texts: Why can my rear derailer no longer shift between all 8 gears?

texts:
After a low-speed collision with a car. my LBS replaced my damaged rear derailer. Shortly after, I replaced chain and cassette (from a SRAM bundle) and the front chain ring myself, as I've done several times in the past.

After adjusting the derailer while shifted to the 8th and highest gear, so the pulley wheel aligned with the smallest cog, the shifting was smooth all the way down to the 3rd gear. But I was not able to reach 1st or 2nd.

Adjusting the derailer while shifted to the lowest gear, shifting was smooth from 1st to 6th, but I was not able to reach 7th or 8th gear.

My derailer seems to span only 6 cogs.

So far I've tried (without luck):

Cleaned and lubed derailer hinges
Losened both limit screws significantly - to the point where I can push the derailer past smallest/largest cog, without using excessive force
Removed the chain and shifted back and forth, so the derailer can move freely - still only spans 6 cogs when using shifter
Took the bike to (another) LBS who adjusted the cable to it kind-of spanned all 8 cogs, but didn't run properly, let alone smoothly, in any of the gears - worse off than with 6 well-working gears!

What could be wrong? Gear cable? Cable housing? Shifter? - Any help greatly appreciated! :)


texts: How can I find the right size road bike without a test ride?

texts:
I am going to buy a road bike. I am considering a Trek 1.2.

I used the Competitive Cyclist Fit Calculator to find the size of bike that fits me.

Inseam:             80.5
Trunk:              59.5
Forearm:            36
Arm:                67.2
Thigh:              57.4
Lower Leg:          53.7
Sternal Notch:     138.1
Total Body Height: 171

  All the measurements are in cm.

The ranges that are given in the results are these:

Seat tube range c-c:   52.1 - 52.6 for competitive fit.
Seat tube range c-c:   53.3 - 53.8 for eddy fit.

The purpose of my bike is going to be able to do long distance mainly. I cannot afford another bike for racing but I will most probably be doing Ironman from next year using the same bike. But I personally think that riding 180 km in 8 hr is endurance and not year.

Now which size should I go for?  52 or 54?
Should I just check the standover height of the bike? Or I should I look into something more than that?

I am asking this because in India not many shops deal with Trek road bikes. The Trek 1.2 is only available at one shop. That fellow says he won't allow me to test ride the bike. So I am in a bad situation. I want to buy this bike but the right size. The whole geometry is available in the site I have given. Ask for more information, if needed.


texts:
I'm a longtime runner who has never, I mean NEVER, had any running-related injury before.

About 2 1/2 months ago, I started bicycling to my new job, about 5 very up-and-down, stop-and-go urban miles each way, a significant increase over my previous job where it was 1 mile each way, flat, and no traffic lights. I took a couple of weeks off of running to let my body adjust to the increased bicycling and then started up again.

Now, I've started having such bad knee pain that I can't run more than a mile. It only hurts when I run, and starts about 5-10 minutes into the run - it is a painful stiffness on the outside of my right knee. When I stop running or do other exercise, the pain goes away. I talked to my brother (who at one point studied to become a PT) and he said it sounds like runner's knee. So I got a foam roller and started rolling out my IT band 2-3 times a day, and it doesn't seem to be making much of a difference.

So here's my question: it seems like this is related to my new bicycling routine, since that's the only lifestyle change I've made. I am eager to hear if anyone else has dealt with a situation like this and how they were able to start running again. I do wonder if it could be related to my bicycle technique, or just in general the fact that my ride is so hilly and traffic-y. Or anything else that I haven't thought of.

People who don't bicycle just don't get this one - so I'd really love to know if anyone has some thoughts on this. I'm supposed to be running a marathon in March!


texts: When should you replace tires after getting a flat?

texts:
A nail punctured my rear wheel tire today while riding.
My question is, how do you know if you need to replace a tire or simply repair it with a tube repair kit?

The hole looks pretty nasty. The cap part of the nail entered the tire, leaving an L shaped hole.

My concern is that water might get into the wheel in wet conditions.


texts: Are carbon road bikes robust enough to use off-road?

texts:
Regardless of the tire clearance, could I use my carbon road bike off road too? Can it handle the stress and load? Wont it break ? Does a road bike needs to be more robust to handle the offroad, gravel load?

Thankfully

Rob


texts: How do I force my body to use triglycerides while training?

texts:
I am an amateur road cyclist (5'9" and 80kg) and happen to have a high level of triglycerides and VLDL.

I am trying to understand how the body uses fats as fuel on a ride and how I can force the muscle to use more fats than carbs on a ride.

Does L-carnitine help or is it a myth?


texts: Campagnolo single speed conversion - can I use a 10sp cog?

texts:
I have a set of Miche reflex wheels.
I would like to use them for a single speed conversion project on a Peugeot frame.

can I use a 10sp cog?
what I mean is:
can I use one of the normal cogs that are on one of my 10 speed campag cassette to do it?

This would allow me to use all the gear that I have like:
 - 10 speed chain (after being shortened)
 - original 10 speed chainring
 - one of the 10 speed cogs


texts:
Generally I'm doing a lot of sports, (volleyball, hiking, soccer, swimming, etc.) and while hiking I have no problem to do 3000 meters or more in a day (uphill ;)) but when I go mountain-biking I have some problems. I can cycle the first 500-600 altitude difference more or less in a normal speed (~1 hour), but afterwards if I should cycle further I'm exhausted.

So whats the best way to improve my stamina? Should I practice every day a little bit? Or is it better to sometimes go for long tours?


texts: Can a carbon fiber mountain bike handle cool/cold weather?

texts: It is late summer in the US and I am starting to look forward to autumn and winter mountain biking. I have a carbon fiber frame though. Didn't get to ride it last winter due to a broken collar bone (almost landed that jump). So, anything to be concerned about riding a carbon fiber mountain bike in cool/cold weather? I am talking anything from 50°F/10°C down to sub freezing temps.


texts: Uncomfortable rise and backsweep on wide mountain bike handlebars

texts: I've got a set of wide carbon bars on my mountain bike. I get painful wrists after riding because of the shape of the bars. They are pretty much flat with a slight backsweep. How do I know which bars I should buy and what is the benefit of rise and backsweep on handlebars?


texts: How can I tell if a tire contains slime?

texts:
I recently had an inner tube on my mountain bike changed,  but it was my wife that actually took the bike in to the shop for service.  When it came back I noticed the stem has a blue cap rather than the typical black cap. I have seen slime inner tubes that have a green cap, so it got me to wondering if there was something different about the tire. Although I hadn't asked for slime and she didn't remember anything being said about it, it's possible they could have just thrown it in as a freebie.  (This sort of thing has happened before where they quote one price over the phone and then the actual price winds up being less than what they quoted.) I have also noticed that at one point the tire went flat uncharacteristically fast (within a couple days of non-use compared to normal losses of a maximum of 1/3 pressure over a week), but after I pumped it back up it seemed to hold its pressure fairly well over a longer time period, which suggests to me that either there was a tiny leak which somehow sealed itself when the tube was re-pressurized, or slime was involved.

Aside from actually taking off the tire and taking out the tube and shaking it, how can I tell if a given tire has slime in it?


texts: What statutes govern the directing of traffic by citizens in Massachusetts?

texts:
Are there laws or statutes governing the directing of traffic by citizens or "members of the public"?

A scenario I often encounter is one in which someone — typically another rider or pedestrian in a group that has stopped or slowed at road crossing — will signal an approaching driver to proceed across the flow of bicycle traffic. I realize that people who do this are trying to be helpful or courteous to the drivers, but they do so on behalf of others with whom they have not consulted and who they may not be aware of.

In particular, I'm wondering what the laws are in Massachusetts, though any information about New York City, London, Seattle and Vienna or other areas would be welcome.

Is someone who does this liable in any way for any accidents that might ensue? Are they legally permitted to direct traffic in this way? Do they assume any responsibility for others who may become involved in the consequences of their "traffic direction" (given that those others generally have no idea that such directions have been given)?


texts:
Trek Fx 7.3, 1 year old, 1900 miles

3 days short of my 1 year bike purchase anniversary I discovered some broken spokes on the rear wheel. The bike shop gave me a new wheel they had in the shop, an extra wheel they had and said it was better than my wheel. There was no charge for this I presume because it was under a year and though I'm not sure I would guess Treks warrenty is 1 year. 2 weeks later another spoke breaks and I replace that at a 30 dollar cost. The "sales" person tried to sells me a $160 wheel saying that factory wheels are junk and this expensive one is so much better.

This morning which is about 3 weeks from the last spoke, another spoke breaks. I commute to work and this is becoming a problem. I probably need a new wheel but I'm debating whether I want to bother with this shop anymore.

Any thoughts?
thanks


texts: What can I do to keep my rear derailler in good condition when commuting in the snow?

texts:
In the winter, it seems that whatever I do, my rear derailleur stops functioning after few weeks of commuting in light snow. Ice always gets in there somehow, and the chain refuses to move the wheel, skipping.

The bike always stays outside (covered but unheated at home, outside at work) all the time, and I tried to bring it in for a melt every day, and every week. This seems to make the problem worse, so that even if there is no snow and the freewheel looks fine, the freewheel skips. Maybe rust has gotten in there, now.

What can I do to prevent the freewheel to skip after few weeks of usage in snowy conditions?

I'm not interested in internal gear hubs for now, as they are much more expensive.


texts: Treacherous ride - top half of fork points backwards, but the bottom points forward

texts: I have a Kent Glendale with dual front suspension. The top half of the fork is turned around so the right shock was installed into the left stanchion and vice-versa. and I cannot figure out how to remove the lower half of the fork. There are no screws on the outside, just a rubber stopper at the top of each stanchion tube and a nylon split washer at each joint. Looking down through the tubes, it's just a black hole for several inches.


texts:
I replaced my bottom bracket with a Shimano 113mm cartridge.

Now 3 months later its making a creaking noise; the sound goes when free wheeling though.

Do l need a new cartridge?


texts: I rode a children's bike, now the chain is sagging - is it ok to shorten it?

texts:
I know that I shouldn't have, but I had a go on my son's bike (https://www.giant-bicycles.com/au/xtc-street-20-2012).

I think that I stretched the chain. It's sagging now with about 3" of vertical play at the point between the cogs.

