What makes a durable and dependable commuter bicycle?

You probably have too high expectation. I imagine very few bikes with Sora quality components would be ridden that far in 10 years, let alone 1.

With any bike the amount of regular maintenance is far more important to longevity than any other aspect. At those distances, a weekly maintenance check on the normal stuff - tire pressures, cleaning and shifting, brakes etc needs to also include tires, wheels and spoke tension, chain wear and bearings (Headset, BB) etc.

Buying something like a Surly would be a good choice, any brand renowned for reliably rather than performance (Clydesdale vs thoroughbred) would be a good choice. Most main stream brands have a model that is aimed to be robust than their out and out racers, so its more matter of choosing the right frame, then the right component level.

At those distances, 105 would be a good level to aim for. Too high spec components are trading durability for weight. Low spec will wear out too quickly.

Wheels and spokes fail from poor initial build quality and lack of maintenance - a Sora quality bike would have come with machine built wheels so chances are the problems started before it left the factory. Upgraded wheels are better to the point they are being made lighter rather than stronger.  if you really want them to last, go for 36 spoke wheels, and get them tuned by a good wheel builder before riding, and after a few hundred kilometers. Wheel made for gravel or touring bikes will last longer than wheels made for speed.

Crank failure is most likely due to something other than high use - accident damage or manufacturing fault. Cranks do have a very high margin of safety as a failure is catastrophic - More expensive cranks are usually stiffer and lighter, and if anything, weaker rather than stronger.


Graber bike rack installation on Honda Accord

When properly installed these type of trunk mounted racks do not actually rest on the bumper.

The lower arm should be positioned slightly above the bumper and bottom edge of the vertical part of the trunk lid. The weight of the rack and bikes is actually supported by the top straps.

See the pictures at the Graber web site (not sure if it's exactly the same product, but it shows proper installation.)

https://www.graberproducts.com/product/guardian-elite-2


Rim cement as a replacement for rubber cement

No. For patching punctured innertubes, you must use vulcanizing rubber cement. Vulcanization which crosslinks the polymers in the tube with those in the patch. Most types of rubber cement, which are used for crafts, are not vulcanizing. Aluminum rim cement is designed to bond aluminum, not to vulcanize rubber.


I'd guess that there are two possible causes.

Old age.  Your wedge as pictured shows some clear flat spots on the ridges that are supposed to bite into the inside of the steerer tube (the receiver that forms the top of the forks)   So its very likely the steerer has equivalent wear on the inside, and you're simply seeing a lack of grip.

First fix would be to file the wedge so its got more obvious ridges in it.  Use a triangular file, or the edge of a quarter-round file for metal.  Do be conscious of metal shavings and avoid getting them near bearings.

Another repair plan would be to buy a new wedge - this probably means a new/replacement quill stem.  If there's a bike coop near you they might be able to help.

The other cause is damage or wear inside the steerer tube.  This is impossible to fix, you'd have to replace the front fork completely.  To check, you need to undo the threadded headset and drop the fork out the bottom of the bike.

You're looking for bends or swellings or even holes in the outside of the steerer tube, or significant wear marks inside.

Dropping out the fork also allows you to service/replace headset bearings too and clean out the bearing races, which may be due given its age.


They don't start slow because they are on a fixed gear (track) bike. They start slow because they are trying to coax the other rider into starting the sprint for the finish line before they do. The advantage is typically given to the rider behind the other because you have not only the element of surprise, but you also get a draft off the person in front.

These riders walk the line of not starting their sprint too early and thusly fading at the end...and allowing the other rider to get the jump on them and losing the advantage of getting in their draft.


Ksyrium Equipe wheels any good for Cyclocross?

It's probably not a great idea, although they might not be a terrible option as pit wheels (where the choice is finishing in less-than-ideal conditions or DNFing).  The Equipes I've seen have fairly low spoke counts (20 or 24) and are narrow by contemporary road wheel standards (19mm).  There's no reason to go with such low spoke counts for CX even if you're pretty small, and as Zippy The Pinhead mentions, the spokes are nonstandard.  (IME, almost everything about midrange and lower-end Mavic wheels is unnecessarily difficult to service, though.)

Mavic claims you can mount a 32mm tire on these rims but the sidewalls will stick so far out from the edges of the rim that you'll have a crummy contact patch and will need to run awfully high pressures to avoid pinch flatting.

The good news is that you can probably sell these Equipes (if you have no other use for them and they're in good shape) for $300 and then get a set of decent CX wheels built up with Major Tom rims, midrange hubs, and all-around tires for around $500.


I bike all winter long, down to -30°C, there are some definite tolls to your bike at colder temperatures. Unlike a vehicle that warms up after the engine has been running for a while, bikes stay cold when you ride them cold. There are two things I notice the most, air pressure is definitely one of them; cold air shrinks, and low tires drag, so if you're riding dry roads I would certainly check to your pressure. Normally I don't put extra air in my tires, because up here the cold is usually accompanied by snow, and low tires give you better traction. The other thing I notice when it gets really cold is the grease in my bearings gets thicker, and as a result my hubs don't roll as fast. Pick your bike up and give the wheels a spin, you might find that they slow to a stop a lot quicker. I notice it in my headset too, but that doesn't affect speed.

One thing I've done to avoid drag due to thick bearing grease is to actually replace the grease in my wheels with Phil Wood Tenacious Oil. I tried it out as an experiment one year, and I've never had problems with it since (I kept checking inside the hubs for a while expecting to find them dry and rusty, but Phil's oil lives up to it's name; it's tenacious).

Of course the best thing to do is to not push yourself, compensate for the conditions, leave a bit earlier, find a new gear range that you can maintain a comfortable cadence in without giving yourself a heart attack, and just plough along. If the conditions are miserable already, there's no sense in making yourself more miserable.


Rear derailleur shifting from 1st to 7/8th with one click

My first thought is you need to clean your shifter. There is a ratcheting mechanism in there which is the thing that makes the distinct clicks when you shift. When the grease is old the little pawl (the thing that locks into the teeth of the ratchet wheel)  will sometimes not want to rotate properly which can cause your shifter to skip gears.
Removing the shifter cover, spraying it with plenty of wd-40 or a similar product and shifting up and down a bunch of times should solve the problem in most cases. If that doesn't help you might have to clean it a bit better using for example cotton buds and a solvent or cotton buds sprayed with wd-40.

This phenomenon is called a 'sticky shifter' iirc. Here is a video on how to possibly solve it:

(Note: the issue shown in the video is not your exact issue but the video does show how the ratcheting mechanism works and following the steps in the video should probably solve your issue as well


On a derailleur bike, its easier to see this. Let the gear ratio be the # of teeth in the front chainring divided by the # of teeth on the rear cassette. Higher gears have higher gear ratio, lower gears have lower gear ratio (so if you keep whats in the front fixed, smaller cogs in the back correspond to higher gearing).

Lower gears will be easier to pedal than higher ones. Usually, these are numbered on the shifter the same way you would have on a car/motorcycle (1 is low gear, the big cog in the back, 2 is the second biggest, etc.). But nobody's really stopping you from numbering them in the opposite way.

You have an internal gear hub, so you can't see it, but the lower gears will be the easiest ones to start from.


Which parts of a wrecked bike would be OK to use or sell?

We have no way to know what may or may not have been damaged in the accident, especially without knowing details about the accident and the types of components on the bike. Some parts you likely won't be able to determine if they're still functional until you put them on a different bike and ride on them.

That said, you're not going to get much by selling a lot of those components piecemeal, especially with a disclaimer that it's been in an accident.

My recommendation? Scrap the bike for parts, and keep them around as spares for your next bike. Having a good supply of used parts on hand can be incredibly useful.


2mm clearance between the chainstay and the rear tire

Clearance is clearance.  It will work fine until your wheel goes out of true, or you ride in conditions that produce 2mm of extra width on your tire (mud, snow, etc).  Or alternately some combination of the two.  Depending on your frame material (I am too lazy to look yours up, but I'll assume steel) it will probably rub on almost every ride at some point when you flex the frame enough for it to touch.


Convert used road bike or MTB for touring?

Old steel hybrids work pretty well for converting to a touring application. Like others have said the ideal build depends on how much your going to carry and the distances you plan on going. Obviously comfort is a big factor as well. Fenders are necessary if you plan on doing any distance at all really.

With that said yes, I would lean toward a road style over MTB but I would stick more with an "urban" geometry rather than a full out road bike. I have a fondness for old steel frames for these conversions as they take a beating and come with a bit of nostalgia.

As for components, like others have said fenders, good tires with puncture protection, a comfy saddle, rear rack or panniers.. it all depends on how deep you want to dive into it. I would recommend starting small, do a day trek or an out and back weekend and see what's sore afterwards, that will gauge your bike as well as your commitment to it and let you know where you stand before you go emptying your wallet.


Should I worry about a chipped carbon mountain bike frame?

The problem is liability.  Any shop is likely to tell replace as they don't want the liability of it breaking and you getting hurt.  Plus they want to sell you new frame.

I would go with your team mate the mechanic.

See if it grows. Even if it does fracture and you fall I bet it will not be your first fall nor fatal.


Right vs Left Crank Power Transfer Efficiency

There will be windup (flex in the crank under force).  Both the drive side (spiders and chain ring) and the non-drive side (shaft, spiders and chain ring) will experience windup during power transfer.  The amount of wind up is however very small (and depends on the magnitude of the force applied), but will be slightly higher for the non-drive side as more components are involved.

That said, once the small amount of windup has occurred (at the start of the power stroke), both sides will transfer force with equal efficiency for the rest of the pedal stroke.  Because the windup is so small, overall efficiency between sides will be essential  identical.

As an aside frame flex will be a much bigger component, convince your self by locking your brakes and apply force to either crank and see what flexes. I find I have better power transfer with the right amount of frame flex as it allows me to get into a rhythm  that I can best describe as like riding a wave.  Some term this planing.  What ever you call it, a bike and components that are too stiff will feel "dead" for lack of better words.


