How many chain links do I need for my chain

Generally, you would buy a chain that is "long enough" and then shorten it to the correct length. If you're adding 4 extra teeth, then presumably you would need at least 2 extra links from what you currently have. Look at Sheldon Brown's chain length article for determining the correct length.

  The best technique for setting chain length is to thread the chain onto the large/large combination, without running it through the rear derailer. Mesh the two ends on to the large chainwheel so that one complete link (one inch, -- one inner and one outer half-link) overlaps. In almost all cases, this will give the optimum length.


Sportive Cycling ? Is your country France perhaps.

Anyway, for longer rides and tougher exercise, it all depends what you mean by longer rides and tougher exercise.

If by tougher exercise you mean more exertion then a vintage bike is perfect as it weighs more and you will get more exercise... or something. So save yourself the money and keep riding your current vintage bikes.

Personally I have a Bianchi Vertigo which I love.  The frame is carbon monocoque which makes it light and being carbon it means that I don't get as tired on longer rides and can recover faster to do more km's/miles the following day/s. That bike was a little more than your budget a couple of years ago, but you could easily pick up a full carbon bike for around your budget.


Did you push the pistons back into the callipers?

Hydraulic brakes automatically adjust for pad wear and the home position of the pistons moves slightly out. When you change pads you need to gently push the pistons back in gently with something like a plastic tire lever to return the fluid to the reservoir, then pump the lever to set the correct level of adjustment for the new pads.


Inside of my full suspension bike pivots is cracked!

Are you sure those hex bolts are cracked?

They could instead just have peeling chrome.  Hex bolts tend to accumulate water and grime and thus corrosion. It could just be surface peeling of the chrome.

I'd poke at them with a sharp ice pick and see if it's just surface peeling of chrome or if the bolts are actually cracked. If it's the former you can ignore. If it's the latter, follow @criggie's suggestion.


Determining which derailleur hanger is compatible with a frame

Wheels Manufacturing has a feature to search by brand for their hangers. Just one company of many that produces replacement hangers.

http://wheelsmfg.com/products/derailleur-hangers.html


My answer would be:

Politely ask the bike shop what you are getting for that $80 tune-up.

I'm of the same mind as @danielrhicks, $80 sounds a lot for a tune-up, unless they are trueing your wheels (in which case you're paying for the mechanics skills), and replacing parts (in which case you're paying for...parts).

Depending on what they are doing for that $80, I would be trying to do some/all of that tune-up myself - regular cleaning, pumping of tires, checking "stuff" isn't loose, visual check wheels aren't buckled.

If you don't have the basic skills of bike upkeep, maybe there is a local community centre, or bike club that give free classes on how to take care of your bike...or even ask questions here! :)

To me, if you take regular care of your bike then the big jobs are seldom and cost less.

I'm not saying don't get those regular tune-ups, but maybe you can ask them to focus on the brake cables/wheel straightening - jobs you can't do yourself.


Amateur Bicycle Racing outside of the US

If you are coming to the Uk then the British Cycling website is probably the place to start.


The standard advice if you want to ride a mountain bike on the road is to fit slick tires rather than knobby tires, and lock out any suspension if you have it (since you don't need it on the road). That being said, you're going to typically have lower gearing than a road or hybrid bike (due to the nature of mountain biking), though you may have some room to adjust this with cassette and chainring sizes.

At the end of the day, if you're going to be using this bike only on the road, it isn't going to be as nice as an appropriately hybrid or cyclocross or road bike, and it would be preferable not to get a mountain bike. Note that hybrids/cross bikes are often suitable for things like fire roads, gravel and what not (light off road situations); they won't take well to dropping as much as a mountain bike, but you have to ask yourself if this bike is ever really going to do this (and whether you'd be better off just renting a mountain bike when you want to do this, or buying a mountain bike specifically for this purpose).


will an old wheelset support 28mm (28c) 700c tires or will they "balloon"

Wider road rims have become more popular, in part because of the reasons you're talking about, but 28 is far from the reasonable maximum for a more classic 19-20mm road rim, and will be totally fine. Consider how many people race cross on 19-20mm clinchers with 32s and 35s. Where the actual line is of what's reasonable is a hotly debated topic that there are other questions about.


54cm does seem large for you. I'm between 5'8" and 9" and ride a 54 or 55cm (and I have relatively long arms).

Some thoughts:

Some models are effectively larger or smaller than their seat tube measurement. Bicycle shop staff may have been taking that into account for a specific bike you were interested in.
Take a knowledgeable cycling friend with you when looking at bikes.
Look at the sizing charts that some manufacturers publish e.g., this from Trek. Print it out and take it with you when looking at bikes.
Sit on or ride a 54cm, then say 'that feels too big'.


How much resistance should steerer have?

The steering is not supposed to have significant resistance.

Have you adjusted the preload? Set it to just tight enough that there's no play and that's the correct setting. If there's then a bit of drag from grease or seals don't worry about it.

The way you adjust the preload on this type of headset is loosen the stem bolts and then adjust the bolt on the top. Loosen it first until you have a bit of play (the steerer wobbles a little bit in the headtube) and then tighten it until the play has gone but no tighter. Then do up the stem bolts to the recommended torque. You need the top of the spacer stack to be a little bit higher than that top cap for this to work which you can do by swapping out spacers.


Sandals in the winter? Other winter footwear options?

I go through 3 different types of shoes as the seasons change:

Hot (80F+): sandals
Variable (30-80F): indoor soccer shoes (eg adidas sambas)
Cold (30F-): light hiking boots/trail running shoes

For cold weather, you not only need to be comfortable while pedaling on your bike, but also confident off your bike. Lightweight hiking boots, with windproofing, waterproofing, and breathable layers, not only keep your feet happy while pealing but also let you feel like a mountain goat when you put your foot down in the slush at a stop light, or dismount on top of ice, or have to portage down wet stairs. Trail running shoes with these attributes are also a great choice if you want something even lighter and without the additional ankle support.

As others mention, wool/smartwool socks and switching to platform/toe clip/half-clips on your pedals are both good changes in addition to changing up your footwear. My winter setup is smartwool socks, size 13 light hiking boots from North Face and Velo Orange half-clips.


Bike tire sizes are a confusing topic. This page is a bit dated, but still worth bookmarking.
There are two valve types: Schrader and Presta. Presta is skinnier and will fit loosely in a Schrader opening; you can get adapters to shim up the difference (technically there's a third type, Dunlop, but I've never actually seen a Dunlop valve).
29" is mountain-bike terminology for what roadies would call 700C; both have a bead-seat diameter of 622 mm. So you can use a tube marketed for road bikes, although a 1.4"-wide tire (about 35 mm) is at the outer edge of what you'd find on road bikes.
In general, you have some latitude when fitting innertubes. As long as they're not bunched up or stretched taut inside the tire, they're fine.


Do cyclocross/interrupter/touring brake levers reduce brake performance?

The only way that interrupter levers could make much of a difference is if the installation requires extra housing (which would compress under braking, increasing the lever travel for a given braking pressure). If you're not bottoming out the levers, though, that's not the source of your problem (and from the picture I don't see why the interrupters would require additional housing anyway).

I think Daniel R Hicks is correct here--your lever/caliper setup likely isn't giving you enough mechanical advantage. You're squeezing the levers as hard as you can, but you're just not getting enough pad/rim force for decent stopping power. You notice this mostly in wet weather because there's less pad/rim friction when they're wet.

Finger positioning on the levers is one thing that can make a difference--keep them as far away from the pivots as you can. On my drop-bar commuter bike, for example, I need to ride in the drops during wet weather because I just don't get enough mechanical advantage with my hands on the hoods.

You might also see better braking performance if you switch to softer brake pads, or rain-specific pads like Kool-Stop Salmon or similar, though I've read that the Salmons tend to chew up rims pretty quickly when it's dry.


How to maintain Suntour XCR Air RL-R (remote lockout air/oil) front fork?

Any half-decent fork requires maintenance, the air variety of XCR not being an exception. True, Suntour does not seem to publish XCR-specific docs compared to other higher priced forks like Auron or Axon, but there's a general fork manual available. Some relevant quotes from it:

  MAINTENANCE PLAN

  after every ride: Clean the fork tubes and dust seals and maintain with an oily cloth / check stanchion tubes for scratches

  every 50 hours: Maintenance 1 (at dealer)

  every 100 hours or once a year: Maintenance 2 (at dealer, ideally before winter time in order to protect all parts from the effects of weather by proper greasing)

  MAINTENANCE 1:

  Check function of fork / check torques of mountings screws and nuts at dropout (10 Nm) / check
  for scratches, dents, cracks, discolouration, signs of wear and signs of minor corrosion (maintain
  with oily cloth).

  MAINTENANCE 2:

  Maintenance 1 + disassembly / cleaning the entire fork inside and out / cleaning and lubricating
  dust seals and slider sleeves / checking torques / adjusting to the riders liking.
  Before disassembly, check the slider sleeve play of the fork. To do so, apply the front wheel
  brake and gently push the bicycle back and forth at the handlebar stem shaft. Replace the slider
  sleeves if the play is too big (more than 1 mm at the fork brace).

I'd advise to contact the venue you bought the bike from and even SR Suntour itself for further details.


From your description there are two different areas this could fall under: problems with adjustment that are causing the rotor to hit the disc caliper or adaptor, or problems with bed-in.

They shouldn't be loud under normal braking. You should get some slightly "textured" feedback as the pad bites down on the rotor as you use the brake, but it shouldn't shudder. That you mention shudder is the clue something is wrong here.

The first thing you should do is double check very carefully that the brake(s) in question are not adjusted such that the rotor can ever get contact the caliper body or the caliper adapter (if present). It should only ever be able to touch brake pad. If it's contacting anything else, hopefully it's just a case of re-adjustment, but too much riding like that can destroy things.

