By Jim Langley Almost with the dawn of the Internet, in 1998, I started a cycling website. I don’t get to work on it anywhere near as much as I should or would like to. Yet, it has still swelled to more than 200 pages of what I like to think is helpful and fun bike stuff. One of the most popular pages on my site is my Keep It Quiet resource, literally thousands upon thousands … [Read more...] about Mike’s (Noisy) Bike
Search Results for: jim's tech talk
Tips & Tricks for Taping Handlebars
By Jim Langley Tapes Then and Now I’ve taped thousands of handlebars since 1970 when I first went to work in bike shops. First, we used mostly Hunt-Wilde vinyl bar tape and Tressostar cloth. Both are still available if you look hard enough and/or don’t mind buying on eBay.com. During the huge bike touring craze from the mid-'70s and into the '80s, an interesting foam slip-on … [Read more...] about Tips & Tricks for Taping Handlebars
Be A Hero on the Road
By Jim Langley One of my favorite things on rides with friends is coming to their rescue, fixing breakdowns and keeping everyone rolling – not standing by the side of the road waiting. If you enjoy solving problems and being the hero for your riding pals, I bet you feel the same way. All it takes to be a hero and repair most common breakdowns is a little bicycle mechanic … [Read more...] about Be A Hero on the Road
Tips for Easy and Safe Wheel Removal and Installation
By Jim Langley This week’s Tech Talk provides some basic wheel tips to help with this key bike-maintenance skill. Removing wheels is required to fix flat tires, put bicycles in small vehicles and trunks, makes it easier to clean a bike, and is step one of swapping out “training” wheels for your “race” wheels, too. Tip: I’ve long used a trainer for warm-ups at races because … [Read more...] about Tips for Easy and Safe Wheel Removal and Installation
Lubing Brake and Derailleur ‘Pivots’
By Jim Langley Last week we went over don’ts and do’s for bike washing. The final don’t was to not forget to relube after cleaning the bike. I said “be sure to lube the brake and derailleur pivots.” To this advice a reader named Michael wrote, “What type of lube do you recommend for the brake and derailleur pivots? I ride mostly dry pavement and use Pro Gold ProLink on my … [Read more...] about Lubing Brake and Derailleur ‘Pivots’