running 1 x 10 with clutch mech and thick/thin chain ring, not lost chain yet.

previous bike had same setup with E13 upper guide, but it just made noise / contact in low gears in the mud so removed it

Specialized stopped doing crash replacement a few seasons back and replace with “assisted purchase” which was typically 25% discount off retail price of a new bike

probably not a bad deal for an Allez, not such a good deal if you bought an S-Works bike, stacked it and are looking at £4,500 when all you want is a new frame!

@mansonsoul

the best thing about the slip-not matting is it comes in 3′ x 3′ interlocking squares and can be trimmed using a stanley knife and metal edge to custom fit your layout.

in the photo below I’ve trimmed the edges to fit around the cabinets which were already mounted to the floor. the yellow edging strip is also trimmable to suit.

if flooring gets damaged you can remove a 3 x 3 section and cheaply replaced; the floor in the image above is 20 months old and has a proper battering (you can see the paint peeling on the workstand bases) but not had to replace any tiles yet. I wash the floor twice a week with detergent / bleach to get it “clean”

we always have spare tiles just in case, which also allowed me to do a smaller mat for our workshop reception, it was originally built with hard plastic tile flooring which was ruined after 16 months of trading and required regular steam cleaning

@benpinnick

I believe its an Italian brand “Fami”, not 100% sure because they were installed before I rebuilt the workshop at Sigma Sport, but these are hooks from the same company / system

@mansonsoul

no welding but plenty of angle grinding, drilling (sometimes through the matting by accident) and constant exposure to degreasers, oils, etc.

nicest thing is its really comfortable to kneel on whilst working low

Are Specialized a stickler for that warranty rule; or are there cases of goodwill coverage? Was hoping the latter.

Things got drastically tightened up in the past 2 years and goodwill has been replaced by strict “original owner” and POP (proof of purchase) or they won’t even entertain the claim

these are bombproof, have installed these in past 4 workshops I’ve built for bike shops

http://www.slip-not.co.uk/Rubber-Matting/Anti-Fatigue-Mats

Dj3 was a cheap tough fork with basic damper. Even dj1 was not sophisticated in terms of damping. If the fork is used, the inside of the stanchions would be marked from contact with coil spring rendering it impossible to fit an air spring because the spring head seals would leak

Tapping a cf frame with a coin doesn’t tell you anything unless you are intimate with the frame’s specific layup. Ratio of cloth/resin, style of joint construction, layup pattern,etc all have a large influence on the “sound”

If the frame is checked for alignment using the specific toolset, and is found to be as normal, and there is no external evidence of structural damage I.e. witness marks its probably not damaged.

Some shops I worked for had a strict “write off” policy for customers with insurance who had been involved in rtc with motor vehicle; the shop did not want to be liable and the insurer would replace the frame/ bike

we used to sell a lot of DJ bikes at Freeborn and one of the most common “upgrades” was to ditch the boring Shimano steel QR skewers for fancy coloured Hope ones, and then soon put the boring Shimano ones back on (at least the rear) as the wheel would constantly slip under load with the horizontal dropouts

good quality steel skewer (i.e. campag or Shimano) and chain tugs, it’ll never slip again

my last one

great little rig for dirt jumping, pump track and doing “stunts” down the freeride park

you can easily pick up a singlespeed dirt jump bike with strong cranks/wheels/fork for £500, you can use a small cross-country mtb but things will snap/fall off as you get more into your jumping.

not surprised about your experience with a-cycle

I bought some Fulcrum road wheels for my missus from them, and found the entire experience extremely poor in terms of customer service, the wheels eventually turned up 8 days after “despatch” despite us paying extra for 48-hour courier delivery, with no response from them despite multiple emails

will never use them again, despite the “sales” emails they constantly send me

I used to work for the old Stans distributor.

the yellow Stans tape is just repackaged 3M tape, nothing special

I started using the blue Roval tape Specialized use to distribute, brilliant stuff, much sticker than Stans and wider too! super cheap also in comparison to stans…

all the mid to high spec Giant bikes we sell use Shimano press fit BB’s

typically, a customer gets a good year out of one? unless jetwashing constantly

I’ve found they tend to creak more than suffer bearing failure, and the creaking is easily remedied with removal and refitting with a good dollop of Finish Line teflon grease

the FSR kit was made in small numbers (globally), it was very expensive and from my experience using several kits, made out of something resembling cheese! It also didn’t fit some of the newer FSR bikes!

there are great bearing puller kits out there from Wheels Manufacturing, etc. as well as mainstream automotive / engineering suppliers

Pave are good but unfortunately cut up quickly and top off (wear out) even quicker. however, as a special event / bad conditions racing tire I really enjoyed using them on gravel track, canal paths, cobbles or just UK roads.

the new Corsa G+ (graphene) are seriously impressive. very grippy, roll very fast and have cut resistance and wear resistance way beyond my previous Pave / Corsa / GP4000’s. I heard all their hype about graphene but there is definitely something true about their claims.

