Best option to get my cleats closer inwards to the crank due to a narrow stance

First, I should mention that when pedaling, we generally want the cleats' lateral position to be such that our knees are in line with the center of the pedal. This is a common principle in bike fit, as illustrated by the picture below courtesy of Rick Schultz, posted on the Bikefit blog.

You correctly deduce that having the wrong stance width may cause knee or other problems (but remember that knee pain is complex, and new cyclists may sometimes not have the correct intuitions about why their position is wrong - actually, the same is true for experienced cyclists as well). The blog post outlines a number of solutions, but most of them are aimed at widening your stance, not narrowing it. Anyway, changing the lateral position of your cleats is probably the first step, and you already chose the correct path of moving them outward on the shoe (which moves your stance narrower, not wider; note that I corrected some wrong language from my earlier response where I got confused). At this point, it is likely you would benefit from seeing a bike fitter.
That said, I am a 5' 5" tall male cyclist. The range of lateral adjustment available on both Speedplay and Shimano SPD-SL pedals has been sufficient for me. I don't think that many people will need narrower cleat positions than are available commercially (because most people below my height are women, whose average hip width is wider than men). If do you actually need your cleat position to be narrower, you may be an edge case not well-handled by the available equipment, and you would definitely benefit from a professional fit. If you can get your knees in line with the spindle on your current setup, then I'd urge you not to go narrower than that. If you can't, then a fitter is likely to know about available options.
Just to put one option out there, Speedplay pedals can accommodate narrower stance widths than most others. The link goes to an article on Slowtwitch (a tri website) written by Dan Empfield, and he articulates a number of other advantages of Speedplays.
Pertinent to the cleat stance issue: Standard model Speeplays ship with 53mm spindles, which I believe is about the same as the default spindles on Shimano pedals. However, Speedplay cleats appear to have a total range of 8.9mm of lateral adjustability (I measured this with calipers, measuring from the center of the mounting screws in both the extreme positions; note that Empfield characterizes the range as about two spindle sizes, which is 6mm; more discussion below). I believe SPD-SL cleats have a total of 5mm of lateral adjustability, plus the yellow ones allow 1.5mm of lateral float.
Last, Speedplay pedals may be available with custom 50mm steel spindles, i.e. 3mm shorter than stock. I say this because Wahoo recently bought the company, and I'm not sure if the company will continue to make these spindles available. While the titanium spindled versions are very expensive, they come in a stock 50mm length. Either the custom steel or stock ti spindles may be an option if you truly must have those last 3mm of adjustment. Also, I know that some China- or Taiwan-based eBay sellers may offer aftermarket titanium spindles in the lengths you would require. At the time of writing, I have heard good feedback about J&L, which is based in mainland China. I believe they've been selling spindles for some years. NB: their continued existence is not guaranteed, and there are likely to be at least a couple other aftermarket players.
Note that Speedplays require significantly more maintenance to both the cleats and pedals than Shimano pedals. I've written about this here. You will really want to take that seriously, otherwise you will chew up their cleats, and those are expensive.
Revisiting your question if the standard cleat position is really suitable for most human cyclists: it may well be, and moreover, many cyclists are not that sensitive to their cleat position. Consider that many cyclists switch between road and mountain bikes without major issue, and MTBs have much wider pedal stances. Many pedal manufacturers do make longer spindles available, and Speedplay have +3, +6, and +9mm ones. Apart from Speedplay, I only know of one pedal with a shorter than stock spindle (Shimano's XTR pedals have a -3mm spindle). As I said earlier, there are very few men my height and shorter, so I don't think there is a large market for narrower spindles. Additionally, if you have your feet that close to the spindle, your shoes may rub your cranks.
Last, I reiterate the need for a bike fit if you are having muscle or joint pain. While they are expensive, it is well worth it for serious cyclists. You may think the issue is your cleat position, but you and I are not trained in bike fit and physiology, and we could easily be wrong.
Side note: cleat rotation
For many of us, our feet probably don't point straight ahead naturally. Most likely, the OP's bike store set their cleats up pointing straight ahead. Shimano's yellow cleats have 6 degrees of angular float, which is likely to allow most riders to find their natural foot position. (NB: this is 3 degrees left and 3 degrees right of the pedal centerline, not 6 degrees left and right.)
If the OP's cleats need further rotation, or if they got the blue or red cleats which have 1 and 0 degrees of float, rotating the cleats consumes some of the available room for lateral adjustment. Stock Speedplay Zero cleats allow up to 15 degrees of float, which should mean that essentially nobody would need to rotate a Speedplay cleat. (NB: you can't actually rotate Speedplay cleats.)
The OP is almost sure to have yellow SPD-SL cleats. Blue SPD-SL cleats only come stock with Dura Ace pedals, their top of the line pedal. Red cleats must be purchased separately. Many commentators think the red cleats are a bad idea, especially for amateurs. Even many professional cyclists appear not to run the red cleats, or Look's equivalent zero float cleat. Zero float may help very competitive cyclists who are putting out a lot of power and want to waste zero motion, but it's not clear if this is just a placebo effect.


Purpose of barrel adjuster on Travel Agent?

It functions much the same as a barrel adjuster on a brake lever or caliper.

  A barrel adjuster will allow the fine adjustments to the tension of control cables. Screwing it out - anti-clockwise - extends the length of the outer-cable run while leaving the length of the inner-cable unaffected. Thus the inner-cable gets tighter...

  Barrel adjusters are used in braking systems to compensate for brake-block wear. The adjusters are usually designed and positioned so the rider can turn them ‘on the fly’. Barrel adjusters on gear-cables allow fine tuning to make index systems work precisely

Quote Source

It is a nice thing to have but not necessary, it simply helps adjust tension for wear and fine tuning.

They are helpful in that you can tighten the brake cable slightly after the pads wear or the initial cable stretch without having to adjust it at the caliper. Although they do not replace routine maintenance and caliper should be readjusted after initial cable stretch which is normal with new cables after several rides/miles.


Damaged (bent) fork dropout - what are my options?

Get a frame builder to braze in a new dropout. That dropout is finished and dangerous to use, it has bent too far.


Is having your hands "on the hoods" of drop handlebars safe for braking?

I commute every day in SF with drop bars. It's not an issue for me. You quickly adapt to the hand position, if you bike is set up in a way that is comfortable for you.

The real safety issue you should be worried about, IMHO is not braking itself, but rather the "heads-down" position you can be in on the bike itself. You have to get used to looking around you/behind you for cars, etc. That's why your position/comfort on the bike is so important.

You can also install cross/interrupter levers for a second braking position option, usually at a nominal cost (not sure if this works with your particular breaking system).


Service/maintanace of Manitou fork and shock

There's three basic reasons to service your fork:
(1) it's not working correctly and something is broken
(2) it's working poorly and needs service to replace worn parts
(3) it's working fine and you want to keep it that way, i.e. recommended service interval

If it's #1 and maybe #2 you're kind of in a bind if you can't get replacement parts. The most common issue is worn or torn seals leading to leaks or air/dirt infiltration. You can't fix these and sizing is usually proprietary. If you're interested and confident you might as well take it apart to determine the issue. Just remember a poorly working fork is still better than one scattered in pieces around your shop!

If it's #3 you can likely do this service yourself without issues. The most common and frequent service is going to be replacing the oil and giving it a good clean. I'm not familiar with this particular fork but the damper assemblies are typically (a) complicated, (b) require semi-specialized tools (picks, lock-ring pliers, etc) and (c) don't need frequent service.

IMPORTANT!
I Don't know if you have the air or coil sprung version, but if air you must remove all pressure prior to taking the fork apart! The Minute (air version) uses air in both the damping and spring - 2 separate schrader valves to relieve pressure.

As a general rule of thumb if you're having mechanical issues (play in the fork, "clunking", lack of travel/return) it's likely adjustment/tightening or something is broken/worn (bushings tend to wear and then do a poor job). If it's sticky, or sounds "wheezey" it's probably lubrication and seal related - this is within the realm of the do it yourself-er.

One final tip - often suspension uses crush washers and other "one time" sealing systems. If you don't have any spare parts be very careful when taking out bolts so you can hopefully match anything you'll need.


When pedalling the bike the torque is,applied clockwise on the drive side of the hub, therefore to undo it from the non-drive side you were correct originally, you'll need to turn it clockwise


Seal Cleat opening on Clipless Waterproof / Winter Cycling shoes?

You should be concerned yes, because wet feet are not happy feet.

However, this is something your shoe manufacturer should have taken care of.  I have owned Specialized and Lake brands of waterproof shoes.  I have not ever had problems with water entering through the cleat holes of either (I have owned A LOT of Lake boots).  However, that doesn't mean your manufacturers have the same care.  You could call to inquire, or better yet, test.

It should be easy to stopper a sink and put the footbed below the waterline to see what happens.  Testing one's equipment is a great way to build confidence in it.


Get something now. Winter is coming…

Seriously though, if you don't have a good feel for what you want in a bike, buying something used that seems close will get you on the road and start you developing the experience you need to decide what you really want.

There are so many variables of fit and gearing that it will be hard to get it right the first time (at least that's been my experience, both with my own bikes and with helping friends and family pick bikes). Add to that commuting and getting back in shape and I think you'd be way better off buying whatever seems best now on craigslist and using it to help you sort out what you really want. A few months into it you'll be in better shape and have some real life experience to guide you in picking your next bike.

Finally there are things you may not have thought of that can make or break a commute – decent lights, riding clothes, a way to carry your gear – that will all add to the cost. Better to spend as little as necessary and have money on hand to add to your kit as you learn what you need to enjoy commuting on your bike.

Wait! There's one more thing… If you buy a relatively decent used bike the value won't change too much over the next 6 months or a year – especially if you take good care of it. So if you decide it isn't the right bike you can get a good portion of what you paid back when you sell it. This will be less true if you get a new bike and then decide to either sell it or start upgrading components.


What features are useful on a bike for carrying children?