If that's not the problem, i.e. everything is adjusted properly but it's giving these symptoms anyway, the first thing I would do is remove, lightly sand, and re-install the pads, then lightly sand the rotor(s) and clean thoroughly with alcohol or brake cleaner. Then do a thorough bedding procedure after reading some good long thing that explains the theory and practice of bed-in. If they still do it, replace the pads. If they still do it after that, replace the rotor too. Some of the brakes out there now have this tendency to just start making a rapid-fire shudder when you brake, as the pad goes over the cut-outs of the rotor, and I don't know that it's even something that has to do with bed-in. Maybe.


What are your goals in upgrading?

Shifting?

105 components are already quite good, and the bike is mostly 105. While 105 cranks will probably likely shift a bit better, perfect front shifting rarely has much impact on performance. Front shifting is more of an annoyance than anything. and you would be hard pressed to notice any stiffness or weight differences from the cranks that are already spec'd on the bike.

Speed?

If speed is the priority, removing drag from your clothing and position will be the first place to start. Skin suits (or form fitting kit) and low drag helmet will be the biggest bang per buck. Next up, wheels can also be a good upgrade, but to be honest you will likely need to spend more than the cost of the bike before you will really notice this upgrade.

Bling?

If you are upgrading simply to out do your friend or riding partners, well then all that matters is what matters to them. Ask questions and I am sure they will tell you to through your money.

Just an opinion

Honestly, the best would be to focus on maintaining the bike, ensuring your clothing and contact points are comfortable and just ride your bike. As it stands you have a good entry level bike. The performance should be quite good, getting that extra bit of performance that remains will be very costly endeavor if you take the upgrade route. When you are ready for a faster bike, save and purchase it outright. Used or old new stock can be a very economical way to go. I would largely avoid the upgrade game as it is often 10% performance, 90% playing with money.


Old time bike. Can I put a rear derailleur?

Yes, that is a standard derailleur hanger. Before attaching a derailleur, make sure that the hanger is aligned straight. There are tools to do this, but you can usually tell by eye if it's out of alignment. On a steel frame like that one, you can typically bend the hanger back into alignment with no problems. Also check that the threads are not stripped. If the threads are damaged, you may be able to use a thread tap to clean them up, or in the worst case, insert a helicoil. If you're not familiar with a helicoil, search "rear derailleur hanger helicoil" for examples. They will usually come with instructions for installation.

With regard to the dropouts, horizontal dropouts were standard on bicycles for many decades, whether they were single-speed or multi-geared. Look at pretty much any picture of a bike from before the late 80's. The only difference from a vertical dropout frame is that you have to pay a bit more attention to aligning the wheel properly in the frame when you put it on. Check that the wheel is properly positioned with respect to the brake pads and that the rim is equidistant from the chainstays. From your picture, though, it appears that the dropouts on this frame have stops in them, so that you can simply pull the wheel back against the stops. If they are set up correctly, the wheel should be aligned properly when seated against them.


No, lithium grease or similar grease compounds are in general not suitable for bike chains.

Bike chains need lubrication of inner surfaces between rollers. Chain lubes contain solvents to reduce viscosity enough to creep into these gaps. The solvent dissipates and leaves a high viscosity oil.

The surface does not need extra lubrication. It is best to remove all chain lube from it to prevent dust and grit adhering to the chain. Eventually it would get into the chain rollers and increase wear.

Lithium complex grease is good for mounting parts. For example seat posts or screw threads. It can serve as an allround grease to server the purpose of anti seize compounds and bearing grease. There are a few components, like suspension forks, that must not be lubricated with lithium grease though.


There are so many options for this I can't list them all, here are a few good ones.

 Mission Workshop has very refined and expensive bags, very full featured multi purpose bags.

Rickshaw Bagworks has several commuter bags you may want to check out.

Chrome Bags  has lots of laptop bags in addition to their standard messenger bags.


Adding a hill repeats workout to your training routine is the best way to increase your climbing endurance. See this video on one way to do hill repeats.

Find a hill with a good grade in your area.
Basically, you warm up and get yourself loose and ready for an intense workout, then ride up the hill making sure to time your effort then use the same amount of time to go back down the hill and recover then repeat.

Start off with a few reps and build up.


Are replacement MTB tire studs compatible between brands

This article measures the sizes of studs between manufacturers. The upshot of the article is that if you have Nokian, Schwalbe, Continental, Innova studs, the dimensions are essentially the same and can be swapped around.

In any case, I'd expect Nokian (Suomi) studs to be the easiest ones to find these days anyway...

For reference, the essential from teh article linked above is that the studs are approximately:
"Overall height: 5.8mm (pointed), and 5.5mm (domed)

Base height: 1.0mm

Base diameter: 6.5mm

Shaft diameter: 3.4mm

Tip diameter: 2.0mm"


What parameters are important when replacing a rear hub?

You need the:

right width to match the dropouts you are fitting the wheel to (135 mm for rear hubs, 100mm for front typically).
same number of spokes as the rim you intend to use.
the right brake rotor mounting (center lock or 6 bolt).
the right axle width, diameter and fastening for the dropout (bolt thru, butted axle, quick release or thru axle (eg. maxle / maxle lite).

Putting the wheel together is a whole different matter, and there are tons of questions on wheel building here as well as entire books (like Brandt's The Bicycle Wheel).

As for 24 spokes, I'm not sure I'd be comfortable with a 24 spoke wheel in most cases.


How to find compatable cassette for older Shimano

Take your rear wheel off and visually inspect the cassette.   Compare with this answer https://bicycles.stackexchange.com/a/21406/19705  and see which  you have.

Given bikepedia says 8 speed, its most likely to be a cassette.

This is a freehub with a cassette.   Note the ring of indentations just inside where it says 12T.  That silver ring will unscrew and all the cogs can slide off.

By comparison,this is a freewheel.  If you undid the black lock ring then the guts of the freewheel will still be on the wheel.

Image credits to Sheldon Brown's website http://sheldonbrown.com/free-k7.html


Road wheel conversion to single speed wheel

The Steamroller has 120mm spacing (i.e. track hub spacing) in the back (based on the 2011 Surly complete catalog). A modern road hub is 130 mm spacing.

My recommendation is to buy a wheel with a 120 mm track hub on it and thread the cog on it -- you could spread (i.e. cold set) the frame in principle (spreading can be done if and only if the frame is steel) to take the 130 mm hub, but I would not recommend it (esp. on a nice Surly frame). Since it is more than a 1 size jump (120->126->130), you pretty much have to do the cold setting if you want to go through with this plan (you may want to get a bike shop to do it, esp. for the fork).

But, if you do choose to take the plunge and spread the frame, the option you should probably take is get a bunch of spacers and a single speed cog and put the spacers on to get the right chain line. Many companies sell "single speed conversion kits", which sell the spacers as well as the cog together for a n-speed cassette hub, which you can get for a fairly low price. Less ideal options include things like just sticking the wheel in as-is (with a multi-speed cassette) and aligning the chain as best as possible, but if you're willing to buy an Eno freewheel, this is silly.


How is infrastructure for bicyclists designed, and how does it evolve?

In most places the answer to your main question is "very bureaucratically", usually involving multiple government departments and a lot of competing interests. It's a part of town planning, which is itself contentious in most places. Even without the sort of natural input that, for example, Christchurch is currently experiencing.

My experience is that even when national governments are involved detailed planning tends to be done at a very local level. This contrasts with major roads where there is usually a government department who is responsible for them. So national funding ends up in the hands of local government who design, build and maintain bicycle facilities in their area.

Ideally the work is overseen by someone with both qualifications and experience in designing good cycle facilities, with public involvement during the scoping and design stages. This is when cycling organisations can be very influential both in terms of what route is chosen and the detailed design that can make it a stunning success or a miserable failure.

Budget works two ways. The "how much do we have to spend" is usually a political question and is influenced primarily by lobbying your government representatives. The "how much does it cost" is in theory an engineering question, but is often determined by political considerations, specifically the "it must be able to support heavy maintenance vehicles" requirement that can mean a cycle facility costs the same as a standard roadway instead of less than 1/4 as much. Local government and roading engineers are usually very keen on this for two reasons: it gives them a "free" access route (they don't pay for it, cyclists do), and it pushes up the apparent cost of cycle facilities (so they have to deal with fewer of them per dollar in the budget). In some situations this does work the other way, where the builders go "cycleways are cheap, let's put them everywhere". Smart property developers do this as they can still call them roads (and they look like roads on the plans), but they're cheap to build.

Evaluation is complex because there are many different ways a cycle facility can be evaluated. From how good it is to ride on, to accident rates or population health, to maintenance costs, to political benefit (or cost), just about everyone will have their own way to evaluate a cycle facility. This is a contentious issue that my local BUG addresses with our local council almost every year. Even though we have a cycling team in the council infrastructure department we have to fight to keep them as well as maintain existing facilities and build new ones.

The broad progression that I'm used to is:

no cycle facilities.
national government makes funds available to local councils for cycle facilities, and local government wants those funds.
they paint "cycle facilities" onto existing roads and build a few recreational facilities to get that money.
local cyclists are pressing for better facilities.
Eventually council appoint a part-time "cyclist appeasement officer" to deal with them, who also has a budget. This gets spent on making cyclists more visible, usually by printing maps of the facilities and flyers saying how good cycling is.
Over time the budget increases and the focus changes to off-road facilities that actually go places.
a council employee in the road-making department is designated as something to do with bicycles ("cycle facilities coordinator" or similar),
eventually this office gets onto the list of "people who have to be consulted before road changes happen".
Around this time cycling becomes something that politicians mention during elections
over time politicians settle more onto the pro-cycling side.
a mayor/governor who is a cyclist is elected and suddenly a key question for every single transport project becomes "how does this help cyclists?"
Over time this becomes the dominant paradigm across the nation,
eventually Dutch is legislated as one of the national languages.

(note that places move both up and down the list over time - it's not all win-win-win)

A few local examples. This is my councils transport page featuring bicycles and pedestrians with their own headings. If you read the strategy you can see that the local BUG had some effect. Also note the "sustainable transport" menu of the left of that page. In Sydney where I used to live they now have a "Manager, Cycling Strategy" and a heap of content on their web site.


