I taught my daughter to use clipless pedals by putting her bike on a wind trainer while she watched television. I got her pedals that are flat on one side with SPD's on the other side.

A random intervals I'd call "left foot down", or "right foot down", trying to time my call for the most inconvenient moment. And as I mentioned in comments, I never did tell her that everyone eventually falls.

When she was comfortable with those exercises, she started riding on the road with her new pedals. Sometimes she would ride with the flat pedals, but she quickly came to like the feeling of confidence that comes from knowing one's feet wont slip off the pedals.

After four years she still hasn't (yet) fallen because of the pedals.

To answer your question - it doesn't really matter which leg they usually push off with.

But it does matter that they learn to be able to start and stop on either leg. In my observation falls come when the rider "has the pedals wrong" when they make an emergency stop. They need to be confidently able to unclip and stop with either foot.

Edit - re the additional points.

To restate my previous paragraph in a different way: it matters for her safety that she be able to start and stop on either foot. Not all stops are preplanned. It's the sudden stops that lead to falls, where the rider gets themselves tangled up trying to get the wrong foot out of their pedal.

For starting, it's a great help to be able to start from either foot also. It's normal to have a favoured foot, and it doesn't matter which one it is.

And if most of the bunch uses one leg, would it be better to do the same so that you all lean toward the same direction when you stop at lights etc? No, IMHO you are over-thinking it at this point. I suspect you are thinking that because the bikes are leaning when they are stationary, that everyone will wobble or turn in that direction as they start off. If that is what happens, then I suggest that they are not ready to ride on the road. In practice, I just don't see experienced riders (including my own daughter) wobble that much. And the amount they do wobble seems random: members of the bunch push off at slightly different times, and make their first pedal stroke with different levels of effort. And when they stop, the bunch will generally stop in a random arrangement, depending on how hard they were concentrating, who they were taking to, what gear change they were trying to make, etc, etc.

So the conclusion hasn't changed: no it doesn't matter which leg, but she should be able to use either.


Even if you find the serial number, its absolutely no use in identifying the bike without a brand/manufacturer.  There is no global index like auto VINs.

Serial numbers are used for several different purposes.

Identifying a frame through production, for logistical and tracking reasons
Identifying a completed bicycle through a sales process
Uniquely identifying a bike for warranty purposes
Identifying a bike for insurance purposes.

At no point is a bicycle frame serial number used to identify the bike's model or age or manufacturer.    A frame's serial number is not related to a car's Vehicle Identification Number (or VIN.)

For a frame to lack a serial number could be any or

The frame was hand made by a small-run frame builder, or home made.   Most frame builders would use a serial number of some format though, even though their monthly output could be single digits.
The frame has been repaired and the serial number was lost by replacement.
The frame has been stolen and resold, with the serial number ground off or filled-and-painted-over.
The frame was legitimately repainted and the serial number is obscured or hidden (my bike's like this - the S/N is visible but illegible.
The serial number is covered by an accessory (very unlikely)

But most likely, you simply haven't found the serial number.  Common places for serial numbers:

Under the bottom bracket
On top of the bottom bracket housing
Up the side/front/rear of the  seat tube
Up the side/front/rear of the  down tube
Up the side/front/rear of the  head tube
Inside/outside the chainstays
Inside/outside the seatstays
Inside/outside the rear dropouts.

Less common areas to find a serial number

INSIDE the bottom bracket housing
Down inside the seat tube.

Places you won't find the serial numbner

On any mechanical part - they may have their own serial number, but it won't be a frame serial number
On the fork - again it may have a fork S/N or replicate the frame's SN or it may not have a serial at all
Inside any closed tube - the headtube, BB and seat tube are the only tubes in the frame with some level of visibility, so it won't be anywhere else.


That bike has certainly had some changes since it was new.
I can see someone brush-painted it green, without bothering to remove the outers for the gear cables or the brake calipers, though they do appear to have missed the cranks when painting.
The cranks are cottered, so those are probably 70s or earlier.   The pedals may be newer than that - they're not clear in the photo.
Your bike was probably a drop bar when new - the flatbar look like that wasn't done - if you wanted an upright position, you got a dutch-ier style of bike with more rise and sweep in the bars.   Point is, the flat bar is probably a much more recent change, along with the shorter quill stem.
On the other hand, I suspect the saddle is from an older bike too - the saddle rails have that green paint slathered on, but the style of the rails and springs is not in line with the frame.  So I suspect the big sprung-saddle was swapped in somewhere midlife.
The wheels look odd too - the rims have a "look" of aluminium in your photo, this can be tested with a magnet which will stick to steel rims and not aluminium.  They would have been "28 inch" when new, and I can see the brake calipers are not at their limits so probably still are 28 inch, or ETRTO 630mm diameter.

Could you check the Right hand side of the rear dropout for a derailleur hanger?  If you find one, or remains of one being cut off, or even the dual imprint of a crow's foot hanger in the right dropout, then thats a sign it was originally sold with a derailleur.
That the SA hub has "79" on it suggests the hub is that old.  But the bike's frame appears to be older again to me.  I'm very confident the bars were changed, fairly confident the saddle was changed, so theres every possibility the rear wheel was swapped out too.

It does have the overall look of a Raleigh frame, but that's common with many other english frame designs too.  The long curve on the fork means its a riding bike, not the fast twitchiness of a race bike.
I'd be concerned about the slap-dash paint job.  Someone's not bothered removing parts before painting, so they're likely to have not bothered removing or treating rust before painting either.  Have a good look over the whole frame, looking for anything soft.
I found a reference to Davies Components:

Davis Components was a Birmingham based company who manufactured lugs and frame fittings such as your bottom bracket. The numbers "61 .. 64" typically refer to the angles.
From https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/755602-frame-stamped-davis-components-who-were-they.html

So they made parts, not whole bikes.   Thus Raleigh would not have this, because Raleigh was an integrated vertical who made everything for themselves.
If you really want a name on your bike, get a water decal or sticker make saying whatever you want.   "Richard's Bike" is accurate, or you could call it "The Incredible Hulk" or even "Cervell-faux" or "Heck" or "cannoodle".


Mountain bike, chain skips when force applied from stop or going uphill.

In my experience, chain skip can be caused by various factors, some are easy to fix and some are more difficult. Lets work our way down.

1: dirty/dry chain. A chain that is not properly cleaned and lubed will cause shifting problem. Get a good chain cleaning tool and de-greaser and clean your chain really well. Then apply a good chain lubricant generously. Afterwards, wipe as much of it off as you can with a dry rag. It is important to use a chain lubricant (not wd-40 or something like it), that is meant to not collect dust. It is also important to wipe off the lube when you are done. You won't be able to get it out of the pivots - which is where it counts. This will fix most shifting problems.

2: Stretched shifting cable: If you recently had your bike tuned, it is likely that the rear shifting cable was replaced. New cables will stretch. The cable tightness will need to be adjusted after a month or so of riding. Either research how to do this tuning or take it by the bike shop that tuned it - they probably won't even charge you.

3: Worn chain: Chains wear, and they wear differently based on how they are used and maintained. A worn chain won't engage properly with the teethe of the cassette and will cause major shifting problems. If you are serious about maintaining your bike, you will need a chain checker. I personally like this one (https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001AYMR7Y/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1)

4: Worn cassette: If you change your chain on time, a cassette will generally last in the order of 3-5x chain changes - but eventually it will need replaced. There are plenty of resources to help with that (http://www.artscyclery.com/learningcenter/determiningcassettewear.html)

5: Old cables: Shifting cables and/or housing that are old and potentially frayed or rusted will cause shifting problems. Likely, though, this will have been addressed during your tune-up. You might want to verify though.

6: Other: Those mentioned above are the most likely culprits. However, there are other reasons that are more advanced to troubleshoot. These include, but are not limited to; a bent dérailleur, poor shifting adjustment, a cassette not properly tightened and a bad a bad chain link.

I suspect that if you address items 1-3 in order you will find that your problem goes away.


Bottom bracket maintenance - is it a thing?

To the bearings themselves, not really. It's possible to pull the
seals and clean/re-grease the bearings while they're still
installed, but this isn't something it's expected anyone's going to
actually do. (The one you have I believe has bearing seals that are
pretty easy to get to, making this easier to do if you want it.
Shimano Hollowtech BBs have the bearings covered by a plastic "top
hat" seal that's not intended to be removed and re-installed, and
usually can't be without ruining it.)

For all external cranks, it's pretty common to encounter noises that
can only be remedied by cleaning and greasing the spindle interface.
That might be considered regular maintenance.
No.
In general, all cartridge bearings with rubber seals can have the seals carefully removed, which is something of a skill in and of itself, be cleaned with solvent, rinse, blown dry with air, and re-lubricated. The nature of external BBs is that you won't be able to remove one side's seal, which makes the process more difficult but not impossible. As mentioned above, many external BBs have difficult or impossible to remove parts in the way of the bearing cartridges themselves, and doing anything with the bearing isn't really practical if this is the case.

Another thing that bears mentioning in this conversation is that many Hollowtech 2 compatible external cups can have their cartridge bearings driven out and replaced. Enduro and Phil both make presses just for this. What replacement bearing and seals are appropriate depend on the BB.


This is a matter of some debate. The New York Times article "Does Hot Weather Cause More Bike-Tire Problems?" by J. David Goodman (July 22, 2010) may be of interest.

The claims in support for hot weather causing problems are that the tubes may be running higher pressure than designed, or the rubber softening making it more permeable. I, like many others, don't believe these claims hold water (however, I don't have appropriate test rigs or the will to verify this).

The biggest flaw with hot weather causing problems is that tires, tubes and rims are tested at pressures way past whats on the label (and for almost all riders, they should be using pressures way lower than the label). So, you're likely quite far from the limit of failure. 100 F isn't an unreasonable summer temperature for a large number of people (the Southwest, particularly), and it would be ridiculous to engineer a tire that couldn't reliably last at 110 F air temp riding conditions, since that would give a very small margin of reliability.