New rim strip (squishy thing) and check the valve hole for sharp edges or burs. It sounds to me like your rim is cutting tiny holes in your tube at the valve stem, a semi common occurrence.

A new rim strip SHOULD cure the issue, but i would check the rim as well just in case. I've seen rims come from the factory with metal burs left over on the valve holes where they were drilled, especially cheaper entry level rims like weinmann 519s etc

Rim strips don't last forever. With repeated changing of tubes and tire they get stretched and shifted around and do their job less well. Their job is to protect the tube from any sharp edges of the rim and where the spokes are attached,the nipples can be rather sharp from the screwdriver or tool that was used when the wheel was built. (yes they could have chose a different word but it really is spoke nipples)

It is also a good idea when changing a tube to run your hand on the inside of the tire to make sure there are no thorns stuck in the rubber waiting to pop your next tube, but it sounds like you have narrowed it down to the valve holes.

Finally, when installing a new tube be sure that the valve comes through the hole straight, at a 90º angle to the rim surface. Otherwise when you inflate it and introduce pressure, the base of the valve is pressed into the valve hole of the rim which can be rather sharp.


A clicking every couple of pedal turns (video included)

It looks to me like a stiff link in the chain. In the video there is a noticeable jolt in the chain through the derailleur every time there is a noise.

The chain makes a full revolution only every few pedal turns, hence it’s a few pedal turns between each jump.

Have a read here: https://www.bikeride.com/stiff-chain-link/

You could diagnose and fix it yourself, if you have a chain tool, but if it is a new bike, it’s something the shop should help you with in the first instance.


How to avoid damaging spoke nipples when wheel building

Using a high quality spoke key that engages on 4 sides (and fits properly) usually avoids this problem, even with coloured alu nipples.


What would be some good and affordable mountain bikes for a beginner?

Forget about chain store big box stuff  - cheap, nasty and comes with no support, They typically ride like pigs, and are usually exceptional heavy.  You get exactly what you pay for  - I won't put by 10 year old on one.

Cheapest is second hand, next cheapest is last years model on 50% mark down. Either way, go visit the LBS's around you and find one that has lots of kids bikes - its a sign they know about tight budgets. They also tend to be keen on the returning customers (kids grow out of bikes really quickly), so tend to give good service despite you not putting downs $1000's on a flash bike.

Do not pay sticker price. negotiate.... You will also need things like pump, helmet, spare tube etc. The LBS will also make sure you get the right sized bike.

If they are still out of your price, ask if they will check a second hand bike if you bring one in. A few dollars spent doing this and you will end up with a better bike for less money than a chain store bike.


How do I prevent play in the steering post?

It sounds like your headset is not adjusted.  Your stem cap is used to adjust this.  Specifically, the more you tighten the stem cap, the tighter the bearings will get, and the less play you will feel.

Here is a picture from Sheldon Brown's article on adjust headsets:

My process for checking headset adjustment:

Check the headset adjust:

Grab the front brake with your left hand, and grab the interface between the frame and the top of the headset with the other.  This is the "No Wrench Flats" in the image above.
Rock the bike back and forth with the brake on.
If you can feel the top of the headset moving independently from the head tube, it probably needs to be tightened.
Pick the front end of the bike up by the top tube, and let the handle bars/front wheel/fork "flop" from side to side.  If they flop around loosely and don't bind up, you haven't over-tightened the bearings.

If the headset is out of adjust:

Crack loose the stem Pinch Bolts.  Don't take the stem off, just get it loose enough to slide around.  When locked down, the stem will hold everything together, so we can't adjust anything.
Tighten the stem cap bolt (labeled as "Top Cap" in the images above) by about a quarter turn each adjustment and then check the headset again.
If you have over-tightened, back it off by an eighth turn and check again.
Once everything is adjusted, line up the stem with the front wheel and lock back down the Pinch Bolts.
Give it one more quick check (nothing should have changed, but it takes two seconds, so why not?).
Best part:  Test ride!  See how she feels.

Once you've gone through the process a few times, it gets to be very quick.  I usually check my headset ever week when I do a quick once-over of the bike.


Disclaimer: I used to design and sell after market suspension parts for proflex bikes

There are three main strategies for the "spring" in fork suspension

coil spring
elastomer stack
inert gas, e.g. air or sometimes something fancier.

Nowadays all springs are dampened somehow either by

using oil,
negative air (opposing force on the spring)
friction (frequently used on cheaper elastomer stack forks)

Cold temperatures effect oil and elastomers but have no real affect on the other types of springs and dampers.

In sub 0'C temperatures oil can become much more viscous and can't dampen the shock properly (oil is forced through little holes to slow down the spring-back of the fork) and thus make the fork feel like it is not responding.  If you keep riding, the friction might heat up the oil a bit.

Elastomers are harder to heat up.  I know Proflex riders in the nineties used to pour boiling water on the elastomers before going out for a ride.


What's the smallest possible tube that will work with my bikes?

If you're going to buy a tube to carry, you'd be better off getting something that fits properly. You don't want to push the limits of your tube (e.g. burst it when you first inflate it) if you're a long walk from anything else, and the extra bulk/weight isn't much. Also fitting a tube at the side of the trail isn't easy especially in bad weather (and punctures wait for bad weather to catch you out). So I would buy one tube for both 27.5" bikes (e.g. a 2.2--2.5" width) and one for the 29",  then carry the right one rather than wrestle with a 26". You've got 3 MTBs so cost isn't an issue.

A tube for 1.3" width in a 2.5" tyre is stretched to twice its intended size, so it will be half as thick. If you're also stretching it in the other dimension it's even worse. (All slightly approximate).

That said, tubes are very stretchy. I've seen 24" tubes in 26" tyres. I've run slightly too thin tubes for months on end. In an emergency you can get away with pretty much anything that you can get to fit. But if you're planning, plan to do it right.


Usage experience with anti-theft GPS trackers

In my experience active GPS trackers are not very suitable to protect your bike at the current technology level. However they are suitable if you are more interested to catch the thief rather than as 'insurance'.

While a general GPS tracker has a good price tag (around 20 GBP) these bike-specific ones seem to be way more expensive. So they are

-increasing the value of what is stolen (bc it gets stolen with it)

-increasing the weight you carry around for any acceptable battery life. But expensive bikes are expensive largely because they are light (for road practical use)

tend to require often recharging every few days so most users will stop attending to their tracker soon before their bike might get stolen
need configuration with cell phone providers data plans are recharging at least each year with no use.
they have to be covert otherwise the thief will take them out but the reason security works is usually because the thiefs know it is there so they are averted from stealing in the first place

I think new technology devices will be coming out soon that will make their daily usage more effective. Until then they are great for increasing the probability of catching a thief (priceless?) in case your bike gets stolen.


Major pitting in bearing cups; what can I replace?

You should replace the balls for sure.  They're cheap, readily available (from any bike shop -- just take in a sample ball), and would very likely solve most of your problems.
You can also fairly easily replace the cones.  You might have to order them, but they should be reasonably inexpensive.  You may want to replace the axles at the same time (they often come as a set).
Replacing the cups would require replacing the hubs, and, if you hire it done, this is usually more expensive than just replacing the wheels.  But you can likely get several years of service out of the bike with the existing hubs.


You are correct that the weight of the shoes cancel out each other for the rotation part. For an extreme example of the same effect, check out Falkirk Wheel, which lifts 250 tons of water and boat using same amount of water as counterweight.

The shoes are not usually centered on pedals, but the axle is under the ball of foot. If hypothetical heavy shoe has even weight distribution, you will have to support the weight of the heel. That weight does not do any work, and it would be possible to design a gear train similar to Falkirk Wheel that maintained the pedals level without outside forces.


Are there any folding adult tricycles on the market in the UK?

There is the Azub Eco [recumbent tadpole] Trike. However, if you watch the video of the folding, it's no Brompton.


What type of bottom bracket is this (pictures)? What tools do I need to replace it?

Looks like what is known as an 'adjustable cup and cone' bottom bracket. That means the bracket can be disassembled, and the axle and ball bearings will come out; also the clearance between the cups and cones (the surfaces the ball bearings run on) can be adjusted. This differs from a 'cartridge' unit that is pressed together and cannot be disassembled or adjusted.

It's highly likely that the unit does not need to be replaced. It probably just needs adjusting to take the slop out of the bearings. You could disassemble the bearings and re-grease, but if the bike has not seen heavy use that may not be needed. What I would do is adjust the bearings then if the crank runs smoothly leave it alone. If the bearings feel rough, 'notchy' or if there is excessive friction, then look at servicing or replacement.

Park Tool has a good page an video that shows how these things come apart and how they are adjusted: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bottom-bracket-service-adjustable-cup-and-cone

You can see that several special wrenches are required, and different tools are needed depending on what type of unit you have. In addition you will need a special crank-puller tool to get the cranks off the BB axle tapers. To put the cranks back on you really need a torque wrench to do the crank nuts or bolts up to the proper tightness. I have found my local bike stores will do bolts up with a torque wrench for free if they are not busy and I buy some small items.

If you are looking at replacement a cartridge unit is an option but of course you will need another set of special tools to install that. See https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/bottom-bracket-removal-installation-threaded

Whether you replace the BB with a cartridge or adjustable unit one key measurement is the axle length, and whether the taper is JIS or ISO standard. This page describes the difference https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bbtaper.html. The bottom bracket shell is almost certainly standard ISO 1.370" x 24 threads/inch. The other key measurement is the bottom bracket shell width. The standard for road bikes is 68mm, mountain bikes 73mm. Sometimes the wider shell appears or road or hybrid bikes.


What does WSD mean relating to mountain bikes?

In this case, it stands for "Women Specific Design".

With regard to bicycles, in some respects, especially the seat, clothing and shoes, women often have different needs than men. WSD bicycles or accessories address this problem.


How to securely connect cable to AXA Quattro dynamo?

I called the shop where the dynamo was bought, and let me explain
how to connect a cable. My summary:

Unplug the plastic cover from the correct socket: One is for ground,
one for phase.
Thread the dismantled tip through one of the two holes in the cover.
The length of the dismantled tip should be so that part of it
protrudes below.
Bend the protruding piece by 180°. The plastic cover is recessed to
accommodate the piece. See the photo below for the final result.
Press the plastic cover on the socket.

