On the subject of mismatching chainrings with cranksets I've done it with 6800 vs 5800. I didn't fancy the £95 for a 6800 large chainring so instead paid £40 for the slightly heavier 5800 large ring. I hadn't quite realised that cosmetically the arms of the spider don't line up but other than that it's fine. You can barely notice from a distance.
Forgot to reply re the rings but most of shimano stuff fits lower tier things like jockey wheels, rings, cassettes, chains and mechs.
They only come with threadlock and pretty tight (T30 torx). I tend to put copperslip on them as this is Scotland and I've had plenty that come out with a lot of white powder.
On the subject of rings I'd always try pair them up. I tried a 52 with a 39 and it wouldn't mesh onto the 39 on the downshift. Tried a 52 34 on my mates bike and it ran a bit pants but not dangerous like mine was. So stick to match pairs guys. 50/34, 52/36 and 53/39.
For me it depends on the interface... Those annoying/crap older ones (mine where FSA) with the special 'peg' tool you need to hold on the reverse to get tight, as I could never get much torque on them I generally always used threadlock as an effort to keep them as tight as possible. As they're not something you generally change very often/maintain then steel ones rust and alloy ones corrode anyway. I actually bought 'stainless steel' ones made by RaceFace to replace the FSA originals with, but then found they rusted and I had to drill one or two out. Doh!
More recently using more modern bolts (Shimano/Praxis/Specialized) they tend to be a hex/torx both sides, so I lightly grease the threads on the bolts and the outsides and get them as tight as possible. Proper man tight +4 or 5 grunts. Loads tighter than it was possible to get the older/other ones. I'll generally bust out an extended armed wrench for this. As they're aluminium you shouldn't use copper grease with them. Alumium:copper reaction. I think copper eats aluminium, or is it the other way around? You generally get the white 'dust' from aluminium when it's exposed to road salt over the winter months too, that seems to corrode them well too.
The 52 I was using the inner side was thick were the 39 ring teeth were sitting so it wouldn't seat on it. The 36 would have sat lower were the ring was more vertical and more space for the chain to fit.
If nothing else, I think they really match the bike... look great... and make all my biking mates jealous, so I think money well spent.
I went on a late night ride with some mates last night, but only covered a few segments I'd done before, but one of the ones I did, the PR has stood since May and I've not got anywhere near it recently. Last night, not really pushing I came just 2 seconds short on it. I think the wheels are pretty quick!
So last weekend I did some maintenance work on my disc bike which ended up re-aligning the calipers slightly (found and resolved an issue I only just found out). After 20 miles or so (on a 50mile ride), the disc screech disappeared and both were powerful and silent. A perfect setup and alignment.
Last night I went for a 20mile ride and the front brake was noisy as hell - sounded horrible with no breaking power. The rear was ok.
During my maintenance, both rotors and all pads were cleaned with disc and pad cleaner. I also put the pads under a Butane torch to burn off any residue. They are as clean as they could be. My bike was stored in my living room and wasn't exposed to anything untoward, and the riding conditions on both rides was sunny and warm.
What on earth is going on? What could be the cause?
This is probably too obvious, but I have made this mistake once... I put one of my brake pads in the wrong way by accident so it was metal on rotor braking.
So last weekend I did some maintenance work on my disc bike which ended up re-aligning the calipers slightly (found and resolved an issue I only just found out). After 20 miles or so (on a 50mile ride), the disc screech disappeared and both were powerful and silent. A perfect setup and alignment.
Last night I went for a 20mile ride and the front brake was noisy as hell - sounded horrible with no breaking power. The rear was ok.
During my maintenance, both rotors and all pads were cleaned with disc and pad cleaner. I also put the pads under a Butane torch to burn off any residue. They are as clean as they could be. My bike was stored in my living room and wasn't exposed to anything untoward, and the riding conditions on both rides was sunny and warm.
What on earth is going on? What could be the cause?
Check behind the pads to see if they are dry? It's pretty common for shimano calipers to leak as they are crap.
I leave them with a cable tie holding the brake on overnight with a bit of paper under to catch drips. Sometimes the leak is so small it only makes the rear of the pads wet.
Updated my Tumble story with the ride home & semi-bonk.
EDIT: Really enjoyed the descent, trying to clear a few fears I have of descending at speed. Very confidence building, breaking 40mph! Found the traffic lights annoyingly at the cattle grid, but also probably helped me not to hit it a little too fast. Also had to slow up on the descent for an accident which had happened near the bottom, gutted to see a nice old car with a huge scrape from bumper to bumper from a caravan who'd obviously been decending too quickly and sideswiped him.
