There is a good chance that mix of soaps is leaving a residue on the rotors and that is collecting on the pads and fouling them. If that soap residue is your problem, then it's also possible that the heat from use is helping performance, but it's not burning the soap away completely.
Whenever you're having a problem with brake power or excessive noise, the first troubleshooting step should always be to remove the wheel and the pads, clean the rotor and pads with brake cleaner or alcohol, and to then sand the pads with a fine sand paper just enough to take the very surface off. Don't sand the rotor (ever).
If that doesn't fix your problem, the pads might be fouled and contaminated by some kind of gunk, or an oil from chain or bleeding could have soaked into them. Sometimes this can be fixed by boiling out the contaminant with a small torch, then sanding the surface again, but most of the time, new pads are needed.
Bedding: the process of "bedding in" your brakes really only applies to when the pads and the rotor don't know each other, so to speak. New pads, new rotor, new both, the surfaces aren't worn into each other to make the maximum contact surface. What happens in bedding, is the differences in surface between the two wear in and become a match to each other. Washing your bike doesn't un-bed them. Removing your pads and re-installing the same ones doesn't un-bed them. Removing the pads and sanding them does un-bed them. I wouldn't worry about there being some complicated process to bedding, it's just a matter of knowing that for the first bit of your ride, the pads are wearing in to fit your rotor and the power comes up a little more with every use of the brake. You can do that in a parking lot or a special hill if you like. I just hit the trail and take it easy for the first half hour or so, or until I like how the brakes are working.
So go through those steps to try to revive the pads and clean the rotors, then maybe change up your cleaning process. If you like that mix of soap, be sure to rinse that soap off fully from the brake calipers and rotors. I personally recommend straight water if you want to use the hose. I clean with Windex or Simple Green and a rag and I only spray alcohol on rotors.


Trimming Shimano FD-R3000 front derailleur

Based on my interpretation of the text of the Dealer's Manual for your Sora derailleur, there is only one trim position which is a when after shifting onto the big ring from the small ring, actuation of the small, lever B, will move the derailleur slightly inboard while still aligning the chain to continue on the big wheel. See page 9 of the manual.  Now this trim position is meant to be used when you're in the large ring and beginning to shift up the cassette, at some point, usually around the 2nd or 3rd largest sprocket, the increasing chain angle may cause the chain to rub the inside cage of the derailleur making noise.  The trim feature kicks the derailleur slightly inboard--enough to stop the noise without actuating a shift off the big ring.

What is suspicious in your case as described is that you experienced noise when in the big ring and moving out on your cassette.  This is odd, because if things are in proper alignment, this large ring--smaller sprocket combination should yield a more proper chainline---the chain runs straighter.  Therefore, I suspect you need to check the initial alignment of the front derailleur: the outer cage plate should be 1-3mm (and the closer, the better) above the teeth of the big ring and absolutely parallel to it.  You should be able to take a hex key or any straight edge and while touching the outside edge of the outer cage plate, the other side of the straight edge should contact the outside of the large chainwheel, laying flat against the two. This is your necessary starting point.


Can I modify the gearing on a 2009 Jamis Aurora?

You can easily put a 26t chainwheel on the front crank. I've done that on a couple bikes, because 30/39/52 makes for a stupidly redundant set of gears with anything like a wide range cassette on the back.

It will likely take some tweaking of the front derailler setup to get it working properly, switching to a 50 from a 52 can help with that.

It isn't an out of the box recommendation since you are slightly exceeding the manufacturers specifications for both front and total ranges, but in practice it
works just fine. I would recommend installing some kind of chain keeper like the
Deda Dog fang. This will help avoid dropped chains when shifting from the middle to small chainring.

As far as changing the rear cassette goes, you should be able to use a Shimano 9speed HG 12-36 and it's generally just cheaper to buy the whole cassette than individual rings. If your current cassette isn't worn, you can mix and match rings to build a custom cassette. However, switching cassettes doesn't really solve the problem as well as a smaller chainring would IMHO. A good granny will give you a few choices in climbing. If you go to just the 36t in the back, you've only added one lower gear and you'll be "stuck" there.

If you are doing a lot of loaded touring, I would recommend replacing the entire front crank altogether. Standard road triples 130/74 BCD don't make a lot of sense for touring. A 110/74 or even a 9 speed MTB crank 22/32/44 will give a more useable set of gears. Personally, I would take a long look at the Surly Mr Whirly crank for touring. It uses modern bearings and you can get a replaceable spider to
allow for whatever front gears you like.

IMHO, the old MTB standard 58/94 is ideal for loaded touring. 20/30/42 allows you to use a relatively close range on the back and still get all the gears you need. If you do go this route, you might need to replace the front derailuer as well.

Keep poking around on Sheldon Brown's pages, there is lot's of good info there.


Replace asymmetrical BB with symmetrical cartridge and spacers?

In principle it is doable. Normally sealed BB have 15 to 20 mm of thread at each side, so 4 millimetres of spacer wont make trouble regarding how deep the shell will thread in.

Regarding symmetry, it is even a possibility that you don't really need to install the spacer, because what defines this is the chainline, that is, on a single speed bike, the front chainring should align perfectly with the rear sprocket. On a triple chainring setup with multiple gears in the rear, the thing gets a bit more fuzzy, but (I) roughly watch for the middle chainring being aligned with the centre-most sprocket. I mention this because some cup and cone systems have huge tolerance and can be off axis without any apparent trouble, and in your case, it is a possibility that the spindle is just 2mm off to one side.

The second factor is whether the cranks rub or collide with the chainstays. Both arms should pass by at roughly the same distance from the chainstays.

So, before deciding whether you need a spacer (and if you haven't disassembled the bike yet) check the chainline and the distance from the cranks to the chainstays, and see if you can detect any misalignment there.

Consider that there are some BB units that don't have a "lip" un the threaded side and therefore a spacer is not actually needed, they are locked in place just by the pressure from the locking cup on the other side, this type of BB can be set off to a side without a spacer (there is actually no way of installing a spacer). Other BBs actually have this lip to hold certain type of front derrailleur in place. In this case the spacer is optional, it is used just to fill up the space left by the absence of the derrailleur's mount ring.

The definitive yes/no compatibility issue is whether the theading on the bb shell is the same. Most sealed BB units I've seen have normal right hand threading on one side and left hand threading on the other. As long as your current cup and cone system is the same in this regard, you should be able to do the upgrade.

One final factor that may come in is the taper on the spindle. If by any chance the one you have is thinner or thicker than the replacement sealed unit, the crankset may "sink" in deeper or not deep enough.

Since you are going to do an upgrade, not a direct replacement, I advise to take the bike to a shop and compare (using a caliper if possible) your actual spindle to the one on the sealed unit you plan to install, just to be sure.


Examples of disc brakes causing injury in pro races

Reports are becoming more common:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/cyclocross-rider-hospitalised-after-disc-brake-causes-wound-484217


New road bike: alloy dual pivot brakes work poorly

In the USA at least you can take a bike back to the store you bought it from and ask for problems to be addressed. However I googled 'Giordano Acciao' and I'm guessing you got this bike from Amazon or a department store, so that's likely not an option for you.

no offense meant, but bikes from Amazon, Walmart or department stores are the lowest quality and can be barely be usable. The performance you are getting may just be the best the low quality components can provide.

That said there are a number of things you can try to improve things. Check the pad alignment and brake adjustment. Park Tool has a good video showing how to do that here. The pads may need a little wearing in and will improve as the outer surface wears off and the pad conforms to the rim. You can also buy higher quality pads from a dedicated bike shop.


There are a number of factors to consider here as others have stated in comments, this upgrade may cost more that you are willing to pay given the cost of the bike originally. I'm going to assume you know that and answer as if you are going to do it regardless.

This bike is an 8 speed rear cassette, which controls the type of crank sets you can use without upgrading more parts. You will need an 8 speed crankset, to make sure your chain is compatible.

The BB is a "standard" 68mm threaded shell, which can be adapted to a variety of options for cranksets.

The SHIMANO M361 Hybrid crankset 48/38/28 tooth in square taper is an inexpensive and reasonably likely direct fit replacement.

It is impossible for me to judge the length of BB spindle required after you change the crankset, however, so you should be prepared for the need to change that also.

Depending on the offset of the chain rings on your original crankset, and the difference in offset on the new one, you may need to get a longer or shorter BB spindle to adjust  the chain line with the new crank.

The best way to do this is to measure from your seat tube to the center of the teeth on your middle chainring with your original crankset, and note the measurement.

Install the new crankset, and measure again. Note the difference. If the new measurement is larger, you need a BB with a spindle which is shorter by the difference in your measurements. If measurement is shorter you need a longer BB spindle.

Since this can't be checked ahead of time, you be to be prepared to have the bike non-functional while you get the new BB.

Then you need to readjust the shifting on the front derailleur to match the new crank.  This may require a new from derailleur cable and housing, or it may not.

This will cost a fair bit of time and work, and between $100-150 dollars. Whether that is justifiable on this bike is up to you, but it is approximately half the cost of the bike, not including labor.

I hope that is helpful.


What to look for in a (Cheap) MTB headlight for night trail riding

As already suggested by @Batman, have a look at this Bike Light Database write up.

What to look for ...
LED - with cheap lights don't believe the claimed Lumen, Look at the LED specification - a CREE XL-M T6 or U2 are probably the one you want. There's not much difference in them, you typically get about real 600 Lumen out of the cheap lights, more expensive lights with better drivers can get a bit more. IN the end, few people need more than 600 Lumen.

Battery
Lithium batteries vary enormously in capacity and price. If you buy cheap ones, expect 1/4 of claimed capacity. Buying off the likes of EBay is a crap shoot - if you want good batteries, buy locally from a reputable supply, otherwise buy cheap ones off EBay and expect to get what you pay for. Life time may be short for cheap ones, as some are known to be 'recycled' lap top batteries.  Make sure you get what is known as protected batteries.

