[hawkinspeter]

Got my new crankset and

Got my new crankset and fitted it and adjusted my front derailleur for the different height (also changed the settings in the Shimano software, though I think the synchro shifts are in the same place anyway).

Unfortunately, my new pedals are coming from Bikester.co.uk and it looks like they’re being sent from outside the UK, so I’ve now ordered a pair from ProBikeKit.co.uk which should arrive tomorrow. I’ll just return the slowest pair.

[hawkinspeter]

hirsute wrote:

hirsute wrote:

<gulp>

It seems to be an issue with all their hollow bonded Ultegra and Dura-Ace sets.

[hawkinspeter]

FC8000
FC6800

[hawkinspeter]

hirsute wrote:

53/39 – they make ’em tough in Bristol.

Looks like I will be checking my cranks regularly from now on !

I thought I’d give the gearing a go at least until the crankset breaks again.

[hawkinspeter]

I tried putting the crank on

I tried putting the crank on the ground, inserting a big allen key and treading on it (with my foot on the crank), but I think my allen key was a bit cheap and kept flying out of the socket due to poor tolerances. After a few goes at that, I figured it was about time to replace my pedals anyway.

[hawkinspeter]

I’ve unintentionally ridden

I’ve unintentionally ridden with a tubeless tyre at around 20psi, but it was very squirmy and the rim bottomed out on ironworks and potholes.

[hawkinspeter]

Merlin’s got them in stock:

Merlin’s got some in stock: https://www.merlincycles.com/shimano-ultegra-r8000-chainset-11-speed-102855.html

(I went for 175mm 39/53)

[hawkinspeter]

Apparently (after watching

Apparently (after watching HoarseMann’s link to https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FkEkQV-zK0s&t=181s) that’s due to whether it’s hollow bonded or hollow forged. The 105s, Tiagras etc.  aren’t breaking as they’re hollow forged, but the pricier ones use bonding. I’m now wondering if I should have bought a 105 in replacement, but I’ve already ordered another Ultegra which should arrive tomorrow. I’ll just have to keep an eye out for any cracks forming, especially if a new creak/click happens.

[hawkinspeter]

I just removed the left crank

I just removed the left crank and have had a close look at both cranks – no sign of the bonding coming loose or any other cracks that I can see. Probably metal fatigue from where I accelerate as hard as possible away from lights etc.

I’ve also put a couple of those stickers onto my wheel rims – you can just about see one of them.

[hawkinspeter]

The black bits are the ends

The black bits are the ends of a black-reflective sticker that I’d put on both cranks – not part of the crank itself.

Something similar to these

[hawkinspeter]

Thanks.

Thanks.

I think I lead a charmed life – I could hardly have been closer to home and I’ve had worse injuries trying to remove a pedal. I only bothered putting a plaster on my knuckle when I went to bed as it was still weeping (for the lost crank).

Talking of pedals, I tried to remove the pedal from the broken crank without any luck, so I’m going to go for a pair of PD-ES600s to replace my old, stuck PD-A600s.

[hawkinspeter]

This dovetails nicely with

This dovetails nicely with this article from back in May: https://road.cc/content/news/road-traffic-collision-reporting-guidelines-launched-283429

After trying the tool on a couple of reports, it does seem flawed when counting repetitions where lines from the article are repeated under photos etc, though that may be due to my sloppy copy and pasting.

[hawkinspeter]

Fair enough, just don’t do it
Fair enough, just don’t do it again

[hawkinspeter]

I’m not a light rider myself,

I’m not a light rider myself, but I don’t hold a lot of faith in frames being that flexible or absorbing road buzz beyond a minimal amount. Tyres are especially good at deforming and absorbing shocks and rough surfaces, so 28mm at around 70 psi is what I use – you may well want to drop your pressures if you’re only 65kg (I’m probably around 85kg at the moment).

[hawkinspeter]

wycombewheeler wrote:

but with all the cars gone, people can see the city easily on a bike. After all any distance that can be reliably covered in a Trabant is most likely cyclable., so we can have tour guides on bikes, leading groups of cyclists with a radio commentry.

They’ve got lots of bike tours too though I don’t know if they use radios as they just all crowd around when they get to a suitable spot. Berlin is great for cycling as it’s pretty much flat (built on a swamp).

[Author]

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