Any question answered...

I've had a number of Ti bolts snap even when using a torque wrench- 3T ARX Team stem bolts, for example, tend to go "spang!" and require drilling out at ~4 Nm.

This is quite annoying:

Ouch. Not had that myself yet, thankfully - I have an ARX Team. And titanium security bolts.

I have an ARX Team on my CX bike, after one bolt broke I replaced them all with steel ones out of an ARX Pro.

However on my road bike I have an ARX Ltd, and that's still got it's original Ti bolts in it.

I presume you greased the threads?

I honestly can't remember- in general yes I do, I have some quite excitingly red Teflon grease, which I cannot see in that photo...

I'm confused about gradient (not that it really matters...)

Does 1:20 mean that for every 1 meter I go forwards I go up 20cm

and alternatively would a 25% gradient mean that for every 1 meter I go forward I go up 25cm?

1:20 means you go up 3' for every 20yds you travel, i.e. 264' per mile. (or 5cm up for 1m along, if you insist on weird forrin measurements)

25% is 1:4

There is some debate about whether the fractional gradient is the sin or the tan of the incline angle Θ, but they are near enough the same for moderate gradients. The mathematical will use tanΘ because it makes sense, surveyors tend to use sinΘ because it's much easier to measure along the road surface than along some hypothetical horizontal plane.

Stainless steel all the way for bolts. Titanium if you like, but watch the torque. Alu is too soft for stuff like that.
Pretty sure I read somewhere (CTC mag?) that stainless steel isn't great for bolts - the high levels of chromium make them prone to fracturing. High-tensile steel bolts may develop some surface rust and look a bit shabby, but it's stronger in the long run.

Ahh thanks for the bolt helps, friends. The LBS was closed so I just stole the bolt off of my road bike for now (steel, I think?). If this one breaks too then I will know what the real problems are (gravity, fatness).

How about silicon bolts?

http://cdn.mos.bikeradar.com/images/news/2013/10/07/1381162892802-1a8r885yw8ucm-670-70.jpg

Pretty sure I read somewhere (CTC mag?) that stainless steel isn't great for bolts - the high levels of chromium make them prone to fracturing. High-tensile steel bolts may develop some surface rust and look a bit shabby, but it's stronger in the long run.

You're right I think, stainless would be more brittle than 'weathering steel' or cromoly or whatever that still has some corrosion resistance. Thomson use grade 12.9 alloy steel, which I don't think is stainless, but I reckon that would be a pretty good bet if you were replacing a seatpost clamp bolt.

Any bolts where you're principally concerned about strength should be 12.9, but needing 12.9 bolts on a bike is really an indication that the fastening has been designed wrong and should have more/larger/differently disposed fasteners.

I think that was mentioned in the article too, i.e. one bolt holding on saddle plus the weight of a "downhill specialist" may not be the greatest idea ever.

Where does the Eddy Merckx Corsa 01 fall in the Eddy Merckx steel frame lineup?

Is it better/worse than the corsa extra, MX leader etc?

Cannot find much info on the tubing which is Dedacciai's Zero Uno" SAT 14.5 18mcdv6 apparently

So I see Planet X have dropped their crabon fiddy tubular wheels to £370 again.

Shall I get some?

I've got a 7.5kg carbon road bike from Planet X - a Nanolight - and they'd defo look awesome on it, but will it ride £450 (inc tyres) better than on alu rims and clinchers?

Bearing in mind I can just about manage evens over a flat 50 mile route, will I notice the c. 600g weight saving? Or the aero advantage? Or the way the tubs ride?

Half the price of the bike for wheels and tyres seems lots to me and I'm not exactly quick so am I wasting my hard earned?

You already wasted your money on a carbon road bike, what's another £450? You'd only piss it away on something even more pointless like mortgage payments if you didn't spend it on your bike anyway.

In my experience of riding the tubular and clincher version of the same tyre back to back (Vittoria Evo CX) the tubular will have a nicer ride.

More importantly they'll look great and sound awesome.

Where does the Eddy Merckx Corsa 01 fall in the Eddy Merckx steel frame lineup?

Is it better/worse than the corsa extra, MX leader etc?

Cannot find much info on the tubing which is Dedacciai's Zero Uno" SAT 14.5 18mcdv6 apparently

That's three different tubings, no?

My question, do all DT Swiss freehubs just pop off?

"...More importantly they'll look great and sound awesome."

If only people would get their priorities straight.

...and Dammit repped of course.

600g weight saving and the aero profile of the wheels will definitely be noticable. The drop in weight will get you to accelerate faster (also dependant on hubs though) and the aero profile will keep it at speed with less effort. I noticed a huge difference when I changed from Rigida DP18's to Reynolds Attack wheels, which only have a 32mm reep rim. Yet the slightly higher rims, aero profile and less spokes made a difference. And yes it will look rad.

That's three different tubings, no?

Don't think so - this is the tubing sticker on the frame in question.

http://i1109.photobucket.com/albums/h425/bolo_1/57cm%20Merckx%20Corsa%2001/EM_Corsa-01_Dedacciai-Zero-Uno_0012.jpg

Anyone else having problems with official Cinelli merchandise. My prints are cracking after a few washes (30~C, hang dry).

Official Cinelli merchandise is almost a contradiction in terms these days... Most of it is cheap crap produced in China with a cool logo and plenty of hipster-tax added.

Anyone else having problems with official Cinelli merchandise. My prints are cracking after a few washes (30~C, hang dry).

For the vintage look innit