Answer to:
What is a Caliper? The part of a braking system which applies the pressure to the back of the brake pad, applying the squeezing power which stops the wheel.

Answer to:
What is a sprocket? A small cog which is part of the gear system, and acts like a pulley, changing the direction of the chain and allowing it to remain under tension.

Answer to:
What is a spline? An old-fashioned way of connecting pedals which involves hammering a wedge like pin into a hole in the crank to keep the crank from rotating and to hold the crank onto the bottom bracket. Now mostly replaced by one-piece bottom brackets.

Answer to:
What is a fork? The part which holds the front wheel in place and connects it through the frame (and the headset) to the stem.

Answer to:
What is a crank? The arm which connects the pedal to the bottom bracket. Sometimes called the 'pedal arms'.

Answer to:
What is a cog? A round thing with teeth on which fit into the gaps on the chain.

Answer to:
What exactly is mountain biking? There are two parts to this - the surface you're riding on, and the bike itself. The sport of mountain biking includes manmade and natural trails and 'offpiste' areas. Many mountain bike races also include sections of tarmac, yet this is still mountain biking. Overall, it seems that it is classed as mountain biking if the main part of the route is offroad. One...

Answer to:
How does geography help historians learn about the past? Geography is the study of anything which varies spatially. It therefore covers everything from physical geographical evidence (such as glacier ice cores) to geopolitics and socio-economic geography (such as troop movements during wars). Geography provides both evidence to support Historians, and a different angle on the analysis to provide historians with different answers to the questions...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Rarely do I have a dream that isn't a nightmare. What can I do to get rid of them? I have PTSD and so is the only way to rid myself of them is to go to a therapist? It may be stress related. Try and remove whatever in your life is stressing you out. More exercise will also definitely help you sleep better, as well as reducing stress, and flushing out toxins.

| 2 people like this

Answer to:
Why doesn't England declare war on the Republic of Ireland and make it part of the United Kingdom? It's interesting that some people clearly do think that this kind of aggressive approach is acceptable. Just look at Tibet (while it still exists) - it has been invaded by it's neighbour China on a similar basis. The reason that countries in the West don't generally invade neighbouring countries is (a) We have a set of moral codes which are relatively common and hold certain...

| 3 people like this

Answer to:
why is 'England' not a subcategory of 'United Kingdom' in Answerbag? Weird!! Allow me to clarify - in the answerbag heirarchy, scotland is a subcategory of united kingdom, as it should be, but england is not a subcategory of UK (as it also should be). I'm suggesting you change the taxonomy so this is (a) accurate (b) consitent.

Answer to:
Is there a correlation between frame size and loss of control? Specifically, are you more likely to 'endo' on a bike with a smaller frame size? Yes. A smaller frame moves your centre of gravity forward, which means you are closer to the point of endoing. However, if a frame doesn't fit (especially if it's too large) then it will be MUCH harder to control. The fit of the bike is extremely important, and this goes for frame, stem, seatpost, and all the other measurements that affect sizing.

Answer to:
Why does walking use different muscles from mountain biking? What muscles are they? ---

Answer to:
I'm an attractive woman, but the guys just don't hit on me anymore. I'm not sure why, but it sure has hurt my self-esteem greatly. What's the best way to attract and get meaningful attention from a man? Taking your clothes off usually helps. If not, as many as you can get away with.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Why do people think tabbed browsing is better than opening a new window? I'll start by saying that I'm a web usability expert of 10 years. From a usability point of view, the answer is simply that some people prefer navigating differently, and so the software has catered to the preferences of some users. It's not that all people prefer tabbed browsing, but that it's another option which allows a particular mode of navigation by certain users....

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Can you wax a car too often? yes! you can wax a car too often. Too much wax and the car will become a candle.

Answer to:
What is considered "fashionably late"? How late fashionably late is depends on a number of variables, including - current fashions - your culture and what is acceptable in it - the culture of the country in which you live and what is acceptable in it (if different) - the culture of the person or people being met - the type of engagement - the location of meeting - the time of day - how generally fashionable you are - your...

| 11 people like this

Answer to:
How did explorers decide which way was North and South, i.e., which way was "up" on a map? Well, the direction of North is based on the magnetic direction of a compass towards the pole, so the choice was between North and South. As early explorers were all from Europe which is in the northern hemisphere, there was really no competition as far as the choice goes, and the north pole was used.

