SBR Utopia - OPEN (Page 130)

I'm still waiting for my Quarq to get in!!!

Just so everyone knows.  FedEx Smartpost SUCKS!!!  Maybe a good way to save on shipping for an item you don't really need, but good gawd, if I had known Nashbar was going to use this service, I would have paid the extra $15 for an upgraded shipping service.  I thought it was just to Hawaii, but online reviews of Smartpost shows a lot of people hate it.  /Rant over

So when's the maiden voyage.  I highly recommend you take it out on the roadie, pick a route with some rollers, and jump out of the saddle a few times. 

ChrisM - 2013-04-02 6:28 PM Ooooooh. Toys.... not sure why my iphone tilts everything.  just hold your head sideways.... 

I love toys!

I foresee a 5' and 20' test in the near future for someone....

This weekend if I can successfully manage the cassette change.  I am not very mechanical, so it should be an adventure...  What am I looking/listening for?  Anything in particular?

And do you guys recommend the taping route?  I will go read that thread, but seems the taping is only to keep the cover tight to the wheel?

axteraa - 2013-04-02 2:49 PM

ChrisM - 2013-04-02 6:28 PM Ooooooh. Toys.... not sure why my iphone tilts everything.  just hold your head sideways.... 

I love toys!

I foresee a 5' and 20' test in the near future for someone....

SHHHHHH!!!!  [Shane, look away]

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

It's a cover, I don't think I get the woosh sound 

And why the roadie Jason?

There's a PT hidden under there as well. Plan on riding it at Wildflower

Well, how in the world would I know that since I never get passed....? 

I like how Fred fast ropes in, sprays the smack around and then gets a quick exfil.  Nice

Nashbar had a sale on the old Cinco 975 models to make room for the new stuff.  I made the switch based on the deal, and the fact it will allow me to race with power all the time.  Can't use the disc cover at Honu, and there are quite a few road races (especially the long uphill ones) where I'd like to use a PT with my lightweight tubular race wheels.

Oh, don't you worry. I have already booked the red-eye to Happy Valley. Speaking of which Fred, what time do you get to work tomorrow morning? I want to start by putting some smack-down on that fabled "Hospital Treadmill."

Didn't realize your swim was that bad. 

I've had a bucket by me all day too. Only I've been on the couch or in bed. 

Chris,

My suggestion for the roadie was because you already have some experience with the CT.  The biggest difference with outdoor power is that instead of riding on the CT at a constant effort for set intervals, you'll see the power spikes and drops of outdoor riding.  Surging up hills, accelerating out of red lights or stop signs, coasting through a sharp turn then reapplying power, or just plain sprinting out of the saddle all out.  Just something I figured you would have fun with that's totally new to you as far as power.

As for the cassette change.  It's really easy assuming you already have the lockring tool and chain whip.  Reference a park tool or you tube video and it's pretty self explanitory.  The one thing you'll need to check for is if you need the small spacer between the biggest cog and the freehub.  Some wheels need it, some don't.  The cassette can only go on one way, so there's no way to screw it up unless you forget to put a spacer in, but that should be pretty obvious.  Once everything is set, and you tighten down the lockring, make sure all the cogs are nice and tight...meaning there is no free play laterally.  If there is, you either forgot a cog, forgot a spacer between the cogs, or you need that small spacer between the largest cog and the free hub.

Once you've got the cassette on properly, you may need to due some fine tuning to your shifting.  This may involve adjusting the delimiter screws, but most of my wheel/cassette changes are usually fine.  Then it's just a fine tuning of the barrel adjuster.

Pay attention to the spacers!  I once managed to get two spacers in there instead of one and couldn't figure out WTF was going on with my shifting.

I also don't recommend dropping the cassette on the floor and having to try to reassemble it with all the cogs and spacers placed properly....

Seriously though, once you've done it, it's really straightforward and no big deal.

Oh, and to actually answer your question Chris (oops!) the cassette should be a piece of cake - you took it off and are putting it back on the same wheel, right? Depending on the wheel, it may or may not have a spacer between the wheel and the hub - that sucker is easy to lose if you forget it is there or if you swap cassettes a lot. It can get stuck to the back of the cassette and then disappear in a hurry when you are not watching. I have more wheels than cassettes and if they need a spacer I leave it on the wheel and then wrap the hub body with a couple of turns of electrical tape so it cannot come off. The cassette will only go on one way - just line up the big fat tooth of each sprocket. If you are going to leave your cassette loose for any period of time longer than 3.5 seconds, zip tie it together. When you tighten it down just snug it - it really does not have to be too tight - it will make it easier to remove later. If you are moving the cassette to another wheel I would also adjust my upper limit screw so that the chain most likely would not go into the largest gear at first - I don't always trust the adjustment in the stand - real-world conditions sometimes make your shifting work differently. It is one thing to dump your chain inside your cassette on your training wheel - it is another thing entirely with a brand new wheel cover.