Putting rear hand brakes onto a 16" Diamondback Jr Viper

It looks like to 20" version of the bike comes with a rear linear pull brake, but the 16" has a coaster brake. This is common practice with kids bikes as children young enough to be on a 16" bike don't have enough hand strength to operate a brake lever effectively.

I looked into doing the same thing when my daughter had a 16" bike, but found that it is not workable. In general there is no place to mount a brake caliper on a 16" bike. There is often a seat stay bridge with a hole in it but it is intended to mount a fender. The hole is too far away from the rim to mount a caliper.

My advice would be to save your money for the next bike you get your son when he grows out of the 16".


Where do you discard chain cleaning solvents/degreasers?

Disposing of hydrocarbon-based solvent would have to be at your local waste disposal service. Where I live, you can drop it off at the same place that you drop off bottles and cans (we pay an environmental refundable deposit). I suppose you could also burn it off, but that also seems environmentally harmful.
Flushing used citrus cleaner down the drain shouldn’t be a problem. Assuming where you live has a robust wastewater treatment system in place, I don’t see how it is any different from disposing of, say, oily dishwater. I suppose you could drop it off at the disposal centre too.


Some old wheels do not have a hook to hold the tire bead, which limits you to around 70 PSI. Straight wall or a slight flare, doesn't matter, 100 PSI is not doable without the hook, afaik. (Wikipedia says the hooks were invented in the 70s)

In my experience, the tire will come off within an hour or two, and the tire will pop off with a bang as the tube explodes. With straight walled rims, I think 700x23 tires are unusable. There may be some uncommon rim design that I'm not familiar with, but if your rim wall looks more or less flat, it's not going to work.

And the fact that they are steel makes blowout more likely if anything, because they are more likely the old design.

If they have a hook on the rim, I would ride them after I let it stand for a day, but steel wheels really do suck for braking.


Torque Wrench required for trainer cassette installation?

How important is torque wrench on this?

It's not important at all.  The cassette lockring just has to be tight enough to not come off as it's not doing anything other than keeping the cassette from sliding off - some cassette lockrings are even make of aluminum.
Use a long wrench and put a bit of force behind it and you'll be fine.


B01S brake pads for Deore A-M615 brakes?

The G01S pads are slightly wider, and slightly shorter, than the B01S which you replaced them with.  If you compare backing plates carefully you will see the difference.  I know this because I thought they were all the same but a genuine Shimano bleed block wouldn't fit in a BR-M395 caliper that has B01S as the specified pad.  You may need a digital caliper to measure the difference.

Thus you can stick the smaller B01S into a G01S hole, but not the other way around... A G01S will not fit in an Acera BR-M395 caliper (or a BR-M315, BR-M355, BR-M396, or Alivio BR-M445, or others that have th B01S as OE). I wouldn't use the B01S pad in your application because it'll be wiggly in your M615 brakes - The loads from braking are transferred to the beefy sides of your caliper, the through the caliper to the frame.  Wiggly pads will "wear out" your alloy caliper, making the hole bigger, and applying a torque to the split-pin that holds the pads into the caliper.

It probably isn't dangerous our anything, at least not over the life of one set of pads, but it will chew up your calipers some, which is more expensive than buying the right pads.


When does a trackstand "officially" ends (or how to measure its duration?)

(too big for a comment)...not a real answer, just a partial:

From UCI part 3:

3.2.039 The rider on the inside of the track, unless overtaken, shall lead at least at walking pace and make no manoeuvre to force his opponent through until reaching the pursuit line on the opposite side of the track. A maximum of two standstills shall be permitted for each race. The maximum period for a standstill shall be 30 seconds following which, the leading rider shall be directed by the starter to continue. If he fails to do so, the starter shall stop the race and declare the other rider the winner of the heat. In a three or four-up race, the race shall be immediately rerun as a two or three-up race, without the relegated rider.


Am I able to replace the bolt in the hub to be quick release on a back wheel?

The 'bolt' through the hub is actually an axle that is threaded along its length The wheel bearings are sandwiched between 'cup' surfaces in the hub and 'cones' that thread onto the axle.

The axle in this type of hub can be replaced if they get bent or damaged, they can also be replaced with a quick release type. The quick release type has a hole though it that accepts a quick release skewer shaft.

Replacing the axle is fairly straightforward, but requires making sure you get the correct length axle and re-assembling the bearings.

Here's a video from RJ the Bike Guy showing how to replace the axle.


For Shimano gear If you are going all 9-speed, you're fine using most STI shifters with 9-speed mountain derailleurs.

New 10 spd Dyna-Sys rear derailleurs won't work with 10 spd STI shifters if you're going Shimano.  However, I've heard people have had success using a 9-speed Shimano Deore M592 Shadow Rear Derailleur with 10 speed STI shifters.

See thread on MTBR for a bit more info on someone's successful setup with a Shimano 10 speed road/mountain setup http://www.bikeforums.net/archive/index.php/t-673861.html

I don't think there are any issues if you're going for a SRAM road shifter / mountain derailleur combination if you're going 10 speed and using the XX mountain group which has the same pull ratio as the road groups. It appears that 9 speed mountain gear and some of the other 10 speed mountain group sets, have a slightly different pull ratio and don't play well with road shifters.


How to fix a metallic bicycle basket to the back rack?

I would look at 3~5 small aluminium fish plates in the basket, and small saddle clamps under the rails.  You'd need two small stainless steel bolts and nylock nuts per plate, or some other way to reduce vibration.

Suggesting Stainless Steel to avoid rust, or you could just use grease.  This will make undoing the bolts hard later, and rust may mark things you put in the basket, like cloth.

This suggestion would not be easier, but it will be a lot more durable.

There are metal zip ties, but they will have the same loosening problem, which is exacerbated by the small radius they have to clamp around.

Some ideas:

Imagine the above but with the bow replaced by

and some bolts with the threads facing downward.
You could use old spokes or other metal wire.  Spokes are hard to bent with fingers so pliers might be required.  Any sharp end could poke a hole into load items in the basket too.  I've got a box of thousands of galvanised concrete reinforcing tiedown wires that can be bent by hand.


How to get a 7-speed bike with a freewheel on a direct drive trainer

As Daniel Hicks said in his comment, it doesn't matter what's on her bike's wheel. The problem will be that her drivetrain is set up for 7 speeds, and you'll be putting an 11-speed cassette on the trainer. So shifting for her will be rough at best.
With a smart trainer, if you only ride it in erg mode, it doesn't matter what gear you're in. So if there's one gear on her bike that runs smooth when on the trainer (there might be, which would be a lucky coincidence, otherwise you'll need to tweak the barrel adjuster every time she changes between the trainer and the rear wheel), and she only uses the trainer in erg mode and always shifts into that one gear, then you don't need to do anything at all.
The other options are:

upgrade the drivetrain on her bike, and it sounds like that will include upgrading the rear wheel. (It might actually be cheaper to replace the whole bike.)
change the trainer between an 11-speed and 7-speed cassette every time you swap bikes. I believe that 7-speed cassettes and freewheels all have the same spacing.

One option costs more in money, the other in time and annoyance.


Why are bicycle gear ratios computed as front/rear and not the opposite?

I think it's simpler than what many think.
Car and motorcycle drivetrain is a reductor: their ratio (driver to wheel) < 1 in most cases. Bicycles are the opposite: the wheel normally turns faster than the cranks, and the drivetrain is a multiplier.
It is somehow easier to remember and 'feel' ratios that are greater than 1: compare 4.3, 3.7, 2.9 with 0.23, 0.27, 0.34. So that's how it's done.
In the end, this is the same argument: tradition. But at least this is an attempt to explain how such tradition came about.
Besides, cyclists rarely operate ratios per se. We may fancy with 'proper' units like gain ratios etc. mentioned in other answers, when selecting a new cassette, but in practice we just know it by the teeth :) Tell me any standard ratio expressed in teeth (say, 39/17), and I'll immediately say at which speed I will use it and how 'hard' it is. Yet I don't even know what ratio it is without a calculator.


Bottom Bracket on a Trek CrossRip Comp 2016?

According to the Trek tech site the 2016 Crossrip Comp was outfitted with a VP Components 68mm x 110.5mm Square Taper Bottom Bracket.

The BB standard for this bike is BSA-Threaded (See linked chart for more details)

Suitable replacements are

BB Shimano BB-UN26 68 x 110mm
BB Shimano BB-UN55 68 x 110mm

With the only difference being the quality.

Any BSA Threaded bottom bracket that is for a 30mm spindle would work. BB 386 is just a longer standard than the BB30 standard with the same 30mm diameter.

This one should work for your crossrip.

NOTE You WILL need 30mm spindle spacers which would sit outside of the bottom bracket, as the 386 EVO spindle is much longer.

Also expect the life on these bearings to be much shorter as they will be further away from the bike, due to external cups, with smaller bearings then usual (BSA Threaded(smaller shell) -> BB30(bigger spindle) doesn't leave a lot of room for bearings!)


My concern is that once I get moving (maybe 15-20mph) the chain will be moving so fast around that tiny sprocket that it will come off.

You can use a chain tensioner to keep tension on the chain, so some slack on the chain won't cause the chain to skip off the sprocket.


OK to ride with a slightly bent mech hanger?

Derailleur hangers are supposed to be, to some degree, a component that bends to save the derailleur. The hanger on one of my bikes seems to get bent at the slightest impact. I'm considering ordering a spare and carrying it around in my tool kit.

If the indexing was severely affected by the fall (moving inboard a whole sprocket definitely counts as 'severe'), you need to address the problem properly. A bent hanger is going to affect shifting and put extra strain on the chain, and you risk the cage hitting the spokes when changing to the largest sprocket.

You can eyeball the derailleur cage alignment by looking down the chain-line from the back of the bike - see image below from this question. The derailleur cage should appear to be parallel to the chainrings.

My LBS only charges $20 for hanger alignment and indexing adjustment (I'm in the USA). Worth it to get the hanger straight and avoid associated problems.


Front disc brake noise only at high speed

If the disc is not touching (as you insist) then it must be the bearings.
Take the disc out or pads out and verify.

A more likely scenario is the the disc is indeed touching.
At speed you get a higher frequency of touching and the materials heat up and expand slightly.
With the expansion they touch even more and now the touching is audible.


