

The actually relevant stuff

There are several things which have me stumped. Here's an overview. I've marked two points:

At point A the wheel is pretty close to the center between the two metal frame parts, but at point B it's significantly closer to the right side (that is, closer to the camera). Since it's not centered, the left brake pad has to travel much farther than the right. This in turn means that the total distance both pads have to travel together is larger than what my brake lever can do. Hence: not enough pressure to the pads.

Unfortunately, I cannot see how to aligh the wheel along that axis. The only available adjustment is in a direction perpendicular to that which I need.

Then we come to the brake pads themselves. The left brake pad is fine, but the right one is at a significant angle to the rim:

These are new brake pads, by the way, I bought those too since the old ones were really worn out and one was even bent for some reason. But how do I adjust THAT angle? There is nothing there that I can see:

I'm starting to wonder if maybe my frame is subtly bent and all this is a lost cause? Does anyone know how/if it is possible to make my rear brakes work?

P.S. I've been told this is an older type of brake system and I haven't been able to find a video/tutorial that shows how to properly adjust it. If anyone has a link, please share!

It sounds like you've really done some good work! The pad material shouldn't be too soft. Soft enough that it creates good friction when pressed against the rim, but still rigid enough that it holds its shape while doing so. Keep in mind they will break in after using them for a few days or a week or too. The pads you have look like they should be just fine, although it's hard to tell from pics, but Kool Stop pads are my favorites and I know they work great, if you  chose to try something different.


Push off with left or right leg I'm about to teach my daughter how to use clipless pedals and got wondering if there were any advantages of pushing off from a start with the left leg or right leg. Is there any difference?

To add a bit of context. She'll be mainly bunch riding with a school group using a road bike on sealed roads. We live in a country where traffic drives on the left hand side of the road.

Edit: Thanks for the answers. A couple of my own thoughts are: 1) in athletics, there are analogs of "no right answers, whichever feels right". For sprint starting blocks, a simple test is: relax and push the person forward. Whichever leg is extended to arrest the fall is the back leg in the starting block. It's nice to have an informal test like that. 2) camber of the road: our roads have a reasonable camber, and I tend to ground my foot on the lower side of the camber: would it be better to ground the foot on the higher side of the camber?, 3) if most of the bunch uses one leg, would it be better to do the same so that you all lean toward the same direction when you stop at lights etc.

I taught my daughter to use clipless pedals by putting her bike on a wind trainer while she watched television. I got her pedals that are flat on one side with SPD's on the other side.

A random intervals I'd call "left foot down", or "right foot down", trying to time my call for the most inconvenient moment. And as I mentioned in comments, I never did tell her that everyone eventually falls.

When she was comfortable with those exercises, she started riding on the road with her new pedals. Sometimes she would ride with the flat pedals, but she quickly came to like the feeling of confidence that comes from knowing one's feet wont slip off the pedals.

After four years she still hasn't (yet) fallen because of the pedals.

To answer your question - it doesn't really matter which leg they usually push off with.

But it does matter that they learn to be able to start and stop on either leg. In my observation falls come when the rider "has the pedals wrong" when they make an emergency stop. They need to be confidently able to unclip and stop with either foot.

Edit - re the additional points.

To restate my previous paragraph in a different way: it matters for her safety that she be able to start and stop on either foot. Not all stops are preplanned. It's the sudden stops that lead to falls, where the rider gets themselves tangled up trying to get the wrong foot out of their pedal.

For starting, it's a great help to be able to start from either foot also. It's normal to have a favoured foot, and it doesn't matter which one it is.

And if most of the bunch uses one leg, would it be better to do the same so that you all lean toward the same direction when you stop at lights etc? No, IMHO you are over-thinking it at this point. I suspect you are thinking that because the bikes are leaning when they are stationary, that everyone will wobble or turn in that direction as they start off. If that is what happens, then I suggest that they are not ready to ride on the road. In practice, I just don't see experienced riders (including my own daughter) wobble that much. And the amount they do wobble seems random: members of the bunch push off at slightly different times, and make their first pedal stroke with different levels of effort. And when they stop, the bunch will generally stop in a random arrangement, depending on how hard they were concentrating, who they were taking to, what gear change they were trying to make, etc, etc.

So the conclusion hasn't changed: no it doesn't matter which leg, but she should be able to use either.


What child seat would fit an old model Gary Fisher bike? I have a Gary Fisher zebrano, bought some time around 2000. It's in perfectly good nick and i'd like to get a rear child seat for it to take my little boy out on it  Unfortunately, my local bike  a shop thinks my old bike won't work with any seat currently on the market, due to the position of the brake cables and some 'pins' on the back wheel fork (sorry for novice description!). They thought any adaptation to fit would be unsafe. Apparently my bike won't take new model bike racks for the same reason.

I need an second hand child seat. Does anyone know a model name or anything that could start me off on eBay? Or a current model child seat that would fit? I'm not a cycling pro (sure i have given that away already!) and haven't really got a clue where or how to start looking for fittings or anything past blindly walking into a bike shop.

At the moment, it's looking like I'll need to buy a new bike for the sake of being able to fit a child seat!

Thank you in advance. Any advice appreciated!

NB. I'm not keen on seats that go in front of the cyclist for safety reasons. Also don't really like the idea of a trailer in London streets.

Your bike has cantilever brakes, which use a straddle cable and then the main inner cable pulls that.  Totally typical brakes for the age of the bike, and perfectly serviceable.   However the center cable has to run straight up to a hanger, and its not impossible that some brands of seat may foul this area.

Not quite sure what pins your LBS is referring to. The full-sized image clearly shows two lugs for mounting a rack (on either seatstay, just by the brakes.)  The photo cuts off at the bottom but you definitely have one lug on the dropout where the mudguard currently mounts.

Could be the bike shop was referring to your front derailleur cable, which is the wire going straight down the seat tube.  That could interfere with the clamp used in the next image.

So depending on your budget a rear mounted seat like this should work.

This one uses a permanently mounted clamp on the seat tube (black, behind rider's left knee in photo) and the two silver poles are the main supports for the child seat which is held suspended over the rear rack.

Downsides - the view isn't great for a kid, and they're always looking sideways which is bad for any kind of accident.  The rider can't see the child.  Also note the child's weight is more behind the rear axle than in front, so this unweights the front wheel a bit and makes the bike handle worse.

Also notice the rear tyre may just be low on air, but it also shows how much the weight balance is altered.  Adding a 5-10 kilo child plus a seat all on the back wheel is not ideal.

