Brake levers for bullhorn on single speed - tt/cross or both?

It depends very much on you whether you need cross brake levers or are fine with levers at your bullhorn bars alone. Here are some questions to ask yourself:

Can you break effectively and quickly with your current brake levers?
Can you switch hand positions from tops to bullhorn ends in time for braking?
Would to be able to brake reliably with a set of levers at the tops?

Caveat: Cross levers may make braking from your current levers a little less controllable due to interrupting the cable outers. Which reduces the brake lines stiffness to compression and increases friction. However, this might not be noticeable in regular use.

Compatibility:

Your Tektro brakes and levers are most likely compatible with any other product except Shimano. Bear in mind what pull your brake actually needs. There are short pull (road, canti) and long pull (V-brake) brakes.


Cause of broken spokes (pictures included)

The grooves/enlargement shown at the hub are all normal.
The path to a wheel that doesn't break spokes is use premium quality spokes (DT, Sapim, and Wheelsmith are the usual poster children), set their line properly at the rim and hub, and stress relieve them properly during building. Fatigue breakages are almost universally the result of one or more of those things not happening.
Setting the spoke line is when in the early phases of building a wheel, the bends are manipulated to neatly wrap around the hub flanges, so that the bend area itself isn't floating unsupported. Stress relief is when the spokes are intentionally overloaded in tension to eliminate residual stresses at the bends that remain from forming them. If those stresses are left in place, the fatigue limit of the material can be crossed in those areas with the cyclic loading of the wheel from riding, which leads to failure. Spokes otherwise operate under the fatigue limit of the material, hence a well-built wheel being able to rarely or never break spokes in fatigue. (This is a paraphrasing of the explanation offered in "The Bicycle Wheel" by Jobst Brandt. It's proven true for me and many others. There is a lot more written on the subject on this site and elsewhere.)
It's likely that what happened here is your spokes were picking up fatigue at the j-bends all along from not being stress relieved and/or having their line set, and then increasing the tension exacerbated the problem, hence the breakages soon after. Increasing tension on a wheel that needs it is not a bad idea per se, but it does run this risk, especially since undertensioned wheels have a good chance of also having the above problems. Stress relieving once a wheel has been used extensively doesn't necessarily work because accumulated fatigue will have weakened the spokes some amount.
Fixing the wheel with its existing spokes may not work, because you have reason to suspect they've been heavily fatigued. The main paths to making it reliable are either rebuild with new spokes or replace it entirely.


Too much Travel when installing Mechanical Disk Brake

Without having serviced that exact design, I'd expect that at the very least you'd need to take up the slack in the mechanism. Some slack is to be expected as in similar designs the pads sit back into the housing but pass in through the rotor slot. That means more travel is needed fitting new pads than in operation, easily dealt with by a little preload on the cable. It doesn't surprise me that it's not mentioned, though maybe it would be helpful. Setting the cable position in the pinch bolt with the barrel adjuster wound in is normal for many brake types.
Preloading slightly against a spring also helps keep cable ends nicely seated.


In which orientation should a front wheel be installed?

In my experience, a front rim is symmetrical, and it doesn't matter which direction it's in. Unlike the rear wheel, where there's a drivetrain side and a non-drivetrain side, the only place where the quick-release handle can be. However, there are some other considerations to keep in mind:

Tires will sometimes have a tread direction. This is usually marked on the tread itself, in the form of an arrow with "direction of rotation" indicated. If you put a rim on a backwards from how you installed the tire, that could be swapped by mistake.

In addition, it makes sense to have the quick releases for both wheels on the same side. I make sure when putting a tire on the rim to set it up so, if both release handles are on the same side, the front tire is in the direction of rotation.

Disc brakes may introduce other considerations; other answers on this page address this. Outside of that, it mechanically makes no difference what side the quick-release is on.


I need help finding a quality replacement axle

Broken axles are an inherent feature of the 'freewheel' hub design. They happen because the load from wheel bearings is close to center, where it has more leverage than closer to axle ends. Newer 'freehub' cassette designs solve the problem with either having bearings inside the cassette close to axle end or with oversized axle.

The best option would be replacing the rear hub with a freehub type. The easiest way of doing this is replacing the entire rear wheel. If this is not an option, an original axle from known brand should be expected to last longer than random junk from Amazon or Aliexpress or at least have a warranty. A solid axle does not help, because the reason for breaking is tension from bending the axle. The tension is greatest at the surface of the axle, so solid interior does not help but the compression from quick release skewer slightly reduces it.


Leaving a pedal in a cross threaded state

At this point the damage is done and the only options are to leave it as is or remove the pedal and heli-coil the crank arm. There are a few scenarios that can play out in this situation. The worst case is the pedal backs out unexpectedly, you loose control, crash and get hurt. I would think this unlikely as it has been like this for a year. I would use some Loctite 290 applied to the exposed end of the pedal axle. This type of product is a wicking compound. It will travel down the threads of the mounted pedal and lock it in place. If you are lucky the pedal won't back-out and it won't be an issue until the pedal or crank needs replacement. At that point the pedal threads are likely destroyed. If you decide to heli-coil the crank arm you could do it yourself, how ever the cost of the drill,tap and coils make it an expensive repair. It is likely more cost effective to have a local shop handle it.


You can use good quality ice tires with carbide studs on bare concrete or tarmac, without undue wear on the studs.


How to measure spoke length on the wheel?

There are a bunch of spoke-length calculators online (here's one). This tells you what your spoke length should be, not what it is. You'll need to have exact measurements for the current hub and rim, although the calculator I linked to has a database of measurements you can look up.


Post head-on crash w/ another bike, shifters no longer shift

Obviously no cable connection between the shifters and derailleurs, both front and rear.

The cable housings may have come out of a frame stop
The cables may have been snapped, or the ends detached from the shifters or derailleurs
Cable may have been pulled through derailleur pinch bolts
There is a possibility that one or both shifting mechanisms in the levers were broken

First follow the shift cable housing from shifter to derailleur and check the housing is firmly inserted into the frame stops. Both front and rear should have stops on the down tube near the head tube, and run though a guide under the bottom bracket shell. The rear cable will have stops on the drive side chain stay.
Check the rear derailleur cable is actually attached to the rear derailleur. (The alloy end cap that fell off just stops the cable fraying, and is easily replaced.)
Pull the cables to tension them and work the shifters to see if they are pulling or paying out cable at all. If not you'll have to inspect the shifter mechanism and see if the cable has snapped in the shifter.
If the shifters do actually pull and pay out cable, I think you may just need to detach the cables from the derailleurs and re-set-up the cable and derailleurs.
Park Tool has good step by step guides: https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/rear-derailleur-adjustment, https://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustment/.


You need to replace your pads when they are about 3mm thick including the backing plate. You should be able to see how thick they are with your wheels off but you might need to remove them from the callipers to be sure. See the manufacturers site for details of how to remove and fit the pad - its normally an easy job.s

If you do need to change the pads on hydraulic brakes you need to make sure the pistons are all the way back, otherwise there won't be enough of a gap between the pads and the disc. Its best to do this while the old pads are fitted by using a flat bladed screwdriver to push them apart.

The other thing to remember is that the new pads will need bedding in before you use them in anger.

If you do wear the pads all the way down they won't stop you very well and they will make a mess of your discs.


Try a pipe nipple extractor or similar stripped screw extractor (Example:  http://www.plumbingsupply.com/extractors.html).  It is designed to grip the inside sides of a pipe using the same turning direction that will unscrew it.  It shouldn't need much depth to work and it will try to drill itself in.  You may still have to drill some of the junk out, but go slow and select a bit that is smaller than the head opening.


What is causing my disc brakes to loosen when it rains?

It's difficult to know for sure, but my guess is that the rotor is getting wet and it and/or the pads end up contaminated, preventing them from gripping as well. You've been solving this problem by tightening the brakes, which works, but it's a sledgehammer fix at best.

Try sanding the pads with a file or some sandpaper. Alternatively, try using sintered pads if you aren't already. This will wear the rotor out faster though.


I wouldn't try it.

70's french stems aren't trustworthy, 80's don't seem much better and weakening a stem isn't exactly worth the risk anyway (I'd opt for sanding it rather than spreading it to remove the necessary material instead if I had to, but I'd recommend getting a new stem instead). You'll probably scratch up your nice new bars too.

Try to get the current stem out and replace it. If not going to come out, you may want to try sanding it, but I'd recommend just living with the existing bars.


Is it best to attack the flat before a hill?

NO
On flat ground, power is proportional to speed cubed because drag from air dominates.  If you want to go twice as fast on flat ground, you need to expend eight times the power.  So if you're going 20 mph/30 kph and double your power, you'll wind up going all of 25 mph/38 kph - and you'll blow yourself up really fast if you were riding close to your threshold power to begin with.
But on a steep enough hill where overcoming gravity dominates over drag, then when you double your power, you'll go twice as fast up the hill.
Lets say you're going 30 kph at 200W on the flats, and that's a power you can hold for good long while, but you can hold 400W for two minutes.  Let's be generous and say 400W on flat ground gets you up to 40 kph.  You'll cover 1 1/3 km in those two minutes - then lets say you can still hold 200W (you won't, though...) and it takes you four minutes to climb a short, steep hill at 200W.  That's a total of 6 minutes to get to the top of the hill.
And I was really generous at how much faster doubling your power on the flats improves your speed and in assuming you'd be able to climb that hill at 200W after blowing yourself out on the flat...
OK, let's turn power outputs around.  At 200W and 30 kph, covering that 1 1/3 km will take 2 minutes and 40 sec.  But now you get to go up that hill at 400W and only take 2 minutes.
You're at the top of the climb in 4 minutes and 40 seconds - you just dropped the you that blew yourself up on the flat, getting yourself a minute and 20 second lead.
And you get to recover on the descent.
Heck, take it a bit easy up the hill at 350W, you only got a minute lead, but spent a lot less energy, saving it for later climbs or sprints.
You can spend less energy and go faster if you spend that energy where it gets you the most velocity.


