Is there a way to fill your tires with nitrogen?

I am going to be presumptuous enough to ask what I believe is the question behind the OPs question, then answer that...

The problem is that you have to inflate the tires more often than you like. The question then is what can I do to ensure my tires remain inflated for as long as possible.

The answers
Tubes - these keep the air molecules in. Thicker is better, as is better material. Dump the super thin light weight race tubes and get the thickest one you can find, I would even suggest giving cheap chain store tubes ago.

Tires - Bigger tires can carry the same weight at lower pressures. Put in bigger tires and run at lower pressure. This has two effects - lower pressure leaks molecules slower, and more volume means those leaked molecules are noticed less.

Exotics
Look at the no-tubes and 'no puncture' slime solutions - these seal the holes the air molecules are escaping from.

As previously suggested - invest in a decent pump. If you don't have room or desire for a floor pump by the door, get a pump that uses CO canisters (and wear the cost of canisters). If it is still a pain to pump up your tires - discard the plastic valve caps, and get rims/tubes with presta valves - it will take less than 30 seconds to top up two tires.

You might have guessed all these solutions add weight and move away from the best of the best in terms of performance- well, that is expected, nothing is free and super light weight fast racing tires leak air, after all, as long as they stay inflated for the stage - up to 8 Hours, that's all that is needed and any longer is excess weight.


You can use another brand's chainring just fine, provided that the chainrings are replaceable (some cheaper cranksets are made such that all the chainrings are made in one piece). Assuming that is the case, you just need to measure the B.C.D. as shown here, find a chainring with the same BCD and number of bolts and number of teeth and bolt it on (there is a table of common sizes there).

Based on the bikes direct picture, it looks like it uses 104 mm 4 bolt chainrings, but thats the current version (so check it out yourself) - do the measurement with a ruler as shown in the prior link. EDIT: This may be a different bike - several different models come up on google for the same bike name. Do the measurement with the ruler.

Here are some directions on replacing the chainring. Note that you may need some tools you don't have (but for the big ring, you might be able to get away without removing the crank) to remove the crank (namely a crank puller; in a pinch you could use a mallet but I wouldn't recommend it).

Park Tool also has some nice directions on removing and reinstalling the crank, which you'll need to do in this case since its the middle ring.

Also, wearing out a chainring in 3 years is pretty quick for most people who ride a hybrid - chainrings typically last more than 20000 miles in my experience, even with cheap ones. I also wouldn't bother replacing it until it was causing problems.


Bottom bracket too tight to screw in by hand

If one side screws in without problems, and you've verified the thread orientation, then it's not a compatibility problem. ( http://sheldonbrown.com/bbsize.html - scroll down to "bottom bracket threading".)

Trying to gently tighten it with a wrench should be fine. If you encounter abnormal resistance, then you should start thinking about taking it to a shop for chasing.


What belt-drive compatible frame and belt-drive kit would you recommend?

You may be a bit out of luck with that price range if you hope to get the whole kit.  The Gates belt, cog, and "chain"-ring retail online for over $200 by themselves.

That said, there are some options if you are clever and dedicated. If you're able to find one of the old 90's mountain bikes with elevated chainstays you can use one of the expensive ($125-$150) eccentric bottom brackets that mount in a normal 68mm shell for tension.  A 90's Nishiki should be fairly cheap, so you'd eke in just under your total price.  It's also fair to say that your bike would be a unique build.

Alternatively, if you have access to an affordable machinist, start with an inexpensive frame that has thick track-style dropouts. Modifying them into a variant of the old Spot-style dropouts should be relatively easy with a dremel, some taps, and a skilled hand. This avoids the significant cost of the S&S couplers used by most belt-drive modifications.

Unfortunately, unless the frame was purpose-built for a belt, you're going to be stuck modifying it. There are few, if-any, belt-specific frames in the market now, which keeps prices high.  The proper modifications either require an expensive S&S coupler or new dropouts, which are expensive to add aftermarket.


Can I use an RC motor to make my bike electric?

Its designed to attach the prop of a model aircraft directly, i.e its designed to drive a fan that cools it. It has little (or none) weather protect, and would be destroyed on a bike in months. Another concern I would have with that motor is the shaft size- its one thing to deliver 2000W to a prop, but to connecting it to a mechanical drive train that can load it with sudden changes in forces is likely to destroy it, you would need to get very creative with shock isolation from the drive line.

As far as costs, I doubt the basic motor part of the bike kit costs all that much more, after all, its only a few coils, a shaft and bearings.

The very best current commercial mountain bikes come, despite a lot of frame design and engineering, with a a huge, ugly and heavy mid drive motor. With all the R&D, and money to be made creating the perfect E-Bike, do you honestly think if the big boys could add a 2000W motor weighing 670gram and the size of a bottom bracket, they would not have done it already?

As far as battery packs, with the right controller you can roll your own easliy enough.


When shopping for BSO bikes, people are just looking for a recreational ride that is a once in while, which leads them to focus on the sticker price.  Looking at a mountain bike they then get to thinking "Hey, I can ride this around town.  I can take it off roading if I wanted too.", so more bang for their buck.

They also tend to look at the other components of the bike, hard narrow saddles just look uncomfortable, drop bars make one think they need to lay down to ride, thin narrow tires surely can't be a as comfortable as fat tires, and "why is there no tread pattern on this tire, it is just for nice weather racing".


Quick release pedals as you describe do exist. They are often marketed in Japan as "Rinko" pedals as they were developed to as part of the Japanese tradition taking apart full size bikes for transport on trains:

Currently, MKS makes these pedals (if you do an internet search for "MKS Rinko" you can find a distributor), they branded them with the "EZY" moniker.

They also make an assortment of flat and clipless pedals to interface with the quick release mount


What are the best brakes other than disc brakes

Brake type is a matter of personal preference, and going with what gives you the most satisfying experience on your bike. That being said, I had a couple (cyclocross) bikes with disc brakes when disc brakes started to get popular on cyclocross bikes, and after a year or two I went back to rim brakes. I found disc brakes to be unreliable and unpredictable. They can have decent stopping power, but they are heavy, ridiculously noisy, and the hype about better modulation makes no sense. If your caliper or canti brakes are set up correctly the will have much more usable modulation by design. Disc brakes are a gimmick that the bike industry has been pushing on consumers to turn bigger profit. If you are a mountain biker, there is one advantage to having disc brakes- they work great when your wheels get muddy and everything is wet. If you do most of your bicycling on pavement, rim brakes are going to be much more practical and stop you just as well. Consider that rim brakes are also disc brakes, but much bigger, quieter, and hassle free.

The best type of bike brake is a side pull cantilever for over all power,
reliability and cost.


What are the horizontal slots/tabs on the back of some saddles for?

You're totally right - they're for saddle bag straps.

I don't have a search term, but the word "roll" might get you further.


I have accidentally removed a front suspension fork - what now?

I'm assuming this is your bike and you really mean that you've removed the fork from the bike as disassembling the fork isn't really something you do by mistake.

The specs I found say that you've got a threadless stem and sealed bearing headset. This is easy to reattach.

There are 3 or 4 bolts you need to be concerned with. One right at the top, that goes through a metal disc about an inch and a half wide. This is the preload bolt . Also, on your stem there will be either 2 or 3 that clamp the stem to the top of your forks.

To reassemble, find the following bits:

Fork
2 x sealed bearings, one for the top and one for the bottom of the head tube.
Stem
Stem cap
Preload blot
Split washer (sometimes)
Spacers (often)

Start by inserting the bearings into the cups in the top and bottom of the head tube.
Next slide the forks up through the head tube, add the split washer, spacers, stem, top cap and preload bolt. In that order.

Tighten everything down with the preload bolt so there is no unwated play. Rock the bike backward and forward, with the front brake on, and make sure there is no knocking.

When there is no play, straighten the stem and tighten the clamp bolts. Afterwards I usually loosen the preload bolt to finger tight, but some people don't.

Ta-Da! One fixed bike.


How to identify galvanised and stainless cables?

If you really want to test, you can cut a small piece of cable on each and put them in bleach.

Stainless steel would corrode with rust forming evenly.
Galvanised steel would mostly corrode on the cross-section of the cable (where the cut is made). The (correctly) galvanised area will likely to be white.

A little note:

For your time testing, just buy a better cable from a reliable shop next time
The reaction may produce harmful gas, don't put them indoor or unventilated area


Are there special concerns traveling by plane carrying Air shocks?

Most (all?) airliner holds are pressurized and nearly all are heated, at least above freezing if not to cabin temperature, so I wouldn't expect any particular problems. The atmospheric pressure at sea level is around 14.7 psi, so even if the the hold was not pressurized at all, the worst your bike would see would be around 15psi extra pressure in the shocks/tires. The air pressure at 30,000 feet is around 4.4 psi, so at typical airliner cruising altitude, an unpressurized hold would mean that your tires and shocks would see about 10psi of additional apparent pressure.

If you were running some fat low-pressure tires on your bike pumped up to their maximum pressure, then you might want to back off on the pressure a bit for piece of mind just in case it ends up in an unpressurized hold, but I'd bet that even a bike tire rate at 30psi will stand up to 40psi without bursting. But I'd have no qualms at all about a 110psi bike tire standing up to 120psi in the plane.

Naturally, if the airline has any special requirements, you should follow those requirements, but I've flown my bike on several different airlines (including overseas), and have never seen a requirement to deflate the tires and have never had a problem.


damage to carbon road frame at the seat stay and drop out junction

Anytime you are in a crash I think you need to be worried about damage to the frame and future frame failure. Unfortunately it's very difficult for a lay person to inspect and evaluate damage to a carbon frame. For this reason I would suggest that you take the frame to a reputable bike shop and have it inspected there.

You should also remember that carbon fiber absorbs water, so the chip in your paint/gel coat get should be fixed ASAP, as water damage can cause a corrosion cell to form and the frame to fail.

Assuming the frame passes the inspection of the bike shop, you can touch up the damage with clear coat touch-up paint, or some people have used clear fingernail polish.


Randonneuring: Which UK 400k is appropriate for a new rider?