When posting the question, I had missed step three.


Commuting and recreation scooter with handlebar brake lever

I used to commute by kick-driven scooter. I rode about 3 miles a day, perhaps 700 miles in total (max 5% grade uphill; max 7.5% downhill). I feel reasonably qualified to discuss some of the implications.
My rides were two small folding Razor scooters, bought second-hand, at $10 each. They have the rear-friction brakes. One was in great shape. The other had some peeling handlebar foam but was otherwise fine.
Braking
You need to lean your weight way back. Folding scooters typically have wheels that are quite small, and even those that do not fold will still have much smaller wheels than a bicycle. If you don't lean backward, you are likely to pitch forward over the handlebars when slowing down.
Unless it is wet outside, the limiting factor of foot-brakes is not typically the braking force. It is how much torque you can put onto the rear of the scooter to avoid that nasty trip over the handlebars. Your braking efficacy is certainly diminished in wet weather, and you may need to reduce speed to compensate or ride the brake to slough off some of the water. Wet leaves are your worst case, and they stay wet much longer than pavement. Wet leaves will slide right over each other, giving you zero braking power and probably fishtailing your scooter.
The rear foot brake operates via friction. This means it has to convert all of the reduction in your forward-movement energy into sound and heat. That's a lot of heat. You can never use it barefoot because of burns, and I literally melted the sole of some shoes. This is probably an argument in favor of handbrakes. But recognize that the handbrake advantage is more about heat dissipation, and less about braking power where gains are mooted by front-tip-over torque.
After 500 miles on the first scooter, the aluminum panel of the rear brake wore through, and I combined the best parts of each scooter to continue riding. The wheel had worn down somewhat, but it outlasted the aluminum. Also, you can swap front and rear wheels for longevity.
Other considerations for scooters
Wheel size is a very important factor. The larger your wheels, the less you will notice bad surfaces. Any discontinuity in the pavement that is higher than half your wheel radius is one you must prepare and lean back for. Any discontinuity higher than your wheel radius is one you have to bunny hop. (Or until you can hop: step off for a pace, pop the scooter over the bump, and step back on. This is a motion you will perform a lot.)
Ultimately, I stopped using mine because of foot pain, primarily on the uphill sections. I tried different foot strokes, but those strokes just wore out my feet in different places. There might be advice you could get from longboard riders that would be helpful for this, but my "scommuting" days are over. I now have a folding bicycle.
I still have the remaining scooter and occasionally take it to the workplace when I want to grab lunch from a slightly farther distance, but it's no longer a regular part of my routine.


The speed is the number of cogs on the rear cassette. This matters because higher numbers of gears (esp 9speed) mean that the chain must be narrower to fit between them.
Generally 6-7-8 speed chains are the same and 9 speed are thinner, more than 9 speed is a bit specialized.

The length isn't as important because you will usually have to shorten the chain to fit your bike. The standard chain is 114 pins (56 links) but you almost never need to know this ( I had to look it up!).


For a 9 speed shimano chain, must I use a shimano 9 speed connecting pin?

What's going to different is the length of the pin. The outside width dimension of higher speed chains get progressively narrower, so the corresponding connector pin would also have to be shorter.

You definitely would not want to use an 11 speed pin on a 9 speed chain as it would not be long enough and the chain would be weakened. A 9 speed pin on an 11 speed chain may protrude too far and catch on adjacent sprockets or even the derailleur cage.

Given that pins are cheap and readily available I would just always use the correct type.


My helmet had a bad fall. Is it still good?

BHSI.org says the following:

Did you drop it hard enough to crack the foam? Replace.

  For starters, most people are aware that you must replace a helmet
  after any crash where your head hit. The foam part of a helmet is made
  for one-time use, and after crushing once it is no longer as
  protective as it was, even if it still looks intact. Bear in mind that
  if the helmet did its job most people would tell you that they did not
  even hit their head, or did not hit their head that hard. And the thin
  shells on most helmets now tend to hide any dents in the foam. But if
  you can see marks on the shell or measure any foam crush at all,
  replace the helmet. (Helmets made of EPP foam do recover, but there
  are few EPP helmets on the market. Yours is EPS or EPU unless
  otherwise labeled.)

  You can also crack the helmet foam or damage it by dropping the helmet
  on a hard surface. The cracks may be small and hard to see, so you
  need to look carefully. Cracks in the foam always require replacement
  of the helmet.

  You may be reluctant to replace a helmet that looks almost as good as
  new, but if you did hit, you don't want to take chances on where you
  will hit next time. If the foam is cracked under the thin shell, it
  will be more likely to fly apart in your next crash. Many
  manufacturers will replace crashed helmets for a nominal fee, and most
  will also inspect crashed helmets to see if they need replacement.
  Call them if you are in doubt.


Cover the rim all around the valve with a thick layer of duct tape until the tape is almost level with the exposed surface of the valve. Then put one more piece of duct tape over the top of the valve.

Draw a line across the top pf the valve with a marker pen.

Get a miniature hack-saw and very gently start cutting a groove down into the top of the valve (perpendicular to the rim). Use a competent friend to hold the wheel upright and very still while doing this (may even help to add more duct tape to hold the wheel down on the floor). Once the groove is deep enough to hold the blade, remove enough of the duct tape so you can see how far down the rim is.

Keep cutting down to the limit of your confidence (i.e. don't cut into the rim).

Now use a thin-ended screw-driver to unscrew the valve. If the cut is to narrow to easily fit your screw-driver into, use a narrower blade (like a bread knife) until you have the valve down almost flush with the rim.

If that is all too scary, take it to your LBS.


Why are steel bikes more expensive than aluminum?

(I'll ignore the chain store things with two wheels and pedals, I refrain from calling those bicycles)

I ride a steel Hard-tail MTB, by choice, and found it easy to choose my bike - The choice was so limited it was a Jamis Dragon or aluminum...... I carry an extra couple of pounds over a similar spec, same price point aluminum bike. I traded my 10.5kg Aluminum framed MTB for a 13.5kg Steel......

Back in the 1990's the unwashed masses were taught that Aluminum was a superior material in every way, and most people still think so (Except those than can afford and want carbon). It does not rust, is lighter and stiffer and....)  Most people, even those that should know better, think weight is God when comparing bikes, and measure it's advantages in $/gram saved. It takes skill to build a reasonably weighted steel frame, whereas any idiot can build a respectably weighted Aluminum frame (with skill, Aluminum will be lighter than steel). Theres even a web site dedicated to weights of bike parts....

Look at the Q and A's here- how many people state that "steel rusts and is heavy" - most of them will never have ridden, let alone owned a steel bike (except perhaps one of those cheap chain store things). Perceptions are steel is "So 1908's ...."

Now look at the cheaper end of the market - these are not typically serious riders. These are Novices relying on advice from friends and Salesmen. The ONLY thing they can use to compare bikes in a shop is weight. Even if they go for a test ride, they won't feel the difference between bikes, let along the subtle difference between a steel and alloy frame in the shop car park. The salesman knows this - so he sells "Weight is everything", and harps on about how every gram is critical. The up sell to the next model is then easy - it's so much lighter, and only another $100......

So put this together, people buying steel frames are few and far between. Those that do tend to know bikes and want a reasonably good one. Theres enough of a market to build steel framed bikes, but those customers know what they want and will pay a premium for it. It's fairly small, so the profit needs to from margin, not volume. As the market is not big enough for a major competition between manufacturers only a few play in it, and they can set prices accordingly.

Thats my guess anyway - not based on any provable fact.......


Glycogen depletion, post-brief-ride recovery, and diet adjustment

This is most likely a mixture of fuelling and trying to do too much too soon.

It sounds like you routinely eat a fairly low carb diet, which is not in itself a bad thing, but will mean that it's unlikely your glycogen stores are ever more than partially filled.  This is not a problem at all during low intensity exercise, but when exercising at high intensity for a prolonged duration (racing yourself for 40km), its a recipe for poor performance and and bonking/hitting the wall.  When you fully deplete your glycogen stores in this manner it is normal to take several extra days for recovery.

In terms of your choice of workout, it is also likely you are creating a training load that is far too high for you to handle.  Going flat out for 40km is something an experienced cyclist might do once a week at most - and even then not for a prolonged period.  And after completing such an effort, they would expect to feel sore and sluggish for several days afterwards and limit themselves to low intensity riding.

Assuming you want to continue trying to test yourself over 40km, you might like to consider having much more structure in your riding.  As an example you could do something like the following:

Week1

30km ride with 15km hard
40km easy
rest day
30km ride with 15km hard
rest day
60km easy
rest day

Week2

30km ride with 15km hard
rest day
60km easy
rest day
rest day
40km max effort
rest day

This still gives you an average of a ride every other day.  It includes some shorter and harder efforts which  whilst very hard in their own way, will not create nearly as much training load.  And you have some longer rides to build your engine.


The obvious answer is a linkage up to the head set, and down to the wheels. Hydraulics would be viable as well. However any power transfer system will lose power, which cyclists do not have in excess, which is probably why it has not been done.


Through axle (thru-axle) - typical/minimum number of turns of active tread engagement

Sounds weird and wrong. Usually you indeed have a lot more thread engagement, I think 5-6 turns or more on the road/cross forks I have my hands on all the time. If there are a lot of threads present on the fork and nothing filling them up, I agree it sounds unsafe.

One easy possibility is that the bike ended up with an axle that isn't a correct match for its fork, and someone either didn't notice or care. To be really right it must be the axle intended to go with the fork in question, and they can require some work to track down, particularly if it's an OEM fork as opposed to a named aftermarket one.


Do narrow tires puncture more frequently?