In the Netherlands something has evolved that is (unofficially) called the "mammafiets" or "mothersbike" main features that make it a useful bike for cycling with children are:

A larger distance between the saddle and the handlebars to allow plenty of room for a child seat on the handlebars.
Wider handlebars to make it easier to reach around the kid in the front-seat, and to make steering with a kid in the seat easier (more leverage) and the ride more stable.
A support stand that has feet on either side of the frame to make it more stable when parking
A steer-lock to keep the front wheel straight and stable when your kid is in the front child-seat when you park the bike (very easy when loading a second kid on the back-seat or when opening shed-doors, etc.)
A lower saddle to allow you to reach the ground more easily with your feet
A slightly longer rear luggage rack to give the kid in the rear-seat a bit more room, and still allow for panniers.
An extra low step-through frame.

This is a typical example:


Is it unhealthy to fail this bike fit and why?

This principle, "Knee Over Pedal Spindle" or KOPS is archaic and wrong. It assumes ideal morphology.

I am about 6ft/185cm tall. For my height, I have comparatively short legs. I have large feet, size EU48/UK13/US14. KOPS gives me inappropriate knee and ankle angles.


Shimano Sora shifter having trouble in the snow

I opened my shifter a bit, not disassembled the whole thing, but I was able to degrease it well. I then applied a lot of spray lube. I shifted up and down while spraying, making sure the lube got everywhere. I have used my bike every day in cold weather now, one day as cold as -10Celcius, everything seems to work. It can be a bit sticky, but I always manage to shift correctly now. I guess I'll have to apply lube quite often now, the spray isn't as heavy-duty as the original grease, but my gears work now.

Edit: I took my bike to the shop today, the shifter has gotten worse the last few weeks. When I picked it up they said Shimano has called back several models, a faulty spring seemed to be the problem. I got it replaced no-cost. My new shifter works perfectly in the -5C now!


You are correct that you may run into clearance problems if you just put on a road crank.

You should get a narrow-wide ring no matter what. There's no reason to use anything else for a 1x.

To get the kind of gearing you want (44t and higher on a mountain 1x crank), the main way of doing it from scratch is get a 1x crank arm set and BB of the sort appropriate for your bike with a 110mm direct mount spider available for it. You You can then use any 110mm narrow-wide chainring, which come in the "road" type sizes you want, and some of which are inexpensive to boot.

Currently what's going on is a bunch of companies have 110mm direct mount spiders and/or cranks that can take them, all based on the SRAM 3-bolt standard. Some examples of that are the Origin8 Thruster crank system and Cane Creek eeWings.

Also, as far as your existing cranks, my understanding is the mounting pattern itself is the same between all the FSA modular cranks, and is also shared by Cannondale SI cranks. There are various FSA direct mount rings that fit it in more "road" type sizes. Some of the fancy 3d type ones like the SLKs may have physical incompatibility with your cranks, or not. But, mostly, I believe the distinguishing factor in what Modular type rings in their line up they say will fit it is about guiding people to wind up with a chainline that makes sense for each crank's application.

Anyway, FSA doesn't seem to offer a 110mm direct mount spider for their Modular cranks, which I find kind of odd, but Cannondale does have them and I assume they'd fit without issue, although I haven't actually tried it. If I were going to try going that route, because you'll be in hack territory, what I would do is get the spider first and then take measurements once it's mounted to determine what type of ring offset and/or spacers to use to get the chainline you want, rather than trying to figure that out in the abstract and order everything at the same time. It would be an experiment, but I bet you could get this approach to work without issue.


Can I run aluminum backed organic brake pads with Elixir Avid 5 hydraulic system?

Yes, there are aluminum backed organic brake pads available for the Elixir series brakes.

The SRAM part number is 11.5015.040.020 with the description [Disc Brake Pads Organic/Aluminum - Elixir 20 sets], according to the 2014 SRAM Spare Parts Catalog.


Is it possible to drop a foot in corners while using clipless pedals?

As your pedals age and cleats wear it will get much easier to unclip at a moments notice.

Until then, you can try adjusting the tension of your pedals or do as I did and just ride at slower speeds until more comfortable with cornering while being locked in.

Even with looser clips and experiance I still fall, but that wasn't any different then when I was using flats :)


Will changing suspension fork travel change geometry of bike?

Since the headtube is at an angle, it will not raise the bike as much as if it was perpendicular to the ground.  How much height that would add will depend on what angle your headtube is at, probably something around 70d.

Now, adding travel will cause your bike to have slower handling.  It will make it more stable in a straight line, but more effort will be needed to change direction.  It will also move you farther back in the cockpit with may make it lift the front wheel more on steep climbs.

Also, by adding this travel, it will probably void the warranty on your frame because it is putting stresses on the frame that are outside what it was designed for.  There is also a possibility that you could stress the headtube to where it breaks, but 20mm probably wouldn't do it.


There are essentially no rides that are 'unimpeded by pedestrian or car traffic' around Brooklyn, because Brooklyn is on a densely-populated island adjacent to another even more densely populated island so there's no nearby countryside, and we still use our rail lines very heavily so there are no rail trails.

The 30-miler I've found with the most 'open road' feeling is heading to Breezy Point on side streets through Flatbush— take something like E. 35th Street down to Marine Park, then take the bike trail along Flatbush Ave. to the Marine Parkway bridge and Rockaway Point Boulevard. There are very few lights between the Flatbush Ave. bike trail and the tip of Breezy Point, so about half of the ride is unimpeded.

I usually loop back via the Belt Parkway bike trail and take Bedford Avenue back north.

Basically, something like this:
https://www.google.com/maps/dir/Prospect+Park,+Brooklyn,+NY/Beach+227th+St,+Breezy+Point,+NY+11697/@40.6275278,-73.9439275,13z/data=!4m34!4m33!1m25!1m1!1s0x89c25b1087680443:0x178bf7c600df7a98!2m2!1d-73.968956!2d40.660204!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9620066!2d40.6631979!3s0x89c25b0d7ded003b:0xc1bbc03310eefdd0!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9476347!2d40.6597135!3s0x89c25b655fbe3f19:0x2445bed892551a5c!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9438733!2d40.6425748!3s0x89c25b5a445c57a3:0xa1b0241726698868!3m4!1m2!1d-73.9313515!2d40.6063921!3s0x89c2436130911e41:0x34bf5c3bfeec3860!1m5!1m1!1s0x89c243fe55767105:0x64ffd3f4302f0ba6!2m2!1d-73.9328573!2d40.5524677!3e1

But if you want easy access to 'real' road riding from the city, you'll probably want to live in Northern Manhattan or the Bronx.


Diagnosing buzzing sound when riding over uneven terrain

Stop riding it immediately!

Remove both wheels and feel the rims for cracks.  Tap lightly all the spokes looking for broken ones.  Check the wheel for trueness.  Grab pairs of spokes and give them a squeeze.  You're looking for damage.

If both wheels seem OK then wash the bike and look for cracks under a strong light.  Look all round both the chainstays and the seat stays.  Since the wheels are off, you can look at the inside of the stays.  Then examine the inside of the fork too.  Finally look over the main tubes.

If you find cracks, take photos and post them here.

If you find no cracks, reassemble and see if the noise has changed.  If you have access to rollers, or a quiet road, try and reproduce the noise.  Try variations like this:

Coast while standing on the pedals - does the noise increase/decrease?
Pedal while standing - does the noise increase/decrease?
Pedal backwards - does the noise increase/decrease?
Put more weight on the back wheel (ie, put your backside backward, and your belly on the saddle - does the noise increase/decrease?
Put your weight well forward (that is, crotch to stem, like a steep climb)  does the noise increase/decrease?
Lean the bike hard while riding - put the saddle or top tube against your inside knee.  Is there any difference leaning to the left vs the right?

Quiet street required because you're not completely focussed on the road around you.   Use your best judgement.

If you have a riding partner consider asking them to listen and examine your bike while riding slowly together.

A process of careful elimination might help isolate what area of the bike is the cause.


What is a good rear wheel for a heavy load?

I had the same issues riding on pre-built 26" mountain bike wheels.  I'm 6'5" and weigh ~400lbs, so I break stuff left and right (including frame welds).  I have found two things that broke my wheel-breaking streak.

The first thing I found was the Surly Pugsley and the Endomorph (or Larry) tires that fit on it.  The 26"x4" tires are massive, and absorb any blow without threat to the wheels.  At the same time, I also went with wheels based around Large Marge rims, which have never needed to be trued (even through the frame break!).

The other thing I found was beefy, hand built, wheels.  My second bike is a Surly Karate Monkey (a 29er) which I had wheels built for using 36 hole hubs (again a Surly product).  This wheel shows a bit more wear and tear (after 5 months of riding), but it hasn't broken anything.  I also run higher volume (but nowhere near the Endomorph) tires on this bike, with a pair of Schwalbe Big Apples.

Bottom line:  If your current equipment can't work for you, go big.  It will cost you a lot up front, but save a ton in the long run.

(I swear I don't work for Surly, though my bikes make it sound like I do.)


The tensioning or retaining spring, the small black loop in the last image, at 4 o'clock on the upper jockey pulley, should be clipped behind the protrusion on the cage that is visible in the top left corner of the red frame on the second image. The spring has probably lost tension from age. Putting the spring on that second notch will increase the tension. (The instructions are also included with the link provided / the pink image has the instructions in French, Flemish, English ...)

The job of said spring is to turn the cage clockwise and to tension the chain via the lower jockey pulley.


Axle length and spindle length are the same thing.
Three-piece cranks typically specify a required axle/spindle length to achieve a specific chain line, I.e. how far away the chain rings are from the center plane of the frame.
An axle/spindle longer or shorter by x millimeters will move the cranks x/2 millimeters outboard or inboard respectively.
Some manufacturers are very good about specifying axle/spindle length for individual crank models. Some provide a recommended bottom bracket model from which the length can be found, others provide no information at all.


A list of hub spacings is here. Obviously, you need to have a wheel which fits into the frame and matches the hub spacing (in some cases, you can squeeze a slightly bigger or smaller hub into a frame, such as for 27" -> 700c conversions, but this is peripheral).

