Does anyone have experience with wooden saddles?

The description sounds like it is made up of multiple layers, boats built that way are very strong. Being thin, the wood will flex and return to its original shape – I wouldn't expect it to be like a Brooks saddle that molds itself to fit you over time. I think these saddles will be comfortable right out of the box. Or not. This article, The Four and a Half Rules of Road Saddles, helped me sort out what to look for in a comfortable saddle.

Check out the maintenance the saddle requires. If the wood is not well sealed or if the sealing material wears out over time the saddle will start to fail (both from UV damage to the wood and from damage to the glue joints as the wood expands and contracts as its moisture level changes).

Those are beautiful. Looks like parts are available too. Nice.


What tint colors are most useful for cycling sunglasses?

There are many factors that influence choices. -  terrain you ride, sunlight intensity, shade effects etc, and personal preference. A quick internet search will give you technical answers on what colors do look here .

For me personally, I mostly Mountain Bike, I live in New Zealand, which has extremely high UV light levels. Therefore I do not venture out for more than an hour without some protection. I will use different glasses for different rides, but only because I have them. For use while riding, the all rounder is Yellow, for other things as well, I would head towards amber. If correct color perception is important, then you will struggle to get glass that work as well as Yellows/Amber's - especially in low light.

The advantage of the blue filters (blue blockers) is they lift depth perception and contrast - maybe roadies don't need it, but off road MTB it is a definite advantage.

Clear - I use these where protection from things other than sunlight is desirable (insects, sticks, dust etc), and maximum use of available light essential - mostly night riding.

Yellow - I use these a majority of my riding. Do a great job at smoothing the transition from shade to full sunlight (i.e. I can see into dark forest from bright sunlight). On bright days, let too much light in for comfort (But still protect from damaging UV). Mine are specific sports style - not really a fashion accessory....

Amber - Similar to yellow, but filter more light, making the shade a bit darker. Probably my most versatile sun glasses - use them when the yellows will look dorky -rides with family, beached etc.

Blue/polarised -  Better color perception so I use the driving, fishing and general wear. Mine are pretty much towards the "fashion" end of the style range, not good for riding - too dark for forests.


How do you protect the underside of your brooks leather saddle?

Brooks recommends applying a layer of proofide to the bottom of the saddle. However, you should not wipe this layer off after it sets. Just leave it on, and it will protect the underside.

Personally, I also recommend fenders for a bike that you plan to use frequently in the rain. This will also drastically reduce the amount of water that splashes up into the underside of your saddle. However, only a "permanent" full-size fender will really provide this protection — removable ones don't protect the seat tube, and the spray from water hitting that is the primary source of the water that gets under the saddle.


Bicycle computers with nonvolatile memory

I am also searching for a computer with non-volatile memory.
According to Sigma the computers

BC 5.16
BC 7.16
BC 7.16 ATS
BC 9.16
BC 9.16 ATS
PURE 1 (according to the reply from Sigma customer service)

do not save your values after a battery change (however, you can manually set the odometer). And following Sigma computers retain data:

BC 14.16
BC 16.16
BC 14.16 STS
BC 16.16 STS
BC 23.16 STS

According to VDO M Zero loses memory after battery change.
But following VDO models have non-volatile memory:

M1.1 WR/WL
M2.1 WR/WL
M3.1 WR/WL
M4.1 WR/WL
M5
M6.1
M7 GPS

All settings must be re-entered for bike computers Prophete 0511, 0512, 0531 after the batteries have been inserted.


Custom bike to offer smoothest possible ride on bad roads

Based on your requirements I would say full suspension fat bike
A few manufactures make them

That bike is $6500 retail but you did not state a budget

Not worth switching out tires as they are expensive but when you wear them out go with more street (will less knobby) tires

If you are on a budget I think I would go with lower end fat bike before a full suspension.  But I am not saying full suspension would be wrong.

I know I usually post a Salsa if I post a bike but I am not associated with Salsa.  I own 2 and it is a brand I am familiar with.


(a) Friction is gone on the right on 10/11 sp dura ace (they apparently save a spring while doing this, which probably simplifies things a little bit aside from interest in this). Microshift BS-T10 bar ends are 10 speed, front friction with rear switchable, and you can probably mount them on the downtube with a bit of work.

(b) Other friction shifters should be fine.

(c) SRAM among others do.

I'd think going with a 9 speed system may be easier (you can find Dura Ace SL-7700 shifters with index+friction for cheap).


My friend wants to sell a second hand helmet, I strongly dissagree, am I correct?

I personally would not sell or give away a bike helmet that is not brand new, kept in its packaging or is guaranteed to be unused and undamaged.

Bike helmets protect the head in a collision by absorbing energy and breaking down. Any prior damage takes away from the ability to absorb energy. It's impossible to truly know what damage a used helmet has sustained, therefore, you should not use such a helmet yourself nor pass on a helmet on to anyone else because you have no idea how it will perform in a crash. Yes, you can inspect the helmet for marks on the shell that would indicate if the helmet has taken any impacts, but it's not reliable enough, IMHO.

However, if your friend fully discloses how he got the helmet and that its history is unknown then he is acting ethically, because your friends can decide to take the risk or not.


Separating the gear hanger from the derailleur

It is likely that you need more leverage. Off the bike the derailer and hanger will be hard to hold. If you have a vice you could clamp the hanger in the jaws and then turn the mounting bolt counter-clockwise. With the hanger held firmly the wrench you're using may be sufficient – and the penetrating oil suggested by @Frisbee in the comment above will certainly help.

If you're still having trouble loosening it, first look at the back of the hanger (the side towards the wheel) to see that the bolt and hanger haven't been "staked" – sometimes parts that are fastened together with threads, but which aren't meant to be taken apart, will have the threads intentionally damaged to prevent loosening. If that has been done you can probably still get it loose, but it will take more effort. It might be worth just getting another hanger if you have a local bike shop (LBS).

In either case (staked or just hard to move) a longer wrench is in order – if you have one, great – but if you don't there are a number of ways to "cheat" one is to use a length of pipe over the end of your existing wrench, another is to use an adjustable wrench to grip the end of the existing wrench, you can also hook the end of a box wrench over the existing wrench. Just be careful as you improvise to think about avoiding slips – they can hurt!

For inspiration:


I am 182 cm tall. Is a road bike with a frame height 54cm good for me?

I am 175cm tall. I rode a road bike recently with a 56cm frame. I it had been any bigger I wouldn't have been able to ride it safely. 54 or 52cm would have been a better fit.

I suspect that a 54cm frame would be a bit small for you, but not painfully so. Get a 56 if you can.


Commuting: How to carry office clothing so it doesn't get crushed?

You have two options, essentially: You can either carry each day's clothing on every trip, or store clothing at work.

Carrying clothing daily

If you're going to do this, you'll need to find a way to roll up your clothing so it's not completely wrinkled. Be aware that even packing clothing in the most wrinkle-free way possible will still not keep it as fresh-looking as when you pull it out of the closet.

Many business travelers have found that the best way to transport clothing is to roll it. Do some searching, not on bike sites, but on business sites, and you'll find videos that get into this in more detail. But the gist: Fold along seams, then roll your clothing. The parts that must be least wrinkled (shirt collar, for example) should remain on the outside. You can also experiment with rolling around a towel, leaving some extra towel at the end and then rolling that around the bundle. This will become your clean-up towel at work.

As you're showering at work (or taking a sink bath), hang your clothing up and let it hang up a bit. Allow a little extra time for this.

It's worth noting at this point that many people continue to sweat even after they stop exercising, so you may want to wait ten to fifteen minutes before showering. (Riding gently for the last mile or three can also help.)

There are special cases that hold clothes, but they all (to my knowledge) involve folding them. I think that this will invariably crease the clothing.

Storing clothing at work

If you have a spare closet or other space where you can leave clothing hanging at work, this is a great option. Consider doing a half-commute on Mondays, carrying the bike and clothing in, then riding home. On Friday, reverse the process.

If you have a space like this, you can also leave shoes there, and possibly even a travel iron for touching up clothes (if you want to look particularly sharp).

You might consider leaving a spare outfit at work in any case. I always worried that I would forget, say, underwear, or a belt, so I left an older set of clothing in my locker.

If your work doesn't have a space like this, look into nearby gyms. Some gyms will let you use the showers and locker room for a small fee, one that's smaller than a gym membership. Some larger businesses even have gyms on-site for employees.

It's worth noting that commutes of a mile or two may not require changing at all, but you'll still have these things to deal with in very hot or cold weather, or when riding in the rain. (Edit: Your 6k commute is a bit long for this, but it's still good advice in general.)

Best of luck on the commute! Speaking from personal experience, I recommend allowing a lot of extra time the first few commutes, and also doing a dry run of the route (if you haven't already). Also consider talking to any cycling co-workers: Some of them may have solved the problems related to your specific workplace.


How to remove a lock ring if there is no cassette?

Pad the freehub body with rags, hold it with a big pipe wrench or vice grips.
Another possibility is holding the freehub body pointing downwards in a vice with plastic soft-jaws (or padded with rags, again). If you position the freehub at the side of the jaws you can probably get the lockring tool in underneath.


"Optimal" cadence varies with what you're trying to optimze, so your question doesn't have a simple answer.

Freely-chosen Cadence vs. a Targeted Cadence

A recent review by Hansen et al. summarizes what is currently known about factors affecting choice of cadence. In particular, they conclude "[d]uring high-intensity cycling, close to the maximal aerobic power output, cyclists choose an energetically economical cadence that is also favorable for performance. In contrast, the choice of a relatively high cadence during cycling at low-to-moderate intensity is uneconomical and could compromise performance during prolonged cycling." The first sentence means that experienced cyclists freely choose the cadence that produces good performances and they don't need to have someone dictate what that cadence is. The last sentence means that having an inappropriate cadence forced on you can be detrimental to performance.