However, I wouldn't necessarily call it a coincidence. In summer, your mileage increases versus winter, and you're likely to see more road debris (from drivers, liter, etc.). Compounding the increased mileage with tubes and tires that may not be in great condition could see an increase in flats.


I can't inflate tire. Should I look for another pump?

Most average small/hand pumps are in the 'high volume, low pressure' category. That means they have a big air chamber and are good for inflating a high-volume tire like on a mountain bike with a relatively small number of strokes, but once you reach a certain pressure, often in the realm of not enough for a road bike but maybe around enough for a hybrid, it can become impossible or impractical to go further. Small/portable pumps that work on road bikes do exist. Traditional frame pumps are one example, as are the "mini floor pump" type like the Topeak Road Morphs and its copies. There are also some decent true road mini pumps these days; the Lezyne Road Drive is one that works well. Of note is that many road mini pumps have proven to be basically bad products that don't work very well, and all of them, even the good ones, share the characteristic of needing a high number of strokes and being generally on the tiring side to use.

Most people with road bikes settle on having a floor pump at home, which makes it easy to reach high pressures because your body weight is behind it, and then carrying either one of the above options or a CO2 inflator. If you need a new pump and can only get one, one of the mini floor pump variety is often a good choice, because of the portable pump choices they're the easiest to reach full pressure with, plus they usually have gauges (which most portable pumps don't.)


Choosing parts for wheel build on a cargo bike conversion

Do you have any suggestions on what type of rim, spokes, hub, rotor and brakes I should use?

For cargo bike purposes you obviously should prefer sturdiness over light weight for wheel components.

A wider rim would allow  you put wider tires which can help with high cargo weight. For 700c wheels, rims that can accomodate tyres of at least 40 mm width are reasonable.

Previously, one would recommend going with bigger number of spokes per wheel in such wheels — 48 if you are really dedicated to find them as not many vendors offer them, 36 if possible, 32 if no other option, and avoid modern rims and hubs with less than 32 holes. However, I am unsure if this advice keeps up with the times, and it may well be that 28-hole rims are as good as 32-hole these days.

For spokes, use the thickest straight-pull available. For nipples, use brass ones.

For hubs, use compatible ones. Given that you don not plan  to spend too much money on the project, just use the best you can find to match the rims and the frame/fork.

I do not think that it makes any difference as of which rotors to use, as even the cheapest ones stop things as efficiently as the fanciest ones, while being only heavier.

For brakes, it depends on the terrain where you would ride this. If the area is mostly flat, I would say any decent modern disk calipers would do the job. If there are prolonged descents, then you'll have to look for four piston downhill-rated options for front wheel. With 203 mm rotors, look after the compatibility — most likely you will have to use adaptors from 160/180mm to 203mm.


Is any major manufacturer working on a 12 speed group?

Cannondale with it's new Boost 148mm rear spacing standard could fit some more gears theoretically without making the chain thinner.

But the real question is if more gears are actually needed. What really matters is the cassette range which is determined by the smallest and biggest cog wheels.

Now we have the smallest cog with 10 teeth, and there was a 9T-36T Microdrive cassette from Canfield Brothers, but it's discontinued because the torque transfer on such small sprocket size is very inefficient. So I doubt we will see 9T as the smallest cog.

There could be a bigger cog-wheel added though, for example 44T Sprocket which OneUp already offers as a replacement for 42T one. Such 12-speed cassette would be heavy, even 11-speed cassettes are heavy. Even with 44T as the biggest sprocket I feel like 11-speeds are enough for smooth shifting transitions. I don't think 12-speeds are needed. Maybe only for marketing purposes..So it's possible some brand is secretly working on 12-speed setup.

Edit: Yeah so it seems the 10-42 gears are not enough so here we have the SRAM 12-speed Eagle drivetrain (rumored):

And shimano is not behind, there will be a 12-speed XTR too (picture from BikeRadar article - not real):

Soon we will wrap the chain around the tire:)

What actually could be the next thing and what we know manufacturers are working on:

gearboxes: they offer more range than 3x10, the shifting is super-smooth and precise, the system is sealed against elements, it uses a silent belt and the weight is in the right place and not on the wheel. The downsides are now big weight (only metal no-one making it carbon-fibre) and big cost. Both these negatives have huge room for improvement.

hydraulic shifting: we see this already on road bikes and on some mtb. Easier and more precise shifting. Could be the same revolution as with hydraulic brakes. The cost is high because of low volume production now:

electronic shifting: we see this already on road bikes and on some mtb. Shimano Di2 is an example. Faster more precise shifting but more weight and battery dependance. We see also some electronics in suspension now, bluetooth sensors, bikes are getting more battery tech:

So this is hopefully what will come in near future to the mainstream. It will change the game and shifting so much, that I think we won't look on shifting the same. Thinking about 12-speed cassette might be the same thing as thinking about larger rim-brakes when disc brakes debuted.


Can I use Rockshox tokens with my Sektor fork? (Fuel EX 5)

The Sektor fork does not appear to have a compatible token. From the Rockshox web site https://www.sram.com/rockshox/technologies/bottomless-tokens:

Black bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Solo Air forks: RS-1, SID, Reba, Bluto, Revelation.
Grey bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Solo Air forks: Pike, Lyrik, Yari, Pike DJ, BoXXer.
Dark red bottomless tokens are compatible with the following Dual Position Air forks: Pike, Lyrik, Yari.


You can likely use it multiple times.

Obviously, you don't want to mix different fluids in that are incompatible; you could clean the syringe by drawing in and out a bunch of times, but its probably less convenient than just keeping a separate syringe for different fluids.

They may fail at some point (likely the gasket), but that's probably fine; just use a new syringe when it fails. This may occur between multiple uses if you don't clean/if the materials degrade the syringe over time. But its not a big deal.

Note that even humans  have fairly high success rates reusing syringes, particularly drug addicts in first world countries and oral syringes for babies (which is closer to the type of syringe your bleed kit has). Though, obviously, for medical reasons, you don't always want to (usually don't) want to reuse a syringe.


It is very likely that you are putting too much stress on the frame when you are cycling due to your power stroke.

It took me a long time to train myself to avoid standing and powering the bike through the acceleration of starts, or even powering through it while sitting.  I've long since learned that while I have plenty of power, I actually am able to transmit it more effectively to the wheel using a faster cadence with lower power.

Try to start out in lower gears so that it's easy to get up to 90rpm quickly (quickly, as in within dozens of feet, while you are still accelerating).  If you don't know your cadence, or have an easy way to measure it, the disco tune "Stayin' alive" is just over 100bpm.  There's a lot of other music you may be familiar with that is about 90bpm, you can do a google search for "90bpm song" and you'll find lists such as this: http://www.edenathletics.com/90bpm

The location of the stress fractures really suggests that you are standing up to push more power into the pedals.  If you are doing that, stop standing - road bicycle frames are not meant to take the pounding that this type of riding entails.  The standing position puts a tremendous amount of force on that particular joint, and the pedals are not long enough to really transfer that energy into the chain - you are wasting a lot of power flexing the frame.  It you are a fan of geometry and physics, imagine putting the frame on two stands where the wheel hubs are usually located.  Now place a bouncing 1/2 ton load on the bottom bracket.  You'll find the stress fractures are disturbingly similar to the ones you are experiencing - the two triangle shape of the frame will force the top tube and seat up, while the bottom bracket is forced down, leading to fractures in the seat tube.  If the seat tube is strong, you may instead fracture the chain stay on the chain side.

If you prefer that riding style, however, then you'll have to settle for mountain biking frames, which are designed for powerful stroking techniques.  This is one of the reasons messengers often use mountain bikes - they are standing up a good portion of the time with very powerful strokes to accelerate in very short bursts.

While spinning doesn't allow such high acceleration it is much more efficient in transferring energy from you to the forward motion of the bike.  And you can still stand up and accelerate if a situation calls for it, but doing it often is going to fracture your frame.


How can I stop someone borrowing my bike anymore?

He probably doesn't feel very empowered to fix his own bikes, and they may have issues that are beyond his means to fix or get fixed for him. He may not really understand like you do that things need to be taken care of to work well, which is perhaps a reason why he's unduly rough on your bike.

It sounds like the allure of a bike in working order and despair over his own situation is causing him to act jealous and selfishly in turns.

As he's your friend, you might consider offering help in fixing his own bikes. Getting some support there may be what he needs to move forward from the habit he's in of leaning on you unfairly. And by learning what it takes to get and keep a bike working well, he may learn to be less unduly hard on them.

Remember you can always post here about whatever mechanical issues you encounter.

Also, I feel this question is reasonably within the bounds of 'bike culture' and is not out of place here.


How can a Mavic freehub stop working after cleaning?

Here is the explanation to what happened:

The freehub bearing had been moved outside for about 2,5mm. When reassembling the hub, the body wasn't sliding as far in the axle as it needed to. Thus, the pawls were not centered in the notches and not engaging.

But, I did replace the freehub body and pawls first, and they were engaging. However, when placing a great force, one pawl eventually gave up and broke at an angle.

Being able to see the angle of the fracture, I eventually deducted that the new pawls and freehub were engaging at an angle, so one end of the pawl was falling in the notch, while the other end was "higher", outside the notch.

I starting thinking about reasons for the pawls and notches not being aligned, which amounted to having the freehub not sliding far enough, and finally compared online pictures of the freehub bearing with what I have in hand. It was obvious that it was not pressed properly. After pressing in, the old freehub and pawls were installed and everything started working perfectly again, even the clicking sound got familiar again.


Why does my bike make a noise when I pedal hard?

Could be any number of things.  The first thing to check (because ignoring it can rapidly cause expensive damage) is that the crank arms are tight.  Even if they don't seem loose it doesn't hurt to put a wrench on the fixing bolts and torque them a bit.  (If one moves more than a small amount, get a torque wrench and do them up right.)  Likewise with the pedals.

You can also get noise from a cartridge BB if the cups are not totally tight. No big emergency here, but you need to tighten them to see if that's the problem.

