Today I did something to my bike thread...

AIR-AUSSIE

Upgraded my Beater to full 11 speed 105


And changed the bar tape.


The last step is to upgrade the wheels to fulcrum 7s and throw on some gators. So it'll be farewell the white tyres.

whacker00

Gave the defy a good clean up ,new 105 brake callipers ,inner and out cables changed and red zipp service course bar tape, can't wait for a spin out at the weekend the bar tape feels like it will be great on the long spins

TonyStark

whacker00 wrote: »

Gave the defy a good clean up ,new 105 brake callipers ,inner and out cables changed and red zipp service course bar tape, can't wait for a spin out at the weekend the bar tape feels like it will be great on the long spins

Am I right in thinking that the brake callipers you need for a defy are not standard?

Unknown Soldier

What's the story on the bar tape above? I've seen it a number times over the last few weeks?

Is it super comfy or something? Brand/name etc?

Thanks!

Cee-Jay-Cee

Upgraded my winter bike from 9spd to 10spd (Tiagra) changed both shifters, fitted a new KMC chain and Tiagra cassette. I had all the new cables fitted and was indexing the rear gears but needed to release the cable from the clamp but forgot to put it in the highest gear and it pulled through and started to fray. (Stupidly hadnt crimped on a fertile or whatever they're called) I tried to solder it but it wouldnt take and it unravelled more. So the cable is buggered and I didn't have a new one so was a bit disappointed that I had got that far but couldn't finish it. New cable tomorrow and I'll finish the job with new Zipp SC CX tape.

whacker00

TonyStark wrote: »

Am I right in thinking that the brake callipers you need for a defy are not standard?

Not sure what you mean Tony

I have a defy 3 probably 2012 model that has a sora group set and tektro brakes. I just changed the old brake calipers to 105. Needed new outer cables to fit into the barrel adjuster and just decided to do the whole cable change while the bar tape was off

I have read a lot of details about the pull ratios etc about mixing these brakes with sora levers. I may not be getting the full potential out of the new brakes but I intend changing the shifters next as I don't much like the sora thumb shift and cheap plastic brake levers

whacker00

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

What's the story on the bar tape above? I've seen it a number times over the last few weeks?

Is it super comfy or something? Brand/name etc?

Thanks!

It came highly recommended in my lbs, the mechanic showed me a couple of bikes he had just finished it on and it felt very comfortable. Think it was originally for cx bikes

Here's a link to a review, this guy loves it

http://youtu.be/CPuxhRSQTy4

Thins is also a link to the tape on CRC

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/zipp-service

Eamonnator

Unknown Soldier wrote: »

What's the story on the bar tape above? I've seen it a number times over the last few weeks?

Is it super comfy or something? Brand/name etc?

Thanks!

It looks like Prologo tape to me.

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/prologo-onetouch-gel-handlebar-tape/rp-prod88820

TonyStark

whacker00 wrote: »

Not sure what you mean Tony

I have a defy 3 probably 2012 model that has a sora group set and tektro brakes. I just changed the old brake calipers to 105. Needed new outer cables to fit into the barrel adjuster and just decided to do the whole cable change while the bar tape was off

I have read a lot of details about the pull ratios etc about mixing these brakes with sora levers. I may not be getting the full potential out of the new brakes but I intend changing the shifters next as I don't much like the sora thumb shift and cheap plastic brake levers

I've a defy 2 2013 and I thought there was an issue with the length of the brake calliper. ie regular sized ones vs longer ones on the defy model.

Would be interested to change out my tektro ones. Got a link to the ones you used?

whacker00

TonyStark wrote: »

I've a defy 2 2013 and I thought there was an issue with the length of the brake calliper. ie regular sized ones vs longer ones on the defy model.

Would be interested to change out my tektro ones. Got a link to the ones you used?