I have a carbon hardtail which I used to ride the Great Divide MTB route last summer. About halfway through I had a similar issue which I couldn't seem to resolve; a creak everytime I put power through the pedal stroke. I took apart and cleaned the cranks, pedals, axle, checked BB bearings for play, etc... No change.

Finally, I took my bike in to a local bike shop when we got to the next town and the owner there straight away asked if I'd checked the rear axle. I hadn't as it didn't seem a likely suspect... It turns out, with the large amount of dust and occasional mud the bike had been subjected to and with no opportunity to give it a good thorough clean, some dirt had accumulated between the rear axle quick release clamp and the frame. When I put power through the pedals, the frame was flexing quite significantly ( exacerbated in part because of all the bikepacking gear strapped to it) and causing the axle to creak as it shifted on each stroke. I gave it a good clean, added a drop of lube, tightened it up and... hey presto, problem solved.

Not guaranteed to be this but it's an easy thing to check (especially compared to pulling out your BB) so worth having a look.


What is the narrowest tire you would use for commuting?

For my commuting needs, I use Continental Gatorskins 700x28c.  I also use Mr Tuffy liners to help protect against punctures.  Using this combination, I haven't had a flat in 2 years.  Before going to this combination, I would get about 1 flat a month.  I travel about 14 km a day, 5 days a week, April to the end of November.

I recommend that you leave enough time in your commute to change a flat if need be.  For me, this is only about 10 minutes. Your time may vary.  My job is such that it's not a big deal if I'm a few minutes late.  If your job requires you to be right on time, you may have to sacrifice being early on the off chance you do get a flat.

Also, ensure that your tires do have enough air in them. If you use skinny tires, a lot of flats come from snakebite flats, caused by not enough air pressure.


Changing road bike tyre from 28mm to 32 or 35mm

Inner tubes will stretch to fit a bigger tyre, so it is likely to be ok. There is some risk that the stretching will make the tube wall a little thinner, and it can be more prone to punctures, or it can expose a weakness and cause a flat.
Personally I would change the tubes at the same time, as tubes are cheap. You could likely keep the old tubes with the old tyres in case you wanted to go back to the smaller tyres.
Another issue may be clearance of the frame. The bike might not accomodate the wider tyre. Some times the rear wheel will not go into the dropouts properly when the tyre is inflated. That is not fatal, just perhaps annoying that the tyre may need to be deflated when putting the wheel in. Makes it difficult when fixing flats out on the road.


Best downhill braking method to avoid overheated rims?

The power output from braking is linearly dependent on speed and braking force. To reduce heat buildup, you have to reduce either one of these. The options are:

Descend very slowly. This is boring, but works.
Descend so fast that air resistance takes most of the force (the force depends roughly on second power of speed). This is the idea behind the advice to brake sharply for corners: You go faster between them, which lets the rims cool.
Increase your air resistance. A big flappy wind jacket slows you down by a surprising amount.
As you already found out, dividing the load between two rims helps.

Too hot to touch isn't necessarily too hot for the rims and tires. Also, one thing to do is to reduce tire pressure before big descents, the temperature will increase it back. Jobst Brandt's posts on descending also touch the subject: http://yarchive.com/bike/descending.html


The derailleur was sticking.  A bit of lubrication and all was good again.


Why has indexed shifting displaced traditional friction shifting?

There is no 'conspiracy' to keep friction shifters off the market just so that you have to buy the index shifters. It is simply a matter of supply and demand. Nobody in the OEM market wants friction shift gears because bikes with friction-shift simply do not sell. That leaves the after-market and you have a similar position there - the demand does not exist amongst people building up bikes/repair old bikes.

One reason why the replacement part market does not exist is that friction shifters rarely break, even 'back in the day' they were not a common spare for shops to stock in depth.

As for your front-shifting problem, you do have the outer cage 'flat-bit' parallel with the chainset and clearing the outer ring by all of 1-3mm? Without that accurate positioning it is unlikely you will get your front mechanism to work. New cables help, and if you follow the Shimano/SRAM/Campagnolo manual to the letter, making sure no dropouts or derailleurs are bent, you will have a chance of getting optimal shifting.

I know that a simple shift-lever adjustment would be easier, but that is progress for you.


Brakes are usually standard!

It comes down to three things:

Frame options/brake type

If it is a frame with a "connector" for a v-brake, it won't be
possible to fit a caliper brake type (and vice-versa). Or if it
has no way to connect a disk-brake, then no way to use it without a
proper adapter (or even impossible to do it); you even have frames
without connectors for the brakes (ex: when the brakes are in the
wheel itself).

You need to try to indetify which type of brake it uses, and from
there get a standard one (as long as it "answers" the next two
points, wheel size and type of bicycle)
Wheel size

If the wheel is too big or too small for a v-brake type (for
example) then no way you can use it.

Also the frame "connector" for the v-brake (for example) if it is
too small for a certain wheel rim, there is no way it will work
unless you use the right size.
Type of bicycle

If it is a really old or out of the ordinary bicycle, the standard
brakes may not work, and you will need to find suitable/custom/old
ones...


Most bikes use 100mm in the front and 130/135mm in the back, so its unlikely it would fit unless you knew a priori that your bike was one that could have it fit.

However, some bikes are designed for running rear hubs in the front (Surly Moonlander/Pugsley, for example).

A non-Fat Bike case is the Salsa Enabler.


Which mountain bike pedal is most suitable for racing?

I have had SPDs and eggbeaters, and I love the Crank Bros eggbeater pedals. I've found them to be way better than SPDs. You can clip in on four sides rather than two, and in my experience, they're easier to clip out of in emergency situations than SPDs are.

Also, unlike SPDs, eggbeaters don't have flat surfaces, so you're less likely to slip off if you're trying to get back on after hike-a-bike sections of muddy trails.


What can my Shimano BR-M445 caliper be replaced with?

Seems like the BR-M445 and BR-M446 are the same/interchangeable, while the BR-M447 uses some different parts, but still has the same hose, so I assume that it is compatible as well.


Chain get stuck on front sprocket during pedalling

One cause of this is chainring wear. The teeth become slightly hook shaped, which catches the chain rollers and pulls the links up around the chainring.

This will be exacerbated by introduction of a new chain. A worn chain gets slightly (in the order of 0.5 - 0.75%) elongated due to wear between the rivets and plates. The new chain, having slightly less distance between rollers is more prone to getting caught.

Look at you chainrings and look for signs of excessive wear, especially the one you use the most. Also look at the cassette sprockets, if you didn't change the cassette when you got a new chain.


I figured out a solution. The thing that is supposed to stop the inner tube from expanding into spoke holes is called a rim tape. The tape that came with the bike is really flimsy. I'll purchase and apply a high pressure rim tape.

Hopefully that would fix the problem.

Update:
I've decided to go for a cotton rim tape as they're more durable than rubber ones. And after installing the tape, hey presto, the problem is gone.


What harm results from riding with a stretched chain?

This is always a controversial topic, with some people arguing on both sides, but in my opinion you should replace your chain when it reaches the official "worn" state (as indicated by a chain stretch gauge).  If you let the chain go the sprockets develop a "hook" and will begin "sucking" the chain.  In addition, shifting performance will suffer.

If a chain is replaced when it first reaches "worn" status, without letting it go too long, the sprockets will not have taken a "set" to the stretched chain and reasonably good drivetrain performance will be retained.

Failing to replace a worn chain results in more cluster wear, more chainring wear, and an increased risk of both shifting difficulty and thrown/broken chains.

You will of course eventually need to replace your cluster and chainrings.  My experience is that you need a new cluster about every five chains, and new chainrings about every two clusters.  Generally when cluster/chainring wear reaches a critical point things go to pot pretty rapidly in terms of shifting problems, slipping, etc.


Honestly, as an amateur cyclist I would suggest focusing on learning how to pace a climb first over more finer details such as cadence.  Many amateur typically go out too fast on a climb, go anaerobic, accumulate a lactate debt, then find themselves suffering terribly the remainder of the climb.  This gives most the idea the climbs are harder than they could be. Ideal, you want start easier, settle into a sustainable pace, and only max out your effort at the top of the climb.  This can take practice.  I would err on the side of going too easy for the whole climb.  See how that feels. Next time you do the climb try upping the effort a bit.  Keep doing this until you find yourself blowing up on the climb... congratulations you found your aerobic threshold. Next time you will know to back off a bit and this will be pretty much your max sustainable pace.

In terms of cadence, try different gears until you find one that feels good.  When left to their own devices people tend to self select a suitable cadence for their training and muscle coordination. (I am sure there are exceptions to this, but once people learn how to change gears many do a good job of self-selecting an appropriate cadence.)

Higher cadence climbing tends to be a technique to "save" your legs for later hard efforts like sprinting (i.e., you are trying to avoid tapping your fast twitch muscle fibres on the climb, these fibres are what drive short hard efforts).  This trade-off can be important if you are racing, less so if you are a causal rider. (Unless you are riding with friends and there are fish signs sprints - it can be important to be at your best so you can win all the beer!)

Anyway, I digress... Fast cadence climbing is a technique that has to be trained. If you do all your riding at a slow cadence, you will not have efficient muscle coordination for climbing at a fast cadence.  I personally found things like fast paced club rides a natural place to hone the fast cadence riding style.  Training it on your own might be a bit tedious and boring, but can be done.

Strangely, enough lower cadence climbing may actually be more efficient in terms of oxygen consumption (i.e., cardio-respiratory system work; see Determinants of “optimal” cadence during cycling). This is consistent with the idea of "saving" your legs, where you are stressing your cardiovascular system a bit more in order to try and reduce some of the stress on the muscular system.


Techniques for minimising injury when falling or crashing?

In my experience dealing with crashes and bounces is like a lot of other aspects of, especially urban, cycling in that anticipation and prediction are the key attributes to getting away with less damage.

After all, if you don't crash, you won't damage yourself (whether you're lidded or not). It's a variant on Gary Player's infamous quote, "The more I practice, the luckier I get" - the more you think about what could happen, rather than just letting the world happen to you, you'll be better at predicting dangers and avoiding them: speed into corners, visibility around bends, road surfaces, car doors, cars appearing at junctions, and so on.