Spokes can make a "ting" sound, especially if the wheel is relatively new.  Unless there are loose spokes, though, there's not much you can do about this and it will usually go away on its own after the wheel breaks in.

It's unlikely to be that the BB needs lube, unless it's been sorely neglected for years (or submerged in Sandy's tidal waters).

If the bike is relatively new (a few months old), you should take it back to the shop where you bought it and ask for a "tuneup" where they would tighten the crank arms, adjust the brakes and shifters, and true up the wheels.  On a new bike they should do this for free or for a nominal sum.

If the bike's older a tuneup won't hurt, but expect to pay more.


Replacing limit screw on R8050 Di2 front derailleur

Any M4x8mm screw will work. I prefer using an allen head in these cases. The head on an allen head is less likely to be stripped than a phillips head. Apply some Anti-Seize or grease to the threads to help eliminate corrosion. The screw should be available at a local hardware or big box home improvement center. Your local hardwarestore will likely sell you a single screw. These are small screws so get two "one to use and one to lose", just in case you drop it.


Testing of helmets shows that there is little difference in impact protection. A better quality helmet, defined in this case as one that fits your head, is well ventilated, and looks good.

A well ventilated helmet prevents you from overheating while riding, especially at high speeds. A helmet that fits stays put on your head during a crash. And one that is comfortable and lightweight is less noticeable while you ride.

From a pure safety standpoint, buy a DOT/ANSI certified helmet, and you'll be fine. If you want to enjoy riding, and not mind wearing the helmet, be willing to spend more. $300 dollars is not out of line for a really high quality helmet, but that doesn't mean you need to spend that.

Find one that fits, ask your LBS to explain the ventilation differences between it and its more expensive cousins, and find one that fits in your budget. Looks good can be important, too, but that's personal and subjective.

  The Bicycle Helmet Safety Institute
  submitted samples of six helmet models
  to a leading U.S. test lab: three in
  the $150+ range and three under $20.
  The impact test results were virtually
  identical. There were very few
  differences in performance among the
  helmets. Our conclusion: when you pay
  more for a helmet you may get an
  easier fit, more vents and snazzier
  graphics. But the basic impact
  protection of the cheap helmets we
  tested equaled the expensive ones.

  The results are a testimony to the
  effectiveness of our legally-required
  CPSC helmet standard. Although our
  sample was small, the testing
  indicates that the consumer can shop
  for a bicycle helmet in the US market
  without undue concern about the impact
  performance of the various models on
  sale, whatever the price level. The
  most important advice is to find a
  helmet that fits you well so that it
  will be positioned correctly when you
  hit. We have a page up with details of
  the testing.


What is the metric thread diameter of my crank arm pedal thread that's stripped

The vast, vast majority of pedal threads are 9/16" x 20 TPI. In nearly a decade in the bike industry I am aware of zero metric-threaded pedals (amazing, considering the lack of standardization in other parts!). The taps we use at the shop cost much more than the cost of a generic replacement crank (assuming it's the non-drive side, which it usually is).


Deflated tube: Is it me, or it is the rim tape?

Rim strips, proper ones from a bike shop, last a long time and are immune to the wear shown on your picture. It looks like the strip left the hole exposed enough that the base of the stem was allowed to make contact with the rim.

My advice is to take off the rim tape. Clean the interior of the rim with acetone. Take some fine grit sandpaper (1600-2000 grit) and gently rub it into the hole from inside of the the rim. That will help smooth out any possible burs. Then install the rim strip (not tape) and for one last good measure use a tube that is one size smaller than you usually do. It is curious how the tape shifted. Perhaps the stem wasn't perpendicular. At any rate, the smaller tube would decrease the chance of this happening with no ill effects.

Good luck!


Three speed STI shifter on two speed crankset

Just set it up and adjust it as you would a two speed shifter. Make your initial adjustments using the first and second shift positions. The "HIGH LIMIT" screw on the front derailleur will prevent you from reaching the third shift point.


Is there a way to measure tire pressure without using the valve?

If you were prepared to use  Schrader valves, you could install TPS valves used in car and truck tires. Size and possibly weight might make this idea impractical, and is most likely to work with MTB tires.  I suspect that road tires would be too small. You can get external sensors that screw onto the valve, or you would need to go tubeless to use the (probably better) internal sensors (presuming you can get a sensor that would fit a bicycle rim).
With such a system, you would simply read the display and have a very accurate pressure reading.


When is using a suspension fork worth it?

Proviso - my advise presumes you are not looking at forking out $2K or more for a bike, and probably significantly less. At a high price point I might suggest suspension. I also presume the gravel section is well maintained with average (pea - grape) size gravel (Where I ride, we sometime use logging roads, the "gravel" is stones about 2"-3" across.), and straight rather than technical single track

Advantages of suspension - Softens the ride on the arms making the ride more comfortable, holds front wheel on the ground providing better handling, especially  while cornering. Allows you to ride a straighter line than you might otherwise be able to.

Disadvantages: Heavy and very expensive for good shocks, need maintenance and cheap ones don't really work well. Absorb energy while riding slowing you down - can be mitigated with a lockout, but even ones with lockouts move a bit.

You only have 200m of rough ground to cover, so a suspension fork is probably overkill. If I was buying a bike for that commute, for the same $$$ you will get a significantly better bike with no shocks, any loss of time over 200m of rough ground would be made up on the rest of the 5 miles because of the better quality bike. Cheap shocks won't really help with the comfort, so unless you can get to at least a mid range in price, don't bother.

I would consider padded hand grips and gloves - cheap and easy to "tweak" if needed. Also big tires will help with the rough ground and gravel - I would look at 1.75"-2" slicks, and probably a 29er MTB of cyclocross style wheels (depending on your height).

Consider a quality steel frame if you cannot afford carbon - they absorb vibrations much better than aluminum. The problem is many shops do not stock, and know nothing about steel and will tell you "stories".


How do I change the granny gear on a cheap Walmart mountain bike?

Depends on your budget, your requirements, and your mechanical aptitude.  Plus how far down the slippery slope of knock-on upgrades you want to do on a BSO bike.

Since the crank is riveted together, its unlikely to accept any bolt-on replacement chainrings.  Though its possible the makers used rivets instead of bolts but used normal bolt chainrings.  You'll want to pop the chainrings off and have a close look.  It may be possible to buy a MTB triple chainring like what you want, but it won't be walmart-grade or price.

Second problem is Front Deraileur capacity.  Most front mechanisms have a maximum tooth difference that they can swing, and for your existing FD is already coping with a difference of 18 teeth.  A difference of 22 teeth might be too much for it.  Hard to know.

Finances comes into this as well - remember a walmart bike is at the bottom of the quality scale.  I see little point in throwing good money at a crappy bike, when you can save up and get something better.  Don't discount used bikes either - a 5-10 year old used bike could cost as much as a new chainring triple crankset, but have a lot better quality components.

You say you want to ride through long grass - can you expand on why this needs such a crawler gear ratio?  I can ride (very slowly) up a 25% grade on a 26/24, and a 20/34 would be quite a low gearing.

You'll have better luck with the rear cassette upgrade.  I upgraded my 7 speed MTB from a maximum 28tooth to a 34 tooth megarange and it worked perfectly.  All you need is a long rear deraileur, and many bikes already have them because they fit the "look" even if the bike doesn't need them.  This will also decrease the tension on your chain - as the front chainring gets smaller chain tension increases.

TBH don't discount the value of an engine upgrade - ride your bike further for endurance or harder for increasing power.  This helps immensely, as does weight reduction of you and your load.


Can the Garmin Edge 130 obtain heart rate from a fitness wrist-band?

GPS-based computers, which are often called head units, typically use two communication protocols: Bluetooth (which is the same as many personal electronic devices like smartphones use) and ANT+, which is a protocol developed for the cycling world. I think that ANT+ was initially developed for power meters, but it can be used for other devices.
Correspondingly, many of the things you might want to connect to a head unit broadcast data using either or both ANT+ or Bluetooth. You can very often connect any brand of device to any head unit if they both have ANT+ or Bluetooth. ANT+'s own page lists a set of devices that have ANT+ and that are known to be compatible with the Edge 130. Obviously, Garmin's own heart rate straps are compatible, but straps from Garmin's main competitor Wahoo, as well as Bontrager, Timex, Tacx, and a number of brands I don't recognize are compatible as well. In general, if the device you want has either ANT+ or Bluetooth, it's very likely it can pair with a head unit.
However, the question refers to fitness bands, which I would assume means watches like Fitbit. One of the exceptions to the above rule is with these items. As @AdamRice noted in comments, the Apple Watch and the Fitbit can read heart rate data themselves, but they will not broadcast it to head units. They have the hardware to do so, but the restriction is in their operating systems, and this can't be changed by the end user. The ANT+ page I linked to listed many Garmin watches as compatible with the Edge 130 (and most likely with other head units), but these watches were clearly designed such that head units can see them as standalone heart rate sensors.
Many smart watches may be able to pair, at least in theory, with cycling sensors. With the Apple Watch, someone would have to design an app for this. Thus, in theory, I could connect my Quarq power meter to my Apple Watch via Bluetooth, if I or someone else were willing to write an app. This is akin to treating a smartwatch like a head unit.
Just for interest's sake, what are some of the more unusual things you could connect to a head unit? You can connect tire pressure sensors, as described in the comments on this question - some gravel racers use them, but they are expensive. You can connect muscle oxygen sensors, which are thought to be another way to measure effort. People with electronic shifting systems can often connect the system to their head unit, and thus gain a gear display. You can connect smart trainers, which enable you to do virtual cycling. The Edge 130's compatibility page lists the Kayak Power Meter, which is obviously a power meter, only for the sport of kayaking - although I'm not sure that I'd go kayaking with an Edge 130 head unit. Several companies make smart lights that broadcast over ANT+, but only Garmin has implemented this protocol on their head units. Thus, Garmin head units can control smart lights, while Wahoo head units can't. Apparently, the ANT+ light protocol is not a straightforward thing to implement. Garmin makes a rear-facing radar that detects and alerts you to cars behind you, whose ANT+ protocol several companies apart from Garmin have recently implemented - hence, until late 2019, only Garmin units could control their Varia radar, but now Wahoo and at least one other company's units can do the same.


