I have similar treads and vibration on my hardtail. Some solutions:

Reduce the pressure, but this will increase rolling resistance, thus reducing efficiency. I don't recommend this one. I would prefer to keep the vibration than to reduce my efficiency.
Just replace the tires to smoother ones. I recommend this one because smoother tires will not only make your ride smoother, but also increase efficiency. You should do this unless you are on a limited budget.


Replacement Brifters for a shimano 105 2x10

The first thing to do is check the brifter out to see if its actually broken - maybe its just a cable broken at the brifter or inadequate cable tension or something. You can get your bike shop to check this out. If it is broken, you can look for people who specialize in refurbishing brifters (they do exist, but they are hard to find).

As for replacement brifters, any Shimano 10 speed brifter will work on the right (you can easily find 10 speed Tiagra, 105, Ultegra, etc. shifters on the web (I see several at Chain Reaction Cycles, for example)). On the left, you just need a Shimano brifter set up for a double. You can buy just a left or just a right in some cases (possibly on ebay).

Other options are to use something like a Retroshift or bar-end shifters and a regular brake lever instead of a brifter. Microshift brifters are also Shimano compatible.


Upgrade old road bike to 7-speed rear derailleur?

It is do-able at a reasonable cost if you do the work yourself. Your current derailleur likely does not have the tooth capacity for a 14-34t freewheel. The mount on a new derailleur wont mount to your bike if it uses the older style that is held by the axle nuts. Luckily there is an adapter available for about $5. Your chain will also be too short and too wide for for the new rear cog . The narrower 7 speed chain should work with your current crank. You will also need an appropriate freewheel tool and chain whip to remove the freewheel. A local bike shop may do this task for less than the cost of buying the tools. If you are using friction (non index) shifters they will also work. Based on average EBay prices of less than $20 each for a derailleur, chain and freewheel you will invest less than $100. The plus is when you are done you will know how to install and  adjust the derailleur, shorten the chain some basic tuning.


Are Shimano Hollowtech II bottom bracket spacers unique?

This link implies there's no difference, and looking at what the spacers do I agree. Since they're a purely passive component that just fills up space, it's only the physical size that counts. Even with an extra 5mm of spacer I suspect you'll be ok, but I would be somewhat concerned if you had to put all the spacers on one side to maintain chain alignment.

BTW, this pdf and this page match my experience of those BBs. They're not great.


If you don't have a cycling computer to do this for you, you can just count the top (or bottom) pedal strokes on one side for 15 secs and multiply the strokes by 4. That'll be your cadence. It's close enough for the casual cyclist.


Is a bike faster than a car for the first ten metres?

It's a size versus distance thing. You are lighter and so your acceleration has a more immediate effect (and I'm sure some physicist will tell me I'm wrong on the cause...but this is how my memory stored in when I took junior high physics MANY years ago). For a short distance you should win if you can come off the line in the right gear and at the right time. You can probably beat most cars that aren't really flooring it for about 30'.

If the distance is shorter, a runner would win. Even shorter and an ant would take the checkered flag (if memory serves, the ant wins at 1cm or shorter).


What is MTB/roadbike specific in brake cables?

The difference is the lump on the end that engages with the brake lever.
(right) A flat bar lever generally looks like a small cylinder or barrel, with the wire coming out the side.
(left) A drop bar lever is more of a "droplet" shape with the wire coming out the axis.  Campagnolo ones are different again.

This wire comes with one on each end, and you cut off the end you don't need.  Reduces the stock/inventory count and increases convenience, but it a little wasteful.


Meaning of Symbols/Icons on Amgen-ToC Stage Maps

RED Circle with numbers 1-5 : Climbs with range of difficulty

RED Circle with numbers "HC" : Hors catégorie or Above Category

Blue Circle with knife/fork : Feed Zone where you grab your musette

Green Circle with white "S" : Sprint Zone

Blue Circle with "km 0" : Just means no break-away is allowed before this point. In essence "the race starts here"


Tubus Rack Compatibility on a 29er With Discs

I have a salsa Fargo, with the tubus duo and logo racks. The cargo appears to be a more basic logo, so you should be fine for the rear.

The fargo's caliper mounts are inside the rear triangle, and the bike is designed to be a touring bike.

With the duo, you will sacrifice using the fork mounted bottle cage mounts. Its most likely the same for the Tara. That upper loop on the Tara may interfere with a 29er, but I have no first hand experience.


Can a non-cylindrical grip be better for jumping?

With good grips, your hands should stay pretty much planted in place. Since grips are relatively cheap (you can get a decent pair of lock-ons for $7). It is not recommended to "death grip" your handlebars when mountain biking as it increases the amount of shock that goes into your wrists, rather you should hold them with enough force that you are still holding on but loose enough that you can turn them slightly to absorb shock. One thing that may help as well is to make sure that your thumbs are on the underside of the grip, not parallel with the rest of your fingers.
As for non-cylindrical grips, that is probably not the solution. You will notice that most professionals use cylindrical grips, because non-cylindrical grips change the way you are connected to the bike, your posture, and in general negatively impact your control on rough terrain, especially jumps.
As a final word, if you are having trouble keeping your hands in one place, check to see if your grips are good enough (you may want to swap them out with some higher quality ones). In general, wearing gloves can improve grip but many people do not wear them so it is not a necessity.


Which bicycle cameras are suitable for all weather 11+ hours food delivery cyclists

Answering because I'm not making a product suggestion.

There aren't any.   Most of the action-style cameras go for about 2 hours on their internal battery.

Personally I have run a single gopro 3 on a 9AH external USB battery for over 12 hours, but this is vulnerable to water entering the camera housing, and the continual vibrations of riding bouncing the plugs in their sockets.

You'll also need a 64 GB memory card per shift per camera, or some way to empty them all overnight while you sleep.

Many action cameras lack datestamp functions too, so its hard to prove that events happened at a specific time/date.

Plus a camera makes your bike more of a theft target.  So if you do this consider a chest harness.

All the action cameras are poor-to-crap at night.  I know of no night-vision action cameras.

Alternatives

Make yourself visible - that's

multiple front and rear lights
spread those lights around the bike (high and low positions)
white spoke reflectors (the yellow ones are not half as good as these)
reflective white-side tyres (not white-walls)
high-vis top/jacket with reflective piping or panels.

Other suggestions:

Learn where to not bike at night - narrow bridges, bad roads, anywhere the yobs/hooligans congregate..... just use another route even if its longer.
Don't be afraid to say "We can't deliver to that address after dark"

If you're stuck on mapillory best to look at their requirements or suggested camera list.   From their website, its an app-only driven service so you're out of luck with that requirement.  Better drop this, or run your cellphone camera separately just for this service.


Upgrading gears from microshift to Shimano

Even cheap components should shift okay-ish, unless they are badly worn.
Shifting problems are usually caused by any combination of:

Bad adjustment: Incorrectly set cable tension or limit screws.
Excessive cable friction: Due to bad routing, worn cables, worn cables housing, missing/bad cable housing end caps or very low-quality cables.
Bent derailleur hanger. Look at the derailleur cage from behind the bike, it should be parallel to the center line of the bike.
User error: Don’t shift under (high) load. Don’t shift in a standstill.
Worn components. Usually the chain. You should replace the chain early enough, when it’s 0.75% stretched. This will typically be after 1000 to 4000km, depending on conditions. If you do so the cassette and chainrings can last more than 10000km. The derailleurs can also last more than 10000km.

Have you ruled out all of those? Only then would I think about a replacement/upgrade.


Had same problem. Bell crank on the end of the axle is worn. Replace the shifter housing on the end of the axle. When worn, it won't push far enough on the shift rod. Cheap fix.


Why do my front wheel/disc brakes squeal/moan when NOT braking

One of the pads is lightly touching the rotor. When you push the bike at low speeds the pad makes the rotor vibrate at a resonant frequency - like a bow on a violin string. When the rotor rotation speeds up the resonant frequency isn't excited any more.
The pad can be touching lightly enough that there does not appear to be any resistance.


New mountain bike feels sticky or grinding when pedaling

More information on the type of bike you have and maybe a video of the grinding would aid in diagnosis.
As Argenti says - the easiest thing to do is to take the bike back to the shop if that's possible.
I'll take a shotgun approach.
I'm going to assume you had a bike delivered to you in a box and did the final assembly.
If you have a front and / or rear derailleur:
Things to check for intermittent grinding while pedaling:

front derailleur rubbing on the chain
rear derailleur not adjusted correctly

EDIT 1: If you can get the rear wheel of the bicycle off the ground, pedal with your hand and listen for where the sound is coming from. My guess is that it's coming from the rear derailleur.
If you have a bike with a chain guard the chain might be intermittently rubbing on the chain guard. EDIT 1: You have a ring type chain guard that usually does not rub unless it's badly bent.
If you were missing bearings in your bottom bracket you would be getting constant grinding while pedaling and the bearings would be larger than 2mm. That size sounds more like a headset bearing.
The bearings are probably not related to the intermittent grinding/friction issue.
If the bearings do belong somewhere on your bike you need to figure it out before serious damage occurs. I've seen some strange things show up in a box along with a bike and it is possible that the bearings don't belong to your bike.
There are four places bearings should be on a bicycle:

Front hub
Rear hub
Bottom bracket - crank EDIT: looks like a sealed BB so it should be fine
Headset - where the handlebars and fork come together
Pedals
See the Terminology index

On a new bike bearings are usually adjusted too tight. It's best to pull the wheels and check hub bearings, they should spin smoothly with no play. Slip the chain off the crank - it should spin smoothly with no play. Pick up the front of the bike and check that the handlebars move smoothly with no play.
That's all I can think of but hopefully this will get you pointed in the right direction.
More information or a more specific question will enable a more specific answer.
EDIT 2: Pedals
On most of the Wal Mart bikes I've worked on some adjustment is possible.
Here is a diagram of a pedal that might resemble what you have.

