Why is doping illegal in Tour de France?

You have to draw the line somewhere. If you allow all doping, then the winner will be the one most willing to sacrifice their long-term health to use the most drugs and maximise performance enhancement.

  Then why don't they simply limit the doping to forms of doping and medical treatments that have been peer reviewed and demonstrated to be relatively safe?

They do this to a certain extent. One of the three criteria for adding a drug to the banned list is that it represents a health risk to athletes. There are also some substances which are allowed up to a certain threshold. Asthmatics (and non-asthmatics if they feel like it) for example are allowed to use a salbutamol (ventolin) puffer, but if an unreasonable amount of salbutamol is detected, then it is deemed as being a performance enhancer instead of being used for health.

The two other criteria for banning a drug are about fairness. They are "If the substance is performance enhancing" and "If the substance violates the spirit of the sport". If a substance meets two of those three criteria, it can be added to the WADA list of banned substances. You can read more about this here.


Can I use an 11-32 cassette promoted for MTBs on my trekking bike with Shimano Acera rear derailleur?

All common 9 speed cassettes use the same freehub body. Also, trekking bikes normally use MTB parts, so there is no problem there. The Acera line is an MTB line. The manufacturers normally only distinguish (with some exceptions) road/MTB/urban and other bikes like hybrid, trekking, gravel, cyclocross take many components from those lines with only a few specifics.
Just check that your Acera rear derailleur actually allows this 11/32 range, but it should. All should be OK.


Over a 40-minute ride, you may not notice much.

One older reference compares a then-standard 32-spoke 27" wheel to an aero rim with 28 bladed spokes, a high-end hub and an extra-lightweight tire. The estimated improvement over a one-hour time trial at 23mph was 44 seconds - an impressive improvement for racing, but not particularly meaningful for a commute. A more recent comparison by Rolf to the aerodynamic Mavic Ksyrium claims that their $2500 TT85 full-carbon disc wheelset saves 1 minute, 49 seconds over 40km.


Are Shimano R440 road flat bar shifters compatible with a mountain bike front derailleur?

There's a great thread here that describes some of this. Here's the meat of it though:

  Shimano's assertion that you need to use "flat-bar" front derailleurs
  with "flat-bar" shifters is false.

  When working with Shimano, "flat-bar" shifters are really just
  mountain-bike shifters in different colors. This doesn't make a
  difference for the rear derailleur (Shimano has standardized the cable
  pull across all of their shifters), but there's two different cable
  pulls for the front derailleurs. "Road" front derailleurs require less
  cable movement than "mountain" front derailleurs for the same amount
  of lateral cage movement.

  This has a couple consequences:

  1: operating a "mountain" front
  derailleur with a "road" shifter will result in insufficient cage
  movement to make the shift. This is rare in the recumbent world.

  2: operating a "road" front derailleur with a "mountain" shifter will
  result in the shifter jamming before the internal ratchet catches,
  meaning the chain will shift but immediately return to its starting
  position. In other words, the shift fails. If the shift succeeds,
  often the shifter will jam at that spot and not allow the shift in the
  other direction. This is very common in the recumbent world.

  the longer pull of the "flat-bar" or "mountain" front derailleurs makes for lighter pull at the shifter when using SRAM twist-grip
  shifters. This can be an advantage for people with slippery hands
  and/or weaker hands.

  "Flat-bar" front derailleurs also have cages that better match the
  larger diameter chainrings typically installed on road bikes.
  "Mountain" chainrings are typically smaller, and trying to get a
  "mountain" front derailleur to work on larger chainrings often
  involves compromised adjustment or hand-modified cages.

  My favorite "flat-bar" front derailleur is the Shimano FD-R443. (This
  is roughly Sora/Tiagra level parts: cheap, durable, and relatively
  attractive.) It's since been superceded by the FD-R453, which has a
  taller inner plate to match newer Shimano cranksets, but I like the
  FD-R443 for its greater adaptability to different chainring
  combinations.

  I've been using the FD-R443 on several bikes, operated by Shimano
  Deore LX and XTR and SRAM Half-Pipe Attack shifters. It's always
  worked flawlessly.

So no, not really. You might be able to find a combination of gearing, derailleur, and cable pull that will work, but you're probably still better off finding a matching set.


How should I store inner tubes to maximize their shelf life?

Dry and cool place is the way to go. But also play attention to other items stored near the tubes. Do not store them near paint or solvent containers. Many chemical products can damage tubes, even just the vapours. Anything like gasoline or other fuels should be avoided. They chemically degrade rubber and can easily render them useless. Gasoline vapour for example, over a year can turn a tube into a black paste stain...

Other factors that affect rubber on the long term are UV light and oxigen or ozone. Thus you should also avoid storing them exposed to direct or strong sunlight. UV light degrades rubber so it becomes dull looking and less flexible. When it happens to a tube, it does't show until you inflate them, and it looks as cracked or notoriously porous surface.

It also helps to store them in a somewhat thick plastic bag and tuck them tight (Ziploc type would be overkill there) specially if they come packaged in plain cardboard boxes. Some high powered electric motors, generators or dynamos produce sparks in their brush and collector parts (i.e. electrical connection between moving parts). These sparks are known to produce ozone, so, if by any chance you have such equipment, do not store the tubes near it. (High speed lathe, electric grinders, etc.)

Personally I have had sucess storing used tubes for very long periods (some more than 3 years) by puting them in a thick plastic bag in my closet. I usually apply talcum between the tire and the tube, so these tubes where stored all covered with talcum. I think it helps because previous attempts, I washed the tubes before storing, and they ended stuck with each other and where damaged when I tried to separate them; they where otherwise in similar conditions.

However, in my tropical country, temperatures are almost all year between 15 and 30 ºC (60-87 ºF) so I have no clue on extreme temperature effects.


The type of tire cracking that is most worrisome is when it's accompanied by bulging areas from the tube pressure. This implies damage to the casing, which in turn implies a tire that might very realistically fail at any time. The casing is the major structural part of the tire, not the rubber.

Cracks in the rubber like this look bad but almost never result in any issues themselves. When they do, usually its actually something along the times of the casing getting damaged in some kind of incident or condition that also caused the rubber cracking.

There's some distant hypothetical risk that the crack makes the casing more vulnerable in that spot or causes some kind of stress riser, but basically it's fine.


There does seem to be an upside down U-curve of spinniness on pedals with the horizontal axis being price and the vertical axle being how many rotations it makes when spun by hand.

Cheap pedals are genuinely horrible. They just have a sleeve bearing, bushing, or single set of ball bearings. Tolerances are atrocious because they were made by drunken lemurs, who also lubed them using the grease that was at the bottom of the bilge pump of the last freighter into their god forsaken port.

Mid-grade pedals use a one or two sets of sealed cartridge ball bearings. These are cheap and easy to place. They might use a light grease and are low in unloaded friction, so this accounts for the spinniness of mid-grade pedals. You can't really maintain or adjust them.

High-grade Cartridge bearings are good for unloaded friction but are limited under load. They also can't be adjusted, maintained, or re-greased. Higher end pedals use a combination of adjustable cup-and-cone, needle (roller) bearings, and/or sometimes multiple/heavier duty cartridge bearings. Cup-and-cones are adjustable and maintainable, and avoiding cartridge bearings saves weight because you don't need the bearing retainer -- also cup-and-cones can feel heavier than cartridges when unloaded but lighten under pressure. Needle-bearings can support MUCH more weight than ball-bearings. Grease intended for heavier duty seems thicker under low-load but lightens up when loaded. Finally, because higher-end pedals are lighter, they have less inertia when spinning by hand and so will stop spinning sooner just for that fact alone.  In summary, high-end gear might not spin as much unloaded, but they can be lighter, stronger, more adjustable, maintainable, and smoother under load. Note: Some of these properties are mutually incompatible.

tl;dr: You can't tell anything by freespinning a pedal by hand except for the crappiest of pedals. For almost all bicyclists, just get a mid-range pedal. You don't put enough power/weight through the pedals or go long enough distances to make a difference. For pros, you are pumping so many hundreds of watts through the pedal over longer distances, so you want a pedal that can take that power and transmit it properly.

Also note that older midgrade pedals in the era before cheap cartridge bearings often used cup and cone bearings. These can often be tuned up quite nicely.

This is the Shimano PD-R9100, their highest end pedal. It uses two sets of adjustable bearing groups. It's designed to be as light and strong as possible but can also be fully adjusted and maintained.


It's difficult to judge the quality of a tire hanging on a rack in a bike shop.  Experience (including recommendations) is an important factor, since it takes 1000's of kms to put a tire to the test.  When deciding on a touring tire, buy a set to try out pre-tour.  You'll get an idea how they handle, how fast they wear, how puncture-resistant might be just by using them for everyday riding.  Then when you're ready for the big trip, put a fresh set on the bike and save the worn ones for when you get back.

Certainly wider tires will help on rough roads.  Thicker tires may last longer.  For puncture resistance, stay away from racing tires and look for ones with a kevlar belt (or similar puncture protection layer).

If you know the roads may be bad, plan ahead and get a wider set for the entire tour.  Don't plan to buy wider ones during the trip -- you never know what will be available when you get there.  Conversely, if you find yourself having to replace a tire while on tour, your options will likely be limited.  You'll just have to settle for what you can find.  (I once had to replace a split road bike tire in a small mountain biking town but only one shop carried my size -- an off-road knobby tire. Still better than a split one!)


Noodle: the metal pipe that turns a V brake inner cable through 90 or 130 degrees to go to the handlebar brake lever.

