unclear if this is more of a deals or tech, but specialized's wheel brand, roval, just released a new lineup and it seems pretty awesome.  no independent wind tunnel data but the wheels cost less than zipp/enve, apparently are as/more aero (specialized does own a wind tunnel after all), and lighter.

available through redbeard with your team discount! https://rovalcomponents.com/collections/road-wheels

in particular, the $750 aluminum set looks like a great deal for a disc brake cross bike (or disc brake road bike, will i plan to do this fall).  only curiosity is whether the rim profile will work as well to hold a tire on at 24 psi as the "bead barb" style rims like American Classic.  but if you're going to use it on the road, less of a concern due to higher pressures

only downside i see is they are t-head spokes, which you'd have to order through specialized if you break a spoke.  as opposed to a similarly expensive build from enve/zipp which would come with normal straight-pull spokes that would cost less since they are not proprietary.  but who knows, maybe t-head spokes will be widely available next season.  right now i only see them on some taiwanese manufacturer's websites, not orderable for normal humans

Sometimes you pull the bearing, sometimes the bearing pulls you.

heard some discussion about buying power meters today and i wanted to draw people's attention to Quarq, which is available through redbeard with your regular Kissena discount.  like most power meters,  Quarqs used to be more expensive, but they are now selling a model that is $779 for a crankset w/ no chainrings.  that is pretty much exactly what a stages + an adapter for your spindle will cost you.

quarq is more accurate than stages (by .5% and by the fact that it measures both sides) and they are both equally pain in the ass to swap between bikes (undoing crank arm bolts that are torqued to 50 nM is just not that fun).  for me, the quarq made more sense, at about the same price as stages and creating less compatibility issues between my two frames.

not trying to start a power meter war/go DC Rainmaker mode, just saying that if you're in the market, be sure to consider them as an option because they lowered their prices with their new model and it's available through Redbeard with your Kissena discount.  www.quarq.com

I think the Quarq for the same $ as Stages is a fantastic deal....and I would buy one if only my original Stages meter would crap the bed sheets...but it hasn't and shows no signs of ever crapping out.  Outside of changing the battery ($2 at the $1 store) 

@Brendan Rigby  @mugwump
bringing this over from Branchbrook thread.
pics attached. basically there is just enough clearance on it's own. but the second u apply a little pressure, it hits the stay. 2 pics attached. i think when i would come around that tight turn at branchbrook, the angle along w me up off the saddle and adding some torque, would push the wheel the direction of the right stay and rub. maybe i'm being crazy. lmk what you think

That's distributing. How much pressure are you applying with your hand to get the tire to touch? 

Is it only on the drive side that it rubs? 

Lateral strength (side to side, picture a double ended arrow going through the axle)  is the bicycle wheels weakest. So it is possible that if you're cornering super hard and you're a heavier rider on wheels built for a featherweight, there could be significant flex 

As someone who spent weeks swearing I needed to warranty a frame when really I just needed to tighten some bolts that had loosened, I'll just say make sure everything simple checks out. Is your QR properly in place and sufficiently tight? Is there play in the hubs? 

Brendan Rigby said:

That's distributing. How much pressure are you applying with your hand to get the tire to touch? 

Is it only on the drive side that it rubs? 

@Brendan Rigby the wheel gravitates toward the drive side and I am not applying too much pressure. Certainly a lot less than I would be if I am up off the saddle grinding it out.

I've tried tightening the skewer and adjusting the back wheel different ways, but the alignment seems to end up like this each time.

There is a little play in the hub, but these are brand new wheels, so thinking the degree of play of normal? 

I scheduled an appointment at Redbeard tonight. I'll get Ilya's eyes on it too. 

In my experience wheels will pull to the drive  side when you put on a tight bead tire. If you build the wheel to have correct dish with a tire off, it will be wrong with the tire on. I build mine to be dished with the tire on 

(the drive side spokes are tighter) 

also, a little play in the hub is normal when it's not in the bike. but there should not be play in the hub when in the bike.  redbeard will tell you if it's within normal range

let's assume for a moment that your frame is ok, it would fit these wheels and tires no problem. So rim size, tire width, or frame clearance is not the problem here.

Something is broken, take it the redbeard and have it properly examined.

Most likely it is the hub, or how you are tightening the quick release.

Less likely, but still possible, the frame is broken, probably one of the rear dropouts.

dropped the bike off. RB's initial thought is the SLR 1s are a climbing wheel with a lot of flex. The frame is an older model w limited clearance.  Solution probably lies in tightening the spokes to accommodate for the drive side drift. 
thx for the intel @eloy  @Brendan Rigby
bike should be ready Thursday night.
I think longer term I am going to get a new frame, or go back to stiffer wheels.

what are people's thoughts on dura ace over shimano ultegra? is it a notable difference?
I've been using ultegra shimano for years and it's great, but thinking the dura ace is a little more prescise and considering I'm bigger than most riders, it might make a difference. 

