What's new

March 2019

@stu_kawagoe Looking good. Still thinking of getting it painted?
Thanks, Karl. It felt really nice to get the job done. Yeah, I'd still really like to get the bike painted. I haven't decided on a design, but I have been looking at a few (err lots of) different frames for inspiration. I still haven't been to Above Bike, yet, so I'll try to head out there and have a chat with them at some point. However, I wouldn't be surprised if there are some places that are a bit closer to me in Saitama that do specialist paint jobs. I just need to find them (might be a bit cheaper too). Maybe I aim to get it painted for my birthday at the end of November!
 
Had a nice ride today. 133 km mostly on cycling paths plus a climb near Arikawa. Started out colder than expected but turned really nice around noon. Had a chance to try out my new rear derailleur. It is a Shimano 105 derailleur that isn't advertised to work on a 40 tooth cog but it actually does. Basically, I now have a 1x with a 34 front chain ring and a 11-40 rear M8000 cassette. Worked really well for me on the climb of 12-15% grades. Able to spin vs. grind. Also put 700x28 Gatorskins on, and inflated them to 80 psi front and 85 psi rear. Seemed to help take out the road buzz and was more comfortable ride.

Been watching a lot of YouTube videos on gravel biking. Saibot's videos are really helpful (Rides of Japan). I got lots of good ideas there, plus he cracks me up. Another good site for the laid-back gravel biker is "Path Less Pedaled." He does lots of good reviews and is pretty honest, plus he did 3 years of living on a bike and touring with his wife. He has lots of practical advice. He recommended a saddle (Charge Spoon) that was pretty cheap, but he said it was really good for long distance rides. I ordered one and rode on it today. Worked really well for me. Since it is only about 2,500 yen from CRC, it was well worth it.
 
 
@Karl
Your pressures seem kinda high for a 28 mm tire, I think 85 psi is the max pressure on my 28s. Have you tried 60-70 psi? This will give you a markedly smoother ride, and while it is slower because you have more rolling resistance, more rolling resistance also means more grip — which in some circumstances is a great and necessary thing. I adjust my tire pressure according to the weather, if the road is wet or otherwise not idea, I choose a lower tire pressure.
 
Conti's site says max for the 700x28 is 116 psi. Recommended is 95 psi. I wondered if 80-85 might mean more danger of pinch flats, but it wasn't a problem. I might try 70-75 next outing.
 
Conti's site says max for the 700x28 is 116 psi. Recommended is 95 psi. I wondered if 80-85 might mean more danger of pinch flats, but it wasn't a problem. I might try 70-75 next outing.
Not in my experience, we have plenty of potholes here, and I don't run them tubeless.

By the way, I noticed there was a significant difference in recommended tire pressures between the Vittoria Corsa Control (which I run now, 60-87 psi) to the Vittoria Corsa (70-115 psi). I know that if you run tubeless, you can go even lower, but I don't feel I need to for what I do.
 
I use 23 mm slicks and usually inflate the rear to about 100 and the front to about 95. I think the max pressure is 120 psi. When I tried running them higher than my usual I got a wicked puncture that ruined my rear tire first time out.

Edit - I ran out of degreaser last week, so decided to buy some paint thinner to use instead. The two litre bottle I got from Viva home is way better value than the the stuff I got from the bike shop (it doesn't smell like oranges mind).
 
Last edited:
A bit over 20km on Saturday hitting the local trails.
A bit over 2 hours today with my 2 girls on the mamachari.


Overall a good weekend. But I do want to get more dirt time.
 
@stu_kawagoe
You are still running on 23s? You seem to be a bit of a masochist :p:flip::cool:
I sometimes run 100 psi on my 25s, when I am riding with my local "fast pack", though.
The beauty is I have nothing to compare my bike to. TBH, I don't think I could fit a 25, though I'm getting a carbon front fork next month so maybe I'll have little more room to play with once I've fitted that🙂
 
The beauty is I have nothing to compare my bike to. TBH, I don't think I could fit a 25, though I'm getting a carbon front fork next month so maybe I'll have little more room to play with once I've fitted that🙂
Ah, I see. And at least one of the big bike shops here in Sendai still has a lot of 23 mm tires on display (and not a single 28 mm tire, hmmm). Even going from 25 mm to 28 mm is another big step in terms of comfort if you decide to lower the tire pressure.
 
Back
Top Bottom