The brake on the Giant took many mailings and emailings to get right, I failed to spec the "spring holder" part, a tiny thing, and when I did, I got the outty version versus the "inny". Branford bike set me up.
In the meantime, it meant lots of seat time in the Pinarello beauty bike, so much that the Neuvation rear started making noise, and eventually broke a spoke nipple. Shocking.
Nice getting the Giant back, very light and handles nicely. My back is bugging me though, not sure if its the running I'm doing or being too low in the drops again.
Friday, September 3, 2010
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
NY Fixie Updates to Broken Campy Brake Spring
Its was that time of the year - back to NY and to the fixie in a box in the inlaw's basement. I brought a new set of Cane Creek brake levers and some cheap Cannondale-labelled ebay brakes to make the bike a bit more rideable. I also brought my old LOOK pedals (1995) and over-ventalated Diadora shoes. Installation went well, used on 4 two or so hour rides in lots of hot humid air.
Back home, rode in high humidity but 40 degrees cooler. Broke a brake spring on the way down Tunnel road. Seems to be a wear part, found a match on ebay and disassembly instructions.
Put the old SPD-7800s onto the old Pinarello assuming the Giant will be out of commission. They work great with the new cleats. Ordered a set of replacement pads for these pedals too, tracking some auctions for used/new 7800s on ebay - these pedals are very nice, very svelt even compared to the new Shimano 105 SPDs.
Put the old SPD-7800s onto the old Pinarello assuming the Giant will be out of commission. They work great with the new cleats. Ordered a set of replacement pads for these pedals too, tracking some auctions for used/new 7800s on ebay - these pedals are very nice, very svelt even compared to the new Shimano 105 SPDs.
Monday, June 21, 2010
More Neuvation Incoming, Fried Rear Brakes on Xtracycle and New Pedals/Broken Shoes
Okay, hit some sort of limit and so will log the journey.
1. Cracks on the Neuvation R28 Rears again. About 1600 miles on the ODO, probably quite a few more miles. Counting turns up only 20 spokes in the rear, and 16 up front. Ordered a R28SL wheel with 24 spokes, which is how many the silver Neuvation on the Pinarello has and is NOT breaking.
2. Pedals for the Carbon - off my SPD everywhere thing, going (back) to the nice big SPD-SL's by ordering the new Shimano 105 PD-7600's, with cleats. Will look to put the old dura-ace set on the Pinarello.
3. Hauling son to camp today on the extra-cycle. Too short for footsies still, but getting heavy. Returning home I checked out the nasty rear brake sound, found the brake-pad holder rilling into the rim - little metal shavings and everything. Came home and put on some less worn out V-Brake pads, maybe its time to consider a cheap mechanical disc back there.
4. In preparation for the new pedals, took the SPD cleats off the road shoes - whoops, found cracks and a missing chunk of plastic on the right shoe, explaining all sorts of evil noises and clip in problems for the last few weeks. Hopefully the SPD-SLs can stabilize the shoe a bit, seems like I just got those things.
5. Concerned about the flex in the carbon handlebars. Noticed CarbonLord does a 3 year warrantee - I suspect I am on year 4 or 5 with the current setup. Riding Saturday I felt too hunched over, too much neck strain, might be time to sneak some degrees up front.
6. Motor-doping. Thinking hard about this (www.tronbikes.com), makes so much more sense energy-wise compared to the motorcycle, which now has 6-8 miles of range - I did 10x that on Saturday alone, I bet a dozen batteries could get me 10 miles out of a good road bike setup.
1. Cracks on the Neuvation R28 Rears again. About 1600 miles on the ODO, probably quite a few more miles. Counting turns up only 20 spokes in the rear, and 16 up front. Ordered a R28SL wheel with 24 spokes, which is how many the silver Neuvation on the Pinarello has and is NOT breaking.
2. Pedals for the Carbon - off my SPD everywhere thing, going (back) to the nice big SPD-SL's by ordering the new Shimano 105 PD-7600's, with cleats. Will look to put the old dura-ace set on the Pinarello.
3. Hauling son to camp today on the extra-cycle. Too short for footsies still, but getting heavy. Returning home I checked out the nasty rear brake sound, found the brake-pad holder rilling into the rim - little metal shavings and everything. Came home and put on some less worn out V-Brake pads, maybe its time to consider a cheap mechanical disc back there.
4. In preparation for the new pedals, took the SPD cleats off the road shoes - whoops, found cracks and a missing chunk of plastic on the right shoe, explaining all sorts of evil noises and clip in problems for the last few weeks. Hopefully the SPD-SLs can stabilize the shoe a bit, seems like I just got those things.