There are at least four different places you can mount a kickstand.

From left to right:

Orange arrow: Rear axle kickstand. These come in one-sided and two-sided varieties. The one sided are not that stable and since your bike has what looks like a child carrier, I wouldn't recommended it. Axle mount kickstands are very popular on children's bicycles:

The two sided are very heavy but are very stable. These are very cheap but don't fit on many derailleur bikes as they foul the  rear derailleur. They are popular with IGH cargo bikes and so-called "mom bikes" (in Japan) as they will not tip over under load:

Lime-green arrow: Chainstay mount are inexpensive but not that stable - although better than rear-axle. They look much like the rear-axle mounts. The most important thing to match is the diameter of your chainstay (the horizontal bar that my limegreen arrow is pointing to) and the clamp of the mount. However, in your case you have a rear disc brake and you need to make sure your chainstay mount won't interfere with the brake cable (the brake cable should be able to pass over your kickstand mount bracket without problem, but a particularly thick mounting bracket might interfer). Better chainstay kickstands also mount to the seat stay as that provides more leverage against the kickstand torquing or rotating on just the chainstay or bending the chainstay under weight. Note this design also allows a passthru for the rear disc brake cable. However, there are more fit issues if you have nonstandard chainstays or seatstays or rear triangle design, which can lead to complications if you have rear suspension for example.

Red-arrow: Chainstay-bottom bracket bridge mount: This is the traditional kickstand mounting place for many bikes -- and many bikes have a welded bracket for a kickstand here (the photo here is taken of the bottom of the bike):

Without a bracket, you have to be sure that there's enough space behind your bottom bracket (where your pedals attach) and the tire for the kickstand. Most if not all kickstands will come with bridge mounting plates/clamps and you do need to observe the mounting bolt torque limits as too little torque will cause the kickstand to slip while too much can crush the chainstays. And you should avoid the clamps if you have a carbon frame bike (your Vaya isn't carbon fiber so you have nothing to worry about).

There are both singlesided and double-sided  bridge mount kickstand varieties. As usual, the double-sided kickstands are more stable than singlesided:

Blue arrow: Trekking bikes or bikes carrying trailers will occasionally use top-tube stands. These are not very useful for commuting. While trekking, many people will just use sticks or their hiking poles.

Fine print: One thing to note about almost all kickstands is that they will clank around if you hop curbs or take jumps. Bridge and chainstay kickstands can also get in the way of your pedal or feet if you don't check clearances, as well as hit curbs and other obstacles if you're not careful. My bridgemount double folding kickstand almost hits my disk brake rotor on my folding ebike and will limit my ability to move to a larger rotor.  Larger double sided axle mount stands can affect your cornering ability. Your mileage may vary, buy from a store that'll let you return it if it doesn't fit.

to;dr: The best option for your particular bike varies on what your needs are. If you're carrying kids on a rear seat, you may want a double-sided axle mount or bridge mount. If you're commuting, you may want the simplicity of a single-sided bridge or chainstay mount kickstand.


Should I replace these cassette and chainring?

That chain should have been changed ages ago - at or before 0.75% ideally.  At 1% you will need a new cassette.  To get to 1.8% is astounding, and means that the cassette and chain have worn into each other,

The chainrings look OK, because there's a lot more teeth engaged compared to the cassette, however if the chain slips at the front after replacing chain and cassette, then the chainring needs doing too.

You might also want to examine your two jockey wheels and consider replacing them.  The main difference of that is improved shifting and little to do with skipping, but given the rest is that worn you may as well change all the wear items.

Keep your chain cleaner too - that's a contributing factor on transmission wear.

If I were you, I'd give the bike a proper refresh.

New brake and shift cables, inners and outers
New brake pads front and rear
New bartape

Depending on wear you might even consider new tyres and saddle, but they're more expensive so not a priority item.

Give your bike a proper clean and degrease (that means using an old toothbrush.   While doing so, examine the frame for cracks and any damage that was hiding under the dirt and oil.


When bearings wear down, they tend to wear unevenly. They pit and chip and generally come out of round. The races tend to look equally rough if they're the same age as the bearings. If all is looking to be in fairly good shape, I think it's far more likely that someone has previously serviced the hub and used slightly smaller bearings.


What is the best position for mudguard in cycle

With a hardtail like that you can fit a full rear mudguard that covers much more of the tyre, especially towards the back of the wheel, and covers it more closely With what you've got you're never going to keep your back from getting splashed. You can experiment with the angle and height to see if you can get a little better, but I doubt it's worth it. Those mudguards will keep the worst of the mud off your (lower) back but that's about all - fine drops of water  get everywhere and soon soak you.


Describe main criteria of choosing energy-conserving bicycle that allows getting easily up-hill

Uphill - gears and weight. Extending the lowest gear range till its faster and easier to walk and push the bike is cheap and easy and would be the first thing on my list to do.

Cutting down weight (of the bike) is an has an exponential cost/gram relationship - you quickly get from $1/gram to $100/gram. Cutting your weight does not require the cash, and in most people cases a very effective way to gain speed uphill. (Shaving 5kg off a bike will cost $1000's, even if possible, many people can afford to loose twice that).

Although you said no engine, in your situation (hot, uphill, no shower at end, health concerns) a pedal assist electric bike would be a very effective way to achieve your apparent aim. Would you be prepared to rethink that position and consider an eBike?


Short answer: depends.

Long answer:

Braking is as much a style as other parts of riding, but there are some general guidelines. The longer you hold those brakes, the more the heat will build up and braking performance will decrease. You'll also burn through pads a lot faster that way. On the other hand, sudden braking puts quite a bit of stress on the bike all the way from the rotor through the fork/rear triangle, to the handlebars and chain. It also changes the way the suspension moves through it's travel.

When should use either of these methods? I generally use a longer, controlled brake when descending a steep chute that requires a bit more technical riding or doesn't have a great runout after the rough bits. Quick braking is useful when you're plowing into a corner and need to scrub some speed quick or plan on drifting around it. You can also brake right before dropping in to a section so that the wheels roll over the rocks and roots instead of sliding and then roll out the bottom.

Really it's going to come down to how you ride and where you like to make speed changes. Experiment and find what's comfortable and what meets your needs. If you're trying to carry crazy speed you might find a quick, hard brake is more beneficial, etc.


Apparently, there are differences not readily apparent on the frame graphics. Per Rocky Mountain:

  The decision to include variable rear center information on the
  Element relates to the redesigned linkage, hence why the Instinct
  doesn’t show any change. The rearmost pivot is much closer to the rear
  axle on the Instinct, so the change is virtually nonexistent.


Result DISMAL FAILURE

I attempted to use a large 12" adjustable spanner to gently tweak the rim back to place.  On the first pass along it worked okay, and took out about a third of the offset.  It was better but not right.

On the second pass along I felt something crunch.  It felt like snapping a thin green twig where the fibres break but don't part.  This damage is visible on the left side of this photo.  The pressure was no higher than elsewhere, and there was no warning, just a sudden crunch.

Its fairly evident that the rim flange has folded along the weakened line and its now utterly scrap.

Out of interest I gave the other end of the damaged area a good heave and it took about half the elbow effort that the undamaged part required for a similar effect.   (bend on undamaged rim is out of shot sorry)

I have salvaged the hub and spokes, tyre tube and tape to rebuild on an undamaged fresh rim, which is why its a bare rim in these photos.

tl;dr aluminium bike parts with visible cracking are utterly unserviceable and unrepairable.  Don't waste your time trying to fix bent aluminium parts.

Do recycle them though - Aluminium is infinitely reusable.


Which exercises a cyclist should do before/after any ride?

I get enough stretching while getting my pants on before a ride.  I take the first 10 minutes fairly slowly too, because its in traffic with lights.  A drink of water before you go helps with pre-hydrating.

Afterward, do a cooldown ride for the last 5-10 minutes, not too fast.  A hot shower helps, followed by clean fresh clothes.  Then go clean your bike.

Some people use sports massage or self-massage with a roller to beat up tense muscles.


This is something built from mismatched parts. The frame looks like it's from the 90s with cable stops for cantilever brakes, threaded headset and quick release seatpost. Lugged construction hints that it was a high end one, but identifying the brand is going to be difficult. The drivetrain on the other hand is newer (probably late 00s) and second highest tier from Shimano.

And yes, the sticker really is misspelled.


Why does my bike constantly break/need servicing?

The bike you have is a decent low/mid-range hybrid bike with entry-level name-brand components. It should absolutely be mostly trouble-free with basic maintenance for a daily 4 mile commute. While replacing the cheap plastic pedals with a decent set of metal or high-quality poly pedals is standard business for any new bike, the other problems are worrying.

To be honest I don't think it was assembled correctly at the shop, and the mistakes in assembly - mis-alignment of the derailers, improper torquing of components (too loose for the bottom bracket and crank, too tight for the chaincase), etc. - are causing new issues to pop up on the regular. If you bought the bike from the shop who's been fixing it, find another shop. Heck, find another shop, period - any pro bike mechanic worth their salt should be finding and fixing these issues on their work-stand before you find them on the road.

It may be that there are so many problems on the bicycle that need remediation, a new or gently used bike might be a more economical solution than trying to bring this one into some semblance of repair. Find a different shop to buy it at and to maintain it.


Sharing own experience with several racks, either used as bought and even homemade.

I can divide them in three categories:

Roof
Trailer Hitch
Trunk/Reardoor.

Roof:

More adequate for small cars (i.e. not so tall) for reach issues. Also, they work better with lighter bikes (Road bikes, XC bikes or the like). I wouldn't fit a heavy DH bike in a roof rack, it's heavy to lift up to the roof. Also if the car is too tall, the operation is likely to get difficult. In My experience, the roof rack would work fine if the car's roof is at your shoulder's height, above that, it gets too difficult.

