How do I determine the "length" of this derailleur?

It looks a lot like the Shimano TY-300-SGS on the product page, which would be a long cage rear derailleur.
However there's no strict guarantee that the current derailleur is the best one for the job, and the definition of short, medium, long changes with time. There are other specs on the product page, like total capacity, low sprocket min/max, etc, which you can check are suitable for your gearing. Sometimes it's better to check the specs first rather than just choose medium or long.
You might find that you could select a shorter length cage for your needs, which could give better ground clearance with those small wheels, for example.


Not easy with such an old bike, but i've managed to piece together some useful info.

I believe it is a Norco Monterey:
https://freelanderbicycles.com/blogs/news/17350229-the-restoration-of-brians-norco-monterey

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1061887-early-1980s-norco-id-help.html

Further reading suggests that it was likely designed in Canada, but produced by Yamaguchi Sports in Japan.
With that in mind we can use the info in the following link to make a good guess at interpreting the serial number.

https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1042901-asian-serial-number-guide.html

So I think your bike was most likely manufactured during weeks 28-29 of 1979


Why almost every custom framebuilder builds steel bikes, but not many work with aluminum?

When you consider the overall outcome - the final bike, not just the frame, hand building in aluminum rarely makes sense. Modern aluminum factory frames are hydro formed into all sorts of engineered shapes that save weight and provide stiffness and compliance where needed. There is no way to hand build an aluminum frame even close to the characteristics of a mass produced frame. Perhaps when we can 3D print aluminum things will change.

If the custom frame customer is a "money is no object" kind of buyer, you custom build a carbon frame.

This leaves the customer having a budget to work to for the final bike. The weight savings of aluminum over a quality steel frame is about 500gram (much less with a custom hand build). However, the weight savings in putting the money saved working with steel into components makes a lighter bike with better components.

Frame builders will usually switch to titanium if steel is too heavy and the budget allows for more money to be spent. Its not as light as aluminum, but easier to work with.

If you look at the needs of customers that want custom frames, and are prepared to pay for them, you find they understand more about bikes than most of us, and therefore know how small a part weight in the frame really makes to the cycling experience, and will sacrifice a few grams for improvements elsewhere.


Bike computer which doesn't need a smartphone to work

Specific product recomendations are off topic but some general info:

Garmin and Wahoo bike computers at least do not need a phone with the respective apps present when tracking rides. Some features that require phone or Internet connection obviously don't work though.

Wahoo computers allow direct USB connection to a PC and route files can be downloaded manually.

Trying to cut the smartphone out of the loop is a battle you

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000209170-Do-I-need-to-have-my-phone-with-me-while-using-the-ELEMNT-BOLT-

https://support.wahoofitness.com/hc/en-us/articles/115000127910-Connecting-the-ELEMNT-and-BOLT-to-Desktop-or-Laptop-Computers


Are coarse 3D mesh seat pads effective at keeping your butt cool on a recumbent?

Thinking about my stock seat pad - I have a stiff plasticky mesh inside the seat pad, which has a layer of cloth on both sides.  The mesh is an irregular plastic weave, and would be uncomfortable to sir on without a cover.

Thing is, to get the seat back sweaty I've already sweated through every layer of clothing on my back, and lower.  The cloth layer on the seat pad is also between me and the ventilated area.

So I feel that a combination of less clothing on the rider plus more airflow under would help.

Replacing your foam squab with something more open certainly is a good idea.  I'm contemplating something with ribs that run vertically to allow airflow through.

Something vaguely like this backpack design, to keep your weight off your spine, possibly with 2-4 pool noodles or similar:


Is it worth switching from regular "rim brakes" to the new disk brakes?

It isn't wise to install disc brakes on a frame and fork that weren't designed to withstand the unique forces that disc brakes generate,  and you'll just damage your bike in the process.

If your Haro does have disc brake mount tabs,  then you can install them but likely only with smaller disc rotors.  Remember that you'll have to get new wheels too,  which increases your total cost.

Disc brakes are great for many riders,  but then again so are rim brakes.  Do you really need to switch?


Roadbike with aluminium wheels in mountains. Is it safe?

When people talk about blowouts from braking heat, they're usually referring to latex tubes being used with rim-brake carbon clincher wheels. This combination can indeed lead to blowouts on long, fast descents if you aren't careful. I used to run latex tubes with my carbon race wheels, but after having two tube blowouts, I switched back to traditional butyl tubes and never had the issue again. If you're concerned about heat, just ensure that you're using butyl tubes, not latex.


Wheel Build Questions for Those who have done it

There are definitely more sophisticated tools for this but in my mind the essential kit includes (1) the right-sized spoke wrench, (2) a flathead screwdriver, (3) grease for spoke threads, (4) the front dropouts on an upside-down bicycle with brake pads for truing, and (5) lots of patience if you haven't done it before.

All of this assumes you have a rim and hub with the same hole count, along with correctly-sized spokes and enough spoke nipples.


How to remove stuck Shimano Hollow-Tech bottom bracket cups?

If you want to re-use these cups without a lot of tool marks, using a high quality removal tool that fits the cup splines closely is advisable. A thin sheet of plastic between the BB cup tool and the cups can take up space, give a firmer purchase on the grooves in the cup and protect the cups from tool marks. (Credit to John Cannings of GCN for this tip.)

Make sure the tool is all the way on the cup and held there firmly. If you tool has a hole through the middle you can use a long bolt, large diameter washers and a nut to hold the tool on. (Similar to using a QR to hold a cassette lockring tool in place.)

Make sure you are turning the tool the correct way. The right hand side is left hand threaded, so to loosen: clockwise on the right, anticlockwise on the left. (I doubt you are getting this wrong as the HT cups have the tighten direction printed on them, but I included it for future readers.)


New build, front derailleur won't shift to outer cog

With the cable detached, chain on largest sprocket, set the low limit with the absolute minimum clearance from the chain. With the shifter firmly at the lowest setting (max cable payed out) attach the cable and use barrel adjusters to take any slack out so that movement of the shifter results in immediate movement of the derailleur cage. That should make sure the shifter can pull the cage far enough outboard to get over the big ring.

You may need to adjust derailleur alignment so that the tail end of the cage is toed out slightly to get it to kick the chain into the big ring.


Why are bolts of brake discs using Torx sockets?

The magic of lobes allows Torx to handle a given torque value with a shorter bolt head than the alternatives, and some frame/fork designs need the clearance in this area. That's the only reason for it.

Some secondary bolt retention designs won't work with just any bolts, ie Shimano.


How can I install a 1 1/8" to 1 3/8" Synapse fork onto a 44 mm headtube?

A lower akin to an EC44/40 could be made to do this, but it doesn't exist commercially. In other words it would be an EC44 frame interface and take the sort of bearing that goes in IS49, whereas EC44/40 does the same but with IS52. This hypothetical lower can't be described in SHIS because Cannondale 1-3/8 forks all have integrated crown races.
So yes, but it would have to be a custom made cup, i.e. turned out on a lathe just for the purpose. Using EC44 on a bike intended for ZS like this will of course slacken the geometry.


Recommendation for easily breakable bike lock

I suspect your question is framed from the point of view of your experiences.  Any weak lock that can be defeated by a tool in your pocket can be defeated by the same tool anyone else carries.

Instead of wanting a lock that is weaker, you might consider a lock that is more robust, AND to perform periodic maintenance on the lock like you would with your bike.  A routine oil does wonders to prevent crunchiness.
Consider buying a lock that has some way of shedding water, rather than collecting the water and rusting.
You might choose a lock with brass construction (brass doesn't rust) or perhaps stainless steel.
Another solution is to make sure the lock hangs in such a way that the keyhole is not facing upward.

If you really want a weak lock, get a velcro cable tie.  It provides no security other than against a snatch-and-run.  But its reusable, soft on the frame and won't scratch paint.    You can also clip your helmet's chin strap around the forks and through a wheel.   Security offered is basically zero.


Measure the external diameter of the steerer. This should be either 1" (25.4mm) or 1 1/8" (28.6mm).

This is not the sole determinant of star-nut size, as a variety of materials may be used for the steerer tube, each requiring a different wall thickness.

As your internal diameter is at least 24.26mm, this would mean a maximum wall thickness of 0.57mm for a 25.4mm external diameter, which is insufficient even for steel. With a 28.6mm external diameter, the wall thickness would be up to 2.16mm which suggests the steerer is made of some grade of Aluminium alloy.

If you ask your local bike shop for "a star nut for a 1 1/8" alloy steerer", they should be able to supply an item that fits. The star nut will be about 26-27mm in diameter as it needs to embed itself in the steerer wall.

I don't recommend fitting it yourself unless you have the proper tool; It is easy to misalign the nut and bend the tabs.


Basically its the gap between the tyre and any non-wheel part of the bike frame.

Static clearance is almost exactly the same as the clearances you have while riding, as long as the wheel axle bearings aren't sloppy and the wheel doesn't move laterally.

The above picture is faked up but shows the approximate differences between a "normal road tyre" and a 40mm cyclocross tyre and a 2.1" MTB tyre.  You can see that any smaller tyre will fit, but bigger tyres need more space.

Here's someone with plenty of clearance, and they could easily go up a tyre size or two.

Here's a bike with almost no clearance.

That last bike might not even take the same size tyre from another brand, because tyres vary subtly, and that's not a lot of tolerance!

NOTE just to be clear - tyre clearance matters anywhere that the rotating tyre comes close to your bike frame.  So that's

Chainstays
Seat stays
Brake Bridge
Rim calipers if you have them.
Seat post (pretty unlikely to cause problems)
Mudguards/fenders
Rack supports (unlikely to be a prob)
Trailer mounts
Kickstands <-- ESPECIALLY loose ones!


The curve above the brake looks like it is crimping down on the cable, so yeah, it is too long. The curve coming out of the cable stop is about the curve that you want going from the stop to the brake (but curving down rather than up). And it is ALWAYS better to be slightly longer than shorter, you can all ways cut it if it is long, but too short and you need another housing.

