I just wanted to echo the first line in the quote above. A couple of days ago I loaded up this sub-forum with the intent of starting a new thread. I was experiencing a strange creaking that I for the life of me couldn't solve and my LBS hadn't been much help. But I saw this thread, and figured I should heed the plea to read it first.

It didn't take long before I had clicked my way over to Sheldon's site and discovered that I may be experiencing spoke rub. Armed with this new knowledge I went out into the garage, and after a few minutes of troubleshooting I had identified exactly what was causing my problem. Not having the tools and know-how to fix it, I had to take the bike back to the LBS, but since I could tell them exactly what my problem was, they fixed it right away.

So yeah, for me this thread was great. And considering the wealth of information in the OP I bet the same is true for many others.

thanks for the sticky! the following two hyperlinks in the OP were broken when i tried them just now:
Park Tool Repair By Region
Park Tool Repair Bike Map

i went to parktool.com and got the same error message when i tried to do a search. so maybe they're having trouble with their site.

Looks like they re-designed the site. IMO not an improvement.

I'll change the link.

change? Hope u change it soon.

I changed it immediately after the reply above, and it works fine today. What problem are you having?

Btw, Park Tool has put the bike map access method back. Other than being way slow, the site seems improved from what I saw back in October.

thanks for the guide.... very helpful... very very helpful... :thumb:

I agree... thanks for the noob tips. The only thing I feel shorted on was the lack of the picture that was so inspiring. :D

I know. I had to drop my hosting service and have been too busy to crank up another. If you're of an age, just think "Annette Funicello" and "Barbara Eden".



I'll be in my bunk.

bike tips and tricks
 

these links are awesome guys, thanks. for a newbie there priceless.

......

Agree with the above poster, especially for an amish (i.e., technologically impaired) newb! :)

Here is a new bicycle repair site that seems to have a lot to recommend it. Multimedia, with clear pics and small steps. Conversational, easily understood tone with attention given the what could go wrong - something the main sites are all that good at.

http://www.madegood.org/

It is a non-profit group. Please let me know if you find it valuable.

http://www.downforeveryoneorjustme.com/www.madegood.org

D :

To the Mods. Is there any way you can make entering a location mandatory when registering. All to often we get questions where the best answer is a referral to a local resource. But that's impossible if we don't even know where people are. For example, there's no sense referring someone to a US source if they;re in the UK and have comparable sources over there.

Likewise, there's no sense saying go to the local bike ship to someone in Vladivostok where the nearest decent shop is over 1,000 miles away.

Obviously a city is most useful for a location, but folks concerned with privacy can list another city nearby to preserve the last vestiges of anonymity if they prefer.

Let the OP worry about that, and ignore it if you can't help due to the lack of needed info. I think its a basic stuff...

This usually an issue with newbies. As such, they have no idea what is or isn't useful, and end up giving their location when asked. It would serve them and save time if this were included originally, but they have no way of knowing that.

BTw- anyone concerned about privacy can post a broad area, or even a false or fictional one.

Annette is back, thanks to Wordbiker.

So is Barbara Eden, thanks to me figuring out how to use the forum features. BTW, the image is 400x500p. If anyone has a larger, I'll use it.

Who cares, it's probably a bike used to pose on anyway

Shimano has moved its site. Most of the tech docs (part sheets) seem to be there, but the Tech Tips seems to have disappeared. If you have a link, especially to the IGH docs, please post a note here.

Why so many repeat questions?

Since I was recently and publicly chastised by [MENTION=158672]FBinNY[/MENTION],

I thought I’d post the very obvious question – why is virtually EVERY question on BikeForums one that’s been answered many, many times before?

And being who I am, I can’t resist answering that question as well. I find several credible reasons among which are:

1. The BF search engine is profoundly lame. In honesty, this problem isn’t unique to BF, but rather to all “content creation programs” used for the web. One can search directly with Google, but the instructions on how to do so are not there.

2. Google searches are overly broad and provide thousands of incidental, inappropriate, or just plain wrong links. The main cause of this is the persistence of data on the internet. An article may have been posted 15 years ago and may not have been correct even then, but its longevity drives it toward the top of the search engine, despite the fact that its content may me completely wrong.

3. Many of the links on the internet are obsolete. Even if an article was accurate 15 years ago when it was posted, newer technologies and information may have made the original article useless.

4. Members pay to be a part of BF so that they can get up-to-date and definitive answers from a community of like-minded bicyclists. A BF member will participate less if they get humiliated for asking what they thought was a reasonable question.

5. Newbies, routed to this site by a search engine, may ask a question without knowing that it’s been answered many times before. Having a “FAQ” section in each branch of the forum would help reduce these questions. Of course, any potential member who gets chastised for asking what is, to them, a reasonable question will be FAR less likely to become a BF member if they don’t feel welcome.

Now, all of that said, it is true that some (and I’m as guilty of anyone on this) are just plain lazy. Rather than spending a half hour wading through YouTube videos made by guys who are apparently less than literate in addition to having poor personal hygiene (probably from living in their parents’ basements), I opt to post the question on BF. And I do it BEFORE I damage an expensive frame by doing something stupid to it.

So ultimately, I predict that the same questions WILL continue to appear, again and again, on the same topics. The way to avoid being burned out by this is to ignore the repetitive questions and let someone else answer them. OR, as I suggested earlier, to create a FAQ section…

Since you referenced me, I thought I'd respond.

I didn't chastise you, I simply asked whether you had a problem, or were satisfying your intellectual curiosity. As I said, I (and maybe others) am always willing to help someone in need, but less interested in general discussion or education when answers are readily available. (I have thousands of posts that evidence this, including many responding to FAQs).

Your post referenced a fork spreading method, then posited an alternate method -- an easier way? -- in a way that led me to infer that you didn't really need help, which prompted the question. I might have posted otherwise, ie. you read the tutorial, why don't you follow the instructions before deciding there might be a better way? As a matter of basic logic, it makes sense to discuss positive ideas, but there's little sense reviewing the infinite number of impractical methods.

I probably responded the way I did because of some your prior posts where you asked a question, then proceeded to debate every answer offered.

If you said I'm working on a fork and having a problem with the method I read about, I would have tried to help. OTOH - had you said, you were only interested for theoretical or hypothetical reasons, I'd have wished you well in your research.

So, it's not that the question has been asked before, but about whether those responding can offer practical aid to someone who needs it or not.

So that's the reasoning process from my point of view. If anyone finds being asked why they ask, and what specifically they need, offensive that IMO is their problem not mine. As you point out we're all free to ignore posts we don't care for or about.

BTW- I'll take your advice about not responding yo your posts in the future. No sense offending someone who doesn't want my help anyway.

[MENTION=158672]FBinNY[/MENTION] -

I've been an ass. I apologize. I do read your posts, and they are helpful.

It's obvious that you are quite knowledgable, and I appreciate your comments.

I do promise to do some research prior to posting in the future (it's my New Years resolution).

However, when I find contradictory advice during my research (a not unusual result), I'll ask on BF. If you don't wish to respond to my posts, I respect your choice. But if you will, I would appreciate your input.

FH

Apology accepted, though it wasn't required. No harm ever in asking, just don't be so sensitive if you get answers you don't like. ' nuff said on the topic.

Agreed.

You can use a little google-fu to limit searches to a specific site; e.g. type "cold set fork site:bikeforums.net" in the google search field.