The "what bike bits have you just bought" thread Vol 2
Discussion
Ordered a replacement for my Felt-enstein 24hr TT bike (A Felt AR3 with the seatpost flipped and a TT cockpit) this week- will pick it up when I'm back in the UK for Christmas;
Cube Aerium C:68 SLT High. An absolute sod to get hold of - I've been trying since October and missed the last ones in the UK. The Dutch distributor has apparently decided not to import for UK and Holland for next year so I ordered this 2020 model from Bike24 in Germany.
Rather than the full 9k gbp bike, I've got the framset coming so that I can switch the DI2 from my felt and use my own wheels etc. Looking forward to trying it - it'll be really interesting to see how it compares to the Felt.
Cube Aerium C:68 SLT High. An absolute sod to get hold of - I've been trying since October and missed the last ones in the UK. The Dutch distributor has apparently decided not to import for UK and Holland for next year so I ordered this 2020 model from Bike24 in Germany.
Rather than the full 9k gbp bike, I've got the framset coming so that I can switch the DI2 from my felt and use my own wheels etc. Looking forward to trying it - it'll be really interesting to see how it compares to the Felt.
patchb said:
Very nice (other than the green chainring - glad that’s getting changed!)
I have a fear that I’m gonna need a similar list to swap to my Bronson frame, know that I need a headset for sure and think I’ll go offset to slacken it a little as it’s a bit steeper than my current bike.
It’s a bit of a pain in the arse swapping frames these days. I have a fear that I’m gonna need a similar list to swap to my Bronson frame, know that I need a headset for sure and think I’ll go offset to slacken it a little as it’s a bit steeper than my current bike.
I wanted a Bronson but struggled to find one for the right cash.
patchb said:
I bought myself a Santa Cruz Bronson C frame today with fox factory shock - little bit of an impulse buy!!
Picked it up today - it’s a MK1 Bronson but it’s been invisiframed from new so it’s mint underneath. I’m just removing the invisiframe now as the edges are peeling in places and will put new stuff on once I’ve give. It all a polish. Can’t wait to start building it up. Love the colour as well, it’s yellow in some lights and green in others. 
Edit: chucked some forks and wheels in it to see what it’s going to look like. I love it! Need some different grips though as the orange Ergon’s on there don’t look right. Seat angle needs a change as that’s straight out of my hardtail!
Edited by patchb on Saturday 7th December 17:31
markcp said:
Johno said:
Very nice - what size is that?Just bought quite a cheap new light, a Cateye ampp800 for £42. It's been a while since I commuted in the dark and needed a light, I can't believe how good they are now.
It's tiny, and many times brighter than the AA battery powered one I had ten years ago, which was as bright as the one ten years before that. Although that was a bottle sized nicad and halogen bulbs!
In summary, simpleton amazed at technological advancement.
It's tiny, and many times brighter than the AA battery powered one I had ten years ago, which was as bright as the one ten years before that. Although that was a bottle sized nicad and halogen bulbs!
In summary, simpleton amazed at technological advancement.
Got fed up of pensioners and dog walkers shouting at me on shared bike trails despite me always being polite and saying, “excuse me”, so purchased a bell. Wish I hadn’t done too much research as I ended up with a Spurcycle which is lovely but stupidly priced. Having fitted it today it’s probably too high pitched for pensioners and dogs to hear anyway 
It’s nice and loud though.
It’s nice and loud though.Tyres. Again.
A bit of background. On 31 July 2019 I bought, and fitted a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000 SII tyres to my road bike. I did this because the previous pair were properly worn out after 4,900 miles of wear. All good, surely, find tyres, use tyres, rate tyres highly, repeat...
But no. FFWD to 18 December 2019 and those new 4000 SIIs have both had to go in the bin. With only 580 miles on them. In fact one didn't even last that long, but my record keeping isn't great these days. Brand new tyres into landfill and the one that went first was replaced by one of the worn out previous set that I kept back for emergencies. Both tyres ruined by tears in the sidewall. Not overly happy about how robust they are, but then again I have to shoulder most of the blame for riding it on gravel stretches in the New Forest. Hence why I've decided to suck it up and not get all "sale of goods act" on Continental UK.
Now, though, I've fitted a pair of 700 x 25c Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons. I think I might be mad. At £34.99 each (Decathlon) they were better priced than any local bike shop could compete with, and I could walk out with them on the spot. I couldn't have saved that much more buying online to be honest, and I'd have had to pay and/or wait for delivery. Why mad? Because if the 4000s are so flimsy when worked hard, why would I expect the GP 4 Seasons to be that much better? But I've used them before, and really rated them. I'm hoping this pair are as good as the last pair. Just got to avoid the temptation to take them even a teeny-weeny bit off road now.
I also bought a couple of cheap inner tubes, £2.99 for a pair. The last two I'd bought were £12 for the pair from a LBS, for Bontrager branded tubes (I needed them on the spot, and didn't have the luxury of waiting). One of those pricey tubes was in when I discovered the tyres were ruined. A 'bubble' of the tube had squeezed out through the hole torn in the sidewall, and as I prepared to get on the bike for a ride it exploded quite spectacularly. Lucky really that it went before I was blatting along at 20 mph on the road with cars, as it was the front that went. Obviously being a "pop", rather than being perforated by a sharp object, the hole in the £6 tube wasn't repairable as it was far too big. So no more "branded" tubes for me. Cheap ones all the way now, so that I shed fewer tears when they go bang.
A bit of background. On 31 July 2019 I bought, and fitted a set of Continental Grand Prix 4000 SII tyres to my road bike. I did this because the previous pair were properly worn out after 4,900 miles of wear. All good, surely, find tyres, use tyres, rate tyres highly, repeat...
