Forum Replies Created
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Replies
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Dug this out of my rear tyre
Dug this out of my rear tyre after a 40-mile run. No flat. In about 3,000 miles the last year, I think I’ve had one flat.Grippy in the wet/cold, long-lasting, pretty much everything-proof whilst being supple and light. GP4S are awesome, IMHO.
Matt, go for it.
The reality
Matt, go for it.The reality is that there’s SFA difference between what you want to do and giving your child a good, wholesome shoulder ride. I’ve seen parents smack their kids into low signs in town centers, tree branches, etc etc. If you trip and fall with a child on your shoulders they are coming down from probably twice the height as what yours would be at in a backpack, seated on a BMX. I’m totally up for the public argument should any person think to berate me / my wife for choosing to let our kids cycle unhelmeted, or climb to the top of the frame / tree, or a million other things we did as kids that have now been ruled out of order by the H&S Nazis.
Fuck ’em.
Anyone replying here that I’m a bad parent yadda yadda can correctly guess my response. So don’t say you weren’t warned. And no, I don’t want to hear your own anecdotal story of woe. Life’s too short to curtail the excitement and freedom childhood used to have and has been mostly been strangled of by the creeping opprobrium of the ‘what might happen’ worrywarts.
Assess the risk, take appropriate precautions. Anyone telling me a kid’s at more risk of death in a parent’s backpack on a carefully-ridden bike than in a small car at 70+MPH on UK roads better come armed with peer-reviewed stats.
Roll on.
I’m still very much loving
I’m still very much loving the Vermarc Extreme: http://road.cc/content/review/141302-vermarc-extreme-rain-jacketDid 40 miles on Sunday in pissing rain / high winds / 7ÂşC. This jacket over the top of a Gabba worked a *treat*. It also rolls up small enough to disappear into (i.e. not poke out of) a reasonably-snug jersey pocket.
harragan wrote:I bought a
I bought a work stand yesterday and the cashier very clearly told me to keep hold of the receipt just in case. I’ve not put it up yet but for ÂŁ25 I don’t think I can complain.Their cycling clothing is alright. The fit is always a little odd. I prefer Aldi but I’m skinny.
Definitely keep the receipt. Take a photo of it, and email it to yourself for future reference. As they are printed on thermal paper they will fade out to nothing after a year or so.
I purchased two stands two years ago, and have ***thrashed them***. One cracked at the clamp last year, and I got it replaced. The other has now got an issue where the base-foldy-concertina plastic bracket comes away from the main pole when lifted up – so I’m going to get it swapped – for free – tomorrow. If there are any left. If not, i’ll wait until next time. 3 year warranty FTW!
To replicate the
To replicate the functionality a phone gives you requires purchasing the colour touch-screen 810 or 1000 Garmins. And you still need to take a phone for phone things.If you have a spare ÂŁ250-odd, sure, get a Garmin. Otherwise, with a quality mount like Quadlock, maybe using the Universal mount + a 3rd-party case like an Otterbox, Lifeproof or my fave, the Uncommon Safecase, you are sorted both on- and off-bike. Which, let’s face it, you need to be as well.
With judicious management (turn off WiFi, mobile data, turn down screen brightness, turn off screen unless using it for navigation that minute) you can get 18+hrs from an iPhone. Or carry a small extra battery and go for days. The Topeak one is genius and does 2.5 charges from flat for an iPhone 5. It will run an iPhone in full-brightness always-on all data-on for 16hrs and still leave you with 100% battery.
There’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to the Garmin-vs.-Phone conundrum – just what works for YOU and YOUR riding needs, TODAY.
SKS Raceblade Longs.
SKS Raceblade Longs. Absolutely cracking mudguards, clip on/off in seconds, just as sturdy/strong as the permanently-fixed ones.Most of our club use them. I leave the fittings on year-round, as even in the middle of summer if it’s pouring down mudguards are a benefit.
Note there is a total difference between ‘Raceblades’ and ‘Raceblade Longs’.
If you have an iPhone 4S or
If you have an iPhone 4S or newer, or a new-ish Android, SportsTracker sell Bluetooth Smart/LE cadence/speed sensors for ÂŁ27 on Amazon. We have two in the house now.Seem to be the same as Wahoo et al, but not ÂŁ40+.
Shamblesuk wrote:I believe
I believe the reactivator of this discussion is trying to consider between 105 10 speed and Ultegra 11 speed, in which case no argument – go for Ultegra. The new 11 speeds are a massive development on 10 speed. I’ve gone from Dura Ace 7900 to Ultegra 6800 and the smoothness difference is amazing. Especially on the front mech.105 5800 is 11-speed. The pretty universal consensus is that it shifts/brakes the same as Ultegra 6800, and the only difference is weight.
Jimmy Ray Will wrote:
WouldWould that still be the case if you changed the chain at 127.4mm for example, or is it just inevitable.
…
Performance in competition is my goal, and a worn chain is worth anything up to a minute over an hour crit, which is not time I’d be willing to give away.
