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And there's plenty of these topics in what bike?
.. an over reliance on powerful degreasing cleaning agents or power washers..
I ride in the Peak district, Calderdale etc and experience gritstone slop etc. People need to be more careful cleaning.
.. an over reliance on powerful degreasing cleaning agents or power washers..
I ride in the Peak district, Calderdale etc and experience gritstone slop etc. People need to be more careful cleaning.
Edited by Sa Calobra on Wednesday 17th January 08:09
bakerstreet said:
I'd go with a Cannondale CAAD or something Carbon from Planet X.
Giant Defy is also worth a look. I have had a Giant 2010 Defy since 2010 and not much is original apart from the frame, but its still a good bike.
I bought a PX Pro Carbon back in February 2014, for the first 10k miles it cost me nothing bar consumables then needed a bottom bracket, rear hub and headset bearings. For £1k at the time it's been excellent.Giant Defy is also worth a look. I have had a Giant 2010 Defy since 2010 and not much is original apart from the frame, but its still a good bike.
Last February I bought a 2017 Giant Defy Advanced 2 for £1444 (15% discount). Absolutely love it, until I fell off it on Sunday at some traffic lights and a van ran over and killed it! The frame is bent
I've replaced it with a 2018 Giant Defy Advanced 2
Sa Calobra said:
And there's plenty of these topics in what bike?
.. an over reliance on powerful degreasing cleaning agents or power washers..
I ride in the Peak district, Calderdale etc and experience gritstone slop etc. People need to be more careful cleaning.
Yup... an over reliance on powerful degreasing cleaning agents or power washers..
I ride in the Peak district, Calderdale etc and experience gritstone slop etc. People need to be more careful cleaning.
Edited by Sa Calobra on Wednesday 17th January 08:09
I cleaned my MTB to "immaculate" before dropping it in to the supplying shop for some work. Ironically it was the BB, but it was a well-used MTB and the press fit BB lasted 2,300 miles, only dying after a particularly rain-drenched ride on a sandy heath. That ride saw water get into the freehub body and the pedal bearings too.
Anyway, when I dropped it off the shop's senior mechanic was there, and read me the riot act... "any kind of detergent is BAD for the bike as it emulsifies grease in the bearings and causes water to wash that grease away" - and - "whatever you do, never EVER use a pressure washer to clean the bike" ...so now I just clean the oily bits, chain off to degrease that, and the frame simply gets left to dry after a muddy ride and I dry-brush the mud off later.
I've got two bikes with press-fit BBs - one road bike with 10,000 miles on the original BB, and the MTB with 1 x BB swap in 5,000 miles. I'd prefer a threaded BB, because they're less of a faff to swap and seem to be longer lifed in use, but I've had no major issues with mine.
The Trek BB90/95 (Shimano) BB for my road bike is sub £30 (plus fitting), so not a financial heartache to fix if/when it does let go. And a Shimano press-fit BB for the Anthem (MTB) is about £23 to £35 (plus fitting) again. The one time I had to have a new one it cost less than £40 fitted. (All in-store prices, by the way - cheaper still on t'internet, I'd imagine...)
As a preference? I'd rather bike manufacturers stuck with threaded BBs. In practice, though, I haven't seen any noticeable differences in bearing life or maintenance costs. OP - by all means it's your choice, but I'd personally not completely discount a bike with a push-fit BB. Place them lower down the shortlist, yes, but many excellent bikes are supplied with press-in BBs these days.
Agree. When I used degreasing Halfords, muckoff etc I was amazed how new the bikes looked for a tiny effort yet the bearings seized quicker than a soapy bucket of water and bog sponge.
Bikes getting THAT clean that quick regardless of what the business making them says don't add up..
OP don't cut out good bieks off your shortlist just because of one component. Cannondale etc know what they do better than someone who markets detergents etc
Bikes getting THAT clean that quick regardless of what the business making them says don't add up..
OP don't cut out good bieks off your shortlist just because of one component. Cannondale etc know what they do better than someone who markets detergents etc
Paul Drawmer said:
I need a 'relaxed' frame set, so have been looking at those aimed at comfort, not out and out racing. At 71, I don't flex as much as most of you guys, but I still get a buzz out of tapping out a few miles. As I'm going for new, I like the idea of discs, and I do need 'climbers' gearing as I'm not as strong as I was.
I think based on the above, you'd be better looking at bike with a 'sportive' or 'endurance' geometry, think Specialized Roubaix, Cannondale Synapse, Pinnacle Dolomite, Canyon Endurance, Trek Domane, Cube Agree, BMC Gran Fondo, Giant Defy, Scott Solace etc.As a mountain biker, I can't give you much help re road bikes, but I would say that if you buy direct, be prepared for the guys at your LBS to, understandably, look askance at you when you walk in there pushing your new pride and joy. Plenty of good deals out there without buying direct. Look for a 2017MY going at a discount, for example.
