On 9/13/2020 10:59 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 5:40:07 PM UTC-7, Frank Krygowski wrote:
On 9/13/2020 5:34 PM, AMuzi wrote:
On 9/13/2020 12:46 PM, jbeattie wrote:
On Sunday, September 13, 2020 at 9:20:35 AM UTC-7, Lou Holtman wrote:
Op zondag 13 september 2020 om 18:01:23 UTC+2 schreef :
On Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 8:00:31 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich wrote:
On Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 6:06:31 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
On Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 2:53:30 PM UTC-7, Tom Kunich
wrote:
On Saturday, September 12, 2020 at 2:07:10 PM UTC-7, jbeattie wrote:
This is a cool product:
https://theradavist.com/2020/06/conv...nversion-kits/


I got a 2016 Norco Search 105 gravel bike on super close-out
sale from Western Bikeworks back in 2017 as a quick replacement
for my broken commuter frame, and it came with 15X100 front
through axles and crappy OE wheels. Meanwhile, the market moved
to 12mm, so I couldn't swap-in the HED wheels on my more recent
Synapse -- and my son just sent me some Roval C38s to replace
the OE wheels on the Norco. The Rovals have DT350 hubs and 12mm
front through axle. So to avoid buying end-caps or a whole new
axle bearing unit (to convert a 12mm HED Ardennes to a 15mm
through axle), I got one of these kits. Sweet. Install was a
little more labored than the YouTube video because I had to
clean up the threads so I could thread-in the insert from the
outside of the fork. Otherwise, easy-peasy. I now have a 12mm
through axle Search.

I can easily convert the old 15mm front hub to a 12mm with a
simple sleeve. The hub felt fine, and I'll use that for my fat
tire wheel set. The rear hub felt rough, so I pulled off the
free hub body. It is some no-brand hub made by Joytec or Novatec
or ChiTek -- probably some tec, with a simple 4-pawl free hub
body with two 6902 bearings and two more in the hub shell. The
hub bearings felt great, but the free hub was really rough, so I
knocked those out with a 1/2" copper pipe stub with a cap I had
soldered on the end from an old plumbing project. It was the
perfect tool. Plumbing meets bike repair. Bearings in the mail.
That wheel is otherwise disposable with a cheap rim with ragged
spoke holes that zip through the cheesy aluminum nipples -- but
it will be good for a second set. It is amazing that relatively
expensive bikes now come with junky wheels suitable only for
holding-up the bike on the showroom floor.

-- Jay Beattie.
Tell me if you can feel any difference at all between the 40's
and 50 aero wheels. I have a set of Campy cyclocross wheels that
are 38 mm deep and my top speed with those and the 50 mm aero
carbon wheels is exactly the same. I have this idea that just
about any rim deeper than about 24 mm would give you exactly the
same performance. Hambini keeps saying that you have to have 50
mm and 23 mm front tire but I think that is windtunnel and not
practical information.
Well, the C38 are 38mm and the deepest rims I own, so I wouldn't
know -- except that I rode some 58mm Zipp 404s on a Roubaix in
Utah. What I noticed with those was cross winds. It was
unpleasant, particularly when descending fast. There were some "oh
sh**" moments coming down one of the canyons on a windy day.

I went for a short ride on the Norco and didn't feel any faster,
probably because I was inhaling thick smoke. Nobody was out
riding. A very post-apocalyptic vibe.

I did notice that the Norco has slow steering compared to the
Emonda, and the front end was a little too plush because I
underinflated my tire. A 21mm internal width rim also rides pretty
plush. No seal squeaking like on the OE wheels and no disc drag.
It is a gravel bike, so I'm not really expecting it to feel
terribly racy. I did a whopping 15 miles with maybe 1700 feet of
climbing, rolling around the West Hills near my house. Like Frank,
it was really just a glorified run to the hardware store. I wish I
had a N95 mask for the smoke, although it would make huffing up
hills hard.

-- Jay Beattie.
Masks while exercising can cause a condition called hypercapnia, or
excessive CO2 in your lungs, this can damage your airways. As
someone with damaged airways take my word for it that it is not
something you should volunteer for. It has been known to cause
sudden mental confusion and loss of balance. If you look this up on
answers.com they claim it ain't so because the tests were run on
people not heavily exercising. As usual, their game is to support
the left no matter what.
I decided to look to see what I could buy if I sell my Madone and
was knocked almost flat. The cost of top end bikes has gone
absolutely through the ceiling. I may sell my Madone off and use the
results to pay my property taxes. I don't suppose that I'll need
more than three bikes to always have a bike ready to go.


OK, if you need to sell a bike/frame to pay your property taxes that
is a good idea, but please make up your mind it is getting very
confusing.

Lou

His point about top-end bikes is true, though.Â* My son is always
telling me about the newest Specialized bikes, including the new
super-secret ones that I can't mention, and then he asks me to guess
the price for the S-Works founders edition of the bike.Â* The numbers
are staggering and just keep going up into the stratosphere -- with
big jumps as compared to just four years ago. $7K doesn't get you
close to the top. Even the Canyon offerings are up by 20% or more. I
don't think manufacturing costs have risen nearly that much -- maybe
its tariffs (but I doubt it).Â* I think it is just market elasticity.

-- Jay Beattie.


or Veblen.

I'd bet on that.

There are people who are conspicuous consumers and then there are those people buying objects of desire. They're all crazy, but for different reasons.

I loved bikes as a kid and spent and incredible percentage of my income in college to buy custom bikes -- bikes that I could ride and race and pet and preen. I didn't care one bit whether anyone knew that my bikes were special. I eventually got over it (and got a girlfriend), but I still get that pang seeing a California Masi or a Mike Appel or an early Bruce Gordon or Eisentraut -- and quite a few modern steel builders. I just don't feel that way about carbon fiber, but at my height and weight, it is a far better material for me than steel. I prefer to ride it, but I'm not excited about owning it and looking at it and petting it like the olden days.

Modern bikes are an addiction for some of my son's work cohorts who spend crazy amounts on bikes. The latest Specialized bikes are not part of the company blem sales, and even with employee pricing, these guys are spending many thousands of dollars on top end bikes. I'm talking significant percentages of income. It's "I owe my soul to the company store." An intervention is in order.

My wife and one of my kids both worked (at least part time) for Nashbar
when it was headquartered here. That gave us some good buys, including a
very special deal on our touring bikes.

But yes, the kid bought quite a lot of fancy components and a couple
fancy bikes. It's old technology now, but some of the components still
live in storage boxes in my workshop. Occasionally they get harvested.
That's why the three speed bike I just rode to the store has a titanium
bottom bracket!


--
- Frank Krygowski