Its finally complete

[biggs682]

Very nice indeed

 

[FishFright]

That's a lovely looking bike and I bet it's seriously comfy.

 

[jowwy]

Just a few small tweaks needee here and there.......

Stem flipped and switched from 90mm to 85mm as the hoods on the etap hydraulics are a tad longer than standard also the zipp bars reach was 3mm longer than the deda zerros....

Saddle has no come back up a little bit as im not over reaching per se

 

[jowwy]

Nice. According to my calculations that's a 27-103 inch gear range off a single chainset. What more could the heart of man* desire?

However it's too small for me. I would have been tempted to hunt you down and steal it otherwise.

* or woman.

i'm trying to decide in he short term until fitness improves and weight drops, do i replace the front 42t with the 38t i have in my spares box.........unsure at the moment

 

[T4tomo]

42-42 is a pretty low bottom gear.only u know for sure but can't see you needing it much lower unless you're loading it with luggage or getting a second set of wheels shod with cx tyres and hitting the gravel tracks (which you possibly should) - it has the makings of a good gravel bike.

 

[jowwy]

42-42 is a pretty low bottom gear.only u know for sure but can't see you needing it much lower unless you're loading it with luggage or getting a second set of wheels shod with cx tyres and hitting the gravel tracks (which you possibly should) - it has the makings of a good gravel bike.

its not really about the 42/42 bottom gear, but also the spread of the other gears and the terrain you ride on, along with wheel/tyre size etc etc..............also i'm currently weighing in at 18st 11lbs and i live in south wales................the 1st 10 miles of my commute home from work sees me climbing circa 1200ft, which is a little over 100ft per mile and its not easy going after a day in work. yes the 42 up front is a pretty good gear, along with the 42, 36, 32 of the next 3 on the cassette. but when your trying to hawl ass up a long continuous climb of circa 3%, with the weight im carrying (circa 120kgs) it can be tough going......and makes it harder to recover for doing at again the next day

just for ref: my commute is a 15 mile each way trip........going in i start with a 3 mile climb with 250ft of climbing, then its all down hill for the next 12 to the office, but on the return its a different matter

lots of people on here complain about riding a 34/32 fully loaded.........and even when fully loaded their bikes weigh a lot less than i do

 

[jowwy]

42-42 is a pretty low bottom gear.only u know for sure but can't see you needing it much lower unless you're loading it with luggage or getting a second set of wheels shod with cx tyres and hitting the gravel tracks (which you possibly should) - it has the makings of a good gravel bike.

as for a 2nd set of wheels with cx tyres.......nope, that what the rigid mtb is for with 47mm wtb horizons or if its mucky wtb nano 2.2s

 

[T4tomo]

give it a whirl with the 38 and see how it feels then, as I said only u know for sure. The SWales hills Could well be a factor! Keep the bit of chain you chop out in case you want to swap back, all it will.cost you is quick link as rereading I see you have a 38T anyway.

 

[SpokeyDokey]

That's a very tasteful looking steed you've built there. Nicely coordinated and I do like a chunky looking fork!

Have many safe and happy miles on the beast.

 

[jowwy]

give it a whirl with the 38 and see how it feels then, as I said only u know for sure. The SWales hills Could well be a factor! Keep the bit of chain you chop out in case you want to swap back, all it will.cost you is quick link as rereading I see you have a 38T anyway.

I honestly think I have more spares than Evans cycles in the bike cave............

 

[jowwy]

i'm going to try it on the commute tmrw with some 650Bs fitted and 47mm WTB horizons - just for fun like

 

[jowwy]

only road this bike for the 2nd time on wednesday fro the commute after completing the build. the rear tyre blew on me again, so thats a 28 and 32mm strada gumwall thats blown the bead after only two rides............so they are no longer on the bike and i'm going back to GP 4 Seasons 32mm

and trialling a set-up of 650B with Strada Ush 42mm tubeless

 

[Ming the Merciless]

What is the internal rim width ? My rims internal is 19c and min tyre width is 28C at no more than 72 psi and recommended 54 psi. Could the tyres be too narrow for your internal rim width, hence blowing bead off.

 

[jowwy]

What is the internal rim width ? My rims internal is 19c and min tyre width is 28C at no more than 72 psi and recommended 54 psi. Could the tyres be too narrow for your internal rim width, hence blowing bead off.

internal is 19 - external 25 - tyre width 32mm, was running them at 70psi rear, 65psi front

they didnt blow the bead off, the bead totally split

 

[jowwy]

Shame cos those gumwalls looked nice.

its the 2nd one ive blown in that brand - the 1st one was on its 1st ride out

clement sent me 2 new ones to replace it and the new replacement has blown 2nd ride in and i wasnt even on the bike when it blew, it was leaning against a gate while i removed my helmet for the ride home on the cycle track........it meant a 13mile walk home from work wednesday eveining, with 1200ft of ascent, good job my mate was home and he came and picked me up at mile 5