But no. FFWD to 18 December 2019 and those new 4000 SIIs have both had to go in the bin. With only 580 miles on them. In fact one didn't even last that long, but my record keeping isn't great these days. Brand new tyres into landfill and the one that went first was replaced by one of the worn out previous set that I kept back for emergencies. Both tyres ruined by tears in the sidewall. Not overly happy about how robust they are, but then again I have to shoulder most of the blame for riding it on gravel stretches in the New Forest. Hence why I've decided to suck it up and not get all "sale of goods act" on Continental UK.
Now, though, I've fitted a pair of 700 x 25c Continental Grand Prix 4 Seasons. I think I might be mad. At £34.99 each (Decathlon) they were better priced than any local bike shop could compete with, and I could walk out with them on the spot. I couldn't have saved that much more buying online to be honest, and I'd have had to pay and/or wait for delivery. Why mad? Because if the 4000s are so flimsy when worked hard, why would I expect the GP 4 Seasons to be that much better? But I've used them before, and really rated them. I'm hoping this pair are as good as the last pair. Just got to avoid the temptation to take them even a teeny-weeny bit off road now.
I also bought a couple of cheap inner tubes, £2.99 for a pair. The last two I'd bought were £12 for the pair from a LBS, for Bontrager branded tubes (I needed them on the spot, and didn't have the luxury of waiting). One of those pricey tubes was in when I discovered the tyres were ruined. A 'bubble' of the tube had squeezed out through the hole torn in the sidewall, and as I prepared to get on the bike for a ride it exploded quite spectacularly. Lucky really that it went before I was blatting along at 20 mph on the road with cars, as it was the front that went. Obviously being a "pop", rather than being perforated by a sharp object, the hole in the £6 tube wasn't repairable as it was far too big. So no more "branded" tubes for me. Cheap ones all the way now, so that I shed fewer tears when they go bang.
Some Panracer GravelKing tyres as recommend by a friend; despite their name they are not an off-road tyre...
I have fitted them to a spare set of wheels for my gravel bike and so far (30km test ride) they certainly feel like a great road tyre. They are relatively light weight, they feel fast and I have been told that they offer excellent puncture protection.
I have fitted them to a spare set of wheels for my gravel bike and so far (30km test ride) they certainly feel like a great road tyre. They are relatively light weight, they feel fast and I have been told that they offer excellent puncture protection.
jesusbuiltmycar said:
Some Panracer GravelKing tyres as recommend by a friend; despite their name they are not an off-road tyre...
I have fitted them to a spare set of wheels for my gravel bike and so far (30km test ride) they certainly feel like a great road tyre. They are relatively light weight, they feel fast and I have been told that they offer excellent puncture protection.
If you want a more “off road” gravel type tyre, try GravelKing SKs (small knobs)I have fitted them to a spare set of wheels for my gravel bike and so far (30km test ride) they certainly feel like a great road tyre. They are relatively light weight, they feel fast and I have been told that they offer excellent puncture protection.
pablo said:
New bike day!!! 3T Strada Aqua Blue team replica.
Force 1x hydro R with 50t and 11-36 which should give sufficient ratios
3T c35 discus team wheels
Lots of shiny 3T carbon finishing kit
Looks awesome
Very happy
Nice bike, was seriously looking at one of those from Merlin , unbelievable discount. Any issues having had it a while ? Reports of too much a difference between the gear changes seems about all I can find ?Force 1x hydro R with 50t and 11-36 which should give sufficient ratios
3T c35 discus team wheels
Lots of shiny 3T carbon finishing kit
Looks awesome
Very happy
Appreciate any feedback
Cheers
Coolbanana said:
Added some aero to my Wilier Zero6 road bike: Zipp 303's.
Quite like them so far. Wearing Conti GP5000's.
Quite like them so far. Wearing Conti GP5000's.
Ooh very nice!! Whilst I do prefer disc brakes, there is something about the simplicity & classic looks of the humble rim brake.
I'm very much tempted to buy a sub £1000 rim brake bike as a winter bike; there are some decent Tiagra equipped ones on offer at the moment. I've already bought an FSA K-Force carbon seatpost for about £62, and a Prologo Kappa Evo seat (which i already have on my Synapse) from ChainReaction.
Edited by Syrils Neer on Tuesday 31st December 17:13
I got a couple of vouchers for Christmas, and the they do tend to burn a hole in your pocket:
and...
I must say, I'm impressed by their customer service. The second voucher came to me a couple of hours after I placed the first order, and they were very good to give me a one time use, free delivery code to order the second pair. I mean it would have been nice for the two to come together, but this is the same effect, give or take, right?
and...
I must say, I'm impressed by their customer service. The second voucher came to me a couple of hours after I placed the first order, and they were very good to give me a one time use, free delivery code to order the second pair. I mean it would have been nice for the two to come together, but this is the same effect, give or take, right?
A collection of various Shimano parts to convert this from SRAM Apex 10-speed mechanical brakes to Shimano 105 11-speed hydro brakes.
Quite an interesting project, working out what is compatible with what, installation was pretty straightforward including bleeding the brakes which was easy using a Shimano bleed kit and much easier than the Avids I had on a previous bike
Quite an interesting project, working out what is compatible with what, installation was pretty straightforward including bleeding the brakes which was easy using a Shimano bleed kit and much easier than the Avids I had on a previous bike
Zipp 302’s. These are going on my SuperSix (current 202’s going on my steel Condor). They were a great price (£760) so I went for it. Thought about some Hunt 3650’s but I’ve had mixed reports plus the Zipps were £120 cheaper. The 302’s are quite workmanlike, no dimples or fancy machined hubs, j-bend spokes and more of them (20f/24r). I’ve got them with black decals so they’re quite subtle, they feel very robust. Light enough too.
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