Road Cycling

[grudas]

Well it lasted less than 24 hours. I’ll whip it out and see what the issue is.

time for some aliexpress tpu tubes

on a different note. I'd like to get a more all-road bike, there's a few really nice paths around here that would be awesome on a bike but my race geo bike with 28mm tires won't survive that. I sorta want an endurance bike, preferably titanium but maybe steel. Don't want carbon, or ali. Want comfort/big tire clearance and a decent grouppo - sram axs or 105 di2. Maybe even 1x12 gearing as that seems low maintance and probably enough.

I've looked at planet x, ribble, dolan, canyon(carbon/ali only) I think currently I'm leaning towards a ribble, this in particular :

Ribble Allroad Ti - Enthusiast | Ribble Cycles

Explore the Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast – a lightweight titanium bike perfect for exploring any road or trail. Shop now and start your adventure today!

www.ribblecycles.co.uk

it's big money but I do like it a lot.

or if I was a bit more sensible - which I should be to be honest, this also looks like a peach : https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-725-disc-enthusiast/

anything else to consider? won't be for a while but I'd like to get something ordered in next 3-5 months.

 

[Martynt74]

time for some aliexpress tpu tubes

on a different note. I'd like to get a more all-road bike, there's a few really nice paths around here that would be awesome on a bike but my race geo bike with 28mm tires won't survive that. I sorta want an endurance bike, preferably titanium but maybe steel. Don't want carbon, or ali. Want comfort/big tire clearance and a decent grouppo - sram axs or 105 di2. Maybe even 1x12 gearing as that seems low maintance and probably enough.

I've looked at planet x, ribble, dolan, canyon(carbon/ali only) I think currently I'm leaning towards a ribble, this in particular :

Ribble Allroad Ti - Enthusiast | Ribble Cycles

Explore the Ribble Allroad Ti Enthusiast – a lightweight titanium bike perfect for exploring any road or trail. Shop now and start your adventure today!

www.ribblecycles.co.uk

it's big money but I do like it a lot.

or if I was a bit more sensible - which I should be to be honest, this also looks like a peach : https://www.ribblecycles.co.uk/ribble-endurance-725-disc-enthusiast/

anything else to consider? won't be for a while but I'd like to get something ordered in next 3-5 months.

5% TopCashBack though so the more you spend the more you save

 

[Liefrich]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

 

[grudas]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

doubt you'll notice the speed difference unless you're sitting and measuring the watts. I'd just go for as wide as you can and leave it a that. More comfort, lower pressures and these days you got choice of plenty of good tires in bigger sizes.

 

[Roady]

Anyones 'Insert Quotes' button broken in Chrome last week or so? I can +multi them but clicking the button doesn't bring them up to add to the post... And you all know how I love a multiquote!

Wonder if they bumped up the price due to popularity of them…

Pretty much how these things work, especially aliex... Low sales. Drop prices, get interest, increase price, ride the wave.

So nice starting a ride with the temperature above 1°C, so to celebrate I did my first UK 100k since last September! That rather surprised me when I looked back, but it's just been too rubbish weather to want to ride longer rides. (Well, that and Covid in October!)

Saturday was glorious here, faffed around and nearly didn't go out as ground was wet - not a spec of drizzle and a glorious social ride out! Sunday complete opposite, heavy rain all day and strong stormy winds. Some local flooding the days since.

Around 15/16 riders out on Saturday, I had amazing legs - even considering I did the end race of ZRL Tuesday and then 2x TTT on the Thursday. I was going well, so did loads of pulling, chatting, even pacing/giving draft to a bigger guy to get back in followed by a big solo bridge up when he told me to go - group had scattered on the downhill run back in. Flying - focused on carrying speed! Straight to the front, good pull and little 1-2-3 a couple of us launched up the last ramp.

Weather was so good, went to the farm and spent 4-5 hours on my chainsaw afterwards, sometimes even in just a tshirt!

This is very frustrating if they’re broken!

Hope they've continued to improve! Any doubt get them checked out!

They say you can get away using a Shimano quick link a few times. I'm going to do a deep wax again in the next few weeks so I'll find out for you!