To disconnect or reconnect the brake's noodle you would squeeze the end of both brake arms inward toward each other.  This presses both brake pads into the rim.
If you can reach, hold them in place with your secondary hand, and use your dominant hand to install or remove the noodle from the flippy arm bit.
 From https://www.chicagobikeblog.com/blog/2014/2/20/how-do-you-get-the-dang-wheel-out
There is not a lot of slack to do this; it should be a close fit.  The rubber boot just slides out of the way, and when you release the brake arms, they will pull themselves away from the rim (allowing the wheel removal.)
Given that you already have something wrong with the brake setup, it may not be able to get the noodle in/out because of the brake pad being mis-positioned.  Or the wheel may not be installed completely right, also blocking things.
If its a brand new bike, most bike shops offer a ~6 week tuneup/service for new bikes sold.  Check with your supplier.  This is one feature missing if you bought the bike on-line.


Correcting the chainline on triple crankset with chainring spacers

When 135mm-spaced QR and 142x12 thru axle disc road frames became the norm, a lot of what was written about bike chainline took on a hidden caveat that in many cases hasn't been corrected, which is that those bikes put the rear ideal chainline in exactly the same spot as their mountain counterparts. Many higher end road cranks are now offered in two versions (disc vs rim brake) for this reason.

It's confusing because the industry has responded slowly to this and a lot of road cranks do still only come in one version despite getting put on both 130 and 135mm bikes.

You actually need a chainline of about 47.5mm. You can corroborate if you want by taking your back wheel off, measuring with a caliper or pocket ruler with one eye closed the distance from the centerline of the 5th cog to the face of the right axle locknut, and subtracting that measurement from half of the hub's over-locknut-dimension aka spacing.

50mm front chainline is fine with a rear of 47.5. That 2.5mm in either direction approximately corresponds to how much you can push the chainline without any major consequences, although this stops being true for very short chainstay bikes.

You can't adjust the chainline of most triples with spacers because you can't use spacers to shift all the rings in the same direction. There are some crank designs that are exceptions, but not this one.

For square taper and ISIS/Octalink you can adjust the chainline with different length BB spindles.


dual pivot side pull brake shoe touches wheel rim. How do I fix it?

See at Sheldon's page about centering the brakes: meaning loosening the bolt that attaches the unit to the frame and rotating the caliper until both pads are at equal distance from the rim. Then re-tighten and check once more. You should also check if the wheel is correctly centered in the frame or fork. In case of doubt always refer to your LBS.


Where Can I Find an Inexpensive Bike Stand Clamp

If you are looking for just the clamp, and want something produced commercially you are going to have a hard time finding something inexpensive (at least by my budget).  A Google search for Park Repair Clamp turns up a number of options but they are generally $100 and up.  You can pick up a decent stand for that much.

The best deal I could find was a brand I'd never heard of:

Sette Workbench Stand (or this search)

Your other option would be to build your own stand:

DIY Bench Mount Bike Repair Stand

Work Bench Repair Stand with Angle Adjustment

Hopefully you get the idea...


Chain Noise I identified the problem, don't know how to solve it (chain/cassette?)

You may want to read up on how to tune a rear derailluer, but if you just want to get going, all that is needed is a minor adjustment using the barrel screw (clearly seen in the video) where the cable comes in. Turn the screw clockwise 1/4 turn at a time, and the chain will move away from the cog (The cassette is the full set of cogs). Trick is not to make big adjustments - no more than 1/4 turn at a time, and count the turns so you can go back to where you started.

Once this is just clearing and not catching, check the gears are all working properly. Sometimes, especially with cheaper bikes and old worn out gears, its not possible to get it perfect, and you need to compromise a bit.


Can if fit new 105 5700 cranks on my existing 5600BB?

Short answer?

Yes, you can. Any Hollowtech 2 Bottom Bracket is compatible with any other Hollowtech 2 crank set.

There is no difference in size or function between the 5600 BB and the 5700 BB.


Chainring just don't know when to let go

This is called chain suck. One possible reason is worn chainrings.

In the question it is mentioned that the rings were used with worn out chain. This wears out chainrings quickly.


How can I print a map with my GPS track?

Inkatlas lets you create printable PDF maps with GPS tracks and waypoints (on multiple pages if needed). You can select a map style with terrain. Smaller PDFs (6 pages or fewer) are free.

Full disclosure: this is my project.


Is the bike i'm using right for Mountain Biking?

Looking at the component specs, its an entry level MTB, one better than a BSO.

80% of mountain biking is about the rider and his skills, not the bike. Shops won't tell you this, as telling you your riding skills matter most does not end in a sale of a newer season/more expensive bike.  Cashed up middle aged execs won't either - many just want you to see how much money they have to spend on toys and cannot ride to save themselves - a lighter/faster/more forgiving bike hides the lack of skill. Competitive riders care what they ride - they have expensive bikes because 1/2 a second here and there makes a difference to them.

Where it will let you down is weight (Makes it harder to accelerate and not as fast up hills), front forks (Likely to have poor rebound control and bounce a lot - pogo sticks) and gear shifts will not be fast and crisp.  Picking the right gears early will be critical to having fun, as will picking good lines in corners.  The forks mean you will not have room for cornering mistakes and will probably have to enter corners slower than other.  Being a hard tail, you will need better skills to ride fast, as they are less forgiving of mistakes than a softtail.  It will also need more maintenance and tuning than a better bike, and probably wear out faster.

As far as trails you can ride - if the trail requires air time, the bike is not great. It would be OK on trail that can be ridden without having to do jumps, but is better suited to XC style trails rather than all mountain or down hill.

In the end, you won't break it any quicker than a better bike, so go out and have as much fun as you can on it.


I don't know of any current pedal with those properties, but an old example is Shimano's Adamas AX touring pedal, which you can often find for purchase used. These pedals are weighted on the underside at the spindle so that they remain horizontal. Here is a view of the underside where you can see the weighted portion:

I have seen plastic copies of these pedals, but I do not know what brand they were. I suspect there are other similar variations out there.


In general it depends on the road or trail, how wide it is, how straight or twisty, how visible the trail ahead is etc.

On a wide trail without tight turns and plenty of forward visibility riding two-abreast is fine.

On a narrower trail with tighter turns or less visibility, riders should ride single-file and stay on their side of the trail. Common sense applies to overtaking, i.e., don't try to pass if you can't see far enough ahead.

There may be laws that apply to cyclists in different locations of course.


Not that I have ever heard of. Any liquid on the rotor or pad would tend to act as a lubricant and get worn or washed off anyway.


The chains of my bike are clicking and the gear don't work anymore

If the gears are making noise when you're pedaling it usually is a symptom of the derailleur being out of adjustment.

Two Most Common problems:

Basic derailleur adjustment. In many cases the cable has stretched or something has caused a change in the derailleur cable tension. This is easily fixed with the derailleur cable adjustment barrel which is either on the rear derailleur, or for mountain bikes it's on the shifter body.  Here's a video which will walk you through how to make tune the shifting.

Video On Rear Derailleur Adjustment

Derailleur hanger has been bent due to an accident or the bike falling over. The hanger is where the derailleur is attached to the bike. A special tool is needed to check and/or fix the hanger.

There's other stuff which could be wrong but I'd need a better description. Pictures would also help in guiding as mountain bikes have slightly different parts so the details on how to fix will vary.


Unless you measure your spokes and calculate for the hub and ERD, you have no certainty on leeway.
It depends entirely on the spoke length. One build might have spokes just long enough, then a new rim with a 1mm bigger ERD would need new spokes. A different build might have spokes that are just off being too long, then a new rim would need an ERD no smaller than the existing rim.


As you have a 1x drivetrain with non-integrated brakes and shifters upgrading it to one with more gears is relatively simple. You need to replace the shifter, rear derailleur and cassette and chain at a minimum. You can also replace the crankset and bottom bracket.

As you have an 8 speed cassette the freehub body will take up to an 10 speed cassette with no problems. Some 11 speed cassettes will fit (but I would not put an 11 speed system on this bike).

You can take your pick of SRAM and Shimano 9 and 10 speed drivetrains and decide how much you want to spend, taking into account paying a bike shop to do the installation or buying necessary tools if you do it yourself. In the latter case you may have to do research to teach yourself how to do the installation properly also.

I would not spend money to upgrade more than a few steps above SRAM X3 on this entry level bike. You won't see the benefit as the frame, wheels and brakes are all still at the lower level.

Very often, especially with low end bikes, upgrades are not worth it, it's more cost effective to simply buy a better bike (and sell the old one). That way you get an upgrade of all the components in one go.


A drop of threadlocker such as Blue Loctite 242 on the screw will keep it from coming loose.


How easy (or hard) is to move a Rohloff speedhub from one bicycle to another?

If both bikes have a frame which is set up for it, with the long drop-out on the Thorn pictured below and the EX Box below it, then it would be the work of 5 minutes. Just unscrew (possibly by hand) that big nut on the ex-box, remove the wheel and put it onto the other bike.

The only issue to remember is to always shift to the same gear (say, the lowest) before you remove the EX-box and ensure the shifter is in that position when you reconnect, otherwise you won't be able to get into all the gears.

If, on the other hand it's a more complicated set up with a reaction arm like this:

Then it might be more complicated. Then again, perhaps the arm can be disconnected with a single pin, I haven't tried it. The two cables under the black flexible plastic cable covers will also need to be disconnected. I'm not sure how hard that is.


Auriga M290s are generally pretty good and trouble-free but they do bite it sometimes. They're one of the most populous lower end hydros out there, but are mostly an OEM part so you won't necessarily see it listed in product lineups.

