ZeroPlay

Don't be too rough on the LBS. It's not standard practice to check to tighten chainring bolts as part of installing a groupset. After all, they didn't put the chainrings on the crank spider - you gave it to them like that (or they got it from their supplier like that). With my FSA Team carbon cranks (road, double), I found the bolts to be quite loose (i.e. not torqued up very tight) when new, but with some loctite-compound on them to stop them from getting looser. When I tightened them up (broke the loctite), the Alu "nut" part cracked on most of them, causing some horrible creaking when riding. I replaced the nut parts with ones off an old Campag Chorus crankset, and have had no problems since. FSA knows that low weight sells, so they're pushing the limits on getting their crank bolts/nuts light. I imagine Shimano and Campag can be torqued up pretty tight, though - they don't tend to push the limits as much as the smaller manufacturers, I think.

I like the BBB 3-compound pads too. I use them on my MTB. Good powerful, controlled braking and no squealing. I'd like to try KoolStop pads, but I can't find them in Cape Town bike shops. They have a reputation for being the best brake pads around.ZeroPlay2007-02-14 07:28:52

Found it. Home->View Seeding, on the left.

Where are you guys getting your seeding information from? I'm getting "Final Seeding has not been done" on my "race details" page on the website.

How does he know he can't undo it if he hasn't stripped the hex hole in the bolt yet? If you've decided to use acid, drilling, or anything else that destroys the bolt, you might as well put a long lever onto your allen key (piece of pipe that fits snugly over allen key will do) and turn until it comes out or is stripped. Fatty's right about Q10 - it's a penetrating oil that's meant for freeing seized parts. It needs time to work, though, so you should spray some as close to the threads as you can get and let it soak in. Repeat the next day, for a few days. Cervelo, if the threaded part of the bolt has corroded (and bonded with the threads of the frame), it might not turn out when the head of the bolt is removed. If it comes to destroying the bolt, though, I agree that it would make sense to try removing the head first (hacksaw, drill, grind, file) and see if the threaded bit then comes out. If you end up damaging the threads in the frame, it might be possible to replace the threaded inserts. Bowman Cycles in Cape Town replaced them on a Battaglin aluminium frame I have, using a Cannondale tool. It seems to insert a sort of threaded rivet into the frame. Cost was not high (less than R100). Good luck.

Spokes breaking usually has nothing to do with the quality of the spokes themselves (so choose whatever decent quality spokes you like) and everything to do with how well the wheel was built. As mentioned already, even spoke tension (and fairly high tension) is the key. It's easier to build a wheel with low spoke tension, but then the spokes bend at the elbow as the wheel rotates, causing fatigue and failure at the elbow. This happens especially on the non-drive side (the side without the cassette) of the rear wheels, since these have to be tensioned less than the drive side to keep the rear wheel dished correctly. I can't recommend a good wheelbuilder - I build mine myself and although I think I'm not bad, it takes me far too long to do to make it worthwhile to do anyone else's. Someone suggested Willie Engelbrecht's wheel builder, and I've always been impressed by the professional service I've received there, so I can believe that he'd insist on having someone who knows what he's doing build the wheels for him. If you ask the builder if he stress-relieves the spokes and he knows what you're talking about (and answers yes), that's a good sign. BTW, stress relieving is squeezing together pairs of spokes on the same side of the wheel to distribute the stresses on the spoke more evenly. I'm sure you can find the details with Google if you're interested. I also suggest you go with brass nipples (not aluminium), either dry or greased (no loctite/freeze). This will make repairing the wheel in future easier, and help the wheelbuilder do a good job in the first place. The very small weight saving from using aluminium nipples is not worth it, IMO.

Sean Kelly rides a Merlin Ti. He mentioned this while commentating for Eurosport during this year's TdF. He said he loved the Merlin, but that there are so many good, cheap frames avialable nowadays, one can hardly go wrong.

This frame seems to be sold under several different brand names. See: http://forums.roadbikereview.com/showthread.php?t=46460 The cheapest way to get it seems to be: http://www.pedalforce.com/web/model_QS2.htm US$650 It looks like they will ship to SA (for under $100), but there is a disclaimer on the site saying they won't be responsible for loss or damage to the frame in the postal system. No nice CSC-like paint job either.