Hydraulic brake lever doesn't return after being released, dependent on weather

I think you should try a bleed.  We could go back and forth all day about what could be causing the problem, but it will all be moot until we have ruled out air in the hydraulic system.
I had a pair of brakes (only one actually) that one day just went totally slack.  Literally fine one moment, and dead the next.  I was convinced there was a leak.  Why else would it go from working to not working so quickly?.  I asked the guy at the LBS how to go go about diagnosing and fixing the leak.  He suggested I bleed first, with out assuming a leak.   I bled the brake...problem solved... no leak after many miles of riding.
The moral of the story here, as it was explained to me by my friendly LBS guy is that when we are having trouble with anything it is advisable to proceed with typical maintenance procedures before we go looking for things that are broken. This will often take care of the problem.  If it doesn't solve our problem, our time is not wasted because the maintenance is something we would want to be doing anyway.


Does a hybrid truely have a wider tire or does a mountain have a wider tire?

What you saw is generally correct. In order of increasing tire size by bike type, it roughly goes:

road bike
hybrid
mountain bike

Of course there are exceptions and variations on these bikes that fit in that continuum, but as a general rule for tire width it's pretty accurate.


Rear derailleur got caught in the spokes, what could be a root cause

If the low limiter screw on the rear derailleur was very badly adjusted, it would be possible to move the derailleur far too far past the end of the cassette by shifting into the lowest gear (i.e. shifting onto the largest cog on the cassette). This would move the chain off the top of the biggest cog and could force the derailleur into the spokes which, in turn, would bend it.

There's a lot of information on setting derailleur limiter screws on the internet - here's a fairly good example


The simple solution will probably be a longer bottom bracket. Square taper BB's come in a variety of lengths specifically for this reason.

Switching to hollowtech might work, but if your frame isn't built to that spec you could well have the same interference problems... only now you have new hollowtech BB and cranks.

This is one of those times it can be worth paying a bike shop. Not for the skill of the mechanic, but for the shelf of parts. They can try different sized BB's until they find one that fits, and all it costs you is labour and a single BB. Doing it at home you could end up with 3 or 4 BB's that are not quite right.


When checking a Dynamo system, there are 3 basic items which need confirmation:

Power Supply: Is your dynamo producing power? Checking this requires a multimeter, preferably with alligator clips on the wiring, and to spin the hub. Or there are specific tools, as well.
Wiring continuity: Are all connections tight? Are there any breaks/shorts in the circuit? This can also be checked with a multimeter. It is best done by isolating each section of the circuit to check, and then verifying the connections between the sections.
Light Source: Last, check your light source. Change the bulb if possible. Use an alternative 6v power supply to check whether the light head is functional or if there is an issue elsewhere in the loop.

Busch & Muller make a rather expensive tool for troubleshooting a dynamo.


Bicycle access options for a week-long stay in Paris

Velib makes the most sense for you. The use case you outlined is exactly what bike shares were designed for: short point to point trips where you don't necessarily expect or need to take the exact same bike back with you.

Check out the prices:

So, you'd take a < 30 minute one way ride in the morning for 1 Euro, ditch the bike for the day, then take a (probably different) bike home for 1 Euro. 2 Euros round trip. That's probably cheaper than taking transit, and I challenge you to find a bike rental for < 15 Euros daily. Even if you can, as noted in the comments above, you then have the additional worry of theft/ vandalism, and hassle of having to return it to a bike rental place when you're done.

If you want to do a longer bike ride or full day of bike exploration before or after your conference, you could do a one-day proper bike rental for that.


Can outer tyre (casing) punctures/cuts be fixed?

You can "boot" the tire.  This involves placing a piece of relatively stiff material inside the tire to cover the hole.  For smaller holes a piece of US currency (which is printed on quite durable paper) is often folded several times and inserted, but 1cm is about the limit for that.

You can buy a commercial "boot" that is a piece of plastic or stiff rubber designed for this duty, but they're a bit expensive and really only intended for cyclists to carry for emergency repairs on the road.

If you can get your hands on a scrap bicycle tire you can cut a boot from that.  Generally you'd cut the piece from the sidewall, not the tread area (because the sidewall is thinner), and for a 2cm cut in a tire you'd make the boot at least 6x6 cm, and ideally as large as you can manage.

You insert the boot in the tire, maybe with a spot of tire patch glue to keep it from shifting (but make sure the glue doesn't ooze into contact with the tube and glue it in place), insert the tube, mount, and inflate.  Partially inflate first and check that the boot appears to be centered over the cut and not bulging, and that the tire is properly seated on the rim, then, when you're confident, fully inflate.

When you use a boot like this there will always be a "lump" in the tire.  And the repair is nowhere near as reliable as a "sound" tire.  But, properly done, this can be quite serviceable.


Chain will rust always after washing (or even light rain or a puddle of water), if not re-lubed. I think this is detrimental to the chain, as it removes material from the rollers and thus contributes to chain stretch.

Bolts for stem, handlebars etc. seem to always like to rust after rain or washing. I don't think it is a big deal, but it ruins the look of the bike. How I solve this is put a small amount of grease at the bottom of the bolt head (and then wipe any excess). The grease seals the hollow head and stops rust. Using a hex on the bolt removes most of the grease, so re-lubing after repairs is nice.

About the disc brake rotors - this surprises me. Apart from two general advices, I can't see how can I help with this. Firstly, after washing a bike, lift it up several times and force it into the ground - this should should shake a lot of water off. Secondly, after that, you can make a couple of hard stops - the disk pads will dry the disks in no time.


You need to be make sure the new front derailleur is compatible with your existing shifter and cable.  If your shifter is Shimano, it's best to stay with a Shimano part for this one, to ensure compatibility.

I understand where you're coming from and the front derailleur shifting can be frustratingly marginal.  If it's that frustrating you might look at going to 105 or even Ultegra, depending on the parts and price you find.

The (assumed) sketchy front shifting could also be a function of worn/bad cables and housing, and even shifter.  It's probably worthwhile to replace that shift cable and housing as part of your upgrade.  Or even try the shift cable and housing replacement first before upgrading the derailleur.  Someone may have installed a less-than-optimal cable and housing for your particular derailleur.

If you really feel like going for it, you could get a new shifter too.  But that's a slippery slope... of course you'd have to replace both shifters to match, etc.

In the meantime, you could find someone else who's really good with derailleur adjustments to try adjusting it one more and see if you get lucky... Just not whoever adjusted it last time!  Worth a shot... The derailleur clamp positioning on the seat tube may have shifted enough to cause crappy shifting.  If that's happened, the adjuster screws may not get the job done, and the clamp may need to be loosened and repositioned to get the cage in the right spot in relation to the chainrings and chain. Someone who is really good with these will usually spot that, as well as cable/housing issues.


What precisely is wrong with it?  If it's got high friction when you work the pump without it connected then working the right kind of lube into the cylinder would do the trick.  (Not sure what the "right kind" would be, but definitely NOT regular oil.  Probably either a glycerine product or a silicone product.)

If it's leaking air back through the cylinder then lube might help, or you may need a new "leather" (which is no doubt plastic/rubber).

If it's leaking through the "chuck" that fits on the stem then some lube there may help, or a new gasket.


Options for a super-compact crankset for touring (replacing Shimano 105 crankset)

I assume your current crankset has a 110mm BCD? You could go down to 46/33 teeth. (example 33 teeth chainring: https://www.bike-components.de/en/TA/X110-Chainring-4-arm-Inner-110-mm-BCD-p46803/)
The Shimano RX600 crankset puts the rings and pedals slightly more outwards. It might work with a normal road front derailleur, otherwise (officially) you need a GRX front derailleur.
I’d rather go for a traditional width, something like the FSA Supercompact with 46/30t.


What size adult tricycle?

Sizing a bike is about getting a bike that fits your height and body proportions.

For an adult tricycle frame and wheel sizes are not a factor in fitting the vehicle to the person like they are with bicycles. Small wheel sizes on a trike help the rider get on or off the bike. Larger wheel sizes generally aid in riding longer distances and/or heavier loads.

All of the rider size adjustment for a trike will come in how high or low the seat will go and how the handlebars are adjusted.

Height recommendations are hard to find on trike specifications. I found one for the Schwinn 26" wheel trike.

  suggested rider height is 5'4" to 6'2" and the recommended weight limit is 300 pounds.
  From Amazon product description

Note, it says "suggested". I'm never confident that much effort - actual science - is put into "suggestions". According to the information provided this trike would not work for you. As I said - I had a hard time finding any height recommendations for the other trikes.

Since you are 5" tall riding before you buy is critical.

Since an adult tricycle are supposed to be "one size fits all" how do you choose one?

First
One size does not "fit all". At best one size will fit a range of average sizes.

Since you are not averaged size you will need to be careful to find something that works for you.

The key is to only buy something you have test ridden.
A few things to look for on the test ride:
- Will it be easy to get on?
- Will the seat go low enough to be comfortable?
- Will the handlebars adjust to be comfortable?
- How easy is it to pedal?

If you are working with a bike shop and you have a trike that is close to fitting sometimes mechanics can swap parts or configure the trike to fit.

Second
My quick survey of the adult tricycle market indicates that you can get one, three, six, or seven speed trikes.
If you will be riding on very flat terrain one speed might be enough. If you will be riding very short distances one speed might be enough. Gears make it easier to get up hills, even small ones. Once again, the test ride is critical.

Third
There are other features to consider:
In no particular order - not a complete list
 - Folding? Do you need to be able to load it into a large vehicle?
 - Fenders? Will you be riding in bad weather?
 - Cargo capacity / basket? There are industrial trikes built to handle larger loads.
 - Seat comfort - try before you buy.

Fourth
Assembly - most of these come with "some assembly required".
Factor your mechanical skills or the availability of help into your buying decision.

How well a trike, or bike, is assembled has a direct relationship on how well a bike rides, how long it lasts and how safe it is to ride.