Thin tires do get punctured more easily.  They also require that you fill them up more often, as they have a smaller volume of air, and at a much higher pressure, and therefore more quickly drop to a non-optimal pressure. Also, narrow tires will not be able to absorb as much impact as a wider mountain bike style tire, and therefore potholes and other obstacles will be more likely to warp the wheel.  However, if you have good tires, along with good quality wheels, and only ride on the roads, narrow tires can be extremely maintenance free both in terms of flats, and having your wheels stay true.  Just don't try to take them off any big jumps and watch out for potholes. Also, having a good quality floor/track pump can make filling the tires regularly less of a chore. As long as you're riding the tires in their designed environment (don't take road tires off-road), then maintenance and flats are more a factor due to tire and wheel quality than to the width of the tire.


Sources for vintage or reproduction decals?

From my experience with custom/stock graphics you've got three options:

Manufacturer: Contact the manufacturer, in this case Cannondale, and see if they have any sticker sheets available. Sometimes they'll have old stock, but more often they only have the last few years.
3rd Party: Look for someone selling sticker sheets or vintage logo sheets. Sometimes they may have one but not advertise it because it's not popular.
Custom/Make your own: Definitely the most time consuming option, but if you have a decent photo or reference, you can recreate the logo in your design studio of choice (Inkscape, Illustrator, etc.). Or, you can find someone to make some for you.

I recently did option 3 for a GT bike that I had powder-coated. I really wanted their new logo with the wings, but all I could find was the old GT letters. All told it was about $40US to get the decals (and extras) printed.


What are all of the speed numbers for a bike?

While not everything is commonly available new now, every number from 1 to 33 has been found on new bikes except 13, 17, 19, 23, 25, 26, 28, 29, 31, and 32. If you start counting quad chainring setups and internal hubs with clusters hacked on to them you get access to a bunch of other weird numbers.

Note that looking at the number of speeds itself is basically trivia. The gearing range and the interval between available gears tell an equally or more important part of the story.


My 1000 watt rated hub only pulls 6.7A (321.6 watts @ 48v) suggestions?

Even if you've only got around 300W, that should shift you reasonably well on the level. The limit here is 250W and that can manage 15mph with your weight on the bike, though the acceleration isn't great. But the current draw with no load (on a stand) will be a lot less than the loaded current anyway, so you probably can get the rated power or close to it. I assume it's actually rated to 1kW at 48V

The motor controller is important - is that suitable for over 20A? Is your wiring?


2.5mm would not be a serious issue.  You may find the "sweet spot" in your gearing changes a little to favor the larger rear sprockets, but so long as you don't run a lot in your top-most gear this should not be a problem.


Gear shift wire on SRAM after an accident

It should run something like this, and be pinched under the washer behind the pinch bolt. judging by the scratches on your derailleur (if they are from the fall), it's pretty likely that your derailleur and/or derailleur hanger are bent.

SRAM has pretty great manuals @ service.sram.com if you know the model of your derailleur that should include cable routing.


You don't need to change the whole hub, but you might well find it easier to do so. You will need a new freehub body.

The new hub assembly might be wider - http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html#standard - in which case you will need to redish the wheel to get it central again. You can probably get away with using the same axle, as also described on that page, but you might need a new quick release skewer.

And you may need to spring the dropouts apart by 5mm. If you don't have a steel frame, and it's 130mm at the moment, give up and live with the 7 speed.
http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-spacing.html#frameadjustment (or use a road hub, I guess).

EDIT: heltonbiker makes a good point about freehub vs. freewheel. I'd been considering upgrading my own bike which has a 7 speed cassette on freehub, and forgotten that a newer 7 speed might well be a freewheel, even though your question does say cassette. See http://sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html
(And even if you really mean cassette, someone else searching might have a freewheel.)


What will the difference in speed be between an endurance geometry road bike and a race geometry road bike?

The main difference will be increased drag on the endurance model, as it is likely that you will have a higher handlebar position and this will increase your frontal area and in turn drag. However, if it is more comfortable in the more upright position, you may be faster as you are more efficient in putting down the power.

If you are not racing regularly, my suggestion would be the endurance model, as you will be more comfortable, and if you want the low aggressive position that can be achieved by moving the stem/spacers around on the steerer tube.


Koolstop set compatible for folding bike?

According to http://dahon.com/mainnav/folding-bikes/single-view/bike/speed_p8-1.html your bike has direct pull (a.k.a V-brakes). Your brake shoes should have threaded studs with spherical washers. There isn't really a point in getting a set with a holder given how often brakes on a folder would have to be replaced and the price difference, but Kool Stop does make V brake refills and holders.

You need the Kool Stop Mountain (a.k.a bmx) threaded salmon's or threaded thinlines (http://www.koolstop.com/english/mountain_pad.html or http://www.koolstop.com/english/thinline.html). The ones you linked will not fit (they are for caliper brakes).

The threaded thinlines may be a better option since they give a bit more room (they're a bit thinner).

Since you asked this question, some help with installing the brake pads may be useful:
http://sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html
http://sheldonbrown.com/rim-brakes.html
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/linear-pull-brake-service-v-brake-type
(And the back of the package the brakes come from)


What to look for in a good entry-level CX bike?

A CX bike does make a great commuter.  It is stable and strong and still pretty efficient on the road. Just put some touring tires on it.

So your question boils down to a CX bike that has mounts for racks and fenders.
You don't find many racing bikes designed for racks and fenders.
Would never actually race with fenders or rack.

You almost never see rack mounts on carbon bike (road, mtn, or CX).
So you are limited to aluminum, steel, or titanium CX.

I know of just a few true CX bikes that come with rack and or fender mounts.
Moots is a high end semi custom that you can order with mounts.  The titanium La Crux comes with mounts (see picture). The Cross Check has mounts and is a designed as a CX but I have never seen a Cross Check in a race as it is heavy.

Given not a lot true race CX have mounts then you can open up your options by looking at CX like commuter bikes - drop bars and take CX size tires.  Look for a compact crank (34T or 36T small).  You might be giving up some ground clearance compared to a true CX but as a beginner you are not going to be hopping obstacles.

CX or commuter look for a bike that will take 38mm tires.  Higher end riders are on 33mm but start with big and soft. If you have only ridden a borrowed road bike those down hill switchbacks are going to be scary.

Unless you are Cat 1 or 2 road or mountain racer you are not going to be competitive your first season.  Focus on having fun and getting better.

You will see people riding mountain bikes in local races - I get beat by mountain bikes.
Until you develop technique you are probably going to be faster on a mountain bike.

That Crossrip Elite would not be a bad starter CX.
I has a CX type geometry and will take CX sized tires.

This is a legit CX racer I use for commuting on the off season:


A lot of mystique grows up around the regulation of many sports. The key (as Neo says) is to get to the source ...

UCI regulations say

  Section 2: bicycles

  Preamble

  Bicycles  shall  comply  with  the  spirit  and  principle  of  cycling  as  a  sport.  The  spirit
  presupposes  that cyclists  will  compete  in  competitions  on  an  equal  footing.  The  principle asserts the primacy of man over machine.

  ...

  1.3.025

  Freewheels, multiple gears and brakes are not permitted for use on the track during competition or training.

See UCI CYCLING REGULATIONS GENERAL ORGANISATION OF CYCLING AS A SPORT PART 1 GENERAL ORGANISATION OF CYCLING AS A SPORT (pdf).

The main reason behind this rule is safety. Crashes are, and always have been, common in track racing. Anything that can drop onto the track is forbidden. Freewheels and gears can drop oil, or otherwise fail, causing a crash. Gears (currently) always have some loopy control cable that could entangle another competitor.

Brakes are unnecessary because of the closed environment and the use of fixed wheels. Levers and cables can fail, and brake blocks can come out. In any case they would add weight to the bike, which would cost time in sprints.

So in general it's all about minimising equipment failure possibilities, and maximising the competitor vs competitor aspect.


Will using WD-40 to flush cable housing dirt harm the housing?

I will have to make many cuts to new housing and do not have a housing cutter tool or a dremel. If I can reuse the old housing effectively, that would prevent me from making bad cuts.

Before I was able to afford/invest in a more suitable (i.e. less crushing) cutting tool I used to make do with common side-snip pliers; then doing my best to reform any squashed portion of the coiled housing so as to not obstruct the opening at the the end.

On top of this you also try to keep the face of the housing end as square as possible to the cable so it sits as neatly and unobtrusively against the barrel adjuster or cable stop at either end; minimising bend or creating a friction point.

Cut as short as lengths off as possible of course and use old waste lengths to do some practice cuts, knowing what you want to achieve.

It's doable; just a little bit more fiddly and irksome. I've been there.


ISO narrow-wide steel chainrings in higher tooth counts >30T

Specific product recommendations are off topic here. However, we can point you in the right direction. At the time of writing SRAM makes 1x drivetrains for road, gravel or cyclocross bikes.

Perhaps start with SRAM Apex-1 or Rival-1.


Shimano GRX parts compatibility with XT or XTR FD on Salsa Fargo. (BSA73)

The Salsa website states for the 148mm rear spacing you need one of these adapters to mount a direct mount front derailleur Problem Solvers FS1328

Source: Salsa Fargo 2019 Spec

I don't think you'll have any problems with those shifters and front mech.


Using car wax on your frame could certainly help protect it over time, though storing it indoors is much more important so that all of the components are protected from the weather.

There are bike specific products like Pedro's Bike Lust but if you don't want to go that direction you should be just fine with any auto wax. In the past I have heard of people using furniture polish as well to give the bike that just out of the shop shine.

You will want to avoid the harsher products that contain aggressive abrasives like rubbing compounds, especially if you have carbon portions of your frame, as these will remove the clear-coat and can lead to damage or failure.


On a trainer that supports the bike, normal tire rules do not apply, as the tires don't have to support the mass of you and the bike, nor provide any lateral grip.

How narrow tire you can drop down to depends on the actual width of the rim, not the width of the original equipment tires. You can probably fit a tire that is not much wider the the outside width of the rim.

I've run a 1.5" hybrid bike tire on a MTB wheel on a trainer with no issues.


help me identify/find more info about bmx forks with this symbol - &

They are, unsurprisingly, called And Forks.

A close-up picture showing the logo, courtesy of VitalBMX:

The only other internet source I found on these is the following BMX Union interview, from 2011. So it seems that this brand never took off and those forks were quickly discontinued.