I've completed a handful of 400km brevets and organized one myself, but I can only speak to my experience in British Columbia (Canada) which is quite different riding than in the UK.  I find the 400km to be the hardest in the basic series and have heard other randonneurs (but not all) echo this feeling, so you're wise to choose this one carefully.

The biggest difference vs. the 300km is that most riders will spend a significant time of riding in the dark.  This depends on rider speed and time of year but it's not unusual to spend at least 100km in darkness.  Riding at night adds many additional challenges, including colder temperatures, sleep deprivation, difficulty navigating (signs are very easy to miss, landmarks disappear) and trouble finding fueling stops open at such a late hour.  That last point is important because calorie intake is critical on a 400km -- you can skimp on a 200km and even a 300km and still finish, but when you're cold and tired and sleep deprived after 20 hours on the bike, bonking comes very easily.

So as a new rider, I'd suggest looking for a few things:

A straightforward route that doesn't involve lots of turns or route-finding in the last 100km.
Don't pick an "epic" route for your first 400km or 600km brevet.  You will be surprised how tired your legs get after 300km when otherwise easy hills transform into steep ones.
Don't pick a boring route either.  Long-distance riding is very tough on the mind and it helps to have scenery to look at and the occasional hill to break up the rhythm.  But keep in mind that scenery doesn't really matter after dark -- all you'll see is the patch of road in front of you.
The ideal route uses low-traffic roads in good condition, and avoids crossing major cities/towns.
Plan out where you could stop in the second half of the ride for food: staffed controls (preferably with hot food like soup), pubs serving food late, all-night restaurants, and 24h gas stations & convenience stores.  You should also plan on bringing food with you in case these options don't work out.
I've never seen a sleep stop on a 400km (like the "Irish Mail").  On a 600km you normally don't build up enough of a time buffer to stop for a nap until around the 350km mark. At same point on a 400km, you're less than 3 hours from the finish anyway.  Unless you know you don't handle sleep deprivation well, a sleep stop is not a must.  You can always bring an emergency blanket and curl up under a tree or in a field if you're desperate for a nap.
Don't underestimate the importance of getting to the start.  You'll be more likely to ride something that's easy to get to, and will appreciate it even more when you have to make your way back home afterwards.

A few comments on the ride descriptions you posted:

Asparagus & Strawberries:  not much information posted, although the climbing (2600m) looks reasonable; being close to home is a plus.
Irish Mail: sounds like fun, hot food & sleep stop at 345km, easy navigation on return route, but lots of climbing (5600m).
LGL / Poynton 400km: mentions easy night navigation, 24h services; bonus points for the name.


You want a separate saddle clamp, that clamps round the top of the post and the rails of a standard saddle, something like this.

See also http://sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html#seatpost

http://sheldonbrown.com/harris/seatposts.html (scroll down to 'Traditional "pipe type" seatposts, use with separate saddle clamp'.)


50km for someone who has no experience cycling long distance

I can just imagine myself back then when I bought my old vintage bike and rode it 103km to my hometown without proper training or gear. There's a lot of hills along the way but I manage to reach 60km pedaling my bike before my legs felt tired and started walking on climbs but still pedaling on flats and down hills. I have no helmet and cycling shorts back then, so sun burn and butt soreness was really an experience I don't want to happen again. I have learn a lot from that experience. Now I ride 40-50km every weekend for practice to prepare myself for another epic and longer ride.
From that experience, I recommend you to consider the following.

For you:

Health - If you are healthy enough without any injuries or any health issues which can be triggered by fatigue, then 50km is good.
Terrain - Terrain is the most important part when you go on a long bike journey. This will be the defining factor regardless of distance. Just imagine the amount of effort you will exert when you go on a 50km hill climb vs a 50km flats. The more effort/power you apply, the less gas and distance you can finish. I suggest you read a map of your desired route and look for how high or low you'll be climbing. If you're sure it's all flats, then 50km is no worries for beginners. If there are a lot of climbs, then you might shorten your desired distance first for maybe 15-20km.
Speed - Same law applies with terrain. More effort/power the less gas & mileage you can accomplished. So make sure you're only pedaling at your comfortable/easy cadence. You want to tour then you have to take it slow and enjoy the journey.
Padded Shorts/Pants - Trust me, butt soreness is never a joke. This is a must.
Protective gear - helmet, gloves, reflectors or lights (if you're riding at night), UV protected clothing against the heat of the sun or jacket if it's cold.
Food - Bring plenty of carb rich food like bars or gels.

For your bike:

Wheels - Make sure your wheels are still in good condition and bring extra tires, pump, tubes if you're in a clincher wheels.
Water - Bring enough water. 2 bottles will do.
Toolkit - For any repairs along your journey.
Money - If you want to buy stuff along or worse your bike broke and you can no longer ride it safely, then a payment to a nearby repair shop or a ride home.

Is there anything I missed? Feel free to edit this answer or comment down below.


Is this old steel frame MTB too big based on standover clearance?

If the bike is comfortable to ride for you, then it is a good size for you.  While standover room is important, you might choose to lean the bike more when stopping, in order to reach the ground.
One option is to fit some slick 26" tyres to gain some extra tolerance for the bearings  - you'll want to do that anyway.  Something like the "continental Grand Prix 26 inch" is 1+1/8" and has a road biased design.   Compared to a 2" tyre you'll drop the frame about 35-40mm.   Do consider pedal strike on the road though.


Spinning bike's pedals are way bigger than the cleat pedals I have. What size do I need?

Almost all adult bikes have 9/16" threads, with 20 TPI.  One side is left-hand thread.
The other standard option is 1/2" thread which is intended for children's bikes.
There are rare vintage standards around 10 and 12mm but your spin bike wouldn't have these.
Finally there's a chance your spin bike has some proprietary pedal thread.  Do you have access to calipers?
While pedal adapters do exist from 1/2" to 9/16" they are not cheap, and they separate your feet by some, also known as "increasing the Q factor"


Widest tyre you can safely fit on 700c wheel (17mm rim width)

There are loads of 2.1" MTB tyres, and a few 2.0. I've got some WTB nano 2.1s that were on my hardtail when I got it, and I've got a Rapid Rob 2.1 on it now.

But your current tyres look pretty slick. Putting a dirt touring tyre like a marathon mondial on there would certainly help (and that comes in 35, 40, and 50mm widths). Those are OK on road, though slower than I'd choose for all-tarmac use. I take my tourer off road too (though not laden) and have really noticed the difference between the marathon mondials and the slick marathon supremes I switched to (or indeed the marathon plus on my hybrid), even with both at 35mm.

The footnote to the table you link suggests you can go a fair bit wider - in fact my hardtail has narrower rims than my tourer. You're likely to be limited more by the clearance batten the chainstays/seatstays/forks.

The tyres I mention are just examples, based on what I've used.


While I have never owned one, I've heard from friends that 29ers are good for going over rougher or more technical terrain for xc riding.

When you say "lots of gears," though, you should be looking at which gears it has, not just that it has a lot of them.  For example, on my full-suspension bike I have a 10-speed cassette (the rear gears) that is an 11-36t, which means that the smallest gear is 11 teeth and the biggest is 36 teeth.  But when I was building my hardtail, I was choosing between a 9-speed cassette of 11-32t or 12-34t.  See, the 11-32t means you can go faster, but the 12-34t means you're trading top speed for easier climbing.  If you're doing more climbing, make sure the bike you're getting is geared for that.  Or just get bigger legs.

Also you want to take note of the chainrings (front gears).  You may find that you get duplication of speeds based on gear ratios.  I'm running a 22/33/44 on my full-suspension and a 22/32/42 on my hardtail.  Having 44 teeth on the largest chainring instead of 42 means that I have a higher top speed, but since I have a 44 and a 22, and my cassette has cogs that are 13t, 15t, 26t, and 30t, I get duplicate speeds that make it less than a 30-speed bike because 44/26=22/13 and 44/30=22/15.

As far as suspension goes, you'll want to check to see if the fork has adjustable travel and lockout.  I don't have adjustable travel on either bike, but it's something to consider.  As far as lockout goes, if you're riding xc, you gotta have it.

Consider brakes.  I think disc brakes are awesome.  I don't care much for rim brakes for mountain biking.  You can look at these cool answers about mtb brakes for more about that.

For shifters, I'm a SRAM guy for mountain.  I like the thumb-only shifters.  Some people like Shimano.  That's fine.  Just don't get grip/twist shift.

With all those things taken into account, make sure to ride the bike before you buy it.  If you get a bike on bikesdirect.com, you'll save some cash, but you may not fit on the bike.  If you go to your lbs, you may be able to find the bike you want and the one that fits you.  If you need a different stem or other component, they might even be able to swap the right one in for you and show you what's what on the bike.  You really don't want to lay out a grand for a bike that won't even fit you properly.

So when you take these things into account, you can go to the manufacturers' websites and compare technical specifications to what you need and then find the lbs that's an authorized dealer.  I think that's the best way to get the right bike.


How bike computer wheel circumference change affects speed

Your actual speed will remain the same. The speed displayed by the computer will be higher by 2%, as Will Vousden says. Please note that this higher reported speed will probably be more accurate (closer to your actual speed) because you measured the true circumference of your wheel (which is what I assume you mean by the "rotating wheel method").


You need any BH59 hose with the right ends. The commonly seen current model kit would be BH59-JK-SS, comes in black or white and 1700mm or 2000mm.


What you have is basically a cylinder of rubber. When you lift the lever, the cylinder is compressed on the circular faces. This results in the sides expansion, which will "hug" the valve giving the sealing effect.


Can I mix shifter (deore m4100 10 speed) with my Rear Derailleur (deore m6000)?

Yes, all Shimano mountain 10 is the same actuation rate for rear derailleurs as can be seen in the compatibility chart:

Note that 9, 11, and 12 are all different, so speed generation mismatches are the thing that doesn't work.


Luggage rack - upper fastener broken. Can it be repaired?

Its steel, so any competent welder should be able to weld them back together.

Your other option is plumbing mounts, something like this.

