The reverb is certainly common but not sure I’ve seen it actually recommended. There are loads of threads about them, and not in a good way.

Get a Fox. Because…Kashima :)

Definitely try other brands before buying. I tested several Whytes and they all rode like a sack of spuds. Eventually bought a Scott Genius, the difference is night and day!

Also, open pro are a touring rim built for strength. People don’t use them on race bikes for racing.

I think what you’re missing is what a good road bike weighs. A hint – it’s nowhere near 8KG!

The problem I see is that Shimano don’t make a close ratio cassette any more. As a result, even if you fit a double up front you wouldn’t get nicer ratios and won’t get noticably better range for most riding. Unless you’re going to a proper mountain range and riding all day I’d put those parts on Ebay and buy yourself something nice. Don’t forget that if you have the 42t or 46t cassette at the rear you’d need to swap that for the 11-40 as well.

I’m confident the shifting would be superb, of course. I also like the idea of the syncro, just not convinced of the value over your 1x setup.

+1 on the check before buying. I now have an xtr 36t spare for this reason as the bike only took a 34 (officially 32!!).

that said, I believe the Shimano chainrings are the same for XT and XTR. The bolt only keeps it against the crank arm, the spider/nuts is what touches the holes and the bolts come with the crankset anyway so must be correct in terms of diameter. The thickness of the ring is identical so length of bolt won’t matter. The 34/36 come with spacers (washers to you and I) but the standard bolts fit fine for these and the 32t.

si.shimano.com doesn’t seem to confirm any of this so please don’t take my word for it as I have no proof. If you’re near Reading I can offer a test of a 36t XTR ring though…

<span style=”color: #444444; font-size: 16px;”>her DI2 equipment is a mess</span>

sad to say this is going to make the biggest difference. Until commuters on bikes start costing insurance companies real money things won’t change. If there’s a £10k bill every time a cyclist gets hit things will change within two years.

While I hate dash cams in cars, on a bike I think evidence can be a good thing in this situation. It’s a pita though and more to set up and maintain.

@vincienup I have various wheel and tyre sizes in the stable, thanks. Also have choice in geometry and suspension. My point was that trends aside (and current MTB geo is a trend, trust me) none of these things make much difference. Modern bikes are not lighter and they aren’t stiffer or faster. As I said, high end bikes are better, low end are worse and that’s true of any vintage with an old high end being better than a new low end every time.

As I said, road is different. The pro money there has led to some real scientific advances. Everything I see in mtb is down to trends and preference with almost no engineering/science since the early 90s. Different bikes suit different trails, and a 90s 26er is way faster in places than a modern 27.5+ which is faster than my fattie in places. I have PBs on all of my bikes in different segments, the only factor not making a difference is vintage.

It was a Scott Genius 700 plus tuned frameset. I get the impression that this may happen a lot though so everyone with boost ought to check. Just look at the dropout by the rear mech, your axle should be fully engaged to the end of the threads, not have a 5mm gap :)

I think an alloy frame from 2018 would be far better than a top of the range carbon frame from five years ago

You’ve not been cycling long then? I have a steel bike from the 90s and aside from having no disc mounts it’s every bit as good as my current bikes. “trickle down” and “new technology” are horse crap in my opinion and never actually happen. High end bikes are always really nice to ride and low end are less nice to ride, age has very little to do with it. A carbon frame from 5 years ago will almost certainly be better than any alu frame from this year, because almost without exception the changes that happen to frames are based on trends rather than technology* and anyone who has done this for a couple of decades or more will agree.

There is certainly a lot of very determined FUD about carbon going around right now, which seems to be aimed at dethroning the “big boys” of frame manufacture. I note that very few of the companies that can afford to research and manufacture carbon have an issue, while the less well off are all suddenly obsessed with the planet.

Sorry, went a bit ranty there :)

*road frames are different. There the use of wind tunnels has greatly improved performance at many levels.

