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Lumen

AstraMonti wrote: »

I don't like though the bottle cages!

They are 22g each, work very well and the titanium matches the seatpost. I do understand your perspective though.

I have deliberately made no attempt at euroness, and it's not just the pump. Check out the the black bar tape and saddle, headset spacers, 110mm stem, wheels and unlisted frameset manufacturer. :eek:

My KCNC skewers just arrived - woo-hoo!

swarbrick1979

Caroline_ie wrote: »

well done, that's one step closer to euroness.

thanks!

ROK ON

@Lumen - best of luck with it. Its a fine big black bike.

My major gripe would be the handlebars. I have a similar shaped set on my Orbea. They have taken a while to get used to, and I still dont feel comfortable in the drop position - hand feels as if its about to slip, if you know what I mean.

The bars on my other two bikes are very comfy.

Lumen

ROK ON wrote: »

My major gripe would be the handlebars. I have a similar shaped set on my Orbea. They have taken a while to get used to, and I still dont feel comfortable in the drop position - hand feels as if its about to slip, if you know what I mean.

Yes. Although they meet the "bisect your seatstays" rule of thumb, the drops feel too steep. I'm going to tinker around with them tonight. The SRAM levers have adjustable reach, which may help.

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

I'll post a build list and weights when my new wheel arrives, but my favourite bit is the USE Sumo titanium seatpost, 208g incl. shim (they lie!).[/URL]

Looks great Lumen but why on earth did you go for a titanium seatpost with a shim? I would swap that out for a carbon one in the correct diameter, it will be both substantially lighter and actually feel noticably stiffer.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

Looks great Lumen but why on earth did you go for a titanium seatpost with a shim? I would swap that out for a carbon one in the correct diameter, it will be both substantially lighter and actually feel noticably stiffer.

1. Tackleberry.

2. The claimed weight of the seatpost and shim was 176g. I would not want to ride an alloy or crabon seatpost of this weight. Therefore the purchase was a no-brainer.

3. Even at 208g actual weight, the seatpost is substantially lighter than the actual weight of most alloy or crabon posts (AFAIK), and less prone to failure.

4. The shim is soft thermoplastic. This is good. My current (expensive) crabon post is 260g, and got scuffed by the seattube of my Cayo in normal use. The shim gives a good fit, is mechanically sympathetic to my weight weenie frame and doesn't scuff the post.

5. Skeff uses shimmed 27.2 posts and swears by them.

6. Titanium beats crabon, for reasons discussed previously.

7. Tackleberry.

DirkVoodoo

Nice bike Lumen, hopefully now you can take your sprint victories like a man instead of sand bagging. Bonking my ass!

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

Bonking my ass!

You've been daydreaming again, haven't you?

Quigs Snr

If you are looking for a decent Carbon post that is actually as light as claimed, I use the Carbontech one..

http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/Models.aspx?ModelID=19617

Its a bit ugly but in the 27.2 300mm I have it weighed at 162g. Not bad. Has taken a pounding too, several crashes and about 8000km so far.

But if Titanium is your thing then go for it. I have a similar thing about Carbon bars and stems. Took a perfectly fine set of Easton EC90 Bar and Stem off the bike and put on Aluminium instead after seeing a broken bar cause carnage in a race I was in. I just refuse to ride Carbon bars since even though I never personally had a problem with them.

blorg

Carbon seatposts are perfectly strong and lighter than ti ones. The rest of your bike is made of ultra-light carbon FFS. They are also stiffer although the main issue here is the diameter, a 31.6mm post is noticably stiffer than a 27.2mm one. This is I believe why bike manufacturers moved to that standard in the first place! I have ridden 27.2mm shimmed in a 31.6 (in the Cayo) and also the correct diameter post, really the correct diameter works a lot better. You tend to get more creaking with the shim as well.

Lumen

blorg wrote: »

Carbon seatposts are perfectly strong and lighter than ti ones.

Conversely, Ti posts are perfectly light and stronger than carbon ones.

Find me an example of a failed titanium seatpost.

Here's my counter example. I'm sure I could find more.

I choose to sacrifice a few grams more for the extra confidence on a bumpy descent.

edit: to be clear, I don't know that my USE Ti seatpost is stronger that any other carbon seatpost of similar weight - apparently many seatpost failures are at the clamp anyway, although since the USE Sumo is designed for MTB I assume it's designed to be pretty tough. I do know that almost every manufacturer lies about weights, and that my existing carbon seatpost was 52g heavier and more scuff-prone than the new one, so I've saved weight and gained confidence in my equipment. I could have saved more weight with a lighter carbon post, but probably only 30g or so (the one suggested above would also have required a shim) and I wouldn't have the same confidence.