Why aren’t these Shimano PD-M980 coming apart?

Problem solved! I realized that the sleeve should not be able to press itself up the spindle like it did in photo #2. I clamped a set of vice grip pliers between the sleeve and the spindle’s flange to stop it from press-fitting itself into the spindle. It came out after that. I will inspect the whole assembly for damage since the hardened steel spindle is significantly larger than the aluminum sleeve.
Edit:
To conclude this saga, the bearing disassembled itself while still pressed into the pedal body, which is terminal. There is no way to remove the bearing cup, which was supposed to be press-fit in and out via the black threaded sleeve. It was worth a try though!


How are the flat/aero bullhorn handelbars called?

These are one component of aero bars, used on  time trail and triathlon bars.

These are used in conjunction with elbow pads and bar extensions that mount on top. The attachment points are visible in the pic you provided.

See this article Selecting the Right Aerobars for Triathlon.

Typically brake levers are mounted on the ends of the lower bars, and gear shifters on the ends of the bar extensions.

Aerodynamic bicycle components tent to be expensive because they are predominately used by pros and racers so they also need to be string and light.


What weather conditions are slicks suitable for?

Bike tires are treaded to grab on customers rather than the road. Obviously, different tread patterns will perform differently off road, that is: on earth, mud, gravel, sand, roots..

BUT - contrary to popular belief - on the road, whether it is concrete, tarmac or asphalt, treads will do nothing except offer a slightly slower ride and at the same time, less grip on the surface.

On car tires treads have one main function, and that is to channel away water to allow most rubber possible to be in contact with the road. Because of the broad square profile of the car tire, at higher speeds water is 'caught' by the tire too fast for it to escape to the sides, causing the tire to'float' on the water - hydroplaning. Good tread patterns can reduce this effect dramatically.
A secondary function of treaded tires - at least for most of us who seldom leave the tarmac/concrete - is of(f) course better traction on soft surfaces.
On dry tarmac/concrete treads have no effect at all, other than reducing the contact with the surface. In other words, treading will increase contact with surface driving through a puddle of rainwater, but decrease contact under dry conditions. The treaded tire is a compromise.

If you only own one bike with one set of wheels and you ride this bike year in and out, both on and off the road, then you would need to compromise too. But many of us sports more than one bike; we grab our MTB for trekking and reach for our roadbike/hybrid/city commuter when we're on those hard, smoother surfaces. In the latter case a treaded tire has no positive effect what so ever - even if it rains. Here's why:

Hydroplaning on a bike is virtually impossible. Because of the bike tires narrow rounded profile, water is lead to the sides (like a boat cutting through water), ensuring sufficient contact with the ground.

Then what about the wet surfaces? Those slippery curbstones, road paint, manhole covers? Won't treaded tires help at all? Apart from the placebo effect for some riders, the simple answer - backed by physics - is no. Basically, if the treaded pattern don't leave an impression on the surface, it cannot have any effect in regards to traction. You might add water or oil, still those treads will not help you. The same goes for ice. In fact, the only situation where a (heavily) treaded tire will give you better traction within the city limits might be on some types of snow.

All experiments on traction supports this fact and all tire developers know this, yet when you enter a bike store to buy a set of new tires for your hybrid, you are offered treaded tires over slicks in a ratio of 20:1. Why?
1. because the customer believes in treaded traction
2. the shop owner also believes this
3. the customer wants to chose between different products, and choosing between 20 different types of slicks doesn't seem to be much of a choice.
4. the customer wants something new and improved, and 'hey, you had 20 different types of slicks when I was here last'
5. the tire producers know their customers and to keep them buying their stuff - they offer  "something new and improved". They of course know that less costy than actually researching and developing new stuff, is making slight cosmetic changes to existing designs. Thread patterns in road bike tires most definitely belongs to the department of cosmetics.

So, does that mean that any (no-)treaded tire will do? Well, certainly not! Tire profile, thick vs. thin walls, type of rubber compound - there are many factors that will affect grip and traction, tread not being one of them. Also how much air you pump into a tire will affect this.

For those below zero winter days with ice and snow, however, a set of slicks is not recommended. But that also goes for the other regular threaded tires. The only remedy for icy roads are tires with steel/metal spikes. Unfortunately - these tires suck at anything other than icy/snowy conditions. If you live in a part of the world with cold winters, the best thing to do is loading a second pair of wheels with spiked tires, like Schwalbe Ice Spiker or Nokian Extreme, and swapping wheels when the conditions call for it.

I ride my bike(s) to work and for fun. I have a cheap, old "winter bike" for those to-and-from-work snowy days, but my other two tarmac/concrete/asphalt bikes - an old Colnago and a C.dale Bad Boy never wear anything but slicks. Infact, within city limits, I have used slicks only since the mid '90s. Yesterday I received a new pair of Schwalbe Kojak's (26/fat) for my Bad Boy = full control, come rain or shine.


Usually, for a MTB hard tail, a 26 x 1.25 tire is the narrowest comfortable tire to ride.

It is narrow enough to provide significant benefit to speed and rolling resistance, but not so narrow as to increase the probability of flats and rim damage.

The continental tires you linked are a good choice. I would probably do the 26 x 1.3 version of that tire.


As @jimirings said its hard to tell from the photo.

To identify which derailleur you have there are a few options:

If this is the original part on the bike use a site such as bikepedia to determine what came on the bike as new.
Look at the rear shifter pod, if this is SRAM it is more than likely it is a SRAM derailleur, if it's Shimano its more than likely SHimano, they are not generally compatible.
Count the sprockets on the rear cassette, this is a good starting piece of information to help working out what it is.
Find any words on the cage, something is written there, google this.
Find any other writing on the derailleur and google this.

Derailleur cage length is determined by largest chain ring and cassette cog. Once you know what derailleur will work you can calculate what cage length will suit.

From what I can see from here, I'm guessing you're probably running something similar to this derailleur


You have a loose bottom bracket. It needs to be replaced.

You need to buy a new bottom bracket, along with two special tools: A crank puller and a bottom-bracket tool.

If your current bottom-bracket is cup-and-cone style (I'm betting it is), it can be removed with basic tools and elbow grease. If it's cartridge style, it can be removed with the BB tool.

Here are links to all three at Amazon:

BB

BB tool

crank puller

Or, you could take the bike to your LBS and have them handle it. This is a common operation and probably wouldn't cost much.


Schwalbe Marathon Plus and Micheli Protek Max: what are the fundamental differences?

The actual differences would be known only to people who have been involved in product development or sales, and they would likely be under a NDA. So, let's speculate.

Weight: Both are very heavy tires, but Michelin is still heavier and Marathon Plus is known to have "good enough" puncture protection.
Construction quality: The only known fact about construction is that Protek Max has lower thread density than Marathon Plus (22 vs 67). Higher thread density usually means lower rolling resistance and smoother ride but is more expensive to produce.
Reputation: Marathon Plus is known to be durable and to have surprisingly low rolling resistance for that kind of puncture protection. Nobody knows about Michelin yet.

All together, Michelin has to compete with price if they want to sell at all.


Will a 60cm seat tube bike fit a 5"11 male adult?

It's not impossible, but once you add the crank length and the height of the seat post bracket and saddle, I'd say it's unlikely unless your legs are long for your height. You certainly won't have much room for adjustment.

Without a test ride, this would seem like a bad idea.


The best kind of saddle for touring is one which you find comfortable.

The cut-out is intended to relieve pressure from your soft bits leaving most of your weight on your sit-bones.

A very wide saddle might start to rub excessively inside your thigh on a long ride, while one with springs may be too bouncy at higher cadences and waste some of your effort.

A saddle is a personal choice and there is certainly no one ideal, "best" touring saddle for all people.

Given that you "love" your Brooks, I'd suggest looking at another Brooks (maybe a narrower one), or if you're confident it will be comfortable over longer distances, use your B66.


I'm 6 foot 5 or 195cm tall, with a weight of ~93 kg.

The most important thing is to find a frame that fits you - if you try to up-size a small frame, it means long seatposts with lots of leverage into the frame.  I've cracked two frames over time by doing this, and bent seatposts too.

So at its most basic, you need to get the right distance from your saddle-top down to your BB axle.  For me that is 840mm +-10mm.  If I can't get that set on a frame, its too small for me.  Note, I have proportionally longer legs than torso.

Once that's right, reach to the bars is next.  That is set via trial and error, I don't even know what my measurement there is.

At a guess, you're looking for a 60cm frame size or larger.  Rare and expensive, so you may have to take whatever's available.  Start with a used bike and see how it works for you before commissioning a custom bike.

And do let us know how you get on.


I dont remember how did I connected here yesterday, so now I writing connected with gmail with my phone.
Anyways, I took 32T attached to 22T from XCT SR SUNTOUR V3 22t,32t,42t crankset, I bought it from ebay, sorry cant give you the link now. Cranks with 4 holes only are FSA alphadrive. XCT also has 4 holes only on crank.

EDIT: cranks with middle chainring which has 8 holes.: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/280915668543?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2649


Using normal square bottom bracket on crankset designed for E type?

Cranks are never e-type specific. Some frames dictate you use an e-type FD and BB. You're free to use whatever normal square taper BB.


Some terminology first.

TUBE is the doughnut-shaped ring that holds the air (inner tube)
TYRE/TIRE is the bit with the tread, and on your bike this holds the tube in place.

So you got several punctures in the tube caused by something sharp in the tire

You damaged the tire somehow and have a replacement.  Now you've removed the sharp thing from the tire, and you want to know if the tube needs replacing ?

ANSWER Probably not.  If the tube holds the air pressure its fine.  If the tire has worn tread (ie to the point you're through the rubber and riding on the threads, or if it feels really thin to your fingers)  or if the tire has a cut or significant hole, then replace it.

I'd recommend you throw a spare tube in your schoolbag, along with a mini-pump and tire levers if you need them, and a tool for your axle nuts if required.  This will let you change tube on the side of the road, and patch it at home later.

