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Today June 2019

I should not look at bike websites.
I have had issues with the rear rim of my commuter since day one. I assume I am not the only one since Surly changed the rim after only 1 year on their bikes. hmm... The rim does not like being run tubeless even though it is marketed as a tubeless rim. The rim works fine with tubes, but in all honesty, I am not 100% confident in the rim after a couple tubeless mishaps.
For some unknown reason, CRC is blowing out Arc40 rims. It is an unpopular size in that 29+ wheels are still the minority. So maybe that is the reason. But the idea of 2 new rims delivered to my home for less than 60% the cost of one rim was too good to pass up.

Now the other problem... do I lace over the current hubs that I am not too fond of, or do I go and build up a new set of wheels....
 
and it didn't take long to answer my own dilemma...
New hubs, spokes, nipples and rims on the way.
A couple hours of my time building the wheels and $250 saved.
Found a set of hopes on blowout in the US, the easton rims on blowout at CRC.
I was able to find DT Swiss Champion DB spokes on sale at 60% off...
It won't be the fanciest wheels, but they will be solid and take any/all abuse I want to dish out on a rigid.
 
I took my new CAAD out today. Just a little ride along the river as I couldn't round up anyone for a ride out to the mountains:cry: I really enjoyed it, though I am getting some creaking around the BB. This is only the second ride so I might just take it back to my LBS for the owner to look at. I did go in there on Friday to ask him about cutting my steerer in a month or two. He actually told me I could borrow a stem to try for as long as wanted. As others advised, it's good to get on with the LBS:)

As far as the bike goes, it still feels a bit different but I'm getting used to it. The semi-compact gives me more power on the river and the bike's noticeably more responsive/lighter on the ramps. Position on the bike feels fine, but I did get a little numbness in my right hand because I was overcompensating for my elbow. Speaking of my elbow, it has felt a bit sore after my rides. I'm hoping that will keep getting better with time.

Enjoy your week!

Edit - @luka Those Megavalanche type events are totally mental! I am officially too old to even consider that.
 
@stu_kawagoe tell me about it, I was just waiting when something's gonna happen to domino them all... but a nice sight to behold

hope you recover soon and can ride more. just keep publicizing your rides and sooner or later it's gonna overlap with someone. I couldn't ride until the evening today for ex. are you on strava maybe?
 
and it didn't take long to answer my own dilemma...
New hubs, spokes, nipples and rims on the way.
A couple hours of my time building the wheels and $250 saved.
Found a set of hopes on blowout in the US, the easton rims on blowout at CRC.
I was able to find DT Swiss Champion DB spokes on sale at 60% off...
It won't be the fanciest wheels, but they will be solid and take any/all abuse I want to dish out on a rigid.
Some of those deals on CRC are too good to pass up huh. I bought some Ritchey WRC 27.5 for my Niner a while back. They were around 110,000 in Japan.... I got them shipped for around 20,000 🤪
 
Just a little ride along the river as I couldn't round up anyone for a ride out to the mountains:cry:...

I will go with you before you're fully recovered so that I may have some hope of keeping up. It will have to be from July onward, though.
 
Some of those deals on CRC are too good to pass up huh. I bought some Ritchey WRC 27.5 for my Niner a while back. They were around 110,000 in Japan.... I got them shipped for around 20,000 🤪

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You can't beat this.
The new rim has offset eyelets. I prefer offset, but at 75% off, I don't like them that much.
I bought 4.

Shipping was free and under the threshold for import tax.
 
Not sure where else to post this (Tech was my first sub-forum choice), but looking for a bit of advice. I'll be moving to a new place this weekend and looking to do a bit of upgrading:

1. A work stand
2. Upgrading my Mavic CX's that came with the Specialized Allez Elite that I ride and was given to me, as well as new tires. The current tires are Continental Grand Prix 4000 model and in dire need of replacing because I can no longer see much tread.

Why do I want to upgrade?
In windy weather, I seem to have a lot of resistance, which is everyday in Tokyo, often both ways. Obviously becoming a better cyclist is my primary target, but less rolling resistance wouldn't hurt! If it's not too much bother, can anyone make some recommendations that you might know, off the top of your head, that are in the 50,000-60,000 Yen price range for a set? I'm going to keep my current group set of Shimano 105s and upgrade that, or get a second bike, in about a year.

Thanks in advance to any and all who might answer this.

I live in Arakawa ward and would be delighted to give business to a local shop for both the purchase and a new fitting and installation but haven't had success finding someone who can put up with my pitiful Japanese, with 99.9% English mixed in.
 
Are you using the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II model tires?
In terms of rolling resistance, that tire is already near the top of the table. Can't get much better without making big sacrifices elsewhere. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/
But if your inner tubes weigh 100 g plus, replacing them with some Panaracer R'Air tubes would reduce rolling resistance (and weight) a bit. Or put some Vittoria Latex inner tubes in there for absolute rolling resistance gains.

But if the wind is your main problem, then clothing and position on the bike will make the largest difference. The only answer is to invest in a spray-on skin suit.
 
As far as local business goes, the inner tubes I mention are all well known here. Try finding a photo of them on amazon and showing them to your local shop. They should get the picture.
 
