The Bike Hive

Kashima coating is a feature currently only found on Fox forks and shocks*.  It's easy to spot from it's distinctive dark brown color.  What is it and why do they use it?  First, a quick definition: Anodizing is a process by which a metal part (normally aluminum) is electrically charged and submerged in a chemical bath.  This creates an oxide layer that penetrates the metal and changes the microscopic texture and the crystal structure of the metal near the surface.  After a part is treated, it can be dyed to give it color before it is sealed to increase durability. Hard anodizing is a similar procedure that penetrates further into the metal. This increases the surface hardness of the material making the surface even more durable and corrosion resistant.  It does not make the metal part stronger, it affects the durability of the surface of the metal. Kashima coating is a type of hard anodizing that involves a lubricating treatment as well.  This ...

I unwrapped the handlebar tape on a nice Bianchi the other day and uncovered a potentially dangerous situation. This is pitting on the handlebar caused by corrsion after it has been cleaned. What you don't see is the white power that covered the bar, remnants of sweat and aluminum oxidation. This happened for a couple different reasons.  First and foremost, rider doesn't use gloves.  There's nothing wrong with that-I let my hands go commando on occasion too.  The problem with that is there's nothing to keep sweat off the bars.  Instead of gloves absorbing the sweat, it goes straight to the tape.  Sweat is caustic, and some riders' sweat is worse than others.  Regardless, it causes corrosion if not cleaned off. The second reason this happened is because the bar tape was used well past its prime.  In this case, it was three years old and had never been removed.  Bar tape is something that wears out rather quickly - even if you don't con...

This is kind of an oversimplification of a complex subject, but I tried to make it easy to understand. There are two main types of disc brake pads:  Organic and Metallic. Organic pads (sometimes called resin pads) are the most common on new bikes.  They are made of an organic material (ground cashew shells on some pads) mixed with an epoxy.  They work well because they have a good 'grippy' feel when braking and they create less noise.  They are also less expensive than a metallic pad.  However, they don't deal well with extreme heat generated by the brake system and they wear faster. Metallic pads (sometimes called sintered or semi-metallic) are designed for heavy duty use and are less common on new bikes.   They are made of copper, brass, and/or steel mixed with epoxy.  They work well in messy conditions - mud, sand, and rain and last much longer than organic pads.  The downside is that they make much more noise and will wear rotors faster....

Richard Mattmann owned the Hive Bike Shop in Peru, Indiana until 1987.  The shop was 3 blocks from where I grew up and I spent an awful lot of time there.  While I never actually worked for Richard (I started working there when he sold it), he was a big influence on my career. The Hive Bike shop was a magical place for me.  I loved looking at all the new bikes and accessories there.  Many of the bikes were 'custom' built with matching cables and bar tape, or had fenders and racks, or had matching tires and pad kits (on the BMX bikes).  I can still remember the 'custom built by RLM' tags on some of them.  It was rare for a bike to go out the door without accessories of some sort along with it. The signage throughout the store is something that I've always remembered.   All the signs were hand drawn and looked neat.  They drew your attention to a product or feature and all the signs in the store were similar and worked together.  Shopping in ...

I picked up this Miele in very rough condition last month.  Although I'm not super excited about the brand, it is a decent quality classic early 90s steel bike made with Columbus Cromor tubing.  I got it with a solid Shimano 600 group on it.  Even though I like the 600 components, I do love Campagnolo.  It doesn't hurt that I have a Daytona gruppo in a box that would look great on this. Before I get ahead of myself, there's some serious cleanup and touch up to do.  I'd rather not spend the money on a repaint so I have some fine sanding to do and some paint touch up.  The fork is in very poor condition with more rust than chrome plating left so I'm thinking of installing a carbon fiber fork that I have.  Not only would it look great but it will smooth out the ride quite a bit too. I'll post updates as I work through this new project!