Cadence and Power

The relatively recent proliferation of on-bike power meters that record both power and cadence has helped provide additional data that bears on the issue. By definition, a cyclist's power output = cadence * crank torque * a conversion constant (the conversion constant depends on the units you use for measuring power, cadence, and torque; if you measure power in watts, cadence in radians per second, and crank torque in Newton meters, the conversion constant is 1). If you are racing at high power, or riding leisurely at low power along a bike path with your children, or on a spirited ride with friends, you will certainly choose different power levels; what has become clear from the data is that riders, even very experienced ones, choose different combinations of cadence and crank torque to match higher or lower levels of power. They do not always choose a fixed cadence and change gears in order to keep in robotic lockstep with that number.

Cadence and the Type of Ride

But even if we exclude leisurely riding and focus only on racing (at high power), cadence and crank torque vary according to the type of race. Here are cadence-crank torque plots for the same (domestic pro) rider in three different types of races: a road race, a criterium race, and a time trial. Torque is measured in Newton-meters, while cadence is measured in rpm. The thin red dotted lines show the combinations of cadence and torque that produce 300, 500, and 700 watts. As you may be able to see, the three different types of races call for different combinations of cadence and crank torque. The time trial shown here was done at a relatively steady power level but the road race and criterium race were much more variable. For those races, the rider attained higher power by increasing both cadence and crank torque. This is a quite common pattern for road racing, and it helps to explain why observers often remark that racers pedal at high cadence: the racers are also pedaling at high power and high crank torque but the only visible clue is the high cadence. This, then, is the basis for the sentences quoted from Hansen et al. above: the cadence used to produce high power appears to be neither economical nor performance-enhancing at low power. Just because you see a Tour de France rider pedal at X rpm doesn't mean you should pedal at X rpm (unless you also produce Tour de France levels of power). Likewise, just because you see that a Tour de France rider spends little of his time at Y rpm doesn't mean you should avoid pedaling at Y rpm. Your needs, abilities, and goals will differ.

Cadence and Terrain

Your question also asked whether cadence varies with terrain. Here is a plot of cadence and torque for a rider who was doing a set of hill intervals. The upper left panel shows his cadence and torque over the entire ride. The upper right panel shows the elevation profile for his ride; as can be seen, the ride was slightly rolling from his house out to a hill which he climbed and descended four times, then he returned home over the rolling road. That upper right panel marks the climbing portion of his ride in red. The bottom two panels show his cadence and torque for the corresponding black and red portions of the ride. As before, the thin dotted lines (this time, in blue) show "isopower contours." Clearly, he used different combinations of cadence and torque on the climbing sections than on the descending and rolling sections.

To emphasize this point, here is a plot that shows cadence vs. estimated road gradient for ProTour rider Gustav Larsson during Stage 3 of the 2009 Tour of California. As you can see, even if we exclude periods of coasting, his cadence varied from around 20 rpm up to around 120 rpm, and as the road gradient became steeper, his cadence decreased.

Cadence and Crank Torque

Do you wonder about the relationship between cadence and crank torque? Here is a plot showing another rider in a "pure" hill climb. The upper left panel shows the relationship between cadence and power; the upper right shows the relationship between crank torque and power; and the bottom two panels show the relationship between cadence and crank torque, one with and one without isopower contours. The bottom panels make clearer that there is often an inverse relationship between cadence and crank torque, but the upper panels show that in this instance crank torque was a larger determinant of power output than cadence.

Cadence and Knee Strain

Some riders claim that slow cadences (below, say, 60 rpm) can injure knees. However, slow cadence cannot by itself injure knees; as you sit at your desk reading these words, your “cadence” is almost surely close to zero but the force on your knees is also low. Riders who make these claims are conflating low cadence with high force. From the plots provided it should be clear that one of the simplest ways to expose the knees to lower force is simply to ride at lower power. Riding at 60 rpm at low power can be done with low pedal force; riding at 90 rpm at high power must be done with high pedal force. So level of power output (also known as “workload”) is a key to understanding joint strain. In the mid-1980s, M. Ericson published a series of studies examining forces on the hip, knee, ankle, foot, and the leg muscles during cycling including this one. Importantly, he concluded, “[o]f the four parameters studied (workload, pedalling rate, saddle height, pedal foot position) workload was the most important adjustment factor for change of joint load and muscular activity. An increased pedalling rate increased the muscular activity in most of the muscles investigated, generally without changing the joint load. Increased saddle height decreased the maximum flexing knee load moment, but did not significantly change the flexing hip or dorsiflexing ankle load moment. Muscular activity in most of the muscles investigated was not generally changed by different saddle heights.”

Cadence and trainers

Some riders will use their indoor trainers and observe that their "preferred"
cadence (perhaps for a particular level of power or heart rate) is X rpm, and then try to ride at that rpm outdoors. As we have seen above, freely-chosen cadence varies with terrain, power, and the way that resistance scales with speed. Of importance here is that trainers also vary in the way that resistance scales with speed. Below you can see a plot for the same rider on two different types of trainers but using the same gear ratio on both: a trainer with a fluid resistance unit, and on rollers. Each dot shows the cadence and crank torque at one second intervals. As you can see, these two types of trainers have very different resistance curves, with the rollers being much "flatter" with increasing rpm. In order to attain the same power, the rider appears to choose higher cadence (and lower crank torque). In order to attain the same level of power (say, 175 watts) the rider's freely chosen cadence varies with the type of resistance. "Transferring" indoor trainer cadence to an outdoor ride ignores both that outdoor rides vary, but also that trainers vary.

"...but..but the hour record is set at high cadence!"

Yes, most of the UCI hour records over the last 50 years have been set with cadences from about 100 rpm to 107 rpm (with the notable exception of Obree, who set his records at 93 and 95 rpm). However, the hour record is set with a fixed-gear bicycle on a track and, more importantly, all of the records have been set at high power and high crank torque. Below you can see the cadence and crank torque for many of the recent hour records based on data from Bassett et al.; the plot shows that for recent records set at sea level, average power ranged from around 370 to 460 watts and crank torque ranged from 36 to 43 Nm. One wouldn't tell a novice rider to pedal at a constant crank torque of 40 Nm yet many advise novices to ride at close to 100 rpm. Using the cadence of world record setting events achieved on a fixed gear on a velodrome track as a guide for more general riding makes about as much sense as using the crank torque of the same world record setting events achieved on a fixed gear on a velodrome track as a guide for more general riding.

Conclusion

The conclusion from all of this is that cadence varies both with the ride and with the rider. In that sense, asking about "optimal cadence" is, in isolation of the characteristics of the ride and rider, a red herring. Without the proper context, asking about optimal cadence is like asking about optimal power, or optimal crank torque.


First shift up after shifting down only moves as I'm releasing the lever not on both the click in and click out of the lever like the consecutive ones

Not really anything wrong there. You'll want to slowly pedal (with your hand!) while working on the derailleurs. Shifting like this simply creates more and more tension until it's unable to move the chain anymore sideways. Chains can only move so far sideways.

Also make sure the cable is free to move easily within the housing. Dropping a bit of (chain) lube at the ends and pulling it into the housing can already help a lot.


Giant Defy 2018 front brake cable routing problem

I did a quick google image search on 'Giant Defy 2018', found a couple of pics from the left hand side of the bike.

The front brake cable is supposed to run outside then down the back of the left fork leg.

As you are assembling this yourself I guess you did not purchase at a bike store. If you did though, take it back and have them fix the issue and check for other problems.


I could change that directly on the cable on the brake

I think by that you mean undoing the cable attachment bolt, pulling the cable tight and re-attaching it. You are correct, that's not the way to adjust mechanical disc brakes, unless you have lots of cable slack that needs to be taken out.

Different models of mechanical disc brakes have different adjustment controls, so you should look up the manual for what you have on your bike. The Kona Rove ST has TRP Spyre C calipers, the manual for which is here.

The manual says there is a barrel adjuster on the caliper and a pad adjuster. (I think this moves just the outer pad so you would need to re-align the caliper if you use this adjuster, but you probably need to do that anyway).


What's the purpose of this part of Topeak Hexus II multitool?

This is the other clip end of the tire lever.  The tire lever with the clip is intended to go in first and hold the lever in place (by clipping onto a spoke) while you use the other lever (with your hand) to go around the rim and break the bead.

If you check the "Using Tire Levers" section of the manual, you can see the clip being used to secure the first lever to a spoke.


I have changed the chain after my gauge showed that it's .75 worn. New chain jumps anyway. Why? How to deal with it?

The previous answers appear to have missed the fact that with 11s and higher drivetrains, the current consensus appears to be replacing the chain once it hits 0.5% wear. At .75%, riders will frequently need a new cassette. While this obviously seems expensive, many 11s and higher cassettes are even more expensive. On the road, our outer chainrings are also very expensive, and we really don't want to wear those.
In comments, the OP said they used a dry lubricant. Dry lubes contain some lubricant, usually wax-based, in a carrier fluid. The fluid evaporates. Some empirical testing has shown that many dry lubes are poor lubricants. White Lightning's dry lube is a particularly clear example: if you examine a bottle that's been sitting on the shelves, you'll see that it's mostly a clearish fluid, and a small amount of residue at the bottom. The residue is what dries off and lubricates the chain. In a wear test of White Lightning Epic Ride, Adam Kerin agreed that it made for a clean running drivetrain. The price of this was one of the highest wear rates he has tested. He described the test chains as sounding dry very quickly, which is an indicator that there is not much actual lubricant in the chain.
High-performing dry lubes (i.e. produce long chain life and low drivetrain friction) do exist, but they require very thorough cleaning of the chain before application. This involves repeated solvent baths, and preferably removing any solvent residue with an alcohol bath afterward. I think that the OP's choice of a dry lube probably shortened their chain life. I would suggest switching to a good wet lube. If the OP just does the same chain cleaning routine described in the comments, I bet this would produce markedly better chain life.
If the OP wanted to go one step further, I think that an on-bike chain cleaner is relatively simple to implement. I am not sure how much difference wiping the chain with degreaser on a rag makes; what you ideally want to do is to get the dirt off the chain surface and out from inside the chain, at least as much as possible. A rag and degreaser shouldn't clean inside the chain. I'm not sure if it will remove more dirt than simply wiping the chain.
Fun fact: in chain wear testing, i.e. when comparing different chains (as opposed to different lubricants) for durability, Kerin now uses White Lightning dry lube to shorten the chain life, so that he can complete the tests in a reasonable interval. To my knowledge, he only has one test rig.


