Road Cycling

[fez]

Tbf, I apparently don't need to replace the cranks, just the two rings, so it's not all that expensive for new.

Honestly, once you get into Ultegra I found that it was almost certainly cheaper just to get a full crankset than it was to buy the chainrings on their own. They ain't cheap last time I looked. Could pick up a brand new 8100 crankset for about £120 or buy the chainrings new at retail for similar.

Yea, I don’t miss the days of bouncing around on 28c tires.

Funny that we are already talking about 28s as being a bit on the narrow side. I'm not sure I will be going back to 28s after floating around on these 32s though. Just makes such a difference on our ***** roads.

 

[grudas]

Honestly, once you get into Ultegra I found that it was almost certainly cheaper just to get a full crankset than it was to buy the chainrings on their own. They ain't cheap last time I looked. Could pick up a brand new 8100 crankset for about £120 or buy the chainrings new at retail for similar.



Funny that we are already talking about 28s as being a bit on the narrow side. I'm not sure I will be going back to 28s after floating around on these 32s though. Just makes such a difference on our ***** roads.

I suppose on a road bike they're sort of the old 23c if you go back to 2015ish when I used to commute on 25c and those were the more common size.. on a gravel 40c is seen as quite narrow.

the jump in comfort but also control/confidence going from 28c to 40c to me was insane, I have put 45c on now and they're great.

 

[fez]

I suppose on a road bike they're sort of the old 23c if you go back to 2015ish when I used to commute on 25c and those were the more common size.. on a gravel 40c is seen as quite narrow.

the jump in comfort but also control/confidence going from 28c to 40c to me was insane, I have put 45c on now and they're great.

I have 45c tyres on my gravel bike and it feels really boaty and slow compared to the road bike with 32s. I think 32 is probably a sweet spot for a fast road bike for people not racing.

 

[grudas]

I have 45c tyres on my gravel bike and it feels really boaty and slow compared to the road bike with 32s. I think 32 is probably a sweet spot for a fast road bike for people not racing.

yeah for sure! 45c does feel a bit different to the 40c, the tyres I have in both sizes are the hutchinson caracal race which due to slick center and compound combo seem to be VERY fast, even compared to race level road tires https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/hutchinson-caracal-race

they're on same level as GP5000s etc which is crazy for a 40C tire and they do feel much better than schwalbe all-around 40c tires the bike came with.

 

[fez]

yeah for sure! 45c does feel a bit different to the 40c, the tyres I have in both sizes are the hutchinson caracal race which due to slick center and compound combo seem to be VERY fast, even compared to race level road tires https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/cx-gravel-reviews/hutchinson-caracal-race

they're on same level as GP5000s etc which is crazy for a 40C tire and they do feel much better than schwalbe all-around 40c tires the bike came with.

That does seem quick. The 42c I have on the gravel bike (thought it was 45 but apparently is a 42) is quite poor on the rolling resistance. 20.3 vs 14.9 for the Caracal. Tiny bit of that can probably be attributed to the extra width but very little I imagine.

I reckon that once you take into account the aero losses and the extra weight of the wider tyres that minimal difference between the Caracal and the GP5000 will get a lot larger but its still mighty impressive.

 

[grudas]

That does seem quick. The 42c I have on the gravel bike (thought it was 45 but apparently is a 42) is quite poor on the rolling resistance. 20.3 vs 14.9 for the Caracal. Tiny bit of that can probably be attributed to the extra width but very little I imagine.

I reckon that once you take into account the aero losses and the extra weight of the wider tyres that minimal difference between the Caracal and the GP5000 will get a lot larger but its still mighty impressive.

yeah I think at an actual race you'd notice the difference. Funny enough, I rode the ribble we have with the knobby all-arund g schwalbes and felt the drag on it, checked my watts and they were no different to same route on my other bike with caracal race, got a set of 45c caracal race for the ribble and now it feels much "faster" previously it felt like I had my brake half-on and pads were dragging. Odd feeling but that 6-8W difference in rolling resistance resulted in around 2m extra time around my lunch brake loop. I then went on chatgpt etc to analyze it and the conclusion was that yes, the 8w extra drag on tire would've added around 2m to the time. Now time, wasn't my problem with it.. it was the "feel" of the bike that made me look into it..

 

[fez]

Now time, wasn't my problem with it.. it was the "feel" of the bike that made me look into it..