I’ve been using a pair for 3 months including 150km per week commuting through London – which is a great way to kill any race tire – and they are showing very little wear, few cuts and I’ve only had 1 rear puncture in 3 months which has been really impressive.

I’ve ridden them on the same terrain as my Pave and they work just fine “off road”

different sku’s for different products (each sku is an unique identifier)..an example:

SKU Code: RS9243010 Rock Shox – Pike RCT3 – 29″/27.5″ + Boost Compatible

SKU Code: RS9231010 Rock Shox – Pike RCT3 – 29″ MaxleLite 15

SKU Code: RS8650002 Rock Shox – Pike RCT3 – 27.5″ MaxleLite 15

SKU Code: RS9229005 Rock Shox – Pike RCT3 – 26″ MaxleLite 15

SKU Code: RS9243001 Rock Shox – Pike RCT3 – 27.5″ Boost Compatible 15×110 Solo Air 130

as Northwind pointed out, its super easy to overtighten a shimano HT2 crankset setup even with the nylon tool Shimano designed – which was made in nylon in an effort to stop people really cranking up the pre-load.

its then surprising that companies make a metal tool for that job

if you check the pre-load when bikes come into a workshop, its often +10nm which is way too high for long term bearing durability, and I’d say from my experience the cause of quick BB death.

too much clothing to list, but this was my old MTB body armour selection

if Specialized are still doing their 30-day return deal on saddles, go to your Evans because the initial saddle fitting may not tell you what you need to know once you have some miles on that saddle

very useful to be able to return and swap for a different saddle

bear in mind though without a proper bike fit (not just sitting on the Specialized Ass-O-Meter to select width) any saddle can cause discomfort and may not offer the correct support

@vdubber67

there are many assumptions that it all comes out of the same factories, but its not true, it doesn’t all come from the same countries either.

there is a wide variance in the manufacturing quality of carbon fibre, and its easy for punters to be taken in by the black aluminium 😉

generally:-

good quality carbon fibre manufacturing is done in taiwan, where there is a skilled and relatively expensive workforce; most Taiwanese factories are owned by long-established families or small companies, and their survival depends on their good reputation with overseas design & marketing brands. you also have larger manufacturers like Giant and Merida who do their CF in Taiwan.

cheaper carbon fibre manufacturing is done on mainland China, because labour costs and operating costs are lower, and there is less scrutiny of manufacturing quality due to the large scale of activity. there is also less protection of intellectual property on the mainland, so its easier to manufacture knock-offs and punt them out through Alibaba

if you’ve been involved with carbon fibre frame or products in a workshop environment, you will see a big difference in quality of branded products

you will also see inexpensive product from dubious sources with poor manufacturing quality – its easy to spot when you have a good look inside with a bright light and dental mirror and you start to spot the defects, thickness of layup, excess resin, debris left in situ after layup, bondo filler, the finishing quality of interface points (especially seat tube and cable guides), and more blunt measurement such as frame alignment.

I’ve dealt with lots of crashed, broken and warranty carbon fibre from many leading brands, as well as smaller brands, blanks and blatant fakes.

I couldn’t tell you which ‘factory’ a product comes from, but its not that hard to understand what you have in your hands when you know what to look for (by looking inside as the “skin” of filler/paint can hide many sins!), and to be able to tell a good quality product from a poor quality product.

I’ve had the interesting experience of being able to cut up damaged CF frames and forks and really look at the detail close up

its not cheap to manufacture good quality carbon fibre, if its too good to be true, it probably is!

we never charge for swapping stems when we sell road bikes as long as its a ‘like for like’swap out that just requires a stock level adjustment, rather than financial gain/loss.

all our road bike customers get a complimentary bike fit, so we hold a good stock level of stems, bars, saddles, etc. I currently have 40 different Giant stems in the fit room plus Zipp for 1.125 steerer

if a customer wanted a higher spec stem we’d do a deal, by taking their new stem into stock and charging them cost on the higher spec stem

we charge for saddles when doing bike fits, as we tend to use aftermarket saddles if the stock saddle does not fit. for bars of the same brand/quality we’d not charge if swapping out during the bike fit.

