REPAIR BOOKS, LUBES, & “COMFORT” BIKES
August 7, 2005
Hey, I have a few questions
and I really appreciate your time.
1) How exactly do you remove the
front V-brake? I’ve seen pictures and heard but for
some reason I cannot do it.
2) How do you adjust the handlebar?
3) What is the difference between
wet & dry lube? What are the pros and cons?
4) What is with all these different
types of clipless pedals? What kind goes on what kind of
bike and what is the difference and how do I know which
shoe will fit it?
5) How do you put on pedals?
6) How do you tell the difference
between mechanical and disc brakes quickly?
7) What are these beach cruiser
bikes, e.g Trek Navigator 100? How do they compare to the
7200, etc.? They look the same.
8) What is the size of the typical
adult wheel?
Thank you so much for your help.
I’ve tried to research this information myself but
was having difficulties.
Matt H.
Matt:
Any learning quest requires an investment.
Given the extent of your, uh, thirst, I think the time’s
come for you to belly up and buy a book.
You can find answers to many of the
questions you have (and, I’ll bet, haven’t) asked
in a good bike repair book. You’ve lots from which to
choose, so I’ve narrowed it down to ones that (a) have
come out recently, and (b) come from folks I respect:
- Big Blue Book of Bicycle Repair, by Calvin Jones
- Bicycle Repair Manual (AKA Richard’s
Bicycle Repair Manual), by Richard Ballantine
- Simple Bicycle Repair: Fixing Your Bike Made Easy,
by Rob Van der Plas
- Bicycling Magazine's Complete Guide to Bicycle Maintenance
and Repair for Road and Mountain Bikes, by the editors
of Bicycling magazine
To your other questions. On bike chains
we generally like dryer lube that doesn’t attract dirt.
On the other hand, some folks who do long-distance riding
on relatively clean roads claim they get more life outta wetter
lubes, and therefore their chains. Me, I stay dry.
You ask about two different kind of
Trek bikes. Excuse me a sec while I put on my ranting gloves.
Now, then. Trek considers the 7200
one if its hybrid models, while it calls the Navigator a comfort
bike. Hybrids, as careful observers will know, combine the
sturdiness of a mountain bike with the smoother riding of
a road bike. Hybrids, some opine, represent the American bicycle
industry trying to atone for its sin of foisting mountain
and road bikes on a hapless and powerless public. When hybrids
didn’t go far enough to satisfy said public’s desire
for the simple, practical, and long-lasting bikes widely available
until the 1970s, the bike industry took hybrids and added
front suspension, wider tires, and cushy seats—voilà,
comfort bikes. Cold comfort, methinks.
Adult bike wheels generally come in
diameters known as 26", 27", and 700C. Click
here for my revelation of what these numbers really mean.
Mr Bike
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