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by amediasatex
13 Sep 2023, 8:53am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: H Plus Son Rims
Replies: 8
Views: 701

Re: H Plus Son Rims

I've had experience of all the options in this thread so far!

TB14 - run these on two bikes, lovely rim, look very classic, were easy to build and have a decent profile. So far have been very hard wearing in terms of brake track wear but I have managed to put a small flat spot in one of the rears after walloping a big hole. I'm pretty sure it would have done the same on most box profile rims though so I'm blaming my navigation rather than the rim for the outcome.

Archetype - also good rims, wear well, equally easy to build, but ultimately I didn't like the look of them on the bike they were on so once they wore out I didn't replace them.

Kinlin ADHD - these are an excellent and under appreciated rim. They are cheap, sturdy, good looking and easy to build. They are a bit wider than the TB14s and suit 32mm + tyres really. They're also not that light but given they suit bigger tyres I don't think that's an issue as they're probably destined for a 'not that light' bike anyway in most cases!

Pacenti Brevet - I've got a set of these in 700C and in 650B, they are light, they look good, they are so far wearing well and were also easily built. They are expensive, annoyingly so, but they are also one of the only classic looking box profile tubeless compatible rims available, and they work very well tubeless if that's your thing.

There are other box-profile rims available of course, Mavic Open sport doesn't look too awful, but somehow still looks 'modern' unlike the TB14/Brevet/ADHN. Some of the Exal and Ryde (formerly Rigida) rims are pretty classic in shape too, but I think they're mostly heavy touring rims rather than options for a more sprightly bike.
by amediasatex
13 Sep 2023, 8:16am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Square taper BB-UN26 spindle is 111.5mm but that size doesn't exist
Replies: 5
Views: 453

Re: Square taper BB-UN26 spindle is 111.5mm but that size doesn't exist

I think the shimano measurement is for the actual mating surface of the spindle, ie: effective length of spindle is 110mm.

There is a small chamfer on the end of the spindle which is never going to be in contact with any mating surface, perhaps this accounts for the 0.75mm per side?
by amediasatex
8 Aug 2023, 11:00am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

geocycle wrote: 8 Aug 2023, 10:50am Interesting comments about brake pad wear. I must get 3-4000 miles out of a standard set and had at least 10,000 out of a special set for tungsten coated rims. I do wear them to the metal though. The differences must relate to conditions and quality but I probably don’t go fast enough to need them often!
On my rim-braked winter bikes that get used in all conditions and spend a fair bit of time in Devon lanes I'd say I get ~1000 miles out of a set of pads depending on how bad the conditions have been. I've had better and had worse than that of course.
And as far as rims go... Mavic Open Sports were lasting about 1500-2000 miles on the rear, 3500-4000 on the front. again, had worse, had better.

On summer bikes that only get used in good conditions it can be many many multiples of that, I don't bother keeping track to be honest as it's so infrequent.

It is all about conditions in my opinion. Even 'wet and muddy' in one location may be incomparable to another location due to the specific make up of the mud/grit in the area.
by amediasatex
8 Aug 2023, 10:54am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

mattheus wrote: 7 Aug 2023, 3:30pm Do discs last forever?? ;-)

Do they ever fail prematurely?
Indeed the they do not. They (should!) all come with the min-thickness printed on the side and they do need checking periodically, especially if you use sintered pads. Some of the lowe end Shi.mano discs are rated for resin pad use only, they're softer material and are easily destroyed with sintered pads. Much cheaper and easier to replace than a rim though!

Sometimes they do :-(
It is unusual to have a premature failure on normal one-piece steel rotors, they normally only fail after excessive wear.
Composite rotors with a steel braking surface mated to another material for the spider can sometimes fail at the join, but it is very rare.
by amediasatex
8 Aug 2023, 10:43am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

roubaixtuesday wrote: 7 Aug 2023, 7:56pm
On road, it's inconceivable
Well... you say that, and I would tend to agree under normal conditions, but a clubmate of mine managed to go through half a set of disc pads on a single, very wet, very gritty audax.

She started with what most would consider plenty of brake pad, genuinely about 1/2 worn, most people would be keeping an eye on them, but you certainly wouldn't be replacing them just to do the next 100miles or so. The brakes were in good repair, not rubbing or badly adjusted, but the amount of water and lane-sludge started taking their toll.

About 20 miles from the finish, her brakes were deteriorating, and then finally we heard the dreaded metal on metal, levers back to the bars and stopped to investigate, fronts were just starting to wear through to the backing plate, rears were totally trashed and had started wearing into the backing plate.

