Road Bike Info & Discussion -*ASK ROAD QUESTIONS HERE*-

PB Forum :: Road Cycling and Touring
Road Bike Info & Discussion -*ASK ROAD QUESTIONS HERE*-
Author Message
flag badbadleroybrown
Posted: Dec 10, 2023 at 14:32 Quote
Descending is definitely what I do best on a road bike, but that actually wasn't as crazy as it looks... just clean, smart descending using the whole road.
flag memento-mori
Posted: Dec 10, 2023 at 23:44 Quote
It's only smart when it's a closed road. Wink

From my experience, if it doesn't look fast on video it usually actually is fast af.

But yeah, I'm usually able to make up for the lack of climbing skills when descending.
flag road-psyclist
Posted: Dec 11, 2023 at 3:09 Quote
Impressive.

I can descend faster these days. Just not as advanced as the guy in the video.

Better than I was a year ago.
flag Maslin02
Posted: Dec 14, 2023 at 7:53 Quote
Took advantage of the current climate and picked up a Cervelo Aspero for the wife, XS bikes are usually hard to come by out here but the shop had one in stock for $800 off. Converted her old Diverge to a commuter and set my Cannondale up for some rainy rides to work. Trying to get fenders figured out for the Diverge, the front fork has a hole under the steerer instead of behind it Facepalm


photo
flag crs-one
Posted: Dec 14, 2023 at 7:56 Quote
Heat up a pick or small screwdriver, poke a hole in the fender, send a bolt with a low profile head straight through the fender into the fork. Real easy, and works pretty well because the melted plastic around the hole kinda gives you a bit of a nylock effect.
flag Maslin02
Posted: Dec 14, 2023 at 8:37 Quote
crs-one wrote:
Heat up a pick or small screwdriver, poke a hole in the fender, send a bolt with a low profile head straight through the fender into the fork. Real easy, and works pretty well because the melted plastic around the hole kinda gives you a bit of a nylock effect.

Thanks, I figured it would be possible. I have the "plug n play" fenders on the way, I guess there are holes in the frame to mount them up.






Any recommendations for boutique-ish or smaller shops in the LA area? We have one good mountain bike shop and a bunch of cookie cutter crap up here. I'd love to find a half-frame bag and get rid of what I'm using now.
flag singlespeedtoday
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 at 18:01 Quote
Outer Shell makes some cool bags up in San Francisco. Should be able to find them locally. Check their dealer page.
flag crs-one
Posted: Jan 13, 2024 at 8:14 Quote
Got my stolen Checkpoint SL back recently, which I am thrilled about. Some dude bought it all the way across town the day after it was stolen, then I saw his ad and went and showed him my proof. He was a gentleman about it, gave it back to me minus the new parts his shop had installed (at my suggestion, what the f*ck am I gonna do with 11-speed SRAM and a 10-speed shifter)

It's missing nearly the entire groupset (not from thieves, from some room temperature IQ shop staff), which is honestly fine as I was planning on rebuilding it with GRX 12 when it got stolen. All the carbon and ti parts are present, so if the GX derailleur and 10-speed e13 cassette are gone....so be it. It's ALSO missing all the accessories, which is what brings me here today. Soliciting opinions on a few categories....

- Cages: My default is the Blackburn Clutch. Carbon, light, side-access (essential) and ridiculously adjustable (also essential). Always looking for new options though.
- Half frame bag: My frame has mounts for a bolt-on unit, so I am thinking another Bontrager Adventure Boss or custom from a friend are my only options.
- Gas tank bag: This one is really tough. There's a f*cking million options. Tailfin 1.1L, Bontrager, PRO Discover are the front-runners so far. Bolt-on interface and zip closure are essential, waterproofing and interior organization are nice to have, some degree of external cargo management would be cool.
- Cargo cage: Currently got a King Manything cage on the left fork leg, and a BBB cargo cage sitting on a shelf. Placement would be fork legs and/or downtube. Apidura surprisingly has a really cool looking contender right now as well. Any other nifty guys?
- Front rack: I don't actually have a front-facing bolt hole on my fork (insane that this frame has eight thousand braze-ons and THAT'S where they draw the line) but I've kinda figured out a way around it. Nitto M18 seems to be the front-runner. Rawland has some cool steel and ti units but I've read some shady stuff about them.
flag BARAVNZLA
Posted: Jan 14, 2024 at 13:51 Quote
Hi, I want to start road riding whitout spending a lot of money and found a Trek Madone 3.5 that looks really fine.

