Cycling UK Forum

YABAN make a high end titanium chain which has chromium carbide coated pins and chromium molybdenum alloy plates so should be extremely resistant to corrosion, it comes in 11 speed that I know of and works with Campagnolo and Shimano drivetrains AFAIK. Daft question - what is ti then? I'm not flogg...

At this time of year, wet salt will corrode pretty much any material that might be used to make a chain. If a chain was made entirely of a titanium- or nickel-base alloy, or perhaps a high chromium (22%-plus duplex grade) stainless steel, then corrosion might be resisted but the cost would be sky hi...

what aspect of use allows water to ingress to such a degree that rust is going to present a problem? I rode a Raleigh Record Sprint as a commuter, utility, touring plus weekend bike for 11 years in all weathers, never had any rust issues. How can you tell if what you are applying is actually doing ...

Is it still the case that 'road' and 'MTB' groupset mechs and shifters still pull different amounts of cable per shift? A friend of mine thought that was no longer the case, but certainly on my bikes I'm using different pod shifters (SL-R440) on the bike with Ultegra mechs an MTB shifters (Deore LX)...

Have used Waxoyl cavity wax (the clear/brownish stuff) in the past, sloshed around in the frame tubes in liquid form, but takes ages to dry out at ambient temperatures and will tend to ooze out of the bottom bracket for years afterwards if not dry. If doing the job now I'd probably use Bilt Hamber S...

I think immersing it and rotating the bearing is a possible way to purge out any crud. I did the same thing with a recent Deore XT freehub which kept skipping and it seemed to get some of the crud out - normal flushing was not possible as it was the type without a removable rear seal (that's progres...

I find front tyres wear so slowly that there's more chance of them perishing through age than wearing out. I tend to swap them to the rear at least once during their life to wear them more quickly and try to stop that happening. Ultimately though I think it's more important to have the better tyre/t...

Any mileage in completely removing paint from the area of the dent and using epoxy resin adhesive, i.e. Araldite Standard, as a filler. This stuff is aircraft-grade strong, can be filed to a profile on setting and takes paint well. I've used it on smaller damaged areas than Brucey's example, and it...

I guess people with a sense of adventure have been using touring bikes to ride off road tracks for decades, e.g. the Roughstuff fellowship. I just think the advent of disc brakes has allowed greater frame clearances for tyres/mudguards so the 'adventure' and 'gravel' bikes have a more off-road bias ...

I remember bending a chain stay of an aluminium Giant Rapid frame once (I reversed into a lamp post in France with the bike on the back of a car) and the bike was basically unrideable afterwards, there was so much flex when trying to pedal, so got scrapped. It was a bend in the entire tube section r...

Also not had a problem with Spa wheels, unlike some of the other items I've purchased from them over the years(!) They even sent me a pair to NZ when I was living over there. The Exal rims are plain but seem as good as any other rims out there at the moment - i.e. all have thin braking surfaces ~1.4...

I've found my rims to start deforming at around 0.8mm thickness, and also some Mavic rims measuring 1.0mm thick when new! Typical initial thickness of the rims I've bought and used over the last 10y or so has been 1.4mm maximum, so there's not much wear allowance and this problem can creep up on you...

Interesting, the results certainly accord with my experience of the SP 'hub as putting out less power at lower speeds vs. the Shimano 'hubs I've used (3N71 and 3N80), as even with 26" wheels I find I need to be riding at 6-7mph before my front light stops flickering. The drag is also fairly hig...

...... Here's my picture of how I reckon dirt reaches the chain: Untitled.jpg I am excluding 'external' sources, like dust blown in by wind, and stuff thrown up by other vehicles or heavy rain. The vast bulk is from the front wheel, nearly all from the bottom, but there might be a fine spray blown ...

Yes, you can bet the chains will wear out faster with the inferior chain lines and then knock out the chainrings/sprockets, as most people won't be measuring their chains and replacing at 0.5% wear. Also the 'rings will wear faster, with only one 'ring used all the time. And for what advantage, a ti...