So - can I buy a chain breaker and just shorten the chain, or should I get a new one?


texts: Disc brake rotor compatibility and recommendation

texts:
I have Ultegra BR-RS805 flat mount hydraulic brakes on my gravel bike, and Shimano RT86 6-bolt Ice Tech 160mm rotors.

There's a shim between the brakes and the frame to fit the 160mm rotors. When the guy at my LBS looked at my bike, he held the brakes and rocked it back and forth and said there was a lot of movement on the back wheel due to the shim and recommended that I use a 140mm rotor instead so I could remove the shim. As I have another set of wheels I'm building out for the bike, I thought it made sense to get a pair of 140mm rotors and then use those on the two rear wheels, with the 160mm rotors on the front.

As the RT86 rotor does not come in a 140mm size, would a 6-bolt 140mm SRAM Centerline rotor be compatible and a good option?


texts: What do I need to look out for when replacing rear thru axle?

texts:
Got a new-ish (used, but barely) Cube Nuroad 2020 recently. It has 12x142 mm thru axle (a one that you're supposed to screw in rather than tighten with a QR lever). But it lacks a lever with which it can be unscrewed. It only has a wrench adapter. So I can still take off the wheel but I need to have a wrench which is not optimal for when you get a flat.
I tried finding a lever but couldn't. Now I want to buy a new axle (which will have the lever). Is there anything I need to know to not make a mistake and for example avoid buying something incompatible?


texts: I am running on a Shimano Tiagra 10 speed (CS-HG500-10) (12T-28T) and (50-34T front). I'd like to change the smallest cog (12T) to something smaller, i.e., 11 or even 10, to improve my sprints. Is that a possibility?


texts: Shifting can't keep up with my acceleration

texts:
I noticed that when I really give it hell after stopping or riding slow (I do that all the time on commute), I have to shift two gears at a time in the lower gears, to keep up with my acceleration. I then asked myself whether there's any better way for the shifting to keep up with my acceleration. The shifting process itself goes very smooth and I can time it very well in my opinion.

Also, how do real bike racers do it?
The reason I ask is that I hardly believe that racers always loose time with shifting over several gears before the next "thrust". Or does that not cause lots of time loss?

  Do racing bikes have special gear ratios for optimizing speed of the shifting process?

I only cycle as a commuter (just 3.6km), but I probably behave somewhat like a racer (regarding speed) as well on that short route.


texts: 700ccx28 rims with 25 tread and 28/32 tube does it work?

texts: So I have a pure fix, first problem, I replaced the rim strip and the tubes popped far less. I only replaced them a couple times from a nail and too much weight. I needed new tread, the shop owner put on the 25's and the tubes are 28/32 kendas. The tubes popped each time in the same place, near the stem. 3 different tubes. Is this a tube size issue or rim issue?


texts:
I keep getting blow outs in my front tube and always in the same location: right next to the valve stem. The blow outs look like:

On this same tube, there is wear on exactly the other side of the valve stem.  I have checked the tire and the wheel and there doesn't appear to be anything sharp enough there.

What can cause this? I suspect it's something that I'm doing. I'm tired of buying new tubes, as I hear these flats cannot be patched. If it matters, it's a presta valve and I usually inflate to 110 psi, the maximum.


texts: Purpose of this hinge component found on the pinch-bolt of front brake?

texts: I'm thinking that it provides extra tension to the brake line. Would this hinge be set in it's "down" position when installed (as seen in the picture)? If so, wouldn't that be considered a risk in the case that if the hinge flips up during rides, the cable gains slack, thus losing brake-pulling capability?


texts: How to determine if my rear axle is bent?

texts:
When riding, the rear wheel feels as if there is a tiny pebble, stuck within the thread.

The wheel is one week old, the hub is Shimano FH-M475. I have done only very tiny jumps - for example from curbs, but could have landed badly a few times i.e. directly on the saddle. I am 70kg (154lbs).

I don't have rim brakes, so I can't determine if the rim is bent. However,visually, it is fine. My rear tire runs at 4.5 bar (65psi).

Is the axle bent? Is it my fault or can I claim warranty?


texts: Does "speed" of a replacement chainring matter?

texts:
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)


texts: Should I be able to peel off a glued tire patch?

texts:
One of the things that I've noticed with the low-cost tube patch kit that I bought is that I'm able to catch an edge of the glued patch with my knife or fingernail and peel the patch off the tube like a bandaid.  While handy for repatching, it doesn't give me a whole lot of confidence in this kit.

Shouldn't a glued patch be essentially so welded to the inner-tube that it's unable to come off through any normal means?

** This is a cheap kit with glued patches (ie, separate glue and patch, not a "glueless" patch)


texts: Non U-Lock that can be mounted for carrying?

texts:
I recently moved away from NYC to the suburbs. In NYC, I always locked up my bike with the New York Lock, which is a super heavy duty U-Lock. With a plethora of signs and parking meters, NYC works amazingly well for a U-Lock. Now however, the security is overkill and also there's very few signs and no parking meters in the suburbs. I find that I spend at least 10 minutes when I get places trying to identify a U-Lock compatible location to lock up.

I'm looking for a bike lock that isn't a U-Lock but is still fairly secure. I might not need such high security still, but you know the old saying... (You can take a man out of the city but you can't take the city out of a man.)

My one requirement is that whatever chain/cable lock I end up with needs to have a mount for the bike. I don't want to be carrying this or draping it on the bicycle.

I've found tons of cheap, really insecure locks with mounts. I can't find anything that's both secure and mountable.

Cost is no obstacle here. A bike theft would cost much, much more.


texts:
I thought my tire pressure was low.  I pumped air to the maximum resistance and after four hour there was hissing of air continuously while I was asleep and it woke me, how can I fix it?

It's a new one, bought three weeks ago and it's only the front tire went flat.


texts: Do cyclists warrant special consideration under traffic laws?

texts:
I recently saw a YouTube channel where a motorist with an agenda has taken it upon himself to film cyclists as they break traffic laws. Most (perhaps not all) of the actions I observed would be what I consider reasonable out of necessity or convenience (nb: cycling bias!), such as:

riding between the parking lane and the traffic lane.
passing on the right when safe.
yielding in lieu of stopping.

In most jurisdictions where a Motor Vehicle Act is applied to non-conventional vehicles in the roadway (electric, pedal, etc.), there seems to be an unspoken grey area where the letter of the law is not recognized by cyclists.

Has anyone codified this grey area in traffic law vs. etiquette in a way that's better defined & acceptable to both motorists & cyclists? (Arguably everything should be covered by traffic laws.) Could a better definition of this grey area help justify the need for special consideration under the law, or do you think "bikes are traffic, period"?


texts: Is it annoying to carry a backpack when riding a road bike?

texts: I plan to buy a road bike for my daily commute but I need to carry my PC with me as a well-equipped engineer. My daily commute is around 5 km plus intermittent city tours. I afraid after some kilometres, it might make my back ache. Do you think it will be painful after a while? Do you prefer something like a trekking bike for this example?


texts: I've recently purchased my first fixed gear bike from another rider and the rims have faded from orange to pink and I was hoping to restore it back to orange. However, after looking online, it doesn't seem nearly as easy as I thought. For the specific bike, what are some considerations for durability? Thanks for any help whatsoever!


texts: Is this a bike light and how do I turn it on? (I know it sounds stupid)

texts:
I've been doing a lot more cycling in the last year since moving to a new town and have really enjoyed it.

I had a fairly crappy bike though and went to a secondhand store quite far away to get a good bike at a nice price.

One big issues is there is what I assume is the bike light in front of it (just one) but I see no way to get it to actually turn on, which means I can barely cycle now.

I used to have the lights where you move that part down to touch the wheel and the movement causes the light to go on (best way I can explain it). This doesn't do that. I also don't see any on/off button or basically any obvious way to get it to work. The store I bought is really far away as are the good bike stores (I live in a small town.)

I've started to wonder if it's really a light or a reflector - although it looks like the former. Any help please?


texts: How to calculate rigid fork replacement for suspension one?

texts:
Let's say I am reading spec for 29er with suspension fork and I would like to calculate replacement parameters for rigid one. Calculation is needed because I don't want to change geometry after replacement -- so the rigid fork should feel (in sense of geometry) as locked in neutral position suspension fork.

How to do the calculation, what parameters are important? Example:

  "Custom SR Suntour XCT 29, w/ custom Multi-Circuit Damping, alloy
  lowers, coil/MCU spring, Hi-Ten 28mm stanchions, 1-1/8" steerer,
  hydraulic lockout w/ preload adjust, disc mount, 100mm travel"

(text from Specialized Rockhopper 29).

Background 1: I want to do calculations before I buy the bike to avoid situation, that I am buying popular bike but there is no rigid fork replacement (or it is very hard to get).

Background 2: In reality I wanted to buy fitness bike (100% rigid, disc brakes, 700C) and mount wider tires (2"). After some query it appears that all fitness bikes (like Trek 7.2 FX, Cube Hyde, etc) have so little space that you can fit 1.75" tire max (Kross Seto). I found only single bike so far with frame for wider tires (Sulry Ogre), but it is out of reach for me (Poland). So I see no other option as do more expensive replacement -- instead of buying fixed fork bike and replacing tires, buying 29er and replacing fork.


texts: Can I combine narrow wide chainring in triple chainring?

texts: I have Shimano crank (MT300) with triple chainring (44-32-22), I want to change the outer chainring(44) with the bigger (maybe 50 or 52), can I use narrow wide chainring in outer gear? so the new set up will be (50-32-22). Any problem with shifting up and down after I use that new chainring?


texts: Why and how much is riding big-chainring-frong small-cog-rear a negative practice?

texts:
A friend of mine is riding consistently in largest chainring front and smallest cog rear. The corresponding teeth counts are respectively 44 and 11.

The bicycle is an Acera-level mountain bike with very light and fitting them frame. Gears shift relatively quickly and reliably.

Their average speed is about 30km/h, while commuting 20km total per day. The traffic is average.

Their acceleration at traffic light is low. However, I have observed no other drawbacks. To my surprise, the chain and smallest cog are still operational, after 1-2 years of year-round commuting - dust, snow, salt, mud, rain. (measured with a chain ruler)

Also, when it becomes impossible to ride this gear (standing up), they switch to a much much easier gear.

Is this a reason for concern? Knees, traffic safety, mountain trekking endurance, bike components wear (from most important to least important)?

