Guide to road bikes

Have a look at the Park Tools "The Blue Book of Bicycle Repair".

http://www.parktool.com/products/detail.asp?cat=19&item=BBB-1

Bicycle Maintenance & Repair for Road & Mountain Bikes. This is Bicycling Magazine's recommended manual. It is published by Rodale Press. In the US it can be found at any of the major book stores, or you can order it on-line at www.bicycling.com. It is an absolute steal at US$20.00. It is the best manual that I have come across in my 40 years wrenching. It covers older bicycle technology all the way up to the most current bicycle technology. It is also easier to carry to the bike instead of carrying the bike to your computer, or vice versa.

Park Tools is a good online resource, but you use a lot of paper and toner printing out procedures for involved jobs.

Thank you for your answers...

I will definitely search for these two. So, as far as COMPATIBILITY of different parts in assembling them together, obviously of different brands, will these manuals provide the necessary information?

For example, i now have an Orbea Enol, with an aluminum Orbea Asphalt frame, an 8 gear DNP 8S Casette and wearing Shimano Sora peripherals.

Apart from the saddle, which is the only part i have changed yet, i would like to change the steering handlebar, put more gear casette, and maybe change the brakes too. The problem is i have not the slightest idea which cassetes, chains, handlebars, brake systems, etc would fit my frame, so i can not know which i should for buying. So, supposing i wil manage to fit them all together, still i dont know what exactly to look for!

I don't think that there are any manuals that address compatability. That's the great thing about this forum. Tell us what you have in great detail. What brand of cassette are you using? The Shimano peripherals, are these the front and rear derailuers, and shift levers?

The things that you need to worry about are as follows:
Drive Train: Are the derailers, brifters, chain, and cassette compatable? Generally, if all of the parts are made by the same company, they will be compatable. SRAM Cassettes are compatable with Shimano Drivetrains. i don't beleive that Campy will mix well with Shimano or SRAM. You need to check and see if the parts that you want to use as replacements will fit where they will need to be attached on the frame. Some front derailers are attached to a braze on and others are clamped to the seat tube. I beleive that if you want to increase the gears on your cassette, you will probably need to replace your rear derailer, chain, and brifters. You may also need to change your front derailer.

Handlebars: You will need to check and see that the replacement handlebar clamping surface outside diameter is the same as the inside diameter of the stem. If you replace the seat post, it has to be close to the inside diameter of the seat tube so that the clamp will hold it.

Brakes: The brakes have to have sufficient reach so that the pads grip on the rims rather than the tire itself.

If you have any doubts concerning compatability, just tell us what you want want to replace, what you want to use as the replacement, and what other parts it is going to be used with. Someone in this forum will be able to help you with your compatability questions.

Well, thats exactly what i m talking about!

Searching for compatibility of each part i m thinking of buying, produces more complexities than my patience and free time, at this point, allows me to be concerned with..

So, since you seem to be knowleadgable, what can you tell me about my current road bike?

All i know is that it is a 57 Orbea Enol, with Shimano Sora peripherals. You see, i m not even 100% aware what 'peripherals' refer to in a road bike! The handles have "shimano sora flight deck" written upon then, and the gears "shimano sora". Thats all i know. So, am i to assume that all since the shimano sora "fit", then all shimano serieses will do? Even cassettes with more gears?

I have never worked on an Orbea, however, it appears to be a good frameset that you have. It also appears that it is a pretty good bicycle all the way around. Peripherals, in this case, refer to all of the drivetrain parts, and brakes. I don't know how much you are ready to spend on your bike, but to move up in gearing is going to get a little expensive, even if you go through eBay.

Your 8-speed rear hub should measure about 130mm across the axle nuts. The Shimano 10-speed hubs measure the same so you are OK if you stay with Shimano. If you get another brand of hub, make sure that it measures 130mm across the axle nuts. You cannot flex aluminum to fit the hub like you can with steel.

Increasing the number of gears on your cassette is not a simple task. You will need to replace your 8-speed freehub with a 10 speed freehub. If you have Shimano 2200 hubs on this bike, you might want to replace the wheelsets with a better grade of wheels. You will need to replace your cassette of course. You will also need to replace your rear derailer and shift/brake levers with 10 speed compatable components. You will also need a 10-speed compatable chain. As I said before, I really don't know if there is 10 speed compatable front derailer, but if your going this far, it wouldn't hurt to replace it too. You will also need to replace the BB with a 10-speed compatable one.