Construction
Heat is the enemy of LEDs, some cheap lights have plastic cases, so don't get the heat away, others have good alumina extrusions. They do not need fins when riding as the airflow is enough to keep them cool. Most cheap lights are not particularly  water proof - if you ride in the rain you probably want to go for better quality.

Most cheap lights come with a Silicon O ring to hold them to the bars/head-mount. It works surprisingly well, but I wonder how long the O rings will last, and getting the light and battery pack on and off the bike is not a quick task.  They will not survive a big knock and a probe to breakage, and the wires are prone to breaking internally - fixable if you are handy with a soldering iron.

Optics
Expensive lights have vastly superior optics to cheap ones. Cheap ones often have a very bright center spot with little flood - great for seeing further than you car head lights, not so great in corners, especially if helmet mounts.

With the cheap lights on EBay (and sold in many shops), they lights may look identical, but be quite different in quality and optics.

For a budget of $50 my suggestion is to do what I have done - Buy a couple of cheap lights off the likes of Amazon/ EBay / Dx. One for helmet, one for bars, be prepared to buy a new battery or lamp every now an then. This gives you a spare light to get you home if one fails, typically a couple of hours each on full brightness (I run both mine on medium, giving 4 hours ride time). The major down side is optics could be a lot better. Many people live with the limitations of cheap lights and replace them as they break rather than buying some good quality ones at 10 times the price.


What sort of bike will suit both offroading and onroading

Check out cyclocross style bicycle.
It does well on the road and light trails.
You can put touring tires on it.

wiki Cyclo-cross


A 51cm frame sounds too small for you, assuming you're average limb length for your height.

You can put the saddle up really high, but that makes it a more aggressive body position, and your seat post is not as well embedded in the frame.

You don't mention your age - I'm guessing you may still be growing, in which case the too-small frame will be getting smaller as you grow.

Answer Pass on this bike - there will be another.


Why does the Uniform Vehicle Code take away a cyclist's right to use most of the roadway?

The short answer is:  the US "Uniform Vehicle Code" is not law and has no direct effect on road users, so the core premise of your question is misplaced. The UVC is a suggestion as to how legislators might choose to write laws, and also how judges might choose to interpret them. So it neither removes nor recognises rights, and your question could perhaps best be interpreted as "how much does the UVC influence lawmakers" which is unanswerable. So I'm going to address "how do road rules differ between cyclists and motorists", using the example of New Jersey since I prefer that question.

More generally in the USA as a whole, motorists have no right to use the road at all while cyclists do. Viz, a motorist can be forbidden to drive but a cyclist cannot directly be forbidden to ride (there are avenues like parole conditions, however).  So in that sense cyclists have many more rights than motorists do. However, a licensed motorist travelling in an approved motor vehicle has permission to do many things that cyclists are legally forbidden from. The road laws vary from state to state, and also within the United States of America.

You will find that the generic rule is that "all vehicles must travel as far to the right as practicable" and that cyclists actually have more of a list of common situations where courts have decided that "as far as practicable" does not exclude the implicit "without dying" that lawmakers thought was obvious. So there's a list, mostly as a response to case law. Cyclist fined for not riding straight ahead from the right turn lane... exception written into statute "cyclists may ride in the straight ahead lane when travelling straight ahead".

You are correct that in theory almost all lanes are "cyclist may use full lane", except that de facto law very rarely corresponds to de jure. Viz, most road users habitually break the law. So it becomes a judgement call on the part of the cyclist as to when it's a good idea to take the lane, and when not.

We are seeing some interesting developments with self-driving cars in this area as it has become obvious that if they always obey all the laws they won't be able to operate on public roads. One simple example is following distances on motorways/freeways. Since most motorists drive in the suicide zone all the time, a self-driving car that allows a safe braking distance behind the car ahead is also allowing enough space for a human driver to feel comfortable moving into that gap.

(edit to add)
An example of the "keep to the right" law:
Keeping to the Right (New Jersey)

  The laws of New Jersey require motorists to keep to the right, except
  when passing. Motorists must drive on the right half of the roadway
  unless driving on a one-way street. Motorists must drive a vehicle as
  close as possible to the righthand edge or curb of the roadway, except
  when overtaking and passing another vehicle. (N.J.S.A. 39:4-82)


Replace bottom tubes of Marzocchi fork with rigid tubes?

It wouldn't be a "simple rigid tube", because it would have to include dropouts and brake mounts. And it would also have to fit into the existing fork's crown. Where would you get such a thing? I don't think Marzocchi, or any other manufacturer, makes it. If you're handy with a welder, you could fabricate it yourself - but at that point, you might as well just make a whole new fork.

Just replace the fork. It's not difficult. Make sure that the crown-to-axle distance is similar to what you had before, otherwise it may screw up the handling.


What you have there is a freewheel, not a cassette. The difference is a freewheel combines the freewheel ratchet mechanism and sprockets and mounts on a large diameter thread on the hub; the freehub/cassette system puts the freewheel ratchet mechanism in the hub and the sprockets slide on a splined freehub body. See here for in depth explaination.

You probably have a hub with frame spacing of 120mm (see here). Modern 700c road wheel have a spacing of 130 or 135mm.

What you will want to do is get a wheel with a 120mm freewheel type hub onto which you can put your existing freewheel (or a new one), but with a 622mm diameter rim (700c) rather than the 630mm (commonly called '27 inch') you have now.

I assume you know you will have to find long-reach rim brake calipers to deal with the difference between rim diameters.


Can mountain biking shoes be used with road bikes? What are the pros and cons?

I wear my MTB shoes with my road bike all the time. A number of the other guys in our group ride also do, nothing wrong with it at all. Road shoes are often stiffer than MTB shoes but not always. My SIDI's are just as stiff as the road version.


Using a 700x23 tire on my wheel (which currently accomodates 700x25)

Looks like it, see
Sheldon Brown (as usual).  There's very little difference between 23 and 25 anyway.


Rims can last a very very long time.

The failure mode (other than from accidents) is simply the wearing-down of the brake surfaces over time (see this question). You can literally wear-away the rim surface with your brakes until the rim is too weak.

Some rims designed for commuters have a groove in them that is designed to indicate wear. When you can no longer see the groove, you know its time to replace the rim (might as well replace the wheel).

Here's an excellent description of rim wear.


Difference between 3 campy 80mm deep section wheels

The najor difference is that Bora wheels are full carbon while Bullet are both aluminium rims with carbon profile. Also Bora wheels are tubular and Bullet are clincher rims. Still Bora are considerably lighter. And they have carbon hub bodies.

As for these 2 Bullet models, as you said Ultra are slightly lighter; not sure where the weight savings come from though...


New suspension fork - how much should I care for locking on the handlebar?

Any fork lockout per-se is a sign of suspension design limitations, one would argue. An ideal suspension system would tune the closed/open states by its own, and there are attempts to achieve that (Specialized Brain, Magura Elect etc.).
Rider's mental energy spent on making lock/unlock decisions translates to lost joy of the ride. Unless every second counts, i.e. one is racing against the clock, and needs all the efficiency all the time.
An always open suspension fork will not turn a ride over a smooth surface into suffering. A little loss, not unlikely unmeasurable, of pedaling efficiency will happen, and that is it.
Similarly, a proper fork, even when locked, will have a blow out valve to open up by itself when a rider encounters a bumpy segment. However, this situation is more dangerous than leaving the fork open all the time. It is better to foresee the need to open the suspension than to rely it to happen on its own.
The difference between lockout control placements manifests itself in how much time the cyclist needs to spend to switch it. When commuting, touring or leisure riding, lost seconds to slow down, find a knob on the fork and turn it are really not that critical. When racing, slowness is of course unacceptable and a lockout placed on the handlebar is preferable. Not that it does not have its negatives: 1. One more knob on the handlebars to mess with; 2. One more cable and housing to periodically replace; 3. Additional weight of additional components.


Will short arm crank conversion work for me?

We cannot tell you what size cranks you need.

Perhaps someone has direct or similar experience to help you with. If not, here's my advice ...

In order of preference

Talk to the rehabilitation people who (I am guessing) helped with the knee replacements. Find out if they can advise you on this, or if there is a sports physiotherapist (or similar) that they recommend. Having those people talking to each other usually fast tracks the process. At the very least I think you need to know the likely consequences of your choices. Is OK to work through some pain or discomfort? How would you know that something is wrong? The more info you have the better.
Find a sports physiotherapist for yourself. If you already know one and they can't help, get a recommendation to someone who can.
As a last resort, get a friend to support the bike while you test what movement you have. Make marks on the wall or use some other means of measuring what you can do without pain. Check if both knees have the same movement. If they are the same then half the distance that you measured is the crank length you can use. Make sure you understand the idea here before going further. Then go back to the shop and see what cranks they have that you could use.
The idea is to have an independent idea of what you need before you talk to the LBS guy again. No matter how honestly helpful he is, be prepared to get a second opinion as well.

Good luck!

Update

Web searches show that cranks can be found in many non-standard sizes, such as 130mm. Some people will take longer cranks and cut them down to the size you need. I'm sure you'll be able to get what you need! The first step is to work out just what that is.

Where your LBS could be of great help is working out what gearing you'll need with your short cranks. As you get stronger your needs may change, so keep up a good relationship with them.


Proper dedicated ebike frame with motor in the middle or the diy swap the wheel approach

You're asking two distinct questions here.

1) DIY vs Store Bought.

Do a DIY if you're mechanically inclined and will enjoy the project as hobby time.
Do a DIY if you have some classic frame you love.
Do a DIY if you want an off-road only high powered beast of a bike.

There are certainly some very cheap kits going around on Amazon etc.  I would be very dubious of a deal where you appear to get an entire eBike conversion kit for hardly more than what would be the wholesale cost of just the raw battery cells if it were a name-brand battery!  (also remember to add all the tools you're going to need to the apparent cost if you don't already have a kitted bike shop.)

Buy it at a store (from an actual bike shop that also services that brand of motor)  if you just want a street legal bike to get around town.

