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The 26-inch Wheel Swap (another afternoon as a bike mechanic)
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends You probably don’t know this, but I’ve been spending a few hours each week working as a bike mechanic at the local bike shop (my main job is in a warehouse). And I routinely get into somewhat weird situations. I’m surprised how many people have very unexpected issues and requests.…
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Never Forget That Carbon Is a Spoiled Baby (a tip for carbon bike transportation)
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends Today is both a good and a bad day for me. It’s a bad day because a friend of mine wrecked his 3000 dollar carbon frame and a good day because I had the chance to say “I told you so.” to him. (evil laugh). So, what happened? He bought…
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Bike Brakes Lesson: From The Side or The Center?
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends It’s been a while since I’ve done an educational post. Sorry. As they say – life happens. No excuses, though. I need to improve my posting schedule. Today’s post is dedicated to center-pull and side-pull brakes as I think many rookies need additional information to understand the difference between each…
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Bike Theory: From Calipers To Vs
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Due to popular demand, today I will discuss the possibility of mounting V-brakes on a frame and fork originally designed for calipers. I don’t know why, but I’ve had 3 requests to write an article on that topic in the last month. So, who am I to argue with my…
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A Potentially Weird But Powerful Fixie Mod (disc brake, anyone?)
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends The other day a guy asked me what kind of brakes he should run on his fixie. I told him that the classic option is to get a front rim brake and rely on the pedals when to slow down the rear wheel. (It’s a fixie after all). But then…
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Derailleur Guards Are For Losers (kinda)
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends This will be a blunt post. Some will like it. Some will hate it. But I think that sometimes we need to have a firm opinion instead answering everything with “it depends”. Here’s the deal – I’d never run a derailleur guard on any of my bikes. Why? Well, take…
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The Magic of The White Shoe…
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Yesterday, I was watching a local cycling competition with a friend who isn’t into the sport (he has a commuter cruiser, but he is not crazy about the two-wheel lifestyle). In the midst of it, while I was searching for the last pizza bite, he said with a curious tone…
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To “braze” or to “lug, that is the question
from Rookie’s keyboard, Hello, friends Today, I am going to compare the two classic ways to make a steel frame – brazing and “lugging”. But first, let’s start with the definitions of each. Fillet Brazed Frames Fillet brazed frames are made of tubes attached via a metal-joining method known as brazing. Brazing is not complicated…
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The Double Top-tube Enigma
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, friends Yesterday, I got an interesting e-mail asking about the logic behind the dual top tubes found on some commuting bicycles. I decided to make an entire post about this phenomenon. Thank you, Rick, for giving me the idea. Let’s go. At first glance, a second top tube is an…
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If it works, don’t change it (cup & cone is magic).
from Rookie’s keyboard Hello, fellas Sometimes new isn’t always better. This is especially true when it comes to bicycle engineering. Let’s face it. The bicycle is inherently simple and meant to remain such unless you want to change its soul. That principle applies to the overall “mechanism” as well as the small systems found within…