I know very little about road bikes but from what I've being reading recently it's a good bike for the money.

It's it still a good purchase being a 2015? It's built with mostly Ultegra and full carbon.

I test rode it and size-wise feels kinda ok (I'm not used to the road posture), it's a size 56 and I'm 180cms with slightly longer than average legs and arms.

TREK Madone 3.5
https://wallapop.com/item/trek-madone-3-5-846210552?utm_medium=AppShare&utm_source=ShareItem

What do you think?
flag road-psyclist
Posted: Feb 7, 2024 at 4:38 Quote
Every so often, around every 100 metres or so, my crank/BB area makes a loud click.

Assuming it's something to do with the bottom bracket?

Any idea what could be causing it?

Thank you.
flag memento-mori
Posted: Feb 7, 2024 at 6:25 Quote
It's difficult to pinpoint a noise on a bike, especially when moving.

Sound strictly related to the BB / crank / pedal area, should (on paper) be present during every pedal stroke.

I'd do the following;

- Ensure all the bolts are torqued up
- Isolate the sound - is the sound still there when getting out of the saddle? That way you can isolate the saddle / seatpost / seatpost clamp i.e.
- Remove the wheels and make sure the contact surface between the QR and frame is clean - when dirty it can become noisy
- Ensure it's not a cable that's making noise when you turn the handlebars
flag road-psyclist
Posted: Feb 7, 2024 at 6:35 Quote
Thank you. I shall do.
flag crs-one
Posted: Feb 7, 2024 at 12:00 Quote
As usual MM is bang on. Noises can travel from the strangest places TO the strangest places on a bike. Isolating the sound is the key, and there's a few "styles", for lack of a better word, that I'll do when chasing a creak: sitting/standing, coasting/givin'er, straight line/aggressive carving. Sitting vs standing isolates seat/post/clamp (and sometimes frame), coasting vs hard pedaling isolates wheels from drivetrain, etc.

Few more easy ones to test out at home:
- If you have Presta valves, are the lockrings tight? If no lockrings, do you have anything in the valve hole to prevent movement? This is the single most common mystery noise I run into on road bikes.
- Does the end of the front shift cable touch anything? Check in both chainrings.
- How is the indexing? Does the bike hold a gear well, are there any issues whatsoever with the shifting? Faster shifting in one direction than the other, even?
- Are there any bent teeth on the chainrings or cassette?
- Good way to check the finer details of the above two: off-bike, nose an inch from the chain, pedal ridiculously slowly and see if and where the chain catches. It can be subtle too. Inside of the link catching on a tooth, for instance.

Final word of advice, for the test rides, take the shittiest pedal strokes you can. Usually it's all about spinning circles and steady cadence and stuff....that won't help you here. Lean the bike side to side, mash the living hell out of the pedals, etc. Frames, wheels, bars, cranksets can flex an unbelievable amount under hard efforts, and pedaling like a goon will help bring that out.
flag road-psyclist
Posted: Feb 7, 2024 at 12:05 Quote
Thank you Chris.

I'm going to do test tomorrow. If I can't work it out, I'll take it to my LBS to inspect.

Most likely my best option as I'm not a mechanic.

I'm friends with the LBS anyway, but shall inspect where the sound is coming from before going to the bike shop.
flag adm750
Posted: Feb 9, 2024 at 3:58 Quote
adding to the 'to-do' list Wink

check the pedals for play in the axle. maybe swap another set on there if you happen to have an old pair lying around too...

this one took me a minit to find. LOL

 


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