Learn to look a little further ahead - that red light 50 metres in front? React to it when you're 100 metres away (and more importantly, consider what others might do). My last crash was when I cycled into the back of a delivery van while looking over my shoulder to see if it was clear to move to the outside of the lane - while I was looking round, the van was slowing for some traffic lights I hadn't considered, so I piled into the back of him unawares.

I know that this isn't a "what to do when you crash", but I think that there is more to crash preparation as a part urban cycling than how to fall. Cycling has a mostly undeserved reputation as being a dangerous pastime. Most accidents I hear about (definitely the handful I've had in the last few years) have been utterly avoidable and not actually that accidental.


Upgrading road and cyclocross bike with a single carbon cross bike

N + 1 is always the answer.

Seriously though, if you're going to actually use it for cyclocross then I'd advocate buying it as this would be a substantial upgrade.  Lugging 5+ pounds less of a bike over obstacles, up hills, etc, etc over the course of an hour means a ridiculous savings in energy.

Will this upgrade your cyclocross bike (Kona Jake)?  Yes.

Will this upgrade your road bike?  Doubtful.  The weight difference won't matter as much as the wheels/tires/cockpit/general configuration.

Will it double as a tri-bike?  Doubtful.  Tri-bikes are just too specialized.


I would expect that riding in a trainer would result in a different average measured 'virtual' speed than you would see riding on the road. The speed/resistance curve of the trainer will not match the actual speed/resistance curve you experience riding on flat ground in real life.

In any case, I don't think the virtual speed actually matters. What you would pay attention to is the estimated power. Unfortunately it seems like these trainers have power estimation problems.

http://www.olympum.com/sports/the-curious-case-of-mr-elite-turbo-muin/


Any MTB trigger shifters that work with Shimano RD-4600?

The Shimano SL-4600 are flat bar shifters for the 4600 road components.

SL-R780 and SL-R460 shifters are also listed by Shimano as compatible, so you have a couple more options than I first thought.

IIRC mountain bike 10 speed shifters use a different pull ratio so all are off the table, which you probably know hence the question.

Even the new 4700 shifters use a different pull ratio to 4600 so don't be tempted to use the SL-4700 version.


FSA Omega BB30 spindle comes out of drive-side crank

I've dealt with a bunch of these. There is no fix and you should stop riding it for safety. It's unclear what if anything causes it.

Getting an adhesive to fix it doesn't seem likely to me. You would need to get in and clean it, which isn't possible without doing major surgery on these. The contact surfaces will be mashed and it will be difficult to get the bearing contact face square. And most importantly, the interface is supposed to be a permanent press fit. The strength of this type of interface when it works as intended is much greater than what you could expect to get out of holding the same parts together in mangled form with epoxy.

Contact FSA or your dealer for warranty.


I'd suggest using a bike box (there are reusable ones sold and cardboard ones similar to the type of cardboard box that a new bike comes in). A bike shop should be willing to part with a box that a bike they're selling came in (and maybe pack it themselves) for some small fee.

This video shows how to pack a bike in a cardboard bike box:

Essentially, the steps  are some variation of the follwoing:

Take off the pedals
Take off the wheels
Take off the handlebars (this can be done by pulling out a quill stem or removing the face of the stem) and put them parallel to the top tube; Do not disconnect the cables
Take out the seat post
Put a spacer in the dropouts for the fork
Put the bike in the box with some padding

The bike sans wheels will fit in the box, and the wheels will fit on the sides. The seat post and pedals can be shimmed around the bike.

When you get out, all you should need to reassemble the bike is a small crescent wrench and a few hex keys (take everything out of the box, put the wheels back on, put the handlebar back on, put the pedals back on -- no faffing with derailleurs or brakes if they were properly set before packing).


Can a beginner cyclist commute ~40km (round trip) to school/work by bike?

I have been riding to work for about 20 years now and my round trip distances have ranged from 35-75 km (50 km currently). It will be difficult to jump into riding 40 km every day, 5 days a week if you have little riding experience.  Fatigue can quickly accumulate depending on how hard you ride each day.  Instead, I would suggest starting with just a few days a week and work you way up.  You will also need to plan for recovery weeks in order to keep feeling your best.

In terms of your specific questions, here is my take

  I live in Singapore, so it's extremely hot and humid. I'm not sure if
  this is pertinent at all but I'm wondering if it makes cycling long
  distances unbearable

Depends on a number of factors such as

The time(s) you are commuting to work;
How well you stay hydrated during riding;
Your tolerance for humidity and heat (which in turn is affected by a large number factors such as your fitness, hydration, sleep, genetics, clothing...);
How fast you ride / and how often you take breaks; and
The difficultly of the route you ride (e.g., flat vs. hilly).

  I'd much rather cycle on the pedestrian path but I heard it's rude to, or is it okay as long as you maintain a respectful speed and not
  get in the way of pedestrians?

This is really specific to the region you live in.  By-laws may exist that either allow or prevent this, as well as social convention may or may not allow this. The specific laws governing cycling in Singapore didn't make explicit mention, but this blog post seems to suggest that it is actually encouraged.  That said, a comment within that article suggested otherwise.  Perhaps it would be worth asking this as a single question on stack exchange.

Some other interesting tidbits from the laws governing cycling in Singapore

Your load cannot exceed 18 kg.

(Good thing most textbooks are digital now, I would have been in trouble during my undergrad.)

You must use a bike path if one exists.

  Since each commute is around 20km, if I'm not wrong a road bike would be better, but I'm more inclined towards city/cruiser bikes
  because of their appearance. This may seem like a bad reason but if
  it's only going to be a bit more uncomfortable then I'm willing to
  suffer that. Will Creme or Linus bicycles suffice? Like Creme's Molly
  series. If they're not good enough, are there any decent road bikes
  that look like that?

Because you will be spending a lot of time riding, getting a comfortable fit should be your top priority.  Fit is also a very difficult subject in cycling as there is no such thing as the perfect fit, only a balance of compromises. I personally find being too upright uncomfortable (it places all your load on your sit bones), but also feel that many road bikes are too low.  20 years in I am still working to improve my fit.  Before you write off all road bikes, look at the "endurance" type road/touring bikes.  These will have a taller frame stack (vertical distance from the bottom bracket to the top of the head tube) than the "race" road bikes and will be much more comfortable for most rides while still rolling efficiently.

  Bike theft here is common enough for it to be a concern for me. Since I'm probably going to be leaving my bike unattended for several
  hours (may be up to half a day), if I use hardened steel bike locks
  and U-locks will my bike be safe? I'll be parking it in my university
  but I'm not sure if that is going to deter bike thieves at all. From
  what I've read online bicycles are stolen so much it almost sounds
  inevitable, and I really don't want to experience that. Also,
  handcuffs are illegal in my country so the Master Lock street cuffs
  probably are too- are there single cuffs for the bike wheels and are
  they reliable? They seem pretty sturdy to me.

No lock is theft proof. With the right tools any lock can be defeated. That said, some locks are a much better deterrent than others, plus you can mitigate your risk by carefully selecting where you lock your bike, as well as the general appearance of your bike (less flashy, means less of a target).  I remember people at university spray painting their bikes all sorts of horrible colours to deter theft.  I personally just found some places that had high visibility with lots of people. Of course, like any advice your mileage may vary.


Typical fastener torque values for bicycles

I have 2 torque wrenches. One that goes up to 20Nm and another that goes from 20-60(ish)Nm. The little one is necessary for most of the things on my bike like my headset bolts and hollowtech crank bolts (around 7Nm and 14 NM from memory) and the big one is mainly for the cassette (40Nm) and bottom bracket (can't remember) and (just quietly) undoing stuck things (it's my longest spanner, so if I can't undo it with that I need to go get some pipe).

Unless you're doing super precise stuff with them a lot you'll probably be okay with cheap ones. I got mine when they were on special at Aldi, and probably use them less than once a month, but it's good to have them when you need them. I balked at the cost originally, until I ruined a set of cranks by over-torque-ing the bolts, which cost me quite a bit more than if I'd just got a torque wrench in the first place).


It is possible that the freehub has become loose from the hub. Remove the axle and bearings from the hub. Insert a the correct size allen wrench (I believe a10mm) into the non drive side. Tighten the retaining nut. If hub continues to spin you may need to use two wrenches. One inserted in the free hub  and one to tighten the retaining nut.


I don't think so - I've ridden over 1/4 mile stretches of freshly poured asphalt with no apparent damage to my tires.

The asphalt is around 300 degrees F when it leaves the plant, but it will have cooled to 200 degrees or less by the time it's open to traffic (water will stand on the surface without boiling, so it's definitely below 212F)

Further, unless you're stopped, your tire has a very short contact period with the hot road. A typical road bike tire has a circumference of around 80 inches, and at 5mph, it will be rotating at about 1 revolution per second. If your contact patch is 2 inches long, that means each part of the tire is in contact with the hot road for only 2/80 = 25 milliseconds before having almost a second to cool off in the airflow. 25 milliseconds is about 1/10th the duration of a typical blink of the eye. Or, to look at it another way, each part of the tread only spends about 2.5% of the time in contact with the pavement and 97.5% of the time exposed to air.

The hot asphalt definitely has more "give" than cooled asphalt, so it will feel a bit spongy under your tires, but that's not because your tires are melting.

I'd be a little more worried about the fresh oils on the surface of the asphalt, the oil might degrade your tires if in contact for a long time, and it's super slippery if you hit a wet patch or ride over an iron plate before the oil wears off the tire's surface.


All clipless pedals, including road versions, have very small contact patch. Even though road pedals are large, most of the size is just mechanism and actual contact patch is the small metal patch over the axle. The largest contact area is probably with MTB pedals that have metal frame around the clipping mechanism.

What you need is shoes with stiffer soles.

I have had flexy shoes from Mavic for both SPD and road pedals, and those were painful to ride. Stiffer shoes have been just fine with the same pedals.


