Guttersnipe

I'm no metallurgist, but I have to call bullsh*t on this "its all just marketing" thing. It takes about 10 seconds of googling to find neutral sources of information about the effects of adding small quantities of scandium to aluminium alloys, which are considerable. Also, if you went beyond Wikipedia, you would find out that companies which use the stuff for things like bicycle parts don't use pure scandium from that tiny 400kg annual production when they mix up their alloy. They use a "master-alloy" which they get from a supplier who makes it up using scandium oxide (SC2O3), currently available in reasonable quantities in Russia, where decommissioned military supplies are relatively plentiful. What happens when they run out is another story but there are other sources of scandium oxide. Anyway. From what I understand scandium in very small quantities makes aluminium alloys more weldable and limits the degree to which welding distorts the grain structure of the metal (recrystallisation as the welded area cools makes cracks more likely to form for obvious reasons). Strong aluminium alloys are particularly *** for welding, but adding a tiny dose of scandium to the usual recipe of Al, Zinc, Magnesium, etc, solves that problem. For sports kit like bicycles, tent poles, baseball bats, that means you can make strong tubes that are thinner and lighter, than those made out of traditional alloys, which are more weldable but weaker, and have to be used in fatter tubes - think arse smashing early 90s cannondale. Strong, light, and weldable is also useful for building Mig-29 jets and ultralight handguns ... For a non-commercial, and rather sciency literature review, try this explanation: http://www.home.no/al-sc/papers/Scandium%20in%20Aluminium%20Alloys%20-%20International%20Materials%20Reviews.pdf And for a marketing tainted, but very clear and sensible explanation relevant to cyclists, the Easton website offers this: http://www.eastonbike.com/downloadable_files_unprotected/r&d_files/R&D-03%20Scandium.pdf So, sure, it costs more than gold in its pure form. And sure, KCNC uses aluminium alloys with a tiny percentage of Scandium, as do others, like easton, but it does make a real difference. Again, those "SC" parts aren't scandium in the strict sense, but they are stronger and lighter than traditional, cheaper aluminium alloys. That was way too long, but what I am trying to say is that its silly to just write this stuff off as marketing, although it has obvious marketing benefits. Clearly different alloys have different properties, 7000 series al is great for some applications, titanium is great for others, and carbon for others still. I rather like steel bikes, and I don't think anyone here is going argue that there is no difference between Reynold 853 and 953, for example. "Scandium" seems to make for about the best "aluminium" for some pretty major bicycle applications whatever you want to call the stuff. R-SYS wheels ... now on those I agree with Herr Bornman pistadex2009-01-27 12:06:14

I am pretty sure that what we refer to casually as Scandium is a Scandium/Aluminium alloy. Scandium in small quantities makes it possible to make thinner, stronger, and more cleverly butted tubes that are still mostly aluminium. My SC Bone bar, which I am very happy with, certainly isn't pure scandium. Nor is it "just" aluminium.

Interesting ... Stan has a new local distributor, and they seem pretty organised (they got me the cyclocross kit and tyres at a slightly painful price, but they did get them). If you just buy the rims, you should be able to build up a set with American Classic hubs and Revolution spokes for around 9k, but you'll need a really good wheel builder, and remember not to pump them up more than 2 bar. Also, the prebuilt ones have a weight limit of 77kg, so that's something to keep in mind.

I see you are in the western cape - talk to Olaf at Crosstown cycles in Kenilworth, he's a certified cx nut, and can set you up with anything from a bodged together old road frame converted to singlespeed, or a full custom rig with high zoot everything. Just don't listen to what he tells you about gearing -unless you go ss, you want a compact crank if you are going to ride off road. Cyclocross cranksets are (Usually 48x38 or 1x10 with a 42 up front) are NOT compact. btw, I am not sure I agree with Willehond about how badly these bikes suck at climbing - in the right conditions they will out climb a mountain bike, and they are a lot less sketchy for offroad descending than a road bike.

ZTR Race 7000 - they don't sell them as rims only, you have to buy the wheelset, as far as I know. Saw some at Bowman recently. Very nice, 1210g, and R10 000 before the rand fell - probably around 14k now? But he did say strong ... which means different things to different people.

My CX bike came stock with mostly ultegra and a 12-27 cassette. I found the canti's pretty hopeless at first, but I've spent a bit of time fiddling with them, and they are adequate now - there's on old bontrager article you'll find via google on how to get decent stopping power out of them. Disc brakes would be nicer of course, and a few american cx frames come with disc mounts. SRAM Rival seems to be a popular call in the states, but I wish mine was campag, for interchangeability with my road bike. I've made two changes to the setup: compact cranks were crucial. I'm not using the bike (sadly) for racing around a 2km circuit in a park, and the 48/38 upfront was hellish for climbs to the blockhouse, radio mast, etc. I've now got an ultegra 50/34 on, and I'm really happy with it. Its overgeared for some of the steep jeep tracks, but in a fun way that seems to fit the personality of the whole endeavour. I've also just converted it to tubeless using stan's cx conversion kit and his tubeless ready 700x35 "The Raven" tyres. Far fewer punctures, much better traction, immeasurably better comfort, sadly rather expensive. I'd quite like a "monster cross" 29er with dirt drop bars and cable actuated discs, but the thing that is cool about the cx bike is that its twitchy handling and generally sketchiness make it really really fun to ride, even on the most familiar trails, so I am not going to change it just yet.