Replacing the rear tyre should reduce the frequency of punctures too.  The rear wheel suffers punctures about twice as fast as the front wheel.

Also, you might consider avoiding things that generate punctures too - which means not hopping kerbs/curbs, not bouncing through potholes, and going around patches of glass on the road/cycleway.


Convert Shimano Ultegra 6870 rear mech from short cage to medium cage

In short, yes.

A single web search for "Ultegra 6870 derailleur spare parts" will find an exploded view diagram with spare part codes. It is fairly clear that the only differing parts are cage plates. The parts go by codes Y5YC98080 and Y5YC25000.


What do I do when I am unsure if a carbon fiber component is safe to use or needs replacing or repairing?

Carbon fiber composites are made up of sheets of carbon fiber filaments. These are usually impregnated with resin. To make CF structures, manufacturers will cut up the sheets, then lay them up onto a mandrel or other structure. They will then bake them at high pressure and temperature to cure the resin. The image below is from a Youtube video showing how Mad Fiber wheels are made - that company is now defunct, this is just for illustrative purposes.

If you have a CF frame or component and it's been damaged such that you can see torn fibers, it needs repair or replacement. This is obvious but probably worth stating. The image below is from Appleman Bicycles, who is a carbon framebuilder and repairer in my city. Disclosure, he's local to me and we are acquaintances, but I'm not a customer. On the left side of the frame, the fibers are clearly broken. It may not be as obvious on the right side, but I'm pretty sure that if you saw that frame in person, you'd see broken fibers also.

With that trivial question out of the way, it is frequently hard to know what to do if you crash on a carbon frame or component and there's no obvious damage. Damage to carbon items is frequently not visible at the surface. However, an impact, even a fairly soft one, might lead to a delamination below the surface that later grows into a larger failure. Delamination is the CF term of art for a fracture.
Ultrasound or other imaging is used to inspect CF parts in the aerospace industry. Ideally, we would have this capability widely available, but we do not. This is the only reliable way to detect a delamination under the surface. There may be a carbon repair shop close to you with this capability, but your local bike store cannot do this. Many people will propose a tap test, where you tap a coin lightly around the suspected fracture and listen for a change in pitch. The problem is that this test is most reliable on flat surfaces, and bikes don't really have a lot of those.
What to do: a proposed set of steps for consumers
This section concerns what to do if you sustain an impact that doesn't leave visible damage. For major impacts like a car vs. bike accident or a crash at racing speeds, more caution is recommended. It also depends on what part is involved; if your handlebars are damaged and they break, that will almost surely cause a crash, although if you are extremely skilled you may be able to recover (but you shouldn't count on being able to do this). I think the same would hold for stems and forks. I would lean towards replacing these parts immediately if you take a major impact. Minor impacts can be handled through watchful waiting, but some level of caution and regular inspection is still recommended.
I'm less certain about frames. In many cases, they are shielded from direct hits by the other parts of the bicycle and by your body. Again, the ideal case would involve an ultrasound or equivalent inspection after a crash. In the absence of that, I would propose watchful waiting. Be familiar with how your bike sounds and how it flexes under your pedaling. If you notice a sudden change, stop riding and try to see if there are any cracks. The picture below is from a video by Raoul Luescher, a carbon bike repairer based in Australia. Here, a metal part associated with the steering system hit the bike's head tube from inside due to arguably poor design. There was a small visible crack from the outside.

I believe that paint chips around frequently handled parts can be ignored. These might include areas around the dropouts. Gravel bikes may frequently take paint chips from flying bits of gravel. Some examples of what I believe to be paint chips are below, taken from recent posts.

Last, consumers should be aware that damaged carbon frames can be repaired. These repairs are not that expensive compared to repairing metal frames. On metal frames, damage will frequently involve replacing the entire affected tube. In contrast, with carbon, the second photo from Appleman bicycles shows that repairs can be localized to just the damaged area. I believe that forks, wheels, stems, and handlebars are not cost effective to repair; you should just replace those if damaged.


As others have mentioned you'd be cheaper getting a new bike than upgrading.  The frame also  won't support disks,  although if you replaced the fork you could fit a front disk.

Importantly the geometry of a bike has changed quite a lot since those days. I've got a marin pine mountain from around that time and it feels really unstable compared to a modern hardtail and is not corrected for a suspension fork.

However to directly answer your question I think if you replace the entire drivetrain it should work. The rear hub spacing should be 135mm.


Does effort require to pedal depend on the gear ratio or the gear inches?

Gear inches. Gear inches are, for better or worse, the most commonly recognized way of making the kind of comparison you're trying to make here, which one is harder to pedal. Gear inches are simply how far one complete rotation of the cranks moves the bike forward. The higher the number, the harder it is to turn the cranks.

You hear people make reference to ratio all the time, but usually it's within a niche where the wheel size is implicit, i.e. cross racers talking about 46/11 on a 700 or BMXers and 25/9 on a 20". Gear ratio independent of wheel size is meaningless.

Gear inches are actually a deeply flawed concept because it doesn't account for crank length. Sheldon Brown's proposed Gain Ratios system solves this and is pretty easy to argue as the best system possible for describing bicycle gearing. It's based on the movement of the pedal and not the crank.


Can I use fiberglass cloth and resin to fix tiny holes in fenders?

Since it is no load carrying part and if you keep enough clearance between the repaired spot and the tyre there should be no problem. Take care to sand away any rust beforehand and treat the rusted part with rust removing chemicals.


When installing a rear rack, should I attach the struts to the frame or the seat post on my small bike?

From rack strength perspective it doesn't make much difference. Most of the weight is going straight down to the rear dropout. The front connection is mostly for stability and isn't bearing much weight.

From the seatpost's perspective, it's already carrying 150+ pounds (75kg+) of the rider. Another few pounds is nothing. (Note that racks that cantilever off the seatpost are another issue and they can put undesirable lateral force on the seatpost).

The only problem in attaching it to your seatpost means that it'll be harder to adjust your seatpost. One benefit though is that means it's a tad bit harder to steal your seat.


Can I 'upgrade' a 9 speed Tiagra RD to Sora to lower my gears?

You have several options depending what is important to her, I am presuming cost is a factor.
11-34 cassette with new derailleur and chain (given cassettes and chains are consumable) is cost effective, but it does mean the jump between gear changes increases.  If she does not need the higher gears then there are ways to bodge a cassette of say 14-34 that would close the gap (at the risk ramps would not line up making shifting less smooth)
Decreasing the chain rings from 30, as commonly suggested, means to to get the same ratio as 30/34 would require a 23/26 (reality 22 or 24)  chainring, which almost certainly won't work with the existing derailleur and frame, and if it did, would also require new cranks, i.e. not cost effective.
A hybrid solution of a smaller chainring and larger, but not as large as 34 cassette, adds the cost of a chain ring but reduces the jump between gears, but allows you to tert some things before spending money that may not be needed  This could be done in steps-try say 11-30 cassette with existing derailleur (see comments - pushing it, but should work acceptably), if that works, but low gear is still to high, smaller chainring. If shifting is unacceptable, upgrade derailleur.
A final option would be go to a 10 or 11 Speed rear. If you are already upgrading the derailleur, cassette and chain, it adds just the cost of a shifter (and cable inner).  10 and 11 speed will play acceptably with a 9speed front end and the wide range cassette means front shifting is reduced anyway.  Obviously the decision to do this needs to be done before purchase.


It depends on how... scratch averse you are for your bikes.

A 4 bike trailer hitch rack by Thule can get 4 bikes on it. If you want to ensure that there is never any pedal to frame contact, then you can get 2 bikes on it.

In general with some wiggling and possibly removing a wheel or two, you can always get as many bikes as advertised on a given rack. Just be aware that there will be some rubbing as you fiddle with the bikes to get them on.


Bicycle racing is both about taking whatever small advantages you can, and putting your opponents in as disadvantageous a situation as possible. It's easy to understand this when there is a headwind; in that case, you get the most protection when you are drafting someone else. However, when there is a crosswind, the favored position isn't exactly behind the rider in front. In that case, depending on the strength of the wind and the speed of the peloton, the best position is behind and slightly alee of the rider ahead. Thus, if the wind is coming from left to right, the favored position is behind and slightly to the right of the rider ahead. This is called an echelon, and the riders will be arrayed diagonally from the left side of the road over to the right edge of the road, and they will rotate counterclockwise. If the wind is from the right, everything is reversed. However, the size of the echelon is limited by the width of the road. At some point the echelon is spread across the road and there will be riders in single file right against the right side of the road. Those riders are "in the gutter," and they are not nearly as protected from the wind as the riders in the echelon; their future is bleak unless they can somehow get into echelon.

A strong coordinated team can wreak a lot of havoc on opponents in a strong cross wind. They will put the entire team on the front and make the echelon just barely wide enough for the team, and will place a "gatekeeper" at the end of the echelon to prevent other riders from sneaking in. This will "gutter" the rest of the peloton. Smart riders will start forming new echelons behind the original.

Related Image from team sky.

A video explanation and example is available from Eurosport here.


You can buy 0.3mm stainless steel sheets for shimming, but as bullhorns are quite heavily loaded (your weight will create more torsion at the clamp than on an equivalent drop bar), I'd return or re-sell the bar, or replace the stem.


Bike paint schemes are usually different for each component level and often change from year-year. I did a Google image search for 'Giant TCR Carbon' and looked through the results until I saw the exact match for the paint scheme on your bike.

It seems to be 2012 Giant TCR Advanced 3 as sold in the UK.

https://www.giant-bicycles.com/gb/tcr-advanced-3-2012

http://road.cc/content/review/58922-giant-tcr-advanced-3-2012

You will probably have trouble returning it to the exact component spec it was originally configured with as Giant used many in-house brand components (wheels, bars, post, stem in this instance; although you have the latter two) and the 2012 Shimano groupsets will not available, you will be able to outfit it with comparable level components of course.


Is this tire properly fitted on the rim?

I'll answer all your questions in order.

1) "Will this tire wobble wear down the bearings faster, or other components?"
   -Nope, this wobble will do pretty much nothing to the rim. If anything, you will feel the slightest of 'floating' (the only way I can describe it, the bulge ever-so-slightly lifting the bike when you go over it.)