Personally I'd strongly recommend a mid-mount seat like this

Notice the child can see what's coming, and can hold the sleep pad, or can even fall asleep on it.

The downside is that the average and taller riders will have to ride slightly more bow-legged.  Most models do allow the seat to be easily removed leaving just a mounting bar in place, at which time the bike rides normally.

Some further reading for you:
http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/article/best-child-bike-seats-39715/


How long should MTB disc brake pads last? I'm fairly new to mountain biking and I was able to put in around 900 miles on my first set of brake pads on my Giant Anthem X2. At that point they started grinding metal on metal. I went and bought new Shimano pads (I have Shimano brakes) and after only 100 or so miles one of the front ones has already worn out.

The last time I rode the bike was in rain and mud so I'm not sure if that contributed to it.

How long do the brake pads typically last? Is there something else going on?

There are different types of pads, even to fit the same model of brakes.

Sintered metal pads last longest, but are noisiest, often to the point of not being worth the better durability.

Resin pads are softer, and will last less mileage, particularly in wetter weather, but still should last far longer than 100 miles.

I would say that the rotors are damaged from being ridden metal on metal before, and need to be replaced, along with new brake pads.

Your mileage will vary based on weather, braking habits, pad type, riding style and terrain. But you should normally get 500-700miles from a resin pad, and 1000-1250 miles from a sintered metal pad.


I often get a sore neck when riding. How can I adjust the setup of my bike to help prevent this happening? Quite often if I'm riding for longer than about an hour I get a sore neck. I assume that I can make some adjustment to my mountain bike to help prevent or reduce the soreness, but I don't know what. Can anyone help?

EDIT

I think my riding position is more upright than leaned forward, but I couldn't say how much because I don't have a feel for it.

I can think of a few possible explanations:

If you're sitting too upright, vibrations from the road/trail (anything from pavement quality to serious potholes) will travel straight up your spine, causing your the gaps between your vertebrae to expand and contract.  This can add up on a long ride.  Ideally you want to be leaning forward enough that your back has at least a slight arch to it so that your muscles absorb the impact instead of your spine.  Suspension (either rear or a sprung saddle/seatpost) can help here too.
If you're riding with your elbows locked, or letting your shoulders sag then again you're letting your inflexible skeleton take the shocks instead of letting your muscles do the work.
If you're leaned too far forward, then you'll constantly be craning your neck upwards to see the road ahead.  The solution here is to raise your handlebars and/or shorten the stem length.
Finally, long rides require stretching out muscles that tend to get stay in the same position all the time.  This is especially true for your upper body and neck.  Either stop to stretch or learn how to some basic stretches while riding.  If I didn't stretch my neck periodically, I'd be a mess after a 10+ hour ride!

Sheldon Brown also has some excellent tips on neck pain & riding posture.


How to get a lower gearing My trusty old CF racer was stolen the other day, and I'm looking for a replacement. I saw this bike at PlanetX and was intrigued. It's a full carbon bike with (last years) Ultegra components for a very reasonable price ( < $2k). It comes with a compact crankset and a short-cage dérailleur. The largest cassette it can accommodate is 11-28, which would give me a lowest gear of 34-28.

Not bad, and the same as I had before. But I live in the Alps and I frequently find myself in the lowest gear well before I hit the steepest parts of the hills, so I would like to have a lower gear, if at all possible.

I spoke to the vendor, and they said that it would (at least in theory) be possible to put on a medium-cage dérailleur and an 11-30 cassette. But I was wondering if it would be possible to have a smaller chainring in front instead. Can you get smaller than 34? Or would that not fit?

At some level I'm contemplating putting on a triple instead, but that seems like going back to the 20th century...

The smallest chainring that will fit on a compact double 110 BCD is 33t and they are quite hard to find ( Only TA or custom chainwheel manufacturers make them).

IMHO, what would be a true triple replacement would be something like a 11-30 with a 30/48.

Unfortunately, the 94 BCD cranks are almost all old MTB triples.

The problem with putting a large range cassette on that bike is compatibility with the Ultegra 11 spd shifters. I know Shimano 9spd is interchangable between road and mtn, but I'm pretty sure that is not the case 11 speed deraillers. Shimano does sell an 11-32 with that groupset Ultegra 6800, so they must think the medium cage derailler can deal with it.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/us/en/shimano-ultegra-6800-11-speed-road-cassette/rp-prod108686


What bicycle to buy for commuting to work and for leisure (Aberdeen) I'm new to this forum and I hope someone can help me out.

I have recently moved to the UK and I like to cycle. I'm looking for a bicycle with a small budget.

I would mainly use the bike for commuting between home and work. For this reason, I think I would like to have mud-guards on the front and rear (and possibly a cargo-rack), to be able to get to work without getting too dirty. The roads are generally good (asphalted), but sometimes, I'll have to take the side-walk and some of the roads are badly maintained (i.e. a pure road bike will probably damage quickly). Furthermore, it will be slightly uphill and downhill and one way will take about 40mins (google-maps). This will on average be twice a week.
Every once in a while I would also like to us the bike to just tour into the country (yes, it's in Scotland) on a Sunday. This will likely be once every two months.
Based on this, I am thinking about getting a hybrid bike, a touring bike or a cyclocross bike.

Now I have three main questions:

what type of bike would you advice (any others that I'm overlooking, advantages, disadvantages)?
do you have examples in or around Aberdeen for GBP 150-200?
what size of frame and wheels should I have, if I'm 1.82m tall (6.0')

1) As in Scotland, I would recommend you to look for a second-hand bike (possibly gumtree is a good place to start with, bear in mind that you need to check and make sure the bike is not stolen). The reason is that in the winter, all the salt on the roads will corrode your bike badly.So go cheap, then keep it as winter bike, then upgrade gradually.

Cyclocross would be your choice if you are planning to cycling offroad and over glens.

If you are just going to stick along the coast, a road bike would be enough (and pretty fast too, so you can go to Stonehaven, Montrose, even up to Inverness).

2) A road bike as for starter (second hand) is around £100-150 (Carrera Virtuoso for example, I got one for £110, model 2012)

A cyclocross for starter (second hand) is around £150-200. The higher price reflects that not many people in Scotland buy/own cyclocross (I have yet to see one cyclocross bike in Dundee). A little search around Aberdeen shows Carrera Crixus selling at around £200.

3) 700c wheel of course :-) 26" will be like a toddler-bike for you

Your height is not telling much, but if you are an average guy, 1.82 m would need a 22" (L or 54-56cm), between 21" and 22" also ok-ish. Having said, I'm 1.73 but I need a slightly larger one comparing to my height (20.5" or 52-54 cm), because my back is quiet short, relatively to my legs.


