Forum Replies Created
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Replies
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le Bidon wrote:Personally,
Personally, I’d find the granny gear on a 11-32 far too “easy”. Obviously, it differs from person to person;True.. I personally find the 32 useful in the saddle in extremis but what gets me is the gaps in the cassette. Shimano and SRAM 11-32 have 4 teeth between the bottom two cogs, which I find makes the transition in and out of the saddle really jarring often when you least need it… 3 teeth is quite a jump but 4 ?
I liked the 10-speed Shimano 12-30 cassette before, and the Campag cassettes seem to have some decent choice (12-29, 12-30, 13-29) but are generally bloody expensive and i’d have to swap out the freehub (not possible with my current setup) or get a new rear. Those all make more sense to me than the 11-32 I had, which is now swapped out to 11-28 (still not my ideal but hey..).
Frankly I don’t care about the 11 that much, I mean it’s nice to have but when i’m spinning out a 50×12 i’m already heading north of 65km/h which is fine for the places I find myself in the UK. If I lived in the high mountains, i’m sure i’d feel differently but, alas, I don’t. As ever, it’s a very personal thing though – each to their own.
monty dog wrote:If discs were
If discs were so good for the pro riders, explain the poor take-up with elite CX racers?The take up in the US is not so poor – but regardless of where in the world you are, they are expensive to fit to a team especially as there are times and conditions when people prefer rim brakes.. so you’re suddenly dealing with a lot more combinations of equipment if you just double up. Even in the US there was quite a bit of (quite valid) criticism of them when they first came in – as single sided, cable pull brakes were pretty much all anyone had.. and they could seriously suck as races went on. Things seem to be improving significantly with the widespread availability of twin-sided, hydraulic setups – so it will be interesting to see what happens now in Europe.
There is also an element of cross being seen as still a sport of traditions – which discs rather go against – although how much that might actually effect a pro team I don’t know… probably not a massive amount.
What few comments from professional riders actually using discs i’ve heard or read have more or less been positive across the board regarding performance – but that doesn’t mean they necessarily want to use them. That’s people for you… thankfully.
Paul J wrote:All those going
All those going on about the power and modulation of disc brakes, and stopping power in the wet, are *utterly missing the point*. That’s irrelevant to racing. What matters in racing is that your equipment is as good as your competitor’s. Whether it’s shit or not is irrelevant. Racers can race bikes with shit brakes (e.g. 70s or earlier?) or good, doesn’t matter, they’ll race.Although I largely agree with you, interviews with riders i’ve seen in the past about braking/descents in the cold, wet or both make me think that some of them might actually appreciate something that is better in real terms as well. It’s pretty irrelevant what we think though – it’ll come in because some people / businesses want it in.
HalfWheeler wrote:fukawitribe
In fact it’s kinda the point. Why the switch? Because they are so much more powerful […] That’s why it’s being considered!No, no it’s not.
Disc brakes are much better (in terms of stopping power) than road caliper brakes. This much is obvious. But you’re saying that they’re being considered because of…..?
Consistency, modulation and power. Brute force power on it’s own isn’t what makes them appealing.
HalfWheeler wrote:In fact
In fact it’s kinda the point. Why the switch? Because they are so much more powerful […] That’s why it’s being considered!No, no it’s not.
Flying Scot
Consider:Pro’s don’t give a shit about wearing rims out
Pro’s are much lighter than your average rider so don’t need they extra powerThat’s missing the point by some margin….
…they will ride whatever they are given by the team sponsorTrue
Why I don’t think its imminent:All 3 big names need a road race disc product to push, and none really have one, Campag have nothing at all.
Two of the three have product which is probably suitable now, and the other is rumoured to have one out next year, but as the UCI won’t allow it in road-racing that’s largely irrelevent.
The rules are super conservative, this would be a biggie, I see frame rules being relaxed first.You may well be right on that.
For the riding you mentioned,
For the riding you mentioned, i’d be really tempted to see if you can get a deal on a 2015 Trek Domane 2.3. The older 2.0/2.3 frame was excellent over ‘real’ roads and the new one comes with 11-speed 105 if you can get the £ 100 over the grand sorted somehow. 2p worth anyway, it’s all good.
