drivetrain Archives - Tailwind Coaching

How to Tune Shimano Di2 From Your iPad or iPhone
How to Tune Shimano Di2 From Your iPad or iPhone

components and wrenching, Wrenching and bike maintenance

How to Tune Shimano Di2 From Your iPad or iPhone

Shimano has been in the electronic shifting game since Dura Ace 7970 was introduced in 2009. Their E-Tube system debuted with Ultegra 6770 in 2012 and continues to be the standard in electronic shifting systems today. You had to take your bike to a local bike shop that had an expensive adapter and computer program to tune the drivetrain and update firmware.

Since then, Shimano has released the E-Tube app for iOs. By adding some Bluetooth Low Energy components to your drivetrain, you can update firmware and tune your shifting from your iPad. It's never been easier to tune and update your Di2 system.

Click through the jump to learn what you need to use your iPad to tune your E-Tube Shimano Di2 system, including a video overview of the app and how to use it.

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Tags: components, drivetrain, video, wrenching|

“Friction Facts” Bicycle Chain Lube Process
“Friction Facts” Bicycle Chain Lube Process

components and wrenching

“Friction Facts” Bicycle Chain Lube Process

Bicycle chain lube has come a long way in the past 20 years. Gone are the days of dripping 3-in-1 oil on your chain, wiping it with an old washcloth and calling it good. These days, chain lube is researched almost as much as any other component on your bike.

In the quest for “marginal gains, ” chain lube is one of the new frontiers. While aerodynamic gains are still the king of the hill in terms of gaining seconds during a time trial or race, chain lube efficiency can save a few extra watts. Combine those few watts with savings from ceramic bearings, derailleur pulley bearing, and pedal bearings and you could be saving 5-6% of your energy.

Friction Facts is one of the kings of evaluating your drive train efficiency. They have published tons of material on chain lube efficiency in the past. After doing some reading about the process, I decided to give it a try and see how effective (and long lasting) it is.

Check out my experience after the jump and learn how you can try this bicycle chain lube process yourself at home.
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Tags: components, drivetrain, tips and tricks, wrenching|

Building Your Own Bike – Rear Derailleur Installation (Podcast #35)

Building your own bike can seem like a daunting task to anyone. Beginners to the sport, long time riders, racers…almost everyone has some hangup about building a bike. When you break it down into easily digestible bites, building a bike is nothing more than a series of simple part installations. From a simple derailleur install to complex drivetrain tuning, this series of video blogs will detail the process of building a bike (in this case my BMC ProMachine SLC01 race bike for this season) from a bare frame into a functioning ride.

If you're following this series in order, we've installed our bottom bracket and crankset and mounted our front derailleur so far. In this post, my video blog will detail the installation of the rear derailleur onto the derailleur hanger. After watching the video, check below to see a few of my tips and tricks, and remember to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook Page.

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Tags: components, drivetrain, podcast, video, wrenching|

Building Your Own Bike – Front Derailleur Installation (Podcast #34)

[dc]B[/dc]uilding your own bike can seem like a daunting task to anyone. Beginners to the sport, long time riders, racers…almost everyone has some hangup about building a bike. When you break it down into easily digestible bites, building a bike is nothing more than a series of simple part installations. From a simple derailleur install to complex drivetrain tuning, this series of video blogs will detail the process of building a bike (in this case my BMC ProMachine SLC01 race bike for this season) from a bare frame into a functioning ride.

Last time, we looked at how to install a bottom bracket and crankset. In this post, my video blog will detail the installation of the front derailleur and front derailleur clamp onto the seat tube, as well as basic positioning of the derailleur. After watching the video, check below to see a few of my tips and tricks, and remember to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook Page.

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Tags: components, drivetrain, podcast, video, wrenching|

Building Your Own Bike – Crankset Installation (Podcast #33)

[dc]B[/dc]uilding your own bike can seem like a daunting task to anyone. Beginners to the sport, long time riders, racers…almost everyone has some hangup about building a bike. When you break it down into easily digestible bites, building a bike is nothing more than a series of simple part installations. From a simple derailleur install to complex drivetrain tuning, this series of video blogs will detail the process of building a bike (in this case my BMC ProMachineSLC01 race bike for this season) from a bare frame into a functioning ride.

In this post, my video blog will detail the installation of the bottom bracket cups into the frame and crankset into the bottom bracket After watching the video, check below to see a few of my tips and tricks, and remember to post any questions to the Tailwind Coaching Facebook Page.

(more…)

Tags: components, drivetrain, podcast, video, wrenching|