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If going for the DHB neoprene
If going for the DHB neoprene overshoes, note that there are at least 2 kinds. I have the Extreme Weather ones, which have a TPU coating over the neoprene. These are waterproof on top (though some will get through at the ankle cuffs and from below). I have found them hard wearing and excellently warm.
The other kind are Neoprene Nylon and are cheaper, but are just neoprene and not nearly as good. If the heavens open, you get damp and wet. I bought these for my son (sorry lad) and he still gets cold feet.
Just tonight I found the
Just tonight I found the Mafac brake levers from the Elswick Mistral I got when I was 12 in 1980. That was a lovely bike – heavy frame but Shimano Uniglide 400 derailleurs and beautiful Mafac centre-pull brakes. Converted to flat bars in about 1988 for my sister and sadly nicked from her student flat in York in about 1991.
But the upside is I still have the levers, drilled for lightness and with barrel adjusters in the hoods. I hope they will go onto my 1988 531 tourer if I ever get it back on the road.
BBB wrote:
I find it hard to believe that a bike shop wouldn’t be able to order Fulcrum spares from I-ride for their customer. Unless… of course the bike wasn’t purchased from a local shop but from one of the online discounters.Sadly I find it quite easy to believe. My LBS waited 8 weeks for new springs and pawls for the freehub on my Fulcrums. Admittedly only the low end Racing Sport wheels, but it was a shambles. The LBS ordered the parts, were told there were none in the UK and they’d have to come from Italy. The distributor then failed to get them in the next shipment, so yet more waiting.
I ended up buying another (non-Fulcrum) wheel just to get back on the road. The LBS say they avoid the brand (and are not that keen on Mavic either) because the spares are hard to get.
Given that you are selling
Given that you are selling the Zoncolan and this is the “next” best bike, is resale value a consideration? The way marketing is going, will rim braking be seen in 5 years time as
a) as nasty as gear cables coming out of the side of the hoods
b) a sadly missed aesthetic and functional high point
I suppose the other point is that 105 vs Ultegra is a head vs heart debate. This is a specal bike, so will 105 move you in the same way as Ultegra? What will get you out riding and feeling that this is so nice? Hydraulic discs feel great to me on the few rides I’ve been able to try them, but for me, 105 is special level, Tiagra entirely adequate.
My summer bike has rim brakes (on Al rims) and poor wet weather braking but I haven’t yet fitted better pads. On other bikes I have had rims written off which I hate. I’m amazed how gungy things get on a medium length wet ride and the water channels in the pads are tailor-made for girt collection. I’m not enough of a cleaner stop mid-ride…
My winter bike has cable discs which I do prefer in the wet despite the howling – the braking is so much more confidence-inspiring. I am a slightly timid descender and unlikely to brake really hard often, but it still feels far better – especially with newish pads. Have sometimes heard the grit scraping sound in very wet conditions but stopping and spinning the wheels never seems to show any frictional effect.
Thanks all, I think I have a
Thanks all, I think I have a plan:
1) Get ye olde MTB onto the turbo and aim for smoothness in workouts. Consider old cheap road bike too.
2) Get rollers from ebay and enjoy – if not so much for workouts against resistance, it’s still very good training.
3) Get a speed sensor and try a basic Zwift set up (this will cause more domestic upheaval so is in 3rd place).
4) Weave the verb “to thrutch” into everyday conversation.
Very much appreciate the quality and speed of everyone’s responses – thank you.
Thanks so much – that’s very
Thanks so much – that’s very valuable information. He’s 13, and will be delighted to see Zwift is free for U16. I’ll follow up that link as well.
The SKS clips need about
The SKS clips need about double the space at the fork compared to the stays alone. Just something to be aware of if the fork mounts aren’t in the fresh air. Mine are half way up the fork legs and on the inside to clear the disks (not on a Charge Grater) and be concealed from view* and the clips don’t fit.*Oh, the shame of having mudguard mounts on show. What would the neighbours think? Hide them away like Victorian ankles.
Windproofing makes a big
Windproofing makes a big difference to tights. I wear the previous incarnation of these: https://galibier.cc/product/mistral2bibs/. Compared to regular tights they do a much better job. I do find my lower legs get a bit sweaty but only notice when I change at the end of the ride, and it’s well worth it for less Arctic wedding region.Sizing is a slight issue for me with those Galibier tights. To start with I found the braces a bit short – though they have stretched nicely – but the legs are a bit long and I have lost a bit of weight. So at 188 cm & 78 kg, inside leg 31 inches on jeans (yay scientific!), I’d get XL rather than XXL if buying again.
I also have the Mistral jacket (normal, not foul weather version) and that’s also really good, but if you over-layer below then the cold sweat problem MyBike mentioned happens.