There are two kinds: the ones that hold the whole bike or the ones that hold the bike by its fork. Either one has the advantage of easily accepting odd shaped bikes, as they usually have a rail in which the rear wheel fits.

If the whole bike type, they have a rail for the front wheel and a post that holds the bike upright. When sturdy enough they can handle heavy bikes like the DH ones.

The fork type requires you to remove the front wheel completely and put the fork in a hitch that has the same shape and dimensions as your wheel's axle. This of course works better if you have a quick release front axle, and along having to take your bike apart every time, you risk loosing axle nuts or springs. Also, you need the rack to have the adecuate hitch for your bike's front axle: road and XC hubs are different, All Mountain or DH bikes usually have thru axle type. However, they hold the bike very secure.

A useful advantage of the roof rack is that it is unobtrusive for most doors, so you have full access to your car without having to remove bikes. Also, they can be left on vehicle as it doesn't increase overall length, so is not a problem for tight parking and other slow maneuver. (Unless under a low garage or bridge).

Other advantage is that they usually can accommodate more bikes than other types. For example, I used to fit 3 XC bikes on top of a small car without protruding outside the roof. Another example: the support cars in Tour d France...

Trailer Hitch:

Better for bigger cars that are more likely to have adequate mounting points for the towing bar (what the hitch is bolted to), as this is the only mounting point unlike other rack types that have several mounting points.

This type is more likely to hold the bike by it's tires and have a post that holds the bike upright, so you don't have to disassemble the bike anytime just to transport it.

They are usually limited to three or four bikes.

Consider that they increase overall car length but can be left on vehicle. Also, in order to be sturdy enough they usually are heavy therefore difficult to install/remove by just one person. If they are too low they can hit the ground in certain situations. In some cars it will block the rear door, even when the bikes are not in the rack. Some can be folded up to be left in the vehicle when not in use.

These are very goo options for DH or AM bikes that use to be heavy, because this kind of rack does not require you to lift the bike too high. They are also useful for oddly shaped bikes, as most DH or XC frames can be.

Trunk/Reardoor:

Therese light racks are easy to install/remove by one person, and are specially adequate for lighter bikes. Every maker of these will claim they are universally compatible with any car, however, this is not true, some are better for sedans, some for hatchbacks. For sedans they can interfere or damage a spoiler. For Hatchbacks they can interfere with rear window wiper.

This rack type is better suited for straight top tube bikes and  they can be hardly fitted with some full suspension bikes or any other bike that doesn't have a diamond shaped frame (there are temporary addaptors that are fitted between the seatpost and the stem post for this purpose.).
They also grab the bike by its frame, so they can damage paint and can also be an issue for carbon frames.

They are usually limited to two or three bikes, and they better be light ones. Some people mount them in the hood too. (it funny to see a car with two bikes attached a each end)

They don't add too much to the overall length of the vehicle and can be left on when not in use. Most designs allow access to the trunk/rear door when bikes are not on them.

If they fit too low can let bike hit the ground in certain circumstances.

There are a variety that fits attached to the rear mounted spare wheel, these are not compatible with harcovers for the spare.

Other Options:

Other options you may consider are pickup trucks which exist in many different sizes and you may find one that fit all your needs (besides bike transport) They offer huge flexibility and carry capacity. Personally this happens to be my most recent circumstance (did not acquire the pickup because of the bikes) but is also the most comfortable one. I can carry from just one bike up to seven plus driver, riders and gear (my pickup is medium sized, not one of the biggest).

Another option can be a small trailer for bike carrying. This can be fitted to almost any vehicle, as a bike towing trailer will not bear too much weight. However it may need to be custom made /installed and it is more complicated to drive a car with a trailer attached. Nonetheless, a custom made bike carrying trailer, if well designed, can be very comfortable to use.

Finally: Consider the type of bike you are going to carry, and your other needs (Me for example, use the car for bike carrying just 2 days a week). Ease of use of course will make your biking journeys more enjoyable, so, congratulations for considering it! ;)


Pacing for 90km time trial with heart rate monitor

For those unfamiliar with the CTS system, there is a guide here

The answer is a hard one without knowing the individual athlete, as a better trained athlete will be able to tolerate much more work in the tempo and sweet spot ranges.

On race day HR is often a few beats higher and you can squeeze out that bit more due to a combination of adrenaline and motivation.  I would be looking to target
86-90% for the first half and push on to 88-92% in the 2nd half if you feel you have more in the tank.

Putting the HR monitor to one side, it is also useful to pay close attention to your RPE (Rate of Perceived Exertion) during the first half.  You should feel like you are pushing firmly on the pedals, but if your legs are burning, you are probably going too hard and will pay for it later.

In general push towards the top of the HR band on the inclines, and ease off a little to the bottom of the band on the declines.  Using this minor variation in effort is more efficient as at higher speeds, wind resistance is higher, and you are gaining less speed for every Watt of power you are producing.


I buy and sell used bikes some have been repainted how can I find manufacturer if there are no identifying marks

The short answer is that it's a lot of work and there is no one way of identifying every bike. Sometimes a bike impossible to identify.
Documenting all the things to look for that might help ID a bike would take a large book. Here is some high level information to get you started.

As a rule of thumb
The less information you have to start with the less likely it is that you will be able to identify the bike.

Per the original question - there are no identifying marks.

Is it worth identifying?
Some bikes are not worth the effort of identifying.
If it's a department store bike it does not matter which brand of department store bike it is.
Here is a link to a previously asked question on how to identify department store bikes.

Let's assume it's not a department store bike - what are next steps.

What kind of bike is it?
For a BMX / Freestyle bike BMXmuseum.com is a great place to do research.
Mountain, Gravel, Hybrid, Road and touring bikes - with a little experience you can roughly identify a year range the bike may have been made and then work with Google images to find a picture of a bike like the one you have. If the frame you has no distinctive features it will be very difficult to identify.

Possible distinctive frame features.

lug work
frame design - anything besides the standard diamond frame.
tubing - oval shaped, tapered etc.
fork crown
Fork or frame drop outs

Here is a forum thread discussing a wide variety of ways to identify a bike.

Bike parts
If the bike has parts on it the brand / model names of the parts can help you identify a bike. You can search for bike makers that used the brand / model of part that is on the bike. The newer the bike is the less distinctive parts are to particular bike makers. There just aren't as many bike parts makers as there use to be.

Stolen bikes
Finally, there are many stolen bikes out there. It's always good to run a serial number through the Bike Serial Numbers database to see if it's stolen.

This answer is intended to be a start on the answer. I'm sure others will have valuable tips and tricks.


handlebar setup/selection to mitigate wrist pain on multiday rides

The biggest consideration for addressing wrist and hand pain (especially when riding long distances) is by reducing the pressure you're bearing on your wrists. Aggressive riding postures put excess pressure on your arms/hands/wrists/elbows for the benefit of aerodynamics and better advantage on your pedal strokes. For the majority of cyclists unconcerned with such things (tourists, especially) comfort and rideability are more worth the effort.

The traditional KOPS (knee over pedal spindle) has been the go to rule for adjusting saddle fore-and-aft for quite a while. Lots of people find it totally satisfactory, however, everyone is built differently and quite often different riding styles necessitate different setups. Moving one's weight back onto their sit bones and feet (two parts of the body that aren't as sensitive to bearing weight) will in turn reduce pressure on your wrists. Your saddle needs to be adjusted for the appropriate height and then set back a bit.

The idea is that when you squat (sans bicycle), your hips have to move back to balance your upper body. In the above diagram, you can imagine the effect of moving your saddle back as being a similar shift in weight.

To compensate for that more upright posture, you may need to change your stem and spacer orientation and setup. The idea is to bring the bars up and back (with some room for fine tuning.) Most touring bicycles are fitted with tall stems that enable you to achieve this posture. If you're refitting a bike, you may need to buy a new stem or some spacers.

Many people will suggest adding padded bar tape or thick gloves. While this is a great way to relieve some of the roughness and pressure, no amount of padding will make supporting your upper body all day comfortable. The idea is to use your legs and rump to get you from place to place.

Also, these sorts of issues can certainly be caused by medical complications (carpal tunnel syndrome, especially), so consult with a doctor if things start to deteriorate or worsen.

Further resources can be found at SheldonBrown.com and RivBike.com (and many others.)


At your level all brands are equal and you can find a suitable bike for yourself in almost all brands. Focusing on a specific brand will only make it easier for you to choose but don't, for one second, believe that you've found a better brand than others.

I suggest visiting a couple of LBSes (local bike shops) to get more info and test ride a couple of bikes (even in the parking lot). Pay attention to sizing. This is something that your LBS will help you with.

If you need a bike for getting stronger and having a bit of safe fun then any $1000 26 inch XC hardtail with 100mm front travel will do the job. The bike will take you anywhere and will last for decades.

If you feel that at some point you'll want to get more aggressive then you'll need a more aggressive hardtail with slacker head angle and around 140mm of front travel.


Disc brake equipped time trial bikes in grand tour

The main reason is the 2020 Specialized Shiv provided by their sponsor is only produced in a disc version.

You can see an article about the bike here:
https://www.bikeradar.com/news/specialized-sworks-shiv-tt-disc/


Which Phil Wood bottom brackets are compatible with Shimano XT cranks?

According to the Phil Wood FAQ:

  What is the difference between JIS, JIS low profile, and ISO
  tapers?
   Phil Wood offers all three tapers to try and best meet the needs of our
  customers who are using square-tapered
  bottom brackets. An explaination of
  the different bottom bracket tapers
  can be found here. In brief, most
  modern cranks will take the JIS
  (Japanese Industrial Standard) taper,
  in addition to Campagnolo cranks
  produced before 1994. After 1994,
  Campagnolo moved to the ISO (a.k.a.
  Campy) taper. The less common of the
  three tapers offered is the JIS low
  profile, which is used in some
  specific older-model Dura Ace cranks.