2) mid-drive vs hub-drive holy war very high level generalizations (I own both don't flame me) (yes some of these are not actually about the drive methodology but what's commonly available in which form from stores vs online etc.  they're generalizations)

Mid-drive Pros

motor torque is going through your drive train so gearing can amplify it for demanding climbs
major retail brands have torque sensors in the crank, results in much more natural "bike that helps me out" feel when riding.
the major brands have large dealer networks that can service them

Mid-drive Cons

some designs may have more failure modes where you can't pedal home if the motor breaks
motor torque is going through your drive train, may wear out drive trains faster

Geared Hub-drive Pros

simpler and cheaper, if it does break just the motor is not $$$ to replace
anecdotally much less likely to break in the first place.  Don't know of actual data specifically for bikes. (The fundamental motor design is simple and well proven.  Some mid-drive designs are very complicated with lots of gearing)
Throttle is more readily available if legal and you care for it (although there are more mid-drive bikes with throttles lately.)

Geared Hub-drive Cons

less expensive models don't have torque sensors, only cadence
sensors.  Results in a bike that can feel "pushy" and less natural.
I've ridden some that basically feel like an electric dirt bike that
happens to have pedals on it.  (Maybe that's your preference and this
isn't a Con :) )
on-line only retailers may end up with you waiting
for weeks for service or needing to know how to thread your own
wheels to replace a motor.

Direct Hub-drive

No


Sorry - we don't do valuations here.  Its worth whatever someone is prepared to pay for it.

Google suggests the model existed from 2005 through to present day.

The serial number is generally useless for figuring out anything, other than warranty tracking.  You might get some info from Giant directly, using their contact information at https://www.giant-bicycles.com/contact/


Which rear cog should I remove if I want to add a 26 for climbing?

The answer in terms of ratios might not be the same as the answer in terms of being able to shift. Taking out the 16 would be reasonable but then the shift ramps and pickup teeth wouldn't align. This issue will occur going from the 23 to the 26 whatever you remove.

You've got 8 gears in the back so I assume you've got indexed shifting. If you're using friction shifters it's not an issue as you can overshift then back it off.

Further reading from Sheldon Brown


Repurpose old android phone (without cell phone plan) as cycle computer with GPS tracking?

I have a background in developing consumer GPS systems...... There is no doubt that a Garmin is a much better device for the job. On cell phones, GPS and associated functionality is the side dish - as in "would you like fries with your burger", on a Garmin, is the Raison d'être.

Hardware wise, its a no brainier.

First, as already mentioned in @armb answer, is battery life - Cell phones start small with the smallest battery they can get away with, ever seen a Cellphone with battery life specified - with GPS turned on - there is a reason for that.

Robustness - cell phone - robust not... There are few slightly rugged ones (I have a Motorola Defy) - but they don't match a Garmin. My defy is supposed to be water proof (IP66, 1/2 hour 1 meter under water). I don't worry about rain, but sure as anything ain't going to put it under water - it has one tiny O ring to seal it, I bet an IP66 Garmin has 2 decent sized ones.

Another issue to think about is that phones have tiny GPS antennas (Remember the fries). Cell phones use assisted start - where the cell network provide key information on start up, allowing them to find the satellites easier. Its easy for a GPS to track where you are once it knows where (and when) you are. If it doesn't know where you are, it doesn't know where to "look" for the satellites, and needs to search for them. Think of looking for a buoy on the water. If you get told, "Find the buoy" it can take forever to find it. With training and binoculars, it's easier, but if I say "The buoy is over there, keep watching it" - anyone can see it (that assisted start).
With no data connection, no assisted start - think minutes to get a fix every time you turn it on, even in perfect conditions, and never in marginal conditions vs Garmin taking a few seconds and nearly always. Research "GPS TTFF" (Time to First Fix). A Garmin with its better GPS front end, will hold the fix much more reliably, if you ride "urban canyons", forests and such like its important.

Software -
I mostly use my Defy when on the bike these days - there is a range of Android software probably as good as Garmin has, but you need to find the right one from the hundreds of most rubbish available, install it, jump though hoops with your right pinky finger in you left ear...... Garmin will work out the box.

Sim Card - most cells need a sim card to get past the startup screen.......

Summary - a Cell phone will probably work - with a bit of shagging around, you might even find it acceptable. Garmin will work out the box....


Hmmmm, it sounds like (to me) that you may have a spacer missing behind the cassette on the freehub body for the whole thing to be moving a bit. Also try unscrewing your high limiter screw ever so slightly (about a quarter of a turn) just to see if the noise starts to disappear. (Note, you'll have to change gear and then back in again to get it to deadzone as I call it.)

(I usually call the highest gear a dead-zone gear because there is no force from the cable acting on the derailleur to keep it there, making it rest against the limiter screw.)

It may or may not also be from the derailleur jockey wheels being so far away from the cogs; Has your B-tension screw been set accurately? The tooth of the jockey wheel should be about two millimeters away from the cog when it's on the lowest gear, depending on where you're looking at the reference point. I'd personally reccommend taking it to an LBS if you still can't figure it out; It can take a fair bit of experience to try and diagnose things like this, but if you're not face-to-face with the problem, there's not much that can be gleaned from this. What you perceive as a tapping could be a ticking to me. Or a squeak could be a squeal. It's how each person would personally describe a sound, which is what makes online assistance hard.

If you want to test to see if it's the spacer that's causing the problem as a temporary check method, get a pop bottle, cut it and lay it flat, cut a circle the correct size to fit on the freehub body and test it.

Actually, whlist you're at it, check your rear derailleur hanger; if it's out of whack slightly, it could mean something is rubbing where it wouldn't normally, and may not be to do with the hub at all. (Though, the cassettes moving still does cause concern.)

When reassembling the cassette onto the freehub body, I redidculously highly recommend using Lithium Grease on each component, between where each plastic spacer meets the cogs of the cassette. This grease is very, very light, does not clump as much as others, and is very handy for the fact it's bright white, so you can clean it off of your brake components if ever it flicks, which it shouldn't if you put a thin layer on. :)


Since you are new to cycling... I would say you made about as good of choice as you could have given the information.  I know two people 5'7" and one likes 52cm frames and the other 48-50CM frames.  The point is, the difference is subject to preference based on body type (e.g. short legs-long torso vs long legs-short torso).

Once you get the bike there will be a number of adjustments (seat height, seat position, handlebar height) etc that can be made to dial things in just right.

Finally, really try to understand the frame geometry of this bike so if and when you get your next bike you are vary familiar with the specs what you like what you wished was different etc... so you make the best possible choice in the future.


The bike would sit about 4 mm lower is the main thing (and technically, the gearing will change slightly).

You can mount the tire on there and it will work, but it may not be optimal depending on your rim width; if the rim is too wide for the tire, you may get more flats or rim damage when you hit a road hazard.

As for why you want to switch to something slimmer, if its for rolling resistance, you should read this and this.


Chainring loose around drive-side crank arm / axle

Looks like you have an a lower end, inexpensive crank. The chain rings are riveted together, that's a construction method typically used on lower end cranks. Nothing is supposed to be removed or disassembled on such cranks.
The rings moving on the splines will cause increased wear and eventually more movement. There's nothing you can really do to fix it so a replacement crank is necessary.
Obviously you need a replacement crank with the same number and size of chainrings, but it also needs to be for the correct number of sprockets on the rear wheel. Cranks also come in a range of arm lengths measured from center of axle to center of pedal axle.
The annoying thing about square taper axle bottom bracket cranks is that each model of crank requires a specific axle length. The axle you have now may not be the correct length for whichever crank you choose to replace it. Shimano provides extensive documentation that will tell you what axle length is needed but it's often easier to simply replace the bottom bracket with the crank. On that note you should also look at replacing you chain and cassette or freewheel with the crank.


How does increased upper-body strength affect riding, and which muscles make the biggest difference?

For AM and FR (All Mountain and FreeRide) style riding, a strong upper torso is a huge improvement.  Like your lower body, you want a lot of it to be endurance as well as strength.  Keeping the front end straight and using your arms like shock absorbers as much as your legs will eventually take it's toll.  I have been on many a mountain bike ride in the spring after hours of snow riding in the winter (much closer to road riding) and had arms that were totally shot after only an hour or so while my legs were still quite fresh.  My personal feeling is that my shoulders and arms (uppers and forearms) seemed to be suffering the worst.

One of the main overlooked advantages of a strong upper body is being able to pump (like a pump track) while mountain riding to maintain speed.  I've seen strong BMX kids roll multiple laps around a pump track without pedaling at all, while a competitive road guy barely made a lap before his arms gave out.  Much of that can be translated to trail riding where you can use your upper body to extend your legs.


How do I keep smallest gear on my crank shaft from contacting frame

Welcome to BB standards hell...... you are about to learn far more than you wanted to about bicycle gearing cranks and chain rings.....The only spec I could find on these was the 1999 model, which used a Shimano BB-UN52, 113mm spindle BB Shell Width   73mm - its pretty common and typical of that era MTB.

Your idea of another crank set is a possible solution, that might be easier if you have a supply of donor bikes, is a larger small chain ring.

Its likely though you need a longer bottom bracket spindle, as a short spindle will not only cause this to be a problem, but will affect the chain line. With incorrect chain-line you may have problems with getting gear shifts to work smoothly and reliably, and have problems with chain drops.  Read up about chain line Here (as always, Sheldon Brown)

Presuming its square taper BB, they come in a range of lengths. You should be able to measure your current length, and might find a longer one on your donor bikes. Hopefully the one you have now is around 106mm, meaning all you need to do is source the correct 113mm sized one.


What is the maximum number of cassette teeth compatible with Shimano 11 speed 53-39T, 52-36T & 50-34T crankset?

The rear derailleur mostly determines maximum cassette sprocket size. The absolute size of the chainrings does not affect it, but the difference in size between them can limit it.

