8 ms·

Sheldon's site was hugely influential back in the day. Maybe even more so than the Park blue book. You could find answers you didn't know to questions you didn

Sheldon's site was hugely influential back in the day. Maybe even more so than the Park blue book. You could find answers you didn't know to questions you didn't know to ask for hours and hours. And then some tangent about French derailleurs, besides. I still have tools color-coded Sheldon's way.

jona-f 3y ago
It still is. Or have I missed a site that has similar amount and quality of information?
- wyre 3y ago
  It still is. It just hasn’t kept up with the new technology of the bike industry and those vintage parts featured on Sheldon’s site are becoming harder and harder to find and when they are found are just as expensive, if not more expensive, than modern componentry.
  - bacon_waffle 3y ago
    For those who are unaware, Sheldon Brown died in 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechanic) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechani...
    - hedora 3y ago
      The site is still being updated: > Reports of the demise of this Web site are greatly exaggerated! We at sheldonbrown.com thank Harris Cyclery for its support over the years. Harris Cyclery has closed, but we keep going. Keep visiting the site for new and updated articles, and news about possible new affilations. Also: https://sheldonbrown.com/blog/ https://sheldonbrown.com/blog/
  - giraffe_lady 3y ago
    It's still the main resource for fixed gear cyclists since that stuff hasn't changed at all really. Fixed is a small but very active bike niche and because of the mechanical simplicity most people handle their own maintenance work. I would bet that most active fixed riders have recent practical exposure to SB because of it, I hear him mentioned regularly IRL. I know a 22-year-old with his face tattooed on his calf lol.
    - wyre 3y ago
      Where are you from? I’m jealous of your cycling community. > his face tattooed on his calf Best cycling tattoo I’ve ever heard of
      - giraffe_lady 3y ago
        I'm not from here but this is south side chicago. Very active fixed gear scene, though also very young. Fun to ride with and they have cool bikes, totally different aesthetics from what fixed meant in earlier eras. Lot of modern geo track bikes with wide riser bars for the street. I've given them a spin tho and it is honestly very fun the kids know what's up.
- KennyBlanken 3y ago
  Sheldon's site was a great resource because it was meticulously organized information written by someone immensely respected for having expert knowledge from decades of being a bike mechanic and massive bike nerd who seemingly spent every waking hour of his life either riding, tinkering with, or repairing bikes. The site has been "maintained" (heavily edited and appended) by a guy named John Allen who I think mostly just knows a bunch of people in the retrogrouch scene (you know the types - $10k steel randonneur bikes), has never worked as a bike mechanic, seems to have little practical hands-on knowledge, and repeatedly pontificates about stuff he doesn't seem to have experience with. A lot of his additions and modifications seem to be his personal opinions. I don't know if it's since been revised, but the stuff he wrote about belt drive bikes years ago made it clear he was just parroting shit he'd read elsewhere by people who had never ridden one for an extended period of time or owned one. Despite what he claims, they're virtually unbeatable for all-weather transportation bikes.
  - oblio 3y ago
    I'm a total newb regarding bikes but this Youtube channel seems quite solid from a distance regarding reliable bikes: https://www.youtube.com/@Cyclingabout https://www.youtube.com/@Cyclingabout Considering he's the kind of person that rides around the world, and that the suggestions seem well presented, internal gear hub + belt drive seems like a solid combo for reliability.
    - jacquesm 3y ago
      > Internal gear hub + belt drive seems like a solid combo for reliability It is. But make sure you get a solid internal gear hub because they're not all made the same. Shimano has an indestructible five gear model, the higher the number of gears the less torque the hub can deal with. Rohloff is beautiful but I think it is overpriced for what it offers (that's a personal opinion, others may well disagree). B-brands or anything open or chain based is going to be a lot less reliable.
      - oblio 3y ago
        > Shimano has an indestructible five gear model, the higher the number of gears the less torque the hub can deal with. He actually recommends Shimano Alfine 8, he finds it has a good balance between robustness and the way it handles.
- tchvil 3y ago
