sram xo gxp carbon fiber crank

Carbon fiber bikes and components + Amplitex

The prime material for making bikes changed two times in my era, first steel to aluminium, then aluminium to carbon fiber. Aluminium is still the most common frame material today, but that can and will change, depending on energy prices, mostly: making carbon fiber is a very energy intensive process, even more than aluminium, which is also a big sucker. Common means not necessarily the best. I worked with steel and aluminium a lot, I’m always inclined to use steel whenever I build something, because I know the material better, and few more advantages, like easy weldability. I also love carbon fiber, because it’s a material that has so much good characteristics to dismiss. What I like about composites like carbon fiber, or fiberglass is that you can use the same tools, same know-how and same aptitude amongst them. Interestingly,… Continue Reading Carbon fiber bikes and components + Amplitex

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trek madone price

Why bikes are getting more expensive?

Bike and component prices are getting more expensive than ever. Prices have lowered a bit recently, but the trend is up. In an age where manufacturing getting easier than ever, how has this happened? It’s not just priced: the bike was a utilitarian thing in the past, produced to be used forever, but now, they are becoming irrelevant in a decade, or less. Fiat Panda UK price, including all taxes. Sometimes less is more. I like bike computers, to some degree. About 10 years ago, I decided to get into photography hobby and collected the best equipment my budget permits. Yes; big DSLR’s. I was walking with a huge backpack with at least 15+ kg of equipment stuffed in it. One day, I bought a second-hand Sony NEX, the first generation, because it was very cheap. Later on, it became… Continue Reading Why bikes are getting more expensive?

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ohlins 36 coil spring fork

Coil forks will rise again; coil vs air shock

I ride with rigid forks mostly, because I’m not a mountain biker -any discipline of it- by any means, but sometimes it becomes tempting. I have a junk coil fork, in a city 1000 km’s away, where our second (or third) house is. I didn’ t bother to take it with me, because it’s really junk. But at some point, I missed a suspension fork and look for second hand ones. Luckily, I found a RockShox SID, a quite old one, probably from 2005 or so. Price was so nice, 20$, which is way cheaper then >2.5kg coil forks with cracked legs. I knew what will happen next: a complete repair cost me over 60$, but still a fair deal, as almost destroyed coil forks are about 100$ second hand. But to be honest, a coil fork would fit me… Continue Reading Coil forks will rise again; coil vs air shock

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liv bicycles

Are Men’s vs. Women’s Bikes different ? A binary discussion.

We are at the same height as my wife. When I stand next to her bike, her bike’s saddle height is longer than my hips. That bike has also weird handlebars like a Dutch city bicycle. I have relatively long legs compared to men, yet my legs are noticeably shorter compared to hers. I also have relatively shorter arms, but I can reach my handlebars comfortably, yet her riding position on my hardtail is like a road bike stance. That tells a story. Until recently, biking was considered a men’s sport, and women should pose half-naked on bikes that are meant to be built for men – “bike chicks” was a cultural phenomenon. I’m not racist or sexist by any means, and I’d still happily admit if I were – not because I adore myself as most people do, or… Continue Reading Are Men’s vs. Women’s Bikes different ? A binary discussion.

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DLC12 Black Orange BD12BO126

All about bike chains

Everything that transmits your pedal force to your rear wheel is made of metal. Chain takes the beating most: over 200 rollers in your chain fight against elongation, friction, crossing between cogs and chainrings, and worse of all, dust and sand. Of course, nut just that: Cross chaining. Hits. Water. In the past, when we were happily riding our 3×6 groupsets, things were simpler. Cross chaining was taboo, chains were big and bulky, there was no internet to make comparisons or baseless assumptions, and everything was slow. Unless you ride a high-end road bike, you didn’t pedal fast. In fact, you couldn’t; bikes were heavy, tires were not good enough to stick anything other than tarmac. Now we have up to 11 cogs at the rear, with the same thickness as 6-speed freehubs. (Well; standard 7-speed freehubs are just half… Continue Reading All about bike chains

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schrader valve

Biggest debate: Schrader valves or Presta valves ?

Schrader and Presta valves are maybe the most controversial topic in biking history(!). Something so trivial attracts so much attention that there are some bikers who swear by Schrader or Presta. Few years ago, I was shopping for a rim in a busy, well-known and quite old store. A man in his late 30s raised his voice gradually, at some point, I understood its about Presta – we was accusing the shop of being negligient and ignorant. Rather than calling them “Schrader” or “Presta”, we use the “thin valve” – “thick valve” here. Guy was insisting it is an abomination to sell “thick valve” inner tubes (which is obviously, Schrader) as they are for cars. I believe there is some truth in it. According to Wikipedia, Schrader valve was invented by August Schrader in 1891, the man who founded Schrader… Continue Reading Biggest debate: Schrader valves or Presta valves ?

