Jim Langley

Jim’s Tech Talk by Jim Langley In most parts of the USA, May is National Bike Month, one of the biggest pushes of the year to get more people pedaling. It’s been put on by the national organization, The League of American Bicyclists since 1956! State and city biking organizations almost everywhere pitch in with their own Bike Month, Bike Week and Bike To Work Day … [Read more...] about Safety Tips for Cyclists: Don’t Get “Doored”

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Before getting to the new toys, I want to pass on a few of the excellent tips that were posted in response to our feature on fixing clogged or malfunctioning Presta valves last week. … [Read more...] about Two New Cool Cycling Tools

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley As the designated mechanic for our couples group who bike together some weekends, I run into interesting issues. Like last week, when Marc disappeared off the back and I went looking for him. He was a half mile behind standing on the shoulder trying to pump up the tubeless rear tire on his Santa Cruz. … [Read more...] about Tips for Fixing Tires that Won’t Accept Air

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Last week I wrote a little about the North American Handbuilt Bicycle Show (known as NAHBS), which took place in Sacramento, California on March 15, 16 and 17. The focus in that first story was on Jet Bicycle Wheels. Because I learned so much watching Mr. Jet, Charles Wells build a wheel that I wanted to share it, wheels being so important … [Read more...] about NAHBS Virtual Show Part 2

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Last weekend, March 15, 16 and 17, the 15th edition of the North American Handmade Bicycle Show (NAHBS) took place in the Sacramento Convention Center in Sacramento, California. As the name suggests, this is the show for small bicycle makers doing things mostly by hand, along with companies that support the handmade scene. So, you won’t … [Read more...] about Wheel Building with Jet Bicycle Wheels at NAHBS

Jim’s Tech Talkby Jim Langley Recently, RoadBikeRider.com supreme leader Lars Hundley, former head John Marsh and yours truly were trading emails discussing new developments in road bike gearing options. SRAM had just announced their new for 2019 AXS 12-speed parts group with its X-Range gearing. The most interesting feature of this innovative drivetrain is the use of a … [Read more...] about Observations on Lower Gearing

Tech Talkby Jim Langley If you bought a new road bike in recent years, you may have cables that are partly inside your frame, maybe your components, too. Known as internal cable routing, this feature is helping to create some of the cleanest looking rigs ever, and it also reduces wind drag significantly according to the gurus that run Specialized’s Win Tunnel. … [Read more...] about Tricks for Internal Cable Replacement

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Bont’s New Budget Shoes Before getting to the wheel tip, here’s a bit of product news you might like. I’ve reviewed Bont’s Vaypor S  and Helix shoes and from the number of comments know that Bonts are popular. … [Read more...] about A Wheel Tip for All Roadies: Getting Home on a Damaged Bike Wheel

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Last week I introduced my friend Andy, a recent retiree looking for shopping advice. He asked whether on his new - and probably final dream road bike, he should get rim or disc brakes. Catch up here if you missed the story. I gave Andy my advice and asked you to chime in with your recommendations. This resulted in so many great points about … [Read more...] about RBR Readers Respond: Rim Brakes vs Disc Brakes on Road Bikes

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley This week I’m shifting into high gear, covering a lot of ground to tell you briefly about four products picked up last year that I like. They include shoes, tools, a lock and glasses. I’m currently using them all and give them an enthusiastic thumbs up. Tip: For most of the brands here, you will find more of our reviews of their products by … [Read more...] about A Few New Toys for Cyclists You Might Like

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley Before getting to the technical Q & A, I goofed last week and didn’t show you Bruce Ross’s favorite bike bling saddle. It’s this tri-color masterpiece by Busyman Bicycles. Nice, huh? Now, to get on with the show, an important question (read to the end to find out why it’s important) came in from retired RoadBikeRider founder and … [Read more...] about Q & A: Can a SRAM PowerLock Chain Link be Reused?

Jim’s Tech Talk By Jim Langley For this Tech Talk, I’m letting my friend, Bruce L Ross take a pull. He wrote me recently with some fun bike bling ideas, which seemed very appropriate for this festive time of year. Bruce lives just a short ride from me here in Santa Cruz, California. If you’ve been reading RBR for awhile you may recall that he penned a nice 2-part … [Read more...] about Adding Some Bling to your Road Rocket