Creatre

I shave my arms. I don't think it gives me any aero benefit though. Maybe mentally.

Ygduf

Yeah, I think I'm just going to do it. It'll grow back if I don't like it and now I'm curious.

waterrockets 

Only time I've shaved my arms is right after a crash. I shaved the fresh road rash so I wouldn't have hair in the scabs.

Creatre

It's gonna feel weird the first time. Probably similar to the first time shaving the legs. But now I seriously can't go two weeks without shaving my arms. I feel so gross with arm hair.

revchuck 

Okay, so two of my bikes need bottom bracket bearings - my Look 585 with a 68mm British thread BB, and my Allez with BB30. The Look currently has an Ultegra 6700 BB, and the Allez standard SRAM BB30 bearings. Is there anything measurably (bling =/= measurably) better for about the same price? Conversely, is there any reason not to go to 5700 for the Look?

shovelhd

Shimano threaded BB's are all pretty much the same. The cost difference isn't that much between 5700 and 7900 but either would be fine. I run the SRAM BB30 bearings in my Felt, they're fine too.

revchuck 

Thanks, shovel.

shovelhd

The only bling in this area would be ceramic, and I'd be very careful especially with BB30 as the bearings are pressed in. Any lateral force on the bearings in the races can damage them.

topflightpro

I recently installed a Wheels Manufacturing angular contact bearing bb in my bike. It's PF86 though, and I'm not sure whether angular contact is available for BB30 or external threaded BBs.

Angular contact bearings are supposed to spin better and last longer than regular steel bearings. And they are not quite as blingy as ceramic or Chris King but more so than regular. So far, I've been happy with it.

rbart4506

Time to bring this one back from page #2 !

Getting my parts together for my winter build of a new team bike and scored a pretty darn good deal on a Shimano Ultegra 6800 build kit from Chain Reaction. Only caveat is I had to opt for the medium cage RD instead of the short cage. It was all they had in stock. The medium cage allows me to go up to an 11x32 cassette so it may be handy to have if I decided to do some asinine climbing adventures. For most hilly RRs the 11x28 should be enough or I'm outta my league.

Will there be any noticeable performance difference between the medium cage and short cage RD?

I plan on picking up an 11x25 cassette for flatter races, which is the majority of what we have in Ontario... Hence the question on the short cage RD...

abhirama

I don't have firsthand experience but from what I've heard you'll notice no performance difference. The only con is the small additional weight that comes along with it. Apparently some pros have used med-cage RDs on their bikes for the whole of Giro and Vuelta because it would save the mechanics from switching RDs.

tetonrider

no, you won't notice.

in theory, the longer the cage the slower the shifting. this is minuscule at road speeds/cadences. it's not like you're jumping from a short cage to a MTB super-long cage.

there's a very slight weight difference. you won't notice that either.

cage tension can affect things (another difference you wouldn't notice, but you could measure this one). i believe shimano uses the same spring regardless of cage size (all the ones i've seen are the same at least, so all else equal a longer cage means a longer chain means less tension in the smaller rings means faster times for you.

that said...i just put my wife on a new bike and i moved her from 7900 to di2. i'm going to del her 7900 FD, RD and shifters. they're in amazing shape.

carpediemracing 

The only thing is that you'll have more chain bounce when in the small ring and smaller cogs.

The upper pulley location/position determines shifting accuracy/responsiveness as well as the max cog size. It shouldn't be different between the short and med cage derailleurs because you can adjust pulley position relative to the cogs.

The lower pulley location simply dictates how much chain slack the derailleur can take up. The longer the cage (aka the lower the pulley) the more chain it can take up. This leads to more chain hanging out back and therefore the chain bounces more when in the small ring and the smaller cogs.

Gluteus

What would you have done differently?

This was my first crit this summer (have done 4 RR before, and many fast group rides). The course is a bit less than a mile laps in narrow streets. I had a mechanical problem during the warm up and had to start at the end of the pack (about 40 riders). I tried to get closer to the front, but frankly with that short, narrow course and 4 corners, there wasn't much of an opportunity. After about 10 laps of constant accelerations and decelerations (see blue speed line), I just couldn't keep on trying; eventually I dropped.
The main objectives were achieved (don't crash, finish and don't be last), but I thing I could have finish with the pack, if I just could have avoided the exaggerated accordion effect at the back.

Spinny

Probably tried to position better if I could. Being on the back in a crit usually means being off the back pretty soon. Seems like it was a pretty speedy race.

carpediemracing 

Without more info it's hard to say. However if you moved up a few spots a lap, or maybe a few spots a straight, you'd have been near the front at some point.