Disc brake fork with QR and vertical dropouts: worrisome?

As long as the skewer is set with sufficient clamping force this QR disc brake setup should work fine and from a practical standpoint there will be very little functional difference between this setup and a thru-axle.

If the QR is not sufficiently tight (i.e., you didn't set it with enough clamping force), you may notice a small shift in the axle position under very heavy braking. This isn't dangerous but annoying as the rotor will rub against the caliper until you reset the wheel position.  Thru-axles won't do this, but with some care it shouldn't happen in a QR setup either. Even though the axle can shift in some circumstances the axle will not come out as the "lawyer lips" around the outside edge of the drop out will retain the QR.  Even in the worst case where the QR somehow flips open while riding lawyer lips should still retain the wheel in the drop out.  This is why you have to unscrew the QR to get it out of the drop out.  By this point the wheel will be rubbing on the frame, not a great situation, but you won't be without a front wheel.

Now suppose you open the QR, unscrew it a few turns, then go for a ride and heavily apply your front brake... then the wheel will come out of the drop out.  By then however you have made numerous critical errors in the setup.


SRAM x9 3x9 with a 10 speed Shimano SXL FC-M660 Crankset

The main compatibility problems arising between SRAM and Shimano is with the rear derailleurs. The SRAM numbered models (X-7/9/0/X etc) will only work with SRAM rear derailleurs (and v.v). Front derailleurs are compatible (I use SRAM shifters and an XT front derailleur). In terms of the shifters you should be fine.

The only difference I can think of for the front derailleur would be the width of the cage - 8 speed uses a wider chain than 9 speed. I imagine the difference wouldn't be great enough to cause an issue though. In the worst case scenario you might end up with the chain rubbing the front derailleur slightly in the 'extreme' gears (biggest/smallest cog on the cassette).

The crankset again suffers from the width issue. The best thing to do is give it a try.


How should I restore braze-on brake cable housing guides?

A long time ago I used some clamp on cable housing guides on a frame & I didn't have any issues with them moving.  I did have a slightly larger cable housing  with teflon sleeves inside, so that the clamps could be screwed down fairly tightly and still allow for easy movement of the cable inside.  You might want to see if you can get perhaps another brand of clamp.  From memory I had some Gran-Compe by DiaCompe.  Alternatively you could try putting a thin rubber shim around the clamp to get it to grip to the frame better.

The only other alternative I would consider would be to get a local framebuilder to remove the old guides and braze on the new ones.  I don't think it will be that pricey.  My old LBS used to do this sort of work once a week, and a job like that would only have taken about 10 minutes to do.


How can one estimate drag for a bicycle?

Your question is simple but a full answer is complex. The simplest answer is to point to Part 2 (especially chapter 4) of Wilson and Papadopoulos (2004), or the recent review by Debraux et al. (2011), or the paper by Martin et al. (1998). However, even these papers do not cover approaches that take better advantage of the data available from modern bicycle computers and GPS units. Some background on the power-drag equation will help you understand why there are so many different ways (with accordingly different levels of accuracy, precision, difficulty, and cost) of estimating drag.
The equation to convert speed to power is well-understood. Total power demanded has four parts:
Total power = power needed to overcome rolling resistance +
              power needed to overcome aerodynamic resistance +
              power needed to overcome changes in speed (kinetic energy) +
              power needed to overcome changes in elevation (potential energy)

Of these, the simplest piece is the power needed to overcome changes in elevation. The power needed to account for the change in potential energy, and to overcome changes in speed are straightforward:
watts(PE) = slope * speed in meters/sec * total mass * 9.8 m/sec^2
watts(KE) = total mass * speed in meters/sec * acceleration

There is a small part of the KE component due to moment of inertia in the wheels but for bicycles that tends to be small and we often ignore it. However, the equations needed to describe the rolling resistance and aerodynamic resistance are a bit more complicated. The article by Martin et al., cited above, gives more detail but if we can ignore wind then the aerodynamic component simplifies to
watts(aero) = 0.5 * rho * CdA * (speed in m/s)^3

where rho is the air density in kg/m^3 and CdA is the drag area ("A" is the frontal area and "Cd" is the coefficient of drag; CdA is their product and can be thought of as the "equivalent" area of a cube held perpendicular to the direction of the wind with a face of area A). If there is non-zero wind, the aerodynamic component is approximately
watts(aero) = 0.5 * rho * CdA * (groundspeed in m/s) * (airspeed in m/s)^2

When there is no wind, airspeed and groundspeed are the same so the equation simplifies to the one above. A headwind increases airspeed above groundspeed while a tailwind decreases airspeed below groundspeed. I say "approximately" because these are approximations when the wind comes from directly in front or behind (or is zero); when the wind is off-axis, it affects CdA.
Finally, the power needed to overcome rolling resistance (which includes tires, tubes, and bearing friction) is
watts(RR) = Crr * total mass * 9.8 m/sec^2 * speed in m/s

Crr is the coefficient of rolling resistance.
Now, if you go to an online calculator like the one at Analyticcycling.com you'll see that you must provide values for rho, Crr, Cd, and A; then, given a particular value of speed and slope, it will calculate power. It's easy to find online calculators for the air density, rho, but much harder to find estimates of Crr and CdA (or separately, Cd and A).
The easiest (but most expensive) way to estimate CdA is in a wind tunnel. There, an object is mounted on a scale (basically, a very precise and accurate bathroom scale), wind at a known speed is applied, the air density is measured, and the total force on the object is measured by the scale. Watts are force (in Newtons) * speed (in meters/sec) so force (in Newtons) = watts/air speed = 0.5 * rho * CdA * (airspeed^2). The tunnel operator knows rho, knows airspeed, and the expensive bathroom scale measures the force so you can calculate CdA. Wind tunnel estimates of CdA are considered the gold standard: when performed in a good tunnel with experienced operators, the measurements are precise and repeatable. In practice, if you want to know the Cd separately, you'd measure the frontal area A with a digital camera and compare it to a digital photograph of an object (like a flat square) of known area. As an historical aside, nearly 100 years ago Dubois and Dubois measured frontal area by taking photographs of a person and a reference object, cutting out the photos along the outlines of the object, and then weighing the cut-outs on sensitive scales.
However, the resistance in tires, tubes, or bearings are not affected by air speed, so one cannot estimate Crr from wind tunnel data. Tire manufacturers have measured rolling resistance of their tires on large rotating drums but they cannot measure aerodynamic drag. In order to measure both Crr and CdA, you need to find a method that measures both and allows you to differentiate between the two. These methods are indirect field estimation methods and they vary a great deal in their accuracy and precision.
Until the last 20 years or so, the most common indirect field method was to coast down a hill of known slope and to measure either maximum speed (also known as terminal velocity) or else the speed when passing a fixed point on the hill. Terminal velocity doesn't let you differentiate between Crr and CdA; however, if one measured speed at a given point and were able to control the "entry" speed at the top of the hill, you could then test at different entry speeds and get enough equations to solve for the two unknowns, Crr and CdA. As you might expect, this method was tedious and liable to poor precision. Nonetheless, many ingenious alternatives were explored, including coasting down wind-free corridors or inside large airplane hangars, and measuring speed to relatively high precision using "electric eyes" or timing strips. Some of these methods are described in the review by Debraux et al., cited above.
With the advent of on-bike power meters, new opportunities emerged to measure aerodynamic and rolling drag. In short, if you could find a flat wind-sheltered road, you would ride at a constant speed or power on the road; then, repeat at a different speed or power. The requirement of "flat and wind-sheltered at constant speed" meant that you could ignore the PE and KE components of power and only had to deal with the rolling resistance and aerodynamic components so the overall power equation simplifies to
Watts = Crr * kg * g * v + 0.5 * rho * CdA * v^3; or
Watts/v = Crr * kg * g + 0.5 * rho * CdA * v^2

where g is the acceleration due to gravity, 9.8 m/sec^2.
The latter formula can be easily estimated by linear reqression where the slope of the equation is related to CdA and the intercept is related to Crr. This is what Martin et al. did; they used an airplane runway, averaged the runs in both directions, and measured barometric pressure, temperature, and humidity to calculate rho, and measured and corrected for wind speed and direction. They found that the CdA estimated by this method agreed to within 1% of the CdA measured in wind tunnels.
However, this method requires that the road be flat and that speed (or power) be constant over the length of the test run.
A new method for estimating CdA and Crr has been developed that exploits the recording capability of many modern bike computers and bicycle power meters. If one has moment-by-moment recording of speed (and optionally, power) then you can directly measure changes in speed so the KE component of power can be estimated. In addition, if you ride around in a loop, the road need not be flat since you know that upon returning to the start point of the loop the net elevation change will be zero so the net PE component will be zero. This method can be and has been applied to coasting down hills of known net elevation change (that is, you don't need to have constant slope, and if coasting you know the power is zero). Examples of this approach can be found here and here and, when performed carefully have been shown to agree with wind tunnel estimates of CdA to well within 1%. A short video presentation on the method can be found starting at about the 28:00 mark here. A short video of the method in use on a velodrome can be found here


It's almost certainly a Gran Compe SHOT LEVER two handle brake lever. This description matches quite well and there's some comments on Bike Forums.

Simply, both levers operate the same brake, but on a narrow bar where you don't have room for two levers for two brakes it's a good compromise.


How many years an aluminium frame lasts in a touring bike?

There are a lot of question so I will settle on the one in the title.

How many years will an current aluminum frame last of a touring bike?

Depends:

Don't know what aluminum frame
Construction is a larger factor than material
Don't know the use
Use is a larger factor than material
Don't know how you are going to care for the bike
Care/maintenance is larger factor than material

Aluminum has not changed in the 10 years

All we know is your last aluminum, high quality, strong frame bike lasted about 10 years

The best guess is your next aluminum, high quality, strong frame will also last 10 years
Really that is the best guess

That is as vague as how long will a current pair of sneakers last me?
And the best guess for how long my next pair of sneakers will last is how long did my last pair last.