Imagine a pair of these on each side, with a nut/bolt through that top hole.

http://www.ezystrut.com.au/products/pipe-support-systems/pipe-clamps/e8y/e8y/

Or something like this but with a quarter-turn twist between the two holes.

Another simple fix would be a single jubilee clip around each crossing, at 45 degrees. It will distort on tightening but will hold well enough. AKA a hose clamp.


Replacing a crankset, do I also need to replace the bottom bracket?

No, the process of removing the drive side crank and axle by tapping with a soft-faced mallet will not harm the balls or races in the bearings. The balls and races are hardened and the axle is not a true 'interference' fit in the inner races so you don't have to tap the axle very hard to get it to move.
You can review the Park Tool Repair Help page on two-piece crank removal. If there was a danger of damaging the bearings it would be mentioned and steps to avoid it described.
I will note that I have encountered a FSA PF30 crank that was really tight in a SRAM BB, but you should not have that problem with Shimano cranks in high quality BB bearings.


What makes a folding bicycle so difficult to ride?

Some folding bikes are quite good for long distances. Unfortunately, most of them seem to be optimized for short hops, by design (or by the fact of their design limitations). You're correct in thinking that more expensive folding bikes can be much easier to ride, where the  money is going for stuff like custom configuration or (even a custom-built frame). Folding bikes aren't unique in this regard, but economies of scale place additional limitations on them.
Fit Limitations
How to properly fit a bike has been covered in detail elsewhere, so I won't get into issues of seatpost height, reach, bar height, bar width, and so on. But most mass-market folding bikes seem to be built in a one-size-fits-none design.
It is quite possible to get a folding bike that's sized properly. However, since folding bikes are a small slice of the bicycle market, they're somewhat pricier. And keeping several frame sizes in circulation is even more expensive. Until more people buy folders, I think we're gonna keep having this problem. And very tall or very short people (or very heavy people--most folders have a weight limit of 200-225 pounds) have a lot of trouble finding folding bikes that will fit.
Frame Flex
Bikes that have frame hinges--like Citizens, and Dahons (and their clones) and the Raleigh 20's--are subject to frame flex. This can be combated by keeping the hinge joint tight, but many of these bikes will never be as stiff as a bike without a frame hinge.
Essentially, when sitting in the saddle, if you can move the handlebar forward and back, you've got frame flex. Some bikes can also have a flexy stem post, creating similar problems.)
(The Raleigh 20 has an angled hinge joint that, I'm told, mitigates the problem. From test-riding one, I'm inclined to agree with that; the bike didn't feel flexy at all.)
Smaller Wheels
Also, smaller wheels do tend to be a little "squirrely", in that they're harder to control. This does tend to be more if an issue with 16" wheels than 20" wheels, however.
This is fairly self-correcting, though, and it's something that the rider learns to compensate for fairly quickly. Until that point, though, it can impact the rider's ability to use the bike for longer rides.
Handlebars
Most folding bikes come with flat bars. As with all bikes, the more potential hand positions you have, the happier you'll be on longer rides. Bar ends will do this, and you may be able to fit them on the bike without compromising its ability to fold.
Gearing
"Do you have to pedal faster with those small wheels?" It's a common misconception that small wheels make the cyclist work harder. When properly geared, small wheels can perform well.
However, many folding bikes come with three-speed hubs, for a variety of reasons. (Less maintenance, cheaper and lighter than 7 or 8 speed hubs, and derailers can get your pants leg messy when you have a folding bike on the train.) This is only an issue if you have hills, and it's not one of your specific concerns, but it is a factor for general use of folding bikes.
However, faster gears can make a longer ride more pleasurable--and shorter. My 3-speed folder tops out around 26 MPH, which means it's not so great for a long day of touring. (For some, speed isn't an issue, so this won't matter to parient riders in very flat areas.)


What are Clarks 2P and 4SP cable housings?

I recognise those numbers so yes that’s right, but don’t ask me to explain what they mean! Buying housings nowadays doesn’t require overthinking, just buy from someplace you trust like anything else.

You can get compressionless brake housing, used for example for longer cable runs where you might otherwise get a spongy brake feel. It’s similar to gear housing, which must be compressionless, but obviously larger diameter and is a more expensive upgrade option so will get filtered out if you’re searching by price.

Shimano make a coiled gear housing called OT-RS900 a length of which comes with new R8000 rear derailleurs and probably some other models. Very slick, cuts like butter, but also a bit of a luxury item which you wouldn’t often use.


Sensible shifting on a triple chainring?

Less complexity (less things to go wrong and set-up.)
No chance of shifting front and back gears simultaneously leading to
loss of chain tension and resulting in chain drop.
Less weight.
Optional chain guides.
More clearance (in most practical applications)

Furthermore:

3x7 is very old. 1x11 is pretty new. Materials and technologies have evolved significantly since 3x7. Naturally this is not an inherent advantage in the idea of 1x11 but an advantage of real world 1x11 over real world 3x7.

However:

1x11 has worse chain line than a correctly used 2x? or 3x?.

You should generally avoid doing simultaneous gear shifts. Most people who think they are often doing simultaneous shifts really shift the rear, then shift the front a very short time afterwards (or vice versa, though rear then front is far safer).

Performing genuinely simultaneous shifts, especially on real MTB terrain, is asking for serious damage to yourself and your bike.

Finally:

The actual choice is largely personal but is influenced by terrain and riding style.

I for example love 1x11 but it is totally impractical for my local area + style:

15degree-20degree climbs and some even steeper descents. Some descents don't really give you much opportunity to pedal, but others do and the 1x11 can't provide a high enough gear. Likewise some climbs are not particularly technical but very steep and I prefer to leisurely spin up them at 110rpm which is simply not going to happen with 1x11 without making the higher gears even more unacceptably low.

EDIT UPDATE: Based on personal experience/partly subjective since going 1x11, you don't ride where I do, how I do, or in the weather I do, so your results will almost certainly vary:

With a clutch RD and Narrow Wide chain ring: No chain drop in 3.5k+
km.
Less to do when shifting. Not a big deal, but it's nice.
Better positioning for my dropper trigger.
Can't maintain just the right
cadence so easily. This is worth it for me, but can be irritating if
I am riding something not very technical. However I've taken to
forcing myself to push the harder gear (initially I would drop to the
easier gear and border on spinning out), so one can also "look at the
positive side" of this feature... but it's certainly a negative.
The shifting does actually feel allround better than my old XT 3x10 (with
SLX shifters)
Surprisingly I am getting more life out of my first
chain. (Note: I am rarely in the easiest 2 gears, where the chain
line is pretty bad.)
I am getting noticeably more wear on my hardest
3 gears, but everything is still running perfectly.
More noise in the
easiest 2 gears.
Less noise everywhere else. (Even without considering the lack of chain slap due to clutch RD)

END EDIT.


No magic solutions am afraid. Train. Try an get cadence to 90 as the norm. If you want to get better at hills do more of them. Make sure you take it easy at bottom and aim to be able to have enough left to ride away at top strongly.
Also consider using heart rate zones to train


Is it bad etiquette to ride road bike through a small residential area?

I wouldn't consider it to be bad etiquette IF:

You're not breaking the posted road speed limit.
Watch not only for cars backing out but for kids.
Watch for dogs.

In small neighborhoods like this it's also not a bad idea to stay out in the lane and not hug the curb. This gives you much more time if a car or child comes hurtling out into the road and you're not going to be slowing down a following car very much.

Edit: include the warning to watch for dogs. This is pretty important.


Do I really need to pamper myself with a stand?

Almost all jobs are easier in a repair stand. It also a lot harder to knock over the bike in a repair stand, which is otherwise quite easy to when reaching for tools with the bike upside down on the floor.

Here's a few things that are much easier in a stand

headset service
replacing brake and gear cables/bleeding brakes
front mech adjustment
rear derailleur adjustment
brake pad replacement

The only one out of this list that is actually quite tricky is headset adjustment, especially if you have a headset with loose ball bearings; although many quality bikes nowadays come with cartridge bearings. Most of the these jobs should be fairly infrequent too. Once initially set up, your derailleur should only need tiny adjustments using the barrel adjuster to account for cable stretch.

It really comes down to how many times you needs to service your bike. I would normally be commuting to work by bicycle covering approx 100km per week. I therefore need to service my bike each month, sometimes more if the weather is particularly horrible.


Giant Terrago 26 inch, can i have disc brakes?

Short answer: No.  There are no caliper mounts on the rear triangle of the frame so you can't mount brake calipers there.

There are solutions that add mount points, but they're pretty bad idea and have never taken off.  Plus an adapter would probably cost more than a used bike with disks.

Most braking is done on the front wheel, so fitting a disk brake there will get you 90% of the improvements anyway.  You need a disk brake rotor, disk-compatible hub, a caliper, possibly a mounting adapter, a cable or hose, and a new brake lever.   Buying all that new could cost as much as a good lightly-used bike.

Your front wheel could have a disk brake - the fork has mount points on it for disk brakes.  However your wheel is not disk brake compatible so you need a new hub, which probably means a replacement wheel.  If you can salvage parts off another bike, then that's the only way to make it cost-effective.


Can I change my large chainring without changing the entire crank?

The TX-50 is a tourney level part (bottom of the barrel). If the bike is spec'd with a Tourney derailleur, it is most likely spec'd with a crankset which does not have replaceable chainrings, and you'd need to put on a new crank.

As for chainring size, I'm not sure a TX-50 can take a 48t chainring (likely not - you'd have to look at the data sheet, which I also can't find), but most bikes which such a part would be mounted on would have problems with either chainline or actually getting the front derailleur up high enough to clear the chainrings for a 48t.

Your options for increasing speed generally on mountain bikes (or bikes with mountain-type groups on them) are:

1) Slick tires

2) Locking out your fork/rigid fork

3) possibly a smaller cassette

4) (Most importantly) Bring up your cadence.

If you really want to go faster on roads, look at a different (road) bike (possibly on the used market).


How does the length of the studs on winter tires affect traction on ice?

They're not really that short; compare them to the studs in studded car tires, for example.  A tiny bit of metal gives you a huge amount of traction on ice.  The real trick is that, unless you're purely riding on frozen lakebeds, you need studs small enough to deform into the tire when riding on pavement.

