New to cycling

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by DBourne

Ultegra pedals on campag cranks! Don't let the "purists" see you!!!

I've never used campag stuff. What are the differences in feel and operation, compared to Shimano?

I know, I have a set of Look Keo's here so perhaps I had better put them on. Although I prefer the Shimano pedal.

I will write up a bit of a review about the groupset, wheels and tyres soon when I have done a few more rides and more used to them (particularly the groupset).

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by DBourne

Ultegra pedals on campag cranks! Don't let the "purists" see you!!!

I've never used campag stuff. What are the differences in feel and operation, compared to Shimano?

You are a bad person, now you have me thinking of new pedals. Not because of the Campagnolo Purist thing but just because now I am looking at something lighter and better.

I won't go Looks as they are hard to clip into and they tend to squeak a lot when the cleats get any wear.

Seriously looking at Speedplay though as they have good weight and their float system seems to be the best around.

[Danny]

^^ This.

I've got LOOK pedals and an Ultegra Groupset, It was extremey hard on my OCD when I picked up the pedals, but I got them for a good price.

[DBourne]

Same as me, Danny, look pedals with Ultegra groupset (and soon to be look pedals on 105 groupset for my commuter)

[NTF6]

Another crash today !!

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by NTF6

Another crash today !! image

ouch.

[prydey]

Originally Posted by NTF6

Another crash today !! image

+4 on the ouch. Bet some choice words were used.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by NTF6

Another crash today !! image

Yeah that's a nice one lol.

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by prydey

+4 on the ouch. Bet some choice words were used.

That's only some of it, there was more on my quad too. Not sure if the shin damage is from the rocks or my new pedals!

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by NTF6

That's only some of it, there was more on my quad too. Not sure if the shin damage is from the rocks or my new pedals!

Hope its not serious and you heal up fast. Nothing worse than having a crash and being off the saddle for weeks on end.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by NTF6

That's only some of it, there was more on my quad too. Not sure if the shin damage is from the rocks or my new pedals!

Looks like a pedal bite to me, what pedals are you using? The lacerations look evenly spaced like the teeth on a pedal.

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by geckoGT

Looks like a pedal bite to me, what pedals are you using? The lacerations look evenly spaced like the teeth on a pedal.

Blackspire, 20 pins per pedal. Although the the rock I went down on looked like a thousand bread knives.

[mik]

I'll see you and raise ya an elbow, two shoulder ligaments and a grazed hand .

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by mik

I'll see you and raise ya an elbow, two shoulder ligaments and a grazed hand .

Ooh a nice good friction burn, they hurt like hell and take ages to heal.

[mik]

Originally Posted by NTF6

Ooh a nice good friction burn, they hurt like hell and take ages to heal.

indeed mate , taking a while to heal to i might add(maybe im just getting old ? ),
i would not have thought before hand that taking a fall on loose sandy stuff would do so much damage, i dont think i was going overly fast when i hit the deck , estimate probably 15 kph ? looking at it on the plus side a bit of a tumble and some pain gave me a reminder it hurts when you crash and to be a little more cautious on future rides.

[blueoval]

Originally Posted by mik

I'll see you and raise ya an elbow, two shoulder ligaments and a grazed hand .

Geez mate.

[mcnews]

I did a great pedal 70km loop in Mallorca today on a hired bike. Was epic. One of my best rides ever. Cycling mecca. Trevor Hedge on Strave if you want to check out route and some pics as putting pics here is too painful.

[mik]

these things happen mate, all par for the course Shav , we take in stride (cry out of sight when no ones looking )
on a brighter note , what a magnificent day for getting out on the bike today , i try and not go the same routes every day , and best of intentions try and do 20 + k`s every time i go out, i dont always manage to to do it, just dont feel up to it sometimes,

lately my average has probably been about 17 + , but the last few days ive cracked it for low twentys , did 27 ish k`s today , average speed 20.2 kph , a little better than my usual.

As i mentioned not going the same way , i tried a different route today that took me from reservoir north to , jacana, glenroy, north coburg, east reservoir, thomastown , then back to reservoir north with some different roads and bike paths , and at the end of it while feeling a little puffed i actually felt like i could have gone another 10 or 15 k`s , so i think my fitness level is coming up , i can even notice the hills are disappearing with a bit more speed, so im pretty happy all around at the moment .
I think my bike is set up pretty good now as well which no doubt is helping,
i bought some nice alloy mountain bike down hill pedals the other day as the cheapie 10 dollar made in china oem ones where clicking and grinding annoyingly.
im pretty happy with the new big pedals, they suit my size 14 boot, and have nice pins to stop feet slipping off, they look like they are serviceable too,
but im not sure on that one,
Pinner dh flat pedal 362 if any one is interested in a nice big flat pedal with no bells and whistles, a little on the pricey side though $129 i paid..

