NotSoBigBen

Done and dusted now ... the 'gravel wheels' for very light on road duty before anyone gives me gip about the radial spokes 😜

I'm not anal about this stuff like some and I understand their reasoning be it saving money on chains and stuff or keeping their drivetrains clean etc. I love to ride bikes (yes and occasionally build some 😜 ) so my thinking is as long as you do lube often, whatever it is you decide use, and occasionally clean the drivetrain it'll be ok. My regime and yes I'm sure there is fault with it but I'm happy with that is as follows. I lightly lube my chain every time I go out, run the chain backwards and apply lube to the inside, I don't check that there's just a drop on every roller ... I happen to use Squirt but that's just by the by and that I can refill my little bottle at my LBS for a mere 99ZAR. I generally wash my bikes once a week unless it's been extremely muddy, part of that I spray some full strength general purpose cleaner onto the drivetrain and leave it to stand for a few minutes then give it a quick scrub with a brush. Wash the whole bike and good to go again. I go through one small bottle around every 2 months and I ride pretty often so I don't worry too much about the cost of the lube. I'd be interested how others go about it?

Turns out that frame was too small for him ... anyways so moving right along. Got this 26" carbon frame that needed a bit of repair. It's been done. Don't like the look of the fork so I'm 3D printing a spacer to fill that big 'gap'. Big Thys has done his magic on the frame and some of the bits Will have 2 wheelsets, one with MTB tyres and the other with gravel tyres Edit ... 27.5 wheels!

After a few days off because of some personal issues as well as crappy weather on the Highveld it was a lekker ride with Steely Dan doing long ride duty! Not warm out there 🥶

I've clearly been schooled today on pricing and best I just accept that everyone is providing the best price THEY can and be happy ...

IMHO there are very few products today where the price is based on input costs plus a fair profit as was the case many many years ago. Today there's clearly a 'charge the maximum the market will tolerate' strategy. As has been mentioned before cyclists seem for whatever reason to tolerate more than others?

Singlespeeders know the earth is not flat ...

Luckily it wasn't that bad ... just 2 spots of crappy mud I had to go through

Ma se hare! But it was loads of fun 😛

As per everyone's comments I did specify that they were for road use but NOT high pressure ... for 'proper' road use I'm an old style tubed 25mm gatorskin guy at 100 psi front and back type of guy

There was that time ... Anyway rode it twice and it was crap (it was single speed though) and I built it just because I could (pictures on request 😜 ) Also built a hardtail monsterX with a 100mm fork once, took it on a week's holiday, thought what the hell am I doing might as well have just brought a proper MTB Now I just take the right weapon on the day, in most cases 😎

You forget how old you are when you're on a bike!

Thanks for your comments and tips @droo ... I'm happy at 40PSI so I'll keep it there, that's the bike I ride when I just feel like mucking around not for any serious training or anything

So job done, one layer of insulation tape over the spoke holes, two layers of duct tape ... 50ml of sealant, nothing fancy just what was cheapest at the LBS and 2 long tubeless valves from Grumpy at The Workshop. Amazing how resourceful that guy is, bloody hell! Little leaks here and there but a few rides and they'll settle in. Not only does the ride feel so much better but it looks the dogs b0ll0cks 😎

I haven't ..... yet 😜

I'm in with non tubeless, not a bike I ride much, just fun! I have 2 other sets of MTB wheels running non tubeless tyres for an all purpose road (700x38) and gravel (29×1.75) bike successfully ... these are obviously road rims and much narrower. I just love mucking about with stuff 😎

Probably very narrow, not home to measure them ... anyway got some 'Chaoyong' 700x35's and 2 long valves so gonna give it a go anyway 😎

So I have another, probably stupid, idea to try out I have a single speed bike I only ride on the road ... it has alu 'deep' section standard road rims I've always just run with normal road tyres 700x25. So I'm scheming to get some 700x38's or thereabouts and run them tubeless with a ghetto conversion. Then run around 40psi or so Need longish valves so either long tubeless valves if I can get or something with a long valved tube? Anyway anyone tried something like that before?

It's an RD-3300 ... I'm using 10sp STI's with a 10sp 11-36 cassette and 36/44 rings

I'll have a proper look when I get a chance and report back

I'm a 'tinkerer' so I also, as some here have alluded to, think that sometimes you just have to try something out despite what the specs say ... By all accounts this probably shouldn't work but it does, an old probably 9sp I'm not even 100% sure road derailleur with an 11-36 cassette. Yes it doesn't shift super crisp as some want but it shifts OK for me. Having said that it's also not the kind of thing you should expect or demand that your local bike shop does and then want it to be perfect! It's on you and you alone if you decide to do this kind of Heath Robinson cheap ass solution 🤪

Wrong thread

Freshly printed!

Age is not an excuse 🤣

With pleasure mate! I'll start the prints post haste this morning 😎