[Harry Meatmotor]

@americancyclo 100171 wrote:

come to think of it, a wind fairing would probably keep you nice and cozy. couple that with a full face helmet, and you’re sitting pretty.

Bahhh!

You might as well commute by car!

stoopid contraption captains… why are are they all mustachioed?

[Harry Meatmotor]

@mstone 100168 wrote:

it might have frozen, so the caliper failed to return, which would leave the cable slack. ordinarily one would notice that, because of the drag from the stuck caliper. on the e-bike you may have just powered through it. (which would wear the heck out of the pads, which may also explain why you needed to adjust the brakes the next day.)

next time, you could try manually wiggling the caliper to free it up (watch what normally moves when you pull the cable, and push it the other way if it’s stuck)

Teh Winnar!

This is a highly likely scenario.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@vvill 100119 wrote:

You don’t need a GPS to participate. Just an odometer, or if you know your regular commute mileage that’ll work too.

I thought the competition syncs with strava? If not, I can self report no problem.

[Harry Meatmotor]

too bad i don’t have any GPS-enabled wizardry, otherwise I’d be in on this freezing saddles hot mess. polar vortex, schmolar vortex.

(“meatloaf, beatloaf, double-bubble beatloaf”)

(props to anybody that can name the source of that quote!)

[Harry Meatmotor]

@dplasters 100107 wrote:

Can’t wait for the balmy 34º commute home. Might break out the shorts at this point.

Good thing I packed my sleeveless triathlon skin suit for this afternoon; it’s shaping up to be quite warm.

[Harry Meatmotor]

Wednesday, November 19, 2014

air temp: 24º

wind chill: 16º

relative perceived temp: -261º

[Harry Meatmotor]

@mattotoole 99870 wrote:

Why We Don’t Need Rain Bikes Any Longer

that’s one of the dumbest articles i’ve read in a while.

[Harry Meatmotor]

If you find yourself consistently riding in the rain a junky craigslist score once every couple years will probably be your cheapest bet. keep reusing parts like fenders/racks and swap bike to bike. seriously, N+1 is usually the best route with regards to maintenance. constant, heavy rain kills bikes quick.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@Bilsko 99810 wrote:

I’ve seen the Amazon offerings…just not that impressed with the low-quality hubs that most builds seem to use. And I am not a fan of the bolt on hubs that require a nut – Hex bolt is much better IMO.

As for built-my-own, I’d love to but don’t have the time to dedicate to it.

Of course having the LBS build up something from scratch is a good way to go, but I’d like to see some pre-packaged wheelsets (like the Amazon ones, only a little better). UniversalCycles and Competitive have some options…just trying to see if people have other sources they’d recommend.

Any shop that uses QBP as a distributor can get a hold of QBP’s in-house prebuilt wheels – they go by the moniker Quality Wheels. They’re all hand built and very high quality for the dollar. the need for a hex bolt axle is going to limit your hub choices to very few – it’s not terribly common among sub-$500 TARCK wheelsets.

[Harry Meatmotor]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BCCB4W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944579862&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002AGFNBS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0Z3D7H6VNJ0Z7QSST65M

like stated above, most B&M shops will be able to get similar quality as the above link for only a little more dough. If you want a little wider rim, look at the h+son TB14 rims laced to whatever hubs you want. Miche also makes some really nice and affordable TARCK wheelsets in the $250-$300 range (and, imho, Miche uses some really, really nice cartridge bearings for the price).

[Harry Meatmotor]

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003BCCB4W/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_dp_ss_3?pf_rd_p=1944579862&pf_rd_s=lpo-top-stripe-1&pf_rd_t=201&pf_rd_i=B002AGFNBS&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_r=0Z3D7H6VNJ0Z7QSST65M

like stated above, most B&M shops will be able to get similar quality as the above link for only a little more dough. If you want a little wider rim, look at the h+son TB14 rims laced to whatever hub you want. Miche also makes some really nice and affordable TARCK wheelsets in the $250-$300 range (and, imho, Miche uses some really, really nice cartridge bearings for the price).

[Harry Meatmotor]

looks like you’re right:

http://www.bikerumor.com/2013/01/25/ventana-29er-hacked-with-gates-belt-drive-shimano-alfine-di2/

10lbs of stuff in a 5lb bag. I’d be worried that screwing around with the seals on that hub too much would undo all the progress shimano has made in keeping the oil inside the hub – they used to leak like a sieve…

[Harry Meatmotor]

@hozn 99666 wrote:

Those prices aren’t for the di2/hydro brifters, though, right? (I forget the model number, but remember those being pricey last I looked.)

I don’t think shimano is actually branding any di2/hydro shifters with Alfine – but some bike builders were showing bikes with the st-r785 levers/calipers running an alfine hub out back. I think pricing on those levers/calipers/rotors was somewhere around $700/pr. I’d be okay with cable actuated discs and some TRP Spyres and forgoe the hydro, imho. bleeding those levers is a pain, too. and again, you start to run into frame standards running amok, i.e., Di2 drilled frames usually run internal brake cables, too, which means breaking hoses and rebleeding to install the levers or the calipers.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@americancyclo 99653 wrote:

What’s that groupo run? Hub, Motor, Shifter, Cables, ???

Note – these are all MSRP:

Hub: $499.99
LHand Shifter: $89.99
RHand Shifter: $189.99
Motor: $129.99
E-Tube Display Unit: $99.99
Various little bits and pieces: ~$100

So figure about $1000 retail.

[Harry Meatmotor]

@DismalScientist 99631 wrote:

The Bryant’s bar are made of a special aluminum alloy that is compatible with the Versa shifters. That alloy is designed so that the bars are maintenance-free.:rolleyes:

If I am not mistaken, the cable pull between cogs is set with a “detent” washer in the housing that holds the lever. Is there some reason that Shimano has not designed these washers specifically for the Affine and Nexus IGHs? It would seem to be an easy way for Shimano to expand its product offering with little engineering investment. Is there a similar mechanism in a brifter that can be easily substituted?

there’s a whole heck of a lot more going on in an STI style lever than just a single detent washer to determine cable pull, it’s a mix of barrel diameter and ratchet teeth that determine how much cable is pulled for each gear. And to my knowledge the only dropbar shifters that would allow you to change the detents were older Campy 8-9-10 speed shifters (and that’s only for mechanical rear derailleurs). I know I said it before, but if it were me, i’d drop the coin for the Di2 setup in a heartbeat if I wanted to go IGH – and especially IGH and disc. If it’s not apparent by now, going IGH is a bit fussy, and you have some frame standards fighting themselves to complicate things further.

[Author]

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