Why do my pedals move when I move my wheel in both directions? How do I fix it?

This bike definitely has a derailleur and is not intended to operate as a fixie (i.e. something is definitely broken.)

A normally functioning multi-speed bicycle has a mechanism that allows it to pedal forward and coast (freewheel) when standing on the pedals. Many older or cheaper bicycles have a "freewheel" which accomplishes this. Other bicycles have a freewheel integrated into the hub body, a "freehub." They're essentially the same mechanism - a ratchet with a few pawls.

In all likelihood, the pawls inside of the freehub or inside of the freewheel have seized or have come apart. Procure a can of penetrating oil and spray the seam where the cogs and the hub meet (i.e. where it is supposed to rotate. I've included a photo with arrows indicating where to spray. Be careful not to get oil on your rims or brake pads.)

If this doesn't loosen it up, you'll need to either replace the freewheel or overhaul/replace your rear hub.


Chainring bolt stuck in 105 FC 5800 chainring

The bolts are sacrificed - they'll be for the bin once you get them out.
Since they're only finger tight it could be crossed thread, or possibly bad tolerances.  Could also be brand new threads somewhere with poor cleanup leading to galling, so some assembly paste might have helped.

Start with simple things before breaking out the leverage bar.

Warm the chainring/spider/bolts area with a hairdryer (ie warm not hot) or leave it in bright warm sunlight for a couple hours.
Put down a drop cloth then add some penetrating oil around the bolts.  Leave it for 8-12 hours and repeat for a couple of days.
Now try your tool and see if they come loose easier.

Since the fitment is stripped, you may find another tool fits better.  An old flathead screwdriver can sometimes be used as a chisel to force a slot.  Same goes for Torx/star drivers - they are excellent at cutting a channel with some hammer blows.   Expect to break/damage the torx bit.

Another option is to use a Dremel and a cutoff wheel to cut a slot into the chainring bolts.  Then the big flathead screwdriver has something to fit into.  Risk of damaging other parts.

If the shoulders of the bolt head are visible, you might be able to get some pliers on the sides and undo them that way.

Sometimes two clean dry fingers/thumbs will work - one either side pushing together may rotate them.

Getting more brutal, you could purchase an "easy out" screw extractor kit.  To use these you need to drill a hole into the bolt and then reverse an extractor into the hole which will eventually bite and unscrew the bolt.   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Screw_extractor

Nasty time - you may be able to weld a bolt into the stripped bolt to give you something to grab.  Personally I've never had success doing this.

Last resort might be to put a chain on the bike and then pedal about the yard, not a road.  Stay firmly seated!  Ideally this will produce enough rocking motion to back out the bolts, at least enough to slot or to grab with pliers.


What do I need to look for when buying a new rear wheel?

The wheel's hub has one of three possible rotor mounts - there's 6 bolts, two sizes of centerlock, and a very small chance of something else weird.

You need a hub that matches your rotor's mounts.  And yes there are adapters available, but you should buy what fits properly.  Do buy new bolts rather than reusing the old ones.

You have a 10 speed cassette, so you need a hub that takes a 10 speed cassette.  I believe 8-11 are all the same depth but the inter-cog spacing drops.
You probably will get a new skewer with your new wheel.  They're relatively cheap, you probably want a 135mm long one for the rear.  Your bike does not suit through-axles so you require QR-based wheels, or wheels that have adapters for QRs.  Wearing away like this might be a sign of something else being wrong.
Yes, but it gets messy very fast.  Refer to the large collection of existing Q&A on this:

Can I combine different wheel sizes in one mtb?
Is it worth swapping MTB front forks/wheel to ISO 584/27.5" from ISO559/26"?
Can I change my 28" wheels for 24"?
Disadvantages of run 650B wheelset on a 29'er
There are a lot of questions with very good answers on this site - do search them out.


What makes a good entry level road bike?

Things to consider are that when you buy a new bike it is a mix of different components, which are then packaged together and you receive a discount on the sum of the parts. This means that different manufacturers attempt to save money by using cheaper items for certain pieces of the overall puzzle.

The major headline items are the frame, gear system, brakes and wheels - everything else is (relatively) cheaper. So consider the things that are easy to change when you feel like upgrading. It's trivial to change the wheels, it's harder to change the brakes, harder still the gears and a new frame means a total rebuild.

So that's the priority when considering a bike.

Make sure the frame fits well - ideally it will be perfect, but different uses require different frame sizes/geometries (time trials, road racing, training, commuting, leisure rides) so perfection means different bikes.
Choose the gearings and brakes - you don't want to get into a huge Shimano vs. Campag Vs SRAM debate, though - frankly they're all much of a muchness unless you know a lot more than I do
Wheels are supremely important, but also easier to change. Deeper rims are faster, having fewer spokes is generally faster, lighter is better. And you can spend as much on a pair of wheels as a second hand car.
Everything else is a bonus and easier still to change (saddles, handle bars, cranks, etc.)

At each stage spend as much money as you feel you can, you will always be able to spend more. But ultimately for a new machine it isn't worth building your own, you will get a better deal buying it whole and complete, but you should purchase with half an eye on what bits they've skimped on and which you can upgrade down the line.


What are your country's rules or regulations for the colors of reflectors or lights?

New Zealand

Legal requirements for your bike:

Brakes on front and back wheels (just on the back if it was made before 1 January 1988).
A rear reflector visible from 100 metres when light shines on it.
If you want to ride your cycle on the road during the hours of darkness, it must  have:

one or two white or amber headlights that can be seen from a distance of 100 metres (one of these headlights may flash)
one or more red rear facing lights that can be seen from a distance of 100 metres  (this may be steady or flashing), and
pedal retroreflectors on the forward and rearward facing surfaces of each pedal (or if the bike does not have these the cyclist must be wearing reflective material).

Your responsibilities

It’s up to you (the rider) to:

make sure your cycle is fitted with brakes, lights and reflectors that comply with the law
wear your cycle helmet
follow the road rules.

If you don’t, you could get an infringement fine or be taken to
court.

What are the ‘hours of darkness’?

Legally, ‘hours of darkness’ means:

any period of time between half an hour after sunset on one day and half an hour before sunrise on the next day,   or
any other time when there isn’t sufficient daylight for a person or vehicle to be clearly visible at a distance of 100  metres.

That's all from the accessible "fact sheet" http://www.nzta.govt.nz/assets/resources/factsheets/01/docs/01-cycles.pdf dated February 2014.

Note the onus is on the rider of the bike to make sure its legal, not the owner should that be different.


How many fingers on the brakes for a road bike?

While @Batman makes some good points, round here we have some descents on narrow country lanes with high hedges and poor road surfaces. Modulating speed is much more important than on the open road. You might get up to 50 or even 60km/h on a clear stretch but then have to brake for a blind bend. You don't want to rely on braking too hard because of loose gravel or patches of mud on the road. We do also have open road fast descents but they tend to be on busier roads and I won't go into them.

I'm lucky enough to have discs on a tourer and can use continuous light braking at the back to control my top speed, then slow down with the front brake before a bend.

I prefer to do anything tricky on the hoods (these descents, traffic) and can crouch quite low if I do get a nice straight. So I like to have 2 fingers on the brakes as the index finger is very near the pivot - with index and middle fingers I've got all the stopping power I want (subject to road surface). In the drops, one finger is enough because it's got more leverage, but only if I've checked the brifters - when badly adjusted the tab you press when shifting to a bigger cog limits braking when it hits my fingers.

I apply similar methods to other cases when sudden braking might be required, like in traffic (1 to 3 fingers depending on road surface, speed etc.)


It matters in many ways where you buy the bike from. If you're buying online, then the parts will most likely be the same, although you should be careful to read the specs.  Some online (brick and mortar as well) shops will have overstock bikes from previous years and the parts will be different from the current model year.

If you buy from a local bike store, then it starts to make more of a difference where you shop. Many shops will offer free tune-ups for a year or two, and some others will offer free tune-ups for life.  What's included in a "tune-up" can vary from store to store.  Some shops will include a free fitting of the bike to make sure it's properly set up.

Every actual bike shop, and dedicated sporting goods store that I have been to has, at the minimum, given the bike a the bike a safety check before they actually hand it over to you. I even got this once for a coaster bike (the kind with no pedals/drivetrain) when I bought one for my 3 year old.

This is to ensure that the bike is in safe operating condition and to ensure that things are working well.  Problems can arise between the initial assembly and when you purchase the bike and they want to ensure that you will be safe and have a good experience.  Stuff like this often isn't done at places like Walmart or Amazon. Often they will assemble the bike and not even give it a test ride to ensure things are actually working properly.


How come my bike has such a short seat post?

For road bikes of that age, showing just "a fistful of seat post" was considered good frame fit and style. Otherwise the frame was likely too small for the rider. Of course that was before the advent of sloping top tubes. If the bottom bracket is not too high, stand over height of the top tube should be no problem even with such small seat post extension.


If the noise appears when you create more torque it's almost certainly bottom bracket or crank related. You can get creaks in the rear wheel but they tend to manifest in lower gears because that's when the torque on the rear hub is highest.

Cannondales are fairly notorious for creaking in the bottom bracket. The problem is that the bearing cups are slightly oversize which allows the outer bearing races to move. Bottom bracket bearing replacement would not necessarily fix the problem as the cups remain oversize.

Chainring bolts can also creak so remove, grease and re-torque those to rule that out as the cause before purchasing more expensive parts.


Help to Diagnose a Problem with Northrock XC6 Mountain Bike

Cassette sprockets are highly worn and chain is slipping off of sprocket teeth, or (and more likely I think) the freehub freewheel mechanism is slipping, either due to pawls not extending properly or damage to pawls or body.

Sometimes freewheel mechanisms get gummed up with dried out grease which makes the pawls stick. Liberally applying solvent can sometimes unstick them, but I'd look into disassembly and regreasing.


