Yes, you can do bigger than 33 in the lower categories. And ceartainly, a 33 that is a bit bigger on a wide rim is also totally fine.

I'm going to suggest that for cross,  the thread matters more than the size, and you will struggle to find the right cyclocross threads in sizes bigger than 33 -- altho, some brands like Vittoria do offer their cx thread in bigger sizes

Not the most premium or fastest tire but I love the Ritchey Megabite WCS in 38mm which balloon up to 40ish. Outside of really cakey mud it's a great off road tire with aggressive tread.

I’ve a set of vittoria mix in 35mm , which seem ideal for an amateur cyclist as my self
if I was serious about this I’d run tubulars , but I’m not 

For reference, Light Bicycles post-order updates are kind of great. The rims I ordered were "custom" in the sense that they didn't have them sitting in a warehouse so it's a custom spec build. I have no way to verify that each of these steps are actually happening, but at the very very least they seem to understand their customer base and present this timeline that can be checked into in real time.

That's pretty awesome, altho makes wonder how does it look if they need to deviate from that list -- as these are custom requests haha.

We shall see! I requested unpainted/no decals.

Idk for sure, but I'd be surprised if they are molding each rim to order.  I'd more expect them to have a stock for undrilled rims they process as needed.

GregHoge said:

Idk for sure, but I'd be surprised if they are molding each rim to order.  I'd more expect them to have a stock for undrilled rims they process as needed.

FWIW, I am pretty sure Zipp was for at least a while stocking a quantity of undrilled rims and building them as ordered.

Question on chain length. I’m going from a 40 tooth chain ring down to 38 on my cross bike. How many links should come out? 1 or 2, if any?

Matt Budofsky said:

Question on chain length. I’m going from a 40 tooth chain ring down to 38 on my cross bike. How many links should come out? 1 or 2, if any?

Exactly zero. Just do it, you likely wont have a problem.

Do double check that the shifting works as expected, specially at the bigger side of the cassette and into your lower gear -- the lesser tension sometimes requires to re-adjust the b-screw to keep a tiny gap between the cassete and rear derailleur. 

I tried to change my tubeless tires last night on my alloy rims and I can not for the life of me get them off. It's as if they're glued to the rims. Any tips?

Hold the tire down with your foot and pull the rim up.  

GregHoge said:

Hold the tire down with your foot and pull the rim up.  

@PatrickGrehan had some tip using a book

If I remember correctly you place an firm item like a book under the rim (wheel is on the ground), you hold the tire down with your foot and you firmly lift the rim where you are stepping on the tire

GrantSeltzer said:

I tried to change my tubeless tires last night on my alloy rims and I can not for the life of me get them off. It's as if they're glued to the rims. Any tips?

They are glued on.  

I find a tire lever is enough to break the glue, and then generally enough to get the tire off.  

GrantSeltzer said:

I tried to change my tubeless tires last night on my alloy rims and I can not for the life of me get them off. It's as if they're glued to the rims. Any tips?

Make sure you push the beads into the middle all the way around and make sure you start with the lever 90deg around the rim from where the valve starts.

Also there are 2 tools that I've found work better than others:

https://a.co/d/3gz5FyF

https://a.co/d/7zj0Xvf

I'm curious about trying TPU tubes. 

There are problems with them.  It appears that the valves are a weak point, probably because they're not made out of metal.  It seems that thermodynamic shifts, both from heat generated by rim braking and the cold created by inflating with CO2 cartridges, can destroy the TPU material, so one has to figure out which ones are appropriately thick.

I asked Tubolito about these issues, and they told me to refer to the website.

So, those with TPU experience, which TPU tubes, if any, are worth getting?  How should one be mindful of the limitations?

I've used them.  Their main benefit it that they pack down really small, so they are great as spares (how I use them).  Outside of that I don't think they are much better than latex and certainly not better than tubeless.

I thought you were already running tubeless?