What are you wanting to do with this bike? If you are just wanting to ride recreationally, you can get a Shimano 105 group and put it on. You'll have a really nice entry level bike then. Shimano 105 does come in 10-speeds and will fit nicely on your bike. It will even be good enough to do a Catagory 4 racing if that is what you want to do.

I would also change the brakes to Shimano 105. I have never heard of the brakes that come standard on the Orbea Enol. I would not change the handlebar or the seat post. They both appear to be really good components from what I saw on the internet.

I think that your bike is really a good bike as it is. While the Shimano Sora group is one of the lower end groups, it is good, dependable, and easy to work with. It is fine for recreational riding. You are not going to gain a whole lot by going from an 8 speed cassette to a 10 speed cassette. I saw two different wheelsets on the bikes that I looked at on the internet and I think I would consider upgrading the wheelsets, but everthing else looks good for recreational riding.

One last thing, don't cut yourself off from your LBS. While you can do a lot of your bike maintenance and repairs yourself, you should really keep a good LBS close as you probably will not be able to to do some of the more complicated things, such as wheel building. If you are freindly with them, they can also be a great source of information. I have never had a bike shop mechanic who was not ready to answer any questions that I had concerning my own bike maintenance. Stay on their good side, buy some stuff from them occasionally, and you'll find them to be a great resource.

[img]img76.imageshack.uspicture0095ar8.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

Well kedlong, i dont know where exactly online you found an orbea enol to look at, but here is mine. Its actually the cheapest or second cheapest orbea road bike available (about 700 dollars).. nevertheless its quite durable, for many thousands of kilometres, as the company claims, and i found that claim honest, at least for the 2000 klm i ve done till now.

I suppose there are MUCH better, lighter, strongest, etc frames available, but this aluminum one i have, well, i cant complaint. I ve just replaced the saddle, and bought some Maxxis Refuse tyres, because i must say i am an unorthodox rider, since i use the bike as one would use a mtb or a motorcycle. I use it everywhere in the city and for short trips, like for distances of 60 klm a day, maximum. These tyres are 700x25 and were a very good buy. I used to have flat tyres almost every few days with the simple tyres the bicycle had when i bought it. I even had flat tyres from single thorns that the wind blew from some plant and were lying on the street! After i bought and wore these Maxxis tyres NOT a SINGLE flat tyre!

Anyway, yes i m now planing to purchase the 105 brakes and gear set, as well as some better, LIGHTER wheels..

Shimano Sora is very decent as a system, i cant complain, its just time for something new i think! So, are there any wheel sets you can suggest? Any brand, whatever, just link me to the sights where i can see them, and discuss with you about them, provided they are somewhere between 100-250 dollars... should i up this money limit?

I was discussing with a road bike champion friend of mine and he told me that in carbon wheels, the cheapest is about 1.500 dollars the set... so thats not an option for me at this time ...

I havent really researched what my current wheels exactly are and where they stand, but just imagine that they have about 30 rays each.. well i ll get back to you on this one. By the way what is ''LBS'' and ''BB''?

[img]img517.imageshack.uspicture0097ci6.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

And another

[img]img482.imageshack.uspicture0098nn2.jpgOpen ↗[/img]

One more

Some more details,

i wear this front hub and this back hub: cycle.shimano-eu.comcomponent.jspOpen ↗

cycle.shimano-eu.comcomponent.jspOpen ↗

And the rest is from this series, surely the levers, both derailers and brake sets..

Rims are the Mavic CVP22 ones... mavic.comCXP 22.995216.aspxOpen ↗

Pegasos said:

Some more details,

i wear this front hub and this back hub: cycle.shimano-eu.comcomponent.jspOpen ↗

cycle.shimano-eu.comcomponent.jspOpen ↗

And the rest is from this series, surely the levers, both derailers and brake sets..

Rims are the Mavic CVP22 ones... mavic.comCXP 22.995216.aspxOpen ↗

Actually i m not sure about the brakes, they may be some "ALU" something..