A 70s Peugeot sold outside France probably used 27" wheels, not 700c wheels (though aside from the Velo Orange wheelset, you're probably going to have trouble finding 27" wheels and will have to try 700c wheels + a brake that fits it [an extra 4 mm adjustment is needed]).

The bigger issue is finding a wheel set which has hub spacing that fits this frame - likely 120mm in the back and possibly 96 mm in the front (or finding someone who is willing to cold set the frame+fork).


Most Efficient Way to tune rear gears of mountain bike

Generally, if you haven't bent the derailleur (or its hanger) [such as by having a crash], you should have been using the barrel adjuster as shown in this image

(from here)

in order to make tweaks to the adjustments. The mis-adjustment you were experiencing was likely just "cable stretch" in the non-bent case. The barrel adjuster changes the cable tension, which you were more drastically doing by undoing the bolt which holds the cable (so you may have put wrong cable tension now). From the description, it sounds like you don't have cable tension (and thus the shifters can't pull anything and shift).

The rest of the adjustment options (screws) change the derailleur limits (big and small cog) and angle of the derailleur (b-tension). These should be set-it-and-forget-it (unless the derailleur gets banged up, in which case it must be un-banged up and then possibly re-adjusted).

Park Tool has a good description on how to adjust a derailleur, which you should read and implement (or take the bike to your LBS, give the guy 5 bucks and get him to adjust your derailleur and check if its bent). If the derailleur/hanger is bent, it must be un-bent prior to adjustment.

Another thing that may be occurring (though unlikely) is excess cable friction in which case the shift cable+housing need replacement.


Can I use my Endurance bike for my first race?

Yes, an endurance bike will be fine.

I think most people outside Scott's marketing department would be hard pressed to name the differences.

The main differences are likely to be a longer wheelbase, slower steering, and a more upright riding position. Maybe slightly larger tires, but you can change those to whatever you feel you need.


Are parallel v-brakes fixed distance? [Avid Arch Rival 50]

iirc - the Arch Rival V-brakes are described as parallel because the brake block surfaces are always parallel to the rim braking surface at whatever distance from the rim. This in theory improves braking.

Other than this - they function the same as a normal V-brake in that the arms act as levers to apply the brake blocks to the rim surface.

Adjustment may be a bit more picky - in that as the cable is loosened and the braking arms move outward - it will raise the brake blocks to keep them parallel to the rim. Therefore, to get the pads further from the rim - you may have to slacken of significantly more tension than with traditional V-brakes.
You may have to undo the cable entirely to slacken enough.


Shimano bolts; oversized hex driver holes? Planning for failure?

Well, it's no just you, my ST-R9120 bleed srew accepts 2mm (as stated in manual) very loosely too, 2.5mm is too thick, there's even a whole thread on WW dedicated to the issue, apparently those screws are/were of very poor quality, this was not the case with ST-RS685. Some of proposed "solutions" are:

Hammer T10 in. Now you have a T10 screw, but this still might not help or even damage the threads.
Or file a flat screwdriver slot and use it instead.
Contact Shimano for a warranty.
Buy replacement screw(s) (Y0C698030).
Try to push hex key further, some people stripped the slot by not pushing the key deep enough.
File a 2.5mm hex key down so it fits tightly.

Update: among three sets of hex wrenches I have access to, one had 2.5mm  tight enough not to strip the bolt. Both bolts unscrewed with a slight click. So, #6 worked for me.


Suspension fork swap for rigid: axle-to-crown confusion

Definitely you have to account for sag when measuring axle to crown distance, because that is the real geometry of the bike when it is actually being ridden. If you mention in this bike sag is 18 mm when you ride it, it should mean that your actual axle to crown distance is 459-18 = 441, thus suggesting you should use the fork corrected for 80mm travel.

Ideally you want to keep the geometry of the bike, particularly head tube angle and bottom bracket height (or pedal to ground clearance). Both are important. Head tube angle affects the steering response of the bike. Bottom bracket height defines how tall an object can be for you to roll over it without hitting it, and how much you can lean towards the side before the pedal hits the ground while pedaling (you should not put the "inner" pedal down while turning)

A bike with suspension fork actually changes it's geometry while riding due to the travel of the fork, and this is no trouble at all (for most riders), that means that a small variation in axle to crown distance would not terribly affect the bike handling characteristics.

In this case, if you chose the taller fork, you'd give your bike a slacker head tube angle, making it feel a bit less responsive on the steering, which in turn means (a little) more stability at high speed, and you would gain a few millimeters on pedal clearance. If you had the option for a third fork, shorter than the ones you already described, you'd get a bike with a steeper head tube angle, which gives a more responsive steering, the bike would feel very agile, but less stable, and you would loose a little pedal clearance.


How long does it take to be ready for a multi day ride as a newbie?

Riding 50 miles (80km) in a day is a fairly modest goal. Doing it three days in a row is only slightly more ambitious. As a fit (as you will be when you do it) person to ride 80km, you could expect to take 3 to 3.5 hours if you rode hard, and 4 hours if you took it easy.

The difference is how you will feel the next day. For the actual ride, plan on taking it easy. Ride an hour and stop for a snack, take a few selfies, refill the water bottles, and ride on. So your 4 hours of riding would be spread over 5 to 6 hours.

For a modest and conservative plan, you can expect to be able to extend your rides by 10% per week. That would take you from 10 miles to 20 miles in 7 weeks, and to 40 miles in 14 weeks. If you can ride 40 miles (65 km) in one ride then you will easily cope with the "take it easy" scenario above.

Many people will be able to exceed that 10% per week guideline; experiment a bit to see how you go. But for planning purposes, it's better to be conservative and start early. The best laid plan takes real life into consideration. There will be times when you feel you need a break, when the bike needs work, etc. The worst that will happen if you start early is that you'll be even fitter.

Plan to ride twice a week for the first two weeks, to give your body time to adjust. Your seat will almost certainly complain when you start the second ride, but it should be ok after the next (3rd) ride. After two weeks, step up to 3 rides per week. Plan for one longer ride and two shorter ones. Mix it up a bit from time to time - skip a ride sometimes, ride on successive days sometimes, add an extra ride some weeks. The variety and spontaneity can help with enjoyment and also give insight to what you are able to achieve.

It would be great to get to 50 miles on successive training days, but you'll probably find that quite a challenge. It's enough to be able to ride 40 miles in one ride at your best pace, because on the actual tour you will be more gentle on yourself. Especially on the first day, and even more so in the first hour of the first day!

Sounds like a nice tour. Drive the route (by car or Google Street view) to check it out, and maybe join Strava or MapMyRide to see routes that other people use.

Enjoy :-)


Upgrading to new hydraulic brakes - should I put same sized rotors on front and rear wheel?

This is a common set up, as the majority of your stopping power is assumed to come from the front wheel, and many frames, especially older frames, had less clearance on the rear triangle of the frame, so often the 180mm  rotor wouldn't fit.

You can change it if you like, but there is little necessity to do so.

If you choose to change it, you will only need a rotor, and the appropriate adaptor for you brake caliper type.


Okay to use new KMC master link on old KMC 11spd chain?

Many master links from several vendors are specifically designated to be single use meaning you replace it with a new one after you unlock the old one. Which means you'll generally be fine by using a new master link.

For a moderately worn chain, adding a new link to the group of old ones means that less than 1% of your links will be a bit different (a typical geared bike has 110-116 links in a chain). It is unlikely that you will notice it.

If your chain is extremely old and stretched far beyond normal, adding a single shorter link to the mix may become noticeable, at least as a periodic sound appearing when this new link interacts with the rest of the worn drivetrain parts. In the worst case, it won't last because of that mismatch with the rest of the drivetrain.


What might be causing rear casette to creak?

It sounds like you have isolated the issue to the rear wheel, and probably the rear hub.

I doubt that that cassette or it's attachment to the freehub body is the cause of the problem. It may be the freewheel assembly, or the hub bearings, or even a crack in the hub body.

To rule out the cassette, you could replicate the creaking using a chainwhip tool as show in your second video, then remove the cassette and see if you can replicate it by torquing the freehub body. It sounds like you don't have the tools to do this though. Do you think you could you work with a repair technician at the bike store and have them use a chain whip tool demonstrate the creak with the wheel out of the bike?

You say the problem has existed since you bought the bike. Were all the previous unsuccessful attempts to fix the problem performed for free by the store you bought the bike from? (In order to make good a faulty product that they sold you) If so, you can try requesting that they replace the entire rear wheel, or at the very least the entire hub. You may or may not have success depending on how long ago you bought the bike and warranty it came with.


Prevention is the best cure.  I know it takes 2 tyre levers to deal with a flat on my road bike, so I carry a pair of decent ones (with some silver paint on them so they show up better by torchlight).  In addition I carry a third, old and worn but known good, because I've been known to snap plastic tyre levers (luckily at home). They can also ping off into the middle distance so a spare is no bad thing.  I might swap this third one for a metal lever if I can find the ones I've got tucked away somewhere.  Even if you could find (hard enough) wood, carving one requires a reasonable knife, which isn't part of a standard bike tool kit, though it is part of mine.

The fallback is other riders.  I'm sometimes out solo at all hours hence why I go so well equipped (though rarely to the extent of carrying cutlery) but on many of the rides I do there are other riders on the same route. Some of them are likely to be with or behind me even if most are far in front.  Even riding solo there are likely to be other cyclists around during the day.

Any rider can be struggling with a mechanical, and that's why you should slow down and check that a rider standing by the roadside is OK: one day it might be you, and looking after each other is the right thing to do anyway.


Does bike geometry or wheel affect maximum cog size?