Sheldon Brown
There is a cap in the middle on the end of the pedal. With a little creativity is it possible to remove the cap (they are usually pressed in, on nicer pedals they are threaded in). With the cap removed there is a:

nut,
keyed washer
bearing cone
ball bearings

The nut locks everything in place. Remove the nut, adjust the cone then put the lock nut back on and tighten everything up. It takes me a few tries to get the pedal to spin smoothly with no play.
About 2mm could be the size of a pedal bearing. If the bearings came from the pedal it's easiest to replace the pedals.
When removing pedals the left hand pedal has a left hand thread (turn clockwise to remove) and the right pedal has a right hand thread (turn counter clockwise to remove)


The ability to use a thinner tire will depend on your wheel's interior rim width. The inner rim width will constrain how thin of a tire you can have. Take a look at the conversion chart below to see if you can use a thinner tire. (note this chart is conservative, many cyclist have gone thinner with no problems).

Thinner tires have less roll resistance, so that will help with the slowness. The flip side is it'll feel bumpier (but this is only noticeable at higher psi: 80+).

If you're interested to learn more, take a look at some material from the great Sheldon Brown: Tires & Tire Sizing


Wald basket legs too short for cruiser -- how can I install the basket?

I've seen both P-clamps (a.k.a. brace clamps) and the similar, ratcheting versions used. This is actually the preferred method for some front racks on bicycles without rack braze-ons on the fork. As long as they're the right diameter, and there's a little rubber (even an old tube) between the fork and the clamp, it should work fine.


How to position a bike for work without a stand

In my experience, most light work can be done with the bike stored upside down (standing on the handlebars and seat). Of course, I'm assuming that you're talking about a road bike. Other bikes, like a mountainbike with a twist-shifters or trigger-shifting, might not be as well suited.


Simple question, long answer requiring a book to cover it fully. Here is my attempt at the introduction chapter.
The biggest concern for most people selecting a rim would have to be total cost of the rim built into a wheel. You have to consider the cost of spokes and wheel building.  In all but the high cost product range it is often cheaper to buy an entire wheel then buy a rim and have it build up to a wheel. The new wheel does not have to match an existing one, apart from cosmetics, its OK to have different rims and spoke counts on the front and back of a bike.
Once it has been decided to buy a rim and build it into a wheel, you will need to select the correct size for the bike you are fitting it to. The diameter chosen will usually be the size the frame builder designed the bike for, however it is possible to go up and down under limited circumstances.  If the brakes are disc, you can go smaller, but risk lowering the bottom bracket too much. Smaller rims may be compensated for by wider tires, some mountain bikes are sold that will take a 650B+ wheel and tire, or a 29" wheel+tire. Larger rims can some times be fitted to bikes not designed for it, but you run the risk of not having enough room depending on tire size, so should be done with caution.  If the bike has V or canti brakes, changing rim sizes may still be possible, requiring new brakes, but is probably best avoided.
The tire width you want to run will determine the ideal rim wide, but there is quite a lot of room for wider and narrow tires and a lot of overlap with rim widths, so this will probably not limit choices.
If you run disk brakes, any rim will be good. if you are running rim brakes, you need a rim with a brake track.
Once you have sorted the rim size, you need to match this to the hub you will use. Pretty much all that has to match here is a hub that fits the bike and has the same number of holes as the rim.  If you are buying a new hub as well as rim, you need to chose the spoke count. Some people get hung up on this, but always keep in mind a well build 24spoke wheel will be stronger than a poorly build 36 spoke.  Choose more spokes (32 or 36) for heavier riders and hard duties like tourers, cargo and down hill mountain bikes. Choose fewer spokes if you prefer lighter wheels and the look, and you are riding smoother surfaces.
At the same price point you may need to decide between a lighter rim or a stronger rim. Look at things like double wall and eyelets. In all but the cheapest rims (when you would be buying a made up wheel) the rim will be build for  a purpose, and be strong enough for the purpose. Double wall and eyelets are a given at a price point its worth buying a rim on its own, so you are looking at weight vs strength.
Finally you have a choice of material - I'll limit it to carbon vs alloy.  Here you need to decide if the extra cost of carbon is worth the weight saving and performance benefits, While cheap carbon can be lower cost than brand named high quality alloy, I would caution buying cheap carbon on such a safety critical part of the bike. This is probably decided by the answering the cost question.
If you plan to reuse a hub and spokes (not recommended) you will need to match the Effective Rim Diameter (ERD) of new and old rims.


How to fit a Storage Options bike cam helmet mount

It's designed so the bit at the top of the picture wraps around the helmet like a headband while the part of the strap that is making a "U" in the picture goes across the top.

To keep it from coming off, you'll need it to be fairly tight. This is okay with the helmets that are similar to skateboarding/snowboarding helmets (hard shell), but can make some of the more pricey (lighter) bike helmets lose integrity.

If you aren't going hard down single track, this will probably be okay, but be ready for it to slip off if you are doing anything that rocks the boat much.


My front suspension keeps auto locking, brand new bike. Bike shops useless right now

I would suggest getting an assertion from the bike shop that this is warranty work, even if you can't get it there anytime soon.

You could also ask the shop to simply ship you a pre-tested replacement fork (and a star nut) and you get to swap them over, and then ship back the faulty one.

Ultimately the retailer will pass the warranty costs onto the wholesaler/manufacturer back up the supply chain.

Admittedly life's a bit off-base right now with C19 pandemic, but at least establish your case with both the reseller and the manufacturer.  Ultimately you as the consumer deserve a bike that works right.  It is brand-new!

So give them the chance to make it right, but also keep at it.


Durable and Affordable 20" wheel and tire combo for Bicycle trailer?

Those are standard folding wheelchair hubs (the wheelchairs fold, the wheels pop off easily), and they're really not designed to work in bike trailers. Folding chairs are typically used at low speed and for comparatively short distances. Despite the weight of wheelchair users, in practice those axles will bend on a bike trailer at much lower loads than you would expect because of the dynamic nature of the bike trailer. You just don't see people riding wheelchairs off curbs at 30kph, or through potholes at 50kph... both things commonly done with bike trailers. So be careful or expect the bend axles.

You should be able to find higher-quality wheelchair hubs, but I have no idea how or where. What I suggest is measuring the axle diameter because I suspect it will be 10mm, which is a standard bicycle size. If it is then you should be able to get any standard bicycle hub that uses cartridge bearings (like your current wheels do) and fit the axle you have into them. Test fitting should be straightforward, so I would take a wheel and axle with you when you visit bike shops.

Depending on how committed you are you could just rebuild the wheels with better rims and spokes, or you could replace the lightweight pop-off axles and wheels with something stronger. That might, however, just shift the point of failure into the frame of the trailer. So you'll need to think about how strong the trailer and hitch is, and whether bending the axles really is a problem for you.

In my case I looked at those axles, thought "that's really cool", read up one other people's experiences, and decided not to go down that route. My current trailer has a 20mm through axle that runs right across the frame, but I also carry more than 100kg in it on a regular basis.


How to install press fit bottom bracket into new frame

Ideally you do it with a press type tool, one cup at a time, with stepped bushings that mate snugly with the cups and the BB shell. For the first cup, one of the bushings is interfaced with the frame to act as a pilot so that the cup stays square and goes in straight, and then for the second cup the other bushing is doing the same while contacting the first cup. This is how the commercial tools tend to work. Making the same thing out of threaded rod and turned or printed bushings is an option if you want a proper tool but don't want to buy one.

Pressfit bottom brackets usually (always?) have a sleeve that bridges the two cups and fits snugly inside a little lip on one or both of them. This makes them more sensitive to going in square during the actual pressing than some other similar pressed-in bike parts. If the second cup gets off-center by much, the sleeve won't mate with it properly as it goes in and can get ruined. For this reason, using traditional home methods for installing pressed parts (blocks of wood and a hammer, vise, threaded rod and washers, etc) can be a little hazardous in the case of pressfit BBs due to the lack of piloting. That's not to say it can't be done.


cartridge bottom bracket bearing "hitch" or slight grinding feeling in one spot when the spindle is turned by finger pressure

The normal  "feel" of new cartridge bearing bottom bracket is a uniformly smooth roll that is quite resisted by the presence of grease within the cartridge body. One does not normally feel any grinding or a spot where there is any increase or decrease in the smooth but resisted turning of the spindle within the cartridge.  Thus, I would be suspect of your cartridge BB being abnormal in some way that makes an area of the rotation rough.  I have no experience with Hope BB's, but based on their reputation for high quality bike parts, I'm confident in saying that Hope BB's, like Shimano, maintain tight tolerances with quality materials and do not normally have a "rough spot" in the rotation of the spindle when new.
A rough spot, grinding, or excess play of the spindle are indicators of excess wear of a cartridge BB.  A new BB with any of those symptoms would indicate a defective product.  The lack of brand name is a dubious finding as well.  I would seek remediation through the policies of the sale site with the goal of returning the defective BB and getting money fully refunded.


Different turning behavior after changing tires

You should read up on bicycle handling dynamic to understand how various elements influence how your bike behaves during cornering. You did not provide the actual sizes of each tyre, nor the pressure you use in them. My guesses to explain why your cornering has changed so much would be:

Your new tyres have a significantly bigger outer radius, hence affecting the trail of you bike.
Your new tyres run at lower pressure and are therefor flexing more when leaning in corners.
Your threaded tyre offer increased grip on the edges, while your slick have a reasonably constant grip regardless of leaning angle.


Our club has a group on Strava where we can discuss various trails/segments. Outside of that we use Facebook groups and a forum on our website to setup group rides or getting people together.

I don't know of anything that would allow you to simultaneously compare a rider's data and then match up riders based on similar ability (or the other way to get experienced riders helping newbies). This sounds like a good opportunity for someone to make something!


What causes "softness" in hydraulic disc brake systems?

