Technical for me but I know I'm stupid ;-)

iancity

Hi, got my first bike a few days ago after not having cycled for something like 20 years - turned into a little fatty since and want to lose some weight....anyway, got one of Edingburghcycles own range, a Revolution cullin, but there's a couple of things I'm stuck with :-
a) The nice bloke behind the counter when I bought it said do you want me to show you the quick release wheels and I replied "no", I mean ha, how hard can it be...well yes, now I feel stupid because i cant seem to work them out :-( I have pulled the black lever taking the tension out, then released the nut on the opposite side but the wheel still wont budge, even at one point released the nut so much that the whole bolt came out...and the wheel still wont budge! In the instructions it mentions that you sometime may have to loosen the breaks but to be honest it was a bit above me so didnt bother - do I have to loosen the breaks or am I missing something simple ?
b) Have raised the seat but following some advice I think the handlebars have to be the same height as the seat (yes?) but cant work out how to raise them - the booklet says the stem is an 'ahead' stem and they cant be raised - is that right?
c) Changing gears - if I have the left gear on say 2 (out of 3) and the right gear on 7 (out of 7) and want to change to 3;1 how do I do this - change to 3;7 first and then work down the gears, or change from 2;7 down the gears to 2;1 and then change to 3;1 - does that make sense????

Probably really stupid questions but this is the beginners section is it not, ha ha

Thanks for any replies

Ian

brownix

first thing is first
Have you got v-brakes or disk?

Next, just put your saddle at what you feel you can pedal best in!

and for the gears i just change the back first then the front, but if you're going in the 3:1
that isnt right because the chain is not straight at all, so just keep the front mech in the middle and move the rear derrailleur, it'll put less stress on your chain so will keep it from stretching.

Anonymous

There is no reason the seat shoud be at the same height as the handlebars. That's just guff.

Assuming you mean 3 is the largest front chainring, and 1 is the largest rear chainring, you shouldn;t be using that combination anyway - the chain ends up at too much of an angle, and is put under massive stress.

Ideally, in the smallest front chainring, you should be able to use the largest half of the rear cogs.
On the biggest front chainring, you should be able to use the smalles half of the rear cogs.
On the middle chainring, you can use all of the rear cogs.

hmm. That's kind of hard to understand. Doe it make sense to you?

As for the wheel (assuming it'n not a rockshox maxle), undo the quick release lever, undo the nut on the other side by a few turns, then whack the wheel, it should pop out.

scooper

Check out Youtube lots of guides available


Seat

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UylQz2WvWk8

Wheel removal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mfu96dIcPdA


obviously some are better than others

iancity

Hi, thanks for the replys - Ive had a few beers but hope the following makes sense :-)

Im confused about what mcgee wrote, are you not supposed to go through all 18 / 21 gears one by one as you ride? as I say, I'm a bit of a noob, but I just presumed you went through the geaqrs as you do a car, so when you say "On the biggest front chainring, you should be able to use the smalles half of the rear cogs". that doesnt make sense to me....sorry !

to brownix - I have v-brakes, the saddle info I got was from a free guide by sustrans - you saying something diferent - I do feel kinda hunched and would like to raise the handlebars a little - is there any definitive guide on the net?

Changing the wheel still gets me, I lower the lever, turn the nuts, but the thing is still secure as owt - any suggestions (if only it was as easy as the youtube video!)

I really do appreciate the responses though, please, keep them coming...

thanks


Ian

nicklouse

you should not use the extremes of gears as it is not needed and promotes excessive wear on the drive train.

seat height is dependent on leg length.

here is a check list
http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=132

plus lots more info on there.

Like

Chainline and Shifting Issues

There are two related aspects to the term "chainline". First, chainline can be defined as the position of the cogs or chainrings relative to the center line of the bike. The bike center line is an imaginary plane running front to rear through the middle of the bike. For example, a front crankset and/or front derailleur might be desgined to have a chainline of 47.5mm. This means it will work best when the middle of the crankset is 47.5mm from the middle to the bike center line.

Chainline can also refer to the relative position of the front and rear cogs to each other, without regard to the bike centerline. This is called "effective chainline". A bike may have the crankset inward or outward some distance of the rear cogset center.

