Tires Everything you need to know about bicycle tires
This article covers all aspects of bicycle tires, construction, tread design, inflation, etc.
If you prefer the British spelling, see sheldonbrown.com/tyres.html.
The care and feeding of inner tubes.
How to repair a flat tire.
A small toolkit will get you riding again.
Bicycle tires come in a bewildering variety of sizes. To make matters worse, in the early days of cycling, every country that manufactured bicycles developed its own system of marking the sizes. These different national sizing schemes created a situation in which the same size tire would be known by different numbers in different countries. Even worse, different-sized tires that were not interchangeable with one another were often marked with the same numbers! A newer international tire-sizing system has resolved this problem. Learn how to read tire sizes and find out which tires and rims are compatible with each other.
You could print this out and hang it on the shop wall.
... and if that isn't confusing enough, one of them is also called "27-five". Know where you might find these sizes used, which rims and tires are compatible and which are not.
This seems like a good idea at first, but you really shouldn't do it! This short article explains why.
Rim Sizing How to measure rims
Understanding the different national systems for rim sizes, how they came to be, and how they relate to the consistent and reliable ETRTO-ISO system.
Many road bikes these days have such tight clearances that full fenders can't be installed. Replacing the wheels with the 650B size can solve this problem. The wider 650B tire can run at lower pressure and go smoother -- without a speed penalty.
This article provides all you need to know to build your own bicycle wheels. A knowledge of wheelbuilding can be invaluable to any cyclist who wishes to do his or her own maintenance and repair.
Building wheels from scratch is the best way to learn the craft of wheel truing, to get the feel for how a wheel responds to spoke adjustments. It is much easier to learn this with new, un-damaged parts than to start right in trying to repair damaged wheels.
Make sure that the spokes you buy for your wheelbuilding job will be the right length. Detailed instructions for measurement are here.
This spoke length calculator is tried and true. It runs under Microsoft Excel, OpenOffice or LibreOffice, and so, under Windows, MacOS or Linux. The article includes a list of links to other online spoke calculators including ones which run on iOS and Android smartphones.
It is possible to check that wheels are at the right level of tension by the musical pitch of the spokes, when plucked. The correct pitch depends on the spoke length but not on the spoke gauge!
How can those skinny spokes withstand the huge torque from a disc brake?
Very large hubs such as electric-bike hub motors produce excessive spoke angles with ordinary crossed spoking patterns. There are patterns which avoid the problem.
This article examines the workings of conventional bicycle hubs and explains the tools and techniques involved in servicing them.
It also describes a special tool I invented to facilitate bearing adjustment on quick-release hubs...you can make your own from junk parts.
Most new bicycles of good quality use Shimano "Freehubs" for the rear hub, the heart of the gear shifting system. This article explains why, and lists the available Shimano and Shimano-compatible clusters. If you want to customize your gearing to fit your riding style and terrain, this will show your options.
Derailers are not the only option for multi-speed bicycles. Remember 3-speeds? Now you can have a 7, 8, 9, 11 or even 14-speed hub with the same easy, reliable internal gearing.
This page lists the different makes and models of hubs, and offers information on installing and maintaining them.
An encyclopedic listing of bicycle lore, technical data and opinions.
Last Updated: by John Allen