I am ultra happy with my Sidi Genius 5. They were not cheap, but compared to my MTB shoes they feel like slippers; the buckle, strap, and heel pads are replacable; and the buckle has a cool single-click tighter/looser mechanism. I also wash them by squirting Dawn dish soap on my feet and wearing them in the shower so they are "shockingly patent white". Very preaux.

I hate hate hate my Giro MTB shoes. The buckle sucks, they look like ****, and they're heavy.

 

Scott Team Boa, 8 months old. I'm eyeing some Sidis, will try the Shimanos as well. Time to go chat with the LBS about shoes.

 

White road shoes are the most euro trash. My road shoes are always white

 

I'd pay a lot of money for all-red Sidis. Lots.

 

Tracked down a set of white Sidi Genius 5s today. Discontinued, but one of the local shops had a single set. Riding on them tomorrow.

 

Bhalur

 

Hmm. I may play with this idea, to see if I can come up with something ergonomically workable. There are also dual-cable levers available which allow both brakes to be operated with one hand (intended for use by arm amputees, for instance), and even though some of them support a bias-bar-like adjustment, I'm very nervous about having a front disc (totally impervious to weather) and rear caliper (extremely pervious to even the slightest precipitation) rigidly coupled to the same actuator...


Yeah, I hear ya. The more I think about it, the more I realize that the problem isn't so much having a failsafe as it is stopping distance in weather conditions (eg: snow and ice) in which I'm limited by tire-to-road traction, rather than by flying over the handlebars. In those conditions, two brakes means twice the stopping power, which is important when an ABS-equipped car in front of me slams on the brakes at 45MPH in deep snow.





I spent some time looking at this tonight, and it's not gonna work. The caliper itself consumes too much space.







I think perhaps I may be going about this the wrong way. Rather than trying to transplant a coaster brake onto a good MTB, what if I transplant a nice MTB suspension fork and disc wheel onto a steel cruiser frame?

Specifically, presuppose that I presently have this bike, with a 1 1/8" threadless headset:





Can I remove the front fork assembly, and transplant it onto this frame, which uses a 1 1/8" threaded headset with a traditional quill stem?

 

And after swapping cleats, I figured out why the Scotts broke in half. I bought two replacement Speedplay screws (actually bought them from a Speedplay rep who happened to be at the LBS that day) since two of mine came loose and fell out. Despite being sold to me by Speedplay as Speedplay-specific screws, they were too long, I didn't double check, they ran all the way through the cleat into the sole and dug in. Sigh.

 

Nope. Steerer tube is too large diameter to fit in frame.
Quill type steerers despite being designated 1" are not the same as mountain bike or BMX 1". They are something like 7/8" OD I think.

You might find a 1" steerer suspension fork with disc brake mounts from a comfort bike but it will assuredly be 700c. If you need 26" wheel compatible, it will be at least 1-1/8". The fork you are looking for existing 10-15 years ago but it's used bargain bin find now.

 

angles on the steerer tube of the non suspension bike will be too low for the suspension fork. geometry would be soo off and it would ride like crap. stack height will be way different-think 4-6 inches different.

the angle being low with suspension will cause all kinds of issues... which is why they tell you not to put a big travel fork on a cross country bike in fear of odd handling and ripping the steerer tube off.

 

CX and gravel bros,
I need wheels for the cross bike, bad. I want a wheel that I can run 28mm Gatorskins in the rain and winter for "training", 32mm Clement gravel rubber possibly tubeless, and of course coffee/CX/beer Sundays in the winter.

So my three options are:
$400
Summit 29 XC

$750
Velocity Wheels

$<=$900
EA90 XD 25MM CLINCHER | Easton Cycling

I'm leaning toward the cheap ones, even though they're MTB wheels. I don't really have $900 to burn considering I still have a Miata in the garage that doesn't run. Would I be miserable with that wheelset?

 

2400g without rotor, tire, tube or tape?


$400 seems like a lot for a wheelset when you have other things going on. is a new wheelset really going to make you more happy than other (non bike) things? /lecture


The cheap wheels will be fine, Im sure there would be little to no noticeable difference in actually riding them. Only difference IMO would be durability of the hub.


For that kind of $, why not build up a set of wheels?
Kinlin XR270 hoops (28spoke drilling)
Sapim spokes (2 or 3 cross to keep it strong)
Some nicer hubs since your already saving some cash building them up.

 

Yeah, I didn't plan on the wheels being this bad. They are that heavy without tubes, tires, or discs, just wheel and tape...don't forget the cone bearings that grind. Now, I can tolerate all that, but I cannot tolerate the egregious speed wobble above 22mph or so, at 30mph its borderline dangerous. When you spin the wheel on the bikestand, you can feel the wheel wobble like an unbalanced car wheel. I don't want to spend four hours on that wheel.

What reliable hubs do you suggest? I don't care to get stranded in the night on a gravel ride the way I was stranded on the road bike.

 

ah, no. Wheels make a huge difference in how a bike rides. Just like with anything else though, you have a cost/benefit bell curve. A DIY homebrew set of clinchers can be put together for <$400 that will weigh almost as little as the freaky $1500 wheelsets, ride nearly as well. As a bonus, one can sell the brand new OEM wheels for ~$150 to offset costs.

 

Can you guide me a little here? I can't find much for less than $800 in a home-built deal. What hub should I be looking at and what rims? I have a friend who can help build wheels, I just don't know what parts to buy. I'm guessing DT 350 hubs, Sapim CX-Ray, and aluminum nipples. I don't know what rim but I want a wide one with no machining. Can I run Archetypes?

Also, take a look on eBay, those Maddux CX1.0 wheels do not sell on ebay for $100, even less if at all.

 

Savington will be banned for his new tag ITT.

 

I confess I'm not up to date on what the best deals on rims are now. The cross wheels I built 4 years ago with ebay carbon tubular rims work well. Another friend has a set of 700c carbon clinchers that are about the same age. He hit a chunk of metal in the road that nearly made him crash and the rim barely delaminated. I raced cross on mine and beat the crap out of them. I'm not sure the generic China rims are available in the new style wide 700c profiles yet. Maybe they are, dunno.

 

Interesting. I don't want a "tall" aero profile because the wind blew me around like crazy on gravel with the 101 poverty wheels.

I have no concerns with brake-track heat, I guess I just need a strong, round, wide wheel that can take up to 90psi. I plan to run 28c Gatorskins for road rubber on them.

 

Say no to Al nipples. Weight savings is not worth the corrosion / lock-to-spoke issues. Brass for the Win.

Why not appropriate Ultegra (or the Mtn equivalent) hubs. Good parts for the $$$ and come with some of the best QR there are (proper, high clamping, internal cams).

 

I guess that would be XT. Here is a rear for $50, but does not include the QR:

Rear_Hub