If you can feel any play ("rattling" sensation) at all in the wheel bearings, headset bearings, or crank bearings, then they need to be adjusted at the very least (and may need rebuilding).  (But please do make a distinction between movement due to looseness in the bearings and simple flexing of the wheel or other parts because you're pressing on it so hard.)

Adjusting is something you can do yourself with a few inexpensive tools, a little mechanical ability, and some practice, but you won't get it right the first several times you try, so best go to your local bike shop unless you really want to learn how to do it yourself.

Standard loose-ball wheel bearings need adjustment every 3000 miles or so, and should be rebuilt (cleaned, new grease, and possibly new balls) roughly every 10 thousand (or more often, if subjected to severe conditions).


How do mini penny-farthings ride compared to regular size pfs?

My impression is they're a toy only, not to be used for travelling, just tootling around a park or around home.

My unicycling coworker has said that they are essentially unicycles with a training wheel, and are a lot of fun for playing about.  Also, I've seen video of them being used in street performances like a juggler or similar.

But no, you wouldn't commute on one, and the ergonomics would make training on one uncomfortable.   The 29" wheel would suit a kid, not a grown adult.

Additionally, with no gearing, their top speed is limited  to one wheel circumference per pedal revolution.  So this 29" wheel will have a rolling circumference of about 29" x pi or about 91" or 2.3 metres.  At 60 and 80 RPM that would be 8.2 km/h (5 mph) or 11 km/h (6.8 mph) which is a fast-walk/slow-jog to an "average runner's speed".

Said another way, they probably fixed gears so you cannot coast, you have to pedal.

The rear brake will be mostly useless - the common wisdom is that the front brake of a bike does most of the real work of braking.  Trying to stop with the rear brake only simply drags it out longer.  Your mini-farthing will likely stop poorly on brakes, relying more on fixie-skills like reverse pedal pressure, and that its overall speed is low.

I'm sure they're a lot of fun, but not a lot more than that.  With practice and good technique, I'm sure they can be ridden all sorts of places, but perhaps not aggressive/risky offroad/downhill etc.

  Example of a MPF with quite a lot of rake.

 Highly vertical forks with minimal rake.

The two bikes above would have massively different handling - no conventional bike would risk having such a vertical head tube.


Chain slips/jumps occasionally (with all new parts)

a theory: you might have too much friction between the derailleur cable and its housing. such friction could prevent the chain from going to the intended place when you shift; when the friction subsides, the cable would move and the chain would slip into place.

apply some lube to the cable and slide the housing back and forth to spread the lube along.  this could help if my theory is correct.


I was searching for bikes and I found one identical to this one: it was a VINTAGE 1959 MURRAY SEARS FLIGHTLINER, all it was missing is the little silver bar that goes above the front fender that clips into that little silver clip on the bottom of the headtube. Some may have had headlight tanks, the one I found  didn't. So it could be a 59-60?


The bolt is called pinch bolt, that's the standard name. It is a 5mm steel Allen bolt of 6 to 10mm in length, of the same type that is used with bottle cages. Alternatively a bolt with a hexagonal head may be used as a stop-gap. The loss gets a bit 'hairier' since you've lost the cable pinching plate as well. It might require some hunting for a suitable part or the need for some work to make one out of a washer.
The same type of cable pinching bolts and plates are used with standard rim brakes or with cable activated derailleurs, front and rear. Your LBS might have a bits and pieces box with a suitable replacement.
You may just want to check that the bolt doesn't protrude on the other side as to touch the body of the brake, in which case it requires some shortening!


Any companies out there that given a carbon frame could replicate it?

Your best bet is to get out a tape measure and compare your current bike's measurements to all the geometry charts on the internet, then buy something comparable. Also, depending on the age of your bike look for a similarly-sized model from the same manufacturer. Carbon frame molds are expensive & time-consuming to build so some companies use the same mold for multiple seasons, swapping out the components. Finally - you "snapped" a carbon frame and there is no warranty support? That's pretty rare, unless you're not the original owner. At the very least most manufacturers have a crash replacement program where you get the same/newer model for ~ 50% of retail. Check it out.


Problem during installation of Rockshox Reverb Stealth product

@alex was right in advising not to use tools where no tools are needed. Similarly, it is easy to run frame BBs or brankarm threads by forcing the thread with a wrench, instead of by hand.

Somehow, I had made the hose hard to unscrew by overtightening 2. I loosened it up, held it with a wrench and rotated the hose by hand. This solved the problem.


How to maintain a Shimano Nexus gear hub?

I have a bicycle with Shimano hub gears (Nexus 7 speed). I would like to know what type of maintenance it needs, besides the normal tuning.

There are four types of drivetrain maintenance you may want to do on a hub geared bicycle:

Add chain lubricant when the chain squeaks
Re-tension the chain as it wears and the chain slack increases.
Replace the chain and possibly the front and rear sprockets when they are too worn
Re-grease the internal gear hub

Of these, the three first trivial. The problem is the fourth.

I believe it needs some greasing, but I have no idea how to do it.

That's the problem. Few people have an idea how to do it. This is different from derailleur bicycles where the maintenance needed is very simple, although more frequent than on internal geared hub bicycles.
Some instructions are available on the Sheldon Brown web site:

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus-mech.html
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus7.shtml

Internal gear hubs are ideal for people who ride short trips, and are unable to perform maintenance on a bicycle and thus want a bicycle where the service interval is long. People who continue walking and push the bicycle when the rear tire gets a puncture (it's almost impossible to change the rear inner tube on an internal gear hub bicycle unless you consider getting your hands oily acceptable).
If I had an internal gear hub, I would just do chain and sprocket maintenance and ship the hub maintenance. If the hub wears out, it may be a sign that internal gearing might not be acceptable for the use case.


The short answer is that they had a bunch of problems with this on the center track-less version(s), and added the center track to finally solve it.

For the belt to not get off-center, the gears need to be in exactly the same plane.

Rear triangle alignment, dropout alignment, and BB shell alignment are all potential factors. The former two are things you could do something about on a steel frame, but the last isn't. (Shell alignment is also not a common issue, just a possible one.)

Imperfect chainline (or whatever you want to call it when it's a belt, not a chain) also causes it. If possible I recommend you get the frame aligned before even starting in with addressing chainline in this case. The reason is that rear triangle and to a lesser extent dropout misalignment affects your chainline measurements, but chainline can't really be used to compensate for alignment problems here.

The belt also needs to be properly tensioned. But if there are problems with alignment and chainline, tension won't solve them.


How to assemble '70s-era center-pull brake

I finally got it to work by employing a third "hand" as such:

Disassemble both arms.
Start with the innermost arm, squeezing the arm into place so that, when it is in its "resting" position, the spring lies inside the two respective hooks on the inner plate and the arm itself.
Screw the retaining bolt for the inner arm all the way, so that the arm remains on the bike without falling off.
Grab the second (outermost) arm.
Put the retaining bolt into the arm and then push it just barely through so that you have enough space to put the washer on the other side, and do so.
Adhere the bolt to the arm temporarily by covering the head of the washer in adhesive tape and then wrapping it around the arm so that it holds the bolt in place by itself. Cut a ring in the tape inside the washer so that the bolt can be screwed in easily.
Squeeze the second arm into place in a similar fashion to that used for the first arm and hold it in that position with your hand.
In order to keep the spring from "jumping" out of place, push the retaining bolt through the washer and into the retaining plate. Hold the entire assembly together by pushing on the head of the bolt with your thumb.
With your thumb on the bolt, it is now possible to release your hand grip on the arm itself and then to use the hand to properly position the bolt into the plate and then screw the bolt securely into the plate.


I would look for a bent or damaged chainring tooth or even a bent portion of the front chainring. Depending on the damage it can behave “normally” under a low load, but eject the chain under a higher torque load.


SRAM double tap road shifters, MTB derailleurs?

Back: All the SRAM rear derailleurs which have "exact actuation" (1:1 actuation ratio) should work. This includes the X5 and X7. You can run a "mountain" or "road" cassette, its pretty much just marketing that differentiates them provided the derailleur has enough capacity to use it.

Front: On the other hand, in the front, the cable pulls are different, so you will need the road SRAM FD. The FD should be matched to the type of front crankset (double or triple) and the spec sheet will tell you the constraints on the chainring sizes which the derailleur can shift.


How do I properly adjust a front derailleur?

A front derailer is a bit more complicated than it looks, and can be quite complex to adjust if you're starting from zero -- just having installed the unit.

There are five (and a half) adjustments --

Height, sliding up and down the seat tube.
Rotation around the seat tube.
Low limit
High limit
Cable tightness

Generally height is such that the derailer, when in "high gear" position, is just a millimeter or two above the teeth of the large ring.

Generally rotation is such that the long arm of the derailer is parallel to the large ring (though it's tricky finding the right reference point on the derailer).  But very slight adjustments (particularly rotating clockwise slightly as viewed from above) may improve shifting.

Derailers differ in terms of whether they spring out, to the largest ring, or spring in, to the smallest ring.  If it springs out, place the shifter in the position for the largest ring, adjust the barrel adjuster until it's just about all the way screwed together, then pull the cable tight, force the derailer in until it's just off the high limit, and tighten the cable clamp.  (Getting this right the first time takes practice, so don't cut the cable short until you're confident everything is correct.)  (For a "springs in" derailer you essentially do the opposite.)

Next adjust the high and low limits until the derailer centers over the high and low rings when those gears are selected.  Finally, adjust the barrel adjuster so that the derailer centers over the center ring when selected.  Double check the high and low.

Once you have it this far you need to crank the bike on a stand and see how it shifts.  Fine adjustment of the limits and cable tightness may be required.

The cable will stretch some over the first few hours and days of use, so fine-tuning of the barrel adjuster may be required.


Congratulations on starting to do your own repairs. The first step is realizing some thing is wrong (you seem to have got that one). Step two try to fix it. Step three learn why step two didn't work. I use the Parktool BigBlue Book as my guide. I bought mine at a local bookstore but it is available on their website for free.