The largest cassette sprocket size is determined by two rear derailleur specification: the  max sprocket size of course, and the total capacity.

Total capacity = difference in min/max sprocket teeth +  difference in min/max chainring teeth. It's basically a measure of how much chain slack a derailleur can take up.

However, for standard modern compact and subcompact cranks the chainring size difference is always 16 (52-36, 50-34, 48-32 etc), so normally the rear derailleur max sprocket size specification practically limits what cassette you can use.

If you combine an MTB rear derailleur and a road crank, the total capacity might limit the max cassette sprocket size to less than the derailleur's max sprocket spec, because MTB double cranks typically have a size difference of 10 teeth rather than 16 (at least Shimano's recent offerings do).

If you use a derailleur hanger extension or other method to accommodate a larger cassette sprocket, then total capacity does need to be taken into account.


Alternative for Schwalbe Kojak 35-584 tire

You don't need to replace the tire with a tire that is exactly the same ERTRO. And while ERTRO's are probably the most accurate tire measurement, they still aren't all that accurate. One manufacturers 35-584 can be slightly wider/narrower than another's.

See http://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Unless the bike has very tight clearances ( unlikely for a Commuter bike) you should be able to use any tire in the range 30-584 to 40-584 ( or even larger). The only important number in the ERTRO designation is the rim size (i.e the second number).

Panaracer makes some good relatively cheap 650B ( or *-584) tires[1] that would likely work well on that bike if you don't want to stick with Schwalbe. Schwalbe has a pretty nice range of 650B tires in "road" widths.

If you search for 650B Road tires, you should get a pretty good selection of tires that will work for your bike.

[1]- Col de la Vie or Pasela.


5 arm cranksets versus 4. Which is better and why?

With a triple crank it matters more what the inner most PCD is. 110 and 130 both refer to the larger rings only and the length of the crank arms themselves may not suit you and it may not be compatible with your bike immediately either.
I have played with bikes for over 40 years and ridden most Shimano PCD types and arm lengths and 4 of the bottom bracket standards too. You may need new bottom bracket bearings installed at the same time, the different standards don't interchange at all. The newer the better from every angle if you need it and the price is right for you.
Sometimes the bike is better to be replaced if you know enough to understand what you need and more than a few things need to be replaced at once on a mediocre older bike.
Your described style of riding tells me you need the model that comes with the smallest number of teeth on the smallest ring of the crankset. This selection will provide the easiest effort to you regardless of most other things. The other gears are almost always properly spaced to provide 3 separate ranges of gears you can use for riding comfortably uphill, downhill and more level ground. Practice using all you gears to learn when you may wish for just that particular effect on your comfort and your efforts.
Just like your brakes it is important that your gears work just as you need them to when you need then to.
I have used middle and inner ring minimums on 48/34/20T with 94/58PCD and 54/39/24T with 130/74PCD and others in between. Your tyre size, terrain you ride and what you will carry on it really sets your gearing needs the most. If you learn to enjoy using more effort and sweating when you ride your gear needs may also evolve.
I've not seen or heard of less than 20T on a crankset. If both cranksets have the same lower number, then, the wider of the other 2 gears would be my recommendation. You can usually change just the inner ring very cheaply if you need a change but it can only go so small with each PCD.
Bike parts are usually so reliable as metallurgy has improved greatly in our lifetimes, thinking about ongoing costs is not very relevant apart from maintenance of the chain. Keep it clean and dry lubed following the directions is the biggest money saver you can make. It is possible to have a chain last many 1,000s of kilometres with regular care.
Edit: Only now that I've returned have I actually seen these 2 crank set images you referred to. I'd select the 5 arm Shimano with a new BB, the 2 piece design was introduced 20years ago and lots of spares and a 24T is possible in place of the 26T if needed. Bending any axle or crank arm is likely with enough force regardless of the system.


It might fit perfectly as is. If for some reason it doesn't fit perfectly, you could make a shim out of a soda can (which is about 0.1 mm in thickness). I don't think anyone makes a commercial shim of that size.


What's this linchpin on hydraulic brakes

The cotter pin holds the pads in the correct position. It would only be removed to replace the pads when worn. For information sake the silver color plates are springs that help retract the pads away from the rotor when the brakes are released. They also prevent brake squeal by limiting vibration.


I tend to agree with @amcnabb, softer rubber will stick to asphalt better, but it's going to collect lots of junk. However soft tires will also live less than harder slicks, so anyway it's the balance between grip and durability. If you are not that worried about gripping the road in crazy turns, just search for harder rubber slicks.


buy cases of beer with the cardboard dividers between the bottles.  You can then re-use the cardboard dividers in other cases of beer.


Best Way to mount Wald rear folding baskets to the rack on a Batavus Fryslan

After posting this question, I got a twitter response from my local bike shop where I got my Batavus.  They suggested screw clamps, and I agreed it was the best choice and mounted my rack with them.  Urbanistic tea and bike is awesome!


I solved the puzzle. It's a Caloi Triathlon. Although Caloi is a brazillian brand, they ordered 200 bikes from Suntour in 1985 for their racing teams. It came originalli with suntour shifting group, sugino cranks and nitto handlebars. It's such a rare ride over here, it's a shame the paint is no longer original and i have no access to a full range of the components, I really like to looks and weight of the frame.

It was only made in this nice blue color.

A better look at the lugs on the top tube

Thanks for the chase, folks!


No such product exists for mechanical groupsets yet. As for Di2, you just need the little Bluetooth transmitter to communicate with your head unit. This will record the number of shifts, as well as the gear that you're using at any time.

I've included a screenshot of the Wahoo Elemnt app to show how this data is displayed. To set this up, you need to program your cassette and chainring ratios into the head-unit, because your Di2 isn't able to tell the number of teeth, only which cog it's on.


How to increase range of disc brake pistons?

If you can pull the lever all the way to the handlebar while not getting much braking force, then it is very likely that you somehow got air into the system somewhere, and you need to bleed the entire brake system.
Perhaps when you were changing the pads, you pulled the brake lever while the pads were removed, which would allow the pistons to come out too far ?  That would let air into the caliper, which would lead to the symptom you described.


You can get lights that are powered by a dynamo (generator) in the front hub. Combined with bright LED front and rear lights you get excellent visibility (both seeing and being seen) and very little maintenance. The downside is that the equipment is not inexpensive – figure you'll need to spend at least $250 US for a front wheel, headlight and taillight.
My personal opinion is that dynamo light are a huge improvement over battery lights – because you don't have to worry about batteries running down or loosing capacity in cold weather. Not having to worry about batteries means that you can run the lights all the time too. The downsides of dynamo lights are that you take a small hit in terms of drag (the power it takes to run the lights) and that they are harder to remove. The latter means that your bike is a bit more of a target for thieves.
Dynamo lights are common in Europe and good ones will likely exceed German specs – from the bit of research that I did before buying my lights the German specs don't require a very bright headlight. I ride a lot on unlit roads and really appreciate a much brighter light, the brightness also helps keep the road visible when there are oncoming cars.
I do a fair bit of night riding and good lights completely transform the experience. For reference here's what I'm using:

IDC Stout front wheel – a good enough, solidly built, wheel using a Sanyo NH-H27 dynamo hub ($95 on e-bay). It was a gamble, so (2,500 km) far I'm well pleased. It flickers a bit more than the SON hub on our tandem, but for the price I've got nothing to complain about.

Busch & Müller Lumotec IQ Premium Cyo T Senso Plus - a bright, wide LED headlight with a stand light (a capacitor in the light that provides power to keep the light going for several minutes when you're stopped) and a daytime light pattern that makes you visible to cars in the daylight – this really helps when you're in and out of shadows ($104 from Peter White Cycles). Busch & Müller makes some less expensive lights but the Cyo is exceptional for range and beam width. The beam width is really nice when you're cornering in the dark. Range keeps you safe at speed. For anyone who rides on dark roads the Cyo is about the best light for the money. You can spend a bit less for a version without the daytime running light feature.
If you are more concerned with being seen than with seeing some of the lower powered lights might be a good choice. The Busch & Müller Eyc (US $72 with the daytime running light, $66 without) puts out a very bright, but narrow beam (range is comparable to the Cyo, but you don't get to see as much on the sides). They also make a light called the Avy (US $42 without the daytime running light feature, US $56 with), which I haven't ridden with, but which sounds like it might be a good city light.

Busch & Müller Toplight Line Brake Plus – a big, bright, rack mounted tail light with a "brake light" feature. The dynamo puts out AC and the tail light monitors the frequency of the AC, which is proportional to the speed of the bike, when the frequency drops the light glows brighter ($49 from Peter White Cycles, there is also a version for $34 without the brake light feature). The nice thing about this light is that the illuminated area is wide (3 or 4 inches) and seems to help drivers judge distance to your bike.

Peter White is the US importer for Busch & Müller lights and is very knowledgeable about them – and they seem to have about the best prices on them. He also has photos comparing the beam patterns on his website.
One way to reduce cost a bit is with a [sidewall dynamo][6] (aka bottle generator). These cost about the same amount as a low-end hub generator (US $50 plus a mount which runs $10 to $15) and save the cost of building a wheel. The downside of the sidewall dynamos is that they require friction on the tire sidewall and may slip in icy conditions. Ideally the tire will be built with a reinforced sidewall for longevity. Some of the better models have a choice of drive wheels so that you can use a more aggressive one in the winter.


Centermounted kickstand on touring cyclocross

You probably can't get a safe mount for that type of kickstand on that bike (and likely not any kickstand - the space is just too small). In general, kickstands on good new frames (even touring frames like the Surly LHT) are tricky since they stress the frame in ways the manufacturer did not intend. See this page from Surly, for example.

You may want to try a kickstand which doesn't attach to the bike, such as the Click-Stand.


freewheel stress and possible difficult removal with super underdrive gear?

Yes - chains can be broken and will also wear quicker when under stress from low gearing.

