Road Cycling

[Shadowness]

Abandoned chain gang last night as the new chain wasn't getting on with the older cassette. That's done almost 9000 miles.

It was only a couple of gears having issues, it's a shame you can't buy replacement cogs (as it was the smaller gears showing issues, presumably the ones I spend more time in at higher power).

 

[fez]

Abandoned chain gang last night as the new chain wasn't getting on with the older cassette. That's done almost 9000 miles.

It was only a couple of gears having issues, it's a shame you can't buy replacement cogs (as it was the smaller gears showing issues, presumably the ones I spend more time in at higher power).

Let the poor cassette have a nice retirement you tight *******!

Assume you wax your chain to get that many miles out of it.

 

[Shadowness]

Let the poor cassette have a nice retirement you tight *******!

Assume you wax your chain to get that many miles out of it.

Been using the Silca Synergetic - so it's an oil based lube - but not like the traditional ones (at least from my experience, as chain doesn't get caked in black grease)

Don't worry - £200 worth of Dura Ace cassette on the way as we speak. Couldn't bear myself to put an ultegra one

But it's a shame as if you could buy the individual smaller cogs, that would sort me out. It's as if Shimano have thought this whole replacement market out!

EDIT: oh and the chain did about 5000 miles, the cassette has done about 9000.

 

[Roady]

You heathens, 9000 miles is nothing for someone doing decent miles like @Shadowness ! Probably around 12 months of use? Or just summers only?

I would say a cassette should do a couple of years! Especially with doing high mileage - as high mileage people will not be cross chaining and abusing them all weathers as much as others... Or Shouldn't be!

Most of mine I'd expect at least that on fairly standard/premium lubes, but I am running mostly 105 which possibly is made of harder alloy? Two of the the non-series HG700 to get an 11-34t on my 11s. The highest of those is currently at 5900 mi in all weathers on my commuter.

Having bought my BikeBoxAlan a couple of years ago at such a bargain price, I've put off buying a new EasyFit version as I can't find them second-hand, so would have to pay full price, but I've just bit the bullet. My next two trips mean early departures home, so probably packing the day before after a long hard ride... the thought of it being much easier to pack, tipped the balance. I now have a bright pink BBA I don't need if that interests anyone... (although maybe I should look into renting them?)

Might be interested depending what you want for it... But figure as people tend to rent them, they're not cheap for the odd 1-off use! I've never holiday-ed with my bike but always threatened to, while also having no way of carrying the family and bike in the current Fiesta. But cars days are numbered (15 years old) and the next one will be something bigger. I want Kuga but could be quite likely be a Focus...

Also, also. The colour of these forks don't go with my frame at all!

Yeah that fork looks like it's trying too hard to be a similar colour and failing superbly being matt/gloss and not metallic with a flip! Should have just got a totally different colour, maybe you need one with longer travel anyway!

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah that fork looks like it's trying too hard to be a similar colour and failing superbly being matt/gloss and not metallic with a flip! Should have just got a totally different colour, maybe you need one with longer travel anyway!

Well the alternative was black (boring) or red (might look weird and limit future frame colour)

The goal was to buy this at some point in the future

Cuadro Gravel Arid Carbon RR SL 700c Azul Medianoche Talla ML Mondrak

- Cuadro: Arid Stealth Air Carbon, almacenamiento de tubo, pedalier T47, tubo de dirección cónico, guiado interno de cables HHG, eje trasero de 12x142 mm, diseño de tr

www.ridewill.com

Although annoyingly it's now out of stock everywhere and replaced with a 2026 model. The upside being the 2026 comes in this

 

[Martynt74]

Annoying. Finished work on time and went to get out on the new bike.

Came to spin the pedals back to set off but the hub didn’t spin so the chain just went slack.

Assumed it was just a bit out of gear from the changes so set off down a hill lightly pedaling and thinking it felt super stiff. Got into a bigger cog but it still felt jerky. Front derailleur wouldn’t shift chainring.

Got off and it’s physically super hard to turn the pedals forwards. When freewheeling the hub spins great but there’s something not right.

Annoyingly I didn’t test it when leaving the shop and now he’s away for a week on holiday.

Gonna take the wheel off and check if anything looks weird. I vaguely recall something similar when a spacer was fitted wrong on the hub on an old wheel set when I was changing the hub body.

 

[Martynt74]

Not sure I’ll use this bike shop again!

Unsure if it was me (probably) but the cassette wasn’t tight on the hub body. And was rubbing on the frame.