EDIT:
A couple of clarifications:

The tires are 26x2.0 semi-slicks.
It was a mistake to claim average speed of 30km/h. This is rather cruising speed. On the other hand, starting from a red light or recovering from a difficult turn takes forever (5 seconds for example).


texts: SRAM Eagle XX1 Cassette creaking under torque, only after warming up

texts:
This happens after riding the bike for about an hour. I've replaced free hub, greased/torqued the cassette interface several times, etc. These videos show what I'm up against.
Update: after more googlings on the topic, I found reference to the pins on the largest gear making noise after they loosen a tad, and found recommendation to specifically lube the pins. I tried this with some extra chain lube and it seemed to help, but I haven't ridden the full hour of hard mashing yet to fully prove it out. I suspect these pins are not supposed to be loose enough to allow this, if indeed this is the culprit?
Update 2: oil on pins was not a fix. but I have narrowed it down to the spline finger portion that tightens from the outside- the movement is occurring at this point and making the clicking. It appears there is slop between teh two diameters, and the fingers are pulling from the outside, but allowing it to "shift" and creak under torque.
I read somewhere that gen 1 of eagle had some tolerance issues- is this perhaps what I'm fighting?


texts: Fork Compression Speed during brake action

texts:
I would like to know how much is the compression speed of a front fork (travel 120 - 160 mm) during a strong braking. Suppose the total weight of the bicycle + rider 95 Kg.
Moreover I would like to know the time that pass between the action in the brake leverage and the starting of compression of the fork (dive). Is 0,03-0,05 sec a good estimation?


texts: SRAM double tap road shifters, MTB derailleurs?

texts: Can I run SRAM double tap road shifters with MTB (X5, X7) derailleurs and cassette/chainrings? I want to get lower bottom gears than achieved with a 50-34 chainset and 34-11 cassette


texts: I lost the main bolt for a Weerider Kangaroo, just wondering if someone has one and can tell me the size of the main bolt the one that attaches the seat to the bar.


texts: Where to find a good bicycle-trailer lighting system...in Canada

texts:
We have a child trailer (like this--link has better side/rear view but requires flash) and want to be seen by cars when biking at night.  The little red blinking bike lights available in our area are terrible: even the expensive ones break very easily, turn off after going over the slightest bump, etc.  I am having a very hard time finding a product, by a company that ships to Canada, meeting all of the following requirements:

has amber/yellow/orange-coloured lights (apparently the only legal all-direction light colour with which to decorate your vehicle)
made of LEDs or other low-power lights, preferable in a strip or rope of some kind, minimum 2ft long (must stretch at least across the back of the trailer)
meant for outdoors--lights and at least part of the wire going to the battery pack must be rain-proof
operable down to, if not below, -10 degrees C
powered by rechargeable batteries (e.g., one that uses AA batteries is not a bad choice)
bright (we prefer to be seen from afar for 8 hours over being weakly lit for 80--so most battery-powered Christmas lights don't seem to fit this)

Also, the following would be very nice:

already put-together (I found many sources of LED strip lighting but then we'd have to borrow a soldering iron and get our own battery pack and seal it ourselves)
not cost-prohibitive (there are lots of places that have nice lights but even for a DIY solution, it's either 2 overpriced half-metres or the next level up is buying 5m which is way too much)...$40 plus shipping would be nice.  I guess we could spend up to $80 after shipping but really...we're replacing dollar-store lights here.

I came so close to finding something, but the few options that fit all criteria were made by companies that did not ship to Canada (thanks for telling me only once I reached the checkout, and not allowing this as a search criterion even when logged in, Amazon...)

There's also the one product "exclusively licensed to Chariot", StrideLite:

...but apparently it's terrible, which you can pretty much tell just by looking at it.  It doesn't light up the back at all, which is often the part you'll need to make more visible.

Any suggestions?  This is getting frustrating, and I'm surprised at the lack of solid options I've come across so far.


texts:
I have an Opus Spark 2 which has a Tiagra cassette 12-28 (10 speed). I would like to change for a 11-34. The cassette exists in, a guess, the same series (http://bike.shimano.com/content/sac-bike/en/home/components11/road/Tiagra4700/cs-hg500-10.html).

Is there something else I should check to be sure it is compatible? Will I have space problem with the derailleur and the jockey wheel?


texts:
I am contemplating riding from New Jersey, across the George Washington Bridge, across Manhattan, into Queens and on to work in Long Island.  I am already spending up to 2 hours on the drive due to traffic, and I think it will take me about 2.5 to 3 hours on the bike.  I am considering doing it one way.

My concern is possible routes across Long Island.  I only need to get out to Bethpage, between the Northern State/Southern State highways.

Looking at maps, it seems that my best option is Queensboro bridge (Aka 59th St, aka Koch bridge) to Queens Boulevard, and then stay on 25A which changes names, pretty much the whole way out there.

My concern is whether this is a rideable road.  Last summer I was lucky enough to be able to ride 30+ miles to Parsipanny, NJ, and riding along Rt 46 where it has a paved shoulder was a dream come true!  The trucks and cars zipping by just dragged me along.  A pleasure.

But I have never even driven Queens Blvd, and do not really have time to try it.

Google Maps, selecting bike routing has a convoluted, complicated, longer route, trying to hit parks and bike paths as best it can.

So to make this more relevant, I am looking for a good bike route, out of Manhattan and across Long Island.


texts:
Some time ago I bought this pump. It should be usable for all valves, but I'm not sure how that is supposed to work and it didn't come with a manual.

On one side there's a lever, on the other side (where the air comes out) there are some parts that may have to be assembled in a specific way for different types of valve.

An overview

Lever folded out

Disassembled

Can anyone tell me how this works?


texts: This is a OEM wheel from a 2014 Salsa El Mariachi Single Speed, called a "Salsa 2, Singlespeed" hub, which I believe is made by Formula. The freehub body "wiggles" (the thing that my fingers are touching in the photos). I tried to show the wiggle in the last two photos, but it may not be perceptible in the photos; it moves by about 1mm. Do I need a whole new freehub body? If so, how can I find a replacement? Or do I just need to service the one I have? Or lord please don't tell me I need a whole new wheel!


texts:
I know it's possible to put an Eagle 10-50 cassette on a road bike with a Sram Force AXS 1x groupset, as I rode a Santa Cruz Stigmata with this exact spec.

My question is about running the Force 2x with the same Eagle cassette.  Basically I want to know if that would work and the question is technically about the chain.

I was surprised that the Force 1x with Eagle in this setup doesn't use the new asymmetric chain with a flat side, rather an Eagle chain.  If I were to convert this bike to a 2x Force crankset, would that same Eagle chain work?  If not, would the standard 12 speed chain work with that Eagle cassette?


texts: Is it possible to increase maximum seatpost insertion length by filing down a seat tube bottle cage mount boss?

texts:
I have an aluminum MTB hardtail frame with a pair of standard bottle cage holes on the seat tube.
I want to insert a seatpost fairly deep into the frame sometimes, so that the saddle stays low. The limitation of my frame's maximum insertion depth is the top hole position. The bottle cage boss has a part of its fixture protruding into the tube. Thus, while theoretically there is about 20 or more centimeters of the seat tube left down to the bottom bracket, the post can only go so far.

With my current seatpost, I solved this problem by sawing off several centimeters of it. This way, I could have the saddle as low as I wanted it to be. I had to account for the change of minimum insertion depth of course, as the part of the post was not there anymore; I was OK with that. Yet, I want to keep the currently achieved minimum saddle height, or even decrease it a bit.

I am now waiting for a new seatpost to be delivered, and it is several centimeters longer than my current (sawed-off) one. Unfortunately, I cannot shorten it, because it is a dropper; apparently, the trick with a saw will not work on it.

I am thinking about approaching this issue from a different angle. I do not use that particular bottle cage mount. If I manage to remove it, or at least its internal protruding part, I will have enough additional centimeters of clear straight tube (until the second, lower bottle hole) to stick my new dropper post in.

This idea spawns a number of questions.

Is it possible to achieve at all?

Straightforward drilling of the down tube from the outside of the mount hole and making a bigger hole to get rid of the fixture sounds like an obvious but very dangerous option. The frame strength will suffer.
Instead, a careful filing of the mount point inside the tube sounds safer. But it can only be done by reaching from the top of the down tube (with a post removed) with a very long file, or a similar instrument. I do not know if such tools are available to bike shops.

Is it reasonable at all? Is that internal part of a bottle mount supposed to bear significant mechanical load?
I cannot imagine I am the first one to face this problem and to imagine such a solution, but has anyone ever tried it? Are there any documented attempts of such (un)successful operation? Maybe on a steel frame (but even I cannot dream up trying that on carbon stuff).


texts: How to close a chain when the pin was broken

texts:
I was changing the chain on a bike with a Shimano gear shifter and when I was trying to push the pin in it broke off after only getting the front section in.

How can I recover and attach the chain?


texts:
I recently found this cassette that appears to have only 5 speeds. No locking or anything. Is it incomplete? Can it still be used with a normal freehub (with spacers of course)?

Thank you!


texts: Will trailer be my best option? If not, what is?

texts:
I need to take a  backpack with me that's literally wider than my body and about as tall as my torso and neck, it weighs around 15-20kg.

What I'm concerned about is roads that aren't so good or places where I might even need to go offroad (I don't know) as well as be essentially having less mobility and being wider.

I'm going to travel (mostly on my bicycle) through various countries, which includes central European countries as well as northern countries, including their northern parts (so northern Sweden for example).

I'm low on budget though, keep in mind, so it isn't going to be something super fancy. Do you think a trailer will be my best option, and if not, what kind of attachment is?


texts:
I have a pair of Shimano MW7 shoes, and a pair of Shimano SH-AM9. These shoes are designed for pedals with cleats. But I am often in the situation where

I have to walk a bit etc
even worse I have to put the feet down in a the snow or I very cold water

so that I would like to know if Shimano provides covers for the cleat holes on the shoes. (I know for sure that some of their shoes models have these covesr by default, like the XM explorer series for instance.) I tried to contact Shimano by several ways, without any answer.


texts: What's more aerodynamic on flat bars: backpack or pannier?

texts:
I'm surprised this hasn't been asked before, but as a general rule, is a single rear pannier or a backpack (of similar sizes) more aerodynamic on a hybrid or MTB? Even on flat bars drag is much more than (road) rolling resistance for sensible speeds, and small changes could be significant.