2) "is this amount considered normal, and won't do any harm?"
   -Any tyre wobble is not classed as normal, though it will not do any harm to you, the bicycle or your bike's performance.

3) "Is this as true as you can get on such a cheap bicycle?"
 - The bicycle has nothing to do with the tyre. If the bike was £120, you can still get £80 Continentals. The tyre's quality, however, is quite a big factor. If you bought them for £12 a piece, there's a high chance that there may be minor defects.

4) "Should I spend more time trying to adjust or leave it as it is?"
   -Leave it. If anything, you risk doing more damage to the tyre/rim, constantly playing with it.

Ride around on this tyre for a couple days. In my experience with cheaper tyres, they'll settle down. It's usually due to storage/transit. Re-inflating usually gets rid of any deformation, though not always. Riding it for a while will eventually get it to even out.

If the tyre is damaged, you'll usually notice a very major bulge. If you take an innertube and inflate it, looking at the valve, you'll notice it has a weird shape around where the valve is. It'll look somewhat like that, but on the tyre.


Nice bike - from the overall lines of the frame its definitely something from the 80s.
The head tube is relatively short, so I'm guessing this is a smaller frame, maybe a 50cm or less.
The pronounced curve of the front fork became straighter as time went on due to manufacturing changes.  Also the right fork tine has a lamp mount which was common for the time.
The three silver cable clamps on the top tube are more of a 70s design, but they may not be original.
The bike has U brakes rather than cheaper calipers, so its a mid-range bike not a budget bike.  These require a cable stop, so are probably original equipment.
I'm sure the chainrings tell a story too - they have quite a difference between the large and small, in terms of tooth count.
Your rims are interesting - I can't tell if they are steel or aluminium (ie replaced later)
The only damage I can see is the two stays holding the rear of the front mudguard.  Normally they'd be straight, not bent up which suggests something got in the spokes once.  Minor as long as nothing's rubbing.
I suggest you clean that filthy chain and cassette, then relubricate.  That blackness is suspended grit which is slowly grinding away at the components of the transmission.
I would call this a touring bike from the early 1980s.  Its not a race bike, but that crankset would help it get up hills when loaded.  The better brakes also help a heavily loaded bike come down the other side.
Overall, looks like a loverly bike and a pleasure to ride.


A two successive wheel trailer ; would it work? (followme-tandem)

The follow-me tandem lifts the front wheel of the child's cycle off the ground because that's the only way to have stable handling on corners.

I made some primitive drawings to explain. Note that in these simplified drawings, the radius of the curve is exaggerated.

When the two bicycles are going in a straight line, it would be fine if there were four wheels touching the ground. The connection has to be rigid otherwise when the parent brakes, the child would ram into them.

Once you get to a corner, if the connection were rigid and the child's steering were locked out --  the front wheel doesn't have enough traction to actually force the turn. The three tracked rear wheels would force the front wheel to skid before it could make the bike turn. You also can't lean into the turn because of the three rear wheels.

But say the front wheel had infinite grip and the parent infinite strength -- the only way the rear would turn would be for the rear tires to lose grip, whipping the child around and maybe off the bike.

If the connection were rigid and the child's steering wasn't locked out, it would  look like this when traveling at speed. The parent's rear wheel is likely losing traction and skidding laterally at this point:

What would happen if the child's front wheel wasn't locked to the trailer attachment? Again centrifugal force would make the trailer act like a giant whip, jackknifing, and throwing the child off. Note the magnitude of the centrifugal forces acting on the rear bicycle would be greater than even the strongest of superlemur children and they would not be able to hold the handlebars straight to force the rear into alignment.

What happens if we have a hinged attachment but lock out the child's steering? Here, it would work but there's a lot of lateral force acting on the front tire of the child's cycle going around corners because it can't track properly. The worst case scenario is that it would actually roll the tire off of the wheel rim. The front wheel would eat the tube, lock, and the child would break their face on their handlebars. Not good childrearing practice.

Followme's design: By putting a hinge in the trailer attachment and by lifting up the front wheel, the bikes track properly. In my diagram, the child's green front wheel indicates that it's part of the trailer attachment and is now locked in position. There is still some centrifugal force (as with all trailers) trying to cause a jackknife but it is relatively manageable as long as the parent doesn't try to corner and brake hard at the same time (bad parent!).

Fine print: Images copyright by robokaren, cc-by-sa. And yes, I know that centrifugal force does not actually exist, but is a fictitious inertial force. However, it's still handy when explaining things to lay people. And yes, lemur children do have much grippier hands and feet than human children.


Yes/no replace chainrings+cassette after chain failure?

Yes. The cassette teeth are clearly worn, and the large chainring teeth have worn into characteristic shark fin shape. If you use new chain with these, it will skip. The small chainring looks still good.


Do brake pads designed for both carbon and Alloy rims exist?

Unfortunately not. Carbon pads would work on alloy rims but not effectively so you might end up in a pickle if having to stop quickly. If you tried to use alloy pads on a carbon rim then you'd have the same performance issues with the added effect of squealing like hell and leaving serious scores on your rims due to the material hardness.

Since its so easy to change out pads, i'd just keep some spares and swap out at the same time as your wheels.


What should I look for when buying chain lube / lubricant?

This question leads to one of the great religious debates of the bicycle culture. Ask ten mechanics which chain lube is best, you'll get ten different answers. The honest answer is "it depends on your maintenance habits and the weather and your preferences, so you should try some different things until you develop an opinion of your own." That's tough to do without understanding what to look for.

The main species of chain lubricants you will see:

Oils of various viscosities. Often sold as 'wet weather' lube. Finish Line wet is an example.
Teflon in an evaporating solvent. Often sold as 'dry weather' lube. Finish Line dry is an example.
Wax in an evaporating solvent. White Lightning Clean Ride is an example.

Oil is a fine lubricant. It sticks on your chain fairly tenaciously in bad weather, so requires less frequent application. On the other hand, road dirt can accumulate quickly and turn into a nasty black paste, especially if overapplied. Wipe extra lube off the exterior of your chain after application!

The Teflon and Wax style lubricants have a lubricating substance in a solvent. The solvent lets the stuff flow, distributing the lubrication to the inner crevices of your chain, and then evaporates, leaving the lubrication where it needs to be. Then, like with oil, you wipe off the exterior of the chain. These chain lubes tend to leave your chain less messy, but can wash out more easily in rainy-day riding.

Take those considerations into account and pick whichever seems most suited to your situation.

As other answers have mentioned:

WD-40 does not make a great chain lube, what lubrication it leaves after evaporating is too thin.
Do clean your chain, externally with a rag at the very least, before re-lubing. If you do a thorough clean with solvent or degreaser & water, make sure your chain is completely dry before reapplying.


The first question is "is the handlebar actually bent?". Brake levers/shifters are just clamped onto the bar, and the clamp may have just slipped. It's not clear from the angle of the picture that the bar may be fine but the clamp on the brifter slipped. You can peel back the hood (back to front) and adjust the clamp if this is the case).
If it is the case that the handlebar itself is actually bent (which I think is unlikely; if this was the case, the brifter would likely be toast), I'd just buy a new handlebar. The stress of bending the handlebar back may increase the likelihood of failure. Plus, handlebars are not very expensive or hard to replace.
As for fixing scratches on shifters, you can buy just the name plate if you want, but if the shifters work fine I wouldn't bother. The part numbers are Shimano Y-6KD98030 and Y-6RR98030 for the ST-5600 levers (look for the exploded view of your shifters on Shimano's website). Then you can find the parts by searching the web for a few bucks.
Finally, I'd give the whole bike a once over as if I was considering buying it used if anything else is wrong, for some peace of mind; there are a ton of questions on buying used bikes on this SE which you can look at for what to check.


Are 28 / 47 - 622 / 635 tubes ok to replace my 28 / 44 - 622 ones?

They would be perfectly fine. As their specification suggest (28 / 47 - 622 / 635 ) inner tubes can function in wide range of tyres.


Brake only touches rim occasionally when brake applied

If you have to pull hard on the brake lever to get the pads to full engage on the rim, the brake caliper is not adjusted properly. Rim brakes can only generate stopping force when both pads are applying opposing 'gripping' forces to the rim.
New bike should be set up correctly, if you bought from a dedicated bicycle store take it back and and ask for the brake calipers to be adjusted. If you bought from a 'big box' store or general sports store the staff probably do not have expertise to do this properly, so you should seek out a bicycle repair shop to help you.
If you want to address this yourself, there is plenty of guidance on-line. Park Tool Repair Help is particularly good.
It also seems from you description that your wheels may be out of true. This can prevent the pads from being adjusted closely enough to the rim. First check the wheel is properly seated in the fork or frame drop-out slots before the quick-release or axle nuts are tightened. You can visually check the trueness of the rim by spinning the wheel slowly and observing the distance between the rim and a brake pad. If the distance varies by more than a couple of millimeters the wheel may need truing. This is not a trivial process so enlist the help of a bike repair shop


What symptoms can I expect from two broken teeth on a chainring?

The only issues will be directly observed, i.e. either it will mis-shift, over-shift/drop the chain, or not. These don't look like proper ramp teeth which do resemble broken ones, except they're usually spaced 2 or 4 evenly around the ring. The wear looks advanced enough that you really have no excuse not to just get another new or less worn ring and avoid problems.


I have extensive experience painting metal. Here are my rules of thumb.

Rough up the metal, lots of nooks and crannies ensure the primer will stick. Sanding or sandblasting is the best way to do this. As pointed out in the comments, aluminium should be roughed up "nicely" :)
Clean the surface with some type of alcohol after you're done sanding. After you've cleaned it, wear gloves when handling the frame from now on. The oils on your hands can taint the paint job.
I always double coat the metal with primer because metal is prone to oxidization. Effect is diminished in aluminium, but can't be too careful. If your bicycle frame is aluminium, you'll need a special type of primer. Ask the guys at the hardware store or a car repair place what they recommend.
Single component paint works better on aluminium.