Does any rental car company offer bike racks? We are hoping to take a self guided trip in Wisconsin.  We would like to rent bikes there, but can't find a rental car with a bike rack available.  Any ideas?

If you could rent a van or SUV you may be able to load the bikes inside the vehicle.


Bike frame rusting immediately, cheap frame? I've got this mountain bike, it's probably about 12 years old now, and it was sitting in the shed for years, in dry conditions. I recently decided to strip it down and I was going to respray it as it was rusted and peeling.

The thing is, I don't know what kind of metal the frame is made of, but it seems to be a total and absolute rust magnet. The paint had totally peeled off of a lot of it, and there was rust everywhere underneath about 60% of the frame. I used paint remover to remove the rest of the paint, and the next day all these "clean" parts had rusted as well!

I went at it again with wire brushes and sandpaper, and got most of the rust off, and came back the next day and it was rusted again! It seems to be (I'm assuming) rusted inside the frame too, there's, like little (air?) holes in several parts of the frame.

So, basically I'm wondering if it's even worth the bother to clean and respray it, will it just rust again?

Is it just some kind of cheap junk metal\frame? Should I just prime and spray it anyway, or will it just rust again in a few months, and all the paint fall off again?

The rest of the parts, while some were rusted initially, cleaned up just fine, and they've been sitting for a few weeks now with no signs of rusting again. So it's just the frame that's the problem.

Thoughts?

Edit:

Here's some photos.

I was using paint remover to remove the paint a few weeks ago, and about 50% the paint just fell off where it was rusted underneath, and the rest of it was really stuck on there. Everything that's not rust is the leftover grey paint. I was going to start priming it at this stage, and so I went at it with a wire brush and sandpaper last week and I had just about all the rust removed.

Then I was busy for a few days, and it was sitting in the kitchen, and I came back and it was like this. The rust on it is like a layer of dust and particles, that almost rub off on your hand if you touch it.

The second image is one of the holes in the frame. It's like the manufacturers put them there on purpose, but I don't know the reason. I can hear "stuff" in there if I shake the frame, I thought it might be sand if it was sandblasted..

The fact that the frame rusted and the paint came off over 12 years is probably the fault of the paint not the steel. Even high quality strong steel alloys rust. Also, the conditions in a shed may look dry but there could be high humidity. The frame you have may not be the best, strongest steel alloy, but if you like the frame it’s worth refurbishing.

If you strip steel down to bare metal it will react with oxygen and water in the air. You need to protect the metal with some form of oil or primer paint.

If you want the frame to look nice you’ll need to prepare the surface carefully and apply primer coats, color coats and clear coat. You can find many resources in how to do that in the internet.

What I would do is protect the frame with WD-40 or similar while removing paint and sanding to get a good surface, then thoroughly clean with solvent and apply the first primer coat in one session. You don’t want the environment to be too humid or cold when you are doing this.

Update: I read through your question again and saw you mentioned rust on the inside and holes in the frame. You can remove rust inside with rust remover chemicals, but if the frame has holes all the way through (rather than pits) it's likely junk.


Remove front derailleur without breaking chain I recently purchased a Diadora Orbita bike from SportChek. As I was riding it my front derailleur got bent and now I can't use my pedals. So, my question is, can I remove the Shimano FD-TY18 front derailleur without unlinking the chain? I don't have a chain breaker, so my only option seems to be to remove the derailleur without unlinking the chain. Is it possible?

The pictures I've found of the FD-TY18 look like the pin across the rear of the cage is riveted in place. So, you probably can't remove it without a bit of work – through if the derailleur is damaged beyond repair it probably won't be too hard to either pry it apart (try holding with a screwdriver and twisting one side with pliers) or to cut it (and do double check that there isn't a screw there).

But before you do all of that, check your chain carefully. Many chains these days are connected with a master link which makes it easy to split the chain without special tools.


Are plus forks a suitable alternative to fatbike-specific forks? I recently got a 27.5+ Fox fork only to discover that the distance between the legs of the fork is 4.3". This made me think that one could fit a 4" tire (obviously, using a 110 mm front hub instead of 150 mm) in there, and sure enough, after googling I found people doing exactly that.

So my question: can we consider 27.5+ forks a good alternative to 26 fat-specific forks such as Bluto/Mastodon?

Update: I did it, installed a 110mm Boost hub into an 80mm rim. It's not ideal because spokes are almost vertical. To make it work, you need:

Either a 65mm or 52mm rim; or
A 203mm brake rotor

Either of these two things fixes the problem. Apart from that, the experience is amazing. A 26/3.8 Hodag fits into a Fox Factory 34 27.5+ (plus!) wheel perfectly, affording about 4mm clearance each side (lots of space on top, maybe 2cm or so). Cornering, grip, much softer suspension — this is all vastly superior to what you get from RS Bluto or Mastodon Pro.

So if you're OK with a 3.8" front wheel, you can totally do Fox. For example, many electric fatbikes (e.g., Haibike FullFatSix) are limited to 4" on the rear, so having 3.8" on the front is not such a big deal. Here, I made a video about this.

Here are potential issues that may or may not arise from such solution that I see.

Geometry changes. As it has always been, control that the head tube angle of the bike changes in a way that does not worsen its handling. I, for one, use 27.5+ wheels and tires with a fat bike fork made by Surly originally shipped for 26" wheels with 4.8" tires. However, the vendor in this particular case states compatibility with 26", 27.5" and 29" wheels, and so far it was so good.
Clearance issues. Yes, a 27.5+ tire alone would fit; but would all the mud and snow sticking to the tire fit? I've had situations in my life on some bikes when either rear or front wheel got clogged with a mixture of clay, grass, sand and dirt, or sticky snow, to the point the wheel stopped rotating until cleaned.
Tire width variation outside of vendor specs. The actual installed width of a tire depends on the width of the rim used, and it could be wider or narrower than specified. So your 4" can become 3.8" or 4.2" in reality.

For the rest, a trail fork should be as good as a fatbike fork, or even better. For example, RockShox Bluto is considered by some to be "noodly" because its stanchions are just 32 mm and seem to be derived from a cross country fork. So a narrower fork with 34 mm stanchions could be stiffer.


Adjusting the pull/reach of STI levers with top-brakes (Tricross) Please excuse my terminology, I have a Specialized Tricross (2008) with Shimano Tiagra STI levers, and convenience brakes on the top of the bars, running through the same cable.