Aluminum fatigues and steel does not fatigue.
As stated in a comment steel does fatigue - well not always. Mild steel will not normally admit fatigue crack growth if the applied stresses are below about 10% of the strength of the material. Materials, such as aluminium alloys, do not have any such fatigue limit. If a cyclic load is applied, aluminium alloys will always fatigue.  For the same strength a steel bike is typically going to be heavier than aluminum.  But you get a bike that is much much less susceptible to fatigue.  With steel you also get a bike that will take a ding (dent) and not compromise structural strength to the extent of aluminum. Not exactly the same thing but at the molecular level they are related. Frame Materials

Found a quoted number.  Just because it was on the Internet does not make it right but here is a 5-10 year quote.
Bike Frame: Aluminum Vs. Steel

  Aluminum frames possess the shortest fatigue life of any material used
  to manufacture bicycle frames. The typical aluminum frame possesses a
  life expectancy of five to 10 years. The fatigue life of steel is much
  longer, but the material requires more maintenance. To prevent rust
  formation steel frames must be cleaned and polished regularly and
  periodically coated with rust stop on the interior of the frame.

If you are discounting steel because it will rust then you are not caring for the bike properly.  A properly maintained and stored steel bike should not rust.  And for sure it should not rust out in your life time.   You stated bikes from you fathers era lasted 40-50 years - pretty sure they were steel bikes.

If you want fatigue free and rust free then get titanium.


How much faster does a mountain bike go with slick tires vs. knobby tires

Assuming everything else is the same, the wattage lost to best-rated road tyre test is 7.0W
Lowest-loss MTB tyre is 19.1W
Gravel tyre is 20.8W
Touring bike is 17.1W
And the Fatbike is 36.9 W
None of these tyres is great at anything but having a low rolling resistance - this is gained by sacrificing tread thickness and puncture protection.
There are plenty more reviews and tests at the same site.  Whether its real-world doesn't matter too much - each one is tested the same way for consistency.

Then the second part is "how fast do these wattages allow?"  Using http://www.bikecalculator.com/ and presuming a 75 kg rider, 10 kg bike riding at 150 Watts, will roll at 28.26 km/h (approx)
If this speed was done on the fatbike tyres, then moving to the touring bike would save 39.6 Watts, essentially increasing the rider's input power by that much, and returning a speed of 30.96 km/h
Likewise, going to the fanciest road tyre would result in 32.18 km/h
Since a bicycle has two wheels, losses are doubled.  Some of these tyres will cost hundreds of dollars too, and may be tubular.
A common GP5000 from Continental is measured at 10W, resulting in 31.82 km/h, only 350 metres/hour slower than the costly Vittoria.


I can't offer brand and product suggestions but I will say that you could opt for organic pads over sintered for better initial bite. That may compensate for the reduced strength. There's a decent writeup on Pinkbike which coveres the differences between the 2 types of pad.

If you're going to be riding in wet and muddy conditions though, it may be best to swap out for some sintered pads for that ride. Can you get someone you trust to help bed your brakes in? On new and freshly cleaned rotors it makes a huge difference to how much braking force is needed.

Can you brake using a single finger? That should allow you to keep most fingers on the grip for better confidence. My levers are adjusted so the hook at the end of the lever is in line with my index finger.

Although it's a rear brake you can increase your rotor size, possibly by 2 steps if you're running standard 160mm discs. That should give you an increased mechanical advantage. I recently increased my front rotor to 180mm using a postmount adapter. It's a simple job.

The other extreme would be to use one lever to operate both brakes. I've seen a junction box for brakes hoses recently that will allow such a thing. The downside is that you'd probably also need a lever with a larger volume. I think Hope do something that should do the trick.

Lastly, I'm sure you're doing you physio but keep at it. I smashed my scaphoid and several years on I'm stil paying the price. Keep flexing, stretching and doing your grip exercises. If you don't everything tightens back up again and you have to start over.

Nice to see you're still eager to ride though. Good luck.


The Wahoo RFLKT+ is the only device on the market as far as I am aware (and I have looked).

As a BTLE user I can tell you you're better off with ANT+; I get far more sensor drops than my ANT+ co-riders.


The Merida website list the crankset as FSA Gossamer Pro 52-36 386. FSA's web site show this to be a pressfit bottom bracket. Why it is spec'd as attached rather than pressfit I don't know. It is possible that this is how it was translated into English.


What Shimano jockey wheels are compatible with my old Shimano 105 9-Speed Derailleur?

Here you go, VeloOrange has a part for that: http://store.velo-orange.com/index.php/components/shifting-freewheels-cassettes/parts-maintenance/vo-grand-cru-sealed-bearing-universal-jockey-wheels.html


Most nominally 9mm forks fit 3/8" without issue. There are exceptions, usually road forks, where it fits a 9mm too snug for a 3/8 to go in. Usually the difference won't be that full .525mm though.

Filing it to fit is always going to be an at-your-own-risk judgment call, but generally it is totally fine on a steel or aluminum dropout. When I do it I'm careful to count strokes, distribute the strokes evenly, and try to apply even pressure, with the goal of altering the dropout and fork alignment as little as possible, and keeping everything symmetrical. It's important to understand that you really want to avoid inadvertently making one dropout deeper than the other one, because the fork can't really be aligned properly if that happens. It's still a good idea to put dropout alignment tools on afterwards, but if you don't have them, just be careful with how you do it and go slow, particularly on aluminum dropouts. I wouldn't tend to recommend doing any such thing to carbon dropouts.


Very likely, yes.

Your cog is 3 teeth larger, so the chain will need to be 1.5 halflinks longer which rounds to 2 half or 1 full link, OR you may be able to move your wheel forward if you have trackends instead of dropouts.

If you can't get the wheel further forward, then you will definitely require more links in the chain.  Given you're changing cog its probably worth fitting a new chain anyway, and consider upgrading to 1/8" if you're using 3/32" now.

I note that 48/16 gives you exactly one skid patch, or two if you can use both legs.  48/19 will give you 19 skid patches, so that will help on tyre wear.

https://www.bikecalc.com/skid_patch_calculator  is helpful for these kind of calculations.


How do I train for climbing in a relatively flat area?

Can you measure your cadence? (The answer to this is that you can, even if you have to resort to counting strokes and looking at your watch. But a computer will make it easier.)

On the flat, try riding in a high gear and at a high cadence, as much as you are able.

This should translate to lower gear / high cadence when climbing (which is what you want).

A word of warning though, riding in too high a gear can cause knee pain, which isn't good. So you're basically looking for a threshold - the highest gear you can manage, while maintaining a decent cadence (say, 70 to start with, but ideally higher) and without it being painful.

Something you won't be able to reproduce is the heat - climbs can get very hot as there often isn't much airflow. But as you say you're riding in Yorkshire that shouldn't be a problem ;-)


I'm going out on a limb but if you only maintained your internally-geared hub just once, three years ago, then its probably excessively worn due to poor maintenance.  Also the oil is likely carrying metal flakes which are doing continuous damage to the gears.

IGH are low maintenance but not zero-maintenance.

An oil change right now might be enough to bring it back but excessive wear will likely have shortened its overall life.  Depending on wear, you might benefit from a new 1/8" chain and new cog too.

If you can't or won't do maintenance yourself, then simply book it into the local bike shop for work annually and pay for someone else to do it.


Why would I choose a bike trainer over a stationary bike?

The main difference is cost, both money and space.  If you already own a bicycle then it is using up space whether you can ride it or not.
If you want to use the existing bike on a trainer then that may end up cheaper overall.  And you can still unhook the trainer and go ride normally, giving you dual-service.
By comparison, a stationary bike is a fixed item and can't be used to ride outside.  Its a single-purpose tool, and takes just as much space as your normal bike.
Other points to consider

Noise - I'm not sure which is going to be louder, and this may not be an issue in your environment.
Wear on bike - adding mileage to your real bike is hard to track when its not moving.  For a stationary bike, its total distance travelled is unimportant.
Training effect - I can't really speak to this, but there's a significant difference between any indoor bike and riding for real.  The "crank inertial load" drops off much quicker on any indoor bike compared to an outdoor ride.  That is, you stop pedalling and coast much longer for real.  Expensive trainers can duplicate that better, but its still not ideal.
BORING I find any static bike to be mind-numbingly boring after a while.    But I've never bought into the virtual options like zwift, so that is an additional cost to consider.   Turning the pedals over while reading a book or watching a movie feels quite pointless to me, you're not concentrating on the ride.

Ultimately its up to you - Do you want a bike that you can ride for real when conditions improve?  Or do you want a piece of inside exercise equipment that risks being left unused after a while?
At least the bike can be used outside.  The stationary bike means you still need to buy a bike for normal outside usage.

I've just realised the suggested bike is a hardtail MTB, and presume that you intend to ride off-road with it.  So there's a sub-question here about

whether the kind of bike you intend on riding, and how/where you want to ride affects the choice between stationary bike vs a bike on rollers/trainer.

I can't give a definitive answer on this point; anyone with experience is welcome to add their own answer.


Can we turn a fixie bike into a freewheeler?

You can buy a flip hub rear wheel where one side is fixed, the other free (Some bikes even come with them). You just take the wheel off, flip sides and put it back on. Brakes will depend on the frame but most frames allow for the installation of brakes. For the rear brake, you'll just have run full cable housing along the frame with either wire ties or cable clamps.


Should I get a smaller chainring or bigger cog?

For the same gear ratio, more teeth each end means:

More weight
Weaker chainring
More chain
Reduced angle at each chain pin as it wraps round the sprocket.
Potentially reduced vibration (this is complicated, I'll work on an edit later)


Can I damage my brakes by testing them vigorously?

As others have noted, your brakes probably aren't set up correctly if you can squeeze the lever so far that it touches the bar while the bike is stationary. That said, squeezing the brake levers while the bike is on a stand won't cause any more wear than normal braking would [1].