The best way to measure the housing is with the cable out. I would drop the adjuster almost all the way down (leave a few threads showing so you can adjust it down if you need); remove the cable, chop an inch or so (from this shot I would maybe even do 2 inches), replace the housing and look to see if there is a gentle curve. Chop a little at a time until it looks right, then put the cable back in and tighten everything down.


Is a spacer needed for the drive-side when installing a bottom bracket kickstand on the NDS?

These are intended to clamp around the cup itself.

Spindles have essentially zero spline engagement to lose. You can't really put spacers under road outboard BB cups.


I once had this happen before by combining inexpensive saddle bags combined with a inexpensive rack.  The bags were not stiff enough for things like groceries and the rack provided no support to keep the saddle bags from twisting.   With the heavy weight the bags simply twist into the spokes while riding.

I now use higher quality expedition style panniers and racks (picture below). These have lots of side support to keep panniers/saddlebags from twisting. The panniers themselves also have stiff inserts to prevent twisting. I have put close to 120 lbs on the bike (front and back) after big grocery run with no such problems.

Also a photo of the rack and bag setup will help diagnose the problem.


Replace v-brakes with rim caliper brakes with no center hole: adapter?

Note these are not product recommendations, these are examples showing the features you would need on a part to do this task.  I can't find one item with all the suggested features, so you may be up for modifying existing items, or making one from scratch.
Also note that most/all of these will make wheel swaps harder in that you probably can't fit an inflated tyre into the frame.

There were items in the past called Brake Boosters, that worked with Cantilever or U brakes to support the end of the mounting posts and to stop outward flex.

Problem here is they're only bolted to the end of the boss by one bolt, whereas for braking performance you would want the two ends of the booster to go over the mounting posts, just like a V/canti brake arm.
So you need much thicker metal too - a lot of what I could find was stamped steel or aluminium, which would have too much flex for a brake.  These seem to be from the BMX crowd, perhaps replacing U brakes. Contrast with this casting that is easily three-times thicker, and has a top hole intended for a caliper brake bolt:
from http://ratrodbikes.com/forum/index.php?threads/rim-brake-adapter-for-fat-tire-bike.94912/
Here's another similar one from the side, but this one clamps around the fork's tines/seat stays, and does not use any bosses.  Since you have bosses it would be best to use them.
from http://buildesign.co.jp/kimori/front-brake-adapter/
from
http://buildesign.co.jp/kimori/rear-brake-adapter/


Is the 'shark wheel' a good idea for a bicycle?

On a skate board type application it is effective

On a bicycle it is not effective and impractical to implement

On a skate board you want a wide contact patch. On a skate board you absolutely don't want the wheel to tilt.  The idea is to keep the width but reduce contact area.  The reduced contact patch has lower rolling resistance. Within the virtual flat contact surface are circular surfaces that will shed debris (small rocks).  They can also can go with softer material so you give back on rolling resistance but get softer ride and more grip.  They are not taking over the skate board market but they have a niche and it may grow to dominate.  It is more than just a fad with no real value.  And some people  will buy it because it looks cool.

Basically none of that scales to bicycle.

A bicycle leans and as soon as you lean a shark wheel it is no
longer round.
That is a show stopper.
Even if it stayed round on a lean the extra width on a bicycle with comes
at large expense.
A spoke type design would not work.  Would need a solid wheel.
Would have to be a solid tire.  Pneumatic would push the tire off a curved rim and put stress on the rim.


Praxis Bottom Bracket Performance on BB30 Frame

I installed that Praxis BB30 converter on my Cannondale and I will never look back. I switched to a Shimano hollowtech II crank because that's the one I had lying around.

Not only does it feel more rigid, but the bb30 was hopelessly noisy no matter how often I cleaned it, and the Praxis BB has been silent so far, the bearings seem to seal better. So yes, it's rigid, quieter, easier to clean, and my frame doesn't seem to mind. Those are my findings.

Just make sure you use the proper amount of anti-seize when installing.


Cheap Apollo forks: The fork suspension feels too soft

Cheap suspension forks just use a big undamped metal spring in each fork leg.  If you can disassemble for the forks and don't mind making some irreversible modifications, you can increase the sprint rate at the expense of travel by cutting and shortening the springs. You would need to add spacers of the same length as the reduction in spring length. Sections of appropriate diameter thick wooden dowel would do.


How safe are helmet- or glasses-mounted mirrors?

I would say that there's not much more concern of the mirror gouging your eye out than your glasses in the event of an accident. Ultimately I think if you did a risk/benefit assessment of having a mirror, you'd come out in the black.
For most cycling mirrors I'd say that the mounting point is going to give way before anything breaks and becomes dangerous. If you're truly concerned, have a look at this question where I tried to put together an exhaustive list of cycling mirror options.


There must be some wear indicating lines on your brake pads. If you don't see them - it's time to replace the pads.

Here is an example of wear indicator lines:


Extend drop bars with additional positions

Sheldon Brown has a page about adding a second set of handlebars above your first set. It looks terrible:

Why not give that a shot? Sounds like it will fulfil your desires.


Why should you not just buy the chain with more links?

If your old chain was sized appropriately for your drivetrain, and you're not changing anything, then you're going to shorten the new chain to the length of the old chain (via counting links, or lying the chains on the ground and pinching them together).

Then, you throw the remaining links into your tool box in case of needing them as spares for a repair in the future. Eventually, you have enough spare links in your tool box and you start throwing the spare links away when you get a new chain (or better yet, as Kibbee suggests, donate them to a bike co-op/shop).

So, it doesn't matter which one you buy in the long run -- the chain just has to be long enough to begin with (unless its a bike which needs a longer chain, like a tandem in which case you need to buy 2 chains and combine them).


Identify bike manufacturer using the number 1857 and is made in England

I might have traced back some info on it:

This forum talks of Healing track bikes and one user mentions the underside of his BB is marked G.R. 23 and England, with serial number marked upside down on the seat clamp.

From there I searched for images of Healing track frames and stumbled into this picture, which would match the headtube style. The lugs are different, but hey, this one is from the 1940's...

So my guess is that it's a Healing track bike as it indicates

  Importing bicycle parts Healing was quickly gaining a reputation for his quality and service among the cycling community[...]

Which would fit with the BB shell marked as made in England. The decals are definitely just fakery after a repaint.


Where is the rear wheel quick-release mechanism on my bike?

This is a standard quick release mechanism simply grab the lever indicated below and flip it the opposite direction (green arrow). At which point it should loosen up a bit, then you can spin it around to the left to unscrew it further. You do not have to take it all the way out, just loosen it enough to be able to slide the wheel out. You can also hold onto the silver knob in your second picture to help unscrew it, that is how you adjust the clamping force of the lever.

When you have your wheel out to repair, be sure not to pull the brake lever as this will cause issues with your brake caliper as it will try and clamp down on the rotor which will not be there.

When reinstalling be sure to pay attention to the rotor as they can sometimes be tricky to line up with the slot in the brake caliper.

Also when closing the QR you should need to apply force from roughly the half closed position. Not closing the QR tightly enough, or not fully closed may cause it to open at an inopportune time resulting in possible injury.Thanks to @Alex for this addition.


Are there better tires for heavy riders?

I would go as wide as your frame and fork will allow. The increased volume will support the weight better than a skinnier tire at higher pressure.


Italian bottom bracket Shimano BB-6400 fixed cup tightening - what tool?

This is the tool you want, combined with any torque wrench with the proper range.

There are a number of applications where a torque is specified by the manufacturer, but no tool fitting for a torque wrench is available.

The BBI Torque Wrench Adapter allows you to attach any "normal" wrench to a torque guage, and get an accurate measurement of the torque applied to the fitting.

I've used it with pedal and cone wrenches primarily, but it would work well with the HCW-4 on a fixed cup application.

Barnett's Bicycle Institute Torque Wrench Adaptor


You're likely experiencing speed wobble/death wobble:

Wobble, shimmy, tank-slapper, speed wobble, and even death wobble are all words and phrases used to describe a quick (4–10 Hz) oscillation of primarily just the steerable wheel(s) of a vehicle. Initially, the rest of the vehicle remains mostly unaffected, until translated into a vehicle yaw oscillation of increasing amplitude producing loss of control. Vehicles that can experience this oscillation include motorcycles and bicycles, skateboards...
...
In two-wheeled vehicles
Wobble or shimmy begins when some otherwise minor irregularity accelerates the wheel to one side. The irregularity may be a wheel which is out-of-round, out-of-true, or out-of-balance. As the wheel rotates, it will exert a cyclic load to the vehicle frame, which if matched with the system's (vehicle and attached accessories) resonant frequency, can produce a speed wobble. During the wheel rotation, a restoring force is applied in phase with the progress of the irregularity, and the wheel turns to the other side where the process is repeated. If there is insufficient damping in the steering the oscillation will increase until system failure. The oscillation frequency can be changed by changing the forward speed, making the bike stiffer or lighter, or increasing the stiffness of the steering, of which the rider is a main component. While wobble or shimmy can be easily remedied by adjusting speed, position, or grip on the handlebar, it can be fatal if left uncontrolled.
...
An academic paper that investigated wobble through physical experimentation and computer modeling concludes: "the influence on wobble mode of front tire characteristics, front frame inertia and chassis stiffness were shown. In particular, it shows that [by] increasing front tire inflation, chassis stiffness, and front frame inertia about steering axis and decreasing sideslip stiffness of front tire, wobble mode damping is improved, promoting vehicle stability."

So this can (and does...) happen with just about any bicycle.  And as the term "death wobble" implies, it can be really dangerous.
When it happens, do not panic. You need to change the resonant frequency to get the oscillations to stop. One of the worst things you can do is grab your handlebars tighter and try to outmuscle the oscillations - grabbing the bars tightly isn't going to "increase the stiffness of the steering" because your upper body is up in the air, attached to the bars by two flexible arms.  So you're really not adding any stiffness to the steering if you grab grab your bars harder.  Not only that, if gripping the bar tighter doesn't work (and it probably won't...), more powerful oscillations will be transmitted through your tighter grip to you and your mass will be quickly added to the oscillations and you'll almost certainly crash.
Relax your grip on your handlebars, and to really change the resonant frequency of your bicycle, clamp your knees against the top bar.
The relatively low pressure of a 37 tire might be a contributing factor.