And this is the crux of all speed improvements to bikes. Perception can be completely different to reality. Its why so many people stuck with thinner tyres and higher pressures for so long. Thinner tyres "feel" faster and I think thats largely because you get your brain rattled so you feel like the world is blurring past you at speed.

 

[AndyCr15]

Honestly, once you get into Ultegra I found that it was almost certainly cheaper just to get a full crankset than it was to buy the chainrings on their own. They ain't cheap last time I looked. Could pick up a brand new 8100 crankset for about £120 or buy the chainrings new at retail for similar.

Part of the problem, support your LBS and all, they're buying the parts. A quick look had the rings alone as a much cheaper option. If buying/doing it myself, maybe. A quick google says maybe £170 for a full set (Sigma is £214). I think they're getting both rings for £140, so seems reasonable.

 

[Trifid]

Can I get a sense check?

New bike running SRAM Apex AXS 1x12 with electronic shifting. I have spent hours trying to get it to shift through all the gears (wouldn't go into some when I got it and was over shifting out of first). I have now got to the point where 11 wants to shift into 12, but 9 into 8, so opposite directions but will at least go into each gear. Is this going to be fixed with the b limit screw or is it a bent derailleur hanger?


bike in question. https://forums.overclockers.co.uk/posts/38082866/

Follow up to this. It was a bent hanger, new one fitted and only took 5 minutes to index, old one has a slight wobble when on a flat surface compared to the new one which doesn't. Thanks for your help @grudas

 

[Roady]

State of the UK roads when a pothole puts a puncture in a 50mm gravel tyre that's pretty much brand new...

Got to test out my new electric mini pump from aliexpress which did the job quickly and efficiently in the horrible weather!

Oooooft, must have been a beast of a drop/edge on it! I think after the summer we've had we'll be getting a wet+cold winter. Which means more standing water in potholes making them more 'invisible' if you don't know the roads in the dry. Which mini did you have? Someone last weekend faffed with theirs and after 2 mins trying to put a tiny bit into a tube before fitting it to wheel, we just gave up. One of the others had a frame pump and with a 25mm tyre - forgot how quickly & easily they went up! So in my opinion the electric pumps are pointless until you're tubeless/larger tyre volumes anyway!

Honestly, once you get into Ultegra I found that it was almost certainly cheaper just to get a full crankset than it was to buy the chainrings on their own. They ain't cheap last time I looked. Could pick up a brand new 8100 crankset for about £120 or buy the chainrings new at retail for similar.

Yeah pretty much what I found, for me replacing 7100 with 8100 was a no-brainer for the price difference £115-130 (no idea if the 8100 arms are hollow than 7100 like 8000 and 7000 are - you can tell the difference with them, not with the 12s).

But certainly with my older 11s pointless buying big rings when a single ring costs (£93-135), just buy the whole crankset (£150-170)

I have 45c tyres on my gravel bike and it feels really boaty and slow compared to the road bike with 32s. I think 32 is probably a sweet spot for a fast road bike for people not racing.

I found 32mm quite boaty when using heavy tyres on quite classic narrow alloy wheels when coming from a 28/30, the 30mm I'm running now on wider carbon don't feel as snappy as 28's but certainly not as boaty as 32's. But are much lighter wheels & tyres. Maybe it's the tyre volume with the weight, on the narrow there being so much more rotational weight from the alloy rim+heavier tyre (Roubaix) compared to the GP5000 on wider & lighter carbon.

 

[fez]

I found 32mm quite boaty when using heavy tyres on quite classic narrow alloy wheels when coming from a 28/30, the 30mm I'm running now on wider carbon don't feel as snappy as 28's but certainly not as boaty as 32's. But are much lighter wheels & tyres. Maybe it's the tyre volume with the weight, on the narrow there being so much more rotational weight from the alloy rim+heavier tyre (Roubaix) compared to the GP5000 on wider & lighter carbon.

I'm on a 32c GP5000 AS TR on dura ace carbon C50 wheelset which is reasonably light and 21mm ID.

 

[SoliD]

Oooooft, must have been a beast of a drop/edge on it! I think after the summer we've had we'll be getting a wet+cold winter. Which means more standing water in potholes making them more 'invisible' if you don't know the roads in the dry. Which mini did you have? Someone last weekend faffed with theirs and after 2 mins trying to put a tiny bit into a tube before fitting it to wheel, we just gave up. One of the others had a frame pump and with a 25mm tyre - forgot how quickly & easily they went up! So in my opinion the electric pumps are pointless until you're tubeless/larger tyre volumes anyway!

