Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

Here, we're going to fix your rim:

Grab a good set of pliers (not needle-nose)
Find the spoke nearest to where the bend is, and mark it with a felt marker
On the two spokes opposite the bend (say your wheel bends to the right, the spokes that go off to the left are what you want), you will want to tighten them (look down on them "through" the tire, and just imagine that you're tightening a screw) with the pliers by gripping the "nipple" (the bit on the top, near the outside of the rim)
Turn both of those nipples one full rotation
Spin the wheel and check to see how straight it is, and repeat if necessary, turning the nipples less and less


As for your tire, grab a standard 24" tube (it denotes the general diameter of the wheel) and bang it in there. The second number that you saw on the tire is the general width of the tire, which is also important, just no where near as important as the first number. The numbers on the rim were the model code, what the rim is made out of (6061 T6 aluminum) along with the ETRTO size, which is just a newer, slightly different way to measure tires (mainly used on road bikes).

Don't worry about how "loose" the tire looks just sitting on the rim without any air pressure inside the tube, this is how the system is designed. The reason for it being loose like that is so you can get the tire off the rim without cutting it. Once inflated to appropriate pressures, the tire automatically "locks" it's bead (a small metal wire encased inside the tire at the point closest to the rim) into place inside the rim, using only air pressure to keep it in place.

Like I said, you're fine, just grab a new tube, pop it in, try tuning your wheel a little like I outlined above (it'll drastically prolong the life of your rim) and take it easy riding through construction zones next time!

 

+1 He know's what he is talking about.

I would add that given the tyre says 24x1.85, that means you need a tube that's about 1.8inches wide. Don't go far over that else it'll pinch easier and you'll get snakebite punctures real quick if you land a bit funny off a jump or drop.

 

22 is the size of the rim, but you still need a 24" tube because the size of a wheel is the diameter including the tyre, not the rim only - if that makes sense. For example the diameter of my 26" rims is actually 23".

 

Rather the opposite. With a wider tube, it is much thicker (because it has to expand more, therefore it needs more material), and is harder to puncture. When you go with a smaller tube, it has to stretch into shape a lot more, making the rubber much thinner and easier to puncture. Added to this, you can run tubes that are much larger than the tire they're designed for; an example would be a 26" tube in a 24" tire wouldn't be a problem, but it will seriously change the balance (due to weight of the folded-over tube) of the wheel. I've even ran a 26" tube inside a 20" tire simply because I didn't happen to have a spare of the right size kicking around in my shop.

The only real difference between a normal tube and a "DH" or heavy-duty tube is thickness.

Just for the record, in all my heavily-beaten-upon bikes I run over-sized DH tubes (2.5" in a 2.35", or 2.7" in a 2.5", ect).

 

Almost finished my little street\dirt bike

Tiny frame, 24" wheels, nice and easy to throw about, weighs dead on 25lb (real weight), and thats with steel frame\forks\cranks.

Need to get some suspension forks (probably Rockshox Pikes), a suitable saddle and some mag pedals. Oh and i'm gonna make some vinyl graphics for it too


Spec:
Frame: NS Bikes Suburban 24"
Forks: DMR Trailblade
Headset: Chris King
Stem: Thomson X4
Bars: Easton EA70
Seatpost: Thomson Elite
Saddle: Flite Ti
Cranks: Gusset Reynolds 853
Pedals: DMR V12
Sprocket: Premium Products 30T
Wheels: Hope Pro 2 (single speed rear) / Atomlab 36h rear and Sun MTX 32h front
Tyres: Schwalbe Table Top (Kevlar folders)
Brake: Avid cable Disc 165mm

 

Nice bike Fibre, do you mainly ride street or are there some good dirt jumps in/around Oxford?

 

25lb for that? That's nuts - proper heavy for a full frame I bet.

 

There used to be plenty not far from the city centre, but they kept getting knocked down though . We have to go elsewhere now, not much decent street in Oxford new either.

The forks are pretty heavy (3.5lb) so even when I get a set of Pikes it should still be under 26lb, the frame is just over 5lb so light for the type of riding its for. Ive tried to get the best strength\weight\quality ratio with the components, so it's pretty light rides well and feels sturdy.

 

i do a spot of downhill
this is my wip

Norco Atmoik VPS 2006, iv changed it a bit sins the photo.

