eliminator

Campagnolo Moskva 80 ETRTO 13,5x622 6000 Series Alloy-T6 I've recently bought a Shimano 105 Group Set from a friendly hubber. I now want to upgrade my wheel from a 7 speed cassette to a 9 speed cassette. Before I have the wheel rebuilt there are a few things I would like to clarify. I know a cyclist almost my parents? age who?s been cycling since his student days and has been the SA Track Champion a few times. He once mentioned that a wheel with a deeper rim has a longer life than other rims. Someone else who owns a cycle shop told me that Campagnolo rims are better than some other rims, but they don?t last as long. I want to know how I can determine the life that is left in this rim and if it would be worthwhile to have it rebuilt.<?: prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> I could get a 10 speed Tiagra hub for R315, 105 for R620, Ultegra for R900. If I go with the Tiagra, rebuilding the wheel would cost me around R425. The wheel currently has a 105 hub. I also would like to know if the 105 is R300 ligter than the Tiagra or is it made of R300 better material, R300 better bearings or is the R300 for the name and status of having 105? I could probably buy a new wheel set for a good price on the hub, there was a pair of Easton Vistas for R1,500, but I would have to run it by the boss first. We decided that my wife would become a home mom when our first child is born. Everything went well until I started cycling. I joined a cycle club, bought gear and extras, flew down for the Argus etc. The credit card company now wants to sell me life insurance to pay off my debt when I die. My wife keeps on reminding me what we need for the house. I would rather spend the least amount possible to get my 9 speed cassette on the rear. I normally race on a tandem with my friend, but I need this bike to train on. I have done a race with it as well.

Thanks Johann, your argument makes sense to me. There must be some lateral forces because of centrifugal acceleration when turning and it is also these forces that keeps you upright otherwise I wouldn?t have tilted when standing still. The effects of these forces are probably negligible compared to the radial forces on the wheel, otherwise bicycle wheels wouldn?t have been designed like they are let alone made from Kevlar strings. I greatly appreciate your input.

Cyclists aren't like anglers I see... I've found it to be one of the hardest things to get the angler next to you who is catching all the fish to share his secret with you... The guys are giving away their secret here... Thanks MDK555 your tip opened up a whole new dimension in tandem cycling for us. We are now on par again. I believe that the performance enhancement of q-rings could mainly be attributed to evening out the power stroke between the captain and the stoker. There must be a time when you are switching from pushing to pulling that you don't exert any power on the pedal (unless you have mastered pedaling in perfect circles, which I believe is as possible as is drawing a perfect free hand circle). Now imagine you and your stoker trying to pedal in circles together. There must be periods of milliseconds where you are actually pedaling against each other. Q-rings level out the stroke, making it a joint effort and it is very noticeable! Before, we used to grind along in the granny gear on a fair hill at speeds between 8 and 11km/h. It is near impossible to push over the 11km/h mark in the granny gear. With q-rings the granny gear is really something of the past (even on a though hill). Before we had q-rings we met two different male pairs in races who had 58" Dura Ace blades and carbon wheels fitted on their tandems. I estimated the riders each to be about two thirds of my weight (I have a larger bone structure). You could also see that they've been cycling for years. Needless to say that they were flying and eliminated us completely as competition from the word go. If this is you maybe you don't need q-rings, however I'm looking forward to meet these guys soon again in a race.

I can vouch for that... We first noticed a vibration on the tandem when we reached 70km/h into the dip on Cedar Road. This was much like the vibration on your car when the wheel balancing is out. After the Argus the rim was a bit buckled ? the rear brake caught uneven. The Titan was then taken to Jacques who found a broken spoke. Later when Jacques fitted the q-rings he found another broken spoke?

Why are so many roadies reluctant to use hidration packs (water skins)? My captain insisted that I get one and we've done a race without water bottles. Now we put the energy mix in the bottle and the water on the back. Those packs are small and would probably have a lesser effect on aerodynamics than the bottles... I also like the RAVO though...

