Active Bicycle Posts « Bicycle

How To: Build a rear road bike wheel

Building your own bike can be an exhilarating and fun experience for anyone, even the most novice of craftsmen. With this tutorial you can learn to start building the rear wheel of a bicycle. He shows you websites to help you calculate exactly how long your spokes need to be for the wheel, where to find measurements on the skeleton of the wheel itself, and clarifies any confusing terminology that you might not be familiar with. After you have all your measurements for both sides of the wheel ...

How To: Glue a tubular tire using Tufo rim tape

This video tutorial is in the Sports category where you will learn how to glue a tubular tire using Tufo rim tape. Gluing a tubular tire is very simple. You will need a tire, rim, Tufo rim tape, scissors and a pump. Stretch the tire with your foot and your hand as shown in the video and then inflate it. Take the Tufo rim tape, find the side labeled rim side, remove some protective foil and press the tape into the rim inching your way along the wheel. Leave a 2-3" tape unglued so that you can ...

How To: Keep Your Bike Chain Clean on Rainy Days with This Super Easy DIY Mud Guard

Nasty weather is bad enough when you drive, but if you ride your bike to school or work, it's really not a pleasant way to start the day. And if getting soaked isn't sufficient, a wet commute means your bike chain is going to be caked with mud and all kinds of other gross stuff.

How To: Add LED Turn Signals to Your Bike for Safe Road Cycling

In the past few weeks, you've already learned how to make your bike light up at night with some DIY rim lights and handlebar lights. But how about something a little more functional? Instead of using those tedious hand signals (which drivers don't even understand), spruce up your ride with some do-it-yourself LED turn signals.

How To: Spruce Up Your Bicycle with This Wooden DIY Riser Handlebar

Looking for a way to make your bike stand out? You could light it up with LED rim lights or turn signals. Or if you're looking for something a little less flashy, you could make your own set of custom wooden handlebars like these by furniture designer David Moore. To actually make these wooden handlebars, you will need some woodworking tools, not to mention some actual woodworking skill, or at least the tools and some knowledge on bending and forming wood. In his video below, David shows exac...

How To: This DIY Arduino Bicycle Safety System Includes Turn Signals, Brake Lights, Strobe, and More!

As dedicated bicyclists are well aware, riding can be very dangerous. Now that daylights savings time has ended in the United States, darkness appears quicker, and the night is especially dangerous for cyclists because of the low visibility that drivers have. Not only is darkness a danger, but also fog, blizzards, and heavy rain—all wreaking havoc on the vision. To combat this, bikers attach reflectors: clear front reflectors, red rear reflectors, amber pedal reflectors, and clear side reflec...

How To: Identify vintage bicycles styles

Old bicycles are a great collectible for cyclist lovers everywhere. Learn how to identify vintage bicycles by tires, frames, accessories and more in this free video series from an experienced vintage bike dealer.

How To: Make a Super-Simple Smartphone Mount for Your Bike or Motorcycle Using Plastic Clamps

There are plenty of ways to make a camera mount for your car, but what if you don't have a car? If you use a bicycle or motorcycle to get around, you can still take smooth videos with this awesome DIY mount for your iPhone (or any other smartphone) by antoinebugleboy.

How To: Use hand signals on a bicycle

Watch this video tutorial to learn how to use hand signals on a bicycle. Bicycles don't come with turn signals and brake lights. Fortunately, there's already a universal language for indicating turns and stops on a bike.

How To: Make Your Night Bike Glow in the Dark with Phosphorescent Paint

With gas prices constantly digging into your wallet, biking will always be a cheap and easy alternative for getting around—and it's a perfect way to get in a little exercise. But with the fall season about a week away, it is going to start getting dark a lot earlier and that ride home might be a little more dangerous. So to save yourself an unexpected trip to the ER, take a little time to make your bicycle impossible to overlook.

How To: Decorate Your Bike with Fur for Burning Man

This is a Burning Man tutorial on how to add fur to your bike. Halycon's Tips guide you on the Playa and the crafting tricks for decorating your bicycle. Get your bicycle prepared for Burning Man by watching this video today!

News: Thieves Using GPS Apps

This is just a heads up that thieves are now using GPS fitness apps to target people. Thieves are using popular GPS fitness apps such as Strava to find out where you live where they will then come and steal your bikes.

How To: Make the Most Brilliant Bike Light Ever with This LED Handlebar Mod

If you ride your bike at night frequently, you've probably had at least one close call with a car, pedestrian, or some other moving obstacle because of reduced visibility. Not only is it dangerous to ride at night without lights, it's illegal in a lot of places. Make sure no one can miss you with these DIY handlebar lights from Becky Stern at Adafruit. What You'll Need

How To: Remove a wheel & 3 speed shifter from your bike

In this clip, learn how to remove a back wheel and the three speed shifter on any beach bike. This clip, hosted by Stephan, will show you specifically how to remove the Shimano Nexus Internal 3 Speed Shifter and the entire rear wheel. He will also show you how to put it back together safely.

