Posted By: mperlberg I think we need to create a new sport that involves biking and shooting.

No I think that is a terrible idea. Not that I don't love shooting things, and riding bikes, but think all the ways roadies could really screw that up: Carbon fiber gun barrels. The relative PROness of 9mm vs .38 caliber. Some old timers explaining the importance of filling your own shells with your own proprietary gunpowder mix, so you can optimize for weight and propulsion, at the expense of a couple of fingers maybe an eye.

What about a crash in the field sprint? It is bad enough with carbon and aluminum flying everywhere, we don't need stray jacketed hollow points flying through the pack when somebody goes down.

The UCI wouldn't stand for non-standard bullets or shell doping.

Trust me, the old timers are *still* bitching about revolvers vs automatics, and wooden stocks vs plastic.
Don't even get me started on the relative merits of gas driven vs piston, or cold-weather advantages of metal clips vs plastic...

Back on track.

two things. Excel Sports has Vittoria Evo CX tubulars for $57 http://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=Corsa EVO CX Tubular Tire 700x21&vendorCode=VITT&major=1&minor=28

Also I've discovered a great baselayer. Uniqlo AIRism t-shirts are polyester/lycra go for $13 apiece and fit very well, transport sweat away, and don't get stinky. (ed) They have a sleeveless version, so you can give tickets to the gun show. http://www.uniqlo.com/us/product/men/loungewearunderwear/airism

There back on track

'Back on track'

No Dan, this is the gun thread now. A thread about gun gear and tech.

Gun.

Gun gun.
Boom

^^^
Edited to keep it on the NRA/Rambo/Queen's Foot Fusiliers theme we've veered onto.

Adam's seen my bolt-action Mauser...

That's what she said !!! wait...not sure if that works here...

nah dog . . . it's good!

http://thebenjamin.files.wordpress.com/2010/04/referee_2010.jpg

Regarding Single-Pivot SRAM Red Brakes:

I saw the SRAM guy today at the Bike NY Expo. I asked him about the brakes staying put.

His recommendation. First, make sure the frame fixing bolt is tightened to proper torque spec. Second, while you're doing that, use a 13mm cone wrench to hold the brake in place. Third, if it doesn't seem to be coming back as you'd like mess around with the bolts that adjust spring tension on either side of the caliper.

JP!

GTFO with that stuff!

we're making gun jokes here!

Bang!

Back to gear. Going to be getting some new wheels. First purchase will be a pair of lightweight alloy clinchers (1300-1400 gram). Anyone have experience with the following companies:

Revolution Wheel Works http://www.revolutionwheelworks.com/REV-22.html

Williams: http://williamscycling.com/sys19.html

Boyd (Whitey said Ragot has experience with these guys) http://boydcycling.com/ (though they don't have any alloys that directly fit the bill)

Anything else I should consider?

Posted By: Craig ZolanAnything else I should consider?

Neuvation. We had a deal with these. you may be able to find something on the forum about this. If not reach out to John and ask for the Kissena team deal. The R28s are awesome. I don;t know if they still sell them but I've ridden mine for 5 years without much worry. Others have had different (not always positive) experiences, but I think their wheels are the bees knees.

John, he asked, "Wondering how do you know when to replace bits? What do you check for? Anyone else had similar issues? I usually put a bit of Finish Line Dry Teflon Lube on every couple of weeks (equivalent of Speedplay Lube)."

John,
I've been riding Speedplay pedals for over a decade. I did nine years on the X/2's and have been on Zeros since 2007. It's possible that your accidental release was from bad luck. Maybe the cleat wasn't seated as well as it should have been, maybe something got lodged in the spring clip and gave way. Maybe your "heel out" limit screw was not as backed out as it should have been.

But that doesn't answer your larger question about replacing stuff.

On the good side, the Zero design takes much longer to wear cleats out than the older X/2. On the bad side, you still need to replace cleats. And from both my experience and looking around, I think most people should probably be replacing cleats more often than they do. Looking at their 3,000-5,000 claim, I'd suggest that if you don't do maintenance, or ride in messy conditions, tend toward the shorter interval. If you're great with maintenance, or only ride in good conditions, tend toward the longer.

A problem with Speedplays is that worn cleats also seem to wear the bodies down more. It's nice that you can all replace parts individually and not the whole pedal. And with good care, Speedplay parts will last much longer. But with lots and lots of miles, even good care won't do everything. This goes for all pedals.

Cleats: If you've got lots of slop in the interface, you should have replaced your cleats already. By slop, I'm referring to a wobble from the base plate or pedal body being worn, not from the adjustment of the limit screws. That the surface or either the base plate or pedal or both is no longer flat. I even found that I have more foot pain on old cleats; haven't been able to decide if the issue is at the ankle dealing with the wobble or with the ball of the foot--seems for me to be more at the ball. One way to get cleats to last longer, according to everyone at Speedplay, is to install their stainless steel wear plate between the cleat and base plate. You'll only want to do it with a fresh base plate though. It is microscopically thin and weighs only a few grams. The way I see it, if the owner of Speedplay, who is a weight weenie beyond compare (his regular road bike allegedly weighs around 11lbs,and he's both taller and heavier than me), uses them, I probably should too. THey also claim using their dry lube on the cleat and pedal body helps as well. I can't imagine it helps as much.

Bow Ties: I've replaced Bow Ties on the old X/2's which did make a difference. The Bow Ties on Zeros are different; they seem to wear less. I'd be more inclined to replace the "hockey puck" aka pedal bodies, before the bow ties. The pedal body is softer than the metal, the design is more durable in many ways, and I can see and feel the difference between the really used pucks and new ones. Much less slop when new.