Naturally, adjusting brakes is easy enough, but I have a very sharp pull on the top brakes (flat bars, if I can call them that) - and my STIs pull almost all the way to the stop before even engaging.

Can this be a case of badly adjusted brakes? I asked my Bike shop to service the bike (minor service) - and it came back more or less like this, it's not dangerous, at all - but I like a very short pull on my brakes after a nasty TFCC injury that still isn't recovered.

I've checked the manuals for the STI levers (I expected some kind of internal setting I could crank on these, and have them take up the slack from the top-brakes)

Whilst we're at it, what's the proper name for these inline top-brakes?

The inline brakes are called interrupter brakes, or cross brakes.

It almost sounds like the pull of your inline cross breaks is meant for V-brakes, while your STI's are set for cantilever. From the details you provided, its hard to say what is going on.

If your brakes are set really loose, then both levers would bottom out before engaging, or would be rubbing the rims.

If they worked before, the shop did some work, and now they don't, well then its pretty obvious you need to return to the shop and have them fix it properly.


What can/would you upgrade a SRAM GXP BB to? Have a SRAM GXP BB (68mm BSA) with some SRAM Apex 1 cranks. The driveside bearing is shot (which is ridiculous considering the bike's a year old, barely rolling around). Most people say it's not even worth trying to replace the bearings. I could just get another of the same type but I'd prefer to get something better. What would be a good upgrade to this BB? by upgrade I mean better quality bearings that last longer, more easily user replaceable if possible.

The SRAM Apex crank requires a GXP design bottom bracket., i.e. 24mm drive side and 22mm non drive side. That's not something you can change.
The GXP design is generally reckoned to be inferior to Shimano's Hollowtech II design because the non-drive side bearing floats and is not pre-loaded, unlike Hollowtech II where both bearings are pre-loaded. Source: Hambini YouTube Channel Caution! Lots of swearing and cussing.
However, you could look for a product with higher quality bearings than SRAM offers. There are several 3rd party manufacturers that make GXP compatible bottom brackets. Wheels Manufacturing for example.
You should also check the alignment of the threads in you bottom bracket shell. Angular misalignment of the bearings accelerates wear. One way check (at least for gross misalignment) is to remove the crank, then re-install. If the non-drive side end of the axle is not lining up exactly with the non-drive side bearing as the axle is pushed through the shell you have misalignment.


Is the plastic sleeve optional for a GXP bottom bracket install? I took my frame to a bike shop to have the threads chased on the drive side.  When I got home, I realized that they didn't install the plastic sleeve (because I didn't give it to them).  They didn't say anything about it, so is that just to keep out dust/grime?

And what's the official word for that plastic sleeve?

If you are talking about the things that look like thin, wide plastic washers that go on the outer part of both sides of the bottom bracket, they are called bearing seals.

Assuming that you are saying that the bearing seals were not installed, then I would absolutely remove the cranks and install them.  They are designed to keep most of the road gunk out of your bottom bracket, helping it to last significantly longer.

If you have the appropriate crank puller then you can do it yourself.  Remove the cranks, put a light coat of grease on the inner side of the seals and then press them firmly into the bottom bracket.  They should seat firmly into an outer groove on the bottom bracket.

If you are talking about the clear plastic cylinder in the pic then I don't know what it is officially called, but I think you can do with out it. Not having it may mean that you need to check and tighten your bottom bracket more frequently, but I don't believe it's necessary.


Yet another stuck BB. Help me save my frame! So I have two bikes and a year ago I went through the challenge of unscrewing a stuck BB. The solution was to put the tool in a vice and twist the frame around it.

Today I have an even more difficult challenge. My cheaper bike is now about 5 years old and has been through dust, mud and salty snow. The BB is rattling and needs to be changed. I tried.

The BB is obviously cheap, both cups being plastic. I used the proper tool, put an elongation bar on the wrench, followed the correct direction for unscrewing ... and ruined both of my cups. The wrench just cut through the plastic teeth of the cup.

My BB is of the following type:

What can I do? I tried drying the cups apart with a soldering iron - which cut through the plastic somehow. Can I inject something inside, that will melt the cups? Can I pour spirits and set it alight, without damaging my aluminum frame and the paint around?

I thought about this a little more, and here is what I'd probably attempt:

The cup has a "shoulder" on the inside that retains the bearing cartridge.  Attack the shoulder somehow (break it, use your Dremel, et al) until it's possible to drive out the cartridge from the other end.  Then, with the cartridge out, is should be possible to pry the remainder of the cup out with minimal damage to the threads.


Any benifits of upper level bibs for a fat long distance XC biker? Skinny road bikers are all praising their Castelli/Assos bibs. Specially long distance riders.

I'm 188cm/106kg and my normal ride is something like 100-120km, 2500m gain, 8-9hours in saddle almost not-stop.

I'm quite happy with cheap fake Castelli bibs from China (17 euros or so). I was that happy with some lower level components until I replaced them with upper levels. More joy actually.

Its easy to get reviews for components but not that easy for clothing. Specially clothing dedicated for long distance XC.

For example I can get Castelli Soprasso tights for around 125euros w/ discount which is not much higher then wiggle's dhb brand.

You'll only benefit from better bibs, insofar as they fit as they should. Given that you seem content with your current set, start with the same size when making a new purchase.

For the differences...

Start by checking the stitching all the way around on the new ones that you're interested in and compare it to those that you already know. Quite a bit of the new school stuff really has really improved stitching, or even eliminated it altogether, by moving seams around and flattening things out to mitigate chafing potential (nipples, inner thighs, top of your shoulder, chamois edges).

The rubber, or rubber-like, sticky gel that is inside the bottom of the shorts that will be at the bottom of your thigh, just above your knee, will keep your shorts from riding up. The effectiveness and durability of this gel is important because nice shorts that creep up into a wrinkled mess at the top of your leg can wear a hole in your shorts, or your skin. Some shorts have dots or segmented lines of this discreet help while the most effective ones have a solid band that is not woven into the stitching.

Newer, higher-cost, bibs might even have little pockets on your thighs for making food super easy to access while you maintain your riding position. Similarly, there might even be a strategically placed headphone cable pass-through sewn in.

The most significant difference, however, is likely the chamois, or the pad that you'll be relying on for those long rides. Turn each pair that you like inside-out to get the best look and then feel for the differences between the brands and the models. The higher quality padding tends to be more dense while also being more comfortable against your skin. It is likely perforated (lines, slivers, or small sections of slightly less material) to properly fold at the very top of your inner thigh where your seat can rub quite a bit. The padding can consist of multiple densities to accommodate the different pressures that you exert on your seat. Your "sit-bones", or the two bones that ALL of us, regardless or sex, weight, riding style, or skill, expose when we sit down and lean forward to hold on to the handlebars will hopefully line up well with the strongest part of the chamois. There may be an unbelievably discreet layer of gel within the pad that can really help out. Those with the gooey, thick gel will have you sliding around on your saddle and add bulk.