GregStreiff said:

what are people's thoughts on dura ace over shimano ultegra? is it a notable difference?
I've been using ultegra shimano for years and it's great, but thinking the dura ace is a little more prescise and considering I'm bigger than most riders, it might make a difference. 

Biggest difference is weight I'm pretty sure...And price 

Greg, do you have a PM already? I know the new DA 9100 has a pretty sweet built in PM crank which could be nice. Otherwise that is really the only thing performance wise I would heavily consider. Especially for a race bike that I hate to say it, might get some dings and nicks along the way. As well as an FYI Dura Ace cassettes are a waste of $$$. Pretty sure most world tour teams use ultegra there.

The Stages pm is still the value leader...imho 

^ Agreed, love mine.

The only real reason to buy Dura Ace is personal desire. From a performance perspective you will get all you need from Ultegra. 

In ye olde days when components were highly polished there was a much greater difference between DA and ultegra (or 600 or whatever it was called at the time). The  quality of workmanship that went into the highly polished Dura Ace was far superior to that found further down the Shimano line. IMO that gap has narrowed to be negligible today.

looks like arts cyclery tried to answer this question

http://blog.artscyclery.com/ask-a-mechanic/shimano-road-components-where-to-spend-your-money/

i dont have experience with shimano, but i do have (because it was on super sale) sram red shifters on one bike and the identical model year rival on another and they shift identically, one just has carbon levers and maybe some magnesium internals for weight savings.  i think sram and shimano are doing everything they can to make sure that weight and cosmetics, rather than reliable shifting, distinguish the various models they offer

twoyacks said:

The Stages pm is still the value leader...imho 

i think this is probably true as long as you have a crankset that's compatible with stages. if you have to get a new crankset or even just a bunch of adapters, then it will cost you just about the same amount to get an aluminum Quarq DZero that comes with a crankset. stages =~ $630 for one crank arm, quarq ~= $780 with a full crankset but no chainrings.  if you have to spend the $150 difference to get your bike compatible with the stages, might as well get the quarq

SeanMiles said:

Greg, do you have a PM already? I know the new DA 9100 has a pretty sweet built in PM crank which could be nice. Otherwise that is really the only thing performance wise I would heavily consider. Especially for a race bike that I hate to say it, might get some dings and nicks along the way. As well as an FYI Dura Ace cassettes are a waste of $$$. Pretty sure most world tour teams use ultegra there.

The PM is not yet available commercially, only a few pros have it. With so many options for PM out there now days, that probably shouldn't be the deciding factor towards DA.

Shimano puts good marketing money behind DA, which helps make it very desirable.

Dura Ace should last a little longer, perhaps a tad more precise, but if both Ultegra and Dura Ace are new(ish) and correctly setup, the only noticeable difference will be weight.

I have the stages PM

Sent from my iPhone

I went into the shop yesterday and test road the
TCR Pro 1 which I liked a lot
I saw the next model up w better components is the TCR ADVANCED SL 1
but It sounds like I should save the money and stick w Shimano Ultegra.
I understand dura ace cranks are solid, but the shifters and derailers are subpar

Jeff Condon has the SL 1 from last year. I believe his came equipped with Ultegra Di2. Interesting swap of componentry.

In agreement with Bruce -- there's nothing wrong with DA.

If you can afford Dura Ace and want it, it'll be awesome, go for it.

If you need or rather save a little bit of money, Ultegra will be awesome too.

If you like the TCR Advanced SL 1, just do it, that bike is the hotness. Sweet color scheme too.

Bruce van-Schalkwyk said:

So, get the bike you want, in the color you want.  And don't find happiness in the consumer product - find happiness in your decision, and in your decisiveness.  You deserve a nice bike as much as you deserve a Roth IRA, so do make good choices, and stick with them.

This. If you buy a bike you love, you'll ride it. Riding bikes is good.

Jules said:

Bruce van-Schalkwyk said:

So, get the bike you want, in the color you want.  And don't find happiness in the consumer product - find happiness in your decision, and in your decisiveness.  You deserve a nice bike as much as you deserve a Roth IRA, so do make good choices, and stick with them.

This. If you buy a bike you love, you'll ride it. Riding bikes is good.

I'll add this.  Time off, a better fit, better wheels, better tires, a quality powermeter are far more important than the extra $$ it takes to buy Dura-Ace.  In terms of performance, racing in a skin suit will make a bigger difference than the weight savings DA provide. 

all very helpful! thank you to everyone that opined. especially thankful for the reminder of saving for retirement! haha
you all have successfully steered me away from the dura ace and I'' now toggling between:
TCR Advanced SL 2
TCR Advanced Pro Team
I like the pro color scheme a bit more
both these bikes are ultegra
I pretty stoked about getting a new bike

update: TCR PRO TEAM is unavailable, so probably going with the Advanced SL 2.

http://road.cc/content/tech-news/219072-wahoo-launches-elemnt-bolt-gps-integrated-aero-mount
SKY will ride these soon...and claim that the benefits are greater than testosterone patches and illegal asthma meds