[blueoval]

These crashes remind me of this

[mik]

i hate to even look at bones breaking , had my share off them , pain does hurt :( .

[Whitey-AMG]

On a lighter note folks....
Beaut ride up through the hills. Lord of the rings soundtrack on my earphones and a perfect view. Got off the bike and just sucked it all in and escaped for a while....

[prydey]

Originally Posted by Bluey-GT

escaped for a while....

thats what its all about. escaping for an hour or 4. I'm lucky in that i live right on the edge of suburbia, and less than 5km from my door i'm in the sticks. great to just get out and clear the head sometimes.. or just plain enjoy the view.

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by mik

these things happen mate, all par for the course Shav , we take in stride (cry out of sight when no ones looking )

on a brighter note , what a magnificent day for getting out on the bike today , i try and not go the same routes every day , and best of intentions try and do 20 + k`s every time i go out, i dont always manage to to do it, just dont feel up to it sometimes,



lately my average has probably been about 17 + , but the last few days ive cracked it for low twentys , did 27 ish k`s today , average speed 20.2 kph , a little better than my usual.



As i mentioned not going the same way , i tried a different route today that took me from reservoir north to , jacana, glenroy, north coburg, east reservoir, thomastown , then back to reservoir north with some different roads and bike paths , and at the end of it while feeling a little puffed i actually felt like i could have gone another 10 or 15 k`s , so i think my fitness level is coming up , i can even notice the hills are disappearing with a bit more speed, so im pretty happy all around at the moment .

I think my bike is set up pretty good now as well which no doubt is helping,

i bought some nice alloy mountain bike down hill pedals the other day as the cheapie 10 dollar made in china oem ones where clicking and grinding annoyingly.

im pretty happy with the new big pedals, they suit my size 14 boot, and have nice pins to stop feet slipping off, they look like they are serviceable too,

but im not sure on that one,

Pinner dh flat pedal 362 if any one is interested in a nice big flat pedal with no bells and whistles, a little on the pricey side though $129 i paid..

Those pedals look pretty sexy, huge platform but I reckon I'd wipe them out with the amount of pedal strikes I do!

[mik]

Originally Posted by NTF6

Those pedals look pretty sexy, huge platform but I reckon I'd wipe them out with the amount of pedal strikes I do!

Yes they do feel like they may be a bit more prone to a pedal strike, I am being a tad more cautious with them.

[DBourne]

Picked up my Defy, for commuting, today.

Defy-1 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

Defy-2 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by DBourne

Picked up my Defy, for commuting, today.

imageDefy-1 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

imageDefy-2 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

That is a very nice commuter, what do you think of the disc brakes?

[NTF6]

Originally Posted by DBourne

Picked up my Defy, for commuting, today.

imageDefy-1 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

imageDefy-2 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

I would park that up in my bedroom!!

[DBourne]

Originally Posted by NTF6

I would park that up in my bedroom!!

Thanks mate. I think the propel kills it in the looks department, but definitely looks better in person than I thought it would..

Originally Posted by geckoGT

That is a very nice commuter, what do you think of the disc brakes?

I think they need more use before they are run in, so I'll reserve my proper opinion on them until then.

However, they work fine, and I'm glad to know if it rains that I'll have the same stopping power, rather than just praying I slow down.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by DBourne

Picked up my Defy, for commuting, today.

imageDefy-1 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

imageDefy-2 by Dave Bourne, on Flickr

I have a 2014 Defy Advanced 0 and have been pretty happy with it. I would like to replace it with a 2016 Defy SL in a perfect world.

[geckoGT]

I have a few rides on it now and fiddled with a few things so it is time for thoughts on the new groupset and wheels.

At the start I really should point out that I am comparing a 2003 Shimano Dura Ace 9 speed groupset to a Campagnolo Record 11 speed groupset so not really a fair comparison. I will give my thoughts on the individual aspects of the groupset and its function. First off the change in groupset shaved about 500gm off the weight of the bike.

Some interesting results came out of this in that the cranks were not considerably lighter than my old FSA carbons although the new cranks included BB bearings and half the axle where the old set up runs a full octalink BB. The difference in the octalink Dura Ace BB and the Campagnolo BB cups is 174gms to 44gms so in the end the old set up was 781 gms and the new Campagnolo is 704gms. Not a big saving there and one that might be attributed largely by the smaller semi compact chainrings. The difference between the two is in the stiffness is massive. I used to think that my Merckx 1xm had a fair bit of BB flex but I now know it was contributed greatly by the flex in the cranks. The new Campagnolo Record crank is markedly stiffer than my old crank. As a bonus the build was easy and lot less fiddly than the Dura Ace BB.