Normally, when you swap a rear wheel to a different one, you will need to make slight RD adjustments - there are variations to where the derailleur sees the cassette.


It may well become uncomfortable after pedalling for some time, so don't rely on a quick test ride to check.

More importantly though, you need to be able to stop the bike based on the need to stop, and put your foot down without examining the ground for broken glass, thorns etc. It's not completely unknown to strike the sole of your shoe on the ground, like pedal strike, and this would hurt quite badly in bare feet (there's one roundabout I've done this several times, due to a combination of the camber, turning onto a hill, and having to pull away fast because of a poor line of sight). If you ever bump your foot on your front wheel turning at low speed, that could become unpleasant too.

Let's face it, all cyclists get stinky shoes and feet . And a bad smell doesn't mean a fungal infection. Letting your feet and preferably shoes dry out at the end of each day is a big help. That's the time to go barefoot


This problem developing over time starting from it working well implies a cable gone slack (not really probable with old left Ergos because they usually have cable pull to spare) or derailer pivots that have gotten too sloppy to shove the chain with the right level of assertion. If the front derailer got shoved out of position or bent due to chain jam or other trauma this could also result. Errors in FD position or limit screw position could also cause this.

Grab the tail end of the FD cage and wiggle it firmly to see how its doing on slop. It should be negligible. Check for any tweaks of the cage or broken bits. If it looks good then go through and adjust all aspects of the FD - position, limit screws, and cable tension, in that order.

A severely worn chain or worn ramps/pins could degrade shifting enough that you get this issue, but aren't typically the root cause.


Replacement bottom bracket compatible with BB-UN100

Any square taper bottom bracket with BSA threads (1.37inch by 24tpi), 68mm shell width, JIS taper and axle length roughly 123mm will work.

Changing axle length from 122.5mm to 123mm makes 0.25mm difference to chainline, which is unnoticeable. Many stores list BB-UN100 bottom bracket as 122.5mm, so it is possible that there is actually no change at all. I could not find any Shimano documentation for the letter codes, seems that Bartnett's explanation does not match reality.


for a single-speed conversion, is it always necesary to change bottom bracket?

You need one of four things:

An eccentric bottom bracket. Like these
An eccentric hub. Like these
Horizontal dropouts. Like these
A chain tensioner. There are a number of different types.

You only need one of the four, but these are the only ways to get the chain tension correct on a single speed. (I should say "almost only." Blind luck works every so often.) Additionally, as others have mentioned, a chain tensioner will not work with a fixie.

It's also possible that your spindle is too long or too short to get your chainline correct. If that's the case, you'll have to get a new bottom bracket with the correct spindle length even if you already have an eccentric hub or horizontal dropouts. It's usually possible to position the chain rings on the inside or the outside of the crank's spider and get it correct, but not always.


How to service a 1995 Schwinn Phantom Coaster Brake hub?

Not sure if this is an exact match, but it should get you pretty close:

Park Tools: Coaster Brake Hub Overhaul


How can I stop a saddle from creaking in a spinning bike?

Possibility 1: Take the clamping system apart and clean the parts. Then reassemble with the metal to metal contact surfaces properly greased.
Possibility 2: Replace the saddle with one of better quality as the most probable cause for creaking could be the saddle itself, especially where the rails are lodged in the shell. If you want to go a step further and if the bike allows for this, replace the seatpost as well with one of better quality to get rid of the ancient one bolt clamping device.
The kind of clamping device that holds your saddle has come out of use and has been replaced by one-piece posts for mainly two reasons: weight, though this is not a problem on a spinning bike but also because the serrated surfaces work against each other through the dynamics of the moving cyclist, thus bringing in play into the system and requiring constant tightening, hence the squeak. They also permit incremental tilt adjustment only which is less precise than with two bolt seat-post heads.


Rec for bike backpack with side zipper into main compartment

Most of the nicer courier bag/backpack companies don't do a zipper down the length of the bag because that creates a weak point for not only loss of contents, but water entry. Some will do laptop pouches, but if you're looking for a heavy duty courier bag it's slim pickings for external zippers into main compartments.

The closest I came to finding something like what you're after is from either Crumpler that have some laptop sleeves and/or zippers to main compartments or Freight Baggage that have a smaller secondary compartment that is easily accessible. I looked at RELoad, Freight, Seagull, Bailey Works, Trash Bags, Banjo Brothers and some other smaller companies.


1x drivetrains are a newer concept made possible by 11 speed rear derailleurs that can support an increased spread of sprocket sizes in the cassette. Most people would regard 1x as a upgrade over 3x. There are definite advantages: lighter, only one shifter, no cross-chaining. less chain slap and better retention.

You do have to be careful about gear ratio range and steps between ratios, especially with 1x10 as opposed to 1x11. With a single chainring you need a wider spread of sprocket sizes to get the overall ratio range, which gives you bigger steps between ratios.

You can use a an online gear ratio calculator tool to compare the ratios you have in your current 3x10 setup and what you can get in a 1x10 setup, and also see the speed for given cadences.

http://www.bikecalc.com/speed_at_cadence

http://gears.mtbcrosscountry.com


Without experience, or obvious damage, a cassette gauge like the one from Rohloff, or mileage are your best options for deciding when to replace a cassette. For me, a good rule of thumb has been:

10 chains = 2 cassettes = 1 set chain rings

That is, I change my chain every 1200-1500km. I change the cassette on the 5th time I change the chain. And I change the chain ring set every other time I change the cassette.

This is an example of an obviously worn chainring.

This is an example of a worn cassette.


This comes under the category of things taught to children which simplify the whole truth in order to facilitate learning and keep them safe. Late on they will be ready to learn how to use the front brake effectively.

When children are learning to ride, they are learning lots of new skills. Balance, pedalling and braking. They don't need to apply a lot of braking force as generally they are travelling slowly - whilst still learning - and also have lower mass - than most adults. So, for safety's sake and to simplify the learning they are taught to apply rear brake first, and front brake later to reduce the likelihood of going over the handlebars. In the conditions children are learning in - generally not wet slippy roads - the risk of skidding or fishtailing from applying the rear brake first is lower than the risk of going over the handlebars and the consequences are likely to be lower impact.

Once you have learnt the balance and pedalling and can ride the bike reasonably well. You can move on to more advanced skills to become a really competent rider. One of those is how to stop more quickly when going at speed and with more weight on the bike (i.e. you're bigger). Now the risk of skidding the rear brake, or just not stopping in time due to inadequate braking force applied for the speed and mass is greater and needs to be dealt with. If the front-brake is used properly it can apply much greater braking force, without the risk of skidding associated with the rear brake. The most critical things is to ensure you keep your weight behind the front wheel and not over the top when applying the front-brake. To do this, ensure your weight is toward the back of the bike and that your arms are braced against the handlebars to absorb the force and keep you on the bike.


Regular front road wheel for a single speed bike

There's no such thing as a 'single speed specific front wheel'. I think what you mean is you are looking for a front wheel with a threaded axle that is fixed in the fork with nuts, rather than a quick release. Such wheels are used on inexpensive department-store type bikes as well as quality single speed or fixed gear machines.

My guess is that you are finding replacement wheels aimed at the former type of bike which will will indeed be cheap and heavy. As Andrew Henle said in a comment look for track wheels. Also look for SS/fixie specific online stores.

Update:

You may have a problem with a quick release hub wheel as (I believe) threaded axles are 10mm diameter whereas front QR axles are 9mm and will move in the 10mm wide dropouts.

Front threaded axles are SAE 3/8" x 24tpi which is 9.6mm outside diameter.


Changed chainset, bottom bracket, wheels and cogset and find these parts left over, and the rear wheel clicking?

There are several (five) questions in your post, and it is hard to answer all of them at once. Comments seem to answer some of them, and I would refer to manufacturer's manuals of respective parts you've installed for identification purposes.

The third thing (silver ring) is Mavic's spacer for 10-speed Shimano cassettes placed on their freehubs. If you use 11-speed cassette, then you don't need it.


Even easier tests:

hold your thumb over the end of the hose and pump.  You should feel pressure build.
visit your local bike shop - many of them have a self-service air pump somewhere outside for the convenience of customers.
visit a bike repair stand in your city, if you have one
visit a bike cooperative
ask a fellow cyclist if they can loan you a pump because yours isn't working
visit your local service station/gas station/petrol station.   With care, you can use a car tyre inflater.   It will only take a second so don't overdo it.


To quote the page you linked, "Since the Velosteel hub has standard track threads, it can run any fixie/track cog built to Phil Wood/Campagnolo standards." For cogs, this is the same standard as every other cog, but the lock ring will probably be different. Just take the cog from your old hub and keep the lock ring from new one.

Note that this is different from most other coaster brake hubs, the more common Shimano, Torpedo and others use splined cogs.


Dahon handle post hinge loosens too quickly

As with any critical fastener on a bike, the vibration and flexing forces from riding will eventually work threaded parts loose. Normally this is the sort of thing that occurs over a few months--not every week. Fortunately, there are a few options that are applicable to this and any other situation where threads work themselves loose. (Before you do anything, though, make sure that the rest of your steering components are safely adjusted.)

The easiest thing would be to buy a tube of Loctite (or comparable) thread locking compound. It is cheap and easy to find. You'll want to get a formula that isn't permanent so that you can make adjustments down the road. Back the nut off until you see some threads and add one or two drops those threads. Adjust the tension where it needs to be and let it sit for a little while. (Loctite is safe for threads mostly everywhere on a bike!) In less critical applications, beeswax is a great natural compound for securing threads and preventing corrosion.

A second option would be to replace your 10mm nut with a lock nut. These are nuts with a nylon (or similar) insert in the aft part of the threads which prevents it from working loose. Similarly, you could procure a lock washer which will prevent the nut from backing out when tightened properly. (It doesn't look like you have enough space for it, but a second nut behind your primary nut (called a jam nut) will keep the adjustment stable as well. Jam nuts are typically narrower than a standard nut so they use less threaded area.) Any well-stocked hardware store will have suitable metric hardware.

