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Topics - Carbon_Dude

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31
Component Deals & Selection / 2016 Taipei International Cycle Show - Pictures
« on: March 11, 2016, 02:36:02 PM »
Lots of interesting bikes and components to drool over. 43 pictures in the slideshow posted on VitalMTB.com.

http://www.vitalmtb.com/photos/features/2016-Taipei-Bike-Show,9871/Box-Components-Rear-Derailleur-Shifter-and-Brakes,102448/sspomer,2

32
After The Ride / No riding for me this weekend - maybe I should have gotten that flu shot :(.
« on: February 20, 2016, 07:03:09 PM »
Day 2 of the coughing, sneezing, moderately achy joins, and a runny nose.  Temperature is 100.6F and I don't want to anything but lie under a blanket and keep warm.

Kinda sucks since we are having decently warm weather, although the rain will be moving in next week and temps are expected to drop.  Compare this to last weekend when I rode 27 miles, guess I won't be boosting my winter milage average until maybe next weekend.

After about 3 days, my wife is getting over her cold/flu or whatever this is so I have some hope that it won't last too long.

I am just "an incubus of viral plague" right now.

33
After The Ride / Wanna go for a ride? Official Ride Meet-up Thread
« on: January 22, 2016, 08:14:21 AM »
Our members requested a sticky thread for meeting up for a ride.  Please post here if you are looking to ride with another Chinertown member.

34
29+ & 27+ / 29plus - Trek Stache
« on: December 22, 2015, 11:13:46 AM »
This isn't a Chiner Carbon post but just thought I would post this for some discussion.  I'm really liking the Trek Stache 29plus and Dirtrag Magazine ranked the Trek Stache 29plus as one of their favorite bikes of 2015.  http://dirtragmag.com/editors-choice-2015-our-favorite-bikes/

I know there is a similar Chinese Carbon frame with a high chainstay on the market, maybe someone else can post that link.  Here is a picture of the Stache, in my opinion, a great looking hardtail.


35
After The Ride / You can forget how to ride a bicycle, this guy proved it!
« on: December 12, 2015, 08:07:22 PM »
Such a good story, I thought I'd post it here.

http://www.dailyliked.net/backwards-brain-bicycle/

36
Fat Bikes / Surly Ice Cream Truck - Demo Ride
« on: July 11, 2015, 08:59:21 PM »
One of the local bike shops, Cartecay River Bikes in Ellijay, GA, setup a demo day at one of the local trails today.  It just so happened that I was cleared to start riding again after breaking my collarbone so I decided today was a good as any to head out to the trails.

The shop owner set me up with a Large Surly Ice Cream Truck Fatbike demo bike.  I think he built this one up himself, it had a SRAM X7 2x10 drivetrain, 4.7" wide Bulldozer tires (aired up to 10 psi), carbon wheels, Rockshox Bluto fork.

My take on the fatbike was that it rode more plush than my 100mm FS IP-036.  I found myself looking for rocks and roots to ride over.  The tires provided so much smoothness to the ride.  However, the bike felt heavy and sluggish to pedal and would lose speed rather quickly compared to my 29er.  Weight of the bike was at least 32-34 lbs, even with the carbon wheels.  The most unnerving part was the downhill handling of the bike, it just wanted to squirm and go in the direction it wanted to go, rather than the direction I wanted.  Because of the handling, I decided the cut the demo ride short after only 3 miles.  I just didn't feel comfortable riding at higher speeds.

I'm sure if I rode the bike more, and got past my initial issues and learned how to better control the bike with it's odd handling characteristics, I may eventually have more confidence riding it.  However, it just wasn't to my liking.

So I've answered the question in my mind and learned that a Fatbike just is not for me.  Maybe I will try a 27.5+ or 29+ sometime in the future.

37
After The Ride / Various Full Suspension Designs
« on: May 11, 2015, 10:44:59 AM »
Here is a good video that Giant put together to show the benefits of their Maestro FS design.  It also compares their suspension to others currently on the market.

I find the different suspension designs fascinating.  I've ridden a Giant Anthem, Trance, and Stance.  I felt the Maestro suspension worked very well.

My IP-036 has a more basic (Single Pivot) style but it also works very well, I believe in part due to the Fox CTD BV shock I chose along with the ability to lock out the shock on climbs.  If I had gone with a very basic shock with more linear spring/rebound/damping and no ability to control the shock on the fly, I don't think the single pivot design would be nearly as efficient.



38
Component Deals & Selection / Easton EC70 29er Carbon Wheels @ Bike Nashbar $720/pr (Today Only)
« on: May 10, 2015, 03:02:29 PM »
Got this pricing in an email from Bike Nashbar today.  This is the cheapest I've seen on name brand carbon 29er wheels.  Looks like the discounts are today only, discounts taken at checkout I guess.