Spindles: Peoples, these wear out, too. I replaced a puck last summer and on the second ride, one of the bearings in the right pedal popped out and seized the pedal. I called Speedplay, and they opined it was probably the fault of the spindle. I took a look at the spindle, and it was indeed worn. This can be another source of slop. Then I looked at my other set of Speedplay pedals, and the spindles on them were worn even worse. Regular greasing can extend the life of your bearings and spindles. A grease gun and monthly or quarterly lubings is cheaper than replacing a spindle.

Craig, in terms of lightweight aluminum wheels, you should also look into Stan's road wheels, Easton EA90 SLX, Hed's Ardennes SL and CL, though they all rank high in the price spectrum.

Neuvation is the clear price winner, no doubt.

@ Mugwump. Racing this weekend!? Legend!

Re Speedplays. Thanks for the download.
- teflon drylube every few days —check
- every three months grease gun —check
- stainless steel plate —check
- float adjustment screws —check
- no slop —check

I noticed there was a build-up of gunk underneath the bow ties I cleaned it out, but don't think that'd effect mechanical. Also noticed the stainless plates are warping slightly too. Pulling a foot in a sprint is no joke, so I think I'll buy new cleats as per Jules's recco. As you mention, the weather seals are awful on these, I had them 3 months and already one pedal was close to seizing. Now if I ride in the wet I'll re-grease.

I find it annoying that Speedplay doesn't document all this in the box with the pedals—it's been a pain in the ass to find all this information.

Craig if you are spending in the $500-$600 range for light aluminum clinchers...have them custom built. I just had a pair of Stans Alpha 340 rims built around Alchemy hubs. They were not cheap...but the hubs alone were almost $600. Alchemy hubs are considered by wheel builders to be the absolute best hub on the market...something to do with how wide apart the flanges are and the rear hub has crazy specs as well... These hubs build any set of rims into comparatively stiffer wheels when using a different hub.
You don't need these rims or hubs....white industry hubs laced to kinlin or velocity rims can be had for around $500-$600. Professionaly buit, these wheels will exceed what a Williams or Neuvation can provide. My wheels weigh about 1280 grams and that is with rim tape...and they are plenty stiff.
Contact my builder Eric: Ergott Wheels (google it). Give him your price point and wants...see what he can do. Those lightweight wheels from Williams and Revolution tend to come at a stiffness penalty. It is far better to add an extra 100 grams then to have your wheels not hold a line when you bank your bike or flex so much they hit the brake blocks when standing....good luck Yacks

wheels = 1282 grams and that is with the Stans rim tape...but who's counting?

What Yacks said: Eric is a great wheelbuilder. I've been trying out some wider rims this year and I've built a set of wheels with A23 rims and another with HED Belgium rims. If you can get the HED rims do so - mine were much rounder than the velocity rims and hence they built up into a great pair of very evenly tensioned wheels.

according to Eric at Ergott wheels...HED is no longer selling individual rims to indepedent builders...he doesn't know why or when the policy will change...Velocity has changed their A23 rim design this year...they are apparently tubeless ready now. Not sure how this change in manufacuring affects rim roundness...but if anyone would know it is Eric. Velocity rims are now made in Florida. That is Florida, USA...not a tiny province in China.
Oh..and my wheel weight was before I yanked off the gaudy Stan's stickers...so I'm totally under 1280 grams now! The Stans 340 rim also produces a much wider rim profile that approaches the footprint a 23mm wide rim would give you...yacks

This thing is just.....
http://road.cc/sites/default/files/imagecache/node-gallery-display/images/Cycle%20Show%202011%20-%20Condor/Condor%20Acciaio%202012%2017.jpg

Posted By: twoyacksThis thing is just.....
http://road.cc/content/image/45050-condor-super-acciaio-2012-17jpg

Conor Brady of www.elcyclista.com has one on order with custom paint, can't wait to see it.

So...I broke another spoke on my PT wheel. Annoying. Wondering if it's time to get a rebuild? Last time, it cost like $30 to get one spoke replaced...I'm thinking it might be worth it to send it out to your favorite wheelbuilder and have it broken-down and rebuilt with good tension all around? Thoughts folks?

My feeling is if it's just one spoke do it yourself. Spokes are really expensive these days. and wheelbuilding is typically $40-80 a wheel. If you were charged $30 for one spoke, something special had to be done.

The hardest thing about putting in a new spoke on your Zipp rim is if you have to install a new nipple. For that, I recommend threading the nipple upside down on a spoke, lowering it into place and then holding it there until you thread it on to the new spoke.

Posted By: Marc BertuccoSo...I broke another spoke on my PT wheel. Annoying. Wondering if it's time to get a rebuild? Last time, it cost like $30 to get one spoke replaced...I'm thinking it might be worth it to send it out to your favorite wheelbuilder and have it broken-down and rebuilt with good tension all around? Thoughts folks?

What rim? Depending on age, it may be possible to just detension the whole wheel, then bring it back into even tension. Ideally a new spoke replacement will have the same tension as before, in practice tension tends to go wacky when the wrench decides to make it true vs having even tension.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/05/news/giro-tech-rise-of-the-25c-tire_218011

They forgot to mention me riding my 25mm tires this morning at Prospect....soooo smoooooottthhhhhhh

Picked one of these up, and it arrived today...

http://www.abovecategorycycling.com/shop/accessories2/computers-mounts/bar-fly-computer-mount.html

Thanks JP for linking me to this, it is a huge improvement from mounting on the stem, I definitely recommend it.