I'm specifically considering a backpack narrower than my shoulders, and except on fast descents or into a headwind I have a fairly upright posture.  I also have quite wide bars.  My general preference is for a pannier but with a couple of longish (50--70 km / 30--45 mi) rides coming up I'd like to optimise for effort.


texts: Using a 700x23 tire on my wheel (which currently accomodates 700x25)

texts: I have Mavic Reflex 622 x 13 (700c) wheels which currently hold 25mm tires. Can I use 23mm tires on them?


texts: How much easier is it to go fast on a road bike and why?

texts:
I have a very comfortable ~500€ basic mountain bike with 2.2" tyres and 27.5" wheels on which I can maintain an average of 24-25 km/h on a windless day on flat asphalt when I'm feeling strong. I cannot keep pedalling in top gear continuously. Instead, I keep switching between the hardest and next to hardest gears.
How much easier would it be to go fast on an affordable road bike with narrow tyres?  Sure it has "faster" gearing, but that alone won't help me since I don't spin out on my current bike either. I am simply not strong enough. Would I see a real speed improvement from a road bike, and if yes, approximately how much? Does that improvement come mostly from a more aerodynamic (but perhaps uncomfortable) position, less rolling resistance, better position for pedalling, or something else? I assume all of these matter, but there is likely a dominant factor.
I have never had the chance to ride a road bike, and I am simply curious. No, this question does not stem from any practical need such as commuting. However, it would be nice to know if a more efficient bike would allow me to reach more places within a reasonable amount of time during this pandemic when I am hesitant to take public transport. I suspect it wouldn't (without better fitness).
EDIT: Another way to phrase this question is, does it even make sense to think about a more efficient bike until I regularly spin out on my current one?


texts:
It seems like a self-evident truth, but I've never heard the rationale behind it. Why is doping illegal in Tour de France?

I assume it is related to the safety of the riders? Then why don't they simply limit the doping to forms of doping and medical treatments that have been peer reviewed and demonstrated to be relatively safe?

Yeah, sure, it can never be completely safe, but that can be said for the sport itself, and any other sport. Riders make contact in Tour de France, they fall, there are inherent hazards to the sport. This is true for almost any sport.


texts: Rockshox Reverb dropper seatpost squashing from new

texts:
I have a new bike with factory-fitted Reverb Stealth dropper seatpost. Having never had one before, I would like to know what movement you would expect on a seatpost if any. If I lift the bike up by the saddle, the post extends a bit if it’s not already at the top of its extension. This may be normal but I wanted to check.

The movement I’m getting that is more concerning is the squash that I get on the seat. It drops up to 1 cm. I’m not sure whether it needs a bleed, air pressure check or what. Any thoughts?


texts:
Many cyclists apply embrocation cream to their legs in colder weather because it makes them feel warmer. I understand wanting to have an extra "weather-barrier", in the form of the oil(s) that make up the majority of embrocation. However, the ingredient that causes the "warming" feeling in embrocation cream, capsaicin, is a vasodilator. In the long run, wouldn't that lead to colder legs, seeing as it would expose more blood to the colder temperatures at skin level?

Wouldn't it be better to just use oil (without capsaicin) to get the "barrier" effect, instead of embrocation cream? Are there any studies indicating that embrocation (or topical capsaicin) improves performance in colder weather?


texts: Is there a reason why one's calfs would ache on a Turbo or Spinner, but not when riding on the road?

texts:
I'm not on my own on this one as at least two other people in my Spinning class suffer the same:  when Spinning or on the Turbo Trainer, I can feel pressure on my calf muscles after a bit of time (usually less than 45 minutes).  But I can ride on the road for up to 3 hours without feeling any pressure.

I think it's something to do with leg angles:  on the road, the bike changes angle slightly to best match the angle of the leg, but on a spinner or Turbo, it's fixed and so can't move.

Are there any proven reasons why calfs would ache on a static bike but not on the road?


texts:
I have an Airnimal Joey with 8 (internal, Shimano Inter 8) rear gears. I wanted to install drops handlebars  and the shifters. I got the Shimano Sora ST-3300-8 Right / Rear 8 Speed Shifter, which I thought will be perfect since there are 8 gears in my bicycle.

Unfortunately my local bike shop told me that the these shifters are not going to work with the internal gears. What are my options in this case? I can always change the gears to the external ones but that would probably be quite expensive as I think I would have to replace the wheels. What are the other options?

Are there any other shifters than can work with these internal gears? I have heard something about the electronic shifters (or perhaps converters) that can make it work? Or perhaps there is some other (preferably not too expensive) way to fix it?


texts: What effect does the length of the cage on a rear derailleur have on bike setup/shifting?


texts: What components are recommended for entry level mountain bike?

texts:
I am looking for an entry level mountain bike. I plan on using it on real mountain bike trails, not just unpaved trails and greenways.

Specifically, here's what I'd like:

good shifters/derailleurs that generally change gears in a predictable fashion
good front suspension
rear suspension would be nice if I can get it without entering the "prohibitively expensive" zone, which for me is basically the four-digit range (maybe $1500 if it's too good to pass up)
not opposed to a used bike
it's ok if the bike isn't super light or made of the same stuff as the space shuttle

And are there some important considerations that I'm totally missing? The purpose of the bike would be to noodle around some of the excellent trails in Utah County, so the bike would take a bit of a beating from time to time.


texts: Where is the Tricross Sora front derailleur barrel adjuster

texts:
It's supposed to be on the outer casing (according to the shimano manual) but the Tricross has internal cable routing.

Anyone know where it is? I really don't see it but I might be being a bit simple.


texts: Shimano Front Chainwheel FC-MC19 Replacement?

texts:
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.


texts: Using a UST wheel after a dent has been repaired

texts:
I found a dent on my rear wheel on the weekend, a UST rim which I had been running a UST tyre on. This was allowing the tyre to burp (not running sealant) so I had to repair or replace. It was the first dent on this wheel and only relatively small (size of nail on small finger)

Using the technique of holding a flat piece of metal aginst the rim and carefully working along with a adjustable spanner I managed to get the rim straight without any further damage and could not see any cracks. The bead seems to have maintained it's shape.

I refitted the tyre (finally perfected the technique of seating a UST tyre with a floor pump) and it held pressure overnight although I've yet to ride on it.

Are there any possible issues that I should be wary before riding this wheel?
Should I be confident that there is unlikely to be a catastrophic failue?

I'm not concerned about burping, I can manage that just worried of a rim breaking at speed downhill.


texts: Is cyclocross tire (CX) taller than normal road bike's?

texts:
According to the specialized website, the 54cm crux 2021 comes with 700x33c cx tires.
https://www.specialized.com/us/en/s-works-crux/p/171342?color=271648-171342&searchText=91420-0046
And, its bb drop is 69mm and its bb height is 283.5mm.

That means its tire height is 41.5mm?
My current 700x25c's tire heigh is 25mm and I also ride a 700x44c and its height is about 40mm.
So, did I make wrong calculation? or CX's tire is taller than normal road bikes?
The calculation is
( ( 283.5 + 69 ) * 2 - 622 ) / 2 = 41.5


texts: Before re-inserting a stuck seat post what should I do to the steel/alloy surfaces?

texts:
After several days and great effort I've succeeded in removing a stuck seat post (alloy post in a steel frame). It's actually in a reusable condition.
Before trying to re-insert it, what should I do to the steel/alloy surfaces - apart from a proper layer of grease!
I need to lower the height of the seat.
e.g. Should I try abrasive materials to marginally diminish the diameter of the seat post?
Update...
Took the bike to a proper bikeshop and got the seat tube properly measured to confirm that the seatpost was the correct size.
That seatpost had been in the bike, fairly high up - for 30 years. The diagnosis was that the miles of usage had caused the seat tube to be fractionally compressed, causing the problem with the seatpost. I'm not convinced about this - surely it would require tension to cause a tube to get slightly narrower?
So I've ordered a 26.6mm post to replace the 26.8mm one.
The old seatpost:-


texts:
I own two bikes, both are vintage. Steel frames with 700C wheels, friction downtube shifting, drop bars, toe clips. One is more speedy with less comfort (fixed gear conversion), the other leans more towards commuting/cyclocross (touring).

I've recently been really wanting to get into more serious road cycling and/or cyclocross after re-starting riding bicycles this year. So far I've looked at many brands and models available to me where I live, and I'm still really unsure. I'm currently settling with Trek Madone 3.1, full carbon, used, but really cheap. It has a mix of SRAM and Shimano (105 I think) on there. I'd say my budget is somewhere between 700 to 1000 US dollars, that value is converted. Definitely not looking for anything professional, but for something that still at least has a carbon fork.

I already have fine commuters, this I need mainly for tougher exercise and recreational long-distance riding and maybe as an extra fast commuter, but not for racing, since in my country the road conditions are pretty bad and sportive cycling is rather unpopular (except for CX).

I'm also looking at B'Twin, Bianchi, Author, Boardman, Merida, Vitus, Raleigh, and some others.


texts: Why is my bike looking so light yet so cheap as I make a list of what I need to build it?

texts:
I've been searching around to get a rough price for a home-built carbon fibre bike. I'm almost sure I've left something out though as my bike looks like it will be weighing a mere 5.8kg for only €1230! The parts I've found so far are the following:

Bicicleta carbon frame
Miche Excite Road Wheelset
Shimano Ultegra 6800 11 Speed Groupset
ITM X One Carbon Road Handlebar

There's hardly only 4 parts I need so could someone point me towards what I'm missing.

Note: I have left out the saddle, brakes, pedals, cables, seat post, water bottle cages, stem, tire and tubes as I plan on buying that at my local bike shop


texts: Rear derailleur hits spokes when switching to largest sprocket

texts:
I accidentally ran a bungee strap through my old rear deraileur and it tore it apart. I have fitted an identical replacement but cannot work out how to adjust it so that the tension pulley does not collide with the spokes of the rear wheel.

The original rear derailleur, damaged

(hi-res version here )

Originally I bought the bike new from the LBS, who built it. It looks like they may have bent deliberately the metal frame that holds the guide pully but I'm a little anxious about trashing a brand new derailleur without confirmation that this is the best solution.

I ride a Surly Crosscheck and this rear derailleur is the standard spec so it seems more likely that the crunch has damaged another part or I have misfitted the rear derailleur.

What is the likely problem that is causing the guide pulley to collide with the spokes when I switch to the large sprocket?


texts: My crankset stops the pedals from turning when I tighten it onto the bottom bracket

texts:
This sounds like a stupid question however, I'm pretty sure I took these cranks off my current set up before. I wanted to ask if there is such a thing as a spacer on the bb axel ever that I might be missing?

