My rear disc brake is attached to a bracket, which is attached to the frame. This bracket is held by two bolts that each have a clip on them:    The clips are clamped around the bolts, and can easily be twisted around the bolt (without the bolt moving).  What are they for?
122797
I boughtt a Shimano SM-MA-R160 Disc Brake Mount Adaptor for my bike.  It came with these black plastic things in the lower right corner of the photo below. I have a bunch and don't know what are they used for:     What are those plastic thingies called? What are they used for? How are they applied? How important are they?
6886
I've got an older, about 1991, model Cannondale SM1000 mountain bike purchased new.  Would it be worth it to convert to disk brakes and if so what would be the process?
115134
I live in the UK and I expect my front brake lever to be operated by my right hand. However, I recently went on a friend's bike that had the brakes 'back to front', which would be the 'right way round' for people in Europe, North America and everywhere else that drives on the right.  I am left-handed and therefore used to finding things designed to be best operated with the right-hand, e.g. the controls on a lawnmower.  What are the reasons for the brake lever convention on a bicycle? It seems that the front brake is more important for controlled braking, in the UK we have that worked by the right hand, which makes sense. For countries that drive on the right that means the back brake has the 'handed-ness' advantage, rather than the front.  I also like to be controlling my speed with the front-brake when making a right-hand turn, however it is not possible to do this when signalling. A left turn is not so important to stick your arm out for - drivers coming the other way and behind don't really care if the sign is not made for a left-hand turn, whereas a right-hand turn really should be indicated. So, from that perspective, the brakes are the 'wrong-way-round' for me.  Can someone kindly guide me through why the brakes are wired up so and any historical origins of the convention?
107380
On a new-ish CX bike (about 1 year old), I frequently need to adjust/tighten the headset bearings (semi-integrated ahead type).   After a few rides, they become loose which is noticeable by a "shuddering" feeling when using the front disk brake. Additionally, there is noticeable play in the bearings when I pull the brakes and move the bike back and forward.   What can cause the headset to become loose that quickly? What can I do about it? I already tightened all screws on the stem to spec (the label says "all max 8Nm") after tightening the adjustment screw, is there anything else I can try without specialized tools or replacing the headset?
110493
Besides locking a bike up properly, are there other deterrents against theft (such as engraving) that make a bicycle less attractive to a potential bike thief?   UPDATE  It was stolen.  :-(
78423
I have acquired an older Pegasus, model unknown. Guessing by the decaying decals it might be something like Atlas. Bike is in poor neglected condition, but I will try to put in on the road to see how it rides and then decide if I dump it or do some more work on it. It came with a Suntour AR II rear derailleur. The frame has simple dropout and bike came with some sort of generic deraillur hanger. The problem is that when I release the quick release the hanger with derailleur comes loose along with the wheel. Below are some pictures. As you can see the derailleur has no clear way of mounting to the frame. The frame does not have any hole that aligns with small the in the hanger. The hanger has on the backside a little edge that aligns it with a dropout as seen on the picture.  Options I considered were:  1. Drilling a hole in the frame and then cut a thread for the bolt. Which thread should I cut in that case to be "universal" or compatible with bolts that are used for that purpose?  2. Puting a bolt through the small hole in the hanger and through the dropout. Use a big washer and a nut on the backside to fix the hanger in a dropout semi permanently. I would then fix wheel axle with quick release as usual. Down side of it is, that the axle would be moved forward in dropout by about 14mm.  3. Try to find a suitable hanger. No luck so far. Through Google I have found a picture of a hanger that might do the job.  What would my best or simplest option to mount that hanger?
89469
My bike has a set of Avid Elixir R hydraulic brakes. The front brake barely goes on when I pull the lever and the back brake feels pretty soft. I think I need to bleed them. How do I go about doing this?  I think the brakes got like this because I pressed the brake level when the bike was upside down or when the wheel was removed putting the bike into my car.
104183
I have this type of recumbent. I want to upgrade to hydraulic brakes, but every bike shop warns me about the issues that will come from attaching the brake levers in a vertical position. They say that it will catch air very quickly. Do I  have any options? Maybe there is special brakes for this type of situation?
115657
We are planning a trip with a bike rack attached to our trailer hitch. What is the best way to lock the bikes while the vehicle is unattended? I see some racks have locks on the knobs but they don't seem very strong.   What do you suggest?
58819
I am in the process of overhauling my old Motobécane racing bike and I'd like to replace the freewheel, if reasonable. However, there is no indication of who made it (the bike shop couldn't help) and I've never seen a hub like this online.  The Freewheel has a lock ring with splines on the outside and I'm wondering which tool to use to screw it tight on the hub.
71831
I have seen this term a lot and I was wondering what, in basic terms, what bracketing/autobracketing is.  Also, why would one want to 'bracket'?  P.S. - there are other questions asking what DoF and WB bracketing is but none asking quite the same as this.
50892
I have this master link that came with my chain (Snap On type). In the first picture it is distinctly the one on the left - not a spring clip.  Try as I might - it doesn't seem to be long enough? Do I need to use those funky chain pliers for it? How much can I compress that link? Thanks.
53413
Any idea what kind of tool should I but to fix the loose left crank on my bike? I found this  but not sure if it's gonna suit. Or is it enough to buy only nut driver?
61329
I just bought a used  and it comes with regular rim brakes. I'm perfectly happy with them so far, but have been wondering if disc brakes would come handy when it rains.  What is involved in converting a bike from rim brakes to disc brakes (mechanical or hydraulic)?   Is this something that is feasible, or am I better off buying another bike that already has disc brakes?
117222
I take the front wheel off my mountain bike to get it in my car. When I get it out and try to put the front wheel back on, the space between the brake pads isn't wide enough for the rotor. Whoops! I must have pulled the lever on my hydraulic brakes.  How can I separate the the pads without damaging them?
9956
In trying to change the brake pads on my mountain bike, I managed to get oil on my new pads and empty out all the brake fluid, and consequently also get some oil on the disc. I took the bike to the shop and they are now telling me I need to change the pads and the disc. I can understand the pads, but do I really need to change the disc or is the guy (girl actually) just scamming me. The disc is not soaking in oil, from what I can tell it just has a bit of oil here and there.
96848
It used to be very common to see bikes with dual pull brake levers (if that's even the right name) as shown below. However now it seems almost impossible to find brakes like this.  Even finding a picture to post was hard.  It seems like it would be quite useful to be able to brake from various hand positions.  There was an answer I read a while back (can't find it now) that stated that there was a reason they got rid of those, but no explanation as to why. So any technical reason, or is it just for looks?