Your a fat bike tubeless advocate are you? Of people I know that FB, it is split. I talked with a couple of guys at my LBS yesterday, and the guy that does more fat biking isn’t riding tubeless, even though he sets it for people in the shop. Interesting, I’m torn.
They did mention orange sub zero as the sealant to use if I did go tubeless.
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Get it set up tubless. Get orange sub zero sealeant . Stans is good for aroumd -15 -20 ish but Orange is generally a better sealeant in what ever scenario anyways. You wanna get that preassure low . I usually ride any where from 5psi to 7psi Also keep an eye out for how your brakes are feeling on the days you ride. Typicaly whennyour out around -10 to -15 shimanos start to jave issues with the mineral oils becoming thick and wooden feelimg. That can be remedied with some TRP spykes.
Never had any issues w/ my Shimano hydraulics through several winters of bike commuting down to -30C even. Granted I'd shorten my commutes to ~25-30mins each way when that cold, but at -15C never had any issues with 60-75min rides. And that's based on over 10 consecutive winters worth (never missed a year, not even after breaking my leg).
my fatty has shimano xt brakes, they get a little stiff when it is -20 or so, but i find if i give a few pumps regulary they feel a little more lively.
i run tubes in my tires, my main reason is because i swap between studded and non-studded tires and i don't want to deal with the hassle of goop. it would be nice to shave a lb or so of rotational weight, but i tell myself that keeping it on makes me a stronger rider.
also don't want to deal with the odd hassle of having the tire go flat in the cold weather. i have also read that fat tires are a little more work to get seated.
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Hey, I want to upgrade my mechanical brake calipers to hydraulic calipers just like in this video (the video is of the bike I own):
The only issue is the calipers he's giving the tutorial on are out of stock. I went to a bike shop yesterday and found these XT BR-M8000 Shimano ones.
Are all calipers a universal size, or is it possible if I buy the Shimano ones the installation won't be as easy as it shows in the video? The guy at the shop didn't know.
Took me a minute to find out what was going on there...those look to be mechanically activated hydraulic calipers. I've never seen something like that before, but those XT calipers are definitely not that. They look to be maybe a bit easier than full hydraulic to install, but I have no idea how they would perform.
Are your cables externally routed? If so, I'd just go full hydraulic, as you can buy them with the lines already filled and attached, like this:
Then you replace your levers and calipers. You may also want to replace the rotors, as some pad materials are compatible with some rotor types, so you'd ant to see what is imprinted on the rotor, and make sure it matches. You can mix them, but brake performance is supposed to suffer a bit.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't listen to the guy at the start, and the issues with the switch in the lever. So not so straight forward. You would have to find those hydraulic calipers. Might be the only option.
Last edited by Fuzz; 10-25-2020 at 08:42 AM.
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Thanks Fuzz. My cables are internal and I don't want to go to external. Glad I didn't buy the Shimano calipers, then...I was really close to doing it. I'll just wait until those mechanically activated hydraulic calipers are back in stock. Thank you!
All I can say is go to another bike shop, because if your shop does not know if the brakes you were looking would not easily work with your mechanical brakes then that is a bad sign
Boggles my mind that an e-bike would not come with hydro’s A cheap complete set of hydros are less than $300 retail.
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All I can say is go to another bike shop, because if your shop does not know if the brakes you were looking would not easily work with your mechanical brakes then that is a bad sign
Boggles my mind that an e-bike would not come with hydro’s A cheap complete set of hydros are less than $300 retail.
Nah, $300 would have added 25% to the price of this bike (I got it for $1300). If not on sale, $300 would have added 15% to the price. Around $2k seems to be the sweet spot for these entry level ebikes where they can sell huge volumes. If say Rad Power Bikes decided to increase the price of each bike by $300 they probably wouldn't sell any because somebody else would just sell bikes with lesser brakes and nobody would care.
The brakes they come with are actually fairly reasonable. I'm interested in improving mine because I've added about 50% more power to the bike so I want to improve stopping power.
There are plenty of ebikes out there with all the best components, but they're triple, quadruple and more the price I paid for mine.
