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Why I Prefer Handlebar Bags…
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Today, I had to work as a cashier at the bike shop rather than a mechanic. And as you probably know, I prefer the latter. Anyway, a man who appeared to be around 45 years old asked me for advice on bicycle bags. His dilemma was between a frame bag…
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Don’t Complicate Things (Bike Fork Talk)
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends I am a big fan of simplifying things, especially when it comes to bikes. Why make things harder when they can be simpler, right? After all, our lives are already plenty complicated due to our human peculiarities and the never-ending demands of the universe. Maybe our small bike world gives…
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2 > 4? (BMX Bar Talk)
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends I hope your afternoon is going just fine. Mine is ok apart from a few family issues. Anyway, it’s time for some BMX Bike Theory (BBT). Today, the lesson is about the two most common types of BMX handlebars – 2-piece and 4-piece. The 2-piece models consist of two distinct…
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Hub Shell Deviations and Their Impact
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends What’s up? A new day, a new post. It’s still early where I am, but I love getting some writing done before 10 a.m. Today, I decided to cover a topic inspired by what I call the Cyclist’s OCD. I was in the midst of of indexing the gears of…
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An Essential Peculiarity of Fixed-gear Hubs
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Another day, another fixed-gear article. Today, I will present to you basic information regarding fixed-gear hubs that every mechanic and fixie-maniac has to know to avoid crucial mistakes. Yesterday, I saw a guy try to install a freewheel on a fixie hub. Anyone who knows a little something about bikes…
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Why I Prefer Wheels With More Spokes (strength over grams)
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends I have a confession to make. I am not a weight weenie. I don’t care about saving some 50 grams via weird hacks and expensive components. And I certaintly don’t like wheels with a minimal number of spokes. Why? My riding is rarely if every limited by the weight of…
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Don’t Be a Wasteful Wheel Builder
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends It’s time for another observation. As you already know (I’ve said it a million times), I have a part-time job as bike mechanic. Yesterday, one of my colleagues (the shop has a total of 3 mechanics minus me), was ready to throw 20 old spokes when the boss screamed “Don’t…
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Off-road Geometry vs. Aero Bars: A Clash of Purposes
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Some things in life are just not meant to be combined (e.g., Coca-cola and Mentos – a side joke). And usually that happens when they have opposing functions. The same applies to bikes and accessories. Everything on your bike has to compliment its function. If it doesn’t, we have a…
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A Weird Dirt Jump Mod I Was Just Asked About
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Not that long ago, a customer who needed a new stem for his dirt jumper asked me a somewhat weird question. He wanted to know if the bike could be equipped with a derailleur. Honestly, that’s somewhat of a weird dirt jump mod since those bikes are used for street…
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Bike Theory Lesson: Bottom Brackets
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Good news. Another Bike Theory Lesson (BTL) is here. Today, I will focus on bottom brackets based on the position of their bearings. There are two types – external and internal. Internal Bottom Bracket (IBB) – a bottom bracket with bearings contained within the bottom bracket shell. External Bottom Bracket (EBB) –…