  When I began building bikes 10 years ago, Sheldon's site was already like an old book in the library. It was a reference for older topics, such as recently when I needed to understand the internal workings of a Sturmey Archer hub to fix one. However, it hasn't been of much help for the new developments from the past 15 years since his passing. While less organized and sometimes messy, YouTube and many other sites can answer any bike mechanic question. Even ChatGPT generally provides good answers
  - MezzoDelCammin 3y ago
    yeah, same here. I do have one cheap French threaded BB bike and another 20+y old road bike with Shimano 600, so I'm a regular visitor of Sheldon's. But for anything 10y old and less, it's straight to Park Tool's Youtube channel to admire Calvin Jones' moustache wax. However, even Park Tool doesn't have the sheer volume of reference data and simple tables of measurements that Sheldon has gathered over the years.
  - bradfa 3y ago
    The people who run the site now are adding new material to it. I built a new bike this year and actually found a lot of useful info for modern components on the site. Maybe our bike types don't overlap much, but I've personally found it useful still.
- bjacokes 3y ago
  I go to https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench for bike maintenance Q&A. The responders there are often extremely knowledgeable, although it doesn't have the article structure of Sheldon's site.
  - c0nsumer 3y ago
    I frequent that subreddit as well, but one needs to be very careful to navigate the cargo-cult very very wrong "solutions". Some of these sound right on their face, and thus get parroted, but don't really work out.
    - bjacokes 3y ago
      Any examples come to mind? This is true of most Internet communities but I've actually found that one to have more informed opinions than usual.
      - c0nsumer 3y ago
        Overall I agree, and usually the right answer will filter to the top, but not always. Here's some of the main groupthink pet peeve ones off the top of my head: - Gorilla Tape for tubeless. Reality is that it's porous and absorbent and the adhesive is hard to remove, and can pull the cosmetic layer off carbon rims. It works, but with all sorts of bad side effects. Standard tubeless (polypropylene strapping) tape applied properly rim wall to rim wall works far better. - A screwdriver is just fine for removing a crown race from a fork. (This almost always mars the fork, and while on a cartridge bearing fork this is mostly cosmetic, it can do damage and is bad looking. Shows lack of attention to detail.) - Contaminated disc brake pads can be cleaned to like-new by applying heat. I've never once seen nor heard of this actually working long-term. It's always a "well, it might work" that turns up negative. And the outgassing of burning off break fluid isn't good to be around. Then the litany of "how's this dent in my frame?" with the inevitable and loud "it's metal it can dent and be fine".
- ImprovedSilence 3y ago
  It’s still my goto, but there’s a ton a new bike tech that’s come about since, e-shifters, disc brakes, bottom bracket standards. Things keep changing…
nablaone 3y ago
https://www.sheldonbrown.com/colorcode.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/colorcode.html That's great idea.
- bhandziuk 3y ago
  It doesn't really follow his suggestions but these are nice hex wrenches: https://www.wihatools.com/products/color-coded-hex-l-keys-9-pc-metric https://www.wihatools.com/products/color-coded-hex-l-keys-9-...
  - bombcar 3y ago
    If you get the right kind of paint/marker you can mark the bolts with the same color as the wrench, then you can see what wrench you need from many feet away. Or just grab the 10mm, it's always 10mm.
    - eschneider 3y ago
      Nail polish works great.
    - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
      I can't think of any 10mm bolts on my bike. Most of the time, it's 4, 5 or 6mm hex bolts.
- Althuns 3y ago
  In rock climbing you'll find that protective gear follows a similar system.[1] Though of course different manufacturers choose different color schemes mostly. Being able to quickly grab the right size piece that fits the crack you're placing into is exceedingly important. [1] https://www.summitpost.org/size-matters-a-gear-comparison/694359 https://www.summitpost.org/size-matters-a-gear-comparison/69...
rhombocombus 3y ago
As a former pro bike mechanic I have never used the park blue book, I cannot count the number of times after he created the site that I leaned on Sheldon. I still use his wisdom and knowledge even having not professionally serviced bikes for 10 years. My retirement plan is to become wealthy enough to afford working in a bike shop again.

