lots of noob questions

On Fri, 31 Mar 2006 02:31:26 GMT, "Hal A. Loullia" <[email hidden]>

Quoted message said:

Finally; is there a good website for info/answers to these kind of
questions.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/
http://www.parktool.com/

JT

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The valve is called a Presta valve and takes a specific type of chuck -
you can either purchase a floor pump at your local bike shop (LBS) or
purchase a Presta /Schraeder ('car tire' valve) adapter from from your
shop and use your current compressor. For a hybrid on the road, a tire
pressure of about 70-75 PSI will minimize flats. Skins may also
decrease punctures, but they should be rare with properly inflated
tires.

Regarding lube, clean chain by pedaling backwards with rag moistened
with citrus degreaser, use bike-specific lubricant (there are many,
again, ask LBS). 90 weight oil will attract lots of dirt and age
drivetrain prematurely.

Have LBS re-true front wheel - they will/should do this for free on new
bike. You can learn to do it yourself, but there is some trial and
error involved in learning this and no reason you should take the
time/risk of screwing up the wheeel as a newcomer.

Most bikes don't come with owner's manuals and if they do, they're [censored]
written by product liability attorneys. I suggest Bicyling Magazines
(check their website) $10 paperback for beginning cyclists. Likewise,
their or Lennard Zinns maintenance book are well worth the 20-25 bucks
and are nice adjuncts to the websites mentioned below.

Happy riding..............Lou D'Amelio

Quoted message said:

Tire valves have changed since I last rode over 15 years ago.
How the hell do I put air in the thing?, it's different than car type
valves.
I've got an air compressor, but nothing fits it.

Actually, the valves on your Trek have been around for a lot longer
than 15 years. They are called 'presta' valves. If you go to any bike
shop, they will have a little adapter that screws on to your presta
valve so that you can use your 'schrader' valve compressor. It'll cost
about a buck.

I'd go back to the shop that you bought your bike at, get the
converter, ask 'em to true the front wheel (yes, you can probably do it
yourself. If you like spinning wrenches, grab a copy of 'Zinn's guide
to road bike maintenance'😉

As for the chain, look for an article on Sheldon Brown's site on chain
maintenance.You can pretty much find a sizable, and vocal, group of
advocates for any chain regimen you can imagine, plus a few you can't.
I draw the line at sacrificing poultry--I reserve those for my threaded
headsets.

I think that Treks come with owners manuals, but I'm not sure. I've
only bought 2 complete bikes since 1989, both were Treks, one a 16" and
one a 20". But I think that they both had manuals.

HTH,
matt.

Quoted message said:

Went down to bicycle habitat and bought a Trek 7.3fx hybrid.
2 days later I got a flat in the triple puncture resistant tire. Oh well.

Unfortunately, a brand new bike is just as likely to get a flat as one
that's been on the road for a long time. But did you find what caused it?
Those are pretty tough tires... check to see if there are two adjacent
holes, an indication of a "snake bite" flat, typically caused by hitting
something hard, or hitting something not quite so hard with too-low
pressure, or some combination in-between. Tire pressure is your friend. Get
a floor pump with gauge and get religious about keeping tire pressure where
it should be (I believe the range is 70-90psi for your tires).

Quoted message said:

Tire valves have changed since I last rode over 15 years ago.
How the hell do I put air in the thing?, it's different than car type
valves.
I've got an air compressor, but nothing fits it.

Presta valves have been around for ages. You have to remove the valve cap
(which, when lost, is no big deal), unscrew the valve (unscrew it as far as
it will go; it won't fall off), then attach the pump and inflate it. This
*should* have been demonstrated at the store, but there's a tendency to
forget that not everyone is up on such things. If you purchased it from
Bicycle Habitat in NYC, make sure to tell Charlie, the owner, that Mike from
Chain Reaction wanted you to give him a bad time about that!

Quoted message said:

Also I remember using flat inserts in my tires to prevent punctures, are
they worth it or is there something better?