The bike shop I went to was more of a motorcycle store that happens to sell ebikes out of the corner of the store. I don't think the parts guys are particularly knowledgeable about ebikes or bicycles in general.
Never had any issues w/ my Shimano hydraulics through several winters of bike commuting down to -30C even. Granted I'd shorten my commutes to ~25-30mins each way when that cold, but at -15C never had any issues with 60-75min rides. And that's based on over 10 consecutive winters worth (never missed a year, not even after breaking my leg).
75 mins isn't a long ride tho. Im generally on a bike a week 5 to 6 days for 4 to 6 hours.
my fatty has shimano xt brakes, they get a little stiff when it is -20 or so, but i find if i give a few pumps regulary they feel a little more lively.
i run tubes in my tires, my main reason is because i swap between studded and non-studded tires and i don't want to deal with the hassle of goop. it would be nice to shave a lb or so of rotational weight, but i tell myself that keeping it on makes me a stronger rider.
also don't want to deal with the odd hassle of having the tire go flat in the cold weather. i have also read that fat tires are a little more work to get seated.
When your tire goes flat tubless the bead doesn't break and unless you have a hige slash in the sidewall its not an issue. Even then stick a couple of Stans darts in and continue on your marry way.
Took me a minute to find out what was going on there...those look to be mechanically activated hydraulic calipers. I've never seen something like that before, but those XT calipers are definitely not that. They look to be maybe a bit easier than full hydraulic to install, but I have no idea how they would perform.
Are your cables externally routed? If so, I'd just go full hydraulic, as you can buy them with the lines already filled and attached, like this:
Then you replace your levers and calipers. You may also want to replace the rotors, as some pad materials are compatible with some rotor types, so you'd ant to see what is imprinted on the rotor, and make sure it matches. You can mix them, but brake performance is supposed to suffer a bit.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't listen to the guy at the start, and the issues with the switch in the lever. So not so straight forward. You would have to find those hydraulic calipers. Might be the only option.
Theres a few hydro/ mech hybrids out there. I've tried and installed all of them. Originally designed for cx bikes before road hydros were more common.
You get the best and worst of both worlds . Even my yokozuna Ultimos which are the pinnacle of that form suffer to much down sides vs positives. Over heat like crazy on basic 1000m decents as the oil has no where to go . No line to expand up to the reservoir. Even on short hils say 100 m I smelled my brakes .
Took me a minute to find out what was going on there...those look to be mechanically activated hydraulic calipers. I've never seen something like that before, but those XT calipers are definitely not that. They look to be maybe a bit easier than full hydraulic to install, but I have no idea how they would perform.
Are your cables externally routed? If so, I'd just go full hydraulic, as you can buy them with the lines already filled and attached, like this:
Then you replace your levers and calipers. You may also want to replace the rotors, as some pad materials are compatible with some rotor types, so you'd ant to see what is imprinted on the rotor, and make sure it matches. You can mix them, but brake performance is supposed to suffer a bit.
EDIT: Sorry, didn't listen to the guy at the start, and the issues with the switch in the lever. So not so straight forward. You would have to find those hydraulic calipers. Might be the only option.
Theres a few hydro/ mech hybrids out there. I've tried and installed all of them. Originally designed for cx bikes before road hydros were more common.
You get the best and worst of both worlds . Even my yokozuna Ultimos which are the pinnacle of that form suffer to much down sides vs positives. Over hest like crazy on basic 500m decents as the oil has no where to go . No line to expand up to the reservoir. Even on short hils say 100 m I smelled my brakes .
Yes, well, riding 4-6 hours in Victoria is a lot different than an hour in -15 in Calgary.
I had to do that in Calgary too. I was so poor at times I couldn't afford the c-train. I had to bike drom Taradale to downtown. I also did that year round in Kamloops before that.
You wouldn't know this but in Kamllops and part of my time in Calgary I was homeless. There was no other choice.
Last edited by combustiblefuel; 10-26-2020 at 11:28 AM.
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Hey, I want to upgrade my mechanical brake calipers to hydraulic calipers just like in this video (the video is of the bike I own):
The only issue is the calipers he's giving the tutorial on are out of stock. I went to a bike shop yesterday and found these XT BR-M8000 Shimano ones.
