Search found 1242 matches

by pq
26 Jul 2023, 9:31pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

Oh and I forgot to say while I could buy from Spa, I live in France so there will be hefty duties and fees. Alas the French PO is somewhat overzealous with packages from the UK and are not amenable to rectifying the mistakes they make. The other plan is doable with stuff I can buy without those problems.
by pq
26 Jul 2023, 9:28pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

I might end up getting a new chainset. The reason for the solution I dreamed up is that it will give me a better spread of gears than I have now (becasue of nicer jumps between chainrings) and I have most of the bits already. I'm also somewhat nervous of what is essentially an old fashioned MTB chainset becasue of chainsuck issues I've suffered in the past with those. I'm very surprised the GRX mech is a straight swap for my existing Campag one, that's quite appealing.

No, I can't just buy a smaller middle ring becasue a 39 is the smallest the chainset will take.

Yes, the 50 is worn, but I think it's got a lot of miles still to go... It certainly gives no bother.

Thanks all.
by pq
26 Jul 2023, 5:20pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

Why? The only thing I've been tempted to change on my set-up are the cranks as the middle ring is a bit big. Also all my bikes are Campag, so Shimano levers would make my head explode.
by pq
26 Jul 2023, 2:15pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

Yes, it looks that way. And with direct compatibility with my Campag ergo levers it all seems a bit too good to be true! There are some good deals on this rear mech, so I think I'll do it bit by bit, starting with the mech on my current set-up to check compatibility with the shifters. Then I can start tinkering with the cassette.
by pq
26 Jul 2023, 1:30pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

There are endless reports of people using this rear mech with a 40 - I assume an 11-40, usually with a tweak of the b tension screw. I guess that same tweak will give a bit of extra clearance at the other end of the cassette too. I don't usually use Shimano stuff, but I understand they're very conservative with the stated capacities of their rear mechs.
by pq
26 Jul 2023, 12:54pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Re: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

Thanks both. Yes, the FD will definately be OK, I've used it with those chainrings in the past.

I've had a look at those SRAM derailleurs - looks like they won't cope with the big sprocket I want, but since I posted I came across this: https://www.cyclinguk.org/cycle-magazin ... -rear-mech and other reports that it will cope with a 40T sprocket.

Now the total capacity I need might be pushing it a bit, but the cage is a lot longer than the rear mech I currently have, and I'm only increasing the demands on it by 2T. So it looks as though while the chain might sag on small-to-small, it will be better than it is right now. It will do that without an extender, and according to Chris Juden it is compatible with 10 speed Campag levers (!). So by my reckong it will give me the gears I want, solve 2 out of the 3 niggles and make the third niggle better than it is now and will achieve that without a shiftmate. Or am I missing something?

I'd be open to putting a smaller big ring on - the 50 I have is quite worn, has a peg in the wrong place and gives me gears I rarely use. So if the capacity problem is annoying enough I could go down that route.
by pq
25 Jul 2023, 11:53pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Swapping 10 speed dura ace crank set
Replies: 5
Views: 330

Re: Swapping 10 speed dura ace crank set

You're likely to need a new front mech. I tried to use a DA front mech designed for 53/39 chainrings on a bodged up compact - 47/34 I think it was. It wouldn't shift to the small ring becasue the cage was wrongly shaped. When I replaced it with a (Campag as it happens) front mech designed for compact chainrings, the shifting was fine. In your shoes I'd try your old front mech before spending the cash on a new one.
by pq
25 Jul 2023, 10:56pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette
Replies: 17
Views: 789

Rear mech for a 14 - 40 10 speed cassette

I'm pondering the gears on my tourer. It has a Campag 3x10 system, 50/39/26 up front and 14-34 on the back with mostly racing triple stuff, except the ergo levers which are record. It's OK, but has a few niggles. Firstly I've had to use an extender to get the rear mech to cope with the 34 which makes the shifting a bit vague. Secondly the drop from the 39 to the 26 is a bit much. Thirdly the rear mech doesn't have enough wrap, so the chain droops quite a lot if I go very far down the cassette on the small chainring.

So, I'm thinking of fitting a big sprocket, say a 40, with a Shimano MTB rear mech and a jtek shiftmate to get it all to play together nicely. Then I could use a 30 inner ring. If I can get that to work, it will, I think, solve the issues I have. I should add that the back wheel has Shimano splines, so getting a big sprocket won't be a problem.

But I notice that rear mechs these days always specify an 11 tooth small sprocket. Does that actually matter? Will it be happy on a 14? I'm not going to do this if I have to fit a load of insanely high gears I can't use. And can anyone recommend a rear mech to suit?

