Yes, energy is not lost when your frame flexes, you lose energy because the frame springing back may not contribute to forward motion. The energy from flexing may simply go into heating the frame very slightly.
Cables do stretch. I had problems with gear indexing. Changed chain and cassette and a new rear derailleur, then cables. Couldn't get it quite set up until I put a new rear derailleur hanger on and found the 'How To' videos by GCN a great help. Took a bit of fiddling getting cables and limit screws set up but all good now. A bike shop will do this for free generally if you bought bike from them but it can be done at home. It's a good way to learn how to set the bike up correctly for the future.
Wonderful tips again, love it! My MTB chain just fell off lucky it was in front of my driveway, wish I had this bike repair shop here. Lana from DownUnder
#Torqueback: Si - Please do a Tech video on the derailleur adjustment procedure (including chain lengths) to interchange between different cassette sizes, maybe a 11-25 to a 11-32 for the mountains,. I currently have a medium length 11 spd derailleur. Thanks in advance.
One thing is for certain, the quick fire round will never be in danger of receiving a wattage bazooka award but that's not important. What is important is that we have it. It's my favourite part of the show. It reminds me of an escargot that moves a bit faster than snails pace.
Matt Hayman, the winner of last year Paris-Roubaix, was preparing to that race on a turbo trainer. Indoor cycling rules and makes your outdoor adventures more fast and fun.
I went to paraffin wax a year ago using a mini Crock Pot. I will NEVER use chain lube again. All those years wasting time with a dirty chain are behind me. Now I use SRAM links and take the chain off for a wax bath every 250 miles. The friction is less and my cogs and chain and rings last 3+ times longer.
@@lazurm Is that same as brand :white lightning? Someone said that the road conditions have more grit adhering to it and you have to do a thorough removal before switching to it the first time and thereafter for reapplying?
Wheels manufacturing has a hole collection of bottom brackets for BB 30, 86 and 92 to adapt almost any crank to those bottom bracket shells. I have a thread together bottom bracket from them in my Giant Defy which has eliminated the dreaded bottom bracket creak in my BB86 shell!
I had a creek every time I went out on my bike. I then started to take cod liver oil and now the creek has gone. I am so glad thought I bought a duff bike.
There is a thing called hysteresis (technically meaning the material does not follow the same stress/strain curve in deflection and contraction). In other words, not the full amount of energy is recovered. The amount of energy recovered depends on the material, springsteel for example recovers a lot of energy, but in general a stiffer material/construction means less energy goes into deflection of the frame, and therefore less is lost. You are however right that energy doesn't simply disappear, most of it goes towards heat. You can actually feel a piece of metal heating up if you bend it repeatedly
Oh, and a steel wire cable actually does stretch under initial use. The strands are woven tightly, but when it gets a chance to move about a little, they will tighten up and therefore slightly increase in length
Martin Fisker You're right about that, steel cable stretches even the big 1 inch diameter stuff. I work on a cliff railway and we shortened the 50 metre long haulage cable by 60mm yesterday.
Regarding lower FTP on a fluid trainer versus the road: I have a Cycleops Fluid2 trainer and the fluid temperature and therefore the resistance increases with time/power. A 12" fan blowing right at the the resistance unit kept the resistance much more consistent through a ride and my FTP went up as well.
Discrepancy between power measured on the road and on an indoor trainer also depends on the indoor trainer and the mode it is used in. The resistance out on the road that you need to overcome varies in a sine wave form with the momentum of the bike carrying the pedal stroke through top and bottom. This function is left to some form of a flywheel on a stationary setup. Most trainers in an ergo mode will require from you a more constant power input (watts) throughout the full 360 degrees of the pedal stroke which is somewhat different to how you pedal out on the road. The trainer doesn't give you the micro rest periods which makes it easier to maintain higher wattage out on the road. This may be an over simplification and likely not well explained or the full story but the answer certainly lie in how resistance is generated and maintained. Many ergo trainers are likewise also not affected by shifting gears. When you shift down to ease the pain they will just up the resistance to where you set it in the first place. I guess it depends on the trainer design and how closely it comes to simulating an open road ride
I tend to use car brake and clutch cleaner for most degreasing jobs and intend on using it on the chain. This is a solvent and dissapears quickly as compared to degreaser which has to rinsed and dried off.
Here's a story about creaking on my bike. Bought it new from a store, rode it for a couple of months (commuting mostly) in all kind of weather and then the creaking started. I thought it was from the BB since it was the BB30 kind and we all know about them. In the next 6 months, I have been to the workshop 3 times and every time they cleaned the BB and lubed it but the creak was still there. We checked everything else (or so we thought) and since the manufacturer does not guarantee for the BB I decided to buy a new one but not BB30, rather I got the conversion to Shimano via a BB converter. As you can imagine, that was not cheap. And to my disappointment, the creaking was still there! In the end, my mechanic, frustrated as much as me, did the cleaning and lubing of the rear mech hanger, and IT WORKED!!!!!!!!! So, instead of a 5min job, and a coffee for my mechanic, I spent nearly 150€ and 9 months on repairing this creek.
Creaky bottom brackets can be caused in carbon fiber framesets du to delaminations in the layers. I had this happen on a Trek OCLV and Trek was very gracious and honored their lifetime warranty. I had the dreaded creak during the high stress of large chainring use.