If I mount a standard (tube needed) tire on a tubeless compatible rim will it be easier to remove when I get a flat?

The difficulty rating varies by tire and rim and which combinations are used. Some tires may come off easier on some wheels and be more difficult on others. In general tubeless rims make it more difficult to break the bead loose. The reason is that tubeless rims have an extra bump next to the spoke holes. The purpose of which is to keep the tire from unseating in the event of a flat. You may want to try putting the tires on and off a few times to find a technique that works best. I recently bought a Crank Brothers Speedier Tire Lever which is different from the standard levers. The rims I have used it on weren't tubeless but it did seem easier to get the tire off.


How can I move the handlebars on a mountain bike close to the rider without affecting handling and control?

Moving your bars is probably going to move your centre of gravity which is likely to affect the handling of the bike. That said if the only change is that your elbows are more bent it might not make a big difference.

A shorter stem will move your weight backwards that means:

The bike will be more stable and less twitchy.
It will be easier to move your weight back when descending. It will also increase your range of movement, giving you more control (as long as you use it!).
You will be in a less powerful position for pedaling.
The front is more likely to unweight and rise when going uphill.

If you're fitting a shorter stem you'll want to lift the bars up as well, you can do this by fitting a stem which is angled, or riser bars, or both. This is all about what feels good so you'll want to experiment a bit - long/low and short/high both feel good, long/high and short/long don't.

The other thing you can do to get yourself closer to the bars is to move your saddle forwards - the saddle can move forwards or backwards on the clamp, and you could possibly use a seatpost with less/no layback.


I recommend wearing a helmet and something like a cycling cap or something similar to an Under Armour skull cap
 that can absorb sweat and protect your head from the sun.

As for your neck, I've always used sunscreen during sunny rides.  Get a bottle that can fit in your saddlebag or backpack, and apply it liberally and as often as necessary.  Sunscreen will protect you from the sun without impeding your ability to move, and it will not be affected by strong winds.


Any reasonably study aluminum tube rack should be okay. Panniers and racks use a standard for mounting, so any rack that looks like this should be okay.

http://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Product_10053_10052_519792_-1___202601

An mtn bike specific rack like that one is probably a good choice since it
will be wider to have more clearance, but most bike racks should work if you
use skinnier MTB tires. The important part is something to hook the lower pannier connection on just above the lower mounts. Avoid older racks with hinged parts, these simply won't stand up to the load.

The tricky part is mounting the rack to the seat stays. You can do this using P-clamps from the hardware store.

Here's an example:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/t/100130546?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053&N=5yc1v&R=100130546

If you are using P-clamps for both upper and lower attachements, it would be a good idea to keep the weight as low as possible. You can also get brackets that work with a long skewer on the rear axle, but I'm not sure that's worth it for a single week long trip.

And if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket and want a solid long term solution.

http://www.oldmanmountain.com/


I think that will be okay.  Have a look if there are no spacers behind the rotor mount bolts - or if it's center lock see if there is a spacer behind it as well.

Removing these may help.


I decide to buy a 20" freehub (cassette) wheel, do I have to specify the hub + cassette width?

Yes. Many 7 speed hubs were 126mm between the drop-outs. You may also have a 130mm hub. This is very easy to measure, take the rear wheel out and measure the internal distance between the axle dropouts.

Also be aware that 7 speed hubs used a slightly narrower freehub body (where the cassette slides onto the hub) that later 8 and higher hubs. You can put a 7 speed cassette with a 8+ speed hub with a spacer.


What does it take to damage an internally geared hub?

Usually jumping curbs isn't a problem, as long as you're cognizant of not landing incredibly hard.  I would think that rough landings would damage the rim before the hub.

Most internal hubs wouldn't shift under torque at all.  Some have a system where they won't even try to shift if the mechanism is moving, others have a "sprung" system where it waits for a pause in pedaling and makes the shift then.

Brief submersion shouldn't be a problem.  Prolonged would most likely cause big problems.  I don't know if shifting while submerged would exacerbate this...

The biggest factor I've seen in damage to an internal hub is using one that's slightly mis-tuned for a long time.  I'll have someone come in saying that it stopped shifting into third about a year ago, and now it won't shift into second...  By the time they bring it in to the shop, now it's a much bigger problem than it would have been a year ago.


I am transitioning from mountain bike shoes to road bike shoes. A marked difference is the limitation of versatility in cleat placement. I prefer to have my cleat as far up and to the inner side of my foot as possible - pretty much at the balls of my feet.

Typical road shoes use three bolts holes, with the positions of those holes being static (as opposed to mountain bike that have two bolt pattern in a slot that allows for forward/aft changes). In a road setup the ability to adjust cleat position (forward/aft or inboard/outboard) comes from the design of the cleat itself.  Some brands and systems offer a lot range in this regards while other less. In addition, road pedals themselves often come with different length axles which will help you fine tune the inboard/outboard position your foot (what you have been doing by shifting the cleat inboard on your mountain bike pedal and shoes). Finally, road bikes also tend to have a narrower stance (distance from the center-line to pedal; often termed the "Q-factor") relative to mountain bikes, meaning that all else being equal your feet will already be positioned closer to the center-line of the bike (relative to your mountain bike) before you even start tweaking your setup.

The take-home is that to get the same stance (distance from the center-line of the bike to the middle of your foot) the road cleat will be in a different inboard position relative to a mountain bike cleat position, so land-marking the mountain bike cleat position will not help you to get into the same final stance.  Unless you are very good with measuring these types of distances you may need to start over fresh when setting up your road cleat position.

  It feels weird to have the cleat so centered on my foot. I feel like I can't use my calves as strategically now. Is this because it's more efficient to have the cleat central to the foot?

Finally, the current "thinking" for fore/aft position cleat position is to have the pedal axle between your first and fifth metatarsal, that is, just behind the "ball of your foot (which is the first metatarsal). This keeps your calves muscles more neutral (requiring them to work less), reducing fatigue and oxygen consumption. The calve muscles  primarily play a postural role in cycling rather than generating any substantial power. If you are looking to generate more power, you should look into getting muscle recruitment from other muscle groups such as your glutes.


It's just a little surface rust so it's essentially a cosmetic problem at the moment. Assuming you want to keep the hitch on the bike all the time (that is after all the point of it) then I suggest that after removing any loose material you wipe grease over it to provide a barrier against moisture. You wouldn't have to do it after every use but whenever you clean the bike/oil the chain. This will also deal with the way the rust makes it harder to fit the trailer to the hitch. It also darkens the remaining rust temporarily, making it less obvious.

Mine is a different design (with a pin going through it) but I assume that yours also doesn't rely on friction (which wouldn't be safe). In fact yours may even move slightly around the hitch, which would abrade the paint.


Yes, on my 1975 Peugeot UO18, the brakes are located on the intermediate stays and the seat stays are used for the rack mount.

The brake configuration is visible here.

(photo source: http://oldtenspeedgallery.com/owner-submitted/joans-1975-peugeot-mixte-uo-18/#.VWFRtmDDz88)


Pumps have an air chamber (normally cylindrical) that is compressed in order to force the air into the tyre. When the handle is pulled out, air behind the piston is forced out of the cylinder. In single action pumps, this air is vented into the atmosphere and lost (no big deal; there's plenty of it around!). On a double (or dual) action pump, this air is collected and forced through the valve into the tyre.

Single action pumps are mechanically simpler, and so smaller and lighter than equivalent double action pumps, but take roughly twice as many strokes to get to the same pressure. With a double action pump, you have to do work when pulling the pump handle, as well as when pushing, which is more effort per stroke (due to the pressure of the air already in the tyre, unlike in the single action pump, where you're working against atmospheric pressure which is much lower).


What to do with too many old bike parts and frames to count

I work two afternoons a week with a group called "Cycle it Forward", a local organization which rehabs old bikes and makes them available to Christmas Anonymous and other charities in the community.

You should check around your community to see if there is some similar organization to which you can donate at least some of your trove.

(But be aware that random frames and bike parts, unless of exceptional quality, are worth more as metal scrap than as bikes.)


Your issue sounds like a worn chain/cassette.  Take the bike to your LBS (Local Bike Shop) and have them look at it. You can also check yourself to see if the rear cassette teeth look like sharks teeth, that's generally a good indicator of wear.  Here is another post that may help you.

Generally skipping teeth is a sign of a worn cassette/chain, but it could also be adjustment issues from the derailleurs.


What's the best strategy to preserve vintage headset life?

I'm not sure why you're asking this, because as far as I can see the answer is in the question. You want to "keep it functional for the longest time" and then you say "should I discard a part that extends the life"?

Ball bearings without separators/retainers wear out faster, so there's more metal fragments in the race and the whole unit wears out faster. A much better way to extend the working life would be to extract and preserve the original retainer, and use new retainers and bearings. If you replace those more often than strictly necessary you'll minimise wear on the races.

But remember that the headset is very rarely the first part of the bike that wears out. Unless the bike is stored in atrocious conditions or terribly badly adjusted, by the time the headset wears out the derailleurs are normally gone, you're on the fifth to tenth bottom bracket, third or fifth wheelset and so on. A better question might be whether you have a stock of those parts to use as spares in order to maintain your bike in original specification. But note that this only applies if you ride the bike, and since you're asking about keeping it working for time rather than distance, that may not be a factor.

To keep the bike functional for the longest possible time you should dismantle the bike and pack all the metal parts in heavy grease to preserve them. The plastic and leather parts are more problematic, they probably need to be chilled and kept in an oxygen-free environment. That should allow it to be reassembled and used at any time in the next 100 years or more. If you choose a good storage location (a dry cave, for example) and a proper container (a sealed stainless steel case, perhaps), extending the functional life by 1000 years isn't out of the question.


