Current Projects chat and miscellany

^ 13 grams though :-/

Not a big project but treated my bike to a nos TA bottom bracket and a new cog.
Rear wheel is only temp til I true the matching acent/campag rear after my little off the other day. Runs lovely again now.
Need to line up the tyre logo, wheel came to me like that and never got round to fixing. Cotton tape has been on/off a couple of times for stem swaps and still sticks perfectly every time.
Was tidying up and used it as an excuse for a pic.

Not exactly the lightest wheelset out there...
...if you can suggest a feasible alternative.

I don't want to sound disparaging but I'd discribe them as good quality, solid and heavy. If weight is your primary aim I think a set of road carbon tubs with a surly fixxxer would be a better option.

I realise these are very low profile and have a very low spoke count but you get the idea:

Weight: 940g/set +/-20g, (w/o, QR)

http://www.farsports.com/product/detail.php/id-25.html

(It also gets rid of the NDS spare threading)

"So to achieve minilism you want to add a thread cover..."

Ideally I want a single-fixed hub, which might be where I eventually end up anyway. Thanks for the link, appreciate it.

If weight is your primary aim I think a set of road carbon tubs with a surly fixxxer would be a better option.

Fixxers only work on common Shimano hubs (not super cheap ones, not DuraAce, and not any other hub I've ever seen apart from some Heds between about 2000 and 2007)

So, your lightest converted road wheelset is probably RS80-C24, which is going to be about 1500g after conversion, plus skewers or whatever you choose to hold them on the bike.

Fair enough and good to know.

^^Seriously concerned about strength though... Do you reckon the said wheelset can handle skid braking on an industrial scale, bearing in mind that I currently weighing in at 88kg, while still trying to force off an additional 3-4kg or so?

That wasn't a recommendation, just an indication of the limits of Fixxer use on weight weenie fixed builds. If I were building hill climb wheels today, assuming clinchers and a modest budget, I'd be thinking along the lines of Stans 340 on light hubs using a modified front disc hub and bolt-on sprocket, 28h.

e.g. this this and these, plus CX-Rays plus conversion is going to come to under £400 and something in the vicinity of 1250g

Some new bars for the Mather. Almost there.

^^Good stuff man. Thanks.

Actually just over £400, I forgot to multiply spokes by 2.
Hubs £118
Rims £166
Spokes £100
Probably about £40 to make an axle and spacers to convert the disc hub for rear use.

If the hub has a 10mm hollow axle for the QR, then VeloSolo sell axle and spacers for £15.

Not sure exactly what bearing those trials hubs have, but I'd be doing my usual thing of using a standard 138mm hollow road axle tapped M6 plus chain tugs to handle chain tension. At best, you'd need some locknuts and spacers from the parts bin, at worst some bearing retainers similar to this:

Allen skewers = Lush

why are you trying to build an alpine wheelset for a fixed bike? Are you entering hillclimbs?

Phill hubs are heavy as hell - if you wanted something light and fixed, just buy novatech's - will save you 150g on each wheel for a start.

Actually just over £400, I forgot to multiply spokes by 2.
Hubs £118
Rims £166
Spokes £100
Probably about £40 to make an axle and spacers to convert the disc hub for rear use.

Might it be cheaper to buy a pair of light road wheels and swap the rear hub for the one suggested?

You'd need new spokes. And which wheels would you suggest?

"Why are you trying to build an alpine wheelset for a fixed bike? Are you entering hillclimbs?"

"Phill hubs are heavy as hell - if you wanted something light and fixed, just buy novatech's - will save you 150g on each wheel for a start."

This season will be all about building up form, hopefully with a week or two in the Alps and the Pyrenees respectively. Next year I'm planning a 6 months career break devoted to cycling with a friend. It will definitely be something rad, but what exactly we'll be doing has yet to be confirmed.

And by the way, we're not talking about a purpose build "alpine" wheelset here. I happened to casually mention to my bike guy, that sometime in a near future I might need a strong clincher wheelset suitable for skidding on an industrial scale i.e. suitable for alpine descents, and was offered the said combo at a very attractive price.

I'm not a weight weenie by anyone's standards and will probably end up with a bike under 7 kg anyway, so weight is by no means my only concern; something that can handle the strain of a 15 kilometre descent without compromising performance on the flats, has to take priority.

I'm a good climber, so I'm actually not that worried about getting to the top. However, the consternation of potential mechanical failure getting back down brakeless, is a never ceasing concern, particularly as I'm not exactly featherweight myself.

/csb

I've ridden brakeless, and I've ridden in the mountains.

I'm not keen to combine the two, for a multitude of reasons.

One stands out though- if you've just spent 1-2 hours climbing 2,000 metres up then surely going back down the other side, freewheeling at 80-100Km/h is your reward?

Not jetting liquid fear-faeces over the windscreen of following Punto's as you desperately attempt to scrub speed with tyre that's down to the threads as you approach another hairpin.

I've ridden brakeless, and I've ridden in the mountains.

I'm not keen to combine the two, for a multitude of reasons.

One stands out though- if you've just spent 1-2 hours climbing 2,000 metres up then surely going back down the other side, freewheeling at 80-100Km/h is your reward?

This.

Even with two mechanical brakes on a fixed wheel bicycle, descending the Pyrenees was really agonising, especially when you couldn't put your weight on the pedals as you would on a freewheel bicycle, thus hand and arse have taken quite a beaten.

Still, the only reward I got was that I actually rode a fixed wheel down the pyrenees.

Should have done a massan ed.
1:35 on.

http://vimeo.com/30420931

^^Seriously concerned about strength though... Do you reckon the said wheelset can handle skid braking on an industrial scale, bearing in mind that I currently weighing in at 88kg, while still trying to force off an additional 3-4kg or so?

Just an idea for your cog dilemma, maybe fit 1 very small 13t cog?

also the Miche Primato hub comes single sided by the way.

how about a miche cog carrier?

"I've ridden brakeless, and I've ridden in the mountains. I'm not keen to combine the two, for a multitude of reasons. One stands out though - if you've just spent 1-2 hours climbing 2,000 metres up then surely going back down the other side, freewheeling at 80-100Km/h is your reward?

Not jetting liquid fear-faeces over the windscreen of following Punto's as you desperately attempt to scrub speed with tyre that's down to the threads as you approach another hairpin."

"This.

Even with two mechanical brakes on a fixed wheel bicycle, descending the Pyrenees was really agonising, especially when you couldn't put your weight on the pedals as you would on a freewheel bicycle, thus hand and arse have taken quite a beaten.

Still, the only reward I got was that I actually rode a fixed wheel down the pyrenees."

I totally agree. It's an insane idea altogether, but nevertheless that's exactly what we're going to do. I like to think of it as my "Little Red Corvette"; a midlife crisis project aimed at bringing some excitement back into our otherwise miserable lives.

;-)

Which is probably enough of a reason to do it.

However, I give you exhibit a:

I reckon it's going to be novel, fun and devil-may-care experience into the first hairpin.

By hairpin #29 I reckon it will be a charmless, gruelling affair that you wish was over.