Education We Like to Ride Bicycles

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Did you try heating it up with a hairdryer? That worked a treat when my friend replaced his square taper BB recently!

 

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Yeah, I wouldn't be surprised if they've overdone it a bit. Worth a try with the hairdryer though.

 

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Just to double check, and apologies if it comes across as insultingly obvious, but you are trying to loosen it the correct way, right? Bottom brackets are reverse-threaded on the drive side.

 

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don't forget to either put penetrating fluid on to help break the seal, or cola works pretty well.

Also, turns out doing 65 miles on one bottle of drink an two soreen bars is not a good plan. went rapidly downhill after 38 miles. My own fault should carry more food.

 

English or Italian thread?

Oh, you said drive side. That'll teach me to be a smart arse

 

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Be interesting to see exactly how tightly they've done it up...

 

Sounds more like the assembler cross-threaded it half way in and decided to force it the rest of the way, rather than fix it!

 

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Try again with penetrating fluid as advised and stop messing about with WD40

 

I've gotten my cycling up to 15.5 miles a day (everyday) and for now I'm at my limit (only been up to 15.5 from 12 for a few days).

I have a problem with my toes going numb, I used to get the same thing with my "ahem" under carriage until I bought some proper cycling shorts and ditched my underwear so pressure being applied form seam etc.

Is it because I wear trainers, do I need to be looking at getting proper cycling shoes and clip on pedals, I ride a mountain bike, would the clip on pedals also aid me with cycling as I believe the lift part of pedalling helps.

 

If you ride a mountain bike and do any kind of actual off-road riding, invest in a pair of Five Ten's. Plenty of grip on flat pedals, designed for riding AND walking... That's the problem with SPD shoes, they are great for on the bike, but no good for your feet when you're off. Five Ten's can be worn casual, work on and off the bike and you can get ones that have clip mounts for the times you need the extra security. I loved mine, but when I moved out my dear old mum chucked them out "because they had mud on them"... THEY WERE MOUNTAIN BIKE SHOES, OF COURSE THEY DID!!

 

"Lifting" the pedals is a load of pish, btw. Doesn't help. However, clipping in can be helpful in terms of keeping your foot in place on the pedal, and that can help in terms of being able to apply power through more of the pedal stroke than just the main "downwards" portion (but not when lifting, as above! ). Mind you, you can achieve the same thing with trainers, it's just trickier as your feet will tend to slide around a bit. Are you using toeclips just now?

I'd say that if you're getting numb toes then you should try different shoes, not necessarily proper cycling ones but ones with roomier toeboxes. Fwiw I ride a hybrid and my cycling shoes/cleats/pedals are mountain bike variants - my shoes have actual soles with rubber grips and the cleats are recessed, so you can walk in them relatively easily, whereas most road shoes don't have any grips so your cleats are in contact with the ground and walking can be... challenging!

The thing about clipping in is that you will want to practice unclipping a lot before you get out and about for real - it's not massively difficult (providing you haven't set the unclipping resistance to the max) but you definitely need to practice doing it until it becomes second nature, because if you delay too long then you're going to fall over and embarrass yourself

And congrats for getting up to 15 miles a day. You'll soon be pushing on from there I find that the trick is just to make sure that you get out every day, regardless of the distance. I do about 100 miles a week just commuting, but it is limited somewhat by the time available

 

I would look at stiffer soled shoes, five tens, tevas, Shimanos etc all do flat soled shoes designed for mountain biking. youll notice the soles are somewhat stiffer so you don't get a hot spot which can cause numbness as the load is being spread over a greater area.

Clipless shoes the lift power is a myth, I use mountain bike SPDs on my road bike (makes me some filthy heathen apparently) if you try you can easily unclip an the upstroke portion you cant actually put much power into it as the other legs down stoke cancels it out.
The benefits of them though are your foot always returns to the same spot so once your fit is dialled in, that's it, no faffing trying to get comfy just click an pedal. Some say you can put more power down but from what ive seen theres little difference once you have your foot in the right location.

Another bit to look at is where your foot sits on the pedal to far back or forward can be an issue as can the actual pedal, Your toes could be going numb if your subconsciously trying to hook your toe for more grip which I've seen in the past.

I would recommend specific shoes with the distance your covering itll make life easier and help combat the toe curling.

 

https://www.hopetechhb.com/

Holy Smeg! Not that I can afford one, but I want one.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-41028321

Idiot rides Planet X track bike flat out on street, even though Planet X specifically list the bike as track use only (it's got no brake mounts). Knocks a lady over and kills her, brags about it online, is going to prison. As my Grandfather used to say, stupidity is it's own punishment. I feel sorry for the lady and her family.

The mid and lower range Konas are all made in China, like most other bikes, which should surely answer any questions regarding duff aseembly.

A set of proper 'Flat' MTB shoes will improve your life greatly. They have much stiffer soles than normal trainers and usually thicker ankle supports. Five Ten and Shimano rule the roost. It's worth going into a shop and trying some pairs on to see what fits you, you'll pay more than online but your feet and ankles will thank you.