Bicycling

I got that wheelset for $269 shipped from Velomine. I'd hever heard of them before, but the service was awesome. Took 3 days to get to me and they're 100% true right out of the box. My bike came with some lower end wheels on it, so the wheels and the hubs (which as I understand it are basically SRAM's version of Shimano XT) are a pretty solid upgrade. I have all the Tubeless goodies now (new set of 2.25 LUSTs which I really like, sealant, etc) but I just shoved a tube in there for now so that the sealant wouldn't sit in the tire and settle over the winter.

I haven't ridden these XTs yet (fucking winter) but I've got a bike buddy who's opinion I hold in pretty high regard. Dude is fast as a motherfucker, rides a Tallboy LTc with all the trimmings and is just a beast, so I figure if they're good enough for him, they're definitely fine for my slow, old ass. Definitely a step up from the Elixir 3s, which can fuck right off.

I don't do that much rock gardening. It's unavoidable up here so I hit some maybe once every 4-5 rides, but generally I avoid it if I can unless I'm specifically looking for a "work on tech skills" ride. It's definitely different (in a good way) but I much prefer the fast flowy singletrack stuff. I beat the shit out of 3 rear derailleurs, my knees, my pedals and everything else while trying to keep a good pace through rocks, so I'm a bit gunshy about them, heh. Going tubeless and being able to run lower pressures should help a bunch - crawling sucks at 35-40PSI.

I don't feel bashed, no worries. I don't pretend to know a hell of a lot about this stuff, just reading a ton of forums and watching a bunch of videos and trying to pick the best upgrades I can afford over the winter, so I appreciate any input/advice you have.

Velomine is a great place to get some budget wheelsets.

Eh, maybe in price, but X9's have sealed cartridge bearings, XT are loose ball cup and cone hubs. XT are a very serviceable budget hub but for me personally I'm never running loose ball bearings in a MTB hub again, cartridge all the way. I'm not even sure if Shimano makes a cartridge bearing MTB hub actually. XT does have better engagement than the X9 though, and if you don't mind the bearing maintenance XT can be bombproof.

I prefer smooth flowy singletrack too, but I usually choose my hardtail single speed when riding it now, so my FS bike sees more action on the technical rocky stuff I ride sometimes. For that purpose I wasn't interested in only 12 points of engagement.

What are your thoughts on this?

Ridley X-Bow/Shimano 105-Tiagra Disc Complete Bike | Backcountry.com

I've been kind of jonesing for a CX bike these days. There are a couple of state parks that would be about a 45 minute (road) ride from my house, and the idea of riding there, hitting some dirt (mostly fire roads and horse trails) and then riding home is pretty appealing.

Seventh_sl said:

What are your thoughts on this?

Ridley X-Bow/Shimano 105-Tiagra Disc Complete Bike | Backcountry.com

I've been kind of jonesing for a CX bike these days. There are a couple of state parks that would be about a 45 minute (road) ride from my house, and the idea of riding there, hitting some dirt (mostly fire roads and horse trails) and then riding home is pretty appealing.

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Keep an eye on Chainlove, this one:

Ridley X-Ride/Shimano 105 Disc Complete Bike | Competitive Cyclist

Has been popping up on there for 1263. Its worth the extra money to upgrade from Tiagra to 105 shifters and BB5 to BB7 brakes is a big difference. I've used both, BB5's are a real pain in the ass. I'm pretty tempted by the deal too, but I know a CX bike would see limited use for me compared to other stuff I can spend that money on right now.

Ao-_sl said:

Looks nice, but I'm always biased to QBP... I'd get a Crosscheck and throw on thicker tires (Cross-Check | Bikes | Surly Bikes). CX and gravel-racing seem to be similar from bike builds. If I were serious about them, I'd end up with a Warbird Ti from Salsa and just chew through everything that came at me.

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They come at a bigger premium for price, the stuff he's looking at has more component bang for the buck. I own a Salsa and like the Surly's I've ridden so I'm with you on the fanboyism. But the only reason for him to choose a Crosscheck otherwise is if he really would prefer steel to AL frame. Which he may or may not, IDK.