Shimano meant to be 'single use' but most chatter seems to hint a couple of uses is ok. SRAM I'm sure say 4-5 times. But you have to judge it when fitting it just how tight it is (or isn't).

haha just like the idea of not having that black mess everywhere. Although I don't get that much with the Silca Synergetic stuff (but I do clean the drivechain a lot)

Quite tempted for the summer bike 'just to try it out' more than anything else... Anyone used a standard slow cooker for this? We've got 2 of them already and use quite a lot so feels a bit silly to get another for just melting chain wax... Just get myself a compatible pot with one of them... One is a Morphy Richards and the other a Crock Pot. Both good brands so fingers crossed easy to get a spare pot for 1 or the other, providing they get hot enough.

Silca seem to be making quite a name for themselves, but anyone tried other waxes? I'm not adverse to spending but £30 on wax and £30-40 on stripping a chain, then £100 on the melting pot and other tools for something which takes a few hours work and then another 15-30 mins every week to keep a chain silent, just to prolong it's life another 30% is really not worth it to me.

I'm buying £20 chains and using 2-3 a year with maybe a £10 pot of lube. Ok admittedly I'm cleaning more (ha!) so using a bit more cleaning solution but I'm using the same stuff I clean other components and my frame with so I'm buying that anyway. So if I go down to only using 2 chains a year, I've saved myself 20 mins maintenance swapping a chain and £20... But I have to fork out £150+ in equipment, have to buy the extra chain anyway so I can swap them while spending another 15-30 mins every week. So for my 'commuting all weathers' it's really a false economy. Maybe the summer bike, to have a nice clean looking chain and get a couple of weeks use between applications...

https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Silca/Super-Secret-Wax-Starter-Pack/10PC4 Is this not the better solution? £25 gets you the stripper and effectively a cold/easy application wax so no special equipment and says the same efficiency savings as the other stuff due to the special lube?

@Shadowness this the stuff you mean? https://www.sigmasports.com/item/Silca/Synergetic-Wet-Chain-Lube-2oz/SQUL might give it a go...

Only main thing that I'm not sure about is the range. In season, a week could easily be 200-300 miles of riding, so I'm not sure even I can be assed doing it every week. But I guess thats where the top up wax product comes in?

200-300 miles is in the realms of needing to reapply, but hitting any wet weather you'll rapidly cut that in half. Lots of stories of 'damp' rides with showers and riders having noisy drivechains after 50 miles!

 

[fez]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

Our roads are **** and its pretty well proven that even up to ~40mm slicks are in the same ballpark as 28mm. They lose out on aero which is a function of rim width and tyre width but for the average cyclist that ain't a big deal. Its more important to get the tyre pressure right than anything I think.

The issue with speed is that what feels fast and what is fast are not entirely the same thing. Super skinny tyres feel fast because they are quicker off the mark and the lack of smoothness feels like you are going faster than you are. I assume for a similar reason to being in a large, powerful and well sound proofed car feels a lot slower than a small rickety car from the 90s even if they are travelling at the same speed.

I am running a 30 in the rear and a 28 at the front but thats mainly because I got the tyres I wanted for a decent price and 28c was the size they had. I will likely go 30/32 when they are all worn out.

There are some of my routes where the surface is so poor that I reckon I am losing a huge amount of power to the road surface. I would love to know the difference in power output to do the same speed on our "good" roads vs the bad ones. None of the people who test these things ever do that. I'm just intrigued.

 

[fez]

Shimano meant to be 'single use' but most chatter seems to hint a couple of uses is ok. SRAM I'm sure say 4-5 times. But you have to judge it when fitting it just how tight it is (or isn't).

With waxing I end up using mine god knows how many times. If they started to get at all loose I would replace them but they don't seem to. First time is always super hard to get them to connect and its much easier after that but theres always a nice click when they connect.

 

[Liefrich]

I've been using Silca hotwax and the top-up wax lube on my new bike. It takes a bit more 'work', especially in wet weather, but it's such a joy not having the black gung everywhere. It makes cleaning the bike so much quicker!

 

[grudas]

I watched a video on the waxing and while nice, it seems very involved for.. not a lot ? I clean my chain once in a while with park tool cleaner, clean the jockey wheels etc and it's good to go. When I used to commute a chain lasted 4-5k miles with just lube thrown on it when it started making noise. That was it, a year of hard riding in all conditions and it never snapped or stretched enough to cause issues.

