Road Cycling Essentials

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[DOD]Asprilla;22742460 said:
Rival is 105 equivalent. Force is about equal to Ultega and Red is the equivalent of Dura Ace.

I say equal and equivalent but we all know SRAM is better.
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Isn't the 2012 105 different from that of 2009?

He's basically on a 2009 group set, so I'm not sure how that stacks up against the newer stuff.
 
[DOD]Asprilla;22742460 said:
Rival is 105 equivalent. Force is about equal to Ultega and Red is the equivalent of Dura Ace.

I say equal and equivalent but we all know SRAM is better.
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That's not right they aren't really directly comparable they sit just above and below in order:

Force
Ultegra
Rival
105
Apex

Rival is above 105 and just below Ultegra. It's also slightly lighter than Ultegra.
 
Guess it depends on what qualities your ranking too if all you care about is weight then you could bump up a lot of the sram stuff, even apex is on a par with Ultegra in terms of weight.
 
uniQ said:
That's not right they aren't really directly comparable they sit just above and below in order:

Force
Ultegra
Rival
105
Apex

Rival is above 105 and just below Ultegra. It's also slightly lighter than Ultegra.
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Hence me saying they weren't really equal and SRAM were better.

However, that's generally pretty subjective. Although SRAM tend to be lighter a lot of folks find them clunky and say they change poorly. Comparing groupsets from different manufacturers on anything other than weight is just opening a can of worms.

In other news, having built a front wheel at the weekend and being reasonably happy with it tonight I've built a rear wheel that looks like an egg shaped Dorito.
 
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ShiWarrior said:
i keep telling myself that i should get the Alu framed one. but i also keep telling myself to go for the carbon one, and to be honest, i really dont know :confused:

hopeing to get one this week or next but i just can't decide!
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Personally I would take a good quality ALU frame over a cheap/budget Carbon frame.
 
Folks - do tyre upgrades make much difference in terms of rolling resistance?

I currently have gatorskin folding tyres and I find on the rougher tarmac I'm usually riding on they do seem to be a bit of a nightmare - in terms of puncture resistance they are fantastic - not had a single one since having them, and I am a bit worried about moving to something less resistant due to how tight the fit is with my wheels, but given most of my riding is for leisure and punctures aren't really the end of the world I quite fancy going for something like the GP4000s to see what it's like
 
oli collett said:
Folks - do tyre upgrades make much difference in terms of rolling resistance?

I currently have gatorskin folding tyres and I find on the rougher tarmac I'm usually riding on they do seem to be a bit of a nightmare - in terms of puncture resistance they are fantastic - not had a single one since having them, and I am a bit worried about moving to something less resistant due to how tight the fit is with my wheels, but given most of my riding is for leisure and punctures aren't really the end of the world I quite fancy going for something like the GP4000s to see what it's like
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I've had a pair of GP4000S on my Allez for the last 6 months or so & have to say I've been very impressed with them.
They've covered around 3,500 miles, & i've had three punctures in that time, not bad considering the mileage & roads I cycle on.
Still got plenty of life left in them to.

I had Michelin pro 3's before & only managed to get 1,800 miles out of the rear tyre before it was down to the canvass.
I also have more confidece in the grip & cornering of the 4000s tyres.
 
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That or crash it xD

For an extra £300 the difference appears to be:

Carbon Frame (C) v ALU (A)
105 Brakeset (C) v. Tektro (A)
Fizik Arione Saddle (C) v. Boardman Saddle (A)
Marginally better tyres (C)
Weight diff Approx: 750g
 
ShiWarrior said:
@ Firestar_3x and anybody else with a boardman bike

i keep telling myself that i should get the Alu framed one. but i also keep telling myself to go for the carbon one, and to be honest, i really dont know :confused:

hopeing to get one this week or next but i just can't decide!
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I went for the Road Comp last year on the cycle scheme. Can't say that I've been able to fault it at all. I did consider the slightly more expensive one, but decided that I couldn't really justify the £200 difference.

As an aside, anyone that has been considering carbon bottle cakes, I purchased two from the bay. Granted they came from Hong Kong and took 2 weeks to arrive, but they are literally perfect. The fact that you can pick the design that you want made them all the better. They fit a standard side bottle perfectly and look awesome in the process of doing so.
 
I'v had a few of the cheap ebay carbon cages. I think they were around £8 each when i got them. One of the ones i got was poorly designed and the bottom lip that stops the bottle slipping down snapped off. The others are all a much better design that seems much stronger and they are still going strong after almost 2 years (i think).

No idea how much they weigh. I'm not much of a weight weenie and i only bought carbon cages because they are stiffer than plastic ones and i hate loose/floppy cages.

edit: yep, that link posted above is what i got. Although that design is the one that broke on me. This design seems better because the lip at the bottom is made on a curved back plate rather than a bend in a flat bit of carbon....i'm not really sure if i'm explaining this clearly, hopefully you get the idea.
 
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Would you trust these carbon forks?

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The forks have some visible scratches on one leg, they're not deep, but can be seen & felt if you run a finger over them
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[DOD]Asprilla;22742957 said:
In other news, having built a front wheel at the weekend and being reasonably happy with it tonight I've built a rear wheel that looks like an egg shaped Dorito.
Click to expand...

Did you mix up the spokes? Rear wheel is slightly more complicated than a front, a dishing tool is more important too.
 
touch said:
I'v had a few of the cheap ebay carbon cages. I think they were around £8 each when i got them. One of the ones i got was poorly designed and the bottom lip that stops the bottle slipping down snapped off. The others are all a much better design that seems much stronger and they are still going strong after almost 2 years (i think).

No idea how much they weigh. I'm not much of a weight weenie and i only bought carbon cages because they are stiffer than plastic ones and i hate loose/floppy cages.

edit: yep, that link posted above is what i got. Although that design is the one that broke on me. This design seems better because the lip at the bottom is made on a curved back plate rather than a bend in a flat bit of carbon....i'm not really sure if i'm explaining this clearly, hopefully you get the idea.
Click to expand...

Quite interesting - I've had these two since 2011 and my bike has done around 1.5k. Haven't had any issues with them snapping, but that said the design linked above looks better. There was a reason I chose the original ones but can't remember why
 
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