If those options fail you, you may need to take more permanent action. Either chemically (with a permanent thread locking solution), or mechanically by installing a castle nut. A castle nut has notches along one side to mesh with wire or a cotter pin that is drilled through the threaded bolt. The wire prevents the nut from backing off, but the downside is that this requires drilling a tiny hole straight through the bolt (which would require you use a drill press and lots of diligence). I really don't think you'll have to resort to this last option, but it works.

In any case, continue to be vigilant in inspecting those parts for wear and adjustment.


Why does the rear brake bowden have no housing below the frame of the bike?

You do not really need the housing functionally, the bowden runs straight between two fixed points. There is nothing that could compress or deform. It just works well as is. You only could add it as a mechanical protection but it is not customary and could add some additional unnecessary friction.


For bicycles the so called "snow tires" are essentially mountain bike tires with large gaps between the lugs so snow will come out.

Studded tires are intended for ice and do little good in loose snow. I have a snow bike (aka fat bike) with knobby tires designed for snow - but no studs.

I have another bike with Schwalbe Marathon 26"x2.2" studded tires and these are great on ice but are pretty much useless in snow more than 3" as they don't have a deep lugged design and they'll float on top of the snow where the studs cannot grip anything.

To recommend a tire I would need more information on wheel size, tire clearance and the riding conditions. For deep snow a knobby tire likely will work best. If you're encountering hard pack and ice then definitely consider studs.

Also note that narrow tires will knife through loose snow better than wide tires which tend to float more.  So in some conditions a narrow (1.375") studded tire will perform better than a much wider 2.25" tire as the narrow tire will knife through the snow better for the studs to bite in.  Again, this is very dependent on the conditions.


To really know what is wrong we need more information. But to give you some help:

If you don't know how to re-adjust the gear to shift correctly:
- Clean the derailleur (which pushes your chain to another gear).
- Push the cable back and forth a bit, and if possible, oil it a bit.
If this didn't work and you don't know how to adjust your gears to work correctly, bring it to a bicycle mechanic (such as me!). Because you can't do much more without disassembling the cable.

If you do know how to re-adjust the gear, this works better:
- Disassemble the cable.
- Clean the derailleur, and put some grease on the spring.
- Take out the inner cable, and spray a lot of oil in the outer cable
- Assemble the cable inside the outer cable. Check if the shifter works correctly by pulling the cable and shifting.
- Assemble it al again.

edit: it took me 2 edit's to correctly write 'inside'!


I do not believe there are any from that era that don't take a 10mm wrench through the drive side.
The simple thing to do is remvoe the freehub with the 10, gently pry up the rubber seal on the back, note its direction, and shoot air/solvent/lube/oil/etc through it depending on what you've got and how bad it is, then finish with a heavier oil like Phil.
Edit: It indeed takes a 10mm allen.


You could replace the crank with any Shimano 2x9 crank for a square taper cartridge bottom bracket (with the same chainring sizes are crank arm length or course). If the bike is equipped with an Altus groupset then an Altus 2x9 crank would be a reasonable choice.
There is a bit of an annoying wrinkle to this, different square taper crank models require different specific axle lengths to achieve the correct chainline. The existing bottom bracket axle might not be the correct length for the crank you choose.
As an example The Vitus Nucleus 27 VR page helpfully tells us the the BB axle length is 113.5mm. The Altus FC-MT101-2 crank needs a 'LL123' code bottom bracket axle which I think is actually 122.5mm.
Often it's easier to buy and install a crank and the correct bottom bracket at the same time. This also opens up the possibility of a 2x9 crank with a Hollowtech II external cup bottom bracket, which I think are in the Acera line and would be an upgrade.
Special tools are required to remove and install bottom brackets, and a crank puller is needed to get crank arms off square taper axles. Bottom brackets and crank arms should also be installed with a torque wrench. It's especially critical to get square taper crank arms tightened properly.
If you had a an issue with pedal installation you'd probably want a bike repair shop to do the installation for you, and they will of course have the tools.


Replacing an 8-speed cassette with a 9-speed one to make my bike faster

As Blam and Batman have already suggested you will not go faster.

The main reason is that your top speed is determined by the number of teeth on the smallest rear cog.

The smallest cog available on a normal cluster / cassette has 11 teeth.

If your smallest cog already has 11 teeth, then you will definitely not go faster with a new one. If it currently has 12 or more teeth then a new cluster can help you go faster.

But the main way of going faster is simply to pedal faster. With practice, you should be able to pedal at 90 to 100 rpm. I venture to guess that this is at lease half as fast again as your current pedaling speed.

The problem with pedaling slowly but getting the 11 tooth cog (if you don't have one already) is that you'll put a lot pressure on your knees and back, which often leads to pain and injury.

The advantage of switching to a higher number of gears is that the steps in between the gears is smaller. That can help you find just the right gear for the situation. But it doesn't change your top speed.

So my recommendation is to save you money for now while you practice pedaling faster. See also questions tagged cadence, especially What is the optimal cadence?.


TA chainrings have their own system of ramps and pins, which in my experience works quite well.

It is possible that Shimano has found a way make chainrings that work only at the combination they are designed for. They certainly market parts as if it was so. In my experience, TA works fine even in non-standard combinations (28-38-50 on 4-bolt MTB crank in my case).


I think there is a case to be made that you will be less visible in dark colours. Anecdotally whenever I look down the road at a group of cyclists, it's the ones in large blocks of bold colours (not necessarily fluorescent) whom I can spot first. Bright but mixed patterns of colour are also less visible from a distance. I'm not saying anyone should be berated for wearing black - plenty of cars are black/grey/dark blue and certainly it's not cause to blamed in the case of an accident, but I do believe there's an increased risk. For something better than my opinion, consider the accident statistics for black cars.

  During daylight hours, black cars were up to 12 per cent more likely
  be involved in crashes than white vehicles, while at dawn and dusk,
  the figure rose to 47 per cent.

It's not a huge stretch to extrapolate this to cyclists.

As others have pointed out, how easily others can see you depends on the lighting conditions. Any time cars will have their lights on you should have as much reflective material (Scotchlite or similar) as possible. This isn't limited to clothing, you can buy tape for your bike in a variety of daytime colours (including black!).

Finally, whatever colours you wear, I would suggest using been-seen-by* lights at all times. Yes, even during the day. In many situations I believe this will make more difference than the colour of your clothes. Lights can be noticed at a glance and instantly identify you as a vehicle moving on the road, rather than a pedestrian or part of the scenery. However, be aware that even lights which provide side-visibility are often not bright enough to make you more visible from the side in daylight. For side visibility in daylight the best thing is to wear large blocks of bright colour.

* Be-seen-by lights - not necessarily bright enough to allow you to see the road ahead, but to make you visible to other road users)

Cleaning

I'd suggest that black will show the dirty less easily than lighter colours. Most of my bright-yellow clothing is spotted with muddsplatters and the occasional oil stain which would hardly show on black. Either way Goretex does require careful washing to keep its waterproof and breathable properties. I prefer not to use these additional products and just rinse in clean cold water instead.


Check inside the rim at the point where the punctures occur.

Is the rim tape intact?

Does a spoke push through when weight is placed on the bike? One of my friends had a problem like this, and it turned out that when he sat on the bike his weight caused the end of a spoke to push through the rim and puncture his tyre.


Lighter bike slower than a heavier bike, possible reasons?

If you're measuring via Strava, keep in mind there are a lot of factors that can play into your time.  Unless you're averaging many rides over time on each of those bikes, thing like wind, clothing, what you ate, etc, can all play in to the time you post to Strava.


Should I get a size up or a size down bike?

I would be cautious of any blanket advice suggesting that everyone should make the same decision. Whether to size up or size down depends on a number of factors:

How you ride (e.g., relaxed or aggressive)
Your flexibility
Your body proportions
Your fit window (range of fit positions you find comfortable)
Availability of components to modify fit (e.g., stems)

Many will suggest that you size down when in doubt, this likely comes from observing that professionals (e.g., road riders) tend to use smaller frame sizes.  This is done to get the rider in a more extreme aerodynamic position, these positions are generally not that comfortable and not advisable for most riders (remember the pros have access to daily physio sessions to constantly undo the effects of these positional contortions).

Ideally, you should be looking at your body proportions when making this decision. For example, I personally have longer legs, shorter torso and longer arms than average (BTW - no average person exists).  While my legs are longer my femurs are relatively shorter (i.e., lower legs are relatively longer). This puts me a bit taller and forward on the bike as such a frame with more stack (i.e., size up) tends to work better as long as the frame's reach dimensions are reasonable. My slightly longer arms means I tend to use standard stems. For frames with longer reach geometries this may not work out however work out as well.

Below is a good summary of how short/long legs impacts your proportions and therefore whether you may want to size up or down.

  Bike Sizing Guide - Road Bikes

  Short legs

  Short legs will also mean a long torso, so there is danger of the rider being too hunched up on a height suitable bike. The short legs will also mean a lower saddle height, so the distance between saddle and bars is reduced anyway. With a bit of luck, the short legs may also mean short arms which would balance out the long torso! The biggest danger here is selecting a bike based on top tube length i.e. larger than normal for overall height, but then suffering from cranks that are too long. A better compromise may be the use of a longer stem.

  Long legs

  Sorry for all these long legged people, but this is the worst case for achieving an optimum bike fit. The long legs will mean a high saddle, so the bars become relatively far away. Long legs imply a short torso, so the reach to the bars becomes excessive. One could consider a shorter top tube, but this would also tend to come with a shorter head tube which is counter-productive. What tends to happen with very long legged people is that stems have to be short and as high as possible, often achieved by flipping them over as well as using all the available spacers. In many cases this is still not enough and the saddle also has to move further forwards than is ideal. Many people do not like the aesthetics of this stem configuration, in which case the best option is to select a bike with Sportive or Touring geometry, i.e. one with relatively long head tube or Stack for its size.

