Sheldon Brown's Articles | Hacker News Reader

Sheldon Brown's Articles

sheldonbrown.com

180 pointssubsystem45 comments

One of the best sources on the net for cycling esoterica. I practically lived on this site when I was putting together and fixing up older bikes.

Especially good information on practical fixed gears and three speed hubs.

Before he passed, I sent an e-mail asking a few questions and Sheldon responded personally, with fairly detailed responses. It was pretty rad.

There's a lot of really useful information on there.

Some of my favorite parts.

The three speed hub with a fixed gear: http://sheldonbrown.com/asc.html

The section on frame fit (semi controversial topic depending on the crowd): http://sheldonbrown.com/frame-sizing.html

I love his page on wheel/tire sizes, http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html

Agreed. That's one of my favorites. Sheldon was such an awesome guy. It's really cool seeing all these positive comments here!

Sheldon Brown's site is amazing but I'm afraid it's going to get increasingly stale now that he's passed on.

I've thought it'd be neat to turn the site into a wiki that can be maintained by bicycle enthusiasts.

The bicycle industry is not changing that quickly, however. Sure, I'm sure Campagnolo now has a 12 speed drivetrain with a chain made from nanotubes and Shimano probably has a derailleur that posts each gear change to Twitter, but the way parts fit together hasn't changed much in the last 20 years. You still start the bike in the same way he describes. You still inflate the tires in the same way he describes. And 99% of bikes still have the same brakes and shifting mechanisms he describes in detail. And of course, all the bikes that existed when he was alive and writing didn't magically vaporize; there are still perfectly functional bikes from the 1900s around, not to mention the 70s and 80s.

True, but one thing I can only hope we have in the future is compatibility charts like http://sheldonbrown.com/dura-ace.html#indexing and the neat rerouting trick that's described below it...

edit: just found this whole page on brand mismatching, written by John Allen on the site in 2011, so there is someone doing updates. http://sheldonbrown.com/drivetrain-mixing.shtml

more edit: @zecho notes that family, friends, and bike shop are updating the site

That was the first bookmark i added to my browser when i got a bike a long time ago. If you work on your own bike, and you are a geek/nerd, you will end up on this site regardless.

i'm using a lot the bicycle site at stackexchange. granted that most answers are just pointers to sheldon's site for now :)

Where I think bicycles.se tends to excel is less on the mechanical aspects of cycling and more on the technical aspects of riding. There have also been interesting discussions that are more esoteric, too, like how to get your bike on an airplane while avoiding fees.

Hadn't know there was a bike s.e., thanks!

http://bicycles.stackexchange.com

His wife and friends continue to maintain the site, as does his bike shop.

I remember, when he was still alive, a heated flamewar would break out on Bikeforums and he'd appear out of the ether and authoritatively quash all argument with his immense knowledge. RIP

Site is not dead: http://sheldonbrown.com/blog/

I had the same thought, and started trying to do it, but I ran into too many edge cases trying to automate the importing...

I'm pretty sure any semi-serious biker knows about Sheldon Brown by now. His site usually tops search results.

I like to use his gear calculator to remind me why I spin out on the top end: http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/index.html

His gear calculator is terrible! Use this one instead: http://www.andrusia.com/gearseer

At least his calculator works in Chrome.

I love this guy. He was the only place online that I could find an explanation for why the left pedal of a bike screws on opposite to normal direction. Everyone that fixes bikes knows the left one screws on "wrong", but no one at any bike shop could explain why the left. Because on a first analysis, it seems that it should be the right one that needs reverse threading to keep from getting unscrewed.

http://sheldonbrown.com/pedals.html (scroll down to "Pedal Threading")

Ha, I had the same experience.

I also loved imagining people's left pedals falling out, until it happened to me (well, it was the right). Make sure you screw your pedals in tight!

This is a great example of a mature vanity website. I mean that in the best possible way. It's a throwback to the early web days, pre-geocities even, when people would make unique websites about themselves and their hobbies. The UI and the information architecture might follow some best practices, or mimic slightly the arrangement of another site, but they were fundamentally unique to the site in question.