How To: Need a Place to Store Your Bike? Try One of These Cheap and Simple DIY Bicycle Racks

If you bike a lot and live in a small room or apartment, it can be tough to find the space to store your wheels. There are tons of bicycle racks and mounts you can buy, but where's the fun in that when they're so easy to DIY? Here are some of the best inexpensive solutions for your bike storage woes.

How To: Tape your bicycle handlebars

Wrapping your bike's handlebars with bar tape might not sound like a complicated enterprise but it's much trickier than you might expect. Fortunately, this video presents a complete overview of the bar-wrapping process and will help you to a achieve a finished, even wrap every time. For more information, including step-by-step instructions, watch this free cyclist's guide.

How To: Illuminate Your Bike at Night with These Super Bright DIY Rim Lights

Riding your bicycle at night is dangerous on busy streets, especially if you've got no bike lights. In most states, it's illegal to ride your bike at night without any lights because drivers on the road won't be able to see you until it's too late. Plus, how is anybody going to notice your sweet ride without a little illumination?

How To: Change Your Bicycle's Tire, Inspect for Damage, and Detect Hidden Problems

Many things cause a bike tire to deflate. Glass, sharp rocks, tacks, and nails can pierce the tire and puncture the tube within. A tube can be pinched between the rim and tire causing the tube to split when inflated. If a tire has a hole in it, the tube, which is filled with air pressure, will bulge out of the opening and pop. As well, the valve holding the air pressure in the tube can be damaged or faulty.

How To: True your bicycle wheels

Whenever you're out cycling, you may hit a pothole or some obstruction and bend your rim or take your wheel out of true. Take a look at this instructional video and learn how to true your bike wheels. By adjusting the spokes, you'll be able to bring your wheels back to true and cycle ready. A truing stand is especially handy for this process as it'll help determine how out of aligned your wheel is. True your bicycle wheels.

HowTo: Snow-Proof Your Bike Tires For Dirt Cheap

For the low cost of a bag of zip ties, you can easily survive any Snowpocalypses this winter by blizzard-proofing your bicycle tires. Says the MacGyver behind the ingenious hack, Fritz Rice of the Dutch Bike Co.:

How To: Do a bunny hop on a BMX bike

Looking to catch some big air on your BMX? Watch this video to learn the three step method to bunny hopping. This isn't a cute and cuddly bunny hop, this is how you get your bike off the ground and up in the air.

How To: Skid to stop on a fixed gear bicycle

So, you've got a brand new fixed gear bicycle and you're having a great time riding it, until you try to stop. Fixies don't have brakes, so you need to know how to control your bike and skid to a stop. Check out this video to learn how.

News: Let Your Sneakers Do the Rolling

Wacky "mutant bicycles" by Todd Kundla. Shoe Bike takes the cake. Previously, Thieves No More! If Gumby Were a Bicycle...

Lube No More: Chainless Bike Operates With Pulley System

The forefront of bike technology has delivered bikes without hubs, bikes as flexible as Gumby, and invisible steering. The latest to enter the field rethinks the bicycle chain. As in... who needs it?

HowTo: Build a Parasitic Bike Pump That Steals Air From Car Tires

Aleksi of Instructables has a genius idea. Bike tires out of air? Not a problem. That big old car down the street has some air to spare. Just insert Aleksi's pilfering emergency bike pump into any random car tire (make sure you're out of eyeshot, a look-out may be necessary) and siphon away.

News: Extreme Unicyclists Make Bikers Look Wimpy by Comparison

How many wheels does it take to shred? Depends on who you ask! For a rollerblader, the answer would be eight. For a skateboarder, it would be four. Bicyclists would say two. And for an EXTREME unicyclist? One. Just one. A single wheel.

A Restaurant on Two Wheels: The DIY Taco Bike

Serious Eats' latest Meet and Eat features Todd Barricklow, creator of the Taco Bike, an eco-friendly alternative to the fast growing food truck industry. The 200+ pound bike is equipped with a propane tank, three sectioned griddle, water tank, heat exchanger, wash sink, wastewater hold, ice holder and sectioned food area, trash can, napkin holder, table, money drop, chopping boards and more.

News: The Most Thief-Proof Bike Lock in the World

Germany company Conrad has created a bike lock that would deter even the most dedicated of thieves. The Rube Goldberg-esque device is outfitted with motorized skateboard wheels that elevate the bicycle off the ground, as high as your lamp post or utility pole of choice allows.