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graziella folding bike gold

Folding bikes – advantages and disadvantages

My first 2-wheel bike was a folding bike, because it was immensely popular when I was a child, and there was no proper child bikes in my country. I can now understand why they were so popular: it’s hugely adjustable to any size, and very easy to manufacture unless it’s Brompton, the gold standard of folding bikes. I have a thing for folding bikes as it was my first proper bike, but in reality, folding bikes are not proper bikes. They seemingly have lots of advantages, but that’s not right. It’s like running a bike repair business with a multitool: a multitool seemingly solves all problems no more than a pocket knife, it’s cheap and you don’t need to switch tools. Well, try fixing your bike with one, then we can talk about it! They can serve well as a… Continue Reading Folding bikes – advantages and disadvantages

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Shimano 105 R7000 Compact Chainset 11 Speed crank

Groupset of the month: Shimano 105 History (road)

Shimano 105 is the upper-middle groupset for road bikes, released back in 1982. Also, Shimano 105 Di2 is the cheapest and most recent electronic groupset of the company. Mechanical version sits between lower end Tiagra and higher end Ultegra. In MTB-line, it sits between Deore and SLX. It came to life “105 Golden Arrow” in 1980, then renamed to 105. There are various claims why it was called 105, most interesting one is its “501” in reverse, the most-loved and well regarded Levi’s jeans in Japan at the time. It was below Dura Ace and 600 (later Ultegra) when released, for price-concious competitive riders. It’s considered as the entry-level racing-ready groupset, even today. It’s not clear when 105 got indexed shifting, AKA STI shifters, AKA brifters. I know for sure that Dura-Ace 7400 has 8 speed STI shifters, in 1990.… Continue Reading Groupset of the month: Shimano 105 History (road)

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bike storage outside

How to store bike outside ?

Storing your bike outside can ruin your bike, but there are proper ways to do it. Sun, rain, cold, and even wind is not our bike’s friend. There are lots of things that can go wrong about bikes staying outside. Before throwing out ideas how to store it outside properly, lets have a look what can ruin your bike, what parts are in jeopardy, and how to deal with them. Paint Be it a car or a bike, there are two enemies of paint: sun (UV rays) and rain, especially in big cities. Even in the remotest places to human life, we have acid rains. In the past, this was a problem with big cities, but not anymore. Acid rain eats your paint. You cannot totally stop it, but you can slow it down. UV does the same. I have… Continue Reading How to store bike outside ?

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soulrider steel mtb

What bicycles brands are the best?

Do you want to know which bike brand is the best? I’ll tell you, but please bear with me. The term “best” does not exist. There are various types of bikes, made of various materials, for a wide range of people. What is the best automobile brand? To me, it’s Koenigsegg, which I can’t afford and would never buy, despite my admiration for the car and the company. Never put your trust in or be overly loyal to any brand. Profit drives the creation and demise of businesses. I have no sympathy for bike manufacturers because I learn from my mistakes. Do not buy a bike based solely on customer reviews. Almost every review on the internet or in the media is either “sponsored” or based on unscientific data. This is the “quality” side of the equation. Making the best… Continue Reading What bicycles brands are the best?

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used bike lot

How many bikes you need?

At some point, when you’ re into bikes, you may feel that one bike is not enough… I’d never buy a fatbike to ride as a “primary” bike, but it certainly has its charm and use. Maybe you’ re living in a city and hybrid bike is perfect for you, but for some time, you may want to ride fast on asphalt with a slick road bike, or want to jump around with an MTB. I’d probably have like 10 bikes at a time, if money and storage permits. This is sick, considering there are 3 types of bikes and their variants. This is my classification of course: #1 is road bikes, these are like hypercars: you need good, slick roads and preferably superb weather to enjoy them. Speed and adrenaline is the thing, and they just don’t go fast,… Continue Reading How many bikes you need?

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dtswiss thru axle

Newer bike standards that are actually good

We started to see emerging new “standards” or “tech” especially in the last decade. Most of them are vaporware, causes more problems and confusion then to provide a solution to problems they address. I’ll try to see the brighter side today. There are some standards that are actually needed. Stupidly, most of them tries to fix some problems that were non-existant before. It’s still good to solve a problem, without thinking about the causes, or who messed it up in the first place: Thru axles: Thru axles is a nice idea, and it solves 2 problems: one is the one with disc brakes, and the other one is about cup and cone bearing hubs. QR (Quick release) is quite an old piece of ….technology, first made by Campagnolo. I never liked it a bit, because you are compressing the hub… Continue Reading Newer bike standards that are actually good

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sram force e tap axs 1x electronic groupset

Why electronic groupsets like Shimano Di2 are the future?

For years, many photographers insisted on DSLRs and ignored mirrorless cameras. Then, something very silly happened: camera makers started making mirrorless cameras with a DSLR “hunch”. Now, everybody is flocking to mirrorless cameras, selling their perfectly fine DSLRs for pocket money and grabbing mirrorless cameras at highly inflated prices. Why? People doesn’t like change. But when it’s unavoidable, or that change provides real opportunities, they follow the crowd. Electronic groupsets is good for ordinary people like you and me. The reason is not the groupset itself: they’re heavier and more expensive. Thing is, in Shimano-speak, they are capable of “syncro-shifting”. For those who don’t know what it is, it automatically adjusts gears so that each consecutive gear combination that is selected is the perfect combination. Let’s say you have hypothetical 3s chainrings, namely A,B,C; A being the biggest chainring. Then… Continue Reading Why electronic groupsets like Shimano Di2 are the future?

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bike chain campagnolo

When and why to replace your bike chain?

Chains are generally the cheapest and the weakest part of the drivetrain, yet can do a lot of damage to your cassettes, chainrings, and derailleur pulleys if not maintained properly. They are exposed to all weather and terrain conditions, like water ingress, dust or mud, etc. You’re not driving a car: if you’re traveling long and remote distances, especially alone, you have to take care of your bike, and learn to maintain and repair it. Chains are fragile. At least, you have to know how to clean, lube and remove / install them. The most obvious sign the chain is giving up is elongation. Contrary to popular belief, chains doesn’t elongate because plates get stretched out: they get a bit longer, because rollers and bushings get worn. Personally, I lost few good chains to corrosion,too! I was shocked to see… Continue Reading When and why to replace your bike chain?

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