Drive train manufacturers do not generally specify "perfect" or center-to-center alignment between rear and front cogsets. The front chainrings may be a few millimeters outward relative of the rear cogs. Additionally, drive train manufacturers do not generally consider all gear combinations to be "useable". For example, a so-called "27-speed" bike has three rings in front and 9 cogs in the rear. However, it is likely when the chain is on the smallest cog in front and possibly 2 or 3 of the smallest cog in back, the chain will rub the side of the middle ring. This should not necessarily be considered a "chainline" error. If this bottom bracket length were increased until there was not rubbing in these combinations, there may be poor shifting in other gear combinations, such as the largest ring and the larger rear cogs. These combinations are commonly called "cross-chaining". Bicycle chains are quite flexible, and will work well at various other then perfectly straight. Cross-chaining is primarily an issue when the chain hits the front rings. As a simple rule, if a gear combination causes a rubbing problem, avoid that gear.

nicklouse

From Sheldons site the following on Saddle position.

Adjustment:

Saddle position may be adjusted in three different ways, all of which are important:
Height

The most basic saddle adjustment is the height. Most bicyclists have their saddles too low, so that their knees are excessively bent as they pedal. This makes cycling much more tiring for a given speed, and is likely to cause harm to the knees.

A common reason for keeping the saddle set too low is that most bicyclists have never learned the proper technique for mounting and dismounting, so they find it convenient to be able to put a foot down to steady the bicycle while they are stopped. With older bicycles, it was sometimes possible to put a toe down at a stop with the saddle properly adjusted, especially for riders with large feet. Due to the higher bottom brackets common on newer bicycles, especially mountain bikes, it is no longer possible to do this. If you ride a mountain bike, and are able to balance it while stopped and seated, it is a sure sign that your saddle is too low. This is also true of most hybrids.

Having the saddle too low makes it harder to carry much of your weight on your legs, so you will sit with more weight on the saddle. This, in itself, is likely to increase saddle discomfort.

How High?
There are lots of formulas for saddle height, most based on multiplying leg length by some fudge factor. The numerical exercise to 3 decimal places gives the illusion of scientific rigor, but, in my opinion, these systems are oversimplification of a problem which involves not only leg length, but foot length, what part of the foot fits on the pedal, shoe sole thickness, type of pedal system and pedaling style.

You cannot judge the saddle height to any accuracy by just sitting on it, or riding around the block. As you get close to the correct position, the clues get more and more subtle.

Most people start with the saddle too low. This is a habit left over from childhood, because growing children almost always have their saddles too low for efficient pedaling. First they have it low for security while they are learning to balance, then, even once they have mastered balancing, their growth rate tends to keep them ahead of their saddle adjustment.

If you always ride with your saddle too low, you get used to it, and don't realize that there is a problem...but there is. Riding with the saddle too low is like walking with your knees bent (as Groucho Marx often did for comedic effect.) If you walked that way all the time, you'd also get used to that, but you'd think that half a mile was a long walk. The way the human leg is made, it is strongest when it is nearly straight.

I like to think that William Blake summed it up nicely 200 years ago when he said:

"You never know what is enough
until you know what is too much."

I suggest gradually raising your saddle, perhaps half an inch (1 cm) at a time. Each time you raise it, ride the bike. If it doesn't feel noticeably worse to ride, ride it for at least a couple of miles/km.

If it had been too low before, your bike will feel lighter and faster with the new riding position. If raising the saddle improved things, raise it again, and ride it some more. Keep doing this until you reach the point where the saddle is finally too high, then lower it just a bit.

When the saddle is too high, you'll have to rock your hips to pedal, and you'll probably feel as if you need to stretch your legs to reach the bottom part of the pedal. Another indication that the saddle may be too high is if you find yourself moving forward so that you are sitting on the narrow front part of the saddle. (Although this symptom can also result from having the saddle nosed down, or having an excessive reach to the handlebars.)

It also makes a bit of difference what sort of pedals/shoes you use. If you ride with ordinary shoes, virtually all of your pedaling power is generated by the downstroke, so a good leg extension is essential to let you apply maximum power in this direction. If you use clipless pedals and cleated cycling shoes, however, you can also generate a fair amount of your power by pulling the pedal backward near the bottom of the stroke. This action also uses the large muscles in the back of the leg, and can be quite efficient. If you make use of this pedaling style, you'll want a slightly lower saddle position than for direct "piston-style" pedaling with street shoes. A slightly lower saddle position is also conducive to pedaling a rapid cadence.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/saddles.html

Anonymous

It is worth noting, however, that the ideal saddle position for eficient pedaling, is often not the most suitable for mountain biking, as we regularly need to shift our weight around to control slides, or to counteract the bike going head over heels, or looping out.
It also helps to be able to get right off the back of the bike on really steep sections.