Cheers guys. I'm going to hit up a few shops this weekend that have the Ridleys and the Surlys in stock, so will throw a leg over a bunch of them and see what happens.

I did the 1x10 today. Bash guard isn't here yet, but looks pretty nifty otherwise IMO. I was going to use a Race Face bash guard, but the FSA Facet actually matches up with my existing FSA cranks perfectly. (And that shit is important. )

Get a chainstay protector, you're going to slap the living hell out of that thing!

Famm_sl said:

Get a chainstay protector, you're going to slap the living hell out of that thing!

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Ok, NOW you sound like you're hating on everything I post.

I haven't sized the chain yet, because I'm waiting for the 42T to show up. I also have an XT Shadow Plus, which has a clutch, so I don't get much slap at all. I do have a neoprene protector for it, but I was working on my fucking bike, you flatulent cunt, so it's not on there.

I got a clutch derailleur on my stumpy, I miss it when I ride my old 29er so much slap...guess I should pedal moar lol.

Zodiac_sl said:

I got a clutch derailleur on my stumpy, I miss it when I ride my old 29er so much slap...guess I should pedal moar lol.

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It really is awesome. I didn't intentionally get it, I just happened to detonate the stock derailleur on some rocks early in the season and figured it was a worthwhile upgrade. I have almost zero chain slap with it, and I never noticed how much I had on the original one until I upgraded. I wouldn't put one on my road bike, but it makes things significantly less noisy in the woods.

A buddy of mine just picked up the new Stumpy FS..R? FSE? The 130mm front/rear one. Holy balls what an awesome bike.

My favorite solution to chain slap is single speed. Of course I also have the geared FS bike so, neoprene protector is it.

I figured you had it off for the pic/working on it.

Not sure if any of you bike people give advice but I'm looking to either build a bike or buy one that will be used primarily for running errands (carrying groceries, paying bills, going to the library with lots of books etc.) and I was wondering a good place to look for either parts or interesting urban bikes to peruse. Any advice?

How much are you looking to spend?

For errands/commuting a huge thing to consider is if your area is safe to leave it locked outside or if theft is a major concern. If there's significant chance of theft you don't want to invest TOO much because that's just more you stand to possibly lose.

Generally, get something with brazed on bolts for mounting racks. I'm running this set up:



Topeak Super Tourist rack with matching trunk bag. The MTX system is very nice for the bag/matching rack. I can fit a fair amount of groceries on there, shopping for one person and not needing a giant load of shit its very doable with the panniers. Great for picking up a six pack or bringing a growler home from the brewpub. If you are, like, buying like 12 packs of soda and cases of water or big bags of dog food or shopping for a family of three plus....well good luck doing that on a bicycle really. There's also always backpacks for extra load, and you can do front mounted racks/bags for more capacity on the bike. I personally don't like a lot of weight on my back while riding but that varies from person to person, and it depends what sort of ride home you are dealing with as well.

Its on an old (2007?) entry level Trek road bike that had braze-on's in the rear for racks. I have a beefier CX wheel/hub with a 25mm gatorskin (this means nothing to you right?) in back for more durability/strength under cargo load but I could probably have gotten away with stock too.

Ao- is going to tell you to get Salsa or Surly, so I'll just jump the gun on that. Salsa's Vaya or Fargo are built to carry loads, and Surly makes a number of touring bikes that are purpose fitted for bags as well. If you are looking to spend more and have an actual nice bike (and are confident it will be safe locked to a rack) these are really your go-to companies. The Surly Troll is a cool bike that's a bit more on the mountain bikey side.

Otherwise, any old road or mountain bike that can easily accept a rack or racks is the way to go.

Thank you very much for the information! I'm going to start researching to start to understand all of this . That bag and rack seem great. I had been wondering how those racks worked.

Its really nice, there's a plastic strip on the bottom of the bag just slides right into the top of the rack and locks securely in place.

Got the bashguard this morning. Fuck yes, thing looks aces.

How many teeth is that ring?

30T front (narrow/wide), 11-36 in the back, will be 11-42 when the OneUp ring shows up. Budget XX1, heh.

Just did my dropper post too. (Just regular reverb, I don't have the frame tap for the stealth.)