One more thing.
Evaluate if this purchase is worth the cost.

List the benefits of having a trike
Weigh the benefits against the cost.

Calculating the cost

How many times each month will you ride?
Divide the cost of the trike (ignore assembly cost and maintenance for now) by how many times you plan to ride (be optimistic, it's a rough calculation)

For example:
If you spend $400 and you ride one per month you are spending $33 per ride to have a bike for the first year.
If you ride once each week that cost drops to $7.60 per ride for the first year.

In either case the benefits of having the trike might make it worth the cost but it's something to take into account before buying.


The most likely scenario is the plastic cap was inserted to far. Using a drill bit slightly smaller than the access hole, slowly drill into the plastic plug. Drill just deep enough to go through the plastic when you hit the bolt head stop. Use an "O" riing pick or a dental tool to pull the plug out. If you can't raise the plug try to insert the correct size allen wrench through the hole you drilled and loosen the bolt a few turns. Tap the top of the allen wrench to loosen the wedge. Completely remove the stem. Unscrew and remove the stem bolt and push the remains of the plug out.


Can cycling improve my stamina in soccer?

If you want to run fast, you need somewhat structured training. Normal bicycle commuting is certainly beneficial to ones health, but without structuring it it will be often too short fort endurance training or too slow for speed training. If you want to be fast (on the bike, but there is some limited overlap) you need to train shorter fast sections - like sprints and short time trials. If you want to have endurance for long activities, you need to train long rides. Those can be your commutes, but you would have to significantly extend it.
The overlap to running is there but is not perfect, the sports use different muscles to some extent (as I reminded myself painfully when returning to running very recently), but at least you use the same lungs and the same heart - but also many common muscles.  You will certainly also need to train running specifically and the same logic applies. Short fast intervals for speed, long runs for endurance, but there are many detailed advices on running-specific sites.
Discussing your diet is really a completely different topic and cannot be done here. Look elsewhere, but normal healthy diet with balanced income of basic nutrients should be the start.


I've borrowed a charger from a bike shop nearby and it was my charger that was dead.

Not sure how the battery drained itself completely in the first place but I charged the system and it came back to life.

Underneath the charger, there is the production date and mine was from 04/2013 so it's quite old and could have just died.


Is it possible to compensate a short sized frame by adjusting seatpost and stem?

There isn't always one size frame which fits a person well in a given model line of bikes (there may be 2 or more - probably 2 if someones on the border of sizes). In some cases, you can get multiple models to fit by swapping out stems and seatposts and saddle and handlebar adjustments or swaps. However, this is highly dependent on the particular model of the bike and the rider.

The best solution for this sorta problem is to get a bike fit, which may show its not even possible. Otherwise, you have to just play with it on feel, which can get a bit expensive if you don't have all the parts on hand already. Pretty much all you can do though is put a longer stem, possibly raise and lower it, use wider handlebars and adjust the saddle angle+ position a bit further back (which may be easier with a different seat post).

The biggest things you have to do are get the effective top tube right. Then you have seat height and angle and handlebar height and stuff. Its not exactly a science though so you have to play around with it.


What kind of tail lights can I attach to the rear of my rack?

I recently bought a new rack specifically because my old rack had no good spot to attach a light to. Well, that, and it has a broken weld causing it to rattle.  The rack I bought is this one. I got the Bontrager Flare 2, which easily attached to the rack with a single bolt. The light has 3 modes, which are steady, strobe, and random. Random works well if you're riding in a group as the light can be too bright otherwise with all the LEDs on at the same time.  Also, check out this Tail Light Review on an amazing site.  The chart shows which mounting options are included with the light.


Ugh! Bicycle disc brakes are not without their weaknesses.  The frequent attention and adjustment they require due to noise or pad rub is particularly irksome to me, closely followed by the system's ridiculous intolerance to pad contamination (really?  That sort of flaw considering the environment they're to be used in?), the recommended "fix" being pad replacement.
Park Tool's mechanical disc brake tutorial is one of the best discussions regarding mechanical disc brake set-up, alignment and trouble shooting I've seen.  The best advice I can give you is to watch the video and/or go thru the text.
A couple pointers: 1)often times when there is noise or rubbing that won't go away after resetting the caliper alignment, if you  re-do  the alignment loosening only one of the caliper fixing bolts, it helps to quiet the problem. 2) a disc brake rotor needs to be trued more often than people realize.   Brake noise that's refractory to resetting the caliper almost always has rotor issues at it's heart. 3) the value and importance of bedding in new pads and rotors is often understated. Learn how to do it correctly.  AND DO IT! 4)don't use the brake lever's barrel adjuster to tweak the pad distance in a mech. disc system.. These are only for countering cable stretch. 5) be mindful of the contamination issue and keep oils, greases and your fingers away from the pads and rotors. Keep rubbing alcohol on hand and use it to clean pads and rotors often. Use a clean rag for this.


My Ksyriums do that, and have done for the last 5 years.  They still work fine, so I wouldn't be worried about them breaking.

I have on a couple of occasions taken the hub apart and cleaned an re-greased the palls and all bearing surfaces.  This seemed to reduce it slightly.

I would not recommend any changes to the internals of the hub, other than cleaning and lubricating.  The consequence of a hub failure at speed are quite bad.  The amount of drag you are experiencing is quite small.  It's not worth risking that crash for that tiny gain.

If you are racing, and that tiny amount of drag really is the difference between win/lose (or, as in my case, between being dropped and hanging on the back. ;-) ) then you might consider second "racing" wheelset.  If you do that, I recommend ceramic bearings.


I'd say "proceed with caution." The main question is whether you can get your contact points where you need them. And you probably can, but there may be compromises.

A smaller main triangle, ridden by someone with bigger feet, will increase the likelihood of toe overlap.
You'll obviously need to jack up the seatpost, and if you're past the limit line, you may need to get a new seatpost.
You may need to put a longer stem on the bike in order to get the right "reach," and this can have consequences for handling. You'll probably want to put on a stem that has a fair amount of rise, to make of for the frame's smaller "stack." Otherwise you'll either need very good hip and torso flexibility or a willingness to ride with discomfort.

Also, for whatever it's worth, small bikes (such as 50 cm) often have innate geometry compromises in order to fit the frame around 700C wheels.


It could well be a nipple. Or some other bit of metal junk. Removing it is a good idea, just because you never want your bike to make metallic rattling noises as part of normal operation. Over a long time, and lots of wheeling your bike, the repeated banging of that object against the rim will damage it somewhat, but I expect you'd have to wheel it thousands of kilometres to cause any real problems.

Getting it out is straightforward, but annoying. Take the tyre and tube off the wheel, remove the rim tape or plugs, rotate the wheel until the object falls out. You may need a bit of shaking and wiggling, and it pays to work out where the loose thing is, hold the wheel up and look into the spoke holes to find the object. Spoke nipples will almost always sit on the hole, they rarely fall through it without you poking them.


Can I use SRAM DUB Red Crankset in a Trek Madone SLR 7 that requires GXP?

Modern cranksets either have 24mm-ish width spindles, or 30mm-ish spindles. DUB (28.99mm spindle) falls into the latter category. GXP spindles (24mm, tapered to 22mm on one side) fall into the former. Almost all press fit bottom bracket shells can take cranks with 30mm or similar spindles. Trek’s BB90 bottom bracket standard appears to be an exception. That is described in this Cyclingtips article and it appears confirmed in this BB compatibility matrix by Ceramicspeed. The article was written before SRAM introduced the DUB standard with its 28.99mm spindle, but the Ceramicspeed document seems to indicate that BB90 shells aren’t compatible with DUB spindles. Consider that the BB90 shell has the smallest internal diameter of all the press fit shells. It has a 37mm internal diameter, while the next smallest shell has a 41mm ID. There is not be enough space to fit the DUB spindle and adequately sized bearings in a BB90 shell.
The BB90 bearing kit you linked to will fit GXP spindles only. You can’t cram a DUB spindle in there. It does appear that your only option is to get a power meter crankset with a 24mm or similar width spindle. You could also switch to a different power meter type, e.g. pedals, which are definitely worth considering if you’re already using Look pedals. The BB86 bearing kit you referenced in comments will physically not fit in your BB shell; BB86 shells have an internal diameter of 41mm, but your Madone's BB90 shell has an ID of 37mm.
As a side note, I suspect this is part of the reason that Trek is moving toward the T47 threaded bottom bracket standard. They did so on several 2020 bikes, including the Domane and Emonda - however, they did not update the Madone (the aero road bike) in 2020. For the record, T47 uses the same internal diameter and width as PF30 (46mm and 68 or 73mm depending on road or mountain bike). However, the interface is threaded, and the bearings sit just outside the frame, whereas most PF30 bearings are just inside the frame. Placing the bearings and their cups externally enables them to be bigger, and the wider spacing should mean lower loads on the bearings. Both should mean longer bearing life. I am not convinced that 30mm spindles are noticeably better than 24mm spindles, but the market did demand 30mm, and it was always a problem that Trek's BB90 couldn't accommodate those spindles. In theory, someone might be able to design a DUB BB90 BB, but there is not much space to play with. If it is physically possible, there's not likely to be much demand for that application because Trek is moving away from BB90, and that standard was proprietary to Trek.


Bent a chain link back into alignment. Will it hold?

Your chain is very likely weakened because the joints between the outer plates and pins will have been deformed. Yes it will fail when you are applying maximum torque, likely when you are goin uphill. The problem isn't so much being stranded, it's the nasty crash you'll have when that happens.

You can't just remove an inner and outer link because the chain will then be too short. If you previously replaced the chain and have a few spare links after you cut it down you could splice in a few links.

Personally, I'd just replace the chain.


Using different style disc rotors with the same brake calipers

You've gotta try it out to some extent (e.g. at your LBS). But you'll likely be able to do it with some spacers, tweaking of the brakes and some fidgeting and appropriate part selection. If you do it right, you should have minimal/no adjustment between swapping the wheelsets.

