Bicycle pumps.Two types: without manometer, and with. Manometer displays pressures upto 100 PSI (about 7 Bar).
Efficient: Easily inflates to 100 PSI. No need to strain yourself. Not very practical to use for 10 Bar, but possible. On the other hand, it could be dangerous, because manometer does not indicate such pressure.
Relax, and push slowly. Air wont escape... Even weak kids can pump. A child 10 year of age is strong enough for 2 to 4 Bar.
Versatile: has a removable head matching all valves - Schraeder (automotive), Presta (sportive), and Dunlop (also known as Woods, or bicycle type). The head consists of 2 parts: rubber (black), and pin (at the same time a nozzle) (yellow plastic). Extract both from the socket. Separate from each other, and flip over each separately. Then stick them together. You have a head for sportive and bicycle valves. Again reverse each part - for automotive valve. I describe different valves in my article about tyres.
In order to remove the head easier, turn the tightening lever. It will push the head out. It might still be difficult to grip the head... Then thrust it out with a needle or knife through a slit under the lever on the opposite side.
Light weight: 100 grammes (without manometer). With manometer - 120g.
Sturdy: no looseness, no rattle, no bending, no breaking, no escaping air.
In case of failure. Should nevertheless the pin (yellow plastic) break - the pin, which pushes the automotive valve... or should anything else break, you can ask me for spare parts.
The knob serves not only as a lid to fix the rubber, which holds the air tight.
It also adjusts the force of tightness. While the pump is new, do not tighten the knob to the limit,
so the rubber does not wear out rapidly.
When the rubber is worn out, tighten the knob. The rubber will contract more.
When there's no space for tightening left, I suggest you manufacture an insert - a ring with a hole
- , and put it under the knob.
The insert will compress the rubber stronger, which will contract greater.
Do not pull too hard on the lever. Or else it breaks. Better investigate why it does
not go. Maybe the knob has compressed the rubber too hard, so there no way to compress it even harder.
In winter both the rubber and the plastic become stiff.
In the frost of -27°C it is too difficult to compress. You may break the lever off easier.
Please do not discard a broken pump. You can repair it. I do have some spare parts. Others you can make yourself. Do not discard the broken parts into the common trash. They can be sorted into special containers for plastic waste near your house. The metal rod goes into scrap metal. The pump has only 2 metal parts (without manometer) or 3 (with manometer). Remove those metal parts and utilize. The rest is plastic - also recycleable.
Do not cary the pump uncovered. Keep it in a bag, or poket. If you fix it to a frame of a bike, then you'd lose it. ... Or you'd lose the tightening knob, if it unwinds for vibration. ... Or somebody steals it.
Length: 23cm (228mm without manometer, and 227mm - with). Fits into bicycle bags.
In the winter it fits into an elongated pocket of my coat.
Prices:
4.00 € - without manometer;
6.88 € - with manometer.
Forget the pumps made in Soviet times and many contemporary ones, which suck out as much air as they pump in. In addition, Soviet pumps produce lots of heat at the hose. A bad pump makes you tired: you have to pump fast and ceaselessly. Otherwise you get very little pressure, or you might let the air out. Regardless of this, quite a few people esteem such pump as "very good".
If the the valve is short,
it protrudes from the rim too little. This pump will envelop it insufficiently.
The pin will fail to reach the plunger of the valve. Then you may attach a hose to the pump.
On its end a hose has a metal cap. It is tapped... You can tighten it securely onto the valve...
and quite shorter one too. Hoses are not particularly air tight. But they do work.
You buy a hose separately elsewhere.
A bare rubber of a hose would burst, if pressure exceeds 1-2 bar (a bicycle requires between 4 and 10).
The hose has to be either very thick (uncomfortably stiff), or armoured on the exterior with cloth.
In the olden days of Soviet Union bicycles for daily use (commuting)
had pressure of just 2 bar. That's why they were producing hoses without armouring cloth.
Do not try to use such on a modern bike. You would break the thing to no avail.
Some Lithuanians keep hoses in store since the old days. You may find new ones to buy too.
They still produce hoses in Belorussia - boths armoured, and not.
They still posess, and produce bikes with low pressure. So, you may still encounter a hose
without armour.