I am 5’10” with 32″ inseam and long arms and rode a 2015 medium Defy Advanced Pro 1 with 110mm stem for 8 months.

I work in a Giant brand store and have done 100+ fits for customers buying Defy, TCR, Propel and Trinity as well as aftermarket customers on other brands.

you always want the smallest frame that fits you, to allow +/- options with stem/bars when having it fitted.

with the larger frame you often have to shrink the reach to get a good fit, which can effect handling (steering) and balance (weight distribution)

the head tube on the medium is shorter than the M/L and will allow further increases in effective reach adjustment through more pronounced drop relative to saddle

our findings:

the mechanical brake Defy is fitted with regular length stem as a caliper brake bike

the hydraulic brake Defy is generally fitted with -10mm on regular stem because the Shimano hydro STI hoods sit 10mm further forward

this is something Giant UK noticed after feedback from bike fitters and staff at their dealers.

a session with a good fitter on a turbo trainer on the M and M/L with some spare stems should allay your concerns

got a nice 3T MTB stem off Wiggle for £25 with a +10/-10 for my new Giant XTC 29’er

http://www.wiggle.co.uk/3t-pro-mtb-stem/%5B/url%5D

also got some 3T 740mm flat bars, its allowed a good aggressive position as the head tube on the XTC was a little taller than the Stumpjumper I previously had

I’ve used motorbike fork oil from Rock Oil for years for mountain bike suspension servicing

Rock Oil is UK based and manufacture 20 million litres a year for many known “brands”

Best advice for fitting the shimano pf bb to a giant (from giant UK tech department) is a thick smear of finish line Teflon grease either side before pressing the bb into place.

My brand new giant xtc was clicking under power, I removed the bb, bb shell was bone dry, dollop of finish line grease, pressed back, not touched since and silence…

Also grease the ht2 axle where the non driveside arm clamps on, and grease the 2 pinch bolts and set around 12nm with torque wrench

got my 2015 Super Six Evo 105 from Evans for £1080.

not sure if they have them left?

lovely weather in NW London

I’ve been washing my bikes with warm water and fairy liquid, then rinsing with clean water, for many years with no ill effects

I will always clean my disc brakes after washing using a bike specific disc brake cleaner, which removes any contaminants and returns the brakes to top condition

if you can get stack and reach information on both bikes it will allow a proper comparison

If chains are fitted properly they shouldn’t break from “rider power” considering most derailleur chains are rated as having a breaking strain of 4000nm?

The most common causes are poor fitting (damaged chain tool pin or poor technique using tool), damaged drivetrain (twisted chainring tooth opening up the chain plates) or in the longer term corrosion

I’d typically ditch any special joining pins when fitting a new chain and use a quick-link connector because you remove the risk of flaring the outer plate which can easily happen when using a joining pin, even with experience and a good quality chain tool

I’ve seen this trouble before for a number of customers and we’ve always refitted stock components which has solved the issue.

fancy pulley wheels look nice but rarely work as well as the stock components?

regarding grease, I use a specific grease supplied by ceramic speed whenever re-lubricating ceramic bearings on hubs or bb’s on road bikes

Syntace don’t seem to offer much for road bikes any more, and stock is rare in the UK. Ritchey also seem limited.

Zipp now make an Service Course SL OS stem suitable for Giant OD2 and certain Canyon bikes.

http://www.zipp.com/stems/service-course-sl-os-stem/%5B/url%5D

I got one of these for mrs. esher shore for her Propel Advanced Pro, but it took 6 weeks as it was a special order through Fisher Outdoor Leisure – they are generally not held in stock.

Pro (shimano) make an OS stem but its in limited stock at Madison

http://www.pro-bikegear.com/en-gb/catalogue/components/81/stems/prss0144_main/vibe7s-stem-1-14

there’s an ‘o’ ring either side of the Banjo bolt

as long as you don’t dramatically loosen that bolt, you can easily rotate the hose connector without any fluid loss

the only time you would see a leak under slight loosening is if the o rings are damaged, and it would be worth replacing those o rings and bleeding the brake

flats are great in the snow!

shame we see little of the white stuff in the S-East any more..this was a few years back in NW London

the most noticeable differences between advanced and advanced pro

weight. about 300gm in the fork as advanced uses ‘hybrid’ carbon blade/crown and aluminium steerer. advanced pro is full carbon fork with oversize steerer,headtube,stem.

for long term ownership with’upgrade’ potential the advanced pro is the best choice as the hybrid fork cannot be upgraded and 300gm weight extra is a big lump on a road bike.

the advanced pro with good wheels feels like a fast race bike with a more comfortable position, rather than the usual soggy endurance bike

handling. advanced pro is noticeably stiffer in the front end when really cranking turns, or descending hard on disc brakes, but actually a little less comfortable from road shock so makes sense to run big 28c tires to compensate.

the rear is super comfortable in comparison.