I have snapped a almost new KMC chain while on a 15% climb.   I would have been in 26/42 on a 26" MTB.  Fortunately I was going very slow.  The pedals spun, so I clamped on brakes while unclipping.  The slope meant I couldn't reach the ground straight below the seat, and so the whole bike and I fell over to the left (our footpath side) and tried to slide away down the hill.  Was quite embarrassing, but fortunately not painful or damaging.  One of the chain's side plates had come off the pin, so it was only a matter of time before it wrenched the other side out completely.  Never buying another KMC chain!

Removing the freewheel can be hard, so remember to apply copperslip or anti-seize or even plain old marine grade grease to the threads before assembly.  The leverage of the rim means you can exert a lot of force when undoing the freewheel, provided the nut is held firmly in a bench vise (and said bench vise is fastened to a bench!)

Freewheels tend to seize their threads, but sufficient power can undo them.  Cassettes can "erode" their way onto a freehub body, and be unrecoverable completely.

Finally never underestimate the torque advantage of a handy piece of pipe.


Frame not faced for BB. Strip the paint or leave as-is?

There are two things at play here:

The actual issue of the bottom bracket facing
The bike shop doing poor work.

With common square taper BBs, you are pretty much looking entirely at problem 2. With a cartridge bearing square taper BB, it's not absolutely necessary that the bottom bracket is perfectly faced. Most decent quality frames, even unfaced, have a shell that is consistent enough for cartridge bottom brackets though. Still, having the shell faced is a good thing to do, and if you are using other bottom brackets styles, such as a hollowtech type, then it is absolutely necessary.

However, if the shop said they were going to face it, you paid for them to face it, but they didn't, then they obviously need to do what they said they were going to do. Putting the wrong sized seatpost in is also a seriously bad move.

So really, your problem isn't one of whether to strip the paint or not, but is one of you need to find a better shop with better worksmanship.


I think you're right on the age based on this document,
http://thirtythree.org/projects-unconverted/Lowrider%20Bicycle%20Restoration/Identifying%20Schwinn%20Frames.pdf

G from Taiwan, in 1979.   As the document mentions, even though the date code is 79 it could have been used in 1980's line up.

The 1980 catalog shows a couple 12 speed's
http://schwinncruisers.com/catalogs/1980.html

Only the Voyageur 11.8 says it's Schwinn-Approved making it made most likely from Taiwan.
Without any pictures or remaining decals this may be the most likely model.


Drivetrain, components of different brand

The general answer is no. There are a number of standards that have emerged in the industry that mean different manufacturers products can be used in the same drivetrain.

Chain pitch and inner width are standardized so chains are generally interchangeable, but need to be of the correct external width to match the number of sprockets in the cassette of course.

Shimano and SRAM use the same freehub body design, so wheels, hubs and cassettes that use that standard all work together. Campagnolo uses a different freehub body design I believe.

Cranks have the match the number of speeds in the rear (chainring spacing has to match the width of the chain), provide the right chainline and fit in the bottom bracket (for which there is a confusing number of standards). New bikes are often outfitted with a non-Shimano or SRAM crank. FSA cranks are very common for instance.

Shifters and derailleurs do have to be from the same manufacturer and compatible with each other. Shimano mountain derailleurs and road shifters don't work with each other for example. Same for hydraulic brakes.

There's more interchangeability with mechanical rim brakes as the only thing that matters is the cable pull ratio. All linear pull (V-brake) calipers and levers work with each other for example

The back end of the drive train does not care what the front end is, as along as the crank is compatible and the rear derailleur can deal with the difference in chain ring sizes. A bike could be outfitted with a Shimano rear derailleur and shifter and SRAM front derailleur and shifter for example.


SRAM force rear shifts go in the wrong direction when on largest cassette

If your rear derailleur is in the 28t cog, there is only one click available, because shifting to the next (non-existent) cog would put your chain in your wheel.

Because of the way the Double Tap levers work, the first click will release to the next gear down, either 27t or 26t depending on your cassette.

There is nothing to fix. This is proper behavior for this group set.


Yes, they exist, though they are expensive and meant for racing rather than for general purpose riding on regular roads. One example is the View Speed Cyclops glasses. They take a lot of getting used to but in the arcane world of time-trial racing they have their adherents.


There are two things you need to match up for compatibility.

The frame bottom bracket shell
The crank axle diameter and length accommodated

As Adam says the frame bottom bracket shell is BSA/British, also known as 'ISO standard threaded', either 68 or 73mm wide.
FSA Megaexo accommodates a 24mm diameter crank axle, which is the same as Shimano HollowTechII cranks. SRAM GXP is different and uses 24mm drive side, 22mm non-drive side.
You can either get another Megaexo BB or a Shimano unit.


There is also a spec for the maximum size of a rear cog.  The 5800SS allows a 23 to 28 tooth largest cog, so you are OK.  The GS allows a range of 28 to 32 teeth for the largest cog.  I would suggest you decide based on which direction you are more likely to want to change-if you go to an 11/32 cassette you need the GS, while if you go to tighter gearing you need the SS.  These are the specified numbers and you can often make it work over a little more range.


Rear wheel stuck after taking off nuts on axle

When removing bolt-on wheels, it’s best to only slightly loosen each nut at a time. You don’t want to completely remove each side in one go, because then you get your current situation, where the other side refuses to come off. You end up spinning the entire wheel along with the nut, so it won’t unscrew. Loosen the left side an quarter turn, then the right side a quarter turn, then the left side again...and so forth. I would do up the nuts tight again and start over. Perhaps begin by breaking loose the other nut so you’re sure it’s not corroded in place or something.
You might want to consider using a proper 15mm wrench. I presume you’re using an adjustable wrench, which isn’t very precise and can strip nuts and bolts (as you’ve discovered) if even slightly too loose at high torques. Basic wrenches are available at hardware and automotive stores for like 10 dollars, so it’s a worthwhile investment. For a couple extra dollars you can upgrade to a ratcheting wrench which will make the job slightly faster.


Pros and cons of using 20-25mm inner tube in a 32mm tire?

I use a 700x23 butyl inner tubes (I've tested Michelin, Pirelli and Kenda) in a 700x28 tyre and I've had no problems so far. But 700x20 one is 'too thin' in this set, so it can explode. It depends on the brand and you can't rely on the assumption that every inner tube will work in every tyre.


Changing the entire chain gear mechanism

Addressing only the technical compatibility, if you currently have a Shimano 8x3 setup, and you wish to upgrade to another Shimano 8x3 setup, then any Shimano 8-speed road parts should be fine.

So that includes Claris, Sora, Tiagra etc. as long as it's 8-speed kit. Same goes for the chain.

I mention Sora and Tiagra just in case you're able to source these "old" parts at a decent price, off eBay or something.


I found that by using trainer specific tires the noise gets lower (see these for example).

Another thing that usually helps is to put a carpet under the trainer.

Anyway, the major culprit for noise is the trainer itself, so I fear you should buy another model of trainer if, even by using carpet and proper tyres, it's still too much noisy.


Can you attach front panniers to shocks?

Yes, it's common. Many low rider racks come with oversize U bolts specifically for this purpose, and the better ones bolt on to the brake posts like the Old Man Mountain rack shown below. If you're really lucky your suspension fork will have mounts for standard low-rider racks already (that's very rare though).

There are a few caveats. First, try to put minimal weight in those panniers. Suspension forks are not as strong as solid ones - they're designed to take a specific set of forces and avoid others by being suspension forks. I'd fill the front panniers with low density stuff (clothes, sleeping bag etc). Second, don't overtighten the clamps. If you crush the wall of the fork even slightly it is very likely to fail.

You can also put a handlebar bag on as usual, but those are designed for small, light items and are essentially a big wallet - cash, phone, camera.


How to remove the fork off this Peugeot Nouveau

I believe the chrome steel collar, this collet type piece that it grips, and the cut out area of the steerer they're sitting on are how the stem is held tight on this bike. The aluminum collet piece may be there so it's an aluminum and not a steel thing gripping the steerer threads. So, it may not be threaded as such, but is pushing up against threads and probably has indendations of threads formed into it. It's an old aluminum-on-steel interface with lots of contact area, so you may be up against aluminum oxide corrosion if it's stuck and could use anything you'd use on a stuck seatpost. My current favorite to make quick work of it are thermal products like Finish Line Chill Zone.
If it's stuck, you may get somewhere by putting a screwdriver or other similiar tool in the slit and twisting it just enough to flex it open.
A strap wrench could also be your friend here because it won't hurt the part and is the ideal way to get leverage in situations like this.
It appears that the top race of the headset is a common French type with knurling on the outside and a toothed washer on top, so this collet and clamp assembly you're working with is likely not part of what adjusts or holds the headset bearing adjustement.


Adding bar tape to the bar-ends is certainly possible. What kind of tape you want to use is determined by your preference. There are both thin and thick types available. If the bars still feel to thin after applying a layer of tape you can try double-wrapping them.

Drop bars are wrapped from the ends towards the stem, with the starting end of the tape tape tucked into the end of the bar, secured with the end-plug. You may have trouble getting thick tape into the end of the bar-end as they are of somewhat smaller diameter than drop bars. The other end is simply secured with tape.

Direction of wrap is important, force from the hands tends to be downwards on the outside of the drops section of drop bars, so you will want the direction of wrap to be downwards on the outside also.

This Park Tool video may help you.


You can buy any 7 speed Shimano brifter (or compatible ones made by Microshift). The ones you link to are fine. The front derailleur needs to be Shimano road.

You'll need:
- Cable stops on the downtube
- New cables and cable housing (brake and shift)
- Probably new bar tape

The tools will be cable and housing cutters, an awl, a file and some screwdrivers/hex keys.

Not sure what you mean by cable tensioners.


The highest volume use of carbon black is as a reinforcing filler in rubber products, especially tires:

  Practically all rubber products where tensile and abrasion wear properties are crucial use carbon black, so they are black in color.

Two of the pictures of 'orange' tires show that while the sides of the tire are orange, the tire is black 'where the rubber meets the road'.