Cracking from crank, Some times grease is missing in the housing for the bearing in the frame or between. Before going mad sometimes some drops of teflon lubricant aerosol at the outside of the crank housing and some crank spin helps quickly. Don't put too much aerosol to the bearings it might take the grease out and they wear quickly
On "collarbone-riding" I'd be very cautious with physical activity, the chirurgian can give you some important advice since cicatrisation can be impacted by activity.
Stiffness helps because the downwards force on one side of the bike (pedals) must be countered through the saddle and handlebars. If the frame flexes your pedal moves miniscule amounts further for the same force, also because of this movement there can be a percievable lag between a super strong pedal stroke and a torque increase at the wheel. Energy is stored in the frame, but not efficiently (unless your frame rings like a bell, which it doesn't, the material has internal damping, which converts motion to heat).
Anyway, riding mainly in fair weather I do de-grease and lube my chain roughly every 120-150 miles. More often if I get caught by the rain or hit few puddles down a muddy lane by the farm...
I'd love for you guys to do a toolbox tour from the background. I do have a lot of these tools, however, I know a lot of people new to the sport won't know what a lot of these tools are, or what they do. And if they're like me, they're tool/maintenance junkies.
I knew a guy who bought a new bike and had complaints of his bottom bracket creaking. The shop changed it over under warranty but the problem persisted. Eventually we worked out that the noise was his damaged knees.
Ha that creaking issue happened to me! Was sure the noise was coming out of the bb as everytime I got out of the saddle it'd start. Was sure the annoying noise was coming from there. Took the bb apart multiple times over a period of a few weeks, regreased it put locktite on it and nothing worked. Wasn't until I put my training wheels on, I hardly ever use, that the noise miraculously stopped. Turned out it was my front spokes I'd slightly damaged by my cycle computer falling into them (and getting completely obliterated) on a night ride at 70kph down a hill. Can't say I was too worried about the spokes at the time.
Hello from Arkansas, I'm fairly new to owning a road bike. Have ridden MTB over 20 years, mostly do my own bike maintenance and enjoy it. Question: I picked up a new set of Reynolds 46 Aero wheels. I bought new tubes with 60mm stems and they are almost to short. What is the right length stem and how much should be exposed? Reynolds also supplied extenders but I don't have experience with using them, should they be installed and stay on the stem until it's (tube) changed (from flat or such)? I love watching your videos, I feel like I've learned a lot and been highly entertained. Looking forward to y'all covering the TDF. Thanks for any help.
Rookie here.. yesterday i went on a ride in the sun, after cleaning, degreasing and relubing my bike (muc-off dry lube). The last 5miles it started pooring and i arrived home with a dirty bike. What do you do next? Completely rinse off all the dirt, degrease the chain and cassette? I've only rinsed off the dirt and this morning when i woke up i already saw little spots of rust showing on the chain and the cassette. So i panicked and degreased the complete chain again incl cassette and relubed the whole thing.. I would like to know your experiences / routines after a dirty bike ride.. Thx!
Hello! So, at about 8:20, we are talking about the differences between 25m and 28mm: at which point does the 28mm become more of a drag compared to the 25? Since rolling resistance is 2-3 W easier on the 28th, at which point do aerodynamics play in favor of the 25?
Ultrasonic cleaner. Neutral or slightly alkaline detergent, 7% solution in water, insert chain and cogs, press go, come back in 1 hour, fling and blow dry. Lube. No further worry until next ride in the rain.
I clean and lube after every ride. I don't bother with degreaser, never have, just TriFlow and a chain brush, then wipe clean. I typically get more than 3000 miles out of my chains.
Hi, which chain you think it's the most durable for a 10 speeds, I need for commuting and I need something which last long. Thank you for the great work and keep doing this amazing videos
May I (as a Physiotherapist) correct some of your understanding as to why pros ride so far forward on the saddle? When applying high power gravity is insufficient to keep you in contact with the saddle so you must pull on the handle bars and in so doing you also increase the tone in the abdominal muscles (principally the rectus abdominus) which flexes the lumbar spine pulling the pelvis forwards. this actually raises rather than lowers the back. In my experience this is most noticeable on track spinters.
timtak1 any position on the bike held for a long time may give you a stiff and sore back. As to the "bad back" (I don't like the term) look to a much broader cause. In any case, if you are 'riding the rivets" due to power output, you will likely only be able to maintain it for a few minutes as you will be riding beyond the red line.
Broader cause. I slouch in chairs. I now use posture supports in chairs (MTG body make seat). I think I have something that McGill calls “gluteal amnesia” (forgetting to use muscles in my bottom). But also, alas, I think that my super low riding position, rather that power output in that position, is aggravating things. Lance Armstrong endorses Foundation Training, perhaps because he has a bad back too.