To follow up on this, the LBS confirmed the supplied axle is dangerous and is shorter than a boost one should be so are contacting Scott for replacement.

“Black preferred.”

Yes, ninja stealth black is ideal for commuting in the dark winter months. Helps ensure those lunatic drivers don’t see you and attack you with their cars…

Shimano windstopper are excellent and fully waterproof and warm. They do, unfortunately, warn drivers of your presence through use of reflective panels but do have black parts so may be acceptable to you fashion wise.

The 105 SS rear derailleur has a capacity of 33t which would in theory allow an 11-42. It does, however, specify a large sprocket of only 28t so the answer is probably won’t work out of the box. The spring and arm will take up the chain but it will probably foul the sprockets. There probably is a third party link to make this work if you really want to not have a front mech. I’d probably just have a front mech, especially if I wanted a 50t up front.

Why would you need n/w on a road bike?

I shave my legs. Women are generally mean about that “oh but you cycle so it’s ok!” #WTF!. I’d like equality please…(men are **** about it too, but I’m ignoring that)

I can think of good reasons for all of those so seems reasonable to me.

I’ve decided to keep drinking in January but give up Heroine instead. I feel too many people take Heroine and have a dependency on it, but it should be easy for me because I’m better than those people and never do Heroine anyway.
Maybe those who don’t drink can quit caffeine for the month instead and join in properly?

My rollers will do 400 Watts, that’s more than most people can sustain for any length of time. The extra wattage on a turbo is there mainly for hill work. It’s a different workout but it’s definitely a proper workout, especially since the rollers are also working on your core muscles not just legs.

@Andy R my non-boost is 167 too which is the worrying part.

Turbo trainers don’t wear or heat tyres though, that’s kind of the point. No harm has ever come to a road tyre of any price on a turbo. You could also use last season’s road tyre and give it a good clean, that’s a tenner cheaper than the trainer tyre :wink:

haha I was refering to a thread on Facebook last week where I was told in no uncertain terms to never ever question the trail building gods, their methods or their materials. I was told this by lots of people, and told that regardless how badly the maintained trails ride I should be thankful for their efforts.
I even started the post by saying that I was grateful for their time and energy, but to no avail. Apparently the whole place will be knee deep ginger shite this time next year, although at least with all the metal from our bikes being ground away I guess it might become firmer. FWIW I quite enjoy the real mud of Red 3…

If HR training doesn’t motivate you then a PM won’t motivate you. Training is dull, training with a PM is just as dull. My Vector 3’s don’t even look special on the bike, dull, dull, dull.

If you’re like me though, you’ll eventually need to scratch the itch with a new toy. As I said though, if you can’t replace the money easily you’ll regret it soon enough.

The plastic layer really is the bit that makes the difference on the Shimano ones. I’ve been out in all sorts of weather and never had cold hands in them, or anything even close. Socks are the opposite though, the waterproof ones have an unfortunate habbit of filling from the top on very wet rides :cry:

If the money is genuinely spare get a power meter. If you can’t replace that money easily and don’t have a requirement for one then don’t get one. They are fun to see the numbers but without commitment won’t help any more than heart rate training – do you currently train with HR?

I bought one as a toy, but I already had everything else I wanted on all my bikes. It’s nice, but it’s a very expensive toy.

Three, with changes in policing

The word you’re looking for is thirdly.

Secondly, after passing the L test, very few people actually bother to try and improve their driving skills,

Ironically it’s the same with reading and writing skills.

Shimano Gloves are far better than neoprene. They still allow you to feel and operate everything normally, and they have nice soft warm insulation. They also have a plastic layer which stops wind and water dead.
Neoprene gets cold in the wind as the moisture evaporates – it’s designed for use underwater where this doesn’t happen. I’m sure people with expensive neoprene gloves will tell you that’s not the case but these Shimano ones are definitely warmer than any of my other gloves.

Get yourself some of this tubing, it’s SO much easier and less chance of going wrong and spending an hour playing with magnets :lol: It comes with pretty much every bike so LBS should have loads in the bin.

