The "Show off your bike" thread!

[j4ckos mate]

this has done a few paper-rounds when i was younger

my mate (j4cko) brought it back to live earlier this year




The peugeot racer is nearly 30 years old, been on it today for the first time in ten years,

The mountain bike is an old diamond back, proably mid nineties

[j4ckos mate]

Heres is the mountain bike

[nammynake]

This is my 2011 Specialized Allez. As standard it came with a Sora groupset and Mavic CXP-22 rims. All pretty decent kit when I bought it given it was my first road bike. However the inevitable upgrades started after about 6 months ownership.

First thing I did was replace the stock Specialized tyres with some Conti GP4000s ones. Expensive for tyres but I did notice an improvement in how they rode over the stock tyres. Next was to replace the frankly horrid stock brake pads. These were replaced with some SwissStop ones; again quite expensive for some blocks of rubber but they were massively better and gave me a lot more braking power.

These two minor upgrades saw me through another few months riding and I took part in my first sportive - the Fred Whitton. I was starting to ride more and more so decided to treat myself to some new wheels, having heard they were the best way to upgrade a bike. I didn't want to go crazy so set myself a modest budget of £200. After reading many reviews and seeking advice on forums I picked up a pair of Fulcrum Racing 5's from Wiggle on sale. They were noticeably better than the stock wheels - they just seemed to pick up speed so much quicker and felt like they just rolled better.

After owning the bike for around 15 months I was starting to get more and more frustrated with the Sora shifters. The stupid thumb down-shifter was impossible to reach from the drops - such a stupid design. I started looking for options to fit different shifters but in the end I treated myself to a new 105 Groupset (50-34 chain set and 12-27 cassette) - this included brake calipers and bottom bracket also.

My technical know-how was limited but I decided to fit everything myself. Once I had purchased the relevant tools I made a start. I somehow managed to over-tighten the cable pinch bolt on the rear derailleur which resulted in the bolt shearing off and being rendered useless. Costly mistake that!

I also fitted a KMC x10 Superlight chain and some shallow drop bars (FSA Pro Wing Compact). The bars are much more comfortable than the original bars where I found it impossible to ride for prolonged periods. I feel much more stable on fast twisting descents too.

I got a bit carried away then and decided I wanted the saddle and bar tape to colour match the groupset, so I bought a new Specialized Riva saddle (same as my previous one which was white) and some Lizard Skin 2.5mm bar tape.

Anyway enough waffle, here is the obligatory pic. Please excuse the uninspiring backdrop, I was having too much fun (read pain) during my ride and only remembered to take a photo towards the end.

Edited by nammynake on Sunday 7th October 19:57

[Markp13]

^^^^ that's a funny looking outdoor kitchen you've got there.

Is that a Meile washing machine?

[nammynake]

Markp13 said:

^^^^ that's a funny looking outdoor kitchen you've got there.

Is that a Meile washing machine?

It's a bit of a mess I'll grant you that. I shall ask the misses to sweep up those leaves too!

[AyBee]

RJJ said:

Nice canyon Aybee, yeah very similar to the foil. Weighed mine on the scales & it's coming up with 7.5kg.

0.1kg lighter than mine

[Raoul Duke]

AyBee said:

0.1kg lighter than mine

That weights not too bad for an aero bike, and you could easily drop a bit with the right wheel choice.
Some de-stickered 50mm carbon rims would suit it a treat - maybe something from Wheelsmith hand built with Chris King hubs, they would be light, fast and subtley bling.

[AyBee]

Raoul Duke said:

AyBee said:

0.1kg lighter than mine

That weights not too bad for an aero bike, and you could easily drop a bit with the right wheel choice.
Some de-stickered 50mm carbon rims would suit it a treat - maybe something from Wheelsmith hand built with Chris King hubs, they would be light, fast and subtley bling.

I don't need tempting Since it's coming up to winter, I'll probably keep these as training wheels and buy some nice carbon aero wheels for next summer

[itsnotarace]

nammynake said:

Anyway enough waffle, here is the obligatory pic. Please excuse the uninspiring backdrop, I was having too much fun (read pain) during my ride and only remembered to take a photo towards the end.

Well as much as the pain the bike is inflicting on you, I see you are returning the favour - the rear mech I can hear screaming from here. Your chain is a bit short for that gear combo

Nice bike though, had a soft spot for the Allez since growing up with American Flyers...enjoy.

[bacchus180]

My other bike

Condor Baracchi Carbon, Custom made for me in 2003 and painted in Azzurro, Keeping it simple, Campag Eurus G3 wheels, Recently added Chorus 11 Group with Compact and 29 on the back..

I love this bike..

Edited by bacchus180 on Monday 8th October 12:01

[CoolC]

bacchus180 said:

I love this bike..

I can see why

[nammynake]

itsnotarace said:

Well as much as the pain the bike is inflicting on you, I see you are returning the favour - the rear mech I can hear screaming from here. Your chain is a bit short for that gear combo

I tried setting the length according to Shimano instructions - big chainring, small cog and jockey wheels aligned perpendicular inline. It wasn't a mile off but admit I might have got it a bit wrong! Will this cause any issues?

[syko89]

This is my first 'half decent' bike, just bought it to see whether i want to get into biking more. Its a 2009 trek 6500.

Loving it so far, went out on my first XC 13 mile loop on Saturday at Sutton bank.

[itsnotarace]

nammynake said:

I tried setting the length according to Shimano instructions - big chainring, small cog and jockey wheels aligned perpendicular inline. It wasn't a mile off but admit I might have got it a bit wrong! Will this cause any issues?

Will be fine to ride with as long as you avoid the big/big combo you posted in the photo, the mech will be under a lot of strain when it's not moving, let alone when you put pressure through the drivetrain when pedalling

[nammynake]

itsnotarace said:

Will be fine to ride with as long as you avoid the big/big combo you posted in the photo, the mech will be under a lot of strain when it's not moving, let alone when you put pressure through the drivetrain when pedalling

I never use the big-big combo, the largest cog I would use frequently is probably 3, and sometimes 2.

I might re-assess the chain length and add a link or two back in. Do you know if the hollow pins with the KMC x10-SL chain are re-useable. I know the Shimano 10-speed ones aren't because the peened (mushroom) 'lip' shears off when you remove it (even partially).

[itsnotarace]

Sorry not sure on that one, never tried

[okgo]

With the KMC chain it should have a quick link built in. So use that (by hand) remove whatever you need to then do it back up by hand with the quick link.

[nammynake]

okgo said:

With the KMC chain it should have a quick link built in. So use that (by hand) remove whatever you need to then do it back up by hand with the quick link.

Yes it has a quick link. However to lengthen the chain wouldn't I need another quick link? The quick link joins two inners so adding a link or two back in would require another quick link?

[itsnotarace]

You can use another quick link to add some length back in

[zebedee]

itsnotarace said:

You can use another quick link to add some length back in

You can, but they are a bit weaker than a normal link I think, so add a link (or two, as you say) properly with a chain extractor

Edited to add I have since read that 10 and 11 speed chains are so weak that it is considered unsafe to delink and relink them, so you are better off using a quick link (or new chain the right size with one quick link). Or don't use 10 or 11 speed drivetrains!

Edited by zebedee on Wednesday 17th October 09:51