Does the top tube typically open into the head tube?

Any welded tubes are going to have holes in their ends in order to let the hot gases escape. So, yes, there is virtually always going to be a hole connecting the interior of the top tube and the head tube (along with every other tube on the bike).


Almost all seats and seat posts use a standard width and size rail.  Unless you have a very high end setup, it will be compatible.  Since the one that you described didn't fit, I agree with the previous posters that the LBS has got it wrong somehow.

Note that padding is not the only way to reduce saddle pain: getting a saddle that fits is much more effective.  If the saddle is too narrow for your sit-bones, or too wide, then no amount of padding will make you feel comfortable on it.  That's got nothing to do with the size of your .... um ... ass  ... rather, the saddle width has to match the bones of your pelvis.  Some bike stores have a little gel ruler that you sit on and it measures the distance, thus allowing you to choose a saddle with the correct width.


How much stiffer are 23c tires over 28c?

I assume by "stiffness" we are referring to comfort, and that the Kenda will have a cheaper tire construction. In that case which tire is more comfortable depends on how you set up the tire and your riding conditions. If you are riding on very smooth roads, then a properly set up 23 mm GP 4000 may actually be more comfortable due to the combination of a  higher quality carcass construction and the smooth roads not requiring large pressures to avoid bottoming out the rim.  If you ride on very rough roads or mixed terrain then the 28mm Kenda's may be more comfortable, as you can run a lower pressure than the GP 4000, which will better absorb impacts therefore feeling more comfortable and less "stiff."

Background

"Stiffness" relates to tire construction and casing tension (i.e., tire pressure).  Cheaper tire construction tends to result in a stiffer casing and therefore will feel "stiffer" for a given volume.  The continental GP 4000 will have a higher quality construction than the Kenda, therefore if all things were equal (e.g., size and pressure) the Continental would actually  be less "stiff."  The Kenda is also larger, and a larger volume tire will actually have more casing tension and therefore be "stiffer" for the same tire pressure, but these two tires shouldn't be run at the same pressure, which makes the comparison more nuanced.

So Why Do Larger Tires Have a Reputation for Being More Comfortable?

The key issue is that all things are not equal, including pressure.  The main advantage of larger volume tires is that you can typically run them at a lower pressure than smaller volume tires without risking issues such as bottoming out the rim. If the roads are rough enough, the comfort gains from being able to run a lower pressure  can out weigh any differences in carcass construction.

As such, we need to consider the environment you will be riding in.

If you are on rough roads you may not be able to lower the pressure enough in a smaller volume tire (e.g., 23 mm) to achieve the same level of comfort as with a larger volume of tire (e.g., 28 mm) which can be run a lower pressure for the same level of rim protection.  Because you will need to maintain a relatively higher pressure in the smaller tire to avoid pinch flats or damaging your rim, the tire can often ride more harshly (i.e., feel "stiffer") under these conditions.

If you ride on very smooth roads then a 23 mm tire can be run at relatively lower pressure, which will provide more comfort in addition to there being smaller bumps to absorb. In this scenario it will therefore not feel as "stiff,"  in fact it may even feel more comfortable than the larger Kenda as the casing will be more compliant than the Kenda tire casing adding to the ride quality.

Interplay Between Tire Pressure, Tire Size, Road Conditions and Comfort

The real key is whether or not the tire volume is sufficient for the the road conditions.  If the volume is too small, you are likely to hit what has been termed the pressure "break point", where suddenly more vibrations will be transmitted to you, which can be measured as an increase in real world rolling resistance (Figure 1).

Figure 1. Real world example break point pressure measured by Tom Anhalt from Part 4b Rolling Resistance and Impedance. Red arrows and text were added to the original figure for the purpose of clarity.

Tom Anhalt nicely demonstrated that an increase in tire pressure lead to less rolling resistance (as predicted by theory), until suddenly it didn't, because the pressure was too high for the tire to effectively absorb road imperfections. This resulted in increased vibrations transmitted to the rider, moving the rider up and down, which absorbed forward momentum, which was measured as higher real world rolling resistance.

From a comfort stand point the rider would likely interpret the extra vibrations as a lack of comfort from the tire being too "stiff."

Lowering the pressure below the "break point" will return comfort and the tire feeling "less stiff."  This assumes however you can safely do so.  If the roads are too rough, then you will start bottoming out the rim and risk pinch flats.  As such you will need again raise the pressure to keep things safe, if this increase in pressure sends you over the "break point," then suddenly the tire will feel too "stiff" due to the extra vibrations begin transmitted to the rider.

Predicting where the break point lies in real life is difficult.  Tire construction and size that will work best for your application will likely involve trial and error.  That said, experimenting with pressure can be an important first step. Your loading weight (i.e., rider + bike + load) also is an important consideration as a higher load weight requires a higher pressure to ensure the rim doesn't bottom out.


You can do it, but it will be much more expensive to buy the Tiagra-equipped bike and then buy Ultegra parts piece-by-piece. Bike manufacturers get the parts much more cheaply than you can, and that price difference is reflected in the price of the bike.

Also, consider this: Ultegra is an 11-speed group. Tiagra is 10-speed. This means that you will need to upgrade the cassette, rear derailleur, and shifters all at once anyhow.


(Presumption the OP is not over about 100kg, even then, I think my answer holds) Don't worry about the bike. It can handle a lot more than you can. For years I rode with no suspension and never broke a bike. I then got, what was then a great fork - 60mm travel, and did not break the bike. I usually pulled out at more than 1 meters air on those bikes.... usually...... I got older and wiser... now I ride XC and wheels rarely leave the ground, 100mm is more than enuf.

Some would say with two foot jumps, you have got the wrong bike. You should have got a $3000 all mountain FS. But if all you could afford was the one you have, you got the right bike. A better bike would cost more, a FS in that price  bracket would be a BSO and I would say it was the wrong bike, you shoulda got a hard tail. A HT with more travel would have lower quality components......

So what should you do - learn to ride lightly - land softly. Bigger travel lets people who can't ride land 2 foot jumps and look OK doing it. You won't hide poor skills behind your bike, and you will not be forgiven if (when) you screw up a landing - it will make you a better rider.

And just reiterating  -worry more about yourself than the bike.


It really depends on your body proportions. Canyons have very high head tubes, so -17 degree stem is nothing out of ordinary. Longer stem is a good idea if you feel that the cockpit is too short.

For reach, in my opinion a classic bend bar is better than "ergo" because it has longer reach on the drops, which increases the difference between hoods and drops.


Could you move the chainring on the crank arm?  I can't tell from your picture if it used to be a double or not? I have an old schwinn that I converted to fixed and had the exact opposite issue (chain line moved away from the bike).  I wanted the 52T large chain ring to stay so I moved it to the inner ring position.  This is probably not ideal, but I've had no issues in 10 years on it.


What is the twin-link four bar suspension designs trying to solve?

The images originally came from the following
article:

An updated article was released last year with a mountain of information about
suspension designs:

I suspect the twin link system was a way to circumnavigate the patent on the Horst link whilst providing similar suspension performance.


Mino quick link geometry adjustment, what can I do with it?

Mino is a link that changes the geometry of the bike.

High lifts the BB (about 10mm) and steepens the head tube (1/2 degree) compared to low.

With the link set low the bike will be more stable but less agile, especially on down hills. With it high it will be more agile but less stable, with lower chance of pedal strike (due BB height). The difference is small, and may be imperceptible to an unskilled rider.

As far as position, the best position is the one you like. There is no right or wrong. Try it on the trails you ride, and decide where you like it. Generally DH you would probably want it low, XC high.

It will be far more important to get the suspension properly tuned up, tire pressures and bike fit correct before worrying about the link position.


Is a Giant TCX W wrong for me if I want to use it for around town and occasional long rides?

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems that cyclocross bikes are basically road bikes with a bit of knobby on the tire. I recently purchased a Raleigh Roper to use as a daily commuter. I went with the cyclocross style because the slight knobby lets me leave the hard-pack every once in a while. Also, there are numerous bosses to mount a rack, bottle cage, pump, etc. If you're looking at graduating to the Cycle Oregon week ride, you can always get a road/touring set of wheels to swap out. Or, the cheaper alternative is to just get a set of road tires to swap onto your wheels when you want to tackle the longer 100% pavement routes.

Also, as @Batman mentioned, the most important thing is bike fit. I test rode a number of bikes at my local shops before settling on the Roper. Some bikes with the exact same setup felt slower and cumbersome while others felt twitchy and uncontrollable. It all comes down to what fits you and your style best. Everything else can be upgraded.


How can I find replacement part for Mongoose scooter?

It looks like a quick release seatpost binder

You might have a bicycle with one on it you could use to test the fit.

Googling "bicycle seatpost quick release M6 × 65mm" gets results
Here's one on ebay as an example (not a recommendation)

Or, you might be able to find a metric bolt with the correct thread down at the hardware store along with appropriate washers. Tighten it with a wrench rather than have a quick release lever as a temporary fix.


Can I replace 1 inch threaded fork by a 1 inch threadless one?

It is possible. You just have to remove the old bearings and get a new complete headset for the frame. You then treat it as you would any threadless system.
Note, it is possible to do without replacing the current headset, but it requires you to know exactly what top race and seals you would need. Sealing is specially hard and you will likely end up with a gap and the elements will destroy your headset much more quickly. I would save some hassle and just replace the whole thing outright.
It is also possible to take your threadless fork into a bike shop and cut threads into it, this will likely cost you more in labour than replacing the headset. You also haven't mentioned the material of the work, and this process will depend on that too.
Also remember that the fork steerer lengths are different for threaded and threadless steeres, so make sure the new fork will be long enough.


Upgrading a dual sport bike - a geometry question

That bike is what it is, a great urban and light trail machine built to a price point. You got what you paid for. Get out and braap.

Most worthy upgrades like wheels, drive train, brakes and suspension will cost the same or more than you paid for the whole thing originally. So don’t spend any more than you need to cover breakages/maintenance.

