The Bicycle Search Engine

Have you ever went through endless pages on search engines like Google trying to find some information about bicycles and just having to waste time going through all those search engine optimized commercial websites before getting to the meat of what you are looking for? You, me and millions of people have bought that T-Shirt, well not anymore! I have made a custom search engine using a Google utility that permits searches only to those websites that I choose. So I chose from what I consider the best bike websites around and if you search in that little "Bicycle Search Engine" box at the top of this article or at the bottom of this blog, you should get immediate relevant information quickly. Of course this site is included, but I also included Sheldon Brown and some bike related forums as well.

So enjoy and if you notice an important bike related site missing, just email me at xddorox (at) gmail.com I will review the site and add it.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

How-to remove a bicycle cassette or freewheel

Derailleur equipped bikes have a cluster of gears installed on the rear wheel which permits to change the gear ration while you pedal. When you stop pedaling or coast you hear a click click click noise that is made by a ratchet mechanism that allows for the pedals to stop turning while the bike is coasting. Sometimes this mechanism fails. In the case of our reader Jay, the pedals on his bike keep turning while the wheels are in motion. This gear cluster cannot be serviced in my experience and must replaced.

However, you must determine which type you have since there are two different ways to accomplish this: The threaded freewheel or the cassette. The threaded freewheel is screwed on the threads that are on the rear hub. The mechanism is inside that freewheel. In the case of the cassette, the coasting mechanism is inside the hub itself. So if this fails, you must replace the rear hub. The cassette offers the advantages of being able to replace only the smallest gears when they are used up and offer a straight line of pull on the chain. If you observe a freewheel while the rear wheel is turning, you will notice a slight wobble caused by the fact that it isn't sitting perfectly flat on the threaded hub.

I've enclosed a video on how to remove and reinstall both. Take note that to avoid an industrial amount of takes for the making of that video, I removed those parts before taping. They take a bit more energy to remove. That explains that humongous open ended wrench that I have, it's not just for show. When reinstalling those parts, make sure that they are screwed in tight. Not a big issue with the freewheel since it tightens itself with each pedal stroke. But the cassette lock nut will not and if it becomes loose, the results will be ugly.

By the next video, I hope that my "studio" will be painted. At least now I don't have the noise of traffic and overhead 747's.



Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed!

Gerry :)

HOW TO ALIGN OR TRUE A BICYCLE WHEEL

Well it's been a long time coming, but here it is. I have attached a video to this article. It's not great, but it will have to do for now until I figure out a better studio set-up.

Truing a wheel is not that complicated. The rim is attached to the hub with the use of spokes. The spokes are divided equally on each side of the rim and are held there by brass nipples that can be screwed or unscrewed. A brass nipple is basically an upside down screw, so you have to go counter clockwise to tighten it and clockwise to untighten. Tightening a brass nipple will make a spoke "pull" the rim to the outside and the reverse will "push" it inside.

This means that if the rim is too much to the left from the center and this happens in front of a spoke located on the right side of the rim, you would have to go counter clockwise so that the spoke will "pull" the rim back to the right. If the same situation would occur in front of a spoke located on the left side of the rim, you would go clockwise to unscrew the nipple and that would "push" the rim to the right.

The main thing to remember is to go at it one spoke at a time. If you try to straighten the wheel by adjusting 6 spokes in one shot, you will have problems. Also, if you have to make more than one turn on a brass nipple, make half as many turns on the 2 nipples on each side of it to avoid creating a flat spot in the rim. When you are close to finishing the job and the adjustments are minute, you don't have to do this.

If you want to try this, get a truing stand, find some busted wheels and practice, practice, practice. Remember though, not every taco wheel can be saved. Sometimes it's better to start with a fresh rim.

Til next time, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry

1 YEAR OF BLOGGING ABOUT BIKES

One year ago today I started a journey with no idea where it would take me. I just followed my guts and went ahead sharing my passion for bikes. Thousands of words, hundreds of pictures, 3 digital cameras, hundreds of contacts, over 230 000 hits and countless emails later, I am even more passionate about this endeavor.