No the frame size doens't limit your cassette choice.  Within reason any 700c wheeled bike should take any available cassette size.
What matters most is the Derailleur's capabilities.   The maximum and minimum tooth count is a published value for each derailleur model.
Also in the stats are other useful values.
Presuming your bike is a 2017, it would have had a "Shimano 105 GS" rear mech.  (from https://99spokes.com/bikes/cannondale/2017/superx-105)
This might be the RD-5800-GS which is documented at https://bike.shimano.com/en-EU/product/component/105-5800/RD-5800-GS.html

Item
Value

Low sprocket_Max.
32T

Low sprocket_Min.
28T

Max. front difference
16T

Top sprocket_Max.
12T

Top sprocket_Min.
11T

Total capacity
37T

So nominally this combination would take a largest cog with 28/30/32 tooth.  The smallest is 11 or 12T, so it wouldn't work well if the little cog was a 14, and probably jamb up on a 16T.
Shimano's specs are notoriously conservative, so this combo probably runs fine on 34T but would be nominally "out of spec"

That said, there might be something special about your bike which the mechanic has noticed, but not come across in the text of your question.  Adding a photo might help.


For 1/8" chains as used on singlespeed bikes (or with hub gears), half links are reasonably common.

They do exist for 3/32" chains (which are sometimes used without derailleurs) but are much less common as single speed 3/32" chains are. They're not needed if you've got a test derailleur as the derailleur provides much more chain length adjustment. A chain tensioner can do this on a singlespeed.

The main reason for using these appears to be on singlespeed conversions, when they lack the horizontal dropouts of a frame built for single speed.


I would skip using the truing stand and just true the wheel on the trailer. You can generally clamp a strip of something to the frame to act as an indicator (have it stick out and just brush the rim, kind of like a rim brake pad), so you can more easily zero in on the worst spots.

Dishing/centering is harder without a stand, but there should no need to dish/center a trailer wheel that accurately in most cases.


Can a Shimano BR-M965 caliper be replaced with a newer one?

The short answer is no, the Dual Control levers are not compatible with current calipers.

Long answer:

Both reasons you mention are valid.

The master cylinder piston on a brake lever is sized very specifically for the caliper cylinder size, the type of hose, and the reservoir size.

In addition, the hose fittings are pretty specific to year and model. They may work, they may seal short term, or they may not hold at all.

Last, Shimano will not warrant brakes used with different combinations than designed. Which means that if you choose to mix and match a brake setup for a customer, the liability is on you.

If their brakes fail, you are in a world of hurt.

Great question, though. :)


Upgrading mountain bike crankset because worn teeth & chain slippage

It's quite unlikely you can't get enough top speed on that bike with those gears.
A 42/12 ratio with 29x2.2" tyres results in a 28mph top speed at 90rpm (most people could pedal faster). Since it is a mountain bike, you probably won't be going that fast except maybe down a steep hill, in which case not pedalling usually works out faster. On a lightweight road bike in a peloton this gearing might be insufficient. But for solo riding on an upright bike realistically you won't be pedalling very fast for very long because the air resistance will slow you down too much.
Your current chainset is non-replacable chainrings, so it's a fairly wasteful piece of design in that you must throw it away when you wear out a chainring. However since 7 or 8-speed (anything more requires a narrower chain and a total replacement of your entire drivetrain) is old, Shimano don't make a quality 8-speed chainset any more. So you might as well just replace with the same chainset you have now. It's heavy and disposable, but it works fine.
The other problem with your bike is the fork, which is a low quality one. Probably SR Suntour XCE or XCT. Upgrading this would definitely be more expensive than finding a used bike with slightly higher quality parts fitted (i.e. SR Suntour XCR coil at a minimum, but probably better an air fork).
At this point you can also consider whether you are not better off with no suspension, as this will make you faster and lighter work, typically.
Also there isn't anything specific to 'XT' as opposed to lower chainsets. Sometimes it means 'hollow crank arms', but sometimes you get that on 'SLX' as well. Usually the chainrings are lighter, but not necessarily more durable.
The advantages of XT are mostly in the shifters, which have 'instant release' and other features making them nicer to use, and in the rear derailleur which tends to be better quality.
You could definitely upgrade your bike to something more like the Marlin 7
https://www.trekbikes.com/us/en_US/bikes/mountain-bikes/cross-country-mountain-bikes/marlin/marlin-7/p/33148/?colorCode=orangelight_red
but this would need:

new shifters (XT are the best choice)
new rear derailleur (XT is the best choice)
new front derailleur (Deore is fine)

on top of what you already need which is:

crankset
probably new BB
cassette
chain

And these parts would be more expensive ones as well.
Doing that is fine, the problem is having XT parts and that awful fork is kinda not a good match.
So you're likely better off looking for a used 3x10 speed bike if you wanted to go that route - it would have better parts all around.
BTW I'd recommend the X8 chain for higher durability rather than the lower Z series you have.


You'll need a freewheel removal tool like the Park FR-6
http://www.parktool.com/product/freewheel-remover-FR-6

You can attach that to the freewheel and then use a wrench to remove the freewheel.


The key point in your question is I get on the bike and ride hard.

There's nothing wrong with riding hard, but it sounds like you're riding too hard for your knees to be happy.

Since you like doing weights, I suspect that you like to push the pedals hard, and this is causing the problem.

Bike fit issues can cause knee soreness, but they also tend to have other symptoms also, such as back soreness or neck pain.

The solution is to train yourself to ride with higher cadence, ie to spin the pedals faster. Aim to get into the 90-100 rpm range, or even higher.

There are many questions here tagged cadence, the most useful for you may be What is the optimal cadence? and will increasing cadence ability hurt my climbing strength?.


I'd guess the single-speed freewheel/freehub on the jackshaft has something wrong with its pawls.

That's the bit that lets you coast along without pedalling, and the rear chain will keep moving with the rear wheels.

To fix it temporarily you could try flooding the freehub with solvent and wiggle it lots.  When its moving better let the solvent dry off, and lubricate it after a while.

The permanent fix  would be to replace that freehub unit on the jackshaft.

The prevention would be to store the bike in a garage or inside, and to rinse the transmission off after every winter ride - I see a bit of corrosion there which could indicate the cause.


I think you answered your own question. The huge gap will mean you need to use a long chain for the big ring and you may not have enough movement in the rear mech to tighten it if you're in the small ring.

My guess would be you'll suck the chain into the rear wheel in some combination of gears and, at best, snap your hanger, at worse damage your frame.

Why not use a mid-compact (52-36) and a large cassette (11-32)


Pieces of plastic that came with my bike, what are these?

These are cable guide parts.  From the looks of it, you have:

2 Housing shims, used to secure hydraulic lines or brake housing in the braze-ons of the frame, or for securing the housing at the point it enters the frame in the case of internal housing.
1 Headset adjustment bolt button, used to keep water out of the bolt in the center of your headset cap, or to hide the bolt.
2 Hydraulic line clips, used to secure hydraulic lines or cable housing on a particular type of housing guide on the outside of a frame or the back of a suspension fork.

Many frames come with extras of these parts, so it may be that you have no need for them at this time.  Or you might, if the LBS did a poor job of assembly. No way for us to know without seeing your bike.


Replacement dropouts with derailleur hanger for Kona Unit

Is this what you're looking for?

KONA #CMPHCC Derailleur Hanger


It is a Triban road bike from Decathlon.

The Serial Number is the one labelled Serial Number in the bottom right corner of the sticker.  This will be encoded in that barcode above.  This number refers to the entire bike once assembled, and this will be the one used on warranty documents.

The one stamped on the frame will be a frame serial number, used to help identify the frame as it moves through to assembly.  It will be a sub-assembly of the whole bike, along with any other component serial numbers.

For your purposes

Brand: Triban
Model: DC120 Disk
Size: Large
Colour: Blue
Supplier: Decathlon
Serial Number: 560243      (Because its clearly labelled as the serial number)

Other info:

Frame Numbers: 1982118 and 10437355    (Check these - could be reading it wrong)
Additional Numbers: 010360840986423921 and 2733283

I would include every number that is on the bike in your paperwork somewhere.  Additional fields, or even a comment field can be searched by computers, so someday if there's a need, your bike is a little more likely to match.

Other suggestions

I'd also check the saddle and bars and stem for any kind of serial number, unlikely on a £399 bike, but worth exploring.  Perhaps even engrave your name/number in an inconspicuous place.

If the bike was stolen, an astute thief could "accidentally" erase the sticker with some solvents, or scratch it up so that the serial number is illegible and blame an "accident putting it on the roofrack of a car" or something plausible.

So you can engrave or stamp the serial number from the sticker directly onto the frame. Its an aluminium frame so you'd want to be careful choosing a location to avoid stress risers.

On the bottom of the seat post, down inside the frame could be an excellent spot.  As could engraving an identifier onto your pedals.

That you have a photo of your bike's serial right now might be another way to prove ownership in the future, so don't delete it.


Combining Deore XT 9-speed shifters with Deore XT BR-M8000 (I-Spec-II)

I-Spec-II is just some marketing hyperbole for shaping the brake levers and shifters so they fit together nicely. It does not mean you have to have matching brake and shift levers.

You probably should be able to  combine M8000 levers with older XT shifters, unless the XT shifters have a shape that does not work with the levers. Comparing pictures of the brake levers with you existing ones should give you a good idea. If Shimano brakes won't work there are lots of non-Shimano options from the likes of Tektro etc.

Beware that upgrading whole groupsets on older bikes can be problematic as frame geometry standards (bottom bracket width, chainline and rear hub spacing) have changed on modern bikes. If you bike does not have proper disc brake attachment points then really the solution is to go for a whole new bike.


What should I consider when choosing a bike frame?

I put together a bike from parts bought on eBay as well as locally, and it was very successful.  I was lucky enough to get a frame that fit me well; however, as it was a 1998 aluminum road racing frame (Cannondale CAAD 3), it is really, really stiff.  For riding just an hour or two that doesn't really matter so much, but longer rides are fatiguing due to the construction and materials.  Recently I rented a high-dollar Specialized Roubaix, and couldn't believe how much smoother the ride was.