You should bleed the system with mineral oil, not top up. If it's your first time you shoud see a tutorial video first on utube . if there is no leak you don't need to tight anything. if you changed the pads you must brake at least 50 times on a safe place at 25 km/h to get the full braking power.


Bearing failure and wheel offset on Chicco Red Bullet

Ok, answers are not exactly flooding in, but I can see why my OP might not be the most interesting. However, I will record briefly what I've done in case anyone does face this situation in the future.

Research: I researched the subject of bearing replacements a bit. I failed to find a proper single thorough article dealing with all the considerations, but I got the impression caged bearings must be avoided, so I went for replacing with a loose ball bearing.
Buying: I measured the balls with a caliper gauge and confirmed they were 5 mm. I bought 20 on eBay for £2, and a 20g tube of lithium grease for another £2. I'd love to support an LBS but every penny counts at the moment and I don't even have time to go into one.
Work: I built a loose ball bearing, the process was very much like in the many YouTube videos. I used the surviving caged bearing first, and reassembled the wheel so that the axle stopped the balls falling in. The process was messy: the plastic plate disc doesn't have a trough-shaped race to hold the balls, so they bundled together around the axle instead of forming a circle around the perimeter of the recess. It didn't help I was distracted with my 2 and 4 yo helpers. For example, I did a dry assembly before using any grease to see how many balls I need. I failed to write the number down. With grease, I found the number that seemed right would not allow the cone to go all the way in , so I had to take one ball out, and the remaining gap seemed big. But everything seemed to fit together well, there is no play and the wheel seems to spin ok. I really don't know how tight the cones are supposed to be, I would say they are just a touch more than "finger tight" as I was conscious about snapping the main plastic disc, but it all seems to work, and I have been checking regularly since. Finally, I also greased the other wheel.

Conclusions for the two questions in my OP

I wish I had ignored the superiority of loose ball bearings and gone for a caged bearing. Everything would have been quicker and the size I needed was available on eBay as a pair with a 5 g tub of lithium grease for £2, and it would probably have been fine for a balance bike. I wish I had kept track of which plate and cone went with the surviving caged bearing. And although it was reasonably clear which way the caged bearing needs to face, I did find it reassuring that the other wheel had it facing the way I expected: .
The space between the screws and the frame in my OP was because the nut had worked itself loose, there are no visible parts of the axle after I put it all back together.


Change old external ultegra brake cables to under the tape brakes

Yes you can change your STI brake levers/shifters for ones with cable routing under the bar tape. There is nothing special required.
However I see very little advantage in routing under the bar tape. It looks slightly better (subjectively) and improves aerodynamics slightly. Personally I upgraded from 105 5600 (good old “washing lines”) to 105 5700 due to a broken shifter. I have the impression that the 5700 with cable under the bar tape shifts slightly worse, which wouldn’t be surprising considering the sharp bent required.
I assume these are Ultegra 6600 STIs? They are 10 speed. Unfortunately the only compatible 10 speed shifters with routing under the bar tape are the 105 5700. Ultegra 6700, Ultegra 8000 and 105 5800 are all 11 speed. You’d have to upgrade your rear derailleur, cassette and chain as well.
Edit: Oh, Ultegra 6700 is 10 speed and has routing under the bar tape. Thanks to JoeK for pointing that out. So you could go for either 105 5700 or Ultegra 6700.
The 10 speed Tiagra shifters are incompatible with other 10 speed rear derailleurs.


Need a replacement 42 ring for an Ultegra 9 speed triple

I recently had a similar problem but with both the 42 and the 30T chain rings.
Bike shop told me they no longer have the Ultra 42 and got me an FSA 42 ring which works fine.
They were able to put on a Shimano SG 30T ring and if anything that sometimes hangs up even though there is a new chain put on. Still working on that one.


Difficulty installing new folding bead tires

The procedure is mounting the tires on rims and inflating them. When mounting the first bead of the tire, it helps to keep the part already on rim pulled tight so that it does not fall off the rim.


What kind of suspension do I have and how do I make it more soft? (I'm quite small)

I've googled and found this bike on Amazon.  Its also listed at a UK site.

Second site lists this at £160 so its firmly in low-spec price range.  Most likely the front fork is based on elastomer and/or a coil spring.

Some questions that discuss the internals of a fork:

What options do I have when replacing my fork's elastomers?

and this question states typical sag values which you should measure on your bike.

What maintenance does a front suspension fork need?

If you get on the bike and the suspension doesn't sag by 10-25% then you're simply too small and light for the suspension, and softening it could require removing some elastomer or replacing the springs with softer ones.

A more expensive option is to replace the fork with a better one, but this will cost significantly more than the rest of the bike.

As a pseudo-fix you could try adding weight to the front of your bike, with a handlebar bag, front drink bottle cage, or even just getting off the saddle and leaning forward more.


How to install geneticbikes.com's chain tug to horizontal dropout with anti-rotational washer and hub gears?

The extra stud would usually sit in the dropout slot and help align everything, but your dropout runs the wrong way for that so the stud is just an annoyance. File it off and things will work much better.

If the raised/recessed circle on the front of the tug is not big enough to accept the nut on the hub you may have to file that as well. It's visible in the bottom photo above.

update: you will probably be ok with only one antirotation washer, but ideally if you can get the tug in between the frame and hub so you can put the washer on the outside that would be better. Remember that the tug is now taking the force from the chain so the nuts don't need to be done up especially tightly. So you don't need full thread coverage on the nut.


Is a 29.5 km/h average speed decent for a 90 km ride (on road) with an elevation of 1200 m?

Riding at 30kph average for 3 hours, in a hilly area is a solid effort.  Assuming your pack riding skills are sufficient, you will also likely do fine in in a club ride that averages 30-40kph (but see the pack riding primer below). Club rides will have a faster pace than what you are riding now, but you will also be working a lot less (about 30% less) at any given speed because of drafting.

Now of course this assumes your listed average speed is an honest average speed. That is you started your timer, rode 90 km, then stopped the timer and found you averaged 29.5 kph.  If by "average" you mean when you took the time to look at your speedometer you were often doing 29.5kph, then it is harder to assess.

Short primer on pack riding.

It is hard to give a definitive whether or not you will be dropped because solo riding and pack riding are very different disciplines and club rides also come in many different forms, from very competitive "A" group training rides with a drop policy (i.e., you are essentially on your own if you get tired or get a flat - very advanced groups), to others focused on sustained pace (what you likely do now) with no-drop policies.  If you join a no-drop ride, then the answer should be "no, you will not be dropped."

Riding in a "fast" group

Because you explicitly asked about getting dropped I will assume you are looking at joining one of the faster club rides that may have a drop policy.  In this case your pack riding skills will be just as important as your base fitness.  If you feel comfortable in a group you should have no problem holding tight to a wheel, where you can  will get a good draft and will be able to sustain higher speeds.  Riders that feel less comfortable will often allow big gaps to form or ride off the back to feel "safer."  This will require a lot more energy for a given speed.  You will also be able to read the pack, and keep a good drafting position as the group surges.  If you get taken by surprised in surges you can find yourself dropped quickly.

Assuming your pack handling skills are sufficient, riding in a fast group will also require two types of fitness, endurance fitness and peak output.  The endurance fitness is what you are doing right now and will help ensure you can put in an effort for 3-4 hour duration of the club ride. The peak output fitness will be important to handle pack surges.  Often competitive club rides will have sections where there is either an all out sprint or it is "common" knowledge the next x kilometres will be all out effort.

If all your milage has been at one consistent speed, then you might find these types of surges difficult to handle, even though your base endurance fitness is excellent.  If you find this happening, it isn't necessarily because you lack fitness, but you may simply not have all the right fitness components. Supplementing your distance training with interval training can go a long way.

Many novice riders make an number of tactical errors that make it harder to finish the ride.  A common mistake is try to take long, long, pulls to "prove" how strong they are.  Keep you pulls short (i.e., under a minute) to ensure you have lots of energy and don't build-up a lactate debt.  As you do more club rides you can start trying longer pulls if that is your thing.  Another common mistake is putting in too much effort, too early.  Many fast rides will do the hard efforts on out-and-back sections.  This means you can get temporarily dropped and catch back in as the group comes back from a hard effort. If you are unsure if you can sustain repeated high intensity intervals, it may be best to opt out of effort and catch back in after everyone has finished tearing each others legs off.  You would be surprised how refreshed you can feel by skipping an effort or two.

If you feel comfortable in a group, have no problem hold tight to a wheel and can sustain repeated bursts of speed, then you there is a good chance you that you can hold in on an advanced group ride.

Other Types of Group Rides

As eluded to earlier (and in other answers) not all club rides are created equal.  Some rides are focused on building base fitness and camaraderie.  These groups are usually focused on riding a consistent pace (no surges) and usually have a "no drop" policy. These types of rides are a great if you are new to pack riding.

Many clubs will also have multiple different rides on any given day so you can do some trial and error to find the one that best suits you.

I suggest chatting up your local clubs, ask about their club ride policies and see which one best jives with what you want to do.


It doesn't really get all that cold down in most of Virginia that you have to worry about the cold/do special preparation for the cold for a bike.

So, I wouldn't worry about it. Also, you're not riding the wheel, so if the bearings aren't in perfect condition it isn't the end of the world anyway.


Is a recumbent trike faster than a non-recumbent bicycle?

All other things being equal (which admittedly, they never are), a recumbent trike will be slower. It has more frontal area, more rolling resistance, and more weight.

I don't have a recumbent bike, but I do have a conventional racing bike and a recumbent trike (a very low-slung tadpole, not a delta). On a frequently-ridden 37-mile loop, my average speed on my racing bike is about 15.5 mph, average on the trike is 14.3 mph. So at the speeds and distances you're riding, the net time difference won't be that great.

All that said, the trike is a lot of fun.


What is the difference between Rockshox Pike RCT3 and others?

