The Tester Approves thread (see first post)

I had to re-read what I wrote a couple of times; you forgot the smiley face. :(

A friend has just bought a Felt; we'll share my trispoke, but obviously not the rear.

Relacing the OE hub to a Grizzly is an option, but ideally the stock wheels would be kept for training/evening TT: not having to swap tyres would be less work for me. :)

It's also the only 11 speed wheel we have between us and it wouldn't hurt to have a spare.

Shimano FC-S500/FC-S501 Alfine Cranks if on a budget of £50:

I have two of them on the Tester Tandem. They are worth the money, if that's your budget, then that's my recommendation.

Sorry.. but did we already cover factory versus hand built wheels?

That's a false dichotomy. The two different kinds of wheel are good ones and bad ones.

They're fast?

↑What he said

Any word of the new GP GTs?

Googling GP GT gets you some weird results. Is there a new one? I haven't ridden them but they're meant to be a pretty good training tyre. They look like they cost similar to the GP4000s which is so fast and reliable I'd just get one of those.

You need to spend £550 on Zipp 30s (which is 4 times the price of RS31s) to make a worthwhile step up from budget wheels.

What about a 400 quid pair of carbon wheels?

For HHSB to walk down Old St, or a racing bike to ride fast?

Yeah good question. What are Chinese carbon rims like for racing?

Cheaper to replace.

For racing, presumably they will weigh close to 1800g, but are the aero benefits there to justify spending more than semi aero alu rims?

What do you think about the 3t brezza team aerobar? Is it good for 30Km TTs? I've got one with 60% discount

are the aero benefits there to justify spending more than semi aero alu rims?

Why not ask the manufacturer to show you their wind tunnel results?

What do you think about the 3t brezza team aerobar? Is it good for 30Km TTs? I've got one with 60% discount

If it puts you in the right position, it's good.

Tester what kind of solution would you approve as cheap 1x10 cross setup?

sram type 2 x7 with narrow-wide raceface @ front, and try to find a bargain levers?

You don't need the narrow wide if you use Type 2. You need a single ring of some type. If you need cranks the Alfine crank might do the whole job for you - its ring isn't ramped, and it comes with an integrated bash. And it's tester approved.

A retroshift / shimano set up with a chain retainer might come in cheaper but will be more fugly.

Shakes fist

Dear tester,

Could you fix it for me to know what IYO is the best single brand which does fixed clincher wheels, track cranksets, BBs, headsets and possibly the whole lot of other track/fixed components? Medium/cheap possibly. The only one I can think of is Miche. Fsa does most of them too but not the all important track wheels. Tnx in advance.

No single brand does all of them well, certainly not at the low/mid price range. If you accept the proposition that Pro is really Shimano, you can build a pretty good track bike tout Shimano, although sticking to literally all one make and clinchers might involve some trickery with the rims off some WH-R501s laced to low spoke count Dura Ace track hubs which are all but impossible to get unless you're sponsored by Shimano.

DiaCompe probably get closest to being able to fit out a complete track bike with one brand of mid-price components a reasonable person would tolerate. No pedals or, oddly, AHead stems. I wouldn't recommend any of their components in isolation, but for somebody with severe OCD they might be your salvation.

Thanks much. Didn't think of them, but after a look at their stuff, I see why you wouldn't recommend them. ;) Miche is still my favourite at this point, although they don't make a-headsets or stems either. What your opinion on them? And if I can bother you again, what would you think makes more sense, a light aero carbon frame on aluminium deep v's, about 30 mm, or a cheaper alu frame on carbon high profiles, 40mm or over? Where's the money best spent in terms of fixed gear tt performances? As soon as I manage I'll rep you... Cheers.

I see why you wouldn't recommend them. ;) Miche is still my favourite at this point

Just to clarify, I'd take Dia Compe over Miche. It's just that for every Dia Compe product, there's an alternative which is better value from another manufacturer.

And if I can bother you again, what would you think makes more sense, a light aero carbon frame on aluminium deep v's, about 30 mm, or a cheaper alu frame on carbon high profiles, 40mm or over? Where's the money best spent in terms of fixed gear tt performances?

An old fashioned skinny-tubed steel frame is probably going to give you the best bang for your buck for a fixed TT bike. Many of the shaped tubes on cheap aluminium and carbon frames which have been designed by somebody who once looked at an aerofoil without understanding it are actually worse than round tubes, and compound the problem by being fat too.

See Scilly Suffolk's Yokel Motion or Upsidedown's 2014 TT bike for the best value in fixed gear TT wheels, both are going for a Hed3 up front and Raltech covers on the rear. Even Hed can't think of a way to improve on the original Specialized design in all conditions. While you're waiting for a Hed3 to come up at a price you can afford, don't waste money on ineffective half-measures. A Shimano WH-RS30/31 on the front will stop your fork ends from dragging on the ground while you wait for a proper front wheel.

I didn't expect you to prefer dia compe to miche to be honest. The miche primato pista groupset looks to me miles more professional, they have heritage, make their stuff in Italy, and do BBs, chains, carbon wheels, the lot. That's a bit of a shock.

Regarding alu tubing, I'm not talking too cheap, rather stuff like dolan's champion. You gave me the best idea, though: wheel covers! As long as they are legal in most entry level tt's and duathlons, which I'm pretty confident is the case.

Cheers, mate!

stuff like dolan's champion

I'd want to see wind tunnel results if anybody claims that a Track Champion makes a faster TT bike than a 1970s 531 track frame with an Argos fork

I'm sure a search on here will bring up a load of people calling miche shite, a fair few of them will be mr tester here himself.

I've seen upsidesown's one which is pretty much what I had in mind, only with cheaper wheels and the wheel cover at the back.

I've been trying to search for miche opinions here but there's too much wanted and for sale stuff that makes it quite difficult. I'll have a good read because I'm still not too convinced they're that bad.

Regarding steel tubing, I see your point, tester, but it's not really an option ATM. It's either alu or carbon. Cheers.

Steel is always an option.