GregHoge said:

I've used them.  Their main benefit it that they pack down really small, so they are great as spares (how I use them).  Outside of that I don't think they are much better than latex and certainly not better than tubeless.

I thought you were already running tubeless?

I go back-and-forth on tubeless.  At this moment, I'm doing tubed, but will switch back shortly.

One of my issues with tubeless is that if you get two flats while carrying one tube, you're screwed.  When I ride with tubes, I also carry a patch kit to take care of the second flat.  

Since I'm thinking of doing tubeless this winter, I'm thinking about carrying two small TPU tubes.  Probably not the lightest ones, as they are probably more heat-sensitive to rim braking than the ones that are slightly heavier.

What have you tried thusfar?  Any brands to avoid?  any tips for taking care of them?  

Tubes should be a last resort for tubeless flats.  I'd suggest trying dynaplugs to help seal anything the sealant can't on its own.  They've worked great every time I've had to use them.

As for TPU, I use RideNow.  They're solid and I can get them from Aliexpress for about the same as a butyl tube.  Don't use an excessively long stem.  I've done than and ended up breaking the stem when I was pumping it.  I have heard of people wrapping them in saran wrap for when you have them stored in your saddle bag just to help protect them from things like your multitool that can cause small punctures.  

About three TPU tubes fit in my saddle bag instead of the one latex tube I'd otherwise carry. I use them as spares too, if I'd fix a flat at home I would always change for a latex instead of TPU because I guess that's a little more durable. They require a little bit more care than latex when it comes to checking for debris inside the flat tire, other than that I've generally had good experiences. I've not noticed problems with the valves, there's no noticeable difference in air leakage if I use one latex and one TPU tube.

YMMV, I'm not using rim brakes so I wouldn't know about the heath problem. The ones I have are the 36 gram RideNow's. 

@GregHoge  I've tried plugs on the road twice and at home once.  They failed every time.  The anecdotal evidence I've come across suggests plugs are iffy when deployed with road tires.  It seems you have to get to the deflating tire quickly, and the hole need to be just the right size.  

Are you using the typical bacon strip style plugs or a Dynaplug?  I have heard iffy things about the bacon strips but Dynaplugs are essentially the gold standard.

@GregHoge  No, I haven't.  However, the instructions for proper use seem to suggest that it can take a minute or two to prep the plug before inserting it.  In my experience, that is too long for a low-volume tire with a hole that can't be stopped by sealant.

@mugwump I've been running the Pirelli TPU tubes (yellow) in one of my bikes for a few months now and have been running a cheap RideNow (pink) tube in one of my punctured tubless tires until I get a new tire. So far it's been great. No flats yet and wicked light. Although I have not inflated by CO2 so can't speak to the durability in that respect. 

I can't recommend the RideNow ones yet as it's only been a couple of weeks but they are super cheap and many folks seem to like them.

I haven't had much luck with the RideNow TPU tubes but I still carry one with me (in addition to a spare butyl tube). The few times I've used them, they got me home, but were going flat slowly. I suspect the failures were likely caused by me not getting whatever cause the flat out of my tube perfectly and the TPU getting a small nick.

@mugwump All the ones I've seen you leave a plug loaded so when you get a puncture you just pull it out and stick it in your tire.  Maybe 20 seconds if you're slow.  Loading a second plug might take a little longer but if you've gotta use multiple plugs you're better off just putting a tube in.

mugwump said:

@GregHoge  No, I haven't.  However, the instructions for proper use seem to suggest that it can take a minute or two to prep the plug before inserting it.  In my experience, that is too long for a low-volume tire with a hole that can't be stopped by sealant.

Here to endorse dynaplugs. I had a slow leak from a sneaky hole in my rear tire yesterday, took me three stops to find which spot on my tire was actually letting air out. Botched the first plug deploy but got one in on the second try and had no issues the rest of my ride. 

Pogacar on Shimano power meters is quite something 👀👀

https://x.com/LucGrefte/status/1838166778414813354