MudLark

Okay, thanks. I have read on the web that the internals can be damaged irretrievably by overfilling. But I don't really know. Which is why I was asking.

Hi guys, I recently had a bike frame repainted. I dropped it off at the company in question – the entire bike – and they did the whole job from end to end. When I got the bike back, I noticed that my left brake – Ultegra 8000 – was spongy, taking low and then taking higher and higher as one pumped it. Because it is a fair distance from my house to the paint shop, I took the bike to my local bike shop took a quick look at it. They are a pretty reputable shop. They told me that they found there was too much fluid in the system and that they had removed some. I rode the bike a bit – maybe 50Ks or so - and in the morning found that the brake lever now goes all the way back to the handlebars. Back to the bike shop who tell me that they are concerned that the overfilling may have damaged the internals as there are no visible leaks. The paint shop of course is insisting that it must be just bubbles. But I can't see how bubbles, in the absence of any visible leaks, can result in a lever that goes all the way back to the handlebars. When you pump the lever, it does though take a bit higher – about half way up. Any thoughts as to whether this can be "just bubbles"?

How much do you weigh and had they been properly set up with spoke tension measured etc?

I suspect that part of the problem is that very few bike shops actually use spoke tension meters when building wheels. I've yet to see a techie using one in my lbs - which is a very busy and reputable shop. These rims are clearly on the engineering margin and while they might crack anyway, not building the wheel absolutely correctly and within spec probably doesn't help either. Whatever the case though, wheel failures can sometimes mean a very long walk home or sometimes a bad crash. Reason I'm asking is I've just stuffed a pair of Bontrager carbon rims (Kovee 23s) and I'm wondering about just fitting aluminium instead. The old debate.

Thanks Robert. Better then to buy something else!

Sooo... no more posts in the last 2+ years about these rims cracking. Have Stans solved the problem with their changed heat treatment?

It's exactly the same route, just a bit shorter. Below is the Fat Sheep route. Only difference is the single bit of dogleg down the bottom is removed so it's a bit shorter. I rode the Fat Sheep. Not a bad ride but found parts of it a bit hairy from a safety perspective - heavy trucks and cars passing close at speed and badly broken road shoulders in places. http://hecticpromotions.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/110km-01-1024x724.png

Am I mistaken or does that look very much like Fat Sheep Classic Rerun?

Interesting to see that head angles on the two bikes are only 0.5 degree difference.

How can you do a structured workout if the thing can't do ERG mode?

Quite simply: We have never heard of the Eastern Cape, we don't care about the Eastern Cape and we do not design our bicycles for the Eastern Cape!

You've got to ride them to appreciate how bad they can be. The corrugations are extreme in a lot of places. For mile after mile. Without front suspension I doubt you'll be able to feel your hands after 30 minutes or so. Even on a dual sus MTB it can get pretty uncomfortable fairly quickly. The roads are so poor in many places, the farmers struggle even with 4wds. There's just no maintenance at all in some areas - and hasn't been for many years. Anyway, the Tagati is still a nice bike and certainly a great alternative to a gravel bike.

As it turns out, the wife is the one pushing for it. She refuses to fly commercial with Covid... Her job requires her to understand more about it than the average Joe. And there are some places too far to always conveniently drive.

Ditto. I am now actually playing with the idea of maybe acquiring one.

It's an interesting project and a variant on my own hybrid. I think I'm going to try 2.2 tyres - Race Kings - on my hybrid. The gravel bike tyres work okay but I think Race Kings may be better. I would actually like to compare the two bikes. I suspect Sling's geometry provides certain advantages but the soft tail and shock absorbers on my bike also provides certain advantages, depending upon terrain. I built this bike specifically for very bad farm roads, such as you get in the Eastern Cape and for events like a Race to the Sun. Also for general use on our increasingly bad roads – I have found that it is a much safer bike than a standard road bike. You are far less likely to take a fall if you hit a pothole or an uneven road surface at speed. But I have found that it's not a very fast bike. I am not quite sure why; maybe the geometry. It's a great "go anywhere, do anything" bike and works well for doing long distances over bad terrain but I don't think it is well suited for competitive activities – although I still need to ride it a bit more and try to refine it a bit more. Maybe as I fettle it I will conclude otherwise. I tend to think the ultimate is probably the Niner MCR but I can't quite justify the cost in my own mind.

Nice bike. You will not survive for long on E Cape - or indeed many other - farm roads on that bike.

Sounds like a great option. Similar to the Powerbeam but with both ANT+ and BLE. See used they go for circa 4.5k and new 10k.

They're incredible bang for you buck on the used market.

You could look for a used Cycleops Powerbeam with bluetooth. You should pick up for about 3 or 4 k. I have one. I also have a R22k+ Tacx Neo2. The old Powerbeam is only slightly louder (if at all - either way neither is at all audible in the room next door) and pretty much does everything the Tacx does from basic functional utility perspective, albeit you need a seperate cadence sensor and you need to calibrate the Powerbeam. It's also"wheel on". Different mounting kits are used for QR vs Thru Axle, so check which it comes with depending on your bike. They come up for sale fairly frequently here on the Hub. The Tacx is "very nice" but the Powerbeam really is a perfectly serviceable piece of kit. I wanted both Ant+ and Bluetooth in the same trainer, which was I got the Tacx. The Powerbeams come in only one or the other. If you can live with that you'll have a good sturdy quiet trainer that is durable and does everything you need at a very good price. My wife has now inherited my Powerbeam and is perfectly happy with it. I bought my Powerbeam used from my trainer, who is a former Pro cyclist; so it's seen some use but never a moment's trouble. Hope this helps.... PS: The Powerbeam is a smart trainer and will give you all the resistance you practically need unless you're built like The Hulk. You can Zwift with it etc PPS: Don't make the mistake of buying one of the newer Cycleops Magnus trainers with the fan visibly built into the flywheel. I did when I wanted both Bluetooth and Ant+ and my oath it but the was loud! I couldn't believe the amount of noise it made - I thought I had a small jet turbine in the room with me. I returned it forthwith to Takealot. Simply put, if the trainer you use is louder than the floor fan you use, it's really not a great product!

Is there a difference between Ryder Tube Sealant and Ryder Tubeless Sealant? Or is it the same stuff sold under different names? Looking at the online descriptions it looks like the same stuff?

May be useful. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/17/well/move/exercise-covid-recovery-complications-clots-heart-lungs.html

'Cois, this is called constructive dismissal. It's illegal and would in principle leave the company open to a claim by yourself. You should consult a good labour lawyer as soon as you can. Unfortunately its not my area of expertise or I would offer to help without charge. I know you don't need this additional drama in your life right now but its the only useful advice I can provide.

Actually, a good point is made above. Most people don't use Squirt correctly. They throw it on the chain just before they go for a ride. It's action designed to be applied well in advance, left to dry fully and then another layer applied and left to dry fully. If you use it correctly, it's actually a lot less gunky. But I still find the Wurth stuff a bit better and more convenient to use, in part because it is fast drying. There's actually another brand as well which comes in a conventional plastic bottle that evaporates fast and leaves a very visible wax layer… I like it as well. I have a bottle somewhere – can't remember the brand name but will look later.

If you want the benefits of a wax lubricant and a dry lube in one, this is the product to use: https://www.maxinc.co.za/products/wurth-hhs-dry-lube-chain-spray-400ml I have used every other lubricant mentioned on this thread and not one of them comes close to this.