If your headtube is 34mm in diameter then only EC34 Headset can fit in.
This means that you can only go as much as 1-1/8 inch fork.

Unfortunately there is no conversion kit that I have heard of for adapting 34mm headtube to 1.5 inch steerer.

If your headtube is larger than 34 mm, you might have a chance. Take a look at this doc: http://www.hopetech.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/HOPEHEADSETS2011Web.pdf


With a garmin edge touring can I just ride or do I have to do a route?

The map screen will show you your location, you aren't required to choose a route, routes are just big feature of the edge touring that Garmin focused on for that line.


Are there real use of the lowest bicycle speeds?

You're right - there's an awful lot of overlap between the gear ratios offered.

I dunno about your riding, but I have a 21 speed (3x7) and the lowest gear is 26/28  (that's a 26 tooth front chainring with a 28 tooth big cog on the back block)  and I occasionally want one lower on the super steep climbs.

At the other end I have a 52/12 and on a downhill I am spinning out too soon.

This shows that 28/16 is about exactly the same ratio as 48/28.

You might choose to be on the big chainring if you're about to go down hill or flat and smooth, but if the next section is an uphill you would want to be in the little chainring ready for the grade.

So the middle chainring is useless?  No -  without that the front mech would have to lift the chain from the small to the big chainring, and that's a gap of 20 teeth.  Most derailleurs can cope with 13 teeth gap, not 20 teeth.

To make best use of your gears, you want to ride at a pedal cadence of ~80 RPM.  So pick a gear that lets you spin the pedals at about this speed.  Too slow and it hurts your knees.

Many riders live in the middle ring and use the rear mech to get gears, only changing front ring in the extreme of headwind/uphill or downhill/tailwind.  Personally I live in the big ring all the time, until it gets steep.

Changing gears will also help spread your overall wear, and lets you get moving quicker from a stop at the red light.

Edit: Here's a segment where 26/28 is only just sufficient:  https://www.strava.com/segments/9230838    Strava says the grade is in the upper 30's percentage, and having ridden it I'd agree.  The main problem is keeping the front wheel on the ground.


Probably air in the lines. Assuming that's the case, yes, worth repairing. You'll need to bleed the brakes. To do that, you'll need the appropriate bleed kit. Probably $20 or so. Here's the service doc. Do not use the wrong kind of brake fluid, as that can damage the seals.


Most likely no. That is too big of a difference in wheel sizes. The frame does not likely have enough room for the larger wheels. If you have rim brakes there would also be the problem of adjusting the brake pad position for the larger wheel. You could always go to a shop or swap wheels from another bike just to see if they will fit, but I think it is very unlikely that they would,


TRP Spyre SLC brakes compatible with other vendors' rotors?

Yes, they are compatible. As long as you are using a 160mm caliper mount, and a 160m rotor they will work together. There are industry-wide standards for rotor position for front and rear brakes.

Like @Carel says above though: make sure your pads are a type that are correct for the rotor (this shouldn't be a problem with HRD rotors, you can use metallic or organic pads on them) and also compatible for the type of riding you are doing. For example, if you are doing tons of downhill with organic pads, you'll wear through them really quickly.


Use this as an opportunity to teach him how to paint. Yes, you'll do much of the work, but you two can work together to pre-sand the existing paint, mask the parts you're not painting, and spray the new paint on.


How do you calculate aerobic and anaerobic heart rates?

The classic DIY method is the Conconi test which requires you to be able to measure your power output and your heart rate, slowly increasing your power over time. E.g. starting at a very low level, you increase your output by a set amount every minute until you can no longer do it. At each stage you take your average heart rate. Then when you have the data, plot them on a graph, time along the bottom, heart rate on the y.

For this you'd need to be in a relatively sterile environment - it's not something you could easily or accurately do on the road. A turbo trainer is perfect, incrementing your output in watts or speed.

What you should see is that your curve will slowly grow with a reasonably consistent gradient, but there'll be a point where it takes over and climbs much more steeply. That's your anaerobic threshold.

It will be quite vague, but it'll be accurate to within a few beats - certainly enough to be able to set your next training outing a few beats below it for your threshold session.

For more specific results, you'll need to do some lactic acid testing ...


How do I adjust my 7-speed Shimano SIS indexed shifter not to miss out one of the cogs?

The Park Tool web site is generally the first place to go for info on how to do different bike repairs/adjustments.

But adjusting a derailer is fairly simple if you understand the basic principles.

First, you sorta ignore the shifter lever/handle and observe the derailer.  On it are two "limit adjustments" -- a "low" and a "high".  These are generally setscrews of a sort.  One limits how far derailer can sift in the direction that the spring pulls it, while the other limits how far the cable can pull the derailer in the opposite direction.

You first need to get the cable slack (twist the cable "barrel adjuster" a bit if needed) and adjust the stop that the spring pushes against.  This stop should be adjusted so that the derailer centers the cable over (usually) the smallest cog.  Then use the shift lever/handle to get the cable tight and pull the derailer all the way in the other direction, against the other limit screw.  Adjust that screw to position the derailer over the large cog.  (You may need to adjust the shifter slightly as you make this adjustment, to keep the derailer tight against the limit screw.)

Only after adjusting the limit screws do you attempt to adjust the cable.  If you're lucky simply adjusting the "barrel adjuster" in the cable will get everything working right, but it may be necessary to loosen the cable clamp at the derailer and slide more/less cable through it, if the barrel adjuster doesn't have enough range.

Having done all this you'd generally ride it around a bit, then go back and recheck all the adjustments, fine-tuning them.


Play in Jockey wheels Sram X7 rear derailleur

the derailleur is slightly bent.

It's more likely that the derailleur hanger is bent. Those are often replaceable because they're a (deliberately) small and somewhat fragile part that's designed to be cheap and easy to replace.

The first step is to see if you can straighten it. Any bike shop will have the tool for this, and it's something you can't do without the tool as the adjustment has to be quite precise. This answer has more details.

It's very unlikely that you've bent the derailleur. Unfortunately an impact powerful enough to bend a derailleur is generally going to also bend the hanger. So the advice is the same - take it to a shop or buy the above tool. Once the hanger is straight you can try to bend the derailleur back if that is also bent.


Help identifying (potential) 80's Aerospace Contour Raleigh frame

In 1984 Raleigh came out with "Aero Tubing" on the:

Record Sprint 12 (Reynolds 501, double butted aero main tubes)
Quasar 12 (Reynolds 501, double butted aero main tubes)
Pulsar 10 (18-23 high tensile aero tubing)
Team Cadet 10 (18-23 high tensile aero tubing)

All four of them had a rear derailleur mount on the drive side drop out.

None of them had:

Cottered cranks
Three speed hub
Upright handlebars
Leather saddle

All of them had

Braze on rear brake cable guides
Brazed on down tube shift levers
Brazed on front derailleur mount
Quick release wheels

There is no aero tubing in the 1983 catalog or the 1985 catalog so they only existed for one year.

I'm not sure what to tell you. Other than the oval tubing and a screwed on head badge very little about the bike or the frame (from what I can see in the pictures) matches the 1984 Raleigh aero tubing bikes.


I've never ridden one of these bikes.

I response to your question, I Googled to check it out. The reviews are not flattering.

But to answer your question, I see that the angle of the steerer and front forks looks very steep. I'm not surprised that it feels like you're all over the place. Combined with the narrow handle bars, it would take a while to learn to control it - so I do agree with your friend.

Wider handlebars would help, but check that it still folds correctly with them on it before you pay for them.

If you can practice riding somewhere there is plenty of room, with time you should be able to learn to control it.

But if possible, I would return it, and invest the money in a better product.


Is it ok to hang the bike by the frame, if the bowden is on the bottom?

Not going to do anything, unless the bike weighs 300 lbs or something.
Worst case if you're hanging and removing repeatedly you could scuff the paint, from the housing rubbing against the frame. But of course, your mounts pose the same risks.


Why not have the gears inside the bottom bracket?

The lack of popularity is partially because it's a solution in need of a problem.  The effect of rotating mass in general is generally overstated when considering the total energy that goes into cycling, and mass near the axle has even less of an effect.  You can work out the math here.

The main advantage comes when considering unsprung mass on full-suspension bikes, where having weight on the rider's side of the suspension can improve the handling and response of the bike. This is why inroads have been made in downhill circles.


Rim cracks on spoke adjustment holes, how much should I panic?

To me, it looks like whoever (or whatever, as it was likely machine built) used the wrong size tooling to hold and screw the spoke nipples as the wheel was built. Not a rim manufacturing defect but a wheel building defect.

If it's still under warranty, I'd get the wheel replaced. Any cracks are bad cracks and could propagate. If it's not under warranty, I would keep an eye on it especially if you put aggressive loads on your wheels (mtb, touring, etc).


What is the purpose of the rubber stripe between the wheel and the air chamber?

I believe what you're describing is the "Rim Tape".

The rim tape covers up the holes in the rim (wheel) that the spokes attach through. Without that tape covering the holes, the innertube (air chamber) will be exposed to holes and sharp surfaces that are likely to cause another flat tire.

If the rim tape is torn in one spot, but still covering all of those holes, it should probably be fine. Maybe feel around that area with your fingers for any edges to be sure?

Can you see the holes in the rim when the tire and tube are not on it?

If it looks like the tube could press into the rim tape holes, you can always patch it. A few layers of electrical tape should do the trick.

See also: rim-tape and innertube.


How to reuse a rim after the brake edge has been damaged

Assuming that the rim is thick enough still for safe braking, what I'd do is take the tire off the wheel and lightly sand/file the edges of the marks until they're level with the rest of the braking surface. I wouldn't sand/file until the marks are gone since that will likely give warbling and possibly remove too much of the surface. I'd recommend sanding in the direction of the brake travel.

