Originally Posted by
globecanvas
Thanks for the tip! I have the tool (actually I have the enduro version which seems better because it clamps itself to the crank). I may bend your ear when I get around to actually doing this.
I wonder how tedious the swap is, compared to changing cassettes? Is it reasonable to change out the spider-ring for different races?
it's more annoying to remove the hollowgram crank arm from the spindle than to remove the spider, IME. it's just annoying as you have to remove the bolt and the tiny washer, then use the separate tool to back off the arm. if you have the appropriate tool removing the spider is quite easy. it's also easy then to tighten the crank bolt and put the arm back on. i don't pull crank arms that often, but i prefer designs that don't require a separate tool to do it (e.g. shimano, specialized).
i wouldn't want to make the swap daily, but periodically it is totally fine.
Originally Posted by globecanvas
That's interesting... I just yesterday read this on the Hed web site:
[/FONT][/COLOR]But, I have also heard it's bad to use the same pads for alu and carbon rims, because there can be aluminum shards in the pads that will tear up the carbon braking surface. I have no personal experience with carbon wheels, but I am looking at picking up some Stingers so I was just reading up on this.
IME, the shimano blue carbon pads work best on the h3c; not sure about the stinger. the h3c has a pretty damn hard braking surface, so it needs a tougher pad.
also, as for an earlier comment re: carbon not having great braking properties, lately i've been alternating between zipp FC wheels (w/ platinum pads) and shimano DA wheels with alu braking surfaces (c35 w/ DA pads). i think that the zipp setup brakes BETTER in dry conditions.