cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/46818503

I built this using a cheap bike trailer for hauling kids that I picked up off the curb and an old steel bed frame.

The idea is that I can use it to haul bikes around that I am working on for customers in my local community.

My next goals are to:

1. Move the wheels backwards by about a foot to improve handling and reduce scraping when going down curbs and driveways
2. Obtain a bike hauler that attaches to the roof or tow hitch of a car to allow me to tow more than one bicycle at a time

This version is awesome though because it was made mainly using junk and swearing :)

I bought it because I liked how it looks. It's ok to ride too, weighing only slightly more than Portugal. Needs a bit of tlc.

I have rush hydraulic brakes on my bike and am looking for a kit to bleed them. Local store says only park tools have the adapter. They expect me to buy the expensive tools, buy new brakes or have them do the work.

Do any of you know of an affordable tool set to do the work?

We are pretty stumped. My 11 year old outgrew his last bike, and rather than just buying a new one, we went to a local bike operation called the "Sacramento Bike Kitchen" that restores bikes and teaches bike repair. They sell refurbished bikes, but if you are getting a kid bike, it is free, and if you buy an adult bike for a kid, they give you $100 off. We decided to turn this into a learning opportunity and got a mountain bike for $70 (so free) that had a decent frame, but a lot of parts were in pretty rough shape.

We brought it home and went on Amazon and got new treads and inner tubes for the tires. The gear shifters were pretty broken (it is a 3x8). So we went to Amazon and got new gear shifters, handlebar grip shifters, but when we replaced them we could only get the rear derailleur to go the distance of six out of the eight gears, even with adjusting the barrel adjuster ane confirming that the low and high set screws were correct. No matter how far we used the gear shifter, it would stop at 6 gears; it's like the barrel adjuster would move the range up and down, so the shifter would go from gear 3 to 8, or 1 to 6, but would never reach 1 to 8.

I then started watching more YouTube videos, including everything by park tool, and found some advice that it's possible the derailleur is incompatible with the gear shifter. We then decided to replace the rear derailleur, but the new one had the same problem. We then got some advice that it's possible the rear cassette was incompatible, so we went and found a rear cassette that is listed to be compatible on Amazon and replaced that as well. From all the adjusting, we also mangled the cable and thought that a thumb shifter would be better, so we replaced the gear shifters again. As long as we were replacing everything we decided to replace all the cable housings as well.

At this point we have now replaced the rear derailleur, the rear cassette, the chain, all the cable housings, the gear shifters with thumb shifters, and then we have also replaced the seat, the handlebar grips, the kick stand, and the treads and inner tubes. At this point, the bike is in perfect condition except for the stupid rear derailleur. We are totally stumped and before we go back to the bike kitchen (which has limited hours and is kind of far from where we live) I am looking for some advice. Everything I read is pointing to the fact that it should be the barrel adjuster to get me where I need to be, but every time I do it, it shifts the gear shifting range up and down, but doesn't stretch it. This is with two different gear shifters we have tried.

Below are the links to the parts that we currently have.

First shifter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0DG38PK1F?psc=1

Derailleur: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09B9JY6K6?psc=1

Rear Casette: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B09B95PT1B?psc=1

Second Shifter: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0C5CNRXP4?psc=1

Any advice here is really appreciated.

Some background... this summer I'm spending 2-3 weeks with my folks back in my old hometown, and will likely be doing so every summer for the foreseeable future. They have a bike trail that connects to much of the city right in their backyard, so I'd really like to take advantage of that.

However, given that I'm talking about a relatively short amount of time, I really don't want to spend much on a bike that will sit unused for ~50 weeks of the year. I was checking out Craigslist, and was surprised by the number of bikes I saw available for USD$150 or less.

Obviously when buying a used bike at this price, you're making some significant compromises. But I'd like ask, if you all were buying a bike in that price range, what parts / aspects of the bike would you look at in particular? What might be something that would be a big red flag?

I'm capable of doing some basic maintenance and repair if I have a guide, but I'm not capable of doing major fixes.