I suggest given your goals (finish and enjoy) you can train for fitness largely on road, but try to get out and train on gravel whenever you can.

I've had some fun on my tourer on gravel tracks recently and can say that it's well worth getting in some practice on that surface, in a range of conditions -- the bike will handle very differently.  You should choose your gravel tyres soon and use them for practice (there's no real harm in leaving them on for on-road training in your case).

Luckily your goals are compatible with not having much chance to ride the course in advance, as it looks like you're planning to travel to at least one of the events. Also the Dirty Boar doesn't permit riding in advance as they've got special permission for some of the route.

In your position I could be quite tempted to sign up for the 130km version and just go for it with only enough specific training to try out your gravel tyres (and bike?) on gravel.


It's a freewheel with some words on it. The tool splines will always spin with the cogs if it's a cassette.


Everything here depends on what rear hub you have, specifically what type of freehub body it has (the part that the cassette mounts on). Given that it seems to be a frankenbike, it could be a lot of things.

Also, given that it's a frankenbike, it would be wise to first double check that your shifter that says 9-speed is still set up for 9-speed, since Campy can be upgraded. So check that it has 9 positions (8 clicks).

The first thing to do is identify what type of rear freehub your hub has. Campy and Shimano each have different freehub spline patterns, and each have at least a couple different generations of freehub lengths dictating how many cogs will fit, and, in Campy's case, derivations of the spline pattern.

If you have any Shimano-compatible freehub, you can't set up the bike with any kind of normal drivetrain and would need to resort to some kind of compatibility hack. There are actually a couple pretty reasonable choices there, unless you got really unlucky and it's a 7-speed Shimano freehub. Namely you could upgrade the shifter to 10-speed and buy a 10-speed Campy rear derailer and 10-speed conversion cassette, or you could upgrade the shifter to 10-speed and then use the "Hubbub mod" with a Shimano RD and 9-speed cassette, which is a much cheaper plan.

If it's a Campy-compatible hub, you need to figure out what generation of freehub body it has. Campy 9 speed cassettes don't fit on their 8-speed freehub bodies. Campy used to sell upgrade 9-speed freehub bodies for their 8-speed hubs, but I believe they haven't been made for a while and may be fairly unobtainable now. If it's a 9 or 10/11 speed freehub body, you just need a Campy 9-speed cassette and rear derailer.

Note that buying a bunch of Campy parts to make your Campy shifter work may be far from the most economical plan, especially depending on the condition of the Campy-compatible wheel if that's what you have.


Bought slightly too big outer tube - options?

You can't make your front wheel sit lower without replacing the fork, and even if you switch to longer-drop brakes (I assume they're dual-pivot calipers if it's a racing-style bike), you can't easily move the mounting bolt.

The only options I can think of are:

if moving the rear wheel in the drops works, keep both tyres for the rear wheel and buy a single smaller tyre for the front (cost: 1 extra tyre)
get wider rims, to flatten the tyre's cross-sectional profile (this is a lot more expensive than just buying new tyres though, and I'd hate to speculate on what width you need to save your 2mm+) (cost: 1 or 2 wheels, depending on 1)
get a new front fork, only if 1 works (cost: 1 fork + maybe paying your local shop to cut the steerer tube)
just get new tyres and sell the old ones - say they're unused and didn't work for your bike (cost: depends on what you can sell the tyres for)


Do spoke nipples come in one standard body size for the gauge?

Here's measurements from 3 in my immediate vicinity:

Sapim Sil Brass 14G 12mm, I believe featuring the Sapim Polyax design: 3.7mm

Wheelsmith Duristan BN14 (Silver 14g Brass): 3.82mm

DT Sil Brass 14g (I think): 3.9mm

(I don't have al nipples to measure at home, sorry.)

That's more variance than I would have expected.

One major point of design consideration for this area of the nipple (the round part and the shoulder) has to do with different manufacturers' schemes to get the nipple to swivel as freely as possible in the rim at whatever angle the design of the wheel puts it at, to avoid bowing of the spoke due which can lead to failure, or to avoid having to take steps in wheelbuilding to correct the spoke line at the nipple (the Bicycle Wheel by Jobst Brandt has more info on this). I imagine you get more swivel the thinner you make the round part, but the tradeoff is you want material there behind the threads to avoid failure, especially with an aluminum nipple.

Sapim emphasizes the swivel factor with their nipples so that might explain why their number is the smallest of the above.

A related note is that the outside diameter of the area in question doesn't really vary much between gauges. That's one reason why many prefer 1.8mm threaded-end spokes (either straight gauge or Supercomps) for disc brake wheels with al nipples - you get more material there to counteract the extra stress of the brake, which can contribute to nipple breakage.


Is it possible to fit a 36 hole rim to a 32 hole hub?

Theoretically? Yes. Practically? No.

the shopkeeper ordered a 36 hole rim instead of 32 one.

In most of the world this is his problem. You ordered new rim that will it your hub from him, so that's what you should get. Go to him, tell him you want what you ordered, that is a rim on your hub, or you want your money back and go to another repair shop  to make your wheel. If he opposes, then it is a question for sister site, Law Stack Exchange. But if you are in the European Union shopkeeper is on a losing position. I believe that's the case for most of the western world.


Can a headlight battery be reconditioned if it won't hold a charge?

The battery is probably shot but the battery pack can be rebuilt.  An outfit like "Batteries Plus" (in the US) can do it.  Or you can generally do it yourself if you're fairly clever (though getting it professionally rebuilt is better because they have the right spot welder, etc).

(It would be nice if the light mfgrs would use standard tool batteries rather than their own designs.  It would be fairly easy to build an adapter to hold one in a water bottle cage, eg, and then replacements would be readily available and you could use the tool charger.)


Regarding handlebar selection, aero bars are only allowed in the pursuit (individual and team) and time trial events (1km TT, etc). All the other track events are drop bars only.

Wheel selection is a little more dependent on the rider's preference, though this is regulated as well; dual discs wheels are allowed for track time trials (essentially the same events that allow aero bars), while a deep section front wheel is always allowed.


Hard to diagnose without visual access to the bike, but in my experience, some causes of such noise can be misalignment of the rear deraileur - possibly caused by a bent hanger. Watch this Park Tool video on rear deraileur hanger alignment: http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailleur-hanger-alignment


Is it possible to add disc brakes to a bike with caliper brakes?

2 parts: front and rear.

For the front, getting a new fork with disc brake mounts is not that impractical if you are serious about disc brakes. You will have to get a new hub or wheel anyway. The front does most of your braking, so that may be all you need to upgrade. Get a mechanical brake that is compatible with your cantilever style brakes and you won't have to change your levers. I did this on an old touring bike of mine, and the improved braking in the front only was great and all I needed, even fully loaded on long descents.

For the rear, there are a few disc brake adapters on the market if you do a search. But they are heavy, flexy or both, compared to a frame mount. You can try them, of course, but I don't think they will give you the benefit you are looking for, esp. for the price of the adapter, new/updated wheel, brake, rotor, etc.


45 day old SRAM rear derailleurs jumps gears

When the shifting skips over a cog on the cassette gears, this is because the derailleur hanger (or less often, the derailleur cage) is misaligned. That is, the small sacrificial tab of aluminium which is between the frame and the derailleur proper. This can happen easily on any bike if it is mishandled or the mech strikes a rock etc., the age of the bike isn't a big factor.
The solution is a derailleur alignment gauge, which a shop will have and can check the alignment for you quickly and easily. You could buy one yourself but they aren't the most common home tool because they're pricey and hopefully you need one only rarely.
Cable stretch would affect each shift equally, the cable loses tension and it is sluggish to change into every gear, because the start point of the indexing is out and the error carries over to all shifts equally.
Your problem is that it skips past just one cog completely, part way up the cassette, which is an indication of misalignment. Playing with the cable tension could bring a little improvement, but if you are not proficient with indexing adjustments, the misalignment will cause you added frustration, even if you follow the instructions correctly. In this case it's well worth checking the hanger alignment at the same time as any indexing adjustments.


What are the differences between "clincher" and "tubular" tires?

If you want simple and easy to fix then you sure as heck don't want tubulars.

Someone else will probably provide more details and links, but clinchers are rims/wheels with a tube, then a tire is mounted over the tube and the bead of the tire is hooked under a lip on the rim.

Tubular rims have no lip.  The tire encases the tube completely and is sewn in typically.  SO fixing a flat means cutting open the tire and patching the tube, then sewing it back up.

The tire assembly is glued to the rim.

Heat from brakes can melt the glue supposedly and cause tires to roll off.

The rolling resistance used to be much better on tubulars.  Unless you are a purist or a pro I don't think there is a reason to go with tubulars these days.


converting a road bike (aluminum with carbon forks) handle bar

I'd recommend hitting up a local bike shop for recumbent bike options.  Since product availability is pretty location specific, only this general advice is helpful.  Even recommending a particular website may not be helpful depending on your country of residence.

Regarding handle bars: your entire position on your bike is going to have changed in the 10 years of recovery (welcome back!).  Getting your bike professionally fitted is well worth looking into.  I did so after getting hit by a car.  Not all bike shops offer this service though so it may require some searching online to find a place that offers fitting.

Generally speaking, you will probably find a more upright position more comfortable.  That means raising your handlebars and possibly pushing your seat forward.  Raising your handlebars can be done with spacers as well as purchasing a new stem with a steeper angle.  It's best to get these options dialed in in real-time with a professional that you can give immediate feed back to.

Regarding handlebars specifically, refer to @Criggie's comment.  Handlebars are generally system specific and would require more than just swapping the bars.


Can i use 26er tires and rims on a gravel fork?

