Current Projects chat and miscellany

quite impressed with the shifting Performance of the Tiagra, feels very similar to 105 and even Ultegra

They're all the same when new because the geometry is the same, the cheap ones are just heavier and wear out quicker.

Braking performance on the other hand is pretty shite but I guess that‘s mostly due to the cheap og brake pads

There's a reason why pads on nice brakes are slotted into separate metal holders. Easy upgrade if you feel like doing it now, definitely get proper ones when the originals are worn out.

Looks fantastic. Very classy with the cosmics. What's with the pedals though?

What's with the pedals though?

What's with your pedals?
https://www.rivbike.com/pages/the-shoes-ruse

Would you say DA is the most hard-wearing or is the sweet spot somewhere in between?

Lovely 😊

is the sweet spot somewhere in between?

Ultegra (or XT for MTBs) is the sweet spot. DA and XTR just add exotic materials and shiny finishes without really improving function. They are also where Shimano tries new things, and when they've worked out what went wrong the fixes appear on the second DA/XTR group to get the new thing and the first Ultegra/XT group to get it.

Made a few changes to my Donohue road bike. Swapped DA7800 shifters for 5700. Swapped 7800 chainset for 4600 compact chainset (it gets worse and worse eh) clement strada tyres (not the shit tan wall ones) and a c15. Did a leisurely 40 miles today, after not having ridden the bike properly for over 2 years... so much fun.

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That bartape looks nice, what is it?

Looks like an awesome ride!

how old are the cosmics? Could be the anodizing hasn’t worn off completely which would also affect stopping power? I guess that will rectify itself as you keep using them :)

(not the shit tan wall ones)

What's the beef? I like my tan wall Stradas.

My brother likes his, he goes all eroica as soon as he sniffs a vintage frame, whereas I like to drag them kicking and screaming into "contemporaryness...." Black tyres look a bit wrong on my Colnago, but the minimal voice in me tells me its the way to go. Probably banned by the Eroica cops as well...

They’re just a bit shit? Had a burst side wall on one pair and had the front delaminate/fail on the second pair I had both under 500 miles. They’re pegged as a tough winter tyre, they’re about as tough as a tissue.

I've never had a pair of tyres cut up as much or as quickly as my Clement Stradas. Mine got full of little bits of glass and sharp gravel that worked their way in between the rubber and the yellow puncture belt. Compared to my GP4ks that have similar mileage on similar roads and have a few knicks but nothing that went right through the rubber. They do ride nicely though and they were cheap.

Superhot

Huh, I've done at least 1500km on mine through winter and only got one puncture; that was from a shard of glass that would have knackered anything but a marathon plus. Each to their own I guess.

Asked in the mechanics section but I'm not sure anyone reads it, so I'll try here...

I'm trying to gauge the largest cog/smallest gear I can fit to my girlfriend's bike. Current set-up is a stock Giant Defy road bike with Claris group set incl. medium-cage rear mech, compact double 50/34 with 11-30 cassette. I believe 32 is stated max but can I get away with 34? (The bike originally came with 11-32 but bike shop mechanic in his infinite wisdom assumed 11-30 "would do" as an upgrade!)

I have the same drivetrain (on a Kona) and I'd be very surprised if it could cope with 34t.

OK, thanks. May play it safe with 32 since I know that works.

I'd be very surprised if it could cope with 34t

I'd be equally surprised if it couldn't, Shimano specs are usually pretty conservative.

DIY paint teaser.

That‘s interesting to know. Am I right in assuming that the narrow and filed teeth on modern cranksets won‘t last half as long as the late 80s/early 90s stuff?
@BernardRenault thanks, the pedals are placeholders since I still haven‘t managed to decide on a clipless system and get the equipment.
@Heldring cheers :)
@Jaap don‘t know tbh, I found it unpacked in a shelf at work. Will ask my colleagues.
@mcamb they were pretty mint so there may be some anodization left that adds to the poor performance. I‘ll get some new pads soon then i‘ll see :)

Well done, Very nice!

Am I right in assuming that the narrow and filed teeth on modern cranksets won‘t last half as long as the late 80s/early 90s stuff?

No. There's more to it than just how much metal is engaged with the rollers, and most of the low teeth and side relief is in places not engaged by the rollers anyway so it only sees any wear when shifting the chain from one ring to the other. Other things which can affect chain ring wear rate are alloy composition and temper, surface finish, coating and overall accuracy of manufacture. Those things have improved markedly but largely invisibly over the past 30 years

Also, all that tooth shaping is there to make shifts faster, and less time spent grinding your gears means less wear on the sides of the teeth, an area which could take a beating on old school chainsets which had, by modern standards, two single-ring specific chainrings.

I tried spray painting bars/stem for my track bike to match the decals. Went alright, I'm 80% happy with it and it needs another coat of lacquer.