Road Cycling Essentials

Participant · 26 Jul 2011 at 20:18

[DOD]Asprilla;19673444 said:
Always line the logos with the valves; makes it much easier to remember where the hole is when you come to repair the tube.

Eh? You just look round the rim for the valve hole, hardly difficult! The only reason is for OCD.

[DOD]Asprilla · 26 Jul 2011 at 20:34

Robbie G said:
Eh? You just look round the rim for the valve hole, hardly difficult! The only reason is for OCD.

No, the hole in the tube when you get a puncture.

If I know where the hole was made in the tyre and you've got the logo lined up with the valve you can easily find the matching hole in the tube without having to do the bucket of water thing.

Participant · 26 Jul 2011 at 20:42

With you now, derp. That's a good tip.

kicks66 · 26 Jul 2011 at 22:08

Ive just noticed the 2011 Allez comes with Shimano 2300 which have the thumb downshift? Ive heard terrible things about them, would it be difficult to replace for a normal style shifters, or are they really not that bad?

SDK^ · 26 Jul 2011 at 22:14

Shimano 2300 is 8 speed so it's unlikely you will find shifters that are compatible. Thumb downshift isn't ideal but it's not a deal breaker.

Draeger · 26 Jul 2011 at 22:26

Just my tuppence but I'd be looking for Tiagra at a minimum. Once you get the bike bug you will want to upgrade from 2300 anyway.

Fuzz · 26 Jul 2011 at 23:08

While you're on the subject of shifters..

My Shim 105..
Specced it with a double front gear however the bloody lever has three positions clicks, surely that's not right?

A.N.Other · 26 Jul 2011 at 23:09

[DOD]Asprilla;19673832 said:
If I know where the hole was made in the tyre and you've got the logo lined up with the valve you can easily find the matching hole in the tube without having to do the bucket of water thing.

Meh. The good lord gave you a tongue for a reason

Phil99 · 26 Jul 2011 at 23:35

kicks66 said:
Ive just noticed the 2011 Allez comes with Shimano 2300 which have the thumb downshift? Ive heard terrible things about them, would it be difficult to replace for a normal style shifters, or are they really not that bad?

Personally I don't find the 2300 group to be bad at all. Changing gear on the drops is possible but not comfortable, but on the hoods it's perfectly fine in my opinion.

SDK^ said:
Shimano 2300 is 8 speed so it's unlikely you will find shifters that are compatible. Thumb downshift isn't ideal but it's not a deal breaker.

There are some Tiagra/105 style levers for 8 speed (R500 STI) but they're £180 so you may as well just go Tiagra if you don't want the thumb shifters.

Scubascorpion said:
While you're on the subject of shifters..

My Shim 105..
Specced it with a double front gear however the bloody lever has three positions clicks, surely that's not right?

One of the clicks will be for trimming. It'll move the front derailleur a small amount so you can use the full range of the cassette without chain rub.

platypus · 27 Jul 2011 at 09:52

Well it appears my rear wheel has suffered some damage, though I'm not entirely sure what.

When freewheeling, it sounds like a bearing or something inside the hub has gone, it's fine when the chain is engaged. Could being clipped have cracked something in the hub? Not sure I want to buy a new wheel at the moment

.

[DOD]Asprilla · 27 Jul 2011 at 10:41

platypus said:
Well it appears my rear wheel has suffered some damage, though I'm not entirely sure what.

When freewheeling, it sounds like a bearing or something inside the hub has gone, it's fine when the chain is engaged. Could being clipped have cracked something in the hub? Not sure I want to buy a new wheel at the moment .

Decent bike shop should be able to repair the hub. If it's jsut replacing the barings of the pawl springs then that should be cheap as chips.

A hub service costs me £10.

In other news; carbon specific brake pads don't last very long do they! I've had swiss stop greens on for 2000 miles and they need chaning soon. Had swiss stop yellows on for two days and they are almost the same! This could get expensive

kicks66 · 27 Jul 2011 at 11:20

Draeger said:
Just my tuppence but I'd be looking for Tiagra at a minimum. Once you get the bike bug you will want to upgrade from 2300 anyway.

The thing is the Allez is already a bit of a stretch at £500 (student budget). Might look for a 2nd hand one with proper shifters.

6thElement · 27 Jul 2011 at 12:33

platypus said:
Well it appears my rear wheel has suffered some damage, though I'm not entirely sure what.