Since Shimano square-taper cranks are J.I.S. (not low-profile), this means that all Phil Wood bottom brackets with JIS spindles are compatible, as well as Outboard Bottom Brackets.


There is no reason a carbon fiber composite frame could not be built to accommodate a Gates drive. CFC can be bonded to a metal split dropout no problem.

CFC frames designed for Gates drives are likely not common because the frame materials and drives are intended for different niches. CFC frames are intended to be light, efficient and fast, are relatively expensive compared to other frame materials and are combined with derailleur drivetrains. Gates drives require internally geared hubs which are a bit heavy and are aimed at 'practical' cycling offering no mess and low maintenance, where CFC frames are not used as alloy frames are perfectly adequate.


How do I tell if jockey wheels need overhaul or replacement?

If the teeth on the jockey wheels appear to be in good shape then you probably have nothing to worry about. Many jockey wheels use bushings instead of bearings, and either way they are not going to spin for very long just because there's not much weight to them and therefore they don't carry much inertia.

If there is noticeable resistance when you try to turn the jockey wheel- as in it leaves an impression of the tooth on your finger when you try to spin it- then they need service. If you want to do it youself you can take the cage apart and check the bushings/bearings and replace them if needed. Servicing instructions should be available from your derailleur's respective manufacturer along with replacement part numbers. Be sure to use a very small drop of threadlocker on the threads of the bolts that hold the jockey wheels to the derailleur cage when reassembling, and be sure not to overtighten those bolts.

It doesn't sound like this is a problem in your situation, but for completeness I'll mention that you don't want to let the jockey wheels themselves get over-worn, either. As they wear out the teeth may become narrow and pointed or short and blunted, depending on the riding conditions and the condition of the bushings/bearings. Here are a couple of extreme examples:


Isopropyl alcohol and/or brake cleaner from the car trade. Avoid washing up liquid in the cleaning water as it may leave a film of water dispersant. Don't forget the pads or replace the pads if they're too badly contaminated. Heating is a bad idea, it could damage the discs irreversibly.

To avoid contamination cover the rear disc when lubricating the chain and wipe off the excess of lubricant before the ride. Another source for contamination may be slightly leaking seals in the brake callipers.

But then concerning the lack of stopping power after new parts were fitted, did you break-in the pads and the rotors properly?


Does 1.2cm of additional frame stack make a large difference to the ride of a bike?

My own personal experience is that small changes can make a big difference, but you should be able to get the bars 1.2 cm higher a lot cheaper than a new frame.

I've found that the most critical measurement in a frame is the Effective Top Tube. If that is "right" for you then with enough bodging you can get the handlebars in the right place. For a road bike that means a stem in roughly the
90-120cm range for most people. If you aren't over 6 feet and you find you need a stem outside that range, then I would seriously consider a new frame.

My advice is to spend some time and money on the current bike to find out where the right place is. You might end up with an ugly heavy bodge based on a stem extender, but then you will know exactly what you need in the next bike.

If the stem extender works, then you might just need a new fork with an uncut steerer so you can get the stack height you want. Forks with carbon steerers have a stack height limit, but even there most bikes come out of the shop with the steerer cut at the minimum rather than the maximum. ( Because it looks better on the shop room floor that way... )


Can non-tubeless-ready MTB tyres be used to go tubeless?

In general:
It is beter to have tubeless ready (TLR) tyres, but the large volume MTB tyres often work well even when not explicitly TLR. It is much less sensitive than road tyres. However, it should not be a supercheap thin model, that obviously would not hold the air. Also, wired models are less likely to seal well.

To your specific bike:
Decathlon does sell some of the bikes with tubeless ready tyres (e.g., the gravel Triban). And it is the case with your bicycle too. If the manufacturer says it is TLR, there is no reason not to believe them. It is also confirmed at the Decathlon page for the tyre https://www.decathlon.co.uk/taipan-kolos-mountain-bike-tyre-275-x-28-id_8511989.html
Most better quality tyres for MTB are TLR, because it is a must these days. MTB really needs tubeless for good performance.


Converting friction shifters to SIS or STI shifters

Since you're going to a lot of work, moving to 8 speed (or 9 or 10) sets you up for the most flexibility.
The main reason is that you need a new rear hub with a cassette-freehub.  There's no good way to convert a freewheel based wheel.  Since you're buying a replacement hub/wheel, its no more work to pick an 8~10 speed one.
The OLD of your bike needs to match the hub, so measure that first.  If its 126mm, you'll have to decide if you want to cold-set your frame.  Is your frame steel? It could be aluminium from the photo, which doesn't cold set.

You will need a full set of parts, plus substitutes for the fittings missing on your frame.
Starting at the top, the brifters should just slide onto your drops and bolt up.  You will need to either carefully unwrap the existing bartape to reuse, or buy some new.
Next are the downtube stops. Your frame has nice but unusual shift levers - the more common ones are two lugs horizontally out the sides.  For them its possible to buy bosses that create stop points.

There are other options - you might choose a "band-on" cable stop like this:

or if you're happy with welding/brazing/2-part epoxy then stick-on ones might suit.

Ideally you'll be able to use the existing cable track under the BB, the photo isn't clear how the internal cable exits the downtube.

If you want to somehow tie the new brifters into the existing access holes on top of the downtube, well that's going to need some engineering and likely a frame builder.
One possibility might be to use Nokon-style cable housing to run from your brifters all the way down to the existing cable entry holes, but that could leave some loops of outer that will look weird.  There could also be stresses on the cable as it passes through at least one 90-degree bend, maybe two.

Additionally, I found that the Klein downtube bosses had some kind of weakness in the past.  Details are from https://www.bikeforums.net/bicycle-mechanics/729717-hillrider-s-klein-stage-comp-fix-shifter-boss-bolt-stripping.html
In summary:  the bosses are weak and there's a refit kit to make them stronger.  However the instructions suggest the existing boss is only bolted to the frame, so it may be possible to unbolt, for a cleaner look.
With the knowledge Top-mount downtube shifter I found this rare Suntour adapter - you might choose to use this as inspiration to make your own, or talk to a machinist to get something made:
   from https://www.bikeforums.net/classic-vintage/1163305-how-use-ergo-sti-shifters-aero-dt-shifter-mount.html some gorgeous photos there
And here's someone who secured normal lugs to his Klein:
 from https://www.bicycles.net.au/forums/viewtopic.php?t=30867

Finally, whatever you do, save the take-off pieces.  Someday you or a future owner might want to restore the bike to original, and these levers are rare.  So please don't throw them out.  You might even choose to sell all the takeoff parts to help fund your changes, but don't bin them.


At a guess, your ebike has a main rechargeable battery and a separate coin cell battery in the controller, aka the TCD or Turbo Connect Display.
The warning says "LO BAT" for Low Battery, and you'll need to replace the CR2032 3V coin cell that keeps the bike's memory alive when the main battery is removed or flat.
I don't have one, but searching suggests you rotate the computer/head unit by 90 degrees, then it lifts off the mount.  Underneath is a common cr2032 access hole.  Rotate it with your fingers, or perhaps plier tips, then see the old battery inside and swap a new one in.

For more info, read the friendly manual at  https://media.specialized.com/support/collateral/0000108340.pdf
Note your odometer will be reset by changing the battery, so maybe you want to note it down first, if possible.   You may also need to re-pair the head unit with the other components, which is also described in the manual linked above.


How to destroy a LOOK pedal as it won't come off anyway

Heating the pedal is not going to help here.  Cool the pedal might.  But if the hex is stripped too late.

Use penetrating oil like Liquid Wrench over WD40 for this.
I would have soaked it two days in penetrating oil before I went brute force.
The risk of brute force is you that you strip out the crank.

Use a drill press as it is really hard to center by hand.
If you get the bit big enough it will fracture the pedal axle.
But you don't want the bit big enough to scar the crank.

I would see if you can get the pedal part of the pedal off and have enough of the axle to grab on to with a pipe wrench.  Soak it for 2 days in penetrating oil before you go at it with a pipe wrench.


Shimano Nexus 3 clicking free-wheel-mechanism-like noise

It is normal - cogs of 1st gear turn slower than that from 2nd and 3rd gear, so are overrun and click into hub housing. You can "silent" it a bit by opening the hub and greasing hub housing, where the cogs work.


How to setup my 26er MTB for indoor MTB park

Convert it to a single speed and slam the seatpost. Those will be the biggest things. Add a bash guard up front too for when your rear wheel falls off the teeter-totters and skinnies.

A shorter stem would be a good addition too. It'll improve the steering for those technical sections.

You might also consider a rigid fork. Suspension isn't really necessary for that type of stuff and can actually be a hindrance. That's why trials and bmx bikes have rigid forks. Surly makes a suspension corrected fork. Even with the correction, your front end will sit a bit lower than it does now, but you get used to it.

You might want rim brakes too (if your bike is set up for either) for the same reason that you'll want a bash guard. You only have to land on a brake rotor once to really mess it up. You can true them to a certain degree, but they're never the same.

If you stick with the disc brakes, you could try smaller wheels. 24" perhaps. But if you're going to go that far it's probably a better investment to just sell it (since you haven't been using it anyway) and buy a bike that's built for that type of riding.

In fact, if you're going to be riding at this park more than once in a blue moon, you'd probably be happier doing that anyway.


What is this point of this Phil Wood "Rohloff Disc Rotor Compatible Hub"?

They have a 135mm version as well. That should be meant to replace the (rear) Rohloff hub when converting a Rohloff drive train to fixed gear/single speed, while keeping the brake disk. Some people may want to do that at least temporarily, and Rohloff compatible frames (without chain tensioner) are by design a good base for fixed gear/single speed conversion by justs swapping out the back wheel. I can see the appeal of this for people who like single speed MTBs.

Apart from the spare parts advantage you mention I can't really see the point in the similar front wheel hub either (yet the Keirin 110mm one). It probably exists because Phil Wood sometimes lists products which are basically combinations of different options they could make if somebody asked for it.