There is also this question which the asker has outlined all the normal choices as well:

"Leave it and let it smooth out with use. May take some time and wear down brake pads faster.
Lightly sand the worst offending parts with high grit abrasive paper.
Fill the damage with expoxy (or similar) then sand.
Replace the rim (would it worth the labour cost?)"


It's extremely unlikely that you will be able to buy parts for a cheap shifter. The whole unit costs $US25 with free shipping.

Imagine you could buy just the lever wholesale for $3. Then you'd pay the wholesaler $3 to find it and pack it for you, then the $3 postage cost. So your "$3" part is going to cost you $9. Plus you're probably going to want the mounting parts for that lever, but they're unlikely to be available separately (the economics get even worse for 2c screws), so there will be a kit of parts including the lever, ratchet mechanism and whatever attaches it to the body. But that kit costs $10 plus the $6 S&H. So you have saved $9 over buying a whole new lever.

Now the shop cuts the old cable off the bike, installs the new parts, new gear cable and outer, and set everything up. Which is about $20-$40 of labour, plus $10 for the cable and outer.

The total cost is about $16 + $10 + $20 = $46-$66. Or $55 for a whole new lever, fitted. New whole lever is an easy job, taking apart the old one is tricky so will probably take longer.

From a bike shop's point of view that's a $9 saving in exchange for the risk that you're wrong about how much damage was done. If the pivot that that lever sits on has bent the repaired lever won't work properly. There's a whole range of problems like this, but you as the customer won't care, you will just come in and say "you fixed it, but it doesn't work". After the first time this happened they stopped doing it, and only fit whole new parts.

So bike shops will not order the "parts kit", only a few keen cyclists who do their own repairs will. Instead of selling hundreds of these kits, SRAM will only sell ten. And maybe another ten next year. Or not, since the overhead cost of each product is non-trivial and if something is only going to sell a hundred units at $10 they're not going to bother.

Which is what you see happening.


Lockout is a function of the fork and shock. Look up the specs for these to find out. Out of interest I did this myself.

Fork - Lyrik RC has two position remote with setting Firm and Soft, does not appear to have lockout.

Shock - : RockShox Deluxe RT - External rebound, 2 position compression (Open/Pedal) again, does not appear to have lockout.

The question to ask is why do you want lockout. With modern shocks, especially those with 'pedal' modes, and bike geometries, lockout on an AM bike does not make sense, in that you do not buy an AM bike for its pedaling efficiency, and locking out such a bike does not magically make it perform like an XC bike.


Will loose handlebars result in slower riding?

With loose handlebars, the primary thing which you should be worrying about is your face - its a great way to lead to a nasty crash. Don't ride with loose parts on your bike. Speed is the last thing you should be worrying about.

You likely went slower due to less control of the bike with loose handlebars making your brain hold you back on speed. Other factors such as environment or tired-ness may have come into play, but loose handlebars would make most people ride slowly and carefully [or better yet, walk the bike], avoiding any bumps until they could tighten down the handlebars if they weren't carrying the appropriate tools with them.

When you're riding intensely, you actually end up pulling up on your handlebars, which you can't do with loose handlebars so you can't ride as hard, so you can lose speed at the top end with loose handlebars.


How do I adjust my child's bike shown in this video to improve fit and comfort?

Seat is too low. Problem with kids bikes as they have disproportinaly long cranks (Shes probably half your height, her legs are half the length of yours, yet he cranks are probably 145 vs your 175..... ). It works because kids are disproprtionaly flexible. I would probably try to raise the seat - just 5mm to start with... Thats much easier for me to say than you to do.

From experiance with my boys, you need to get to the point she will ride the bike. Don't worry about fit, its not important for it to be 'correct'. If shes over trying different settings, don't force it on her. Ask her what she wants, put it there and get her riding.  If shes over trying new fit, and uncomfortable, give it a few weeks with no pressure.  Make sure the rides are short, if she is uncomfortable and you head out on long rides, it will put her off.

As time goes on, you can suggest imporvements to try. if she does not like it (If shes like my boys, she won;t out of spite), put it back...

The goal here is simple - just keep her riding...


Is throttle-only possible for mid-drive?

While I'm not aware of any examples of a throttle operated mid-drive, it is certainly possible. With a regular bicycle crankset, a mid-drive motor will push the crankset around, transferring the power into the chain through the chainrings to the chain. This involves causing the crankarms to spin while in use, making it Pedal-Assist only for any practical use.

What you would need is a crankset like the one in several Specialized ebike models. These have a freewheel-like release in them. This means that when you pedal backwards, the chainrings do not spin backwards, but when pedalled forwards, the crankset mechanism engages and turn the chainrings forward. With a crankset like this, you could have a mid-drive ebike which could be operated by Pedal-Assist or by throttle.


Switching from a quill stem to an stem adapter?

Quill stems are in general better for adjustment -- you have far more height adjustment than using a quill to threadless adapter like this:

You'll probably end up combining the threadless adapter with an adjustable stem like this:

in order to tweak the adjustment.

They do make adjustable quill stems:

which will give you more adjustability for height and position.

The weight of your stem is negligible compared to the rest of the bike (and you), so the weight savings are inconsequential unless you're some top end racer (in which case, you probably want a new bike). So its pointless to do this for weight savings.

Things you need to look for in either option (threadless adapter + adjustable threadless stem or adjustable quill stem) are the clamp diameter (where the bar is gripped by the stem) and the diameter of the adapter or quill stem (i.e. the part which goes into the bike). If the diameter of the adapter or quill is different, the stem or adapter obviously won't fit in the bike and won't work. If the clamp diameter is different, you'll need to buy new handlebars.

Note that a stem only provides a bit of adjustment -- you may find that neither of them can make the bike fit for you in which case you need a different bike. I'd probably opt for the adjustable quill, since you can adjust the height more and in net it will probably be a bit cheaper if not about the same as the threadless adapter + adjustable threadless stem.

EDIT: In the comments, Fred the Magic Wonder Dog has pointed out Soma makes a super long threadless adapter (nearly a foot in length!). This would give you a good deal of height adjustment to which you can use an adjustable threadless stem. All in all though, I think both options will end up costing about the same.


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

Did a quick look around... And Zinn in Velonews gets questions like this. Short answer is: no problem. Essentially carbon fiber is a pretty tough material and barring manufacturing flaws should put up with a lot.


How does a bicycle tyre and wheel affect its performace and speed?

The general answer is "it depends". Certainly, weight reductions help increasing speed, but improving the rider's strength and good bike fitting will go much further for improving performance than tire faffery. (Obviously, for professional racers, this advice doesn't apply - cutting grams and everything is part of what they need to do to win).

Wider tires should be run at lower pressures than narrower tires. It is true that rolling resistance drops with pressure increases and for similar tires of different widths at the same pressure the wider will have lower rolling resistance (but this is moot by the prior sentence). Note the word "similar" - a knobby tire of the same width will have higher rolling resistance than a slick.

Wider tires can better absorb bumps and what not, so they can increase control giving net better performance in the real world. However, as you see on many road race bikes designed for purely nice pavement, thin tires are normally spec'd.

As for aerodynamic drag, the paper "Aerodynamic Characteristics of Low-Drag Bicycle Wheels", Aeronautical J., Vol. 99, No. 983, Mar. 1995, pp.109-120 (summarized here) says ~10-15% of the drag is due to wheels, and by switching wheels you can get net 2-3% improvement. This is tiny, especially when you look at how much fancy aerodynamic wheels cost (and their low durability). For someone who is not racing, its almost surely better to put the money you might spend on a fancy aero wheel into having a durable wheel.

Now, to the reality of the situation: A wider tire is going to give you better ride quality and you can get very good rolling resistance by picking a smooth tire for road use. You have to balance durability of the tire and the wheel if you choose to do improvements here. For most people who are not in race situations, pick a decently wide tire, play with the tire pressures so you get a good ride and low rolling resistance and move on with your life. In theory, depending on the terrain, you might be able to go faster with a narrower higher pressure tire, but the possible ride and control effects may hurt you in net.


How to measure a frame to find an appropriate rim?

A 700c wheel has a 622mm bead seat diameter, which would mean a 311mm radius.

But note that, according to Sheldon, "The rim's diameter will generally be 5-10 mm larger than the bead-seat diameter, depending on how high the rim flanges stick up above the bottom of the rim channel."  So when Paparazzi measured a 12.5 inch (317mm) radius on a 700c wheel he was seeing 6mm larger than the bead seat radius, which is in the expected range.

Roughly speaking, the brake pads for rim brakes should be positioned at about the bead seat (so as to fall on the flat of the rim), so for a 700c they would be roughly 311mm from the center of the axle dropout slot


as the comments have said. It is good to have your legs able to fully extend when your pedal is at its lowest point. It makes for easier pedaling, I am about your size and I also have a 29in mountain bike. The bike is worth keeping, an easier way to get on would be to step over the frame and as you start pedaling slide onto the seat.


Sram T3 cracks when pedaling, but it works, in all three gears.The bike is three years in use

A crackling sound could be a bad bearing in the hub. Does it also feel gravelly (as if you have dirt in the hub) or do you hear a grinding sound as well?

Note that a single crack when changing gears is relatively normal. If all fails, go to your local bike shop to get a real opinion (internet opinions don't count).


Maintence on Mavic 500 hub without Mavic 670 tool

Try carefully using an adjustable pin spanner, or the Park variant. If not, I believe current Mavic hubs use the same pin pattern, so the plastic tools that come with Mavic wheelsets is plentiful and may be strong enough for your use.


Red bike frame BMX don't know what it is

It looks a lot like a bike made by Giant branded in different ways for different markets.
There are several frames made with a circle cutout and a sort of X shaped gusset. The circle in the middle with a rolled edge is rare.
Here it is as a 1983/1984 Repco Team Hotfoot
It was made by Giant for Repco

bloggingadeadhorse.com
Here's an 82 Team Giant with a similar frame

Here is a 1981 Giant GMX-250 with a similar frame

bmxmuseum.com


Sounds like you are adjusting the position of the wheel axle in the frame drop outs to move the rotor relative to the caliper. Your weight and the forces generated going over bumps will push the axle fully into the dropouts, that's why you are getting rub after every ride.

