Current Projects chat and miscellany

Will CX tyres give you much more grip on wet and icy roads though?

I'm not sure. Just a thought. A CX based utility bike is most versitile bike you can buy IMHO. But then you know that.

yes, i think so. only judging by a few feet and the castle mound in Nottingham but those were icy and wet on my test ride of a specialised and it was great- no rear wheel skid even out of the saddle.

ah right looks lower than that. yeah 61 is a good balance.

shame about the geekhouse that really is a lovely looking piece of kit.

its fucking irritating, I was sure I'd stopped growing.

Man you lucky fucker, I wish I'm still growing!

no you don't.

also, sorry for returning earlier than two days, just some q's that were nagging me as they happened mid log off.

Ed that Brooklyn looks fucking aces. How long were you waiting for it?

Dunno to be honest, couple years? I've always wanted one, especially after borrowing Scott's BMW for a week, couldn't jusitifed playing £800+ for it, but now with the new Tawian version costing nearly half that and come with headset and seatpost, it's music to my ears.

Build so far, will have matching front tyres soon (rear's a 32c slick);

Nice ed, but you cant do spinz with drops.

that the crank off your clements porteur?

Is 7005 to Alu what 953 is to steel?

Yeah!

Looks nice Ed.

I thought you'd given up on fixed gear due to your knees?

Is 7005 to Alu what 953 is to steel?

Not really. Maybe Easton Scandium is, but 7005 is a very common and fairly cheap alloy.

Not really. Maybe Easton Scandium is, but 7005 is a very common and fairly cheap alloy.

Just the man I wanted, but 7005 is the best Alu offering I can hope for? Within reason of course.

Got no Internet so I can't really research.

Ta

6061? or as mentioned easton tubing. Or the variety of special blends offered by manufacturers?

Can of worms, will have to wait until I'm on a pc it seems.

i was under the impression that 7075 was the best but am happy to be corrected.

@edscoble - what size gangsta 2 did you get?

Looks nice Ed.

I thought you'd given up on fixed gear due to your knees?

Bike Whisperer have sorted the problem with my knees what the doctors couldn't do.

Not to says that doctors are useless, they simply don't know much about cycling.

@edscoble - what size gangsta 2 did you get?

The 'short' with a 55cm TT (effective), fit me nicely (and the missus who's 5'4 too, I'm 6")

seat too low/high?

not tempted to put (low) risers on the BMW? looks good in raw with the orange decals.

Hasn't adjust it properly but seatpost need to be at least 2-3cm higher.

Will ride it just to see how it is with the drop bar and brake hood, I find them to be the most comfortable position of all.

Will put the original BMW fork on it soon, so the Clusterfork will be for sales shorty, it's surprisingly light for a bmx-style fork.

i mean the problem with your knees, was it related to saddle height?

fair one if you find drops most comfortable then ride those. is the bmw fork raw also?

The 'short' with a 55cm TT (effective), fit me nicely (and the missus who's 5'4 too, I'm 6")

But that stem looks to be putting you a bit too far over the front hub. Or is it just the pic?

The new BMW has F&R holes for brake calipers right? Do you need really long drop ones, then?

I always fancied one of these as SS with v-brakes.

Dunno to be honest, couple years? I've always wanted one, especially after borrowing Scott's BMW for a week, couldn't jusitifed playing £800+ for it, but now with the new Tawian version costing nearly half that and come with headset and seatpost, it's music to my ears.

Build so far, will have matching front tyres soon (rear's a 32c slick);

I want one! Did you order it from the US or from somewhere in the UK? Also, where are you getting the fork from if you don't mind me asking? I will be saving up for one of these next year I think. As I've said in the past, it's the original fork that really sells the whole package :)

Edit - 753... A good page.

What kind of rack are you going to put on it?

But that stem looks to be putting you a bit too far over the front hub. Or is it just the pic?

Just adds stability.

I want one! Did you order it from the US or from somewhere in the UK? Also, where are you getting the fork from if you don't mind me asking?

TokyoFixed, and they're going to bring in the original fork soon.

Strange setup there Ed, Are you planning to mount a brake on the new forks?

Probably, last thing you want is to teach trainee while riding a brakeless fixed wheel bicycles!

Oh it won't, but I have another bike to teach trainee with either way.

i was under the impression that 7075 was the best but am happy to be corrected.

Then let me correct you; there is no such thing as 'best', just the best compromise between various properties. In general, frame tubes are 7005 or 6061, although 7003 and one or two other 6000 series alloys have been used. For a frame, post weld properties are important, which is why they use 7005 and not one of the stronger 7000 series alloys commonly used for parts which don't need welding, such as 7075. All else being equal, 7005 > 6061, but things are not always equal - 7005 is a more expensive material, so a manufacturer could spend more on fabrication with the cheaper alloy and come up with a similar end result at a similar total price. The dominance of particular alloys in the cycle industry is less to do with rigorous optimisation of designs and more to do with marketing and availability of suitable materials from mills supplying bigger industries.

Just the man I wanted, but 7005 is the best Alu offering I can hope for? Within reason of course.

Ignore the numbers and look at the design - that's far more important than the relatively small differences in material properties between the common industrial alloys used for frame manufacture.