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Articles by Sheldon Brown and Others

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"26 Inch" Tires
Do you think "26 inch" is a tire size? It isn't!
NEW! Adventure Cycling articles
Sheldon's "Mechanical Advantage" articles
April Fool
Have you paid your Gullibility Tax?
Autoshift
Does your bike shift by itself?
ASC Hubs
Old three-speed fixed gear! Now Sturmey-Archer has a new one.
NEW! Bichain Fixed/Free Drivetrain
Are you really handy? Bruce Ingle's wild drive train.
Bicycle Links
My personal bicycle hotlist.
Biopace
An unfashionable chainwheel design defended.
Bottom Bracket Drop Calculator
Grant Petersen's spreadsheet for calculating pedal cornering clearance.
Bottom Bracket Sizes
What size bottom bracket goes with your crank set?
NEW! Bottom Bracket Spindle Tapers
Square taper bottom brackets ISO vs. J.I.S.
Braking and Turning
Which brake? How to turn?
Jobst Brandt's FAQ
A mechanical engineer answers Frequently Asked Questions
Bridgestone Bicycles
From the Golden Age of Japanese Bicycles
Revised! Cables
Tips on cable installation to ensure that your brakes and gears live up to their potential.
Cannondale Headshock Service
Service guide by Nigel Pickard.
Cantilever Adjustment
A practical guide to adjusting cantilever brakes.
Cantilever Boss Fixture
Install your own cantilever brake bosses.
Cantilever Geometry
A technical analysis of how to fine-tune your cantilever brakes for best performance.
Capreo-Shimano's system for small wheels
9-tooth sprockets help provide decent high gears with small wheels.
Carapace Completed Umber
Humorous postings by my evil twin.
Updated! Cassette Hubs
The modern solution for rear hubs.
Centurion Bicycles
Feature article by Ashley Wright
Chain Life Extension
A new technique for extending chain/sprocket life on simple chain drives.
Chain Line
It's time to go straight.
Chain Maintenance
Make your chain run smoother, last longer and shift better.
Chicago Schwinns
The indestructible bikes from Chicago.
Coaster Brakes
Coaster, or "back-pedalling" brakes.
Color Coding Your Tools
Increase order and efficiency in your work area by color coding your tools.
Computer/Net Links
A page of links about computers, the Internet and the Web.
Cone Adjustment
Procedures and tools for adjusting wheel bearings.
Revised! Cottered Cranks
Older bikes used cotter (wedge) pins to hold the cranks on.
Cranks
Crank length and other crank issues.
Creaks, Clicks & Clunks
...and things that go "bump" on your bike.
Cribsheets
Printer-friendly data tables with useful dimensions of:
Cyclecomputer Calibration Chart
Calibration numbers for all cyclecomputers.
Cyclecomputer Installation
Tips on installing cyclecomputers.
Cyclecomputer Troubleshooting
Troubleshooting and repair of cyclecomputers.
Cyclist Inferiority
Attitude? Phobia? Complex? Superstition?
by John Forester
Derailer
Why I spell it that way.
Derailer Adjustment
How to adjust your derailers.
Derailers-Front
What you need to know to select an appropriate front derailer.
Dura-Ace Interchangeability
Older Shimano Dura-Ace parts aren't all compatible with newer equipment.
Dynohubs
Electrical generators built into the wheel hub.
NEW! Electric bicycles
Osman Isvan analyzes power management
English/French
Bicycle Dictionary
Le Vélo-Dictionnaire
English/Spanish
Bicycle Dictionary
Spanish/English Bicycle Dictionary
English 3 Speeds
Useful tips on servicing these classic bikes.
Evil Bicycles
A Satanic conspiracy exposed!
Europe 75
Stories and photos of my first trip to Europe, 1975
Europe 89
I lived in France for a year, 1988-89
Fixed Gear for the Road
Lots of information for people who know that Coasting Is A Pernicious Habit!
Fixed Gear Conversions
The nuts and bolts of converting to fixed gear
Fixed Gear on the Cheap
Tom Deakins on the cheapest way to go fixed.
Fixed Gear and Knee Health
Is fixed-gear riding beneficial to your knees? by Charles Renner
Fixed Gear Testimonials
If you don't believe me when I tell you how much fun fixed-gear riding is, read this.
Flat Tires
What every cyclist should know about flat tires.
Forging, Casting & CNC Machining
Jeff del Papa explains the differences, pros & cons.
Frame Materials
Cutting through the myths and folklore.
Frame Sizing
Revisionist theory on bicycle fitting. Read this before you buy a new bike!
Frame Spacing
Want to put modern gears on an older frame? Spread it!
France Cycling
Advice and links for cyclists on touring in FranceBy:
French bicycles
Repair, restoration, maintenance and history of French bicycles.
Freewheels
Removal and service.
Front Derailers
What you need to know to select an appropriate front derailer.
Gain Ratios
A new system for designating bicycle gear ratios.
Gear Calculator
An online calculator for Gain Ratios, gear inches, metric development.
Old! Gear Calculation with the Slide rule
Sometimes a 400 year old instrument is faster than a computer. Geeks only.
Gear Shifting
An introduction to using derailer gears.
Gear Theory
Thoughts on gear spacing/range issues.
