Current Projects chat and miscellany

Charge them replacement frame and any other parts damaged, keep the money and continue to use while giving it an occasional going over.

drøn - Very nice! What chainset was it? Shimano?
How much weight have you managed to save?

Thanks a lot.
A whole whopping 23 grammes on the set!
I guess getting rid of the anodising also took a bit, but I stopped keeping track.
It's a FSA

Looks good.
I suppose so much of the weight is in or around the spider area and shaft connection.

I always assumed strength and better grip on bars due to a higher contact patch.

Stiffness is proportional to diameter³ × wall thickness so an oversize bar is stronger then a conventional bar if they are both made of the same wall thickness. However, it would also be heavier. In reality unless the bar is designed for a specific purpose (track sprinter?) there will be a balance of strength and weight by the manufacturer so the two bars will have different wall thickness .. stiffness/mass ratio is proportional to diameter² so as long as you can keep thinning the material you make it fatter for the same weight.

At some point, however, you run into a material strength limit. Hence the old "beer can" syndrome of the super-fat Cannondales. Carbon can't be made as thin as Al can and therefore the optimal tube diameter is lower.

^ Not really actually, this 25min session with a Reynolds guy at Bespoked Bristol gives a lot of information on strength, stiffness, and materials and is well worth a watch.
http://vimeo.com/43185656

Would seem to indicate that if you have a certain tube, but want it stiffer, they can make the walls thiner but the tube diameter wider and achieve high stiffness and no weight gain.

But then again, I might have totally missed the point... I do that a lot. o_o

Would seem to indicate that if you have a certain tube, but want it stiffer, they can make the walls thiner but the tube diameter wider and achieve high stiffness and no weight gain.

Thats what Oswald was saying.

1. Sorry, what? Do you want it turned into a rat?
   

rep'd for best misunderstanding of a word ever

Columbus Gara is steel.. So it will be fine, still, get yersen a new frame for free...

long story short, I wiped out last Saturday. (Tower Bridge Road)

German tourist (ped) walked into me which resulted in her breaking her arm in 2 places & 3 broken fingers (requires surgery) as well as the usual road rash/bruises. Unfortunately I weigh close to 95kg and she was quite elderly and frail. Not a good scenario.

I've spoken to her and her husband since, no hard feelings and we joked a bit about Germany (and Greece's) abysmal performances at this Olympics. We also mutually agreed not to discuss politics or economics at this point.

I had no time to react etc as she literally stepped into my cockpit and not in front of the bike so to speak.

Bike wise, I was on the Gara, which is broadly fine but the cockpit swang round, risers skipped over the TT and the underside of the X2 faceplate struck the TT causing this:

I peeled back a bit of paint and softly went over it with a rough sponge revealing the full dent:

Spoke to Ryan (Oak Cycles) and Jacopo (Dodici Cicli) and both basically said the same thing. Ride it, but keep an eye on the damage and if a crack appears, stop riding.

Questions, (thanks in advance)

1-any chance of catastrophic explosion a la carbon?
2-worth repairing? possible? Dodici mentioned replacing the TT but their framebuilders are away till September...
3-can I re-laquer locally? If so suggestions? clear nail varnish?
4-could a crack start from the inside of the tube and not be immediately visible from the outside?
5-the frame is straight and true, but where would I get this ratified? LBS?

I have to say that the Police report puts her at fault 100% and as she realised I could claim ££££ from a no-win-no-fee outfit, her husband is offering me enough cash to replace the entire frame + parts.

It's no trick bike, but the Gara is generally thought to be more bombproof than other alu street tarck bikes..hmmm

Pub bike completed (brake to be added later).

Brake added, it now weighs more.

Just got off the phone with Planet-X.

They have no more XL pro carbon frames left, which is why I haven't received the build yet.

Asked what this meant, and Rob said that I could have a Nanolight instead, in black in XL. Dynamite! I'm really pleased with this deal, seeing as it will be a Red groupset and now even nicer frame. :D

It just makes me want to have a look at their warehouse even more!

Only downside, I bought a 3T arx pro stem last night in 110mm and I think I'm probably going to need a 100mm now. Anyone want to swap?

I have to say that the Police report puts her at fault 100% and as she realised I could claim ££££ from a no-win-no-fee outfit, her husband is offering me enough cash to replace the entire frame + parts.

You would be a dick to accept this.

Winter road bike, done...

It's done pretty early (unless you're in the southern hemisphere).

Can you wait till winter to ride it? I want to ride it now.

Definitely gonna ride it now, lets call it a "bad weather bike" then.. ;-)

Just need to install the Crud fenders, find a Thomson X2, a Elite inline, and maybe a prettier saddle.. Oh, and maybe some black hoods..

black hoods fo sho

Red hoods!

Black. Definitely.

Or red.

Yeah, red would definitely look best.

You get 256% instead of 177%, if you go with the SRF 5 (W). It basically equates to an extra gear either side. (If you dont mind the extra 1/2 kg, Alfine 8's can be found for the same price though.)

42:16 with 700x32 tyres.

SRF3
53.2"
70.9"
94,5"

SRF5
44.3"
53.3"
70.9"
94.5"
113.4"

Using a SRF5, and swapping to a 17 tooth sprocket gives 3 more usable mid gears (IMHO). With a better climbing gear, and a top gear that would actually get used (113.4" is a touch high IMO).

SRF5 (with 17t sprocket)
41.7"
50.0"
66.7"
88.9"
106.7"

That^ would be my chioce. But it depends on how much of a range you think she'll need. I personally think 54" is a big climbing gear, and that 42" would be apprieciated.

That is really helpful, exactly the info i needed, thank you!

I think the 5 speed would be a bit pointless if the range of gears is that wide, i was assuming the range would be more like an old 5 speed freewheel, we did look into and think about a single speed but she lives on a pretty big hill (well 2 actually) and she some times joins me on some longer rides on country lanes so i could be a struggle sometimes, so she could at least make it up and pedal down the hills with a 3 speed but then still have a nice simple reliable bike.

Actually the original plan before i found the charge was to set up a nice road frame as a 5 speed with an old school mtb index shifter on the bars, but as i'm sure many people here know derailleur gears could possible go tits up on a commuter style bike

1. Sorry, what? Do you want it turned into a rat?
   
   

have some rep!

also, thanks for the comments, I'm fine, a bruise on my elbow and hip but nothing as bad as her....

All done now

(I know it's designed for a 650c)

Saddle&bar angle, eh? Making up for the lack of 650?

(I know it's designed for a 650c)

i cannot see where possession of this knowledge has taken you and your bike