The main difference is in the damping, both have similar other options like Dual Position and Solo Air, length etc.

With RC it's more like a 'progressive' dial. From full open indexed as you dial to locked. This affects the 'stiffness' of the fork. In other words when riding uphill, you dial to 'lock', it firms up and you have less front end bob. Whilst it helps a great deal, the fork is not completely 'locked' as you would expect and the dial is more targeted at low speed compression. It does however firm up quite a bit.

With RCT3 you have presets for the 'stiffness' and a low speed compression dial. With this setup you get more of the actual lock-out from the O/P/L(Open, Pedal,Lockout) dial and the low-speed adjustment (the dial for RC) is now a 'fine-tune' dial on top of the O/P/L dial. This system acts more like the actual meaning of the words, whereas the RC 'emulates' more.

Make no mistake, even the RC is butter smooth. As far as simplicity goes for feel, the RC Solo Air is a very good fork. Add air by rider wait, dial rebound according to terrain and just go smash it.

No offence, but if you had to ask what the difference was between RC and RCT3, I would suggest that the additional 'features' on the RCT3 wouldn't make a difference for you in regard to ride experience - they are more for advance/experienced riders really.

Whilst it is somewhat poorly done, you can have a look at the SRAM specs for detail.


Other than spoke count, is there a strength ratings for wheels?

Unfortunately, it is less exact process than you hope for. Most important thing would be to locate reputable wheel builder who will build wheels for you. It can be an advantage if he is local to you. If there are some guys you know that went on the large tour of tenths of thousands of km, ask them who built their wheels.

Wheel builder would spec the wheel components according to your weight and riding style, from components he is accustomed to build. He would probably spec something along these:

rims that can take at least 35 mm tires
heavy duty double walled rims (Mavic A319 or A719 are often used but so are many others)
36 of 2.0:1.8:2.0 spokes


How to remove this Mavic spoke cover from the rear wheel?

I've not worked on this kind of wheel before, but it looks like the ball-end of the spoke is retained in a recess in the hub, and there's a big C clip stopping them from moving sideways (or up as in this photo)

Option 1: Use a pair of circlip pliers in the Green gap, to spread Yellow circlip apart and ease them over the Red fixed plate.   Do be careful because they may sproing into your face - there's a lot of energy in these.  You might do it with other tools but is even less safe.
Option 2: the red ring may be threaded on, and it may need a simple chain whip to remove.  If so, it may be left or right-hand threaded, and the circlip will just fall off easily exposing the ball joint for your spokes.

According to   https://tech.mavic.com/tech-mavic/technical_manual/data/docs/themes/2_12.pdf  page 7, this info is available in "2003 TM page 23"  from www.tech-mavic.com but that requires credentials to log in.
Mavic's public information only spans the last 5 years.
You might find more infomation by checking each wheel at    https://tech.mavic.com/tech-mavic/technical_manual/data/mavic_tech.php?family=1010   and look for a match.


Tools for 2011 Santa Cruz Heckler tuneup

The maintenance you need to do depends on how many miles you put on the bike before it went into storage. Assuming you were riding it regularly between 2011 and it going into storage you just need to do a 'well used bike refresh' which includes replacing a number of parts that wear out.

As others have said, start out by giving that poor bike a good cleaning. It was not a good idea to store it wet and dirty and that may have contributed to some of the problems you are seeing now. As part of that process thoroughly de-grease the chain, cassette, rings and rear derailleur idler wheels. There are a number of bike cleaning videos out there that make recommendations for cleaning supplies.

You will need a basic tool kit: hex wrenches 2-12mm, open-end/box wrenches 6-17mm, small and medium needle-nose pliers, set small to medium flat and Philips screwdrivers. On some bikes with disc brakes a T25 torx wrench is needed. A  bike-specific torque wrench is nice to have. I'd recommend at least a 2-8Nm one for small bolts. You'll have to decide if you want a larger one (up to about 15Nm) as well.

There are many good instructional videos available on all aspects of repair and maintenance. I personally like Park Tool Company's YouTube channel. These will tell you the specialized tools you need, but I'll mention them below as well.

Go over the bike and check for general obvious problems and loose bolts or fasteners.

If you were riding the bike regularly a new chain is a certainty. You will also need to check the cassette sprockets to see of any of them are too worn, and replace the cassette if required. If you need to replace the cassette you will need a chain whip and cassette lock-ring removal tool. I believe most lock-ring tools require a 25mm wrench, a large adjustable wrench will work. You may want to invest in a chain wear tool as well. Chain rings wear more slowly than cassette sprockets but check those for excessive wear also.

While you have the chain off, check the derailleur idler wheels, if they do not turn freely they will need servicing and re-lubricating, or just replace them.

Also with the chain off, check the crank spins freely in the bottom bracket bearings. If it does not turn freely, but there is no roughness you may be able to service the bearings. Research the particular type of bottom bracket you have for serviceability. If there is resistance and roughness it will need to be replaced. You will need the appropriate external bearing bottom bracket removal tool for your bottom bracket.

I don't know if chain quick links existed in 2011. If yours does not have one you will need a chain tool to break the chain, and to connect the new chain if you get one without a quick link.

When the new chain (and if needed, cassette and rings), perform a full front and rear derailleur adjustment (Park Tool's derailleur videos are particularly comprehensive). It's more than likely that you will need to replace the derailleur cables and housing to get your shifting working correctly. It's a good idea to replace them anyway. You'll need a special cable and housing cutter.

Service and adjust the brakes. I'm guessing they are mechanical disc which I don't think require special tools (someone please correct me in a comment if I'm wrong here). As with the derailleur cables the brake cables may need replacing. The same housing and cable cutter required.

Check for play or roughness in the headset bearings. If there is play but no roughness you can adjust the bearing tension. If there is a gritty feel you will need to disassemble, clean and repack the bearings.

Check for play or roughness in the pedal bearings. Depending on what pedals you have there may be as service kit or replacement bearings available if the bearings are worn out.

Check the wheel axles for play or roughness in the bearings. Depending on the hubs the bearings may be serviceable or replaceable. You'll have to research your particular hubs. Check rims for trueness and check for loose spokes. If the wheels needs truing I recommend having a bike repair shop do it.

Forks and rear shock may need re-build or servicing but that is beyond my knowledge.

The various creaks you will have to individually hunt down and address.


Are there very deep (>40mm) rims with at least 32 spoke holes?

Very deep aero rims exist for one reason: To minimise drag. The difference, however, between, say, 20mm and 40mm deep rims, is not that big. So if you are concerned about drag, loosing a few spokes gives another few points in air resistance (as does using aero (blade) spokes).

To phrase it differently: You would not use the (much rarer) very deep rims unless you also save on drag by using less spokes.

I figure you are in fact not that concerned about drag. You did not speak highly of aesthetics either. That lets me assume you believe that deep rims are more durable. This has been discussed on this site here.

My recommendation would be a good, proven, durable rim with 36 spokes (they are in fact not that expensive) and, considering your budget, have your wheels build to your liking.

Edit (based on your comment):

You say you want your bike to be "fast during the week" for commuting. Bear in mind, though, that the clothing you would be most likely to wear or even panniers add considerable drag as well. The weight you will be carrying further limits the effectiveness. I can still recommend not being overly focussed on drag. If you fancy deep rims, go for them. But, unless you have a particularly long and exciting way to work, I am pretty sure you would be quite hard pressed to feel a difference between box rims with 36 spokes and very deep ones with 24 spokes, commuting.

Any usual number of spokes is fine to carry you (at 80kg). However, if you plan to carry loads (eg. doing groceries regularly), I would err on the safe side.


Do softer tires provide better suspension?

Most definitely.  I have some Schwalbe Marathon Plus HS 440 - very puncture resistant tire.  It is hard rubber and has a puncture insert.  It is a hard tire and gives a hard ride anywhere in the pressure range.  I have a softer same size less less ballistic tire on another bike and at the same pressure it is a softer ride a nicer grip.  And it is not the bike - I noticed the hard ride as soon as I put the tires on the bike.

Is it a mountain bike?  You want a soft ride then put some 2.2+ tubeless on it and run at 30 - 40 PSI.


What is the best technique for carrying a large box on my bike rack?

Most racks have a platform about 3"-4" wide and about 12" long.  Usually 20 pounds is well within the weight limits. This means that weight isn't an issue, but keeping the item steady is. Your package needs to be fairly stiff for this to have any hope of working, since the rack platform is so much smaller. A porteur-style large-platform front rack or a trailer would probably be better than a normal back-rack.

First recommendation: take a friend. This will be hard to attach with a kickstand holding up your bike (or the bike leaned up against something). It'll be easier if the bike is held straight upright and if you only have to wrestle one thing at a time.

I would place it so that it's low and is "wider" rather than "longer".  There seems to be a natural tendency to want to line up more with the rack, but in my experience that's actually less stable because so much hangs off of the back.

In other words, 12" as the "height", 18" as the length and 28" as the width.

It's likely that this is tall enough to bump into the seat, so it'll tend to be right behind the seat, which may mean you can't quite use all of the rack platform.

I would use compression straps or bungee cords, rops knots take too much technique and time to pull tight and if it's loose or can slip loose it will wobble too much. If it's straps you want something that has a buckling mechanism that you can pull tight and locks up well. If it's bungees you'll want to work out what the reasonably-stretched-out length is (usually about 50% more than the unstretched length).

Exactly how to hook things will depend greatly on the exact details of your rack construction, but there's always some way to hook things on.

Straps: 2 over 62" long, and 2 over 80" long. Likely that 6' and 9' are the lengths you can find.  Basically, long enough to go around the box front-to-back and side-to-side, with a little extra for going around some of the rack stuff and for pulling stuff tight.

Bungees: 2 with a reasonably stretched length of about 46" and 2 with a reasonably stretched length about 76".  (or combine bungees together).