Drivetrain the rear derailleur and shifters are lighter on the Campagnolo, interestingly the Dura Ace front derailleur was actually lighter by 5gms. Also the Ultegra 12-27 9spd cassette was the same weight as the new cassette that is also a 12-27, but to be fair the new one has 2 extra cogs in it. Functionally I have had a fair few messed up shifts due to the difference in the lever layout. On the Dura Ace the small lever behind the brake shifts to a harder gear on the rear, on the Campagnolo the same lever shifts to an easier gear. As a result I have had a few occasions that I have gone the wrong way to an easier gear on descents. That is just teaching an old dog new tricks and the new system is starting to become familiar. The shifters are a comfortable place to rest your hands and the lever layout seems to fit my hands well. The shifts are precise and fast, better than the old Dura Ace but after 12 years of development they should be. A feature I really liked is on the old Dura Ace rear I could go into an easier gear either single of 3 at a time depending on how far I pushed the lever but on going to a harder gear I could only go one at a time. This resulted in me have to click through 6 shifts as I crested hills onto a descent. On the new Campagnolo I can shift to easier gears just the same but I can also shift up to harder gears either singularly or 3 at a time. To do this I just push down on the lever and the more I push the more gears I shift with each click equaling 1 gear. Talking of the clicks, all the shifts involve very noticeable clicks that leave you in no doubt how many gears you are moving. On the front derailleur the shifts are very good, way faster and easier than the old Dura Ace. The old Dura Ace used to require a bit of thought and feel in the lever to execute a clean shift. They also used to require a bit of thought on where you shift, as you would have to back off on the pedal pressure to do the shift. On the Campagnolo the thought is taken it out of it, just hit the lever. The front derailleur does have multiple clicks giving a trim setting to stop the chain from rubbing when on the small ring and the smallest 2 cogs but I find I rarely use it as I tend to swap onto the big ring and larger cogs for an equivalent gear which is my more mechanically sympathetic. In terms of the driveline I have to say the Campagnolo has a clear advantage over the Dura Ace particularly in terms of crank stiffness, front derailleur action and the operation of the shifters.

Brakes are not really much of a change as they both stop well although I was running Swiss Stop pads on the Dura Ace and on the Campagnolo I am using OEM pads. Centering the Shimano brakes is easier and I found the Shimano’s did not require toe in where the Campagnolo like some toe in or they tend to be a bit noisy.

Wheels were another big change as I went from a 2003 Campagnolo Eurus to a 2016 Mavic Ksyrium SLS. Weight was quite a difference at about 300 gms although this was with the 213 gm Continental 4000sII 25mm on the Campagnolo wheels and the 190gm Mavic Yksiom 23mm tyres on the Mavics. One big lesson riding a bike that has fewer noises and does not require the Ipod being turned up to cover them is how many issues your old gear really had. I took the old wheels for a run today with my brakes set how they usually are and I did not realise I had pads dragging due to wheel flex. These wheels never used to flex like that during out of the saddle climbing and I have no doubt it is just age. The new Ksyriums are a lot stiffer with no flex and no pads dragging. They also feel better on climbs with a lot more responsiveness and obvious lighter weight. Would they feel better than a new Campagnolo Eurus? I am not so sure and I suspect they may be very similar. On flat ground there really was not much between the two when holding a steady pace so I suspect the aero of the Campagnolo wheel is a little better but that is not surprising as it has spokes that are half the width of the Mavic’s.

Now for the tyres and the comparison is between my old Continental GP 4000s II in 25mm and the Mavic Yksiom 23mm that came with the wheels. The Mavics run a different compound on the front than the rear, front called Griplink and rear called Powerlink. The rear is a harder compound with a bit more weight in the tyre. On the road they are not bad, very fast and seem very grippy in the dry leading me to have no issues with confidence throwing them through fast corners on some big descents. I have read there are issues with their wet weather grip but I can’ comment as I have not ridden them in the wet (and probably won’t). My issue with them is they are uncomfortable, for a 23mm tyre they look pretty narrow and the back country roads I ride on them they felt harder than my old Conti 23mm tyres with the same 100 psi. I have changed back to my GP 4000 25mm at 100 psi, a lot more comfortable and they feel just as fast on these crap roads. I have little doubt that on good roads in the dry the Mavics might be a bit quicker and accelerate quicker due to the light weight, but in my normal riding the Conti’s do a better job.

So in the end the bike lost nearly 1kg in weight between the group set, the wheels and changing to my lighter USE Alien seat post, which is not a bad result. It makes fewer noises and does everything better. Not only that it now has a bit more wow factor, a nice Italian built Eddy Merckx frame built up with Campagnolo Record is a lovely sight. Yes much cheaper bikes may perform just as well or better but this one puts a big smile on my face as it not only rides well but it is nice to look at too.