Road Cycling

Lethal` said:
You could start up the team again with that lot!
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Ha! I know! :p

When the NFTO shop folded they where selling Castelli jerseys for £15 so I bought a load... With 'new' team kit I'll just end up using my NFTO kit for commuting. Thankfully my 'best' shorts (Rapha Core & Sportful Gruppetto) are not team kit, the Sportful just being the Black/Red/White ones so won't look that out of place with Pink/Grey/Black other kit...

merlin said:
I don't regret moving away from disc brakes - i just found them too high maintenance - constantly something not right about them. Noisy or squeeky or sticky or grabby or wooden. Mine glazed in no time at all - two big stops from 45mph and the pads were glazed and basically toast.

Hardly ever felt right, although that was TRP mechs, maybe hydro better.
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I can't compare as only ridden hydro's. Mine have always been noisy in the wet but not squeaky, more of a rub. Have occasionally had a rub on them and grabby sensations from air in the system but not when bled/air burped out.

The Uberbike pads I did less than 1900 miles on looked 'glazed' but I hadn't done any big stops with them. I'm blaming contamination, it's the only real explanation.

The wet weather braking of discs (regardless of noise) is what always convinces me they're better than rim brakes. Dry weather there's really very little (if anything) between them.
 
Roady said:
When the NFTO shop folded they where selling Castelli jerseys for £15 so I bought a load... With 'new' team kit I'll just end up using my NFTO kit for commuting. Thankfully my 'best' shorts (Rapha Core & Sportful Gruppetto) are not team kit, the Sportful just being the Black/Red/White ones so won't look that out of place with Pink/Grey/Black other kit...
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I was wearing the subtle 'black' shorts at the weekend. An ex NFTO rider rode past too - fortunately he didn't spot me masquerading as a pro.
 
Phil99 said:
Does the lever itself still feel fine? i.e. you can feel the contact point between pad/rotor easily and then you get a good solid lever feel after that point when squeezing more firmly (and the lever doesn't go as far as the bars?)

I think your theory about the caliper is the most likely cause. Try removing the pads and check the back of them. Any moisture at all? If so, does it feel oily?
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The levers feel fine.

I'll see if I can get the caliper replaced. It was fine for the first couple of years with the bike, so somethings changed.
 
Lethal` said:
I was wearing the subtle 'black' shorts at the weekend. An ex NFTO rider rode past too - fortunately he didn't spot me masquerading as a pro.
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Haha, the pro's never wore the NFTO branded shorts. Team & club kit was only ever Castelli! The NFTO branded kit was a 'shop only' kinda thing so most of the Pro's are probably totally unaware of them. My reasoning: none of them where Hereford residents with the shorts & jersey being released 'mid season'.

The brand included shorts, a jersey, a rain jacket and caps. There where a number of hiking jackets/coats but didn't see many of them. I own multiples of all of the cycling kit except the shorts. The rain jacket and caps are superb, better than many other brands (controversially I'm going to say better then even Castelli). Jersey is a very long fitting torso, so not great on me but loads of other people liked them, can't comment on the shorts. It's a shame the brand seemed to die when the shop closed and now the pro team is no more I doubt it's continuing.

The club is still going, lots of local riders, but with no club events or organised rides I don't know how long it'll last. The guys who used to drive the club side of things are not involved with other local clubs but equally not doing much riding. The only exception would be Tim Hutchinson who rides CX (and he was the main driver behind the 'club' rather than the 'race club' side of things). A few guys still race in NFTO colours, including a bit of a regional/national hill climbing legend/prodigy Mike Morris.
 
Cycling up the Cheddar Gorge segment in the recent and ongoing nippy spell...

Really bad idea, or worth riding ~50 miles from home to Warminster (instead of train to well known holiday location;) ) and then the extra ~30+ each way on another day that week?

Monday expected to be -2C at daybreak in Warminster! :eek:
 
merlin said:
Does anyone here run 28mm tyres?

Thoughts? Faster? Slower? Grippier? Better for long distance comfort over 25mm's?
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I've fitted a 28mm Grand Sport Race to my road bike's front wheel, replacing the 25mm for winter, might fit the other 28mm to the rear at some point.

I'm running it at a lower pressure (~65 vs ~75 PSI) and it's probably a bit comfier.

Outright speed, I couldn't say, I've not done much speed work since my ~5 weeks of lurgy, that cleared for ~10 days and I seem to have come down with something again since Monday night! I'd expect it to be a bit slower, because of the extra aero drag from the tyre bulging wider than the rims on my Cube.
 
merlin said:
Does anyone here run 28mm tyres?

Thoughts? Faster? Slower? Grippier? Better for long distance comfort over 25mm's?
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Yup. Really like them, have found them similar speed wise to 25mm which is surprising as my wheels I'm running them on are heavier than the wheels I ran 25's on. The 28mm Pro4 Endurance weirdly seemed to have less grip than the 25mm Pro4 Endurance but that could be my riding being faster/more aggressive as I'm more powerful. The 28mm Specialized Roubaix pro tyres I found had comparable grip to 25mm GP 4Seasons, although not as supple (hardly surprising, they're a 1/3 the price while being heavier!).