The calipers have an adjustment mechanism and that's how you should adjust the caliper to tune out rub on the rotor. The two mounting bolts go through slots on the caliper which allows the position to be adjusted when the bolts are loosened.

I think you have hydraulic brakes on the Fastroad SL-1. They are slightly easier to adjust that mechanical disc brakes. A good trick for setting hydraulic caliper position is to loosen the bolts so that the caliper can just move, squeeze the brake lever and tighten the bolts (it helps to have a friend squeeze the lever for you).

Park Tool Company has great instruction videos. Try this one. It also will point you to instructions on mechanical brakes if that's in fact what you have.


In context of the low cost pedals, you need to look at the user and how they ride. Would I trust them on a trials bike or downhill MTB?, no, but then I would not trust a cheap pedals with a one piece axle.  Would I trust them in a situation I would trust a similar pair of cheap one piece axles, absolutely.

In theory the two piece axle will be less reliable as it has another failure mode that does not exist on a one piece axle. However, the failure of the extra threaded join is probably much less likely than the pedal to crank join, due the thread locker. Therefore, the increased risk is marginal.

So the question is not 'should they be avoided because they have a two piece axle", its "Should cheap pedals be avoided"


Can I use a 650cc tire on a 27x1 1/4 rim?

No. A 27 inch tire has a 630 mm bead seat diameter, 650c has a 571 mm bead seat diameter. That means the wire/kevlar bead of the tires has a diameter of 571 mm, and the inside of the rim has a diameter of 630 mm. The bead of the tire is designed to have very little stretch (so it stays on the rim at high pressure), so there is no way that you could fit 650c tires on a 27 inch wheel.

(also, see Can I put 700c tires on rims made for 27 x 1.25"? for a case where you might be able to squeeze smaller tires on a larger rim—but definitely shouldn't.)


What are real advantages of brake hose junction connectors?

For your own bike, you would probably only do that one time, when the bike is new (to you) and setup opposite to your preference.

The big advantage in this situation is that you shouldn’t have to unwrap that lovely fresh bar tape to do the job, and you are undoing specially designed connectors, instead of the compression fittings at the lever. There’s less to go wrong, certainly no need to fit new fittings or shorten the hose for them, just a couple of spanners are required. More lay-user friendly.

Otherwise, If you had a rental fleet and foreign customers, you could swap the hoses around if any customer requests it, then back again. I assume; I don’t know how many swaps the connectors could handle, but it would be preferable to swapping at the lever end. (Quicker, easier, no need to shorten the hose for new compression fittings).


My bike goes up one gear at a time, but down two: is this normal?

On or off road, but especially off road, it is desirable to be able to shift down more than one gear at a time to deal with abrupt changes in gradient and avoid being stuck in too a high a gear and stalling out.

Also (as you mentioned) if you are required to slow down or stop suddenly, it's convenient to be able to drop down several gears while simultaneously braking, then be in an appropriately low gear to accelerate back up to speed.

Some modern shifters allow downshifts of 4 or 5 gears. Yours may provide 2 with a full stroke of the lever, so the solution may be to simply 'half stroke' the lever to get a single downshift.

If you edit your question to add the make and model of shifters and derailleurs you have we may be able to provide a more specific answer (or tell if there is something wrong).


This is what it was purported to be. The crown race seat area where you're measuring should be more like 33.03-33.09mm (or around 1.302") but I suspect you're not pulling the caliper quite tight enough when you take the measurement.

Originally, though they've never been a common size, there was such a thing as a 1-1/4" non-tapered steerer tube. If you had one of those to measure, you would find the diameter of the steerer was indeed 31.8mm/1.25". But the crown race area down at the bottom is always a little larger. What's confusing here is that because of how the taper has been done, there really isn't a straight 31.8mm/1.25" section to measure.

All that said, this fork is mostly only useful as a replacement for certain CAAD and Synapse models. It won't fit many other bikes.


You have a couple options, but both require new parts.

1) Buy a clamp-on front derailer. Currently it sounds like you have an E-type derailer that mounts between the frame and the bottom bracket cup. Your bike ought to be able to take a standard clamp-on derailer that mounts above the bottom bracket, well away from that part of the crank.

2) Replace your bottom bracket with a longer spindle. This will move the crankset outwards, hopefully clearing the derailer bracket.

Of these two, the easiest and best solution is probably 1. If you want to really do this on the cheap, you could grind away those tabs - they aren't necessary for the function of the crank at all (as far as I'm aware!).


Relation of rebound setting and pedal choice

There shouldn’t be much of a relationship.

The rebound should be set in accordance with the total rider mass and the terrain. You want the fork to extend quick enough before the next depression in order to take better advantage of the full stroke.
So if you have more up and down terrain, higher speed or a heavier rider, one tends to set the rebound faster.

I suspect that the flats have simply highlighted something that you can improve on in your ‘pedal’(standing) technique. When using clipless, it’s very easy to unlearn how to ‘pinch’ the pedals between your feet as the cleats does some of it for you. With flats, if your not holding the pedals/bike with your feet, you know about it straight away.

To exaggerate, in order to explain. From the normal level pedals position, take the leading foot and point the toes down. Now on the back foot drop the ankle. You can now pull the lead foot back and push the back foot forward and this will allow you to ‘pinch’ the bike with your feet. Try it in the parking lot, moving slowly and you’ll find your bunny hops improving as well.

When you are hammering down a hill, it is curial to hold the bike with the feet, actuate the knees and guide the bars. Setting the rebound to keep your feet on, means your foot work needs practice or you rebound setup is way wrong.


Looks like a "We The People" bicycle logo
You can find the logo in several of their bike catalogs.
This is one of their 2010 catalog with the logo on the cover

When asking questions please be sure to include any information / clues you may have. Your comment "said to be WTP Justice" was the key to finding the logo.


Why don't seat tube lengths on modern bikes match their assigned sizes?

ANSWER The "frame size" is no longer a physical measurement on the bike. Instead its a "virtual" distance.
Remember traditional horizontal top tube frames?  These have been "normal" for decades, and were still prevalent in the `90s
from https://fitrecovery.wordpress.com/2013/12/07/compact-sloped-or-traditional-horizontal-top-tube-its-up-to-the-rider-a-not-so-traditional-take/
A design like this measures the "frame size" from the center of the BB axle straight up the seat tube.  Some variation exists on where the measurement ends, but its either "centerline of the top tube" or "top of the seat tube" or "center of the seatpost clamp bolt"  This contributes to some slight variation between brands.
As frame designs changed from the 90s through to now, the top tube became more sloped.  Effectively there's less metal resulting in a lighter bike, and more standover clearance.  But the seat post is now longer and subject to more torque, so it bends easier.  The answer there was to make the seatpost thicker, increasing from 25.4mm steadily  toward 31.6/8mm.  A wider pipe gives more strength without a linear increase in mass.
From https://georgenaterry.com/the-effect-of-sloping-top-tubes/
As a rider, there are only the three contact points with the rider, the saddle, the pedals, and the hands.  If the bike's frame takes some torturous path, but those three points stay in the same relative position to each other and to the ground and axles, it will feel the same when standing still.  (slight handwave on forks/rake/trail here)
So the frame size measurement is based on what that frame would have measured if it was a horizontal top tube.

In your case, the red line is 50.1 cm and the hot pink line is 56 cm, but isn't to a physical feature on the frame.
This is one reason why many makers now use small/med/large nomenclature and have to produce and stock fewer total frame sizes, instead of increments of 2cm or 1inch, between 48 and 60cm.


From the experts at Park Tools:

Patching an Inner Tube Using a Vulcanizing Patch Kit

Glue type patches require the application of a thin layer of self-vulcanizing glue on the tube before the patch is applied.

To fix a flat, first locate the hole in the inner tube. If possible, re-inflate inner tube to at least twice the normal width. Inspect for air leaks by holding tube close to the sensitive skin of lips or by holding tube near your ear to hear leaks. Move the tube around its circumference. If you find one hole, keep looking for more. Inspect inside the tire for sharp objects or glass. Also inspect the rim strip in the rim. It should not have any holes around the spoke holes and should fully cover the holes

If you plan to repair the inner tube, use a marking pen to mark hole. Make four marks, one to each side of hole. Do not mark close to hole, as the mark may be sanded off.

1.Locate hole marked during inspection, as described above.

2.Using fine emery cloth or sandpaper, lightly abrade area around hole. Abrade an area larger than patch size.

3.When possible, clean area with alcohol and allow it to dry completely.

4.Open glue tube and puncture seal. Apply thin coat of glue and spread evenly around hole area. Spread area of glue larger than patch size. Use a clean finger or back of patch to spread glue evenly in a thin layer. Do not apply too much glue. Glue layer should not appear "glopped" on.

5.Allow glue to dry. This may take several minutes. Test by touching only perimeter area of glue, not where patch will contact.

6.Peel patch from patch backing. Handle patch only by edges.

7.Center patch to hole and lay patch on tube.

8.Apply pressure to patch, especially at edges.

9.If possible, maintain pressure for several minutes.

10.Leave clear plastic cover on patch, do not peel up.

11.Mount tube inside tire and inflate.

Also Sheldon Brown has a how to guide.


Pannier rack for larger diameter seat post

It's probably 36 mm; that seems reasonably common. Most seatpost racks go up to 31.8 mm

Taking 36 mm as a guess makes searching much easier: it's an upper limit for some models:

It seems easier to find a trunk bag attachment for such a large post. There is such a thing as a Rixen & Kaul KLICKfix Caddy Post and Bar Clamp 2016.  That would allow you to mount a handlebar bag on the seatpost, or this Vaude mount is designed for their trunk bags but could be used with other things.  None of these are of much help if you want to choose a pannier to suit you.

