Top all-time · #400
Sheldon Brown
Personal blog · sheldonbrown.comother
Sheldon Brown writes SheldonBrown, a personal blog at sheldonbrown.com. Since 2009, 137 different Hacker News readers have linked it 173 times, most often “Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info”. It is still writing: the last post was on 2026-09-02, and you can follow it by feed.
Sometimes recommended · 10 of 40 sampled comments recommend it?
Why HN links it
HN readers link Sheldon Brown's bicycle maintenance and technical pages, valued as a long-standing resource that explains things well.
- Recommended for · 10 comments
- Called a 'fantastic resource' and 'treasure trove of information'; one commenter says it explains better than videos.
Summarised by Claude from a sample of 40 HN comments that link here. Each comment is marked recommending, critical or neutral (citing without judging); how this works.
A go-to source of information about bicycle maintenance, repair and customization
Most-linked posts?
- Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info22 people · 23 mentions · first linked 2018-08-30
- Braking and Turning Your Bicycle6 people · 6 mentions · first linked 2019-09-15
- /5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2020-01-15
- /5 people · 5 mentions · first linked 2020-06-19
- Bike Tire Sizing Systems4 people · 4 mentions · first linked 2019-09-06
- /lock-strategy.html3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2012-08-28
- Fixed gear bicycles for the road3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2010-08-06
- /internal-gears.html3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2019-08-17
- /blog/3 people · 3 mentions · first linked 2022-05-25
- Sheldon Brown's Home Page2 people · 2 mentions · first linked 2020-11-27
What Hacker News says?
What it comes down to for me is this: businesses don't have some god-given right to exist. If you can't get people to give money to your business enough to at least cover your costs, then your business should go out of business. If we enter into a business relationship, I will pay you for a good or service that you want. I will be obligated to do so because we came to an agreement in which you provide me the good or…
Comment linking /
on “VPAID ads destroy performance and are still served by major ad networks”Submitted MIT Aluminum Bicycle Project 1974 (2016) as a story · 195 points
HN discussionThis makes me miss Web 1.0. https://sheldonbrown.com/
Comment linking /
on “RSS is wonderful”Submitted Sheldon Brown's Articles as a story · 180 points
HN discussionLike this site, I learned how to build a strong bike rim from Sheldon. https://sheldonbrown.com/
Comment linking /
on “The Return of the 90s Web”Submitted Lock Strategy (2017) as a story · 16 points
HN discussionGreat article, but I would like to point out a common misconception regarding mechanical advantage that featured in the article. Mechanical advantage is not completely determined by the gear ratio. You also have to take into account crank length and the wheel size. Total mechanical advantage is determined by these three factors together. See https://sheldonbrown.com/gain.html
Comment linking /gain.html
on “Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?”Submitted Braking and Turning Your Bicycle as a story · 9 points
HN discussionYou are mistaken. https://www.sheldonbrown.com/gloss_da-o.html#department > The average department-store bicycle is ridden about 75 miles in its lifespan from showroom floor to landfill. The manufacturers know this, and build them accordingly. Department-store bicycles are most commonly sold in a partially disassembled and un-adjusted condition. I should also clarify that SINGLE SPEED pedal brake bicycles ARE nearly…
Comment linking /gloss_da-o.html
on “Why did we wait so long for the bicycle?”Submitted Fixed Gear on the Cheap as a story · 9 points
HN discussionHuh. I thought the C in 700C indicated that the tire was a clincher as opposed to tubular but that seems to be wrong. You tool says: > Reifenhöhe C: ca. 39 mm (French designation) but it says that for 700x19C as well as for 700x40C which seems odd? The wikipedia page for Bicycle wheel [1] says: > The ISO 5775-2 standard defines designations for bicycle rims. It distinguishes between 1. Straight-side (SS) rims 2. Cro…
Comment linking /tire-sizing.html
on “Show HN: Web page that parses and explains the label on a bike tire”Submitted Fixed gear bicycles for the road as a story · 7 points
HN discussionhttps://www.sheldonbrown.com/tire-sizing.html has (i think all?) of the edge cases you're going to encounter in any bike made after about 1925.
Comment linking /tire-sizing.html
on “Show HN: Web page that parses and explains the label on a bike tire”Submitted Braking and Turning Your Bicycle as a story · 6 points
HN discussion> Somewhere along the way, people stopped building well organized sites and started producing chronologically organized writings and content. For news or personal diary-format blogs, it makes sense, but I agree. Why did the blog become the default way to present a page on the internet? Aside from serving as an indicator of 'freshness,' publication date usually has no relation to the content I read. It's weird that m…
Comment linking /
on “The old internet shows signs of quietly coming back”Submitted 6-speed, 7-speed, 8-speed, 9-speed, 10-speed, 11-speed? as a story · 6 points
HN discussionIME cycling a recumbent can ease stress on the back. https://sheldonbrown.com/org/greenspeed-index.html Sure its a little off putting but if you've the time and money it could be worth trying.
Comment linking /org/greenspeed-index.html
on “Suicide rates highest ever among middle-aged men”Submitted Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info as a story · 6 points
HN discussionNot sure what kind of racks you have but for some back-in parking might be easier than front-in. I try to lock one of the back tubes and wheel if possible. I'm also a fan of the Sheldon Brown lockup strategy[1]. There's also a modified version that may be more secure[2]. [1] https://sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html [2] http://www.802bikeguy.com/2011/07/the-modified-sheldon-brown...
Comment linking /lock-strategy.html
on “In praise of the humble Sheffield stand”Submitted Sheldon Brown's Bicycle Technical Info as a story · 5 points
HN discussionI think Sheldon Brown's website is another great example.[1] It's a fantastic resource if you're into cycling, and Sheldon made it to Wikipedia with that site[2], which is more than most people with fancy sites can say. Actually, it's probably a better example than Paul Graham, Dan Luu, or Christ Lattner's sites as it shows that not only tech folk will read your basic looking website as long as the content is good.…
Comment linking /
on “Building a personal website in 2021”Submitted Sheldon Brown’s Bicycle Technical Info as a story · 4 points
HN discussionWhile we're at it, bike lock advice from one of cycling's old grey beards, Sheldon Brown: http://www.sheldonbrown.com/lock-strategy.html
Comment linking /lock-strategy.html
on “What Happens to Stolen Bicycles?”Submitted The Sturmey-Archer ASC Fixed-Gear Three-Speed Hub as a story · 4 points
HN discussionAnother mention of this fantastic cycling website: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/harris/
Comment linking /harris/
on “18-year-old personal website, built with Frontpage and still updated”Submitted It's better to brake a bike with the front brake alone as a story · 4 points
HN discussionThe information tends to be of lower quality (despite the love). For example, I wanted to know why left and right bicycle pedals are threaded differently. Three youtubers gave reasons that I could tell didn't quite make sense. But Sheldon Brown's website explained it ("precession"). https://www.sheldonbrown.com/pedals.html Looks like he added this detail later - it's easier to increase the quality of information lik…
Comment linking /pedals.html
on “I Miss the Old Internet (2019)”Submitted Sheldon Brown's Home Page as a story · 3 points
HN discussionSheldon Brown wrote about this years ago: https://www.sheldonbrown.com/teachride.html > The ideal bike for learning to ride, whether for a child or a deprived adult, is a bike that is "too small" for efficient riding. For learning purposes, the rider should be able to sit on the saddle with both feet flat on the ground and the knees slightly bent. The bike can then be used as a hobby horse or scooter, with the feet…
Comment linking /teachride.html
on “Take the pedals off the bike”Submitted Fixed Gear Bicycles for the Road as a story · 3 points
HN discussion