It depends on the brakes and rotors you have. In some cases, the rotor will fit fine or need a minor adjustment in pad placement, while in other cases you won't get the rotor to be able to align properly or the rotor will be too wide and maybe have suboptimal braking (e.g. excessive pad wear or reduced braking power). You may be buying a Centerlock->6 bolt rotor adapter depending on the rotors you're planning to run or some spacers or something to get this to work.


Is reversing the stem (pointing it backwards) a safe way to reduce reach length?

No, it would not be particularly safe. The steering would get extremely twitchy and difficult to handle.


How many miles should I ride each day to prepare for a 66 mile ride in 6 days time?

Honestly?  6 days is a bit late to do anything significant.  You should probably do ~5-15 mile rides for the next 4 days, and have at most a short 2 mile ride on day 5, and then you've got your event.

Try and do your rides on similar terrain/roads if possible.   Ideally you'd do pieces of the real road - they always feel "shorter" on subsequent trips.

Don't get carried away with replacing major mechanical components this close to the event.

Your best bet is to do basic bike maintenance, like lubing the chain and tweaking the gears and brakes, and inflating your tyres.  Check out your spares and on-bike tools, make sure its all good and that the spare tube has not acquired a hole.

Also - if your event is self-supported, you'll have to carry 66 miles worth of water and food.  You'll need to pack that onto your bike in a way that doesn't interfere with riding, be it camelbak or frame bottles or panniers or whatever.

If the trip is supported (ie, feed stops every hour or 20 miles) then its lower importance but still don't run low.  Sometimes the fueling stations aren't there or have run dry, (or blown away!)

Finally, plan on how you're getting home.  Noone wants to ride another 66 miles back home after such a trip!


If you have the fork in hand, it's easy enough to directly measure the outer diameter of the steerer tube using a set of calipers or a ruler across the top. The common threaded headset size is 1" (25.4mm), but 1 1/8" (28.6mm) is not unheard of.

If you have only the frame and are trying to measure from the inner diameter of the head tube, then you are measuring for the outer diameter of the headset cups. For a 1" headset this should be 30.1mm, for a 1 1/8" headset this should be 33.9mm, give or take at most 0.2mm.

1980's should be too early, but Cannondale also experimented with oversize head tubes at several points - if the fork or frame is larger than that specified for the 1 1/8" size, you'll probably want to look into a different fork, and probably a reducing headset as parts are going to be almost impossible to find.


I would image anything abrasive enough to polish metal would damage the clear coat over paint. Save it for unpainted metallic parts of the bike,things like spokes, crank arms maybe the little chrome bit on the cable housings.


Child seat: how to protect my child's face from rain and wind?

Hamax certainly make a dedicated cover, though when I had a Hamax seat I used a cover from another brand (Raleigh I think). Both keep the child's face uncovered.
My worry with that design is that with plastic sheet in front of the face you really need a sufficiently sturdy support to hold it clear of the mouth and nose, even if the child falls asleep and the wind is at its worst (despite the plastic being fairly stiff). But the support mustn't be a hazard in its own right, for the rider or child, even in a crash. I'm not saying it's impossible, just that it's more challenging than you think to make it safe. You'd probably have to destroy the rucksack to obtain parts, unless you had something very similar to dismantle


Figures on accidents involving cyclists where motorists are using cell/mobile phones

As Batman has commented, I suspect getting the data down to this level is probably going to be quite hard.  That said there is some Australian research which may be of interest to you.  In particular a study undertaken in South Australia which looked at the circumstances surrounding crash involvement for a group of 61 bicycle riders involved in a collision with a motorised vehicle who were admitted to the Royal Adelaide Hospital over the period between January 1 2008 and December 31 2010. You can read a summary of this study on my site.

This descriptive study provides some insight into cyclists and motor vehicle interaction and adds to growing literature on the subject.

http://aushiker.com/profiling-cyclists-injured-in-crashes/


Which component upgrades for longer rides

If your goal is comfort over speed, I would emphasize in three upgrades which don't break your bank:

Find a comfortable saddle. Go to your LBS and ask their opinions. A lot of people suggest leather saddles, like Brooks or Selle Anatomica. A good saddle is expensive, but it is a worth upgrade and you will be surprised how big the difference is between a cheap saddle and a good one. If you are on a tight budget, a padded short is a cheaper option.
Do you use a bike rack and panniers? for a long ride especially on hot weather, a set of pannier is better than a backpack.
I think your current tires are already pretty good but it might be worth a try to have wider and fatter tires for more comfortable rides. I assume your current tires are 32mm wide, so upgrade to 35mm tires.


Do SunTour freewheels have uneven cog spacing?

Freewheels normally had uneven spacing between gears back back then. Until indexed shifting became popular starting in the mid-80s, there was no need for spacing to be consistent. The outer sprockets were threaded on, and the inner ones were splined, so they weren't even attached in the same way. (Aside: I recall a bike shop had threaded together a "9-speed" freewheel and stuck it in their display case as a joke—It was much too wide to mount on a bike. Simpler times.)
I don't remember sprockets having fancy tooth profiles back then: that's an an even newer development to improve shifting.


What target heart rate or power do people use when commuting by bike

I would claim, without data so just thinking about my experience with the world, that most commuters are not targeting heart rate or power, they are just trying to get to work.  Some want to get there as fast as they are (reasonably) capable of and some are wanting to get there at a reasonable pace that does not require a shower. Many just want to get there.  There must be some who try to combine sophisticated training with commuting, but those are few.


Regarding information about wheel wobble

There are two possibilities:

1) The wheel is moving at the hub because its bearings are failing or need adjustment. Lift the rear of the bike off the ground, grab the wheel rim and try to move it from side to side. If it can be moved, the bearings need to be looked at.

2) If the rim cannot be moved side to side, spin the rear wheel and look at where the rim passes the brake pads. If the passes closer to one or other of the pads as the wheel spins then the rim is bent.

If the rim is bent then I suspect it cannot be straightened on this type of wheel.

Some wheels have hubs with adjustable bearings. Without knowing what exact wheel you have it's impossible to say if yours can be adjusted. If the bearings have failed then the wheel may be unrepairable.


Don't bother with an air compressor. Get a proper bike pump.  They are cheaper, and will fill a tire to 60 psi with minimal effort.  A good bike pump will also require less maintenance. Also it'll only take a couple pumps to top up your tires. Much less time than to drag out a big air compressor.  Have you had problems with standard floor/track pumps? What is your reasoning for getting an air compressor over using a bike pump?


Are deep rims more durable for a heavy rider?

I'd actually lean toward a shallower rim, but the important bits are going with a high spoke count and either 3x or 4x pattern (both drive and non-drive sides). With a deeper rim, you are changing the angle in the cross patterns and reducing the length. This means that the spoke has to deflect more to handle the cross.

This is more noticeable with really deep rims, with the slight differences in depth for the rims you listed, the difference would not be that much.

I've built some race wheels and training wheels for a customer that's on the heavier side and competes in Ironmans. I've built the fronts with 3x both sides and the rears with either 3x both or 4x drive with 3x non-drive and haven't had any problems.

With your size and the road conditions, you will still need/want to true your wheels on a fairly regular basis, they will go out of true. If you get in the habit of giving them a quick check and true on the bike, you'll soon get where you are comfortable maintaining them.

Happy Riding!


Campagnolo Athena 11s front-derailer alignment

I have the same model front derailleur and have experienced the same issue.

It is unlikely that the bike is bending enough under pedalling force to cause this (unless the frame is broken or cracked). More likely it is a problem with the front derailleur, and the extra chain tension from pedalling hard exacerbates it.

Now, obviously if there is damage such as a bent front derailleur cage then this could affect the shifting. But if the problem has just started happening from normal use, without the bike being involved in any recent crashes or mishaps, then you probably just need to service your derailleur.

The manual has a section on maintenance that if followed should resolve the problem. Here are the main points along with some of my own observations:

Check the derailleur is clean and moves freely. When I suffered this problem there was grit in the moving parts, preventing the cage from moving all the way to the lower lower stop when downshifting. One way to verify the smooth action of the mechanism is set the derailleur to the small chainring and carefully pull at the cage with your fingers. It should move smoothly, with the spring pulling back quite firmly against you towards the seatpost. I find spray lubricant (e.g WD-40) to be very effective at displacing grit and freeing the mechanism, followed by a drop of oil at each pivot and some grease on the spring to keep it lubricated.
Check the shifter cable tension. Excessive tension can prevent the derailleur from sitting tight against the lower stop.
Ensure the derailleur is correctly aligned. You mention that there is an “increase in gap” at the rear.. I can't gauge how significant this is without seeing it, but the manual does state that the outside of the cage must be parallel to the chainrings. If it is too far out of alignment it can definitely affect the shifting. Also check the vertical alignment: the gap between the large chainring teeth and the cage should be 1.5mm to 3.0mm.
Check the adjustment of the lower limit screw. With the chain on the small chainring and largest sprocket, there should be a 0.5mm gap between the chain and inner face of the FD cage. I find it is best to do this with a bit of tension in the chain, as sag in the chain affects the size of the gap there.


Tube puncture over spoke, but rim tape fine

I would recommend replacing rim tape with a modern plastic one. You could inspect the existing cloth one, but then you would need to remove it to inspect the spoke ends. Cloth tapes often don't survive removal.

When the tape is off, inspect the spoke ends and the nipples. If one is sharp, use emery paper to remove the burr. Do not use a file: a single filing always avoids removal and causes another puncture.

Repair the tube and do whatever you think will bring luck - punctures like this can be tricky to solve.

It's possible that the cause was grit that happened to work it's way in under the tube, and subsequently fell out, but the hole looks like a spoke puncture to me.


Detailed resources for planning backcountry/primitive tours?

Are there ever!

