Triban 3 Owners Club

[Deleted member 20519]

OK folks, well today I decided to have a look at our hubs - all 4 and was not impressed.

see here http://www.cyclechat.net/threads/what-have-you-fettled-today.87079/post-2251210

If you want to check yours you will need flat 15mm & flat 17mm spanners. Seems there are different grades of bearing being used. Mine have survived the mess, my OH's have not. My bike was purchased very end Aug 2012 , his was purchased very end of July 2012. I can see why some people don't want to go out in winter or rain now!

I've gone through 3 sets of wheels which have been replaced under warranty, definitely getting new ones ASAP

 

[Alembicbassman]

Interesting you had 3 sets of wheels under warranty. I couldn't even get £5 out of the Sheffield branch for a replacement axle and cones. They refused to budge despite me talking to the cycle dept manager. Needless to say I bought my next bike from Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Op 400 yds down the road.

 

[Lancj1]

I have been having a bit of a mooch around web sites today, as the weather has been rubbish. We all seem to be wanting to get new wheels and tyres, so thats a given. When the rest starts wearing out what are we going to do ? Its actually not that expensive to buy 105 front and rear mech, shifters and chainset.

Now whilst I think buying a Triban and immediately upgrading is silly - you would probably be better spending the money on a more expensive bike at the time,, a gradual process would actually get you a really good machine. Looking at Evans, you could get 105 compact chainset, front and rear mech and shifters for less than 400 quid.

Is this your plan - I think its mine

 

[Jenkins]

...I'll be riding my current wheelset into the ground and then upgrading..

That's what I did after one year and somewhere around 2500+ miles, but it was used in all weathers. I'm currently using these wheels as a cheap upgrade.

 

[Chescadence]

That's what I did after one year and somewhere around 2500+ miles, but it was used in all weathers. I'm currently using these wheels as a cheap upgrade.

Yea- the wheels are definitely the only down side to the T3, can't have everything though eh?

Those wheels don't look a bad upgrade, 1900g isn't too bad at all; I read somewhere- from a couple of people- that weighed the triban T3 wheels at around 2.5/3kg..saving yourself decent weight for not a lot of money there.

C

 

[Chescadence]

I have been having a bit of a mooch around web sites today, as the weather has been rubbish. We all seem to be wanting to get new wheels and tyres, so thats a given. When the rest starts wearing out what are we going to do ? Its actually not that expensive to buy 105 front and rear mech, shifters and chainset.

Now whilst I think buying a Triban and immediately upgrading is silly - you would probably be better spending the money on a more expensive bike at the time,, a gradual process would actually get you a really good machine. Looking at Evans, you could get 105 compact chainset, front and rear mech and shifters for less than 400 quid.

Is this your plan - I think its mine

I don't think it's mine, my plan is as follows:

Ride current wheel set into the group (we already knows it's not fantastic); I will then replace it with a better set with some nice new tires on it- after that, the bike will be left as it is for a while until such point I can afford an upgraded bike, saving the £400 I would spend on upgrades to the T3.

This plan gives me two things:

1) A better "Best" bike maybe £800-1000; good second hand bike or whatever.
2) A bloody good winter training bike/commuter in the T3.

C

 

[Acyclo]

Greetings fellow Tribonians! Bought mine on 7th Oct 2011. Since done 4500 miles ON THE ORIGINAL wheels, which are now worn down to the wear limit on the flanges. Changed the OEM tyres straight away for Specialized All Condition Armadillos, then, when they wore out Bontranger Race Lite Hard Case.

I've just got some new cheap wheels off Ebay for winter. Also a bunch of chains (change early, change often).

All good.

 

[Radchenister]

Yep, me too:

 

[martin122]

had my triban3 since august2012 and love it. going to upgrade the wheels and tyres this year. I have changed the stem for a shorter one for ride comfort and no more back ache now

 

[smokeysmoo]

They will last longer if you get some grease into there.

Hey SNSSO, would you say this is really beneficial on the stock wheels, or are they just pants regardless?

I'm only asking as a guy at work is expecting to get his T3 he bought off ebay tomorrow, and I've advised him to do exactly this from reading your posts.

The bike was advertised as ridden once and basically new, and with the weather we've got forecast over the coming days he's going to struggle to get out on it anyway, so I figured some preventative hub maintenance won't do any harm at all.

 

[Duckehhh]

only upgrade at the moment im looking at is possibly changing the shifters to a tiagra(or higher) 9 speed, and changing the cassette and chain. i do not like the stock shifter with the thumb button. my understanding is the rear derailer should be working fine if i do make these changes

 

[SatNavSaysStraightOn]

Hey SNSSO, would you say this is really beneficial on the stock wheels, or are they just pants regardless?

I'm only asking as a guy at work is expecting to get his T3 he bought off ebay tomorrow, and I've advised him to do exactly this from reading your posts.

The bike was advertised as ridden once and basically new, and with the weather we've got forecast over the coming days he's going to struggle to get out on it anyway, so I figured some preventative hub maintenance won't do any harm at all.

Since I put grease in the hubs on Saturday, both my husband and I have blitzed our normal times & speeds despite the fact we are taking it easy on the roads because of the icy conditions here (no snow yet - due tomorrow). We did 45 miles on them on Sunday and I even got a compliment from my OH regarding his bike, saying it felt smoother & quieter than it has ever done. Yesterday's 36 miles on icy roads (mostly back lanes though I did bale to a dual carriage way for one nasty section (inconsiderate motorist defrosting their car with water on a 10% gradient makes an ice-rink even I have no wish to venture anywhere near to)) showed 7 "cups" on strava (now only showing 6 for some reason) including 2 fastest times for me since starting to use Strava back in November. Now I don't race - that is madness for me with my asthma & bad leg, not to mention the panniers I am usually carrying.



My averages are back up by 2-3kph without me even trying and it feels easier, the wheels feel sooooooo much better that I personally would say strip them & grease them even if they are the stock wheels because the worst that can happen is they improve! You will also get to see exactly how true the person on ebay was being and he will be able to practice on wheels that don't cost much rather than newer wheels later one. We also found that in my husband's hubs the qualtiy of the bearings was much lower than those in mine - the bearing in his hubs were pitted & rusted where as mine despite having the same amount of crap in them and having done twice the distance were actually fine. His front hub had also been overtightened so the wheel was grating a touch and not spinning as freely as it could have been, mine rear was the reverse, it was too loose and now has a knock that I can't cure. Ideally I need to replace the bearings & the cones in his hubs, but despite that just having cleaned them and packed them with grease, they are considerably better than they were ever even new.

 

[smokeysmoo]

Cheers Em, it's just arrived actually and we're due snow too so we might as well get some grease on their early so he can as much life out if them as possible

 

[star84]

Im in guys...new T3 owner less than a day old...happi

 

[star84]

I've gone through 3 sets of wheels which have been replaced under warranty, definitely getting new ones ASAP

if i may ask do u knw what the parts warranty covers?