Yeah and 2 plugs haven't sealed it, it's a huge old slash/cut so going to need to properly patch It, along with 3 tubs punctures in last weekends race it's been an expensive and puncture filled week. .

Got a cyclami a2s. Never been a convert to co2 so always had a lezyne mini. For most of my riding I think it'll be spot on as only my road tyres go to 50psi and everything else is 20 or less...

Run 32s now on the road and you do notice the extra weight when getting up to speed but everywhere else they're better. Grip, comfort, keeping speed up once you're there. Wouldn't go back to smaller.

 

[grudas]

Bit wet out there.. off road this time of year is a mess, mud, leaves etc everywhere. Actually quite sketchy at points. Still, got out reasonably early and had a good ride. Gears gone funky again after swapping the tires so need to have a look at those…

https://strava.app.link/iNxEY7LAjYb

 

[Trifid]

Looks like it was good fun. I stuck to roads and cycle paths this morning for my inaugural cycle but was plenty of spray from the wet roads and puddles. I want some full cover mud guards really but fit is a concern, or play it safe with a ass saver wing like that one. In the mean time, ordered some winter 2 bolt shoes this morning to keep my feet nice and warm.

 

[grudas]

Looks like it was good fun. I stuck to roads and cycle paths this morning for my inaugural cycle but was plenty of spray from the wet roads and puddles. I want some full cover mud guards really but fit is a concern, or play it safe with a ass saver wing like that one. In the mean time, ordered some winter 2 bolt shoes this morning to keep my feet nice and warm.

The ass saver does the job as far as keeping my back dry and being easy to remove. I can whip it off in a few minutes and it’s done. I don’t particularly like the look of it but this time of year it’s function over form. There are some kinesis full size guards you can get that I’ve seen fit well
And perform well.. but I’ll stick with the above for now. It’s “enough” for me

 

[Martynt74]

Annoyingly having car issues and my wife needs the other.

Have a bike event but decided to ride here and back and do a shorter distance. Averaged 29kph here as it was heavily downhill. Doesn’t bode well for the way home! Also means I’m here a lot earlier than intended.

Also seen someone on the pink Mondraker I was eyeing up. It looks unreal.

 

[Martynt74]

Pretty awesome route yesterday. Some absolutely fantastic gravel trails just lots of hard packed dirt. A few slightly more technical bits but generally just this with no ridiculous climbs

Then went for a couple beers with some guys i'd met, before riding home, which turned into a disaster. First my phone was pretty much dead and the route i'd initially plotted home was useless because we'd ridden around 5km in the other direction for a beer and i didn't pay attention to where we were going.
So used my Garmin to plot a route home, but it took me a pretty stupid way and ended up being longer than if i'd gone back to the event start and home the way i'd gone.
Then my back tyre just refused to hold air. There was still tubeless sealant in and no obvious sign of punctures and no sealant leaking out anywhere so no idea what was wrong. Ended up with around 5psi for the last 15km. I'd use my mini pump to inflate it to a decent level, but it just dropped within 3km. I ended up walking the last few km.


Probably ended up being my longest day of riding spread over the 3 rides with just over 130km and 1300m of elevation and today i'm feeling pretty much fine (excluding the headache from a bottle of red wine when i got home!)

 

[grudas]

look at you on your dry gravel in your short sleeves and that.. go away!

 

[Shadowness]

Any SunGod wearers in here?

Broke the frame on my Rapha glasses swapping lenses

They have essentially a BOGOF offer on at the moment, but if anything that lowers my perception of their quality if they can afford to do that.

 

[Martynt74]

I've got 2 pairs. I'd say the quality is really good compared to other stuff i've tried, although previously i've fallen more around the £50/pair level. I would say the lenses are a lot better than most i've tried, and the fact they're used by so many pro cyclists/trail runners where visibility is a huge importance helps give them credit.

I almost got them when they ran the same promotion last year, but didn't and ended up paying probably £30 more for 2 pairs when i did eventually come to order, as there is usually 20% discount codes floating around. Worth noting that both my pairs are polarised but i don't think the "free pair" are, although might be able to upgrade them.