Latest Drivetrain
Why Is My Bike Chain Skipping? A Mechanic’s Diagnosis Order
A skipping or slipping bike chain has six usual causes. Here is the order a mechanic checks them, with a test for each and the tool that decides it.
Read the guideTech Tips
Repair guides written from the workstand in Ballston Spa — bleeding brakes, chasing creaks, setting preload, and the tools each job actually needs.
Brakes
When to Replace Disc Brake Rotors: Wear Signs and Minimum Thickness
Disc rotors wear out slowly, then fail fast. How to read the stamp, measure the wear track, and know when a rotor is done, with per-brand minimums.
Workshop
The Fall Bike Check-Up: Measure What Summer Took
Six checks that tell you what a summer of riding took: chain stretch, rotor thickness, pads, tires, bearings, and bolts, each with a number to trust.
Drivetrain
How to Fix Stripped Pedal Threads in a Crank Arm
Stripped pedal threads rarely mean a dead crank arm. Learn what can be saved, how a thread insert rebuilds the thread, and when replacement wins.
Bottom Brackets
Press-Fit Bottom Brackets: Standards, Tools, and Service
How to identify BB30, PF30, BB86/BB92 and PF30A press-fit bottom bracket shells, why they creak, T47 the threaded escape, and the press and puller to use.
Drivetrain
How to Adjust a Front Derailleur: Stop the Rubbing and Dropped Chains
A workshop guide to adjusting a front derailleur: cage height and rotation, the L and H limit screws, and cable tension to fix rubbing and dropped chains.
Workshop
Where to Clamp a Bike in a Repair Stand Without Wrecking the Frame
Where to clamp a bike in a repair stand: the seatpost rule, carbon and aero exceptions, thru-axle fixes, and how to mount a heavy e-bike safely.
Brakes
How to Bleed Disc Brakes: A Shimano and SRAM Walkthrough
Bleed Shimano mineral-oil and SRAM DOT disc brakes step by step, with the one rule that saves your seals: match the fluid to your brake before you start.
Drivetrain
What Is a Bike Chain Tool and Which One Do You Need?
What a bike chain tool does, when a chain breaker beats master link pliers, and which press fits 12-speed, AXS Flattop, and 1/8-inch chains.
Brakes
What Is a Sintered Brake Pad? Sintered vs Organic Explained
How sintered brake pads are made, how sintered, organic, and semi-metallic compounds actually differ, and why the Slovenian brand Sinter sells pads that are organic.
Brakes
What Is a Flare Nut Wrench and What Is It Used For?
What a flare nut wrench is, why fluid-line fittings need its slotted six-point head, how it differs from open-end and box-end wrenches, and which sizes fit bicycle hydraulic brakes.
Hubs & Bearings
How to Use a Cone Wrench: Hub Cone Adjustment, Sizes & Sets
What a cone wrench is for, the step-by-step hub cone adjustment, which sizes fit which hubs, and how far a regular wrench can take you instead.