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I used a Dakine for years
I used a Dakine for years when I commuted, and now use it on my MTB. It’s not one of the cycling specific ones, just a “lifestyle” bag, around 18l. Two mesh side pockets, one soft-lined top pocket that’s ideal for stashing your phone and wallet for quick access. Mine has survived 7 winters and the inner waterproofing has only just started to break down (possibly more to do with being unused over lockdown and left fully loaded on a hook in the garage through the summer).
What I like about it is that it’s really unobtrusive on the bike, even heavily loaded. It’s quite narrow and the strap design seems to almost snug it in against your body. Certainly well tucked out of the wind. Will easily carry the spares you want. Not that expensive at the moment either. This is the current equivalent I think – https://www.dakine.com/collections/lifestyle-backpacks-1/products/wonder-22l-backpack?variant=29226092167248
Depends if you’re talking
Depends if you’re talking about buckles in the wheel or a bearing issue. Buckles are just an occupational hazard and factory-built wheels can/do go out of tension and true pretty easily. I had a brand new Raleigh wheel from Halfords fail within 15 miles (I was also well north of 100kgs then). I’d take the wheels to a proper bike shop and have them true them for you and check spoke tension. Both these things are an acquired skill and best left to professionals IMO when you’re just starting.
Wheels are often an area where corners are cut to make a price point – Decathlon wheels had a reputation for crap bearing life a few years back for example. You can tell if there’s play in the bearings by grasping the wheel firmly at the top and pushing it from side to side. There should be no play and if they’ve gone in two months then that’s a defect, particularly as the weather hasn’t been particularly bad yet.
You should also expect brakes and gears to go out of adjustment in the first couple of months as cable housing settle down into their stops. Usually resolved by a quarter turn on a barrel adjuster at the rear derailleur. Sora is a good quality groupset these days so it should be reliable, but gears do need occasional tweaks to get them running smoothly.
I’m guessing you’ve got disc brakes and they’ll also need fettling regularly.
Bike maintenance is actually pretty easy to learn yourself these days with Youtube and your bike is on the simple side with big tolerances in terms of shifting setup. The disc brakes will probably be a constant faff as cable-actuated discs just go out of whack really easily. The trickiest thing to learn is probably indexing gears – the key to that is having good eyes and ears and to make small adjustments only (we’re talking a quarter of a turn at a time on an adjuster. Rear gears are easier to index than the front.
Just to add – the R7000
Just to add – the R7000 calipers are medium drop and rated to clear 28mm tyres so there shouldn’t be any issues, but if there is you could potentially swap them for long drop brakes – BR-451 is the current Shimano offering, there’s also the older and less available R650, or Tektro & TRP have options too.
Portland Design Works Full
Portland Design Works Full Metal Fenders. Expensive but flexible in terms of fit – they come with optional tabs that fit over your quick releases.
Once they’re on (and they’re very easy to fit unlike mudguards with eyebolts and cut-to-length stays) they don’t rattle and do a good job of full coverage. Have integrated rubber flaps to extend coverage.
Depending on how deeply-recessed the brake nut hole is you might need Sheldon’s Fender nuts from ProblemSolvers.
The only issue with using the skewer-mounted tabs on the rear is that it can make fixing punctures a bit fiddly – you need to completely remove the skewer to remove the wheel which isn’t necessarily the best thing in the pitch dark of an Aberdeen winter commute.
Another option might be the Kinesis Fend-Off guards.
I wouldn’t go with Crudcatchers or Raceblades. Both a massive faff to fit and keep running cleanly, and they’ll knacker your paintwork unless your helitape the mounts.
Simple logistics mean that it
Simple logistics mean that it will only get worse from Jan 31st. I do wonder if we’ll see a resurgent local manufacturing sector for all things bike related because its going to be much harder and much more expensive to import things. With Wiggle/CR dominating the online market there’s certainly a risk of collusion and price fixing between them & Madison once we start paying duty & VAT on non-UK sourced goods.
What’s going on with that
What’s going on with that front fork and mudguard setup?
No issues at all for standard
No issues at all for standard road chainsets. The only place it gets slightly less compatible is MTB 1x systems.
I’ve run 11sp cranks with everything else 10sp for years – mainly because I had a 5800 chainset kicking around – at last count that’s been off and on 5 different bikes which have been a mix of 10sp, 9sp, and even 8sp now on my pub bike.