In icy conditions I ride 37mm Nokian W240's, they fit just fine under my 65mm Cascadia 29er fenders.  In snowy conditions, however, the snow can build up under the fender and make it difficult to ride.

If you are planning on riding long distances in deep snow there are only a small number of options, chief among which are the the Surly Endomorph or Larry tires. At 3.5" wide and at low PSI there is no comparing with a smaller tire.  Of course, you need a special bike and rims to run those beasts.


Is there a cycling equivalent to Naismith's rule

As you have noted, the problem is slightly more complicated for a bicycle since aerodynamic drag is a larger component. However, one can combine two rules of thumb which are given in these two bicycles.stackexchange answers (How do I calculate power to climb a hill and How many miles of riding are equivalent to one mile of running) to make an estimate of either speed or power on the flat and on climbs.

If you are only concerned about climbing the rule of thumb is simpler: on a steep hill, multiply the hill's gradient by your speed in km/h, then by ~ 3. If you measure your speed in mph, multiply by 5 rather than 3. That will give you a ballpark estimate of the watts/kg you need to produce. Since you're trying to calculate riding speed, just "solve backwards" given the equivalent power (in watts/kg) for a given slope. For flat roads where aerodynamic forces predominate, you will need to have a ballpark estimate of your "drag area" which mostly depends on your position on your bike.


As for foot placement, it's no different for jumping than it is for any other riding. You want the ball of your foot over the spindle of the pedal, maybe slightly forward (5 millimeters or so) for flats. Feet straight, or even just a tiny tiny bit toes in, or heels out, to keep your knees and hips aligned and working correctly.
Slipping a pedal on a jump is all about technique in how you load the bike during as you push into the face of the jump and how you unload as you leave the lip, and what your heels are doing during each part of that action.
Heels down as you press into the jump, toes down as you take off. But here's the hitch: You don't want to lift or huck the bike into the air. You want you and your bike to travel the arc of the jump together, and you need to be loose and relaxed, with your hips over your bottom-bracket, not way back over the rear hub. When you pull and force the bike up into the air, you tighten your body and it no longer is working with the bike. When you're tight, the bike is in control, but it's in bad control. When you're tight, the bike will kick and this is where your feet separate from the pedals.
You can always feel that tightness in your elbows and shoulders. When your elbows are bent and all is relaxed, you can feel control, and that applies to everything you do on the bike.
Rich Drew is one of the best coaches in the game and has several excellent videos explaining the process. Tim MacCormack is another great coach with videos out there. Check those out and go back to basics and start small again.


You don't mention checking the derailer hanger alignment is correct, which indicates a very high probability that's at least a partial contributor to the problem. Some Cannondale factory road hangers are among the most Play-doh-like ones around, although it's a common problem on most replaceable hanger road bikes. Aligning the hanger is a very routine step in getting the shifting correct. Doing it right does require a special tool, although roughing in a visually bent replaceable hanger in a pinch can be done by sticking a wrench in the mounting bolt, albeit at the cost of using up more of its fatigue life than doing a minimal number of bends with an alignment gauge would. Note there's always some risk of breaking a hanger while trying to align it, but most typical replaceable ones are made of very ductile material and it doesn't actually happen very often.

Cable tension misadjustment, cable friction, derailer wear, cassette wear are the other common factors here. If it's really and truly only ever skipping around in those 3 gears, you might look closer at the wear.

It's true that what front gear you're in can have an influence on how and whether the rear end misbehaves, but there's not really anything one does differently to adjust rear shifting on a triple versus a double or one-by, other than that you have one more chainring's worth of combinations to check through when test riding. If all the parameters that determine rear end performance are correct, there shouldn't be any issues. The exception is ultra-short chainstay bikes, like various terrible 650C tri/TT bikes, where the rear end can act like it's in a cross gear even when it's not, but not many bikes like that have triples and even if one did it wouldn't be acting up only in the middle ring, so it's probably not what's going on here.


Periodic Maintenance Task for Bike Commuters

Mostly it depends on where and how far you commute, and road conditions (sandy, snow, salt etc etc).

At a minimum what I do is:

Daily: check tire air pressure.

Weekly: Check brake pad wear, tire wear, clean/wipe down entire bike

Monthly: Check chain tension, chainring/cogs for wear, lube chain, adjust brakes, oil all pivot points on derailleurs, brakes etc.

Annually: complete tear down, inspection and reassembly with synthetic grease on all bearings.


What kind of tire should I purchase for use on a bike trainer?

To make it easier on myself I purchased a cheap wheel on eBay and added a trainer specific tire such as the Continental Ultra Sport Hometrainer Tire. When I used regular road tires, the rubber wore out quickly. The trainer specific tire lasts much longer.

You do not want to run the trainer specific tire on the roads. So having a spare wheel with cassette makes it easier to put on your normal wheel for those nice winter days.


I see 3 possibilities, it’s not clicking because you aren’t turning hard enough, it’s clicking and you aren’t noticing it, or it’s broken. (Edit: 4th possibility it's a kind of break-in behaviour of the tool and the click is very gentle to begin with. Not sure why but seems to be what OP is reporting in comments. go carefully.)

I tried clicking mine at 2Nm holding the hex bit by hand and couldn’t do it. I had to twist the whole head of the torque wrench. Above 4Nm it’s quite hard to lever the head to click without an actual bolt to lever against.

I think you should try out a whole range of torques on suitable bolts, as well as finding another known torque wrench to compare against. Maybe seek out whoever calibrated it if practicable.

Edit: caveat; if one is a new user of torque wrenches go carefully with torque. A torque wrench will/should tell you when you achieve the torque spec., but it won't stop you tightening the bolt further if you continue forcing it. Excessive tightening can damage bolt threads.


Pain in the ass, and waste of money.

As of the last time I checked, you can't track them directly (there'd be no way for you to receive a signal from a battery-operated device 5mi away), so you need to sign up for a recurring monthly service. On top of that, they chew through battery pretty quickly, requiring a recharge every few days.

Contrast that to just buying a decent set of locks. If you need to lock up your bike in the same place every day, get a thick $80 chain and a cable for the front wheel. If you need something lightweight to carry around you, a $50 u-lock is going to be a reasonable level of protection.

If your bike is worth more than a few grand, you're absolutely crazy to leave it outside at all.


Can I setup my road bike, mountain bike, and fat bike with the same set of shoes with MTB SPD cleats?

You don't say how long you spend on each bike, and it makes a difference. Many people only spend long enough on one of their bikes for Q factor to be an issue. The other issue is how sensitive you are to fit.

Personal experience: I've got a tourer and a hybrid (MTB BB, noticeably wider) with SPDs (and sometimes on the hardtail which is also wider than the tourer).  I use the same shoes on all of them. Switching from one to the other, the clipping in takes a little getting used to, which indicates the change. I haven't had knee trouble from switching (though I have had a little trouble recently which I blame on finding my saddle lower than it should have been just after a 330km overnighter). But I tend to only go up to about 70km on the MTB (road-riding to the trails for example) and these days do less than that on the hybrid (though it's fine up to 70km as well). Generally I seem to be fairly easy to fit once the bike is big enough.

Realistically the distance between your feet will change by (very nearly) that much whether you're clipped in or not. All the cleats will do is prevent you compensating by angling your feet. That may even be a good thing.


Consequences of using smaller replacement pulley/jockey wheels in the rear derailleur

I am now in position to answer my question, as I've obtained practical results of an experiment described in the question.
I managed to destroy an upper pulley wheel when it met a stub. The rest of the derailleur was undamaged.

The damaged guide pulley had 12 teeth (not 13 teeth as I originally miscounted). I only had 11-teeth replacements from SRAM in my reserves. So I went ahead and replaced it. I also shortened the chain by 2 half-links as I felt it was just a bit too long as well.
The main adjustment that I had to do to make it work was to ensure that the cage would not touch the cassette when climbing from the next-to-biggest cog to the largest cog. The B-tension screw of the derailleur was turned until there was a gap between these parts. A smaller diameter of the replacement part brought the cage closer to the cassette, so that had to be accounted for:

During the next two weeks, the repaired derailleur worked without noticeable differences compared to how it shifted before.
I have just received and installed a replacement 12-teeth upper pulley wheel from the manufacturer (the part is not available aftermarket yet). Again, I have not noticed any difference in shifting.