I'm not really the best person to ask about wheel sets. I build all of my own. The last set that I purchased were over $400 but they are very high end and I got a really good price on them. Shimano has a 105 wheelset which is their Model Number WH5600. The best price that I have seen on it is about $300 unless you can find it on sale somewhere. It can be used with a 10-speed cassette as long as you get a special spacer to go with it. This wheelset is listed in your Shimano Link under wheelsets. The wheelset that you have appears to be a quality wheelset, so you might want to hold onto it a bit longer until you can afford a better wheelset.

You have a nice looking bike and I'm glad that you found good tires. I have never had any flats myself, but I tend to ride only on paved roads. We don't have a lot of bushes with thorns around here. The biggest problem that we have around here are idiots who throw bottles out their car windows. I have to avoid a lot of broken glass.

LBS is short for Local Bike Shop. Find a good one and become freinds with the guys who work there. I like to go to my local one in the winter when they aren't very busy and just talk bicycling. I try to purchase little things from them from time to time just to keep up the relationship that I have with them.

BB is short for Bottom Bracket. The BB is the bearings, cups, and axle that your crank arms attach to. Most of them these days come as sealed bearing cartidges that just thread into the BB shell. I am not 100% certain but I believe that you will need to get a different one if you convert to a 10 speed bike to ensure that your chain line is correct.

kdelong said:

I'm not really the best person to ask about wheel sets. I build all of my own.

Really? ..How??

Quoted post said:

The last set that I purchased were over $400 but they are very high end and I got a really good price on them. Shimano has a 105 wheelset which is their Model Number WH5600. The best price that I have seen on it is about $300 unless you can find it on sale somewhere.

Actually, i didnt note enough that my levers and derailers are shimano sora, my breaks some "ALU" brand and my hubs shimano 2200. And my rims mavic. But what exactly are my wheels? Where is it written? Are the hubs attached to the wheels? I mean are the wheels the same that the hubs are? Maybe you can help me with that (could be a stupid question).

The 105 full set is what i m thinking of geting indeed...

Quoted post said:

It can be used with a 10-speed cassette as long as you get a special spacer to go with it. This wheelset is listed in your Shimano Link under wheelsets. The wheelset that you have appears to be a quality wheelset, so you might want to hold onto it a bit longer until you can afford a better wheelset.
You have a nice looking bike and I'm glad that you found good tires.

And what is a spacer, if you could explain?

Quoted post said:

I have never had any flats myself, but I tend to ride only on paved roads. We don't have a lot of bushes with thorns around here. The biggest problem that we have around here are idiots who throw bottles out their car windows. I have to avoid a lot of broken glass.

Never ever? Seems odd to me. Well, i fully understand your problem, since i too have to avoid broken glass at various points of my ride in the city or outside of it, mostly in close distance of big garbage cans... but unfortunately in my case i also have to avoid the idiots themselves who may easily hit a cyclist as they pass by with their cars and trucks... they are very impatient, arrogant and rude from times to times, not to mention not focused when driving, especially some truck and bus drivers, who some times i thought missed me by pure luck when i was on the highway! The worst of all are the taxi drivers, think the roads belong to them... i have reached the point of struggling to keep myself from causing serious physical harm to some of those taxi driving arrogant creatures... anyway, these are typical stuff for where i am. The real problem is the roads, which are dangerous, narrow, lacking any kind of passage for bicycles and full of traps, when off road, some of which could prove deadly if one is not focused. In the city there is not a single one road, having a part designated for bicycles. I personally use the bike you saw above in dirt roads, to get up and down from pavements, in all conditions whatsoever. Naturally, there were many ways to have a flat tyre with this kind of use. After i put these Maxxis tyres though, the only flat tyres i had where from my own mistakes, for example, speeding at 25-30 klm at night, off road, falling into a 3-5 cm hole i didnt see (it was a pavement with a square missing actually) and going back out, with a mountain bike it would be ok probably, with the road bike i didnt lose control of the bike of course, its just this terrible sound of the wheels hitting the edge on the way out and a few metres ahead you realize the tube has broken inside the tyre.... well, i guess life's an adventure...