News: Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown

Danny MacAskill, the greatest stunt cyclist in the world, returns. Know of someone superior? Show us. Email us at wonderment@wonderhowto.com. Previously, The Amazing, Amazing Danny MacAskill.

Pyro-Cycling: Death Wish in the Name of Advertising

Wow, the lengths some go to for a spot in the advertising limelight these days... NeilPryde Bikes created this advert of a "mad frenchman" riding a bike in flames. What do you think? Jackass worthy? Previously, Bicycle of Death (Yes, That's a Flamethrower).

How To: Change a flat tubular tire

In this tutorial we learn how to change a flat tubular tire. First, grab your tools and remove the tire from the wheel. Do this by locating the stem and finding the spot across the other side from it. Once you have take this off entirely, you can move onto the next step. Once finished, replace the new tire back onto the wheel. Start with the same area and make sure to push the stem through the hole. Use your body weight to stretch the tire around. To finish this process, you will simply need ...

How To: Service a Mavic Freehub on your bicycle wheel

In this video, we learn how to service a Mavic Freehub on your bicycle wheel. To begin, disassemble which requires a 10 mm and 5 mm Allen wrench. Then, remove the end cap and use the wrenches to pry the nuts and bolts from the middle of the wheel. Remove the free hub after this, then set on a cloth to the side. After this, you can remove the spring and slide it out. After this, you will clean the parts off and then reinstall your parts back on the bike. Put them on how you removed them and th...

How To: Install brakes, shifters, and grips

In this video, we learn how to install brakes, shifters, and grips. You will need: Allen keys, grease, a knife, and a grip to do this. First, attack the brakes onto the handles, then the shifter and the bolts. Make sure to grease the bolts before you place them onto the handles. Do this on both sides of the bike. Make sure you have everything on the correct sides, then slide the grip in. Customize the grip so it's the right length and cut it with the knife to do this. Once finished, connect a...

How To: Adjust your front brakes

This video tutorial is in the Sports category which will show you how to adjust your front brakes on your bike. The brake pads are very adjustable. It has 360 degrees rotation which helps in installing it on the bike easily. First install the brake arms. Then loosen up the brake pad screw and lower it to bring it in line with the rim of the wheel. Now hold it in place and tighten the screw. Thereafter you can any vertical and horizontal adjustments. You can then repeat the same procedure for ...

How To: Reset a Mavic Wintech

This video tutorial is in the Sports category which will show you how to reset a Mavic Wintech. After you have installed the battery and you notice you have a blank screen, use the reset button inside the computer to reset it. This is not mentioned in the Mavic Wintech operating manual. For this, remove the battery and you will see a little compartment with a little silver button. It looks like a starter, but that is the reset button. Press the button with a sharp object and place the battery...

How To: Overhaul a DT Freehub body

In this tutorial, we learn how to overhaul a DT freehub body. First, pop the freehub off with your hand and a rag. Use an axle clamp if this will not pop off with your hand. Now, remove the end cap, freehub body, spring, star ratchets, second spring, and spacer. Set these on a rag and then use another rag to clean each of the parts off. Make sure all grease is gone along with any sand or dirt. Then, use a DT grease on the ratchets with a light coat. After this, re-install the parts that you t...

How To: Adjust your headset

In this video, we learn how to adjust your head seat. You want to make sure the top of your stem is adjusted correctly and the spacers are adjusted correctly. Go in and tighten the top cap pole until it's just snug. Then, when you grab your bike and roll it forward, go in and tighten it some more. If it's too tight, it's going to bind up and you won't be able to turn your handle bars. Loosen them up as much as you can without them being too loose. From here, you will be able to ride your bike...

How To: Switch brake pads

In this video, we learn how to switch brake pads with Marc DiVall. You first want the side that is longer because that's the trailing side. The arrow should also be pointing to the left. If they are rear mounted, that means the brakes are on the wrong side. Go in and remove the mounting nut from the pad and line everything back up. Use your wide washer and spacers to shift around, which will allow your brake pad to rotate. Replace with the washers and then the bolt and then you can place thes...

How To: Sync your Powertap

In this video we learn how to sync your Powertap. First, go to your setup screen by pulling down mode and select and going through the find. Then, click clear and find your main menu. Use the select button to scroll until you get to the number 5. Hit mode and then your hub ID number can be entered in. From here, hold down the select button for two seconds until it starts to blink. Then your hub will start to become activated. If you have a wireless speed sensor do the same thing as well. This...

How To: Install a seat post

This is a video tutorial in the Sports category where you are going to learn how to install a seat post on your bike. This is pretty easy. But, it's important that you get proper measurements for the inside and the outside diameter of the tube using a caliper. Now find the correct seat post and the seat clamp. Fix the clamp on the tube. Put generous amount of grease on the bottom part of the seat post and on the inside part of the tube and slide the seat post inside the tube. There is a minim...