Road Cycling

xdcx · 3 Jan 2017 at 16:52

SoliD said:
The upgrade kit is very easy to use, just don't forget the additional spacer. I got sent some replacement spindles for vector 2s after they were replaced when they failed under warranty.

Yeah I watched the video and it looks a doddle.
My Vector1 spindles are fine and don't have any play so was thinking I will leave them as is until they are showing a bit of play and then replace with the Vector2 ones from the kit?
Does the kit come with the tool for removing the spindles from the pedal bodies?

I use one washer currently so planning to use the new blue washer plus 1 normal silver washer.

whyscotty · 3 Jan 2017 at 17:08

lordrobs said:
I'm going to take a punt... do you work in Halfords by any chance hornetstinger?

SoliD · 3 Jan 2017 at 17:26

xdcx said:
Yeah I watched the video and it looks a doddle.
My Vector1 spindles are fine and don't have any play so was thinking I will leave them as is until they are showing a bit of play and then replace with the Vector2 ones from the kit?
Does the kit come with the tool for removing the spindles from the pedal bodies?

I use one washer currently so planning to use the new blue washer plus 1 normal silver washer.

Yep, all included, sounds like you're sorted, I replaced the spindles and kept the old ones and now have another set of spares. I did contemplate leaving but in the end swapped over anyway.

xdcx · 3 Jan 2017 at 18:10

SoliD said:
Yep, all included, sounds like you're sorted, I replaced the spindles and kept the old ones and now have another set of spares. I did contemplate leaving but in the end swapped over anyway.

Excellent. Thanks for putting my mind at rest bud :cool:

SoliD · 3 Jan 2017 at 18:29

xdcx said:
Excellent. Thanks for putting my mind at rest bud

I was surprised by how easy it was, and I hadn't even watched the videos.

NooBish AbbZ · 3 Jan 2017 at 21:13

Went for my first ride today, with 2 other friends; typically, my strava didn't work (back ground app refresh was turned off, fixed now)

Mightily cold, and we were only out for just over an hour, covering 19 miles, but hey, a start

Far more experienced rider said he was impressed with my preparation and also basically the level i was keeping up

Spent most of the evening looking through Strava, Veloviewer, and looking at affordable pedals, cleats and shoes

Also, a(nother) question. I bought a hand pump from decathlon, the BTwin 920, to be exact. it has a tube, but when i tried to pump up my tyres, even though the tube had been screwed on at the valve and the presta valve 'opened' so to speak, the tube didn't push down on to the valve allowing air to be pumped in?

Had to use said friends hand pump which had no problems whatsoever but...why did mine not work? I'm sure it's something very basic, but experienced friend had a quick look and wasn't too sure either..

lordrobs · 3 Jan 2017 at 21:22

Went for a super sloppy country road ride on Saturday... and then forgot to clean the bike. This evening I went into the garage and glowing on the wall was my bike with a red rusty chain

Cleaned it up but one link was a bit sticky, stuck the chain checker on it and the 0.75% side drops in between about 80% of the links

One super cheap (I assume) chain killed off in *cough*250miles*cough*

merlin · 3 Jan 2017 at 22:10

NooBish AbbZ said:
Also, a(nother) question. I bought a hand pump from decathlon, the BTwin 920, to be exact. it has a tube, but when i tried to pump up my tyres, even though the tube had been screwed on at the valve and the presta valve 'opened' so to speak, the tube didn't push down on to the valve allowing air to be pumped in?

Had to use said friends hand pump which had no problems whatsoever but...why did mine not work? I'm sure it's something very basic, but experienced friend had a quick look and wasn't too sure either..

Is the tube definitely presta?

Not sure about the tubes but usually hand pumps have direct connectors you have to reverse according to whatever valve you want it to marry with.

NooBish AbbZ · 3 Jan 2017 at 22:22

merlin said:
Is the tube definitely presta?

Not sure about the tubes but usually hand pumps have direct connectors you have to reverse according to whatever valve you want it to marry with.

Yerp, definitely presta

The attachment at the end of the tube is reversible.

One More Solo · 3 Jan 2017 at 22:55

lordrobs said:
Went for a super sloppy country road ride on Saturday... and then forgot to clean the bike. This evening I went into the garage and glowing on the wall was my bike with a red rusty chain Cleaned it up but one link was a bit sticky, stuck the chain checker on it and the 0.75% side drops in between about 80% of the links

One super cheap (I assume) chain killed off in *cough*250miles*cough*

Throw away your chain checker and save some monies.

If it feels like it's running ok then that's good enough for me!

lordrobs · 4 Jan 2017 at 09:37

One More Solo said:
Throw away your chain checker and save some monies. If it feels like it's running ok then that's good enough for me!

I did consider this. It is only 8 speed so I'm happy to just bin the cassette when I do finally change it. Problem is the stuck link, when I backspin the pedals it causes the derailleur to jump every time it goes through the jockey wheel! I could probably persuade it free again though.

Maybe I'll just run it to the end of the winter and replace it all then.

Shadowness · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:10

Another quick Vector 2 question....

What's the difference between the standard and large models?

I'm guessing I would need the standard, but not quite sure what that refers too.

