Bicycle Tips And TricksWednesday, July 14, 2010 |
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How to Not Get Hit by CarsThis is a far cry from normal bicycle safety guides, which usually tell you little more than to wear your helmet and to follow the law. But consider this for a moment: Wearing a helmet will do absolutely nothing to prevent you from getting hit by a car. Sure, helmets might help you if you get hit, but your #1 goal should be to avoid getting hit in the first place. Plenty of cyclists are killed by cars even though they were wearing helmets. Ironically, if they had ridden without helmets, yet followed the advice on this page, they might still be alive today. Don't fall for the myth that wearing a helmet is the first and last word in biking safety. In truth, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. It's better to not get hit. That's what real bicycle safety is about. More... 2-meter J-Pole from bicycle safety flagAn article in the January 1999 Bicycle Mobile Hams of America Newsletter, by Jim Varney, ham call sign AE6N, describes an antenna for the 2-meter band, made by sliding coax insulator braid over a glass fiber bicycle safety flag pole. More... Bicycle Maintenance Guide and Riding TipsI often get asked about bicycle maintenance and repairs, and tips for how to ride efficiently. This little manual is intended as a summary of what I have learned over the years. I am not a professional mechanic. All of what I say here is the result of personal experience and opinion and may in places flatly contradict professional techniques, but it has served me well. I offer no guarantees that it will work for you. If your bicycle falls apart because I said something wrong, you are on your own. More... Cycling Cadence and Bicycle GearingIf you want even the nerds to consider you a nerd, try getting enthusiastic about bicycle gearing. There is probably no topic with poorer esteem or poorer coverage in any book on cycling. There are three reasons for this low estate: 1) newbies don't understand it, 2) strong cyclists don't need it, and 3) most people dislike math. If these things are true, why do I want to approach the task? -- simply because cadence and gearing are important for the newbie, the tourer, and the person with weak muscles. More... Tour De France, the world's most prestigious cycling race.Watch an Informative Video. More... Free Bicycle Maintenance Manual (PDF)Download here How To Align Or True A Bicycle WheelWell it's been a long time coming, but here it is. I have attached a video to this article. It's not great, but it will have to do for now until I figure out a better studio set-up.
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On-The-Road And Trail RepairsA real handy thing to tuck in your seat bag is a repair chain link. Companies such as Wipperman, HKC and Sachs make links that make it easy to repair a broken bicycle chain. Depending on how the chain breaks, you may or may not need a chain tool to separate it (you should always ride with a mini-tool which has a built-in chain tool, too, in my opinion). But, with one of these special repair links (get the one that matches your chain, i.e. 8-, 9- or 10-speed), to repair the chain, all you have to do is snap the link in place with your hands. I like these so much they’re in the repair kit on my road and mountain bikes. More... How to True a Wobbly WheelOver the years, I have observed many children's bikes with dangerously loose spokes, have helped adult cyclists with loose or broken spokes, and have learned via the internet that problems with broken spokes and even rims are common. Although I can say nothing about the quality of brands of spokes and rims, I do know how to tighten spokes properly, which will save rims and spokes and perhaps even bones from getting broken. More... NHTSA Bicycle Safety Tips For AdultsA new educational video from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. More... How To Adjust The BrakesSqueeze the bicycle's brake pads against the bikes rim to see if they are at the right height. The bike's brakes should not rub on the tire nor should they be able to slip under the bike rim. (Very dangerous!) More... Take Our Personality TestForkless Bicycle Design by Olli ErkkilaFinnish bicycle designer Olli Erkkila has always designed bicycles that can really surprise us. Look at the white bike below. It is his graduation project for Institute of Design in Lahti. Have you discovered the difference? It works without front fork. The odd bicycle just adopts a modified frame that is steered using handlebars connected to a steering rod that turns the front wheel. More... Single Speed Bicycles – The Wrong WayI tend to look at bicycles whenever they’re in range of my view. I’ve noticed something that people have done to there multi-speed road bike more often lately that doesn’t make a lot of sense unless your in a emergency situation. I’ve seen a lot of this here in New Orleans, but used to see it every now and then while living in Cambridge, MA. More... Bicycle Seats ExplainedPity the poor bicycle seat. Few products in the history of sports have taken such a bum rap. Prostate problems. Numbness. Boils. Infections. Chafing. Even impotency! You name the malady and it’s likely been blamed on the pedaler’s perch, the bike saddle. More... Send Comments and Suggestions to the Editor
Wednesday, July 14, 2010 Please do me a favor and forward a copy of this newsletter to your friends.
Copyright©2009, Northern Research
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Cyclist Errors Which Cause Automobile-Bicycle Collisions, IllustratedMost collisions between bicycles and motor vehicles don't happen just by chance; instead, they are bought about by a misunderstanding of how traffic works. This page focuses on dangerous traffic situations which could result in collisions, injuries, and even death due to the fault of the bike rider. Another page looks at the kinds of accidents caused by motorists. More... Check Spoke Tension By EarCorrect spoke tension is essential in order for a wheel to be strong and durable. An instrument for measuring spoke tension, the tensiometer, is available to wheelbuilders. However, unless you are musically tone-deaf, there is another instrument which does the job faster and easier: a musical pitch pipe - or a piano or church organ, or whatever other well-tuned musical instrument you happen to have in your workshop. More... Online Bicycle Repair GuideBicycle Repair and Tune-Up, a complete, illustrated, online bicycle repair manual including wheel alignment, handlebar grips and tape, flat tire repair, derailleur and brake adjustment, and much more for mountain bikes, road bikes, BMX, and general bicycles. More... The Seven Most Common Mistakes Made by Newbie CyclistsTen years ago, while at the University of Alabama, I was talking with a student about sports, and he told me that while running, auto racing, and hunting were all sports, bicycle racing was not. I asked him why bicycling was different, since it combined the physical stamina of running with the maneuvering skills of auto racing, and his reply to me was simply, "Bicycling is not a sport because anyone can ride a bicycle." More... Pump Them Up OftenBicycle tires lose air slowly. It’s just their nature. Because they don’t hold a lot of volume of air and because that air seeps out over a relatively short period of time (a week for a road bike tire and about two weeks for a MTB knobby), there’s a risk if you just ride without checking the tire pressure. If you bike on soft tires and you hit a pothole, rock or other obstacle, it’s possible to damage or ruin, the tire, tube and worst of all, the rim. A too-soft tire also means that you’re working a lot harder and on a mountain bike, it can make for a wobbly, hard-to-handle ride. So, be smart and check your tire pressure regularly: every week during the season for mountain bikes and before every ride for roadsters. How To Adjust A Bicycle SeatThe only part of the bicycle that hasn't really evolved until recently has been the seat. It sounds strange until you remember that the body parts in contact with the hardware was a taboo subject. Nobody would complain much about numb genitals back in 1898 to bike manufacturers. More... Learn The Secrets Of Choosing A Bicycle That's A Perfect Match For You And Your Kind Of RideChoosing a bicycle that is right for you is the biggest single factor in determining how much you will enjoy your riding experience. So make sure to do your homework beforehand. You will be glad that you did. More...
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