A little over a year ago I had no clue what a blog was. A fortunate discussion with my cousin brought me into this fantastic cyber adventure. I started on the 13th of July thinking that it was a sign. My Grandfather's lucky number was 13 and he made it through 4 years overseas during World War 2 in one piece. Thanks Grandpa, it's going well. People told me I was crazy to give this information away freely but I figured that it could help out some people and I would be doing a good thing. Turns out I was right. A man in China being able to commute to work because he can maintain his bike, a single Mom in England who, to the eyes of her son, became a Hero because she was able to fix his rear wheel, a guy who decided to bike again because he figured out how to fix his ride or a kid that decided not to give up and followed his desire to repaint his bike are just a few examples of the positive feedback I have received.


These small events might seem like nothing, but they can have positive repercussions over a lifetime. Because of these small bites of information spread out there, somebody might be able to work and feed his family, have the admiration of a child for life, maybe avoid a heart attack or have the confidence to pursue whatever he/she wants. I am very aware of these possibilities. My day to day job has shown me that small events can have huge consequences in someones life. I feel privileged to be able to do this and I am very proud when ever I get an email telling me that this blog helped you out.

To those who are here for the first time, welcome. Read, learn, get your hands dirty and don't ever quit. To those of you who have enjoyed this blog for a while, a thousand thank yous. Keep posted for more stuff, I'm not about to run out of things to write about and if you have a passion in life, share it with the world. You might make it a little better.

Until next time, ride safe and Godspeed!

Gerry

BIKE THEFT PREVENTION 2 OR HOW TO MAKE YOURSELF A GOOD BIKE LOCK

This post was motivated by 2 unrelated events that happened quite by fluke. First off I received an email from Jay Turnbull from CBC Radio concerning my previous post about bike theft prevention and ended up being invited on the Homerun show to talk about just that. I had to consider doing my homework on the subject even more to make sure I could answer any questions correctly right there on the spot. Less than 24 hours after, one of our readers made a comment in the above mentioned post about U-Locks being really easy to pick with a pen and to go out and buy a lock and chain instead. Iron Cross 87 even provided a Youtube link to such a video to prove his point, the message was received loud and clear man! I couldn't believe how easy it was and further research made me realize that the usual tubular lock associated with these U-Locks are pretty simple to pick with an available tool as well. I couldn't replicate the pen trick with my locks, but the fact that the tool to pick tubular locks was out there made me realize that I was easy prey.

I have never left a bike outside locked out of my site for more than a few minutes, most of my good rides sleep indoors, so should yours. But I was now in a jam since I would have to leave my bike locked outdoors for at least a few hours while I was going to be tied up in a building while doing a radio show. I always toyed with the idea of buying one of those super chain locks and I freaked out at the idea of paying $175 and more for that type of lock. But then I started thinking outside the box.


I went to my local big humongous hardware depot and bought 3 feet of 5/16inch, grade 70, 4700lbs test chain for $12. I then purchased a good quality padlock for $27. The whole thing for $39 plus tax and it is a lot better than any cheapo U-Lock that goes for about $20. The chain also gives you more flexibility on where or on what to lock your bike to. Now it depends on how good is the pole you lock it to. Remember, don't lock it to a tree! One big disadvantage to this set up is weight, the whole thing weighs in at 5lbs. It also doesn't have any cover to protect the finish of your bike, but you can always put together a chain caddy from any material easy. How hard can it be to make a cloth tube? I carry my contraption like a bandoleer, makes me look mean ;) Even if you decide to make yourself such a set-up, remember to still follow the other usual preventive tips from the previous post and lock your bike next to a better looking one with a lesser lock. It sounds bad but it's the truth, thieves always go for the easy prey.


So if you want to buy in on heavy duty protection, you can without forking a lot of cash. If you want to hear me on the radio and you have access to CBC radio, I'm on at 16H00 eastern time on the Homerun show Tuesday July 10th 2007.

Until then, ride safe and Godspeed.

Gerry :)

UPDATE:

I did the show and it went very well. Actually it went lightning fast. I had the chance to use my new lock set up while doing the show and later on during the ride home. The fact that it is very heavy is a mere inconvenience to the sense of added security and how flexible this is in it's use. I feel it was money very well spent. The bike was there when I returned, mission accomplished.