Yep, that should work. Its
Yep, that should work. Its effectively the same as sprint shifters on the TT version of Di2
Shifters are pretty dumb in the whole system, they just provide an up/down signal. I used 6770 shifters with 6870 Ultegra Di2 for a while, even though 6780 was nominally a 10 speed group. The clever stuff is in the battery, mechs, and front junction.
Stock availability in the UK
Stock availability in the UK has been so bad over the summer that I’ve bought most stuff from Germany – Bikester, BikeDiscount, Bike24 etc. Hugely efficient delivery, and nearly always via DPD, and cheaper than UK prices in most cases.
I can’t think of any “proper”
I can’t think of any “proper” ones that don’t use the caliper mounting bolt as a fixing point and tbh I wouldn’t want to ride with mudguards not secured there either.
Possibly, depending on the fork you have, the ProblemSolvers Sheldon’s Fender Nuts might work, but only if you mount the mudguard to the back of the fork, and not if it’s a deeply recessed brake fitting like most carbon forks are.
Personally I leave mine on year-round now, I have some very nice PDW Full Metal Fenders that don’t look out of place on my “best” bike. They don’t rattle, don’t make wheel and tyre changes any harder, and in general sit there and look unobtrusive.
https://ridepdw.com/collections/fenders/products/full-metal-fenders-road-size?variant=14871507238969
(available in black or gunmetal to match your build)
Undo and re-tighten both
Undo and re-tighten both quick releases.
If it’s a rim brake bike check that the quick release lever on the caliper is closed
Check the brakes and brake shoe alignment with the wheel.
Check spoke tension (just pluck each one like you would a guitar string – they should all be more or less the same tension). It’s not uncommon for factory-built wheels to go out of tension.
Check the gears shift smoothly (best done on a ride unless you have a repair stand or a way of getting the back wheel off the ground that doesn’t involve turning the bike upside down)
Check for play in the handlebars to stem, and also in the headset bearings.
Check saddle adjustment bolts are done up and there’s no play in the saddle
Good luck – it’s great fun as
Good luck – it’s great fun as long as you have the time, don’t rush things (that way lies cross-threaded BB shells and additional swearing) and read the manual. Shimano Dealer Manuals are very comprehensive and fairly easy to follow. And there’s always the awesome Calvin from Park Tools to help.
I’ve self-built two bikes from scratch and done complete groupset swaps on a few more. Always external BBs or square taper so I haven’t had to deal with press-fit BBs. The only thing I’ve had my LBS do is cut the steerer for me once I was happy with my position.
Once you’ve done one and got the tools together suddenly you can start looking around at race frames with basic kit, swap your better group over, sell the Claris/Sora stuff, and have a race-ready bike for half the price of pre-built. Focus, Specialized, Giant, Trek, they all tend to use the same frame and just differentiate price based on finishing kit and groupset level.
I’ve just completed an upgrade on my new MTB, going from Acera/Altus to Deore 11sp and a double to 1x. As my first MTB I would probably have gone with an high spec off-the-shelf build but they simply weren’t available earlier this year. Only additional skill I need to learn for MTB fettling is bleeding hydro brakes.
I had them for a Shutter
I had them for a Shutter Precision dynamo hub – it was literally just a straight 15mm tube with space for a 9mm axle. I was looking on Rose Bikes and many of the ones they offer (https://www.rosebikes.co.uk/bike-parts/hubs/accessories/conversion-kits) look similar to the ones I have on my FSA Afterburner MTB wheels – which I got for £2.99 from PlanetX (https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/WSFSAABQRENDCAP/fsa-afterburner-qr-hub-end-cap-set-front-and-rear). I think DT Swiss make their own hubs so they might not be universal, no idea about Zipp.
MTB derailleurs happily
MTB derailleurs happily handle a 22T front difference so it would probably be ok, just not perfect. And being in Florida I’d imagine it’s mostly flat so you’ll spend most time in the big ringAre they currently thru axle
Are they currently thru axle and you’re trying to convert them to QR? If so then some universal ones should work. It largely depends on what your existing thru axle is like – if it’s just a 15mm or 12mm straight tube then a universal fit one will work, if it’s got some steps and seals like this one from Ritchey it might not. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ritchey-Conversion-Kit-15mm-9mm/dp/B01LWPSN2P