jona-f 3y ago

It still is. Or have I missed a site that has similar amount and quality of information?

wyre 3y ago
It still is. It just hasn’t kept up with the new technology of the bike industry and those vintage parts featured on Sheldon’s site are becoming harder and harder to find and when they are found are just as expensive, if not more expensive, than modern componentry.
- bacon_waffle 3y ago
  For those who are unaware, Sheldon Brown died in 2008. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechanic) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sheldon_Brown_(bicycle_mechani...
  - hedora 3y ago
    The site is still being updated: > Reports of the demise of this Web site are greatly exaggerated! We at sheldonbrown.com thank Harris Cyclery for its support over the years. Harris Cyclery has closed, but we keep going. Keep visiting the site for new and updated articles, and news about possible new affilations. Also: https://sheldonbrown.com/blog/ https://sheldonbrown.com/blog/
- giraffe_lady 3y ago
  It's still the main resource for fixed gear cyclists since that stuff hasn't changed at all really. Fixed is a small but very active bike niche and because of the mechanical simplicity most people handle their own maintenance work. I would bet that most active fixed riders have recent practical exposure to SB because of it, I hear him mentioned regularly IRL. I know a 22-year-old with his face tattooed on his calf lol.
  - wyre 3y ago
    Where are you from? I’m jealous of your cycling community. > his face tattooed on his calf Best cycling tattoo I’ve ever heard of
    - giraffe_lady 3y ago
      I'm not from here but this is south side chicago. Very active fixed gear scene, though also very young. Fun to ride with and they have cool bikes, totally different aesthetics from what fixed meant in earlier eras. Lot of modern geo track bikes with wide riser bars for the street. I've given them a spin tho and it is honestly very fun the kids know what's up.
KennyBlanken 3y ago
Sheldon's site was a great resource because it was meticulously organized information written by someone immensely respected for having expert knowledge from decades of being a bike mechanic and massive bike nerd who seemingly spent every waking hour of his life either riding, tinkering with, or repairing bikes. The site has been "maintained" (heavily edited and appended) by a guy named John Allen who I think mostly just knows a bunch of people in the retrogrouch scene (you know the types - $10k steel randonneur bikes), has never worked as a bike mechanic, seems to have little practical hands-on knowledge, and repeatedly pontificates about stuff he doesn't seem to have experience with. A lot of his additions and modifications seem to be his personal opinions. I don't know if it's since been revised, but the stuff he wrote about belt drive bikes years ago made it clear he was just parroting shit he'd read elsewhere by people who had never ridden one for an extended period of time or owned one. Despite what he claims, they're virtually unbeatable for all-weather transportation bikes.
- oblio 3y ago
  I'm a total newb regarding bikes but this Youtube channel seems quite solid from a distance regarding reliable bikes: https://www.youtube.com/@Cyclingabout https://www.youtube.com/@Cyclingabout Considering he's the kind of person that rides around the world, and that the suggestions seem well presented, internal gear hub + belt drive seems like a solid combo for reliability.
  - jacquesm 3y ago
    > Internal gear hub + belt drive seems like a solid combo for reliability It is. But make sure you get a solid internal gear hub because they're not all made the same. Shimano has an indestructible five gear model, the higher the number of gears the less torque the hub can deal with. Rohloff is beautiful but I think it is overpriced for what it offers (that's a personal opinion, others may well disagree). B-brands or anything open or chain based is going to be a lot less reliable.
    - oblio 3y ago
      > Shimano has an indestructible five gear model, the higher the number of gears the less torque the hub can deal with. He actually recommends Shimano Alfine 8, he finds it has a good balance between robustness and the way it handles.
tchvil 3y ago
When I began building bikes 10 years ago, Sheldon's site was already like an old book in the library. It was a reference for older topics, such as recently when I needed to understand the internal workings of a Sturmey Archer hub to fix one. However, it hasn't been of much help for the new developments from the past 15 years since his passing. While less organized and sometimes messy, YouTube and many other sites can answer any bike mechanic question. Even ChatGPT generally provides good answers
- MezzoDelCammin 3y ago
  yeah, same here. I do have one cheap French threaded BB bike and another 20+y old road bike with Shimano 600, so I'm a regular visitor of Sheldon's. But for anything 10y old and less, it's straight to Park Tool's Youtube channel to admire Calvin Jones' moustache wax. However, even Park Tool doesn't have the sheer volume of reference data and simple tables of measurements that Sheldon has gathered over the years.
- bradfa 3y ago
  The people who run the site now are adding new material to it. I built a new bike this year and actually found a lot of useful info for modern components on the site. Maybe our bike types don't overlap much, but I've personally found it useful still.
bjacokes 3y ago
I go to https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench https://www.reddit.com/r/bikewrench for bike maintenance Q&A. The responders there are often extremely knowledgeable, although it doesn't have the article structure of Sheldon's site.
- c0nsumer 3y ago
  I frequent that subreddit as well, but one needs to be very careful to navigate the cargo-cult very very wrong "solutions". Some of these sound right on their face, and thus get parroted, but don't really work out.
  - bjacokes 3y ago
    Any examples come to mind? This is true of most Internet communities but I've actually found that one to have more informed opinions than usual.
    - c0nsumer 3y ago
      Overall I agree, and usually the right answer will filter to the top, but not always. Here's some of the main groupthink pet peeve ones off the top of my head: - Gorilla Tape for tubeless. Reality is that it's porous and absorbent and the adhesive is hard to remove, and can pull the cosmetic layer off carbon rims. It works, but with all sorts of bad side effects. Standard tubeless (polypropylene strapping) tape applied properly rim wall to rim wall works far better. - A screwdriver is just fine for removing a crown race from a fork. (This almost always mars the fork, and while on a cartridge bearing fork this is mostly cosmetic, it can do damage and is bad looking. Shows lack of attention to detail.) - Contaminated disc brake pads can be cleaned to like-new by applying heat. I've never once seen nor heard of this actually working long-term. It's always a "well, it might work" that turns up negative. And the outgassing of burning off break fluid isn't good to be around. Then the litany of "how's this dent in my frame?" with the inevitable and loud "it's metal it can dent and be fine".
ImprovedSilence 3y ago
It’s still my goto, but there’s a ton a new bike tech that’s come about since, e-shifters, disc brakes, bottom bracket standards. Things keep changing…