If you use a 26er frame, 26" wheels and a 29er fork, the geometry will be awkward. It is possible to mount it, it will work, but the bike will be...
... well, I was wrong, it is the other way, it will be shorter in front. Gravel forks have axle to crown lengths aroun 400 mm (more than road bikes to accomodate larger tyres).
If I were you, I would be looking for a rigid 26er MTB fork. they are not rare. And quite often come.with straight steerers as required by the older MTB frames.
As @mattnz requests, such a rigid fork should be corrected for the fork travel the frame was designed to be used with. For example, this is a 26" fork designed for frames used with forks with 100 mm travel (axle to crown 453 mm). https://surlybikes.com/parts/1x1_fork


The master link that came with my chain won't fit

You need to bend the chain. Look at this link (PDF) for the Connex Snap On which is the same idea. The PDF is reproduced below in case the thing goes down.

As an aside, you normally can get an alternative standard quick link (like a SRAM 8 speed powerlink) for these chains, rather than the Snap on type.


Can replacing my handlebar tape help reduce finger numbness?

Hand numbness or tingling can happen for a variety of reasons. It could be a matter of fit, or simply tape or the handlebars themselves.

Bike fit:

How's your riding posture? If you're putting too much weight on your hands, it could be because you need to raise you saddle to allow you to put some of your weight on your legs. It's also possible you just need to tilt it a litte. For example, I know that I put a little weight on my butt, even though I try to put most of it on my legs. My hands are happiest when I tilt my saddle so I'm almost sliding forward, but not quite. The point here isn't that you should do this; everybody's bike and body are different. (Well, some people have the same bike as others.) But minute changes can have a huge effect.

Saddle height can also be a matter of trial and error. This answer gives the skinny on saddle height, although experimentation is always helpful. This question talks about bar height relative to saddle height.

Is your bike sized correctly? If the distance from the saddle to the bars is too great (or too small), that could cause other problems (namely, making it difficult to get a good fit in the first place). You can get a rough idea of this by checking that your standover height is correct, although this is a very rough test.

Bars, hands, gloves, and tape:

Angelo's answer gives a good overview of bar tape, and cork-vs-gel tape. In addition, I've heard that gel tape tends to wear out quickly, as the gel slowly migrates away from where you rest your hands. (Gel saddles have similar problems.)

Another option is double-wrapping the bars; some people swear by it.

You can also get padding for your bars that you stick to the bars before wrapping. I tried it and while I personally didn't feel any difference, some people love the stuff.

Are your bars an appropriate width? A good rule of thumb is that they should be as wide as your shoulders, although this can translate into some very wide bars, particularly with stocky men. (Ahem.)

Lastly, don't forget that padded gloves can help. Sometimes, when your hands start to hurt a bit, it just means that it's time for some new gloves.

In conclusion:

Hand pain is, unfortunately, a problem that many cyclists fight for years; others lick it immediately or never encounter it. Don't be afraid to experiment with the goal of making yourself as comfortable as you can on the bike.


Width: If you hang the bikes on the wall, either "head to toe" or at staggered heights so that you can interleave the handlebars, then the width requirement is only slightly greater than 2x your handlebar width. Call it 60".

Depth: If the wall opposite the hanging wall opens like a barn door, then you don't need to be able to fit your body in the shed, and it only needs to be as deep as the bikes are tall, so that's whatever your seat height is above the ground, plus some clearance. Maybe 36".

Height: Length of bikes, end to end, plus some margin. Maybe 60"? Unless you're hanging them at staggered heights, in which case it's probably more like 75". And you'll want a little bit of a pitch to the roof so it sheds rainwater, so a few inches higher at one side.

These are all inside dimensions. If you're using 2x4s for framing, add 7" in each direction, plus the thickness of whatever your cladding is (plywood, chipboard, clapboard, etc). And don't trust some rando on the Internet--measure this out carefully before you start cutting materials.

I don't know how tight a space you're trying to fit this shed into, but you might want to consider making it a little bigger than this. Plywood comes in 4'x8' sheets, and every cut you save makes the project simpler. Plus you can leave room for your N+1 bike.

Making a shed that they can roll straight into will be easier to use day-to-day, but the width will need to be the total width of all the bikes at their widest point, plus some margin, so that handlebars don't interfere with each other.


Is a brompton right for my riding style?

I have a Brompton and it’s a great bike. It really shines in three circumstances:

mixed mode commuting where you might ride for a bit then fold it up and take it on a bus, car, or, train and then unfold and ride again at your destination
in commutes where there’s no safe storage so you have to fold it up and put it under your work desk or you want to keep your bike in your tiny London flat
for trips where whatever you want to carry can fit in the front bag, which can be quite capacious

As a regular commuter, it’s ok but:

there’s limited gearing range even on the six speed
the six speed with the high handlebars is the most comfortable but that configuration of Brompton is actually quite heavy for its size
the smaller wheels will make cobblestones feel larger
there is space for a rack and panniers but they’re not the best as any sort of panniers interferes with folding
thieves know that Bromptons are expensive.

I commuted for a while on my B. It was just a 3 mile commute on flat ground so the two speed was fine. My previous town was known for bike thieves so always having my B with me, even into grocery stores on my way back home wasn’t a problem.

However, my regular commuter which is a 1970s mixte road bike is all-round better as a commuter. It’s lighter, faster, more comfortable, has better gears, and most importantly, I’m not constantly worried if it’ll get stolen or rained on.


I recommend you take the bike to a bike shop and let them deal with this.

Yes, you can get individual spokes, but they need to be exactly the right length, which is determined by the specific hub and rim you've got, and the lacing pattern.
You probably do not need to rebuild the wheel with all-new spokes, but if you do, it will probably be cheaper to buy a readymade wheel.
Lacing spokes and truing wheels is not exactly a black art, but it is an art about which entire books have been written. You'd also need a freewheel-removal tool to get at the drive-side hub flange.
I'm a bit concerned that the spoke nipples damaged the rim at the spoke holes where they pulled through. And it is possible that there are other problems that only an experienced eye will be able to spot.
It's possible the derailleur hanger is bent.
Your new derailleur will need to be compatible with your shifters and your freewheel. I'm guessing that will limit you to a Shimano Tourney.


Is it possible to charge an ebike from a 12V solar powered battery?

You can charge it, but you probably won't do as well as you think. You're on the right track but you're missing a couple of things:

Solar panel ratings: These are optimistic and assume full sun hitting the panel at a good angle. Here's the maths.  You won't get that all day, so don't expect to get as much as you would by multiplying the number of hours sunlight by the panel wattage.  12 Hours full sunlight would naively give 1800Wh, but hopefully you're out riding and not adjusting the panel every few hours, and anyway as the sun gets lower in the sky it gives you less power because the atmosphere absorbs some.
Solar regulator: For a panel that big you really should have a regulator.  Some (linear) are quite wasteful.  Switching regulators are better, and can load the panel at its maximum power point for best efficiency.
12V battery behaviour: a lead-acid battery, even a deep discharge one,  won't last for long if you drain it regularly.  You've probably got about 600Wh accessible without shortening the life.  However that means you don't need to produce 1200Wh/day.
Round trip efficiency:  Every step is inefficient - charging the 12V battery, discharging the 12V battery, converting  12V DC to 220V AC, converting 220V AC to 36VDC (or similar) for the battery, and charging the bike battery (also discharging the bike battery but that's not specific to this case of limited solar power).
Other uses: I mostly plug my campervan in to the mains on a big campsite, but occasionally use a solar-charged battery for the fridge and lights.  If you do the same, you'll be eating in to your battery capacity, and (slightly more efficiently) diverting some of your panel's output from charging the battery.  You may of course have a dedicated panel and battery for the bike.

You'd need to choose an inverter based on the input specifications of the bike battery charger, with a little margin.  Don't over-spec it too much though as efficiency will suffer - unless of course you want to run higher-powered things off it occasionally.

As for the bike battery capacity, 500Wh means 500W for 1h, 250W for 2h, 100W for 5h etc.  In practice though, it will be more efficient at lower power outputs.  Most e-bikes are rated to 250W because that's a legal limit in many countries (e.g. all of the EU for standard road-legal e-bikes) so you could run flat out for only 2h, but run with a little motor assistance for much longer.  Hopefully you won't drain that completely, though it's not as bad for Li-ion batteries as it is for lead-acid.  If you were camping at the top of a hill you'd certainly regret using too much as the available assistance reduces as the battery gets low.

There are too many unknowns to calculate properly, but I reckon you'd be close to getting a charge of the bike battery per fully sunny day, but not quite there.  You'd want to monitor the state of charge of your 12V battery.  If you move the camper every few days, as I do, you may be able to charge your 12V battery from the engine to ensure it's fully topped up on a day when you're driving and not riding.  You should also make sure it's full before you leave home (if you're  in the van for months on end that won't make much difference).

Think about how much you rely on the bike - how stuck would you be if you had a few consecutive days of bad weather?


There's not really enough information in your question to tell for sure what the problem is, so let me just list a few possible explanations that come to mind:

As others have noted, your gear ratio might just be too high for you (since you say it takes a lot of effort to get going).

You can take your fixie to a bike shop and have them swap the rear cog for a bigger one and see if that helps.  While at it, you can also have them check for other problems, too.
Something (like, say, the brakes, if your fixie has them) might be dragging against the wheel(s), slowing you down and making you work hard to keep going.  Or, just possibly, there might be something wrong with your wheel bearings, causing the same effect.

There's an easy way to check for this: just flip your bike upside down, give the pedals a quick spin with your hand, and see how long it takes for the rear wheel to stop spinning.  Then do the same for the front wheel, too.  (You'll have to spin the front wheel by pushing on the spokes directly.  Be careful not to let your fingers get caught between the spokes and the frame while doing so!)

On a well-oiled bike with decent bearings and nothing dragging against anything, the time to stop should be measured in minutes rather than in seconds, and there should be little if any noise.  (That goes especially for a fixie, where you don't even have the ratchet mechanism ticking.)  Certainly, there shouldn't be any grinding or scraping noise, and the wheel should certainly not stop in less than ten seconds.
If you're used to freewheeling bikes, you might be unconsciously trying to slow down your pedaling after you get up to speed.  On a freewheeling bike, that lets you relax and let the bike roll along — on a fixie, it brakes the bike.

