Equipment

[David L]

The last repair I did was using self-adhesive patches like these:

https://www.evanscycles.com/brand/park/p02c-glueless-patch-kit-969770?utm_source=rakuten&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=Octer&utm_content=10&utm_term=3055711&ranMID=45658&ranEAID=AqjbTxMPHY4&ranSiteID=AqjbTxMPHY4-TL4T9a7oDiNWvbe3PIhAcg

Saves messing around with rubber solution. Quick and easy

[Fishy]

I'm using rema repair kit patches and solution.. very easy and quick

[Nickslikk2112]

I always put in a new tube after puncturing. Didn't used too, but get fed up with getting gluey fingers.

[Slim]

Someone posted about these super-compact, super-light inner tubes on another forum I visit occasionally.



33g compared to 177g for his usual brand of inner tube.

Expensive at £27 a go and I wouldn't use them to roll around on all the time, but nice to have as a spare for a long ride, I thought. I've just ordered one. They're supposedly not more difficult to fit but there's a question mark over durability. You can only inflate them so many times (it's alleged), because the thread in the valve wears out the plastic valve shaft.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B075V35C7K/

[Nickslikk2112]

140g weight saving? Just don't fill your Bidon as much.

[Slim]

But you can do both!

[Fishy]

Bottle cages.. recommendations... bontrager ones seem decent with good reviews

[Slim]

Bottle cages.. recommendations... bontrager ones seem decent with good reviews

I've bought quite a few in my time and there's not much to recommend one over the other really. I've only been a bit disappointed with two of the ones that I've bought. One was an adjustable one that I bought so it would also accommodate slimmer bottles - it was cheap plastic and broke. The other is this one:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0030O907C/

It's a super-lightweight metal one and it tends to scuff bottles. Also the bottles sit slightly awkwardly in it.  Amazing that they cost more than £20 now, just checked my orders and I paid £6.19 four years ago.

I have one of these on one of my bikes, can't remember which one and it works great. Holds bottles securely, easy to slip them in and out while riding, possibly not the very lightest but no more than a few grams in it and only costs £4.99:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B005HOAVYO

If I was going to buy another one I'd get another one of those.

My S Works came with some fancy super-lightweight bottle cages and they work fine but they're a bit too tight, for my bidons anyway.

[Nickslikk2112]

Most of mine are Elite bottle cages in various colours. Never had any bidons come out of them - unlike a metal cage I had.
Wiggle only appear to have Black ones though now.

https://www.wiggle.co.uk/elite-custom-race-resin-stealth-bike-bottle-cage

[Fishy]

Went with the Bontrager elite .. only a fiver and arriving today...

[Slim]

Wiggle do an 18g bottle cage. That would save me 24g on the Cannondale. But I suppose being careful with the amount of liquids you take on a long ride is more important. 24g is only 24ml of water.

[Nick]

Wiggle do an 18g bottle cage. That would save me 24g on the Cannondale. But I suppose being careful with the amount of liquids you take on a long ride is more important. 24g is only 24ml of water.

Wonder what the ratio of expired moisture vs ingested water on a ride is. I always think that if I've drank half a bison I must have sweated or panted it out at some point.

[Slim]

I suspect you'd end up weeing most of it unless you were dehydrated first, or unless it's very hot and you're straining yourself.

[Slim]

New 27.2mm seat post, fitted to my Cannondale. It was already my lightest bike (surprisingly, slightly lighter than the S Works). Now it's about 50g lighter! But more noticeably, it definitely improves the ride.

I bought another one of these. Essentially the same model (and roughly the same price I think) but has a grippy section to allow a more secure fit to the seat tube. And more colourful branding.

I thought I was replacing an alloy seat post on the Roubaix, but nope - when I removed the old one I realised it was carbon! You can't tell because the whole thing is finished with a shiny outer layer. Until you look down the end.

I put the new one on anyway, mostly out of bloody-mindedness. I'd already weighed it (200g exactly). So it was with a degree of trepidation that I weighed the old one, after removing it. 244g. So in the end it was worth doing.

I suppose I'll migrate the old one to the Tricross, which takes the same diameter and definitely has an alloy one fitted currently.

[David L]

Just had a s**tload of work done on my GT Avalanche mtb. It's about 23 years old and needed some tlc. The most pressing issue was the wear on the rim braking surfaces.

It's a bit of a 'classic' and I wanted to keep the appearance consistent when replacing bits. This can be a challenge! I couldn't find any suitable wheels so decided to get new rims for the existing hubs built using stainless spokes (most are black nowadays). The workshop managed to get this right...in the end!
Along with the rebuilt wheels, she's had the 12-30 cassette upgraded to a 12-32, new top tube bearings, new chainrings and chain, lower fork-leg service and new brake cables. Cost was £432, which came in below what I was quoted. The oustanding item is a new bottom bracket bearing which they did not have in stock (only a little play so not so important for a while).

I promised myself a new seatpost and saddle a while back but never got around to sorting it. The original saddle is now quite tatty and the top of the seat post has developed a bit of sideways movement that cannot be addressed. So, I've just ordered a new Ritchey Comp alu seatpost (£44 delivered) and a Selle Royale Flite Titanium saddle (£76).

The old girl is beginning to resemble 'Trigger's broom'