How-To Guides

Everything you need to start riding well and make smart gear decisions — written for real beginners and improving riders.

New and returning cyclists buying a bike online or secondhand who need to match their height to the right frame before they commit.7 min read

Bike Frame Size Chart: Match Your Height to the Right Frame

Match your height to the chart: road frames run 47–64 cm, mountain frames 13–22 inches (XS–XXL), hybrids XS–XXL, covering riders from 4'10" to 6'6". Land between two sizes? The frame with 1–2 inches of standover clearance for road, 2–4 inches for mountain, wins.

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Cyclists staring at a tyre sidewall or a bike listing, trying to work out what 700x38c means and whether it fits their wheels.4 min read

What Does 700x38c Mean?

700x38c is a 38mm-wide tyre for a 700c (622mm) rim — written 38-622 in ISO. Here's every part decoded, the widths chart, and whether it fits your bike.

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Beginner5 min read

How to Remove a Bike Chain Without a Chain Tool

If your chain has a master link — that one odd-looking link — you don't need a chain tool at all. Squeeze it open with your thumbs, a pair of pliers, or a looped shoelace and the chain's off in under a minute. Here's how to find it, remove it, and lock it back together — plus what to do if there's no master link to work with.

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Home mechanics, commuters and newer riders standing in the shop (or at a checkout) trying to work out whether the replacement tube has to match the tire size printed on the sidewall.6 min read

Does the Inner Tube Size Have to Match the Tire?

A tube is a stretchy balloon printed with a width range, not a single fixed size — so it doesn't have to match your tire exactly. What does have to match: wheel diameter and valve. Here's the chart.

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Anyone whose chain keeps derailing — road, gravel, mountain, or commuter — who wants to find the cause and fix it themselves before paying a shop.7 min read

Why Your Bike Chain Keeps Falling Off (And How to Fix It)

A chain that won't stay on is almost always a mis-set limit screw, not a dead drivetrain. Here's how to find the real cause in the right order.

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Riders weighing a Rivendell purchase who want a straight answer on whether premium steel is worth the money — before they join a waitlist.7 min read

Are Rivendell Bikes Good? A Mechanic's Honest Verdict

Rivendell makes some of the best steel bikes money can buy — if your definition of "best" is comfort and a 20-year lifespan, not speed or value-per-dollar. Here's the honest breakdown, model by model, plus who should skip them.

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Anyone deciding whether to buy a Nishiki — a new one off the rack at Dick's or a used vintage model — and wondering if the brand is actually any good.7 min read

Is Nishiki a Good Bike?

Two very different bikes wear the Nishiki badge: a cheap modern Dick's house brand and a genuinely good vintage Japanese one. Which one you're looking at decides whether it's worth buying.

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Commuters and weekend riders who've swapped or patched a tube and watched it go flat again within a mile.7 min read

Why Your Bike Tire Keeps Going Flat (and How to Stop It for Good)

A tire that keeps going flat almost always has its original cause still lodged inside. Here's the five-minute, in-order diagnosis a mechanic runs, plus the fix for every cause from pinch flats to rim tape.

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Anyone who spotted 700x23c on a tyre sidewall or in a shop listing and wants to know exactly what it means, what it fits, and whether to swap to something wider.5 min read

What Does 700x23c Mean? Your Tyre Size, Decoded

700x23c decoded: a 23mm road tyre on a 622mm 700C rim (ISO 23-622). What every number and the 'c' actually mean, why the pros ditched 23mm for 25 and 28, and everything that fits the same wheel.

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Everyday riders and home mechanics whose brakes feel weak, spongy, or dead. Covers both rim and disc brakes and needs little more than a set of hex keys.7 min read

How to Fix Bike Brakes That Don't Work

Nine times out of ten, brakes that quit are one of three cheap fixes: worn pads, a slack cable, or oil on the braking surface. Squeeze the lever, read what it tells you, and work down this list in diagnostic order — rim and disc brakes fail differently, and most of it you can sort at home in ten minutes with hex keys.

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A rider whose saddle hurts and wants to know why — and exactly what to change to stop it.7 min read

Why Are Bike Seats So Uncomfortable? The Real Reasons (and the Fixes)

Bike seats aren't uncomfortable by design. Nine times out of ten it's height, tilt, width, or the wrong shorts dumping your weight onto soft tissue instead of your sit bones. Here's the cause-and-fix for each.

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