Road Cycling
- Thread starter FrenchTart
- Start date
Soldato
- Joined
- 25 Nov 2009
- Posts
- 5,278
Are 11spd SRAM and Shimano chains interchaingeable?
Time for a new one for my bike using SRAM groupset but found a brand new ultegra chain in my box of bits.
On the topic of saddles.
I ride a PN 3.0 now and whilst I wouldn't call it comfortable I will stick with it. It's the least bad of all the saddles I've tried. Far more comfortable when full aero as opposed to up on the goods.
Time for a new one for my bike using SRAM groupset but found a brand new ultegra chain in my box of bits.
On the topic of saddles.
I ride a PN 3.0 now and whilst I wouldn't call it comfortable I will stick with it. It's the least bad of all the saddles I've tried. Far more comfortable when full aero as opposed to up on the goods.
Soldato
Yes, I use a SRAM red chain with an ultegra cassette and SRAM groupset
Hmmm, not convinced on this!
Soldato
What’s there to be convinced about? Being lighter means you go up hill faster and being heavier means you go down hill faster, it’s gravity at work. The difference with respect to a set of wheels in reality is virtually nil as we are normally talking about 200 to 300g which makes little to no difference and is the difference between have a crap or not before your bike ride, all things being equal as mentioned before.
Rate of acceleration under gravity is independent of mass (Galileo). Technically this is in a vacuum, true. Air resistance and rolling resistance are then the factors, and we're assuming the same profile of wheel, which is fine. More mass/weight will mean greater rolling resistance though.
Aero should be where people focus on though, I agree. Air resistance increases with square of speed, and power requirements to sustain a certain speed scale with the cube of speed. Rolling resistance scales linearly with speed.
Frontal area of a road bike is pretty small. Aero bikes can make meaningful savings though, if you're serious. The wacky UCI-outlawed shapes and creations will always be most effective, so very large surface area to volume ratios of frame tubing.
Aero bikes with 50mm of spacers and the shifters point skywards always make me chuckle.
Soldato
Rolling resistance increases with weight assuming you're not compensating with changing tyre pressure to suit.
Zip 404s are hardly much lighter at 1615g and cost nearly £1600!
Also, a few 100g is neither here nor there once you have 2 full water bottles and you're sat on the saddle (not calling you fat btw).
Thanks for the help. Could I get more guidance/suggestions?
My bike is a Planet X London Road - a £1k aluminium framed commuter bike with Sram Rival and hydraulic discs (I can sense the roady sick rising in the back of your mouths!) with £100 cx wheels. It's got clearance for wide tyres and isn't very aero.
Here's a pic.
Please forgive the set-up It's left over from when I co-opted it into triathlon duties... The saddle is a bit higher and forward than usual.
I was considering upgrading the wheels to improve performance.
I am currently working on weight loss, but I do other sport besides cycling. I'm probably approx 19%ish bodyfat, give or take 3%, and about 93kgs at 187cms. I've come down from 110kgs. Realistically I'm going to struggle to lose more than a few kgs - I'm aiming for 88kgs but this will take a while.
In the meantime, I'd like as much help up hills as possible (on a budget of £300-400)
Soldato
The performance improvement gained from wheels is often overstated. This looks like a nice set within your budget that may save a few g's over your current set but don't expect to knock minutes off your hill times. That comes from training!
https://www.huntbikewheels.com/coll...-light-disc-road-wheelset-1449g-28deep-22wide
The upper weight limit is 100kg so you should be fine.
It has a crack in the shell near the middle. It might actually be acting as a sort of suspension when it flexes, improving comfort.
Soldato
If you want some carbon wheel loveliness, Wiggle/CRC have their own brand Prime wheels reduced
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/prime-rr-38-carbon-clincher-disc-road-wheelset/rp-prod142958 - £410 for 38mm
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/prime-rr-50-carbon-clincher-disc-road-wheelset/rp-prod142960 - £439 for 50mm
Soldato
Can you recycle old bike components anywhere? I was tidying up in the mancave last night and found the original 11-25 cassette & chain from my Planet-X. **** knows how I got up any hills on that sucker, so it's unlikely to go back on. Seems a waste just to lob it in the rubbish bin though...
Also got a random collection of stems and seatposts.
Also got a random collection of stems and seatposts.
Soldato
Using the same wheelset along with Schwalbe Pro Ones, I was using clincher tyres with no complaints for a while.
Decent upgrade from the stock Giant wheels for me.
If I'm to be picky I'd say the freewheel is loud in comparison to the Giants, which is silent. I quite like it though lol
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Soldato
Yea that's why I thought I'd mention it, its not for everyone but having said that the freewheel is definitely not the loudest I've heard...
On the plus side it's good for making people aware you're there.
Soldato
Popped out again last night .The wind put me off going on a longer ride so did the same as monday. Knocked a minute off my time but could have been quicker as I hit traffic on the quicker section and there isn't much room in the country roads to meet anything 