Traditional style racks do exist, such as this Atran Velo Luggage Carrier Active Seatpost (which seems to have curved sides, but many panniers would still fit, and it's quick release). The search that turned up that last one (and the Vaude) was seat post rack "36mm" -rixen


Why does the manual for the inner tube say the maximum pressure is 4.5 PSI?

Most likely this low number refers to inflating the tubes without the tire, as a balloon.
When installed inside a tire, the majority of air pressure is held by the tire casing, not by the tube.
A similar warning about not inflating outside of/without a tire came with my Tubolito inner tubes, but the wording was more clear in my case.


I have used bicycle mode of Google Maps for this purpose. Of course Google maps is not available everywhere. The idea is to use the voice prompts for each turn. You may be able to follow a route created in other software, but I haven't tried that.

I've done it two ways. The first time, I arranged a small pocket, pinned to the upper left of my jersey. It looked somewhat unstylish, so the next few times I put my phone in the back pocket of my jersey. The first way was easier to hear. I didn't want to use an earpiece because it can reduce, as you say, my situational awareness.

There are issues with using Google Maps in this way, so It's important to review the route before you start. Use Street View to check places where the route turns. The main issues I found are

Sometimes it selects a route that is not viable for a bike, even though it supports bicycle mode. Again, Street View can help here. I prefer not to ride with 100kph traffic, or take my road bike on goat trails.
Sometimes the voice prompt is misleading, for example when telling you to "take the fourth exit" from a roundabout. Does that mean a U turn? Or sometimes telling you to turn right, when maybe you need to veer right. And because of GPS device and software limitations, it can sometimes get a bit confused about where you are. Again, reviewing the route helps.

If you hear the navigation voice saying things you don't understand or expect, then stop, get your phone out and see what's going on. The last time I used it I took a wrong turn in a hurry. At first it just said "turn left", but I kept going. When it started saying "make a U turn" I figured it was time to see what it was talking about.

The big advantage is that if you get off your route, it is already working out a new route to get to your destination.

In response a comment: Google maps does have the ability to produce turn-by-turn instructions. You can either print them or view them on your device. I have successfully used this method for 1000km road trips (by car).


How do I know what brake rotors to get for my bike?

TR160-35 is the model number. They are 160mm Centerlock rotors. If your new wheels have Centerlock hubs, then you need either centerlock rotors or adaptors. If the wheels are 6-bolt, then you need 6-bolt rotors. Either way you'll want 160mm rotors and to keep it easy, I'd stick with Tektro rotors for this system.


Entry level bike for 140kg rider - what features to look for and what to avoid?

You should buy a touring bike. Whereas a regular road bike can accommodate a person weighting 100kg, a touring bike can accommodate a person weighting 100kg and also 40kg of cargo. So, without cargo, a touring bike will accommodate a 140kg person.

Needless to say, avoid those low spoke count wheels and select 36-spoke wheels. There is absolutely no reason to choose 32 spokes unless you really have to. Less spokes than 32? No way! (Although I have to say you can get away with 32 spokes on the front wheel, but I don't see the reason for making such a strange choice.)

Unfortunately, such quality bikes cost starting from about 1000 EUR, not about 250 EUR. The one I have has been built myself from the Long Haul Trucker frame: http://surlybikes.com/bikes/long_haul_trucker but I wouldn't recommend building a bike yourself unless you really want to learn how bikes work.

I don't believe you can find a decent touring bike as new costing only 250 EUR, so your only options are to increase your budget or to look for used touring bikes.

If you find your seat post slips due to your high weight, buy a big honking seat post clamp: http://surlybikes.com/parts/small_parts/constrictor

If you find the spokes don't stay tight, first have a competent mechanic adjust spoke tension and true the wheel, and if that doesn't help, buy some good quality rims and have new wheels built. The wheels I built myself use these rims: https://www.rosebikes.de/artikel/xtreme-sari-t-19-r-28-atb-felge/aid:46903 ...that absolutely can withstand a 140kg person, provided that the spokes are tight. Unfortunately, they don't seem to offer a 36-hole variant anymore (I bought them when 36-hole variant was offered), so that may necessitate making the strange choice of 32 spokes. Use DT Swiss Alpine triple-butted spokes in the 2.0mm variety if you need to have a new wheel built.


I take almost the opposite approach - I eat almost all natural foods when I'm touring. I prefer rice + milk + sultanas + sugar for breakfast so I boil the rice the night before and it slow cooks overnight. The rest of the day I eat fresh fruit and veges when I can, bread and cheese or peanut better etc. I eat a bit of road kill when I can, and buy hot chips if they smell good enough. For dinner I eat a lot of pasta and noodles, usually the fast cook sort (not very natural :) I do self-contained touring, and generally free camp.

My diet is determined largely by listening to my body, which amounts to "eat what I feel like eating" or "eat what smells good". And lots of carbs. In hot weather this can mean hot, salty chips every day for the salt and calories, but also usually means a lot of whatever seasonal fruit and vegetables are available.

I ride a recumbent when touring, and the slightly odd bike generates a lot of interest from people when I stop, so I get invited to eat with locals a lot as well. So often my evening meal is whatever I'm offered.

When I can't get fresh fruit and veges I eat a fair bit of dried fruit, especially dried bananas. Also dried vegetables. In the dry parts of Australia food is trucked in, and is generally service station/roadhouse/corner shop type food (and expensive too). The local water is often heavily mineralized, usually to the point where long term consumption is not recommended. So I get dried camping type food posted to me and buy as much bottled water as I feel I can afford (usually 20%-40% of my consumption).


Who has the right of way crossing a shared pedestrian crosswalk / bike path? (USA)

This Legal Site, seems to think that when on a pedestrian path, a bicycle rider is a pedestrian.

Unfortunately, not every jurisdiction handles bike riders the same way. But, most states generally observe an interesting hybrid view of bicyclists. When riding on the street, a bicycle is treated much the same as a car. They are generally required to observe all traffic signs, signal turns, and have certain safety features like helmets, reflectors, and/or lights.
When riding on the sidewalk, however, the bike becomes a pedestrian.
If in a crosswalk, drivers are supposed to yield to bicyclists.
Bicycles are generally allowed to use sidewalks along side those on
foot (unless signs state otherwise), though there may be some areas
with lanes specified for foot versus bike traffic.
Unfortunately, laws vary not just from one state to another, but also
for different municipalities. As a result, it is important to take a
moment to become acquainted with your state and local laws regarding
the operation of a bicycle. Interestingly, it appears in most states
that one can switch from being a pedestrian to a vehicle simply by
moving from a sidewalk or bike path to a roadway.

Also:

And, for purposes of liability when a car hits someone riding a bicycle, most states treat the cyclist as a pedestrian rather than a fellow driver.

But it also says that different states and municipalities may rule differently on it.
On a personal level, i think that drivers should yield all the same if there is a person in the crosswalk, although i realize this doesn't happen because people are rude and impatient. There are many instances where even standing in a crosswalk does not garnish a stop by oncoming traffic even though it is the law.


The rubber degrades and goes super tacky and gross as you note. The rubber and plastic part does remove by pulling outwards - and could therefore be replaced - this is how you change cables on these SRAM gripshift. The problem however is that the rubber rotating part is probably not available as a spare part. The shifter unit itself is generally considered cheap enough as a whole.
Searching online for 'SRAM rotating grip assembly' does bring up some spare parts, though I can't see a straight match and they are about the same cost as a whole replacement unit. These seem to be for higher tier units.
A visit to your local SRAM Dealer might be helpful, they could look up the current spare parts catalogue with you and see if it's even listed as a spare, more categorically.
Bear in mind that replacement units come with their own inner cable, so it might be a reasonable time to go with new units and saving the cost of the inner cable as a nice part to freshen up too.


Chain slips on low and high gear and sometimes when putting some strain into it

Both wear of the rest of the drivetrain (chain in particular can be stretched) and chain width mismatch (9 speed chains are narrower, and so are distance between cogs in the freewheel) can contribute to the skipping you see.

In general, 9 speed freewheels work neither with 8 nor with 10 speed chains.


How do I purchase a drop bar bike that will be converted to flat bar?

Converting between drop and flat bars is generally a huge amount of hassle. As you say, there are all kinds of incompatibility issues around brakes and shifters, and the geometry of the frame is designed with particular bars in mind, because changing the bars makes a big difference to riding position.  There's no point spending £1400 on a bike and then spending a couple of hundred more to turn it into some weird Frankenbike that will ride  worse than a hybrid costing a quarter of the price.

I wouldn't advise spending anything like that much money on a bike that you're not sure you'll be able to ride comfortably. Decathlon will sell you an entry-level road bike for £250; Halfords will sell you one for £180. You can probably get an old, second-hand one for £50 – and then sell it again for the same price.  Even if you get an old bike with down-tube shifters, you can still evaluate the riding position. Or hire a bike for a weekend or a week.  Do you know somebody who can lend you one?

Once you know what you want, you can consider more expensive options.


Buying a bike: Older, used high-quality components or new average-quality components?

Trying to remain general - and assuming both bikes are a good fit for you, I'd base the decision on Warranty.

The older bike is a decade out of date and will have a decade of use on it... but that could be anything from 0 km up to 50,000 km of travel.  So it should be in the "couple of hundred dollars" range at most.

The new bike will have a store warranty.  If you feel you will need that support, then a new bike is a reasonable idea.  But the new bike will cost you five to ten times as much as the used bike.


Trying to build a bike, confused about fork/headsets/compatability

I would get a fork with a steerer that fits the frame. The expense and risk of modifying your existing fork won't be worth it. There were some mountain bike forks with replacement steerer tubes but they didn't allow for changes of size or type of steerer. They were 1 1/8" threadless and so was the replacement. You also want to match the fork rake/angle that the frame maker designed into the frame.


How to make my wife's bike lighter? Is it worth the cost?