Ek het my dunlop hydration pack nou al van Feb 2008 af. Ek is 'n 100% roadie en het een gesoek wat meer streamline is. Ons ry op 'n tandem en haal gereeld 70km/h ek weet nie of dit moontlik sal wees met 'n tent sak om my rug nie. Ons is seker die enigste tandem met hydra packs. As julle dalk weer 'n padwedren doen kan julle ons nie mis nie. Die bestuurder het net gese hy stop nie by waterpunte nie en toe sien ek al hoe vrek ek van dehidrasie. Dunlop beweer die hydrapack kan 2l water vat, maar ek dink ek kry omtrent 4l in dan is hy tjokvol. Ek vat nog my waterbottel ook saam. In 'n 100km wedren suip ek 5l water op. Ek weet nie hoe ry julle ouens 6ure met 2l nie. Met die prys in ag geneem wat betaal word vir 'n raam wat 700g ligter is kon ek nog nie besluit of dit dalk meer effektief sou wees om eerder by die waterpunte te stop as om 7kg ekstra water saam te ry nie.

Thanks 1skinnyman - R2S2 -> Very informative indeed. The Guy in Pink - I've never changed a chain on any of the bikes I've had . After reading your comments I think I'll use it as a guideline to change my components - thanks.

Ek is nooit in die moeilikheid nie ... I was maybe teasing about the competitive edge - but I am sure that if they made titanium chains and had a good marketing campaign many cyclists would probably be convinced to fork out the cash and upgrade - that's just how we are. On a serious note - how often have you had chain braekages and how often do you replace your chain? I remember in high school that some of the links of the chain on one of the bikes were stuck it was so dry. Before that I never thought lubrication was necessary. Reference: http://www.gtgtandems.com/tech/tchain.html http://www.parktool.com/repair/readhowto.asp?id=25

I've browsed through an article about detecting chain wear and when to replace it. I'm just wondering if applying Prolong could extend the life of a chain and if the low friction coefficient could maybe give you an edge. Could it maybe just be the deciding factor of a few milli seconds in a head to head finish? Is this madness or could it carry some merit?

I studied with a guy who was ridden of the road by a taxi. His face was badly scarred.<?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /> A taxi pulled off the road in front of one of my cycling buddies one morning when we were training - they got out and tried to grab his bike, but he swung wildly and landed a good shot on a jawbone. He escaped, but shortly after we read in the newspaper that cyclists were robbed of their bikes while they were training on that same route. We have since moved, but went to ride there again recently and on that day the rides were escorted by a police car. Two Saturdays ago while we were training a truck came by, honking the whole way as he went. Yes we were riding next to each other, but there was enough space for him to pass and no oncoming traffic. When we got our drivers licenses a cyclist had as much right to use the road as any motorist - hence the hand signals and all the rest. I guess if you buy your driver?s license you won?t be aware of this. I shiver every time I go out to train, but peace comes after I've prayed. Races are still exciting - especially now that we're trying tandem racing and being a male pair. Much faster and easier. - we bought the tandem from a pair of whom one was paralyzed when a motorist lost control and injured him when they were riding single. His friend also gave up cycling.

We'll see if we can't take the tandem to Cycle Lab this weekend to see how they think it should be adjusted to fit us best. -- thanks

Here are a few links: http://www.velodynamix.com/training.php http://www.gtgtandems.com/tech/newriders.html http://www.pedalpower.org.za/DesktopDefault.aspx?tabid=105 Don't be amazed when you see us flying by like lightnig on our tandem next time you are in a race ...

Well I also got the Dunlop recently at R150 which is now, almost a year later almost three times less than the CAMELBAK which a friend also recently bought for R419. From my point of view being a rookie this is the better option. I don't want to spend too much now for equipment that might end up in the cupboard. I'm doing the Argus this year for the first time and was persuaded to get a hydrapack - but wasn't this initially invented for Mountain Bikes? Thanks to you guys who tested and tried the Dunlop and gave a good report. I was concerned that I had maybe made the wrong choice, but am confident now.