Good bibs are a must. Everyone has a budget, so find the models that are within yours and get some that are nice and tight since they'll stretch out a little over a couple of years. Always hang them up inside out so the chamois can breathe and wash them with a light amount of soap. Don't allow them to host any bacteria or gross out whomever is on the bike behind you! Quality bibs will easily last a couple of years of daily use if you care for them well.


Trigger shifters partly malfunctioning I cleaned my wife's 1999-vintage mountain bike, and because no good deed goes unpunished, I seem to have caused a problem in the process.

This bike has a Shimano Deore 9-speed drivetrain with trigger shifters. Starting from the smallest cog, the trigger shifter for the rear derailleur can downshift through the first three gears correctly; after that, it needs to rotate back for the ratcheting mechanism to reset. That's where it goes wrong: the pawl apparently won't engage with the ratchet wheel, and the trigger swings freely.

I've been brave enough to remove the housing over the mechanism and blow some compressed air in there, which did not fix the problem. There are enough small parts in there that I'm reluctant to go further without some guidance (if it's possible for a home mechanic to fix at all).

I see that I can apparently buy a replacement for about $24, so if the correct answer is "replace it" I won't be too broken up.

Get yourself some Clean Streak degreaser and a dental pick. Gently work the pawls until they snap back into place firmly. Then use the compressed air to clean it out and put a drop of thin chain oil onto the pivots. That should get you going.


Citizen folding bike 3 speed - pedal slipping My citizen folding 3 speed (gear change in hub).  Slips as I pedal it.  It appears the worst in gear 1.  It does not do it with every revolution, but it slips frequently.  How do I fix this problem?

Does the chain make a ratcheting sound when you "slip" or is the sound coming from the hub?

My best guess if it isn't the chain is that either the ratcheting pawls in the hub are worn or some of the planetary gears in the internally geared hub are worn or maladjusted.

The first thing you should do is check chain tension. If that's good, then I'd take it to your bike shop. They can quickly:

Diagnose if the shifter is shifting properly and make sure you're not between gears when it's slipping.
Make sure the rear freewheel is working properly.
Check the internal geared hub.

The first problem is super cheap - a simple adjustment. The second and third are more expensive, especially if the hub needs an overhaul or replacement.


Stuck and stiff sora front derailleur I have a used 2011 trek 1.2 compact road bike with a stiff Sora FD-3400 double front derailleur.

Shifter seems very stiff, and when I shift above the second index (trim or third) by accident it gets stuck on the big chainset ring and then it takes a huge amount of force to release it or even impossible and I have to release the shifter cable from the derailleur. As I understand I should set the top limit so it won't go over the second index right? But even if I shift to the second index and try to lower to the first it takes some heavy force
and there is a loud clank when it does get released.

I think its the derailleur because when I detached the derailleur, pulling the cable in the housing seems smooth, and the shifter has good and smooth pull and release for all its indexes and trims.

Here's a video of me pulling hard on the cable

Here's my video of how hard it is to move:

Compared to what I see here at 1:34 mark:

when it does shift this is the sound it does at the end of this video (not my video)

I also suspect the previous owner had something to do with it, since there is a little dent under where the derailleur clips shown here:

Am I right thinking its the derailleur and should replace it? What else can it be that  I should check?

My SORA front derailleur cable broke (after gear change difficulties for several tens of kilometres, and ineffective cable length adjustments). I replaced the cable, but I still had to push the gear change lever very hard to change chain wheels (which is when I found this web page). The culprit was the plastic cable guide screwed onto the frame under the crank (GIANT Cross City 3). This guide had been cut through by the front derailleur cable and the cable had started cutting into the frame. After replacing this plastic guide ($3.00), as well as the cable, changing the chain wheel is almost as easy as when brand new.


Identifying compatible bottom brackets It's time to replace my bottom bracket.  I have an FSA MegaExo with what appears to be a part ID of BB-7100.  There are various markings on the face of the cup, as shown in the attached photo.  While this bottom bracket has done well enough, I'd like to look at other options and get the best price I can.  But I'm not sure what I need to match up to ensure compatibility.  I see, for example, that one measure is 24mm, which appears to be the diameter of the hole for the the splined shaft.  Presumably the width of the bottom bracket shell also matters, but it appears that there are bottom brackets that are made to accommodate various widths.
So, in short, what do I need to match up to ensure that a replacement will fit?  Thank you.

There are two things you need to match up for compatibility.

The frame bottom bracket shell
The crank axle diameter and length accommodated

As Adam says the frame bottom bracket shell is BSA/British, also known as 'ISO standard threaded', either 68 or 73mm wide.
FSA Megaexo accommodates a 24mm diameter crank axle, which is the same as Shimano HollowTechII cranks. SRAM GXP is different and uses 24mm drive side, 22mm non-drive side.
You can either get another Megaexo BB or a Shimano unit.


Finding the right bottom bracket crankset combo I need to change my bottom bracket and crankset. But I'm not sure what to buy.
I know it's an eccentric botton bracket and I still need one because I use the internal gear hub Shimano Alfine.
My preferred crankset is the Shimano Alfine FC-S501.
What do I need to buy additional to the crankset? Can you suggest an eccentric bottom bracket?
Or would you suggest a different crankset?

Your bottom bracket is screwed into the eccentric. You'll be replacing the bottom bracket. The fact that it's in an eccentric doesn't affect the part choice. The eccentric is more like part of the frame.
To install FC-S501 you need any Shimano road Hollowtech 2 BB, as indicated by BB-SM4600 being the model called out in the Shimano exploded view diagram for it.


What is the matter with this Shimano disc brake lever? I got the BR-M445L + BL-M505L a month ago. I am new to hydraulic disc brakes, so I can't tell if there is any problem with air in the system or other problems. Asked a mechanic and he said the brake is fine, though.

I am unsure how to describe the problem. The lever feels awkward. The pivot point of the lever is too far forward (compared to Avid Elixir and other levers with the oil cylinder along the hose direction). I feel as if the lever is just too far from my fingers to comfortably squeeze. And I can't reduce the reach from the adjustment screw, because it then hits against my glove.

The problem is bad enough when using 2 fingers, but is terrible when using only one finger - the lever hits my middle finder and the travel is insufficient to actuate the brake.