The limiting factor in that bike is geometry aligned to a 60mm fork and a bargain bucket grade aluminium frame that will be relatively heavy. A fork with 100mm travel will likely throw the geometry out too far.

Treat that bike well and save your $ to buy at least a “comp” level bike from a well known brand if you decide you want to ride more off-road.

The lowest end of most name brands trail ready model lines include quality SRAM Eagle or Shimano Deore components with a decent air suspension fork. The frames on those bikes are often the same as the high-end version and are worthy upgrade projects. Clearance previous year models will be available at a great price.

Even though all working bike maintenance is a money pit, to upgrade that bike will be “putting lipstick on a pig”.


Cartridge equivalent spindle length for Shimano BB-6207 116 mm Cup and Cone Bottom Bracket?

Yes. Remember that 1mm of difference is 0.5mm difference on each side and you will not have to adjust your derailleur or gears to accommodate that. Sounds like you have done your homework already.


What is considered the bead in this diagram?

The bead is the wire at the inner edge of the tire, which creates a bulge in the edge that locks into the groove in the rim. The word "bead" here is more akin to the woodworking term bead than to the "small ornaments on a string" sense.


Cruiser bikes tend to be constructed for the mass consumer market. Even if the price of the bike isn't cheap, the components often are.

The big balloon tires that are put on them tend to have soft rubber compounds that allow for a soft ride -- but quickly wear away. The white or cream sidewalls  that are popular on cruisers don't have UV protection in their rubber compounds so they also tend to deteriorate quickly.
If you have a rear coaster brake (which tend to modulate poorly), you have to be careful as it's easy to drag/skid the rear wheel and wear down the rear tire down considerably.

You can get a better wearing tire when you replace it. Harder rubber will be longer wearing but will provide for a harsher ride, all things else being equal.


The best method for handling exterior frame rust depends on how much time you'd like to invest. The difference comes down to what you use to complete the two basic steps:

Remove the rust

Good: Sandpaper - Cheap, but wont remove all the rust, and may leave debris.
Better: Steel Wool - Will remove most of the rust, but may leave steel wool fragments, which can rust in turn.
Best: Brass Wool - Since brass will not 'rust' (oxidize) like steel, any fragments left behind won't cause the frame to rust.

Cover up the spot

Good: Nail or auto polish - Not technically the best sealant, also will wear faster and will need to be re-applied.
Better: Auto or spray paint, primer, or a clear lacquer - More water-tight, longer lasting.
Best: Bicycle paint - This is a given. =]

The most important point to note, though, is to remove as much of the rust as possible before painting. Simply painting over the rust will just seal it in, and allow it to continue rusting away beneath the layer of paint.


The answer is NOBODY. Jones is the only manufacturer of the closed loop H-bar.

After nearly a year of searching for a cheaper alternative I finally just bit the bullet and ordered the bar from Jones. It would have been better if I had ordered it sooner instead of holding out in hopes of finding an alternative manufacturer, I really got dinged by exchange rates for waiting.


Wobbling cassettes should be absent from, not present on, every bike. It is possible that the wobble is caused by worn splines on what might be a soft (aluminium, as opposed to steel) freehub. I myself recently blogged about such an issue at http://bit.ly/HubTrouble .

The wobble might instead be a result of an incorrectly seated lock-ring, or a missing spacer from behind the cassette (in which case you might find this link of interest: http://bit.ly/CassetteIssues)


Suggestions on buying a road bike for the city

With this budget, a used bike will get you the best bang for your buck. I was able to find a ten to fifteen year old road bike with good components (Ultegra) and an aluminum frame for around $600. A friend found a twenty to thirty year old road bike with a steel frame and downtube shifters for around $300. Both were in good condition and have high quality components, with the age of the bikes being the main sacrifice. If you're looking for a nice road bike, you can do it with your budget as long as you're willing to go used, but a new bike in this price range will just disappoint you.


Repairing a bent bike frame, is it worth it?

If its "incredibly bent" then the answer is no.

Replacing a tube on a typical lugged steel frame will run you a couple hundred dollars from a good frame builder. It goes up from there.


What parts of 12-speed drivetrains are compatible between brands?

The key issues relating to compatibility is the width and spacing of the cassette sprockets (and chainrings), chain design and the design of the ramps and pins on the sprockets and rings that facilitate shifts. SRAM followed Shimano up to 11 speed but I believe they diverged at 12 speed.


The crank arm slips when pressing hard on pedals with Shimano Nexus

I'd start with a new chain as a simple maintenance matter - this should have been done when the new rear cog went on anyway.

Then compare how your new chain lies around the front chainring compared to the old one.  It should mesh fairly well over the whole length of contact, not having phased waves of contact and spaces.

Finally, are you positive its the front chainring skipping?  Your feet are on the cranks so it can still be the back, and you feel it through the pedals which makes it seem to be the front.   Get a friend to ride along side, or try riding on a treadmill or rollers... or even use a gopro and a mount to see what's going on.


Does riding with suspension locked do any harm long term

On Trek 4300 you have RST Gila fork which is cheap and simple. You can't really lock it completely, just pre-load the spring to maximum. I'd say you should not worry about it - the internals are very simple and can't really be damaged easily: this is no oil/air fork. It has a steel spring and some rubbers to work as dumper.

And most likely the juddering you notice is not from the fork, but rather from the breaks themselves.


GPS with maps for touring / using an iPhone

If you have an iPhone or an Android phone there are various free options, some based on OpenStreetMaps, but even Google's own solution is excellent. For google maps you can download areas to store locally (for those areas you know you will have no connectivity) and it is free!

I'm playing a lot of Ingress at the moment, which requires 10 - 20 hour stints with my phone continuously running GPS, with the screen on (ie very high load) and my solution to the power problem was this 12,000 mAh battery pack from Amazon. It is only a little larger than my Galaxy S3 so sometimes I hold it with the phone, or I pop it in my rucksack.


Can I add 3rd chainring to a an old Sugino double?

Check out the IRD Defiant wide range double crankset http://store.somafab.com/irdwicorodoc.html) It has a 94bcd which allows it to run 46x30 rings. Combine that with a 12-27 cassette or freewheel and you'll have plenty of range.

Going to a triple presents a few problems:

They don't shift as well as a double.
You have a short cage rear derailleur so max rear cog is 27, maybe 30 teeth. Definitely won't handle 34 teeth.
Triple cranks require triple compatible front derailleurs.
A double is simpler and lighter.
The Interloc will look a lot nicer on your 80s era bike.
A triple will usually require a longer bottom bracket spindle than a double.


Is it possible to upgrade Schwinn Willy to use an internal gear hub?

It is possible -- you can either find a 36 spoke internal gear hub (since you have a 36 hole rim) and have the wheel re-built with the new hub and bodge on the cables for the IGH shifting. Alternatively, there are automatic shifting hubs (e.g. the SRAM Automatix) which will also have a coaster brake and no shift cables. That being said, its probably going to be cheaper to get a new rear wheel than have someone building the wheel up with a new hub.

But, in the end, on a 300 dollar bike, you're going to be better off economically just buying a new bike with gears.

As for the crankset, you can swap that out, but you'll still have only one gear ratio unless you add a front derailleur (which your frame likely doesn't have mounts for, so you'd have to bodge it on). You may also need a different bottom bracket in this case. As in the case of the new wheel, this isn't worth it economically.

Generally, though, swapping the rear cog on a single speed is a better choice. The Schwinn ships with a 19t rear cog. If you're willing to work a bit more on the hill, you can swap that out with a 16t or 14t or something. This is quite economical (probably 20 bucks for the cog and a bit for labor at your local bike shop). If you want to do anything to this bike, this is likely the only thing you can do that is economical.

The end of it is: if the cog swap isn't favorable, get a new bike with gears.


How much better are ceramic rims at wicking away water

I don't think it's so much that they wick away water as that there's more friction to be had when wet. I haven't personally had ceramic rims before, but everything I've heard and read leads me to believe that folks who ride often in bad weather prefer them once they've tried them, due to easier braking.


Shimano gear cable adjuster barrel replacement

They are same. But before spending money in it, it can be wise to check the threads in the shifter. If pliers used to twist it, the threads could deform, and new barrel will act the same.


Anyone using studded bike tires on a commuter in milder climates?

Studded tires don't help on snow any more than knobbies do - they're for ice. The canonical website on winter biking is probably IceBike.

It really depends on how far you want to go - a wide MTB tire at low pressure is nice in the snow. The aggressive studded tires are designed for riding in snow, not mostly cleared roads with possible bits of ice. If you're riding on plowed roads, a beater bike (since road salt does wonders for ruining your drivetrain) with some mild studded tires designed for commuters (e.g. Schwalbe Marathon Winter) are a good way to go (though many people get by without studs for winter as well - they're additional safety when you hit ice; I've done several mid-west winters without studded tires). If you're not going on plowed roads, get something aggressive (but note that if the roads are clear, you'll wear down the studs excessively and have excess resistance).

As for keeping the fenders on, you might not want to do that since they help pack and accumulate snow. I like to use a downtube board and a clip on tail fender (SKS X-board and X-tra dry) since they don't make snow accumulate.


According to my experience the bike does tend to feel a bit lighter, usually when nearing the apex of the movement (manual-type movement) so I have to compensate and move my hips toward the bars - I compensate for the lifting of the bikes front end (put the bars in my lap)at the same time I stand up explosivly (read-jump). At this stage the bike does get ligter. After this do not forget to scoop the rear wheel off the ground and push the arms forward. After this relax and straighten your arms and "brace for impact".
I hope that this helps you in any way...I am not in any way a professional of a teacher of mtb-ing  for that matter although I helped a few of my friends lift their wheels off the first time :)
P.s. the images for this answer were from Phil Kmetzs video on bunnyhopping (

            ). I do not claim the ownership of this video and/or images that I used.


This is a hard question to answer without narrowing down the question.  The question is very similar to "What's the best bike for me?" There are several different designs (frame) for doing suspension.  Then there are several different types of suspension (coil, air, elastomer, oil, material, etc).  Just like the different frame designs have strengths and weaknesses, the different shock/suspension types do as well.  Finally there is riding style and preference. None of that even takes into account the vastly different feels than can be accomplished on one bike now through suspension setup (tuning preload, return, etc).

