The "what bike bits have you just bought" thread

[louiebaby]

ALawson said:

That's a great combo 52/36 and 11/32 works up to about 25%!

I can't decide whether 50/34 + 11-28 or 52/36 and 11-32 is the best all-round option for me.

I've managed very well on 50/34 + 11-28 for things like the Dartmoor Classic and so on. I've even ridden up Haytor on the ToB route without getting out of the saddle on it. The thing is, this is 10 speed.

The next bike will be 11 speed, so do I want an extra cog of choice in the middle somewhere, or do I want a higher spin-out speed? (The weight penalty is marginal so hardly worth considering.)

I think I'd probably stick with 50/34 + 11-28, but I'm a while away from having to make that decision yet...

[JEA1K]

R1gtr said:

Just ordered a 11-32 Ultegra cassette and a medium shimano real derailer plus an ultegra chain as the bike came with a 52/36 11-28 configuration and the hills are pretty big around here! Also ordered a Rapha RCC top ( Thanks Dowks) and a Lezyne Super GPS computer.

Where do you live, Nepal?

[R1gtr]

ALawson said:

That's a great combo 52/36 and 11/32 works up to about 25%!

Yeah that was my thinking, used to have 50/34 and 11-28 on my old bike which was fine but I am in for an operation on my ankle which will mean 6 weeks in Plaster then a good bit of physio to get the strength back do I thought a 32 on the back will make things a bit easier, bit of a bummer having to buy a bigger rear mech but I can sell the short cage and 11-28 to recoup some of the cost (both brand new)

[R1gtr]

JEA1K said:

Where do you live, Nepal?

The Highlands at the top of a hill and every ride ends the same way- having to get up the bloody thing with tired legs!

[JEA1K]

R1gtr said:

The Highlands at the top of a hill and every ride ends the same way- having to get up the bloody thing with tired legs!

Ok, so not Surrey!

Ha ha, there's nothing worse ... its totally demoralising when there's a monster climb to get home when drained.

[louiebaby]

R1gtr said:

The Highlands at the top of a hill and every ride ends the same way - having to get up the bloody thing with tired legs!

Whilst not the Highlands, I'm in a valley, with a Cat 4 regardless of what direction I want to go. So on cold legs it's not ideal, but you're always warmed through by the top! Every ride ends in a downhill though...

Not sure which is best...?

[pete]

I run a 50/34 and 11/28 on my road bike, which is fine for anything Berkshire can throw at me (and I remember when I was a boy I used to happily ride a 52/42 with a 12/23!). However I'm doing La Marmotte this year, so I'll put a completely wimpy 11/32 on the back with a medium cage derailleur; I can see myself needing that for the Alpe d'Huez hairpins with 160km or mountains in my legs!

[yellowjack]

pete said:

I run a 50/34 and 11/28 on my road bike, which is fine for anything Berkshire can throw at me (and I remember when I was a boy I used to happily ride a 52/42 with a 12/23!). However I'm doing La Marmotte this year, so I'll put a completely wimpy 11/32 on the back with a medium cage derailleur; I can see myself needing that for the Alpe d'Huez hairpins with 160km or mountains in my legs!

My 1996 Falcon had a 53/39 x 13-23 seven speed set-up. As a younger man I'd happily drag myself round the North Yorkshire area out of Ripon on it. More recently I realised it was possible to get an 11-28 for the back, and the relief when climbing (even in Surrey and Hampshire) was enormous.

My carbon fibre 'nice' bike still runs the original 50/34 x 11-28. I'd actually like to go up to a 52/36 chainset on that one, but I haven't really got the pennies to swap at the moment, and to be honest I'm not getting any younger so should probably stick to the compact it came with. After all, it's being slow UP hills that pegs back my average speed, I don't really need those two extra teeth on the downhill bits if I'm honest with myself...

[anonymous-user]

Crank set changed after my faux pas, plus a few other bits -



Looking forward to getting back on her later today, must wrap up warm though.

[louiebaby]

The Vulpine Sample Sale is online, and currently causing their servers a little trouble:

http://www.vulpine.cc/uk/sample-sale-all/vulpine-m...

The soft shell gloves and sportive mitts are good. I might order some more mitts actually...

[yellowjack]

louiebaby said:

The Vulpine Sample Sale is online, and currently causing their servers a little trouble:

http://www.vulpine.cc/uk/sample-sale-all/vulpine-m...

The soft shell gloves and sportive mitts are good. I might order some more mitts actually...

I can only see sizes XL and XS/S in stuff I'd want. XL only in the gloves and mitts, which is a shame. Those are Aldi/Lidl prices, but applied to proper kit.

