The "what bike bits have you just bought" thread Vol 2
Discussion
yellowjack said:
Well, it got here, I fitted it, and did about 40 miles on it today.
Seems very nice. Far better than the awful thing that was on there when i bought the bike. Not much padding, especially compared to the outgoing saddle, but very comfortable. Nicely "sprung" in the centre, but not floppy or droopy. The old seat used to slide me forward, even with the nose slightly up. This one, I can move around comfortably, but my butt stays where I want it to stay.
Bargain too, at £18 and some pence.
If it carries on being as comfortable over the next few weeks, then it looks like it'll be my "go to" saddle for a couple of other bikes too, when i get around to building/rebuilding them. I have a couple of frames that need turning into bikes using components in my parts bin. Components that have either been salvaged from damaged frames or kindly donated by friends upgrading bits on their bikes.
I have treated myself to some KMC missing link joining pliers, not really an essential tool, but I like buying tools. I also picked up a couple of Lezyne tubeless repair kits. Oh and some Endura shorts - I was going to buy another liner at £25, but shorts with the liner at £30 seemed like a no brainer!
GOATever said:
Feeeeel the Powwwwwah.
They couldn't get hold of them and I ended up with Garmin Vector 3s instead. I think Gruffy uses them and hasn't broken them yet which means that they must be absolutely f
king indestructible.Interested to know how you get on with them.
louiebaby said:
Usget said:
I think Gruffy uses them and hasn't broken them yet which means that they must be absolutely fking indestructible.
This is my go-to test of durability too...king indestructible.
I use Vector 2s and a mate Vector 3s, they all appear to be pretty decent now.
I'm on my third set of P1 pedals but they were all warranty replacements. Both failures were on day one of a big race, which is unlucky. The current pair are 18 months old and went off for a service last autumn. I still like them. For me the big advantage is being able to swap them between bikes without any calibration period.
Gruffy said:
I'm on my third set of P1 pedals but they were all warranty replacements. Both failures were on day one of a big race, which is unlucky. The current pair are 18 months old and went off for a service last autumn. I still like them. For me the big advantage is being able to swap them between bikes without any calibration period.
That’s a bonus for sure. The thing that convinced me was the price primarily. Because they are a pair, I like the way I can see my power balance left to right dynamically, graphically on my Garmin. I’m not particularly interested in 4 dimensional power calculation, or even FTP to be fair. Once I got the FTP calculation done, all I was really interested in is my Power at a given Cadence, and in which power zone I am. This is really to try and stop any repeats of the Vasovagal reflex Syncope I suffered a year or so back, when I was guessing my outputs, and I guessed badly wrong. It’s nice to have actual numbers to work with, and these are a very convenient way to get them. You can swap them about the bikes, without having to faff about recalibrating every time, they are two sided, which is great, considering the price. The only slight niggle, is that they have specific cleats, and the cleats aren’t quite the same as the outwardly similar looking Look Keo cleats. This means that the coffee stop caps don’t fit, which means the cleats are likely to get knackered relatively quickly. That’s a small problem though, other than that, I’ve found them to be very handy. I did get a message flashing up on my Garmin that said it had lost the feed from one of them, at the weekend, but when I flipped through to the power balance graphics page, all was in fact well.I've always used the KEO Grip cleats and they seem to work well.
FWIW, I don't think dual-sided measurements are necessary unless you have a significant discrepancy from injury. I did/do and the split is still only 52/48. General wisdom is not to worry about anything less than a 5% swing. Single-sided might not give you the most accurate absolute number but it should measure consistently to give you accurate progress trends and riding zones. If the P1s were available single-sided I'd happily buy that.
FWIW, I don't think dual-sided measurements are necessary unless you have a significant discrepancy from injury. I did/do and the split is still only 52/48. General wisdom is not to worry about anything less than a 5% swing. Single-sided might not give you the most accurate absolute number but it should measure consistently to give you accurate progress trends and riding zones. If the P1s were available single-sided I'd happily buy that.
Gruffy said:
If the P1s were available single-sided I'd happily buy that.
Like these ones you mean? https://www.probikekit.co.uk/cycling-power-meters/...
Usget said:
The reason I didn’t go for the single one, is that a pair aren’t twice the cost, so I thought what the hell 
A Zipp Course stem. 100mm and with a +6 degree rise angle. I’ve always preferred riding with a stretched out and head down position, but I think I’m getting too old for that, and this shorter more up angled stem fits the bill nicely. It’s really nicely made as well, and the stem bolts have star heads on them, which should help prevent any rounding off problems.
Popped down my local Lidl this morning and picked up their bike maintenance stand. I didn't have high expectations but I've set it up and it's a surprisingly good and solid bit of kit for £25
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?article...
https://www.lidl.co.uk/en/MiddleofLidl.htm?article...
I’ve bought some Mavic Ksyrium elite UST wheels for the bike I upgraded with the R7000 105 groupset, and I also bought a pair of Continental GP5000 tubeless tyres. I may actually put the Conti tyres on the Cosmic USTs to replace the cut tyre I suffered yesterday, and the rear, whilst I’m about it, then put those on the 105 equipped bike, and put the Ksyriums on the Ultegra equipped bike, with the power meters, to see if there’s any difference in the power sap from the two different wheel sets.
converted my 2x SRAM crankset to 1x for £30 with a race face narrow wide chainring. (crank was SRAM s-1400).
Straight swap and so much nice to go down to ten cogs and ditch the changer.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com//race-face-nar...
Straight swap and so much nice to go down to ten cogs and ditch the changer.
https://www.chainreactioncycles.com//race-face-nar...
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