Easton EC70 Trail 29er Carbon Rear Mountain Wheel
http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=YW-29EC70R-BASE&catalogId=10052&storeId=10053&langId=-1&utm_source=nashbar&utm_medium=email&utm_content=150510Su&utm_campaign=Products&cm_mmc=Email-_-nashbar-_-150510Su-_-Products&cm_em=davekosiba@gmail.com&spMailingID=11875035&spUserID=NjA0ODgyMzExMjUS1&spJobID=503366335&spReportId=NTAzMzY2MzM1S0

Easton EC70 Trail 29er Carbon Front Mountain Wheel
http://www.nashbar.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?partNumber=YW-29EC709-BASE&catalogId=10052&storeId=10053&langId=-1&utm_source=nashbar&utm_medium=email&utm_content=150510Su&utm_campaign=Products&cm_mmc=Email-_-nashbar-_-150510Su-_-Products&cm_em=davekosiba@gmail.com&spMailingID=11875035&spUserID=NjA0ODgyMzExMjUS1&spJobID=503366335&spReportId=NTAzMzY2MzM1S0


39
Component Deals & Selection / Niner Jet9 RDO - $1153.99
« on: May 05, 2015, 08:44:16 AM »
I know we are all about Chinese Carbon, however, here is a sweet deal on a name brand FS frame with shock.  This price is about the same as I paid for my IP-036 + Fox CTD shock so you get a lot for your money.  However, it does not have a BSA BB or 12x142 thru axle  :-\.

http://www.steepandcheap.com/gear-cache/shop-deep-discounts-on-bikes-and-components/NNR002B-NINOR


40
Component Deals & Selection / Crank Bros Eggbeater SL Pedal Failure
« on: May 03, 2015, 07:54:37 PM »
Just riding up a slight incline today and all of a sudden, SNAP!  The pedal was still connected to my cleat but not to the cranks.  Luckily no crash and I was only two miles into the trail so I rode/walked the bike out.

UPDATE: Crank Bros. will warranty the pedal if it is an Eggbeater 3, however this was an Eggbeater SL, much older design.  Instead I will just pay a nominal cost to upgrade the two pairs of Eggbeater SL's to Eggbeater 3's and they will service my third set of pedals (Eggbeater 3) for no cost.  Overall, a really good experience so far.






41
Sales & Classifieds / DT Swiss RWS 15 Thru Axle (15x100 Front)
« on: May 01, 2015, 08:59:29 AM »
I ended up with an extra axle and thought I'd post it for sale here on Chinertown first to see if anyone wants it. 

Condition: Like new.
Price: $28 includes USPS shipping to the buyer's address in the US.





42
Fat Bikes / 2015 Trek Stache 29+
« on: April 21, 2015, 09:02:31 PM »
Not a Fatbike, not even carbon, but I'm digging this new bike from Trek.  3" wide tires, 1x drivetrain, and the high chainstay allow it to be compatible with a belt drive if you wanted to build something up with this frame.

I've always liked the Stache since it came out a few years ago.

http://www.trekbikes.com/us/en/bikes/mountain/trail/stache/stache_7/


43
Component Deals & Selection / Here's why a 1x11 setup isn't much of a compromise
« on: April 13, 2015, 07:15:14 PM »
MTBR published an excellent graph showing gearing of 3x10, 2x10, 1x10, and 1x11 setups.  No compromise in climbing gears, only in top end.  I only run out of gear when I ride the neighborhood and get above 26mph.  Compare that to my max speed of about 23 mph out on the trails, so for off road, my 32T/10-42 setup works really well. Thought I'd share the graph from MTBR as it is a very good graphical representation of just how much overlap there is in 3x10 and 2x10 setups.



"The jumps in rolling distance observed in the 3x (blue plot) and 2x (red plot) show the change from one chainring to the next. While 3x does offer a slightly better range of gearing, the amount of redundancy in gear ratios is extreme. Comparing the 24T ring of the triple to the 32T ring, you can see that the first 8 high gears overlap in rolling distance to gearing in the 24T ring. Only the last two shifts offer a new ratio. The same is true of the 42T ring. Of the 30 gearing choices on a triple 10-speed setup, only 14 combinations offer unique gearing, the rest are redundant. The same is true of a double but to a lesser degree. Of the 20 gearing combinations on a double, 14 are unique ratios. Doubles offer an almost identical range of a triple with one less ring."

You can read the entire story here:
http://reviews.mtbr.com/tech-1x10-narrow-wide-conversion-gearing-revealed-2

44
Component Deals & Selection / New 1x11 SRAM Group
« on: April 09, 2015, 09:09:13 AM »
Looks like 1x11 (or now 2x11) is filtering down into the lower price range.  SRAM has released a new GX component group.

http://dirtragmag.com/inside-line-new-sram-gx-group-offers-1x11-2x11-or-2x10-versions/

45
Component Deals & Selection / Interesting Hub Design - Magnets are cool
« on: April 07, 2015, 06:23:00 AM »
After having the failure of my Bitex Hub, I started looking around at what designs other hub manufactures have.  IMO, the traditional multi-pawl design really isn't that good of a design. However, I really like the DT Swiss Star Ratchet hub design, they sell a 350 series hub which is reasonable priced and a 240 series which is a bit more expensive but seem to be very reliable, and is very easy to service.

I also found another very interesting hub design from Absolute Black.  Their Black Diamond hub is also a Star Ratchet style hub like the DT Swiss, but Absolute Black replaces the two springs with a magnetic ring.  Anywhere you can use a magnet in place of a spring is cool.  This just came out in November of last year so I've not heard too much about them.

Unfortunately, the AB hubs are even more expensive than the DT Swiss hubs and they don't offer some of the options like straight pull or center-Loc rotor compatibility. 

$562 for a set (fr/rr) on eBay.  http://www.ebay.com/itm/Moyeux-Av-Ar-ABSOLUTE-BLACK-DIAMOND-Hubs-xd-xx1-12x142mm-QR15-/331423412604?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_71&hash=item4d2a5ff17c

Check out the videos at the bottom of the page I've linked below showing how the hub works.  It's a very elegant, simple design.

http://www.absoluteblack.cc/black-diamond-hubs.html


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