Trying to navigate from Komoot on my mobile (mounted to the bars) I came unstuck where a cut through road I'd used on the way in was only 1 way... I didn't find the maps on Komoot great for finding streets so just loaded Google Maps instead. Far more familiar with that and easily found my way back to the road I wanted. The cross headwinds on the ride back really sapped my energy. Was firstly trying to maintain speed, then had to settle on pacing by power, but realised even at fairly Z3 power I was cooking myself so had to settle by pacing with HR. I thought I'd eaten enough but hit the wall once back on the rolling terrain at Wormbridge. I figured it was a lack of sugar and crawled to Locks for an ice cream to get me home. Ride home was a real slog, but that £1.20 ice cream and a Boost Duo really helped, my HR being lower, speed & power feeling easier after the stop. Couple of instant brain freezes from the ice cream really indicating I was probably overheated and dehydrated. With the winds feeling cool I obviously hadn't been drinking enough!
See the wheels on their own (like I linked & saw online) the design is quite dated. Almost 'retro' which is no bad thing with Campagnolo. I didn't like them, yet on that bike they look superb! The bare carbon showing matches the frame perfectly, the white writing matches the frame decals, the grey doesn't but it's a good contrast to having lots of white so offsets the white & black well. Then there's even a splash of Red which matches your bottle cage & saddle bag, perfect! Even the white STI hoods (which are normally an eyesore) work well with the frame and wheels. Not very often they suit a bike! Damn I'm feeling complimentary today...!
Just to balance things - you just spoil it all with those shiny silver pedals
So last weekend I did some maintenance work on my disc bike which ended up re-aligning the calipers slightly (found and resolved an issue I only just found out). After 20 miles or so (on a 50mile ride), the disc screech disappeared and both were powerful and silent. A perfect setup and alignment.
Last night I went for a 20mile ride and the front brake was noisy as hell - sounded horrible with no breaking power. The rear was ok.
<snip>
What on earth is going on? What could be the cause?
I've seen this a few times with mine, although I've not toasted mine with a torch I've given them a good rub with glass paper to remove contaminants/residue before. Does tend to work well for me on Shimano resin pads - better than cleaning them with disc cleaner. I think that pads can almost be a little too clean, so you align them perfectly then after a few days the slight pad wear as they bed back in to the new position, along with pad dust and moisture from overnight cause a residue on them leading to noise again or to put them alignment out slightly again.
If they're hydraulics I'd check the alignment again without cleaning them. Just a look from above with a sheet of white paper below to confirm you've got a gap. You'll probably find the pads one side slightly 'off'. Two choices then - try to align again, with them 'dirty' or just wait until they wear a little more to bed in to the new position and hopefully quieten up. I'd tended to go for the latter if it's only slight, the former if its annoying enough and an obvious pad alignment through a large part of the rotors rotation (thinking just letting it wear will take a while and eat up a bunch of the pads 'life').
I'f you've not checked fluid levels/bled to remove bubbles for a while (or as part of your initial maintenance) then that's well worth doing too. I had similar symptoms a couple of months back (but hadn't cleaned mine first). Bunch of noise and loss of bite/performance, yet pad life looked fine. Noisy caliper was really low on fluid!
I've actually aligned my calipers a few times with a sheet of paper (or 2) between pads and rotors. A bungee cord to hold the brake on is another alternative to Jonnys cable tie - it won't be as tight and mark your bar tape if you're leaving it overnight. But if checking for leaks then maybe you want it tighter...
This is probably too obvious, but I have made this mistake once... I put one of my brake pads in the wrong way by accident so it was metal on rotor braking.
Haha, of all the things I've done wrong I've not actually done this! Generally using Shimano pads with the fins built into the pads it's almost impossible. The pads with removeable fins (like the Uberbikes) I'm sure its quite easy to do!
That metal grind noise though, quite distinctive isn't it! Know that from wearing a pad completely to the base!
Check behind the pads to see if they are dry? It's pretty common for shimano calipers to leak as they are crap.
I leave them with a cable tie holding the brake on overnight with a bit of paper under to catch drips. Sometimes the leak is so small it only makes the rear of the pads wet.
This is probably too obvious, but I have made this mistake once... I put one of my brake pads in the wrong way by accident so it was metal on rotor braking.
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. mine are coming tomorrow
Recommended to me by someone I consider a bit of an expert...