For similar reasons I'm sticking with my 280g FSA Energy alloy bars for now (they lie also, claimed weight 240g!), even though the EC90 SLX3 are 100g lighter, but also because €200 for handlebars is nuts.

copacetic

that is certainly an argument, but why go for a carbon bike rather than a titanium one then?

blorg

Lumen wrote: »

Find me an example of a failed titanium seatpost.

Here you go, failed at the clamp. Thing is, titanium seatposts are incredibly rare while carbon ones are very common, so certainly there will be more accounts of carbon seatpost failures.

Lumen

copacetic wrote: »

that is certainly an argument, but why go for a carbon bike rather than a titanium one then?

I considered it. However, a frame is much less likely to fail catastrophically than a seatpost, titanium bikes almost always come with carbon forks, and by choosing a carbon frame I save ~300g over the Ti equivalent whereas the Ti seatpost only costs me a couple of tens of grams.

Blorg: yes, I take your point about rarity, and I found similar clamp failures, however I don't know that they're specific to Ti posts as such. I guess it's just a question of faith. Having read Tackleberries account I do not have faith in carbon posts, so my choices are really Ti or Al, and Ti has more aesthetic appeal and doesn't suffer from fatigue. FWIW, I have considered a Ti stem also.

niceonetom

Nice bike Lumen. It's not quite there yet though, is it? Surely there are some deep wheels on the way? I agree with you on the SRAM stuff, the cranks are not beautiful.

For the record I'm squarely in the anti-shim/pro-carbon camp. Impulse buying a weight-weenie frame then pussying out the finishing kit? Hero to zero, that is.

...and I'm now very slightly worried about my 148g carbon post. Ah, sure it'll be grand.

Lumen

niceonetom wrote: »

Nice bike Lumen. It's not quite there yet though, is it? Surely there are some deep wheels on the way? I agree with you on the SRAM stuff, the cranks are not beautiful.

Actually the cranks and the front mech are the best bit. The rear derailleur and brakes are fugly.

I've decided that the best description of the bike is that it's "like riding an old table tennis bat". The hoods are oddly squishy in places, but underneath it feels solid all the way to the ground.

niceonetom

Lumen wrote: »

Actually the cranks and the front mech are the best bit. The rear derailleur and brakes are fugly.

I've decided that the best description of the bike is that it's "like riding an old table tennis bat". The hoods are oddly squishy in places, but underneath it feels solid all the way to the ground.

Riiiiiiiiiiiight. As analogies go, that certainly is one.

I guess it's a personal thing on cranks, I've yet to see a carbon crankset that I really like (though campy's shiny marbled surface comes close) and the large area of grey anodized alu on the chainrings doesn't appeal to my inner magpie. I like the DuraAce cranks, and I seem to be alone in that.

So is that a semi?

I presume the openpros are just training wheels - there must be some deep carbon wheels in your future. 32 spokes and aerobars is so fcuking wrong.

Lumen

Ah yes, the chain"rings" are definitely ugly. The cranks are quite nice IMO.

It's not a semi yet, just getting used to the compact again first.

Yes, I feel the lightness of inevitability with fancy wheels, but unlike a good frame or groupset, there seems to be no approach to get decent wheels that doesn't involve either sacrificing significant durability and/or practicality (and/or my powertap).

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

Ah yes, the chain"rings" are definitely ugly. The cranks are quite nice IMO.

It's not a semi yet, just getting used to the compact again first.

Yes, I feel the lightness of inevitability with fancy wheels, but unlike a good frame or groupset, there seems to be no approach to get decent wheels that doesn't involve either sacrificing significant durability and/or practicality (and/or my powertap).

You will have no problem with the compact. You are a reasonably decent climber (or at least have the ability to be). I find the compact on the Orbea fine (triple is better, but compact is fine) - so you will have no worries. Only thing I would change with the compact is have 11toth on back casette not 12. Would like an 11-27, but can only get 12-27 in Ultegra.

ROK ON

Lumen wrote: »

Ah yes, the chain"rings" are definitely ugly. The cranks are quite nice IMO.

It's not a semi yet, just getting used to the compact again first.

Yes, I feel the lightness of inevitability with fancy wheels, but unlike a good frame or groupset, there seems to be no approach to get decent wheels that doesn't involve either sacrificing significant durability and/or practicality (and/or my powertap).

Not sure, I saw an SRAM red on a madone in Killarney last night - would take getting used to but nice - different.

DirkVoodoo

FSA K-Force Light is a very nice looking chainset. The Chainrings on the SRAM Red look like cola bottle tops. I love that addict frame though, nice and understated detailing.

Lumen

DirkVoodoo wrote: »

FSA K-Force Light is a very nice looking chainset. The Chainrings on the SRAM Red look like cola bottle tops. I love that addict frame though, nice and understated detailing.

Yes, K-Force Light is lovely (and light), unfortunately the press-fit cups for my frame are not cheap.

btw, 7.3kg ready to roll incl. 2 cages, Garmin, pump, CO2. 7.0kg according to UCI criteria. 6.8kg without pedals.