I'm totally evangelizing for the adventure cycling association in my answer here, but check this out: Adventure Cycling Route Network. They have a lot of road tours but they do mountain tours as well.

You want the extreme of extreme backcountry mountain bike tours? How does 4418km of trail riding along the continental divide sound? Check out the Tour Divide, It follows the ACA's Great Divide Route.

Other than that take a closer look at the trail systems in National Parks, there are  trails that permit cycling, and some that are long enough to bikepack on for a couple days. At least there are lots where I'm from, which is near Glacier National Park.


Are recumbents more fatal in an accident than a regular bicycle?

I have been riding a recumbent for the last couple months.  Its a highracer so higher than a lowracer, and puts me at about even face height with sedan drivers.  Thats roughly even with the saddle on my road bike.  I have a flag but its not much above my head.

You're harder to see because you're behind cars rather than peaking over cars
As a rider you have more limited visibility of other cars for the same reason
BUT as something highly unusual on the road, drivers seem to perceive you better - the visual image passes from the lizard brain to the conscious brain and other road users notice you more.   I experienced the same thing when riding a tandem either solo or together, or when towing the kiddy trailer - vehicles gave significantly more passing room than they do when I'm on my boring upright road bike.

To address the "more fatal" part - an upright rider is higher than a sedan, so an accident is more likely to hit the bike and "scoop" the rider up and over a bonnet/hood/windshield.  With a lower bike, an impact will be more of a "push" leading to more impact and sliding, than a "lift" which would be more throw and impact with the ground or other objects.

Personally, I'd prefer to ride defensively and avoid the potential accident all together, regardless which bike I am on.


Comparison of flat bar road bikes, cyclocross and hybrids for city and occasional dirt roads

That is pretty much what a CX is designed for.  They carry nicely as most CX courses have a carry section.  If you are going to be road heavy you can get touring tires like 28 - 35 mm.  For cobble stone go 35 mm.

Check for take 35 mm as some pure race will only to up to 32 mm.

I prefer the drop bars as more positions and can go into the drops for aerodynamics but most riding is on the hoods.

You can often get good prices used as lot of racers upgrade every couple years.  And the bike is typically well maintained.  With 1x coming popular many people are upgrading and 2x is probably better for you. Sponsored riders get a bike free.  Your risk of crashed bike is not that high as hard crashes in CX are just not common.  Crashes are not common.


Perfectly round holes on new Schwalbe Pro One tire

It is an increasingly common practice for manufacturers to add tire wear indicators, which are little divots like the ones on your tire. Otherwise, there is no objective measure of when to change a tire apart from your mileage log (and riders of different weights should be expected to wear out tires at different rates). Basically, once you can no longer see the holes, you should toss the tire.
Perhaps you already know this, but you can then rotate your front tire to the rear. One should not rotate tires as we do in cars, because our rear tires wear a lot faster. I always knew this in theory, but seeing this happen with the wear indicators really cemented the concept. In any case, you want the freshest rubber on the front for control. However, rotating a very lightly worn front tire to your rear wheel is perfectly fine.
In principle, this type of wear indicator could also be useful on rim brake rims. I have not seen them as often, however. The Pacenti SL23 rim definitely had them, but that was a bit of a niche rim. Otherwise, one has to estimate rim wear via calipers or by seeing if the brake track has become concave. The increasing adoption of disc brakes may mean that manufacturers won’t bother with these indicators, because disc rims don’t take wear per se.
Just in theory: what happens if you ride the tire after the wear indicators are gone? Remember that tires have a rubber tread, which is glued to a carcass made of rubber, cotton, or perhaps other materials I’m not aware of. (Illustration at Schwalbe tires.) If you wore off the tread entirely, you would now have either the puncture protection layer (if present; some racing tires may forego one) or the carcass itself in contact with the road. I am not an engineer. However, the carcass materials were designed to hold a shape, and not to contact tarmac. I would expect grip to go down substantially, and I would not expect the carcass to be durable in that manner. Once you wore out the carcass, you would presumably tear a hole in the tube. In any case, I don’t know how much tread is left once the holes are worn down. It could be possible to safely ride your rear tire once the wear indicators are gone, but not for long. Under no circumstances would I do this on the front tire.
Come to think of it, on the forums I used to frequent, I would sometimes hear about riders wearing their tires down to the threads. That was a reference to the threads of the tire carcass. Many higher end clinchers and tubulars in the 2000s had cotton carcasses, which could be very supple. Presumably (NB, I’m not an engineer) this was supposed to reduce energy loss due to hysteresis, which is a primary driver of tire rolling resistance.
Edit: Some time after I wrote the answer above, @A.Jahin asked a question where they posted a photo of a tire where the tread had been completely worn out in one spot. This, below, is an example of wearing the rubber tread out completely. You can see that the threads of the carcass have been worn.


Is it worth buying a RFLKT+ or is the RFLKT good enough?

I have a RFLKT+ which I use with Cyclemeter. The significant differences are the altimeter and the ANT+ bridge. The reason why I bought it was so that I could use ANT+ sensors, specifically the Garmin magnet less speed and cadence sensors. The altimeter seems to be very sensitive and enables more or less real time grade display – just in case you want to know why you're miserable climbing a hill :-)

If you don't need those features, then I don't think there is a reason to by the plus version.

One other thing that I'd add is that the connection to ANT+ sensors is not as robust as I'd like. I find that I have to pay attention to the sequence in which I wake up the sensors and start the app to ensure that everything works. It seems like the sensor discovery process can take quite a while (maybe as much as a minute) which adds to the aggravation.

I'm not sure if this is a RFLKT+ thing, an ANT+ bridge thing, a Garmin thing, or a Cyclemeter thing… But if the fiddling with hardware and software isn't your thing this would be another reason to lean towards the RFLKT (the Bluetooth link seems much more robust).


Track cog threading or lockring threading?

You are correct, 1.29 inch is the lock ring thread. The ISO thread for cogs is  1.375 inch, and almost all manufacturers use it. The other choice is Italian thread, which is 35mm * 24 tpi (note the mix of metric and imperial measures). This is 0.2mm larger, so in practice they can be mixed.


How do I install a fixed gear cog on a screw-on freewheel hub?

I've not done this, but I beleive the threads are compatible with a standard fixed gear cog. If so, just buy a cog and install it. Then put a lockring from an adjustable bottom bracket on as a lockring (it has the same threads as the hub).

Note that this will not works as well as a proper fixie hub, most obviously because it's missing the left hand threaded section that normally holds the fixie lockring in place. I strongly suggest using locktite, or possibly even superglue, to hold the cog in place. Otherwise when you back pedal to brake there's a real danger that the cog will undo and you'll lose drive.

There's a detailed explanation here that covers what you've done plus the next steps.


Nothing wrong with it other than aesthetics.

I have 3 master links on the 2.8 metre chain in my `bent.  Its glaringly obvious too cos the masters are shiny chrome and the rest of the chain is a dull cheap galv chain.

There might be a few grams difference in weight too, but realistically that's probably less than the weight of dirt on your bike.

Just use the same brand/style of master link, so you don't try and take one off the wrong way.


If you don’t have any medical neck issues this is probably related to your position on the bike. Before you try any drastic measures I’d suggest playing around with the seating position. First of all make sure your saddle is in a good position. You should be able to ride with your hands hovering over the handlebars. Raising the handlebars is probably possible and should help too.

Maybe because of your braking problems you are constantly looking forward and never relaxing your neck? Try to look down from time to time and change hand positions on the handlebars (that’s what road handlebars are great for!). Braking power could probably be greatly increased with new, good pads and cables.

I’ve noticed that keeping my neck muscles warm helps too. It can also take some time to get used to it. Try to keep the first rides short and relaxed, take short walking breaks, especially before/after longer descents.


Should I wait for clear views of the sky before turning on my Garmin Edge GPS?

I don't have any experience with that particular unit, but I do have a Garmin Oregon 450, which is a "hiking" GPS, but I find it works great for cycling.  I've found there's 2 important things to getting a lock on satellites. First, as you mention, is a clear view of the sky. The second important thing is don't move.  The faster you are moving the more difficult it is for the unit to lock onto a satellite.

The best advice is to turn it on before you ride and wait until it has a lock before you start riding. I've found that I don't really need a view of the sky, as I can turn it on in my house or in my garage, and get a signal no problem.  I can't however, turn it on in my office, where there's quite a bit of concrete around me.

I also find it helps if you turn it on in the last place you turned it off. I think the GPS assumes that it's in the same spot it was last time, and tries to lock onto the same satellites. I find if I travel with the unit turned off, it takes longer to get a signal when I do turn it on.  I don't know if this is how it actually works, but this is how it seems to work for me.

Signal is also affected by where you are on the earth.  It works better when you're closer to the equator. You're in Melbourne, which isn't close to the equator (-38 degrees latitude, but a little closer than I am up in Canada (45 degrees latitude).  I don't think you're far enough that it should be a serious problem.


Compact crankset, how to use and criticality of cross chaining

A 53 x 39 won't really make things better for you as you'll be even more cross geared in your 53. That said, riding a 50 x 21 on your 12-27 cassette can't really be considered cross gearing.

If you'd like less of a jump in ratios when shifting the front chain ring, might I suggest a cyclocross crankset? Shimano's cx50 and cx70 offer a 46x36 up front. They'll let you ride more in the middle of your cassette on the 46 and still give you a decent low ratio. You do lose a little top end but few people are exceeding 50kph for any length of time.

I have a cyclocross bike with a 46x36 and a 12x27 and find it fully useable for the speeds I pedal at and shifting the front doesn't result in 3 gear changes in the rear.