Pretty much the only reasonably fixable problem the lever might have is at the bleed port. If that's where the fluid is coming out, you can check that the o-ring underneath the screw is in good shape and sitting in there in the right place, and the bleed screw is tight. You could also check the bolt on the side of the lever, which normally isn't touched.

You can also check that the hose connections are tight and the hose is undamaged. Especially if the bike hangs, oil that leaks out somewhere on the hose could make its way to the lever.

There isn't any internal/rebuild spare parts support for brakes like this. A complete new M290 brake is about $35US online, and that comes with a rotor and fresh pads, so just replacing the whole thing is the usual plan if there seem to be seal leaks or other internal parts issues.


Short answer: there is no typical lifespan.

The only way to know when your rims have exceeded their lifespan is by inspection.

Why? The wear on a rim is going to be due to a variety of sources: the miles, abrasion of the braking surfaces, corrosion, crashes, plus more.

Ignoring carbon, all respectable rims are made of aluminum, which does have a finite life, as aluminum does not have a fatigue limit. However, that fatigue limit could be reached at 1000 or 1 million miles, depending on the cross sectional shape of the rim and how heavy its loaded. Only way to know, is to inspect.

As for the brake track and corrosion, riding around exclusively with clear skies in the summertime of California will have a much different impact on the rims and spokes than someone riding year round in Minnesota in the sand. Getting sand and other gunk caught in the brake pads can wear the tracks significantly more than in clean situations. Road salt and other substances can corrode the spokes and cause wheel failure through that.

In short, 2000 miles is not a lot of miles except for perhaps super-niche-crazy-expensive-pro-racer wheels that are only used for a few rides before being discarded. For the rest of us, 2000 is barely a drop in the bucket of what a good wheelset will be capable of delivering provided it is well cared for.


a. replacement of wheels from 20" rear-18" front to 16" both rear and front.

In principle. However, as pointed out in a comment to the other version of this question, you'll have problems with your brakes because both they and the axles are in fixed positions and the brakes need to be agains the wheel rims. Also, changing the wheel size as you suggest that would lower the back of the bike by 2" and the front by 1", and I'd be worried about the increased risk of the pedals striking the ground while cornering. Why would you want to do this, anyway?

  b. installation of disc brake since the bike frame and fork is designed for rim brakes.

If you have to ask, the answer is almost certainly "no". Fitting disc brakes would require attaching the mounts to the forks and rear frame and, if that's even possible, it needs to be done very well, since disc brakes generate huge forces. Indeed, the forks and frame themselves might not even be strong enough to cope with those forces.

  c. replacement of the "uncommon" rear suspension to a more common suspension easily found in shops.

I don't even understand why you'd want to do that. Rear suspension is an integral part of any bike design; "replacing" it would involve completely re-engineering the frame.

If you want to tinker with a bike, it's best to get one with a standard diamond frame. Folding bikes are unique designs and every aspect of them is designed around the need to fold. That means they tend to use weird geometries and heavily custom components that are unique to that particular design.


Do I need to replace 10 speed chain if using a bigger cluster, also 10 speed?

It all depends on how long your chain is currently. Also it depends on if your rear derailleur is a short or mid cage. I would say that a jump up from 24 to 32 is a bit to big for any chain. Of course without seeing how much slack is in your chain right now the right answer will vary. You certainly can put the new cassette on and you will know right away if it work or not. Be warned that you ABSOLUTELY do NOT want to add any more links to your used chain. This is a great resource for drivetrains in general: http://sheldonbrown.com/derailer-adjustment.html#chain


Most probably you have not screwed it in tight enough. Cleats have to be screwed to the sole really tight.

Because the cleat is so small compared to your leg, there is a huge leverage being applied to it when clipping in/unclipping. If it's not tight enough, that's just what you can expect - it will move against the sole at pressure and grind it down.


Well, it's hard to say from your description.  Is the vibration in time with the turning of the wheels, or much more rapid?

A vibration that's in time with the turning of the wheels may be a warped rim, a rim rubbing the brake pads, a tire that's not seated properly on the rim, etc.  (The fact that this occurred after changing the tire suggests that last possibility.)

A vibration that's much more rapid than the turning of the wheels is usually due to resonance in the frame.  You'll usually see this more often when going downhill at high speed -- the front wheel will suddenly begin vibrating violently, such that you fear losing control of the bike.  What's happening is that minor vibrations in the bike (or even just due to the road) found a resonance in the bike frame, and the vibration becomes self-reenforcing due to the way it causes the front wheel to twist.

I'd suggest first turning the bike over or hanging it somehow so you can spin the wheels freely.  Observe the wheels carefully, looking at the space between the rim and the brake pads.  Look for any change of distance as the wheel turns.  Some small amount (a millimeter or maybe two) is to be expected on a well-used bike, but any more is a problem.  Also, if the rim touches the brake pads, that's a problem.

Observe from the side and look to see whether the rim moves in and out (decreases or increases in diameter) in relation to the hub.  There should be no detectible motion in this direction.

Next look at the tire while the wheel is spinning.  Look straight on so you can see both sides of the tire as it spins, and see if either side bulges out at any point.  Then look from the side to see if at any point the tire seems to increase or decrease in diameter.  Again, a one or two mm variation in these dimensions is probably OK, but no more.

Also look at where the tire disappears behind the rim.  There is generally a ridge in the tire a few mm from the rim, and it should maintain a fairly constant distance from the rim edge as the tire rotates.

(Since your problem began after changing the tire, these tire checks are likely to reveal that the tire is not evenly installed on the rim.)

While you have the wheels off the ground, grasp each wheel near the rim and push back and forth sideways, feeling for any play in the bearings.  You should not feel any play.

Finally, set the bike back on the ground, grip the front brakes to lock the front wheel (leaving the rear brakes free), and push the bike forwards and backwards.  You should not be able to feel any play in the "headset" (the bearing where the fork turns).


What do I grease and what do I lubricate?

Stuff To Use:

Silicone based lubricant - for all weather conditions - especially good to use in wet or in winter - it's water resistant. It's thicker than teflon based and it's sticky (dust catches onto it making a paste - needs to be re-applied when dirt accumulates).
Teflon based lubricant - for dry conditions only, thinner and runs smoother than silicon based. Doesn't catch dust so much.
Wheel Bearing grease - it's thinner than other grease which makes the bearing run smoother. Also good for greasing rubber seals and other moving parts.
Thread grease / Anti-seize grease - thicker and stickier, for non-moving parts.
Threadlocker - for securing bolts.

Where to put stuff:

Grease on bolts - for protecting the thread and preventing seizing of the bolt - but read the specifications. Greased bolt takes less force to tighten, so when tighten to spec you might actually over-tighten the bolt when the spec is for dry (should be specified if for dry or greased or with threadlocker, the default is dry when not specified):

Bolts on brake components always require threadlocker (go with medium strength) - this means: caliper fixing bolts for both disc or rim brakes + disc brake rotor bolts or road caliper pads fixing bolts:

Re-apply the threadlocker if the factory one has weared off.
Shimano recommends dry rear derailleur fixing bolt installation, srams recommends to grease it.
Press-fit bottom brackets install dry (the plastic cups into frame). All cartridge bearings should get greased on outer rim (BB30 bearings, etc.):

Put grease on threaded BB's, Spindles, Crank Arm, Spindle interfaces and Seals:

Bearing grease for all bearings insides, for ceramic bearings there is a special lube.
For seatpost apply grease on metal to metal areas. For carbon seatpost apply carbon friction paste.
Grease the pedals spindle threads:

Derailleur pulley bolts should have high-strength threadlocker applied:

Joints of rear suspension systems should be greased.
Mtb chains can be both lubed or greased (if bought new they usually come greased), I would prefer lubing over greasing for road chains. Spray lubricants should not be used on bicycle chains, you can easily contaminate other parts of bike. Rather apply lube on each chain link carefully. Wipe excess lubricant so chain is almost dry on outside to not catch dirt and dust.
Use lube for external bowdens and shifters on old bikes, modern plastic-lined housings are designed to not be lubricated.
Use fork oil for fork servicing and for fork seals.


Max cargo weight for Gazelle HeavyDutyNL

The limiting factor when it comes to durability and cargo on a “normal“ bicycle are the wheels. The Ryde Zac 19 rims used on this bike actually list
“MAX. SYSTEM WEIGHT (KG): 110” in the specifications. They also don’t recommend it for “HIGH LOAD 130KG” usage. Though that seems to be a rather conservative estimate considering the weight, number of spoke holes and symmetrical rear wheel (possible because of the internal gear hub).

I think the 135kg limit is reasonable.

I think in daily usage the bad center of gravity of the cargo will be a much bigger problem than a lack of durability. The cargo is sitting very high and the middle of the rear rack is behind the rear axle. If you are loading the rear rack only the whole bike will tend to rear up.

So even if the bike had stronger wheels (e.g. tandem wheels) it would be quite unwieldy. At some point overheating of the brakes and lack of very low-speed gearing could become an issue.

To me it seems to be a very heavy bike without any real advantages. Other bikes like the Surly Long Haul Trucker can do the same at “just” 15kg of weight.

If you want to transport more cargo get a real cargo bike or a trailer.


What's wrong with my rear wheel? Wheel moves about 1/4" front to back when brake is fully applied, cassette seems a bit wobbly, some rubbing noise

I've seen this issue in the past and the culprit was the axle (not the skewer) in the hub had snapped.

