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As an aside, my regular riding buddy is a fast decender, and recently swapped back to his rim braked, carbon rimmed Colnago, after a couple of years on a disk braked Roubaix.We did the Rococorba recently and I was glad of my rim brakes, very little scope for letting brakes off to cool and it’s consistently steep in the middle. I don’t know if I’m ‘fast’ but I do like to play with the road, taking racing lines where possible etc.
For long steep descents with a lot of braking I’m not sure I’m sold on hydraulics yet, I’d rather brake how and when I want to rather than have my braking style dictated by the needs of my brakes (seems a bit arse-about-tit if you ask me). To me, gentle feathering and dragging seems more appropriate for road bikes rather than pulsing or braking hard and late.
That being said, I was beginning to wonder about heat build up in my aluminium rims, given that I was running latex tubes, but I believe that’s more of an issue with carbon rims?
Just to answer my own
Just to answer my own question, someone pointed me in the direction of an article I must not have found (or read properly) previously.
There are extra long stems available if you are over approx 5’10” and want to run handlebar level with or higher than your saddle.
Extra-long handlebar stem (Pro/Trainer)
So it was my original google-fu that was weak obviously!
Shame the stem is £70, wonder if I could persuade the gym to pay for it…
Mine can develop a rub after
Mine can develop a rub after lots of braking (fairly new Shimano callipers).
I understand if there is air in the system then it can expand when the system heats up, resulting in pads pushing outwards slightly and starting to rub. Unfortunately when the system cools down again they don’t seem to want to retract, it’s almost as if they have re-adjusted themselves.
Seems like seals and pistons need regular cleaning/lubing in order to keep the system genuinely rub free, and if the rub develops after hard braking it might indicate a re-bleed is required (or at the very least leaving the bike overnight with the levers pulled to the bars with a rubber band or similar, this pressurises the system and leaves a pathway open between the system and the reservoir on the lever which can allow trapped air to rise out).
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The mechanical ones will be single side actuation.Unless they are TRP Spyres, very common these days and actuate both pads.
I think hydraulics are more sensitive to oveheating than cable brakes, I’ve certainly lost braking power on a steep, loose tarmac descent past the Bracklin Falls in Callander (little Scottish reference for you there!). Pulsing the brakes might work but is a pain as it effectively dictates how and when you brake, not ideal.
I think the best suggestion is to do all your braking before each corner, then let the brakes off for a bit on the straights before repeating the process for the next corner. I did some descending in Spain and noticed how good the bike felt going through corners off the brakes! Not always possible if they are steep switchbacks though.
I’m torn, I’ve started
I’m torn, I’ve started spinning more for the same reasons as you. Recently had a 2hr coaching session and the coach confirmed that spinning a higher cadence was better in race situations as you could recover quicker from attacks etc. than if you were pushing a higher gear.
On the flip side, I’m pretty sure I can generate a higher heart rate for the same power/speed by spinning a higher cadence, which makes sense as the weight of your legs doesn’t change even if you’re pushing a lighter gear, and you still have to spin the legs! I guess depending on your riding there’s a sweet spot somewhere in the middle.
Have just started training in
Have just started training in earnest, although as usual have been hampered by injuries so not making the progress I would have hoped.
I’m 36, male, 85kg, highest heart rate I’ve seen is 185BPM (although a ramp test/threshold heart-rate test suggested it should be 179BPM however that was indoors) and my FTP is apparently 287W which places me at 3.3W/kg.
Given my build and my weight (relatively lean but still heavy, 6ft) I think I can only ever aspire to better power numbers, attempts at losing weight in the past have just left me hungry, irritable and no lighter!
Yeah, but it just seems so
Yeah, but it just seems so unnecessary, and anyway, what if it’s someone else’s tubes? (as happened last night).
Just waiting for an answer from Syncros re: their smallest road pump (description says flex hose, pics don’t show it) then I think I’ve found what I’m looking for.
Someone suggested on another
Someone suggested on another forum that the wee button was for exactly that, releasing pressure and making hose removal easier.
Are you suggesting that a thumblock/push on head is harder to pump? Is that why most of the industry seems to have moved to screw on heads?
I see Birzman does a sort of ‘snap-on’ head which doesn’t unscrew the core when taking off…
Perfect! Had tried all the
Perfect! Had tried all the main players but hadn’t thought of Syncros.
Ta
No, I’m saving my irritation
No, I’m saving my irritation for the first flat/wet stage, thankfully my TV has a mute button
Welsh Boy, very good point,
Welsh Boy, very good point, in fact my new Romin is distinctly harder than previous saddles but I’m getting on fine with it!
I guess it’s hard to shake the notion that you need some padding on a winter bike that you’re more likely to be plodding around on.
Have secured a Fabric Line saddle for £30 second hand, reviews suggest they have a narrow nose.
No Selle Italia ‘test centres’ nearby and the ID match doesn’t really take account of nose width, so I’d prefer trial and error using cheap or second hand saddles rather than commiting to expensive new saddles and hoping I can swap them at the shop, experience has taught me that there is a limit to how often you can swap saddles before a shop gets sniffy (plus the constant dread of crashing or otherwise damaging an expensive saddle that you’d maybe hoped to return!).
Also the venerable
Also the venerable Specialized Allez, I have mine built up with mudguards and it still comes in lighter than the Scott Speedster above.
I’ve been running mine for a
I’ve been running mine for a year or two now, possibly 3000km on them although hard to tell.
A couple of pinch flats from unseen lumps in road, but I’ve fitted a carbon seat post and started inflating the rear tyre to 85psi instead of my previous 75psi (for an 85kg rider) so hopefully that will sort it.
Nothing else to report, just hope they haven’t changed them or that I haven’t jinxed myself now!
I run Swisstop BXP Blue pads
I run Swisstop BXP Blue pads in my mini-Vs, absolutely perfect (although I do toe-in the front pads for 100% squeal free).
Also if you fancied upgrading the brakes you could check out the cheap TRP CX 8.4s on eBay, titanium hardware, anodised colours, very nice!
Yeah, I had similar judder on
Yeah, I had similar judder on my Charge Plug, is a consequence of cantilever brakes with cable hangers too far from the straddle wire.Easily fixed.