I'm not a composites engineer. However, I'll attempt to explain.
Some carbon bars can take clip-ons
If a carbon fiber handlebar or a carbon fork steerer can withstand the force of your stem clamping on it, then chances are a handlebar could also withstand the force of aero bars clamping on it, assuming it was designed to do so. I've found several carbon handlebars that specifically claim to be compatible with clip on aero bars in general, like the Bontrager XXX aerodynamic handlebar. This bar's tops are flattened for aerodynamics (laugh if you want, but it actually makes a small but measurable difference). I suspect the bar would take clip ons in the rounded center section. The ENVE SES aerodynamic handlebar is compatible with ENVE's own clip ons, which are designed to clamp onto the flat section. Specialized makes its own version for International Triathlon Union (ITU, where drafting is legal) riders of the Venge aero road bike, which has aerodynamically shaped bar tops as well. And, naturally, many carbon bars are round, and some of them, like this Bontrager Pro handlebar, claim compatibility with clip on aero bars.
As a counter-example, consider the 3T Superleggera (Italian for super-light) handlebar. The Limited and Team versus weigh under 190g per bar and explicitly say they are not compatible with clip-ons. The 240-250g Pro version explicitly says it is compatible with clip-ons.
If they don't say they can, assume they can't
I'd wager that if a carbon handlebar's literature does not specifically state compatibility with clip on aero bars, it is not compatible. I would assume that its clamp area is only reinforced right where the stem clamps. So, the presenter in the Global Triathlon Network video isn't entirely correct, but she's definitely not wrong.
Recall that carbon frame tubes are not designed to withstand clamping, and frames can be damaged if just clamped in a repair stand. If a carbon handlebar wasn't designed to safely take clip-ons, it might not have the necessary wall thickness or other structure to not crack under the clamping force, and I would assume that it was not designed to withstand clip-ons.
Why would not all carbon handlebars be able to take clip on aero bars?
@mattnz linked to The Rules, which is basically a tongue in cheek style guide for performance-oriented road cyclists. He correctly stated that Rule 54 says not to mount aero bars (unless you're in a mountain time trial). The Rules are definitely intended to be tongue in cheek. However, aside from fashion and peer pressure, there's a substantive reason for roadies not to mount clip on aero bars: your control over your bike is reduced considerably when in the aero bars. Hence, I'd argue that you should not use aero bars if in a paceline or even if you are riding with a large group of riders, barring explicit prior agreement (e.g. you are doing team time trial practice and you all agree that the first X riders will stay in aero bars). If you are in a sanctioned mass-start road race, you're not allowed to have clip-on aero bars at all.
I'm not sure how high the demand for clip-on compatibility is among many drop bar riders. In my experience, most riders don't mount them. Hence, some manufacturers might assume they don't have to design their carbon bars to accept aero bars. This might not be a sound assumption.
What about light aluminum bars?
This discussion raised a question for me: should we assume that aluminum handlebars are safe for clip-ons? I recall that the lightweight aluminum handlebars of the early 2000s may have had specified weights of 220g or less, whereas claimed weights seem considerably more for most aluminum bars today (e.g. the lightest alloy Bontrager handlebar seems to have 260g claimed weight).
I do not recall if lighter aluminum handlebars were rated for clip-ons or not. It does seem possible that the lighter bars may have been pushing the limits. If they were aggressively butted (i.e. their wall thickness was different through the length of the bar), then it's possible the area by the stem clamp got butted to a lower thickness and that it wasn't safe for clip-ons. However, I don't really have a way to confirm this right now.
In any case, I suspect that people looking to buy a light bike today would either use carbon handlebars, or else they might not bother with light handlebars entirely. There may no longer be a demand for or a supply of ultralight aluminum bars. The ones that remain probably do have sufficient wall thickness to accept clip-ons.
Side note: internal view of a carbon handlebar
I suspect the stem clamp area on carbon handlebars is much thicker than the rest of the bar. I'm pretty sure I see that in this video by Luescher Teknik, an Australia-based carbon fiber testing and repair expert who cut his teeth in the aerospace industry. (Vid should start at about 6:10 in, and it shows a cut-up 3T carbon handlebar.)


What do I need to look out for when replacing rear thru axle?

Unfortunately, thru axles are not as standardized as quick release skewers. So there are a number of basic measurements that vary by bike. Drawing from the Robert Axle Project, they are

Axle diameter and hub length. For drop bar bikes, this is usually 12mm diameter x100mm width in front and 12mm diameter x 142mm width in the rear, but exceptions exist.
The actual length of the axle shaft. Confusingly, this does vary from bike to bike, even though most drop bar bikes conform to the nominal dimensions above and most current MTBs are on Boost spacing!
Thread pitch, or distance between the threads on the threaded
section. They can be 1.0, 1.5, or 1.75 pitch.
Length of the threaded section.
Shape of the axle washer on the non-threaded side - I think they're usually flat, but conical ones exist.

And now, the problem: you also specified that you want a thru axle with a lever. These are more rare. I know that DT Swiss is one company that makes thru axles with levers, but they only have some specific dimensions. They may not fit your bike. You could check the dimensions of your axle, or you could call Cube or a local dealer if there are any in your area.
The objection to needing to carry an Allen key with you does not seem well-founded. It's usually recommended to have a mini-tool plus tire levers. Saddle bags are designed to fit a tube, a mini-tool, and tire levers; smaller saddle bags might require a small mini-tool, but carrying a mini-tool won't preclude you from having a pair of tire levers. Thus, I don't understand the objection that you need to have a wrench, but that this is not optimal when you get a flat.


They look to be compatible. The website says they'll work with any road DUB BB, which you have. Changing the spider shouldn't be too difficult as long as you follow the video. You can also find more info on the SRAM Service website. For example, here's the spider and chainring installation guide.
Here's the DUB BB compatibility manual: DUB™
MTB and Road
Cranksets and Bottom Brackets
As for the big 50Nm bolt, either take it to a bike shop or even a car garage and ask to borrow their torque wrench ("It's just one bolt, can't I just use it for a quick second!"), or just guesstimate the torque, perhaps with the help of a little math to find the amount of force needed with your own wrench. As long as it's on pretty dang tight, it shouldn't fall off.


50/34 compact with 11-32 10-speed Shimano 105 - will 11-34 make climbing easier or change chainring

You are already pretty close to the limit of what can be achieved easily.  You could certainly stick a 34t cassette on there, but it's not going to make any appreciable difference over a 32t.

The next step is a 36t cassette, which is likely to need a MTB rear mech (9 speed XT mech works well with 10s road shifters).

Another thing you can consider is a subcompact 46/30 chainset.  Making both changes would give you a 30/36 gear ratio, which is extremely low for a road bike.

If you know your target power (z1 for a recovery ride) you can use the following websites to calculate the gear ratio you need.

http://bikecalculator.com/
https://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence


You can get a set of slicks or semi-slick tires that will reduce your rolling resistance. If you're using it to commute lots as well then fenders are awesome to keep the rain off. I have a snap on rear fender that goes on any bike I'm riding if it's raining (outside of races). I hate having a wet butt.


What should I look for in a mountain bike for doing BMX-style balancing tricks?

You want a very low stand over height, short chainstays, steep headangle, and little to no suspension.  If you still want to use it for general mountain biking stuff, then look at street or dirt jump bikes, rather than trials.


Almost all amateur triathlons are DRAFT ILLEGAL.  This was originally because triathlon famously has its roots in finding out "who the best athlete is" (Ironman, specifically, was founded by a group of friends who each specialized the different sports, and each thought that their sport was the "hardest").  In that context, drafting was/is seen as taking advantage of another athlete's work and thus counter to the point of the competition.  Today, most triathlons remain draft illegal for several other reasons, including:

reducing the danger for athletes who may not have experience or feel comfortable riding in a tightly packed peloton
balancing out the potential gains of the three sports; allowing drafting on the bike results in a much larger focus on the run at the expense of the bike and especially swim legs, where spending extra energy to attack the group is frequently (though not always) a poor tactical decision.
reducing congestion in the transition area; having riders arrive at T2 in packs of 10 or 20 or more would be incredibly chaotic and, again, dangerous at most venues.

You say that the course is too narrow to pass, but 6 feet wide seems like plenty to me.  It is possible you may not be able to pass immediately (such as if another competitor is passing), but it should clear relatively quickly (this is another reason draft-legal would not work; that ISN'T enough space to have an entire pack ride together safely).  Just make sure to call to the rider in front of you before you pass so they are not surprised when you go by.  The rule triathlon uses, IIRC, is that you must maintain 3 bike lengths separation unless passing, and once you initiate a pass, you have 10(?) seconds to complete the pass or yield the 3 bike lengths.

If you are unsure about any of this, you should ask the race director.  They will be able to tell you for certain what rules the race is being run under, although I'd be 95% sure the race you describe would be as I've described.


The most likely scenario is that the freehub/cassette on your trainer do not line up exactly the same as they do on your normal wheel, and you need to make small tweak to your indexing.

In your second video, it definitely sounds like it is trying to change gear.


I agree if the bike is new and has not been abused the  shop repair it for free. I have repaired several "new" bikes with a sticking link. I generally remove the affected link and replace it with a master link for a chain of the correct size. Total cost under $5 if you already have a chain tool. I don't know why it happens, perhaps just a manufacturing defect.


One of my bikes, used as a commuter, is kept seriously cheap. I paid as much for the bike as I've been known to spend on a decent tyre. So it has the tyres it came with (well, one of them, I had a slightly smoother spare in the garage for the other). This bike lives outside 24/7 with a high risk of theft, and does 3km/day. Looking cheap is like a third lock.

That's an extreme example but most people riding around town are riding cheap bikes with whatever cheap tyres some marketing person thought looked good on a bike styled like a mountain bike. Some of these riders are also quite noticeable as they do daft things like running red lights. And it's still much quicker than walking for the same effort.

That accounts for the majority of cases. A few people really like gravel biking and don't like changing tyres. But actually on rubbish roads and with a decent chance of going up/down kerbs even to join official bike paths, a 40+mm tyre isn't so bad, if its smoothish on the centre line


What could cause the bicycle chain to break?

3-speed drive trains should naturally have a straight chain line and lots of room for the chain, which is typically wider. So I doubt that the chain is too wide.

I suspect the LBS did not correctly insert the chain pin, when reassembling.   If this was the case the pin could be protrude on one side and potentially catch on various drivetrain components.  Continually catching will stress the chain. If the protrusion is significant enough to catch, on the opposite side of the protrusion the pin may not be sufficiently inserted into the outer link plate. Eventually the catching could cause the partially inserted pin to pop out of place, breaking the chain, leaving you stranded. Check where the chain broke to see if the pin at the break point is reasonably flush to the outer link plate or protruding by a large amount on the side where the pin is still in place.

Speculation Warning

This is of course rampant speculation, as I have no pictures to go off of, but is the only logical mechanism that comes to mind.  (And it is something I have actually done and can verify can happen!)


Is it safe to put child seat on drivers seat post?

I would strongly recommend against it. I have a similarly designed seat from Yepp, and the amount of force exerted on the frame is substantial. Seat posts can shear, and would result in a bad time for everyone.

You will also find that having your child that high up lightens the steering a lot. Mine is install in the correct position, and I have to consciously shift forward to maintain firm wheel placement; putting in on the seat post would make this even worse.

There are some that are designed to clip to the seat post, but their design is very different: This one for example and they rest on a pre-fitted rack.

Have you considered a crossbar seat instead?


How to tell if a folding bike is faster than a boris bike

Neither Boris bikes nor folding bikes are exactly built for speed, so we can consider mainly the gearing. For this,  gear inches are a convenient measure taking into account not just the gear ratio but the wheel size.

On Brompton folders (as a well-documented example) you have a choice of gearing but the default 6-speed gives up to 100 gear inches. That's quite high for a bike with small wheels and flat bars. For short urban journeys you might not make it into top on the Brompton.