The fact that you didn't says to me that you weren't drafting effectively. That forced you to work harder than you needed to, leading to getting shelled. The less effective drafting might have been due to a variety of reasons, like being uncertain when getting close to other riders (I call it the Sphere, the area around your bars and front wheel that are your "personal space", and if the Sphere is too big then you won't do well in a group situation), poor cornering, a crosswind where you didn't read the wind, etc, but that's my first reaction, that you used too much energy when simply holding position.

Of course I get shelled in more technical courses if I'm not minimally fit, so there's that. However even really technical courses (7 turns in a mile, 6 turns in half a mile, etc) I find that there's a rhythm and if I can make it a 5-7 laps in then I can usually hold my own for a while. I've been at the back of 125+ racers on such technical courses and been one of 15 finishers. It's possible, you just have to race smart and use everything you have as best you can. That means cornering super efficiently, being on wheels all the time (a typical goal of mine is to see 60 seconds of wind per hour until the sprint, and that includes gaps off of turns, etc), and soft pedaling or even coasting as much as possible.

It's entirely possible that you were pedaling too far down the long straights. If the speed really did go up and down that much then you might have been able to tail *** quite effectively, meaning you could have been at the back, started coasting a long way before the turn, and barely braked going into the turn, allowing you to get back on at speed without pedaling too hard. 40 riders is a small field so unless it was single file the whole time that should have been possible.

For example, when I was a Cat 2 in 2011, I ended up way less fit than the prior year as a 3. I upgraded because I expected to start a family in 2011 and planned on not being able to race, but when things didn't take right away I ended up with a summer of racing. I did the Tour of Somerville, a Cat 2 only field, a big race for us East Coasters. I averaged 27.5 mph while doing 175 watts or so. I worked harder in the Cat 3 race the prior year. You can see that in the Cat 3 race I was worried about crashing so I stayed near the front (totally unnecessary in most cases), I worked hard to move up, and I paid for it by being so toasted in the sprint I couldn't jump.

The following year, as a 2, I decided to sit back a bit more. I tail gunned, I was soft pedaling at the back, and although, yes, I got delayed by a crash in the last lap, there were at least two more crashes before the finish and there's no guarantee that being up front would have been better. However, the point is that I was in the race, I had legs, and I used less power in the faster Cat 2 race.

Cat 3 race. Note how I'm always pushing to get to the front. 120 racers, give or take. I think avg speed was 26.5 mph. Many of the riders I knew in the race ended up in the hospital that day.

Cat 2 race. I think 80-ish starters. 27.5 mph. Note how I am totally uninterested in moving up. Yes, I get caught behind one big crash, but I'm far enough back to be able to navigate through stuff. Then I get caught behind a crash on the last lap but it was a nutty last lap, apparently with two more crashes.

Gluteus

^
Wow! Thanks!

abhirama

BNIB 2013 Scott Foil HMF frame with 10sp Ultegra for $2300. Good deal? Also, is it hard to get the Foil seatposts with the setback you want?

Ygduf

the men's foil bikes ship with a post that's 15mm setback. Getting the zero setback post is a pain, but maybe they are more plentiful now. I had to beg and get one off a women's frame.

I think that's a fair deal. Is it the 10 or the team issue? Paint is the difference but I like the 10 paint better.

abhirama

Thanks Fudgy. It's the 2013 Foil 20 (it's the lower grade carbon version). The setback provided is size dependant I think. I need a zero but it's specced with a 15 or 20 in size 56 iirc. I'd ideally like to get the HMX version (supposedly lighter, stiffer) but I can't seem to find one on sale.

echappist

54 and below gets a zero setback post; 56 and above gets the 25 mm setback post (could be 15 mm). i have a 52 and paid $200 to get the setback post from Scott (via dealer)

2300 is an decently good price. 2000 would be a great price

abhirama

Cool. Thanks! Not sure if I'll end up getting the Foil though. My preference is for something that I can buy online but the frames/bikes I want are mostly only available through LBSs :-/

Hammondc

Can someone clarify the significance of 33 / 41 as they relate to cycling?

revchuck 

The "33" is the racing forum, while the "41" is the road forum. The numbers have no significance outside of Bikeforums.

kindablue

Haven't been around in awhile, but some of ya'll are obsessive as me so...

I'm contemplating of selling my 10 spd red group to upgrade to 11spd DA. The goal would be to stay with the times, try to offload the red group while I can still get a decent price for it. Anyone want to take a stab at what a 10 spd red group is worth (no crank, force calipers)? The group has less than 1 year of riding on it (old new stock at a bike shop), and is the generation before the yaw came out.
I was thinking of listing for 6-700.

I already sold my old 404s to get rid of the 10 spd race wheels before they lost too much value, so the # of wheelsets is just one simple fulcrum 7 set.

Worth it, or should I just ride the red stuff into the ground? FWIW I actually love the red stuff, I always ride an 11-28 cassette.