All I do is soaking a rag with motor oil (any engine oil will do) and pulling the chain through it. That's it. Repeat every week on rainy conditions and every month on dry conditions. No special expensive chain oil needed and no degreaser or anything else. Motor oil has everything needed, it works not only as a lubricant but also as a detergent and rust inhibitor, it has anti wear components, too. In winter it's thin enough and in summer thick enough due to it's viscostiy improvers it comes with when it is a multigrade oil which every motor oil nowadays is. Like I said, everything ever needed is already in motor oil included. There is no cheaper and more effective way to take care of your bicycle chain.
the freewheel problem, also known as the hub, has pawls like mini ratchets that can sometimes get worn or stuck with lots of dirt, so remove the casstte, the gear cogs and spray some wd40 around the back side of the hub, youl see there is a small gap there and then spin the hub and see if engages better, do this a few times , but to be frank the hub is probably on its way out, but might be able to be replaced, very simple job and im sure theres videos on youtube on how to do it
I have a Pegoretti Responsorium (steel, duh) also a Bianchi Carbon Fibre and I do notice the difference in 'power transfer' and the Pegoretti wins. Also, better descender as it 'sits' on the road better. Like having two children you love. But they have different qualities.
Anna Doyle Generally, it would be the more prestigious one. So, if Peter Sagan would win a sprint and get the green TdF jersey in the process, he would not wear it if he also had the yellow jersey
Question for next week: I just replaced a tube and the presta valve came without any threading to attach a lock ring. I've always used a lock ring on my previous tubes. Will I run into any problems without the lock ring? Are there advantages to having the lock ring?
in answer to the km on the chain i normally go every 250 but if you are riding in dirty for example sand then definatley after the ride and i always degrease it prior to relubing it and i have done 5 thousand on my bike chain
I ride my bike daily, through some pretty dusty and gross compacted gravel tracks. I clean and lube my chain once a week - if I stayed on pavement, I’d probably do it less frequently
They might also help keeping the skewer tight, if it's anything like a guitar whammy bar, you can drop a spring in the hole to keep the arm centered and tight.
Except I normally remove the skewer before getting the wheel off, and put wheel back on without a skewer and then penetrate the skewer in place with the wheel installed. Never knew the springs help with wheel handling. I believed they were more like spring washers to hold the nut from unscrewing accidentally.
indoor vs outdoor ftp is very likely to be different, but whether one or the other is higher depends on a lot of individual conditions. some people are bored indoors or have a harder time ignoring discomfort without the real sensation from outdoors. some people have a poor indoor setup that's too hot or with poor airflow. for myself, i actually measured a higher ftp indoors on zwift than i was able to get outdoors. my guess is that i was distracted enough by the visuals indoors and not concerned with road conditions.
Ask GCN Anything ... question - leg cramps following a riding with hard or long efforts, I sometimes get cramps in various leg muscles a couple of hours post ride, is there a way to prevent cramping and / or a recommended way to resolve leg cramps? Thank you!
Had a problem with me squeak squeak, It was my skewers that just needed to be adjusted, It was a very embarrassing thing to speak to my bike mechanic about, and was assured, I'm not the first one.
Hello, I have an important question. I bought a bike online, it came assembled, I just had to mount the front wheel. The question is, should I lube my chain? Thank you
@gcn on the subject of tyre width, I've tried 25mm tyres and found no difference what so ever in the real world, so I went back to 23's as they sit better on my 23mm rim. I think the tyre width science is only really valid in a controlled environment... wider tyres are more comfortable, but I'm sure they don't save watts out on the road (personal thoughts here)
How should your knee joints feel when riding with the perfect bike fit? I've had no major problems but have discovered the slightest of clicks when I touch my right knee cap over a pedal stroke, should I be worried or is this just the joints doing their thing? #TorqueBack
I'm not convinced heat is the reason for FTP being lower on the indoor trainer. I've done FTP tests indoor where I didn't feel at all like I was overheating. I'd always thought that it was either do to the extra muscles recruited when riding on the road or, more likely, that the Garmin FTP auto-calculate is waaay more generous (~50W) than Zwift.
Ok GCN. Here’s a suggestion for a segment. How about everything you need to know on Heart Rate Monitors, there accuracy and things that throw them off. Was my heart rate actually 209 while I was riding or was the battery failing or something else causing it to be off????
Interested in the chain lubing part, I'm finding dry oil leaves my drivetrain really noisy and have reverted back to wet oil which is superb for noise but flings into the rear wheel. The dry lubes seem to make my chain to chainring movement cause a vibration and noise.
if your bike is used everyday like mine, you've got about 2 - (3) years max before its stretched anyway no matter how much you take care of it. two nasty salt soaked winters (England) and its had it probably.
There is a video where someone punctures a normal clincher and then shows it self sealing with sealant but, for how long? Sealant will be less effective than with tubulars since you are trying to mend a thin piece of rubber rather than a thing with fibres for the sealant to get mixed up and dry in. I don't use sealant on clinchers and would only do so as a way of gettign home. A patch, when you get good at it, can be done easily on the road. The biggest trick, or mistake I made, is that it is important to get the piece of glass out of the tyre so you don't repuncture. The first step for me therefore is to attempt to pump at the tyre and listen (assuming little traffic noise) for the location of the leak and then remove the offending object. If you can't pump up the tyre for long enough to locate the leak then the inner tube probably has a hole that will be difficult to patch - a pinch flat or a large piece of glass. The large piece of glass should be findable with visual inspection. Pinch flats create a snake bite twin hole in the tube. Gatorskins and other puncture resistant tyres really are puncture resistant. I am now experimenting with tyre liners made by cutting the business part of an old tyre and putting it inside another. No punctures yet.
depends on the brand. i would say in europe 70% have removable valves 30% do not. If you cant take the valve out i would just take a needle and inject it into the tire. the puncture will selfseal.
etappe 5 of this years tour ends within bike-ride distance from where i live and i was wondering whether and when the roads to the mountain-top are closed down and thus how much before one should arrive to be able to get to the top ( on a bike of course :) ) and watch the finish #TorqueBack
Hi GCN! I saw your videos about sprinting, and my question is - why should I ride on the drops when sprinting? What are benefits of that in compare to e.g. riding on the hoods. Is it only about being more aero or maybe something else?
