[MENTION=164476]Scrodzilla[/MENTION] has just closed his Ask Scrod thread, so I decided to open a new thread that serves the same purpose, but involves the entire SSFG Community, rather than a single individual. There are a lot of knowledgeable people on this forum who can offer helpful and relevant answers to most reasonable questions. By having a single thread, perhaps we can avoid the excess clutter of new threads everytime someone has a question, which has often times been answered previously. If this thread gets a lot of posts, perhaps the forum mods might consider making it a sticky.

Dumb question I can google but don't want to: when trying to maintain fitness level in a time crunch, which is more beneficial; riding 14 miles of level surface on a road bike, or Fixed?

Popular opinion these days seems to be that high intensity gives you the most fitness benefits when you're crunched for time. You could conceivably get the same level of intensity on either bike. I'd think it's more about how you ride those miles than what bike you use.

I'm just starting with clipless and was wanting to get some Shimano A530 pedals for my fixed gear because I don't want to ride clipless all the time. But after my first ride using the M520 pedals it seems like a pedal that is platform on one side and spd on the other would be awkward, especially for someone just starting out with clipless.

Does anyone here have any experience with a pedal like the A530?

I have used the A-530, A-600 and the M-785s. I like all three pedals but I certainly use the different pedals for different purposes.
The A-530s are a great touring pedal because you have the versatility, clipless on one side and a nice platform on the other. For touring it is great in case I don't want to clip in or am wearing different shoes and I am generally not going super fast or anything.

The A-600s are a great single sided road pedal which decently fit the aesthetics of my vintage road bike but allow me to run clipless (since Dura Ace never did an SPD compatible pedal just SPD-R and Look for vintage stuff) They can be a pain having only one side but it is a road bike and road bike pedals are single sided.

M-785s are what I run on my fixed gear, they are dual sided clipless with a platform and are real easy to get into as needed which is handy for fixed or MTB use (which I have also done with them). I wouldn't want to do fixed on a platform pedal again with no foot retention, that got scary on some hills at points when I slipped and couldn't catch back on easily. I can go downhill with much more confidence and get some up strokes as well.

Granted you can find cheaper versions of the A-600s (A-520s) and the M-785s (M-530s and others) but hey you only live once, bling it up, baby.

Hi,

My current setup is a 3/32 freewheel on one side of a flip flop hup, a 1/8 track cog on the other side, a 3/32 chainring, and a 1/8 chain. Mechanically, the 1/8 chain works with either side of the flip flop hub, but it is kind of noisy. I was thinking about switching to a 3/32 chain to quiet things down (and probably changing the track cog to a 3/32 also). Is there any downside to running a 3/32 chain?

Dave

Well there's no probably here, you would need to change to a 3/32" cog if you want to use a 3/32" chain. As to downside, unless the freewheel or chainring are badly worn, you should not have any problems.

The chainring and freewheel are both pretty new and not worn. Maybe i'll wait till the chain stretches then swap out the track cog and go with the 3/32. Thanks,

Dave

Actually, that's a bad strategy. If you let the chain stretch, then it will wear down the teeth on the freewheel and chainring, such that you will be installing a new unstretched chain on a worn freewheel and chainring. Better to make these changes now before anything wears out.

If you pedal the road bike in the same gear and don't coast for the full interval, then there's no difference.

However, that's not a usual scenario, so fixed adds an extra margin of training. How much depends on how much you "cheat" with the road bike.

IME a fixed gear probably makes for the biggest improvement when riding in gently rolling terrain. It imposes the need to increase your effective band for both cadence and force. Folks who rode fixed for a while tend to be very good climbers of "bite sized" hills. Fixed gear riding in hills will also improve your top end cadence, and many of the people who can spin small gears at super high cadence can trace the skill to descending with a fixed gear.

So, while it may not apply for your hypothetical, fixed gear riding is a great way to improve a number of core skills as you become stronger and faster.

This thread is a great idea [MENTION=168526]TejanoTrackie[/MENTION]

I took a measurement of the chain last night, and it is less than .5% wear (can't put the .5% end of the chain tool in the chain). Park recommends replacing the chain at .75% for 9 and 10 ten speed chains, and .5% for 11 and 12 speed chains. What is the replacement point for 1 speed chains?

