It’s expensive as its a pair of sti, new crankset, front mech, rebuild labour.

Sometimes you can find a left sti on eBay (people sell when they’ve broken shifter in crash and been left a spare from buying a new pair).

we have this at work because:

-you never get the BCD measurement wrong which saves buying the wrong chainring for a customer
-more tools = 🙂
-it looked cool!

DT Swiss grease. Great for star-ratchet freehubs and pawl freehubs, just use sparingly, you really don’t need much 😉

Manitou Tower Pro on my Stumpjumper Marathon – best fork I’ve had for many years

Structurally very sturdy (especially compared to Fox 32), great damping with good usable compression adjustment range, just seem to run and run with little love and very cheap off CRC

I’ve tried 27.5 (HT and FS) but really prefer 29’er for my XC riding, which is on a 29’er HT

I can see 27.5 making good sense for a longer travel FS bike

we use this Park wall mounted clamp for our parts washer (rozone) so we can lift the bike, minus wheels (fitted with dummy hub), above the parts washer.

Never used it for doing actual work on the bike, but it works very well for our parts washing, so as long as its bolted to something solid it should do the job well.

When we do the parts washing, we simply unbolt the clamp and turn the bike around to access the non-driveside, that would be the only concession I could see compared to a regular free standing workstand if you are doing wrenching on a wall mounted unit

The forks were problematic and some of my customers ended up with RS Lyrics courtesy of SBC UK excellent customer service after having repeated claims on the fork. Spare parts may/will be an issue these years later..

It’s not going to do the frame any harm, but may make your chain noisy as the chainline will shift. Probably nothing really noticeable though..

Sold my fs (devinci Dixon sp)

Bought a 29’er hardtail

Never regretted my decision

Get a wheels manufacturing hanger for your frame.

These are CNC machined and dead straight, the oe hangers for pretty much all brands are cast and often twisted even when new.

The wheels hanger is much stiffer but will still snap when needed. To give you an idea of the torque di2 can generate, shimano developed the ‘ hollowform’ chainring used on ultegra and dura ace specifically to provide a more solid upshift for the di2 front mech.

Then reset the rear mech using the adjustment function, you’ve got 16 micro steps each way for fine tuning.

@sillyoldman

the wheels Mfg is nice kit, but would not cure the problem with my PF30 frame, believe me I tried it as a solution as it was driving me mad and I almost sold my frame!

Because the Wheels BB is being held in place by effectively an “o” ring on each cup once done up, it did not have any way to grip the inside of the BB shell (except from compression of the o rings), or expand to take up the tolerance issue, this is where the collet on the Praxxis BB wins

I also tried fibre grip with the wheels BB but it did not make any difference.

re: derailleur hangers

I’ve had a bike that repeatedly broke hangers with no crash or setup issues (chain length), and several customers with the same bike (I’d sold them these bikes) with the same issue

turns out the hanger “socket” in the dropout was miss machined, the hanger was then carrying the wheel axle, rather than the axle sitting directly on the dropout.

I could then also see the rear wheel was slightly misaligned.

Any sufficient impact would cause the hanger to fracture, 1 impact put the X0 rear mech into the rear wheel, ruining mech and rear wheel!

Cure was to file out the axle slot on the hanger, so the axle was now sitting on the dropout directly.

Hence, lots of filing of hangers for myself and customers 🙄

I had the same problem with my non-dropper Giant post on my road bike, which uses a very similar cradle design.

When I hit a bump I’d get a click and slight saddle rotation; this was despite using a torque wrench to set the single bolt. I even tried going slightly higher torque, but this did not help.

I was advised by Giant UK to liberally smear all the seat post head parts (including the internal bore of the seatpost head) with carbon paste, am happy to say the issue has not come back.

The seat post on my bike is only tightened on 1 side, the other side is “keyed” so the opposing bolt receiver has a lip that keys into a slot.

@theotherjonv

I’d recommend pushing the cups out, and replacing the bearings once the cups are removed – its a much easier job because you can work on the cups on a flat work surface, and there will be no compression of the cups / bearings which often happens once the cups are installed in the BB shell

I did ask Upgrade about replacement bearings for Praxxis, they don’t actually stock them! They said as its an Enduro bearing, it can easily be sourced elsewhere…

pretty much all the ‘branded’ inner tubes (made by cheng shing or kenda for ‘brands’) are now RRP £5.99

we have some Conti tubes for aero wheels, those are RRP £11.99

so it seems pretty fair price that Skyline charged £6 for a regular tube

the shop I work at charges £10 for a puncture repair, including an inner tube.

