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Messages - cmh

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616
After The Ride / Re: Before the ride...
« on: November 08, 2014, 05:24:19 PM »
Before a ride:

  • Get bottles or camelbak together (chose based on distance)
  • Pack any nutrition that'll be necessary, usually at least Clif shots
  • Make sure we have helmet, gloves, and shoes
    (I keep flat pedals in the car just in case I forget bike shoes - it's happened.)
  • Make sure we've got a change of clothes for afterwards
    (We always get changed immediately after the ride, never wanna be standing/sitting around in sweaty bike clothes
  • Load the bikes up in the car (no trails rideable distance from home)  :(
  • Get to the trail, park, unload the bikes. Put my front wheel on, since my bike won't fit in the Element fully assembled.
  • Check tire pressures.
  • Lock up the car, and RIDE!  :D

One thing I never, never do is lube the chain before a ride. Most chain lubes, especially the "dry" type, have carriers which help in application but will evaporate. Usually when you apply, then ride immediately, the carriers will keep things wetter and attract more dirt.

Instead, I always apply chain lube after the ride, giving it at least overnight to dry. Unless the chain was too dry to start with, I'll usually run it over the gears, make sure the shifting is good, then wipe the chain clean with a rag. Subsequently, our drivetrains are _clean_ and look nice, plus don't pick up too much goop. I've also found that taking this approach, I very rarely need to take the chain off for a complete degreasing.

617
After The Ride / Re: Designing a Head Badge
« on: November 08, 2014, 04:57:15 PM »
Quote from: brmeyer135 on November 07, 2014, 01:00:11 PM
My biggest concern is the amount put in it....with material(sterling silver) and cost.
Not sure how they attach, but as someone mentioned the headtube is concave and tapered
Sure hate to have that drop off.

Oh hell yeah. I have a Karate Monkey badge for her that I never installed on the frame because it was so much nicer than the frame. With that one, it came with two tiny screws, and I would have had to drill and tap the head tube. Obviously not gonna work on a carbon bike, so I think she does adhesives of some type. Considering the work that's gone into some of her recent stuff, (multiple metals and loads of detail) I imagine she's got the adhesion thing sorted out. Tapered/shaped head tubes are everywhere, so she probably knows how to deal with that as well, but for that you'd have to ask her directly.

618
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Problem with SRAM PF30 Bottom Bracket
« on: November 08, 2014, 04:51:46 PM »
Quote from: brmeyer135 on November 07, 2014, 12:49:01 PM
Surely, stiffness is improved just from more material 12mm vs 9 or 10mm...same with bb30
Now, is it any of us can register....seriously doubt it.

Exactly.  The engineer in me says "it's demonstrably stiffer! It's math!" and the rider in me says "yeah, but does it really make a difference?" Maybe to my wife who knows when her tire pressure is off by a PSI or so.   ;D

619
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Custom Headtube badges
« on: November 08, 2014, 04:30:20 PM »
Quote from: brmeyer135 on November 07, 2014, 12:33:45 PM
Is Jen's prices similar to the custom head badges at the top of this topic?

Jen _is_ headbadges.com. Sorry if I didn't make that clearer. Headbadges.com/Revolution Cycle Jewelry/Jen Green Custom Jewelry  is a one-lady show run out of a small shop on Jeweler's Row in Philadelphia. She's super awesome and incredibly talented.

620
29er / Re: Velofranner's Build
« on: November 06, 2014, 12:02:51 PM »
Quote from: JohnnyNT on November 06, 2014, 04:26:38 AM
When it comes to wheels try to find DT350/Hope2Evo on Crests or a similar rim. Could be hard to get at that price point but doable. Switching front hub to Novatec would lower the price, but treat it as last resort ;P

Hope hubs and ZTR rims are my version of a fantastic MTB wheel at a reasonable price. If you're building, remember to check the UK sites like Wiggle.co.uk for the Hope hubs, you can save a TON vs. US suppliers. The only thing I'd warn is if gravity loves you more than others, the Crest might not be enough rim.  The Arch is great, I've got a set (pre-Arch EX) that have been bombproof. I know guys of my stature (6'+, 200lbs+) who weren't as thrilled with the Crest.

621
Sales & Classifieds / Re: Tubular 50mm road rims, 24/28h
« on: November 04, 2014, 08:26:39 PM »
Quote from: Sitar_Ned on November 04, 2014, 06:42:04 PM
Proposed being the key word here - Your post is perfectly fine, good sir.