Shimano stronglight double crank.

Square drive BB 68 shell. I'll have to check the axel.

Usually I would presume that the crank axel is too short, but the space between the crank and chainstay is fine.


texts:
Recently I crashed my bike, and since then, the seat has been tilted towards the left side.
I know very little about bikes and the associated terminology, but I think what happened is that the rails that are used to mount the seat have been bent out of shape in the accident; see the images attached below.
What I'd like to know is:

What's the proper terminology here (e.g. regarding the "rails")?
Can I, or a repair shop, bend the rails back into shape without seriously compromising safety?
It looks to me like the seat itself is secured to a mounting plate (which is connected to the rails) with something akin to Allen screws. Are these mounting plates standard parts that I can replace, to salvage the seat? If so, what are they called?

Thanks!


texts: What is a good replacement for my MF-Z012 6 speed wind on cassette?

texts:
I'm trying to find a good replacement for my MF-Z012 6 speed wind on cassette. Thing is, I've upgraded my bike with '93 Dura-Ace rear and front derailleurs. Trouble is they are 7-speed compatible. According to some digging I did, they might also work with 6-speed cassettes, but I'd like to play it safe and upgrade the cassette to 7 speed. Besides, not sure how great the old cassette's teeth are.

Also, I'd like to keep my original 6-speed Biopace crankset. Not sure if it's compatible with the Dura-Ace or with the 7speed cassette. I'm thinking it should be OK, since Dura-Ace also had a Biopace crankset version for the 7 and 8 speed groupset.

All advice is welcome.


texts: Do new wheels usually come with freehubs?

texts:
I was looking around for new wheels and thoroughly confused about the common approach to freehubs.  Do they usually come with the freehub or do I have to actually put that on?  If they do come with it, why in the world do none of the listings actually say anything about sizes?

Specifically, I was looking at this http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product2_10053_10052_541505_-1">listing which shows one in the picture, but does not give any specs.


texts: What to look for in bone conduction headphones for bike voice navigation?

texts:
I am getting lost. Easily. And looking too hard at the screen (phone mounted on the handlebars) makes me lose concentration. Luckily, Komoot I'm trying now, and Google Maps, provide voice navigation. The problem is, either I put it on speaker and I do not hear it on busy roads I need it the most, or I put it on the headphones and I don't hear other road users. Quite awful and safety issue either way.
I think that bone conduction headphones would solve that for me. But I don't know how to choose. Note, I am not looking for particular product recommendations. What's available for you now may be unavailable for me here and for sure will not be an optimal choice in two years. So I want to ask how to look at them? What really matters?.
What I need them for, in order of priority:

Hearing outside world.
Navigation, of course!
Listening to unobtrusive music. Quality does not need to be good, but no irritating squeaks and creaks.
Answering urgent phone calls.*

My rides are usually no more than 6 hours long with up to 4 hours of actual riding in it. Headphones needs to last that much. Ability to recharge from powerbank would be appreciated.
With this in mind, how should I proceed with selecting model for me?

* I'd prefer microphone that would work, but knowing there is a call would be enough - if there would be an unobtrusive way to reject that call or automatically stop ringing sound after one or two rings.


texts: Replacing BB, but found mountain + road cranks and am confused

texts:
Last year I bought a Norco Search 105 Hydro (https://www.norco.com/bikes/2018/dirt-dropbar/gravel/search-aluminum/search-a-105-hydro/) and from the beginning had bottom bracket creaking. Brought it back and they put in a 2mm spacer and creaks went away for the season. About half way through this season, they came back.

I tried to remedy myself, pulled off the cranks, pedals, bb and cleaned it all up and re-lubed and assembled. Was good for a ride or two and creaks again.

So I thought maybe it was the bb itself so went to purchase a new one but this is where I am confused...

Frame is 68mm
Original BB is a Shimano threaded mountain SM-BB52 (68mm)
But cranks are a road pair Shimano FC-RS510

I can't seem to find a 68mm mountain BB, everything is 68/73 which doesn't work with the road cranks because I need the spacers but then the road spindle isn't long enough. I bought a BBR60 (road BB) but the threads where resisting and I didn't want to force it so I returned it.

Any advice on how to move forward? I'm confused why they chose to a put a mountain BB with road cranks? Also should a road BB work in this setup? Did I just need to give threading it a little more muscle?


texts: Why do all riders in the Tour wear WHITE bike shoes?

texts: The riders in the Tour de France all wear WHITE bicycle shoes. Why is everyone with white?   Is that a rule in the Tour?


texts: Setup for heavy rider and DB 29" overdrive

texts:
As a heavy rider (~135kg 300lbs), I got a Diamondback Overdrive 29" bike to help me lose weight.
After riding a few times with my family, my rear wheel keeps deflating/bursting.
I have read previous posts on here and inflated the rear wheel more than was set up yet the issue still remains.
Upon checking the bike specs, it states that the max weight is 100kg .
Can I continue to use this bike but change my set up (different tunes, pressure..) or do I need to buy 'another' bike?
Please help as it's frustrating to get 3/4 through a ride before getting a flat.


texts: Can I replace a 1/2 inch bolt with a 14mm one to secure my axle?

texts:
My front wheel is secured with 14mm bolts, while my rear wheel uses 1/2 inch bolts. Turns out my multitool has only a 14mm wrench, so I can't change the rear tire with it.

Rather than carrying around a whole other wrench, or buying a different multitool, my first thought is to swap the 1/2" bolts for 14mm ones. Assuming I can find a set with the appropriate inner diameter, is there any reason this would be a problem?


texts: SRAM groupset equal to Ultegra R8000 series?

texts:
Can someone advise, when I am looking for a new bike some of them with SRAM groupset components and I don't know which level of their models.

Which model from SRAM gears is comparable or equal (in the same segment) to Shimano Ultegra R8000 series?


texts:
Does anyone manufacture a 12-32 7-speed freewheel cluster to replace the current 13-28 on my 20" Dahon, with a view to touring with panniers?
If that's impossible, & I decide to buy a 20" freehub (cassette) wheel, do I have to specify the hub + cassette width?


texts: I have come across a bmx that was trashed, it looks like a good quality bike and I would like to restore it and  wanted to find out if it's worth restoring or not, it still has stickers on it which says DEVILLE CYCLE on the front of the frame and on the it says TECHNIC PRECISION and NO-MERCY, it also has a serial number on the bottom of the frame which starts with GC, but I cannot find any info or pictures of this bike, it would be great if anyone can give me some info about it.


texts:
I've taken the rear wheel off my bike but the rear gears are stuck and do not spin freely anticlockwise.

It had been out of use for about 4 days, kept in a dry garage. I took the wheel off because it was bent, then found this problem.

Any idea what's happened or if i can fix it?


texts: How do I adjust my rear derailleur (Shimano SIS) when it is only slightly out?

texts:
It has been a while since I had my bike serviced and the gears are sometimes slightly out of perfect alignment. This results in the occasional mis-shift.  I also think the change in seasons have played a part.
What do I need to do to get it back to perfect?


texts: Tightening rear quick release stops rear wheel

texts:
I have a medium sized Trek Mountain Track/Antelope with a seven speed freewheel. When I tighten the rear quick release, I have to carefully back off on the tightness so that the wheel will actually turn. This is not a brakes issue, I'm dropping the wheel in while the bike is upside down, and I can spin it freely when the quick release is loose. I don't believe its has to do with lateral rim alignment, because that would hit a brake pad in one or a few distinct areas. I'm getting even friction when the q/r is too tight.

My first guess is that I have badly adjusted cones on the axle, and I'm guessing this because I don't know how else the dropouts would apply so much friction.

What should I look to next?

Update
I adjusted the left hand cone looser and I was able to get it adjusted to take a normal amount of pressure on the q/r and it still rotates well. The cone races are kinda gravelly by the feel, I think I'll definitely keep this a light duty bike.


texts: Will this fork crown race installation tool work?

texts:
I am looking to purchase a fork crown race installation tool, ant this one is the only one available online. The IceToolz thing is "to be delivered" someday.

I am very skeptical of this tool, as it does not allow the user to hummer it with a hummer. How well would it work?


texts:
I went downstairs earlier to get ready for an afternoon ride on the cheap bike I picked up a few months ago as I wasn't certain if I would keep the cycling up and found to my dismay that, once again, the rear wheel had come loose on the bearing and was wobbling back and forth.

I've been thinking about replacing it since I have kept up the cycling successfully but there's too much information out there for me to make sense of and certain concerns that I don't know how to quantify; but first, I'll put what I'm after.

£1000 budget
Road type split: 90% tarmac, 7% gravel cycle path, 3% horrible rutted gravel road
Commuting 15k each way
Would be used for occasional long distance cycle rides (Think London to Amsterdam style challenges)
Rugged/Low maintenance
24 speeds preferred (If this is just me being too used to MTBs from my childhood, please let me know)
Drop bars preferred
Proper gear shifters that click into place instead of moving a lever and hoping preferred
Sized for 6'0", 33" inside leg
Capable of carrying a fat sod who weighs ~100kg (for now)

Normally, I would consider just replacing the wheels with higher quality ones but I think that the bike I have is a size smaller than it should be as I have to have the seat at its maximum height, my legs still aren't fully straight at the lowest point of the pedal and the handlebars won't come high enough for me to take advantage of the drops. On top of that, I prefer airless tyres as I've historically had terrible luck when it came to punctures and am crap at fixing them.

My concerns stem from various throwaway comments such as the review here under disadvantages where the reviewer raises concerns about nuts and bolts falling off. More experienced riders than myself have commented that airless tyres feel like 115-125psi which can only exacerbate the problem. As you can probably tell from the "crap at fixing punctures comment" earlier, I'm not a confident tinkerer - while I know where most of the important bits fit together, that's mainly on a theoretical level and getting out allen keys/spanners is something I view with dread.

After all that context, my specific questions are below:

Does anything spring to mind that fits the above requirements like a glove?
Failing that, does anything spring to mind that fits all but one of the above requirements?
If neither of the above, what should I look for to ensure that the bike is going to fall apart the minimal amount?
Is there such a thing as a bike made from disparate components, where components are all purchased separately like if you were building your own PC?
On a slightly different note, as a large chain of stores, is Halfords trustworthy or the PC world of cycling? - I have a LBS near me but their opening hours are almost entirely the same as the hours I work making life a bit tricky.

