well the FSA crank will require a Shimano taper bottom-bracket to fit correctly, if you look in the chainset instructions it probably tells you what BB axle length you need, otherwise it's up to you to trawl the internet to find out

it will probably need a longer BB axle, what crankset is it?

i have some hot-off-the-press here, fitted to bike easy peasy, first look on road.cc[/url] soon, just waiting for some rain ;-)

i'll need to know what pressures you're running, how much you weigh and what brakes you have before i can make an educated guess, oh, and is it a rigid, hardtail or full-suss bike

"If it were me, I'd start with a frame I knew well and say 'I want one just like this but with longer this, shorter that, more stiffness here and more compliance here'."

that's pretty much how i've specced all my custom frames (well, apart from the "more compliant, more stiffness" bit), with added input from the framebuilder as to which of my decisions and measurements will and will not work, and they have led to spot-on frames.

the only time i trusted a framebuilder to make a bike 'their way' was a total and expensive disaster, a look at the drawings, which i didn't get, would have quickly averted this though, live and learn.

"Why Jo? I was thinking of getting a set, why don't you rate them? "

for my hands at least the unnecessary curves and wiggles are all in the wrong place, the 'ergo' bend puts your hands further away from the brake levers and the flare puts the STIs at a funny angle which makes them uncomfortable and awkward to shift

as with all bars YMMV

just use usual wide road bars, FSA Wing-Pros are my faves, i can't unrecommend Bell-Laps enough

i have a picture of a Bon Tempe somewhere in the loft

probably not a flattering image as it's leaning against a bin in a Hove street with the back wheel out having a puncture mended

suffered real bad URT brake-jack, not a bike i was sad to give back after testing, a Phoenix however, yumyum, just pinging the top-tube with your finger was enough..

me

with some stuff for the jumble and the world premiere of the new Mint Sauce jerseys

somewhere between pinch-flat and eyeball-rattling, YMMV

i certainly don't remember going through the first bombhole until a few hours into the race, it was quite a shock!

having done all the D2Ds and a large proportion of the Winter Series you don't need a specific mud tyre for Thetford as it's always quite liquid and open rather than claggy, any open-treaded 'normal' tyre will be fine

and if you're doing pairs any mud will be the least of your worries, getting enough food in and not freezing to death during your 'off' laps will be more of more concern, it's fun, in a painful way

fixie rants are soooo last year dahling

(goes to top of hill)

(waits)

all that effort and then blue zip-ties. i mean, blue?!?

show your annoyance by throwing some tacks in the road

the KMC 10spd chains are designed to be disconnected, been using one for about a year with no probs

if you are bereft of specialist cleaners simply rub Fairy Liquid into the chain, put chain in pot, pour boiling water over it, swirl around, repeat as nec.

clean chainrings and cassette with rag and GT85

i had a 39 for that, less of a breeze, more of a strong headwind

i found the 50/34 jump really annoying, changing at the front leading to frantic rear gear shifts to maintain a similar cadence, but the 34 meant climbing things was a breeze, i'd swap the 50 for something smaller if it was me

apart from that the Focus is a cracking bike

"Does anybody actually race normal races on a ss? "

yes, lots of people do

Best I’ve seen other than ensuring it doesn’t look too new is to get a couple of cans of spray paint in nasty/clashing colours (eg brown and pink) and then paint the whole bike (including tyres, chain, transmission, saddle etc) with it – looks really crap and pretty much destroys and chance of resale and hence any point in stealing it. Also has the benefit of not actually affecting function at all.

like this you mean?

congratulations on not ‘fixie’-ing it

i’ve taken mine off and on several seatposts without issue, as mentioned, speak to Mr Crud and they’ll send you new gubbins

Schwalbe recently issued a recall for Ultremo R tyres…

“Schwalbe is issuing a notice on some of its Ultremo R tires due to bulging. Due to a mistake in the manufacturing process, the affected tires’ carcass layer haven’t been sufficiently rubberized.

In some of the tires after only a short time in use the fault becomes clearly visible, shown by a bulge due to the carcass layers becoming disconnected. In no case should Ultremo R tires that exhibit this phenomenon continue to be used. The tires need to be replaced immediately. Not doing so may lead to a catastrophic failure, as the carcass layer can chafe through, consequently causing the inner tube to burst.

If you notice this bulge while riding, under no circumstance should you continue at speed. It is suggested that the air pressure is reduced to the minimum recommended while riding at low speed and with great care.