Depends upon what's causing the flats, but if you've got durable tires,
extra liners are probably overkill.

Quoted message said:

Also the front wheel isn't quite true anymore, and rubs the brake slightly
once per revolution, should I let the shop fix it, or is this something I
can attempt myself?

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

Quoted message said:

And, how do I maintain the chain and sprockets/dereiller?
Spray down with wd-40 to clean, and then some 90 weight oil?

90 weight oil would certainly work, but it will also attract about 90 pounds
of crud. There are many good lubes out there; I favor Rock N Roll, but just
about anything will work. I'm not a fan of the wax-type lubes though; seems
like they either gunk things up or don't have much staying power.

Quoted message said:

Also, I didn't get manual, should I have gotten an owner's manual with
the bike? (Trek's website is awful to navigate).

Actually Treks DO come with an owner's manual, on CD-ROM. And it's not all
that bad.

Quoted message said:

Finally; is there a good website for info/answers to these kind of
questions.

You might see if the shop offers any sort of maintenance or basic-care
classes. Many do. Lots of on-line info too, as others have pointed out.

Quoted message said:

Thanks!

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Also the front wheel isn't quite true anymore, and rubs the brake slightly
once per revolution, should I let the shop fix it, or is this something I
can attempt myself?

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

I disagree with this one. Have the shop show you how to adjust the
brakes. It's frustrating to ride when a pad is rubbing, and everyone
should know how to adjust them.

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Also the front wheel isn't quite true anymore, and rubs the brake
slightly
once per revolution, should I let the shop fix it, or is this something
I
can attempt myself?

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

I disagree with this one. Have the shop show you how to adjust the
brakes. It's frustrating to ride when a pad is rubbing, and everyone
should know how to adjust them.

Nothing to disagree with. I told him to bring it back to the shop to have it
taken care of; I didn't say anything about keeping it a secret how that's
done.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

Also the front wheel isn't quite true anymore, and rubs the brake
slightly
once per revolution, should I let the shop fix it, or is this something
I
can attempt myself?

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

I disagree with this one. Have the shop show you how to adjust the
brakes. It's frustrating to ride when a pad is rubbing, and everyone
should know how to adjust them.

Nothing to disagree with. I told him to bring it back to the shop to have it
taken care of; I didn't say anything about keeping it a secret how that's
done.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Quoted message said:

Quoted message said:

> Also the front wheel isn't quite true anymore, and rubs the brake
> slightly
> once per revolution, should I let the shop fix it, or is this something
> I
> can attempt myself?

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

I disagree with this one. Have the shop show you how to adjust the
brakes. It's frustrating to ride when a pad is rubbing, and everyone
should know how to adjust them.

Nothing to disagree with. I told him to bring it back to the shop to have it
taken care of; I didn't say anything about keeping it a secret how that's
done.

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

Good point.

Mike Jacoubowsky said:

Unfortunately, a brand new bike is just as likely to get a flat as one
that's been on the road for a long time. But did you find what caused it?
Those are pretty tough tires... check to see if there are two adjacent
holes, an indication of a "snake bite" flat, typically caused by hitting
something hard, or hitting something not quite so hard with too-low
pressure, or some combination in-between. Tire pressure is your friend. Get
a floor pump with gauge and get religious about keeping tire pressure where
it should be (I believe the range is 70-90psi for your tires).

I've never had any luck with air pressure gauges. Right now I have a
nice still-new Topeak Joe Blow floor pump with a built-in pressure
gauge and the dial-arm never moves unless I'm pumping -- the tube could
be at 100 PSI, but upon connection the gauge remains at zero unless I
pump some more. I'm almost tempted to see if I'll blow the tube up
pumping to 100 PSI on the gauge when it's already 100 PSI to begin
with! Wonder what happens?

