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Cake day: June 18th, 2023

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  • Winter Cycling Tips:

    Studded tires make riding a bicycle on ice much safer. The front one insures you won’t fall on your face, the rear one helps give you enough traction to move forward.

    Full coverage fenders will keep your bike significantly cleaner, which means it corrode far less. And they keep snow/slush/water from flying up at you too.

    Cold drains batteries much quicker. Consider getting a dynamo lighting setup so you don’t have to rely on batteries.

    Your body generates a significant amount of heat while cycling, so it is best to dress so you will be somewhat cold the first mile or two, then you are more likely to be comfortable for the rest of the ride.






  • Overhaul as in pull the bearings out, clean them with degreaser, then inspect them. If the bearings are not pitted and the retainer isn’t bent out of shape, you can reuse them. If they are messed up, they are very cheap to replace, many bike shops will have replacements on hand. Once you have cleaned or gotten new bearings, pack the cups they sit in full of grease, and reassemble. Typically bearing retainers will have a side that is more rounded and a side that is more flat, you usually want to put them into the cup rounded side facing in.

    Once you have it back together, you want to adjust it. The goal is to have the bearings be as loose as possible while not having any play in them. You also want to make sure the locknut is tight against the cone.

    This page has info that will be useful for the bottom bracket.




  • BMX hubs tend to come with 3/8" axles rather than 10mm, which can potentially make it more difficult to find spare parts.

    Cheap hubs, whether BMX or not, do sacrifice durability to get a low price. If you want your wheels to last, don’t go too cheap. With single speed hubs, if they use sealed cartridge bearings, then they are probably nice enough to last a long time. There are options for high quality loose ball bearing hubs too, but they will typically cost more than an entry level cartridge bearing hub.


  • For someone who is overweight riding a bike, the weakest part of the bike is the rear wheel. If you have issues with spokes breaking or the wheel goes out of true easily, consider going to a bike shop and asking them to hand build you a wheel with a nice beefy rim and a decent quality cassette hub. The wheel might cost $200-$300, but it is worth it to get something solid you can depend on.

    Your bike should be compatible with most rear racks.

    You have a suspension fork up front, which limits options for a rack there. Sunlite makes a cheap rack that attaches to the cantilever studs that will work but doesn’t have a high weight capacity. Old Man Mountain makes very durable racks that attach at the axle, but cost quite a bit more.

    Lots of fenders out there that will work, Planet Bike Cascadia fenders are fairly durable and have a good amount of coverage. Whichever fenders you get, you will need a set of p-clamps to attach them to the fork.

    Cheap option for a trailer is to find a used kid trailer. Quite capable of hauling all sorts of things. If you go new, a Burley Flatbed or another trailer of the same style will be nicer to use.

    Saddles are a very personal thing. What works great for one persons body will be an ass hatchet for someone else. First, ride the stock saddle for at least a few weeks to get your body used to sitting on a saddle. If it still isn’t great, try making some small adjustements in the angle or moving forward or backward. If it still hurts, go to a bike shop and get fitted for a saddle. This usually involves sitting on a device to measure your sit bones.

    Only other essential accessory is a good set of lights. If you ride at night a lot and hate remembering to charge batteries, consider investing in a dynamo hub and lights.

    Have fun!