Fortunately, the bike was still rideable to a certain extent, as the QR skewer was holding the two broken sections of axle in place. Note that even when the wheel was removed from the frame, it still wasn't immediately obvious that the axle had snapped, until the skewer was removed from the hub. However the whole wheel was replaced ASAP for safety reasons.

Due to the age of the wheel (15-20 years), it was more economically viable to replace the wheel than to rebuild the old wheel with a new hub.


My tactic would be slower not faster and basically minimise the weight over the front wheel as much as possible by moving my backside as far back as possible. With higher speed and weight at the front I'd say you're more likely to dig the front wheel in.

Again I'd use the back brake, you need the front for steering as much as possible and you may loose that with braking on the front, also with the weight at the back the rear will be better for braking.

Forgot to add,  try braking as much as possible before the muddy bit, and as little as possible whilst going through the mud. Braking will load up the front wheel and hence more likely to dig in.


Italian bottom brackets and modern cranksets - a compatibility guide?

Spindle length and chainline are immaterial to it being Italian. The center of the spindle is at the center of the shell either way. If the chainline is good now and you're using all the same parts, get another JIS BB of the same spindle length in Italian.
If you wanted to tweak the chainline, it's the same process as any square taper crank. Use your existing crank and BB to figure out what length spindle puts the chainline where, figure out the chainline you want, and change the spindle length by twice the difference.


Why is my wheel going out of true after I mount and inflate the tire?

why are the spokes not equally screwed into the nipples? Of course, there might be discrepancy between the drive- and non-drive sides, but on the same side, there’s a millimeter or two of difference.

That's a sign spoke tensions are not equal.
The fact that spoke tensions are not equal is a sign spoke tensions are low.
Increase your spoke tensions to the required level and equalize them.
Besides, how did you see that spokes are not equally screwed? Do you see the threads below the spoke ends at the rim? If you do, the spokes are too short. The only way that in a well-built wheel you can observe if spokes are equally screwed is to look at the spoke threaded end inside the rim.

Before installing the tire, I had the wheel trued pretty well (within one millimeter in all directions). With the tire on, it’s now got a few millimeters of lateral runout. What could be causing this?

Tire inflation pressure affects spoke tension. The more inflation you have, the less spoke tension you have.
To ensure this is not a problem, the tension of spokes before inflation needs to be as high as possible.


Wow what a horrible guide.

Tightening the gear cable while in the highest front gear is very tough and will only hurt your fingers. I recommend putting the front dérailleur into the lowest gear and tightening it that way. This is much easier!

As for your specific problem, in all my experience you can never not get 'rubbing' (if by rubbing you mean the chain running through the dérailleur over hang and brushing it).
However, you will notice that the brushing varies depending on whether the back gears are high or low. Since this varies the angle at which the chain 'points' to the back gears.

So the solution:
Since you will always have brushing (a tiny bit at least), you just seek to minimise it. Put the back gears in the most used gear before tuning the front dérailleur.
For example on my touring bike I'm usually in my third highest gear at the back, unless going up hills or firing down them. So I tighten my front dérailleur cable while the back gear is as such, this means I only get front gear rubbing when the back gear is perhaps in the very low gears, thus causing the chain to 'go backwards' at a different angle.

If you want to spend a ridiculous ton of money on a fancy dérailleur you can mitigate this, but there's really no need.
For mountain bikes the most common gear back gear is the lower one. If you're not sure which  you've used most, clean the cassette of a bike you've used well, and look at the wear on each  cog.


9 to 11 speed partial groupset upgrade? Is it possible?

The Sora front derailleur is not compatible with the front 105 shifter. Shimano changed the actuation ratio (ratio of cable pulled to cage movement) on 11 speed road groups.

The Sora crank is not compatible with a narrower 11 speed chain. The chainring spacing is optimized for a wider 9 speed chain.

YOu can look up Shimano component compatibility on their product information page.


Bicycle drivetrains can make all kinds of squeaking or creaking noises and it's not obvious where exactly the noise is coming from. You have to use a process of elimination to track them down.

Can you replicate the noise with the back wheel off the ground and turning the pedals by hand. If so is the sound coming from the front crank area or the rear derailleur area?

Does the noise continue when you stop pedaling? If not turn your attention to the rear wheel.

My first guess is that your chain is not lubricated properly. Dry chains tend to squeak. Bad rear derailleur indexing, chain rub on front derailleur tend to clatter or rattle. Bottom brackets tend to creak more when applying high torque through the pedals.

Another prime suspect would be the rear derailleur jockey wheels, but you said you just replaced the derailleur.

Check the crank is spinning freely and there is no play in the bearings. This is easier if you open the front derailleur cage and pop the chain off the chainrings.

Also check both the pedals are turning freely and there is no play in the bearings. Try unclipping one foot at a time while riding. If the squeak disappears when you unclip a foot it's that pedal.


Armor and helmet for ultra-safe commuting (womens size)?

While you can certainly wear BMX armour, or possibly even use motorbike armour and wear full face helmets,  I would put much more emphasis on changing the way you cycle to reduce the risk from cars.

You say cars turn without seeing cyclists- well, you have two options:

become more visible. It isn't high fashion, but wear colours and lights, flashing and bright. Use your lane- own it, don't hide over at the side.
become more aware of other vehicles and make sure you are not where they will be.

If you wear a full face or motorbike helmet you will not be able to hear as well, so your awareness of other vehicles may suffer.

Especially on such a short commute cycle, you should be able to take care at each junction.


Gravel Riding: Why gravel wheel over lighter XC mtb wheel?

Since the question was asked, high-performance carbon wheels for drop bar bikes are evolving towards an internal width of 22-25mm - that is, wheels aimed at both performance road and gravel bikes. I am not sure how alloy wheels for drop bar bikes are evolving, but I suspect they will follow (White Industries already makes an alloy rim with a 25mm internal width, and there may be a few other small brands that I can't remember). I believe this would have been considered wide even for mountain bikes in the early 2010s. That said, while I'm not familiar with MTB disciplines these days, I think at MTB wheels are approaching 30mm internal width.
I can't see any substantive reason not to use an XC wheelset on a gravel bike if one is available, provided that the spacing matches the bike. I believe current MTBs use the Boost standard, i.e. the front and rear dropout spacing is 110mm and 148mm respectively. On drop bar bikes, this doesn't yet give an advantage, and as far as I know the majority of gravel bikes and all road bikes have converged on 100/142mm spacing. I'm not sure what the state of  play for Boost spacing was in 2017, but it is an issue now.
The folks at the blog Riding Gravel noted that you can often get good deals on second hand, high-end 29er, non-Boost 29er wheels, as this is a dated standard on MTBs. Because many of the front hubs used 15mm thru axles and most drop bar bikes use 12mm, you often have to source some sort of adapter. These wheels will also tend to have 6 bolt disc rotor mounts, whereas the drop bar world uses center lock mounts. One would simply acquire a 6 bolt rotor and use that.
While aerodynamics and gravel might not have been as big a deal in 2017, I suspect this trend will develop for gravel bikes. If you used an XC wheelset, you might make a minor sacrifice versus a deeper section road-oriented wheelset. This sacrifice won't be relevant to all users.
As to the specific wheels mentioned in the original question, there may have been no substantive reason to choose one or the other on a gravel bike. So, if you could buy the Crossmax Pro for less than the Allroad Pro back then and you were willing to use a 6-bolt rotor, then you should probably have done so (keeping in mind you needed an adapter for a 12mm thru axle; Mavic doesn't supply this with the current Crossmax Pro linked by Cray Kao).


Can I legally use front facing blue light in the UK?

Regulation 16 of the Road Vehicles Lighting Regulations (1989) states:

  Restrictions on fitting blue warning beacons, special warning lamps and similar devices

  No vehicle, other than an emergency vehicle, shall be fitted with–

  (a) a blue warning beacon or special warning lamp, or

  (b) a device which resembles a blue warning beacon or a special warning lamp, whether the same is in working order or not.

The Regulations have been updated multiple times since 1989, but Regulation 16 has not changed.

A warning beacon is defined by the Regulation to be "A lamp that is capable of emitting a flashing or rotating beam of light throughout 360° in the horizontal plane" and a special warning lamp is "A lamp, fitted to the front or rear of a vehicle, capable of emitting a blue flashing light and not any other kind of light".  A blue flashing lamp would surely "resemble... a special warning lamp"; it's unclear whether a solid blue lamp does, but please just don't. Blue lights on emergency vehicles are useful mostly because blue uniquely means "emergency vehicle." People who see a blue light will be distracted trying to figure out if it is an emergency vehicle.

Stick to white lights on the front and red ones on the back. Note that the human eye is not very sensitive to blue (only about 20% as sensitive as to red and green), so blue is a poor choice anyway. See also Should unconventional colors be avoided for lighting?


I'm guessing it's not the Kevlar belt that's causing the issue so much as the correlation between a Kevlar belt and an overall stiff tire. One of the most important qualities of a tire is its suppleness: how easily it deforms and contours itself to the uneven surface of the road. By deforming easily, you maximize surface area and increase grip. By adding lots of layers of puncture protection, some tires become rigid and don't handle sideways load all that well.

I don't necessarily recommend different tires: only you can determine whether the added puncture protection is worth taking more gradual turns. Push down hard on the outside pedal while cornering, and avoid taking turns over manhole covers, raised paint, train tracks, or any other type of road adornment, because they all can be pretty slick.


What features am I supposed to value most?

Really you should decide this yourself.