(and apologies for the North American defaultism in the price range, essentially I'm asking for what you'd look for in an old, used bike that isn't a waste of money but not necessarily something you'd want to ride more than just occasionally, feel free to think of that in your own local currency).

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45508744

I'm looking for privacy-conscious options for a cycling computer or possibly a wearable fitness tracker.

Recording activities has become sort of a journal for me. I like being able to look up when I did a particular ride/hike, or how long it took, where I hit a max speed, whether or how often I've taken a certain road, etc. I also like seeing basic metrics like average speed/distance/time YTD, year over year, or for specific date ranges.

I do track heart rate and time in zones, but would be willing to let that go. I never wear a wearable 24/7 and don't track sleep/hydration/stationary workouts.

I've been using Garmin devices for years, and really like them for ease of use - getting all of my data into one place "just happens automatically" and is available for further analysis. But, I don't like that that one place is, well, Garmin, not to mention that their supporting and data visualization apps are completely enshittified at this point.

Three alternatives spring to mind:

• go back to a "dumb" computer (maybe not such a bad thing!)
• keep my Garmin devices but take them offline - mount them as USB and copy the files locally
• use a phone-based app like CoMaps

Are there any good alternatives out there? Maybe even an all-in-one platform like Garmin, but where the company really puts privacy front-and-center... or platforms that facilitate storing data locally?

Thanks!

cross-posted from: https://leminal.space/post/34110034

The London leg of the event, which has run annually since 2004 — interrupted only by the pandemic in 2020 — is set to take place on Sunday, June 14.

cross-posted from: https://leminal.space/post/34057102

Clik valves! I've been using these on my bike for a month, and I like them! The cores are compatible with Presta stems; so you can remove the core from your Presta valve, and put in Clik core. They also sell an adapter that threads onto a Schrader valve.

What are these good for? The stated benefits are:

• Ease of use: press the pump head on, and it clicks into place. With other valves you need to use a lock lever, or thread on the pump head. Not so with Clik. You also don't have the Presta lock nut loosening step.
• Less damage prone: the pin that extends out of a Presta valve can sometimes get bent. With Clik the pin is mostly recessed, like in a Schrader valve, so it's less likely to bend.
• More air flow compared to Presta.
• Supposedly Clik valves are less likely to be clogged by tire sealant in a tubeless setup.

For me only the first point matters. I've never damaged a Presta pin, and I don't use tubeless tires. Maybe I can inflate tires a little faster? It's hard to tell.

For those who do use tubeless tires: I heard a suggestion that Clik valves might make it easier to seat tires compared to Presta due to the increased airflow. But I've also heard that what you really want to do is remove the valve core entirely, and use an air compressor. Unfortunately I don't have personal experience to weigh in here.

But yes, the ease of use is worth it for me! I can click on the pump head and take it off one-handed. I get to skip the step of fiddling with the locking level while air is escaping. I went into this hoping to experience the satisfaction of a minor convenience on approximately a weekly basis, and that's exactly what I got.

That satisfaction is purchased at a price of about $6 per valve core, or about $3.40 if you buy in packs of 16. I'm hoping the cores will last a long time as I move them from tube to tube. I'll have to see if that pans out.

You need a special pump adapter

The trade-off is that you'll want to use a special pump head with Clik valves. The starter kit comes with an adapter that installs in a Schrader pump that does the job.

You can use a Presta pump head with Clik valves, so you aren't completely out of luck if you're away from your usual pump. But the Presta pump won't press the pin to open the valve, so you won't get an accurate tire pressure reading. And you're back to fiddling with that locking lever.

Schrader adapter

I didn't want to deal with taking the Clik adapter on and off the shared family bike pump; so I also got the Schrader adapters for my son's bike.

It is possible to remove Schrader valve cores. But it seems that instead of making a core that fits in a Schrader stem, Clik opted to make an adapter that sits on top of the existing Schrader core. In practice pumping with this adapter works just like pumping with a Clik core in a Presta stem.

Is it possible that having a pin in the adapter, that presses on the pin in the Schrader valve core has some fragility that might present in the future? I don't know! I'll update this post if I notice a problem.