Oh, and when ever I am adding or removing anything from my bike I lay out a big, thick white blanket (A towel with do in a pinch) underneath it - the blanket (or towel) will keep small parts from bouncing/rolling away and the white makes it easy to see the part you just lost. I probably have enough stuff lost underneath my workbench to assemble a pretty decent fixie....

Edited - it looks like the fast-typers already covered all that.

I thought that was a drum at first.

Looks like you have (plastic) bolts with yours? I have those too because I didn't know how well tape would hold at the time. I taped also and like it better that way. It holds the edge in to the rim better, mine bulged a little in spots. And it'll hold the cover in place better. It won't fall off with bolts, but it might move around a little since it wouldn't actually be directly attached to anything on the wheel. It was definitely worth spending a couple extra bucks for 3M Super 33. A lot easier to work with than regular electrical tape.

A cassette change is fairly simple once you get what's going on. Do you have a cassette lockring tool and a chainwhip?

Lord, and now I have to see if I can get a connection through Chicago. Are you closer to Midway or O'hare? Hopefully Midway, as United charges 200 bucks to check a bike....

Thanks Jason, Ben, Rusty and Arend...  I have the tools, went and checked out YouTube.  It seems pretty idiotproof but I am sure I will find a way..

So, for cassettes. - I got a DT Swiss wheel, so will be training on it without the cover, and adding the cover for races.  All of my races have some hills, so hghly unlikely I am going to be swapping a lot of cassettes about.  Signed up for Miami 70.3 in October, may try to find a tight cassette for that, 11-23 or something.  I currently own:
12-25
12-27
12-30 (there was no rhyme or reason in buying any of these)

However, thinking about it, I do have a couple flat Olys in there.  Assuming I wanted to be swapping back and forth with all of these, or an 11-23, how do I know if I need a spacer or not with this wheel/these cassettes?  Is there some website I can look at?

And I see now about the option without the holes.  So you literally electrical tape the edge of the cover all the way around the rim?  Doesn't look bad?

In my experience you will need the same spacer (or not) for every cassette - no matter the size, brand, etc.

As for as the aesthetics of tape vs. plastic bolts - all that will be obscured by the awesome Star Wars graphics you are going to put on the cover.

I agree.  The need for the spacer is determined by the free hub body, not the cassette.  All SRAM and Shimano cassettes should be the exact same width.  It's just that some free hub bodys are slightly longer.  My guess is the newer wheels coming out that are 11 speed compatible should have an even longer free hub, requireing a bigger spacer to convert to 10 speed.

I have a particular spacer for each wheel, not for the cassettes. Seems to do fine between a few types of Shimano and SRAM cassettes. I basically use the spacer so that the lockring can hold onto the cassette tightly. Too small a spacer (or no spacer) and there is a gap. Too big and the lockring won't attach well, or at all. If you're really particular, you might be able to size it so that no adjustment is needed when swapping wheels. I've only needed 2-3 clicks of the barrel adjuster though. 

If you take your time with the tape, you can do the entire way around with 1 piece. That's where the Super 33 was nice. It's flexible enough to do this. It looks just fine on mine. Most don't even realize it's a cover, not an actual disc. Just go really fast any anything looks good. 

North side, so O'Hare. I'm still like an hour away from there though, at off hours.

Just to follow up on this, I'd probably go with the 12-25 for a flat course.  It's basically the exact same thing as an 11-23 except you are swapping the 11 for a 25.  All the in between gears are the same, so the cassette isn't any "tighter"...it just has a different top and low end.  If you were deciding between an 11-25 and a 11-23...then maybe I'd go with the 11-23 because it has the extra 17t cog in the middle

However, the 12-25 should be fine for a flat course becuase that means there are no (few, or none that are steep) downhills that will require a 50/11 combination for a significant amount of time.  Especially for a HIM where you are going to be well below FTP.  If we were talking about a 10 mile TT, my answer would likely be different.

While you may not need a 25 on a flat course...even at the HIM distance, the advantage becomes that you can stay in the big ring with the 21 and 23 without cross chaining.