Materials

Aluminum:  stiffest there is
Titanium:  reportedly a nice ride, but very pricey
Steel:  high-dollar frames will be very nice, forgiving; cheap steel frames will feel like you are riding on plumbing pipe, dead and heavy
Carbon:  expensive, although coming down in price; smooth ride yet agile feeling
Aluminum with Carbon fork and/or stays:  more carbon means more forgiving, smoother ride, more $$$

Geometry

Road race bikes:  stiffer geometry, more responsive, more fatigue; definitely the most common on the market
Touring bikes:  more relaxed seat & head tube angles, longer wheelbase, room for fenders, eyelets for mounting racks; harder to find
Triathon/Time Trial bikes:  DO NOT GET unless you truly plan to do a tri-  very upright geometry based on leaning forward onto TT bars, harder riding (unless you spend lot$ on carbon components)

Depending on how much you plan to spend, it may be worth it to pay about $60 to get a professional bike fitting.  The right fitter will find out about you, your goals, and your flexibilty to come up with the right shape for you.  If you have spent a lot of your recent years at a desk you may not have the flexibility to lean as much as the average frame wants you to do.  Also, different brands may fit you better or worse.  When Lemond bikes first came out, they seemed to fit people best who had longer torsos or lots of flexibility.


Pedal: Platform came off axle which remained in crank

I found a component diagram for these pedals here.

Here's the main diagram:

Looks like all the bearings are mounted onto the axle and secured with a bearing preload and lock nut at the outboard end. The axle and bearing assembly is then threaded into the pedal using the threads on part 2 - that's why the torque spec is printed on its shoulder.

Obviously the retaining nuts came undone. All the balls, cones, bushings and nuts should still be in the pedal body as part 2 should have stopped them from falling out.

If you un-thread part 2 you can get all the balls, cones, bushings and retaining nuts out. I'd do this over a tray or box to catch the balls and small parts that will fall out. You can then reassemble the bearings and, then thread the assembly back into the pedal body.

You could try re-inserting the axle, un-threading part 2 and see if you can withdraw the bearings etc on the axle.

Update:

You should examine the state of the bearings and cones to make sure they are OK before proceeding with reassembly. Maybe something seized which caused the retaining nuts to come undone.


What features make a good fitness tracker for cyclists?

I come to this question as (in chronological order) a speed skater, cyclist, and runner. I have been a full-time Data Whore since early 2007. I have used various Garmin devices and smartphones. What I have found works best is the device that is on your person, with a sufficiently charged battery, and actually recording data.

I spent five years using a Garmin Forerunner 205 on a daily basis. That thing rocks, but Garmin’s device firmware that provides the user interface is just universally terrible. In spite of that, they are still very good devices for their intended purpose. After swearing I’d never buy another Garmin I was given a 405CX and after giving that away a few months later, was given a Forerunner 305. I still use that to this day.

Smartphones are great for “light” use, but when the GPS radio is running full-time, as required for an accurate athletic recording, battery life will absolutely be an issue. If the total riding time in a day will never exceed a couple hours, a smartphone could work. If devices such as heart rate monitors, cadence sensors, etc., are desired, they can be used with various smartphones by way of either ANT+ adapters or using Bluetooth accessories.

I’ve also long had issues with chest strap HRMs, in that they simply don’t stay up when I run. If I tighten the strap enough to keep it in place, it makes me nauseous. But recently I have realized that putting the sensor on the left side of the ribcage just below the armpit still gives a good read and stays in place better, and that even letting the whole thing slide down so that the sensor is over the solar plexus still seems to work. And I’m a relatively thick-chested male; conventional wisdom is that smaller females tend to have an easier time getting a read because there is less tissue to attenuate the electrical impulses.

Now, all that said… I say spring for a standalone GPS device if possible. They will offer significantly better battery life, and at least as of late 2014, still use much better radio hardware which makes for more accurate and less glitchy data. Many of them can be quick-release mounted on either handlebars or a wrist strap. But if you do go with a phone positioning accuracy will be close enough, and without a whole lot of biometric data (not just heart rate but also oxygen usage), caloric expenditure is just a wild guess anyway.


What to buy when looking for a low maintenance city bike that allows sportive riding

I would try to avoid rim brakes for a low-maintenance commuter bike, because they're not low maintenance. And they don't work very well in the rain. They're also not much cheaper than cheap disk brakes. It's not worth the price difference.

In my experience the roller brakes are less effective than disks or drums. The roller brakes don't bite, they're very gradual, and require a lot of force on the lever to lock a wheel. Which sounds desirable, but it means they work quite differently to other brakes. I found that when I had a cheap cable disk on the front and the roller on the back I tended to treat the roller brake as broken, since it didn't seem to work at all with normal braking force. They also need non-obvious maintenance, meaning that when something eventually went wrong I had to take them to the bike shop and wait for the one guy who knew about them to deal with the problem (worn pads).

Definitely look at hub gears - the reason your generic "European bike with gears" has hub gears is that they're low maintenance and very tolerant of abuse or neglect. The modern hubs mostly work very well (search this site for copious discussions). It's also much easier to build a fully enclosed chain with a hub gear setup. Which matters a lot in snowy weather. In the other Austr-something-a we get kangaroos and Shimano 8 or 11 speed hubs in a range of city bikes (Gazelle at the high end), and at the bottom end various 3 speed hubs. The three speed ones eventually need a new gear cable every 10 years or so, the 8 and 11 speed ones need cable adjustment and new cables more often. The Rohloff end need new oil every 5000km (no, really, it says so in the manual).

It may also be worth looking at a hub dynamo setup. Yes, you pay quite a lot for the privilege of not changing the batteries in your cheap LED lights. But, you never have to worry about changing the batteries in your cheap LED lights. In practice I use both - LED blinkies on the handlebar, helmet and underseat, dyno lights above the front and rear wheels. But I never turn the dyno lights off (there's no real drag when riding), and I sometimes forget the blinkies.

Luggage carrying is a balance between weight and bulk, and how much you carry. If you can reduce your load to what will fit on a rack-top bag you only need a lightweight rack and don't have much air resistance (plus the load is centred on the bike). If you want to carry more you could use a basket, but for more people the question becomes: one pannier or two? One is lighter, cheaper, carries a bit less, but is off centre. With two you can balance the weight but you have more carrying capacity so you end up carrying more stuff.

It's worth buying expensive, waterproof panniers. Ortleib panniers. There are other, inferior brands, but unless it's an Ortleib or looks very much like one, I wouldn't buy it (just for the record, I'm a customer and don't benefit from any sales). After a couple of years an Ortleib will no longer be airtight, and after 10 it will probably leak a bit. My commuting panniers have quite a few holes at the bottom (but not at the top), and whatever is in the bottom gets wet when it rains. But they're (ahem) 20 years old. My good touring panniers (home-made Ortleib style) are 10 years old and don't leak... but they're huge and I don't use them as often.


Thanks a lot for the comments, they did help a little at the time but did not solve the issue fully.
At the end I found there were a few issues with the rear of that bike.
The freewheel was wobbling a bit and had to be changed. The bearings of the hub had to be changed and the axle was bent so that was changed, too. Finally, the dropout was a bit bent, too on one side. After changing/correcting all of these the issue did disappear. But it was costlier than I had hoped  Unfortunately I cannot be sure which of these was the main issue.


Which exact version of the Secteur is this bike?

Given that Specialized tends to have distinct color schemes for different models and years, I'd say it's a 2013 Compact, which I think is the base model (higher models get 'sport', 'comp', 'elite' etc. appellations).

Bicycle Blue Book 2013 Specialized Secteur Compact.

Drive-train looks original except for the large chainring.

Bicycle Blue Book gives you a rough guide to value, but ultimately a bike is worth what someone will pay for it.

Update: There appears to be some damage to the drive side seat stay. At first I though the paint was just flaking but on closer inspection it seems the stay may be bent.

If the seat stay is in fact bent, buckled or dented do not ride the bike!! You would risk the back end collapsing or the rear wheel becoming misaligned and jamming.

If that seat stay is damaged I'm afraid the frame is trash. If someone one Craigslist sold it to you in that state you would have at least a 'moral' and perhaps legal standing to demand your money back, and may have been illegal depending on location.


Judging from your videos, it appears that the chainrings and crank are no longer connected. It appears that you have something called a one-piece crankset. If you are confident that you can learn how to disassemble it, I’d say you’re up for the repair.
Once you have the crank off the bike, you’ll be able to see how the chainrings and crank arm are connected. Assess the interface. Is there a threaded ring that may have come loose? Be aware that the hole mounting the chainrings to the crank arm is a D shape, and the fact that it’s able to spin like that may mean that the D shape has been destroyed and turned into a full circle. In that case, the crankset is likely not repairable. A welder could fix it though.
Let me know if you get the cranks off the bike, and then we can go from there. As an aside, your cable routing seems iffy: are there no braze ons to tie the cables to? I don’t believe a bike manufacturer would just zip tie the cables around the frame like that. It’s not an issue other than cosmetics though. It almost feels like the brakes are mismatched too. Why is the cable looping around itself like that?


Would it be better to fly with my full-size road bike or rent at the destination?

Given that you'll pay specialty baggage fees to transport your own bike to and from Italy, the hassle and expense of buying a bike suitcase or box, and storing it,  you might be better off renting a bicycle while you are there, if your trip is less than two weeks long and you are flying from the USA. If, however, you are flying within the EU or your trip is longer, it might be cheaper to bring your bike.

Example 1: Flying from USA

From the USA, the fees would be US$300 ($150 each way) if you flew on Delta to Italy:

  Bicycle Transport Fees
  150 USD/CAD for travel to all regions (excluding Brazil, Europe, and North Africa)
  150 USD, 175 CAD*, or 125 EUR* for travel to/from Europe or North Africa
  75 USD for travel to/from Brazil
  *CAD amount will be charged exit Canada, and EUR amount will be charged exit Europe.

Example 2: Flying within the EU

The original-OP was located in Ireland, and for Aer Lingus within Europe the fee is not so bad. 80 euro total (40 each way) if you declare ahead of time:

  For all other Aer Lingus flights, Sports Equipment is subject to a fee of €40 or equivalent payable online prior to departure; or a fee of €50 or equivalent payable through our reservations centre or at the airport on the day of departure. This fee is charged per passenger, per direction.

However, many European carriers do not charge any fee at all for bicycles.