Here's a link to the Shimano cross cranksets: http://www.shimano.com/publish/content/global_cycle/en/us/index/products/cyclocross/cx70.html


Camera alternatives for commuting (2014 version)

A few years ago we bought a pile of the sub-$20 "mini dv" cams off ebay and they work fine as safety cams. Finding a waterproof enclosure is effectively impossible, so I used a plastic bag. At ~$10 each losing one is no the end of the world. Sample video: vimeo.com/15050277. If you're experimenting, buying a couple of those might be a worthwhile start to see how much hassle they are and how much use you get out of the camera. (I no longer bother, but then I ride to Cooks River cycleway every day and only ~5km of actual roads)

One thing that I've become more aware of/irritated by recently is the difference between 60fps and slower frame rates. For a safety cam 15fps is fine, but if you want to use the video for anything, 30fps is hard to watch. And a lot of the 1080p cameras don't even do 720p60. So if you're going to spend $200+ on an "HD" camera, try to get one that does a decent frame rate. That way when you start playing with the video you wan't get too grumpy. If you shoot at 1080p60 you can usually get software-stabilised 720p60 out of it, or you can pay a bit extra and get the stabilised Sony action cam instead.


Would the airzound bike horn cause hearing damage even if used well under the duration limit?

A little differently: the 115 dB exposure is culmulative with other noise that day. So the tables tell us that if you work in an environment of 85 dB(A) for eight hours and you use the horn on your way to work, then you will damage your hearing.

Ringing in your ears is a great warning sign from the body that you are risking damage to your hearing.

Ear protection has its uses; you want it to bring your noise exposure down to 85dB(A) or below, which is quite difficult especially from 115 dB. It would be much better not to use the horn at all, instead of using ear plugs, because that’s a better risk management strategy.

After all, noise-induced hearing loss is preventable.


This is usually due to excessive wear on the bushings in the fork lowers. There is no rebuild kit for that fork that I'm aware of so, your best bet would probably be to replace the fork or if you can get your hands on a second-hand set of lowers for this fork that are in good condition, you could swap them straight over. If there's that much wear on the bushings though, there's probably a build-up of rust on the stanchions abrading them so it'd be better in the long run to just replace the fork as a whole.


It's fixed.  It turns out that I had the cable running underneath the notch on the FD. I checked my other bike out and and noticed it running over top of the notch.  Once I switched it, I started shifting much more smoothly.


shimano 14-34t megarange casette not shifting to first gear

What does "two inches too high" mean?
And by first gear, do you mean the smallest (i.e. hardest) sprocket/cog?

If so, (actually, even if it's the largest cog), the screw you first want to adjust (before making changes to the B-limit screw) is the high (or low) limit screw.
These are the screws that define the limits of the derailleur in terms of how far in (towards the wheel) or out (away from the wheel) the derailleur can travel.
They are usually marked with "L" and "H" symbols on the derailleur, and are likely close to each other.

If your L/H limits are fine (which you can test by pushing the derailleur by hand to the limit positions) and you still have a problem dropping into the smallest cog, there are a few possible solutions.
First is to make sure your main derailleur spring(s) isn't rusty... give it a cleaning and lube, which might help it go into the fully relaxed position (and thus help get that chain down onto the small sprocket).
Since you say it's a new derailleur though, the spring is probably fine.
Even with new derailleurs, however, sometimes they just can't get into the relaxed position enough for smooth and consistent shifts into that small cog.
In these cases, a (very much non-official) solution is to take off the derailleur, find a thin washer that matches the dropout size, and thread the derailleur back onto the hanger with the washer in place (between the derailleur and the hanger).
This basically moves the derailleur's base position slightly outward (away from the wheel), helping to get the chain onto the small cog.
You'll have to readjust the L/H limits again when using the washer method.
Note too, that the washer must be quite thin, as it takes away from the available threading between the derailleur and the hanger.
This weakens the derailleur's attachment point and can lead to shifting flex or a greater chance of full on derailleur failure if you snag it on branches, debris, etc.

Hope that helps.


Which measurements are most important to consider for tall men?

Among quality aka dealer-level bikes, each model comes in a range of sizes. Wheel size in and of itself is immaterial to fit. Published weight limits are not typically contingent on frame size, i.e. it's the same number for the whole size run.

There are questions on here about how to interpret weight limits, but most dealer-level bikes are somewhere around 300lbs, especially for more entry-level bikes.

All but the biggest bike companies wrestle with economies of scale for bikes on the far ends of the size bell curve, so that's usually the main place someone your height will need to look. In other words, you're likely looking at barely squeaking in, if that, on an XXL hybrid or MTB, and many companies only go up to XL. In the US, brands I know that do XXL on a lot of bikes are Trek, Specialized, and Cannondale.


Proper spoke tension when dishing to the side of the hub

1600N is a lot. Check your rim’s specification, most rims are limited to 1200N. You can go slightly above the 1200N, especially since pressurizing the tyres will de-load the spokes by 50N or so.
The non-drive side will end up somewhere around 700–800N.
The most important thing is that you don’t have single spokes with very low or very high tension. In an asymmetric wheel ideally you’d have all spokes on each side at the same tension.
Using longer or shorter spokes won’t really change anything of this. The problem is simply that the spoke angle on the drive-side is steeper to make space for the cassette sprockets while keeping the rim centered.


How to adjust seat saddle and saddle position for knee pain?

While it's true that your hips rocking indicates that the seat is too high, there is a different rule of thumb for knee pain related to the fore and aft position of the saddle.  It's easy to remember:

If your knee hurts in front, your seat is too far forward.
If your knee hurts in the back, your seat is to far backward.

The most important thing to remember is that small changes can make a big difference.


Is it necessary to buy a special tool to open the chain lock

That is the appropriate tool to open KMC (and similar) style missing links.
It is possible to open them with some needle nose pliers but is much easier with a missing link removal tool and you are less likely to damage the chain (or yourself.)


Frame size is one number. Bike fit is made up of many variables, some of which are fixed to the frame, some (add you've found) aren't. And people aren't all the same proportions (see for example the ape index).

If the bike is adequately comfortable for the rides you do, it's worth sticking with. It sounds like you might have found yourself an endurance fit, so for short races it could be possible to get more efficiency. If you're not racing (even just a friendly sprint), I doubt you'll notice the difference.

Perhaps your friend is giving you an excuse to buy a new bike, but you don't need it, and in your position I certainly wouldn't get a new one if that meant losing this one that seems to suit you.


You may need basic tools for most of the following, but if I were you I would check these components in this order:

Your rear quick release. If this is too loose it can creak or click. This is especially true for newer external cam (aka exposed cam) quick releases. This is the case more than you would expect and requires no tools to fix. For the external cam QR type you might want to put a couple drops of lube on the moving parts to reduce friction. If it's an internal cam type QR, just make sure it's tight.
Your crank arms. If they are not properly tightened or greased, they can also make noise. If they are especially loose you can ruin them or they can fall off while you're riding (but this is also true for any part), so make sure they're tight.
Your pedals. Sometimes even when properly tensioned you will get a minor click from pedals. Make sure they're well greased and tightened to spec.
Your chainring bolts. Same deal. Make sure they're tight and greased or loc-tighted.

There are other potential issues but the ones listed above are the most likely culprits that are most closely related to the drivetrain.


Is it possible to install a thru axle on a bike, which is a few mm to shorter than the bike frame's thread?

You can never replace a conical interface thru axle with a flat shouldered one. That's just the wrong part.
Lack of contact area may cause the axle to loosen or the frame to become damaged. But what will probably be a more immediate problem is that most frames with a conical interface have a hole for the axle shaft that's a pretty loose fit, and often gappy by a millimeter or more. The reason is they're using the conical interface to locate the axle and prevent it from squirming under load, which is actually a much better design than relying on the tolerances of a plain hole, and probably the only reason it's not universal is because of cost. Don't sabotage your bike by plugging in the wrong thing.
Some aftermarket thru axles are sold with a conical washer and two lengths are given. One is for with the washer, one without. It's a way of halving SKUs needed.
As for your original question of missing thread engagement, it depends more on what engagement length remains, not what's missing. That said, wheel retention is probably the literal worst thing on a bike to play thread engagement safety guessing games with. I doubt anyone who knows what they're talking about would be comfortable stating a generic minimum safe thread engagement number, other than 100%. In practice I've been allowing no more than about 0.5mm of missed engagement and have mostly been erring long.


I don't want to be the next Eddy Merckx; Is competitive cycling right for me?

Treating "competitive cyclists" as this single unified group (with three subgrouping) belies some  prejudices.  Like all walks of life there are a diversity of people, all with different motivations, morals and life experiences.  As such there is no single correct answer your various questions.

For example:

  are people in pelotons generally friendly, supportive, etc. or does
  everyone basically hope the others get hit by a bus so they end up
  winning?

Yes to both.

  Do people e.g. go for a drink together afterwards, or do they put
  their $10,000 bike in its own personal transport before being
  chauffeured back to their hotels?

Yes to both.

Anecdote for the good in people

I have met many great people in competitive cycling who were very friendly and helpful.  For example, during one long, hot road race a professional rider (who I trained with) waited for me after I got caught in a crash (one of our juniors collided with another member took out our whole team!).  He helped first made sure everyone was ok, then we worked together to get back into the peloton. He didn't need to, and it was a lot of extra work for him to do so as it took us nearly a lap to catch back in.  He still went on to podium that race, but maybe he would have won.

Anecdote for the bad in people

Once a number of years back when I moved to a new location my first club ride encounter was rather nasty, with a rider threatening to brake check me into the ditch if I drafted him again before the sprint.  It turned out it was the club that was toxic. They even  maligned and mistreated an amazingly friendly and fast former pro from Europe who had recently retired and moved to the area.  Racing pro in Europe is damn hard, the fact he was willing to give his time and energy to the local community was cool, that club had no idea what they were passing up. The ex-pro ended up starting his own club and superseding the toxic club.

Take Home

There is no single unifying experience that makes up competitive cycling.  There are definitely "gun-ho" types.  (It is a competitive sport after all).   Some are abrasive, some are are outgoing and nice, some are reclusive... you get the idea.  Like any competitive sport you will get encounter more Type-A types than you would in regular life.  But that is sort of the point, isn't it?  You are looking for other people to be competitive with.