Installation

The Clik starter kit comes with a tiny wrench with two openings to fit both Presta and Clik valve cores. (That's in addition to the pump head adapter I already mentioned, and two Clik cores.) It seems that Presta and Clik use different wrench sizes, so if you already have a Presta core wrench it might not fit the Clik cores.

Installation is easy: deflate the tire, remove one core, put in the other.

The Schrader adapters thread onto the valve, so that's one step. You don't need to deflate the tire for these.

Dust caps

Clik cores and Schrader adapters come with black rubber caps that also click on and off. These are nice! I have no complaints.

Just for fun I got some shiny aluminum dust caps that Clik also sells. I got the ones that thread on.

The aluminum caps do not fit on the Schrader adapters. That's something I wanted to check because I didn't think it was clear from the product description.

I was persuaded to get the aluminum caps because of the included features: they incorporate a tool to bleed air from the valve (a little fancier than using your finger), and a valve core wrench. The wrench opening seemed to be a little too small to me - I had considerable difficulty getting it onto a Clik valve core. So, kinda disappointing. The caps are shiny, which I don't mind. But if you just want functional dust caps, I think you'll be happy with the rubber ones.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/45272697

Or is this Electric Bike?

Swapping brakes and levers

@bicycles

I have a randonneur bike from the 1980ies which still has many of the original parts. As far as i can tell it still has the original calipers and brake levers (shimano 600 ex or something similar, with cel 60 levers that go perpendicular in front of the handlebar; the caliper just says dia compe, it might be a dia compe gran compe 400). The brake shoes have been changed of course, but still the brakes are not very good. Trying to adjust the bowden cables didn't change much.

I'd like to take the bike for a tour across the alps, and am trying to figure out how to improve the brakes for it to feel safe. Does it make sense to change them completely, or should they still do their job well if set up correctly? If they should be changed, what do I need to consider when changing them? Since they are screwed onto the handlebar, would any modern break lever fit? What kind of brake should I get for a good improvement in brake strength if I don't want to go for disc brakes?

#cycling #bicycles #bicycling

I saw this bike made by an independent bike shop for himself.

It's an electric longtail and can carry a 300kg europallet, plus the toolbox on the front, plus an extra person or material on the bike rack!

Here is the link to the shop website: https://www.cycles-penet.fr/

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.ca/post/49655095

This is an Ultegra 11s chain after 1000km of wear from a 1500W mid-drive. Used to ride a Tangent back in 2016. T'was shredding till it went *clunk*.

Holy crap!

https://www.woodysfenders.com/

Replaced all-black Gravel Kings with tan-sidewalled Paselas. Got tired of flats in the rear.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34300804

Found some super cheap fulcrum rapid red 900 wheels at 27.5" size, so decided to do the disc brake conversion. Add some mechanical Tektro brakes from parts bin, Kenda tires at 50mm width and sick looking yellow bar tape from local bike store, 12->10mm axle conversion and we have some absolute beauty here supported by Mezpils lager from Latvia

I have some shifting problems to solve, also the disc brake conversion kit from bezos doesn't really work all that well but those are all probably solvable issues. Might start into looking to weld a disc brake tabs to the frame :s

Previous post

Good morning community. This is my first post here.

So this is my bicycle, from year about 2004 or something down there. I would like to make some improvement but it might be too pricey. I would like to put a more modern transmission: now it has a triple chainset 22, 32, 42 - as it was common back then - and a 8-speed rear cogset 11-30. I'd fancy a more recent thing and also a rear disk brake. So it means I should change the whole transmission, put a shorter freehub suitable for the disc, put the right spokes and so on. It's not urgent, but I'm thinking about it and I'm afraid of the cost of all these things.

Apart from that I'm having a really good time and I'm fond of this bicycle.

Sorry for my roughly translated technical words

cross-posted from: https://sh.itjust.works/post/43621569

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/34101338

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-calgary-bike-lanes-1.7599932

I’m not a conspiracy theorist, but does anyone else think something is odd?