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Dreadful. Guaranteed the
Dreadful. Guaranteed the driver was speeding, come out of High Wycombe and boot it on the long drag up to Stokenchurch & Postcombe. In my idiotic boy racer days when I lived round there I routinely broke the speed limit on that road.
You’ll need a crank extractor
You’ll need a crank extractor and square taper splined cup remover if you don’t have those already. Spray the Tempo BB liberally with release oil and go slow and easy, particularly if they’re plastic cups. Very easy to strip the splines getting them out, particularly if it’s the original factory fit BB. If it all goes well though it’s a quick job, 1 hour and you should be done. As someone else posted, get a new chain rather than shorten the old one. 8-speed chains aren’t expensive, and get a quick link whilst you’re at it.Good choice – the 4 Seasons
Good choice – the 4 Seasons is a lovely tyre and saw me through 3 winters with zero punctures. Good wet grip. The only reason I went away from them was that I started doing a small amount of unpaved road on my commute and I needed the grip (oh and also that I got a new bike that I decided would look better on tanwalls!)
Bike tyres are insanely expensive when you consider how much a car tyre costs but they are worth it and the difference between different types is noticeable. I’ve just swapped from Bontrager R4 Classics 28mm back to my preferred Veloflex Masters and the difference is night and day – despite ostensibly the tyres being very similar (open tubular, limited puncture protection, high TPI, thin tread)
Assuming you’ve got triple
Assuming you’ve got triple shifters a triple crankset is a triple crankset is a triple crankset, I can’t think why Evans would think it isn’t possible.
In general front mech and crankset compatibility is pretty simple – as long as the amount of cable pulled by the shifter matches how far the front mech is moved. I’ve got Tiagra shifters, a 105 front mech, and a 105 chainset on my bike for example. Up front the fact that 105 is a 11-speed makes no difference.
The only possible explanation is that the front mech can’t be dropped low enough to accommodate the 2-tooth drop in the chainring but that seems highly unlikely. It is something that you see on high-end race frames with beefy seat tubes but I doubt very much it’s the case on a Defy Triple.
There’s a ton around that
There’s a ton around that budget.
Saracen Levarg
Orange RX9
Cotic Escapade
Ribble CGR
Nukeproof Digger
I’d be looking at getting the bike with the right tyres for your use case that also has hydraulic disc brakes. Ideally Tiagra-level group with an 11-34 (at least) cassette.
I commuted on Gators for 4
I commuted on Gators for 4 years. From memory, three punctures in that time. And that’s on a mix of country lanes, bike paths, and debris-strewn port roads. Did find them to be a bit skittish on white lines and wet manhole covers so they weren’t my favourite tyre for the winter – I used to swap to Conti GP 4Seasons for that.
There are several versions of the Gatorskin – wired, folding, and hardshell. Hardshell are supposed to be me most durable but I rode the folding version (25mm). Still in the shed and they’re in good nick after 2000+ miles, waiting for if I ever start commuting again. You can get them in a quite frankly massive 32mm version if you want plenty of comfort. I ran those for a while on my CX bike before I started mixing in gravel tracks and swapped to Gravelking SKs.
Unfortunately I don’t have any experience with Schwalbe or any other tyre makes, although I will say that often CX tyres fitted to CX bikes have really crap puncture protection for road use, so another reason to swap.
I would definitely look to
I would definitely look to swap to something slicker as pure cyclocross tyres will wear quickly on road, be noticeably slower, and make a hell of a racket. But, you’re really looking at a minimum of £50 to do that unless you can persuade the workshop to do a tyre swap before you pick it up.
Go for something in the 28mm range to retain the comfort of the cyclocross tyre.
These are insanely good value at the price Bike24 are selling them and my favourite tyre by miles – https://www.bike24.com/p2291142.html . Under £50 for a pair of handmade race-ready Italian tyres – it really doesn’t get better than that.
If not those and you’re looking for something with more puncture protection then Conti Gatorskins are pretty much the standard UK commuting tyre. A bit dull but get the job done.
Pretty sure that the Maddux
Pretty sure that the Maddux RD is a disc wheel so you’ll need a brake rotor and also need to fit a cassette.