As for not having a repair stand, I installed two large hooks about six feet apart in the ceiling of my storage area. A piece of rope, nylon luggage strap or cord loops over the nose of the seat and over the hook. A second piece is laced around the headset to the second hook. I can adjust the lengths to vary the height, shorter if I'm working on a brake caliper, longer if I'm working on a brake lever.


If, by stands, you mean bike mounted kickstands, then the reason most mountain bikers don't use them is three fold:

Safety. The kickstand is usually a relatively cheap piece of metal, bolted on wherever it will fit. Its shape and style lend themselves to ending up in your wheel or otherwise damaging the bike, if they are not secured to the frame so they can't accidentally deploy themselves while riding a rougher trail.
Weight. If I pay a ridiculously large amount of money to buy a light weight, high performance machine, the last thing I want to do is pay extra to make it heavier. So that does play a part, but I wouldn't say it was the key factor.
No need for it. As you mentioned, most riders are perfectly comfortable dropping their bike on the ground wherever they pause for a minute or two, and dealing with cleaning and fixing any damage that may cause when they get home.

I hope that helps.


When packing for a tour, I'll often spend as much time deciding which clothing to pack as I will for all other packing combined. What clothing one wears on tour is a personal decision, based on the rider's preferences. Below, I've written what I wear, and why I prefer it.

When riding, I wear padded lycra cycling shorts with breathable t-shirts. I'll usually bring two or three pairs of shorts, two t-shirts, and three pairs of wool cycling socks. I'll also bring along a pair of tights to wear over the shorts in the morning, and a light cycling jacket. Even in the hottest part of the summer, it's quite cold in the morning where I live, so this is important. Lycra dries fast, and that's part of why I wear it, but my primary reason is that it's comfortable.

Cleaning clothing: Lycra washes easily and dries fairly quickly. I'll usually stop at a laundromat to do a load of laundry a few days into the tour; sometimes my host for the night may offer the use of a laundry machine and dryer. If I know I won't get a chance to do this, I'll wash my shorts and socks by hand in a public restroom. (Some cycling shorts specify washing by hand or on a gentle cycle anyway.) I don't worry about wearing a dirty shirt or tights, but I don't want to re-wear sweaty shorts or socks.

If you camp in areas that don't have public restrooms, you'll want to get camping soap that won't harm the environment, like mgb wrote.

Drying: I'll bring a clothesline along with me and string it between two trees, but when it's humid out, that won't always work. In that case, I'll hand my clothing to the outside of the camping roll that's strapped to my rear rack, tucking the clothing under the bungee cords. An hour or two in the wind will dry just any cycling clothing. If I have a trailer with me, so much the better; there's more space to act as a drying rack.

In cold weather or rain, I'll have more clothing. Some of these can be washed the same way as lycra, such as the balaclava and glove liners, but some cannot: rain pants, a rain jacket, heavier cycling pants, winter gloves, and so on. Any of these heavier items that need to be washed can wait until I get to a laundry machine. (You don't sweat much in the winter in any case.)

I'll also pack off-bike clothing.  I tend to favor cotton pants or shorts, black tee-shirts, and sweat socks. These roll up tightly, and are comfortable. I'll also bring something to sleep with, although clean bicycle tights and cycling jackets are good extra layers for cold nights in a tent. Cleaning cotton, which is unsuitable for riding in any case, will wait until I get to a laundromat.

In my panniers, I'll segregate dirty clothing from clean by bringing along a few plastic grocery bags and sealing the dirty clothes in them as best as I can. While doing laundry, I'll sometimes let my panniers air out.

In summary, a little time spent planning will help keep your panniers light, and an hour or two spend every other day will keep your critical clothing clean.


Just a guess, is the bike a Cervelo? They are notorious for creaking, but are hardly unique.

I agree with the above comment about bearing movement inside of the frame. It is maddening. There are several ways to solve this:

Instructions:
Do not go back to the LBS you've used earlier. Nothing mean but they seem to lack the experience to figure this out, unless they just like selling you stuff.

Keep your cash. I seriously doubt that your crankarm is damaged. Even if I am wrong you can buy a new Ultegra crankset for far less than what you are hinting at for a single crankarm.

If you changed the cassette (which are pricey) you should also change the chain (which are relatively cheap). They wear together. It's cheap insurance, but will have nothing to do with your creaking noise.

Solutions:
If it is the BB30 shifting inside of the bb shell there are several options. Most frame manufacturers have what are essentially shims that press into the shell, and then the bearing presses into them. There are exceptions, and it is less common on the newest bikes, but they do exist for this reason. A good LBS will know and understand this.

If it is a direct fit into the frame there is a locktite product that will fill the gap, solidify and end your creaking nightmare. It will likely void the warranty, but that warranty went out the window a long time ago. I've never used on a bike (but have on other situations), it but have read good things about it.

Chainring bolts. Are they loose? Have you taken them off, cleaned them carefully and used thread locker on them? They can make some strange noises as you pedal.

And on the off chance, how tight are the quick releases levers on the wheels? I had a Bianchi that had the classic BB noises and behaviors. I was in the middle of nowhere and confused to how this could happen so abruptly. On a whim I tightened the rear wheel really tight, and it went away. Only with those wheels and that bike together did I have that problem.

Good luck. Always check the cheapest and easiest stuff first.


First - a lot has changed in 19 years, but not much. Some bikes are lighter, faster (and a lot more expensive) than 20 years ago. The difference between your Hardrock and a new one today is small enough not to matter for most people most of the time.

I am with @Blam this - if just wanting to get fit its arguable a heavy slow bike is better - its certainly cheaper than upgrading.

If comparing against yourself is the goal, any bike will do.

If comparing against others, one thing is more satisfying than passing some random cashed up middle aged exec wannabe on a $10000 super bike on your 20yo Hardrock - seeing their face as you do it.

If racing against others and winning is your goal, you need a new bike. If keeping up with a group is a problem to the extend you do not enjoy it, a new bike would be a wise investment.

Valid reasons for a new bike is if the Hardrock is a poor fit and/or you are uncomfortable riding it. If the Hardrock is worn out (many 19yo bikes have less miles than many 19day old bikes, so age is not a good guide) it may be better to replace it than spend money fixing it.

Another valid reason is if, having put down hard earned money - against your husbands wishes, it makes you feel bad about not using it and motivates you to keep riding where you would have stopped riding had you not upgraded (i.e. it gives you the will power to keep riding).

One good reason not to replace it just yet - wait till you have a few more miles under your belt, and have established a pattern of use. At the moment you are getting into it. You may find you like single trail MTB riding, or get into 100km road rides. In a few months you will know how you are using your bike not how you plan to use it.

By not changing the bike, you don't have to ask 100 questions (What kind of bike, what brand, how much to spend.....) that have no correct answer.


What is the difference between a speedometer and a power meter in terms of performance measurement?

Can't I just measure my speed and compare it against my last run and see if I've done better?

Yes, but it's only directly comparable if the wind (and surface, and traffic ... but particularly wind) conditions are identical. Since you don't usually have an accurate measure of the wind vector relative to your movement at each point on your ride, you're going to have a pretty rough comparison at best.

Even that rough comparison is available only if you take exactly the same route, whereas a power meter can give you some idea how you're doing even on a different route with a different elevation profile.

Also, just measuring speed doesn't tell you anything about the power distribution through your pedal stroke, or the (im)balance in work done by your two legs.

Whether all that extra information is actually useful or interesting to you, or worth the cost of a power meter, is naturally a question only you can answer.


Chain hitting front derailleur cage with H limit screw fully loosened

There's more to front derailleur adjustment than limit screws and cable tension.  Both the angle of the derailleur and the height need to be set properly.
The angle of the derailleur being off can cause chain rub against the cage.  If the rear of the cage is angled too far outward, the chain can rub against the inside of the cage when the chain is on the largest cogs.  If the derailleur is angled so the the rear of the cage is too close, the chain can rub against the outside of the cage in gear combinations where the chain is on the small cogs.
The derailleur looks to be canted slightly inwards towards the rear.
When looking down on it, I'd say it needs to be rotated counterclockwise to move the rear of the cage just a bit farther from the frame.
And that will likely affect the limit screw and cable tension settings.


How to DIY electric bike modification - Schwinn 3-Wheel?

Delta tricycles (trikes in which the two paired wheels are in the back) should either use:

A crank-based motor such as a Bafang BBS-HD (these are usually called 'mid-drive' but this designation makes less sense for recumbent trikes). This would take advantage of the rear differential (if available). If the trike doesn't have a differential, it will pull in the same direction as when pedaled. With a powerful crank motor, this can be quite dangerous as it will either you pull you into traffic (left) or off the road (right). So I would suggest you use mid-drive crank motor on a trike only if you have a differential.
A front hub-motor is better given the complexities of creating a differential for the two rear wheels. This has the advantage of not pulling to one side, but the disadvantage that you can easily lose traction, especially when going uphill (and especially if you have your batteries in the rear rack).

However, beyond this pithy answer, the actual complexities of installation are up to you and the particular motor/kit you choose. We're not a shopping site so asking "What's the best hub motor for a trike" would be ruled off-topic. You should instead ask "What characteristics of a hub motor would I look for if trying to install one in my trike" or "Which wheel should I put the hub motor in on my trike?" or "Should I use a throttle or pedelec for my trike electrification."

Finally, remember you can also always ask specific followup questions ("how would I install a Bafang BBS-HD given my recumbent's raised crank") once you've made the decision.


You need a derailleur shim

The one linked adapts a 34.9 mm derailleur clamp to a 31.8 mm seat tube.  I haven't seen other sizes but I'm sure it could be augmented/replaced with something homemade.


Will I have problems maintaining a bike from the UK in the US?

If it's from one of the big brands (Trek, Specialized, Giant etc.) then you should be fine. Only difference between one bought in the UK and one in the US would be brakes mounted opposite way round (i.e. front brake operated by left lever rather than the right), and maybe paintjob!


I think the maintenance periods for MTB are the hardest to predict, because conditions vary greatly.  If you ride in wet, muddy conditions you'll have to replace your drivetrain and brake components far more frequently than if you ride mostly in dry conditions.

