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Continuing to dig into this,
Continuing to dig into this, it looks like the early thru axle frames (16/17/18 MY) do have a fork crown mount but don’t have the holes for an add on seatstay bridge. Giant used to sell custom guards for this era of bikes but they were withdrawn from sale due to frame damage – the mounting system abraded the carbon in the seatstay and in some cases caused it to fail. Now trying to track down which model year introduced the rear bridge mounts – definitely there on 2019 models and newer.
There’s similar on the A34
There’s similar on the A34 bypass north of Newbury. Clearly it was a thing back when both of these schemes were designed. Prime example of an engineer/designer who hasn’t cycled since they were in middle school.Had a look around and so far
Had a look around and so far confirmed that 2020 Defys and newer have the hole on the back of the fork, so that should help with clearanceAh, thanks, good to know
Ah, thanks, good to know about the fork. I’d like to think its in the proper place as the RGX guards have an angle bracket for the front mudguard – and they’re not shown as being compatible with the Revolt.
I get that there’s mahoosive clearance anyway on the Revolt but that seems to be a bonkers solution. It’s a complete pain when setting up ‘guards – my old Merida CX used the same system. Also sucks for fitting dyno lights.
Cycle Clinic’s BORG wheels
Cycle Clinic’s BORG wheels have a good reputation – e.g. https://thecycleclinic.co.uk/products/borg31-wheelset (there’s also a lightweight version). Basically they’ll custom build whatever you specify.
If it’s something you don’t
If it’s something you don’t do regularly I think both are a bit of a faff. My current hamfistedness manifests itself in consitently getting the disc the wrong side of the pad with my TA wheels, but that might be down to the design of Spyres. Other than that I vastly prefer TA front and rear to QR for disc brakes, precise alignment means no brake rub or indexing issues caused by poor dropout centering. I also don’t miss the lawyer lips. The only minor issue with some of the removable handle TA types is that they tend to foul mudguard stays and so you need to change position a couple of times when undoing the front in particular. In winter I tend not to have them fitted as I’ve got the right size hex key in my tool roll anyway.
Nope, didn’t see an email.
Nope, didn’t see an email. But that’s not surprising as I have a separate email address for each online serviceThanks all – GCN it is then.
Thanks all – GCN it is then. I spend enough time sat in front of my work monitor during the week that I don’t want to do that on weekends with a Tripel Karmeleit and a bowl of frites.
Most things in cycling go in
Most things in cycling go in cycles. I’ve got a poster of bikes from over 100 years ago – custom frame bags, dropped stays, passive suspension all feature. There’s certainly something to be said for simplicity and not following what the pros use – it’s easy and cheap to build a 7kg rim brake bike, that’s not the case for discs. What it means is that the price of an entry level bike is higher, components might be a group level lower, etc. I mostly ride discs these days, particularly in winter but my cheap rim brake bike also puts a smile on my face.Went past Stony Lane this
Went past Stony Lane this morning, a couple of drivers had tried their luck and got stuck. Surprisingly not German bahnsturmers – twas a Corsa and something vaguely Hyundai-looking.
Back up towards Ringwood there were two cars in the hedge having taken out a telegraph pole. 50mph stretch and based on where they ended up I’d imagine it was black ice and straight on til morning.
Yep, prior to getting our new
Yep, prior to getting our new city runabout I also ran a Mk4 Golf. Cost £800, cost £300 in parts during my ownership. Only downside was that it only did 35mpg, needed super unleaded (E10 issue) and we were doing 12,000 miles a year in it. The replacement does around 55mpg, £0 VED, and should do us until the Petrol Age ends.
It’s quite an eye-opener in the school park the number of ’72 plate cars around. Massive SUVs, yes quite a few more electric, and yes I live in a prosperous part of the country, but I have to wonder how they’re afforded. There’s a couple of new Merc EVs which I believe cost in the region of £72k!
As a former petrolhead I
As a former petrolhead I shouldn’t find this surprising, as back in my thirties I was probably spending 25-30% of my income on my car and car-related activities. But I do find it utterly bonkers how people shell out so much money on what’s essentially a white good purchase for most of them. The car marketing industry has clearly played an absolute blinder for many years. I know we see a degree of snobbery and tiering in cycling (“wouldn’t be seen dead riding Claris mate, you need Ultegra minimum to pop down the shops”) but it’s generally less expensive. I’ve got mates and family who are shelling out for two cars on monthly leases and based on the usual “SUV plus city car” combo that’s got to easily be £500 per month. I’ve seen personal finance analysts saying that the whole lease model is the next sub-prime mortgage bubble to go bang (see also short term HP like Klarna) and I have to agree with them. Yes older cars typically have lower MPG figures but I wonder if people actually do a total cost of ownership calculation. I’ve got a Volvo 940 as a second car, yes it does 25mpg on a good day but I only do 3000 miles a year in it and it cost me just over a grand (so around 3 monthly car payments for a new car). It’s still worth a grand, actually probably a little more than that, costs buttons to maintain because most things I can fix myself rather than plugging in diagnostics, and is utterly reliable.
Well, another ride for me
Well, another ride for me today and further improvement.
Now I need to work on finding a suitable bar tape for the wide tops of the Venturemax. I’m wondering if I might just use grip tape, or maybe even go retro and use Tressorex.
Bike fit for me is like cat
Bike fit for me is like cat herding. You get something right and that in turns puts something else out of whack. So off you go and chase that, and it then something else goes wrong.
On the plus side I’ve got a box of stems from 80-120mm, all pro-style gaffa taped so I don’t end up with brand/colour clash. Same applies to seatposts. Currently experimenting with flared bars (Ritchey Venturemax)
It’s complicated but as I
It’s complicated but as I understand it the fit starts with the feet and moves up the body. So cleat position comes first, then crank length (based on hip flexion and knee tracking), then saddle height. That sets your bottom half up and then it’s just a question of finding a comfortable body angle. First fit I had done I was surprised that the solution to my back pain was to go longer on the stem, felt counter-intuitive but it completely solved it, to the point I did RideLondon the next weekend with zero issues.
