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Messages - amacal1

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1
Just weighed it- 9kg flat, but that's with an 11-34 Sunrace cassette, TPU tubes and ~1350g gravel wheels. Out of the box I'd bet it will be closer to 10kg.

That's really not that bad at all. Weighs less than my (admittedly, older) alloy framed / carbon forked Raleigh with 10sp Ultegra and 105 wheels, tpu tubes, and ultegra cassette. Although, yours is a very small frame, still I think my Raleigh is only 49cm, if I remember correctly.

2
Did you determine your full, built-up bike weight? I imagine it's not a lightweight, just curious how the entire build translated.

Weight aside, that's actually a pretty sharp looking build for such a low price.

3
Feels like the designer got bored and ran out of wacky things to do. I love those dials but this feels like a solution to a problem that doesn't exist. If anything I would bet dials have a higher failure rate than just the rubber straps, ontop of being less secure, more expensive and heavier. Fun gimmick but unpractical  imo
But anyway they can't be any worse than the genuine garmin mounts or the rockbros one

Sure, but it's not *that* crazy. I admit, possibly not ideal. But... I'm in favor of someone experimenting and finding more shit to slap those BOAs on. Every now and again they find something new that is freaking amazing. Like my Silca seat bag with the BOA style strap (at least, it says Silca - no idea if it's a fake or not). A BOA strap bag is freaking amazing, and I'm surprised there aren't way, way more of them. There are starting to be a few others available, but DANG is it nice to not f*ck around with velcro.

4
Did anyone order and test one of these Lexon SP-LE18 seatposts?
I bought this one:
https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/1005006075227043.html
On one of the pictures it says "Compatible with 7x7mm rails, 7x9mm carbon rails (adapter included)."
However no adapter came with it, wondering if it takes 7x7 and 7x9 with the same clamp or if my shipment was missing the adapter?

Lexon seems to be a pretty good brand, but that seatpost scares me! One little ol' crack and you'll have a carbon spear through your nether regions. At least, that's what my brain thinks when it sees those tiny chinese carbon spars pointing up towards where you store the nether regions.

5
I'm a big fan of this. I just received a Evosid sprocket, but I likely won't try to fit it up for a couple of months.

If a forensic investigator took a microscope to my rear cassette, I fear that they'd find suspiciously little wear on my 11t sprocket, lol. I've paid for the entire rear cassette, but I'm not getting my money's worth since there's basically an entire gear I seldom use. With a smaller chainring combo, I'll actually be getting my money's worth by using the whole sprocket!

What's the difference between 50t and 48t on the front chainring? Basically one gear further down on the rear cassette? So, if you weren't already finding yourself riding any amount of time in a 50(front)-11(rear) combination, then you absolutely won't miss having that 50t chainring.

6
Vendor Discussion & Reviews / Re: shipping times from aliexpress
« on: January 26, 2025, 09:17:44 PM »
On the China side of things, it takes usually 3 days to get my Items into customs.  It is the USA side it is now a super slow 12 to 15 days.   Sure seems to me that China kicks USA's butt regarding delivery time and efficiency, and USPS is really slow these days.  (Last year for about a month I was receiving packages in about 8 days, now it is back up to 12+ days.  )

I think they use DHL or some other service to get the package to a regional USPS center closer to you before USPS takes over and does the "last mile" or something like that. I see the same thing on my end. Some orders seem to get hung up on that stage for me for quite a while. Once USPS gets their hands on it, though, it seems to go pretty quick. There's one particular USPS regional facility that always screws up my packages (not just Ali, but other mail I track has issues there, also), but anything not going through that particular center seems to be great. In fact, USPS is among the faster more reliable shippers, IMO. UPS is pretty good. FedEx sucks donkey balls.

7
Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: LTWOO eGR
« on: January 22, 2025, 10:09:18 AM »
Had a little fun yesterday in the snowmageddon (US deep south, not used to this stuff).


8
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chinese cycling clothes
« on: January 22, 2025, 10:03:25 AM »
They do sound good but your earlier comment re them being bulky and the AE pics seem to show the palm pads being both thick (3mm is mentioned but it looks more to my eye) & 90 degree angles at the edge - I wonder do you find them awkward as you move your hands around on the bar?

If we're talking about the InBike gloves that I found to be warm, then yes they are a bit bulky. Not uncomfortable, though. I don't think I have an issue with the pad, specifically. Moreso just the overall fit and finish. I ordered the medium, which more most other gloves results in a fairly snug and comfortable fit for my hands. For Pearl Izumi, the medium is a nice fit. Even for Lameda, the medium/large is a nice fit. But for these, the medium is just bulky and rather loose, with extra long fingers. I'm not confident that simply sizing down would fix the problem, as it may also be too tight in other places. It's just an awkward cut and fit.

Actually, now that I think about it, my biggest issue is probably the fingers. I have no dexterity to interact with my bike computer, or even to accurately shift on my road shifters. Hell, I rode with them yesterday (snowpocalypse here in the US south) on my mountain bike and found thumb shifting awkward.

In short, they're warm and I like them for that, but just know that they're bulky and awkward fitting.