5. Concerned about the flex in the carbon handlebars. Noticed CarbonLord does a 3 year warrantee - I suspect I am on year 4 or 5 with the current setup. Riding Saturday I felt too hunched over, too much neck strain, might be time to sneak some degrees up front.
6. Motor-doping. Thinking hard about this (www.tronbikes.com), makes so much more sense energy-wise compared to the motorcycle, which now has 6-8 miles of range - I did 10x that on Saturday alone, I bet a dozen batteries could get me 10 miles out of a good road bike setup.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Tim to the Rescue of DarthCarbon
Finally got DarthCarbon to a pro. Tim at Left Coast Cyclery was the man, rebuilding the troublesome shifters - apparently a big chunk was broken inside. He straightened the derailler hanger, tightened up the cassette and a myriad of other tweaks. I was able to take it for a quick ride on my birthday. Very nice, works great.
Funny when he called to say it was done, I was in the middle of a EBay bidding war for a new Giant frame. Turns out my current frame is fine, and after how well it rode, my itch for a new bike has subsided. I did notice after riding the big red steel and the commuter rig, hopping on the carbon felt like riding a piece of cardboard - just nothing to it, all air.
Funny when he called to say it was done, I was in the middle of a EBay bidding war for a new Giant frame. Turns out my current frame is fine, and after how well it rode, my itch for a new bike has subsided. I did notice after riding the big red steel and the commuter rig, hopping on the carbon felt like riding a piece of cardboard - just nothing to it, all air.
Friday, October 23, 2009
New Chainrings and Derailler Cable
New chainrings finally showed up.
When installing I got pricked by metal spikes coming from the brake/shifter hoods. Turned out the cable was frayed/breaking, I ordered some replacements and found some at a local shop to ride tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
"Darth Carbon" Rides Again
2 new Neuvations later, new 11-25 cassette, new chain and a thorough cleaning/inspection of the frame and crank, the Giant TCR is ready to ride again. I slipped a Mr. Tuffy back in the rear tire too figuring the tire is getting thinner back there, though this time I cut it to prevent any folding/fit weirdness.
I went official Campy Veloce 10 speed on the chain, but naturally I lack the proper punch tool - all my hand chain tools are breaking down/broken. After breaking the handle of the working one I had, I took a previously stripped one and devised a "leverage upgrade" using the bench vise. Safety glasses a must. I used a spare Wipperman manual link to hold the Campy chain together - when taking the old chain off, I couldn't find the other - maybe I punched it in old school when I installed.
The goal will be to maintain this chain, and catch any Neuvation cracks early. May this blog serve as the maintenance log!
I went official Campy Veloce 10 speed on the chain, but naturally I lack the proper punch tool - all my hand chain tools are breaking down/broken. After breaking the handle of the working one I had, I took a previously stripped one and devised a "leverage upgrade" using the bench vise. Safety glasses a must. I used a spare Wipperman manual link to hold the Campy chain together - when taking the old chain off, I couldn't find the other - maybe I punched it in old school when I installed.
The goal will be to maintain this chain, and catch any Neuvation cracks early. May this blog serve as the maintenance log!
Neuvation Wheelset Replacement
The cracks that started the blog have been more than addressed by Neuvation - we are at 2 new wheels, front and back.
On inspection after the rear failure documented below, the front also had some hairline cracks at the nipples. John Neugent(Neuvation) responded by calling it a warranty issue and shipped me a new wheel, which arrived less than 24 hours later. The customer service from the guy is amazing - I mean, I am a nearly 200lb rider running on 20 spokes rear, 16 spokes front on a less than $500 wheelset that weighs under 1600grams - unreal all-around. He's my Santa Man at the moment, sending me the slightly heavier and stronger rimmed wheel to see if that will hold me up.
I am going to just consider wheels an expendable, not unlike running shoes. They simply wear out. At Neuvation prices, these wheels are cheaper than running shoes and good for about 8-10K miles. I recommend these wheels despite the doubters ("do you really want to keep riding those wheels?"), just an awesome value, just prepare to cash in on the awesome service.
On inspection after the rear failure documented below, the front also had some hairline cracks at the nipples. John Neugent(Neuvation) responded by calling it a warranty issue and shipped me a new wheel, which arrived less than 24 hours later. The customer service from the guy is amazing - I mean, I am a nearly 200lb rider running on 20 spokes rear, 16 spokes front on a less than $500 wheelset that weighs under 1600grams - unreal all-around. He's my Santa Man at the moment, sending me the slightly heavier and stronger rimmed wheel to see if that will hold me up.
I am going to just consider wheels an expendable, not unlike running shoes. They simply wear out. At Neuvation prices, these wheels are cheaper than running shoes and good for about 8-10K miles. I recommend these wheels despite the doubters ("do you really want to keep riding those wheels?"), just an awesome value, just prepare to cash in on the awesome service.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)