Conclusion: Flying Versus Renting

If this vendor that rents bikes in Italy is any guide, it'd cost about 300 euros to rent a road bike for twos week in Italy. So for an American, the break-even point with the airplane fees (around US$300) is two weeks.

For Europeans, it'll almost always be cheaper for the EU-rider to bring their own bike.


Where to buy 2005 Shimano 105/Ultegra brifter hoods?

My hoods were degrading too causing me to get black rubber on my hands after every ride.

I called Shimano and they said that they no longer support the ST-5500 lever and they do not carry any replacement parts.

I called Hudz, and they said that they do not have hoods that are compatible.

A STOPGAP SOLUTION: Rub your hoods with baby powder. It makes them much less sticky, and no more black residue.


Turbo training programs for long distance events

Turbos are great for short interval work, brutal power workouts (cf. the comment above citing sufferfest.com) where you can monitor your output and heart rate more accurately. But they are dull, mind (and body) sappingly dull.

I'd save the long workouts for the road, it's more interesting and you've got mates to chat to and spend time with.

Use the turbo for working on the raw pace, short (60-90 minute) pieces with shorter, harder threshold pace intervals.


What explains 9 speed cassettes price differences?

In most cases with bicycle parts, more expensive means lighter. There can be exceptions, especially when you get to the super low end parts where cheaper can also mean cheaper construction.

Since you put so many miles on your bike and it seems important to you, I would spend the extra 2 pounds and grab the Acera. XT is generally used on mountain bikes where weight matters.

Most importantly: Absolutely replace your chainrings! If your cassette and chain are that far gone, your chainrings are as well. You will get terrible chain suck the minute you put a new chain on.

You can avoid needing to replace the cassette and chainrings by periodically replacing the chain before it gets too worn. Invest in a chain wear checker, they are cheap. Replacing your chain periodically will save you a lot of money!


My Google-Fu comes up with the 1991 Alpinestar Ti Mega.  It looks like they made an aluminum version as well. The tube shapes look to be about the same.  Might be a good starting point for you.


What size are the nuts holding the front wheel?

Park Tool list a number of common sizes.

  3/8 inch x 24 tpi Some solid axle bikes, including coaster brake
  3/8 inch x 26 tpi Solid rear axle
  10mm x 1mm    Most quick release rear axles
  10mm x 26 tpi Rear axle, quick release, Campganolo®

Note that the difference between 24 and 26 tpi is small and can be subtle, meaning that if you're using a spanner to do the nut up you can wreck the nut without really noticing that anything is wrong. The symptom is often that the nut strips before ever becoming tight. To avoid this put the nut on by hand until it is right over the axle. If it still spins freely it is the right thread pitch.

Less commonly you will find 12mm or 14mm axles, often on load bikes and Asian or African bikes, and some mountain bikes. But those are fairly obvious. Some older front axles were 9mm or even 8mm, and they bend easily. It's sometimes possible to replace a 9mm axle with a 10mm one, depending on the bearing cups you have available.


If there was no published information about this fork, we would first observe the potential replacement is longer but has the same threaded length. Therefore it is possible to construct a scenario where, say if the current axle fit exactly flush and the dropout had 9mm of threads, that you would need to use a washer to keep the new one from bottoming against the threads and not the axle shoulder as it should. So what would you do is use the depth gauge on a vernier caliper to measure the distance between the two outer faces of the dropouts and also the threaded length of the fork, then do the math against the specs of the replacement or other available replacements.
The above is what you go through when matching a Maxle on to whatever random fork to see if it can be a suitable replacement. But because yours is a Rock Shox, you can figure it out easily by looking up the axle in the SRAM/Rock Shox spare parts manuals. SRAM has arrayed their thru axle lineup such that there's only one choice per axle spacing, so yes, it will work.


Disk brakes don't work well after taking out pads and putting them back

If you set back the pistons (which is actually unnecessary if you are just inspecting the pads), pump the brake lever to move the pads back onto the rotor.

You can also clean the rotor with some solvent to make sure it is not contaminated with any grease or oil.

Update:

You can also check to see if you have a sticky piston in one side of the caliper that is not advancing properly. Unsticking them is easy, and guides on how to do so are easily found.


Stick with the friction shifters. Changing a non indexed bike to index is expensive and unnecessary.

You will need a new dérailleur to index correctly along with a rear wheel that can mount a cassette (assuming your running a freewheel). You will also need new shifters which if your running a road bike are very expensive.

If you must have index shifting I would recommend a late 90's bike with index shifting already installed. They are generally very cheap second hand and don't require a complete overhaul.

I have an old 80s Apollo road bike that I use for wet weather commuting. I was thinking of doing the same thing and upgrading to indexed shifting. I installed new wheels (Mavic Aksiums) and added a seven speed cassette to the rear hub. I stopped there because the bike ran brilliantly. The new wheels are much lighter than vintage wheels and the hubs are much smoother. A worth while upgrade.

You will get used to using friction shifters very quickly. I actually quite like them now even for commuting.


Campagnolo Large Flange Pista (track) hubs

You can run a fixed cog or a single-cog BMX-style freewheel easily on a track (pista) hub, but the wheel dish is way too far out on the drive side to fit a 5 or greater freewheel cassette.

In other words there is simply just not enough room between the hub flange and the frame to support a wider cassette. Modern multi-speed hubs have the spoke flange set in further towards the center on the drive side. Track hubs do not.


Adjustment necessary for stationary trainer

First, the bikes and the trainer need to have same number of cogs.

The adjustment depends on cassette location on the axle, not the cassette. With any luck you should be able to switch to different wheels and trainer without adjustment, but this is not guaranteed.


Want to adjust/replace front fork suspension on a Next Break Point pro 26" bike. Has no access at the axle.

Low end forks are generally not repairable. The primary reason is that spare parts are not readily available. They can however be serviced. The labor involved would make it prohibitive to pay for the service as it will likely exceed the forks' value. Most can be disassembled, cleaned and greased. Remove (read this as pry) the plastic caps on the upper legs. With a flashlight you should see an allen head screw (5mm head) very deep in the fork. To loosen it requires either a very long wrench or a 3/8 drive allen socket and a long extension. Back off both screw evenly keeping track of the number of turns. Back off the screw until the lower section separates. You can clean any rust from the section and apply a general purpose grease to the moving parts. Then reassemble tightening the screws the same number of turns they were loosened. Just remember this is just service not a repair. Any parts that were worn are still worn.


Is it possible to mount Shimano Ultegra 6870 Di2 on a 2012 Cannondale SuperSix?

I wouldn't modify a carbon frame as it'd be difficult to detect the beginnings of delamination where you drill it.

Internal wiring is optional. You'll need an SM-JC40 for external wiring, a SM-BTR1 and SM-BCR1. The charger which connects to the front junction will only charge internal batteries.


Searching for "Large head socket screw" gets close, but no cigar.
Also try 'cap screw'.

You need to know the thread, of course.

You may be able to replace it with a (rounded) socket button screw, eg. https://www.kayfast.co.uk/category/517/Socket-Screws

Update: Search Socket Pipe Plug, also described as Flange Plug and Blanking Plug - these look very similar:
https://www.accu.co.uk/en/flat-head-socket-pipe-plugs/177868-HPPF-M10-1-A4-BL

Or: Slotted blanking screw eg. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/NiceCNC-Billet-Mirror-Hole-Blanking-Plugs-M10x1-25-Aluminum-Motorcycle-Universal-/303185376819 - interesting that these are also available with a left-hand thread.

You need not (necessarily) be wedded to the allen socket - an ordinary M10 bolt over the end, perhaps with a suitable washer, might suffice, for quick replacement.


Kind of a pennyfarthing with the big wheel in back

This is possibly an American Star high wheeler, or a replica. They were known for having the small wheel in front, to prevent the forward tipping issue common with Ordinary high wheelers.

If it is an original American Star, it dates from the 1880's approximately, and has serious collector value. If a replica, not so much. :)

They are still considered an Ordinary/Penny Farthing/High Wheeler.


The largest cassette you can use is determined by the rear derailleur (in particular, its chain wrap capacity). For something larger than 30t in the back, you want a wide range derailleur (code SGS) - something like a Deore rear derailleur if you're running Shimano (at 9 speed, the mountain and road rear derailleurs can be swapped, and the mountain rear derailleurs can take bigger cogs in the back). Then, put on some bigger cassette which works for you - your local bike shop will probably know some cassettes which work well in your area.


Is this a short cage or long cage rear derailleur?

The objective way to tell is by calculating the total capacity and matching that to the make and model of the derailleur.

This has an excellent answer for calculating derailleur capacity.


Squeaking sounds after lubricating the cogset and chain

We need more information to answer this very specifically, but the short answer is that you probably got a degreaser on a bearing area that didn't get or can't easily be re-lubricated.

Either the hub bearings in the wheel, the bottom bracket bearings, or the derailleur pulleys.

See this answer for information about how to properly clean and lube your chain with out damaging anything else.

In addition, the cogset does not require external lubrication, so it is pointless to put lube on it. Lubricate the chain, and it will cover the necessary points on the cogset, externally.


First, it's not clear which gear you mean by "12th".  Is it the largest or smallest one?
It sounds like your rear derailleur is not properly adjusted. As 11 of your 12 gears apparently work fine, it's most likely a problem with the limit screw for derailleur.  It's probably not allowing the derailleur to travel far enough.
Park Tool has quite a few videos covering how to perform most bicycle-related maintenance.
In this case, Rear Derailleur Adjustment is the appropriate video.


Has SRAM discontinued i-light hub dynamo?

According to this page yes, the hub

  is discontinued and is no longer available

@armb's assumption may be true. They stopped making IGH's and dynamo hubs for the same reason, at the same time. I-light had such a small market share that it didn't even earned to be mentioned.


Alternative tools for servicing a Fox fork 2016+

If you just need to service your own fork occasionally, you don't need to buy specialized tools.

To remove the seals you can use an large wrench/spanner, be careful not to scratch the inside of the tubes:

Images are taken from this guide

Inserting the new seals can be done with a socket of the right size:

You don't need any special tools to remove the lower legs. Unthread the bottom nuts half way, then place the socket over them. Now you can gently tap the socket with a rubber mallet to loosen the lower legs, without hitting the rebound adjuster.