And once I own said new bike

Does cycling on horrible rutted gravel roads or even smooth gravel cycle paths harm road bikes considerably?

Bike weight doesn't bother me that much currently - I'd rather something be overbuilt than constantly be worrying about it.
Finally, I wouldn't be entirely surprised if my requirements list is incompatible with the budget.
Thanks all,
Ben


texts: What is what appears to be electrical conductive tape beneath the "water-proof cap" inside the Ultegra 6600 STI assembly?

texts: While performing some work on my Ultegra 6600 STI shifters I was curious to remove part no. 13, designated "water-proof cap" in Shimano's part fiche. To my surprise there was something that resembled conductive tape beneath it with (I think) 3 terminating metal pads. I didn't take a pic, unfortunately. Does anyone have any idea what that's for?


texts: Buying Brakes for custom kick scooter with 12" diameter bmx wheels

texts: I need to buy brakes for a custom kick scooter. The steel tubing of the entire frame is 1" in diameter. How do I know what size brakes to buy?


texts: 105 BR-5500 an improvement over Sora BR-3400?

texts: I'm currently overhauling a bike with a Shimano Sora 3400 groupset. I've replaced most of the parts with Sora 3500 (notably not the brake levers -- still 3400) and am interested in buying some nicer used brakes, but don't want to spend a ton. Would 105 BR-5500 brakes be much of an improvement over what I have?


texts: Wheel going badly out of true on final tightening

texts:
On two occasions (same wheel, loosened everything off and re-did the whole thing after the first time) as I've applied a final half turn to tighten the spokes round the wheel it's gone from being pretty laterally true (within about 0.5 mm) to badly out of true (probably a couple of mm or more out).

The simplest explanation would be that I've managed to mess up by missing spokes/over under-tightening some of them, but I'm fairly sure that's not the case.

What else could cause this?

This is a rear wheel with a fair amount of dish. I'm worried that I might be over-tightening. On both occasions I decided to do a final half turn as the non drive side seemed a little loose, but I was concerned the drive side might be over tight. Could this cause a sudden change in trueness?

I've got the wheel back to a reasonable state, but I'm no longer sure I have even tension in the spokes.


texts: Does wearing a backpack weaken your jumping technique?

texts:
I mountain bike about 4 times a week. I like to do jumps, but I wear a water backpack (water bladder, camelbak, whatever you'd like to call it). I wear it because I find that a water bottle doesn't hold enough water for me to do a long ride without having to stop to refill. My backpack holds about 100 oz of water, plus a multi tool, sunscreen, bug spray, my phone and keys, and maybe a snack or two. This means that it is heavy. I would guess that when full it is about 20 pounds. My friends tell me to take it off when doing jumps, but I find that it feels a bit awkward to take it off because I lose a significant amount of weight from doing so.
I haven't noticed any sort of difference in how easy it is to clear a given jump when my backpack is on/off, but the technique I use definitely is different when I am wearing a backpack because it adds 20 pounds hanging off my back.
Does NOT wearing a backpack actually make jumping easier, or does it just make it more comfortable? Does anyone know of a different solution to carry both a good amount of water and tools without needing a backpack?
EDIT: I forgot to say that my backpack has two straps, one that buckles at chest level and one that buckles at waist level, although no matter how tight I make it the bag still flops around due to all the tools and just stuff in general that I store in it.


texts: I have an old Tandem Frame. The identification is the Number 311. Is it possible to identify the manufacturer just from this information


texts: Rear brakes wear quickly - do I need redundant rear brakes?

texts:
On my bikes I find that I wear out the rear brake a lot faster than the front brake. In fact, I tend to avoid the front brake, and any time that I've used it exclusively, bad things would happen (like the rear of the bike flying over my head as I rush to get away from this flying heap of metal).

So I'm thinking... given that a disc brake system is just a pad that presses against the disc, has anyone considered attaching two completely independent sets of rear brakes to a single disc?

I suspect that one would need a single handle for activating both sets of rear brakes but I'm pretty sure it's not impossible. Apart from the obvious "your frame doesn't have mounts for two brake systems", are there any other reasons why this would be a bad idea? (Cost, weight etc. not being a factor.)

Clarification: my question is about the mounting of two sets of brake pads, specifically. I already know that two hydraulic lines can be merged (e.g., using Outbraker).

Clarification 2: just to reiterate (again), neither cost nor weight nor the complexity of the system are a factor for me, in other words I'm perfectly prepared to live with all of that, provided I get a more reliable, effective and powerful rear brake. The goal isn't just to reduce maintenance but to provide extra power to the rear brake.

Update 3: here's a photo

Update 4: I have accepted one of the answers below, but you should know that I'm definitely doing it -- going to install a second caliper on the rear brake, will probably also extend the size of the rear brake disc to the (rather expensive) Hope 203 rotor. Will post a picture and report when finished.

Update 5: someone might be reading this, so I wanted to give an update on something that I mentioned earlier - Outbraker, the two-hose variety. Basically this thing allows progressive braking with both calipers at the same time. I have installed it for a person who can only use the left hand for braking, and for that purpose it works rather well! The brake calipers no longer have a 'bite point' as the Outbraker acts like a time-delay mechanism.

Update 6: just wanted to post an update on the whole Outbraker thing. Long story short, v1 of Outbraker fell short of its described functionality -- it is actually pretty impossible to bleed, and it seemed to be losing air. Now, to be fair, Outbraker did send me v1.5 for free, but I haven't tested it, since changing brake lines is not a normal occurrence for me. So that's where we're at - nowhere. At least with Outbraker.


texts: stages power meter, which crank arm do they use?

texts:
stages claim that their product add only tiny bit of weight to stock crank arm (15g?)
I'm looking for sram compatible ones.
And I think sram eagle sx/nx/gx/xx1 crank arm has different weight.
So my question is, which crank arm (among the sx/nx/gx/xx1) do stages use for their power meter?
(https://powermetercity.com/product/stages-carbon-for-sram-bb30-power-meter/)


texts: Custom/modified Drivetrain 2x/3x Considerations and Planning

texts:
Planning a drivetrain setup for a new bike:
Currently running old Shimano 3x9 44/32/22t on 11-34t, which gives me 19-115 gear-inches (about 620%).
I used 29x2.0, 170mm crank to calculate my current setup at https://sheldonbrown.com/gear-calc.html.
The old 3x9 provides me with nice little jumps between the gears, which is something I definitely do not want to miss.
Turned out to be not too easy to find something nearly close the gear setup of my 12 year old bike...
Requirements:
I definitely want the option to mount a set of 29x3.0" tires, which may already cancel out 3x cranksets (even though full boost is used?). And I want to stay in the sub-20 and 110+ gear-inch range, preferably even going a bit lower than 18 gear-inches.
Also I do not want to use drop bars/road-shift-levers. The ideal rear-levers would have gear-indicators, but only found some Shimano/Sunrace-SRAM variants for 11speed.
Added current frame considerations:

Surly ECR 29+ (Large)
Jones Steel Plus LWB Diamond (Large)
I know that at least the ECR is good with 2x and 29x3.0" tires. Both support 148mm boost.

Seems like 2x still allows for comparable small steps, while having the extended 600%+ range.
SRAM/Shimano 2x11 of either brands uses 11-*t cassettes, which ends up in a significantly lower max-speed with the corresponding dual chainring cranksets.
The only off-the-shelf option getting close, seems to be the Shimano M9100 XTR 2x12 (10-45t,38/28t). And to some extend, the 2x12 XT/SLX (10-45t,36/26t) drivetrains. But those further decrease the higher gear-inch range (of course, providing better climbing gears instead)
I was thinking of going with XTR M9100 and maybe try to fit a 26t granny, when derailleurs are working fine with it.
But the full M9100 XTR setup is pretty expensive, also in replacement parts...
What are your experiences with custom or modified dual chainring cranksets, maybe even as far as 15-20t difference (e.g. 40/20t)? It should allow for using the cheaper 11-34 or 11-36 cassettes. I guess, I wouldn't even have to go 12-speed that way.
Which combination of manufacturers/models/series of cranksets, cassettes, front/rear derailleurs and matching shift levers did you came up with to make it work?
Hoping for an interesting exchange of known-good custom drivetrain setups. Maybe someone has additional ideas, which I failed to consider yet?
Best Regards,
Wiener :)


texts:
I'm looking to do a bit of light touring and want to outfit an old mountain bike to be up to the task. But most of the bikes I'm looking at have some crappy/mid-range suspension on them, which – to my understanding – only adds weight and an additional point of failure (at least from the perspective of touring).

What I'm wondering about is, is it possible to buy a fixed fork for a bike and replace the suspension?

If so, what sort of things should I watch out for?


texts: Can I fit 26 x 2.2 tyres to my 26 x 2.25 wheels on my mountain bike?

texts:
(Not sure of year)

Specialized Rockhopper
Currently has 26x2.25 tyres, desperately need replacing though,

Mostly used on roads or grass, but trails occasionally

I'm not a professional, I just like riding my bike


texts: Carbon fiber crank arm with scratches--how much damage is a concern?

texts:
I have a compact SRAM red crankset with carbon fiber crank arms. On the left side, the outside coating on the end has chipped off from sometimes colliding with the ground while turning.

At what point should I be concerned about the wear & tear on this part?


texts: How do I correctly set the angle of my drop bars

texts:
Are there any tricks to setting the correct angle for the drop bars on my road bike, when adjusting my handlebars in the stem?

Is it just a matter of personal preference or is there a general consensus on what angle you should use?


texts:
Since hybrid bikes may be a compromise with no benefits, why are they still often preferred for commuting instead of drop bar bikes?

According to at least one opinion, hybrids are a compromise with no benefits.
What is the downside to me purchasing a road bike instead of a hybrid?

Using drops bars instead can make you a few mph faster because the posture makes it more aerodynamic. I felt that my road bike with a pannier was faster than my hybrid bike without it! It seems like a lot of cycling commuters I see are missing out. My city's pretty bike friendly.

From what I've read, bikes with drop bars can be comfortable, be affordable, have wider tires, have fenders, and carry panniers.

Some of those features are more common in cyclocross and touring bikes than road bikes.

Interestingly, people find that drop bars make the bike more comfortable for longer distances. Often, when there's discomfort, bike fit or changing the posture or pedalling form is recommended. If the rider isn't used to such a low posture, the stem could be raised.

