Audax Specific Bikes

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yello

Guest
I think the main thing I know I want (that this bike hasn't got) is a front dynamo hub.

You don't have to run a dynohub. There are very effective battery lights available for when you might need them.

I built a new front wheel precisely so I can take the dynohub out when I don't need it. (Not so much to save weight btw, but to reduce unnecessary wear on the hub)

Edit: oh, as to N+1 factor - go for it! We can all understand that one. ;)
 
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pkeenan

pkeenan

Über Member
Location
Glasgow
You don't have to run a dynohub. There are very effective battery lights available for when you might need them.

I built a new front wheel precisely so I can take the dynohub out when I don't need it. (Not so much to save weight btw, but to reduce unnecessary wear on the hub)

Well of course I don't have to, though having run one on my Thorn for over a year now - it's something I would be ambivalent about going to LEL without. Especially as I'm a sucker for riding at night (I *love* it), and I know I'll certainly be doing that during LEL.

Nonetheless, I would be grateful for some recommendations for battery lights as I've not ruled it out completely.
 

yello

Guest
Well of course I don't have to

Sorry, I didn't mean to come across abruptly, teaching grannie to suck eggs etc. Just me being a tad enthusiastic with my response :smile:

I know little of battery lights these days (because I have a dynohub!) but know you can get decent lights with pretty good run times these days. I get were you're coming from about night riding, I love it too. I certainly agree about the convenience of a dynohub - and there are other benefits too; I use it to charge my GPS for instance.

There's not a great deal of night riding necessary for LEL in truth, depends how quick you are, (of course, if you want to, you can!) and it could pretty much be done in daylight hours.... just a thought. My thinking here is really to do with weight and not carting redundant stuff around.
 
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pkeenan

pkeenan

Über Member
Location
Glasgow
There's not a great deal of night riding necessary for LEL in truth, depends how quick you are, (of course, if you want to, you can!) and it could pretty much be done in daylight hours.... just a thought. My thinking here is really to do with weight and not carting redundant stuff around.

This is good information, thanks! I agree about not carting redundant stuff around. I'm bad at taking more than I need. I guess my thoughts about lighting are always "just incase...".

Will investigate battery lights :thumbsup:

PS - I'm greatful for the enthusiastic responses - this is what the thread is for, so I can gather opinions and such! So I apologise if I was rude, also!
 

Baggy

Cake connoisseur
Battery lights:
I reckon these are hard to beat: Lumicycle 4Si although they are not exactly cheap. Excellent build quality, weatherproof, and made in the UK - the biggest available battery should give a run time of about 60 hours on the "commute" setting, which is fine for A roads, or 18 hours on the "low" setting, which I find fine on unlit lanes. Typically, their website is down at the moment.
 
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pkeenan

pkeenan

Über Member
Location
Glasgow
Thanks @Baggy - good looking light, and a good write up in the link.
Tis on the pricey side, though the quality stuff usually is! *sigh*
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
I don't know about the long term durability of it, but I like my new Ixon IQ - the lower setting seems ok for a-roads and lasts a long time, with a nicely shaped 40lux headlight for the more complicated stuff.

I think they only rate the full power option for about 5 hrs, but as it's AA powered getting spares wouldn't be a problem.
 

frank9755

Cyclist
Location
West London
What most people use for audax is the Hope Vision 1 which is about £70. Having two is ideal. You'd need to carry spare batteries on LEL. The other excellent but affordable option is the B&M Ixon IQ.

@PPete:
It may be that the combination of your riding style and setup means you never suffer from the problem, but there is no doubt that triples do unship more than doubles. Triples are simply more complex and require more compromises to cope with the greater variety of shifts. In particular, the small chainring is a long way from the front mech and shifting down to it is when most problems occur.
If you need convincing, have a look at the excellent thread on the CTC forum started by MickF. As Mick says, when you get to know a triple you learn exactly what kind of shift is likely to make the chain come off. Mick attached a video camera to his seat tube and filmed it - the amount of flex in the system is amazing!
For me it was generally when I wanted to go from descending in a high gear to climbing in a low one while keeping power on to carry me up the hill - not an uncommon scenario. However, if I backed off the power there would be no problem. It comes down to riding style.

Regarding frames, it really doesn't make much difference what you have, as long as you can get a decent fit on it. A cheap, second hand aluminium frame bike that is set up properly for you will be fine (I have one that is) but you could spend thousands on something that would have you in pain before you got far on it! Money spent on a fitting could save you lots on the bike.
 

mcshroom

Bionic Subsonic
@ Frank - I can't remember the last time I shipped a chain on any of my three bikes (all with triples). That includes the tourer which has a 22t inner ring paired with a road dérailleur. It does take more to set them up initially, but one the limits are set the change seems safe enough.

I wonder if the fact all my bikes are 7/8sp has an effect?
 
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pkeenan

pkeenan

Über Member
Location
Glasgow
Gearing is obviously down to preference. And ease of shifting is down to context and how well maintained the gears are, so surely it's hard to generalise this...?

RE Lights - Just looked up both the Hope Vision 1, and the IXON via the linky - these both look pretty good (thanks for the recommendations!) Working on standard battery sizes seems the way to go, methinks - so either of these would be pretty ideal.

I'm (slowly) warming to the possibility that I might not need to purchase a brand new dynamo. Yay!
 

frank9755

Cyclist
Location
West London
@ Frank - I can't remember the last time I shipped a chain on any of my three bikes (all with triples). That includes the tourer which has a 22t inner ring paired with a road dérailleur. It does take more to set them up initially, but one the limits are set the change seems safe enough.

I wonder if the fact all mu bikes are 7/8sp has an effect?

I think it would.

The chain gets dropped off the middle ring by a mech that is quite a long way above it and it sometimes misses. 10 speed chain, being lighter and narrower than 7/8 might be more likely to bounce off. I've got a 7-speed with a triple and don't recall ever having the chain come off on a downshift (although I don't use it on harder rides). It doesn't happen that often with my 9-speed but it was a problem when I had it on the 10-speed. Mick has either 10 or 11 (Campag).
 
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