Sidi 700c wrote:I don’t shop
I don’t shop at wiggle. Far too many things are priced higher than at other places. They have to pay for their TV ad’s, see.No, not really. Adverts aside (think i’ve seen two or three period, can’t remember the last time I saw one), their prices seem generally higher than others for some things, less then others for other things and they also have a well priced and pretty well respected in-house brand of clothing.
Pretty much a mixed bag – sounds like that for what you want they don’t make financial sense, fair enough, but mind if I ask what types of item you’re looking for ?
sergius wrote:I have to say I
I have to say I was narked no end that an expensive bike fit process made things worse. It’s not something I will ever pay for again.What did they say when you told them about the pain in your knees ?
bikeboy76 wrote:I know you
I know you can get trainers with progressive resistance, but do any rollers have this feature?SportsCrafters do a progressive drum for Kreitler and some of their own rollers (passive progressive). The top-end Elites can do active resistance (e.g. grade, head-wind), but not sure if they have any passive progression as well.
Some excellent advice on
Some excellent advice on here, this might also provide some useful information. Written by Neal Henderson – director of sport science at the Boulder Center for Sports Medicine, CO and owner of Apex Coaching – don’t be put off by the triathlon link 😉http://triathlon.competitor.com/2013/07/training/checking-your-intensity_59521
stenmeister wrote:On two
On two occasions this year I have heard local guys banging on about their super light new wheels. One also has DI2. And you know what? They still aren’t as fast as me.Aaah – but are they as blessed with hubris as your good self ?
kostya416 wrote:Mine is very
[quote=kostya416]Mine is very quiet. But then it is also expensive:http://www.exsotron.com/exs_pics/trainer/DSC_9885_800.jpg
http://www.exsotron.com/exs_pics/trainer/zoo.jpg%5B/quote%5DI would love to be able to afford a Lynx one day**, but in the meantime i’m loving the videos – beautiful footage Kostya.
** If you ever have any ex-demo/whatever units in the UK that you don’t want to ship back, let us know 😉
glynr36 wrote:I just
I just personally don’t see the need for it, perhaps I’m looking narrowly through my perspective, but getting gearing right is a technical skill, and is of importance in cycling, something you learn and put time and effort in for, the same as your endurance/speed.I would certainly agree with that for cycling as sport or enthusiastic recreation – but for ‘cycling as transport’ I think it carries less weight.
Even for the more sporting side it would seem to have some potential benefits, even if only in education. As one example, you mentioned earlier you were in a group who had some issues with cadence control and weren’t using (or couldn’t use) the small ring on compact sets properly * – something like this sounds like something that could have been used, perhaps if only for a short period of time, to help with understanding how to use the full range of gears more efficiently maybe ? This sort of thing properly makes more sense for competitive riders to be sure, not convinced it’s worth it for more casual riding.
I understand that for some of you, the 34T front may not have fitted well with your cassettes / riding conditions to make good use of them, and that a mid or standard might work better in some cases – but i’d also be extremely surprised if a compact really was the problem for all those who found a 36T mid a good fit…I’d be up for trying it out if I had an electronic group-set and it could be rented and plumbed in non-destructively, purely for what it could show me about precisely these sort of issues – where I might improve efficiency – I think that might be quite interesting, but I doubt i’d actually go out and feel I had to buy one, even if I could afford it.
* I see quite a bit of ‘big ring riding’, often along with massive cross-chaining, and I sometimes wonder if it’s not partly down to some mis-guided machismo or perhaps just long-ingrained habit. Not saying that’s the case with you or your friends, don’t know any of you, but i’ve heard from people who quite openly say they just “don’t like going in the little ring”. Hey ho, each to their own.
Dave Atkinson wrote:kurt
kurt kinetic road machine is just a bit above your max (£279 online) but the resistance unit is not only very quiet but probably the best I’ve tried for ride feel.getting a decent mat will make a *lot* of difference whatever you ride, though
I’d second the Road Machine for noise and in particular the ride feel. They’re pretty bullet proof too so worth keeping an eye out for second-hand units as they do crop up, e.g. this fella with mat and riser ring might be worth keeping an eye on if you like the sound of one