Road Cycling

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Well not cycled for a while but I'd say resonably hilly 50-80 mile rides at the weekend and commuting in the week 15-20 miles a day.

Would rather buy new too rather than second hand.
 
I think there's quite a lot they can improve with current road discs to be honest. Not all current tech has been fully utilised and the different requirements of road vs MTB means that there's definitely a fair bit that can change.

Completely agree with regards to standards though :p
 
James07 said:
What bottom bracket do I need for my 2015 Defy 3?
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Do some reading around/googling (the Giant site is useless) to check. I'm convinced mine is a BB90 (or 89) from reading reviews online. None of the numbers physically around it indicate what it is, although at some point (maybe this weekend) I'll have it back apart and fully document them all so I can order bearings myself in future.

ThaReaperGuy said:
I've moved the derailer, undone the tension and bracket to move it and now putting it back. Trying to get it to shift back up but it won't, pulled the cable through as it was before, used the barrel adjuster and set the outside delimiter screw but it won't jump up!
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ThaReaperGuy said:
But its back how it was -.-, rubbing against the chain on the big gear and high gears gears at the back.

Damn. Weekend job!
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Glad you got it back at least operational!

PermaBanned said:
http://www.parktool.com/blog/repair-help/front-derailleur-adjustments
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Good guide, although I struggled to understand it when I attempted mine and I followed this video instead (I find pictures and video guidance are much easier to follow!): http://roadcyclinguk.com/how-to/maintenance/video-how-to-adjust-a-front-derailleur.html

In reality: Remove cable from equation. Get it lined up with the width of a 20p (or similar) above the teeth of the biggest chainring with the orientation as much in line with the centre of the chainrings as possible. Adjust limit screws while manually holding derailleur in positions (I wedge mine with a screwdriver/cable tie) to properly align it. Remove all adjustment and tension from cable, apply just enough to get cable taught with it on the smallest chainring. Check the adjustment is enough to move between both chainrings and then use barrel adjuster/slight adjustments to get it smooth.

You will get some chain rub with most modern 10-11 speed setups, there should be a the slight 'trim' on the shifter should be enough to compensate for it - I actually run mine 'trimmed' for the majority of my riding and use the 'top-end' of the shift for only my top 2-3 gears.

IndigoGorilla said:
Best wheelset for 100-150?

Seen the Mavic Aksium for 120 if that's a good wheelset? They'll be replacing standard wheels off a Giant Defy 3.
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Good wheelset. I can rate the campy Khamsim G3's which are towards the bottom of that budget (running them here). I would happily run the Scirocco's too which are just over the top of that budget (know several guys here who rate them). Not sure about the Vento, guess they fall between the two but not heard of anyone running them.

Campy wheels are head and shoulders above the Giant P-R2's/S-R2's your Defy 3 came with. I spent many hours rebalancing and rebuilding my P-R2's several times, I should've spent the ~£100 on Khamsim's before I even started. Hindsight :rolleyes:

Went out for a blast last night and did a local training loop I've not done for months, I used it when building up my mileage and it was fun to blast along the 'old' roads again! There's a 'climb' I first struggled with (ran out of gears and had to stop) I didn't even need to drop many gears for - not even in little chainring these days! :D:cool:

Blasted it out at tempo (I guess?) to really see what I could do 2 days after a hilly 30 (sunday) and quite surprised how much my legs had recovered. They even feel good this morning, but took it easy on the commute.
 
Replaced the bearings in my Powertap SL+

Very easy to do, guides online if you need them. Middle bearing was perfect still but the two in the freehub were goosed and the one on the other side was a bit grindy so swapped it too.

Had a moment of panic when I put it all back together on the bike, freehub wasn't working and I wasn't sure why as it was fine by hand. Two rubber seals on each bearing have enough friction when new to cause resistance so the freehub doesn't work properly. I'm sure after pedalling backwards for 5 minutes and some rotating on the stand they will free up no problems. After only a minute they were better.

Cost $24 for the bearings vs $300 having powertap do it. Calibrated OK afterwards so a $275 saving!


Next job, cut my fork steerer down, but gonna have to buy a cutting guide first.
 
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I currently have no bike :( its making me depressed! My 3 month old cyclocross seat has decided to come un-stitched so I sent it back to Merida under warranty.

Problem is you cannot send direct to Merida so it has to go from me to wheelies > to Merida > back to wheelies > to me, this takes 3 -4 weeks! for a simple seat claim, might just pop to the LBS and buy a charge, at least I can then enjoy what is left of summer!

also purchased this today: http://www.wheelies.co.uk/Product.aspx?pID=77035&pName=Castelli-Cannondale-Garmin-Team-20-Short-Sleeve-Cycling-Jersey

looks good for £30 but I do dislike branded clothing, A walking advert, still I actually don't own a jersey so will be nice to see what the fuss is about.
 