Difficult to say without knowing more about the bike, but I'd trade it in for a better bike; Huffy has a rep for low-end, tank-like bikes. From your description, you'd need to replace the frame and front fork to see any significant weight savings.

Something with an aluminum frame like a hybrid bike would probably be easier to carry up the stairs, even though aluminum will give you a harsher ride.

Suspension forks are heavy, particularly on low-end bikes. Suspension usually makes sense for off-road riding. If your wife mostly rides on pavement, you can get a bike without suspension of any kind.


Can I enter an enduro race on a hardtail mountain bike?

Yes, unless they say no.

The "Spirit of Enduro" is to include all riders, of all abilities, on all bikes. Since there are guys who can ride crazy fast on a hardtail down a downhill trail, you can certainly ride yours in an Enduro race. However, you might be putting yourself at a disadvantage compared to the pro's or if you are looking to be competitive.

That said, if you take a carbon-fiber XC race bike to an enduro race, crash, and break the frame, that's your own fault. There is such a thing as having the right tool for the job. Taking an AM hardtail with a more raked-out head angle and med/long travel fork would be the best thing.

There's also the trail itself and this can vary widly. Within one race I rode trails that were fairly tame, but fast and flowy, to trails that were super steep and loose with a lot square edge rocks and whatnot. An all around trail bike will be a happy medium here. Plus, look at how much climbing you will be doing. A 2 hour pedal to the race start on a mushy 150mm FR bike isn't that fun (trust me, I did it), where as on a hardtail you'll just think of it as a nice warmup!


Octalink v2 bottom bracket on italian shell

The spindle length depends on crank and chainline (distance from center of top tube to chainrings). In road bikes the chainline is almost always around 43 mm (exception being boost spacing), so the safest bet is to pick the same spindle length as on the bike where the cranks came from.

Different cranks may have different chainline on the same spindle.

If you can reassemble the original bikes, you should be able to measure the chainline on both of them so that you can see if you need to change the spindle length.


The crankarm fixing bolts are normal, right hand threaded, so removal is anticlockwise.  They do call for significant torque (43-48 N-m, one of your pics show).  A simple "L" shaped Allen key used by hand may not provide enough torque to break loose the fixing bolt.  Using a ratcheting wrench and a socket that terminates in an 8mm hex head might be the easiest solution.  There are several different designs that get a hex head combined with a wrenching tool, and its something along that line that will give you enough power to free the crankarm fixing bolt.  You may or may not know that after the fixing bolt is removed, a specialty tool called a "crank puller" will be needed to get the crank arms off the bottom bracket's spindle.
Here is Park Tool's crank puller with an instructional video on its use.  If in fact your bottom bracket spindle is ISIS drive splines, you'll use the larger business end in the crank puller to remove the cranks.
Here is a link to a metric hex head socket set as an example of what I'm referring to in the first paragraph.  Using these with a ratcheting wrench should allow you to deliver the power necessary to loosen the fixing bolts.


Easy answer....is to recover gradually. My experience has been in S.F., Seattle, and now Portland. All of which are hilly cities. Plus a lot of riding on mountain roads. So, I totally relate to your situation. ...and it's not always an easy answer.

After spooky near-misses, and a few crashes...here's what I do to get my mojo back.

Find some significant, low-traffic hills where you can just have fun and enjoy the exhilaration on the downhills. You don't want this to be too steep and curvy, but you do want speed. The goal here is to comfortably enjoy the descent and ride it safely.
After that, move up to a more congested and/or curvy hilly area and do the same thing.
Once you're comfortable with fast, downhill riding, you can get into some traffic. But now you have "city riding" in the scenario. You must balance your downhill skills with your city skills.

That being said, I have watched some messengers scarily bomb down Nob Hill. Personally, I don't need to duplicate their endeavors; however, one can do those hills without riding the brakes.


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

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

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


The lightest lock I have found which I see as "strong enough" is the Abus 401 d-lock, which weighs in at approximately 1kg. Might that be light enough for you?

Now, when I say "strong enough", what I actually mean is that this lock has a "Sold Secure Gold" rating - this is a scheme used by the UK insurance industry, which basically means that if I attach my bike to something using this lock and the bike is subsequently stolen, then my insurance company will cough up. As far as I am aware this is the lightest lock to meet this standard, and I know of no lightweight chain that I would consider appropriate.

As far as I am concerned bike locks have two purposes. First, to deter. Second, to make sure the insurance company pays out should the worst happen. They will not prevent.

Now having said that I almost never use this lock. This is because when I am out on a leisure ride, I hardly ever park the bike up. If I know I'm going to make a stop, or if I'm touring, I will carry this lock, but not otherwise.

When my bikes are at home, they're secured by (insurance approved) anchors to the garage floor by those heavy chains and d-locks that you've already discovered (in general I like the Kryptonite Fahgeddaboutit range which will deter and are insurance approved). But those locks live in the garage and don't travel.

When I am commuting, I keep a set of locks at each end. Works out expensive but as you say, they're heavy.

And yes, I mix a chain and a d-lock, both conforming to this Sold Secure Gold standard.

Note lastly that I make absolutely no claim that "Sold Secure Gold" locks are any good at what they do! In fact I've heard others say that its just a scam. But they keep the insurance company happy, that's all.


That does not make much sense.

A freehub/cassette combination has the same function as a freewheel. You cannot replace a cassette with a freewheel unless you replace the wheel hub as well.

The only reason I can think of is that the manufacturer thinks freewheels are stronger and can resist the extra torque of the motor better.


SRAM GX1 comparability with double crankset

According to the chart, The GX long cage derailleur is good  for an 11-42 cassette (Yellow triangle) and a 2x11 crank set (Light blue triangle). Also according the chart, all 1x11's should already be long cage derailleurs, but you may want to check the bike before you buy to be sure.


Replace Campagnolo record 9 speed front derailleur

The difference between 9 and 10 speed Campagnolo front derailleurs is a black piece of plastic inside the cage that can be snapped out. So, the big spender solution (22€ part to fix a bike that cost above 2000€ as new) is to get a 10 speed front derailleur and remove that piece.


Specs for parts on Giant Defy 4 (2013) to decide on upgrades to transfer parts onto another bike

Really, the only thing you can do is investigate each individual part as you go along.

With drivetrain parts you'll have to investigate how well they work with other drivetrain parts. E.g., if you change the derailleur, does it work with the shifters? Is the cassette compatible with the derailleurs? Etc. Try searching the site for stuff like drivetrain compatibility, shifter compatibility, and derailleur compatibility. The venerable Sheldon Brown is also a magnificent source for determining how things work together.

With fairly static parts like your handlebars and seatpost, it will likely come down to simply measuring to see if they match. You'll probably need to do so with calipers as these things can sometimes vary by a millimeter, or perhaps even less. However, Batman mentions in the comments, you may run into comfort issues. Whether these issues are within your range of tolerance will depend on your bike's setup, your body proportions, flexibility, and the individual parts that you're swapping.


Mounting caliper brakes without center hole

You have a cyclocross bike. There is no reasonable way to add caliper brakes to that rear end, and probably the fork as well. Even if the frame was modified by bonding in a brake mount for a recessed nut, the reach of the brake that came with your group will be way too short, presuming it's a typical short reach road brake.
Low profile, smooth post cantis like you have are infamous for their finicky adjustment and tendency to squeal. If you want to modernize the bike, there are far nicer brakes you could get.


Replacing Spark 720 2015 derailleur + hanger using markings

Derailleur hangers are typically made from a flat plate of alloy, and are not bent to position the derailleur in or outboard.

I'm guessing, but if you have the correct hanger I suspect you have it mounted on the wrong side of the frame. Googling the serial number for images of the hanger I see the hanger mounts on the inside of the frame and there is a matching plate that mounts on the outside.

The google images I found seem to match online images of the Spark. If your replacement hanger looks like those you probably have the correct part.


The Timing chain helps keep the front and back riders pedals rotating at the same time.  Depending on your preferences you can set them as "in phase" where both the front and back cranks are at the same point in the rotation, or as "out of phase" where the front and back cranks are offset by 90 degrees. This is advantageous as when one of the riders reaches the dead point (where the cranks are vertical), the other set of cranks is at horizontal allowing good power transfer.  You can set up different levels of out of phase. You can set it up so that one rider is only a few teeth ahead of the other rider, so that both riders aren't in a dead zone, but the pedals are more or less aligned.

You can even set up both riders with different size chain rings, which would allow one rider to pedal at a faster cadence than the other rider.  This presents problems when cornering, as it's hard to get the pedals into the proper position so that neither the front nor the back will hit the ground.

Sources and more info:
Pedal Setup
Poll: In Phase vs. Out Of Phase
Out Of Phase Cranks


It's 1975 Montgomery Wards Silver Fox.

This is a pretty nice bike thanks for helping me


What iOS / iphone app can give me turn by turn navigation of a pre-planned route?

The RideWithGPS Android and iPhone apps now also offers this with subscription payment.

http://ridewithgps.com/app

As mentioned before, the RideWithGPS website is useful for trip planning, you can customize your cue sheets, save maps and route for offline use, etc.


If you want to have a real cargo bike, e.g. an "inverse Bullit-style" the challenge will be structural integrity of your frame: you can't easily cut the 2nd diamond of your frame without risking to break the frame.

However, I don't see a problem with removing your back saddle, cutting/removing the back cranks and building a sturdy plywood/mdf cargo hold left and right of the frame/using bags to attach. You could still haul a ton of stuff but would have the frame in the middle. In fact, there are quite some people that have done this before.


How much play in a spring suspension fork is normal or safe?

It doesn't sound like it's dead yet.

Play means that the bushings are worn out.

If you continue to ride it just how it is, you will end up damaging the stanchions. However, it is not dangerous to your personal safety to do so.

Replacing the bushings seems like the best option. I doubt the stanchions have any damage if it's only a tiny bit of play like what you're describing.

It is also worth noting that the responsiveness of the fork (how well it "floats") would likely be much improved if you gave it new lube and bushings.