The main difference with belt drive is that you can't break the belt, so you need a specially built frame that allows the belt to be fitted. On a chain-driven bike the chain usually runs though the frame between the seatstay and chainstay. This makes retrofitting a belt drive impossible on most bikes. Similarly, you're limited to the belt lengths available from the manufacturer.

I have seen bikes with exposed belt drives but that does not seem like a good idea to me. Once you get mud or dust in there it's going to grind away the belt and pulleys, and parts are usually expensive (because they're uncommon). I don't know much about how they wear as I've never seen one that's had much use (which in itself should tell you something).

Once the belt is fully enclosed it becomes just like an enclosed chain drive, except that it can't be serviced by bike shops. I suspect this is the real deal-breaker for most people.

Belts usually have higher losses than chain drives, making them unattractive for high-performance bikes and hindering their adoption in other bikes (because much of the profit for bike shops is in the more expensive bikes).


Is listening to music dangerous while cycling?

It is worth noting that deaf people cycle perfectly well.

@Joe's excellent comment merit's adding into the answer...
Edit It should also be noted that deaf people are used to being deaf. They never rely on sounds like hearing-abled people do.

Its OK to listen to music as long as

a) you are aware that you don't have any audio clues to hazards
b) don't put yourself in a situation where you rely on audio clues
c) you compensate with very alert visual monitoring of your environment.

That said, I don't listen to music while cycling.


Semi-integrated / external headset compatibility

No, there are no external headsets that are directly interchangeable with an internal one. There are external headset lowers for tapered forks that use the same bore dimension as internal for non-tapered, which might have been the source of confusion.
If you have the pictured headset, those are probably a standard bearing that can be replaced without needing a whole new headset, providing there's nothing wrong with the other parts.


What would be the modern equivalent for 2001 Specialized RockHopper?

RockHopper had aluminum frame, 26" wheels, Shimano Deore / Deore-LX
derailleur, RockShox Judy front suspension, V-brakes, thin metallic
pedals.

I would consider this as mid-range from that era.
Judy forks have remained consistant in their pecking order (give or take) for all this time.
Similarly for Deore / LX. Could argue that LX is closer to modern SLX or even XT. But given that it was a mix before, it would be a mix now. IE not soley high-end.
I personally think that a modern replacement (like for new) would be either the Rockhopper Comp or maybe the Elite. (Deffo not the Expert).
Whether you choose the Comp or the Elite, is up to you. There really isn't much between them in terms of components, and there are arguments for either to be a match for your old one.


Stuck throttle open on specialized turbo electric pedal-assist bike

There is no 'throttle' control on pedal assist e-bikes, just a setting for the amount of assistance, so there is nothing to 'get stuck'.

If the motor spins the wheel aand delivers max torque regardless of pedaling force or speed, there is an electronic control problem. Most likely a sensor is broken, or even just come loose.

The only thing you can do is take it to a Specialized dealer bike store. Only they will have the knowledge and tools to diagnose the issue and fix it.


Cannondale Lefty DLR Ti Fork Rebuild/Maintenance

First thing you should do is read the tech sheet on your fork. I believe the link below is the correct one.
http://www.cannondale.com/CMS/Technology/10_HeadShok_Tech_Pages_CUSA.pdf

There are also a bunch of manuals here but I didn't see one for the DLR Ti.
http://www.cannondale.com/usa/usaeng/Instructions

As far as a rebuild goes it will be similar to rebuilding any fork with oil in it you'll only have one leg though. I found an illustrated tear down which might help you with the decision or whether this is for you or not.
http://forums.mtbr.com/showthread.php?t=221683

The big question is, should you do this yourself. I do all my own maintenance, build wheels and the only thing I don't touch is forks. Most home users just don't have the facilities to really do this easily. If you have a nice shop stand setup and are mechanically inclined then go for it. I know I would if I had the space but I don't.


Finding the history of my 1980s Norco Bike

Norco is still around. You could probably start by getting in touch with someone there.

http://www.norco.com/


pedaling gap after shifting internal hub

That is a sign of the gears getting out of alignment due either to the cable stretch or the rear wheel axle sliding back from the drop out. That pause will become longer as the misalignment gets worse. If you have a Sturmey-Archer hub, you can tighten the axle indicator by half a turn. This is a derailleur system equivalent of a chain sitting halfway between rear cogs and a barrel adjuster used to compensate for it.


Does a helmet become useless after it slips from the hand and hits the ground?

Answering your general question:

PROBABLY not, according to Snell Foundation:

  "I dropped my helmet! Do I have to go buy a new one?"

  Generally the answer is probably not.  Helmets are one-use items, but are quite durable otherwise, at least the ones we certify. Frequent dropping or spiking   a helmet on the ground, or other hard surfaces may eventually degrade the helmet's performance.  Similarly if the helmet falls to the ground at highway speeds unoccupied, the owner must be aware that some degradation may have occurred.   In general, the real damage comes when the helmet contacts an object with a head inside.  The Foundation recommends that if you are participating in an activity that requires that you wear a helmet, you avoid hitting stuff with your head.  It can be difficult to readily determine if a helmet has been damaged, and the protective capabilities compromised without a thorough inspection by a trained professional.  Some manufacturers may provide this service or direct you to these others that can perform these inspections.  The Foundation recommends that if you suspect your helmet may be compromised, then replace it. If the helmet has been involved in an impact while in use, replace it.

But for your actual helmet you should have not any doubts - throw it away. As for motorcycle helmet it is very old. Even when new, your helmet presented worse performance than contemporary mid-end products.

Note for off-topic voters:
It is off-topic.

but

It is very important safety issue.


What can be creating resistance when I cycle?

Make sure that:

The hubs aren't over-tightened
The tires aren't rubbing on the frame or brakes
The tires are at the highest allowed pressure
The freewheel isn't stuck

My guess would be that (at least when loaded), one of the tires rubs on the frame.


What size are Campagnolo Ultra Torque bottom bracket bearings?

I was able to find an answer on the Wheels Manufacturing Page with a bit of Googling.

https://wheelsmfg.com/crankset-tech

Looks like Campy Power and Ultra Torque use a 25mm axle and 6504 size bearings.

The Ulta Torque crank requires 6504N bearing. I believe the N post-fix means that outer bearing shell has a snap-ring groove into which a retaining clip on the bearing cup fits.

See https://koyo.jtekt.co.jp/en/support/bearing-knowledge/6-3000.html


How should I lock my bike in a public front wheel bike stand

The same racks were installed "temporarily" at my local station at the beginning of the year. This is somewhere where a bike with only a cable lock is unlikely to last a week of commuting before being stolen.
It's often possible to put your back wheel in these racks, being careful of the rear derailleur (you may need to select a very high gear). Then a long D-lock can reach to the chainstay, possibly even through the wheel to the opposite chainstay. My kryptonite series 2 won't go through the wheel as well, but my masterlock will. I also use a cable to the front wheel. I considered using 2 D-locks, one locking the wheel to the rack, and the other locking the frame to the first, but didn't do it in the end.
Putting the back wheel in makes things a little awkward for other users - but so does overlapping handlebars when every space has a bike parked forwards. So try not to park right next to someone.


Are there any clip-on fenders that provide as full coverage as bolt-on fenders?

No. In fact the language most have settled on is "full coverage fender" instead of something like "bolt-on fender" for just this reason. Clip-on fenders and Raceblades/Speedez/etc offer a lot less coverage. In particular what they tend to not cover well are your face, your feet, and the bike.

There are various ways of making full fenders work on bikes that have the clearance for them but not the eyelets (this type has become my favorite), and also there's the "reacharound" installation style, which can be okay but is somewhat of a kludge.

Honestly it now more than ever makes absolutely no sense at all to buy a bike intended for rain commuting that can't take full fenders. The options just aren't limited like they used to be.


Changing my All City Mr. Pink to disc brakes

It’s not practical to do this. The frame needs to be built to take disc brakes, and this frame isn’t. In theory, you could find a custom framebuilder who could add the mounting points and reinforcements you’d need, but that would be very expensive. After that, you’d need new wheels and components.


Are there any recumbent tricycles that can be transported with a normal car?

If your car doesn't have a trailer hitch on it, you can have one installed and purchase a "trike and bike" rack that mounts in the trailer hitch receiver:

Hitch Rider Trike-N-Bike™ hitch mounted racks transport a trike and bike at the same time. Wheel holder and bike support arm styles are available for the bike carrier position. The rack fits both 1 1/4" and 2" vehicle receiver hitches (patented).

My inlaws ride recumbent bikes and had a hitch installed on their Toyota Camry and purchased a double-trike rack.


Why are both Schrader and Presta valves still used on tubes?

The main thing is that the Presta valve is thinner, and takes less of a bite out of the rim.  This is quite important as the rims get narrower.

Further, the Presta works better with hand pumps in that there's no spring that the pump needs to overcome to get air into the tire.  Also, the Presta always has the fully-threaded body (which is possible with Schrader, but rare), so a nut can be used to hold the valve in place -- again, quite important with hand pumps.

Never had a bike valve stem break on me, that I can recall.


I assume you mean that your current tire is 27.5x1.90. Rim widths are defined by internal width and external width. Regarding the tire the internal width is important.

As rims and tires for mountain bikes are becoming wider and wider, rim manufacturer often specify the recommended tire width for a rim and tire manufacturer specify the recommended rim widths.

1.90 and 2.20 are very common tire sizes for regular mountain bikes. So they should fit the rim. But as Daniel already commented: you have to check if there is currently enough room between the tire and the frame or fork. Note that wheels and tires bend under load and may rub at the frame even if there is a small gap between tire and frame. Usually bicycle and fork manufacturer define a maximum tire width for their frames and/or forks. As the tire manufacturer are not that consistent with their tire size labeling it may not be the whole truth. It also depends on the size of the side knobs.

So maybe you find a max tire width specification for your frame or you just have to guess if there will be enough room for the new tire.