You seem to be mostly concerned about bearing systems so I'm guessing you're riding in the slop a lot..  I'd plan on rebuilding the suspension after every season (or 6 months of solid riding), replace the disc brake pads and probably drivetrain components on the same schedule, but test this assumption - use a chain wear indicator and calipers to measure chain and brake pad wear respectively.  I wouldn't worry so much about wheel bearings, derailleur and frame pivots - they'll let you know when they're shot..


Normally, in freezing weather, this is caused by water freezing (and being helped in its task by grime, e.g. salt and dirt and stuff).

My procedure for this is generally:

1) Bring the bike inside or somewhere warm so that any ice/water can melt/evaporate off the bike. The evaporation is key -- if you just let it melt and then re-freeze, its going to cause more of a headache. I normally bring the bike in for the night when I want to deal with this.

2) Remove the brakes, thoroughly clean the bosses and brakes with rubbing alcohol and regrease and reinstall them. The brakes should move freely on the bosses. I find that this helps, but I find that cleaning the bosses and replacing the V-brake itself is sometimes a better option -- its not very expensive, and sometimes the crud works itself into places that you won't be able to clean out.

3) Make sure the cables are in good condition. If your cables are old/grimy/worn, you may need to replace them. Some people suggest lubing the brake cables, but this is against many manufacturer recommendations -- ymmv, if you choose to lubricate them.

4) Adjust the V-brakes the usual way. Not really specific to the problem, but you may as well do it at this point.

Fenders may help with preventing grime to get in, but they're a bit of a hindrance if ride in snow since it gives somewhere to pack...

As for greases/lubes, note that their viscosity and properties change with temperature, so you may want to take that into consideration (e.g. regular old white lithium grease vs a low temperature one).

And there's a good chance you'll be dealing with this multiple times in a given winter.

If its not cold, steps 2,3,4 are still good ones to follow for troubleshooting sticky V-brakes.


There is a lip on my brake pad from bad positioning. Can I remove the lip?

You can trim off the lip with a sharp blade, if you do it carefully. However, I normally recommend that the lip be filed off with the flat side of a 3/4" bastard file.

It's more accurate, the mechanic is less like to hurt the self if they slip, and it has the added benefit of roughing the surface of the pad to remove any heat glazing at the same time you are flattening the surface of the pad.


Halfway through changing rear gear out cable

Yes, it's ok.

You'll be having the largestsmallest cog engaged, that's all. What you can temporarily do is set the limiting screws to the gear you wish.
Or you can have a short "pigtail" inner cable fixed somehow so it keeps the rear derailleur on the gear you wish.
Or you can take a punch or a small (Philips head) screwdriver, and a file and work the outer cable out.

Before purchasing the proper cable cutter I used to cut the outer cables with electric cable cutter, bringing it back to shape with a Philips head screwdriver and making it straight wit a table grinder. It gave a perfect result every time. Only the proper cable cutter is much faster.


This is a sticky one to tackle. Firstly, we don't know the terrain you're riding in, we don't know if you're going to commute to work/school/college/university and we don't even know exactly what your budget would be. As for a Single-Speed, why specifically? You could lose weight on a road racer or a mountain bike, or even a BMX.

Anyhow, if your budget is low, you can look on eBay and try your luck, or you could perhaps buy a bike from a local bike-shop that has been refurbished. I personally always buy refurbished bikes because they're a fair bit cheaper than new.

For a cheap bike, don't go for ranges like Sports Direct or Tesco's or any other superstore bikes like that, as they're usually badly made and have little to no grease in any bearings, which is very bad! Just look at BikeMan4U on YouTube to see what I mean.

A fixie with a Flip-Flop hub would be good, as it gives you a choice of what you'd prefer to run around on.


Is losing power when pulling Shimano GRX lever a bleed problem?

The symptoms you are describing seems to be a "Ghost Leak" - Rides of Japan terms it this way. It might actually just be a kink in the hydraulic hose.
His symptoms are similar. Squeezing the brake feels powerful, but holding on to it will eventually cause the hydraulic pressure to release. Once he lets go of the brake lever, and squeeze it again, he can feel the power again.
Definitely recommend you checking out Rides of Japan's recent video on this, it's quite in-depth as he shows why it happens.

In short, over a period of time, the points where the hydraulic hoses get kinked will wear out over time. Especially if there are accessories like handlebar bags there actually slightly re-route the hoses' entry into the frame/cable guide. As the hoses are under pressure from the hydraulic fluids, eventually the inner lining will disintegrate, causing a kink.
In your case, could it be that the hoses actually got hit in the accident? It might be ideal to replace the hoses too! If really there's a kink in the hose, it won't be apparent from the outside too.
Rides of Japan is quite thorough for this issue (for a home-mechanic at least), it's easy to understand from his documentation! Hopefully, this is the correct approach to your issue, good luck!
P.S. I mentioned Rides of Japan like 3 times, but damn it his videos are binge-able!


My local bike shop owner said to me "I would never use tubeless tires for a Gravel Bike"

Who to believe?

You can believe that the shop owner believes that tubeless is not for him/her.
But that does not mean that you are in exactly the same situation or have the same needs.
Here are some high level steps for arriving at a solution that works for you.

Read and listen to what others say
Look for information that matches what you intend to do and what you value / care about.
Make your best guess at what will work best for you and try it out
Evaluate your experience and make changes based on what did / didn't work

The answer to almost any "What's better?" question is "It depends"
It depends because what works best depends on your situation and what is important to you.
The shop owner who won't ride tubeless has made a decision based on his/her preferences. Is he/she wrong? No, it's not wrong if it works for him.
Google "tubeless bicycle tires pros and cons" and you will get a variety of results with a variety of lists for and against.
Just two examples:
TUBE VS TUBELESS BIKE TIRES: PROS AND CONS
Pros and Cons of Tubeless Mountain Bike Tires
At the end of the day you can believe your own experience.


Can Someone Help Me ID This Marzocchi Fork?

The chromed crown in your photo doesn't have the prominent M-shaped lip, the diamond-shape in the middle looks more like the Marathon range.
Marzocchi "2005" (sold from mid-2004) OEM product catalogue, start at page 12: http://www.bartonicek.cz/marzocchi/servis/prehled_marzocchi_2005.pdf


How to reset pistons after replacing brake pads

Usually you can just push the pistons back into the calipers.  Remove the wheel, remove the pads. Get some kind of tool suitable to prying, such as plastic tire levers or a wooden lever.  Insert it between the pads. Push/pry slowly and firmly and the pistons should retract.

I've read that metal tools (e.g. screwdriver) are not recommended because they might scratch/chip the surface of the pistons. I don't know if this is an issue with metal pistons, but more likely to be a problem with ceramic pistons.  Perhaps someone can correct me in a comment if I got this wrong.

I've done this with Avid Elixir 5 brakes. I don't know if all hydraulic brakes work this way.

I've had cases where this doesn't work, and the solution was to remove a small amount of brake fluid.


Why doesn't my (battery-powered) light work in the cold?

Batteries, especially most types of rechargeables don't work well in cold conditions. The chemical reaction that powers the electric voltage does needs some temperature to perform as intended. If you then have a consumer load that requires a bigger amount of power, they tend to drain rather quickly since they cannot set free much energy when cold.

You could try with newer batteries, maybe yours are already a bit exhausted or you can try ones that are based on a different cell type.


Shimano FC-5700 chainring with FD-5600 derailleur?

The FD-5600 derailleur has capacity of 16 tooth difference between the rings so it will be fine with 53/39. You will need to move it up on the frame to accommodate the bigger rings of course.

If your bike was designed for smaller rings check you have enough clearance between the rings and chain stays.

As there is a larger difference between the rings also check that you will not exceed the total capacity of your rear derailleur. Total capacity is (large ring-small ring) + (largest sprocket-smallest sprocket).

I’m not sure if 105 5700 rings will actually fit on a 5600 crank. They both have evenly spaced 5 bolt spiders, but the shape of the rings where they meet the crank body might be different.

Shimano’s archived specs for 2006/2007 when 105 5600 came out are here


Certainly the cable should be long enough to be under full compression by the tightening screw.

The extended length beyond that I have found is a trade-space between design and preference.  Some derailleurs and brakes have nice little routing features that allow you to tuck the extra behind a controlled point preventing annoying rubbing on your legs or tires.... If there is too little extra you may not be able to utilize this feature.  Some components don't have the routing  feature,  In that case I usually provide anywhere between 2 to 3 inches.  I have found that length is best for tucking out of the way.. and if in the rare case I need to pull some slack our of the cable I have enough to get a good purchase without the use of pliers.

If adjusted correctly the first time.. it is rare that you will need to let out cabling at the point of contact with the brake or derailleur but keep in mind that rare does not mean never so if you think its too short it probably is worth getting a new cable.


Do stickers or paint compromise a helmet?

I agree with the others, it doesn't seem like stickers should be a problem.  My helmet has stickers on the shell added by the manufacturer - clearly they were added make me ride faster.

Paint is a different story...  Polystyrene (aka Styrofoam) and certain other plastics can be damaged by the solvents used in paints, like some spray paints.  I believe petroleum solvents in particular can cause polystyrene to melt.

Polystyrene is sometimes used in crafts and model building, so a hobby store might stock some polystyrene safe paints or be able to recommend a brand of paint that'll be safe to use.


Jammed Giant brand U-Lock. Unable to insert key

I've had this same issue happen with my Masterlock, and generally remedy it with lots and lots of wiggling. It mostly happens to me in the winter when a bit of moisture gets in there, so I don't know if it's the same issue or not.

My method was to stick the key in as far as it would go, and then repeatedly try and wiggle it back to the most locked position, while moving the key back and for laterally (or whatever the perpendicular direction would be to whichever way it turns.) Just go back and forth a lot - sometimes it works quickly, but sometimes it takes ~15 minutes. Either way, that's always eventually worked for me.


Should disc brake rotors be removed when packing bike for travel?

