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Today - December 2011

theBlob

Bokeh master
Sep 28, 2011
3,014
1,715
500km in the month of November. Got a new bike from Tim, and am loving it. Although the last week I have been enjoying Summer in Australia and battling on my fathers hybrid road bike with a tiny crank and a stumpy frame. My knees aren't particularly liking it and I am considering whether trips like this would be all the more enjoyable if I brought my own bike with me.:confused:

Absurd thoughts to everyone around me of course although I'm sure you guys understand!:D
 
Came back to Japan a couple of days ago after being away for 3 weeks. Brought my new wheelset with me from Sweden and will hopefully have them on the bike tonight.

I really hope the weather clears up for the weekend. Will be in Shanghai next week but I would like to get a nice ride in before I leave.

Not easy to combine all the traveling with training....been trying to get some time in the gyms when I can though.
 
I ordered a couple of DH-3N80 hubs and had some 38mm rims specially drilled to 32h for them. This should build up nicely as a sub 800gr 'PBP' wheel with Sapim CX-Ray's. No reason why I can't have a killer light system AND a decent lightweight wheel! Especially for winter training and rides.
 
.....Looks like the dynamo hubs weigh about 600-700g, not sure how much more that is than a standard hub (my battery weighs 150g). I guess weight will not really be a priority for you when pulling a trailer.

You got that right :warau:

I just did my monthly delivery of big bottles of sake to a customer Bunkyo, 20 large bottles of sake, with cases that is 64Kg/141lbs of product and my trailer is 33Kg/73lbs so dragging around 97Kg/214lbs, yeah, I'm not worried about the extra 500g of a dynamo hub, and actually it might save me some weight as the batteries etc on my trailer are not lightweight.

Had to use my first gear on part of that hill dragging all the weight, still suffering from a lingering cold, but I tell you what, my lungs got cleaned out!!
 
yeah, travel is a pain for trying to stay in shape. Have spent more time out of town in Nov than I would have liked as well. Beer doesn't help either.... :rolleyes:

On the plus side, you can get cheaper gear out of the country! :)
 
TV ad today on sharing the roads with bikes.... pretty impressive.
 
yeah, travel is a pain for trying to stay in shape. Have spent more time out of town in Nov than I would have liked as well.

Three weeks from today, I'll be sitting on an airplane somewhere over Siberia, heading for Bavaria without my bike (staying with family for two weeks). My plan is to wear my hiking boots for the snow and also pack my running shoes. I intend to get my exercise even if I'm snowed in :)
 
2.5 km in the pool. Watch out Phelps! I forgot how hungry swimming makes you. Also how much water you take in. I've been watering the flowers all evening...

Andy,

I use paddle gloves with a couple pull buoys between my legs (and no kicking). And do close to your distance, probably in much less time. (crawl, 2.4km/45min today) I know upper body stuff is a general no-no for cyclists, but I really enjoy the pool.

The gloves/buoys change the nature of the workout, increasing resistance/power and making flotation/gliding easy. Less aero, more strength/resistance. Still nowhere close to being the calorie-burner that cycling is, tho. Skipping the gloves/buoys and flailing around as much as possible would probably be better for that. The gloves are hard/impossible to source here, you need someone in the US to trans-ship them to you. PM me if you want more chit chat.
 
jdd

First "serious" swim I've done in ages. I swim almost every day in the sea in the summer with the kids but just treading water really.

Today I did 4 lengths breast stroke / 1 length crawl for 100 lengths.

Breast stroke I could probably swim all the way to Sado ga shima.

But I find crawl to be really high intensity. Usually I'd do three strokes, breathe to the left, three strokes, breathe to the right. Today I tried to make it easier by doing two strokes and coming up on the same side for air. However, it was still like an interval and I was still looking for the wall to finish the length.

I hear crawl is the better stroke for getting the most out of your time in the pool, but I can't imagine doing it for 2+ km. Maybe I should learn how to swim properly....