On my Lithuanian page prices are in Litas. They are in the last row of the table there.
1 Lt = 0.28962 € = 0.35743 USD.
 "Light II" |  "Light" |  "Wander" |  "Trekker" |  "Aqua" |
| 25.49 EUR 31.45 USD | 22.30 EUR 27.52 USD | 22.88 EUR 28.24 USD | 21.43 EUR 26.45 USD | 28.09 EUR 34.67 USD |
Why use cycling shoes? They are too hot and humid inside.
Use sandals instead. Ventilation is great.
The ones, which I sell, do not have clips for pedals. Perhaps you could attach some clips by yourself.
Or use them as is.
They are sturdy, and comfortable for walking, and riding.
Since year 2000 I was selling Ortlieb bags in Lithuania. But Ortlieb let me down with its obsession with policies of building of weird business schemes. They punished me for selling direct to end-users, and they thrived to make Lithuanians pay even more than Germans do. Ortlieb simply never listens.
So I ceased the sale of Ortlieb equipment. On the page, indicated above, you can still find some items I have in stock as leftovers (see for the word Likuciai there).
Meanwhile, you can get bags of similar quality from Egidijus at his shop named "Geras dviratis" (see below). They have rear, front panniers, and handlebar bags. A pair of rear panniers (hanging on the sides of a rack) cost 200Lt (58 €).
They don't have bags sitting on top of a rack. Also they don't have bags for maps, and food. I can sell them from my leftovers, mentioned above.
If you are looking to buy a frame, do ask me. I may provide. Regardless of mistakes, their frames are the best at least for what I am using them: touring, commuting, some cross, and jumps. - A give them quite a battering - far greater than usual.
Below I describe the frames.
Material: alumin alloy, stiffer and stronger than usual. You can make a big cut, or dent
into the metal, yet it continues to run well, and does not break.
User can select colour, and one's own logotypes (inscriptions).
Geometry can be changed too. But it is good already.
Types of use: Touring/Trekking ("Hybrid"), Cyclo Cross (sport equivalent of "Vamzdiec" - an event of Lithuanian travelers), "MTB", "Tandem", "Road", "Track".
Below (in section "Custom touring bikes") you find a picture of my bike assembled on one of such frames.
Manufacturer made custom modifications to the frame, according to my order.
Without those modifications this frame is bad. With them - excellent.
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I design, produce, and test rear and front racks.
Two rear racks I am using myself since August 2003. Other people use my racks for a few years now. You may see the rack on my new bike (upper photo) (see "Custom touring bikes" below).
One front rack I have already tested on 3 bicycle tours. It proved very strong. Though I have to make some minor changes. If you need the front racks, please write to me. Maybe I find the time to make them. I can't show you the front rack, because it was stolen with the bike. Only its picture remains (lower photo).
The racks have ample mounting holes for attachment of rear lights, or special equipment; you may order custom lugs at any spot of your choice.
What is so special about my racks?
They simply stand up to any load.
They do not wobble under heavy loads.
Rods do not collapse. Nor they cave in, and crack. - Contrary to racks made of hollow rods (tubes).
This combines with the exceptionally stable frame of my bike.
Yes, there's some extra weight to the rack. But weight is essential to strength and reliability.
In theory a lighter design is possible. But it is more difficult to produce, and nobody makes it anyway.
There might be a bigger discussion. But let's leave it to the future.
Once I was ran over by a car. The driver attacked me with a bumper of his car on purpose.
He hit the rear wheel from the back. My front wheel lifted, and the bike turned over to a side.
Then the bumper pushed against my rear rack from the side.
It bent the rods of the rack towards the wheel from that side.
An excess force by hand - all it took to restore the rack to roughly the same shape as before.
The wheel was not damaged at all. That's what I call strength.
Even when the rack is heavily bent, and twisted it never yields to the load, and never collapses. You may carry people or other animals safely on it. The rack is strong, and stable. It withstands any abuse.
Racks made of hollow tubes eventually cave in from bending.
Often they crack and collapse. Racks made of aluminium will crumble.
Racks made of steel will flex and bend... and sometimes break.
I have been through all this before.
Designers of bicycle parts never ride bikes themselves.
And even when they do, they perhaps ride like saggy bags on roof tops of their cars.