Brown's in particular is full of personality, not only in his writing, but in the layouts, color choices, photo choices, quotes, et cetera.

I also have benefitted from many hours spent reading through Brown's site. What a great resource and gift.

If you're unsure about Sheldon Brown's authority on bikes this sticker sums it up: http://images.ecdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/31...

Totally picking some of these up. Thanks for this!

Link: http://www.retro-gression.com/product/ride-sticker

One of if not the best resource on all thinks bike. Unfortunately Sheldon passed away a few years back. They have people updating the pages.

Sheldon was married to Harriet Fell, my finite state automata professor. I think she's doing some of the page maintenance.

Hey! What a treat to see this here. Don't know if it'll survive long, but I'd say the takeaway from this guy is

1) He's practical to a fault -- he doesn't delude himself or others

2) He's extremely generous with his knowledge.

Anybody from any profession can take a lesson from his life.

RIP Sheldon Brown.

Like many others, his was one of the very first sites i came upon in my search for great bike nerd info.

In addition to the incredible depth of very practical info, the fact that his site exists is a demonstration of what the pre-commercial web was all about: 1 guy contributing knowledge for the benefit of many others, giving time/effort for the greater good.

Never met him, but i miss him.

Somewhat surprised and delighted that this site has surfaced on Hacker News. It's a wonderful resource provided in the true spirit of the old-school web.

I never met Sheldon but he has been and will continue to be my go-to person for bike advice. Whenever I'm fixing my brakes and have to take a minute to think about mechanical advantage, I think of Sheldon. I'm very thankful for his efforts and the ongoing efforts of the people who maintain his site.

I've been a fan of his since the '90s. I once had the opportunity while visiting a relative in Boston to ask Sheldon in person at the shop where he worked (Harris Cyclery) if he could help me find a rather obscure part for my old Raleigh. I really had no expectation they would have it, I just wanted to see the shop and maybe encounter him. Sure enough, they had it, and my encounter with The Oracle only cost me about $5.

Was a sad day when he passed.

The author is sadly deceased and while this is a great resource it's worth noting that a lot of the technical stuff on here is not very applicable to newer bicycles which use threadless headsets etc.

Well, that specific example isn't true: http://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html

Headsets are a minefield. Once setup they are simple, but getting the right combination of parts is a nightmare.

Ah, good spot. I wonder if someone is updating the site because I could have sworn I didn't see that last time I was fettling with a headset.

I remember seeing stuff about threadless headsets on the site a few years ago, but yes apparently the site is being updated

I'm impressed this popped up hn.

Thanks to Sheldon my bike workshop grows and grows and I basically can do all aspects of bike maintenance myself.

He's a true DIY pioneer for real!

This was an absolutely indispensable resource when I built my bike many years ago. The man's a genius, and I was incredibly sad when he passed. RIP

I bought my first bike from his shop, and built my second and third from his tutorials. A very great dude. RIP.

One of the first places that I go whenever I am uncertain when fixing my old bike. Great resource.

Slightly surprised but very pleased to see Sheldon's site on hackernews. The wealth of information on the site is fascinating to go through even if you don't do any kind of bike activities.

His cycling in France articles were a pleasure to read.

I always liked his shoutouts to the other Sheldon Browns of the world at the bottom of his personal page: http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html

He inspired me to start building my own wheels, to experiment more with 70s-era French steel frames, Raleigh 3-speeds, Raleigh 20s, flip-flop hubs, fixed 3-speed Sturmey-Archer hubs, and on and on. Wonderful man.

It warms my heart to see that this web site is still running.

Saint Sheldon.

Indeed, great reference material. Once upon a time, I typeset his site in LaTeX for better printing.

Love this site - I've used his stuff for several bike mods.

Sheldon Brown is a legend. Amazing resource.

As Always Sheldon Has The Answer

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