Embarking on a full overhaul adventure for your beloved bicycle is not just maintenance—it's a rejuvenation! Picture this: a transformed bike, performing like it's brand new, with added safety and an extended lifespan. Ready for the journey? Let's dive into the exciting world of bike revitalization.

This is the time of the year when the workshop is full of bikes waiting for their annual check up. Mixed in with the bikes that we see every year are the bikes that have just been dragged out of the barn for the first time in 5 years and were put up wet in the first place. Those bikes are always interesting to pull apart and really highlight what can happen to bikes that have suffered some neglect. However, it is just not neglected bikes that have problems; any bike that is ridden regularly and hard throughout the year desperately needs that overhaul before the new season starts. Recently, we had just such a bike in the workshop.

We are seeing a good many mountain bikes in the workshop at the moment. Let’s face it, this is still a great time to be out in the dirt. As much fun as it is to be out in the snow, mud and slop it does also mean your trusty steed needs a bit more love. So, with that in mind I thought it would be a good time to look at hubs, more specifically XD hubs, I will cover the more standard hubs another time but, for now, as the XD drive is becoming much more common, I will concentrate on them. Also, they are all I have seen for the past week…

Hydraulic Brakes are one of those components that everyone wants to have and then, when things go wrong, they bail and become anti fluid and pro cable actuated. I will admit that there are some good cable actuated discs out there that are very good, the Avid BB7 for instance, however, nothing comes close to the feel and operation of a good hydraulic system.