All of my experience on 25mm's is from alu frames where my 28mm experience is from my carbon Diverge, so I'm probably biased. The increase in comfort with my 28's means I'm a convert. #gettingold

Thoughts: there are many articles and writeups comparing the two and the general consensus is there's no increase in rolling resistance. Indeed the current trend of wider rim's designed with 25mm tyres in mind (instead of 23mm) also features testing and designs towards aerodynamics being a key feature, rather than weight alone, when it comes to 'fast/quick' wheels. Mavic actually produce their own tyres with many of their rims designed to be more aero than standard tyres fitted to the same rims.

Wider the rim the more aero the wider tyres become with increased comfort and grip with little/no increase in rolling resistance. Within reason of course & I'm talking road rims.

UTmaniac said:
I've fitted a 28mm Grand Sport Race to my road bike's front wheel, replacing the 25mm for winter, might fit the other 28mm to the rear at some point.

I'm running it at a lower pressure (~65 vs ~75 PSI) and it's probably a bit comfier.
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You run 25mm's at 75psi?! Ouch! Lots of pinch punctures?! My 28's are fairly good at that, but my 25's would've been a 'mare!

randomshenans said:
Nothing is fast.
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Until you get lighter, more aero and pink?
 
Yeah, I'm running 70/75PSI F/R on my 28's.

Weird observation, fitted a cheapy (Lifeline) '23-25mm' innertube after a flat and it's a noticeably firmer ride than the '20-28mm' Specialized tubes I usually use. Didn't pop and the world didn't end. Was just a weird observation that a 25mm tube in a 28mm tyre felt firmer/more solid.

I approve of your signature change/update ;)
 
Thanks for the info. My new wheels have arrived and they've come with some freebie 28mm Bontrager R3's - I was going to just Ebay the tyres but what the heck I think I'll give them a go, assuming they will actually fit - which I'm not at all sure about - it could be a bit close!
 
I'd never fit a 28mm tyre through under my front caliper. It's ridiculously tight as it is with a 25mm tyre. :/

I keep on getting leaves stuck on the tyre then they roll round and get stuck in the caliper. Did 16 miles or so of racing at the red bull thing with a leaf in the front caliper.. We had worked hard to form the group so I wasn't going to stop for a leaf! :D
 
Roady said:
You run 25mm's at 75psi?! Ouch! Lots of pinch punctures?! My 28's are fairly good at that, but my 25's would've been a 'mare!
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I ran my 25mm Grand Sport Race at ~75PSI on the front after my scary but lucky understeer washout on my first trip to the Petersfield cat3, that happened while running ~88 front and ~98 rear iirc. After that spill, I also reduced the rear 25mm to ~92.

I was running the front 28mm at ~65PSI all summer on the Wazoo before transferring it to the Cube, with the rear at ~85PSI.

The Grand Sport Races measure up larger than their quoted size, I was ~73Kg late summer, bikes ~9/12Kg respectively (I estimated ~88/91Kg total weight for their rides with gear and fluid), with the road bike bar tops and hoods being higher than Wazoo (so even less weight on front wheel).
I've put on some weight since (+3-4Kg), due to weeks of manflu affecting training, plus my annual carb cravings kicking in from SAD.
 
merlin said:
I don't regret moving away from disc brakes - i just found them too high maintenance - constantly something not right about them. Noisy or squeeky or sticky or grabby or wooden. Mine glazed in no time at all - two big stops from 45mph and the pads were glazed and basically toast.

Hardly ever felt right, although that was TRP mechs, maybe hydro better.
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Assuming you mean the Spyres the difference between those and Shimano RS685s is night and day. I had the TRP Spyres for about 18 months and upgraded to RS685 about 18 months ago. I was always having to play around with the spyres to stop pad rub, and the pads that they came with were pretty rubbish. Tried all sorts of compressionless cable outers to try and get a good feel at the lever as well, but never quite got there. I can't say the RS685s have been completely faultless (I had a piston break within a week of installing it, dumping oil everywhere), but since getting that replaced I think the only maintenance I've had to do is change the front pads once and recenter the calipers when changing wheels. They're not exactly quiet in the wet, but they stop you damn well.
 
Lethal` said:
I'd never fit a 28mm tyre through under my front caliper. It's ridiculously tight as it is with a 25mm tyre. :/

I keep on getting leaves stuck on the tyre then they roll round and get stuck in the caliper. Did 16 miles or so of racing at the red bull thing with a leaf in the front caliper.. We had worked hard to form the group so I wasn't going to stop for a leaf! :D
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I've got an early 90s race bike. Proper tight, pads at the top of the slot and 23s. Last time I took it out I had to actually stop and unstick a bit of plastic jammed between tyre and caliper
 
Ok I've sized up the 28mm tyres and tbh I don't like the look of it at all - they clear but it's all too tight for my liking and I don't want any risk of rubbing or jamming, the tyres will be going onto Ebay, I've got no comfort complaints on the 25mm's anyway.

The wheels look fantastic though, looking forward to getting out and seeing how they perform.
 
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