Tomasz Turków It helps to get your front end down which does really matter if you are going at 50/60+ km/h. Also, it helps to use your ams for some extra power and lowers your centre of gravity. That will make your more stable which again helps because at those speeds, you really don't want to crash
I ride once a week, generally (35 km on my road bike or 25 km on my mountain bike at moderate intensity). Recently I starting commuting to work on a bike. It's an easy 5 km. I don't know how valuable this is for my fitness and health. I'm 63 years old. In my 40's I used to do 100km a day, loaded. Maybe I'll never tour again. I don't ski like I used to either. I have been trying to regain some of my previous fitness for the last four years. The progress has been slow. Am I wasting my time commuting on the bike? Gerry in Calgary
What is you opinion on signalling to other road users? On two occasions recently I have ridden in groups were some of the riders signal to cars, usually indicating when it is "safe" to pass. I have always avoided doing this as if an accident were to occur you could be seen as partially responsible. What do you think?
Should I buy a road bike, gravel bike or cyclocross bike with road crankset for all year riding and commuting? I'd like to occasionally ride on gravel but I can do without it but would a road bike be too "racey" for commuting? Gravel bikes seem to be a good compromise with the geometry and gearing but don't see too many of them on the markets and they are a bit on the heavier side... #TorqueBack
What do you do with a new chain that has that sticky heavy residue on it? Do you remove the residue or just put the chain on the bike and ride and clean when necessary? Thanks
I had a creaking sound for over 3 months.. I couldn't find it. Drove me insane. I'd regreased everything. Sound wouldn't go away. It was the damn pedals 🙃.
Thank you for answering my question ! :)
Hi,
Please make a video about normal drive train noises and other normal sounds (with HQ audio) from the bike that does not indicate a problem.
Did anyone else see Predator pass through at 8:18?
And 12:01. Scary stuff........
very disconcerting. And again at 12:02. This is not something you see on TV journalism and to me it's a weird and unpleasant editing technique.
Stephen LaValley nice effect I must say! lol
Get in the choppa!!!! GO NOW!!!
If it bleeds we can kill it
Yes, energy is not lost when your frame flexes, you lose energy because the frame springing back may not contribute to forward motion. The energy from flexing may simply go into heating the frame very slightly.
Cables do stretch. I had problems with gear indexing. Changed chain and cassette and a new rear derailleur, then cables. Couldn't get it quite set up until I put a new rear derailleur hanger on and found the 'How To' videos by GCN a great help. Took a bit of fiddling getting cables and limit screws set up but all good now. A bike shop will do this for free generally if you bought bike from them but it can be done at home. It's a good way to learn how to set the bike up correctly for the future.
Wonderful tips again, love it! My MTB chain just fell off lucky it was in front of my driveway, wish I had this bike repair shop here. Lana from DownUnder
#Torqueback: Si - Please do a Tech video on the derailleur adjustment procedure (including chain lengths) to interchange between different cassette sizes, maybe a 11-25 to a 11-32 for the mountains,. I currently have a medium length 11 spd derailleur. Thanks in advance.
you know that it's business time when i'm down to my business socks
flight of the concords
that's why they're called business socks
Two minutes in heaven is better than one minute in heaven.
HA! Flight of the Conchords reference. Awesome! Si, did you wear your business socks?
That first maintance is important, some shops demand it if you want to keep warranity up to date
One thing is for certain, the quick fire round will never be in danger of receiving a wattage bazooka award but that's not important. What is important is that we have it. It's my favourite part of the show. It reminds me of an escargot that moves a bit faster than snails pace.
Matt Hayman, the winner of last year Paris-Roubaix, was preparing to that race on a turbo trainer. Indoor cycling rules and makes your outdoor adventures more fast and fun.
I went to paraffin wax a year ago using a mini Crock Pot. I will NEVER use chain lube again. All those years wasting time with a dirty chain are behind me. Now I use SRAM links and take the chain off for a wax bath every 250 miles. The friction is less and my cogs and chain and rings last 3+ times longer.
If the friction is less, why arent pros using this method?
250 miles is just too often. that means you gotta to do this once a week for a lot of riders.
They do but, usually, instead they get new chains for the race. Wax has consistently tested better than all other lubricants on the market.
@@lazurm Is that same as brand :white lightning? Someone said that the road conditions have more grit adhering to it and you have to do a thorough removal before switching to it the first time and thereafter for reapplying?
M S maybe i just ride on filthy roads but once a week is a minimum for me doing 250-350 miles a week.
