Walrus_Infested said:

I didn't even know they actually put hydraulic disc brakes on bikes until I bought this beast and it came equipped.

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uber_aj said:

How do they feel in comparison to regular brakes?

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McTwist said:

Ok so I got my chain on my road bike. I'm pretty sure I need to take out a link or two because the chain slips off the highest gear to a lower gear on the back wheel. I'm curious how tight a chain is supposed to be. Can I disconnect the chain without breaking it?

Also, how does one tell how many speeds a bike is? There are 3 gears by the pedals and 4 by the back wheel. So does that make 12? The guy at the bike shop gave me an 8 speed chain but it seems to fit and it works fine for the most part, though it needs tweaking. Still rideable though.

Oh and one more thing, I never knew riding a bike up hills was so easy compared to a mountain bike. My god it takes minimal effort! My shitty day has just been turned completely around, thankfully. I'm gonna ride before work today =]

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When you get a new chain, the way to set it properly is to wrap the chain around the biggest gear in the front, and the second largest gear in the back. Make sure you fit the chain through the rear derailleur as well.

Now, pull the chain together until your rear derailleur is at a 90 degree angle. Something like this.


Once there, just remove the extra chain links, and you're good to go;

To tell how many speeds your bike has, look at the number of gears in the back, and up front. You're currently riding a triple crankset (three different options in front) with a 4 speed rear cassette. Your bike has 12 speeds. Although, some of those gears might not be usable.
You never want to "cross chain". Cross chaining happens when you shift to the biggest gear up front, and the biggest gear in the back (or smallest in front, smallest in the back). This will orient your chain in a way that is wearing on your chain.


You can usually hear if you are cross chaining, because the chain will often times rub against your front derailleur. So, while your bike technically has 12 speeds, it probably only has 9 or 10 usable gears.

an 8 speed chain will be fine for your bike. The difference between an 8 speed chain versus a 9 or 10 speed chain is overall width. an 8 speed chain will be a bit wider than a 9 speed chain. My rear derailleur is a 9 speed rear derailleur, but I have an 8 speed rear cassette. At first I bought an 8 speed chain, until I realized that it was too wide to fit through my 9 speed rear derailleur, so I had to buy a new one

If you're still confused about how to replace your chain, here's a good video