Is there something fundamentally wrong with this lever design, at least for some cyclists. Or some trick that is a must-do (I installed the already bled system myself)?

My brake:

"Normal" brakes:

If you want to use these brakes 1 fingered, I would recommend moving them to the inside of your shifters to remove the overlap with your middle finger.

I have all my brakes set up like this and it works great.


Why are people with full suspension bikes concerned about 'Stiffness' added by thru axles? Why are people with full suspension bikes with several inches of travel be concerned about 'Stiffness' when discussing the advantages of thru axles. I would think this is more of a concern for rigid bikes which don't have suspension. Isn't the advantage that you're just less likely to snap the axle when riding down a gnarly trail not really how 'stiff' the axle is or does this have some other purpose?

Thru axles not only keep the wheel in place, they also strongly join the right and left dropouts together. This structurally reinforces the component either being it a fork or a rigid/suspended rear triangle.

This simply makes the bike able to handle greater forces before failure, because it distributes forces between both sides of the structure. It also avoids twisting of the parts. For example, if one arm of a fork twists, it means it may loose alignment relative to the other, thus meaning the wheel is not pointing in the direction the handlebar tells the rider, this leads to a bad feedback and imprecise ride feel. A thru axle keeps both sides of the fork aligned, eliminating (or reducing) this issue. It also keeps the lower ends (bottles) better aligned with the upper parts (stanchions), allowing for a smoother operation and longer  life of seals and bushings.

For suspended rear triangles it also makes the structure stiffer, this allows better distribution of forces through the stays, so those forces reach the shock absorber with better alignment, also allowing for smoother operation and longer component life. It also keeps the pivots aligned, thus giving them a longer life for both bearing type or bushing type pivots.

The bottom line is that a stiffer structure is more efficient and gives better feedback to the rider, allowing for a more confident and precise ride. It also allows a lighter bike to handle greater forces.


Solid tyres for child's tricycle Is it still possible to purchase solid white rubber tyres? I need some for a Raleigh Tiger child's tricycle I am renovating the size in the side wall states 12 x 7/8 there is 300mm also on the side wall.

If you're going for an original-spec rebuild, I'd absolutely stay with white tyres on that bike.   However if you just want a kid to ride it, then there's no reason to stay with solid or even white.

3 modern tyres will look fine, and will be more comfortable than a solid tyre.  You can sometimes find them in white, or even other colours.

If the rim has no valve hole, then you would have to drill one.   Also, depends if the rim has a hook for the tyre bead.... without that a modern tyre won't secure to the rim.


Installing a Bottle Cage without Mounting Screws/Threads I have a Next PX 6.0 mountain bike.  It did not come with pre-installed mounting screws/threads for a bottle cage.  The frame has large oval-shaped tubes, so many attachments that come with bottle cages don't work, since they're not big enough to wrap around the entire tube.
My current configuration is with cable ties, but they keep breaking.  The bottle cage is currently only attached by one cable tie, as the other two have snapped off.  (The bike is hanging from the ceiling, which is why the orientation might look strange.)
Are there any options out there for a more permanent installation of a bottle cage on this bike?
[UPDATE: I gave this bike away when I graduated from college, which was before I got around to attempting any of the solutions offered here.  But, if you have a similar issue, the answers/comments here should still help.]

The approach I've seen is to use hose clamps to hold a bottle cage to the frame.  Hose clamps are what (used to?) attach a car's radiator hose to the radiator, if you've seen that.  If you have an old inner tube, you can slice that into strips to pad between the clamps and the frame so the paint doesn't get scratched.


What is the age of my columbia clippe bicycle, maunfactured by westfield Mfg.? My bike is a columbia clipper manufactured by westfield mfg.  Crank bottom serial # starts out B...083   can anyone tell me its age.  I'm in the process of restoring it.

Welcome aboard.

Normally frame / serial numbers are few and far between and often get overlooked on here because normally they don't lead anywhere.

However in this case as it's pre-war and you had the basic info needed (Westfield, Columbia, Clipper) the info was actually quite easy to track down.

Thanks to a guy called Mercian over here at The Classic & Antique Bicycle Exchange

It appears "B" was the date letter for 1935 (you need to scroll down a lot on the page i linked)

Some great info and images of various Westfield Columbia's, good luck with the restoration

Thanks to @Andrew below for the following link.

Columbia Manufacturing FAQ


Shimano Front Chainwheel FC-MC19 Replacement? I have Shimano FC-MC19 22/32/42 175mm crankset on my MTB for 17 years and it's time to replace it but I find it difficult to figure out what new crankset will fit my bicycle.

Two years ago I replaced the original bottom bracket (it was 110mm) for Shimano BB-UN26 110mm and everything worked perfect.

Now, I am wondering if I purchase Shimano Acera FC-M361 22/32/42 175mm crankset will it fit on my 110mm bottom bracket??? The specs of the Acera crankset that I am considering to purchase are literally the same as of the old crankset I am replacing but the new Acera crankset says that recomended bottom bracket is 123mm.

I don't see why the new Acera crankset wouldn't work on 110mm bottom bracket as the old crankset did for 17 years!? Also, I measured the distance from the bottom of the old crankset crank arm (where the pedals are attached to the crank) to the bicycle frame (where the crank arm is the closest to hit the frame) and there is 1cm of space on both sides, so no touching should occur between crank arm and the frame even if the new crankset is mounted on current 110mm bottom bracket in my opinion.

What do you think? Should I add spacers and how many??? Would that help? I really don't want to purchase new bottom bracket if everything would work well with the current one of 110mm spindle length.

The problem is not clearance between the crank arms and frame. You need to look at the clearance between the chainrings and frame, which is likely to be much tighter.

You also need to consider chainline - how for the nominal centers of the chainrings and sprocket cluster are from the centerline of the frame. You will be moving your cranks 6.5mm inboard, that's significant. I checked the specs of both cranks [here and here] and they both have a nominal chainline of 50mm, so you need the correct spindle length to get the correct chainline.

I think you'll probably get chainring - frame interference with the shorter axle, and I'd get a new bottom bracket with the correct axle length  to avoid chainline problems anyway. A 17 year old bracket probably needs replacing in any case.


Chain rings slip when crank is turned I just pulled my old bicycle out of the garage. It's about 10 years old (a 21-speed mountain bike). It was working when it was put into storage.

When I tried to ride it today, the crank wouldn't engage properly to make the chain rings rotate; or more casually, when I pedaled nothing moved but the pedals themselves.

