38
votes
Accepted
How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
The answer heavily depends on the groupset construction/generation and personal perception of what is "bad", among other factors. Below are a few aspects that I am aware of.
Switching gears ...
- 14.4k
21
votes
Accepted
Should square taper cranks be greased before installation?
I started getting seriously into bike work circa 2002 and was lucky enough to come across Jobst Brandt's view of the topic around that time. Since then, most of which time I've spent working as a ...
- 88.2k
16
votes
Accepted
Road bike gear common practices
I believe your bike has a double crankset with 50-34 chainrings.
The general advice is to attempt to avoid cross-chaining, i.e. avoid the big ring and biggest 2-3 cogs in the rear, and avoid the ...
- 36k
10
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How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
You can quite easily get your chain dropped. If you were standing and pushing hard in a climb you could even fall. If the chain drops to a bad place, it can damage your frame near your bottom bracket ...
- 17.4k
7
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How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
Expanding on a comment I made on Gregory's answer: I agree fully that it's better not to shift under load. However, modern drivetrains are much less sensitive to shifts under load than older ones. You ...
- 36k
6
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Road bike gear common practices
To answer your second question, you can think of the chainrings as your high range and low range, and the sprockets on your cassette as your position inside the range. These ranges overlap a lot. You'...
- 30.6k
6
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How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
When you are pedalling hard, you are putting a lot of "force" into the chain, which is transmitted to/from the chain via the mechanical contact between chain and gear teeth.
If you are ...
- 3,770
5
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Is it ok to leave my bike on wheel-on trainer with roller pressed against the training tire?
In my experience it does indeed shorten the lifespan of the tyre. It doesn't take long for the tyre to end up with a deformed spot.
If you are literally using the trainer daily it probably mitigates ...
- 18.5k
5
votes
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Barrel Adjuster Strategy - What's the best way to use barrel adjusters?
I think you've described best practice for a couple of reasons. Firstly, cables will not tighten themselves, only slacken, so you provide the greatest adjustment to the bike owner; they have the full ...
- 13k
5
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When are studded tires necessary?
I got myself studded tires when my commute had ≈150 m elevation difference which went through a narrow valley with a grade of 15 - 20 %. I'm in western/central Germany, so temperature stays around ...
- 1,324
5
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Should square taper cranks be greased before installation?
Park Tool Repair says greasing the spindle is 'an option', but says it is to prevent corrosion, rather than having any effect on how the crank goes on the spindle.
...
- 75.9k
4
votes
Road bike gear common practices
For what it's worth, the way I ride is I start off in small ring and then change up to big ring once I hit the middle of the cassette. So around the 18/21t mark. Depending on how fast I'm ...
- 357
4
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Road bike gear common practices
As Adam says there is several ratios overlap between the ratios available in the small and large rings, so you can change from the large to small chainring, then 3 sprocket up in the rear and be in ...
- 75.9k
4
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Should square taper cranks be greased before installation?
I've historically used a very light smear on new or good condition cranks/spindles, regardless of format.
If the interface is old and beaten up or a bit munched, I'll use a lot of grease and then ...
- 131k
3
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Is it ok to leave my bike on wheel-on trainer with roller pressed against the training tire?
This would really depend on the type of the trainer. If your trainer is somehow fixed in a position where it really presses the wheel against the cylinder I would expect it will do something. But ...
- 17.4k
2
votes
Should square taper cranks be greased before installation?
My opinion is lightly greased. I have had a least a dozen aluminum crank arms threads pull out before the taper loosened. Granted a lot of them are lower end Suntour cranks that have been in place for ...
- 19k
2
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When are studded tires necessary?
There are not many icy days here but my boss has them on his fast 45 km/h E bike anyway. He says they are very good on ice and perfectly bearable on just dry tarmac, not that you cannot drive. I and ...
- 8,134
2
votes
When are studded tires necessary?
Snow tires or studded tires are practically necessary when there's snow on the roads. On very bad days, only fatbike-width snow tires or studded tires work. On the very worst days, even those won't ...
- 21.3k
2
votes
How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
I have heard several times the wisdom that you should not switch gears while pedalling hard ("under load").
It is true that an optimal gear shift works by easing the load, shifting while ...
- 21.3k
2
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Should square taper cranks be greased before installation?
I was curious to know Shimano's take on this question since they have been producing both bottom brackets and cranksets for a long time and they are a prominent components manufacturer.
They currently ...
- 4,169
2
votes
Barrel Adjuster Strategy - What's the best way to use barrel adjusters?
Here is a minor strategy for rim brake barrel adjusters. My everyday wheels have rims with 24mm external width. My race wheels have 25mm external width.
When I got the latter set, I loosened the cable ...
- 36k
1
vote
Accepted
Is it ok to leave my bike on wheel-on trainer with roller pressed against the training tire?
The best practice is to release the tension on the tire after finishing your training session. Will it shorten your tire's lifespan? Maybe slightly, but tires are pretty resilient, which is why it may ...
- 6,757
1
vote
How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
Related - switching gears in an Internal Gear Hub (aka an IGH) under load causes the gearbox to not switch immediately.
I have had situations with a Shimano Alfine 11 where pedalling hard, and ...
- 131k
1
vote
How bad is switching derailleur gears under load?
You are much better off learning to ease the load before switching gears! Assuming you have the widespread derailleur kind (as opposed to in-hub gears)...
1. Front derailleur, switch under heavy load:
...
- 218
1
vote
Barrel Adjuster Strategy - What's the best way to use barrel adjusters?
My personal strategy is to leave some room to loosen the barrel adjusters and then make the cable as tight as possible so that the brake pads are against the rim. Then use the barrel adjuster to ...
- 22k
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