I would value

longest battery life
simplicity of display
least size/weight
usability with gloves on

The second point is quite important to me. This isn't a device you will use when sitting at leisure at a desk or table sipping a Martini. You probably want to keep your eyes ahead and occasionally glance at the device to pick up key info. A display that crams lots of detail into it will usually be much harder to read at a glance.

For more leisurely perusal you might as well just buy a $50 smartphone and an offline mapping app (ViewRanger is pretty good IMO).


Restoring a steel Japanese bike from the early 80s

I want wider handlebars -- 44cm. Where do I get those? What (stem) clamp size do I need to be looking for?

As far as I know, 25.4mm was pretty standard internationally for handlebars for a long time. You can probably improvise a pair of calipers by pinching the bars with a crescent wrench, then measuring the gap.

  It has natural gum-rubber brake-lever hoods that are deteriorated. I want to replace these. What will work? I don't care about the color; synthetic black rubber hoods are fine.

These are typically referred to as non-aero brake hoods.

  It has braze-on downtube friction shifters. I want to install bar ends. What, if anything, do I need to be watching out for when I do this? Given that it's a 6-speed, do I have to us old ones, such as a set of Suntour 3090s? Or can I use newer ones that are 9 or 10 speed?

I'm not sure about all models of bar-end shifters, but the Dura-Ace ones can be set in two different modes: indexed and friction. Indexed shifting clicks into place for each gear, and friction shifting requires you to manually fine-tune the placement of the lever. Obviously, indexed shifting will not work for 9/10-speed shifters to a 6-speed freewheel.

  I've never seen pedals (see photo) that attach to the crank arms quite like these. There's a fat bolt spacer between the pedal and the crank arm, and they appear to be held on the back of the crank with a bolt.

Disclaimer: This is purely speculation, BUT

I would wager that the bit you see on the back is actually a kind of large-to-small-diameter bolt hole adapter (not sure what it's actually called). I suspect you might be able to remove the pedals normally, and then unscrew the adapter from the back of the crank with a socket wrench.

(N.b. left pedals are reverse-threaded; i.e., righty-loosey, lefty-tighty.)


It's an easy modification to make if they use the same voltage and have simple on/off switches. I've done it on an e-bike. But I'd only make the primary tail light share a switch with the headlight. Without a backup you've introduced a single point of failure which is a bad thing even if your wiring is rock solid. A single wire heading to (multiple) rear lights could break and you wouldn't even know you were showing no light from behind.

You could look into motion sensing lights for the back (they may also exist for low power front lights), especially as your secondary lights so you only have to switch two lights on. Some of the solar rear lights have this feature.


Can cycling adversely affect male fertility?

Most scientific studies on cycling and urogenital problems are written with clinicians in mind, to make them aware of possible symptoms that they will encounter. Often these studies get summarized into review articles. One such article (Leibovitch and Mor, 2005), reviewed 62 relevant studies. They say:

  The reported incidence of bicycling related urogenital symptoms
  varies considerably. The most common bicycling associated urogenital
  problems are nerve entrapment syndromes presenting as genitalia
  numbness, which is reported in 50–91% of the cyclists, followed by
  erectile dysfunction reported in 13–24%. Other less common symptoms
  include priapism, penile thrombosis, infertility, hematuria, torsion
  of spermatic cord, prostatitis, perineal nodular induration and
  elevated serum PSA, which are reported only sporadically.

When examined individually, many of these studies have limitations (small number of study subjects, no followup, etc.), but when taken as a whole, they are pretty conclusive that an association exists between cycling and urogenital problems.

The only study that I could find that was population-based, i.e., included men with a range of cycling durations, was Marceau et al., 2001. Their data on 1,709 men come from the Massachusetts Male Aging Study. After controlling for potentially confounding factors ("age, energy expenditure, smoking, depression and chronic illness"), they found that men who cycled more than 3 hours per week were 72% more likely to have erectile disfunction than those who cycled less than 3 hours per week. They are cautious, however (emphasis mine):

  Bicycling 3 h or more per week may be associated with ED. Data
  revealed that there may be a reduced probability of ED in those who
  ride less than 3 h per week and ED may be more likely in bikers who
  ride more than 3 h per week. More population-based research is needed
  to better define this relationship.

The last sentence is key. Granted, there are drawbacks to population-based studies like this. One major problem is that the data are self-reported. Another drawback is they their sample probably does not include elite or high-level sport cyclists, who might have better equipment or better technique.

Does this mean that your experience may vary? Absolutely.


I'm speaking very generally here, but sitting straight up can be comfortable for quite short periods. Probably the most upright are sit-up-and-beg bikes, and if you go over to Holland you'll see 70- and 80-year-olds riding them. The downside is that they're not the fastest bikes around.

At the other end of the scale, take a look at professional road racers. These guys are as close as possible flat down to the bike. Efficient, but mightily uncomfortable.

The reality for the rest of us is that something in between is the most comfortable, but our geometries all tend to be different so different styles suit different people.

I think the good thing is that, based on what you say about distance, speed, terrain, climbing, load etc., your requirements aren't very demanding, so you'll have plenty of choice of styles so you should really be able to find a bike that is comfortable for you. (This also opens up the second-hand market, if you wish.)

I've ridden in London and I assume NYC is similar - be prepared to get a couple of decent locks, and make sure the bike you get will be able to carry them around somehow.


What direction are the threads on Ultra Torque bearing cups?

For English-threaded Ultra Torque, the right (chain) side cup unscrews clockwise, the left one anti-clockwise. For Italian, both unscrew anti-clockwise.

It's most likely that you have English. I don't know how you could tell for certain though without asking your bike maker, measuring the size, or seeing which way they actually unscrew.

For the reason why the English is 'correct' see the link in the comment below.


Need help getting the right derailleurs for a vintage 12 speed double

There's no such thing as a 6-speed cassette. Back in the day, we used freewheels.
Indexed shifting was a new thing when this bike came out, and from the looks of it, this bike didn't have it. It has what I'm guessing are Campagnolo Triomphe or Veloce shift levers, which were not indexed.

Because shifter/derailleur/gear compatibility is necessitated only by indexed shifting, and you currently don't have that, you could throw any short-cage derailleur on this and it would work (or long cage, whatever).

If you want to get indexed shifting, then we're talking about something much more complicated.

For starters, your rear triangle is almost certainly spaced 126 mm, but you'll have a hard time finding a hub for an indexed-shifting system that will fit that--they did exist, but the bike industry moved up to 130-mm spacing pretty quickly (indexed shifting came out around 84-85, and 130-mm hubs a few years later), so either you'll need to get lucky hunting old parts or you'll need to have the rear triangle cold-set to 130 mm (you could maybe jam a 130-mm hub in a 126-mm triangle--different people report different results). Once you've done that, you'll need to buy a new rear hub, new cassette, new derailleurs, new chain, and new shifters. And some 11-speed drivetrains will require that you get a new crank to work well, if you go that route.


Bike fitting for sore hands, Peugeot ~85 used as commuter

A few thoughts/suggestions:

Try wearing cycling gloves with some gel padding (perhaps you normally do but just were not
for the photo)
Check that your saddle is level - I find that if the saddle tilts down towards the front, then you end  up sort of sliding forward and to stop that, you put more weight on your hands.
Older style brakes are not well shaped for riding "on the hoods" as you demonstrate in the photo.  If you look at modern Shimano, SRAM or Campag brakes (especially the high-end ones) you'll see that they present a wide and flat surface to rest your hands on when in that position.  Older style brakes have a round (cross section) and often U shaped (long section) brake hood.  I have that on my commuter and I agree it means for sore hands quite quickly if the road surface is rough.
Good core strength will help. Can you ride with your hands off the bars, but right next to them?  I.e. Still bent forward, but without being able to rest your hands on the bars?  Actually that's probably too tough a test, and most cyclists who aren't racers can't do it.  But you get the idea: if you can support your weight with your core/back muscles, then you wont get such sore hands.
Compare the drop from seat to bars between your flat-bar bike and the Peugeot.  If the drop is greater on the Peugeot (i.e. the  bars are further below the seat than they are on the other bike(s)) then it may just take some time to get used to it.

Good luck - that's  a great looking bike!


Serial numbers on bottom bracket housing from a 50s era Schwinn?

Are you sure that this is a Schwinn bicycle?

None of the numbers on the BB match the Schwinn serial number formats of the 1950s.

With all the numbers stamped on the BB it looks like Sears-Roebuck.

The 46772 might be the Sears catalog number.


As far as I know carbon is most prone to catastrophic failure of all frame materials. Depending on the type of separation you see it could be a bit dangerous to keep on using your bike as is. The catastrophic failure occurs because the epoxy becomes brittle over time. A new layer will probably extend the life of your frame just by protecting the original epoxy from the elements. However, it will also hide the progress of the degradation of the material underneath, so you won't be able to monitor the extent of the degradation. I'm not sure you could repair your frame to the extent that the new layers will be strong enough to replace the old ones.

But I'm not an expert, so I could be very wrong. Maybe your best bet is to send these guys a picture of the damage and ask them for their professional opinion.


The logo is for brand Origin8. It is not a current production model listed on their web site, but you search search for "origin8 crank", you'll find similar looking cranksets sold simply as "Origin8 alloy crankset".


Identifying an eccentric bottom bracket?

Pulling an eccentric out that's not stuck is usually pretty straightforward once you've gotten the cranks off. If you want to find out the brand and model info (which might not actually be that useful anyway), that's probably the only place you'll find it, if it's there. But, if you're going to try to source a new eccentric yourself, you really should pull it anyway to get an exact measurement of the shell's inside diameter.