The only thing I had to do was use the front retaining nut from the old tektro brakes as the one supplied on the 105 was a bit short and wouldn't catch the thread of the caliper, worked perfectly though

Here's the link, I also think Planet X have them for a similar price

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/ie/en/shimano-105-5700-road-brake-caliper/rp-prod50502

crosstownk

whacker00 wrote: »

The only thing I had to do was use the front retaining nut from the old tektro brakes as the one supplied on the 105 was a bit short and wouldn't catch the thread of the caliper, worked perfectly though

Yep. I had to do the same when fitting 105 calipers to my Defy 4.

triggermortis

Got a mount and SD card for my virb last night and fitted it all today. Mount was a GoPro one and needed a little fettling to get it to fit, but got there. Used the camera on my commute into work tonight, so will see how it came out in the morning

68 lost souls

Got back from a cycle yesterday and gave the bike a old clean with mucoff and relubed the chain. Also put my new Pegatin sticker on. Nice and fresh looking now.

Garzard

New Specialized frame pump purchased and fitted today - great customer service from Cycleways might I add. Have a Deuter 20L Speedlite also on order from them which seemed a bit pricey at 65 quid but I needed the extra storage space: http://www.cycleways.com/store/product/67263/Deuter-Speedlite-20L-Backpack/

Aside from fitting the pump I'm going to re-lube the bike and give it a clean today - it's been needing both for a while now. Also getting a horrible grinding noise from the handlebars which I need to take a look at.

Paddy@CIRL

Since I'm slowly starting to get my legs back on the road bike, I dragged my Trailstar out of storage and cleaned it up. It's been sat up for a while but just needed the tyres pumped up. Everything else is perfect. It's practically vintage at this stage, but I still love how it rides.

Pinch Flat

Managed to overcome my wheel trueing demons today.

After a few mishaps previously that involved dropping the wheel I'd messed up to the lbs, I practiced on an old wheel. Successfully sorted It so set about trying my rear shimano r501 that I thought was lost. Had been wobbling for weeks. Replaced the chain as well. Happy with my day's work.

Lumen

Bit of a rethink of my commute portaging...

Arkel Randonneur rack (495g) and 10L Ortlieb PD350 Dry Bag (150g).

Dry bag nestles up to rack supports and clips around (carbon) seatpost. Pictured it contains 13" laptop, jeans, t-shirt, underwear. Clothes go underneath to cushion laptop, which combined with saddle/post attachment should provide some isolation from bumps.

Rack has a sliding attachment on the underside which allows for various angles.

Feels super stable, attaches/detaches in about a minute, not quite as quick as the video.

Should also keep spray off arse.

Arkel also have some "slide on" backpacks for this rack, the Sherpack and the Switchback, but they're heavier and expensive and were out of stock so I thought I'd go minimalist for now.

Need a more attractive bungee alternative, maybe a luggage strap.

Saddle rails are titanium. That never snaps, right? :pac:

Eamonnator

@Lumen,

Does your dry bag not get very dirty?, when it rains.
Are you concerned about the well being of your carbon seat post?

Looks very neat.

Lumen

Eamonnator wrote: »

Does your dry bag not get very dirty?, when it rains.

I expect so, but haven't been out with it yet. I used to have a boxy rack-top bag and it got filthy on the underside. The advantage of this is that I can just run it under the tap to clean it.

Eamonnator wrote: »

Are you concerned about the well being of your carbon seat post?

Less so that the clamped saddle rails. The weight pulls down on the rails through an alloy/plastic clamp and pushes a little on the post through a fat squishy piece of rubber, but that post pressure is right above the seat tube so there's no leverage. I'm <70kg and the rack+bag+contents is probably under 5kg.

quozl

Built my second wheel ever last night. It's a dished rear wheel, so slightly more complicated than the track rear that I'd done before but still pretty easy and very pleasant work. It's just a Tiagra rear hub with a basic own-brand rim from Rose and DT Swiss Competition spokes.



Now I finally have a spare rear wheel for my road bike! Realised that I needed one and also needed to learn wheel maintenance when I had to true a wheel days before the Wicklow 200 last year and made a complete mess of it

Amusingly I paid an extra 7 or 8 euro for the privilege of building this wheel from components compared to how much it would have cost pre-built from rose bikes!

Pinch Flat

Very nice. How so you go about determining correct spoke length? I have a spare r501 with a buckled rim - was gong to try rebuild it but cant find a shimano rim handily

Edit found this site - will try work it out from here

https://leonard.io/edd/

quozl

If you're interested in wheel building I can't recommend http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php enough. It's 9 sterling and gives great detailed instructions.

