What's new at sheldonbrown.com
Aluminum, titanium and carbon-fiber frames are fashionable, and generally lighter than steel frames. But if you are on a bicycle tour to a remote area, the ability of any small-town welder to perform an ugly but functional repair on a steel frame could allow you to continue. You may be able to straighten a bent frame yourself. Read about it here.
More details on removing a stuck seatpost. Reader Andrew Livingston has refined the information Matt Duff sent us on using caustic soda to dissolve (yes, dissolve!) a stuck aluminum seatpost in a steel frame.
Damon Rinard, who now works for Cannondale, had to turn his Web pages about bicycling over to Sheldon Brown back in 2001 when hired by an earlier employer. Rinard’s pages contain a wealth of information on bicycle design, and the renowned Spocalc bicycle spoke length calculator. Rinard even describes how to build a carbon fiber bicycle frame at home, and it’s easier than working with steel. His pages on improving aerodynamics are a real eye-opener. We have improved the translations of several articles originally written in German, checked links and reformatted the pages to make them easier to read in a modern browser.
Another Rinard article updated: his page of links to information, sources of materials and software for amateur frame builders.
Damon Rinard built a carbon-fiber bicycle frame in his garage! And we have just updated his pages describing how he did it, including sources for materials and tools. He points out that it’s actually much easier to build a carbon fiber frame than a steel frame.
Headed out on tour where you could be 100 miles or more from the nearest bicycle shop? Or do you just want to know the principles of bicycle frame alignment? We have an article for you.
New article on refinishing bicycle frames. How much of the work does it make sense to do yourself? With a steel frame, there are several good answers, depending on available time, your workspace, and how much the appearance of the frame matters to you.
With non-steel frames, options are more limited, but the article describes them too.