And has anyone had a bad experience with Winstanleys Bikes? They have them at £750, down from £899 at the moment

NVM: found the meaning of it, and even a handy spreadsheet by Garmin about compatibility. SRAM Red cranks need a normal size

xdcx · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:14

Shadowness said:
Another quick Vector 2 question....

What's the difference between the standard and large models?

I'm guessing I would need the standard, but not quite sure what that refers too.

The standard/large difference is in relation to the cranks you are fitting them too and their thickness.
What cranks do you have on your bike? 105/Ultegra/DA and all the usuals are standard, things like some S-Works cranks for example are thicker and need the large but vast majority is standard.

https://sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/trisports/Vector-Crank-Arm-Compatibility.pdf

Shadowness · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:28

^Thanks. That's the same chart I found.

Was feeling lazy lol

SoliD · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:41

xdcx said:
The standard/large difference is in relation to the cranks you are fitting them too and their thickness.
What cranks do you have on your bike? 105/Ultegra/DA and all the usuals are standard, things like some S-Works cranks for example are thicker and need the large but vast majority is standard.

https://sep.yimg.com/ty/cdn/trisports/Vector-Crank-Arm-Compatibility.pdf

Don't confuse thickness for width either, I got large pods sent to me because I have the FSA Vision Trimax Carbon cranks which have a huge rear teardrop edge, but the length is the same on the large and standard unfortunately so they still didn't fit on the back of the pedal arm and I have to mount them on the front unfortunately (bad for aero....

)

Shadowness · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:54

I think I'm leaning more and more to the single Vector system. I'm sure the dual system is amazing and all that, but what do people REALLY do with all that data?

At the end of the day I'm just after a power figure for training/progress etc

Single system is £449 at the moment. hmmm.......

Can you 'upgrade' to a dual system if you initially get the single?

SoliD · 4 Jan 2017 at 10:57

Shadowness said:
I think I'm leaning more and more to the single Vector system. I'm sure the dual system is amazing and all that, but what do people REALLY do with all that data?

At the end of the day I'm just after a power figure for training/progress etc

Single system is £449 at the moment. hmmm.......

Can you 'upgrade' to a dual system if you initially get the single?

Yes you can, there is lots of data, but will depend on what you're doing, if you're not racing or anything some of it is quite pointless, but the additional balance and power metrics with the dual side can certainly help with improving your pedalling efficiency which is in effect free power.

Shadowness · 4 Jan 2017 at 11:05

If you get the single system, what would you then need to buy for it to be dual sided?

The pod and what else? A new pedal too?

SoliD · 4 Jan 2017 at 11:12

Shadowness said:
If you get the single system, what would you then need to buy for it to be dual sided?

The pod and what else? A new pedal too?

You just get the upgrade kit which is basically the second pedal and pod.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/...7ABK6p3j0IlmZZqdwPyXXBoCsZnw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Roady · 4 Jan 2017 at 12:31

xdcx said:
Z2 winter pedals.
Leading my enemies into a false sense of security by hiding my true power.

NooBish AbbZ said:
I bought a hand pump from decathlon, the BTwin 920, to be exact. it has a tube, but when i tried to pump up my tyres, even though the tube had been screwed on at the valve and the presta valve 'opened' so to speak, the tube didn't push down on to the valve allowing air to be pumped in?

Had to use said friends hand pump which had no problems whatsoever but...why did mine not work? I'm sure it's something very basic, but experienced friend had a quick look and wasn't too sure either..

This one?

Looks quite a neat pump and should be compatible, does say 'The reversible tip is compatible with all valve types.'. This picture shows the tip:

.

I wouldn't say I know all pumps and have never seen/used that one, but you should find the lower part unscrews then the black plastic bit in the middle will either reverse or will need part of it removing.

A schrader valve is the more traditional found on cars & kids bikes & things like lawnmowers, and requires the middle of the pump tip to push the end of the valve in. A presta valve (road bike tyres) the valve tip itself has to unscrew first then this whole tip has to be pushed in by the pump, much further than a schrader valve. The 'default' end of that pump (in the picture) doesn't have enough 'length' between the screw fitting and the tip pushing down, so the valve is fully depressed before any closure over the valve, letting the air escape.

http://www.sheldonbrown.com/brandt/presta-schrader.html

lordrobs said:
This evening I went into the garage and glowing on the wall was my bike with a red rusty chain Cleaned it up but one link was a bit sticky, stuck the chain checker on it and the 0.75% side drops in between about 80% of the links

One super cheap (I assume) chain killed off in *cough*250miles*cough*

Ouch that's pretty low mileage, even coming from me (I've seen 700/800 before now!). The 'rust' from road salt won't drastically increase wear if your chain was lubed to begin with, but lots of road spray combined with the road salt is very efficient at washing lube from chains, leaving the chain very dry (from the salt) if it is then ridden again (leading to much higher wear).

You can relube a 'rusty' chain and it'll generally clear much the rust away after some usage, but it is best scrubbed/cleaned first to remove as much of the salt residue as possible. Mine is looking pretty sorry for itself and around the 0.70 mark for most of it, some at 0.75. Once the roads are no longer being salted I'll replace it, but I'll certainly not be putting a new one on before then!