Transcontinental Race No. 7 - TCR7 - #TCRN07 - 2019

Marketing is amazing isn’t it? 🤩

What would you go with?

It does strike me as odd that this is the first different material used. Cuts both ways I guess

I cant say, I haven't considered it at all.

I think it's a really tough call.

Wonder if wattage gains from latex tubes would be offset by having to pump them up every 24h?

No.

From a reliable source?
What were the comments?

Don’t over think things like inner tubes. They’ll not make one iota of a difference.

Hard to patch or you cant.
Leak air.

Just stick with something tried and tested. Dont mess about looking for small gains its pointless

Yeah, I've still got some Hypers (32, 35, 42). They're ok but I do seem to puncture them a fair bit. But I've no idea how many miles they've done so they could just be worn but they feel more susceptible to flints and thorns. I laughed but I might yet fit some 'touring' tyres. :)

Nice. I've already got a 118 link chain, I just need the Compact chainrings and I'll fit it up. I need to have another look at the Di2 auto-shift options, I think mine is turned off currently so I can still cross chain. Not that I do but I'm worried I'll freak out when it stops shifting half way across the cassette or something.

Just been to the Dr’s about my cough. Sending me for bloods and x-ray as a precaution due to slightly low blood oxygen levels....

Must be a good cough!

Yeah I heard the same, can't remember why now, but it was bad enough that I dismissed them as an option!

Hope tests are ok - shame to be unwell just as the good weather starts!

Yeah frustrating. Fingers crossed it’s just a cough. Bloods and X-rays due back in 7 days time.

Damn, that sucks. Is it a dr you trust? We have a group-practice and went to one of the newer ones a while back who sent me off to draw blood for a damn cold. Saved me a checkup but goddamn, was stressed for a while.

I’m happy with the overly cautious approach, I’d rather know sooner what it is.

I had a really annoying flu/cough too in February, nothing too dramatic but it lasted for weeks, so I went to a doctor, and they took blood to see if there's inflammation and x-ray to be sure my lungs are fine, and they actually wanted me to come for another x-ray after a couple of months. They found nothing and the cough went away. But it's good to make sure.

I don't know what tyres to ride either, and I haven't planned the route yet after the last manual update, but I want to take something wider than 28 gp4000 anyway, safer and some of the roads are rather rough even without the gravel bits. I've dented rims before.

Just wanted to summarise on some tech points discussed so far and share my experience on them.

OSMAND is a fantastic app. So far in my experience nothing has come close to level of detail and flexibility for emergency measuring/routing when out and about in the wild. Pay the few euros to download the maps, and to get the elevation shading and contour lines. Avoid the monthly subscription they try to push unless that is really your thing to get updates every day. Make sure you have enough memory on the phone, or consider saving the map data on a micro SD card at install. Get familiar with the Measure Distance and Snap to Road feature. Use the save as GPX file feature and then go to My Places to recall and study them. OSMAND shows detailed elevation both when routing and saving GPX tracks via the measure distance feature. A life saver when making decisions on the fly.

The GP5000 measures from the total external width unlike the previous 4000 that measured from the internal tube width. It means a GP5000 at 32mm is the same as a GP4000 at 28mm. In my use case, the 5000 measures 32 on a 20mm internal rim, the 4000 measured 31.

The shimano road road going rear mech in the long cage GS variants that are spec'd for a max of 34 teeth, are happy enough up to 40. The Wolftooth roadlink is not necessary with a GS nor is it the ideal solution. The roadlink moves the mech pulley away from the cassette compromising shifting and wear. If an 11-42 rear cassette is desired, then an XT RD-M8000-SGS and a Wolftooth Tanpan is necessary. You can put the Tanpan in line near the bars instead of at the rear.

The Absolute Black sub compact 30/46 and 32/46 front rings mount 2.5mm inboard towards the frame. It means your chainline changes by -2.5. So a non disc brake based road crank (practically all of them) with a chainline of 43.5 will be 41mm. If you have a really short chainstay this can be problematic. The chain angle can make the drivetrain unhappy. Chainstays of 435 seem ok with it, 450 has no issue with it. On my 410 and 412 bikes it didn't like it at all.

The ovality of the AB rings is actually great. The shifting has been flawless and along with the Rotor Q rings, the same or better than my Shimano experience. However, on one ride, the chain got lodged between the mech hangar and the AB large ring and bent the mech outboard. Took me 30 minutes to get the issue resolved and riding again. But I lost one of the two plastic pieces that are clipped inside the new shimano front mechs. This meant readjusting the shift cable tension and mech limits. I have about 6000 km on oval rings of Rotor and AB, and this was my first issue. I never figured out exactly why it happened. As far as I remember, the adjustment was as per the AB instruction video. Moral of the story is that it is really important to adjust the distance from the large ring to mech hangar exactly how AB recommend, which is different than the usual 1 ish mm between chainring teeth and hangar.

The AB use proprietary bolts for their rings. Maybe bring an extra set to be safe?

Wish a technically trouble free ride to all you you!

GP5000 have 2.8mm tread compared to GP4000 2.9mm. It might not make that much difference practically but thinner is thinner. Maybe not a great idea with the extra gravel aspects of this year's race. Perhaps the TL version with it's thicker sidewalls is an option though (0.95mm vs. 0.55mm).

This is interesting. I have OSMAND but have never looked at it closely. Is it better than MapsMe do you think? Do you know if it is possible to open the GPX file via an app like Komoot or the Wahoo App?

I tested maps.me, but i lost interest pretty quick because what I get out of OSMAND is tops.
Yes OSMAND can open GPX files.
https://osmand.net/help/faq.html

BTW my experience with OSMAND on Android has been better than on IOS 10. I don't have an IOS device newer than version 10 so don't know if that makes any difference. For me the Android version is more full featured and behaves better.

FYI, to make the Open Cycle Maps more visible in OSMAND you need to put this XML file in the rendering folder. http://www.openfietsmap.nl/installation/android/osmand

Agreed, TL with tubes is a good idea.

I tried out some Challenge Strada Bianca Pro. Very robust with no flats but not as supple as various Conti with considerably less TPI. And if we talk about difficulty mounting a tire, these took the prize for me.

I think there is false advertising going on with tire TPI. One manufacturer might be telling us the total TPI when layered/added together. For example 3x 60 = 180TPI. While another might tell us just 60 with no indication of layers, and in the case of the Strada Bianca, 260.

The thing I disliked most about the Biancas was the on road grip, or lack there of. The are covered in little ribs. After some pretty hairy braking experiences where it loses grip in a very on off way, I called them, "ribbed for my displeasure".

Nothing I have tried can touch the black chilli. Which is why I am really curious of the Conti GP Urban. Bit big but if the shoe fits...

I've had many, and love the Conti Contract Travel 37mm. A wonderful no BS tire that works anywhere in pretty much any condition. It is heavy, not exactly for a race mostly on tarmac, but has been my best companion to date.

The Panaracer Gravel King Slick is interesting with its size and weight, but again it has those ribs. Not sure their rib arrangement will solve the schizophrenic grip issue on the road.