[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

Originally Posted by Cosmic_rider

Hello , i am confused between Raleigh strada elite and giant escape 3. Is the lockout suspension at this price really useful or is it a fancy feature. I intend to start participating in brevets and similar events. I do have to ride over broken tarmac and quite big potholes. My budget cannot exceed 35k.
How is the build quality of strada elite ?

For BRMs, neither. A suspension fork is a strict no-no.

Consider the Bergamont Sweep 4. It is a flat bar with road group set. You'll appreciate the 50T chain wheel when you need speed. The Sweep 6, Merida Speeder 100 and 200 are the other flatbar road groups in this category.

If you already own a cycle and do 20 km+ rides on it, consider as dropbar road bike with endurance geometry. The Triban RC 500 or 120 in that order. You'll appreciate the multiple hand position during the long hours on the saddle.

Suspension fork for BRMs?? Eeek!!!

The Escape's 7 speed 14-32 T freewheel will exhaust v you with the huge difference between gears and the resulting inability to maintain constant cadence. Apart from the fact that it is a freewheel, not a cassette.

The RC 500 in the drop bar category, Sweep 6 (9 speed), Sweep 4, 8 speed, if you want a short list.

[Pani]

Great to see a nice long bicycle thread here. Have been riding a roadbike since 2016. I mostly ride on the Whitefield side of Bangalore. Will be happy to contribute here 😊

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by Red Liner

There’s something called brake cleaner for motorcycles. Get it and use that. Will remove all the lube. Just spray on.

Then choose an empty street and do some hard braking spurts at speed to bed the pads in again.

Originally Posted by handsofsteel

Please wash them with copious amount of soap and water, dry them thoroughly. You may not need to sand them at all. Has worked for many.

Thanks for the advice, both! I tried the detergent and water on the pads and saw some improvement. The braking is improving bit by bit. What I did basically was to wash it, install on the bike and ride. Did that twice. It must be combined effort of wearing down the pads and detergent wash. Attaching before wash and after wash pic. Hard to see...but there is a very minute change in shade.



In other news, parts for upcoming bike build have started to trickle in slowly. First up, some carbon wheels from ICAN which is one of the "open mold" CF frames and wheels maker from China. There are quite a few of these open mold carbon sellers and ICAN is one of the premium ones but still undercutting name brands by almost half or more.

Wheels in question: https://icancycling.com/collections/...21785697714254

These came with big, in your face ICAN graphics all over. Removed them and installed these simple matte finish triangle vinyl stickers. The weight of the wheels is 1486 grams for the pair and feel really, really light and well balanced in the hand. Disappointingly the rear hub is loud. Way louder than I would have liked but I guess that's the price you pay for cheapness. At least they are smooth and free rolling. ICAN uses their own hubs called D01 and there is absolutely no marking on the hub. I am hoping the hubs to not conk out early. Many riders like loud hubs - apparently they help in alerting people walking on the trails, will see how that goes! Also, the wheels come without thru axles so in reality the weight would increase.

These are built for road riding but I am going to put them on a gravel frame as a second set of wheels to convert gravel bike into endurance road bike instantly. The primary wheels will be proper gravel wheels with wider rim width. ICAN does say these wheels will take up to 40c tires however the max size I will be running on these would be 25c or 28c.

[ottocycle]

Hi Fellow BHPians from Hyderabad. I am looking to get a bicycle for my kid who has outgrown his current 16T and good to get a 24T.

Is there a shop in Hyderabad that is recommended for selling the bicycles with deep discount. I went to decathlon and their bicycle price (along with training wheel + bottle holder ) is coming around 9.6K. So was looking for other brands with similar quality but lower price.

[amvj]

After many months, I went for a ride today. To my disappointment, got a puncture during the return leg. I had the decathlon hand pump and the valve adapter kit, but the adapter valve got broken while pumping the air. There were no nearby bicycle shops and had to push the bicycle for 5+ km to home.

[Fillmore]

Originally Posted by amvj

After many months, I went for a ride today. To my disappointment, got a puncture during the return leg. I had the decathlon hand pump and the valve adapter kit, but the adapter valve got broken while pumping the air. There were no nearby bicycle shops and had to push the bicycle for 5+ km to home.

