

Sheldon Brown's Articles - subsystem
http://sheldonbrown.com/articles.html

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doorhammer
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](http://sheldonbrown.com/asc.html)

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

~~~
alxndr
I love his page on wheel/tire sizes, [http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-
sizing.html](http://sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html)

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

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jordanb
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.

~~~
gcb0
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 :)

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zecho
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.

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donretag
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](http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/index.html)

~~~
amha
His gear calculator is terrible! Use this one instead:
[http://www.andrusia.com/gearseer](http://www.andrusia.com/gearseer)

~~~
stereo
At least his calculator works in Chrome.

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

~~~
alxndr
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!

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scelerat
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.

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chrislloyd
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...](http://images.ecdn.bigcartel.com/bigcartel/product_images/31074795/max_h-1000+max_w-1000/RIDE_sticker-
wm.jpg)

~~~
sbuccini
Totally picking some of these up. Thanks for this!

~~~
numbers
Link: [http://www.retro-gression.com/product/ride-sticker](http://www.retro-
gression.com/product/ride-sticker)

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acomjean
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.

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bch
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.

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jimbler
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.

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joecorcoran
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.

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ANH
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.

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jiggy2011
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.

~~~
alxndr
Well, that specific example isn't true:
[http://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html](http://sheldonbrown.com/headsets.html)

~~~
jiggy2011
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.

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

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stigi
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!

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fyrabanks
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

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

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

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angrytoast
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.

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alxndr
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](http://sheldonbrown.com/home.html)

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brini
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.

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

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amcnett
Saint Sheldon.

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

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

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hex-
Sheldon Brown is a legend. Amazing resource.

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syncsynchalt
As Always Sheldon Has The Answer