I almost forgot the unowned masterless dogs that roam and hang around in the city and outside it, who for no apparent reason may turn against cyclists, attack them and hunt them down... very dangerous, i have been attacked many times, managed to escaped, one time i was on the road and nearly hit the car coming from the opposite direction, while maneuvering trying to escape from the god damned dog... the only time i was bitten though, was when sitting on the back of an enduro.. anyways

Quoted post said:

LBS is short for Local Bike Shop. Find a good one and become freinds with the guys who work there. I like to go to my local one in the winter when they aren't very busy and just talk bicycling. I try to purchase little things from them from time to time just to keep up the relationship that I have with them.

Yeah i thought it was something like Local Bike Seller or something... You re right, but what about if i dont like the guy who works there? Or if he is not very friendly and "eager" to make new friends? Lol

Quoted post said:

BB is short for Bottom Bracket. The BB is the bearings, cups, and axle that your crank arms attach to. Most of them these days come as sealed bearing cartidges that just thread into the BB shell. I am not 100% certain but I believe that you will need to get a different one if you convert to a 10 speed bike to ensure that your chain line is correct

You re talking about the things that are in the space that connects the two pedals?

One more question (in the hope i am becoming annoying)

My original tyres were 700x23 and i used 700x23 tubes naturally.

Then i got the reinforced 700x25 tyres and still used 700x23 tubes.

Now i am thinking of getting 700x20 tyres, for better performance. Is it possible this would cause a problem? Will they fit ok to my current wheels? And what kind of tubes should i use then? Are there special tubes for 700x20 tyres??

Hi Pegasos,

I started building my own wheels several years ago. I always wanted to do this and my lady freind bought me a trueing stand for my birthday. I started out by disassembling a couple of old wheels that I had laying around and rebuilding them. The Bicycle Maintenance & Repair manual has pretty good step by step instructions on how to do it. Also Sheldon Brown at sheldonbrown.comwheelbuild.htmlOpen ↗ has a great article on wheelbuilding as well. Anyway, after learning how to do it with these old wheels, I started buying hub sets and rims off of eBay and ordering spokes and nipples from my LBS and building my own wheelsets. It is easy after you build your first set.

Concerning your brakes, all of the websites where I have seen the Orbea Enol have the ALU Brakes listed, but I cannot find a company called ALU on the internet. Therefore, I am beginning to think that the ALU stands for Aluminum, the material that the brakes are made of. It appears that these are no-name brakes and I wouod replace them to feel safer. With the integrated Shift Lever/Brake Lever that you have, you can use pretty much any brand of brake with it but you have to use compatable front and rear derailers.

As for using a Shimano WH5600 freehub, the 10 speed cassette is slightly narrower than the 8 or 9 speed cassette. If you use a 10 speed cassette on the Shimano WH5600 freehub, there is a small spacer, a circular peice of metal sort of like a big washer, that needs to be used on the back side of the cassette so that it is not loose on the freehub. If your cassette is loose, you will not get reliable shifting in the rear.

I have never had a flat on a ride. I have had a blowout from a tube that I pinched while mounting a new tire on a rim. It blew out about 15 minutes after I inflated the tire. I have found that the best way to prevent flats is to be prepared for them. I have always carried a spare innertube, a patch kit, and either a hand pump or a CO2 inflator with me on every ride. I also have stopped riding at night when you cannot see some of the road hazards.

I am lucky where I live because we have a very good animal contol division. There are very few stray dogs, and the ones that are out there usually fall victim to the coyotes that we have roaming round. I have been chased before, but not that often around here.

If you don't like the guy at your LBS, go to a different one. There is a bike shop only 4 km from where I live. The guys there tried to sell me a bike that was oviously too small for me. They did not realize that I knew a thing or two about bikes when I walked in. I will not go there again. The next closet bike shop, and the one that I consider to be my LBS, is 19 km away but I am happy to go the additional 15 km for the service and freindship that they provide, as well as the free bearings, cable ends, and other little things that they just give me for being a loyal customer. There is another bike shop 72 km away that I always stop into when I am in their area because they always give me great service, even though they don't know me well. And another 115 km away that has good service and always seems to have the parts that I need in stock. It also helps that it is located near where my girlfreind's mother lives so I go there when I take Sarah up to see her mother.

Your pedals are connected to the crank arms. The space betwwen the crank arms is the bottom bracket. The Chain Rings are not usually considered to be part of the BB though.

