/NOTSCROD

I'm riding in GR9s wearing MacBeths but I have normal width foot (size 9.5). I'd be very leery about trying to ride in GR9s with a wide foot. They don't have much extra material to fit much more than my foot in single-straps. Although they flip easy as sin, even when I've ridden in my Sanuks. If you don't have a fat foot though, I've put 30 miles on them and had zero issues with hotspots or anything else.

Scrod,

On a bike with an integrated seat post clamp, what happens if the bolt is stripped, are you screwed? Or is that just something you can go replace? (No I didn't strip mine)

Do you mean integrated like on older Leader 725TR frames, where the bolt threads right into the frame itself? If those threads strip, you could always have it heliocoiled. I'm pretty sure Leuky had this done to his 727.

If you're talking about the kind of clamp your 722 has, you can just get a new bolt.

I stripped mine... rather, the head of the bolt broke off with the screw still inside. It needed to be rewelded. Expensive, but saved the frame.



See the seat clamp area - missing paint. It's raw steel atm, don't think it'll ever get repainted.

Awesome, thank the bike gods.

Do you have any recommendations on gloves that are heavily padded but not super hot? A while back i took a tumble down some stairs and managed to mess up the ligaments in my wrist pretty good. I got back on my bike for the first time in a good while and just riding around campus to class killed my wrist from the vibrations.


Also I am going to be switching over to the thick lizard skin tape as well and probably a 28 tire in front.

Hey Scrod,
Have you ever ridden to Boston from Beverly?
I am thinking about going up to the store one day and checking it out. I stay friends in Boston three days a week and find myself having nothing to do on wednesdays. So I was thinking about visiting. Its only about 25 miles or so.

Leader just posted a pic on their Facebook of complete bikes, which they said they'll be selling. Do you know anything more (price, etc)?

Hey Scrod,

Recently my IRO Mark V started to click once every pedal stroke when back pedaling or under load going uphill for example. (I didn't use 'mash' cuz I'm not very fast).

I tightened up everything I can think of including a new 46T chainring but I can't isolate this click.

The pedal stroke still feels smooth but I want to isolate this click so that it doesn't turn into a bigger problem.

I bought this bike used so I'm not sure of all the components but this is what I know:
1) Sugino RD5000 crank = 170mm
2) Sylvan Track pedals (newish, bought these from you last Fall 2011)
3) Retrogression V straps (new, you just shipped me new ones)
4) What looks like a Dura Ace track cog and lock ring
5) Generic 3/32 chain
6) Bottom Bracket - don't know

When I first got this bike, everything was silky smooth, but I've been using this as my daily commuter in San Francisco since last November 2011, 12 miles round trip daily. I haven't dropped it at speed, just dufus 0 mph stuff at stop signs.

Thanks for any insight

Check your BB

/not scrod

I'm pretty sure they've been available for a while now in Japan but I'm not quite sure on the availability/pricing here in the US. I can try to find out.

Is it a coincidence to see the 725 being offered in silver?

There was just a thread about this started by Santaria who was having a similar problem. It's really hard to diagnose stuff like this without having the bike right in front of me but I've found that more times than not, such clicking is caused by a slightly damaged link (or several) in the chain. It could also very well be your chainring bolts. Those little suckers loosen up all the time and should be checked often, especially if there's no loctite on them.

Thanks Scrod

I neglected to mention I tightened the chainring bolts so I'll look at the chain itself.

noise only from the NDS, on my single speed. loud as crap, it's not the toe clip and it's only when the left pedal has pressure on it (if I take my foot off of it nothing). Haven't had time to put it on the stand yet, but was hoping for a general idea of where to start. I pulled over and tried to locate the issue but couldn't

semi related: what's the best way to know if the bearings in a pedal are shot?

No idea without seeing the bike.

You can usually tell if the bearings are shot because they will be crunchy or not spinning freely.

Sorry...missed this one. We've ridden into/near the city quite a bit. It's a good ride but you have to plan your route well because Google maps will put you on some really sketchy roads. Coming up in the Spring or Summer is your best bet.

Yeah, google maps pretty much sucks for getting directions by bike. I was gonna try and do it on a warm day if I could in the next months or so. Are you guys gonna have an open house party or something as well when the weather gets nice?

We plan on having some sort of little get together once it warms up that will most likely involve a ride, a grill, lots of food and lots of beer.

I like your helpfulness here. Sarcasm included. So I thought instead of creating 50 threads or randomly asking odd questions in my other thread I thought I would ask you here. BTW I like how you promote RET by helping people to get face time. You are willing to help before getting customers in return. Good ****.

In another thread I had been pushing the issue of the Leader 735 / 725 etc. What is the main difference between those two? I'm likely going to be de-badging the Leader regardless of what one I get.

Also have you had any opinion on the Dodici Polo 2012? Do you guys have any in stock that have been built etc? I really like the style of that frame (a little above the 735), but am not sure if the price difference is worth the upgrade. Your opinion would be appreciated on both bike sex appeal as well as quality / ride-ability.

Past that I'm going to be looking into building a bike with you guys from scratch and I noticed I can order parts through your company as well. Are you pretty competitive with the parts you don't normally stock compared to other vendors?

Oh and this bike will be mostly for daily city. I know they are track bikes, but I really like the style. Stupid I know. As for that Aerospokes seem nice to mee as well, stupid in your opinion?

**Edit Just saw the 2012 polo is 6061 aluminum mixed that up.

722 Heritage Edition looks pretty nice too. I really like the cut in or curved seat tubes. Just seems so sexy.

The Heritage Edition is a cool frame but I'm not really too into seeing a seat tube cutout on a steel frame.

The difference between the 725 and the 735 is the size of the tubes. That's it. In my opinion, the 725 is better looking. I've never seen the Dodici Polo, so I don't really have an opinion on it.

There's a dedicated Retrogression thread in the marketplace. Please keep any questions about products and whatnot posted there, as this isn't the place for discussing such things. Thanks.

Ah np. I'll make sure to post stuff over there in regards to ordering with you guys. I kinda felt the same way about the 22, it seemed a little too thin. Just wish I could fine some more pictures of the polo. It looks really nice, but I am having a hard time envisioning it as a complete bike. I did see one or two completes, but that was it.

Scrod the weather for the past 2 months here has been rainy as **** and today I went to inspect my bike and found that my chain (kmc 710sl) have some points of rust and my crank bolt (the one that connects to the BB) have some points too. Should I be worried? The chain is 8 months old.

Can you give me some pointers on how to prevent this and how to clean it?

Rust happens. I've had chainring bolts develop a bit of surface rust after one ride in the rain. If you're really hell-bent on keeping this from happening, you'll need to wipe your bike down really thoroughly after wet weather riding. To keep nuts and bolts from rusting, use a rag or Q-tip and some WD40 to give that stuff a quick wipe. WD40 will clean away surface rust and help prevent more from happening.

Keep your chain clean and lubed with a good wet lube - stay away from wax lube - and you should be all set.

thanks for the pointers Scrod!

The other question is, does the surface rust on the chain and bolt affects the longevity of the parts? If it doesn't I won't put too much effort into it since this is my beater commuter bike