I recommend removing the disc rotors when you travel with a bike regardless of the packaging method.  I have a hard sided case and have done the cardboard box thing (my fat bike does not fit in my hard sided case).  Hard sided cases rely on compression to keep everything in place; compression against the flat side of a rotor is not a good thing.  Remove the rotors and pack them on each side of a  piece of rigid material that will reinforce them and tape the whole thing up.  They can be easily put back on with the proper Torx wrench.

If this seems like overkill, keep in mind TSA WILL unpack your bike.  Do not bother closing a cardboard box before getting to the airport, because they will just cut it open.  I leave the box open and leave a roll of tape on top for them to seal it with.  I pack any loose items in the box with the understanding that they will be removed and likely reinserted in a different spot inside the box/case.  That being the case, you want loose items padded or enclosed in something for when they end up someplace you didn't intend them.

I usually make sure to take all the same tools I used to disassemble the bike and pack them as well (usually in a separate padded bag) in the same box/container.  I have always favored the center lock rotors because they were easier on and off for travel.


Center motor ebike costs more, is it worth it?

Yes, in general mid-drive bicycles are better than hub drive. There are technical reasons and economic reasons.

Technically, mid-drive can be more efficient as they can take advantage of the rear derailleur or internal-gear hub to work at optimal speed. Hub-drive motors can only be optimized for one-speed (although some 2-speed hub drives have emerged).

Furthermore, the pedelec sensors on mid-drive can be more sophisticated in measuring torque rather than just rotational speed. This is because their location on the bottom bracket makes torque measurement easier. Hub-drives usually rely on just a magnetic crank speed sensor. However, note that not all mid-drives measure torque - and some better hub-drives do swap out the bottombracket and put in torque sensors.

In terms of weight and balance, the mid-drive is better located. You want your weight to be low and in the middle. However, geared hub-drives are also getting lighter and smaller. Furthermore, the battery is often the heaviest component and so battery placement itself is critical. The best units have the battery behind the seat-stem or in the lower part of the main triangle.

Finally, there are non-technical reasons why mid-drive is better. There are only a few mid-drive manufacturers that are extant: Bosch and Bafang (I'm leaving out Panasonic, Yamaha, and Shimano mid-drives as they aren't commonly available outside Japan). This means if you get a mid-drive, you're getting it from a well-known company that has a strong reputation (Bosch much more so than Bafang). Your mid-drive bike above looks like a Bosch but it has its markings removed and the store website doesn't have any details -- so you might want to ask and avoid it if it isn't Bosch or Bafang.

Hub-drive motors on the other hand are made by a wide variety of companies. So unless you know the company's reputation, you are taking a risk. You're much more likely to get a no-name hub motor with a no-name controller.

Finally, note that the Bosch, Panasonic, Yamaha, and Shimano mid-drive systems all require specially designed bicycle frames (bottom brackets). This means that the bicycles are much more expensive. Bafang mid-drive and all hub-drives can be bolted onto any OEM bike frame so they are much less expensive.


Any luck using a 2 or 3 jaw puller to remove crank arms off a taper bb?

While Chris Dottavi mentionned that jaw pullers are not meant to remove crank arms, they can definitively used for that, although you might want to think bit before doing so.
I do work in a community bike workshop, where we have a lot of people comming with bicycles that can be quite old or in bad shape. It is therefore not always possible to use the usual crank puller. Therefore, we sometimes have to do otherwise. For the sake of completeness, here is the list of things I have done, in order of preference.
For recent (squared) bottom brackets:

try with a regular crank puller, if you have the right one (check the standards, in particular if you have an odd bike).
try with a jaw puller. Depending on the jaw puller and the shape of the star of the right crank, it might be more or less easy to grab it (for instance, if you have a "5 leg" spider to hold the crankset, it might be difficult to place the tool if you use a 2 jaws puller). Also, depending on the end of the screw of the puller, you might want to keep the crank screw (just unscrew it for a few turn). Indeed, if the screw of the puller is to small, it can destroy the threading of the axle (happens almost never, but not never). The main advantage of that technique is that, if you are careful, it most likely preserves the crank (assuming you are interested in keeping the crank, e.g. if you did not have the right crank puller).
unscrew the crank screw, and go for a ride. I rarely do that, since it might require some time (and, at the workshop, we can not really say: "take a ride and come back"), but it most likely work, often quickly. Some drawbacks: if you have aluminum cranks (most likely on modern bikes), you do not want to ride with the loosen crank: the squared shape hole will quickly not be that square anymore (once again, if you intend to reuse the crank).
with a torch, you can warm the crank, so that it expands (faster than the axle). I've done that only once, so I can not really tell some advices
Finally, if, with all that, the crank is still tight, you can cut it with an angle grinder. Take care of where you cut, as you do not want to cut the axle or the frame. I usually do three cuts. This is really last resort: the crank is (of course) not reusable, but it is also quite likely that the axle get damaged too, sometimes the cup too. While wuite extreme, this is sometime the only way to recover some frames.

For older (cotter) axles/cranks:
You should not have any problem with those, once the cotter is removed. If you have, you can hit (gently) the crank with a hammer, or use a jaw puller.


replaced tire, now wheel flexes side to side

There should be no flex.

It's possible you haven't reinstalled the wheel correctly; and the axle is sliding around in the dropouts. If that's not the case, I assume you're talking about lateral wobble when you hold the bike frame still and wiggle the wheel rim. That indicates hub bearings in dire need of replacement.

You say the wheel felt stiff before replacing the tyre; the chances are the tyre/rim was rubbing against the brake pads. In changing the tyre you most likely knocked things about a bit and nudged the brakes so that they no longer rub on the tyre/rim, exposing the play in the hub bearings that was already present.

Much less likely: If you're talking about a different kind of flex (i.e. the wheel rim is actually deforming under moderate force), you've probably cracked the rim while replacing the tyre.

It sounds like a trip to your LBS to me. Wheels should not flex in any of the ways described above, and a bike which hasn't had a tyre change in 29 years will almost certainly have been neglected in other ways too. You don't seem to have a great deal of experience, and most likely won't be able to spot potentially dangerous problems. Take it in and ask for a full service.


How to reassemble a Shimano Alivio Shifter

It just so happens I had one of these land in my garage for a fixup today.  So I've taken some photos of how it went.

tl;dr Answer Root cause lubrication. The pawl for up-shifting wasn't engaging the teeth.

This is for a Right hand shifter, for the REAR mech.  I assume a Left shifter for the FRONT mech is similar inside, with fewer teeth.

Remove the inner wire - it gets in the way during disassembly.  If its at all rusty or hard to pull through, then dispose and fit a fresh one.  They're cheap.  Leave all the outer housings in place unless they need replacing too.
Remove brake/shifter from handlebars - this probably means removing the grip and anything else in the way.
Clear your workspace - don't want to loose any parts.
Remove FOUR screws - two screws from underneath, one shouldered screw from on-top by the brake adjuster, and the brake reach screw.  Also remove the inner cable adjuster by unthreadding it, but don't lose the loose spring. Put aside.
Using a spudger or a flat screwdriver, separate the top cover near the brake wire adjuster.  It should rotate up around the 7 segment gear display and look like this one apart.
  Note this shows an inner wire in place - I've used a short piece as a demonstrator.  The clear plastic 7 slot display is on the main body in this photo.  It should slide out easily, and fit it to the cover instead.
Next lift off the small white nylon lever from the center of the main shaft.  Put aside.

Remove the last philips screw underneath.  Put aside.
With a suitable sized spanner, remove the big black hex bolt underneath.  You'll need to keep your finger on the other end of the main shaft, because the nut will rise out of its recess and simply spin.  Then remove bolt and nut, put aside.  You can take off the bottom cover too.

The brake lever and other bits of plastic should just come off now.  Put them all aside.  We want the main guts of the shifter, which look like this:

Now you have to find out why its not working.  For me, I could shift to a higher gear, but not to a lower gear.  The cause was this pawl around the back, that was not dropping down into the teeth and pushing.

So I fixed mine by washing with a small paintbrush and turpentine, allowing it to dry, and then wiped in a small amount of Lithium Grease using a finger.  I could have sprayed it but then these photos wouldn't work too well.

Reassemble is the reverse process.  Start by refitting the thin plastic ring, and then work down towards the bottom.  Insert main bolt.
Then flip the whole thing, and refit the bottom cover then the brake lever.  Make sure to get them lined up like this and that there are two holes the inner cable will pass through to get out - they have to line up.  Also, in other angles the upshift/finger lever will obstruct the brake or the bars.

Tighten up the main bolt (not too tight!)
Refit the white plastic pointer thingy.  This is best done in 7th gear like this:

With the display window fitted to the top cover, slide the display window into the bottom cover. Once its home, you should be able to click down the rear of the top cover.
Reinstall 4 screws and the cable adjuster.  Fit an inner cable and test.   Note if you don't have an inner cable, testing might get it stuck!
Refit to bike, recable, and all the usual things.

By Murphy's Law I had to do the left hand shifter too the next day.  Process was identical but mirrored left for right.  There are only three positions on the left shifter, so far fewer teeth on the internal cogs.

No pics of the left shifter because someone else had used adhesive glues to stick several broken pieces back together.

The underlying problem was identical - a pawl was stuck in a position where it could not contact a tooth.  Turps and lube was the fix.

One thing that messes me up is trying to count the effective positions, in that you don't count Clicks or Presses of lever.  Instead, the first position is #1 and one click takes you to position 2 etc.  So a three position left shifter has TWO clicks.  I spent an embarassingly long time trying to find the third click.


If you look straight down into the space between the parallelogram sideplates, you may see that the outer plate has a “feeler” that contacts one limit screw, and the inner plate a feeler that contacts the other.

If that doesn’t work, we can’t guess without knowing what kind of derailleur you have, and you can probably find service info on the manufacturer’s website.


Which bolts and nuts to use to install Osymetric chainrings to replace Shimano Ultegra R8000 chainrings?

Shimano 46 tooth outer chainrings are flat and lack the '3d' profile of the 50 and 52 tooth rings. The 'fancy' bolts you linked to are shaped to cap off the crank spider arms. Those will work with the flat Osymetric rings.
Regular bolts will also work but not look as 'finished'.