Sheldon Brown's
Bicycle Glossary
An huge compendium of bicycle terms, specifications, information, and opinion.
Hands Up! Raising your Handlebars
How to get your handlebars higher (or lower) for more comfort.
NEW! Headsets
Different stem/headset systems explained.
NEW! Helmets
Helmet history, types, wars
History of Electric Lighting
by Marty Goodman
Home-made drop bolts
New brakes on old frames.
Humor
Bicyle silliness
Inside the Varsity
Marc Muller reveals the technology of the Chicago Schwinns.
R.T.Jansen 1979 Catalogue
French-style custom touring bikes, made in New Hampshire
Japanese Bicycles
The 1980s were the Golden Age of Japanese bikes in the U.S..
Jobst Brandt's FAQ
A mechanical engineer answers Frequently Asked Questions
Lambert/Viscount Bicycles
by Tim McNamara. Lambert and Viscount bicycles of the 1970's, and the death fork.
Leather Saddles
Oldies but goodies. Why you want one, how to maintain it.
Lock Strategy
Keeping your bike safe, without a ton of hardware.
Tim MacNamara
Bicycle fiction from Minnesota
Mismatched Rims/Hubs
Building wheels when the hub has more spoke holes than the rim.
The Myth of K.O.P.S.
Keith Bontrager debunks an old fitting theory.
One-Piece Cranks
The technology of older American-made bikes.
Pain and Bicycling
Riding a bicycle shouldn't hurt!
Paris Brest Paris on Fixed Gear
by Emily O'Brien
Physically-Separated Bike Lanes
Tom Revay explains why these are a Bad Idea.
NEW! Gene Portuesi's Cyclopedia
A Blast from the Past!
Québec
Je me souviens
Quick-release Skewers
Good ones vs. Bad ones.
Raleigh 3-speeds
For the collector/restorer.
Raleigh Interchangeability
Putting new parts on your old Nottingham Raleigh
Recumbents
Four types. Article from 1992
sheldonbrown.com/retroraleighs
Classic Raleigh Headquarters
New! Rim Sizing
Measuring your rim to determine what size tire you need.
Damon Rinard's Tech Pages
Damon Rinard's technical pages are now hosted by Harris Cyclery.
Why Reflectors Don't Work
Common sense from John Schubert about Lights and Reflectors.
Saddles
A comfortable tush.
Schwinn Fillet-Brazed Lightweights
Mark Rother on these little known jewels from the Chicago days.
Seatpost Size Database
What size seatpost fits what what frame?
If you know, tell me...If you don't know, the answer may be here!
NEW! Selling Your Old Bike
Don't throw it away, it could be worth real money.
Expanded! Internal-Gear Hubs
Info on multi-speed rear hubs from Shimano, SRAM/Sachs and Sturmey-Archer.
NEW! Sachs/SRAM Internal-Gear Hubs
General advice, and links to rebuilding information
Updated! Shimano Cassettes
How to get the gears you want, whether Shimano likes it or not!
Shimano 1973 Dura-Ace Catalogue
Shimano 1982 Catalogue
Shimano Dura-Ace Issues
Older Shimano Dura-Ace parts aren't all compatible with newer equipment.
Shimano Mega 7 Freewheels
Shimano re-invents the thread-on freewheel.
NEW! Shimano Nexus Hubs-Tech
Adjustment, removing/re-installing the whee. Introduction to several pages about Nexus hubs.
NEW! Shimano 7-speed hubs
Servicing information.
NEW! Shimano Nexus, Alfine 8-speed Hubs
Servicing information and advice.
Tom Shaddox
Tandem fiction.
NEW! Shoes and pedals
Choices, compatibility
Singlespeed Mountain Bikes
One speed is all you need!
New! Skewers
Good ones vs. Bad ones.
Old! Slide Rules & Gears
Sometimes a slide rule is faster than a calculator!
Spam
Learning to deal with spam by using email filters.
Spanish/English
Bicycle Dictionary
English/Spanish Bicycle Dictionary
NEW! Speeds-Interchangeability
When does an "n-speed" doohickey work with
an "n+1-speed" frammis?
Standing
When should you stand up?
Starting and Stopping
Are you doing it right?
Sturmey-Archer Hubs
The greatest name in planetary gear systems.
Sturmey-Archer 1935-38
Catalogue images from 1935 and 1938.
Sturmey-Archer 50 Years
Sturmey-Archer History, 1952
Straightening Chainwheels
Bent chainwheels can sometimes be straightened.
Stuck Seatposts
Seatpost frozen into your frame? click here!
The Soul of a Pedicab Chauffeur
Carl Etiner writes from Oslo.
Tandems
A primer for new tandemists.
Teaching Children To Cycle
Strategies for teaching your little ones to ride.
Tires
Everything you need to know about bicycle tires.
Tyres
Everything you need to know about bicycle tyres.
Tire Rotation
Should you do it?
Tire Sizing
Tire size designations demystified.
Tool Tips:
Touring in Europe
Charles Hansen'stips for planning a European tour.
Upgrading Older Bicycles
A work in progress...
VAR Tools from France
A blast from the past, early '80s VAR tools catalogue scans.
NEW! Bicycle Video
Vintage Bicycle Price Guide
by Mike Kone of Bicycle Classics.
Wheelbuilding
Build your own wheels!
Mixed Hubs/rims
Perverse wheelbuilding! Mixed spoke drillings.

For a more compact version of this list, see sheldonbrown.com/a

Some of these articles are available translated into German and Russian.
See my Translations Page.

If the full list is too much for you, check out the sub indices:

Articles by Sheldon Brown and others
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