Are you using the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II model tires?
In terms of rolling resistance, that tire is already near the top of the table. Can't get much better without making big sacrifices elsewhere. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/
But if your inner tubes weigh 100 g plus, replacing them with some Panaracer R'Air tubes would reduce rolling resistance (and weight) a bit. Or put some Vittoria Latex inner tubes in there for absolute rolling resistance gains.

But if the wind is your main problem, then clothing and position on the bike will make the largest difference. The only answer is to invest in a spray-on skin suit.
He says he wants to spend around 60,000 yen so I'm guessing he means he wants some aero wheels?? Possibly !
 
1. A work stand
2. Upgrading my Mavic CX's that came with the Specialized Allez Elite that I ride and was given to me, as well as new tires. The current tires are Continental Grand Prix 4000 model and in dire need of replacing because I can no longer see much tread.
1. I have two decent Topeak work stands. Hardly ever use either of them - it's just less hassle for me to use a display stand and sit on the floor than to clear space to use the stands.
2. I got some Continental GP5000 tires recently. Really nice. Still to early to tell whether their puncture resistance is anything like the Gatorskin, but their reported rolling resistance is much lower and I kinda imagine I can feel that. As for wheels... do you know what material (alloy/carbon) and level of pose-factor you want? (Don't bother with tubeless. Even tubeless-ready rims are a PITA for changing tires.)
 
Are you using the Continental Grand Prix 4000S II model tires?
In terms of rolling resistance, that tire is already near the top of the table. Can't get much better without making big sacrifices elsewhere. https://www.bicyclerollingresistance.com/
But if your inner tubes weigh 100 g plus, replacing them with some Panaracer R'Air tubes would reduce rolling resistance (and weight) a bit. Or put some Vittoria Latex inner tubes in there for absolute rolling resistance gains.

But if the wind is your main problem, then clothing and position on the bike will make the largest difference. The only answer is to invest in a spray-on skin suit.

Grant, they are the 4000S, not sure if it's the "II" as I don't see that one the tube. I'm using Continental Race 28 (700CC) tubes inside. Thank you for the recommendations on the Panaracer and Vittoria tubes. I will give them a try.
 
1. I have two decent Topeak work stands. Hardly ever use either of them - it's just less hassle for me to use a display stand and sit on the floor than to clear space to use the stands.
2. I got some Continental GP5000 tires recently. Really nice. Still to early to tell whether their puncture resistance is anything like the Gatorskin, but their reported rolling resistance is much lower and I kinda imagine I can feel that. As for wheels... do you know what material (alloy/carbon) and level of pose-factor you want? (Don't bother with tubeless. Even tubeless-ready rims are a PITA for changing tires.)

Thanks Mike. Are you looking to off load either of the Topeak stands? Please DM me if so. I will always have to clear space because of the layout of the new place, but that's not an issue for me.

For wheels, I want something that goes faster both into the wind and with the wind, and I'm not sure which direction to go in terms of material. I looked at the Astuto site and those are about 2x my budget. I know for sure I do not want tubeless (too much hassle for a newbie like me). What does level of pose-factor mean?
 
@MattRyuu Others on here have recommended the Alu Zonda clincher. They weigh about 1,500g and cost about 40-50,000 yen. I'm pretty interested in those as I've got budget wheels on my CAAD, too, but I'm also tempted to save up and get some branded carbon tubs.
 
I had been in Hungary and Germany for the first 12 days of the month, with only one bike ride there (3 hours with my brother). Normally I try to do a Century ride on the first weekend of each month to secure my continuing "Century a Month" (CaM) status but this was the 3rd weekend already, with rain forecast for Saturday. So I decided to do some work on Saturday, spend Sunday at home with my wife and take Monday off for the ride.




Deciding on a course only late at night the day before and it being a weekday ride, I didn't post it anywhere.

The weather forecast had been for a cloudy afternoon but it didn't turn out that way until about 16:00. It was hot and sunny until after the hottest part of the day, but at least up on the Greenline there was some shade. The wind was in my face almost all the way from Tokyo to the mountains, so it was just as well I wasn't rendezvous-ing with anyone at Kitasakado station. Instead I dropped in on my mother-in-law for a chat and a coffee.

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I could see Mt Fuji still with a snow cap from near Kawagoe and later Tokyo Skytree from Dodaira-san (65 km as the crow flies).

I didn't feel very energetic throughout the ride, maybe because I had only done two rides (both less than 100 km) in the past 4 weeks or maybe it was due to the heat. I could also blame it on jetlag. But then again, I was riding on my own, so I wasn't holding anyone else up and I could take as many pictures as I liked.

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The views from Dodaira were nice. The sky was very dark on the Chichibu side, it looked like it was raining over there. I later felt some drizzle too, but not for too long. The roads everywhere were deserted. No tourists on weekdays.

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From Dodaira and Shiraishi toge I headed over to Kabasaka toge. Of course there was no coffee van parked there on a Monday, so I just took a couple of pictures and then descended towards Shomaru toge. Originally I had planned to descend down Rt299, head up Rt395 and visit Nenogongen temple again, but I was running too late for that. So I just continued to Yamabushi toge via Shomaru and returned to Ome via Rt53.

I stopped at "Sherpa" in Ome for my usual curry, which gave me enough energy for the 42 km ride back to Tokyo. 174 km with about 1600 m of elevation gain. 82 consecutive months of CaM! :)
 
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