Therefore if all else is equal, short legged people would want to size down and then select a long stem, while long legged people will want to size up then select a shorter stem. All of this gets further confounded by other issues you may have such as poor flexibility, back pain (you typically need to be more upright) and how you want the bike to handle (longer stems slow the handling a bit).

In short, there is no one size fits all advice as to whether you should size up or down.


How to prevent the derailleur cable fibres getting all over the places?

You can buy cable caps separately, they're actually meant to be crimped on so you can fix them with a crimper or pliers.

I know Park tools do something which is basically a really sharp wire cutter, should prevent fraying in the first place. This tool is showing on their site now but I have one (bought many years ago) which looks a bit different.

You shouldn't need to resort to duct tape!


Could I bike 9 mile a day home from work starting with no current exercise?

I agree with the comments that 9 miles is a not a short ride for somebody not in shape, but you’ll get in shape for it really fast, so you should go for it. Just get ready to be sore in funny places for a couple weeks.

You can make your situation better by doing a few things:

Buy a road bike instead, assuming you’ll be on pavement. At the very least, replace your mountain tires with something smaller, in the 30–40mm range. Mountain tires will slow you down and make you work harder. So will a heavy steel bike.
Get a rack for your bike and buy panniers to haul your stuff. Wearing a backpack for 9 miles will get old fast. Whatever you do, don’t get one of those hip shoulder bags. Chiropractic disaster. Best is to get a bike with in-frame attachment points for the rack – many road bikes don't have these, so make sure to check before buying.
Get the bike and do weekend rides to get fit before using it for work.

Good luck, have fun, and be safe!


Replacement for Shimano Nexus 7 outer casing holder

If you've got the CJNX40 or CJ8S40 bracket then you'll need the piece. So yeah, order it.

Frankly, if you just swapped the cog I don't understand why the cassette joint is different. But I'm assuming more happened than just the cog. Whatever the case, if the casing slot/area/thing on this bracket is bigger than the previous casing slot/area/thing then that holder unit makes up the difference.


Connecting and disconnecting clipless bike shoes from Shimano pedals

You're not going to break them, and really, their advice is too complicated.
To clip in, just stomp your foot on the pedal in the right spot. If you don't get it right, try again. Pretty quickly it will become second nature.
To clip out, rotate your heel outward. That's it.
This pedal lets you set the disengagement resistance with a screw on the back if you want to make it harder/easier to clip out. You'll need to set it for both sides. And you can reposition the cleat on the shoe to get a better position, but make sure to really tighten it down—if you don't, the cleat can stay locked in the pedal and the shoe will move.


My guess is the squeak:

Does not happen on all road surfaces
Occurs while turning due to friction between the tire and the road generated during a turn.
Is not related to tire width or frame geometry

Going out on a limb...
The squeak will go away as the "shine" is worn off your tires.
You might be able to change or entirely get rid of the sound by changing tire pressure.

In the original post nothing is mentioned concerning reduced traction or ride issues.
Tire pressure should be adjusted to gain the best traction and ride - not to get rid of this sound.


Help altering old Marin MTB to an In-town pavement cruiser?

There really isn't much required to make a MTB into a formidable city bike.

The obvious thing is to change tires. But I wouldn't actually recommend to go for something skinny just something not knobby. Skinny tires offer very little advantage but absorb a lot less of the bumps encountered in city driving which makes them less comfortable and put the wheels under more stress. Just find some nice (semi-)slick tires and you should be good to go (I just posted my preference in another answer and would feel like over-advertising if I mentioned my personally preferred make and model ;-)).

You may think about adding bar ends which offer an extra position for your hands which is quite comfortable on longer rides.

Most other things are personal preference or at least depend on how you're actually going to use the bike. Depending on your speeds you might want to look into larger chain rings for more top end and, since you're a tall guy, possibly longer crank arms.

Other things to think about: lights (hub dynamo vs battery), racks, mud guards, lock.


Parking a bike with wide tyres in a narrow bike rack

The solution in my particular case turns out to be that the 2" Marathons are actually no wider than the 1.9" knobblies - when fitted on my wheels and at my current inflation pressure of about 3 bar, at least - so the bike still fits in the rack.

This won't help anyone whose tyres actually are too wide to fit in a narrow bike rack, but it may help someone in a similar position to know that tyres may be slightly narrower than their nominal width.

In a year of riding on the Marathons, incidentally, I've had one puncture, compared to about one a month on the standard tyres. I also found the difference in rolling resistance compared to knobbly tyres was surprisingly noticeable.


Help Identifying This Custom Sprayed Specialized...?

A Specialized FSR XC between 2005 and 2008. See the Blue Book for variants on the pierced and forged seat tube style.

Note: That’s a really low end shock on the bike. Unless Specialized did a budget coil shock for really low end versions for some markets I’m guessing that’s a replacement. The original air shock on my 2006 FSR XC Comp wore through and I had find a replacement.


Lets say you wish to replace a crank similar to yours and you cannot find the exact same crank as the one you have.

BIG PICTURE: Unless you can find the exact same crank as yours, you'll need to purchase both a crank and matching bottom bracket. A guide for choosing a crank is listed below

Measure the length of the Bottom Bracket shell. If it is 68mm or 73mm you're in good shape because thats a very common 'British' or 'ISO' size
Count how many chainrings you have. 1? 2? or 3? 1 is a little tricky as its hard to come by, 2 (yours looks like 2) is commonly a 'road bike crank' and 3 is commonly a Mountain bike crank, though there are also 3 for road bike too.
Count the teeth on the chainrings, or look for markings that may indicate the number of teeth (e.g.. 52teeth for the big one and 39teeth for the small chainring). If you like the gear ratios on your bike I suggest you stay with the same number with little deviation
Count how many cogs you have at the rear. 6,7,8,9,10,11? Anything 9 and below will allow many interchangeable cranks. 10 and 11 will require specific 10speed or 11 speed cranks ( i suspect yours is 8, thus you could get a crank designed for 9 speed or less. don't get one for a 10 speeder or higher)
Length of crank arm is less important for me. but you can select the same number as yours. 175mm
With that information, I'd suggest to get a crank and matching bottom bracket for your bike. If you are using a square taper or Octalink or similar Bottom bracket your replacement crank may fit in it, but the length of the spindle of the bottom bracket may be incorrect for your crank.. so its very tricky. for example for square taper bottom brackets there are about 6 or more different spindle lengths. getting the length wrong could mean incorrect chainlines and issues with the drive train. So unless you get the exact same replacement crank.. you'll need to get a matching bb to the crank.
At this juncture you might consider one of the HollowTech 2 cranks/bb from Shimano.. they work well and have less issues with spindle lengths though it may be challenging to get cranks for 9 speed or less unless they are old stocks.


If you want to use tape, then you want to use what's commonly called "helicopter tape" (or "racing tape" or "repair tape") by car customizers. It looks like transparent packing tape but is much stronger. The story goes that the tape was used to cover the leading edge of helicopter blades to protect them. So it's tough, waterproof, and won't easily peel. And when you do have to peel it off, it comes off relatively cleanly (the remainder cleans up with GooGone or similar removal liquid).

That said, you need to be careful of what you're covering. Even with helicopter tape, some moisture always finds a way of getting underneath into the paper so it should be printed with waterproof ink. And UV light will also fade. So you generally shouldn't just use something that's coming out of your home inkjet printer.


Is this the correct orientation of this type of negative plate?

The above photo is NOT the correct orientation of the negative plate.  This type of negative plate fits into the air spring, left stanchion with the wide open side facing up into the stanchion.  One clue it was wrong (I installed it as shown in the picture--upside down) was loss of travel. When the fork is put together, I had just 100mm of exposed stanchion, when with a 100mm travel fork, about 110-115mm of  stanchion should be showing.  I went in again, having to pull the lowers and drain the oil since the negative plate can only come out the bottom of the stanchion as the route thru the top is blocked by a narrowing of the inner diameter of the stanchion above the negative plate's seat.  So, I flipped the negative plate around, put the fork back together, and it now shows about 113mm of stanchion and there is 100mm of travel to bottom out now.


What tools are most important on an all-in-one bike tool for a commuter?

Tire levers
Appropriate wrenches to tighten loose bolts, adjust brakes, etc. Probably means a few sizes of Allen (hex) wrench. Metric. Smallest bolts are probably on brakes and biggest under saddle, but varies.

The rest, like a chain tool, are a lot less likely to be needed.


The DT Swiss 240s front hub is a sealed bearing hub.  Service includes removing the endcaps, removing the bearing seals, regreasing the bearing cartridge, and then reversing the process.

There are no special tools required.  The end caps are a friction fit, and, while they are tight, they will remove by hand.

If bearings are damaged, replace the entire cartridge.

This does require special tools. Or at least, strongly recommend them.:)

One last thing:  If there is nothing wrong with the hub, no service is required.


The first things I look at to smooth out a ride are:

Least expensive: Tire pressure. Printed on the tire is the recommended maximum inflation. You can experiment with lower tire pressures to smooth out the ride. I'd try reducing tire pressure in 2 PSI increments and then testing at each step. The downside to reducing pressure is increased rolling resistance and at some point you risk bottoming out the tire against the rim on a bump causing a puncture in the tube. If you keep an eye on your tires as you test you can avoid this outcome.
Look for a softer seat. A seat with more padding or springs will soften the ride. Some people like padded seat covers.
Wider tires. How wide a tire you can use depends on your frame. Wider tires allow lower pressure and smoother ride


How much does an impact reduce helmet's ability to protect?

There is a lot of good information about this here. One paragraph from the article outlines the basic idea of this:

  Crushing the cell walls destroys the impact management ability for most stiff foams, so the helmet has to be replaced after a single impact. The crushing is not always visible and can be hidden by the outer shell. The foam can also recover some of its thickness over a period of hours, but not its ability to manage impact. Crushed and partially recovered one-use foam will feel rubbery and soft. Experts measure the foam thickness carefully for crush, but for consumers the recommendation has to be "replace after every impact." Often the damage is not apparent in a casual inspection, even when there are cracks in the foam. And the rider often underestimates the impact because crushing of the foam dampened the shock.