If this is any kind of mainstream bike manufacturer, where I would start here is calling them up and seeing if they have a replacement they can send to either you or a dealer. If so, that path is going to be about a million times easier than anything else, and probably cheaper.

I'll also mention that the framebuilding suppliers like Nova are the main source I've seen for more simple 1-piece eccentrics like you appear to have. Most of what you'll find elsewhere are the premium ones like Bushnell, Phil, and Niner.

As for the Loctite idea, with GXP there's not really any place for it to move to. I would never recommend riding on a loose cup, but people do all the time, with the main consequence being noise and play in the cranks.


To find a replacement, there are a few details that you need to get from your current crankset. The most important one is to find what the bottom bracket of your bike is. You may need to remove the crank arms to work this out.

Next, you need to know the bcd of the chainring to ensure that it will fit on your replacement crankset. Also verify that the four bolts are evenly spaced on the chainring, as some brands like Shimano change their bolt spacing in a way that is only compatible with Shimano cranksets or a select few third party cranksets designed to take Shimano chainrings.

Lastly, purely for bike fit reasons, you'll want to ensure that the replacement crank arms are the same length. While the arm of your current crankset might be 200 mm, that is not the measurement that you need for this. To measure crank length, you need to measure the outside of the crank arm from the centre of the spindle to the centre of the hole for the pedal. This measurement should be between 170 and 175 mm on almost all standard bikes.


You likely need to tighten the hub bearings.  I'd take it to a shop and ask for a hub bearing adjustment.

On most hubs I'd say you can do it yourself but the Nexus series are complicated and have different features depending on the model.
This means most step-by-step directions for standard hubs won't apply.  E.g. it may have a brake built into it.

You're better off paying an expert to do it IMHO.


Help please - I am suspicious this bike might be stolen

No one can ever be certain a bike has not been stolen, unless they bought it from the shop. Not all stolen bikes are reported, and not all owners of reported stolen bikes know the serial number (many would struggle to remember the colour, let along make and model). I cannot comment on how diligent the authorities are in you location at loading the serial numbers into the database if they are provided, but in most jurisdictions, bicycle theft is not placed particularly high on the 'worst crimes' lists.

A hit in the database means its is almost certainly stolen, and the burden of proof would be on you to prove its not. A miss in the data is exactly that - a miss in the database. It means nothing as to the legal status of the bike.

The database miss, intact serial numbers and the history you have been told, give you reasonable grounds to believe you have legal rights over the bike and are free to with it what you like. Should it turn out to be stolen, you would forfeit the bike, but it would be unlikely further action would be taken against you (depending how cooperative you were feeling). (Where I live the Police seem to drive around to the thiefs house, pick up the bike and call it a good days work.  I suppose if they keep tabs on the crooks rather than shutting them down, they know where they can go to collect peoples stolen bikes).

Morally you have done everything practical to ascertain its not a stolen bike, nothing more can be done.

As far as the bar code - looks to me like the damage is simply the cables rubbing - maybe in a carrier or work stand, or maybe when the bike was being washed. Personally I take those things off, even though you don't see them, they look cheap and ugly. The state of the label is absolutely nothing to be worried about.


what should my training schedule look like if I'm racing every sunday?

Unfortunately there's no magic formula. A lot depends on your age and training base going into the race season.

There are two things you need to balance:

Intervals/speed workout.
Burnout/injuries.

You will see the fastest gain in the shortest time doing intervals, but you also put yourself at the greatest risk for injury/burnout. Given that you're attempting a relatively long peak, you should probably treat most of your races as simply complex speed workouts and focus on a few events.

For the events you focus on you'll need to take a rest break to allow the training benefits you're getting to take full effect. However, you can't do that every week as you'll never see the training benefits. Learning to monitor yourself and whether you really need rest or not is the hardest part of self-coaching.

You might find the book "Time Crunched Cyclist" very useful. You need to establish periodicity in your schedule if you're going to make it to March.

Here's my best guess at a schedule:

Sun- Race Day
Mon- Active Rest ( very easy 30 mins- hr )
Tues- Skills Practice ( Moderate short efforts, should be fun )
Wed- Intervals
Thurs- Intervals
Fri- Active Rest ( or day off )
Sat- Skills Practice or fun ride ( fun should feel like lot's left in the tank after ride )

That's not a schedule you can maintain long term and it's not a schedule for an older or less trained athelete. After probably 3-4 weeks, you should take a rest week. If you ever start feeling like training is a job, then that's a good signal to take a break. Remember, no training plan survives contact with real life. Recovery is just as important as stress in achieving fitness. Near the end of your season, you should start tapering off on the speed work altogether.

As to whether I know anything or not, well I've been doing endurance sports for over 40 years and I've at least learned all the wrong ways to train.


How do to determine if an adapter is needed for disc brakes and rotors?

Just to enrich this answer, there are the two systems nowadays for mounting the brakes on the fork and frame; these are IS or postmount:
http://www.pricepoint.com/TechPages/TECH_Page_Disk_Mount_Types.htm

Normally you can find adapters to use one or the other.

Regarding the disk-hub mounting, there are also two options,
- 6-bolt (the name is self-explainable, it is the standard in the market):
- or centerlock (Shimano proprietary), which are fixed by a lock ring, similar to the one used to fix the cogset to the rear hub, but on the disk side:
http://www.pricepoint.com/TechPages/TECH_Page_Rotor_Types.htm

You have adapters to mount 6-bolt rotors into centerlock hubs, but the opposite is not possible.

Just one final consideration, if you are running a 26" wheel, current brakes allow a huge braking power with relatively small rotor. Nearly nobody would use more than 160mm on 26", unless you are doing freeride or DH.

Regards.


diamondback cobra 24 rear brakes squeal horribly what can I do to at least tone it down

Often this is the result of poor "toe-in." As the wheel turns while braking, the brake pads' mounting posts flex slightly and the pads buck against the rim and bounce back, causing the squeal you're experiencing.
The fix is to adjust the brake pads so the frontmost end of the pad is slightly closer to the rim. This makes it so that the pad is pulled square with the rim as it makes contact. The pads' post should affix to the brake arm with a bolt and a dished washer. Loosen that bolt, rotate the pad slightly, and retighten. Repeat for all the pads. This bike has V-brakes, and this can be tricky to get right.


Shimano Sis Bar-end Shifters on a Shimano Deore xt derailleur

It depends on which generation of XT derailer and how many speeds your cassette is.

For the last generation of 9spd and earlier (RD-M772 and lesser numbers), the actuation ratio is all the same for mountain and road. So you would use SL-BS77 shifters with a 9 speed cassette, SL-BS64 for 8, etc, and the shifters won't care which derailleur they're attached to.

Shimano changed their MTB RD actuation ratio when they introduced 10-speed mountain components, and this is where the answer gets more complex. If you're using any 10-speed Shimano RD, the only choice I know of for bar end shifters (unless you use a pull adapter) are the ones made by Microshift specifically for this purpose. Road/tri bar ends such as SL-BS78 will not work because they're for the older actuation ratio. And if you're using a 10-speed XT derailer, you must use a 10-speed cassette.

Same deal for 11. If you have the 11-speed XT derailer RD-M8000, the only bar end shifter choice (again that I know of) is the one made by Microshift.

Use whatever chain your cassette is made to take.


Why do I do the "saddle shuffle" when riding?

It all depends on your saddle. As someone who has just been enlightened, some saddles are supposed to be pointed a bit nose up. Take the brooks flyer for instance, it is not the front that is supposed to be level. It is the back making the front point a bit upwards. I think of it less of a seat then a hammock.

I have also had a saddle that was a left over from my fat days that provided extra back support. Because of it's design for bigger behinds, and me lacking one for the first time in a long time, I kept sliding forward which was hurting my taint (for lack of a better word).

Try angling your seat up a bit or maybe moving it forward a bit on the rails. Play around with the fit and see what kind of results you get. If all else fails you can go to your LBS and ask them to take a look at it for you.


Use of Shimano long-reach calipers with "New Super SLR" brake levers/shifters

I am currently using a mixed set of calipers, a Super SLR BR451 front and a non-Super SLR BR600 rear. I was using an older non-Super SLR Ultegra 6600 levers and the braking was good but not outstanding. I have recently switched to Super SLR 105 5700 STI levers. The front braking is noticeable better. The rear has fine power, but the amount of force needed to actuate the brake has increased. I first suspected poor cable and housing routing, but it was not that.

I plan to get and try a rear BR650 caliper in the near future.


How to thread gear cables through outers and end caps?

Before I purchased a cable cutter, I found the following method worked acceptably. After determining the cable length make a small mark with a permanent marker. Apply a small drop of superglue to the mark. After the glue dries, cut the cable with a pair of electricians pliers. The glue keeps the strands from unraveling. This still leaves the problem of cutting the outer cable housing cleanly. The pliers do not work to cut the housing. It gets crushed before it cuts. I used an air powered 3" cut off wheel. If you have to purchase either of these tools you are close if not above the cost of a Park Tool or other quality brand cable cutter.  Some times the best tool for the job, is the right tool .


As you point out that it's on the spoke side of the tube, my guess would be that the rim tape is off. (Or worn.)

I had a similar problem, where I got a puncture roughly every week, and it turned out that the rim tape was moving. It looked OK when I opened everything up, but must have shifted when I put it together.

However, don't do what I did, which was to cover the rim tape with duct tape. While it did stop the streak of punctures, it also meant that the next time I had to take it apart there was gooey glue stuff everywhere.

EDIT

Change the rim tape. - Even if it looks OK it might shift when you pump the innertube.


