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That's what happened to me. Because I had mechanical brakes, I realized that by the time they were almost 100%, the pads had worn down a lot. I checked, and they were so thin that I replaced them immediately. I concluded that moisture had softened them to the point that braking was very poor. As...

Suspending a bike from two eye bolts has worked for me. The fact that the rafters are only 7 feet high may be why swinging hasn't been a problem. There were 4 eye bolts in the pack, so I added the other two to experiment. In front, the yellow rope catches the stem in a V, preventing lateral...

I may have had only 400 miles on my Radrunner when the back brake failed. I think it had Tektro Aries, too. In my experience, what they call cable stretch doesn't affect front brake because the front cable doesn't flex when the handlebars are turned. If you had to adjust the cable within 400...

For lubing chains, I bought a set of squeeze bottles of an ounce or so and hypodermic needles. I use a 25 gauge needle to add a drop of Finish Line Dry to each side of each roller, then inject the rest back into the storage bottle. That way I know I lubed every "hinge," and there's no excess to...

That happened to me this summer. I hadn't done anything to the bike but leave it in the garage. The mechanical brakes had been well adjusted with plenty of friction against the disc. When I rode it after a few weeks in the garage, the brakes were dangerously weak. Repeated braking with one brake...

How about your soles? Some manufacturers think tread is what counts, but I evaluate them by coefficient of friction under all conditions. One pair of my pedaling shoes is a Caterpiller product that looks like bowling shoes. I've bought them repeatedly over the years because I like the rubber...

I'd love to try pedals 5" long. I haven't found BOW Catalysts at Modern Bike or Amazon. I'm skeptical of the explanation on the website. It cites research that says hip muscles, not quads, are the most important in pedaling, and adding support 5" behind the ball of the foot is supposed to...

I sometimes tried extending my stroke by pulling through bottom dead center when I was trying to understand what was wrong with my BB. The muscles that pull the foot back aren't very powerful. The quads, which push the foot forward, are the most powerful in the body. I like to use them to kick...

I lucked out by using a low rafter. Your handlebars appear to be 4 feet below the pulley. In the last photo, my handlebars are only 1 foot below the eye bolt, so the pendulum is 4 times stiffer. In the third photo, the bars are 3 feet below the eye bolt. I'd hoisted the front just enough to...

After I bought an e-bike in 2020, I found that the cleats on the resin pedals often cut my shin right through my pants. Sooner or later my shin was bound to collide with the pedal as I walked beside the bike to push, pull, or turn it, usually in the garage. I didn't know why cleats were...

I don't bother to hoist a bike to remove pedals or cranks, but the mechanic pulled cranks with the bike hoisted, and I see no problem with it. If you mean caliper mounting bolts, hoisting, usually one end, makes it easy. If you mean removing a disc, I first remove the wheel. Hoisting the front a...

My suspension points are much lower, about 7 feet. I guess that's why I don't need a stand. On a shorter "pendulum," the bike is more resistant to swinging away when pushed.

The Kenda were marked 30 TPI. FAQs from Schwalbe and another reputable manufacturer (I don't recall who) say 60 is now the minimum for a quality tire. They make a carcass by laying out the cords, covering them with rubber, and vulcanizing. 30 TPI used to be great for puncture resistance because...

I checked several dictionaries but don't know what you mean by "reef." Initially, I hoisted bikes from one overhead point to weigh them. It wasn't efficient for mechanical work because the bike would rotate about a vertical axis. I got the idea of using two overhead points from a video where a...

I offered to give my Radrunner away because I hated the Kenda 20 x 3.3 tires. When I bought it, that was the only tire suited to the needlessly wide rims.

I bought a set of 4 of these, rated at 650 pounds each. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FX6L3NN Hoisting lets me lift one or both ends and choose the best height for a task. I can use a light-duty chain hoist, which has a brake to prevent accidental drops. Ropes can be more convenient...

I have a bike with a 500 W DD motor that gives 40% more torque than another bike with a 750 W geared motor. Torque depends on the way a motor is wound. That's why the DD motor is heavier than the geared one. Both bikes I have now are DD. I pedal unpowered most of the time and don't feel drag...

I get far more battery range leaving PAS off and depending on throttle. From a stop, throttle can help me accelerate. That can keep me from becoming an obstruction on a street with traffic closing from behind. Throttle helps my single-speed bike get up hills where otherwise I'd have to walk. If...

For the last 4 years I guess I've averaged 5 miles a day. From the time I was 7 until I was 18, I suppose I averaged that much. In all those thousands of miles, I remember falling from a moving bike only once. Actually, it was a series of intentional crashes. They were on asphalt, not concrete...

Here's what a riser did for me on my Radrunner. I'd say the bars were now 10" above seat level, which was typical of how riders adjusted classic 3-speed commuting bikes (although those bars had a better wrist angle). My forearm was almost level, so a little elbow flexing would let my hands...