It goes on to explain the different types of technologies (with some links to scientific information) used in bike helmets. While your helmet survived all the falls, it was most likely offering you less and less protection from the falls.


Fork stays in compressed position while locked

Many forks work that way.  I have a Pace fork that would lock in any position.  By locking in a compressed position, you get a bit better geometry for climbing (lowers the front end).  I doubt that you will hurt the fork riding in a locked/compressed/partially compressed position, but a quick check of you owners manual could probably confirm this.


Flashpoint FP80 / SRAM S80 - rear hub specifications?

The hub on SRAM S40/60/80 uses a Reynolds freehub.  This freehub body will upgrade it to 11speed.  http://www.jensonusa.com/Reynolds-11-Speed-Freehub-Body/
This freehub comes with new endcaps.  The non drive side is slightly longer and the drive side is slightly shorter.  To avoid having to redish your wheel you may need to use the old caps or just use the the drive side cap side cap

I have heard the Reynold KT 11 speed freehub will also work but I have no personal experience with this.  This freehub is extremely hard to come by in the States, UK has greater availability.


Dual air forks negative positive chamber pressure equality

The negative air chamber provides resistance to the positive air chamber. It controls the speed air spring returns to its initial shape. The chambers are isolated so the air is unable to equalise.

The positive chamber provides resistance against compression, essentially how hard is the fork.

The third part of the suspension action is dampening, the negative air chamber controls the forks return and the damper stops if from oscillating and provides a smooth ride.

Rockshox explain dual air below quite well in suspension terms.


How much does wind affect the speed of a professional cycling peloton?

One thing worth noting is that battling a headwind of, say, 10 km/h will not entail an increase the effort as large as would be incurred in increasing you ground speed by the same amount.

The basic equation for the power required to overcome air resistance is:

P ~ 1/2*ACdV^3

where A is frontal area, Cd de coefficient of drag and V the ground speed = air speed. If now we add a headwind v:

P ~ 1/2*ACdV*(V+W)^2 = 1/2*ACd(V^3+Vv^2+2vV^2)

The net power increase due to the headwind is therefore 1/2*ACd(V*v^2+2*v*V^2).

If instead of a headwind we increase the ground speed by the same amount v, we have:

P ~ 1/2*ACd(V+v)^3 = 1/2*ACd(V^3+3*V*v^2+3*v^2*V+v^3)

The power increase in this case is 1/2*ACd(3*V*v^2+3*v^2*V+v^3). It is obviously larger than in the headwind case, by 1/2*ACd(V*v^2+v^2*V+v^3).

This is a factor in explaining why winds do not affect average speeds as much as you expected.


I can't find any other posts, unless they are boutique and don't sell online. However it looks like Thomson, Fox, and Crank Brothers all have posts with 125mm which seems to be the next step down. From there, a few have 110mm and the rest are at 100mm.


Changing wheel size on Jamis Aurora Elite to 26"?

What you don't want to do under all circumstances is make large enough changes to the outside diameter of the inflated tire that pedal/crank clearance with the ground becomes an issue. Geometry will suffer too, but as a rule of thumb, dealbreaking ground clearance problems will arise first. (It's my rule of thumb at least, having observed various wheel conversions where it seems fine at first and then you learn you get pedal strike in turns).

Generally speaking, if the brakes are a non-issue or a solved issue, i.e. a disk brake or switching to a different reach of rim brake, you can do whatever you want with swapping wheel sizes as long as the tire OD stays about the same while avoiding frame clearance issues with the tire. Lots of things about the bike and its ride qualities will change, but it will generally be rideable and functional. Note how 27.5+ bikes interchange with 29x2.3-2.4ish wheels, many people convert 700x23ish road bikes to 650b, downhillers running extra fat 24s in place of 26s, trials bikes with 19"x2.5" subbed in in back, etc. All the same principle.

There might be a better resource, but the lazy way of comparing tire ODs across different wheel and tire sizes is a computer circumference chart and dividing by pi. Tire deflection of course throws it all off a little, but meh.

In the case of a touring bike and trying to go from 700 to 26" (559), you'll usually find that you won't have enough fork/chainstay/seatstay clearance for the width of tires that get you into the right ballpark. There are exceptions, particularly with forks and seatstays because they're less inherently constrained in this way, but chainstays will usually be a pretty major limiting factor in back.

Applying your idea with 27.5"/650B wheels is more likely to work out.


I don't know any videos off the top of my head, however you may wish to consider buying a book instead. Zinn and the art of road bike maintenance. I have the mtb version of it and it is a great resource for everything about bike maintenance and building a frame up into a rideable bike.

http://www.zinncycles.com/book_and_dvd.php


How do mechanics test problem that are only happening under load?

With most noise-diagnosing, my usual protocol is to test ride thoroughly, including on an uphill, as the first step, to try and get the most accurate impression possible of what the customer is experiencing. You kind of need to do that to know, or at least have a pretty good guess, that you've taken care of the issue at the end. A caveat here is for my own safety (people ride some sketchy stuff) I may torque crank and stem bolts first, which can in theory throw off the before/after picture, but oh well.

I think this is the best practice, but it's also not altogether unreasonable on a lot of creak-fest modern road and mountain bikes (integrated headset and unthreaded BB) to just do all your disassembly/parts replacement/grease-slathering up front and then see what you get afterward. If a customer tells me there are multiple creaks on such a bike or if I can pick up on it from just handling the bike, I might go that route.

There aren't really any ways of simulating load in the stand. There are a few tricks useful for isolating noises in the headset and bottom bracket areas involving sideloading or selectively loading certain areas with the bike on the ground, but they don't simulate full riding loads so they're not a substitute for test riding.


Rear brake doesn’t grip/slips through and doesn’t stop the bike sharp or at all

This sounds like a classic case of pad contamination. You are well advised to try to determine the cause to avoid it happening again.
My first suspicion would be your washing process. How did you wash the bike? Is it possible you got a cleaning product on the pads?
I'd definitely inspect the calipers very carefully to make sure you do not have any leaks. Clean the calipers and rotors thoroughly with brake cleaner, then with the old pads or a brake block in place try squeezing the lever hard a few times. Recheck for any fluid leaks.
If you are getting good resistance when squeezing the levers and there is no 'sponginess', it's unlikely that bleeding is required. You said you bled the brakes more than five time, I do have to wonder whether you are maybe casing contamination when you are performing the bleeding.


Why do my knees hurt when I use a trainer?

Thanks to @R.Chung I was able to do some research and figure out what my problem might be.

This article, Climbing vs time-trialling: same effort, different power output, explains in great detail the differences in inertial load.

To sum it up in relation to my problem:

When on the road where the elevation changes often I use slow twitch muscles and exert force longer during the pedal stroke and occasionally fast twitch muscles for stretches of flat ground.

On the trainer I use fast twitch muscles a lot more, because I only exert force for a very short period of time on only a small portion of my pedal stroke.

The muscles in my legs/knees are not used to having to fire that rapidly for such a sustained and extended period of time which is what I believe is causing me pain.


This is the OP, George_San_Jose.  I finally got it turning. I'm not exactly sure what the  critical step was b/c I tried a combination of ideas.  The solution was some  combination of a couple days soaking in thread penetrant, working the job w/the freewheel on the wheel,  and using a steel center punch (rather than a screwdriver) to whack the hole tangentially with a hammer. I expect the latter was the most important, as some of the impact-value from the hammer was getting lost in the plastic handle of the screwdriver.


Why do freehub and cassette have only one position that matches?

Early cassettes (Suntour Accushift and Shimano Uniglide being some commonly encountered examples) weren't like this. The splines were all the same and there was no hunting for the little spline or big gap.

To summarize a bunch of history, these cassettes were current at the same time as early indexed shifting. Accushift and early Shimano SIS both functioned, but not all that well by modern standards. The cog teeth on some of them had various thinned out or axially twisted bits to act as a primitive shift aid, but they were substantively like the freewheel cogs that came immediately before them.

Arguably the key innovation in Shimano's entire history, the first Hyperglide cassettes were released in 1989. Hyperglide uses a system of mapped-out chain exit and entry points (the different profiled teeth on modern cassettes) along with pickup ramping on the sides of the cogs to facilitate smooth shifts that demand a bare minimum of finesse on the part of the rider. It's the piece of the puzzle that made indexed shifting start working really well, and has been universally copied. But by nature, in order for it to work, the cogs have to be in an as-designed position relative to one another. Hence all modern cassettes only go on one way.


Why do current mountain bikes have such steep top tube? Comparing my Kona Blast 2001 vs 2019

Circa 2000 a Blast had 80mm travel and 26" wheels on 1.90" tires, compared to a modern Blast -27.5" wheels, 100mm travel, on 2.25" tires. The crown height on the modern Blast is significantly higher than its ancestors, necessarily raising the top tube height at the front.

The seat tube with modern geometry has been shortened. Among other things such as handling changes, it helps with stand over height allowing a broader range of riders to fit the same frame.


There are a lot of things that could be wrong and a picture of the bike might help confirm this, so I'll just make a list of some things to check and what they need (this is by no means comprehensive):

1) Brake pads -- if they're old, they've likely dried out. Replace them. Needs a hex key. Make sure they're also hitting the rim and not rubbing anywhere. Also, clean the rims with rubbing alcohol (or if you're a student, vodka).

2) Brake cables -- these can rust or the lining of the cables can be worn out making them not work properly. You need a housing cutter/dremel + awl + file to do this.

3) Adjust the brakes. They look like single pivot sidepull brakes from google images, and you can find directions to adjust them here. You need probably a hex key and maybe a screwdriver. Also, make sure the caliper is secured to the frame.

4) The judder could be lots of things -- theres a certain amount of judder on all bikes. Could be a loose headset (is the fork moving when you hold the front brake and try to move the bike?). Or it might go away if you fix 1-3.

My suggestion is that if you don't know much about bikes or don't have someone to help you is to take the bike to a bike shop to get it checked out and see what needs repair, since you may not have all the tools you need to fix it or the expertise. You need both brakes in case one fails.