It's possible to get a used bike with a drop bar at a reasonable price. If a faster bike makes you drive less, you might save more even if you had to pay more for a faster bike and its parts.

It's possible to get bikes that have eyelets for mounting racks for panniers, and fenders. If they don't have them, it's possible to get adapters so that they could be mounted. Another option is bikepacking bags.

So far, the only advantages of hybrid bikes that I know of are peripheral vision and braking power. In bike friendly cities, they shouldn't be as much of an issue.


texts:
I took the front wheel off my mountain bike and the hydraulic disc pads closed. I’ve opened them back up and replaced the wheel. However, the pads seem to now be closing up all the time and binding on the disc.

Why is this happening, and how can I resolve it?


texts: Can I Interchange Wheel Sizes On One Frame?

texts:
So, I'm looking to see if I can build a bike and on the one hand I want to use 26" wheels, but at the same time, I want to use 27.5" wheels for another purpose. Is it possible to have a frame with a certain build (maybe a slopestyle or 27.5" enduro/downhill frame) that can use both 26" and 27.5" wheel sets? (I don't mean a combination of one 26" and one 27.5" wheels together on the bike at the same time, I mean one separate set of 26" wheels fitting on the bike and a set of 27.5" wheels that can also fit.)

Thanks very much!


texts: Which spokes to get, Wheelsmith or DT Swiss Spokes?

texts:
I'm building two sets of 26" wheels, one pair of 32h triple cross with Bullseye hubs with machined sidewalls for rim brakes, and another pair of 24h double cross with Alex A-Class hubs with Sun rims for disc brakes.

I'm now looking for which spokes to buy. I'm comparing double butted spokes between Wheelsmith and DT Swiss. The Wheelsmiths are slightly cheaper per spoke, but I'll end up paying the same because of the purchase quantities, so price isn't really a factor.

I'm looking specifically to compare the Wheelsmith Black DB14s 14/15/14 ga (2.0x1.7x2.0mm) vs DT Swiss Black Competitions (2.0x1.8x2.0mm), but if there are other opinions between the straight spokes (2.0mm) - Wheelsmith SS14 vs DT Swiss Champion, that would be also of interest.

Some issues I've heard before:

The DT Swiss butt transitions are nicer
The 1.8mm DT Swiss diameter makes the wheel feel more rigid (not always a good thing)
The 1.7mm Wheelsmith allow more elasticity and give a nicer ride
DT Swiss is more readily available (not a large concern of mine)
Wheelsmith spokes work better with Wheelsmith nipples

At this point, I'm still on the fence between the two. Wisdom, experience, or differences would tip the scales.


texts: My rear disc brake makes noise when I ride fast

texts:
I have a full suspension mountain bike with disk brakes.  When I ride fast, my rear disk brake starts to make a noise similar to the one you would hear when sharpening a knife.  It happens when I don't brake.  If I brake, the noise disappears, I only hear the smooth braking sound.

I presume something is wrong with the rear tire - visual inspection when it rotates fast shows that it wobbles.  I tried to demount it and mount it back again two times, but no success - still wobbles.

Can the non-aligned rear tire cause by disk brake to be noisy when I ride fast?

Shall I simply buy a new tire, or could the solution be elsewhere?

This is an update - with videos showing the wobbling tire.

https://youtu.be/_9Wor0KFL34

https://youtu.be/Bju-LyKCOi8

although it seems to be redundant now, as Jackson and Rider_X already suggested other solutions.  Thanks guys :-)


texts: Is it normal to have pins in the cup of "cup and cone"?

texts:
I got a shimano hub for my front wheel and rebuilt it last November, but didn't ride much until March. Now I hear a metal on metal grating noice when riding and my best guess is that it is comming from the new hub. Doesn't happen when I just spin the wheel, only when riding and not all the time.

Took the hub apart to see what is wrong and also add more grease. When looking for damages I noticed that on one side, in the cup part, there are two metal pins. They are the two little dots at 8 o'clock on the cup. (Apologies for the image quality.) They look like how nails without heads look, except that they jut out a bit and rounded on the top.

Is this normal? Do they serve any purpose? Could they be something that was in recycled metal, assuming these are machined and not casted?

Above all, could these be causing the noise? My guess is that when the cone is pressing, the bearings can get jammed in these withoug rolling smoothly. Each pin is about 1.5mm wide and jut out about 0.5mm.

Update:
Added few clear pictures.

Last time around I used white lithium grease. I took the hub apart today and on the side with the problem grease has changed to dark gray while the other side is still white.
I will see if these flattern out over time and then replace the bearings. Or replace the hub altogether.


texts:
What is the best way to wrap a handlebar?

Specifically:

Should I start near the stem or at the bar ends?
wrap clockwise or counter-clockwise?
How to wrap (e.g. how many times) around where the brake hoods are?


texts: I have a 2015 bike with a Shimano 105 group set the cranks are 172.5mm and behind the crank is says the following. I’m relatively new to cycling and want a power meter please help cheers


texts: Rear wheel keeps moving forward in frame no matter how hard I tighten the bolts. Any solutions?

texts:
This is occurring on my Avanti Discovery 8, which is a hybrid bike with an in-hub 8 speed.

Problem is I seem to be applying so much torque it's pulling the rear wheel forward in the frame, loosening the chain. I've tightened the rear nuts as hard as I can - to the point where the nuts got a little damaged (hex edges started to 'flatten' inside the spanner) - but the wheel keeps moving forward as soon as I go up a hill and apply pressure. You can even see the scrape marks where the nut and washer has been digging into the frame and being pulled forward.

Is there any solution to stop this?


texts: What bolt size are Shimano brake caliper bolts?

texts:
A front caliper bolt on a shimano disc brake caliper came out while riding, and went lost, while the remaining bolt, which was a little bit longer and thus protruded a little was completely bent.
Attempts to fix: went looking for matching bolts at hardware stores, by using rear caliper bolt for measurement (couldn't find any).
Questions: Given one bolt bent while still seated in the fork's caliper holder, should i try new bolts, or focus on a new brake caliper, or, is the fork most likely damaged, where would i go from here; new bolts, caliper or fork? And if bolts, at least one lbs didn't have em either.


texts:
I am currently using a hybrid bike, which weighs about 10kg (quite light for the category I've heard), and my longest ride has been 65km at an average of 18km/h in a mostly flat terrain.
In this ride for many kms I had a big muscle pain in my legs; by the end of the ride, stopping at traffic lights was extremely painful. Also, it took hours at home to go from huge pain to just normal muscle pain. I do not think I could have gone even one kilometer further.

I was pedaling at a good cadence, aiming for 90rpm. At no moment I felt like instant burning in my muscles; I would choose easy gears to keep me in high cadence and light strokes; it felt relaxed. But still, after 35km I felt 'loaded'; after that the pain started to increase more and more.

I will participate in a race of 180km with a time limit of 9 hours (so I need 20km/h and I am fine with finishing in 8h59m, I just want to finish), 3 months from now.

So I roughly need to go a little bit faster and improve my endurance 3-fold in 3 months.

My current plans for improvement are (my bike is 500$ Giant Escape; nothing fancy):

Buy clip-on aerobars. This should make me reach the speed I need, the terrain in mostly flat.
Buy clipless pedals. To help me use different muscles. I do not know how much would this help with endurance. I hope 10% or so.
Buy energy gels, I did not feel like I was lacking energy but I guess they will help. And on the race day I'll need them for sure.

What other gear, training techniques, and race day tactics can be used to improve endurance quickly?


texts: Should I upgrade the hub, cassette or wheel so my bike will make a sound when I don't pedal?

texts: I have a Hardtail 29' M Niner 2016, Shimano XT 10 speed, everything is perfect but I always wanted to have that sound from the hub when I go for a ride, so I want to know what I need to upgrade to have that sound?


texts: Are there any scientific studies proving the benefits of clipless pedal systems?

texts: Have there been done any scientific studies that proves that clipless pedals actually improve pedaling efficiency etc. over flat pedals? Clipless pedal enthusiasts are quick to say that you must use clipless pedals to improve efficiency when cycling, but I have never seen this being backed up by any scientific sources actually proving this claimed efficiency boost.


texts: What's the best way to remove stick-on frame protectors

texts: I need to move a couple of frame protectors from the head tube of my bike but don't want to damage the paint in removing them. What's the best way of getting these off?


texts: SiS tourney A050 thumb 1x7 to either a 1x10 or 2x7

texts: So I have this cheaper end roadbike sporting a Tourney A050 sis shifters (I don't know what they are called, they are those roadbike shifters sitting on the horizontal handle bar) 1x7, quite a pain. I am quite a noob at upgrading so I wanted your help. I wanted to know: is it possible and how to upgrade to a Deore 1x10? Along with the shifter the cassette and the derailleur do I need to change the wheel and chain too? And is it possible to shift to an integrated brake shifters of any kind? Please explain.


texts:
I've got a Campagnolo Chorus 2x9 drivetrain on my bike. Lately I've found that shifting to the big ring is very difficult: The only way to get it to shift at all is to make a simultaneous front and rear shift going little>big and big>little; I assume that this introduces slack into the chain to make the shift easier. This isn't always successful, and when it is, I wind up overshifting (which is easy enough to correct, happily).

It hasn't always been like this. Not sure where to begin diagnosing the problem.


texts: Can't find any replacement original chainrings (SG A-52-42-30) . What can I use instead?

texts: I have an early 2000's Giant OCR 2 roadbike (3x8 speed) with worn out chain rings on the Shimano Sora FC-3303 triple crankset. The original rings are the SG A-type, 5 bolt, 130 mm BCD in 52T-42T-30T sizes. All I can find are used ones, and I'd prefer not to change the crankset. Can I just drop the A-type originals and go with new ones in the same bolt pattern and BCD that are close (ie 53T-39T-30T)? Thanks


texts:
Are there any modern road/light touring tires which look like the gumwall tires of yesteryear?