 

We have quite a few DH courses around here somewhere (I've never seen them though).

 

I've got one of these coming in the next month or so...

 

Nice

Make sure you post pics when it's built

 

Wow.
That was cold - only have shorts at the moment, can't feel my legs.

 

Question: Using V-style brakes, what's the expected life on them? Bearing mind I'm doing 100miles a week now

 

Depends upon pads, weather conditions, and usage. I've made pads last several years, while others have only lasted a couple months.

Think of it this way:

Softer the pad, more "powerful" the brake.
Harder the pad, longer pad life.


If you start to notice your braking performance dropping, yet still have lots of pad left, take a really coarse rasp and file the pads flat. This will generally extend the pad life, but is only a stop-gap until you get new pads, as it is an obvious sign your pads are dried out.

When setting up your pads, make sure they're at a slight angle to the rim (rear of the pad just a millimeter farther away from the rim than the front), and when they contact, they contact vertically wholly (the only angle to the rim should be along the length of the pad). This is generally the best way to get maximum pad life along with the best brake modulation.

As well, ensure your brake lever stops short of your fingers, so you don't crush them, but yet still comes back far enough to where you can still leverage them sufficiently to lock your wheel up under load.


But to answer your question: buy a second set of pads right now, and keep them handy, because if you're just getting used to the way you're going, than you will not have the rhythm down to allow you to go almost brakeless on your route (bluntly: you will use your brakes more when getting used to a new route). Expect to replace your pads every 5-6 months, but realise that it could be shorter, or much longer between replacement.

 

That sounds about right, I reckon I was given short pads with my Bike, so September-Now heavy use usage, they went last night as I could feel barely any braking force!

 

Depends how much you use 'em

 

FIBRE: How's the NS? Been eyeing up a frame for some DJ as they're pretty well priced and look sweet.


For those looking at commuting lights I've been using a set of VistaLite Nightstick NS25 HOT Halogens for the past three years which have been very reliable and pretty good for short (6 mile) commutes. However, this last month my commute has extended to 35 miles each way mostly through quite twisty unlit country roads with chewed up surfaces. Whilst the Vistas have always been great for lighting 'the way' I'm now fast realising they're not adequate to highlight details in the route (such as road surface) without really concentrating on your front wheel which is no way to ride.

To that end, I've just ordered one of the Maxx-Daddy 4xLED self contained unit. Stock isn't due until early Nov but I'll be sure to post thoughts and findings when I've ridden with it a few times.


My rides:

Specialized Allez Sport 2004



Slight mods from original purchase including:
Mavic rims on Shimano 105 hubs (mixture of snapped spokes on original back wheel led to stronger replacement, and car accident putting pay to front one)
Bontrager hardcase tyres (first puncture two weeks ago in 3.5 years of riding)
Bar-tape was black at purchase but recently replaced with red
Recently 100mm stem replaced 120mm stock to prevent neck pains
New Tiagra rear-brake as old one siezed beyond repair
Shimano SPD-SL pedals with Nike Poggio shoes

Cove Stiffee FR custom build:


RockShox Lyriks U-Turn Coil
Hope Mono M4 203/185 braided hoses + floating rotors
Mavic EN521 on Hope Pro II (soon replacing with Spank Subrosa) + Minion 2.5 60a
RaceFace Atlas FR Cranks + DMR V8 peds + Sam Hill 5.10
SRAM X9 Drivetrain + shifters
EA70 Bar + Atlas AM 70mm Stem
Bling: Red hope headset and seat QR, Thomson Elite post, SDG red Bel Air

Commencal Supreme FR (6.1/Mini-DH):



Recently acquired as a rolling chassis:
Marzocchi 66 Fork
5th Element Shock
Atomlab hubs and rims
Minion 2.5 Super Tacky
EA50 Bar + RaceFace Diabolus Stem

Trying to source some Saint cranks. Have some spare Juicy 5 brakes but will probably transfer M4s when I ride DH as I prefer them. Saddle transferring from old XC hardtail. With all that I'll be ready to hit Blandford in a couple weeks - assuming this cracked rib heals.

 

Give it a clean!

 

That was after the Leeds ride mud-fest, and it got cleaned immediately following the picture being taken.