I suppose it is cleaner when done but the over-all amount of faffage that it requires seems a bit O/T for me compared against a good lube.

 

[sHo0sH]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

I cycled about 350km's on my 32's and whilst they are a bit heavier, they are so comfortable that its worth the trade off.

I guess it depends if you are racing or not - if you are riding for leisure then its a no-brainer to use the 32's IMO after using 25/28/30 previously.

 

[Roady]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

Rubino Pro Iv G2.0 Clincher Road Tyre

Shop the Vittoria Rubino Pro IV G2.0 Clincher Road Tyre online at Sigma Sports. Receive FREE UK delivery on all orders over £60 and easy returns!

www.sigmasports.com

Vittorias are ***** in my limited experience. Really regretting riding them after peoples recommendations here & other friends (!), sorry guys!

I got the Rubino's in 28mm TL as a 'budget' winter option at £32 each and they where a b*tch to fit (actually using different wheels to ride them). Seem to constantly leak air so I'm topping up every week or two (10-20psi loss on 60/70). I've almost doubled my usual amount of sealant in them. I've only had 1 hole fail to seal but had maybe 5-6 others leaking far longer than they should have before they sealed and small ones. So now just trying to wear them out... They roll ok and seem grippy but sluggish and pretty uninspiring when wanting to go faster or increasing PSI to the recommended. Which is actually 87-92 PSI - crazy high for TL! Gives a really harsh 'wooden' ride on them. Slightly skittish in the wet at those pressures. They don't show evidence of burping air at the lower pressure (no sign of sealant around bead) but the loss might be explained by it.

I've ridden 32mm and found them quite different compared to smaller of the same tire. They where 30/32 Specialized Roubaix Pro, so means 30 width and 32 volume. I enjoyed the 28/30 which felt a totally different tyre, went through 3 sets of them (2 different generations). Heavy, bombproof, but fast & cheap. I tried the size up to see if I could lower pressure for more winter grip. The 32 didn't feel much heavier but very different feel, rubbed at lower pressure and felt slow, higher felt very 'boaty' and not very connected. They'd make bouncing noises over holes not too dissimilar to a stiff carbon rim. I could never get them quite right. The ideal for them would have been somewhere between the 2 widths/volumes. Specialized changed them again and increased the price so not bothered since. They used to be £30-35 a tyre - one of the cheapest tubeless (2bliss) you could get.

I've bought a set of GP5000 S TR in 30mm to use for winter, but not fitted or used them yet - will do when I wear these Vittorias out. I ride the STR 28mm in summer and like them, so easy choice to get 30mm for winter when they where a good price and I know they should fit better than the 32mm Roubiax. Looks like I paid £42 for them from Merlin last year.

I've been using Silca hotwax and the top-up wax lube on my new bike. It takes a bit more 'work', especially in wet weather, but it's such a joy not having the black gung everywhere. It makes cleaning the bike so much quicker!

You guys are cleaning your bikes too much! Are you buying Louis Vitton rags to wipe your chains down every 3 days with golden unicorn spit? Just use an old tshirt! I tend to wipe the worst off before a chain clean with usual maintenance once or twice a month. Over winter when I can't dry it probably only 6-8 weeks with chain 'cleaned' with GT85 weekly before then. I'll show you a picture of mine if you really want to see why I don't care too much about how the chain looks... But then being a commuter I'd rather ride my bike than clean it, just for it to be dirty again 2 days later!

 

[Liefrich]

You guys are cleaning your bikes too much! Are you buying rags to wipe your chains down? Just use an old tshirt and wipe the worst off before a chain clean with usual maintenance once or twice a month. I'll show you a picture of mine if you really want to see why I don't care too much about how the chain looks... But then being a commuter I'd rather ride my bike than clean it, just for it to be dirty again 2 days later!

Ha, I do commute (but only in when the clocks change!) I bought a batch of decent-quality microfiber cloths, and as there is no oil, the cloths clean up well in the wash after use. I also live in an early 20th-century terrace house with no rear access; I've occasionally marked the wall with my chain (oops) and even carpet when I've carried my bike upstairs to my turbo room, so it has been useful not to worry about any residual stains!

