ah, ok--so it's not designed for full-length housing internally.

is it just a cable stop? i'd just enlarge that to 5mm so the connector of the e-tube cable fits in. just did that on a MTB a couple weeks ago.

derailleur cable housing is 4mm; brake cable housing is 5mm. e-tube connectors are 5mm (5.02mm for the one i've got here on my desk.)

I don't have Di2, but the only general soldering type I usually give is to make sure you're getting the wire hot enough to wick the solder on properly and not end up with a cold solder.

I haven't soldered lately, but I find it extremely calming, like wheel truing or something. The solder wicks on beautifully, everything is nice and clean, it smells wonderful, it's functional. I love it. I always had the prettiest solder jobs in class. Surface mount is a ton of fun too. It looks like it would be hard, but you just put a bunch of solder on, and then wick a bunch back off with a wick, leaving the right amount.

/geek thread

yep, just a cable stop. i guess by enlarging, a drill would be used? do you happen to know if this may structurally weaken the tube?

agreed on the latter. it is quite calming to do.

of course i don't know the specifics of your frame (which frame is it?), but generally speaking the tubes are hollow and the cable stops have been pressed or bonded in. since that segment you mentioned is designed for inner cables only, i'd bet a good amount of money the tube is just straight-up hollow.

the cable stops would not be structural, then.

if it were me, i'd take a very small drill bit and enlarge the existing hole, then increase the size by 1mm or so (or the imperial equivalent--maybe 3/16") until i reached the smallest size that will allow the e-tube wire.

it's probably a plastic stop. high speed with even pressure should do the trick. a dremel with appropriate bit will work, too.

if you don't own the tools it could be a good way/easy project to justify buying the tools rather than paying someone.

don't forget a small rubber grommet to seal that exit from the frame.

in the time it took me to type this one could have completed it; it's pretty easy.

thanks for typing that up!

i needed a second opinion on whether this would be safe/easy to do.

I had been looking for a replacement front wheel for my Enve 65 tubular as it is very sketch in a cross wind. It is not that it gets pushed so much as it gets buffeted/wobbly in those conditions. I found a Bonty aeolus 50 mm tubular with the new wide rim style for a song on ST. First hard ride today on the shootout with some wind and it is leagues better than the Enve. The braking is slightly better as well, but doesn't hold a candle to alloy of course.

<stoked>

am i the first opinion or the second opinion? do we count your own opinion as #1?

in healthcare usually the 2nd doctor is the 2nd opinion, right?

first opinion is the bike shop, who thought that drilling/widening the exit port shouldn't be too big of a hassle. I wasn't sure if that should be taken with a grain of salt and if there are other factors that need to be considered. I think that if it's indeed a bonded part, than the work becomes a bit less scary.

I've got a Garmin 520 and updated it yesterday with the current version of the software (7.00). I did the first ride with the updated software today on a route with ~2500 feet of climbing - it's what passes for a climbing route in Louisiana. The Garmin under-recorded the elevation change by a factor of about 5; it showed 472 feet. It was also raining for about half of the 3:25 ride.

Has anyone else seen this with the new software update? Would the rain screw it up that much?

the altimeter is a barometric sensor, so rain would screw it up

more annoying is that it reset my display settings...

I think I must have borked up my SRM. Ugh. Battery good, no cadence, no power, so probably reed switch or I fried the board or something. I have a spare but I need to transfer the battery as I used my last good battery in the spider that's not working. Then I need to do the whole weights/scale thing as I don't remember the offset for that one.

Are you sure the 2500' baseline for this ride is correct?

Yup. It's a 34-mile circuit that I've done several times (did a lap and not quite half another, then back, yesterday). It's consistently been about 1700' per lap in the past.

My garmin borks elevation if there is rain, i assume it is related to drastic drops in barometric pressure

Yeah that is pretty common. I have gotten that on a bunch of my Garmins. It also happens if the day starts out really muggy and then gets nice and dry.

Bling mode: Splurged and got myself a S-Works Romin Evo (Upgraded from the Romin Evo Pro, I am "that guy" now). I even broke my caridnal rule about bike maintenance the day before my race and installed it. Thing was amazing, I know I love the Romin Evo but this one has less padding and I love the feel of it. Romin Evos always seemed to have just the right shape but just a bit too much padding. It is sort of annoying that they only make their minimal padding ones in the most expensive version.

I have never had a better saddle than my s-works toupe that I peeled the pleather off and cleaned up. smooth carbon beneath and I couldn't be happier. I hope it never breaks. There's certainly nothing left on it that can wear.

that was a great saddle. i still have one that is pretty banged up, been crashed multiple times....that i put on a hardtail MTB. i dremeled off those triangular tabs on the back. not sure why they were ever there.

Moved battery to other SRM. Checked and made sure cadence worked before I installed crank by moving pick up back and forth over the right spot. Power doesn't work at that point but I did get a random reading. Installed crank. No cadence/power. Arg.

Gotta pay more for less. Seems to be the cardinal rule of bike stuff.

yeah--we should pay less for lighter frames, too. they use less material, right?

[MENTION=360087]dz_nuzz[/MENTION] -- you're gunna be happy. that saddle should last a long time, and if it doesn't spz are very good at swapping out SW products.

Coffers are full again, PM shopping. Wish I needed a standard crank because Jensen has Pioneer left/right 6800 for $800 ($48 back with Active Junky). Not going Stages, would consider Pioneer left only. What does the magnet do for Pioneer? I read you don't need it.

i thought you could easily swap the rings to a 50/34t?

From what I recall, you "Can" swap rings on a Pioneer set, but my understanding is that it is not as simple just unscrewing chainring bolts and putting on new chainrings. The PM contraption gets in the way. I don't remember the details, but it's apparently a pretty complicated ordeal.

Harlan, why not look for a used SRM. I bought one of mine used. It's been solid, and was cheaper than a Stages.

I also don't think you can put compact rings on a standard spider. The BCD on a compact is smaller because they just won't physically fit otherwise.

Another possibility in the same price range would be the Powertap chainring PM. From what I've read they've been solid. They require a five-bolt 110 BCD crank.