I’ve had no problem stomaching many horror films including video nastys and even the torture porn films like Saw and Hostel

however, try watching French horror film ‘Martyrs’?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWZKDCAbEts

@theotherjonv

When I started getting the issues with my new frame I think I must have removed and refitted it 4 times, each time following Praxxis instructions to the letter, including use of anti-seize and not bottoming out the o-ring on the non-driveside, then making sure the driveside cup bottomed out on the stop when fully tightened.

None of this made any difference. I got the feeling the tolerance on my frame’s BB shell (big brand carbon fibre hardtail frame) was perhaps a little too loose for the Praxxis’ ‘collet’ system to ‘take up’ through expansion of the nylon Pf30 sleeve. This was preventing the sleeve from gripping the BB shell, causing the creaking and looseness.

During installation I could push the non driveside cup in almost home using hard hand pressure. With it all installed as their instructions, I could grab a HT2 spanner and rotate the non-driveside cup in the frame! (not good).

Going down the fibre grip route, I had to use a headset press with adapters to do the install, which was a good sign. Also, once installed I could not get the non-driveside cup to rotate even with decent leverage on that HT2 spanner. Another good sign!

I have no issues about being to extract it in the future because I’ve done extractions on frames with epoxy bonded cups (3M DP420), with the right tools and techniques you can get those out.

if you get any issues with creaking or movement, which can be caused by the exact tolerances of your individual frame’s shell

a good trick with the Praxxis is to not install the nylon sleeve dry into the frame’s BB shell (the PF30 setup is the BB30 unit with a nylon sleeve) but to give the outside of the sleeve a good smear of carbon paste i.e. fibre grip.

Also the inside of the BB30 cups where they contact the outer nylon sleeve.

I never had any issues with my Praxxis BB30 HT2, when I cracked my frame and got a new model frame under warranty, it came with a PF30 shell.

I then used the same Praxxis BB30 with the PF30 nylon sleeve and had several irritating weeks of creaking noises whilst pedaling.

A number of removals and reinstallations following Praxxis instructions on their You Tube site to the letter, no joy.

Spoke to Upgrade Distribution, emailed Praxxis, referred back to Upgrade.

Still no joy, was told if installed correctly, it could not creak?

Tried the fibre grip and no problems ever since 😉

another interesting one in London is Exhibition Road, Kensington

Had all the signage and clutter removed.

I’ve ridden and walked down it a number of times, and its not a good experience

@crazy-legs

same madness we have here in several London boroughs including Camden, where I live.

20mph blanket speed limit, borough wide, introduced 3 years ago

shortly after, local Police borough commander admitted in interview to Camden New Journal newspaper, it was not being enforced, due to lack of Police resources

can’t see that situation has gotten any better, with ongoing Police cut backs?

certainly the majority of drivers widely ignoring the 20mph limit, especially in parks like Regent’s Park where you see motorists absolutely flooring it once past cyclists

@njee20

I’ve just been into Giant Camden (my local bike shop) and the guys showed me the 2016 dealer book as they just came back from Giant Brand Store training.

Giant are doing a Giant Alcepin Team TCR, looked really good. No pricing though in the book. guess around £8k?

Some big changes across the range of each family, some new Defy Advanced Pro models with mech. Dura Ace at the top, then Di2 ultegra, then mech. ultegra.

@shanta

if you are looking at the TCR I’d recommend waiting to try the 2016 model, it was really night and day different when I rode it, compared to the older bikes.

Felt less bulky, less “neutral” so much more ‘lively’ in a good way. Felt more like my Tarmac SL4 in terms of handling, which is a compliment.

I liked the previous TCR as I spent a month riding the Advanced Pro above; however it felt very ‘workmanlike’ and efficient rather than being an exciting ride like the new TCR

Comparing 2015 TCR to Propel, I really preferred the balanced ride feel of the Propel, which surprised me as I had not enjoyed previous aero bikes I’d ridden. The Propel had excellent handling and feel across the entire frame.

It works well at the giant brand store I work at. We get a similar margin to walk in sales. We get a new customer without the leg work, and we can offer bike fitting, servicing and aftermarket sales.

Finance is also done directly through giant online. We get a slightly reduced margin but don’t tie up staff doing finance in store.

Other big thing for brand store is that giant own our display bike stock. No risk to us (independent company), great range 140 bikes for customers to view.

Retail is charging, the big players are not stupid and are making clever changes to keep their dealers relevant

@huffnpuff

Depending on bike and your needs?

Thought I’d miss my reverb when I got my hardtails, but being a 29’er the drop between saddle and bars is much flatter, I can ride down steeps without feeling the need to lower my saddle

this is Mrs Esher Shore’s Propel Advanced Pro

this is the 2016 TCR which I was lucky enough to ride recently

I also got to borrow this for a few weeks earlier this year

Current Specialized stumpjumper carbon fibre 29’er hardtails use PF30 bb shells.