Quoted message said:

Presta valves have been around for ages. You have to remove the valve cap
(which, when lost, is no big deal), unscrew the valve (unscrew it as far as
it will go; it won't fall off), then attach the pump and inflate it. This
*should* have been demonstrated at the store, but there's a tendency to
forget that not everyone is up on such things. If you purchased it from
Bicycle Habitat in NYC, make sure to tell Charlie, the owner, that Mike from
Chain Reaction wanted you to give him a bad time about that!

Are Presta valves better somehow? 'Cause they're les convenient! I've
got to tote around an adapter which, luckily, doubles as a sort of
valve cap (not that Presta valves need them, right?), though it's a
slight struggle using it.

Quoted message said:

Depends upon what's causing the flats, but if you've got durable tires,
extra liners are probably overkill.

I'm getting Schwalbe Marathon Pluses with rim tape, too!

Quoted message said:

That's probably something easily dealt with in a couple of minutes. If you
bring it back into the shop, they'll probably take care of it right away.

I've got to learn how to deal with mechanical disc brakes doing
that...or do they? So annoying...but, then again, I hear that
mechanical disc brakes typically make metallic grinding or squeaking
sounds when in use.

Quoted message said:

90 weight oil would certainly work, but it will also attract about 90 pounds
of crud. There are many good lubes out there; I favor Rock N Roll, but just
about anything will work. I'm not a fan of the wax-type lubes though; seems
like they either gunk things up or don't have much staying power.

So you don't recommend teflon-based lubes?

Quoted message said:

Actually Treks DO come with an owner's manual, on CD-ROM. And it's not all
that bad.

When did they start doing this? I just got a nice Trek 1000c
"hybrid-comfort" bike in September and I didn't get no CD-ROM. (Then
again, I hate my LBS...the only LBSes I've had decent experiences with
[and I've yet to have a "good" one, never mind "excellent!"] are the
chains like Metro...I've stepped into a few which seem like they'd be
good shops, though -- basically, the more upscale, the more intelligent
and sympathetic the service...in NYC, anyway, IMHO/IME.)

Quoted message said:

You might see if the shop offers any sort of maintenance or basic-care
classes. Many do. Lots of on-line info too, as others have pointed out.

Time's Up! offers weekly or biweekly basic bike repair classes. They
even have all-female ones lead by female mechanics!

Quoted message said:

--Mike-- Chain Reaction Bicycles
www.ChainReactionBicycles.com

A small tip for Presta valves. To inflate the tyre,
unscrew the locknut. Then give the stem a little tap to make sure it works
freely. Then attach your pump connection. These valves tend to stick.

--
Dave Gittins

Author of Titanic: Monument & Warning
http://users.senet.com.au/~gittins/Book.html

Dave Gittins said:

A small tip for Presta valves. To inflate the tyre,
unscrew the locknut. Then give the stem a little tap to make sure it works
freely. Then attach your pump connection. These valves tend to stick.

--
Dave Gittins

Author of Titanic: Monument & Warning
http://users.senet.com.au/~gittins/Book.html

Thanks for the tip. But I know how to inflate Presta valved-tubes. =)
I just don't know why the dial-arm of the air pressure gauge doesn't
immediately jump to, say, 100 psi.

"NYC XYZ" wrote: (clip) I just don't know why the dial-arm of the air
pressure gauge doesn't immediately jump to, say, 100 psi.
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
You have 100 psi inside the tube, and 0 (atmospheric pressure) outside. You
have zero in the hose and pump, as well. When you attach the hose to the
stem, the check valve inside the stem is still closed, so no pressure goes
to the pump and gauge. When you start pumping, you build up pressure which
shows on the gauge.

This is good, because it allows you to connect without losing air from the
tube.

Leo Lichtman said:

You have 100 psi inside the tube, and 0 (atmospheric pressure) outside. You
have zero in the hose and pump, as well. When you attach the hose to the
stem, the check valve inside the stem is still closed, so no pressure goes
to the pump and gauge. When you start pumping, you build up pressure which
shows on the gauge.

This is good, because it allows you to connect without losing air from the
tube.

