Current Projects chat and miscellany

2 teeth in the small ring .. well ideally compact but yeah

I'm used to riding (just coz its what came up first, cheap) 11-23 on compact cranks. Have done for a couple years now. Never needed another gear up hills but have needed another down them.
I'll now have 11-28 so how does 28/39 compare to 23/34?

Really depends on your style (spin vs grind) and where you ride .. if you are comfortable with 50/34 and 11-23 you should be fine with an 11-28 with 53/39. Personally I always go with compact and 11-25, its also marginally lighter with less cross chaining. 11-28 in the mountains as a bail out gear.

This is the best calculator out there: http://www.ritzelrechner.de/

I've just made this change myself. Well from 25/34 to 28/39.
On paper there's not much in it.
On the bike I'd say the same. It does feel a bit spinnier I guess but it's not like an MTB or owt.

This is the best calculator out there: http://www.ritzelrechner.de/

That's an awesome little tool.

students these days.. i understand youre in eindhoven? (i did architecture there)

I got a pretty good deal on it and it's replacing two other bikes I'm now selling, so it's been a while getting to this bike. And I barely drink, quite a difference when I compare my living expenses to my fellow students.

And yes, Eindhoven! I'm in the Industrial Design bachelor, but halted it for a year to build a solar car. :)

Eindhoven!!

@PhilDAS I switched to 11-28 / 39-53 on the summer bike and I now prefer it to compact. The jump in gearing when changing the front is way less jarring, both in terms of cadence change and smoothness of shifting.

Preach! My fast bike is 53/39 - 11-32. Plenty fast for laps in the park and get's me over any hill as well :-)

Awesome, thanks chaps. Amey would have me believe non compacts are dead.
I received the Red cranks and was expecting to prefer them but now I'm not sure whether I like the SI more.

worth noting that @dbr is 4.5w/kg

How do you know I'm not? ;)
I've never been measured. Therefore we must conclude that I am both less and more powerful than 4.5w/kg
Basic science. Schrödinger's legs.

fair enough, you can find it out tho (on zwift/trainerroad etc)

I don't turbo

Finally started building up this FBNPNA Sabbath Silk Route that I got from @Phyllis about two years ago. I'm moving to Glasgow, so big tyres and big mudguards are needed... still need a seatpost, cables and brake gubbins, guards and a rack. Shown here with 28c tyres, I'm upgrading to Schwalbe G-One 35c (those Maxxis are for sale here, if it's not too cheeky to say so).

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1-htQ6mkX5a5BFzpUJtMkP0k2tmPCZKhjxA
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1icx2Bzydf9HS4PGvW0_aJWdRQwuhdQHSLQ

One problem, though, is that I can't work out what size the post should be. It measures 29mm with my crappy calipers, but Sabbath only supply seatposts in 31.6 or 27.2. Am I being dumb in my measurements? Can anyone shed light on this?

Would be interested though. Wouldn't mind riding up a couple of hills in anger next year.

Looks 31.6. Overtightened clamp?
Can you measure the outside diameter about 6 inches down and subtract wall thickness?

This sounds ideal. I was thinking of going from standard to compact but an 11-32 might be a nice way of extending range instead.

Yeah, 31.6 sounds right, a 27.2 post moves around far too much for the diameter to be only 1.8mm larger.

I'm also having a paranoid time putting in the bolts that hold the brakes onto the canti bosses. Front fork bolts went in fine, but the rear ones are very tight/feel like they might be too long. Is it likely that they come in two sizes? Or am I being a wimp? I really don't want to strip the threads.

It has changed my life. I am a lot heavier than my club mates and 11-32 makes me able to sit with them over longer hills.

Why is no-one talking about semi compacts? I spent 3 years on a 53/39 and 52/36 is so much better in every conceivable way.

Unless you’re racing at the sharp end of E/½ crits, semi compact!

I don't agree. Too big jump just like 50/34

Fair enough, but like... you’re wrong.

I ran 52/34 - 11-28 in Spain and it fucking ruled for long climbs.