I don't, but they usually do a sale around Black Friday if you can wait it out.

Hey had a post about getting a new bike but wanted to ask does anyone have anything to say about kilo tt pro??? my friend is saying its a killer deal.

It is an online bike that you will have to build yourself or pay a shop to put together and tune. It is called a Kilo TT Pro and uses a old school 1" threadless steerer tube (fewer fork options) and relatively low end parts (but high end for the Kilo). The bike isn't a bad bike but isn't all that spectacular. Reynolds tubing is good but 520 is a lower end tube set from them.

It has no relation to the original Mercier company and is just a name that Bikes Direct bought out to give some prestige to their online shop. They are also not blowing them out for Mercier or anyone they are just a low overhead company selling relatively cheap bikes to the unsuspecting masses and Mercier is not the same company from a long time ago.

Also according to their website they don't ship till Februaryish. I would rather spend that time buying a nice frame and parts and putting it together over winter, or at least having a winter bike before winter hits.

I recently assembled one for a friend and I agree that it's a great deal. Just have it assembled by someone that knows what they're doing because it arrives in the same condition that bike shops receive their bikes.



https://i.imgflip.com/1e9fwu.jpg

I need recommendations for a carbon fork expander plug that will work with any regular top cap. I'm looking to use this top cap https://shop.mashsf.com/tags/top-caps/

I'm looking at this product https://www.chainreactioncycles.com/bbb-powerhead-compressor-adjuster-bap03/rp-prod29884?gs=1&sku=sku152358&pgrid=54137515364&ptaid=pla-432046196762&utm_source=google&utm_term=&utm_campaign=PLA%2BAll%2BProducts&utm_medium=base&utm_conte nt=mkwid%7Cs2t7eNowb_dc%7Cpcrid%7C253659801802%7Cpkw%7C%7Cpmt%7C%7Cprd%7C152358US




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Fitting a top cap on an expansion plug system is no different than a star nut system. They are standardized across most brands. Unless it is some weird, proprietary design, they accept the same top cap bolt as a star nut.

I'm using the Specialized plug. It is long and supports the entire stem. $9.99 at Amain Cycling. They are a legit shop. I've ordered from them several times and run two of these plugs.

https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...4514281450.jpg

Tightening the large bolt inside the plug expands the plug so that it grips the inside of the steerer. The large bolt is hollow and threaded on the inside. The top cap bolt screws down into the center of the large bolt in the same way it would screw into a star nut. There really isn't a difference.

https://cimg2.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...829ba8237a.jpg

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...8f65887619.jpg

I actually didn't use the ENVE plug which came with the ENVE fork because I think the Specialized plug offers more support for the stem. The ENVE plug is on the right.

I'd just send the ENVE plug to you if I could find it. :foo:

https://cimg8.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...ae36f46c52.jpg

I kept seeing things like the FSA plug that uses a proprietary top cap and then I couldn't tell with others if they did or didn't use something proprietary. I did order then one I linked to

If you had a pretty nice, NEW, lugged, 1" threaded, 4130 trackend frameset in RAW, slathered in gun oil and bagged to preserve it; that you had to sell...

Would you leave it as is and take a lower price? Or have it cleaned and powder-coated to hopefully make it easier to sell, and at a higher price?

TIA...

I've been hanging onto it for too long for no good reason other than being too lazy to do anything else with it, and my general belief that it doesn't hurt to keep spares on hand. But at my wife's urging, I've decided to clear out some of the extraneous clutter around our place, the bulk of which according to her, consists of my bike odds and ends. Truth be told, she's right - most of this stuff will never be used so yeah, I have to sell it but don't mind so much.

So yes, the crux of the matter is - will I recover all or even most of the "investment," especially if it makes it easier to sell?

I half-heartedly tried selling it once before and the low-ball offers for it due to its current state were almost insulting. I had thought it being raw would be a pretty cool selling point, but then it seemed to turn out that raw frames/bikes had their time in the sun a few years ago and are no longer very popular.

Thus my dilemma :o

My gut would have agreed with you about the raw finish being a cool selling point, but I guess we're weird.

Early Googling indicates that I can use pretty much whatever brake levers I want with cantis -- true? I was thinking of using some drops with TRP levers that I already for my CX bike with canti brakes.

Generally cantis are a short pull brake so you should be good with the TRP drop bar levers. If you are using linear pull or want to do so TRP makes a road compatible set that are short pull.

Cool, thanks!

Anytime, bud!

Installing a chain on a Kilo tt. The videos I saw say to move the rear wheel to the front of the dropout before sizing the chain. When I do this, the tire hits the frame, should I go ahead and move up the wheel like that, then install the chain?

Dave

Dave, that's perfectly fine. Proceed with the next step of the video. Kilo dropouts are very generous with length.

This is probably a no-brainer, should I take a link out? The wheel is as far back as it will go in the dropout.

If you don't plan on messing with your gearing, yes.

If you think you might go to a smaller gear (larger cog or chainring) anytime soon, then no.

Installing a chain:
1- Fasten the wheel in the middle of the dropouts.
2- Wrap the chain around the chainring and cog to see how long you need it.
3- Remove links as necessary.

Thanks. I probably overthought it. Took another link out, and now it sits a lot better in the dropout. I'll probably have to change chains later on when swapping out the cranks, but will worry about that later :) Time to get this bad boy on the road!

Dave

Now you got the right idea.

Messing with my bike psetup. Tried my FG with bullhorns. Nice, but could be better. Tried today the highest climb in town, with dropbars and normals shoes, strapless. HATED. The position in the hoods for me were horrible, even if the drops were nice. Just as a experiment, I stole the handlebar from my MTB (a chopped Easton riser), and tossed a 110mm stem. AMAZING. I always tought the long handlebars on FG looked a bit stupid (specially since I commute in traffic), but it's so fun!! Felt like a kid with a bmx :P

So, I will use long riser handlebars and normal shoes. I was getting knee pain for inproper position, and no matter how much I tried, it won't work. I put the flat pedals and I tought I would remove those as soon as I got new pedals and shoes and got a bike fit, but I believe i will keep then. No knee pain, and it is just pratical for city riding. I don't care right now about the power loss or skids; So my questions:

1 - Rode with double brakes and without straps. Worked fine, but will I die soon? In one of the descents, my feet slided on the pedal, but not enough to lose contact. The short time I used straps I don't like it that much (maybe because I think it would be a magical device and I would be able to pull like a clipless setup :P ) Should I be on the safe side and buy new pedals and straps (my flats won't works with straps)?

2 - As said above, I will use both brakes and a mtb bar. Wich modern lever support road calipers? I got some MTB levers here, or I can buy some secondary levers (cyclocross style) and mount in the position of normal levers. Would that work? I just need some stopping device wich I can buy here in Brazil. Later on I can buy some nice levers in Ebay.

Thanks in advance.

Tried googling to answer this but am failing to find an answer. Does anyone know if there's a way to use a retro BMX style 3 piece crank like the GT Power Series (link below) or Redline Flite cranks on a bike with a standard 68mm bb shell? Just intrigued by the idea of adding a little old school BMX flair to my bike.

https://www.ridebmx.com/product/part...series-cranks/