There's no simple fix to that, other than switching back to a freewheeling bike.  If you want to keep riding a fixie, you'll just have to unlearn that habit.  Fortunately, simply with enough practice, that will probably happen naturally.
More generally, you might just be unused to riding a fixie.  It does require a somewhat different set of muscles and riding behaviors than a freewheeling bike, and so you might initially find yourself putting a lot of stress on muscles you're not used to using so hard.  Your description sounds a bit extreme for just plain unfamiliarity, but it certainly might contribute, perhaps together with an excessive gear ratio and/or poor riding position.

Again, this is something that will only be fixed by practice.  After ruling out (or fixing, if necessary) all the other issues, just keep riding regularly and see if it starts feeling any easier.  If yes, you're making progress, and should keep practicing until you can ride your bike comfortably.
Also, make sure to check your riding posture.  A poor posture can make riding a lot harder than it needs to be.  This is true also for freewheeling bikes, but it's particularly true for a fixie, since there you can't just stop pedaling to rest your legs.

In particular, check that your saddle is not too low, as that seems to be a common error.  Ideally, when sitting on the bike with the pedal is at its lowest position (i.e. pointing at 6 o'clock), your knee should be just slightly bent.  (An angle of about 25° short of straight seems to be commonly recommended.)  If your seat is too low, you get less power on the downstroke, and have to expend extra energy to lift your leg on the upstroke, making your legs tire faster.


On a lot of the 12mm ones, the part that has the 12mm wrench flats is essentially a nut threaded on to a protruding thread off the freehub body. In that case you're wanting to turn the wrench clockwise when viewed from the drive side or counter/anti-clockwise from the non-drive side.

They're one of the higher torque things on bikes and sometimes threadlocker is applied at the factory as well, so taking a lot of force to break free isn't necessarily a red flag as long as you're being sensitive that it doesn't just feel like you're turning the wrong direction.


would I be able to put new rear wheel with 12mm x 142 axle on my 2007 RM Element 70 frame?

The Element 70 has a 10mm x 135mm QR rear hub so the rear dropout will not be wide enough to fit a 12mm x 142mm wheel. The 12mm is the axle diameter, the 142mm the dropout width. New rear hub standards are not only larger diameter axles but wider hubs, front hubs are different in that you can use a thru axle with a shim to fit a QR dropout as the width did not change.


There’s a best case scenario and a worst case scenario. Neither is too terrible.

Best case scenario: Your pedal is just loose. You can tighten it with a pedal wrench (some pedals can use a hex wrench) — however note that the left pedal is left-hand threaded so it’ll be the reverse of what you are used to. Thus, you have to screw it counter-clockwise to tighten it.

Worst case scenario: is that the crank threads themselves are badly damaged. This can happen if you pedaled on it while it was loose — because the crank is usually soft aluminum and the pedal is hardened steel. If the crank threads are worn, then no amount of tightening will work. Instead, you’ll have to take the pedal to your local bike shop where they will drill out the threads, tap slightly larger ones, and insert a helicoil. This will allow your pedal to go back on. It shouldn’t be too expensive, usually one-half hour of shop labor plus the cost of the helicoil (5-10 eurodollars).

So neither scenario is too terrible. Good luck!

P.s. don’t ever use thread lock to try to retain a loose pedal. Pedals by design are always tightening themselves when pedaled normally.  If a pedal is loosening itself, it’s not because of screw loosening forces, it’s because the crank threads are bad, and threadlock will not help. However, if the threads are still good then threadlock can cause the pedal to bind terribly such that the pedal won’t ever come off. Instead, you should grease the threads of pedals rather than ever use threadlock.


That looks to be the logo of Redline bicycles: https://www.redlinebicycles.com


Campagnolo Record C9 / Shimano CS-HG200-9 incompatibility

Might be a spec change by Shimano - I know that there is no change to the Campag chain. As they are not designed to be compatible, if Shimano have changed something they will have done so only referencing their own 9s HG type chain which is slightly narrower than Campagnolo's.

The other things to look at are a stiif link or a chain rivet protruding slightly at the join.

If it's once per crank rev (rather than once per full chain rev) it would be more likely to be related to the rings - if you are doing 11000km per chain / cassette I'd guess the rings might be getting pretty tired unless you are changing once every couple of chains - depends whose rings, riding conditions etc ...


Really any 6 speed freewheel will work. You'll want to get the tooth numbers close, but they don't have to be exact (your 14-28 will be a fine replacement.) Chain sizing for 6-7-8 speed drivetrains hasn't been significantly changed since they became popular, though the profiles and faces of the freewheel cog teeth have, in most brands, been altered to improve shifting quality (see the image below.) There is no need to worry about the tooth profile being incompatible with a modern 6-7-8 speed chain.

You will, however, want to replace the chain. This is because as a chain ages and wears, it becomes longer. The chain rollers/bushings/pins are spaced at an exact 1/2", and as it lengthens, they wear the chainrings and freewheel cogs into a hook profile. If you use your old chain on your new freewheel, you'll likely find that it skips when pedaling (hopefully your chainrings aren't similarly worn, but if they are you will know what to replace next.)


Why shouldn't I care what model/make/year my bicycle is?

The problem with the question is not the owner's interest in the answer - it is clearly there. The problem is that the answer has almost no value for the community of this site:

most generic bikes are hard to identify to begin with
most successful identification will be based on a photo which cannot be used to answer the same question again because questions and answers are centred around searchable text and tags.

In total, there is too little to gain from answers for the community in the short and in the long run to make them worthwhile. Hence, they should be banned in my opinion.


If I report intentional dangerous driving to police, will it have any effect?

I'm convinced that the prevalence of cameras is changing the attitude of certain drivers.

For the last year or so, I've ridden with a helmet cam. I'm now on my second camera and I'm toying with mounting my old camera (lower definition, poorer lens) on the seat post to face to the rear.

It wasn't for this kind of situation, but it would certainly be useful as evidence. If you search YouTube there are many, many examples of similar behaviour. If the police can't or won't help, just publish the footage on the web - the driver will almost certainly never see it, but you never know.

I've had several situations where a rant from an angry driver has suddenly become an embarrassed silence when I've pointed out that they're being recorded and I'd be quite happy to post the results to YouTube, the police, their employers (this does work well if it's a work van or similar) ...

There have been several cases here in the UK where dangerous and aggressive driving has been prosecuted successfully solely on the basis of the cyclist's camera evidence.

On the civil side, I know personally of one accident victim who was knocked off his bike and whose claim was enormously aided by the footage from a cyclist behind them who had been wearing a camera. Anecdotal, I know, but he is certain that the claim was processed more smoothly because of the video recording.

If this seems like a good idea, the answers to what-is-a-good-camera-arrangement-for-city-riding or recommendations-for-inconspicuous-helmet-mounted-video-camera might be useful in finding an appropriate camera solution.

In the first case, though, I would definitely contact your local law enforcement agency. You never know, maybe this miscreant has done it before. If a handful of independent people all report them, there's an increasing chance of something being done. And you're raising awareness in the police that there are people willing to stand up and complain.

It might also be worth talking to your local councilor - ask about what they might consider doing to make life safer for their electorate ...


Change my Shimano SIS rear derailleur of 7 speeds to a better one?

You could use any Shimano derailer. I would go for Acera or Alivio, since they have good quality and good price.

Some SRAM might work, but beware that SRAM and Shimano have a different "cable pitch" (amount of cable pulled for a given amount of lateral movement of the derailer pulley). Even though, SRAM manufactures a few models which are compatible with Shimano levers, and also some shifters which are compatible with Shimano derailers.

Also, if the "cable pitch" of the system is correct, you only need to match the cassette model and the shifter model (in your case, just keep your cassette and your shifter).

Hope this helps

EDIT: if it is a road bike, perhaps Acera and Alivio couldn't be the best choices, but I'm not up to date with Shimano options for road derailers. Anyway, they are interchangeable regarding "cable pitch".


This image from the City of Portland police shows the common places for bicycle serial numbers. Note that they are usually stamped and aren't very visible.

Note that one area not shown on this image is the head-tube. That's where my latest bike had it. Otherwise, my bikes all have it in location #4 (bottom of the bottom bracket) or behind the seat post.

Note this posting from Bike Forum which shows the Haro serial number stamped on the bottom bracket.

http://www.bikeforums.net/bmx/1089833-haro-identification-serial-number.html

There is also a registry of Haro bmx serial numbers, which might also help in identifying your bicycle:

http://bmxmuseum.com/forums/viewtopic.php?id=206889

This latter registry is particularly useful because it has user-submitted photographs of serial numbers. While the majority are on the bottom bracket, some are stamped very faintly into the rear dropouts.


Should I stick to the fork oil weight specified?

Rockshox recommends using 5wt in the upper and 15wt in the lower legs of the Reba, and differing the PSI to tailor for rider weight.

140-160lbs = 90 - 105psi

160-180lbs = 105 - 120psi

180-200lbs = 120 - 135psi

200-220llbs = 135+

MAX PSI = 200

Although changing to heavier weights for heavier riders is not uncommon, i would stick with the recommended weight, especially if its working fine for you with tuning the rebound.

Sourced from the Sram 2014 Suspension fork air/oil charts


Will riding cobblestones and rough streets kill my cup and cone hubs?

Bearings and races are made of very hard steel. So long as they are properly maintained (lubricated and adjusted to the correct tightness; visit Free Ride in Pittsburgh for help lubing/adjusting your bike if it's feeling worn and you don't want to pay a shop to do it for you), they should hold up with no problem.

More info:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rolling_element_bearing


Can someone help me to identify this bike model

Based on the current lineup of 2016, I'd guess its a Cayo, because their other models have radially spoked front wheels.  However that could have changed in the last three years.

http://www.focus-bikes.com/us/en/bikes/2016/road/performance-cayo-al.html

Their website was the top match on google for "focus road bike"