Tolerances can be hit and miss on the bb shell, I’ve used finish line fibre grip to stop my praxxis pf30 ht2 conversion bb from creaking as the bb shell seems slightly too large to allow the praxxis bb collet design to grip properly.

Centrelock gives you access to 140mm shimano freeza rotors, great cooling in small package. Shimano won’t make freeza 140mm in 6 bolt as they claim there is not enough mass to act as heatsink compared to centrelock.

Giant had this issue with their DT Swiss 6 bolt road disc wheel on the new hydro brake Defy and had TRP make a 140mm rotor with floating track and big alloy spider to help with cooling.

Carry Freedom make the best trailers, they use an elastomer “lollipop hitch” which quickly mounts on a steel bracket sitting on the wheel axle, which allows a 3 dimensional movement to keep both bike and trailer stable. You get a slight tugging when moving off but otherwise its very easy to pedal.

they produce a number of different consumer trailers, this is the base model

this is our custom trailer (we took the base model which I “stretched” which a custom aluminium alloy frame and new deck) which we use for picking up customer’s bikes around the Docklands area in London, it takes 3 bikes safely.

its incredibly quick and stable when moving, and gives a good prescence on the road due to its length and size when loaded with bikes.

@m1kea

brakes on 2015 Propel have been fine.

only thing to watch out for is the rear tire, the brake cable can foul certain 25mm tires, depending on the rim choice and “real” size of inflated 25mm tire which varies from brand to brand

@shanta

I’ve spent a lot of time this season riding the Defy Advanced Pro, TCR Advanced Pro and Propel Advanced Pro bikes in medium and medium / large sizes (I am 5’10” with 32″ inseam).

I prefer the Propel to the TCR because I found the fit more comfortable. I’ve had some shoulder injuries over the years and cannot tolerate an extreme drop.

Taking advise from an experienced bike fitter I tried both the M and M/L TCR and found the M/L a better fit with less extreme drop and minimal difference in reach.

The steering geometry on the TCR is very similar to the Propel but the Propel with its “conventional” rather than “compact” tube layout means a slightly taller head tube, which I prefer, meaning I can ride the M size very happily.

I also found the Propel to be a better “balanced” bike with excellent handling and feel, whereas the TCR felt very ‘efficient’ but also quite neutral / clinical and dominated by the large OD2 head tube junction. I must quantify that I don’t race, so the TCR is wasted on me…

My own bike is actually the Defy Advanced Pro 1, but this is a very different bike to either the TCR or Propel which are both caliper brake racing bikes.

the hydro disc brake Defy is simply an awesome bike, I cannot see any disadvantages except a cost premium over caliper brake bikes.

I recently tested the 2016 TCR Advanced Pro, a very different beast to the older TCR and much more “lively”, felt like my Tarmac SL4 and I mean that as a compliment

however I’ve ridden many S-Works Tarmacs in all variants and the new TCR is extremely punchy in comparison when putting down power, I have ridden too many bikes and heard too much hype from bike manufacturers but the TCR I tested was easily the best race bike I have ever ridden and I’ve built £12,000 custom builds with all the best parts…

Very much torn now..looking at keeping the Defy for long rides in all weathers, and whether to get a Propel or new TCR for sunshine rides!

Mrs Esher shore has SRAM apex 10 SPD on her spesh ruby and shimano 105 11 SPD on her giant propel advanced pro
Now she’s riding the propel more often she says she likes shimano better
We went out in the wet yesterday she rode her ruby and did not like apex at all. Just to got to find a good deal on 105…

@FunkyDunc

it depends on the rider and the factory producing their frame?

I’ve seen pro frames broken (that I was asked to strip and rebuild with a new frame from the supplier / sponsor) and some were completely stock, others were obviously heavier than stock with thicker tubing or reinforcement in key areas. Other had custom geometry like small seat tube frames with longer top tubes and custom head tubes?

I’d assume the heavier frames had that done to stiffen a frame in a beneficial way to meet the UCI minimum weight rather than just adding ballast!

Also seen factory wheels that looked stock but had different spokes / lacing, reinforced spoke beds and higher tension to the regular aftermarket wheel, again I assume in an effort to stiffen the wheels, typically on deeper section aero wheels for sprinters which even us mortals can get to flex, let along someone like Kittel or Cav going full gas?