I'm sure you can find exceptions, but most or at least many trainers can be made to work with nutted axles. The answers to your questions:
1. I think you mean quick release skewer and not through axle, and not practically because it would involve transplanting in a hollow axle, and hollow axles with the thread size for coaster brake hubs don't really exist.
2. Yes you could do this, but it's not very straightforward, because it would need to be spaced right for the frame, and it would need to be a singlespeed wheel to play nice with the chain that the bike probably already has, and singlespeed QR wheels are a rare breed. So you're talking about buying a standard-axle singlespeed road wheel, freewheel, tube, rim strip, tire, quick release, hollow axle, and some hub spacers, then chopping the axle down to fit a 110mmm spaced frame and installing it in there and getting the spacing right. That all is possible but probably not the simplest path.

Here's a video that shows installation of a nutted axle on a Cycleops.


How can I fit a bigger rear tyre when limited by the front derailleur?

Put a larger tire on the front and don't worry about running a larger tire on the rear.

Back when North Shore BC riding was just starting to take off (i.e., 1990s) we often did this setup as we were equipment limited. At the time the "thinking" was that it was bizarre ride a tire bigger than a 2.0 anything but a dedicated race downhill bike. So we would often swap a fork and run bigger rubber up front as there was clearance issues in the rear. Now  25 years later and anything less than 2.3 is pretty much considered anemic for most riding.

Anyway, the mismatch tire size works fine. The front is where you are often traction limited as you brake and steer with this tire.  A small rear tire may mean a bit harsher ride (i.e., higher pressure with all other things equal) and a tad less traction, but you can afford this compromise on the rear.

Plus, one tire is cheaper than two, and if any one asks just tell them the setup is more aero (#AeroIsEverything - /sarcasm).


Do you know as soon as you are riding on a flat?

My question is, if you do not look at the tyre and you get a flat, do you realise that you have a flat?

Typically I can catch well before the rim starts bottoming out without looking. If the bike ever feels "off" I will give a quick check by it plopping my self down on the saddle.  If the tire is going down this will usually bottom out the rim which I know shouldn't be happening. At this point I start visually checking things.  If the bike feels a bit soft (I.e., we have lost some pressure but not enough to bottom out the rim) I will give it a quick visual by looking at the tire bulge when I bounce on the saddle.  Finally if the bike feels solid I know it's my imagination and continue riding.

  Or you may end up driving for some kilometres before you take notice? Especially if you are tired after a long ride?

After a while these checks become second nature and you start doing them without thinking even when tired.


Check the tyre pressure anyway. You should be within the limits printed on the tyre. I would be a little surprised if low pressure caused sliding, normally it's high pressure on a rough surface that causes your wheel to skip across the top of the bumps and move sideways when it's airbourne between bumps. In that case lifting your bodyweight slightly with your legs can help soak up the bumps and increase traction.

But if you were unweighting the rear wheel by standing and pedalling hard that's not too unusual. Try to avoid it by pedalling more smoothly, ideally from the saddle.

edit: at that speed I think it's just basic bike handling skills. As you ride more that will be both less likely to happen and bother you less when it does. It might help to play on gravel a bit (possibly on a MTB or old bike). If you really want to push that along either mountain biking or bike polo are good ways to improve your bike handling.


Dealing with a scrape (cleaning a wound)?

The ocean is not sanitary! Especially around major cities, so if you were on a bike path, there is a good chance you are close enough to civilization to where the ocean is not good for your wounds. I grew up in a beach house in Hawaii and know that until the wound closes you don't want to go swimming, you can get it infected. Happened to my foot, frekn SUCKED! Samoans wash off in the ocean after they get tattoos, but they are not as industrialized as we are.

The sand itself is not really that bad, not as bad as the dirt that is mingled with it. Washing it out with clean water and covering it with that rag, as long as it didn't have grease on it, should have been good enough to get you home where you could clean it better. The problem you are having isn't so much with what you did the first hour or so but sounds more like what you did after you got home wasn't enough. Hydrogen peroxide is good, keeping it clean, make sure there is no sand in there. Band-aids are supposed to take the place of the scab, so that is why you are not scabbing up.

If you are sure it is clean and you keep it clean with fresh bandages you should be OK. Some wounds take 3 weeks to start to look better. If the skin around the wound looks red and swollen (as opposed to scraped up from the road rash) then you might need to break down and go to a DR. I hate going to the DRs more than the any one I know, but there are times when a bunch of people you don't know giving you medical advice just isn't good enough...


Bottom bracket creaking only when pedaling hard.

Turns out it was the rear skewer of all things causing the creaking! It seemed like it was from the bottom bracket area because it was in sync with my pedalling but I put a dab of grease near the contact points of the skewers and the noise is gone.

So if anyone else is having similar problems, check your skewers first because it's a lot easier than taking your cranks and bottom bracket apart.


Is there any rule of thumb for comparing lights rated in lux and lumens?

I don't think you're going to be able to do any reasonable conversion, since lux without a distance is meaningless. It's likely that the manufacturer has picked lux specifically to make it sound impressive, or possibly even to make it hard to compare.

Here's a nice description of the (optional) standard: http://www.led-resource.com/ansi-fl1-standard/. One of the possible measures in that standard is the distance at which the light is 0.25 lux. Another is the candela (peak beam intensity). And, of course, there's always lumens (total output). Lumens seem to be the favorite.

Instead of trying to compare the brightness of your current light, I recommend visiting this great light comparison site (which originally started from some posts on our blog): https://www.bikelightdatabase.com/

In particular, the beamshot photos on that site are super-useful. There can be big differences between lights that use the same measurement (usually lumens) and being able to look at what that looks like on a stretch of road is amazingly helpful.


Nowadays most bikes have a 'threadless' headset. The steerer tube of the fork protrudes out of the frame's head tube and the stem clamps onto it. The stem serves to hold the whole system together and apply a little pre-load force onto the bearings to remove any play or movement. Without this pre-load the bearings will become damaged as the fork rocks in the frame slightly as you go over bumps.

If you have a threadless headset and your stem has rotated on the steerer tube, the chances are the clamp bolts are too loose and you have lost the bearing pre-load.

It's not too difficult to re-adjust the stem (and re-align the stem and wheel at the same time).  There are many video's on YouTube that show you how to do it. Here's a reasonably good one.

If you don't feel happy doing this adjustment a local bicycle repair shop will do it in under 10 minutes.

If you have an old style threaded headset, the stem is simply secured by a bolt in the top of it. Here is a good tutorial on how to adjust it. The process is fairly fool-proof.


I have never had a problem getting single bolt tight enough to hold.

Most likely is seat rail diameter - 7mm is common road, 9mm common MTB but there are others. (refer Wikipedia).

Is there something assembled wrong, a piece upside down?

Although seat post bolts need to be tight, what ever you do, don't be 'that' "gorilla with a spanner" - it is never the correct approach when assembling bicycles.


Differences between symetrical and asymetrical brake pads for cantilever / v-brakes

If you take a symmetrical pad with a given size, it is subject to two forces while braking:

The braking pressure caused by cable action, directed perpendicularly against the rim. In frame-boss mounted brakes (UX, V-Brake, Cantilever), this generates a torque around the bosses, forcing the bosses and the frame to "open" and twist. This creates a "toe in" or "toe out", depending of the brake being in the rear or front.
The tangential force transmitted by rim rotation, which twists the frame and fork tubes inwards in the rear, and outwards in the front.

The second force being much greater than the first, it is advantageous to mount an ASYMMETRICAL pad with the tail always rearwards, so that the asymmetrical reactive force (due to the shape of the pad) tends to neutralize the "toe-in" (or out?) effect created by the tangential force of the rim motion.

One caveat! In narrow forks, the tail can interfere with the fork itself, thus making it difficult to open the brake for wheel removal.

Hope this helps!


Generally you can squirt some liquid lube in the pedal axle and it eventually wicks its way to the bearings on the inside.  However this won't do much for bearings on the outside end of the axle.

Some pedals can be disassembled for servicing and ball replacement, depends totally on what your pedals look like.

We can tell you more if you post a clear sharp photo of the pedal.

The easiest solution is to buy a new pair of pedals and swap them over.  You'll need either a hex driver or a special thin spanner of the right size, and to know the left side pedal is threaded backwards.   Or a bike shop would throw the new pedals on for nothing or very little cost.

You may also find that squirting some sort of lubricant into the pedal may also work loose any grit or muck that has gotten into the pedal - if that is the case, then simply keep squirting lubricant into the axle area of the pedal until it runs clear and then get the pedals replaced as soon as possible or repack the bearings with grease (otherwise it will keep occurring and the pedals will ultimately fail).


Increasing reliability of a hardtail MTB

There's no point replacing the fork. A better fork will be more robust but replacing a major component is not cost effective. A better fork will cost a significant fraction of the whole bike as a separate component. If you want a better fork you should have spent the money buying a higher spec bike in the first place.
Wider tires are relatively inexpensive and will definitely help smooth out the trails. Go tubeless if your wheels allow for it as this will allow running lower pressure without risking pinch-flats.


Apparently, studies have shown no significant benefit to compression clothing in terms of leg fatigue. What I notice more so is that the hight at which you sit and the bend of your leg play a much larger role in leg fatigue. That compounded with the position and way you push the pedal probably are the most significant causes of fatigue.

What you want is to have your seat high enough so that your leg is only slightly bent at the lowest position of your pedals on either side. Also you want to push more with the front of your foot. This will use the calf muscle more and put less pressure on your knees.

Also you can see these questions for more info:

How do I determine the correct position for my bicycle seat?
How do I make sure my bike's the proper size?
At what height should I have my seat on a road bike?
What is the recommended procedure for adjusting the fit of my bike?
What are some good exercises to prevent knee pain?


I've never used Claris, but I've used a bunch of different Shimano road stuff, from 8 to 11 speed, as well as some SRAM.

All other things being equal (which they never are), the more expensive Shimano groupset shifts smoother than the less expensive one. That, however, is splitting some really fine hairs. The shifting performance for modern brifters is nice across the board. In my experience, what makes a groupset good is how well you adjust and maintain it.