Berger said:
Cost $24 for the bearings vs $300 having powertap do it. Calibrated OK afterwards so a $275 saving!
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WINNING! :D

How did you identify the bearings used? Look for specific powertap or identify from size?

Richand said:
I currently have no bike :( its making me depressed! My 3 month old cyclocross seat has decided to come un-stitched so I sent it back to Merida under warranty.

Problem is you cannot send direct to Merida so it has to go from me to wheelies > to Merida > back to wheelies > to me, this takes 3 -4 weeks! for a simple seat claim, might just pop to the LBS and buy a charge, at least I can then enjoy what is left of summer!

also purchased this today: http://www.wheelies.co.uk/Product.aspx?pID=77035&pName=Castelli-Cannondale-Garmin-Team-20-Short-Sleeve-Cycling-Jersey

looks good for £30 but I do dislike branded clothing, A walking advert, still I actually don't own a jersey so will be nice to see what the fuss is about.
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Grab a Charge Spoon/Scoop! For £20 even if you only use it for a month you should easily be able to sell it S/H for £10-15. You might even prefer it - or keep it in case the stitching goes again! ;)

Good deal on those jerseys, especially as Castelli. You'll like it!

I'm not really a fan of wearing 'team colours' but always quite liked the Cannondale green... It looks good with the black too! Quite tempted to grab one and some matching shorts as ideally I'll be buying a Cannondale Synapse/CAADX next...
 
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Roady said:
WINNING! :D

How did you identify the bearings used? Look for specific powertap or identify from size?

.
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Google ;) listed in a weight weenies thread. I emailed bearing place to check stock before I started taking anything apart just incase..

Otherwise just disassemble and the codes should be printed into the metal of the outer race usually. Mine uses 6902 and 6802 bearings.

Or measure internal Di (15mm in my case) outer Di and thickness.
 
Berger said:
Google ;) listed in a weight weenies thread. I emailed bearing place to check stock before I started taking anything apart just incase..

Otherwise just disassemble and the codes should be printed into the metal of the outer race usually. Mine uses 6902 and 6802 bearings.

Or measure internal Di (15mm in my case) outer Di and thickness.
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Good point, someone else will have done it and left the info online somewhere...!

Thing I'm toying with is somehow replacing my rubbish/standard BB bearings with ceramic and somehow saving money by buying the bearings from a 'bearing shop/place' rather than a cycling one with the typical cycling 'premium' price... I want the the benefits of ceramic without the cost! ;)
 
Jono said:
I have no idea what to do about wheels. Why is life in the first world so hard?
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Usually I'd be a big advocate for handbuilt, but if you're not that sure I'd just get a set of Campagnolo Zondas and put the rest towards kit that would be useful to you (especially with winter coming up).

I didn't catch what wheels you've got now but the Zondas will be a big step up and spending an extra £250 for nicer alloy wheels is really diminishing returns. If I was spending £500 I'd be going for carbon personally.
 
One More Solo said:
Usually I'd be a big advocate for handbuilt, but if you're not that sure I'd just get a set of Campagnolo Zondas and put the rest towards kit that would be useful to you (especially with winter coming up).

I didn't catch what wheels you've got now but the Zondas will be a big step up and spending an extra £250 for nicer alloy wheels is really diminishing returns. If I was spending £500 I'd be going for carbon personally.
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Agreed. In stock at Wiggle for £240 or, if prepared to wait a few weeks, keep looking for Merlin / Ribble / PBK / etc offering promo codes which could get another 10% off that.
 
Hmm0r tempted... GP4000IIs or whatever they're called are about £40 each?
Does that still make the Fulcrum Racing 3's deal better value? I can't maths today.

No - no it's not.
But i Have no idea what innertube flavour to get - 23/700 tyreses
 
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Roady said:
I want the the benefits of ceramic without the cost! ;)
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There is no benefit to ceramic as a material over a steel bearing.
The benefit of ceramic is that it can be machined to a smoother surface than steel to create a smoother rolling bearing. It still needs all the precision machining work put in to make it a better bearing though so a cheaply made ceramic bearing will likely be worse than a properly machined steel bearing.

(ok, maybe ceramic doesnt rust so that would be a benefit over steel but if your steel bearings are dry enough to start rusting then you're probably not all that bothered about rolling resistance anyway)
 
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