You’ll also need to check what axle type your existing wheel uses – standard QR or thru-axle.
The whole swapping process is quick and easy once you’ve fitted the cassette. Make sure you get exactly the same cassette as you’ve got on your current wheel, that way there won’t be any issues with alignment and shift performance.
If you want to keep costs low I’d look for a secondhand disc wheel on eBay and buy a new cassette and the tools to fit it (chainwhip and lock ring tool). All in you’re probably looking at £100 to complete the job – parts and tools.
Galibier get consistently
Galibier get consistently good reviews – cost around £40. Waiting for Ardennes Shields to arrive and if I like those I’ll probably get the other style for more casual riding
Self-build is the way to go.
Self-build is the way to go. My old Triban 3 (now a pub bike) has been through commuter build to fast road with Di2 to light tourer to pub bike. Started with Claris, then Ultegra Di2, then back to 105, then to Tiagra, and now back on Claris. Wheelsets from whatever it came with to deep section aero to dynohub and now on a mixed set of whatever I had in the shed. My partner calls it Trigger’s Broom and quite rightly so.
Alongside that one I’ve been through 3 other bikes and have two in the shed that I’ve had in more or less the same configuration for almost 3 years. Haven’t bought a frame for three years either.
Never dishonest about these though although equally she doesn’t ask how much I’m spending on them. As far as she’s concerned I don’t smoke or drink or have flash tastes or any other expensive hobbies and so it’s fine within reason. I think I’m at the stage now where expenditure is going to be limited to tyres and other consumables.
Correct on both counts re the
Correct on both counts re the Ribble, which is an issue if you can’t bring the bike in the house or don’t have power to the garage. Echo your sentiments on driving too – I used to be a complete petrolhead and love driving and now it’s just a chore. I certainly haven’t missed driving during this lockdown period.
If you’re avoiding driving then a 60+ mile commute twice a week is an ideal eBike use case I’d say. I’m not sure I’d fancy doing it on something like the Motus though – it’s pretty heavy and even with assistance it’s going to be a 2 hour plus ride each way. It will be a plod at a constant speed and probably not very engaging. You’re also lacking the multiple hand positions offered by a road bike, although that’s potentially easily solved with a bar swap to trekking/butterfly bars. We had a similar bike to the Motus for a while for popping to the shops and it just felt like even with the assistance it was hard work for anything more than a few miles.
Get some basic platform
Get some basic platform pedals and ride in your comfiest trainers and see if you get the issue. It’s most likely that it’s down to the shoes being too narrow or too stiff.
Another option might be a trekking style SPD pedal that comes with a wider platform to support more of the shoe. I have these https://www.wiggle.co.uk/shimano-t8000-xt-mtb-spd-trekking-pedals?sku=100283321&source=igodigital on my road bike and they’ve been fantastic. I was getting numb toes even in summer but it’s gone away with these. Plus you can ride in trainers/flat mountain bike shoes if you don’t want to be clipped in all the time.
Rather than splashing out on
Rather than splashing out on an eBike, would a mixed commute work? Drive part of the way, cycle the rest? Most road bikes will fit a family hatch with the rear seats down no problem. I did that for years and it’s a good flexible option.
If you are settled in getting a new bike something like the Ribble CGR AL e is worth a look. Road bike looks and performance, big tyres and disc brakes to handle a winter commute, and a pretty impressive 13.5kg all up. That’s lighter than the Motus meaning if you do run out of assistance/range it won’t be too much of a slog to get the bike home.
Is it the GF Ti disc or rim
Is it the GF Ti disc or rim brake model? Rather than buy a new bike you could potentially squeeze some even wider rubber in there, but if you’re already on 28s tubeless it might not make too much difference, assuming you’re running low pressures already.
Perhaps a Redshift Shockstop stem would be an option? It will certainly eliminate the chatter you get from chipsealed roads and rough tarmac – it’s like getting the Futureshock/Isospeed decoupler without buying a new bike. Will help with arm and elbow pain. And then a Cambium saddle to sort out the chatter at the other end of the bike,
Recommend having a chat with
Recommend having a chat with your local independent bike shop as they might be more accommodating than a national chain in being creative with the rules. Mine let me have my bike before I had the voucher, for example
