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Bicycle Repair/Questions
| Subject | Date Asked | Expert |
| disc brakes | 8/17/2008 | Dave |
| Q: how do you change disc brakes and hydrolic brake padson a mountain bike A: It depends on what kind of brakes you have. Most have pads like so: ... | ||
| gary fisher wahoo | 8/17/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I can't remove the seat post. I have loosened the quick release. Any suggestions? Thanks A: You seat post may be cold welded as a result of low grease and sweat. The best way to remove it is ... | ||
| Stiff freewheel | 8/16/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Bought some Mavic Kysirium wheels second hand,they are in good condition as far as I can see but the ... A: First you should remove the cassette, then the cones and axle,and then the bearings. Take a 10mm ... | ||
| Mongoose XR100 rear bearing issue | 8/16/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Good evening, Thanks for taking the time to share your expertise. I appreciate it. I probably ... A: You may be able to replace the bearings. However, there may be irreplaceable damage to your hub ... | ||
| Kids Bike | 8/14/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: My son has a 20 in next bike that has only a hand brake that was left out in the rain. The rear ... A: There are signs of corrosion inside the freewheel. The easiest way to fix this is to replace it. If ... | ||
| tuneing up 18 speed gears | 8/14/2008 | Dave |
| Q: how to set detailers on 18 speed A: First, you have to shift your bike into the highest gear in the rear(smallest sprocket), and the ... | ||
| Bike after a rain storm has problems | 8/14/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My bike is a 26 inch, 21 speed mongoose DXR AL dual suspension mountain bike, bought in 2003. two ... A: This is one of those questions that is hard to answer without seeing the bike or actually riding the ... | ||
| add sprocket to Biopace 600 | 8/13/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My bike currently has a 6 speed Shimano Biopace 600. Can I add another sprocket (currently have two ... A: You cannot add additional chain rings to a double. Also the Biopace is an oval shaped crank set, ... | ||
| stripped threads on pedal axle | 8/11/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My son inherited a bike that was not put together correctly. After riding it this summer the pedal ... A: Your crank arm therefore is destroyed. You will have to get a new crank arm or a crank set depending ... | ||
| Need Parts | 8/11/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: Having difficult time locating part. I need to replace the broken plastic derailer on the front ... A: This plastic piece that is between the cassette - the group of cogs on the rear wheel, is called a ... | ||
| Knocking noise when riding | 8/10/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Dave--I just bought a new Schwinn road bike, I love the bike but it has this annoying knocking ... A: Check the wheel for straightness. you could have a wobbly wheel and it is hitting the front fork or ... | ||
| Need Parts | 8/9/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: Having difficult time locating part. I need to replace the broken plastic derailer on the front ... A: You do not need the exact same derailleur as the one that was previously on there. If you don't mind ... | ||
| my rear sprocket is not coming off | 8/8/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: ok i have a haro bmx my rear sprocket is incredibly worn i have tried to take it off but it is ... A: You will need a Freewheel Removal Tool, a Chain Whop, and a wrench to turn the Removal Tool. The ... | ||
| Designing an enclosed chain case | 8/8/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Can you help with design ideas for an enclosed chain case for a single speed GT Peace 9r. The chain ... A: First of all, sorry for the untimeliness of this response. I was caught up in personal problems. ... | ||
| Bottom Brackets | 8/7/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I am trying to replace the bearings from the bottom bracket of my Jump Bike, i have been able to ... A: I can't help you out with this information. There are several types of bottom brackets and several ... | ||
| tire designs for commuting | 8/7/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I use a 26" x 1 3/8" 3-speed for shopping/errand running around town. I have always used the ... A: I'm not quite sure what you mean by a "nylon mesh constructed tread". But, the Kevlar is a bit more ... | ||
| 9speed or 10 speed? | 8/6/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I feel like an idiot, but how can you tell if your bike is a 9 speed or a 10 speed? A: you can tell by counting the number of sprockets a cassette or freewheel has. Count the number of ... | ||
| Downtube Shifters | 8/6/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My 11 year son is uncomfortable shifting gears with his downtube shifters. Is there a relatively ... A: STI shifters incorporate the brake system and the gearing system into one brake lever. STI is more ... | ||
| Raleigh SC 40 left hand twist shifter | 8/5/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I have a problem with my Raleigh SC 40 handlebar mounted "twist" shifter separating, and now it half ... A: It sounds to be that your shifter is broken. Grip shifters are pretty cheaply made, so they can end ... | ||
| rear wheel and pedals do not move | 8/5/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My daughter has a Great Divide Magna Bike from Target. She was riding one day and was shifting and ... A: The chain may have sucked reversely into the derailleur. The cause may have been that she shifted to ... | ||