@monkeyfudger

the Advanced Pro road frames all use a OD2 full carbon fork with 1.5″ steerer which requires a OS (1.5″) stem – you could get these from Giant, Canyon, Ritchey, Syntace, Pro and now Zipp but limited in supply and choice of degrees / length

the Advanced road frames use the ‘hybrid’ fork which is a carbon crown and blade, with aluminium alloy taper / 1.125″ steerer

This slimmer steerer can be a benefit for riders wanting a more aerodynamic position as you can get aftermarket stems with very aggressive angle (i.e. -17) for a low aero position

If you look at the Envie / Propel Advanced the head tube is also a slimmer frontal cross section(from having the smaller steerer inside), but I’d guess you’d see more aero advantage from being to run a lower drop front end for the rider, than the actual head tube front area?

It’s an interesting question, “why-arent-all-road-pros-on-aero-bikes”?

I’ve been lucky enough for the past year to have access to Giant Defy Advanced Pro, Giant Propel Advanced Pro and Giant TCR Advanced Pro bikes and easily chop and change between them.

It’s been an interesting experience for sure, and gave me a real insight into the differences between an endurance bike (Defy), aero race bike (Propel) and race bike (TCR). They all have very different handling / feel and advantages / disadvantages.

I was also riding this last week, the 2016 TCR which was quite a revelation compared to the older TCR – the old TCR felt very “neutral” whilst the new one feels “lively”

The Propel is very different compared to other aero bikes I’ve ridden in that it was surprisingly comfortable and had very balanced handling. I also preferred the slightly taller head tube of the Propel to the TCR, which I almost found too aggressive in terms of reach and drop.

However, a smaller rider can have issues getting an aggressive drop on the Propel advanced pro models with their OD2 steerer / stem due to a lack of aftermarket stem beyond 8/10 +/- degrees; and this can negate the aero advantage

The Giant Alcepin team riders can’t ride the current Defy as the UCI have not ratified the rules on disc brakes, so were riding the previous season Defy in the classics during 2015.

when we met the Giant Shimano Team (as they were then known in 2014) in London last year during the Tour De France, I asked several riders including Kittel about their bike choices, and they said it was personal preference, they had access to all the bikes.

Most preferred the TCR for its efficiency, with Kittel choosing the Propel for its pure speed advantages during sprint finishes.

Something I have found with the aero bikes is the bike really gains benefit from also running deeper section wheels, which then have the disadvantage of extra weight, flex under power and nervous handling in high wind conditions.

I tried taking the aero wheels off the Propel and fitting low profile climbing wheels, and a very noticeable difference in having to work harder to hold high speed on the flat compared to aero wheels.

If you are not fitting aero wheels to an aero bike, when you have climbing and winds, might as well ride the race bike with regular wheels?

Riding from the door is simply awesome, I don’t drive.

I ride out my door on my road bike:

-less than 1km I have Regent’s Park for quick road cycling

-less than 1 km it’s NW London with lots of short / steep hills around Hampstead and Highgate including Swain’s Lane

-easy access into Surrey through West London (St. John’s Wood to Ladbroke Grove and out through Hammersmith)

I ride out my door on my mountain bike:

-8km of hidden trails all over ‘the Heath

-easy access to Euston and Waterloo station for fast train travel out of London to multiple trail centres

cannot complain really?

I ride a 29’er race XC hardtail and its perfect for my riding in the flat S-East of England

I probably wouldn’t buy a full suspension 29’er, the 650 / 27.5 wheel makes more sense for me if I wanted a full suspension bike for more rowdy riding?

just my tuppence…

I’d recommend removing, cleaning and refitting the chainring bolts with shimano anti seize

Then doing the same with the crankset, remove the twin pinch bolts on the non-driveside arm, clean the threads in the arm, refit the bolts with Shimano anti-seize, good smear of anti seize on the axle splines and 13nm on both pinch bolts with a torque wrench

there might be a small weight saving with tubeless conversion on a mountain bike

but for me?

its all about reliability of inflated tires, and ride quality

electrical tape, then tubeless tape, then tubeless valve cores

couple of cups of Stan’s No-Tubes, usually Specialized Control 2-Bliss tires

no drama, no fuss, no tire-roll

inflate twice a week to 30psi, as most tubeless conversions lose a little pressure after a few days

tires generally wear out, before the Stan’s solution dries out, in our temperate climate

I worked for the original UK’s Stan’s No-Tubes importer for 5+ years, so have done 100’s of conversions 😉

I am loving this rig. As ‘singlespeedstu’ said, don’t get too hung up on geometry

Apparently its a cross country “race” bike / frame but I’ve put a 70mm stem and 730mm bars with 1 x 10 gearing on there, some tubeless tires and its good to go.

Works beautifully when I just want to get out into the woods and enjoy the dirt trails, with no fuss.

I should point out, its stupidly fast when I can be bothered to pedal hard!

(mountain biking is my current escape from road cycling!)