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I've noticed with my pompino that I have to have the saddle much further forward on the rails (On-One twelfty post) to get my usual fore-aft position (~10cm). Made me wonder, is there some point to having a far back saddle? Does it work better with an overall more 'relaxed' position? Always been a mystery to me...

Took the pompino to RP for a go at this today, but kind of lost motivation after spinning out on the descents during lap 1. Then decided to keep going for some kind of benchmark and finished in 1:07:22. 48x18 too low really, so will have a go at either gearing up or taking the road bike before adding myself to the list.

Put SKS chromoplastic guards on my pompino last night.

Was a bit of a hassle - I've got a mini-v brake on the front and there wasn't enough room to get the front guard underneath it. So out came the hacksaw - my front guard pretty much stops at the fork crown now but at least my brakes still work.

Drilled the rear guard to screw it into the mudgard hole at the top of the rear wishbone.

Now they're on they feel nice and solid.

I'm running marathon plus 28c and though you could probably fit bigger in there I don't know that I'd be awfully keen to.

What size SKS guards are you running? I'm thinking I'll not be going larger than a 28mm tyre on my pomp so was going to go for the 20-28mm guards. Is that a good idea, or would it be best to go for the 30-35mm ones for better protection?

^they do seem like a good idea, but I think I remember hearing they had a down-side (something to do with reduced mechanical advantage?) What about the shimano 'parallel-push'? I find with my cantis that they can curve downwards and press against the bottom edge of the brake surface after a while, and that sometimes they can brush against the tyre - the parallel -push are supposed to prevent that.

Thinking of putting V brakes on my pompino, as it seems that they may be simpler and more effective than cantis. I seem to remember a v brake thread but can't find it (search does not allow the term 'v'). What are people's experiences/recommendations? Are there any brands that are particularly good? I guess shimano should be good as they came up with the design. I'll need to get new levers as well, but it seems the choice of those is fairly limited anyway.

I have an old bike from the mid 1990s fitted with a suntour groupset. Despite being quite old I don't think it's done loads of miles and so the sprockets shouldn't be too worn. However, the chain is starting to jump a little. Will a new 7/8 speed chain (from SRAM, for example) work OK on the sprockets, or does it require some now obsolete type of chain?

Also, the brakes are pretty poor and I suspect that even with a bit of fettling to get them working properly, they won't be as good as modern brakes. Thinking of putting some modern dual pivot brakes on. Will they work OK with the existing brake levers (is there the right amount of cable pull, etc)?

Cheers in advance.

Sorry, but finding it hard to keep up with who wants what etc as people keep changing their minds. TIme constraints mean I won't be selling just now. Sorry.

Re: jeans sizing - I usually wear between 31-34 depending on brand. These fit perfectly and feel a sensible '32'. Just noticed it says 'regular trim fit' - don't know if that makes a difference, but they're certainly not skinny jeans.

Shoes - I replaced these with specialized comp shoes in size 44, which fit me better because shimano come up small + narrow.

Swrve slim fit jeans 32/32. Good condition, only worn a few times as did not get on with them. £20.

Shimano M076 shoes size 44. Used condition, but with some life left. Changed because needed a larger size. £10

collection from seven dials, covent garden.

I'll be upgrading my phone soon as my contract with orange is due for renewal, and wondering what would be a good upgrade from the HTC Tattoo. Been quite happy with the Tattoo actually, the only improvements I'd like is a slightly faster internet connection (processor?) and a slightly bigger screen. So I'm looking at the Desire and the Wildfire. Would I need to go to the Desire to get noticeably faster internet than the Tattoo, or would the Wildfire also be better?

Recently bought a 2nd hand ribble as a winter bike and it came with a triple chainset. I wouldn't have normally chosen a triple but thought it would be fine for just getting the miles in. Now I notice that my feet feel noticeably wider apart when clipped in. I'd never even thought about Q factor when fitting myself to a bike, but now am wondering if it's the reason I'm having difficulty getting my position sorted. Can q factor have such a significant effect?

been following this discussion with interest, as have been thinking about going for a fully rigid inbred. Would such a bike be closer to modern MTBs or to the early steel ones being discussed?

forgot to mention, I do stretching after any longish ride

Not specifically track related, but I'm noticing I have less flexibility than I used to. I tend to get tension and discomfort when riding in the same position I was comfortable in a year ago. Could I benefit from some specific gym exercises to strengthen my core? I've not used free weights before, only the upper body 'machines', cross trainer and rowing machine. Would those be enough or should I learn how to use free weights?

Ksyriums are always anti - they are actually slower than Aksiums for anything other than pure hill climbs.
what makes the ksyriums slower than aksiums, out of interest?

thinking of replacing my shimano m076 shoes with the spesh comp mtb shoes. The shimano feel a little flexy (but that's compared with my carbon road shoes). Would the specialized be an improvement or are dominators much stiffer in the sole?

If I can use a tool like that and not have to guess at how much to over tighten and then loosen, that would be ideal. Although really, since I've paid for the thing to be dished, I shouldn't have to be spending hours with a spoke wrench...

OK, looks like I'll have to take it back to the lbs. I'd do it myself but it's a mavic aksium and has bladed spokes and wasn't sure of how to keep the spokes in the right position - maybe it's not that hard though. cheers

Couldn't find a thread dealing with this specific issue.

I was noticing a tendency on my road bike for it to track a bit awkwardly. It feels almost like it's leaning to the right and I have to compensate by moving my weight around. Handling also feels a little less than precise.

I looked at the rear wheel and it def looked like the tyre was closer to the rh chain stay. Took the tyre off and the rim was clearly closer, so it wasn't just a badly seated tyre. also, I put in a different wheel and that fitted fine, so it's not a frame alignment problem. However, after taking it to the lbs for redishing, the issue is still there. In fact, the wheel only seems to have move fractionally and is still closer to the rh stay by about 2-3mm.

Is that enough to be noticeable when riding, or is the handling issue caused by something else?

Looking for a road stem with following specs:

1 1/8 inch
120mm
17 degree (horizontal with 73 degree HT)
26mm/Standard clamp
4 bolt clamp

So far online I can only find 2 bolt offerings by Cinelli, Ritchey. Would really prefer a 4 bolt ideally.

Cool, definitely looks like the WI could be the one then. Cheers.

Had the freewheel less than a year, and have used a few different chains on it in that time all of which were less than a year old too. Maybe the sprocket is poor quality? I'm guessing the sprocket part of a WI freewheel is not replaceable, so can only assume they are made of better quality material than the shimano one.

this may be a daft question, but I was considering getting this freewheel due the possibility of servicing etc. However, on my shimano freewheel the teeth are starting to wear out (getting wavy) whilst there seems no problem with the bearings. So obviously changing the bearings on a worn out freewheel is not going to be much use. Surely this must be wrong though?

So even without looking at actual axle-to-crown measurements you can see you're out by around 100mm, which will lift your front end and slacken your HTA. So basically giving the exact handling change, you state you dont want.

This has got me thinking - Has anyone tried using a road fork on a pompino? If the length is shorter it should steepen the HT and ST angles and lower the BB. But would it be enough of a change to make the geometry more road-esque? Or would it steepen the angles too much?

both look interesting, and in my price range. Unfortunately, any potential purchase is a little way off, but will be adding these to my considerations. Cheers,