If you want to determine how hard to squeeze the brakes while on the stand, a good test is this: ride at a moderate speed in a safe environment and then try to rapidly stop.  Your brake levers should not touch the bars, and (obviously) nothing should break loose.  A properly adjusted rear brake should be able to skid the rear wheel (but it is considered poor braking technique to skid the rear wheel).  A properly adjusted front brake should should be able to lift the rear wheel off the ground (you don't want to actually lift it, so use care).  Try to get a feel for how much pressure you apply to the levers when you practice a panic stop and then apply a little more when the bike is on a stand.

Please note that it is unsafe to suddenly fully-apply the brakes (suddenly squeeze both levers as hard as you can) while traveling at speed.  If your brakes are properly adjusted, you should be able to easily lock either wheel by pulling hard on the brake lever.

For the rear wheel this is less of a problem: You will simply skid the wheel, wearing down the tire.  If you do this enough, or at a high enough speed or with a thin road tire, you risk wearing down the rubber to the innertube.  If that happens, the tire will rapidly deflate and you will be riding on the rim (this is bad).

Locking the front wheel is a bigger problem: the front wheel will NOT skid. If you lock the front wheel, you will go over the bars and hurt yourself.

[1] Within reason, of course.  If you're some sort of Olympic weightlifter, it's possible that you might squeeze hard enough to damage something.  Also, if the brakes are "looser" after you squeeze really hard (ie, if you have to pull the lever farther, not harder, to make the brake pads touch the rim) then you are either squeezing too hard, or you need to readjust the cable and tighten the cable clamp on the brake.


It may be tradition, and it may be aerodynamics.   Note that some roadsters do... Touring bikes have gradually been switching from the traditional cantilevers to V-Brakes.  It's for tire clearance mostly.
"Good" caliper roadster brakes are very powerful; A set of high-end Shimano jobs (105 or above) will lock your wheel and they are routinely used by pro road racers.
They have a minimal aero profile and contribute little drag.  They also look good on a sleek roadster.
Also, you don't have to weld or incorporate lugs onto your snazzy carbon-fiber fork legs and seat-stays, which results in a "cleaner" appearance and less weight as well; high-end roadsters are all about weight, as you likely know.


Not ideal.  You need something that will penetrate into the chain, and grease will not readily do that.  If your chain really needs lubing and you can't get any proper chain oil then plain old engine oil would be a better choice.  ("Sewing machine oil"/3-in-One oil would be a second choice, but it's probably a hair too "light".)

The real bike maintenance nuts used to melt paraffin wax, beeswax, and kerosene together and soak their clean, dry chains in that.  This is essentially the lube applied at the factory.  But modern liquid chain lubes work as well with less trouble/mess.


Does anyone know this brand? I’ve never heard about and couldn’t find anything on Google

That's probably because this bike pre-dates the internet by decades.  Anyone connected with the brand is likely a minimum age of 70, or has long since passed away.  I have a similar `80s bike from Vincere and there is literally no information to be found anywhere.
What we can see is a 1970s bike at the latest - the cranks are attached to the bottom bracket with cotter pins, which would have been out of sale by the 1980s.
The brake levers have sissy bars for braking from the tops.  This never really worked well, and was a way to make drop bars more appealing during the bike boom of the 70s and 80s, when oil prices were high.    Left brake-front wheel suggests this is an American or Continental setup.  English/Commonwealth/Japanese bikes tend to have the brake levers swapped in function.
The pedals look to be pressed steel, and are probably newer replacements.
Wheels are probably chromed steel and will be 630mm sized, often called 27 or 28 inch and aren't either.  Tyres are still available in this size, but the range isn't large.
Problems/niggles:

The bike should have three cable clamps on the top tube to secure the rear brake cable.  They would be made from stainless steel and secured with small bolt. It appears to have cable ties holding the brake cable on, and only two of them.
The front derailleur control cable seems to be super-taut above the BB.  I suspect one/both of the end stops have slid up the downtube or seattube over time.
Dual pivot brake calipers are far newer than the bike - they might have been replaced to improve stopping power.
Pedals also appear to be MTB style replacements, blacked not chromed.
Handlebar angle seems high, the bike is almost "looking upward", and the handle bars seen too high for the saddle, as though this was ridden by an older person with limited flexibility.  At the time trend in seat posts was relatively short with not much poking out of the frame but this saddle seems to be slammed....
Saddle looks to be simply sitting on the seat post - I would have expected to see more of the clamp holding onto the visible rails.  Not sure, needs a closer look there.

All up it looks like a thoroughly nice vintage bike from the late 1970s.  The white bartape carries through the `80s aesthetic too, and has been redone recently.  (clean white bartape doesn't stay clean long when the bike is being used)
My only significant complaint is that the photo has been taken from the wrong side.  Normally we want to see more of the transmission, which is almost always on the right-hand side of the bike.  So a bike should be aiming to ride off to our right-hand side.


Are there any generic hose extensions for frame pumps?

Actually, yes, they do exist and are quite cheap.

The old stype frame pump, the very old style was just a stick with a straight shape. At the business end there was a threaded hole in wich you fitted the little hose. It was a arround 6 inches (15 cm) long, and had the propper head for the valve in one end, and in the other ussually had the same thread as the Dunlop Valve.

Here is the only picture I could find:

These pumps had a receptacle in the handle end, where the hose could be stored. There was a spring inside the telecopic handle, such as to dampen the hit at the end of the stroke, this also alowed you to "compress" the pump a little. The bike frame had a couple of "spikes" pointing at each other alongside some tube of the frame. So to store it you slide the hose inside the handle and inserted the pump between the spikes mentioned before, the pressure from the spring kept the pump in place. That is what you see in the picture, the longest, most shiny tube that is not being held, ia a pump stored in the green bike frame.

Those pump hoses are still available, and they look like this:

There are hoses threaded for Presta (Or Dunlop, it is the same threading) or Schrader. The end that attaches to the pump usually has dunlop/presta threading, so, if this end is long enough can easilly be used as an extenssion for a modern stick pump.

By the way, I managed to get the example picture by typing int the search term "bike pump hose" on eBay. There will be many different options, most are generic replacements for various types of pumps, but these small hoses usually are sold as "adaptors" so the word "adaptor" may be somewhere in the product name too. Use the reference picture to locate the type of hose you need.

If this option is not accesible for you at a reasonable cost, all the DIY aproaches are valid, but the easiest would involve a replacement hose for(from) a cheap pump. A very easy trick for the hose to pump fitting would be to source a good valve stem from an otherwise unusable inner tube. Use the one you like the most (Schrader or presta).


It sounds as if you adjusted the barrel adjuster out too far, the last time you adjusted it, and damaged the threads on the adjuster.  When the shop cleans and lubes it, it is fine for a few days, and then gets stuck again, because the threads are cross threaded or stripped.  If the damage is relatively minor, it can act normal until it is under a little higher tension than average, and then "jump" out of place, whereupon it will be stuck, and out of adjustment almost immediately.

Of course, not having it in front of me, this is just conjecture.  You should find a shop you are confident in and explain the multiple issues, and ask them to find the problem.


I rode a children's bike, now the chain is sagging - is it ok to shorten it?

If this happened over the course of 1 ride, it sounds like the wheel just slipped forward in the dropouts. If you loosen both nuts on the rear wheel axle and pull it backwards evenly, you should be able to retension the chain to proper working specs. Then just tighten it back to a torque of pretty f**ckin tight so it doesn’t slip again!


I live in Astoria and bike over the Queensboro bridge to work in Manhattan, and back, every weekday. I've also biked all over the general area. Personally, I would not take Queens Boulevard. It's mostly a four-lane situation, and is not pleasant for cycling. It's complex and constantly changing situation that will have you going quite slow to watch out for cars coming from every which way. Not to mention some cars park paralell, and some in other directions. You have to watch for doors, and also getting backed into. If you have to cross from one side to the other at any point, good luck. I had to do that a few times when biking to Maspeth, and I just gave up and walked it at a crosswalk.

Bethpage is really far considering you are all the way in NJ. Biking in in the morning and using some other mode of transportation to get home is a good idea. Going both ways every day would be too much for most people.

I would suggest listening to Google Maps. Their cycling directions have done well for me, and the path it charts from 59th street to Bethpage looks good. You have to remember complicated directions, but the tradeoff is you avoid really complicated traffic patterns and traffic itself. You'll also avoid lots of traffic lights making you stop all the time.

Maybe I'll see you on the bridge. Good luck.


Lefthand crank arm for spinbike BH SB 1.8

Look at the square hole at the root end of the crank. You'll see that the square hole type has a square where two of the sides are kind of parallel with the crank.
Looking at the rhombic hole, the pictures will show that whilst the square hole is still square, it is turned 45 degrees and you could say it is more like a diamond, the edges of the hole are pivoted.
The holes will be the same, just turned by 45 degrees so it's important to match the existing good crank so they end up aligned. So if you are replacing just one crank, look at the square and see which way it is lying and match up accordingly.


Chain stuck between cassette and spokes and damaged rear hub - any way to fix it?

That's a bit of a mess. Looks like the chain dinged up the hub, freehub body (that the cassette mounts on) and the spokes.

The freehub body is removable, and you could possibly use a fine file to remove any metal burrs that are keeping the freehub from rotating.

What is far more worrying is the state of the spokes. All the drive side spokes are gouged and at least one is bent. I'd have a bike repair shop look at it to assess the extent of the damage. Best case you can replace a few spokes, worst case all the drive side spokes need replacing, or if the hub is not salvageable you are looking at a new wheel.

Have the bike repair shop adjust your derailleur while you are there.


Bicycle is Having a hard time Shifting -- especially gears 13 and 14

The cable needs adjusting.  A new cable will tend to stretch and go out of adjustment, so they should provide a free adjustment after replacing it.


Is anyone able to connect Shimano Di2 SM-BCR2 to Windows inside VirtualBox on Mac OSX?