[louiebaby]

yellowjack said:

louiebaby said:

The Vulpine Sample Sale is online, and currently causing their servers a little trouble:

http://www.vulpine.cc/uk/sample-sale-all/vulpine-m...

The soft shell gloves and sportive mitts are good. I might order some more mitts actually...

I can only see sizes XL and XS/S in stuff I'd want. XL only in the gloves and mitts, which is a shame. Those are Aldi/Lidl prices, but applied to proper kit.

[Teebs]

6870 di2 shifters
TRP long drop brakes

Converting my Kinesis 4s disc to rim brakes.

[Your Dad]

louiebaby said:

The Vulpine Sample Sale is online, and currently causing their servers a little trouble:

http://www.vulpine.cc/uk/sample-sale-all/vulpine-m...

The soft shell gloves and sportive mitts are good. I might order some more mitts actually...

Just ordered another cycling cap, rude not to when they're £2.

Think I've got about 4 of the Hoy/Vulpine caps now, none cost more than a fiver.

[47p2]

Joining the virtual world of cycling...

[tenohfive]

Your Dad said:

Just ordered another cycling cap, rude not to when they're £2.

Think I've got about 4 of the Hoy/Vulpine caps now, none cost more than a fiver.

I've got 3, and none fit properly or look right (to my uneducated eyes anyway.) Will be sticking with my Sportful cap for now.

Ordered the Signal Gilet though, and another pair of the arm warmers (which are great, especially at £5.)

[Your Dad]

tenohfive said:

Your Dad said:

Just ordered another cycling cap, rude not to when they're £2.

Think I've got about 4 of the Hoy/Vulpine caps now, none cost more than a fiver.

I've got 3, and none fit properly or look right (to my uneducated eyes anyway.) Will be sticking with my Sportful cap for now.

Ordered the Signal Gilet though, and another pair of the arm warmers (which are great, especially at £5.)

They seem to be cut slightly different to other brands, not as much depth in the cap so they don't sit as low on the head. The Storm cap (not the full-on thermal one) is a fuller fit, and very effective at blocking the cold wind.

[yellowjack]

Teebs said:

6870 di2 shifters
TRP long drop brakes

Converting my Kinesis 4s disc to rim brakes.

Would it be impolite to enquire as to why you are ditching discs in favour of rim brakes? FWIW I'm still more than happy with the Ultegra rim brakes on my road bike, but have yet to ride a disc-braked road frame to compare the two. I'm interested to know whether it's a preference thing, or if the switch to rim brakes was forced on you by the Di2 shifters?

And will that change not also require a new wheelset with a brake track on the rim?

[Your Dad]

yellowjack said:

Teebs said:

6870 di2 shifters
TRP long drop brakes

Converting my Kinesis 4s disc to rim brakes.

Would it be impolite to enquire as to why you are ditching discs in favour of rim brakes? FWIW I'm still more than happy with the Ultegra rim brakes on my road bike, but have yet to ride a disc-braked road frame to compare the two. I'm interested to know whether it's a preference thing, or if the switch to rim brakes was forced on you by the Di2 shifters?

And will that change not also require a new wheelset with a brake track on the rim?

And will you be selling off your disc wheelset/calipers/rotors etc???

[Teebs]

yellowjack said:

Teebs said:

6870 di2 shifters
TRP long drop brakes

Converting my Kinesis 4s disc to rim brakes.

Would it be impolite to enquire as to why you are ditching discs in favour of rim brakes? FWIW I'm still more than happy with the Ultegra rim brakes on my road bike, but have yet to ride a disc-braked road frame to compare the two. I'm interested to know whether it's a preference thing, or if the switch to rim brakes was forced on you by the Di2 shifters?

And will that change not also require a new wheelset with a brake track on the rim?

Yellowjack/Your Dad,


No, I'm happy to share my opinion

There are a few reasons, as below

Hood shape: I had the Di2 Disc levers and for my relatively small hands, the shape is awful (compared to regular rim Di2). Too big, too awkward, too ugly. Rim Di2 in comparison are perfect, shape and size wise

Noise: Awful when wet, even when set up correctly (and the OEM spec pads are bloody expensive)

Benefit: None compared to decent rim brakes & good pads. I recently got some Dura-Ace 9100 calipers on my best bike and they put disc brakes to shame, both in modulation and power.

Moving back to rim will give a better choice in rim brake wheels (I'll be using my old Chris King/Archetype wheels).

I could possibly see the benefit in using discs on a commuter, stop start, minimal maintainance etc, but for a weekend winter bike, I'm just not convinced. The wheelset was Hunt X Mason, which I've provisionally sold pending final details.

These are my opinions, rim is king (especially with Di2)