Using the shorter straps or bungees, go from the front left of the rack to the back left of the rack with one, and front right to back right with the other. If the bungee is a little too long, try running through the rack and attach to the seat stay or something like that.  If you've done things right at this point, you should find that pressing on the far right or far left stretches the other bungee enough that there's a decent amount of resistance and the package snaps back.  It's important that these two be the same tension.

Then run straps or bungees left-to-right around the package at the front and back of the rack.  If the "front" is too close to the front of the package itself slide it back a little as appropriate, of course. It's okay if these two are a little different in tension.

Essentially, I'm suggesting you run one strap/bungee on the right side like this:

One strap/bungee on the left side like this:

One left-to-right around near the front of the rack like this:

And one left-to-right nearer the rear of the rack (no picture).

Believe it or not, just both front-to-back bungee runs or the frontmost left-to-right bungee run is quite secure already, because any attempts on the part of the package to twist out of alignment mean stretching the bungee further.  Combining both means it's also impossible for the package to slide out of the bungees.

I would avoid any diagonal strap/bungee runs, those will tend to pull the package twisted which is less stable.


https://www.velonews.com/2015/10/news/technical-faq-junior-gear-options_388340 - Junior racing requires a maximum rollout, which is often ,incorrectly, interpreted as a 15 or 16 small cog on cassette. A smaller chainring does a better job in most cases. Its probably a 'thing' about size from a sport drenched too much testosterone.

A 34/11 is nearly the same as a 50/16 (I'll let the author do the math for whats legal with his wheel and tire size.) Compact or even MTB cranksets can do this easily.  Drop the large chain ring making it 1x (You probably have closer gear spacing than an adult running 52/36 on a typical road cassette), select a chain ring that gives you the maximum rollout you are allowed on the 11, and cassette that meets your low gear requirements. I'm not up in the play with road/drop bars setup and maximum cluster sizes, but the Gravel bikes will almost certain have gear that's got you covered, certainly 11-36 if needed and maybe even 11-40.


Can wearing padded cycling shorts versus regular shorts affect the adjustments during a bike fit?

You should go for a fitting in whatever clothes you'll be riding the bike in. Any fit system that doesn't let that happen is being misapplied at best. Clothes can affect your range of motion, preferred position, and effective body dimensions (more in the case of shoes than this), etc, sometimes in ways that are subtle or unforeseen.

I don't have anything necessarily bad to say about Retul in regard to the kind of riding it's really meant for (race/performance), but a professional fitter should be the first to tell you to come wearing your actual riding clothes. That's foundational, especially if a client is doing more utilitarian or casual riding that's outside the racer mold. You're experiencing the wrong end of the difference between using a fit system as a tool, not a crutch. Get a different fitter.


I would surely go by changing the bottom-bracket for a longer one (be it changing the spindle as you said, or installing a sealed Shimano-type one).

If you don't want too much to keep your current bottom bracket with separate spindle and cups, the sealed one is much more reliable, long-lasting, play-free and water-resistant.

To find out the correct size is not a trivial task, I think you should go talk to some friendly and experient bike mechanic, since there are some subtle factors involved in bottom-bracket crankset interaction, that determine the final position of the chainring.

If your spindle looks long, get a shorter one and move the ring to the outer side of crank spider. If your crank is already very close to the frame, find a longer bottom bracket.

OR

You could play with the wheel/cog position,sometimes there are washers and nuts around the bearings that can be moved, swapped, changed for thinner/thicker ones, etc.
I have a fixie with a very cheap rear hub, and there is a lot of dishing, but I don't care, I've ridden dished wheels my whole life and they worked. It is not prettiest, but it is a minimal problem compared to twisted chainline on fixies/singles.

Hope it helps!


Sociable quadracycle build. Disc brake rotor size?

You have two considerations, energy dissipation(will they overheat) and braking force(will you stop in a short distance or even stop at all on a steep down hill). I doubt overheating will be an issue, but having 4 brakes will divide the force you apply to the levers. Using hydraulic calipers will overcome the force division issue but may encounter a fluid volume(lever stroke) issue.

The calculations needed are newtons of force times meters divided by seconds equals watts.
Maximum braking force is limited by the tire-road coefficient of friction which is less than 1.0 in common practice, 0.85 is normal, above one is only common in specially selected warm race car tires. So, mass times 9.8(converts Kg mass to newtons under earth gravitational acceleration) times 0.85 gives maximum braking force in newtons. Newtons divided by mass in Kg gives acceleration in meters per second per second. Braking is acceleration, just in the other direction.
So if you have 520kg the maximum braking force is 4332N, acceleration of 8.33m/s^2. From 15m/s to zero = 1.8 seconds (on level ground)
Kinetic energy in joules is 0.5 times Kg times velocity squared. In this case 58500j. Divided by 1.8 seconds is 32.5Kw divided by 4 brakes is 8.1Kw per rotor. Heat capacity of steel ranges from 460-510 j per k, 58500/480=122k temp rise in one kg of steel. 160mm rotors seem to range 50-140g, 100g is common so 400g total, 58500/(480*0.4)=305k increase, this is acceptable, it also doesn't take into account the heat loss to radiation and the air during the 1.8 seconds.

I don't have the formula for continuous heat dissipation of the rotor at hand, this or testing would be needed for long downhill sections or rapid repeated stops. The watts of heat on a long downhill is zero at terminal velocity and zero at a stand still, peak brake wattage occures at 60% of terminal velocity. The range of 42%-72% T.V. is greater than 0.9 peak power, 0.5 peak power occures at 20% and 88% of terminal velocity. And of course the final impulse to stop at the bottom of the long hill is far less at 20% than at 88% t.v. so even though the rotors should be equally hot just before attempting to stop from either speed they certainly won't be equal after the stop.

Joules of potential energy from a hill is equal to vertical height in meters times gravitational force in newtons. (kg*9.8 here on earth) Joules per second equals watts.

Sorry I'm out of time so I can't give hill slope to braking force equation. Its simple vectors, should be easy to look up.


Mounting a 7-Speed Cassette on an 8/9 speed hub

Since you have friction shifters and an 8/9 speed derailleur, you should be able to pop a 9 speed cassette on the back and use the full range.  You'll have to re-adjust your limit screws of course. Worst case, if that doesn't work, you may be able to remove one of the small cogs and space it out to use only 8 speeds.

The font chainrings will also likely be fine, usually you can go up/down one size without issue for front chainrings. Since your front chainring is designed for 8-speed, it will probably work fine with a 9-speed chain. I regularly use a 9-speed chainring in front with an otherwise all 10-speed setup without issues.


My bike got stolen a second time (in Amsterdam) - what should I do?

Buy more secure lock(s) for your bike - I have a Kryptonite New York Standard and a Kryptoflex cable that I leave in work for my commute. I also have a New York Fahgettaboudit Mini for using about town on my single speed (no quick release installed on this bike).
Utilise new/better lock from above to secure your bike in a more productive fashion. Personally I will place the u-lock through the rear wheel and seat tube like the image below

You also have to consider that thieves want a quick and easy job. If your bike is secured like the picture above with a strong lock, they'll probably just move on to an easier target unless it's a very valuable bike which you've locked in public, something I'd advise against.


Tips for packing electrical cables near Giant Quick-E bottom bracket

Cable ties/zip ties can add bulk.  You might be able to recover some volume by changing them out for thin tie wire, looped exactly the same way.

Second thought - there's a lot of wire in there.  Can you shove any of it back into the tubes from which it comes?

Lastly, there are some black cables on the lower-left of your image.  Looks like they might tuck into a recess in the underside of the housing?    Try to methodically back-fill starting at the least accessible wiring, and then work outward covering your first efforts.

TBH it looks like a difficult task, and I don't envy you.  Work with lots of illumination, and perhaps a selection of push-tools and pliers.  Take your time, and see what you can achieve.

And if it is just not going together, shake it harshly while pressing the cover closed, exactly like the factory did!


Apollo gradient rear bottom frame mount pivot point

If it's only 6 months old, take it back to the shop as it wasn't fit for sale.


To adjust chainline, you can:

At the back

use spacers between the hub and cog

At the front

use a longer/shorter bb spindle (as Kibbee says)
use spacers on the bb cups (as Mark W says)
use chainring washers (and likely different bolts) to adjust the position of the chainring on the crank

I'm struggling to think of any more options.

The only other thing I could think of is that if you do end up with an imperfect chainline, despite your every effort, then a 3/32" chain will be more forgiving than a 1/8" chain. 3/32" chains are designed to be able to traverse cassettes so have a little more flexibility in them.


Mismatched front and rear derailleurs ok for 3x7 setup?

As long as the derailleurs match their shifters and their sprockets, you should be fine.

The front and rear derailleur are not attached to each other in any way. So it's no problem to mount different groups on one bike.

Its probably a good idea to at least stick to one manufacturer.


There are chain tools out there (for Shimano/SRAM) which are recommended for 10 speed but not 11 speed (and Campagnolo needs a 11 speed chain tool for peening); Pedros makes at least one which they specifically mark this way (the ICM Multi Tool). The problem with using a chain tool not designed for 11 speed might be due to the dimensions of the rivets and how tight they are in there, the chain tool may warp the plates on the chain when putting in the new pin.

I'd suggest emailing Park Tool to ask, but I'd think they put 10 speed there for a reason.


Independent ranking of bicycles aerodynamics

Aerodynamic testing is expensive, difficult and controversial. It's controversial because there are no real agreed on standardized methods for testing and what test setups replicate real world riding conditions.

Any research lab that does such tests are likely to sell the valuable data to manufacturers, rather than publishing it to the world for free.

Hambini (YouTuber, blogger and real-life aerodynamics engineer) did a comprehensive test of wheels and published the results on his blog, but I think he took them down. (Warning, if you watch his videos: he swears a lot and is very forthright in his very negative opinions of certain people and companies.)


Pedals no longer increase speed after a relatively low speed

The gear ratio you're using is determined by the ratio of the number of teeth of the chainring (gear in the front) and cog on the cassette (gear in the back). For a fixed cadence (number of times you turn the pedals per minute), the higher the gear ratio, the faster you go.

So, you need to either shift into a higher gear (move to a bigger chainring and/or a smaller cog on the cassette), or pedal faster.

Note that most bicycles have the ability to freewheel, which means that if you're not turning the pedals fast enough, the bicycle basically coasts. Contrast this with a fixed gear bicycle, which so long as the rear wheel is turning, the pedals will be turning. If you're not pedaling fast enough with a bicycle that can freewheel (like yours), you're basically coasting. So, if you want to use that gear, you need to pedal faster in order to get power through. And if you're maxing out the highest gear, you may want to change the cassette/freewheel to get a smaller smallest cog in the back.

If your cadence is below 60 rpm, chances are it's too slow -- you should probably aim for around 80 rpm.


There are various web sites that might help.

I use one called http://ridewithgps.com. You need to register on it but you can get quite a lot from a free account.

Does your GPS device output GPX files? If so, I think Ride With GPS can suck them in. If not you might have to put your route into the site manually (but this is easy enough).

But what you do get on your route is a display of the gradient (you hover over different parts of the route to see it).

For example, I did a quick ride yesterday afternoon, here it is:

I have a pay account with these people but I'm fairly sure you get this page with the free account too.

Any good to you?

Just added another image - didn't realise SE was going to reduce the main one so much. This is just a zoom of the bit with the tooltip. Note also the blue dot in the corner - this is the location on the google map which corresponds to the crosshairs on the elevation plot.


Can I use a 3x10 shifter/brake lever on a 3x8 bike?

No, the cable pull is different between 8 speed and 10 speed. You will need to exchange it.

There is a detailed explanation here, but the short version is that there are no 8 speed rear derailleurs that are compatible with 10 speed shifters, or vice versa.


How do I make sure I'm sitting straight on a recumbent?

I'm not aware of a 'specific' way but I'm fairly certain that if you got the bike frame vertically level then placing a level across your seat would show you if the seat is level.


If its a low quality bike, you're probably best off just selling it and buying a decent bike to begin with -- there are good used road bikes for reasonably low prices.

The first problem is that cheap road bikes likely don't even have cassette+freehub systems -- they have freewheels. High quality freewheels aren't cheap, and you do need a freewheel remover of the appropriate type. It also won't really affect the shifting performance unless your rear cogs are not actually ramped for shifting.

The rear derailleur upgrade may make it stay in adjustment better, but the rear derailleur is really a "yes man" to the shifters - the shifters tell how much cable to pull and the derailleur does that subject to the limit screws not letting you shift into the spokes or out of the rear cluster,the B screw's body angle and the cable tension being good. To get good performance out of this, you'd need good shifters and a good derailleur.

Unfortunately, shifters are not cheap and have to be matched to the number of speeds in the back (unless you run friction shifters where the shifting is a continuous motion which you trim), and will likely cost more than the bike itself.

Your best option in terms of performance is to just adjust everything as well as you can and run the bike as is. When things start failing, get a new bike. If the things are so low quality that Tourney is an upgrade, pretty much anything you do will be an improvement in performance and durability but it will also cost more than the bike is worth (and you will likely to be able to buy a used bike with better quality components once you take into account the component costs (possibly even excluding tools+labor costs)).


Try making contact with either of these.  Their logo is almost identical to the decal on your bike.

http://www.kinesis.com.tw/?lang=2&TTo=en
http://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/

Possibly this one, but less likely:

http://cannibale-bikes.e-monsite.com/


Role of the part situated below the pedals?

That is a toe clip but it is missing the strap.

Add a strap or remove the toe clip.

For the most part they have been replace by clipless pedals.  That is why clipless is called clipless as there is no toe clip.


Is the plastic sleeve optional for a GXP bottom bracket install?

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

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

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

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


From the info you've given it's hard to tell how old your bike/the spokes are.

If the spoke tension is too low/if there is too big a difference in the tension of the spokes in the wheel this can cause premature spoke failure due to uneven force distribution over the spokes in the wheel. Make sure to have proper spoke tension/tension distribution to prevent premature spoke failure.

To answer your other questions:

1) Yes the wheels will not last as long when doing bunny hops and other such 'stunts' (such as riding down stairs, jumping off things etc.)

2) You should replace your spokes as soon as possible, if you don't and keep riding there is a significantly higher chance of more spokes braking (since the force is distributed over less spokes)


You have to have a chainring in the front attached to the crank and a cog on the back attached to the internal gear hub to use an internal gear hub (IGH) (and the chain goes between the chainring and cog, as on a usual single speed bike).

An IGH drivetrain installation looks like this:

(Looks just like a single speed from the outside with a 42t in the front and 16t in the back in the case of the bike you're looking at).

In this case, the chainring is 42t and the cog in the back attached to the internal gear hub is 16t. This choice of chainring and cog determines the gearing achievable by the internal gear hub. Roughly speaking, when in the middle of the 3 speeds, your gearing will be determined by the 42/16 combination. Then, the low will drop it around 25% from that while the high will increase it around 33% from that (typically; the numbers may vary for your particular model).

I'd recommend looking at this page by Sheldon for more details on how IGH's work and related things.


Standing to pedal is extremely tiring - should it be this difficult?

Standing up on a bike, especially when you lack fitness, is a good way to go "anaerobic." Put simply, that means your body is working so hard, it can't get enough oxygen. You can only do that for a short amount of time, which for most people is in the range of 10-30 seconds. Then the lactic acid build up in your muscles becomes too painful and you are forced to ease up.

The solution is simple. You need more strength and fitness. If you like to ride fast and/or climb hills, you can't avoid the anaerobic zone completely, but you can move it a little farther away by getting good fitness. Keep riding, and keep riding hills.


If I replaced the fork on my cyclocross bike with a track fork, what would be the effect on the bike geometry?

Less fork offset on it's own means more trail. The fork length and wheel size will also affect this though, so you'd need to get all the numbers and maybe draw it out to work out the final difference in trail.

More (longer) trail makes the bike more stable (especially at speed) but less manoeuvrable. Touring and downhill bikes tend to have more trail, while city commuter bikes or sprinting/criterium bikes have less.


How can I tell if my wheels need replacing due to rim wear?

Most rims have a little dimple or a groove (called wear indicators) for detecting rim wear. When this dimple or groove disappears, its time to get new rims. If the wheel physically damaged, take it to a LBS for an assessment on if it needs to be replaced or can be repaired anyway (e.g. cracks, dents, etc.).

If your rim doesn't have wear indicators, take it to a bike shop, and they'll measure the rim widths with a caliper and check for deformations. I don't have a good threshold for what thickness would be considered acceptable, but I'd err on the side of caution.

If your v-brake is grooving your rims, are you sure brake pads are still good? If you hit the metal back plate, they'll start destroying rims. If the groove is on the brake pads (due to the wear indicator or misalignment), you can sand it down if theres still enough material left, or just put on new pads.


Lots of broken spokes on one bike, with different wheels

Are your brakes properly aligned? If they're off-center, every time you brake you'll generate a lateral force on the wheel that spokes absolutely hate.
How do you store your bicycles? Do they live in the garage or in the living room? If you live near the beach, the salt can cause corrosion and weaken the components.
Like the comments said, check the fork alignment. Since you stated that you had a wheel lying around that had never been a problem before mounting it on this particular bike, it leads me to think that there is something wrong with the current bike.


Why do I have to keep on changing my fit?

Often, I get on my bike and things feel a little off. I put it down to varying fatigue, stiffness, amount of sleep, mood, stress or a hundred other things. I then try to get get warmed up, then concentrate on good technique and having fun, or, if I really am feeling off, cruising along for a bit then getting a coffee.

It sounds like you have trained yourself to be hypersensitive to feeling 'off', then feel the need to need to mess with the saddle position. Maybe you just are not letting you body actually get used to an reasonably OK position. What you need to do is get the position ballpark right, then just stick with it and let your body get used to and adapt to it. I also wonder if regular stretching would make you feel better on the bike.

I'm not surprised that different fits came up with different positions. Bike fittings are not supposed to find your 'perfect position' - that does not exist. They find a good position for a particular purpose. Different fitters may have had a different idea of what you were trying to achieve. Also, I'm not surprised you were slower after each fitting. Your body was not used to the new position and hence you could produce less poswer.


Amount of spacers below the stem for steel 1 inch steel steerer

Common threadless steel steerers have essentially no practical limit for this in either 1" or 1-1/8". There of course is a theoretical limit, but it's going to be a very large number, way over 12"/300mm. There have been a few companies over the years to make thinwall fancy alloy steel steerers (Alpha Q/Reynolds was a fairly popular one) that do have limits, which was published info.


Pre-load of suspension forks on one side only

1: Your assumption is correct yes, only one side gets "preloaded".

2:It's done like that mostly to save on expense and because a preload adjustment on both sides would be overly fiddly when the adjustment can be accomplished with one knob.

3: Asymmetry, yes.  Unfavorable, not so much.  Forks are designed to be very stiff where they are not supposed to be suspending.  That being the case, the two sides should always move as a single unit, thus only one preload is necessary because ultimately the forks preload is going to be an average between the preload of each side.  That means expense and effort can be saved by putting adjustments on only one side that will ultimately affect the fork as a whole.

As you can see from the shot below, the internals on a fork may be very different by side.  Suspension forks are designed with those stiff arches allow each side to move only as a unit.


Are cross brake levers with compact drop bar redundant?

Generally a compact bar refers to the drops, not the width of the bar. The drop levers and interrupter levers will most likely be nearly the same distance apart. Your preference is all that matters.


Bikes don't have enough speed / surface area to hydroplane.  A slick does as good as tread in the rain.


Techniques for safely leaving a bike for 1-2 minutes in a safe-ish place

Firstly, these suggestions are only going to make it slightly harder to ride away with your bike. I've heard the most common thefts involve grabbing the bike or bikes and slinging them into the back of a van, in which case it doesn't make much difference.

But against the casual opportunist/errant kid...

Have a QR parts and remove them - saddle, pedals?, bars?
I use a small velcro strap to make parking easier. This goes around the bars and pulls on the brake lever on when parking, makes it easy to lean it up against a wall without it wobbling. This might stall someone not expecting it.
Derail the chain from the front rings.
Best of all, get one of those super-convenient rear wheel/frame locks as below:

As long as you've got your key with you - some of them stay in the lock when it's unlocked - it's easy. No more excuses!


Weight distribution is critical, and it is a bit of a fine balance, much like doing a track stand. I find that it is easiest to do this by staying seated and crouching towards the front of the bike. Standing on the pedals will tend to put your weight too far forward and make it difficult to achieve smooth power transfer to the wheels.

Smooth Power Transfer is another important aspect. Remember that your rear wheel only has a small amount of friction keeping it from slipping. What you are trying to do is keep the pressure on the pedals strong enough to keep you going up the hill, but not so strong as to make the wheel spin. Things that can help with this are:

Staying in a seated position
Concentrating on pedalling in smooth circles, rather than a in separate pushes from each foot
Using as high a gear as you can manage while still maintaining a reasonable cadence. If you are using your lowest granny gear, it is much easier for your legs to overpower the friction between the tyre and the ground.

Balance, working on your low speed balance by practicing track stands and the like will mean that you are less likely to need to put a foot down, and more likely to be able to recover from a brief "halt" in your progress.


Putting a DH fork on an enduro bike: consequences?

Let us assume that the wheel size stays the same at 29". Let us also assume that a DH fork can be installed on that frame with no clearance or mounting issues. What remains are questions of frame geometry and safety.

  How would this specifically affect the bike?

I would say that the main parameter that changes is fork's axle to crown distance. DH forks have more travel than enduro: let's say 200 mm against 170 mm that the bike you link to has. So the top of the bike gets raised up for 30 mm. Each 10 mm of change corresponds roughly to 0,5° decrease of head tube angle. So that makes it 1,5° or more. It means the whole front end would raise up; if you stand on a perfectly horizontal surface, with a new fork it would feel as if you ride 1,5° uphill. Needless to say such a change won't help you climbing up hills, but exactly the opposite.

1,5° is a lot of a change for head tube angle, which becomes 64°. Most likely you will find it harder to make turns or to control your bike in turns.

Bottom bracket would be raised as well, possibly making the bike unstable in controlling, see this answer. Less pedal strikes, however.

  What would be other effects?

It would weigh more, and it would not be covered by vendor's guarantee any longer because using a longer travel fork certainly voids it. Remember that an enduro bike frame and remaining components, such as handlebar and wheels, were designed, tested and certified for certain types of drop heights. Downhill riding assumes harsher loads; you would not want your handlebar to snap.

  Is this a good idea?

No it is not.


There's a saying that a clean bike is a happy bike. You really can't clean a bike too much.

Make sure to clean the bike more often in the winter when riding on road salt, which is bad for the drivetrain.

For all bikes, I'd definitely clean the drivetrain if it gets muddy. Mud can interfere with shifting and braking.

Do not put oil or grease on the rims. If you have rim brakes, they may squeak after cleaning the rims. As long as it doesn't interfere with braking power, I don't worry about that. The clean-rim-squeal-sound goes away on its own after a bit.

In terms of the frame: With a steel frame, you'll need to worry about rust, particularly where you have any scratches in the paint. Patting the bike dry after a ride in the rain should deal with that.

(This applies to steel and aluminum, I know very little about carbon or Titanium frames, or about disc brakes.)


Assuming a decent and well maintained mountain bike it can handle much more abuse than riding up and down curbs or jumping around a bit. Even the most lightweight mountain bikes will not have the slightest problem with that.

However, two things are important: Good maintenance and riding technique! Riding on underinflated tires or a badly serviced suspension fork can easily lead to a flat or a bent rim when hitting hard on an edge. And good riding technique does not only make your riding look smoother but also is softer on your bike since it to some extent avoids the hardest impacts on your bike.

So go on with your riding, don't worry too much about how much your bike can handle, keep your bike well serviced and try to learn some decent riding technique.


How do I cut hydraulic brake hose without expensive tools?

Get a brand new razor blade, the type that you would use in a boxcutter or the type you would use in a scraper, as long as it's rigid. Lay the hose against a hard, flat, and clean surface and while holding the hose as close to where you want to make the cut as possible (without cutting your fingers off) push straight down on the blade while sliding it forward on the hose. Once it gets started it should go through pretty easily if the blade is new and sharp. The two important things when you're done are to ensure that you have a clean cut and that you have a perpendicular cut, ie you don't want to slice it at an angle or have a jagged cut. If the cut looks messy or isn't straight, move back a few millimeters and try again. It's not that hard to get right and it will save you a few bucks.Personally, I would recommend against using cable cutters. You'll get a much better cut with a razor blade.


I cannot go 30 miles without a flat. I can't figure out what the problem is

I've had this exact problem.  I spent a whole lot of time removing the inner tube, patching it, etc...   All to no avail. I finally figured out that the side of a drilled spoke access hole was barely visible next to the rim tape.  When I'd inflate the inner tube, it would jut into that hole (depression) and get cut on the side of the drilled hole at the aluminum rim.  The fix was to get better (wider) rim tape, and carefully adjust it so there was a uniform overlap at the spoke access holes.

I also figured out that is VERY difficult to patch a hole on the inner side of the tube.  You have to use a patch that is at least two times its width (long axis oriented along the rim...)

Good luck with it.

Oh, and to help me in troubleshooting, I always label the fill port on the outside side of the tire (In my case I rotate the tire so the pressure rating is next to the fill valve. Then I use a paint pen to add a tick mark on the sidewall that exactly lines up with fill valve.)  This makes the pressure numbers easy to find, AND really help me in troubleshooting a leaky inner tube.  I can inflate the leaky tube in a bucket of water, find the leak, then remove it to line it up with both the rim AND the tire to search out root causes for the leak.

Edit..
I'm guessing that with certain rim cross sections and geometry, and with a soft rim tape, it might be possible for no sharp edges be exposed with tire and tube is off of the rim, but under high tire pressure, the rim tape may move a bit, exposing the inner tube to the sharp side of a drilled spoke access hole, or the end of a long spoke...


Should I replace both wheels/rims if I convert the front to a dynamo hub?

You should replace the rear wheel only if there is another well justified reason to do so, but generally both wheels are mostly independent, so you can perfectly change only the front.

The first scenario I think of is where you are changing only the front hub (and spokes) and keeping the front rim. Why would you change the rear one?

Easier task is to replace the front wheel (i.e. rim+hub+spokes), sometimes they are even sold this way, so it's only matter of mounting the tire and installing the cables.

Rear wheel can be changed at this time if there are reasons on its own, for example the hub or rim are already close to the end of the useful life or are worn out completely.

Other reasons may be:

You bought a wheelset that included both, or your current rear hub is a dynamo (and you don´t want two dynamos in one bike).
The rim you are putting in front is a different width or size, or is intended for a different use (e.g. from super light rims to utility ones) and you want to match the rear for usage.


How to make a derailleur work in opposite directions?

When you switch to the crankset behind cogs, you need to move the derailleur above the cogset.

Think of it as rotating the entire drive train 180 degrees forward or flipping the entire bike over the bars and then moving wheels down until they touch the ground.

Note that the different crank positions require different chain length.


Crank Length 165mm or 170mm? mixed views

Percentile based formulas for crank length are trash. Femur length, health or special needs of all the joints in your leg, and the desired relationship between your saddle, knee, and pedal are all factors, as are the clearance needs of the bike, the type of riding being done, and Q. There is zero reason why a simple percent of your height would suffice.
Fitters who are serious about delivering a good result are mostly going to use some kind of system (or haphazard rule of thumb) to come up with an ideal saddle setback and knee to pedal spindle relationship, then choose a crank length based on that, then test it with either different cranks or a sizing crank.
As for your situation, if going to a fitter is off the table, you are going to be much better off making your own estimation of whether 2.5mm or 7.5mm is going to be the right amount of reduction. I would make sure you're feeling very confident about your saddle height being on point first, because that's a far more common source of issues with knees being put in an uncomfortable position.
Some shops do have sizing cranks and might be willing to set you up to spin on a trainer in a corner for a while if you're going to buy cranks from them afterwards.


I take it KERS is "Kinetic Energy Recovery System" which takes energy from your momentum and stores it temporarily, also offering a braking effect.  With the intention to use this stored energy for subsequent acceleration.

A spinning flywheel on the front wheel may have significant precession effects when spun up.   If the rider tries to turn left or right, and the flywheel is co-planar with the rim, then the wheel will experience a rotational force around the long axis of the bike.

In short the front wheel will try and lie on its side.

This would prove dangerous if unexpected by the rider, and the scale of the force would vary with how much rotational energy the flywheel has stored.

A flywheel on the back wheel would experience similar forces on cornering, but the back wheel follows the turn rather than being moved to create the turn.

Downsides to a rear KERS, the wheel is already busy with drive, and often has disk brakes too.  Adding something inside the rear wheel will increase the weight where we don't want it, and rear wheel braking is the least useful sort of braking.

So, added weight, added complexity, added adrenaline when the bike kicks sideways, and minimal benefit.


Is an Acera cassette compatible with an 8-speed Deore rear derailleur?

Yes, the Acera 8-speed cassette that you link to should be compatible with an 8-speed Deore deailleur and shifters. The main compatibility issue is the spacing of sprockets, which changes with the number of sprockets and can vary between manufacturers. This cassette spacing cribsheet details the spacing for 8-speed Shimano cassettes, which should be the same for both Deore and Acera.

