[hawkinspeter]

OldRidgeback wrote:

hawkinspeter wrote:

I’m sure my carbon wheels and frame amplify my hub, but it’s not nearly loud enough.

Are there any 3rd party add-ons to increase the noise? Something like spokey-dokeys but for the hub.

There are these:

Turbospoke, A Fake Exhaust System for Bicycles

It’d be a hoot if a pack of road riders had bikes kitted out with these.

Intriguing … do they do one in carbon fibre?

[hawkinspeter]

I’m sure my carbon wheels and

I’m sure my carbon wheels and frame amplify my hub, but it’s not nearly loud enough.

Are there any 3rd party add-ons to increase the noise? Something like spokey-dokeys but for the hub.

[hawkinspeter]

Just got a reply from FSA:

Just got a reply from FSA:

Thanks for your e-mail, the warranty on all of our products is two years from date of purchase for the original purchaser only. However our UK distributor does offer a crash replacement deal acquirable through your local bike shop or direct with me.

Don’t think I’ll bother pursuing that as so far I’ve had two FSA SL-K seatposts and both have cracked. (I’ve now got myself a cheap alloy seatpost to use until the chinese carbon turns up and have installed a new battery).

[hawkinspeter]

Pick aero over lightweight,

Pick aero over lightweight, so go for the Halos with the deeper rim.

[hawkinspeter]

Mikehudson wrote:

Pad/disc alignment seems spot on. Bearings were checked at the shop and found to be ok. It only manifests when putting the power down, ie when introducing a twisting force into the frame. It was absolutely fine until the first time I stood on the pedals after a fairly fast descent. Looks like a back to the shop job. I don’t suppose you can break a thru ankle? They seem pretty substantial to me. 

A thru-axle should be pretty tough. You’d certainly not snap it in half, but the thread on the end could get fouled up, I suppose. You’d notice if the thru-axle was faulty when removing it and then putting it back in place. Also, I wouldn’t expect a thru-axle to be able to slip/move around if it’s tightened correctly.

If the wheel bearings are all fine, then maybe there’s an issue with the frame?

[hawkinspeter]

I’d be thinking of pads/disc

I’d be thinking of pads/disc alignment. Check the disc isn’t warped and maybe re-align the caliper.

If you put the bike on a stand (or even *THE HORROR* turn it upside down), then when spinning the back wheel you should be able to get your head in a position to eyeball the gap between the disc and the pads. A light surface or piece of paper put the other side from your head will sometimes make it easier to see. If the gap is nicely consistent and about 1mm or so either side of the disc, then the alignment is spot on.

If the alignment is good, then I’d be looking for anything that could shift the position whilst pedalling. Rear wheel bearings could be a suspect.

[hawkinspeter]

Jez Ash wrote:

Jez Ash wrote:

OP – your Di2 problem is on a different bike, right? Cos a VCLS post (legit or otherwise) won’t accommodate a Di2 battery

Well, now I feel stupid for not even thinking about that.

It’s the same bike, so looks like I’ll be making offerings to the gods of duck tape to hold the battery below the post.

Does anyone know how Canyon fits the battery on Di2 models? Edit: Looks like they use a custom bracket to mount it in the downtube.

[hawkinspeter]

Thanks for the replies.

Thanks for the replies.

I’ve ordered a 3TS seatpost now as I’m impatient and curious about it. Let’s hope it doesn’t shatter into dangerous shards!

KiwiMike – are you aware of dodgy carbon fibre doing that or is it more of a general distrust of their quality control?

@BTBS – I’ve seen the Specialized seatpost coming up on discussions and reviews of flexy seatposts, but I prefer the look (and price) of the VCLS copy.

I’ve now got a new problem and am wondering if it could be connected with the seatpost cracking. I went to ride home this evening and my Di2 was completely dead. I rode it a couple of miles to the station this morning and it was all fine, but maybe something happened to it when it was in the bike coach.

