Narhay

Received my Windsor Wellington 2.0 from bikesdirect a few weeks ago and have since put on about 300km. I figured now that I have some experience with it, I would post a review. It is not the lightest bike I have ever ridden, but it is solid, the shifting is snappy and it has held up very well to what I have put it through. The braking is not on a dime but it is acceptable. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a decent bike far above department store standards.

I have added a rear rack as the bicycle has braze-ons, fenders, a Filzer bike computer (cheap but maybe the best $18 I have spent in the recent past) and MEC front USB charged light and rear light. I have also picked up 2 nashbar waterproof panniers for the rear to hold my change of clothing and some tools in case of repair. So far, so good. I use it almost exclusively to commute to and from work, about 10km each way on Vancouver's mountainous terrain. The bicycle cost me $350 and I have no regrets with the limited investment and the quick payback time by not purchasing fuel or a bus pass, as well as the exercise of course. My favourite part of my commute is overtaking road bikers that take themselves too seriously . It might be blasphemy to have put all these accessories on to some, but to me my bicycle is all about utility, practicality and enjoyment.

Here are some photos:

ThinLine

Nice bike, very utilitarian, rugged and looks kinda cool.
Good luck with it!

mlugo

Nice rack, what brand is it?

rebel1916

Yes, please tell us more about these fascinating occurrences.

rudypyatt

Neat. I've been wondering about the Wellington series, though I've been considering going one step down to the Wellington 1.0. I have a Windsor TimeLine, and I've been toying with having my LBS put a 3-speed IGH onto it. It may be worthwhile just to get the a Wellington 2.0 or 1.0.

Narhay

For the extra $50 I would get the 2.0 with the thumb shifters and more gears. To me it would be worth it.

Narhay

I've been riding the bike commuting during weekdays and my odometer is at about 700km. It has started to rain here so I have been through a few showers on the way to and from.

I had the bike in for a tune up as I was experiencing chain rub in the highest 3 gears. There is a bit of rub in cross chained gears now but it is quite alright. The black paint on the rim where the brakes clamp has rubbed off, leaving a silver surface.

Wheels have remained true since day 1 and I've had good control and traction on the ground. The rear derailleur or the rear cassette 'clicks' when the chain is moving. This drives me a bit nuts as I haven't been able to isolate the issue but it may be that the chain is touching the the metal chain guards/guides on the rear derailleur that hold those 2 little sprockets. Any advice on how to open these a bit so they aren't close enough to rub?

The braking power of the bike is marginal. It does brake ok when dry but now that it is wetter, I am not that confident in the stopping power. I am looking at some new brake pads like kool stop salmons or aztec2 to see if these will improve performance. Any idea which model of kool stop would fit my bike?

Shifting is quick and snappy. Sometimes when I pedal backwards, the rear derailleur shifts several gears. Not sure what is going on there.

Other than braking which may be improved by new pads and the clicking which I hope to cure, everything has been going quite well and I am very happy with the bike.

I have purchased pd a520 clip less pedals and some shimano Mtb shoes which have worked out well. I have some rain gear coming in the mail hopefully tomorrow. The fenders have been great in the rain and they don't rattle or rub the wheel. The rack is great, there is no heel strike and the nashbar panniers are fully waterproof.

The saddle is ok, there may be something better out there but I have gotten used to this one for now. Not the best, not the worst.

melvinator

Mine is doing the same taking it in for a tune up today. This is actually expected if its on the largest chain ring and on the largest cog in the back.

I havent been so lucky getting them trued today.

You sure its from the rear derailleur? I heard a similar noise and it was coming from the crankset.

Please report back on this! the breaking is not the greatest on mine either (actually went through a bush.. long story)

I dont get why this happens to me too! hopefully after its tune up today that goes away.

How do you like clip less pedals? hesitant to purchase some.

that was my first purchase. I bought a ISM ADAMO TT saddle, day and night difference.

clarkbre

Narhay:

Thanks for the update. I am currently working on putting a 2009 Motobecane Mirage Sport back on the road. From the specs on BD, it looks like our bikes are very similar. I will be looking for some of these issues as I start riding mine.

rogerstg

Project much?

There's no need for you to take cycling so seriously, just enjoy the new bike.

RB1-luvr

bike looks great with the black rack and fenders.

Narhay

Thanks all. I finally got the fenders perfectly centred on the front wheel. OCD was kicking in. I had a flat last night so tomorrow I will give the bike a wash and change the tube.

Totoboa

The Wellington 3.0 gets you the headset upgrade and a carbon fork for $50, pretty good deal. Same components and frame. LOLZ on the flat. Went almost a year on my Windsor original tires until last week. I will unhesitatingly recommend the cleat type shoes and pedals. They just work better. Also had my first fall over in the clips, no harm, but I am still cussing myself out at how stupid that was. Mountain bike shoes and cleats seem easier and better to walk in, my $0.02.