How to remove rechargable LED SI Urban integrated light strip from cannondale bad boy

So that is exactly what it looked like once removed. However it was fit in there too tight to be pulled out from the front. I ended up taking it to the LBS and they took apart the headset partially and pushed it out from the back for me. Luckily the battery does last a couple months with almost daily usage of about 30 mins. So I'll probably just have to get comfortable with taking the headset apart myself or just slide it back in with some grease and a string tied to the back of it.


Rear tire wobbling and feels "tight." Is it likely to be axle issue or no?

With 1.5+ inches of play in the wheel.. as others have mentioned it sounds like the hub bearings have collapsed. It also sounds as though the damage will be way beyond just replacing bearings, because with so much play its likely that a new hub will be required too.


Do I really need to replace my helmet every 2-3 years if it hasn't been in a crash?

The Bicycle Safety Institute disagrees with the 2-3 year rule. They have a good page on replacing helmets.

I usually replace one when the foam rubber gets old and crumbly, when the adjustments quit working, or when I damage it. UV can deteriorate the plastic if you leave it outside a lot. And, if you ever "use" a helmet, i.e., crash and save your skull with it, you should replace it because the styrofoam and outside plastic can weaken.


How to accurately measure brake calipers?

Caliper brakes have a reach measurement usually expressed as a range, representing the pad's ability to move in its slot. There are essentially 3 different reach classes for dual pivot brakes, but manufacturers vary in the exact numbers. For example most Tektro brakes have 39-51mm for short reach brakes, 47-57 for medium, and 55-73 for long. Shimano short reach brakes are 39-49, Campy is 40-50, etc. That number is the distance from the center of the brake mounting bolt to the center of the brake pad fixing bolt with the brake in actuated position. (I think the exact position it's measured in is with the faces of the arms that contact the back of the pads parallel, but I don't have proof of this.) To measure what reach a bike needs, measure from the mounting bolt hole to the center of the rim.

There are longer reach classes within BMX/kids bikes and other bikes that use fat tires and caliper brakes. Usually these are the single pivot or u-brake/centerpull variety, although there are some uncommonly seen ones out there that are dual pivot sidepulls.

The vast majority of road bikes for the last 25-30ish years use short reach brakes. They're essentially the default for road bikes. This has led to a situation where many people are unfamiliar with anything else and use incorrect and confusing language, calling short reach brakes "standard" and brakes in the 47-57mm-ish group like you probably need "long".

The 47-57 class was common on older road bikes and is used sometimes (never as much as it should be) to make caliper brake road bikes that can take wider tires and/or fenders. That's mostly over now though because disc brakes have more or less become the norm in that genre.


You don't say how young and foolish you are.  Many years ago, at age 17, I rode a double century (a little over 300 km) with about that much climbing with no training at all.  I had never ridden more than 50 km in a day.  The weather was much cooler than 30C.  The hard part about the second trip would have been psychological-I found the double to be much more than was fun.  I rode a number of centuries, 160 km, afterward and found them fun, but the double took 16 hours.  I was on a decent 1960's road bike. If you have done 200 km already, you have a good idea what it takes.  You can get a lot stronger in 2-3 months of training.  Go for it.


Will cycling off-the-trainer with the trainer's steel skewer damage my bike?

No, using a "trainer" skewer on the road has no negative impact on your bike or safety. The skewer which comes with a trainer is mecahnically and functionally identical to the one that came on your bike, with the exception of the shape of the "heads" on the trainer skewer. It is actually identical to one of the original skewer designs. The reason that one comes with the trainer is because most bike manufacturers have changed the shape of the skewer "heads" that come on the bike to be more aesthetically pleasing. With the side effect that the skewer that comes on your bike is unlikely to fit securely into the clamp mount on your trainer.


How to carry a bike box from the start to end of the trip?

Some possibilities:

Some searching suggests there's at least one bike shop in Leh. You
could call ahead and get them to save a suitable bike box for you.
You could scrounge some suitably big pieces of cardboard once there
and either buy or bring some packing tape. Properly reinforced, boxes
"made" this way are totally fine for shipping bikes in.
Finally, many airports have bike boxes for sale. The disadvantage
with them in my experience is they're usually the enormous type that
are intended to allow minimal disassembly but are very expensive to
actually fly with.


Replacement for discontinued Schwalbe Tyrago

Do you mean a CX tyre having similar tread to your Tyrago? Do you mean performance-wise? Same brand? Why don't you just buy a new tyre of same brand and model (Tyrago supersedes Tyrago)?

The question's a bit vague. Most CX tires produced recently are pretty much well-performing and supersedes Tyrago (or even better than it), though it depends on its specializations.

Anyways, I'll hand out some examples of CX tires with similar, angled treads/knobbles: (might give you insight on what you want)

Michelin Protek Cross - very fast rolling (road) but slippy in muddy conditions.

Michelin Cyclocross Mud 2 - fast rolling (road), more traction, a bit mud-clearing

Bontrager CX0 - pretty fast rolling (road), okay traction, not that mud-clearing, side knobs for cornering

Maxxis Mud Wrestler - okay rolling (road), nice traction, very mud-clearing

Continental Cyclo X King - meh rolling (road), mud-biting traction, mud-clearing

Hope you can sort that thing out. I myself use something like the Bontrager CX0 as I both go on long road tours and off-road sessions.


The difference between 622mm rims on 29” wheels and 584mm on 27.5” wheels is only 19mm - about 3/4 if an inch. If you run a narrower tire the rim plus tire diameter different is even less.

In general bike frames do not have clearance for larger wheels so this may not even be possible.

Note that larger wheels will also change your steering geometry.


Choosing a rear derailleur for 11-42t cassette on a SRAM 10-speed 1x system

One confusing thing here is that SRAM themselves, that I know of at least, have never made or warranted a 10 speed 11-42 1x setup. So you're not going to hear from them or their product documentation that any SRAM RD will work here.

There are two questions. One is capacity, which is the total amount of slack the RD is capable of taking up. Different cage lengths are what gives you your different amounts of capacity. SRAM doesn't publish actual capacity numbers like Shimano does; they make you infer it from looking at their Compatibility Map documents. Because you're using a 1x, the capacity you need is simple to calculate: it's large cog tooth count minus small cog tooth count. For 2x or 3x, you're adding to that number the difference between the large ring and the small ring. So by looking at the Compatibility Map, we see that you actually only need a medium cage, since their capacity is sufficient for use with a 14t difference in front (42/28 double) plus a 21t difference in back (11-32 cassette). So at least 35t total capacity, whereas you only need 31t. Long cage would still work, but you don't get any benefit from it here other than versatility if you want to change things later, and the drawbacks are weight, ground clearance, and arguably shifting performance.

Note that sometimes things can get awkward when one flirts with maxing out the total capacity of a rear derailer on a 1x, because then you're riding with the cage pulled all the way forward when in your big cog, which tends to add friction and decrease shifting performance. Here it should be fine, this setup with medium cage is more or less a known quantity (Wolf Tooth and OneUp both say it's a go with their 42t conversion cogs, for example) but in other cases I'd be cautioning that putting it all together is still going to be a bit of an experiment. Also note that chain growth is a factor that has to be managed on some full suspension bikes.

The other issue is largest cog clearance. SRAM says the max for their 10-speed derailers is 36. In practice lots of people run them with 42t cassettes, either ones that come that way or are modded with aftermarket large cogs. It's possible that to get the pulley/cog gap required you may need to swap in an extra-long B-tension screw, which is just an M4x0.7 bolt. Note that SRAM 1x setups need kind of a lot of clearance here. I'm always a little baffled about the physics involved that makes a bigger gap work better, but it's true. In theory since you're putting the clearance out extra far here, shifting performance may suffer at the other end of the cassette, but in practice that doesn't seem to be much of an issue.


If the damaged wheel comes with a cheap to midrange bicycle, it should not be fixed for economical purposes. What you should do is to buy a new matching wheel. Otherwise the cost of replacement rim, new spokes and nipples plus manual labor of a wheel builder may easily overshadow the cost of a complete factory-built wheel.

If you are really determined to save the most of the wheel, you should look for a matching replacement rim. Fixing the current rim is unrealistic as there is no ready equipment for that, and DYI would most likely make an unbalanced wheel or unreliable fix.

Sad things like this happen. I was backpacking once and discovered that my rear rim cracked exactly at the midway point of my trip. Managed to get back home safely and made this picture:

It was extra sad because I changed a faulty hub on the same wheel barely several months before that, and the first hub only did 40 km.


How fast does new technology "trickle down" to lower models?

They say that this year's Tiagra is generally last year's 105, which is true to an extent. You'll see things like 10 speed cassettes move down the product line at a rate of one series per year or so.

It's not entirely true though. Features creep down, but quality stays about the same. The different series will maintain their relative build qualities year after year. I.e. a higher priced series will have better materials used throughout.

Having said that, I don't believe that build quality is really a deciding factor in most groups. I've put 20000km into a Sora group that is still running just fine. You just need to keep up the proper maintenance.


Any drawbacks in using long-travel forks with huge sag instead of regular XC fork?

Lots of drawback for this. I think too many to list, and some of them are subjective.
First, if you want to improve the performance of the front end, you don't just change one variable (ie fork length). All bikes are specifically designed on purpose and if something doesn't work well, there are more fundemental problems than that.
My first suggestion if you want to improve the bike, would be to see a qualified person that has lots of experience on that specific type of riding. Not any mechanic or random person.
Different travel bikes have their specific amount of travel for a reason, the harder hitting, the bigger travel (to a limit), the less extreme, the less travel. If you change the amount of travel of a bike that was suited to 100mm, you will take away a lot of it's specific properties, ie it's bump vs pedalling efficiency.
2 scenarios:

You add 40mm travel and set the fork how it's designed to be riden (ie correct sag etc). What you have done is drastically changed the geometry of the bike. Whether this is good or not, is subjective. The fact is the bike will desend with more stability but will pedal badly and corner much worst. Not to mention the extra stress on the frame which may break it.

