Tools and supplies to work on tires

Article about tools to care for tires and inner tubes (pumps, tire removal and replacement tools, flat-fixing supplies) pulled out of the article on fixing flat tires, which was getting too long, and expanded.

A good patch kit
A good patch kit

Spoking for large hubs, improved

The article on special spoking patterns for use with extra-large hubs (for example, electric bicycle hub motors) has been improved with patterns which avoid twisting the hub shell for two of the hub and rim combinations. The article includes all the information needed to use Damon Rinard’s Spocalc (also on the site) to calculate spoke lengths for these patterns.

Non-torquing spoke pattern for 36-hole hub and 24-hole rim
Non-torquing spoke pattern for 36-hole hub and 24-hole rim

Check spoke tension by ear when building a wheel

Check the level of spoke tension by ear — unless you are tone deaf, a musical pitch reference (pitch pipe, tuning fork, smartphone app etc.) is all you need to tell whether you have brought spokes up to the appropriate level of tension when building a wheel. It’s faster than using a tensiometer!

Spocalc revised

The page for Damon Rinard’s spoke calculator has been revised, with an updated list of online spoke calculators, several comments and links, and better formatting. Now also includes links to spoke-calculator apps for iOS and Android smartphones!

screen shot from Spocalc
Screen shot from Spocalc

Quick releases

I’ve responded to a request from a reader for more information about quick-release skewer lengths by going further, with a major expansion of the article about quick releases. The article now covers wheel installation, secondary retention devices including the much-derided “lawyer lips”, and much more. — http://sheldonbrown.com/skewers.html — John Allen, for sheldonbrown.com

Effective length of a quick-release skewer
Effective length of a quick-release skewer
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