My best advice would be to shop around.  If your area has a lot of clubs, do a trial ride with each club to see which one jives with you best.   Some are competitive, some are recreational, some do both.  Some people in the clubs are amazingly friendly and kind, some others are less so.  Also make sure to try and shelve some of your prejudices about "competitive cyclists". Sure some spend too much money on bikes (the bike industry really pushed that hard), but there are many who are quite sensible and still very fast.

Like all of life, you gotta pick and choose.

Finally to answer:

  How "good" should my setup be in order to enjoy such an event and
  easily stay with the pack?

I personally ride a steel bike and have no problems keeping up on fast rides (i.e., 40+ kph). Whether or not you stay with the pack has a lot to do with your base fitness, your max power threshold, how you ride (i.e., positioning in the pack and length and frequency of pulls), how well you anticipate moves within the pack  and the condition of your gear.  If your equipment is not kept up well, doesn't fit, or is highly inefficient then it becomes a hinderance.  Without knowing what you ride this question is too open ended to answer.

PS.  Quitting your job happens when the nice hobby becomes an unhealthy obsession. That said, others would argue you have simply dropped the shackles of societal expectations and become a free spirt.  All I know is that my kids still need to eat.


Does a highly visible frame colour improve safety significantly?

It wouldn’t make much difference from the rear. All a driver could see from the rear is the top of your seat stays, which aren’t very large. Same goes for the front. From the side, it would make more of a difference, but I wouldn’t say it’s significant enough to justify the fancy paint job.
Of course, if you like the way the fancy paint looks as well, that might make it justifiable.


Should I upgrade/rebuild an old rusty bike or get a new one?

Personally, I would save up for a decent bike in better condition. The cost of labor to overhaul a bike is substantial, and it's not really worth it if the bike components are crummy to start with. You may end up spending more in components and labor than getting a decent bike. There are frequently deals to be had on decent used bikes.


Differences between wheelsets - 700c gravel bike and 29" mountain bike

As comments to the question state, in terms of wheel diameter alone, 29" and 700c monikers indicate the same rim diameter. Your bike, being Surly, should be able to fit just about anything in terms of wheel diameters and tire widths, up to 27.5"×3.0" (650C) and 29"×2.6" (700c).

However, according to the frame specifications of the latest Ogre model, the frame uses "Gnot-Boost" 145mm spacing for rear wheel. It means it is compatible with  through-axle hubs of 142 mm and 148 mm widths, but not with 135 mm ones with quick release. There are adapter washers for QR wheels from Surly to accommodate for QR hubs, so it should be possible to use such wheels. I think you might also have to adjust the rear disc brake caliper position when axle type is changed, but that is usually required anyway at wheel swaps.

The bike does not have a front derailleur by default, but if you use one, the specifications page mention that you will have to use different derailleur offset adapters to keep optimal chainline.


Its a moderately modern version of a fairly traditional design.
The rear derailleur suggests its in the last 20 years, and the one-piece crank implies its a lower-cost variation.
The alloy wheel rims also show is relatively recent - a 1984 era bike would have had steel rims.
The zip ties holding cables to down and top tubes are a bit anachronistic, and the left/front brake cable is flapping in the breeze - I'd loosely secure that to the other cables in front of the headset.
Not sure if the handlebar has reflections or rust in the photo, could be either.
Looks like a loverly bike to me - as long as the moving bits move smoothly, and the brakes work reliably, then it should be an enjoyable ride for decades to come.


Yeah, you should be fine just to replace the chainrings. Make sure you replace them with Shimano (road) kit that is compatible with your 9-speed setup and you'll be fine.

Note that rings designed for a 10-speed setup will strictly speaking be incompatible, since the 10-speed chain is narrower than the 9-speed chain. I have been told that you should be able to get away with this mismatch, although it will be suboptimal.

As a side note though, I'm not at all sure that this change will make you faster. Sure, riding on the large ring going downhill might give you a little more "oomph" (5% tops) but would you likely lose that advantage because climbing would be that much harder? And how much time do you spend in top gear anyway?

I mean obviously the wisdom of this change is entirely your call, but if it were me I'd think hard before I'd part with my cash on this particular upgrade. For hard numbers as regards the gear ratios of what you have and what you're thinking of buying, check out Sheldon's Gear Calculator.


Did you like the CitiBike?  If so look for a bike like that.  A commute bike will normally have slightly larger tires - 28mm-35mm.  If you want fenders then get a bike with fenders or at least will take fenders.  If you want a rack then get a bike with rack or at least will take a rack. Many manufacturers now have lines called City/Hybrid/Mulituse/Urban (or to that effect).  Kind of need to decide if you want flat bars or drop bars - you can get commuter type bikes both ways.  In NYC a single speed might be enough.  A lot depends on what you want.  Also how well can you lock it up?  If you have to leave it out then go cheap.

After I first answered you added that you like the CitiBike.  Look around.  Fender and basket are going to be pretty easy to find.  Internal hub is not going to be as easy.  A nice internal hub is more expensive but a lot of people like them. My neighbor got a cheap internal hub and has trouble with it.  If you go the internal hub route then get a nice bike.  Hopefully you will get some specific recommendations.


It's easy to design a rear kickstand for a standard steel bicycle since all you need is a strong clamp on one of the chainstays.

For carbon, the clamping mechanism has to be designed carefully because it can neither compress the stays too much (carbon is fragile in compression) nor can it scratch the carbon too deeply (if the fibers fray, the whole structure weakens).

Aluminium is in between. The main concern with alu is that the stand can crimp or bend the chain stays if the bolts are clamped on too tight, or if there's too much of a load on the bike (full panniers) and all that stress and force is concentrated in one area.

If your bike is both expensive and made of either alu/carbon fiber, I'd either forgo using a rear kickstand, use track stands, or use center-stands that use the bridge between the rear chainstays and bottom bracket for support.


Don't make any major mechanical changes to your bike the day before the race. If it ain't broke, don't fix it- at least not at the last minute. You will end up kicking yourself for it. Make sure you've had plenty of riding time on your bike's current configuration.
Bring tools and tubes, but pack light. Bring a small/medium sized multi tool, a tube, something to air it up with (preferably co2), tire levers if they're not part of your multi tool, and maybe a patch kit if you have bad luck with flats.
At the gun, go for the hole shot. Most mtb races will start in an open area and give you somewhere around a quarter mile to a couple of miles before singletrack to vie for position. Ending up middle or back of the pack means a lot of clawing your way past slower riders throughout the race which equals lots of lost time. Sprint early and then slowly let off to recover. Don't be the jerk that gets the hole shot then blows up only to be passed by the entire field.
Find your pace and settle in. After the sprint start it's important you recover and don't over pace yourself for the rest of the race. Otherwise you'll find yourself blowing up before the race is over.
Drink before you're thirsty, eat before you're hungry. Words to live by when riding regardless of whether you're racing or not, but especially important when you're racing. Bonking and cramping sucks, so be proactive in avoiding both problems Bring plenty of food and water. Gels are preferable as they're easy to consume when you're running near redline.
Be polite when passing and being passed. When you need to pass, let the person ahead know your intentions and which side you plan to pass on, and wait for a safe place to pass. If someone is asking to pass you and you're not in podium position, let them by at your earliest convenience. Don't let impatience or pride get in your way in either case.
Don't wear headphones, even if the race organizers allow them, unless you plan on leading from the gun to the finish. Don't be that guy. You'll know what I mean the first time you try to pass someone who's jamming out instead of paying attention to the race.
Don't sandbag. This one is for your second race if you blow the field away in your first race. Bump up a class if you embarrassed the competition, because it's shameful to stay in a class just because it's an easy win. Not saying this is you but it's worth getting out there for others.


Well, going SRAM means new shifters and new derailleurs (and while you're at it, you may as well install all new cable housings and cables). Depending on your hub, you may need to get a new hub (or more likely, a new rear wheel) to fit a 9/10 speed cassette that the current x7 group uses -- however if you have an 8/9/10 speed freehub already, you should be good to go. Note that the # of gears in the front & back have to match what your shifter expects.

As for brakes/brake levers, depending on what levers you have, you may need new ones (if they're in the same unit as the old shifters, for example, you need new ones). You're free to mix and match the brands of brake levers with the shifters, but you may find that the proprietary clamp systems (e.g. Matchmaker/i-spec) will give you better positioning of the shift and brake levers than mixing and matching.

I don't think SRAM or Shimano will be "easier to work with" -- go with whichever one you prefer (usually dependent on brand loyalty/how you prefer to shift).


You need to know the type and axle length of your previous bottom bracket. If the BB is original, it is very likely BSA JIS square taper and needs to replaced with JIS square taper of similar length. You can either measure the length or just uninstall the old one and read what is printed on it. BSA bottom brackets have left handed threads on drive side. Just searching for "bottom bracket replacement" should find enough instructions.

BB-MT800 is completely different type and requires different crankset to work.


After some pondering, I ended up buying a new hub, hoping to replace the center part without the need to re-build the whole wheel. I share here some information that might be helpful:

even the new Dynamo showed electric contact between the two terminals, so they are NOT isolated from each other and checking that is no proof the dynamo is broken.
opening the new dynamo, without the lever of the wheel to help, has proven challenging even with the proper tools. I had to build a custom one with a plank of wood, drill a hole and nail the dynamo to it. This way I could close the dynamo in a vice and use the plank to apply enough force.
after I successfully replaced the dynamo, I tried to put back together the old one, just to keep spare the parts. As I did that, I rotated the dynamo and felt current on my fingers. I was able to isolate the little wire properly and now I have 2 working dynamos

It is clear, at least to me now, that a dynamo that is short-circuited is very difficult to turn. When the little wire is not making contact the dynamo spins much more easily.


What is the correct language for talking about cyclocross?