Will 26 x 2.0 tire fit on bicycle with 26 x 2.125 size tire

Yes. It will work fine.

Judging by the description of the rims, it is likely they are Weinmann 519 or Zach 19s, or something very similar. Most of these generic double wall rims fall right around 19mm for inner width. This means they will comfortably hold a tire from 1.20" to 2.50". Many if not most big box store bikes use this size for that exact reason. There are a lot of readily available tire options and they are one of the more mass produced sizes so the cost of purchasing the rims as well as tires is cheap.


High to low gear shifter on derailleur gear bike?

Looks like the left-hand front shifter has multiple positions to allow you to adjust the front derailleur to avoid chain rub when shifting through the rear sprockets.

The shifter is probably corroded inside which is making the action very stiff - notice the rust on the central screw. The cable and front derailleur may also be contributing to the stiffness.

If you can get some light oil inside then work the shift action repeatedly you may get it to free up some. You can disassemble it, clean the internal components, lube with grease and re-assemble. If you are unsure about getting it back together properly, taking frequent pictures or even making a video of the disassembly process can help you remember where all the components are supposed to go.


Campagnolo QS Front Derailleur/Shifter Compatability

In short the answer is Yes.

From the installation & maintenance manual

  The new QS Ergopower controls provide for fast operation and a lower shifting force if used with the new QS front derailleurs.

  The QS Ergopower controls and the QS front derailleurs can also be used with non-QS Ergopower controls and front derailleurs.  However in this case please note that:

  QS Ergopower controls with non-QS front derailleurs could require a higher force to effect shifting.
  Non-QS Ergopower controls with QS front derailleurs will require at least two lever movements to effect shifting.


Windows Phones + Open street map

I know strava requires installation of the googlemaps app to function, but they don't make anything for windows. If you want to use their service of comparing against different users, you can upload data from another app as long as its the right format (which should be possible with any of those open street map apps for windows ).


How is this damaged aluminium frame likely to fail?

Sorry. It's not going to fail, it has failed. It's no longer ridable. The head tube is near vertical making the steering very unstable and the front wheel has been pushed back and will overlap with your toes. The frame tubes are not dented they are buckled and severely weakened. If you ride it the frame will catastrophically fail (either when you hit a bump or brake hard) resulting in a nasty crash.
I hope that if the car driver was a fault you got their details.


Chain coming off with internal hub gear bike - why?

In short: If chain comes off with horizontal drops (typical internal gear or single speed) the wheel has to be too far ahead. Try pulling wheel backwards until the chain can be moved <5 mm and tension the wheel properly.

Other possible issues are:

bent chainring or sprocket
wheel not installed properly
failed bearings in hub or bottom bracket

Worn chain is very unlikely. Also broken internal gears don't drop the chain.


My first real road bike was around $1300 - so you are on the right track as far as spending. You do have to pony up to get a decent ride and components.

I bought a Bianchi, and the dealer is an hour away. I haven't had any issues, but now that I look back I should have bought a bike where I live, so I have dealer support and can get parts/merchandise easily.

Are any of the brands you mentioned local to you?

If I were to pick I'd go with the Trek for your first one. My bike has Tiagra and its been fine. I actually will probably upgrade to 105 when stuff starts wearing out. Having Tiagra gives me something to look forward to.


Per the technical specifications page for your bicycle:

  MAXIMUM TYRE DIMENSION (ETRTO)   70 mm

70 mm is 2.75 inches, so a 2.60 tyre should fit.

Tyre sizes are notoriously imprecise, but a 2.60 should be significantly smaller than a 2.75.

You can be as certain as you can be that it will fit, especially as you're sticking with not only the same manufacturer but the same model.

The impact of a larger tyre?  A "softer" ride - you'll be better able to absorb bumps and roll over smaller obstacles, at the likely cost of some precision in control and perhaps a slightly increased rolling resistance.


What is the proper etiquette for overtaking a horse?

Passing a horse, mounted or otherwise, should be done so:

very slowly
as quiet as possible.  If you have a loud freehub, pedal slowly -- do your best not to coast.
with as much space & consideration as possible
no sudden movements
limit the number of cyclists going past

It all depends on the horses' temperament.  Some are OK, some like cars but not bicycles...
Generally, horses with kids/teenagers riding them on the road will be pretty laid back.  The horses that are being led by someone are much more suspect.

Competent equestrian owners/staff know that any horse [that will be taken or ridden on roads] needs to be exposed very carefully (for the safety of the horse, the rider, and the general public).  They have to accept that the horse may never be comfortable in that setting.  But anything could spook the most experienced horse - you never know 100%.

If possible, send a single person ahead to talk to who has control of the horse while watching how the horse reacts.


What are the potential causes of my fingers going numb when riding?

I'd suggest a change of gloves, but it seems that you already did so. If you haven't already, give a try to padded gloves.

You could try to check your grips and upgrade to ergonomic ones or changing the handlebar tape. Adjusting the saddle height might be a good idea too.

If the issue persists, perhaps the size of the handlebars or bike aren't adequate for your build, in which case you probably would benefit from getting a bike that fits you. See this question for additional suggestions.

As a last resort, and if you try all the possible adjustments, have a fitted bike, and still the numbness persists, I'd suggest you go to your doctor and discuss the issue.


How high should brake levers be on drop bars?

Different brands and component levels of levers have different shapes, and different bars have different amounts of drop and different curvatures. Arne's suggestion of lining the tips of the brake levers to be even with the flat part of the drops is a common rule of thumb to get you started. If the bars are already installed on the bike you can do this with a ruler or something else flat and rigid. I found a decent image illustrating just how to do this, albeit on an older bike:

Notice that the owner has left a quarter inch gap above level. This is where the ergonomics of the components you are running and your own personal preference come into play. If you are unsure, I would start with this basic rule of thumb and work from there. A few things to note:

moving the levers too far up or down on the bars is going to give you weird ergonomics in terms of hand positions and lever reach from the drops
once you have the levers set where you want them, be careful of twisting the bars too far up or down in the stem as this will also give you weird ergonomics. On newer setups you typically want to start with the transition from the bars to the hoods being pretty much parallel with the ground
once the tape is installed on the bars you only have so much wiggle room to slide the levers up or down. Ultimately if you feel like you can't move them enough with the tape in place then you're probably trying to make too big of a change- unless you started with them clamped way too low or way too high on the bars. A little change can make a big difference, so make small adjustments and then go for a good ride to try it out.


Need to replace tire on Dahon folding bike

The Dahon Vitesse D8 site says it ships with

  KOMMUTER, 20" x 1.75"

tires.

Any tires of those dimensions will do the job.

The applications you mention suggest that a tire with a small amount of tread would be better than a slick (no tread) tire.

The mind boggling array of tires you see is because the suppliers are all trying to distinguish their products, when they all do pretty much the same job.

I recommend taking your bike to your LBS and fit whatever tires they suggest, provided they have tread.


Should I always ride on the designated bike path?

You seem to be assuming that roads are more dangerous than bike paths. This may be true in general, but is by no means always true.

As to the legal issue, be aware of the consequences of breaking the rules. In many places (like Chile, where I am), the cycling laws simply aren't enforced.

Beyond that, do what works for you.

So the answer to your question: No, you should not always ride on the designated bike path.


As @Paparazzi said it appears to be a Gitane bike, from looking through the product catalogues on the Gitane USA site I suspect it's a 1984 Gran Tour (from page 5 of the french catalogue) as this style of logo appears to have only been used for the early 80s and this model is the only model that has the bar end shifters/is advertised in the same colour.


Need replacement chainring for Shimano Ultegra FC-6503 42t chainring

I did some looking around and was surprised by the lack of options for a proper ramped and pinned 42t 130 middle. But, there's still TA, the Alize model in this case. Don't get a non-rampy chainring to use with STI. It's too much of a compromise. FSA has one too.


Is it worth rebuilding a wheel myself to save money?

For most applications, most of the time, in the global north, if you're trying to save money then just buying a new wheel is the most economical. The main exception  that comes up is if you have a premium quality hub that's built to go indefinitely and is worth re-rimming.

But, good handbuilt wheels offer the highest level of reliability and longevity, and that can have its own economy depending on your situation. In practice a major example of this is that they don't break spokes from fatigue over the course of the service life of the wheel (and really ever with properly stress relieved spokes, but that's a bigger topic) whereas the cheaper end of machine built wheels often will, pushing back against the cost savings of buying one for a bike that gets ridden. And there are also times and places where a rim with life left isn't something you'd throw away. So there is no one answer here. A person who really needs their bike to work as best as possible and also needs to spend the minimum amount of money possible might be perfectly well advised to rebuild the rim.

Another factor is that the world has an overabundance of functional cheap or free used hubs with life left from wheels where the rim died. If you can get a suitable one of those and if minimizing cost is literally the only goal and if you've definitely got a rim with life left, then you're only out the cost of spokes and rebuilding it might make all kinds of sense.

Most rim brake rims are going to be pretty haggard by the time a hub has actually worn out. (Note that 'worn out' implies a different situation than a hub that had issues or failed.) There are exceptions here too; I've rebuilt one or two Dura Ace C50 tubular rims whose hubs died by pressure washer. That's obviously kind of an extreme example, but it happened.

Disc rims that aren't being mountain biked on can have pretty easy lives, especially when paired with a fat tire that's minimizing the severity of the fatigue cycles it experiences.

When rebuilding a used rim or contemplating it, it's a good idea to check for any out of round or out of true spots that are intrinsic to the rim itself, i.e. acquired via damage. A very good way to do this is take the bare rim and lay it on top of a new, high-quality, preferably machined sidewall rim of the same size. Any radial or lateral deformation should be apparent. To be able to get a true wheel with even spoke tension, you want the bare rim to have zero perceptible radial deformation, either flat spots or ovalisation, and 1-2 mm of lateral imperfection at most. (There are methods and tools for getting rims with any of these issues back into shape or at least making them better, but that's another topic.)