Wuhu! :D

Quote
And yes, that's a killer deal. Almost makes me want to build a road bike just for the heck of it. But alas.. I owned one for two months and I simply could not get used to the road type handle bars. I also think maybe the geometry was too aggressive for my tastes, as well. Eventually, I'd like to try out the road type of bars / and shifters again on a more relaxed geometry road bike. Sorry to go off a topic a bit, cmh, not trying to thread derail.

No worries at all. I remembered - these rims (and most all carbon rims) require special pads, and I _think_ I have them.  If I can figure out which ones they are and _find_ them, I'll gladly include them with the rims.

622
Sales & Classifieds / Re: Tubular 50mm road rims, 24/28h
« on: November 04, 2014, 05:47:15 PM »
Oh and I saw the proposed rules about 25-50 post minimum, but I figured WTH, plus I think you can see from my posts I'm at least reasonably legit. :D

623
Sales & Classifieds / Re: Tubular 50mm road rims, 24/28h
« on: November 04, 2014, 05:46:17 PM »
Quote from: Izzy on November 04, 2014, 10:36:56 AM
Damn, that's a ridiculously good deal - Hey cmh, I have no interest in building a road bike but had been considering a cross bike for some time. Would these be suitable for such a build or are they strictly for the asphalt? Fairly certain the answer is they are strictly road bike rims, but thought it wouldn't hurt to ask.

Really glad to see the classifieds section growing a bit. Hopefully, in time, I'll be able to snag some good deals on here (I hate using fleabay and/or Alibaba)

Yeah, it dawned on me as I almost tripped on the rims the other day and then saw someone asking about road rims. I know this is mostly a MTB forum but thought it was worth throwing it out there.  My f-up, your benefit, all that, plus it gets me closer to my Chiner. :D

As for use on a cyclocross bike, I've seen many pro cross bikes running deep tubular rims like this.  The deep V section results in a much stiffer/stronger rim so as long as you're not hucking huge drops on your cross bike, I don't think you'd have any problems with these.  If you are hucking huge drops on your cross bike, well, my hat is off to you, sir. :D

Quick google search for "pro cyclocross bikes" returns a whole bunch of bikes with spendy deep section rims:
https://www.google.com/search?q=pro+cyclocross+bikes&espv=2&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=d2RZVJClL4WvyATOvoD4Ag&ved=0CAkQ_AUoAg&biw=1274&bih=778

Tubulars are _very_ popular in cyclocross since they run shockingly low pressures, and tubes would pinch flat _pronto_.  Local cyclocross guys tell me that tubeless isn't reliable enough in cross, I guess without the volume they tend to burp easier since the pressures are comparable but the tires are far smaller.

624
29er / Re: John's IP-057 build - first bike build ever
« on: November 04, 2014, 09:48:06 AM »
Quote from: Vipassana on November 04, 2014, 09:15:58 AM
I also like the RaRas, but the cost and the rate at which they wear has me a bit concerned.  I'll probably look elsewhere when it comes time to replace.

Agreed on that as well. I've run RaRas before, and they're fast, but I actually found them to be slicker than SB8's in front use. That, and how quickly my wife would kill her Rocket Rons was concerning.  Oh, and the budget "performance" line Rons were downright f*king terrifying on wet roots and rocks. The EVO's were better but then they'd wear out quick.

Right now we're on Continentals. The RaceSports are *light* but the sidewall is like paper, so most of our tires are the ProTection models, which has the same Black Chili tread compound as the RaceSports, and are much easier to set up tubeless.  I run a Mountain King front with an X-King in the back, and she's got X-Kings front and rear.

625
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Custom Headtube badges
« on: November 04, 2014, 07:10:14 AM »
Mentioned this in the other thread that mentioned head badges, but I can't endorse Jen (of Revolution Cycle Jewelry) highly enough. She's freaking brilliant, and has been doing some stuff lately that is just amazing, using multiple metals and stuff like that. I am fairly certain that if you can dream it, Jen can make it. We've also had her do several jewelry pieces for my wife that have all come out amazing.

Some of her recent head badges:





Something a bit more personal - I took a photo of my wife's bike, converted it to a silhouette, and gave that to Jen, who then cut it out and put it on a pendant:


Jen's a true artist, an awesome person, and a serious rider to boot!