I flipped the bike over and if the rear wheel was spinning at a fair speed then the chain rings would engage when the crank was turned and the rear wheel had power driven to it as normally expected.

Is there a freewheel or freehub at the crank / chain ring junction that I should examine?

I read through a few dozen questions but I couldn't find any that addressed this specific issue; I hope this is a new question and not just a serious misunderstanding on my part!

I'll post a video shortly, but to give further clarification...

The chain is on the gears; the chain does not slip
I can backpedal and the chains and gears spin, as normally expected
However, if I pedal forward, the gears which are located at the pedals will not spin; the pedals rotate freely. They rotate as if the thing they are supposed to be affixed to isn't attached.

Also, I'm certainly misusing terms here! By "chain rings" and "crank" I was referring to the areas of the bike as indicated in this diagram:

A quick search turned up this post, in which the OP is having the same trouble.

It sounds like your crank is swaged to the chainrings, as in this image:

"Swaged" means the "spider" (the group of radial arms that hold the chainring) is press-fitted onto the crank arm.

A better design is to manufacture the crank arm and spider as one piece, like this:

It seems that on your crank, the connection between crank arm and spider has failed. With the bike upside down and the rear wheel spinning, the load is reduced sufficiently for the crank arm to turn the spider and rings. However, it is just metal-on-metal friction that allows this to happen. As you have seen, if the back wheel is stationary, the crank arm spins independently.

You need a new drive-side crank. I'd replace the whole chainset.

Edit: It sounds like you searched and found the same pages I did, and have gotten confused by the suggestions about Shimano's "freewheeling cranks". Rest assured, your bike will almost certainly not have any weird gimmicky technology like that. Just sounds like a not-so-common failure of a poorly-manufactured crank to me. Swaged cranks are cheap and nasty (no offence intended), but you can replace them with a forged set without breaking the bank.


What's the difference between road bike disc brake wheels /cyclosross wheels? What's the difference between road bike disc wheels /cyclocross disc wheels?

Cyclocoss will tend to be wider to accommodate the wider tires used in cyclocross.  And tend to be sturdier.  Are you buying the wheels for a road or cyclocross?


Convert a Cannondale SM1000 (about 1991 model) to disk brakes I've got an older, about 1991, model Cannondale SM1000 mountain bike purchased new.  Would it be worth it to convert to disk brakes and if so what would be the process?

Adding a front disk brake:

Possible?  Yes!
Financially feasible?  Probably not.
Worth doing?  Only as a learning experience - don't expect it to turn out as good as a modern bike.

Your bike is 25 years old, and as such it will be a product of its time.  The fork will not have mountings for disk calipers, so you're up for welding some on, or replacing the fork.

If you weld, hopefully its a rigid fork because welding anything onto a suspension fork is incredibly hard, plus the risk of damaging the suspension.

Replacing the fork is easier, but you're going to need a 1" threaded MTB fork with disk mounts.

If all the other parts swap over unmodified, you're very lucky.

Do you have any emotional attachment to the old canoodle ?  Modifying it can be a bad idea and spoil your connection with the old bike.

I suggest you price up a new fork, wheel, caliper (both cable and hydraulic) rotor and see what the total parts cost is for both sorts.  Then go try some new bikes in a real shop, and calculate the difference in price.   You can even subtract whatever you'd get for selling the old bike, or revel in becoming a cyclist whose N value is now 2.

Just remember rule 12 (http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/#12)

If you can get the parts for nothing, then by all means its a good project.  However it'll never be modern - instead its mutton dressed as lamb.


How much does bike price correspond with maintenance needs? In this question (with this answer) I asked about a commuter bike, which is to be ridden 40 km every weekday, in the city. And apparently for this scenario I can choose either of two possible kinds of bike:

A $700 bike with derailleurs, rim brakes, and 700 wheels ... I image that this is an extremely standard, common type of bike.
A $1250 bike with hub gears, hydraulic disc brakes, 700 wheels, and carbon forks and seat post ... these are higher-end features and it's rare to find them so cheap (and may require a much less local LBS).

I asked at a LBS (whose specialty is commuter bikes) about, what is the difference between say one of their $600 and $800 bikes; and the answer was, "better components, more durability": that more expensive wheels are 'stronger', etc.

I don't have any insight into how much, quantitatively, more-durable versus less-durable means.

Some arguments (perhaps the main/only arguments) for hub gears and hydraulic brakes are "less or no maintenance".

How much maintenance (not just what type of maintenance, but how much) does a cheaper bike require? How much less does a more expensive one? And/or, how much longer will more expensive components last? Might the more expensive components actually be more costly to maintain (because they're more difficult to service and more costly to replace), but require service less often?

The cheaper bike will probably require you to adjust the brakes and gears plus lube the chain every week or two, and a bike shop to replace the brake pads, chain and cassette every 3-20Mm. For you, that's probably twice in the winter, once in the summer. With rim brakes you will also need new rims/wheels every couple of years, more often if the roads are gritty. But a lot depends on your riding style and the enthusiasm you have for maintenance (hence the 3-20 range). If "lube the chain every week" actually means "the bike shop does that every month or two", they'll probably be putting on a new chain. Count a monthly service at ~$50 and the chain/cassette/pads as $200 and that's $1000/year in maintenance, or $600 if you do the monthly service yourself.

It's important to note that you can skimp on all of this and it just means slightly more expensive fixes and a slightly worse riding experience (gears that skip under power, more resistance from damaged bearings, cables or chains the break, brakes that don't really work). When I was a mechanic I saw bikes where basically everything needed to be replaced, but people were still riding them (and just wanted a puncture fixed or a new basket or something). The bad riding experience means an hour for your 18km commute instead of 40 minutes.

With hub gears and disk brakes, especially with a full chain case, you'll lube the chain every couple of months, put new brake pads in every year or two, and I expect that replacing tyres will become your main dirty maintenance task. With a single-cable hub (Shimano, SRAM) you'll have to adjust the gears after a couple of months (the free service) then again a few months before you need a new gear cable. If you run Marathons or some other puncture-resistant tyre you should wear the tyre out without getting a puncture (a puncture is often the thing that makes you look at the tyre and go "need a new one". I run a Marathon Plus on the rear and have only had one puncture in at least 20Mm. I did get a 3" nail through one though (with no puncture!)

Those numbers are why people often end up with a dedicated commuter bike that costs a fortune up front. New Rohloff Oil every year at $20 compared to a new Shimano hub every three years at $800 makes the $2000 up front cost of a Rohloff seem cheap (a Rohloff will last 100,000 kilometres or more... no-one really knows because there aren't many hubs that have done that distance yet, Rohloff only started about 10 years ago).