Thanks GCN. The chain lube answer helps.
Wheels manufacturing has a hole collection of bottom brackets for BB 30, 86 and 92 to adapt almost any crank to those bottom bracket shells. I have a thread together bottom bracket from them in my Giant Defy which has eliminated the dreaded bottom bracket creak in my BB86 shell!
I had a creek every time I went out on my bike. I then started to take cod liver oil and now the creek has gone. I am so glad thought I bought a duff bike.
i really appreciate Si pointing out that "energy can't be lost, it just gets transferred somewhere else".. #LawOfConservation #properPhysics
@2:24
There is a thing called hysteresis (technically meaning the material does not follow the same stress/strain curve in deflection and contraction). In other words, not the full amount of energy is recovered. The amount of energy recovered depends on the material, springsteel for example recovers a lot of energy, but in general a stiffer material/construction means less energy goes into deflection of the frame, and therefore less is lost.
You are however right that energy doesn't simply disappear, most of it goes towards heat. You can actually feel a piece of metal heating up if you bend it repeatedly
Oh, and a steel wire cable actually does stretch under initial use. The strands are woven tightly, but when it gets a chance to move about a little, they will tighten up and therefore slightly increase in length
Martin Fisker You're right about that, steel cable stretches even the big 1 inch diameter stuff. I work on a cliff railway and we shortened the 50 metre long haulage cable by 60mm yesterday.
Regarding lower FTP on a fluid trainer versus the road: I have a Cycleops Fluid2 trainer and the fluid temperature and therefore the resistance increases with time/power. A 12" fan blowing right at the the resistance unit kept the resistance much more consistent through a ride and my FTP went up as well.
Love those deep dish rims.
Discrepancy between power measured on the road and on an indoor trainer also depends on the indoor trainer and the mode it is used in. The resistance out on the road that you need to overcome varies in a sine wave form with the momentum of the bike carrying the pedal stroke through top and bottom. This function is left to some form of a flywheel on a stationary setup. Most trainers in an ergo mode will require from you a more constant power input (watts) throughout the full 360 degrees of the pedal stroke which is somewhat different to how you pedal out on the road. The trainer doesn't give you the micro rest periods which makes it easier to maintain higher wattage out on the road. This may be an over simplification and likely not well explained or the full story but the answer certainly lie in how resistance is generated and maintained. Many ergo trainers are likewise also not affected by shifting gears. When you shift down to ease the pain they will just up the resistance to where you set it in the first place. I guess it depends on the trainer design and how closely it comes to simulating an open road ride
I tend to use car brake and clutch cleaner for most degreasing jobs and intend on using it on the chain. This is a solvent and dissapears quickly as compared to degreaser which has to rinsed and dried off.
that trek look exactly like the one Lasty designed the paint work on ,don't tell anyone he likes to keep in quiet!!
Here's a story about creaking on my bike.
Bought it new from a store, rode it for a couple of months (commuting mostly) in all kind of weather and then the creaking started. I thought it was from the BB since it was the BB30 kind and we all know about them. In the next 6 months, I have been to the workshop 3 times and every time they cleaned the BB and lubed it but the creak was still there. We checked everything else (or so we thought) and since the manufacturer does not guarantee for the BB I decided to buy a new one but not BB30, rather I got the conversion to Shimano via a BB converter. As you can imagine, that was not cheap. And to my disappointment, the creaking was still there!
In the end, my mechanic, frustrated as much as me, did the cleaning and lubing of the rear mech hanger, and IT WORKED!!!!!!!!!
So, instead of a 5min job, and a coffee for my mechanic, I spent nearly 150€ and 9 months on repairing this creek.
Creaky bottom brackets can be caused in carbon fiber framesets du to delaminations in the layers. I had this happen on a Trek OCLV and Trek was very gracious and honored their lifetime warranty. I had the dreaded creak during the high stress of large chainring use.
I had a similar creak that he was talking about. Turns out that my seat post needed to have more carbon grip paste applied.
Cracking from crank,
Some times grease is missing in the housing for the bearing in the frame or between.
Before going mad sometimes some drops of teflon lubricant aerosol at the outside of the crank housing and some crank spin helps quickly.
Don't put too much aerosol to the bearings it might take the grease out and they wear quickly
Warm water and Fairy wash up liquid , makes wonders!
On "collarbone-riding" I'd be very cautious with physical activity, the chirurgian can give you some important advice since cicatrisation can be impacted by activity.
Stiffness helps because the downwards force on one side of the bike (pedals) must be countered through the saddle and handlebars. If the frame flexes your pedal moves miniscule amounts further for the same force, also because of this movement there can be a percievable lag between a super strong pedal stroke and a torque increase at the wheel. Energy is stored in the frame, but not efficiently (unless your frame rings like a bell, which it doesn't, the material has internal damping, which converts motion to heat).
Anyway, riding mainly in fair weather I do de-grease and lube my chain roughly every 120-150 miles. More often if I get caught by the rain or hit few puddles down a muddy lane by the farm...
Sean Kelly was winning back in the 80's on one of a Vitus that is well known for being super flexy.
Love this weeks theme! Need more of this
Si, do you sometimes still use the WD40 clean and lube technique as in that video from about 3 years ago?