"Cycling."
Can't go wrong. No specific verb for "cyclocrossing" that I've ever heard. "Racing" when doing so, which is often when on a cyclocross bike.


Is there a limit to safe downhill speed on a bike

The maximum safe speed is the speed where you still have control you think is needed.

There are levels of control

Can you stop if a car suddenly reverses out of a driveway?
This is the highest level of control; it means we'd never exceed about 25kph (16mph) on the flat. Obviously we frequently exceed that, and so we're trusting that such intrusions into our "road space" will not occur on this ride.
Can you swerve to avoid a small child or animal that suddenly runs onto the road?
Since such intruders are notoriously unpredictable, we also need to brake and swerve. If I know there are kids / dogs on the loose, I slow down to that 25kph level, or slower. But if it's reasonably open road I figure it's reasonably safe to clock 40kph (25mph). I've encountered oncoming cars in my lane as I round a bend on a descent at this speed, and there's plenty of time to evaluate my options, brake, and take evasive action (time flows really slowly in such cases).
If the road is really clear, i.e. you can see well to the sides, and a long way in front.
In this case we can easily do 60kph (35mph). Around this point (and faster) some rider / bike combinations can experience shaking, which can be quite frightening. You need to experiment a bit to learn what's going on. In many cases resting your knee against the frame seems to dampen the shakes. In other cases I've had success relaxing my grip on the handlebars - this seems to suggest that it was my fear of death grip on the bars causing the wobbles :-)
Ok the road is clear, and you're feeling lucky. How fast can you go?
If we keep going faster, it seems we pass the zone where the speed wobbles occur. If you are not a pro (being paid to do it), and are not confident, or are just a sensible person don't do it. However, I can confess to cracking 120kph (70mph) on a descent on a road bike. I found that as I went faster the bike became more stable, I'm guessing from the gyroscopic effect of the wheels. The same effect seemed to make turns more difficult. The first time I also found it was extremely hard to see properly, since I wasn't wearing any eye protection. And it took over 400 meters to stop on the flat. We can be sure that if any of the above mentioned road intrusions occurred then I would have been toast.

After all that, given the pictures you've posted, I would recommend at top speed of 30 to 40kph (16 to 25mph), because it looks like a residential area. Even that may be too fast, especially because of the incline, which means your center of gravity is higher and so you have less braking capacity.


How much "play" is normal in a Sturmey Archer 3 speed hub?

I still can't find my working three speed hub, but from memory, and from trying a working five speed, then as far as I can tell from the gif, that's normal.


What sort of bicycle helmet gives me better speed?

I think this is kind of a non-question. You want the helmet that rides the fastest? For anything "fastest", either components or kit, just look at what the professional riders are using.

This seems to imply that you either wear a regular-design lid (albeit one which is very light, very ventilated, and probably very expensive). Or, you go for a time-trial helmet.

I know some team helmets used to be made by Giro (as I bought one, Ionos springs to mind, but I'n not 100%). This was a couple of years ago, I would assume it is still the case. As for the exact model, just look at the top of the range. At the start of this year's Tour de France, a bike shop I follow on Facebook ran a competition to win a Team Sky helmet - manufactured by Kask. So there's two manufacturers to give you a start.

As regards TT helmets, when I watch time trials a lot of the riders seem to wear Specialized lids, not just the Specialized team. So they might be a good place to start looking.

I presume you realise (and accept) that for this kind of top-notch quality, you will pay.


How to tell if this light's bulb is blown? And what kind of light is it?

It's an LED.

Easiest way to see if it is damaged is to connect it to a battery and see if it lights up.

The difficulty is that you can't disassemble the the white plastic unit, so if the LED does not light, the connection  wires, resistor or LED itself may be damaged.

If you have a voltmeter you could measure the resistance across the terminals. It should be infinite one way, tens of ohms the other. If it's infinite both ways or zero either way it's trash.

Good news is that decent quality rechargeable LED lights are now inexpensive and ubiquitous.


Is this article accurate? If so, why is the hype about loosing the FD on enduro bikes?

A few quick points about the article

The author did not provide all the math and formulations so we need to take it on faith that the correct formulae were used and there are not implementation errors.
The author also only considered one bike, the 2015 Giant Reign 27.5".
Finally, the results seem reasonable to me.

The main take home from the article (which is well known) is that the drive train affects rear suspension performance, and that the chain angle (vertical chain line) also impacts rear suspension performance.

Right now there are a myriad of rear suspension designs, each with different characteristics and all optimized to a different set of characteristics the designing engineer considered important.  Taking an older design that was optimized for double (or even triple) chain ring set up and putting on a 1x drivetrain could have unintended performance effects as suggested by the author.  Running extra wide rear cassettes can also have an effect.

What would be an interesting follow-up analysis would be to look the anti-squat/pedal kickback characteristics of full suspension bikes marketed with 1x drivetrains. I am sure the designing engineer knows of these problems and took a particular path to optimizing the solution.

It would also be interesting to compare the numbers from fundamentally different suspension designs (e.g., virtual pivots, Horst linkages, single suspension arms, free floating designs... the list goes on).

Finally we shouldn't overlook the type of shock used in the design, some are designed to mitigate peddling input and shocks designed to block out pedal bob would facilitate using a design with less anti-squat.

What does it all mean?

I raise all these issues to illustrate that there is no simple single answer.  No one is "raising alarm" because gross generalizations are simply not possible.  There are a lot of engineering nuances that need to be considered and unfortunately cannot be summarized in a simple one-size fits all statement that might trend on twitter.

Caveat - I am neither a suspension designer or an engineer. It would be nice to hear input from someone who if officially trained and practicing.


Short answer: whoever is describing it.

There are a bunch of dictionary definitions around that all centre on the "lying down" part, which doesn't help when there are recumbents with quite upright seating positions:

as well as (semi?) recumbents with quite small backrests and seats off upright bikes:

At the other extreme, of course, you have the virtually horizontal positions mostly used for racing:

I am inclined to the view that anything with a laid back seating position and a backrest is probably a recumbent.

Note that the racing world has side-stepped the whole definitional question in favour of using "human powered" to describe what they care about. You get the "International Human Powered Vehicle Association" which sadly doesn't have a space vehicle category yet. They do have categories for number of riders, multitrack and single track, and age/sex ones. But no "recumbent vs prone vs upright" rider position ones.


How did I strip my crank arm with a crank puller?

There's a few factors that can lead to this problem and range from tool and crank material quality to user error.

If you have a tool made from a weak metal or is manufactured badly (ie diameter is wrong), the threads on the tool can easily be ripped off. Similarly, if the cranks are made from a weak metal, then the threads on the arm can strip off.

User errors can include not moving the inner part of the tool out enough so you end up tighting the outer part of the tool onto the cranks only half way. So when you start winding the puller to press into the bottom bracket, the threads strip.

Another issue could be if someone glued the crank onto the bottom bracket in the past. I don't know if you got the bike second hand or if someone put loctite or glue at some point. But it's possible.

If it's been glued on, you might have to cut the crank off to get the bottom bracket out. Either way, if the threads are gone. I would personally start thinking about replacing the crankset too when the bottom bracket fails, or before if you don't want to risl walking home at some point.

If you're not sure about what to do next, post another question or visit your local bike shop.


Extra power needed uphill for weight increase

Presuming you are doing a standing start and coming to a complete stop at the top of the hill.  The simple requirement is you need energy to move your from the bottom to the top.  Most of the energy required will be to raise potential energy of the payload (you and the bike).  Essentially you will be creating kinetic energy (moving the bike) by converting chemical energy in your body.  There will be loses due to heat, friction with the road surface and air resistance.

Disregarding them for the moment (they are not negligible, but complicate the calculation).

Potential Energy (PE) = m * g * h

Where:

m = mass

g = gravitational acceleration

h = height

PE is proportional to m, so a 10% increase in mass will increase the PE by 10%.  Meaning you will need 10% more kinetic energy to get to the top of the same hill.

Power is work done (energy) divided by time:

P = W / t

Where:

P = Power in watts

W = work done or energy in Joules

t = time to do work.

If your power is constant we can rearrange the equation to get

P = (m * g * h)/ t

becomes:

t = (m * g * h) / P

so with constant power, gravity and hill height your time will increase proportional to increase in mass, given by the above equation.

If there is no wind air resistance will become less relevant the slower you are going.  Friction will increase due to increase in weight.  The steepness of the hill is theoretically irrelevant in this calculation.  You are gaining the same amount of Gravitation Potential energy when you the same mass to the same height.  So it shouldn't theoretically matter whether the hill is 10% or double as long and 5%.

However, as you are generating the energy you need to create it from chemical energy, and there is only so much you can generate at one time.  Your muscles will become inefficient and therefore on steeper hills you may require more energy than less steep ones.  So on a steeper hill wind resistance might become less relevant but power (how much energy you can put out over time) to weight ratio will become the most relevant factor.

What I am trying to point out in the last paragraph is that the energy you require to put into your body and for your body to convert into forward motion is not the same as the simple kinetic energy required to get you to the top of the hill.  However all things being equal a change in mass will have the same affect on the time as I stated in the equations.


What can cause vibration and noise from the chain?

If you changed the crank length then the front derailer likely needs to be adjusted, and the rear may need a few tweaks.  Also, when you change the rear cluster there can be a difference of a mm or two between old cluster and new, requiring adjustment of the rear derailer.

Have you readjusted both derailers "by the book"?

(Whether or not you used a torque wrench would have little bearing on this issue, though you need to be sure to check that your crank bolts are tight every 200km or so for the next 1000km.)


Quando Brake Pads - Anyone know where I can get a pair

They appear very similar to Avid BB5 pads.I would take your pads to your local shop and see if they match.The tab on the Avid pad looks to be a little longer but might fit.Tektro also has two numbers that look similar IOX.11 and L10.11


This sounds like your cable has stretched. For the front derailleur, you have to apply tension to the cable to get it to move to the right ("harder gear") if the cable lengthens (or slips), by even a millimeter or two, it can cause the front tuning of the gear system to get out of whack with the result being the chain dropping to the easier gear(s).