The Boris bike is a 3-speed with up to 60 gear inches. this is actually lower than the single speed Brompton. But it's not a stupidly low cruising gear. If you know the rear wheel size and tooth counts for the chainring(s) and sprocket(s) (plus any hub gears) you can use a gear inch calculator where you can also work in metric if you'd rather.

For many typical urban journeys, the time taken is determined more by the traffic than the bike. A bigger difference is trading off the unfolding/folding time against finding a Boris bike and then finding somewhere to park it, plus walking between where you park it and your real destination. You know the journeys you're likely to make better than we do, and so you're on your own for that.

Another benefit of having a folder is that it's yours. You know you've got it if there's a problem like a tube strike when the Boris bikes will all be taken. You can also customise lighting and luggage to some extent.


How can I offer a test ride while selling a bike?

The simplest answers are ask for their ID, or for their car keys if they arrive by car. There are plenty of other options on various forums like

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/446194-selling-bike-craigslist-test-rides.html

https://www.bikeforums.net/general-cycling-discussion/687171-how-do-you-let-potential-buyer-test-ride-your-bike.html


Hi! Im looking to ID a rebuilt touring bike with serial number

It really looks like Miyata. I would advise you to look not for a serial number but for types of models of different years of release. Probably it will be possible to identify your bike.


Making the pedals on my kid's bike rotate when I push so he'll learn to pedal

So your boy is simply sitting and not pedalling, so you push him along?  Of course he's not going to pedal when he's getting a free ride from you.

Stop Pushing!

Firstly, does he understand how a bike works?  Do you ride?  Does he see you or others riding?

You might consider going the other way, and remove the whole transmission and the training wheels.  Essentially revert the bike to a balance bike until he gets the idea that he has to push.

Something like this:

Eventually he'll realise how slow the balance bike is, and want his pedals back to go faster.  And that's awesome.


Edit: @Qwirk: If you look at your photo, where the chain is resting on the small chain ring, do you see the gaps between chain and teeth? that is a key indicator of either extensive chain wear, extensive chain ring wear, or both. In this case, based on the appearance of the upper chain ring, I'm going to say both.

Those are the first 3 options I'd look at, as well.

Have you replaced your chain recently? If so, the new chain may not be meshing well with the old chain rings.

To figure out which, first check the chain for wear.

If it doesn't show any serious chain wear, compare the chain rings on your bike to a set of new chain rings. It doesn't have to be shark toothed to e worn, but that is most common. Hooking, or simply teeth that are significantly shortened will cause similar issues.

Check as well for bent or missing teeth in the chain rings. This shouldn't be the case because it's happening in more than one gear, but it could still be. Also, check the rear cassette for missing or bent teeth, for the same reason.

Last, if the rings do not appear worn, you should replace the chain, (or soak it and re-lube it at a minimum). This will eliminate the possibility of a burr or a sticking point in the chain that is more subtle than a stiff link.

Oh, and a bent hanger would have to be pretty visible to cause this kind of activity, but it's still worth checking.

Hope that helps.


Is it possible to change a painted frame into a chromish one?

Yes. If you have a aluminum or steel frame it's possible to strip the paint off and sand and polish the metal so that it is shiny.

To get to the shininess level of chrome plating is a lot of work though. You need to work your way up through sandpaper grits from ~300 to ~2000 depending on the starting condition of the metal and the level of polish you want. The critical thing is to remove absolutely all the marks from the previous grit sandpaper at each stage.

A difficulty is the welds joining the tubes. These areas are rough and it can be difficult to strip the paint out of the crevices. These areas don't polish up as well as the main tubes.

Obviously with a steel frame a clear coat will need to be applied to prevent rusting.


Need help identifying replacement parts compatible w/ bike model

If you really want disc brakes, it's new bike time. If you are replacing the forks, at least half the drivetrain and the wheels (you need disc brake hubs, and if you need to replace hubs then you really need to replace the wheels), then with installation costs you will likely be paying a very significant fraction of a decent new bike. Even a lowish level Altus/Acera/Alivio equipped bike will be better than the Haro just due to how more advanced components have become over the years. Even the lower level Shimano groups have hydraulic disc brakes now.

If you are willing to stay with rim brakes, then replacing the fork and some of the drive train can make sense. When replacing the fork there are two main things you need to deal with:

1) The steerer tube diameter, and whether it tapered and has larger lower bearings. Likely it has a 1 1/8" straight steerer tube.

2) The fork travel and axle to crown distance. The axle to crown distance is important to preserve the steering geometry of the frame, but does not have to be exact.

With the drivetrain you'll need to decide if you want to replace just the rear derailleur and shifter, both front and rear, or the whole thing including the cranks. Shimano Altus/Acera/Alivio grouos are 9 speed, and better groups are 10 speed or more so you'll be replacing the cassette and chain. 9, 10 and 11  speed cassettes will fit on the freehub body of your wheel.

If you go for a 9 speed group then you can probably retain the current crank, but you should determine if the bottom bracket is worn out and needs replacement. If you go for a 10 speed group the current crank really will not work.


How do I make a MTB shifter fit on a Road dropbar?

I'd recommend trying out some bar end shifters. You can get indexed ones for a few different gearing combinations. There are some ultegra bar end shifters on amazon for around $75usd. However, you could probably score some used ones cheaper via ebay. These are like what come on the surly cross check in the stock configuration.

You could mount regular rapidfire shifters on the top center part of the drop bars.  It might take some widening of the clamp to get it to work.  There is a thread on MTBR about an experience like this.


What should I consider when buying a saddle?

Comfort
Width/size/fit
Price
Weight
Perineal cutout/groove (if that works for you)
Low friction
Angle your pelvis will be at while riding

That last one is what I suspect Fizik is talking about with the flexibility.

Assuming you're on a road bike and want to go as fast as possible, being bent forward more will help make you more aerodynamic. As long as getting more aerodynamic doesn't interfere with oxygen intake or leg motion that means going faster.

The part of your pelvis you sit on a saddle is a sort of triangular shape with the point forward, so as you rotate your pelvis forwards a narrower part of that triangle is what you're sitting on. So you need a narrower saddle (and maybe some other shape changes) if you're in a more bent-forward position.

Also take into account that saddle fit is not an exact science, despite the measuring gimmicks many shops have. You'll probably just have to try a few saddles out.


How do I make Shimano SPD cleat lock into pedal more securely?

You're probably talking about "float", the way your foot rotates over the pedal. This is considered a feature, not a bug. There are different cleats you can get with different amounts of float; looking around, I do see there are "zero float" cleats that you can get for SPDs, and others with only 4° of float. The spring adjusts your release tension, not your float (I think).

After having ridden zero-float pedals for a long time, I'll take all the float I can get.


It's not M9. M9 is never used on rears. When 3/8" axle hardware sizes are expressed in metric, they're called 9.5mm.
What you have is almost certainly 3/8"x26tpi. If you don't have a caliper and thread pitch gauge, carefully taking the measurements from the axle with a ruler works too. There is some nonzero chance it's M10x1, but not likely.
A single 3/8"x26tpi locknut is something probably easiest attained by pulling off a dead wheel or hub. It's one of and maybe the most common sizes in the world. If you're squirreling through random axle hardware, distinguishing between 3/8x24 if all you're measuring is the nut with a thread pitch gauge is impractical, so again, measure the axle.


After a time on bing it looks a lot like a Vintage Murray Sportcrest or Sears Murray Sportcrest.

There is a pic of one here: https://uk.pinterest.com/pin/54465476715653140/

And on ebay here: http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-Murray-26-Boys-Bike-Good-condition-/201618469157?hash=item2ef165b125

When searching for Vintage Murray Bicycles there are others by the same manufacturer pictured with very similar frame shape, the extra top tube that curves down and joins the down tube.

km


What are the rules about take a bike on the London Tube?

Transport for London page on Bikes on Public Transport

On the tube, folding bikes are good anywhere at any time.  Non-folders are restricted to only certain lines - in most cases these are lines that have no deep below ground tracks - and certain times.

To a certain extent it is going to be up to the station/train staff.  I've travelled on the DLR with my bike in the past, before I realised they have a total ban (I was dismissed from the train, which sucked because I'd had a few to drink and was trying to avoid cycling home).  If in any doubt, or trying to wing it, its always worth asking before you enter the station.


No space inside the house, where do you store / secure bike?

You can get wooden storage sheds for bicycles for around £150 - £200.

You'll also need something to secure the bike to. You could install a ground anchor, either the screw in type:

Or the type that you embed in concrete:


Where can I find the maps my Garmin Edge 305 made?

The Garmin Edge 205/305 Owner's Manual makes it clear that any data that was not saved using the Garmin Training Center Software would be overwritten when the device is full.

The Garmin Training Center Software was last updated Aug 25, 2011. The Windows version ran on XP, but it can still be downloaded by following the links. You'd have to test if it will work on a current OS (but see the next para).

Garmin has a page explaining Where is the history data for Training Center located? That page seems to suggest that the software works on Windows 7.

If the data you want is present on your backup as .TCX files, then you can just upload it to Strava:

  Works for multiple .tcx, .fit or .gpx files 25MB or smaller. Choose up to 25 files.

If you can't see .TCX files then you'll have to dig deeper. From what I see the data can be stored in .TCD files, perhaps compressed a la zip. Install the Garmin Training Center Software and see if it can extract the data you need.

Good luck.


Will an Shimano M8000 brake lever blade fit a M8100?

Ok this is exciting, I called around locally bikes owned bikes shops and asked if they had some scrap parts laying around. One of them had a Shimano SLX m7000 left brake assembly. I paid for the part and disassembled the lever. It is an exact fit. So, you can take a blade from the m7000 hydraulic series and put it on the newest m8100 hydraulic series! Fits like a glove.
KEEP all the parts from the existing brake handle! Use the existing spring, newer pin, newer retention screw, and newer rubber plug/bung!
Reassembling is tricky. I made a temporary paper pin to hold the assembling together. Then I put the assembly into place, then used the real metal pin to push out the paper pin.


If your frame isn't pierced through, I wouldn't bother with it much.