A late answer, but perhaps it helps some people. I used Vmware and not VirtualBox. However: I had to disconnect and connect the usb port in VMWare, even though Windows noticed that usb was connected to Windows. Shimano DI2 disagreed. A software reconnect of usb inside VMWare fixed this.
The solution suggested about D-Fly does not fix this. I have D-Fly installed, but I needed to update and connect to DI2 wired first before wireless was possible.
SM-BCR2 charger
BT-DN110 battery
EW-WU111 d-fly unit


I think you may be over thinking this a little.
Firstly if you're going to take off the crank for cleaning you should probably remove the BB as well.
The Shimano manual covers what to grease and what not
https://si.shimano.com/api/publish/storage/pdf/en/dm/FC0002/DM-FC0002-13-ENG.pdf
Basically remove the BB, clean inside the shell with a paint brush. The BB isn't maintainable so you just wipe it off, and if there's play you throw it away and replace it with a new one.
Removing the BB and greasing the threads will help prevent water ingress, and you want to remove the BB about annually to stop things seizing up.
Generally I soak metal things (chainrings etc.) in petrol and it gets them clean. If you are eco-friendly you can probably find a greener less explosive degreaser. Anywhere you have rubber seals then petrol is likely to kill it, so avoid. Plus anything you can't re-grease you shouldn't degrease. So the bearings inside the BB are something you want to avoid getting any kind of cleaning agent into, so don't soak your BB in water or whatever, because that's only a good idea if the BB is user-serviceable which it is not (if it was user-serviceable you could fully degrease and then re-lube, but that's not the case). After cleaning metal parts in degreaser, rinse in water. No soap. Grease on parts that move or get tightened.
The chainring bolt torque is in the manual, 12-14Nm for the big/middle ring, 16-17Nm for the small one. The loctite will reflect that extra torque. Green loctite is the weaker one.
If you relate the 5mm bolts to the required torque, the function of the Loctite should be obvious

because 5mm bolts aren't typically good for more than about 12 Nm. Green loctite is wicking and it has a relatively low torque to break away (10 Nm), which is why it's not too hard to loosen, but has a higher prevail torque, which is the torque required to rotate it 180 degrees. Red loctite is much harder to break.


Excluding tires so old and worn they obviously need replacement, there are two main root causes of punctures in well maintained bicycles.

Low Pressure causing 'snake bite' punctures. When the pressure is too low, and you hit a bump, the tire can pinch the tube against the rim and cause a puncture. Small tires have to run at higher pressure to stop this happening and have lower volume. All tires leak air slowly - so the combination of low volume and higher pressure means they  need to be pumped up more often than larger tires - in some cases weekly.
Additionally a slow leak that may go unnoticed for longer in a larger tire will become catastrophic to a low volume tire much quicker.

Punctures where an object penetrates the tire is what most people think of. While small tires have a smaller area to hit such an object, they run higher pressure and are therefore harder - which generates more force to push the object into the tire. Generally a larger tire spreads the loads over a larger area, so less likely to push an object into the tire. Another aspect is something sharp like glass may cut a tire and the higher pressure of the smaller tire will push the tube though the cut.

The differences are small, and it depends as much on tire and wheel choice as size, but all else being equal, experience shows that most cyclists puncture less on larger tires.

As far as punctures go, you need to be able to deal with them on a long ride regardless of the bike you are riding. If the road surface is good quality and generally swept clean, then a road bike is more suited and practically no more likely to puncture than a cross bike. If the road potholed and rough, with lots of stones and litter then larger tires are better choice. Larger tires also offer a more comfortable ride and for this reason may be more suited for you. The rolling and aerodynamic efficiencies of narrow tires may make a difference to a pro rider trying to break away from the peloton, but you may find the few seconds per hour difference in speed less enticing at the end of 200+km or riding.

Also I suggest you take the bike out for a decent ride before the event. 230km on a bike you have ridden no further than around a car park is a big risk.


Bike weight and performance is only one factor.  Your average speed and whether or not you have inclines would also factor in, of course. You can have a light bike with skinny wheels and burn as many calories by averaging 18mph, or a heavy bike and burn the same calories at a lower speed, etc...  Coincidentally, this month's Bicycling Magazine has a brief illustration on how much power is saved by tweaking tires, helmet, clothing, etc...


Why and how much is riding big-chainring-frong small-cog-rear a negative practice?

As commented by @Daniel R Hicks the problems I would be concerned about are to his own health. The bike components that will wear out prematurely are simpler to replace.

Potential health issues are knee problems from "mushing" all the time. MTBer's tend to run lower cadence than road riders, for valid reasons, but when on the road tend to run closer to road cadence. Mushing causes excessive pressure on the knee, causing the joint to wear out - its an Orthopedic surgeons retirement plan, in 20 years time he will be doing knee replacements.

The other concern is mixing it with traffic in high gear. You have limited ability to accelerate and your balance is often compromised. Under usual conditions, not a problem, but in an emergency that could be the difference between a close call and a grease mark on the road.

Less of a concern, and people physical attributes vary, is endurance and aerobic capacity. The reason for spinning faster is it provides maximum aerobic efficiency. Under about 80RPM you are not able to maximize the power output of you legs. Beginners often spin too slow, as the optimal cadence needs technique and practice to learn how.  To some it feels you are going faster mushing as it feels like it takes less effort if you spin faster. I find a good test is to get them to change down a gear, keep the same effort and monitor their speed. Most are surprised to see an instant increase of 1 or 2km/h for no more effort.

If you are really keen to get him to spin faster, put him on a bike with short - really short (like 145mm off a kids bike)- cranks for a few rides. As you have much lower torque, you have to spin to go fast, but spinning smoothly is easier, so you just do it. It's a great training aid.


Sealant in inner tubes: what's the difference?

Putting sealant in your tube does nothing to prevent pinch flats. (The long gashes caused by pinch flats would normally be too big for the sealant to handle, at least reliably.)
Putting sealant in a tube adds to the weight of the tube, rather than replacing it as in tubeless.
Likewise, with sealant in a tube, you have all the rolling resistance you already had with the tube, plus more energy cost to turn the wheel due to the sealant. (Bicycle Rolling Resistance tested this.)


What items should be in a bare-minimum first-aid / emergency kit?

Water
Some sort of antiseptic, ideally something like a small bottle of Betadine, though regular ointment/cream will do fine, and it wouldn't hurt to have both
Gauze pads, in a couple of sizes
Adhesive tape
A few large Band-Aids
Some tissues or cotton pads for wiping off a wound

And, of course, cell phone, money, and ID (placed somewhere where people can find it).

I have my name, address, emergency contacts, etc on a gummed label stuck to the top bar of my bike and covered with clear tape


Examine the pedal and crank arm.

(Note that the above diagram is not exactly like your pedal, but the basic construction is the same.)
Note that there is a shaft that runs inside the pedal, from crank arm to the end of the pedal.  The pedal bearings (inside the central housing of the pedal) ride on the pedal shaft.  Likely the bearings have gotten loose and the pedal is rattling around on the shaft.  If this is the case you should go ahead and replace the pedals.
But carefully examine the shaft as you move the pedal up and down.  Where the shaft mates with the crank arm you will be able to see 10-15mm of the shaft, and you should not see ANY motion between this shaft and the crank arm.  If you see any motion there (while you move the pedal up and down) it means that the pedal is unscrewing from the crank arm and the crank arm will be very quickly damaged (if it isn't already).
Further, grasp the crank arm and move it in and out, checking for any flex between the arm and the crank shaft inside the bottom-bracket.  Any motion here must be corrected immediately (tighten the crank nut) or the crank arm and possibly crank shaft will be damaged.


Does the glue in tyre repair kits expire?

Not indefinitely, but it is good for many years. After you open it, there could be a tendency for drying, but even that takes a very long time. Even opened and well closed glue will survive for years.


I think it is a judgement call, but I don't think you can separate lubing from cleaning.

I will basically lube the chain every time after I've cleaned it. Mostly, cleaning will be simply wiping with a paper towel, occasionally it will be the other extreme - I take the chain and the cassette off the bike completely and bathe the lot in degreaser. But after each clean I apply lube.

To quantify, in your situation, I think if I were doing 100km muddy rides, I would clean the chain in between every ride. To lube during a ride.....well I can't see any point in doing that. You'd just be lubing dirt.

In my situation (and I'm a road rider) I will generally clean/lube every week or 10 days, or every 2-3 rides. I count this as standard maintenance, just like pumping the tyres. A "deep" clean, where I take everything off, will be maybe every 3 months or so. I use one of two lubes, depending on season/weather - a light, dry-weather lube (which would certainly be washed off in the rain) or a more sticky wet-weather lube.

As regards your last point, if you do start to "feel" something, then probably what you'd be feeling is damage that had already been done. I view lubing as preventative, so I'll lube on a time-driven basis rather than an event-driven basis.


What could be the cause of phantom pain?

I would call it muscle pain, or myalgia from using muscles you did not train before.
It is normal that it disappears when you are using the muscles as this kind of pain is one that will 'go away when you do more'.

If it is a light aching, I would just ignore it and go on with your current training schedule.
If it is painfull enough to keep you awake or keep your attention while doing things, slow down on the cycling and do not do as much or take more time in between sessions.


The photo shows the result of a derailleur being out of adjustment. There are many on line tutorials that explain derailleur adjustment. There is also the chance that the trainer stand is somehow interfering with the derailleur movement.


What is wrong with my Shimano 105 5800 front derailleur?

I've been riding the bike and really took a look today at the shifting while riding.

In the big/small combo, it looked like it just wasn't pulling enough cable to get it over far enough.

While I was riding I had an idea, perhaps the cable position coming from the cable stop had an effect (it should since it is basically a projection of the pull onto the the FD lever arm).

The cable stop was a clamp on aftermarket one, since the Civia Hyland doesn't have cable stops.

When I got home I decided to test it some more. I did two things :

moved the cable stop up and down
rotated the cable stop around the down tube

I managed to find a position where it worked! Barely, the tolerances on this thing are tight, but I can get it positioned where it barely doesn't rub now on small/big and on big/small.

The cable stop was too close to the FD, it needed to be moved down.
The cable stop was rotated too far away from the FD, it needed to be rotated closer to the centerline of the downtube.

This fixed the problem, these new FDs have very tight specs, it still barely, barely doesn't rub.

At least I have a cable stop that I can move around, if the cable stop were in a fixed position I couldn't have fixed this.


