Current Projects chat and miscellany

Also, I need some 2.1-2.3 26” tyres for city riding. Any recommendations?

Marathon supreme from spa cycles

Chopping off the cable stop and replacing it with a integrated cable stop/seat collar won't help your situation. You have all the parts to have a brilliant set of brakes, you just need to set them up correctly. Cantis can be a pain but rewards are plenty when given enough time with installation.

🤣

No? Why? 2”

The brake works fine - does skids and reverse endos (also does nicely modulated slowing down of mass but less important...) but feels and looks like shit.

I’m laying the blame solely on the angle the cable leaves the stop at. The poor feel is cable friction, not sponginess or anything else. Pretty sure raising the cable stop in line with the brake arms is going to fix this.

Too heavy/spenny postage.

Might go for some Big Bens though.

Big Bens are a LOT heavier than Marathon supremes.. around 500g per tire!
They are good tyres, though I prefer Big Apples.

The fact this forum cannot seem to agree on a cheap functional 26" tyre for riding around town/to the pub is how we ended up with brexit.

Big bens are 5.99 off PX if you can deal with brown.

https://www.planetx.co.uk/i/q/TYSCHBB26/schwalbe-big-ben-wired-26-tyre

Tyres make the most difference in riding experience.

NEVER skimp on tyres.

We know better; if we ride 5.99 tyres what hope is there for the blue collar cyclist?

Supreme are ultimate tyres the fact that they are £20 is a great deal.

It's a good deal for sure.

Big Bens aren't that bad tho. If mans on a budget thing, the diff between #12 and #40 is more than a couple falafel wraps.

Oops. I bought them for my Omnium and didn’t even bother looking at the weight, assuming that because the marathon is designed as hard wearing touring tyre it would weigh a ton.

I don’t necessarily need a cheap 26” option, £60-70 for a pair is fine if the ride will be nice and it means I don’t have reflective stripes on the side

reflective stripes on the side

Those are easily removable.

The answer is 2" City Jets for <£10. Come in a fetching tanwall as well. Ride great.

easily removable

Although I'm mystified by why anybody would want to.

Maxxis DTH are so so, I've had a few punctures with them. They're alright but really deaden the road. Look cool though, ish...

couple falafel wraps.

I am sold. Get the big bens. No joke.

@platypus rates city jets

I can’t bring myself to put brown turds on it. going to buy something cheap for London and rat trap pass for when I take it away in summer.

@frankenbike where are you seeing them for <£10?

edit - found on squiggle, £5 hipster tax for tan wall though.

Hmm, prices have gone up a pound or two. Brexit?

But you can still get a pair of tanwalls for under £20, just barely

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-x-Schwalbe-City-Jet-26-x-1-95-Slick-Bike-Tyres-Black-Tan-Wall/362807326906?hash=item54790078ba:g:REUAAOSwSKBdxn4K

Yeah I rate city jets tbf.

I love my City Jets. Loved my Big Apples more, but not twice the price more. On the other hand I never had actual high end tyres to compare them to.

chopped the bars down to a more manageable 750mm, but have a different pair with more or less same geo on the way because the crossbar is going to obscure my vision of phone/maps (these will go on another bike). BMX stem will also go as need 20mm more reach.

fiddling with the cables still. not sure if I should nip a bit off the front to centre the ‘X’ or take a chunk and follow the line of the gear cable.

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How comfy are those Paul levers to grip? I’m assuming they are, simply because they’re well designed and expensive, but they don’t look like they’d be nice to grab!

Yeah they’re really nice... The edges are all rounded/bevelled, silky smooth to touch and no flex. This newer version with the bearing in it almost eliminates any kind of ‘wiggle’ too.

eBay US will save you a chunk if you can talk the seller into not using eBays racketeering global shipping program.

A lot of shims on this bike... stem/steerer looks better (more importantly gives me correct position), 22.2-31.8 shim is ridiculous but will be rectified when new bars arrive.

Need help with a couple of things:

1. Seat tube is weird size. I’ve got a 29.8-27.2 shim from orange so I can use a decent post. The OD is 32.6mm, can’t use a specialised one because of the angled slot and I need to put a canti hanger on the bolt. The only other one I can find is the best part of £50 from carbon-ti in Italy. Can I stretch one a bit too small, or shim one a bit too big?

2. What psi are you city jet users running?

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