Ag dropped these two images in the shop slack after we finished hanging up tires on Monday. To say 2020 was a hard year to start a new business is a major understatement, but having these two photos to show the tangible progress we’ve managed to make during such a time has felt extremely eye opening. Pun fully intended. Sometimes when you have your nose to the grinding wheel for so long, it can be hard to step back and really appreciate the fruits of your labor.

A quick shot of the “back of house” by Ag, taken this past Monday.

We’d like to express an extremely heartfelt thank you to each and every one of you who has supported us since we opened our doors in May, since we launched our Kickstarter two Novembers ago, since we started cooking up this wild idea and incessantly talking about it. Thanks for putting up with parts shortages, shipping delays, and all the other trials and tribulations of a global pandemic most of us don’t have a strong enough understanding of globalization to have seen coming.

Office Hours pt. 2 was a Success!

Woody showing off her awesome diagram to Zack, getting ready for “Office Hours” pt. 2.

Woody and Zack hosted our second edition of “Office Hours” this past Monday. A lot of folks that showed up to our first class wanted to dive more into shifting, so we decided to focus on that for the second go around. The class was fourteen strong and everyone picked up the info really well!

Here’s a recap of the class from Woody:

In case you missed our Office Hours this past week focusing on Shifting, we wanted to share our notes! The purpose of this chat was to get you familiar with your shifting system, demystify certain issues you may have experienced, and maybe start to be able to diagnose problems and do small adjustments.

Parts of your shifting system:

Shifter: This is the lever you pull or push. You may have a front & rear shifter, or just a rear shifter depending on your bike (or maybe none if you have a singlespeed). There are many different kinds and can look very different but all have the same basic function.
Cable & housing: This is the communication line between your shifter and derailleur. When you use your shifter, it pulls or lets out cable and this communication travels down to the derailleur.
Derailleur: This is what physically moves the chain between your cogs. When you shift, the shifter pulls the cable, and this communication is transferred to your derailleur, which is basically a strong spring. This spring derails the chain from the gear that it is on, and moves it on to another gear. Depending on your bike, you may have just a rear derailleur or a front & rear.
Drivetrain is also an important part of your shifting system. This consists of your chain, the cassette/freewheel [your gears in the back], and your chainring(s) [your gear(s) in the front].

Some common questions:

Why is my derailleur skipping between gears?

If you are having skipping or “slipping” between gears, this is most likely a cable tension issue. The amount of tension on the cable determines the exact amount of cable that is pulled when you shift. In a perfect set up, the amount of cable that is pulled is the exact amount to move the derailleur enough to get to the next cog. If your shifting is erratic or if you shift to the next gear and it is very noisy, there is a good chance that your tension is too high or too low, causing the derailleur to either not jump over to the next cog, or maybe to overshoot it.
To fix this, the cable tension needs adjustment! This can be done with your barrel adjuster that is either at your derailleur or at your shifter - or both! Also sometimes it is “in-line” with the cable housing. Aren’t bikes annoying? Your goal is for that top pulley in the derailleur to line up perfectly with the cog when you’re in that particular gear. **See diagram**
If you have friction shifting (no “indexing” or clicks when you shift) then simply adjusting your shifter slightly can resolve issues if you're slipping between gears.
It is important to note that your shifter, derailleur, cassette, and chain all need to be compatible with each other (same number of gears, sometimes the same brand). When in doubt, ask your LBS!

What are limit screws?

There are two screws located on your derailleur that are marked H (high) & L (low), these are your limit screws.
These set the overall range that your derailleur is able to move, so they are used to adjust the extremes of the derailleur movement. These generally do not need to be adjusted during general maintenance.
*You may see a third screw that doesn’t have a H or L on your rear derailleur. This is your B-limit screw and for the sake of simplicity, we’re not going to go into that right now! Assuming your bike has been built by a shop or gone in for service, this screw should be set correctly and does not need to be adjusted for regular maintenance.

Notes on Drivetrain wear:

If your drivetrain is worn out, no amount of adjustments are going to make it shift well!
Keeping your drivetrain clean helps extend its life.
Checking your chain wear and getting it replaced when it is worn out can extend the life of your cassette and chainrings. Bike shops will generally check your chain wear for free.

This is just meant as a guide to get you familiar with your bike. If you do decide to work on your bike, here are some tips for making adjustments:

Find a good way to set up your bike so that you can spin the pedals with your hand & shift with your other hand at the same time, otherwise it will be very difficult to fine tune your adjustment.
Look at your derailleur & hanger (see diagram) - they should be about perpendicular to the ground - if they look bent or you have any doubts that they are straight, please take your bike to a shop to have this checked because you can potentially cause damage to your body/frame/wheel!
Be patient with yourself and work slowly. Only make 1 adjustment at a time, then go through and see if that made things better or worse, then work from there. Doesn’t hurt to test ride your bike between adjustments. When in doubt, bring your bike to your LBS to help you out.

Scope this amazing diagram drawn up by Woody! Such a good and comprehensive display of the rear half of a bike’s drivetrain. Imagine you’re looking at this as if you’re crouching down at the very end of your bike, facing towards the handlebars, looking at the cassette and rear derailleur. Does that make sense?

That’s it for this week. Hoping to have some photos of some of the custom builds we’ve been working on for you next time, as well as some news about some new product coming in this spring. Til then, we’ll see ya!