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Yes, absolutely. I'm not chopping the steerer, will try it out over a few rides and if no joy then I'll just bring it back up. I've had a niggling tight hip that I can't seem to shake with stretching, strength and mobility work so hoping reducing my hip angle a bit with the shorter cranks will help a tad. Not expecting them to be a silver bullet by any means but worth trying!
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Oof it looks good with the Arkane wheels!
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From the most ridden, to the least ridden; or from the sublime to the ridiculous if you will:
Klein Q Pro
I was very fortunate to pick this up here last year, after a strip down and rebuild service it only got a few outings on the driest of days last year but oh what a cracking few days! The fit on this is obviously super aggressive compared to the Fairlight so when I do start riding it again this year I'll have to build up to it and certainly can't envision anything longer than 80-90kms on this. The eagle-eyed amongst you will see that those are tubs. After the rebuild I chucked about 30ml of sealant in each tyre and it was all going swimmingly until a ride at the end of summer when the inevitable visit from the fairy occurred. Sealant might have dried out by then and I didn't have any more with me, tried to plug it but it didn't work, just kept slowly losing air. Cue a walk of shame and wait in a pub for rescue.
Having decided #tublife is not for me, I picked up a nice pair of carbon clinchers. Only other change is possibly fitting shorter cranks (currently 175s), but given how little I ride this that might be a bit frivolous. But maybe if I do get the shorter cranks I'll ride it more?! Solid hobbyist logic right there.
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What's the orange saddlebag? Looking for one that size, that sits as nicely as that. Looks great.
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I use it a fair bit in winter to carry an extra layer. I hate stuffing things in my jersey pockets so that works well for a rain jacket or a very packable insulated jacket. I have also brimmed it with sarnies 😆
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Jeez, really putting me on the spot here! I'll compare as like-for-like in terms of tyres as I can; the Hopes with 32mm Michelin Power Cup tubeless and the Arkanes with 34mm Schwalbe Pro Ones also tubeless. Both quality tyres at low pressures and yes a bit a more volume with the Schwalbes but I still think a fair comparison. IMO, the Hopes felt noticeably more wooden/crashy and I got the impression that there was a fair bit more tyre roll cornering at speed. The width of the Arkane rims definitely gives the wide tyres a better profile and I've not noticed any of that kind of squirm, tyres just sit better in the wider (24mm internal) rim I guess. They seem to deal with road buzz a fair bit better, some of that might be attributable to the extra 2mm tyre volume though. I've not noticed a huge difference in terms of pick up speed but it certainly feels like they hold speed a bit better. 54R/49F does catch the wind a bit though!
Arundel love - the best cages I've tried so far.
Amen! King cages can get in the sea!
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Great, thanks.
Gonna order me one of those!
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ah I'm just cueing great #content for your thread. thank you though. I have a set of those Hopes I am thinking about rebuilding on a wider rim. As part of a group buy it'd be about £200 difference in cost for fairly shallow carbon
love that Klein, silver spokes, tan walls, so good
on cranks - you are a good bit taller than me. I ride 165mm, but my bike at my in-laws has 172.5 cranks, which I'll change next time I'm over, and I think I can tell a difference in comfort. that might be because it's not set up as well as my Faran, mind.
King cages can get in the sea!
I knew within my first ride with king cages that they worse. how did you get on with those elite side loaders? looks like it was a no!
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Wide shallow carbon would be a touch on the Faran, I say go for it!
Elites cages are on the Klein now actually and working well enough. Re cranks, I've done one ride of just under 100k on the Strael after fitting the 165s, raising saddle a bit and lowering the front end 10mm, it was comfy! True test will be a 200 this Sunday (weather permitting) but I'm quietly confident that it's the right call to go shorter.
I'm likely to disappoint on the Klein as the clinchers that will go on it soon are black hubs, black spokes :(
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What size is your strael? I was thinking about a Faran and unsure due to the myriad of options 54R/T 56R/T
Bikes looking great! I like that there’s the sensible Fairlight and then the fairly bonkers and by your own admission uncomfortable Klein. what’s happening with the zipp tubs ;-)
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Cheers pal :)
56T with 100m stem, I'm 185cm (on a good day). Aesthetically the T models aren't as nice but the bike is for big miles, so I'll happily concede cool points for fewer visits to the physio!The Klein is just aggressive AF, need to get a bit more limber. Slide into my DMs if you're keen on the tubs!
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One that I've recently dusted off:
Cinelli Vigorelli
Bought this is 2014 and it hasn't seen a huge amount of use. It's an XL which I think translates to 58 (?!), I fully bought into the whole 'size up for track' thing. I did my accreditations at Herne Hill and Lee Valley eons ago and thought I'd be a regular at track, but my back wasn't having any of it at the time and it also turned out that riding on track is hard, like really hard.
My back is in a happier place now, I've dusted the bike off and been to HHV a couple of times, it's quite something to be in your late 30s and willingly pay to get bullied by faster people for 90 mins.
I also had the idea earlier this year of using this bike outside the track, a summer fixie. So I acquired a few bits from on here to get a wheel with a brake track built up and threw some flat bars and a brake on it, so you might see it perched outside a coffee shop or bougie bakery one day, definitely not whipskidding because 1) I lack the tekkerz and 2) more importantly, the price of tyres these days is ridiculous.
@Dogtemple asked me in another thread how this compares to the Klein, it's hard to say because I've never ridden these back-to-back but from a geo perspective I think the Klein is more aggressive, the uncut steerer on the Vigorelli certainly helps!
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About
ElGonzo's bikes - A study in dedication to 'Party Pace'
Posted by
@ElGonzo
I have a few bikes. Terrible photos of them and random musings will follow. I'll begin with the bike I've ridden the most in the past 12 months:
Fairlight Strael 3.0
I rode this a fair bit (for me) last year, a good chunk of it on Hope wheels I bought it with and 32mm Michelin tyres then upgraded to some Arkane wheels and even bigger 34mm Schwalbe tyres. Yes it has a massive head tube AND a spacer tower, front end feels a bit distant of course but this is all about comfort; I have a bad back and I'm not getting any younger or more flexible. Few changes on the cards:
Swapping to 165mm cranks from 172.5mm
Drop the front end by 10mm
Change of stem: colour-matched Thomson X2
Change of handlebars: Pro Vibe Aero alloy ones for hopefully the comfy flat tops, not the aero gainz
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