michaelbiker

Have you tried an XX1 or X01 chain or any other chain than NX/GX?

You can follow this: 2025-05-16_2246881506_H&A Black Route.gpx

This leads me to think there might be something up with your cassette or chainring. Never seen a chain develop cracks like this and I have been riding SRAM stuff for over two decades. But to be fair, I have never ridden GX Eagle.

Check out https://www.curvecycling.com/collections/off-road-bikes @Benky sold me two GXRs last year. Been amazing bikes.

I think it depends on the fit. They have three options. Mine was R1500 if I remember correctly.

Just shows you how everyone is different. I was fitted with a Power, on the same pressure mapping system and have been very happy with it. I think the pressure mapping is quite important if you are struggling. It makes the bike fitters job a lot easier. Sitbone measuring tools are pointless. FWIW I had that exact Sella Italia on my gravel bike and it was too narrow for me, I was literally falling off the back of the saddle as there was no support. On my MTB, I was getting pain in my ankle and hamstring tendonitis after rides with a lot of high torque efforts. It was very, very clear in the pressure mapping when I went for the fit that I had a lot of pressure on that side of my body. Tim at SISSA sorted it out quite nicely.

Am loving the Ciclovation Grind Touch stuff. No sticky backing, quite thick and grippy. Tapes with adhesive are the devil. Titan racing tape seems pretty good too, but I haven't used it yet. Also, if you ride alu bars, I'd recommend changing tape more regularly - or at least cleaning underneath the tape - so even more reason to use a non-adhesive tape. Sweat can corrode the bars and eventually they can become dangerous.

I just use the Muc-off soap spray and a brush to clean it and then a rinse. Has cleaned some of the gnarliest, mud-encrusted ride fall out ever. USWE recommends not to put it in the washing machine. Key is to wash it before it dries out.

Blue skies

I’ve tried both ridewrap and invishield. I prefer ridewrap.

BikeInn will ship. Just don’t pick SAPO when you checkout.

Yeah I do the boiling water anyway to remove any extra contaminants and get more treatments out of the wax but it's not 100% necessary. Again, I do 4-6 chains at a time.

I use Silca Hot Wax. I get it from Merlin but a bag lasts a long time as I only use half a bag at a time. The hardest and most annoying part, is stripping the chains of factory grease. This is where the Silca strip chip helps but it only needs to be done once. I strip new chains with turps - takes about 2 - 3 times to get them completely stripped but its quite easy. Wash the turps off with water and then rinse the water out with acetone. When the acetone evaporates off, you can do the hot waxing. I get about 250km per chain on the mtb and gravel bike. When the chain starts to sound dry or squeak, I just rinse it off with boiling water and drop it in the hot wax again. If I am travelling, I just top up with the Silca Super Secret. It is the identical product but mixed with distilled water.

I hot wax all of my chains. If you have the setup it’s no more effort than smoove / squirt and a lot less effort than an oil based lube. I have two chains per bike with four bikes and do a whole bunch of chains in one go. The uncoated SRAM X01 chains seem to work the best. It’s way, way cleaner than any drip lube and I currently am running a set of chains with nearly 4000km on them each without any wear.

I’d go with the Titan. It has the better kit of the three and is 1x. Not sure about 50mm clearance, you’d have to research that. They have a good warranty too and it’s transferable to the next owner which helps with resale when you do eventually upgrade. The avalanche is a carbon frame which is likely lighter but weight matters less on a gravel bike than most people think. Everything else on the avalanche seems to be an unknown in terms of longevity. So check the warranty. The Chinese groups are catching up but aftermarket parts and warranties are always a question mark and if you break something you might be in for a whole new group set. The silverback, no thanks. Also budget for changing the tires on any of these and potentially saddle.

If it’s over R5000 you have to declare it and pay tax when you arrive. Very few people do though With German sites you can get an EU VAT refund which is often worth it. You just need to fill out the forms on their site and get a stamp from customs when you leave. Then post the forms back to them and they will issue a refund. Don’t use the VAT refund services in airports. You get almost nothing back.

Be wary, if you are on a tight deadline they don't always have stock, so you can wait for some time before they ship. Otherwise, if they do have stock, they are pretty good. I rather order from r2-bike or bike24 when I am in Europe. Much more reliable shipping times and stock counts.

You have to order from Revant directly in the US. They will ship here. Not sure about the rest but best to contact them. I got my lenses while I was in Singapore.

Try the Revant Optics lenses. They are way cheaper and have very good clarity and optics. I just replaced all my glasses with them - two sets of Oakleys and a set of Ray-Bans.