It was a very memorable trip to the last control with me having to ride beside her holding the back of her jacket and do all her braking for her, fortunately we made it home safely. I was on rim brakes, with relatively fresh pads too (replaced probably about 2 weeks prior), and my rears were past the wear line when I checked at the finish as well, fronts were still safe but heavily worn.

Offroad I've had even worse, ground through an entire set of disc pads during one XC race, which would have been 20miles tops, and I've been through a set v-brake pads in a single lap of a 24hr race before, and that would have been about 10miles. It was the absolute worst conditions I have ever ridden in though!
by amediasatex
1 Aug 2023, 10:52am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Where is my angle grinder when I need it?
Replies: 46
Views: 3228

Re: Where is my angel grinder when I need it?

Philip Benstead wrote: 31 Jul 2023, 11:07pm Look what a nice person did in Horesferry Road London
It's rather a long ride from where I am to go and check it out, could you give some more info on what has happened?
by amediasatex
1 Aug 2023, 10:46am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

@Carlton Green Totally off topic, but I love your signature quote, it resonates with my own thinking very nicely :-)

"Don’t fret, it’s OK to: ride a simple old bike; ride slowly, walk, rest and admire the view; ride off-road; ride in your raincoat; ride by yourself; ride in the dark; and ride one hundred yards or one hundred miles. Your bike and your choices to suit you."

Is it an 'original' Carlton Green creation or an adaptation/quote from another source?
by amediasatex
1 Aug 2023, 10:40am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: ..why there are so many cheapskates here?
Replies: 88
Views: 5018

Re: ..why there are so many cheapskates here?

Could this entire thread be summed up by saying "it all depends on your circumstances and priorities"?

The only question that springs to mind really, for me anyway, is why someone would need to ask the question in the first place. It should be obvious to anyone with their eyes and ears open that there are many people in many different situations and vastly different outlooks on life.
by amediasatex
1 Aug 2023, 9:56am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

TBaySimon wrote: 1 Aug 2023, 9:51am
One comment I really didn't expect was that hydraulic brake have less maintenance.
should require less maintenance!

They often are fit-and-forget, most of mine have been totally trouble free for years (decades on a couple of sets!), but if you get a crappy set, you'll be cursing them with ever more explicit and inventive words until the day you go back to dragging your feet on the ground to stop instead.

I'm saying that partly in jest, because of course you could have the same issue with a duff component of any type, but be aware that hydraulic brakes come with a requirement to learn a new set of skills, tools, and spares for diagnosis and maintenance, they're easy to aquire of course, but just the fact you might not already know how to deal with them can be off-putting for some, don't be afraid to learn.
by amediasatex
1 Aug 2023, 9:47am
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?
Replies: 199
Views: 16678

Re: Would you still buy a bike with rim brakes?

Yes I absolutely would and have recently done so.
My thinking is that my rim brakes have always stopped me in the past and I don't like rain, so don't go out in it?
You sound like a perfect candidate for buying the bike you want/like and not worrying about what kind of brakes it has on it. You might run into issues if you want to also use particular current components though, as the big three are moving most of their range to disc only at the higher end, but if you already have components or have stronger preferences for alternative (or older, or mid-range/lower end) kit then it's not such an issue.

I have bikes with discs, and I love them, but those are bikes that have a use case, that in my eyes, requires/significantly benefits from having them, going out for nice long road rides in good weather isn't one of those cases for me.

If you're talking MTB, or a bike for filthy conditions then you absolutely should be looking at disc brakes, to do otherwise is simply making a sub-optimal choice, but then I often ride a single-geared fully rigid MTB 'for fun' so sub-optimal can still be a valid decision :-)
If I bought a rim brake bike, might I end up buying something I won't be able shift in the future if I need to?
Each to their own but I buy bikes that both fulfill the function I want, and that I like aesthetically, future resale value is a complete non-issue for me as I don't intend to sell the bikes I buy, so I set my budget based on whether or not I am willing to pay that amount for the bike I want.

I do occasionally end up selling bikes that either didn't work out for me or due to no longer needing one for a specific use, but from my point of view the money I get for them is 'bonus' money as I was already willing to spend the original purchase price.
by amediasatex
1 Jul 2022, 4:56pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Audax navigation
Replies: 36
Views: 2514

Re: Audax navigation

freeflow wrote: 1 Jul 2022, 12:46pm
amediasatex wrote: 1 Jul 2022, 12:28pm
freeflow wrote: 30 Jun 2022, 4:51pm I really really don't understand why folks are buying cycling specific gps when a cheap, dedicated phone used simless for navigation duties only would only cost around £100-150 new.
Well for me it's because my cycling specific GPS has as-good mapping (OS), better battery life, is lighter, significantly more robust, easier to use with gloves (and in the dark) due to having actual buttons I can interact with by feel instead of having to look/poke/swipe etc, and only cost £140* new.