626
Sales & Classifieds / SOLD! Tubular 50mm road rims, 24/28h
« on: November 04, 2014, 06:16:56 AM »
These rims are sold!
I bought a set of Gigantex tubular 50mm deep road rims a while back with plans to build myself a wheelset, but never did, and decided I wasn't likely to. So, this set of rims is completely new and unused. Not Chinese, but Taiwanese, sourced from http://bikehubstore.com/ and were something like $220 each when I got them. (not affiliated with BHS, but I have bought a bunch of stuff from there and have been really happy with them)



https://plus.google.com/photos/118048517346415993560/albums/6077658058463149761?banner=pwa

At this point, just looking to get rid of them to help fund my Chiner project, so thinking $100 for the set + shipping. If you supplied the hubs and spokes, I could do the build for you as well, I've been building wheels for myself and others since the early 90s.

As you can see in the photos, it's a 3K weave under the tire and at the spoke bed, but a UD weave on the sidewalls.

I should also note that these are narrow, not the new trend towards wider rims such as 25mm. I think they measure about 21mm at the brake track.

627
Component Deals & Selection / Re: XT brakes and XTR
« on: November 04, 2014, 06:02:52 AM »
I had Avids on my Rumblefish, and they were pretty good for years, but then they started getting squishy.  It's funny what you can adjust to but you get to a point where the brakes are just so bad that you can't adjust anymore, and despite repeated bleedings, the Avids just wouldn't work. Once the new XTR is in, my wife is getting that, and I was planning on getting her "hand-me-down" XT brakes, but in the meantime I threw on an old set of Avid BB7 mechanicals - and I've got to say, I'm in no rush to swap them out. They're easy to set up, and they work great and feel fantastic. I was really amused by this as I expected it would be something I would "survive" until I got the other brakes, but honestly I'm not sure i'm going to swap them out. I doubt my old Avid hydraulics are going to be used again, though.

628
Component Deals & Selection / Re: 635 mm wide handlebar not wide enough?
« on: November 04, 2014, 05:54:22 AM »
Quote from: snipe on October 10, 2014, 08:36:55 PM
I bought a couple of Gravity 720 carbon bars from a friend that gets a lot of product to review for a website he runs.  He said they were good for a girls bike.  I'm okay with that.  But a lot of guys here are running Chromag 780s since thats the macho thing to do.  My ER doc friend says he has noticed an up tick in the number of broken little fingers.  That would also explain the growing number of barkless sections, about handlebar height, on the local trees.  I will stick with my 720s and keep my little fingers intact. 

This made me laugh, thanks. :D "that's the macho thing to do" - used to be running bars as narrow as possible was the macho thing to do.

I've got no issue with the trend towards wider bars except that it's a trend. Works for some folks, not for others. My wife is 5'3" and her latest bike came with 700mm bars, maybe wider, I forget. Swapped those to the 580s she's been running for years.

I wonder how many pinkies got hurt for this? http://instagram.com/p/tflnsIAyvx

629
29er / Re: 256 build by Jake
« on: November 04, 2014, 05:27:14 AM »
Quote from: JohnnyNT on November 03, 2014, 02:22:24 PM
...With pedals it depends if you are fan of Eggbeater,

If you're looking for Eggbeater cranks and wanna go with the 11s, check out Crank Brothers' trade-in program.  They offer any of their "normal" pedals for $60 with trade-in of any old pedals, but you can also get the Eggbeater 11s through trade-in for $250.  That's quite a bit better than the normal $450, even if it is still pretty shocking for a set of pedals. You have to call them directly to do that, though. (this is all assuming they are still doing the trade-in program)

Quote
Edit: If you have loads of cash you can go Clavivula with crank :P

Short of that, I've been really impressed with the Race Face Next SL's so far. Saved almost a pound over XTs on my wife's bike. Only notable downside is the tooth profile of the spiderless narrow-wide chainring isn't as agressive as Wolf Tooth and so we had some chain dropping issues. Looks like that was due to a Shadow Plus derailleur that needed maintenance, but still, I'll be very happy when Wolf Tooth releases their spiderless rings for the Race Face Cinch standard. They just had a teaser image on their Facebook page for it as well.

630
26er & 27.5 (650b) / Re: XMIplay 650B Carbon Hard Tail
« on: November 04, 2014, 05:03:51 AM »
To gently steer this topic back on track, the IP-136 is actually an excellent candidate for her as well - she's on a Scott Scale 29er right now, and is basically done with her 26er, so even if I don't go with the FS 650b bike for her backup, I couldn't help but think that an IP-136 would be a perfect "B" bike to the Scale, especially for the local trails where the 29er isn't quite as necessary.  At a glance it looks like the geometry is close to the Scale, too, so the lighter frame and the mid-scale wheels might be perfect.

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