Andy

www.jyonnobitime.com/time
 
I ordered a custom set of wheels built with 32 spoke dura ace hubs with Mavic Cxp33 rims. Tired of spokes breaking on my so called "bullet proof" set of wheels and hope these will last.
Only paid around 40 000yen for the wheels delivered from Germany to Sweden.

Sounds like some nice wheels! Pics please!!
 
Really? :eek:

Any other info?

It was on Channel 8 prime time......not as shocking as awareness ads in the UK or Australia but it had 3 staged accidents and then statistics about deaths....focus seemed to be on hitting mamachari with kids seated in the back and pulling out on to cyclists.

Hope this is nation wide and runs regular.
 
I ordered a custom set of wheels built with 32 spoke dura ace hubs with Mavic Cxp33 rims. Tired of spokes breaking on my so called "bullet proof" set of wheels and hope these will last.
Only paid around 40 000yen for the wheels delivered from Germany to Sweden.

Remember unless they asked what your weight is and then used appropriate nipples, spokes and then tensioned them to the requirements to carry your weight and then deal with the torque then you will continue to break spokes.

Also understand that as a rule you should ALWAYS have a new set of wheels serviced and retensioned within the first 1000km. Custom hand built wheels will certainly require a service within a month of purchase as the wheel beds in and don't be surprised if you lose a few spokes as well. Normally it takes about 3 visits to the wheel builder after the original build to get it fully set up.

Also I suggest any "big" guys out there that weigh over 80km to CHECK with the manufacturer for maximum weight limit on the wheels you are buying. If you are over you WILL snap spokes and crack rims.

Finally, just because your wheels cost 150,000 plus yen to buy does not make them bomb proof, think of your bike as a F1 car, its designed to be as light and as fast as possible so expect failure and breakage. You want "Bomb Proof" buy mid to low range equipment as its designed for everyday riding and abuse.

Your sub 1kg, nanofibre carbon/ceramic/titanium wheels are designed for racing and then expected to be serviced straight after by a pro tour mechanic ;)
 
I ordered a custom set of wheels built with 32 spoke dura ace hubs with Mavic Cxp33 rims. Tired of spokes breaking on my so called "bullet proof" set of wheels and hope these will last.
Only paid around 40 000yen for the wheels delivered from Germany to Sweden.


You got those a while back, right? I remember seeing that thread.


I had a look at the site, certainly looks to have some good deals for those custom wheels. Hmm.... christmas is coming.... :bike: :bike:
 
The DA /CXP combo. Is what I'd recommend and bless for bigger rider. But as FE says , make sure you check tension after a couple of short rides. If everything is built consistent they should last you a long time! As FYI , I have the CXP mounted to high flange hub and the builder did a pretty crap job - so , it breaks a spoke about every 500km and I'm only 62kg. Today's project is to finally cut out all the spokes and build it right.
 
Thanks for the input guys!
I am well aware how to look after my wheels. I check the spoke tension and trueness after every big ride. I was surprised when my Easton rear wheel broke a spoke after being completely true for over 5000km's. It has now been repaired under warranty. I am thinking about rebuilding it with all new spokes....suspect they only replaced the broken one now. One of the reason I bought the easton wheels was for the standard type of spokes used. I waited nearly 4 months for a spoke for the crappy aksiums and dont't feel like doing that again.
I would like to learn how to build my own wheels at some point..
 
I'm hoping to <finally> get a deal going with Pillar and CN so we can stock decent DIY spokes here in Japan. The selection is typically piss poor with spotty choice and sizes and hardly any Aero type spokes available. All our elite wheels use Sapim CX-Ray, which are great, but always hard to get in many sizes - and very expensive. BTW - to do any wheel properly you need a tensionometer - Park, Pillar, Hoishi, Sapim, etc. And some way to calibrate it regularly. (I take mine to our Sapim dealer in China to calibrate)
 
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