As for BBs, few things are ever going to match the old square taper, threaded, sealed Shimano BBs for longevity but I have 2 bikes with PF30 BBs and have had no trouble - they are easy to remove and refit, it's simple to regrease the bearings as needed and they certainly last as long as Shimano Hollowtech 2 BBs.
(I once bought a crankset online plus Hollowtech 2 BB to go with it - when it turned up, it already came with the BB, so I tried to get a refund on the second one - they told me I'd be better off keeping it as I'd need to replace the first one in 6 months anyway...turned out not to be that bad, but you'd have to be unlucky not to outlast one...)
As for BBs, few things are ever going to match the old square taper, threaded, sealed Shimano BBs for longevity but I have 2 bikes with PF30 BBs and have had no trouble - they are easy to remove and refit, it's simple to regrease the bearings as needed and they certainly last as long as Shimano Hollowtech 2 BBs.
(I once bought a crankset online plus Hollowtech 2 BB to go with it - when it turned up, it already came with the BB, so I tried to get a refund on the second one - they told me I'd be better off keeping it as I'd need to replace the first one in 6 months anyway...turned out not to be that bad, but you'd have to be unlucky not to outlast one...)
Update.
All preconceptions out of the window. I've sold a couple of watches and bought a used Canyon Endurace CF. Due to collect it next week. In the meantime here's one of the seller's pics.
I can't wait!
Oh, and the bike is very much better than I am, but why shouldn't old guys have fun?
All preconceptions out of the window. I've sold a couple of watches and bought a used Canyon Endurace CF. Due to collect it next week. In the meantime here's one of the seller's pics.
I can't wait!
Oh, and the bike is very much better than I am, but why shouldn't old guys have fun?
Paco Jones said:
As a mountain biker, I can't give you much help re road bikes, but I would say that if you buy direct, be prepared for the guys at your LBS to, understandably, look askance at you when you walk in there pushing your new pride and joy. Plenty of good deals out there without buying direct. Look for a 2017MY going at a discount, for example.
As for BBs, few things are ever going to match the old square taper, threaded, sealed Shimano BBs for longevity but I have 2 bikes with PF30 BBs and have had no trouble - they are easy to remove and refit, it's simple to regrease the bearings as needed and they certainly last as long as Shimano Hollowtech 2 BBs.
(I once bought a crankset online plus Hollowtech 2 BB to go with it - when it turned up, it already came with the BB, so I tried to get a refund on the second one - they told me I'd be better off keeping it as I'd need to replace the first one in 6 months anyway...turned out not to be that bad, but you'd have to be unlucky not to outlast one...)
Nope. Never had that. For years I've bought frames from the best place online. I've been a Commencal customer three times now.As for BBs, few things are ever going to match the old square taper, threaded, sealed Shimano BBs for longevity but I have 2 bikes with PF30 BBs and have had no trouble - they are easy to remove and refit, it's simple to regrease the bearings as needed and they certainly last as long as Shimano Hollowtech 2 BBs.
(I once bought a crankset online plus Hollowtech 2 BB to go with it - when it turned up, it already came with the BB, so I tried to get a refund on the second one - they told me I'd be better off keeping it as I'd need to replace the first one in 6 months anyway...turned out not to be that bad, but you'd have to be unlucky not to outlast one...)
Any bikeshop that did that tends to be the bitter one store owner who didn't innovate, listen to his customers, provide a good service and always sold items at full rrp stocked not by him but the distributor.
A few weeks ago I took my new Commencal in for brake/dropper hoses routing and bleeding as that's one job I'm not good at. The mechanic booked me in within a day before other jobs and it gives him a break from working on muddy low end badly maintained bikes bought from themselves.
Smile, engage people and take your business to good places.
Edit:- A slightly combative post but for decades I've been sick of bikeshops taking the piss. Any other business (sports etc) that charged high prices etc etc would quickly close yet in the cycling world people seem to be indoctrinated into supporting such businesses
Edited by Sa Calobra on Sunday 8th April 15:56
Paul Drawmer said:
Update.
All preconceptions out of the window. I've sold a couple of watches and bought a used Canyon Endurace CF. Due to collect it next week. In the meantime here's one of the seller's pics.
I can't wait!
Oh, and the bike is very much better than I am, but why shouldn't old guys have fun?
Top man... I have an Aeroad and quite like the whole Canyon thing. Enjoy it...All preconceptions out of the window. I've sold a couple of watches and bought a used Canyon Endurace CF. Due to collect it next week. In the meantime here's one of the seller's pics.
I can't wait!
Oh, and the bike is very much better than I am, but why shouldn't old guys have fun?
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