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Reformed petrolhead here. I
Reformed petrolhead here. I spent most of my 20s/30s buying, modifying, and thrashing all sorts of Japanese/German motors (if you think cycling is expensive wait till you spend £250 on a set of brake pads that last one track day).
Why did I do it? A mix of tribalism, showing off, and as a way to satisfy my mechanicking/tinkering urge (that’s now well and truly satisfied by bikes). I enjoyed driving fast, I did really stupid things on public roads (140mph on the M3 at 3 in the morning probably the worst) and lobbed a huge amount of money at the hobby.
Fortunately I survived to my mid-30s without killing/injuring anyone and only picking up 6 points in 15 years of driving. Eventually I realised that all cars are basically the same, and are basically just a massive source of worry and and equally massive drain on funds. Weekends were spent tinkering on the car and then watching motorsport. That’s all I did. No going out except to car meets, no holidays (except track days) no dating, not much focus on my career.
All changed when I met my partner and she asked a simple question – “What’s the point?” and I couldn’t really answer. Now I drive a Volvo estate (slowly) and rant at drivers like my former self.
I guess the point is that we all like nice things, and we’re all encouraged by marketing and other forces to want things we don’t actually need. If it’s not cars it’s bikes or camera gear or watercraft or whatever.
Stuff like BMW’s “Ultimate Driving Machine” slogan mean that they end up making these absurd cars like the M140i (355bhp in a hatchback FFS) to pick up all the petrolheads who must go one louder than everyone else. I loved Hondas back in the day and had a Mk1 Integra Type R which I reckon at most, even on a track, I could drive at 75% of its capabilities. It was that car that started me doubting the point of it all – I did some proper instruction in it where I improved massively during the day, thought I was at the limit, and then the instructor took me for a hot lap where he was something like 30% faster. I guess it’s a bit like the MTB world where people are spanking about on full downhill world tour bikes and simply don’t have the skill/bravery to exploit the capabilities of the bike to the full.
This might be false equivalence but owning performance cars doesn’t mean you drive like an idiot, in the same way that owning £10k’s worth of World Tour superbike doesn’t mean you jump off the side of alpine passes sat on the top tube in an aero tuck. Very few cyclists need a £10k superbike, yet there are plenty about in the hands of people who would blow up in the first hour of a stage race.
I liked my Merida, very well
I liked my Merida, very well made bike. My LBS sells a lot of them and they’re better value than Giant & Trek. I only sold it because they sponsor the Bahrain-Merida team.
Merida sizing is a bit non
Merida sizing is a bit non-standard – I used to have a M/L Merida Cyclocross 500 which fitted me perfectly. For virtually every other drop bar bike I’d be a large.
Also, for a gravel bike you potentially want shorter reach than you would for a race/endurance bike – particularly if it comes with wider/flared bars.
Looking at the geo the Small Merida has better standover and a shorter seat tube – both worthwhile things to have on a gravel bike, particularly if you end up wanting to run a dropper post. Are you saying that the Merida Small bike only comes with 650B wheels? If so, once again no issue as there’s plenty of tyre choice and if you’re doing a lot of gravel you’ll appreciate being able to fit something like a 47mm WTB Byway.
I’m not sure as when I built
I’m not sure as when I built my Faran I didn’t even know 650B existed, and equally didn’t expect to be using it on gravel tracks and byways. I fitted my Tortec Reflectors with 700 x 33c tyres in mind and found that in that setup they also coped with 650B “Road Plus” tyres which are usually 46/47mm. I even squeezed 700 x 40c WTB Nano knobblies in without any adjustment being required.
Dyno lights are awesome, I
Dyno lights are awesome, I wouldn’t commute without them. Just hated the endless remove/charge/replace cycle with battery lights – my commute was usually over an hour each way so I’d burn through USB-charged lights very quickly.
If I was still commuting I’d definitely be upgrading to the Mk2 Faran, just love all the detailing they’ve done on the new frame.
I’ve got Tortec Reflectors on
I’ve got Tortec Reflectors on my Faran Mk1 but yeah, maybe go for the PDW 45mm. Silver if it’s the green model, grey for the orangey one.
You might need a longer bolt and spacers to get them round the front caliper (PDW do a kit). If you go for the 45mm you’ll have massive clearance if you decide to run 650B wheels later.
You’re getting a really versatile bike there that should last for years. My Mk1 has done commuting, tagalong duties, gravel, and proper muddy stuff. Has run Gravelking SK 33mm, WTB Nano 700x40c, and WTB Sendero 650x47c. And Dom and the rest of the Fairlight team really go out of their way to meet your needs as a customer.
