Road Cycling

Soldato
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Cassette was probably the main cause of my noisy drivechain, I have a feeling it's the original from my Giant so had done 8000+ miles (& probably seen 4 chains).

I've been running 105 cassettes since Brexit price increases. Almost double for Ultegra isn't worth it. Also, 105 is actually shinier :D
 
Soldato
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Hereford
Haha they are ain't they! Thought when I fitted the Ultegra that it wasn't very shiny. Like they're coated with something?

Got my Ultegra casssette for £35 (wiggle ebay) so making the most of the slight ultegra price reductions to justify 'upgrades'! ;)
 
Soldato
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with 10/11 speed stuff I just buy the cheapest cassette that has the ratios I want. They're all of at least "decent" quality still. 8 and 9 speed stuff requires a bit more care, the cheapest ones are junk.
 
Soldato
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Yeah I've been more than happy with 105 cassettes until now, was just feeling flush and fancied gradually swapping out my 105 for Ultegra with my usual 'one bike to rule them all' strategy. :cool:
 
Soldato
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10,646
Oh Definitely new vs old, the 5800 RD is also the one I've fallen on a couple of times! ;)

Once I considered how rough my 105 one was looking (and the tension pulley looking quite worn) it was an easy choice to buy the Ultegra RD for £42. Prices have gone up since due to EURO exchange, even with new Ultegra out.

Cassette was probably the main cause of my noisy drivechain, I have a feeling it's the original from my Giant so had done 8000+ miles (& probably seen 4 chains).

Ha, the screws on my decking although only ~12 months old where cheap wooden ones and obviously not galvanised as they'd rusted loads! :o

I'm back to looking at wheelsets, handily Wiggle have the Zipp Course 30 wheelset at 18% off so down to £650. Previously to get it anywhere below 700 I had to buy the front and rear from different places! One of the guys previously at my LBS had said that their deal with Zipp meant they could match any online prices as Zipp would still honour their margin on them. Gonna email them while they're in stock and cross my fingers! ;)

Had an agreement with her indoors to wait until mini^me was here... Really do need to also flog lots of old/big clothing over the next few weeks to keep her on side... :cool:

Yeah they can match up to 30% off rrp. Quite handy!

Got some 303s on the wall if you ask the Mrs nicely?!

I'll get a bike in the new year it'll be a Felt FR5 or 4.

Felt F1 deal isn't on the table.
 
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Soldato
Joined
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Hereford
Yeah they can match up to 30% off rrp. Quite handy!

Got some 303s on the wall if you ask the Mrs nicely?!
Ahhh, that explains it... Shame they want 'evidence' of a price and can't just do me 30% off! Unless you wanna cut me a deal? ;)

Selling your 303's? If they're clincher & disc I might be interested! Especially for £650... Remember you need to get those bills paid to move house! :D
 
Soldato
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10,646
Ahhh, that explains it... Shame they want 'evidence' of a price and can't just do me 30% off! Unless you wanna cut me a deal? ;)

Selling your 303's? If they're clincher & disc I might be interested! Especially for £650... Remember you need to get those bills paid to move house! :D

I've only used it to match online prices, think it works out at about £1500 for a pair of Zipps.

We are backwards up here so they are clincher and caliper brake. Death to discs!

The Zipp 30 seem quite good, I like the look of these new DT Dicut things though, purdy.
 
Soldato
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Norwich
I got told off for having a rear light that was too bright last night :o Nothing OTT just a couple of flashes of their rear fogs after a car passed me. To be honest I've noticed the last few rides that my garage door has been very brightly illuminated when I set off. I stopped and had a look from a few yards back and it was really dazzling, certainly more than you would expect from 30 lumens. So I cycled through the modes and day flash looked exactly the same brightness as every other setting so I think it has screwed up and is constantly pumping out 70 lumens! That would explain my battery life then! Thankfully this mess up extended to the supposed 5 lumen "Femto" mode which looked more like 25 lumens so it was fine to switch to that and carry on. I've already been refunded for it ages back because the battery life being poor and the mode memory not working. I've got other lights but if it can hang on until my See Sense Ace set arrives next year that would be cool :D

I had a solid two weeks off the bike due to work, laziness and other things so I was pleased that my first couple of rides were a pretty decent pace even if I could only find the time for 12 miles on each.
 