How do I figure out what the model number is of my Shimano rear derailleur?

Definitely one of the models in the Shimano Tourney range.
You don't need to know exact model to replace it. You just need to know what specs the replacement derailleur needs. You can look at the derailleur models in the Tourney lines in the Shimano Line-Up pages (you might find you exact model by comparing pictures also).
All the specs are pretty self-explanatory apart from speeds which is the number of sprockets in the rear cluster and total capacity needed which is tooth count difference between largest and smallest sprocket plus tooth count difference between largest and smallest chainrings (if more than one).


Stripped threads on left crank on the first ride

First thing to check: the left pedal uses a left-handed thread. Was it screwed in correctly? Depending on the amount of damage to the threads, it may be possible to sort-of screw it back in the wrong direction, which will damage it even more.


Suggested maintenance for rear shock between service intervals?

It really depends on

the conditions you ride in - wet and muddy or very fine dust may require more frequent tear downs.
whether or not you use a shock protector e.g a Lizard Skin

IMO use one if you can but your frame may not allow a protector to fit in.

the age of the shock and the condition of the wiper seals.

Again if the wiper seal is letting dust and water through the inner grease will become contaminated and useless.

Im using a Lizard Skin and I pull apart my current Fox about every 6 months which is often enough for me as the inner grease seems a little dirty by then. I'm typically riding 3-8 hours per week in summer and 1-2 hours in winter.

Greasing the outside will do nothing other than lubricate the wiper seals slightly.

To maintain you need to

Clean all the dirt off the exterior of the shock. Give it a scrub in the sink if need be.
Depressurise the shock.
No really, depressurise! Open up the air can. I can do this by hand but you might need a strap wrench for your shock model. It should have normal screw polarity so anti-clockwise to wind off. Be careful of how you do this so you don't break off adjustment levers.
Clean away all the old grease and any dirt on the wiper seal surfaces.
Place new Shock Grease on the inner O rings, damper shaft and wiper seal. Go easy here as you don't want to block ports. Less is more. Buy a tube of real shock grease. It's expensive but lasts forever.
Screw the air can back on. Again be careful as the can is made of aluminium and has fine threads which you don't want to cross. It's not going to be really easy as the negative chamber will seal up and resist compression.

Watch the procedure in this video:


Are there any online bike route planning options that allow 5-10 mile incriments?

In general, I don't think there is a tool right now that does exactly what you want, but you can get close. It sounds like you tried Google Maps, and hopefully when you did you clicked on the Bike Route option to see the suggested route. That is not going to minimize the different roads and turns because it is optimized for safer, lower-speed roads. One nice thing about the Google Maps bike route tool is that the printable directions/details are formatted very much like the route tip sheets I make for myself when going for longer rides in new areas.

You can also use veloroutes.com to create your own routes, see elevation profiles, export to google earth and create the same google maps navigation directions mentioned above. You can also search veloroutes.com by location to see if anyone has a route like yours. A search for Camus turned up this route for instance (not quite what you are looking for but it give you an idea of what you can generate).

For your specific starting point and destination you may want to check with your local bike shops for any Washington specific route maps or publications. The sports or travel sections of your local library or bookstore are another good place to look for books or maps that have long-distance cycling routes.

You are in luck for part of your route though - The section from just north of Toledo to a little west of Longview sits on the Adventure Cycling Pacific Coast Trail. Adventure Cycling routes and maps are some of the best I have encountered. The maps can be a bit pricey, but are well worth it for their detail. They typically show convenience stores, bike shops and rest/camping areas.

There are other Adventure Cycling Routes in Washington and all over the US.


Can I use a Tubular tyre in a Clincher rim?

Would you try to use glue on all 4 layers + tubular, some special tape or change rim ?

Change rim

The more layers of tape and glue you introduce the less firm the tire is attached and the more weight you add to your wheel. You want your tire firmly affixed to your rim for turning, braking, acceleration (on a rear wheel) performance.

  No surprise seller told me it is possible...

Sellers say lots of things are possible.
Possible does not mean "safe", "performs well", "is recommended", "is best" etc.
Sometimes sellers do not have your best interests at heart.

It is also possible to use and angle grinder to cut down the walls of the rim. Then you would need less tape. Please don't do that. But, if you do we'd like video.


A lot of people are now out of the habit of doing chain cleaning beyond wipe down level.

The reason to clean thoroughly is a marginal improvement in wear life and performance. But the key word is marginal. What you get for the effort is below the threshold of what many would consider worthwhile, especially riding recreationally.

Note that the expense level of your chain is a major factor here. It takes the same amount of time to clean a $13 basic 8-speed chain as it does an $60 Campy Record 11 chain, so clearly there's more economy in maximizing the service life of the latter.


Is there such a thing as a 25mm crank puller?

I googled around and could find no mention of a Primo-specific puller or any 25mm puller. The threads are curious; most cranks like this don't have them. Maybe there used to be a tool available for them, or maybe a hop-up kit with threaded-in caps.

These cranks are more or less Profile copies and as such, in lieu of any other recommended procedure or tool available, the implication is you remove them by taking a Profile crank tool, removing the sleeve from it (which is used during installation), removing one of the crank bolts and replacing it with the tool, and pounding on the end of the tool with a hammer to drive the spindle out of the crank splines.


Big crack on my Schwalbe Marathon Plus tire

you can carefully prize the crack apart and see if it is just the rubber that is damaged or if it goes through to the casing.  Your main focus should be where it extends to the sidewall as the tread area is protected by the thick rubber layer on a marathon plus.
If you conclude that it's only the outer rubber layer, i'd be happy running it as a rear tyre for shorter/local rides.  I'd replace it if i were going on a longer or more remote journey.
If there is any sign that the actual tyre carcass is damaged then it is not safe to ride and should be replaced.


There are many ways to approach this problem.  The WORST thing you can do is not involve the rider in the decision making process.

If the rider is comfortable riding, perhaps all you need is a regular bike with a toe clip (as pictured) or a clipless MTB shoe with a cleat underneat, and a matching pedal.   SPD would be the most commonly known style.

There's no need to remove the other-side crank although that is a good theft deterrent.  In fact it may help to add a little weight to the empty pedal.

A little wheel on the off side is likely to hook on things or cause more problems than it solves.

More spendy options exist too -

Tricycle  Solving the balance problem by adding a big third wheel instead of little kids one.

Handcycle  These are powered totally by the rider's arms, not by the feet (foot)  This one is probably a tricycle, but the theory works the same for a 2 wheeled bike.

Here's a handcycle built onto a wheelchair - its possible to remove the front part and return it to normal wheelchair mode.

Prosthetic Depending on how much of the leg is missing, its possible to have a strapon leg that rides like normal.  Above-knee amputee's comments or this guy who rode the Haute Route with one leg and one arm


Is it legal for me to ride a bicycle on the pavement (sidewalk)?

According to the Highway Code:

Rule 64
You MUST NOT cycle on a pavement.

So the short answer is a definite no, although discretion is given for young children riding on the pavement.
This article has details the rules for cycling on things like footways, footpaths and bridlepaths.  (In short: no, no and yes - but the article is probably worth a read.)
More information about rules in other countries can be found in this question.


Electric bike rear wheel spokes breaking

You're probably OK as the wheel was (hopefully) properly rebuilt rather than assembled on a production line.  I assume it was the same wheel, rather than just a swap-out, as the hub motor is an expensive part.  It would be more surprising if they did change the type of spokes, as that would mean holding stock of an extra part.  The thread depth is a small fraction of the spoke diameter so shouldn't weaken it too much.

There are a couple of e-bike specific issues here which can increase the failure rate:

The loading on the rear wheel is much higher than on a normal bike, because of the hub motor, batteries (often near the back) and extra-heavy steel frame (common, not universal).
The large hub motor means that the spokes are at more of an angle relative to the rim.  Unless special provision is made for this -- which it often isn't -- this increases stresses on the spokes (but not at the end that failed for you).  The spokes are also shorter than standard, and the hub motor can make assembly harder.

We have an e-bike and it broke 6 spokes in a day (after probably ~1000km): 1 in the morning, 1 on the way home, then 200m later another 4.  After getting new spokes from the manufacturer, we had the wheel properly rebuilt, and it's completely true, with even tension, and no broken spokes since.

If it breaks more spokes, I'll use the first set to patch the wheel up and order good-quality custom cut new ones for the LBS to rebuild the wheel.  If not for the warranty aspect I'd suggest you take the same approach.


Mountain bike -- exciting after-market parts, modifications or paint jobs

Let's create something of a (price) ordered list:

It all depends on what kind of look you are hoping to achieve.  I would suggest if the bike is a neutral color like yours, you try to find a detail color from, say, a decal, and replicate that in various places over the bike by hunting down the parts that match.

This process is an endless rabbit hole, after which you realize you would have been better off building your own.

You can even go the best function route, which may end up looking inconsistent to the uninitiated, but you'll know it looks good :)

Almost Free

Valve caps
Clean and Polish!

Cheapest

Grips, check
Brake discs
Brake pads (caliper brakes)
Colored bolts (but be careful - because they are normally aluminium and significantly weaker)
Handlebar end caps
Different color chain
Handlebars

Middling

Tyres
Saddle with Shiny bits or Brooks, according to preference
Cranks and rings, shiny, anodised or matt, machined or forged
Frame repaint (strip, sand blast, powdercoat or automotive paint, sealer/clearcoat)

Crazy

All the parts have to be made of Titanium and/or Carbon Fiber

I'm sure there's plenty more that I've just forgotten.