When to replace FS bearings? I know that when a fork stops working plushly, it should be serviced in order to escape permanent damage. When a chain is noisy, it should be oiled, and when it is worn - replaced - again to prevent damage.\

But what about the bearing in a full-suspension mountain bike frame? How do I tell if mine should be replaced? What calamity could result in not replacing them?

First, not all full suspension bikes use bearing for all pivot points, and some bikes don't use them for any. They use bushings instead.

That said, assuming you have bearings at all points on your bike:

There are 2 types of bearings damage which require replacement in a suspension system.

The first, bearing play, means lateral movement inside the bearing cartridge itself. This occurs when the ball bearing wears deeply enough into the bearing race that there is space between the 2 races which is larger than the ball itself.

In a suspension system, this often presents as clicks or creaks in your suspension. It can be mimicked by loose pivot bolts, so the first check is to remove, grease, and re-torque all the bolts in your system. If the play persists, you may need to replace bearings.

The second, rough bearings, is often caused by extended use, or heavy impacts in the course of the use of your bike.

The ball bearings or races get physical chips or divots in their surface called pits, and thus no longer roll smoothly.

The presentation is often the same as with bearing play, clicks or creaks in the system.

The good news is that the diagnostic for both types of bearing issues can be done in one go.

Once you have pulled, greased and re-torqued the bolts in your system, disconnect the shock from you system, remove your rear wheel, and move the swing arm through its travel by hand. You should be able to feel any roughness in the bearings.

Repair in both cases requires replacing the bearings. This sometimes requires or at least strongly recommends tools specific to your brand or model of bike.


How to adjust rear hub on Giant ATX 2? My back wheel on my Giant ATX 2 2019 is wobbly, so I am trying to adjust it. I saw many videos on how to do this. For example, but none of them feature the type of hub that I have. It seems like an axle and skewer in one part (see photos below)
My question is: how to adjust this particular type of hub? Also, what is this type of hub called?

this is how the wheel looks like without the axle:

You have a perfectly standard hub with a freewheel, the problem is that the axle is broken, so it has come out of the hub along with the skewer. It explains the wobbly feeling. Kudos for noticing that in the first place.
Any basic hub overhaul tutorial should suit, but you need to replace the axle first, as part of the process.


Can't get lowest gear and derailleur shifts on its own I have a bike with downtube friction shifters and a 5 speed freewheel. When I bought the bike a while ago the shifters weren't connected so I did it myself. At this point it all worked fine. I took it to the local bike shop to check out what I had done, as I had never done it before. He did some adjustments (I don't know exactly what) and ever since I have had trouble with getting the lowest gear (biggest cog) and the derailleur shifts automatically back down to the smallest cog.
I have checked:

the cable - it is tight
the limit screws - they are fine
the shifter - even when tightened I have the same problem

Today I notice three things:

the cable binder bolt on the rear derailleur is loose, so it spins on its attachment to the derailleur. I assume this is a problem.
the cable is frayed after only a couple of months use
in order to move gears I have to put a huge amount of pressure on the shifter and it only uses about one third of the possible span of movement. When I set it up in the first place the lowest gear and highest gear were almost 180 degrees apart on the lever (if that makes sense).

I now need to replace the cable but how can I fix the derailleur issue? Does it just need replacing? I put a photo showing the position of the derailleur in 1st gear to check if the chain is the correct length.
I don't really want to go to the bike shop again as he isn't the friendliest person....
Many thanks for your help.
Gill

! This is the shifter position when it is on the big cog.

We know it worked once, but we don't know what was changed, so it's time to go back to basics.
Auto shifting
The rear derailleur has a spring that wants to move the chain to the smallest cog.
The shift lever should have enough friction to keep the derailleur spring from going where it wants but not be so tight that it won't move.
The first thing to check is that the wing nut is tight.
If the wing nut is tight and there is still auto shifting then it's time to check how the levers for correct assembly.
My guess is that you have shift levers that look something like this:

Check that all the washers are there and in the right place.
Low gear
There are at least three main things that can keep you from getting low gear.

Limit screws - you have checked them and they are fine. Just to make sure, can you move the derailleur by hand and get the chain to go into low gear? If so then we know it's not the limit screws.
Cable tension - with the chain in the smallest cog and the shift lever all the way down the cable should have no slack.
Derailleur alignment - here's a picture:

Picture from SOS Hanger


Maintenance/Upgrades for Gary Fisher Joshua MTB Let me start from the beginning:

About three years ago, I broke my leg after buying a Gary Fisher Joshua MTB, when I was just getting into road and cross-country riding. I've only started riding again recently, and the chain is slipping etc and the gear selector won't go into the top cog on the rear. It's my own fault for leaving it static and not at least having it serviced whilst it was in my garage. So I've decided to rip the drivetrain apart and start again.

Question: Can someone help be identify what gear shifters to buy, as well as how to replace the front cogs (3 cogs & crank, rear 8 cogs), derailer and rear mechanical bits, and obviously the chain?

I like the look and feel of the Shimano Alivio components, would those be good for this kind of riding?

(Future work: I will probably change the front shocks and rear suspension bit as well as new handle bars and grips/barends too. The wheels and tyres are pretty much brand new, have only ridden about 150 miles.)

enter image description here

Also, the reason for changing is that it all looks a bit naff. The two silver tubes at the top of the shox are corrording also, so will probably get a new front end also.

I need help on the front derailer, and rear mech if possible.  I have ordered a new rear cassette (Shimano HG31 11 30T) and new crank and chainset (Shimano Alivio MTB 42T 170 BLK) and Shimano shifters (St-M410 Aliio STI).  I'm looking at Shimano Deore V-Brakes also as the ones on the bike are starting to corrode. This ia all my own fault for not looking after the bike when I was off.

I need some advice on front/rear shocks - handlebars etc.

Also, it may sound stupid, but where can I get the bikes bolts from?  As the ones on are proper rusty and look a mess!

My suggestion is in line with heltonbikers.Bring the bike to a local shop and have them look at it.A simple tune-up may be all that is needed.Many shops offer spring specials so call early to avoid delays.I am not sure why you assume you need to replace all these parts .My theory on upgrades is to wait until there is a need to replace a component.If a parts is functioning and meeting your needs why replace it?My guess is that if both were properly adjusted most people couldn't tell the difference between the alivio and deore line.If your shifters are beyond repair that is the time to upgrade.My fisher marlin disc came with alivio and I think they're a great shifter.They are 4 years old and still work great.