Edit: Noticed Narhay shoes and cleats the Shimano 520 MTB, same ones I got, Specialized shoes.

cmill189

Pull the hubs apart and check the grease. A friend of mine has that exact bike and it was making a squeaking sound from the rear hub. It was completely dry and adjusted too tight. They're cheap hubs with crappy seals, so if you're riding in the rain, do it sooner rather than later.

Totoboa

My shop said the same thing regarding the hubs, virtually no grease as sent in the box from China, and drop shipped from Texas. Can't wait to replace the stock wheels with lighter better ones.

Narhay

I will endeavour to grease the hubs at some point just as part of regular maintenance but I don't believe the noise is coming from there. The noise occurs only when I pedal and the chain moves. The flat came after biking through a rainstorm and over leaves strewn across the path hiding a large rock. I don't think I will spend more money on this bike for upgrades. I will use it until it either breaks or I find I want something more advanced. I can just swap all my accessories over but I am calculating this bike out in terms of how much I save per month commuting instead of driving or taking the train.

Narhay

So, the potential cause of my braking woes may have been remedied. The cable tension was fine, the brake lever was fine, the rims are aluminum and the calipers were squeezing.



After 850km, my brake pads had disintegrated into literally nothing. The two at the back no longer had rubber compound, it was the metal holder that was keeping me from flying into cars. Granted, 190lbs on wet, sandy roads and the hill ridden landscape of the Pacific Northwest in Canada doesn't help. I put some Kool-Stop brake pads on. At first, I balked at the cost as they were at least double any other competitor. I have the 2 coloured compound on there now, I will put the salmon-only replacements on when these wear out. So far, I was able to skid my tires no problem in my parking garage but we'll see about real world stopping distance improvements. Also cleaned up the bike from the brake pad dust and road filth, pumped the tires and cleaned and lubed the chain.

Narhay

I have reached the 1000km mark with the bicycle. The new brake pads are an improvement but I have the two colour kool stop pads on, not the all salmon. I imagine the salmon pads will improve efficiency over time in the rain. The rear derailleur is skipping gears periodically in the middle of the cassette. I will see if the barrel adjuster will help at all. Other than that, the bike is doing quite well and I have few complaints. I have begun coveting some lighter bikes with higher end components but for now I am ok with my boat anchor. The saddle pushes in all the wrong spots but people complain about saddles like people do about politicians...I may see if a different one may improve my comfort.

Today I had my first spill...I tried to bunny hop a small curb with a wooden retaining wall in a torrential downpour this morning to avoid a truck that was parked perpendicular to the street. Tire slipped to the side and down I went, in perfect biking form clipped in lying on the sidewalk. Bruised ego mostly.

The bike has held up well. I got some cone wrenches and was going to grease the hub bearings. What grease are you guys using? I found some at my hardware store called white lithium but it seemed to be more liquid than solid.

adclark

Phil Wood waterproof grease is what I use. It is a bit on the expensive side but holds up really well in my experiences.

hhnngg1

Those are some jacked up brake pads. Man, even after 1000 miles, my brake pads don't look like that!

Narhay

It might be he rim chewing up the pads. I've noticed extra wear on the new ones. It doesn't help that it more or less rains everyday and the bike is covered in a fine layer of silt.

Totoboa

Your bike really isn't a boat anchor. The bare frame is probably within a pound and a half of a carbon fiber. Everything on it is upgradeable. All ya gotta do is throw $2,000 worth of Campy on it and you will have a 17 lb bike.

Narhay

There are definitely a few parts I could see that an upgrade would reduce the weight. The front forks are steel, the seatpost is heavy, and the stem is a pretty solid chunk of metal.

Tonight I am around 1150 km. I took the wheels off and did some hub maintenance. The grease in the hubs already was ok...not great and not hugely plentiful but it was ok. What was weird was that three of the four bearing tracks had clearish white grease, the last had an odd brown yellow. Maybe they ran out and switched grease.

I bought a tube of finish line grease, got very excited about it and have re packed 10 wheels over the past few days. We will see if this improves my average speed.

Two of the wheels I replaced were "vintage" rescues, aka filthy and neglected for probably 40 years. It felt really good to scoop and scrub that filthy tar out of the bearing tracks and bearings and repack with the new grease. The other wheels had conditions between that and this bike, which was the cleanest and smoothest. It appealed to my OCD.

hhnngg1

I seriously doubt that that bike with pedals and wheels is less than 24 pounds at that price point, but I could be wrong on that. I had a bike with similar spec before and with wheels it was near 30 lbs.

qcpmsame 

Nice bike, you have a good solid commuter build there. The Kool Stop pads in the dual compound went on my bike two weeks ago, they make a good bit of difference from the stock SRAM Rival pads, much surer stopping for my riding needs. +1 for the Phil Wood waterproof grease, I use Bel-Ray waterproof grease for my maintenance work. it sounds like your hubs' grease got some water in it, the brownish/white grease is contaminated stuff. Hope you continue to enjoy the bike, at that price you got a good deal.

Bill