When unlacing a rim you intend to rebuild, be gradual so you avoid bending the material around too much. I do half turn loosening passes until the spokes are slack, then I do the rest all at once or cut if they're not being re-used (which they usually shouldn't be).


You have a F1 racing BMX - probably from around the late 1980s.

They have 20" wheels and generally steel frames, and often feature BMX style brakes, and the crankset on this one is a one-piece construction.

Differences to regular BMXs, they are built with derailleur gears and a sloped top-tube.  Also, the bars are not traditional BMX ones but are either short flat bars or somewhat aero bars to encourage a lower more-aero position.  Some brands even fitted non-round biopace chainrings to appeal to the racer crowd.  Even disk wheels were fitted to some, for added aero benefits.

There are many more photos at https://bmxsociety.com/topic/48820-general-meerkat-l1-m1/   Notice the disproportionally long cranks too - that seems to be common, showing it was more about straight line power than manoeverability or tricks and stunts.

You're right - these would not have been kickstand bikes so that's definitely after fitment.


Mountain bike crank hits derailleur cable

Nope, it won't hurt anything. It's unlikely, but the worst case is that you might knock the cable crimp (the cap on the end of that cable) off eventually, which could then cause the cable to fray, which would then eventually need to be replaced.

I would try to bend the cable so that it is tucked away behind a piece of the bike frame or the front derailleur (the thing that shifts your front gears) so that it is silent and worry-free.

Enjoy the new bike!


(Automatic Bike Project) amount of torque required to change gears?

From working on bikes, the amount of force needed to pull a gear cable is more than I can apply gripping the cable with my fingers, but is easy to apply gripping the cable with pliers. So probably about 10-20N. But almost all that force is required to oppose the return spring in the derailleur. Remove that spring and the force drops by an order of magnitude. And as Kibbee says, you can use leverage to change that force (but you still need the same amount of energy).

The easy way would be to use an existing gear cable and gear lever attached to the rear derailleur. That way you don't have to mount your motor right down next to the rear axle, where it's vulnerable to shock and dirt.

If you use a winch drum attached to a stepper motor it'll be fairly easy to make everything work. The issue with that is that the holding torque will almost certainly be greater than the stiction of the motor, so you would need power to stay in gear. Or gear down the stepper motor, or use a mechanical brake with a solenoid to release it when you want to shift. But that's possibly more complex than a student project can easily build.

A different way would be to use a common two-lever shifter with a motor to push the levers when you want to change gear. That's a low-precision task, but you will need considerable force. If you used a fairly hefty RC servo motor I think it could work, and within budget. Then drive that off a microprocessor that has a PWM output to make the servo work (there are Arduino libraries that do this OOB, it's not hard)

A much more elegant way would be to modify a derailleur directly, removing the return spring and using a motor to move it backwards and forwards. This is what the electronic shifter setups do. If you use a stepper motor and drive "off the end" to position it, you should get reasonable reliability at low cost and without having to build sensors and servo rigs to locate the chain exactly on the drive cog. I fear you might need a brake again, but I'd build the first version without it. At worst, you can do your final report saying "it works but needs a lock to hold it in position over bumps".


Is lithium grease suitable for lubricating the steel headset cups when pressing them into the aluminium frame?

Yes, totally suitable. Of all the remotely common grease types, there's not really a scenario on bikes where the type matters for this application unless it's a titanium or stainless frame, and then use anti-seize.
As someone who presses things into bike frames on a regular basis and lives/works in a rainy climate, I do always use grease, but it's primarily for information, not corrosion resistance. Greasing the surface every time comes close to normalizing the contribution that surface friction makes to the force required, so problems with the press fit are easier to pick out in both the too loose or too tight direction.


How to keep bikes safe while camping with a car

I used to take the family bikes over to western Europe and never had a problem leaving them overnight. This would have been maybe USD3000s worth of bikes at various places in France, Germany and Benelux.

First of all I was able to lock the rack onto the car - it was a pretty Mickey-Mouse lock but would nevertheless deter an opportunist thief. Next I would lock the frames together, and to the rack, using a couple of my regular bike locks. These were much more heavy duty, Fahgettaboudit locks.

This combination worked fine for me. It was obviously enough to put people off. We didn't park in the centre of cities, but nevertheless these were public locations in quite substantial towns.

So I didn't detach the wheels, but I did lock each up with a combination of chains and D-locks. For any would-be thief, their quickest option would have been to steal three bikes and a rack all in one go, which I guess could have happened but fortunately didn't.

I guess the moral is to have some good locks visible and in use, and to be aware of where you're parking.


What would I search for to find bike hubs that attach on only one side like found on tadpole recumbent

They are often referred to as just that, a tadpole trike hub assuming you're looking for the front hub. They differ from standard trike hubs slightly. If you are in the united states or Canada you can get on of these from a shop. Let me know what country you are in as you are unregistered and I will do my best to answer.

http://www.jbi.bike/web/checking_product_description.php?part_number=38751


What bags will fit a Challenge Seiran SL?

Looking through the Challenge Bikes product guide, it looks like the Seiran SL is not intended to be able to have any kind of rack on it.

Maybe you should talk to the dealer you bought the bike from. It looks to me like replacing the lightweight carbon seat with the aluminum seat option might make it possible to mount the Day Rack or Voyager Rack...

Would 15–30 liters be enough capacity? There's various bags designed to hang from the top of a recumbent seat, which would probably work:

Arkel Recumbent Seat Bag
Radical Design Universal Aero
Radical Design Rackbag L

In addition, here is a link to a page from the Radical Design site which lists bags that will fit the Seiran SL.


The H-screw aka b-tension aka angle adjustment is meant to be adjusted in the lowest gear position for any rear derailleur where the guide pulley is offset from the cage pivot, which is most of them, including this. The manufacturer recommended distance will always be for that position.
For conventional road derailleurs like this, that 5mm number really means just short of the chain rumbling in the low gear. Two ways of saying the same thing.
All that said, it's not likely the H adjustment is your problem. It's a subtle adjustment and won't make or break shifting in most cases, the exceptions being if it's way out for no reason or on a derailleur with excess pivot slop from wear.
It's likely you're dealing with one of the common rear derailleur maladies Iike hanger alignment, cable friction, incorrect tension, etc. Hanger misalignment is a likely candidate from your pictures. Eleven speed has little tolerance for it.


How to buy machine-built wheels for a touring bike?

Note that I really enjoy building wheels so I'm a bit biased here, but...as long as you inspect them when you get them, machine built wheels are usually okay.

The (main) differences between machine and hand:

Quality of components. Generally machine built wheels use cheaper components.
Logo in the right place (you should see it centered under the valve hole) - purely cosmetic.
Tension brought up slowly and evenly on hand built wheels. This (and hubs) would be my main concern. The machine will make sure everything is true, round, and dished...sometimes better than a person can do...but it may not get there smoothly.

With (1) my concern would be the quality of the rim, mainly the braking surface and the weld, and the quality of the hub. The hub quality, especially at low speeds, is going to have the most impact on how "fast" a wheel is. Weight (spokes/rim mostly) will have some effect on climbing, but not much and with the big tires you are going to roll, I wouldn't have much concern here.

My concern with (3) is primarily how well the wheel will hold true and round. Most folk will occasionally check trueness of the wheel, but ignore roundness. You can check both without a truing stand, but to check roundness you need to take off the rubber. If you're willing to check a couple of times after you've put some good miles on them you should be fine.

My $0.02 is to look for wheels that have decent rims and good hubs and then give them care, especially during the first 1,000 miles or so. On a budget, I'd rather see you pick up some machine built wheels with good hubs then some hand built wheels with bad hubs.


You need to isolate this noise to identify the cause.

Its great that you can duplicate the noise without having to ride.  Try these suggestions to help narrow down the cause.

squeeze the rear of the front wheel and the downtube together with your hand.  This will replicate some of the stopping forces on your headset.

We know the brakes show the problem without being the cause.

take the front wheel off  and push/pull the fork tines/legs back towards the downtube.  You might prefer to use some light rope in the dropouts and pull the ends back towards the bottom bracket.

This removes the wheel as a possible source.  Also eliminates the brakes and brake mount.

hold the top tube between your thighs, the down tube between your calf muscles.  Hold the tops of your bars and push away from you.  This duplicates the previous test but from the other side of the headset.

You should not hear any clicks or clunks, and you should not feel any movement.

finally wrap an ungloved hand around the top of the headset where the steerer goes into the frame.  You should not feel any motion between the steerer and the frame, other than rotation of the steering.

The fix will likely involve removing your stem and handlebars, and cleaning/regreasing the ball bearings in your headset.  Then adjusting them to be Just Right.  At the moment I think they're too loose.

Hopefully you've caught this problem before the bearing races have been damaged.


Leather is fine to ride in the wet.  However because its an organic product you have to treat it periodically with a preservative.  Also you don't want to just leave it in the rain all the time, that will accelerate its failure.   Having decent mudguards/fenders will help reduce water up from below too.

Covering the leather with a plastic bag helps reduce absorption of water, but you can't just wrap it and forget it - that way leads to mold and tears.

The saddle needs a chance to dry out, so store the bike inside in the warm.  If that's not possible then bring the saddle inside after a wet ride.

Brooks recommend their Proofide mix which is about 15 euros for 40 grams so 5% of the cost of the saddle.  I've treated other leather goods (belt, gloves, leatherman pouch) with various mixes of beeswax for suppleness and waterproofing.


Inner tube - series of dot marks and a puncture, what has caused it?

As the holes appear to be on the raised ribs of the tube wall, it seems something pointed was scraped over the tube.

I'm guessing the damage was done before the tube was installed. Tubes cant move around in the tire, and a tire really cannot move on the rim either.

Update: perhaps there might have been a small sharp object caught between tube and tire during tube installation, that migrated along the tube causing the scratch mark.

In any case inspect the inside of the tire very carefully, both visually with a good bright light and tactually by running you fingers over the inner surface. Small sharp foreign objects can be hard to detect if they are just poking out of the rubber surface.