I connected up the charger, thinking that maybe the battery had been depleted somehow (it was on 4/5ths charge this morning) but no response at all. As I’ve got a spare cable and a slightly duff battery, I swapped components until I figured out that it’s definitely the battery – I’m charging my older battery now and successfully updated its firmware, so the cables are all working fine.

I’ve had a good look at the dead battery and can’t see any damage to it and it’s been working perfectly since I cracked the seatpost, so maybe it’s just a coincidence.

(I’ll send the dead battery back to CRC for a warranty check – it’s only 11 months old.)

[hawkinspeter]

Well, that was an intriguing

Well, that was an intriguing ride on my old 25mm setback post (with only a small crack in it).

After a couple of stops to adjust the seat angle (I generally have the saddle quite nose down), I cycled cautiously as the position was a bit different and the effective saddle height was probably a bit higher. However, it seemed as though my legs were a lot happier with the new position and I was going a lot quicker than usual without particularly trying to (though I did try dropping a cyclist along the A370 after sucking his wheel for a bit).

However, just seen that the wind was 19mph from the west which might explain it.

[hawkinspeter]

I bought this one from

I bought this one from FleaBay back in October 2017, so my initial thought is that I’ve got a fair bit of use from it and the night it cracked, I had a heavy rucksack (I was carrying a 2kg bag of coffee beans amongst other things), so I was thinking that maybe I need to lose a bit of weight as well.

Strangely enough, I had a spare FSA SL-K seatpost stashed at work (though it was a 25mm setback model which is why I replaced it with a 0 setback model) and on examining that, it’s got a small longitudinal crack, though I’ve now swapped my saddle onto that and will be using it tonight if the rain holds off.

I tend to think that the main shock absorbing component is the tyres, but I’m a sucker for new, different things which is why I was looking at the VCLS. I could get a genuine one, but I think that when figuring out if you can afford something, you should consider buying it twice (i.e. if it gets broken or stolen etc) and at almost £500 for two seatposts, it’s overly extravagant for me.

I might fire an email off to FSA and see what they think – I’m not optimistic about it, but then I’ve got nothing to lose.

[hawkinspeter]

StoopidUserName wrote:

No experience of 3TS but really, you wanna experiement with a cheap carbon knock off?? 

My thinking is that I’ve just had a fairly catastrophic failure of a carbon seat post from a known brand and it didn’t cause me to lose control or even realise what exactly had happened. I thought it was part of the saddle that had cracked and to be honest I was relieved to see that it was the seat post as that was older and cheaper than my saddle.

[hawkinspeter]

I’m quite impressed by the

I’m quite impressed by the amount of damage to the FSA seatpost and the fact that I rode it a couple of miles to the station this morning before realising that it was a bit more flexy than usual.

 

[hawkinspeter]

I’d estimate that I spend

I’d estimate that I spend probably half the time on the hoods and half the time on the drops. I find the hoods easier to use, so I use that when I’m tangling with traffic as it gives me better visibility – I’m more likely to be looking ahead than downwards. I switch to the drops when I want to be lower/more aerodynamic which is usually for longer stretches of road and for travelling faster. I could raise up my handlebars to get the drops position as easy/comfortable as the hoods, but then I’d lose my lower/aero position.

However, there’s a gotcha in that a lower position isn’t always more aero and also being more aero may not be quicker if you can put out a lot more power in a higher position, so being comfortable and enjoying riding is going to be most important for most people.

[hawkinspeter]

It’s usually because the

It’s usually because the drops are lower, so you’re in a more bent-over position when using the drops and most people find it more comfortable to be a bit more upright (i.e. on the hoods). Maybe you’re handlebars are relatively high (more spacers), but if you’re comfortable using them, then it’s not a problem.

[hawkinspeter]

I’ve only tried the 25mm Pro

I’ve only tried the 25mm Pro Ones and they seemed really slippery in the wet when run at higher pressures (over 70psi or so).

[Author]

Replies