It seems I have a different conception of what that air pressure gauge
does and/or how it acts...the gauge measures air pressure in the
tube...I hook it to the tube, and flick that little "lock" which opens
up the pump to the tube...so why is the gauge still at zero? How come
when I start pumping it starts from zero, despite the air already in
the tube?

Sorry, but I'm not getting the physics of it yet....

That "lock" doesn't open the valve between the tube and the pump. It
just seals the pump head to the valve. Presta valves operate solely on
air pressure. You've got to increase pressure in the pump (and hose)
until it's the same as the pressure inside the tube. Once the pressure
in the pump exceeds that in the tube, the valve opens and admits air
until the pressures in the tube and pump are equal. Then, as the pump
slowly leaks down, the valve closes because the pressure in the tube is
greater than that in the pump.

When you remove the head from a presta valve tube, the air you hear
escaping is exclusively in the pump--not the tube. Removing the pump
head from a schraeder-valve tube imperfectly causes air to leak from
the tube through the valve, which is a bad thing.
The fact that presta-valve tubes do not lose air as the pump head is
removed is one of their great advangages over schraeder-valve tubes.
The max pressure you see on the pump is the pressure you get in the
tube, which is not often the case with a schraeder-valve tube.

Schraeder valves operate mechanically and are indeed open the whole
time the pump head is attached.

Does that clarify things?

Jason

NYC XYZ wrote:
<snip>

Quoted message said:

I've never had any luck with air pressure gauges. Right now I have a
nice still-new Topeak Joe Blow floor pump with a built-in pressure
gauge and the dial-arm never moves unless I'm pumping -- the tube could
be at 100 PSI, but upon connection the gauge remains at zero unless I
pump some more. I'm almost tempted to see if I'll blow the tube up
pumping to 100 PSI on the gauge when it's already 100 PSI to begin
with! Wonder what happens?

<snip>

Quoted message said:

Are Presta valves better somehow? 'Cause they're les convenient! I've
got to tote around an adapter which, luckily, doubles as a sort of
valve cap (not that Presta valves need them, right?), though it's a
slight struggle using it.

<snip>

NYC-
You can probably throw your adapter caps away because most newer bicycle
pumps have convertible heads that can be configured to attach to either
Presta or Schraeder valves.

Most Topeak pumps come with what they call a "SmartHead" that automatic
adjusts to both Presta and Schraeder valves. Read the instructions that
came with the pump.

Good Luck,
paul d oosterhout
from SAIC

Quoted message said:

That "lock" doesn't open the valve between the tube and the pump. It
just seals the pump head to the valve. Presta valves operate solely on
air pressure. You've got to increase pressure in the pump (and hose)
until it's the same as the pressure inside the tube. Once the pressure
in the pump exceeds that in the tube, the valve opens and admits air
until the pressures in the tube and pump are equal. Then, as the pump
slowly leaks down, the valve closes because the pressure in the tube is
greater than that in the pump.

When you remove the head from a presta valve tube, the air you hear
escaping is exclusively in the pump--not the tube. Removing the pump
head from a schraeder-valve tube imperfectly causes air to leak from
the tube through the valve, which is a bad thing.
The fact that presta-valve tubes do not lose air as the pump head is
removed is one of their great advangages over schraeder-valve tubes.
The max pressure you see on the pump is the pressure you get in the
tube, which is not often the case with a schraeder-valve tube.

Schraeder valves operate mechanically and are indeed open the whole
time the pump head is attached.

Does that clarify things?

Jason

It certainly does! So that's what I saw -- a Schraeder valve in
action! That's what I'd seen when the pressure gauge jumped on my pump
-- it was a Schraeder valve!

Thanks a bunch...now, time for Spring Break!

Here's a tip- switch to long-stem tubes. like they sell for deep aero
rims.. When you have a longer stem, it can bottom out on the back of
the pump head, and will give you the instant reading you want. That
will release a small amount of air from the tube, but will give you the
baseline you want.