I was just looking at that Beautiful trek all the way through :) i wonder who custom painted it😂😂
I'd love for you guys to do a toolbox tour from the background. I do have a lot of these tools, however, I know a lot of people new to the sport won't know what a lot of these tools are, or what they do. And if they're like me, they're tool/maintenance junkies.
I've fixed my last "creaking noise while riding on the big ring" with a really cheap WD40 sprinkle... on my right side pedal.
I wash my bike about once every week or so. As part of the wash I also degrease the drivetrain and relube the following day once everything has dried.
I knew a guy who bought a new bike and had complaints of his bottom bracket creaking. The shop changed it over under warranty but the problem persisted. Eventually we worked out that the noise was his damaged knees.
Ha that creaking issue happened to me! Was sure the noise was coming out of the bb as everytime I got out of the saddle it'd start. Was sure the annoying noise was coming from there. Took the bb apart multiple times over a period of a few weeks, regreased it put locktite on it and nothing worked. Wasn't until I put my training wheels on, I hardly ever use, that the noise miraculously stopped. Turned out it was my front spokes I'd slightly damaged by my cycle computer falling into them (and getting completely obliterated) on a night ride at 70kph down a hill. Can't say I was too worried about the spokes at the time.
Hello from Arkansas, I'm fairly new to owning a road bike. Have ridden MTB over 20 years, mostly do my own bike maintenance and enjoy it. Question: I picked up a new set of Reynolds 46 Aero wheels. I bought new tubes with 60mm stems and they are almost to short. What is the right length stem and how much should be exposed? Reynolds also supplied extenders but I don't have experience with using them, should they be installed and stay on the stem until it's (tube) changed (from flat or such)?
I love watching your videos, I feel like I've learned a lot and been highly entertained. Looking forward to y'all covering the TDF. Thanks for any help.
As a fan of GCN
I would like to ask if there is any chance that we have a GCN fan to buy for indoor training?
#pun_intended #TorqueBack
Rookie here.. yesterday i went on a ride in the sun, after cleaning, degreasing and relubing my bike (muc-off dry lube). The last 5miles it started pooring and i arrived home with a dirty bike.
What do you do next? Completely rinse off all the dirt, degrease the chain and cassette?
I've only rinsed off the dirt and this morning when i woke up i already saw little spots of rust showing on the chain and the cassette. So i panicked and degreased the complete chain again incl cassette and relubed the whole thing.. I would like to know your experiences / routines after a dirty bike ride.. Thx!
I lubricate everything on my bike with vegan butter before every ride, especially the top tube
Hi Simon
Can I use wd40 as my chain degreaser?
Yep
Hello! So, at about 8:20, we are talking about the differences between 25m and 28mm: at which point does the 28mm become more of a drag compared to the 25?
Since rolling resistance is 2-3 W easier on the 28th, at which point do aerodynamics play in favor of the 25?
Ultrasonic cleaner. Neutral or slightly alkaline detergent, 7% solution in water, insert chain and cogs, press go, come back in 1 hour, fling and blow dry. Lube. No further worry until next ride in the rain.
I clean and lube after every ride. I don't bother with degreaser, never have, just TriFlow and a chain brush, then wipe clean. I typically get more than 3000 miles out of my chains.
Hi, which chain you think it's the most durable for a 10 speeds, I need for commuting and I need something which last long.
Thank you for the great work and keep doing this amazing videos
"very fast on a flexy bike." -- I would love to see a GCN video that involves a bicycle made out of rubber.
still when it deforms it turns that energy into heat so some of it will not come back
May I (as a Physiotherapist) correct some of your understanding as to why pros ride so far forward on the saddle? When applying high power gravity is insufficient to keep you in contact with the saddle so you must pull on the handle bars and in so doing you also increase the tone in the abdominal muscles (principally the rectus abdominus) which flexes the lumbar spine pulling the pelvis forwards. this actually raises rather than lowers the back. In my experience this is most noticeable on track spinters.
Does it also give you a bad back? I am riding long and low and my low back (link 1 on right side) back is in crisis. I am doing the McGill big three.
timtak1 any position on the bike held for a long time may give you a stiff and sore back. As to the "bad back" (I don't like the term) look to a much broader cause. In any case, if you are 'riding the rivets" due to power output, you will likely only be able to maintain it for a few minutes as you will be riding beyond the red line.
Broader cause. I slouch in chairs. I now use posture supports in chairs (MTG body make seat). I think I have something that McGill calls “gluteal amnesia” (forgetting to use muscles in my bottom). But also, alas, I think that my super low riding position, rather that power output in that position, is aggravating things. Lance Armstrong endorses Foundation Training, perhaps because he has a bad back too.
Prevent saddle bounce during high cadence
All I do is soaking a rag with motor oil (any engine oil will do) and pulling the chain through it.
That's it.
Repeat every week on rainy conditions and every month on dry conditions.
No special expensive chain oil needed and no degreaser or anything else.
Motor oil has everything needed, it works not only as a lubricant but also as a detergent and rust inhibitor, it has anti wear components, too. In winter it's thin enough and in summer thick enough due to it's viscostiy improvers it comes with when it is a multigrade oil which every motor oil nowadays is.