If you took a very small travel suspension setup designed to be extremely light and responsive for XC racing (for example) and tried it off some drops and ledges, assuming you didn't damage it, you'd probably be disappointed with the feel for the cost.  Just as a good bike should be designed with a set of riding circumstances in mind, so should be suspension.  That XC rig might be worth $10K and worthy of a World Cup XC race, but if you decided to try it as an urban progressive bike or downhill rig, you are going to (likely) break it and/or be disappointed.  Similarly, if you took a $10K World Cup Downhill rig and tried to commute on it, or ride it on a XC style trail or course, it's going to feel like an unresponsive pig and wear you out.

In short, the best that you could hope to do was test a suspension setup on a trail, course or conditions you plan to ride and see how it feels.  Even then you'll likely need to make adjustments and such to get the setup right for a particular trail/course/staircase.


Are you still looking for stage maps?  I have the Tour DuPont program books from 1993, 1995 & 1996.  They include a map and a profile of each stage.  Also have Lance Armstrong's signature in the 1995 book.

edit - Here's a first snap of the overall maps for the three years.

Apologies for the quality - I've just snapped them with a phone in the meantime, and the glossy paper makes it hard to avoid reflections.  Better images will be coming, will scan the lot with a flatbed scanner.

1993:

1995:

1996:

EDIT Here's the complete 1993 magazine: https://criggie.org.nz/bikes/stackexchange/1993-dupont.pdf  Its 73 Mbytes.


My tube lose air once inside Tyre and mounted on wheel?

Check the rim for protrusions - is the rim tape misaligned?  Are there any lumps/bumps?  Any spoke ends prodruding just a bit too far?

Check the inside of the tyre/tire for lumps and bumps too.

Are you using a presta valve in a schrader-sized rim hole?  Could be opening a small hole there when pressurising.

Do you always put the tube in the same way around?   Try flipping it to move any weak point around.

Hmm - "weak point"  raises a thought...  Perhaps you should cut your losses and just fit a new tube.  They're consumable; I guess your current one has done its dash.   Don't want the weak point to turn into a blowout.


Very common on freewheel hubs. The gears extend beyond the bearing which puts a lot of stress on the drive side. With a casstte this is not the case. Personally I would upgrade.


Once you are already cramping, it's generally too late for electrolytes to have a great direct effect. Hydration on the other hand is often a cause of cramps and taking on fluids can provide fairly quick (couple of minutes) relief...and for some (myself include) absorbing fluids is faster if there are some electrolytes in the mix.

Good article on cramping at Livestrong: http://www.livestrong.com/article/413398-bananas-for-leg-cramps/

It suggests in a non-direct fashion that maintaining a diet with the right minerals will help prevent cramps in the first place...and this is where the banana comes in. Eat it before the cramps for best effect.

Happy Riding!


How to reduce cramping in hands (mountain biking)?

Your question suggests that you might hold your handle bars too tight.

A tense grip over a long tube leads inevitably to cramps.

If you are not going over technical terrain or going very fast it is usually safe to change grips and hold bars much more loosely. With experience you will develop a firm but not too tight grip also in technical sections.

Pressure on the palms of your hands may also cause numbness and/or pain.

The reason therefore is described in detail in Rich Manson's answer. Unergonomic hand and arm position on flat handlebars exacerbates this. Some grips, mitts, bars or a changed position on the bike might help. The latter is the easiest to fix: check if your position on the bike is good. See Craig Hicks' answer on how to improve your position on your bike.

Lastly, unless you are in a race, simply take a break from time to time. This helps immensely with many other forms of cycling discomfort caused by prolonged restrictions of movement.


Brake cable should go through gap in a screw, that is locked with a nut to the holder, connecting cable pulled by the lever with, as you called, helper. Sometimes a gap for the screw in holder is not circular. If you mis-oriented screw against the hole in holder, it rests outside the hole and does not tighten the cable.

Please, add also the photo of the screw that holds brake cable on the brake arm.
It looks like you have to unscrew that screw, pull more cable and then tight it. Also put a bit of oil on the cable where it goes through circular element.

I strongly advice reading article on adjusting cantilever brake. In short:

unscrew adjusting screw on the brake lever housing by 3 turns, secure it with nut.
unscrew brake pads holders, push the pads towards wheel as far as possible (this will increase braking force), tighten it a bit
unscrew brake cable holder on the brake arm, pull it as far as possible - pads should touch the rim. Tighten the screw.
Adjust pads that they are adjacent to the rim, tighten them
screw adjusting screw mentioned in pt 1 back.

adjust brake arms position witk screws on the bottom of them.


Will Shimano Acera 8 speed derailleur work on 6 speed freewheel?

It will work, at least with respect to the crucial functionality of correctly aligning the chain with the frewheel cogs, because all Shimano rear derailleurs intended for between 6 and 9 gears have the same derailleur shift ratio (equal to 1.7), which is the ratio between the sideways movement of the derailleur and the amount the cable is pulled. This means that both the Tourney and the RD-M360 derailleurs will move laterally the same amount for the same command of your shifter, so both will correctly align the chain with the frewheel cogs.


You did push the pistons full back into the calipers before installing the new pads, right? That should provide enough room for the new pads.

There seems to be a widespread misunderstanding about how hydraulic brakes work which leads people to think that removing some fluid will make more space for pads or set the pads further apart.

You cannot reduce the amount of fluid in hydraulic brakes, because it is variable and has a reservoir in the lever units to draw from. Fluid is drawn in to compensate for brake pad wear and gradual advancement of the caliper pistons. Also, fluid can move back and forth as the temperature changes and the fluid expands or contracts.

The way this works is when the levers are at their 'at rest' position the reservoir is connected to the lever cylinders by a small hole which allows fluid to move in or out. The first part of the travel of the lever piston in the  cylinder cuts off that hole to the reservoir and seals the system. Then, as the lever piston applies pressure the caliper pistons are pushed out to apply the pads against the rotor.

The small hole connecting the lever cylinder to the reservoir also allows you to push the caliper pistons back in to the calipers when replacing the pads.


Where are the bearings in thru axle hubs?

Many thru axel designs use cartridge bearings, which are not servicable (one replaces the cartridge bearing-- no more loose balls smushed in a greased filled cup and held in place by adjusting a cone nut).  Here and Here are schematics from Shimano of a rear and front hub featuring thru axels.  This particular model uses caged bearings, and I've selected this for clarity as the bearing balls are obvious and not hidden within a cartridge package.


Problem with chain skipping without trying to shift (even with new chain and gears)

The gears at the pedals are the chainrings. Replacing the middle one rather than the smallest if the smallest is where the problem happens is odd, but you've done it so move on.

In order, the things I would check now that you've done the above are:

rear derailleur hanger alignment (see answer here)
chain length (how to tell). If there's an extra link in your chain the extra slack in the lowest gear might be enough to let the chain skip. Especially if you're not in the largest rear cog at the time. Technique matters here - if you mostly use the lowest "granny gear", then shift back to the middle chainring rather than onto smaller rear cogs this "too much chain" problem will not happen.
frame damage, specifically cracks around the head tube, down tube and chainstays. In the smallest chainring is when the forces on the frame are highest, so problems will show up in this gear first. Clean the bike, then carefully check the frame for damage. If the paint is chipped or cracked paint over it (with paint or nail varnish, anything that dries hard) then do a test ride under the conditions that cause the problem and check the new paint for cracks. Any new cracks mean there's too much flex, and might mean underlying frame damage. Or possibly just that you're too heavy/strong for the frame.
try adjusting the rear cable while riding the bike. Frame flex is probably the issue here, and doing the adjustment with your weight on the bike might make the difference
try re-routing the gear cables in crossover rather than parallel. The gear cables cross under the down tube - the rear cable starts on the left hand side of the head tube. This may mean new cables. This addresses shifting while you're out of the saddle swinging the bike from side to side (lateral bending rather than vertical).
new gear cables and outers. This should have been done earlier if they're not in perfect condition. Even if they look perfect, if they're more than half a year old I'd replace them just because it'd be really annoying if this fixes the problem after I'd spent ages trying other things. It's ~$20 of parts, so it's cheap compared to what you've already spent.

With a new chain a sticky link really shouldn't be an issue, but just a question: you do lube your chain, right? Especially if this happens off road, a dirty chain might cause issues.

Edit: middle chainring, not smallest

That does change things. The "too much chain" option is unlikely, as is frame damage. I would really have to put the bike in a workstand at look at exactly what happens when you're using different rear cogs and the middle chainring. Also, check for wear/slop in the rear derailleur (can you push it back and forth without shifting the gear lever). Unfortunately it's in the "I'm not sure what exactly I would be looking for, just anything that doesn't look right".

Going to a different mechanic, especially one know to be an expert, is about all I can really suggest. Sorry.


Tire pressure decrease when the bike is idle

Answer: Your tube has a slow leak, this cannot be found by pouring water on the outside of the tyre.

Get the tube out of the tyre, which means unmounting the wheel and maybe releasing the brakes.

Inflate the bare tube to about 5 PSI, no more than a couple of strokes of the pump.

Slowly submerge the tube, one section at a time into a bowl of clean plain water.  Look for bubbles to form and rise to the surface.

Since the tube takes hours to go flat, it won't be a big hole  Once you find it, mark with some tape or chalk or something.

Dry the tube, and run through the patching process.  Remember to buff the tube lightly, apply enough fluid to cover an area bigger than your patch, leave the fluid 5-10 minutes to dry completely before applying the patch, and to roll the patch on hard using a round coin or other pressure - fingers aren't enough.

Then you can inflate the tube to 5 psi and check for more leaks... there can easily be multiple holes.

If your valve is leaking, just buy another tube of the same dimensions and fit it carefully.

If you've never done this kind of thing before, ask family and friends for some hands-on help.  Its not hard to do, but some things are better watched than explained.