nablaone 3y ago

https://www.sheldonbrown.com/colorcode.html https://www.sheldonbrown.com/colorcode.html That's great idea.

bhandziuk 3y ago
It doesn't really follow his suggestions but these are nice hex wrenches: https://www.wihatools.com/products/color-coded-hex-l-keys-9-pc-metric https://www.wihatools.com/products/color-coded-hex-l-keys-9-...
- bombcar 3y ago
  If you get the right kind of paint/marker you can mark the bolts with the same color as the wrench, then you can see what wrench you need from many feet away. Or just grab the 10mm, it's always 10mm.
  - eschneider 3y ago
    Nail polish works great.
  - ndsipa_pomu 3y ago
    I can't think of any 10mm bolts on my bike. Most of the time, it's 4, 5 or 6mm hex bolts.
Althuns 3y ago
In rock climbing you'll find that protective gear follows a similar system.[1] Though of course different manufacturers choose different color schemes mostly. Being able to quickly grab the right size piece that fits the crack you're placing into is exceedingly important. [1] https://www.summitpost.org/size-matters-a-gear-comparison/694359 https://www.summitpost.org/size-matters-a-gear-comparison/69...

rhombocombus 3y ago

As a former pro bike mechanic I have never used the park blue book, I cannot count the number of times after he created the site that I leaned on Sheldon. I still use his wisdom and knowledge even having not professionally serviced bikes for 10 years. My retirement plan is to become wealthy enough to afford working in a bike shop again.