Like I said, everything ever needed is already in motor oil included. There is no cheaper and more effective way to take care of your bicycle chain.
That bike looks really interesting.
Thank you so much for answering my query in your video
the freewheel problem, also known as the hub, has pawls like mini ratchets that can sometimes get worn or stuck with lots of dirt, so remove the casstte, the gear cogs and spray some wd40 around the back side of the hub, youl see there is a small gap there and then spin the hub and see if engages better, do this a few times , but to be frank the hub is probably on its way out, but might be able to be replaced, very simple job and im sure theres videos on youtube on how to do it
More forward on the saddle. I always thought it was to go down low. More like a speeding bullet.
thank you, love your show
I have a Pegoretti Responsorium (steel, duh) also a Bianchi Carbon Fibre and I do notice the difference in 'power transfer' and the Pegoretti wins. Also, better descender as it 'sits' on the road better. Like having two children you love. But they have different qualities.
#TorqueBack Hi GCN, if a rider wins two jerseys for example the green and polka dot jerseys, which one would they wear in the race?
Anna Doyle Generally, it would be the more prestigious one. So, if Peter Sagan would win a sprint and get the green TdF jersey in the process, he would not wear it if he also had the yellow jersey
if indeed...
Lennart Meinke not sure... Sagan loves the green jersey hehe
"You can use WD40 as degreaser and chain lube if you do it often enough, such as, after every ride" - Si, before MucOff
koko lores bring back WD40 Si!
Question for next week: I just replaced a tube and the presta valve came without any threading to attach a lock ring. I've always used a lock ring on my previous tubes. Will I run into any problems without the lock ring? Are there advantages to having the lock ring?
in answer to the km on the chain i normally go every 250 but if you are riding in dirty for example sand then definatley after the ride and i always degrease it prior to relubing it and i have done 5 thousand on my bike chain
I ride my bike daily, through some pretty dusty and gross compacted gravel tracks. I clean and lube my chain once a week - if I stayed on pavement, I’d probably do it less frequently
needed to know these things
Learning so much from you guys!!
I've been wondering lately, what exactly does those little springs on the skewer do, and why are they cone shaped? #torqueback
They center up your skewers so it is easy to put wheel back on
What David says. Take them off your skewer and try putting the wheel back in; it's noticeably fidgety.
I think they're cone shaped to take up the least room when compressed.
They might also help keeping the skewer tight, if it's anything like a guitar whammy bar, you can drop a spring in the hole to keep the arm centered and tight.
Except I normally remove the skewer before getting the wheel off, and put wheel back on without a skewer and then penetrate the skewer in place with the wheel installed. Never knew the springs help with wheel handling. I believed they were more like spring washers to hold the nut from unscrewing accidentally.
Recently when I pedal, I sometimes hear a clicking sound coming when the left crank goes down. Any ideas?
Torque
indoor vs outdoor ftp is very likely to be different, but whether one or the other is higher depends on a lot of individual conditions. some people are bored indoors or have a harder time ignoring discomfort without the real sensation from outdoors. some people have a poor indoor setup that's too hot or with poor airflow. for myself, i actually measured a higher ftp indoors on zwift than i was able to get outdoors. my guess is that i was distracted enough by the visuals indoors and not concerned with road conditions.
I suspect the specific fluid trainer. As the fluid heats up it becomes harder to pedal.
Ask GCN Anything ... question - leg cramps following a riding with hard or long efforts, I sometimes get cramps in various leg muscles a couple of hours post ride, is there a way to prevent cramping and / or a recommended way to resolve leg cramps?
Thank you!
Had a problem with me squeak squeak, It was my skewers that just needed to be adjusted, It was a very embarrassing thing to speak to my bike mechanic about, and was assured, I'm not the first one.
Hi, I wanted to ask, can I use motorcycle chain lube for my bicycle chain? Or do I need to buy a special one? Thx
I find it so amusing to see full-kit guys ride past me with their chains squeaking like a herd of rabid mice...
Hello, I have an important question. I bought a bike online, it came assembled, I just had to mount the front wheel. The question is, should I lube my chain?
Thank you
Hey
You guys should do a video on all the wheels u rode
And say what about them you dislike and like about them
@gcn on the subject of tyre width, I've tried 25mm tyres and found no difference what so ever in the real world, so I went back to 23's as they sit better on my 23mm rim. I think the tyre width science is only really valid in a controlled environment... wider tyres are more comfortable, but I'm sure they don't save watts out on the road (personal thoughts here)
For a moment I thought Tom Cruise was a fan of the show
What was the apron for?
How should your knee joints feel when riding with the perfect bike fit? I've had no major problems but have discovered the slightest of clicks when I touch my right knee cap over a pedal stroke, should I be worried or is this just the joints doing their thing? #TorqueBack
I'm not convinced heat is the reason for FTP being lower on the indoor trainer. I've done FTP tests indoor where I didn't feel at all like I was overheating.
I'd always thought that it was either do to the extra muscles recruited when riding on the road or, more likely, that the Garmin FTP auto-calculate is waaay more generous (~50W) than Zwift.