Thanks!
by pq
20 Apr 2023, 11:58am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Gravel bikes off tarmac?
Replies: 269
Views: 14067

Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

mattheus wrote: 20 Apr 2023, 10:30am pq wrote: ↑20 Apr 2023, 12:32am
The key here is to look beyond the marketing - and to reject something because of the marketing is as ridiculous as falling for marketing hype.
Straw man - noone is doing this!
Strange, I constantly encounter people doing exactly this, mostly grumpy old men (I'm pretty old myself btw). It takes a number of forms but the most common is people explaining how, becasue they did some rough stuff decades ago on a touring bike that gravel bikes are pointless and that I am a gullible fool for buying one..
by pq
20 Apr 2023, 12:32am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Gravel bikes off tarmac?
Replies: 269
Views: 14067

Re: Gravel bikes off tarmac?

I have an ancient CX bike, an even older expedition tourer, two mountain bikes and a gravel bike (+ various road bikes). I like riding off road you see, and have been doing a lot of it for a very long time. The gravel bike is by far the newest addition to my fleet (only 4 years old) and it has rendered my other off-road capable bikes mostly obsolete. For the riding I do and the rider I am, it's the best of the bunch. The CX bike has rubbish brakes and the tyres are too skinny. The tourer only really rides properly with panniers. The two mountain bikes are overkill and I don't like straight bars.

Yes, the idea orginisated in the US. I struggle to see why that matters if it works well for me.
Yes, they are marketed. Well, every bike I've ever ridden has been marketed in one way or another. The key here is to look beyond the marketing - and to reject something because of the marketing is as ridiculous as falling for marketing hype. It's just a bike which may or may not suit you.
Yes I know1x transmissions are nothing new, but here's the thing, the modern ones work much better, especially off road.
Yes it has a name which doesn't fit especially well in the UK, but that's fine, everyone knows what it means.

I use it for all manner of off road riding. I don't do anything too suicidal so don't need suspension. I'm more comfortable on drop bars. I like fat, tubeless tyres. I prefer disc brakes off road. All of that adds up to a gravel bike and is why I have one. I wish I'd had one years ago, it is great fun.
by pq
18 Apr 2023, 7:36am
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: Cheap accommodation France
Replies: 29
Views: 1909

Re: Cheap accommodation France

Bear in mind that the booking platforms charge the hotel a hefty commission, which one way or another will get passed to you. In the past they used to bully the hotels into charging the same to everyone regardless of commission, but that's now been made illegal, so increasingly you pay a premium on those sites. Use them as a search engine by all means, but you'll often get a better deal if you go direct to the hotel.
by pq
17 Apr 2023, 1:55pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cliff Shrubb/Dave Legrys speed record bike fund raiser
Replies: 18
Views: 1684

Re: Cliff Shrubb/Dave Legrys speed record bike fund raiser

That's my understanding of the law too, but I'm hardly an expert. And there's probably no proof of the conditions originally attached the the loan of the bike. If it was me, I'd go to the police, and if that didn't work give up. No way would I be paying for a solicitor to sort this out.
by pq
16 Apr 2023, 9:17pm
Forum: Touring & Expedition
Topic: What regions in France are actually warm in June?
Replies: 18
Views: 1110

Re: What regions in France are actually warm in June?

You were unlucky, but it's not unknown. I live in the SW and I remember one year on my birthday, which is in mid-June, it was too cold to be comfortable in the garden. As someone has pointed out, with this stuff you're dealing with weather, not climate which is always unpredictable. As others have also said the SE is more reliably warm/hot, but suffers much more from the wind. Personally I'd rather risk lower temperatures than very high temperatures. If it's cold you can always wear more clothes. If it's pushing 40 degrees you will be very uncomfortable and you can't do anything about it.
by pq
16 Apr 2023, 9:09pm
Forum: Campaigning & Public Policy
Topic: Debate on 15 minute cities on Radio 4 now.
Replies: 229
Views: 34136

Re: Debate on 15 minute cities on Radio 4 now.

Bacon is classified by the WHO as a class 1 carcinogen, ie it is known to cause cancer. So it is not good for you at all, even in moderation. Advice on the other two seems less conclusive. So I consume coffee and red wine in moderation but not bacon.
by pq
16 Apr 2023, 8:58pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Cliff Shrubb/Dave Legrys speed record bike fund raiser
Replies: 18
Views: 1684

Re: Cliff Shrubb/Dave Legrys speed record bike fund raiser

I'm in a FB group frequented by Dave Le Grys and he was talking about this bike. It was essentially a copy of the track bike he was riding at the time, obviously with the additional stuff for the transmission and the tow rope. He reckoned a bike he was very used to riding would be ideal, but of course it wasn't, it was never designed to go at those speeds and was unstable when it did. Its instability made what Dave Le Grys did on it all the more impressive/brave/foolhardy. If you look at bikes used later for similar records they have longer wheelbases and other differences which make them very different from a bike you'd use for any other purpose. I don't think that reflects on Cliff Shrubb at all, he built what he was asked to build and did it very well, but to be blunt it wasn't really fit for purpose. I hope it ends up in a museum, that's very much where it belongs.