I’d choose the Advanced Pro with cheaper groupset just to get the better overall frameset for the long run. this was my Defy Advanced Pro last summer, the Propel belongs to my missus

a canyon popped out of a mould in taiwan is never going to be a ‘dream bike’

a cervelo popped out of a mould in china is never going to be a ‘dream bike’

taiwan = quality carbon fibre manufacturing

china = cheaper carbon fibre manufacturing

when I managed the workshop for a leading road retailer in the UK, I was shocked at the warranty return rate on Cervelo, having never worked on the brand before

great design, cheaper manufacturing, high retail prices.

as long as the OP’s associate is happy with his new Cervelo, that is all that matters, just advise him to hang onto his receipt 😉

@rascal

Racey but comfy, something along the likes of De Rosa/Colnago/Cervelo as opposed to Specialized/Giant.

Specialized and Giant are well known for offering comfortable, quick road bikes like the Roubaix and Defy.

It’s worth your colleague working out what he/she wants the bike for, rather than looking at different brands?

GC Race bike (i.e. Tarmac, Super Six Evo, TCR)

Aero Race bike (i.e. Venge, Propel, Aeroad)

Endurance bike (i.e. Roubaix, Defy, Endurace)

I’ve given examples of popular models for reference.

Narrowing this down will really help with choosing a suitable bike.

If not racing (holding a race license, sportives are not licensed) then a well fitted endurance bike is often the best choice.

Unless there is a specific need to ride very fast on the flat (aero bike) or a love of climbing and short duration fast riding on mixed terrain (GC race bike)

get a good bike shop to undertake a proper inspection under “crash assessment” protocol – all good shops are equipped to do this work, and normally charge £50 which is recoverable from the insurance company or liable party

I’ve done probably 50 crash assessments over the years on metal and composite bikes. We start with a very thorough visual inspection using a bright light, and follow with frame/fork alignment checks to industry standards using Park frame and dropout alignment tools. We’d generally check with the distributor or manufacturer if we find alignment issues.

An experienced mechanic will have no problem in spotting and measuring damage to your frame.

Many will “write off” a composite frame involved in an RTC with a motor vehicle due to the inherent difficulty of determining internal damage to composite structures.

I inspected a Trek Madone which was according to the toolset was bent yet showed no external damage, Trek UK advised me to fail the frame when I reported the measurements.

RTC and crashes can have a really varied effect on bicycles, some massive impacts will destroy a wheel whilst causing little if any damage to the fork/frame; other more minor impacts can buckle a down tube whilst leaving the front wheel straight and true, i’ve seen bent hangers cause a rear mech to snap the seat stay after going up a hill and catching mech in wheel!

in 2001 cycling through East London and had an old Mercedes car overtake me and suddenly turn left across me into a side street, causing me to brake hard to avoid a crash.

My reaction was to swear at him and give him the finger, he drove off (I realised against the traffic as it was a no-entrance into a one-way), I carried on riding.

I turned at the end of the road, and came back into Brick Lane to get bagels before work. About 1/2 way along Brick Lane I heard a roaring and saw the same Mercedes coming up very fast behind me.

I jumped onto the pavement as I realized he was not stopping, swerved to avoid some bollards, heard tires skidding and massive crunch as he braked before hitting a bollard on the pavement.

I stopped 50-60 feet down the road. Driver got out of his car, calmly walked around to the rear, opened the boot and I could hear metallic clicking noises.

Saw him coming around the front carrying a pipe (?), the driver looked just like the Scouser from Lock Stock & 2 smoking barrels with the perm.

I quickly realized he had a shotgun (!!) and managed to sprint off down the road before he got near, and rode down several side streets to lose him. I saw the car driving off a few minutes later, and came back to Brick Lane

2 german tourists flagged me down, had taken his number plate and photo using their nice camera, Police arrived, took statements.

I was called 2 days later to be told the car was stolen and had been used in an armed bank robbery in Manchester.

Lucky escape?? I’ve been very careful about who I get verbal with since…