More precise scales ordered, thanks whoever posted that link on some thread or another.

gman2k

Lumen wrote: »

Scott Addict SL, SRAM Red.

Not exactly a looker, apologies for the crap picture quality.

I'll post a build list and weights when my new wheel arrives, but my favourite bit is the USE Sumo titanium seatpost, 208g incl. shim (they lie!).

Thoughts coming from the Cayo: stiff (meh), light (good), slightly squirrely (will get used to this), no cable rattles (good), noisy cassette (mildly annoying), clickety shifting (interesting), ugly groupset (meh).

Would probably look better with bling wheels and some fancy chainrings.

Jeez, beautiful bike Lumen - a real stunner!
Did you get the frame from Westbrook?
PS re the seatpost, I was using a 27.2 Campag Record carbon post & shim with my frame, but there was a small amount of play, so I fitted the correct size one bolt Ritchey WCS - and results have been impressive!
I find it's an amazing frame for instant power transfer, just stand up on the pedals and away it goes! If only I had the cycling legs to do justice to this bike! Alas - there is always next year!

Lumen

gman2k wrote: »

Did you get the frame from Westbrook?

Yes, many thanks for the tip-off, a real bargain (relatively)! Aside from the slight hassle/confusion of having a BB86 shell rather than a normal threaded one, and therefore being a bit restricted with BB choices, it's a great frameset.

No play in my seatpost using the clamp that came on the bike.

You win the pretty gruppo contest :-)

What wheels have you put on?

rinleez

This is my Kelly's Magic. You may have not seen these bikes around, theyre well known in central europe.

Love it or hate it

http://i28.tinypic.com/fnv8lh.jpg

gman2k

Lumen wrote: »

What wheels have you put on?

I've Xero lites on at the moment, but I'm thinking of getting Shamals, or even R-Sys, I know I shouldn't, so I need to be persuaded otherwise!

Lumen

gman2k wrote: »

I've Xero lites on at the moment, but I'm thinking of getting Shamals, or even R-Sys, I know I shouldn't, so I need to be persuaded otherwise!

Nice. I'm sure you could find someone willing to part with their R-Syss

gman2k

Lumen wrote: »

Nice. I'm sure you could find someone willing to part with their R-Syss

I'm open to suggestions for nice lightweight campy compatible clinchers that don't cost much!!!!!
I like these, but dunno bout the colour...

Quigs Snr

Gman, saw your bike down in Spokes weeks ago. Xero's probably a little bit low end for what it is I reckon. Grand training wheel. The Shamals would be a good choice but get them in the titanium color... The new Dura Ace wheels aren't that bad either I think they are a low profile rim with a carbon laminate on them (rather than the deep section ones)...doubt they will do them for a campy setup but am not sure offhand though

Apart from that I would avoid those R-SYS, expensive, ugly and unreliable. Know one person racing on them and he has nothing but trouble with them, its only one guy and others here will have had better experiences but his experience matches that of many of the horror stories on the web and thats enough for me. Surely Mavic must discontinue those soon enough.

Murph100

Hey Gman,


I'm in the same boat as you at the mo. I'm 95% sold on the Shamals and they look HOT ...... BUT I see their weight vary a LOT from the claimed 1395, with some guys sets hitting 1490, Competitive Cyclist has them in at 1493, nearly 100g over and only 30g lighter than the Eurus !!

From what I can see, the Shamal uses exactly the same rim as the Euros so no rotational weight advantage there. Their not so great weight savings seems to be purely from the hubs. I still though, like the 2 way option just to give it a go, and Michelin are launching their tubeless tyre next month.

HED Ardennes are very light 1362g ( they claim ) , same money as the Shamals, the rims are 432g so a very light where it counts, but they seem a bit overpriced, and are not 'aero'.

Reynolds Attacks can be got for €970, cull carbon clincher with a 425g rim, the Assaults have a 475g rim. I'm nearly tempted by the Attacks but worried about the braking, especially flying down the Conor Pass in the p!ssing rain.

American Classic have some very interesting options for good money. Their Sprint 350 costs £349 ( Epic Cycles ) and has a rim weight of only 350g !!! Just doesn't look cool though. They also have the Mag 300 clinchers, which have a 300g rim, 1255g for the set !!! ( Hate / Love to see Raam on these !! ) and cost £599 but again dont look cool. BTW all the American Classics at Epic are the US built ones, not the far east rubbish that gets all the crap reviews.

Lastly there is www.williamscycling.com which offer amazing wheels for amazing money by selling direct, their 38mm carbon tubular even uses the same mould as Zipp 303 without the dimples, and is a LOT less dosh. Check out the reviews on www.testrider.com.

ARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHH WHAT TO DO !!!!!

gman2k wrote: »

I'm open to suggestions for nice lightweight campy compatible clinchers that don't cost much!!!!!
I like these, but dunno bout the colour...