I’ve used PDWs on my tight
I’ve used PDWs on my tight clearance bike and they’re lovely. Easy to fit (no stay cutting required as long as you have dropout mounts), don’t rattle, completely bombproof, and look the part. Now available in lots more sizes to suit wider tyres. Front flaps can go almost all the way down to the road surface if you desire.
I looked at Berthoud & Velo Orange and liked them, they’re easy to fit, but reasonably heavy and they didn’t really suit my bike. I think they look great if you have silver wheels/groupset, and are worth the investment if you intend to keep the bike for a long time.
On my tourer/commuter I had Tortec Reflectors which were great for commuting. Proper reflector at the back and white reflective stripes on the sides. Took me about an hour to fit, you’ll need to cut the stays on these (tip: bolt cutters are easier than hacksaw/Dremel). Once on they stay in place, it’s easy to fine-tune the positioning with the eye bolts, and they’ve lasted well. I’m a ham-fisted bodger and didn’t have any trouble getting them on the bike and aligned.
SKS confuse me too. I think Bluemels are basically commuter/touring versions so slightly heavier/more robust. They’re all pretty much the same construction. No experience of fitting these as the set I got for my MTB turned out to be too big for my frame.
Thanks for the suggestions.
Thanks for the suggestions. No longer commuting (even pre-COVID) so this is more to do with daily riding. Mostly 1-2hr MTB rides so shoes are soaked within, well, oooh, ten yards of the start of the ride :). And typically don’t dry out within 24 hours. Agree newspaper does work but don’t have a ready supply of that.
Are you aware of the trim
Are you aware of the trim function on the 105 shifters? There are actually 4 clicks in the front mech shift lever designed to minimise the noise. Does it only happen in the biggest and smallest cogs?
Also a general word of advice on fiddling with it – start with quarter turns on the screws, tolerances are pretty tight on 11sp. A torch helps with eyeballing clearance between the chain and the cage.
That’s very odd.
That’s very odd.
Which version of Di2?
Does it attempt to move the mech at all?
And is this anywhere in the range of the cassette or only from the extremes? (i.e biggest cog to next biggest, smallest cog to next smallest)
The shifters in the Di2 system are basically just dumb buttons – all the logic is stored in the battery. A reset using the charger connected to eTube project would be my first attempt at resolving it.
Do you have another bike you
Do you have another bike you can try on the Kickr?
Alternatively, try swapping the cassette from your road wheel to the Kickr and see if that resolves it.
I do remember when the Kickr v1 came out there were complaints about how noisy they were, but I think there was a recall and it was fixed in v2 so probably not an issue with this newer version.
I think this is a bit like
I think this is a bit like comparing apples and oranges.
Komoot excels at route planning and is more useful for MTB & gravel riding. The new privacy options finally mean I can start using it a bit more like the social network it’s designed to be. I really like it. It also doesn’t cost me anything because I’ve got my local area and that tends to be the only place I ride, particularly at the moment. I’d like to be paying them something because I really like the app and their approach but none of their subscription plans make sense for me.
Strava excels at improving your fitness due to the segment leaderboards. I find they keep me motivated and encourage me to ride. The new Local Legend feature is really good for this too as its a way for average riders to have a bit of competition. I re-subscribed earlier this year after they changed their business model and I think I’ll be a subscriber for a while. I’d really miss segments in particular, and beacon is useful too now that I’m doing more off-road riding.
If they’re QR then they’ll
If they’re QR then they’ll most likely be 100m front hub spacing and either 135mm or 142mm rear. Pretty much any wheel with a QR (rather than a thru-axle) should fit. The width will be listed as the OLD (over locknut dimension) and is sometimes referred to as spacing.
You don’t necessarily need to have the 6 bolt version, centrelock will be fine too unless you want to swap over your existing discs.
When searching just make sure you don’t buy wheels with Boost spacing (a wider MTB standard) or thru axles (which will either be 12mm or 15mm). Sometimes you find bikes/wheelsets with thru-axle fronts and QR rears.
34 will be fine if it’s the
34 will be fine if it’s the GS, 36 might be pushing itStack and reach are pretty
Stack and reach are pretty much it, unless it has a particularly slack or steep seat angle as that can affect the position of the knee and hip in relation to the BB. Unfortunately it’s easier to size a small frame up than a big one down but as other posters have said, check if the stem can be flipped