Do disc brake rims ever need to be replaced?

Aluminum alloys have a zero or very low endurance limit (amplitude (or range) of cyclic stress that can be applied to the material without causing  fatigue failure).

Aluminum rims will therefore eventually fatigue and crack, most likely from nipple holes as this is where force is applied and stress is concentrated.


Giant's page on the Conduct semi-hydraulic brake system says that, emphasis mine:

There's no need to replace your mechanical brake lever or handlebar tape - simply shorten your current cable housing, then mount the new master cylinder on your Giant Contact SL or Contact stem.

It appears that the lowest-end Contact stem is $53 in the US. This is more expensive than other low-end stems. However, if this stem fits (as Giant's page indicates it should), then it's going to be less expensive than buying and installing hydraulic shifters and brakes (or, alternatively, getting a good cable-actuated brake, probably a cable-actuated hydraulic one like the TRP Hy-Rd, plus good compressionless housing).
Stems in general do not have interchangeable face plates, i.e. there's no industry standard for the spacing between bolts. In most cases, riders won't need to interchange face plates.
I agree with juhist that we almost never want to interfere with a rider's freedom to choose their stem. Newer riders need some time to figure out their desired stem length. Even established riders may see their needs change over time and they may need to change stem length and orientation. Fortunately, the solution in this case does not appear to be terribly onerous.


Are bicycle registration websites any use for recovering stolen bikes?

The two questions that I think matter are:

which sites do your local bikes shops check all the bikes that come in against?
which sites do your local police check bikes they receive against?

In my experience bike shops very rarely check bikes at all, largely because so few are registered (and a relatively low proportion of serviced bikes are stolen). When we have checked it's been because of something like filed-off serial numbers or a DIY repaint job, and we've not ever had any joy doing so. Even ringing the police in one case didn help - the bike hadn't been reported as stolen.

As far as the police go, I've been told by one officer that at least in Australia the best you can hope for is them typing the serial number(s) into google.

You're better off keeping a record of the serial number and reporting your bike stolen with those details, because the police do actually check serial numbers (it's built into the computer systems).

One thing that also helps is carving your ID number (national ID, driver's licence, whatever is common in your country) into the frame or something obvious like the outside face of the cranks. That makes it irritating to remove and again, easy for the police to identify but not easy for anyone else. If you have access to an engraving tool itś not hard to do this (practice on something first!), but of course it also makes your bike hard to sell.


Which hubs are you thinking about?

It would be very hard to make a carbon hub flange strong enough to withstand spoke tension, assuming you are building a wheel with conventional spokes.  Most carbon hubs I have seen use aluminum flanges, and the few which offer significant weight savings are ultralight equipment not for general use.

Carbon probably won't replace the axle, bearings, freehub, or quick release, either.  So you're talking about a few inches of tubing being carbon instead of aluminum, and you're trading the one-piece hub shell for something assembled.  The hub is subject to considerable stress from riding so it's not an area where it makes sense to compromise.


Are there advantages of dedicated bike computer instead of smartphone apps?

I recently thought that my smartphone would replace my bike computer, but have come to the conclusion that the bike computer is better.

Here are the reasons.

One is that the phone is much larger.
Second is mounting. (Whether a suitable mount is available depends on the phone model.)
Third, and this is important... is that smartphones are not designed to sit out exposed to hot sun, extreme temps, and rain; all of which commonly occur in serious cycling.
Fourth is ease of use. My bike computer was specifically designed to sit on the handlebars with easy access to most all functions and in typical cycling conditions. The smartphone is not.
Fifth, my smartphone is important to my professional life. So, having it destroyed in a bike crash would not be good at all.
Sixth, definitely battery life; although I suppose this depends on the particular phone. (On a recent century+, my riding partner brought along 3 extra batteries and used them all, for his HTC Evo...and my bike computer was still humming along at the end of the day)

A few months back, I bought a smartphone handlebar mount and case which all looked fine in the comfort of my basement. Anyway, once on the bike and in real conditions, it was unusable. The worst thing was that in the glare of sun, I couldn't even see the screen. Also, changing functions was a pain because of the case. Anyway, I rapidly went back to my bike computer.

BTW...I do carry my phone with me and use Endomondo. However, the phone stays in my jersey pocket; but for typical ride data I use the bike specific computer.


Chain pops off guide pulley when pedaling

I think the chain is not tensioned enough. Since you did not change the chain, or the crank, just the tires, the wheel position seems to me to be the culprit.

From the last picture it looks like the axle was farther behind (see paint chipped ... or at least I am seeing it, maybe it is an artifact?)

So, release the nut, slide the wheel more to the back in the guides and then close the nuts. Setting the gear in the small rings (back and front) should help you pushing the wheel back.


This is one reason why we keep them on the left.


What are the advantages of the Burley hitch design?

The spring hitches seem to be a cheap/simple way to allow the flexibility needed to both bend and twist when the tow bike corners, but they have an annoying side effect. In my experience when accelerating hard on a bike with a loaded trailer connected by a spring hitch you can feel the spring stretch with each hard pedal pulse then snap back in to place with a bump.

So Burley might have this new design to eliminate this bouncing effect.

Chariot/Thule hitches don't use a spring, they use both a ball joint and a flex polymer arm which makes them feel a lot better.  Their ball joint rotates easily for normal cornering and leaning, and the stiff polymer doesn't normally flex or stretch noticeably but can bend in extreme situations as a kind of 'fuse' to save the aluminium arm from breaking and/or the bike frame.


Convert Cannondale Quick5 Hybrid to a road bike?

This kind-of depends on what you mean by 'road bike'. The definition can include road-oriented hybrids such as yours, touring bikes and drop-bar 'racing' bikes. Let's assume you you want a 'racing' style bike designed for higher speeds.

It's possible to make the conversion, in a way; but it will probably not be worth it in terms of cost and you'll end up with a poor compromise that isn't really what you want.

Others have provided answers that deal with mountain to road component swaps and compatibility issues. If you need to replace the bars shifters and entire drivetrain you would do better to sell the hybrid and buy a bike of the type you want.

The other major problem is frame geometry. Your hybrid has a 'relaxed' more upright geometry with slower, more stable steering; racing bikes have a more 'aggressive' leant-forward geometry with faster, less stable steering. Even if you put a drop bar on the hybrid you are not getting away from the intrinsic geometry of the hybrid, so you won't really end up with a racing bike.

BTW, if you want a slightly more aggressive riding position on the hybrid, you can lower the handlebars by lowering the stem on the steerer tube by moving one or more of the spacers from below it to above it, and flipping the stem over so it points slightly downwards instead of upwards.


Quick link too easy to remove after installation, is this a problem?

If the link can be easily opened just with your fingers I’d say that’s unacceptable. I don’t know what the probability of the chain coming apart is, but I would not risk it.
Quick links are relatively inexpensive so just replace it.


This is very much opinion based question. I'd say that 5700 is still above current day Sora and a very solid choice indeed. I'll also argue with some of the comments that 10.5kg is heavy, especially at the price point of 300 EUR. As a comparison Triban 520 RC (praised to be extremely good value alu/carbon bike for packing partial Shimano 105 groupset in 750 EUR) is 10.3kg. There are very few bikes under 9kg that cost less than 1000 EUR and probably none under 10kg for 500 EUR or less.

Actually, at this price point, this is probably way above anything else you might be able to get.


Easiest bicycle to assemble? Single speed?

I would suggest that before you decide to build a single speed/fixie consider if this is a type of bike you are likely to use when it's complete. One aspect that has to be considered is the cost of the specialty tools required for the assembly. While many enthusiasts consider the cost an investment, it is none the less an expense. Part of the problem with your first build may be determining what tools you will need prior to the actual assembly. Do you need a headset installation tool or will it be a drop-in unit. what bottom bracket type and what brand will require different tools. Will the wheels have serviceable bearings requiring special wrenches or pressed in bearings. None of this is insurmountable but can be frustrating. My suggestion is to take your time picking up components when the price and quality meet your expectations. Shop around noting the average price so you can take advantage of exceptional deals. Them acquire what ever tools you need to mount the specific component. I have done this several times and the time frames ranged from 30 days to 7 months.


Does anyone make a clamping spoke wrench?

The Park SW-10 is exactly what you are looking for. It can really save the day. If possible, use it (and a healthy dose of light lubricant) the moment that you notice any stripping to completely remove and replace the damaged nipple. I've seen very old versions of identical design, and wouldn't be surprised to learn if it dated back to penny-farthing days.


How do you switch grip shifters from shifting as if they were on the opposite derailleur?

It sounds like you have accidently mixed up the cables and routed the front dérailleur cable to the rear shifter and vice versa.

You can change them so that the front shifter goes to the front dérailleur pretty easily. Just swap them at the shifters.


Restoring/modernizing an old cheap(ish) bike

There's a lot of questions in here. My suggestion is to read through https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help and http://sheldonbrown.com/ instead of asking a separate question for everything.

Brake cables are thicker than shift cables, and the outer cables are constructed differently. There are different variants of the cable ends for both, you need the correct one. "An older bike like this" is not enough information to guess which one you need, there are a lot of different old bikes sold as "Raleigh Horizon".
We don't really do product recomendations because they tend to be location-specific and information gets out of date. Once again, we need more information to tell which cassette or freewheel fits your bike.
The above applies for shifters, which I guess you mean by "shift nobs".
If the tires and brake pads are original, replacing them with new decent quality ones is a huge improvement.

What you didn't ask but I'd recommend anyway: lubricate the chain and cables and adjust the gears before buying anything. The shifters are probably stuck because of old, dirty grease, and cleaning them with WD-40, CRC 5-56 or similar should help.

Update after pictures: This style of shift lever can be completely disassembled and greased. If you want to replace the sprockets, what you need is a 6-speed freewheel and appropriate tool for removing the old one. New one can be screwed on by hand. Newer freewheels have teeth shaped for easier shifting, so upgrading may improve shifting. If you change to a new freewheel, you need to replace the old chain too, because it has worn together with the old freewheel. The correct cables are MTB-style for brakes and road-style for shifting.