Your Mavic CVP22 rims will work with tires as thin as 700X19, so you are OK with 700X20. Your tubes will work in them too. One thing that you want to be careful of is that the thinner tires are going to be less stable on the roads that you are riding on. You will also have a much better chance of getting flats from hitting broken pavement with the thinner tires.

I'm just wondering, it appears that you are European but what country are you from? I would guess either the Netherlands or Italy from the way that you write. By the way, your English is excellent.

Pegasos said:

One more question (in the hope i am becoming annoying)

My original tyres were 700x23 and i used 700x23 tubes naturally.

Then i got the reinforced 700x25 tyres and still used 700x23 tubes.

Now i am thinking of getting 700x20 tyres, for better performance. Is it possible this would cause a problem? Will they fit ok to my current wheels? And what kind of tubes should i use then? Are there special tubes for 700x20 tyres??

In the hope i am NOT becoming annoying of course... is what i wanted to write

kdelong said:

Hi Pegasos,

I started building my own wheels several years ago. I always wanted to do this and my lady freind bought me a trueing stand for my birthday. I started out by disassembling a couple of old wheels that I had laying around and rebuilding them. The Bicycle Maintenance & Repair manual has pretty good step by step instructions on how to do it. Also Sheldon Brown at sheldonbrown.comwheelbuild.htmlOpen ↗ has a great article on wheelbuilding as well. Anyway, after learning how to do it with these old wheels, I started buying hub sets and rims off of eBay and ordering spokes and nipples from my LBS and building my own wheelsets. It is easy after you build your first set.

Greetings,

well, actually when you wrote that you build your wheels yourself, i thought that you meant not just assembling your wheels from pre-existing ready made parts, but like you forged the iron and bent it, to make a circle, etc! Lol

Its good to hear this Barnetts manual is so informative, i ll go through it thoroughly when i get it in my hands..

So, let me get this straight, hubs are not coming WITH a wheel set? They are separate things always? I m trying to figure out what brand and model my wheels are... I know what my hubs are cause i see the shimano model number, but what about the wheels themselves? I m not clear on that issue yet..

Quoted post said:

Concerning your brakes, all of the websites where I have seen the Orbea Enol have the ALU Brakes listed, but I cannot find a company called ALU on the internet. Therefore, I am beginning to think that the ALU stands for Aluminum, the material that the brakes are made of. It appears that these are no-name brakes and I wouod replace them to feel safer.

Didnt have any major problems with them yet, but true, i m thinking of replacing them with the 105. So, if i just buy the brake sets from 105 and nothing else, do you think i would be able to simply fit them in the place of the alu ones?

Quoted post said:

With the integrated Shift Lever/Brake Lever that you have, you can use pretty much any brand of brake with it but you have to use compatable front and rear derailers.

Hm, you mean the sora levers. But what do derailers have to do with the brake-cable simple system??

Quoted post said:

As for using a Shimano WH5600 freehub, the 10 speed cassette is slightly narrower than the 8 or 9 speed cassette. If you use a 10 speed cassette on the Shimano WH5600 freehub, there is a small spacer, a circular peice of metal sort of like a big washer, that needs to be used on the back side of the cassette so that it is not loose on the freehub. If your cassette is loose, you will not get reliable shifting in the rear.

I see, so from the shimano serieses, the 10 gear cassettes are always narrower and need a spacer? And what about chains? All chains fit all cassettes??

Quoted post said:

I have never had a flat on a ride. I have had a blowout from a tube that I pinched while mounting a new tire on a rim. It blew out about 15 minutes after I inflated the tire. I have found that the best way to prevent flats is to be prepared for them. I have always carried a spare innertube, a patch kit, and either a hand pump or a CO2 inflator with me on every ride. I also have stopped riding at night when you cannot see some of the road hazards.

Yes, i carry these essentials with me too, when leaving for distances of more than 10 klm. As for the night, i personally find it very nice to go out with the bicycle (not in winter).... empty roads, quieteness, DOGS asleep, its peacefull for me, at least the times it does not feel a bit meaningless or becomes boring..

Quoted post said:

I am lucky where I live because we have a very good animal contol division.

Good for you!