Are all calipers a universal size, or is it possible if I buy the Shimano ones the installation won't be as easy as it shows in the video? The guy at the shop didn't know.
If you look on the bottom of Rad brake there is a sensor that runs to the control unit. The first step would be to pull this sensor off and see if the bike still works. It looks like the cable could just unscrew. If after removing the sensor the bike still works you could just put on hydraulics and not worry about having a motor #### of switch. You can outbreak the motor easily if it stays on for seconds. What I am not sure on is that if the absence of the sensor would disable the bike.
If the absence of the sensor would disable the bike you could rig up the sensor like shown in this video. This way you could get a good set of Hydraulics and just repurpose the sensor. You’d need to dig in more than I have so far before you start taking things apart.
Problem is he's got internally routed cables. So that would work for the front, but for the rear would need to disassemble the brake line from the caliper, and bleed and refill it. Not the worst thing to do, but another step and cost. Though he could run it himself, and take it to a shop for bleeding.
My brief reading says you can buy a sensor compatible hydraulic leaver that you just swap in. You would also need to bleed it for that. But that's the correct way of doing what he wants.
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So I have decided to take the plunge on the advice of some cycling friends and I bought a higher quality road bike than the old Costco one I had before. I landed a Specialized Allez Sport, got a really good deal from what I have been told.
I am looking forward to putting in some good time on it in the spring but in the meantime, I'd like to improve my fitness and am in the market for a trainer.
I don't know too much about a trainer and am looking some advice on what to look for. I would say I have a $300-400 budget.
If anybody has one for sale, please fire off a PM.
Thanks!
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On one of my training groups, someone is selling an excellent condition Cycle-Ops Fluid 2 /w riser block for $250-ish. Add a (Garmin) speed and cadence meter for around $90, and you can also use it for Zwift.
So I have decided to take the plunge on the advice of some cycling friends and I bought a higher quality road bike than the old Costco one I had before. I landed a Specialized Allez Sport, got a really good deal from what I have been told.
I am looking forward to putting in some good time on it in the spring but in the meantime, I'd like to improve my fitness and am in the market for a trainer.
I don't know too much about a trainer and am looking some advice on what to look for. I would say I have a $300-400 budget.
If anybody has one for sale, please fire off a PM.
Thanks!
Having a trainer is one thing... knowing what to do with it and reap benefits is another thing. If you can afford a heart rate monitor and power then you are set up.
Info sources:
Look up the book Smart Cycling by Arnie Baker. Great spin sessions.
Look up Joe Friel's latest training book. Brilliant stuff.
I'll tackle the training here: I used to teach spin classes for years, and coached a number of racers for a few years, plus also raced road/mtb for over a decade. On trainers... boredom is your enemy. So is doing too many high intensity workouts. Great book with lots of training sessions laid out, even if it's kinda old. Next, you'll need a good tall table for next to your trainer for your remotes, music, phone, ipad, and probably a TV or computer in front of you. Some folks love watching spin classes (paid, or youtube specials), some love watching TV shows or movies. But they end up brainlessly spinning legs with hardly any effort (aka results).
Trainer... the latest greatest ones hook up to the internet (think Zwift, Peleton, etc...), some require subscriptions, and automatically change resistance/power. I have buddies that swear by these and they seem to find motivation doing them. Certainly you can use spin bikes, or the older rear-wheel setup for training. I did that for years. If you go non-electronic then you want the remote resistance lever on your bars.
For trainer setup... besides the table / tv, you'll want towels, at least 1 strong fan for blowing on you, probably a towel or rubber-backed carpet under your bike and trainer, a front wheel block, and as solid a floor as possible as these things make noise and hence p*ss off roomies. Not to mention you sweat and make smells. Your bike will get sweaty and crusty so TLC is required. Your rear tire (if you get that type of trainer) gets beat to hell too.
To improve fitness it's not about banging your head against that trainer 7x week / 3hrs day. Aim for consistency too week in and week out. have at least 2 days intensity per week. Vary your training volumes. But also when the weather is good enough actually take your bike outside because there's actually a huge difference.
Last edited by RichieRich; 11-02-2020 at 09:31 AM.
Reason: wacky automatic spacing fix
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