I was using Vittoria Corsa N.EXT 28mms, so I think they are a step up the quality ladder from the every-day Rubinos. I've put about 500 miles on them, and they had held up well, but the total failure of the back tyre when I hit a small pothole was concerning. Perhaps that same hole would also cause Gp5000s problems, but they are far better tyres for not substantially that much more money, so I will have more confidence in them!

 

[grudas]

Ha, I do commute (but only in when the clocks change!) I bought a batch of decent-quality microfiber cloths, and as there is no oil, the cloths clean up well in the wash after use. I also live in an early 20th-century terrace house with no rear access; I've occasionally marked the wall with my chain (oops) and even carpet when I've carried my bike upstairs to my turbo room, so it has been useful not to worry about any residual stains!

I was using Vittoria Corsa N.EXT 28mms, so I think they are a step up the quality ladder from the every-day Rubinos. I've put about 500 miles on them, and they had held up well, but the total failure of the back tyre when I hit a small pothole was concerning. Perhaps that same hole would also cause Gp5000s problems, but they are far better tyres for not substantially that much more money, so I will have more confidence in them!

sounds like you had a pinch flat so probably pressure too low for size, very sharp edge or similar. Tires can only do so much.

 

[Liefrich]

sounds like you had a pinch flat so probably pressure too low for size, very sharp edge or similar. Tires can only do so much.

You are probably right, but it has allowed me to justify an upgrade.

 

[Adam-r]

Does anyone have any experience riding 32mm tyres? My bike (cervelo soloist) came with tubless Vittoria Next 28s on Reserve 40/44 wheels, which have wide internal rims. I've never experienced any problems running tubless, but I had a massive blowout on the rear on Saturday when I hit a small pothole (cover in water) descending. The hole is substantial, and it is in the sidewall—close to the bead—and it would not seal with a plug. I also couldn't remove the tyre, so I couldn't put a tube in, which resulted in having to be picked up (shameful). Anyway, I've lost confidence in the tyres so I have decided to push forward with replacing them with GP5000s.

My bike can take up to 34s. I've gone down the Youtube rabbit hole, and apparently, 32mms are just as fast as 28s/30ms on our rubbish roads. So I am tempted to see what they feel like. They are not cheap, and all my friends think I should go to 30mm max.

Anyone here ridden 32s? Are they noticeable slower?

I’m currently running 35’s and they feel slow if I’m honest.

 

[fez]

I’m currently running 35’s and they feel slow if I’m honest.

Are they slow though? Smooth often feels slow.

 

[Adam-r]

Are they slow though? Smooth often feels slow.

They have a maximum pressure of around 70 PSI, it's a huge volume of air. It feels like I'm in a comfy arm chair

 

[grudas]

They have a maximum pressure of around 70 PSI, it's a huge volume of air. It feels like I'm in a comfy arm chair

so it's probably smooth rather than slow. GCN did a video and the difference on a controlled circuit with flat smooth road between 26/30/35 was literally a handful of seconds in a 10k ride if I remember right.

 

[fez]

They have a maximum pressure of around 70 PSI, it's a huge volume of air. It feels like I'm in a comfy arm chair

I don't know how much you weight but I would wager that if running tubeless you should probably only have them at ~45-50PSI as well.

so it's probably smooth rather than slow. GCN did a video and the difference on a controlled circuit with flat smooth road between 26/30/35 was literally a handful of seconds in a 10k ride if I remember right.

Which then makes you think about what its like on our **** roads. If nothing else, being more comfortable and not having your fillings shaken out will make you faster because you won't fatigue so quickly. I find quite often that I can't even see properly at speed because the roads are so bumpy and cracked that my eyeballs are being rattled too much to focus.

 

[grudas]

Which then makes you think about what its like on our **** roads. If nothing else, being more comfortable and not having your fillings shaken out will make you faster because you won't fatigue so quickly. I find quite often that I can't even see properly at speed because the roads are so bumpy and cracked that my eyeballs are being rattled too much to focus.

agreed. I have a chunky regret sitting here that I went and got another race geo bike with 28cc tire clearance. I want beefy 35-40mm tires and endurance geo.. but oh well, old GuRders - (@Roady) took over and here I am. The bike I got is still awesome to ride but the roads around here don't do it justice.