In conclusion:

Primer is necessary for all types of metal
Special attention is needed for aluminium
The amount of effort you put into the paint job will show in the final product. Do it right once and your bike will look fine for years.


Can I fit a bigger cassette just by changing the hub and not getting a new wheel?

You may be able to get a 9 or 10 speed sprocket cassette on your wheel, if you have a freehub style hub rather than an older style freewheel. Its a common misconception that cassettes with more sprockets are wider, so the hub needs to be narrower or the frame needs to be wider, but actually the sprockets are closer together. 8, 9, 10 and mountain bike 11 speed cassettes are all the same width.

This does not mean you can convert your bike to 9 or 10 speed though. TL:DR - it's usually not cost effective to upgrade Tourney level bikes.

You would need to replace the cassette, rear derailleur, chain and shifters, very likely the  crankset, front derailleur and bottom bracket too. For 10 speed you would need to be at Shimano Deore. If you add in the special tools required, paying someone to install it all (or making the investment in learning how to do it yourself), you will find that the cost approaches that of a new bike.


New bike: disc brakes squeal in wet conditions when NOT braking! Normal?

Disc brakes are very precise and the pads run very close to the disc even while not braking. Due to this, even small misalignments might make the pads (or even the caliper) rub against the disk, producing the noise you describe.

A simple test would be to lift the wheel (or turn the bike upside down) and spin the wheel slightly. If it stops quickly, the brake is rubbing. Try to visualize where this rubbing happens.

If it is actually rubbing, you have three alternatives:

If it is a pad, you can adjust the pads yourself. This procedure depends on the brake type (hydraulic vs mechanic) and model;
If it is the caliper, you can reposition the caliper by releasing the bolts attaching the caliper to the rest of the bike (directly or via an adapter), and reposition the system. Sometimes, braking hard is the best way to force the caliper to stay in the position it should, but this often require some fine-tuning.
Take the bike to the shop where you purchased. Since the bike is new, they it is very fair that you have it serviced.

Now if the wheels spin freely, or rub against something else, well that would be another story.

Hope it helps!


Road 10 to 11 speed upgrade, what needs to change?

I've done this conversion last year on my #2 bike from a 2013 Ultegra 10-speed to a 105 11-speed, to be able to use the 11-speed equipped wheels of a newer bike on my two bikes alternatively and avoid cassette swaps to do so.
The swapped parts are: the brifters, both derailleurs and the chain. The cassette of course! There is no need to replace the chainrings, the inner width of 10 and 11-speed chains being the same. It is only the outer width that changes because 11-speed has thinner plates. You could also keep the FD but I've chosen the new 105 FD. It is sleeker and easier to set-up and fine tune.
The quality of 105 from the most recent edition is far above Ultegra from '13, due to trickle down of technology. The most expensive part being the brifters.


OpenTripPlanner will do this, but isn't everywhere yet.  There are deployments for New York City, Portland, OR, and a few other cities.


Can Tacx Flow head unit work with old (2002) Basic frame/brake?

As suggested in a comment on the question, the load generator for the Tacx Basic in the early 2000's was the same load generator used across the entire Tacx ergometer line. The Basic, the Grand Excel, the Flow, and the I-Magic all used the same load generator, so the head units are interchangeable. The capabilities of the Basic can thus be "upgraded" by switching to a Grand Excel or I-Magic head unit (the Flow replaced the Basic in the Tacx line in 2004 or 2005 and, except for a larger screen and slightly easier calibration procedure the models are equivalent).


Servicing full suspension bike after long period of not being used

I would service the suspension. If the seals have dried out (a safe bet), and you go on a dusty (or muddy) trail ride, it seems inevitable that material will make it through the seals, damaging your stanchions, among other things.

After a friend passed away, I was tasked with selling his old bikes. His FS bike had be sitting idle for about four years. I cycled the suspension and everything seemed fine. But the next morning, all of the shock's oil was sitting in a pool in my garage.

However, if you inspect the seals and it appears that they're still in good condition and you're only going to stroll through the neighborhood, it might be fine.

The brakes might be fine, but I would definitely verify their function around the neighborhood a few days before I took it out on the trail. And then the again the day after that to make sure that all of their seals haven't failed catastrophically like my friend's shock seals.


Congratulations on your new steed, and great work putting it together! Looks like a nice ride. Long post follows, but I've tried to edit it into something a bit more manageable. Here goes...

Before you start

You mentioned you were able to set everything up but the brakes. Forgive my impertinence, but before you go further, can I just check that you greased everything thoroughly before assembly?

Chainring bolts
Freewheel, sprocket, and lockring threads
Pedal threads
Crank bolt threads
Stem bolt threads
Seatpost
Handlebar clamp area

It might seem like a ballache, but you'll thank yourself in a year's time when you want to take something off to clean or change it!

Right, onto brakes...

Tools

Heavy-duty cable cutters. Ones with very stout, sharp jaws. While it looks like plastic, the cable outer is actually made of coiled metal, and if you try and cut it with inferior tools you will blunt them, and make a mess of the cable.
Selection of allen keys
Pliers

Method

Let's deal with the front brake first...

Remove the inner cable from the outer, if you haven't done so already, and set it aside. You don't want to cut this until you've dealt with the outer. Nothing makes you feel more stupid than cutting the outer to size with the inner still inside!

Your second picture shows little metal sheaths that pop over the ends of the cable outer. These are important, so don't lose them. They help stop the outer fraying and pulling. Take one of them off for now and inspect the end of the outer. If it is cut nice and neat, great. If not, make a fresh cut (it might take a couple of goes to get a nice clean edge).

Take a small pointy thing (biro tip works fine) and wiggle it around inside the end of the outer, to make sure the opening is nice and wide and smooth. Then re-attach the metal sheath. One end of the outer is now prepared. Now you need to hold it in place against the barrel adjuster on the brake lever, so you can judge the length of cable you will need. Back off the barrel adjuster as far as it goes (so that it protrudes as little as possible). Avoiding any sharp bends, manipulate the outer gently around so it traces a smooth curve from the lever to the barrel adjuster on the brake caliper. Give yourself an extra inch or two, so you have a bit of reserve if you mess up the cut. Repeat what you did with the lever end of the cable, with the caliper end (i.e. cleaning up the hole and re-fitting the metal sheath). Almost there!

Now turn your attention to the inner cable itself (the bit you set aside and didn't cut yet). Now ideally you should lubricate the inner cable with a bit of oil or light assembly grease. Cooking oil will work fine at a push. This just helps protect the cable from rust. Give it a good rub all over. Next, feed it through the hole in the brake lever and out through the barrel adjuster, and slide it into the piece of outer you just cut to size. Feed it all the way through. The nipple on the end of the cable should sit neatly in the recess around the hole in the brake lever. The cable outer should be sitting snug in the barrel adjuster on the opposite side of the lever. Take the end of the inner cable and feed it through the barrel adjuster on the brake caliper itself, from top to bottom. Now seat the cable outer in the "cup" of that barrel adjuster. Pull on the inner cable from the bottom and the whole thing should snug right up nicely. At this point it's worth tightening up the barrel adjuster on the caliper too (so that it sits as low as possible).

All that's left is to adjust the caliper and clamp the cable behind the little plate on it (the slightly ridged bit held on with an allen bolt). To do this, first close the quick-release (the black plastic lever in the bottom right of your third photo) on the caliper, by rotating it downwards. This should help orientate the cable clamp correctly - the allen bolt head should be pointing horizontally outwards. Look from above and you will see a little groove in the metal plate - the cable feeds through here. Slide the cable through the groove and tighten the allen bolt just enough to stop the cable pinging back out and hitting you in the eye.

Next you need to make sure the brake caliper is centred nicely - squeeze the arms together and double-check that the pads are evenly-spaced from the wheel rim. Bear in mind that the pads themselves won't be positioned very nicely straight out of the box, so you may want to shift them about a bit until they align nicely with the braking surface on the rim. It is imperative that the pads do not come into contact with the sidewalls of the tyres. Otherwise you will eat through rubber and blow out your tyre very quickly indeed! More fine tuning can come later, so don't be too precious about it. But if the brake is noticeably off to one side, loosen the mounting bolt a bit and centre it up. Tighten the mounting bolt again afterwards.

Pretty soon you're going to wish you had a third hand... so grab a few strips of gaffa tape to make life a bit easier. You need to pinch the caliper arms together so that the pads almost touch the rim - leave a gap of about 1 to 2mm on each side. This is where gaffa comes in handy - you need to hold the arms in this position while putting tension on the cable, while simultaneously tightening the clamp bolt. Grab the bottom end of the inner cable with some pliers, and pull on it. Hard. Maintain this tension while you tighten the clamp. Don't over-tighten yet - you don't want to squash and damage the cable in case you need to loosen and re-clamp. (Doing this many times in the same place will cause the cable to fray, and strands will snap, and then it's toasted.)

Give the lever a gentle squeeze - not too hard, or the cable will slip - and verify the brakes are doing their thing, and that both caliper and lever return correctly when you release the lever. All OK? Great. Then let's tighten the clamp bolt some more. Tighter than you may first think. Give the lever a good hard squeeze to check it's not going anywhere. Only when you're totally happy, go ahead and cut the excess cable. Leave a few inches of excess on - this gives you something to grip with pliers if you need to tighten the cable later on down the line. Having said that, you have barrel adjusters on your calipers and your levers, so you should be fine. Rather than re-clamping the cable when your brake develops excess play, open up these adjusters as the pads wear and cable stretches. Finally, you should have some little ferrules (technical term: metal doohickies) that slip over the end of the cable. If not, your LBS will give you a few for free. Crimp one onto the end of the cable so it doesn't fray.

Done! On to the rear brake...

That's about it. Lather, rinse, and repeat for the rear brake. Just make sure you leave enough length on the cable so you can turn your handlebars properly without stressing it.

Since this is your first time fitting brakes, take it easy and test them in a quiet car park or something, starting off gently. Once you're happy they're working effectively, give them some real hard tests too. If all is well, you're golden.

I should also add this - get a knowledgeable friend, or your local mechanic, to check them over for you - better safe than sorry.