You add 40mm travel and set the fork so the geometry of the bike is the same (ie very under pressure). What you have done is put a poggo stick on your front end. Yes, you won't feel small bumps, but you won't be able to stop bouncing.

The take away message should be, either improve your current bike by properly fine tuning your fork or upgrade to a better, more suitable, fork which does what it's supposed to do.
On the other hand, you might actually need more travel, as your type or stype of riding dictates that, then you should get a different bike more suited for your riding. You don't take an XC bike to ride enduro or visa versa.
I learnt a lot about this watching Vorsprung Suspension on YouTube. Some of it gets pretty technical, but it's fantastic to learn.


Sounds like you need a brake bleed, as mentioned in the comments.  If there is air in a hydraulic system, the brake levers feel "spongy", or may not actuate the brake enough at all, which is what this sounds like.  Any time you can squeeze a brake lever all the way to the grip, that's a dangerously underpowered brake.  Brake bleeding is a process, and while you can do it yourself, it's usually recommended to take it to a shop, as it is easy to mess up, and messing up on a brake bleed can mean you ruin pads/hoses/calipers/levers, and can get costly.


Advice on replacing a Weinmann brake caliper when the cable is fed from the bottom, please

Honestly, the back brake contributes so little to braking that its not worth fitting a dual pivot.

I'd simply change the brake pads to Kool Stop, maybe run a new inner and outer cable, and leave that single pivot in place.  Clean the rim's braking track too.

Dual pivots tend to be more speed orientated, which means racing frames and cables that go in the top.   A mixte or ladies frame is not speed focussed.  So a bottom-entry dual pivot rear brake caliper would be a rare duck.

You might be able to find some kind of pulley, but for a low-end steel MTB-BSO, new brake pads+cable will be a substantial braking improvement by themselves.

To answer the question - consider using a dual pivot caliper with a travel agent like this, to get the cable around 90 degrees of the bend.  I couldn't find one with "more turn"

Web site says "To use our Travel Agent as a friction reducing roller simply route the cable on the outer edge of the wheel and it is smooth sailing for your brakes around tight bends"

From http://problemsolversbike.com/products/brakes/travel_agents_-_6416

Not ideal, but here's a lady's frame used with cantilever brakes and a pulley hanging off the seat clamp, to give some ideas.  This would not really fix your problems because the cable still faces upwards.

If your bike had the middle stays, like a mixte frame then this would be ideal.  Using the existing caliper too.  As per @robokaren idea, this might work down at the chainstays, given enough washers.

Finally consider running full housing down, up, and down into your dual pivot caliper.  The friction will be higher, but if you use non-compressible housings with teflon then it will help.  A couple of cable clamps to hold the outer in place could be useful too.


I'll put some thoughts that appeared in the comments:

  I've googled and came across someone else with similar problem: bikeradar.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12592913 - there is a cross-section of this bottom bracket:

  Looks to me like a French invention.

  I wouldn't try to remove the "fixed" cup. Just like you said - clean everything, find a new axle and assemble it back again. If you remove the whole set you end up with a threadless BB frame and those are said to be not worth to be brought back to life.

Suggestion of Batman:

  Depending on what the threadless BB frame is like, you can use threadless BB's like the velo orange grand cru one

which I agree to, however the price tag on Velo Orange bottom brackets is hefty. It may be worth if the frame has substantial value either financially or emotionally to you.

From my own experience - I have a bicycle with high emotional value which has Thompson BB (pressed in cups). The BB shell is 42mm in diameter. Velo Orange has a solution for that however it exceeded my budget. I was lucky enough to find a press-in Thompson/Thun replacement of sealed bearings cartridge with a square-taper spindle (the original was cottered, hence the idea of replacing it).

In the meantime I came with an idea for you. Since it is a road bike, perhaps it would be possible to upgrade the BB to, let's say, Hollowtech? You'd have to measure the inside diameter of the BB shell (dark blue in the cross-section, labelled as Frame) and check if press-in Hollowtech bearing cups exist, maybe some adapter shells will be necessary.

Another idea is, if you want to stay with some vintage yet standard stuff is to press in a complete BSC threaded shell:

This one I've found here: http://www.wiggle.nl/sram-pressfit-30-naar-bsa-adapter/ - seems quite "generic" and available in more countries.

Then, when having BSC threads you can simply put sealed bearings cartridge with square-taper spindle and enjoy the maintenance-free bottom bracket.

But again - my choice would be to find a new spindle (since you already have a square taper) if the spindle is of standard measurement, replace the bearings and assemble it back again - there is only one cup and cone to adjust and, as I can see in your pictures, there are the lip seals on the BB spindle making the whole package quite sealed, thus maintenance-free.


Where can I purchase/download UCI Pro Tour/pro cycling race footage?

There are sites such as The Sufferfest who do videos designed for trainers. I suspect there will be a bunch of these sites, you've probably found some already.

Also, some of the turbo manufacturers (I'm thinking particularly of Tacx since I have personal experience here) release DVDs which can be used in conjunction with your trainer. Tacx do two types - one is just a DVD that you watch while you pedal (and so is not restricted to Tacx trainers), the other is integrates with the Tacx software to give you a virtual reality experience (i.e. the speed at which you pedal governs the speed at which the video plays). But both are filmed in the first person, as if you're one of the riders, rather than being a commentary. See the Tacx site for more information - http://www.tacx.com/en/products/films. For the most part though these are courses rather than races, although there are some races and these are probably close to what you're looking for. But they work out very expensive.

Lastly I know the Tour de France release videos every year, but as you say these are highlight videos rather than full-length races.

But I don't know of anyone offering exactly what you're asking for I'm afraid. Certainly the European races, the spring classics etc, I'm pretty sure that videos don't exist. I mean, you can find loads of clips on YouTube but these are bits and bobs recorded off tv, I don't think you can get an "official" 4 or 5 hour dvd. I stand to be corrected...


What kind of pump do I need for this valve?

That is a Presta Valve. Your pump, I am going to guess, is a Schrader Valve. You can buy a Presta pump from a shop or buy a $2 adapter.


I think your sketch is great.  However use slots instead of holes for the screws, so you can tune the length, to aim for a resonant frequency at the speed you want to ride.
Simplify it by using two saddle clamps instead of the pictured round thing.
Saddle clamps are often used for securing pipe to a wall.
One of your main problems will be rotation over time - the front will drop down like a cheap headlight.  If your handlebars are steel, then consider drilling into them and using one additional bolt to prevent rotation.  You could also weigh as much behind the bars as you do in front, so they are "balanced".
You can hang the beam below the bars too - it doesn't have to be on top. Mind out for knee-strike though if its off to the side.
Lastly does this need to be on the bars?  You could secure the device to the stem so it points straight out the front in the middle, which gives more material to buttress the unsupported arm out the front.  This might help with cable snagging while turning.


Lean the bike slightly against something with the derailer facing out.  Slide a section of newspaper up behind the derailer and large cog and let it drape down over the tire and onto the ground.  (This protects the tire and absorbs most of the solvent.)

Get an old toothbrush and a spray can of (no shouting now!) WD40 or some other similar solvent.  Alternately spray the derailer (and cluster, if you're so inclined) with WD40 and work it with the toothbrush.

When it's sufficiently clean (ie, no longer caked with congealed crud) wipe it dry and lubricate with chain oil.  (Since this is usually done in tandem with a chain cleaning, simply oiling the chain will usually oil the derailer sufficiently.)

You may want to hit it with another shot of oil after a day or two, since the small amount of remaining solvent may prevent the oil from reaching all surfaces at first.


How to prevent Alfine 8 from "skipping"/"slipping under load?

Alfine owner here whose hub is slipping after having changed gear. The Alfine is extremely susceptible to misalignment in the setup. There are two sets of yellow markers that need to be aligned. One can be adjusted using the gear barrel adjuster.

https://aseasyasridingabike.wordpress.com/2013/02/01/a-simple-guide-to-adjusting-a-shimano-nexus-hub-gear/

The other needs to be adjusted when the hub is set up. Sheldon Brown's extremely helpful web site indicates how you can achieve this.

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/nexus-mech.html

You will also need to tension the belt to the appropriate tension as mentioned in my comment and here:

https://www.montaguebikes.com/folding-bikes-blog/2016/03/adjusting-belt-tension-with-eccentric-bb/

Finally, the gear cable must be well greased as any stickiness will cause the gears not to drop in properly and skip/crunch etc. Unfortunately, I'm now of the opinion that the gear cable needs greased every 3-6 months, which is not the level of servicing I'd envisaged when purchasing! That said, it's still easier than replacing entire chain sets.


What year is this Specialized Stumpjumper FSR?

Actually, I don't believe it's a Stumpjumper, I think it is a 2001  Specialized  S-Works FSR XC.


I wanted to disentangle a few concepts here as most discussions around tire tread and wet conditions have typically been in regards to hydroplane/aquaplane, which other answers have correctly indicated is not a general problem for bicycles.

While tire tread is not needed to prevent hydroplaning, tire tread can still play a role in traction, explicitly helping the tire to interlock with road imperfections.  In low traction scenarios (such as wet conditions) getting every bit of traction available can be important.

In general bicycle road tire traction will be related to the following factors:

Tire compound and environmental conditions (e.g., temperature, wet/dry/snow)
Tire construction (e.g., tire suppleness) and tire pressure
Tire tread pattern

Tire Compound

This is probably the biggest predictor of whether or not you will have traction in the rain.  The quality and tackiness of the compound can vary greatly by price and manufacturer.  If you have a poor quality tire with a lousy compound it will likely be like riding on ice when it gets wet (regardless of whether or not it has tread). The ability for a tire compound to "hook up" will also depend on temperature.  In cooler temperature tire compound will harden up and provide less traction (wet or dry).

From John McKone (Vittoria)

  Compounds come into play and have the most influence on traction (wet and dry conditions); recently developed compounds such as Vittoria’s ISOgrip provide a much broader, stable compound in lower temperatures, this also a key component to a tire’s overall grip in all conditions.