Soldato
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Reminds me of this video... Driver tailgates cyclist then flags him down with a notepad to ask him what his lights are :D


Really though I think the ~100 lumen rear lights are a bit ridiculously bright at night. Designed for daytime.
 
Soldato
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Hereford
We are backwards up here so they are clincher and caliper brake. Death to discs!

The Zipp 30 seem quite good, I like the look of these new DT Dicut things though, purdy.
Discs are the future! :p ;)

There's quite a few awesome wheels in the current DT range, ERC 1400 & ER 1600 are on my list but their prices for carbon rims really put them out of reach.

The Zipp 30 Course are just a good compromise wheelset for my 'do it all bike' mantra, they're alu and tough (designed for CX use) so should be man enough for commuting and riding all weathers. Relatively light for an alu set (1600g) with great hubs (same hubs as firecrests) with a fairly low spoke count, so shouldn't feel slow for the weekend club rides. They're wide so me running 28's as the narrowest tyre suits them, ideally going up to 30/32 even better. Going tubeless is also an option with them (and not my current). I had looked at the 30mm wide Zipp Tangente course tyres, which of course would go well. Several reviews talk about bottoming the rims out when running tubeless and them remaining relatively true (with no rim failures).

My other thought was to go with the Hunt Aero Wide or 4 Season, they are cheaper & well regarded but hubs are an unknown quantity and they where quite vague when I asked them about endcaps for 142mm & 135mm width on the rear for my SCS setup. The Zipps come with both endcaps (& quick release) out of the box.

I got told off for having a rear light that was too bright last night :o Nothing OTT just a couple of flashes of their rear fogs after a car passed me.
Is that your Moon Comet?

I dug mine out at the weekend but I don't want to mount it on my rear triangle like I did last year as it kept moving around and I was convinced it would jump in my spokes (although it never did). I run my Exposure TraceR from my seatpost and a Cateye Mini RC on the rear of my commuting helmet. Was thinking about putting the Comet on the rear of my weekend helmet but it might be too bright that high up.

Really though I think the ~100 lumen rear lights are a bit ridiculously bright at night. Designed for daytime.
They are, especially on a flash as that tends to dazzle! 50-100 lumen is great constant/pulse but a flash is probably best around 50 lumen and lower to reduce dazzle. I think the main issue is lack of diffusion from modern LED's & lights so when they're mounted pointing at driver eye level they dazzle, angled down there would be less of an issue, but not many modern rear lights come with adjustable angles... :rolleyes:
 
Soldato
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Oh yeah I think I remember you saying back then. Reading the spec on CRC it has an 'overdrive/race' mode, sure you hadn't just got that enabled?

Was it @Lethal` with the dodgy Moon Comet or someone else? I know @grudas had one as I remember his video about it. That tag should annoy him and drag him back in here. Truth is I miss the guy when it's quiet in here *sob* ;)
 
Soldato
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Oh yeah I think I remember you saying back then. Reading the spec on CRC it has an 'overdrive/race' mode, sure you hadn't just got that enabled?