Finally, to avoid squeaky brakes, toe the pads in a tiny bit so that the leading edge touches the rim first.

Best of luck!


New bike wheels dont sit in dropouts perfectly, are washers safe to use?

could it simply be that the new rim is a few millimeters wider and the brakes are making contact because of that? If the wheel is seated into the dropout all the way, the quick release will have enough force to fully clamp the frame to the hub securely. Check by unclamping the qr, putting some body weight on the saddle with a shoulder and reclamp the qr. Beyond that, mattnz's suggestion above is possible. The whole hub assembly/bearings might be too tight or too loose, which is an easy fix.


Installing a chainguard on a bike with derauiller

This StackExchange site has its limitations, in that product recommendations are not allowed because of regional differences and products/pricing going obsolete. However I think the answers are no you don't have to break the chain, remove the derailleur or lock off any gears. Products exist but are quite unusual so you will have to do some searching online or in bike shops in your local region.

Using Google, I found a couple of examples. The first one I got to a website which sells chainguards and browsed through the ones which say compatible with a single gear, and discovered some which say compatible with a triple ring like this style:

Another Google search along the lines of "chainguard triple derailleur" and I found this image, which has a more conspicuous allowance for the derailleur to remain fitted and usable:


Protecting bikes from elements when traveling suspended on hitch bike rack

There are several companies that make covers for trailer hitched bikes.  It's essentially a giant bag that's designed to cinch down over your bikes and rack. For a long trip like you are suggesting, it's probably well worth getting one.  I have seen bikes after such road trips on a rear rack coated in horrible, horrible road slime.


Anyone have issues using cx tires on the road when its wet?

Yes knobs have less surface contact and do not have good road traction.

Consider road touring tires.


Do "trailer bikes" help kids learn to ride a bike on their own?

He is 3..... he will do what he wants to, when and how he wants. I had a lot of trouble getting my boy off trainers (We did not go don the balance bike path). After many attempts involving removing them and putting them back on, I gave up and decided when he is ready (or old enough his peers laugh at him), he will want them removed. One day he just came up to me and asked me to take them off.

Choose you battles carefully - only pick ones you will win, and only fight those that must be won. This is not one of those battles.

So should you get a trail along bike? If its to get him riding quicker/better/faster absolutely not. if its because its a fun way to spend time together going at pace you can both enjoy then its a great idea.

There are towbar attachments that clip to  a standard bike, lift the front wheel and give a similar effect to the tow along - but if you boy wants to go solo for a bit, unclip and away he goes.  When/if he get to tired to do more riding, clip him back in and you do the work. refer What should I look for in a "trailer bike"/"tag-along" bike for a child?


This type of problem has 5 likely causes, listed in order of elimination.

Bent dérailleur hanger, or Bent derailleur cage. (Your derailleur hanger looks straight, but the cage appears slightly twisted in the upper photo. Could be the angle of the shot, though.) Edit: This turned out to be the correct answer, after all.
Bent, twisted, or sticky chain link.
Badly worn dérailleur pulley wheels. This means there is not enough tooth left to hold the chain on the pulley wheel. (In my opinion this is most likely, but I'd need a photo of the derailleur side on to confirm.)
Worn chain. A badly worn chain will slip off the pulleys in this manner, sometimes. Usually, you would also experience slow and noisy shifting in the rear gears.
Worn cassette. Usually, you would also experience slow and noisy shifting in the rear gears, not just the pulley derailment, and usually it would be preceded by a worn chain. But it is possible, especially if the chain has recently been changed.

You've checked the derailleur hanger, so #1 is less likely. Although I would look at the derailleur cage or body. It really does appear bent in the second photo, unless the derailment is putting outside pressure on it.

You would see and feel #2 on the repair stand, so I assume that is unlikely, although it's easy to check and eliminate.

'#3 is my guess, without a side photo to confirm it. This is a photo of the difference between worn and unworn pulleys. Keep in mind, this is an extreme difference, and yours don't need to look this bad to cause your problem. Edit: After new photos, there is some wear, but not enough to cause the issue.

A worn chain is easy to check. Use the Park tool gauge or a similar tool to measure the wear. On that gauge, to see this issue, I would expect close to 1mm of wear.

A worn cassette is usually preceded by a worn chain, so if your chain is badly worn, you may need to change the cassette as well. Worst case, you may need new chain rings as well, but that is less likely.

Edited to include troubleshooting steps and conclusion:

After talking through the issue with Stephen, and looking at new and more direct photos, it is clear that the derailleur cage or body is misaligned, as discussed in option #1.

There is pulley wear as discussed in option #3, but not to a major degree.

You can follow the logic in the comments below:

Derailleur hanger is confirmed straight by my own DAG. Cage might be twisted. I'll check, and upload a pic with a dead-on shot. It's carbon fiber, though — will CF bend? No sticky chain links. I'll put a new chain on to rule out #2 and #4, though. How would a worn cassette cause the issue, given that this is happening before the chain enters the cassette? – Stephen Touset 42 mins ago
A worn cassette can cause the chain to be out of line with the derailleur slightly. It's less likely, but possible. That's why it's at the end of the list. – zenbike♦ 34 mins ago
A CF derailleur cage isn't likely bent, but the derailleur body might be. In the photo, it looks twisted to the outside, so check whether the pulleys run parallel to the cogs when there is no chain on it. Only your outer plate in carbon.If the inner plate is bent or twisted, the CF plate has enough give to move with it. – zenbike♦ 32 mins ago
More pics uploaded. In the rear pic, the chain on the bottom derailleur looks a bit to the right, but this seems to be that the chain is just pushed all the way to one side of the teeth. There is about +/- 3˚–5˚ of play in the jockeys. Normal? – Stephen Touset 21 mins ago
Actually, the play is normal, especially in th upper pulley. But that derailleur cage is not aligned correctly. The cog of the gear it's in, and both pulleys should make a straight line, as perfectly vertical as possible. In that photo, ignoring the chain, the upper pulley is twisted slightly toward the frame, and the lower is even farther out of line. It is still possible that it is the angle of the photo, but it doesn't appear to be. You're also showing wear on the derailleur pulleys, if not nearly as bad as in the photo I posted. I'd say it's time for a new rear dérailleur. The cage itself should be parallel to the cogs, and that isn't the case either. – zenbike♦ 13 mins ago
One question: Have you recently disassembled the derailleur? Is there more float side to side in the lower pulley than in the upper? – zenbike♦ 8 mins ago
No to disassembly. Much more float in the upper pulley than the lower. Looks like you're right with the alignment. New derailleur time. Anything I can do in the meantime to minimize the chance of problems this weekend? As in, what should I try and bend to correct the misalignment as best I can? – Stephen Touset 8 mins ago
Ok. Well, you can try to bend the cage back in to alignment. If you take the photo you posted last, and lay a ruler through the cogs, it should pass through the points of the teeth of both pulleys. That's the goal. If its the derailleur body, trying to bend it back may make it worse, but given the problems you have, I'd try. Worst case, hit your LBS for a new one before the race. – zenbike♦ 3 mins ago
Thanks a bunch. If you'll edit your answer to include the latest conclusions, I'll be glad to accept. – Stephen Touset 1 min ago


The length is what matters, so if they claim to have the right length for a different wheel you could use those - but it would be a sign of a clueless shop.
Otherwise better to order the correct length.  275mm for that front right is too short, nearly 3mm under, while for the rear right you're either under or over. Many places stock 2mm increments; my local supplier does 1mm


Is an exercise bike good enough for keeping fit in the winter, rather than a turbo trainer

what are the drawbacks of using an
  exercise bike?

Noise (you mentioned this)
Many quickly get bored riding on an exercise bike
Promotes bad cycling form
Can be large, heavy, expensive

My favorite alternative to riding in the snow in the winter is to ride on rollers. The rollers I have used have several advantages

Not as boring
Amazing for form
Foldable space saving models exist
More like actually riding on the road
No switching out tires
Ride on bicycle

Getting comfortable with riding on the rollers took me about 2 hours and I feel that it has been a great way to stay in shape and in good form while I'm not able or willing to ride out in the weather.

Photos of my rollers:

  Is an exercise bike good enough for
  keeping fit in the winter

Yes... and no. Completely depends on what level of 'fit' you are trying to attain and how consistent and hard you work on the exercise bike. If you are just trying to keep your blood moving and stay generally fit, then an exercise bike is a great winter workout tool. If you are working towards a 206 mile - 1 day race in the summer then you will probably want to mix your exercise bike workouts with other exercises like weight lifting and yoga.

  Is an exercise bike going to be better than a turbo trainer?

Depends. Exercise bikes tend to be more upright in their posture which may make the exercising more comfortable. Pricing and space will also be something to take into consideration when looking at exercise bikes vs. trainers. If you are wanting to be better trained and acclimated to riding your bike for races or rides, then a turbo trainer will probably better suit your needs.

There is another bicycle stackexchange question and answer similar to what I have said.
I wish to get fit, therefore should I have a heavy bike?


Tire size switch out to wider tire , is that possible

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html Yes this link will give you and idea of the limits .


What is this device on all the Tour de France riders' bikes?

This is a special device that gathers the following data, according to this article:

  the stage winner’s top speed, average speed and time per kilometer
  the fastest riders up key climbs
  the speed of the winner at the finish line
  the top speed achieved by a rider on the day
  average speed across all riders


Is the Power-Link designed for routine usage?

There are several versions of SRAMs power links. The original versions were intended for reuse, and you would have no problem using them in that manner. If you have an 8 or 9 speed bike, you've got one of the original designs.

If you have a ten speed SRAM drivetrain, then you need to look at the link and the model of the chain. SRAMs newest power links for 10 speed are not designed to be used more than once. They are sold in a 4 pack so that you have replacements to use.

The gold power link you've pictured is either 9 speed, or one of the first 10 speed links, which is reusable. If yours is black, you have one of the newer, non reusable variety.

If the chain is a PC-1071, PC-1091 or 1091r, this is the links it comes with, and while you can remove them, they need to be replaced with a fresh link each time you do.

I hope that helps.