Sorry to hear that.
To stay protected from this repeating get a valve connector. This will ensure there is no direct pressure exerted on the joints.

https://www.decathlon.in/p/8543416/c...8543416&type=p

[maddyg]

Dear All,

Seeking advice on transporting my Cannondale Quick CX 4(L) I have a road trip coming up this weekend for about 700 km and wish to carry the cycle too. Vehicle is a harrier, i have boot rack from Decathlon which is recently purchased. Rack is used sparingly and for short distances so far. Is it advisable to carry it long distances, and if so any pointers to pay special attention to ?

Last resort would be to fold the rear seat and fit it inside, as I'm travelling alone. But the safety concerns holding me back from keeping it inside the car.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by maddyg

Dear All,

Seeking advice on transporting my Cannondale Quick CX 4(L) I have a road trip coming up this weekend for about 700 km and wish to carry the cycle too. Vehicle is a harrier, i have boot rack from Decathlon which is recently purchased. Rack is used sparingly and for short distances so far. Is it advisable to carry it long distances, and if so any pointers to pay special attention to ?

Last resort would be to fold the rear seat and fit it inside, as I'm travelling alone. But the safety concerns holding me back from keeping it inside the car.

Not an issue. You can carry it over long distances - I have done (using a rack) for 500kms+ travel and have had no issues. However I do recommend regular checks every 100-200kms.

You could also carry it inside the car - I currently do that in my SCross (as I don't have a rack currently). I use dual bungee cords with each cord wrapped to each door to make sure the bike doesn't move in the back. And I lay down the bike with the chain/components on top so only the pedal and tires are touching the floor. This option works fine if you don't have rear passengers but seats get a bit dirty. Works perfect if you plan to stop - no worries or the need to keep an eye on the bike.

Also it goes without saying in either option, be easy on bad roads; especially if using the rack.

[amitoj]

I am not sure if this has been discussed here before, but with the winter fast approaching in this corner of the world, it's time for most cyclists to move indoors. My setup is an Elite Direto trainer, paired with Zwift. Curious to know if anyone else has an indoor riding setup.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I am not sure if this has been discussed here before, but with the winter fast approaching in this corner of the world, it's time for most cyclists to move indoors. My setup is an Elite Direto trainer, paired with Zwift. Curious to know if anyone else has an indoor riding setup.

Oldest advice of the forum. Search and thy queries shall be answered

This topic has been discussed quite a bit on this thread itself - @graaja, @Mi10, @itisravi (+ Doc) are many who iirc are active users.

[amol4184]

Originally Posted by amitoj

I am not sure if this has been discussed here before, but with the winter fast approaching in this corner of the world, it's time for most cyclists to move indoors. My setup is an Elite Direto trainer, paired with Zwift. Curious to know if anyone else has an indoor riding setup.

I have a simple roller sort from Saris with two blocks that imitate climbs and I have paired Magene sensors to track speed/cadence with Garmin 530. It works in a pinch before I get to fancier trainers...may be.

[amitoj]

Originally Posted by amol4184

I have a simple roller sort from Saris with two blocks that imitate climbs and I have paired Magene sensors to track speed/cadence with Garmin 530. It works in a pinch before I get to fancier trainers...may be.

Nice. I have never tried rollers.

Last year I did a lot of indoor rides on the trainer, more than 2,500 miles out of a total of 4,500 miles in fact. But this year, I am just not feeling it. I am more disappointed that I cannot ride outdoors anymore because of shortened daylight and I'm just not able to get over it. I need to find some motivation somehow to go to the basement and start pedaling.

[amol4184]

I am already procrastinating indoor rides. Did twice some days ago and put the trainer away. Doesn't help the fact that I am currently out of a rideable bike. I am hoping to finish by build by end of this month and start getting indoor miles in starting from December thru entire remaining winter.

[amol4184]

My new to me bike came with Shimano Spd-Sl type pedals along with the clips for it. While I'm not exactly new to clip less pedals, I'm finding it hard to clip-unclip from them. There is a tension screw on the rear plate that allows you to set the stiffness, I have turned that screw all the way to left to make the plate loose and yet I can't find the right spot easily to clip or unclip. What could be the problem? Any tricks?

[Pani]

Amol, tbh there is no shortcut to this. As you ride with the pedals, clippin-unclipping multiple times in a ride, you will find the right move to snap in and out. I have also found that Ultegra pedals have slicker, crisper feel while clipping in and out making it just that much more intuitive. I suggest you don't give up, things will fall in place