I destroyed many racks. ... Till I was fed up, and made my own racks that do work.
- Specifications.
- Rear rack:
maximum carrying capacity - no less than 100kg;
weight - 1.29kg;
price - 25 €.
Weight includes 4 screws and nuts. It excludes 2 screws for fastening at the top side on the seat stays. That is because the 2 screws are always present on the frame, even without a rack. One screw weighs about 5g. Weight of racks may vary slightly anyway. - Front rack:
carrying capacity - 30kg;
price - 28 €.
The article in Lithuanian is here.
I manufacture custom cog-wheels. Front rings, and rear cassettes.
Material: any. May even be wood, or paper.
Shape: any. May even be triangular, or square... May have inscriptions, or ornaments.
Purpose: extending the life of a chain. You can reuse a worn chain as long as it is safe,
and intact. Usually twice the normal wear is safe enough.
Replacing cogs individually. An ordiary set of cogs requires to rather replace all parts in bulk:
all the cogs, and the chain, because a worn chain does not fit a new cog - it skips.
Custom cogs allow replacing them according to the actual wear, rather than myth or prejudice.
- In order to make a custom front cog wheel I need to know the dimensions for mounting:
- Diameter of a mounting hole.
- Diameter of a circumpherence on which the mounting holes are located.
Sometimes it is noted on the side of a crank. Usually 2 cogs sit on the larger circumpherence,
and 1 - on the smaller one. So, we need 2 numbers.
If you do not have the numbers, please measure the distance betwen 2 closest mounting holes, and 2 farthest ones. Do so for both circumpherences. - Number of mounting holes.
- Other releveant information is obviously required too: thickness, number of teeth, shape, special milling of mounting holes, or of sides of teeth, etc.
Rear cassettes of cog wheels usually share the same design of a mounting hole.
So only a number of teeth, and thickness is required.
Regarding rear cogs, I make only casettes - not "wind-on" blocks.
Hubs, which are designed for "wind-on" blocks of cogs, (threaded hubs) are too frail. They are to be avoided at all costs.
For any cog wheel - front and rear - I require an additional number:
the extent of wear of the chain (length over 10 links, see below).
If it is a new chain, then no matching is required - a standard, factory made cog would do.
I primarily make cogs, which you can't find in shops.
I would manufacture a cog wheel to match the individual chain. So that the chain works again a long time.
In theory - an unlimited time, until pins of links start breaking. You just have to keep replacing the cogs.
In practice, for reasons of safety, I apply the mentioned "twice the normal wear". - It is my arbitrary rule of thumb.
But you would need a good chain. Otherwise it is no use - it would wear quickly.
I have some good chains in stock. I can sell one for 12€. Or 15€ including a fee for training on how to mount the chain.
Price.
Chain: 18€.
It runs for 15000 km. For patient people - till 18000 km.
A set of 3 front, and 6 rear cogs: about 50€.
I give an example with 6 rear cogs, because the 1 or 2 smallest ones are usually not worn. So, they do not require replacement. Besides, their manufacturing is more expensive and complex, because they are not flat. They rather have protruding parts, like integrated spacers, and a thread.
The cogs would work well enough. But they would not be formed identically to those made in a factory.
When switching gears, performance may slightly differ. Sportsmen may find this important. You - probably not.
I can make as many teeth as you wish. A difference of a few teeth does not influence the price.
When a chain is worn?
Myth: when it is elongated by 3%.Fact: when it is skipping on all cogs. Not just on one cog.
As a fact, you replace a worn chain, when it skips on all cogs.
Then you may throw the chain into scrap metal, or reuse it with my custom cogs,
and thus extend its life.
You may order only the skipping cogs individually. Other cogs may still be working well.
E.g. a rear cog may be worn, while the front cog is still in a good shape even for a new chain.
This is a special quality of my cogs - they smooth out the wear.
How to measure the wear of a chain?
In order to match a new cog to an individual worn chain I need to know its extent of wear.
As I mentioned, it may be worthwhile to replace even 1 cog. Yet if both the chain, and all other cogs
exhibit an excessive wear, then perhaps it is time to replace all the parts?
Over 10 years ago I have analyzed and publicly described the process of wear of a chain.
Then I invented and specified an objective measure of the extent of wear of the chain.