9
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chainring Selection Help
« on: January 20, 2025, 01:48:34 PM »
It looks like the same direct mount chainrings sold under Goldix brand. The Goldix chainrings has quite some complaints - too flexy and suboptimal shifting in general. If I were you, I would buy 3-bolt spider and chainrings from Stone/Pass Quest. From my experience they are very good and I am not looking anywhere else now.

Oof. I've already ordered it. Oh well, I suppose I'll find out for myself. Thanks!

10
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chinese cycling clothes
« on: January 19, 2025, 12:54:23 PM »
Looks like these on AE - https://vi.aliexpress.com/item/32725820355.html?

Yep. Those are the ones. Amazon price wasn't much difference. I can say they were nice and warm, not very breathable so my hands did sweat some at or above freezing temps, but I guess you don't want "breathable" in a super cold weather glove.

My Lameda gloves arrived. I just rode with them this morning. I'm not impressed. The fit was good and they look nice, but they were not very warm, not very windproof, and the padding for the grip and bars was mostly cosmetic and provided no real cushioning. My hands were quite cold and the temps were above 5deg C a( 40deg F) and sunny. Pretty sure it was about 7deg C and my hands were still cold.

11
Cyclocross Frames, Wheels & Components / Re: LTWOO eGR
« on: January 17, 2025, 11:15:22 PM »

Any suggestions for replacement pulley wheels? 11 speed gravel cassettes?

So far I'm pretty happy with my cheapo 12sp Sunshine 11-50 alloy cassette. It's super lightweight, considering the size and shifts mostly pretty smooth. I've seen the same one under a few different brand names, I think, incluidng Goldix. Be warned, though, the eGR will work with 50t, but it isn't the best option. The shifting suffers in the highest gears because the b-screw needs so much room to clear, but you also suffer in the lowest gears because if you shift too quickly the pulley wheel will actually strike the cassette.

I know you were asking for 11t options, but I only brought it up because I was surprised that such a dirt cheap cassette works so dang well.

Edit: I believe I have this one, in the 12sp 11-50 configuration. You may want to consider the 11-46 11sp configuration, or maybe see if you can find an 11-48t cassette somewhere.
https://www.aliexpress.us/item/3256805811005103.html

12
I think if you do not hear a lot about it, there is not really a lot to complain.

This has been what I think is going on with the Ltwoo eGR. Either they didn't sell many of them (which I maybe used to think) or they sold a bunch of them (which is what I now think) and there has been very, very little to talk about.

13
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chinese running gear
« on: January 17, 2025, 02:30:09 PM »
Piques my curiosity too. I don't see any with "stress ball" written under them, can you confirm which model is the cheap one you have? https://onemixofficial.com/collections/mens-shoes
Many of their models look extremely similar to one another, I'm not sure they really are different. Might buy a carbon higher end model if your review is good, as I'm already really happy with the cheaper meeto

It looks like I have the Bumper Elite. Where it says "O-Suspension" on the side,  mine says "Stress Ball". I saw one other one that looked the same on the One-Mix-Official store on Ali that said "O-Suspension" but it claimed to have a carbon plate (and I believe that was incorrect, because the photos were identical to the Bumper Elite pictured here and it does not claim to have a carbon plate). 

edit: see below. It's the Bumper Elite, but it says "Stress Ball".

14
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chinese running gear
« on: January 17, 2025, 11:17:31 AM »
Any thoughts on those Pace Beams? I'm considering getting some myself.

It turns out that the ones I bought are probably the Pace Beams. Ali express vendors are nuts, and this is the kind of stuff they do that shoots themselves in the foot. Different product listing, slightly different description, but same "model number" (I think) and the same pictures and ultimately the same description. So, yeah, I think I bought the pace beams, inadvertently.

That's the "nicer" pair I bought. The other, cheaper, pair I bought seems to have no name, but it's the one with "stress ball" written on the heel. I took the cheaper pair for a run the other night and they seemed fine. They fit comfortably, they had a high, large, comfortable sole with a rounded heel, and were as light as any other shoe I've run in, despite the size. I has happy to have the padding, and I seemed to run as fast (or faster) as my usual 2mi run. I had about a 30sec per mile pace increase at no increase in HR, so I can at least say that they didn't slow me down at all. I'm not sure I can say they made me faster, but it was all in the neighborhood of "good". I'm happy enough for $35!

The Pace Beams came in last night. I tried them on and they fit comfortably, but I did not go for a run yet. This is my first pair of "super shoes" (if you want to call them that) and I am blown away by the feel of them. That carbon fiber sole plate is a helluva thing! I can't believe how much bounce it gives, just from walking around. I'm intrigued how it will translate to a run, but I can't imagine it will be bad. If nothing else, I like a stiff sole so I expect I'll be happy enough, as long as there are no hot spots and as long as they hold up well. As for "holding up well", my $70 or so Brooks shoes are noticeably less comfortable to run in after only 100mi, so there's not a high bar to clear for these $70 "super shoes". As long as they don't fall apart on my foot in the next 4-6mo, then I think they'll be worth it.

15
Component Deals & Selection / Re: Chainring Selection Help
« on: January 17, 2025, 09:59:57 AM »
Thanks! That's what I was hoping.

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