Shift all the way to the left, loosen the bolt (or nut) holding the front derailleur cable, put tension on the cable and retighten. I suspect this will fix things.

Chainring wear could be at play here, but they would really have to be worn down. The chain angle you see is probably the natural movement when the chain is supposed to be shifting.

Also check alignment: derailleur should be be about 2mm above large chainring, curve roughly matching, and aligned in the same plane as the chainring.

Happy riding.


Does a small bolt cutter do OK cutting spokes for a wheel build?

To be clear,if you are cutting spokes to size and threading them yourself, any method of cutting that does not bend the cut end of the spoke is probably OK.

You can use a small file to remove burrs or sharp edges afterwards, and make a chamfer if needed by the thread cutter.


Bog-standard BMX, probably Chinese, likely from a department store. The brake is a touch fancy but nothing else is remarkable.


The bike Weight and Performance gain for Lightweight riders?

In context of this kind of discussion - weight and cost are the same thing - the more you spend on  a bike, the lighter it is (with diminishing returns) and you cannot talk about weight without talking about how much money you have and are prepared to spend (sometimes not the same). The context of this answer is a targeted weight of a 7-8kg MTB.

No weight does not matter - or more accurately, it matters far less than most people imagine it does. If you are trying to build a 7-8kg MTB, a hair cut will be providing cheaper $/gram than bike upgrades. For most people, losing 1000g in body weight is cheaper than losing 1000g from your bike, as is gaining a little bit more fitness. Do you ever arrive home with water in your drink bottle, or snacks in your pocket - that 100mL of water is 100g you spent $100s to get the super light carbon bike.

A well coached rider on a heavy bike will out perform an unskilled rider on the lightest bike on any mountain bike trail. Learning to ride will increase your enjoyment, endurance and speed far more than spending money on a lighter bike, and unlike a lightweight bike, it's something that lasts a lifetime. For a vast majority of riders I have met, a weekend coaching session would provide immeasurable improvement in riding (speed, endurance and enjoyment) compared to the spending money saving weight - yet many people never spend a dime on coaching after forking out $1000s on a 'faster' bike.

Clearly at some point - you are a finely tuned elite athlete with no more body weight to lose, you have been coached till your riding form is used in reference videos, you have trained till there no more training you can do, a light bike becomes the only way to go faster.  There is also the mid way - you want to go as fast as you can and a lighter bike will make an instant improvement, why not - if you have the cash, there's no reason not to.

However, other things come to play. They do not build light bikes with cheap bearings and poor quality shifting. Much of the gain attributed to weight is actually improved efficiency in the drive train, better geometry and in the case of MTB, shocks that get more energy into forward movement. Lighter bikes are usually less durable than slightly heavier bikes - sponsored riders do not care about it, but they are not the ideal bike for a weekend warrior

I am by no way advocating heading out and buying the heaviest bike in the shop. What I am advocating is looking at your own financial situation, your riding desires and being absolutely honest with yourself as to why you are aiming for a 7-8kg MTB. Probably the best advice I was once given (as a non competitive weekend warrior) was "Buy the heaviest bike your ego will let you ride".


If it where a tiny crack and your trainer was the type that holds the weight by the skewer then maybe, but the damage shown may be too risky even to mount and inflate the tire onto it.

I think the outward pressure from the tire might further break the rim walls and expand them, causing contact with the bike. If that happens while your'e spinning the tire it may cause serious damage to the frame. It could also send debris in any direction that may damage your floor, furniture or cause injury to you or someone nearby.

EDIT: Indeed the damage is in the area of the seam, but there are also two hit marks, on each side of the rim, on each side of the seam, and there is also what looks like a longitudinal crack (between the painted section and the brake track). To me it seems this rim was bashed hardly right on the seam.

I think you better throw it away or make a lamp or other decorative object out of it...

Inspect the hub to see if it's worth keeping as a spare. Maybe the spokes too.


My new mountain bike tyres with presta valves do NOT inflate

Some Presta valves can accept stem extensions and the upper valve body (containing the little nut you unwind to add air) can be unthread from the lower part to accept extension. Anyway, this sometimes comes unthreaded with the use of a presta  to Schrader adapter and air is lost. Perhaps this is loose and air isn't getting into tire/tube but escaping here. There are tiny wrench flats on the upper valve body of many Presta stems. If present in your case, try snugging it up.
Another problem might be at the pump. Some hand pumps require a lever in the correct position to deliver air into the valve. Make sure you fully engage the valve and if the pump has a lever try both open and closed positions (here I mean lever up and lever down positions).  Hand pumps that can switch from Schrader to Presta set-ups utilize the lever in opposite positions for filling depending on which system you're doing.  The limited # of ones I've seen, the lever is placed "up" or 90 degrees to the pump body when in Presta mode. So with the lever down (parallel to pump body), you fully engage the open Presta valve and then lift the lever to the 90 degree position and begin pumping.
A presta tube can be partially inflated with your mouth, should you choose, by pushing the unwound valve tip with your tongue whist you blow into it. You can check the valve integrity this way. I recommend a cold beer with that dish.
My guess is your pump end is not engaged correctly or is faulty.


California: Riding against traffic on a one-way street

In the case of a one way street, the implication is that you "may" ride (not must ride) close to the left hand curb. If you are traveling in the direction of traffic, this allows you to complete a left hand turn in a safe and sane manner.

The provision in California Vehicle Code Section 21200(a), listed below, makes clear that a bicycle on the street is subject to all the same laws as a motor vehicle, the only exception being where those laws can't be applied due to the nature of a bicycle. (For example, emissions standards). That would indicate to me that the expectation is that a bicycle ride in the direction of permitted traffic, when on a one way street.

21200: (a) A person riding a bicycle or operating a pedicab upon a
highway has all the rights and is subject to all the provisions
applicable to the driver of a vehicle by this division, including,
but not limited to, provisions concerning driving under the influence
of alcoholic beverages or drugs, and by Division 10 (commencing with
Section 20000), Section 27400, Division 16.7 (commencing with
Section 39000), Division 17 (commencing with Section 40000.1), and
Division 18 (commencing with Section 42000), except those provisions
which by their very nature can have no application.


If the specs are identical, then they are functionally the same. There is no 'rotation angle' spec - the body of the derailleur rotates around the 'B pivot' and these two just happen to have been at slightly different positions when they were photographed.

The product names suggest the FT55 is slightly better than the FT35, but I don't think there is really any difference in quality between components in Shimano's Tourney range.


Drop bars

The main advantage of drop bars is that you have a variety of positions for your hands, giving you options to make you more aerodynamic or just have a change if you get a bit sore in one spot. Additionally, having your hands 'pointing forward' is a more neutral position for your shoulders, where flat bars cause them to rotate outwards.

Related questions:

What are the positions on drop bars called?
How to use drop bars properly?

Flat bars

The main advantage of flat bars is that you are always in the optimal position to grab the brakes and gears. Additionally, flat bars can be wider, providing more control.

Other bar types

Different kinds of Handlebars


Sounds like a sticky piston to me. These can be a real pain to sort.

To get the unstuck you remove the wheel, and push the pistons in and out a handful of times.

Stick the bike in a sturdy stand.
Remove the wheel.
Squeeze the levers a few times to get the pistons sticking out a bit. Don't go too far as dropping a piston out is bad news.
Push them back in. Repeat as necessary.

Another way I tried was removing the pads, and sticking an 8mm allen key in the calliper, clamping it between the pistons and holding the level down with a strap.

Then you can gently move the pistons back and forth together.

You shouldn't need to lube the pistons, just make sure they're clean. The in and out will lube the bits that need to be lubed.

SRAM say 3-5, my Maguras took a lot more than that.


Can anyone identify this frame possible brand Sergio?

If the sticker looks something like this:

then it's probably Nova tubing and it might be a reasonably valuable bike.


How can I avoid mud from splashing onto my back without a rear wheel fender?

Use a seatpost-mounted rear mudguard, like the SKS X-tra Dry:

For the front, you can also use a downtube mudguard like the SKS X-board:

These are convenient for bikes which don't have proper fender mounts/fenders would interfere with clearance/fenders need to be easily removed or not [Most mountain bikes fit this thing]. They don't protect the drivetrain from crud thrown up from the wheels so they aren't great for improving drivetrain life on a road bike, but this is not a concern for your riding.

The other option is to wear clothes you don't mind getting dirty.


What to do about a stuck chain link on 10 speed chain

Right solution is to use the "tight link removal" position of most chain tools:

Just choose the side where the pin is showing most outwards, and pull it in a tiny bit. This is very subtle, and your link will be released.

An alternate solution is to grab the chain with both hands (dirty!) and force it as if you were to bend it sideways, in both directions. This always works and is very quick, but is not very elegant.


Rear wheel not straight because of worn out dropout?

This almost exclusively happens because of external cam quick release skewers not clamping the wheel tight enough.

Bike manufacturers love them because they're light, cheap, work fine most of the time, and nobody ever questions them when buying a bike. But they never have as much clamping force as internal cam types, and the problem is exacerbated once they're weathered and worn. There are some out there these days coming on some bikes that barely work or don't work. I know it sounds conspiratorial, but it's sadly true. There's a certain bike model I've been dealing with where the skewers just go in the trash, because the resting spot of the cam produces so little clamping force that using the front brake at any speed readily shifts the axle around.

Another possible issue in the same vein is wingnutting down the skewer instead of properly clamping it.

You could try some metal filler on the frame plus a good skewer, like any Shimano. Glob the filler on more than needed and then use files once it hardens to take off the excess and recreate the axle groove. The upshot here is that nice skewers put on so much clamping force that the frame isn't going to receive the kind of stress that caused this. This is a little bit of an experimental solution so I wouldn't expect a shop to do it.