You simply have to measure the span (the length) over 10 links.
One link is half an inch long - 12.7mm. 10 links = 127mm.
The greater the number of links, the greater is your precision.
Yet 10 links is more convenient, and still it is precise enough.
With time most manufacturers have adopted the new approach, based on length, rather than on
myth. They have even produces a special tool: a chain wear indicator.
But they have taken precision and knowledge away from the user. It indicates percent instead of millimeters.
0% - new chain.
3% - worn.
 Caliper is a vernier gauge. It has 2 sliding jaws, and a scale. I sell them too. |
127mm - new chain.
129.1...130.1mm - worn.
The wear of a chain depends on cog wheels. On some cog wheels the chain becomes worn sooner - at 129.1mm. On others later - at 130.1mm.
Depending on your condition, the chain may continue to work with skipping, or without skipping until 133.7mm. Whatever the condition, after 130.1mm it elongates much quicker. So, it wears down a cogwheel sooner, makes teeth less steep.
Bad chains skip hopelessly after 1500 km. Good - after 15000 km. Some continue to work somehow till 18000 km.
In addition to custom cogwheels, I can sell you the good chains.
The obvious conclusion is that a chain wear tool is a hoax. It is a ploy to waste your money. It distracts you from buying descent home appliance tools, like a sliding Vernier caliper.
A not so obvious conclusion, is that most manufacturers of cog wheels make them in a racing style.
A chain gets worn on them sooner rather than later. The supposed advantage is slightly better shifting,
and slightly less weight.
But where is the user in the decision making?
Ordinary users are concerned with durability. Most are not in a race, or any kind
of sports. Most do not like replacing parts as frequently as professional sports people do.
In fact, professional sports people could not care less about cycling. For them it is just a business, just a job. Afterwards they jump into a car to take a new dose of drugs, and burn petrol.
Early swapping of chains.
(Rotation of chains.)
You may replace a chain earlier than it starts skipping.
For example, if you notice that your chain wears sooner than the cog wheels,
you may remove the chain. You remove it, when it elongates by as little as 1mm (see above).
At this degree of wear a cog wheel would still work with a new chain.
Store the old chain for the next round. You replace it with a new chain.
Repeat till the cog wheels are worn.
Then order a new set of cog wheels from me. Use it to complete the round of wear of the stored
chains, till they elongate by about 6mm (twice the standard wear).
It would not be practical to use new standard cog wheels with the stored, partially worn chains. A worn chain "destroys" a new cassette quicker. If you are not using my custom cogs, you better not swap chains at all... Or dispose of partially worn chains, without reusing them. Reusing them on standard (not custom) cogs makes no sense.
If a chain wears synchronously with cogs, then the mentioned early swapping is not necessary.
Early swapping is not feasible with chains of poor quality. Such a chain gains the mentioned elongation of 1mm quicker than 7000km of ride. - Usually after 500km. ... Which is too much trouble.
Touring bikes.I already ride one since year 2003.
I assembled several bikes. I ride one such bike. Others are content too. No repairs, at least for me.
If we don't count minor repairs, like clearing dirt from cables stuck in their casings, and tightening some bolts. Of course I did replace the chain and cogs. But they wear in any bike. Yet my cogs (see the article above) and chains wear out after 14000-20000km. Ordinary bikes wear out after 1500-3000km. Say "thank you" to your supermarkets and even to specialized bicycle shops.
The bike is of touring type. It is complete, sturdy. Parts of MTB and cyclo-cross grade, highly durable, cost effective. The ultimate all-round machine.
The bike is not suited for MTB sport, though. Unless you choose a smaller frame and smaller frame.
I mean a true MTB sport. Not mere wandering among the hills.
The bike negotiates down complex paths well. It handles well.
- Constituents:
- Alumin frame (see above), and a Cr-Mo fork.
- Hubs with drum brakes. A rear drum weighs about twice as much as ordinary lever brakes.
But consider the benefits: better performance, no maintenance, rims and brake pads spared of destruction.
The front drum is integrated, and it weighs almost as much as the lever brakes.
It has one useful peculiarity: it doesn't break hard, it cannot block the wheel - very helpful on a front wheel... As a natural Anti Blocking System (ABS), without any extra hardware... While usual Anti Blocking Systems add weight and cost.
