Rockhopper – Member
Amazing how many people don’t understand how a headset works. One its preloaded correctly and the stem bolts done up tight then the SFN and top cap are redundant and can actually be removed if you wanted. A slipping SFN will not cause this guys problem.

i’ve had bikes with expander steerer bungs that have slowly slipped up over time causing the headset to go loose, so while this theory is often trotted out in the real world it’s not the case

it’s happened several times too, replaced the bung with something more secure and the problem’s gone away

so it *could* be that, could be all sorts of other things

stop trying to be cool and get an audax or fast touring bike
Isn’t that what a lot of “CX” bikes are now. They’re not really intended for cyclocross races. It’s just a re-marketing of fast drop-bar tourers.

well, like you just can’t buy a ‘mountainbike’ now the CX market has splintered into all sorts of different styles of bike, be they Gravel Racers, All Road, Adventure Bikes or whatever the marketing man has decided to call his latest Thing
a touring or audax bike will be much the same, and better if you intend to do mostly road work, as it has been for the last 100 years or so, but won’t come with that marketing premium

stop trying to be cool and get an audax or fast touring bike, room to put fatter road tyres on, and mudguards and a rack should you wish

a) why would the cable pull through?

b) sometimes, depends what shifter it is and how dextrous you are with the cable, sometimes fishing it through the brake lever body and hitting the hole at the end of the outer cable is a lottery

c) if (b) is troublesome you can unravel the tape just to the brake lever and fix the gear cable with access to the outer cable and then retape, if your style of tape will allow this

have you budgeted for candles and glass jars with sticks in?

chasinabeeinacar – Member
Does anyone know when the CX1 Hydraulic groupset will be available?

about two weeks before the recall

badoom-tish

it’s because they’re not allowed to file off the Lawyers Lips now

as you found out covering rough ground or descending is far far more secure in the drops than on the hoods or on the tops, and it’s easier to control the brakes while you’re there too, the downside is that it’s harder to lift the front end should you need to

most people don’t use the drops because they find it scary, they have poor flexibility or their stomach hits the top-tube

the principle of relative ranges will be a specific value relative to your own personal Max HR, ignore everyone elses

you can gauge fitness with recovery and resting HR

your Max HR is exactly that, plenty of examples of how to obtain that if you search on-line

i forgot to add that comparing your HR with other people is probably the most futile thing you can do, it’s not a competition

have you actually worked out your real Max HR rather than “doing what feel like all out intervals”?

aside from that, everyone has a different HR, don’t worry about it

i’d get a bike that fits in the first place rather than buy a smaller frame that’s a bargain and somehow making it fit

i get lower back ache on bikes that are too short, jusayin :-)

i know it means nothing but i’m 5′ 10″ and ride a 56 CX bike, with a long stem and layback seatpost, so i’d imagine you might find a 56 a bit cramped

what was the geometry of your Crosscheck, if you were comfortable on that then go with the one that’s closest

to answer the OP, yes, there are always a lot of crashes in the Tour, especially the first week, just this year the dice have rolled against all the favourites, although it’s not uncommon for a favourite to crash out at some point

winning the Tour isn’t just about being the fastest it’s also about avoiding the crashes, which is why the leaders will have their whole team around them a lot of the time, protecting them

you can legally shoot one, any more and it’s classed as murder

that’s not expensive

i have all the Assos, Rapha, Gore etc kit and put Morvelo on out of choice, done 100 miles on and off road no probs

it’s no ‘Mrs. Brown’s Boys’

yes, you need to make the chain as slack as possible so take the wheel out and hook the chain off the chainset so it’s resting on the bottom-bracket

it’s not ideal but can be done, and be careful putting everything back together in the right place :)

first off, it’s too late to be worrying whether you’ve done enough or not, you’ve done what you can, there’s no point in doing some last minute panic training if you were thinking of doing that, just do a couple of easy rides to keep the legs going

you’ll be fine on that gear, again, no point in last minute kit changes, something will only go wrong :-)

use other riders as much as possible on the flatter bits and stick to your own ‘happy effort’ pace on the climbs, don’t be tempted to stick with faster riders

Enjoy It, it’s a lovely part of the world

if that’s your actual max rather than one worked out with a formula then that’s your maximum heart rate and nothing can be done to make it less high

your coach is an idiot

Orica is an Australian mining company that does explosives and chemicals too, their sponsorship of a cycling team could be seen as a certain amount of greenwashing

Hs anyone ever bought anything (not bike related) because of advertising seen at the Tour or some other bike race etc?

yup, i’ve made a conscious decision to go into Rabobank and Credit Agricole, but if i wanted to buy a posh watch i wouldn’t buy a Festina one

i am a little sad though

i’ve never had a KMC chain snap, on the MTB, CX or road bike, but then i try not to change gear under load

as is traditional to respond to such questions

give the door seals a good clean, there might be a bit of smeg causing them to stick

luckily it’s too small and too expensive

my next bike might have flint-catchers on though

*ignores Bianchi*

*opens thread again*

parcel pick-up booked for last tuesday that never happened and then re-booked for tomorrow has just arrived

that’s the most absorbent “Spunky Teddy” i’ve ever seen

i ride a road bike and a mountainbike, it’s the constant mood swings i can’t stand

if you want to waste a vast amount of money on a Sora equipped bike for weekly 50 mile rides then getting a carbon bar and stem is about the best way to go about it

as mentioned above, wider, or better tyres will be of more, and cheaper benefit, as will better and slightly more padded bar-tape if you don’t have that already

if you feel it just in your hands it could be an issue with bike fit, and small tweaks to your position could help with your comfort, and those can be done for free

i think the key word there is ‘choice’

i’m almost allowing myself to not even think about the M-word tyres, for the first time in, er, a decade

i never realised it was so complicated

one large bottle, stop briefly at taps behind pubs/garages/churches/village halls for water, drink when thirsty

been doing this for 30+ years, for rides of anything up to 120 miles, sometimes run out of water, kept going, haven’t died because of it yet

there’s also over 600 square miles of South Downs surrounding Stanmer Park to ride on, it’s quite good

plenty of routes to be found if you poke around

Tip 1 – don’t go out in the rain if you don’t have to, if you ‘work from home’ there’s always another day, use the rain to catch up with work to allow a ride in more pleasant conditions.

Tip 2 – buy proper waterproof clothing, spend the money, it’s really really worth it. a decent Goretex, gloves and overshoes will make all the difference.

Tip 3 – if you think your blinky lights aren’t good enough, buy better ones.

whilst there can be a certain pleasure in getting wet on the road bike, if it starts when you’re actually out on a ride, it’s almost impossible to get yourself out there if it’s already pissing it down.
if i *have* to go out in the rain, because i’m getting cabin-fever, i have a route that takes in all the hills around town, all on the quieter streets, and a do that as fast as possible for a couple of hours, it means that if it does all go wrong and wet and cold i’m never far from home, and at least i’ve got out the house