Dave

Which Park tool do you have ? Mine is the CC-3 and the measurements are .75 and 1.0. Anyways, I replace my chains when they start to run roughly, which is long before to .75 side of the tool fits in the chain.

The only downside is that you're restricted to using 3/32" drivechain components. With 1/8" chain, you can freely mix and match 3/32" and 1/8" components.

I'm using the cc3.2, which has measurements of .5 and .75. I was thinking maybe if I replace the chain at .5, the freewheel and chainring won't be worn yet.

Possibly. Those tools are not super accurate and you need to take multiple measurements at different points, because chains don't wear uniformly. Once the drivetrain starts to get rough and/or noisy, I'd replace the chain regardless of measurement. Chains are a lot cheaper than chainrings.

The Enve clamp on my seat mast topper keeps slipping, causing my saddle to rotate backwards. It's marked for 8Nm max, which wasn't enough to keep the saddle from rotating backward. I set my wrench to 9-ish Nm and tried again, and again it slipped. If I tighten it much more I hear creaking metal. Any have any ideas on what to do?

In the link you posted, the image shows the torque range as 8-12 Nm. Have you contacted No. 22 about this ?

Not yet. I'll check the max torque again when I get a chance, too. If it's really 12Nm, then I'll set my wrench higher and try again, though I probably should ask about the creaking first.

There'should no real guideline for single speed chains. It's simply a question of economics. The chain will run and transmit power up to 3% stretch, which is 6 times the guideline for derailleur chains. At that point you'd replace the chain and sprockets together.

The concerns relating to derailleur systems don't apply to SS unless you're using a strong tensioner on the lower loop.

BTW - if you opt for a 3/32 chain, buy the widest one, ie. One for 6 or 7s, since wider chains are cheaper, and last longer, and you have no reason to go narrow.

I ride the A530's on my touring bike for the reason you described--wanting the option to ride the bike casually around town with whatever shoe, but then clipping in for longer rides. They're a great, versatile pedal in that regard.

For riding fixed, though, I do enjoy having a double sided pedal and not having to think about it. I rode with Shimano A520's for a while, but would get annoyed in traffic when clipping out and trying to clip back in again. It's not the biggest deal, really, but since I already had a pair of M520's I switched back and haven't regretted it. Something about cranks spinning and clipping in with ease just makes it worth it.

My advice: grab a pair of A530's and find out for yourself. You can always switch back to your M520's if you want. Wellgo also makes a fairly popular platform/SPD pedal, too (big fan of the oil port for maintenance): Wellgo R120B Sealed Bearing Road Pedals | Chain Reaction Cycles

I had titanium clip-ons on a motorcycle and experienced creaking (a harsh dry sound) when tightening stainless bolts. I removed the blue factory anti seize from the bolts and greased them. That fixed it.

Might or might not be the same thing you are experiencing. Does the bolt on your post thread into a titanium piece?

The part is labeled 8Nm, and the screw threads into the Aluminium (?) Enve hardware, and not into the Ti saddle mount

Maybe what you are hearing is the friction between the aluminum wedge thingy and the shell as it "expands". Obviously that can't be greased. Maybe some carbon assembly paste is in order here.

I'll go ahead and say this with my flame suit on. I'm a mechanic that only uses torque wrenches on "Pattern" and/or pressurized and gasketed applications. Like on an engine head, to make sure everything is equal. When it comes to a single bolt application I ignore the recommended specs and just trust my hands. I broke and stripped enough fasteners as a kid to learn how to feel tension change and the warning signs of nearing a limit. Torque wrenches do the opposite. They desensitize your hands and teach you to become dependent upon them. If you use the right tool, and the right size tool, you can just ignore those "Warranty liability numbers" and pay attention to what fastener is telling you.

IMO you should be able to keep tightening the bolt until the saddle won't move. If the bolt breaks or the female component strips before the saddle is immobilized, then there is a design flaw (inadequate sized hardware).

I had the m324's (clipless/platform) on my fixed gear and I pretty quickly got used to finding the right side. However it was never the plan to ride with regular shoes. Just thought itd be useful in the stop/go of NYC commuting (no need to always clip in if I'm only going a block). It was, but I replaced them with 520s which I've come to prefer.