Nobody cares about bicycles

what

if small wheel gud then big wheel is more better

Gears are for losers, gotta embiggen the wheel

The one that isn't actually a bikie country at all

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They're all fixed gear which, unless you're into it, sucks because you can't not pedal. Have fun doing 150rpm down a slight incline and all.

They also have a large side profile so the wind fucks with you a lot. They also have a large front profile so the lack of aero means you'll be exerting yourself more.

It's a bit complicated to get on them, it's a lot more complicated to get off them when you need to stop quickly. Which in todays car-centric world is probably a lot of the time.

They're also prohibitively expensive because there's zero markets for them. Same goes for most of the parts.

Seeing as a lot of legislature requires a bike to have 2 separate brakes, you're also going to run into trouble with that a lot, because you'll be hard pressed to run any sort of brake to either of those wheels that's not "pedaling backwards, because it's a fixie."

Price is probably the biggest factor, honestly. You have to be like really into it to get one. If you wan a modern equivalent, I'd look for Tallbikes. Those have a lot bigger community these days.

I'll toot my own horn and refer to another post I made on beginners maintenance on bicycles

Chains stretch out as they age, and not mesh with the gears properly. Or your derailleur could out of alignment which can keep you from shifting fully, in which case you would just need to fuss with the limit screws

this is gonna sounds like pain in the ass, but mulitiple U locks is probably the most solid way. if you have a bike where you can remove the tires quickly, always just take them with you. people are less interested ina bike that they can't ride away...

Kinda specific but sometimes when I start to bike (the first push-off) it feels like the chain ‘skips’ a beat and the pedals also ‘skip’ a beat. Is my chain too loose or something?

To add what the other posts say, if you have internal gearing those could be out of alignment and cause you to skip a bit as the planetary gears don't mesh well.

Or maybe the teeth on your cogs are done for. If they look like sharks teeth, it's time to replace them. Look up what a fresh tooth on a cassette looks like and compare to your bike.

Also what are the best ways to keep your bike as theft-proof as possible in a city, that would be cool. I don’t even get nice bikes and they always get stolen with both a rear tire lock and a chain for the frame.

At that point you probably want to try two different type of locks. It's all about making your bike harder to steal than the next one, unfortunately.

Maybe give S heldon Browns locking technique a go to secure both the rear wheel and frame with one mini U-Lock, then use the chain for the front wheel.

Also his advice on making your bike look shittier on the parts that don't impact the ride is fairly solid.

A last hail mary could be to make your bike stand out. Make it a goofy combination of colours, splashy paint job or anything. This sort of depends on whether the cops actually give a shit about the problem, but it could make a thieve choose another bike that stands out less for fear of getting caught.

what do i do if one of my brakes works fine but squeals like crazy?

What type of brakes?

i don’t really bike in winter, but if i wanted to, what should i know? i’m talking -5 or -10 C weather

I'll mark down to it's own post on it but the short version is:

As forTemperature? Thick gloves, warm and water-resistant footwear. Otherwise, probably lighter clothing than you think you'd need looking at it from the inside. You do warm up quite quickly on a bicycle. Also get fenders. You don't want icy water all over you. -5 to -10C is approaching face-hurting levels, so maybe a scarf. If you're wearing a helmet, you can likely skip the hat, if not, probably a hat.

Some form of eye protection against the cold is good. Sunglasses are the obvious choice. If it's not all that bright, I know the orange or clear glasses look fairly dorky, but people wear them for a reason. You don't want the wind in your eyes, much less snow. It's just miserable.

Orange-Coloured glasses have the added bonus of making distinctions in dusky conditions, such as curbs or elevation differences in the snow, easier to spot.

Or maybe go for the quirky route and get like pilot goggles.

Make sure to give your brakes and shifters a try before you set off. They can get frozen and for the brakes especially, you do not want to find that out approaching an intersection.

As for riding in the snow and on Ice?

Lower your tyre pressure a bit, so you have more grip. It makes the ride harder, but it beats wiping out and eating shit.

Lower your saddle a bit so your center of gravity is lower and your feet can easily touch the ground. If you're doing big mileage be careful as this can strain your knees, but for like trips in the city it's a good way to save yourself from wiping out.

Brake before any turn. Do not pedal or brake while your wheels aren't straight. Your tyres have only so much friction for any given thing and on snow, you do not want to use that for anything but direction changes. Also take corners sloooooooooow and keep your center of gravity upright, i.e. don't lean into it.

Make sure to only ride over what you can clearly see. A snow bank may look soft, but that could be fresh powdering ontop of an ice block.

Take extra care with curbs and such, they can be easily hidden by the snow.