Was it @Lethal` with the dodgy Moon Comet or someone else? I know @grudas had one as I remember his video about it. That tag should annoy him and drag him back in here. Truth is I miss the guy when it's quiet in here *sob* ;)

hello :D shame on you for pulling me back in this section.. I'm too fat, can't spend too long here :D

I had/have the moon nebula which was 100lm on highest and it is a bit ridiculous, I'd use it in heavy fog but other than that 50% was more than enough. I did film a short video of it -;


still have it on my bike and still is my favourite light, not that I ride anymore :( #fatso
 
Soldato
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5,386
Was it @Lethal` with the dodgy Moon Comet or someone else? I know @grudas had one as I remember his video about it. That tag should annoy him and drag him back in here. Truth is I miss the guy when it's quiet in here *sob* ;)

Nebula yes. I've got one regular version which failed after just over a year from warranty. Moon couldn't care less and the retailer said I'd have to send it back to them and then they may be able to get help from Moon.... couldn't really be bothered.

Also bought two of the Aldi clones - one of those has failed. Other is still going strong just about.

At some point soon I'll order a TraceR.. not sure if the ReaKT technology they have in the mk2 version is worth the extra.
 
Soldato
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hello :D shame on you for pulling me back in this section.. I'm too fat, can't spend too long here :D
Trolololo!

Glad to hear you're still doing well fatty :D

Subscribed to your 'new cycling related channel' and expecting updates... ;)

At some point soon I'll order a TraceR.. not sure if the ReaKT technology they have in the mk2 version is worth the extra.
Oh dear shame Moon are so poor for support! :(

Really love my TraceR('s, I've got 2). Well worth the money and mine have been very reliable. My first one is about to do it's 3rd winter. Pretty much use one every ride - I run pulse/flash even in daytime. Mine are all V1 and it's more than bright enough for daytime use without the ReAkT 125 lumen Flare. Considering I got mine for £26 & £32 I'd consider the current one a little over priced at £46 on Wiggle. Sigma have the v1 for £36 (much more reasonable!).

Although just as neat, tidy & quality the front Trace isn't worth it. Battery life is much poorer than the rear and it's too much of an unfocused beam to be anything more than a 'be seen' light. Ok as a real dire emergency backup, I guess but there are better front lights out for less money to use as a secondary/backup.

If you where considering dropping that much look for the v1 Blaze on sale as they where around £65 (before the new one going up to £80!) :o
 
Soldato
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Some lovely vehicle driver decided to leak fuel all the way up (and down) a narrow climb I did this morning in the wet. :mad:

Took it very very easy going down and fortunately no slips then slogged it back 20 miles with drizzle in my face. What a time of year to be cycling...
 
Soldato
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Hereford
Character building! But no requirement for multiple layers of thermals this past week... Although tomorrow morning it's forecast to drop below 0 again here.

I'm off work tomorrow and can't decide what to do... I could Zwift later, but with a 'free' day tomorrow it would be good to head outside and get some hills climbed, Zwifting tonight would scupper that. But I won't ride tomorrow if I'm going to ride with the club on saturday, when it's due to rain (again), so I may skip that and Zwift instead. But if I skip the club ride I can't goto the LBS and talk about new wheels as they've not responded to my email yet. GAH! Throw a child in the mix who may decide I only need ~3 hours sleep one of the nights and whatever plans I make can get utterly ruined anyway! :rolleyes: :D
 
Associate
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22 Dec 2005
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Cardiff
Character building! But no requirement for multiple layers of thermals this past week... Although tomorrow morning it's forecast to drop below 0 again here.

I'm off work tomorrow and can't decide what to do... I could Zwift later, but with a 'free' day tomorrow it would be good to head outside and get some hills climbed, Zwifting tonight would scupper that. But I won't ride tomorrow if I'm going to ride with the club on saturday, when it's due to rain (again), so I may skip that and Zwift instead. But if I skip the club ride I can't goto the LBS and talk about new wheels as they've not responded to my email yet. GAH! Throw a child in the mix who may decide I only need ~3 hours sleep one of the nights and whatever plans I make can get utterly ruined anyway! :rolleyes: :D

I'm cycling in Hereford tomorrow as the weather looks clear - going to do a similar loop to what has been posted in the ELY FB page, but go up Pencombe and up to Bromyard. Looking forward to it
 
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