I've even found that having the saddle at the "correct" height, means that when I stand up to go over rougher terrain, that the saddle nose keeps poking me in my bum.
Now, some people might enjoy that but I like having a bit more room, so I settle for a compromise.

GHill

You'll need to "release" the front brake to get the wheel out - you'll never get the tyre through the gap between the v-brake pads.

If you want to adjust the height/reach of the bars you'll probably need a new stem, the place where you bought the bike might do this for free, or they may charge.

Anonymous

GHill wrote:

the place where you bought the bike might do this for free, or they may charge.

I love that, it's called "hedging your bets"

iancity

GHill wrote:

You'll need to "release" the front brake to get the wheel out - you'll never get the tyre through the gap between the v-brake pads.
.

Ah right, thanks - is there a real idiots guide to doing this, I cannot seem to follow the booklets instructions that came with the bike ?

schweiz

iancity wrote:

GHill wrote:

You'll need to "release" the front brake to get the wheel out - you'll never get the tyre through the gap between the v-brake pads.
.

Ah right, thanks - is there a real idiots guide to doing this, I cannot seem to follow the booklets instructions that came with the bike ?

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/canti-direct.html

scroll down the 'Quick Release' section.

As for handlebar height, it is probably impossible to make the bars any higher. If there are any spacers on the fork steerer tube above the stem (bit that is roughly horizontal to the ground and connects the fork to the handlebar) then the bike shop (or you) can put the spacers below the stem and move it up. Don't worry about handlebars and saddle being the same height, that was the old 'cycling proficiency test' way of checking whether a bike fitted. Without getting too hung up about bio-mechanics your saddle should be adjusted so that your leg isn't quite straight when the pedal is closest to the ground. Anyway have a play and the most important thing is that it is comfortable and you feel safe. Many newbies have their saddle too low as they need to feel they can put a foot down easily, but if you feel safer to start off with then try it out.

As has been said before, gears shouldn't be used so that the chain is running between opposite extremes of the front and rear gears. The big gear on the front shouldn't be used with the the 2 or 3 biggest gears on the back and the small gear on the front shouldn't be used with the smallest 2 or 3 gears on the back. In the middle gear on the front you may be okay will all gears on the back. You'll know if you've got it wrong as the chain will no doubt be rubbing on the front derailleur and making a horrible grating noise. You don't actually need the gears that you can't use as the gear ratios overlap so big front to big back (eg 42 - 32) gives a ratio of 1.3125. Middle front (32) to 24 tooth on the back gives a ratio of 1.33 which is almost the same.

Hope all that makes some kind of sense

iancity

Brilliant, thanks very much for the advice, that sheldon site has a lot of useful stuff on - learned a lot..............

Hunders

With regard to your question about changing gears you should have a watch of this video. I, too, didn't really know the proper way to change gear until I watched it.

iancity

Hunders wrote:

With regard to your question about changing gears you should have a watch of this video. I, too, didn't really know the proper way to change gear until I watched it.

Thats an excellent video (and a good site in general), thanks for that, clears up any last doubts I had......

Ian

iancity

Sorry - me again - I still cant take the front tyre off - where am I going wrong?
I've seen the videos and it looks simple, however, there does not appear to be enough give in my brake cable to take the brake arm over the little notch - the videos above make it seem as if there is loads of give, but I seem to have a short brake arm and it wont rach over the notch to allow it to drop - does that make sense?

This is slowly driving me mad, but I realise its 99% likely its me thats cocking it up

Anonymous

iancity wrote:

Sorry - me again - I still cant take the front tyre off - where am I going wrong?
I've seen the videos and it looks simple, however, there does not appear to be enough give in my brake cable to take the brake arm over the little notch - the videos above make it seem as if there is loads of give, but I seem to have a short brake arm and it wont rach over the notch to allow it to drop - does that make sense?

This is slowly driving me mad, but I realise its 99% likely its me thats cocking it up

in that case, screw the "barrel adjuster" at the brake lever inwards, to give you a bit more slack.

iancity

sorry - when I say I'm a noob and technically stupid I meant it whats the barrel adjuster look like, and should I have to do this on a new bike?

Cheers....

Anonymous

That's ok, don't worry!
On the brake lever, where the cable comes out of it, there is a piece which can be screwed in or out.
This is to adjust the length of the cable.
If you are having trouble undoing the V-brakes at the wheel, then screwing this little adjuster in on the brake lever will give you enough "give" to undoo the brakes to let the wheel out.

This is nothing to worry about, and is quite common.