I agree, it’s possible to make a frame designed for use on a turbo out of Carbon. I can’t think why anyone would though as it would then by definition not be optimised for road use and would likely add weight and change stiffness/forgiveness characteristics. Since these are the very reason people buy carbon bikes in the first place it would be commercial suicide to create such a monster unless someone was purposefully making a high end trainer only bike to go with the new wave of ultra high end trainers coming onto the market. Realistically though, most people doing enough training to justify that cost would already have a second bike to use and possibly more.

Lol I’m not falling for that one again! Suffice it to say that a couple of sections are less good in the wet these days.

I don’t know that bike, but looking at the pic it seems to have stops on the frame (the plastic rectangle) so yes, there will be a top outer and a bottom outer separate.
To re-cable you’ll want to call in to your LBS and ask them for the cable tube that comes with new bikes/frames – these are throwaway and so usually you won’t get charged if your LBS are nice. You then cut the end off of the cable at the mech end so it’s tidy and push said tube up the frame over the inner then tape it in place at either end ready to thread the new cable back in through. The tube is very thin and so fits through the holes in the frame without any disassembley.

Never mind the chainring, your cranks are scuffed and so also need replacing! Road bikes should look flawless at all times :wink:

Just to be clear, carbon road bikes are NOT designed for use in a turbo. The Bianchi manual actually calls this out alongside using roof rack systems for transportation as things you must never do.
Carbon road frames are designed for road riding and nothing else. Anything you do with your bike aside from that is your decision, but turbo use really does add stress to the frame. Pro riders don’t use the same bike on their turbo at the bus as they do on a stage, and they only need their bikes to last two weeks!

Turbo tyres aren’t necessary, certainly aren’t quieter and don’t grip better. They do stop the crap from your road tyres from flying at the wall at speed though so aren’t a complete waste of money.

DCRainmaker did a review a while ago of trainer tyres, the conclusion was that manufacturers offer them just to squeeze a bit more cash from you.

That said, you may consider rollers instead. Much nicer to ride on, don’t hurt the bike, and trains your core as well as your thighs. Probably cheaper than a second hand bike too.

N+1

I wouldn’t put my nice carbon one in a turbo, that’s why I kept my old road bike when I bought the new one :)

The Shimano range makes more sense to me. They use the normal rhythm step ratios for the main block to give you jumps of 10rpm when pedalling. The bottom two large sprockets mimic dropping to a smaller chainring nicely so giving you the exact same gears you were probably using on 2×10.
Evenly spaced sprocket sizing makes no sense to me and suggests sun race just spread them evenly without really putting any research or thought into it. Nothing wrong with that, but I can’t thing of a good riding/performance reason I’d want big jumps all the way across the block.

I’d be torn between Vector 3 (because they look so neat) and Assiomas.

I had this exact thought before ordering mine. The Vector 3’s look just like my old Look Keo carbon pedals but with the word Garmin printed on them. I have to admit that I think the extra was worth it for the looks on the bike, to me at least. Functionally though there’s not a lot in it they all work nicely these days.

You’re asking the wrong question. I can’t imagine you actually want tape without adhesive, your goal is almost certainly to not ruin the first layer of tape? Cling film over the first layer and you’re sorted and will be able to use any tape on the market :)

Didn’t see anyone mention stretching and yoga apologies if I missed it. Position is important but if your hips won’t rotate and you can’t touch your toes your body will always force your bits into the saddle when you lean forwards. Stretch daily and ride the road bike more and your body will adapt. When it does you won’t need millimetre precision on saddle position to be comfortable. Between now and then just be realistic about your limits for riding and stop if you get too numb. Also mess about with position, you may well find something that works. Maths is not that something :)

If you’re dropping the saddle for Twrch or Cafal you may as well just get a shorter seatpost and leave the saddle down all the time, surely? I’ll admit the carpark is a slightly easier ride, but there’s not much in it! :wink: