Back from Oxford where I nipped round lots of bike shops looking for Caad 8’s to try.

58 was huge, 54 felt okay and I feel I could have ridden it but I didn’t feel low enough on the bike and the guy said it looked short on me.

I felt more at home on the 56, it was worth checking though for sure.

They had the exact bike in one of the shops but it was a 58 and at full price. I did feel a bit guilty knowing that I’m ordering online but using the shop to try the bikes for size :roll:

So now to “Pull the trigger” (Blurgh I hate it when people say that!) on the bike before I change my mind or find a better deal, thank you all for helping me out.

Any other advice or comments on the bike…..

Are clip in shoes and pedals worth it to start?
Is it worth getting a better set of brake pads as with the defy they are iffy?

Thanks all!!

Awesome advice wobbliscott, really helpful.

As far as upgrades go have you altered yours in anyway?

I was perhaps a little to quick to assume that I needed a 56, I’m 179 tall and my inside leg measures 86.

I phoned the shop and the guy said they still have plenty in stock, has anybody managed to wiggle any further discount or freebies from Pauls, I know so places are more generous than others never any harm in asking I guess. -20% already is a large lump of saved cash already though!

Ahh okay. Thank you all for the advice, perhaps I should find somewhere locally with the 2013 and try it for size then!
Does anybody know if the 2013 and 2012 frames are the same sizing?

Peter I looked at the Trek but prefer the Cannondale, thank you for the input about the shifters though but it’s alot more money for the shifters alone if that is the main difference in the specs.

Should mention that my budget is £600 max and that I’m keen to do the 0% 6 months finance as I don’t have the up front cash.

I’ve not ridden it, I was planning on ordering it and adjusting it so I’m comfortable.
The shop is along way from me and I’m in the middle of moving to Oxford at the moment as well as working so doubt I’d have the time or means to get to ride it unfortunately.

According to the size chart and the people I’ve spoken to in bike shops I’d be a 56.

Good call on the size, I didn’t think about that.

Does the Synapse just have a more “relaxed” riding position/geometry? I’ve been looking at the CAAD8, Allez among others.

Somebody must have a smile!

UPDATE:

I brought a new XT Cassette and changed the gear cable and housing and it’s shifting like a dream!
It’s amazing how much difference it has made, it feels better than when I brought the bike new.

Toying with the idea of a Zee rear mech now as my jockey wheels are quite worn on my XT mech and they cost almost a third of the price of the Zee unit.

Just a big thank you to everybody that gave me advice!!

I’m about to buy a new cassette, I think I’m going to go for a 11-36 Shimano XT (M771)

Could somebody tell me if i’ll be okay using my KMC X10 93 chain on this, it’s saying in the description that it’s for use with “Super Narrow 10-speed HG chains”?

Thanks

Thank you very much nikk this is what I’ll do.

Again thank you all for contributing.

Are the photos working?

Okay so i put the old chain on and I wasn’t having the problem, it was working fine standing up under load, something that I wasn’t confident enough to do using the new chain because it was slipping while sat down and peddling.

The old chain is the one that came with the bike originally, a Shimano one that is now stretched to .75 on the chain tool, the 1. end still doesn’t fit in.
What is it best to do here? I’d rather buy a new cassette rather than continue to use the old chain because presumably it will wear the chainring out much quicker?

As I say I don’t know what to look for to know if the cassette is worn? Does that look like it needs replacing?

Sorry for all the novice questions, I’m really grateful for the help and advice you have all offered, thank you all very much.

Thanks for that singlecrack, the chain I fitted is a KMC X10 93.

Was the problem you experienced obvious when you were off the bike and just peddling the chain round with your hand?

When I peddle the chain round using my hand and the bike in the stand it works fine and I don’t notice any problems, it backpedals too without dropping. As I mentioned above it happens about every 2/3 pedal stroke when it’s under load.

I didn’t get a chance last night but will try to fix it today. I don’t think it’s the indexing because it was shifting really well yesterday but I’ll have another look.

Chainline is a possibility, the chainring is mounted on the inside of the spider & I’ve not used any shims because this would have pushed it in closer to the seat tube. The other option would be to mount it on the outside of the spider but I’m not sure that would work? I just assumed that it was supposed to be mounted on the inside?

Yea sorry if that was a bit confusing. I have adjusted the limit screws the best I can, I’m a bit of a novice, but will have another fiddle. If I put the old chain on and find it doesn’t slip would that point to the worn cassette?

Hey thank you for the advice. I guess that the lock question was a bit silly, it just reminded me of something that I was told before, putting a padlock on a tent makes it more likely to be broken into, kinda different tho!

Thanks

Cross country trains are worse, they only allow room for 2 bikes and can refuse to let you on if the spaces are already full. You can reserve a space for your bike by calling the 0845 customer service number the day before you travel.

I agree it’s made much harder than it needs to be.

I’ve taken the leap to 1x, Hope IBR & Guide are in the post right now.

Work out the range that a 1x would give you in the size you plan to buy and try sticking to within if for a few weeks.

http://sheldonbrown.com/gears/

I wanted a 36T single up front and a 11-36 cassette, I spent weeks only going as low as 32 & 32 and as high as 42 & 13 which is what the above setup would give me, yesterday I climbed one of the biggest hills in our area (Sunrising Hill between Banbury and Stratford) within the range, it was on road mind you.

Hope this helps and nobody tells me my logic is floored or I could end up walking alot more then I imagined!

The Canis look really good but too pricey for me, I think I’ll give the Charge ones a go, the deal that ajantom posted is really good

I don’t think the Splashbacks will be as fast as the H Blocks or Twin Rails on the road but then again would those both be useless off road?

Ahhhhh this isn’t easy to decide!

How are the splashbacks on the road?

I really like the skinwall but just need to find a set suited to road and off road as best as possible.

Does anybody have anymore to add or any advice?

I’ve been looking for some too!

Charge Splashbacks
Kenda Small Block 8
Halo Twin Rail/H Block
Onza Canis/Ibex

These are a few I’ve been looking at, I need tyres that are quick on the road as I use my bike for commuting and can also handle off road riding too.

I was leaning towards the Twin Rails but I don’t know they would be much good off road?

My girlfriend has a pink BMX that she doesn’t use anymore but is adamant that she’ll get out on it again during the summer.
I guess like most bikes it’s much better to buy the bike rather than build the frame but I’ll keep a look out on ebay for a frame so I can join her.
Not sure I’d go for the whole no brakes thing tho, shoe companies like Vans, DC ect must be laughing all the way to the bank!

Thanks for that Fortunateson, could you tell me how long a length of gear cable i’d need, also the outer, it seems worthwhile before I fit a new chain.

Is that book better than guides found online or youtube?

I went for these in the end.
Thank you all for the help and advice!

Yea the Hope IBR Doesn’t come with the shorter chainring bolts apparently.

Thanks all for being so helpful!
Simon – I’d like to keep the original ones incase I need to swap back to 3x or 2x

The single speed ones on the CTBM website are out of stock at the moment.

I only said I’d prefer CRC is because my shopping kart is at £68 and I think I can use one of the codes to subtract £10 if I was to spend £75.

I’ll try to find out if the hope chainring comes with the bolts!

Thanks again

Somafunk posted this photo in a previous thread, I think the Hope guide would work without the bash but not 100% sure.

It looks much cleaner than other bulky guides

I don’t think that is the argument, it’s guide vrs no guide.

Good question.
It would save people buying the IBR ring if they didn’t actually need a bash guard. I’d be interested to know if anybody is running a standard hope chainring and the guide.

Okay cool, I’ll check out the other site suggested too, thanks for that.

It was just an idea anyway, I enjoy using this forum too

That looks fun!

LOL @Rusty!

My bike is anodized black and think its lovely looking, each to their own.

I also really like skin/tan wall tyres, you can pick up Charge Splashbacks at pretty reasonable prices now, are they any good as an “All rounder” :roll:?
I was also looking at DMR Supermoto’s for summer, again any opinions or other recommendations?

We are with Lovefilm, the online selection isn’t great but is improving slowly, we can have 2 discs out at a time too.

If you go for the disc option you can really get your moneys worth if you get your timing right, We try to post ours back on Thursday and new ones will arrive on Saturday, watch over the weekend and ship back on Monday and you’ll have new films for Wednesday.

White for sure.
The Black one looks too much like a billboard with the website plastered everywhere there is room to!

ps enjoy the bike!

@Kryton57.
It’s on EuroSport from 11am I think. I’ve looked and found it pretty easy to find a live stream of Eurosport online (Google watch Eurosport live, it’s the 1st result, stream2watch.)

It’s pretty bad with pop up’s tho, it opens about 5/6 when you click it, not recommended if you don’t have anti-virus :?

I’ve had close calls with dogs that belong to farms that are on local bridleways.
I chose to pedal really frickin fast and to not use the route anymore.

My Dad used to run alot and once got bitten by a dog that belonged to a group of “travellers”, it ran up and bit him then came back for more. He had to go to hospital for a tetanus injection and to have his foot checked out because he said when it came back for more he kicked it so hard that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t smashed bones in his foot.

Mrmo it’s interesting you said that, that stage I just watched (Paris Nice) the commentator said that a number of riders were fined for not displaying numbers because they had rain jackets over.

Thanks all for clearing that up, I know that components and bikes change to suit the race but interesting to learn that most of them are riding “Off the shelf” frames.
I’ve watched most of Paris Nice among other races and have really enjoyed it. Guess it’s a good time to learn because its just the start of the season.