  Technical FAQ: Tire grip in wet conditions

Tire Construction  & Tire Pressure

Traction is gained by the tire interacting with the road surface.  If you have a very stiff tire (i.e., not supple) or pump it to a very high pressure the tire rubber will have a hard time interacting with the imperfections in the road surface providing less traction.  In the wet traction is already reduced so this effect can become more important than in the dry where roads provide a lot of traction even under a bad setup.

From Alex Brauns President, Challenge Handmade Tires

  It is critical to fine-tune every component of the tire before riding aggressively in wet conditions to maximize the surface area gripping the road surface while squeezing water out from under the tires wherever possible. This is why all top level road teams and even experienced pro triathletes will ride tubular tires with soft, supple casing materials, natural rubber tread compounds, and supple latex inner tubes, sized to the rider weight and road condition and adjusted to a minimum pressure to keep the rims from bottoming out on the bumps.

  Technical FAQ: Tire grip in wet conditions

Tire Tread Pattern

The debate around tire tread vs slick tires in wet conditions has generally focused on aquaplaning/hydroplaning, however on the road a very light amount of tread (e.g., herringbone pattern on the old road tires) can be useful for interlocking.

Wolf Vormwalde who was the main engineer for Continental tires before switching to Specialized has this to say:

  Common perception is that tread has no influence in road bicycle tires. But this is not entirely true. The question has to be how much tread do you need?

  Does tread have an influence on traction in road bicycle tires? Yes. Tread does have an influence on traction in road tires. Tread, if it is not so high that it lifts the tread ground off the road (<0.2mm), helps sink tread rubber into rough road surfaces and penetrate lubricants (water) or dirt. Peaks in the tread increase press into surface crevices and add contact points between the road and the tire, and thus increase friction. Just a roughened or scuffed tread surface passes as a tread already. It does not need to be designed shapes.

  Technical FAQ: Tire grip in wet conditions

And from From John McKone (Vittoria)

  Tread patterns may decrease a contact patch by creating deformation of the tire due to road pressure under load from the rider and the rubber/casing bulges and deforms to fill the tread voids, but a well thought-out tread design increases its contact area when turning, accelerating, and braking (increased load due to force will flex the diamonds and grooves) and will also provide micro interlinking in between tread pattern edges and road surface grooves.

  Technical FAQ: Tire grip in wet conditions

Note we are talking about a incredibly light tread pattern (scuffing a tire is enough).  We are not talking about deep channel wells or off-road knobbies.  Also this is likely a secondary effect compared to tire compound which most manufactures have been chasing now for the last few decades.

For another good discussion on light tread pattern and interlocking see Jan Heine's Optimizing Tire Tread article.


9 Speed Cassette does not go all the way in on the free-hub body

If all the cassette sprockets fit on the free-hub body and you can install and tighten the lockring then all should be good.

You should be able to see from the non drive side that the cassette spider is sitting at the base of the free-hub body grooves.

Note that some cassettes come with a spacer ring that sits behind the cassette spider.


What parts do I have to change if I want to change my derailleur to higher speed?

Assuming you want to upgrade from a Tourney 7 speed group component to an Altus M2000 is 9 speed.

You'd obviously have to change the rear derailleur, shifters, rear sprocket cluster and chain.  Presumably you have 3 chainring crank, Altus M2000 comes in a 3x9 option. You'd have to swap the front derailleur but you might be able to keep the crankset.

However, you need to look at your rear wheel. If you have an old style freewheel (sprockets and pawls mechanism in a single unit) you can't upgrade it to 9 speed. If you have a freehub and sprocket cassette (ratchet mechanism is part of the hub), you may be able to upgrade to 9 speeds. The freehub body for 7 speeds and below is narrower than those for 8 and above. If you have a 7 speed freehub, you can't upgrade to 9 speeds. If you happen to have an 8+ freehub with a 7 speed cassette and spacer you will be able to. If your rear wheel isn't compatible, you'd need a new one that is.

If you have to swap out the whole drivetrain, crank and rear wheel it's probably just not worth doing the upgrade, especially when you factori in the cost of having a bike repair shop do it for you, or the cost of special tools you'd need to do it yourself.


Your best bet would be to get a proper fit at a bike shop, that way they can tell exactly where you are stretched that you shouldn't be. It could be a simple fix or a more complex one.

The confusing part of your question is, if you moved the seat back further wouldn't you then need to be bent over further to reach the bars? Maybe the solution is moving the seat forward on the rails if your too folded up..

Or look into a lay back or offset seat post or stem size/angle adjustments.


Bike travel bags, hard cases, and homemade bags

If you travel regularly, buy a decent, high quality hard shell or accept your bike will be damaged. Even with the very best case, your bike could be damaged - either accept it as a cost of travel, or purchase travel insurance that covers the bike.

Depending on your travel and carriers, you will probably find a home made case will offer poorer protection and cost more in baggage charges due to it being heavier. Its unlikely a home build case can be made light and strong compared to a commercial hard shell.

Also consider the cost of a damaged bike is may be far more than the cost of repairs. If you bike is badly damaged going to your destination, your entire holiday could be ruined. Travel insurance can help here as you would not need to be concerned about cost of repairs at destination (e.g. say you bend a derailleur and the only available replacement at the bike shop is Ultegra or XTR, insurance would cover the repair cost).


How are the stages accumulated at the Tour de France?

The parts of this answer dealing with victory in the general classification apply to any UCI-regulated stage road race that I'm aware of. The overall winner (aka the winner of the general classification) is, in fact, determined by cumulative time on all the stages, added up. However, there are three additional prize classifications: sprints and mountains, plus the classification for best young rider. On top of that, the individual stages themselves award prize money. There is also a prize for the top team, determined by the total time that the team's best 3 riders take; this is considered less prestigious than the other prizes, and isn't usually contested intentionally.
The Tour's Diverse Terrain
One of the key things to note is that there are a few types of stages. There are flat stages, rolling (aka hilly, but not mountainous) stages, time trials, and mountain stages (usually with one or more mountains, usually but not always finishing at the top of a climb). In the latter two stage types, the gaps between the riders competing for the general classification can be a lot bigger than you see on the flat stages.
The early part of all the three Grand Tours tends to be dominated by flat and rolling stages. Here, sprinters and breakaway riders tend to dominate. Time gaps tend to be small unless a small group breaks away and is not reeled in by the finish - this is not common (NB: but it does happen; Google Thomas Voeckler for one example of a successful breakaway specialist).
In fact, in all the Grand Tours, the last stage tends to be a flat one into the capital. It is traditionally more of a parade. It is won by a sprinter. Some exceptions have happened by design (Google the 1989 Tour de France for an example when the race was concluded with a time trial into Paris). I believe the last stage tends to be considered more prestigious. After all, it's in the capital among a large bunch of spectators. GC riders don't contest the final sprint stage (unless it's not a sprint stage), as they do not perform well in the sprints (due to specialization).
Games Within a Game
One of the nice things about cycling is that even during the same grand tour, there are multiple games within the main race. The mountains and sprint classifications are decided by points, rather than time. The first few finishers in a stage earn points in the sprint classification. There are also intermediate sprint points offering fewer points than the final sprint.
In a separate points system, points are awarded to riders who cross a summit first (NB: it's possible for a breakaway rider to collect the climbers classification points on multiple climbs in one stage; Google Laurent Jalabert for an example.) Moreover, each stage has prize money associated with it that is separate from the GC prize money. Riders who were trying to contend for GC may attempt a stage win to salvage their race somewhat; Nairo Quintana did this in the 2019 Tour. Some riders may even deliberately drop back on prior stages, so as to increase the time gap to the current GC leader. This decreases the chance that the GC leader's team will chase them. In theory, it's possible to win multiple jerseys. In practice, the last person to do so was Eddy Merckx in 1969, before professional road cyclists became much more specialized.
This is complicated very slightly by the fact that many stages award time bonuses to the top 3 finishers. Thus, the yellow jersey (i.e. the rider currently leading the general classification) frequently passes between riders who aren't real threats for the overall classification in Paris (example riders who have earned the yellow jersey thanks to early performance include the aforementioned Voeckler and Julian Alaphilippe; neither ever won the Tour, and it is not very likely that Alaphilippe can if he remains a breakaway specialist rider).
What Types of Riders Contest Each Classification?
What skills differentiate breakaway specialists from general classification (GC) contenders? The latter need to time trial well, and to climb well. In the Tour, I think conventional wisdom is that the better time trialists have the advantage; the climbs are not steep enough to let pure climbers (who tend to be poor time trialists) gain enough time on the time trialists. The reverse often appears to be true in the Giro d'Italia and Vuelta Espana. Riders who are better climbers than time trialists may aim for stage victories in any Grand Tour.
Breakaway specialists need to be able to execute and recover from repeated hard efforts (specifically, VO2 max-type efforts, or short bursts at 110% or more of functional threshold power; these can be sustained for one to five minutes). These riders will tend to aim for stage victories. If they capture one of the major jerseys, they often attempt to hold it for as long as possible. (Again, Alaphilippe and Voeckler have done this.)
Pure sprinters need to specialize in sprints, which are 30 second or less efforts. They will, of course, need the attendant bike handling skills at close quarters.
Why So Complex?
Why all these games within the game? I'm not aware of the history and reasons behind the evolution of the Tour. In the current era, riders tend to specialize highly, e.g. the people contesting Grand Tours typically specialize in this, and they train for time trials and extended climbs. This typically comes at the expense of their ability to contest many single-day races. The multiple classifications and prizes do seem to reward various types of riders, and to give them reason to enter one of the three marquee events. On the fan side, this complexity does seem to reward fan engagement. It is admittedly a large number of individual items of information to take in, but each individual competition is not that complex.
Miscellaneous
The starting order in non-time trial stages is not adjusted to my knowledge because it does not matter. At all. Because cyclists can draft each other, by the time the stage is over, anyone at the front of the start line had precisely zero advantage. Anyone who tried to ride in front the whole race would have been benefitting anyone behind them (NB: many GC contenders' teams will, however, take the front to prevent contenders from getting into a break). TT start order is the reverse of the current general classification, i.e. in 1989 on the final stage, Greg Lemond started the stage in 2nd place, and started the TT second last; the then-race leader, Laurent Fignon, started last.
In the proposed example, where Joe won 20 stages but Mark won the last by some margin, you are potentially correct to point out that Joe's perceived advantage should exceed Mark's. However, it depends on how much of a gap there was between Mark and Joe on each stage, counting any time bonuses in play. What we would want to know at the start of stage 21 is, what is Mark's accumulated deficit to Joe? At the end of stage 21, what is Joe's time gap to Mark, and is it bigger than the starting gap between the riders?
In the 1989 Tour de France, Laurent Fignon and Greg Lemond traded the yellow jersey back and forth repeatedly. Fignon led Lemond by 50 seconds on stage 20, which was generally considered to be enough for Fignon to prevail at the end of the race. In fact, it was not.