Took the wheel off and tightened it. And now spinning nicely.

Before I did this I’d messaged the shop to ask if it was ok with them and he replied saying he just sorted fmthe forks/brakes and didn’t check anything else. Fairly crazy that they wouldn’t have at least cycle the gears after putting it all together!

 

[SenTineL]

Not sure I’ll use this bike shop again!

Unsure if it was me (probably) but the cassette wasn’t tight on the hub body. And was rubbing on the frame.

Took the wheel off and tightened it. And now spinning nicely.

Before I did this I’d messaged the shop to ask if it was ok with them and he replied saying he just sorted fmthe forks/brakes and didn’t check anything else. Fairly crazy that they wouldn’t have at least cycle the gears after putting it all together!

Like you say, not running up and down the cassette is a bit mind boggling. It's literally a couple of seconds of their time.

 

[Vandle]

el mañana

 

[Martynt74]

Like you say, not running up and down the cassette is a bit mind boggling. It's literally a couple of seconds of their time.

Yeah i thought so.

Got up early this morning to get out for a quick ride. Hadn't realised how dark it stays and my headtorch mount was broken so i risked almost darkness with only a rear light for a few miles on back roads which was a little sketchy.

Was nice to be back on this bike and was certainly more comfortable being on 50mm tyres! A little slower, but unsure how much of that was lack of fitness and me generally being slow in the dark. There's still something not quite right. It feels like there's resistance when i pedal. The wheel spins freely when it's on the stand, so must be something drivetrain related. Unless the tyre is rubbing when it's compressed under weight.
Also need to check as the front brake disc is rubbing a little.

New freehub is also exceedingly loud, which obviously means i sound faster than i am

 

[grudas]

was going to get back to riding this week but tweaked my shoulder again! not even sure how or where but rotator cuff is a mess, enjoy getting older for sure ah well, next week..

 

[UTmaniac]

was going to get back to riding this week but tweaked my shoulder again! not even sure how or where but rotator cuff is a mess, enjoy getting older for sure ah well, next week..

When I developed frozen shoulder (thought maybe rotator cuff at time) last Xmas, for a while it was far more comfy on my hybrid than my road bike.

 

[Roady]

Came to spin the pedals back to set off but the hub didn’t spin so the chain just went slack.

Assumed it was just a bit out of gear from the changes so set off down a hill lightly pedaling and thinking it felt super stiff. Got into a bigger cog but it still felt jerky. Front derailleur wouldn’t shift chainring.

Got off and it’s physically super hard to turn the pedals forwards. When freewheeling the hub spins great but there’s something not right.

Can sometimes see this 'chain jam' when it's been routed incorrect side of the 'tab' on the rear derailleur. But would expect you to have immediately stopped due to the horrible grinding noise!

Unsure if it was me (probably) but the cassette wasn’t tight on the hub body. And was rubbing on the frame.

Took the wheel off and tightened it. And now spinning nicely.

Could be they removed the rear wheel to mount it on a stand and then it wasn't seated back correctly - Seen that before with a Quick release? No excuse with a Thru Axle...

But yeah, shame the other place isn't closer and more convenient!

There's still something not quite right. It feels like there's resistance when i pedal. The wheel spins freely when it's on the stand, so must be something drivetrain related. Unless the tyre is rubbing when it's compressed under weight.
Also need to check as the front brake disc is rubbing a little.

New freehub is also exceedingly loud, which obviously means i sound faster than i am

Check discs are not rubbing, that can sometimes not make noise if constant and fairly dry while really adding a massive 'tax' to your efforts so you become snail like

No danger of dry here, got absolutely drenched this morning. So much so I'm glad I brought spare dry overshoes for the ride home! After months and months of nothing, I've now ridden in rain 3 times this week and bored of it already!

 

[Martynt74]

Can sometimes see this 'chain jam' when it's been routed incorrect side of the 'tab' on the rear derailleur. But would expect you to have immediately stopped due to the horrible grinding noise!


Could be they removed the rear wheel to mount it on a stand and then it wasn't seated back correctly - Seen that before with a Quick release? No excuse with a Thru Axle...

But yeah, shame the other place isn't closer and more convenient!


Check discs are not rubbing, that can sometimes not make noise if constant and fairly dry while really adding a massive 'tax' to your efforts so you become snail like

No danger of dry here, got absolutely drenched this morning. So much so I'm glad I brought spare dry overshoes for the ride home! After months and months of nothing, I've now ridden in rain 3 times this week and bored of it already!