I got the spoke lengths from his spoke calculator putting in the hub dimensions and rim ERD. He emphasises that you can trust manfucaturers's hub dimensions but really not rim makers. So I did tonnes of googling to get other peoples dimensions of the first rim I built and the 2nd one i built was a Rose Bikes own-brand and they give careful ERD values on their page. Or at least, they seem to, YMMV! That was maybe a bit risky but I was willing to risk it as getting everything at once from rose bikes or bike24 was so much handier than waiting for the rim and measuring it myself.

The book recommends measuring them using two spoke cut to 200mm, threaded into nipples on opposite sides of the rim and then using a piece of elastic between them to hold them in a straight line. Then measure that.

Scrappy600

used the gcn method for measuring inner leg with reference to saddle height and found my saddle was almost 15mm too high! ouch. worst thing is, im the one who moved it up. oh well. onwards.

Daroxtar

Bought a chain cleaning gizmo and some Muc off bike wash and Teflon spray. Jaysus the chain is shining with no effort at all.
Gave the whole bike a good scrub, sprayed on the Teflon and lubed the chain. It's gleaming Two new bottles too. Roll on the Junior Tour sportive

Hmmzis

Fitted carbon bottle cages that arrived this week all the way from China.

granty1987

quozl wrote: »

If you're interested in wheel building I can't recommend http://www.wheelpro.co.uk/wheelbuilding/book.php enough. It's 9 sterling and gives great detailed instructions.

I got the spoke lengths from his spoke calculator putting in the hub dimensions and rim ERD. He emphasises that you can trust manfucaturers's hub dimensions but really not rim makers. So I did tonnes of googling to get other peoples dimensions of the first rim I built and the 2nd one i built was a Rose Bikes own-brand and they give careful ERD values on their page. Or at least, they seem to, YMMV! That was maybe a bit risky but I was willing to risk it as getting everything at once from rose bikes or bike24 was so much handier than waiting for the rim and measuring it myself.

The book recommends measuring them using two spoke cut to 200mm, threaded into nipples on opposite sides of the rim and then using a piece of elastic between them to hold them in a straight line. Then measure that.

Nice build!

One thing I would add to anyone building a wheel for the first time is to re-tension the wheel after a week or two (depending on how much you ride) as the spokes will bed into the hub flanges and will need to be tightened.

I forgot about this part and my rear wheel was really rattley one day, I got off and nearly fainted when I saw how loose all of the nipples had gotten - don't know how the bike was still standing! The front wheel held up better - maybe it was the extra force going through the rear wheel (fixed gear bike) or the weight of me, maybe I just tightened the front better than the rear.

Anyways Just check it!

triggermortis

Not actually done something yet, but ordered new wheels for my commuter today. Found (another) snapped spoke last night, and so at 26CHf's a go here I thought it better economy to get a new set of wheels from CRC for 92Chf! Couldn't resist new tubes and tyres and a few other bits, so not really that economical in the end, but still a lot cheaper than buying in Switzerland.

Diggabot

Fitted some new 3T ErgoNova bars and wrapped them in Prologo Double Touch tape... not mad on the tape, its designed to be thicker on the tops but I find it too thick. I'll go back to the One Touch Gel when its back in stock anywhere!!!!

Pinch Flat

Got a set of cone spanners in halfords over the weekend.

Makes working on the bearings a doddle - trick is not to lose any of the ball bearings. So used a magnet to collect them all, cleaned and relubed both back and front hubs then reassembled and readjusted again.

arybvtcw0eolkf

Nothing earth shattering but I thought I'd throw it in here.. I bought one of those Aldi chain cleaning kits a year or two back but never bothered using it, I think it cost about a fiver, preferring to clean my chain the old fashioned ways.

But the bike was destroyed after last weeks road salting, so I thought it was time to break out the Aldi kit, not expecting it to be up to a whole lot.

Pleasantly surprised, it worked a treat and had the clean stripped of oil and grime, and gleaming in no time

That's it, certainly worth the price of a fiver ~ like I said, not earth shattering but someone might be wondering about the kit next time they're in Aldi's.