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Most, if not all, new chains
Most, if not all, new chains are 112links as standard so if anything you’ll be shortening it by a few links.It will depend on the length of your chainstays also but I’ve never even worried about how many links a new chain comes with and not once had a chain too short in 20 years and 40 or 50 bikes worth of assembling/disassembling and maintenance.
Any chain from a reputable brand will be fine!
It probably saves a small
It probably saves a small amount of weight not painting the whole frame, plus thats what raw carbon fibre looks like – for every person that doesn’t like it, there will be one that will.
My Genesis is the same, some black gloss sections and decals, and the rest is raw UD carbon. Loads of other manufacturers do the same. Its just their choice of finish. I quite like the raw finish.
I bought some of their Race
I bought some of their Race 23 alloy wheels a couple of years ago and have raced (TT and road race)/trained/commuted on them and not had to true them once – the spokes staying well tensioned in that time. Whereas I’ve had other factory built wheels, such as Kinesis and even some Cosine ones recently (which I also really like) which have needed truing and/or the odd spoke tensioning.
I don’t think there’s any reason to believe standards would have slipped, doubt you’ll find any negative forum post.
I will say the sealing on the freehub on their own hubs isn’t great but you need to have some “mechanical sympathy” and strip it down, clean and lube occasionally after a wet ride, like the instructions. Edit: If you’re getting Hope hubs then thats irrelevant.
If they are rebadged Gigantex, and built by a competent builder, then I think they’re a safe bet!
I don’t think a bike fit will
I don’t think a bike fit will help. Aeor bars contort the body into a position they’re not used to. A higher position may be more sustainable. Or move the saddle. Its totally different to road riding, so what you sacrifice in power and comfort, you should gain in aerodynamics.
Much more that can be done before paying for a bike fit
What distance time trials are you doing (how long do you need to sustain the position)?
As per the other posts, you
As per the other posts, you don’t need to be a member of a club but at the very least you need to be aware of how to ride in a bunch. Things like holding your line in corners, not overlapping wheels, no sudden movements, no sudden braking, pointing out hazards, communicating with other riders etc etc.
I joined a club and did my first race less than 2 months after joining – so still probably light on bunch riding experience – but I made sure I wasn’t going to ride like an idiot. I then did chaingang and whilst its good for riding closely and getting some speed into your legs, I haven’t been in many races where anyone really wants to work together like you would on a chaingang. The word is that this improves as you move up the categories though.
Bunch riding experience will help you conserve energy, you’ll be able to ride closer to the other wheels and get more draft. On the other hand, not everyone in 4th cat races are good bunch riders – so whether you’d trust getting that close on someone’s wheel or not….
Joining a club was one of the best things I did. (But I think I also got lucky with the particular club I chose to join). It can be a pretty lonely endeavour getting shelled out of the back of the bunch, if you’ve got no one to commiserate with afterwards.
This is a good thread on similar stuff [url]http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/how-long-to-be-a-credible-cat-4-or-am-i-just-crap-road-content[/url]
I was told that the process
I was told that the process used should harden the aluminium so it doesn’t corrode quite so readily. Unfortunately it still does though.
No, on the black anodised
No, on the black anodised frame, the lettering is laser etched. i.e. its bare aluminium. If its a painted orange or green one then the letters are under the lacquer.
The lettering corroded on mine (black ano), like a mottled effect. They replaced it under warranty but that was when Dom Mason worked there. There’s another thread on here that suggests they unfortunately might not be so good on this front since he’s left.
Loads of non-aero or less
Loads of non-aero or less deep carbon wheels out there. Reynolds, Fulcrum are ones that I’ve seen in magazines in the last few days….and many others…..Wiggle’s own brand Cosine do some for £600….
I’m pretty sure its the disc
I’m pretty sure its the disc version of the chinese frame “FM066” (maybe the disc version is an FM166?). Which are available unpainted from the likes of Hongfu/Dengfu etc.
I bought an FM066 a few years ago and probably paid as much for it then, after the delivery charge and exchange rate etc, as Planet-X are selling it now with UK warranty back up.
Its hard to tell whether it was any better or worse than other “value” brands but it was well finished and light (sub 900g for the “SL” version). Rode fine too but I bought a size too small.
Cheaper Trek and Specialized carbon frames are supposedly in the region of 1300g. Cannondale, Kinesis, Bowman, Canyon all make lighter aluminium frames than that!
It will be more to do with
It will be more to do with manufacturing dimensions of the hub and rotor rather than thru axle or not. The same brand of wheel would probably be fine, but even then there could be a different tolerance build up.I’ve never found much
I’ve never found much differennce in longevity but if you have an aluminium freehub, the sprockets on the Tiagra will gouge into the freehub and might become difficult to remove. The Ultegra will be lighter too.If Sky use Stages, then thats
If Sky use Stages, then thats good enough for me!Do modern saddles really
Do modern saddles really “break in”. Not like real leather saddles. I’d suggest it is more the rider getting used to a saddle than it breaking in nowadays.Have you used the Selle Italia in a TT position before?
Daft question, but have you got it in the correct position fore/aft and level or slightly tilted?
Zipp are carbon…. Not
Zipp are carbon…. Not necessarily better though. Some people will pay for Zipps though despite no real benefits.I have the Kinesis wheels and they’re excellent for the price and in comparison to probably most other road disc wheels on the market currently. They’re not very aero though if that matters.
I’ve seen one or two reviews
I’ve seen one or two reviews of other Eastway bikes and they’ve been pretty good. If it was genuinely sold at full price and is now nearly half price, I don’t see how you can go wrong.SRAM groupsets are lighter than Shimano for any particular level, and hardly anyone makes a bad bike nowadays.
What else can you get for £700????? Carbon Giant TCRs on Paulscycles start at ~£1k. Something from Ribble or Planet-X might be sub-£1k.
Depends what you have now, and what you’re after. I doubt any £700 bike will feel like a £4k race bike but most will be more than acceptable and the differences between brands will be hard to tell without back to back testing.