Edit: I should also mention that a cassette with a large maximum sprocket could be incompatible with some derailleurs, but this Acera cassette has a maximum sprocket size that is typical for a mountain bike.


Installing a new Shimano compact crank on an older bottom bracket?

This assumes you mean the BB is square taper (one of many examples). Most crank pullers will do square taper, but you often need to use the tool slightly differently, such as by removing a cap. You probably can't change the spindle anyway, but you should be able to buy square taper cranks to suit you, and if not a new BB isn't too expensive.

The process is essentially the same for all vaguely modern cranks.


Should rim tape cover the small holes at the side of the rim?

Schwalbe's Q&A Which rim tape should I use? advises a tape that covers the rim bed over the full width. According to the pictures, only the floor of the bead area should be covered. I guess this is in agreement with the ETRTO standards.


Would like to find out what is the brand of this bike I am rebuilding?

I have no idea what brand it might have been.  And really the brand means little.

From your two photos I see 90s hybrid bike brazed with lugged steel (not welded like I originally said) - you can see the bronze around the bottom bracket.

Dunno if the flat bars are original... the single rear derailleur looks a bit odd mounted on the quill stem.  Normally they'd have thumb shifters.  And that orange shift cable outer looks decidedly weird looping up at the back chainstay.

The wheels may not be original either.  There appears to be a relatively large tyre on both wheels, at a guess 32mm or 35mm ?  The mud/colour makes it hard.   Schrader valves imply larger tyre widths too.  Quick Release skewers also implies no older than the 90s.

There's a bulbous bump in the seatpost - does the bike have seatpost suspension?

There's an odd plastic thing on the seat pole just below where the stays are attached.  Not sure of its function.  What is it?

The crankset looks relatively modern - I suspect this has been converted to a single chainring at some point.


50x12 lets you do about 55km/h (35mph) pedalling at 100rpm. Since you say you're commuting, mostly on the flat, with a non-trivial load, you're not going to get any real use out of a bigger gear than that, so an 11t cog or 52t chain ring won't have any advantage.  However, having a small ring of 39t or a biggest cog of 25t will hurt you if you have any steepish hills (say, 5% or more).

That points towards a compact crankset and either the 12-28 or 12-30. Honestly, there's not much difference between the two for the terrain you describe.  The 12-30 gives you an extra big gear, which is nice if you're going up any big hills but you say you're not. The 12-28 has slightly shorter gaps between the cogs, which makes it slightly more likely that you'll have that perfect gear at any given time.

You might also want to consider secondary uses of the bike.  If you think you might start going for rides at the weekend, the presence or absence of hills on those rides might push you towards the 12-30 or the 12-28.


Ensure the axle is properly placed in the dropout and the quick release is firmly closed. If it's even a little loose, the axle can shift a bit and cause the rotor to be misaligned with the caliper.


Can I change a 3speed sturmey archer to a derailleur system?

Most three speed internal hub wheels are physically very different in configuration from derailleur (external gear changer) style wheels. Internal hub wheels are fairly symmetrical side to side, but on wheels used on derailleur equipped bikes, the spokes are nearly flat on the gear side and dished on the opposite side.

To add a rear derailleur, you would need a complete new rear wheel.  There is also the issue of a hanger for the derailleur. Most bikes with internal hubs do not have one. It may be possible to braze one on, but that is complicated.

Adding multiple chainrings in the front is a problem because you still need a chain tensioning mechanism, which is usually done by the rear derailleur mechanism.

Sometimes three speed hubs are added to bikes that are designed for derailleur systems (to multiply the number of gears) but rarely the other way around.

Consider saving the old trustworthy for leisurely rides and investing in a new multispeed bike for more intense activities.


Croozer hitch -- axle quick release lever on the left?

This is about adding a hitch for a bike trailer. I can see why the company recommends to have the quick release on the right (cassette) side, whereas it is usually on the left. The hitch mechanism needs room and is often secured with an additional strap. By putting the quick release to the right, there is no danger of the hitch (and the strap) interacting with the quick release lever.


Freezing headset cups to ease installation - does this actually work?

According to this link the thermal expansion of aluminum 6061 is 13 micro inches/(inch x °F).  A headset has a diameter of 1.125 inches, and circumference of 3.5325 inches.  Assuming you change the temperature of the headset from 70°F (room temperature) to 0°F (typical household freezer), you'll change the circumference by 13 x 70 x 3.5325 = 3215.5 micro inches.  Which is .0032 inches. The diameter will now be smaller by .001 inches.  I really don't think that will be enough to make a difference when installing a headset.  Hopefully somebody can check my math/science to ensure I'm applying the information correctly.

Here's a nice chart illustrating the thermal expansion of aluminum from 0 K to 293 K (20°C).  This seems to fit with my numbers from above that shows a decrease of 40 degrees (+20°C to -20°c) results in a change in length somewhere in the vicinity of 1x10-3 length units.


There is no adjustment for piston position on hydraulic brakes.

Hydraulic brakes have a built in mechanism to retract the pistons slightly when the brake lever is released. The pistons are mounted in flexible rubber seals that deform as the pistons are pushed forward. The seals then pull the pistons back as fluid pressure is released. The pistons also slip through the seals to automatically advance as the pads wear.

What you need to do is adjust the calipers with the pads advanced up to the rotor. If you push the the pistons back and adjust the caliper position you wont be able to align the pads accurately enough.

A good trick is to loosen the caliper bolts, then hand tighten them so the caliper will still move. Pull the brake lever so the pads grip the rotor, keep it pulled while you tighten the bolts enough so the caliper wont move, release the lever and tighten bolts to proper torque.

Park Tool video on how hydro brakes work:


What subtle factors affect performance in unsubtle ways?

Small changes in bike fit make dramatic differences in performance.  Heat and humidity make a big difference.


Replacing crankset on early-'70s Motobecane 10-speed

From this photo we can see you have cotterless cranks, probably square tapered, which you'll be pleased to know are still a very common interface. Yours look like they're held in place with a 14mm nut easily removed with a socket wrench and crank puller.

I don't think there's any modern, cartridge bottom bracket with this style of nut, so this will be a cup and race type. You can typically remove the non-drive-side cup with a large shifter wrench and assuming the drive-side is left-hand threaded you can remove the fixed, drive-side cup using this one neat trick.

Depending on the desired chainline, if the cups/races of the bottom bracket are smooth and without pitting or gouging you can continue to use this BB with another set of square taper cranks. If the bearings are pitted replace them (they're almost always 1/4").

The four important factors in choosing a bottom bracket are:

Shell diameter
Threading
Spindle length
Interface (i.e. square taper)

This crib sheet is useful.

Front chainline is determined by combination of the BB spindle length, BB offset (i.e. spacers, asymmetric spindle) and the crankset. The crankset manufacturer will typically recommend a spindle length (or see this database).

As for a replacement crankset, you can buy new (basically any road double crankset square taper is likely to fit; or there's a few manufacturer's making quality, vintage-esque cranksets, e.g. Velo Orange), however you can also find some great quality stuff at your local bicycle swapmeet/bike shed. Whatever you choose to do, I recommend getting something with replaceable chain rings, so next time you wear your chainrings down you can simply replace the chain ring and not the whole setup.

Be aware that when your chainring teeth are this worn you have likely accelerated the wear of your chain and rear sprockets. You quite likely need an entire new drive train.

On chain itself, this is dependent on the number of cogs on the rear. With 5 on the rear you're using 3/32" chain, but modern 8-speed chain fits just fine (this is often sold as 6/7/8 speed chain).


It's unlikely that the issue is the seat itself.

In 99 cases out of 100, the issue is that seat clamp at the top of the post that holds the saddle rails is loose, or wearing.  Usually loose.

Grab your set of allen keys, find the 5mm or 6mm which will fit the 2 bolt there, and tighten them up to about 10-12 Nm. If it still creaks, consider replacing the post, but it shouldn't come to that.


Does covering 21-23km per day as a beginner hurt your knees?

If you are going from a level of inactivity to  21 to 23km a day, yes, you may experience some aches and pains. As you get fitter and more used to the activity these issues may go away. If issues persist see a doctor.

Something you should do is check your saddle height and fore-aft position.

A commonly used 'rule of thumb' for setting saddle seat height is to sit on the bike wearing the shoes you ride in, put your heel on the pedal, you leg should be just straight.

For setting saddle fore-aft position, sitting on the bike with the cranks flat, foot on the pedal in normal position, your kneecap should be vertically above the pedal axle.


Seats, in general, have different heights. So the point of contact and rail distance changes in different saddles.

If you get a saddle with a narrower seat to rail distance (as yours) that's when you get this problem.

You can 100% cut or replace the bolt and it will not affect safety. (As long as you don't cut it too short, ie the bolt should be long enough to use all of the saddle clamp nut threads.)

Before you do decide to cut though, make sure you are 100% happy with the saddle position. If you cut the bolt to short and decide to change the position, you can compromise the saddle by not leaving enough threads for to grip properly.

If you should to cut, make sure you don't damage the bolt threads as it could lead to damaging the saddle nut threads.


Rear derailleur low limit adjustment changes under load

Before you go any further, you should check (or have it checked at your LBS) your derailleur hanger. Oftentimes when the RD acts up and won't "tune", it has a poor reference point to start from. The derailleur hanger is easily bent out of alignment,and can render the rear an unreliable little beast.
Double-check for any side-play in the crank, to see if that isn't a contributing factor, and get that hanger looked at. Good luck.


What are the differences between the Alfine 8 and the Nexus 8?

Another significant difference is that the nexus is supplied with a grip/twist shifter:

And the Alfine has a trigger/pod shifter:

Both shifters are intended to be used with the right hand.

Also note that the IGH has variable pull amounts between gears, so you cannot substitute a linear pull shifter from a derailleur setup.

Also see Installing Alfine shifter with nexus 8 hub