Ah, just had to drill SKS
Ah, just had to drill SKS Longboards to fit to the fork crown myself. I used a washer to try to spread the load when fitting, but it seemed as if I was drilling through the metallic part of the sandwich construction, which makes me a little less worried.Might it be possible to reinforce the hole area with Meccano style metal strips, thus spreading the load rather further? And perhaps a thin rubber washer between guard and fork to reduce vibration? Also a cleanly drilled hole helps as a properly round hole is less prone to cracks starting.
Another happy Galibier
Another happy Galibier customer here, I use their padded tights and whilst I have better pads in shorts, they are easily ok for me up to about 60 km. The Mistral jacket is also excellent.Good socks & overshoes are key. I have given up trying to stay 100% dry and now just want to be warm, hence neoprene gloves work very well (Endura). And always a buff.
When my Fulcrum Racing Sport
When my Fulcrum Racing Sport DB freehub pawls broke and I needed a new rear wheel in a hurry (parts very hard to come by, seems to be a common issue on that wheel) I got the rear of this set: https://www.merlincycles.com/pro-build-chosen-hub-alex-draw-19-road-cx-disc-wheel-700c-98436.html and must say I’m very happy for the low cost (£120). Now I have the Fulcrum back, just the 8 weeks later, I’ve been thinking of getting a front wheel for just the same reason – tyre choice. The matching front wheel is just £75, and a search hasn’t shown me anything to match the weight at anywhere near the cost. For a sub £200 wheel set, I think 1600g is not bad at all. Cero would do a lighter rim brake set for the money but don’t seem to have anything quite right for discs.I’ve been happy with the rear wheel so far, it has stayed true and not creaked, and doesn’t look too cheap. The freehub is very loud, which is not my taste, but I’m learning to live with it.
I have an aged Edge 810 and
I have an aged Edge 810 and find the touch screen more of a hindrance than a help, as I am prone to touching it by accident when removing the GPS at a cafe stop. But if you want to be able to see more than a screenful on the move, swiping to another view might be handy, and sometimes it is nice to be able to get to the map easily. Another use for multiple views is if you want to see plenty of numbers at more than insurance small print size.So it depends a bit on how you’ll use the thing.
I was in a similar situation
I was in a similar situation a year back and went for the comfort option, which for me was a Ridley XTrail carbon with 105 mix. No real intention of doing much off road but the bike felt right on a test ride. It’s fairly upright, close to a lot of endurance bikes.Since then I indulged in an aluminium Cannondale CAAD Optimo with Tiagra, wanting a more roadie position. I’ve fitted the 11-34 cassette to this for climbing (came with 12-28) and it does work with the original chain after some adjustment of the derailleur C screw. The shifting is affected a little and cross-chaining is noisier, but over Wrynose pass recently the extra 2 teeth over the Ridley was very welcome. On the 28t cassette the feel of Tiagra is a bit different to 105. The clicks are more definite and the springs are stronger so it’s arguably a bit less silky but the gap is not a big deal at all – and you might well prefer Tiagra. The ratio gaps are a little bigger (and I’ve worsened them with the new cassette) but either keep your cadence and change speed slightly or get used to a new rhythm.
With these bikes I’m likely to choose the Ridley if the ride is longer as the comfort gap is quite significant – more than I expected. Disc brakes for the wet as well – at least until I can play with different pads on the Cannondale as the stock ones don’t seem all that good. The Cannondale gets the nod if the route is steeper or I feel whizzier.
One more thing: I got both my bikes on great deals as run out models. The colours are a bit 5 minutes ago or something. But I have noticed that some of these deals are not quite as time limited as they sometimes imply – my 2018 Ridley still pops up on targeted ads (yay cookies) at even lower prices, tho not in a local shop for test riding. Lots of good bikes out there.
You might be, I can see them.
You might be, I can see them. Depends greatly on what you use for mail (browser, phone app, Outlook etc) and how things are set up.If you’re in a corporate environment, road.cc might not be seen as a trusted domain and it’s fairly common for images to be blocked as a security measure. But many mail programs would make it clear that that had happened.
srchar wrote:
I’m glad you got it sorted and it’s nice to see the follow up pics.
Of course the shop is going to disagree with those of us who said sell the bike or sell the bits – they’re in the frame repair business. I have personal experience of chainstay failure at speed and I hope you don’t get to find out what it’s like!
srchar, if it’s not too grim to recount, could you share your experience of chainstay failure?
My LBS recently found cracks in both chainstays of my son’s Ti frame, for which I am very grateful indeed given that it was in for a crank repair but they checked anyway. We went down the frame replacement route as the Ti frame was old and I couldn’t find a local repairer, and the LBS have done a terrific job moving everything to a Dolan carbon frame.
I would like to know just what my boy has been saved from by that alert mechanic.