*Garmin Edge Touring in case you're wondering, seems a little more expensive now, but then so is everything. It's a Navigation focused model without all the bluetooth/heartrate/cadence extra stuff.
I get about 10-12 hours battery life out of it when using it for nav, longer if just logging, and a small powerbank with a single 18650 battery gives me double that again for longer rides.
Alas, my aging eyes prefer something bigger and easier to see. I'm also confused by this need to operate a device wearing gloves. I navigate. Once I'm navigating there is no need to touch the phone.
You said you didn't understand, I just answered from my perspective to try and explain. Your use case and requirements may be different to mine though.

I find the screen bright and clear enough to read even without my glasses but I've often had others say to me that they prefer bigger screens so that is something worth considering but may or may not be an issue for everyone.

I use the buttons to do things like start/pause/stop recording or routing, and to cycle between different info screens (trip/speed/time, mapping, elevation profile) and I very much appreciate being able to do this by touch, gloves or no gloves I prefer tactile* controls to touch screen when I need to be looking where I'm going.

In an ideal world that would all be available on one screen, but then that would require a significantly larger screen which would then start to compromise other aspects, like weight, battery life and the amount of room it takes up on the bars.

I have used phones for navigation before, I use the Garmin because I find it an overall better solution for my requirements, I'm not zealous about it though, you gotta go with what works best for you.

* Exactly the same reason I despise touch screens in cars, I don't want to have to look down at the dash/screen to do simple things like adjust the airflow, temperature or change radio stations or volume when tactile controls allow me to do it by feel while keeping my eyes on what's going on around me.
by amediasatex
1 Jul 2022, 12:28pm
Forum: Does anyone know … ?
Topic: Audax navigation
Replies: 36
Views: 2514

Re: Audax navigation

freeflow wrote: 30 Jun 2022, 4:51pm I really really don't understand why folks are buying cycling specific gps when a cheap, dedicated phone used simless for navigation duties only would only cost around £100-150 new.
Well for me it's because my cycling specific GPS has as-good mapping (OS), better battery life, is lighter, significantly more robust, easier to use with gloves (and in the dark) due to having actual buttons I can interact with by feel instead of having to look/poke/swipe etc, and only cost £140* new.

*Garmin Edge Touring in case you're wondering, seems a little more expensive now, but then so is everything. It's a Navigation focused model without all the bluetooth/heartrate/cadence extra stuff.
I get about 10-12 hours battery life out of it when using it for nav, longer if just logging, and a small powerbank with a single 18650 battery gives me double that again for longer rides.
by amediasatex
14 Nov 2021, 5:23pm
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Pace frame fixings
Replies: 5
Views: 539

Re: Pace frame fixings

It’s an ISCG mount, primarily originally used for chain retention devices, which can (or not) include a bash guard.
by amediasatex
22 Feb 2021, 10:34am
Forum: Bikes & Bits – Technical section
Topic: Question for Spa Ti touring owners
Replies: 5
Views: 712

Re: Question for Spa Ti touring owners

Thanks for chiming in Colin, I wasn't worried about using the bridge as a brake fitting as it's sturdy enough, I had a nutted fitting Tektro long drop brake with curved washers in the parts bin so just used that so my friend could do his ride this weekend.

Now he needs to either find a new canti-stud with the correct threading...unless he can find the one he lost 'somewhere' :lol:
by amediasatex
21 Feb 2021, 7:12pm
Forum: Off-road Cycling.
Topic: Gravel Bike
Replies: 75
Views: 12216

Re: Gravel Bike

The discrepancy above is almost certainly due to the limitation being the width in the chainstays rather than radially.

There are a lot of 'gravelly' bikes out there that can fit a 622x40mm but 'only' fit 584x47/48mm because of the width, even though they could fit 584x5+ radially.

As an example I've got one that can fit 622x52/53mm (without guards, 42mm with), but can still only manage to squeeze in 584x54mm width wise, but obviously that then gives some radial clearance for guards.

This seems to be because they're designing for road cranks and the lower Q-factor that comes with them rather than going with clearance for wider tyres but precluding the use for road cranks. This is probably a sensible compromise given the intended use but I share your frustration at manufacturers not actually revealing the useful bits of information like exactly what the clearances are radially, laterally, and at what rim diameter.

I've always thought a simple silhouette diagram of the stay and fork profiles from behind and above with the appropriate measurements would be easy to include on the geometry sheets.