If you're dealing with large patches of ice, either don't ride your bike or get a tyre with spikes. Check local legislature on this, they could be illegal. Many people in skandinavia opt to only put spiked tyres on their front wheel, as that is easier to change than messing with the gearing in the rear and your tail wheel sliding out is much, much easier to control than your front slipping away (just like in a car, basically).

Watch out while riding tyres with spikes over metal surfaces, such as gutter grates, manhole covers or tram tracks. They're good on ice, but metal on metal is about as slippery as rubber on ice.

Also if the roads are salted, make sure to spray down your bike with water every few days. Salt is a bike killer. Maybe get a cheap beater winter bike, so your treasured one doesn't rust away.

You probably need to toe-in your brakes to stop the squeaking, there's a ton of videos online that show how to do it. All it takes is an Allen key and like 5 minutes usually, definitely worth it.

Thermal long underwear under your pants, waterproof shoes and rain paints (and/or fenders) if it's snowy, one less layer than you'd normally wear for the temp on top while you're riding, bandana over the face so you can still breathe easily but stay warm, warm gloves. Once you get below 20°F you might want ski goggles too. Be careful if it's snowing, especially when braking, and watch out for ice. Winter biking really isn't as bad as you think, the real challenge is managing your layers and remembering to bring extra just in case.

Sorry to hear that, maybe the people over at !neurodiverse@hexbear.net could offer some advice for the anxiety?

Get a single speed, avoid hi-tensile steel and get chromoly steel or aluminum. Get a new one online to save money, especially if you're kind of handy, but if you want used buy local since it's easy to find someone who just wants to move their bike at any price.

I'll toot my own horn again and point to another post I've made about what bike to get as a beginner.

Unless you want a bike not just for getting around on, in which case tell me what you want to do and I'll give so some tips on what to look for.

Buying used is a given.

People like to watch races and a small circular track means you can see the entire thing from anywhere and races can go longer without pivoting, which is uncool and boring because it requires slowing down.

How to keep chain locks from freezing too badly, or thaw them effectively?

I'm assuming this means the actual locking mechanism, i.e. where you put the keys in. A cover for the keyhole helps, allthough if that's not built in, it'll be a nuisance to retrofit. Carry a bic lighter (either on the bike or in your pocket) for this.

How to tighten the chain properly

If you have a derailleur and a slack chain, it means the chain is too long and you need to shorten it. If it used to be tight and now isn't with no other changes, replace your chain.

If it's something with rear dropouts, flip your bike, loosen the quick-release screw or the bolts that keep the wheel in place and pull it back a bit. If you're already at the end of the droput, it's either time to shorten your chain or, more likely, to replace it as it has worn out. Chains do actually stretch, very slow,y over time.

EDIT: Do note, if the chain used to be of proper length and now isn't either with a derailleur or because you're at the end of the drop outs, there's a high chance your front and rear cassete (the different sized cogs) are now worn down to a point where they fit with your old chain only and any new chain will slip constantly. Either replace them yourselves, allthough that's not so easy, or keep your old chain and book an appointment with a shop soon to do it all in one go.

and keep the rear wheel in balance?

For it to not go out of balance from the frame, tighten whatever holds it in place more, but do it so it is actually in balance. This usually means you want to use both sides of whatever is holding it there either at the same time (like with a quick-release skewer) or you want to alternate the tightening with half or quarter tuns when you get to a point you can't tighten by hand anymore.

You can use Zipties or velcro-zipties attached to the chainstays to check how centered it is. Put it in, give it a whirl and if the distance changes between the ziptie and the wheel, you need to adjust.

If the wheel tightly secured in the frame and it still gets out of balance, there's a mixture of things to do. You might need to get it trued, which unless you're really into it, you probably want a shop to do. Alternatively, get a new rear wheel. They do eventually go bad.

To prevent this from happening, try and put less stress on it. There's guides out there how to ride over curbs or edges (I'm assuming you're not mountain biking down trails). It usually involves pulling the front wheel up while standing, then shifting your weight forward a bit so the rear wheel takes less of a hit. Next step would be bunnyhopping the bike, allthough that's pretty much an advanced level skill unless you're clipped in to the pedals.

For chain locks (the kind with a metal chain with a nylon sheath and a separate lock), just keep the lock away from moisture at all costs to avoid freezing. The delivery-guy method of wrapping the lock in a plastic bag is surprisingly effective. If it does freeze, percussive maintenance usually does the trick to get it unstuck.

Yeah but it looks dope, soo???

That's way too technical for me to answer, sorry, and I don't have any experience with actual mountain biking due to a severe lack of elevation where I live

Seems like a good topic for it's own post, but I'll help out here if I can. What kind of brakes and shifters have you got?

You probably have a slow leak in your tubes. You're going to have to get the tubes out and check, inflate them a bit and put them under water to see if there's bubbles rising somewhere. You either need to patch the holes or get new tubes.