| Rear derailleur and coasting problem | 8/5/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I just had my rear derailleur hanger replaced. Now the tension of the derailleur is messed up. ... A: The derailleur may have been placed on the hanger wrong. There is a stop on the derailleur that is ... | ||
| Installing a compact crank/chain rings | 8/4/2008 | Dave |
| Q: What is your advice in switching from a typical (39-53) double crank on a road bike to a compact ... A: There are tons of good cranks out there. All you have to really decide is on price, weight, ratio, ... | ||
| Downtube Shifters | 8/3/2008 | Dave |
| Q: My 11 year son is uncomfortable shifting gears with his downtube shifters. Is there a relatively ... A: There is nothing that is going to be inexpensive. You will need new shifters, cable stops, cables, ... | ||
| broken gear shifter | 8/3/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I have fallen off my bike which resulted in damaging my left hand gear shifter for the triple chain ... A: The shifters should work nonetheless. The index just wont go to the 9. The derailleur travel just ... | ||
| schwinn skyliner 21 speed crank ball bearing problems. | 8/3/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Do you know how to tighten or loosen or remove the crank on this nice bike. i cant figure it out. i ... A: I'm not sure I quite know what your talking about. Different bikes have different bottom brackets. ... | ||
| wheel problems | 8/1/2008 | Dave |
| Q: hey, i've got a rear wheel cassette and recently it started to come loose i tightened up the cones ... A: Tightening cones is tricky stuff. From the sounds of it you may also have a bad or worn cone. the ... | ||
| broken gear shifter | 8/1/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I have fallen off my bike which resulted in damaging my left hand gear shifter for the triple chain ... A: Unfortunately, there is no remedy for your situation. The chances are that since you took a fall ... | ||
| crank size for smaller rider | 7/31/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Please excuse me if i am in the wrong site . I need some help. My 8 year old son is finally ... A: Crank arm length is measured in millimeters from the center of the crank bolt to the center of the ... | ||
| Tighten locknuts | 7/31/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I noticed my rear wheel could woble, very little, but anyway. I took the wheel off the bike and ... A: You will need to have to use a wrench. The tightening of the cones is a VERY delicate process. You ... | ||
| rear sprocket frozen | 7/31/2008 | Dave |
| Q: The rear sprocket on one of my kids' ten-speed type bikes seems to be frozen. This is an ... A: There is a plate on the inner portion of the freewheel. Here is what I'm talking about: <img ... | ||
| shimano derailer (rear) | 7/30/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I have a diamondback bicycle with problems shifting. This is a shimano 8515 rear derailer. I can ... A: There is a chance that your gears aren't shifting because of slack in the derailleur cable. Try to ... | ||
| tools | 7/30/2008 | Dave |
| Q: what are the most common tools needed to repair bmx style bikes? my son"s birthday is Sunday and he ... A: The most common tools to use would probably be 4,5,6,8mm hex driver tools (the 4,5,6 tools can be ... | ||
| Gearing question | 7/30/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I have a 91 Cannondale Tendem with 7 speed SunTour components. The bar end shifters need to be ... A: Drive train parts have to match to an extent. I know that derailleurs and shifters usually have to ... | ||
| Bike Parts | 7/30/2008 | Dave |
| Q: Where would I find actual parts for a bike online? I'm looking for main sprocket bearings for my ... A: I don't know anything about shopping for bike parts online. I Googled somethings and didn't find ... | ||
| Brake lever issue | 7/30/2008 | Dave |
| Q: I just pulled my bike out from under our boat and was doing a once over to get it ready for ... A: What seems to be the culprit here is that the housing is damages, corroded, worn or simply needs to ... | ||
| rear sprocket frozen | 7/29/2008 | Dave |
| Q: The rear sprocket on one of my kids' ten-speed type bikes seems to be frozen. This is an ... A: What seems to be the problem is that your freewheel is lack lubrication. Without special tools to ... | ||
| my gears change automatically | 7/29/2008 | Dave |
| Q: the model is cignal ranger. my bike is always on the 7th gear and when i change it to another gear, ... A: Your problem seems to occur because of the cable from the shifter on the handlebars to the rear ... | ||
| adjust a handlebar | 7/11/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: How can I raise/lower the handlebars on this "Pathways" Schwinn hybrid bike? It does have a ... A: If you wanted to raise the stem higher, not just the angle of it you will need to buy a fork with a ... | ||
| method for cleaning chain | 6/28/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: I would appreciate any help you could give me with the following bike problem. Incidentally, I ... A: To properly clean the chain you will need to disassemble the whole chain. Disassemble the whole ... | ||
| gears | 6/28/2008 | Steve Mills |
| Q: its like they keep trying to go to another gear but they dont and that is in all the gears that i ... A: You will need to adjust the rear derailluer-this is the mechanism that shifts the gears. To do this ... | ||
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Dave
Top Expert on this page
Expertise
I can answer questions on all issues you may have encountered with your bicycle. Some things are hard to explain without visually seeing or riding the bicycle such as vague 'clanking' noises.
Experience
I was my neighborhood mechanic as an early teenager. I have also worked in a bicycle repair shop for about a year and a half.
Education/Credentials
GED (Good Enough Degree)
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