What is the best time to cycle during the day (traffic)?

For the UK there are traffic statistics available. This graph from the 2015 Road Traffic Estimates shows the general trend for cars.

There are detailed tables of traffic flow available.

There is also geographical data available in the form an interactive map. This isn't broken down by time of day, but should give you an indication of which roads generally carry more traffic.

If you're interested in when is the safest time to use the roads, there are statistics on road casualties by hour of day in this report (page 153 - Reported casualties by day, road user type and hour of day).


Your assumptions are right on, the carbon fiber stays are definitely our biggest obstacle. They prevent you from being able to powder coat the aluminum, the risk of damaging the carbon fiber from heat in the process is too great.

A professional in town should be able to properly mask the carbon fiber and sandblast or glass bead blast the aluminum. I believe glass bead blasting is the preferred option and is supposed to be gentler. Then comes the new paint job.

As usual, Sheldon has quite a bit of information on the subject: http://sheldonbrown.com/paint-prep.html


Uncomfortable saddle position on road bike.

Are your cleats "a few centimetres" thick? It seems unlikely! It's hard to imagine that your cleats put your foot more than a centimetre farther from the axis of the pedal than was the case with your old pedals, so the simple conclusion is that you moved your saddle way too far.


When is it not okay to cheap out on bike parts?

There are potentially a lot of ins and outs to this question, as one could ask what discipline you're talking about, how aggressive of a rider you are, skill level, etc, as it all has an impact on how likely you are to be punished for going cheap, and how severely.

However, there's a really good axiom in cycling: "Cheap, light, and strong. Pick two." Your answer is pretty much right there.

An example would be comparing a bottom-end aluminum Shimano road wheelset vs super cheap, unreputable carbon wheels. The former is cheap and strong but not light, and the latter is cheap and light but not strong. For most categories of bike component, there are going to be choices that have a similar relationship. If you want to get by with cheap stuff, this is the angle you have to work. Light components at very low prices, especially ones new to the market, often turn out to be junk, sometimes in a way that can be dangerous (there have been numerous pedals, wheels, hubs, stems, brakes, and cranks in this vein in particular.) Conversely, being really successful at being a thrifty cyclist is usually all about either finding the stuff that's a little less flashy but more stalwart and able to get the job done or just finding good higher end stuff at low prices. Most attempts at "getting away with something" by buying the other kind of cheap stuff are bound to fail.

Some more particulars:

There are a lot of flashy, cheap two-piece cranks running around these days that can have issues with pressed interfaces that are supposed to be permanent coming apart and creaking.
There are some good offbrand carbon rims and some that have proved unreliable. It's a good place to be cautious.
Rear hubs are a component where it's easy for manufacturers to put out something for cheap that has a high engagement rate, smooth bearings, and light weight that then proceeds to totally fail to be a reliable component. It's best to go for something that's either a known workhorse (XT and 105 for example) or true high end, and not roll the dice on anything else.
Cheap, off-brand headsets and bottom brackets are almost always disappointments.

A final note: it's actually a really good idea to pay close attention to how long a given model of component has been on the market unchanged. Bike component manufacturers love having flashy new attention-getting things and often feel pressure to change up their lines at least every couple years if not sooner. More often than not, when they keep the same model kicking around longer than this it's because it's just a good design and has earned a reputation for it, and there are a lot of examples of cheaper components this applies to. PD-M520s, CR18s, and FH-M756s are some examples from the last couple decades.


Is it normal for a new Shimano hub to feel rough?

The intention is for it to be adjusted after the wheel is built but before it's ridden.
Tension on the flanges has some effect on preload. Were it a QR hub, there's also the fact that some play is desirable off the bike, but not when the wheel is being built. This applies less or not at all to Shimano thru-axle hubs, because the adjustment doesn't usually change when installed onto the bike, unlike a QR.


How do i fix my v-brake with some part twisted?

The simplest solution would probably be to just buy new brakes. You can get them starting at about 10€/15$ which makes any attempt to repair them more expensive.

I don't know whether these tension pins can be replaced. For me, brakes are too important to try to save a few bucks on them.

Make sure the new ones are inserted completely, the pin should ideally not be visible when installed.


What is the difference between a freewheel and a hub?

The hub is the body at the center of the wheel containing the axle. It is more or less just some bearings in a pair of cups that rotate around the axle.

The freewheel is the mechanism that locks when pedaling forward (forcing the wheel to be driven by the chain) and spins freely when coasting or pedaling backward.

Both wheels have hubs, but only the rear wheel has a freewheel.

These are two variations on freewheel design, taken from the Wikipedia article linked above:

On most modern bikes with multiple gears, the freewheel is built into the rear hub and the whole assembly is called a freehub. The cassette is just a set of gears bolted together, without any moving parts, that slides onto the hub and is held in place with a lockring.

On older bikes, the hub was just a hub with some threads on one side. The freewheel was built into the rear gear cluster and that whole assembly screwed onto the hub.

Single speed bikes are still (typically, though variations exist) built like older bikes, with the freewheel and the gear being one piece and screwing onto the hub.

If you want to read more, the Freehub article that I linked to on Wikipedia has a section comparing freewheels and freehubs.

The ever helpful Sheldon Brown also has a very detailed article (which the above photo was taken from) outlining the difference between freehubs and freewheels.


Why aren't most suspension bikes extremely long travel?

Because:

Long travel bikes have a particular geometry which only benefits descends. Applying long travel on an XC geometry bike will create a bike which is not good for anything.
Long travel absorbs a lot of energy. XC riders would not like this.
Long travel requires stronger construction to avoid flex. This means more weight.


Can I replace ceramic bearings with steel bearings?

You haven't checked inside the hub but are planning on a possible downgrade?  Best to open it and check first.

I don't personally own anything ceramic, but one of their main advantages is durability.  I've seen estimaguesses of 50k-100k km life for "quality" ceramics.  Its unlikely Campagnolo used knockoff bearings from new.

Answer: Yes, but check inside hub first.  No point fixing a non-problem.


Sram Red AXS Crank Bolt Cap missing - how to remove crank, if at all?

Yes, it's true!

The design is known as a self-extracting crank, you can find some excellent videos on how they work, by searching online. You'll see on page 24 of the installation manual that when the crank is removed in steps 1 and 2, it has the little cover with the four small holes in around the crank bolt (where yours is missing). The crank bolt turns against this cap to drive the crank off the spindle. The crank bolt might be nice and tight, but it is designed to be turned.

There isn't any other good way to remove the crank. Some people might remove the bolt and then start hitting the crank until it falls off the spindle, but I wouldn't do that unless it was a last resort to save a bike with a crank which will be scrapped.


Which grease should be used between plastic and bearings?

It is my belief that this fear is overstated, and I'd simply use Park polylube. (I've seen threads where boat mechanics discuss using their favorite marine grease on all their bike parts with no ill effects.) If worried and wanting to spend more, I'd use suspension grease, which is by definition going on plastic/rubber seals. A couple of the more popular name-brand suspension greases are just Slickoleum, re-packaged and marked up 3-4x in price. You can get a tube of slickoleum for around $12, or a bigger tub to last your whole life for around $20.


Probably, flushing with plain water followed by some lube should work. Good luck!


My first thought was that you are getting some rubbing of the chain on the front derailleur. Rubbing would only occur when in highest or lowest gears though, and you don't mention that. You can check for this by holding the rear wheel off the ground, pedaling manually and inspecting the chain where it passes through the front derailleur, if you want to rule this out.

Unfortunately I think that a problem with the bottom bracket bearings (bearings that the crank axle runs through) is more likely, especially as you say you can feel vibration through you feet. To check for this manually turn crank arms on either side of the bike, you may feel some resistance, roughness or clicking as the crank turns. (If you can get the chain out of the derailleur cage and off the chainrings it makes it easier to feel this.) You can also try to rock the crank in the frame, there should be hardly any play between the crank and the frame.

From the video I can see you have a cartridge type bottom bracket. The cranks on either side are attached via a square or splined taper on the end of the axle. These cannot be adjusted or repaired and simply have to be replaced. They are not particularly expensive or difficult to install, but do require some special tools (a crank puller, BB removal/installation tool and if you're doing things right, a torque wrench).

This video shows what's involved and the tools needed.


How do I identify the correct battery for my electric bicycle?

Yes it's possible, but there are a few things to check before getting a new battery:

Some battery systems communicates information to the controller. There are no standards here, so most likely different brands are not compatible.

To know whether your battery has this, check connector between the battery and controller. If it's more than a simple 2 pin (positive and negative) connection to the battery, it's likely you'll need to get a battery from the same brand and ask them about whether it's compatible.

If there's only a simple connection, then you're in luck, as you can use a generic battery as replacement. But there's still a few things to be aware of:

Find a battery of the same voltage (48V) and type (I'm assuming Li-ion based on the voltage and capacity you provided).
If possible, find out the maximum current draw from the controller. Common values range from 15A to 25A. Your new battery should be able to handle the same amount of current to prevent overheating and damaging the battery.
The new battery should have a battery management system (BMS) with protection from over-current. This will ensure your new battery has a better life span.

Side note: because of the smaller capacity, you'll be using a wider charge and discharge range on the battery. For Li-ion batteries, this results in shorter lifespan of the battery. Just something you might want to be aware of.

As a rule of thumb, you should get a battery size that will mean you only need to use max 80% of it's full capacity before recharging. This will greatly enhance the lifespan compared to a 100% charge / discharge each time.


Do you mean it's stuck? It might not be that you've got the wrong shoe in the pedal but that it's rather stiff (the pedals seem to arrive at up with tight springs) and holding it in your hands you can't get much force. The actual cleat is symmetrical. Try putting a crank arm (or whole bike) on the pedal, and putting your foot in the shoe, then twist your foot, holding the crank or bike. It should just pop out as if it was the correct shoe.

I've got walkable SPD shoes and pedals with a cage round the SPD, which means more to get in the way. But when first setting up the cleat tension I though this would be a good idea. It's a good lesson in how much stronger your legs are than your arms.