To add to the other answer, the obvious signs here are:

Unknown brand sold by Amazon
Tourney, Zoom and unbranded components
Mix of disc and rim brakes
Unified rear triangle rear suspension
Rear shock has huge coil spring and no visible damper

Smaller suspicious things are cable routing over the moving gap, rack and fender mounts, removable cantilever studs that are left in place, trouser protector disc etc


Why are bicycles priced the way they are?

Simply put, you are paying for the research and development that it takes to produce the top end framesets and groupsets. It takes a lot of time, trial, drafting, creating, testing, and reiteration of all the above steps to create a marketable product that also performs. (To some extent, you are also paying for the free product that goes to sponsored teams, but that is much smaller slice of the pie).

The good news, especially if you are working from a limited budget, is that you don't necessarily need the top end, current year models, unless you are intending on riding it for quite some time, or you really do need the small edge that the latest and greatest will give you.

The reason for this is that technology trickles down year after year, and/or you can purchase top of the line a couple years later for a much cheaper price. I don't know the exact rate at which technology does move down, but the current SRAM Force group (Their mid range groupset), is probably just as good or better than the Red groupset of a few years ago, because as the Red group evolves to be better, they don't get rid of the older tech, it just bumps down a level and becomes Force, and the old Force bumps down to Apex, etc etc. (That is very simplified, but basically true). Or, because you don't need that slight edge, you can buy a used group a couple years down the line for much less than new.

The same holds true for bike frames. While the newest framesets have all the aerodynamic and construction/design tweaks that hours in the wind tunnel produce, you can easily get a top of the line frame from a few years ago and reap most of the advantages that you would need. For a long time, the gold standard in triathlon frames was the Cervelo P3, which outperformed just about every frame around, even 4-5 years after initial release.

Yes, it's always fun to get the new shiny, but unless you are at the pointy end of the spectrum, you will get much more bang for your buck buying a few years old.


Are bicycle rear racks and panniers suitable for cross-country riding?

I'm a member of Warm Showers, and regularly host cross-country bike tourists and get to check out their gear. Except for the occasional monk with orange robes and a small backpack, what bike tourists choose has been surprisingly uniform.

It's usefully Ortlieb panniers on front and rear racks, and sometimes a handlebar bag. The details and presence of the handlebar bags vary some, but the choice and use of Ortlieb panniers has been a near constant. I don't own any yet, but I suspect they are chosen because they are waterproof and durable-- two key qualities for a long distance trip!

Here are a couple sample photos of bike tourists I've hosted (both with Ortlieb panniers)

I would add: don't worry about the weight-- with a proper rack, bike tourists sometimes carry 50 to 80 pounds of gear, much of it on the rear wheel.


ETRTO size tolerance - can I mount a 62-203 tire instead of 54-203?

The first number refers to the tire width: 62mm versus 54mm for the tires you're looking at.

Will this tire fit? Probably but...

The tire will fit on the rim but the question is whether the larger tire will fit in the bicycle safely.

Manufacturers are infamous in misstating tire widths so your current tires may be less than 54mm (2") and the 62mm tires may be larger.

Because you're looking at going larger you need to check if there is sufficient clearance for the new tire which should be about 4mm wider on each side and about 4mm taller.

So my recommendation is to check the amount of space you have in all of the places the tire passes the frame/fork. For example with the fork I will check clearance to the side AND between the tire and the fork crown.  For the rear wheel I will check at the seat stays and chain stays. Again checking both vertical and horizontal clearance.

To check clearance I use the two flat sides of an allen wrench as a feeler gauge. For a bike which will be running a 54mm tire you'll probably want a minimum of 10 to 12 mm of clearance for mud so I'd be using a 5/8" (15.9 mm) allen wrench to check clearance with the current tire.  If the bike won't be used in muddy conditions then you can certainly go with less clearance to the frame.

If OTOH you opt for a slightly narrower tire then it'll fit fine.


I've got a Cambelbak MULE which has about 11l of pack capacity. I found that this is quite enough for day-long rides, far from any roads. I packed:

tools
spare tube
patch kit
pump
a spare tyre sometimes
some food (energy bars and similar low-volume-high-yield food)
small first aid kit
rain jacket
a warm undershirt if necessary

My fullface helmet could be strapped to the outside on long ascents. If you're feeling adventurous, you'll even get full size shin/knee guards strapped to the side of the pack, but then it will be a little unwieldy.

If you don't need to attach your helmet to the pack, you can roll up clothes and attach them around the sides and upper edge of the pack using the four compression straps.

Beware of one thing: If you fill the bladder up to the maximum, the back of the pack will bulge out, reducing comfort.


If by 'slip off' you mean that the chain over-rides the sprocket teeth when you apply force through the pedals it's likely that your cassette sprocket teeth are very worn.

Do you know how worn the chan was? As chains wear they elongate, the more elongated a chain gets the more stress and wear it puts on the sprocket teeth.

Check the cassette sprockets for signs of wear to determine if you need to replace the cassette.

I always recommend getting a chain wear gauge. They are cheap (~$10 US) and easy to use. Avoiding running a worn chain substantially extends the life of the cassette and chainrings.


I'm assuming the crank you have is for an 83mm shell, i.e. it has a longer spindle than the common external bearing cranks for 68mm or 73mm (68/73) shells.

It sounds like you know this, but you can't space the cups this much and still have okay thread engagement. You could put some spacers there, usually up to 2.5mm per side, or on some BBs 5mm drive side/2.5 non-drive.

You could use spindle spacers to take up all the slack, and by making the cranks asymmetrical in the frame you could make the chainline correct, or correct-ish. This raises the question of extra leverage on the spindle since it won't be supported where it's designed to be, especially if all the spacers are on one side. That becomes an at your own risk thing. I suspect if it's a pretty burly spindle it would be fine for xc/trail type riding, but that's just a guess.

Since you're 1x you could also employ chainring spacers to help a little with chainline, maybe up to 5mm worth. (I actually don't know what the line is there before there are consequences. They come up to 3.8mm when designated for mid/outer position use. Use steel chainring bolts.)


Can I mix brands of chain and missing link

Shimano recommends their 9 &10 speed chains be reconnected utilizing the specific speed link pin, which is inserted with a chain tool.  In my experience, there has not been any issue, including noise, using KMC's "Missing Link" or SRAM's "Power Link" to join a Shimano chain.  Note that SRAM's 10 speed link is termed "Power Lock" and is suggested for use "one time only" because of the tighter tolerances present in ten speed systems.  In practice, these can be used multiple times, no problem, but I base this on reading others' assessments not my own experience. Shimano's 11 & 12 speed systems use a connecting link, the "QuickLink."
Typically bike shops I frequent have KMC, SRAM, and Wipperman (whose product is called "Connex") connecting links to choose from.  Prices are similar between brands within same speed categories.  Connex are a bit more money it appears to me.  At any rate, based on the selection, why not stay within same brand for chain and connecting link?  Regarding Shimano, I use the replacement link pin but again, no problems have been noted by myself or others when a Shimano chain is joined with a connecting link from SRAM or KMC.
Wipperman's design is shaped differently which may limit it to their brand of chains only.  I neither have experience with nor seen anecdotal evidence to say whether a Connex link will work with other brands of chain.


Swap Bottom Bracket bearings or replace entire bottom bracket?

Without specially fitted tools, it is very difficult to install new bearings in a cartridge bottom bracket. Usually, the act of pressing the on to the BB spindle puts enough side load on the bearing to damage the new bearings.

If you want to give it a try, yes, you can just go to your local bearing house and match the bearings by the numbers printed on the rubber seals.

The normal procedure is to replace the cartridge, but the bearings are cheap, so it's worth a try, even if it's just to learn that it doesn't work out.


Carbon frame chipped by chain - how to repair?

I wouldn't worry about it too much. Most Carbon fiber bike frames utilize some form of alloy dropouts. What you are seeing here is merely cosmetic damage and is unlikely to affect the bike in any way unless you deliberately continue to expose that part to damage.
For repair, I would consider a light coat of epoxy which you could even out and spray paint afterwards to minimize the aesthetic imperfection.


New steel frame, paint issue -- options?

I'd have been happy with a repair, even doing the work myself, but neither I nor the bike shop could get suitable paint out of the manufacturer.

It ended up being a warranty replacement. The shop (a major chain of bike specialists) were good; their options were limited.


Rear derailleur does not shift onto sprockets 2 and 6

This sounds like a classic case of the shift cable hanging up in the housing. As the shifter releases cable increments to shift to smaller sprockets, the derailleur spring cannot pull the cable though the housing properly.
You can try removing, cleaning and lubricating  the cable. Replacing the cable and housing is the proper solution though, and is relatively inexpensive.
While you have the cable detached, check the derailleur itself is moving freely.


Resurrecting an old style SRM Amateur power meter?

Even if the error is 5%, it's still a power meter. I would get it fixed either to use personnaly or to sell it.


Cycling gloves come in different varieties (like full-fingered or half-fingered). Typically:

Cycling gloves have extra padding at the palms, which for me makes a difference when riding for hours at a time.
They protect your palms in case you attempt to use them to break a fall.
Like regular gloves, they can keep your hands warm in cold weather, especially since your hands aren't moving as much as your legs.
My particular pair of cycling gloves have a "towel" built in at the base of the thumb "finger" so I can actually wipe off water/sweat by running my fist over it.