Apply some paint of correct type (I'm no expert, consult your local home improvement/paint shop) to stop further corrosion. You might want to remove the existing rust with a fine sandpaper before putting the paint on (again, refer to the manual of the paint or consult the shop).

I think there are even some special paints for fixing car finishes available in car shops but that might be a little too expensive.

The important thing is to prevent direct contact between the bare steel and water / air humidity if you don't want the rusting to progress.

EDIT: A cheap solution might even be a waterproof and airtight adhesive tape.


It depends on where you're riding.  If you're riding in situations where you do not need to be aware of automobile sounds (quiet side streets, broad bike paths, etc) then it's probably OK.  But in traffic, or on a narrow bike path where you'll need to hear the cyclist behind you call out "On your left", I'd strongly advise against it.


Calculate rolling resistance for foam filled tire

Even with a finite-element tool kit you would need a lot of physical data in order to be able to calculate the RR. In addition to data for the tyre casing and rubber you would need the visco-elastic properties of the foam. Deformation of a foam will certainly absorb more energy than deformation of an air chamber, hence result in higher RR.

There is a kind of foam tyre made of closed-cell polyurethane foam sold under the trademark name Amerityre Flatfree. You can find on the internet an investigation of this tyre by Thierry Larose Chevalier et al from the University of Ottawa.
http://www.flatfreetire.ca/Ottawa%20U.pdf

The results of this study are a bit ambiguous. Based on in-shoe force measurements from cycling on training rollers the authors state that there is no significant difference in RR with a traditional clincher road tyre. However, the participant cyclists subjectively commented that they felt more resistance.


Is it worth converting a steel frame Trek Roadie to a Cyclocross?

I've done a conversion on an old steel Schwinn, and these look similar. I'm not sure how in-depth you want to go, but at the most basic level you only have to worry about two issues:

Tire clearance
Brake clearance

Tire Clearance
The most popular size of cyclocross tire is 700x32. You may find that a knobby cyclocross tire will fit between your fork, but not clear the bottom bracket or chainstays in the rear triangle or vice versa. If you have a tire clearance issue with the rear triangle I would abandon hope right then. If the rear is fine but the front is tight, you can consider a new fork.

Brake clearance
The brakes on that bike may not have arms that are wide enough or long enough to properly place the pads on the rim without touching the tire. IF that's the case you can check a touring source like Rivendell for brakes with longer, curvy arms.

Note: If the bike came with 27 inch rims, you may have a hard time finding tires and your clearance issues may be even tighter. If that's the case you can look at switching to 700 wheels, but you may find on an older bike that it expects a narrower hub. With a steel frame  you can consider carefully bending the forks.

Is it worth it?
Well - to me it's worth it if you will ride it. Start with the tires - that's the cheapest first step. Move on to brakes and fork only if you have to.


Report it to his insurance company first. Period.

If for whatever reason the driver decides to renege on his admittance of fault and declines to pay damages to your bike, you're basically screwed if you're past the insurance company's reporting threshold. However, do not sign any paperwork the insurance company asks you to (which may limit their liability or waive some of your rights) and inform them that you're having a bicycle shop prepare a quote for damages.

After you've contacted the driver's insurance company, take your bicycle to the nearest shop and have them fully inspect the bike and quote you for any necessary repairs. Ask them to be thorough and include the cost of absolutely everything that may have been damaged in the crash: wheel re-truing, handlebar tape rewrapping, etc.

When the bike shop gives you a quote, give it to the person who hit you. If he reimburses you, then you're done. If not, you'll have to work through their insurance company. It's probably best at that point to contact your own insurance company and see what steps they will take to help you receive payment.


What kinda of maintenance does a Sturmey Archer X-FDD DynoBrake hub need?

There is very little to do with this hub.

Mostly you need to tighten brake cable.

Edit.

  After 2 years of everyday use with 7-30 kilometers per day in city traffic with lot of junctions, using front brake as main brake (est. total
  10 000 km) in my case there is still a lot of ( ca. 60-75%, didn't
  measured exactly) brake lining on my X-FDD brake shoes.

  For most regular users it's going to be 'lifetime' with no maintenace.

I disassemble it every year, what is, in my opinion, more often than required.

Sealed bearings require replacement when they get perceptible clearance.
Brake shoes need to be replaced when brake lining is gone (you will hear & feel the difference).

What I do with it is also greasing the cam that pushes brake shoes (1) and axle on the opposite side (2) (see picture), that keeps shoes together (it's inside and need to be done carefully so as not to grease braking surface). This procedure reduces friction and make you use less power to pull the brake lever.

The second problem may appear when you like to pull lever lightly when approaching a junction slowly. It produces a glazed surface on the brake shoes, that makes braking harder, and less effective. You can get rid of it with sandpaper, but it's easy to break the circular shape of the shoes. Less effective, but a safer option is to brake firmly when going down the hill - several times.


That's part of the derailer. Most SRAM derailers have a piece like that. They're not really supposed to come off and float freely but sometimes they do anyway. There's not a specific name for it, but if you wanted to buy a new one for this X1 rear derailer, it's part of SRAM pn# 11.7518.014.000, "XX1/X01/X1 Rear Derailleur B-Bolt and Limit Screw Kit".


Bike stops in place when trying to manual

Yes, that's the effect of your Mass Center moving around a reference point, in this case your bike. You and your bike make a whole thing, So when you "preload" you shift your torso towards the handlebars and down, which makes the bike to go away from you on the oposite direction. Given that you have foward direction, it anulates. And when you pull up your front wheel, your back wheel should be coming under your body. Meanwhile you bend your legs and stretch your arms, counterbalancing the weight of the front portion of your bike. So in short, you try to mantain your balance point(center of mass) over the back axle and near it.

Other thing is that a wheel, or any object that has mass and rotates on an axle. Has a "Moment of inertia(aka rotational inerti or angular mass)", which means the faster the wheel spins, the harder is to take it out of it's trajectory. In simple english, means that it's easier to go straight on a manual the faster you go, because the wheel won't like to lay down with more speed.

To lean either right or left on a manual, you should do it bowing your feets and knees. It depends mostly where you put your weight on your pedals, so leaning your feets both to left will make a sharp turn so be careful.


Recommendations for transporting twins on the front of a bike

An alternative to long tail bicycles is long wheelbase bicycles:


Tektro HD-M290, change to a dropbar lever configuration. Which levers are compatible?

The issue of cross-brand hydraulic lever-caliper compatibility has been discussed here previously. See this question and its answers: Hydraulic disc brake - lever compatibility. TLDR: no evidence for compatibility between brands.
Drop bar brake-only levers almost do not exist. All Shimano and SRAM drop bar levers integrate shifting and braking functions. The only product I know of is the TRP Hylex levers. These are designed for single-speed cyclocross bikes, which of course do not need gear shifting.
It's possible Tektro makes a similar product that is compatible with their brake calipers, but I could not find anything on their site.
What I would do is replace both the levers and calipers with TRP Hylex, and have the confidence that they are compatible and will not degrade or fail.


Does whether the bike folds have anything at all to do with this compatibility between BB and crank?

Executive summary:

NO!

Longer answer:

Here's the Sheldon Brown link:  https://www.sheldonbrown.com/bbtaper.html

Even though both ISO and JIS have the same taper angle, ISO spindles are narrower than JIS spindles, so an ISO crank won't go all the way onto a JIS spindle.

Depending on the specifics of the crankset and spindle, how far the cranks go onto the spindle may or may not be sufficient to both be safe and able to withstand usage for a good amount of time.

But I wouldn't do it for any bike I might ride - I view the situation you've described as a somewhat unethical attempt to make a sale.  It might work, but saying it will just because the bike folds is, well, sleazy.

Because whether or not the bike folds doesn't matter.  The specifics of the bottom bracket spindle and the crank itself matter.  And a crank where the design prevents full engagement of the load-bearing surface with a close-but-not-quite-right bottom bracket spindle isn't a configuration I'd be able to recommend with a clean conscience.


Aluminium front and carbon rear wheel on hardtail?

You’ll be perfectly fine. A carbon rear wheel on a hardtail is actually a pretty good idea because of how much you’re smacking the back wheel around, thanks to the lack of suspension.


You put the powerlink on the chain and move on with your life. Provided the chain is not insanely too long, it's going to work fine unless you're on the boundary of what your shift system can handle in capacity (which almost nobody is) and you're abusive at this boundary.

Note that the article clearly states how to size when accounting with a master link:

  MASTER LINK NOTE: If the bike chain uses a master link, it is necessary to account for the link. Install one half of the master link on one side of the chain. Size the chain by cutting the other end of the chain.

If your chain is too short, you can jam your RD in large-large. If your chain is too long (as in this case), it may droop a little bit in smaller cog+chainring combos, but with 1 or 2 links too long, it will likely be insignificant (and occur in combos you don't use anyway).


Double taping or double wrapping is definitely common, and as with all things bicycle there are various opinions on the best way to do it.

I do it mostly for comfort, although as with many others I do have hands big enough to comfortably hold the bars when they're bulked up like that (I'm using two layers of foam tape rather than an under-layer of cotton tape).

I'm not sure there's much advantage to using a layer of non-padded tape, but if it works for you go for it. It's easy enough to remove, so at worst you've lost whatever you paid for the tape.

What I usually do is buy bargain-bin tape for the bottom layer because no-one sees it, and I'll often wrap top-down because I think that works better. I don't tuck the first set of tape into the bar at the bottom, only the outer layer starts tucked in. And I'll often run the outer layer a turn further up towards the stem so it's anchored onto the bar rather than just the first layer of tape. I get that extra tape by only wrapping round the brake levers as little as possible (ie, I don't do the extra figure-8 around the levers), partly because the extra padding often spoils the feel of the levers.


Offering your remaining oil on a local marketplace might be a good idea. While servicing an older RockShox suspension fork, I spilled out the original oil and needed to replace it. Costs were greater than $10 for sourcing this. My LBS offered me a slightly different weight from their old stock, so I got lucky. During the search I would have appreciated picking up a slight amount of shock designated oil / lubricant locally.


