NBD- “Chiggy Von Richthofen”

[MingtheMerciless]

C2W purchase, Trek Madone SL6 Gen 8.

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[weeksy]

didnt see that coming!

[MingtheMerciless]

My old Madone suffered that broken crank, so it needed a whole new groupo as you can’t get 10 speed anymore, the rear derailleur was going floppy as well and your looking at secondhand ones on eBay , also the wheels were in need of replacing (with rim brakes and all season commutes I was killing a set of £450 wheels every 18 months and cables every 6). So after a bit of umming and ahhing decided to use our C2W scheme and get a new Madone with disks and Di2 for more all weather tolerance. Also seems to be screw BB rather than crap push directly into frame BB bearings, one of which was getting g very slack in its housing.

It is very light.

[weeksy]

It is very light.

I bet...

It's a very nice little torture rack.

[Mr Moofo]

Is it any good off road ?

[cvilla]

Man maths is very useful;)
What size tyres can it take, looks very nice. Taking it on the train, half C2W;)

[MingtheMerciless]

Man maths is very useful;)
What size tyres can it take, looks very nice. Taking it on the train, half C2W;)

28mm on there at the moment.

[weeksy]

You broken it yet?

[MingtheMerciless]

HARSH………it’s in the conservatory being invisframed (well getting its 24hrs of “curing”). Rear seat stays were an absolute sod. I’ve got some heavy duty proper helitape stuff to go on tomorrow for the top tube where the R8 battery for my A27 cycle path illuminator will go and also impact points for when couldn’t give a fuck commuters drop their BSO’s on it. Just before I go “postal” on them.

[MingtheMerciless]

Well it rides very much like my old Madone but the fatter tyres and odd seat tube arrangement make it a lot more comfy (the saddle is a bit meh and a suitable ISM is on the way). Disks are a revelation and very powerful, something to bear in mind on damp leaves. Electric gears are a joy. The is an option to set the front derailleur to auto change down when you get to the 4 largest cogs on the cassette which I think I'll turn on.

[MingtheMerciless]

Took a couple of seconds off a 3 minute climb PB today and wasn’t really trying to either! Definitely quicker and easier to hold speed on the flats which I suspect is due to the aero(ish) wheels.

[MingtheMerciless]

Took a couple of seconds off a 3 minute climb PB today and wasn’t really trying to either! Definitely quicker and easier to hold speed on the flats which I suspect is due to the aero(ish) wheels.

[weeksy]

Took a couple of seconds off a 3 minute climb PB today and wasn’t really trying to either! Definitely quicker and easier to hold speed on the flats which I suspect is due to the aero(ish) wheels.

Twice in one day!

[MingtheMerciless]

Doh , finger trouble and shit signal on a train.

[MingtheMerciless]

Not a good day yesterday, it fell over and landed on the rear mech yesterday, suspect the mech hanger now needs a tweak and more boringly it had a puncture about 3 miles from home and it was getting colder and darker. Turns out cold Bonty tyres on cold Bonty rims are next to impossible to remove, especially with cold hands, somehow managed to get the tyre off, fitted a new tube, extracted a bit of shrapnel flint out of the tyre and refitted it with frozen fingers. Unfortunately they're so bastard tight the tyres gone out of round so new non Bonty tyre ordered (Schwalbe One "endurance/commuter" tyre) and I'll set it up tubeless. Mate who runs the LBS I got it from will be taking it in to work Saturday to look over mech and hanger and also tweak wheel to remove slight buckle. Freely admit wheel truing is something I've never got the hang of.

[weeksy]

Not a good day yesterday, it fell over and landed on the rear mech yesterday, suspect the mech hanger now needs a tweak and more boringly it had a puncture about 3 miles from home and it was getting colder and darker. Turns out cold Bonty tyres on cold Bonty rims are next to impossible to remove, especially with cold hands, somehow managed to get the tyre off, fitted a new tube, extracted a bit of shrapnel flint out of the tyre and refitted it with frozen fingers. Unfortunately they're so bastard tight the tyres gone out of round so new non Bonty tyre ordered (Schwalbe One "endurance/commuter" tyre) and I'll set it up tubeless. Mate who runs the LBS I got it from will be taking it in to work Saturday to look over mech and hanger and also tweak wheel to remove slight buckle. Freely admit wheel truing is something I've never got the hang of.

Ah man, that's not ideal at all.

[Ditchfinder]

Wheel truing on those aero rims must be a bit trickier than my mangled mtb hoops too!

Punctures can get in the bin

[MingtheMerciless]

So after a moaning at from the LBS over the state of my chain, TBF he did say it's expected as I'm commuting on it, I'm going to attempt a hot chain wax. The LBS have a few customers who are doing this and getting big mileages out of chains.

2nd hand slow cooker purchased on local Buy and Sell for £10. Silca posh hot wax and endurance chip added to the cooker. This isn't cheap but it does last many chain dips. Chain dropped off and currently soaking in cleaner.

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More pictures to follow, possibly me in A&E after suffering wax burns as 5 years of sitting in a control room has ruined my Nana Asbestos hands.

[weeksy]

I like the idea of it but I get a year or more out of chains and at £30 a pop I just don’t care

[MingtheMerciless]

Drive train stays cleaner (apparently). Also as I run three bikes , two with very posh transmissions, I like the idea of extending chain life.