When freewheeling, it sounds like a bearing or something inside the hub has gone, it's fine when the chain is engaged. Could being clipped have cracked something in the hub? Not sure I want to buy a new wheel at the moment .

What hub? Lots of hubs are faily easy to service or at least take apart to see what's gone wrong.

platypus · 27 Jul 2011 at 12:39

Uh its a pro-lite como, so whatever they use. I will pop into a bike shop on the way home and see what they think.

One More Solo · 27 Jul 2011 at 16:16

I've currently got a 10 speed triple setup but I'm thinking of moving to a double because my existing crankset is cheap and nasty and I fancy a change. Google suggests my existing shifters and derailleur should be fine, and the bottom bracket may be to. I'm curious what gear setups people use? Obviously the terrain is pretty flat down here but I'd like to be able to climb some hills. For hilly routes outside London I don't mind swapping cassette though.

[DOD]Asprilla · 27 Jul 2011 at 16:37

I've got a compact on the CR1 and a double that's going to go on the new commuting frame when I get it (really liking the look of the Genesis Equilibrium). I've got 11-23, 11-25 and 12-27 cassettes.

At the moment the 11-23 is on the commuting wheels and the 11-25 is getting swapped backwards and forwards between the deep carbon wheels and the lightweight wheels, depending upon what I want to take into the Surrey hills on a Sunday.

A compact with 12-25 is usually sufficient unless you are taking on the alps, although it may depend if you are a spinner or a grinder.

willhub · 27 Jul 2011 at 17:10

Phil99 said:
Personally I don't find the 2300 group to be bad at all. Changing gear on the drops is possible but not comfortable, but on the hoods it's perfectly fine in my opinion.

There are some Tiagra/105 style levers for 8 speed (R500 STI) but they're £180 so you may as well just go Tiagra if you don't want the thumb shifters.

One of the clicks will be for trimming. It'll move the front derailleur a small amount so you can use the full range of the cassette without chain rub.

You're not using the bottom two sprockets on the cassette in the little ring are you??

One More Solo · 27 Jul 2011 at 17:23

[DOD]Asprilla;19679865 said:
I've got a compact on the CR1 and a double that's going to go on the new commuting frame when I get it (really liking the look of the Genesis Equilibrium). I've got 11-23, 11-25 and 12-27 cassettes.

At the moment the 11-23 is on the commuting wheels and the 11-25 is getting swapped backwards and forwards between the deep carbon wheels and the lightweight wheels, depending upon what I want to take into the Surrey hills on a Sunday.

A compact with 12-25 is usually sufficient unless you are taking on the alps, although it may depend if you are a spinner or a grinder.

I'm trying my best to spin so the last option sounds good. The current setup on my bike is pointless as I very rarely use the granny or big ring because the chain angle makes only a few gears usable in those two, and the usable ones are only suited for ascending or descending mountains! A compact just seems more sensible.

Fuzz · 27 Jul 2011 at 17:32

willhub said:
You're not using the bottom two sprockets on the cassette in the little ring are you??

I haven't even changed out of the big ring since I've had the bike.
It was only because the rear set wasn't adjusted correctly, that I checked and messed with the front, then thought WTF when it had three positions.
Mind you, it's been pretty flat where I've been so far. Might all change on Thursday eve though, going out with mate on one of his routes. :-/

Jonny ///M · 27 Jul 2011 at 22:40

platypus said:
Well it appears my rear wheel has suffered some damage, though I'm not entirely sure what.

When freewheeling, it sounds like a bearing or something inside the hub has gone, it's fine when the chain is engaged. Could being clipped have cracked something in the hub? Not sure I want to buy a new wheel at the moment .

Sounds like the freehub body if it only happens when freewheeling. Depending on the wheel this can be slid off and cleaned out/pawls replaced if it like a campag wheel(think it will be) or if it's like shimano and other brands it isn't servicable but can be taken off the hub with a 10/11mm allen key and changed. They vary in price but start around £20.

A hub service would be about £10-15 and will at least let you know what's up with it.

Scuba the extra click is for trimming as has been said. If you're in the big ring and move up the block at the back the chain may start to rub on the inner plate of the front mech so you push the downshift lever on the trigger slightly and it will move the mech a little meaning no rub. I wouldn't run a gear at that angle for too long though but fine for just blasting over the crest of a hill. I also wouldn't suggest running the smaller ring at the front and smaller at the rear and using the trim function. Such an extreme angle + less teeth engaged = chain wear ***.