If you build up ztr olympic rims with american classic hubs and a mix of dt swiss revolution and competition they come in at around 1350g - probably not the best idea if you are heavy or do big wheelie drops, but works fine for me at 64kg and moderately aggressive. I had mine built at BMC in woodstock. I think I paid about 5k, but that was before the rand crashed vs the dollar. People moan about AC hubs, but the new ones are much improved, and the bearings are cheap to replace. Of course if you are flush DT Swiss 240 hubs would be nicer.

Oh, and it comes with the drastically revised bearing setup that the Blur LT2 and new Nomad have - including grease ports, etc, so the bearing issues should be a thing of the past. Of course at 30k frame only, it may be a bit cheaper to keep replacing bearings on the old version.

And to think, a mere 4 months ago I built up what I thought was the dream Blur XC ... Black Ano alloy goes very well with a silver Audi, us ponces think. But now I want the plastic version. RRP is around 2300 US, so figure on R30k at current exchange rates. That said, deals on SC are doable if you are subtle about it.

I pretty happy with my recently acquired Dinotte setup - blinding leds, good battery life, reasonable price per lumen, especially if you get one of their web specials (although i bought mine R7.25/dollar).

I don't think I am sexy enough for 50mm rims, and I get blown around badly enough even on a standard wheelset, so when I wanted a Christmas present I went for the more obscure option of HED Ardennes which weigh 1350 grams or so, and are 23mm ... wide. They look almost like 29er wheels. HED argues that they are more aero than standard clinchers because the tire doesn't bulge out from the rim like a light bulb, so you get more laminar airflow. I doubt I'll notice. Kevin at BMC has just finished building a Powertap hub into the rear one, and is putting Stan's yellow tape on as we speak. First ride this evening in the howling South-easter.pistadex2008-12-11 05:49:00

I've tried most of the options - standard converted with stans, tubeless ready, and UST, and they all have their merits. Unfortunately the thing about tubeless is that you tend to want to leave the same tyreson for a while, given the hassle involved in changing them, so unless you've got two wheelsets you probably want something fairly versatile. I would second the recommendation to go with a tubeless ready option like the Bontragers or Hutchinsons - other manufacturers are starting to cotton on to this approach. Having blown standard tyres with stretched beads off the rim and broken ribs as a result, I find the stronger bead reassuring. Of course tubeless ready Pythons were R750 each at my lbs before the rand fell ... They are slightly more fragile than true UST tyres though, so if you are doing something like the epic, and want a bit of extra insurance, it may be worth paying the weight penalty for something like crossmarks. Of course for the road race disguised under a layer of dust, like Karroo to Coast, Stan's The Crow, at sub 400g, would probably be great. Finally, if you want mud tyres, the Bontrager Mud X are light and absolutely awesome in slippery conditions. They also roll suprisingly OK for something with such collosal square knobs, and work amazingly well on dry loose Table Mountain jeep track. I've just bought a pair of Monorails, which I am hoping will outperform the Crossmarks in rear wheel traction, haven't weighed them yet.

Lots of good illegal stuff, just go at 4.30am and tell them you thought the rule was no BIcycles

One of those crash victims was still down when we came past I think - acsis guy. Didn't look good.

Definitely. I'll pm you my details

That would be good. I live in the city bowl, but happy to explore a bit further afield.

Yes, I stayed in the group about 10 back up hh - hoping that if there was a significant split I would be on the right side of it, but I guess it was too early for major developments. Thanks for all the work on the sharp end. I'll try to reciprocate in summer. And as I also weigh 65kg and sprint like a 3 legged cow, I won't be coming around anyone in the final melee.

Hi Colonel, I stayed pretty close to the front, so I saw exactly what you are describing with a few teams (and individuals) as protagonists all morning. I will definitely get more involved in the action during summer league, I just thought on a first outing I needed to be more of an observer. I expected to get smashed up on hh, when that didn't happen I expected to get smashed up on the r44, and then, very abruptly, it was over. I didn't try to sprint because I probably would have endangered myself and others. I've got a lot to learn about road position, who's who in the bunch, which breaks to chase and which breaks to leave, etc. I've been coming back from a long illness, and spent the whole of spring on the front of funride bunches or time trialling between them as I rebuilt fitness, so I understand your frustration, but I really thought it better to stay modest and test the water at first.

Was Subvets unusually slow or tactical on Sunday? My first time riding VA, and I kept on waiting for the vicious accelerations over the R44 rollers that would spit me out the back, but they never really came. Were the really strong teams riding Elites? Are people tired at the end of the year? Or was it just that in funride groups I tend to take plenty of turns on the front, while on sunday I was keeping my nose out of the wind and trying to learn the ropes?