This front brake has prevented me from flying over bars in a multitude of my incidents. - The gear engagement mechanism (clutch) in the rear hub is pawl-less (no sound, no wear).
- Tyres: puncture resistant 37-622, with reflective stripes (see above).
- Racks: my own design, carrying capacity no less than 100kg (see above).
Weight of the bicycle with a rear rack, and without mudguards: 15kg.
The bike, which was stolen from me back in 2002, had a heavier frame of steel, made by
Baltik Vairas (Panther). With mudguards, and both racks it weighed 19kg. Alas, it was
considerably softer, and it had lever brakes (saving weight).
While my current bike is absolutely stiff - there's no sway even when I carry a human on a rack.
A soft bike sways mainly for its frame. There may also be other causes.
Cost of ownership.
Of parts really suffering from attrition remain only the chain and cogs. With chains currently available in Lithuania this bike will run about 20000km, especially if you grease it properly.
Apart from maintenance of winter tyres, and a recovery from being "slightly" overrun by a car, there was no essential repair to my bike since I assembled it in August 2003 (I ride each day, year round).
I started assembling these bikes after a failed search for a good one. I decided not to invest in expensive or cheap bikes available around, which are yet of ordinary constitution. I had a bike stolen. Yet I patiently walked on feet for 9 months, and waited for my own design to emerge.
Price.
Non-experienced cyclists should rely completely on my choice of parts, which is optimal:
non essential parts are drop cheap, though they are reliable and weigh less than professional ones.
Cyclists, who have specific ideas regarding the design, may ask for parts of their own choice.
But of your favourite parts I will supply only the higher quality (and possibly price).
I will not supply low quality parts, which might seem cheaper to you.
Each part that I choose has specific reasons for being in my bike. No trade-offs, please!
I do not supply detailed lists of parts. Each time the list changes, depending on changes
in available supply. The brief overview of technical ideology below is more than enough.
You do need to know, that the front crank set is triple with removable cog-wheels,
the largest of which is of about 50 cogs (may vary). But the actual model is of no relevance.
My bike, complete with both racks, and mudguards, costs about: 2800Lt (810 €) (front rack and mudguards are not on the picture yet).
You don't find these bikes in the shops, of course.
You may ask for any inscription or name on the frame, for any color.
All inscriptions are done during the paint job - under the varnish.
Soviet made bicycles, and some Asian ones, have a cotter type axle of cranks. It often gets loose. ... Not so much because of cotters, but because the bearings have a wrong design. However, both - the cotters, and the bearigs - are often to blame.
I suggest you replace the loose axle with a cartridge.
You may choose a cottered cartridge. Then you keep your existing cog-wheels (crank set), which are not worn yet. Yet the cotters may be a weak design. With good maintenance they work well. With poor maintenance they may be destroyed quickly.
If you install a square, then you would have to replace the cranks, and possibly the front cog-wheels too (if not detachable).
Axles come in three shapes. I recommend axles with square ends.
Below I list what I have in stock.
| Mode of attachment of a crank to an axle | Example, comment | Lengths | Prices |
| cotter |  A crank is attached onto a round axle, and fixed by a wedge. Fits the old style and Soviet bikes. | 136mm | With plastic cups, fitting frames 64-68mm wide: 5€ |
| square |   Currently the most widespread | 110, 113, 115.5, 119, 122.5, 127mm. | With plastic cups, fitting frames 64-68mm wide: 5€ (4.50€); With aliuminum cups, fitting frames 68-72mm wide: 7.30€. |
| multi face |  Known as "ISIS". | Ask | Ask |
I consider as good only axles of high quality, with rubber sealing, and rotating easily. These axles do rotate easily. Yet the effort is still noticeable. Earlier I have encountered other 2 makes of cartridges, which rotate easier (one - just slightly, the other - entirely freely). However they are not on the market, not at least here. Majority of other brackets sold in Lithuania exhibit rough rotation.
Other products of this manufacturer: industrial bearings, and measurement devices (rulers, scales, micrometers, angles, levels, tree trunk meters). Please ask for a complete list and catalogues in PDF.
Bearings for bicycles I have in stock (not all). Other items would take some time to arrive on your request.