The 127.5mm wear point has been arrived at through decades of trial, error, assessment etc etc. The wisdom of millions of cyclists and mechanics, distilled down into one easy-to-grasp measurement point. Like anything, yes you could swap it sooner at a lesser wear point, and in theory gain an advantage. Taking that logic to an extreme, you could buy a new chain every week, and maybe have your cogset/rings last 20,000km. But you’d have paid for a new chain every week.
127.5mm is the sensible tipping point, beyond which the cost of new chains is eclipsed by accelerated wear on everything.
I get your argument WRT power loss due to chain wear, but can’t find any easily-spotted science to equate chain wear with power loss. I *can* find lots on cog size vs. efficiency – a larger cog is considerably more efficient – I’m guessing needs paring with a larger chainring. Get outta that 11T 🙂
crikey wrote:
As noted above,
As noted above, as the cassette ages, the chain wear accelerates which I would take to mean that using new chains on part worn cassettes is sub-optimal in terms of efficiency…Financially there is no question that using a chain and cassette together is far less expensive than changing chains. In performance terms I’m sure some will insist it’s worth it, but I don’t think it is.
If you simply run 1:1, once you get beyond 128mm for 5 links the wear will accelerate quickly, and you will strike shifting/slipping problems much sooner than had you replaced the chain at 127.5mm. At that point you have no option but to replace everything or run it into the ground as a collective, because any new chain, cogset or ring will be knackered by the rest of the drivetrain very quickly.
So you might only get 5-6000km out of a cogset (Tiagra 10spd list ÂŁ25, average-spec chain ÂŁ10) instead of spending just ÂŁ10 on a chain and having the cogset continue to live on and shift cleanly.
Oh, and your chainrings (Tiagra ÂŁ20-ÂŁ27 each) will be knackered much quicker too. Another rule of thumb is to replace chainrings the same time as cogsets.
If you’ve gone 10,000km between cogsets, spending circa ÂŁ90 on a new cogset, chainrings and chain plus another ÂŁ30 on three intermediary chains means you’ve done 10,000 trouble-free km for ÂŁ120 all-up.
Much more cost-effective than doing cogset, chain and probably rings too, twice over (~ÂŁ180 – plus shifting/skipping towards end of life).
The wisdom of changing chains once beyond 127.5mm is born out of years of wisdom* and cost-effectiveness.
* not mine – Saint Sheldon Brown et al
Spend ÂŁ8 on a cheap set of
Spend ÂŁ8 on a cheap set of digital calipers.Measure your chain over 5 full links. New it will be exactly 127mm. When it gets to 127.5mm, think about replacing soon. If you let it get to 128mm, your cogset is probably stuffed as well.
I’m now onto my 4th KMC X9.93 chain (never paid more than ÂŁ10) after about 10,000KM (Tiagra cogset)
Chain wear before hitting 127.5mm, in order from new:
3,600km
3,200km
1,900km
1,300km (more than half-worn)As you can see, as the cogset wears the chainwear accelerates. When this 4th chain reaches 127.5 I’ll probably get a new cogset as well. And BB. And chainrings. and wheel bearings.
All this pretty much aligns with the rule of thumb of 3 chains to a cogset – if you catch the wear in time.
Noting that I have never had a skipped chain. Ever.
Some of the posters above seem to be erring on the side of uber-cautious, to their expense. The marginal gain of a slightly less-worn chain is probably up there with not having a beard or waxing your sunglasses for improved aerodynamics. Just keep it clean.
notfastenough wrote:KiwiMike
Both my bikes run 105 (5800) and the difference in the performance between the two was huge. The newer of the two group sets shifted like a dog whist the older set was light as a feather. If you were blind tested you’d think they were different groupsets.The only difference between the two was that i was using 2 year old jagwire cable outers on the new groupset whilst the older set was set up with brand new cable outers.
THIS.
Swap out your cables every 1-2000km. It’s ÂŁ10 worth of hardwear* and 20 minutes, max. for a vastly improved experience.
* a lot less if you buy in bulk.
Are you just referring to swapping the inners though? Swapping the outers necessitates new bar tape and the time to fit, surely?
Zombie thread resurrection 🙂
Have unwrapped and re-wrapped my bartape quite a few times (Brooks leather) – not a problem. If you were going down past the hoods and re-doing the drops/bung, yes that would be nasty.
@ JonnyGlasgow9, any update
@ JonnyGlasgow9, any update on Whyte’s response to your cracked frame?
I’ve had a tyre boot from a
I’ve had a tyre boot from a defunct Gatorskin (bit of sidewall) on a GP 4 Seasons for about 3,000km now. Works just fine. The sidewall cut was long enough that the tube could bulge through – maybe 4-5mm. That’s ÂŁ40 saved right there.Always keep a 5cm strip of old ture sidewall in your saddlebag, for when you nick a sidewall.
I’ve been wearing a pair of
I’ve been wearing a pair of Shutt VR’s Roubaix tights for the last two years. Genius kit. Was out in -3.6ÂşC this morning in them, quite toasty.Only bugger is – they don’t seem to sell them anymore!