Ok GCN. Here’s a suggestion for a segment. How about everything you need to know on Heart Rate Monitors, there accuracy and things that throw them off. Was my heart rate actually 209 while I was riding or was the battery failing or something else causing it to be off????
209? Holy crap! There must something wrong there. Otherwise you’d be dead.
209? Holy crap! There must something wrong there. Otherwise you’d be dead by now.
Rumour has it, Tom Last designed the paint job on that Project One Madone....
Interested in the chain lubing part, I'm finding dry oil leaves my drivetrain really noisy and have reverted back to wet oil which is superb for noise but flings into the rear wheel. The dry lubes seem to make my chain to chainring movement cause a vibration and noise.
if your bike is used everyday like mine, you've got about 2 - (3) years max before its stretched anyway no matter how much you take care of it. two nasty salt soaked winters (England) and its had it probably.
Hi GCN I'm wondering can you put sealant in your inner tube to prevent puncture? #TorqueBack
There is a video where someone punctures a normal clincher and then shows it self sealing with sealant but, for how long?
Sealant will be less effective than with tubulars since you are trying to mend a thin piece of rubber rather than a thing with fibres for the sealant to get mixed up and dry in.
I don't use sealant on clinchers and would only do so as a way of gettign home. A patch, when you get good at it, can be done easily on the road.
The biggest trick, or mistake I made, is that it is important to get the piece of glass out of the tyre so you don't repuncture. The first step for me therefore is to attempt to pump at the tyre and listen (assuming little traffic noise) for the location of the leak and then remove the offending object.
If you can't pump up the tyre for long enough to locate the leak then the inner tube probably has a hole that will be difficult to patch - a pinch flat or a large piece of glass. The large piece of glass should be findable with visual inspection. Pinch flats create a snake bite twin hole in the tube.
Gatorskins and other puncture resistant tyres really are puncture resistant. I am now experimenting with tyre liners made by cutting the business part of an old tyre and putting it inside another. No punctures yet.
depends on the brand. i would say in europe 70% have removable valves 30% do not. If you cant take the valve out i would just take a needle and inject it into the tire. the puncture will selfseal.
etappe 5 of this years tour ends within bike-ride distance from where i live and i was wondering whether and when the roads to the mountain-top are closed down and thus how much before one should arrive to be able to get to the top ( on a bike of course :) ) and watch the finish #TorqueBack
7:25. I think it's supposed to be "Oreo Says Boo"
Hi GCN!
I saw your videos about sprinting, and my question is - why should I ride on the drops when sprinting? What are benefits of that in compare to e.g. riding on the hoods. Is it only about being more aero or maybe something else?
Tomasz Turków aero i think
Tomasz Turków It helps to get your front end down which does really matter if you are going at 50/60+ km/h. Also, it helps to use your ams for some extra power and lowers your centre of gravity. That will make your more stable which again helps because at those speeds, you really don't want to crash
I ride once a week, generally (35 km on my road bike or 25 km on my mountain bike at moderate intensity). Recently I starting commuting to work on a bike. It's an easy 5 km. I don't know how valuable this is for my fitness and health. I'm 63 years old. In my 40's I used to do 100km a day, loaded. Maybe I'll never tour again. I don't ski like I used to either. I have been trying to regain some of my previous fitness for the last four years. The progress has been slow. Am I wasting my time commuting on the bike? Gerry in Calgary
Who designed that paint job?
Simon himself actually.
Niels Heldens i don't think lasty did because lasty never told us that he designed it
Ordinary Bleach its simon. You can check out the video where simon went to trek's factory and also the bike check video he did
Lasty designed it and the paint job
Wrong, everyone knows Matt did.
@ gcn What is the best lubricant for your bike chain? Is wd40 good for your bike chain, cassette andderailer?
What is the best way to store my kit, particularly the bibs and jerseys?
What is you opinion on signalling to other road users? On two occasions recently I have ridden in groups were some of the riders signal to cars, usually indicating when it is "safe" to pass. I have always avoided doing this as if an accident were to occur you could be seen as partially responsible. What do you think?
How can I prevent my knees scraping on my stem bolts when I'm standing on the pedals?
Should I buy a road bike, gravel bike or cyclocross bike with road crankset for all year riding and commuting? I'd like to occasionally ride on gravel but I can do without it but would a road bike be too "racey" for commuting? Gravel bikes seem to be a good compromise with the geometry and gearing but don't see too many of them on the markets and they are a bit on the heavier side... #TorqueBack
What do you do with a new chain that has that sticky heavy residue on it? Do you remove the residue or just put the chain on the bike and ride and clean when necessary? Thanks
not just the thing about using 25s over 28s but a 68kg rider is best using a 25 c at 100 psi (cylist magazine)
yeah im more like 77-78kg i use 23c of my shit wheels and 23 front 25 rear on rear pressure not sure.
I had a creaking sound for over 3 months.. I couldn't find it. Drove me insane. I'd regreased everything. Sound wouldn't go away. It was the damn pedals 🙃.
yilmanbabilonia In my case it just disappeared. Hope it won't return :)
Stiffness on a bike is generally very uncomfortable, and can be construed as lewd if you're wearing bike shorts . . .
How often should I replace a chain? Mine is about 16 months old with about 2,200 miles of use. Shimano 105 11 speed