Cycling UK Forum

I love the Tubus Cosmo. Really solid with good attachments, nice triangulation for side to side stiffness. Being stainless no paint to rub off and looks better long term than aluminium. Only drawbacks - apart from the price - I worry that in an accident the tubes could kink and not be repairable, wh...

I tried a couple of Wippermann Connex chains on my Rohloff equiped MTB last year. One lasted an hour's ride plus a muddy race, the other lasted a few rides, some dry some wet. I certainly will not be using them again. I measured the wear using a Rohlof chain gauge and a Park gauge. The 0.75mm side l...

Some absolutely incredibly beautiful paint jobs in this thread, but how durable in real use are they? I had a Roberts resprayed a couple of years ago, via Roberts by whoever they outsource to, a beautiful job, but it really is so tender. Nothing like the original from more than a couple of decades a...

I have used a chain keeper for decades when cleaning my bikes. Firstly an improvised one from an old hub, then a proper one made out of aluminium that just clamps to the rhs dropout. Keeps the chain in normal tension with a deraileur and certainly makes cleaning easier. Recently I mislaid it and bro...

Quite agree with you on this. Also why even on this fixed gear bike I still feel happier running a rear brake. Once my legs start spinning out I find I lose the ability to slow down on the fixed and use the rear brake too. Still I can think of many places where a front brake failure would mean I wou...

A little update on this. I purchased the front and rear brakes from Chain Reaction Cycles, 3 years ago. I have just received a refund for one pair (£17), this is appreciated as they didn't have to do this, so good service from them. My real concern was someone suffering a failure while out on the ro...

I had a Vitus Duralinox 979 aluminium frame for a while. Since sold. Superbly light and the ride was delightful. I too enjoyed my time with a 979 frame, my first specific racing bike. Yes it flexed a bit but at the time I didn't think it affected me. Didn't own the frame long enough to check durabi...

Thank you Brucey for such a comprehensive reply and all the links to better straddle designs. That's very helpful indeed. I agree about hidden portions always masking potential fraying. I liked the arrangement as it did keep the brakes nicely centred all the time. But relying on such a poor casting ...

Hi, Recently I had a failure of the straddle attachment on my front brake. Fortunately this happened just after washing the bike, I reclipped the brake together, squeezed the front lever as a check and bang! The consequences of this happening out on the road are just too scarey to think about. The b...

My racing bike from just before your era does the same thing with the DA front mech. The Campag Chorus and Record braze on mechs don't seem to have this issue on the same hanger. All I do is to hold the rear of the mech inwards as I tighten, and once tightened hopefully it is parallel to the chainri...

Thanks for the link. Very interesting. Maybe that Columbus clip was actually making the SLX and SPX tubing on a couple of the bikes I still ride from the 80s.

It would be nice to see a similar updated programme featuring modern manufacturing of composite frames and Far Eastern factory set ups.

I wouldn't want my bike without these springs. Yes some do get mashed or corrode, finding spares is virtually impossible. I borrowed a pair of Fast Forward wheels not long ago, they had quality stainless steel springs that amazingly stayed stuck in the skewer ends when all unscrewed. Sometimes the l...

I will try to find time in the next few days to take some pictures of some of the broken spokes I have collected and start a new post on this subject. I am very interested in finding out more myself. I do agree though that it cannot be too widespread a problem as Sapim would be out of the spoke busi...

Next question….how about Sapim Race double butted spokes. Available and not too expensive? Beware of Sapim spokes, seem to suffer from material defects and prematurely break in places they shouldn't. My experiences are with Sapim Race. An internet search does throw up a few references to this issue...

I am finding the Clarks brake blocks that you are using are extremely good and I have equiped most of our bikes with them except the road racing bikes. Work well in the wet and dry, last well and do not accumulate bits of aluminum for me. Have even done a couple of gruesomely wet and muddy MTB races...