I don't really have a reason other than my Kilo has some already and deep v's just look meh to me. I was also under the impression that deep vs usually weigh more? I just like the clean look of open pros and the race look of ellipses but I've heard they lack in build quality?


/RonBurgandy

do you have any tips or tricks for mounting folding tires? I effing hate changing tubes in them

Trust me, the Kool Stop Bead Jack is your friend.

Are you looking for an off-the-shelf wheelset or to build? Ellipses are way overrated IMO.

I have no preference. I've never built any wheels before though... Sounds fun.

You can always use your feet, they're free. There's a good thread on mounting stubborn tires by using your feet (in shoes) and leveraging the bead onto the rim. Let me see if I can find it.

::ETA:: http://www.bikeforums.net/showthread...ools-my-method

/notscrod

ones that are hard to get on I can actually manage. I kinda meant the super floppy ones that don't take much of any shape at all. I can't get them to even sit inside the rim (for instance veloflex 22s). I just put on some folding GPs without an issue, but the veloflex mfers I cannot manage.

I don't like the idea of using my foot and some stairs to install a tire.

Seriously, spend the whopping 12 bucks and get a bead jack. I use mine all the time and it's probably one of my favorite tools.

Any suggestions on fitting a brake on the Leader i806 carbon fork, would a 30 mm mounting bolt work? Also, would it be fine to mount a non-carbon brake on it, such as my Cane Creek SCR 3L? Thanks.

You can use any standard reach brake on it and a 30mm bolt should work fine, just don't overtighten it.

Dear Scrod,

Can you tell me why everyone seems to favor the Kilo over the rest of Bikes Direct fixed gear bikes?.

Because the frame & fork are nicer.

dear scrod,
nicer than the premium brew frame and fork? also, as a former premium brew owner, what is the largest tire it will accept?

Aesthetically or durability wise?

The Premium Brew is a lugged Maxway-made frame and is much better than a Kilo. It does have a lower BB and slightly more relaxed geo though.

I have no idea. I had 25s on mine and never cared about using anything bigger.

I've got a problem with my toe clips. Specifically, the clip on the pedal that I take a foot out of when stopped at a light or something, so it gets flipped around more often and just generally gets more abuse than the other pedal clip. The problem is that the mounting bolts back themselves out regularly, and I've now had to replace the bolts several times because I lost one during a ride. Consequently, the clip has gotten damaged from being used with only one bolt, so I'm getting new clips, the MKS clips from your site.

Anyway, the question is: is it a common problem for the clip mounting bolts to back themselves out, or did I just have cruddy hardware? And if it is a common problem, is there a common solution? I'd thought of loc-tite, but didn't want to do something so...permanent.

get some nylon lock nuts

I've got lock washers on mine and they never loosen up. I've also used blue loctite with great results.

Scrod,

Are the Hozan lockring pliers awesome enough to justify the price vs a regular lockring spanner? Why or why not?

Does it help with stubborn wire beaded tires? I am not looking forward to mounting my rando, so I'm looking for all the help I can get.

Yes. **** a lockring spanner. I've jammed my knuckles into my spokes far too many times to use anything but Hozan pliers from here on out.

Absolutely. If anything, it works better on wire beads.

Scrod:

How often do you check your cog/lockring for tightness? I happened to be swapping out the axle and track nuts on my rear wheel (stripped one side by allowing my wife to convince me to pull a trailer on the Devil) when I noticed my lockring was loose. Nothing was stripped and the cog was still snug enough to be a non-issue. Should I be checking the lockring every ride?

Also, I keep my drive train immaculate (usually); there was a little buildup of road grim recently and I noticed that my cog was silent until I removed all the debris. Now its just audible and I have about 2 inches of play on the bottom side of my chain, so I don't believe its an overstretched issue. Does crap on the chain have a positive effect or is the affect something I'm not seeing (such as too much tension on the chain, which I immediately defended against)?

In all honestly, I very rarely check my cog and lockring because every single time I do, they're as tight as can be. In my experience, there's no need to constantly keep checking them if they're installed correctly and checked after the first ride to begin with (Hozan pliers FTW).

Chains that are a little gummed up are usually quieter than when they are clean/brand new.

Scrod, what is the lube they put on new chains?

I recently picked up an izumi eco and I was surprised at how quiet it was right out of the box. It's a very sticky waxy compound they've used, which probably goes along the lines of 'gummed up' as you stated.

need me some of that.

The "lube" that comes on most new chains is typically just to keep them from corroding inside the packaging in the event of them sitting around in a warehouse for too long. If a chain was packaged dry, it would most likely be covered with surface rust by the time it got to you. I've found that it's best to clean as much of that waxy stuff off a new chain right out of the box and reapply a good wet lube.

Quick question Scrod, when i'm looking at bikes and it says the bb drop some say 58 some say 50. What does that mean? How can I tell how many inches that is off the ground from those numbers?

that number is how many millimeters the center of the BB is lower than the center of the rear axle. The reason they use this number more often than BB height is because its the same no matter the wheel size. If you want to find BB height, take half of your wheel size, and subtract the BB drop, and that will give you the height of it off of the ground.
assuming your on 700's:

622mm/2 - 50mm= 261mm = 10.3inches
622mm/2 - 58mm= 253mm = 9.96inches
this i without a tire mounted.

/notscrod

Thanks a lot man, appreciate it.

BB drop is the distance between the rear axle and the center of the BB, while BB height is the distance between the center of the BB and the ground.

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_SZx2oaxuJS...0/BBheight.jpg

By measuring the distance from the rear axle to the ground and doing some math, it shouldn't be too hard to figure out. Of course, there will be variances depending on what size tire you'll be using.

edit: I keep forgetting this is everyone else's thread. Sorry guys.