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Additional to yesterday’s publish and my column about fixing flats, I fastened that flat:
And sure, I’ll concede that on this specific case a tubeless set-up would have simply taken care of it:
No matter.
In the meantime, I don’t pay shut consideration to the latest and newest in crabon bike blobbery, so I didn’t understand simply how absurd inside cable routing had turn out to be:
Sure, due to this bike business aversion to uncovered cables (coupled with great advances comparable to hydraulic disc brakes and digital shifting), a easy stem swap now includes a go to to the bike store and $300 value of labor:
However it’s value it for all these watts you save because of the lower in wind resistance.
As I famous in my Twitter kvetching, the easy bicycle headset has now gone from one thing you tightened as soon as and that allowed quick and easy bar top adjustment forevermore to an built-in nightmare. (And that’s not even addressing these revolutionary new “auto-centering” headsets.) In fact the trade-off is value it for the elevated stiffness of in the present day’s outsized fashions…besides it seems we didn’t want the elevated stiffness in any case so now you must purchase a particular stem to eliminate it:
Between the price of the stem swap and the price of the stem you’ve now spent over $500 to get the identical efficiency out of your crabon “module” as you do out of a motorbike outfitted with a quill stem in a one-inch headtube.
By the way in which, Cane Creek’s cutting-edge “ee” line additionally contains a titanium crank that prices over a grand:
Scoff if you’ll, however they’re completely value it as a result of they “relieve joint fatigue” and go away your “ankles feeling recent:”
I admit I’ve by no means tried titanium cranks. Nonetheless, I’ve ridden just about every part else, from one-piece metal to outboard-bearing crabon. Whereas the passage above additionally signifies that crabon cranks are someway “chattery,” I’ve by no means skilled this. Actually, moreover apparent stuff like size and “Q-factor,” which you would possibly discover, I’ve been unable to discern any distinction by any means in “really feel” between any respectable crank, probably as a result of it doesn’t exist on a degree that’s detectable by people. Granted, I admit I’m not ready to spend $1,000 to show that this additionally extends to cranks constituted of titanium, however I’ve received a excessive diploma of confidence it’s the case. (Now’s the place you inform me in regards to the titanium backside bracket spindle you had within the ’80s that flexed a lot you bought chain rub should you a lot as turned a pedal, and that snapped on you after three months.)
There are loads of methods to piss your cash away on bike stuff, however should you’re actually curious about in most expenditure for minimal return on funding, go purchase your self a extremely costly aftermarket crank, they provide no profit by any means.
However sure, it’s nice to see Cane Creek now presents a whole line of elements that can make your stiff race bike journey like a Rivendell with a Brooks saddle:
The seatpost prices $219 in aluminum and $319 in crabon, which signifies that when you issue within the backside bracket and spider and chainring a whole Cane Creek plush-ification improve will price at the very least as a lot as…a brand new Rivendell body.
Humorous how that works.
Talking of which, they’ve received Sam Hillbornes in inventory over at Outdated Man Petersen’s Home of Ferrous Velocipedes. No internally routed headset cables, sadly. Nonetheless, if you wish to make cockpit swaps a ache within the ass for your self or your mechanic, you’ll be able to at all times use a single-bolt stem and wrap the bars with numerous material, twine and shellac.
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