Schwalbe offers a straightforward replacement service: send a photo of the Ultremo R showing the defect phenomenon as well as a photo of the production code that is to be found on the inside of the tire to this special e-mail address: ultremo@schwalbe.com. A replacement will be dispatched immediately.”

best ask schwalbe.uk if you’re in any doubt

junk the Shimano gubbins and put something like these straddle-yolks on with a new straddle wire

raise the straddle-hanger

you’re being more than a bit soft

:-)

there’s a new tea-shop/caravan opened up in Saddlescombe on the SDW just after Devils Dyke serving sarnies, buns and cakes, which might be a useful fuel stop

handily at the bottom of the Newtimber Hill grunt as well

get the Tektros, all the power (sic) of the Froggies with joyful spannerless ease of adjustability

although deep down you *know* you want the white Frogglegs

yes

BBB, Cane Creek, Clarks, Fibrax, Shimano all do them

looking under “Brake Pads – MTB” at chainreaction is a good start

“its not even covered much in Cycling Weekly“

that’s because it’s not a sportive
;-)

i think it took a few races to ‘find it’s feet’ as the riders and programme got used to the scoring format, but it’s been entertaining viewing, especially for the blatant use of the camera motorbike for drafting, and the podium girls

i think that you are incorrectly inferring any steepness

as has been mentioned before, on a descent (steep or not), you’re most likely to want to be in the drops, where your back will be flat, or even angled towards the bars, because the drops will be lower than the saddle (unless it’s a “sportive” bike, obviously) causing the Camelbak to shuffle forwards

you can also be in the drops on the flat, or on an uphill gradient (if you’re feeling chipper), or sprinting, when a Camelbak will also want to bunny-hop your head, or in the case of sprinting, want to have humpy sex with it

where have i claimed to go down steep hills?

i have crashed many many times, most of the time it’s been my fault, some times it hasn’t, as collateral damage i have been cut, bruised and scarred by chainrings, pedals, bars, bar-ends, quick-releases, stems, brake-levers and pointy things in my back-pockets, none of which i have removed later because they are ‘dangerous’

one ton of car, in the right hands, can be quite dangerous though

“carrying things in a back pocket is dangerous. I got hit by a car and knocked up in the air“

interesting Daily Mail knee-jerk logic there, it’s not the carrying things in the back pocket that’s dangerous, it’s the cars that are dangerous

i had to take avoiding action from cars 4 times during yesterdays ride, the pointy items in my back pocket at no point threatened to cause me any harm

“Awkward on decents? How is it different from downhill on a mountainbike?“

because you’ll be in the drops, with your back flat or even with your head lower than your arse (i know that “being in the drops” is a phrase and position most mountainbikers aren’t aware of), and not sat upright like on a shopping bike

you can stop calling it the Darkside now then?

Tools –
Allen key multi-tool, spoke key, teeny chain tool, bit of chain, tyre levers and puncture repair kit all stuffed in a teeny saddle-bag (if you have a large saddle-bag you might be able to squeeze a spare tube or two in as well, although a large gumpy bag will spoil the lines of your bike and mark you out as easy prey for predatory cyclists). Make sure the saddle-bag doesn’t rattle, this can get annoying, especially for other riders. If you can’t stop it rattling then adjust your gears so that they tinkle all the time, and make sure you have a squeaky cleat or creaky crank as well, just for the full effect. With the help of a toe-strap (if you have no idea what a toe-strap is then ask your parents, or the old bloke in the bike shop), a rolled-up rain jacket can be stored under the saddle too. Make sure it’s well secured so an arm doesn’t dangle out and get caught up in your gears ruining the jacket and ripping the rear derailleur off. Make sure you have that special tool for that special bit on your bike that no-one else has a tool for, you know, the 7mm spanner for that bolt that has never needed adjusting ever before but will suddenly decide to come loose 50 miles from home.

I’d advise against a Camelbak for carrying stuff. Apart from the massive faux-pas it would be, if it’s in any way hot it will feel horribly uncomfortable on the back and it will be awkward on any descents – wanting as it will to overtake your helmet. And again, it marks you out as easy prey. Don’t panic about water, bottles will be fine, there’s plenty of petrol-stations and caffs to stop at for refills.

Pockets. Are. Fine. See below…..

Jersey Pocket Etiquette
Left-hand pocket – 2 spare tubes, energy bars/gels.
Middle pocket – lightweight rain-cape, gillet, Buff. As necessary.
Right-hand pocket – more energy bars/gels, and a small bag of monies.

All rolled up and tucked away neatly, no unsightly bulges or dangly bits.

if only they had decent PR people they’d be enjoying month-long exhibitions in Bristol

“In bad weather (more likely to get a flat in the wet)
WTF???

rain washes bits and grubble into the road, and the water effectively “lubes” the flint/glass/whatever and the rubber of the tyre to, er, ease penetration

“Personally I’d avoid putting anything more solid than a banana in a jersey pocket. If you fall off an land on a pump or multitool it won’t be good for your kidneys or spine!“

in a similar vein whenever i go for a bike ride i cover my chainrings in bubble-wrap, put some pipe-lagging over the ends of my brake-levers and pop a tennis-ball with a hole in over the ends of the handlebars in case i should crash and spear myself on any of these pointy items

be safe people

it’s remarkably similar to a mountainbike in that you might want to take a spare tube and a pump (one that can get a road tube up to a decent pressure is a good idea), some tyre-levers, a puncture-repair kit, and some basic tools of the kind that will fit the various nuts and bolts on the bike.
these can be stored in the rear-pockets of your jersey or a saddle-bag