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I'll be in London next week sometime (not quite sure when atm), so I can take them into the office (just off TCR) and leave them in wheel bags for you to collect whenever suits.
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Well I was riding them quite happily and I didn't notice anything untoward. DT Alpine spokes plus Archetypes makes for a ridiculously stiff wheelset, as you can probably imagine – they only got put to one side as I snapped my only non-disc frame, so I didn't have anything to use them with! I'm around 110kg and my last set of 32h Archetypes lasted until the brake track fell off.
I'm pretty sure that the spoke tension is too high on the rear, though – I vaguely remember reading that DT Alpine III spokes give funky readings on some tensiometers – so that'd possibly explain the cracking.
The front is absolutely fine, though.
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I can happily grab some next time I'm down London way, so will be sometime next week - I'll ping you a DM once I've uploaded them...
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More things, and more price drops.
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Another vote for IRC X-Guards. £100 a pair, but then they've outlasted every other tyre I've ever used – no p-words so far.
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More price drops. Pls help me empty my 'bike room'. :)
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Three things I've learned on my tubeless journey:
Some tubeless valves just do not work. Buy good ones and they do. I have VAR tubeless valves (from The Cycle Clinic) on four wheels and they all just work. I have two generic tubeless valves which have never sealed properly in four attempts – I thought it was me being a numpty, but no. They're just shit. Find ones that work then stick with them.
Do not cut an X in the tape - valves are round (ish), so make a round hole. My preferred option is to use a thin screwdriver to make a guide hole and then tap the valve through, or just close the valve on a presta valve and gently tap it through the tape.
Always two wraps of tape. Always. I tend to start wrapping just before the valve and wrap just a bit past the valve on the second way around so that there are three layers of tape above the hole. Could be pointless, but it's always worked for me.
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The frame isn't bent, just the fork – I had the frame alignment checked at Fitzrovia Cycles, and they gave the fork a bit of a tweak.
Thanks for the snarky reply, though. :)
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Top tube (c-c) - 58cm
Seat tube (c-t) - 60cmSpent a very happy summer or two commuting on this, but it's sat in my spare room for too long. It deserves to be ridden. Lovely condition 531 frame, and a beautiful paintjob with only a few paint rubs here and there.
Biggest issue: the frame/fork was sold as being in perfect condition, and it certainly looked it when i picked it up, but once I got it built up I realised the handling was somewhat 'funky'. I suspect the forks have been bent in a head-on shunt. I never got around to sourcing some replacements, but they were fine for the couple of years I spent commuting on it.
Comes with a 105 headset that's still doing it's thing, bearing were replaced not too long before I got a new frame, and there's a 105 front derailleur on there - that's got a crack all the way through the metal shifting bit (technical term), but again, it worked so I just left it as is.
£50 - and collection only for now, unless someone's desperate for me to send it. I'm living up in the midlands now, but I'm down every week or so. That means I can be around for collection in SE18, or take it to my office in Tottenham Court Road.
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Price drops, new wheels from Harry Rowland added, and Fizik Kurve Bull added.
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Yep. Which are you interested in?
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Added weights to wheels, couple of small price drops.
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IRC + Kinlin or Schwalbe + Kinlin?
The IRCs are a megacunt to actually get on the rim, but once they're there at least you don't have to remove them. Well, not until they wear out. ;)
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Big old update bump. Pictures for most items should be attached to first post.
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28c Pro Ones were just over 30mm on Kinlin xr31 RTS (24mm ext, 19mm int) if I remember rightly.
@hippy - ^^ Worth noting if you're a) anti-30mm tires or b) no have no clearance
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I think I still have two brand new 28c Pro Ones in the cupboard which you can have for 50 quid. I bought a spare pair but ended up having such a shit time with them that I moved to IRC.
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Late answer to your question, but yes - Schwalbe Pro Ones were crap for me. Loads of punctures (average of one per 100km), didn't seal, cut up really badly, didn't handle as well as standard schwalbe ones. (Note: Bear in mind I use my one bike for London commute, club runs and everything.)
IRC formula x-guard - 3500km on a rear (I'm 17 stone) before broken bottle slashed to the thread (didn't puncture but didn't fancy keeping it after), no punctures, better grip, roll better too. Front still going strong.
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As @Amey mentioned (waves), Schwalbe Pro Ones were total shit for me. Way more punctures than standard Ones, and several punctures that refused to seal so required patching from the inside/tyre worms. Far, far too much faff.
Moved to IRC Formula X-Guard and haven't had a puncture since. Had to bin one because I hadn't noticed that a piece of glass (I'm guessing) had slashed straight through to the puncture proof layer - it went right across the tread - but even then it hadn't punctured or let out any air at all, I just didn't fancy riding it any more. It could have been like that for 100s of miles for all I knew.
Current puncture proof mileage is at around 3000 km on one (which I now have as a spare), and around 1700km on the new pair I bought. Wear rate is impressively low and while the rear has flattened off a bit after 1700km, I weigh 110kg so I'm pretty happy with that – I imagine they'll last a very very long time for lighter riders.
If you don't mind trading a bit of puncture resistance for speed, then the RBCC version dumps the puncture proof layer – I'm looking to get a pair for review, and am keen to see if they're as awesome as the x-guards.