I vote for the Claris group. 8 speed is still widely supported and will probably remain so--you are unlikely to have a problem finding replacement parts (which are also much cheaper than 9, 10, and 11 speed parts) before you trash the whole groupset. 16 gears is also a pretty good range for any kind of riding.


Cycle training to prepare for first racing season

An optimal training regimen will include about three hard efforts a week, with at least one rest or recovery day in between those efforts. Trying to put in any more hard efforts than this has shown to be detrimental by most trainers.

Cyclo-computers are an important tool, but if you have your mileage mapped out ahead of time computers are not critical. The most important tool of all to help you with your training is a heart rate monitor. If you don’t’ have one. Get one. It is extremely hard to gauge your effort without one, this is especially true for training on a stationary bike or trainer. When you get another bike-computer get one with a cadence monitor. Cadence is especially important if you are training for road racing. The cadence monitor will teach you proper cadence and keep you from becoming a pedal masher.

Hill climbs are a good strategy because they force hard efforts, so are intervals especially if you are using a trainer. I define a hard effort as keeping myself above 85% of my max heart rate for most of the ride. I would sustain between 85% – 95% for a full 90 minutes and  get a really good, hard work out. As a beginner this may be difficult, so see what you can do and adjust your goals accordingly. Seriously test your limits. You may be surprised how long you can go at a seemingly impossible pace.

Fueling up is important. If you don’t fuel up before putting in a hard effort your body will use up it’s energy stores in around 60 minutes. At around that time I would find myself really beginning to fade. I started fueling up with a light 200 – 300 calorie carb and sugar snack an hour before riding and I could keep going strong long after the 60 minute mark.

Recovery rides in between hard training sessions are important but the amateur does not always have the option. My schedule didn’t allow for them and as a result I would get sore muscles more prone to injury. Recovery rides are VERY light rides, that keep your heart rate below 140. A rider who is very aggressive about training is going to find it very difficult to ride at a pace this slow. Think leisure and get training out of your mind when doing these type of rides. Because the effort is minimal mountain bike trails are generally not very suitable for recovery rides.

Keep a training log. Log time, distance, Average MPH, effort, conditions and brief notes on how you felt. This will help you focus and allow you to see your progress. I had a loop I would ride every month or so that I would use to see how I had progressed physically.

Don’t let the weather inhibit your training. Learn to dress for it. Your body generates a tremendous amount of heat while cycling and this allows you to train comfortably in almost any condition. Keeping the feet warm is still a challenge so it’s worth investing in winter cycling shoes and wool socks. Here is a cold weather cycling article I wrote.

Consider spin classes. A couple of winter’s of deep snow forced me indoors. Coupled with a heart rate monitor, spin classes provided good, hard, motivating training sessions. Because the sessions were usually short, 45 minutes, I would also ride the trainer before and after the class or find back to back sessions and ride the whole way through.

This is my culmination of a lot of research, advice and practical application. I trained and raced seriously for several years and I got good results out this training regimen. I am currently ‘retired’ due to a back injury but I raced as an expert level mountain biker and was winner the Sport Vet 2009 WVMBA mountain bike series. This regimen served me well. Good luck with your training.


What is the source of BB area creaking associated with ambient temperature changes?

Pressfit BBs are prone to creaking at the best of times. When cold, steel inside aluminium will be tighter than when warm, as the thermal expansion of aluminium is about twice that of steel. The difference is only about 0.001% per degree C, but on something the size of a BB from a cold day to a warm one  that's around 0.1mm, easily the difference between a tight fit and one with some movement.


What is the best way to attach a Presta Valve?

Harshikerfuffle,
I believe you mean to ask what is the best way to attach the presta valve to the pump.
All pumps are a little bit different.  Some of them you insert and pull the lever up to lock the valve in place,  some are the opposite, and you push the lever down.  I have a compact pump that you screw into place, and on my air compressor, the presta valve doesn't lock into place at all, you just hold in on there.  Some pumps have a shrader hole and a presta hole right next to each other.  Some pumps are switchable and you have to take them apart to switch.  There are quite possibly others out there that I've not encountered.
I'm sorry to hear about your mishap, but hang in there.  It comes with practice, and we have all been there.  To be honest, I was very put off by presta valves at first, because I was unfamiliar with them.  I kept a shrader adapter on my valve for the first several months because I didn't know how to use the presta side of my pump.
Keep trying.  If there is anyone at that particular bike station some other time, I suggest you ask them to show you.  Who knows, maybe that pump is a particular pain in the rear.


What's the verdicts on hub-less circle bicycle wheels? Sturdy and "maintenance-free"?

Verdict seems to be 'this is a scam'
Cyclotron is a scam https://cyclotronscam.boards.net/board/1/general-discussion
Reevo is suspiciously similar
https://www.reddit.com/r/shittykickstarters/comments/ivk95y/reevo_hubless_ebike_anyone_know_anything_about/
Comments on there about sum it up: looks good to the gullible on Facebook/Kickstarter, in reality is much worse than existing solutions. Hubs & spokes work just great, spokes are fantastic things in that they are each in tension making the wheel strong and repairable.
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/85/the-science-behind-spokes
The 'advantage' here seems to be 'not having basic physics on my side, but looks cool'.
One such bike was made an art school product; I suggest that is as far as this will get
https://www.flickr.com/photos/laulaulau3/31994357/sizes/o/
Until these things are actually available and in people's hands, it's best to work on the basis that this is either an outright fraud, or at best will be a terrible piece of junk that works incredibly poorly.
I'm not going to hold my breath to see if my instincts are wrong. But I'm glad you posted this, because I saw these on Facebook and immediately thought 'lol, scam', and now I've done 10 minutes research I'm feeling pretty much confirmed about my theory. But then I am a very cynical person, so.
There is a bit on hubless wheels in general here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centreless_wheel  Essentially they are a problem looking for a solution
Edit: I had a look at the technical names given here: https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/reevo-the-hubless-e-bike#/
CEO might have relevant experience https://www.linkedin.com/in/alec-lim-6877821b7/ but it doesn't appear to relate to bicycles or motor vehicles, maybe only robotics
Lead engineer seems to work on microchips in Italy https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrea-stona-87984739/
CTO seems to work for Osram as his day job on lighting, connected lightbulbs, etc. https://www.linkedin.com/in/chewivan/
I get the impression there are a few software people there; how much work they are doing is not clear, but there doesn't seem to be much if anything in the way of 'people who could reinvent the wheel'


Yes, you can. They may puncture or leak easier than correct size, but there is no immediate danger if you can't get the correct size or want to save a very small amount of money.


Where can I find the complete Tour de France routes?

The official website now has a list of all stages with links to (fairly small) maps, route profiles and estimated timings for various points on the route.


I have had similar issues with mountain bike tires. While the industry seems to have done a good job of standardizing rim sizes, tire width seems to vary. One brands 2.0 inch tire can be larger than another brands 2.1. Of course there is some variances with rim widths and tire pressure and tread design, but overall it seems there are no meaningful standards for width. This is where a good relationship with your local shop can be helpful. They may allow you to try sizes and brands to find a good fit. The added cost of buying locally may be offset by not paying return shipping.


what will happen if I change gears on a mountain bike at a standstill? Will it break?

The changing of gears itself is unlikely to cause any damage, you're just going to move the derailleurs back and forth until the chain prevents them moving further.  If you really forced it you might break a shift lever or something.  However, bad stuff is likely to happen if you heavily load the drivetrain while in the wrong gear.  I.e. if you change gears while standing still then forcefully push down on the pedals when getting started, since the chain isn't on the right cog.  There's a good chance then of the chain falling off or of it getting jammed somewhere, either leading to you falling off the bike, or potentially to some damage to the bike.  With regards to your missing plastic bike: I don't know exactly what it was, but if the bike still works fine I wouldn't worry about it.

Also, your boyfriend. not you, is the fool in this situation.  Changing gears while stationary isn't that crazy.  Taking the bike and cranking heavily in the wrong gear is.

If you find yourself stationary on the wrong cog you just need to lift up the rear wheel and turn the crank forward a full revolution or two: that should get it into the right gear.  With a little practice you can do this standing over the bike with your foot on the right pedal: lift the rear wheel off the ground slightly using your right hand on the saddle and push the crank with your right foot.  Handy if you find yourself in the wrong gear at some traffic lights.


There are a large number of tracks that have a Clydesdale class, which typically runs on 24" or 26" wheeled bikes. Most pump tracks aren't designed wit a 26" wheel in mind. It still is a lot of fun.


What options do I have if my rear derailleur breaks when I'm out on a trail?

If you carry a multi-tool which happens to include a chain tool, you could also convert your bike to a single speed. If you do so, you would have to replace the chain afterwards as well (since you shorten it) but in some situations it could get you out of a rural area.

If you do so, carefully select the gear you would put it in, as you won't be able to shift anymore afterwards.

There is a nice video online illustrating the idea: how to do a roadside fix of a broken rear derailleur.
GCN has some more videos online explaining roadside repairs of various issues, which may also interest you.

Additionally, I always take a missing link with me, as it allows you to get home after a broken chain. This speed link can also be used while converting your bike to a single speed.


My husband is a beginner in cycling and needs some motivation

I had the same "motivation" thingy when I tried to keep my wife motivated in joining me during weekend rides.

First we did a really short and slow trip around the city (about 4 or 5 km at such a slow pace that my legs were hurting).

Then I tried to combine cycling with other activities we both liked. Being both foodies, I tried to find, in every outing, a convenient place for this. So for example once we stopped by to visit some wine makers, some other times we stopped for lunch break to a farm where we bought honey, fresh baked bread and local made cheese and had them for lunch, and so on.

These small rewards for going out with the bike helped her in overcoming the struggle of the learning curve.

You can try the same with your husband (assuming he has some passion which can be easily squeezed in a bike ride), and always try to balance the push to go a bit further with the awareness of what he can do without overdoing.