Biking across a four-lane bridge - Why was I wrong to bike across the bridge?

I can't speak for this bridge specifically, but here in Ottawa, Canada, we have at least one similar bridge and in our case, the part you're calling a sidewalk is actually a multi-use pathway from what I can understand, and bikes are expected to use that. As such, I would never use the traffic lanes on the bridge I'm referring to. The sidewalk/pathway part is still narrow so you have to slow way down and proceed very carefully when you encounter pedestrians, but it's worth it to avoid the car lanes on that particular bridge.

One thing I find helpful is to check out the roadway in question on Google Maps with the bicycle layer turned on. In the case of my bridge, it clearly shows the bike lanes on the side of the bridge as dedicated pathways, which may not be obvious to a newcomer to the bridge:

In your case there are no bikeways of any kind showing: pathways, or even shared lanes (dotted lines) on the bridge:

But there are lanes visible on roads on either end of the bridge. So either your municipality has uploaded incorrect data to Google Maps for the bridge, or you're technically supposed to ride in traffic. However, if you feel unsafe, in my opinion for short distances like crossing a bridge, you should use the sidewalk and proceed very carefully around pedestrians. If it's a tight squeeze, get off and walk your bike when you get close to a pedestrian, or stop while they pass. I also find that very car-oriented bridges like that tend not to get much foot traffic so it's usually not too bad riding the sidewalks for the short distance.

Per the comment below, checking a route in Google Maps, it may suggest a more bike friendly river crossing if one is available. If it does not, you can also zoom out a little and turn on bike lanes to see what other options are around. In the case of your bridge, zooming out we see:

(your bridge in red, two bike friendly bridges in purple)

Zooming in on the right hand option, and going to streetview, it has a separated two way bike lane which is quite pleasant:

That's about a 1 mile detour on a short commute across Maple Street bridge:

Depending on your actual commute length that may feel negligible or may be a deal breaker. If your commute is much longer than that, you may also be able to rejig other parts of the commute so you take that other bridge without adding the full mile difference.

Hopefully some of this helps.


Fulcrum Racing 5 LG freehub replacement - drag

After a couple of email exchanges with Campagnolo technical services of North America, I've confirmed that I correctly installed the new free hub (but you should do this carefully, as the pawls and/or spring can be damaged with too much pressure or twisting).  The technician confirmed that the new bearings could be a bit stiff as they "break in", but that things should loosen up appropriately.
So, I will put some miles on and confirm this as the answer once things loosen up.
Edit:  After about 100 miles (160 K) the bearings have loosened a bit and the wheel is spinning without dragging along the crank.  So, I believe that in this case, the new fulcrum freehub body did indeed need a break-in period.
Also:  as long as your wheel was stable on its axle before replacing the freehub body...don't mess with the pre-load mechanism.


How to convert my lotus 2000r into a single speed

You should get away with the new freewheel by itself, simply take the freewheel off the current wheel and fit that.

You will need a chain tool to shorten your chain, and depending on the dropouts you may need a chain tensioner, or you might be lucky.

Note that while you don't need new chainrings, you won't be able to shift front gear without either a chain tensioning arm, or leaving the rear derailleur in place, to take up the slack.


Lemond Revolution - Upgrading 9s Cassette to 11 Speed

The Lemond manual might answer this question with an odd footnote on page 19, which states "11-speed components will fit, but may not allow full use of the cassette." Assuming you own the same model, that is. http://www.lemondfitness.com/files/fetch/revolution/300223-RevolutionOM-RevB.pdf"


As long as the rim is 700c, any hubs with the thru axle dimensions you mentioned will work.

  Fork size is 100x15 with thru axle. Rear drops size 142мм x 12мм thru axle also. So it means i need any hubs which will fit these sizes? Because i know that these standarts are mostly for mountain bikes, and know nothing about how they fit the 700c wheels.

This is actually not quite true. 142x12mm is a common spec for the rear hub on current drop bar bikes with disc brakes. The vast majority of these bikes have thru axles. I think that many, possibly the majority, of drop bar bikes may have 100x12mm thru axles in the front, but 100x15 isn't unheard of.

Right now, I believe Boost spacing (i.e. 110x15mm front, 148x12mm rear) characterizes mountain bikes. I have no idea if drop bar bikes will adopt this spacing. Boost spacing improves the bracing angle of the hubs. It will increase wheel stiffness and strength. I'm a very light road and gravel rider, and I don't ride MTBs, so I have no idea if this performance gain is actually meaningful on MTBs. I have no idea if it will produce a meaningful performance gain for drop bar bikes, either.


Yes that is as single speed freewheel and those two pieces should not stick
There are some serviceable freewheels (White) but they are expensive
Pretty sure you need to replace the freewheel
Based on the rust it looks old
If you remove it from the bike and it sticks then for sure you need to replace it
You can try spraying a lubricant in the grove but most likely the bearings are shot

A freewheel is like $30 and it takes a special tool to remove
Take it to a bike shop
If you buy the freewheel from them the often install for free or a small fee

Or check youtube for videos on how to do it yourself
The removal tool for a single speed is like $25 so not worth it unless you are going to do it a few times

And if you are going to replace the freewheel then it is good practice to also replace the chain

As Brian stated this can also happen from a chain to tight.
Chain should have a little play.
And crank the pedal a few revolutions - some times the chain can be more tight in certain positions


How do I figure out which size chain my fixed gear bike has

There two sizes of chains that can be used on a fixed wheel bicycle 1/8" and 3/32".  It all depends on the width of the teeth on the cog and the chain ring.  The most common one is 1/8" as that is what is used on the track and BMX.  On bikes that have been converted from gears to fix are more likely to be 3/32".  My Son's bike has a 3/32" cog, chain ring and chain.


Rear disc brake rotor rubbing against caliper frame mount?

I have a 2010 Gary Fisher that Trek recently warrantied. They provided me with the entire rear triangle of a 2013 Superfly, which by all appearances seems identical to my old triangle. There are differences though. Most notably with the new drop-outs. They are deeper than the original. By just enough that I was also having your exact problem. The fix - recommended by the mechanic at my local bike shop - was a simple, external star lock washer placed in between the axle end cap and the drop-out.


Cyclists that are out to get your Strava KOMs - should I challenge or?

There is way too much emphasis on Strava KOMs, especially seeing there is minimal data integrity control.

There are people in every region that I've tracked that make it their mission to be on top. Quite frankly they can have it and some people need that validation.

Strava as a system has so many holes, that the 'value' you can assign to the data should be minimal.

For example:

You can manually manipulate your xml data and achieve any KOM you want
You can use any powered vehicle and no-one would know
There is no consistency in GPS coverage, esp between devices. I've seen multiple segments with 2s/3s times just because the data got messed up due to mobile coverage.

If you feel the need to challenge a rider, enter a race. Timing is better, and head to head you can see who's got it in real life.

On the other hand, I find it very useful for training - plotting your mental state against actual times. Typically you would use the same setup for most rides, so you can expect the same data integrity and therefore plot gains as relative to your own performances.


What is the difference between MX goggles and mountain bike goggles?

Mountain bike specific goggles have less foam padding around the top and are generally lighter. Also the lenses seem to be more flexible but that might just be my imagination.

Cheers


Road bike or hybrid for fitness (also including some commuting and loose gravel)?

Cyclocross or gravel bike.  They both do fine on road.


Is it worth separating your vo2 max wattage's on the flat and hill climbs in order to provide clearer goals during training?

TL;DR

Your output should be consistent regardless of what type of terrain you're riding on, but external factors coupled can skew the results.

I've trained with power for many years, and while my evidence to the following points is purely empirical, maybe it will help you.

In my experience, I've always achieved higher W/kg results on hills than riding on flat ground. I believe this is because:

More consistently positive gradient. When riding on flats, typically the ground isn't exactly flat, and will fluctuate between +/- 0.5 percent without the rider noticing. Going down a 0.5 percent might translate to the rider as a false reprieve from the effort at hand, skewing the average. As I'm sure you know, maintaining the same wattage downhill is difficult, though probably because of purely psychological reasons.
Fewer external factors such as wind to content with. It should be noted that air resistance (drag) approximately follows a squared relationship with the free-stream velocity. Therefore, a tailwind or gust of wind while climbing 8 mph has less effect on power output than a tailwind while travelling at 25 mph. This will lend itself to more consistent power output.
Flat and straight roads tend to have high speed limits, which means cars will be passing you faster. This wash from the cars can skew your results through the same logic as above.

Granted, this evidence is only anecdotal but these are the assumptions I've always used to justify differing performance numbers.

As an aside, I've looked up your W/kg on a cycling chart. 4.9 W/kg puts you at a high Cat 3, low Cat 2 range. Even at 4.37 you're still a solid Cat 3. If you're getting dropped on group rides with these kinds of numbers, I would suspect that your limiting factor isn't your 5 minute power (unless, of course, you're exclusively riding with Cat 1 riders). I would take a guess that your limiting factor isn't your power, but your ability to recover after efforts. Decreasing recovery time allows you to attack more, recover from surges at FTP, and makes your a more resilient rider. That being said, while 5 minute power is a decent gauge of fitness, the real litmus test is the 20 minute from which you can estimate your FTP. I'd be interested to see those numbers.


More than likely - The occasional small jump won't hurt the Talon, but landing big jumps will require perfection (Those forks will make surviving a bad landing next to impossible).

We would need to know what the trails were, and how difficult they are, but if they have 'easy' trails that have chicken lines around anything that cannot be rolled over, the bike can be used.