In particular, I'm looking for all-weather road tires with serious puncture resistance, i.e. a more-or-less-direct competitor to Schwalbe's Marathon line.


texts: I've a threaded shell, but i have got bb30 cranks, can you get threaded bb30 bottom brackets that the it can with fit the bb30 cranks?


texts: DIY ebike: what system to choose for adding space between frame and battery?

texts:
So, the project is to install this 5kg battery:

on this bike:

This is no joke. I'm serious.
Following up to this previous question, I'm going to use steel rivnuts (aluminium is really too light for the job), M6 if possible otherwise I'll fallback to the standard M5. I hope to have enough room to put at least 6 rivnuts, 4 being the absolute minimum I could accept.
Here are some dimensions of the rivnuts:

Now the point of this question. The frame has an hinge, thus I cannot install the battery right on the frame, there has to be a spacing of about 15mm between the frame and the battery. The battery goes from the fork to the seatpost, with just a few centimeters left, allowing to swap the battery out from its support.
So far, I could think of 3 solutions:
1) Use these steel hexagonal studs:

Pros: Visually, seems to be the "right piece for the job". Made of steel.
Cons: Probably not designed for such job, I'm afraid it could break between the thread and the nut part.
For the record, M5 model has 8mm thread length and M6 model has 10mm thread length.

2) Use long bolts and these "tall washers", between the rivnut collars and the battery support:

Pros: The most "regular" system one would think of.
Cons: Probably not the sturdiest system.

3) Use larger "tall washers", that would sit around the rivnuts collars, right on the frame, rather than on the rivnut collar.

Pros: Allows to use much larger, thus stronger, washers. For example, with M6 rivnuts I would use M12 washers, that have an external diameter of 20mm! That would help a lot for bearing the sideways force.
Cons: Maybe need to add a protection layer between the frame and the washers, so they don't leave a mark on the frame. Maybe a band of Gorilla Tape, with holes for the bolts.

So far, I'm bending towards solution 3. What are your thoughts on this?


texts: Does anyone have any plans on how to build a chainsaw powered bicycle?   I've referenced instructables and YouTube but everything is so vague it doesn't really give me any sort of ideas as what I  need to do to attach the sprocket of the Chainsaw to the sprocket of the bicycle properly .  I appreciate all input, thoughts and ideas. Thank you for your time energy and effort.


texts: Can a tapered BB be installed in either direction?

texts:
I have a tapered bottom bracket on my bike, like the one in the pic. On this bike, as I bought it, the fixed cup is on the drive side of the bike, while the adjustable cup is on the non-drive side. In order to accommodate the derailleur mech, the fixed cup is not done up flush with the frame, and actually sticks out a few mm. If I adjust the BB so that the fixed cup is flush, the gears can no longer be made to work, so this extra length has to be in place on the drive side, but with this being the fixed cup with no locking ring, it's hard to get it to stay properly tightened.

My question is, is there a good reason the fixed cup is on the drive side, or is there nothing stopping me from swapping the cups around, having the fixed cup flush on the non-drive side and letting the adjustable cup offer up the extra distance on the drive side?


texts: My front disc brakes are rubbing despite my efforts

texts:
I tried everything

Reset pistons
Reseat caliper position
Credit card method

Brakes become very tight after a few squeezes

Update:

I went to the bike shop twice, they reset the brakes twice, wheels spin nicely at the shop but brake pistons stop retracting once I ride home, disc rub comes back again.

Getting tired of this. How do I tell them to check if the pistons are really working? And give me a new caliper?


texts:
I've been thinking for awhile that having a bag on the inside of the frame of the bike would be a good place to store a few small things, such as a camelback bladder, shirt, etc. What I mean is a bag mounted where the yellow triangle is in this pic. For all I know, it's a common thing in bike shops, but I haven't been to one in a few years (unless you count Canadian Tire) and I've never seen anyone with something like it.

Would it be a good idea? Does it exist? If so, where could I get one?


texts:
For a given tire width, can you safely run a lower pressure on wider rims?

Background:

My road bike can only fit up to 23 mm tires due to frame clearance, however my rims are a relatively wide 23 mm. So I was wondering if I can run a lower tire pressure than normal for a more comfortable ride without pinch flatting or damaging the wheels on bad pavement.


texts: I know I should lubricate my chain regularly. I got some lube at my LBS; how should I apply it? Do I just drip some on one spot, and turn the pedals around a few times to spread it out? Drip it all over the chain? Do I clean the chain first? How can I tell if it needs lube, or if I've put enough on?


texts:
I'm considering upgrading from Avid BB5 to BB7 mechanical disk brakes on my fat-bike and upgrading to Avid Speed Dial 7 levers. While I'm at it I can easily move up a size or two from the existing 160mm rotors. The mounts are 51mm IS front and rear and there are no clearance issues apparent with the front fork -- it looks to be parallel well past the point that even 203mm rotors would sweep past.

Avid's come with adapters and am I correct in assuming that the adapters included for a 180mm rotor would correctly space the calipers out from the 51mm IS mounts?

Going from 160mm to 180mm would effectively increase the radius 10mm; going from 160 to 203mm would increase radius about 20mm. Is there any issue with rigidity or or alignment going with much larger adapters?

Thanks!


texts: Can I use Rockshox tokens with my Sektor fork? (Fuel EX 5)

texts:
I would like to experiment with ramp control with tokens but I cannot find out if my fork is compatible with the regular Rockshox tokens, is it too low end??

Thanks.


texts: Disc brake pad replacement, or replace whole caliper?

texts:
We have a Boss Stealth 26" men's mountain bike with Zoom brand disc brakes.

The disc brake pads are worn and need replacing, the problem is finding a workshop who can fit them as apparently it is a budget bike and hard to get the brake pads.   Is it possible to fit another make of caliper which are readily available on ebay?

Both front and rear rotors are 160mm, or are the sizes from disc to frame bracket different?


texts: I'm planning to buy this bike that the owner claims is a bike from 1940's with all original parts except the seat. I'm going to purchase this for $70 CDN, if you guys could help me identify the bike and/or tell me whether this is a good price, it would be of great help


texts: Will I damage my brakes if I remove the dual brakes?

texts: I bought a vintage schwinn that has dual brakes. If I remove the dual brakes (I think they're also called safety brakes), will it ruin my brakes?


texts: Skidding/skipping a fixie with ratio 48/16

texts:
I'm a noob.

I have a single speed with 48/16 ratio with flip-flop wheel.

I wanted to try what is a fixie and installed pedal straps.

I tried to lock a rear wheel, but it just pushing my hard and keep spinning. I don't see how I can stop it :(

I guess it may be related to ratio/speed/surface.

What is the minimal advised ratio for a fixie?
Advises are welcomed.


texts: FD rub top and bottom of cassette big ring. How to fix?

texts:
I have set up a few front deraliuer in the past some using ultegra 6700, all of which ran without chain rub with the exception of the two expected cross chaining cogs.

For some reason on my new bike the available space in the front deraliuer seems limited when in the big ring in front.

The group set is Ultegra 6700. If I set the large ring in back and large ring in front not to rub on the FD, then the biggest 3 cogs in back will rub.

I know this is not normal. 2 cogs maybe but 3 seems too much. I have tried all combinations of cable tension and high limit screw in the FD.

I have noticed that there is slight lateral deviation of the large chainring about 2-3mm. I know there is suppose to to be about 1mm of chainring movement from side to side. I have removed the chain ring and tested with one from another bike which I know is straight. The issue remains, slight lateral wobble.

This leads me to believe it's the spider or the bb. Spider doesn't  appear bent and bolts have always been tight. No lateral movement in crank arms which make me think it's not the bb.

Does any one have any advice or had a similar issue? Thanks in advance :)


texts:
After a ride, usually about 15-30 minutes after a ride, I sometimes don't feel very good. I'll feel sleepy, lazy, lethargic or mentally foggy. It's not a physical tired. And often it doesn't take a great deal of riding to feel this way. For example, today I did about 15 miles and felt this way shortly afterwards.

I'm in pretty descent physical condition (I think), and I can ride 20-30 miles, at a steady 15-17 mph, without too much effort. But I'm really confused why I feel this way. I could/maybe should, see a doctor, but I thought I would check here first to see if anyone else experiences this.


texts:
I am a road cyclist but not a professional one.
I am 21.
Do you know a long term training,starting from zero, that can help me to become a good cyclist?
I am 1,75 cm tall ,weigh 65 kg.My average bpm is 60 and maximum is 208,spo2 is 97%.
I can train indoor 4 times per week.
My goal is : 80km (gradient 0,2%) at 35km/h and 10km(gradient 6%) at 20km/H.
Thanks


texts: Modifying Bikes 101 - Help (1988 Bridgestone City Limit CB-2)

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1988 Bridgestone City Limit CB-2:

Can I modify my bike with other parts or will that make it all funky? I know little to nothing about bikes but REALLY want to put some new parts on my bike. HANDSOME cycles makes a frame that is somewhat based off of some of the Bridgestone models and I was curious if I could save money and just swap out parts and keep my frame. (could totally not be possible)

If anyone has any tips to make this bike kick ass let me know. I really dig gear hubs over derailleurs and am wondering if I could throw one on there.

I found the original spec sheet linked up top but it is SUPER hard to read and other information about this bike is hard to find.


texts: Can a threaded headeset be converted to a threadless headset

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I just want to ask a burning question in my mind. I still ride a bike that uses threaded headsets, I was wondering if I could use the tightening cap of the headset as the base of the whole thing then use spacers and a star nut and top cap to lock everything down?

I of course have tried the adapter systems, and I do not like how it feels, so I was wondering if I could do what I said above.

Thanks guys!!

UPDATE:

My fork is relatively new and has alot of extra steerer tube because I haven't cut it down yet.

Latest update:

So I went to the bike shops around my town and got to buy a shim or whatever they call it. Also bought the star nut and top cap for the bike. I made them do it for me, and it looks quite good now.. Will be posting a pic later when I get home.


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I'd like to buy a mini pump to keep in my bike bag, but I have some doubts if these pumps are really that usable.
My current pump is rated at 90 psi, but I would be surprised if it does 60.

For example, this one claims 160 psi, I doubt it:

Pumps I am considering:

Lezyne Sport Drive HP (120 psi)
Micro Floor Drive HPG (160 psi)

How long does it take to pump up a tire with such a pump? Normally I use 120 psi, I haven't measured the minimal psi I would need to get home from a long trip, maybe around 100 psi.

Does it make sense to get one with a hose or a pressure gage? Probably they can't blow a tire anyway.
Any other recommendations?

I prefer a pump to be prepared for multiple flats and not carry expensive cartridges, as well as for environmental reasons. It feels a bit frivolous to use two cartridges for a tire and throw them away afterwards. I am not a pro, just enjoy riding on the weekend.