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Audax Bike advice

  • This topic has 23 replies, 14 voices, and was last updated 7 years ago by Anonymous.
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  • June 3, 2019 at 2:36 pm #29715
    alanw56

    Hello All

    I am looking for new audax bike for my long days in saddle. I found on forum two(orro terra gravel 105 and ribble cgr) that were recommended, but which other bikes you would recommend to suit my needs. Thanks for any advice

    1. disc brakes with thru axles to make life easier in case of flat tyre
    2. frame as light as possible and can accept any colour. I am not that fussed about it if bike ticks all boxes
    3. mudguards and pannier rack mounts(max weight 10kgs)
    4. 9 out of 10 rides are on the road so no need for any fat tyres or heavy frames
    5. minimum Sora groupset
    6. budget no more than £1500, however cheaper the better
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  • June 4, 2019 at 9:18 am #942953
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    Scoob_84

    A cautionary tale from a club

    A cautionary tale from a club member who recently completed Windsor – Chester – Windsor (600km Audax), he ripped a spoke through his rim with 40km to go and his bike was unridable. Luckily for a him, a dog walker chanced upon him was a keen cyclist himself and leant him a wheel to make it to the finish. If he had thru-axles, he wouldn’t hvae been so lucky. 

    Not quite sure what the moral of the story is here, im no audaxer either, but i would imagine easily replaceble parts are sometimes essential.

    June 4, 2019 at 9:08 am #942951
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    kil0ran
    alanw56 wrote:
    Hello I checked boardman asr 8.9 and it looks like it is out of stock. I can wait another 2 weeks or so, but will definitely go for hydraulic brakes. In my local halfords I was told today that thru axles are not easy to fit wheel too, because it is easy to damage thread on the axle. Not sure if it true or not, but I guess I should ignore their advice.

    You do have to be careful. Just make sure you haven’t picked up any grit and grime on the thread when you’re changing the tube at the roadside. And as with any thread you have to be careful not to cross thread it. Thru-axles have pretty meaty threads so you’ll probably be OK but personally I found Merida’s approach almost as much of a faff as a standard QR. That was a screw-in axle with a QR lever to act as a handle primarily, but I found it tricky to get everything aligned – it wasn’t just a question of doing the axle up until it was tight and then closing the lever. There are many solutions to the thru-axle requirement though and no doubt some will be easier to use than others.

    June 3, 2019 at 6:53 pm #942949
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    alanw56

    Hello I checked boardman asr

    Hello I checked boardman asr 8.9 and it looks like it is out of stock. I can wait another 2 weeks or so, but will definitely go for hydraulic brakes. In my local halfords I was told today that thru axles are not easy to fit wheel too, because it is easy to damage thread on the axle. Not sure if it true or not, but I guess I should ignore their advice.

    June 3, 2019 at 5:47 pm #942947
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    kil0ran

    Based on that use case

    Based on that use case definitely go for discs and make sure they’re hydraulic. The investment now will be paid back in increased safety and less rim wear.

    I had a disc brake bike a couple of years back with a thru-axle front and a QR rear and that was fine for wheel changes – mainly because there are no lawyer lips on the rear and the transmission and caliper tend to centre the rear hub automatically. Current disc bike has QRs front and rear and all I do when replacing the front is pop the wheel in, hold the brake on with one hand, and tighten the QR with the other. Agreed a bit of a faff but just bear in mind that there’s a wide range of approaches to thru-axles at present, and some are better than others. 

    June 3, 2019 at 5:21 pm #942945
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    Anonymous

    The Boardman ASR 8.9 is a

    The Boardman ASR 8.9 is a R753 frameset with carbon fork and fits your requirements completely for £1299 https://www.boardmanbikes.com/gb_en/products/1573-asr-8.9.html

    June 3, 2019 at 4:30 pm #942943
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    mike the bike
    alanw56 wrote:
    …….. they showed me how to take wheel off and back on with QR and you need to be very precise……. I want to feel more confident in rainy weather and colleague suggested disc brakes. 

     

    Nobody has ever accused me of being very precise and yet I’ve never had a moment’s trouble removing or re-fitting disc wheels.  It needs a little care but it soon becomes second nature.

    Go for the better brakes sir, you won’t regret it.

    June 3, 2019 at 4:00 pm #942941
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    alanw56

    Hi I thought to get a good

    Hi I thought to get a good audax for years and my first thought was to get hydraulic brakes with thru axles at the same time if possible. I looked at RC520 this morning and they showed me how to take wheel off and back on with QR and you need to be very precise. I commute around 5.30 am in the morning and last thing I would need is to play with QR to stop disc touching the pads. I have now rim brakes fitted on my current bike and they are fine when it is dry,but rubbish when wet and read that hydraulic brakes could be an answer to it despite I use swissstop pads. I do sometimes 100-200 miles in one go so it cannot be a race bike. I want to feel more confident in rainy weather and colleague suggested disc brakes. 

    June 3, 2019 at 3:38 pm #942939
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    kil0ran

    If you’re up for self

    If you’re up for self-building there’s a ton of choice out there. If it’s a true audaxer I’d consider something like the Kinesis RTD – https://www.kinesisbikes.co.uk/Catalogue/Models/Racelight/RTD

    Also consider Decathlon’s bikes – e.g. https://www.decathlon.co.uk/triban-rc-520-disc-road-bike-navy-105-id_8554421.html

    If you’re going with disc brakes strongly recommend you get full hyrdaulic discs. You’re eating a lot of budget though, and narrowing your choice a little. Are you absolutely certain you need discs on an audaxer?

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