Yeah, going to switch my other rear wheel back over and see if it still happens. Should help narrowing it down.

Knew having multiple wheelsets would come in handy

 

[Martynt74]

Yeah, going to switch my other rear wheel back over and see if it still happens. Should help narrowing it down.

Knew having multiple wheelsets would come in handy

Seems it's 100% tyre related. The battery for the front deraileur is rubbing on the tyre in a couple of places. Went out at dinner and had to remove the battery. Meant i was stuck in the small cog. Also misjudged my route and was a bit longer than i had intended. Temps hitting 35c and 360m of climbing over 15 miles made for reasonably hard work. This new rental definitely gives me more elevation routes which should be decent once i get my strength back.

Now to decide whether to buy a new frame, or just swap to a 1x chainring. At some point i need both but i guess the chainring would be cheaper. Although I'd likely also need a new RD/Cassette/Chain to give me the range i need. Maybe with the 13sp groupsets coming out i can find decent deals on existing 12sp versions.

 

[Ironic Namesake]

Really tempted by buying a Cube Nuroad gravel bike as an upgrade to my old carbon road bike.

Another part is telling me to go for 2 lower spec bikes instead (1 road, 1 gravel) ... although I guess a gravel bike with road tires is essentially a road bike, just a set of tires (or wheels) to change!

 

[grudas]

Really tempted by buying a Cube Nuroad gravel bike as an upgrade to my old carbon road bike.

Another part is telling me to go for 2 lower spec bikes instead (1 road, 1 gravel) ... although I guess a gravel bike with road tires is essentially a road bike, just a set of tires (or wheels) to change!

I run a gravel bike only, with some Hutchinson caracal race tires and their rolling resistance is often lower than many full slick road tires. There’s aero disadvantages but I doubt you’d be able to tell. They’ve got knobbed edges on the tire so on softer terrain they still grip. On road they roll like a skinny road bike tire.

 

[Martynt74]

Another big tick in the box of not using that bike shop. Was flying down a fairly rocky gravel hill yesterday, when the 2 bottom bolts of the stem worked loose and the handlebars jerked downwards. No idea how i didn't crash, as any attempts to brake made the bars move even more, so i had to try and hold the bar steady with my left hand and brake with the right. By the end of the ride the top bolts were also working loose and i had vertical movement as well as rotational

Annoyingly this was around 15km into a 40km ride, and i hadn't put my toolkit back in the bike bag so had to do a mix of walking on anything sketchy and then try and hold the bars in place for the rest. Didn't see a single cyclist to try and tap up either!

 

[Martynt74]

Really tempted by buying a Cube Nuroad gravel bike as an upgrade to my old carbon road bike.

Another part is telling me to go for 2 lower spec bikes instead (1 road, 1 gravel) ... although I guess a gravel bike with road tires is essentially a road bike, just a set of tires (or wheels) to change!

My plan was always to have 2 wheelsets, but honestly i very rarely bothered. There's not enough of a difference between 28mm tyres and 40mm tyres for me to offset the effort of swapping over.

I'm only now swapping to a 2 bike model (road and gravel) because the gravel i've started riding is closer to MTB routes and so taking advantage of the newer gravel technology to have 50mm tyres/suspension. To be honest, even this is perfectly fine for the road.
If my current bike had any resale value i'd likely swap and just use a gravel bike for everything, but with it being a chinese frame/wheelset. Demand is minimal and i'd have to sell it for peanuts which i'm not willing to do as it's a great bike. Makes more sense to keep it as a road setup.

 

[grudas]

Another big tick in the box of not using that bike shop. Was flying down a fairly rocky gravel hill yesterday, when the 2 bottom bolts of the stem worked loose and the handlebars jerked downwards. No idea how i didn't crash, as any attempts to brake made the bars move even more, so i had to try and hold the bar steady with my left hand and brake with the right. By the end of the ride the top bolts were also working loose and i had vertical movement as well as rotational

Annoyingly this was around 15km into a 40km ride, and i hadn't put my toolkit back in the bike bag so had to do a mix of walking on anything sketchy and then try and hold the bars in place for the rest. Didn't see a single cyclist to try and tap up either!

you know I see this too often, my sigmasport built argon18 did similar, my boardman build was also similar, bars moved in stem a couple times before I realised what made the "pop" noise on bigger dips and torqued it up okay, the brake caliper nearly fell off.. etc. I even emailed them to ask for torque spec and they sent me a general article of common torque settings. There's little to no pride left in builds/workmanship these days. Ribble was decent tho