Quoted post said:

There are very few stray dogs, and the ones that are out there usually fall victim to the coyotes that we have roaming round. I have been chased before, but not that often around here.

Hm, coyotes eh? Are they similar in appearance and behaviour mostly to the wolf, or to the dog? Roaming around you mean in the cities, or in wilderness?!

Quoted post said:

If you don't like the guy at your LBS, go to a different one. There is a bike shop only 4 km from where I live. The guys there tried to sell me a bike that was oviously too small for me. They did not realize that I knew a thing or two about bikes when I walked in. I will not go there again. The next closet bike shop, and the one that I consider to be my LBS, is 19 km away but I am happy to go the additional 15 km for the service and freindship that they provide, as well as the free bearings, cable ends, and other little things that they just give me for being a loyal customer. There is another bike shop 72 km away that I always stop into when I am in their area because they always give me great service, even though they don't know me well. And another 115 km away that has good service and always seems to have the parts that I need in stock. It also helps that it is located near where my girlfreind's mother lives so I go there when I take Sarah up to see her mother.

Actually i live in a city of 1 million people and i have at least 5 different bicycle stores in reach of less than 7 klm from my house. The thing is, each one of this shops, is partnering with a specific bike brand, one with the Orbea, another with Giant, another with Scott, another with Ideal, etc..

So naturally i assume that the one with connections to my brand of bicycle will be more knowleadgable, so there are no alternatives if i look at it this way! Its not that i have a problem with the guy, he has been honest to me and havent tried to trick me, its just that after i bought the bicycle, which was the first and only significant purchase, he was very helpfull till he got paid. After that, because its minor things i m going there for, its an atmosphere of like he is almost doing me a favor to discuss with me a question, or to pay me the attention to buy some minor thing like a mini pump or a tube or whatever... anyway, maybe he has got a lot on his mind, but definitely he is not the loose type of guy you ll sit around and chat with about your questions... he is on the go and short tempered always. Hope you re happy with your girlfriend by the way!

Quoted post said:

Your pedals are connected to the crank arms. The space betwwen the crank arms is the bottom bracket. The Chain Rings are not usually considered to be part of the BB though.

The chain is obviously(?) a separate part.

Quoted post said:

Your Mavic CVP22 rims will work with tires as thin as 700X19, so you are OK with 700X20. Your tubes will work in them too. One thing that you want to be careful of is that the thinner tires are going to be less stable on the roads that you are riding on. You will also have a much better chance of getting flats from hitting broken pavement with the thinner tires.

Good, i m ordering some tires tommorrow.. i ve checked out some good stuff

Dont think though that i forcefully enter areas, where i m looking for trouble. I just dont hesitate to test myself and the bike to anywhere i happen to be. Its not that i seek broken pavements or bad roads for sporting purposes!

Quoted post said:

I'm just wondering, it appears that you are European but what country are you from?

Well, you got me there, i am European in deed

Quoted post said:

I would guess either the Netherlands or Italy from the way that you write.

Pretty close! I am situated in the Southeastest part of Europe, in the Meditteranean, in the place known to the rest of the world as Greece..

Quoted post said:

By the way, your English is excellent.

Aw, very kind of you to say so, however i sometimes think of how a native english speaker would feel when reading me, and i believe i sometimes may appear to a native english speaker to be a '[censored]' or someone eccentric at best! Lol, for example, when i wanted to talk about the dogs, i wrote "masterless dogs", cause the shorter common expression "stray dogs" did not come to my mind immediately, although i was trying to recall it! Anyways, this is more a matter for the linguists who are reading us to study..

The truth is, i am taking my time to write here, because these are issues i m trying to make sense of, to get to know my bike and to transform it... thus i pay attention to my expression, in order to understand and be understood correctly... other times i m not that carefull!

I would like to thank you for your time by the way, in informing me about all these issues.... most people in cycling forums are very short spoken .... when it comes to actually helpfull information..!

...and that brings me to another thing i m wondering about. Along with the tires i will definately change the stem. So, what is this thing between the stem and the frame? Its the headset right? So how does it fit to the frame, does it screw inside it or something? And most importantly, is it compatible with any stem? Also, any ideas what material i should preferably look for, in stems inside the range of up to 40-50 euros, which is equivalent to about 40-50 dollars?