Answer to:
How can I choose a good full-suspension bike to be used on the trail and for transportation? Couple of quick points - If getting 2 sets of wheels and you have disk brakes, consider getting a set of standard 26 inch mountain bike wheels and a set of larger 'racer' c700 wheels - the extra size adds a lot of speed for road use and is well worth it. Tip: check they fit in your frame and forks! - Lockout isn't always necessary with suspension designs that remove...

Answer to:
How should I use the front and rear brakes? Together? One more than the other? You should favour the _front_ brake as this is where most of your stopping power lies, particularly downhill. But don't pull too sharply or you'll go over the bars - a gentle, firm increasing pressure is the way to do it, especially with disc brakes, which can be extremely powerful. The steeper the hill you are going down, the greater the amount of weight which is on the front...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
What are the advantages/disadvantages of the different frame materials? Increased rigidity gives greater power transfer and more direct control but you feel the bumps more. Look for very rigid materials in full suspension and bikes destined for road use. Many people prefer some compliance in hardtails, preferring steel, or, if affordable, titanium. Steel PROS: Cheap, compliant (which means it flexes slightly to give better cushioning and frame feedback), easier...

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
What are the things to look for when buying a mountain bike? Also, size is critical. One manufacturer's 17 inch frame may not be the same as anothers so assume nothing. Also, look for stem length and crank length as well for a proper fit and the best handling for you. Get measured up by a decent bike shop (one that sells top end bikes).

Answer to:
Someone told me that they wax their chain. Does this work? wax is simply another form of lubricant, and it's non-petroleum based, so it's good for the environment and better for your bike. Personally I find it a better lubricant too as it's more persistent.

| 1 person likes this

Answer to:
Are shocks necessary for mountain biking? In general, shocks give greater control and allow higher speeds, negotiation of larger obstacles, and greater comfort. The downside is that many shocks produce 'bob': a loss of power as some of the pedalling energy is absorbed by the movement of the shock. Also, the shock makes the bike slightly heavier. The type of shock, and the geometry of the travel determine the extent to which...

| 4 people like this

Answer to:
Why is Turkey considered a European country even though the largest part of the country is in Asia? Since Ataturk made major reforms to Turkey in the early to mid 20th century, Turkey has been a secular state, meaning it cannot be ruled by leaders of any particular religious denomination. Ataturk also revolutionised the language to use european script rather than arabic and employed european designers and architects to work on many of the cities. He is known as the 'founder of modern...

Answer to:
What should I consider when choosing between JSP, ASP or servlet technologies? The primary purpose of seperating content from design is to make the content editable by non-designers. This often means the use of a CMS (content management system), which is a large database-driven server application. Almost all CMS's run off a series of templates - the designer works on these, leading 'tags' for the content (the nature of these depends on which system is...

Answer to:
Is it possible to connect any IDE HDD at the Ethernet controller, or can I only use the Sony PS2 HDD? Would I need special software such as HDD bootware? Yes you can install any hard disk, although most of the ones for sale seem to use matrox and that's what I use (although I've had 3 matrox drives fail on me in PCs, and never an IBM/hitachi failure, so may be worth trying them instead). Yes you do need special software - don't know what HDD bootware is, but sounds like the kind of thing - also look at HDloader.

Answer to:
How can I install a normal formatted hard drive in a PS2 if I already have the network adaptor? You need a piece of software like HDloader so the PS2 can recognise it and format it for PS2.

Answer to:
I am trying to hook up my PS2 through my amplifier using the RCA-style AV cord. I can get the audio, but not the video. What should I check? Try tuning a spare TV channel to channel frequency number 36.

Answer to:
Is there a way to get a PlayStation USB device to work on a desktop computer USB port? For example, can you get the the Logitech USB PS2 force feedback wheel to work on a PC? The Logitech wheel works great on a PC, and you can download a piece of software from Logitech to calibrate it to any game - you can set which buttons do which action, the steering sensitivity, etc ... which means you can use it for unsupported games like vice city - although you don't get everything, for example I've been unable to get the force feedback to work in PC VC. It's a...

| 1 person likes this