8 speed chainring with single speed 1/8" chain

If you want to use a 6/7/8 speed chainring on a single-speed or internally geared bike I think that will be fine.

You can't use a 1/8" chain with a front or rear derailleur obviously.


Most of the time that should work. You have to make sure it isn’t a Schwinn special sizing (Any of the S(1-6) sizing). Make sure the tire ISO and wheel are 559mm.

For this bike, I would say with 99% confidence that would work.

Personally, I would look elsewhere if you were looking to upgrade something. A used bike from a reputable brand on Craigslist will perform a lot better for the same cost.


Traditionally you would need a split in the rear triangle to fit a belt drive.

There is a company named Veer that offers a split belt for with supporting sprockets for several internal hubs such as Rohloff and Shimano Alfine.
https://www.veercycle.com/collections/all/products/split-belt-pro

With a belt drive you will need an internal hub or go single speed.


For a standard loose-bearing hub, to grease it you disassemble it, wash the components in solvent, and then reassemble with new grease.  You may want to take this opportunity to replace the individual balls in the assembly.

As to how often you may need to do this, it's a little bit of a wild guess.  I aim for (very roughly) every 10K miles, but a lot depends on conditions (and mine are commuting/touring).  If the bike is rarely exposed to rain and dust then longer is OK.  If it's regularly exposed to water/dirt then more often.

Some wheel bearings are advertised as "sealed", as they have a rubber seal that helps keep dirt out.  These can either be of the loose-bearing variety (which is serviced as above) or a cartridge (which cannot be serviced other that to replace it).  Sealed loose-ball bearings can probably go about twice as long before servicing.  Cartridge bearings you generally ride until they obviously need replacement.


Gear shifting : new to cycling maintenance

There is a number of things that can result in bicycle gears 'auto shifting'.

The gear indexing could be out of adjustment, so that the chain is either getting caught by the next biggest sprocket causing a down-shift, or falling off onto the next smallest sprocket causing an up-shift. If the indexing is off enough to cause auto-shifting the chain would be making a lot of noise though.

Cables and housings may be dirty, worn or loose which causes the input at the shifter to not appear accurately at the derailleur.

There are many articles and YouTube videos available that will teach you bike mechanics (my personal favorites are from Park Tool). However, if you are not experienced with bike mechanics you will probably be best taking your bike to a good local repair shop. Ask the tech to explain what their diagnosis is and their recommended fix.

Update based on extra info:

New bike with ~200m very likely needs a post break-in tune up including adjustment of the gear indexing to account for cable stretch. Bike shops in the US at least (the extent of my personal experience) commonly do this for free,


It is possible. There are a lot of 20in wheel bikes with gears. There are some problems, though:

The frame might need to be opened so that the larger hub can be inserted;
There are no derailer hanger in bmx frames, so you'll have to use an adaptor, or a simpler derailer model which is mounted together with the axle;
The derailer itself is closer to the ground compared to 26in wheel bikes, but this might not be important, since many folding bikes are that way.

The least of your problems would be "looks"...

OR...

You can throw some more dollars and install an INTERNALLY GEARED HUB, which not just wouldn't break the clean looks, but would actually benefit from the horizontal dropouts found in BMX frames. But those are usually quite expensive.


What freewheel mechanism designs are used in bicycles?

Standard Pawl and Ratchet Design
This design is by far the most common on bicycle freehubs, and as such the least expensive to employ.
Mechanism
In it's simplest form, this design consists of a surface that is toothed and a pawl (which is a lever that engages the toothed surface and only allows movement in one direction).

In a bicycle this design is typically inverted, the pawls are on the freehub body and they engage a toothed surface on the interior wall of the hub.

a basic animation of the mechanism in action can be found here. In this design, some tension must be applied to the pawls to constantly force them outward into the body of the hub. (This is also where the buzz or click comes from in this design, from the pawls being forced over the teeth on the ratchet surface) This is usually accomplished by leaf springs, small coil springs, and/or a metal ring.

this design utilizes leaf springs

coil springs

technical drawing of a mechanism utilizing a metal ring
Advantages and Disadvantages
Advantages

Common and inexpensive
Easy to service

Disadvantages

Lower degree of (quicker) engagement limited by physical constraints. A lower degree of engagement requires smaller teeth contact surfaces and pawls which become weaker/can wear more quickly. (see below for some clever workarounds)
Prone to failure due to weakening springs or grease thickening with cold/age ("nothing happens when I pedal")
In it's most basic design, relatively high degree of (slow) engagement
Prone to wear as teeth and pawls are constantly in contact

Variations
Many designs will use more than one engagement tooth per pawl, allowing smaller teeth and more points of engagement (lower degree of engagement). These small teeth are more prone to wear. Halo supadrive employs 120 points of engagement for 3 degree engagement

Halo Supadrive utilizing 120 points of engagement
SRAM's Double Time design utilizes four pawls in opposed pairs. The pairs are offset slightly, causing only one pair to engage at any time, but gives their 26 tooth ratchet 52 points of engagement for 7 degree engagement.


Adjusting the pull/reach of STI levers with top-brakes (Tricross)

The inline brakes are called interrupter brakes, or cross brakes.

It almost sounds like the pull of your inline cross breaks is meant for V-brakes, while your STI's are set for cantilever. From the details you provided, its hard to say what is going on.

If your brakes are set really loose, then both levers would bottom out before engaging, or would be rubbing the rims.

If they worked before, the shop did some work, and now they don't, well then its pretty obvious you need to return to the shop and have them fix it properly.


Windscreens are more about rider comfort than decreasing air resistance. I would think particularly with the upright riding position of a mountain bike that your hypothetical installation of a windscreen would increase air resistance, unfortunately, by expanding the area of mass that would push against the air.

The common advice for getting more aerodynamic on a bike boils down to get low and small. This is why cyclists trying to hit speed records always duck down while gripping drop-style handlebars. They also wear tight-fitting clothes, use specially-shaped helmets, get a bike that is engineered specifically to cut through the air quite efficiently, etc.

So I'd conclude that if what you're looking for is not so much maximizing your possible speed but rather getting the wind out of your face, there's nothing inherently wrong with installing a windscreen. But if you try pushing into a head-on wind, I'm sure it would take a lot more effort from you.


It sounds like you need something like a handlebar bag or a rack trunk like these:

rack trunk

handlebar bag

The rack trunk would require adding either a seatpost mounted rack or a full rear rack. Either one would allow you to move to panniers in the future if you needed to carry more goods like a laptop or a change of clothes, but a full rack would be able to handle more weight and is generally recommended for stability and versatility.

The handlebar bag may or may not require a front rack, depending on how big it is. Some come with enough of a mount that you don't need anything additional to support the weight.


What is the problem with adjusting brake levers to end their travel "too close" to the handlebars?

The issue with having brake levers which have travel that ends very close to the bars is that, as the brake pads wear down, the brake levers will hit the handlebars before the brakes are fully engaged.

This can be mitigated by regularly inspecting your brake pads and adjusting the brakes to compensate for normal pad wear. You could have them that close if you stayed on top of the adjustment demands, but since the average rider does not adjust their brakes this frequently or pay as close attention to this, common advice is to avoid having the levers too close to the bar.


How to install flat mount road disc brake calipers on IS mount bike?

As of now there is no commercial product you can buy to make this possible. An adapter that did this would be awkward to design because the flat mount caliper, in its native spatial position relative to the rotor and stay/blade, is trying to occupy some of the same space as the IS tabs. I believe it's physically possible but it would have to resort to being bulky and positioning the caliper quite far away along the rotor from where the tabs sit, which is a very negative design trade-off. It may even raise questions about how much leverage the tabs or mounting bolts can handle.


Why would anyone steal a bike computer off of a bike?

I guess there are various different motivations as already pointed out in the comments:

Vandalism. Stealing the bike computer is easy and fast, doesn't require equipment. Lamps (even attached with screws w/o quick release) get stolen, seats (presumably beyond the demand for seats), brake cables get unhooked, quick releases on wheels get opened on parked bikes even if the wheel is secured with a lock …
Potential reuse. Parts for some bike computers can be bought separately. E.g. a Garmin is typically expensive, and mounts and sensors can be bought individually for little money. Now that may not be the case for a stolen bike computer but "Gelegenheit macht Diebe" (german: opportunity makes thieves). One can be tempted to take the computer on the spot without drawing much attention and disappear from the scene, to later calmly in another place figure out if there is any reuse. And said reuse might be reuse of the thief or for selling.


How can you remove markings from a headset?

If the item is laser-etched there will be a slight recess in the material.  Nothing will remove that short of filling it in with autobody fill/bog, sanding smooth, and then painting the whole thing.
You could make it more discreet by simply painting the part with spraypaint, the same colour it already is.
If the logo is a decal you can use very gentle heat to soften the adhesive and then acetone or any goo-removing product to melt the adhesive.
Another simple option is to cover that part with something useful, like a headlight or a bike computer/headunit.
Is too late, but you could also prefer to buy parts that don't have the logos in the first place.


Looking for a good mountain bike for my daugher. Want disc brakes and Fork lockout

We generally don't do shopping questions as they get outdated quickly, but I'll post some general guidelines for shopping.
Just about any major brand sold by your local bike store will be of comparable quality within the same price range. Trek, Specialized, Cannondale, Scott, etc. Be careful of online brands as they can be fine but are much more willing to skimp out on certain components to meet a price that they don't think people will notice like lower end brakes or derailleurs.
Don't buy a big box store bike from Walmart etc. Especially because your budget is higher, no user even looking at these bikes.
For tire size I would recommend 26 inch at your price. I recently got a 650b bike and they are still kind of niche, making even things like tubes difficult to find. Maybe that's just the pandemic and lower supplies overall though.
At her height she is definitely ready for an adult size bike, but one of the smaller sizes available.
I would recommend going down to the local bike shops, or calling them up if they aren't open for in person shopping, and explaining what you are looking for. They will be able to ensure that you get a bike of the right size that suits your riding. Call up a bunch of different places just to make sure you aren't getting a bad deal.
Supplies are quite low right now, so I would suggest you get shopping if you want something in time for the spring.